LURAY CAVERN, PAGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. 



453 



in breadth. Crossing the Ramble by a deep trench cnt through the 

 travertine lioor and the cave chiy, the party stood on the edge of Phito's 

 Chasm, a rift 500 feet long, 70 feet deep, and 10 to 50 feet across, and 

 with lighted candles in front of them sought to penetrate the darkness. 

 Fifty candles combine their ineffectual tires to dissi])ate the gloom, but 

 they only serve to indicate the locality of their possessors. Here is the 

 awe-inspiring spot in all the cave. There is greater beauty, richer 

 variety of form and color in many places, but no view stirs the sense of 

 dreadful mystery like that from the balustrade of Pluto's Chasm. Fol- 

 lowing the guides down a long, rocky descent, which bears awaj- to the 

 right past the edge of the chasm, the party reached the bottom of this dark 

 chamber. From this point a fine view is obtained of the Siiecter, a tall 

 snow-white stalagmite, looming up in the darkness in a very ghostly 

 manner. This is a cul de sac, and it is necessary to retrace one's steps to 



The Fish Market. 



the Fish Market before making a new departure. Indeed, the astonish- 

 ing fact was that the whole cavern occupies such a small area. In ]Mam- 

 moth Cave one can walk more than ten continuous miles without doub- 

 ling on his tracks. At Luray the chambers branch olf in most ftintastic 

 form about the entrance until one is entirely bewiklered. Again, in 

 Luray Cave there are no contracted s*queezes, no crawling, no break- 

 neck elimbings, no miry i)ools, but one may get about with almost as 

 much ease as in t-he open fields. 



