iPOWKE]" ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 10^ 



runs in ; and while the floor is level, as stated, it has a constant stream 

 of water flowing over it and is in absolute darkness. 



Donnehue's Ca\^b. — Although water flows continuously from the 

 entrance, the amount of discharge was said to be small and the cave 

 floor level and covered with earth, while the cave itself was large 

 and well lighted. The approach, however, is quite difficult; the 

 earth is nowhere more than 2 or 3 feet thick, and after a heavy rain 

 the stream extends from wall to wall. 



Between Bedford and Donnehue's cave is one, unnamed, at the 

 head of a ravine which was once an extension of the cavern. The 

 opening is of fair size but the floor is of rock and the outflow of 

 water is steady. 



Just outside the corporate limits of Bedford, to the south, is an 

 opening in the cliff at the head of a deep ravine, more in the nature 

 of a rock house than of a cave. It would make an excellent shelter 

 for a few persons, being accessible, protected from winds, and close 

 to water. While it may have been so used formerly, the deposit of 

 earth and stone on the floor is very scanty and anything beneath 

 could well be quite modern. 



Two caves were reported 2 miles south of Bedford. One is a small 

 opening from which a stream issues, flows across a meadow, and 

 enters the other cave, which is much larger. They are parts of one 

 passage, the roof between these openings having broken down, and 

 the stream is the same which finds its outlet at Donnehue's cave. 



Several other caves in the vicinity of Bedford were visited. They 

 are all small and of no importance from an archeological standpoint. 



Donnelson's Caat;. — " The mouth of the cave is found at the head 

 of a deep gorge worn through the limestone by a good-sized stream 

 which flows from the cave and down the gorge to the broader val- 

 ley beyond. Many centuries ago the cave extended the full length 

 of the gorge, and the waters of the stream flowed directly from its 

 mouth into the valley. The roof of the underground channel finally 

 became so thin that it collapsed, the gorge was then started, and as 

 the centuries went by grew in length, the cave becoming ever shorter 

 by the continued falling of the roof. 



"Three passages open directly into the mouth of the cave. The 

 right hand passage has the level of its floor about 5 feet above that 

 of the entrance, while the opening on the left is 12 feet above the 

 level of the stream and very difficult to enter without a ladder. The 

 middle passage extends straight back from the common vestibule or 

 main entry. The latter is 25 feet long, 21 feet high, and 18 feet 

 wide, but at its farther end is reduced to the narrow middle passage 

 between great masses of limestone. The water in this passage is 

 waist deep and explorations must be made by wading or in a light 



