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V topography. i ? '* ?A?:*t DR8CUIPTI0H OV- WHR>8 CAVE. ' i* ?v?ortA ^Tt^yL~> ? ' Jbalrtler from Ms|. Cen.Ciilvin Jyw,ofIUWgh, jflC. JltMturt C-mty fVu.J Martk If, 1815. lfrf)?A* Sir? Detained here (fur (Me day at leant) by * rein, I will occupy a pelt Qf (he leisure it allows bv en endeavor to mat* you par ticipate in some degree in the pleasure* my tour has afforded me i and as I know the interest you take in the rude but bold workmanship of Na ture I will give you an account* though a brief ahd Imperfect one* of a place very little known, jrkere she has made some of her happiest efforts. Since my last from Winchester, I have visi ted the Caves in Augusta, and the Natural Bridge in the couuty to which itlyui given name. The former exceeded, but the latterdi?| note qua) my expectations. I saw the Bridge, 1 pre-, some, under circumstances that were npt favo rable to the emotions of the sublime. I had a little before seen the grand, romantic scenery at and around Harper's Ferry, where the Poto mac nasses through the Hlue llidgc; 1 had just I beheld the wondrous subterranean palaces in Augusta | every step as I Advanced up the rich and beautiful valley of Mhenandoah, hounded on one side hy the Illue llidgc, and on the other by the North mountains, presented objects calcula ted to keep the sublime emotions in a constant state of excitement. Besides, inv expectations concerning the bridge were too highly raised by HIr. Jefferson's splendid nnd fanciful description of it. When I saw it I felt disappointment. I |'4 walked tu ;he cd<;e and looked down without feeling terror?*1 went Mow and looked up and J was not astonished. It indeed possesses gran gk.Ueurand sublimity! but to my mind, JfW's \ CSnve isbest worth the attention of the traveller. Spfjjet'e ever) tlung that the mind can conceive of the grand and beautiful is realised. Thobridtc n^iffonls only two or three views?the Cave a $ thousand. EIn my progress uu the valley I was attracted to IffadisoVs cave by Mr. Jefferson's description of it*hot liad much difficulty in obtaining directions She re to find it, other than those contained in >e Notes. Maps of Virginia I could no where , ?.I,--.' . . a - iik ia ? ? w ?aaa \ - - ' meet with, though I made diligent enquiry, cent the old one of Frt & Jeffreys, which l saw at travel's in Woodstock t so thst it was not until I had arrived within SO miles of the Cave 1 could ascertain its place, and there I learned for the fir?t time that another Gave had recently been discovered near it aud so far surpassing it, . In extent and grandeur that Madison's had cea f sed to l>e an object of curiosity. I found tl?e Taves to be in the N. E. corner of * Augusta county, very near the Kockjngham line. $ two miles from Fort Uepublle, a small town of the confluence of the two branches of the fchen nadoah, a little, out of the direct rout from New Market to Btuuntou, 30 miles from the former and 17 from the latter place, entreasing the dis i tance between them 3 or 4 miles, bat more than compensating the traveller (nutting other con I aiderations out oftheoueKtion) at this season of the year, by the superior finality of the road.? This placemay be visited from Charlottevilleon the otner side of the blue ridge, 32 miles diatant, | by a turnpike road through lJrown's gap. 'IV, I Richmond is 120 miles. I expect you wouh* * prefer the routo by llrown's gap, as Monticell Kwould then l?o in your way. , : V The hill in which the caves are, presents a perpendicular front of S00 feet in height to the ebnlhbranch of the Shenandoah, looking north easterly tpwarda the blue mountains, $ utiles di?t not beyond the river. The hill extends its] front on the f^ver, about half a mile, but spread' ir?" w ider as it rctetlM f its height declinesgra-, do tllv back until {(dissolves into the plain. Of| W.i(son's cave I stllll say but little* sn* '* description of itbeihg iftftple. it> oame from the father of the late dison who resided near it ant) who wl.w-,? wit- equally Tained for his hospitality, his pract cal ?vit, (wit which lay more in his heels an... finr.ei H than in his head) and his convivial tlispo nition.. It has been known 00 or 70 years but is now little visited as a curiosity. The earth in it aPVds Malt Pet re in the proportion of from 2 to 4 M>s. to the bushel. 