xt78pk070z8d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt78pk070z8d/data/mets.xml Lee, Richard Henry, 1794-1865  Lee, Richard Henry, 1794-1865 1925 books  English Bowling Green, Ky., Times-Journal Press  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection.  Collins, Floyd, 1887-1925 The Official Story of Floyd Collins, 1925 text 153,[1] pages illustrations (including portraits) 24 cm. Call Number: CT275.C69 L4 The Official Story of Floyd Collins, 1925 1925 1925 2022 true xt78pk070z8d section xt78pk070z8d  

 

 

The
Official Story

Of

Floyd Callins

’. . By
' RICHARD H. LEE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 The
Official Story

Of

Floyd Collins

By .
RICHARD H. LE

Official Reporter at Sand Care.

'In which the author attempts to give an accurate and un-

biased account of an occurrence, unique in history, which
touched the heart of the world. ‘

 

 

 To all those courageous and 11m-
selfish souls who risked sthelr lives
to save Floyd Collins, not seeking

glory or reward, but because he was
a fellow being in distress,

This volume is respectfzdly (led/i-
Gated.

 

 

  

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1 I"

7. M

INTRODUCTORY

On the 30th of January, 1925, Floyd Collins, cave owner
and professional cave explorer, was entrapped by a falling
rock while crawling through a narrow underground watercourse
in Barren County, Kentucky. For eighteen days he lay en-
tombed, while hundreds of people made every effort possible to
rescue him.

The most skilled men obtainable gave their unstinted ad-
vice and aid. From the beginning of the work until its end,
there was hardly a minute when one or more of the rescue
party were not in imminent danger of losing their own lives.

The interest taken in the incident was most unusual.
It was Without precedent that the milsfortune of one incon—
spicuous citizen», involving no one but himself, should so
arouse the public that fon' more than two 'weeks the story was
carried on the front pages of every newspaper in the country,
so that even the affairs of nations seemed unimportant.

Floyd Collin’s life was not saved. From the beginning the
odds were overwhelmingly against the rescuers. When it was
all over, and the work had been abandoned, the newspaper
phase of the story died; but the affair was so unusual, so long
a matter of public interest, and was the subject of so much
rumor, speculation and comment, that it is felt that this brief
story, adhering rigidly in every particular to Kentucky’s
true and painstakingly made official record of the facts, will be
appreciated.

 

     

    

The Kentucky Caves

One of the elements which did much to draw public atten—
tion to the Floyd Collins tragedy was the fact that it occurred
in a so—called cave, situated in the famous cave region of Ken—
lucky. It was within a few miles of explored caverns which
have been noted for many years, and at least one of which;
Mammoth Cave, has been classed as one of the seven natural
wonders of the world. There is something mysterious about
this gigantic underground realm which appeals to the imagina—
tion, and which lent a peculiar feeling of awe to the situation.

The true cave territory, so far as it has been explored to
this date, lies mainly in Edmonson County, and extends at
points into the adjoining counties of Hart and Barren. It in—
cludes the Mammoth Cave, the New Entrance to Mammoth
Cave, Great Onyx Cave, the Colossal Caverns, Great Crystal
Cave, of which last Flyod Collins was a half owner, and a host
of others. Each of them has its particular attractions and
beauties, and all of them are well worth the seeing, those more
recently discovered as well as those which have been known
for years.

There is an endless list of them. There are Diamond Cave,
Hidden River Cave, Horse Cave, Ganter’s Cave, Dorsey Cave,
Salts Cave, “Thite’s Cave, Dixon Cave, Long Avenue Cave,
Preston Cave, Highland Cave, Indian Cave, Parker Cave,
Doyle’s Cave, Cave of the Hundred Domes, Mammoth Onyx
Cave, and Cedar Sink Cave. In addition to these, there are
dozens of caverns which have been explored but which, owing
either to their smallness 0r inaccessibility t0 the traveling pub—
lic, have not been exploited. There are certainly hundreds, and
possibly thousands, of miles of this vast system of subter-
ranean chambers which have not been discovered, and which
will disclose new wonders when they are finally explored.

