New Britain herald., 1925-02-17


 jury also should see him, These men should decide whether 1t would be advisable to make further effort to recover the body"
 Tunnel Dangerous
 Albert Marshall. Danville, Ky, who with Ed Brcnner Of Cincinnati, was the first to reach Collins Monday afternoon, described the natural cave tunnel as absolutely dangerous, Marshall and Brenner. who placed all of the timbering in the rescue shaft and lateral tunnel, had re- peatedly gone into perilous places 
 Tt is A risk of life to venture into the cave from the lateral tunnel to Collins" said Marshall. Loose rocks in the roof threaten to fall at any moment and will do so If dis turbed."
 A skyight framework had been put into the hole where the workers yesterday afternoon broke through the cavern roof twelve feet away from the bottom of the 55-foot shaft.
 Sent in to Identify
 Magistrate Clay Turner sent in four men to Collins at 9:l5 this morning to establish the identity of the cave victim. They were John Gerald, Ish Lancaster, Wallace Page and Norman Parker, all acquaint- ances of Collins.
 Enter One At n Time
 The men went into the hole one at a time. Magistrate Turner ex- plained that he acted on the instruc- tions of J. Lewis Williams of Glas- gow commonwealth attorney Of the district. The purpose was to es- tablish the corpus deliciti, Magis- trate Turner said, so that In the event that 1t would be found i'm possible to remove the body, that the Identification could be estab- lished.
 The men were also to testify be- fore the coroner's jury at the in quest into Collins death and before the Barren county grand jury should the inquisitorial body see fit to probe into the circumstances of Collins death and the rescue efforts when 1t convenes March 2.
 It was announc I hy Magistrate Turner that County Attorney Paul Greer and Commonwealth's Attorney Williams would visit the scene to- day, and that coroner's inquest would be inaugurated, the jury to be made up of residents of Barren county.
 Objects to Dynamiting
 Ben Doyle, owner of the farm, six miles from Cave City, on which the entrance to sand cave is located, to- day objected to the proposed plan to dynamite the cavern after the body of Floyd Collins Is recovered.
 Carmichael had advised dynamit- ing the hole to avert a similar tragedy. He contended that the place was so dangerous that 1t should be destroyed to prevent other from suffering a simi- lar fate of death through exhaus- tion, starvation and thirst after being caught underground.
 Doyle, who said he had received several good offers for sand cave, objected to the .dynamiting plan. He said that If the officials were going to do anything they should put the dirt back into the hole.
 The Collins shaft and lateral tun- mel were dug by volunteer workers who are anxious to return to their homes as soon as Collins body has been brought to the surface or ef- forts to recover the body are aban- doned, and he Is buried there. There is little likelihood of the shaft and tunnel being filled up. It would take weeks of labor to do 1t.
 Time of Death Indefinite
 Dr. Hazlett, Chicago, asserted that how long Collins had been dead may never be determined exactly
 The physician said that 1t was i'm possible to determine from examina- tion of the head alone how long Col lins had been dead. Even should the body be brought to the surface and an examination made, the cal culations might be two or three days off, Dr. Hazlett said.
 The only mention of the time that Collins had been dead was the state- ment of physicians Monday after noon that death had occurred more than 24 hours before the victim was reached. This estimate was fxed from the answers of Ed Brenner to questions made by doctors.
 First steps toward dismantling the sand cave rescue camp were taken at noon. Half of the canopy which had been stretched over the shaft and cave entrance to protect workers was removed. A specially construct ed cradle in which Collins was to have been brought to the surface was discarded.
 Tools which had been used about the mouth of the shaft were dumped in wheelbarrows and carted away tc a designated spot. The wheelbar, rows themselves were left behind the pile of tools.
 Thanks Rescue Chief
 Lee Collins, aged father of Floyd Collins, tearfully thanked H. T. Car michael, who was in charge of the rescue shaft work which reached the body of the trapped cave explorer.
 "Mr. Carmichael. l want to ge' your picture sure" said the aged man, "and keep it with me always May the good Lord bless you and your brave men"
 "Mr. Collins" Carmichael replied "T tell you that without God AL mighty's assistance. we couldn't have done it He has permitted us tc pass some places here which without his aid were impossible. If your