FOWKE] ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 63 



The floor of the front chamber, from wall to wall, and from neai 

 the front to within 27 feet of the rear, was entirely of ashes, no 

 earth being visible until the extremity of these at either end was 

 reached. The floor of the western extension is covered with fine 

 eartli, washed in, which gradually increases in volume until it fills 

 the cave to within a foot of the roof. It was not examined .beyond 

 this point. 



Measurements show these dimensions : 



Width of cave at mouth feet 64 



Least width of cave, 24 feet from month do 45 



Greatest width of cave, from doorway to branch in cave in eastern 



wall feet— 74 



Shortest distance from line of least width to line of greatest width, as 



given above feet__ IS 



From mouth of cave to doorway do 51 



Height of doorway inches__ 42 



Width of doorway : do 33 



Length of floor of doorway do ^56 



From mouth of cave to top of slope of ashes at rea** feet 84 



From top to bottom of slope of ashes at rear do 10 



From foot of ash slope to rear wall do 27 



Extent of ashes in turn of cave along foot of wall beyond corner of west 



wall feet— 22 



Width of these ashes, from foot of wall to the pool of water — do 22 



AVidth of cave from corner of west wall to east wall do 56 



From corner of west wall to rear of cave do 47 



Height of extreme front from floor at edge of bluff to most projecting 



ledge above feet— 35 



Height from shelf or ledge near front of east wall to general level of 



roof— feet— 14 



Height from ashes to roof at middle of cave do 10 



The walls were, as is usual in caverns, somewhat irregular, there 

 being a narrow bench or shelf along each side near the front, while 

 projections and indentations alternated from front to rear. There 

 were numerous small holes and crevices, enlargements of seams and 

 joints by percolating water at an early stage in the cave's history. 

 These furnish homes for various wild animals, and nearly all of them 

 contain bones, sticks, and trash taken in by ground hogs and wood 

 rats which seem to find much pleasure in carrying such things from 

 place to place. 



The work of excavation began at the extreme front of the cave, 

 where the original bottom, a mixture of sand, clay, and chert gravel, 

 had been exposed through removal of the ashes by winds and driving 

 rain. Almost immediately rocks, large and small, fallen from walls 

 and roof, were encountered and interfered greatly with the digging. 

 In the upper foot of the clay were streaks of sand and ashes, among 



^ This measure also represents the thinnest portion of the wall separating the main cave 

 from the outer cave. 



