14 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 
it was soon discovered that a surprising number 
- of pages were required to give even a brief in- 
telligible outline of the great cavern. 
It was then suggested that the sketch which 
had been commenced should be extended, and 
published in book-form, that the information it 
contained might be accessible to the general 
public, instead of being restricted to one or two 
friends, as at first designed. This suggestion, 
though not consonant with our feelings when - 
first proposed, has, upon reflection, been adopted. 
Desiring to obtain some profitable information 
in advance of our visit to the Cave, we applied 
successively to the principal booksellers in Bos- 
ton, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
Cincinnati for the purchase of a descriptive 
work, and were greatly surprised and disap- 
pointed by the answer in each case,—that not, 
one of them had any publication on the sub-— 
ject, neither had they any knowledge of the 
existence of such a work. This deficiency in 
the book-market appeared to us-extraordinary, 
for it is presumable that all persons of any 
education in this country, and many abroad, 
have heard of the existence of the Cave, and 
are aware that it is a curiosity of more than 
ordinary importance; it is therefore a matter 
