The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-09-02
ExPoUND1NG THE SCENERY.

I same way you see Chinatown or COney
| Island But the mountains call for
more imagination than the city. In
the Garden of the Gods. for example,
which looks to the uninstructed be-
tholder like a sort of celestial stone
quarry. strewn with huge red mono
I iiths, you are called upon to see cam
| els. porcupines. mushrooms, Indians
and oriental architecture
The Cave of the Winds has its own
! special guides and its own special ad
mittance charge. adding another dol
! lar to your trip ticket Here the sight
| seers are collected and separated into
| small groups, each guide taking about
a dozen persons thru. Attic the sys-
tenn is efficient, occasionally two or
| three guides and their parties get
crowded into the same part of the
! cave at once, SO that it is difficult to
tell which part of the spiel you are
supposed to be listening to. Is the
/ particular information you are look
ing at a battleship, or is it the eIe-
plant the other guide is talking
about?
A Little Luray.
The Cave or the Winds is merely
| another Luray on a much smaller
| scale. 1t contains the same sort of
| stalactite and stalagmitic ornamental
ton in the same beautiful rainbow
! color combinations. 1t lacks the small
| lakes, creeks and springs of Luray. but
\ there is an opening thru which drip
| uinSs from the nearby cliff are supp
| posed to flow-so slowly that they
| barely dampen the rocks 1t is the
| slow flowing of this water aover the
| iron, sulphur and copper deposits in
| the rocks that causes the forming of
| the stalagmites, according to the guide,
! who declared that it required one hun
bred years of this tedious process to
! form one inch of stalagmite. So the
great days of the. Cave of the Winds
will be in the future.
As in the Virginia cave, desperate
! efforts have been made to find appro-
| pirate names for all the conspicuous
formations. There is an Inverted Fry
ing Pan, a Pigs Head, a Miniature
/ Battleship, and large Slice of Break
! fast Bacon. These are lighted up with
electric lights, carefully placed about
| the walls in containers resembling or
! binary dustpans, If you are going in for
| the Interpretation business. The floor
of the cave is carpeted with q rubber
covering, designed to keep the visitors
! from slipping, but every once in a
while some careless person disregards
| this protection and skids rapidly oYar
the rocks. Bridges have also been
/ built at certain places to facilitate
| climbing, so that old ladies and babies
| can make the trip in safety and COM
1 fort
"Our first visitors used to make the
| trip by ladders and torches" said the
guide in explaining the various pre-
| cautions. but now you folks get 1t
! easy with electricity and stairs. This
7 room we're in now is called Reception
| Hall, because the early visitors used
to leave their visiting cards here.
This, he announced, leading the
way thru a tall, wide portion of the
/ cave, sis Lovers Lane Notice how
! easy it is to travel. On the right is
| the largest stala gmite in the cave,
thirty-six inches long. We have put it
| in wire cage, not because it's danger
/ Gus, but to keep it from being broken
off by tourists. Passing thru this
! opening, we come to Diamond Hall
ceiling. This is the original home of
! the Shredded Wheat Biscuit, which
you will see on the left. Also a group
! Of Chestnut Burrs-
"Next we come to Findley Hall.
/ named for a Colorado geologist. If
you will stoop down you can get a
view of our baby elephant. Near it is
| a Shriner's5 temple, and the Yelled
| Madonna. On the ceiling as we go out
you will see the Irishman's clay pipe.
Here is the Bridal Chamber-is
there a minister in the party? This
may almost be said to be running mar
riages into the ground. Several mar
riageS have actually been performed
| here. Over there is Lots wife. who
| turned TO rubber and then to salt.
And next is Dante's Inferno. altho why
/ it should be so close to the Bridal
Chamber never could see.
The Hairpin Superstition
| "Here at the end of our trip IS a
collection of hairpins-not stala gmitic
but real wire ones-for the benefit of
old maids. Any old maid in the party
is asked to leave a hairpin. This gem
crosby will bring her luck in getting
married. If any members of the party
are already married and want a d.
vorce, leave hairpin not on the wall.
but on the ceiling. Don't be embar-
raised by the lack of precedent. There
aren't any on the ceiling yet. but this
is a good time to start the collection"
The trip being completed. several
meplbers of the party desired to take
photographs of the cave and its speci-
mems, and the guide obligingly pro-
duced a tripod for the benefit of the
tourists. One couple who had a small
baby with them, placed the youngster
on . large. cold. stalagmitic rock. but
he refused to enter the spirit of the
thing and had to be hurried from the
cave. loudly protesting.
/ According TO the last words of the
guide. the Cave of the Winds was dis
covered by two small boys in 1886.
The parents of the boys are said to
have been greatly disappointed that
the cave did not contain gold mine.
which figuratively speaking. it does
tOuay- II - ESTIMATED mat t'VVV per
sons visit it every day. which atten-
dance at S1.1O q head constitutes a
very satisfactory revenue The Gave
of the Winds" is a title based on a
slight draught, which may be felt at
one end.
The Inevitable Curio Shop.
| Connected with the cave. of course,
is the usual curio shop. Its temper
ature seems to be lowering around
140 degrees after the cool, damp at
mosphere of the cave, so that Il holds
only the fleeing attention of the
tourists. At its door the ~rubberneck
wagon was waiting. and the party was
soon seated and on its way, the chauf-
feur taking up the business Of inter
preting the landscape where the guide
in the cave left off.
See that square hole in the cliff
over there" he said. as the car slid
| .1..----s,--