Cave Regions of the Ozarks and Black Hills Part 2

The cave contains a great many dangerous places, as we correctly surmised on the morning of our introduction; when Mr. Powell's blessing on the breakfast was lost in so fervent a prayer for the safe and successful accomplishment of our undertaking, it seemed inconsiderate not to present the rea.s.suring appearance of inexhaustible endurance.

In the Corridor can be seen one of the three old Spanish ladders found in the cave when it was rediscovered; but when and for what purpose the Spaniards used the cave there seems to be no means of finding out. It should be remembered that this part of the United States was occupied first by the Spaniards and then by the French, and is a portion of the Louisiana Purchase, a tract of 897,931 square miles, or 70,000 square miles more than the original thirteen states. The price asked and paid was $12,000,000 and the a.s.sumption of claims which citizens of this country had against the French Government for about $3,750,000 more. The French offered to make the sale on account of being thoroughly discouraged with constant troubles arising with the Indians, whom they had decided it would be impossible to persuade or compel to recognize any laws other than those established by each tribe for itself, or accepted by friendly treaty with the council and disregarded by individuals on both sides:--and the United States accepted the offer, not for any expected value in the land, but for the unrestricted navigation of the Mississippi River. Therefore Missouri was never under British rule and never changed hands by force of arms.

But to return to the Spanish ladder, it is a tall pine tree notched on the sides for steps, and the stump of a branch left or a peg inserted at considerable intervals, for hand supports to a.s.sist in raising the weight of the body.

Returning to the Auditorium, we entered a pa.s.sage behind the Great White Throne and started on what might well be called the Water Route, for no dry spot is touched on the round trip; but if one goes prepared for such a journey it is well worth the effort and the mud. If the visitor is a man, the suit worn should be one he is ready to part with, or overalls; ladies receive the same advice even to the overalls, as some of the most beautiful portions of the cave, which we failed to see, can be visited only in that objectionable costume. To visit any cave comfortably a short dress is necessary and if any thing like a thorough knowledge of the ramifications is desired, the unavoidable climbing will soon prove the superior claims of a divided skirt; but if it is properly made, only the wearer need be conscious of the divide. Rubber boots and water-proof protection for the head and shoulders complete a costume that is not exactly an artistic creation, unless our ideas of art have been gathered in the school of Socrates, but it is suited to the requirements of the occasion and makes the explorations far more easy and profitable than they otherwise could be.

The pa.s.sage back of the White Throne is called the Serpentine Pa.s.sage, and most of it is sufficiently high for traveling in an erect position; yet there are several places that require crawling. The first stopping point is the Gulf of Doom Room, or as it is also known, the Register Room, because here visitors usually write their names in the peculiar dark red clay, which is moist but firm and cuts with a polish. This room is twenty-five feet high and fifty feet wide, and looks off into the Gulf of Doom, which seems rightly named when a rock is thrown into it and you note the lapse of time before any sound returns; and when the awful Gulf is made visible by lights thrown in, one involuntarily seeks a firmer footing and clings to a projecting rock. The height of the Gulf is ninety-five feet and the distant sound of falling water is not rea.s.suring. The walls are not smoothly worn away, but have the rough and weird appearance of having been torn by a torrent in a narrow mountain gorge, and are stained with the dark clay.

Retracing our steps a short distance, if that style of locomotion could be called steps, we turned into Dore's Gallery, and surely that artist was in his usual working mood when he conceived this awful method of connecting the upper regions with the lower. Great bowlders have fallen down without helping to fill the black holes that received them, and into this real Inferno we proceeded to descend by narrow, ladder-like stairs provided with a light hand rail, and trembling slightly with the responsibility they a.s.sumed. If any one's courage trembled too, no notice was taken of it, and a record of exploring experiences does not necessarily include a confession of any doubts.

On all the ladders in this Gallery was a fine white fungus growth in the form of a thick, heavy mold, that the lightest touch destroyed. In caves where some care is taken to protect this mold, it attains a growth of six or more feet and a.s.sumes the forms of sea-weed.

