In the light of Dr. Lee's primitive torchlight, the base showed up a dark green, with the grooved pillars light cream in color, both glittering and sparkling as the light struck them.
Other interesting observations by the party included the location of extinct seeps on the floor of the big room, the basins of which were up to about 50 feet in diameter, pedestals of onyx resembling toadstools and so called by the party, and an underground series of chambers through one of which flows a stream of clear water.
Dr. Lee's party was unprepared for the vastness and extent of the Caverns. Although his group had come prepared for a sizeable task, the job overwhelmed them. Although they mapped much of the underground passageways and rooms, they could see much was left undone.
But what they had done was enough to prompt the United States Government in declaring the site a National Monument. On October 30, 1923, Secretary Work announced that President Coolidge had proclaimed the area a National Monument.
Now it was official. If the government proclaimed it as a National Monument, it must be worth a visit. So thought many people throughout the land as they read about it in the many national magazines that ran descriptions of the Caverns based on Dr. Lee's findings.
My father's original holdings consisted of 20 acres. Now that the government had taken over, the size was increased to 700 acres.
Spurred by Dr. Lee's first exhaustive article in the National Geographic in January, 1924, people began to travel to this underground land of wonders. Diplomats, governors, people of all walks of life wanted a first-hand glimpse of what had been found.
There were no adequate facilities with which to accommodate them. Silk hats in guano buckets didn't look exactly right. Improvements were in order.
Dr. Lee reported how preliminary his work had been. More exploration was needed, and as a result he returned to the Caverns in the spring of 1924 in order to further extend the work he had started when he first saw them.
Exploration began the middle of March and lasted for six months, during the heat of the summer when it was as high as 115 in the shade—and, as Dr. Lee says, there was no shade. Yet inside the cave it remained about 56 degrees, which is constant the year around. During this time the party played host to the Governor of New Mexico, the Governor of Texas, the Director of National Parks, and many other high ranking dignitaries.