The territory which includes these caverns is, roughly, in
the shape of a parallellogram, bordering on picturesque Green
River in the north and extending back so as to include some-
thing; like seventy—five square miles. The surface of the soil is,
on the whole, unfitted for agriculture, and this has helped to
preserve the natural rugged beauty of the place. It is prac-
tically all wooded, and the northern part of it contains hun-
dreds of acres of virgin timber.

    
  

5

   
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
   
  

The rock underlying the region is a series of strata of un—
usually pure limestone, deposited some time back in the ages
before the Coal Age, and averaging more than six hundred
feet in thickness. Green River has cut its narrow channel
deep down into it. Surface waters, seeping down, gradually
wore underground channels for themselves, until they became
permanent streams. “later from rain and melting snow, al-
ways seeking the easiest way downward to :Green River, began
more and more to take advantage of .these embryo sewers,
rather than to perform the task of cutting passage for them-
selves across the uneven surface, until at last almost the en-
tire drainage system of the territory became subterranean.
Throughout the centuries these underground streams devel—
oped, wearing away the stone more and more rapidly, until they
became rivers. By this time the whole process had begun over
again. “later from these underground rivers was seeping still
further down, and forming still lower channels for itself. As
the lower channels were formed, those above them were aban-
1 cloned by the streams. This process was repeated time after

. , time.

““11 we“ “later carved out the caves, and water adorned them. After

{ 1 Q the running streams had left the upper levels, and possibly
.7 even before it had entirely left them, the water seeping in

minute quantities through the roofs and walls, carrying with it
limestone in solution, deposited its burden in various forms on
the walls and ceilings. These ornaments are in a thousand dif—
ferent shapes, ranging from massive columns of translucent
cave onyx, capable of supporting many tons, to flowerlike
traceries of gypsum, so fragile that they will break off if they
l are breathed upon.
; The Kentucky caves have never been widely advertised.
‘ Nevertheless, nine people out of every ten who come into west-
ern Kentucky from other states and other countries, visit
the caves. Mammoth Cave was known, and had attained some
degree of notoriety, fifty years before gold was discovered in
California; before the Yellowstone or the Yosemite were known.
and before the sequoias of the Pacific coast had ever been seen
by a white man. There is something about the hint of'gigantiv

1W1.‘ subterranean amphitheaters, unfathomalble pits, and endless

.7 3 \ columned corridors that makes even the most travel-weary

h.- ' ‘\ globe-trotter go hundreds of miles out of his way to see the
caves.

The thought that a man was pinned, helpless and alone, in
a hole which leads down into this vast underground labyrinth,

  

 

 

 

 

6

was sufficient to create more than a passing interest.

It should be explained here that Floyd Collins’ accident
did not occur in a cave. The stone fell upon his foot while he
was returning from a tour of exploration in which he had been
attempting to discover a new cave, it is true, but the passage
through which he was crawling at the time cannot be called a
cave. It was altogether outside the limestone formation in
which the true caverns are situated, and had been worn by
water through a mass of loose, broken, unstratified material,

So far as the writer can learn, no person has ever met ac—
cidental death While touring any of the exploited cavern. Com—
pare this record of the Kentucky Caves with that of any busy
street in your own city!

,5)-

 

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t...» .1

 

 6,. ,J

The “Cavers”

As said before, the cave area proper is not a first~class
agricultural region. Although some of its little valleys are as
fertile as could be desired, the topography is so rough and
broken, and the soil is so rocky, that productive tillage is in
most parts of it unprofitable.

The caves are the great sources of revenue. Without them
the land would be valuable only so long as the timber lasted,
and then it would be of little worth. The caves, in a large meas-
ure, bring the income that enables the inhalbitants to live.

Until comparatively recent years, Mammoth Cave was
practically the only cavern which had been explored and cleared
out so that it could be traversed. With the increased facilities
for travel which have come in later years, however, the develop—
ment of the automobile and the consequent improvement of old
roads and construction of new ones, came such an increase in
the number of visitors that exploration began anew and literally
hundreds of miles of new caves were opened. New passages
were discovered in the old caves, and the community in gneral
got ready to take 'care of the tourists.

