TEN INDIANA CAVES. 107 



back expanded to twenty-five feet in width, but soon 

 narrowed again to eight feet, and 150 feet from the 

 entrance the roof came down close to the water and 

 stopped farther progress. Except to the naturalist 

 there is little attraction about Porter's Cave other 

 than its mouth ; but that alone is well worthy a visit 

 by all who enjoy the picturesque and beautiful in 

 nature. 



COON CAVE. 



This cave is located in the south-western part of 

 Monroe County, about eight miles from Bloomington, 

 the county seat. The entrance is a perpendicular pit 

 or well, forty-six feet deep and about -six feet in diam- 

 eter. The top of this pit is at the bottom of a rather 

 shallow sink-hole and the descent into the cave was 

 made by a rude ladder which had been constructed 

 of poles by some previous explorer. At the bottom 

 of the pit one finds himself on the edge of a passage- 

 way, about ten feet high and nine feet wide, which 

 extends both to the right and the left. The right hand 

 passage is but about ninety feet long, the roof and 

 floor gradually converging and being but a foot or so 

 apart at that distance. Thirty-five feet from the 

 entrance is a hole in the floor of this right hand pass- 

 age, through which one can be lowered by a rope 

 fifteen feet to the floor of a lower passage, twenty-five 

 feet long, ten feet high and six feet wide, which ex- 

 tends nearly parallel to the passage above. By the 

 side of a smaller opening is a stalactite, seven feet six 

 inches long and five feet five inches in circumference, 



