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Blanchard Springs
Between Rock and Water
October 1956

by Audrey E. "Umpy" Osborn, April 2006

Introduction
Scouting and Spelunking

Scout Troop “Ole” 97, Memphis, TN started its caving tradition in 1948. They explored Calico Cave, “Big Bergman Cave”, near Calico Rock AR. and Greer Springs and Cave near Alton, MO. As described in this story we first visited Blanchard Springs July 1956. In October that year four Ole 97 Explorer Scouts entered Blanchard Springs around 10:30 p. m., in a four man army life raft. They were: Don Meek, Audrey E. “Umpy” Osborn, and my Cousins: Robert L. “Bobby” and Kenneth Ray Osborn. This story honors all Ole 97 scouts who explored caves in Stone County AR. Blanchard Springs was the first of twelve caves explored in Stone County.

Blanchard Springs
Between Rock and Water

We heard a roaring sound that got louder and louder; the rocks were humming.

I saw Blanchard Springs for the first time in July 1956. Scout Troop Ole 97 was on a cave exploring trip. We left Camp Kia Kima, Hardy, AR, early that Saturday morning. Buddy Irwin, Don Meek and I were taking a group of scouts including Jimmy Moore, Mike York, David Hicks, David Twomey, Freddy Melton and Jerry Robison to Calico Rock. We would explore Needles Cave for the first time and revisit the challenges of Calico Cave (Big Bergman.) This was my fourth trip through Calico Cave.

After exploring the two caves, I talked Buddy into taking us across the White River to the fire tower we could see on a distant mountain. We crossed the river on the creaky, old, wooden ferry, powered across to the alluring west bank by the strong current of the river. What an exciting experience that was. Troop 97 had ventured across the White River into the Sylamore Ranger District of the Ozark National Forest for the first time. This set in motion a love affair that has lasted for almost 55 years.

The ranger at Green Mountain forest tower told us about Blanchard Springs and the tremendous unexplored cavern called “Half-Mile Cave,” and showed us a picture of the large underground river. After getting directions we were soon crossing Sylamore creek. We were spellbound with the great flow of water gushing from the cave. Don Meek and I vowed we would return in the fall to explore the spring and to locate Half Mile Cave.

Three months later in October 1956, Don Meek 17, my cousins, Kent 20 and Bobby Osborn 17, and I were on our way with a four-man inflatable raft to explore Blanchard Springs and to find the entrance to mysterious Half-Mile Cave. I was 18 years old.

The four Ole 97 scouts left Friday afternoon in Kent’s old 1949 blue Ford. This was the first time Bobby and Kent had been to the Sylamore area. We pulled into Mt. View around 9:00 p.m., ate dinner and headed out to Blanchard Springs. This was the beginning of many cave exploring trips I would make to Mt. View. We headed out Highway 14, seven crooked miles to Dobbins store, where Highway 14 makes a u-turn to the left. Another short distance and we came to the one lane suspension bridge over South Sylamore Creek. In later years we would spend much time camping on this creek at the ”Poag Hole”. The Blanchard Springs turn-off was about eight more miles out Highway 14. The road down to Blanchard was narrow, curvy and steep and passed by a small pavilion opposite the spring. This section of road was closed many years ago.

Before stopping at the spring we drove down to Sylamore Creek and the meadow below Shelter Cave Bluff. We wanted to show Bobby and Kent the moon lit beauty of the Blanchard Springs camping area. In the bright moonlight you could even see the autumn colors. Driving back to the spring I remember Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill, my favorite, playing on the radio. It was exciting to be there that night.

The large parking area of today had not been built at that time. We parked the car and walked up a foot path to the spring. The waterfall gushing from the cave was beautifully illuminated by the full harvest moon. We were pumped and anxious to start our cave exploration and decided not to wait until morning. We were revved up and ready to go!!! After all, it made no difference to us whether it was day or night for cave exploring. Around 10:30 we moved the car up the road to the small pavilion that would be our camp for the night and unloaded our gear. We got the raft and our lights and headed down the hill to the spring shining in the bright moonlight.

