The Coconino sun., 1924-05-16
NATURAL CAVE LITTLE
KNOWN LOCAL WONDER

4
One of the most remarkable and
4 least known freaks of nature in the
vicinity of Flagstaff is what is COM
monty known as Bellemont cave,
which the forest service has renamed
Natural cave, better name, because
/ its former name gave the impression
! that it is close to Bellemont, which
/ it is not.
There are two ways of getting to
/ Natural cave from Flagstaff. One is
by way of Bellemont, turning in at
the gate and going due north from
the store there. That is, you start
due north. But you follow winding
logging road and, unless you are sing
ularly fortunate, which, ninety-nine
times out of a hundred you will not
be, you will trail off on some of the
j other numerous roads and perhaps,
never reach the cave at all.
A Flagstaff party went to the cave
Sunday. They started with all the
confidence in the world. Not far up
in the woods north of Bellemont they
had to choose between roads, and
chose the wrong one. They returned
to the junction point and tried anoth-
er road. Luckily they ran into George
Elliott, who as best he could gave
them directions, which they followed
in general way. They happened to
get to point 21a miles from the
cave, at Wild Bill tanks, and there
found forest service sign pointing
the way.
i Coming back the party returned to
the forest service sign, then turned
in the direction in which it was indi-
Gated that Crater Lake, Fort Valley
and Flagstaff lay. There was no way
of getting off that road and no trou-
BILE in getting back home.
Bellemont or Natural cave, as near
as can be determined from the forest
service map, lies in the east part OF
section "a, township % N, range 5
E. 1t is south-southeast of Kendrick
mountain, three to four miles west by
northwest of the Hochderffer ranch,
i 10 miles north h-northeast of Bellemont.
It is 15h miles from Flagstaff. The
distance by way of Bellemont is %
miles.
At the cave there are some small
monuments built of rock. The en-
trance to the cave is simply rocky
hole in the ground, about 30 feet
across. You Chamber over the rocks
down into the hole, descending at an
angle of about As degrees for hum
dred feet or so, when the descent is
less rapid.
4 Near the mouth of the cave there
are small Sheets of ice and sizable
icicles. It's cold. Also, after you are
in hundred feet or so, it is awful
dark
With torches, invaders are up
against an illusion. East, toward San
Francisco peaks, in the direction in
whichsyou are entering, dozen feet
away there appears to be a solid rock
wall. AS you advance, the wall re-
cedes. You keep right on going
ahead, the wall receding, until you
have travelled, if you care to travel
that far, about one and half miles.
Some distance in there is a side pas
sage. But it circles around and re-
turns to the main cave. In one sec
ton the roof is far too high to
see with any ordinary light.
There are no stalactites nor stall
agmites. Just rock-that's all. Moth
ing very pretty about it, but it does
give one funny feeling to be down
there hemmed in by rock above, below
and at two sides and on the other two
sides by Stygian darkness. If you
don't know just what Stygian dark
ness is, go into the cave and find out.
The farther end of the cave is evi-
IDENTIFY cave-in. If there had been
: no cave-in, perhaps one could walk
clear under the San Francisco peaks
and come-who knows-in Dead
Mans Flat or Black Bill park, Is or
20 miles or more away.
1t is likely, also, that the cave
reaches much farther west. Appar-
emily the opening was made by a
; cave-in from the top, which shut off
the part of the long tunnel extending
; from the entrance toward the west.
Aside from the darkness, one can
get plenty of creepy feeling by look
ing at the massive boulders underfoot
that have fallen off the ceiling, then
looking at the ceiling and wondering
which of the looser-looking sections
will next take notion to fall, and,
whether any of them will light on you.
Also, while you imagine it's a good
many feet from you to the surface
of the ground above, you hope there's
no one up there jumping around too
hard; he might loosen rock or two
and give you gravestone uncarven.
Someone said the other day he
! took a flashlight in the cave. But
he didn't take big enough flash to
, give him much of picture. And, he
added, he never is going to take big
flash, because he has no hankering
to stand down in there and start
J something he may have no control
over.
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