272 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



APR. 



that dame Nature had not builded their 

 organ exactly as lie would like to have it, 

 therefore he was obliged to do the best he 

 could under the circumstances. I was ful- 

 ly agape, not only with eyes, but mouth 

 wide open. Said organ was only a collec- 

 tion of stalactites, but, to tell the truth, it 

 did look somewhat like a great pipe-organ. 

 Some of the bass pipes were perhaps a foot 

 through, old and gray with age, while the 

 highest notes were made by striking with 

 his cane some of the smaller delicate white 

 icicles, such as I have described, and I tell 

 you the music was not only funny but good. 

 The heavy bass was not quite in tune, but 

 it rather added to the performance to hear 

 some of those great fellows u grunt," as it 

 were, their part of the melody. I believe 

 he played five different pieces in all — Green- 

 ville, Yankee Doodle, and a simple melody 

 for which I know no name except that we 

 used to call it " My Father and Mother were 

 Irish." 



saw the Cauliflower Garden, where dame 

 Nature is growing cauliflowers of alabaster. 

 They just grew up, and were all formed 

 from a damp rock. Alabaster stars were 

 growing on the walls of the cavern in many 

 places where it is damp, and I am told that 

 a damp fog that is seen in some places de- 

 posits this white carbonate of lime on the 

 walls and ceilings of the cavern. Many 

 other things not mentioned here were not 

 particularly different from Mammoth Cave, 

 in Kentucky. This cavern, however, is so 

 high up in the mountain that there are no 

 rivers or lakes such as Mammoth Cave fur- 

 nishes. Its special attraction is the beauty 

 of the stalactitic formations. Many of 

 them are so translucent, that, when your 

 lamp is held on the opposite side, they look 

 very much like a coal of lire, and every one 

 of them, big and little, gives forth these 

 musical notes. 



When I got out of the cave I was ready 

 for the/rest of that spring water, corked up 



THE PIPE-ORGAN OF MANITOU UKAND CAVKKN. 



The concluding piece on the organ was an 

 imitation of the Swiss bell - ringers, and 

 some parts of it were almost complete. If 

 you shut your eyes you would imagine you 

 saw the performers as they threw their bells 

 on the table and picked up others during a 

 rapid performance ; and yet he does it all 

 with simply a couple of sticks, selecting the 

 proper stalactite from among the confused 

 group, just as nature has placed them. 

 I clapped my hands and stamped my feet, 

 but 1 felt that I was not able to do just- 

 ire to the occasion. 



On our way out we passed the North 

 Star, which shone from the depths of a cav- 

 ern to which we could not well gain access. 

 The guide explained it as simply a drop of 

 water on the bottom of a stalactite. Then I 



in the bottle. I also had another good look 

 through the telescope. Although the build- 

 ing is very securely made, right on the rock, 

 every footstep on the floor shook the instru- 

 ment so that Pike's Peak seemed toppling 

 as if they had an earthquake. When I 

 spoke about going to the top of it, the guide 

 said no one could get up there at that sea- 

 son of the year. The rocks and every thing 

 else were covered with ice, and it was in- 

 tensely cold. When I reminded him of the 

 smoke coming from the chimney, he said 

 the U. S. Signal Service requires a man to 

 stay there for the purpose of scientific ob- 

 servation. Down the mountain I started 

 again, and ere long I was at the foot of 

 Rainbow Falls. Now, although the sun 

 shone forth brightly, and the water poured 



