Other holes or depressions, shallow, saucer-shaped, or dish-shaped, some dug in the underlying clay, others at any level almost to the top of the ashes, were fire pits or cooking places, containing charcoal and ashes. Two such depressions were lined with a coating of gumbo half an inch thick, which, however, was not mixed with sand or shell. Pots may have been shaped in these. Occasionally a small mass of gumbo, never so much as a peck, sometimes as small as a pint measure, would be found loose in the ashes, seemingly thrown there at random. Two pieces were squeezed into a rough ball; one was patted or rolled into a flattened sphere with a rounded depression on one side. These were no doubt intended as material for making vessels, as was a roughly cylindrical mass of red clay and pounded shell as large as a quart cup—the "biscuit" of modern potters.

About the middle of the cave a saucer-shaped depression, 4 feet across and 10 inches deep at the center, had been dug in the red clay; ashes had been deposited to a depth of 2 feet over this space before the excavation of the hole was begun, and streaks of red clay lay at about this level all around the pit. Many rocks, large and small, apparently thrown in, were in this basin and above it. No fire had been made in it; nothing buried; and the upper layers of ashes extended across it unbroken. It forms another of the unsolved problems.

In the den of a burrowing animal smaller than a ground hog was the frontal bone and upper portion of the face of a child of 8 or 10 years; 12 teeth are cut and others can be seen. It is shown in plate 20, c. Part of a cervical vertebra lay at the top of the skull, and there were fragments of a few other bones.

The ulna of a child, broken off at the wrist, was near the doorway in a mass of refuse in a ground-hog burrow. For several feet in every direction around here the ashes were traversed by the tunnels and dens of these animals, some of them extending down into the clay.

Twenty-five feet east of the doorway, a foot below the highest layer of unbroken ashes, was the top and back of a thin skull.

Sixty feet from the front, 15 feet from the east wall, at a depth of 14 inches, was a partial skeleton, lying on the back. The right arm, folded, lay by the side; the left forearm across the pelvis. All bones from the atlas to the sacrum, except some bones of the hands and wrists and the left ulna, lay in such position as to show they had been interred with the flesh on, or at least while the cartilages held them together; but no trace of the skull—which had lain toward the west—or of any part of the legs or feet was present. Fragments of coarse cloth were adhering to the pelvis. The bones, which were almost like punk, were those of a young person, the caps of the long bones being separate from the shafts; but they were of good size, the humerus being 13 inches long. The left ulna (at least a left ulna) lay above where the face should have been, but some inches away, with one end near the surface. It is quite probable that ground hogs are responsible for the condition of this skeleton, and that some of the bones found scattered in the ashes belonged to it. About a foot under the bones, but not connected with the burial in any way, were three large pieces of a large pot.

Four feet east of this, a foot lower, was the skeleton of a baby, the humerus only 3½ inches long. The bones rolled out with some loose ashes, and not all of them could be recovered.

Thirteen feet from the east wall, 16 feet from top of rear slope of the ashes, 4 feet below the surface was part of a skeleton. The bones lay on a damp, close-packed bed of ashes 6 inches thick. They were closely folded, the femurs and lower leg bones being in contact; the skull, scapulæ, right humerus, sacrum, and some of the vertebræ were missing. Such bones as remained were in their proper positions, except that the sternum lay in the pelvis and the elbows at the knees. All of them were in a space only 18 by 22 inches, measuring to the outermost points. The situation of such bones as remained indicated that part of a skeleton had been buried after the flesh had decayed, or had been removed, but while the joints were still united, and covered with loose ashes, whose settling had caused some sagging of the stratified ashes, a foot in thickness, which lay above them, there being no evidence that they had been disturbed since they were placed here. All were as light as cork and, except the left tibia, which was 15½ inches long, fell to pieces when taken up.

Eight feet east from the last skeleton was one of a very young infant, on left side, head toward the front of the cave. It was 2½ feet below the surface, partly under a jutting portion of a large rock whose top was above the ashes. It lay on small angular rocks, with similar rocks over it.

Two feet west of this was the ulna of a child 10 years old.

Sixteen feet from the east wall, 10 feet from top of rear slope, 2 feet under surface was another infant's skeleton, lying on the back, head toward the mouth of the cave. The femur was only 4½ inches long.

Fifteen feet from east wall, 8 feet from top of rear slope of ashes, a little more than a foot below the surface, was the closely folded skeleton of a woman between 20 and 25 years of age. It lay on the right side, with the head east. The bones were in perfect condition, even the coccyx being intact. All the teeth were present, solid, and symmetrically set. Unbroken strata of ashes a foot thick above this skeleton sagged somewhat owing to settling of loose ashes thrown around and over the body at time of burial. The skull is shown, front, profile, and back, in plate 21.

