"face," proves it to have been laid down slowly and intermittently in
still water. It could not be determined whether this was due to the
river in flood periods, or to a gentle stream from the interior whose
volume varied in accordance with weather conditions. There is also a
small channel along the top of the earth, filled with gravel and sand,
as if the overflow of a stream far back in the mountain had been
diverted in this direction after the laminated deposits had become dry
and settled.
The walls are 10 feet apart near the entrance, but are not more than 8
feet elsewhere and in some places the width narrows to less than 3
feet. They also have an inward slope at the bottom, so the cave is
either shallow or else so narrow at no great depth as to be
uninhabitable. This fact, and the character of the material deposited
by the ancient drainage stream, make it hopeless to expect result from
exploration.
MCDERMENT'S CAVES.--There are two caves 100 yards apart, in Brown's
Valley, 11 miles southwest from Guntersville. The larger has a descent
of 21 feet from the front to the general level of the first floor. All
this part is well lighted. The drainage from several acres of the
mountain side above pours over the roof at the entrance and runs down
the inner slope. It has worn a gully, and the first level it reaches
is quite muddy. Leaves and trash 3 or 4 inches deep are piled on and
against the loose stones toward the side where the water seeks an
outlet. It has worn a crooked channel along this side of the chamber,
and falls into a hole which at a depth of 10 or 11 feet below the
floor makes a turn and passes from sight. So it is certain that soft
wet clay extends more than 30 feet below the level of the entrance.
The drier deposits of this room have been extensively worked for
saltpeter, and a much greater quantity of earth would have been
removed but for the fact that masses of stalagmite, too thick to break
off with a sledge hammer, and scores of columns, some of them 6 or 8
feet in diameter and many tons in weight, cover a considerable part of
it. The first room is succeeded by several others, all of which are
dry and of large size, but in total darkness, and the floors in all
have been more or less disturbed in the search for niter. The general
direction of the bottom is downward. The last floor is probably 50 or
60 feet lower than the entrance, and is reached by a slope on which it
is difficult to retain a footing. In nearly every part the earth is
covered by stalagmite, much of it so heavy that the miners could not
remove it, but were compelled to dig under it as far as they could
reach; and in no place is a rock floor to be seen.
The thickness of stalagmite on the floor, and the great size of the
columns, is proof of their antiquity, while the depth of earth beneath
must have been thousands of years in accumulating before the deposits
began to cover them.
Excavations here, while quite desirable, would be very expensive. Much
stalagmite would have to be blasted; upward of a thousand yards of
earth moved, and all of it taken out of the cave, because there is no
room for it inside. As a man can not push a wheelbarrow up such an
incline, a trench must be cut through to the exterior slope; and as
solid rock lies not more than 5 feet below the surface at any point,
blasting would be necessary the rest of the way. The task is equal to
opening a stone quarry.
The second cave on McDerment's place has a good opening. A trench 4
feet wide and 6 feet deep where the rock is thickest has been blasted
out to make a level approach to the entrance. Masses of stalagmite on
each side, sloping like solid rock from the walls, leave barely room
for a man to walk for the first 30 feet. Here the walls recede
somewhat, and a pit nearly 15 feet deep yawns before the explorer.
After continuing for some distance with this depth, there is another
drop of 10 feet which holds until the end of the cave is reached. This
entire depression is due to the removal of earth for making saltpeter.
It is evident that a vast amount of material has been carried out.
As in the first cave, excavation would be very difficult and
expensive. All rock and earth would have to be carried up a steep
grade, or a deep cut made to wheel it out. As the light is very dim at
the first widening of the walls, it is not probable the space farther
back would be occupied unless as a refuge.
Both caves were eroded by water running _into_ the hill, and the end
of each is abrupt, the roof being higher and the walls farther apart
than at any point nearer the entrance. The original outlets are now
filled with earth, and apparently have been so for ages.
