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    “A geologist warned the cavern that such a cave as Dorr described is geologically impossible, that such don't exist! But regardless of expert opinion, the caver’s will always be intrigued with the thought of what might –- just possibly might -- be beyond that point. Could Dorr have been right?  After all, he wasn't just theorizing.

    “I have ample respect for the science of geology and for those who practice it, generally speaking. But there are geologists and ‘geologists,’ on the firm authority of members of that fraternity themselves. They do not agree on broad principles or even on specific cases. One does not have to be in the wide open long before seeing certain solemn pronouncements put to flight by uncooperative facts. Nowhere is this more evident than in determining the occurrence of water on the desert, to site a single example. It has been amusing on many an occasion. Not for underrate expert knowledge, we just may not have all the answers yet. And some stories are too big, as Dorr said.

    “Cowboy Jim White found Carlsbad Caverns, a wide open hole that anyone could look into and watch the bats swarm out. He had to make a career of convincing the world of its existence. It took him an incredible twenty years, while the people in the town 30 miles away said: ‘The hole is in your head -- the bats too.’

     “Reality or pipe dream? Mention the Dorr cavern in the area and people turn faces away to laugh. Some told me that Dorr's name is mud to them. What of Dorr's affidavit? In an argument it's only natural to ignore a point difficult to answer and seize upon the seemingly ridiculous. It's unlike anyone in his right mind to swear falsely and demand that he be caught doing so. It's most unlike Dorr, whatever his other failings.      “Also, it's unlike a practical miner to spend years in exhausting body and finances on an imaginary adventure. And the fact of the black sand placer -– where else did it come from when he was seen carrying