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THE EARLY HISTORY OF PENDLETON COUNTY CAVES
1760 to 1860
John Craft Taylor
THE NITER CAVES:
Th e saltpeter in d u stry in P e n d le to n o p e rated at
va ryin g levels of inte n sity fo r a b ou t a ce n tu ry, fro m circa
1 7 6 0 to the c los e of th e C ivil W a r, a n d p o ssibly even
b e yond in a few isolated instances.
It sup p lie d
p o ta ssium nitrate, th e e sse n tia l a n d m a jo r in g re dient for
th e m a nufacture of g u n p ow d e r. T h is w a s p ro b a bly the
o n ly m ineral produ ct th a t w a s e xp o rte d be yon d the
b o u n ds of the coun ty u n til W o rld W a r II. At le ast 14
ca ve s in the coun ty a re a sso cia te d w ith saltpeter
m in in g . 1
P e ndleton C ounty w as located in the zon e s o f
co n ce ntrated c a v e n ite r p ro d u ctio n du rin g th e three
w a rtim e periods of p e ak o u tp u t: T h e R e vo lu tion, the
W a r o f 1812, and the C ivil W a r. 2 T h e gre a te st d evelopm e n t and highest pro d u ctio n le ve ls g e ne ra lly o ccurred
d u rin g the C ivil W a r. It se e m s like ly th a t several
P e n d le ton caves w e re e xp lo ite d in te rm itte n tly from the
co lo n ial period throu g h th e C ivil W a r, p e rh a p s those at
T rou t R ock, C ave M ou ntain, an d the H arm an H ills.
W ithin P endleton C o u n ty, o n ly th e op e ra tio n s of the
niter caves at Trout R oc k can be docum ented w ith
specificity from unim peachable original so urces, i.e.
d o cu m entary eviden ce co n te m p o ra ry w ith th e de scribed
co n d ition s or events. At le a st w ith re g a rd to sources
lo ca te d thus far, m o st e v id e n ce fo r th e o th e r c a ves has
been d e rived from local traditions recorded by cavers
a n d local historians, a n d/o r d isco ve ry a n d e xa m ination
o f a rtifacts and e xca va tio n s w ith in th e caves
the m selves.
Franklin attorney a n d lo ca l h isto ria n H . M . C alhoun
(1 8 6 6 -1933), w ho w ro te ra th e r e xte n sive ly a b out the
co u n ty's c av es, did in te rvie w su rvivin g C ivil W ar
veteran s, presu m ab ly includ ing so m e sa ltpe ter m ine rs.
A lth o u gh som e und o u b te d ly e xist, th is w rite r cannot
re call a single p ublished insta nce o f an unquestio nably
auth entic nam e, initia ls, o r date in scrib ed on a cave w all
by a P endleton saltpeter m iner.
Th e T rout R ock o p era tio n w a s a la rg e one, but
som e o f the cou nty's cave s, typical of pe rha ps m ost
saltpe ter m ining throu gh ou t the A m erican S outh, yielded
only sm all am ounts of n ite r. T hese w ere e fforts by only
o n e o r tw o persons w h o , u s in g o rd in a ry fa rm tools and
w o rking during w inte r o r in cle m e n t w e a th e r, p roduced
fo r p e rsonal use or so m e th in g to b arte r a t th e general
store. W ritten reco rds p ertaining to the se sm aller w orks
are virtually nonexistent. E ven w hen the physical
evidence w ithin a particular cave is abundant, it is often
difficult to ascertain the tim e of m ining w ith certitude.
S altp ete r caves are usually quite dry and m any to ols
and im provem ents doubtless rem aine d in place in an
excellent state of preservation, to be u sed again and
again. B y the tim e of the C ivil W ar, the now shadow y
P endleton niter industry had over 1 00 years of
experience.
W ith the im portant exception of the Am erican
interior an d frontier, dem and for dom estic saltpeter
sub sided w ith the end of the R evolutionary W ar. But
there apparently w as no m arket collapse a nyw here near
as drastic as that w hich occurred after the W ar of 1812.
B etw een 1783 a n d 1808 there w ere no governm entim posed barriers to the im portation of ch eap saltpeter
from B ritish India, as the Tariff of 1789 pla ced saltpeter
on the free list.
T he high labor and tra nsportatio n costs of d om estic
cave saltpeter could not easily com pete in coastal areas
w ith cheaper im ported saltpe ter, so A m erican pow der
m ills used the latter product. In the nation's interio r,
how ever, the sam e high transportation costs tended to
preserve the local m arket for saltpeter furnished from
caves. S ignificant quantities of saltpeter w ere produced
from V irginia, Tennessee, and especially K entucky
caves during the 1790s, and som e w as m a rketed on the
A tlantic seaboard. Little of a specific na ture is know n
a bout P e ndleton's niter production in the 1790s, b u t
there undoubtedly w as som e. The first county production figures w ould not be available until 1810. 3
The Jefferson and M adison adm inistra tions applied
the po licy of “pe ace ab le coe rcion ” in retaliation ag ainst
B ritish and F re nch inte rfere nce w ith A m erican m aritim e
com m erce and B ritish im pressm ent of A m erican
seam en, m easures both E uropean pow ers believed
expedient during th eir interm inable w ar (1793-1815).
The design of the E m bargo A ct (D ecem b er 1807) w as
to force recognition of A m erican neutral rights, w ithout
w ar, b y shu tting B ritain a nd F ran ce o ut of the lucrative
A m erican m arket. To aid enforcem ent, the act forbade
a ll U n ite d S tates trade w ith E u rope.
The
N onintercourse A ct (1809) w as a less drastic application
of the sam e principle. A lthough im perfe ctly enforced,
these acts greatly reduced trade w ith E urope, including
im p o rts o f s a ltp e te r, a n d s p u rre d A m e ric a n
m anufa ctu re s g enera lly. O ne result w as rising dom estic
saltpeter prices, because of both reduced supply and
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th e p ossiblity o f w ar. This w as th e histo rical conte xt in
1 8 0 8 w hen A lexan d ria , V irg in ia s a ltp e te r m erchant
A n th o n y C . C azenova p en -n e d a le tte r to E . I. du P ont
of W ilm ington, D elaw are.
This m issive contain e d
d ire ctions, w ritten b y o n e o f C a ze n o va 's saltpeter
buyers, for an itinerary along the “O ld V irginia S altpetre
R oute.”
Th e letter reveals th e exte n t to w h ich P e n d leton and
co n tiguous areas w e re a lre a d y co n sid e re d im portant
so u rces of niter. P re su m a b ly d u P o n t w o u ld h ave been
m o re know ledgeable o n th is to p ic if h e h a d b e e n using
d o m e stic rather tha n im p o rte d sa ltp e te r in h is pow der
m ills.
“I would recommend to Mr. du Pont to commence his
researches for saltpetre at Franklin in Pendleton
County, and pursue his route along the foot of the
Alleghany Mountain, keeping the mountain on his
right; from Franklin to the warm springs in Bath
County, from thence to Fincastle in Botetourt County,
thence to the Sweet Springs in Monroe County,
thence across the Alleghany Mountain to Uniontown,
also in Monroe County. My knowledge of the
saltpetre country does not extend farther than the
above direction, but in this route he can make himself
acquainted with the whole saltpetre country.” 4
Th e first com pre h e n sive , if n o t e n tire ly re lia ble, set
of saltp eter and g unpow der pro ductio n figure s appear in
th e 181 0 census of m anufa ctu re s. 5 That year V irg inia
sa ltp e ter production of 5 9 ,1 7 5 p o u n ds w a s th ird after
K e n tu cky's 201,425 p o u n ds a n d T e n n e sse e 's 1 46,828
p o u n ds. 6 P endleton C o u n ty w a s th e le a d in g producer
in th e O ld D om inio n w ith 2 3 ,0 0 0 p o u n d s valued at
$ 4 ,6 0 0 . In sec ond p la ce w a s L e e C o u n ty w ith 13,377
p o u n ds. S ix other V irg in ia co u n tie s p ro d u ce d lesser
am ounts of saltpeter.
O n ly tw o K entu c k y co u n tie s a n d tw o T e n nessee
countie s pro duced m ore s a ltp ete r th an P endleto n in
1810. W ith respect to the m anufa c tu re of gunpow der,
V irg in ia had 5 3 pow d e r m ills th a t p ro d u ce d 130,059
pounds valued at $ 60,7 67.3 4. S ix of these m ills w ere in
P e n d le ton, the total o u tp u t o f w h ich w a s 2 3 ,7 5 0 pounds
w orth $6,525. O nly H enrico C ounty (R ichm ond) w ith
60,000 pounds, valued at $36,000, produced m ore
pow der th an P endleto n.
E ighte en o th e r V irg inia
counties m anufactured lesser am ou n ts of gunpow der.
O n ly F ayette C ounty (L e xin g to n ) in K e n tu cky p roduced
m ore than P en dleton , just ba rely w ith 2 4,00 0 p ou nd s.
N o T en ne ssee cou nty pro d uce d e ven ha lf as m uch
p o w d e r as did P end le to n . 7
T he failure of the policy of peaceable coercion led to
th e U nite d S ta te s' declara tio n of w ar a g a in st B ritain in
June 1812. T he B ritish blockade of A m erican seaports
forced total reliance on dom estic sources of niter. S altpeter prices soared during the w ar years, 1812 to 1814,
the y w ere five to six tim es higher than in 1810. Total
production levels for the w ar are unknow n, but they
w ere ve ry large an d ad eq ua te to the na tion 's de fen se
needs. K entucky w as apparently the largest producer;
an 1 828 source asserts that K entucky turned out
400,0 00 pounds a year, m o re th an th e entire natio n in
1810. 8 W ith respect to P endleton, M orton states that
the cave s of Trout R ock, C ave M ountain, and the
H arm an H ills co n tributed saltpeter to the w ar effort. 9
C o n sid e ring the price of niter, it seem s likely that a
num ber of other county caves w ere w orked. And in light
of P endleton's prom inent status as a producer in 1810,
the county's output m ust have been a large one.
S altpeter prices collapsed w ith the restoration of
pe ace , a n d the ava ilab ility of plen tiful ine xpe nsive
supplies from B ritish India. M oreover, relatively cheap
im ported E nglish gunpow der of excellent quality becam e
available. Large, e fficient p ow der m ills in the N ortheast,
w hich used im ported saltpeter, cam e to dom inate the
dom estic m arket. A transportation revolution betw een
1815 and 1860 bound the co u n try together w ith
turnpikes, steam boats, canals, and railroads. This grow ing interde pe nd en ce u n d erm ine d loca l m arkets on ce
protected by distan ce a nd hig h tran spo rtation costs.
S om e local niter cave s a nd pow der m ills continued to
operate at m uch reduced, and after 1840, ever
de crea sing leve ls. 10
Follow ing the W a r of 18 12 , M orton states,
P endleton's n iter “industry continued u ntil after the
bre aking out o f the w ar o f 1861.” 11 This is tru e, b ut in
the m anner d escribed above. The printed census of
m anufactures in 1820, a depression year hard on the
h e e ls o f the P anic of 1819, describes som e pow derm aking in se ven V irginia, six T en ne ssee , an d five
K entucky co unties. 12 The only m anufacturing activity
listed for P endleton is “S altpetre.” This entry pertains
only to the operation at Trout R ock. The “m arket value
of the articles annually m anufactured” is listed at $4000,
“the cost of raw m aterials annually consum ed” at $1500,
and the “am ount paid annually for w ages” as $800. The
w orks em ployed eight m en and tw o w om en. The
follow ing statem ent is appended under “G eneral
O bservations”:
“There is attached to this establishment a gunpowder
mill which manufactures about 4 or 5,000 pounds; but
during the late war the amount manufactured was
about 24,000 pounds. The works are now scarcely
worth attending to.” 13
The 1840 census reco rds ten pow der m ills for
V irginia, of w hich four w ere located in P endleton
C ounty, w hich includ ed northern H ighlan d prior to that
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county's form atio n in 1847. T he latter fo ur w ere evid e n tly one-m an opera tio n s, w ith a ca p ita l in ve stm ent of
$ 225, produced 1,100 pounds of gunpow der. 14 There
m a y w ell have been oth e r o p era tio n s n o t re co rd ed that
b e g a n and ceased w o rk in b etw e e n th e ye a rs of the
d e ce nnial census. In 1 85 0 th e re w e re n o g u npow der
m ills in V irginia, alth o u g h K e n tu cky a n d T e n n e ssee had
o n e e a c h . 15 T he listin g of P e n d le to n m a n u fa ctu res for
1860 m akesno reference to saltpeter or gunpow der. 16
F ragm ents of evid ence re la tin g to P endle ton's
a n te b e llum niter indu stry c a n b e fo u n d in th e histories of
ce rta in individuals. A lre a d y n o te d are Ja co b H a rper and
his son s w ho m ad e po w de r in G erm an y V a lle y. 17
P o w d e r m aking is ex tre m e ly h a z ard o u s a n d o ccasional
d isa sters m ake this a ctivity co n sp icu o u s. In 1 804 P eter
M o ye rs died in a po w d e r e xp lo sio n . 18 Ab o u t th e sam e
tim e Jacob C row sho rn (C ro u sh o rn ? ), w h o live d not far
u p stream from T ro u t R o ck, a lso w a s kille d in the
e xp lo sion of a pow d e r m ill. 19 O n e m ig h t sp e cu late that
the se d ea th s o c curred in the sam e e xplosion (w hich
w a s connected to th e T ro u t R o ck n ite r w o rk s ), b ut the
d e ta ils are lost in the m ists o f tim e .
