Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-03

runs a moving sawmlll In the county, has
his homestead farm. Both of these men
dwell in the same kind Of modest cabins
US those their fathers lived in the best part
of century ago. They have not changed
their manners or mode Of living.
1t Is a good and Kindly manner these
honest old people have. 1t is well to bear
that in mind. for what they say they mean.
and they never say anything they do not
mean nor anything they do not believe.
Another one of the oldest residents here Is
the elder Taulbee, who lives two or three
miles north over the mountain or round the
bottoms on Devils Creek. His family is
said to be the oldest In this particular neck
of the woods. Now, Mr.. Oliver, Mr.. Chll-
ders and Mr.. Taulbee all have about the
same recollection of the stories OF their
youth and childhood that came TO them
from their fathers regarding the Killings
which took place long before their tathers
time.
1t was from physical evidence OF
tragedy that these firsI settlers, men OF
the wilderness before they came here, nav
ing an eye quick to detect unusual mark
ings in rock or earth or timber mad
reached a certainty in their own minds
that a slaughter Of human beings had
taken place here. and so the creek and its
falls got their names. The view from
above to the falls and the creek bottoms
is wild and neutrality-suspicious. because
It is so unlike all the rest of the country,
which is one we'll covered by earth and
light timber and very little rock exposure
above the creek, while here these perpen-
dicular cliffs, rising TO a height Of three
hundred feet on each side of the falls and
creek burst suddenly upon the eye Of the
traveller along the highway to the river.
The wagon road, a mere natural way, for
there are no roads In the mountains runs
up to the edge OF the cliff, and by its very
ga
even the gentle myrtle are growing, as II
TO deceive Expecting that the land might
continue on from the roadway through this
thickness of shrubbery, one might easily
take the step that would be his last, for
few feet beyond is the sheer fall of the
east cliff. Twenty-Five feet below the most
deceptive spot edging the roadway the jut-
/ ting clif forms what the natives Of the
country call a rock house. While not COM
prehensive to others, 1t is well named. for
/ 1t is neither cave, cavern nor grotto 1t
/ Is cavity In the face OF the cliff, an ad-
mirable compartment, rock floor, ceiling,
/ side walls and back walls. Open In front,
II admits plenty of light and air Pro
! tected by opposite cliffs. II has little ex-
posure to storms and blasts. Sometimes
the rock above the opening juts out, Civ
ing shade and shelter before the entrance.
Such rock house is this at Bloody Creek,
where the first white Victims of savages
west OF the Cumberland range were laid,
I but not 10 rest.
! When the present Mr.. Chnders was a
4 boy he used TO play about this rock house.
So did Walk" Oliver, and 80 did the Taul-
bees. Also the mountain boys for miles
around, because even mountain miles are
n nothing 10 mountain boys They roam
over their whole country, whole county
and adjoining counties. so that they know
avery creek ana every hill and everythir &
peculiar or unusual about ei her, as a city
man knows land marks In the streets OF .
city. When Childers was boy there were
heaps" OF bones in this rock house AID
on the narrow path about II. When Walk
oliver was a boy he could 20 down thel {
any time and get big bones There used
to be skulls there. too. One OF the men
) who lived up the creek, Devils Creek,
kept one of these skulls, and he has moved
away. None OF these early settlers We're
) relic hunters, and they did not disturb the
I bones Neither did they think much about
them They We're JUST bones. that's all
: Asked to be more explicit by telling about
3 how many skeletons he thought there were
In and about the rock house during has
childhood, or In his fathers time, Mr.
} Chnders answered with that wonderful