,I
The Journal of Spelean History OFFICIAL PUBLICATION of The AMERICAN SPELEAN HISTORY ASSOCIATION
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IS" Vol. 4 No.3 Summer 1971 ABOUT ASSOCJAT ION
The American Spelean History Association is chartered as a non-profit corporation for the studY9 dissemir:.a :and interpretation of spelean history and related purposes. All persons of hi gh ethical and moral character who are interested in these goals a:r.e cordially invited to become members. Annual membership is $5.00; family membership $6.00. Library subs criptions are $4.00.
ABOUT QUARTERLY
Association p1lblishes the Journal of Spelean History on a y basis, Pertinent articles OJ:' reprints are welcomed. As a photo process is often used the edi or shm:d.d be cont acted concerning the current type of man'.lS preparation desired" Submission of rough dr for preliminary editing j s encou raged. lllustrations require special handling and arrangements must made with the edit;or well in advance.
ABOUT BACK ISSUES
About half the back issues of '!.his Journal axe available from the Secretary- Treasurer at $1. 00 copy. ALL back issues are available on mjcrofiche. For further inflDrmation contact; 3M-Internationa.l Microfilm Press, .521
West 43rd Street, New York, N. Y • 10036.
ABOUT COVER ILLUSTRA TrON
The cover illustration shows either Hercules or "Hercules!! and a coach of the Mammoth Cave Railroad at the Mammoth Cave terminal during the 19Z0s. Larry Asman :t:'eceived permiSSion from the National Park Service to use this photograph from the Mammoth Cave National Park historical files to illustrate his fine article in this issei.e. Other information on this photo or on its subject would be welcome.
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THE JOURNAL OF SPE L AN HISTORY
Official quarterly publication of the American Spelean History Association
sident: Secretary-treasurer Editor:
Dr. John W. Bridge Peter M. Hauer Dr. William R. Hall
2,06 W. 18th Ave. • 1506 Miller St. 1117 36th Avenue East Columbus Ohio Lebanon, Penna. Seattl e Wash. 98102
Volume 4$ no. 3 July-September 1971
TABLE OF CONTENTS
43. History of Devilis Hole, Nve County, Nevada by Alvin McLane
49. Reprint Section: Cyprinodons of Mammoth Cave
50, Hercules and the Mammoth Cave Railroad by Larry P. Asman
.56. Recent publications
57. A note on Stevensonis Lost River. by Frederick J. Dickey
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JOURNAL of SPELEAN HISTORY Vol. 4 t NO.3 SUMMER 1971
HISTORY OF DEVILS HOLE, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA
Alvin R. McLane
Introduction
Devils Hole is a void in the surface of the earth in southern Nevada. The cavity extends about 50 feet vertically to the water table. At water level, it is 10 feet wide and 40 feet long. Beyond this 50 feet, there is plenty that isn't known. Cave-divers have descended to 315 feet and saw no indication of the bottom within the 50-foot limit of their lamps. The water of this cavern is 92 degrees F. Only a very few caves that contain thermal water are known throughout the world.
Of particular importance is the tiny fish that lives therein. Layman know it as the Devils Hole pupfish - to ichthyologists, it is Cyprinodon diabolis. The creature measures a standard length of 21 rom (13/16 of an inch), and only here in the warm water of Devils Hole does the tiny fish live.
Pleistocene Lakes
Beginning 70 thousand years ago, large lakes formed in the Nevada basins during humid periods of the Pleistocene or the latter part of the ice age. Several lakes existed during this time in the vicinity of Devils Hole. Some of these are tabulated below and listed on the enclosed map.
LAKE MAXIMUM LAKE AREA IN SQUARE MILES
Ash Meadows 6
Pahrump 242
Tecopa 98
Panamint 280
Manly 618
Lake Manly (in Death Valley) is the final sump for all these lakes. At least two major stages of lake-building are clear and various lesser stages are known. This is attributable to the advances and recessions of the ice sheets. Available hydrographic maps show the highest discernible shore features of these various lakes. Numerous investigators have delineated these past lakes; the most useful interpretations are those of Hubbs and Miller (1948) and Snyder, Hardman and Zdnek (1964).
The Desert Pupfish
About 50,000 years ago, when the last glacial advance started, the 43 Death Valley area received considerable rainfall and the pattern of connected lakes and streams developed. In these great waterways lived members of the killifish family. In the slow process of evolution, only two genera of killifish persisted - the pupfish (Cyprinodon) and the poolfish (Empitrichthys). The glaciers began receding about 20,000 years ago, and some 4,000 years ago the present desert condition became established. However, it appears that most of the springs, streams, and lakes were connected until a short time ago possibly only a few centuries.
Devils Hole, however, becfu e isolated during early-mid Pleistocene, 20,000 years ago. The Devils Hole pupfish have been restric ed to their steep-sided hole ever since. Excellent presentations on the genesis of the desert pupfish are in the works of Robert E. Miller (1948) and Sterling Bunnell (1970).
