James Larkin White
Encyclopedia
James Larkin White better known as Jim White, was a cowboy
, guano
miner, cave
explorer, and park ranger
for the National Park Service
. He is best remembered as the discoverer, early promoter and explorer of what is known today as Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad Caverns National Park
, New Mexico
.
. He started working in the cattle business at a very early age and preferred it to the school his father forced him to attend. He preferred "bustin' broncos to books and blackboards". One day, when Jim had had enough of school, he begged his father to let him do something else. "I want to be a cowboy", he said. So, when he was 10 years old, his father agreed to take him to the southeastern corner of the New Mexico Territory
. He left him at the ranch of John and Dan Lucas (XXX Ranch). His father bought land at Lonetree, just west of the developing town of Eddy (Carlsbad today), and moved the rest of the family there three years later. Jim occasionally stayed at his family's small horse farm, but mostly lived and worked at the Lucas ranch.
While riding his horse through the Chihuahuan Desert
looking for stray cattle with a fence mending crew for the Lucas brothers, Jim saw a plume of bat
s rising from the desert hills. It appeared to be a volcano
, or a whirlwind
but did not behave quite like either. He tied his horse to a nearby tree and worked his way through the brush to the edge of a large opening in the ground. Jim described the moment by saying, "I found myself gazing into the biggest and blackest hole I had ever seen, out of which the bats seemed literally to boil".
. He cut wood from some nearby shrubs and assembled a makeshift ladder
. He lowered the ladder into the opening and using a homemade kerosene
lantern
, descended approximately 50 feet (15.2 m) to the first serviceable ledge. He climbed down an additional 20 feet (6.1 m) to a floor. Using the "sickly glow" of his lantern, he made his way into the cave. He felt as if he "... was wandering into the very core of the Guadalupe Mountains."
After reaching a chamber, he noted two tunnels leading off in opposite directions, one downward and to the right and one, more level, to the left. He decided to go left first and discovered the Bat Cave. He explored it for a while then proceeded down the other tunnel.
By the time he reached the first formations
, he had "... crept cat-like across a dozen dangerous ledges and past many tremendous openings ...". He saw more stalagmites, "... each seemingly larger and more beautifully formed than the ones I'd passed". He encountered chandeliers, stalactite
s, soda straw
s, flowstone
, pools of water, rimstone dams
and other formations. He dropped rocks into pits to determine their depth. He rolled one boulder into a pit and it fell for a couple of seconds and then "... kept rolling and rolling until its sound became an echo".
Then the light from his homemade kerosene lantern went out. The darkness seemed to smother him. Jim described the incident by saying, "It seemed as though a million tons of black wool descended upon me."
After refilling his lantern from a spare canteen
of oil, he made his way back to the surface.
boy. His real name is unknown—he was known only as Muchacho, The Kid, or Pothead.
Five days after Jim's first trip into the cave, he and Pothead made an exploration. Carrying food, water, fuel and homemade torch
es, they began an exploration which lasted three days. They took a large ball of string to use to ensure their exit.
They explored approximately the same areas of the cave that the modern tourist trails cover including the Big Room, and the King's Palace and Queen's Chamber.
by Frank Ernest Nicholson in exchange for payment of a boarding bill. Nicholson was a journalist and led the ill-fated Nicholson Expedition to Carlsbad Caverns in 1929 sponsored by The New York Times
.
Jim White had a permit with the National Park Service to sell the booklet from the Underground Lunchroom. Dennis Chavez
, a U.S. Senator helped obtain the permit by putting pressure on the park. At first, the agreement was oral but later, it became more formal. Sales of the booklet ceased two months after Jim White's death.
in places like the California
fruit orchards
. The guano was sold for 90 dollars
a ton
(2000 lbs). Jim White used the guano bucket to transport hundreds of tourists into and out of the cave.
