Transcriber Note
Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_.
[Illustration: Abijah Long]
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THE BIG CAVE
_by_
ABIJAH LONG
_and_
JOE N. LONG
Early History and Authentic Facts Concerning
the History and Discovery of the World
Famous Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico.
CUSHMAN PUBLICATIONS
2440 East 4th Street
Long Beach, California
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© Copyright 1956 and 1958
by Mrs. Abijah Long, Joe N. Long, Mrs. Lou M. Wood, Mrs. Kaye I.
Williams, Ira B. Long, Mac A. Long.
_All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the copyright owners, except by
a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages not to exceed 300 words
in connection with a review in a magazine or newspaper._
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-13784
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition 1956
Second Edition 1958
Third Edition 1961
_We Dedicate_
_This Book to the Millions of Visitors who will
Follow our Father's Footsteps as They Come
to See and Enjoy the Mighty Wonders of the
Carlsbad Caverns._
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword 11
PART I THE DISCOVERY _by Abijah Long_
1. We Move to Carlsbad 15
2. A Big Cave Is Discovered 19
3. A Business Venture Appears 24
4. The First Guano Is Mined 30
5. Life at the Camp 38
6. The Big Cave Is Explored 47
7. The End of the Beginning 53
PART II THE FIRST 60,000,000 YEARS _by Joe N. Long_
1. The Beginning 59
2. Life Enters the Caverns 64
3. The First Fifty Years 74
PART III THE BIG CAVE TODAY _by Joe N. Long_
1. From Above 91
2. From Below 107
Bibliography 127
PICTURE CREDITS:
ROBERT NYMEYER, FRONT COVER, BACK COVER, PAGES 68, 90, 92,
94, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 112, 114, 116, 118,
120, 122 AND 124.
NEW MEXICO STATE TOURIST BUREAU, PAGE 110.
COVER PHOTO--Totem Poles in the Big Room
© by Robert Nymeyer
_FOREWORD_
(By the family of Abijah Long)
Prior to my husband's death in 1934, several of us had asked him to
write, in his own words, the story of his early life, especially after
moving to Carlsbad at the turn of the century.
He was reluctant to write of his experiences in connection with the Big
Cave, as it was called in those days. But after considerable persuasion
on our part he did sit down and write what happened in those early
years following our move from Texas in 1901.
Since many historians today appear confused as to the actual beginnings
of the Carlsbad Caverns, my children and I felt his words should no
longer be for us alone, and we have therefore made them available in
this form for all to read, and thus to know and understand more clearly
just what happened during those early days of the cave's discovery.
My husband was always a very honest, though not always a prosperous,
man. He was as good as his word, and in return he expected everyone
else to be the same. At times, when he was forced to borrow money, he
left only his word of honor and his promise to pay as collateral.
Nevertheless, we wanted to verify the facts in his story, and we
have spent two years in tracking down many of the men who shared his
experiences and in asking them to verify the incidents described.
We found many of them still alive and living in and near the charming
community of Carlsbad. We found the people of Carlsbad friendly and
courteous in every respect, and always eager to help us in our endeavor.
In gratitude for the kind assistance which met us everywhere, we
wish to give our thanks to the friendly people of Carlsbad who so
unselfishly assisted us in verifying my husband's account, especially
the following:
Colonel Thomas Boles
"Dee" Harkey
Mrs. Simmonds of Happy Valley
Mr. and Mrs. John Queen
Johnny Forehand of Black River Valley
Mrs. Mary Queen Montgomery
Arthur Hoose
Wayne Crowder of Albuquerque.
We wish, also, to thank Robert Nymeyer, photographer of Carlsbad, who
furnished the photographs of Carlsbad Caverns which we have used in the
text.
Photographs of the lunchroom were furnished by the New Mexico State
Tourist Bureau, Santa Fe, New Mexico, for which we are grateful.
We are also greatly indebted to various staff members of the National
Parks Service who have made valuable suggestions to improve the
technical accuracy of the manuscript.
It is our hope that persons interested in the Big Cave, now known the
world over as the Carlsbad Caverns, will be enlightened as to the early
history of the cave as told here for the first time by the cave's
first owner, our husband and father, Abijah ("Bije"[A]) Long, and its
subsequent development as described by his eldest son, Joe N. Long.
Mrs. Abijah Long
Joe N. Long (Jodie in the story)
(Mrs.) Lou M. (Long) Wood
(Mrs.) Kaye I. (Long) Williams
Ira B. Long
Mac A. Long
(Mrs.) Anda M. (Long) Brubaker.
Carlsbad, New Mexico
November, 1956.
[Footnote A: "Bije" was a nickname for Abijah. (Long "i" as in
"hide.")]
Part I
THE DISCOVERY
_By ABIJAH LONG_
1
We Move to Carlsbad
The distance from Goldthwaite, Texas, to Carlsbad, New Mexico,
is slightly less than 400 miles--just a good day's drive in an
automobile today. But in 1901 the automobile was something we heard
about--something we read about, and friends of mine told of having seen
a horseless carriage up in Dallas. People who did much traveling went
by train or horse and wagon--or, they walked.
So when our family talked of moving West--talked of trying life anew
"somewhere else," the question of how to go was considered. Train fare,
we soon found, was much too high for us at the time. And with all our
worldly possessions the freight charges would be excessive.
The answer--a covered wagon.
It was hard for my mother to leave Goldthwaite, and my wife was a bit
fearful of the future in a strange land, but father and I thought our
future was brighter if we tried anew somewhere else.
Besides my cousin, there were my two children, which completed our
party of seven. Heading West over the vast expanse of open Texas
prairie, I felt something of the thrill those early pioneers must have
felt, although the fear of trouble was not present, for being ambushed
by Indians was a remote possibility.
Just the same, there was an air of adventure in the journey, for none
of us knew what the future held in store for us. We dreamed and hoped.
We completed our journey to Carlsbad, a distance of almost 400 miles,
without any serious mishap. Oh, there were the usual little troubles of
a sick horse which slowed us up one day, and an occasional steep hill
which required we not only get out of the wagon to lighten it, but all
help push as well.
Carlsbad had a population of less than a thousand in 1901,[B] and
although Carlsbad was the legal name, having been officially changed
two years before, everyone called the town by its original name, Eddy,
and it was, and still is, the county seat of Eddy County.
[Footnote B: Population in 1950, 18,000.]
The primary activity in and around Carlsbad in those days was ranching,
with a growing interest in mining of various kinds. I noticed many
people continually coming and going and thought that, since I would
have to get busy at something pretty soon, I would try the hotel
business.
So, shortly after my arrival, I took over the Schlitz Hotel, which was
located near the railroad station at the corner of Canyon Street and
Mermod Avenue. The hotel boasted a dining room, and a large part of the
business came from many of the railroad workers, who, it seemed, always
had a good appetite and who liked good food and lots of it.
That wasn't the only trouble I had, and after a few months I found I
didn't know enough about the hotel business to make a go of it, so I
gave it up. The name of the hotel was later changed to Bates, and some
time after that it caught fire and burned to the ground.
