skeletons were found. The
floor is uneven, at some places permitting a man to stand, and at
others rising to within 3 feet of the roof. Explorations can not be
made, as there is no method of disposing of the removed earth.

BAILEY'S CAVE.--This cave is 7 miles northeast of Guntersville. The
entrance is high and wide and there is a large, well-lighted area
within; but the cave is flooded every time Town Creek gets out of its
banks. Bailey's Cave is the other end of Welburn's Cave, as persons
have gone through the hill from one to the other.

BARNARD CAVE.--This cave, which is also called Alford's and is still
more commonly known as Saltpeter Cave, is on the left bank of the
Tennessee 10 miles below Guntersville and opposite the Fearin
property. The entrance is at the foot of a bluff overlooking a strip
of bottom land a fourth of a mile wide, but the opening is above any
flood that has occurred since the country was settled. At the foot of
the slope is a bayou filled with Tupelo gums. Between this and the
river the ground can be cultivated.

The cave is so straight and the walls so smooth as to look like an
artificial tunnel. The entrance is in plain view from a point 380
feet back, and the change of direction, even at that distance, is very
slight. The saltpeter miners started at the entrance and removed all
the earth lying from 3 to 6 feet higher than the present floor, which
is nearly level. They carried their work along the surface of a
stratum of gravel, sand, and clay, which is so compact as to be
difficult to remove with a pick, and seems to belong to the stream
which carved out the cavern. The "face" where they quit work is 5 feet
high, and the earth is quite dry, breaking down in angular fragments
and separating from the walls so freely as to leave no residue on
them. Its original depth at any point, however, may be very easily
ascertained by noting the different tints or shading of the wall rock,
the lower part, which was protected by earth, being distinctly lighter
in color than that above, which was exposed to atmospheric weathering
and, for a time, to the smoky torches and candles of the workmen.

The distinct lamination of the saltpeter earth, as shown in the
"face," proves it to have been laid down slowly and intermittently in
still water. It could not be determined whether this was due to the
river in flood periods, or to a gentle stream from the interior whose
volume varied in accordance with weather