History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
beauty and splendor. Fortunately, two objects of interest still remain. The principal one of these is in the southwest corner of this first hall. It consists of a series of Venus' baths, arranged in terraces, rising to a height of about twenty-five feet next the wall, and covering an area of more than nine hundred square feet. The larger basins composing the group are placed above and behind , they are in the form of oval rosettes, with a raised rim about one foot high forming the borders, and the cavities in them about six to nine inches deep, filled with limpid water. The smaller ones gradually extend forward from these at lower levels, and become shallower as they advance stage by stage.
They are also scalloped, and taken together form a piece of fountain-work only excelled by the great basins of similar shape which adorn the valley of the Yellowstone, in the United States National Park. In this cave, however, these baths have been made by the deposit of layers and rims of calcareous matter, while in the latter the material deposited is partly siliceous. This group of basins is now badly disfigured by dirt and mud-stains, which hide its chief beauties, but it is capable of being made as clear and pure as it was originally. The other object is a large stalagmite, cylindrical, somewhat tapering, standing erect, and being about six feet in diameter and ten feet in height. It stands on the right, beyond the middle of the hall, a solitary column, the sad and silent witness of the ravages of the past. Going to the end of this first chamber, a hole is reached, about four by seven feet in diameter, leading into an uneven cavern, varying in width from ten to forty feet, with a rising floor, the summit of which contracts the cavity at a point two hundred feet from its entrance, and forms a narrow passage with a downward slope into the next room beyond." The floor of this third cavern is somewhat scooped out, but has a general downward slope towards the rear or western end. The roof at this point descends, slopes nearly concurrently with the floor, and thus produces a narrower passage, which leads down to a cavern with a low ceiling. This latter is situated about three hundred and twenty-one feet from the mouth of the cave, and is mostly occupied by a pond of clear and motionless water.
Apparently this water occupies the whole basin of this inner chamber; it has no visible outlet, and the rocks of the ceiling descend to within a very few feet of its surface. Its bed slopes downward very rapidly at an angle of scarcely less than 45°, so that it appears to be very deep at only a few feet from its first accessible margin. The temperature of the water was 55°, while that of the air in the first hall was 59°, and that outside of the cave 84°. In the second chamber, and on its north side, is a hole leading to a cavern a few feet distant, which runs parallel to the large cave. This is a long, narrow chamber, which descends and terminates at each end, like the bag of a purse. It is one hundred and fifty feet long, about thirty feet high, and from ten to fifteen feet wide. Here, as in the larger one, the walls and floor have been denuded of all their objects of interest, and now only the stumps and vestiges of stalactites and stalagmites remain to indicate their former presence.
Close by this scene of wreck and ruin one almost unmolested cavern still remains to attest the beauties of these wonders of nature. It is entered from above at a point above three hundred and fifty feet south of Bishop's Cave, and is entirely disconnected from the latter. The opening into it has been artificially enlarged, and a series of steps broken into the limestone to render the descent into it less difficult. Upon entering, it is seen to be an enlarged horizontal crack in the rock, about two hundred and forty feet in length, but contracting so rapidly at intervals that a person can hardly squeeze through into the open spaces beyond.
Although small, it is a perfect gallery of splendid objects. In every direction the eye rests on beautiful and bright forms of crystalline groups, which only require adequate illumination to bring them out in indescribable brilliance. This gem-studded chamber might well be styled the Crystal Grotto, for it is literally a cabinet of crystals of almost endless variety and great expressiveness.
The fauna and flora of the caves are very limited. In the first chamber of Bishop's Cave the common striped squirrel, Tamias striatus, runs about in the area reached by the light, and here, too, may be found a few of the insects which belong to the limestone region outside. But in the dark chambers the hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereas, is the only animal occupant; while in the damp humus a few insects of the Thysanuran, or springtail group are found in the vicinity of a meagre growth of minute lichens. No living objects have yet been found in the waters of these caverns, and they appear to be destitute of the wingless crickets and various blind insects which occur in the Mammoth and other caves.
Water-courses. — -The valley is well supplied with brooks and rivulets running from springs or bursting from fountains in the rocky hillsides. The latter are remarkable for the large and strong volume of water formed so near their sources. To this circumstance the inhabitants are indebted for the superior water-powers which drive their mills so near the heads of the streams. As the porous nature of parts of the limestone rocks forming the hills allows the formation of large cavities, the underground drainage is caught and stored in places above the general level of the region, and these pour a perpetual outflow through the avenues worn along the old cracks, until an outlet is reached in some ravine or depression at the point of least resistance.
The Antietam River, which rises in Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, has its source in one of these vigorous outbursts from the side of a hill. At all seasons of the year, and in times of drought as well as during the periods of rain, this class of streams supplies the same abundance of limpid water, while similar sources which simply swell up from the ground are sensitive to prolonged changes of weather, and either fail or flush, in conformity with prevailing physical conditions. The former are evidently supplied in large measure from the nearer mountains, and form a portion of the surplus of the permanent underground water-system. This supply is not derived chiefly from the rainfall, although it may be increased beyond the average measure by additions from such sources. But, as the water comes from distant localities, and from considerable heights, it is found to rise high above its external source, and to be steady in its supply. "The Cold Spring, in the immediate vicinity of Hagerstown, possesses in these respects sufficient interest to deserve the attention of tourists. It pours forth a large steady volume of cold, clear water, sufficient to supply the needs of a large bathing resort, and it is noted for its purity and mineral strength. When exposed to the influence of the sun, the excess of carbonic acid which it contains, and which renders it a solvent of the limestone rocks, escapes, and an efflorescence of neutral carbonate of lime is precipitated along its course. It is probable that formerly these streams were still more abundant than at present, for on both sides of their actual course there are broad and deep deposits of this calcareous sediment. Moreover, in consequence of the copiousness and temperature of the streams of this kind, they never freeze; and the Antietam, which is supplied in this way at every stage of its progress through the country, furnishes a very large amount of never-failing water-power." (J. Ducatel, Geol. Report, 1840) The tributaries of this river which belong to Washington County rise chiefly between the outlying spurs of South Mountain, the few branches that rise on the west side being only two or three of quite small size, and of little importance. On the northeast, however, a large tributary, proceeding from the mountain chain by several branches, passes through the Fourteenth and Ninth Districts, and makes a fork with the main branch of the river below Leitersburg. Next, and most important of them all, the rapid, romantic Beaver Creek rushes from the mountains through more than a dozen channels, drains a tract of country thirteen miles long, and carries a large stream of water into the river at a point three miles north of Keedysville. The only other tributary of much importance is the interesting, but short Little Antietam. It rises in several sources from the limestone hills northeast of Rohrersville, bends around to the northwest, and passing Keedysville through a wide, stony channel, glides into the greater Antietam. Probably the most romantic stream in the valley is Israel's Creek. It rises in the ridges adjacent to Rohrersville, pursues its way south between high ledges of broken rocks, over rapids and miniature cascades, and finally rushes down the embankment beneath the canal to enter the Potomac River. The nest large water-system has its outlet through the Conococheague River. It is not so broad and extensive as the Antietam; much of its course lies in Franklin County, Pa., and it rises in that region. That part of it in Washington County is broad, rapid, intensely winding, and full of sediment in its lower course. It follows in part the division between the limestone and the slate; but in its upper division it is not confined to either, and is deflected out of