The saloon business in those days was always good. Ranchers and miners
would come into town after a rugged week in the hills and spend much
of their pay for liquor. It looked to me as though this would be a
profitable enterprise and I decided to give it a try.
My wife didn't like the idea at all and told me so in no uncertain
terms. However, I kept at it for a while in spite of her pleas.
One day I took my small son down to the saloon to show him off to the
boys. That did it. That was the abrupt end to my venture in the saloon
business. My wife set up such a howl that in order to keep peace in the
family I decided to give up the saloon. Her opinion was always best for
the family anyway, and of course I was aware of the fact that this was
not the most desirable environment in which to raise children.
So, what next? I had by this time acquired a few mules and thought I
might be able to use them in some way. I learned that the Joyce Pruitt
Company of Carlsbad was expanding its operations and was in need of
additional help in doing some freighting.
I made a deal with them to do the necessary hauling and soon was quite
busy.
One of the biggest of my expenses was for food for the teams, and I was
anxious to cut down the feed bill as much as possible. As a result, at
the end of each day I would take the mules out to pasture and let them
rest and graze.
At this particular time I had the teams grazing near a place known as
Donahue Springs, now known as Oak Creek Springs. Water from the springs
was a necessity for the mules, and we used the water ourselves, as well.
While the mules were grazing there wasn't much for me to do and I
used to explore the countryside wondering what else might lie in the
vicinity. Others came to Donahue Springs for water since in that arid
country water was not as plentiful as we wished it might be.
One day a man by the name of Sam Evans and a Mr. Brown and myself were
exploring the countryside just to see what we might discover in the
area. Hunters and miners in that section were always telling of some
unusual find and anyone who went out of town kept their eyes open in
search of something that might turn out to be valuable.
I suppose that is why Brown, Evans and myself were searching--just
looking around to see what we might uncover.
At one spot there appeared to be a hole or cavity in the ground and I
called to my buddies, "Hey, come over here. There seems to be a hole in
the earth."
In that rugged country a hole in the ground isn't exactly unusual,
but this one seemed to lead to quite a large empty space beneath it,
and the tone of my voice must have told the others it was not just an
ordinary hole, because they both came over to where I was right away.
"What do you make of this?" I asked as they both gave the hole an
appraising glance. The three of us were puzzled because it wasn't just
a hole in the earth, but rather seemed to be the opening to a large
cavity underneath.
"What do you suppose this is?" I asked again.
"Any large animals around here that might have dug it?" queried Brown.
"Possible," I reflected. "Let's have a look."
I was eager to go below and learn more about this mysterious opening
in the earth, but it didn't seem to me that Evans or Brown shared my
curiosity. We looked for animal tracks in the vicinity, but couldn't
find any.
"Who'll go in with me?" I received no response. It didn't matter. By
now I was so curious that I decided I would go in alone, if necessary.
I went to my wagon and got a lantern and a ball of large fishing line.
Then I picked up all the rope I had, including the rope I used with my
mules, and hurriedly went back to the mysterious hole.
I'll admit I was quite excited, and by now Evans and Brown were, too,
although it seemed to me they tried to hide their enthusiasm. Perhaps
they were just a bit afraid of what might be down there in that strange
cavity, yet didn't want to let on that that was so.
I, too, decided to play it safe, so I took the lantern and tied it on
to the end of the rope and lowered it into the hole. All three of us
bent over the opening and looked in to see what we could see.
As the light of the lantern showed on the sides and bottom of the hole
I could see that it was a large one. I particularly wanted to see if
there was any damp in the cavity, but the light didn't reveal any.
By this time I was eager to go below and explore our discovery. "Who'll
go with me?" I asked. No response.
"Well, then I'll go alone," I declared.
And with that I fastened the rope around my waist, made sure it was
securely fastened to the ground a few feet outside the opening, and got
ready to go below.
2
A Big Cave is Discovered
The three of us talked over the matter of my descent and several safety
precautions were formulated. About this time I decided I would be much
happier about the whole thing if I could persuade one of the others
to go below with me. At least one should remain on the surface at all
times in case anything should go wrong.
"Sam," I said, "how about you coming down with me?"
He seemed to want to see what would happen to me first, I guess, so I
then asked him if I went first would he follow. He said nothing.
"We'll only stay down for a short while," I assured him. "Perhaps a
half hour or so."
Sam did not like the idea of going down in such a place. I told him it
was easy, so I made arrangements to go down into this cavity and I did.
After getting down in there I could look back out and talk to him, so
I finally persuaded him to come down, which he did. That left Brown on
top.
We prowled around in there for some time, exploring the cavity, being,
as I remember, 75 or 100 feet deep.
When we got ready to climb out of our descension, Sam said to me: "How
are we going to get out of here?"
[Illustration: A portion of the author's original manuscript.]
I told him that was easy. He said, "Go ahead."
"No," I said. "You go first and then I will come out. It is easy for
me."
Well, Sam made a trial to go out, but made a complete failure, coming
back down the rope in spite of me, and said, "I guess we are in here
for good."
I told him I could go out in less than two minutes.
He said, "Let's see you." So, out I went.
Sam would not try any more, so I sent Mr. Brown to Carlsbad to get a
rope long enough that I might make a rope ladder out of it and lower it
down to Sam.
Carlsbad was 28 miles away and, of course, travel was very slow with
horse and wagon. I knew Brown wouldn't get back before the next day.
I called to Sam: "I'm sending Brown to Carlsbad to get enough rope for
a ship's ladder. You'll be able to climb that all right and get out."
"How long do I have to stay down here?" was Sam's retort.
"Until he gets back with the rope," I answered. "Probably tomorrow."
"You mean I have to stay down here all night?" Sam's voice quivered
with fear.
"Unless you have some idea of how to get out," I replied.
I brought my wagons and mules over to the hole and proceeded to get
ready to spend the night there. In spite of Sam's anxiety he said he
was hungry so I got some food from one of the wagons and lowered it
down to him on the end of a piece of fishline. He still had the lantern
with him. I don't know how much he relished his meal, but of course he
had no choice; so, by the light of the lantern he ate his supper, such
as it was.
Above, I fared somewhat better.
Sam was quite scared, and he remained squarely below the opening,
which, by the way, was not over two feet in diameter. He had no desire
whatsoever to take the lantern and go exploring by himself. I really do
believe he meant it when he said he thought he was in there for good.
I didn't sleep much that night, and I don't think Sam slept at all. No
matter how much I kept reassuring him that as soon as Brown returned
from Carlsbad we would get him out, he still thought he'd never see the
light of day again.
Early the next morning, before the sun was up, Sam was calling me and
asking if Brown had returned. "Not yet," I replied, "but he will,
probably some time before noon."
I, too, was getting a bit apprehensive, for I felt just a bit guilty
about Sam's predicament, since I was the one who had persuaded him to
go below--against his desire to do so. In order to slightly calm my
nervous tension I decided to take a short walk around the area in hopes
of making the time pass more quickly, for I now knew that I, too, would
welcome Brown and the rope he would be bringing.
I didn't stray too far from our campsite and was looking around when
low in the sky I noticed a large number of dark objects. They seemed to
disappear on a hillside.
