New Britain herald., 1923-03-30
FIND MANY RELICS
 0F ANCIENT RACE
Excavation Work Being Carried
 on in OzarkS

Elk Springs. Mo. March 30 (By
 the Associated Press). Shelters be-
 heath overhanging limestone bluffs along the White and Cowskin rivers
 in the ozarks of Missouri and Arr
 kansas are today giving up to sci-
 ence the relics of prehistoric race that inhabited this section upwards of a thousand years ago. The work of excavation Is being done near here
 by an expedition from the Museum of the American Indian. Heye Founda- ton.
 Buried deep in (he dry dust of centuries beneath tk se formations of shelving rock wheh the Ancients made their homes, these relics are being unearthed with no little diffi- culty. A cloud of powdery dust arises as the workers search the de- posits for traces of civilization that is still unidentified Use of masks often is necessary. For the present, the ancient people of the region are being referrd to by M. R. Harring- ton, in charge of the expedition, as the Ozark bluff-dwellers. They have not been identified as the ancestors of any modern Indian tribe.
 Traces Of Modern Race.
 In some of the rock-shelters. par ticularly on the Cowskin or Elk river, the expedition has found near the surface traces of a different and more modern, but still pre-colonial, Indian race. These Indians, accord ing to Mir. Harrington, probably were the Osages or some related tribe. It is estimateS that even these speci- mems are at least three or four hun dred years old. Those left by the spear-throwing bluff -dwellers of the ! Ozarks, which also have been uncov- cred. are probably upwards of thou sand years old
 Everything so far found is purely l aboriginal, MT. Harrington explained, not the slightest trace of the white ! mans handiwork or influence having | been discovered. The specimens in- clude basketry, woven textiles, wood- en articles, implements of stone and bone and even pieces of pottery. | Some of the articles no doubt were | buried by the ancient dwellers for safe keeping, it is believed by the excavators, while others simply wore out and were discarded or lost in the | ashes and trash of generations that has accumulated beneath the bluffs At some places the deposits have been found so well protected by the overhanging rock formation that they | are absolutely dry, which has result ed in remarkable preservation.
 Cause of Expedition.
 It was visit by MT. Harrington at the home in Seneca, Mo-, of Dr. w. c. Barnard, who had one of the largest private collections of Indian relics in existence at that time, that resulted in the present expedition. hat was in the fall of 1914.
 "Among his specimens" said Mir. Harrington, were 8 number of pieces of baskets textile fabrics and wood- en articles which gave every evidence of being prehistoric. Knowing that such perish ble articles dating from that period are practically unknown east of Utah and New Mexico, I in- quired as to their origin and was surprised to learn that they came from the Ozarks, especially from the district along the upper White River. where they had been found in dry deposits beneath overhanging bluffs. ] then and there planned to explore some of these rocky bluffs or rock shelters as they are called by ar- chaeOlogists, but the opportunity did not come until May, 1922. when the S
 That expedition consisted of three members of the museum staff. It in- cluded. besides Mir. Harrington, c. o. ', who had accompanied Mir. on previous expeditions, and D. A. Cadzow, who had conduct for the museum. The district in Car { rol and Benton counties (Arkansas), 1 lying between Eureka Springs and Rogers, especially about the little settlements of Mundell and Larue, i! both on White River, was worked. l The excavations were stopped Sept. ], 1922, and the expedition returned to New York for the public opening of the museum. It returned to the . Ozarks early in January of the pres- i! ent year. The work on White River was completed February IA when the ! now consisting only of Mir. Harrington and Mir. Turbyfill, ' moved its camp to Noel. Mo. It has been working on the Cowskin River
 l