The Mchturcilists’ Companion. 
Curiosities of Howe’s Cave. 
BY G. E. WELLS, AMES, N. Y. 
Continued from last issue. 
Here is a most remarkable stalag¬ 
mite of many tons weight, the Tower of 
Babel, which blocks the path and 
reaches to a great height. The Ele¬ 
phant’s Head and Indian Dugout are 
passed and we next come to Cataract 
Hill. What is this sound that comes 
from within ? A heavy roar as if a 
might}^ cataract had burst and was 
sweeping down upon us. The first 
impulse is to retreat, but our guide 
reassures us, and we press on, expect¬ 
ing to find some great cataract, but 
now the roar seems to come from be¬ 
neath us, and as we proceed is lost 
entirely. 
The next point of interest is Music 
Hall where musical tones appear to be 
never done echoing, but go dancing 
gaily about, returning again and 
again, filling the air with harmon 3 \ 
A low note produced here, echoes and 
re-echoes mysteriously through the 
silent chambers, completely filling the 
cavern with a weird vibration, un¬ 
earthly and indescribable. A board 
on being raised and let fall with a 
slap upon the clayey path, sounds like 
a clap of near thunder, whose echoes 
roll and rumble frightfully. Just be¬ 
yond we pass the Keel of Noah’s Ark, 
and here the noise of a cataract in¬ 
creases to a thunderous sound. It 
must be a j^oung Niagara,, at least: 
Soon we come to it, and lo! a tiny water¬ 
fall four or five feet high, and perhaps 
a foot wide, at the outlet of a little 
lake. We now enter a narrow passage 
and soon arrive at the Rocky Mount¬ 
ains. These consist of huge masses of 
rock and broken stalagmites, upon 
which we are obliged to climb. Here 
is Pike’s Peak, a pure stalagmite forty 
feet high. The roof of the cavern at 
this point is lost in the darkness. We 
next come to the Valley of Jehosaplmt, 
about a cfuarter of a mile in length, 
and probably a hundred feet high. A 
stream of clear, cold water, called the 
River Jordan,meanders along the whole 
length of this valley. The forms of 
stalactites seem to increase in beauty 
and interest the farther we go. Here 
is the Baby Elephant, Uncle Tom’s 
Cabin, with Aunt Chloe’s Bonnet, just 
as she left it, as natural as life. Now 
we come to the Yosemite Valley, a deep 
canon, along the edge of which we creep, 
fifty feet above the rushing stream. 
Overhead, for quite a distance are mas¬ 
ses of rock, some of them weighing 
twenty or thirty tons, which seem to 
have dropped and caught between the 
walls. 
Our course, which seems to have 
been nearly straight thus far, is sud¬ 
denly blocked by a solid wall. As our 
time is limited, we take a passage that 
leads to the right, and soon find our¬ 
selves in the Winding Way, a long- 
passage just wide enough for one to pass 
through. This passage is very crook¬ 
ed, forming a long series of S’s, so that 
3 ^ou can hardly see a person in it three 
feet ahead. This wonderful passage 
is said to be eighty rods long, and its 
walls are smooth as glass. At the end 
of this crooked passage is the Devil’s 
Gateway",—rightly named, leading as 
it does opposite the Straight and Nar¬ 
row wav—and now' w'e come to the 
Silent Chamber. 
We have long since passed out of 
hearing of the cataract and the ripple 
of the little brook, and now no sound 