After wading through ice cold water, we pulled our raft up into the mouth of the cave, got in and started paddling. Soon the ceiling started getting lower until it was only about six or seven inches above the raft. We had to lie down inside the raft and pull ourselves along with hand holds on the cold ceiling of the cave. We couldn’t see anything but dark gray rock. We were literally wedged between cold rock and cold water. It was after pulling forward for some time we heard a roaring sound that got louder and louder; the rocks were humming. Our hearts were beating faster and faster; we briefly thought about turning back. We expected to enter into a room with a huge waterfall. Instead, we entered into a small chamber with a high ceiling and rapids 16 feet or so away on the far side of a deep pool.

The walls of this limestone chamber were vertical and the ceiling was smooth. This marked the entrance of a long passage about 10 feet wide and 12 feet high. The stream covered the entire floor and was about a foot deep. The walls and ceiling were smooth except for one white stalactite. After several hundred feet the water got deeper. We had to get inside the raft and paddle for about two hundred feet, the last 30 feet or so before the siphon, when the water appeared to be very deep. We could shine our six-volt light beams into the water only into blackness. At this point we estimated we had traveled no more than ¼ mile.

We wrote our names and Ole 97 in a small muddy passage that continued past the water about 15 feet. We were disappointed there wasn’t a connection into Half Mile Cave. I think we were the first to reach the source of Blanchard Springs. There were no Hugh Shell “$” marks; no doubt, we were the first to reach the source. This was the last time we entered the spring.

We took the raft back to the pavilion, put on dry clothes and went in search of Half Mile Cave. We already knew it was a ½ mile up the dry creek bed to the side of the springs. It was an exciting hike up the solid rock creek bed to the huge circular shaft to the caverns below. We could faintly hear the rushing river in the cave 75 feet below and feel the force of damp cave air on our faces emanating from the silent blackness.

We made a trip back to the entrance the next morning. The pit was about 10 feet in diameter and almost circular. We measured the distance to the gravel below at 75 feet. This was the gigantic unexplored cavern the forest ranger at Green Tower had told us about in July. We would someday overcome the obstacle of the forbidding shaft and explore Half Mile Caverns. Little did I know how long this would take!

After a long slow trip back protecting Kent’s ailing car, we arrived in Memphis late Sunday night. The rear- end dropped out of the old blue Ford when we stopped for a red light in downtown Crawfordsville, Arkansas. Bam! It was gone. We eventually reached Memphis. The trip was well worth the problems of getting home.

We had a great and exciting experience, one the four of us will never forget. This was the first cave in Stone County that Ole 97 Scouts explored. The four of us vowed to return to Blanchard Springs and someday explore Half Mile Cave and many others.

Don Meek and I would make several more trips to the Sylamore area. Our new friends from Mt. View, Joe K. and T. L., Jefferson, and their friend, Zane Wilson, took us and our four man raft to Hill Creek Cave and to Roland Cave in June 1957. We visited Roland cave entering by way of the creek bed under large limestone boulders into the natural entrance. In the spring of 1958 we searched for Hale Haden Cave on Green Mountain Road but found the Hunter’s Shelter instead. This was my last Scout activity with Don Meek.

Outside Hill Creek Cave near Mt. View, June 1957

The 1956 Blanchard Springs trip was my last Scout activity with my cousin, Kent.

I dedicate this story in the memory of my cousin, Kenneth Ray Osborn, Life Scout, member of the OA and a member, along with me, of the 1953 Boy Scout Camp, Kia Kima staff, Hardy, AR. Kent was one of Lou Pritchett’s waterfront assistants. He succumbed to Marie’s Ataxia in 1982 after a long illness. He was 46 years old. I miss him. He was like the brother I never had.

Blanchard Springs - Between Rock and Water, October 1956 by Audrey E. "Umpy" Osborn, Germantown, TN - April 2006 revised March 2010.