The space crawled into and through widens sufficiently in several places to form chambers of good size, but the height of the ceiling is nowhere more than three feet and most of it only two or even less.  The rough rock floor is partly carpeted with patches of loose moist clay, which is the means of our becoming as grimy as tramps, and its source is readily accounted for by an examination of the ceiling.  This is easily made while resting one skinned elbow at the expense of the other.  The word “abraded” is inadequate where anything approaching real cave study is attempted.

The box work of the ceiling has almost entirely lost its crystallization, and is as ready to crumble as the enclosed clay, which is still retained because it had not yet reached the necessary point of deterioration to be carried out before the great volume of water, required for that service, retired from this high level of the cave.

When finally reached, the Crystal Palace proved worthy of the effort, its decoration being entirely of dripstone and very beautiful, although on too small a scale to be compared with similar work in many caves:  it is merely an attractive “extra” in Wind Cave, and not one of the important attractions that give the Cave the rank that may have a few equals but no superiors.

The first room is scarcely more than twelve feet in either direction and not quite six feet high.  The glassy ceiling is thickly studded with small stalactites from two to eighteen inches in length, and mostly of the hollow “pipe stem” variety, from which the surplus drip rests in white masses on the clean floor around a central bowl of good clear water.

Down the middle of the wall directly opposite the entrance a rushing little white cascade has congealed, and on either side just under the ceiling is a hollowed-out nook closely set with short stalactites and small columns, all pure white.

Near by but not connected is another room too well filled to permit an entrance, but a portion of the wall having been carried out a satisfactory view is not denied.  Here the floor rises to within three feet of the ceiling, and the deposit is much heavier, so that many fine columns rise from bases that spread and meet or overlap.  If the cave had no greater claim to notice than these small drip rooms, it would still be worthy of a visit.

The effort to secure flash-light pictures could only be considered successful because there are none better to be had.

The atmosphere of Wind Cave is marvelously fresh and pure, and possesses in a high degree the invigorating quality which in most caves renders unusual exertion not only possible, but agreeable as well.  In all the chambers and passages there is little change in the quality of the air, and thorough tests with a standard thermometer showed the variations on the different levels, from the highest to the lowest, to be about 2 deg.; but on different days the range was from 45 deg. to 52 deg.  This curious state of affairs some one else will have to explain.