Part 10

Bedrock was reached at a depth of 3 feet below the channel. The lower 2 feet of this distance was through a black, mucky substance which was so tough and sticky that removing it was like digging through a bog.

Following the bedrock as a floor, the western side of the deposit was first examined. It had a width of 35 feet at the mouth of the cave, gradually narrowing inward for a distance of 75 feet, where it terminated at the level of the water. Its greatest elevation, at the side of the entrance, was about 10 feet; but this does not mean that its thickness was so much at any point, as the rock sloped upward quite as rapidly as the surface. So many stones were scattered through it, fallen from the sides and roof, or rolled in from the outside where they had broken loose from the cliff, that not more than one-fourth of the area could be excavated. These rocks varied in size from cobblestones to blocks weighing 3 or 4 tons. They were at all levels, some lying on the rock floor, others only slightly imbedded in the earth. Yet the superficial accumulation extended under all of them except such as were in direct contact with the bedrock, proving that the cave was occupied throughout the period in which such downfalls occurred. An additional evidence of age is the fact that the usual debris, such as bones, flints, pottery, ashes, etc., lay in immediate contact with the bedrock where this has weathered to a chalky consistency from 2 to 4 inches in depth since these objects were left there.

Owing to the uneven surface of both the bedrock and the deposits on it, the thickness of the latter varied from 1 to 3 feet--not including the muck, which last, however, disappeared at the level where the rock rose above the water line. But, whatever the depth, more than half the overlying material was pure ashes; either resting undisturbed on the fire beds, or piled in irregular masses, where they had been thrown to get them out of the way. The largest ash bed was near the wall; it measured from 4 to 7 feet across, with a very uneven outline, as if many fires had been made there at different times.

The objects discovered included flint knives, spearheads, arrowheads (mostly broken), with many spalls and chips; potsherds (only very small pieces were found); animal bones; mussel shells; bone perforators; chert nodules, more or less flaked; two stone beads or buttons; a small fragment of a pipe; but no mortars, hammers, pestles, cooking-stones, or hatchets, such as are usually found on the sites of Indian villages. None of the pottery was decorated, but most of it was cord-marked, though some of it was so smoothed and polished as almost to appear glazed. It varied through a wide range of color, thickness, and general appearance, and was noticeably deficient in quantity. In fact, the west side of the cave had less the appearance of a permanently occupied site than of a camping place which was used as a temporary resort by traveling or hunting parties; but at the same time the depth and amount of ashes showed that it had afforded shelter through a long period.

The excavation on this side included all the space bounded by the ditch, the wall, the mass of rocks piled at the entrance, and the water-soaked earth toward the interior. The muck, and the large blocks scattered around, prevented a complete clearing out; but the part thoroughly examined had an area of about 600 square feet, perhaps a little more. No human bones were found, in spite of reports of their discovery and reburial by treasure hunters in the past; and there was wide disagreement on the part of visitors, who were also present when the bones were found, as to the number of such interments. All finally conceded that there was only one adult skull, though there was much argument as to the number of children's remains discovered, the person who was blessed with the largest memory insisting there were 13 "all in a pile." There was also some discussion as to whether the remains were actually found near the west wall or had been carried over there and reinterred after being exhumed on the east side.

These particulars are given merely to show how little reliance is to be placed upon the statements of perfectly truthful persons who do not observe closely, whose memory plays them tricks, who are not especially interested in the matter under discussion, or whose recollections naturally become jumbled after several years have elapsed.

Work was next begun on the east side, at the edge of the drainage trench. Bedrock was reached as before, under 2 feet of muck, and was weathered until quite soft and of a yellowish hue, for 3 or 4 inches below its surface. An effort was made to keep on the rock as a floor, removing all the muck; but this was so water soaked, so tenacious, and so filled with chert and limestone gravel that it could not be managed with either pick or shovel. A little of the gravel had no doubt fallen from the roof; but nearly all of this mingled material had washed down from the interior, as it was entirely similar, except for its dark color, to that forming the floor farther in. Consequently it was necessary to limit the explorations to that part of the deposit which lay above the wet black mass. Numerous attempts were made to ascertain the thickness of the latter; but water, gravel, and slush oozed or slid into the hole as fast as they could be removed, and it was impossible to reach the bottom. The eastward dip of the rock floor, as noted on the western side of the cave, no doubt continues entirely across. If such be the case, then the original drainage line was against the foot of the eastern wall. Later, because the channel was obstructed by talus, the stream was forced more and more to the west, saturating, up to the level of its final outlet, the earth and ashes which had accumulated. It may be, however, that either this line of drainage, or the mass of talus in front of the cave, is of comparatively recent origin. Such accumulations as those described would be impossible under present conditions. At any rate, this deposit of muck, then dry, started from the floor of the cave with the earliest occupation; for artificial objects of the same character that occurred in the dry deposit above were found in it to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. They may continue to the bedrock, but on account of the standing water no satisfactory observations could be made below the level indicated.

Lying above the muck and, as intimated, practically continuous with it, was an accumulation of ashes with which here and there some earth was mingled, though the latter made only a small proportion of the entire mass, and was sometimes entirely lacking from top to bottom. They were principally in strata or irregular layers, lying undisturbed where fires had been made; but there were also many scattered piles, usually small, where they had been thrown to get them out of the way.

