isa-normaladvance-1913-00119

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCE1193n tije ?\|illsi of 3nbianaA TRIP THROUGH WYANDOTTE CAVEBy ELZIE L. STEWART, Arthur, 111./ REELINGS, all ye merry readers! Come^-* w7ith me, and in return for your kindnesses shown me on former occasions I willguide the entire party on a days pleasant outing to AVyandotte Cave, the home of Wyandotte AVyolyo, the god of these fierce yet true-hearted Americans, the AVyandotte Indians.They have passed to their happy huntinggrounds, but we still have the magnificent underground palace of ■ their god as a lastingmemorial of the noble tribe.Just as the sunbeams break in rosy splendorover a grand old forest of beech and oak, flooding all the narrow valley with light, we willleave the bold bluffs of that beautiful river,the Ohio, near the maelstrom caused by thewaters of the tributary which we are to ascendflowing into it. This stream is the beautifulBig Blue—not a rushing torrent, but with justenough life to cause a delightful murmuringaround the perfect curves of its graceful course.As we pass along a picturesque drive, how verydelightful is the sweet, woodsey odor, and thedew dripping from the leafy boughs overheadis so cool and pure.At a turn in the roadway, we.catch a glimpseof a glen stretching away between the trees,with a delicate green grass carpet and a darker-shaded leafy wall—a spot in which the forestsprites surely delight to gambol, and in whichwe imagine we could be happy always but wemust hasten on. Our entire six-mile drive upthis valley is just as delightful. We emergefrom the leafy lane and glen only to find ourselves in the shadow of some bold cliff and thensoon to change again. How delightful! Noneof the monotonous sameness of the city here!Everything is as nature would have it—primeval.Now we must leave the pleasant valley andpermit our horses to climb slowly up the sideof a long hill almost to the top. Here is thecave hotel and the lawn leading down to thecave entrance. It is not yet late, but we mustenjoy the dainty lunch prepared and spreadfor us here underneath the oaks and maples.Pleasure is sure to run high at this time, especially as our sensations at the prospect ofspending an entire day in the under-world willbe so varied. Now we are ready. AVe havebeen transformed by means of the dark woolensuits we have donned to counteract any underground dampness, and, provided w7ith whitewax tapers and our cave caps, we follow theguides to the low-arched entrance, for all theworld resembling a troop of the witches andwizards of old Granada following their chiefto their place of enchantment.AVe enter the first room, Twilight Hall,very slowly, in order that we may become accustomed to the change from the warm to thecold atmosphere. Here we receive our lastglimpse of day and first light our candles. Theimpression that beyond, there is a vast unknown, full of mystery, and yet possessing apeculiar fascination, is sure to grip us veryforcibly here.Now w7e enter the deeper recesses of the cavethrough Counterfeiters Trench, and viewmany grotesque formations of the rock, amongthem the bold profile of the Father of HisCountry. Soon we halt at the base of RockyMountain, a majestic pile of rock which hasfallen from the ceiling of this room, leaving agrand dome.The guide commands that our lights be extinguished, and we, for the first time in ourlives perhaps, experience darkness so dense that
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34564
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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