1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Dude, doo doo doo. I just told Josh's trumpet bit 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 1: announced that we are continuing our twenty twenty three tour 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: this spring by going to DC, the Boston area and Toronto, 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: Canada yep, in that same order, May fourth, fifth, and sixth, 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: and you can get tickets at Link Tree Slash sy 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: sk Live for all three shows. We'll see you guys soon. 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, 8 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh and there's Chuck 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: and Jerry's here too, and that makes this Stuff you 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: should Know part of our continuing sad Kentucky tragic history 11 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: era that we seem to be in right now. Are 12 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: we going to point out where this is fifteen times? No, 13 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: this is this is in the Kentucky that you'd expect 14 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: it to be in. Okay, we had some funny Instagram 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: comments on that. I know what you're talking about about. 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: Half the people when the supper club fire thing went 17 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: to Instagram said where was this again? Jodsh No, I know, 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: I'm just kidding. Okay, I'm just kidding. I'm aware of 19 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: what goes on on Instagram. Who knows, I don't know 20 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: you're one of those lurkers. Yeah, totally, I totally am 21 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: so m speaking of lurking, Chuck Es, if you go 22 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: to Barron County, Kentucky, okay, one of the things that 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: you might do is a pastime is lurk in a cave. Hey, 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: look at that transition. It was okay. But the reason 25 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: why you might do that is because Barron County and 26 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: neighboring I think Edmonton or Edmondson County our home to 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: the largest cave system in the world, Mammoth Caves. Yeah, 28 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: we talked about Mammoth and I guess it had to 29 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: be our caving episode. Certainly, there's no way you can. 30 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: I mean again, it's enormous, Like, as far as we know, 31 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: I think something like four hundred miles have been mapped. Yeah, 32 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: and I was reading we have a lot. We have 33 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: an enslaved man back in the eighteen twenties up to 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: the forties to thank for a lot of that, because 35 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: he was the only one brave enough to crawl over 36 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: the bottomless pit and keep exploring. So that definitely extended it. 37 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: But they think also that there's another six hundred miles. 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: By the way, his name is Stephen Bishop. Sorry I 39 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: meant to say, but they think there's another six hundred 40 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: miles left to be mapped. So that's a giant old 41 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: cave system. Yeah, potentially a thousand miles of gave system stuff. Yes, 42 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: Now I have a desire to go in almost none 43 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: of it. Yeah, I know, you know, but I have 44 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: to say, like Ruby Falls is definitely worth the visit 45 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: for sure. Yeah. I mean my deal is I did 46 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: it once and it was really cool. I would go back, 47 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: but I'm not, you know, dying too. I'm kind of like, 48 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: you know, I know what it's like now, and that's 49 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: all I really wanted to know. Yes, I was looking 50 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: for a new hobby. The thing is, though, is if 51 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: you're into caves caving, even if you're not like a caver, 52 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: but you're, you know, into touring caves, you know that 53 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: you can stand up in and there's walkways in every 54 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: short Mammoth cave is an absolute must. It's just like 55 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: Geological Wonder. After Geological Wonder, it's pretty neat. Yeah, you 56 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: like your caves to have an energy drink fridge at 57 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 1: the bottom of it, that's right, and a moving side one. 58 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: It is a National park now since nineteen I think 59 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: forty one Mammoth is and it was a big like 60 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: and remains a big tourist attraction, but all the way 61 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: dating back to the Civil War, and as a result, 62 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: that whole area became cave central, not just because Mammoth Caves, 63 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: but there's so many other cave systems around there, and 64 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: it became like a legitimate sort of roadside not only stop, 65 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: but destination for people. And the people that you know 66 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: was like, Hey, i'll pay me a dollar or fifty 67 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: cents or whatever and I'll take you down in these caves. 68 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: They started battling each other more and more of these 69 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: locals trying to drum up business for caves they had 70 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: the rights to explore, and that was known as the 71 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: Kentucky Cave Wars. Yes, and it was basically just entrepreneurs 72 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: run amuck in Kentucky. They would burn one another's cars, 73 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: They would put bowlders on the road to keep tourists 74 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: from being able to make it to the other cave locations. 75 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: They would pose as tourists and talk about how terrible 76 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: one cave was. It was free yelped, so that was 77 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: their live, live yelping. And then another thing they would 78 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 1: do is tell the tourists that they were all the 79 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 1: same caves. They were just different entrances. So it's all 80 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,919 Speaker 1: the same. Just come to mind, wow, which is sort 81 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: of true in a way kind of, but I think 82 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: not really. Yeah, I mean that doesn't mean they're all connected, 83 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: but oh they are. Well, what I mean is that 84 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: you can access It's like you can't get there from 85 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: here kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah. And also I think 86 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: each entrance is like, this is for all intents and purposes, 87 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: it is a completely separate cave system. Right, This is 88 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: my whole which I told you that there's something I 89 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: thought you were using hole as an adjective now that 90 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: that was the weirdest thing about when I went caving, 91 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: and I'll just quickly say it again, is that I 92 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: expected some big cartoon like thing that you just walk 93 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: into and start exploring. I did not realize you could 94 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: literally walk by a cave entrance in the woods and 95 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: not notice it because it's a two by two foot 96 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: hole in the ground, and that makes caves exponentially scarier 97 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: more sure, you know. Oh yeah, when I saw that thing, 98 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: I was like, that's where we're going, because that means 99 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: the people coming to help you could walk right past 100 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: it too, and it's just I mean, it's just tampering 101 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: with the pits of Hell. I don't I don't agree 102 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: with that. So our story moves on now to one 103 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: of the great cavers of the region. There were a 104 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: lot of great cavers, but one was a gentleman named 105 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: Floyd Collins, who if you look him up, he looks 106 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: a bit like Crispin Glover and sort of the same 107 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: way that almost all rural white men in Kentucky in 108 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: their early nineteen hundreds look like Crispin Glover. Yeah, he 109 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: just sort of had that generic Kentucky guy look. Well, 110 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: the cut hairdo, the shemp he had definitely