218 APPENDIX. 



of New York; and Prof. C. W. Wright, of Louisville 

 (author of the Guide Book of Mammoth Ciive). 



Mr. Proctor informs us that near this Cave there is 

 another, rivaling it in beauty, which he explored in 1866; 

 and, from the fact that many of the avenues are closed 

 with masses of stalactites, he feels confident that a com- 

 munication can be effected between the two. The stalac- 

 tite and stalagmite formations in Diamond Cave are more 

 numerous and far more beautiful than any found in Mam- 

 moth Cave. An English traveler remarked that, after 

 many years' travel through Europe and America in search 

 of geological and other objects of interest, he had not met 

 with such a gem as Diamond Cave. 



The following is a brief outline of the principal objects 

 of interest to be found in this Cave : 



In the Rotunda, which is seventy feet in diameter and 

 thirty feet high, are to be seen Cleopatra's Needle, a sta- 

 lagmite, five feet high and six inches in diameter, incrusted 

 with the oxide of iron ; Serpent's Head, directly over the 

 Needle, five feet in length, depending from the ceiling, and 

 bearing a striking resemblance to the head of a large 

 snake, with its mouth open; Closed Lily is suspended 

 from the ceiling, and closely resembles the flower after 

 which it is named : it is eight feet long and two feet in 

 diameter ; Elfin's Grotto is a lovely alcove, fifteen feet 

 above the floor of the Rotunda, the entrance of which is 

 ornamented with beautiful stalagmites and stalactites : the 

 crystallizations within assume every imaginable shape. 