Those who owned land along the main highways were par-
ticularly anxious to find caverns under their property, because
they knew that many beautiful caves are rarely visited on ac-
count of their inaccessibility. Every sinkhole which could pos-
sibly lead into a cave—and there are thousands of them—was
inspected. A new profession sprang up, which, to call it by the
name given it by its followers, is “caving.” They invariably
speak of themselves as “cavers,” or sometimes, in all serious-
ness and without a trace of double meaning, “cave men.”

Floyd Collins was a. caver. He and his father, Lee Collins,
were the owners of Great Crystal Cave situated only a few
miles from the so-calle( ”Sand Cave” which has recently be-
come so well known. Floyd had explored and opened the greater
part of the Great Crystal Cave, and thus had had experience in
work of this sort.

His own cave, however, was somewhat removed from the
main highways, and it was his desire to locate, open and operate
a cavern which would be more accessible and thus more profit—
able.

About six and a half miles from Cave City, Kentucky, and
only a few hundred feet from the Mammoth Cave highway, is

 

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situated what is known to the inhabitants of the community
as “Sand Cave.” In reality, it is not a cave, in the sense in
which the term is applied to Mammoth Cave and to all the
underground passages of the region which are visited [by the
public. This was shown by all of those, both practical “cavers”
and men with greater technical training, who were questioned
by the court of inquiry.

This ”Sand Cave” is situated at one end of a great, elong—
ated depression, probably caused by the collapse, ages ago, of
a large cavern. This narrow hollow ends abruptly against a
cliff, at the foot of which is the little hole in the ground which
was recently the scene of so much agonized effort. All the rock
which once roofed the original cavern is piled, hclter-skelter,
in the bottom of the valley. It was broken by its fall into
pieces of all sizes. Much of it has weathered into dirt, and this
has drifted down and filled in the crevices between the stones.

Floyd Collins thought that if he could work his way thrOugh
this mass of debris, he would find that this cliff marked the
limit of the collapse, and that if he could gain to a point far
enough under it to get clear of the rubbish which had drifted
back in that direction, he would find a continuation of the
original cavern, spacious and never before seen by man. He
had reason to believe that it would be of some size, for the
surface of the ground back of the cliff appears to be intact,
and the cave-in itself is so wide and deep as to indicate that
the chamber which once existed below it was of great extent.

At the foot of the cliff, through this ancient pile of debris,
there is a narrow, tortuous opening. It was through this tun-
nel that Collins proposed to crawl in his search for the hoped—
for cave.

One B. Doyle owned the land upon which this cliif and the
opening under it are situated. “Tith him, and with two adjoin—
ing landowners, Edward Estes and Jesse Lee Cox, under whose
farms it was thought that the cave hoped to be found might ex-
tend, Floyd Collins entered into a contract. Under its terms
he was to do all the work of exploring, and in the event a cav-
ern was found and opened up, he was to receive a half interest
in it. Further, as his home was situated several miles from
the place, he was to receive board and lodging at the homes of
Doyle, Cox and Estes, in succession, for a period of several
weeks, during which time the exploration was to be conducted.

He moved his working clothes and tools to the farm of B.
Doyle on the fifth day of January, and started operations. He
was to have stayed at Doyle’s house only a week, but it seems

 

 

 

   

21‘.

‘. v¢~

 

  

9

that Doyle had just killed hogs and there was a plentiful sup«
ply of meat at his house, so Collins stayed with him about two
weeks. He then moved over to the house of Edward Estes,
leaving his clothes and tools at the Doyle farm.

He worked his way into the tunnel day by day, getting
further and further back. There is some evidence to show that
on “'ednesday, January 29th, he attempted to remove a rock
which was blocking the passage by exploding a small charge
of dynamite upon it; and that he also built a fire at the mouth
of the tunnel, so as to heat the current of air which continually
swept into the opening and thus dry out the passage.

