The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1897-01-13
LA. WEDNESDAY, NUAR 49, 1897. b.
WYANDOTTE CAVES

W CAyh2
A PARTIAL DESCRIPTION ~ vtas
WONDERFUL n4RouND HoLx.s
Among the May Curriers' 1hings Ire
Greatest IL tho rilsr Of NE Csastits-
t.on-rt II HA,06o Tears one - Nsay
Thousana 1fuaAs That Age.
Wyandotte cave is Inferior 10 Nam.
moth IN length. and yet = walk through
its - miles Of avenues and chambers
convitees the visitor that thsre IL enough
and to spare. OF course ho usually takes
only Abe three routes-1s milea-and ID
satisfied. As ID the case with all other
caves that arc in busineEs, a bear bears
the credit Of discovering this natural
wonder. f MAS ia this way: In the
early days Of this state . hunter ono
day saw q bear and rhot bnt dd net kill
It, w%hereupon he gave ohsse and wal In
close pursuit., when, 10 aud behold, II
disappeared! ThA mach puEaled the
reasoned hunter. and he STOOD IN anaxe-
meat, but AnAlly sumnaning his reso-
luton he went to tho spot where the
animal had vanished. There was q largo
opening in the side Of the hill. Investi.
CATION revealed the existence OF this
vast underground possession. So much
for trnaition. The sams thing occurred
with every other cave, and why not
with thisl
The existence Of this ave has been
known for years. A early as 1919 10
was owned by a white man who gath.
cred saitpoter in it's chambers and made
gunpowder-a precious article in the
backwoods. Tho carly settlers worked
the cave that way for years, going far.
Their and farther from the entraaes in
search II this mineral. Finally 1t ceased
10 be necessary Or proatable to make
their ewn powder, and The ownsr Of The
cave abandoned II, and the hand revert.
cd to the general government In 1Sls
or 1880 a man named Rothrook bought
the land and explored The eave. At that
timo only four miles were known, but
BY chance = small opening was noticed,
and an investigation revealed The fact
that = new aud greater portion had been
discovered. This unknown ropte was
explored, six miles more Of cave came
into possession Of the owner, and il first
occurred to him that he had q bonsnaa.
The new hnd brought the cave into no
tice, and subsequent discoveries have
placed it among the wonders Of America.
1t was 46 years ago that Mr.. Roth
rock, then q young man, commenced
acting ~ guide among the labyrinth Of
passsgeways under The hill. Now comes
one Of the mort interesting features Of
the cave. When he began his visits here,
he heard the drip, drip Of the waters
that never cease and saw the ~stalactites
little fingers Of stone which had bosn
made BY the dripping wssera TO tess
the growth Of tho stone stems ks mark.
cd n with the smoke II . candle md
awaited results. Alm>st 50 years have
elapeed. and he returns today 10 tho
stone timeksepsf and neasurss The
growth-thrse. sixtsentks Of IA inch.
There are COLUMNS here sever feet high
formed ~ ths constant drop Of water.
Only . few feet from the top you PAN
from the known 10 thc prehistorio.
WyanAstts h bsastiful IN sediment
Observation-Disclosures and s~tAlactitsa
that form from 1oor and ceiling, gsow-
ing scarcely \ hairbreAdth IN . year,
but gradually lessening the distance b.
tween their crystal points until In dine
they meet and form columns Of translu-
cent stone, beautiful and ohuts in d.
sign, the despair Of s1ohitecta Fancy q
chamber Of imposing diMsusieus, the
lofty ceiling supported BY these divine.
" wrought pillars, the concavs walls
vsneered with . coating Of sparkling
diamonds, thu delusive glitter Of gold
and silver in boundlex wealth. and you
have Aladdin's cave, y sien ~ the ava.
ricious vision Of the Arabian dSsanef.
The new routes reveal the beauties Of
crystal, the old route presents Tie ID.
multuous, the grand. The passages and
chambers are rough. broken, the barren
ruggedness that turns ones thoughts ia
grandeur, This route Terminates in the
climax Of attractions. This u the senate
chamber. and from it, center, seeming
" ont q . boiling cAldron Of molten
lava that had been chilled and left Ina.
movable, risos the pillar Of tho coasti.
tuition. 1t stands alone, tho Handes(
column ever erected BY man or his mes.
tar. Thirty feet in height, rs feet in
circumference, with nuted surfscs and
unbroken body, It stands in perpetual
darkness, no ray Of light ever gliding
is sparkling exterior save that from q
pickering candle. g
Let "a take cut our notebook and cal.
oulate the age Of this venerable pile. Thu
gray bearded, guide has told - that III
fragile finger m Stone grew th,ee.six.
teenths Of IN inch in nearly 10 years.
one inch in 241 years. This pillar is %
feet high, 500 inches--two oentuhel
and As years to n single inch. But
then it forms from floor and ceiling, q
that 2 inches are formed In that time.
According TO our oalcusation. IL hal
been ~, 100 years since Ahe foundation
Of this column was laid. But Ne have
omitted n factor. The sesns hnae,
would have formed in that time, bui
this is 600 Zines as great In diameter.
Our pencils and. books again-but thi,
is b~ewildering. We cannot conceive d
the lapse Of time contained in the "A, 0oC
years. Why 90 on piling ages upoz
ages? Who 10 brave enough TO- say thai