Part 32

The rock wall is the stratified rock, in place; the earth in front has washed down from the hillside; the tool marks are water channelings; and other remarkable things mentioned in the report are equally natural. The entrance is a narrow crevice.

SULLIVAN COUNTY

LINVILLE CAVE.--This is 4 miles almost directly west of Bluff City. Apparently it is of great extent, for large sink holes connected with it are scattered over an area of several hundred acres. There are three principal openings. The largest is near the top of a knoll or low hill, and is due to the falling in of the roof. The sunken part has an area of about 30 by 60 feet. Usually, in such cases, the debris entirely fills one end of the cavity thus made, obscuring that part of the cavern, the other end being kept open by surface drainage. In this case, owing to the dip of the strata--some 8 or 10 degrees--and to a change in direction of the cavern at this point, both ends may be entered from the fallen rocks and earth. At one side the descent is precipitous and winding, over and among large fallen rocks. No level place is reached in daylight. At the other side the descent follows the natural dip of the strata and no level space can be found from which the entrance is visible. This part, also, is filled with rocks, large and small, from the roof and sides, and was never habitable.

Fifty yards from the main entrance is another much smaller cave, on the slope of the knoll. It is at the bottom of a crevice 10 feet deep. The floor is level, but only a few square yards in extent, the sloping roof reaching it within 10 feet. As there is considerable drainage into the cavity from the hillside, it is probable that this floor, at least the upper portion, is of recent origin, and that the earth extends downward indefinitely toward the subterranean stream.

West of the knoll on which these openings are found is a valley 2 or 3 miles long. Timber shuts off the view toward its head. This is drained by a constant stream which after winding from side to side of the little vale flows under the knoll. The hole where it disappears is small, but as no rock floor is visible it may lead into a large cavern, and there is no doubt that all the sink holes in the vicinity as well as the two openings above described eventually have the same outlet. Excavations would be difficult and useless.

THOMAS CAVE.--In the face of a steep hillside, near the south (left) bank of the Holston, 3 miles east of Bluff City, is a room with a nearly level floor 10 by 18 feet in the longest measurements. A narrow passage, high enough for a man to walk in, branches off to the right but soon begins to diminish in size and at 100 feet becomes too small to crawl through. The debris in front of the cave is piled to a height of 16 feet above the present floor, and the highest floods of the river reach to about the same level on the outside. The rapid disappearance of the surface water which finds its way in indicates an underground passage to the river, so that a solid floor would not probably be reached above the ordinary water level.

ARKLOW CAVE.--This is a mile and a half southeast of Bluff City. It was reported to have a level earth floor, not more than 4 feet below the accumulation outside. While this was formerly the case, cultivation of the hills around now causes a great amount of surface water to flow over the little bluff into which the cave opens, and this has carried nearly all of the loose earth away through some underground channel. The descent for upward of 30 feet is steep and rugged; it was not traced farther.

MORRELL CAVE.--On the south side of the Holston River, 21/2 miles east of Bluff City, lies the farm of E.S. Worley. Except for a narrow strip of river bottom land, the surface is broken and rocky, the highest point being some 400 feet above the stream. Beginning near the brow of the river hill the central portion of the farm is in a depression whose very irregular rim or watershed surrounds an area of more than 100 acres. All the water that falls within this space drains into a sink hole the bottom of which is but little above flood stage of the Holston. On the south side of this sink is a vertical bluff 120 feet high, from whose foot emerges a stream that after a winding course of 50 or 60 yards disappears in a small opening on the east side of the sink hole, and finally comes to the surface at the foot of the hill, near the river. Its volume is sufficient, even in time of severest drought, to turn the undershot wheel of a large mill. The course of the stream above the point where it is first visible is through a cave which has been traced to the foot of the Holston Mountains, 3 miles away, and there are many unexplored branches. Chambers are known with a cross measure of 100 feet or more, and some of them have a height nearly as great. Stalactites and stalagmites, some of them possessing unusual size and beauty, are abundant.

The sink hole is due to the falling in of the roof of the cave, which could no doubt be followed to the river if it were free from obstructions in this direction.