helps a 111 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: lot too. So he was born in eighteen eighty seven, 112 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: had a bunch of brothers and sisters from his mom 113 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: and then a previous marriage that his father had lee. Yeah, 114 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: and they were really close to the Mammoth Caves about 115 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: four years old. So from the time he was a 116 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: little kid, like six years old, he was out there 117 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: caving and doing his thing like you would when you're 118 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: six in nineteen o seven or whatever. Yeah, Plus there 119 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:31,599 Speaker 1: was not a lot else to do, Like if you 120 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,239 Speaker 1: were a farmer, you were eking out a really hard 121 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,039 Speaker 1: living in this area. Apparently the soil wasn't very helpful 122 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: because again because astone cave system, right, so it's kind 123 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: of tough to grow things on bare limestone. And so 124 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: what Floyd Collins figured out very quickly is that there 125 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: were a lot of Native American indigenous artifacts, including remains, 126 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: in these caves, and that he could take these things 127 00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: out of the caves and go to the Mammoth Cave Hotel, 128 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: this huge hotel that was built expressly for the tourists, 129 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: and sell them to those tourists. And he was so 130 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: profitable that he dropped out of school at age ten 131 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: to pursue his looting activities full time. Yeah, which, you know, um, 132 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm not going to judge the guy from here in 133 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three for being a ten year old trying 134 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: to make a living. Yeah neither. Yeah. Ye, surprising word, no, 135 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: of course, it's surprised to keep everybody on their toes um. 136 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: So fast forward a bit. It's nineteen seventeen now and 137 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: Floyd Collins is still doing his his caving. He's still 138 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: one of the foremost experts in the region, and he 139 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: found a new system or at least, no one had 140 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: discovered this system as far as he knew, and it 141 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: was really beautiful. It had these almost marble like walls, 142 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: is how Dave Ruce put it. Dave helped us with this, 143 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: and it was just one of the more gorgeous caves 144 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: on the inside, and so he named it the Great 145 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: Crystal Cave and told his he said, hey, we need 146 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: to scrape together what money we have so we can 147 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: lease this land, because this thing is going to be 148 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: our meal tickets. It's prettier than any of the other 149 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: caves around. Yeah. He went in halfers with his dad, 150 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: Lee and another man by the last name of Gerard, 151 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: and they basically developed this Great Crystal Cave, which was 152 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: a wonderful fine. He was incredibly lucky to have come 153 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: upon this cave and be able to get the rights 154 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: to it. There was a huge problem with it though, 155 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 1: it never became really financially successful because it was at 156 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,199 Speaker 1: the other end of the cave system, so by that 157 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: you really had to know that it was there and 158 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: want to go there. If you were just a tourist 159 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: wandering around visiting caves, there was very little chance you're 160 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: going to end up there accidentally. And then what with 161 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: this being the Cave Wars and everybody who was a 162 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: competitor of his, but also we're probably neighbors and second cousins. 163 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: By the way, they were doing everything they could to 164 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: keep those tourists from making their way back to Great 165 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: Crystal Cave. So it's great a cave as it was, 166 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: it just wasn't viable. Yeah, the big city guy came 167 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: in and said, son, you'd never learned the first rule 168 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: of business, location, location, location, And Floyd went, why are 169 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: you saying location three times? Yeah, yeah, it's sad, but true. 170 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: That's a direct quote everybody, it really is. So now 171 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: they're in a situation where Floyd says, all right, that 172 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: this didn't quite work out, But now they're in a 173 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: situation where they're kind of even more desperate than before 174 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: to find some means of revenue. So he set out 175 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: to find another amazing cave and a better location, and 176 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: he found one that wasn't quite so amazing as far 177 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: as is aesthetics go, but it was on Cave City 178 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: Road before you even got to Mammoth. So that was like, 179 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: that's the location, location, location that he didn't understand that 180 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: he needed, but right got it. That's how that's how 181 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: important it was that you could have a so so cave. 182 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: But if the entrance was on the weight of the 183 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: bigger caves than you had, you had a gym mine 184 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: even if there were no gems in the cave, because 185 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: you could lie and say there are right, Say it's 186 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: the same entrance or the different entrance to the same thing. Right. 187 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: So yeah, he went into business with a different guy, 188 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: a man named B. Doyle Beasley Doyle and another man 189 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: named ed Estes, and Doyle and Stes went half on 190 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: their half, and they said that they would give Floyd 191 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,599 Speaker 1: the other half if he would explore and develop this 192 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,719 Speaker 1: cave so that they could start taking tourists down in it. 193 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: And so Floyd Collins is being I haven't seen it 194 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: expressly written out, but he spent so much time in 195 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: caves from such a young age, and he had been 196 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: at it for so long and had become such a 197 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: respected caver that I suspect this is the one. Like 198 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 1: when he woke up, the one thing he wanted to 199 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: do was go into caves, like he just loved what 200 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 1: he was doing. So this is probably like a dream 201 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: gig for him too. Yeah, But he started exploring this 202 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: cave and started to develop it. But he ran into 203 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: a problem very early. You mentioned that this cave was 204 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: not so great as far as caves go, right, Yeah, 205 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: and we didn't mention it was called sand cave. And 206 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: it was called sand cave for a reason because it 207 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: was not solid limestone like you know, most of the 208 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: rest of these caves, which made it, you know, pretty 209 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: tourist friendly to walk around, kind of like you would 210 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: have a ruby falls, let's say, the smooth limestone. Yeah, 211 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: the good stuff. This is actually loose rock and muddy sand. 212 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: So sand Cave is is an apt name. And Floyd 213 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: was like, I've got to make this work, though, Like 214 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: I'm even more desperate than I was before because now 215 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: signed onto this thing, and so I'm gonna, like, there's 216 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,319 Speaker 1: good stuff down there that's deeper. I just have to 217 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: carve out a passageway that's safe enough to get tourists 218 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: in here. And so he did that for weeks and 219 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,320 Speaker 1: weeks and weeks, working all our days clearing out and 220 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: it was you know, it was really cold at the time, 221 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: clearing out this mud and ice and water and rock 222 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: and trying to build what looked like a legitimate entrance way. Yeah, 223 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: which I mean I think his premise was that he 224 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: would if he if he dug enough of this stuff out, 225 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: he would reach those smooth limestone walls. Eventually. It was 226 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: just going to take some extra work, right, Yeah, And 227 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: he was down to work. He was dtw and you 228 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: keep making mention like he really needed this. Um. I 229 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: mean he was able to like make ends meet here 230 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: or there. I think he and his brother like chopped 231 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: timber for the railroad ties to the local lines that 232 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: were built. Like again, Mammoth Caves was such an enormous attraction. 