I haven't been able to determine when the term 'pupfish' was first used. As late as mid-1950, t was unknown to members of the southern California Grotto of the National Speleological Society who were studying the cave (WilIiam R. Halliday, personal commun., 1971). "pupfishll was used by LaRivers and Trelease in 1952. Recent conversation with Dr. LaRivers revealed that he doesn't know about the origin of the name as associated with the tiny desert fishes. He suggests that someone with the California Department of Fish and Game might know.
Devils Hole
"Devils Hole" was used in print in 1893 by Dr. Charles H. Gilbert (1893). He was a member of a biological survey conducted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in the Death Valley region in 1891. At that time, several fish were collected, and in describing Cyprinodon Macularius Girad, Gilbert re corded: "Ten young specimens from the 'Devils Hole' , Ash Meadows, are with out ventrals, and further collections from this locality would be of interest Surprisingly, Devils Hole isn't shown on the Death Valley map of this expedi tion.
During 1905 and 1906, the U. S. Geological Survey topographically mapped the region, and on the Furnace Creek Quadrangle edition of 1910 (1:250,000 scale) Devils Hole is shown on a map for the first time. Six years later, in 1916, Devils Hole is shown on a map of Nevada published by the Clason Map Company of Denver, Colorado.
Gilbert's report is the only known early mention of Devils Hole. According to Halliday (1955), early miners of the region used to clean up there, and the cave was known as the "Miners Bathtub". He had obtained this information from an "old timer", and it has never been confirmed,. In March of 1930, thirty-nine years after Gilbert's visit to the cavern, Joseph H. Wales (1930) visited it. He described the Hole and recorded the water temperature at 93 degrees F. (The temperature is presently 92 degrees F.) His conserva tion practice left much to be desired; from a population estimated at 200 fish, he collected 60 specimens However, from this collection he identified the fish as a distinct species Cyprinodon diabolis. Numerous other technical 44 reports have described the fish. That of Robert E. Miller (1948) is the most exhaustive. Ira LaRivers (1962), of the University of Nevada, compiled a voluminous paper on the fishes of Nevada. His report presents the sparse, but important, associated life in Devils Hole - "Riffle" beetle (Stene1mis calida) an amphipod crustacean, a copepod crustacean (Cyclops), a pelecypod mollusk, a turbellarian flatworm and diatoms. James (1968) mentions that planaria and beetles in the Hole evidently act as scavengers on dead fish and other animals that fall into the water. Other wildlife mentioned occur ring in Devils Hole are bees, moths, and bats.
In June of 1950 the first underwater dive was made in Devils Hole. At that time, Walter S. Chamberlin of Pasadena went to 75 feet in a clumsy diving helmet. Aqualungs were used for the first time in Devils Hole in 1953. Edward Simmons developed and purchased special equipment for the dive, and william Brown dove to a depth of 150 feet. The Southern California Grotto of the National Speleological Society should be applauded for their safe pioneer cave dives. Led by Peter Neely, this group later penetrated to underwater depths of 230 to 240 feet. Details of these early dives may be found in Halliday (1966).
In 1964 Devils Hole jumped into national news; a rare Nevada cave tragedy occurred in June of that year. David Rose, Paul Giancontieri, and two companions illegally went diving in Devils Hole. Rose and Giancontieri were never seen again. During rescue attempts for the two lost boys, Jim Houtz allegedly reached an underwater depth of 315 feet in the warm pool, which might be a record of some kind. Details of the tragedy may be found in The NSS News (Reardon, 1965) and in the Reno Evening Gazette (Houtz, 1965).
Pupfish and Concern for Their Survival
As early as the 1940's, there was concern for the Devils Hole Pupfish. Ira LaRivers and Thomas J. Trealease (1952, p. 119) state: "In the winter of 1946-47, the writers transferred some 75 specimens to a nearby warm spring connected with the principal drainages of the valley in an effort to provide some sanctuary for the unique species in the not then remote contingency that tampering with the waters of Devils Hole by local interests would result in extermination of the species". It appears that this early experi ment was unsuccessful.
Halliday (personal commun., 1971) believes that initial conservation On efforts were hampered by Dr. Carl Hubbs' excessive secrecy Cyprinodon diftbpli§. Hubbs was active with the Southern California Grotto, and during that time other club members collected several pupfish and took them to him. They were completely unaware that the fish were already identified and had a very tenuous hold on life. I recently had a discussion with pro Fred Ryser, Biology Professor at the University of Nevada, about "Hubbs' secrecy", and he doesn't believe Dr. Hubbs was being secretive; he just didn't disseminate the information.
President Truman in 1952 issued a Presidential Proclamation that added 40 acres surrounding Devils Hole as a detached unit of Death Valley National Monument. The Park Service at that time considered rare wildlife as insufficie: 45
3) reason for acquiring land. Hubbs and Robert Miller cited a travertine forma tion in Devils Hole as a pretext for its inclusion (California Tomorrow, 1970, p. 13; Aho, 1970). Later, in 1956, the U.S. Geological Survey began monitoring the water-level in Devils Hole.
In the early 1960's, agricultural demands began tapping the ground water supply in the Ash Meadows and Amargosa Desert area. The National Park Service became concerned whether the ground-water withdrawal would affect the pool-level of Devils Hole. The Geological Survey was requested by the Park Service to report on the pertinent aspects of the geology and hydrology. G. F. worts (1963) prepared a report and stated that no net change in the water level was yet noted. The paper cautioned, however, that any ground-water withdrawal near Devils Hole would change its pool-level within one year.
