Chapter MIX: Cave (21) (3)

A mile and a half west of Brumley, near Glaize Creek, is Wright, or Brumley, Cave. The entrance is 15 feet high and 40 feet wide. At 20 feet from the mouth the width contracts to 20 feet. The depth is 120 feet in daylight to a stalagmite floor. Dry cave earth extends for 35 feet from the entrance, at which distance it reaches tough, sticky clay; this continues to the stalagmite. Above the clay are growing stalactites.

In front of the entrance were a few flint chips, but no indications of pottery or shell. A small implement, shown in figure 22, was found which is of interest because it was worked to a sharp point at one end of a narrow drill, while the other end widened into a squared form with a straight base which was dulled and polished from use as a cutting tool; the entire surface was polished from long service. An object of this kind would be highly suitable for mending moccasins and leggins. Finding this and nothing else strengthens the probability that this cave was used as a temporary camping place, but was never permanently occupied.

WILSON CAVE (31)

Facing Barren Fork of Tavern Creek, on the farm of John R. Bond, 8 miles northwest of Iberia and 12 miles southeast of Tuscumbia, is a cave celebrated by reason of a provision in the will of a former eccentric owner.

There is a small cave which has an opening in the bluff, a few feet to one side of the larger cave. This can be reached only by means of ladders 60 feet long.

Jack Wilson came from Ireland and settled on Tavern (or Cavern) Creek in 1822. For a number of years he lived in this cave, with his family. He died in 1855, leaving instructions that his body was to be packed in salt and placed in the small cave, "with a ten-gallon cask of good whisky," the entrance then to be sealed up. In order to carry out his last wishes, and at the same time to give him a "Christian burial," his wife had all his internal organs removed and interred in a cemetery; his body was filled with salt, and placed in a coffin, which, according to his wishes, was deposited in the cave, with the whisky. On the seventh anniversary of his death the whole community was to assemble to "eat, drink, and be merry." For many years residents in the vicinity had used the cave as a place for festive gatherings; but this occasion was to be on a scale beyond anything previously attempted. If necessary, Scriptural methods were to be employed; that is, messengers were to be sent out in all directions, urging every one to come. The floor was to be enlarged, and a platform erected on it. When all were assembled, the whisky and the coffin were to be brought from their resting place and set on the platform. Then certain famous fiddlers were to ascend the platform and play, while the guests danced. When the whisky was exhausted, and the fiddlers in the same condition, the picnic was over and the assembly would disperse. The coffin was then to be replaced in the little cave, which was to be again sealed up, not to be reopened until the Day of Judgment.

The preliminaries were carried out according to program, but when the time for the celebration came round the people were more concerned with the Civil War, and especially in the activities of the bushwhackers who infested that part of the country, than they were in picnics; and Wilson's resurrection was brought about by persons whose identity was never discovered. They got into his tomb in some manner, drank all the whisky, broke open the coffin, and threw Wilson's bones to the outside, where they were scattered down the slope. Horrified relatives gathered them up, replaced them in the cave, sealed it again, and Wilson is still there awaiting his final summons.

The entrance is 20 feet high and 45 feet wide. Dry cave earth extends for 135 feet; from this point it continues, partially filled with fallen rock and stalagmite, 40 feet farther, or 175 feet in all, in plain daylight, at which distance the cave makes a turn; and the cave earth was followed in this to complete darkness without coming to its termination.

Beginning 100 feet from the entrance and extending for 35 feet, a narrow row of loose rocks fallen from the outcrop of stratum along the center of the roof lies on the surface. The cavern here measures 35 feet in width.

There is a wet weather stream along one wall, but the amount of water passing out is never large.

Solid bedrock, with patches of cave earth on it, is exposed, in slightly rising strata, for 10 feet from the little bluff at the mouth; within this it is hidden by the earth which gradually rises to a height of 6 feet; but some of this rise may be due to increased elevation of the rock floor. The entire cave can be easily cleared out to the stalagmite; and it would be advisable to remove at least portions of this in order to ascertain what may lie beneath it.

Refuse appears in considerable quantity in the bottom of the little stream bed and under the receding walls; and likewise a small amount outside the entrance. But the bedrock crops out frequently in narrow ledges between the mouth of the cavern and the foot of the hill, so very little débris of any kind lies on the slope outside.

Some alteration of the surface of the earth floor has taken place in consequence of the construction of platforms; but aside from this it has remained practically undisturbed.

