unt
of saltpeter was made here during the War of 1812 scarcely any of the
earth retains its original position. During the Civil War the floor of
the lower or main cave was also dug up for making saltpeter and much
of the leached earth piled in front of the cave. This acts as a dam
against encroachment of the river except in the highest floods. There
seems, however, to be a passage between the cavern and a spring under
the river bank, for water appears on the floor as soon as it reaches
the same height outside and the two surfaces maintain a constant level
until the freshet subsides. On account of these facts no excavations
were made.

HARDIN'S CAVE.--Nine miles below Guntersville, on the right bank of
the Tennessee, is a ferry known as Honey Landing. It is at the lower
end of a steep bluff which forms the river front of a high hill or
mountain, as such elevations are called here. A few feet above
high-water mark a narrow ledge or shelf projects, which can be reached
only from a point on the side of the hill just above the ferry. About
100 yards from here the ledge reaches a cave, which has a high and
wide entrance, with ample space for several families to live on a
fairly level, well lighted floor. If the cave were dry, it would be an
ideal primitive home. But water continually seeps down the hill above
and falls over the roof at the entrance, while a gully through the
cave and several minor washes, as well as the mud spread over the
floor, show that a large amount of water flows through the cave in wet
seasons and covers all the floor except an area some 15 feet in
diameter. This is dry on top, but would be muddy at a depth of 3 or 4
feet, the level of the bottom of the gully, so no exploration was
attempted.

WELBURN'S CAVE.--Six miles northeast of Guntersville is a cave in
which many human bones have been found. It is only a burial place and
could never have been used as a dwelling. The entrance, barely large
enough to crawl into, is at one side of the bottom of a large sink
hole due to the falling in of a cave roof. It receives all the
rainfall of more than an acre and is nearly choked with mud and
driftwood. It may have been somewhat larger at one time, as there is a
tradition that a deer was chased through the cave, coming out at
Bailey's Cave, a mile away. Within a few rods the water sinks into the
earth, and the floor of the cave, rising beyond this point, is dry. It
was on this dry earth, not in it, that the