9000 weight was manufac tU' i d here during the two last yesrs. 'Ilie earth when brought out is, St the month of the cave, put into n plank gutter which conducts it to tho bank of the river at the bottom of thehlH* where it is | ut into tnt? or vats mixed with wood ashes j water is passed through it, and this ll; evapora ted t?. a salt by boiling, ilie IgkCf " which are found at the extremity of ? have been navigated bvn boat and tho.vugm explored i?iuce Mr. Jefferson wrote. 'Hiey a?. 30 or *t0 feet deep and bounded on their further est extremity by rocks so abrupt that a footing can no w here lie had, limiting for (lie present fuither discoveries in that direction. I advised the proprietor to put fish into them, which he pro mined to do, so that visitants may probably In a few yearn add fishing to tho cutertainmeiita ai* forded by the excursion. ex M Madron'* cave,aiyou know from Mr. JcfTer noti'g dcHcriptiori, htut it* entrance about two third* ot tiii* u?y to the top oftl.o hill, immedi ately o\n the river. The mouth of Wler'n Vnve U | oreltel to it in the tutine two or three hundred yaids further up the river. Madiaon'a envo ixMietraU'r, 180 yard* t Wier'a nine hun* tired vard?, oi more than half a mile. Thin laat wo. discovered m February. IHOfl, bjr the man w? esc name it bear#, and this I projHwe to five yon tome faint idea of bv a description brief and neeunnarltv ver) impetinct. But to obviate its imperfection* and atd your comprehension I herewith uivoyou the outlines of ita course and apattmentn, incorrect no doubt, but, bearing come resemblance to what it Would represent, and the bent 1 am able to ofiVr. The letter's in the plan wilt lie referred to In the course of our route. The Index poitita to the entrance ? the arrowa mark the descent in placea where it it roovt eottHiderable. The Cave la solid lime stone. aometfrttea aa rending, but more commonly descending in it* cour?c, narrow and low t% the entrance, hul encreasing ill height u you advance until it Tie cornea eighty or ninety feet high. Water, is and trickling, sufficient 'to constantly down tho fi nflect the lights or incowhode tho visitors.? Jactites of every poufciblo form and of beauty. The colors arelbr the t >ite, but aometi mes red, and occasi - fy variegated. It is not every where that stotie tt formed by this percolation of tho water. Sometimes it finds little basins forried to re ceive it, and again there are sinks tlirough which it falls ami disappears. The entrance is closed by a door of ft feet and a half or 3 feet square. You grope tlirough a narrow pas*age until you reach the Jlntl-Cnam btr (A,) whose arch, IS or IS feet high, is sup ported by pillars In tho centre. On the left is a recess difficult to traverse on account of the huge misshapen rocks which are every where thi ownmdely nl>ont it. From the Anti-f "hamber you enter a narrow passage, craep in one place & incline your body obliquely to the left between two sheet* of rock in another. Descending some Itewn stens and a wooden ladder you Some into HrjUmnn * Temple (11) j on the left is a large flu - (ed column called tfofnmon'B Pillar, and on the sides of the apartment are curtains defending in *?te like folds from the ceiling to the floor, lids room 1.85 feet high., A recess on the left contains a fine bason or water and is called the flavMoom. Ascending a ladder you find your self on a steep narrow rock, from which you look back and see the various beauties of the Temple to gttai advantage. By another ladder you des cend Into the Curtain llnom, ((:) which la fno fusely ornamented with a great variety of beau* tiful Drapery. There is such elegance and re gularity in tneao ornaments that ir seen iu small detached parts it would be difficult to persuade [one that tney were not works of art. The Cur tains usually descend from the arch to the floor on the side* of the Cave and are from five to nix feet wide ami from two incite* to half an inch in thickness, they hang from six to 1ft inches a sunder and are commonly white and tranapatent. As the drapery in this aplirtmeut is the mo?t re markable, though It Is found