Show subterranean wonders hidden for ages discovered by guides at mammoth cave I 1 by JOHN MAC DONALD released by western newspaper union E eyes of scientists and T THE sightseers the nation over have been turned toward mammoth cave kentucky for there the national park service has just announced the discovery of a far flung network of galleries avenues streams subterranean gardens and geological formations that for countless centuries have lain hidden from the eyes ayes of man the new discovery is said by park authorities to be the greatest find since mammoth cave iteld was first entered by pioneers in 1799 news of the first penetration of the hidden labyrinth of limestone caverns has been a closely guarded secret known only by a few cave guides and officials and park service employees on october 10 1938 four excited cave explorers exhausted and coated with mud came up out of the depths to report that they had just gone through purgatory to paradise the four discoverers were carl hanson his son pete 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 cave ridge and its similarity in size and topography they were certain that beneath it lay a network of channels like those of mammoth cave years of disappointment in this search made the guides cautious about announcing their find they confided first only in martin L charlet cave manager a veteran of nearly 40 years experience at mammoth cave their complete story revealed for the first time is an amazing account of hardship of underground rivers which threatened to trap them hundreds of feet underground 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 since then park and cave officials and engineers have followed the twisting trail of the four explorers for months every main avenue in the new discovery has been explored surveyed and checked by these men who today verify it as the greatest find at mammoth cave in years mv lk a ez ab above ove a view view 0 of f one of the passageways eways in the vast newly discovered network of caverns domes avenues and pits found by r p N guides at mammoth cave ky said to be the greatest find since the discovery of the cave itself in 1799 this subterranean wonderland has lain for ages unseen by man below across a crystal and sand carpet hitherto by man the explorer plods his way figuratively leaving his footsteps on the sands of time while public showing of the new treasures unearthed by the discovery will be a comparatively simple matter it has been determined to make haste slowly in preparing the new scenic wonderland for sightseers eyes according to R taylor 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 intricate 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 to any of the delicate formations from concussion the construction of trails entrances exits placement 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 consider its outstanding spectacle to be the great profusion of gypsum found in one section which they have called paradise and another which they identify as little paradise here for hundreds of feet one may walk through a garden of gypsum flowers that decorate walls ceiling and floor great bursts of gypsum simulating every floral pattern found in nature hang in clusters of buds and rosettes some with petals 18 inches long mineral deposits on some of the crystalline gypsum blend into a variety of pastel colors to create the effect of a fairy castle built of candy one grotto covered with formations like rock candy pink honeycomb peppermint stick and taffy particularly appealed to the 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 off by the thrust of new crystals forming underneath clutter the cave floor flaked gypsum covers part of the cave like a white sheet here and there it has peeled back into folds and curves creating patterns of every description thin banded lines in a variety of colors are etched into the white background crystal gypsum on the floor of the cave mixed with red sand makes the walkway walk way sparkle like a jeweled carpet sand banks for hundreds of feet are covered with crusted gypsum like a snow drift caked by a hard wind below this cr crust is the pepper red sand three main avenues three main avenues constitute the major part of the newly found cave network though dozens of smaller channels spread fan wise in every direction largest of the three which the guides call simply big avenue extends fully feet it is unequaled by anything previously known being comparable only to the great broadway avenue of mammoth cave except 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 feet and a height of 30 to 35 feet walls and ceiling for hundreds of feet in big avenue are glistening white with flaked gypsum or studded with gypsum crystals frequently the ceiling has been water cut in the shape of great capitol domes rotundas das or cones the creamy white limestone fringed with a web like tracery in red rust black or brown I 1 fossil avenue so called by guides because masses of crustaceans are im bedded in its walls is distinctive for the uniformity of its ca carving arving i and coloring it runs for nearly a mile at right angles to big avenue A thin layer of sparkling gypsum gives this limestone channel the appearance pe arance of a whitewashed white washed tunnel another link in the network is Is tentatively called onyx avenue because of its stalactite and stalagmite formations although only about 1200 feet long 12 feet high and 15 feet long it is in many respects the most beautiful cave in the new discovery here at one time swirling currents of water etched out intricate patterns in the chalk white limestone 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 8 solid rim stone wall 42 feet long and 4 feet high it forms a natural dam across one large avenue where tor for centuries it had held back an underground lake |