THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 79 
of being frequently submerged by the rise of the 
river, 1s always wet and muddy in the interior. 
In effecting our exit from this narrow passage 
on our return voyage, some ludicrous incidents 
occurred, owing to the necessary sacrifice of 
grace and decorum on the part of the ladies, 
as well as on that of the gentlemen; some of 
the party barely escaping being crushed by the 
unexpectedly sudden descent of heavier indi- 
viduals. 
If a disinterested observer could have wit- 
nessed the scene at this point,—the entire party 
in every possible awkward position, stooping 
low, lying down, some lustily crying out that 
they were being crushed by somebody, some 
laughing, and some complaining that the ceiling 
had damaged their heads,—we repeat, if a dis- 
interested observer had been present, the scene 
would have appeared to him as ludicrous in the 
extreme. 
Fortunately, however, for the comfort of 
visitors, this low ceiling does not extend more 
than fifteen or twenty feet from the entrance; 
beyond that distance the average height is 
about fifteen feet. At some points the river is 
two hundred feet wide. In depth it varies 
from ten to thirty feet. The ceiling is of an 
