Local Guide Speaks Of Guerillas Warfare, Ancient Seas, Unusual Wildlife & Local Mysteries During Visit in Missouri At Travel South Confab
The balance between science and lore creates some of the best stories because it becomes the aspect of almost what could have been but also what can be proven. Smallin Civil War Cave in Ozark Missouri has this in spades. From the albino crawdads in some of its water pools to instances of Indian ceremonies inside its shadows to guerilla warfare in the valley just outside its entrance between Union & Conferederate soldiers during the Civil War, the balance between fact and fiction sometimes blurs. Guide John Jehle spoke with MRV: The Buzz Editor In Chief Tim Wassberg on the cusp of the cave during the Travel South Conference to discuss historical fact, learned belief and the stone between fingers.
The Buzz: Most people have a connection to an area they work or they have something that sort of draws them to where they are. Can you talk about what Smallin Civil War is for you in that way?
JJ: Absolutely. I am a history buff. I absolutely love history. And this place has-- like some people say millions of years of history. Not only when this was an ocean, but also as a place for the Indians. It was a place for the Civil War soldiers. It was a place for the settlers. It was a place when somebody came along from Illinois and made this place Civil War Cave. And then, of course, it's a place for modern day settlers that come across the whole country to check out this whole cool cave. And it's also beautiful.
The Buzz: Now what makes it so unusual from your point of view geologically, but also historically in the way it sort of built itself over many years?
JJ: Well, most caves have really small opening but in the back [they are] really big. Ours is exactly the opposite. You saw the opening...it's 100 feet wide by 55 feet tall. It's a giant opening that goes way back in there very slow. So geologically, it's very different. [There are not] a lot a lot of caves like that in the country. Anyway, that's why I like it because it's different. It has very few stalagmites because it has water running through it. Most caves don't. Most caves will have water dripping but not water running through it.
The Buzz: Now, what this area historically? We were talking about the Indians, the different things, and plus The Civil War but other people have been there.
JJ: I mean when the settlers came, they wanted a place to cool off. They wanted a place for nice water. They wanted a place to have picnics Sunday afternoon.
The Buzz: How far back are we talking about?
JJ: We're talking like the 1850s, so 150, 160 years ago, something like that. Before that, the Indians -- there is one story that the Indians used this cave as a ceremonial place...they would have ceremonies and worship down here for their gods -- obviously, there's not a lot of people left that could tell us [about] that. That is what one story supposedly said. It was church for them. And then, of course, ironically enough, in the 70s, here comes the church that actually did worship their God down here.
The Buzz: Now can you talk about the Civil War? Because the thing is Missouri as a state was almost split in its loyalties so it becomes an interesting sort of battle ground.
JJ: Now we never had any major battles. If somebody's wanted to go see a major battle, they would need to go to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. But Smallins was a place where the Union soldiers who were just a mile away were coming around [and then there was] what they called “the bushwhackers”. These were the guys that would literally hide in the bushes and “whack” you. That's where they got that name.
The Buzz: So more modern day snipers?
JJ: Absolutely. Guerrillas. I mean you think of the Vietnam War...the towns were where all the people were and then the guerrillas were out in the towns. That's exactly the way it was. People all down the road would come out here and they would pick off the Union soldiers a little at a time.
The Buzz: It's interesting because when we tend to think about Vietnam, we think of jungles, but here it's woods, but with valleys and everything.
JJ: They would hide out and, all these locals, they knew their way around. I mean, they knew every tree, every rock, everywhere they were going. They knew that. They knew about this cave. I've got a diary of a guy that was a Confederate soldier and he was in the cave. He remembers the day that he was in there for a party. It was one of those rolling out the quilt kind of parties. And he says, "I remember that day when I was in the cave." And he was actually in Corinth, Mississippi. And he says, "This reminded me of the day I was at the cave." It's like you said, it was very split...one farm would be Confederate and one farm would be Union. And the Confederate guys were off fighting while the Union people were here protecting their property.
The Buzz: When people talk about the myth and lore of certain places...I mean, you go to Bottomless Lakes down in New Mexico and people think that those caves go into the Gulf Of Mexico. And then you have caves in Kentucky where it is not certain where everything goes. Can you talk about the myth and lore of this place, but you have to separate fact from fiction?
