Roosevelt High School - Bwana Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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Nineteen w ': 1 R V fx -N X, W XL! U xl Q E Pcrn URI CAVERNS SO MIS

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BVJHNH A VISIT TO MISSOURI CAVERNS ET me take you to a new world, to a beautiful, grotesque, weird, fantastic fairyland, to a world designed by nature. We enter through a rock building, down clean, wide stairs on to broad gravel paths. We are now in Sand Hill Dome. You gasp! lt's beyond your wildest dreams. lts vastness bewilders you. On one side is a huge dome, the upper part of which has separated from the lower leaving a gap of from six to twelve inches wide. Throw a rock against this dome, and you find it is hollow. You feel its surface. You say it is sand, but it is really a mixture of limestone and sand. It takes from a hundred to hundred and eighty years to form a cubic inch of this rock. At one time, perhaps a hundred million years ago, a great, roaring river ran through this cave, dissolving the limestone rock and carving huge rooms and formations, a part of which you have seen. How convenient the gravel paths are! How clever is the lighting which does not spoil nature's beauty but merely lights the way so man can see. It is the finest example of cave illumination in the worldg all of it done by reflection. There are eight miles of lead cable with four hundred and seventy- five lamps totaling one hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred and seven candle power. We follow the pathg keep your eyes wide open and look all about you. Oh! look! a regular pair of false teeth. Yes, you are right. The water, the Wind, the drippings from the ceiling have fashioned a set. This is not the only freak formation you will find. There are many, many more. I shall have to show you some of them, others you will discover yourself. The cave forks. We shall take the path to the right first. This is the Dining Room. Look above you at the perfect cathedral dome that has be-en caused by the swirl of the water which at one time filled the cave. There, to your right, is the service window leading from the kitchen to the dining room. How peculiar to have Rip Van Winkle sitting on a stump in a dining room! But then nature does many peculiar things. You notice that some of the rock is white with streaks of brown and veins of blue. The white is pure onyx: the brown, streaks of clayg and the blue, copper stains. ln this room you observe the first stalactite and stalagmite formations. The stalactites hang from the ceiling. The rain on the ground above seeps through, making opalescent formations, hollow and filled with water. This water, in turn, seeps through the stalactites and where it drops on the floor begins a formation called stalagmites. The stalagmites, however, are solid. The stalactites on the side of the cave are called halagtites. When a stalactite and stalagmite meet they form a cone, there is a good example of one. Thousands of years have elapsed since it was formed. We continue on our way. Now we are in a sort of passage, perhaps a bit larger than what you consider a passage, but which is small compared to the vastness of the rooms. A plain light has been focused behind a thin piece of Eighteen

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13102115 rock: the result is a perfect side of bacon. Across from the bacon is a bowling pin. We have reached the end, so let us turn back. l have saved some inter- esting sights for our return trip. Look, there is a large tiger head with a black eye, its mouth opened wide, showing the teethg altogether it is quite a vicious-looking beast. On the other side of the wall is an army of soldiers ready for attack. Across from them is a large alligator. A little ahead is a lake of lily pads. You all oh and Mah, and oh and ah a bit louder as you keep discovering formations more spectacular than the others. A little farther on, you will see a bed of ocean wavesg these waves have been caused by the wind and the current in the water. We are back again in Sand Hill Dome and begin our inspection of the left fork. You will notice how very much drier the passages are that you have just seen than the ones deeper in the cave. This is because the wind from the opening of the cave has a better chance of drying the surface. Every once in a while you have seen cracks in the floorg this is due to the water beneath the floor which is dissolving the limestone. This room is called the Ball Room because it is practically level. There are no stalactite formations but only halagtites. The ground above us is slopingg therefore the rain is seeping through the side of the cave instead of the top of the cave. The refreshment stand is to your left. just as Rip Van Winkle was sitting in the dining room, Wall Street is situated in a ball room. Just alongside Wall Street is a lady dressed in old-fashioned hoop skirts and with a shawl about her shoulders. Opposite her a peacock is proudly dragging its feathers. Be careful, don't bump your head when going through this passageway. l suppose you have observed by this time that the rooms are all connected by passage-ways. This room is called the Royal Rotunda Room. Yes, l quite agree with youg it is the most beautiful. Even after you have seen the others, you will not change your opinion. The formations are smaller, more delicate, and more colorful. See that large ice-cream cone and the monkey looking into a small pool of water. There is Queen Marie in bed, the moon rising above her. This is again the result of putting a plain light behind a thin piece of rock. The Missouri State Capitol stands sedately in the background. The Little Red Castle finds its place in this strange collection. Nearby is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. An ear of corn hangs from the ceiling. Here, set off to itself in this magnificent display is a miniature fairyland, Alice in Wonderland's fairyland or any child's fairyland. A little farther on you see Moses talking to the children. Our next passageway has been nicknamed Fat Man's Misery because of its size. It leads into the Cactus Room. Here you will find the Wishing Well. Make a wish and throw a coin into the Water. According to the legend, if your wish has been unselfish, it will come true. The water in this well has been tested and found to be pure. Two little pickaninnies' faces are in the floor. There are more breaks in the floor. That is because we are closer to Twenty