2003 NSS
Convention
Porterville, California August 4-8, 2003
Spelean
History
Session Abstracts
70 Years Under the Earth
William
R. Halliday
National Speleological Society
Seventy
years ago this month, my father led me down a pole ladder into Devil's
Kitchen, a spacious travertine cave in Yellowstone National
Park. At that time it was a popular tourist
attraction. Half a lifetime later, I found readily
recognizable 19th Century stereo views of this cave including two by
Jay Haynes, celebrated photographer of the park. Originally
called "The Mammoth Cave of Wyoming", this cave long has been closed
administratively because of supposedly lethal levels of carbon
dioxide. Also closed without adequate study is nearby
McCartney's Cave which may be even larger. With new knowledge
of safe exploration techniques in warm, hypercarbic caves and a need
for fuller understanding of the depositional speleogenesis of various
types of travertine caves, these and other travertine caves of
Yellowstone National Park should be reopened to appropriate scientific
study.
Charles Darwin's Interest In Caves
Frederick
Grady
Department of Paleobiology, MRC 121 NHB
Smithsonian
Institution
Washington, DC 20560
The
well know naturalist Charles Darwin noted only a few small sea caves in
South America during his nearly five year trip around the world in the
early l830's. His correspondence and published writings
indicate a knowledge of and interest in various aspects of
speleology. Prior to publication of The Origin of Species,
Darwin requested information about cave adapted species and in The
Origin of Species, he devoted two pages to this subject. He was also
interested in paleontological and archeological cave sites as evidenced
by correspondence and publications. Unfortunately poor health
prevented possible field work in caves by Darwin after his return from
his voyage.
The Romantic and the Caves: John
Muir and the Underground Environment
Joseph
C. Douglas
Department of History
Volunteer State
Community College
Gallatin, TN 37066-3188
joe.douglas@volstate.edu
Although not the primary focus of his interests, John Muir was aware
that caves were an integral part of the natural and human landscape in
many regions. From his first ventures into Kentucky caves in 1867, in
his visits to major California caves in 1869 and 1876, to his 1904 tour
of the Jenolan Caves in Australia, he was fascinated by the underground
environment and its features. He was well aware of the variety of cave
types, as he noted limestone caves, lava tubes and trenches, potholes
or pits, and ice caves at the bases of glaciers. He was also a careful
observer of how cultures and people utilized caves; as living shelters,
and hiding places, for American Indians, as social and commercial
spaces, and as places of wonder and beauty, for Euro-Americans. Muir’s
own attitude towards caves mirrored his larger attitudes towards
nature. In contrast to the growing utilitarian conception of nature as
usable resources in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Muir was
essentially a romantic who sought beauty, self-discovery, and the
presence of God in caves. Implicit in his view of caves was the idea
that they were important spaces to be conserved, much like the big
trees and high mountains he so valued.