THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX. PORTLAND. JULY 19, 1908.
OREGON CAVES RIVAL THE MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY
CAVERNS IN "SOUTHERN PART OF STATE HAVE BEEN EXPLORED FOR SEVEN MILES WITHOUT FINDING THE END
BY W. L. CRIPSEY.
PEW people in Oregon, to say noth
ing of our country in general, are
, aware that in the southern part of
this state isto be found a series of cav
erns second only to the world-famous
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Indeed,
the Oregon caves may one day be grant
ed first place, for no attempt at thorough
exploration has ever been made, though
the main passages have been penetrated
to a distance of more than seven miles,
with no indication of the end.
It was in 1874 that Elijah Davidson, out
hunting in the mountains, followed his
doxs on a fresh hear track, to find them
baying before a dark opening in which
the wounded animal had taken refuge.
Krom the cavern rushed a stream of
limpid water, through which Mr. David
son had to wade in entering. A few feet
Inside the hear was despatched, but the
discoverer had seen enough to fill him
with wonder and curiosity, and as soon
as neighbors could be enlisted In the
expedition, the party returned.
The country being thinly settled, it
was some time before the caves were
sufficiently known to attract visitors
from abroad. Then a party of San Fran
ciscn capitalists became Interested and
decided to develop them as a commercial
enterprise. Men were hired to cut a
trail over the mountains, others worked
inside, enlarging small passages, that
they might be more easily traversed, a
hlg hotel was planned and all was bustle
and activity. The promoters themselves
camped at the entrance, spending many
hours daily in the caves. Cards whiled
away the time and games for princely
stakes were played In a. chamber still
known as the "Gamblers' Hall." At the
close of the Summer the capitalists de
parted, with assurances that money
would be sent to pay the workers, but
the paymaster never appeared. It was
a great disappointment to the sturdy
mountaineers, who had worked for a
small wage and then lost that.
After several years had elapsed two
young men built them a cabin and un
dertook to establish their residence there,
so that by "squatting" they would be
given a title to the claim when the Gov
ernment surveyed the land. Several
bridges were constructed over the moun
tain streams, more work was done on
the trail and the boys worked hard, but
seeing that the longed-for survey was
Indefinite and uncertain of accomplish
ment, they reluctantly abandoned their
cabin. Within the past year the United
States Government has reeognlzed the
caves as one of the scenic marvels of its
domain by withdrawing the spot from
entry and d-.-signating it a National park,
a fitting sequel to Its romantic history.
"The Marble Halls of Oregon" He In
the midst of the most picturesque moun
tain scenery Imaginable. Descending
Into a Utile valley over rugged granite
boulders, the forest-covered mountains
rising on every side, one comes to Cave
Creek, which bursts from the foot of a
perpendicular granlto wall 100 feet In
height. Nature has draped the white
facade with luxuriant green moss, In
beautiful contrast to its uncovered por
tions. It Is like a grand overture Intro
ducing the theater of wonders to fol
low. Entering a low passage by following
the bed of the stream, one gradually
ascends over rugged rocks to the upper
levels, leaving the water below. A
hundred feet and the real beauties begin
to disclose themselves. The walls are of
creamy whiteness, while slender stalac
tites depend like icicles from the celling;
stalagmites rise from the floor; fantastic
formations of the same soft white
abound on every hand. Daftness, abso
lute and Impenetrable, is but intensified
by the candles as one moves through the
larger chambers. Silence as in a vacuum
reign-not a sign of life exists in air or
water. Every stalactite has its drop of
crystal liquid, yet it never seems to fall,
and the caves are in most places re
markably dry. The air Is pure and
fresh, the temperature remains at 60 de
grees the year around.
One of the first rooms Is the "Queen's
Palace." At the sides, rising in tiers
like the seats of an amphitheater, are
shelves draped with translucent stalac
tites, couches hung with fairy tapestry.
It Is a royal apartment in very truth.
Not so large as some others, but
unique in Its attractiveness, is "The Or
gan I, oft." Down the center hangs a
Mrs. William
Wife of Democratic Leader
CULTURED,' kindly and dignified, ,
with' the world of experience that
has been hers since her husband,
the unknown Nebraska lawyer, delivered
the "cross of gold" speech in the Chi
cro Coliseum 12 years ago, the wife j
of the Commoner Is a woman eminently
qualified to fill the position of "first
lady of the land," or any position in
which fate may place her.
