Odd, Old News: A Cave in Bear Buttes

Bear Butte(s) at sunrise with fog. [Photo by Kym Kemp] 

In the summer of 1880, a wave of excitement washed through Southern Humboldt when the Democratic Standard, a Eureka based newspaper, carried a three part series describing the discovery and exploration of an extensive cave system on Bear Butte. Just a few years after his encounter with the “Man Eating Snake of the Southfork”, Gustavus Schumacher was one of three local men reported to have gone into the mountain on a grand spelunking adventure.

Bear Butte is a meta-volcanic intrusion whose jagged peaks rise 2851 feet above sea level. It had spiritual significance to the local Natives. In 1901 anthropologist A. L. Kroeber spend a few cursory days in Southern Humboldt at which time he recorded a story from Sally Bell about the only two beings to survive a flood by going onto Bear Butte when the ocean level rose and covered the land. She told Kroeber that people were afraid to climb the Butte. This story was later published an article, Sinkyone Tales.

Bear Butte got its name in the winter of 1849-50 when a party of explorers from the Trinity mines region made their way to Humboldt Bay led by L.K. Wood and Josiah Gregg. This early expedition (http://sites.rootsweb.com/~cagha/history/humboldt/humb1915-ch4.txt) was marked by exhausting travel conditions, interpersonal conflict, and frequent near starvation. Several times Native people came to their rescue. After conflict divided the party, one group headed south through the redwoods. An attempt to shoot grizzly bears resulted in L.K. Wood’s getting severely mauled in an opening just to the north of Bear Butte. Wood was placed upon a horse by his men who then successfully made their way to the Mark West ranch, north of Santa Rosa. Later that year L.K. Wood returned to Uniontown (Arcata), eventually becoming a prominent businessman.

For those of you intrigued by the following news clippings, we sincerely ask that you spelunkers and adventurers don’t pack up your gear quite yet, spare the local landowners please, and your muscles, and wait for the story’s end and the follow-up articles where more will be revealed….

A WONDERFUL CAVE!

DISCOVERY OF EXTENSIVE CAVERNS IN SOUTHERN HUMBOLT

A PARTY OF ADVENTURERS EXPLORE THEREIN THREE DAYS WITHOUT ITS LIMITS

The mysterious cave of Bear Buttes, on the South Fork of Eel River, about eight miles from Garberville, has been an occasional topic of conversation in that section for many years. Outside of the Indians there are few men who know its exact location, and until recently no attempt had been made to examine its magnitude. The Indians tell many strange legends concerning it, and assert that twice within their knowledge have the Indians entered the cave, but never come out. They therefore have a superstitious horror of the place, and cannot be induced by any means to go nearer to it than barely within sight of the opening. Altogether the cave of Bear Buttes is a place that might well attract the attention of the curious sight-seer and the adventurer.

A few days ago three well known South Forkers, namely Peter Craigie, H. C. Morse and G. E. Schumacher, determined to explore the cave and see what it amounts to. Accordingly they equipped themselves with grub, torches, ropes, and such other indispensables as came to mind, not forgetting some of Dale and Ward’s revivifying fluid. Thus fortified they set out for the cave which they reached in about three hours from Garberville. The mouth of the cave is about seven hundred feet above the bed of South fork, on the west side, and up the precipitous east side of Bear Buttes. The mouth of the cavern opened in a deep wild ravine, into which the party had to let themselves down with ropes. Once at the opening, the entrance was easily made, the men walking in upright, the floor a few feet from the outer edge becoming dry and covered with loose rocks. The party soon found that the cave was no ordinary affair, and so returned to the outside, where, after having partaken of some refreshments they lighted torches, and taking a pole, a ladder and a rope respectively on one shoulder, the three men each took a torch in the disengaged hand and set out to explore

THE CAVE

The entrance is from east to west and is about six feet wide by seven or eight in height, but rapidly widening, as you progress, to fifteen and twenty feet, while the width also increases for a distance of forty yards. At this point the cave seems to suddenly change its form and character. The chamber comes to an abrupt termination immediately in front, but a little to the left they found a pretty fair passage, and high enough to admit a man without stooping. This at first glance seemed to be the only means of proceeding, but turning sharply to the right a low small opening was discovered in the wall which had, as the party advanced, been obscured by a shoulder of rock. But the doorway to the left was the most inviting and the adventurers turned their steps in that direction. As they advanced they discovered that the walls were becoming white, with black and yellow stains, where water had trickled down. Leaving the large hall they entered this smaller passage, and pursued a course obliquely and to the left from that of the large outer hall. This passage was eight or ten feet wide and twelve feet high, and uniform in dimension for a distance of forty yards.

