Nov. 1859.] ELLOITT SOCIETY. 11 



of this cavern a large rift running longitudinally for a great part of the 

 length of the chamber opened into another cave of unknown dimensions, 

 whose floor seemed to be far below the level of that in which he stood judging 

 by the distant hollow sound of an invisible stream falling over a precipice 

 in the impenetrable darkness of the lateral cavern, and producing the most 

 melancholy reverberations as it plunged into the pool below. The lateral 

 rift above referred to, bristled with interdigitating lanceolate stalagmites and 

 stalactites which presented nothing of that beautiful and sparkling appear- 

 ance sometimes seen, but with their tawny hue and fanglike form, rather sug- 

 gested the open jaws of some gigantic monster. Beyond, this last chamber 

 was suddenly obstructed by a precipitous rock about 15ft. in height, the up- 

 per surface of which formed the floor of a cave at a greater elevation. Mr, 

 McCrady went no further than this precipice on account of the lateness of the 

 hour but he was told that at some distance the upper cave led to a very con- 

 siderable subterranean stream. 



Mr. McCrady thought it probable that there were not many caves in which 

 so many evidences of the manner in which sinks were formed in a limestone 

 country would be found collected together so that they could all be seen in 

 the space of four hours. In the first place the cave was entered through a 

 smaU orifice in the bottom of a sink, beneath which was a hillock probably 

 fo.-ned by the debris of the fallen roof, at the same time that the abrupt ter- 

 mination of the cave in this direction seemed to indicate that this hillock was 

 only a small fraction of the mass of earth which had fallen and which proba- 

 bly sufiiced to close the cave in that direction. The long gallery covered with 

 its large angular fragments of broken rock from the roof showed the process 

 by which the gradual weakening of the roof was effected until at last it could 

 no longer resist the weight of the soil above. And the low-roofed vault in 

 which he found himself after passing the clay tunnel exhibited the roof in ac- 

 ta.,! process of being broken through. 



He said we have no known caves in the low country of South Carolina — 

 but in some sections the sinks are numerous and often of considerable diame- 

 ter. He had been told too by the planters that they frequently follow each 

 other in lines. In the neighbourhood of Eutaw Springs tney are quite fre- 

 quent, and the stream from those springs after emerging and forming a large 

 pond disappears under a neighbouring hill to emerge on the other side. The 

 head-waters of the Cooper River also near the Wantoot Plantation, emerge 

 from the ground as a bold stream, showing that this river must be a subter- 

 ranean stream for a very considerable distance before it bursts into the light 

 of day. These facts show that our low country is like the limestone country 

 of Kentucky and North Tennessee, founded upon limestone strata tunnelled 

 in every direction by a labyrinth of caves, well supplied with subterranean 

 water courses, and the lines of sinks are indications of the directions taken by 

 the cave-tunnels. This limestone form&tion in South Carolina can hardly be 

 any other than the Eocene. 



In the neighbourhood of Lake City, Florida, numerous sinks occur, which 

 usually are filled v.-ith water having subterranean communication, and the 

 lakes so formed arc often of grc?at depth. Mr Mj Jrady had himself seen in 



