Several authorities mention the fact that the existence of some form of bat cave or hibernation den was known to ranchers in the Carlsbad area as early as 1880-90. Great swarms of bats would rise out of a mound in the earth at dusk and go winging their way into the horizon. At sunrise they would return.
Was this the present Big Cave? Southern New Mexico contains numerous bat caves and many were known at this time. The existence of a new one didn't seem to overly excite the ranch hands, for exhaustive research has failed to reveal any positive knowledge of the existence of this particular cave as such prior to the time my father noticed the bats.
Millions of pounds of guano had been taken out of the various bat caves in this area by late 1900, and if anyone had stumbled onto this particular cave prior to my father's discovery, they would most certainly have immediately taken out a claim and proceeded to mine the guano, for there was so much of it that it assumed gold mine proportions.
The fact that my father was the first to take out a claim seems proof enough that he was the first to actually find the cave and, realizing its economic potential, did what any other person would have done, simply, take out a claim. It was the first ever recorded for this particular 20 acres and his claim may be seen today on pages 149 and 152 of Book I in the Eddy County Courthouse at Carlsbad.
3
The First Fifty Years
The discovery of the Carlsbad Caverns was not an earth-shaking event at the time. Its true value as a spectacle was to wait almost 20 years. Had it not been for the huge quantities of guano, my father and his friends might not have been especially interested in the cave, that is, sufficiently so to explore it further, since there were so many similar caves in this particular area of the State, and the discovery of one more didn't unduly excite anyone.
But because the guano looked like a worth while business proposition, the cave got more than casual consideration.
My father knew it was larger than some of the others in the area, and he gave it the title "The Big Cave." It was also referred to as "The Bat Cave" because of the millions of bats which would fly out of its mouth each evening, only to return in equal numbers the following dawn.
In those days it was primarily a guano producing cave and, except for occasional explorations by the guano miners and their friends, there were no extensive trips into the underground chambers by scientists. Only the commercial aspects of the fertilizer producing activities were recognized.
The guano was shipped to California distributors and was largely used in the fruit orchards there. The operation was not too profitable, as my father found out, and after he sold his equipment to Mr. Patterson the property changed hands many times. In 1906, for example, there were three different owners, and there was some splitting of ownership whereby an owner would sell a part or half his interest.