Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1907-10-12
MAMMOTH CAVE
HAS Big RIVER
GIANT CAVERN IN THIS COUNTY
MAY ECLIPSE KENTUCKY
WONDER.


4 cave that rivals the great Nam
moth cave of Kentucky has, been
found about fifty miles south of Ely. |
The location of the cave has been
known to the Indians and few of
the old-timers of this section for
many years, but so little information
has ever been given out about it that
its existence was considered by many
as mythical Nothing definite could
be learned of the formation or eX-
tent of the cavern from the few
white men who have run across it
while prospecting in that region and
il was not until Tex Rickard and
party of friends returning recently
from the newly discovered Fountain
of Youth, located in the southern
part of the state that an adequate de-
scription of the wonders of this great
cave have been given to the public
One of the motorists gave the follow
ing account of their exploration Of
LhS gave W LIE Ddlly w hllS lHC
News.
I'VE were first told of the cave by
j. L. Robinson, at whose ranch we
| stopped while at the spring. Rob
inson is an old timer in that part of
the country and he has known of the
I existence of the cave for good many
years. He invited us to take trip
through while we were in the vicin-
| ity and we accepted, though we had
no idea at that time of the magni-
tude of the cavern.
I'VE were supplied with candles
and after two mile walk along the
side of mountain Robinson stopped
before small wooden door that had
been placed in solid wall of lime
stone and opening it told us to go
inside.
/ I'VE had to stoop to get in the
low doorway but after taking a few
steps in that position we were able
to stand upright and take a look
around. To say that we were UMPIRE
pared for the sight that met our eyes
would be putting it too mildly. There
before us doomed a chamber cut out
of the solid rock that was large
enough to put the largest building in
Ely into without crowding.
I'VE advanced over a floor of per-
fectly smooth rock until we reached
the center of this large apartment
and from there we saw by the light
of our candles that there were sew
eral passageways leading III different
directions from this main room.
which he had explored before and af-
ter taking the precaution to deposit
one of bundle of small sticks that
, he carried with him for the purpose
of leaving trail that we could fol-
low out we walked several hundred
feet down q lofty corridor which led
us into another chamber siniitar to
the one We first entered.
From this there were passages in
, every direction, and after marking
the one we had come in by dropping
another stick, we proceeded down
: another corridor in the opposite d.
: rectiOn. I'm this manner we passed
through several rooms of varying
} sizes until we reached what he term
i ed the main chamber. This YVES even
} larger than any of the others and by
/ holding our candles above our heads
; We could see places where the water
trickled fnOm crevices in the rocks
} overhead
! While I'm this large hall cur at
! tention WIS called to a number OF
names that had been carved con the
, walls and ON holding our candles
near them we made out the names OF
several men and the dates which fol-
: lowed. There were none later than
! 1850 that we could make out, though
most OF them were AS and '49.
I There was one name carved deep in
| the rock and the date given was
5 1880. From here we passed On to
: many chambers of lesser size, and af-
ter walking until our candles were
: half burned out we started on the re-
turn. We picked UP the small sticks
we left TO mark the passage ways and
: tunnels we had tfaversed and in this
, way We arrived at our starting point
: without any mishap.
The mountain in which this cave
is located is highly mineralized and
the first suggestion that entered our
, minds, was that the cave had been an
: old mine that was worked out and
) had been abandoned, but the absence
: OF any tools or other paraphernalia
: that is used in working mine to-
: gether with the fact that mine OF
such large proportions would be
. ! known tO hava oyisted In, thot ,,io;,.