A few inches below these bones, with ashes intervening, were piled some bones of a child of about 8 years. The caps of the joints were not adherent, and some of the teeth had not come through the bone. The skull, which was intact, lay on left side, vertex north, ribs, arm bones, and feet bones lay on the top, at the back, and at the vertex, in contact with the skull and with one another. As there was no evidence that they had ever been disturbed by animals, it would appear that only the bones mentioned had been deposited; even the lower jaw was absent. They lay in a mass of kitchen refuse, shells, burned bones, charcoal, and ashes, the upper layers of which were curved as if the bones had been laid on a level area of this mixed material and the rest of it piled over them. Their position, and the small number of them, indicates that the flesh had been used as food. The skull is shown in plate 22.

Between this partial skeleton and the complete one above it, apparently thrown in with the refuse which covered and surrounded both, were fragments of two large pelvic bones which did not belong to either of them.

Directly below these burials, 3 feet under the surface, was part of an infant's skeleton, with five shell disk beads among the bones; the only instance in which ornaments were found with human bones. The skull and some other bones were present, but most of the remains had disappeared into the runway of a burrower.

At several places in the central parts of the cavern, at almost any level between the top and the bottom of the ashes, were human bones, singly or a few together, some of them apparently remains of interments, others carried to the points where found. Most of these scattered bones were of children or infants; but now and then larger ones were found, notably two large adult tibiæ which were a foot apart. While a few of them may have been thrown in with the ashes, most of this confusion resulted from the activity of rodents, though some of it was due to desultory former investigations.

At one point was the perfect lower jaw of a child 8 or 10 years old; with it were a scapula and some vertebræ which may have belonged to it, also some ribs, vertebræ, and arm bones of an infant. Two or three of them bore marks of fire, especially an ulna of a child which was completely charred.

Four feet from east wall, 4 feet below surface, at the beginning of the slope to the rear, was the skeleton of a child less than 2 years old. It lay on left side, head east, legs bent, one arm folded with hand by head, the other along the body; just such a position as would be assumed by a sleeping infant. Some of the teeth were cut. All the bones were in place, though soft and brittle; above them was an unbroken stratum of ashes.

Four feet west of this, 2 feet higher, was the skeleton of a still younger child.

Sixteen feet from east wall, at the beginning of slope to rear, near the bottom of the ashes, was an adult's skeleton, extended on back, head west. Three rocks, weighing from 75 to 300 pounds, were placed over the body. Most of the bones had disappeared from decay; the middle third of one tibia was much enlarged by disease, as shown in plate 23.

Eleven feet east of this, 4 feet below surface, was an adult skeleton, folded, on right side, head toward rear of the cave. The bones were spongy and soft. Portions of the feet and legs, most of the pelvis, the left arm, and some of the vertebræ were present, but there was no trace of right arm, skull, or shoulders. A slab weighing 100 pounds or more was set on edge just where the head should have been. One tibia, the only bone with both ends remaining, measured 14½ inches.

Near the wall, just beyond the break of the slope, was the entire skeleton of a dog so old that its teeth were rounded and smooth. It had been killed by a spear thrust entirely through its body, from the right side, both scapulæ being penetrated; the holes are three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The skull of a fox was found near this, higher in the ashes.

Fifteen feet from east wall, halfway down the slope, 18 inches under surface, was the skeleton of an infant only a few days old. No trace of pelvis or right leg remained, though all the other bones were well preserved.

Twenty-four feet from east wall, at beginning of rear slope, was the complete skeleton of a young child, extended, on back, head toward rear of cave. The bones showed evidence of disease, as may be seen in plate 23. The skull is shown in plate 24.

Nineteen feet from east wall, 13 feet from foot of slope, was a hole 4½ inches to 5 inches in diameter, 21 inches deep, extending into the loose dark earth underlying the ashes. The bottom of the hole was muddy, being at about the level of the standing water, and contained charred and decayed remains of oak wood. Ashes, in layers having the same slope as the surface, extended over it, proving the post (?) to have been burned some time before the cave was abandoned.

West of the doorway a ledge, projecting from 4 to 6 feet, extended to the west corner. It was covered 2 feet deep, or less, with ashes containing the usual refuse. Large rocks lay on this, or had fallen over it to the clay lying against its lower part, or into the ashes on the clay.

Near the west wall were four holes in an almost straight north-and-south line. The first (1), was 29 feet north of the doorway, 18 inches deep and 7 inches in diameter. In it was the clay pipe shown in figure 14. Number (2), 5 feet from (1), was 24 by 9 inches; No. (3) 2 feet from (2), was 26 by 7 inches; No. (4), 4½ feet from (3), was 30 by 5 inches. Fourteen inches northwest of No. (1) was another hole, 15 by 3 inches. The description on a previous page as to character, appearance, and contents applies to all these holes; the ashes extended above all of them in continuous layers.

