Canada. National Parks Branch

“ The plunge and roar of a great waterfall somewhere down in the depths of this cavern reverberates in every inch of space, and produces in the listener sensations so weird that even those that have elsewhere met its counterpart are at first startled.
“No further attempt was made at this time to explore the cave through this entrance for the reason that the three hundred feet of rope sent by Mr. Ford, resident engineer of the C.P.R., for our use, had not yet been brought up to the cave from the water tank. ”

“ Overhead in many places are seen projecting spurs that have withstood the action of the water owing to superior hardness, or that, through some deflection of the current, have not had the same force brought to bear upon them. The waters of Cougar creek are derived from the melting glaciers and snow deposits lining the sides of the peaks enclosing the valley and, in consequence, carry a considerable quantity of sediment, composed of very fine rock particles. ”

“ About the centre of the flume, on the eastern side, and 30 feet from it, is the entrance to the Mill Bridge series of the caves, shown on the map as ‘Entrance No. 1.’ This entrance is a mere cleft in the rock strata, and is only wide enough to admit of the passage of a man’s body. The total length of the underground passageway, at one time accommodating a very considerable volume of water, is 400 feet. The height varies from a minimum of 10 feet to a maximum of 25 feet, and the width from 3 to 15 feet. ”

“ The roof is composed of one immense slab of rock sloping with the dip of the strata. The creek has broken through the northeast wall nearly in the middle of the chamber and disappears into the blackness with a dull reverberating roar. Fifty feet beyond the creek, the passage turns north again and it is necessary to descend a rock face of some 12 feet. On it are natural notches or footholds that would seem as though they had been cut with a cold-chisel for the special purpose; for persons unaccustomed to climbing, it is well to use a rope to steady the descent at this spot. ”

“ In this particular spot disintegration has created much havoc and the walls no longer show the marks of water erosion, while the floor is heaped with rock debris fallen from the ceiling. The passageway, however, that connects it with the surface is still intact as a sample of the power of water erosion. It is composed 16 of a series of potholes, connected one with the other by short narrow passages. The bottom of each succeeding pothole, as you recede from the entrance, is at a lower elevation, sometimes as much as ten or fifteen feet. ”

“ Entrance No. 3 is close by Lookout point and is the first accessible opening seen on the journey up the valley. A descent is made some 10 or 12 feet by a rough ladder, placed by Deutschman, to a small cavern where there is just room for three persons to crouch. Off this, a very narrow slit, through which it is barely possible to squeeze, opens to a narrow chute. Down this chute, by means of a rope placed around the body, a descent can be made some 20 feet, to the brink of space. From the final ledge a stone will drop a long way before it strikes. ”

“ The distance to the Nakimu Caves from Glacier House by way of the wagon road—Illecillewaet river and Cougar creek, is 7 miles; by horse trail, via Rogers pass over the summit of Baloo pass to the Caves, the distance is 3 miles farther. Baloo pass is 6681 feet above sea-level, and from the summit is an extensive view, including not only the Hermit range and McDonald, but the Dawson peaks, Bishop range and the mountains that girt Cougar valley.
At the Caves is a government building especially adapted for campers, with cook stoves and other conveniences. ”

“ Later in the month Deutschman, alone and unaided, penetrated this opening and worked his way across the stream, discovering what is now referred to as the Gorge series, or the series of passageways reached by the opening from the Gorge. And here the writer begs to say a word or two concerning this remarkable man. The work of exploration he has done without assistance, shows a character utterly devoid of fear. The descent into depths of blackest darkness, lighted only by the dim rays of a tallow dip, without a rope or other aid except in a case of direst necessity, requires more than courage ”

“ If the origin of block moraines can be accounted for by seismic disturbances, it is not improbable to assume that at some remote date a similar occurrence has shattered this bed of crystalline limestone and precipitated Cougar creek from its surface course into subterranean channels, which, through the course of ages, it has enlarged to their present size, and that subsequent shocks have been mainly responsible for the large quantities of fallen debris that litter the interiors. ”

“ On level ground, hills have arisen; mountains, on the other hand, have been depressed and flattened. Chasms of wonderful depth, exhaling a foul stench, have been hollowed out in many places, plains lie open, far and wide, where there were formerly very dense and lofty forests. ”

“ Cougar creek in its flow beneath Mill bridge passes through the Auditorium, and as it falls 75 feet in a distance of 200 feet, from its entrance beneath Mill bridge to the Auditorium, the chamber is replete with its roar, and the name is appropriate, though hardly in the conventional sense of the word. Faint daylight enters through the passageway of the waters and serves to make the surroundings look dim and mysterious. ”

“ Overhead, fantastic spurs and shapes reach out into the blackness and the entire surroundings are so weird and uncanny that it is easy to imagine Dante seated upon one of these spurs deriving impressions for his inferno. As the brilliant light goes out the thick darkness makes itself felt, and instinctively you feel to 14 see if Charon is not standing beside you. ”

“ For the lower portion, the passage lies between separated limestone strata from 3 to 7 feet apart; the floor, of broken boulders and slabs is very irregular. Both roof and floor are water-worn and show erosion markings. They descend until they meet 20 to 30 feet below. The subterranean stream is heard with a muffled roar on the left. On the right, three passages, met at intervals, lead to two circular funnel-like chambers, the more distant of which has been named ‘The Pit.’
“It is now necessary to return to the surface and seek ingress to the caves by means of Entrance No. ”

“ Ayres’ supplementary report. Many of the fallen blocks show crystalline calcite markings similar to those found in the Dropping Cave.
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“Leaving the Ball-room the passage leads southeasterly for a distance of 125 feet to where there is a parting of the ways. The upper end is a vaulted chamber, 15 to 20 feet wide and about 20 feet high, a crack on the left, leading to the depths below, has been partly filled by fallen rock debris. The broken blocks of which the floor is composed show crystallized dark blue limestone, veined with white ribbons of calcite. ”

“ They are profusely decorated by florescent carbonate incrustations, the first one being named ‘The Dome’ from its perfect formation. Minor passageways lead from them at a still greater depth. The most southerly one connects with ‘Judgment Hall,’ to be described further on (see map) . In this section the underground course of Cougar creek crosses the corridor, at a considerable depth below, and the roar of the hidden waters is transferred from the left to the right hand. ”

“ Professor Sherzer points to the probability of seismic disturbances being the cause of these block moraines and that the material of which they are formed had been shaken from the peaks to the snow-field below. Making due allowance for the period of transportation of the material forming the inner moraine, 26 the earthquake would thus have occurred during the thirteenth century. ”