The Washington herald., 1909-01-03
FIND FAMOUS
Explorers in the Heart OF an
English Mountain.
ANCIENT RIVER BED IS THERE
All the Rock Surfaces Covered with
Splendid Deposits of CaIeite-Pas-
saEes OF Marvellous Beauty Made
by Action of water-hembers Of
Derbyshire Pennine Club Buoy.

London, Jan L-1uteteStlhS SAPASA GUMS
have bean made in the roof OF the Peak
cavern al Castleton by members OF the
Derbyshire Pennine Club.
Wooden ladders were spliced together
to a length OF forty feet and then swung
70 the roof by means Of ropes attached TO
a tail scafold pole The top Of the ladder
rested on the edge Of a small shelf a few
inches wide. above which is 8 vertical
crack ten feet high In this short
wooden ladder. resting on One foot. was
placed Sideways. Il was very awkward
TO get I'D the short upper ladder, for If
man went well into the fssure he got
stuck. and when he came further out
there was some danger CT the ladder tilt
ing. A slip would have involved a sheer
drop OF thirty feet on solid rock
An Enormous Arch.
The hole IN the roof is about ten feet
long and four feet wide IN the middle It
has curved sides and pointed ends, the
southern one beng where the long ladder
rested
This hole shows the section OF a assure,
the bottom portions having been swept
away by the action OF water which form
ed the enormous arch al the entrance TO
the cavern The purpose Of the explora-
ton was 10 follow this issure back into
the heart Of the hill, and very remarkable
It proved TO be.
From the edge OF the opening the floor
OF the fssure, covered with loose sCrees,
slopes up steeply in a southeriy direction
to e curious formation Ike a ruined
spiral staircase with It's steps worn away.
The explorers scrambled up and thus
reached 2 higher and much narrower
floor OF the assure. Here the walls were
thickly coated with a soft white sub
stance that looked ike snow or foam. but
went into q sticky mass Ike putty when
squeezed In the hands. n one place this
deposit IS marked with countless tiny
vertical fittings.
With considerable difficulty. the explor-
ers proceeded 70 higher levels along the
floor OF the fissure. AZ intervals Il rises
abruptly-in one place as much as twelve
feet-a1d 1t was difficult 70 get Up the
slippery walls n the exceedingly narrow
space available Indeed. one man got his
foot wedged fast and could only lIoerate
himself BY partly wrenching away the
sole Of his boot
Passages Of Marvellous Beauty.
Above this portion the explorers entered
a bedding plane, the formation OF which
is very different from the joInting plane
fssuTe up which they had climbed.
Originally, OF course, horizontal. the
bedding plane now dips gently 70 the
south. and il has been enlarged by water
and shaped into most extraordinary
forms. This ancient stream bed II the
heart OF the rocks is from fifteen 10
twenty feet wide. In places IL Is high
enough for a man 70 stand upright, but
toward its extremities there is only crawl
ing room.
Here and there are big cavities in thu
floor. which had 10 be crossed with the
utmost care IncumbeTed with candles
and climbing ropes. the explorers found
il harder and harder TO get along, and At
last the roof got so low that they. could
rot proceed any further along the main
stream bed At this point however. there
were several side passages OF marvellous
beauty
al the rock surfaces were coated with
splendid deposits Of ca1cite. II al imagin-
able forms. which had probably never be-
fore been seen BY man
4 low tunnel, twenty feet long two
feet high, and three feet wide, which
could only be traversed a few Inches at
once by a man lying on his back, com
mUnicated WITH vertical chasm OF great
depth. which could not be descended
without more elaborate tackle than the
explorers had with them At the foot OF
IL could be seen the faint gIimmer Of the
candle lights near the top OF the ladder
at the opening f. the cavern roof