A little to the west of No. (1) was a small pile of crumbling fragments of sandstone and limestone used in boiling food.

Near No. (4), a foot under the surface, on the slope, 15 feet from the water, was a small pile of charcoal on which lay a human scapula, some vertebræ, fragments of ribs, most of a humerus, and most of a femur of a person not fully matured; they were of good size but the cap fell away from the humerus when it was moved. Some of them were without marks of fire, others were charred, while a few pieces were burned to cinder. As the mass was surrounded by clean ashes, it could not be determined whether the charcoal had been burned where found, or had been carried here. Whichever it was, the bones had been thrown on the pile.

Thirteen feet just north from the corner of the west wall was a hole 19 by 7 inches which differed from the others in that the bottom instead of being rounded was irregular, and deeper at one side; the top, however, showed the usual hemispherical contour.

Two feet from corner of west wall, almost under a point projecting from it, 4 feet below surface, was a cranium from which the upper jaw, one orbit, and part of the right parietal were missing; with it were a lower jaw, a clavicle, a sternum, the bones of the left arm, and some phalanges, all in good condition, except the ulna, which was broken. No other bones were present. The skull lay on right side, face toward the wall; the arm bones were on it, and the other bones by it. With and around them were some deer bones. The entire lot had the appearance of being thrown together here at one time, and it would seem that the flesh of all of them had been eaten.

Fourteen feet north from the corner, halfway down to the water, in the wet earth at the bottom, were human bones evidently placed here entire, but so decayed and broken that nothing could be ascertained except that it seemed a closely folded body or skeleton had been deposited. The teeth were worn down to the gums.

The refuse behind the corner of the west wall was cleared away as far as the conditions would permit. The amount of water at the rear of the cave varies with the rainfall; sometimes it almost disappears, again it may be fully 2 feet deep; but at all times the earth and ashes near it are saturated above its lowest level. Consequently, on account of the mud, excavations could not be carried fully to the end in either direction. As scarcely anything was found in the last few feet, this omission was not important.

The entire distance worked over, from the front margin to the line where no further advance could be made, at 14 feet from the water, was 91 feet. No spot that could be reached throughout this length was left undug.

The small openings in the west wall presented no features worthy of special mention; but those in the east wall yielded interesting results.

First of these was a small cave 39 feet from the main entrance. At the front its width was 11 feet; 6 feet within it narrowed to 4 feet. A hole on the north side ended at a crevice that led to a chamber higher up, from which, in turn, another crevice extended. All this space, even beyond the point to which a man could worm his way, was filled with fine earth and ashes containing much refuse. Worked objects were found at the greatest distance which could be reached.

A few feet within the entrance this minor cave divided into three parts. A crevice trending northward is too small to follow. The two others extend in a general easterly direction. The central branch, the left of the two, also closes within a few feet. Neither of these contained anything but natural earth. In the one to the right, 7 feet from the entrance, was a pocket on the south side, 18 inches wide, 30 inches high, and 4 feet deep; it was filled with ashes containing bone and shell, but no worked object except a flake scraper. At intervals, within the next few feet, were two mortars, a much used pestle, some bone awls, and flints, all of them in places where it was scarcely possible for a man to sit erect, as the tunnel-like cavity, circumscribed by solid rock, was nowhere as much as 4 feet in diameter. At its narrowest part it measured only 3 feet high and 18 inches wide.

At 20 feet the cave opens into a well-like enlargement, 5 by 6 feet, and 5 feet high. Bone and shell in small amounts were found here, and among them the skiver shown at d in plate 36.

From this well-like cavity three branches start; one continuing in a direct line east, one to the north, and one to the south. The east (middle) branch is only 24 inches high and 17 inches wide, with solid rock all around. It contained ashes, with a little refuse, as far as a man could reach.

The branch to the north is entered through an opening 3 feet high and 31 inches wide in a thin wall of the original rock, just within which it widens to nearly 7 feet, holding the same height of 3 feet. Within this doorway, on the red earth bottom, were a small mortar and a grinding stone worn by much use; both were stained with red paint. A foot farther in was part of a skiver; and 2 feet beyond this was a large knife of white chert almost as clear and compact as chalcedony, shown at a in plate 27. Ashes continued in the north tunnel for 26 feet from the entrance, beyond which no further progress was possible. Before this point was reached, the refuse which had been continually decreasing in amount no longer appeared.

The tunnel leading from the well toward the south is 19 inches high, 3 feet 9 inches wide. At 3 feet it branches; one fork, 2 feet high and 17 inches wide, turns eastward and curves to join the east branch from the well. The other branch continues south, but soon closes; in it were found a small piece of an adult's skull and the hip bone of a young child.