At any rate, on the morning of Friday, January 30th, be-
tween 8:30 and 9:00, Collins left the Estes home, telling young
Jewell Estes, the 17—year-old son of Edward Estes, that he was
going into the cave. Night came, and he did not return. This—
however, was not unusual, according to both Doyle and Estes,
as it was Collins’ habit at times when he was engaged in work
of this kind to remain in caves overnight, sometimes as long as
twenty-four hours at a stretch.

A community club met that night at Estes’ home. and it
was remarked in this gathering that Floyd had not come back
from the cave.

After this Ineetingnwas over. Estes went to B. Doyle’s
house to ascertain whether or not Collins had come there. Doyle
was not at home, but his 12-year—old boy told Estes that Collins
had not come to their place. ,

After a time Doyle came home, and learned from his boy
that Floyd had not returned, and that Estes had become un-
easy about him. Doyle then went down to the mouth of the
tunnel,- crawled in about halfway, to what he called the “Slick
rock,” and called Floyd’s name, but received no answer. After
this he went back to his house and went to bed. He waked
up between tour and five o’clock the next morning, when, ac-
cording to his statement, a feeling of great uneasiness assailed
him. He immediately went to the Estes home, got young Jewell
Estes, and went to the cave. He and Jewell crawled into the
entrance, calling for Floyd as they went. At first they received
no answer, but after Jewell had passed the “slick rock,” about
halfway down the passage, at which Doyle was obliged to stop,
Floyd answered. At first they could not understand what he
said, but he finally made them understand that he was pinned
down in the tunnel below them, and that he wanted his hammer
and drill to use in an effort to free himself. Doyle crawled back
out of the hole and got the hammer, which was outside, and

 

  

10

Jewell Estes found the drill inside the tunnel, at a place where
Floyd told him to look for it. Taking these tools with him,
young Estes attempted to negotiate the remainder of the pas-
sage, but was stopped a short distance before he got to Collins
by what he described as a. breakdown of the roof.

Jewell Estes and Doyle came on out of the cave, and found
Edward Estes there waiting for them. They explained to the
elder Estes what Floyd had told them of his condition; that is,
that he had kicked a rock while attempting to worm his way out
of the tunnel, and that something had fallen upon his foot in
such a way that he could not release it.

The three of them scattered to notify Collins’ family and
friends of his plight. Soon many natives of the community had
gathered around the entrance, and efforts were being made to
reach the imprisoned man. The record is somewhat confused
as to who was the first man to reach him, but it is certain
that Homer Collins, younger brother of Floyd, did reach him,
and succeeded in feeding him and covering him with a quilt and
some burlap sacks.

From this point, until the end, the crowd at Sand Cave
steadily increased. A great many of those present—indeed, too
many—were charged with a desire to rescue Floyd Collins. Trip
aftr trip was made into the tunnel, but all of them had the
same result—nothing was accomplished, except that on a few
occasions food and drink were taken to the imprisoned man.

The great majority of those who went into the hole were
sincere in their desire to rescue Floyd Collins, and certainly
all of them who went any great distance down the passage
risked their lives. It is a sad fact but a quite understandable
one, that later on bottles of cofifee and milk, packages of sand-
wiches, bundles of covering, and various tools and appliances,
were found scattered all along the tunnel, left there by persons
who had suddenly felt the urge for daylight, and considered not
the manner of their going.

There was much to excuse them, however. They were in a
veritable death—trap, and the wonder of it is that there are not
half a dozen more victims now resting with Floyd Collins.
It required an iron nerve to negotiate the tunnel. As some of
them put it, “as long as you kept your mind on Floyd, and
didn’t look at the ceiling, you were all right.”

There was no room for action. Through at least half the
passage the workers must needs crawl, flat on their faces, like
snakes. As they neared Collins, they found that the passage
inclined downward. Then it suddenly dropped, vertically, for

 ll.

a distance of eight feet, and started back under itself at an
angle of about forty—five degrees. Here Collins lay, his head,
shoulders and chest projecting from beneath a heavy lime stone
ledge, which extended from wall to wall, somewhat lower than
the remainder of the roof, and effectually obscured the lower
part of his body from vision.

