Evening star., 1939-11-16
D. {. Group Explores
Cave Believed Rival
OF Mammoth
SpeIeoIoeists Descend
Into l80-Foot Abyss to
Study Huge Cavern

Into l80-Foot Abyss to
Study Huge Cavern
Continued From Page A-e0
direction Of D. X. Harman, techni-
clan of nearby Secena Caverns,
which has been lighted and de-
veloped into a tourist attraction.
Mr.. Harman was one of the three
men previously inside Hellhole. One
Of his companions fell 40 feet when
something went wrong with the
winch, paying out only a rope. He
was hurt pretty badly but they got
him out and the doctors patched
him up.
The winch was over a small hole,
which commanded a direct descent.
But to either side are huge openings,
assures in the rocks which allow
an excellent view of the great hole.
1t was bright, crisp day and at
times the light slanted into the He'll
hole in such way that the brown
ish bottom, 1877 feet below, could
be seen clearly.
Vanishes Into Hole.
From the boulders of dry water
course, which in wet seasons forms a
small Niagara as 1t empties into the
Hellhole, some of us crouched at the
edge Of the abyss and watched the
first man lowered through the small
hole in the middle. Again it was
Mr.. Bloch, who is a public rela-
tions man for the United States
Public Health Service when he's not
trying the patience of Providence
He vanished into the hole, then re-
appeared as the steel cable lowered
him past the jagged walls. We could
watch him as the winch unwound
him slowly into the depth. Then he
passed the last jutting series of
small ledges and disappeared. We
could see only the cable.
Then thin voice hoated UP: I'm
on the bottom"
-Four other members of the club
followed Mr.. Bloch-William Hort
man, Mr. Stephenson, Jimmy La
velle and Jack Schultz. A. Nc
Donald, native of the section, also
went down.
The gigantic proportions of the
Hellhole were not revealed to them
until they descended some distance.
Then the hidden panorama, lighted
by the great fissures above, spread
out-a breath-taking pageant.
Rools 30 Feet High.
The bottom, they found, actually
was on a mound of rocks 80 feet
high, though they could easily
scamper down to the dirt-at least
they said it was easy. This made
the ground level more than 200 feet
below the openings The telephone
line was lowered, and the five men
began exploring.
Mr.. Stephenson and Mr.. Bloch
had one extremely close call. They
were hiking along foot-wide shelves.
The sheer wall was on one side and
from the other dropped pits around
80 feet deep. Mr. Bloch reached a
point where his shelf gave out. He
couldn't turn around. He could
move neither forward nor backward.
He shouted that he was stuck. The
others turned their big light on him
ana phoned for more rope. The
rope was lowered on the winch and
thrown to him, and he gradually
edged his way back. His guardian
angel stayed awake on this trip.
Stephenson Almost Falls.
Mr.. Stephenson had an even worse
experience. When he tried to help
his fellow explorer, he got caught
in a blind alley and lost his balance.
He swayed toward a pit. 1t began
to look as if the society would have
to choose new president. But Mr.
Stephenson managed to hurl him.
self backwards. He fell into
slight declivity against the wall. His
carbide lamp went out, and his COM
rades thought he was gone, but he
showed up whole, though somewhat
| shaken.
Mr.. Stephenson measured the
dimensions of the main chamber.
They were 307 by 156 feet-more
than an acre. The ceiling he esti-
mated at 200 feet.
Two passages led away from this
colossal cavern, each 80 feet wide
and from Is to 40 feet high. The
eastern passage ran into another
enormous room 100 by go, with
ceiling Of 100 to 125 feet. This room
opened into a round well an esti-
mated 200 feet high, with sides
smooth, straight and quite damp.
Continuing in this direction, the
explorers reached the end of the
spacious passage, at a point SGT feet
from the bottom of the Hellhole.
There the corridor narrowed to
small, high passage which they
could not reach without additional
equipment. 1t seemed to continue
Indefinitely, however.
Trace Waterfalls Course.
In another direction they could
trace the course of the waterfall.
There were graduated drops-6 to
7 feet, 10 to Is feet. Driftwood had
been carried into the Hellhole by
spring torrents.
They found along one of the walls
a "porthole" through which they
could see a pit that dropped so
feet or more.
There was no telling where this
hole led or where the other vanish
ing passage went. 1t probably would
take weeks to find out, if all the
collateral windings could be fol-
lowed-a highly doubtful possibility.
1t was late, long past dark, and
the explorers must begin the 200
mile drive back to Washington. It
was after 8 o'clock before the last