FOWKE] ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS 117 



are entered from a sink, it -would be very difficult to dispose of any 

 excavated earth, as it would have to be carried up the steep slope 

 to the outside. 



Short Cave. — Chaumont is a station on the road to ISIammoth 

 Cave, '\ miles from the (HasofOAV Junction. The cavern, which is so 

 named from its limited extent as compared with Mammoth, is a 

 mile from the station. The entrance, reached by a winding way 

 along the ridges, is on one side of an irregular depression compris- 

 ing 3 or 4 acres. At present there is a heavy bank of earth, several 

 feet high, across the entrance, nearly closing it to the top, excepi at 

 the middle where a wagon road has been cut through to allow fer- 

 tilizers for mushroom beds to be hauled in. This earth, so it is 

 stated, was not there when the cave was discovered, but has been 

 carried from the interior partly by saltpeter workers, and partly 

 by the present owner in order to cover up some rocks and to make 

 the floor smooth and level. In front of the cave and of the earth 

 piled at the entrance is a level space of 25 or 30 feet to a deep sink 

 hole. Some water and mud, in time of wet weather, runs into the 

 front part of the cave but its effect is not noticeable for more than 

 30 or 40 feet. Beyond this is a reach of more than 200 feet of 

 perfectly dry level floor. It was not so smooth before some grading 

 was done for the mushroom beds, but was at no time rugged or 

 difficult to travel over. At 300 feet from the entrance is a slope 

 about 20 feet high, at the foot of which begins another floor so dry 

 as to be dusty in places. Whether this apparent thickness of 20 

 feet is of earth, or earth and stone mixed, or is indicative of a dip 

 in the rock floor, is not known, as no excavation has ever been made 

 except for the plant beds. There is a slight descent, not more than 

 3 or 4 feet, from the entrance to the point where the flood water seems 

 to reach. This is seemingly due altogether to the wash. The width 

 of the cave is about 50 feet, and notwithstanding the partial closure 

 of the entrance there is sufficient light as far back as 200 feet to 

 enable one to read ordinary print. So there is ample room within 

 reach of daylight for several hundred people to gather without 

 inconvenience. 



The ow^ner, Capt. J. B. Briggs, w^ho lives in Russellville, nas 

 granted permission to make any excavations desired, provided the 

 floor be left in good shape when done. It is evident that any satis- 

 factory examination will demand a large expenditure. If only a 

 preliminary trench were made, the necessary slope would require a 

 considerable width at top, while if anything should be disclosed that 

 called for extensive research, the earth must be wheeled or otherwise 

 removed to the sink hole in front, and the whole floor brought to a 

 nearly uniform level. 