Curiosity got the better of me. Knowing there was nothing I could do
until Brown returned, I decided to investigate.
As I came closer I noticed the dark objects were bats--thousands of
them. They were, indeed, disappearing into the side of a hill--into
an opening that was much larger than the one which at the moment was
holding Sam Evans a prisoner.
Having spent the night in search of food, they were now returning at
sunrise to spend the day in what appeared to be a huge cave.
I was almost awe-struck at the sight of so many of these little flying
mammals, for I had never before seen anything like it in my life.
As the brightness of the dawn increased the stream of bats subsided,
and in a short while only a few remaining stragglers were entering the
mouth of their home.
Where could all of these bats go, I wondered. There must be an
exceptionally large cave inside to hold so many of them.
I never have cared much for bats, but I was interested in seeing where
they lived. As I approached closer the whole side of the hill seemed
to open up. There, certainly, was an opening to something even larger
inside.
Well, of course, I wanted to go in, right then, but I knew it would not
be safe to go into such a strange place alone. I had no idea of what I
might find, or what trouble I might encounter.
By this time the sun was well off the horizon and I thought perhaps I
had better get back to Sam and console him lest he think I had deserted
him. I looked up the old dirt road towards Carlsbad to see if I could
see any signs of Brown returning, but all was quiet.
I reasoned he would spend the night in Carlsbad and get an early
morning start for the return trip, which would get him here a little
before noon or so.
"Sam," I called out, "how is everything down there?"
"Get me out," he pleaded. "I've had all I want of this. I'm never going
into a cave again."
I was quite excited about the larger cave I had just discovered and, of
course, I wanted to tell Sam all about it, but when he said he never
wanted to go into a cave again, I figured maybe he was in no mood to
listen, let alone share my enthusiasm.
The best plan, it seemed, was to get his mind off his predicament so I
tried to get him to talk about other things. He kept talking about how
dark and cold it was down there in the hole, and when would Brown come
back so that he could get out and why was he so foolish as to listen to
me in the first place.
All this time I was eager to return to the new, big cave where all the
bats were, yet I didn't want to leave Sam alone any more as I could see
he was getting madder all the time. So the morning dragged on for him
and for me as well.
Every few minutes he would call out to me and ask me to look and see
if there was any sign of Brown. I had to keep saying no, but to say
anything else would have raised false hopes, and I just couldn't do
that.
About noon I noticed a cloud of dust on the horizon in the direction of
Carlsbad, and as I watched it I could see it was getting bigger. That
meant Brown was almost here. When I told Sam, he suddenly came to life
again. I guess he felt like the condemned man who has just received a
pardon.
Brown had gotten the rope, and we made a ship's ladder for Sam. We
quickly lowered it through the small opening in the ground, and I never
saw a man climb a rope ladder so fast before. Sam was mighty glad to
see the light of day again.
Now that this ordeal was over I couldn't contain myself any more. I had
to tell Sam and Brown of my discovery, and I wanted them to explore it
with me. Certainly there was adventure ahead.
3
A Business Venture Appears
"Early this morning," I began, "while waiting for you to return,
Brown, I took a walk around and noted a lot of bats going into a large
cave,--a really large cave. Let's go have a look at it."
Sam didn't need to say a word. I could tell from his expression and his
disappointment that he had no desire to go into any more caves, even if
the entrance was on the side of a hill where he could safely get out.
"Not me," he exclaimed in no uncertain terms. "Damn your cave. I'm
going back to Carlsbad, and the quicker I get started, the better."
Sam would have it no other way, and since I felt partially responsible
for his feeling the way he did, I decided to take him back to Carlsbad.
However, I couldn't get my mind off the new cave. I had to know what it
was like inside. So, I made immediate arrangements to return.
I didn't want to go alone, so I inquired around and found two men who
said they would be interested in going back with me and explore the
cave.
The three of us set forth on the 28 mile journey to Donahue Springs,
Andy Fairchild, a fellow I knew only as Lynn, and myself.
[Illustration: Andy Fairchild]
[Illustration: Jacob "Jake" Lynn]
They kept asking me about the cave, and I told them all I knew about
it, that thousands of bats apparently made it their home, and that the
entrance was quite large. That was all I could tell them because I had
returned with Sam and Brown without even looking inside.
When we arrived at the spot both Andy and Lynn were quite excited.
The cave was deep enough so that a rope ladder would be necessary in
order to reach the bottom. I had brought back the same rope ladder we
had used to extricate poor Sam, so we didn't have to waste time making
another.
We soon had it securely fastened outside the entrance and then I said,
"Well Andy, would you like to go first?"
"Heck, no," he replied, backing away. "You just went into one cave and
said it was an interesting experience. Why are you afraid to go into
this one?"
For a moment I thought I had another Sam on my hands. Then I realized
he was right, and also that I had instigated this cave hunting party,
so why shouldn't I lead the way?
If I backed out now, there would be no cave exploration, so, without a
further word being said, I began to lower myself into the mouth of the
cave.
Down, down, down I went. As I looked up I could see two heads peering
down at me. They both wanted to make sure I reached the bottom safely.
A moment later my feet touched a pile of rock on the floor of the cave.
It was so dark that I couldn't see anything except the dim outline of
the nearest wall.
"How ya' coming?" Andy shouted down at me.
"I made it all right," I replied. "Come on down, and bring that torch
that is in the back of the wagon. It's black as night down here."
Lynn ran to the wagon to get the torch as Andy prepared to come down
the ladder. He came down more quickly than I did, probably because I
had blazed the way and he knew it was safe.
Before I knew it, Lynn had entered the opening and was coming down the
ladder. In my excitement I forgot to ask him to remain outside for
safety's sake. If the rope ladder should slip or in any way become
insecure, we could never have gotten out and would surely have died in
the cave.
But my attention was certainly not on safety at that moment. I was much
too excited about what we would find.
We lit the torch, but the cave was so large that the light of our one
torch didn't help much.
Our first concern was whether or not a bear or some other wild beast
might attack us. We searched the floor of the cave for tracks, but not
a sign of man or beast did we see. The floor of the cave seemed devoid
of any evidence of any walking creature having preceded us into this
mammoth underground cavern.
Occasionally a bat would sail by, missing us by inches.
With the dim light of the torch we looked around and were struck
speechless by the immensity of the great cave. We inched along over
the floor of the cave which at times was rocky and difficult. We
encountered large boulders and had to climb over them.
"What do you make of it?" asked Andy
"Biggest thing I ever saw underground," I answered. "Seems like we're
suddenly in another world. Notice that peculiar odor?"
Lynn, who had been the most quiet of our trio, spoke up. "Animals of
some kind," he said. "But I wouldn't know just what."
As we proceeded further the smell became stronger and more pronounced.
Our caution increased, for I know all of us expected at any moment to
see some animal lunge out at us. We kept our eyes open and, with the
torch held above our heads, were able to see several feet ahead of us.
Beyond that the outline of any object was too dim for us to definitely
make out what it was.
The animal odor was getting stronger. We were definitely nearing
something, but just what I didn't know. As a result of this uncertainty
we slowed our pace, stopping every few feet to listen for any sound,
yet nothing did we see or hear.
