The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1898-05-21
ALB OF CAVE.
So Pure and Bracing that II Might Be
Utilized for a s~anitarium.

So Pure and Bracing that It Might Be
Utilized for a s~anitarium.
In the Century there Is an article or
'The Mammoth Cave of Kentucky" by
John R. Proctor, formerly State Cecil
oglst of entucky. Mr.. Proctor, In de-
scriblng the tour of the cave, says:
Some distance on we come upon two
stone cottages built against n of the
walls Of the avenue These are the
remains of a number that were built in
the cave in 1S43 for the abode of con-
sumptlve patients. 1t was believed
that the pure air of the cave would eff
feet a cure, and fifteen consumptives
took up their abode here, and remained
for five months without going outside.
Il Is said that when they did go out
three died before they could reach the
hotel. Something more than purity Is
required-sunllght 1t Is said that the
saltpeter miners had remarkable health
while working In the cave, and per-
sons with weak lungs are certainly BEN
Gifted by short walks in this atmos-
phere. l believe, in time, that these I'm
mense reservoirs of dry, pure antisep-
tic air will be utilized for the cure or
consumption and asthma, not by send
Ing the patient into the cave, but by
bringing the air Into s~unlighted sani-
tariums on the dry, well-drained ele-
waited sandstone ~plateaus above the
caves.
We know the air is dry, because the
tt.,Ia. 80 ..t.l Ia In 1910 hos mot do
eayed, and iron hinges have been here
since 1S43, and show no sign OF rust.
We know the air Is pure. because here
animal matter does not decay, but sim
ply dries up. The mummies found In
the caves were not prepared mummles
but simply desiccated bodies. The uni
form temperature of from 53 degrees to
"a degrees the year round has been
demonstrated. Consumptiyes take long
sea voyages and visit high attitudes to
get the benefit of aseptlc atmosphere;
but they suffer from variations of tenn
perature, from storms, and at high alti-
tudes exercise cannot be taken, while
the ave air predlsposes one TO take
exercise with little fatigue. | have
known delicate women to walk for nine
hours In the cave, clambering up steep
ascents and over rocks, aud come out
of the cave feeling no sign of fatigue
until they reached the warm, Impure
air outside, charged with the odors OF
decayed vegetation, when they would
almost faint, and would require assist
ance In ascending the path to the hotel.
We think the atmosphere In the glen
a. the entrance remarkable for purity
before we have become sensitive by
hours In the pure atmosphere OF the
cave. | once went with a friend and a
guide to Roaring River and several 9th
er remote places, which required re-
manning in the cave over night. 1t was
night when we came out, and we had
become so sensitive by our stay of thlr-
ty-six hours in the pure air of the cave
that we were almost overcome by the
suffocating mephitlc odors and Cypress
iveness OF the outer air. We dreaded
10 inhale 1t into our lungs, and return
ed again and again into the pure air
flowing from the cave.
Air freed from bacteria is one of the
main reasons for success In modern
surgery, and a sanitarlum into which
this air could be pumped would doubt
less be resorted to for difficult surgical
operations. Consumptives In high alti-
tudes are compelled to remain indoors
Ia winter weather and breathe the witt
ated air of closed rooms; while in sanl-
tarinms supplied with cav air, by let
ting the air in at the upper part OF the
rooms and out at the lower part, all ex-
halations would pass out, and pure air
would be constantly rushing In at a uni
form temperature, winter and summer.
Then, IT would be a boon IL We could
escape the oppressive heat of summer
into hotels kept cool and pure by the
air from these dry caves.