8 
FORMATION OF THE CAVE. 
than two hundred and fifty feet, a cascade falls from a great height, 
and keeps the entire surface of the rocks covered witli dripping 
water. This, falling into a deep pit below, finds an exit through 
which it bears away a portion of the lime composing the rock. 
After a walk of thirteen hours, our guide informed ns that he would 
conduct ns to the Mammoth Dome if we felt able to bear the 
fatigue of the journey. Foot-sore and weary, we were not in a 
favorable condition for so arduous an undertaking, but Mr. Thomas 
Kite of Cincinnati, who had visited the locality thirty years ago, 
urged us to go, and told ns the sight of this Dome was worth all 
the rest. Provided with magnesium and calcium lights, we crawled 
and climbed our wa}- to the brink of the pit, the bottom of which 
was reached b}^ a rickety ladder, slippery and dripping with water. 
A portion of the party descended, and when all were ready the 
lights were ignited, and the immense dome was revealed to us in 
all its majestic beauty. Upon our return, three hearty cheers were 
given to the good friend at whose earnest solicitation we under- 
took this part of our journey. 
We are indebted to Professor Alexander Winchell. of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan, for the following abstract of his views con- 
cerning the formation of the cave. 
‘ The country of the Mammoth Cave was probably dry land at 
the close of the coal period, and has remained such, with certain 
exceptions, through the Mesozoic and Caenozoic ages, and to the 
present. In Mesozoic times, fissures existed in the formation, 
and surface waters found their way through them, dissolving the 
limestone and continual^ enlarging the spaces. A cave of con- 
siderable dimensions probably existed during the prevalence of the 
continental glaciers over the northern hemisphere. On the dis- 
solution of the glaciers, the flood of vmter which swept over the 
entire country, transporting the materials which constituted the 
modified drift, swept through the passages of the cave, enlarging 
them, and leaving deposited in the cave, some of the same quart- 
zose pebbles which characterize the surface deposits from Lake Su- 
perior to the Gulf of Mexico. Since the subsidence of the waters 
of the Champlain epoch, the cave has probably undergone compar- 
atively few changes. The well one hundred and ninety-eight feet 
deep, at the further end of the cave, shoves whei’e a considerable 
volume of the excavatory waters found exit. The Mammoth Dome 
indicates probabl}-, both a place of exit and a place of entrance 
from above. So of the vertical passages in various other portions 
of the cave.’ 
We believe that the views of Professor Winchell are in harmony 
with those of the other eminent geologists of the party, and when 
it is considered that the geologists of this excursion stand in the 
front rank of the most eminent scientific men of the world, their 
views upon this interesting subject are well worthy of attention. 
Before dismissing this branch of the subject, we will take occasion 
