Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 25

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 25

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Relief Hall, at the termination of the Winding Way, is very wide and lofty, but not long ; it terminates at River Hall, a distance of one hundred yards from its entrance. Here two routes present themselves. The one to the left conducts to the Dead Sea and the Rivers, and that to the right to the Bacon Chamber, the Bandit's Hall, the Mammoth Dome, &c., &c., &c. The Bacon Chamber is a pretty fair representation of a low ceiling, thickly hung with canvassed hams and shoulders. The Bandit's Hall is a vast and lofty chamber, the floor covered with a mountainous heap of rocks, rising amphitheatrically almost to the ceil- ing. From the Bandit's Hall diverge two caves, one of which, the left, leads you to a mul- titude of domes; and the right to one which, par excellence, is called the Mammoth Dome. This dome is near four hundred feet high, and is justly considered one of the most sublime and wonderful spectacles of this most wonderful of caverns. From the suminit of this dome there is a waterfall. Foreigners have been known to declare, on witnessing an illu- mination of the great dome and hall, that it alone would compensate for a voyage across the Atlantic.

The River Hall is a chamber situated at the termination of Relief Hall, which has been already mentioned, and through which the visitor must pass in approaching the greatest won- ders of the cave, the Dead Sea and the Rivers. We despair of giving any adequate descrip- tion of this subterranean lake and rivers. "The River Hall descends like the slope of a mountain ; the ceiling stretches away-away before you, vast and grand as the firmament at midnight." Proceeding a short distance, there is on the left " a steep precipice, over which you can look down, by the aid of blazing missiles, upon a broad black sheet of water, eighty feet below, called the Dead Sea. This is an awfully impressive place, the sights and sounds of which do not easily pass from memory. He who has seen it, will have it vividly brought before him by Alfieri's description of Filippo. 'Only a transient word or act gives us a short and dubious glimmer that reveals to us the abysses of his being-daring, lurid, and terrific as the throat of the infernal pool.' Descending from the eminence by a ladder of about twenty feet, we find ourselves among piles of gigantic rocks, and one of the most pic- turesque sights in the world is to see a file of men and women passing along those wild and scraggy paths, moving slowly-slowly that their lamps may have time to illuminate their sky-like ceiling and gigantic walls,-disappearing behind high cliffs-sinking into ravines- their lights shining upwards through fissures in the rocks-then suddenly emerging from some abrupt angle, standing in the bright gleam of their lights, relieved by the towering black masses around them. As you pass along, you hear the roar of invisible water falls ; and at the foot of the slope the river Styx lies before you, deep and black, overarched with rocks. Across (or rather down) these unearthly waters, the guide can convey but four pas- sengers at once. The lamps are fastened to the prow, the images of which are reflected in the dismal pool. If you are impatient of delay, or eager for new adventure, you can leave your companions lingering about the shore and cross the Styx by a dangerous bridge of

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precipices over head. In order to do this you must ascend a steep cliff, and enter a care above, three hundred yards long, from an egress of which you find yourself on the bank of the river, eighty feet above its surface, commanding a view of those in the boat, and those waiting on the shore. Seen from this height, the lamps in the canoe glare like fiery eye- balls; and the passengers sitting there so hushed and motionless look like shadows. The scene is so strangely funereal and spectral, that it seems as if the Greeks must have witnessed it, before they imagined Charon conveying ghosts to the dim regions of Pluto. If you turn your eye from the parties of men and women whom you left waiting on the shore, you will see thern by the gleam of their lainps, scattered in picturesque groups, looming out in bold relief from the dense darkness around them."

Having passed the Styx, the explorer reaches the banks of the river Lethe. Descending this about a quarter of a mile, he lands, and enters a level and lofty hall called the Great Walk, which stretches to the banks of the Echo, a distance of three or four hundred yards. The Echo is wide and deep enough, at all times, to float a steamer of the largest class. At the point of embarkation the arch is very low ; but in two boats' lengths, the vault of the cave becomes lofty and wide. The novelty, the grandeur, the magnificence of the surrounding scenery here, elicits unbounded admiration and wonder. The Echo is three quarters of a mile long. It is in these rivers that the extraordinary white eyeless fish are caught. There is not the slightest indication of an organ similar to an eye to be discovered.