The excavation on the eastern side began with a trench 25 feet wide. When this had been carried about the same distance toward the wall, rocks and earth rolled and washed in from the outside were encountered on the right, the side toward the mouth of the cavern. These reached from the bottom to the surface, and were continuous with the bank of talus. As results had been meager along here, the sides of the trench were turned to the northward and northwestward. The entire trench was 43 feet long and varied in width from 30 feet in the central parts to 18 feet at the extreme northern end. The left face reached, in its entire length, nearly to the drain; on the right side the eastern wall of the cavern was uncovered for 15 feet. It embraced nearly all the area not previously dug by others, except a triangular space at the east side of the entrance, filled with large stones, as just stated.

Near the middle of the excavated area was a heap of large fallen rocks, fully a carload in all; some of them imbedded in the muck, others barely penetrating the surface of the latest deposits. Ashes lay under and between all of them, proving this side also had been inhabited before the first of them had become loose, and that occupancy was practically continuous until the last one had fallen. The inmates, recognizing the danger, may have knocked these down.

The greatest depth of ashes found in any part of the excavation was 7 feet; but it may have been greater previous to any disturbance; nor does this include such as may be present in the muck. There were unbroken layers as much as 8 inches thick covering spaces 5 to 10 feet across; many smaller, intact patches; and numerous masses, from a peck to a bushel in volume, removed from fire beds elsewhere. Charcoal among them showed that bark and dead wood, principally oak, was the main reliance for fuel.

The wrought objects found were flints, mostly broken or of rough finish; very many small fragments of pottery; mortars made of sandstone slabs; hammerstones or pestles; bone perforators; mussel shells, some pierced for suspension or for attachment of a handle, some with outer surfaces and edges dressed for use as spoons; hematite ore, in the rough or rubbed to procure paint. There was a great abundance of bones from animals used for food, mostly deer, though elk, bear, many smaller mammals, turtles, tortoises, turkeys, and other birds were well represented. Singularly enough, when the plentiful supply of fish in all the streams of this region is considered, none of their bones or scales were found, although the ashes would have preserved them perfectly. Nor were there many burned rocks, in view of the amount of pottery and the number of bones which showed that they had been boiled. Perhaps such stones had crumbled or were thrown outside when near disintegration.

There is a consensus of belief, or at least of statement, in the neighborhood that many human skeletons have been dug out close to the east wall. In the only part reached during this work--which took in about all that had not been searched by others--rocks lay along the wall, so large and so numerous that no graves could have been dug behind or between them. By careful and persistent questioning it was established that skeletons had been found in two places and a detached jaw in another.

A human skull, which was very soft and fell to pieces when uncovered, was found on, and slightly pressed into, the muck at a point 15 feet from the wall; there were no other bones about it, though a rough stone hammer, whose presence was probably accidental, lay close by. A single human molar was lying among some ashes.

These were the only human remains found during the work, except two adult femurs of different individuals, and fragments of a skull and some other bones from a child and from an infant, all of which lay close to the wall where they had been thrown and slightly covered by parties previously working here.

As the depth of the wet material on the rock floor of the eastern side of this cavern is unknown, interesting results might be obtained by a careful examination of it; but this can not be made until a ditch is dug through it of sufficient depth to drain it thoroughly.

Slight investigation outside the entrance showed a large amount of broken bones, pottery, and flint; and this dump may contain even more material than was found in an equal volume in the cavern. But in addition to the rocks of all sizes broken off from the cliff, there were also many which had rolled down from the hillside above; and all these were so interlaced with roots as to make digging very difficult and unsatisfactory. Consequently further exploration at this site was deemed undesirable.

Pointed bone and antler implements from Gourd Creek Cave are shown in plate 4. A shell knife, a bead from a fragment of sea shell, and types of flint arrowheads appear in plate 5.

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There is a village site on Gourd Creek bottom, at the foot of Lost Hill, and a little below the cave. Three small earth mounds are plowed nearly level.

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A small village site is located on the east bank of Little Piney, half a mile below Gourd Creek.

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In the bluff facing Little Piney, a mile below Gourd Creek, on the opposite side, is a small, shallow cave with a low roof. Water cracks on the floor show that it is sometimes flooded. No signs of use are apparent.

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On the hill over the cave just mentioned is a cairn, now destroyed.

ONYX CAVE (9)

Five miles southwest of Arlington, near the Boiling Spring in the Gasconade, is Onyx Cave, so named because much workable stalagmite occurs in it. It has a number of branches, some of which have been explored for several hundred yards without coming to the end. The entrance is 90 feet in width. A pile of talus at the front, lying partly inside the cavern, reaches nearly to the roof; it has a height of 26 to 28 feet above the level of the wet, muddy floor. Drainage is through a small aperture in the north wall, whose outlet is not known. Apparently the bedrock lies at a considerable depth; it is not visible at any point in the steep ravine leading from the mouth of the cave to the river. Formerly a large quantity of ashes covered much of the inner slope of the talus, where it is protected from the weather; but most of them have been hauled away to scatter over the fields. They extend to a greater depth than any digging was ever carried. The cavern has long been a refuge for stock, and this, with the trampling of many visitors, has mingled all the superficial deposits, so that, while ashes may be seen mixed with the debris, no ash beds are now to be found.