021 (Winter 1973) - National Speleological Society

The Journal of Spelean History
OFFICI PUBUCATION of The AMERICAN SPELEAN HISTORY ASSOCIATION
..
*\ vlinter 1973
Volume 6, No. 1 ·

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION
The American Spelean History Association is chartered as a non-profit
corporation for the study, dissemination and int erpretation of spelean
history and related purposes. All persons of hi gh ethical and moral
character who are interested in these goals are cordially invited to become
members. Annual membership is $5.00; family membership
$6.00. Library subscriptions are $4.00.
ABOUT THE QUARTERLY
The Association publishes the Journal of Spelean History on a quarterly
basis.
P ertinent articles or reprints are welcomed. A s a photo -offset
process is often used, the editor should be contacted in advance concerning
the current type of manuscript preparation desired. Submission of
rough drafts for preliminary editing is encouraged. lllustrations require
special handling and arrangements must be made with the editor
in advance.
ABOUT BACK ISSUES
The last two volues are available from the Secretary-treasurer at $5.00
per volume. About half the other issues are available at $1. 00 per copy.
All back issues are available on microfiche; for further information
contact 3M-International Microfilm Press, 52.1 West 43rd Street, New
York, N.Y. 10036.
C)
ABOUT
THE
COVER
ILLUSTRATION
This extraordinary view of natives of Yucatan ascending and descending
a double-width ladder of lashed poles was sketched by
erwood in the winter of 1841-1842. during the famous second expedition
of John L. Stephens. The location is ,lithe old cenote" of Bolonchen ­
"Nine Wells" - some distance from the ancient and modern townr but
the only one which was reliable during drought. Stephens t description
of the cenote and its cave is among the high points of his oft-reprinted
Frederick Cath­
"Incidents of travel in Yucatan", first published in 1841. ASHA member
Jim Hedges has found this notable engraving not only in Catherwood's 1848
rare I 'Views of ancient monuments in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan"
and a 1965 reprint by Barre'Publishers, Barre, Massachusetts, but
in "Books at Iowa", no. 16.11 April, 1972. (University of Iowa Press,- Iowa
City). Yr editor has seen it only in Von Hagen's "Maya· Explorer: John
Lloyd Stephens and the lost cities of Central America ancYYucatan! (University
of Oklahoma Press, several editions), whence this reproduction.
2.

THE JOURNAL OF
SPELEAN
HISTORY'
Official quarterly publication of the American Spelean History Association
President Secretary-treasurer Editor
Dr. John F. Bridge Peter'M. Hauer Dr. William R. Halliday
2. 06 W. 18th Ave. 12. 7, So. 2. 7th 1117 36th Avenue East
Columbus, Ohio Harrisburg1 Penna. Seattle" Wash. 98112.
,Volume 6, No.1
Janu - March1973
TAB OF CONTNTS
4 Meramec Cavems, Two Hundred and Fifty Yearsot History by Dwight Weaver.
16 Reprt Section.
23 Wht Cave is This ?
24 'Colloquy.
3

ABSTRACT
MERAMAC
CAVER NS
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF HISTORY
Part I - 1720 to 1875
Meramec Caverns is one of the nation's most celebrated caves.
It is Missouri1s most prominent commercial cave attraction and
in all probability was one of the first major cave discoveries on
the North American continent. Its history dates from 1720 and
the days of Philip Renault. The first 155 years of its story include
saltpetre mining, gunpowder making and the legendary
exploits of Jesse James.
Part II - 1875 to 1933
During the turn of the century years Meramec Caverns was a
popular wild cave attraction for the people of St. Louis as well
as the people of its local area. It was the scene of many activities
including dances, parties, picnics, weddings, and social
and political gatherings. A wooden dance floor was built inside
the cave as early as 1893.
Part III - 1933 to 1972
Meramec Caverns was purchased by Lester B.Dill in 1933. With
the help of his family and a partner. the cave was opened to the
public in l935. Its development and promotion has been a continuing
drama for nearly 40 years. Its promotion has earned it a
unique place in the annals of commercial cave histories. Patterns
of cave promotion pioneered by its developers have set examples
followed by many caves opened commercially in more recent years.
C)
Part IV
-
Personalities and aspects of
c o:m:me r ci a1 ization
The modern history of Mera:mec Cc.verns is the life stories of
Lester B. Dill and Robert Hudson. In legend, the infa:mous have
crossed its splendid corridors; in :more recent times :many notables
have also become a part of its past, such as televisionls
fa:ed ·Lassie, and the im:mortal Kate 5:mi tho Others who have
become linked with the cave's history incl ude Rory Calhoun,
Charles Laughton, The Ames Brothers,. Pearl Bailey, and Art
Linkletter.
The development of Meramec Caverns has peaked, in all probability,
and its future does not suggest a higher level of commercial attainment.
---- Dwight Weaver
4

HERAI''IC
CAVERNS
TWO HUIDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF HISTORY
Part I
by Dwight lveaver
1720 -- 1875
Meramec Caverns is Missouri's most prominent cmmnercial
cave and one of the nation's most celebrated attractions of
its type. Large, lengthy and unusually well decorateq for
a Missouri cave, it is located south of st. Louis about 60
miles along I-44 at Stanton, Missouri. Situated in Franklin
county and just outside the borders of the Meramec State
Park, the cave is along the banks of the Meramec River. It
has been open to the public since 1935.
The early history of Meramec Caverns is a fragmented
story. References to the cave predating the Civil War period
are few. Commercial development of the cave has made
potential artifact· sites within the cave inaccessible. A
. proper investigation of the cave's archaeological potential
has not been made.
In 1963, however, during one phase of commercial work
inside the cave, Indian remains were found and 'partially
recovered. These remains, those of a young Indian, were found
in a shallow burial about 270 feet back inside ,the cave entrance.
The site was studied by the Archaeological S ocie ty
of Missouri and a report later issued which stated that the
remains were those of a "bundle burial".o
The first aborigine inhabitants of Franklin county were
the Moun Builders. Later Indian inhabitants included the
Delaware', the Shawnee and' the .Osage. The predominate. Indian
culture was the Osage when Spanish and French traders-,and
miners began frequenting the region n the early l700's.
"' " ' "
The Indians' of the region were familiarwith Meramec
Caverns. When the first white men journeyed up the Mississippi
River it is said that they were ,told by the Indians "of a
grea t cave said ••• to contain the lead mineral galena". _ Also
the Indians, say the traditions, held the cave as the home of
.
their god "Ucapago".
Thus it was that knowledge of the cave spread up and
down the Mississippi Valley and eventually gave birth to
Spanish tales that the cave contained gold and silver. This
led'to the cave's early discovery.
.
Discovery
The discovery of Meramec Caverns must have been coincithe
first explorations up the Maramec Rivr which
dental with
empties into the Mississippi River just below the city of
5