Jacob P ropst and his son John J. (born 1806) w ere
“no ted po w de r m ake rs” w ho m ad e “sup erior qu ality”
pow der. In 1910 th e rem ains of o ne of their m ills could
still b e seen on the fa rm o f L a b a n H . P ro p st. 20 At som e
p o in t in the m id-1800s, M ax H arper m ade pow der at a
m ill o n T horn C ree k in th e ne ig h b o rh o o d o f H offm an
S ch o ol C ave. 21 A se co n d p o w d e r m ill o n T h o rn C reek
w a s th at of John and C a th a rin e B o w e rs A m ick. A bout
1835 it w as destroyed in an explosion, but the operators
escaped inju ry. 22 In th e S m oke H ole , P eter M ozer's
“crude” m ill blew up, leaving h im unharm ed except for a
m issin g ear. 23 Y et a n o th e r p o w d e r m ill, d a te and
o p e ra tor unk now n, e x iste d o n H ive ly G a p R u n “near the
late B yron B odkin residence.” 24
Th e na m es of se ve ra l co u n ty stre a m s or other
n a tu ra l features are re m in isce n t o f sa ltp e te r ca ves and
p o w d e r m ills. T he A m ick m ill w a s lo ca te d near the
P o w d e r M ill H ole of Thorn C reek. 25 A lso on T horn
C re e k is P ow der M ill S p rin g . 26 In P o w d e r M ill H ollow ,
P ow der M ill R un flow s from the northw est into the S outh
B ra nch by T ro ut R ock. T hese nam es have partially
d isa p peared from cu rre n t u s a g e b u t se e m like ly to be
re sto red. 27 A s ec on d P o w d e rm ill R u n dra in s into the
N o rth F ork from the ea st a b ou t th re e m ile s n o rtheast of
S e n e c a R ocks. 28 The sm all run flow ing from the ea st
in to th e S outh B ranch ju st so u th o f C a ve (C o v e ) K nob
C a ve is know n as “S a ltp e tre R u n ” o n a n old d eed. 29
T he pre m ier com m e rcial nite r-pro ducing site in
P e n d le ton C ounty w a s T ro u t R o c k , n a m e d from the
plentiful trout found in th e a djacent pool in the S outh
B ra n ch R iver. 30 T ro u t R o ck's p re e m in e n ce w a s based
on the abundant niter d ep osits in tw o caves, the
proxim ity to go od supplies of w ater and tim ber, and
m ost especially, its location on a m a in th oroughfare
w hich provided superior m arket access. 31 B y 1800 the
caves w ere ow ned by John P enninger and the saltpeter
w orks w ere already in operation, superintended by John
M efford. 32 That year P enninger leased a n earby tract of
la nd to M efford, th e lease re fe rrin g to M efford's
“S altpetre C am p.” Located on a 33-acre parcel w ere the
entrances to the three caves, o nly tw o of w hich, Trout
and N ew T rout, w ere m ined for niter.
In O ctob er 18 01 P en ning er so ld a on e-ha lf interest
in the 33 acres to H enry Jones. The price w as 50
pounds “current m one y of V irg inia.” The oth er half
inte re st in th e 33 acre s w as conveyed to Jam es K ee in
February 1804. Follow ing the death of Jon es, his w idow
on July 4th, 1804 conveyed for 39 pounds her “right and
T itle o f D ow er in to and fo r th e saltp etre C aves and all
the lands adjoining or lying on or near to the S outh
b ranch of P otom ack of w hich the said H enry Jone s
deceased died possessed.” The purchaser w as A aron
K ee, brother of Jam es K ee.
A n e a rlier deed— in January 1804— to an adjacen t
or nearby tract described its location as “opposite the
B ig S altpetre C aves.” These w ere the first explicit deed
references to the T rout R ock caves. In 1805 Aaron Kee
purchased 482 acres, across the S outh B ran ch and
bounding K ee D raft on the northw est, from W illiam
M cC oy as agent for the huge landholdin gs of Joseph
an d B en jam in C ha m be rs. 33
T he bro th ers Jam es and A aro n K ee, b oth F ra nklin
m erchants, continued as proprietors and m anagers of
the Trout R ock n iter w orks from 1804 until A pril 1813,
w hen Jam es sold his one-half interest to A aron. Aaron
w as then the exclusive ow ner during the greater part of
the W ar of 1812-14, alm ost certainly the period of the
p roperty's greatest profitability. A aron died in 1 8 1 6 ,
after w hich the w orks w ere leased by h is heirs and
m anag ed b y Jacob M oyers. S altpeter dem and and
prices plum m etted follow ing the w ar, but the w orks w ere
still in operation , though under straitened circum stances,
in 1 82 0. F o r tha t yea r's cen sus o f m an ufacturers,
M oye rs de scribe d the con cern's fina ncial ou tloo k:
“There are Generally when the works are properly
conducted about 20,000 pounds of Saltpetre
Manufactured Annually which with considerable
difficulty we have generally sold and bartered at
about twenty cents/lb. making the sum of $4000—
“The situation of the works are not so good as it was
in the life time of the late Owner Aaron Kee
dec.— and there is no demand for Salt petre Except in
the Vicinity of the works and further west. There is
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also a Powder Mill attached to the Establishment
at which there is now about four or five thousand
pounds of powder Manufactured Annually but
when powder was in demand it Manufactured
about 24,000 pounds per annum— Upon the
whole the works at this time are scarcely worth
attending to Owing principally to the extreme low
prices of Foreign Saltpetre and powder— ” 34
A n 1820 D ay-B o o k o f a F ra n klin m e rch a n t, listing
e a ch item for sale a n d its p rice , in clu d e s g u np o w der at
$ .6 2 5 per pound. T h is p ro d u ct p ro b a b ly ca m e from the
Tro u t R ock w orks o r o th e r lo c a l p o w d e r m ill. 35 W hen
a n d if T rout R ock co n tin u e d o p e ra tio n s, h ow ever
in te rm ittently, over th e su cce e d in g de ca d es, and
w heth er it w as one of four pow der m ills in P endleto n in
1 8 4 0 , is unknow n to th is w rite r. B u t th e re w as no
activity in the m id-18 30 s.
“Three miles above Franklin, there is a rich saltpetre
cave, from which a vast quantity of nitre has been
made, but the works are now idle. The entrance of
the cave (New Trout?) is a small aperture near the
base of a small mountain, and it extends under
ground for some miles.” 36
A a ron K ee's w id o w C a th e rin e die d ab o u t 1840.
A aro n's esta te w as n o t fin ally settled until 1848. H is
sub stan tial pe rson al estate of alm ost $5 5,00 0, w hich
do es n ot includ e h is exten sive rea l prop erty ho lding s,
m ust reflect in p a rt the large profits of the T rou t R ock
ente rp rise durin g th e W a r of 1 812. A sale bill in
co n n e ction w ith th e esta te lists 2 ,1 0 0 p o unds of
sa ltp e ter ($320.84), 6 0 0 p o un d s o f re fin e d saltpeter
($171.12), and 600 pounds of gunpow der ($ 1 7 1 .12).
A a ro n K ee w as a sla ve h o ld e r, b u t it is n o t know n
w he the r an y of his slave s eve r w orked at T rou t R ock. 37
pe rha ps 1 50 0 fee t lon g w ith, at m an y po ints, a crosssection o f 1 0 to 20 fee t. The sm aller trian gu lar en tran ce
to L ittle (N ew T rou t) C ave is 30 0 fee t ea st of B ig C ave
and 60 feet above the river bottom . T he initial 600 feet
of a typical strike passage is rem arkably straight w ith
m axim um dim ensions of 15 feet w ide and 20 feet high.
B eyo nd this point, as illustrated on a 19 51 m ap, the
pa ssag e co ntin ue s an othe r 10 00 fee t, alon g w hich
dista nce tw o room s are developed. B oth caves exhibit
a m ore com plex passage pattern as the explorer
penetrates further into the interior. 40
T ypica l o f niter caves, Trout and N ew T rout are
quite dry, at places dusty. The earth w a s exca vated
from cha m be rs and passagew ays often far under the
m ountain. T he peter dirt w as som etim es scooped from
ou t-of-the -w ay n iche s, no oks, an d cran nies. R ocks
w ere som etim es m oved or broken up to get at the niterbearing earth.
M any side c h annels w ere m ere
craw lw ays through w hich the “petre m o n keys” had to
dra g th e bags of e arth, their w ay lit o n ly b y th e dim
yellow light of flickering, sm oking fagot torches. A t the
higher entrance, a nd perhaps the low er as w ell, the
contents of the bags w ere poured into a spout or trough
by w hich they slid dow n the steep hillsid e. The peter
dirt w as then transported by w agon to th e leaching vats
by the S outh B ranch R iver. 41
In 1848 W illiam M cC o y, n e ph e w o f th e ge n eral and
co n g ressm an, purch a se d fro m th e K e e e s ta te 828
a cre s, w hich includ e d th e th re e c a ve e ntra n ces, for
$ 6 0 2 . M cC oy ow ne d th e ca ve s u n til 1 8 67 , b u t through
th e C ivil W ar years th e y co n tin u e d to b e kn o w n as the
K e e C aves. A aron's so n Ja m e s B . Ke e (1 8 0 3-1878)
served as th e P endleto n C ounty delegate to th e V irg inia
G e n e ral A ssem bly fro m 1 8 50 to 1 86 0 . 38
A sim plified description of the process by w hich the
cave earth w as converted into saltpeter follow s. The
cave earth w as placed into the vats and w ater ad ded.
A fter standing for several days it w as then drained. To
this leach w ater w as added a solution of potash salts,
produced by the leaching of w ood ashes. A chem ical
reaction substituted potassium for calcium , precipitating
the latter. In this w ay calcium nitrate (cave or false)
sa ltp eter w as co nve rted into p otassium nitrate (po tash
or true) saltpeter. A fter purification by straining off the
calcium , and concentration by protracted boiling and
evaporation of the liquid in large iron kettles, the
rem aining niter crystals cooled and hardened into cakes
of po tassium nitrate. T h e T rou t R ock n iter w orks
included a pow der m ill; how ever, if the operation did not
have a pow der m ill, “the crysta ls w ere drie d, packed in
bags, boxes, or kegs, and then shipped to a pow der
m ill.” 42
T he three T rout R ock caves w ere located in a bluff
on the left (north) bank of the S ou th B ra n c h R iver, 3.5
m iles s ou thw est of F ran klin.
The w esternm ost
en tran ce, a craw lw ay, o pe ne d into the rectiline ar m aze
o f w h a t is now kno w n a s H a m ilto n C a ve , th e dam p
p a ssa ges of w hich co n ta in n o p h ysica l e vid e n ce of ever
h a vin g been m ined fo r s a ltp e te r. 39 A b o u t 5 0 0 fe et to the
east, 150 fe et a bove th e flood p lain, lay the m outh o f B ig
(Tro u t) C ave, w ith an e n tra n ce 2 0 fe e t w id e a n d 15 feet
h igh. A 1948 m ap of the cave show s a m ain pa ssa g e
A t Trout R ock, like nearly all P endle ton saltpe ter
operations, the cave e arth w as b rought to the surface to
be leached near a stream . W here the le a ching vats
w ere placed inside the cave and w ater w as piped or
carried to the vats, the dry cave enviro nm ent m ight
protect these relics, if protected from the destruction of
vandals, to survive to the present day. This did not
happen in P endleton; all vats w ere on the surface and
sub ject to w ea the ring .
The y q u ickly rotted aw ay,
leaving only the casts of the dirt w ithin, if that. 43
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A long the S outh B ranch at T rout R ock there
evidently existed a w ater w heel that pum ped w ater to
th e le aching vats, o r p o ssib ly tu rn e d th e m a ch inery of
the pow der m ill. 44 A nd th e allu sio n to John M efford's
“S a ltp etre C am p” ab ou t 1 8 00 su g g e sts th a t th ere m ay
h a ve been housing fo r th e nite r w o rke rs. In 1 820 the
w o rks em ployed e ig h t m e n to m a ke sa ltp e ter and
g u n p ow der and tw o w o m e n to p erfo rm su ch chores as
co o king and w ashing . E q u ip m e n t in clu d e d a te am and
w agon, eight 38-g a llon kettles, and the “necessary
m achinery” for draining the liquor from the saltpeter dirt.
Th e operation consu m e d 4,0 0 0 (7 ,0 0 0 ? ) b u shels of
saltpeter dirt and 1 1,500 b ushels of ashes each year. 45
O n e inform ant, w h o se fa th e r w o rke d a t th e niter
w o rks during the C ivil W a r, re p o rte d th a t 1 2 to 20 m en
w o rke d in “the cave,” b u t C o n fe d e ra te N ite r a n d M ining
B u re a u payrolls reve a l a w a rtim e w o rkfo rce several
tim e s m ore num erou s. A t th a t tim e th e w o rks u sed four
la rg e kettles .
T he dry d irt u n de r b u ild in g s in the
n e ig h b orhood w as a lso g ath e re d fo r le a ch in g at Trout
R o ck. O ne challeng e a n d b o ttle n e ck in n ite r p roduction
w as the procurem ent o f a sufficient q uantity o f p otash to
tre a t a ll the leach w a te r. T h is re q u ire d th e la b o r o f w ood
cu tte rs and burners a n d a sh h a u le rs. T h e so urce of
tim b e r for the T ro u t R o ck w o rks w a s th e higher
eleva tion s of Jack M ou ntain, “the no rthe rn en d o f w hich
is adjacent to the river bend w here the leach vats w ere
lo cated.” T he sam e m en alternately w orked in th e
cave s a nd o n Jack M ou ntain cu tting an d b urning tree s. 46
In a ddition to w ood a sh e s, tim b e r w o u ld b e re q uired for
fu e l for the boilin g ke ttle s, fo r co n stru ction and
fashioning w ooden tools, and for charcoal as a m in o r
b ut essential ingredient in the m anufacture of th e
gunpow der.
