Mammoth Cave is the largest cave in the world. It originally belonged to many farmers, before being eventually bought by the government; it is now a national park. It was one of the first national parks in the US. The cave has over 400 explored miles, but it is unknown how large it actually is. Because of its unique nature, it has some wildlife found few, if any, other places. If you're in the cave when an earthquake happens, you're actually completely safe- it's too far underground for anything to happen. If you're going to the cave, I suggest two things- wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet, and bring a jacket. The cave is cold and water drips in many places. I loved Mammoth Cave- there was so much to learn and the environment was just very different from anything most people experience on a daily basis. And if you're claustrophobic, that's not a very big problem in the cave- for the most part, it is a reasonably big and open space. There were many young children and children in general on the guided tour that I went on, and none of them had a problem, either.
I'll be talking about one piece of Mammoth Cave history in this post. Like I mentioned earlier, Mammoth Cave used to belong to many farmers; the cave and many times an entrance or two was under their land, so they owned it.
Sand Cave and Crystal Cave were two entrances to Mammoth Cave. Crystal Cave had been found and opened by Floyd Collins, but it quickly dwindled to where it made little profit. He wanted more profit, so he decided to explore Sand Cave, which was his neighbor's. Their deal was to split the profit if anything came out of the exploration, if they could turn it into a profit at all. Floyd started exploring. In many places it was very difficult to get through; he would have to inch along, barely moving. He kept on going for a while, at least until his lamp began to flicker. Floyd knew it was incredibly stupid to be in a cave without a light, so he headed back. At one point, he was inching along and his foot hit a 27 pound rock. The rock fell, trapping his ankle. He couldn't move; he had rock close in on all sides. Floyd was effectively trapped.
For the next 17 days, rescuers tried to get him out. The whole country was buzzing about Floyd Collins. Many people were traveling to the area with all of the caves, appropriately called "Cave City." Military troops were called in to keep order because things got so out of hand.
One man, a reporter, managed to get into Sand Cave. He was a small fellow, so it wasn't as difficult. He got an interview with Floyd Collins that won him a Pulitzer Prize. Try as they might, though, and even with 17 days, rescuers couldn't remove Floyd. After 18 days, he was pronounced dead of exposure. The cave was sealed, and Floyd's body couldn't be moved for many months, until they were finally able to get him out for a proper burial.
There's a moral of this story, for any traveler- don't do stupid things. And as a general rule of thumb, don't go exploring caves when you're just a random citizen. Leave that to someone who actually knows how to do it to where they won't end up severely injured or dying.
N/A "I'm Trapped, and Trapped For Life!" National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 03 Sept.
2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
N.d. Photograph. Redefining The Face Of Beauty. Oct. 2012. Web. Sept. 18.
