Show Subterranean W Wonders iders Hidden for Ages Discovered by Guides at Mammoth l Cave By JOHN JOliN MAC lAC DONALD n by Western Wulm N Newspaper Union 1 THE eyes of scientists and sightseers the nation over have been turned toward Mammoth Cave Kentucky For there the National Park service has just announced the discovery of a flung far-flung network of galleries avenues streams subterranean gardens gardens gardens gar gar- dens and geological forma forma- formations formations that for countless centuries centuries centuries cen cen- have lain hidden from the eyes of man The new discovery is said by park authorities to be the greatest find since Mammoth Cave itself was first entered by pioneers in 1799 News of ot the first penetration of the hidden labyrinth of ot limestone caverns has been a closely guarded secret known only by a few cave guides and officials and park servIce service service ice employees On October 10 1938 four excited cave explorers exhausted exhausted exhausted ex ex- hausted and coated with mud came up out of the depths to report that they had just gone through Purgatory Purgatory Purgatory Purga Purga- tory to Paradise The four discoverers were Carl Hanson his son Pete Pole Leo Hunt and his cousin Claude Hunt Their find developed out of an expedition up the black recesses of Roaring river under Lee Ridge to catch eyeless fish for display Years of Search For 20 years explorers had sought in vain to get beneath Lee Ridge Because of its proximity to Mammoth Mammoth Mammoth Mam Mam- moth Cave ridge and its similarity in size and topography they were certain that beneath It lay a network network net net- work of channels like those of Mammoth Mammoth Mammoth Mam Mam- moth cave Years of disappointment in this search made the guides cautious about announcing their find They confided first only in Martin L. L Charlet cave manager a veteran of nearly 40 years' years experience at Mammoth cave Their complete story revealed for forthe forthe forthe the first time is an amazing account account ac ac- count of hardship of underground rivers which threatened to trap them hundreds of feet underground o of tortuous crawling stooping and twisting through narrow crevices past gaping pits into towering domes and finally of stumbling Into a yawning cavern which stretches for miles into a new world never before trod by the footsteps of man I Since then park and cave officials and engineers have followed fo the twisting trail of the four explorers For months every main avenue in inthe inthe inthe the new discovery has been explored explored explored ex ex- surveyed and checked by these men who today verify it a athe as the greatest find rand at Mammoth cave in years tt 9 fx R i II st a f S J 4 arF a y yo a t y L l o s. s k t. t o K I bOle Above A a II view victo of oj one of the pa s in the vast tast newly y discoverer network of caverns I domes avenues and pits found by guides at Mammoth Cave Cate Ky Sa Said ill Jo 10 be the tIle greatest find since the discovery of the cave care itself in i 1799 this subterranean wonderland wonderland wonder wonder- land lies has lain for ages unseen by nan Below arrow across a II crystal and I sand carpet hitherto I by man the explorer plods his I way tray figuratively rat leaving ing his lis footsteps foot foot- steps on the Sands of Time I While hile public showing of the new treasures unearthed by the discovery discovery ery cry will be a comparatively simple matter maUer it has been determined to tomake tomake tomake make haste slowly in preparing the new scenic wonderland for tor sightseers sightseers sightseers sightseers' sight seers' seers eyes according to R. R Taylor Taylor Tay Tay- lor for Hoskins acting superintendent of Mammoth Cave National park It will probably be about two years before the work is completed This he says is because of the In intricate Intricate In in- engineering problems and development of protective devices Before a single shot of dynamite was fired at the site of the proposed work entrance observations were made above and below the surface to detect any possibility of disturbance disturbance disturbance disturb disturb- ance to any of the delicate formations formations formations forma forma- from concussion The construction construction construction tion of trails entrances exits exit placement placement place place- ment meat of lights and scores of other matters that contribute to the safety and comfort of visitors must require care and patience Mr Hoskins says Gypsum Paradise The guides who made the discovery discovery ery cry consider its outstanding spectacle spectacle spectacle cle to be the great profusion of gyp gyp- gypsum gypsum sum found in one section which they have called Paradise and another which they identify as Little Para Para- dise Here for hundreds of feet teet one may walk through a garden of gypsum gypsum gypsum gyp gyp- sum dowers towers that decorate walls ceiling and floor Great bursts of vl tit gypsum simulating every floral noral pattern pattern pat- pat tern found in nature hang bang in clusters clusters clus- clus ers of buds and rosettes some with petals 18 inches long Ions Mineral MineraI deposits on some of ot the crystalline gypsum blend into a variety variety variety va va- of pastel colors to create the effect of a fairy castle built of can can- dy One grotto covered with formations formations formations for for- like rock candy pink honeycomb bon hon peppermint stick and taffy particularly appealed to the discoverers discoverers who call it the Candy Kitchen Snowball Formation In one section of the cave white ovals of gypsum cling to the walls like hundreds of snowballs while others forced of off by the thrust of new crystals forming underneath clutter the cave floor Flaked gypsum covers part of the cave like a B white sheet Here and there it has peeled back into folds and curves creating patterns of every every every ev ev- ery description Thin banded lines in a variety of ot colors are etched Into the white background Crystal gypsum on the floor of the cave mixed with red sand makes the way walk-way sparkle like a jeweled carpet Sand banks for hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- of feet are covered with crusted crusted crust crust- ed gypsum like a snow drift caked by a hard wind Below this crust is the red pepper-red sand Three Main Mein Avenues Three main avenues constitute the major part of the newly found cave network though dozens of smaller channels spread wise fan in every very direction Largest of the three which the guides call simply Big Dig avenue extends extends extends ex ex- tends fully tally feet It is unequaled by anything previously known being comparable only to the great Broadway Broadway Broad Broad- way avenue of Mammoth cave except except except ex ex- that it is more evenly cut in straighter lines and holds to Its vast dimensions more consistently Throughout its length it maintains an average width of 50 SO feet and a n height of 30 to 35 feet Walls and ceiling for hundreds of feet in Big Dig avenue are glistening white with flaked gypsum or studded studded stud stud- ded with gypsum crystals FreI Frequently Fre Fre- the ceiling has been water- water cut in the shape of great capitol I domes rotundas or cones conea the white creamy-white limestone fringed with a web-like web tracery in red rust black or brown Fossil avenue so called by guides because masses of crustaceans are Imbedded in its walls wa is distinctive for the uniformity of its carving and coloring It runs for nearly amile a amile amile mile at right angles to Big Dig avenue A thin layer of sparkling gypsum gives this limestone channel the appearance appearance appearance ap ap- of a white-washed white tunnel Another link in the network is I tentatively called ca Onyx avenue because of its stalactite and stalagmite stalagmite stalagmite mite formations Although only about 1200 f fact long 12 feet high and 15 feet long it is in many respects respects respects re re- the most beautiful cave in the new discovery Here at one time swirling currents currents cur cur- currents rents of water etched out intricate patterns in the white chalk limestone lime stone to leave an endless array of grotesque contorted shapes The bed of a pond here is encrusted with simulated cave pearls Of the travertine formations the most unusual is a solid wall 42 feet ct long and 4 feet high It forms a natural dam across one large avenue where here for centuries it had held back an underground lake The former water bed rises up ina in ina ina a series of ot crystallized terraces to another strange formation called the Mushroom though it looks more like an inverted cocktail glass of ot gigantic proportions A foot five-foot red stem hangs 15 feet from froma a dome Near the floor the stem is attached to a like bowl-like stalagmite 40 feet in circumference one circumference one of the largest of its kind anywhere The arta area below the bowl was once filled with water and now the entire entire en en- tire stone mass seems suspended from the ceiling |