Minckley and Deacon (1968) reported on "Southwestern fishes and the enigma of 'endangered" species' ". Concerning C. diabolil:, they simply state: - "This species has been affected, but scarcely disturbed, by man". Little did they realize, that one year later, in the spring of 1969, the giant wheels of "progress" commenced that might cause extinction of the fish. Spring Meadows, Inc., a vast farming operation located in Ash Meadows, began heavy ground-water withdrawal. The pool level of Devils Hole declined. The crisis is, that if the shallow submerged ledge, above which the fish live, were to become exposed, the fish COUldn't survive. On this ledge, sunlight nourishes algae on which the fish subsist. Beyond, the water extends deep where algae couldn't grow.
In 1970 many persons immediately began action to protect the pupfish. According to R. Frederic Fisher (1971), Don Harris, as co-chairman of the Sierra Club's Legal Committee, harassed Washington until his call got through to an Under-Secretary of the Interior, then announced that the Sierra Club was considering bringing a mandamus action against the Secre tary of the Interior to compel him to take legal action to protect the fish. Apparently, it was this action that started eminent hydrologists to approach the problem of the survival of the pupfish. A recent article by the author (McLane, 1971) describes the crisis of the pupfish and what action has been initiated to protect them. Subsequently, two s posia have been held to discuss the survival of the pupfish. Some well pumping in the area has been curtailed. £. diablos have been transplanted in other warm springs. An artificial platform with electric lights has been installed in Devils Hole to stimulate the growth of algae. Studies by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Center for Water Resources Research of the University of Nevada have been initiated to develop a management program which can be utilized in ground-water development of the area and still retain the habitat of the Devils Hole pupfish.
As man learns that he can't live alone - that the wild places and the unusual plant and animal life on earth are essential for human survival he is truly beginning to save our heritage - not the least of which are the Devils Hole pupfish, unique to Devils Hole, Nevada. 46 Ash Meadow lake
lake Tecopa
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DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR HYDROGRAPHIC FEATURES DURING THE PLEISTOCENE EPOCH IN THE DEATH VALLEY AREA
Adapted from U. S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map I-4l6 "Pleistocene Lakes in the Great Basin". 47 REFERENCES CITED
Aho, Otto, 1970, (Untitled, unpublished manuscript): Bureau of Land Management, Reno, 10 p.
Bunnell, Sterling, 1970, The desert pupfishi in Pupfish of the Death Valley region: the Journal of California Tomorrow, San Francisco,
California Tomorrow, 1970, Pupfish of the Death Valley region: Cry California, the Journal of California Tomorrow, San Francisco.
Fisher, R. Frederic, 1971, Environmental law: Sierra Club Bull., v. 56, no. 1 (Jan),p. 24-25.
Gilbert, Charles H., 1893, Report on the fishes of the Death Valley expedition col ected in southern California and Nevada in 1891, with descriptions of new species: in U.S. Dept. Agr., North American Fauna No. 7, p. 229-234.
Halliday, William R., 1955, The minerst bathtub; in Charles E. Mohr and Howard N. Sloane (Editors), Celebrated American Caves: Rutgers Univ. Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, p. 90-104.
Halliday, William R., 1966, Depths of the earth: New York and London, Harper and Row, Publishers, 398 p.
Hubbs, Carl L. and Robert R. Miller, 1948, The zoological evidence; in The Great Basin: Univ. Utah Bull., v. 38, no. 20, p. 17-144.
Houtz, Jim, 1965, Diver goes to 315 feet in vain rescue attempt: Reno Evening Gazette, June 23.
James, Carol J., 1968, Studies of Cyprinodon diabolis at Devils Hole; in James E. Deacon, Ecological studies of aquatic habitats in Death Valley National Monument, with special reference to Saratoga Springs; Unpub. ms., Las Vegas, University of Nevada, p. 76-81.
LaRivers, Ira, 1962, Fishes and fisheries of Nevada: Reno, Nevada Fish and Game Corom., 782 p.
LaRivers, Ira, and Thomas J. Trelease, 1952, An annotated check list of the fishes of Nevada: California Fish and Game, v. 38, no. 1 (Jan), p. 113-123.
McLane, Alvin, 1971, The crisis of the Devils Hole Pupfish, Devils Hole, Nevada: NSS News, v. 29, no. 4 (April), p. 39-42.
Miller, Robert R., 1948, The Cyprinodont fishes of the Death Valley system of eastern California and southwestern Nevada: Univ. Michigan Mus. Zool. Misc. Pubs. No. 68, 155 p. 48 Minckley, W. L., and James E. Deacon, 19681 Southwestern fishes and the enigma of "endangered species": Science, v. 159 (March 29), p. 1424-1431.
Reardon, Richard J., Devils Hole claims two lives: NSS News, v. 23, no. 8. (Aug.), p. 112-113.
Snyder, C. T., George Hardman and F. F. Zdenek, 1964, Pleistocene lakes in the Great Basin: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. 1nv., Map 1-416.