The original guano bucket was used as the stand in the Underground Lunchroom from which Jim White sold his booklets. Jim White Jr. later gave it to a man named Charlie Dugger and it was stored in his garage.
to Oak Springs and let it loose to find its way home with two cans of water on its back. Fannie would empty the water into a barrel when the burro returned. They did not get electricity until 1929 or 1930 and it was only on during the day.
, New Mexico
at the age of 63. He suffered from Bright's disease
and died of coronary thrombosis
. He told a reporter for the Carlsbad Current-Argus, two days before his death, that he felt well but was not ready to ride a horse to California, again. He is buried alongside his wife, Fannie, at Carlsbad Municipal Cemetery in Carlsbad. The epitaph on his tombstone reads "The Discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns".
After his death, a movement was started to have a statue of Jim White erected at the cavern entrance. Instead, a bronze plaque was placed in the lobby at the park visitor center which reads:
In 2011, a large, bronze statue of Jim White descending a wire ladder was unveiled at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) building in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
, guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
miner, cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
explorer, and park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
for the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. He is best remembered as the discoverer, early promoter and explorer of what is known today as Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The primary attraction of the park for most visitors is the show cave, Carlsbad Caverns...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Birth
Jim White was born on July 11, 1882, on a ranch in Mason County, TexasMason County, Texas
Mason County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 4, 012. Its county seat is Mason...
. He started working in the cattle business at a very early age and preferred it to the school his father forced him to attend. He preferred "bustin' broncos to books and blackboards". One day, when Jim had had enough of school, he begged his father to let him do something else. "I want to be a cowboy", he said. So, when he was 10 years old, his father agreed to take him to the southeastern corner of the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
. He left him at the ranch of John and Dan Lucas (XXX Ranch). His father bought land at Lonetree, just west of the developing town of Eddy (Carlsbad today), and moved the rest of the family there three years later. Jim occasionally stayed at his family's small horse farm, but mostly lived and worked at the Lucas ranch.
Discovery
An inscription reading "J White 1898" was discovered deep within Carlsbad Caverns in the 1980s. It provides witness to the presence of a 16 year old Jim White.While riding his horse through the Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...
looking for stray cattle with a fence mending crew for the Lucas brothers, Jim saw a plume of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s rising from the desert hills. It appeared to be a volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
, or a whirlwind
Whirlwind (atmospheric phenomenon)
A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and in any season....
but did not behave quite like either. He tied his horse to a nearby tree and worked his way through the brush to the edge of a large opening in the ground. Jim described the moment by saying, "I found myself gazing into the biggest and blackest hole I had ever seen, out of which the bats seemed literally to boil".
First exploration
A few days laterCave History Update; April 27, 2005 paraphrases Jim White Jr. in saying that his father "... probably took about a month getting ready to go into the cave the first time"., he returned to the cave with some rope, fence wire and a hatchetHatchet
A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...
. He cut wood from some nearby shrubs and assembled a makeshift ladder
Ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
. He lowered the ladder into the opening and using a homemade kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
, descended approximately 50 feet (15.2 m) to the first serviceable ledge. He climbed down an additional 20 feet (6.1 m) to a floor. Using the "sickly glow" of his lantern, he made his way into the cave. He felt as if he "... was wandering into the very core of the Guadalupe Mountains."
After reaching a chamber, he noted two tunnels leading off in opposite directions, one downward and to the right and one, more level, to the left. He decided to go left first and discovered the Bat Cave. He explored it for a while then proceeded down the other tunnel.
By the time he reached the first formations
Speleothem
A speleothem , commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems are typically formed in limestone or dolostone solutional caves.-Origin and composition:...
, he had "... crept cat-like across a dozen dangerous ledges and past many tremendous openings ...". He saw more stalagmites, "... each seemingly larger and more beautifully formed than the ones I'd passed". He encountered chandeliers, stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s, soda straw
Soda straw
A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral tube. They grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves...
s, flowstone
Flowstone
Flowstones are composed of sheetlike deposits of calcite formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution", or limestone caves, where they are the most common speleothem. However, they may form in any type of cave where water enters that...