FORT DEPOSIT CAVE.--Six miles below Guntersville the highway to
Huntsville crosses the Tennessee River at Fort Deposit Ferry and
passes out through a narrow valley between two bluffs. Less than 100
yards above the landing, on the north, or right, bank, is a large cave
from which the spot takes its name; there being a tradition that it
was used by General Jackson as a storage room for supplies during the
Creek Indian war. On either side the bluff is vertical to the water's
edge, making the cave now inaccessible except by boat. In front of the
entrance the rock is worn in ledges which can be easily ascended.
The opening or mouth of the cave is oval in form, about 18 feet high
and 15 feet wide. The sides are uneven, there being a projecting shelf
on each side near the floor. At 40 feet from the opening these
disappear, owing to the narrowing of the cavern. There is a gradual
ascent of the floor toward the rear, the rise being about 2 feet in
the first 60 and more rapid from that point onward. A thin deposit of
dried mud on each side, where it escapes the feet of visitors, shows
that the river enters the cave at times, but not to a depth that
carries it back more than 25 feet. The present ferryman says the flood
of 1867 is the only one which has reached so far within that period.
After clearing away the earth, roots, and rocks at the front, a
straight vertical face at a distance of 18 feet from the entrance
measured 9½ feet at top and 5 feet at the bottom between the solid
rock wall on each side, and was 4 feet 4 inches high. The floor was
not of solid rock entirely across, there being a crevice less than 4
feet wide which was not cleaned out, because no one could have lived
in it. About the middle of this bank (vertically) streaks of red
earth, burned elsewhere, extended 3½ feet out from the right wall;
there was very little ashes and no charcoal mixed with it. Above this
red the earth was dark like garden soil and contained a few shells and
fragments of pottery, with a little charcoal and ashes; it had all
been disturbed and apparently resulted from scraping the débris away
from camp fires. Below this, the line of demarcation being very
distinct, the earth was yellow and sandy, like river bottom land, and
contained no foreign matter except roots of trees growing outside.
Figure 23 shows a section on this line; the crevice is omitted from
this and the subsequent illustrations.
At 20 feet in, a foot below the top of the dark earth, was some
charred corn. The yellow earth became irregular, thinner, and higher
against the side walls than at the center. (See fig. 24.)
At 22 feet the yellow earth had nearly run out, there being only a
small amount against either wall, while the darker earth reached down
into the crevice that opened in the narrow strip of rock floor. In
the lower portion were mingled a few shells, pebbles, and specks of
charcoal, as if it had been thrown there. Across the upper portion of
the deposit extended fire beds, burned earth, ashes, shells, broken
pottery, and occasionally a fragment of bone. (See fig. 25.)
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 18
feet.]
At 24 feet it was found that what had been taken for a solid floor in
the last section represented was only a large flat rock which had
fallen into the crevice and wedged tightly. When this was passed the
yellow earth reappeared, at a slightly lower level.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 20
feet.]
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 22
feet.]
At 26 feet the yellow earth became mixed with red. It was excavated to
a depth of 5 feet in the endeavor to discover the reason for this. As
there was not the slightest trace of ashes or charcoal, the red
admixture must be a natural result of staining by iron in some form
and not due to heat. Above the yellow was the usual stratum of dark
earth, containing culinary débris. In the central portion of this was
a mass, sufficient to fill a wheelbarrow, of angular, unburnt
fragments of limestone from 3 to 15 pounds in weight. On the surface
of the dark earth were some ten or twelve fire beds, reaching from
wall to wall, the edges overlapping and interlacing in so confusing a
manner that the exact number could not be made out. (See fig. 26.) At
this stage it appeared that the crevice, or at least its upper part,
had been filled by river floods and a slight ridge of sand thrown
across the mouth of the cave. The Indians, it seems, occupied both
this ridge and the lower area behind it, throwing débris to the rear
to fill up the depression instead of carrying it all to the outside.
It is equally possible, however, that this waste was brought from
points farther back and thrown here to fill and level the floor. These
heavy fire beds came to an end at about 28 feet on the right and 29
feet on the left. A section at 28 feet is given in figure 27. At their
inner margin, among the ordinary refuse characteristic of such
deposits, were many fragments of human bones, including ulnas of two
individuals, one much larger than the other. They plainly indicated
cannibalism, as they were broken when thrown here. Besides the ulnas,
there are pieces of ribs, scapula, tibia, and feet.
