Barrie Mann

“If you suffer from claustrophobia, or are afraid of heights, have a heart condition, have trouble walking, especially up and down stairs, you may wish to reconsider taking this tour.”

These words from the park ranger who was conducting the tour of Mammoth Cave in the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky gave some cause for consternation. My wife who is afraid of heights, and our traveling companion, Jim Harris, recovering from knee surgery, looked at each other with a worried expression. They both decided, however, that they could handle the tour. So we got on the bus that would take us to the cave entrance.

Left to right, Jo Winslow, Jim Harris and Linda Mann explore the Slave Cave.

Mammoth Cave is considered to be the largest cave in the known world. More than 365 miles have been surveyed in the Mammoth Cave system and we were told that many folks believe there are still some unsurveyed areas within the system. It is thought that 2,000 to 4,000 years ago, late Archaic and Early Woodland Indians used the cave and others nearby to mine minerals and use the caves for shelter,. This is evidenced by artifacts found in the caves during surveys.

In the late 1790s European settlers found a use for the caves – mining saltpeter, a key ingredient for the making of gunpowder. The War of 1812 created a need for great quantities of saltpeter; consequently, local slaves were put to work mining the Mammoth Cave and others to meet that need.

By the end of the War of 1812, the notoriety of Mammoth Cave had grown considerably and around 1816 people started to visit the cave for amusement. In 1838 a slave named Stephen Bishop became a guide and started exploring the cave further. He discovered many miles of cave and became the first known person to cross the previously impassable “Bottomless Pit” and the first to see the eyeless cave fish in the stream that runs through parts of the cave.

Our tour, known as “The New Entrance Tour”, only covered three-quarters of a mile but gave us a very good idea of what the cave consisted. After descending 250 feet via steep stairs we found ourselves in a vast chamber with our tour guide explaining the geology and history of the cave. As we progressed through we came into an area known as “Frozen Niagara” where we saw an impressive display of stalactites and stalagmites as well as columns where stalactites and stalagmites had joined together. This was the most impressive part of the tour.

From there we exited and were taken by bus back to the visitor center in the park. Just a word of caution. If you decide to visit the cave and take a tour make sure you book the tour in advance. Tours are very popular and are restricted in size. You can go on line and preview the tours that are available and book the one that you wish to take.

After exploring Mammoth we were in the mood to see other caves, and learned that just down the road from where we were camping was another cave that sounded interesting. It was the cave that Harriet Tubman used as the starting point for the famous Underground Railway, which she established to help escaped slaves get to the north and freedom.

The cave is located in a small clearing in a wooded area and unless you were shown the location (as we were) you wouldn’t know it existed. Apparently there had been some signage that gave the history but it has disappeared. It’s unfortunate that there is no mention of this historical place in any brochure or local visitor guide. The area is slowly degrading and the entrance way and other parts of the cave are showing signs of neglect. One major room, visible to the visitor is barred with iron railing. Another is accessible and we were able to go into it with flashlights and view the area where men, woman and children had waited to start the journey to freedom. The cave rooms are small. We had been told that on any given day there were between 70 and 80 people crammed in those rooms waiting to be taken up north. One could only imagine the feelings of these people. Packed into a small space, like sardines in a can. Anxious, scared that they would be caught and returned to their owner for punishment, and possibly death. But being nose to nose with others was a small price to pay when freedom was the prize at the end of the journey. You also had to admire the courage of Harriet Tubman, who put herself in danger by what she was doing.

All of these thoughts and emotions run through you as you view this lonely and isolated cave in a small wooded area in southern Kentucky. You wonder why such an historical site is going unnoticed. Being such a large part of our history you would think that this site would be maintained as an historical site, instead it’s being allowed to fade into obscurity. If it wasn’t for the road sign that showing the road as “Slave Cave Road” there would be no indication that such an historical find could be discovered. I hope that some agency or historical society wakes up and takes steps to “rediscover” the slave cave as we did.