THE IMPERIAL CAVE.
The Imperial Cave is graced with myriads of lovely objects. Darkness
brooded over them for ages, as drip by drip and atom by atom they were
formed into things that charm and shine in chambers whose walls are
"clad in the beauty of a thousand stars." There are underground gullies
terrible enough to be the home of Apollyon, with legions of goblins; and
strangely radiant elfin palaces where Titania might be supposed to
reign, and Robin Goodfellow carry on his frolicsome pranks. In the year
1879, when the cave-keeper (Mr. Wilson) discovered this magnificent
series of caverns, he was lowered down a distance of 90 feet through
Egyptian darkness. As this mode of access was neither cheerful nor easy,
nor free from danger, he determined, if possible, to find a less
inconvenient and perilous approach to the cave. After two years of
patient investigation he accomplished his heart's desire. The orifice
which has been converted into the present entrance was at first, for a
distance of 19 feet, only 14 inches by 15 inches, but the curator worked
his way through it, caterpillar fashion, with a light in one hand and a
hammer in the other, knocking off the rough formation, and widening the
aperture from time to time until he made communication free from
difficulty. Throughout this splendid cave there are many places where
similar efforts, accomplished with equal success, have added largely to
the safety and convenience of visitors, who reap the fruits of the
heroic work performed by the brave explorer, whose best years have been
spent in rendering accessible to the public the marvellous beauties of
the Jenolan Caves.
From the accommodation house the way to the Imperial Cave is through the
Grand Arch, on the northern side of which, at the eastern end, are two
wooden staircases. The first springs from the floor of the arch amidst
immense blocks of stone irregularly disposed. It has 21 steps, and a
handrail on each side. This terminates at the summit of a pile of
limestone rocks, the uppermost of which forms a platform guarded by iron
stanchions and a galvanised wire rope. From this platform there is
another flight of 21 steps to the portico of the cave--a plain archway,
the floor of which is 50 feet higher than the floor of the cave-house.
The entrance is guarded by a light iron gate.
THE WOOL SHED AND THE GRAVEL PITS.
About 35 yards from the entrance to the Imperial Cave, northward, and
thence about 30 yards east, is "The Wool Shed." The approach to it is
narrow and low. In some places it has been formed by blasting, and in
others by excavation through a red, sandy substance underneath the
limestone. It widens as the Wool Shed is approached. In the floor is a
hole going down to the former entrance to the cave, now closed by a
stone wall. The Wool Shed is about 20 feet wide, 15 feet high, and 70
feet long. The formation over a large part of the walls and roof
resembles the fleeces of sheep, hanging about and spreading over the
shelving rocks in all directions. There is one pelt which suggests the
"Golden Fleece" torn by Jason from the tree trunk in the poison wood
guarded by the huge serpent spangled with bronze and gold, and which was
soothed to slumber by the magic song of Orpheus. The surroundings are as
strange as those of the lonely cave where dwelt Cheiron the Centaur, who
taught the leader of the Argonauts "to wrestle and to box, and to hunt,
and to play upon the harp." But perhaps, after all, it may be only an
indifferent limestone representation of a fellmongering establishment.
The woolly skins and scraps are mirrored on the retina. The impressions
produced by the sense of vision depend not upon the optic nerve, but
upon the imagination. Simply as a spectacle, however, the Wool Shed is
curious and entertaining. The blocks of stone near to the base are for
the most part plain, and the floor is broken and rugged.
Descending 12 steps, and passing through a tunnel five feet six inches
by two feet, the visitor stands at the junction of the right and the
left hand branches of the cave. Here formerly the passage was only 14
inches by 15 inches. The larger opening was made by blasting, and the
material blown from the solid rock has been packed away in recesses at
the side of the hall, which, at the junction of the two branches, widens
out considerably, but does not present any specially interesting
features. The right hand branch runs north-west, and the left hand
branch runs south-west. Taking the south-west branch first, after
travelling about 10 yards the visitor comes to "The Gravel Pits," which
he reaches by ascending a mound with 13 steps. There are two pits of
gravel. One of them is about 12 feet deep and the other about 15 feet.
