A PREHISTORIC CAVE IN TEXAS 



By FRANK M. SETZLER 

 Assistant Curator, Division of Archeology, U. S. National Museum 



In July, 1930, M. W. Stirling", Chief of the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, made a brief archeological reconnaissance in the Big Bend 

 region of Texas. 1 As a result of that survey, plans were made for a 

 more detailed examination of the region. The observations herein 

 described inaugurate the studies we hope to pursue from year to 

 year. 



Leaving Washington on April 21, 193 1, en route to the Big Bend 

 region, I stopped at previously reported archeological sites near Vic- 

 toria and Brownsville. From the first of these cities John L. Jarratt 

 generously conducted me down the Guadalupe River to an old camp 

 site and two large mounds, one of which belongs to a Mississippi 

 Valley culture. From Brownsville, thanks to the wholehearted co- 

 operation of the personnel at the Plant Quarantine and Control Ad- 

 ministration of the United States Department of Agriculture, I was 

 privileged to examine all the known archeological sites near the mouth 

 of the Rio Grande. Prehistoric Indian artifacts have been recovered 

 on the mud flats between Brownsville and Point Isabel, but as this 

 low ground is constantly altered by both water and wind, no evidence 

 of aboriginal occupancy remains visible. A. E. Anderson's collection 

 from this general region was examined and found to contain Juastec 

 pottery and sherds. 



From Brownsville I proceeded to Marfa, the point of departure for 

 Valentine and the Mollie B. Knight ranch, my ultimate objective. 

 Marfa at five in the morning is not soon to be forgotten. Perhaps any 

 place at that hour is remarkable, but there the surrounding mountains 

 make the sunrise exceptionally spectacular. 



It was my good fortune in Marfa to meet Frank and Royce Gott- 

 holt, local business men who realize the historical importance of arti- 

 facts from Texas caves. They gladly donated to the United States 

 National Museum several specimens that they had previously col- 

 lected. They also aided me in many ways throughout tbe period of 

 my reconnaissance. 



1 Archeological reconnaissance in Texas and Nevada. Explorations and field- 

 work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1930, pp. 173-176, 1931. 



133 