Wales, Joseph H., 1930, Biometrical studies of some races of Cyprinodont fishes, from theD h Valley region, with description of Cyprinoo diabolis, n. sp.: Copeia, No. 3 (Sept.) 1 p. 61-70.
Worts, G. F., 1963, Effect of ground-water development of the pC0l level in Devils Hole, Death Valley National Monument, Nye County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Rept., Carson City, 27 p.
REPRINT SECTION
CYPRINODONS OF THE MAMMOTH CAVE
(from Pouchet, F .A. 1877. The Universe, or, the infinitely great and the infinitely little. London, Blackie &: Son, 5th Edition, 564 pp.)
" •••Another cavern, the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky in the United States, owes its renown not to the celebrity of those who have visited it, but to
its extent, which is perhaps greater than that of any other existing cave •• • At some depth ••the Styx slowly rolls its sad waters beneath dark vaults, the windings of which are indented by a thousand rocks. In this sulierranean river, the course of which we follow in a boat, dwells a very peculiar fish, the Cyprinodon, which is said to be blind, and which, in fact, ought to be so, for what purpose would eyellt serve in the midst of waves where the most
• •• perfect darkness reigns • There is also a kind of hospital here, where some medical men keep patients afflicted with chest afflictions, thinking the sulfureous atmosphere of these caverns would be favourable to them. In the centre of this hall an almost complete skeleton of a mastodon has been set up. It is also at this part of the Mammoth Cave that the wives of the guides show and sell to those who care for such things, the extraordin ary little blind fish, the Cyprinodons, which are caught in the watercourses II • • of these immense caverns • •
(Not much of Pouchet is credible, but what about some ichthyological clarification? -- ed.)
49
tIl HERCULES AND THE MAMMOTH CAVE RA1LROAD BY Larry P. Asman
e so When Mammoth Cave was fit's1; op ned the pub1ic most travel to the cave was bv st a gec oa ch . RailY-oads carne to Kent1Jcky in the early 183 0 l s - La v C i but the Lou isvi .ie and Nashville (L & N: : jre was not built C a e ty and Park City nnti I, t85Q. Tb.en many peop.le took the train to Cave City and the stage the}1.ce to the cave,
In 1874 a b:ranch raiJ.road was incor.po.rated but construction of this line $ the M ammot.h. Cave Railroad, wac; not begun until July .3, ).886. On that d ate , Jim McDanie.l aTd HeEr.v Chapm an began 1 aying rails for the 8.7 miles horn the L Is. N malL .1.me at; Park City (tohen caLled Glas gow June tion) to M.ammmh Ca':e.
W F Richardsop was r,he first payjr.g passengec (ticket #1350, $3. (,Ojm u n s 0r:: Novembe r 8, I886, b\). the road was forrnaL.y op ened f or b si es NovembeJ:: 17, .l886. Thi s stant:la.cd g'Jage raHway (4 i 8" betw een the rails) quickJ.y drove the stagecoaches Ol.cL of busm.ess, for the roads to the cave were very poor.
The line was fi.rsc: constr'Jcted [rom G l asgow Junction to Long Cave, seve ral miles awav, Large lo cal markets si o r ed their fruoit ;n that cave, and many people of. the area also lJsed jr 100 sto?:'e thel t' ,·eget.ables and fruit . ( Later there was a big commlsc:,arv a', Vrior Cir,\, one of. rhe 1jne's regu. l a r stops.) To save Hlo ney, tbe ra]lroad was bu.:il.': g<",ne::a:,,:.y fo:U.owJng the natural con figurations of the rdl1y lay,d v"hh htrJ.e bl.ast;Jng or H.LUng of earth. The railroad had 49 (!)..rves may,.y of hem sharp t)).p to 150/0). G r ades were steep (3-4%); the steepest was "eat the pr-ese]".!.. Do\·el VaLley overlook (Furlong Hin), but ChaoJ.mont HJU. (rcO\\' t.:rave rsed by Ken' ucky state highway 255 f rom Park City to Kertucky highway 70» was a3.so "'ery s!:eep. The r ailr oad had no tunnels, ar,.d the only b:r.'loge or tresr'!,e v.'as near Doyel V a Lley . A c cor- ding to lo:c.gtime fi r f:'m aY' Lardis Char.1.et of Brownsvilte, the construction of the railroad w as geI' e ro E :, good, but some WI itten· Sou.rces di s ag ree . A ccor ding to one SOlH"c;e: HThe passer.ge('s got a .cJde that embodied a thrill a in minute.
For the first few years, tb.e trains made a sF;.r. trip to G:rand A venue Cave. Otherwise the 8,? mile '.:r: ip took 3S mlEc.tes. Round trip fare was $2.00 except for excursion fares which we.t:e much . e s . Traffic was high ly seasonal. The train c os t ab01JT; .$50.00 to .rlm.
