60 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 76 



wall on either side so smooth that not even a squirrel can obtain a 

 foothold. The upper stratum of the precipice projects to such an ex- 

 tent that a rope or-a: ladder let down from above would fall several 

 feet beyond the outer edge of the floor. Below, there is a vertical 

 drop of 30 feet to the top of the rough talus which is as steep as 

 rocks and earth will lie. If an assailant, by approaching from either 

 side, should reach the foot of this bluff he would offer a fair target 

 for stones rolled or hurled down by defenders who are safely out of 

 reach of missiles from any direction. 



The only means of entrance is a small opening in the west wall, 

 communicating with another cave. This is so restricted in size as to 

 permit the passage of only one person at a time, and he must assume 

 a crawling or crouching posture. This opening, which for distinction 

 will be called the doorway, has its top, sides, and bottom coated with 

 stalagmite formation; so it may once have been somewhat larger 

 than at present. The limited amount of the deposit over the natural 

 rock at either end of the orifice is evidence, however, that it could 

 never have been high enough for a man to walk through without 

 stooping, or wide enough for two persons to pass each other ; conse- 

 quently one man armed with a club or other weapon could easily 

 guard it against any number who might attempt to enter. 



The cavern from which this opening leads, and which will be called 

 the outer cave, is close to and nearly parallel w^th the face of the 

 bluff, and its course is therefore approximately east and west, form- 

 ing nearly a right angle with the main cavern. It has a slight curve, 

 so that the doorway is not visible to one who is approaching from 

 the outside until he is within a few yards of it. 



The outer cave has its beginning at a point where the bluff bends 

 toward the north ; that is, where there is a shallow reentrant curve, 

 formed by the face of the cliff breaking away at this part and rolling 

 down the hill; a considerable portion of this cave itself has been thus 

 destroyed, as shown by another entrance into the bluff beyond. Much 

 talus has accumulated in this cave, over which there is at present a 

 fairly easy though winding and zigzag path to the entrance from the 

 top of the hill, and a rough and difficult way from the bottom. It is 

 a natural presumption that dwellers in the cavern had well-con- 

 structed though necessarily devious pathways of easy grade to both 

 the top and the bottom of the hill ; but owing to the loose nature of 

 the debris on the outside slopes all trace of these, when abandoned or 

 no longer kept in repair, would soon be obliterated by surface wash, 

 landslides, and the roots of trees. 



By the side of the upper trail, at the bottom of the sandstone ledge 

 capping the hill, are many large blocks which have split off from 

 this stratum. On the flat surface of two of these are about 25 figures, 

 pecked into the stone apparently with a pointed flint implement. One 



