Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-02
Expounding the Scenery
BY Frederic J. Haskin. !.

the strain f0ils on lBe Itpthft~Dook, at'
imagination and the ear drum.
All OF these pressircs are applied py the
highly organized and opulent gentlemen
who conduct Won i'm automobiles over the
wilderness that gave so much Of toll ard
danger To our forbears.
These conductors Of sightseeing parties
charge you @ good, steep prce, ana ~
order To give you money,S worth, tney
literally throw in an unbroken stream OF
conversation. You see the Rocky Mo II
tains in the same way you see Chinatown
or Coney Island But the mountains call
for more imagination than the city. In
the Garden Of the Gods, Tor example,
which looks TO the uninstructed behoider
like sort OF celestial stone quarry,
strewn with huge red monoliths, you are
called upon TO zee eamels, porcupines,
mushrooms, Indians and Oriental aren't
lecture.
The Cave of the Winds has its own
special guides and It's own special admit
tance charge, adding another dollar 10
your trip ticket. Here the sightseers are
collected and separated into small groups,
each guide taking about q dozen persons
through Although the system is eifcient,
occasionally two or three guides ana their
! parties get crowded into the same part Of
| the cave at once, 50 that il is difficult TO
| tell which part Of the spiel you are sup
| posed to be listening to. Is the particular
/ formation you are looking at a battle
| ship, or is it the elephant the other guide
is talking about?
LITTLE LURAY.
| The Cave Of the Winds Is merely an
other IlIray on a much smaller scale. 1t
/ contains the same sort Of stalactite and
stalagInitic ornamentation in the same
/ beautiful rainb0Y color combinations. II
| lacks the small lakes, creeks and springs Of
/ Luray, but there is an opening through
which drippir rs from the nearby cliff are
supposed TO how-so slowly that they
/ barely dampen the rocks. II is the slow
howirg OF this water over the iron, SUI
phur and copper deposits 10 the rocks
that causes the forming Of the stalag-
mites, according 10 the guide, who de-
| cIared that il required 100 years Of this
tedious process to form ono inch Of
stalaQmffe. So the great days Of the Cave
Of the Winds will be in the future
As in the Virginia cave, desperate et-
forts have been made to fnd appropriate
! names for all the conspicuous formations.
There Is an inverted fryirg pan, pig 3
head. a miniature battleship and large
alice of breakfast bacon. These are lighted
up with electric lights, carefully placed
about the walls in containers resembling
ordinary dustpans, if you are going n Tor
the Interpretation business. he hoor ot
the cave il carpeted with rubber cover
irg, designed TO keep the visitors from
slinDinq but every once in q while, some
careless person disregards this protection
and skids rapidly over the rocks. Bridges
have also been built At certain places 70
facilitate climbing, 80 that old ladies' and
babies can make the trip in safety and
comfort
"Onr first visitors used to make the
tr1p bv ladders and torches, said the
guide in explaining the various precau-
! tions. .eb1lt rov you folks get il easy with
electricity and stairs. This room we re IL
nov 4 called reception hall, because the
early visitors used 10 leave their visiting
cards here.
This. he announced. leading thf
wav through q tall, wide portion of ms
cave. rs Lovers Lane. Notice how easy
il is 70 travel On the right is the larges'
stalagnite In the cave, 80 inches long We
have 10 put il in wire cage, not because
/ it's dangerous but 70 keep II from Deins
broken of by tourists. Passing tnrougI
this opening. we come TO Diamond Hail
The diamonds are principally on th'
ceilirg. This is the original home OF m
: shredded wheat biscuit, which YOU VII
see on the left. Also 3 group q chestnu
burrs.
Next we come to Findley hall, namet
] for a Colorado geologlst. II YOU WI
; stoop down YOU can get view OF on
5 bar, e'ephant Near il Is Simmer
ter T h md the veiled Madonna. On tn
&C. ng we 20 out you viii see the lrlsh
ma clay pipe.
2 Here i the bridal chamber-is there
. minister in the party? This may almost D
said to be running marriages INTO 70
ground. Several marriages have actual,
been performed here. Over there IS Lot
wife. who turned TO rubber and tnen Z
salt And next is Dante's Inferno, a.
though why it should be 50 close to IN
bridal chamber never could see.
THE HAIRPIN SUPERSTITION.
seHere al the end OF our trip is cOlec
tlon of hairpins-not stalagmltlc, bu
real wire ones-for the benefit OF oi'
maids. ANY old maid in the party IS aske,
10 leave a hairpin. This generosity WI
bring her luck IN getting married. II an.
members OF the party are already mar
ried and want 8 divorce, leave a hs1rplIl
not on the wall. but on the ceiling Don
be embarrassed bv the lack or precedent
There aren't any on the ceiling yet, o0
TINS Il a AOoO AAtiiC " Nt~AA .-tN 49,
The trip Being completed, SeveTa
members of the party desired TO TAX
photographs Of the cave and its speei
mems. and the guide obhgingly produced
tripod for the benefit of the tourists
One couple, who had q small baby witt
them. placed the youngster on a large
cold, stalagmitic rock, but he refused :,
enter the spirit of the thing and had 70 b
hurried from the cave, loudly protesting
According to the last words OF the guide
the Cave Of the Winds was discovered b.
two small bows in 1856. The parents o
the bows are said to have been great.
= disappointed that the cave did not con
tain gold mine, which, fgurativel.
/ speaking, it does today. 1t is estimate'
that 900 persons visit 1t every day
which attendance at S1.10 head con
stitutes a very satisfactory revenue. Th
Cave of the Winds" is title based on
slight draught, which may be felt at on
! end.
THE INEVITABLE CURlo SHOP.
! Connected with the cave, Of course,
I the usual curio shop. Its temperatun
I seems to be lowering around $40 degree
I after the COOL damp atmosphere of tn
! cave. SO that 1t holds only the iieetin
! attention of the tourists. At its door tn
rubberneck wagon was waiting, ano