Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-24

When he returned, the rope he had fasten-
ed to stalactite had got unhitched, apd was
dangling beyond his reach. Prentice did not
faint. He took off the wires of his lamp,
twisted them together into a hook, fished
back the rope, and signaled aloft to hoist
away.
The next largest cave in this country is the
Wyandot Cave, in Crawford county, Indiana.
in length. In it is the Pillar of the Constitu-
tion, an enormous mass of alabaster forty
feet high and seventy-fve feet round, fluted
from top to bottom This pillar, which is
two miles from the entrance, stands in the
Senate Chamber, which is richly decorated
with stalactites. One Of the halls. the Coun.
ell Room, is 700 feet in circumference and
fifty feet high, an unbroken dome without
single supporting column.
When the hall was first broken into by ex-
plorers two half-burnt torches were found on
its. wallis, clearly proving human presence
before the fall of earth that had blocked it's
entrance. In another were found further
traces Of carly man in piles of ashes and
charcoal and flint chipe and hard stone ham
ruers for making the flint implements.
One day draught was found to issue from
hole low down in wall. The hole was
enlarged from six inches till it was big enough
to allow man to pass, and the first explorers
through found themselves in many miles Of
new caves.
Taking the rate of deposition of the stalag-
mite which covered the entrance, thousand
years must have elapsed since man had
entered; and yet on the soft, nitrous earth
of the new territory were the moccasin tracks
of party of Indians.
! The most beautiful of American caves, and
one of the largest, is at Luray, Page county,
Virginia. 1t was discovered August 13, 1878,
by Messrs. A. j. and William b. Campbell. 1t
is now owned by a company, and the cave is
| lighted by electricity and platforms, stair
ways, ratings and walks provided wherever
needed
Among the wonders of this cave are the
Vegetable Garden and the Fish Market,
where one has no difficulty in identifying
rows Of bass, shad, perch and mackerel p. hang,
Chasn, rift 500 feet long, 70 feet deep and
| SO feet across. There is also the Bridal Cham
ber, the Ball Room, the Saracen's Tent and
the Giants Hall, with statues 100 feet high
row OF prodigious, glittering columns
There is no cave in the world so profusely
decorated as Luray. Every foot of rock re
produces objects which fill the mind with
pleasure, wonder or alarm-crystal fountains
spouting geysers, cascades, flower gardens, or
gans, thrones, spectral beings, terrestrial, cees
tial and Internal.
The Luray Cavern produces new ant
peculiar formation, neither stalactite nor stal
agmite, to which has been given the nam'
heIctite, from the Greek word helisso, to benz
or twist. The regularity of this formation
is that it extends horizontally from one tt
three inches and then grows upward anc
downward. This eccentric formation is due
to slow crystallization taking place on 6
surface barely moist from material conveyed
to the point of growth by capillary move
ment.
A curious instance of helictite growth is il
the Balcony" in the shape of small ston,
hand, with fingers distinct, extending horizon
tally from the wall. The most striking com
bination of stalactites and stalagmite will
helictite is The Conical Shot. This is sus
space, the lowest part of the cave, 26O fee
beneath the surface.
In Schoharie county, New York, is Howe
Cave, which is two miles long. A smalle
but more famous cave is the Judges Cave