THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 79 



of being frequently submerged by the rise of the 

 river, is 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 



