142 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 76 



would have been removed but for the fact that masses of stalagmite, 

 too thick to break off with a sledge hammer, and scores of columns, 

 some of them 6 or 8 feet in diameter and many tons in weight, cover 

 a considerable part of it. The first room is succeeded by several 

 others, all of which are dry and of large size, but in total darkness, 

 and the floors in all have been more or less disturbed in the search 

 for niter. The general direction of the bottom is downward. The 

 last floor is probably 50 or 60 feet lower than the entrance, and is 

 reached by a slope on which it is difficult to retain a footing. In 

 nearly every part the earth is covered by stalagmite, much of it so 

 heavy that the miners could not remove it, but were compelled to 

 dig under it as far as they could reach; and in no place is a rock 

 floor to be seen. 



The thickness of stalagmite on the floor, and the great size of the 

 columns, is proof of their antiquity, while the depth of earth be- 

 neath must have been thousands of years in accumulating before the 

 deposits began to cover them. 



Excavations here, while quite desirable, would be very expensive. 

 Much stalagmite would have to be blasted; upward of a thousand 

 yards of earth moved, and all of it taken out of the cave, because 

 there is no room for it inside. As a man can not push a wheelbarrow 

 up such an incline, a trench must be cut through to the exterior slope ; 

 and as solid rock lies not more than 5 feet below tlie surface at any 

 point, blasting would be necessary the rest of the way. The task is 

 equal to opening a stone quarry. 



The second cave on McDerment's place has a good opening. A 

 trench 4 feet wide and 6 feet deep where the rock is thickest has 

 been blasted out to make a level approach to the entrance. Masses 

 of stalagmite on each side, sloping like solid rock from the walls, 

 leave barely room for a man to walk for the first 30 feet. Here the 

 walls recede somewhat, and a pit nearly 15 feet deep yawns before 

 the explorer. After continuing for some distance with this depth, 

 there is another drop of 10 feet Avhich holds until the end of the 

 cave is reached. This entire depression is due to the removal of 

 earth for making saltpeter. It is evident that a vast amount of 

 material has been carried out. 



As in the first cave, excavation would be very difficult and expen- 

 sive. All rock and earth would have to be carried up a steep grade, 

 or a deep cut made to wheel it out. As the light is very dim at the 

 first widening of the walls, it is not probable the space farther back 

 would be occupied unless as a refuge. 



Both caves were eroded by water running into the hill, and the 

 end of each is abrupt, the roof being higher and the walls farther 

 apart than at any point nearer the entrance. The original outlets 

 are now filled with earth, and apparently have been so for ages. 



