Part 29

HARRISON COUNTY

The only cave of any note in Harrison County is at the King quarries, 5 miles east of Corydon. It has two outlets, one at the foot of a little cliff, through which a fine spring has an exit; the other in the face of the cliff, about 10 feet higher and a little to one side. The latter discharges more or less water after every rain. The drainage of several large sink holes is through the two openings. The owner says mud has accumulated to a depth of 3 feet on the floor within his remembrance, due to cultivation around the sink holes, which causes the soil to waste.

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ILLINOIS

MONROE COUNTY

MAMMOTH CAVE.--The so-called "Mammoth Cave of Illinois" is near Burksville, in Monroe County. An opportunity was afforded to visit it while engaged in the cave work. It is very extensive, according to the owner's description, being "7 or 8 miles long." The mouth is at the bottom of a sink hole, and the cave is now reached by a narrow stairway 40 feet high. Formerly it was necessary to clamber down the walls, stepping from ledge to ledge with a foot and a hand on either side. Then a ladder was made, said to have been 50 feet long; and, with more frequent visitors, the stairway followed. The crevice is very short, a mere crack, apparently made by water working its way down from the bottom of the sink. All the drainage within the rim goes into the cave, and it accumulates in the rainy season until the floor is covered. A farmer living near says he has seen the water from the cave rise until it covered the bottom of the sink hole. As similar depressions are numerous in the vicinity, probably the combined inflow is greater than the cave can carry away. The floor has been leveled and a close pavement of large slabs laid over the muddy portions. No one has ever heard of human remains being found anywhere in the cave.

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KENTUCKY

Crossing the Ohio River from the southern Indiana cave region, the counties of Kentucky lying in the belt of lower Carboniferous limestone were next visited. No cave that seemed worth examining could be heard of above the extreme southern portion of Hardin County. The sections examined will be taken in their geographical order from north to south.

HARDIN COUNTY

HUTCHINS OR BRADLEY CAVE.--This is in the bluff bordering on the left bank of Nolin River, 2 miles west of Upton. It was reported that human remains had been found in it. The present owners, who have known the cave for a long time, never heard of any such finds. The entrance is low and narrow, so that access to the cave is to be had only by creeping several yards. The cavern then expands into a very large chamber, separated into three by curtains or partitions of stalactites and stalagmites. Very little of floor, roof, or walls is to be seen, being almost entirely covered by secondary deposits. Some of these are remarkable for size and beauty. There is no probability that the cave was ever inhabited.

SALTPETER CAVE.--This is 3 miles southwest of Upton. It has a large entrance and an earth floor, but the dirt has all been worked over for making saltpeter, so there is nothing to search for.

HART COUNTY

LAIRD'S CAVE.--About 2 miles north of Northtown is a large, roomy cave, with a good entrance, but water drips from all parts of the ceiling, and the floor is muddy and rocky. The drainage from 3 or 4 acres of hillside flows over the arch of the entrance and logs 6 inches in diameter are carried into it by the surface floods.

LOCK'S CAVE.--This is a mile east of Rowlett's Station, near the top of a ridge, and lying nearly parallel with its crest. It affords another instance of a cave which has come to light only after a portion of its roof has fallen in. The detritus entirely conceals the opening at one end. The other end is entered by going down the fallen rocks over a slope of 15 or 20 feet, which leads to a bottom strewn with rocks. In such cases there can be nothing under the loose material, because the cave had no entrance until this had fallen in.

GARVIN CAVE.--This cavern, which is 3 miles southeast of Munfordville, has an opening at the bottom of a sink hole, requiring a rope or ladder for descent.

HARLOW CAVE.--This is 31/2 miles southeast of Munfordville. It is a very large cave, apparently, as the slope down the debris is more than 40 feet high, to a rocky shelf, beyond which the descent was followed some yards without finding any indications that a level bottom was near. It is another illustration of the fallen roof.

WYNNE'S CAVE.--Three miles south of Rowlett's Station is a large sink hole. Stones thrown into the vertical shaft at the bottom can be heard striking the sides for three or four seconds before coming to rest.

