Newspaper accounts of social outings at Kingston Saltpeter Cave, 1869-1886

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NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS OF SOCIAL OUTINGS AT

KINGSTON SALTPETER CAVE, 1869-1886

Compiled by Marion O. Smith

Kingston Saltpeter Cave is by far the most historical Georgia cave. It was
mined for saltpeter as early as 1804, was the cause of a fatal shooting in 1810,
and was again mined during the Civil War, 1861-1864. Since the late 1830s many
newspaper veborts have told of visits by adventurers, curiosity seekers, and DiLChic
groups. The following post-Civil War visits, all published in Cartersville papers,

fall mostly into the last named category.

SALTPETRE CAVE.

In company with a few friends, male and female, we paid this
natural curiosity a brief visit, on Friday last. It is located in
this county, two miles south of Kingston, near a large and beauti-
ful gushing spring of pure limestone water, and but a short distance
from Etowah River. It was operated upon by the Confederate Gov-
ernment, during the war, in obtaining Salt-Petre with which to marn-
facture gunpowder. We explored a few of its subterranean caverns
and passages, by means of torch lights, but did not explore far ©
enough to form a just conception of the extent of the Cave, but
satisfied ourself that it was greater and more complicated than we
had the time and disposition to attempt to investigate. It is well
wortha visit to any one who has never seen it, and has long been a
resort for pleasure excursion parties, for which it is admirably
adapted; although a thorough exploration of its dark and hidden
recesses requires much dirty and unpleasant work. The bottom or
floor of the cave is very uneven and precipitous, requiring one to
be wide awake and duly sober to maintain proper equilibrium. It is
badly smoked by exploring parties, and that, too, by lightwood
torches. The dirt taken from it is said to be an excellent
fertilizer for cotton.

Cartersville Express, July 29, 1869

CASSVILLE NEWS

~~ The Cassvillians, on Thursday last, had a cave ride and a pic-
nic party which were pronounced a decided success. Early in the
morning the village was alive with preparation for the holiday
excursion. Every vehicle in the shape of wagon or buggy, was call-
ed into requisition, and eatables and non-eatables were packed in
almost to overflowing. Off the party started at last, supplied
with torch pine and lamp, to explore the dark recesses of the old
cave, made famous by the annual visits of similar parties, for the
last forty years. After a ride of two or three hours, over the
roughest road, the party arrived in safety and proceeded at once
to the exploration. After groping around for an hour or two they
returned to the entrance, fully satisfied that they had not dis-
covered anything worth mentioning, which had not been discovered
years before, save the foot print of Capt. Farron [Henry P. Farrow,
1834-1907] and his gallant men, who it will be remembered battled
hard during the war, with pick and spade, to supply the deficient

LG.

ordinance stores of the Confederacy. The party then proceeded
to the Gillam Spring, where a sumptuous dinner was spread. .. -
Cartersville Standard and Express, August 26, 1874

IN SALTPETRE CAVE
THE WONDERFUL CAVERN NEAR KINGSTON

The stillness of the summer afternoon around the mouth of Salt-
petre cave was broken by gay laughter as a merry crowd of picknickers
gathered there to explore it. The massive natural masonry of the
grand arched entrance fills the beholder with awe, and fits him to
appreciate the subterranean wonders of the place. The descent to
the grand reception room is some sixty feet down a winding and rugged
way. As this descent is made the air grows perceptibly cooler, and
when the bottom is reached one almost regrets that an overcoat was
not brought along. The thermometer stood at about 95 that evening,
but it was not over 65 in the bottom of the cave. Our little party
was there to explore. About half of us had never been in the cave
before, and we were particularly anxious to investigate, so, with a
bright lantern and a flaring torch, with Mr. T. HM. Smith as guide,
we entered the darkness, which was so thick it could almost be felt.
We entered first the large "Indian ball room" with its irregular walls
and smooth floor, which seemed large enough to accommodate a thousand
dancers. This must have been at one time a beautiful room before the
sparkling walls were smoked black by the torches of explorers. From
there we passed up a steep declivity and through a narrow passage way
into a smaller, but more beautiful apartment. There were signs of
stalagmites and stalactites, but most of them had been broken off and
carried away by curiosity hunters. This room was also blackened by
the smoke of the torch. It is impossible at this time to remember
the names of the different rooms and apartments, but for one hour we
wandered through this solemn and mysterious underground realm, at every
step finding something to excite our wonder and inspire our awe. some-
times rough, jagged rocks, seemed to overhang and shut out our way, and
we would abruptly turn aside into a beautiful chamber. Sometimes we
would creep along half bent for some distance and suddenly enter a
grand amphitheatre whose roof was so far away that it was almost an
visible. We wandered on and on, filled with a splendid admiration and
awful reverence as the hidden mysteries of this place revealed them-
selves to us. "The Fat Man's Misery," "The Squaw's Bridal Chamber,"
"The Lover's Leap,” "The Grand Column." “The Chief's Council Chamber,"
"The Rock Bound Coast," "The Miser's Money Chest," "The Dungeon,” and
many other places of interest claimed our attention. It would require
far more skill than the writer possesses to present a satisfactory
description of the attractions of the cave. One could imagine that he
was wandering through some ancient castle of irregular construction and
careless design. ‘The darkness lends it an air of weird loneliness. The
spirit of laughter and jest that pervaded our crowd at the entrance had
gradually died away, and the lights flared on solemn, awe-struck faces.
we had found our way back to the "Ball Room" and sat down to rest.
Fortunately, there were several splendid voices in the party and, they
were disposed to sing. The song was started by a strong voice and the
different parts were caught up by the little crowd. Not being musical
we lay down outside of the circle and listened. The whole place became
full of the music. It seemed that invisible choristors caught up the
words, and from every room, and cavern, and grotto, and hall, anc
tower came back the echoing sound until the whole inside of the mountain
was swelling and breathing with a grand chorus of a thousand yoices.
With our head resting on a stone we watched the little party of ten

LOIWT

singers and wondered if so muc usic could come from them.