The floors in all the branches of the small cave were covered from 3 to 12 inches deep with a reddish mixture of sand and clay, on which were ashes filling the space above almost to the roof. In a few places refuse was found in this silt, of the same general character as that in the ashes, but in very small amount. This is not significant; such remains were dragged down by animals, which range everywhere. The two deposits are quite separated and distinct.

The clay and sand on the rock bottom came from disintegrated rock on top of the ground outside, or at any rate from some level higher than that where they are found now; but how ashes, shells, broken bone, and especially how worked objects came to be in places too contracted for a man to creep, and where they could be neither carried nor pushed, is not to be explained except on the hypothesis of a chamber above, whence they may have worked or may have been thrown down; but at no place, either in the cave or in the outside surface, could there be found any evidence of such communication.

Fifty-five feet from the mouth of the cave, in the east wall, is a crevice into whose lower portion extended the red clay of the cavern floor. It branched into various tortuous divisions, all of which were filled with ashes containing a large proportion of refuse. It appeared at first that all this had settled in, or been thrown in, from the main cavern; but one branch, having a very irregular outline, was in such situation and trended upward at such an angle that it could not have been filled from below. As in similar cases previously noted, however, no other opening to it was to be found. The smallest workman cleared it out to as great a distance as he could crawl and use a trowel, but did not succeed in reaching the end of the deposits.

At the bottom of the crevice were ground-hog burrows extending between loose rocks, under ledges, and into the red clay. All these were followed as far as they could be, and found to contain quantities of refuse. There was also a considerable amount of fine dark earth in the burrows, showing they have another outlet somewhere. Occasionally a mass thrown out by a shovel or a trowel contained more refuse than ashes. There was nearly everything which was found elsewhere in the cave, and almost every shovelful contained something worth preserving.

Near the rear of the cave erosion of the lower part of the eastern wall formed a rudely triangular recess or cavity 30 feet long by 7 feet deep at the widest part. The upper margin of this was below the surface of the ashes, so that its existence was not suspected until these had been removed from in front of it. The roof was 5 feet above the rock bottom, the entire space being filled with loose material. The upper 2 feet of this was clean ashes in which were great quantities of refuse, so much that it had all the appearance of a general dumping ground. Below this depth, patches of fine dark earth were mingled with the ashes and refuse. The latter continually decreased in quantity, until at a foot above the bottom they ceased altogether, the lower portion of the deposit consisting of nothing but earth. The pure ashes were slightly damp; and the moisture increased with the depth until at a foot above the bottom the earth was saturated and could no longer be removed with tools.

The refuse in the ashes consisted of animal bones, entire or in fragments; broken flints and pottery; mussel and snail shells; and numerous wrought objects. These continued, though in smaller amount, where the ashes were mingled with earth, though bones and shells were soft owing to the moisture, and could be removed only in fragments. Among them were the flint shown at a in plate 28, and the hematite ax, at a, plate 29. The latter was at the lowest level to which the ashes extended; perhaps its weight caused it to settle below the place at which it originally lay.

Near the middle of this chamber, 2 feet from the rear wall, lying at the bottom of the mixed ashes and earth, were 12 entire and 3 broken leaf-shaped blades; they were not closely piled, or arranged in any order, but seem to have been hastily or carelessly laid or thrown on a small space. Another was found a foot away. They are shown in plate 25.

Here and there among the refuse were found the upper jaw, with left orbit, of a young person; a fragment of an occiput, perhaps belonging with the above though not lying near it; fragments of the skull of a young child; half of an ulna of a child probably 12 years old; a small fragment of the lower jaw of an adult with one molar remaining in it, which has been burned until black. These fragments were all in such position and condition as to show they were not carried in by animals; were not disinterred from graves and placed here; were not in any way accidentally present; but had been gathered up with the refuse and thrown in as a part of it. The broken or burned condition of these, as well as of other human bones found at random among the ashes of the main cave, are presumptive evidence that dwellers here sometimes devoured the flesh of human beings; and the fact that a majority of such bones are those of children indicates that it was not eaten through a belief that the valor and skill of an enemy could be thus absorbed by the victor, but that it was used as food, like the flesh of any other animal. Such conclusion may not be justified; but the facts are not readily accounted for otherwise, except on the equally repulsive hypothesis that the inmates of the cave were brutally indifferent to the bodies or skeletal remains of their fellows.

Omitting this question from consideration, however, there is still ample evidence that the inhabitants of Miller's Cave were in a low state of savagery, or, if the phrase be preferred, in a very primitive stage of culture. There was a remarkable paucity of articles used as ornaments or for personal decoration, and the few that were found were simple and crude, being only rubbed stones or rough pieces of bones which were possibly intended for beads or pendants. The pottery, while strong and serviceable, was plain in form and devoid of any ornamentation or design except that a few pieces showed impressions such as would be made by scratching or pressing with the end of a small stick or bone. Nearly all of it was cord-marked, though some was smooth, one red piece appearing almost glazed. It varied much in thickness, hardness, and color. Most of it was dark gray, some red, occasionally a piece yellowish or nearly white; due to the different clays of which it was made. So far as observed it was tempered with shell. The shards were small, as if when a pot was broken the fragments were still further demolished. The curvature showed there was a wide range in size, from about a pint to 2 gallons or more.

