Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-17
A PARK UNDERGROUND
The Most Wonderful Cave in
the World.
ITS BEAUTIES PICTURED
VISIT OF AN OFFICIAL OF THE IN
TERROR DEPARTMENT.
Protracted Litigation for Possession of
the Wonderful Formation in the
Black Hills Country.

The first underground national park which
Uncle Sam has in his collection of pleasure
grounds for the people was duly created by
law at the session Of Congress just closed.
1t will be called Wind Cave National Park
and is considered one of the most wonderful
natural curiosities in the world. 1t IS To-
Gated in the foothills Of the Black Hills. In
Custer county.
Wind Cave was discovered in the early
eighties by cowboy, who, while riding in
the vicinity, was attracted by loud noise
caused by the rushing Of air through
small opening in the rocky surface OF the
earth. The aperture was enlarged by drill
ing and blasting and entrance gained to
what Is now considered the most wonderful
cave in the world. 1t consists of series of
large chambers connected by narrow pas
sageways. and extends several hundred feet
in depth and several miles in length. These
passageways have already been explored
long distances, but their full extent Is not
yet known from the fact that the openings
connecting many Of these subterranean
chambers are so small that they cannot be
entered until enlarged by further excava-
ton. Many of the chambers contain curl
Gus natural formations of rare beauty. Inc
cave has been the envy of many corpora
lions and persons who have sought by every
means to gain title to 1t. Homestead filings
and mineral filings have been placed on the
land since Its discovery and protracted liti-
CATION has been the result. This litigation
terminated in the holding that no one OF
the ltigants was entitled to the cave, and
the act proclaiming it national park Is
the result of the recommendation OF the In
terror Department, officials of which have
become enthusiastic in preserving the curl
Gus formation for all the people.
A vivid description of some Of the won
ders Of the cave Is given by an official OF
the Interior Department from personal In
vestigation.
Tour Through the Cave.
Describing his route through the cave he
says:
I'VE keep winding and descending until
we reach the first room, the Brides Cham
Der, and we are 155 feet below the floor OF
the Cave House. This room is about 20 by
30 feet, with rough. ragged rocks all about
and overhead with many small outlets In
various directions: but as we move on we
find an almost perfect prairie dog ana
mound, with hole as natural as possible.
We are now in the SNOWFALL room much
larger and higher room, with walls and
ceiling all potted with a gypsum formation
that looks like large flakes of snow. Next
comes the Post Office, long room, where
we begin to find the boxwork formation
which clings to the limestone formation all
about and overhead. From here we pass on
to the Red Hall, smaller room. the sides
of which are of a soft red stone. Here
saw some Of the mineral paint, OF which
you had samples In exhibits sent from
Rapid City after last case tried there. From
here we enter the Opera House, an i'm
mense room, grand in It's varied formations
Of boxwork and varied colors Of the rocks
that form the grand arches overhead. Then
the Devils Outlook, an enormous crevtce
reaching 65 feet above, showing how the
water has cut and ground the rocks until a
sharp corner cannot be found; here we lit a
calcium wire and threw the white light up
how 70 onn hn nd nyrr rrnn
derful opening. There Is no doubt that this
cave has some time been filled with water,
which has left its marks all about. and by
the deposits has formed the beautiful FROST
work we shall see later on; but now there
are but very few places you will find any
moisture whatever.
Capitol Hill.
Moving along from one room to another
we come to Capitol Hill. about co by 100
feet, with its high dome ceiling in the GEN.
ter of which nature has placed center
piece Of most beautiful box work.
'fThe Odd Fellows Hall comes next, with
the three links in the ceiling, formed by
three holes cut out by the rushing water.
The goat standing in a little side opening
looks very natural.
''Then we reach the Stone Quarry, where
we find great slabs of stone of a pink tint,
broken away as straight as If cut and piled
up ready for large building.
"Then We reach the Garden of Eden,
where we find the frostwork being down in
the second tier of chambers; here thhe box
work Is coated with pure white frost and
the edges are trimmed with little white balls
like popcorn and long frost petals. white as
snow and so delicate that breath will al
most destroy It, Noah's beard hangs from
a little point of rock in this frostwork about
an inch long, and from it are long strings,
like fine silver wire, fully two feet long.
Words cannot describe this place, SO we
will go down Corkscrew path, a winding
trail going down quite steep around deep,
dark hole, and we are on the brink Of Dan
te's Inferno. Amid a continuous change of
formations and constantly changing seem
cry on this still lower level of 450 feet, we
find the Monte Cristo Palace, the assembly
room, the fair grounds-an immense room
200 feet long and from 40 to 60 feet wide,
with great dome near the center.
The Alpine Pass.
eve go down again through Alpine pass,
where you must let yourself down through
a hole not any too large and land in a great
black hole from which we pass on to the
blue grotto, 500 feet down. Here. In
many other places, we light the wire and
find the heavy blue boxwork. No one can
form an idea of this cavern without having
first seen It, From here we lay down fiat
and crawed fully thirty feet and come out
In large room where every Indication of
water cutting has been destroyed by some
mighty force which has crushed and broken
great rocks that will weigh tons; We crawl
ed about among them and over them, and
on we went, sometimes on our hands and
knees and sometimes fiat upon the rocks.
until we found some stalac.iteS; but there
are not many of these here, the cave being
too dry for their formation
The Umbrella Nuisance.