BAGNELL CAVE (32)

A large cavern is near the top of the "Bagnell Hill" on the Bagnell and Linn Creek road, on the right (south) side of the Osage River, and about 3 miles from the town of Bagnell. On account of the "millions" of bats which shelter in it, the name of Bat Cave is applied to this as it is to many other caves in the region.

The entrance is so small that the cavern can be entered only by crawling in; and as no traces of Indian remains have ever been observed in it, or around the front, no examination was deemed necessary.

BODE CAVE (33)

Half a mile south of St. Elizabeth is the Ben Bode Cave. The roof has fallen in near the front, leaving the original exterior standing as a natural bridge a few feet wide. The present entrance to the cavern is 40 feet behind the bridge. It has a wet, rocky floor, and much water flows through it after a rain.

LUCKENHOFF CAVE

On John Luckenhoff's farm, three-fourths of a mile south of St. Elizabeth, facing Tavern Creek, is a small cave with a rocky floor. The entrance is nearly blocked with a mass of stalagmite, behind which the cave is dark.

JURGGENMEYER CAVE

It was reported that in a "cave" on the farm of Conrad Jurggenmeyer, 2½ miles east of St. Elizabeth, a human skull was discovered. The statement may be true; but instead of a cave there is only a tunnel a few rods in length. Beyond the upper arch is an open ravine.

DAERHOFF CAVE

On Ben Daerhoff's farm, 4 miles north of St. Elizabeth, is a cavern facing a narrow valley through which a small stream flows to Tavern Creek a mile and a half away. The entrance is 8 feet high and 55 feet wide. It is well lighted to a depth of 120 feet, where it makes a turn. Dry earth extends back for 55 feet; from there on it is muddy. A small stream flows along one wall, from the wet portion of the floor to the entrance; with a little ditching this could be made to drain off all the water, forming a dry bottom to the rear wall. No refuse of any kind could be found, and the owner says he has never observed any either in the cave or in front of it.

CAVE NEAR MOUTH OF TAVERN CREEK

In the bluff facing Tavern Creek, half a mile above its junction with the Osage, is a cave with an entrance 10 feet high and the same in width. It has a depth of 45 feet in daylight. The floor is of clay and angular gravel, and so wet that puddles are found near the entrance.

BAT CAVE (34)

This is in a bluff facing the Osage, a mile south of the Rock Island Railway bridge. It is not accessible except by means of a ladder or stairway fully 60 feet long. The roof overhangs the entrance, and the floor projects over a shallow rock shelter which reaches for a few rods along the foot of the bluff. A small amount of water seeps from the entrance. Persons who explored the cavern years ago--there is no way to reach it at present--say it divides into three large chambers, mostly dry, and with floors of solid rock or of earth containing much rock.

GRAVE AT MOUTH OF SALINE CREEK (35)

Four miles below Tuscumbia, on the left bank of the Osage, is the mouth of Saline Creek which comes in from the north. On the lower (east) side of their junction, on the farm of Charles Tillman, is a low spur projecting toward the creek. On this is a pile of stones, all that remains of a vault or box grave which formerly existed there. Mr. Tillman says it was originally 35 or 40 feet across, a mound or rounded heap of stones, those about the top being larger than those nearer the base. Needing rock for various purposes, he procured them from this pile, beginning at the top to remove them and proceeding outward. In the course of this work he found that a wall had been built up to a height of about 4 feet, forming a practically square inclosure. The space within was filled and the structure entirely covered with rocks of various sizes. He removed the stones as he reached them, and consequently did not notice whether the outer face of the wall was straighter or smoother than the inner face, or whether there was any particular difference. In all, he took away not less than 40 wagon loads of stones.

On the level top of the hill from which the spur extends is a village site, where mortars, pestles, quantities of flints, and much broken pottery have been found; but no shell.

STARK'S CAVE (36)

Six miles south of Eldon, on a farm now owned by George Irvin, is a cave which is continuous with a small ravine leading up to it. The entrance is 45 feet wide and 16 feet high; a small stream flows from it, along the foot of the left (northern) wall. This skirts a thin deposit of damp earth, which lies along the southern wall, gradually narrowing as it extends inward, until at 50 feet it runs out at the edge of a shallow pool reaching nearly across the cave. The bottom, except for the earth mentioned, is rocky.