Their mortars were natural blocks or slabs of sandstone, such as may be picked up by thousands in the immediate neighborhood, and showed no alteration of form beyond ordinary wear except that the rough faces of a few were pecked, apparently with a pointed flint tool, to make them less irregular. Some were flat and smooth from use with a muller or grinding stone; most of them were worked or hollowed on only one face; a few showed depressions on both sides; one had a few hemispherical indentations near the margin, like those observed in cup-stones.

Only one pestle was dressed into any of the forms which we are accustomed to associate with the name, and this was a truncated cone with rounded top, shown at b in plate 29. All the others were cobblestones from ravines or the river shore. A few had undergone no change in form; most of them were battered on the perimeter; a few had pitted sides; some had been used as pestles, mullers, or grinding stones until the surface was more or less smooth. All such stones are classed as "pestles," for convenience; they could have also been used as hammers, bone crushers, and in various other ways.

In all, 73 mortars were found; counting only those stones which bore marks of use as such. The largest one was at the bottom of the ashes, near the doorway. There were more than 100 pestles which bore evidence of much use; and probably as many more on which there was little or no sign of wear. As the cavern was not of sufficient size to provide living quarters for many families at any one time—10 or 12 at the most—the large number of these utensils may imply that the inmates would not use an object which had previously belonged to some one else.

Among the flint implements there was a wide range in the character of stone, the shape, and the degree of finish, although the variation in size was quite limited. Very few of them may be classed as either large or small. The longest, shown at a in plate 28, measured 5½ inches; few were more than 4 or less than 2 inches. Tapering stems predominated. The principal forms are shown in plates 26-28. Only three arrowheads were found; but this was to be expected, as arrows would be used only out of doors. One of these of clear, fine-grained pink and white chert, shown at b in plate 28, so far surpasses in delicate finish any other specimen secured that it is probably exotic. The large number of cores, blocks, spalls, and flakes shows that many implements were made and repaired here. But, while a few specimens showed that their fabricators were masters of the chipping art, most of them were roughly finished. Some which are so little altered from the original form of the rough flake or spall that they would be classed as "rejects" if found about a flint workshop have a smoothness or "hand polish" which denotes much service. There is the possibility, of course, that hunting or traveling parties from some other part of the country may have availed themselves of the shelter, either when it was temporarily unoccupied, or as guests of those living in it; and that these, also, may have left some small articles when they departed. However this may have been, all the objects from the top to the bottom of the deposits, in dry ashes or in sticky mud, in crevices or branch caverns, on the red clay, the barren muck, or the bedrock—all, if we may except the few flints of superior workmanship—are identical in general character: That is to say, any object from any part of the deposited material had its practical duplicate at various other points on different levels.

Only three grooved axes and three pestles were found. They are shown in plate 29, along with a cobblestone used as a pestle.

The cave was especially rich in objects wrought from bone and antler. A few of these are shown in plates 30-36 and figure 15.

Plate 36 illustrates four stages in the manufacture of skivers. It shows that instead of being always rubbed down from its natural form the bone was sometimes split by blows of a stone hammer until complete, subsequent smoothing probably resulting from use, as shown by the implement at c. When skivers were broken, the ends were dressed down for other uses; as observed in the upper row of plate 32.

Shell spoons, knives, and scrapers were abundant. Some are shown in plate 37, along with perforated pottery disks and the bowl of a spoon made from the frontal bone of a deer.

Figure 16 represents the only adz or gouge form implement found. It is made of gray chert, the edge highly polished. In figure 17 is shown a broken clay pipe, identical in form and material with that in figure 14.

The red clay which had formed the floor of the excavated area from the mouth of the cavern to well past the central portion suddenly dipped to the north and to the east shortly before reaching the corner of the west wall. Attempts to follow it downward were frustrated by black earth, which when dug with pick or shovel assumed the consistency of "hog-wallow mud."

For a space of 4 or 5 feet inside the doorway, whose floor was about 3 feet higher than the average surface level in the cave, the ashes were not more than a foot thick, the clay rising to this extent. It spread out fan shape, with a continuous slope for several yards in every direction, thus making an easy grade for entrance and exit.

There are three ways in which this condition could have been brought about.

First, the aborigines may have constructed a graded way; though it is not at all likely they would have piled the clay so far to each side.

Secondly, it may have washed through the doorway from the outer cave when the main outlet of the latter in the face of the bluff toward D (fig. 13) was obstructed in some way. This is improbable.

