MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 175 



He says, on entering this cave : 



The first feeling was of being In a large place. We seemed suddenly to behold some 

 secret of the great works of nature, which had been hid from the foundation of the world. 

 The Impulse on these occasions Is to shout. I called It WInoca, the Osage word for under- 

 ground spirit. 



The cave thus vividly described is situated near the town of Ozark, 

 In Christian county, and is now known as " Smallen's cave." 



The northwestern limit of Schoolcraft's travels was a point on the 

 banks of the James river, what is now known as the Phelps mines, six 

 ;and one-half miles from the present city of Springfield. Here he spent 

 the month of January, 1819, in a cabin built on the bank of the river, 

 and in his journal a little later says : 



There is not one inhabitant on all this stream. My own cabin, erected for a tempo- 

 rary purpose at the mines in .January last. Is the only human habitation within 200 miles of 

 this place. These James river mines were known to the Indians and some White river 

 hunters for many years. The Indians have been in the habit of procuring lead for bullets 

 at that place by smelting the Iron In a kind of furnace made by digging a pit In the ground, 

 and casing it with some flat stones placed so as to resemble the roof of a house Inverted; 

 such is the richness of the ore, and the ease with wliich it melts. The ore has not, how- 

 •ever, been properly explored, and it is impossible to say how extensive the veins or beds 

 may prove. Some zinc in the state of a sulphuret is found accompanying It. 



It will be interesting to know that two of these primitive furnaces 

 used by the Indians and trappers of this region have recently been 

 discovered. One is at the Phelps mines on the James river, and its 

 location is without doubt exactly as Schoolcraft described it. On the 

 sloping ground on the north bank of the river a hole had been dug 

 about two feet deep, having about the same width at the top. This 

 was lined with flat stones in the shape of a mill-hopper. Across the 

 narrow bottom the stones had apparently been laid crosswise, forming 

 a kind of a grate. The clay soil underneath these stones was baked 

 hard and solid, so that having removed the stones and scraped off the 

 loose dirt, a perfect mould of the oven was found. A few particles of 

 lead, slag and charcoal were found in the debris. The Indians un- 

 doubtly built a fire on the bank below the furnace and underneath the 

 grate bars, the hopper being filled with the ore. A draught was thus 

 readily obtained. The ore, melting, ran down through the grate-bars 

 into the fire, and was collected after the furnace had cooled. 



This is but a single example of a large number of ancient mines 

 which are scattered throughout this region. It is not uncommon along 

 the James and White rivers to find remains of deep shafts, which tradi- 

 tion assigns as the work of the old Spanish miners. In some localities 

 whole fields are covered with the half-filled, overgrown pits left by 

 those indefatigable searchers for gold and silver. 



Time forbids us to follow Schoolcraft on his return to the homes 

 of the pioneers on the White river, when he floated southward for a 