st. Louis. The river originates northeast of Salem, Mo.
in Dent county and has a total length of about 240 miles.
The river is fed by more than forty springs, Meramec Springs
near Steelville being the largest.
Discovery of the cave came shortly after the year 1700.
The precise date has not been established. Certainly the
discovery came no later than 1730 and in so doing, it became
one of the first major cave discoveries on the North American
continent. (There are few American caves as prominent as
Meramec Caverns with a known history and/or discovery tjme
that pre-dates 1740.)
The Meramec River was discovered by Father James Gravier
in the year 1700 while he was one a voyage from the country
of Illinois to the south of the Mississippi. Le Sueur, who
ascended the Mississippi River during the same year J wrote,
about the Meramec River and its lead mines in his journal.
Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, is sometimes
credited with the discovery of Meramec Caverns because
he was one of the first white men to explore the lower reaches
of the Meramec Ri ver. The credit is more properly given to
"Jacques" Renault, or Philip Francis Renault.
This Man Called Renault
A. popular version of the local history says Itthe l"1eramec
Caverns were first discovered by Jacques Renault of Kaskaskia,
Illinois in l716tt• Promotional literature distributed by the
operators of the cavern has, for many years, perpetuated the
Jacques Renault name. Floyd Shoemaker, a prominent Missouri
historian, in referencing the caverns in 1943 amitted the name
"Jacques" when refering to Renault's na in association
with the caverns.
C·" '.. ,J
The name ttJacques" was common among the early lead
miners of the Meramec Valley. Tradition seems to have confused
the names.
The Renault in question --the discoverer of Meramec
Caverns -- was actually Philip Renault, a mineralogist, banker,
silver prospector, lead miner and gupowder manufacturer of
considerable note.
Philip Renaultame into the Mississippi Valley in 1719
with OO mechanIcs, miners an labalers (som ot whi_re
sIaves) to exo1t th ric lead and eRPpe resources of
southeastern Missouri. He was active in=te earlybistory of
Kaskaskia, Illinois and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. He was
initially attracted by rumors carried to France that Missouri
mines and caves on the Meramec River contained gold and
silver. Renault and his men mined lead in both the Meramc
6

and Big River valleys bore 1732, made salt on Saline Creek,
and established the first saltpetre minin unpowder
making ope a lons in Mlssour a He t of the Miss ss pp.
The actual discovery of Meramec Caverns by Renault
occurred sometime during the early 1720's. It was not until
1720 however, that Renault was sent into the Meramec Valley
region by the Mississippi Company of Kaskaskia to exploit
the lead deposits. !fHis route to the lead country was up
the Meramec • • • " Renault left little of the valley unexamined.
He claimed in 1725 that he was producing 1$00 pounds of lead
a day. '!e "mines" were surface deposits that demanded no
capitol and very little special skill. From this time on these
min es were worked in Itdesultory fashion" by small groups from
Kaskaskia.
French rule in the valley declined in the late 1750's.
By 1763 France has withdrawn from the mainland of North
America. Spanish influence became prominent in the 1760's
and it was at this time that Spaniards came into the region.
Tradition says "In 1760, Don Serita Gonzales, with a party
of Spanish miners, used the cave for a base of operations for
lead mining in Missouri".
Lead, red hematite, copper and barite is common in the
Meramec Caverns locale. Copper and lead mining' occurred both
north and south of the cave.
South of the caverns a few hundred yards is the mouth of
Copper Hollow, a deep valley about. one mile long which contains
the obscured remains of an open-pit copper mine and
smlter. The earliest diggings of the locale may have been
here. Henry R. Schoolcraft, a geologist who visited the
region of Meramec Caverns in 1819 reported that the lead mines
of the area were operated before the year 1800.
Copper was also found several miles north of te caverns
and it is likely that the French and Spanish knew of these
deposits also. These deposits more recently became known as
the Stanton Copper Mines after John Stanton, a well known
pioneer of the region. When copper mining was in progress
during the 1700's, Meramec Caverns was ideally located for
use as storage and shelter.
The copper mines were eventually abandoned by both the
French and Spanish but re-activated in the 1800ls by John
Stanton. Stanton operated his mine for many years and a large
amount of copper-was produced and hauled to.st. Louis in
wagons. John S tanto • w th ha
Stanton, Mo., the nearest c ommu1ty to Merc Cavenns
(less than 3 miles), was originally known as Reedsville, a
name it took from Silas Reed. Reed, a physician born in 1810,
7
\\

operated the copper mines in 1856. The name Reedsville was
changed to Stanton Copper Mines in July of 1856, and then to
Stanton in 1857. The town of Stanton, in the beginning
years of the Civil War, was the largest population center
in Franklin county and therefore created much activity in
the vicinity of r-teramec Caverns.
Gunpowder Making
-
Gunpowder and saltpetre mining was an
manUfacturing
industry associated with Meramec Caverns in the early years.
The beginning of the enterprise probably came as early as
1725 shortly after the cave's discovery, but it was not until
1600's
the early that the industry gained its real prominence.
As earl newspa er article reported that "Fisher! e,
ve
pp ne ivan
were famous oweer rom 1810 0
Sullivan
/' s about the same
averns as is the
tom of Stanton.
It.
The gunpowder making industry apparently flouriShed in
three distinct periods at the cave: (I) the post revolutionary
period, (2) the War of 1812, and (3) during the Civil War.
Philip Renault initiated gunpowder making at Meramec
Caverns and it was this enterprise that gave the cave its
original name, Saltpeter Cave. It was renamed Meramec Caverns
by Lester B. Dill in 1935 when the cave was first opened to
the public. Goodspeed (1888) says "Saltpeter Cave is a
large opening below Fisher's Cave. It is entered from near
the river ••• Gunpowder was made in this cave at an early date."
The gunpowder produced by Renault's men was crude but
adequate. While the lions share of this product was for the
use of Renault as his crews, there was also a ready market
among the hunters and trappers. Same of the powder was also
shipped to Kaskaskia, Illinois and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.
There were two routes: one, down the Meramec River-to the
Mississippi River and then to Kaskaskia by boat, and two,
overland along a rough, hazardous trail that struck south and
east of the cave. Pack antmls and oarts, Which the Indians
called barefoot wagons, carried the gupowder via lead and
oopper mining sites along the headwaters of the Big River.
The making of gunpowder at this period was seoondary to
lead mining, however, a necessary element in the fight for
survival in a new and hostile environment.
The ingredients for main gunpowder were easily obtained.
Saltpetre was quickly lixivated from the nitrate-rich 'earth
found in the caves of the locale. Huge, plentiful maple trees
in the Meramec Valley Basin provided excellent charcoal whioh
readily ignited and created very little ash. And the sulphur
was obtained as a byproduot of lead smelting, the principal
industry of the valley. Breckenridge (1925) says "The lead
ore of Missouri is principally pure galena and it is probable
8
'- j' ",

