KENTUCKY AND HER CAVE MEN 



233 



aboriginal visitation to this under- 

 world. He did not himself carry ar- 

 chagological investigation very far in 

 the caves; but the contact, it seems, 

 changed his life work. It is probably 

 not far from the truth to say, that it 

 made him the "father of American ar- 

 cha?ology."' 



Whoever wanders into the black 

 odorless depths of the Green River 

 caves, will see evidence in plenty of the 

 Indian's former presence. It is still 

 somewhat doubtful Just how Europe's 

 men of the Old Stone age managed to 

 scramble about in their underground 

 retreats, but here are heaps of ashes 

 where fires were built to light the way, 

 and torches of cane lie around in many 

 places. It is no easy matter to move 

 about in the ordinary cave, and the 

 question is commonly asked, "Why did 

 the Indian attempt it?" The answer 

 is not yet entirely clear. Perhaps he 

 liked to explore, perhaps he held secret 

 councils and ceremonies in the far in- 

 terior, away from feminine eyes. Not 

 being a creature of nocturnal habits, 

 and, besides, not lacking in practical 

 sense, he has never been found to have 

 lived permanently in places of inky 

 darkness, although he may have re- 

 treated to them at times. All we know 

 is that he did quite commonly bury his 

 dead in the interior of caves, and to 

 this fact we owe much of our knowledge 

 concerning him. 



There is, however, a much more 

 practical reason for the Indian's ex- 

 ploration of Kentucky's underworld. 

 For a time it seemed merely a curious 

 fact that immense quantities of flint 

 were strewn for a hundred yards or 

 more al)0ut the entrances to several of 



the great caves. Some of the pieces 

 showed evidence of chipping, but the 

 greater number were simply rejected 

 flakes. Finally, just before our expedi- 

 tion left the Mammoth Cave, it was 

 ascertained positively that the Indian 

 had quarried flint in some of the small 

 far-away passages where nodules of ex- 

 cellent quality of this substance pro- 

 jected from the limestone walls. The 

 projecting portions of the nodules had 

 been struck off in most instances, and 

 among the fragments which littered 

 the floor were found two specimens 

 showing unmistakable evidence of hav- 

 ing been shaped by human hands. This 

 seems the most illuminating fact yet 

 discovered, because it explains without 

 the possibility of doubt one reason why 

 the Indian came into the caverns to 

 explore. Flint was as necessary to him 

 as saltpeter was to the white man. 



Another new discovery in the Mam- 

 moth Cave was the fact that the Indian 

 had lived probably for a long period of 

 time directly inside the entrance, 

 within reach of daylight. The camp 

 refuse found there had attained a 

 depth of more than four feet in places 

 and was made up of ashes, animal 

 bones, and fresh-water shells, as well 

 as of articles of bone, stone, and shell. 

 The chief feature of interest about 

 these remains is that they seem to point 

 to a people who lived entirely by hunt- 

 ing, whereas the aborigines of late pre- 

 historic times all over the Ohio Basin 

 were, at least in part, agriculturists. 

 The Museum's investigation is not yet 

 finished. We hope it may continue, 

 and that it will soon lead to a clearer 

 understanding of the Mississippi Val- 

 lev Indian and his history. 



