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Show CAVE FULL OF ASHES. Wonderful Cavern in the Dugway Mountains Explored by J. M, Hamilton and O, 0. Higley. One of the most tematkable and mvi.. terlnus examples of natures workmin-ship workmin-ship In the entire Intermountnln region Is described by Attorney J. M Hamll ton who return'.! Friday evening from the Dugway mountains after a difficult joume) undertaken tor the sole pur-rn.e pur-rn.e of iiivrtlgntlnR the phenomenon What he saw was a large cave filled to unknown depths with the finest of ashes 'ihe lack of water compelled him tn cut his explorations short but he was so much Impressed bv what he saw that he located a mining claim over the arei occupied by the tnve nnd will go hack better equipped to cairj on his Investigation Mr Hamilton was accompanied on the Journey by George O HIrIsj the ells coverer of the cove Mr Higley while herding sheep In that region about Ilfteen months ago. found a small opening open-ing in the fice of a cliff His curlolt was aroused and ns he had nothing els to do lo pass away the time he took an nxe from bin camp nnd enlarged the opening tn a sire sufficient to admit his bod Crawling Ilfteen feet through a narrow passagewav he found himself In a chamber fortv feet long, twenty reet wide and nbout thlrtv feet In height The moment he set his feet nn the floor the cave tilled with whit he thought was smoke hut which rroved to be nshes of almost inconceivable lightness In looking nround the place he ran across a piece of malleable tuctnl weighing about three ounces and re sembllng sliver, which ho carried nvvny with him. The herder shnvvel the specimen nnd described the cive lo a number of people, peo-ple, hut Mr Hamilton wan the first to have lha,tlme nr the Inclination to visit It. They left the city nn March 1st and on reaching the deBerl started out In a camp wagon with a ten gallon keg of water. It was their Intention to water their horsen nnd replenish the barrel at the sptlngs generally found In what is known as 'The Old River Ited," near the site of the cave, but they found the springs nil dry, und to keep from perishing perish-ing from thirst they were foiced to push on after spending four or five hours at the cave Mr. Hamilton ca)s, In describing the adventure "We found the entrance to the cave without much difficult, but It was altogether al-together too smill for me to get through and It took much valuable time to en large It A lantern from our camp supplied us with light when we reached the big cave Thn chamber, with Its floor of light gray nnd blue Bhes looked to me like the crater of an extinct volcano vol-cano nnd the walls were coiled with a substance I tike to be o7okerlte nnd seamed with mineralized elns. "When we undertook to dig Into the ashes at our feet they tilled the air and almost smothered us, but we succeeded In getting down ihout live feet. There was no bottom there and we quit without with-out gaining the least Idea as lo what tho real depth of the deposit Is. I no-tked no-tked thnt the nshes were growing redder In color as wo went dovn, from which I nsumo that they rest upon tome kind of mineral which was roaste I out by ihe contlagratlon that rnged here In nges past. Whether the llmo was reduced tn ashes through the agency of fire or the action of nclds, I leave for the scientists to determine but my own opinion Is thnt tho phenomenon Is due to chemical combination. t h never the cause It s no longer In operation and the nlr In the cave suffices for breathing purposes although It la lidin with nn epptosslve and peculiar odor Before lenvlng the cave I took samples from the walls und a quantity of tho ashes for chemical tests. ' Whatever the value of this discovery mav be as a mining proposition It Is plainly nf great sclentllic Interest and might throw great light on some of the unexplalned,ecrets of nature The apex of the cne apparently rises to within a few fe-et of the top of the spur which contains It and the presence of other caverns Is indicated by the fact thit hammering, on the side of the hill loo Sards awty can-be plainly heard In the cave "On the surface of the earth around the cave I found tho finest lead Indications Indica-tions and I bolleve that the mineral seams In the wallr. of the chamber are formed by-lead In the form of a carbonate." |