ROLL1NG STOCK
For its first two y ears the Mammoth Cave Railroad used two s,lTIall L & N loco mot ives . Hercuj_es aEd another locomotive wer e purchased in 1888. These were stearn locomotives using coal and water. Both were "dumm l! y- engines, meaning a locomotive with cor.densing engines and hence without
a blast pipe. Hercules t he locomotive now on exhibit at Mammoth Cave is the only engine of its !.ype remaining. These two locomotives were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Work s of Philadelphia. They were 0 -4 -2 T types meainin_g . that there were no preceding wheels, four drive wheels (two on each side) , aD.d two tJ.:'ailing wheels for additional stability. 50 These locomotives originally served on Tennessee streetcar lines (whicb
were later electified) and had the boiler and cab enclosed much like a street car. Hercules (#3) came from the Nashville and West Nashville Railroad. The nameless #4 engine came from the East End Railway of Memphis.
Hercules may have been capable of speeds up to 100 mph, but most sources agree that the top speed on the railroad had to be 35 mph because of its construction. As it was, Hercules once jumped the track and people were injured. Mr, Landis Charlet recalls that there were times when the engin eer had to stop to let the fireman cut some extra wood to fire the engine of Hercules. Some old humorous quotations to the contrary, only ve ry rarely did people actually have to push the train. Occasionally the rails were covered with dew or frost. or soap applied by young people who were refused a free ride. Also, the cowcatcher really wasn It on the rear to keep the cows out of the ladies I coach, as reported by humorist -philosopher Elbert Hubbard in his magazine The Philistine, after a 1907 ride. Actually the locomotive had cowcatchers at both ends as it sometilnes ran backwards, and Hubbard was writing in jocular vein.
The railroad sometimes carried ZOO people per trip. sometimes only a hand ful. Its section crews were mostly made up of moonlighting farmers. It used link and pin couplers and steam jamb brakes. All four wooden coaches were of the open platform type, heated by coal stoyes. Cars 1 and 2. were combines (passengers arrd baggage) while car 3 was a short coach and Gar 4 a longer one. Gar 2. is now on exhibit at Mammoth Gave. All wre painted cd,
The federal government paid the railroad $80.00 per month to carry mal. and Some freight was carried in the baggage section of the coaches. A small freight house existed at Mammoth Gave; at Park City the L &: N Depot was used. The line had one flatcar but this was basically a passenger railroad. For example, from the beginning of the Hercules era in 1888 through 1892 $ its freight revenues were only $24, 746. 08. The line had no telegraph, telephone nor dispatcher yet two trains sometimes ran at once. the second train always keeping a respectful distance om the other.
ROLE OF THE L &: N
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad ran the Mammoth Gave Railroad under a lease agreement until August 10, 1895. Even after that time, the L &: N still cooperated closely with the MGRR. During most of the period of oper ation of the MGRR, the L &: N main line to Park City brought three passenger trains per day {The other connecting railroad was the Glasgow Railroad, hence the name "Glasgow JunctionH}. The L&:N allowed full stopover privileges at Park C ty. Hercules or his cohort met all trains during the summer, and .' made at least one round during winter. L &: N advertisements proclaimed sleeping and dining carS en route to Mammoth Gave, fast time, rock ballast, and "no dust or dirt". While the L &: N m.ade the run to Mammoth Gave, a reduction on cave fees was given to groups on the following schedule: PEOPLE D GOUNT
10 25% 50 33 1/30/0 100 50% 51 e.s At thi s t ime nonnal cave ";;,"ere $.3.00 for "he long route and $2.00 for the short rOD.te.
The L & N1s mair: LOuisville s hop s ha:r:dled a.Ll major work on Hercules and inspected it annually. RlLr,niEg and c!jgh r air s to the MCRR rolling US stock were pe .dormed at the Park Cit.y car The MCRR the at L & N wa!:er ta.uk Pa r k Citv b')1; had ir;s own at Ma mmoth Cave. The larger railroad can. undoubt.e.d\y be f o!cghen a .UU.!.e over entt.usiasIn in T r : its passenger depar. men1}s book Two Hl.mdred MIles l. nderg ound
II • • The greatest of an America's Grea;:-I\fa!;Ural�Wonders is situated in Edmonson COUEt.yo Ky. $ • e;.\},;eer' Louisv and Nashville and about eight miles from t he majrc . jne of 1;be LO",i sville and Nashville Railroad, with which it is con.:r:r:ned at G:.asgow ,}uncUon by a picturesque 5 r mountah1. railroad. ,t The (aLee of r:hel;jtle is nev e explained in the book.