Near the spot where Collins was imprisoned, the passage be-
came so constricted that there was not room to turn around,
and a man going in héad first was compelled, on returning, to
come feet first, on his back for a few feet; then to come feet
foremost, up a sheer ascent of eight feet; then to back up for
several yards more before he could turn. If he went in with
his feet before him, as was the only practicable way to negotiate
the latter part of the passage, when he came to the spot where
it doubled under itself, where Collins was imprisoned, he could
not, unless he was very small, bring the upper part of his body
down to where he could [be of any assistance.

In addition to these physical difficulties, there was the icy
temperature, made worse by the dripping and seeping water,
which thoroughly wetted everyone before he got to Collins, and
the frightful mental strain caused by the evident dangerous
nature of the passage, and the occasional thud of a falling
stone.

One young negro essayed to make the venture, but he had
no sooner knelt down and stuck his head into the hole than he
backed out, his face ashen, clutching his throat, and yelled,
“Somebody cut mah collah—Ise swellin’ up!”

In the meantime, certain thoughtful souls had come to
the scene loaded with moonshine whiskey, possibly with the in-
tention of using it to warm and strengthen the workers when
they came out of the hole. The majority of the rescuers, how—
ever, were too busy to care to imbibe, so many of the more
sympathetic bystanders partook copiously and added drunken-
ness to the general confusion.

The affair was taking a dangerous turn. The more efficient
and capable workers were impeded at every step. Magistrate
T. C. Turner, in whose district Sand Cave is situated, and City
Marshall 0. L. Hanson, of Cave City, did very able work, but
the situation was more than any two men, however capable, _
could handle. More and more people Were arriving all the time,
and the crawd at the mouth of the tunnel was becoming more
and more congested. Experienced, sincere and honest men, who
had crawled through the passage time and time again, were
annoyed by newcomers. who. though surely sincere in their de-

 

  

12

sire to help, might have undone all the work that had been ac-
complished.

Some of the new arrivals were asked not to enter the pas—
sage. Disgruntled, they remained to originate and spread
rumors of foul play. It was even noised about that at least
one of the men who had been putting heart and soul into the
attempted rescue, was present with the sole intention of seeing
that Floyd Collins remained in Sand Cave.

  

 

 

 

 

Above—Jewell Estes, first person to enter Sand Cave after
Collins’ entombment.

Below—Lee Collins thanks \Villiam B. Miller. Maddox
in center.

 

  

14

The Kentucky National Guard,
Arrives ‘

The day after Collins was imprisoned, Saturday, January
31st, Kentucky newspapers carried items of the incident. By
Tuesday following the whole country knew of it, there were
several newspaper correspondents on the ground, and more
were coming in on every train.

The civil authorities, leading citizens of the community,
and some of the newspaper men conferred, and decided that
outside aid was necessary to quell disorder and keep the
crowds under control, land on Tuesday, February 3, a telegram
was sent tq the Governor of Kentucky requesting that he im-
mediately dispatch National Guard troops to Sand Cave.

011 Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Edgar Cross and twelve of his
men, from Smith’s Grove, Kentucky, arrived, and a little be-
fore daylight ‘Vednesday morning Capt. Julius L. Topmiller, of
Bowling Green, Kentucky, followed with fifteen men.

Their sole duty was to keep the onlookers back out of the
way, and to prevent disorder, and they set about it with dili-
gence and dispatch. The effect was almost instantaneous. Dis-
order on the part of the crowd disappeared, and all those who
were not rescue workers were kept out of the pit. Guards were
posted at all necessary points, so that persons having no right
to enter were denied admission.

There was, however, not much improvement in matters
at the mouth of the cave. Although drinking had been abruptly
stopped, ill-feeling} and misdirected effort wiere still rife.
Through all of it, many men were working as steadily as the
circumstances would permit, but the work was so absolutely
disorganized that, even when it appeared that one party was
making progress, as soon as it would come out of the tunnel
others would enter and begin upon an entirely different plan
of endeavor.