The cave was never fit for occupancy.

HOUSE MOUNDS

In an old "History of Miller County" mention is made of a large group of small mounds on a certain man's farm, without giving the locality. It is believed by old residents that this man "lived at one time 2 or 3 miles west of Ullman." If they existed, they were no doubt house mounds.

CAIRNS

Several graves, in a group, were formerly on John Tillman's land, 6 miles south of Eugene. The stones have been entirely removed. When the ground was plowed bullets were found under the sites of the cairns.

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MARIES COUNTY

INDIAN FORD CAVE (37)

This is a fourth of a mile up the river from the bridge crossing the Gasconade, 2½ miles east of Vienna. It is near the top of the hill at the head of a shallow ravine. The entrance, 35 feet wide, can be reached conveniently only near one wall, as a pile of talus immediately in front completely closes the opening; behind it the roof is 7 feet above the floor. If this accumulated material, which has increased somewhat in height within the memory of men now living, were removed to the level of the floor, the main chamber would be amply lighted to its end, a distance of 150 feet. There is a gradual downward incline from front to rear, the floor sloping more rapidly than the roof. After hard rains some water runs into the cavern from the inner slope of the talus; otherwise the floor is perfectly dry for 65 feet, then becomes wet, and near the rear wall there is standing water. It is apparent that a former drainage outlet in this direction is now choked with sediment, brought down perhaps through a branch opening. At 25 feet within the entrance the cavern is 25 feet wide; at 65 feet the distance across is 35 feet, with both walls sloping away like a low-pitched roof and loose earth filling the space under them. At the rear wall the width between the two branches into which the cave divides is 40 to 50 feet. The floor here is clay, with numerous little puddles.

Some pottery, bone, and much shell, but no flint chips, are scattered on the floor and for 50 or 60 feet down the slope outside.

The cavern would make an excellent habitation and is well worth excavating.

LACKAYE'S BLUFF CAVE (38)

This is on the farm of Harrison Hutchinson, who lives 10 miles southeast of Freeburg, on the road to Paydown. It is near the top of a bluff facing the Gasconade. Talus has accumulated in the front part of the cavern until it rises within 2 feet of the roof; farther back the cavity is of sufficient height for a man to stand erect, although nowhere more than 10 feet wide. Owing to the talus the interior is in almost total darkness. Were this accumulation removed the roof at the entrance would be 8 or 9 feet above the floor. The cavern may have been occupied, but there are no indications of such fact, although the recent natural deposits may conceal some remains.

HURRICANE BLUFF CAVE

Half a mile below Lackaye Bluff, opposite the lower end of an island in the Gasconade, is a rock shelter 85 feet in length, 15 feet high in front, 6 feet high at the rear, and 15 feet deep along the middle portion, wedging out at either end. A large pile of talus in front forms a natural windbreak, and the depression is a favorite camping place with present-day hunters and fishermen. A small quantity of flint chips and many shells can be seen around the wall and for some distance down the slope in front. The site may repay investigation, though there is no great depth of earth.

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It is reported that paintings of a deer or elk and other objects are to be seen on the face of a bluff near Paydown.

STRATMAN CAVE (39)

On the farm of Henry L. Stratman, 2½ miles above the Rock Island Railway bridge across the Gasconade River, is a cave near the top of a bluff facing the Gasconade. The entrance is 33 feet wide and 35 feet high. Forty feet back the walls approach each other, forming a doorway or short passage 5 feet wide. Beyond this is a room 18 feet deep and 9 feet across, with a rock ledge or shelf on each side several feet wide and elevated from a foot to 2 feet above the earth floor. This room is well lighted. The earth at the rear is 10 feet higher than at the main entrance. Behind this, in turn, nearly shut off by a large column of stalagmite, is a third room, 8 feet wide, whose earth floor rises rapidly. Were the stalagmite removed, there would be ample light for 20 or 30 feet farther, or about 90 feet in all.

Refuse, mostly shell, shows for 100 feet down the hill. There is some shell in the cave, along the walls; but most of the floor is a comparatively recent accumulation of roof dust and small fragments of rock, and is quite dry as far as light penetrates.

The entrance is much more easily reached from the top of the hill than from the foot of the bluff.

The trend and appearance of the reentrant side walls connecting the present entrance with the straight face of the cliff indicates that the earth in the cavern has a depth of 30 feet or more. Should this prove to be the case, here would be a most excellent place to search for evidence of occupation which, whether continuous or not, might bridge the time from the modern Indian to the earliest inhabitant.

