Jackson County sentinel. (Gainesboro, Tenn.) 1914-current, 1922-06-22

small crevices al the foot OF the cliffs.
Three OF the caves, which face east
and lie close together, were explored
several years ago by Mr.. Chenoweth,
at which time they were filled with
earth which had worked Its way In
since they were occupied. Fallen rocks
lay scattered about further north near
the railway bridge.
This strip Of land Is, think, the
most interesting place on the island.
1t is the only place left untouched by
civilization. The caves make one Won
der, with their 'lOok-me-over-as-long-as
you-llke-and.y oull-necer-guess what's
under.the-surface' expression.
"There are also number Of she'll
heaps marking the sites Of camps. The
road leading out TO the caves has cut
through one Of them. There one can
see large quantities of oyster and
clam shells mixed with earth, ashes,
charcoal and stones. Some Of these
heaps were examined about 1890 by
w. l.. Calver and james McGuey, and
arrowpoints, scrapers, fragments Of
pottery and other objects were found.
| imagine great many more relics
will be found If this section eventually
gives way to streets and apartment
houses If so, the Great Spirit Will no
doubt look humanely malign and cast
an obllQue light or the lntruders.
'There is big tulip tree near the
shore below the caves. II has an iron
fence around 1t, and bears the inscrip-
ton: Liri0dendron Tulipifera cir
conference, 10 feet, height, 123 feet;
age, about 231 years. Hendrick Hud-
son entered this inlet In 1909, and may
have met the Indians here who used
this place for camp, as shown by the
quantities Of old broken oyster shells
around this tree and nearby. This tree
was thoroughly repaired and the fence
erected around II Oct. 1912
Rich In indian Relies.
"The whole northern part of Man.
haitian is rich In Indian relics. All
kinds of objects, and also graveyards
and skeletons, have been found along
Upper Broadway, formerly Kings
bridge road, and at Dyckman street,
Academy street, Seaman avenue and
other streets. The opinion of some
archaeologlsts that the Indians who &C.
cupled the caves were of an older race
and culture somewhat different from
the later known Algonquin Indian is
not wholly supported by the remains
found Very probable these shelters
and shell heaps are the remains of In
dams who have lived here about the
time Hendrick Hudson sailed by. The
culture of these Indians was probably
not as high as, for instance, the Iro-
quOls group northwest of New York,
or that of the Delaware Indians to
the South.
incidentally, 1t was printed a few
years ago that some Indians were al
lowed to camp on the south side Of the
Spuyten Duyvil creek as late as 1917.
1t was near InWOod, where he set foot
on Manhattan Island, that Hendrick
Hudson Is said TO have given battle
to the Indians. | have read somewhere
that after the battle was over the sail
Ors laid their dead TO rest here, per
haps in the open ground between the
big tree and the cave. IL so, the first
possession of the white man upon the
island was a grave. No wonder the
place has mystic look; that one
lmagnes strange sounds coming from
the caves In the stiffness of the night;
that a falling leaf after dark makes
the wayfarer start and look around un
der shrub and tree shadow-for here
lived the first cave men of Manhat-
tan, ana It Is such a lonesome, fan
tastic spot by moonlight that one can
easily reconstruct the glowing fires at
the mouths Of the caves, dark canoes
lying at the rivers lip, and the happy,
savage people listening to the story
tellers ahout the hparths"