The Book Of Curiosities Part 39

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GROTTOS, CAVES, &c.

_Grotto in South Africa--Grotto del Cani--Grotto of Antiparos--Grotto of Guacharo--Snow Grotto--Cave of Fingal--Cave near Mexico--The Nitre Caves of Missouri--Okey Hole--Borrowdale--Needle's Eye._

----------------------------Sweet interchange Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains, Now land, now sea, and sh.o.r.es with forests crown'd.

_Milton._

GROTTO IN SOUTH AFRICA. From Thom's account of his Journey to South Africa.--"In the country of Kango is the greatest natural curiosity of South Africa, a grotto of unknown extent. This I visited, and spent four or five hours in it. It was generally supposed that the end of it had been discovered, but we proved it to be still unknown; though, from the information I received, we proceeded into it further than any others, and our entrance into the third newly discovered chambers, or cave, was only prevented by a descent of fourteen feet. This great and astonishing work of G.o.d is divided into various apartments, from fourteen to seventy feet in length, and eight to one hundred in breadth. By measurement, I found that we had proceeded about nine hundred feet into the cavern of a mountain, of five hundred feet in perpendicular height; the grotto is about two hundred feet above the level of the river running by the hill.

"The _stalact.i.tes_, united or disunited, form a hundred figures, so that, without any effort of imagination, nature would seem here to have a.s.sumed the province of art: for her canopies, organs, pulpits, vast candles, immense pillars, heads even of men and animals, meet the astonished visitor on all sides; so that he supposes himself in a new part of the universe. Eye, thought, and feeling, are equally overpowered; and, to complete this remarkable a.s.semblage, there are various baths, or cisterns of water, as clear as crystal, divided by part.i.tions, as if a most ingenious sculptor had wrought for some weeks in this subterraneous place of nature. Ten young colonists, with two slave guides, and my servant, were with me. We had a flambeau and a number of large candles; but even these did not chase away the darkness which eclipsed the beauties of this great work of nature, which had been forming from age to age, and was first discovered in the year 1788. It is a remarkable circ.u.mstance, that no traveller appears to have visited it, or the various sub-districts which I have described above, since that time till we entered it."

THE GROTTO DEL CANI.--This is a little cavern near Pozzuoli, four leagues from Naples: the air contained in it is of a mephitical or noxious quality; it is in truth carbonic acid gas, whence also it is called Bocca Venenosa, the Poisonous Mouth. "Two miles from Naples, (says Dr. Mead,) just by the Lago de Agnano, is a celebrated mofeta, commonly called La Grotto del Cani, which is destructive of all animal life that comes within the reach of its vapours. It is a small grotto, about eight feet high, twelve long, and six broad; from the ground arises a thin, subtile, warm fume, visible enough to a discerning eye, which does not spring up in little parcels here and there, but in one continued stream, covering the whole surface of the bottom of the cave; having this remarkable difference from common vapours, that it does not, like smoke, disperse into the air, but quickly after its rise falls back again, and returns to the earth, or hovers to a certain height, above which it never rises. This fact is ascertained by the colour of the sides of the grotto, which, as high as the vapour ascends, is of a darkish green, but above this it has only the appearance of common earth. As I found no inconvenience from standing in it myself, so I believe no animal, if its head were kept above this mark, would be in the least injured. But when, as is often the case, a dog, or any other creature, is forcibly kept below it, or the animal is so small that it cannot hold its head above this noxious vapour, it presently loses all voluntary motion, falls down as dead, or in a swoon; the limbs at first become convulsed and trembling, till at last no more signs of life appear, than a very weak and almost insensible beating of the heart and arteries; which, if the animal is left a little longer, quickly ceases also, and then its fate is irrevocable; but if it be s.n.a.t.c.hed out and laid in the air, it soon revives, and, if thrown into the adjacent lake, resuscitation is still more rapid."

We now proceed to the famous GROTTO OF ANTIPAROS.--This grotto takes its name from the small island in which it is situated. The following is Mr.

Charles Saunders's account of his descent into this celebrated grotto.

"Its entrance lies in the side of a rock, and is a s.p.a.cious arch, formed of rough crags, overhung with fantastic wreaths of climbing shrubs. Our party amounted to six, attended by the same number of guides, furnished with lighted torches. We presently lost every ray of daylight, but following our leaders, we entered into a low narrow pa.s.sage, lined on all sides with stones, that, from the reflection of the torches, glittered like diamonds, and displayed the colours of the rainbow. At the end of this pa.s.sage, our guides desired us to tie a rope about our waists, and then led us to the brink of a frightful precipice. The descent was steep, and the place dark and gloomy. The exchange of the lane of diamonds for this abyss of darkness was very unwelcome; but I had travelled far to gratify my curiosity, and I hazarded the event. The rope being held by the guides at top, I was first let down, and, after dangling a minute or two, reached the bottom with my feet.

