THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 131 
to the bottom of it; but he shrank from the peril. 
A few years ago, a learned and bold man resolved 
to do what no one before him had dared to do; 
and, making his arrangements with great care 
and precaution, he had himself lowered down 
by a strong rope a hundred feet, but at that point 
his courage failed him, and he called aloud to be 
drawn out. No human power could ever have 
induced him to repeat the appalling experiment. 
“A couple of weeks ago, however, a young gen- 
tleman of Louisville (Wm. Courtland Prentice), 
whose nerves never trembled at mortal peril, 
being at the Mammoth Cave with Professor 
Wright, of our city, and others, determined, no 
matter what the dangers might be, to explore 
the depths of the Maelstrom. Mr. Proctor, the 
enterprising proprietor of the Cave, sent to 
Nashville, and procured a long rope of great 
strength expressly for the purpose. The rope 
and some necessary timbers were borne by the 
guides and others to the point of the exploration. 
The arrangements being soon completed, the 
rope, with a heavy fragment of rock affixed to it, 
was let down and swung to and fro to dislodge 
any loose pieces of rocks that would be likely to 
fall at the touch. Several were thus dislodged, 
and the long-continued reverberations, rising up 
