at the Cave Hotel, at the expiration of which Dr Brodnax mounts the stage
and is off. I fraternize with the only two folk left, one a Maine
man, who leaves on the morrow, and a young Louisianian, the good looking South
erner heretofore spoken of, (and of whom plenty, anon;) and talk by a wood
fire till nigh midnight with the former, and then to bed, intending more Cave
Explortion on the Morrow.
1st of Oct. Saturday. It had rained hard and fast all the night, and
the leaves overhead were dank with moisture, and the sky overclouded, as I
Stephen alone accompanying again descended into the Cave Mouth. Whether
the passage across the river would be practicable we knew not, but intended
making trial. Not much time was devoted to the objects on our way, as
heretofore, Stephen kept on, I following, and we came to Lake Lethe
in due time. It had risen materially, and he at once doubted effecting the
passage; nevertheless into the wet, dirty, flat boat we entered, after much
baling out of water had been done on Stephen s part. Both lamps are placed
on the prow, and I standing erect, Stephen paddle in hand, guides the
boat onwards. Sheer up on either side, sans beach or margin, rises the rocks
out of the grisly pool over which we glide. Above, the ceiling can be dimly
seen, and when either of us lift up our voices and sing, solemn sonorous
echo reverberations roll through the caverns, even as if strange spirits broad-
ed on the black ledges above eternally, and were answering out invocations.
The river winds, blackness closing on us behind, and 150 yards have been pas-
sed over. And now we ought to be at the Great Walk, disembarking
here to pass to where another boat awaits us on Echo River. But it is all
full of water, the river has risen indeed! On we keep And now before us,
blockading
the way are two boats, one almost wholly submerged, one end being fast under
a low arch on the right. Through this arch we should have had to pass,
but twas filled, covered by the risen water. There was a little horror in the
notion that there lay the passage intended, albeit had a boat been awaiting us
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Six: page one hundred and thirty-nine |
| Description: | Describes a visit to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. |
| Date: | 1853-09-30 |
| Subject: | Bishop, Stephen; Brodnax, Dr.; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Kellam, Oliver; Mammoth Cave (Ky.); Travel |
| Coverage (City/State): | [Kentucky] |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Six |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn's writing and drawing work in New York, a visit to the Catskill Mountains, attending the wedding of his friend Charles Damoreau (Brown), a visit to the Crystal Palace in New York, his friend Lotty's difficult marriage to John Whytal, a sailing trip around Lake Superior, a visit to Mackinac Island in Michigan, a visit to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and a journey by horseback from Kentucky to Louisiana with friends. |
| Subject: | African Americans; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Marriage; Native Americans; Publishers and publishing; Slavery; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Michigan; Wisconsin; Ohio; Kentucky; Mississippi; Alabama; Louisiana |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