The lights had burned low and were flickering; the faces of the
party looked strange and almost ethereal. It required very little
stretch of imagination to people the cave with myriads of invisible
singers whose angelic voices were aiding the singers around us to
make up the mighty anthem that was surging and rolling through the
cave. When the song was ended a silence fell on the singers, and
the echoes were heard sobbing in the dim dark distance as af it were
a requiem for the song. It was getting late and we hurried away to
the place of entrance. Some of our companions who had not gone in
were gayly calling us to go. The light of the outer world burst upon
us, our dim lights went out, the gloomy, tomb-like feelings of the
cave left us as readily as we pull off a wet rubber coat, and as we
climbed out into the light some of the younger members of the party
burst forth with, "There's gold in the mountain, there's silver in
mine," etc., and we soon found ourselves as merry as when we entered.
Saltpetre cave is truly a sonderful place. There are hundreds of
people who live and die in Bartow county who have no conception of
its grandeur. We advise our readers to see it. No description can
give an idea of its interior. It is not only beautiful, but pop Mag oR cag

esque and grand.

Cartersville American, September 2, 1884

BARTOW'S WONDERFUL CAVERN

There are many points of interest in Bartow county, but the
most remarkable and interesting one is situated about ten miles from
Cartersville. We refer to our justly celebrated Saltpetre cave.
The adjoining country around it is poor, rocky and mountainous. The
descent into it is steep, abrupt, and somewhat Git ricur., 202. perc
haps one hundred and fifty feet where the bottom becomes perfectly
smooth and even; owing, no doubt, to the collection of dirt which
has been washed down the mouth, and settling there for ages. This
smooth and even surface extends forty by sixty feet. Here the
Indians are said to have been in the habit of meeting for the pur-
pose of dancing, and to indulge in other customary pastimes and
festivities. The air in this cave is damp, and unpleasantly cold.
From the mouth to the bottom of the first descent, the aperture
becomes larger and larger until the bottom is reached. About midway
the rocks overhead are so far above as to render the top almost in-
visible from the light of torches. Stones thrown up can barely
reach it. At the bottom of the first room, as it Ge usually called,
the rocks close in on all sides, except the entrance, and a few teet
through which the visitor must pass half bent, if he desires co
proceed further. After going in this way for twenty or thirty feet,
the opening again becomes suddenly large and extensive on ail Sides,
and a steep and rugged ascent has to be encountered for eighty or
one hundred feet. Here, if it were not that the cave is in the side
of a mountain, it could not be very far to the surface of the earth
above, as it is now ascended a distance nearly equal to that which
was descended in entering, and it is also some distance to the rock
overhead. But the visitor is now in the heart or center of the
mountain, where no ray of light ever found its entrance, except
that of the torch or lantern of exploring man. At the top. or this
ascent a road branches off to the right and left. Both are circuitous
and lead into rooms of defferent shapes and sizes. The one to the
right leads by a difficult and sometimes dangerous route to the
largest room in the cave. From this there is a small and narrow

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outlet, scarcely of space sufficient to proceed erect, of about one
hundred and fifty or two hundred feet in length and leads to
another issue, though small. There are in this cave some twenty
or thirty rooms of different sizes and forms, and generally con-
nected with each other by apertures sufficiently large to admit
of easy access, but in some places, though rarely, the visitor
must make his way on his hands and knees. some visitors, of more
enterprise and perseverance, have taken in poles, by which to
ascend the rooms overhead. One room is accessible by a ladder and
in this room it is said there are thousands and thousands of
leather-winged-bats. On what these bats subsist is a question that
may puzzle the curious. The continual drippings of the lime and
saltpetre have, in many of the rooms, formed beautiful columns and
pillars, by concretion. Many of these, from the different shapes
they have assumed, are interesting curiosities. These pillars
are, in a state of nature, almost as white as marble; but the
frequent visits to the cave, and the visitors using pine for
torches, they have become smoked black. Several years ago con-
siderable quantities of saltpetre were manufactured from the dirt
dug out of this cave, and the sights are visible, but no work of
the kind is now going on. |
Cartersville American, October 21, 1884

A party of about twenty couples from here will pic nic at
Saltpetre Cave to-morrow. It will be a jolly crowd, and we
anticipate for them a delightful day.

Cartersville American, August 5, 1885

Another pleasant pic nic came off at the Salt Petre cave on
the 20th. Misses Howard and her guests. I noticed in the party
Mrs. Crocket, of Nashville, Tenn., and her sister, Miss Dearing,
of Adairsville, also, Mr. Alex Capers, of Adairsville and Miss
Addie Beltzelle, of Woodtown. It was quite a pleasant party.

Cartersville American, August 25, 1886