Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1908 — Living Stream of Bats. [ARTICLE]

Living Stream of Bats.

One of the wonders of this part of Texas is a stream of bats, several feet in thickness, which pours from a cave in a cliff on the bank of the Frio River, 25 miles north of Uvaldo, for about two hours each evening. It is said to be the biggest bat cave in the World. When the millions of flying mammals pour forth in the early dusk of the evening the rising column has the appearance of smoke and it can be easily seen for five miles. The .column of bats retains a solid and symmetrical shape until It attains a height of three or four hundred feet above the earth, when the winged creatures dart away In different directions in search of food. So far as known the only attempt to explore the cave was made by Dr. William B. Phillips, formerly director of the State Mineral Survey. He descended by means of a rope to a depth of 194 feet and then came to the floor of the first large chamber. He found that the bats did not come from this chamber. He followed a narrow passage way that led into a second chamber, This chamber was of enormous size and clinging to the root and walls was the horde of bats. It Is estimated that the bottom of the cave Is filled with thousands of tons of guano, bat owing to the remote distance from the nearest railroad point no effort has ever been made to utilize the valuable product. Henry Cograd and Tom Felah, sons of ranchmen of that neighborhood, attempted to explore the cave and attempted to enlarge the opening by means of a blast of dynamite. At the first explosion tbs hats poured forth.