At any moment I was sure we would see two moving balls of light race
toward us, which would indicate the eyes of some wild animal, but as we
progressed further inside the cave our fears were unfounded.
Finally the smell became quite pronounced and at the same time we came
upon huge mounds of something which was unlike the rest of the floor of
the cave.
I glanced upward, and on the walls and ceiling of the cave I had the
answer to the smell.
"Bats!" I exclaimed. "Millions of them. This is where they live. And
those mounds beneath them are the result of their living here. Why,
there's enough fertilizer there to ..."
I didn't finish the sentence. As far as the eye could see, which wasn't
too far in that dim light, there were piles and piles of guano, which
is the commercial name for fertilizer created by animals of this type.
Now our fears were ended, as we felt relatively safe from bats, even
though there must have been millions right there over our heads. Now
they were asleep, but shortly after sunset we knew they would suddenly
come alive and head for the cave entrance, where they would fly off
into the night in search of food.
By morning they would again form that black, funnel shaped cloud I had
watched previously as they re-entered their home--a home that must have
been theirs and theirs alone for countless centuries--if the huge piles
of guano at our feet was any indication, and it surely must have been.
In places these piles of bat deposit reached almost to the top of the
cave. Later we found that this guano reached almost a quarter of a
mile in length and stretched some 75 feet in width. Some of the piles
later proved to be over a hundred feet deep!
Even the crudest calculation would have shown that there was enough
guano here to merit the cost and trouble of getting it out of the cave
and selling it commercially. At that moment I decided to stake a mining
claim on the cave.
We felt that for one day we had seen enough and were ready to head back
to the entrance and call it a day. The bats were apparently the sole
tenants of the cave, for we saw no evidence of any other living thing
ever having invaded its dark, vast interior.
Lynn headed up the ladder first and I asked him to go to the wagon and
get four small cloth sacks for me. When he dropped them through the
opening, Andy and I went back to where the guano was and filled the
sacks. I wanted to have the guano tested to make sure it was of good
enough quality to make my contemplated mining operation worth while.
It would be silly to go to all the trouble of getting this guano to the
surface and into Carlsbad, only to find that it was of inferior quality
and not worth the cost and trouble of extracting it.
"How are you going to get this stuff up to the surface?" Andy asked as
I was filling the sacks.
"By Ned, I don't know, but there's a way, and I'll find it."
As we wound our way back to the rope ladder, Andy and I each had two
sacks of the guano, one in each hand. We made it up the ladder and out
into the open again.
"Now I'm going to do something about marking this place, to show I've
been here." A short distance from the entrance to the cave was a mescal
pit, possibly left by Indians.
"Here, Andy, give me a hand," and with that we began gathering several
large stones and placed them one on top of another until we had a pile
some four or five feet high. This would have to serve as a marker until
the claim could be completed.
"Well, what do you think, Lynn? Was it worth the trip?" I asked.
"Didn't know there were so many bats in the world," he replied.
"The size of that cave is unbelievable," was Andy's comment. "How big
do you suppose that cave really is, anyhow?"
"That's anybody's guess. Maybe we saw it all today, and maybe we saw
only a small part of it," was my humble answer.
"Bet that entrance is a busy place at sunrise and sunset," Lynn
observed. It was clear to see he was more interested in the millions of
bats than the size of the cave. "I'd like to get more torches and see
more of that bat cave."
"Some day we will," I replied. "Right now we're heading back to
Carlsbad. I'm not going to waste any time filing a mining claim."
And with that the three of us climbed aboard the wagon and headed down
the hill.
4
The First Guano Is Mined
News spreads fast. Soon everyone in Carlsbad had heard about the big
cave that Lynn, Andy and myself had been describing. Many of the people
thought it was just a story we had cooked up and wouldn't believe us.
Of course it was known there were caves in the Guadalupe Mountains in
that area of the state, but no one thought the cave we described could
be as large as we claimed it was.
My first job was to take care of my claim and I promptly attended to
this important matter. I got the necessary papers in Carlsbad and
returned as soon as I could to the big cave. I filled out one set
of papers and placed them in the monument Andy and I had built. The
duplicate set was taken back to Carlsbad and filed with the County
Clerk.
Now everything was all set for me to begin operations. The guano, I
learned, was commercially acceptable, which meant that I would have a
market for the product, and that my time in bringing it out of the cave
would not be wasted.
It took me several weeks to get all the details straightened out and
find a crew of fellows who were interested in working on the job. It
was more than simply going to the cave, taking out the guano, and
hauling it back to Carlsbad.
[Illustration: Abijah Long's original claim to the Carlsbad Caverns]
[Illustration: Amended Notice of "Big Cave" Mining Claim (Handwritten)]
[Illustration: Ammended Notice of "Big Cave" Mining Claim]
AMENDED NOTICE OF BIG CAVE PLACER MINING CLAIM
Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern that A. Long, a
citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one years,
located what is called the "Big Cave" Placer Mining Claim which is
hereinafter particularly described on the 28th day of March 1903
and thereafter to wit: on the 16th day of June A.D. 1903 filed the
notice of the location for record in the office of the probate
Clerk and office Recorder of Eddy County, New Mexico. Which notice
was recorded in Book 1 of Records of Mining Claim at Page 149,
and whereas, appears from said notice, as recorded, that the same
is defective, in the fact that it fails to properly describe said
Mining Claim as located. Now therefore for the purpose of amending
and correcting, said location notice, I the said A. Long do hereby
give notice that I located that certain Placer Mining Claim of
ground in accordance with the Statutes of the United States, and
the laws of the territory of New Mexico, the said 28th day of March
1903 in the County of Eddy, territory of New Mexico, which is by
me called the "Big Cave" Mining Claim and which is particularly
described by meets and bounds as follows, to wit: Beginning at a
stone mound erected by me at a point about 20 feet west of the
entrance to what is known as the Big Cave. Situated about in a
Southerly course from Walnut Canyon and about one mile therefrom
and about 25 miles in a southeasterly course from the town of
Carlsbad, and about one mile in a southeasterly course from the
Donahoe Springs, in the foothills of the Guadalupe mountains. From
said stone mound, running north 300 feet to a stone mound, which is
the northwest corner of the claim, running thence east 1500 feet to
a stone mound, which is the northeast corner of said claim, thence
South 600 feet to a stone mound, which is the southeast corner of
said claim, thence running west 1500 feet to a stone mound, which
is the southwest corner of said claim, thence north 300 feet to the
place of beginning. Covering in all about 20 acres of land. Said
claim contains valuable deposits of Petroleum, Oil Clay, Building
Stone, Guano, Phosphates, and other kindred substances situate in
the Eddy County Mining District. This amended notice is made by me
this 19th day of November A.D. 1903.
ABIJAH LONG
Filed for record November 19th 1903 at 3:20 o'clock P.M.
W. R. OWEN, Probate Clerk and Recorder.
By N. CUNNINGHAM, Deputy.
