The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-04-14
WESTON [ Tex J News.

From the Galveston (leN } News
Palestine, Texas, March 29.-lhe bat caves
OF Texas have been known to bear hunters
and turkey hunters and other adventurous
persons long time. They are numerous IN
The. mountainous or Semi-mOunta!nOuS regions
of the limestone districts. dare say II any
one should turn out to hunt them they would
be found by hundreds. Wherever you tind
considerable cave, with an opening, there you
will be quite sure to find bats by the million.
| never saw either of the caves mentioned IN
the article, but have seen several. Inc only
one ever ventured to explore was either in
Medina County or Bandera. They are not
very comfortable places to go into, as one IS
continually haunted by the fear OF rattIeSnakeS'
shc-bears with cubs and the danger OF ialhng
into unkn WIN abysses. Besides the great nor
DIES of bats flirting around your hight, hi,'lng
you in the face, and be coming entanSled IN
your hair is an uncomfortable feature, produce
ing sort of ''creeping' feeling IN fellow.
Then there is the ever present danger OF your
light becoming eXtingniShed, leaving you IN
darkness blacker than pitch, from which you
might never emerge. However ardent eX-
plorer he may be who ventures into one OF
these things. and however Interested with what
he sees, he is continually wishing that ne were
well out of it, They are regular witch h'leS.
If there be witches in the world, there yon
will find them. should think | explored
that one in Bander or Medina several hun"
dred yards, as Judged, until came to line
creek rushing and roaring throught II. Beyond
the creek could see another opening, lead
ing no doubt to still deeper and darker
DEPTHS but had got enough Of it, and reius-
ed to ventue further. In this one encounter
ed the bat guano Immediately on entering,
and it continued great distance. could not
Judge how thick the deposit was, but ii was
certainly many feet. There could not have
been less than several thousand tons Of it, and
it was accommodating with great rapidity.
should not be surprised now to learn that the
cave has been SO completely filled up by the
deposits that the bats can no longer 60 INTO 1t.
One can scarcely conceive OF the great multi
tude Of bats there are IN this world until ne
has gone into one Of these bat caves they
not only cover the walls and roofs completely,
S veral tiers deep apparently, but they actually
hang from the root IN enormous punches. 1t
is wonderfully 81. hit 10 behold. When you
stir up one of these great pendent lunches OF
bats, there is squcaking and iiutterIng, to
be sure. The substance cast down by these
bats is exceedingly rich in nitrate OF potash.
For the manufacture of that salt no other sub
raw any quantity oft in the Bandera or Me-
dina Cave, which, by some natural chemical
process, has been converted where it lay into
pnre saitpeter, apparently: ltwoud undo9bt-
edly make very strong fertil 1er, besides fur
nishing gun powder, etc, but whether the raw
stuff is worth 500 a ton or not, cannot say.
Ifit is worth anything like that figure, | should
say Texas bat cave i, better than gold
mine, on the whole ii looks like new indus
try was about to be added to us in
Texas namely, that of bat ranching.
The bat-ranch man would be at no expense
for feeding or herding his cattle. He would
he at no expense whatever, except for gather
ing his guano and shipping it to market. lie
should gather his gu,no only in the night,
when his cattle away feeding.
Thoud he disturb them too often in the day
time they might shift their quarters, thus cut
ting off his daily supply of guano.