Thirdly, it may be due to material deposited in the eddy or swirl created by the corner of the west wall whenever a large volume of drainage water flowed from the westward in the main cave and was sharply deflected toward the south when it struck the east wall. This is no doubt the correct explanation.

Whether or not these floods had any part in piling up the clay at the doorway, beyond doubt it was to them that the clay, gravel, and sand resting upon the floor of the main cave owe their origin. To them is likewise due the dark earth overlying the clay at the rear and covering the floor of the recess in the east wall. Clearly, there was at one time in the cave's history a current at intervals, which carried mud and small rocks from the interior of the cave, or from the outside surface through sink holes, and left at least a part of it where the velocity of the stream was checked. Later, much of this water found other drainage channels, and the coarser matter could no longer be carried into the cave; but at times of unusually heavy precipitation enough of the torrent followed the old course to bring in the dark earth. The last is due to top soil containing a large amount of humus from decaying vegetation. Finally, no more water came this way except as seepage, which is the condition at present.

The pool at the rear may be entirely empty in dry seasons; and after heavy rains may contain a depth of 2 feet. This water now has a greasy looking scum and a sour, unpleasant odor.

The cave was inhabited before the water had entirely ceased to flow through it; this is proven by the alternation of refuse and silt in the recess under the east wall. Kitchen waste would be thrown here, and when the water rose sediment would cover it. There was then dry ground near the doorway; and the water in the pool, having an outlet toward the east, through the crevice, was fit for use, except, perhaps, when turbid.

On the rear slope, 18 feet from the water, the excavation was carried to the level of the bottom of the pool. The lower 2 feet was mud, and at the bottom water oozed in. Scattered through this muddy earth was much charcoal in small fragments; and for a short distance it also occurred for a few inches below the surface of the red clay. This charcoal was carried in by the water at the same time as the earth with which it was associated, and must be due to fires on the hill outside. At any rate, it did not come from any fires made within the cavern. No refuse or worked objects of any kind were found in this black earth, except in the recess in the east wall, as described, and in the upper portion immediately under the ashes. Such as existed outside the recess may have become mixed in the same way; that is, by being thrown on the top as it existed at the moment and being later covered by the water; or it may have worked in from the ashes above. Nor was there much refuse in the ashes on the rear slope, although these were quite regularly stratified.

To entirely remove the rocks and clay and expose in a satisfactory manner the bedrock floor would require months of labor, the use of mechanical appliances, and complete drainage to the rear wall through the mouth of the cave.

Without attempting to make a detailed list, there may be given a summary of the objects shipped to the National Museum:

• 12 skulls, most of them more or less broken.
• 10 partial skeletons, including those of children.
• 8 fragments of skulls from different individuals not included in the above.
• 74 objects of shell.
• 711 worked flint objects; knives, scrapers, cores, etc.
• 10 grooved axes, tomahawks, and flint hammers.
• 10 mortars.
• 40 pestles, stone hammers, rubbing stones, etc.
• 413 wrought objects of bone and stag horn.
• 2 clay pipes.
• 1 box of pottery fragments.
• A number of small objects, not classified.

There were left in the cavern several hundred broken flints; more than 60 mortars; probably 200 stones used as pestles, hammers, etc., and several large wagonloads of shell, bone, and broken pottery.

There is no way in which the age of the deposits in either the Miller or the Sells Cave can be determined. The accumulation of ashes in the one and of talus at the front of the other would certainly imply the lapse of several centuries, perhaps a thousand years of continuous occupation. Intermittent habitation would lengthen this period.

RAMSEY'S CAVE

Ramsey's Cave, better known as Freeman's Cave, is in a bluff on the right bank of Big Piney River, 3 miles below Miller's Cave. It is about 150 feet above the level of the stream and the same below the summit of the hill behind it. Within a hundred yards to east and west are shallow ravines by which access is fairly easy to a ledge nearly on the same level as the cave; this is wide enough for one person to traverse, but in most places too narrow for two abreast. The talus in front is rough and steep but a crooked path with no difficult grades can be made to the water.

Chambers on each side near the entrance, which are accessible only by means of a ladder, provide excellent living quarters and command approach from any direction, even along the foot of the cliff on either side.

The entrance, which faces southwest, is a symmetrical arch 75 feet wide and 20 feet high.

Bedrock shows just in front, covered with loose material washed over the cliff. The floor ascends and the roof descends toward the rear, until at 70 feet they approach within 6 feet of each other; beyond this the cave is choked with fallen rocks and with earth and gravel probably from a sink hole some distance back on top of the hill.

