the fern-decked rocks before quite
finishing the ascent to the actual outside world, the mercury lost
little time in registering eighty degrees.

Since no official, or even approximately correct map of Marble Cave has
yet been published, and the desirability of maps is particularly urged
by Monsieur E.A. Martel, a special effort was made to secure one, which
was accompanied by the following remarks from Mr. Prince in regard to
its incompleteness:

"There are several passages and rooms which do not appear on the map,
though some of them are well known, but have not been surveyed and
platted.

"Much further exploration is possible in this great cavern. Lost River
Canon ends abruptly in a bank of red clay, the volume of water being
undiminished. The water from the Great Fall flows by a small serpentine
into a passage which has never been followed up; its entrance being
several hundred feet higher than the nearest water level."

Unfortunately the quantity of water in the cave at the time of the
visit just described was so unusually great as to render the Lost River
Canon trip impossible.

During the previous season the cave and its surroundings were visited by
a prominent naturalist who appears to have been delightfully liberal in
the diffusion of scientific knowledge and the explanations of methods of
pursuing investigations. His practical instruction in snake catching is
particularly interesting as it was never before introduced into this
state, where the copperhead and rattler are known to have survived among
the fittest. Seeing a snake hole and desiring information as to the
family record of the proprietor, he inserted a finger, and while waiting
for results explained that there is no better way to secure a specimen,
as the enraged reptile will fasten its fangs into the intruding member
and then can be easily withdrawn. It is a pleasure to state that even
snakes recognize the claims of friendship, and no injury was
experienced.[2]

In the vicinity of Marble Cave there are several choice varieties of
onyx and marble, among them a rare and beautiful onyx in black and
yellow. The coloring, tinting and banding of onyx seem generally to be
regarded as one of the unexplainable mysteries of nature, but is in
reality an extremely simple process that can be easily studied in any
active cave.

When the percolating acidulated water passes slowly through a pure
limestone it is filtered of impurities and deposits a crystal,