Beyond the Echo there is a walk of four miles to Cleveland's Avenue, in reach- ing which the visitor passes through El Ghor, Silliman's Avenue, and Welling- ton's. Gallery, to the foot of the ladder which leads up to Mary's Vineyard, the commencement of Cleveland's Avenue. Proceeding about a hundred feet from this spot, you reach the base of the hill on which stands the Holy Sepulchre. Cleveland's avenue is about three miles long, seventy feet wide, and twelve or fifteen feet high-more rich and gorgeous than any ever revealed to man, abound- ing in formations which are no where else to be seen, and which the most stupid cannot behold without feelings of admiration. But a detailed description of these wonders would not consist with the plan of this work. In this Avenue are situ- ated Cleveland's Cabinet, the Rocky Mountains, Croghan's Hall, Serena's Arbor, &c. &c. There is in this vast cave another avenue, more than three miles long, lofty and wide, and at its termination there is a hall which the guide thinks larger than any other in the cave. It is as yet without a name.

During the war with England in 1812-15, and for several years previous, the cave was extensively worked for saltpetre, at a point about one mile from its mouth. Fifty or sixty hands were employed inside the cave, for four or five years-during all which time not a case of sickness was known among them. Oxen were used in the cave to draw the earth to the hoppers. The prints of their hoofs imbedded in the hard floor are shown to this day (1873), and the ruts of cart wheels are still traceable. The corn cobs left where the oxen were fed were perfectly sound, thirty years afterwards; as also were the wooden pipes which conducted the water to the saltpetre vats. Nothing putrefies in the cave. Its temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, summer and winter. It is never a degree above or below 60. Lamps burn with more brilliancy within than without the care. This occurs in every part of it.

No wild beast or reptile has ever been seen in the cave. In the Great Bat Room " countless thousands of bats cling to the walls and ceiling; like huge swarms of bees they nestle together in bunches of many bushels. Besides these bats, and the well known eyeless fish and crawfish of the subterranean rivers, the only living creatures found in this magnificent and wonderful region are some large sluggish crickets, which never chirrup; a few slow- motioned lizards, with great prominent eyes; and light-gray rats much larger than ordinary rats, and whose head and eyes resemble the rabbit. Miles from the entrance of the cave, traces of these rats may be found, but they are quite shy and keep generally out of sight." We may well wonder upon what these rats, crickets, and lizards support life.

The Bottomless Pit, mentioned at the top of the preceding page, from its very name excited the curiosity of thousands of visitors to know its exact depth. Its descent, perilous in the extreme, has been twice accomplished :

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1st, on Sept. 11, 1852, by Wm. C. Prentice, eldest son of the great editor and poet, Geo. D. Prentice, afterwards major in the Confederate army, and who died of wounds at the battle of Augusta, Sept. 27, 1862. He carved his name at the bottom, and was the first person who ever gazed upon its dark- ness and horrors ; his measurement made it 190 feet deep. 2d, on July 21, 1871, by A. D. Babbitt, a telegraph operator from Michigan, in the presence of 200 visitors. He found bottom at a distance of 198 feet from the opening in the main avenue. The rope with which he was lowered was so badly cut in several places by abrasion against the sharp rocks, that a little longer delay in hoisting him out would have proved fatal.

On July 27, 1870, a wedding was solemnized in the cave. [See page 205.] In Sept., 1871, Dr. Hall, of New York, one of a party of scientific gentle- men who visited the cave, and himself a distinguished geologist, by some means, with two of his companions, got out of the beaten track, and was for a time lost in the vast solitude of the cave. He discovered, while thus pass- ing an untraveled fissure into which they had wandered, that a current of fresh air blew strongly in their faces-proof positive that there is somewhere a second entrance to the famous cave, the discovery of which might seriously operate against the already forty-years-old monopoly of the present proprietors. It is said that to prevent any such discovery, or the opening of any artificial entrance, no survey has ever been permitted of the cave.

The entrance to Mammoth Cave is 194 feet above Green river ; hence it is extremely improbable that any avenues pass, as many suppose, under that stream. An appreciative idea of its vastness may be gathered from this statement in the Ky. Geol. Survey i, 81: " In 1856, the known avenues of the Mammoth Cave were in number 223-the united length of the whole being estimated, by those best acquainted with the cave, at 150 miles. Say that the average width and height of these passages amount to seven (7) yards each way, which is perhaps near the truth. This would give upwards of twelve million (12,000,000) cubic yards of cavernous space, which has been excavated through the agency of calcareous waters and atmospheric vicissi- tudes."

Hundreds of eyeless fish have been brought out of the Mammoth Cave, "put up' in spirits, and sold to visitors at from one to ten dollars each-the price varying with the size.

A well in Glasgow has been known to produce eyeless fish, similar to those found in the Mammoth Cave.