Mrs. William Jennings Bryan has
played no small part in the shifting ,
scenes that have brought her husband
again Into the great white light of po
litical leadership. Herself a lawyer of
no mean ability, as her husband and his
legal friends can testify, she has In turn
been her husband's amanuensis and
legal aid, his adviser in political vicissi
tudes and successes, his companion in
great campaign tours and world travels,
and always his unfaltering comrade and
consoler.
Mrs. Bryan has undergone experiences
such as probahly never have fallen to
another American woman. But multi
tudinous experiences have never altered
the gentle, cultured daughter of the blind
lawyer, who in 1SS1 gave her hand to a
gaunt, unprepossessing and clientless
lawyer, whose career in Illinois appar
ently had been stamped "failure." Of
the ruined and ill-matched features of
her, husband, widen time and Impending
portliness have materially softened since
then, Mrs. Bryan still candidly remarks:
"He was. I think, the homeliest man
I had ever seen."
The wealth of affection intoned in the
declaration, however, plainly tells of the
sentiment that lies behind the face
tious reference to her husband's moet
prominent characteristic.
A brief expression of her husband,
when his neighbors celebrated his home
coming after the convention of 1896, is
a glance into the domestic lifo of the
couple. After the crowd had cheered
wildly for him for several minutes, one
megaphone-voiced admirer of the. couple
caught sight of Mrs. Bryan and shouted:
"Three cheers for the next first lady
' of th land!"
As the cheers died away for a moment
Mr. Bryan smiled and said:
"My friends and neighbors. I am
greatly obliged for the implied compli
ment, but to me she has always been the
first lady of the land."
Mrs. Bryan, who Is 47 years old. and
the grandmother of two children, is the
daughter of John Baird, whose ances
tors were among the earliest settlers of
Pennsylvania. On her mother's side the
paternal stock were residents of New
Vork since KevoHitlonary days.
Her father. wa a man of high literary
t
fsati' -.rrTL: ,...r"L .v-j-i .."'ir '" " ' sv ' j " assw - " 1 "1I",""-J "mwp v
S&S m" i , .,, . , KSZsUNl!Elb THE Mn1E , ; -'
VC roTALALACTTT-oTA"LACMlTE "iBiWM i ' tGF THE CJ10ST CMAM5ErJ
i MUif illfv rswS. w h-i f; jlv.,MSt3j:J
;sr-; "Mill I ! fc-v"-- - mwst-. -v,t-
ife : -f 4iP' fe4-7 .t -m U
IbeOueejir MajeeuuiK
uiomerrai cra-perx
row of enormous stalactites of different
lengths. Struck gently with a bit of
stone, they send forth mellow sounds
like deep-toned bells, the pitch of the
different pipes sometimes varying as
J ennings Bryan, of Fairview
W ho Hopes to Be "First Lady of the Land:" A Helpmeet Always.
tastes, and devoutly religious tempera
ment. For 15 years prior to his leath
he was blind, and In those years his
daughter was his constant companion,
her unceasing care and solicitude recom
pensing him In part for the infirmity
which had befallen him. After her mar
riage to Mr. Bryan and the couple"s re
moval to Nebraska, Mr. Baird was a
member of the household until his death.
Mrs. Bryan's acquaintance with Wil
liam Jennings Bryan began In the Jack
sonville, 111., seminary, of which she was
an attendant, and his courtship was im
petuous and eloquent. The exceeding
"plainness" of Mr. Bryan did not handi
cap him materially, and their marrlaga
followed four years of ardent courtship.
'
Before her marriage to the ambitious
young lawyer, Miss Baird had decided
that to be a true helpmeet she must aid
in a material way. To that end she
took up the study of law after her mar
riage and a few years later took the
examination for admission to the bar
with a dozen male candidates in Lin
coln. Neb., and received the certificate
that makes her eligible to take charge
of a case in any of the state courts.
. Mrs. Bryan never participated In a
court trial. Her object had been to aid
her husband, and her help took the
form of acting as his legal amanuensis,
looking up authorities and preparing
citations for Mr. Bryan and conferring
with him on the important cases that
now were coming to his office.
Withal, her domestic duties were not
neglected, and the social friends or
others who were entertained by the
Bryans would have been astonished to
know that she had maintained personal
direction of her numerous household af
fairs in addition to the unofficial part
nership in her husband's legal business.
As the success of the "boy orator of the
Platte" grew and his business prospered,
Mrs. Bryan withdrew gradually from ac
tive touch with all his affairs, but when
a matter arose on which Bryan deemed
that the soundest and most logical ad
vloe was necessary his first and last
call was for his wife.
