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one feet, in order to admit a column of water three feet by twenty-four, at the lowest stage of the river.[1] In passing down the Ohio, about forty miles below the Wabash, a curious cave is seen in a high bank, on the Indiana side. Its mouth opens to the river, and when the water is high it nearly flows into it. The entrance is an arch in a rock about twenty-five feet high in the centre, eighty feet wide at the base, and extending back from the opening one hundred and eighty feet. The mouth is darkened by several large trees growing before it, which give it a gloomy and solemn appearance. Passengers usually visit it, and have engraved on the sides within the mouth, a great number of names, dates and other inscriptions. Indian superstition and other fabulous stories reported respecting this cave do not merit a repetition.
Further down the river, and within forty-six miles of its mouth, is fort Massac, situated on a high commanding bank, where a Lieutenant's command is stationed. It was originally built by the French. Here the land is rich and level, consisting principally of natural meadow, with
- ↑ In the Ohio Navigator a very accurate description is given of the Rapids with an excellent map of the falls. From this description the account of them here given, is principally taken. To this very valuable work, the writer is indebted for many observations respecting the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and for much information in regard to the country bordering upon them.
