VE.--Chaumont is a station on the road to Mammoth Cave, 3
miles from the Glasgow Junction. The cavern, which is so named from
its limited extent as compared with Mammoth, is a mile from the
station. The entrance, reached by a winding way along the ridges, is
on one side of an irregular depression comprising 3 or 4 acres. At
present there is a heavy bank of earth, several feet high, across the
entrance, nearly closing it to the top, except at the middle where a
wagon road has been cut through to allow fertilizers for mushroom beds
to be hauled in. This earth, so it is stated, was not there when the
cave was discovered, but has been carried from the interior partly by
saltpeter workers, and partly by the present owner in order to cover
up some rocks and to make the floor smooth and level. In front of the
cave and of the earth piled at the entrance is a level space of 25 or
30 feet to a deep sink hole. Some water and mud, in time of wet
weather, runs into the front part of the cave but its effect is not
noticeable for more than 30 or 40 feet. Beyond this is a reach of more
than 200 feet of perfectly dry level floor. It was not so smooth
before some grading was done for the mushroom beds, but was at no time
rugged or difficult to travel over. At 300 feet from the entrance is a
slope about 20 feet high, at the foot of which begins another floor so
dry as to be dusty in places. Whether this apparent thickness of 20
feet is of earth, or earth and stone mixed, or is indicative of a dip
in the rock floor, is not known, as no excavation has ever been made
except for the plant beds. There is a slight descent, not more than 3
or 4 feet, from the entrance to the point where the flood water seems
to reach. This is seemingly due altogether to the wash. The width of
the cave is about 50 feet, and notwithstanding the partial closure of
the entrance there is sufficient light as far back as 200 feet to
enable one to read ordinary print. So there is ample room within reach
of daylight for several hundred people to gather without
inconvenience.

The owner, Capt. J.B. Briggs, who lives in Russellville, has granted
permission to make any excavations desired, provided the floor be left
in good shape when done. It is evident that any satisfactory
examination will demand a large expenditure. If only a preliminary
trench were made, the necessary slope would require a considerable
width at top, while if anything should be disclosed that called for