On the first heist the men made off with $3,000 in currency and the second time with gold and silver Mexican dollars.īy 1890, William Shaw had taken over the Mountain Springs Ranch and that year, along with soldiers from Fort Lowell explored the cavern for five hours utilizing candles and magnesium wire to illuminate their path through the underground chambers. In 1884, the local paper reported that “The Mountain Springs Cave” was still for the most part unexplored and that the greatest distance that had been explored up to this point was a half a mile.Ī few years later, this underground chamber is believed to have been used as a hideout by train robbers who held up the Southern Pacific Express, Train Number 20 on two different occasions. Soon after, an exploration team, guided by candles placed in a small board, visited the cave, with the local newspaper reporting what they had discovered: “An arched entrance three feet wide and four feet high…At the mouth of the cave the air was terribly foul…discovered to be from the large deposits of bat excrement all through the cave…The finding of ashes and other indications of fire, evidently very old.(and) no doubt one of the haunts and resting places of the Apaches…Bones of all kinds lay scattered around, no less than 500 deer antlers being seen and other evidences of life destruction and feasting…They brought out with them many beautiful specimens of stalactites and some fine deer antlers which they brought with them to the city.” In January 1879, Lick along with a few companions came across what was believed to be either an old mine or cave with Lick and party exploring this large cavity for about 500 feet from the entrance. They advertised it as “The finest summer resort for families and winter resort for hunters and sportsmen in southern Arizona…Mineral springs are nearby and special accommodations are provided for families, there being six excellent rooms, well furnished.” The ranch's dairy provided fresh milk, butter and eggs for the guests. “Hank” Bridwell had taken over the Mountain Springs Ranch, which now included the Mountain Springs Hotel and Mountain Springs Station.Īround 1879, Solomon Lick a former Union soldier and a partner took over the ranch. The station was "abundantly supplied with water by a living spring and stream of delicious water and excellent grass and plenty of wood for campers are all about." It also provided "first-rate meals prepared to order.and (was) always supplied with hay and grain." This station was likely of recent construction because it was along a new road from Tucson to Tres Alamos, a farming community in the San Pedro Valley. Ramsey, a native of Louisiana, was owner of the Mountain Springs Station, a stage stop approximately 22 miles east of Tucson, in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains. Early History of Colossal Cave and the Mountain Springs RanchĪccording to David Leighton, historian for the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, in 1876, a man named Sidney H. Colossal Cave was used from 900 to 1450 AD by the Hohokam, Sobaipuri, and Apache Indians. It instead feeds the "active" nearby Arkenstone Cave that continues to grow formations. This is because the cave was formed by water depositing limestone, but this source has disappeared. The meaning of this is that its formations are completely dry, or "dead", and do not grow. The cave is an ancient karst cave, classified as "dry" by guides (though this is not a speleologic term). Previous names include 'Mountain Springs Cave' and 'Five–Mile Cave'. Temperatures inside average 70 ☏ (21 ☌) year-round. It contains about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of mapped passageways. Colossal Cave is a large cave system in southeastern Arizona, United States, near the community of Vail, about 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Tucson.
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