North of west from the mouth of the cave is another opening, partly in the same strata but 40 feet higher, the dip of the rock being 10 or 12 degrees to the southeast. This was so blocked with talus which had fallen from the cliff and washed down the side of the sink hole that it was necessary to creep nearly 40 feet from the entrance, down a moderate slope, before coming to a point where it was possible to stand upright. From here progress to the junction of the two caves, about half a mile from the entrance, is easy except where fallen rocks interfere somewhat.

Early in the Civil War a large amount of saltpeter was manufactured here. A dam was constructed just within the mouth of the main cave, and in the pool thus formed boats were used to transport the material from the interior. The workmen not required for handling the craft usually preferred to walk through the upper cave to the place where the earth was procured.

The combination of natural features at this place is unusually favorable to aboriginal habitation. The main cave is excluded from consideration by reason of the stream filling it from wall to wall after very heavy rains. The upper cave, however, showed, beyond the debris choking the entrance, a level floor, cumbered, it is true, by fallen rocks, but apparently quite suitable for a dwelling place were these removed. Although opening toward the north, its position so far below the summits of the surrounding hills protects it from winter winds. The creek assures an ample supply of clear cold water. Mountains, refuge for game, are in sight in various directions, while the Holston River is less than a quarter of a mile away.

In order to remove the debris a point 3 feet below the lowest spot on the floor was selected on the slope outside. From here a trench was carried in on a level, the additional depth being taken to facilitate clearing away all material that had accumulated inside the cavern in comparatively recent time, and thus lighten the task of deeper excavations should these be required. The trench needed to be only wide enough at the bottom to allow room for running a wheelbarrow, but owing to the great amount of broken rock, loosely held together by a small quantity of earth, the sides continually gave way, so that by the time it was safe to pass through the trench was 25 feet wide at the top and 24 feet deep at the mouth of the cave. The rocks were of every size from small pebbles to blocks weighing more than a ton each.

Nothing whatever of artificial character, not even a flint chip or fragment of charcoal, was unearthed until at a point 4 feet inside the farthest projecting stratum of the roof. Here was found a prehistoric stone wall whose outer side and top had been entirely concealed by debris. On the inner side the upper portion was visible, owing to the fact that the owner had gathered a quantity of loose stones to construct a wall farther down the slope. Previous to this the ancient wall was entirely covered by the detritus, and even after this partial exposure its true nature was not suspected. It was about 6 feet high, built up of rocks of various sizes and shapes loosely fitted together, earth from the outside surface being used to level up in places where the stones would not bind properly. The largest rock in the top layer weighed about 800 pounds.

The horizontal distance between the top of the wall as it was when cleared off and the corresponding portion of the cave roof was 4 feet; to the roof directly above it, about 2 feet. Apparently it had at one time entirely closed the entrance; at the western end where it abutted against the solid rock the upper portion was firmly consolidated by travertine. Directly above it, nearly 2 feet higher, a slab and some small irregular fragments were securely attached to the side and roof by the same agency. A crevice in the bedrock just at the end of the artificial wall contained several wagonloads of small rocks which had been thrown into it. These also were united into a solid mass by the travertine, all of which had been deposited by water flowing through the crevice. It does not follow that the wall was ever higher toward the opposite end than at this time. In the centuries that have elapsed since it was put up, the roof at the front of the cave, being rather thin-bedded, may have disintegrated. It was not possible to uncover the wall in shape for illustrating; portions of it continually crumbled as the looser material piled against it was removed.

From the wall inward the foreign material piled against the west side of the cave was composed almost entirely of small rocks, with scarcely any earth, and so compactly bound with travertine and stalagmite as to resist all attempts to remove it by ordinary means. On the east side--the left as the cave is entered--there was a great variation in the size of the stones; they were intermixed with much loose dry earth, and there was scarcely any "drip-formation" in the mass. The removal of all this disclosed a projection of solid rock forming a shelf from 8 to 12 feet wide, whose top was about 2 feet higher than the bottom of our trench. About 20 feet from the ancient wall the trench reached the original bottom of the cave as the latter was left by the stream to which its origin was due. This was the tough red or yellow clay, filled with water-worn stones such as appear in all gullies or ravines in this region. It contained a small quantity of stalagmitic material here and there and gradually rose until at 20 feet farther, or 40 feet from the old wall, it terminated against solid bedrock, reaching across the cave, the entire width of which at this point was 26 feet. The shelf on the left belonged to the same stratum.