The walls were white and reflected the light in such a manner as to illuminate the cave completely. After traversing the distance mentioned this passage gradually merged into a larger apartment, and finally the left wall suddenly fell back a distance of 150 feet, leaving them in a chamber magnificent in proportions, and the explorers soon found it to be splendid in appearance. The arch overhead was at least 100 feet from the floor, and as they held their torches aloft and cast their eyes upward, they beheld millions of sparkling reflections from their lights which made a spectacle beautiful beyond all powers of description to portray. What the character of these bright reflectors was they could not discover, as they only appeared against the horizontal ceiling, the perpendicular wall presenting nothing but the dull chalky white previously mentioned.

The party stood and gazed many minutes perfectly wonderstruck with the grand dimensions and magnificent splendor of this hall, and as their torches flared here and there in obedience to the curious search of the various observers, there was a perfect shimmering of prismatic reflections from the bright substances overhead. Finally they found their tongues and gave expression to their wonderment at the discovery they had made. They now began to consider the advisability and necessity of keeping some account of their location and progress, or they might not be able to retrace their steps.

Morse commenced piling up a mound of the chalky fragments that lay scattered on the floor, while Gus turned to the wall to make some mark, which, although they had not yet examined it, was evidently of a soft nature. An exclamation from him soon brought the others to his side, and there clearly cut in the wall was the figure of a man, about two feet in length. The lines were clear, distinct, and unmistakable.

“Someone has been here before us” was the unanimous voice, and the wall was searched for some distance to find other marks, but without success.

The party soon turned to cross the great chamber to examine what might be found within its limits. Bearing somewhat to the left of the course with which they entered they traversed about 100 feet when they encountered what appeared to be a projection intruding into the room, because there were portions of the chamber that were more distance, although the blending of the white walls made it difficult to distinguish perspective distances. They turned to the right and followed the wall, keeping it on the left hand and the open chamber on the right. In going fifty yards they seemed to be traveling in a circle, turning slowly to the left. Fearing they might get entangled in some new intricate passage, they retraced their steps along the wall till finding the point where they had first approached it in crossing the chamber.

Gus was positioned as a landmark, while Morse and Craigie started again to follow the winding wall. The result proved the surmise to be correct, for not more than twenty five yards had been traversed before the two explorers were out of sight of the sentinel, being hidden by the curving wall. After Morse and Craigie had followed the wall at least one hundred yards from the point where they left Gus, they stopped to view their surroundings which they found to be not unlike in character to other portions of the chamber but changed somewhat in form. About the same distance was persevered from the wall they were following and the opposite wall across the chamber, and the millions of diamonds sparkled overhead. The light from

Schumacher’s torch assisted them in discerning more clearly the distances behind them and they soon saw a glimmer of light ahead of them, and was a first puzzled as to how it reached that spot from Schumacher’s torch. They now observed several passages leading from the chamber they were traversing, and the place was assuming the proportions of the great catacombs of historic fame, but a thousand times more grand. Traversing a distance of 200 to 250 yards, brought them to the spot where they left Gus S. having described a complete circle around what now proved to be a gigantic pillar with a vast hall surrounding it. Having carefully noted the spot where they must find the passage to daylight the whole party again started around the pillar examining things more closely. Making half the circle they turned their attention to the opposite wall, which was about 150 feet from the center pillar, and found seven distinct halls, all but two being big enough to admit a man walking upright. One was very extensive, its ceiling leading directly from the chamber without lessening its distance from the floor. Here they made a sign upon the wall that they might recognize in returning, and approached the largest passage. (END OF PART ONE)

PART TWO

They now entered the most shapely and well formed passage which they had encountered, and which was some thirty yards in length, twelve feet wide and the walls were less discolored than in the other chambers, and were therefore of a cleaner, purer white. They had proceeded but a few yards when they observed small excavations made in the wall, some were horizontal while others were perpendicular. In one place there were eleven of these horizontal excavations, uniform in size, one above the other. Peter Craigie reared his ladder against the wall, it reaching just above the uppermost niche, and ascended to examine this new feature of the caves. At first there was to be nothing in the holes except loose fragments of chalk. But ascending higher he found fragments of bones and masses of hair which were bleached perfectly white either with age or by chalky surrounding.

