Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-10-14
lBt or THE MAMMOTH GAVE
Its Formation Begun Something
Less Than Million Years Ago.
ssrOvcr Great Aid to Nation In 1912
when Nitrate Was Needed to Make
Povv,lcr-I'lenty Found in
Entrance Chambers.

Doubtless everyone in this country
who can read knows something OF the
Mammoth Cave Of Kentucky On the
other hand, there may be quite a num-
Der who know very little about how
this and other similar caves were form
ed. how old the Mammoth Cave probably
Is, what service 1t performed for tho
youthful government of the United States
during the War of 1912, and various
other interesting features connected
with this greatest of all known caverns
OF the world, brought out in an article
In the September number of the Bulletin
Of the Pan American Union, Washing
ton. d. c.
From time immemorial," to quote from
the bulletins article, leaves have been
objects of interest to mankind. Around
them have clustered legend and super
stition, in them men have found habita-
lions for the living. refugees for the pur-
sued secret temples for the practice
OF their religious rites, and mausoleums
for their dead. In ancient days they
were abodes of SYPHILIS and nymphs OF
Roman mythology; in Greece they be-
came the temples for the worship OF
as the homes of the oracles of Delph,
Corinth and Mount Citheron; in Persia
they We're connected with the worship
Of Mithras, and in more modern times
popular fancy in Europe peopled the
mystery-enshrouded caves with elves,
fairies, and evil spirits galore"
But after all, caves are but the re-
suits of perfectly natural forces work.
no ,rfa nf hn ort
just as they do upon its face, and for
the sake of convenience may be divided
into three classes: a Those formed by
the action of currents, the force Of
waves, and the grinding of shlngle
against cliff on a rocky seacoast.
while forces gradually hollow out caves
In the weaker places, of which those
found near Bar Harbor, Maine. may
serve as examples; () those found in
volcanic regions. formed by the subter-
ranean flow of lava, or by the expan-
sion of steam and gases, such as those
in the klamath lake region in Oregon
which are so large that they often served
as effectual hiding places for the Indians
in the early days of the conquest Of the
West; and (3) those which have been cut
out of calcareous rocks by the chemical
action Of carbonic acid and rain water
combined with the mechanical friction Of
the sand and stones set in forcible mo-
ton by the streams of water which have
flowed through them for ages These
last are the most numerous and most
important in size, and 1t Is to this class
that Mammoth Cave belongs.
AS most people know, the cave Is in
Edmonson county. Kentucky, about S.
miles southwest of Louisville, and not
far from Green river, into which the
caves subterranean waters empty. This
section Of Kentucky, where may be found
limestone beds frequently reaching a
thickness Of 600 feet, Is noted for its
rocky grottoes, sink holes and caverns.
The rocks in the vicinity of Mammoth
Cave give evidence Of but little disturb
ance by the dynamic forces of past
ages. 1t Is such areas Of limestone de-
posts. with comparatively level strata
and located somewhat above a drainage
level with small crevices or Joints, that
furnish the conditions for the formation
of underground passageways and cham
bers by the chemical and mechanical
agency Of underground waters
From a geological viewpoint Mammoth
It's formation having begun something
less than 100000 years ago, in the
Plocene age. The cave action began
after Green river had cut it's channel
down into the limestone stratum which
underlies this section. The rain water
with it's carbonic acid content, seeped
through the everything earth and pass
ing into and through the crevices and
joints Of the stone. at that time above
the level Of the river, began the work
of solution and erosion. These under
ground waters gathered along the planes
Of least resistance, and as the crevices
grew in size more and moro Of the sur.
face water was drained into them, and
as Green river cut it's bed deeper into
the limestone underlay the cave waters
kept pace with the process until what
had once been mere subterranean rills
grew into that remarkable underground
stream known as Echo river. which now
flows through the lowest levels Of the
cave and empties into Green river.
During the ages 1t has been at work
dssolving the stone and cutting Its way
along whore resistance was least, ever
seeking lower levels, It has left behind
1t the twisted. tortuous passageways
and large galleries and chambers which
form this mghtlest of all known cav
ems. According to biologists. It tool
Green river nearly 100000 years to cut
away its present bed. so the cave is es
timated to be almost as old. It first
came into prominence during the Wal
Of 1912. when the United States govern
ment needed nitrate TO make powder
Some Of the large entrance chambers o.
the cave had formed the winter habita
tions for myriads OF bats for many ages
and as n consequence the soil had be
come converted into Yuano beds with
large nitrate content. result tn
cave became nitrate mine whence mucl
Of the powder supply for the young ma
ton was obtained.