Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-25
Wonderful Forms of Nature Near
Matanzas.
BEAUTIES GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED
StaIactites Seen in an Infinite
Variety of Shapes.
DISCOVERED. BY A CHINAMAN
Copyright, 1899, by Charles NJ. repper)

| From Stan Correspondent.
| MATANZAS. Cuba, January II. 1899.
| Peace has reopened the famous caves of
| Bellamar. The insurgents closed them with
| a dynamite explosion, which tumbled the
| ruins of the crystal house at the entrance.
! The Spanish military authorities kept them
| closed by sentTies and guards During a
| period of four years nobody allowed
| to pass outside the lines to visit the caves.
There were reports that the insurgents had
burrowed tunnel from under the sea and
made their rendezvous in them. The sug-
gestion of bandits and brigands added
| piquancy to the mysteries which might
| be encountered in these underground pas
! sages.
1 knew that scientists frequently came
| from Europe to study the formation of the
| staiactites in the caves just as tourists
| made the journey to Matanzas for the
| privileg" of freshenng their jaded faculties
with the view of Yumuri valley from the
| hill of Monserrate During previous trips
to MatanzaS.I had been baked by the thor
oughness Of the Spanish military orders
from seeing Bellamar. That hindrance no
| longer existed, but other obstacles nnum-
cradle presented themselves. The fracti-
cos, or guides, who knew the passages were
unwilling to venture through them now.
The road. always bad one, had been made
IIHlldoSttDle ny lHe rams. Inc objections
| multiplied but they We're finally overcome
The guides agreed to go out on horseback
while l found a Volante
The people of Matanzas could not under
stand an American visitor driving out to
Bellama in volante just to see the caves
when the Inconvenience Were so many
They all advised me to wait. Some of them
have been waiting for years. Curiosity is
not prominent trait with either SpaniardS
or Cubans Besides M desire to see this
marvel of nature for its own wonders, an
other cause lmpeled me to persist. The
caves w=re the only refuge open to me
from large number of prominent citizens
who had opinions on annexation and the
| politics of Cuba which they thought should
be made known in the United States AS
| financial transaction the visit was mex
cuSably eXtravagant and the next time /
| Shall first buy the caves. but that is a per
sondl matter The financial inlprovidence
OF it only came 10 me aftcrward. and did
| not detract from the enjoyment of the
venture.
Discovered by n Cbinaman.
| Bellamar is less than three miles distant
from the town. Jogging along comfortably
in the volante up the hills and over the
stony road the fuss made about getting
| there seemed ridiculous The guides were
waiting at the pile of stones which marked
the entrance. One of them to my surprise
was a Chinaman. They called him Justo,
which is probably phonetic CastiIan for
Wo To. 1t was explained to me that Justo
was the diScoverer of the caves. This was
thirty odd years ago, when he was clearing
some land Rolling q stone away he saw
it keep roofing and disappear into a hole.
His curiosity caused him to follow until he
found himself in q circular cavity which
narrowed into a tunnel. Since then Justo
has been exploring those tunnels and I'M
covering fresh wonders. That is, in brief
the story of the discovery of the caves.
W lille the privilege of having Justo for a
guide was to me extensive I did
begrudge the cost. Probably in the future
the charges will be brought down to
normal basis | would advise all visitors
to insist on having the Chinaman's services
and to let him linger in those underground
corridors where and when he lists. The
regular guide has only the professional
notion of hurrying through without pauses
TO enjoy the caves it is better to linger as
one wishes.
The opening is narrow one but it is not
difficult matter to climb down the stone
stairs and within few seconds be in the
caves. ! think they call this entrance the
Gothic temple, but to my mind it has more
of the amphitheater. Its grandeur is bet
ter appreciated on returning after several
hours wanderings in the caverns. Then if
| the sun happens to be streaming through
| the narrow aperture which gives esress to
| the word above and without, it is a verta-
bic vestibule to the temples of crystal
which lie beyond. Formerly a few lanterns
were set at intervals in the approaches to
| the winding passages. Some day electric
| lights will illuminate the whole Interior
They Will dazzle by their splendor and Will
disclose all the transparent and translucent
beauties of the formations. Yet | question
| If all this bTlliancy will equal the ex-
perience of exploring the caves by candle
light We started with two great candles
| each looking like a flaming lance The il
Elimination was not quite enough to satisfy
| Justo. He cut them in two. keeping one
| pair for himself and giving the other pair
| to the Cuban gluide. With these torch
bearers, one in front and one behind the
exploration was proceeded with during an
afternoon. 1t was like plunging from night
into daylight, for the candles while ilumi-
mating the walls in front left only black
space behind.
An Infinite Variety of Forms
The Cuban guide had never seen an ele-
| plant, but he glibly rehearsed the fanciful
names of the different formatons-the
| tusks, ears and back of the elephant 1t re-
| quired no effort of the maginatfon to fol-
| low his descriptions. The fancy could
easily trace the outlines in the marble
| like groupings. In many places the sug-
| gestion is as of roof studded with the
! molars of mastodons. Justo appreciated
the semblance. "Mire al esqueleta-see the
| skeleton he would eXclaim frequently
| while he shifted his candles so as to show
| the outlines of some extinct monster.
| The variety of forms is infinite Yet If is
| not these which give the greatest pleasure.
| for the eyes constantly return to the cell
| ing from which are pendent the myriads
of stalactites. In many places it is a low
| ceiling, SO low that one is apt to get his
| head bumped and bruised in the thought
| less enthusiasm of the moment. In other
| parts the ceiling is lofty enough to give
| full effect to the crystals with which it is
| succeed At intervals there are serrated
| or saw-ike cross pieces, which the ina gil
| nation might describe the teeth of some
! prehistoric shark The most beautiful OF
| the pendents are the convaivular or shell
| shaped ones. Then there are hood surfaces
| of crystal lichens and masses SO fine are
| the tracings which have been left by the
| whimS of nature.
! Justo knows all these beauties and loves
| to show them. He admires the marble
| purity of the roof and pillars hut he also
| likes the red or brownish colorations which
| sometimes appear. Rivalry exists between
| him and the Cuban guide. The latter likes
| best to sweep his candle across some for
| nation which presents a hood surface and
| then, the eyes are blinded by the brill
| liancy, he cries out ''diamantes-diamon
| They are diamonds and pearls without num-
| her for a moment, then they are gone;
| the light is from the other side and the
| impression is of transparent folds of