'
When William Jennings Bryan In 1S9
grasped the leadership of the Demo
cratic party his wife was In ths great
hall that echoed and re-echoed wtth the
tumult following his great speech and
nomination.
She was his constant companion In
his whirlwind campaign of that year,
two of their three children being con
stantly with them. The slender, . brown
haired woman of that time seemed ill
fitted for the strain of the tumultuous
months preceding th election. Many
times it seemed that she was on the
verge of collapse and it was against her
its
much as two octaves, yet no two alike.
These reverberating chimes give an in
dsjscribably weird and beautiful effect In
the silent chambers.
"The Ghost Chamber" is modeled on
husband's wishes and the advice of
friends that she remained at his side
until the end. Time has proved that
4 -V
she was right In her contention that she
could endure the strain and that her
husband needed her.
In the 12 years that have passed Mrs.
Bryan has aged apparently little more
than her husband. Strands of gray have
crept into her hair, while most of the
. r.f;-t 1 H - , rj'
the grandest scale of all, though so Ir
regular in Its outline that dimensions
convey but little meaning. Emerging
Into this great salon, one is startled by
a gigantic shadowy white outline lost in
long strands that waved over the broad T
t V, ,1 V. 1. .... V, .... .1 t..,A tcan- '
peared entirely. But In both faces matur
ity appears to have come and softened
the anxious features of both, lending
fores and firmness to that of the hus
band and calmness and peace to that of
Mrs. Bryan.
In his second campaign and in the
long lecture tours of Mr. Bryan his wife
s I
was not with him constantly, although
she made many trips through the country
to attend events which marked epochs
in the career of her husband. '
After the Commoner had been estab
lished, the home at Fairview purchased
and the affairs of Mr Bryan, in his home
the obscurity of the further end. Unlike
most of the other rooms, the "Ghost
Chamber" is hollowed out of a brownish
rock, and the stalactite formation only
appears in one place, where it covers
the wall like a crystallized waterfall,
producing the Bpectral effect that names
the room. The dome Is fully 100 feet in
height, while the length of the! room
must be as much or more.
Scores of passage lead from the
"Ghost Chamber" in every direction, yet
city grown to such dignity as to need
constant supervision, the wife more and
more assumed position as domestic di
rector of the household, and a home and
social life was established that have
made her the social leader as well as
the most popular woman of Lincoln.
The world tour of the Bryans brought
more breadth to the personality and view
points of the couple, and the trinkets,
souvenirs and gifts accumulated in the
tour have 'made the Fairview home one
of the most interesting in the country.
The home is a handsome structure,
occupying the summit of a slope, and
commands a beautiful view of the sur
rounding country and the City of Lin
coln. Almost 200 acres of land, under
cultivation, the property of the Demo
cratic leader, surround it. Flowers bank
up one sld.3 of the house, on whose broad
verandas much Democratic history will
be written in the next three months.
In the great reception rooms the ar
tistic nature of Mrs. Bryan has been
given vent, and mural decorations, pic
tures and vases form a harmony of color
and beauty that have won the admira
tion of the most aesthetic of Its Eastern
guests.
The social life of Mrs. Bryan is not
one that encompasses much of mere gay
ety or entertainment for the sake only
of entertainment. She Is a believer in
woman's clubs, holding their Influence
generally to be toward the betterment
of the home.
Shortly after her removal to Lincoln
she established the' first Sorosis Club in
the city and frequently has been an of
ficial in it, as well as its most active
supporter. In the discussion of current
topics In the club Mrs. Bryan always has
taken a leading part, although she avoids
politics and purely political discussions
at all times.
She is a voluminous reader and has
followed the trend of her husband's
studies as assiduously as himself. Mod
ern economics, political and social, the
philosophy of the past and present and
current political themes and their intri
cacies are as familiar to her as to the
most astute and learned politicians in
Washington.
She has endeavored to keep In touch
with modern literature, although she
frankly confesses that it has little charm
for her and that she finds the style of
the writer is more Interesting than the
theme of the book. . She is an ardent ad
mirer of Victor Hugo, of whose work
she says:
"Every word he has written is a classic
message."
The three children of the Bryans are
as popular in Lincoln as their parents.
While the companions of their parents
on the world tour, recently completed,
they have seen little of the strenuous
political life of Mr. Bryan and have been
kept in the background and away from
public view, so far as Mrs. Bryan has
been able to accomplish it. The mar
riage several years ago of Ruth Bryan
was the first intimation to many news
paper readers that a grown daughter of
the "peerless leader" was in existence.
