Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

-51-

further on, but the only thing would have been lots of lariat ropes, or a long steel cable, and neither was available nearer than some 50 miles.

   If Mr. Finley had taken the time to go hunting up in the Figure 2 Ranch territory he might have run across another, and to me more interesting, cave than the big bend one. About 62 miles from the town of Van Horn you go through the salt-flat country, where the Salt Wars of the old west occurred. Westward, some 8 or 9 miles from the road is Apache Canyon country, and as rugged as anywhere on the face of the globe. In an off-shoot of Apache Canyon to the south, is an impassable gash called Hell Canyon. The walls of this canyon rise precipitously for at least 1000 feet and top out on Apache Peak on one side and an old Indian ceremonial ground on the other side. More desolate country would be hard to imagine. Coyotes and mountain lions are plentiful, and panthers no novelty. I have seen as many as 34 deer in a herd down below on a grassy ledge sloping down toward the canyon floor. Of course, further up toward the box end of the canyon it was much too rugged for deer, but a few mountain sheep are seen.  (It was) in the wildest part of the canyon that the other cave was found, In fact we almost fell into it. The high grass about the opening hid the dished out entrance.

   We were at an elevation of approximately 7000 feet and going was tough, especially with a pack, and we had stopped to rest when one of the party remarked that it "sounded hollow" when any of us talked. Of course, we all yapped away at the same time trying to see if this was so, and sure enough it was. Further investigation located the hole some six feet to the left of where we had stopped. It was roughly oval in shape, some 30 by 18 feet; and bridged in the center the short way by a natural rock arch heavy enough to support an elephant. In