that from the year 1720 when Rena ult and La Motte opened and
worked the lead mines in this region on a large scale and
roasted the ores therefrom to eliminate the sulphur, they,
as well as those who came after them, during the hundred
years or more succeeding, make their own gunpowder, using
the waste product sulphur in its manufacture ••• "
The leaching of cave earth requires a plentiful water
supply. There were two adequate sources at Meramec Caverns#
one, the Meramec River which passes directly in front of
the cave mouth, and two, a spring-fed stream about 800 feet
back inside the ca ve.
Vats for leaching were probably constructed of wood.
Oak trees were plentiful to supply the right kind of lumber.
The most suitable location for the leaching activity
would have been in a large chamber about 300 to 400 feet inside
the cave. Today, these chambers are known respectively
as The Ballroand The Gunpowder R o om.
Old ters say that remnnts of the vats were once to
be seen in the cave but that social activities held in the
cave by community groups before the turn of the century saw to
the destruction and stealing of these valuable. old relics.
A lack of re1'erences to saltpetre mining at the cave
during the latter l700ts suggests that by 1760 the enterprise
had laded into memory, but the War of 1812 created a great
demand for gunpowder, it Is said, and this sparked a renewed
effort to utiliEe the nitrate deposits in caves along the
Meamc River. Once again saltpetre mining and powder making
is believed to have begun at Meramec Caverns.
By the year 1816 several gunpowder plants were in_operation
in Missouri along the Gasconade, Mis souri and Meramec Rivers.
General William H. Ashley was operating a ,powder plant at
Potosi, Missouri at this time, and Augustus Chouteau was
purchasing gunpowder for his Powder Magazine in st. Louis.
Of this period Schoolcraft (1818) wrote tl Tbree saltpetre
caves are worked in Washington county, Missouri territor7.
It •
They are situated on the Merrck {sic) •• Franklin county
was eventually created from territory within Washington county.
And, at this time, there was gunpowder making going on
near Newport, now Dundee, at Molino, Youngs Mill and "Spring
Creek Mills" north of stanton. ll of these were in the general
region of Meramec Caverns. Other nearby caves reportedly
supplying saltpetre for thes.4$powder mills include Copper Hollow
Cave, Green's Cave, Bat Cave and Fisher's Cave.
After the War of 1812 the price of gunpowder fell considerably
and by 18)0 saltpetre mining at Meramec Caverns had,
for a second time, faded into memory.
9

The approach and outbreak of the Civil War gave altpetre
mining its third and apparently final birth at 14eramec
Caverns. According to legend, it was at this time also
that violence and bloodshed first ent ered into the cave's
long history.
Civil
War
Modern day promotional literature has so embellished
the his tory of the cave for this per iod of time that is not
yet, and may never be possible to sift the facts from fiction.
In the cave's commercial brochure (1971) it reads "Very
lit tle exploration was do ne until 1862-1864, during the Civil
War, when gunpowder manufacturing was at its height at the
cave. The Union forces set up powder kilns and leaching vats
in the cavern; as well as an underground railroad sta tion.
Thousands of slaves found freedom via this roote.1t An earlier
version by the cave's promoters (1955) simply states that
It
"The Union Army utilized the caverns as a gunpowder mill •• •
It
And in 1948 •••in the Civil War period • •• it was used as a
gunpowder works •• • tt And even earlier (1942?) " Duing the
Civil War a gun powder plant was established in the cavern
but was abandoned after a portion of it blew up .t t
The mining of saltpetre and productio n of gunpowder at,
in or near Meramec Caverns is generally assured to have taken
place before and during the Civil War. But thepe is question
as to who conducted the enterprise. It would seem unlikely
that the Union Army officially started the operation as the -
above has suggested. Faust (1967) states that "There is no
..
known instance that the Federals, at any time, attempted to
opera te any eave saltpetre recovery operation, even those
captured from the Con federates.tt He further sta tes that liThe
North seemed to evidence only destructive action toward such
installations rather than recognition and utilization of' a
valuable source of raw material.1f
There is evidence, however, to suggest that at least
Confederate sympathizers of' that area set up and maintained
the operation at Heramec Caverns f'or a period of' tim, but
more toward providing for their own protection than to supply
Union or Confederate forces with gunpoWder.
The presence of powder mills along the Heramec after
1810 seems to be an e,stablished .fact, but a search o.f early
records on Franklin count,., in which Meramec Caverns is
located, reveals little information on this. Most sources
o.f informtion published since the cave's cercial development
have added no new inormation and Simply clouded the is sue.
0
And what about the slaves? The previousl y quoted source
said, that thousands ou freedom by using the eave as a
hideout. Whether or not the eave was actually a station of
the Underground Railroad is unverified. It certainly could
not have been during the first part o.f the war when Confederate
sympathizers controlled the cave.
10
('.

When Missouri entered the Civil War it was a divided
border state and it is int eresting to note that while
Missouri, as a state, had a slavery percentage of only 9,,
Franklin county had a slave population of more than 13%,
this being a carry ov er from the time of French oc cupation
in the l700ls when slavery was introduced to th e territory
by Philip Renault.
A number of prominent Franklin county residents were
slave owners. The slaves served two purposes, as help in
the lead and copper mines of the region, and as house servants.
The slave servants were a mark of wealth and social
standing.
So the slave percentage was high in Franklin county and
the use of same local rendezvous on the flight to freedom
seems plausable. But thousands? When this item was added
to the promotional material on the cave in the 40's the
figue was hundredsl
Just as the state of Missouri was divided, so was Franklin
county. And it is in the records of this division that
clues can be found which suggest sometll.ing abou t the powdlr
mill at Meramec Caverns during the War.
.
The nearest communities to Mergmec Ca verns then and today
are Stanton and Sullivan. It is generally belie ved that John
S tanton, who operated the Stanton Copper Mines, was also
operating the powder mill at Maramec Caverns at the approach
and outbreak of the war. Rayburn (19.54) says that this powder
.
mill was established in the l8.50·s.
< \
Another individual believed to have been involved in
the operation was Stephen Sullivan who founded the Sullivan
community in 1858. In the 1860' s Meramec Caverns was situated
about halfway between the homesteads of John Stanton and
Stephen Sullivan. The Freemont Trail connected these two
places and the entrance of Meramec Caverns cam within oak
throwing distance of the trail.
When the war arrived there were divided factions in
Franklin county. Writes Bruce Catton (196.3) "Missouri was
divided into factions and sub-i'actions, with almost everybody
in the ata te • ••
either making war or preparing to make war-­
on his next-door neighbor, as of ten as not." Franklin county
was no exception and the most notable confederate spathizers
were Maupins, Stantons and Sulli vans. 6,000 Franklin county
men eventually joined the Union forces but less than 700 fought
for the Confederacy. However, the large slave holders at
the county were in this minority. They controled the wealth
and were also the same in dividuals historically associated
with powder manufacturing in that region.
11