Refuse shows about the entrance and for 40 feet toward the rear, where earth from the interior has worked down over it. The surface is strewn with rocks, large and small, so that excavations are possible only in small areas. Several holes were dug at intervals between the front and the rear; a considerable amount of ashes was found over the middle portion, thrown from still farther back. Very little was found in them. The rock bottom slopes upward slightly and was covered in some places with clay and gravel, on which lay the ashes and other refuse; these were nowhere more than 3 feet deep, and usually much thinner.

The place was so difficult to work in and the returns were so scanty that systematic investigation did not seem warranted, and the work was not extended. The only objects secured were a bone perforator, part of another one, a snail shell, apparently a bead, a very small piece of sandstone used as a grinder or polisher for bones, a fragment of worked mussel shell, and nine rough flints. There were also a few small fragments of pottery.

A man living near the cave reported that a few years ago he was digging in a narrow space between the east wall and a large fallen rock. He came upon the feet of two skeletons and took out the lower leg bones. Being assured by a friend that these were not bones of Indians because they were not "red," and so must be remains of white people, he replaced them and threw the earth back on them. He was certain the spot had never since been disturbed; but in this he was mistaken, for investigation revealed a pile of human bones lying in confusion, in which the frames of two individuals, as he had said, were mingled; but no trace of the skull or jaw of either. Evidently some one had come afterwards in search of the skulls. The femur of the larger individual was just 19 inches long; the other frame was much smaller; but all other bones were in such fragmentary condition they could not be measured.

There is a rock shelter a short distance down the river from the Ramsey Cave and in the same ledge. It is 45 feet long, 15 feet deep, and 8 feet high in front, the roof coming down to the floor at the rear. There is nothing to show that it was ever used, even as a camping place.

A fourth of a mile above this cave is another from which flows a never-failing spring. There is a pile of ashes near the front, containing some refuse, but these mark only the site of an occasional camp, as the place could not be occupied in wet weather.

GRAHAM CAVE

On Graham's land, high up in a bluff facing Big Piney, opposite the mouth of Spring Creek, is a small cave difficult to reach and not suitable for occupancy.

PILLMAN'S OR SPRING CREEK, CAVE (25)

At the mouth of Spring Creek, on land of John Pillman, near the top of the bluff, is a cave with an entrance 30 feet wide and 30 feet high. A steep rock ledge at the front offers an impassable obstacle to any stock except goats. The front chamber is well lighted for a distance of 80 feet, where it makes a turn. Bedrock is exposed near the entrance and rises toward the rear, showing here and there through the covering of earth, which is not more than 2 feet deep anywhere. Water cracks appear even in the highest spots, proving the floor to be saturated at times. There is considerable refuse inside the cave, but none in front, and it is reported that human skeletons have been found in it. If so they must have been on a ledge or in a crevice. Plate 2, a, shows the hill, from the west; plate 2, b, the entrance to the cave.

Two large cairns stood on top of the bluff above the cave. So far as can be determined in their dilapidated condition, there seems to have been a row of stones inclosing a definite area, but it is impossible to ascertain with certainty whether this was the case.

On a lower ridge, to the north, are three similar but smaller cairns. These are constructed entirely of sandstone slabs, and there was plainly some sort of system used in placing them; but, as in the case of the first, it can not now be determined whether there was a continuous wall, and, if so, whether it was more than one stone high.

A village site is reported in the river bottom on David Thomas's farm on the Big Piney, near Moab.

There were cairns, now totally destroyed, at two places on the ridge over which passes the road from Devil's Elbow to Spring Creek.

WOODLAND HOLLOW CAVE

A minor ravine, known as Woodland Hollow, opens into a small unnamed creek a mile above its junction with Big Piney River at the Devil's Elbow. In the west slope of this ravine is a large cave, named from its location. Through the middle part the floor is muddy; along the wall on the left, dry cave earth, with a width of 20 to 30 feet, extends for 70 feet from the entrance, its surface 4 feet above the level of the wet floor. A smaller amount of dry earth lies along the opposite wall. The sides of the cavern recede at the bottom, the dry earth passing under them. No estimate can be made as to the total depth of the deposits. At the mouth of a ground-hog burrow were two bone perforators, potsherds, fragments of bones, and pieces of worked flint, including two knives, which had been thrown out by the animal. Two mortar stones were found on the margin of the dry earth.

The cave belongs to Philip Becker, of St. Louis, who peremptorily refused to allow any examination whatever to be made; the only case in the whole region where cheerful permission was not given for any amount of excavation desired.

Three cairns, all demolished, stood on the Stuart property, half a mile from Woodland Cave.

There is a cairn on top of Lost Hill, half a mile south of Blue, or Shanghai, Spring on Big Piney.

WALLED GRAVES AT DEVIL'S ELBOW (26)

Three miles above the point at which it passes out of the hills into the bottom lands on its way to the Gasconade, the Big Piney River doubles on itself with an abrupt curve, which raftsmen have named "The Devil's Elbow." For more than a mile above and below this bend the stream flows in opposite directions in nearly parallel east and west channels around the foot of a spur from the high land to the west.

