Show JACUBS ENDLESS CAVE CAVEt t Mysterious s Creation of Nature N In State of ot Missouri 4 j WEIRD AND ROMANTIC r ST GE TALES THAT TH T HAVE COME DOWN TO r o US Its Echoing Walls Hold Secrets se Most Weird and Fascinating F root prints of Prehistoric Man Han Upon the Floors Piles of Human Bones That Speak of Battles 4 t Jacobs cave is a Missouri wonder of nature It Is some seven miles south of Morgan county and is a succession of mysterious ramified chambers a St Louts Louis correspond correspondent ent of the New York Tork Telegram There Theres ThereIsa Isa is s a belief that these underground cor corridors are e endless and that they hon honeycomb the earth for miles and miles possibly forming junctions with other caverns being part of an underground girdle And aside from its attraction as a natural wonder there are stories of love adventure and death dath within the he stygian maw of this great cave Jacobs Ja cave is remote from front centers of civilization It is a commonplace thing to those who live near it lit except ohen as is now flow frequently the case prospectors for lead and zinc or other oth strangers hear of it and express a de do desire sire to view its wonders Then there ther are told most weird and wondrous stories of half bolf known secrets that its echoing walls hold of foot footprints footprints footprints prints made mad by prehistoric man upon the he floor before passing Dassing centuries had hardened them Into stone of Indian lovers overs lovers seeking refuge from a revenge revengeful ful rival within its depths of battles whose only records are piles of bones bonea and mummIfied bodies bOOt of fights with wild beasts which had chosen their lair where they thought man would never venture and of all that goes es to in increase Increase crease the mystery of jf such places and make them Interesting to curious hu humanity h inanity manity Recently R your correspondent was one of a party of explorers into this mighty cavern He Ho found that the beauties of its ts glittering gUttering walls are not overdrawn that its bigness is not overstated that toot there are marks of the teet of mew men arid and beasts sunk deep into the floors of solid soUd rock that in at least one one place there is a pile of bones that may be those these of the Indian lovers around whose love tradition weaves a aale tale ale o ot of romance and tragedy and that the he passageways s are so 90 varied in size and conformation and so numerous that the famed great labyrinths of ancient days are simply promenades in com corn comparison comparison parison The party that sited the cave was IBS composed mostly or prospectors many of whom have recently Invaded Morgan county hoping to reap a harvest harv st of lead and jack from the comparatively unexplored hUla Those who went on the expedition were J J T Fleming H ii E EPaul EPaul Paul W E Fryer E P Gartrell your correspondent corres and an Englishman The two first and the last represent a a min mining mining ing company of Kewanee Ills IUs who were working a holding of acres in the vicinity and a who had some lead strikes Fryer and anti Gartrell belonged to a mining company of Kewanee Ills who were w e working several pros prospects prospects prospects within wi thIn a few f w miles Of f the cave They Thoy were ier eT in custody of Ned Herring Herrington H ton who has the reputation of being GO so far as lead and zinc prospects and other mysteries of nature are concerned On erneda a directory of southern thern Morgan county co nty I The entrance to Jacobs cave Is about I Ia a quarter of ot a mile m from the summit of I Goblins s knob knoo and nd weH up on the east eastern eastern ern era slope of the hill The Thoe opening Is almost completely hidden by an over overhanging overhanging overhangIng hanging rock and by thick thic bushes It ItIs ItIs ItIs Is said that the cave Cave was first discovered discovered discovered ered by an Indian West Went Wind who had from his native vii vil village lage The warrior loved a maiden of his Ms tribe and she loved him West WestWind WestWind Wind Wiri In spite of the sentence against him hovered d about the forbidden vil vii village village lage calling at t night to his love by b 1 apt Imitation of the owls h By accident he h stumbled upon the opening of Jacobs cave The place offered him hint a secret Shelter and soon became a trysting tr place for the lovers But the maidens frequent absences from front the village were noted by a jeal jell jealous ous one brave Flying Arrow One day he followed the girl saw where she went and whom she joined and told the chief and the tri tube tribe be of what he had seen In a body the men mem flocked to the caVe caie The lovers lov rs heard the commotion and saw the chief and his braves ap an approaching a preaching Escape outward being im impossible Impossible possible pos ible they retreated into the unexplored unexplored chambers chanbers of the cavern The pursuers headed by Flying Arrow fol followed followed followed lowed after They lost their way but after many trials all save Flying ing Ar Arrow Arrow Arrow row found the exit of the cave Flying Arrow was seen no more am and the legend Is that he was whirled into a fiery dungeon by the spirit of the cave As for the lovers they were never naver heard of again but the story has it that they were carried to an ano another o other her land one of perpetual happiness beauty and love by the very spirit who had punished Flying Arrow When the eyes of the explorers be became became became came Used to the dim dInt light the cavern shone resplendent with ith stalactite ant and stalagmite Many of the former had hac been broken off by previous visitors visitor but laige large numbers remained and the many stone tendrils seemed like a leaf leafless leafless less lew limbless inverted d forest Both the roof and walls appeared app red as if cow cov covered co cowered ered with gleaming frost crystals an effect that was due thre to the candle light Ugh glittering upon the tho damp stone Ned led through this chamber into another The passageway passage y was wag easy compared l to others that followed It Itco consisted co Isted of a high vertical crack cr in the limestone on There was room for lor the thin men but one heavyset prospector I