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THE FLOWERS COLLECTION
VOLUME XLIII-NUMBER SEVENTEEN
Atlanta, Ga., Week Ending June 24, !905.
50c PER YEAR—SINGLE COPY 5c.
Guile of Counterfeiters Reveals Majestic Cave in Tennessee
a e e •••« •«• 9 o ••• • >3-• c-<
By S. T. DALSHEIMBR.
»• e •••*•»• 9 ‘^‘C o ■•*©'•* 0‘»* 9 o*»' O’** ■••o ••■•o-
r for S?>« tSter*Ti y Seo*»*
UOM the osiriiesl record thnfc
wo have even of the primc-
vn! man wo have leurne.1
that he stood before na
ture's miracles in an atti
tude of awe and wonder and
•that he was ever inspired to
worship an unseen and un
known Creator because of
tlie evidence of His power
us shown In the thlngn cre
ated. Sun nnd moon m 1
stars—the earth itself and
the waters which surround !>,
have all received their full meed of ador
ation and admiration from man both in
the primitive and modern stage of his
development; and with the gradual in
crease of his mortal capacity and gTorSi
lng understanding of some of nature's
handiwork this interest and admiration
has steadily increased.
The south has furnished numerous
phases of marvelous natural wonders, an i
there is one of them which is compara
tively but little known to the general
southern public, and the majority of
persons if asked to locate Dunbar's cave
would be at n loss to do so. The great
Mammoth cave of Kentucky and the T.ti-
ray caverns of Virginia are well known
and have attracted the attention of :he
civilized world, while scientists have ex
plored their Innermost depths. artis's
have marvels! at their wondrous beau
ties and the layman lias stood spellbound
ocforc the secrets of nature's working.
DUNBAR'S HAS ALL.
But rd! that is shown in the older and
better known caves may be found, too. - n
Dunbar's. for the same conditions pro-
" r ’efl all these cave formations—that is
so it- limestone soil which at one time in
in.- geologic history of the world ox-
1 - ■ - f' ov ■•' I’, sea. U-'n'j-.r'o
cave. In west Tennessee, near the city of
Clarksville, in Montgomery county, on’y
began to attract the Interest of the out
side world in very recent years, although
it has long been known to those jp its
Immediate vicinity and has been used
by the people of Clarksville as a popTnr
place of resort, especially in summer, ns
ID average temperature is about 56 de
grees Fahrenheit. Its wide caverns. wClcli
are nearly 12 miles in extent, its roam-
nr.-.ili chambers which vary in breadth
from ?f> to 40 feet, and in height from
20 to ~ make an ideal spot for the sum
mer tourist. The entrance to the envt*
is especially imposing nnd .is form.- dby ,t
high rock wall in a natural cac-es and is
ooverod by a natural to of. At this spot
a dftneing pavilion has been erected and
the location surpasses in beauty and de
sirability any possible place for recreation
on a summer’s afternoon or evening, "“hat
could be devised by the hand of man. To
ihis point, also, the people of Clarks
ville bring Invalids and children through
out the heated term, the air being deem
ed of especial value.
A visit to the interior of the cave can
be made easily arid comfortably, as con
veyances can be driven through almost
its entire length. Knelt room or chtipi-
ber is In itself an object worthy of indi
vidual study. The main apartment is
railed ‘‘Independence hall.” so-called, per
haps. he cause of its stately proportions,
and to the geologist the stnllactite form
ations there are of particular interest ns
the specimens- n.ro of most unusual per
fection. beauty and size.l The floor 0
"Independence hall' - is paved by nature
with tv formation so like the waves of the
sea nnd so suggestive of the waters which
have washed the soil for generations be
fore matTwas an Inhnb'tapt of this planet,
that one almost hesitate to set a leather
shod foot upon the solid rock. This phe
nomenon Is often seen on mountain sides
aTT.I the race of exposed cliffs in some de
grees of perfection, but the "ocean rip
ples" in Dunbar's cave are so absolutely
perfect and so like the moving surface of
the resfless sea that one" having been ob
serve* there could never again lie c. doubt
in the Wind of man that once, at least;
In the development of the world, the
"land ifiTi (he sea changed places."
Imaginative man has compared many
o' the rock formations in the cave to
modern objects with which he is famil
iar. and one may continue 'to find new
points to incite admiration and inter
est The roof of one long passageway
so closely resembles a Pullman car that
the r'aee Ii i«= been called Pulltra.11 ave
nue. and a little further along the form
cf a gigantic lizard is so clearly defind
tin (he roof of tlie cave that one in-
vohim arily shudders as lie recalls all the
weird stories he has ever heard of the
monsters of heroic size which once in
habited this planet, for the cave liz
ard measures 14 feet in length. Again,
another formation in the solid rock re
sembles a mammoth human hand, as
though some prehistoric man had placed
an open palm down upon the then yield
ing stone, .the impress of which was
caught and held by the passing years.
These resemblances, both real and fan
cied, are many throughout the entire
length of the cave. and. us the traveler
Journeys on and oil, deeper and deeper
Dunbar’s Cave. Near Clarksville, Tennessee, on the Line of the Tennessee Central Railroad, Showing the Great Mouth, in Which Is Built a Dancing Pavilion
into the mysterious depths, tlm wonders
of this great natural phenomenon seem
to grow in number.
EVIDENCE OF CLIFF DWELLERS.
