The Tragedy Of Floyd Collins

1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

On a February day in 1925, spelunker Floyd Collins crawled into Sand Cave, part of the gigantic Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky, USA. Suddenly, his lantern failed. Groping in the darkness, Collins' foot knocked loose a seven-ton boulder. It fell on his leg, trapping him in the coffin-like narrowness of a dark, subterranean straitjacket.

For 16 days Collins was wedged 125 feet below ground in an ice-cold space eight inches high and 12 feet long. His plight became a national sensation. Not only was there the usual media feeding frenzy, but merchants had a field day. As the rescue attempt wore on some 50,000 tourists bought hot dogs, balloons, and soft drinks from vendors who set up stands at the cave.

In the end, Floyd Collins died alone in the icy darkness, crying out deliriously, "Get me out. Why don't you take me out?"
Floyd Collins had ceased being a person, even while he was still clinging to life. Greed had made him a saleable commodity. In fact, he was worth considerably more dead than alive.

After rescuers finally pulled his body out of the earth, Floyd's embalmed remains were displayed with grisly financial success in a glass-topped coffin in nearby Crystal Cave. After some vandalism, when his body was stolen and later found in a nearby field, he was placed in a chained casket. But you could still sneak a peek at the corpse if you slipped the tour guide a tip.

The National Park Service eventually absorbed Crystal Cave into it's Mammoth Cave park system and closed it to the public. In 1989, the family had Floyd properly buried in Flint Ridge Cemetery.

The tragedy of Floyd Collins is an example of blatant human greed that seemingly knows no ethical bounds. The love of money and profit has turned many a decent person into a grasping monster.

Jesus was well aware of the temptation greed posed when he said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Luke 12:15) Fifteen hundred years before, God handed down this Commandment to the children of Israel: Exodus 20:17 "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's."


One might speculate what would have happened if those 50,000 Kentucky tourists had forgone the "field day" and had fallen on their knees to pray outside the cave for the life of Floyd Collins. Would the outcome have been any different?

Maybe and maybe not. But one thing is crystal clear. The greed and avarice that accompanied the tragedy of Floyd was bad enough, but the sin was compounded by the failure of so many people to pray for his deliverance?

Soli Deo Gloria

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Ed Price spent 35 years in print and broadcast journalism. He is author of 15 books. After becoming an ordained minister he settled with his wife on a farm in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, to study God's word and to write. Ed and Patty are the parents of three girls, have one grandchild, and cater to the every whim of two spoiled cats.
© 2008 Ed Price - All rights reserved. Visit his website, The Loving Heart.

This column is used with permission.