author
Jim White
1882–1946
Drawn to the strange clouds of bats rising from the New Mexico desert, this cowboy-turned-explorer helped bring Carlsbad Caverns to the world’s attention. His account offers a firsthand look at the curiosity, grit, and wonder behind one of America’s great natural landmarks.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Texas in 1882, Jim White—better known formally as James Larkin White—became a cowboy, guano miner, cave explorer, and later a National Park Service ranger. He is best remembered for his early exploration and energetic promotion of what is now Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.
As a young man, he was fascinated by the huge flights of bats pouring from the cave at sunset, and that curiosity led him underground. He explored the caverns extensively in the early 1900s, often under rough and risky conditions, and spent years convincing visitors, scientists, and officials that the site was extraordinary.
White also told the story of those early explorations in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico: The Story of its Early Explorations, as told by Jim White. He died in 1946, but his name remains closely tied to the discovery story and public fame of Carlsbad Caverns.