, pools of water, rimstone dams
Rimstone
Rimstone, also called gours, is a type of speleothem in the form of a stone dam. Rimstone is made up of calcite and other minerals that build up in cave pools. The formation created, which looks like stairs, often extends into flowstone above or below the original rimstone. Often, rimstone is...
and other formations. He dropped rocks into pits to determine their depth. He rolled one boulder into a pit and it fell for a couple of seconds and then "... kept rolling and rolling until its sound became an echo".
Then the light from his homemade kerosene lantern went out. The darkness seemed to smother him. Jim described the incident by saying, "It seemed as though a million tons of black wool descended upon me."
After refilling his lantern from a spare canteen
Canteen (bottle)
A canteen is a drinking water bottle designed to be used by hikers, campers, soldiers and workers in the field. It is usually fitted with a shoulder strap or means for fastening it to a belt, and may be covered with a cloth bag and padding to protect the bottle and insulate the contents...
of oil, he made his way back to the surface.
The kid
Jim returned to the cave with a 15 year old MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
boy. His real name is unknown—he was known only as Muchacho, The Kid, or Pothead.
Five days after Jim's first trip into the cave, he and Pothead made an exploration. Carrying food, water, fuel and homemade torch
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...
es, they began an exploration which lasted three days. They took a large ball of string to use to ensure their exit.
They explored approximately the same areas of the cave that the modern tourist trails cover including the Big Room, and the King's Palace and Queen's Chamber.
Jim White's Own Story
The original record of the early events surrounding Jim White and Carlsbad Caverns comes from a booklet, self-published in 1932, titled Jim White's Own Story. The booklet was ghost writtenGhostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
by Frank Ernest Nicholson in exchange for payment of a boarding bill. Nicholson was a journalist and led the ill-fated Nicholson Expedition to Carlsbad Caverns in 1929 sponsored by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Jim White had a permit with the National Park Service to sell the booklet from the Underground Lunchroom. Dennis Chavez
Dennis Chavez
Dionisio "Dennis" Chavez was a Democratic politician from the U.S. State of New Mexico who served in the United States House of Representatives, and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962.-Early life:...
, a U.S. Senator helped obtain the permit by putting pressure on the park. At first, the agreement was oral but later, it became more formal. Sales of the booklet ceased two months after Jim White's death.
The guano bucket
One of the early guano companies dug a shaft making a more direct route to the guano deposits in the Bat Cave. It was serviced by a large iron bucket operated by a gasoline winch. This system was used to haul bags of guano out of the cave for use as fertilizerFertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
in places like the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
fruit orchards
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
. The guano was sold for 90 dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
a ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
(2000 lbs). Jim White used the guano bucket to transport hundreds of tourists into and out of the cave.
The original guano bucket was used as the stand in the Underground Lunchroom from which Jim White sold his booklets. Jim White Jr. later gave it to a man named Charlie Dugger and it was stored in his garage.
Family
Jim White married Fannie Hill on January 1, 1912. She was eighteen and a longtime friend from the town of Lonetree. Their first house was provided by the guano company. It was a "... two room shack, set practically on top of the small bat cave, which was several hundred yards from the main cavern entrance." Jim and Fannie had a son named James Larkin White, Jr. on March 23, 1919. Jim moved his family into a four room house provided by the guano company when Jim Jr. was about two years old. It was a few hundred feet farther from the cave entrance. They did not have running water at the house; instead, Jim would take a burroBurro
The burro is a small donkey used primarily as a pack animal. In addition, significant numbers of feral burros live in the Southwestern United States, where they are protected by law, and in Mexico...
to Oak Springs and let it loose to find its way home with two cans of water on its back. Fannie would empty the water into a barrel when the burro returned. They did not get electricity until 1929 or 1930 and it was only on during the day.
