Chapter 3

In fact, this part of the Meramec Valley does not seem to have ever been permanently inhabited. Residents say that relics, even flint implements, are seldom found in the bottom lands; and this fact was commented on by persons who have learned how common such things are in other localities. Small, rough hematite axes, however, occur in considerable quantities throughout the region. The ore outcrops at various places and solid nodules or fragments are plentiful. Chert knives or spearheads are found scattered promiscuously; and, rarely, an object made of other stone may be picked up. Very few specimens of any description are symmetrical or carefully finished.

HOUSE MOUNDS (5)

On the Dent County infirmary farm, in Spring Creek Valley, a mile and a half south of Salem, is a group of house mounds, about 50 in number. They have not been much disturbed by cultivation; the creek and a drainage ditch have cut through several of them, but, as usual, there is nothing in the construction to show their purpose.

Two similar groups are on the Short Bend road, not far from Salem; another group on Peter Guthoerl's farm 6 miles east of Salem; and a fourth group, partly within the corporate limits of Salem, on the road to Rolla.

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PHELPS COUNTY

BATES CAVE

On the farm of J.W. Riden, 6 miles southeast of Big Piney post office, is Bates Cave, of which every visitor to the region is speedily informed. It is entered with difficulty by sliding feet first down the inner slope of a pile of débris which fills the entrance almost to the roof. Once beyond this, there is ample space. On the hillside, above the mouth, is a vertical shaft, like a well, due to the widening of a crevice; access to the interior of the cave may also be had through this by means of a long rope. Under present conditions, it would not be used except as a temporary shelter or hiding place; for which purposes bushwhackers availed themselves of its advantages during the Civil War.

This cavern is renowned far beyond its merits on account of its famous "ballroom," where dances and picnics are held; artificial lights being placed on the walls. Possibly the manner in which it must be entered has something to do with its popularity.

ANOTHER "BATES CAVE"

Within a few rods of the cave above described is another, with an entrance 60 feet wide and 10 feet high. Cave earth, which is 5 feet thick above the bottom of a small stream coming from the interior, extends back to large rocks covering the floor; beyond these are rocks, wet clay, and gravel. The cave earth seems to run for some distance under the receding walls. A milk house has been constructed in it, so that excavations are not permitted.

RENAUD CAVE

Four miles east of Edgar Springs, facing Little Piney, is Renaud (R[)e]n´n[=o]) Cave, on the farm of Charles E. Widener. The entrance is 50 feet wide and 10 feet high. Dry cave earth extends back for 65 feet, then comes fallen rock for 100 feet or more. A little stream runs close to the north wall. Cave earth is 5 feet deep on the bedrock at the entrance and rises toward the interior. There is much refuse within and also on the slope in front of the entrance.

MARSH CAVES

A shelter cave on Henry Marsh's farm, facing Little Piney, 2 miles south of Yancy Mills, has a front 35 feet wide, 15 feet high, and runs back 60 feet. There is a wet-weather stream bed through the center. Bedrock shows at the entrance, rising toward the rear for a few feet, then becoming covered with cave earth, which probably has a maximum thickness of 2 feet. There is considerable refuse scattered about, but it is doubtful whether the shallow deposit would repay investigation.

WILD-HOG CAVE

A fourth of a mile from the above cave is one known as "Wild-hog Cave," because in pioneer days these animals gathered here for shelter and protection. It is a small, tunnel-like affair, with a solid rock floor, and extends farther into the hill than anyone has ever dared to venture.

SHELTERS

Two small rock shelters near the Wild-hog Cave may have been resorted to as temporary camping places.

PHELPS CAVE

A cave on the farm of James Phelps, 2 miles south of Yancy Mills, is described as small, with a narrow entrance.

"KEY ROCKS"

Near Yancy Mills there is something known as "the Key Rocks." It can not be found by a stranger and no guide was available at the time the place was sought. It is described as a small, deep, circular hole in solid rock, in which were many stone covers or lids, one above another, gradually diminishing in size and "cut to fit down on each other." It is probably due to stream erosion.

