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Chris Bennett Travel/History Floyd Collins Research Adair County's History Investigative Team: The Intrepid Trio + One?: Chris Bennett, Mark Hale, and Professor A.W. Reed and well known party who remains unnamed, visited the site of the Floyd Collins tragedy. The following contains their own story and their findings. Click on headline for full story plus photo(s), By Chris Bennett September 3, 2011. Sand Cave, Mammoth Cave National park, Kentucky. Although the sign said "Do not touch!" local anarchist and sometimes Columbia Magazine commentator Mark Hale did the unthinkable. Encouraged by the photographer (fellow antagonist, anarchist and pretend historian Chris Bennett) Mr. Hale did in-fact try to enter Sand Cave. It is clear to the author, this duo has an outright disrespect for written government rules. Sand Cave is the site of the "Floyd Collins tragedy of 1925." Looking on the violation with discourse, "caveologist" Professor A. W. Reed, condemned the violation, but did not stop it. Wishing to remain unnamed, the premiere Floyd Collins Historian of Adair County was also present, he wanted to go into Sand Cave also. I had just read the book Trapped!: The story of Floyd Collins on Professor Reed's recommendation, so we thought we would seek out the historical sites of the 1925 happenstance. William Floyd Collins (July 20, 1887 - c. February 13, 1925) Held the nation's attention for more than two weeks, when he became "trapped" in Sand Cave. Floyd was a celebrated local cave explorer in central Kentucky, and his legacy lives on to this day. He explored the caverns around Mammoth Cave, and discovered Crystal Cave on his family farm in 1917. Floyd was attempting to find a new cave, on the road just before Mammoth cave, that could be developed into a commercial tourist attraction. While crawling in this unexplored cave, Collins became trapped in a narrow passage 55 feet below the surface entrance. Reports about efforts to save Collins became a nationwide media frenzy. A young aviator, Charles Lindbergh would fly photos from Sand Cave to Chicago and New York, he landed in a field near Sand Cave. A 21 year old news reporter from the Courier Journal named "Skeets" Miller crawled into the cave and interviewed Collins. He also tried to dig Collins out, and also fed him food and water, along with the other rescue workers. (Miller would win the Pulitzer Prize for his interview with Collins) Six days after Collins became trapped, a cave in closed the entrance passageway to everything except voice contact. Rescuers miners were brought in to try and dig a new shaft to get Collins out, and they reached him about 17 days after Collins had become trapped, but Collins was already dead. Doctors conjectured that Collins had died of exposure, thirst, and starvation after about fourteen days underground. A full three days before the rescue shaft reached his position. Collins's body was recovered two months later, and buried on a hill above the entrance of his family's Crystal cave, now the story gets weird! Lee Collins, Floyd's father sold the family farm a couple of years later. He gave the new owner the ok to dig up Floyd's body and display it in a class topped coffin in Crystal Cave. Floyd's brothers went to court over it, but lost. So Floyd's body was displayed as a Tourist attraction for the next several years. One night three guys broke in and stole Floyd's body, but it was found and put back into the cave. 50 years later we find out that the stealing of Floyd's body was a publicity stunt by the owner, but it wasn't known for sure until some one came forth and told the truth in the late 1980s. Floyd's casket was displayed in Crystal cave from 1927 until 1961 when the National Parks service bought Crystal Cave and closed it to the public. If you paid for the cave tour it would get you a look at the casket, then you would have to pay the tour guide a tip to see Floyd through the glass. This did end when the Federal government bought Crystal Cave. Finally after years of protest by Floyd's remaining family his body was removed and buried in a cemetery near Crystal Cave in 1989. Collins is sometimes referred to as "The Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known", and this epitaph is inscribed on his tombstone. Crystal Cave is still closed to the public, but is now considered part of the Flint Ridge Cave System of the Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave has been used extensively as a research cave. You can still see Floyd Collins artifacts in Crystal Cave. Only very lucky people are allowed in Crystal Cave now, but I am sworn to secrecy on the subject. Hopefully someday I can tell the "rest of the story." -CHRIS BENNETT This story was posted on 2011-09-25 06:52:16
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