233 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: There was a special railroad line that was established and 234 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: built just to take people to this, Right, so there 235 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: was some money to be made. But to say that 236 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: Floyd Collins and his eight siblings were poor as an understatement. 237 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,959 Speaker 1: I saw a picture of the house that the siblings 238 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 1: all lived in with their parents, and the ticket booth 239 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: for Great Crystal Cave, and the ticket booth is slightly 240 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: bigger than the house, Like it is like they were 241 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: they were. Yeah, they live basically hand to mouth to 242 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: say the least. Yeah, so this needed to work. That's 243 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,199 Speaker 1: why you put in all this work painstakingly digging this 244 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: passage and eventually on January thirty, nineteen twenty five, he said, 245 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: all right, I've got an opening here, and I believe 246 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: I can get down to the depths that I so desire. 247 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: And he did. He got down about fifty feet deep 248 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 1: and then came to a ten foot drop that's shaped 249 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: like a chimney, So it's a ten foot shoot that 250 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: he can go down. And at the bottom of this shoot, 251 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: it kind of makes not the hardest L, but it 252 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: would like a soft L shape to where it goes horizontal. 253 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: But that horizontal opening was not very big. It was 254 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: just enough for Floyd to like get down there on 255 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: his back, go in kind of feet first, with the 256 00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: top of the the shoot like inches above his face. Yeah, 257 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: he was in this crack. So the chimney itself was 258 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: not like exactly like a drop. He had to kind 259 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: of shimmy down it, but with that crack was like 260 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: a whole other thing altogether. He couldn't take a full 261 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: breath in there. We shoko a warning a trigger warning 262 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: for people that suffer from claustrophobia, because yeah, I don't 263 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: even and a lot of this felt like I was 264 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: about to have a panic attack. Yeah, I have a 265 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: vague sense of claustrophobia. It takes a lot to trigger it, 266 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: Like just hearing about the stuff, I'm like, oh my gosh, 267 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: but I can handle it. But I'll bet there's people 268 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: out there who sure couldn't even hear this, So way 269 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: to go chalk. Yeah, So that CoA and another one, 270 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: which is when you're dealing with old stories like this, 271 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: we found that there are a lot of facts that 272 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: get mixed up depending on what sorts you're using. So yeah, 273 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 1: we're doing our best moving forward. Well, also, like we're 274 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: in the age where we've really just woken up to 275 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: the fact that back in the twenties, say, newspapers would 276 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: print whatever, and we've long been like, well it was 277 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: in the newspaper, so it's probably well researched, not true, necessarily, 278 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: not at all. So he's sliding through this crack and 279 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: you're probably getting pretty nervous, but hold on to that 280 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: because he makes it through the crack and on the 281 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: other side he finds a big I think like fifty 282 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: foot deep room, a big chamber, and this is what 283 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: he's been looking for. This is the kind of stuff 284 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: tourists want to see. And he starts exploring it. He's 285 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: repelling down and I think it's I don't even know 286 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: if he made it to the bottom or not, but 287 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: his lantern started flickering, and that is a sign if 288 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: you are exploring a cave for the first time, to 289 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: go to get out of the cave. So that's what 290 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: he did. He was a smart guy. He wasn't dumb. 291 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: He was he was very gutsy, but he didn't like 292 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: just you know, he wasn't. He didn't gamble with his 293 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: life for no reason. Yeah, he knew what he was doing. Yes, 294 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: So he crawled back up the rope, took his lamp 295 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: with him, and started to make his way back through 296 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: the crack. He was oriented the same way that he 297 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: was going in, so he went in feet first. This 298 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: time he went in head first. Yeah, and he made it. 299 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: I believe his head made it out when he kind 300 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: of kicked into the ground to kind of give himself 301 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: purchase to push himself the rest of the way through 302 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: the crack. When he did that, he moved some some dirt, 303 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: some sand, and I've seen up to a seven ton boulder, 304 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: came down from the ceiling and lodged his foot in 305 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: place firmly. It was not. He was not moving anymore, 306 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: and he was stuck in this crack hopelessly. Yeah, and 307 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: that's one great example. I saw seven ton, and then 308 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: everywhere else I saw twenty six pounds. Big. I mean, 309 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: could you really not like shimmy a twenty seven pound 310 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: Maybe not in a crack like that, I mean twenty 311 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: six pounds on a foot in a crack. And we 312 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: should mention too, that his lamp went out while he 313 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: was in there, and again I saw various things from that. 314 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: It finally flickered out to he accidentally kicked it out, 315 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: kicked it over and made it go out. So now 316 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: he is laying there with his arms by his side, 317 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: stuck in this crevice, in the complete blackness. And Dave 318 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: pointed out and I can verify, and if you've ever 319 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: been caving, it is a blackness like you've never understood 320 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: before in your life. I don't want to understand that. 321 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: It is the blackest of black. You literally cannot see 322 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,199 Speaker 1: your hand in front of your face. So he's, you know, 323 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: literally laying there in pitch blackness, which he's sort of 324 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: used to because he's I'm sure he's been without a 325 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: light before in a cave and gotten out of it, 326 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: but he was in a bad way. He was, and 327 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: he wasn't panicking because he knew that he was right 328 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: almost at the base of that chimney and that if 329 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: he could get to the chimney, not only could he 330 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: relight his lamp, he could shimmy up the chimney easily. 