Capt. JOHN EDMONSON, from whom this county derived its name, was a native of Washington co., Va .; settled in Fayette co., Ky., in 1790; raised a company of volunteer riflemen, and joined Col. John Allen's - regiment in 1812, and fell in the disastrous battle of the river Raisin, Jan. 22, 1813.

ELLIOTT COUNTY.

ELLIOTT county, the 114th in order, was formed in 1869, out of parts of Morgan, Carter, and Lawrence, and named in honor of Judge John M. Elliott. It is situated in the north-eastern part of the state, and bounded N. by Carter, E. by Lawrence, s. by Lawrence and Morgan, and w. by Rowan county. It is sur- rounded by high hills on three sides, the waters from which shed outwardly into Big Sandy and Licking rivers, but inwardly into Little Sandy river, forming along its tributaries a succession of moderately rich and very pretty valleys.

Martinsburg, formerly Sandy Hook, the county seat, is 21 miles from Grayson, a railroad point, and 30 miles from Louisa, the head of regular steamboat navigation on the Big Sandy ; popula-

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tion in 1870, 62. Newfoundland is 9 miles from Martinsburg and 16 miles from Grayson.

STATISTICS OF ELLIOTT COUNTY.

When formed .. See page 26

Tobacco, corn, wheat, hay .. pages 266, 263

Population, in 1870. . p. 258

whites and colored .P. 260

Horses, mules, cattle, hogs. ... p. 268

Taxable property, 1870 .. .p. 270

towns .. .p. 262 Land-No. of acres, and value ...... p. 270

white males over 21 p. 266 Latitude and longitude .. .p. 257

children bet. 6 and 20 .. p. 266

Distinguished citizens ... see Index.

Elliott county, in the short period since its formation, has had no resident senator or representative in the legislature.

Elliott county, it is generally understood, was named in honor of Judge JOHN M. ELLIOTT, now (Dec., 1873) a resident of Owingsville, Bath county, and circuit judge of the 13th judicial district. Judge E. is a native of Scott co., Virginia; was born May 16, 1820; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843; practiced with fine success, at Prestonsburg, Floyd co .; was a representative from Floyd, Pike, and Johnson counties, in the Kentucky legislature, in 1847; a representative in the U. S. congress for six years, 1853-59; again elected representative in the legislature, from Floyd and Johnson counties, 1861-63; but an indictment for treason having been found against him, with 31 others (see vol. i, page 97), Nov. 6, 1861, in the U. S. district court at Frankfort, and he (although present from Sept. 2 to Oct. 4) not having occupied his seat during the December adjourned session of the legislature, the house, Dec. 21, 1861, expelled him for being " directly or in- directly connected with, and giving 'aid and comfort' to, the Confederate army, repudiating and acting against the government of the United States and the commonwealth of Kentucky." IJe had thus actively united his for- tunes with the cause of the South ; was a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States which assembled at Richmond, Feb. 18, 1862, re- presenting the 9th Ky. district; and a member of each successive Regular Congress of the Confederate States, representing the 12th Ky. district, up to the time of the downfall of the Confederacy-over three years in all. In 1868, several years after his return to Kentucky, he was elected, for six years, or until September, 1874, circuit judge of the district embracing Bath, Mont- gomery, Powell, Estill, Owsley, Lee, Wolfe, Morgan, Elliott, and Menifee (10) counties.

ESTILL COUNTY.

ESTILL county, the 50th erected in the state, was formed in 1808, out of parts of Madison and Clark, and named in honor of Capt. Jas. Estill. Parts of its original territory have been taken to help form the counties of Breathitt in 1839; Owsley in 1843, Powell in 1852, Jackson in 1858, and Lee in 1870. It is situ- ated in the eastern middle part of the state, and bounded N. by Powell and Clark counties, E. by Lee, s. E. by Owsley, s. by Jackson, and w. by Madison. The Kentucky river enters the county at its s. E. corner, flows through it almost centrally, and out at the N. w. corner ; its principal tributaries in the county are Red river, which forms the northern boundary line, Station Camp, Miller's, Buck, Drowning, and Cow creeks ; some of these have large forks or branches. The southern and eastern half of the county is broken and mountainous ; the river and creek bot- toms are rich and productive. The eastern part is rich in mineral resources beyond almost any spot in the state. Coal and iron

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ore of the finest quality, abound, and lead has been found. The growth of the bottom land is oak, walnut, hickory, cherry, and sugar tree, and some pine and cedar ; that of the uplands, oak and poplar.

