The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1903-09-12


the ssystery of tine fash-lamp, and
when he was quite ready gave them
the signal to put out their lamps. They
did so. The biackness could almost
have been cut with a knife, and the
stiffness was SO intense that we could
hear each others regular breathing.
Terrible thoughts scurried through
nv brain. What must 1t be, thought
to be lost in such place without q
light, without food, or TO be in there
with an enemy who was familiar with
its ramiflcations? It was place to
lose ones self In, to go mad IN, TO be
murdered In without the world being q
lot the wiser. And what was that
Something crawling over my face, here
and there and everywhere; something
creeping up my arms; something gid
ing round my neck. Would that lamp.
never fash? 1t seemed an age, but
was In reality not second. A blue,
binding glare went up, ihumintng the
space around with such light as It
had never seen before, and showing
I'D plainly the trio of "champfgnon-
nistes" crouched down as they worked,
and soaring million flies and spiders
and goodness alone knows what other
insects and vermin. The light died
down and went out, and again the
lamps sprang into life and shed their
Pickering, welcome CLEANS around.
After securing some other pictures
and a very fine accumulation of small
flies on our lamps-indeed, the Oil-wells
were black with them-We gladly
sought the upper world again. had
no ambition to explore the caves in
their entirety, but only to get my
cramped spine once more into its nor
NAL position, to sit down and rest in a
neighboring inn and gather mushroom
knowledge from the lips of the grower
himself. Fifty years before, he told
me, the caves had been open to the
broad light of day. They were the
scene of great activity, resounding con-
tinually with the explosions of gun
powder, for there men were Quarrying
the stone that helped to build Paris.
Later on they had been abandoned and
covered in, to be finally taken over by
the cultivators of mushrooms. This is
the history of most of the caves which
are now used for this purpose, not only
In the neighborhcod Of the capital, but
throughout France.
But all are not of the kind l have
just described, otherwise l should not
have gone myself and prevailed upon
the photographer to accompany me to
the famous caves Of Issyles- Molineaux,
owned by champignonniste SauvageOt. |
| found them, as I had been told /
should, to be in decided contrast to
those previously visited; as large as the
other were small $50 feet in height at
least. And there was no ladder to de- |
sCend one walked straight into the tun- |
mel from the daylight, for 1t pierced a |
hill, a chalk hill whence had been quar-
ried thousands of tons Of chalk of the |
quality that makes acquaintance with |
the tips of billiard cues. The main tun-
mel, cutting clean into the hill for a dis |
lance Of not less than $50 yards |
would have easily admitted a carriage
and pair. carrying another vehicle on |
top. AS mushroom caves go it was car |
tainly handsome one, but just as cold |
and damp as any other. with switch |
back sort of road leading from the en-
trance to the bottom of the caves. |
Here there was space for six lines of |
mushroom beds to wend their irregular
ways side by side, as will be seen in |
our photograph,
There were six Of these large CALLER
les, from which numerous others ran
off, twisting and winding about to the
length Of some seven kilometres. Chr
in the sides of the passages were num-
erous little "chapels," some on A level
with the ground, others high up in the
SIDE of the wall. In all these caves
contained some sixty kilometres of fine
n?ushroom-beds; spiders and flies we
found there in their millions, the onlv
occupants beyond rats and the cats
that are kept there to catch them,
In no case Of such dimensions ara oil
the mushroom beds in the same stage
or advancement at once. While some
thousands of metres are in full bloom
others are not so far advanced, and IN
some passages the beds are only tust
being laid down, while IN others thu
work Of clearing out old. and useloss
beds is being carried on. Why This Ia
SO will be apparent when it ia stated
that 1t would take fifty men EMPLOYED
in the caves at Moulineaux eight
months to fill them with the 5000
metres they are capable of accommo-
dating.
Scrupulous cleanliness Is an absolute
sine qua non ere new bed can ha
laid down. The cave must be cleared
OF the old bed entirely; not particle
OF 1t must be left, for with all the
mushroom aptitude for lightning
growing, it is something of a dandy
IN the vegetable world. There are cer-
tain things 1t does not like: that If nre-
lefS deathto, in fact, and amongst them
may be mentioned dead rats. old iron
ana parasitical insect with a snaciaI