[Illustration: Charles Hannsz
Supervisor of transporting guano to Carlsbad]
Much work had to be done before we could even touch the guano. The
road up the hill, if it could be called a road at that time, had to be
cleared and widened and in places leveled because it was so steep.
I had hired eight or ten boys in Carlsbad to assist in this work, and
it was all carried out under the supervision of my brother-in-law,
Charlie Hannsz. It proved to be no easy task to remove the large
boulders, dig up thickets of cactus and other desert shrubs, and make
the roadway smooth enough to allow heavily loaded wagons to pass
smoothly.
At best the road was not very satisfactory, but it was the best we
could do, so we had to use it.
Now that the road was done, the next part of the operation could begin.
Since the entrance to the big cave was some distance from where the
guano was located, I tried to figure out some way of making that haul
much shorter.
On one of my trips into Carlsbad for supplies I heard of a man by the
name of Victor Queen who might fit into our company. As a result I
looked him up, since I had heard he had had mining experience.
"Had any experience mining guano?" I asked him.
"No," Victor replied. "But it doesn't matter much what you take out of
the ground--the problems are pretty much the same."
"Well," I explained, "we have to haul this guano quite a ways to the
exit, and I think there must be a way to abolish all that trouble."
"Can't you sink a shaft right over where the guano is located?" he
suggested.
[Illustration: Victor Queen]
[Illustration: J. H. Lockhart]
"It might be a tough job to tunnel down," I mused.
"Just use a bit of dynamite," was Queen's solution.
"I've never used the stuff, and I sort of hesitate to experiment. What
do you know about it?"
"Used it in Mexico quite a bit. Saves a lot of digging time, and
there's no need for danger if a man knows what he's doing."
"Believe that might be our answer. How about joining us?"
Next day Victor Queen was deciding just where to dynamite a hole
through to the guano. He was assisted in this powder work by Arthur
Sinclair and Johnny Forehand. Among the others who were loyal workers
were John Queen, Victor's brother, Wayne Crowder, and John Lockhart.
Blasting the hole proved to be no easy task, but eventually we achieved
our goal. This first shaft was sunk in 1903, and it seemed then that
the major part of our effort had been completed.
Getting to the guano was one thing, and getting it out was another.
When we got the shaft sunk we found we would have to build a platform
underneath in order to more easily raise the guano from the floor of
the cave to the shaft entrance.
What appeared to be a simple job at the start proved to be rather
difficult and perilous, but under the supervision of Johnny Forehand
and Arthur Sinclair the platform was completed and it turned out to be
a good job.
Once again it seemed that the actual mining of the guano could begin,
but again we had miscalculated. Attaching a pulley and a rope to the
top of the shaft, we lowered an iron bucket, shoveled it full of guano,
and the first load came out.
At this rate it would take forever to get a pay load to Carlsbad. We
had to find a faster method.
[Illustration: Wayne Crowder, Sr.]
[Illustration: John Queen]
[Illustration: J. F. Forehand]
By this time my finances were dwindling fast, and in order to continue
I found I was compelled to seek outside assistance. Many people
hesitate to have anything to do with a mining operation, figuring there
is too much risk to merit any financial backing. But with us the mine
wasn't guesswork because we could see the guano and knew there were
many tons of it waiting to be brought to the surface and shipped to San
Francisco.
As a result, I soon made a contract with the Ramsy Brady Company of
Carlsbad whereby they would assist financially in the backing of the
undertaking in return for a half interest in the profits.
With that important detail out of the way I was ready once more to give
my full attention to extracting the guano which had so far remained in
the big cave in spite of all our endeavor.
Now we were ready to complete the final stage of our operation.
Since the iron bucket was much too slow, we decided some quicker means
must be found. We held a consultation and several ideas were suggested.
The best seemed to be to build a track out of 2×4 lumber and construct
a small car or wagon to run on this track. Matt Ohnemus of Carlsbad was
assigned to this job, and he built us a strong and sturdy car which I
was sure would serve us well for a long time.
It was similar to the hand cars used on the railroad, except that we
were forced to use wooden wheels, the iron variety not being obtainable.
Our system was now changed. We would scoop up the guano in shovels and
place it in sacks. Eight or ten sacks could be loaded onto the car and
hoisted to the surface.
The sacks, of course, were sewed across the top before being placed on
the car. Johnny Forehand proved to be a master at sewing these sacks.
He was fast and accurate, and many of the other fellows learned to
speed up their sewing by watching Johnny.
I was really quite fortunate in having acquired such a fine bunch of
fellows to work on the operation. They all seemed to adapt themselves
quickly and well to any job assigned to them, and furthermore they
seemed to take an interest in their work.
One of the big reasons for this was that all the men knew there wasn't
too much work in that section of the state, and therefore they were
eager to keep the jobs they had. Also, the cave seemed to possess a
certain degree of mystery for the men and they felt a certain amount of
daring and adventure connected with the whole operation.
Working with guano can't be classified as a glamorous operation. The
very nature of the substance--bat deposit--has a rather disagreeable
odor and it takes a while to get used to it. Also, there wasn't much
circulation of air in the big cave with the result that the smell had
been bottled up there for centuries and we were getting the full effect
of it.
From time to time fellows would quit or leave for one reason or
another, and whenever a new man started in he would comment on the
odor, and then we were conscious of it, but otherwise we grew so
accustomed to it that we didn't notice it.
The men were human, and just like men everywhere, I guess. They worked
hard during the day, but during their off hours they liked to partake
of the pleasures men normally like.
Of course we were 28 miles from Carlsbad, so the fellows couldn't go
that far to spend their evenings. They were, therefore, forced to
provide their own entertainment in our own camp.
Life in and around the big cave was never boring. There was something
happening every minute. New men, it seemed, were the target for pranks,
and my boys soon became adept at staging them!
5
Life at the Camp
New men were always nervous about going into the cave. A mine is
one thing, but a cave! And people back in Carlsbad were continually
enlarging their yarns about the adventures we were having in the "big
cave" some 28 miles away. As a result, all new men who came to work had
illusions about this mysterious cavity in the earth where bats dwelled
by the millions.
The boys thought new men were fair game--for anything. Take for
instance the time a new man came out to work at the cave and the boys
decided to have some fun.
They asked the tenderfoot if he would go down into the cave for a
shovel, and the man obeyed. As soon as he reached the bottom, a voice
boomed out of the darkness: "What are you doing down here?"
The man, not knowing anyone else was underground at the time
was so scared he could hardly talk. Finally he uttered, "Why, I
have--a--well--I have come to get a--a shovel!"
"Now lookee here," boomed the voice again. "I've lived in this cave
nigh on to 50 years, and now you guys think you're going to take it
away from me. I'm going to kill you!" With that a gun fired at close
range.
The new man, scared out of his wits, fairly flew up the ladder and
headed for open country, as fast as his legs would carry him. As far as
I know he is still running, for none of us ever saw him again.
Another time we had a young Mexican boy working in the cave sewing
sacks. One day he got upset over something and suddenly decided to
quit, saying, "Me voy, me voy!" (I am going, I am going.)
It was really nothing serious, and we pleaded with him, trying to
explain to him that the matter was not important, that we liked him and
wanted him to stay as we needed him. Furthermore, it wasn't easy to get
men to remain at the cave.