Irvine, the county seat, established in 1812 and named in honor of Col. Wm. Irvine (see under Madison county), is 70 miles s. E. of Frankfort, and 25 miles nearly E. of Richmond ; located on a beautiful site, on the N. bank of the Kentucky river, and contains a fine new brick court house, jail, 2 Methodist churches (M. E. and M. E. South), public seminary, 2 taverns; 3 dry goods, 2 grocery, 2 drug, and 1 shoe and book stores ; several mechanics' shops, steam carding factory and grist mill, tannery and steam grist mill, 8 lawyers, 3 physicians ; population in 1870, 224, and on Jan. 1, 1873, about 300. Wisemantoun, on s. side of Ky. river, 2 miles from Irvine, contains a dry goods store, school house, steam saw and grist mill, and blacksmith's shop.

STATISTICS OF ESTILL COUNTY.

When formed .. See page 26 Corn, wheat, hay, tobacco .. pages 266, 26

Population, from 1810 to 1870 .p. 258 Horses, mules, cattle, hogs .p. 268

66 whites and colored. .p. 260 Taxable property, 1846 and 1870 .... p. 270

towns ... .p. 262 Land-No. of acres, and value ....... p. 270

white males over 21. p. 266 Latitude and longitude. .. p. 257

children bet. 6 and 20 ... .. p. 266

Distinguished citizens . see Index.

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM ESTILL COUNTY, SINCE 1851.

Senate .- Sidney M. Barnes, 1851-53 ; Harrison Cockrill, 1862-65, '69-73 ; Henry C. Lilly, 1865-69.

House of Representatives .- Wm. G. Jackson, 1851-53; Lewis M. Wilson, 1853-55 ; Benj. F. Rice, 1855-57 ; Oliver Crawford, 1857-59 ; A. B. Stivers, 1859-61 ; Albert A. Curtis, 1861-65 ; Wm. J. Moores, 1865-67; W. J. Webb, 1869-71; Isaac N. Card- well, 1873-75. [ See page 773.]

The Estill Springs, half a mile from Irvine, have been celebrated as a watering place for many years. The buildings are large and complete. The white sulphur is enclosed in a large gum, planted nearly half a century ago, and which is said to be in a state of petrifaction. The view from the top of the Sweet Lick Knob, at the foot of which the white sulphur gushes out clear as crystal, is one of the grandest and most romantic known. There are springs with at least five different medicinal waters-two of red sulphur, and one each of white and black sulphur, and chalybeate. Prof. Robert Peter, of the Kentucky geological survey, analyzed them, and found them very valuable when drank fresh, at the springs; when carried any distance and exposed to the air, much of their virtue is lost by a change of the dissolved bi-carbonate of protoxide of iron to insoluble hydrated peroxide of iron; caus- ing a brownish deposit.

An Indian Camping ground on the banks of Station Camp creek, near the mouth of the Red Lick creek, in the early settlement of the state, gave name to the creek. It is an understood fact that the Indians procured their supply of lead in this vicinity.

The " Red River Iron District" is mainly confined to Estill county. The iron ores of the region produce iron of unsurpassed excellence. The first iron works in the county were located on Red river, in the N. E. corner of the county, about 1810, and embraced a blast furnace, knobling fire and forge. About 1830, the Estill steam furnace was built, ten miles s. E., on the mountain which divides the waters of Red river from those of the Ken- tucky, and smelting discontinued at the furnace on Red river; at the same time, the works at the " Forge" were greatly improved for the manufacture of bar iron, blooms, nails, and castings. The Red river iron works soon be- came celebrated for the good quality of the metal produced. About 1840, a new rolling mill supplanted the old forge, and coal from near the Three Forks

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of the Kentucky river, was employed as fuel ; this coal was flat-boated from Beattyville down the river 50 miles, wagoned 9 miles up Red river to the iron works; it was not found suited to make good iron, and its use was aban- doned. About 1860 the manufacture of iron at the mill was discontinued.

In 1865 "The Red River Iron Manufacturing Co." was chartered and organ- ized with a cash capital of $1,000,000-which sum was actually expended in the purchase of all the estate belonging to the Red river iron works and in the improvement of that property. The works at the old forge on Red river were not revived, but the mills there were rebuilt and improved. Estill fur- nace was put in blast in May, 1866; many buildings erected, turnpike roads built, and the iron wagoned 8 miles, to Red river, and shipped by flat-boats. In 1868 the company began and in less than two years completed two of the largest charcoal furnaces in the world, with inclined planes, tramways, mac- adamized roads, mills, and shops, and homes for over 100 families; employ- ing 1,000 men for more than a year. A town was chartered at the new furnaces, called Fitchburg, after the two brothers, Frank Fitch, the general superintendent, and Fred. Fitch, the secretary and treasurer. In 1869, the iron from Estill furnace was diverted from the Red river route, and wagoned 3 miles to Fitchburg; thence, together with the product of the two great furnaces which went into blast March 4, 1870, taken by a new tramway, 6 miles, to Scott's Landing, on Ky. river, near the mouth of Miller's creek. In . 1871, nearly 10,000 tons of pig iron were turned out, valued at $600,000.