A s a conse qu en ce, a vast exp an se o f Jack
M ou ntain w as d en ud ed of its origina l forest of oa ks,
su g a r m aple, hickory, a n d w a ln u t. 47 T h ro u g h ou t its long
h isto ry of interm itten t o p era tio n , th e re m u st h a ve been
b u ild in gs at the w o rks, su ch a s a stru ctu re for the
p o w d e r m ill, and she d s to ke e p th e nite r d irt a nd w ood
a shes dry, to pre vent p re m atu re leaching. T his is
confirm ed by a report of a M arch 1 864 F ederal cavalry
ra id , w hich de s c ribe s th e de stru ctio n of b u ild ings and
m aterials w orth an estim ated “$8,000 or $10,000.” 48
O n e tradition pla ce s th e lo ca tio n o f th e T ro ut R ock
p o w d e r m ill at the m o u th o f P o w d e r M ill R u n . P ow der
m ills w ere driven eith e r b y a n im a l o r w a te r p o w e r. The
la tte r seem s m ore like ly co n sid e rin g th e vigorous
grad ien t of P en dleton strea m s , an d the re w as a t lea st
o n e w aterw heel at T ro u t R o c k. T h e grin d in g and
blending m achinery of p ow der m ills w as invaria bly
co n structed of w oo d , s in c e m o vin g pa rts o f stone or
m etal w ou ld p rod uce drea de d sp arks— an d e xplosion s.
The charcoal could be obtained locally, bu t the
source of sulphur fo r P endleto n pow der m ills is
un kno w n. A nteb ellum po w de r m ake rs in the K en tucky
B lue grass im po rted che ap sulph ur from S icily, w hich
w as refin ed in F ra nce. E ven durin g th e N apoleonic
W ars, w hen the B ritish blockade reduced the availability
of the refined product from France, crude S icilian
sulphur could still be im ported. P ow der m akers refined
their ow n sulphur. This w as a possible source of
sulph ur for P en dleton po w de r m ake rs. 49
V ery large caves w ith sufficiently sm ooth floors and
gentle grades encouraged the use of m ules, oxen, or
do nkeys to pull the carts of niter-bearing earth to the
lea ching va ts— or b ag s o f d irt w ere ha uled o n the ba cks
of pack anim als. A few exam ples are illustrative.
M am m oth and G reat S altpeter caves in K entucky used
ox-carts. A labam a's S auta C ave had a tram w ay— cars
w ith flanged w heels w ere pulled over w ooden tracks by
m ules. B urros pulled carts in G reenville S a ltpeter C ave,
M onroe C ounty, W est V irginia.
In contrast, although the m ain passages of the
T ro ut R ock caves w ere rath er spacious, th ey genera lly
did not lend them selves to the use of w heeled vehicles
or pack an im als to transport niter dirt. In fact, w ith a
single exception, no P endleton saltpeter cave is know n
to have em ployed a nim al-pow ered w heeled transport
underground, although there m ay have been a few
w heelbarrow s. The exception involves G erm any V alley's
S choolhouse C ave, w here a track and cart system w as
constructed.
The floors under Trout R ock M ountain often
consisted of fallen rock, if not huge blocks of
breakdow n, w hich offered either p recario us footing or
o bstruction s. Large pa ssag e a lterna ted w ith co nstrictions. S om e passages w ere just too steep , low , narrow ,
or tortuous. B ut paths w ere cleared, p lank bridges
spanned chasm s, stone steps a nd various types of
lad de rs ea sed the n eg otiation o f asce nts an d d esce nts.
F au st states tha t th e m ine rs usu ally carried the cave
earth in burlap bags dragged through craw lw ays or
slung over a shoulder if the passage perm itted w alking.
C alho un asse rts tha t the “pe tre m on keys” a t T rou t R ock
carried ha versacks o r sm all can vas b ag s. 50
The source of light u sed m ost often in saltpeter
caves— including those at Trout R ock and in P endleton
generally— w as the fat-pine fagot, or bu ndle of flam m able sticks. B ut alternatives did e xist. In M am m oth
C ave candles som etim es provided illum ination in the
vicinity o f the leaching vats w hile the m iners carried
lard-oil lam ps. F rom C lark's C ave in B ath C ou nty, F au st
reported the discovery of “lengths o f eld er w ood from
w hich the pith had been rem oved and the ho llow tube
thu s ob taine d filled w ith a nim al fat or grea se, w hich
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w h e n lighted, burned like ca n d le s.” S till o th e r e xam ples
m ig h t be cited.
H ow ever, only one exceptio n to th e use of fagots in
P endleto n caves is know n to th is w riter. This is a single
candle, believed to be of m id-nineteenth century
vin ta g e, found in N e w T ro u t. M o re typ ica l are the
“b u sh e ls” of c harred fa g o ts “sca tte re d th ro u g h ou t” Trout
a n d N ew T rout cave s. B la ck so o t fro m th e s e sm oking
to rches sta ined cave ceilings and w a lls . N ew T ro ut is
esp e c ia lly infam ou s for the laye r of black d ust w hich
co ve rs m any surfa ce s, in so m e p la ce s a ttaining a
th ickn e ss of one inch a n d ch o kin g exp lo re rs w h o stir up
clouds of the stuff. 51
Th e excavation of p e te r d irt sig n ifica n tly in creased
the ph ysical volum e o f the m ore h ea vily m ine d ca ves.
Leached earth, if le ft in th e cave fo r severa l years, could
b e re charged w ith n itra te s. 52 Bu t th is g e ne ra lly d id not
h a p p en in P endleton , sin ce th e p e te r d irt w a s taken out
o f th e cave to the lea ch in g va ts, u su a lly lo ca te d along a
surface s tre am .
C onsequently, o ver a sufficiently
le n g th y interval, nite r d e p o s its w o u ld in e vita b ly suffer
d e p le tion.
It w a s n o t unusual for th e m iners to rem ove fills
w hich ha d large ly o r com pletely cho ked pa rticular pa ssa g e s. O f course ro cks b ro ke n up o r m o ve d to get at
th e niter-bearing earth w e re o f n o va lu e an d no t carried
fro m the cave; eve n ve ry sm a ll sto n e s m ight be
se p a rated from the va lu a b le p ete r d irt b y th e use of
sieve s o r scree ns to red uce the w eigh t of un prod uctive
m a te rial carried by th e m in e rs. 53 In b oth T ro u t a nd N ew
Tro u t, areas of e xte n sive m in in g occu rre d ab out one
th o u sand feet from th e ir e n tra n c e s . 54 N e w T rout w as
“very thoroughly cleaned” of cave fills. A long the S outh
B ra n ch, near the fo rm e r lo ca tio n o f th e va ts, large
m ou nd s o f lea che d cave ea rth w ou ld rem ain in e vide nce
for w ell over a century after the C ivil W ar. 55
A lthough struc tures on the surface succum bed to
w e a thering, unde rg ro u n d th e re lics o f saltpeter
o p e ra tions w ere pre se rve d in th e dry e n vironm ent
typical of niter cave s. The se su rvived m ore o r less
in ta ct into the early 1 9 40 s, w h e n th e y w e re d iscovered
b y th e first generatio n o f N S S c a ve rs. O ve r su b sequent
decades, vandals stole or destroyed the m ore
co n sp icuo us item s a n d th o se n ot re m o ved for
sa fe keeping. S till, m o re su b tle e vid e n ce o f m in ing and
sm a ller artifacts w ould continue to be discovered into
the 19 90 s, esp ecially at T rou t R ock.
A b undant ev ide n ce o f th e nite r o p era tio n re m ained
in Tro u t C ave. A ltho u g h m o st to o ls w e re co n stru cted of
w o o d , there w ere distin ct m e ta l p ick im p rin ts in banks of
p e te r d irt that w ere w o rke d fa r fro m th e en tra n ce . S tone
ste p s, plank footb rid g e s, a n d se v e ra l w ooden
de m ou ntab le lad de rs he lpe d the m ine rs ne go tiate p its,
canyons, a nd passagew ays on differe nt levels. A “sm all
hand-hew n, rectangular-shaped w ater trough,...located
150 fe et inside th e entrance, u nder th e o n ly w ate r drip
in the cave” gathered drinking w ater, and over tim e had
accum ulated a veneer of calcite.
T he re w ere also a num ber of “paddle-like w ooden
scra pers” a nd an assortm ent o f u nburn ed and partially
consum ed fagots. 56 S till add itional articles included
“several m ore keg hoops and staves, ....one or tw o
w oo de n pad dles,” tw o m etal h o e s, on ly on e o f w hich
h a d a n in ta c t h a n d le , a n d “cru d e ly w o v e n
cloth— possibly part of a bag used to carry out the petre
dirt.” 57 A m etal ha m m er, ho m e-m ad e from a file a nd lost
near Trout C ave, m ay have belonged to an em ployee
w ho w as involved in the construction of the w ooden
structures a t the w orks. 58
N ew Trout has disclosed perhaps an even greater
treasure of artifacts. U ntil late 1951, this cave w as
unknow n to N S S cavers. O n its rediscovery, saltpeter
historian B urton F aust rem arked that “...sa ltpeter m ining
activities w ere apparently m uch greater in this cave than
in Trout's.” 59 T he catalog of N ew Trout relics includes
“a dem ounta ble ladder about 6 fe et lo n g...; tw o m eta lbladed hoe-like scrapers, each of w hich is fitted w ith a
24-inch hickory w ood h an dle; a forke d w ish-bone
shaped grapple m ad e from a tree branch, w hich has
one leg m uch longer than the other, and apparently w as
used to pull bags of earth from one level to another; a
ba g m ou th sp rea de r sim ilar to tho se u se d b y m illers;
and several bridges w hich w ere constructed of handsaw n planks and poles.” 60
In 1951 F aust d iscovere d several devices pre viously
u n kn o w n to h im . In a dd ition to the m etal ho e-like
scrapers noted above, and “several types of bagholders,” there w as a rare w ooden “push-pull box” w ith
dim ensions of 14, 1 2, and five inches, to one end of
w hich w as attached a cord . T he box w as evidently
“used to pull loads of peter dirt out of holes too small
to permit a man to crawl through dragging a bag.
One man must have worked back in a small
crawlway, filling the box, while a second man pulled
the box out, emptied it and pushed the box back in
again with a stick.” 61
O th er fin ds w ere “a p addle w ith tw o sets of initia ls
carved on the blad e,...evide nce ...of the use of rock
drills..., and direction arrow s chiseled in the rock.” 62 Tw o
years later anothe r party found a w ell-preserved m etal
pick w ith w ooden handle, an old ladder, tw o w ooden
paddles, a rem nant o f “rough, hom espu n cloth,” and
bundles of fagots, the individual sticks being about one
foo t lon g a nd on e inch thick. 63
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A t one point in N e w T ro u t a ro ck p ro je ction w as
blasted aw ay to ease passage of the m iners. Tw o
d rille d holes rem ain a t a p o in t “d e e p in th e ca ve ....in the
m a ze of craw ls w hich w a s d u g o u t b y m in e rs and now
u n d e rlies the passag e .” 64 O th e r a rtifa cts in clu d e staves
a n d hoops from sm a ll ke g s, “p o ssib ly co n ta in ers for
b la stin g pow der,” w o o d e n tro w e ls a n d p a dd le s, and a
log la d de r w ith n otche d step s. 65 D ou btless the re h ave
be en m an y othe r item s reco vered ove r the yea rs.
S innett C ave illustrates the lengths to w hich m iners
w ere p rep ared to g o to find an d tran spo rt prod uctive
saltpeter dirt. Its history a lso suggests the extent to
w h ich the niter industry h a s b e en h id d e n a n d fo rgotten.
A lthough B urton F aust described S innett a s “a very
im po rtan t prod uction cen ter” an d “o n e o f the m ost
spectacula r” operatio ns in his experie nce, to th is w riter's
know ledge th ere is no docu m e nta ry record and until
q u ite recently no loca l h isto ria n e ve r m e n tio n e d it, even
w h e n w riting specifica lly a b ou t P e n d le to n saltpeter
cave s. 66
northernm ost pit, w hich served as a ch u te o r funnel to
the low er level 90 feet dow n. T he s a cks of dirt w ere
em ptied into the pit, an d their contents “tum bled and
slid, am id billow ing clouds of yellow ish dust” to a large,
flat rock called the “R ail R ock.” This route enabled the
“petre m onkeys” to avoid the strenuous traverse of the
fissure passage. A t the R ail R ock the m iners rebagged
the pe ter dirt an d, bu rde ne d w ith the ir he av y loa ds,
trudged 400 feet to the cave entrance , d e scended the
talus slope, and crossed the creek to the leaching vats
on the other side. 68
F au st states tha t the distan ce b etw ee n the en tran ce
and the “trem endous deposits” of saltpete r earth in the
Long R oom exceeded 1200 feet. A lso, in light of peter
dirt adhering to w alls an d ceiling, he believed that
“alm ost the entire interm ediate level of pa ssages below
The H all of the M ountain K ing” (or Long R oom ) had
on ce been com pletely plugged w ith fill w hich w as
subsequently excavated. 69
Th e entrance to S in n e tt is lo ca te d in a p ictu resque
setting at the north end of T horn M ountain on the south
b a n k of W hitethorn C re e k. T h e ca ve m o u th , 60 feet
a b o ve the creek, op e n s a t th e to p of a m o ss- a nd fernca rp e ted talus s lope sh a d e d b y la rg e he m lo cks. The
e n tra n ce, “about fou r fe e t h ig h an d eig h t to ten feet
w id e ,” leads to 20 fe e t o f cra w lw a y fo llo w e d by 400 feet
o f w a lking passage. A t th is p o in t th e pa ssa g e a ssum es
a ke yhole cross-sectio n , “a cra w lw a y 4 5 0 fe et long,
h a vin g a fissure one to tw o fe e t w id e , te n to 15 feet
d e e p , in the floor.” T ra ve rsin g th is se ctio n requires
m uch “craw ling, clim bing, and canyon-straddling.”
