The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-16
CAVE OF GIANTS
HAS BEEN FOUND
IN CALIFORNIA
Remarkable Discovery in Pro-
whence Mountains Is Ex-
piored-Great Cathedral Like
Room and Statuary Hail Are
Among the Wonders.

Among the Wonders.
on
SEATTLE, Wash, Aug. ia NAM
moth cave has been discovered in the
heart of the Providence mountains,
Southeastern California. which is
named the Gave Of the Giants" and
rivals in splendor and beauty other re-
nowned caverns Of the globe. If graphic
descriptions are to be credited.
George L. Berg. who discovered the
cave and explored it's recesses. has
taken up his residence in Seattle. It
was Mr.. Berg's love for scenic beauty
which took him into the Providence
mountains.
Looking across the Fo Shea pass
from Goldstone camp every evening at
sunset. there are outlined on the face
Of the immense limestone cliffs that
form the northern wall of the pass two
giant masks, formed by the contour of
the rocks and the evening shades:
One face has the pose of a bearded
giant. with his head pfllowed on the
brow of the mountains and eyes closed
in slumber. The other face is that Of
a low-browed, sallow-cheeked and sui
len Moor, with scraggy chin beard and
mustache, gazing, vacantly into space.
The great limestone cave which has
Just been explored is underneath and
back of these sentinels.
The existence of. the cave was re-
yealed to Mr.. Berg by an aborigine
known as Indian joe" who lived on
the west slope of the Providence range.
By markings on the ground he wildly
described the entrance leading to
great Depths where winged monsters
lived. Describing his exploration of
the cave with Charles Staubin. Mr..
Berg said:
i"We found the cave as Indian joe
had described it. Great Spirelike
peaks stand above the entrance. cast
ing long dark shadows down the pre-
cipitous sides of the canons. It was a
long. hard climb to the large balcony
at the entrance to the cave, which
overhangs a deep canon.
Had to Turn Back.
"Our first trip was stopped by de-
clivities we dared not attempt to de-
scend without ropes and graphing
hooks, but we saw enough to prompt
a second expedition.
"The Sunday following our first Wis
| 1t Staubin and I, accompanied by my
1'wife, who is an expert mountain
climber. returned to the cave, prepared
to see more of it. This time we were
equipped with hooks and ropes and an
abundance of candles and a flash light
camera.
1--WE wound our way through one of
the several corridors. a distance of
hundreds of feet, coming on main
hall or grotto that leads due south. The
last rays Of daylight were soon left be-
hind, and with miners candles in our
hands we went down a gradual slope.
The floor was rough and sharp edged
crystals Of lime ground beneath our
feet and cut our shoes. The roof soon
disappeared from view, and the walls,
too, but they reappeared again further
down to the width and height of an
ordinary door, bringing us out on what
appeared to be a small balcony. Our
dim lights seemed like a mockery in
the gloom that hung about US like a
pail.
Squeals Of the Bats.
But we were not the only living
things. Attracted by our lights, shad-
oWyr forms eircled around our heads
We felt the flap of their wings before
we discerned the dim outlines of the
bats These were the evil spirits that
had scared Indian joe and drove him
from the cave. The squeals of the
startled creatures reverberated through
| the grotto. The echo Of our own voices
sounded like the clang of broken bells
and gave us more of a start than the
| screams of the bats.
| 1--WE took soundings of the place by
| dropping pebbles to see how far we
would fall If we should step into the
dark depths below. We ascertained by
this method that the next floor was
nearly 100 feet below us. We then
th1,nxr or sy,
came to the conclusion that the cav
! ern had the proportions of a vast ca
| thedral.
+ 1--WE retraced our steps and found a
| winding stairway that took us down to
| the floor Of the great grotto which we
had just left. No cathedral ever had
! richer carvings or more beautifully
| tinted walls than this dark cave
F.! Strange serpentine forms of petrified
| snakes and lizards Of divers kinds
were encrusted in the walls of what re-
| sembled beds of delicately tinted moss
'.Rieh mosaics of design and pattern
] as regular as If fashioned by man aft
! ier some geometrical plan covered walls
| and pillars. Above us hung great sta
| lactites of snowy whiteness, resem-
| bling huge iciples.
A Statuary Hail.
/ w z H0AI pdSScu ll1lO d SldludIy
We thought of the museum of the rul-
er of Siam. The statues take many
| and grotesque forms. We found many
! strange shapes, carved, as it were, by
| the hand of nature out of translucent
| stone. A candle thrust into a small
chamber of the vast grotto revealed a
| frost-like tracery of crystals on the
walls so delicate that it crumbles at
| the touch of the fingers. At the mar
row entrance to the south grotto is a
| huge human face outlined on the wall.
81 threw rope up a steep declivity
and it was caught on a short, stout
post, set on the edge Of a terrace. At
| the top of this terrace is another mar
vel of natures handiwork. Before us
stretched a gallery with an exquisitely
| delicate pattern of lime crystals that
sparkled in the light of the candles like
frost in the sunlight. The floor was as
smooth as q billiard table. From the
roof hung sta1aetites, some long, some
short, others fiat, and still others as
thin as shingle.
f. "Still we passed on from alcove to
chamber, noting traces of a mysterious
beauty now done in brackets and again
in scroll work
'"The last object to arouse our curl
osity was giant toadstool. like huge