The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-05
An Olympic Mountain Cave
Story With Some High Lights in It

New York World: Seattle, wash
John NJ. Gilgore and Robert Reid,
woodsmen, came to Seattle to report
their discovery of a gigantic cave in
the heart of the Olympic mountains,
in the northwest part of the state.
They describe the cave as being
about twenty miles long and half a
mile wide in places, with large rooms
filed with amazing things. 1t has en-
trance and exit n lies in a region
asy of access.
The woodsmen were cruising or
measuring standing timber when they
found the entrance to the cave on the
south side of the small mountain. Pro-
curing lanterns n supplies they
Ventured in and spent fourteen hours
wandering from room to room, finally
coming out into daylight twenty miles
further south and about one mile low
er in altitude.
They say they are the first white
persons to enter the cave, although
Indians or prehistoric men have lived
there, for there are numerous human
skulls and bones in one room near the
south entrance.
The entrance is high enough to per-
nit a man to walk in direct. Once in
side Gilgore and Reid found them
selves in a DON with a low ceiling,
out which glistened like glass, n
was cold and damp. They found the
room to be studded with stalactites,
ten to twenty feet, p~rotruding from
the sides of the walls. The floor was
composed of damp, red sand, and near
one side was a small stream worn out
Of the solid rock.
Fifty feet further the low room
spread out into a court and another
larger room with a high ceiling. Over
the floor and under the fiat rocks a
myriads of lizards and snakes. It APP
peared to be the Wintering place for
all the reptiles in the Olympic noun
tains. The lizards were of every land
specie and of every size.
Hurrying through the cavern Gill
gore and Reid, holding hands for mu-
tual aid, and to assure each the con-
fidence, entered a wonderful rotunda,
with a dome and walls Of white silica
or lime rock. They estimated the
length of this room to be close to l.
900 feet, and from 1000 to 5000 feet
wide. The ceiling ranes from so to
100 feet on the sides to several hund-
red feet on the domed center.
The light from the lanterns would
not penetrate to the top of the domed
ceiling. The room was bare as far as
curios was concerned. 1t reminded
them Of a monster ballroom awaiting
guests. The floor was level.
A Yawning Pit.
Following the general trend of the
cave, the men worked their way for
two miles over rocks, across abysses
and around pools Of water of unknown
| depth, until they came upon a yawn-
ing pit. Here they filled one lantern
! with a fresh supply Of oil and threw
| the, empty bottle into the pit. Reid
counted thirty before the bottle was
heard to strike the rocks on the bot
tom of the pit.
Once around the deep black hole the
men found easy going and came upon
another room filled with a strange
odor This was believed to be pro-
duced by sulphur-bearing rocks in the
formation of the walls. 1t was very
E~auseattng. .-
Believing that they would have to
urn back because Of this gas. the
men suddenly emerged into another
room, in which they felt fresh air
blowing in a strong current through
tie cavern. They were unable to race
it's origin, but were fairly carried by
the current into another separate
room, where the lanterns were not
needed, because PHOSPHORUS rocks
made everything as bright as day. The
air was fresh and sweet here, evident
~ coming from an aperture in the
sides of the mountain.
Like An inferno.
Wonder after wonder opened up be-
fore the WE explorers as they hurried
through the natural tunnel. After
trayersing many miles of the caves
they came upon d large room filed
with every conceivable noise. 1t was
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