Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs, S.D.
Wind Cave Entrance. We enter through the little building in the foregroundStevens Photo
Tradition tells us that the place was discovered by a cow-boy who was riding by when a strong current of air carried his hat down through a crevice in the earth. We wonder if he ever recovered his hat? Why is it these stories leave out the one question our curiosity prompts us to ask. Possibly his hat, though, was not as important as the discovery of the cave. They are still looking for the other end of that current of air.
Now we are ready to descend. We might profit by putting on clothes that will not be harmed when soiled, tho this is not necessary.
To the right of the entrance is a stone carving of Alvin McDonald, the first guide through the cave. As we enter, with gasoline lanterns, we feel a strong downward draft. This disappears as we proceed. We go down two long flights of stairs to start with. Down, down, down, we go, emerging in the Bridal Chamber, 212 feet below the surface.
Our guide tells us quite confidentially that a certain young lady wished to marry the young man of her choice, but she had promised her mother that she would not marry anyone on the face of the earth. To keep her word and still satisfy her love she was married down here below the face of the earth. When the Government took over the cave, however, they forbade the continuance of this, for it was running matrimony into the ground.
The Sheep, Wind CaveLease Photo
Farther on we see petrified prairie dogs, on a petrified mound. We hope our guide is strictly truthful, tho he tells us that even he cannot vouch for the accuracy of all he tells us. Then comes the Milky Way with petrified stars in a petrified sky, and after this the Snowball Chamber. The Post Office 240 feet down is filled with box work crystals in a sort of cobweb pattern, each box having some depth. We are shown the foreign department and the great Sears Roebuck mail chute. These formations are beautiful and remarkable formations of water, heat, minerals, and natural phenomena.
Room number 23 is Nellie’s room and the Beauty Parlor follows it. Rouge, here is free. The petrified zoo confronts us; very interesting indeed if our imaginations are up to par. The Bleeding Rock is colored with iron oxide giving it a blood color, and sure enough the Liberty Bell is cracked. In the rookery is a petrified bird on a petrified nest (believe it if you can.)