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 26
feet.]
At 29 feet the underlying yellow earth became comparatively level
across its upper surface, again closely resembling a river deposit.
The darker earth above it contained a greater amount than heretofore
of ashes, bones in small pieces, potsherds, mussel, snail, and
periwinkle shells, and the like. More charred corn was found along
here.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 28
feet.]
At 30 feet the yellow earth began to rise, and at 32 feet it was very
little more than 3 feet lower than the top of the highest ashes. A
section at this point is shown in figure 28. At 35 feet the strata
became quite regular and uniform from wall to wall. The dark earth,
next above the yellow, measured 3 feet in thickness at the center, and
while showing by its admixture of ashes, etc., that it had been thrown
here, had evidently formed the floor for a considerable time. The
upper foot was burned red or dark from long-continued fires, the ashes
above it being from 6 to 8 inches thick, and forming the present floor
of the cave at this place. The dark earth contained much less of
refuse than nearer the entrance; such shells and ashes as appeared
were promiscuously distributed and not in little piles or masses as
before. A section at 35½ feet appears in figure 29. It may be remarked
here that this is the only sketch in which the upper line coincides
with the surface of the deposits. In the others a thin covering, less
than 6 inches at any point, of disintegrated material from walls and
roof covers the ashes left by aboriginal fires. This is omitted from
the drawings.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 30
feet.]
At 38 feet the yellow earth had risen until it was within 3 feet of
the top of the entire overlying deposit. The latter contained little
of the dark earth, being mostly composed of ashes and burned earth,
some of which resulted from fires made on the spot, but the greater
part being thrown from other points. The rise of the yellow earth,
consequently, is more rapid than the rise of the material covering it.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 35½
feet.]
At 40 feet there was a dip in the yellow earth, extending for 4 or 5
feet and descending 2 feet at the deepest point. This may be due to
drainage at a lower level.
At 47½ feet a pocket of the dark earth extended a few inches into the
underlying yellow earth. A hole seems to have been dug into the
latter. There was no more of foreign material in this hole than
elsewhere in the dark earth above and around it. It is shown in figure
30.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 47½
feet.]
The amount of shells, pottery, etc., had been decreasing for several
feet before this point was reached; indeed, from 40 feet onward there
was very little of it--enough, however, to show that all the dark
earth had been disturbed and thoroughly mixed. The fire beds, too,
while holding their depth of about a foot, contained more earth
between the successive layers of ashes, showing as great age,
probably, as those nearer the entrance, but less continuous
occupation. This condition prevailed to about 60 feet from the
entrance, at which point the yellow earth, now mixed with sand and
gravel, was only 3 feet below the surface of the floor. The appearance
of this line is sketched in figure 31.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 60
feet.]
At 62 feet there was a dip in the yellow earth, extending to 67 feet
and 2 feet deep at its lowest point; it then rose to the usual level.
At 70 feet ashes appeared in greater quantities; at 73 feet the dark
earth was only a foot thick, the ashes and burned earth being 2 feet
thick and apparently all dumped, as there was no definite arrangement
of the various parts. (See fig. 32.) A small perforated disk and a
double-pointed bone needle were found here.
The fire beds now began to thin out rapidly, the dark earth also
diminishing in quantity, until at 80 feet, from which point the
entrance was no longer visible owing to curvature of the walls, there
was only 5 or 6 inches of them in all, resting directly on the yellow
earth, which contained much more clay than farther toward the front.
The walls began to diverge here, forming a room whose greatest width
was 11 feet 6 inches at 95 feet. At 100 feet a reverse curve brought
the cavern on a course parallel to that which it had held up to 60
feet.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 70
feet.]
