ve, which he kindly did, and it is here
given. He says:

"In trailing a deer I came across a hole on top of a long divide. On
throwing a rock down the opening, I could hear it rattling against the
walls until the sounds gradually died away, but there seemed to be no
bottom to the hole, and I resolved to come again prepared and make
explorations. After the snow had gone my twelve-year-old son, Ray, and
I, mounted on our trusty horses, Bonnie and Dee, equipped with ropes,
candles, hammers and a pocketful of matches, set out to explore the new
cave. It was a beautiful, bright spring morning, and after an hour's
hard climbing over fallen timber and rocks, we reached the summit of the
mountain. A search of half an hour revealed the opening which was barely
large enough to allow me to pass through.

"Fastening our ropes securely to a stout log rolled across the chasm, we
began to pay it out, and although we did not feel it touch bottom, I
started down to explore, the length of the rope at least. As I descended
I found the opening gradually widened out to eight or ten feet, a sort
of inverted funnel-shaped hole with irregular wall but smooth and
affording little footing. As I neared the bottom I saw the end of the
rope was within four feet of it, so I landed on terra firma and called
to Ray, 'All right, come down!'

"Lighting our candles we found ourselves standing on a mound of pure
onyx, and on looking around could see we were in an immense cavern,
whose walls sparkled and glittered as if studded with diamonds. Going
down twenty feet we found a smooth-floored room that measured three
hundred feet in length, twenty five feet in width, and thirty feet in
height. The walls were solid white onyx lined or banded with pink and
golden stripes. The ceiling was arched, and draped in fantastic shapes,
and hung with stalactites innumerable. The room was so large and the
drapery and festooning so delicate and beautiful, that we were filled
with awe and could not speak for a time.

"At last we started to further explore this wonderland. On going to the
farther end of the room we found a passage leading on. This we followed
for a hundred feet and found the whole cavern lined with onyx and
crystals clear as glass. After loading up with specimens we retraced our
steps and on reaching the large room we had first entered we heard a
roaring, rumbling noise. An awful noise truly, which filled us with an
unknown dread.

"On approaching the