Day Six

Mark Twain Cave 1

マークトウェイン洞窟　その１

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Mark Twain Cave is located at the southern end of Hannibal. After visiting Mark Twain Musuem, we headed to the cave in car. We drove about five minutes on Missouri 79, turned right onto a narrow road, further drove a couple of minutes at a slow speed, then got to a big parking lot for the cave.

This is the parking lot. Across a small creek we see a winery building, which is owned by the cave owner, Linda Coleberd.

The parking seems to have been contructed by cutting open some part of the woods surrounding the cave.

According to a comment board by it, this tree was planted in 1731 as a seedling. So, as of 2013, it is 282 years old! It's a bar oak, and is designated as a Liberty Tree by the US Department of Agricultre.

This stone is placed by the cave store entrance, showing the year when the cave was first discovered. In 1819, Jack Simms, a local hunter, followed his dog that itself had been chasing a target animal. Then the dog went into a small opening that lead to a large undergound space with complicated branches everywhere. The cave soon became a good pastime spot for the residents who lived nearby, especially for children. Among them was a young Sam Clemens, who grew up to be a famous writer known as Mark Twain.

This is the entrance that Jack Simms found. It's now called Discovery Entrance. This is located just above the present cave entrance. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

This is the present cave entrance. It's not a natural entrance but was artificially made. In 1890, two men who had purchased the cave, planned to make the cave a good source for money. They built several facilities for cave tourists. They also thought a new bigger entrance was needed for their cave tour. So, they blasted out an opening just below the original entrance. This is still being used as the official entrance for the Mark Twain Cave. Click on the photo for enlargement.

Day Six continues to the next page.

六日目は次のページに続きます。