travertine. The section appears in figure 35.
At 180 feet the trench was carried to a depth of 6 feet. This exposed
a fine clay and sand, or silt, like that deposited in the eddies of
streams. Above this was another deposit of "mudhole" material which
had thoroughly dried out, checked and cracked in all directions so
that it formed angular masses of various sizes, and had then become
wet again so that it was now soft and sticky. To the left of this, on
the silt also, was a small amount of the gravel. It had the appearance
common to a bank of such material on the side of a little stream which
has undermined and carried away part of it. Clearly, these three
formations were of an age that witnessed the erosion of the cave. Next
above them was a stratum of loose dark earth similar to that noticed
in the front part of the cavern; but here were found no traces
whatever of man's presence. Into the right side of this stratum
projected the wedge-like edge of a mass of travertine, which was not
traced to a termination. Over all lay a deposit 3 or 4 inches thick of
dark, nearly black earth, mixed with ashes. This is quite modern. The
section appears in figure 36.

During the Civil War the cave was continuously resorted to by
deserters, refugees, moonshiners, fugitives, and "food for powder,
dodging the conscript." All these sought shelter in this chamber and
behind it, in order that their fires might not be visible from the
river. The piles of ashes in the crevices and corners were thrown
there by these hiders-out, to get them out of the way. Similar but
smaller piles of ashes are to be seen all along as far as the spring,
200 yards from the entrance.

The presence of pottery of a type common to this region in fields and
shell heaps, and of maize, denotes that all the fire beds, etc., are
the results of habitation by the modern Indian. Where these ceased
nothing else was found. In or below the yellow earth, clay, or gravel,
nothing can be found; for until these were laid down and the stream of
the cave had sought another outlet, there was no dry place in which to
live.

It may be worth recording that a dead mulberry tree stood about 20
feet in front of the entrance to the cave. Under it was a narrow
crevice filled with earth, but all around it was bare rock. A root,
larger than the tree, grew into the cave and followed along one side
wall as if fastened there for a distance of some 60 feet. Here the
earth floor of the cave ca