The San Francisco call., 1896-12-25
WHERE BooNB's MEN DIED.
What Was Disclosed by Landslide In
Kentucky.

What Was Disclosed by Landslide In
Kentucky.
The heavy rains last week caused on
Flat Top Mountain a landslide which has
brought to light what appears to have
been the last resting place OF the long-lost
Finley and his party, came to Ken
lucky with Daniel Boone in 1859, and
disappeared from camp and could never
be found.
The mountain on which the landslide
occurred is about four and a half miles
from Laynesville. on Big Mud Creek,
Floyd County, KY. Charley Akers, Is
years old, went out squirrel hunting after
the storms. He went to this noun tain
and noticed the change in its contour.
About one-third the way up be came to a
large cave, with an entrance twelve feet
in diameter.
Young Akers, who is a daring young
fellow, gathered some pitch pine knots,
made torchiight and went into the cave
about 100 yards. He came upon an inte-
rior entrance and followed it about fifty
yards. Then he came into large room
about fifty feet square, and here he came
upon the skeletons of human beings and
of horses. The young man was so badly
frightened that he beat q hastv retreat to
found. Few would believe it at first, but
several men who knew him gave credit to
his story and went to see what there was
in il. Young Akers piloted them to the
cave. When they came to the entrance of
the large room where the boy had seen
the skeletons their hair rose, for before
their eyes lay the skeletons OF five human
amined the skeletons, which were those of
men who had died violent deaths.
Three of the ske etons are of men who
must have been feet tall or more; the
other two men were about feet 6 inches.
1t looked as if they died while fighting for
their lives. Two of the skulls were split
open as if with an ak or tomahawk. In
one of the skeletons the back and two
ribs next to the heart were broken and in
another the head was missing. The other
two skeletons had bullet holes throu h
the heads, one in the right temple and
the other in the forehead.
Nearly quart OF battered bullets were
found near the wall of the room, besides
numerous Indian arrow heads. Nothing
| could be found to Identity the dead men
positively. The skeletons or the horses
lay in a semicircle. which seems to indi-
cate that the horses were killed and used
as breastwork. Each of the horses had
bullet hole in the right temple.
1t is 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 1863 and
that they lost their way, and in their wan
derings came to this cave, where they
were attacked by Indians and killed. 1t
seems as If there was landslide long ago.
which covered up the mouth of the cave.
The oldest settlers say their fathers used
to tell them about this cave before the
mouth of it was covered up. The old set
tiers said it was haunted.
This mountain is not very steep, but is
more than 1000 feet high. and owing to
The recent heavy rains the loose dirt be-
came soaked with water and nearly the
whole mountain side had slipped about
100 yards, uprooting everything in its
downward course and revealing its secrets,
which had been closed for over century.
People from miles around go daily 10
look at the skeletons. which have been
moved to schooihouse about mile from
the cave. A large party OF men will ex-
pIore the cave and find out whether it
holds any more crets.-Pikevllle Dis
natch to New York Sun.