THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



15 



may wonder why such a eubterranean territory | 

 has not lon<:^ ago been completely explored. Tl\e 

 reason is. tliat visiters have their curiosity satisfied j 

 without accomplishirij» so great a latsor. It would 

 require a great length of time to examine or travel i 

 its w hole extent. The cave has been once inlia- 

 biled. The workmen, in dJL^ging up the earth for 

 Ralipetre, Ibund the remams of cane torches in 

 great aboniiance, nnd Ir.quently old moccasins. 

 In a room called the deserted chamber, which is 

 an apartment elevated some feet above the main 

 cave, are the imprints ol' liuman footsteps in the 

 eand, not more than (uur inches in length. And 

 near seven miles in the main cave from its mouth 

 p.re the evidences of that part of the cave having 

 been inhabited by great numbers of persons. 

 About a mile and a iialf from the mouth of the 

 cave a branch makes off to the right from the 

 main cave ; — this is what is called the haunted 

 room, named li-om the echo which answers sound 

 made in liiat apartment. In this room are a great 

 abundance of stalactites, iianging from the roof 

 like icicles from the eaves ol a house. They are 

 of every variety of shape whirh the imagination 

 ran picture. One of these stalactites is of very 

 h^rge size, and hollow ; and when struck, sounds 

 so loud that it can be heard a considerable dis- 

 tance. This is called the Bell. Another is in the 

 sltape of an armed chair. 



This chair was called "Wilkins's Chair," 

 named after the worthy Chas. VVdkins, of Lex- 

 ington, brother of our Ibrmer minister to Russia, 

 who was at that time one of the proprietors of the 

 cave. This arm chair i-: nearly as large as one of 

 the columns of the Exchange, and about ten 

 feet in height. It is solid and ponderous, and of 

 that species of rock called fluor spar. It has been 

 formed by the action of water from above the sur- 

 face, penetrating the rock and carrying with it its 

 minute particles, which, as the water separated, 

 left the particles to adhere together, an(l by the 

 action ol" the air to harden and become solid rock. 

 Thus it is that many of the strata of our earth 

 are formed. The decomposing of one body affords 

 materials lor the composing of another. Had this 

 water, holding this mineral or earthy matter in 

 solution, penetrated wood, it would have filled its 

 pores, and changed it into stone, retaining its ori- 

 ginal form, and becoming what is usually called a 

 petrifaction. This room, containing such abun- 

 dance of stalactites, is about a half of a mile in 

 length and about twenty rods in width ; — and my 

 opinion is that the land on the earth's surface 

 above this apartment is level, which allows the 

 surface water to settle down through the rock. 

 Where the land above is rolling, the rain water 

 runs immediately off; hence the dryness of the 

 rooms underneath the sideling knobs. The walls 

 of this room, which are of solid limestone, are 

 covered with a white incrustation, similar in ap- 

 pearance to the coating of the inside of a tea- 

 kettle in which hard water has been boiled (or a 

 length of lime ; — and on some places the incrusta- 

 tion is chequered with black lines, adding to its 

 beauty and appearance. At the side of this room 

 the traveller descends a sand hill about sixty-feet, 

 at the bottom of which is a passage on the lelt 

 (about four leet in width, fifteen in height, and 

 about fifty in length,) to another room or apart- 

 ment running parallel with the last. This pass- 

 age is a great curiosity — exhibiting columns of 



beautiful shape, on one side, and caves or inden- 

 tations on the opposite side, of a corresponding 

 shape and size. To the first view ilie rock ap- 

 pears to have been septirated by some convulsion 

 of nature. Bui such was not the ca>e : the top 

 of the passage is arched with the same solid rock, 

 which would render it im|)ossible that such a 

 cause should have produced this effect. It is na- 

 ture that has arranged these correspondinij co- 

 lumns and curves according to the laws of afhtniy, 

 attraction, crystallization, &c. &c. The rooai 

 we are now in is called the " pond room," from 

 the circumstance of there being oi\ is surface a 

 small pond or basin of water, of a few feet in 

 circumlerence, and about three feet in depth. Th's 

 water is of crystal clearness, the smallest object 

 thrown into it may be distinctly seen on its bottom. 

 Although this basin ts three leet deep, it has the 

 appearance of being not more than two inches in 

 depth, and a gentleman who had the curiosity to 

 attempt to )ump across it, did not quite reach the 

 opposite side, and found himself half his depth in 

 water. Thus it seems that a man cannot always 

 trust his own eyes, and although persons may 

 sometimes be very positive in regard to matters 

 and things, still, like this gentleman, who under- 

 took to Jump across the pond, may unfortunately 

 find themselves positively mistaken. The water 

 in this pond was what I term pure xoaier — holding 

 nothing at all in solution. Ev^ery earthy particle 

 had been f)reci|)itated by time and temperature, 

 and the stillness of the atmosphere favors such an 

 operation. What may be the properties of the 

 surface which surround this body of water to^ 

 refract the rays of light from our lamps, so as to 

 make the water appear of less depth than its true 

 depth, I cannot determine. 



Near to the b^isin of water in the pond room, 

 is a pile of round stone, about the size of paving 

 stone, quite black, and covered with an incrusta- 

 tion of a semi-vitrified substance, which renders 

 the appearance nnich like a pile of cinders. 

 V'isiters have named this place " Vulcan's work- 

 s'lop." In one part of this room, a body of water 

 lails in a solid column, from a circular liole in the 

 roof, about the size of the head of a barrel, and 

 peilectly round, into a well in the bottom of the 

 cave of about the same shape, but of larger size 

 and of great depth. 



The main cave, in those places where it is inter- 

 cepted by other rooms or branches, is (renerally of 

 •rreat height and tncreased width. The traveller, 

 in passing up the main cave, frequently meets 

 with rooms and branches which are inaccessible, 

 Irom the fact that entrance to them is several feet 

 above his head, and can only be reached by means 

 of a ladder. There are also va?t numbers of 

 apartments running in various directions under- 

 neath, and the sound of the footsteps denote where 

 these apartments are. Great numbers of these 

 branches and apartments have never been visited. 

 The cave may truly be said to be a perfect wilder- 

 ness to explore. About 1 1 miles from the mouth, 

 the walls and roof of the main cave are very 

 hiizh, and covered with incrustations o( the purest 

 white and deepest black, checkered in every variety 

 and interspersed with beautiful crystallizations of 

 every size. Some of the incrustations have a 

 shining frosted appearance, while others are with- 

 out any such ornament, presenting a pleasing, 

 beautiful, and harmonious contrast. When the 