It is suggested that John Stanton, ha v ing . established
the powder mill operation before the war, was J o ined in this
labor by Stephen Sullivan. They and their confederate helpers,
however, were not strong enough to hold the gunpowder plant .
By the end of 1862 federal patrols had immobilized most
confederate sympathizers in Mis souri an d driven all but the
more hardly guerrilla bands out of the sta te.
('" ",'/
It is interesting that a legend survives which says that
Stephen Sullivan was execu ted by the Federal troops because
he manufactured gunpowder for the Confederac y. This execution
is generally believed to have taken place at Meramec Caverns .
The Coming of General Sterling Price
On September 30, 1864 General Sterling Price staged a
raid in Franklin county. Sterling Price, who was the Governor
of Misso uri fram 1853 to 1857, was an active political figure
in Missouri before the war. The approach of the war however,
changed Price frm a moderate compromiser into a militant
pro-southerner. By March of 1862 Price had left the state
to fight for the Confederacy. Although he won no accolades
from the West Pointers in the Confederate Army, he was a hero
to the Guerrillas and southern sympath izers wh o usually
peopled his command.
By 1863 and earl y 1864 when the Missouri Militia had
the number
dr iven most of the CSonfedera tes from the sta te,
of Federal roops was consderably reduced in the state. It
was at this time that Sterling Price staged a raid in Missou ri,
hi s second and most no torious. He came into Missouri fram
Arkansas through the southeast part of the state, defeated
Federal troops at Pilot Knob, and moved into Franklin county
where he stayed for four days while preparing to move on west
and capture Jefferson City, a task he later failed at.
, '
Legend and promotional literatue for Meramec'Caverns
has added Price I s raid to the history of the caverns. "In
18, the Quantrill Irregulars, under the command of General
Price, of the Confederate Army, captured the gu powder mill
and plant," claims the cave's brochure. And, it was at this
time, according to the same authors, that "Jesse James; Frank
James, Frank Dalton, and the Younger Brothers were members
of the dreaded Quantrill Irregulars, and thus became acquainted
with the caverns."
Quantrill's Irregulars
-
Sullivan was the rendezvous of the 63 Enrolled Missouri
Militia and other military organizations in 1864.
It was for
this reason that Sterling Price spent considerable tim in
the area. During his four day stay some 60 local men were
killed by his troops and nearly $500,000 in personal
property
was destroyed. If Quantri ll and his Irregulars were among
Price's 16,000 men at the time, it has not been brought to
light.
12.
.:'
l

And in regard to Jesse James and other Guerrillas wh o
rode under Quantrill from time to te during the War, his
presence among Price's men at the ttme of th e raid in
Franklin county is also highly doubtful. William Connelley,
an authority
Border Wars,
on Quantrill and auhor of luantrill and the
lIs. "to'O"no
says that Quan trill's Querr part
whateverTi the invasi on of Missouri by Price" even though
their original intentions were o do so.
Jesse
James
From a few sparks , it would seem, has burned a mighty
legend, a tale so nurtured by its tellers and mythmkers that
it has become a classic. Even if there were no seeds of fact
upon which the legend was sown, its magnitude is so great,
that one cannot examine it under the cold light of day without
being emotionally intrigued. Tens of thousands, perhaps
millions of visitors to modern day Meramec Caverns accept
the Meramec Caverns legend of Jesse James as fact)and whether
tre or not, its popularity is undeniable. It is an interesting
st.ory, amazingly contrived and beautifully told by those who
guide visitors through the cave. This writer knows fram
personal experience for he once guided at Meramec Caverns. And
for %ndividuals who take pleasure in the richness of Amrican
folklore, the truth fullness of the legend is unimportant.
There is enough mule in th is Missouri writer to believe
that Jesse James did indeed hide in numerous Missouri caves.
Paul Weiman, a popular western his torIan, has done considerable
research on the dynasty of outlaws that thrived in Missouri
and the Ozarks between the years 1836 and 1936. His material
pro ves that Missouri is so steeped in outlaw histo ry that
it has frequently been rerered to as The Outlaw or Robber
state. In recent years so many caves ha ve been discovered
in Missouri that its favored nickname--The Showme State-- has
almost been entirely usurped by The Cave state. A ..librarian
for the Missouri state Historical SOCiety recently told this
writer that she was happy that so many caves had been found.
She was tired, she said, of hearing Missouri refered to as
The Outlaw state.
According to the promoters of Meramec Caverns, uIn the
earl y 1870's he (Jesse James) and his band used the caverns
on numerous occasions because it aff orded a complete hideout
for men and horses. In 1874," they claim "after a train
robbery at Gadshill, Missouri, the gan g was tracked to the
caverns by a possej and after a seige of three days, they
escaped by an unnown route which remai ned a mystery until
the redisco very of this huge passage with its underground
river in 1940 •••"
The groundwork for this le gend was laid in the years
1940-4 when the lowest level of the cavern along the Underground
river was opened to the public. Documentation for
the story has not been made available. News stories of that
day, however, give an interesting picture.
13

Prior to 1940 when th e underground river was
concealed
by a siphon pool toward the rear of the cavels so-called "second
level" I the Jesse James legend was notably absent from news
stories and promotional literature. (The cave was opened to
the public in 1935 and showed levels two,three,four and five
The story of how
this siphon pool was breached was told by J Harlan Bretz in
The Caves of Missouri (1956). In his account he states that
prior to 1'9 "the lowest level had been entered by another
and very difficult route" which was along the course the
river takes to its resurgence along the cave bluff a tew yards
down valley from Meramects huge opening. Contrary to news
releases, the Underground River section was not a new discovery
in 1941 when Bretz helped force the siphon. And, in
the pre-194l , Paul Bunyan and Pecos Pete yarns were the
stories of the day; but with the advent of Jesse James,Pau1
and Pete went to their literary demise having been shot down
by a more notorious character.
and was promoted as a 4-story wonder cave.)
In July, of 1941 a Berwyn, Illinois news story on Jesse
James said ' • • •Even impossible stories are now being circulated
about the Hero of our boyhood. In one two-gun-bang-bang
story he rides full tilt into a cave whose biggest and only
opening·is about half big enough to accomodate a fair sized
rabbit. And speaking of cave entrances brings our story of
Jesse to the entrance of Meramec Caverns at Stanton, Missouri.
Jesse used the cave and with good reason. His little band
could really lope through its entrance. In fact they could
ride back into the cave for almost a quarter of a mile. Once
inside they were safe for they knew the cave • • • Probably some
of the loot is still in Meramec Caverns -- perhaps mouldering
there in same rocky recess... Could be that time will bring
to light a saddle or a gun or a hat that Jesse took inside
and left as a souvenir of his visit ••• "
r
C·' .,.;
Gathering no dust, the story was repeated and the
suggestions were well taken. In November of 1941 a story
in the Watchman Advocate tells about a visitor to Meramec
Caverns who "explained that he wanted to find and take home
the hat Jesse James had lef't hanging on the "Capitol Domen
(a large stalagmite on the 4th floor). Shortly thereafter
a humorous article about a group of Navajo Indians that had
visited the cave states that one of the Indians "spent most
of' his time looking f'or the gun Jesse James is supposed to
have lef't in the cave."
The f'irst big news releases in the early part of 1942
on the discovery and opening of the Underground River section
made very little mention of Jesse James but by years end the
cat was out of' the bag.
A fistfull of relics had turned up.
About 21 of' them in al,l. The St.Louis Post-Dispatch said
"Jesse James J MissouriS own number 1 bad "man, Is sala to have
used the cave as a
into which horses could be l:un
hideout because it was the only place
at a full gallop_ He is