"My friends, encouraged by my example, followed; and we pursued our way under a roof of ragged rocks for thirty yards, hoping every moment to see the opening of the expected grotto; but our guides plainly told us we had far to go, and much to encounter, before we should reach it, and those who wanted courage and perseverance had better return. None of us, however, would act so cowardly a part, though the sight of another precipice, much deeper and more formidable than the first, almost shook our resolution. By the light of the torches, we could perceive that we were to plunge into a place enc.u.mbered with vast pieces of rough rugged rocks, and that we should be forced sometimes to climb over, and sometimes to creep under them; while on the other side were numerous dark caverns, like so many wells, which if one's foot should slip, would swallow us up. Two of our guides went before us, and as we stood on the edge, we were terrified to see them go lower, till they appeared at a frightful depth beneath us.

When they were at the bottom, they hallooed to us, and we very reluctantly followed. In the midst of the way, we came to a place where a rock that was perpendicular, and a vast cavern, on one side threatened us with destruction, whilst a wall of rugged rock seemed impa.s.sable on the other.

Here again we hesitated whether to proceed or not: but the guides a.s.sured us they had often gone the same way with safety, we therefore took fresh resolution, and on we went to a corner, where was placed an old, slippery, rotten ladder, which we ventured to descend.

"At the bottom we perceived ourselves at the entrance of another pa.s.sage, which was rather dismal, but not wholly without beauty. A wide gradual descent led us into a n.o.ble vault, with a bottom of fine, green, glossy marble, over which we were to slide on our seats; and it was with difficulty we could keep ourselves from going too fast, and tumbling over one another. The walls and arch of the roof is as smooth in most places as if chiselled by a skilful workman, and are formed of a glistering red and white granite, supported in several places with columns of a deep blood-coloured shining porphyry. Here, to our terror, we lost sight of the two guides that went before us, and at the end of the pa.s.sage found ourselves at the brink of another precipice, the bottom of which we reached by the help of a ladder, not much better than the former.

"Had not the dread of falling taken up my attention, I should have admired many of the natural ornaments of this obscure cavity. The rock to which the ladder was fixed was one ma.s.s of red marble, covered with white branches of rock crystal, and might be compared, from the hue of the rock behind, to an immense sheet of amethysts. From the foot of this ladder, we were compelled to slide, face downwards, through another shallow vault of polished green and white marble, for about twenty feet; and we then rejoined our guides, who prudently gave us some refreshment, to enable us to face the dangers we had yet to encounter.

"We now advanced through a narrow slanting pa.s.sage of rough coa.r.s.e stone, so much resembling snakes curled round, that nothing was wanting but a hissing sound, to make us fancy that thousands of those noisome reptiles surrounded us. There was still another terrible precipice to pa.s.s; but as we heard that it was the last, we made no hesitation in descending the ladder. After this, we proceeded upon even ground for about forty yards, when we were again entreated by our guides to fasten the ropes about our waists; not for the purpose of suspending us over a height, but as a means of security against the lakes and deep waters that are numerous in this part of the cavern. At length we reached the last pa.s.sage, the dismal gloom of which might furnish images for a poetical description of Tartarus. The sides and roof were formed of black stone, and the way was so rugged, that we were often obliged to slide upon our backs. The angles of the rocks cut our clothes, and bruised our flesh in a miserable manner.

"Though I believed myself so near the object of my curiosity, I wished sincerely that I had never been allured, by the accounts of travellers, to venture into such a horrible place, when suddenly we lost sight of four out of our six guides. The want of their torches increased the melancholy gloom; and the supposition that they had fallen into some of the black pools of water that abound here, added to the apprehension for our own safety, as well as concern for their fate. The two remaining guides a.s.sured us, that their companions were safe, and that we should soon be rewarded for all that we had suffered, if we would but advance. Our pa.s.sage was now become very narrow, and we were obliged to crawl on all fours over rugged rocks, when, hearing a little hissing noise, in an instant we were left in utter darkness. To our inexpressible terror, the guides told us that they had accidentally dropped their torches into one of the pools; but that there was no danger in crawling forward, as we should soon overtake their fellows. I now gave myself up for lost, and expected that I must perish in this dreadful cavern. Whilst I thus yielded to despair, one of the guides came to me, blindfolded me with his hand, and dragged me a few paces forward. I imagined his design was to rob and murder me; however, in the midst of my panic, he lifted me over a huge stone, and set me on my feet, withdrawing his hand from my eyes at the same time.