S innett has yielded som ew hat few er a rtifacts than
the Trout R ock caves, but m ore than an y other niter
caves in P endleton. O ne item w as a single-pole ladder,
“m ade by augering holes through a log along a
longitudinal line and driving pegs into the holes so they
exten de d o n b oth side s of the log .” 70 O th e r relics
include plank bridges that spanned canyons, a num ber
of “paddle-like scrapers,” a ladder fragm en t found in the
Long R oom , torch rem nants, “drill m arks,” tw o w ood
hoes, a “digging or cutting tool fashioned from a broken
scythe blade,” a “sm all hand shovel,” a nd a “stirupshaped w ooden object, sim ilar to a b ag-m outh
spreader.” 71
T he n the exp lorer asce n d s “three sets of she lves,
ten feet apart” that open at the bottom of the “silo,” a
sm o o th-w alled tube a b o u t six fe e t in d ia m e ter that
slo p e s upw ard at a 4 0 ° a n g le . A cra w lw a y co n n e cts the
to p of the silo w ith th e L o n g R o o m , w h ich lie s along a
n o rth e ast-s ou thw est a xis a n d “is 9 0 fe e t a b ove and
para llel to th e low er entrance pa s s a g e . This room is
800 fe et long, a vera ging 70 to 80 fe et w ide, a nd is
tria n g u lar in cross-se ctio n w ith a ce ilin g he ig h t o f 40 feet
a t th e apex.” A t inte rva ls its flo o r is litte re d w ith huge
lim esto ne bre akdow n b locks. E m erg ing fo r th e first tim e
fro m th e cram ped cra w lw a y p a ssa g e in to th is e n orm ous
ch a m ber is an aw e-in sp irin g exp e rie n ce . 67
D avies states that S innett w as m ined during the
C ivil W ar. 72 B ut it seem s a virtu a l certainty th at this
cave produced saltpeter long before and over an
extended interval. In 1946, N S S cavers noted that the
oldest date found in the big room to that point w as 1772;
how ever, its authenticity w as uncertain. 73 The N S S had
discovered the cave and the Long R oom less th an tw o
years earlier, in late 1944. 74 A dozen years later B urton
Faust described the cave, its saltpeter o peration, and
that first trip, w hen the cavers set candles along the
entire length of the H all of the M ountain K ing to better
ap preciate its grea t size. H e re n d ered an im ag ina tive
depiction of a scene from the cave's past.
A t the south end of the L o n g R oom , according to
Fa u st, w as “a great b a nk o f ca ve -e a rth ....a b o u t 40 feet
w ide, over 100 feet long and of un d e te rm ined depth,”
fro m w hic h “hund re d s o f cu b ic fe e t” h a d been
exca vated . Three pits op en a g a in s t the roo m 's ea st
w all. E vidently the m iners shoveled the pe ter dirt into
bags th at w ere th en carried about 4 00 feet o ver w ellw o rn p aths and “se ve ra l se rie s o f sto n e ste p s” to the
“Our lights only dimly reached the sides and ceiling
and as I sat there with my back braced against a
rock, contemplating what must have transpired here
many years ago; the present seemed to fade into the
distant past. Candles and carbide lights
metamorphosed into flaming, smoking, soot, and
smut-spreading pine torches that were scattered in a
random pattern. Dark, indistinct and misshapen
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forms moved along the line of lights. One of
these forms came closer and I could see that it
was a hunched-over man carrying a large, heavy
bag of some material.
“My eyes followed him as he shuffled along the path.
I watched him as he passed torch after torch,
sometimes climbing stone stairs, sometimes
disappearing momentarily behind a large rock only to
reappear further away. He reached the brink of the
pit— stopped— hunched one shoulder and dropped
the bag to the ground. He stooped, grasped the bag
near the bottom, lifted it and dumped the load of dry,
dusty, yellowish-brown dirt into the hopper. Great
clouds of dust billowed and spread as the dirt rolled
and tumbled down the slope to the lower level where
other men were filling other bags with the precious
dirt, after which it was laboriously carried to the
surface.” 75
A noth er m ajor source of saltp ete r w as th e “B ig
C ave ,” w hich o pe n s in a crag ne ar the crest of C ave
M ou ntain no t far from the up strea m (sou the rn) en tran ce
o f th e 18-m ile-long S m o ke H o le C a n yo n . 76 N o w know n
as C ave M ou ntain C ave , its up pe rm ost pa ssag es m ust
b e som e of the oldest in the A p palachians. T h e y
fo rm e d as tributarie s o f th e S o u th B ra n ch o f the
P o to m ac, w hich has sin ce e ro d e d its b e d to a le vel 800
feet belo w . A s described by D avies, the four- by fourfo o t e n trance expand s in to a co rrid o r 2 1 0 0 fe e t long and
u p to 35 feet high an d 50 fe e t w id e . A lo w e r level of
sim ila r dim ensions e xte n d s fo r 1 7 0 0 fe e t. T h e w alking,
p a ra lle l passage of a sm a lle r ca ve , “2 0 ya rd s so uth and
50 feet above” B ig C ave, continues for 1500 feet. 77
B ig C ave w as m in e d fo r n ite r o v e r a n e xtended
p e rio d, beginning in th e c olo n ia l e ra . M o rto n states that
it sup plied saltpe ter du ring the W ar of 18 12 . 78 The cave
e a rth , excavated fro m th e up p e r p a ssa g e , w as
tra n sported 800 feet d o w n th e m o u ta in sid e to B ig S pring
fo r p ro ces s ing. T he w a te rs o f B ig S p rin g , “in volum e
su fficie nt to operate a m ill,” e m e rg e at th e rive r's edge
a lm o st directly bene ath th e ca ve . A t o n e p o in t C alhoun
states tha t the pe ter dirt “w as p lace d in can vas b ag s,
a n d d ragged dow n th e ste e p m o u n ta in ”; a t a n other, that
th e ca ve earth w as co n ve ye d by “sp o u ts.” P e rh aps the
m iners em ployed each of these m ethods at differen t
tim e s. Leaching an d bo ilin g to o k p la ce a t B ig S pring.
L in g e ring indication s o f th is n ite r w o rks in clu ded the
“h uge m ounds” of spent p ete r dirt conspicuous at B ig
S p rin g and s everal o f th e la rg e b o ilin g k ettle s s till to be
fo und in th e S m oke H ole. T h ese w ere still m uch in
e vid e n ce in the 192 0 s a n d e a rly 1 9 30 s w h e n C alhoun
w rote h is articles. 79
Fu rther north in th e G ra n t C o u n ty se ctio n of the
S m o ke H ole, the en tra n ce o f P e a co ck C a ve lie s at the
foot of a m assive lim estone cliff high on the w est side of
C ave M ountain. A craw lw ay leads to a series o f v ery
dry room s and passages that total perhaps 1000 feet.
C a le b P eacock discovered the ca ve and m ined its
earth for saltpeter. T he traditional date associated w ith
this endeavor is 1808, but one source dating from 1908
note s th e initia ls “C .P .” and “1807” chiseled in to a w all,
and asserts that P eacock produced gunpow der from the
cave 's niter during the W ar of 1812. The 1908 source
reported “tw o artificial ladders,” but D avies described the
rem nants of the saltpeter m ining as “an old ladder and
w ooden platform 600 feet from the entrance.” 80 A 1970
trip report noted additional artifacts and attem pted som e
analysis of the m ining operation.
“About halfway to the present end there is a ladder
(now broken and completely untrustworthy) at the
foot of an upwards shaft. At two levels within the
shaft there are wedged poles, one of which seems to
have acted as a catchment for earth dumped from the
upper level for retaining the petre-dirt for bagging. On
the upper level there are numerous two- to three-inch
pieces of cedar, unburned and, according to my
guesstimate, used for fuel for firepots. This upper
level is the most obviously worked area in the cave,
although paddles are occasionally visible in other
parts of the cave.” 81
In 1924, g eologist D avid B . R eger p u b lished his
investigation of a report that w ithin P eaco ck C ave w as
“a va lua ble d ep osit of sa ltpe tre.” A “soft an d sticky
ocher, having a rich red color and thicknesses that vary
from four inches to one foot or m ore” filled som e of the
cave's crevices betw een points 600 and 750 feet from
th e entrance. P eacock m in e d th is ocher and carried it
to the river, his nearest source of w ater. There he
re port-e dly m ixed th e ocher “w ith hickory w ood ashes in
a w ooden hopper an d by pouring w ater on the m ixture
obtained a filtrate from w hich his gun pow de r w as
concentrated.”
R eger believed this to be “quite certain ” because the
location of the hopper could be ide ntifie d by “a large
am ount of red soil w hich is quite different from the
natural sandy loam .” B ut the analysis of the ocher
revealed no p otassium n itrate (w ould n ot calcium nitrate
suffice?), leading R eger to the conclusion that “the
potash of the w ood...w as evidently the true source of
the explosive m aterial.” T hus the im plication that the
extrem ely strenuous labor of P eacock in m ining and
transporting the cave ocher w as com pletely futile. 82
T here w ere oth er pow der m akers in th e S m oke H ole
com m unity. O ne w as P eter M o zer, w ho operated “a
crude m ill for m aking gunpow der in the run that flow s
past the old P alestin e C hurch.” O n o ne occasion his
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m ill exploded, and M ozer lost an ear but not his life. A t
a n o th e r tim e M ozer w a s q u estio n e d a b o ut th e q u ality of
his pow der. H e responded tha t it w as quite potent,
citin g a recent expe rie n ce w h e n a p ortio n ha d caught
fire a nd been consum e d b e fo re h e co u ld e xtin g uish the
b la ze . 83
In addition to B ig C ave and P eacock C ave, H . M .
C a lh o u n asserted th a t tw o o th e r ca ve s w ith in the
P e n d le ton C ounty se ctio n of th e c a n yo n ha d been
m in e d for saltpeter. T h e s e w e re S m o ke H o le C ave and
O ld M ines C av e , the la tte r lo ca te d in th e vicin ity of the
M aple D ale S chool. 84 To this w riter's know ledge, there
is no extan t ph ysical or do cum en tary evide nce to p rove
th at either ever produced niter. 85 A “sm all w o o d e n
pa dd le” or “scoo p” displaye d a t the H aw ks N est
M u se u m , “found 1/2 m ile b ack in S m o ke h o le C a ve” and
“u se d by early settle rs in ta kin g m a te ria l fro m ...(the)
cave for the pu rpo ses of m aking gu np ow de r,” alm ost
certainly refers to C ave M ountain C ave (or B ig C ave). 86
C aleb P eac ock h a s a sso cia tio n s w ith b oth th e G rant
a n d P e ndleton sectio n s o f th e Sm o ke H o le . H is nam e
is rem em bere d in P eacock C ave and P eacock S prin g in
G ran t C ou nty a nd P ea cock Islan d in P en dleton C ou nty.
H e h as entered into th e lo ca l fo lklo re .
“It is related that at one time W illiam Cox and Caleb
Peacock were in the Smoke Hole Cave, digging earth
from which to extract nitre, an essential ingredient in
the manufacture of gun powder, then made locally,
and so necessary to their protection against the
Indians and in keeping the family larder filled.
“Peacock was a man of deep religious character,
while his companion was directly the opposite. In fact
he is said to have possessed a vocabulary including
all of the fifty-seven varieties of naughty swear words,
and in the course of his pioneer life had acquired a
wonderful proficiency in their use. W hile at work they
unwittingly closed the opening through which they
had entered, with the earth that they were digging,
and about the time that their only light gave out. This
left them in about as bad a predicament as one could
well imagine.
“Very naturally, Peacock began to pray fervently, and
just as naturally, Cox began swearing just as
fervently. Perhaps the praying voltage of the one
was not of a very high order, and the swearing
qualities of the other correspondingly as ineffectual.
Anyhow, neither seemed to have the
desired effect. W hen this fact dawned on the
prisoners they began prodding around until they
found a spot where the earth was more yielding and
dug their way out from their earth and stone prison.
“Later some person attempted to impress on the
profane Cox a valuable lesson from this experience.
He sought to convince him that their deliverance was
due in some measure at least to super-natural
causes, and finally said: ‘Now, Cox, don't you think
that the Lord was with you?’ To which Cox replied: ‘If
he was, he was in one hell of a fix.’” 87
T he cave in th e H arm an H ills of G erm an y V alley,
now know n as S choolhouse C ave, appare ntly served as
a source o f n iter since th e e arliest E uropean settlem ent.
It supplied saltpeter for the m anufacture of gunpow der
at H inkle's Fort, four m iles aw ay, possibly as early as
17 58 an d co ntinu ing throu gh the R evo lution . T he cave
w as again pressed into service during the W ar of 1812. 88
It is the only kn ow n P endleton saltpeter cave on the
draina ge of the N orth F ork.
T he spa ciou s an d im po sing po rtal of S cho olho use
C ave opens from a sink into a cham ber 40 feet w ide, up
to 70 feet high , a nd 150 feet long. This gallery's floor
slopes steeply; a t its end an abrupt ascent of 75 feet
le a d s to a narrow passage 500 fe et long and up to six
feet high.
M uch of this passage, on ce nearly or
com pletely filled w ith clay, “to w ithin eigh t to 14 inches
of the roo f,” is a tren ch exca vated by saltpe ter m ine rs.
It leads to the e dge of the B ig R oom . H ere the floor
disappears into pits and w ells w hich plunge to depths of
200 fe et. N ot until 1939 w ould a n e xplore r descend th is
forbidding precipice. In m arked contrast to the ups and
dow ns of the floor, the ceiling of the cave rem ains rather
flat throughout its length. 89
T he cave ea rth w as d u g from the tren ch w hich
cleared m uch of the passage leading to the B ig R oom .
M attock m arks are still clearly observable. 90
To
transport the peter dirt from the upper tre nch passage
directly to the surface, avoiding the steep d e scent into
an d the e ven m ore a rdu ou s asce nt ou t of the en tran ce
cha m be r, the m ine rs bu ilt an eleva ted tram w ay.
“They constructed a wooden track part of the way
down the incline, and then across a scaffolding or
bridge work that they built up for the purpose, to the
entrance of the passage referred to. They then
gathered up all the log chains in the neighborhood
round about and welded them into one long chain.
They constructed a rude car fitted to run on the track.
