TEN INDIANA CAVES, 115 



SHILOH CAVE. 



The entrance to this cave is at the bottom of a sink- 

 hole a few rods north of Shiloh Church and about 

 seven miles north-west of Bedford, Lawrence County. 

 Except after a heavy rain, no Avater Hows through the 

 entrance, but a stream runs the entire length of the 

 main cave, entering it from beneath a great mass of 

 fallen rock which has partially closed the entrance, 

 and meandering from side to side on the floor in its 

 onward course. On entering, one descends rapidly 

 for about twenty feet, and then reaches the general 

 level of the main passage. This passage' is from fif- 

 teen to twenty -five feet high and about the same 

 width for 2,000 feet, which was as far as it was 

 explored, the water becoming too deep to wade 

 beyond that point. It far exceeded any of the previ- 

 ous caves visited in the number and size of its stalac- 

 tites and stalagmites, many of which were of exceed- 

 ing clearness. In the words of Prof. John Collett, 

 who visited the cave in 1873 : " The lofty sides are 

 draped and festooned with stalactites, sometimes hang- 

 ing in graceful folds, or ribbed with giant corruga- 

 tions. Above, the roof and overhanging sides bristle 

 with quill-like tubes, fragile as glass, each tipped with 

 a drop of water which sparkles in the lamplight like 

 a crystal jewel." 



Three hundred feet from the entrance three jets of 

 water pour down from the right wall of the cave and 

 add to the size of the stream along its floor. These 

 falls vary in height from seven to ten feet, and to- 