had extreme difficulty in getting through The second vault offered more of ape special special cial interest than the first Fewer o othe of the stalactites had been broken off am and they 9 med clearer and more crystal crystalline crystalline crystalline line In the middle of this crypt was a sparkling spring A burrow which in intersected intersected intersected the main tunnel at right an angles angles anglen glen offered an outlet for the overflow The Th gurgling of the water asi as it fled fied downward through the vitals of Gob Goblin Goblin lin li knob toward North Brushy creek could be heard distinctly In the dark lark dead place the sound of the water wate seemed like the voice of a live thing thins one could imagine it the plaintive call cal calof of a tortured Flying Arrow Going to the edge of the subterranean spring he knelt down and ana placed his candle close to earth Then he lie called U lo 10 the others to look There as if carved In ii the rock were two footprints So perfect were the impressions that ooh toe had left its mark How long had these been there Who had trod the spot back ok b Was It the trail of the Indian lovers in hasty flight or could the feet that causal caus them thelo have been those of West Winds Jealous rival In this chamber there was an enor enormous enormous mona stalagmite and its corresponding formation in the roof If these were formed In the ordinary method by the continual dripping of water holding carbonate of lime in solution they were certainly marvelous The former was wasa a mound fully four feet through and equally high the latter was waa much long longer longor I er or and thinner while its end quite I touched the top of the mound Ned i II sat eat down upon a rock near the spring I cogitated awhile and then drew atten attention hem tion by remarking l I y had 11 ba a scrap with Ith a am m yer No one o fi antl r n l Ned d continued It was IC s it was six seven it was sas tight years yar tS ago Two fellers rollers 1 was wan dh irie one ne of or p them prospects what our fron Iron from front England toppled inter int ran an I kept kem along f t see hee what was wao penin Stood round awhile and then I that Id kern kem in to yere fer far a drink Wall an I 1 lay tay la an were jus a my my UPS line to ta water when I see seethe seethe seethe the t greenest things at me from froth over he h pointed toward a corner of the chamber ver yer er ever cast cas blinkers on I I was soared reared ed edif if I 1 kin tell tella a cat an I knew what It was The Th n began crawl up I reached into my pocket for or my jao It wits was the only ping Ing I had I kinder crouched on my knees The doggone cat come up All AU to once on e she give a s jump I r my m face winder with one arm rm and struck at the cat with the knife But the cat missed me rue an I missed him He landed back of me meI I 1 had barely turned back b ck when wh he come ome come again Jest then thep I had an Idea I dropped fiat flat and the cook ook went plump down in the vate Well WeB ef at theres thores one thing a cat mint got no uc e fer no tie o way Its wa water Water ter er and this feller come sUnk out like ike some old torn tom bin droP d in ina ina Ina a well Then I 1 went for him But he wait He run mu to where the other chaps was waa diggin like a n skinned rac race raea hoss boss Them Thorn fellers was scared seared they was vas an I was too Ned arose and holding his candle high started on a 8 trip rip further Into the cave As he led he the way yay he said Ef HI you fellers think ye know what cave is by comin this far yer Wrong fer yer dont by a durn site ite The Th next few moments verified his assertion ass The Th walls of the second chamber began to td a Finally they narrowed down to a tunnel in which one could barely stand erect Still the passage greis smaller Then Ned lay down flat fiat and commenced to wriggle along So did the others othen Quarters i tern were narrow and progress gress dim difficult difficult cult But after a a time another chain cham chamber ber was reached By B perseverance and perhaps by the spur of pride which would not permit one to stop while another would go fur furher fUrther further ther her the cave was penetrated for per perhaps perhaps perhaps haps three times the distance that had already been gOne g ne over oyer As one liter literally literally ally any rubbed elbows with the rocks they thY began to feel hard rather than mysterious The Th general trend of the cave caye seemed to be b downward and presently the floor became damp and at times muddy Finally the walls be began began gan again to close in and it was ap p apparent parent that another narrow arrow was coming Ned stopped and said make it no further I guest guess that place is full of water All AU stopped stopp d glad perhaps that a spot had lad ben been b n reached where nobody would essay ess y to go forward But Ned did not start back He stood still awhile and then spoke again agnin Too Ped bad Its wet et season Beason theres s a mighty strange thing on the other others s side deT that was asked ked Its a doggone tough crawl at any anytime anytime anytime time continued Ned somewhat irrelevantly irrelevantly irrelevantly vantly youve got to slide along ai about out fifty feet felt with one side in the water watern an au n with yer candle and matches held up But ater ter that ye come out into the thel biggest l es room I ever er see seem in n a cove c ve You Youcan Youcan can an hol hoi yer light up and stare all you want to but doggone me ate ef ye can see any roof The floor slants down an s a slippery and wet so I jus stayed I was fer I could hear water not just ju t a mite like thet spring but a stream Me lI and Luke Martin he come coma with willi me we was Then we see white near us only it was tas a little to the right I crawled over and doggone me ef of it bones bon dog doggone doggone doggone gone me lao n fer f r a Dutchman ef it watt the bones of two five or three fellers died cHad ther thor I kem back bask and I says Luke lets move Luke he keer ef et we did so we dug back backI ack I Then Than Ned turned and led the way Iback I back Hia His guidance was as much h need needed ed eel to return as to come for fot the main m ln I cave had many intersecting branches that probably had no outlet |