Our pleadings were of no avail, for he started out and we couldn't stop
him. He jumped on the car and began to pull the ropes and in that way
propel himself to the top of the cave.
Ropes in those days were not too well made and they wore out fast. He
didn't know, and, in fact, we didn't either, that the rope on the hoist
was ready to snap.
Up he went, almost to the top, and then--snap. Down came car, Mexican
boy and all, right smack into a waiting load of guano. He was covered
from head to foot--just a leg sticking out.
He didn't move, and we were sure he had been killed. We started digging
and soon uncovered a very much alive but very scared little fellow. The
guano had cushioned the fall.
Apparently he thought we somehow caused the fall to prevent his escape,
for he never tried to run away again, and soon became one of our best
workers.
Incidents like this were not good for the morale of the men. The
pranks, of course, were harmless as far as danger was concerned, but
natural risks were always present.
Sometimes the pranks were meant to be harmless, and they were to the
men, but it worked a hardship on us who managed the mine. I remember
one day Victor Queen, who at that time was in charge of operations, had
to go to Carlsbad for supplies.
"Johnny," he said to his brother, "I'm leaving you and Wayne Crowder in
charge while I'm gone. Keep the men busy. I'll be back as soon as I can
make it."
Wayne was a good worker and always reliable, but like lots of men he
enjoyed a good laugh and often went to long ends to get it.
"Johnny," he said, "you engage the Mexicans in conversation. I'm going
to fix up a ghost and we'll have a little fun with them."
While Johnny Queen was talking to the Mexican workers about everything
he could think of, Wayne made a large paper man, then tied a string
to it and dangled it from the roof of the cave in a dimly lit section
which hadn't been explored too much.
The Mexicans were quite superstitious about the cave, and Wayne knew he
would get quite a rise out of them when they saw this ghost-like figure
rising out of the semi-darkness.
He didn't have long to wait. Signaling to Johnny that the scene had
been set, the conversation stopped and the Mexicans were sent into the
cave in the vicinity of where the ghost had been rigged.
Panic broke loose. Every Mexican in the group quit, scampering out of
the cave and heading for Carlsbad. They were scared. But so were Johnny
and Wayne. They knew how hard it was to get men to work in the cave
and, with this mass exodus of workers, they would be in for a hard
lecture from Victor when he returned and found what had happened.
They pleaded with the frightened men, but it was useless. They had seen
that white figure with their own eyes. They had heard the cave was
haunted; now they knew that what they had heard was true. Come back
to work? Not in that cave! Some picked up their belongings, while the
others were in too much of a hurry to get out of that section of the
country.
When Victor returned and learned what had happened, he nearly fired
John and Wayne on the spot. Needless to say, John and Wayne had learned
their lesson, and they were much more careful about what they tried on
the workers in the future.
On one occasion a man by the name of Priest came out from Carlsbad to
see the cave and learn how guano was being taken out. The boys were
always ready to oblige anyone like this, so they told him to get on the
car and they would take him down.
The car hadn't gone very far when the steel cable on the drum slipped a
bit and the car suddenly dropped about a foot.
Priest was so frightened he began to pray. The boys thought that was
quite an incident, seeing a Priest pray on a cable car going after
guano, and they always got a bang out of telling it.
That car contributed its share of incidents at the cave. One other time
we had just received several hundred empty sacks and were preparing to
send them below where the men could fill them with guano.
Generally the workers in the cave would walk the ladders when they
wanted to go into the cave or come out. But this time there were three
boys who decided they would get a free ride as long as the car was
going anyway with the sacks. So they jumped on.
Sitting gaily on the sacks they appeared ready for a thrill, so they
called out to the whim man, "Let 'er go!"
He did.
The boys were asking for a fast ride, so he decided to give it to them.
He forgot to take into consideration that the weight of the several
hundred sacks plus the weight of the three boys was too much for the
car, and as it gained momentum in its downward plunge the brake gave
way.
The car was now falling freely of its own weight, and in an instant
would crash at the bottom, totally wrecking the car and possibly
killing the three boys.
I happened to see the whole thing, being right there at the time, and
before I could think what was happening I had instinctively grabbed a
4×4 timber close by and rammed it into the whim.
Smoke billowed from the 4×4 as it hit the whim. The car slowed up just
as it hit the bottom.
From our position at the top of the shaft we couldn't tell how hard the
car had landed, nor could we tell if anyone had been badly hurt.
Just as I was about to call down, I heard one of the boys call up,
"Can't you take it a bit slower? We'd at least like to have a little
conversation on our way down."
I knew from that jesting that there couldn't be too much damage,
otherwise he couldn't joke about it. We soon learned that no damage
had been done since I had injected the 4×4 into the whim just in time.
There were a few bruises, but that was all.
Life at the cave was somewhat rugged at first because we didn't have
many of the comforts of home. At first we would sleep in the wagons,
then we brought out some canvas tents from Carlsbad and this made
living much more comfortable.
As operations continued I had hoped to build some sort of small house
and move my family out to be there with me. But my time was so busy in
the early phases of the operation that I had little time to think of
anything but getting the guano out of the ground.
[Illustration: Artist's conception of Long's move to Big Cave area.]
After a while things became more or less routine and I could then
think of some more permanent living quarters for myself and family.
My brother-in-law, Charlie Hannsz, also had more spare time now that
the roadwork was done and the initial construction chores had been
completed.
Since he was a fine carpenter, I let him have the job of building more
permanent living quarters.
We found the most satisfactory type of housing was what we called tent
houses. These consisted of boxing plank for the floors, with the wood
also extending about half way up the side or wall of the house. The
upper half of the wall was canvas, as was the roof.
These houses were relatively easy to build, and served our purpose
adequately. After the first house was completed, we built another for
my father, A. B. Long, and my mother. Then we built another for Charlie
Hannsz and his family, making a group of three houses.
My wife made our place quite comfortable inside. She was an immaculate
housekeeper and she had the knack of knowing how to make our little
tent house look like a home. I felt quite contented living there.
The food problem was a difficult one, for all our supplies had to be
brought out from Carlsbad. At first my wife did all the cooking for
the men, but this job soon became too much for her, especially as the
operations at the cave grew and more men joined the force.
Eventually the men had to make other arrangements for their meals.
Most of them did their own cooking, or they would divide up into small
groups and take turns cooking for the rest. The Mexicans would cook
their own meals off by themselves as they seemed to prefer a different
menu from the rest of us.
This section of the state was good for cattle grazing and this was
quite an industry in itself at the time. There was a man by the name of
Simms who had quite a herd near the cave and sometimes during the night
we could hear these animals near our camp.
One morning, as the boys were entering the cave to go to work, they
discovered that one of the cows had fallen into the cave. In trying to
reconstruct what had happened, it looked as though one cow had hooked
another, causing one to fall into the cave.
[Illustration: Artist's sketch shows family cabins set up near cave's
entrance.]
The boys butchered the animal right there, carrying the cow out piece
by piece. I have often wondered if Simms ever knew that we were
enjoying fresh steaks from one of his herd!
