FOWKE] AECHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 97 



creased somewhat in hei<;ht within the memory of men now living, 

 were removed to the level of the floor, the main chamber would be 

 amply lighted to its end, a distance of 150 feet. There is a gradual 

 downward incline from front to rear, the floor sloping more rapidly 

 than the roof. After hard rains some water runs into the cavern 

 from the inner slope of the talus; otherwise the floor is perfectly 

 dry for 65 feet, then becomes wet, and near the rear wall there is 

 standing water. It is apparent that a former drainage outlet in 

 this direction is now choked with sediment, brought down perhaps 

 through a branch opening. At 25 feet within the entrance the 

 cavern is 25 feet wide ; at 65 feet the distance across is 35 feet, with 

 both walls sloping away like a low-pitched roof and loose earth 

 filling the space under them. At the rear wall the width between 

 the two branches into which the cave divides is 40 to 50 feet. The 

 floor here is clay, with numerous little puddles. 



Some pottery, bone, and much shell, but no flint chips, are scat- 

 tered on the floor and for 50 or 60 feet down the slope outside. 



The cavern would make an excellent habitation and is well worth 

 excavating. 



LACKAYe's bluff CA\^ (38) 



This IS on the farm of Harrison Hutchinson, who lives 10 miles 

 southeast of Freeburg, on the road to Paydown. It is near the top 

 of a bluff facing the Gasconade. Talus has accumulated in the front 

 part of the cavern until it rises within 2 feet of the roof; farther 

 back the cavity is of sufficient height for a man to stand erect, 

 although nowhere more than 10 feet wide. Owing to the talus the 

 interior is in almost total darkness. Were this accumulation re- 

 moved the roof at the entrance would be 8 or 9 feet above the floor. 

 The cavern may have been occupied, but there are no indications 

 of such fact, although the recent natural deposits may conceal some 

 remains. 



HURRICANE BLUFF CAVE 



Half a mile below Lackaye Bluff, opposite the lower end of an 

 island in the Gasconade, is a rock shelter 85 feet in length, 15 feet 

 high in front, 6 feet high at the rear, and 15 feet deep along the 

 middle portion, wedging out at either end. A large pile of talus 

 in front forms a natural windbreak, and the depression is a favorite 

 camping place with present-day hunters and fishermen. A small 

 quantity of flint chips and many shells can be seen around the wall 

 and for some distance down the slope in front. The site may repay 

 investigation, though there is no great depth of earth. 



It is reported that paintings of a deer oil elk and other objects are 

 to be seen on the face of a bluff near Paydown. 

 70341°— 22 7 