"What words can express my transport and astonishment: instead of darkness and despair, all was splendour and magnificence. The six guides welcomed me into the Grotto of Antiparos. Those whom we had missed, only went before to prepare the grotto for our reception, which was illuminated with fifty torches, and produced an effect no words can describe. Imagine yourself in an arched cavern, 485 yards deep, 120 yards wide, 113 long, and, as near as we could measure by the eye, about 60 yards high, lined on every part with brilliant crystallized white marble, and well illuminated.

The roof is a grand vaulted arch, hung all over with pendent icicles of shining white marble, some of them ten feet long, and covered with cl.u.s.ters of the same material, resembling festoons and garlands of flowers, glittering like precious stones. From the sides of the arch proceed fantastic forms of the same glittering spar, that fancy can easily shape into trees, entwined with flowers and climbing shrubs; and in some parts the congelations have taken the appearance of the meanders of a winding stream. The floor, though rough and uneven, is full of crystals of all colours.

"It is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the splendours of this natural temple, the ornaments of which are formed of the droppings of water, that, in great length of time, become congealed into a kind of brilliant spar.

"Having contemplated this charming spectacle with delight, and raised our aspiration to that Being, whose creative powers are displayed in the most obscure, as well as in the most visible part of his works, we returned, impressed with the conviction, that no good can be attained without difficulty and perseverance."

THE GROTTO OF GUACHARO.--The gulf of Cariacho is frequented by innumerable flocks of marine birds, of various kinds. "When the natives wish to catch any of these wild fowl, (says M. Lavayse,) they go into the water, having their heads covered each with a calabash, in which they make two holes for seeing through. They thus swim towards the birds, throwing a handful of maize on the water from time to time, which becomes scattered on the surface. The ducks and other birds approach to feed on the maize, and at that moment the swimmer seizes them by the feet, pulls them under water, and wrings their necks before they can make the least movement, or, by their noise, spread an alarm among the flock. The swimmer attaches those he has caught to his girdle, and he generally takes as many as are necessary for his family."

Amongst the natural curiosities of this neighbourhood, is a lake full of crocodiles, and various other reptiles, one of which, if we are to believe a common tradition of the people, resembles the winged dragon of the poets. In going from Carupano to Guiria, our author pa.s.sed through the "smiling valley" of Rio Corbe, watered by numerous streams, and which he calls the Temple and Compagna of Venezuela. Speaking of the celebrated Grotto of Guacharo, in the mountains of Bergantin, M. Lavayse observes, "In every country the same causes have produced similar effects on the imagination of our species. The grotto of Guacharo is, in the opinion of the Indians, a place of trial and expiation: souls, when separated from their bodies, go to this cavern; those men who die without reproach do not remain in it, but immediately ascend, to reside with the great Manitou in the dwellings of the blessed; and such men as have committed but slight faults, of a venial nature, are kept there for a longer or shorter period, according to their crime; while those of the wicked are retained there eternally.

"Immediately after the death of their parents and friends, the Indians proceed to the entrance of this cavern, to listen to their groans. If they think they hear their voices, they also lament, and address a prayer to the Great Spirit, and another to the devil, Muboya; after which they drown their grief with intoxicating beverages: but, if they do not hear the voices of their friends, they express their joy by dances and festivals. In all this, there is but one circ.u.mstance that creates surprise; it is, that the Indian priests have not availed themselves of such credulity to augment their revenues. Many Indians, though otherwise converted to Christianity, have not ceased to believe, that to be in the cave of Guacharo is synonymous with dying.

"Thus, in the majestic forests of South America, as in the ancient civilization of Hindoostan; under the harsh climates of the north of Europe and Canada, as in the burning regions of Africa; in all parts, men of every colour are distinguished from other animals by this irresistible foreboding of a future life, in which an Omnipotent Being recompenses the good and punishes evil doers. Whatever may be the modifications, differences, or absurdities, with which imagination, ignorance, and greedy imposture, have enveloped this belief, it appears to be one of the strongest moral proofs of the ident.i.ty of our species, and to be a natural consequence of reflection."--_Sketches of South America._