“They next constructed a device outside the mouth of
the cave, similar to the old-time wooden cider mill
with a long lever or sweep, to the end of which a
horse or horses were hitched. By driving the horse or
horses around and around, the chain was wound
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around a cylinder-like device, and the car heavily
laden, hitched to the other end of the chain, came
slowly with a great deal of creaking up the steep
incline to the world outside with its burden of
niter-laden dirt.” 91
Th e presence of su ch a n e la b o ra te s tru ctu re and the
u se o f a w heeled ve h ic le w ith in th e ca ve is a unique
occurrence in the history of P endleton's niter industry.
F or m an y y e a rs the re w ere tw o ve rtical po sts just
in sid e the entrance, b e lo w w h ich a “h a n d -h e w n trough”
collected w ater from a sm all seep o r spring. T he posts
su p p o sedly had so m e fu n ctio n w ith re g a rd to the
tra m w ay. T he trou g h w a s a so u rce o f w a te r for the
C ave S chool, 100 yards to the south, w hich w a s in
o p e ra tion at least by th e 1 8 9 0 s , a n d fo r a n e a rlier log
b u ilding on the sam e site, perhaps m uch earlier. T h e
trough m ay date back to th e era of nite r m ining, but this
is u n certain. 92
O n e m ight specu la te th a t th e sm a ll s p rin g at the
e n tra n ce could have p ro vid e d th e w a te r fo r th e le aching
vats an d b oiling kettles. This w ou ld h a ve b ee n m ost
co n ve nient, but evide n ce is la ckin g . P e rh a p s th e spring
w as inadequate in volum e o r persistence. A ccording to
C a lh o u n, the m iners h a ule d th e pe te r d irt to th e site of
th e re sidence (in 1 9 3 1 ) o f Ja co b H a rm a n , som e
distance aw ay in the direction of H a rper G ap. B efore
co n -structing his ho m e , H a rm a n ha d to re m o ve “huge
p ile s” of leached cave e arth . 93
T he rem aining P endleton saltpeter operations w ere
co n d u cted on a le sse r s ca le th a n th o se d escribed
a b o ve. A n exam ple is C a ve (C o ve ) K n o b C a ve located
a to p a hill w est of the S o u th B ra n ch R ive r ve ry n ear the
b o u n dary w ith H igh la n d C o u n ty, V irg in ia . A low entra n ce passage lead s in to a slo p in g ro o m 4 0 fe et long
and 25 w ide, w ith a ceiling height o f fiv e to eight feet.
D a vie s reported tha t th e c a v e w a s m in e d d u ring the
C ivil W ar and th at “m attock m arks are clearly visible in
th e excavated area.” 94 O th e r e vid e n ce w ith in th e cave,
cited by H au er in 1 96 9, includ es:
“A blasted trench in the western entrance passage
(with drill marks clearly visible), and mattock marks
and faggots in the terminal area. One faggot (pine
torch) was noted implanted into the mud of a digging,
apparently there since the Civil W ar.” 95
T he lea ching o f the p eter d irt rep orted ly too k place
a t th e riv er just be lo w th e kn o b . T h e sm a ll stream
flow ing into th e S outh B ranch from th e e ast, just south
o f th e k nob, is labele d “S a ltp e tre R u n ” o n a n o ld deed;
th is m ay als o have se rve d as a le a ch in g site . “A large
o ld kettle, reputedly used at the cave, is located o n a
fa rm about a half-m ile north.”
This w as a sm all
o p e ra tion. 96
T h ree possible niter caves can be found along th e
gorge of T ho rn C reek. W est of the strea m on H orner
M ou ntain is H uffm an (H offm an) S chool C ave. It consists m ainly of a single line ar strike passage
approaching 1000 feet in length. Its cross section varies
greatly w ith m axim um dim ensions o f 3 0 by 30 feet.
Little is know n beyond D avies' statem ent that “75 feet
from the entrance a passage opens to the w est as a low
craw lw ay excavated by saltpeter m iners....” 97
A local tradition holds that M ax H arper m ade
gunpow der on T horn C re ek near th is cave som etim e in
the m id-19th century. 98 M inor R exrod e C ave on N eds
M ountain east of Thorn C ree k is s om ew hat sim ilar to
H offm an S chool in pattern and dim ensions. 99 It has not
generally been recognized as a saltpeter cave. O n the
basis of p hysical evidence, h ow ever, H auer describ es it
as a “sm all to m edium ” operation, w ith “extensive
digg ing in the first few hu nd red fee t, w ith m arks,
faggots, and w ood rem nants rem aining.” 100
T he A m ick pow der m ill opera te d near P ow der M ill
H ole on Thorn C reek and “is believed to h ave obtained
its saltpeter from the M inor R exrode C ave.” 101 Tory
C ave is also in this vicinity. If its entran ce collapsed
during the R evolution, then it obviously w as not m ined.
B ut another version of its history ass erts that the
collap se d id n ot occu r un til the C ivil W ar, in w hich ca se
it m ight have served as an antebellu m source of
nitrates. W ithout access to the cave's interior, the
m agnitude and nature of its niter o pe ration cannot be
determ ined, if indeed it ever existed.
There is evidence for a t least tw o niter w orks and
tw o p ow de r m ills alon g T ho rn C ree k or its tribu taries.
O ne site for processing saltpete r w as on D ry R un; its
use is a ssociated w ith, but m ay not be lim ited to, the
C ivil W ar. T h e o th e r w as at S innett C ave. T he tw o
pow der w orks, already m entioned, w ere those of M ax
H arper and John and C atharine A m ick. M ore inform ation is available concerning the latter, w hich w as
destroyed in an explosion.
“The late Gilbert Pitsenbarger said it was believed
that a nail got into the powder that caused the
explosion. He said the mill had a wooden stomper to
crush the materials which was run by water power.
Early one morning, John and Catharine Amick started
up the mill and had gone home for breakfast for they
had a number of children at home when the mill
exploded. Mr. Pitsenbarger said he remembered
seeing a log of the mill hanging in the fork of a tree
many years later... the neighbors heard the explosion
and expected to find a house full of orphaned
children.” 102
Follow ing the destruction of their pow der m ill, the
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A m icks le ft P en dleton an d se ttled in N icho las C ou nty,
p ro b a b ly in 1835. Th e re th e y o p era te d a g rist m ill and
saw m ill, safer de vices n ot pron e to e xplosion s. 103
M ill R un C ave is loca ted in a cliff a lon g M ill R un just
south of K line. T he cave consists p rim arily of a single
lin e a r passage abou t 1 0 00 lo n g , “w ith a n a ve ra g e height
o f 3 0 feet and w idth o f 1 5 fe e t.” A c c o rd in g to local
tradition, the cave w as m ined for niter in the early 19th
ce n tu ry. 104 T he first 1 0 0 fe e t o f d ry p a ssa g e , u p to eight
fe e t h igh, follow s a 2 0 -fo o t e n tra n ce c ra w l, a n d contains
th e o n ly section w ith e vid e n ce o f m in in g . It is labeled
th e “S altpetre P assa g e ” o n a 1 97 0 m a p .
H auer
describ ed th is opera tio n as “very sm all” w ith “little
physical evidence,” w hich included “som e diggings w ith
m attock m a rks and a few fagots.” H e also refers to “a
la rg e saltpetre bo ilin g ke ttle , u se d by th e en tire K line
a re a population in p re -1 8 6 5 d a y s,” a n d w h ich “w as
w a sh e d aw ay from its lo ca tio n ne a r th e old m ill at K line
in th e late 1940s (in th e 19 4 9 flo o d ? ) a n d never
recovered.” H e also found “no evidence of significan t
early visitation beyond the dry entrance passage.” 105
P e ter R un C ave is lo c a te d th re e m ile s north of
F ranklin on the north side o f a sm all gorge cut by P eters
R un th ro u g h a n O riskany-H elderb erg arch. T his sm all
cave con sists m erely of tw o d usty pa rallel craw lw ays
e xte n ding 90 feet fro m th e e n tra n ce sh e lte r. Its scale of
exploita tio n fo r nite r w as equally sm all.
“The cave is reported to have been mined for
saltpetre by the Indians, but this was undoubtedly a
Civil W ar (or Pre) operation. The entire cave seems
to have been dug out. A few faggot torches were
found, and some poorly preserved mattock marks.
About 1923, a group of Boy Scouts removed several
scrapers and other relics from the cave and burned
them. Some sort of pipe or slide device is reputed to
have been used for dropping the dirt to the level of
Peter Run where it was leached. Only a few vat-fulls
of dirt could have been removed from this cave.” 106
N ot far aw ay, acro ss th e S o u th B ra n ch fro m R uddle,
is M an dy W alters C ave . The p re s en ce o f m attock
m a rk s a nd drill holes in this sm all cave offers definite
evidence that it w as m ined for saltpeter. 107
In D ece m be r 18 31 , a co llection of som e o f the m ost
prom inent and distinguished m en in the O ld D om inion
m et in R ichm ond to form the V irginia H istorical and
P hilosophical S ociety. U ltim ately, this organization
w ould restrict its interests solely to history, becom ing the
V irginia H istorical S ociety in 1870. B ut initially, its
m em bers sought to discover and study the natural
features of the state as w ell. In N ovem ber 1833,
B enjam in D olbeare, a R andolph C ounty physician, sent
a letter to the society's recording secretary, in w hich he
enclosed sp ecim ens of stone and “2 R attle S nakes
teeth” an d rattles, accom panied by com m entary. W ith
th e peculiar spelling and style typical of the tim e, h is
letter also rep orted on sev e ra l c ave s, on e o f w hich
w ould seem to describe R andolph C oun ty's S inks of
G andy C reek.
“Between, what is here called, the Aleghany and Rich
mountains, heads a branch of the dry fork a tributary
of Cheat River, a ridge extends itself quiet across,
from one mountain to the other, and this branc(h),
after keeping its course about 3 miles runs under this
ridge which (is) about 3/4 of mile wide at its base, and
very high.” 108
D olbe are a lso described certain p he no m en a o f karst
hyd rolog y in P en dleton C ou nty.
“Reeds Creek a tributary of the S. fork of the
Potomac, after it runs 3 miles sinks under the N.
mountain, and appears again at the western base, a
distance of 4 miles the way the road goes, w(h)ere
stands a grist-mill, with sufficient water to grind, this
fact has been proved, by putting chaf and brand on
the opposite side, which came through, this water
empties itself into the N. fork. This is in Pendleton
county.” 109
T h e g o od doctor seem s to assert that the w aters
sin kin g in R eeds C reek re surge at G erm any V alle y's
Judy S pring.
D espite the alleged crude tracing
experim ent cited as “proof,” this contention seem s
astronom ically im pro bable.
R eeds C re ek sinks in
S ilurian-D evonian lim estones; Judy S prin g issues from
O rdovician lim estones. They are separated by thousands of fe et of insoluble strata . A lso, R eeds C re ek is
located in the S outh B ranch V alley, not the S outh F ork
V alley.
CAVE EXPLORATION BEFORE THE CIVIL W AR:
N ot all the ante b e llu m P e n d le to n ca ve re ferences
p e rta in to niter m inin g . T h e re w a s in te re st in c aves as
natural phenom ena. O ne dim ension w as a rudim entary
con cern w ith karst fea tures to furthe r de scriptive
science. A noth er w as th e fa scinatio n of o rd inary people
w ith exploration and adventure.
S om etim e in the 1850s, probably in 1854 according
to his biographer, the popular and versatile artist-author
D avid H unter S trother toured the S outh B ra nch V alley of
H am pshire and H ardy, P endleton's N orth F ork, and the
w ilds of ea stern R andolph (w hich until 1 856 included
Tucker).
N ot for tw o decades w as an illustrated
narrative of this journe y published.
Entitled The
Mountains and prese n te d under the pseudonym “P orte
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C ra yon,” it appeared in te n in sta llm e n ts in Harper's New
Monthly Magazine be tw e e n A p ril 1 8 72 a nd S e ptem ber
1875.
W ithin the fram ew ork of a travelogue, The Mountains
is a tale of a m on th-lon g exp ed ition o f nine pe op le, five
g e n tle m en s portsm e n a n d fo u r la d ie s, se e kin g diversion
a n d a d venture. R en d e re d in a h u m o ro u s lite ra ry style,
p e rh a ps m ost rem in isce n t o f W a sh in g to n Irving, the
rom antic subplot is fiction, and the characters
som etim es seem eccentric ca ric a ture s. Y et there is
o fte n “pains taking re a lism ” in S tro th e r's d e piction of
m ounta in landscapes and people, a nd h is w ork is
co n sidered fairly accu ra te so cia l h isto ry. H is d raw ings
a n d d e scriptions of th e R o a rin g P la in s, th e cra gs and
a rch e s of the N orth F o rk (in clu d in g th e “cliffs of
S eneca”), and B lackw ater Falls are re c ognizable to
m o d e rn cavers w ho fre q u e nt th e s e p la ce s, a s are the
surnam es of m ountain folk.
S trother portraye d th e S o u th B ra n ch , e sp e cia lly “the
celebrated valley of M oorefield, the garden of V irginia,”
a s a favored locale w ith p ro sp e ro u s fa rm s, “h a n dsom e
b rick residences,” fa t ca ttle , a n d fin e ho rse s. The
inhabitants residing on the broad bottom land s w ere
w e a lthy, intellectually a n d so cia lly cultivated, hospitable,
a n d “am ong the be st e q ue stria n s in V irg in ia .” B ut
prim itive , frontier conditions lingered in the D ry F ork
a re a of eastern R an d o lp h C o u n ty, a n d e sp e cially the
C anaan area w as an incom pletely explored “ba ck o f
b e yo nd” in the 1850 s. T h o u g h h is p o rtra y a l w as not
id e a lized, S trother a d m ire d th e se lf-su fficie n t independe nce of the m ou ntaine ers. 110
B y te m pera m ent, fam ily backgro und, a nd life experie n ce , S trother w as a n d w o u ld re m a in a g e n tle m an of
O ld V irginia. B ut he w a s a lso a n a tio n a list, a n d w ith the
a d ve nt of C ivil W a r c a st h is fo rtu n e s, how ever
re lu ctantly, w ith the N o rth , risin g to th e ra n k o f b rigadier
genera l in th e U nion A rm y. H is biogra pher inte rp re ts his
g lo w ing depiction of th e S o u th B ra n ch e sp e cia lly as a
“su b tle rejection of th e O ld D o m in io n ,” a n d a reflection
of his desire “to focus on the glories of W est V irgin ia .”