Once down the first and longest flight of stairs, without any signs of a Dore dragon raising its huge body by heavy claws to a resting place among the rocks, awe divides more evenly with admiration; and being already well besmeared with mud, we climbed over the clay-covered bowlders and crawled through narrow holes with perfect satisfaction, enjoying each novel scene to the utmost.

Off from the Dore Gallery is a small chamber containing the Fountain of Youth, that must be seen, but the way, like that of the transgressor, is hard. Arrived at the entrance we hesitated a moment, for although getting in looked possible, the way out again seemed not so simple; but finally trusting to Providence, through the direct agency of our careful guardians, of course, we sat down on the edge of the large slippery bowlder on which we stood, and reaching out caught a projection of the wall on one side and a bowlder crag on the other, swung off and dropped into the soft mud below. This chamber proved to be a little gem; small but high, and beautifully adorned with calcite crystal. Down a wall of red onyx on one side clear water flows into a basin in the irregular, rocky floor, just behind the bowlder we had used for a hand-rest at the entrance; the perfectly transparent water in the basin appears to be only a few inches deep, but measures three feet, and is several degrees colder than the air, which in this portion of the cave is warm. The other wall of this room is an almost perpendicular bank of the soft dark red clay, in which small selenite crystals are sprouting like plants in a garden.

Suddenly we heard a heavy, rolling noise like distant thunder, and asking if it were possible to hear a thunder storm so far below the surface, were told it was the protest of angry bats against a further advance on the quarters to which they have retreated from the main body of the cave, and their orders were obeyed: so of what may be in that direction, we gained no positive knowledge besides bats, and the fact that, small as they are, their great numbers make them dangerous when angry. Returning to the gallery and continuing the journey down over slippery rock and slender ladders we came at length to the bottom of the Gulf of Doom, into which we had looked from the room now high above us; and we needed no stimulating help to the imagination to p.r.o.nounce it a fit termination to an artist's troubled dream.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Waterfall. Page 41.]

Then climbing over an a.s.sortment of bowlders of all sizes, going up a little, and swinging or sliding down, we came to a point in the narrow pa.s.sage where the floor is a flat slab, like a large paving stone, tilted up at a steep angle against one wall and not reaching the other by about fifteen inches, with darkness of unknown depth below: about three feet above this opening the wall projects in a narrow, shelving ledge, and everything is covered with a thin coating of slippery wet clay. The only way to cross that uninviting bridge is to brace the feet against the slab, and leaning on the ledge, slowly work across. A little more rough work and the descent of the two short ladders, brought us, at last, under the beautiful Waterfall, where we stood as in a heavy shower of rain at the lowest point yet reached in the cave, which according to the survey of Mr. Prince is four hundred feet below the surface. The falling water has ornamented the walls, which in this portion of the cave expose over two hundred feet of Magnesian Limestone, with unique forms of dripstone; and the steeply sloping floor has received the over-charge of calcium carbonate until it has become a shining ma.s.s of onyx, retaining pools of cold, transparent water in the depressions. In the lowest corner there is only mud, and above it rises, to a height of at least fifteen feet a bank of miry, yellow clay, at the top of which a hole in the wall is the only known entrance to Blondy's Throne.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Longitudinal and Cross-Sections of Pa.s.sages in Marble Cave, Stone Co., Missouri.

Plotted by Fred Prince, 1894.]

CHAPTER III.

MARBLE CAVE CONTINUED.