We will now beg the attention of our readers, while we relate some particulars respecting THE SNOW GROTTO.--This is an excavation made by the waters on the side of Mount Etna, by making their way under the layers of lava, and carrying away the bed of pozzolano below them. It occurred to the proprietor, that this place was very suitable for a magazine of snow; for in Sicily, at Naples, and particularly at Malta, they are obliged, for want of ice, to make use of snow for cooling their wine, sherbet, and other liquors, and for making sweetmeats. This grotto was hired, or bought, by the knights of Malta, who having neither ice nor snow on the burning rock which they inhabit, have hired several caverns on Etna, into which, people whom they employ, collect and preserve quant.i.ties of snow, to be sent to Malta when needed. This grotto has therefore been repaired within, at the expense of the order; flights of steps are cut into it, as well as two openings from above, through which they throw in the snow, and by means of which the grotto is enlightened. Above the grotto they have also levelled a piece of ground of considerable extent: this they have inclosed with thick and lofty walls, so that when the winds, which at this elevation blow with great violence, carry the snow from the higher parts of the mountain, and deposit it in this inclosure, it is retained and ama.s.sed by the walls. The people then remove it into the grotto, through the two openings; and it is there laid up and preserved in such a manner as to resist the force of the summer heats, as the layers of lava, with which the grotto is arched above, prevent them from making any impression.

When the season for exporting the snow comes on, it is put into large bags, into which it is pressed as closely as possible; it is then carried by men out of the grotto, and laid upon mules, which convey it to the sh.o.r.e, where small vessels are waiting to carry it away. But before those lumps of snow are put into bags, they are wrapped in fresh leaves; so that while they are conveyed from the grotto to the sh.o.r.e, the leaves may prevent the rays of the sun from making any impression upon them.

The Sicilians carry on a considerable trade in snow, which affords employment to some thousands of men, horses, and mules. They have magazines of it on the summits of their loftiest mountains, from which they distribute it through all their cities, towns, and houses; for every person in the island makes use of the snow. They consider the practice of cooling their liquors as absolutely necessary for the preservation of health; and in a climate, the heat of which is constantly relaxing the fibres, cooling liquors, by communicating a proper tone to the fibres of the stomach, must greatly strengthen them for the performance of their functions. In this climate a scarcity of snow is no less dreaded than a scarcity of corn, wine, or oil. We are informed by a gentleman who was at Syracuse in 1777, when there was a scarcity of snow, that the people of the town learned that a small vessel laden with that article was pa.s.sing the coast: without a moment's deliberation, they ran in a body to the sh.o.r.e, and demanded her cargo; which when the crew refused to deliver up, the Syracusans attacked and took, though with the loss of several men.

The next object that claims our regard is THE CAVE OF FINGAL, or AN-UA-VINE, IN THE ISLAND OF STAFFA. From Faujas St. Fond's Travels in England, Scotland, and the Hebrides.

"This superb and magnificent monument of a grand subterraneous combustion, the date of which has been lost in the lapse of ages, presents an appearance of order and regularity so wonderful, that it is difficult for the coldest observer, and a person the least sensible to the phenomena which relate to the convulsions of the globe, not to be singularly astonished by this prodigy, which may be considered as a kind of natural palace.

"To shelter myself from all critical observation on the emotions which I experienced while contemplating the most extraordinary of any cavern known, I shall borrow the expressions of him who first described it. Those who are acquainted with the character of this ill.u.s.trious naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, will not be apt to accuse him of being liable to be hurried away by the force of a too ardent imagination; but the sensation which he felt at the view of this magnificent scene was such, that it was impossible to escape a degree of just enthusiasm.

"The impatience which every body felt to see the wonders we have heard so largely described, prevented our morning's rest; every one was up and in motion before the break of day, and with the first light arrived at the south-west part of the island, the seat of the most remarkable pillars. We were no sooner arrived at this place, than we were struck with a scene of magnificence which exceeded our expectation, though formed as we thought upon the most sanguine foundations. The whole of that end of the island is supported by ranges of natural pillars, mostly above fifty feet high, standing in natural colonnades, according as the bays or points of land formed themselves, upon a firm basis of solid shapeless ma.s.ses of rock. In a short time we arrived at the mouth of the cave, the most magnificent, I suppose, that has ever been described by travellers.

"The mind can hardly form an idea of any thing more magnificent than such a s.p.a.ce, supported on each side by ranges of columns, and roofed by the bottoms of those from which they have been broken, in order to form it, between the angles of which a yellow stalagmitic matter has exuded; this serves to define the angles precisely, and at the same time vary the colour with a great deal of elegance, and, to render it still more agreeable, the whole is lighted from without; so that the farthest extremity is very plainly seen from the outside, and the air within, being agitated by the flux and reflux of the tides, is perfectly dry and wholesome, entirely free from the vapours with which natural caverns in general abound."

