The mysterious inscription
Chuck lifts his lamp and points to an inscription at the cave
wall. "Max Kaemper March 1908" is cut into the rock,
many miles away from the entrance in a remote section of
the American Mammoth Cave, the world´s longest cave.
Why did he draw this cave map? Who was Max
Kaemper? "That is one of the great mysteries of Mammoth Cave",
states Chuck.
Chuck spreads the map left behind by Kaemper.
A tangle of colored lines represents the ramifications of the
underground labyrinth. Between them, in tiny, careful writing
hundreds of names. Every passage, every dome, every
remarkable place was named after persons who were
obviously important to Max: many girls´ names among them,
but also those of the owners of the cave and their families.
The notables of Kentucky got their their tributes
as well as Bismarck and Moltke.
Each name stands for a story. On this map the life lines of
people from both sides of the Atlantic cross each other.
Today, Mammoth Cave is the heart of an American National
Park and an important object of scientific research.
Park ranger Chuck investigated together with historians of
West Kentucky University all the stories behind the names
on the Kaemper map - a research in the most unusual
historical book imaginable.
They called their project "The Kaemper Connection".
In archives and in the cave itself, where a countless
number of inscriptions can be found, Chuck detected
many facts about the early explorers of the cave.
Only the author of the map, Max Kaemper, remained a phantom:
All attempts to find out more about this legendary figure failed.
Innumerable letters were sent by Chuck and his research
colleagues to archives and libraries.
They asked every German tourist who seemed to be interested
in the subject. They sent out calls for help in the Internet:
"Let's find who Max Kaemper was". Everything in vain.
Two world wars had wiped out the tracks.
Only very persistent research in German archives would
perhaps unveil the secret.
Meeting German journalists who are interested in caves
is like a gift for Chuck: "Can't you
find out who Max Kaemper was? " he asks us.
We accept the challenge.
"Max Kämper was a German engineer who came to Kentucky as a tourist in 1908" explains Chuck, our guide.
"Initially he wanted to
stay only for some days, but the gigantic cave fascinated him
so much that he stayed on and on.
Eight months later he had explored and mapped over 30 miles
of the cave. His unbelievably precise map is still considered as
a marvel of cartography, decades ahead of his time.
On Christmas, 1908 he traveled back to Germany.
After this, there was no sign of life from him any more." 
