210 THE MAMMOTH CAVE. 



Cave must have resulted from a total miscon- 

 ception of the nature of the disea.se, as it is 

 well known to the medical profession that the 

 absence of light will develop the scrofulous 

 diathesis, and cause a deposit of tubercles in the 

 lungs. 



The truth of this position was established in 

 the cases of those who resorted to the Cave for 

 relief; and the majority of those who remained 

 any considerable length of time died within 

 periods varying from three days to three weeks 

 after leaving it. Those patients who remained 

 in the Cave three or four months presented a 

 frightful appearance. The face was entirely 

 bloodless, eyes sunken, and pupils dilated to 

 such a degree that the iris ceased to be visible, 

 so that, no matter what the original color 

 of the eye might have been, it soon appeared 

 black. 



Very few diseases, not even consumption, are 

 aggravated by short and easy trips in the Cave. 

 Chronic dysentery and diarrhoea are said to 

 have been cured by a short visit to the Cave, 

 after all the usual remedies had failed. 



In those diseases in which absolute silence 

 and the total exclusion of light are indicated, 

 the Cave, above all other places, possesses pre- 