331 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: So he was almost there. But the problem was again 332 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,160 Speaker 1: that rock, whether it was twenty seven pounds or seven tons, 333 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: wasn't letting him go. And so Floyd Collins was alone 334 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,959 Speaker 1: in the dark traps in a crack, and no one 335 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: knew he was down there. Yeah, and before we go 336 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: to break, because I know this where we're headed. The 337 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: final little cherry on top of danger danger cherry is 338 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,199 Speaker 1: it's sixteen degrees. Very nice, Chuck, all right, we'll be 339 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:51,879 Speaker 1: right back, so Chuck, before we get started again, I 340 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: want to shout out a source. There's an article from 341 00:18:55,400 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six in American Heritage magazine, a great history 342 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,880 Speaker 1: source by Michael Leasy L. S Y. And he actually 343 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 1: was the guy who wrote or compiled Wisconsin Death Trip 344 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: a few years before he wrote that article, and it's 345 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: called Dark Carnival, and it is really worth a read. 346 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,640 Speaker 1: But he got all of his sources directly from newspapers, 347 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,439 Speaker 1: so basically every word he wrote had been reported in 348 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: the newspaper somehow or some way. So that is probably 349 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: why that's the only source for the seven ton. It 350 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: was probably misreported, but he's still a pretty good source 351 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 1: for facts. He's a professional historian, so he knew what 352 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: he was doing. But he was also really fascinating too. 353 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: All Right, so he's down there, no one knows he's 354 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: there for a while. He was known to disappear for 355 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: you know, many hours and days exploring these caves, so 356 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 1: it's not like the people got too concerned at first. 357 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: It would be twenty five hours before anyone even knew 358 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 1: anything was going on with him, and that was when 359 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: the Sun of Sts his name was Jewel, pretty cool name, 360 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: seventeen year old went to go check. He'd kind of 361 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: been hanging out with Floyd and caving with him, and 362 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: I think Floyd even said like, you know, I could 363 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 1: die in here to the guy the day or two before. 364 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 1: And he's the one who went down there called out 365 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: for Floyd and heard Floyd call back that he was 366 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: hung up and needed help. Right, So this is good, 367 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: I mean it's been a full day, but at least 368 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: now somebody knows he's down there. So juel Estes runs 369 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: back and starts getting help, and I think in very 370 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: short order, word got to his brother, Homer, who I 371 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: guess younger brother because I think Floyd was thirty at 372 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: the time, and I think Homer was twenty two or fourteen, 373 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,479 Speaker 1: depending on where he can I hadn't seen fourteen, so Homer, 374 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: either way, he rushed. I get the impression that he 375 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: was a man by then, so I'm gonna say twenty two, okay. 376 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: But he rushed to the site and basically became the 377 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: first person who was willing to actually go in and 378 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: try to rescue Floyd. There are other people who had 379 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: given it a shot before Homer arrived, but they apparently 380 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,719 Speaker 1: that chimney scared every single one of them off. They 381 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:14,400 Speaker 1: were like, I'm sorry, I'm I like Floyd a lot, 382 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: but that's I'm not going through that chimney. Yeah. So 383 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: he shows up, says, Floyd's like, can I get some 384 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: food first and foremost, so his brother said, sure, here's 385 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: the worst thing possible you could eat when you're pinned 386 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 1: in a cave. Here's some sausage and coffee. Yeah, so 387 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: let's get that heart rate up ensure that you're gonna 388 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: have to urinate, and then just the sausage is just 389 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 1: a bonus, yeah, just to fill you up. Yeah, and 390 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: to make that really flow. But he had food. I'm 391 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: kind of kidding around here. This is what people ate 392 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: back then. So he just needed some some calories in 393 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: his body. And Homer was down there working hard, trying 394 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: everything he could do to get him loose. Every time 395 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: he dug rubble out, more rubble would fall down where 396 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: that rubble was. He brought a crowbar back to try 397 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: and dislodge some bigger stones. Nothing was working. He's exhausted 398 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: and cold. At this point, he's offering up like advice 399 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: is coming in from around the country by this point, 400 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: like word had gotten out of like how to do it. 401 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 1: He's offering to pay surgeons five hundred dollars to go 402 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: down there and cut his foot off. And I think 403 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: one surgeon was actually debating whether or not to do it. Yeah. 404 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,239 Speaker 1: I think he was sent by the heiress to the 405 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: International Harvester Fortune. He got sent to the scene. She 406 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: paid for him to go there. It's nice, yeah, it was. 407 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: It was very nice. I mean, she was very concerned, 408 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,439 Speaker 1: and apparently he was one of the best surgeons in 409 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: America and he ended up becoming one of the medical 410 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: advisors during this time. But he did not go down 411 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: and cut his foot off because he couldn't reach his 412 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: foot anyway, there's no way. But they were saying, well, 413 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: we could also put ropes around him and pull him 414 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: out and just cut his foot off like that. Yeah, 415 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: not a good idea, and they didn't actually do it, 416 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,440 Speaker 1: but that was definitely on the table for a while. Yeah, 417 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 1: And they were also you know, this is a really 418 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: sort of sad part of this is there were people 419 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: that were volunteering to go down and bring him blankets 420 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: and food and stuff, and they would go down and 421 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,520 Speaker 1: come back and say, his season, good spirits, he's got 422 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: the food and blankets. And then later when other people 423 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,200 Speaker 1: would go down to check things out, they would find 424 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: that food and blankets to sort of cast aside and 425 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: stuffed and cracks, and that people were too scared to 426 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,680 Speaker 1: go down there, and I guess too scared to admit it. Yeah, 427 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: so there you go. There's there's a couple of things 428 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: that we've just hit upon. I think bear pointing out 429 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,239 Speaker 1: one is that people are taking blankets down and then 430 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: not actually doing it, so we don't actually have any 431 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: like professional rescuers right now. And then secondly, like his 432 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: brother is the first person who's willing to get down 433 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: there and give him some food. And if you take 434 