JJ: Well, it's funny you say that because...we've heard a lot of the settler legends...they used to tell their kids that [inside the cave] that big hole of water was bottomless. And they told them that so they wouldn't come in here. It was like the Boogey Man...you go in there, you're going to get sucked in that water. You'll never come out. But our cave, like you saw, there are so many little holes all through the cave. I don't know if we have miles, but I guarantee we have lots more cave that you can't see unless you're only so big.
The Buzz: Can you talk about wildlife as a perspective and how that sort of leads people in order understanding what actually is going on inside the cave?
JJ: Well in the smaller cave, as I told you before, we released a salamander who had a mark on him. And once we released him, he ended up in our big cave when they found him. So we know he would have had have gone from the little cave to the big cave via those passages.
The Buzz: Now can you talk about the aspect of that this area used to be a sea. But it's really tactile how you can see it reflected in this cave, even more so with these little white crustaceans/shrimps. Because that really, even more, you can see the living things that are actually here, who are seafaring creatures. Can you talk a little bit about that?
JJ: Sure. Well, the crawdads, I can tell you this, that they say that this species is only found in South West Missouri, and in North West Arkansas. They literally cannot get out of their area. I mean, that's the only place they're ever at.
The Buzz: Can you describe what a crawdad is for most people who don't know?
JJ: Sure. Well, regular crawdad, their real name is bristly cave crayfish. I call them crawdads because I'm a hillbilly (laughing) but if you ever see a crawdad, they look like mini lobsters with claws on them. Well, these [in the cave] are completely blind. They were born with no eyes.
The Buzz: Because of the cave.
JJ: Exactly. When you live in the dark, why you need eyes? And they have no pigment in their skin. Why would you have to have brown or any other color in your skin if you live in a cave. So they're actually transparent. If you ever picked up one, you could see their internal organs. They say if there was one who's ever eating, you can see the food going right down to the stomach. And that's what we have in our cave. Of course, we have those salamanders. Now, they have color. They have orange. Great big eyes. They can see, but they just choose not to. And of course, the bats. Same thing. They have eyes. You ever heard the term that blind as a bat? That's absolutely not true. Bats can see just like you and I, but they use echolocation. They don't use their eyes.
The Buzz: Now, can you talk about these specific bats in the cave because they're unusual. They're unlike most bats we see. And also, the proximity you can be in relation to them. I mean, you're careful. They are wildlife. But you can come up and look at them.
JJ: Absolutely. Well, these are called eastern pipistrelle tricolor bats because they have two colors of red and one color of black on their wings, and they're [very] small. They're only about an inch tall when they're fully grown. And yeah, like you said, when they're hibernating, you can see them hanging from the wall. I mean, you get up close and personal, as you saw, so.
The Buzz: And here for the cave there is a guided tour or a visitor can go in on their own.
JJ: We have a wild tour where you can dress just however you want to, wet suit or even just regular clothes if you want, and crawl down through these passages. Some of the passages are only about two feet tall so you're crawling around in the mud in the water and it's cold back there, but hey, it's a blast. I mean, you can see all sorts of things...like I was saying, the roots of a tree going down through the ceiling. You can see lots more of that calcite too.
The Buzz: Can you could also sort of describe the aspects of the sea on the ceiling. It's sort of a reversal of life. Can you talk about that?
JJ: Well, years ago...however many years ago is debatable....but you can still see shells...I mean, seashells. You can see those crinoids...all those ancient sea creatures, snails, all sorts of things that have names about that long that you can see on the wall. You know those creatures were from somewhere. It's obvious when they died they went down, stuck into the mud, the mud turned to rock, and here we are sitting there staring at them.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the balance of history: of what we know, and what we think we know, versus science: what we can see, what we can touch, what we can feel, and what we can prove. And where it evolves ? Because it's going to evolve into something different.
JJ: Everybody's different. I mean, everybody has different beliefs. I mean, some people think this was all caused by the flood in the Bible with Noah. And some people think it took millions of years for this to happen. I don't know, I wasn't around (laughing). I have no idea what happened. But I do know one thing...Like you said, there's proof. I can see those fossils on the ceiling. I can touch them. I could take a little ax or a little hatchet and chip them off if you want to. So there is truth in that there really are fossils. Where they came from or how old they are, I don't know. But they are for sure there.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
Make Sure To Stay At:
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