William Jennings Bryan, Jr., and Gnace
the fact that but a single one leads to
the outer entrance gives an idea of the
intricacy of the caverns and the danger
In attempting to visit them alone. Oc
casionally some one goes in by tying a
string at the entrance and unwinding
the ball to serve as a return guide.
Dozens of these cords have been left in
place, and they give one the uncanny
feeling that if they were but followed'
to the end there would be found a dead
man, for so seldom are the caves visited
Bryan are the younger children, and
their education nas been one of the most
absorbing cares of their mother for many
years. She has frequently expressed the
opinion that the real education of the
child must come from the home and has
lent her efforts to make the education a
thorough one.
In this connection she frequently has
declared that athletics is an essential
part of each girl's education.
"Without a strong, healthy body no
woman's mind can be capable of sus
tained effort for the proper performance
of whatever may be her work," Mrs.
Bryan has said. "But the most desirable.
Indeed the most essential, quality in a
girl, as well as in a boy, is common
sense. Without that as a foundation no
superstructure of Character or education
can be built."
The physical health and mental vigor
of the Bryan children is a standing trib
ute to the soundness and enforcement of
the theories of the mother.
The pets and rulers of the Fairview
home, however, are Ruth and Bryan
Leavitt, the i and 3-year-old children of
Mrs. Leavitt. Visitors to the home in
the preconventlon days have found the
Helen Keller
BEFORE my teacher came to me I
did not know that I am. I lived
in a world that was a no-world,
writes Helen Keller in the Century.
I cannot hope to describe adequately
that unconscious, yet conscious, time of
nothingness. I did not know that I
knew aught, or that I lived or acted or
desired. I haa neither wjll nor intellect.
I was carried along to objects and acts
by a certain blind natural impetus. I
had a mind which caused me to feel an
ger, satisfaction, desire.
These two facts led those about me
to suppose that I willed and thought. I
can remember all this, not because I
knew that I was so, but because I have
tactual memory. It enables me to re
member that I never contracted my fore
head in the act of -thinking. I never
viewed anything beforehand or chose It.
I also recall factually the fact that never
In a start of the body or a heart beat
did I feel that I lived or cared for any
thing. The poets have taught us how full of
wonders Is th3 night; and the night of
blindness has its wonders, too. The only
lightless dark is the night of Ignorance
and Insensibility. We differ, blind and
seeing, one from another, not In our
senses, but In the use we make of them,
in the imagination and courage with
which we seek wisdom beyond our
senses.
I have not touched the outline of a
star nor the glory of the moon, but I
believe that God has set two lights in
my mind, the greater to rule by day,
and the lesser by night, and by them I
know that I am able to navigate my
life bark, as certain of reaching the
haven as he who steers by the North
at certain seasons and so Isolated Is the
locality that this might easily happen to
an over-daring explorer.
Soon after the discovery of the plae
the complete skeleton of a bear was found
In one of the inner rooms, and If brute
Instinct did not serve to ' liberate him
from that terrible maze, there would be,
little hope for a human being.
"Th Golden Staris." a wonderful na
tural flight, lead out of the Ghost Cham
ber and ascend for manv feet, ome-
times through a passage so small that
one crawls on his stomach or stays be
hind if Inclined to embonpoint. Appro
priately enough, "The Chapel" Is soon
reached, and here is a charming little
lake of the coldest, clearest water, lying
at one side of the room where the wall
and ceiling approach to within a couple
of feet of each other. Hollow stalactites,
like clear glass reeds, connect them, and
where these have been broken away to
allow visitors to drink the delicious
water, the remaining fragments carry
many a feminine tress as a reminder of
fair visitors.
On and on, now climbing a ladder or
descending by clinging to the rooks and
stalactites, until the guide startles his
charges by whispering, "There must be
some one else in the cave." Far, far be
low, in a seemingly bottomless pit. glim
mers a candle. It Is but a stub left by
the guide in the Ghost Chamber, and we
are on an upper level, near Its dome,
where a single misstep would mean a
'fatal accident.
Climax of beauty and grace Is tha
"Pond Lily Boom," most difficult of ac
cess, richest In Its adornment. The
ascent by long ladders and . slippery
walls is fraught wtth danger at every
turn, yet the risk Is well repaid. Cover
ing the walls of this room, as though
carved in wax. are stalactites shaped as
lily pads and blossoms, while from the
celling hang immense fluted chandeliers
of the most delicate formation. Every
thing in the room Is of dazzling purity
and whiteness. As though this were not
enough to enchant the beholder, dainty
marine shells are found in strata near
the floor, presenting an interesting prob
lem to the geologist. "Holy of Holies"
this room has been called by later vis
itors, and certainly It does inspire rev
erencesomewhat lessened when the
guide gives his version of the name as
"Holiest of Holes."
