36 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 
party were anxious to enter the Cave on the 
night of our arrival,—thinking that it was a 
matter of little consequence whether it was day 
or night on the outside, knowing that perpetual 
night reigned within. It was soon ascertained, 
however, that parties were not permitted to 
enter except at stated hours,—at nine and at 
half-past nine o’clock in the morning,—accord- — 
ing to the route taken. This system was ex- 
plained as being necessary for the benefit of the 
guides, and for the proper regulation of the 
hotel arrangements. 
A guide who had been journeying through 
the Cave all the day of course would not feel 
willing to continue his travels through the night 
also. Physical exhaustion, if no other consider- 
ation, would render such a procedure imprac- 
_ ticable. Our own experience afterward enabled 
us to appreciate the force of the latter argument. 
An additional number of guides, undoubtedly, 
might be kept, but their services would be so 
rarely required that the proprietors do not feel 
justified in incurring the extra expense. 
This delay gave us an opportunity of taking . 
a survey of the premises. 
The Cave Hotel is large and commodious. 
It is built in the Southern style, with wide 