Local iEterest in the raiLt'oad was high. Most Park City people farmed. Those who wo.rked or railroad SectiOL c . ews did so between creps and djd not cor,sjder thems e.s in the OliJ:ist bu.s:iness, but excursions were a ci a1• t.re.at to the comm".rity. To quote a LOlljsvHle COllIrier Journa clipping: L
[(Often wher. spedal eXCUf ";lOLS "fJe..1.:'e be run o M.ammoth Cave p racticaLl.y !;be whole T;OwH wOIJ'£d corne to he depot grounds, or 1 0 i 1ft' loiter aI·ou.I'd '"L,iLLe Bxoadwa\; w a ch hu.nd.teds of tourists change from the L0X'J.t:'JOI,S L & J'! coact r;o 'he s1:uHy, smoked Htt.:,e coaches pll.:!l Hen:;)'.es. (
Perhaps it: s hou:d be spec) pom>::ed 0, : :.h.a'" aL ho';.; gh HerC'.:iJ.es began ave Y r> <:;'; its rU.n at the s j1;e of h i5:;06c Be'.:' 1sT 9 T h r,otable Pa.rk C:'ty facility b:nned in J.860 was r;e\.e comp!.ete,l.y rebui1t o
PEOPL,E OF :THE Me RR
The founders of '.}',e MCRR were Col. R.B .. La and the follow ing Cram NashvH .1:': Col. Over1;or,. Jere Baxter , .. r ct r Col. L J" P o o (owner of a ca'\; e <.ie.d ho el where the railroad made. a stop), A .. M .. OV8 rton, .r .. H)n EakiL, ar;d C ol . Whiteford R. Cole (whose son, Whiteford Cole, .I r,. , was :.ater L & N president). E was president of tohe .t'. .•
Over the years, : he Lacey faml, Y was par prominent in the m .. line's manageme . On M 28 .1.900 Col. R B. Lacey became vice- president and secretary at a salar y of $5.00 per year! From 1904 r t . " until his death in I915 he was its p esiden After his death, his wife, r ! Mrs. L",P.. Lacey, was p esideE 1.mtil Febru,a.ry 1, ]928 whenthe line was 'sold to F'" L Gall(>.p of ilar,ii;Michigan,. 1;'heirson, George a . s Janua,>;'Y. 4, 1921 H"P,,'" Lfl-Gey ' ,. . . . , . wa its:; hom : i until,, the s le , , , t cr The rains each carried a e -man ew: er, 'fireman. and conductor. Two of the st-:-k:r:.O"Nn engineers we r e Pat M.oran, and Pete Charlet who was the other of a Gu.ide Su.pervisor by the same family name at MaITlmoth Cay . A hight:- fl atter :i T'.g tributeto the OT. latter waS published I. of Edmonsop_ New= Bro'Nnsville, Ky}, u on J ly 1, 1954, dubbmg Pete Char:'et the Cas 5 of the county: :-2, II 0 . ' U'n - cle Pete was complete master of the littl e dummy. When anything went wrong with the mighty ine, Pete knew just what to do to put added
power in its pistons 0 He and Hercules were pal s, and usually when Pete called on his pal. the latter responded with puffs at once transformed .. Ii into power .
These engineers knew well what speed the track could stand without dumping Hercules, Their operations tended to be definitely informaL Pete and Pat often stopped for farmers in Park City, It was said that Pat. J\i)ranis temper was so brittle that he bit his pipe stem in two each time a cow got onto the track in front of Hercules.
Pete1sson Landis Charlet and Mr. Virgin Woods were longtime firemen and extra engineers. Two of the best known conductors were Robert
Hatcher and J. B 0 Whitney who also doubled as the railroad;s general manager. Whitney1s son was also a conductor during the heavy season.
The trains never missed a day. From late fall to early spring, however i the evening train from Park City was run only when there were six or more round trip paying passengers.
DOWN THE LINE
Formal stops on the Mammoth Cave Railroad were as follows:
0.0 miles Glasgow Junc.tion 1.5 Diamond Caverns 2.0 Chaumont Post Office 2.5 Union City 3.0 Proctor I s Cave 4.0 Sloanis Crossing 8.7 Mammoth Cave
A t least one map also shows a stop at !lG anter IS Hotell about 2 miles SE of Mammoth Cave, and , ists HProctor1s Hotel" in place of Proctor's Cave. In practice. the trains stopped if there was someone or some thing waiting. The southern part of the route is followed pret ty well bv the current highway from Park City to Mammoth Cave. The right of way was 50 feet wide. Its freight was mostly farm produce and implements, and food and supplies for Mammoth Cave operations. Because of this style of operation unusual problems sometimes occurred. .. A mule once charged Hercules 2 climbed the cowcatcher. a nd pawed out the headlight. Her::cules survived the incident, the mule did not .
.. Before the Kentucky Jim Grow law of 1892. Negroes rode in the baggage compartments of the combination coaches. After 1892, a partition was built in the passenger cars that separated the last two seats for Negroes. These were seldom in use; then as now) few Negroes came to Mammoth Gave.
Over the years) there were several turning facilities at the two termini of the railroad. At first there were wyes at both ends. A wye looked like this: 53 ( • <
The cars were uncoupl.ed on the top t.r-ack between switches. The locomotive then shifted around s as shown by the arrows, in order to again be at the head of '.he
There were alw s t.urnaround iaciJ.ities at Park City but after 19: Mammoth Cave had only a half wye, as shown:
carS 10como ive DI '( and . . - TERMIl'...!4iU lSo)------ ----i") Jocmnoti.