Certainly no other cave in Missouri offers such facilities or inducements for careful and thorough investigation with a view to determining the existence of an early "cave man" in this country.

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OSAGE COUNTY

RIVER CAVE (40)

This is at the foot of a bluff facing the Gasconade, 2½ miles below Gascondy. It has a solid rock bottom, rising steeply for a few feet within the entrance, and a constantly flowing stream covers half the space between the walls.

ROCK SHELTER

There is an excellent rock shelter, 50 feet long, over which the cliff projects for 15 feet, in front and to one side of the entrance of River Cave. On this is a slight depth of earth in which were found some broken bones and shells. The site is an excellent one for camping parties, but has no evidence of other than temporary use.

STEUFFER CAVE

Four miles east of Freeburg, in a ravine, is a cavern popularly known as Beer Cave, being formerly used as a storage room for beer made in a brewery built just in front of it. The entrance is 8 feet wide and 12 feet high. The front chamber, having practically the same dimensions, extends directly back for 50 feet, then makes a turn. The floor is a mixture of clay and angular gravel, with a continuous downward slope from front to rear. Water cracks show that it is sometimes flooded.

The place was never fit for living in.

CAIRNS

At the Gasconade River bridge, on the Rich Fountain road, two creeks on the west side, Brush and Swan, separated only by a narrow ridge which terminates abruptly at either end, come in a fourth of a mile apart. Both rise in the same lake, 6 miles from the river, and flow through parallel valleys, thus draining an abandoned ox-bow curve of the stream.

On the extreme eastern point of this ridge are two cairns. A fourth of a mile from these are two others; and farther back still more of them. All are now destroyed. They were the usual conical heaps of stone, 18 to 20 feet across.

HOUSE MOUNDS (41)

A group of house mounds extends for half a mile eastward from Rich Fountain, along the valley of Brush Creek. They are fully 100 in number, and it is said there were formerly many more which are now leveled by cultivation. The ground is low, in some places swampy, so that water or mud surrounds many of them after a heavy rain.

"INDIAN FORT" (42)

This structure, also called the "Indian Lookout," is located on a bluff facing the Osage, half a mile below the "Painted Rock," and near the buildings of the Painted Rock Country Club, of Jefferson City.

Except for a slight projection or offset at one side, which contains an opening or doorway, it was practically identical in appearance with the vault graves along the Missouri River bluffs, described in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 37; or else with those on Big Piney River in Pulaski County. It is formed of sandstone slabs, once laid up in a wall but now scattered in confusion as if fallen or thrown down. Apparently it measured about 32 to 35 feet outside and 12 or 13 feet inside.

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COLE COUNTY

NATURAL BRIDGE CAVE

This is at the top of a bluff facing the Osage, one-half mile below the Rock Island bridge. It is only 10 feet wide and the same in height, and extends back 20 feet to a narrow passage which is almost closed by stalagmite. The site is difficult to reach, but disclosed a few fragments of pottery and some shell. The earth of the floor ascends rather steeply to the rear and contains many large rocks. It was only a camping place.

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MORGAN COUNTY

SPEERS CAVE

On the Brown property, 7 miles southeast of Stover, is a reported cave, which proved to be a natural tunnel 400 feet long. The drainage from several farms passes through it from ravines above. The lower entrance is 40 feet wide and 50 feet high, the upper entrance 20 feet wide and 10 feet high.

Natural bridges and tunnels of varying lengths and widths are rather common in this part of the Osage Valley.

HOUSE MOUNDS (43)

Southeast of Stover, beginning at the edge of the town, is a group of house mounds extending over an area having a very irregular outline, but fully half a mile across in any direction. They vary from 20 to 35 feet in diameter and are scattered promiscuously at intervals of 25 to 150 feet. The surface on which they are built reaches over a succession of small knolls and ridges with slopes of 4 or 5 degrees. Most of them are along the sides of a wide, shallow valley draining northward, and of two or three small tributary depressions coming into it from either side, though a number are also to be found beyond the slight watershed which separates this drainage area from that to the southward. They exist in woods, meadows, and cultivated ground, so that some of them retain their original form, others are flattened and widened, while still others are barely traceable. Probably some have been entirely effaced by plow and harrow.