14 
MEMOIRS OP THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
The topography of the cave and the different hails and avenues are sufficiently indicated for 
our purpose by the map on p. 13. It should be noticed that stalactites and stalagmites are much 
more numerous than in Mammoth Cave, showing that it is in portions perhaps of more recent origin 
than that cave. 
As regards the hydrography: Two miles from the entrance in the Senate Chamber, which con¬ 
tains the Pillar of the Constitution, near an enormous stalactitic pillar, there is a small spring, 
and this region is damp; hence cave animals, especially the myriopod Pseudotremia cavernarum 
abound here, although I found it more or less common nearly everywhere in the Short ffoute. 
Another pool of water containing blind crayfish is called Crawfish Spring. I have been unable 
to learn that there is a brook in the cave, or that any blind-fish have been found in the cave- 
Ccecidotcca stygia was obtained by Professor Cope from the water in a cave adjoining Wyandotte, 
and the blind-fish and crayfish he obtained from one of four wells in the neighborhood. 
LITTLE WYANDOTTE CAVE AND OTHER CAVES IN CRAWFORD AND LAW¬ 
RENCE COUNTIES, INDIANA. 
As seen on the map, Little Wyandotte, ot Sibert’s Cave, as it is often called, is near the larger 
cave. It is damper than Wyandotte, being muddy in places in May, the month we visited the 
cave; and Mr. Hovey states there are in it “ two pits, flooded, it is said, in the winter, and about 
60 feet deep.” 
Here should also be noticed, in order to understand the connection evidently existing between 
caves and subterranean streams and the wells containing blind animals, the subterranean streams 
and smaller caves in the cave region of southern Indiana, of which Mr. Hovey gives us an account: 
For 20 miles north of Madison nearly every ravine lias its rock houses and water-swept chasms. Occasionally 
true caverns are found whose roof is the solid limestone of the Upper Silurian, while the excavation itself is in the softer 
rocks ot the Lower. One of these is estimated to be a mile and a half long, though at a point about 1,000 yards from 
its entrance the roof has fallen in, and the obscure opening, by which access is gained to the ample chambers and 
winding passages beyond, might readily escape notice. The stream flowing out of this cave runs through the village 
of Hanover, and then turns capriciously towards the Wabash from the very banks of the Ohio. Some of the streams 
of the region, after receiving tributaries and increasing in volume, suddenly sink into the sand or leap down a gorge 
and disappear, as 
“Alph, the sacred river, ran 
Through caverns measureless to man, 
Down to a sunless sea. 
One such stream is significantly named the Lost River. It is in Orange county, where it sinks and rises five times 
before finally emerging a mile below Orangeville. These rises are generally marked by gulfs, denoting the fall of 
superincumbent rocks; and at one of them a small boat has been put upon the stream, it having been found to be nav¬ 
igable for a long distance under ground. It is certainly remarkable to see a stream 45 feet wide rise quietly, as if 
from a great depth, at the bottom of a wild forest ravine. Should Lost River ever find another channel, the cave 
that would remain might equal in size any hitherto discovered. Tho stream flowing from Hamer’s Cave, in Lawrence 
county, turns a mill-wheel 22 feet in diameter. Tho water fills the floor of the archway so that a boat is needed to 
make an exploration. After proceeding thus for perhaps three-quarters of a mile we reach a place where the whole 
body of water rushes violently down a passage only 3 feet wide and with a noisy uproar. Carrying the boat around 
this fall, we can go on 300 feet farther to the Grand Cascade, beyond which progress is difficult. 
Donelson’s. Cave, in the same county, also disharges a large mill-stream from its wide and lofty mouth. A light 
canoe is of service in making explorations, although in may places the stream is shallow enough to be waded easily. 
“Within is a magnificent cascade, where the stream rushes and leaps down a narrow passage with such violeucethat 
the rumbling noise is heard at the entrance. This passage is known to extend through Dalton’s Spring three-fourths 
of a mile to E. S. E. Near the entrance a dry cave is seen opening to the east, directly opposite a lofty corrider leads 
to the west, and in less than 100 feet enters a grand hall 12 feet high, 300 feet long, and 40 feet wide. The upper 
chambers are frequented by bats, and the soil is rich in niter, which supplied a powder mill that formerly stood in 
the vicinity. Both these caves contain eyeless fish, crawfish, and insects. 
Other caverns in Lawrence county are: Connelly’s, Griustaif’s, Campbell’s, Dry, Buzzard, Shiloh, and Biue Spring 
(see Geol. Survey of Indiana, 1873, pp. 280-310). Nearly all of them contain blind animals, niter-beds, bats, and 
Indian relics. Of Shiloh Cave Professor Collett gives a glowing description, mentioning lofty halls and black depths; 
“a natural fountain, which pours three jets of pure silvery water, from which a cloud of spray arises;” festoons ot 
stalactitic drapery “giant corrugations,” and many varieties of pure and beautiful ornamentation, leading him to 
say in his enthusiasm, “This cavern far exceeds Mammoth Cave in beauty and rivals any that I have ever seen, 
though only 1 mile has yet been explored.” It should bo added that the entrance is through a sink-hole, and the 
tunnel may bo followed through to its exit near Salt Crock. 
