CAVE 



1241 



CAVE DWELLERS 



capable of turning the tide of battle and in- 

 flicting decisive defeats. 



The original form of cavalry was similar* to 

 that of mounted infantry. Horses served a 

 good purpose by conveying men quickly to 

 parts of the battlefield where they were needed ; 

 when there they dismounted and fought as 

 infantry. Cromwell proved, as no other leader 

 before him had done, the value of concerted 

 action and the staggering weight of a blow 

 delivered by charging cavalry. The Cavaliers, 

 or soldiers of the king, were individually as 

 brave as Cromwell's troopers and probably 

 more expert with arms and horses, but they 

 lacked the unity of action that swept the 

 "Roundheads" to victory. Napoleon carried 

 the use of cavalry to a high state of perfection 

 and developed the finest cavalry leaders the 

 world had ever known. Waterloo proved, 

 however, that veteran infantry will withstand 

 the most furious cavalry onslaught. 



Modern cavalry regiments are armed with 

 swords or sabers, and carbines and pistols, or 

 with lances. The conditions of fighting, how- 

 ever, have greatly changed, and spectacular 

 cavalry charges are almost things of the past. 

 Cases may occur in which small numbers of 

 mounted men acting as patrols or scouts may 

 be opposed to each other. But if a charge in 

 the old style were attempted in warfare such 

 as prevailed in the War of the Nations, begin- 

 ning in 1914, men and horses would be de- 

 stroyed by machine-gun fire before they could 

 get within striking distance of the enemy. The 

 cavalry of the future will doubtless revert to 

 the mounted infantry type, use their horses 

 merely as a means of transportation, and fight 

 on foot from one position to another. 



The Cossacks of Russia formed the most 

 terrible cavalry regiments of Europe under the 

 old system of fighting, and they sustained their 

 century-old reputation as valiant warriors in 

 the War of the Nations. In the same gigantic 

 conflict the Uhlans of the German army, armed 

 with their long, sharp-pointed poles, were fully 

 as dauntless and brave. See ARMY. L.R.G. 



CAVE, or CAVERN, a hollow opening in the 

 crust of the earth, usually caused by the action 

 of water in the more or less soluble strata of 

 limestone rocks. In volcanic rocks caves were 

 sometimes formed by the action of gases while 

 the rock was in a plastic state, leaving hollows 

 or air holes similar to those formed in bread 

 while baking. To geologists caves are of great 

 interest, especially so when found to contain 

 animal remains, as often happens when the 



caves occur in limestone formations. The re- 

 mains are sometimes those of long-extinct ani- 

 mals, and at other times they consist of fos- 

 sils of animals that still exist. In the lime- 

 stone caves of England fossilized bones of 

 hyenas, reindeer, bears and wolves are fre- 

 quently found. Human remains, relics of pre- 

 historic man, have also been found in caves, 

 the walls of which bear traces of rude carvings 

 and drawings. See STONE AGE; BRONZE AGE. 



An interesting feature is found in the stalac- 

 tites and stalagmites which abound in lime- 

 stone caves. In many cases the stalactites, 

 hanging from the roof, have been joined by 

 stalagmites, resulting in a pillar or column 

 apparently supporting the roof. (See STALAC- 

 TITE.) These stalactites often assume fantastic 

 shapes and sometimes are of great beauty. In 

 one cave in Yorkshire, England, there is a 

 row of eight stalactites, shaped like icicles, pro- 

 ducing, when gently struck, the effect of a peal 

 of eight bells. 



Some caves resemble mere burrows; others 

 are of great extent, with vast, vaulted cham- 

 bers and branching passages miles in length. 

 The Mammoth Cave in Kentucky has more 

 than 150 miles of passages. The cave of Fred- 

 erickshall in Norway is noted for its great 

 depth, which is said to exceed 11,000 feet. The 

 Wyandotte Cave, in Indiana, and the Luray 

 Caverns in Virginia are celebrated for the 

 beauty of their stalactites. One of the most 

 remarkable caves in the world is Fingal'sCave, 

 on the island of Staffa off the coast of Scotland. 

 The walls and roof are formed by columns of 

 basalt, each perfectly shaped and finished as 

 if by the hand of man. See FINGAL'S CAVE; 

 LURAY CAVERNS; MAMMOTH CAVE; WYANDOTTE 

 CAVE. 



CAVE DWELLERS. In various parts of the 

 world there have been discovered interesting 

 caves of a former age, containing bones of 

 animals and human beings, remains of tools 

 and weapons and other debris. The examina- 

 tion and study of these have led scientists to 

 believe that ages ago such caves were the 

 habitation of primitive men and their fami- 

 lies. To these rude householders of a remote 

 past students of archaeology apply the name 

 cave dwellers, or cave men, and the caverns 

 in which they lived are classified according to 

 various geologic periods. The earliest cave 

 dwellers of Europe of whom there is much 

 detailed knowledge ranged over England and 

 Wales, France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary 

 and Switzerland. In their dwellings have been 



