10 FAUNA OF MAYFIELD'S CAVE. 



first time, we have encountered the cave stream. Less than 20 yards 

 from where it disappears in the cave the stream appears above ground 

 as a spring. The roof of this passage is a continuation of the same 

 stratum that forms the roof of the main cave. This branch of the 

 cave has been formed by the cave stream and is 3 or 4 feet wide in 

 parts. At places it is 15 feet high, but at other portions the stream 

 has worked under, leaving large masses of soil and stone above its course 

 over which one must crawl. After 200 feet the passage becomes too 

 small to follow farther. The bottom of this branch is on a lower level 

 than that of any other part of the cave. 



From the mound to "36" the main cave is quite irregular. At "34" 

 the stream is found for the first time in the main cave. It here becomes 

 lost under the wall at the side of the passage. The continuation of this 

 stream is encountered in the side passage at " 27. " From ' '34' ' to ' '37' ' 

 the stream winds along through a narrow channel 2 to 4 feet deep and 

 a foot wide, dissolved out of the limestone of the floor. From "37" 

 inward to the end of the main cave the passage is generally wide and 

 low, being 12 to 20 feet by 3.5 to 5 feet, with here and there small pools 

 connected by the stream which winds back and forth across the passage 

 and in places disappears at the side of the cave. At "42" the main 

 passage terminates; the stream comes out from under the wall. How- 

 ever, a slide through a small hole brings one to another part of the cave, 

 a long, narrow room ("43" and "44"), through which the stream runs 

 and which is much like a portion of the main cave. Another crawl 

 brings one to a room 40 feet by 25 feet by 9 feet high, from the 

 southeast corner of which the cave continues as a "cork-screw" passage, 

 a'narrow and very crooked water-worn cavern in a sort of shaly lime- 

 stone. It is on a higher level than the rest of the cave and appears to 

 be above the stratum of hard limestone which forms the roof of the 

 main cave. From this passage comes the stream of water so often 

 mentioned. The beginning of this passage is about 2. 5 feet wide by 4 feet 

 high. It bends back and forth many times in_ a most bewildering 

 manner, leading in a general southeasterly direction. It becomes grad- 

 ually smaller and after about 300 feet becomes too small for further 

 exploration. 



In many places along the sides of the cave there are deposits of soil 

 which extend almost to the roof. The so-called "mound" is a place in 

 the cave where this earth fills the whole passage to within 18 inches of 

 the roof. The mound and these banks of earth indicate that the cave 

 was obstructed after having become near its present size. This obstruc- 

 tion was probably a large quantity of limestone which had tumbled in 

 from the roof near " 22. " At any rate, there was sufficient obstruction 