On account of the long "crawl" through mud and cold water, it was at first suggested and then strongly advised, that we should not undertake to make the trip to Blondy's Throne: and yearning to see what is considered the cave's chief beauty was not easy to overcome, but after careful attention to the deep mire of the approach the advice seemed good, especially as Mr. Powell kindly promised to write a description of its trials and treasures; which he promptly did, thereby making it possible for us to continue the journey now without a disappointing interruption, so we will proceed to wade that mud bank with him in his own way. He says: "As Mecca is to the Mohammedan, so is Blondy's Throne Room to the pilgrim who invades the chaos and penetrates the mysteries of Marble Cave. When the subject is mentioned to the guide, he shrugs his shoulders and a.s.sumes an imploring look, and begins at once to mention the difficulties of getting there. But if you insist upon it he will go. The pa.s.sage by which this room has to be reached, if pa.s.sage it may be called, must be entered from the Waterfall Room, and a steep ascent must be made until an elevation of fifty feet is reached above the bottom of that room. This ascent has been called Hughse's Slide, as a man of that name once lost his footing at the top and slid on the wet and very slippery clay all the way to the bottom, leaving a very sleek trail. The ascent is difficult, as the soft clay is deep and wet and the sides are reeking and covered also with soft yielding clay. When the top of the slide is once reached, a low pa.s.sage six feet wide and two feet high is discovered, and stooping low, or actually lying flat down, you enter. The top of the pa.s.sage is of smooth rock and the bottom is of wet clay with an occasional variation of sharp gravel. The air is good, and as a lizard, you start forward. In places the pa.s.sage widens to ten or twelve feet and again narrows to six feet.

"In about one hundred feet you encounter a small pond of water filling the whole width of the pa.s.sage and extending twenty to thirty feet, but the guide tells you it is only one foot deep, and calls attention to the fact that the water does not come within a foot of the roof of the pa.s.sage and you can easily keep your chin above it, and with this a.s.surance through you go.

"Within the next one hundred feet you encounter and pa.s.s in the same manner three more ponds of varying sizes. The guide calls your attention to the fact that you are not alone, and looking about you by the dim light of your candle you see numbers of small eyeless salamanders, from four inches to one foot long. They are peaceable and harmless, appear to have no teeth and are easily caught, if you so desire.

"Another hundred feet and the Rest Room, or Egyptian Temple is reached, and rising to your feet you may rest. The room is small, but contains beautifully fluted walls, resembling basaltic columns; and natural marks of erosion that resemble hieroglyphic inscriptions. From the other side of this room the pa.s.sage goes on with the same characteristics, but as you enter to go forward a sound strikes the ear, and you pause to listen. It is a confusion of sounds, a babel of voices; and sounds like a distant conversation carried on by a large number of people. So striking is this resemblance that you instantly ask the guide if there are people in the room ahead, and hardly believe him when he says, 'No.'

"You hear voices of men, voices of boys, babies, girls and ladies, and occasionally loud laughter; but forward is the word and on you go, encouraged by the a.s.surance of the guide that you are now over half way through the pa.s.sage and that the sounds came from Blondy's Throne Room.

Suddenly the pa.s.sage divides into two much alike, and taking the right hand one, you make your slow advance until at last, with clothes soaked and covered with clay mud, and your strength about gone, you begin to feel desperate and tell the guide that you will go no further, when you see him rise to his feet, and he says: 'Here we are.' You step over a steep bank of clay and emerge into a large room. It is almost square in shape; about eighty feet long and sixty feet wide, and about fifty feet high, with white, smooth walls and a pure white ceiling, and sloping gradually downward on the left ends in a small, clear lake of water.

This lake has a beautiful beach of white pebbles, and though shallow on the edge seems quite deep at the center; in fact it is believed to have there a concealed opening that gives exit to its waters. On the opposite side from you, a stream of clear water pours into the lake, and in doing so it gives off the sounds that in the pa.s.sage you mistook for human voices; and this n.o.ble stream has been named Mystic River. It enters the lake from under a beautiful natural arch, about thirty feet across at the bottom, and six feet above the water at the center. The bed of the stream is eroded from strata of sandstone that is extremely hard, containing corundum, and so perfect is its continuity that it conveys sound distinctly for a distance far beyond the reach of the human voice, when tapped upon with a hammer. The top of the arch is studded with lovely stalact.i.tes, clear as gla.s.s, that extend to the outer edge of the arch and form ma.s.sive and beautiful groups there. Above the arch is a large opening. In truth the side of the room is out, and a great dark s.p.a.ce appears like a curtain of black. A natural path leads up over one side of the arch, and following the lead of the guide you go up above and learn that a room on the higher level extends off in that direction and gets larger and higher. The walls are stalagmitic columns in cream color and decked in places with blood-red spots or blotches of t.i.tanic size. The ceiling you cannot see. It is too high for the lights you have to reach. On the left you are suddenly confronted by a stalagmitic formation so large and so grand that all others are dwarfed into insignificance. You think of the dome of the Capitol at Washington. You are standing at the sloping base but cannot see the top. Just here the guide announces in an awestruck voice 'Blondy's Throne.' And who is Blondy? Only a fair-haired, blue-eyed, intrepid and daring fifteen-year-old boy, named Charles Smallwood, who a.s.sisted the writer in exploring the cave in the early days of 1883, and going on in advance, reported back that he had found another and a greater throne than the Great White Throne in the Auditorium.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Blondy's Throne. Page 47.]

