66 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 



when it was first discovered. The chamber 

 itself is shaped like an inverted bowj, which fact 

 may have suggested the name. 



It is said that the Indians formerly explored 

 the Cave with long reeds, filled with deer's fat, 

 to light them along. 



Black Snake Avenue, which enters the Main 

 Cave near the stone cottages, communicates with 

 Wooden Bowl Cave. It receives its name from 

 its serpentine course and black walls. It is 

 rarely shown to visitors, as it possesses but few 

 objects of interest. 



We next pass a steep declivity and a flight of 

 steps, called the Steps of Time, and enter Mar- 

 tha's Palace. The Palace is about forty feet in 

 height, and sixty in diameter. It is not partic- 

 ularly attractive, and it appears singular that it 

 should have been accorded so grand a name. 

 A short distance beyond Martha's Palace is a 

 spring of clear, potable water, which visitors 

 generally take advantage of to quench their 

 thirst, as there is a considerable distance, in 

 some parts of the Cave, between the fountains 

 of good drinking-water. 



The Side-Saddle Pit, over which rests a dome 

 sixty feet in height, is reached by passing 

 through what is called the Arxjhed Way; the 



