d that the onyx texture is either
partly or completely lost, and what was once a pure drip crystal has
returned to a common, porous, dull-colored limestone so soft that
portions can be rubbed to powder in the hand.

Picking the way carefully as the depth of the lovely lake increased, we
followed the sound of falling water and peered into the dark distance in
a vain effort to see it, yet expecting to reach that special object of
interest by keeping to the shallower parts of the lake. These
expectations were shattered suddenly when the boots filled with water,
and that called to mind the fact that twenty-three miles and a chilly
night lay between us and dry clothing; so we returned to the outside
world and rested on the rocks where Captain Greer and our young driver
waited for us. The cave has never been fully explored, and probably we
penetrated farther than others have ever done, as the owner knew
nothing of the falling water we so distinctly heard and were surely very
near.

The view from the rocks is wonderfully beautiful and includes both the
entrance to the cave, with its flowing stream, and the receiving basin
with its bounding stream. But it was growing late in the afternoon, and
there was another cave whose entrance was in the perpendicular wall
above the end of the path by which we had come. This entrance could be
reached by a dilapidated ladder; assisted by a forked pole and supplied
with candles and matches, my nephew and I achieved the ascent with not
much trouble. Here we found what is, no doubt, one of the oldest caves
known.

The original cavity is nearly filled up with masses of onyx--colorless
crystal and white striped with pale shades of grey. The cave is
perfectly dry and freshly broken surfaces in some places show signs of
deterioration, so how can we venture even a guess as to the time it has
required to first excavate the cave and then fill it with masses of rock
deposited by the slow drip process, and later, for that crystalline rock
in a now dry atmosphere to present a perceptible weakening? We went as
far as passages could be crawled into, which was no great distance, and
at once started on our uncertain descent of the ladder; but this was not
a matter of so much concern as the upward trip, for the success of
which some doubts were entertained; for going down is always naturally a
less certain matter, as one can fall if more desirable means are
unsuccessful, and I have unexpectedly reached man