TE^ INDIANA CAVES. 161 



passage, 150 feet long by thirty feet wide, we found 

 ourselves at the foot of a slippery hill on top of which 

 is one of the most handsome formations in the cave- 

 the " Throne and Canopy." The former is composed 

 of a circle of rounded stalagmites cemented together 

 and having the general appearance of a throne of 

 state, while at a distance of six feet above is a curtain 

 of broad, leaf-like stalactites draped in a graceful 

 semi-circle and attached to a projecting mass of crys- 

 talline limestone. From a crevice or seam between 

 the massive layers forming the walls the water has, 

 for ages, seeped ; then evaporating, has produced these 

 charming natural wonders and given a slippery coat' 

 of stalagmite to the surface of the hill below. 



In the "Spring of Deception," close by the throne, 

 were noted in July numerous specimens of a small 

 shrimp-like crustacean, ^Crangonyx packardii Smith. 

 It swims very rapidly, jerking itself hither and thither 

 through the water in a zigzag course, and is extremely 

 difficult to capture. In November the water in this 

 spring had disappeared and the bottom was covered 

 with very soft, sticky mud. In this a number of small 

 holes, resembling the burrows or pits of angle-worms, 

 were noted. Each had numerous particles' of dry, 

 sand-like grains of mud about the mouth. The pits 

 were probed and cut out with a knife, but no living 

 form could be found. They were probably formed 

 by the small Crangonyx, of which no trace remained. 

 The same crustacean occurs in numbers in Crayfish 

 Spring near the end of the Long Route. 



Beyond the Throne is a long stretch of partly ex- 

 plored avenues and side branclu-s through which 

 11 