JONES CAVE

On Little Piney, half a mile south from Yancy Mills, is a large cave on the Jones farm. It is said to have a large entrance and much earth on the floor. As the owner uses it for a warehouse in which to store fruits and vegetables and utilizes the stream flowing through it for preserving milk and butter, no examination could be made.

YANCY MILLS CAVE

There is a small, shallow cave near the top of the bluff, half a mile north of Yancy Mills. It contains no evidence of occupation, except that walls and ceiling are blackened with smoke, due, probably, to modern refugees or hunters.

LANE MOUND (7)

It was reported, too late to visit the site, that on George Lane's farm, on Little Piney, a mile north of Yancy Mills, is a mound "8 feet high, built of earth," and surrounded with the usual evidences of a village site, scattered over the level bottom on which it stands.

CAIRNS ON LOST HILL, AT MOUTH OF GOURD CREEK (8)

Gourd Creek flows into the east side of Little Piney River 12 miles southwest of Rolla. It is less than 4 miles long, and but for three or four large springs near its source, which keep its volume fairly uniform, would be dry most of the year.

Parallel with it, a short distance to the southward, is a ravine several miles in length, known as Coal Pit Hollow. This originally discharged its drainage into Little Piney about half a mile above the mouth of Gourd Creek. A ravine tributary to the latter, near its mouth, has worked back until it has captured the flow of Coal Pit. The lower end of the stream bed thus abandoned now forms a gap or depression with a slight incline from the center in both directions. The crest of the deserted portion is about 50 to 60 feet above the present level of Little Piney. The hill inclosed by this quadrilateral drainage is about a fourth of a mile in length along its top, has a direction almost north and south, with a nearly uniform slope along the summit, the southern point being somewhat higher than that at the north, and terminates abruptly at each end. The sides descend at once from the center line of the ridge, like a roof with a slightly rounded comb.

On account of its isolated position the eminence is locally known as "Lost Hill." It is not to be confused, however, with several similar formations in this region, to which the same term is applied and which may owe their existence to a like cause, or may be due to cut-offs by streams.

On the top of this particular Lost Hill are six cairns, five of them near the northern end, the sixth just where the ridge breaks off to the south. The margins are uncertain owing to the upper stones being scattered by hunters as well as by credulous individuals who are firmly fixed in the belief that all such "rock piles" contain gold hidden by Indians.

So far as can now be determined the five at the northern end were 16 to 18 feet across as left by the builders, the southernmost one being somewhat smaller. All are in uncleared land, and crevices between the stones are filled with a tangled mass of roots from the trees and bushes growing on and around them.

The relative positions are about thus, measurements being made on the earth between the scattered stones: (1) 10 feet, (2) 10 feet, (3) 50 feet, (4) 10 feet, (5) 1,000 feet, (6). The distance from (5) to (6) is estimated by stepping and may vary considerably either way from the measure given.

Cairns (1), (2), and (3) were thoroughly excavated.

CAIRN (1)

This, the farthest north, was about 16 by 17 feet within the original limits. When the outer loose rocks were removed there was disclosed a wall of flat stones on the natural surface, so laid as to form an inclosure apparently intended to be practically square. It measured, across the center, from outside to outside, about 14 feet from north to south by 12 feet from east to west. The north and south walls were straight, the others outwardly curved. The approximate outline is shown in figure 1. In most parts the wall was only one stone high; in a few places there was another rock laid up. Over and within this wall had been piled loose stones, ranging in size from small pebbles to fragments of 150 pounds in weight, to form a heap whose original height was about 2 feet.

When all these were cleared away the space within the wall was found to measure 9 feet in each direction. Three feet from the middle of the west wall was a fragment of a child's skull lying on the undisturbed angular gravel which forms the natural surface on this ridge except where a small amount of recently decayed humus may be held by rocks and roots. Halfway between the center and the north wall was the top of an adult skull, with three fragments of long bones. These, which were much gnawed by rodents, were in black earth, evidently the former home of some burrowing animal.

