considered the cave's chief beauty was not easy to overcome, but after
careful attention to the deep mire of the approach the advice seemed
good, especially as Mr. Powell kindly promised to write a description of
its trials and treasures; which he promptly did, thereby making it
possible for us to continue the journey now without a disappointing
interruption, so we will proceed to wade that mud bank with him in his
own way. He says: "As Mecca is to the Mohammedan, so is Blondy's Throne
Room to the pilgrim who invades the chaos and penetrates the mysteries
of Marble Cave. When the subject is mentioned to the guide, he shrugs
his shoulders and assumes an imploring look, and begins at once to
mention the difficulties of getting there. But if you insist upon it he
will go. The passage by which this room has to be reached, if passage it
may be called, must be entered from the Waterfall Room, and a steep
ascent must be made until an elevation of fifty feet is reached above
the bottom of that room. This ascent has been called Hughse's Slide, as
a man of that name once lost his footing at the top and slid on the wet
and very slippery clay all the way to the bottom, leaving a very sleek
trail. The ascent is difficult, as the soft clay is deep and wet and the
sides are reeking and covered also with soft yielding clay. When the top
of the slide is once reached, a low passage six feet wide and two feet
high is discovered, and stooping low, or actually lying flat down, you
enter. The top of the passage is of smooth rock and the bottom is of wet
clay with an occasional variation of sharp gravel. The air is good, and
as a lizard, you start forward. In places the passage widens to ten or
twelve feet and again narrows to six feet.

"In about one hundred feet you encounter a small pond of water filling
the whole width of the passage and extending twenty to thirty feet, but
the guide tells you it is only one foot deep, and calls attention to the
fact that the water does not come within a foot of the roof of the
passage and you can easily keep your chin above it, and with this
assurance through you go.

"Within the next one hundred feet you encounter and pass in the same
manner three more ponds of varying sizes. The guide calls your
attention to the fact that you are not alone, and looking about you by
the dim light of your candle you see numbers of small eyeless
salamanders, from four inches to one foot long. They are peaceable and
har