The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-03
LOST IN A CAVE.
The Dreadful Fate Of n Man Lost in
a Virginia Cave I'm the Blue Ridge
Mountains

a Virginia Cave I'm the Blue Ridge
Mountains.
From the New York sun.
-Four or five drummers for New York
houses We're seated In the smoking COM
partment Of a Pullman on a train home
wand bound. and. as might naturally be
expected. they were swapping experiences.
1t Is not necessary to state here that
aihdavits did not accompany the remarks
OF the travellers.
By George" said a solemn looking
party representing a big dry goods firm
mad an experience down in Virginia
r -1'i weeks We, ago that hope will never be
What was it?" asked a nattily attired
shlrt ana collar man. FORGET your pri-
, saSe Supply when you struck local op-
The solemn-looking party paid no at
tenuon 10 the slanderous insinuation
e.t SSnqaysd, he said, in "a town at the
tSol OF the Blue Ridge, and a young man
mere asked me to 80 out with him TO n
cave IN the mountains which had been
discovered only few days before for the
puL pose OF exploring IL. As there WASH {
anything else to do, 1 accepted the invt-
tauon, and, provided with lamps, com,
passes, ana other exploring paraphernalia.
w urONe out TO the place, about three
miles from the town. We picked IN n
Cyuhtry jay near the cave, and took him
, ,,,.k WITH US as be told us he had made
three or four days. and had "A prettv good
luea OF what II was like for a half mile
OF SO. we went In in good shape. and got
along tairly well until we were in "A mile
Wheh II became rougher, and at last af-
yer ught squeeze through the only OPEN
ING In the main hall, we emerged into
Ihe grandest auditorium to be found any
where IN these United States. III wager
money 1t was a hundred feet to the
slome, 90 Feet across, and then all about
~, as IT supporting the dome We're huns
AAAtuH OF pure white pnlfyrnur Ftrfe gr,ta
perfect convolutions as II by machinery
ne Whole vast space was a glittering area
on MH ,,,l, which caught the light OF
oS % Jumps and reflected Il back I'm myriads
OF rays, making the most splendid scene
1 have ever witnessed
We stood spellbound for many min
ules' tnen began TO move about going in
ana out among the pillars as II In "A FOR
est. 1 nave no idea how far thev extended
rOr aiter some time looked about for my
companions and they We're gone | was
scared IN a minute. and began to shout
oouL received no answer. Then | tried to
ma my way out. Half an hour later |
Stunpled on our guide. worse scared than
/ was, and he had done what the rest Of
US had, got lost In admiration of the beau
" Oh the place and wandered away reck-
lessly. We shouted ourselves hoarse FOR
the third man, but got no response. and
then began to look for a way ont Luck
rs with some people sometimes. and as Ii
ri1 3Pemeu we round the entrance and hur-
REC out Tor help. Three hours later we
nad htty men In there searching and they
kept II up for twenty-four hours without
Hhaing our man. Neither did we find him
at the end OF forty-eight hours. And what
a dreadful time the poor fellow hadl He
wandered around IN the silent darkness
Tor don't know how long; the bats COW
cred him and clawed him; he fell over a
precipice into pit Of freezing water;
driven by hunger. on the third day he ate
pats raw whenever he could catch them
ne bruised and tore himself on the sharp
rock; he screamed for help and fought
the white pillars as III they had been
ghosts pursuing him, and finally became
a raving maniac. 1t was horrible. horri-
BILE, and the worst Of It all was that we
never found him"
The listeners were so unnerved by the
dreadful recital that for a moment no one
spoke. Then the shirt and collar man gave
an uneasy cough, which made everybody
jump nervously
We'll, he said. giving himself shake.
how thunder did you know what hap
pened TO him II you never found him"
This timely inquiry relieved the press
ure az once, and a vote was Immediately
takeif~ that the solemn-looking party pay
for the drinks