| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varnadoe, Bill | 57 | Male | Break | Ribs (one) |
On August 12, Bill Varnadoe (57) led a surveyor employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Sauta Cave in Alabama. This was the first of three successive trips and its purpose was to acquaint the the surveyor with the cave. On the two following trips they would accurately survey sufficient passage to establish the position of a surface land boundary in the cave.
Varnadoe with another caver had mapped the cave in 1956 but he had not been in it for six or seven years. Furthermore, they were using a type of miners electric lamp that was not especially bright. Consequently, in tracing the route of the proposed survey, the two reached the Mountain Room but there became disoriented. Choosing the wrong lead, they pushed along while it became increasingly narrow. At a place almost too tight to get through, Varnadoe realized he'd made a mistake but could see a landmark in a cross-passage beyond and decided to try to get through. Forcing himself through, Varnadoe cracked a rib. This did not hinder him so the trip continued, though they did lose their way a second time.
This is not much of an accident yet serves to illustrate a point. One can injure one's self merely by the exertion of one's own muscular strength. Weight lifters sometimes develop more muscle power than their own bones can handle.