This brought the work to the terminus that had been the aim from the first, namely, the lowest level of the floor, which was thus shown to be only a foot above the solid rock instead of at least 10 or 12 feet as the general appearance of the entrance and its surroundings had indicated. It was completely cleaned off as far as this was possible, but within 3 feet of the end of the trench began a mass several feet in thickness of fragmentary rocks of every size up to 20 tons or more which had fallen from the roof and were bound together by stalagmite.

Altogether, more than 300 cubic yards of material were removed. The workmen had been carefully instructed as to what the search was for, and kept a close lookout, as evidenced by the very small objects they were continually offering for inspection. It is safe to say that not a spadeful of earth missed scrutiny; but, aside from the artificial wall, the only traces of human presence were three valves of mussels, a turkey bone rudely pointed for use as a perforator, and three or four bones which seem to have been subjected to fire. Not a chip of flint or other stone showing work, no ashes or charcoal, not a piece of pottery, were discovered. If aboriginal burials were made in the cave--and the wall is almost definite proof of such fact--they are either on the floor under stalagmite or in crevices now concealed by fallen rocks.

Numerous small fragments of animal bones were found scattered singly at all depths in the material removed. Nearly every one showed marks of the teeth of rodents. According to Prof. F.A. Lucas, of the National Museum, they all belong to modern species except one tooth, which is that of the cave tapir, and (possibly) the jaw of an otter.

BLEDSOE COUNTY

COLLEGE CAVE.--About three-fourths of a mile west from the old Sequatchie College is a cave which was described as the largest in the county, and as the only one in which people might ever have lived. The opening is about 5 feet wide and 4 feet high; and from it comes a stream sufficient to run a mill.

No other caves could be located in this county or in the Sequatchie Valley north of it.

SEQUATCHIE COUNTY

LAKEY'S CAVE.--In the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau, about 5 miles southeast of Dunlap, the county seat, is the largest cave in the county. A great quantity of earth and rock has accumulated in front of the entrance, washed from the mountain side over an area of several acres. Formerly most of the surface drainage carrying this down flowed into the cave, thus keeping a passageway open through which a man could crawl. Ditches have recently been cut to turn away the water, the entrance walled up, a solid door hung, and the cave is now used for a storeroom. It was never habitable.

A mile north of the above-mentioned cave, toward Dunlap, is a cave with a very large entrance: a sort of rock-house or half dome. The floor is covered with huge rocks and a constant stream flows out. It is said that a party once entered Lakey's Cave and emerged at this one. There is no dry place in it.

PICKETT'S CAVE.--Seven miles southwest of Dunlap is a cave, described as having an ample entrance, with much room inside, perfectly dry, and opening in a cliff 20 or 30 feet above a large, never-failing spring. The description is correct as to location, but not as to size. The opening is about 4 feet across each way, with a slight covering of earth on the floor. The cave winds like a flattened corkscrew. At no place near enough to the mouth for a glimmer of light to penetrate is the roof more than 5 feet above the floor or the side walls more than 5 feet apart.

There are two recesses in the cliff on the opposite side of the little creek formed by the spring. They are 40 to 50 feet above the water, each with an irregular floor of 20 by 30 feet under shelter of the rock. No solid rock is visible in front of them, but a projecting ledge, which seems continuous, appears on either side about 6 feet below the present average level of the floor; and this is probably the depth of accumulation at the front. It may be less toward the rear. The cavities are in a stratum which is somewhat shelly and crumbles easily.

HIXSON'S CAVE.--Six miles northeast of Dunlap is a cave said to be large, accessible, dry, and well suited for occupancy. It is on the side of Walden's ridge, 400 feet or more above the base, a mile from water, and with an opening in the solid rock that can not be entered except on hands and knees. By the time one can straighten up he is in absolute darkness.