98 SxAIITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. JO 



Upon the original clay or rock bottom. In many of the caves, how- 

 ever, this bottom cannot be reached, as water interferes with the 

 digging-, but ashes abound to whatever depth excavated. In a 

 cave on Gourd Creek, 12 miles southwest of Rolla. this material 

 formed a mass, almost solid, to a depth of 7 feet or more, and 

 even then its limit was not reached ; but no greater depth can be 

 reached until a ditch is dug- to the outside of sufficient depth to 

 drain off the water which has accumulated from interior drainage. 

 Goat Bluff' Cave, facing the Gasconade near the line between Phelps 

 and Pulaski Counties, 4 miles west of Arlington, shows a similar 

 condition. Many of the caverns have a large amount of talus and 

 other debris about the opening which sometimes makes entrance 

 difficult ; others have earth floors which are many feet in depth, with 

 no refuse material near the present surface, although it extends 

 down the slope on the outside. While the larger caverns would have 

 sheltered more persons and consequently may yield a larger number 

 of artifacts, it is not to be expected that traces of very ancient 

 residence will be found in them in the same abundance as in 

 smaller caves. A cave with a narrow entrance to the interior 

 could be more readily defended by its inmates than one where 

 the passageway is larger and the interior more accessible. It 

 would therefore be natural to conclude that a smaller cave would 

 be inhabited longer than a larger one. and so contain more ancient 

 remains. 



Passing in any direction from these two counties, caverns continue, 

 though they gradually diminish in number, and while many of these 

 are suitable for shelters or permanent homes, fewer of them have 

 the usual indications of occupancy. With the changing elevation of 

 the cave-bearing strata, due to the dip of the formations, a smaller 

 number of them are as well adapted for shelters. It seems useless 

 to investigate anything beyond the limits reached in these researches. 



In addition to the residential caverns along all the streams in these 

 two central counties there are numerous village sites on the level 

 bottom lands. Flint implements and chips are very abundant ; j^ot- 

 tery fragments less common except in a few places wdiere it would 

 appear that vessels have been manufactured; axes or hatchets are 

 rather rare ; other objects, such as mortars and pestles, have not 

 been rej^orted. probably because they are overlooked in the search 

 for " arrows " — a general term, including all edged or pointed 

 flints — which are very plentiful, though usually not smoothly finished. 

 Several large mussel shells, found in the caves, are perforated for 

 attachment to a handle, for use as hoes. 



