l60 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



kind of labor with pick, shovel, and crowbar attempting to remove 

 the great blocks of fallen rock imbedded in a tough red gritty clay, and 

 not finding so much as a potsherd or flint chip to reward our efforts, 

 we at last gave up. 



After this experience, time was taken for a scouting trip over the 

 country, which revealed several promising localities where flints, 

 potsherds, and camp refuse were actually present. These caves lie 

 in the watershed of Water Creek and other small tributaries of 

 Buffalo River in the northern part of Searcy and the southern part of 

 Marion counties, Ark. 



A small cave on Bear Creek about a mile across the river from 

 Gilbert was chosen as the next site for excavation. Like the other this 

 was also the mouth of a long winding gallery which we followed back 

 for a distance of 345 feet until the narrowing passage, fallen rocks, 

 and sticky clay Moor prevented further advance. An examination of 

 the walls and floor with a flashlight revealed nothing left by aboriginal 

 human agency, but modern names were carved on the rocks in several 

 places. Stalactites and stalagmites occurred in several parts of the gal- 

 lery. The mouth of the cave was not blocked as in the other case, but 

 a low ridge composed of detritus fallen from the overhanging ledge 

 extended across the front. This front chamber had a width of 36 

 feet at the mouth, and for several feet back from the entrance was 

 high enough for a man to stand up in. The back wall of the chamber 

 was 20 feet from the mouth. This location — a southeast exposure 28 

 feet above the creek and 48 feet away from it — would have made it 

 a good spot for a camp site of a small group of people. More recently 

 it had served as a shelter for sheep and goats. 



Ten days were devoted to the work of clearing out this cave with 

 the following results: Artifacts of stone, flint, and bone were found, 

 together with quantities of small fresh-water snail shells, some mussel 

 shells, and fragments of bones of many kinds of game animals broken 

 and charred, but no human burials. Pottery was of a very crude type, 

 gray and some reddish ware, heavily tempered with shell, unpainted 

 or decorated in any way, but with small handles attached to the rim 

 and with flat bottoms. Fireplaces with water-worn stones in place 

 were found at the front of the cave and even outside on the terrace 

 slope. Everything seemed to point to the conclusion that this cave was 

 used only as a temporary camping site for a small party of people 

 probably engaged in hunting and fishing. 



It was the large cave at Cedar Grove at the head of a little hollow 

 just off Water Creek that yielded the most significant finds. This was 

 an immense cavern measuring 68 feet across the mouth, 73 feet to the 



