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Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

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CHAPTER XIXCAVE EXPLORATIONTo those who love the tang of adventure instrange <strong>and</strong> untrodden places there is no experience,nowadays, that <strong>com</strong>pares with opening up <strong>and</strong> exploringcaverns. To find a mountain that hasnever been ascended, or a region on the earth's surfacethat has never been mapped, one must makelong journeys <strong>and</strong> spend a fortune. Caves maybe found wherever there are thick beds of permeablelimestone with sink-holes on the surface, orother evidence of subterranean water-courses. Thedescent calls for no costly equipment. It may bemade at any season of the year. The trip willtake only a day or two. And cave exploration isa sport that yields quick results: the moment youget underground you are face to face with theunknown.Yes, there may be nothing new under the sun,but under the earth nearly everything is new. Itis safe to say that not one per cent of the subterraneanpassages in our limestone regions have beenexplored. In Kentucky alone, according to ProfessorShaler, there are at least 100,000 miles ofcaverns that have not filled up. A similar honey<strong>com</strong>bedformation extends over large parts of Indiana,Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, <strong>and</strong> Tennessee.Superb caverns have been found in the Shen<strong>and</strong>oahValley of Virginia, in the Black Hills of SouthDakota, <strong>and</strong> in other parts of our country. Verrfew, even of our best-known caves, have yet beerz<strong>com</strong>pletely explored. There are hundreds, <strong>and</strong> perhaps thous<strong>and</strong>s, that no man ever has entered.337They

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