Near the mouth of Gourd Creek, on the north side, is a cave which has
acquired much local reputation from its size and also from the
evidence it affords of a long-continued occupation by the aborigines.
It is easily reached from the road which passes in front; wagons can
be driven into it and there is ample space for them to turn and pass
out. Formerly it was much resorted to as a pleasant place for social
gatherings; but in recent years it has been used as a barn and
storehouse. The owner, Mr. Valentine Allen, gave cheerful permission
for all the excavation that was desired, subject only to the proviso
that the floor be put back in condition suitable for the purposes for
which he needed it. And it is only fair to state that he was not at
all difficult to satisfy in this respect.
A stream coming from the interior had a flow at the close of the long
drought in 1918 sufficient to fill a 2-inch pipe with a rapid fall; in
wet seasons the water spreads from wall to wall until it comes to
within 100 feet of the mouth.
Back in the cave, where the slope is greater, it has sufficient volume
and force to carry away all pebbles smaller than coarse gravel and the
material that finds lodgment among the stones.
The cave is easily traversed for almost 600 feet; beyond this are
narrow crevices and tortuous passages, where explorers must frequently
crawl or clamber. One adventurous party proceeded until they reached
an opening on the other side of the hill; but this was so choked by
fallen rock and débris from the hillside as to be impassable. In
storms a strong breeze passes through the main entrance, in or out in
accordance with the direction of the wind.
Owing to the irregular outline of the cliffs, the width of the
entrance can not be accurately given. From side to side, well under
the front of the ceiling the distance is 110 feet. Two hundred feet
toward the interior it contracts to 50 feet. At the entrance the walls
are vertical to a height of 25 feet; a short curve at the top on
either side, due to the breaking away of the ledges, connects them
with the roof, which is somewhat higher. Being a single massive
stratum, the top is practically horizontal, but the floor constantly
rises from the front with a slight and fairly uniform grade. The front
chamber is straight and well lighted for 300 feet, where it turns
abruptly westward; from this point the floor is solid rock which the
water keeps comparatively free from any loose matter except heavy
blocks from the walls or top.
Beginning at the entrance is a deposit whose farthest extension
reaches 100 feet into the cavern. It is composed to a small extent of
sand and clay carried by the stream, and of earth blown or washed in
from the outside; but, as investigation proved, it is mainly ashes
from prehistoric fires. The surface of this deposit, especially toward
the inner end, is very uneven, being higher near the walls than
through the central portion. This is due to two causes: In very wet
seasons water has carried away much of it, and a large amount has been
hauled out by the owner to scatter over his fields as a fertilizer. He
reports that in the course of this work he found quantities of pottery
fragments, broken bones, flints, and "two or three" human skeletons,
with fragments of others. This is the basis for the assertion,
frequently heard, that "many" or "very many" burials had been made
here. The only human remains which he saved are the complete skull of
an adult, remarkably preserved and apparently that of a white woman; a
rather large lower jaw, of a man; a few long bones; and parts of
skulls and jaws of three or four children.
From comments made and questions asked by visitors while the
investigation was in progress, it seems that bones and teeth of deer
and other animals are mistaken for those of people. No human bones
were uncovered in this work, except as noted below.
There is a firm belief in the community that somewhere in this cave is
concealed $100,000 in gold, seven "pony loads" in all, which was put
here by an old squaw, sole survivor of a massacre by which her tribe
was exterminated. Much of the irregularity of surface noted in the
deposits is due to the efforts of persons trying to find this money.
Before starting the work it was necessary to deepen the little stream,
which had cut its way through the accumulation much nearer to the
western than to the eastern wall of the cavern, in order to allow the
water to run out of the lower end of the deposit. Thorough drainage of
the whole mass was impossible, as water continually seeped in from the
gravel bed farther up, a condition which could not be remedied.
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
débris, 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.
* * * * *
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.
* * * * *
A small village site is located on the east bank of Little Piney, half
a mile below Gourd Creek.
* * * * *
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.
* * * * *
On the hill over the cave just mentioned is a cairn, now destroyed.
[Illustration: PLATE 4 BONE AND ANTLER IMPLEMENTS FROM GOURD CREEK
CAVE, PHELPS COUNTY, MO.]
[Illustration: PLATE 5 SHELL AND FLINT OBJECTS FROM GOURD CREEK
CAVE]
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 débris, no ash beds are now to
be found.
There must be a very pronounced cavernous condition in this vicinity.
