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Newspaper Page Text
jammmmmmmmmmmmm iaStaabsg-'3" fye Coconino Sun. Vol.. XV. FLAGSTAFF, FKBRUAKY lit, 1898. NO. 4. WONDERFUL CAVES OF THE GRAND CANYON OF THE COLO RADO RIVER. Their Accldentil Dlscovery-The Beauty the Interior or the Cives Described by a Visitor. of The eaves of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado river have attracted almost aw much attention as the Grand Canyon, with its wonderful scenery. The cave were discovered in 181MI. To a c(K)k named Joseph Gildner. em ployed in the mining camp of Messrs. Cameron it Berry in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado river belongs the honor of discovering what savants had looked for in vain, although they had every reason to presume that what they sought was in existence, and what geologists have long desired' to find, in the hope that some further light might be thrown upon some matters connected with the geological forma tion of the Grand Canyon, which hith erto could only be conjectured. It has long been contended that If caves could only bo discovered some more definite information could Ini gleaned of the many thousands of feet of strata which it Is claimed by geologists have been swept away by erosion from the surface of this platform. Standing on Clear Creek canyon, a mile below the plateau on which the camp und mines are situated, and look ing up at the entrance to this cave, one is lllled with vague horror and amaze ment at the mere thought of anyone venturing to climb along the precip itous face of the mountain to explore its depths. Kven with the aid of a power ful glass it does not seem j)Ossible that a chamois or mountain goat could Und a foothold there. How the man over got there In the lirst instance without a roKj or any other assistance and cseajed falling down and being dashed to pieces at the base of the rock, a pre cipitous descent of over 1,(100 feet, is a mystery. The cliff in which this cave was dis covered rises almost abruptly from the plateau on which the camp is situated and frowns down menacingly on the canyon below. It is truly a very for bidding object, comiHxed of a dirty red dish limestone formation, and seems to warn the venturesome that death awaits him who would pry too closely into the secret that nature has so closely guard ed in her impenetrable bosom. A trail has been built to the entrance of the cave that anyone can walk along without danger, and a platform six feet wide has been built at the mouth of the cavy. -The entrance has been cleared away so that a man can almost walk erect into it. To describe It as a cave is not liter ally correct. It is rather an intricate series of caves, branching out one from the otherund extending in every direc tion under the mountains. The first euve 'or compartment is fully 1100 feet long and of varying height, extending from about ten feet in some places to eighty or ninety feet In others, and the view presented to the beholder is al most sufficient to take one's breath away. Pendant from the celling and the sides of the cave are the most leau tiful formations of stalactite, and the