The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-09-26
MORRISON, MONT.

Browne drove to Whitehall last Friday
and were Joined there by the Misses
Mary Taylor and Stella Tate, and from
day morning for Morrisons cave, which
they explored with a guide, and are
enthusiastic beyond expression over
the wonders they saw underground.
The train stops at Cavern, ana IRON
there the trip is made on foot for two
miles up a very steep grade, the last
half being almost straight up, zig
gag detour being necessary in order TO
reach the entrance, which is located
high on the mountain side at the bot
tom of a fifty-foot cliff which towers
above it, and the entrance chamber is
about Sx1O feet wide. The only notice
able thing in this room is a myriad
flock of bats and birds who set up
great commotion on the entrance of the
party with lights, but they are harm
| less and after becoming accustomed to
the intruders settled on their respec-
| tive percheS.
Each one was provided with a can
de- and as the trip cannot be made by
ladies in conventional street dress,
overalls were donned and The descent
began.
"An We who enter here, leave hope
behind" was the inscription placed by
Dante over the Inferno, and would be
applicable to anyone foolhardy enough
to attempt the trip without {. guide,
and on this occasion P. j. Carmichael
piloted the party through the subter-
ranean passages without hitch.
The first stairway is 200 feet from
the entrance, and consists of 600 wood
en- steps, with a landing about every
twenty-five steps, which leads off to
some large chamber filled with stalac-
Titles and stalagmites of all Kinds and
descriptions, some of which resembled
the famed banyan trees of Asia IN
their growth. One fight of fifty steps
| is particularly hazardous, as there isn't
railing on one side and a deep abyss
on the other. the guide cautioned them
to hug the wall closely, as a misstep
at that point would hurl one to the
bottomlesS pit-fgurati lively speaking
as a stone dropped from there takes a
long time in reaching the water hum
dreds of feet below, and so far no one
! has been able to reach the bottom of
the cave. which at 1000 feet seems as
! far off as ever. but the road of the
wind and rushing water can be plainly
heard and in the lower rooms of the
cave mountain rats are the inhab-
! itants.
IN some INSTANCES Tic d pei NulN W SLC
so small it took some squeezing TO
wriggle through, and in one instance
the party had to lie on their backs,
grasp a cable and, slide feet foremost,
where the guide was ready to grasp
them and plant them solidly on terra
| firma.
Many of the chambers visited are
named from some object peculiarly
formed by the stalactites and stalag-
mites, some of them ranging in size
from a lead pencil to huge pillars five
feet across, especially is this discrep-
ancy noticed in the Cathedral cham
Der, which is the most gorgeously dec
grated room in the cavern.
The Monumental room gave every
appearance of an art studio full of
statuary; one giant sentinel standing
guard over group of lesser ones
with all the grace of a general COM
manding a regiment. One stagmite
resembled a woman looking back over
her shoulder was dubbed by one OF
the ladies noted for her apt repartee as
Lots wife when she turned to rub
ber' and then to salt.
The Organ room, with its immense
pipes of stalactites of varying length,
when struck emit the different tones
of music. and those who haven't any
difficulty in getting music out of most
ANYTHING, were not adverse to trying
Down in the Cavern, Underneath the
Ground" to the delectatiOn of the small
audience
Elephant hall, so named from the
resemblance of one of it's formations
rising like a huge elephant with a
most perfect ear. was an oddity which
attracts everyone, but the most es-
sential points were missing-the trunk
and tail.
The Mushroom formations and what
appeared to some of them as Egyptian
gods, came in for a careful inspection.
while the Barroom, though hard to get
into. proved to be an enchanting place,
as the bar was formed from a broad
! fat slab of alabaster, with innumer-
| able stalagmites and in the center a
fountain of pure water gushed forth.
To get into the barroom. one was COM
nelled to slide down a thirty-foot rope,
! and the incline is such a slight foot
hold can be taken, which assists ma
terially in climbing up.
The Casket room was anything but
cheerful place to be in, as there the
cooling board was in evidence with
many candles surrounding it. The
Throne room and Cathedral hall with
their lofty ceilings reaching 200 or 3OO
feet high, were too beautlful Tor words
and the party, after descending 800
feet. were reluctantly compelled to re-
trace their steps.
A kodak was taken along to take
hashlight pictures, but so great was
the interest taken in the surroundings
all thought of pictures were forgotten,
hut the party claim that they would
have to bankrupt all the adjectives
| Noah Webster trotted down the leXi-
Geographical pike to find words suf-
ficiently adequate to fittingly describe
all the wonders they saw in this deep
cavern, which has been explored by
scientists from many lands. and is
pronounced equal to the Mammoth
cave of Kentucky, Lurray of Virginia,
and away ahead of the Cave of the
Winds of Colorado.-Exchange.