At one point, the pathway is blocked
by a deep pit which might well he
termed "bottomless." as it has never
yet been fathomed, and its dark sur
face is suggestive of all sorts of uncan
ny possibilities. Dike many of the
rock formations in this country, there
ure evidences of tlie race of cliff dwell
ers nt several points in Dunbar's cave.
and. Indeed, its precipitous sides would
have furnished an ideal resort for this
peculiar race A river flows through
the cave, but is rather small for mod
ern boats, save for those with very fiat
bottoms uji the rocks beneath cornu
mar the surface in many places. Yet,
tin's stream may he the remains of the
oiiginal ocean current which, at one
time surged in fury through these
cavernous depths; and if one’s imagina
tion lie given free rein, this idea Is
further intensified by the perfect figure
Entrance to Dunbar’s Gave, Near Clarksville, Tennesse, on the Line of the Tennessee Central Railroad—Photo by H. O. Fuller, Nashville.
of on inverted boat on ono of the wails
of the nave—a boat too modern in shape,
however, to hi • • been used by either
tho cliff dweilors or the North Ameri
can Indian, so wo reluctantly dismiss
the alluring idea of a possible wreck
■ la the current flowing through Dunbar's
cave.
The cave, like so many of its kind
in fact and fiction, has its dark page of
history, which each traveler insists on
hearing' told. And yet it is a story
common enough—merely that, of a gang
Cf counterfeiters who used this natural
hiding-place as shelter for ihelr illicit
enterprise. As 1: happens, however, the
cave was unknown to any one until
these counterfeiters were trapped ! n
their hiding-place by a government offi
cer, and the great natural wonder was
thus revealed.
The entrance used by die counterfeit
ers* is on the side of a precipitous bluff,
near which flows a bubbling mountain
stream, which at this point forms a
picturesque waterfall, and the opening
to the cave was so overgrown with
weeds and bushes as to he absolutely
hidden from the chance passerby. The
s.ory goes that this bang of law
breakers operated their plant for
many years in Dunbar's cave,
and that they were provided with every
possible device for tlie successful manu
facture of coins and were also bounti
fully provided with provisions of all kinds
—enough to enable them to remain in hol
ing for many weeks if they ever chanced
to suspect the presence of an official of
the government. But after years of suc
cessful work they were at last appre
hended and caught.
SLICK MAKERS OF “QUEER.”
The leader of the band was a certain
Josephus Worthington, well known in
Tennessee and Kentucky and standing in
good repute in both communities. He was
supposed to be engaged in some legiti
mate business which he made exceed
ingly profitable, hut as lie also made fre
quent long trips, tlie exact nature of his
commercial ventures were never known.
He and his five associates, however, were
always amply provided with cash which
they placed at intervals in the nearest
banks and which was accepted without
question, both at the banks and in every
branch ot trade for which it was ten
dered. The eoTn made by this band was,
in time, circulated throughout the entire
country and eventually so much of it
drifted into the national treasury that
suspicion was excited. and although
counterfeiting was suspected, no trace of
•the perpetrators was discovered, although
the government appointed special officers
for the purpose of making this inves’i-
gatlon. Each pant of the country was
diligently searched and only tlie merest
cnance finally revealed the secret. One
of the government officers happened to
be standing near the receiving window of
a small bank in Clarksville and noticed-
a man deposit a rather large amount of
coin—something a trifle strange in the
depositor's manner or, perhaps, the new-
ness of tlie coins attracted tie attention
of the nicer and be determined to
shadow the man. This was done, and to
good purpose, for when the counterfeiter
rode nut of town at sundown the officer
was close behind him disguised as a ped
dler.
He saw his man enter a log but in the
woods about two miles from town, and
soon after he was joined by his five ■on-
federates, coming from different dire ■-
lions, wealthily and one at a time. Tlie
officer now felt certain that he was on
the right track and determined not t >
lose sight of the criminals. He bold’y
walked .up to it he hut, therefore, knocked
and asked for a night's lodging. This
was given him and soon after dark he
was. to all appearances, sound asleep.
_ But soon after midnight he heard his
hosts make a stealthy departure from the
cabin and on following them closely he
was amazed to see all five disappear into
what seemed a solid wall of the steep
bluff. Investigation with the proper of
ficials was made, the place being easily
located by the “peddler’s’’ marks, with
the result that the entire gang was cap
tured and the beautiful and wonderful
Dunbar's cave discovered.
HOTEL PROJECTED.
Flans for the construction of a modem
summer norel at the mouth of the cave
are now on foot, and as this entrance is
one of the most striking features of 'he
place, a hotel near there would be ex
ceedingly popular. The more so, oer-
haps, because within half a mile of the
cave are to be found the Idaho Springs,
already famous throughout Tennessee for
the exeeiler.it sulphur and iron water they
contain. Dunbar's cave and Idaho Spr'ngs
would form a fine combination for tour
ists, and lo those who have stooped to
make their 'way into the small passage
leading to the Mammoth cave it would be
little short of a revelation to enter the
magnificent natural chamber which is the
first of a scries of marvels to be found in
Dunbar's cave of Tennessee. ,
POLICEMAN AND HIS GUN.
(From The Baltimore American. 1
A very sensible suggestion made in the
convention of police chiefs at Washington
is that policemen should be able to shoot
before they are armed. A hull on a ram
page is hardly more dangerous than a
man with supposed official authority to
use firearms over which he has no con
trol in public places. The safety of in
nocent and law-abiding citizens is of quite
as much, if not more, importance than the
capturing of escaping criminals. It would
also be a prudent measure to have police
men taught their legal rights in the mat
ter of making escape subject to death
penalty for all classes of offense, and
•to be made strictly to observe the limit
of those rights before the law. It is as
well to make for those charged with the
enforcement of the law to be the first to
set an example of obdeienee to it.
