FRENCH CAVERNS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 August 1938, Page 9

FRENCH CAVERNS

PIONEER OF UNDERGROUND EXPLORATION. France is mourning the loss of Edouard Alfred Martel, who has just passed away in his seventy-ninth year. He was destined for the law, coming from a family of lawyers, but abandoned the bar in 1896 to give himself up entirely to geographical exploration. He was early attracted by the mysteries of the subsoil of his country, and was the discoverer of many caverns now famous. He was the first to explore the Aven Armand, being let down by a rope through a hole in the ground, which is today the wonder of visitors who come many miles to see its famous stalactites and stalagmites. He also was the first to explore the cave and underground stream of Padirac, and he left a remarkable work in two volumes on his discoveries and adventures entitled “La France Ignoree” (Unknown France). For many years editor of “La Nature,” he was also honoured by geographical societies of his own and foreign countries. Very appropriately, the ceremony of investiture with the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honour was performed in the cavern of the Aven when he received that distinction in 1927. His work was of inestimable value, for his studies of underground streams, provided highly valuable data on reasons of contamination of rivers, as well as hydraulic possibilities. His task is being carried on by enthusiastic followers, among them one of his chief disciples, Norbert Casteret, whose ambition is to explore a cavern in the Pyrenees which will prove that the deepest cave in the world is in France. M. Martel by his books did more than anyone else to popularise the caverns of the Pyrenees, which are visited every year by thousands of tourists who descend them to admire their wild beauty.