thought to have taken refuge here aft er one of his faroUS
train robberies whither he was tracked by a posse. After a
three day seige he escaped through one of the lit tle kn wn
passageways which has recen tly been discovered • • • II
A po int of fact.
There was a train rob bery by the James
gang at Gads Hill, Missouri in 1874. On the morning of Jan.
31, 1874 the James gang captured the small whi stles top of
a town and rob bed the incoming Iro n Mountain Express . And
like the man who has made a fortune off of th e legend of
Jesse James--Dill--Jesse himsel f Was a sh owmn. The robbery
netted onl y $2,000 in loot but Jesse handed the train 1 s
engineer a press release on the robbery for the benefit of
news reporters I
Gads Hill is located 75 miles south and east of Meramc
Caverns as the crow flies and in 1874 it was a rough trip
between the two points unless one took the better trails
and roads. The qU1Istion is, did Jesse? Wh t hap pened after
the robbery seems to be everyone guess.
In 1961 Lester B. Dill, Missou ri's own Number One Cavemn
(the P.T.Barnum of the Cave World and the Gimmick Man of
the Underground» )
and the promoter or Meramc Caverns.wae
quot ed in a nationwide news story on the particulars involving
the' discover l of the underground river and its reputed "Jesse
James relics t . Said Mr. Dill "we found the strongbox, the
lock and old guns there (meaning around Loot Rock where the
story comes to a climax for Visitors), when we dug through.
The lock (on the stron gbox) was traced to the Denver and
Missouri Company, robbed by the James gang in 1874. The cave
was raided by Q.uantrill' s Raiders, Rebel marauders who
numbered the James boys among them .
"From. this room, we discovered the undergrond ri1[er •••
then we uncovered the incident of,)the James boys beng
trapped in the cave after a robbery in 1874. Whn the posse
entered the cave atter three days of seige, Jesse and Frank
were gone and all that was left were the horses and empt y
strong box.1t
Dill also stated that the gang had escaped by wadiii
and sw1mming the underground river to its exit 'a balf-mile
away trom,the "room".
It's another one of those stories of which came first,
the chicken or the eggS But so successfully has Dill sold
his story to the public that in 1969 a survey reportedly
taken at the cave, showed that 9 out of 10 tourists vi sit
Meramec Caverns because of Jesse James. Dill was quoted as
saying t t lf it wasn.t for Jesse, my cave woul d be just another
.
100,000,000-year-old hole-in-the-ground. It
(end of Part 1)
15

REPRINT
_
SECTION:
FIELD
INVESTIGATION REPORT
NEFF'S CANYON CAVE
Wasatch National Forest
(near Salt Lake :City, Uth)
Investigation by
National Park Service
Region Three Personnel
SepteIlber 1951
Investigating Party:
ThOIlas A. Walker, Superintendent, Timpanogos Cave
National MonuIlent
Lee Walker
R. Taylor Hoskins, Superintendent, Carlsbad Caverns
National Park
M. V. Walker, Park Naturalist, Zion National Park
James B. Felton, Chief Ranger, Zion National Park
Grant Clark, seasonal ranger, Zion National Park
Harold A. Marsh, Lands cape Architect, Region Three Office
John E. Kellg Park Planner, Region Three Office.
(oIlitted
illustrations)
Photography and sketches
by John E.· Kell
rl
V
Photo No. 1 - Packing gear on hoI's e for trip to cave.
Photo No. 2 - Much of the trail to Neff's Cave is through dense oak
brush.
Photo No. 3 - Harold Marsh wading through underbrush near top
of ridge. Cave entrance is over crest of r-idge and slightly
downgrade froIl this point.
Photo No. 4.- General view at Cave entrance. Cave follows this
fracture line. Apparent entrance in foreground choked with
rock .. actual entrance through sIlal l holes at ItA" or "B".
Photo No. 5 ... General view inside Cave. Floor and opening continue
about 15 feet below rocks in foreground.
Sketch showing relationship of Cave to photo above.
Plate til .. Location Ilap.
Plate ti2 - DiagraIlIlatic geologic section
Plate 113 ... DiagraIlIlatic sketch, Neff's Canyon Cave.
Plate ti4 ... Typical sctions, Neffls Canyon Cave.
16
c:·

SUMMARY
Investigations of Nef£ls Canyon Cave
September 17 & 18.
1951
Location
NeHls Canyon Cave, sometimes called Mt. Olympus Cave, is located in
the Wasatch National Forest roughly three miles south and five miles
east of the city limits of Salt Lake City.
Investigation
Monday, September 17, was spent with Forest Service officials and
participating in interviews with representatives of the Geology Department,
University of Utah, and others. Most of the investigating
group, accompanied by Forest Ranger Gardner, went to the Gave, marked
a trail and went inside for a short distance. The actual investigation
was made by the entire group on Tuesday, September 18. The party entered
the cave at 11:10 a. m. and carne out about 3:30 p. m.
NeHls Cave
This is a tent-shaped, or inverted "V"-shaped, cave.
about 550 to 600 feet
onlY'Lee,Walker could worm. his way through. , (Editor's note:,,'The Nar­
rows: just beyond the' Double. Pit Room.)
this opening,
about 3:30 p. m.
It changes in
base and height from narrow craw1ways to spots where he base of the
tringle is, perhaps, twelve feet wide with a ceil ing of as much as twentyfive
feet.
The angle is quite steep - estimated to be 45 degrees with
dropoffs of three to thirty feet at varying intervals, making the overall
angle of descent about 60 degrees.
The floor 'is covered with loose rocks
which make inspection dangerou\s. In addition,. the cave is wet and the
rocks are slick, offering, at times, little or no foothold. Vie made the
trip in and out by feeding rope along through the opening and calling
back and forth through the passage asking that the rope be made fast
when it was necessary to use .it to negociate ledges. " The- party stopped
underground where the-.passage was so narrow that
in,what we had seen up to that point.
He;: reported no maJor change
Since.we ·could go no further, plus
the fact that it would have been impossible to get an injured person through
we recalled.Lee Walker, had lunch and returned to the surface
Conclusions
The cave does not have any qualities that are of national iri:lportance . and
we did not discover any portion of the cave that would have an economic
value! as a tourist attraction for Salt Lake City and vicinity. It is dangerand
continued exploration by persons small enough to negociate the
ous,
openings is inviting eventual tragedy. Further explorations should be
discouraged.
17

