Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-16
AFoREsT OF STONE.
(From the New York Herald.

| " UNI Tue New IOIh
A mighty forest of stone has been dis
covered in the depths of cave al
Amans, in the department of Lozere
France, by the explorer, NJ. Martel, who
tells marvellous tales of the result of his
explorations. "a virgin forest of stalag.
| mites" he calls it.
| M. Martel has long been known as a
| cave hunter, and there is hardly a cav
| ern of any note in the world that he
| has not entered. Many have been dis
| covered by him, and many more that
| have been partially known have, for the
| first time, been threaded by him to their
| innermost recesses, with the result of
wonderful discoveries, but now he
boasts of the most wonderful find in his
burrowing career.
For ages a deep natural pit, or "aven -
as the French call it, has been known
to exist at Amans, but nothing beyond
it's final apparent landing, at the depth
of about 800 feet, had been known until
NJ. Martel entered it recently and made
his startling discoveries. The plain, UNI
ambitious people living about it had fire.
quently hurled stones into its depths
and listened to the dying echoes as they
bounded from side to side of the rock
walls, and row and then some spirit
more daring than the rest, accustomed
to climbing, had descended part way
into the dark, yawning pit, but never
far enough to learn what was beyond
the apparent bottom.
What stories have been told of the
'aven'' are rather of fiction than fact,
and smack more of superstition than
science. Imaginative persons tell cred
ulous hearers tales of ghosts and COLLINS
that inhabited the cavern, only to come
out at night, to work harm to f1Ocks and
crops of those who had displeased them,
and particularly for the purpose Of
Furnishing disobedient children. Then
there are weird stories of strange and
startling noises that issue from the
depths of the cave, particularly on the
eve of Christmas.
M. Martel had long ago heard of the
Amans pit, but only recently deter
mined to explore it's depth. Having pro-
vided himself with ropes, iron hooked
and shod staffs, lights and the other
usual appliances, he began his descent
amid ominous warnings from natives
who had gathered to witness his temer-
ity Soon the apparent bottom was
reached, without any startling discoV-
cries being made, but on ascending a
number of feet the explorer found the
entrance to huge sloping hall, which
he entered. On approaching its further
S4lNs l4C was eipSO4ul6ly dSlOtllSItQ DIT
the scene which under the Pickering
light of his torches presented itself. He
had before seen acres of stalactites and
stalagmites, but never such a gorgeous
display of standing and pendent cones
of alabaster like stone.
There were the evidences of the work
of centuries, where slowly flowing water
had been forming fairy architecture out
of carbonate of lime. To the explorer
it appeared as though he was in
mighty forest of snowy pine and palm
trees. Many of these "trees'' reach to
height of two hundred feet, and near
ly meet the parent stalactites that are
growing from the vaulted roof of the
cave to join them. There are scores of
such giant stalagmites, and many more
smaller ones, from infnitesimal newly
formed cones, through all stages Of
growth that form a sliding scale from a,
single drop to the monsters whose tops
pierce the stalactite roof that can be
seen in glittering spots under the fee
BILE rays of torch. The scene presented
forms magnificent cave splendor not
known to exist elsewhere in the world.