At 90 feet there was evidence of fire at one side, the ashes and
burned earth being 5 inches thick at the wall, and thinning out to a
feather edge within 4 feet. This was the last fireplace discovered
which may not with certainty be attributed to white men. The yellow
earth, presenting no evidence of having been disturbed since
originally deposited, reached from the superficial layer of loose dry
earth to the bottom of the trench, a depth of 4 feet 8 inches. Below
this point the walls were less than 4 feet apart, and the space filled
with gravel, as shown in figure 33. This gravel had exactly the
appearance of that in gullies on the hills outside, and plainly dates
back to the period at which the cave was formed. The stream which
aided in the erosion, or which flowed through from some sink hole or
other outside opening, carried this gravel into the crevice.
Consequently, even if the space between the walls had been ample for
dwelling purposes, an attempt to live here when the gravel was being
carried in would result in the intending settler having his effects
washed out into the river.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 90
feet.]
At 93 feet the side walls confining the yellow clay narrowed to a
little less than 5 feet apart. The upper portion of the one to the
left has been eroded into a recess or cavity, forming the chamber
above mentioned. The earth on the rock floor in this recess is
nowhere more than a foot deep. A section is presented in figure 34.
At 100 feet the room came to an end. The space between the walls was
7½ feet at the floor level and 4 feet at a depth of 4 feet. At 105
feet the nearly vertical walls were only 5 feet apart on the floor; at
112 feet the space increased to 7 feet. A section showed about a foot
of loose earth mixed with ashes; 3 feet of yellow clayey earth, rather
compact; then gravel and sand. The latter was dug into for a foot, at
which level the walls were converging and it was useless to go any
deeper. Enough was done, however, to verify the supposition that this
stratum was due to the action of running water seeking its outlet at
the mouth of the cave.
At 103 feet, at the bottom of the yellow clay and on top of the
gravel, was a chalcedony pebble about 2½ inches in diameter. The
material is foreign to this locality. It had plainly been used as a
hammer stone, and is the only object of human origin found anywhere
below the dark earth. There was not the slightest evidence of any
disturbance of the clay in which it rested.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 93
feet.]
At 120 feet the side walls were only 5 feet apart. At 125 feet they
again diverged slightly, and a recess on the left forms a chamber 12
feet across. At 150 feet they had drawn in to 8 feet at the widest
interval. A section showed loose dry earth, some of it cemented by
drip from the roof until about as hard as lump chalk; then compact
clayey earth, also with travertine in small lumps; below this the
gravel and sand. The latter, at this point, seems to have been
deposited in the last stages of the formation of the cave.
Occasionally, along here, a small patch appeared that seemed to be
ashes; but none of it was more than 6 inches below the top of the
ground, and the substance may not have been ashes at all, but the fine
white limestone dust that wears off from the stone. There was nothing
in the trench, at any depth, after the chalcedony pebble, that could
possibly be due to human intervention, except these small patches of
ashes, if ashes they are.
At 165 feet from the entrance the cave made its fourth turn and
expanded into a chamber about 15 feet wide. Along the sides of this
and in the various crevices opening from it were great quantities of
clean ashes, plainly enough thrown there from fires made in the
central part. The gravel came to within 3 to 5 feet of the top, being
quite irregular. On the gravel was dry clay, seamed and fissured in
all directions so that it fell out under the pick in clods like
angular pebbles from an inch to 3 or 4 inches across. This was clearly
the result of muddy water settling in a hole and thoroughly
evaporating. There was also some travertine in small lumps here and
there through the clay, and above it was a mass fully 2 feet thick at
one side of the trench but running out before it reached the other
side. It was porous, almost spongy, and seemed to be the lime dust
from the roof and sides cemented by dripping water. Above all this, so
far as the trench extended toward the sides of the cave, was an inch
to 4 inches of loose, dry, dark earth, which on the left dipped down
to the clay, thus replacing the travertine.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 175
feet.]
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Cross section of Fort Deposit Cave at 180
feet.]
At 175 feet the gravel had leveled down and was more or less mixed
with clay and sand. Above this was another "mudhole deposit" of clay
which had thoroughly dried out and become checked and cracked in all
directions. On the right this was covered with travertine slightly
mixed with earth and clay; on the left, above it and also at one place
within it, was a coarse gritty earth fallen from the roof but not
converted into a compact travertine. The section appears in figure 35.
