COLOSSAL CAVE

Colossal Cave is guarded by a bristling cactus army in the Rincons.

Custodian can relate interesting tales of long ago when badmen used the cave as a safe hideout. Half way up the side of one of the Rocky Mountains in the Rincon Range, is one of the natural wonders of the United States, Colossal Cave. Colossal Cave, the only known dry cave in the world, is situated appropriately in the Arizona desert, 27 miles from Tucson Guarded on every side by a bristling cactus army, led by the sentinel saguaro, the Cave holds in its inky caverns the story of the world before Time began.

Tens of thousands of years ago, a raging river cut its way through the heart of the mountain, forming the grottoes and passageways. As the river settled, water seeped through from the top of the mountains and formed twisted columns in limestone, drop by drop. It made great unfinished pillars called stalagmites and long, hanging icicles called stalactites. Only 39 miles of this wonderland have been explored. The entrance and exit of the long dead river are unknown. Unknown, too, is the source of the cool fresh air that continually circulates through the Cave. In 1934, the CCC built a mile of stone walks and stairs through

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY LANDWEHR and LANDWEHR

the twisting caverns, erected guard rails and installed electric lights. The lighting is dim enough to enhance the beauty and weird atmosphere of the Cave, yet bright enough to prevent stumbling. During the one hour trip through the mountain's heart, where the temperature is a constant 72 degrees, the guides point out the sculptures of nature. The Kingdom of the Elves, the Devil's Profile, the Praying Nuns, the Frozen Waterfall are only a few of the many formations. The guide shows you the soot covered rocks near the entrance of the Cave, and tells how they were blackened by the long cold fires of an untraced Indian tribe who lived in the Cave centuries before the discovery of America. The guide points out to you the place where empty money bags were found in 1922 when the first exploration of the Cave was made. He recounts the story of how their presence led to the discovery of the Cave. In 1884 when the West was still Wild, a train was robbed of 62,000 dollars in gold pieces. A posse tracked the bandits to their hide-out, a hole in the mountain, now called Colossal Cave. The posse tried to starve them out, but the bandits escaped by an exit unknown until 1922. Pursued again, three of the band were killed in a thrilling gun battle, the fourth was caught and sentenced to a long prison term. Only the empty gold bags were found, and it is believed that the convicted thief returned when he served his sentence.

The Cave holds his secret. So it was that bad men unintentionally discovered the Cave for the modern white man. The blackness of the Cave is complete. So dark are the subterranean hollows that cats, creatures of darkness, are unable to see. With the exception of a few bats who spend the day in the Cave clinging to the high ledges, nothing lives there. Occasionally you may see a bat flitting past, adding an authentic touch of eeriness to the weird scenes your imagination conjures in viewing the unmatch-able work of water and time.

A subterranean river thousands of years ago carved Colossal Cave in the interior of the mountain. Cave formations are unusually interesting. Once owned by Mr. Frank Schmidt, who saved it from destruction by vandals in 1918, Colossal Cave is now a park operated by Pima County. A product of time unreckoned by human minds, Colossal Cave is mysterious and beautiful, awesome and wonderful, truly colossal.An afternoon at the cave offers a most enjoyable outing.

Only 39 miles of Colossal Cave have yet been explored and no one knows what further explorations will reveal. Cave is now "dry" cave.