"Well, here we are at Blondy's Throne at last, and surveying the base, we find that it is actually only half in the room we are in; the other half forms the side of another room. In a word, the Great Throne divides the room into two parts and makes two rooms of it instead of one. Yet the one half of the base has a measurement, by tape line, of one hundred and fifty feet. The guide now makes preparations to ascend the Throne. A chain has been fastened up towards the top, and by taking hold of this the climb can be made up the sloping sides of the Throne. We pa.s.s on and up over the clearest and most ice-like formation, resembling the great icebergs seen at sea. Reaching an elevation of sixty feet an opening into the dome is found, and stooping, you enter. It is a room about twenty feet across, with a white ice-like floor, a roof or ceiling ten feet above, and from it hang thousands of brilliant stalact.i.tes and from the floor stalagmites rise up to meet them. They are in all sizes, from an inch to two feet across. The sides are of the same material joined and cemented lightly together. Strike any of them and clear musical notes are given off; a musician has found two full octaves. Water is dripping in many places, and in the center of the floor is a tank full of clear water. It is four feet wide, twelve feet long and of unknown depth.

"On the opposite side of the room from which you enter there is a hole or opening in the wall. It is large enough to go through but it goes into the great dark room on the other side of the Throne. An abyss confronts you, a sheer precipice which descends for many feet, perhaps hundreds. No man knows. This outer room of Blondy's Throne has been named the Chamber of the Fairies. Leaving it and continuing the ascent, the top of the Throne is soon reached and is about twenty feet across; and from several points still higher, rise stalagmitic spires.

"The actual height of Blondy's Throne is not known, but is probably about one hundred feet. Again look upwards for the ceiling from the dizzy height on top of the Throne; you cannot see it. Burn magnesium ribbon and look up, and you see a white ceiling spangled with groups of stalact.i.tes. It is surely one hundred feet away. Then look off into the unknown room which is called the Great Beyond. No human being has ever explored or even entered it, but fire b.a.l.l.s thrown in reveal the fact that it is of great extent; and part of the bottom water and part land.

No way of getting into it has ever yet been found, so its mysteries, lessons and revelations are still safe from human intrusion. How far it goes, where it stops, and what it leads to, are facts for some future explorer to discover. Bats and white salamanders are found in Blondy's Throne Room, and some larger animals have been heard to jump into the water and escape on the approach of man, but their species is not known.

"The arched pa.s.sage of Mystic River has been followed up for a journey of an hour, but further than that its extent is unknown. It was hoped that a way would be thus found into the Great Beyond, but it did not prove successful. A well equipped party could find there a chance for some grand discoveries, and it would be one of the notable pleasures of the life of the writer to be one of such a party.

"The exit from Blondy's Throne Room is always made with deep regret that the waning lights and meager supplies will not allow a longer stay. The long crawl, the mud and the water are all forgotten, and notwithstanding the terror of the trip one feels well repaid."

We thank Mr. Powell for a charming journey without its discomfort and danger, and resume our travels at the Waterfall.

From the foot of the Waterfall we returned again to the Auditorium, in time to enjoy a sight such as we supposed could exist only in a brilliant imagination; and the return at that hour was not a lucky accident of fate, but the result of careful attention to a prearranged design that we should not fail to witness a marvelous display never surpa.s.sed by lavish Nature. The day outside was one of cloudless summer sunshine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Blondy's Throne Room. Page 50.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Foot of Waterfall. Page 50.]