In 1871, the "Estill Iron Co.," a new concern, in the hands of skilled men and with abundant capital, purchased the Cottage furnace property. As soon as either one of the projects for reaching these works by railroad is completed, the manufacture will be still more largely increased. The irregularity and uncertainty of transportation is the great barrier to the development of the mineral wealth of Kentucky.

Capt. JAMES ESTILL, in honor of whom this county received its name, was a native of Augusta county, Virginia. He removed to Kentucky at an early period, and settled on Muddy creek, in the present county of Madison, where he built a station which received the name of Estill's station. In 1781 in a skirmish with the Indians, he received a rifle-shot in one of his arms, by which it was broken. In March, 1782, with a small body of men, believed to be about twenty-five, he pursued a similar number of Wyandotts across the Kentucky river, and into Mont- gomery county, where he fought one of the severest and most bloody battles on record, when the number of men on both sides is taken into the account .* Cap- tain Estill and his gallant Lieutenant, South, were both killed in the retreat which succeeded. Thus fell (says Mr. Morehead in his Boonsborough address), in the ripeness of his manhood, Captain James Estill, one of Kentucky's bravest and most beloved defenders. It may be said of him with truth, that if he did not achieve the victory, he did more-he deserved it. Disappointed of success-van- quished-slain, in a desperate conflict with an enemy of superior strength and equal valor, he has nevertheless left behind him a name of which his descendants may well be proud-a name which will live in the annals of Kentucky, so long as there shall be found men to appreciate the patriotism and self-devotion of a martyr to the cause of humanity and civilization.

The Rev. JOSEPH PROCTOR, of this county, was one of the intrepid band of Cap- tain Estill, in the bloody battle noticed under the Montgomery head. His cool- ness and bravery throughout the battle, were unsurpassed. A savage warrior having buried his knife in Captain Estill's breast, Proctor instantly sent a ball from his rifle through the Wyandott's heart. His conduct after the battle, elicited the warmest approbation. He brought off the field of battle his wounded friend, the late Colonel William Irvine, of Madison, who is noticed under the head of that county.

In an engagement with the Indians at Pickaway towns, on the Great Miami, Proctor killed an Indian chief. He was a brave soldier, a stranger to fear, and an ardent friend to the institutions of his country. He made three campaigns into Ohio, with the view of suppressing Indian hostilities ; and fought side by side

"See a full account of this battle under the head of Montgomery county.

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FAYETTE COUNTY.

with Boone, Callaway and Logan. He joined the Methodist Episcopal church in a fort in Madison county, under the preaching of the Rev. James Hawkes ; and was ordained in 1809, by Bishop Asbury. He was an exemplary member of the church for sixty-five years, and a local preacher upwards of half a century. He died at his residence on the 2d of December, 1844, and was buried with mil- itary honors.

FAYETTE COUNTY.

FAYETTE county was formed in 1780 by the State of Virginia and is one of the three original counties that at one time com- prised the whole district of Kentucky-and included all that ter- ritory beginning at the mouth of the Kentucky river, and extend- ing up its middle fork to the head, and embracing the northern and eastern portion of the present State. It received its name as a testimonial of gratitude to GEN. GILBERT MORTIER DE LA FAYETTE -the gallant and generous Frenchman who volunteered as the CHAMPION of LIBERTY on this side of the Atlantic, and proved to the world, that although a nobleman by descent, he was a republican in principle, and was more ennobled by nature than by all the titles of hereditary rank.

Fayette county is situated in the middle portion of the State, and lies on the waters of the Kentucky and Elkhorn. It is boun- ded on the north by Scott, east by Bourbon and Clark, south by Madison and Jessamine, and west by Woodford; being twenty- five miles from north to south, mean breadth eleven miles, and containing 275 square miles. It is fair table land-all the streams rise and flow from the centre of the county, and empty into their common receptacle, the Kentucky river. The centre of the gar- den of Kentucky, the surface of this county is very gently undu- lating, and the soil is probably as rich and productive as any upon which the sun ever shone. It is properly a stock raising county -horses, mules, cattle, and hogs, in large numbers, being annu- ally exported ; but corn and hemp are produced in great abun- dance-the latter being generally manufactured in the county.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 25

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1654

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654