H e w o u ld becom e th e first im portant W est V irg inia
literary figure , a representative of the “local color”
school. 111
Th e m em bers o f th e pa rty o f a d ve n tu re rs featured
in S tro ther's tale, th e ir p e rso n a lity tra its su g g e sted by
th e ir nam es, include su ch ch a ra cte rs a s th e M exican
W a r veteran M ajor M a rtia l, th e b e a u tifu l yo u n g w idow
R h o d a D endron, th e N e w E n g la n d sch o o lteacher
P rudence P rim rose, and th e lighthearted youth R ichard
R attle b ra in, w ho “has not b ra ins enough to ta ke tra gic
view s of anything.”
P o rte C rayon is re p re se n te d b y L a w re n ce L aureate,
w ho agonizes over the choice betw een a life of action
as opposed to one of poetic contem plation. Throughout
Laureate and the M ajor are com petitors for the
affections of R hoda. B ut typical of the local color genre,
the characters and plot are secondary to the depiction
of m ountain life and landscapes.
Am ong m any
episodes are a successful bear hunt on the w ild,
w indsw ept R oaring P lains, a visit to A dam son's store at
M outh o f S eneca, and follow ing the return from eastern
R andolph, a tournam ent at M oorefield, w here Laureate,
M artial, an d R attleb rain co m pe te a s knigh ts. 112
From the perspective of speleohistory, the high point
of this expedition w as a visit to the S inks of G andy, “the
ultima thule of A nglo-S axon civilizatio n.” G andy C re ek is
a north-flow ing trib uta ry o f D ry F ork of C heat R iver in
ea ste rn R andolph C ounty. N ear its headw ate rs th is
stream follow s a subterranean course for alm ost 3000
feet under a spur of Y okum K nob. S ituated in one of the
hig hest karst areas in th e A ppala chia n s, th e cave's
picturesque south portal, is an opening 30 feet w ide and
15 feet high in a G reenbrier lim estone bluff, at 3500 feet
elevation. The dim ensions of the m ain stream passage
vary fro m 3 0 to 60 fe et in w idth and six to 30 fe et in
height. 113
In the 18 50 s the roa d to the S inks w as “no t m uch
m ore than a cattle path,” and the pristine w aters of
G andy C reek yielded prodigious num bers of fish w ith no
particular skill or effort required on the part of the
an glers. A lon g the w ay the ad ven turers m ee t such
m ountain people as the patriarch S oldier W hite, A aron
A rm antrout, Jesse H etterick, D illy W yatt, and nim rod
T om M ullinx. F or th ese isolate d fo lk a visit to F ra nklin
or B everly represented an encounter w ith civilization. 114
In sharp contrast to today's blue grass pa stures at the
S inks, virtually the e ntire region w as covered w ith a
virgin hem lock forest and a tangled understory of laurel
and rhododendron. P orte C rayon 's draw ing of the
sou the rn, up strea m “entran ce to the tun ne l of G an dy”
reflects a high de gree of verisim ilitud e, tho ug h the text
exaggerates its dim ensions. In poetic language he
describes their approach w here
“descending by an easy slope, (we) entered a glen of
singular beauty. Hemmed in between a steep and
rugged hill-side and a savage forest of dark-browed
hemlocks, it lies soft and smiling...; while through the
midst winds the sparkling amber-tinted stream of
Gandy.
“Looking up the glen, the vista is bright as fairy-land,
ending with a distant glimpse of blue hills. Turning
down stream, a grim, menacing cliff rises square
athwart the glen, closing it suddenly and shocking
you with its unexpected propinquity. At its base is an
arched opening 50 feet wide by about 20 in height— a
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gaping mouth which swallows the little river at a
gulp. There is no gurgling nor choking, but the
stream glides in gently and lovingly, like a young
snake running down its mother's throat to
sleep,... Altogether the scene is peculiar and
impressive...
“W ading in some 40 or 50 yards, we find the
subterranean stream still smooth and practicable,
without any roaring or other indication of an
interruption in its current. But its winding course soon
shuts out the daylight, and as we had no torches, no
attempt was made to push our exploration further.
“It is said that persons have made their way through
the tunnel, and the estimated distance from entrance
to exit is a mile and a quarter. The distance around
by the road is about two miles. The information on
the subject was both vague and meagre, as the
mountaineers are usually totally indifferent in regard
to these natural curiosities, or superstitiously timid
about undertaking an exploration. In fact, no one
cared to talk about the tunnel of Gandy, and the idea
haunted me that there was some mystery connected
with the place which made the mountaineers rather
avoid the subject.” 115
W ith co nside rab le lite ra ry licen se, the na rrative
portrays the in te rio r of the cave through the adventure
o f R ichard R attleb ra in . O n e afte rn o o n , g u ided by
m ountain lass P eggy T e te rs part of the w ay, the party
trave l on ho rseb ack to the up strea m en tran ce o f G an dy,
at w hich point D ick, m iffed by som e unfriendly
co m m ents by P rude n ce P rim ro se , im p u lsive ly d ecides
to leave his com panions and travel on foot overland to
th e lo w er entranc e, e x p e ctin g to re jo in th e pa rty and
reclaim his horse at that point.
B ut the ro ugh te rrain and laure l th ickets slo w h is
p ro g ress and, w he n h is co m p a n io n s a rrive at the
u p stream entrance, D ick is n o w h e re to b e s e e n. The
p a rty, tired of w aitin g , re tu rn to th e ir lo d g in g at S oldier
W h ite 's.
Laureate , a n xio u s fo r D ick's sa fe ty and
lin gerin g fo r a tim e, clim bs th e ris e above th e stream 's
e xit a nd presently s h o ots a w o lf. In th e w a n in g daylight
h o u rs, both Laureate a nd R a ttle b ra in have discon certing
e xp e riences in the e e rie a n d d eso la te fo re st a b ove the
ca ve , each half im a g in in g th a t h is se n se s a re playing
tricks on him . E ac h th in ks h e h e a rs vo ice s, o r p erhaps
“a so und of w ater de e p u n d e rg ro u n d — a s tra n g e sort of
m o a n ing and w hisp e rin g .” E a ch d ete cts th e pungent
a ro m a of sm oke from a w o o d fire , s e e m in g to a rise from
cre vice s leading to th e de p th s b e lo w . E a c h catch a
chilling and fleeting glance of a stealthy m enacing figure
m oving through the forest.
L a u reate nearly falls into a pit, im agining for a
m om en t th a t in the black vo id h e se es sp arks.
M eanw hile, D ick, in a distracted m ental state
exa cerba ted by h is w ild a nd lon ely surrou nd ing s,
stu m b le s into a sinkhole shaft (w hether the sam e or a
different one is not m ade clear), from w h ich he cannot
extricate him self. H e finds him self in the tunnel of
G andy in th e m idst o f a gang of outla w s, p ossibly cattle
rustlers, transacting their nefarious busin ess about a
ro arin g d riftw ood fire . U nable to convincingly explain his
pre sence, h e is bound and left by th e fire w ith a heavily
arm ed guard.
A fter an interval of exhausted sleep, he is aw akened
by a m ysterious young m ountain w om an, w ho has
induced a deep slum ber in the sentinel w ith the aid of a
flask of apple brandy. In the darkness of the cavern,
and w ith the fire burning low , D ick is unable to identify
h is rescuer. S h e leads him through the cave, at o n e
point d iving into a sum p, w ith D ick clinging to her in
frantic despera tio n, a nd em erg ing on th e oth er side in
total d arkness. W ithout lights of any kind, they follow
the stream current to the upper entrance a nd exit into a
glorious starlit night.
D ick's savior vanishes before he can ascertain her
identity, but bone w e a ry, fam ished w ith hunger,
bleeding, h is soaked clothes in tatters, D ick is safe.
La ter, w he n he reco un ts his story to h is com pa nion s,
they assum e the m ysterious w om an to be P eggy T eter,
w hich D ick stou tly de nies. H is frien ds a lso e xpress
doubt as to the veracity of D ick's tale, attributing it to an
extravagant im agination or a dream induced by strong
drink. 116
It is a virtual certainty that the ad venturesom e
S troth er and his com ra des explore d th e cave , a n d his
acco un t sug ge sts a vagu e fam iliarity w ith its pa ssag es.
P erhaps he noted certain features, exaggerating and
rearranging them for the purposes of his story. The
1940 m ap show s a sinkhole and “chim ney choked w ith
rubble” about 600 feet from the dow nstream entrance ,
th ro ugh w hich D ick R attlebra in m ight fa ll. A nd th ere is
a “curtain of rock” or “duckunder” (Jack P reble m ade
m uch of this) leading to the dry dow nstre am entrance,
but there is no siphon requiring com plete im m ersion,
unless at very high w ater. A lso his illustration and
verbal description of the north entrance, “three arched
passages side by side in a perpendicular cliff,” does not
correspond closely to the tw o exits w hich exist today, a
low er w et one through the stream and a higher dry
one. 117
T here is m uch evid ence to dispute P orte C ra yon's
assertion th a t “m ounta ineers are usually to ta lly
indifferent in regard to these natural curiosities or
superstitiously tim id about undertaking an exploration.”
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L o ca l pe op le often disp la ye d a se n se o f cu rio sity and
a d venture tow ard their caves. A n exam ple is M itch e ll
C ave, locate d on th e n orthw este rn flank o f S w eedlin H ill
in P en dleton C ou nty. O f hu n d re ds o f na m es, initials,
and dates found in th e cave, at least ten record visits
d u rin g or before 186 0 , th e e a rlie st o f a cce p te d authenticity as far back as 1 8 08 . 118
Th e first explore rs kn o w n to p en e tra te th e tortuous
en tran ce craw lw ays lea ding to the large roo m in (K en ny)
S im m o ns C ave inscrib e d th e da te o n a w a ll— 7 M ay
1 8 4 7 . 119 A m ong th e da te s fro m K e e (K e y ) C ave on
Frie n ds R un near F ra n klin a re tw o fro m 1 8 56 , recording
visits in July and A u g u st o f th a t ye a r. A c co m panying
inscriptions include “Franklin, V irg inia” and the state
m otto, Sic Semper Tyrannus. T h e m a n y n a m es and
d a te s indicate that e xcu rsio n s to th is ca ve w ere a
po pu lar pa stim e in the m id-nine tee nth ce ntury. 120 S uch
exam ples could be m ultiplied at great length.
E ND NO TES :
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
D ouglas W . Plem ons, “The N iter Gardener's Guide and H om e
C om panion: The Saltpeter Cave Survey, 1994,” Journal of Spelean
H istory, January-M arch 1995, V29p39. This list identifies 669
saltpeter caves in 15 states. W est Virginia has 55 and Virginia, 81.
Those counties with ten or m ore listed caves num ber 17; those with
eight or m ore, 28. Only six counties have an equal or greater
num ber of listed niter caves than Pendleton. These are Jackson
(AL-18), Fentress (TN -15), Grundy (TN -17), Van Buren (TN -16),
G reenbrier (W V-18), and Bath (VA-14). A “Site Determ ination
Assessm ent” accom panies each cave nam e: D for “definitely
m ined,” S for “suspected to have been m ined,” and Q for a
“questionable site.” The 14 caves listed for Pendleton include
C ave Knob (Q), C ave M ountain #1 (D), C ave M ountain #2 (Q),
Franklin Saltpeter (D ), H am ilton (D ) , H uffm an School (Q ), M ill R un
(D ), N ew Trout (D), Peter Run (D), Saltpeter (D), Schoolhouse (D),
Sinnett-Thorn M ountain (D), Tory (Q), and Trout (D). Saltpeter,
despite its nam e, and H am ilton should be deleted from this list;
there is no evidence of m ining in either. M inor R exrode C ave and
M andy W alters C ave should be added— this is from a Fred Grady
letter, January 21st, 1997; D avies' C averns of W est Virginia, p234;
Saltpetre Cave R eport Form : M inor R exrode C ave; and the Peter
M . H auer papers. This writer has in his possession photocopies of
item s from the Hauer collection pertaining to Pendleton County and
the Virginias. M any of these item s are notes in unpolished form .
D e Paepe and H ill, H istorical Geography of U nited States Saltpeter
C aves, p88.
Faust, Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p36; M onte Alan
C alvert, “The Search for a D om estic Source of Saltpetre for U se in
M aking Gunpowder, 1620-1920,” H agley M useum R esearch
R eport, 1961, p10-12; Stuart S. Sprague, “Saltpeter and the W ar of
1812,” M ET G rotto N ew s, V16n2p20-22; H auer, Saltpetre Mining in
W est Virginia, p45; M arion O. Sm ith, Saltpeter Mining in E ast
Tennessee (M aryville, 1990), p2-3; and C arol A. H ill and D uane
D ePaepe, “Saltpeter M ining in Kentucky C aves,” R egister of the
Kentucky H istorical Society, 1979, V77p247.
Quoted in Faust, Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p37.
Saltpeter and gunpowder num bers often seem inconsistent; it can
be doubted that the yields of sm all niter operations are included in
aggregate num bers with any regularity.
Sprague, “Saltpeter and the W ar of 1812,” figure 2, p29.
Production num bers were taken from N iles' W eekly R egister, M ay
30th, 1821, #39p213.
Tench C oxe, A Statem ent of the Arts and Manufactures of the
U nited States of Am erica for the Year 1810 (Philadelphia: Printed
by A. C ornm an, 1814), p109-14. Virginia's aggregate 1810
saltpeter production of 59,175 pounds was valued at $16,243.88.
The two Kentucky counties outproducing Pendleton were
M ontgom ery (44,575 pounds) and W ayne (51,785 pounds).
