Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 248, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1916 — Purgatory Chasm [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Purgatory Chasm

EVER been in Purgatory? Many persons have declared their expectation of going there eventually, but there are thousands who have already made the trip, have enjoyed the experience and have come away wondering why more people do not go there. The Purgatory in question is located in the town of Sutton, Mass., and those who have visited the spot are convinced that the commonwealth has missed an opportunity to become famous for having within its confines one of the strangest and most interesting freaks of nature in the world. Purgatory, in Sutton, is a chasm. Its admirers declare that it is more attractive and remarkable even than the Flume in the White mountains, and they are back of a movement to have the commonwealth acquire the property and make a reservation out of it for the benefit of the whole people. Purgatory chasm has for years been a source of wonder to geologists, for they cannot agree as to what caused it. A large number of them seem to think that at some time, eons ago. a portion of the earth at this point dropped down out of sight, leaving iL great' chasm whose base is filled with giant bowlders and deep caves. Until a few years ago this chasm, situated in the midst of a forest of pine, hemlock and spruce, was a favorite outing spot for people in Worcester and surrounding towns, but as the roads to it were not kept in good condition the visitors decreased until now it has practically been forgotten except by a few enthusiasts. Explored by Commission. Led by Arthur E.. Seagrave of pxbridge, who is assistant attorney general of th# commonwealth, they have been endeavoring for several years to have the legislature take an interest in the matter of preserving the natural wonder, and finally succeeded this year in securing an appropriation of SIOO to be used for an investigation of the matter by the state forestry commission, This commission, which is composed of the state forester, Frank W. Rane, Harold Parker and Harvey N. Shepard, with Charles O. Bailey as secretary, has completed its investigation. Not one of them had ever seen Purgatory chasm before. “I was amazed,” said Mr. Bailey when he returned to Boston. “It ac-

tually awed me, it was so majestic, so wonderful. In some ways it resembles thg_Lost River chasm in Vermont,and to my mind is more, interesting than the Flume in New Hampshire. Aftpr going nearly a mile through the woods you suddenly come upon this freak. There are stones weighing 50 tons at least that have been hurled about. Some of them stick out at least 15 feet from the sides of the chasm, 40 feet or more in the air. There are caves where iee remains much of the summer, and! at the end of the chasm is a wonderful cave, on the floor J of which is am immense slab of stone that looks just like a giant’s coffin. It is called the Devil’s Cave. “The vegetation there Is remarkable. Great trees grow apparently from th© solid rock, their roots often going up 10 to 15 feet over the bowlder, then turn down over It to reach the soil. If a balloonist should start from the Rocky mountains and land at this spot, he would think it was a part at the Rockies. Speaking as a private citizen, I believe it would be a great shame to let a few dollars stand in the way of preserving this great natural wonder for the people of Massachusetts.” '

Some Great Caverns. “Hell’s Coal Bin” is one of the largest caverns In Purgatory, not far from the northern entrance. It would hold 25 persons easily. The “Devil’s Ice Box” is another great cavern, its ceiling lined with icicles until the middle of June. “Pulpit Rock” Is a wedgeshaped piece 40 feet high, from which manyja sermon has been preached by the unordained. For all its ruggedness, the trip through Purgatory chasm may be made by women, although it is not a place for silk hosiery and thin-soled pumps. Some of the rocks in the chasm are as large as a bungalow, and the mass of bowlders extends far into the earth. It is possible for one to go down into great crevices until well out of sight below the surface, and in other places rocks may be dropped into other holes, and they rattle from bowlder to bowlder until the sound of their downward progress is lost in the depths. In spite of the ravages of forest fires in this section, the virgin wood surrounding the chasm for more than a mile has not been harmed.

Whirl the, walls are 80 Felt high

PULPIT ROCK