meekly Zbemawa Jltnericati
VOL. 12
Indian Cave Found.
A large Indian cave has been dis
covered in the solid rock about ' two
miles from the town of Cliffs, Wash.
No one knows anything about this cave,
not even some of the old-time inhabit
ants of the Goodnoe Hills, who have re
sided in the Columbia Valley for njore
than 40 years. Nor do the'oldest Rock
Creek Indians know any thing, about the
cave. .
VV. P. Rauch volunteered to lead the
first exploring party of 20 of Cliffs' citi
zens to this, wonderful cave a few days
ago, and since that time- everybody
wants to seeit. The cave is a mile from
the railroad track. The opening of the
cave is reached by a roundabout walk
up a gradual ascent of from one to two
miles. The doorway of the cave, is be
tween; two and three feet high, and
it bout four feet wide, and on account; of
tl.ie loose boulders lying near a footman
might pass very near to it without ob
serving that, it.was a cave. These loose
rock show by their color that they have
not ibeen moved for ages; and the quan
tity Qf them indicates that they were
placed there, so as to wall up the mouth
of the cave if de-ired. The entire party
NO. 4
went inside, and it was estimated that
there "was room for 200 more people.
The cave is of circular form, and from
eight to nine feet to the highest point of
.the ceiling. The formation is that of
burned lava rocks, and the condition of ,
the walls and ceiling show traces of the
the work of man. A number of paintings,
Indian hieroglyphics, etc., are still to be
seen on the smoothest rock in the ceiling.
Parts of the walls appear to be smoked,
and owing to the formation it is easy
tobreak off the fragments of the lava
rock which show very plainly that it
had at one time undergone a high de
gree of heat. A smooth sand floor at
the bottom of the cave, and an obstruct
ed opening on the side towards a per
pendicular cliff only a few feet away is
conclusive evidence that the cave was
once used by wild Indians.
The sand used at the bottom of the
cave must have been carried there, as
there is no soil of this nature within a
number of rods, practically everything
being of rock formation.
About 50 yards from this cave is an
other wonder the handiwork of Indians
of years ago. This consists of an open
ing cut through the cliff to the -prpen-
JULY 16, 1909.