2 ANIMAL LIFE OF CARLSBAD CAVERN 



roads, whether from Carlsbad, Van Horn, or El Paso, 

 will keep the tourist interested in the quaint forms of 

 plant and animal life not found outside of desert regions. 

 If the visitor should be so fortunate as to arrive in 

 flowering time in April or May, and after a rain, the 

 desert flora will burst upon him in the height of its 

 marvelous bloom, not rivaled by the tropics. Many a 

 desert thorn is then hidden by soft, glowing petals or 

 fresh green leaves that later drop away and leave on 

 all sides the repellent and threatening thorns. 



Though known commercially for many years from 

 its rich deposits of bat guano, for as much as one hun- 

 dred thousand tons of this valuable fertilizer have been 

 shipped from the one great bat-room, the Carlsbad 

 Cavern and its scenic wonders were first made known 

 to the general public through the National Geographic 

 Magazine of January, 1924, shortly after it had been 

 set aside as the Carlsbad National Monument by proc- 

 lamation of President Coolidge on October 25, 1923. 

 The guano deposit was then nearly exhausted and 

 could no longer be worked at a profit, and the cave was 

 thus rescued for the public before being injured by 

 vandals, or by further commercialization. 



A thorough study of its geology, structure, formation, 

 extent, and animal and plant life was planned and 

 carried out by the National Geographic Society. The 

 late Dr. Willis T. Lee, of the Geological Survey, was 

 placed in charge of the explorations, and it was my 

 good fortune to assist him in a study of the animal 

 life of the cavern and vicinity during the spring and 

 early summer of 1924. 



