There are serious scientists locking up in caves for months, and have been doing it for decades for a good reason, in addition to the adventure it supposes. His expeditions have served, for example, to study how the biological clock of the human being adapts when he does not have the reference of the day and night. And among the men who have entered in caves and caverns, few, or surely none, such as the story of Floyd Collins.
The tragic odyssey. On January 30, 1925, Floyd Collins, then considered as the “largest Cuevas explorer in history”, undertook its last expedition in Sand Cave, a cave that hoped to exploit and turn into a tourist attraction.
As? At that time we were in the era of the so -called Cave Warswhere Cuevas owners competed for attracting visitors, a moment in history that motivated Collins to find a strategic entry that would allow him to benefit from the growing tourism in the Mammoth Cave region.
The problem. Historians agree that his ambition led him to get caught when a 12 -kilogram rock fell on his ankle, immobilizing him in a narrow underground passage. What was going to happen later made its history, although tragic, fueled interest in the area and contribute indirectly to the creation of the monumental Mammoth Cave National Park, which was authorized in 1926 and established in 1941.
Along the way, the incident became one of the largest media events of the time.
Mammoth Cave map
Save Collins. When their neighbors noticed their absence, a rescue effort was organized in which explorers, geologists and local curious. As the New York Times explained in an article of the time, a 17 -year -old, Jewell Estes, was the first to communicate with Collins, although the cave conditions prevented him from reaching him.
As the days passed, the explorer’s situation deteriorated and, for February 3, the story reached the national media. Coverage became a massive phenomenon, with thousands of people gathering in the place trying to know firsthand the situation of the legendary explorer. The massification of people that the National Guard had to appear, who deployed to control the crowd while the Red Cross installed camps (in fact, attended more cases of alcohol poisoning than real emergencies).
Rumorology And then the scene became recognizable, a scenario that is not very far from many others that we live today. Rumors began to emerge, and then lies. Some newspapers suggested that everything was a hoax, while others began to theorize about possible murder. And meanwhile media noise, false news and conspiracy theories, the excavation of a 17 -meter vertical well advanced slowly, too much.
Unfortunately, and despite the intense drilling effort, by when rescuers finally managed to reach the figure of Collins on February 16, the explorer had already died. Worse, the autopsy reflected that he had died just 24 hours before due to exposure, exhaustion and starvation.
Legacy and notice to explorers. Before the tragedy, the idea of converting Mammoth cave into a national park had already been discussed, but without concrete advances. However, Collins’ fame put the region again in the focus of attention, facilitating its inclusion in the list of possible national parks. Although Sand Cave is not directly part of the Mammoth Cave system, its history accelerated the recognition of the area and its subsequent designation as a park in 1941.
Today, Mammoth Cave National Park is the longest cave system in the world, with more than 686 kilometers of explored tickets, one that attracts thousands of visitors every year. Not just that. The history of Collins remains a reminder of the dangers of underground exploration and the human spirit that challenges the limits, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Meanwhile, the park keeps its memory alive through routes and commemorative events, ensuring that its history does not fall into oblivion. As the enclave guides, “Collins helped create this park, and the park keeps its history alive.”
Images | Daniel Schwen
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