166 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



Before us in the dim candle light was a towering 

 mass of fallen rock, thrown together in most glorious 

 confusion and piercing the gloom above us for 135 

 feet. Following the guide and clambering from rock 

 to rock, we made the ascent by easy zigzags and 

 reached a point near the summit with but little fa- 

 tigue. The crest of Monument Mountain, like that 

 of Capitol Hill in the Senate Chamber of the Old 

 Cave, is covered to a depth of several feet with an 

 encrustation of stalagmitic material. This is slowly 

 increasing in thickness by the accretion of solid par- 

 ticles of limestone left by the ^evaporation of the 

 water which is constantly trickling in a small stream 

 from the roof above. The uppermost ten or twelve 

 feet of the mountain is very smooth and slippery, and 

 one has much difficulty to keep his footing while 

 climbing to the very pinnacle, from which projects a 

 brownish-yellow stalagmite 6.5 feet in height and 3.7 

 feet in circumference. 'Below this a short distance, 

 and on the opposite side of the mountain from the en- 

 trance, is another stalagmite, 6.8 feet in height by 5.2 

 feet in circumference, while but a short distance away 

 is a third and shorter one. The last two are com- 

 posed of spotless white, almost translucent limestone, 

 and are known as "Lot's Wife and Daughter." 



Crawling over the damp surface at the foot of these 

 stalagmites, as well as on their sides, were numerous 

 specimens of cave myriapods and harvestmen. A 

 few examples of a small, semi-blind pseudo-scorpion, 

 or chelifer, Chtonius packardii Hagen, were also ob- 

 tained from the surface of the damp rocks at this 

 place. It moves slowly along with its front legs or 