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION
Following instructions received from the Washington office through
the Regional Director, an investigation was made of Neffls Canyon
Cave near Salt Lake City Utah. The names of those making the
investigation are listed at the beginning of this report.
V( ith the exception of Thomas Walker and his son, Lee, the group
arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sunday, September 16. Monday was
spent in obtaining additional information about the cave.
Since the
cave was located inside the boundaries of Wasat ch National Forest,
the group called at the office of Forest Supervisor F. C
the morning of September 17,
he had in his files
Koziol on
Mr. Koziol gave us what information
reviewed the background of other investigations
and suggested the names of two young men living in Salt Lake City
who were anxious to go along as guides.
One of these men expected
to be hired as a guide, the second was willing to go along for the
experience.
We suggested to Mr. Koziol that he refrain from alerting
these men until our plans were more complete and the group later decided
that because of the risks involved tegether with the fact that one
of the boys was only seventeen years of age, it would not be advisable
to take either of the young men along.
Mr. Koziol introduced the group to Ranger Robert W. Gardner and he
assisted with maps and also in locating the entrance to the cave.
After the conference in Forest Supervisor Koziol's office, the party
split into thee groups. Superintendent Thomas Walker, Mr. Felton
and Mr. Clark went with Ranger Gardner to locate a trail or way to
the cave.
o
Superintendent Hoskins and Myrl Walker went to the University of Utah
where they talked to Dr. Ray E. Marsell (two years later a charter
member of the Salt Lake Grotto of the National Speleological Society ­
editor's note) and Dr. F .. W .. Christiansen of the Department of Geology.
Mr. Marsh and I went to interview Mr. CharlesH. Malmborg.
Mr.
Malmborg is an amateur geologist and a baker by trade. He is currently
employed by the Holsum Bakery and he had prepared the report from
his knowledge of geology and from interviews from students who had
been inside the cave.
Through telephone conversation with the boyrs
mother I learned that the boy suggested by Mr. Koziol was now in the
Army and that his brother, who had made several trips inside and who
would be willing to go along, was only seventeen.
All of the interviews were completed Monday afternoon and the groups
returned to the Newhouse Hotel to complete plans for the investigation.
Because of. the age of the boys suggested as gui des, together with employment
difficulties, we decided against employing anyone as guide.
with the help of Ranger Gardner a trail had been located leading to the
cave entrance, and Superintendent Tom Walker had gone inside for a
short distance. He advis ed that in order to make any kind of an : inves _
tigation we would need additional rope. We purchased a 12 GO-foot coil
of rope and agreed to be ready to start Tuesday morning at 7:00 a. m.
Tom Walker was to secure a pack animal and meet us at the Forest Service
boundary, 18
C"'li
v
o
"'

( . \
We met as agreed on Tuesday morning. September 18, and were able to
drive the pickup to the end of a trail about a mil e or a mile and a half up
Neffls Ccnyon.
At this point we packed the horse with rope and other
equipment and started up the trail.
The advance party reported that
the easiest way to reach the cave was to take the Forest Service trail
up Neffls Canyon almost to the spring, top-over the ridge to the bottom
of a small tributary canyon where the actual ent ranee to Neff's cave is
located.
Because of dense undergrowth more than waist high, it was
necessary to brush out a temporary trail to get the pack animal to the
cave entrance.
We arrived about 10:30, having consumed a little more
than an hour and a half frem the time we left the pickup_
Flashlights,
food and other gear were assembled and we uncoiled the rope and entered
the cave at 11:10 ao.
c:
Superintendent Tom Walker, his son Lee; Taylor Hoskins, and Myrl
Walker entered first. The entrance and many of the passages had to
be negociated feet-first. I followed Myrl Walker and Har-oldMarsh care
behird me. Chief Ranger Felton and Grant Clark stayed on top to feed
rope and equipment into the cave as needed. The cae turned out to be a
fissure, tent-shaped or like an inverted "VII
. The base and height
varied from narrow crawlways to spots about 12. feet wide and with heights
estimated to be 2.5 feet. The floor went downward. at an angle of almost
45 degrees. This general downward incline was punctuated with drop­
·o££s of three to thirty feet making the overall downward' angle of descent
average about 60 degrees. The floor was covered with loose rock. It
seemed that the greatest concentration of rock was at the break:in elevation.
It was difficult to negociate these jump -o££s without causing
rocks to diSlodge. In many places rocks had bridged across the ceiling
and in other places rocks three to 12. inches thick remained suspended
overhead at the apex of the inverted "V". Cracks from .one to several
inches wide and too deep to be probed-_by a flashlight beam gave the
"suspended" feeling (see Fig. 3, plate 4). Except for the crawlways
a person could stand erect but in the major port ion of the cave both
walls could be touched by extending both arms. " W edid not find-any
formations of importance or any side passage. The inverted uV" shape
remained throughout with only the base and height changing.
At diff-­
erent horizons along the w'a1ls there were tooth-like formations projecting
from the walls that skinned fingers and snagged clothes.
A bout 12.:30 p. m. and a distance of 550 to 6()0 feet underground we
reached a point wher.e the passage narrowed to.an ellipse-shaped tube
with the long axis up,and down.
able to get through this passage.
Lee Walker was the only one who was
He took a lighted lantern to test the
air and went through the passage. He reported that the cave opened
up again, but there were no large rooms or formations different than
those seen up to this pOint.
Since the rest of the party could not get
beyond this point1 coupled with tlie fact that it would have been impossible
to give any assistance in case of injury,- Lee was recalled.
We ,ate
lunch at this point which was as large as any spot dis covered along the
way. The walls of the cave are damp. Water drips at many spots but
we did not see evidence of any growth under the drip-points. Thefloor
of the cave has the apparance of a stream bed and during the spring
runoff, large quantities of water find their way underground through this
19

