twenty feet in height, and hung with heavy masses of dripstone draperies
of varying length, from five to seven feet; and all the ceilings are
fringed at various heights with stalactites of every size and age, some
being a clear, colorless onyx, while others proclaim their great age in
the fact that they have so deteriorated that the onyx texture is either
partly or completely lost, and what was once a pure drip crystal has
returned to a common, porous, dull-colored limestone so soft that
portions can be rubbed to powder in the hand.

Picking the way carefully as the depth of the lovely lake increased, we
followed the sound of falling water and peered into the dark distance in
a vain effort to see it, yet expecting to reach that special object of
interest by keeping to the shallower parts of the lake. These
expectations were shattered suddenly when the boots filled with water,
and that called to mind the fact that twenty-three miles and a chilly
night lay between us and dry clothing; so we returned to the outside
world and rested on the rocks where Captain Greer and our young driver
waited for us. The cave has never been fully explored, and probably we
penetrated farther than others have ever done, as the owner knew
nothing of the falling water we so distinctly heard and were surely very
near.

The view from the rocks is wonderfully beautiful and includes both the
entrance to the cave, with its flowing stream, and the receiving basin
with its bounding stream. But it was growing late in the afternoon, and
there was another cave whose entrance was in the perpendicular wall
above the end of the path by which we had come. This entrance could be
reached by a dilapidated ladder; assisted by a forked pole and supplied
with candles and matches, my nephew and I achieved the ascent with not
much trouble. Here we found what is, no doubt, one of the oldest caves