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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1981)
Page 10 THE BATTALION MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1981 Features ‘Cave man’ searches for unexplored beauty : United Press International For the last 30 years, Joe Hoff man has crawled into just about every hole in the ground he could find. “It’s an exhilarating feeling,” Hoffman said. “The inside of a cave is different from anything else on earth. It’s like departing from reality.” When one listens to Hoffman’s tales of exploration, the fantasy like, underground world of caves becomes illuminated — much like the rainbows of color reflected from draperies of calcium carbon ate or the white light that glim mers off walls made of rock-hard “snow” and “ice.” “You’re not looking at anything man-made/’ said Hoffman, a 51- year-old spelunker from Wichita Falls. “It’s really something to find beauty inside a cave, especially if you are the very first person to see it.” Hoffman’s love affair with cave exploration began in 1951 when he was a member of a touring group traveling through Okla homa. When he wasn’t performing, the bored actor longed for adven ture and when a local land agent told him about an unexplored cave, Hoffman began a week-long search to find it. “Finally, I met some Apache In dian kids and they showed me the cave’s opening,” he said. Later, Hoffman talked about the cave with a local police chief, who told him of a newspaper arti cle he had read about a gigantic cave near Ruidoso, N.M. “I went there (Ruidoso) and found the entrance and explored the cave for six weeks,” he said. “That’s what hooked me. It (the Fort Stanton cave) is one of the most beautiful in the world. I’ve gone back every year since 1959.” Hoffman says the Fort Stanton cave contains formations with ev ery color in the rainbow and has crystal balls made of calcium car bonate that has precipitated from the ceilings for millions of years. Hoffman says he enjoys going into unexplored caves — laying the groundwork for others and seeing the beauty before anyone else. “I remember this one small cave about 20 feet long,” he said. “I looked at it but passed year after year. Then I found a hole with a slant opening and crawled in. Some of the rooms were full of popcorn’ — small blobs of calcite formation which were sticking out from everywhere.” Hoffman has been digging to ward another unnamed cave near Hunt for nine years. “When the first, small hole was drilled, the air just shot out be cause of the pressure inside,” he said. “We’ve dynamited down to 37 feet and we’re still going. The air is coming up more and more. I know there’s a cave there.” Next year, Hoffman plans to make his first attempt at a cave in Acquismon, Mexico. The cave, with sheer walls plunging 1,092 feet, is thought to be the second deepest in the world. “We will have to rappel all the way down,” he said. “Once you start, there’s nothing to hang on to at all.” But Hoffman is not afraid of the dangers spelunking can offer and he has found himself in some tight spots. At Fort Stanton, he once became wedged between a rock and the cave wall and could not be pulled out by a fellow explorer. Finally, Hoffman loosened his belt, slipped out of his pants and was pulled to safety. “My behind was sore and red but that was the only way out, ” he said. Hoffman founded and is cur rently president of the North Texas Spelogogical Society, which tries to explore at least one cave per month. In 1971, the group formed a film company and made “Cavern Fantasy,” which took eighth-place honors last year at a French film festival. “Cavern Fantasy” was filmed in the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas in a cave full of dramatic features. The Guadalupe film will be edited to depict what the cavern , , i i I i' In the oilfields worldwide, NATIONAL is the leader. We’ll challenge you to become a leader, too. 9 National Supply Company offers opportunities for professional and personal growth for majors in Mechanical Engineering, Systems, and Busi ness Administration. YOU’RE INVITED TO ARRANGE FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH US ON OCTOBER 9 AND 30,1981. Worldwide headquarters, Houston, Texas. t > ARMCO V NATIONAL SUPPLY COMPANY An equal opportunity employer M/F might have looked liked thousands of years ago and how it evolved through time. Hoffman also has some dramatic footage of bats, swirling clockwise from the mouth of the Devil’s Sinkhole, a cave near Rock- springs. “The bat flight started at about 7:50 in the morning and at 12:30 that afternoon they were still going,” he said. “We were filming from the inside of the cave and the bats were so thick, we couldn’t see the entrance. We estimated there were about 8 million of them.’ In November, the film crew will begin a tenth film at Fort Stanton, one of Hoffman’s favorite caves. “You just can’t believe Fort Stanton,” he said. “As far as beau ty, its the best. The stalagmites are 30 to 40 feet high and there is a wall of color, about six feet high, that has every color of the rainbow.” Twice each year, Hoffman opens the exploration club to new members, who must first ex an “easy” cave to see if any oneli claustrophobia. The cave, Quanah, has small ledges toi and water holes to cross. Fortl who want more, a second, difficult gypsum cave, also m Quanah, provides the realteslH prospective members. “The gypsum cave is hardetj get into, ’ he said. “There’s ak 1 over the ceiling that mustbei sed. After that, if they (trial mei| bers) say it’s great, they canjoij While not exploring cave I Hoffman is director of staffi velopment at the Wichita F<| State School — specializing i| emergency care and aid train and working with photo; and audio-visual aids. His experience with photo phy has led to the development! much of the compact, batte powered equipment now usedj film the fantasy world of caves- world he says he will continuej explore. BA, Doctors overlook depression cases United Press International WASHINGTON — Of all the potentially critical illnesses that require early diagnosis, a psychiatrist says none is more often overlooked than depression, the major factor behind suicides. “The record suggests that grea ter alertness to this problem on the part of the medical profession could make a difference, ” said Dr. Samuel B. Guze, head of psychiat ry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He said that most forms of de pression can be effectively treated and many suicides prevented if doctors detected clues to potential suicide cases in time to take aggressive preventive measures. Guze, discussing the problem in the doctors’ magazine Hospital Practice, said the onset of depress ion is a relatively gradual process, covering weeks or months. He said the patient usually sees a doc tor complaining of a variety of complaints such as constipation, weight loss, insomnia and con stant fatigue accompanied by feel ings of sadness, hopelessness and apathy. “Given this clinical pictuR.1 physicians often fail to recogniiB the depression, assuming thattklBy psychologic symptoms are simpsB a reaction to the patient’s phyaatTh complaints," Guze said. In He said most general practife-liree ers and even some psy< liiiitiiitliv are not aware that half of depreslall ed patients will complain aboi^eek physical rather than psycholoptTh symptoms. He said some patie Cbrii seem unaware of the possibilit iqtia< depression. In Guze said the doctor shouiBon take the time to become fami Arkai with the patient’s history, peraulnfi ality and life situation to looknjse clues to a possible case of <fcft-l pression. Id “Without a high index of suspt Afi cion, even the most well-infon: conk physician can overlook or misdiajl-O, i nose depression, he said. piiv The central feature of most dtclub pression, the psychiatrist said, n Co marked by inability to enjoy anttio activities and relationships thadicati were a source of pleasure.’ leH Ky’s Bin’ TC fth, ilinu score: Unexpected pregnancy? A to Z Women’s Health Services Abortion to 20 weeks • Awake or Asleep • Prompt confidential appointments • Low fees Houston: 1-800-392-8676 Dallas: 1-800-442-4076 San Antonio: 1-800-392-8676 Aggieland reminder GET SHOT! 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