WASH. ROWLETT CAVE.--On "the old Lewis Martin place," 11/2 miles west of Rowlett's Station, a section of roof, 20 or 25 feet across, has dropped into a deep cavity. The sides are still insecure. The descent to a spring under what appears to be the original roof is somewhat more than 40 feet. The ceiling is not more than 6 feet high.

STEFFY'S CAVE.--Four miles southwest of Munfordville between 200 and 300 feet in length of the roof of a high and wide cave has fallen in. Ice remains in this cave until May or later every year.

JOEL BUCKNER'S CAVE.--About 10 miles northeast of Munfordville is a large cave with the entrance on a hillside. The roof has evidently extended several rods farther out than at present. The front part of the cavern is wide and high, but is now nearly filled with debris. The roof slopes at about the same angle as loose material within, there being not more than 3 feet of space between the two at any place nearer than 30 feet from the present mouth. Rocks thrown back showed the same uniformity of slope to continue at least several yards and the depth there to be about 20 feet below the top of the detritus at the mouth. This cave was suitable as a habitation before the material now choking the mouth had accumulated, provided water was obtainable. The nearest spring now is more than a mile away. An exploration would require, as a preliminary, the removal of several hundred cubic yards of compacted rocks and clay.

HARRY BUCKNER CAVE.--Half a mile north of the cavern last named is another with a very narrow entrance. The floor, which slopes downward, is solid rock in part, and the place is not adapted for occupancy.

CUB RUN CAVE.--Cub Run is a little settlement 12 miles west of Munfordville, near the Edmonson County line and about equidistant from Green River and Nolin River. Two miles in a direct line south of the village is a cave or rock shelter which has much local notoriety from the fact that three skeletons were found in it. They were imbedded in mixed ashes and earth and accompanied with several pestles, bone perforators, three flint knives, a small celt, and part of a clay pipe stem. One of the skeletons was that of a child not more than 8 or 10 years old. It has been pronounced the frame of a white child on account of the shape of the skull, but is more probably Indian, as the three were found together. Two of the bodies had been laid side by side; the other was near their feet at a right angle to them. In the back of the child's head is an incision somewhat over an inch long. The skull is slightly fractured downward from one end of this cut, and the corner or angle thus formed in the bone is pressed outward.

A flint implement found almost in contact with the skull fits closely into the aperture and may have produced it, as the form of the wound could have been thus caused.

The cavity or chamber of this cavern is about 100 feet across in each direction. There is a small opening near the back which has been examined to a distance of 75 or 80 feet, being there obstructed by large blocks of sandstone similar to those which fill the space from floor to ceiling along the back end of the shelter.

There is another very large block just at the entrance, in which are one shallow and two deep circular depressions which were probably mortars. Bones of deer, bear, and other animals have been found within a foot or two of the surface both outside and inside of the cave. Contrary to what is usual in sandstone cavities of this sort, the outside earth slopes upward from the entrance and after heavy rains considerable water flows into the cave. This makes the earth on the floor quite sticky at times, although it is mainly sand, containing very little clay.

The skeletons were found at a depth of about 16 inches, close to the side wall. A small trench dug where they were unearthed showed, in succession, a layer of ashes 4 or 5 inches thick and not more than 3 feet across, a foot below the surface of the floor; a few inches of earth; a layer of ashes an inch thick, at two feet; below this, yellowish undisturbed sand, apparently fallen from the sandstone roof, and continuing to the rock floor, which was about 32 inches below the top.

Another trench was dug about midway across the cave and the same distance from the front as the skeletons were found. This was on or close to the line of heaviest drainage into the cave and the earth was so wet as to be very sticky. A few little patches of what appeared to be ashes but which had not resulted from fires made on the spot, three or four broken mussel shells, and a chip of flint were found in the first 18 or 20 inches. More than this amount of earth could easily have washed in since they were left here by modern Indians. Below this level the earth contained not the slightest object of human origin, to the rock floor which was found at a depth of 6 feet. On the rock was nearly pure sand, probably the result of disintegration; some clay lay on this; then the mixed loam, sand, and clay composing the outside soil.