James Larkin White facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Larkin White
|
|
|---|---|
Jim White
|
|
| Born | July 11, 1882 |
| Died | April 26, 1946 (aged 63) |
| Occupation | Cave promoter/explorer |
James Larkin White (born July 11, 1882 – died April 26, 1946) was a cowboy, a miner of guano (bat droppings), a cave explorer, and a park ranger for the National Park Service. He is best known for discovering, exploring, and promoting what we now call Carlsbad Caverns. This amazing cave is located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.
Contents
Jim White's Early Life
Jim White was born on July 11, 1882, on a ranch in Mason County, Texas. From a young age, he loved working with cattle more than going to school. He often said he preferred "riding wild horses to books and blackboards."
When Jim was 10 years old, he told his father he wanted to be a cowboy. His father agreed and took him to the southeastern part of the New Mexico Territory. Jim started working at the ranch of John and Dan Lucas. Three years later, his family moved to Lonetree, near the town of Eddy (which is now Carlsbad). Jim mostly lived and worked at the Lucas ranch.
Discovering the Caverns
In the 1980s, explorers found the words "J White 1898" deep inside Carlsbad Caverns. This shows that a 15 or 16-year-old Jim White was there very early on.
One day, Jim was riding his horse in the Chihuahuan Desert. He was looking for lost cattle. Suddenly, he saw a huge cloud of bats flying out of the desert hills. It looked like a volcano or a whirlwind, but it moved differently.
He tied his horse to a tree and pushed through the bushes. He reached the edge of a giant hole in the ground. Jim described it as "the biggest and blackest hole I had ever seen." He said the bats seemed to "literally boil" out of it.
First Trip Inside
A few days later, Jim went back to the cave. He brought some rope, fence wire, and a hatchet. He cut wood from nearby shrubs and built a simple ladder. He lowered the ladder into the opening.
Using a homemade kerosene lantern, he climbed down about 50 feet to a ledge. Then he climbed down another 20 feet to the cave floor. With the dim light of his lantern, he walked deeper into the cave. He felt like he was "wandering into the very core of the Guadalupe Mountains."
After reaching a large room, he saw two tunnels. One went down and to the right, and the other was flatter and went to the left. He chose the left tunnel first and found the Bat Cave. After exploring there, he went down the other tunnel.
He soon reached the first amazing rock formations. He had "crept cat-like across a dozen dangerous ledges." He saw many stalagmites, which are rock formations that grow up from the cave floor. He said they were "larger and more beautifully formed" than anything he had seen.
He also found other formations like chandeliers, stalactites (which hang from the ceiling), soda straws (thin hollow tubes), and flowstone (sheets of rock). He saw pools of water with rimstone dams. He even dropped rocks into deep pits to guess how far down they went. One rock fell for seconds and then "kept rolling and rolling until its sound became an echo."
Suddenly, the light from his lantern went out. The darkness was total. Jim said, "It seemed as though a million tons of black wool descended upon me." After refilling his lantern from a spare canteen of oil, he found his way back to the surface.
Exploring with "The Kid"
Jim returned to the cave with a 15-year-old Mexican boy. His real name is not known, but people called him Muchacho or The Kid.
Five days after Jim's first trip, he and The Kid went on a longer exploration. They carried food, water, fuel, and homemade torches. They also took a large ball of string to help them find their way back out. Their trip lasted three days.
They explored many of the same areas that tourists visit today. These include the famous Big Room, the King's Palace, and the Queen's Chamber.
Jim White's Own Story Booklet
The first written record of Jim White's early adventures in Carlsbad Caverns came from a booklet. He published it himself in 1932. It was called Jim White's Own Story. A journalist named Frank Ernest Nicholson helped him write it.
Jim White had a special permit to sell his booklet inside the cave. He sold it from the Underground Lunchroom. A U.S. Senator named Dennis Chavez helped him get this permit. Sales of the booklet stopped two months after Jim White passed away.
The Guano Bucket
Early on, a company dug a shaft (a deep hole) to reach the large deposits of guano (bat droppings) in the Bat Cave. Guano was used as fertilizer for farms, like the California fruit orchards. It was very valuable.
A large iron bucket, moved by a gasoline engine, was used to lift bags of guano out of the cave. Jim White also used this bucket to take hundreds of early tourists into and out of the caverns.
The original guano bucket was later used as a stand in the Underground Lunchroom. This is where Jim White sold his booklets.
Jim White's Family Life
Jim White married Fannie Hill on January 1, 1912. She was 18 years old and a friend from his hometown of Lonetree. Their first home was a small house provided by the guano company. It was very close to the Bat Cave entrance.
Jim and Fannie had a son, James Larkin White, Jr., on March 23, 1919. When Jim Jr. was about two years old, the family moved to a slightly larger house. They did not have running water there. Jim would use a burro (donkey) to carry two cans of water from Oak Springs back to their home. Fannie would then pour the water into a barrel. They did not get electricity until 1929 or 1930, and it only worked during the day.
Jim White's Passing
Jim White passed away on April 26, 1946, in a hospital in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He was 63 years old. He had been very sick and passed away from heart problems. Just two days before he died, he told a reporter that he felt well but wasn't ready to ride a horse to California again.
He is buried next to his wife, Fannie, at Carlsbad Municipal Cemetery. The words on his tombstone say: "The Discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns."
After he passed away, some people wanted to build a statue of Jim White at the cave entrance. Instead, a bronze plaque was placed in the visitor center lobby. It says:
JAMES L. WHITE
1882-1946
Beginning in 1901, Jim White made the first known
extensive explorations of the Carlsbad Caverns.
He was chiefly responsible for bringing the attention
of the public, scientific groups and the federal
government to the importance and significance
of the caverns.
In 2011, a large bronze statue of Jim White climbing down a wire ladder was put up. It is at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) building in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Important Dates in Jim White's Life
- 1882 (July 11): Jim White is born in Mason County, Texas.
- 1892: Jim White moves to New Mexico Territory.
- 1898: Jim White first enters the cave.
- 1899: The town of Eddy is renamed Carlsbad.
- 1912 (January 6): New Mexico becomes a state.
- 1915 – 1918: Ray V. Davis takes the first photos from inside the caverns.
- 1923: Ray V. Davis's cave photos are first printed in the New York Times.
- 1923 (April 6 – May 8): Jim White guides Robert Holley and Ray V. Davis to map the caverns. Holley suggests making it a National Monument.
- 1923 (October 25): Carlsbad Cave National Monument is created.
- 1925: A staircase is installed at the entrance, replacing the guano bucket for tourists.
- 1926 (May 1): Jim White becomes Chief Ranger of Carlsbad Cave National Monument.
- 1929 (May 5): Jim White leaves his job as Chief Ranger.
- 1930 (May 14): Congress officially makes it Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
- 1937 (February 9): Jim White starts selling Jim White's Own Story inside the cave.
- 1946 (April 26): Jim White passes away in Carlsbad.
