Fig. 19.—Columella bead from Cairn (5), Devil's Elbow.[ToList]
The central portion had never been disturbed, the stones lying as they were put originally, except for a possible settling due to their weight; the top of the rounded heap was about 4 feet high. This justified the hope that something might be discovered beneath them. But although the entire space within, up to the fairly defined inner faces of the walls, was thoroughly cleaned out down into the untouched gravelly subsoil, no trace of a bone or other indication of a burial was found. The only artificial object was a section 3¼ inches long of a columella perforated lengthwise, apparently lost by the wearer, as it lay on the natural surface. This is shown in figure 19.
CAIRNS ON HELM'S FARM
To the north of the Ross farm, on the ridge which is owned by Daniel Helm, are three stone graves made of shapeless limestone blocks such as cover the surface around them. One of these is about 300 yards from the bluff, on a knoll capped with the sandstone; the others are at the break of the ridge. All have been opened, two of them practically demolished. Those on the end of the ridge are only 14 feet apart, measuring from their adjacent margins, and were about 16 and 20 feet in diameter as built, both being somewhat widened now owing to the stones having been thrown outward from the central parts by hunters. Each was probably 3 feet high.
The smaller, being least defaced and nearly free from timber, was entirely removed, except a small portion along one margin, and the earth beneath it examined down to the bedrock. There was no sign of a wall; but one that would stand could not be made with stones rounded by weathering.
Remains of at least three bodies were found. One was laid in a crevice; only a few fragments of the long bones were left. With scraps of bone from another body were four teeth worn almost to the roots. They were not close together, but this was due to small burrowing animals which had scattered them. Of the third body, a few pieces of arm and leg bones remained. By itself, loose in the earth, was a single molar, not in the least worn, and with a very small root.
So far as appearances go, it seems the bodies were laid on outcropping rock, or in crevices, and stones piled on them without any attempt at order or arrangement.
The graves on the Helm farm are merely piles of stone, such as are found in various States. Those on the Ross place are of the same type as the cairns on Lost Hill at the mouth of Gourd Creek in Phelps County, but of a more advanced form. In both places flat stones were laid to inclose the burials. At Lost Hill, however, there was seldom more than a single layer, while at the Devil's Elbow a regular wall was built, seven superposed slabs being observed at one point with a certainty that others had been placed above these. They are not of the same class as the walled graves found in earth mounds along the Missouri River. In the latter, the inner face of the wall was as smooth and regular as it could be made, the outside being rough and upheld by stones and earth piled against them; while in those on Big Piney care was taken with the outer face which, it seems, was intended to be left exposed to view, while the inside was rough and hidden by stones thrown in. But no inference must be drawn from the different methods of filling or covering the vaults after they were completed. Along the Missouri, earth was abundant right at hand, but stones had, as a rule, to be carried some distance; while on the bluffs of the Gasconade and its tributaries the reverse was the case.
Petroglyphs, 75 feet above the level of the river bottom, are reported to be cut in a bluff facing the Gasconade River on the east side, 2 miles below the mouth of Big Piney.
A rock shelter not more than 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep is near the top of the bluff overlooking the Gasconade, almost opposite the mouth of Big Piney. It contains a quantity of ashes, but as it was frequently resorted to by bushwhackers during the Civil War, and is still much used by trappers and hunters who camp in it, these are probably not due to Indians.