The third man, hemmed in by the walls of the canon, continued the journey alone amid great perils from cataracts, rocks, and whirlpools.

For ten days he pursued, his lonely way, tasting food but twice during the whole time.  Once he obtained a few green pods and leaves from bushes growing along the stream, and the second time from some friendly Indians.

At last he succeeded in reaching Callville in safety, after having floated several hundred miles.

* * * * *

LESSON LXXIII.

pro por’tions, relations of parts to each other.

in te’ri or, the inside.

al a bas’ter, a kind of whitish stone.

chasm, a deep opening.

a’re a, any surface, as the floor of a room.

an’cient, belonging to past ages.

un ex am’pled, without a similar case.

co los’sal, of great size.

feat’ure, any thing worthy of notice.

dra’per y, hangings of any kind.

o ver awed’, held in a state of fear.

sur pass’ing, exceeding others.

* * * * *

NATURAL WONDERS OF AMERICA.

PART II.

THE MAMMOTH CAVE.

In the year 1809, a hunter named Hutchins, while pursuing a bear in Edmondson County, Kentucky, was surprised to see the animal disappear into a small opening in the side of a hill.

Upon examining the spot, Hutchins found that the opening led into a cave.  Following up the examination soon after, it was discovered that the cave was immense in its proportions.

On account of its great size, it was named Mammoth Cave.  It has an area of several hundred square miles, and two hundred and twenty-three known and numbered avenues, with a united length of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles.

The interior of this cave is divided by huge columns and walls of stone into chambers of various shapes and sizes.  Some of these are large enough to afford standing room for thousands of people.

One of the largest of these chambers is called Mammoth Dome.  This room is four hundred feet long, one hundred and fifty feet wide, and two hundred and fifty feet in height.

The walls of this grand room are curtained by alabaster drapery in vertical folds and present to the eye a scene of unexampled beauty and grandeur.

A large gateway at one end of this room opens into another room, in which the position of the huge stone pillars, reminds one of the ruins of some ancient temple.

Six colossal columns, or pillars, eighty feet high and twenty-five feet in diameter, standing in a half circle, are among the imposing attractions of this wonderful room.