in every part of the Cavern, it may be well now, once for all, to take a pacing riot ice of two forma that most fre I quently occur in every part of the* cavern. The I explorer will see the best examples of each in the ' Bofa and Gtfllery presently to he mentioned.? i At the upper cage of the valance where the do pending part commence!, there is a cordon run* | ning round cach. From tide the curtain des cend* i foot or two* eolidj but In Ae one indent ed by rtmi-circuler. cavities abeet two 2 inches in cord, parallel and exactly uniforms in the o jUict*4nnfead of cavities there it precisely ae much projection* end the proportions in both ere as regular and exact as if they had been produ ced by thechii "Attl The Tnmbourin or MiMMoon (D) it next. Tliis abounds with stalactites similar to the cor tains in the preceding r^sMtflrtfr end more ue) ere various end good* end were the note* *' *ned* which each would produce* a skilful uld draw music from them. Yon now ascend a natural and well formed stair case rtn ningf^cross the passage with a row of bannisters along it of a proper height for the hand to rest on t and then descending e ladder enter the iUU'Iloom, (B) which is 100 feet long end the ; irch 13 to 20 feet high. ,The floor is smooth end ovel* and the sides Ornamented with curtains* colonttfdes and various resemblances to house mid furniture. Ilctsy's Hofa is remarkable here i or its elegance end resemblshdl to art. Tne loor has evidently been lowered in time. Home of the co!umns,are ruptured and dissevered in the middle of tlie shaft and do not meet bytsome inches; Others have fallen ami lie in ruins., The curious explorer now conies to the most straightened passage in the cayern (F) and which was for some time the boundary of thfc discoveries in it. The way, though enlarged beyond its original dimensions, is steep* narrow and difficult. The adventurer mustfreeppn/ill fours* ond oh account of its descent mult go backwards, lie is covered with mu d* fatigued with his posture and exertions, and it is well if his head and back escape, a rude contact with the rough stones above him. At length he regains his fret % looks back upon the narrow aperture bv which lie entered, reflects that he is almofet a quarter of a mile from the regions of upjt?r air carries his candle with mom steady hand* nh< feels himself entombed. Knowing that our cor indent acquaintance Mrs. T .....;.? had visi ted this cavern I asked my guide if site passetl these straits, lie assured ' me thai she did, " tlmt she crept, and tumbled, and slid along like an otter and got through without any sort of dlf* Acuity iM " and what was inofe" he added 44 no woman ever yet stopped half way i they a! way went to the extremity.*' , Descending some steps hewn out of the rock called Jacob's I.adder, you enter the VtkHbuU (tM the arch < f which is about the same height as that of the Temple. On your (left hand as I etttef, a fcevitoatel sheet ofstone a foot VplM^w diameter prelects from tho iV??bwt mid way between the floor calledManr'e Gallery. This is * from it* Hch ornaments. Cbn Vestibule it the Saloon (H.) ? on the left, . iftpftrtoftho tp yourview. You stand at ' idee go forward end ar v _?_?t^cee??tl1ielongle vel foor ringe beneath their tread. You nee them at a hUnd red paces dUtonce and hear their tttofieeetalitlfc from tko arch fliat rise* sub IfSfcSra ?Ev?r.*droP of waterthat felle rings in your ear*. On your ?right is a row of taaitile statues. In the centre before the eptfawce of Lady Washington's Drawing Room W a statue of noble mien and falrproportione, in the babilitaentsof an ancient ;K?to?> called Washington! s. You gaze and Hlten in eiient rapture.' At length you ar* 'roused from the enchantment or the scene by reminded by your guides that you have i?Uch to see. lady fVathingtotf* Draw , (K.) i? next visited t a spacious and . apartment. Just within the room on your right is a terse Bureau on which many name* are inscribed. 