In the rocks overhead are bones distinctly visible, owing to the earthy
matter having fallen away from them. Some of these bones are large.
There are shelving rocks about six feet from the floor. The sides of one
of the Gravel Pits are oblique, but the other pit, which is railed off,
is round and perpendicular. It could hardly have been more symmetrical
had it been made by a professional well-sinker. This spot, although
perhaps uninteresting to a mere sight-seer, cannot fail to attract the
attention of geologists. Ascending two flights of stairs with 14 steps
each, the excursionist attains a height of about 40 feet above the
Gravel Pits in a north-westerly direction. Between the two flights of
steps the ground is sloping, and the walls hold a considerable portion
of drift, the pebbles of which are large and tinged with oxide of iron.
This passage leads to the Margherita Cave, and from it a
tunnel branches off towards the "Architect's Studio." This is a very
pretty vestibule, about 30 yards in length, and bearing south-east. At
first it rises several feet by steps, and later on there is a descent of
five steps through masses of stalactites, and past a beautiful pillar.
[Illustration: THE ARCHITECT'S STUDIO.]
THE ARCHITECT'S STUDIO.
The height of the "Studio" is about 18 feet. This _atelier_ is a marvel
of beauty. There are in it two temples of the most lovely kind. Large
masses of splendid stalactites hang from the roof. On the walls are
columns profusely decorated with coral and tracery and bosses, and
carvings which could be imitated only by the most cunning workmanship.
Near the centre is a large stalactitic mass, most graceful in shape,
with numerous appendages; and underneath appear several stalagmites.
Some of them have been partially destroyed, but one, which touches the
enormous mass of stalactites above, remains intact. Near to this is a
splendid column, richly embellished. The walls are profusely adorned
with elaborate configurations, which are supposed to represent
architectural "studies," from which the cave derives its name. Most of
the formation is white or light grey; but in some of the recesses there
is rich colouring. Each chamber has its own distinctive attractions, and
contains many objects which challenge special admiration. Massive
grandeur is set off with the most delicate and fragile beauty.
Stalagmites are not numerous here, but one about eight feet in height,
and two inches in diameter at the base, tapers off gradually towards the
roof until it becomes as attenuated as the thin end of a fishing-rod.
The stalactitic formation hangs in ponderous grotesquely-shaped
concretions, some of which extend from the roof nearly to the floor, and
many of the stalactites which decorate the stalactitic formation are
perfect in shape and purity. The choicest portions of the Architect's
Studio are fenced off with galvanised wire rope on iron standards.
THE BONE CAVE.
Ascending a flight of 10 steps out of the Architect's Studio the course
is south-west about 30 yards to the Bone Cave. The way is difficult, a
portion of the journey having to be performed on hands and knees. The
cave, which runs north and south, is about 10 feet high, 150 feet
long, and from 5 to 30 feet wide. In the middle of it is a passage only
partially explored. The Bone Cave is guarded by iron rods and wire
netting. Bunches of stalactites hang from the roof, and the floor is
strewn with bones, covered with a thick coating of lime formation. There
are also bones embedded in the floor. Some of the formations on the
floor are very peculiar, consisting of small curiously-shaped pieces
fitted together at remarkable angles, and yet capable of being taken to
pieces like triplicate kernels pressed together in one nutshell. A large
proportion of the stalactites are quite transparent and decorated with
small sharp points, and some formations among the coral are as lovely as
fine marine mosses, which they resemble. In the midst are numerous
unexplored recesses, which, when the light penetrates, are seen to hold
hundreds of fine stalactites, crystal and opaque. The objects of beauty
in the Bone Cave retain their colour, because they cannot be handled by
that class of visitors who fancy that they can see only with their
fingers. On the walls are specimens of delicate fretwork, and on the
floor as well as on the top of rocky ledges, stalagmites lavishly
ornamented. Although not as grand as the Architect's Studio, this is a
very fine cave, and additional interest attaches to it in consequence of
the fossil bones it contains. The adjacent chambers cannot be explored
without destroying some of the well-known beauties of the cavern.