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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.