Our eyes having grown accustomed to the dim light of candles in pa.s.sages where absolute darkness, unrelieved by the stars of midnight, always reigns, the great Auditorium appeared before us softly flooded with daylight diffused from a broad white beam slanting down in long straight lines from the entrance as from a rift in heavy clouds; only this rift displayed around its edges a brilliant border of vegetation that the rough rocks cherish with tender care.

As we stood lost in almost speechless admiration, and without the slightest warning of treasure yet in store, the white beam was stabbed by a narrow, gleaming shaft of yellow sunlight. The glorious, radiant beauty of the picture presented is utterly indescribable, but it was of short duration, and in a few seconds the golden blade was withdrawn as suddenly as it had appeared.

If the genius of Elkins had been granted the privilege we enjoyed, the artist-world of Europe that graciously yielded the highest honor to his "Sunbeam on Mount Shasta," would have knelt in rapturous humility.

Speaking of his great work, as we stood before it only a few months before his death, Mr. Elkins said quietly: "It is no great achievement; I simply painted it exactly as it looked. Anyone could do the same."

But no one ever has.

The white beam was more enduring and by its aid we were able to view the expanse of the great Auditorium far better than could have been done in the momentary glare of any brilliant artificial light. Every part of the cloud-gray walls shows a stratification as regularly horizontal as if the laying of each course had been done with the a.s.sistance of line and level; while in every direction are now seen hundreds of stalact.i.tes that had not been noticed before, and although they look small, the average length, taken with the surveying instruments, is fourteen feet.

The Hill beneath the entrance is an acc.u.mulation of debris, drifted in from the outside, and rising to a height of more than one hundred and twenty-five feet; while the great circ.u.mference of its supporting base, revealed by the banishment of shadows, suggests the possibility of tragic history of which the only evidence lies buried there and may or may not ever be discovered; but let us step lightly, since our feet may press the covering that shields a final sleep; and also let a grieving sister in her old age take comfort in the knowledge that here, as in few other spots, nature provides a certain and gentle burial for the unfortunate, and for a few seconds each day lights the dim chamber with a heavenly glory--perhaps in appeal to the sons of one country to harbor no such feelings as deprived Abel of life and for all time and eternity tarnished the honor of Cain.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Entrance to Cave--Interior View. Page 52.]

The chilliness presently recalled us from further indulgence in that great scene, to ordinary affairs; and consulting the reliable thermometer, it was found to register 42, while in some of the lower pa.s.sages the temperature is 58; but the variation is not in accordance with the accepted theory of one degree to the one hundred feet descent.

A return to the beautiful Spring of Youth Room was now a necessity, but we were careful to allow no drop of water falling from clay-stained hands to reach the purity of that lovely bowl, and then being happy and hungry, we retired to the piano's protecting tent for refreshment.

The atmosphere in Marble Cave has the peculiar bracing and invigorating quality common to the majority of caves, that seems almost to defy fatigue and encourage exertion that under ordinary conditions would be impossible.

After the exertion necessary in the warmer portions of the cave, the temperature of 42 proved rather low for comfort and finally was admitted to be a sufficient reason for either leaving the cave or sending out for the wraps. Slowly and reluctantly the party walked up the long winding path to the summit of the Hill where the stairway finds support, stopping many times to admire again the perfect curves and fine color-tones of that wonderful high arch--within a mountain yet softly radiant with the light of day.

Still lingering regretfully among the fern-decked rocks before quite finishing the ascent to the actual outside world, the mercury lost little time in registering eighty degrees.

Since no official, or even approximately correct map of Marble Cave has yet been published, and the desirability of maps is particularly urged by Monsieur E.A. Martel, a special effort was made to secure one, which was accompanied by the following remarks from Mr. Prince in regard to its incompleteness:

"There are several pa.s.sages and rooms which do not appear on the map, though some of them are well known, but have not been surveyed and platted.

"Much further exploration is possible in this great cavern. Lost River Canon ends abruptly in a bank of red clay, the volume of water being undiminished. The water from the Great Fall flows by a small serpentine into a pa.s.sage which has never been followed up; its entrance being several hundred feet higher than the nearest water level."

Unfortunately the quant.i.ty of water in the cave at the time of the visit just described was so unusually great as to render the Lost River Canon trip impossible.