W arren County, location of M am m oth Cave, yielded 22,850
pounds. In 1810 there were 63 powder m ills within K entucky; these
produced 115,716 pounds valued at $38,561. Kentucky output of
saltpeter was 201,937 pounds worth $33,648. East Tennessee
produced $26,426 worth of gunpowder and $2,913 worth of
saltpeter. The W estern D istrict of Tennessee had 21 pow der m ills,
the output of which was 44,373 pounds valued at $22,186.50.
W estern Tennessee had 22 saltpeter caves which produced
144,895 pounds worth $18,326.16. Ibid., 125-28, 138-39, 142-43.
8
D uane D e Paepe, G unpow der from Mam m oth Cave: The Saga of
Saltpetre Mining Before and During the W ar of 1812 (H ays,
Kansas: C ave Pearl Press, 1985), pages 7 and 32-33. The m arket
price per pound of niter rose from about 17 cents in 1810 to 75
cents/one dollar during the war years.
9
Pendleton C ounty, p94.
10
Ibid.; Sm ith, Saltpeter Mining in East Tennessee, p7; Gary A.
O 'D ell, “Bluegrass Powderm en: A Sketch of the Industry,” R egister
of the Kentucky H istorical Society, Spring 1989, V87p109.
11
Pendleton C ounty, p94.
12
D igest of Accounts of Manufacturing Establishm ents in the United
States, and of Their Manufactures. This was published under
direction of the Secretary of State, in pursuance of a Resolution of
C ongress, of M arch 30th, 1822. (W ashington: Printed by Gales &
Seaton, 1823).
13
Ibid. For Pendleton County, the census described only the Trout
R ock niter works, but there was probably other saltpeter production
and certainly num erous other establishm ents such as gristm ills,
saw m ills, distilleries, tanneries, blacksm ith shops, etc.
14
C ensus of the Enum eration of the Inhabitants and Statistics of the
U nited States (W ashington: Printed by Thom as Allen, 1841), p174.
Virginia's total 1840 gunpowder production from all ten m ills was
2,850 pounds. Giles, W ashington, and W ythe counties had two
m ills each. Georgia and Alabam a had no powder m ills in 1840.
Tennessee had ten m ills yielding 10,333 pounds. Kentucky's
eleven m ills produced 282,500 pounds. Ibid., 174, 210, 222, 258,
270.
15
Jos. C . G. Kennedy, Superintendent, Abstract of the Statistics of
Manufactures According to the Returns of the Seventh Census,
p96.
16
Manufactures of the United States in 1860 (W ashington:
G overnm ent Printing Office, 1865), p626.
17
M orton, Oren F., Pendleton C ounty, p215.
18
Ibid., p265.
19
Ibid., 492; R icketts, H istory of the Trout R ock C ave, 298.
20
M orton, Pendleton C ounty, pages 278 and 281.
21
Faust, Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p37.
22
Pendleton Tim es, February 15th, 1996, p5.
23
C alhoun, C averns of Pendleton, p1.
24
Pendleton Tim es, February 15th, 1996, p5. H ively Gap is on
South Fork M ountain on the road (present U .S. R oute 33) between
Franklin and Oak Flat. Although not shown on topographic m aps,
presum ably H ively Gap R un flows eastward toward the South Fork
R iver at Oak Flat.
25
Ibid.
26
Jane S. M cC olloch, Springs of W est Virginia, Vol. V-6A (W est
Virginia Geological and Econom ic Survey, 1986), p293.
27
Garton et al., “W est Virginia's Trout R ock C aves Purchased by
the NSS,” p129; (Johnny Arvin Dahm er), “Sum walt Gap Sign To Be
R elocated To C orrect Spot,” Pendleton Tim es, June 5th, 1997, p5.
According to this last article, the D epartm ent of H ighways plans to
replace the road sign “Sum walt Gap” with one which reads
“P owder M ill H ollow.”
28
H opeville and Upper Tract Topographic Quadrangles, U SG S 7.5'
Series.
29
Saltpetre Cave R eport Form : C ove Knob C ave. Peter M . H auer
papers.
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30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
(Johnny Arvin Dahm er), “Abundance Of Fish Once Found At The
Trout R ock W ater Hole,” Pendleton Tim es, July 10th, 1997, p5. The
construction of the Franklin and M onterey Pike partially filled this
hole and dim inished the quality of this ideal trout habitat.
Angelo I. George, “Saltpeter and Gunpowder M anufacturing in
Kentucky,” Filson C lub H istory Quarterly, April 1986, V60p189-217.
G eorge's concluding statem ent em phasizes that “adequate
transportation was the prim ary criterion used for the selection of
saltpeter sites for m ining developm ent and the locatiion of
gunpowder factories.”
R icketts, Trout R ock C ave, p298; M orton— Pendleton C ounty,
p326— lists a John M ifford under pioneer fam ilies no longer
represented in Pendleton in 1910. These were not included am ong
1790 tithables but lived in Pendleton before 1802.
R icketts, Trout R ock C ave, p298-99.
Ibid., p299; Manuscript C ensus of Manufacturing for 1820:
Virginia. C all No. M -2, R oll N o. 18, p. 218. N ational Archives
M icrofilm Publications. Special C ollections and Archives, King
Library N orth, U niversity of Kentucky.
M orton, Pendleton C ounty, p359.
M artin, G azeteer of Virginia, p416.
R icketts, Trout R ock C ave, p299.
Ibid.; M orton, Pendleton C ounty, pages 227, 238, 373, 418. In
1867 M cC oy conveyed the Trout R ock caves property to the heirs
of W illiam H iner (1822-1862), who died as a m ilitia m em ber in
C onfederate m ilitary service. W illiam had m arried Catherine Kee,
daughter of Jam es B. Kee and granddaughter of Aaron Kee.
C alhoun m ay have contributed to this confusion since he
som etim es referred to the saltpeter cave at Trout R ock as H am ilton
C ave, when he really m eant Trout C ave. C averns of Pendleton.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, pages 212-13, 227-28, 251-3;
Faust, Saltpetre Caves, 37; Garton et. al., Trout R ock C aves, 128.
As of July 1995, H am ilton C ave had been surveyed to a total length
of 4.6 m iles with an internal relief of 240 feet. N ew Trout exceeded
2.5 m iles in length with a vertical extent of 120 feet. Trout C ave's
aggregate surveyed passage was alm ost 2.3 m iles and relief 91
feet. Bob Gulden, U SA Long C ave List, July 10th, 1995.
Faust, Saltpetre Caves, p40; C alhoun, 'Tw ixt N orth and South,
p111. Calhoun interviewed surviving Civil W ar veterans in the
early 1900s and possibly even before. H e often published his
historical sketches, including those pertaining to niter and other
caves, in the county newspapers. H e refers to only one cave,
presum ably Trout (Big Cave), and one trough or slide at Trout
R ock. Yet there is abundant evidence that N ew Trout (Little Cave)
was nearly or quite as im portant a source of niter. W hile
undocum ented, it seem s likely that New Trout, 90 feet lower in
elevation than Trout, also had som e kind of slide or trough to carry
the peter dirt to the valley floor. If it happened that both caves were
being m ined and there was only one trough, it seem s logical that,
for the greater gain in efficiency, it would serve the higher and less
accessible entrance. It is also possible that N ew Trout's niterbearing earth had been m ined nearly to exhaustion before the C ivil
W ar. Faust states that in N ew Trout “a sm all quantity of petre-dirt
still rem ains, although...this cave was thoroughly cleaned.” If the
“cleaning” occurred before 1861, this m ight explain the reference to
only one active niter cave and one trough. Also the brief 1835
quotation from the G azeteer of Virginia, reproduced above,
m entions only one cave, and its entrance location and description
fit N ew Trout far better than Trout. Perhaps the earth from the
lower and m ore accessible Little C ave had been m ined m ore
intensively earlier, leaving the Big C ave as the sole or prim ary
focus of activity during the Civil W ar. The evidence for this line of
argum ent is suggestive but inconclusive.
Burton Faust, ”Saltpetre M ining Tools U sed in C aves,” NSS
Bulletin , D ecem ber 1955 V17p8; Faust, Saltpetre Caves, p31;
Sm ith, Saltpeter Mining in East Tennessee, p1. A detailed and
technical treatm ent of the niter production process can be found in
Burton Faust, Saltpetre M ining in M am m oth C ave, Ky., p58-64.
In Kentucky's M am m oth Cave, an elaborate system of wooden
pipes carried water by gravity flow from a waterfall at the historic
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45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
entrance to the leaching vats, while the nitrate liquor was pum ped
through a second wooden pipeline to the surface boiling furnaces.
D e Paepe, Gunpow der from Mam m oth C ave, p14-15. A log pipe
system was also used at Big Bone C ave (V an Buren C ounty,
Tennessee) and possibly also Organ C ave (G reenbrier C ounty,
W est Virginia), am ong others. Leach water for two V irginia caves,
Buchanan Saltpeter (Sm yth C ounty) and Tawney's (G iles C ounty)
cam e from stream s within the caves. Larry E. M atthews,
D escriptions of Tennessee Caves, Bulletin 69 (N ashville: D ivision
of Geology, 1971), p15-16; Burton Faust, C aves, C aravans, and
C annons, unpublished typescript, III-13, p31-32, Box 2, File 7,
Faust C ollection, D epartm ent of Library Special C ollections,
M anuscripts, W estern Kentucky U niversity, Bowling Green,
Kentucky. N othing com parable to the above was found in
Pendleton C ounty.
Faust alludes to the water wheel as an “unconfirm ed report,” but
at least partial confirm ation can be found in a separate reference to
a m illrace. C aves, C aravans, and C annons, note, III-47.
Manuscript C ensus of Manufactures, 1820.
Interview with H endron W aggy, Franklin, W V, no date. Faust
C ollection, Box 3, File 3; Faust, C aves, C aravans, and C annons,
III-36. In Box 3, File 2, there are brief notes referring to Herndon
W aggey, M oyers, W V (on H oover M ountain). W aggy, obviously
having derived his inform ation second-hand from conversations
with his father, seem ed to be aware of only one active niter cave
and one trough at Trout R ock. It was recalled that a M artin M oyers
hauled ashes from Jack M ountain, and that a John Patenberger
(Pitsenbarger?, Puffenbarger?) was a tim ber cutter and burner.
Faust, Saltpetre M ining in M am m oth C ave, Ky., p73-74. Faust
notes the proxim ity of Jack M ountain to seven niter caves, raising
the possibility that this source supplied operations other than Trout
R ock.
U nited States W ar D epartm ent, The W ar of the R ebellion: A
C om pilation of the Official R ecords of the U nion and C onfederate
Arm ies, 70 vols. in 128 (W ashington: Governm ent Printing Office,
1881-1901), Ser. I, V33p228-29.
(Johnny Arvin D ahm er), “Sum walt Gap Sign,” Pendleton Tim es,
June 5th, 1997, p5; O'D ell, “B luegrass Powderm en,” V103p111-12.
O 'D ell provides an excellent sum m ary of the econom ics and
m echanics of powder production.
Faust, Saltpetre Mining Tools, p10-13; C aves, C aravans, and
C annons, p14-15; D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p175-76;
C alhoun, 'Tw ixt N orth and South, p111.
Faust, Saltpetre Mining Tools, p9; D e Paepe, G unpow der from
Mam m oth C ave, p11; Faust, Saltpetre Caves, p40 and 44;
interview with G. Alexander R obertson, July 21st, 1968, Peter M .
H auer papers. The first cham ber in New Trout is nam ed the “Fagot
R oom .” D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p228. As recently as
1983 Trout Cave revealed a “bundle of fagots” m ade up of “two
unburned fagots m ade from split wood and a binding consisting of
two pieces of bark tied at the ends in square knots. The size of the
binding indicated that the bundle once consisted of perhaps two
dozen fagots. Presum ably the bundle was brought into the cave
and individual fagots used as needed.” Fred Grady, “R ecent
Paleontological W ork at the John Guilday C ave Preserve,” D .C .
Speleograph, Septem ber
1983, V39p9. According to D avies, “in Trout and S innit (sic)
C aves, a thin soot-like deposit which covers the walls, floors, and
ceilings was form erly thought to be soot resulting from saltpeter
m ining, but spectroscopic exam ination indicates that part of it is
m anganese dioxide.” C averns of W est Virginia, p22-23. An
analysis of the black dust in N ew Trout indicated that it is “ordinary
soot.” Fred Grady, “New Trout Survey C ontinued,” Potom ac C aver,
January 1988, V31p5; Bob Glicker, “M y First Survey Trip,” D .C .
Speleograph, February 1995, V50p8; “From the Archives,” D .C .
Speleograph, M arch 1990, V46p14.
Burton Faust, “The Form ation of Saltpetre in C aves,” NSS
Bulletin, N ovem ber 1949, V11p22.
Faust, Saltpetre Mining Tools, p10-11.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p228 and 253; D .C .
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63
64
65
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67
68
69
70
71
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76
77
Speleograph, D ecem ber 1986 V40p1-2.
Faust, Saltpetre Caves, p40; a second site of piles of exhausted
niter earth was “at the run crossing the road a half-m ile north of
Trout R ock....” C alhoun, 'Tw ixt N orth and South, p110-11.
Faust, Saltpetre Caves, p40; Faust, Saltpetre Mining Tools, p12
and 18. A photograph of a ladder once in Trout C ave appears on
page 12. A photograph of the Trout C ave trough, which has long
since disappeared, is found in D avies, C averns of W est Virginia,
p254. D .C . Speleograph, Septem ber 1983, V39p9.
Ackie Loyd, “Trip R eports,” D .C . Speleograph , January 1952,
V6p4-5. Two other item s found were “the crown of a felt hat,
vintage unknown” and an “ancient leather shoe.”
Fred Grady, “U nusual Tool from the Guilday C ave Preserve,”
Potom ac C aver , July 1988, V31n6-7. Grady speculates that the
ham m er m ight have been lost in the confusion attending one of the
Federal raids on the works during the C ivil W ar.
