158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMHERST MEETING 



manufacture, such as moccasins, bowls, etcetera, were found in Mammoth and 

 neighboring caves, all as the result of the excavation of nitrous earth for 

 saltpeter manufacture. 



With the decadence of the saltpeter industry, soon after the War of 1812, 

 excavating for nitrous earth practically ceased. The result of this was that 

 tor a long period we hear little of animal remains being found in caves. More 

 recently, in consequence of lead and zinc mining operations in Scott County. 

 Kentucky, a tapir's remains, apparently Pleistocene in age, were found in ;\ 

 tilled-up sink-hole ; and calcite mining on the Kentucky River, in Mercer 

 County, disclosed traces of an extinct horse and deer in "mud pipes," which 

 there vertically traverse the vein operated. These "mud pipes," which contain 

 old river deposits, were formed by filling from above of solution channels in 

 the calcite. The material in these "mud pipes" is identical in character with 

 that of the old fioodplain deposits of the Kentucky River, which were laid 

 down before the river had cut its present gorge and are Pleistocene or Plio- 

 cene in age. 



In the summer and fall of 1916 Dr. N. C. Nelson, of the American Museum 

 of Natural History, fresh from the exploration of the caves of France and 

 Spain, came to Kentucky to give it a "once over" as a field for archeological 

 investigation. He left with a goodly collection of archeological material ex- 

 cavated at the entrance of Mammoth Cave. 



Prompted by the opinion of Dr. Nelson that the caves of Kentucky, being 

 similarly situated with reference to the southern margin of the glacial drift 

 as those of France, should offer as good a field as the French caves for the 

 discovery of evidence of glacial man, provided that human existence in this 

 country dated that far back, the author of this paper has since 1916 been on 

 the lookout for caves and rock shelters favorable for exploration with a view 

 to obtaining such evidence. 



The results thus far obtained are encouraging. Personal examination and 

 the results of others making similar investigations prove the existence in Ken- 

 tucky, and doubtless also in adjacent portions of Indiana and Tennessee, of a 

 very large number of caves and rock shelters which contain archeological 

 material, some of which, at least, is in association with remains of animals 

 now extinct in the region. 



In particular, as the result of investigations carried on during the past 

 summer, do the caves and sinks in north-central Kentucky offer a favorable 

 field for paleontological and archeological exploration. Two of these caves 

 discovered during the past summer — the Breck Smith Cave, 8 miles west of 

 Lexington, first explored by three young women, and an extension to the 

 Phelps Cave, 4 miles southwest of the city, first entered by a lad of fifteen, 

 resident of the farm on which it is situated — have yielded to excavations car- 

 ried on by the writer and some of his colleagues a considerable number of 

 bones. Thus far only the surface material has been removed. The remains 

 identified from the Breck Smith Cave belong to the raccoon, ground-hog, gray 

 fox, deer, wolf, buffalo, bear, and man (Indian) ; also a bone awl. All of 

 these belong to existing species and do not indicate a high degree of antiquity 

 for the fauna, with possibly the exception of the part identified as belonging 

 to a bear, supposed by one of the authorities to whom it was submitted to 

 indicate a polar bear. 



