TEX INDIANA CAVES. 163 



wrought in days of yore by the slow hut powerful 

 energy of flowing water. 



Emerging from Purgatory we assumed once more a 

 standing posture, and found ourselves in "Calliope's 

 Bower,' 7 where many stalactites grace the walls and 

 ceiling. From thence we passed into " Whispering 

 Gallery," where the floor resounded to our tread and 

 the low tones of our .voices were echoed hack and 

 forth from the arched sides in a manner similar to that 

 noted at the bottom of a deep and empty cistern. 

 Then came the ."Palace of the Genii," where these 

 gods of fable dwell beneath a roof spangled with glit- 

 tering crystals of calcite and gypsum. The "Pillared 

 Palace" follows, and therein is found a wealth and 

 profusion of cave formations such as no words of man 

 can properly picture. Pillars, stalagmites and stalac- 

 tites abound of every conceivable form which the fancy 

 can suggest. Many of the stalactites are no larger in 

 diameter than a lead pencil and are curved and twisted 

 in a unique and grotesque manner seen elsewhere in 

 no Indiana cave. This bent and twisted condition is 

 doubtless due to the varying currents of air which pass 

 through portions of the cave and force the tiny drops 

 of water on the end of the stalactite first to one side 

 and then to the other of the tip. The air of Wyan- 

 dotte flows outward, or toward the mouth, in summer, 

 and inward, or toward the depths of the cave, in 

 winter. This difference in direction of flow can but 

 have its influence on the formation of such slender 

 structures as those above mentioned. 



Emerging from the Pillared Palace by an ampir 

 doorway, flanked by handsome pillars of calcite, we 