Burton Faust, “N ew Saltpeter C ave D iscovered N ear Franklin, W .
Va.” N SS N ew s (January 1952), V10p5.
Faust, Saltpetre Caves, 40.
Faust, N ew Saltpeter C ave Discovered, p5.
Ibid.
Acker Petit, “Found! A Lost C avern,” Pittsburgh Press, February
14th, 1954, p10, Faust C ollection, Box 3, File 2.
Peter Hauer, “M ore Blasted Saltpetre C aves,” Speleo D igest:
1967, p2-54.
Fred Grady, “New Trout Survey C ontinued,” Potom ac C aver,
January 1988, V31p4-5; Fred Grady, “The John Guilday C ave
Preserve Is 5 Years O ld,” Potom ac C aver, June 1988) V31p7; Fred
G rady, “Recent Trips to the Guilday C ave Preserve,” Potom ac
C aver, June 1989, V32n3.
Burton Faust, “A D escription of Sinnet C ave & Its Salt Petre
W orks,” N SS N ew s July 1956, V14p68-70; Faust, Saltpetre Caves
and Virginia H istory, p40. The correct spelling is Sinnett, which is a
fam ily surnam e.
Ibid.; D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p241-43. D avies is m ore
conservative than Faust when describing the cave's dim ensions.
Faust places the entrance 100 feet above the level of W hitethorn
C reek; D avies, 60 feet. Faust states that the Long R oom is 125
feet above the lower passage; D avies, 90 feet. Faust gives the
m axim um height of the Long R oom as 80 feet and its length as 870
feet; D avies, 40 feet and 800 feet respectively. As of July 1995, the
Sinnett-Thorn M ountain Cave System had been surveyed to a total
length of 1.86 m iles and a depth of 386 feet. Bob Gulden, USA
Long C ave List, July 10th, 1995.
Ibid.; Faust, Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p39-40.
Burton Faust, Form ation of Saltpetre in Caves, p21-22.
Faust, Saltpetre Mining Tools, p11.
Faust, Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p40; N ew sletter of
the N ational Speleological Society, April 1946, V4p4; D .C .
Speleograph, April 1951, V5n8; N SS N ew sletter , M ay 1947, V5n1.
“N otes on George Alexander R obertson Saltpetre C ollection,”
H auer papers.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p243.
N ew sletter of the N ational Speleological Society, April 1946,
V4p4.
N SS N ew sletter, D ecem ber 20th, 1944, V2p2.
Faust, Sinnit C ave & Its Salt Petre W orks, p69-70.
At the northern end of the gorge is an historical m arker. “Sm oke
H ole, a rugged canyon m ade by the South Branch of the Potom ac
R iver, extends eighteen m iles south to U.S. 220. C arved out of the
strata of lim estone are caves and rare form ations, perfected
through the ages. Big C ave, Blue R ocks, Chim ney Rocks, Old
M ines C ave, Indian House Cave, Eagle Rocks, Fishpot R ocks and
the Sm oke Hole Cave with its legend of the nam e ”Sm oke Hole”
are the m ost noted.“ A slightly different m arker at the southern
entrance alludes to ”Big Cave and O ld M ines C ave, where saltpeter
was m ade during the W ar Between the States,....“ W est Virginia
H ighw ay Markers, p153-54.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p207-08. As of February
1997, the survey of C ave M ountain C ave reveals an aggregate
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83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
passage length of 1.55 m iles and a depth of 325 feet. Barry C hute
and Bob H oke, ”The Pendleton C ounty Speleological Survey,“
Potom ac C aver, February 1997, V40p3.
Ibid.; M orton, Pendleton C ounty, p94; H . M . Calhoun, ”A Trip
through Sm oke H ole,” Pendleton Tim es, October 15th, 1926, p1;
C alhoun, Tales of the Sm oke H ole and Seneca, p8 and 22; H . M .
C alhoun, Sr., “Tales of H istoric Sm oke H ole and Seneca R ocks
Interestingly Told,” The H erald (Franklin, W . Va.), N ovem ber 13th,
1930, p1, and N ovem ber 20th, 1930, p1; H . M . C alhoun, Sr.,
“C averns of Pendleton Are Described by H . M . C alhoun,” H erald,
N ovem ber 19th,1931, p2. Although C ave M ountain C ave #2 is
listed as a saltpeter cave on the 1994 survey, it is considered a
questionable entry, m eaning that the recognized evidence that it
was ever m ined is m eager. Plem ons, Saltpeter C ave Survey,
1994, p39.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p66-67; “Peacock's C ave,”
Potom ac C aver, October 1984, V27p180; reprinted from G rant
C ounty Press, D ecem ber 4th, 1908.
Tom W illiam s, “On the W orkings of Petre,” Potom ac C aver,
February 1970, V13n20.
D avid B. R eger and R . C . Tucker, Mineral and Grant C ounties
(W est Virginia Geological Survey, 1924), p701-03; reprinted as
“Saltpeter M ining (?) in Peacock C ave,” Journal of Spelean H istory,
(O ctober-D ecem ber 1992, V26p77-78. R eger characterized
Peacock's operation as “sm all scale.” Saltpeter historian Peter
H auer rated its size as “M edium +.” Peter M . H auer, Saltpetre C ave
R eport Form : Peacock C ave. The 1994 survey of niter caves
labels Peacock C ave as a “Q uestionable Site.” Plem ons, Saltpeter
C ave Survey, 1994, p38.
H . M . C alhoun, Sr., “C averns of Pendleton Are D escribed by H .
M . C alhoun,” H erald, N ovem ber 19th, 1931, p1.
C alhoun, Tales of the Sm oke H ole and Seneca, p8; H . M .
C alhoun, “The Truth about Sm oke H ole,” Pendleton Tim es, M ay
28th, 1926, p1; C alhoun, Trip through Sm oke H ole, p1.
N either Sm oke H ole C ave or Old M ines C ave is found on the list
of Am erican niter caves. Plem ons, Saltpeter C ave Survey, 1994,
p39.
George D asher, “Rockin' C hair,” The W est Virginia Caver,
O ctober 1994, V12n5p13. Assum ing the distance cited is even
approxim ately accurate, the paddle could not have com e from
Sm oke Hole Cave. The cave's total length of known passage does
not exceed 1200 feet, and no point would be
m ore than a fraction of that distance from the entrance. Bob Hoke,
“Sm okehole C ave Survey,” Potom ac C aver , August 1987, V30p34.
C alhoun, Tales of the Sm oke H ole and Seneca, p8.
Ansel, Frontier Forts, p111-12; C alhoun, C averns of Pendleton,
p2; M orton, Pendleton C ounty, p94.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p234-37; Tom C ulverwell,
“M ountaineering U nder W est Virginia”, Potom ac Appalachian Trail
C lub Bulletin, January 1941, p2-3.
Saltpetre C ave R eport Form : Schoolhouse C ave. H auer papers.
Evidence of m ining “includes large quantities of cave earth that
satisfies the physical tests for the presence of saltpetre.” Faust,
Saltpetre C aves and Virginia H istory, p39.
C alhoun, C averns of Pendleton, p2.
Saltpetre C ave R eport Form : Schoolhouse C ave. H auer papers.
M abel M cD onald, R obert W eese, and B . W right H arper, “C ave
School of Seneca R ocks,” Pendleton Co. W est Virginia Past and
Present (W aynesville, N C : D on M ills, Inc., 1991), p53.
C alhoun, C averns of Pendleton, p2. In Repass Saltpeter C ave,
ceiling dripwater collected in several troughs provided leachwater
for a rather sm all niter operation, suggesting that the entrance
spring at Schoolhouse Cave could have been used in a sim ilar
m anner. Burton S. Faust, “R epass Saltpeter C ave, Bland C ounty,
Virginia,” D .C . Speleograph, M arch 1960, V16p31-33.
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p208.
Saltpetre C ave R eport Form : C ove Knob C ave. April 1969.
H auer papers.
Ibid. H auer described this as a “sm all+++” operation. H e also
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stated in April 1969 that the gypsum crystals were “still intact.” A
report and new m ap were m ade in A pril 1997. The m ap notes a
trench, and two areas of “old saltpeter workings.” The report refers
to “the burned torches lying about, and the obvious trenching in
various parts of the cave.” W ith respect to the gypsum , the 1997
report continued that “it has the reputation of being a dry cave with
gypsum flowers. W e saw neither and, in fact, the cave was
som ewhat dam p.” George D asher, “Cove Knob C ave,” The W est
Virginia Caver, August 1997, V15n4p3. D espite the evidence
given above, the cave is listed as a “questionable” niter m ining site
in Plem ons, Saltpeter C ave Survey, 1994, p39.
97
C averns of W est Virginia, 216-18. H auer describes the
m agnitude of this operation as “Sm all+++ to M edium +,” but he
does not cite any criteria in support of his judgm ent. Saltpetre
C ave R eport Form : H offm an School Cave. H auer papers. This
site is listed as “questionable” in Plem ons, Saltpeter C ave Survey,
1994, 39. The Pendleton County surnam e, and the nam e of the
cave, is H uffm an, not H offm an.
98
Faust, “Saltpetre Caves and Virginia History,” p37.
99
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p23-24.
100
Saltpetre C ave R eport Form : M inor R exrode C ave. H auer papers.
101
(Johnny Arvin Dahm er), “G un Powder W as M ade in Pendleton
C ounty M any Years A go,” Pendleton Tim es, February 15th, 1996,
p5; “Trout R ock C ave Furnished M uch Gun Powder in C ivil W ar,”
Pendleton Tim es, February 22nd, 1996, p5.
102
(Johnny Arvin Dahm er), “G un Powder W as M ade In
Pendleton C ounty M any Years A go,” Pendleton Tim es, February
15th, 1996, p5.
103
Ibid. Johnny Arvin Dahm er interview, D ahm er, W V, Septem ber
1st, 1997. The deed recording the sale of their P endleton C ounty
land is dated 1835.
104
D avies, C averns of W est Virginia, p222.
105
Saltpetre Cave R eport Form : M ill R un Cave; April 1970 m ap of
M ill R un C ave prepared by York Grotto and drawn by Dale
Ibberson; photocopy of page 28, undated (1970?), from the York
G rotto New sletter. H auer papers.
106
(P eter M . H auer), “Peter R un C ave, Pendleton C ounty, W . Va.,”
photocopy of page 28, no date or vol., of York Grotto New sletter.
H auer papers.
107
Fred Grady, personal com m unication, January 21st, 1997.
C om pared to the drill holes in N ew Trout, Grady rem em bered those
in W alters C ave as sm aller in diam eter.
108
W illiam M . E. Rachal, ed., “Early Records of the Virginia
H istorical Society, 1831-1833,” Virginia Magazine of H istory and
Biography, January 1959, V67p25-26. D olbeare also describes
karst features m ore distant from Pendleton's boundary than the
Sinks of Gandy. H e indicates his awareness of “a cave 30 m iles
south of Beverly that I have not had tim e to exam ine,” and offers
som ewhat m ore inform ation on Elk R iver, which “sinks under a
m ountain and runs about four m iles, and em erges at the western
base in a very large spring, on which is set a gristm ill, there is no
water in the natural bed of the river only in the tim e of high water.”
109
Ibid., p26.
110
C ecil D . Eby, Jr., “Porte Crayon”: The Life of D avid Hunter
Strother (C hapel Hill: University of N orth C arolina Press, 1960), viiix, p75-76, and 181-85. The evidence for Eby's guess that these
travels occurred in 1854 is found on p63-67 and 181.
111
Eby, Porte Crayon, pages 182-83, 185-86, 190, 222.
112
D avid H unter S trother, Porte Crayon Sam pler (R ichwood, W . Va.:
Jim C om stock, 1974), p133-77, passim .
113
D ouglas M . M edville and H azel E. M edville, C aves and Karst of
R andolph C ounty, W est Virginia Speleological Survey, Bulletin 13,
June 1995, p148-49. A 1990 resurvey of Sinks of Gandy indicates
a total passage length of 8114 feet or 1.54 m iles.
114
Ibid., p178-90.
115
Ibid., p191.
116
Ibid., p223-30.
117
Ibid., p189 and 219; M edville, D ouglas M ., George R . D asher,
and Eberhard W erner, eds., An Introduction to the C aves of EastC entral W est Virginia: Guidebook for the 1983 N ational
118
119
120
Speleological Society Convention, Elkins, W est Virginia (W est
Virginia Speleological Survey, 1983) p85; Jack Preble, Land of
C anaan (Parsons, W . Va.; M cC lain, 1960), p79-92.
George D asher, “M itchell C ave,” The W est Virginia Caver , June
1989, V7n3p3-7. The earliest inscription, judged to be of
questionable authenticity, is “1800 GM .” D ates accom panied by
initials include “1808 JD S, M H 1844, W EM 1844, JC 1847, H C
1847, AJT 1860.” D ates with an accom panying nam e are “Jay
1831; C . Bergall Oct 13, 1845; Jo B Trum bo L.B. Trum bo Aug 13,
1856; J.B. Trum bo M ay 6, 1860 Farewell” (Jacob Trum bo, Fort
Seybert).
Peter M . H auer, “A H istory of (Kenny) Sim m ons C ave,” Bulletin
of the N ational Speleological Society, April 1971, V33p87-89. The
m ost probable nam es connected to this date are John H am ___
(H am m er?) and W illiam Sim m ons. Other possibilities are J.J.
Ferguson, W .H . M ason, Peter S im m ons, and Jacob Sim m ons.
W illiam Sim m ons and Peter Sim m ons were sons of H enry
Sim m ons (1760-1825), who in 1812 built the brick hom e still
standing on the bottom land across from the cave.
Peter Hauer, “Cave Inscription,” Journal of Spelean H istory,
January-M arch 1974), V7p16. Am ong the nam es are A.J. R ankin,
M ag M cC oy, J.D . Johnson, J.B. Johnson, Joe, C arrie Johnson,
M aggie Johnson, and Ino D.J. Johnson.
* ** ** ** ** *
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The Caves and Karst of Pendleton County