The following description of the same place by Mr. Troil, is also worthy of our notice:--

"How splendid (says this prelate) do the porticos of the ancients appear in our eyes, from the ostentatious magnificence of the descriptions we have received of them! and with what admiration are we seized, on seeing even the colonnades of our modern edifices! but when we behold the cave of Fingal, formed by nature in the isle of Staffa, it is no longer possible to make a comparison, and we are forced to acknowledge that this piece of architecture, executed by nature, far surpa.s.ses that of the Louvre, that of St. Peter at Rome, and even what remains of Palmira and Pestum, and all that the genius, the taste, and the luxury of the Greeks, were ever capable of inventing."--_Letters on Iceland._

Such also was the impression made by the cave of Fingal, on Sir Joseph Banks, and on the Bishop of Linckoeping.--

"I have seen many ancient volcanoes, and have given descriptions of several superb basaltic causeways and delightful caverns in the midst of lavas; but I have never found any thing which comes near this, or can bear any comparison with it, either for the admirable regularity of the columns, the height of the arch, the situation, the forms, the elegance of this production of nature, or for its resemblance to the masterpieces of art, though this had no share in its construction. It is therefore not at all surprising that tradition should have made it the abode of a hero.

"This amazing monument of nature is thirty-five feet wide at the entrance, fifty-six feet high, and a hundred and forty feet long.

"The upright columns which compose the frontispiece, are of the most perfect regularity. Their height, to the beginning of the curvature, is forty-five feet.

"The arch is composed of two unequal segments of a circle, which form a sort of natural pediment.

"The ma.s.s which crowns, or rather which forms the roof, is twenty feet thick in the lowest part. It consists of small prisms, more or less regular, inclining in all directions, closely united and cemented underneath, and in the joints, with a yellowish white calcareous matter, and some zeolitic infiltrations, which give this fine ceiling the appearance of mozaic work.

"The sea reaches to the very extremity of the cave. It is fifteen feet deep at the mouth; and its waves, incessantly agitated, beat with great noise against the bottom and walls of the cavern, and every where break into foam. The light also penetrates through its whole length, diminishing gradually inwards, and exhibiting the most wonderful varieties of colour.

"The right side of the entrance presents, on its exterior part, a vast amphitheatre, formed of different ranges of large truncated prisms, the top of which may be easily walked on. Several of these prisms are jointed, that is, concave on the one side, and convex on the other; and some of them are divided by simple transverse intersections.

"These prisms, consisting of a very durable and pure black basaltes, are from one to three feet in diameter. Their forms are triangular, tetrapedral, pentagonal, and hexagonal; and some of them have seven or eight sides. I saw several large prisms, on the truncatures of which are distinctly traced the outlines of a number of smaller prisms; that is, these prisms are formed of a basaltes, which has a tendency to subdivide itself likewise into prisms. I had before observed the same phenomenon in the basaltic prisms of Vivarais.

"The cave can be entered only by proceeding along the platform on the right side, which I have mentioned above. But the way grows very narrow and difficult as it advances; for this sort of interior gallery, raised about fifteen feet above the level of the sea, is formed entirely of truncated perpendicular prisms of a greater or less height, between which considerable address is necessary to choose one's steps, the pa.s.sages being so strait and so slippery, owing to the droppings from the roof, that I took the very prudent resolution, suggested by our two guides, to proceed barefooted, and take advantage of their a.s.sistance, especially in a particular place, where I had room only to plant one foot, whilst I clung with my right hand to a large prism to support myself, and held the hand of one of the guides by the other. This difficult operation took place at the darkest part of the cave; and one half of the body was at the time suspended over an abyss, where the sea dashed itself into a cloud of foam.

"I was desirous of penetrating to the farthest extremity, and I accomplished my purpose, though not without considerable difficulty and danger. I more than once found my attention distracted from the observations which I was happy to have an opportunity of making, to the thought of how I should get back again.

"As I drew near to the bottom of the cave, the bold balcony, on which I walked, expanded into a large sloping s.p.a.ce, composed of thousands of broken vertical columns. The bottom was bounded by a compact range of pillars of an unequal height, and resembling the front of an organ."

It is worthy of remark, that at the time when Mr. Troil visited the cave, the sea, by one of those uncommon chances which do not happen once in ten years, was so calm, that it permitted him to enter with a boat.

"At the very bottom of the cave, (says he,) and a little above the surface of the water, there is a kind of small cave, which sends forth a very agreeable noise every time that the water rushes into it."--_Letters on Iceland._