In 1939 the Park was extended to include some 49,000 acres, and within this area are 30 other caverns, some of which have been quite extensively explored while others are relatively unknown. In the main, most of them are similar, though none begin to compare with the Carlsbad Caverns in size, and the details and formations often differ as well.
Three years later the Government purchased the east wing from T. A. Blakely. This was the section lying for the most part over the guano beds which in previous years had been worked so extensively. The purchase of this last segment put the entire known area of the great cave in the hands of the government.
In 1946, Colonel Boles, the park's first superintendent, who had served through 19 pioneering years, was transferred to Hot Springs National Park. By that time he had spoken to well over 2 million visitors, many of whom were world famous. He says he has made over 5,000 complete trips through the Caverns and on each "I saw something I missed before." Much of the early progress was due directly to Colonel Boles' leadership and foresight. Today, having retired from the National Park Service, he makes his home in Carlsbad, where he serves as public relations counsel for the Potash Company of America.
Donald S. Libbey followed Colonel Boles as Superintendent of the Caverns and he in turn was succeeded by R. Taylor Hoskins. During the first eight years of his office, Supt. Hoskins says almost 3,000,000 people paid to see the limestone creations which many have tabbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World." Those who make the underground tour come away feeling that appellation can't be far from right.
Though the government spent some money years ago in improving the Caverns and preparing them for visitors to see in safety, the returns on that investment are now counted. Although the park receives somewhat over a quarter of a million dollars appropriation from the federal government each year, it returns almost twice that amount, the sum being obtained from tourist fees and similar income.
Yes, these first fifty years have indeed seen many changes within the Caverns. Nature's work has been protected and left intact, but the lights, the lunchroom, the elevator, the improved trails, and the many other improvements have been made by man for man's enjoyment of what the ages have bestowed—what the centuries have given him to see and enjoy.
Already people from the four corners of the globe have beaten a track to the Caverns' door, to behold in amazement and wonder and awe. Many millions more will come in the years ahead, and their children in the years after that. Here, some 700 and 1000 feet below the surface of the earth they will marvel at the work of the centuries—that began some 60,000,000 years ago.
Part III
THE BIG CAVE TODAY
By JOE N. LONG