A foot north of the infant's skull were small remnants of an adult's skull, probably belonging with the piece first found. There were also some scraps of animal bones, much gnawed.

CAIRN (2)

This measured from 16 to 18 feet across to the outer edge of the loose stones, and about 30 inches high. Under the top rocks was a rough wall similar to that in Cairn (1), but all the sides were nearly straight. The outline is given in figure 2. The outside measurements, across the center, were 15 feet each way. There were more stones in this wall than in the first; mostly there were two, and in some places three, superposed.

Extending from north to south across the middle of the vault was a row of large slabs standing on edge with their tops leaning toward the east. Their inclination varied from nearly horizontal to nearly vertical; so it would appear that they were not placed thus intentionally but had settled irregularly. Probably they had formed the covering of a pen or vault, of poles or timbers, in which a body had been placed.

Close to these inclined slabs, near the north wall of the vault, was the effigy pipe shown in figure 3. It is made of a fine-grained sandstone and seems intended to represent a buzzard with an exaggerated tail, though the beak is more like that of a crow. This specimen lay between two flat rocks which were separated by a little earth and gravel, but there were no traces of bone with it or near it.

At a slightly lower level than the pipe were several flat stones standing at various angles. When these were removed there were found fragmentary remains of at least three adults, lying in confusion, as if only the folded dismembered skeletons had been placed here. They lay on a floor of slabs which, in turn, rested upon undisturbed gravel.

The facts observed are difficult to interpret, as the original order was so broken up; but it would seem that as a preliminary to the burial of bodies or skeletons, the superficial earth had been scraped away and a rough stone floor laid, on which the bundled or folded remains were placed and at least partially covered with earth and gravel. Other flat rocks were then laid over them, either directly on the earth or more probably supported by poles placed across, whose decay had allowed them to fall into the confusion in which they were found.

A small flint knife was among the remains.

The pipe, being at a little distance from these bones, would suggest another interment; but as no trace of such remained it may have been placed as an afterthought or a separate deposit.

From these skeletons row after row of the slanting rocks continued to the inner side of the eastern wall. Two feet east of the pipe was a skull on its right side, the back against a small flat rock. It was crushed flat, and only a small part of it remained. Possibly it had turned after burial, as fragments of other bones were found here and there toward the south from it, indicating an extended burial. The teeth were hard, solid, and much worn. The bones found were more or less gnawed, and among them were scraps, probably of food animals, burned into charcoal. No bones found could be saved, as they were very soft.

CAIRN (3)

This was similar in construction to (1) and (2), as is shown in figure 4. The wall, along the outside, measured 14 feet on the south, 13 feet on the north, 15 feet on the west, and 14 feet on the east. The inclosed space was 10 feet across each way. Some one had dug out much of the south end; the northern end was undisturbed.

The prior excavation had barely missed, near the west wall, a few fragments of an adult skull and three teeth. About even with the middle point of the west wall, 2 feet from it, was evidence of the burial of an adult--pieces of bone and skull, and some teeth. North of these, near the northwest corner, were fragments of two adult skulls, with one of which were some beads made of shells of water snails; 18 of these were recovered, all more or less decayed. Between these two skulls were parts of a child's skull, the teeth not yet through the bone.

Inclined flat stones in the eastern half of the grave, the tops leaning eastward, denoted other burials; but nothing was found under them, although small flat stones laid on the original surface indicated the bottom of a grave.

Evidently several burials, of which all traces have disappeared, were made in this vault.

Owing to the practical identity of these three graves, the poor returns, and the difficulty of working in a tangled mass of tough roots without displacing the stones so greatly that their proper position became a perplexing question, the remaining three were not excavated.

EXPLORATION OF THE GOURD CREEK CAVE (8)

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.