Once or twice it seemed that the rescue was near at hand.
On one trip, ‘William B. Miller, dim‘inuitive Louisville re-
porter, aided by a party of selected men, succeeded, so it was
thought, in. moving the rock which pinned Collin ’s foot several
inches. This was done by placing a short iron bar, with Col-
hns’ assistance, against the imprisoning stone, setting the

other end of the bar against a short screw—jack, and extending

 10

the jack. Just when it seemed that the rock was certain to be
pushed off the unfortunate man’s limb, however, the bar slip-
ped. They were never again able to secure a hold with it upon
the stone.

On one other trip more drastic measures iwere attempted.
Homer Collins led this party, the man directly behind him be—
ing Lt. Robert Burdon, of the Louisville Fire Department.
They had devised a leather harness to be fitted around Floyd’s
body, under his arms. This was attached to a stout rope.
‘Homer fed his brother on this trip, and then succeeded in
placing the harness upon him. Then Burdon and the others
pulled on the rope, and felt the body give several inches, but
this distance was only gained by the stretching of the body;
and the unfortunate man’s anguish was so great and his
screams so heartrending that his brother called a halt and
would not allow the scheme to be tried further

Even if they had succeeded in dragging Collins from his
trap by this method, there was only a very remote chance that
they could have brought him to the surface. Burdon afterward
said that the chances were a. thousand to one against success;
for, as he said, unless Collin ’s foot had slipped out so easily
and with so little damage to it that he would have retained con-
sciusness, they would never have gotten him out alive. In
other words, it seemed to be pretty well the consensus of opin—
ion that even if the man were loosened, unless he had then
been able to move and help to get himself out, he would" have
been killed by being dragged through the narrow, tortuous
chamber, around curves, up steep inclines, over jagged stones,

There is not space here for a detailed account of all the
parties and individuals who crawled into the passage. Men from
all walks of life lay together in the mud. One college
president, Charles E. Whittle, of Bowling Green, Kentucky,
worked in the tunnel for hours; 'and on the same day, others
were there wlho could not write their names. On many of
these trips the party did not consist alone of two or three men
who are mentioned as having fed Collins or as having attempt-
ed to put into practice some plan of rescue, but contained also
sometimes as many as \a dozen others, who lay in single file be-
hind the leaders. They constituted a line of communication
withl the outside, relaying messages and articles ill and out of
flhe tunnel.

Then, early Wednesday morning, misfortune in a new form
overtook the rescue workers. A portion of the passage fell in,
‘bloekading, it so that it was impossible to reach the en-

 

   

16

tombed man. This slide was within ten or lifteen feet of the
body. Various attempts were made to remove the obstruction,
and several parties entered the cave, lay in the form of a chain,
and passed out stones and earth.

011 “'ednesday afternoon Dr. \V.D. Funkhouser, of Lex—
ongton, Kentucky, and Mr. M. E. S. Posey, executive secretary
of the State Highway (,‘ommission, arrived, at the request of
Governor Fields. Dr. Funkhouser is head of the department
of zoology at the University of Kentucky. His research work
in forms of subterranean life had given him an unusual famil—
iarity with caverns. He began and maintained a very accur-
ate and helpful record of the parties and individuals who
entered the hole, of their purposes in so doing, and of the
work reported as actually done in each instance.

lt is felt that especial mention is due the Kentucky Rock
Asphalt Company for the services which it rendered. It furn-
ished thousands of dollars worth of machinery and equip-
ment, and many expert workmen. From this organization also
came Mr. H. T. Carmichael, its production manager, who later
supervised the sinking of the shaft at Sand Cave. Mr. Car—
mitcliael arrived a little after noon on Tuesday, February 3.

During the whole of \Vednesday, although frantic efforts
were made, pratically nothing was accomplished. Party after
party went into the tunnel, but none of them was able to pene-
trate the cave-in, which grew worse as the (lay wore on. The
party which discovered fihe blockade reported that they could
get to Within ten feet of the imprisoned man; but parties
which went in later in the day emerged with the report that
they were unable to get within twenty feet of him.

