New Britain herald., 1925-02-17
COLLINS GAVE HIS LIFE FOR A GOOD CAUSE

FOR A GOOD CAUSE
 The finding of the body of Floyd Collins, Kentucky cave explorer, where he was trapped by a fall of rocks as he was crawling out of the passage leading from his most re- cent discovery, was the climax to a tragedy that agitated the country for weeks.
 It Is natural for hope to spring eternal even in the face of tremend- ous odds, so that faith was general until the last that the unfortunate man would be found alive. Yet such a result was nearly too much to ex- pect. The cold light of reason, based upon the memorable circum- stances, defied the beacon lights of optimistic expectation; and when the rescuers, after enormous effort had ground way through the rock that encircled the Kentuckian's tomb, reaching the spot of tragedy, 1t was but to confirm the suspicious of most observers that the spark of life could not be maintained under such conditions for so long a time.
 Death did not probably come quickly to the trapped man. All ac- counts agree that he was man of vitality and strength; had he been uninjured he might have lived to await his rescuers But with leg trapped, his body held rigid in one position. and the agonies of physical pain-these formed too much of a handicap in the struggle for life in natures dungeon.
 The spectacular effort to locate Collins naturally elicited the interest of the entire nation. The tragedy was of such an outstanding charac- ter that the sympathy of people was quickly arrested. A natural trust in the beneficence of fate prompted the attenuated assurance that he would be found alive and nursed back to health and vigor, happy ending" that would have radiated satisfac- ton throughout the country; but it was not thus to be.
 AS an inveterate explorer of caves, Floyd Collins probably frequently paused to consider the possibility that he might some day come to his death in following the torturous sub terranean passages. It is said of him that last year he explored 30 miles of caverns in Crystal cave. If the thought of perishing underground ever came to him he continued to take his chances with fate. He probably knew that every time he went into the recesses of previously unexplored passages he took his life into his hands. But the possibilities and the probabilities did not deter him; he had the instinct of the true explorer who is willing to face death if the chances for permanent achievement are equal. When he was fslled and waited two days be- fore he was located; when he could not be moved from his perilous posi- sion, and when the hand of towering doom cut off his rescuers from the living tomb-at such a time his mind probably reverted back to those earlier feeting misgivings of his ul- tinate end. Yet, having defied death fnnumerable times, when the great showdown came he wanted to live, implored his rescuers to hurry, and prayed to the Almighty for strength to survive.
 Collins ideal of life was to reach down and lay bare the grandiose beauties of nature in the wonderful system of caves in the vicinity of his birthplace. Exploring a cave does not look as spectacular as a trip up some hitherto unexplored river, or into the jungles, or a dash into the Arctic. But it comes under the category of hazardous explora' ton nevertheless. Scores of friends told Collins that after crawling through long passages the possibili' ty of a failing boulder cutting him off from egress might lead to a hor- rfble death: but he permitted nc dangers to frustrate his efforts He explored more caverns than any living man, and the probabilities are m man now living will follow 1T his footsteps in many of those h' penetrated.
 Collins paid the penalty of being an intrepid explorer, nh9 many an