The party's first task was to improve the various trails. Large rocks were pushed aside and, where this was not possible, safe ladders were constructed when the obstructions could not be circumvented. On Dr. Lee's previous trip he did not explore the many small chambers and rooms leading off of the main halls and central areas. This time he made these deviations his specialty. Numerous nooks and corners were explored and mapped. Only those that for reason defied access were left alone and kept their secrets sealed within. The entire party was amazed at the ornate beauty they found all around them. Many of the rooms were being seen by scientists for the first time, who would subsequently describe these colorful wonders so that all the world would know. Of the Dome Room he later wrote "from the arched vault hang pendants of ornate character and on the wall are sheets of delicately colored onyx resembling portieres looped back in graceful folds. One is impelled to touch these folds before he is convinced that they are cold, hard stone." In another chamber Dr. Lee noted how some of the stalactites would ring when struck lightly with a stone or metal instrument. One that was broken revealed a small trickle of water within. It was, said Dr. Lee, excellent drinking water. Further on the party found a large hole which was 100 yards across and almost one third that deep. Onyx marble was to be seen all around, on the walls and the ceiling which was some 200 feet above the floor of this indentation. Climbing down a wire ladder, Dr. Lee and his associates found several "fountain basins" many of which had a crust of onyx which resembled somewhat the ice that forms over a small body of water in the winter time, after which the water recedes leaving the thin sheet of ice suspended in air. Other unusual formations were the many pisolites, small, spherical bodies of hard stone which jewelers call "cave pearls." Some were immovable while others were loose, probably never having been able to fasten themselves due to the continuous agitation caused either by a flow of water underneath them or from water above dripping down around them. These "cave pearls" grow from a tiny beginning through hundreds of years by the constant deposition of minute quantities of calcium carbonate left by the dripping or flowing water. Those still active are moist and glistening. The dead ones are pale, with a powdery, dull look. Because of the fact that these "pearls" resembled eggs in nests of stone, the room was called the Rookery, a name which has remained ever since. In places where water drips at just the right frequency, the water will splash to the surrounding walls, leaving as it dries there its small particle of calcium carbonate. In places it hardens to form funnel shaped vases. In other places it dries too rapidly, leaving a soft powdery accumulation.