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: a step back, you realize, like this is a it's 435 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: a big problem for Floyd Collins. But at this point, 436 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: and for a really shockingly long time, it was basically 437 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: a local problem. The people who were in charge of 438 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,359 Speaker 1: rescuing Floyd were the same people who were um his 439 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: competitors in the cave tourism business. It was just locals 440 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: trying to figure out what to do. Yeah, and didn't 441 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: the I'm sorry, the son of one of the former 442 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: partners who was a good trusted friend he got involved 443 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,360 Speaker 1: as well, right, Juel Estes was the son, not Jules 444 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 1: the Burnette. I didn't see him. Yeah, Johnny Burnette put 445 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:36,199 Speaker 1: heat factored in pretty heavily as far as because he 446 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,959 Speaker 1: was a trusted person to Floyd. So Floyd told him like, 447 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: you're the only person I like trust to get me 448 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 1: out of here. Oh okay, wow, so so um yeah. 449 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: So so there were people who were like really trying 450 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: to do this. They had the best intentions, they just 451 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: didn't necessarily know what to do. And the upshot of 452 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: it is there was a distinct lack of expertise. He's 453 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 1: in that kind of thing for a very long time, 454 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,679 Speaker 1: for the first several days of Floyd's encounter, Right, and 455 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: I guess we should introduce Skeets Huh. Yes, Now this 456 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,719 Speaker 1: is the first time somebody comes outside with no expertise 457 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 1: but has the guts to be like, this man needs 458 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 1: to get out of there, and I'm gonna do what 459 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 1: I can. Right, Yeah, this is Skeets Miller. This is 460 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,360 Speaker 1: three days into this debacle. He was a young kid. 461 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 1: He was well, he was twenty young to me, that 462 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,719 Speaker 1: was like sixty back then, I guess probably so. He 463 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: was a reporter came down to Cave City on assignment 464 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: from the Louisville Courier Journal to cover this story. He 465 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: was a little guy. The joke was that he'd looked 466 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 1: like a mosquito. He was five five, weighed barely over 467 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 1: one hundred and ten pounds. So he was a little guy, 468 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: like you said, that had a lot of guts and also, 469 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: which is key, small enough to get into some of 470 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: these places that some of the larger dudes could not 471 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 1: get into. But he was a reporter and he was 472 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: going after the story, at least as at first. So 473 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 1: when he first went down there, he was going down 474 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,959 Speaker 1: there to interview Floyd. And the reason why he decided 475 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: to do that was because he had tried to interview Homer, 476 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: who said something like, if you want information, there's the 477 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 1: hole right over there. You can go down and find 478 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,159 Speaker 1: out for yourself. And so Skeet said, I'll take that 479 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: as permission, and he went down and interviewed Floyd Collins himself, 480 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: and in very short order, over the course of the 481 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: time Floyd was in this hole or in this cave, 482 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: Skeet just kept writing more and more stories, interviewing him 483 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: multiple times, and ended up winning a Pulitzer for his reporting. 484 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 1: He became as much a star as Floyd Collins did 485 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 1: in this saga because of his writing and because he 486 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: was basically doing gonzo journalism with a trapped man in 487 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: a cave. Yeah, and he also was the one saying 488 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: like he's in bad shape down there, right, Like these 489 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,120 Speaker 1: reports of him being in good spirits aren't super accurate 490 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: because he's he looks like a guy that's been trapped 491 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: in a cave for three days. Right, That's what I 492 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 1: wanted to say. Like he started out going after the story, 493 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: but once he encountered Floyd in real life, he became 494 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,640 Speaker 1: an actual rescuer as well. Yeah, he wanted to get 495 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: him out of there. He did things like developed a 496 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,719 Speaker 1: bucket brigade system to get stuff out of there. He 497 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 1: brought a light down, well, he lit a lot of 498 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,639 Speaker 1: the cave just so they could see better, but he 499 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: brought a light down to Floyd to keep him warm, 500 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,360 Speaker 1: like a lightbulb, like legit electricity, to help keep him 501 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: on a little bit. Because remember it's freezing cold down there. Man, 502 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: I can't imagine sixteen degrees. Yeah, and this it was 503 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: over now a couple of weeks, like seventeen days. Little 504 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,120 Speaker 1: Skeets Miller is getting down in that cave and trying 505 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: to rescue along with Homer and along with some other people, 506 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: like really dedicated to getting him out of there. Right. 507 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 1: So the thing is is Skeets writing these dispatches for 508 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: the Louisville Courier Journal, and it's starting to get picked 509 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:04,240 Speaker 1: up by the Associated Press and the Associated presses sending 510 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: these out to newspapers all over the country, and all 511 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: of a sudden, Floyd Collins went from, as Dave puts it, 512 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,359 Speaker 1: like this poor schmuck who was like trapped in a 513 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:18,159 Speaker 1: cave to a national interests or human interest story that 514 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: just gripped the nation. And one of the reasons why 515 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: it was able to grip the nation was not just 516 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: because of the ap picking up skeets writing, but also 517 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: because radio was becoming a thing at the time. Not 518 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: everybody had a radio this early on, but enough people 519 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,600 Speaker 1: did that there were like radio broadcasts done from the 520 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: cave site that were reaching people's homes all over the country. 521 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: So between the newspapers and the radio, it was just 522 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: the whole nation was enthralled with Floyd collins plight. Yeah, 523 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: it became it became a not only a media sensation, 524 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: but a local sort of carnival atmosphere. Like there were 525 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: thousands of people there that came to through the town 526 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: at least to see what was going on. I think 527 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: there were at least two thousand people at the cave site. 528 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: There's this website, this guy that had pictures of, you know, 529 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: of the scene at the cave entrance of the grounds 530 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: of the people in the cars, of people selling hot 531 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:24,560 Speaker 1: dogs and hamburgers and balloons that said sand cave. And 532 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: it's it's crazy to see these black, old, black and 533 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: white photos of just how like, um, how crowded it 534 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: got in rural Kentucky by this cave entrance. Yeah, by 535 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: by all estimates, tens of thousands of people ended up 536 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: showing up over the course of this these couple weeks 537 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: that Floyd Collins ended up being stuck in the in 538 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: the ground. I saw ten thousand, I saw sixty thousand. 