New-York tribune., 1901-08-04

OF the two men who discovered ii, closed over
its entrance, and made from il "A fortune by
charging an admission fee to those who wished
to make the journey through its succession Of
corridors. chambers and causeways The United
states Government has secured control Of the
cave, The majestic extent and wonderful forma-
lions Of which have been but little described and
seldom pictured. A deputation Of officials, as
told in the press dispatches a few days ago, has
been placed in charge of the cave. and will mod
ernie the methods of handling il and create
more facilities for seeing its startingly beauttu
formations and for gaining an entrance 10 ITS
hover depths.
The Record correspondent recently made a
visit 10 Mind Cave, passing through the first
seven miles Of its corridors and auditoriums
each mile presenting more beauty and more of
unique formations than the preceding. As at
present managed but seven miles Of the ninety
miles II passageways and chambers which have
been invaded 10y GiScOVererS are open TO sight
seers. Many Of the most gOrgeously altared and
tessellated rooms are accessible only after con-
siderable eNertion. hut under the handiwork of
the government : agents these VIII nave pas
sageways opened or bridges thrown across the
narrow chasms, so that the "trip can be made not
only with safety, but comfort.
Each person in the party was attred in rough
clothing and small cap of rubber cloth
Cor while there is but little dripping water in
the cave. that which is met with is very cold.
There exist bu' few spots where the footing is
not dry ANA hard, and a complete rubber out
fit such as - required in Mammoth cave. Is
unnecessary. Equipped with large supply @
candles. the party entered the small log cabN
The base Of the slope, at which point the
cave opens at the surface OF the ground. I'M
rnasiatelv upom entering the cabin is struck
by the roaring noise at ihe rear, the sound ap
preaching that Of high wind soughins through
tree tops. 1t as this prevalent wind which has
given the cave its name. The power of il is
such that without a covering for the mouth Of
the cave would find difficulty in forcing
himself into The entrance a fclndlkaDle Tact
is that once inside the cave the wind is not felt
The outer deer carefully closed, and then
one at a time, the members of the party were
Dassed through inner door on large plat
form. the combined strength of TWO men being
required TO close the door after each person en-
tered The most intense darkness prevailed un-
Ill all were inside and standing upon the plat
form. Then matches Mere struck and applied
To the candles. The entire absence of wind
caused 10y The shutting "n of ITS outlet was mn
rnediately noticed in the steady flare Of the
small lights. These also disclosed an aperture
at the end Of the platform about the width Of
an ordinary well. 4 rude ladder led downward
into the Stygian blackness About forty rounds
brought the party 10 the end, and then a slight
slope led still further downward. al the end Of
which uncouth hight OF steps sun mann
tained the downward course Nearly one nun
dred steps thus taken. when what might
be called the level of the cave Was reached TOT
from This ront the slope toward the interior OF
the earth is gradual. and 50 slight as not to re-
quire cxertion either in descending or ascending
The first Of the peculiar formations TO be
found in this wonderful work of nature is a
room about 90 by 80 feet in size but IT'S appear
ance al once strikes one from me character oi
'.he formation of its Walls IN" ehuIe sue
walls ana ceiling of "boXwork, consisting
OF small SQUARES, from TWO 10 TOUR HlcheS III
diameter and about the same in depth, opening
onward and possessing the general appearance
Of tb- Tiers Of boxes in postnfiice. The iorina-
lion is The first process of crystalllzalon the
bvsf,ls being very fine ANA Of reddish brown
similar 10 the color of the surface SON ana
rock From its appearance tins room mas pfeh
called the 'postoflice," and in the boxes reDose
th. cards Of thousands of persons VINO nave
visited the cave. A.
Two other chambers next 10 inns POSSESS the
boxlik- formation, each showing "A greater an
tiauity than the preceding 10y the growing whlte-
ness OF the stalliZation. Then comes odd fel-
lows Hall three hundred and fifty feet below
the surface and a much larger room than the
preceding chambers, but with the crystalliZdtloh
still in formative state. Beyond tins the fcai
beauties Of the place begin to be seen Ihe hrst
change IN formation noticeable is that the
crystals are growing 'crummy IN size ana
whiteness i'm each succeeding chamber Decosn-
ing harder in appearance and larger in size
until the popcorn" formation is met This -