The morning times., 1896-12-27
IL THIS WHERE BOONE DIED
Human Skeletons Behind a Semi
circle of Horse Skeletons.
NelC York SHI

Pikeville, Ky, Dec 9-The heavy rains
last week caused on Flat Top Mountain q
landslide, Which has brought 20 light what
appears To have been the last resting place
OF tie lOnG-loSt Finley and his party, who
came 70 Kentucky with Daniel Boone. IN
1909, and disappeared from camp and
never could be found
The mountain ON which the landslide oc-
CURED Is about four and a half miles from
Laynesville on Big Mud Creek FLOYD coun-
", ny. Charley AkeTs, eighteen wears
ola, Went ouG squirrel hunting after the
storms He went to this mountain and
noticed the change IN It's contour About
0ne-third the way up he came To a large.
cave, with san entrance twelve feet in
diameter Young Akers, who IS a daring
EOuEg fellow, gathered some pitch gInt.
knots, made torch-Iight, and went into
the cave about 100 yards.
He came upon an interior entrance, and
followed 1t about fifty yards, Then he
came into large room about fifty feet
square. and here he came upon tne sKcle-
tons OF human beings and of horses The
young man was so badly frightened that
ne beat a hasty retreat to his home and
there told what he had found Few would
believe 10 at first, but several men who
anew him gave credit TO his story aud went
t' sc what there was in IL. Young
ASers plotted them 20 the cave When
'hcy came to the entrance OF the large
room, where the boy had seen the skeIe-
IONS, their hair rose. for before their eyes
lay the skeletons Cf five human beings and
SIX horses The explorers examined the
skeletons, which were those II men who
had died violent deaths
Three Ofthe >keleJOnSare Ufmen whomusr
have been SIX feet tall OF more, the ether
two men were about five foot six IL
IL looked a. II rhey died while fighting roI
their lives. Two of the skulls were split
open If with an AK OF tOmahawk In
one II the skeletons the back and two rib9
next 10 the heart We're broken. and in m
other the head was missing. The other two
skeletons had ballet holes through tne heads
one in the right temple and tine other in the
forehead
Nearly a quart Of battered bullets wers
found near the wall OF the room. besides
numerous Indian arrow heads. Nothing
could be found to identity the dead men
positively. The skeletons of the hOrsef
lay in a SenIi-cirCle, which seems TO in
chCate ha- the horses were killed and used
as q breaStwOrk. Each OF the horses had
bullet hole in the right temple.
IL i supposed that these skeletons are
the last remains OF the Finley party. who
wandered off from the Boone camp on
Licking River in the winter Of 1859, and
that they lost their way, and in their w:tn>
dering came To this cave, where they wers
attacked by indians and killed
IL seems as If there was a landslide long
ago, which covered up the mouth 0f tina
cave. The oldest settlers say their fathers
used 10 tell them about this cave before
the mouth cf it was covered up. The old
settlers Sail il was haunted
This mountains notyery steep. but is more
than .Opo feet high. and owing o. the re-
cent heavy rains the loose dirt became
soaked With water and nearly the whole
mountain side Had slipped nearly I 90 yards,
uprOoiing everythingin it, low inward course
and revealing its secrets. which had been
closed fer over n century. People from
miles around 20 daily 20 look az the ssele-
tons. which have been moved 10 q school
house about a mile from the cave large
party Of men viii explore the cave ane
find out whether il holds any more secrets.