Into the Elbow, on its outer curve, three ravines from the east and southeast open within a fourth of a mile. They form the boundaries of two very narrow ridges or "hog-backs," which terminate in precipitous slopes near the river. For some distance back from the points the limestone bedrock crops out, a slight accumulation of earth in the crevices supporting a scanty covering of weeds but being insufficient to permit the growth of trees or bushes; hence the term "balds" by which they are locally known. The ridges have a gradual and nearly uniform slope toward the summit of the hill, which lies half a mile to the eastward. The sandstone capping the hill appears within a few hundred feet and is covered with an abundant growth. On the upland are many large trees.

The ridge farthest south, on the farm of Joseph Ross, has five stone graves along the crest, numbered here in their order from the bluff. Number (1) is a few rods below the sandstone outcrop, and is constructed partly of weathered limestone blocks such as are now lying around it and partly of sandstone slabs carried from farther up the hill. All the other cairns, although (2) and (3) stand on the limestone bedrock, are built entirely of sandstone fragments ranging from the size of a brick or smaller to pieces weighing over 200 pounds.

At first sight the cairns appeared to be only piles of stones thrown together; but more careful inspection showed that each burial place was outlined by a wall, laid up with as much regularity as was practicable with the material at hand, and inclosing a space approximately square. Measuring from face to face of their walls, the spaces between these cairns were as follows: (1) to (2), 21 feet; (2) to (3), 19 feet; (3) to (4), 36 feet; (4) to (5), 34 feet.

Not one of these walls was intact at the time of examination; hunters had torn away portions of all of them in pursuit of small animals which had sought refuge among the stones; and such parts as were not thus injured were more or less displaced by roots of trees penetrating in every direction the soil which had accumulated in the open spaces.

So far as could be judged in their chaotic condition, the first step in their construction was to lay a row of slabs around the area required; then another row upon this; and the work was continued in this manner until the desired height was reached. As a rule, the stones were so laid as to break joints and to interlock at the corners, for greater stability; but in a few places this was not done. If a stone, once laid up, did not fit as it should, the builders apparently did not take the trouble to replace it with another better suited to the requirements. Seemingly, care was taken to build in such a manner that each outer face should be vertical, and in a straight line from corner to corner; but the inner side was left rough and irregular according to the shape and size of the blocks, no attempt being made to even it up. If timbers of any kind had been laid across the top, resting on the walls, there remained no indication of the fact. However, the bodies may have been protected at the time of interment by small vaults or pens constructed of poles, whose decay would allow the stones to settle, and of which no traces would now be left.

The space inclosed by the walls was filled with loose stones lying in such disorder as to suggest that they had been carelessly or hastily thrown in to fill the interior and round up the top; but some of this confusion may have resulted from the same causes by which the walls were defaced.

It does not appear that any stones had been piled against the outside of the walls to assist in retaining them in place; such as were found in this position were either thrown there by the present inhabitants or had fallen from the top.

Two of the cairns, the second and the third in order, were so torn up and overgrown that no investigation of them was attempted; the three others were fully examined.

Cairn (1)

In the first, that nearest the terminus of the ridge, all stones lying against the outside of the structure were thrown aside, bringing the outer face into plain view. The inclosure thus revealed resembled the rude foundation of a small building. Measuring from corner to corner the north wall was 14 feet long, the south wall 16 feet, the east wall 14 feet, the west wall 13 feet. The walls were as straight and the corners as square as they could well be made with surface rocks not trimmed or dressed from their natural rough condition.

The space within was next freed of stones; the topmost were 3 feet above the outside level, though no doubt higher when first piled. The inside measurements were: North wall 10 feet, south wall 10 feet, east wall 9 feet, west wall 9 feet; all measurements being approximate, as no definite boundaries could be determined.

The south wall was practically destroyed; the others were not much injured, but no longer plumb, as they undoubtedly were when constructed. The east wall was in best condition; the outer face was nearly vertical; the top of the highest stone remaining in it was 28 inches above the bottom of the lowest. The general appearance of the wall indicates that it was somewhat higher.

After the stones were thrown out there remained a deposit of loose material, composed to some extent of very scanty soil and of humus from decayed weeds and leaves, but principally of disintegrated sandstone which had settled or washed in. Its thickness above bedrock was about 16 inches. All this was carefully examined.

Near the center, a few inches above the natural bedrock, were some fragments of human bones which seemed to belong to two adults. Another adult body, or skeleton, bundled or closely folded, had been placed against the south wall, which had partially fallen in on it. Pieces of long bones, including heads of two femurs, the ends of the bones at an elbow, phalanges, and a fragment of rib were found in a space less than a foot across. Nothing more of them remained and nothing else was found.