In the uppermost cavity he discovered a curious figure, wrought from a piece of chalk. It was nondescript, seeming to be part man, part animal and part fish. Securing this trophy Peter was about to descend when he cast his eye upward over the wall above his ladder. His glance fell upon something cut or engraved in the wall. Ascending on his ladder a couple of rungs he discovered a line of Old English letters neatly engraved in the chalk, but in reading them over he could make nothing intelligible out of them. He therefore wrote the letters down as they appeared on the wall. They were as follows: D A E H N I K P M U P. He then descended and the party moved on past these cavities which intervened at short intervals, till they came to a sharp curve to the right, the hall narrowing and the roof sloping to a mere two feet wide and three feet high, through which there came a strong current of cold air.

Lying down his coil of rope, Morse got down on his knees and crawled in to explore. The first thing that attracted his attention was the fact that he was surrounded by black, hard looking rock. The floor was covered with a mass of broken debris that had become loose and shattered down, and whose sharp points and edges were anything but comfortable to the prospector’s knees. He proceeded thus some twenty seven feet when he came suddenly to the end which looked out into thick darkness and he was resting upon a ledge from which the wall fell perpendicular. He heaved a rock over the ledge which soon found bottom. He then called to his companions to come in and fetch the rope and ladder, which they did, leaving the chalk image on the side of the cavern to be secured on their return.

Reaching Morse, the latter bent the end of the rope onto the end of his torch, and then let it down to light up the chamber below. The light as it was lowered seemed but a compressed speck in the great vacuum before them. It finally shed its rays upon the rough floor fifteen feet below. The ladder was now brought into requisition, and in a few minutes the whole party was landed in the roughest, wildest chamber they had yet encountered. The floor was strewn with heavy masses of rock, among which it was difficult to pick their way. They left their ladder to mark the spot and kept the left wall in sight as they proceeded.

The cavern presented a most irregular and gloomy appearance. Nothing but inky blackness was discernible overhead, the torches being unable to penetrate. The sides were rough, jagged and wild, and the whole apartment was broken and rent as if it had been thrown into that position by some terrible convulsion. After climbing over these boulders some forty or fifty yards they discovered a large, irregular fissure in the rock, which seemed to offer some egress. It proved to be but a short passage of twelve feet which lead into a large low apartment, and which gave back a better reflection of light. In the chalk formation in the cave above the chambers were perfectly dry. Here there were abundant evidences of dripping, seepage, and the consequent incrustations of mineral substances which have been forming for thousands of years. Pendant from the roof of the cave were innumerable stalactites, in all stages of formation; stalagmites were growing and reaching upward from the floor to meet the stalactite above. In many instances they had joined and formed a solid column from roof to floor.

The party rambled about this apartment for some time and at last proceeded toward a more open part from whence the wind was blowing quite strong and cold. They came upon a smooth even floor, the roof over head lifted again further than their torches could penetrate, they could discern the walls only at their backs. They were soon aware that they were on the brink of an awful precipice. They stepped cautiously forward till they were upon the edge of the rock and peered in the oppressive darkness that surrounded them, above, below, and on every side. But the darkness seemed tangible, seemed like a solid wall; putting out the hand they seemed to touch and feel it. The party had left the rope with the ladder, and as they had gone far enough for one tramp no one felt disposed to take measures for exploring this hole, yet they desired to know if it, like the place above merely led down in another chamber.

Thinking that two lights would be sufficient to retrace their steps with, Morse suggested that he would throw his torch into the inky abyss. This was acceded to, and they gathered close to the edge, Morse hurling down his light. It went whirling, fluttering down, down, down into the awful chasm, cleaving the stygian night, as if cutting a solid substance. And here there came near being a sad catastrophe. (END OF PART TWO)
Democratic Standard May 1^st and 8^th, 1880

Earlier Odd and Old News:

• Biggest Rattlesnake Ever?
• The Legend of Humboldt’s Loch Ness Monster
• Return Of The Man Eating Snake Of The South Fork (First ‘Viral’ Story From SoHum)
• Schumacher’s Snake as Caught by the Press
• A Curious Cave in the Eel River Valley
• Séance Shortened by Spirited Spirit