539 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: There was just a ton of people, and they came 540 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 1: from all over at a time when it wasn't that 541 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: easy to travel, but they were coming from out of state. 542 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: And I say, Chuck, we take a little break and 543 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: come back to this carn well that's growing up around 544 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: Floyd's hapless situation. Let's do it all right. So Floyd 545 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 1: is still trapped, They're getting some food down to him. 546 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 1: He is not doing well. There's a carnival atmosphere, like 547 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 1: we mentioned, kind of all over the place. And eventually 548 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,240 Speaker 1: they did make a little bit of progress in the 549 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: with his buge bucket brigade, and that they cleared out 550 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: enough for him to be able to to move a 551 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: little bit for the first time. It cleared his arms, 552 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: it cleared his legs because stuff had collapsed beyond just 553 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: that either twenty six pound or seven ton boulder that 554 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: was on his foot. So he was, you know, fully 555 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: trapped for a long time, and then finally he was 556 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: able to move around a little bit. They he said 557 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: that he was freed at one point like that his 558 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: foot was even I guess he was delirious or miscommunicating, 559 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,160 Speaker 1: because that foot was definitely not free. And the last 560 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: guy to bring him food was a minor named Maddox, 561 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 1: who brought him food that he ate. And he was 562 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 1: Floyd's delirious at this point and said, Maddox, get me out. 563 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: Why don't you take me out? Kiss me goodbye. I'm 564 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 1: going And apparently Maddox kissed him goodbye, which was a 565 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: very empathetic, sweet thing to do. And you know, heat 566 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 1: from all this work had thawed this frozen mud that 567 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: basically was acting like a mortar, and he just he 568 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: got more entangled and trapped than he was before. And 569 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: Maddox came out saying like he's dying, like very very soon. 570 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: Imagine being Maddox waking up in the middle of the 571 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: night for the next fifty years to Floyd Collins's voice saying, Maddox, 572 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: why don't you get me out? Yeah, that's awful, man, 573 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: especially to somebody that empathetic too, you know, sure so 574 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:19,719 Speaker 1: right so, um as as after Maddox makes it out, 575 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: I don't believe anybody was any anywhere near the inside 576 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: of Saint Cave with Floyd at the time. But the 577 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: cave finally just collapsed in the way to get to 578 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: Floyd was now cut off hopelessly, and they had no 579 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 1: idea what had happened to Floyd. Was he covered up 580 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: in the cave in was it just cutting off their 581 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: their you know, their passage between them and him. They 582 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: just didn't know. And now finally, this is about day 583 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 1: five of poor Floyd Collins, already being a national American 584 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:57,320 Speaker 1: media sensation. Um, finally, the governor of Kentucky's like, maybe 585 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: we should do something. And now the experts start to 586 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,360 Speaker 1: show up. But they show up like just hopelessly too late. 587 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,200 Speaker 1: Despite that, despite him being in there for five days 588 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: and him being totally cut off now with no access 589 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,520 Speaker 1: to food or water or anything, they decided that they 590 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: were still going to do everything they could to get 591 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: him out, and the idea that was put forth that 592 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: everybody agreed on was to construct a shaft directly down 593 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: to him, I think, to his feet, and to get 594 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,880 Speaker 1: him out that way, to get the bowlder off of 595 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:33,880 Speaker 1: his foot, and to pull him back through the crack 596 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,120 Speaker 1: one way or another. But the problem was chucked. This 597 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,720 Speaker 1: was solid limestone and they couldn't use dynamite, right, Yeah, 598 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: they couldn't use dynamite. Dave said they couldn't use heavy 599 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: machinery at all. But I saw something that said that 600 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: they brought in to steam shovels, like ten thousand dollars 601 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: steam shovels. And at one point someone said, I think, 602 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,800 Speaker 1: in a not too happy way, it's going to cost 603 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:00,120 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand dollars to dig out a dead body, 604 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: because I think the writing was on the wall at 605 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: that point. But at any rate, they did dig. A 606 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,840 Speaker 1: team of seventy five experts this time, built a five 607 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,719 Speaker 1: story shaft into the ground. And you know, these guys 608 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: weren't in great shape either doing this hard work, right, 609 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:22,280 Speaker 1: But they eventually get down there and what they find 610 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:28,319 Speaker 1: is a dead Voyd Collins. Yeah, sadly, this was I 611 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,799 Speaker 1: think day fifteen, maybe when they finally reached him. I 612 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: think eighteen days later is what it says, okay, And 613 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 1: he had gotten caved in on day four or five. 614 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 1: So there was a lot of people out there who 615 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 1: were like, yes, he's he's already dead, but we should 616 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:45,760 Speaker 1: get him anyway, and some people were like, there's a chance, 617 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,839 Speaker 1: you know, but there there wasn't. Just there weren't high 618 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,880 Speaker 1: hopes for reaching him, and those hopes were not fulfilled anyway. 619 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,799 Speaker 1: When they found him the corner I believe said that 620 00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: he had he had died just three days before they 621 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,759 Speaker 1: reached him, but that esteemed doctor that the heiress to 622 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: the International Harvester Fortune sent calculated more like five based 623 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:11,879 Speaker 1: on the condition of Floyd's body. Yeah, but they had 624 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,040 Speaker 1: the same problem that they had before, even in death. 625 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,759 Speaker 1: They couldn't get that boulder off of his leg, and 626 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,279 Speaker 1: they apparently it was enough of a problem to get 627 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:24,840 Speaker 1: him out that they all agreed that they should basically 628 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 1: leave him down there, that this shaft or this this 629 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 1: crevice that he was stuck in was now his grave. 630 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: We bury people in the ground anyway. This was the 631 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 1: ground burying him prematurely. Essentially, is I guess what the 632 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:43,880 Speaker 1: Kentucky reasoning was so um they everybody basically left. The 633 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: media circus was over, the news reports kind of moved 634 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 1: on to some other stuff, and the world just kind 635 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,759 Speaker 1: of they didn't forget about Floyd Collins, but they had 636 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 1: other things that suddenly grabbed their immediate interest. Yeah, and 637 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: you know, as a sort of a sidebar, before they 638 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: found his dead body, there were rumors that started to 639 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:12,240 Speaker 1: circulate because again people were printing things that weren't quite accurate, 640 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: and rumors started to circulate that that why am I 641 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:19,600 Speaker 1: saying circulate? Weird? That's so weird? Circulate I'll saying circulate. 