d. One was laid in a
crevice; only a few fragments of the long bones were left. With scraps
of bone from another body were four teeth worn almost to the roots.
They were not close together, but this was due to small burrowing
animals which had scattered them. Of the third body, a few pieces of
arm and leg bones remained. By itself, loose in the earth, was a
single molar, not in the least worn, and with a very small root.

So far as appearances go, it seems the bodies were laid on outcropping
rock, or in crevices, and stones piled on them without any attempt at
order or arrangement.

The graves on the Helm farm are merely piles of stone, such as are
found in various States. Those on the Ross place are of the same type
as the cairns on Lost Hill at the mouth of Gourd Creek in Phelps
County, but of a more advanced form. In both places flat stones were
laid to inclose the burials. At Lost Hill, however, there was seldom
more than a single layer, while at the Devil's Elbow a regular wall
was built, seven superposed slabs being observed at one point with a
certainty that others had been placed above these. They are not of the
same class as the walled graves found in earth mounds along the
Missouri River. In the latter, the inner face of the wall was as
smooth and regular as it could be made, the outside being rough and
upheld by stones and earth piled against them; while in those on Big
Piney care was taken with the outer face which, it seems, was intended
to be left exposed to view, while the inside was rough and hidden by
stones thrown in. But no inference must be drawn from the different
methods of filling or covering the vaults after they were completed.
Along the Missouri, earth was abundant right at hand, but stones had,
as a rule, to be carried some distance; while on the bluffs of the
Gasconade and its tributaries the reverse was the case.

Petroglyphs, 75 feet above the level of the river bottom, are reported
to be cut in a bluff facing the Gasconade River on the east side, 2
miles below the mouth of Big Piney.

* * * * *

A rock shelter not more than 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep is near the
top of the bluff overlooking the Gasconade, almost opposite the mouth
of Big Piney. It contains a quantity of ashes, but as it was
frequently resorted to by bushwhackers during the Civil War, and is
still much used by trappers and hunters who camp in it, these are
probably not due to Indians.