Some of the names bestowed are almost
as picturesque as the rooms themselves
"Old Nick's Bedroom," "Kincaid's
Dancehall" and the "Shark's Mouth." At
one place is an immense pillar the thick
ness of a man's body, reaching from
floor to vaulted roof; again, there Is a
broad shelf covered with minute crys
tals resembling the tracery of frost on
a window pane; here the floor lies in
little ridges like sand on the beach as
the tld goes out, and so strong is ths
likeness that one Involuntarily stoops to
take a handful.
There are four distinct levels to ths
caverns so far as known and an upper
entrance has been uncovered- and en-
largea, pernaps 300 feet up the mountain, :
which makes it possible to avoid the
waters of Cave Creek altogether. Night
and day are as one in these vast un
derground galleries, whose perfection ;
must have taken century upon century.
Not the slightest change in even the
smallest stalactite is discernible ' since
their discovery, save where vandals have
broken them in unreasoning quest for
souvenirs.
There are two ways of reaching ths
eaves, both invqlving a start from
Grants Pass, whence stage Is taken to
either Williams of Klrby, then a supple
mentary journey on horseback or afoot.
The Williams route is the shortest and
the trail is being constantly improved:
by Kirby is considered a little the easier
Journey. No man Is so familiar with,
the labyrinth as John Kincaid, who was
the original explorer of many of ths
passages and worked In their improve
ment for three whole months. "Johnnie"
and his "bar" hounds are familiar figures
In the mountains. Thirty-five miles dis
tant from Grants Pass, this very re
moteness from the beaten lines of travel
adds immeasurably to the zest of the
outing. A whole week spent at the
caves would bring fresh enjoyment and
surprises with every hour. A scenic fea
ture so new, so unusual, so mysterious,
should be inducement to hundreds and
thousands to visit this marvelous natural
museum.
sturdy youngsters romping through the
reception rooms, clambering about the
porches and in general Indicating their
complete and triumphant possession of
the premises. Whatever rules Mrs. Bryan
may have enforced for her own children
or secretly held in abeyance for other
people's grandchildren, her own are ham
pered by no regulations, restrictions or
admonitions. They go where they list,
and that is 'to every section of the home,
and do what they please, and there is
none to cry halt or to restrict them.
The political conferences of their grand
father have been Interrupted and his ad
herents, who rule states and political
bodies, made to render obeisance to ones
mightier than William Jennings Bryan.
It has come with good grace from the
political leaders, as the children are win
some and only childishly playful, usually
heeding the mild admonition of the Dem
ocratic dictator to: ,
"Run outside now and play."
Mrs. Ruth Bryan Leavitt and W. Z.
Bryan, Jr., were attendants at the Den
ver convention and are expected to render
full reports of its picturesque features
to their father, mother, sister, nephew
and niece upon their return.
onBIindness
Star. Perhaps my sun shines not as
yours. The colors that glorify my world,
the blue of the sky, the green of the
fields, may not correspond exactly with
those you delight in; but they are none
the less color to me. The sun does not
shine for my physical eyes, nor does the
lightning flash, nor do the trees turn
green In the Spring; but they have not,
therefore, ceased to exist any more than
the landscape is annihilated when you.
turn your back on It.
The calamity of the blind is immense.
Irreparable. But it does not take away
our share of the things that count serv
ice, friendship, humor. Imagination, wis
dom. It is the secret inner will that con
trols one's fate. We are capable of
willing to be good, of loving- and being
loved, of thinking to the end that we
may be wiser.. We possess these spirit
born forces equally with all God's chil
dren. Therefore we, too, see the light
nings and hear the thunders of Sinai.
We, too, march through the wilderness
and the solitary place that shall be glad
for us, and as we pass God maketh the
desert to blossom like the rose. We,
too, go in unto the Promised Land to
possess the treasures of the spirit, the
unseen permanence of life and nature.
Hi Perambulator. -When
Billy Brown was but a babe
Tucked In a perambulator.
His sister had to push the thing
And It seemed to irritate her.
Now Bill's grown up to William Browns,
Owns a Summer home and motor.
His sister's kindness he repays,
And makes his auto tote her.
But far as I can figure out
Bis pligrht's aa bad as ver.
She rides a mile, then pushes twr.
While- Bill fusses with a lever.