642 00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:22,400 Speaker 1: I like it. That's a new way to say it. 643 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 1: I think you're just evolving the English language. Anyway, the 644 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: rumors were that this was all a stunt to get 645 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: people there to go to his cave. That Floyd was 646 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: not trapped at all was sort of the main rumor, 647 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,600 Speaker 1: and that he was orchestrating a hoax to drive people 648 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: there to pay money to go into the caves. There 649 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,720 Speaker 1: were other rumors that abounded that maybe people blocked access 650 00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: to the tunnel to delay the rescue, to kill him 651 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 1: so that they could get that real estate for the 652 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: cave because these cave wars were still going on, and 653 00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: this all culmanated and eventually a a court, a military 654 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,120 Speaker 1: tribunal even convene to see if this was in fact 655 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:06,879 Speaker 1: a hoax. And I think this is all going on 656 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: before they finished the rescue. Yeah, I think this was 657 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,240 Speaker 1: happening while they were digging that limestone shaft by hand, 658 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:18,960 Speaker 1: essentially so, and they had plenty of time to do 659 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,600 Speaker 1: it and no new news. Right, there was nobody talking 660 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,440 Speaker 1: to Floyd anymore. So the newspapers were just printing whatever 661 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 1: they could get their hands on that had anything to 662 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:28,799 Speaker 1: do with it, whether it was factual or not, which 663 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:33,000 Speaker 1: has made our efforts that much harder. Thank you, old 664 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,960 Speaker 1: timing newspapers. Right. Yeah, So B Doyle, who was the 665 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,840 Speaker 1: guy that he went into business with, put up a 666 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,240 Speaker 1: roadside sign that said, you know, two hundred yards away 667 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: is the body of Floyd Collins, imprisoned in Sand Cave. 668 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: And he would charge people fifty cents just to go 669 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: down and stand at the mouth of the cave above 670 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:55,960 Speaker 1: the tomb. And I guess either pay their respects or 671 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,600 Speaker 1: just gaulk or whatever draw a picture of it. Whatever 672 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: you did back then, as a tourist, right, Homer, And 673 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:06,239 Speaker 1: this was admirable and sad. He hit the road on 674 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:09,960 Speaker 1: the vaudeville stage to tell this story. And before like, 675 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,759 Speaker 1: when I first saw that, I was like, it didn't 676 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,319 Speaker 1: sound like a Homer Collins move right, seems like that's 677 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,200 Speaker 1: not the Homer I know. Yeah, he seems like a 678 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:20,239 Speaker 1: stand up either fourteen or twenty two year old. And 679 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,080 Speaker 1: he was doing it to raise money to get him 680 00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: out of there. He was like, I don't think that 681 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,120 Speaker 1: should be his final resting place, so I'm gonna do 682 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,359 Speaker 1: whatever I can to make enough money to fund a dig. Yeah. 683 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:33,200 Speaker 1: The way I thought was that he had vowed to 684 00:38:33,239 --> 00:38:34,759 Speaker 1: Floyd that he would get him out of there, and 685 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:38,000 Speaker 1: even though Floyd died, that didn't that didn't release him 686 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,879 Speaker 1: from that vow in his mind. So that is pretty neat, 687 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:44,240 Speaker 1: you know, especially because I think that the public idea, 688 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 1: or the later idea of him was that he had 689 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,320 Speaker 1: been doing it for just money and fame or whatever. 690 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,680 Speaker 1: But it worked, right, it did work. A couple months later, 691 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:55,239 Speaker 1: he was able to pay for his brother to be 692 00:38:55,280 --> 00:39:00,239 Speaker 1: removed from that crevice, and so, as people do, they 693 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,400 Speaker 1: put Floyd back in the ground. But at this time, 694 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:04,239 Speaker 1: they put Floyd back in the ground in a much 695 00:39:04,239 --> 00:39:09,440 Speaker 1: more appropriate place, the family cemetery, and they actually used 696 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,799 Speaker 1: to stalag tight or Mike, I can't remember as a 697 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,040 Speaker 1: headstone form, which is super neat and appropriate for a 698 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,920 Speaker 1: Floyd Collins headstone. I couldn't figure that out because I 699 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 1: saw the headstone. Did they just crush it and make 700 00:39:22,719 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 1: it into a headstone? I don't think that's the original 701 00:39:25,719 --> 00:39:28,520 Speaker 1: headstone that you saw. If it was, if it was 702 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 1: a color photo, I think that was the one that 703 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,000 Speaker 1: came later, Okay, But how would they make a headstone 704 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,879 Speaker 1: out of a stalactite anyway? Hey, those Kentucky people are industrious. 705 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,120 Speaker 1: They can do anything they put their minds to, except 706 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:42,560 Speaker 1: for get Floyd Collins out of the ground. Oh boy. 707 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:47,040 Speaker 1: So tourists kind of stopped coming around because a lot 708 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,520 Speaker 1: of the reason was because of this story. They were 709 00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:52,959 Speaker 1: like this champion caver or died down there, Like, maybe 710 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,760 Speaker 1: we shouldn't spend our spring break caving in Kentucky anymore. 711 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,000 Speaker 1: And so they sold the Great His family sold the 712 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,600 Speaker 1: Great Crystal Cave, that initial cave that was gorgeous to 713 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,760 Speaker 1: a dentist named Harry Thomas, who said throwing an extra 714 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,000 Speaker 1: ten grand and that's a that's a lot of money 715 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:14,720 Speaker 1: back then, Yeah, especially if like you, Yeah, your ticket 716 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,160 Speaker 1: booth is bigger than your house. Yeah, so just keep 717 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,600 Speaker 1: that in mind before you prejudge the family for what 718 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,400 Speaker 1: they agreed to. He said, for an extra ten grand, 719 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,799 Speaker 1: if you'll let me exume his body and put it 720 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,759 Speaker 1: on display in a glass coffin in that cave in 721 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:35,040 Speaker 1: a you know, respectful way, then we got a deal. 722 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,080 Speaker 1: And they needed the money and they said yes. Yeah. 723 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:44,040 Speaker 1: So for more than sixty years Floyd Collins was in 724 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:48,759 Speaker 1: a glass coffin in the Great Crystal Cave. Beneath I 725 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,880 Speaker 1: believe that salagtite or slagmite headstone with the engraving greatest 726 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:58,560 Speaker 1: cave explorer ever known. And for the first at least 727 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:02,279 Speaker 1: fifteen year. I think if you're a tourist and you 728 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:05,440 Speaker 1: went to the Mammoth Caves, you probably made an extra 729 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,560 Speaker 1: trip to the Great Crystal Cave to go see Floyd 730 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:14,040 Speaker 1: collins super embalmed corpse through the glass window in his 731 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:17,279 Speaker 1: in his um casket right just playing there in the 732 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,640 Speaker 1: in the I think a chamber of the Great Crystal 733 00:41:20,719 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: Cave and actually slight in show correction. The body did 734 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:30,799 Speaker 1: not stay there for that long uninterrupted. Okay. In March 735 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,720 Speaker 1: of nineteen twenty nine, his body was stolen by grave robbers. 