CHAPTER V. 



THE FORMATION OF THE CAVE, AND ITS CONNECTION WITH 

 GREEN RIVER. 



Before entering the Cave, it will be proper 

 for us to consider the agencies concerned in its 

 formation. These may be divided into chemical 

 and mechanical. We strictly follow the words 

 of Dr. Wright in these explanations, knowing 

 that his education in this particular, and his op- 

 portunities for observation, eminently qualify 

 him for giving correct views on the subject. 



Of the chemical agencies, which were un- 

 doubtedly the most remarkable and important, 

 he says, " There can be no doubt but that the 

 solvent action of water holding carbonic acid in 

 solution was the primary agency concerned in 

 the formation of the Cave. Thus the limestone, 

 or carbonate of lime, which constitutes the strata 

 of rock through which the Cave runs, is not sol- 

 uble in water until it combines with an addi- 

 tional proportion of carbonic acid, by which it is 

 transformed into the bicarbonate of lime. In thi.s 

 ( 48 ) 