Often on evenings or Sundays the boys would get together and hold what
they called a Kangaroo Court, thus helping to pass the time away.
First, they would select one of their number to serve as judge.
Then, from the group, one of the fellows would be selected for some
misdeed he had committed while on the job that day. After the testimony
was heard, his fellow workers, who served as an impromptu jury, would
decide the verdict, which was most always "guilty," and the judge would
impose the sentence, such as requiring the guilty culprit to take a
small pail and a coal oil lantern and go back into the deep recesses of
the cave alone and return with the pail full of water.
Entertainment during the evenings varied, depending upon the mood of
the men and what their particular likes and dislikes were. Card games
were always popular, and a hot game of poker was the favorite with most
of the men.
Many times after they had finished a busy day in the Big Cave they
would roll out a tarpaulin, deal out the cards, and proceed to have a
gay time.
More than once these games would last all night, or until one man would
win all the money and the rest had no more cash to play with.
Johnny Queen must have been lucky at love because he certainly wasn't
lucky at cards. In practically every poker game he would soon lose
all his money and would be out. On cold nights the fellows found the
playing not very comfortable, and after a while they got the bright
idea of asking Johnny to build a fire for them, since he was only
watching anyway.
This Johnny did, using sotol[C] for fuel. Sotol is a type of desert
plant that grew in the area around the cave. With a warm fire to
comfort them, the games would go longer than ever.
[Footnote C: Sotol--a desert plant (dasylirion) having a stiff stalk
and crowded leaves.]
Johnny, however, couldn't understand why he should gather fuel and tend
fire while they enjoyed all the fun, so he got the bright idea of
charging the players a dollar. They were glad to pay. Needless to say,
there were many nights when Johnny ended up with more money than most
of them did!
6
The Big Cave Is Explored
After the mining operation had been under way for some time I found I
wasn't so busy and had a little free time to myself to sort of rest up
and think of something besides getting the guano to the surface and off
to the Hawaiian Fertilizer Company of San Francisco.
More and more I began to wonder just what this Big Cave was like beyond
our immediate area. Many of the men also wondered, and often suggested
that some day we form an exploring party and see what it was like.
We decided to do just that. A day was decided upon and the necessary
preparations and precautions were made. Of course, we had no idea of
what lay ahead of us, nor how far our journey would take us, and I
reasoned therefore that it would be better to carry too much with us
than too little.
First of all I rounded up all the available lanterns that weren't
otherwise in use. Then I got all of the candles we had, a supply of
matches, and all of the cord in the cave. We had a lot of cord because
it was the cord we used to sew the guano sacks.
We also carried a supply of food, for we meant to really go a great
distance. Of course no one had to go, but most of the men wanted to
see what mysterious wonders lay beyond the site of our immediate guano
operation.
Fortunately there were a couple of men who didn't seem interested,
preferring to remain outside. This was all right with me, for if any
unforeseen emergency should arise, we could depend upon them to send
for help.
We decided how long we would be gone, and I told them that if we were
not back by a certain time, they were to organize a search party and
come looking for us.
I told them that we would light the candles and place them at intervals
along the way, and also we would string the cord along the entire
distance, both methods being used in order that we could easily and
quickly find our way back, as well as to assist a rescue party in
following our trail should such prove necessary.
With all of these precautions being made, the suspense of our
undertaking grew, and the men were quite excited and eager to get
started, yet I was in no hurry to proceed until I was sure everything
was in readiness, for although we were to be gone only a matter of
hours, no one knew what lay ahead and I preferred to be well prepared
for any emergency.
So, at our appointed hour our journey of exploration began--the first
journey into the Big Cave--the first time Man had ever set eyes on its
matchless wonders. How little we knew then that in the years that would
follow millions of others would enter this cave to view the beauty and
grandeur that Nature had been in the process of creating for countless
centuries.
At times the going was pretty slow due to the uneven floor of the cave.
Big boulders often had to be moved to one side, and when they were too
heavy or were too well lodged in the floor to permit moving, we had to
climb over them.
Generally the direction of travel was downward as the Big Cave seemed
to go deeper into the earth. We were going in a westerly direction and
the cave seemed to take on a maze of large connected rooms.
We would enter one and then, as we would pass out the other side, seem
to enter another.
Many times we stopped in bewilderment of the beauty that lay before us.
The fellows in the party often kidded about the trip and were pretty
much in gay spirits, but as they would enter these magnificent rooms
which man had never seen before, they became very quiet, letting their
eyes soak in every detail that the light of our lanterns brought out.
We all seemed humble amid God's handiwork, and I noticed many of the
roughest men in the party became suddenly reverent as though they might
be entering some great cathedral.
I never knew exactly how the other men felt about all this strange
exhibition of beauty, but I could see it had some effect upon their
lives. A rough bunch of men usually don't say much about this sort of
thing.
As for me, I wondered if anyone on the outside would believe our
stories when we told them what we were seeing. Actually, I felt it
was a big dream, and that I would soon wake up. I had heard of caves
before, but I had never heard of anything this large or filled with as
much beauty.
All of us felt that each turn would be the end and we would be able to
terminate our trip and return. But each time we would discover a deep
shadow which would turn out to be another tunnel or entrance to another
large cavity or room, often more colorful and appealing than the one we
were leaving.
At times there would appear to be no further trail. The boys would
flash their lanterns around and find an outlet, sometimes so high above
us that we couldn't reach it without a ladder. Then we would find
another on our own level and we would be on our way again, leaving a
world of beauty for another fully its equal.
In one place we came upon what looked like an iceberg, but of course it
was a rock formation. In another we came upon a green pond of water.
Everywhere we saw stalactites formed through countless years of the
dripping of water, each drop leaving behind its minute portion of
calcium or other chemical composition which eventually forms the
pendant. The fellows constantly referred to them as icicles, since they
resembled them so exactly.
Underneath many of the biggest ones were the stalagmites, the "rising
statues" formed by the drips from their counterpart above. Every one, it
seemed, had a style and shape all its own.
The colors were in a class by themselves. We saw all the colors of the
rainbow, from pale pinks to deep maroon--from pale sky blue to dark
purple. Many had a softness which no artist could duplicate. Others
were as bright as a Mexican cafe, and the Mexican members of our party
took an extreme delight in seeing these vivid hues. Apparently they had
missed, in America, the bright colors which are so abundant in their
homeland.
Almost any formation known to man could be seen as we inched our way
along. Castles, monuments, animals of all sorts, a gremlin, the devil,
a bridal veil, totem poles, all of these and hundreds more were easy to
visualize everywhere around us. And with but a little Imagination we
could see many more.
It was time to turn back, and I could feel the reluctance of the men
in the party to do so, but if we did not arrive back at our appointed
time a search party would start after us, and I saw no reason to create
false fears with those on the outside.
The return trip was much faster than our trip in, simply because we
knew what to expect. Also, we did not stop so long to look at the
magnificent splendor, and also because the candles and string told us
exactly where the trail led.