.
passage. The temperature in the cave is estimated to be about 40 degrees.
The party reached the surface about 3:30 p, m. and we were back in Salt
Lake City by 7:00 p- m.
J
.
It is possible that the fissure extends for several feet or perhaps miles.
It is reported that the boys have reached a point several hundred feet
beyond the point our party reached.
One report is that the place opens
to a large room with high ceilings and a "jump-off where it takes a rock
four seconds to hit bottom."
Such stories lead to speculation about
large rooms or other openings, and a hope of some individuals that the
cave may have some economic importance, Dr. RyE, Marsell, Department
of Geology, University of Utah, has conducted studies with the
State Engineer:s Office and they are convinced t hat the water from Neffls
Cave reappears as the Holliday Springs,
Myrl Walker has written USp
lIThe site known as INeff's Cavel is located near the top of a steep canyon
some distance above Holliday and . near the peak known as Mt. Olympus.
The rock formations all dip very steeply toward the wests being upturned
along the edge of the well known Wasatch fault. The cave, which
is not a solution feature, but rather merely a fissure due to earth movement'
is located in some thin-bedded limestones and shales (Ophir formation?)
which rests on the so-called (Tintic quartzite). The fissure
descends at something like 60 degrees, and is filled and wedged with
many rounded boulders of quartzite. This makes the descent into the
fis sure very difficult and hazardous. Many of these rounded quartzi.te O",l
boulders become loosene d and constitute an ever present hazard, In so
far as could be determined; there is no evidence of the development of
cave formation due to deposition of lime in any form on the roof or cave
walls. There do not appear to be any unique features associated with
the fissure,"
and, . Mr. Hoskins has reported $
"On Septenber 18, we started the investigation, entering the cave at 11:10
a. m., and emerging about 3:30 p. m. The investigation revealed that
this cave was formed by a fault located in quart zite formation with a
very small entrance.
There was only one passageway which resembled
an inverted IIVII, varying in size from a narrow craw1way to a width of
a few feet to twelve feet and the height varying from a few feet tO,as
much as 2 5£eet in one location.
stream bed and silt was noted on the walls.
rock and boulders are located on the floor.
The floor 'of this cave appeared to be a
Many large and small loose
The cei ling in many places
looked none too stable as there were visible many cracks and huge stones
which looked none too secure.
The temperature in this cave appeared to
be some lower than Timpanogos which is 41 degrees and in addition the
cave is very wet.
Only a few formations were observed, the larger being
about 4 to 6 inches long and about the size of a pencil.
The passageway
is on a very steep grade which I judge to be about 60 per cent which makes
it very difficult to traverse.
¥
20 C',

(
{lIn conclusion, it is my candid opinion this cave has no scenic val. ue,
will not by any stretch of the imagination meet National Park Service
standards, and is without a doubt the most hazardous cave I have seen.
If it were in a National Park Service area, I would recon1n1end that
the entrance be blasted so no one could possibly gain entrance to it.
The inscription above the entrance "Foolls Cave" is a justifiable
des cription ...
There are attached as a part of this report n1aps, sketches. and
photographs of the cave area. All those who entered the cave agreed
that it is dangerous and that there is little evidence to support the
belief that it has any economic value as a tourist attraction.
Approved for distribution:
M.,R. Tillotson
October 31$ 1951.
John E. Kell
Park Planner
* * * *
Editorts note: the report referred to on page l8 prepared by Charles
Maln1borg. was printed in the Decen1ber, 1950 N"S"S. :tews. Other
concepts of the geology and speleogenesis of Neff Canyon Cave appear
especially in the Salt Lake Grotto Technical Not e seriesJ beginning with
its TNstH and 5 (January, 1954). The following is another significant
unpublished report on the early explorations of this, the deepest known
cave in the United States.
August 7. 1951.
The accon1panying sketch bears a date -of
* * * *
"Report of Jack,Eh1ers on Mt. 01yn1pus(Neffts -Canyon) Cave with comn1ents
on'Maln1borg report"
,
.. --
John:Lyon, Jan1es:Lyon._ Jerry Dahlberg, Dick :Maxiie1d, and.Roland
Baxter were with n1e when we entered the cave.onJuly2.9,,1950 • . We
were equipped with three changes of flashlight batteries and 2.40 feet of
3/4 inch n1anila hen1p rope. W e also had an equal an1 0 unt of very light
clothesline rope .. _ We each wore two pair 'of levis and two flannel shirts.
The ten1perature in the cave ren1ains at about 40 0 and we needed1:he
extra clothes for'warn1th.
Before entering the cave, we checked our equipn1ent to n1ake sure that
our haver sacks were secure.
None of us know what we would find that
day but in our group prayer we asked that we would receive the necessary
protection during our adventure. We weref of course, all very excited,
and we didn't find tin1e to worry about a coffee pot or eating anything but
a few raisins.
. '
.. './ ("
The cave has a sn1all entrance directly in the surface of the ground. It
drops vertically for ten to twelve feet but there is strata on which one
can lower hin1self. There is a flat on which to land and then the cave
2.1

egins its descent on a 450 angle; of course there are many variations 0
Undoubtedly Mr. Malmborgls party never l:eached the place where the
boys were stranded if they were only 2,000 feet in the cave. We used
50 feet of rope to get down the 100 foot drop they speak about, The lardrop
they speak about (The Great Pit - W, R,H.) is some ZOO feet high.
We had ten feet to spare on our 290 foot piece of rope when we reached
the bottom of this drop. It is here where the boys who were stranded in
their last trip stayed until rescue came.
I may state too, that none of the Deputy Sheriffs or other rescue personnel
entered the cave to rescue the boys. James Lyon, the brother of one of
the boys stranded in t:he cave, entered the cave by himself and helped
the boys from the bottom of the long drop. On our last espedition, we
left Jerry Dahlberg$ Dick Maxfield and Ronald Bxter at the top of this
drop in order to pull uS up some four hours later, We were in the cave
for more than nine hours and we estimated our distance in to be about
two miles. I will draw a graph of the cave; I can explain it better this
way than in words .. (Editor1s note his sketch is readily identifiable,
showing clearly that the party left a tin can regi ster at about -825 feet;
the top of the pit entering the Big Room)"
The boys at the top of the large drop (The Great Pit) let our 3/4 inch rope
down to us on the clothes line rope and we then reused it on the last two
drops we descended.
On our return the boys pulled up the 3/4 inch rope
on the clothesline rope and secured it at the top.
up the large drop one by one.
Then we were pulled
When we again saw day light. we were very
tired but we had no cuts nor bruises nor were the hours spent so "tortuous"
that we didnt enjoy every minute of our experience.
Strong clothes
must be worn however. , , (
After conversing with Armand Ea rdly at the Department of Geology at the
University of Utah, I am sure that under these black limestone deposits
lie the treasure which we are seeking {understood in Salt Lake City to
have been another Timpanogos Cave - W cRoHo}
fresh air proves another entrance.
The constant breeze of
There is another cave in Neffs canyon
where it boxes off. Mr. E.,G, Erickson has been in this cave ana he claims
that even though he was only in 650 feet, the cave was some ·30 feet high and
ZO feet wide and that the icicles were profuse both from the ceiling and
floor. He had specimens of the formations. He wouldn It take me to the
place because of physical inability but he descri bed it as being several
hundred feet up the south side of Neffs canyon a few hundred feet before it
boxes off.
C· ';"11"
After reading Mr. Malmborg1s report of theMt. Olympus cave, it appears
that he has approached this with a negative attitude. Perhaps this is due to
his inability to enter the cave; I was abl e to enter the cave with ease.
The new cave is in this side of the drop (sketch omitted).
It consists of a
very narrow slit in the North side of this little drop in the mountain.
mountain looks flat from the bottom of the canyon., This little draw only
runs for a short distance. I have gone in search of this cave once but it
was raining very hard and I didn!t have time to make a complete search.
The spring runoffs made exploration di£ficu.lt also. This is merely a report
as I know it. I will not recommend action either way. For myself. I am not
C,
satisfied to leave exploration without giving it a fair chance. I really believe
t here is something here.
ZZ
The
1 • .."