A little before midnigih of the same day, a party of prac—
tical miners from Muhlenburg County, Kentucky, arrived at
Sand Cavc.' They were headed by Mr. D. E. Bennett, of
Drakesboro, Kentucky. These men had had years of experi-
ence in general coal mine work, and, in. addition, were spec—
ialists in the timberng and safeguarding of mines. They
Were picked men, and several of them had served for years as
rescue experts in case of mine disasters.

The party included one man, Roy Hyde, a, timberman and
mine rescue worker of long experience, who was also an 01’-
dained Christian'minister. He was small in stature, but eon—
scientious and fearless, and he very evidently had the com-
plete confidence of all the members of his party. He was sel-
ected by the other Muhlenburg County men to. go into the-unnel
and make a preliminary report. Hyde entered the hole, guided

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
    
     

 17

by Lt. Ben L. \Vells, of Bowling Green Kentucky, who had

made numerous trips into it' and who was thoroughly familiar

with its condition. ~Some time afterward they emerged, and

Hyde stated that he and his men could timber the tunnel up '
to the point of ‘the cave-in, but that he could not report then .
as to the feasibiliy of going hrough he blockade until he had
made the‘ passage safe up to that point.

This plan was then adopted. All the workers present at'
the mouth of the cave were set to cutting timbers in accord—
anee with the specifications laid down by the miners, and the
work of timbering was begun.

The odds against the workers hadbeen increasing day by
day. Up until Tuesday night the newspaper stories had all
been to the effect that the removal of the body might take
place at any time; but with the blockading of the tunnel that
idea was necessarily modified.

At about midnight, \Vednesday Governor Fields called
Brigadier General Henry H. Denhardt at his home in Bowling
Green, Kentucky, and asked him to proceed to Sand Cave and
take charge of the work of rescuing Floyd Collins. General
Denhardt commands the 75th Infantry Brigade of the National
Guard, and is also Lieutenant Governor of tlhe State of Ken—
tuuoky. Governor Fields advised him to take as many officers
and men as he thought necessary, but General Denhardt stated
that there were already enough there on, duty. He summoned
Major \Villiam H. Cherry and Captain Alex M. Chaney, both
of Bowling Green and both members of his staff, and they
immediately proceeded to Sand Cave, arriving a little after two
o’clock Thursday morning.

Some time 'after their arrival, Hyde and his party came
out of the lhole and reported what was called by them a “mud
squeeze,” and that here they were compelled to stop. They
stated that the ground was of such a nature, and so soft and
lunstable, that timbering was impossible; and, further, that
as miners,they were unwilling to work in ground that they
could not make reasonably safe behind them, or to permit
anyone else to do so.

This appeared to be the end of all hope, so far as getting
Collins out through the original tmmel was concerned. In the
light of later events, it now appears that there was never any
real chance of recovering the body in this manner, although it
was only natural that the efforts of the rescuerers had been
directed along this line theretofore.

 

  

18

General Denhardt immediately called together the men
who had been exercising some degree of leadership and Who
were more familiar with conditions than others, and they, with
Hyde, talked the matter over. Very little time was consumed
in flhis conference, and it resulted in Hyde being sent, at the
request of General Denhardt, into the tunnel to make an accur—
ate final report as to the possibility or impossibility of continu-
ing the attempt to penetrate through it to Collins. ’

Hyde is a preacher. He is a. fearless little man; but he
is an expert on conditions underground, and he knew better
than any of those about him how hazardous the undertaking
was. Before he entered on this final inspection, he asked that
he be allowed a few moments of preparation. He walked into
a mearby tent, got down upon his knees, and offered up a
prayer that he might be permitted to return from his “perilous
journey. Then, at a few moments after 5 o’clock Thursday
morning, he entered the mouth of the tunnel for the last time.

After some time he came out, pale but cool, and stated
that there had actually been a fresh slip since the last trip ‘he
had made, and that conditions were so far worse than before
that any further