An 1866 Visit to Grier Cave

AN 1866 VISIT TO GRIER’S CAVE
Contributed by Marion O. Smith
(From the Macon Telegraph, October 10, 1866)

Editors Telegraph:

I propose to give you a short account of a visit to “Greer’s Cave,” on the 10" of this
month.

The cave is situated about ten miles north of Cuthbert in Randolph County. The exploring
party consisted of Mr. N.R. Halliday, Mr. George Halliday, Mr. R. Greer, and myself.’ We
reached the Cave about ten o’clock in the morning. I was.surprised to see the mouth of the Cave
on level ground. It is about two feet in diameter, the opening extending perpendicularly
downwards about ten feet. We crawled in, lighted our torches and started. There are two
passages leading from the mouth. We started west and had gone about thirty feet, when we came
to a pile of rocks, which seemed to be the end of that passage, but after looking around, we found
an opening large enough for a man to get through. It extended downwards.— Holding to the
sharp points of the rocks we crawled down, and found ourselves in a beautiful branch. There
were a few stalactites in this part of the cavern. We proceeded about twenty yards, over rocks
piled up in almost every imaginable shape. Here we came to another opening, but so small that
we could not get through it. We turned and succeeded in getting back to the mouth of the
Cave.— But we succeeded with great difficulty and at the expense of many jokes from each
other, for in going back we had to go up, and it was not so easy as going down.

We rested a little, and proceeded to explore the other passage, which proved to be more
interesting. Twenty yards from the entrance we commenced going down again. This passage was
not quite so rough as the other. We went down about fifty feet when we came to what appeared
to be the end of the cave, but looking down we perceived another opening beneath our feet. We
jumped down about seven feet and found ourselves in a magnificent room. The first thing we
saw was a Stalactite and a stalagmite which had met and joined together, forming a figure in the
shape of an hour-glass. At the base they were about a foot in diameter. The roof of the cave was
covered with stalactites of all sizes, from one inch to three feet long. Here we found the branch
again. We were examining some roots that grew in the branch when, casting my eyes up, I saw a
magnificent stalagmite. At the base it was too [two] feet in diameter. It was as white as marble,
and as the light from our torches shone on it, there seemed to be ten thousand diamonds sticking
' about on it. At this point we laid ourselves flat in the branch and crawled through the opening. In
this room there was nothing interesting, it being much smaller than the other. The passage from
this room was so small, that we could not get through it, so we turned and went into another
passage which we had passed. We had only two torches, and while going into the other passage,
both of them expired. We had matches, but could not ignite them, so we commenced exercising
our lungs on the few coals we had left. We succeeded in a short time in rekindling the light, and
proceeded on our exploring tour.

LA

The passage we now entered seemed to be formed by an earthquake splitting the rock.
s After winding about for some time, we found ourselves in the branch again. The passage through
which the branch ran, was barely large enough for us to enter. After working our way up this
branch twenty or thirty steps, we were forced to stop, for the passage was so small we could go
no farther. Fortunately, the place in which we stopped was large enough for us to turn around, or
we would have had considerable difficulty in getting out again. In going back, our lights went
out and left us in the dark again. With a great deal of lung exercise this time, we rekindled our
lights and made our way back to the mouth of the cave. There is only one large room in the cave.
It is about fifty feet long, and thirty feet wide. The others are all small.

I have given a very imperfect sketch of Greer’s Cave. I see accounts of caves in states
farther North, and I wish for it to be known that Nature has been playing pranks in Southwestern
Georgia also. There is one opening for this cave, about a mile from the point where we entered
and another about a mile and a half.”

One of the party said two negroes went in the cave which I have described, and came out
at an opening a mile and a half from the large cave. There is no doubt but that it is an extensive
cave, the difficulty is getting along, having prevented its being explored.

J. L. Bankston.

NOTES
1. The explorers were possibly Nathaniel (b. c1808) and his son George Halliday (b. c1842) of Stewart
County, Richard Greer (b. c1803) of near Columbus who may have been the owner, and John L. Bankston (b.
c1845), a fledgling lawyer from Clay County. 1870 Census, Ga., Chattahoochee, Columbus Dist. 1108, 29; Clay,
Cotton Hill P.O., 12; Stewart, Lumpkin P.O., 63.
2. GRA 40, Grier’s Cave, is estimated to be 1,200 feet long with a vertical extent of fifty feet. Could the
other “openings” alluded to in Bankston’s article actually be cave leads?