At a number of places, even extending to a distance of 2 miles from
Onyx Cave, the passage of a wagon produces a rumbling sound,
indicative of a cavity at no great depth. There are also many sink
holes, some closed, forming ponds, others with free openings. They are
so numerous that no one of them drains any considerable area. The
largest of these sinks measures from top to top of its slopes about
three-fourths of a mile long and half a mile wide. Around much of its
margin are vertical cliffs; there are few places where descent is
practicable. It is 300 feet deep, perhaps more; for when the
Gasconade, more than a mile away, is at flood stage the water from it,
backing through an underground passage, breaks in at two different
points not at the same elevation, and covers the nearly level floor of
the depression, about 15 acres in area, to a depth or 15 to 20 feet.
Another sink, near this, is conical in form, a fourth of a mile across
and more than 200 feet deep.
GOAT BLUFF CAVE (10)
Goat Bluff Cave, 4 miles west of Arlington, on the left bank of the
Gasconade, is at the foot of a vertical cliff 50 feet high, the slope
above rising about as much higher to the crest of the ridge. A few
yards to the west is a slight ravine through which, with a little
effort, the top of the hill may be reached. In front, the declivity,
while steep as earth will lie, furnishes fairly easy passage to and
from the river which lies 200 feet below.
The entrance to the cave is an arch 30 feet high and 75 feet wide,
facing a little east of south. The width holds nearly the same for 90
feet, whence it rapidly contracts to 20 feet; the roof meanwhile
descending to 10 feet above the floor. The extreme rear of this
chamber is nearly filled with large blocks of stone. At the front part
the floor is several feet higher along the west wall than at the east;
this condition being due to the combined action of accumulation from
the ravine above mentioned and erosion by a little rivulet which
emerges from a crevice 30 feet within the entrance and flows at the
foot of the east wall. Beyond this the floor is practically level
across the inclosed space, with a slight and uniform ascent toward the
rear. No evidence of rock bottom appears at any point.
A preliminary cut at the outer margin of the cave showed two distinct,
sharply separated strata. The lower is a red or yellow clay containing
much angular gravel such as usually results from disintegration of
limestone in which chert is abundant. Above this is a deposit of very
loose fine material. Toward the rear the upper deposit had been
disturbed by "curiosity seekers," who reported finding much evidence
of prehistoric occupation, such as ashes, charcoal, fragments of
pottery, and worked flint, as well as several skeletons, the latter
"in a sitting position." The last part of this statement is a mistake.
The bodies were closely flexed and placed on the side; the bones
settled to the bottom of the grave, while the skull, if intact, is
reached first by excavators and the conclusion drawn at once that it
is "on top of the other bones." This error of observation is quite
common among relic hunters, and is not unknown among student
investigators.
In order to dispose of material removed in excavating, it was
necessary to start a trench from the slope outside the mouth of the
cave. As it progressed the substratum of clay became wetter and more
difficult to dig. At 40 feet from the beginning, where the trench was
11 feet deep, the seeping water accumulated until it covered the
bottom of the trench, so that no greater depth could be reached. A
crowbar forced downward for 18 inches, as far as it could be driven,
did not reach solid bottom. Not the slightest trace of human agency
was found anywhere below the top of the clay, and from this point
excavations were confined to the upper stratum, to which alone the
following description is applicable.
This deposit was composed partly of fine loose earth, probably carried
in by the wind and on the feet of persons and animals; partly of roof
dust; and partly of ashes. A considerable portion of it was roughly
stratified in layers of varying extent and thickness, though much of
it was irregular, and it was mingled throughout with campsite débris.
Occasional layers of roof dust several feet across in any direction
and of varying thickness, from a faint streak to 6 inches, so closely
resembled ashes that many persons could not be convinced of its true
character. Its occurrence in this manner indicates that during
considerable periods the cave was unoccupied, or at most used only as
a temporary refuge. The intermittent character of occupancy is also
shown by the distinct segregation of numerous successive layers of
kitchen refuse.
About 10 feet within the point where a vertical line from the front
edge of the roof would meet the floor the skeleton of a very young
infant was found above and in contact with two thick angular blocks of
limestone weighing 300 to 400 pounds. These rested on the red clay and
had fallen from the roof. The thickness of earth above the bones was
about 3 feet.
Ten feet farther in, on the clay floor, under almost exactly 5 feet of
undisturbed material, were five flat stones. Three were of sandstone,
the largest about 25 pounds in weight, such as can be found in place
only on top of the hill. They were carefully arranged for use as a
fire bed; on and around them were potsherds, flint chips, animal and
bird bones, and a bone awl. This was the greatest depth at which
artificial objects were found; and their position shows them to be as
ancient as anything discovered.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Fragment of glass bottle from Goat Bluff
Cave.]