A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY
FROM WHICH WILL ARISE THE GREATEST SENSATION EVER KNOWN IN AUSTIN
A great cave in Mount Bonnell filled with astonishing curiosities
Last Monday, a middle-aged black man who lives about a mile and a half from Mount Bonnell, came to town and called on an old friend and reliable citizen, stating that the day before, which was Sunday, he was strolling about that mountain, and noticed that some large rocks had lately tumbled down.
He went to the place from whence they started, and there found an opening leading into the mountain, large enough to admit a man in a kneeling position.
He crawled in some 15 to 20 feet, but found it so dark, he was afraid to venture further. So he backed out and went home for a lamp and matches, he lit his lamp and again entered the hole. After going about 30 feet, as nearly as he could judge, he came to a large cave or room, as he called it. This large room, he said, appeared to be 200 or 300 feet wide, 30 or 40 feet high, and so long he could not see the end of it. He walked a long distance, but fearing he would get lost, retreated his steps. The floor, he said, was of smooth rock. He started to go to one side of the room and soon came stone tables and benches.
He also saw a large lot of something which appeared to be bones, but when he touched them they turned to ashes or dirt.
As he neared the side of the room, he came to a very long and wide table. This table, he said, was covered with jugs and stone churns and silver dollars. Here he produced some of the coins he had gathered. They appeared to be silver and covered with characters of hieroglyphics. Not knowing what to do, he filled his pockets with these coins and left The Cave.
When he came out, he covered up the entrance. He also mentioned that everything was dry and dusty and nothing indicated
They all went and followed him to the cave. That there had ever been any water in The Cave there seemed no evidence. They would come across a loose rock or boulder which they supposed had fallen from the roof of the caves. After after a thorough exploration they came to the conclusion that The Cave must be about 200 feet wide and not less than 1200 or 1400 feet long. There seem to be several dark entrances leading from The Cave which as yet have not been explored.
After bringing out of The Cave two or three dozen of the stone vessels and a large quantity of silver coins. They closed up the entrance, placed the plunder in the wagon and covered it up with some tree boughs. And all promised to keep it a secret.
These curiosities are now in a room in the city, except for a few of the coins, which have been sent to Philadelphia to see if the characters on them can be deciphered, and the owner of the property, where The Cave is situated has been let in on the secret. A general exploration of the entire cave will one day be had. In the meantime, its location is a secret.
Jeanine Plumer
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