736 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 1: Apparently their intent was to toss it in the East River, 737 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,480 Speaker 1: or I'm sorry, the Green River. They're gonna drive to 738 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:43,520 Speaker 1: New York, toss it in the East River. Yeah, they're 739 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:47,000 Speaker 1: gonna hit Cramer swimming. But it got caught in some 740 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:50,280 Speaker 1: underbrush and they couldn't get the body out. Doctor Thomas 741 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:54,680 Speaker 1: recovered the body in a field. Sal's leg so the 742 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:57,080 Speaker 1: leg that was trapped was no longer there and I 743 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,120 Speaker 1: don't think anyone knows where that leg ended up. But 744 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,400 Speaker 1: then he doctor Thomas reinterred it, this time in a 745 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:07,920 Speaker 1: chain locked up casket back in the cave. Yeah, and 746 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,960 Speaker 1: that's where he stayed for decades. The thing is, the 747 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,640 Speaker 1: National Park Service came in and bought the place in 748 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:18,279 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one. So yeah, for about thirty years you 749 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:21,680 Speaker 1: could go visit Floyd Collins body in the Great Crystal Cave. 750 00:42:21,719 --> 00:42:25,920 Speaker 1: But once the MPs took over, they honored the family's 751 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,759 Speaker 1: wishes not by removing him from the cave, but by 752 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: closing off public access to the cave. So for all 753 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:36,279 Speaker 1: intentsive purposes. He was no longer something for tourists to 754 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:39,759 Speaker 1: gawk at, even though he was still down in this cave, 755 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:42,000 Speaker 1: and the family didn't want him in there anymore. So 756 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't until nineteen eighty nine that I believe a 757 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:50,719 Speaker 1: court ordered his body to be removed and finally interred 758 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:55,719 Speaker 1: once again in the ground top side, and that's where 759 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,080 Speaker 1: he remains today. And I believe, Chuck that they put 760 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,759 Speaker 1: him in the ground on March twenty fourth, nineteen eighty nine, 761 00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:07,440 Speaker 1: which is right around the anniversary of that internment, when 762 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:10,360 Speaker 1: this episode's coming out, I think, and right after my 763 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,520 Speaker 1: eighteenth birthday senior year of high school. Awesome, man, I'm 764 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,440 Speaker 1: surprised I didn't hear the news. Oh yeah, your birthday 765 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:21,160 Speaker 1: is coming up, isn't it IDEs of March it is. 766 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:28,080 Speaker 1: I'll never forget Chuck. So that's the story they ended up. 767 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:32,080 Speaker 1: Billy Wilder, famous film director and writer. I made a 768 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:35,920 Speaker 1: film called Ace in the Whole that basically was an 769 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:41,600 Speaker 1: indictment on the media surrounding this event, starring a youngish 770 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:46,759 Speaker 1: Kirk Douglas as the as not skeeter as as a 771 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:51,000 Speaker 1: bad newspaper reporter. Two things have you ever seen Witness 772 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:54,960 Speaker 1: for the Prosecution, written by Billy Wilder. I think I have, 773 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,239 Speaker 1: but it's been a long time. I just saw it 774 00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 1: for the first time the other day. It's one of 775 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:01,839 Speaker 1: the best movies I've ever seen. He's I mean, he's 776 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: one of the best. You ever seen The Apartment, I haven't. 777 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:06,880 Speaker 1: I have seen Sunset Bolivard plenty of times. It's a 778 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:09,800 Speaker 1: great movie. To the Apartment's amazing. And that was Scott 779 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:13,959 Speaker 1: Ackerman's movie Crush Pick Oh, okay. And then the second thing, Chuck, 780 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,600 Speaker 1: is that there was actually a musical that was made. 781 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:19,120 Speaker 1: I think it first was put on in nineteen ninety six. 782 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:22,440 Speaker 1: It's called Floyd Collins. I'm surprised to see that. I 783 00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:24,960 Speaker 1: have an impression it was in the same vein as 784 00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:30,400 Speaker 1: that musical that the um how the South Park creators 785 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:33,840 Speaker 1: came up with about the cannibal in Colorado. Oh, the 786 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:38,080 Speaker 1: Book of Mormon, No, this was a different one. It 787 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 1: was before Book of Mormon. I thought this was like 788 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,560 Speaker 1: a respectful thing. I didn't know it was a communic 789 00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:44,520 Speaker 1: it was. It was, That's what I was gonna say. 790 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,960 Speaker 1: It was much more respectful, but it was. There was 791 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:48,719 Speaker 1: a lot of I think the basis of it was 792 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:52,880 Speaker 1: a comedy musical. Oh interesting, what's funny about this? I 793 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:54,719 Speaker 1: don't know. But the cool thing is is the guy 794 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:58,840 Speaker 1: who wrote them, the words and lyrics, I think the 795 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 1: whole thing basically he got an hour in the cave. 796 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,600 Speaker 1: It was. It was opened up for him specially, and 797 00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:09,799 Speaker 1: he did a lot of research and actually an analysis 798 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:14,240 Speaker 1: of the play by Scott Miller informed some of this episode. 799 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:16,319 Speaker 1: It was one of the sources we used. He did 800 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:18,759 Speaker 1: that much research on it. I think they were the 801 00:45:18,760 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: ones that said his brother was fourteen. So I take 802 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:25,960 Speaker 1: a show. Really, you know, I'm conflicted. Who knows? I mean? 803 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,839 Speaker 1: But back then the difference between fourteen and twenty two is, well, 804 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:33,000 Speaker 1: it's half your life. Actually, I guess you got anything else? 805 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:35,960 Speaker 1: I got nothing else? R I p Floyd Collins. We're 806 00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:39,479 Speaker 1: sorry that that happened to you, Floyd. And since Chuck 807 00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,560 Speaker 1: says he's got nothing else, it means his time for 808 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:48,200 Speaker 1: listener mail. I'm gonna call this great naming convention. Hey guys, 809 00:45:48,239 --> 00:45:50,920 Speaker 1: a longtime listener to the show. I'm finishing my masters 810 00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:52,239 Speaker 1: in a couple of months, and I want to say 811 00:45:52,239 --> 00:45:55,200 Speaker 1: thank you for keeping me entertained. Through a move to 812 00:45:55,239 --> 00:45:57,680 Speaker 1: a new state, long hours of tedious work in my 813 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:00,560 Speaker 1: community campus. Every day. I had to stop listening in 814 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:04,279 Speaker 1: the library because I laughed out loud every episode. I 815 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,400 Speaker 1: really enjoyed your nap episode. My brother has been an 816 00:46:06,440 --> 00:46:10,160 Speaker 1: advocate for coffee naps for years and coined a term 817 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,400 Speaker 1: that I think is pretty great. Did you see this? 818 00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:14,239 Speaker 1: You're ready for this? No, I haven't seen that one yet. 819 00:46:14,280 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: I'm not ready. No, the nappaccino, Oh that is good? 820 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:22,560 Speaker 1: How great is that? Not a napper myself, but I 821 00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:27,240 Speaker 1: think everyone should use this term. That is from Madison Madison. 822 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:30,600 Speaker 1: Whoever your brother is, need to name your brother, but 823 00:46:30,719 --> 00:46:33,399 Speaker 1: just tell him that that's pretty great. A pretty great 824 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:35,840 Speaker 1: title it is. It definitely beats the two I was 825 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:42,120 Speaker 1: working on, the flat nap yeah or the napata. Neither 826 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:44,480 Speaker 1: one of those is nearly as good as nappuccino. I'll 827 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:48,520 Speaker 1: tell you that the No. Number one. You know, what 828 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:52,719 Speaker 1: would happened? What would happen, Chuck? If Alpaccino took a nappuccino, 829 00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:59,359 Speaker 1: you would say that was a great nap. Okay, If 830 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:01,520 Speaker 1: you want to get in touch with us like who 831 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:07,360 Speaker 1: Madison Madison did with some great information about your sibling. 832 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:10,640 Speaker 1: We want to hear it. You can email to us 833 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:17,160 Speaker 1: at stuff Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com. Stuff you Should 834 00:47:17,239 --> 00:47:20,320 Speaker 1: Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts my 835 00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:24,160 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 836 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:25,600 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.