The Washington times., 1904-12-25
Plunges Into Center of Mountain.

Unlike other caves, this cavern plum ges
Into the center Of the mountain, instead
of offering a horizontal passage The
first descent is Of fifty feet into a cham
Der which is the home of bats. Clinging
in clusters to the milk white walls or
flying about, star led by the candles, the
strange creatures seem TO speak the
mysteries of the caverns.
From the first landing there IS a long
incline. which ends abruptly in another
jump of $50 feet. Rope ladders are used
mere. the ends being fastened to huge
stalagmites.
AT the bottom of the second landing
tite cave widens into a series of i'm
mense chambers. One room is oddly
like the interior of a cathedral with
organ loft. chanceI and all A long row
of stalactiteS which reach from the
lofty ceiling to the floor resemble an i'm
mense pipe organ.
The staIactites vary from six inches
TO an inch in diameter, and when struck
a heavy blow with a hammer give forth
deep, sonorouS sound that fills the
Govern with weird harmony The tone
IS of singular sweetness. and when the
blow is repeated several times the cath
edral is flooded with melody.
Walls of Milky Whiteness.
The passage leads from one chamber
to another until another descent begins.
This tire the path leads down to steep
1 Il
mouth Of the cave Here a wonderfully
beautiful sight meets the gave. On
every side are walls of milky whiteness
and oddly shaped lacework of staiactitic
formation The ceilings are nigh above
Grottoes of bewildering beauty are on
every hand
On one side one hears the rush of wa
ter. stream of cold water six inches
IN diameter guShes from a hanging wall
and splashes on the floor. The water is
point
up from down below, and the explor-
ing party seeks to discover the source.
The air is bracing and seems charged
with ozone just as in the Mammoth
Cave of Kentucky. After breathing the
air for time fatigue is forgotten
PIuns1ng down another long decline,
the wonders increasing every STEP the
party encounters curious phenomenon.
A distant rumbling is heard in a far-off
region. 1t gathers in volume until a
great sweep of wind blows out the
lights. The air rcshes upward until II
finds outlet above. The rumbling IS
surmised to be vibration of the mighty
stalactites but whence comes the fresh
air can only be conjectured It is sup
posed that miles away there is an out
let, which causes strong current of air
to circulate through the spacious cham
bers. The reverberating sounds come
| at intervals of five minutes.
Sounds of Waterfall.
Occasionally the passageway narrows
| until one must creep on his hands and
knees The fantastic formation of the
| walls seems to increase as one goes
downward. The sides of the grottoes
are marked with waves and ripples of
white incrusta tions, while the floor is
| strewn with fakes that have fallen
| from the ceiling and sides.
! BY carefully observing the route the
| exploring party was able to penetrate
to the depths of the mountain Sounds
of waterfall were heard that re-
echoed among the stately columns.
Another decline was encountered too
steep to scale without ropes A stone
| -yas thrown down into the blackness
below. and after long interval a splash
was heard. indicating the presence of
, water. A newspaper was lighted and
cast down without touching bottom A
coil of rope was fastened to a stalag-
mite and cast down without touching
bottom. Then the exploring party real
lied that further equipment would be
necessary before passing this obstacle.