86 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 



etc., made in the Mammoth Cave. Feeling in- 

 terested in everything connected with the Cave, 

 particularly the scientific observations, we read 

 the letter with more than ordinary attention, but 

 were disappointed to discover that mere conjec- 

 tures of a sensational character were presented 

 to the uninformed public as the result of scien- 

 tific investigations. The writer begins by say- 

 .ing, "Will you permit me through the columns 

 of your paper to invite attention to some very 

 remarkable natural facts, communicated to me 

 by Dr. (naming a physician), of this city, which 

 came under his observation during a visit of sci- 

 entific research to that geological freak of nature, 

 the Mammoth Cave ? They seem to be worthy 

 of record, but, as the doctor modestly intimated, 

 may have been the subject of observation by 

 others as well as himself, although perhaps not 

 possessing the same degree of interest. Keenly 

 alive to everything, however remotely connected 

 with his favorite profession, the doctor, it seems, 

 was perfectly astonished at the fixed and chronic 

 state of blindness and deafness in which he found 

 the permanent inhabitants of the Cave. These 

 beings, it appears, are not only without eyes, or 

 even the trace of an orbit, but, so far as could 

 be ascertained by careful and indefatigable in- 