It was interesting to note, however, that as we would enter a room from
the opposite direction from which we had originally entered it, it
appeared much different, sometimes so much so that we thought we had
not entered it previously. Of course, the candles and string proved we
were wrong, but the difference in perspective was amazing.
When we finally arrived back at the entrance the members of the party
spent hours telling the others what we had seen. It was interesting to
hear the different descriptions from the men and to see how each man
had noted something different yet of course we had all been along the
same route.
After this we often took trips into the cave and would explore
different rooms and tunnels which we hadn't seen before. It seemed that
there was no end to this maze of underground caverns.
Accidents were relatively few on all of these trips, and I think it was
because the fellows all realized that if any of them got hurt it could
be serious. The trip back would be a hardship on those who might be
required to carry an injured man back to the entrance.
When my young son, Jodie, (Joe N. Long), was about 5 years old, he
began to take quite an interest in our conversations in which we would
describe the many incidents that took place daily in the Big Cave.
[Illustration:
Abijah Long Joe N. (Jodie) and Andrew B.
Long Long
(Taken about 1904)
]
Finally Jodie asked my father to take him into this big hole in the
ground. We didn't think it safe to take such a small child into the
cave, but Jodie kept insisting.
However, Jodie won out. One day his grandfather led him to the cave
entrance, the one where visitors now enter, and took him inside. From
that day on we were besieged with all kinds of childish questions.
The incident is worth mentioning because, as far as I know, Jodie was
the first child ever to enter the Big Cave.
We never did see any forms of life in the cave, other than the millions
of bats which made it their home, but on one of our trips into the
inner chambers the boys found a large bone. They brought it out to
examine it more carefully. It was much too large to be a human bone,
and when the boys tried to break it they found it was very hard,
resisting for a while the blows of their sledge hammer.
The bone apparently was in a state of semi-petrification. We all
speculated as to how it could have gotten into the cave, and every man
had his own theory. Some said an animal must have fallen into the cave,
such as Mr. Simm's cow had done, but lived to stumble on into the cave
where he starved to death.
The fellows thought this theory unlikely because if it were true, other
bones would have been found at the same spot.
Another theory was that a cave man centuries ago had killed some wild
beast and had taken a leg of meat into the cave where he made his home.
Meat and man had long since ceased to exist, but the bone remained.
At least we couldn't offer any sound reason against this theory, but it
seemed almost fantastic to accept it.
The only other theory which seemed at all plausible was that some wild
animal, such as a bobcat or lynx, had at some time lived in the cave
and had brought in the leg of a deer or moose and left it there after
having eaten the meat from it. However, there were no tracks of any
kind in the Big Cave, hence that theory had little support.
How the bone got there still remains a mystery.
7
The End of the Beginning
After the guano operation had been going on for some time I could see
that it wasn't turning out to be as profitable as I had originally
thought it would be. With the vast quantity of guano under ground, and
with our efficient method of extracting it, I wasn't able to realize
what I felt was a sizeable profit from the time and effort involved.
Of course there were lots of factors that entered into the operation
which do not meet the eye. For instance, when the guano was brought to
the surface it was filled with moisture, and I was paying the freight
charges to San Francisco by the ton.
Yet when the guano arrived in San Francisco, the Hawaiian Fertilizer
Company would pay only for guano that was dry. So, when I found I was
paying freight on unwanted moisture, I stopped that in a hurry.
I built a series of drying racks or platforms in the western section of
Carlsbad and let the guano remain there until it had dried out. This
kept a pay load from reaching market and was one more operation which
ate into the profits.
The freight to San Francisco at that time cost me $9 per ton. The
guano was $2.25 per unit, $1 for phosphoric acid, and $1 for potash per
ton.
One answer would have been to find a closer market, as that would have
cut down the high cost of freighting, but there was no other market, so
we were forced to continue sending the guano to San Francisco.
With some products the manufacturer sets his price, based on cost of
production, but with us we had to accept the market price at the time,
or else not operate.
When these problems were becoming more complex and I couldn't see any
good solution, a man by the name of Patterson who lived in Carlsbad
offered me $500 cash for my equipment and the work I had done at the
Big Cave. I immediately accepted his offer.
And then, what did he do but turn right around and hire me as foreman!
So, for some time after that I continued the operations at the cave,
but of course not as owner.
It seemed as though the extraction of the guano was not intended to be
a paying proposition, for the Big Cave changed hands many times after
that.
Little did any of us know then that the Big Cave, known in later years
as the Bat Cave, would some day be worth millions as a sight-seeing
attraction and would completely dwarf the income derived from the guano
operations.
Of course that eventually came about, beginning in 1923. President
Coolidge proclaimed the area Carlsbad Cave National Monument in October
of that year, and a great amount of publicity during the years that
followed prompted thousands of tourists from all over the world to come
to see what some writers have termed "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
* * * * *
Former Owners of Carlsbad Caverns
1905--Santa Fe Railroad. (Owned east portion over Bat Cave. 40 acres.)
1906--C. F. Hagan sells one half to H. F. Patterson of Carlsbad.
March 26, 1906--T. W. Teague of El Paso.
April 19, 1906--The El Paso Guano Fertilizer Company.
April 21, 1908--G. M. Cooke.
September 12, 1909--J. D. Lanford sells to Carlsbad Guano Fertilizer Co.
T. A. Blakely held a patent to the east wing of the Carlsbad Cave,
where the guano beds were worked extensively. In 1942 the Government
purchased this tract from Mr. Blakely.
[Illustration: Letter from U. S. Congress recognizes Long as cave's
discoverer
PHIL. D. SWING COMMITTEES:
11TH DIST. CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION
PUBLIC LAND
FLOOD CONTROL
EXPENDITURES IN THE EXECUTIVE
DEPARTMENTS
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
December 24, 1930.
Mr. H. F. Shepherd,
Deputy in charge,
United States Customs Service,
Calexico, California.
My dear Mr. Shepherd:
This will acknowledge your letter regarding Mr. Abijah
Long who is the original discoverer of the famous Carlsbad
Caveren in New Mexico.
Sincerely,
[Signed: Phil. D. Swing]
PDS:DCM
]
Well, that's my story! That's how it all began. I'm glad to see that
the Federal Government has taken over supervision of the Big Cave
and has made it available to people from every land in order that
they might enjoy its unsurpassed beauty which first greeted us 'guano
miners' back in 1903. It is gratifying to me to have been a small part
of the early history of the Big Cave, now more appropriately called
"Carlsbad Caverns" and known all over the world.
I am also grateful for the privilege of having known and worked with
these men, many of whom grew with Carlsbad and turned out to be
prominent citizens of the community.
Times may change, but the great caverns will remain for countless
centuries to come, just as they have been for years without number.
Now, in the hands of the government, their preservation is assured, so
that your children and my children and their children after them will
be able to witness, unmarred and unchanged, these wonders of God's
handiwork.
And you'll be thrilled just as we were, when you see them for the first
time, and you'll marvel, as we did, that anything in the world could
exist, so strange, so large, so utterly beyond description.
Man may build his temples and his shrines, but as you stand there,
a mere midget in any of the several mammoth rooms, you will feel a
certain humbleness come over you, and you cannot help but feel closer
to your God.