'x
The locomotive ran £ront wards to the cave from Park City, then un coupled the cars and ran back onto the siding, The cars were then rolled down past the single s'j,'ltch, and the locomotive then backed out to them. Thus the engjne :::eturned to town in the head position on the train, but backwards, This is how the locomotive now sits in the park very close to the old vl.lrning fac.ility,
Herculesalways returned a profit except for a few years of the IIGay Nineties'U and the last few years of the !!Roaring Twenties!!. The rail road lost $4,688.00 from 1893-95 and becarne insolvent. A receiver was appointed on Au.gust 1Z, 1895. The line was sold under foreclosure on March 17,1898 and reorganized April 1,1900. The reorganized company carried the same name as before and rep.resented the original stockholders. The new incorporation was for a 50 year period. The "new" company issued $16.000 in cornmon $;ock and $30,000 in first mortgage bonds, re placing. former obligations of over $100,000. The st meeting of the linewll stockholde was May 28 1900. It was at this time thatt the COIll ., pensation for the s"e c:ietar:y was fixed at $5.00 per year. The vice-pres ident and resident Kentucky agent were to be paid $75.00 per year jointly to be divided as they saw fit.
As mmtioned, F oLo Gallup bought the railroad in 1928. He planned to bu.ild a branch line to some asphatt quarries near the Green River, but this plan never materialized. 54
'(6 END OF THE LINE
On October 7 1904. an Indianapolis judge drove the first automobile to Mammoth Cave. By the 1920s the American public had become very automobile conscious and the building of macadamized highways into the cave area sounded the death knell for Hercules, Cars and buses came to Mammoth Cave in ever increasing numbers. Sept- ember, 1926, the L & N Emp10yeesi Ma azine pointed out that auto travel to Yel1owstonethar--arwas runnEi.g three to four times as great as rail travel, and tbe ratio was expected to be even higher at Mammoth Cave because the area had more highways and more peep1e.
On February 28, 1929, Hercules made its last run. The MCRR was still receiving $80.00 per month to carry the U"S" mail, so a Ford Model A bus fitted with flanged wheels began traversing the rails OT' the following day. '{'his was a revival of a short lived 1910 rail bus which had not worked' well; this time arrangements were made for the use of a highway bus on occasions when the raill bus brok e down. Ther railroad line however suffered a loss of $900.43 in 1930 and by January 1, 19.31 the monthly payroll had been reduced to $105 . A formal decision to abandon the line was made June 8, 1931 and the last run of the bus was August 1, 1931. By this time the railroad had been purchased by the Mammoth Cave National Park Association. All stock, bonds and property of the railroad company were transferred to the Association by purchase March 31, 1931 , for. $5,000. The stock had a nominal value of $12: 000. Max B. J\Tahm of Bowling Green, Ky. was president of the new company whjch was formally dissolved Sept ember 1, 193 1 .
Hercules was unable to make a last run from Park City to M.amlTIotb Cave and was scrapped in. 1.931. JJls'tead, the previously unnamed engine #4 made the last trip in the faU of 1931; the name Hercules was painted on it. By this t:ime the 50 -foot trestle near Doyel Valley seemed rather rotted and none too safe. The brakeman got off before the engineer gingerly eased tbe locomotive onto the structur'e. The logs and ties started cracking but the rails held up; the brakeman got back aboard on the far side. The rails were takerL up 111. late :L931 and early 1932. Althouugh the removal cost had been estimated at Z 5¢ per foot, the actual cost approximated 1 1/2 per foot - $1407.07 for the light ralls (.56 pounds per yard). Removal was by an extra gang from the L & N under the supervision of an Ernest Or Louis Webster, depending on the reference. The old rails apparently lay around in Park City for a long time awaiting a buyer. There are reports that they eventually went to Italy at the time of the Eth ian War, but no definite information is at hand.
,- The Mammoth Cave National Park Association abandoned the railroad without asking the permission of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). After the rails and ties had been removed$ the As soci at i 0-:1. was queried by the ICC. It responded that its officers had thought application for abandonment was unnecessary as the railroad had carried no interstate freight for many years am:1 the railroad was not a party to any tariff for hauling through freight, state or interstate. Also, the railroad had not handled over ten interstate and local passengers per month during 1931. Confronted with this fait accompli, and a non-profit association, the ICC dropped the matter:- 55 •
II Todav Hrcules !l and Coach #2. repose near the Old Hotel, some 100 yards east of the ampitheatre of the national park, the sole remnants of this significant segment of the history of Mammoth Cave. For 40 years this retired locomotive has been a sour ce of pleasure to children and adults alike.
A UTHOR'S NOTES:
This report was orjginally prepared as a report submitted tot the National Pa:r.k Service on 8/28/70 while serv as a seasonal guide, All wr itte n refeyences to the factual data included here are in the IiHercu.les;c folder of Mammoth Cave National Park files. My primary written sources were H T raiL i s End, the Mammoth Cave Railroad £rf 1886-19311\ in the May 1937 issue of the L &: N Employ ees l Magazir,(':; liThe Mammoth Cav Railroad" bv Elmer G :-Sul zer I'ilRailwav and'" ' Locomotive Historical Society Buil etin, No. 990, 1958; and GhoStRail roads' of Ken.tuckv, bvElmer(): Suizer, 1965. The information on the ' acciderJr in whicb He rcules was detailed comes from a newspaper column liPark Row Par raphs" by Ray Gaines in the February 8, 1963 Park City Daily News (Bowling Green, Ky); a former MCRR employee passed on this tfdhit to RoA 0 Demunbruxc, Edmonson County cor respondant for this newspaper.
