mite on the floor, and the great size of the
columns, is proof of their antiquity, while the depth of earth beneath
must have been thousands of years in accumulating before the deposits
began to cover them.

Excavations here, while quite desirable, would be very expensive. Much
stalagmite would have to be blasted; upward of a thousand yards of
earth moved, and all of it taken out of the cave, because there is no
room for it inside. As a man can not push a wheelbarrow up such an
incline, a trench must be cut through to the exterior slope; and as
solid rock lies not more than 5 feet below the surface at any point,
blasting would be necessary the rest of the way. The task is equal to
opening a stone quarry.

The second cave on McDerment's place has a good opening. A trench 4
feet wide and 6 feet deep where the rock is thickest has been blasted
out to make a level approach to the entrance. Masses of stalagmite on
each side, sloping like solid rock from the walls, leave barely room
for a man to walk for the first 30 feet. Here the walls recede
somewhat, and a pit nearly 15 feet deep yawns before the explorer.
After continuing for some distance with this depth, there is another
drop of 10 feet which holds until the end of the cave is reached. This
entire depression is due to the removal of earth for making saltpeter.
It is evident that a vast amount of material has been carried out.

As in the first cave, excavation would be very difficult and
expensive. All rock and earth would have to be carried up a steep
grade, or a deep cut made to wheel it out. As the light is very dim at
the first widening of the walls, it is not probable the space farther
back would be occupied unless as a refuge.

Both caves were eroded by water running _into_ the hill, and the end
of each is abrupt, the roof being higher and the walls farther apart
than at any point nearer the entrance. The original outlets are now
filled with earth, and apparently have been so for ages.

FORT DEPOSIT CAVE.--Six miles below Guntersville the highway to
Huntsville crosses the Tennessee River at Fort Deposit Ferry and
passes out through a narrow valley between two bluffs. Less than 100
yards above the landing, on the north, or right, bank, is a large cave
from which the spot takes its name; there being a tradition that it
was used by General Jackson as a storage room for supplies during the
Creek Indian war. On either side the bluff is vertical to the water's
edg