Report of a visit to the Luray Cavern, in Page County, Virginia, under the auspices of the Smithsonian institution, July 13 and 14, 1880 . NIA. D in breadth. Crossing the Ramble by a deep trench cut through thetravertine tioor and the cave clay, the party stood on the edge of PlutosChasm, a rift .300 feet long, 70 feet deep, and 10 to 50 feet across, andwith lighted candles in front of them sought to penetrate the candles combine their ineffectual fires to dissipate the gloom, butthey only serve to indicate the locality of their possessors. Here is thea\ve-insi)iring spot in all
Report of a visit to the Luray Cavern, in Page County, Virginia, under the auspices of the Smithsonian institution, July 13 and 14, 1880 . NIA. D in breadth. Crossing the Ramble by a deep trench cut through thetravertine tioor and the cave clay, the party stood on the edge of PlutosChasm, a rift .300 feet long, 70 feet deep, and 10 to 50 feet across, andwith lighted candles in front of them sought to penetrate the candles combine their ineffectual fires to dissipate the gloom, butthey only serve to indicate the locality of their possessors. Here is thea\ve-insi)iring spot in all the cave. There is greater beauty, richervariety of form and color in many places, but no view stirs the sense ofdreadful mystery like that from the balustrade of Plutos Chasm. Fol-lowing the guides down a long, rocky descent, which bears away to theright past the edge of the chasm, the party reached the bottom of this darkchamber. From this point a fine view is obtained of the Specter, a tallsnow-white stalagmite, looming up in the darkness in a very ghostlymanner. This is a cul de sac, and it is necessary to retrace ones steps to. The Fish Market. the Fish Market before making a new departure. Indeed, the astonish-ing fact was that the whole cavern occupies such a small area. In ]Mam-moth Cave one can walk more than ten continuous miles without doub-ling on his tracks. At Luray the chambers branch off in most fantasticform about the entrance until one is entirely bewildered. Again, inLuray Cave there are no contracted squeezes, no crawling, no break-neck climbings, no miry i)ools, but one may get about with almost asmuch ease as in tlie open fields. b LUKAY CAVERN, PAGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. On the side of a rocky ledge by the path leading to the Fish Marketis a miniature lake, in which the formation of calcite crystals is yetgoing on. It is a very beautiful object, the snow-white crystals forminga pleasing contrast with the brown color of the surrounding rock.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherwashi, bookyear1881
