314 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



a post, and but three or four Eng- 

 lish miles distant from thence are 

 the caves mentioned, near Gailen- 

 reuth and Klausstein, twosmall vil- 

 lages, insignificant in themselves, 

 but become famous for tiie discove- 

 ries made in their neighbourhood. 



The tract of hills is there broken 

 off by many small and narrow val- 

 lies, confined mostly by steep and 

 high rocks, here and there over- 

 hangingand threatening, as it were, 

 to fall and crush all iseneath ; and 

 everywhere thereabouts, are to be 

 met withobjects, which suggest the 

 idea of their being evident vestages 

 of some general and mighty catas- 

 trophe which happened in the pri- 

 meval times of the globe. 



The strata of these hills consist 

 chiefly of lime-stone of various co- 

 lour and texture, or of marl and 

 sandstones. The tract of lime-stone 

 hills abounds witli petrifactions of 

 various kinds. 



The main entrance to the cave 

 at Gailenreuth opens near the sum- 

 mit of a limestone hill towards the 

 east. An arch, near seven feet 

 high, leads into a kind of anti- 

 chamber, 80 feet in length, and 

 300 leet in circumference, which 

 constitutes the vestibule of four 

 other caves. This anti-chamber is 

 lofty and airy, but has no light ex- 

 cept what enters by its open arch ; 

 its bottom is level, and covered 

 with black mould ; although the 

 common soil of the environs is loam 

 and mark 



By several circumstances it ap- 

 pears, that it had been made use of 

 in turbulent times as a place of re- 

 fuge. 



from this vestibule, or first cave, 

 a dark and narrow alley opens in 

 the corner at the south end, and 

 lotds into the secoud cave, which is 



about 60 feet long, 18 high, and 

 40 broad. Its sides and roof are 

 covered, in a wild and rough man- 

 ner, with stalactites, coluinns of 

 whicii are hanging from the roof, 

 others rising from the bottom, meet- 

 ing the first in many whimsical 

 , shapes. 



The air of this cave, as well Us 

 of all the rest, is always cool, and 

 has, even in the height of sumJ 

 mer, been found below temperate." 

 Caution is therefore necessary toils 

 visitors ; for it is remarkable, that 

 people having spent any time in this 

 or the other caverns, always on their 

 coming out again appear pale, 

 which in part may be owing to the 

 coolness of the air, and in part 

 likewise to tiie particular exhala- 

 tions within the caves. A very 

 narrow, winding and troublesome 

 passage opens farther into a 



Third cave, or chamber of a 

 roundish form, and about 30 feet 

 diameter, covered all over with 

 stalactites. Very near its entrance 

 there is a perpendicular descent 

 of about 20 feet, into a dark .rnd 

 frightful abyss ; a ladder must be 

 brought to descend into it, and 

 caution is necessary in usii>g it, on 

 account of the rough and slippery 

 stalactites. When you are down, 

 you enter into a gloomy cave of 

 about 15 feet diameter, and 30 feet 

 high, making properly but a seg- 

 ment of the third cave. 



In the passage to this third cave, 

 some teetli and fragments of bones 

 arc found ; but coming down to the 

 pit of the cave, you are every way, 

 surrounded by a vast heap of animal 

 remains. The bottom of this cave 

 is paved with a stalactical crust of 

 near a foot in thickness; large and 

 small fragments of all sorts of bont^s 

 are scattered evei^ Where on the 



surface 



