Journey to the Bottomless Pit: The Story of Stephen Bishop & Mammoth Cave by Elizabeth Mitchell

For Black History Month, coming up soon, Elizabeth Mitchell's Journey to the Bottomless Pit: The Story of Stephen Bishop and Mammoth Cave offers middle readers information on slave life in the mid-1800's, the story of about the little known but fascinating explorer of Kentucky's Mammoth Cave, and some of his thrilling discoveries far underground:

Now Stephen took Stevenson to the edge of the Bottomless Pit. Stephen threw down a burning scrap of paper to demonstrate how deep it was. Slowly the paper fell, twisting and turning as it burned, until it was lost in total darkness. No bottom could be seen.
They stood the ladder at the edge of Bottomless Pit. Carefully they lowered it until the other end touched the far side. But as soon as Stephen crawled onto the first rung, the ladder teetered. Stevenson knelt immediately to brace the ladder....[Stephen] and Stevenson looked at each other. Were they crazy to be trying this?

...Now Stephen had to figure out how to take the lamp. Without light, they wouldn't be able to see on the other side. But he needed both hands to hold on to the ladder.

"I've got an idea," Stevenson said. From his vest pocket he pulled a clean white handkerchief. He wrapped it tightly around the metal handle of the lamp. "Can you carry it in your teeth?" he asked Stephen.

Stephen Bishop, a nineteen-year-old slave, was selected to guide tourists through Mammoth Cave when it was purchased by his owner in 1838. Intelligent, brave, and enterprising, Stephen soon began to explore the vast unknown regions of this cave, the largest east of the Mississippi. Often alone, with only an oil lantern and small candles, in his non-work hours he carefully explored, memorized, and charted the miles of caverns, tunnels, and crevices in the cave. It was Stephen, guiding the enthusiast H. C. Stevenson, who first made the perilous crossing over what was known as the "Bottomless Pit" and discovered the passage they named "Fat Man's Misery" which led to the first underground river located in Mammoth Cave.

Although Stephen Bishop was responsible for the first official map and the discovery of most of the beautiful domed caverns for which Mammoth Cave is famous, as a slave he got no public credit for his work. Yet Stephen used the opportunities which his position garnered him to educate himself in geology and speleology and met and guided many famous and notable figures of the mid-nineteenth century through his cave.

Elizabeth Mitchell's Journey to the Bottomless Pit: The Story of Stephen Bishop and Mammoth Cave is a fictionalized biographical account of the working life of Stephen Bishop. The glimpses of slave life she provides in the course of the narration point up for young readers the amazing life journey of the uneducated but brilliant slave whose amazing discoveries rank with those of better-known nineteenth century explorers.

In addition to its historical value, Mitchell's book is an adventure story which takes the reader into the dark passages, underground rivers with eyeless fish, and the dazzling domed chambers for which this magnificent cavern is known. Journey to the Bottomless Pit is a 2008-2009 Tennessee State Book Award Nominee.