Texas Caver Vol
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the Texas Caver Vol. 25, No.6, 1980 CONTENTS AN INTERVIEW WITH A NOTABLE CAVER ...... l08 CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN ...................... 113 GROTTO NEWS ............................ 114 TSA BOG ................................ 114 LIGHT DUTY BOLT DRIVER ....... ......... 115 CALVIN THE CAVER ....................... 116 A BOOK REVIEW .......................... 117 TSA- REIMER RANCH REPORT .............. 119 TEXAS OLD TIMERS REPORT ................ 120 THE SMALL CAVE ......................... 120 T.M.I. CAVE -MAP ...................... 121 TEXAS CAVER WORD HUNT #2 ............... 122 BACK ISSUES FOR SALE ................... 123 TRIP REPORTS ........................... 124 NEWS & EVENTS .......................... 125 HORE TRIP REPORTS ...................... 126 EDITORIAL .............................. 128 COVER PHOTO: Close up-taken by James Jasek in Inner Space. CONTENTS PAGE PHOTO: Paul Johnston lights a crevace passage in Inner Space. Photo by James Jasek SUBSCRIPTIONS aPe $5.00 peP yeaP. PePsons subscPibing afteP the fiPst o.f the yeaP witt Peceive all back issues foP that yeaP. Single copies ape available at 90¢ each, postpaid. The TEXAS CAVER openly 1"nvites contPibutops to submit: aPticles, PepoPts, news, caPtoons, cave maps, caving aPti~les, and photogPaphs (any size pnnt btack & white OP coloP pPint) fop publication in the TEXAS CAVER. AddPess all SUBSCRIPTIONS and EDITORIAL matePial to the editop: James Jasek, l0l9 MelPoBe DT., Waco, Texas 767l0. When sending in a change of addr.ess, please include youP old addPess. PePSOnB intePested in EXCHANGES OP FOREIGN subscriptions should diPect coPPespondenc~ to the editoP. AN INTERVIEW WITH ANOTABLE CAVER There are very few people that have been JB It seems to me like they were commercial cavi ng in Texas longer than James Brummett, izing it. I can't remember real good. I know and for those of you that are not acquainted we went down in a bucket. We didn't go down 1,r ith James you are missing out knowing one them stairs, we went down in a bucket, and of t he most likeable and interesting person they called it a guano bucket. It's what th o. t I have ever met. they used to bring guano out with. And this j ames is presently the manager of Inner is what we went down in and I knm" we used Space Cavern a commercial cave near the kerosene lanterns. So they might possibly to1-rn of Georgetown. If you are in the area have started to commercialize it at that or t aking a tour through the cave, be sure time, but I just can't remember. I was like to s top in and introduce yourself to James. 5 or 6 maybe. It was big to me. It was one Tel l him that you are a caver and spend a bodacious hole in the ground. fei·I minutes talking to him. You just might fi nd those minutes have turned into many pleasant hours. He is a wealth of informa t i ~ n about caves all over Texas. Not only docs he know all the commercial cave owners anri managers, but he is personal friends Hi r:h many of the ranchers that own many of t h ~ finest wild caves in Texas. He was responsible for getting the TSA into Powell's ca e back in the early 70's when absolutely no cavers were allowed into the cave. ~ s you read this interview, you will find thHt James has been caving in Texas before 0 mo::t of us were even born. This interview .w 0 on :y scratches the surface of the vast .c P- experience that James has had in the world ~ <lJ of caving. He has spent the greater part Ul of hi s life devoted to caving. He has ,_...,cU Hot-ked in and around caves in many different Ul part s of the country, and is known all s<lJ over for his expertise in all aspects of ,_...,cU op era ting a commercial cave and making it James Brummett today. pa-: . JJ Do you remember how much commercial cave THE INTERVIEW there was, or how much of the cave was open? JB No, I don't have any idea. It seems to me like we walked for hundreds of miles in there J a ~1 es Jasek (JJ) Where were you born? you know. Ofcourse I don't think really. Of J a ~e s Brummett (JB) I was born in the little course I've been in the cave a lot of times town of Dripping Springs over here in Hays since then and it doesn't seem the same you County, just outside of Austin on Onion Creek know seeing it under the lights as seeing it on April 7, 1919. under the kerosene lamp. But it seems to me }l ~~en did you get started in caving? like we never did get down to the big room JB \.J ell, the first time I can actually when we \olent down the first time. I know I remember going into a cave was in Carlsbad remember we went where all the bats were, anct I went in with Mr. White, my father and and I can remember seeing the bats and hear I went in with Mr. White in 1924. ing those things buzzing around overhead and JJ Was that before the cave was commercial everything when we stirred them up and how i zed? it stunk. 108 JJ They no longer take tours into the bat particular place and I'd say oh, probably cave. 5 or 600 yards southwest of the cave entra JB No, well ofcourse we were with Mr. White there is a spring that comes out of the sj -and it was just the three of us, that ' s all of the hill and it's a pretty good size there were. Mr. White, my father and myself. spring that runs into Los Morras Creek. We Mr. White and my father were real good always thought that spring in the cave can friends. Mr. White himself was raised in out at that spring or at least part of it c Menard where I came from. JJ This could be a very extensive cave the JJ When did you first start your wild caving? JB It's possible that it could be. But the JB I guess probably 19 ... ? Somewhere close are numerous caves out there around Menard, to 1930, 28, 29 somewhere in that vicinity. God amighty I've been in a bunch of them JJ Do you remember what cave it was? now. If I could go back and get into some JB Los Morras1Cave was the first one that them - course some of them would be hard j I was ever in that ... It's on .the creek me to find. I'm sure because it's been so there in Menard that Precidio got it's name dadgum long. But there used to be one, from and everything. It's about six miles course it's still there. I don't know if south- southwest of town. It's a pretty anybody goes in it anymore or not. We alw1 extensive cave - I mean it's not a bodacious called it Old Crack. It's up on the hill c big un, not anywhere as big as this (Inner the west side of town right by the High Space) or that is the explored part of it. School on the edge of the mountain overloc How much is unexplored is something else. ing the San Saba River right next to that JJ It that a known cave today? old San Saba Mission. We've spent hours ar JB It's a known cave but one that's next to hours and hours in that thing, and it's jl impossible to get on. It's on the Martin a crack in the rock, the entrance you knm Ranch and Paul Martin. had one daughter, and you can go down, and lord there's no tell] this old boy that she married is the kind how far that thing goes really. I don't b of guy who'd send a man to the electric chair if anybody' s ever really explored it or nc for 9 years if he caught a man messing We used to go down with candles and torche around out there you know. He won't allow or whatever and spend a day at a time in anyone to go near the cave because he says there and it seems like we never did get there's goat fever in it and tick fever you anywhere. know and he won't allow anyone to go out JJ Were you doing this caving because you there because he's afraid he's gonna be were interested in caving at that time or sued and all this kind of stuff. was it just kind of a passing thing? JJ What is the cave like? JB No, I guess I've always been interestec -JB Well, course now the part of it I ' ve seen in it. I've always liked it. It was always iS dead. It's similar to, well like the first thrill to me to get to see something that part of Sonora. There are some formations in somebody else hadn't seen you know. I kine it, but it's old, it's dead, it's dry. The of felt like Mr. Big if I could see some entrance is up on the edge of a cliff and it thing that someone else hadn't seen you kr was used by Indians because back when I was It's always been a kind of thing with me t a kid first going in there were paintings on I've enjoyed ever since my first trip witl the wall and charcoal and stuff on the floor.