The Cave Man

Bert, The Cave Man by Earl Plato

I came across an article about the late Fort Erie naturalist Bert Miller and cave exploring. Bert was a fearless explorer and loved caves. He would take a friend along on a Saturday ramble. That day it was to Cave Springs on the Niagara Escarpment. “See that small opening there,” he would say. Tying the end of a hug ball of twine securely to his belt he told his friend the following. “This is a new opening for me. Every so often I’ll give tug on the twine just to let you know I’m alright.” Now Bert was over six feet but physically fit. He squeezed into the opening with a sturdy flashlight. Minutes passed and then the friend felt a tug. Five minutes more and another tug. Fine, the friend thought. Time passed. The friend looked at his watch. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
The friend pulled on the twine. No resistance. A minute later he had retrieved Bert’s lifeline. What to do he thought, Bert’s car was down the way at the base of the escarpment. Panic stricken he went to the cave opening and yelled, “BERT!” e. A reply came. “Hey, you almost broke my eardrums!” A smiling Bert Miller emerged from the cave opening. “Sorry about untying the twine. I had come to the end of the line but there ahead the cave opened up and I could stand up. Amazing place! Cool like a refrigerator. I’ll return with my camera.”
You had to know Bert who lived into his nineties. Always curious always exploring. A real cave man, eh.
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Wookey Hole is found in eastern England on the edge of the Mendip Hills near Bristol. Wife, Elaine. and her cousins drove us to Wookey Hole caves. I was a little sceptical. I didn’t think that England had many caves as North America. I had been to Howe Caverns N.Y., famed Luray Caverns of Virginia and many more even Bonnchere Caverns in Ontario. So what would we see here? Elaine’s English cousins seemed proud of this unusual cave. This cave was hunted! A witch inhabited Wookey’s Hole. That’s what our guide said. In 1694 the witch of Wookey Hole was well established. Records of the day stated, “ the old Witch herself and even her dog was mentioned.” It became a legend. This day was rainy and cool day in August. Not a very nice day. There were nine chambers in all. The ninth was opened in 1975.
A strange place as noises were heard and reverberated.
In 1914 archaeologist Balch uncovered human remains in the cave. Stone altars some feel were sacrificial had been found at Wookey. Here may be the origin of the legend of the Witch of Wookey Hole. The Hole is located in wildly beautiful surroundings along with an ever gushing giant spring. A memorable day.