Many people helped me, eatly in this project. I am particularly indebted to Mr. Landis Chatlet .Brownsvit.le Ky. longtime fireman and substitute engineer for Hercules" and to Mr. Harold Meloy of Shelbyville Indiana, who has done a herculean I may use that wo rd) job over the years on Mammoth Cave history. It was he who encO'I.l.raged me to submit the report for publication in The Journal of Spelean History.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Sides, Stanlay D. &: Meloy Harold. 1971. The pursuit of health in the Mammoth Cave. Bulletin of the History of MediCine, VoL XLV no. 4, July-Aug., pp. 367=379, (Long await d and well worth waiting for, this scholarly article clearly outlines the initial overenthusiasm"and the possible late overcondemnation of the use of Mammoth Cave in the management of far advanced tuberculosis. E'rom personal experience with the pollen-heavy summer Kentucky air, yr editor canlt help won dering about speleotherapy in allergic bronchitides, however)
Baker, Ernest A. 1932, reprinted 1970. Caving. S"R. Publishers, Ltd, East Ardsley, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. 252 pp. Reprint of a slassic rarely obtainable in the USA .. so valuabl e that I used it in planning my 1971 trip to Ireland. Available from ASHA member Tony Oldham, 17 Freemantle Road, Eastville, Bristol BS5 6SY, England. 56 A NOTE ON STEVENSON S LOS RIVER Prederick . Dickey One of the lesser known but more interesting early accounts of Mammoth Ca:ye is the letter written 'By F.J. Stevenson, an EnglishmEin, to his mother in 186;3. This letter remained unpublished until 1932, when it appeared in Black wood t s Magazine «(1). In his letter, Stevenson describes how he had a boat lowered down Gorin's Dome ('or Garvin's Pit) , at the bottom of which he was able to force a near siphon and sail for seven hours up an underground river. Stevenson called his discovery the "Lost River"', because he "failed to discover either where it rises or whither it flows."
Stevenson's exploit fascinated later visitors to the cave such as E.- . Martel who wrote (2):
In his account ( unpublished) of 1863, Stevenson «of London) recounts how he had a boat lowered from the window, and on which he followed a perilous water course for seven hours. Many years later, when Garvin's Pit was descended again, a boat was indeed found rottin on a mud bank at the edge of a rapid watercourse (6.5 km/hr ) which could even be the principal river of Mammoth Cave. Unfortunately, the dams on the Green River have raised the hydrostatic level, rendering impossible a new exploration of what has been named "Stevenson's Lost River". Thus the means has been eliminated of verifying the account of 1863 and of learning from whence comes this stream. This is extremely deplorable:
So persuasive has Stevenson's account. been that Martel indicates it on his cross sectional map of Mammoth Cave, and Hovey's map even shows where it goes!
But the nagging question has always remained, did Stevenson merely write a good story to impress his mother or did he in fact naVigate a previously unknown underground river for seven hours? Curiously, this question seems to have been answered in 1866 by a compatriot of rllartel who visited Mammoth Cave in 1864, one year after Stevenson. Ernest Duvergier de Hauranne in his Huit Mois en Amerigue gives the following account lwhich I have translated from the French) of his visit to Gorin's Dome (3). .
It is the height of one of these pits L)oo fee!!, the deepest of all, although it is not called bottomless. Last year an Englishman wished to explore the depths in order to immortalize his name. He was lowered down at the end of a rope. There was a lake at the bottom of the pit. A boat was constructed. On all sides rose an impenetrable 57 · ,
barrier. The water was flowing briskly. It failed oompletely to have an outlet. I am astonished that the new Empedooles did not plunge into the gulf and attempt the original adventure of an aquatio voyage in this unexplored world (4).
Although neither Gorin's Dome or Stevenson is explioitly mentioned, the message oomes through loud and olear, Stevenson failed to find anything at the bottom or Gorin's Dome. Unfortunately for the more romantically inolined of us, there is little reason to doubt Duvergier de Hauranne's acoount. His book is considered to be one of the more acourate commentaries on Civil War America. Futhermore, it seems rather unlikely that th guides would report that Stevenson found nething if in fact he found a major under ground river.
REFERENCES
(1) F J Stevenson ADVENTURES UNDERGROUND Blackwood's Magazine, Vol CCXXXI, No MCCCC, June 1932, pp. 721-756.
No explanation is given of the circumstances surrounding the pUblication of Stevenson's letter. It might be interesting to learn what these circumstanees where.
(2) E.-A. Martel EXPLICATIONS SUR NmiOTH CAVE Spelunca, Bulletin et Memoires, Vol IX, No 74, December 1913, p. 17.
The seleotion given in this paper was translated from the French.
(3) Ernest Duvergier de Hauranne HUIT MOIS EN AbffiRIQUE A. Lacroix, Verboeokhoven & Ce, Paris, Vol I, 1866, pp. 304-305.
(4) Of Empedocles it has been said:
Great Empedooles, that ardent soul Leapt into Etna, and was roasted whole. * * *
Regular departments of this publication will appear in the next is sue - ed. 58