1 conformed to the gene ral custom by engraving the initial letters of one I happened then to thinlc of. bi this epartment ,a rook of immense magnitude has fallen from the arched ceiling above and converted intoa heap 'of ruins a number of massive columns that were rgtandinrnear it* In Washington's Hall a co lumn (fjeet in diameter has fallen, probably jfrom the eettUag of the floor, which certainly {oh i a Cavern birieatn |t. The Diamond Boom, (L.) is next and derivee its name from the sparkling brilliancy of itu walls. The Enchanted JZeom, '(M.) has a wild variety which by the help of a vivid imagination may be tranaformed into a I new creation. Here in one place an immense maaeof rock hange so looecly over yon, so ap parently without support, that it seems to threa ' ten you with instant annihilation, Here is a ba ' sin containing a hogshead or two of pure water. iviicoiiiuae. c?viutuaii & *V jwouuw uuv the Diamond Room you come to the H'ilderuestf (N.) rough and irregular below, on the sides and above* Either here or in the Bnciianted room, I do not remember which, there is a large co lumn of 25 or SO feet in diameter called the Tower of Babel. The Oarden of Eden (0.) in the last scene. This room ie spaciqss, lofty and its decorations are superb ana various. K rock apparently floating over you, called Elijah's Mantle* a large white curtain, and a reck call ed the Belt Mountain, seen at a distance thro> a colonnade, are the most remarkable particu lars that I noticed here. ? I no* returned and regained the month of tha feftjio after having been within it two hoers and4 three quarters. But the time was too short fe enable one on a first visit to notice the cave wife the accuracy neceeeary to give a full or correct description of it. An Bngnsli painter who was some weeks here, said that years were necessa* r v to give any thing like correct representa tion 0?, it faj^&O iflMiroPpP^ ^ ? m Itavft, attempted to discover a communication be tween them by firing a musket in one cave whllo ' the report wM liftened for lu the other. Th? mention of this reminds mo of the remarkablo effect which I am told the explosion of a pistol produces In some parts of Wier'e cave. The sound is astonishingly loud, and la prolonged and echoed hack from distant recesses | and af ter a considerable'silence it is onco and again rep ^2? i^l^^*eup|ioied it uTausted. I kao tto^ the forethought to supply myself with iwiteie of thifrcavo, I ftmtOld,JeW. and never varies. ? a uerman or the name or Aymand wm once, the proprietor of this cave, Knil his name h*f&' been sometimes given to it. It in now the pro>;-& perty of Mr. lJingham, who keeps a good fioutO | of entertainment near it} but the honor of the/ > name is certainly due to the discoverer. Mr.'' Wier made the discovery by pursuing with & dog game which took refuge here, and he prose*' cuted it with as much ardor and almost as much! peril aa Cook prosecuted hU discoveries in the trackless ccean. The proprietor keeps a loc|t' upon the door of the Cave* and charges 50 cent* to each visitor, which produces him a considera ble revenue. Mr. Charte* Lewis whe lives near Port Republic* accompanied me on my sub terranean excursion and contributed much to the gratification of it. In following me I fear you will share more of the fatigues than plea sures | but if I oxcito your curiosity sufficient ly to induce vou to make (his place a visit, at some time wneA on your t*ay to> Washington, I shall have done you an essential service by ena bling you <o see and enjoy much in a little space, an important consideration in the cconomy of a life whose duration is contracted to a span. I am, my dear sir, with every sentiment of re spefct and esteem* yours as over, '- I 4 CALVIN J0NK8. '* ? ;MK*i v.sixbisiaiei?in v.qurrv. Judith Arnold, ) , ft. V UHl f?r tiitweiy and ttUtf. Jfimt.4 Arnold fcotlifr* 3 ITiipptSt'iiifjlp ?!?*? ntt nfudion <?f tlic Court that Wil* , lian| flruvti mid (iarhnd llilliurd, defendant* In litis e.tse. rcflxlt 'vitluxii tlie limit* of the HVi.tc-?It in order ed ?J ml tiny do, w.thin tlirrc month* from !)>.? day, ple.id, answer or demur to the Ml filed in thin raw, or in default thereof, it will betaken ssto them confuted. . . JOIINf M'COMit, nv * AliltiVillv Court-Moii<;t, M>. 15, IMti. 11 .tin. jTht iki>, And for tile, at the <>(Hre <4* the Telescope, nnd ?t tbe llo?>k4ltore, ' ' aft acCoi nt V TltB WINTER KPlDKMIC ir ?n. tkHtM otfti ? fttaphlet, pp. 34, ncntl? printed, stitched tndesm ed~price 11 ????, s ?