WHAT CAVE IS THIS? DEPART1v:ENT
(Our compliments to R ane Curl for extending the idea to unidentified
cave postcards in the NcSnS., News!)
LIVINGSTON FINDS NEW CAVERNS: SURPASS
BEAUTIES OF
CARLSBAD
Carlsbad, N" M" March 2. 7 (UP). ,-- The dis covery of three amazing
caverns of the Guadalupe mountains, containing monstrous stalagmites
surpassing in beauty those found in Carlsbad cavern, were reported
today by Carl Livingston, explorer and authority on the cave country of
the prehistoric southwest.
The first of the three new caverns, lying in a nameless canyon to the
east of Gunsight canyon and situated about 45 miles southwest of Carlsbad,
contains 12. gigantic stalagmites.
Livingston, who recently discovered an American "valley of the kings"
south of here, said any one of these limestone formations was taller
than those in Carlsbad cavern, declared by geol ogists to be one of
America's greatest scenic wonders.
The explorer said the stalagmites stand in an arched room 300 feet high.
He described the room as perfectly formed as the nave or Notre Dame
cathedral of Paris.
0'")'
.
. '
!..- .-
; The mountainside opening to this underground labyrinth, which has been
naredLivingston cavern, is large enough to drive four locomotives
through, the explorer said.
He said the temperature of the cave is 46 degrees in all seasons.
Herds. of strl1Y angora goats, remnants of the vast herds imported to
the southwest many years ago, roam through the high chambers of the
underground palace ,and peer down upon the expl orers from a lofty bal­
. cony that encircles the spacious room more thanlOO feet above the floor.
' . .
The expedition also found a strange species of whistling birds in the cavern.
Disturbed for the first time in perhaps hundreds of years, Livingston said
the birds shrieked queerly upon seeing the party.
He described them as being about the size of a robin and with a call unlike
any unknown onthogical (sic) species. They are difficult to catch, Livingston
said, because they hide in crannies beyond reach when not swooping
about the cave.
--- unidentified, undated clipping in El Paso Public Library files.
2.3

COLLOQUY
Chuck Pease sends the following to be reprinted from Tri-state Trader,
23 December 1972, reprinted there from Popular Science Monthly, 1896
(doesntt say what issue):
tlThrough the accidental discovery: in the electric furnace, of carbide of
calcium, there has appeared (in 1896) a new lighting gas, acetylene. Up
to this time the gas (C2H2) had been simply a laboratory product, discovered
by Davy in 1836. It was found;. however that when calcium carbide
a peculiar spongy material, was plunged into water, acetylene was given
off in abundance. It burns with a steady snow-white flame of great brilliancy
and high candle power.
"M, Trouvre, says La Nature, has recently invented a practica11 1aInp
for generating and burning acetylene. The reservoir of the lamp is of
glass and contains a metallic box in which is placed the calcium carbide,
The box is connected with a stopcock, leading to a sInall glass burner
which projects froIn the top of the reservoir, and is So arranged that as
the water in the reservoir is allowed to enter and act on the calciuIn
carbide, acetylene is generated and passes out to the burner where it Inay
be ignited. The admission of water to the calciuIn carbide has to be
carefully regulated, so as not to cause a too rapid evolution of the gas.
The laInp reseInbles an ordinary drop 1aInp in appearance, and Inay be
Inade in a variety of forIns lending itself readily to decorative purposes. II
* * * *
Jack Speece (R.D. 4,· Lewistown, Panna, 17044 - box 352) is still working
on a list of all caver newsletters published in the United States. He is
looking for copies of Caves of California, Caves of AlabaIna, and Caves of
Ohio. Also cOInInercial cave folders, a special ty of his.
o
I need Caves of Ohio Inyself!
He has sent a nice tabulation of eight iInportant historical reprints in
SpeleotheInes, newsletter of the Northern New Jersey Grotto of the N"S.S ...
Will try to run theIn as space perInits. Sept. 1965, for exaInple, contains
the 1905 Cook survey of liInestone caves of eastern NY.
* * * *
McClain Publishing COInpany, Parsons" W. Va. 26287, is selling its
reprint of Hu Maxwell:s History of Randolph County (W. Va.) for$15" 00.
Other iInportant items also - send for their list.
.. * * *
Ross Eckler long ago sent several iInportant iteIns, including:
"Mammoth Cave in Indiana. - A great InaInInoth cave has been discovered
seven Iniles north of Leaveenworth, Indiana. -- A party of men at first
discovered a cavern or room large enough for a Inan to enter, and deter-
Inined to e:xplore it. The New Albany Ledger says: They found that this
rOOIn opened into others, and these into others still, and that apparently
24
'.
C.. \

there was no termination to this cave. They fol lowed the main passage
some four or five miles, according to their best calculations, when
they were admonished by their lights that they must return. On their
way back they visited some of the rooms which they had passed, in
which were found large beds of epsom salts in nearly a pure state.
We are also informed that the cave contains fine specimens of salt­
petre, plaster of paris, alabaster, &:c, of which the party procured
many fine specimens. We can now say to our sister state of Kentucky
that Indiana has a cavern which far surpasses the Great Mammoth, as
the last discovery in connection with the great Indiana cave, will make
it one of the largest in the United States. "
* * * *
Lots of spelean history material in newsletters all over the country that
should have been mentioned in these pages long ago. Please send in items
that come to your attention. Example: July 1970 Missouri Speleology,
with an article by the Rotherts giving further information on "Historic
caves of St. Louis, Missouri." And one by our glorious preSident,
liThe descent of the Cave of Gonzaga de Vendenza" in the·October l972
COG Squeaks, reporting that IIGonzaga de Vendenza, a lieutenant of
Coronado's, was supposed to have found the cave in l538 and carved a
bust of Queen Isabella in one of the stalagmites. I didn1t see such a bust
and tend to believe the whle story is cock and bull." So is this name for
the cave. AnyBody who has caved more than a coupla days in the Guadalupes
in recent years will recognize John's description as Cave of the
madonna, with even the location described in western grotto newsletters.
* * * *
In his book on· Wyandotte Cave, Stelle mentions having had articles pub­
lished in.Waverly Magazine .. George Jackson is working On a bibliography
of Wyandotte. If some eastern library .. searchers could take a few m-inutes
to run these down, .it would be very helpful. Please send me a copy, too.
* * * *
HQvey similarly mentioned having sold articles to the- Hampshire Gazette,
. which' I assume is a northeastern newspaper. Good hunting!
* * * *
·NEEDED .. - AN;INEX for Volumes One through Five.
volunteer.
Volunteers please
* * * *
ASHA member Tony Oldham has a new book or booklet publi shed: Caves of
Devon. No information yet. Address: 17 Freemantle Road,. Eastville,
Bristol, BSS6SY, .England.
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