Death
Jim White died on April 26, 1946 in a hospital in CarlsbadCarlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
at the age of 63. He suffered from Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
and died of coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is a form of thrombosis affecting the coronary circulation. It is associated with stenosis subsequent to clotting. The condition is considered as a type of ischaemic heart disease.It can lead to a myocardial infarction...
. He told a reporter for the Carlsbad Current-Argus, two days before his death, that he felt well but was not ready to ride a horse to California, again. He is buried alongside his wife, Fannie, at Carlsbad Municipal Cemetery in Carlsbad. The epitaph on his tombstone reads "The Discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns".
After his death, a movement was started to have a statue of Jim White erected at the cavern entrance. Instead, a bronze plaque was placed in the lobby at the park visitor center which reads:
In 2011, a large, bronze statue of Jim White descending a wire ladder was unveiled at the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) building in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Chronology
- 1882 (July 11): Jim White is born in Mason County, TexasMason County, TexasMason County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 4, 012. Its county seat is Mason...
. - 1888: development of the town of Eddy (Carlsbad today) begins.
- 1892: Jim White moves to New Mexico TerritoryNew Mexico Territorythumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
just a few miles from Eddy. - 1893: the town of Eddy is incorporated.
- 1895: Jim White's family moves to join him in New Mexico.Cavern's Chronology says that Jim White moved with his family to the New Mexico Territory in 1892. One Man's Dream says that his father took him to the territory and left him in 1892 and the family came to join him three years later.
- 1898: Jim White first enters the cave.Jim White's Own Story and One Man's Dream say the date of first entry into the cave was 1901; but, Jim admits that he is not certain. Caverns Chronology puts the date at 1898 based on an inscription found in the cave in the 1980s which reads "1898 J. White".
- 1899: the citizens of Eddy vote to rename the town to Carlsbad.
- 1912 (January 6): New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
becomes a state. - 1915 – 1918: Ray V. Davis takes the first photographs from inside the caverns.
- 1918: New Mexico Governor W. E. LindsayWashington Ellsworth LindseyWashington Ellsworth Lindsey was an American politician and the third Governor of New Mexico.- Early life :...
incorporated the town of Carlsbad. - 1923: Ray V. Davis caverns photographs are first published in the New York Times.
- 1923 (April 6 – May 8): Jim White guides Robert Holley of the General Land OfficeGeneral Land OfficeThe General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
and Ray V. Davis (photographer) to survey and map the caverns. Holley recommends the establishment of a National MonumentU.S. National MonumentA National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
. - 1923 (October 25): Carlsbad Cave National Monument is established.
- 1923 – 1927: W. F. McIlvain supervises Jim White and Willis T. Lee in the construction of the first trails, stairs and the installation of the first lights.
- 1924 (March 20 – September 15): the National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic SocietyThe National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
sponsors Willis T. Lee, guided by Jim White, to explore the caverns. - 1925: entrance staircase is installed replacing the guano bucket as the means to enter the cave.
- 1926 (May 1): Jim White becomes Chief Ranger of Carlsbad Cave National Monument.
- 1928 (September): Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
visits the caverns. - 1929 (May 5): Jim White resigns as Chief Ranger.
- 1930 (May 14): Congress establishes Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
- 1937 (February 9): Jim White begins selling Jim White's Own Story in the cave.
- 1946 (April 26): Jim White dies in Carlsbad.
External links
, reprint of an interview with Jim White Jr. conducted by park historian Bob Hoff; originally printed in History Leads & Resources (September 2, 1994)., an essay by park naturalist Neal R. Bullington from May 1968 which attempts to discern who actually discovered Carlsbad Caverns.- Borderlands, Jim White Explored Carlsbad Caverns for Years, an article from El Paso Community CollegeEl Paso Community CollegeEl Paso Community College is a community college district headquartered in El Paso, Texas. EPCC operates five campuses in the Greater El Paso area, as well as courses offered at nearby Fort Bliss....
. - Retired Park Historian's CAVE/NPS History, retired park historian Bob Hoff writes about Carlsbad Caverns history.