Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber Note

Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_.

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THE BIG CAVE

_by_
ABIJAH LONG

_and_
JOE N. LONG

Early History and Authentic Facts Concerning
the History and Discovery of the World
Famous Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico.

CUSHMAN PUBLICATIONS
2440 East 4th Street
Long Beach, California

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© Copyright 1956 and 1958

by Mrs. Abijah Long, Joe N. Long, Mrs. Lou M. Wood, Mrs. Kaye I.
Williams, Ira B. Long, Mac A. Long.

_All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the copyright owners, except by
a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages not to exceed 300 words
in connection with a review in a magazine or newspaper._

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-13784

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition 1956
Second Edition 1958
Third Edition 1961

_We Dedicate_

_This Book to the Millions of Visitors who will
Follow our Father's Footsteps as They Come
to See and Enjoy the Mighty Wonders of the
Carlsbad Caverns._

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword 11

PART I THE DISCOVERY _by Abijah Long_

1. We Move to Carlsbad 15
2. A Big Cave Is Discovered 19
3. A Business Venture Appears 24
4. The First Guano Is Mined 30
5. Life at the Camp 38
6. The Big Cave Is Explored 47
7. The End of the Beginning 53

PART II THE FIRST 60,000,000 YEARS _by Joe N. Long_

1. The Beginning 59
2. Life Enters the Caverns 64
3. The First Fifty Years 74