At 180 feet the trench was carried to a depth of 6 feet. This exposed
a fine clay and sand, or silt, like that deposited in the eddies of
streams. Above this was another deposit of "mudhole" material which
had thoroughly dried out, checked and cracked in all directions so
that it formed angular masses of various sizes, and had then become
wet again so that it was now soft and sticky. To the left of this, on
the silt also, was a small amount of the gravel. It had the appearance
common to a bank of such material on the side of a little stream which
has undermined and carried away part of it. Clearly, these three
formations were of an age that witnessed the erosion of the cave. Next
above them was a stratum of loose dark earth similar to that noticed
in the front part of the cavern; but here were found no traces
whatever of man's presence. Into the right side of this stratum
projected the wedge-like edge of a mass of travertine, which was not
traced to a termination. Over all lay a deposit 3 or 4 inches thick of
dark, nearly black earth, mixed with ashes. This is quite modern. The
section appears in figure 36.
During the Civil War the cave was continuously resorted to by
deserters, refugees, moonshiners, fugitives, and "food for powder,
dodging the conscript." All these sought shelter in this chamber and
behind it, in order that their fires might not be visible from the
river. The piles of ashes in the crevices and corners were thrown
there by these hiders-out, to get them out of the way. Similar but
smaller piles of ashes are to be seen all along as far as the spring,
200 yards from the entrance.
The presence of pottery of a type common to this region in fields and
shell heaps, and of maize, denotes that all the fire beds, etc., are
the results of habitation by the modern Indian. Where these ceased
nothing else was found. In or below the yellow earth, clay, or gravel,
nothing can be found; for until these were laid down and the stream of
the cave had sought another outlet, there was no dry place in which to
live.
It may be worth recording that a dead mulberry tree stood about 20
feet in front of the entrance to the cave. Under it was a narrow
crevice filled with earth, but all around it was bare rock. A root,
larger than the tree, grew into the cave and followed along one side
wall as if fastened there for a distance of some 60 feet. Here the
earth floor of the cave came high enough to cover it. This root was
exposed for 160 feet in the trench, or 180 feet from the tree; at this
point it was 3 inches in diameter and turned aside into a crevice. As
the root could not have grown in the open air, it furnished proof that
much deposited material has been carried out of the front portion of
the cavern and away from the ledge since this tree was a sprout.
III. EXPLORATIONS ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER BLUFFS IN KANSAS AND
NEBRASKA
VICINITY OF WHITE CLOUD, KANSAS
About 4 miles southeast of White Cloud, Kansas, is the "Taylor Mound,"
from which Mark E. Zimmerman and William Park took 56 skeletons, or
portions of skeletons, in a space not more than 6 by 20 feet. This was
clearly an intrusive communal burial of skeletons carried from some
other point and interred in the mound which owed its origin to persons
who had piled it up at some previous time. The bones, which were not
arranged in any order, were 30 inches beneath the present surface of
the mound, but this does not mean they were no deeper originally, as
the mound has been plowed for many years and is in a situation where
it will easily wear down when cultivated.
A few feet away, at a depth of 7 feet, other bones, or fragments of
bones, were found in a mass of burned clay. A cremation had taken
place at some point away from the mound, and the resultant burned
earth, with so much of the bone matter as was not destroyed by the
fire, was carried here and buried. The depth in this instance is not
significant; the earth is loose and very easily dug; besides, the
grave pit was near the margin of the mound and earth had washed down
over it from above.
Some stones, carried from neighboring ravines, have been exposed by
the wear due to erosion from natural causes and from cultivation. The
main portion of the structure is still intact, and it is probable that
no deposits belonging to it at the time of its construction have been
unearthed. A systematic exploration, showing the original construction
as well as the alterations resulting from later burials, is much to be
desired.
While this is the largest mound in the vicinity, and is claimed to be
the largest mound in Kansas, it is not different except in size from
many others within a few miles. All of them are made of the same earth
as that which lies around them--a light, sandy loess which is easily
removed with a shovel, requiring no picking or other loosening. In
fact, it is almost as easy to dig as loose sand would be. Sometimes
there are flat limestones in or around the graves; similar slabs are
found not far away in the ravines.