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Saltpeter, Saltpetre, either way. Depends on what part of the country your from. Actually my phone says the correct spell is Saltpeter and its not even from this country. Lol! Anyways I'm guessing it doesn't matter how much room they had, what mattered to them was they needed it. So whether they had a lot of room or a little, they went in and got what they needed. Now if only we could time travel and see them in progress.
Boy or boy Clay... what I wouldn't give to "time travel" and see that. Especially with the light they didn't have. There was evidence of fire back where this etched mound is at... but way back deeper If I go back again to this area (probably will) I'll look very closely for evidence. But how they carried candles or torches into this area I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW!!!!! For somebody to go back that far under the conditions I have to today using candles or torches then... I'd have to say they had some nuggets... BIG ONES. I just can't understand how they got anything that far back in and back out again dry. I'm 90% underwater both ways (today). Maybe the environment was different 200 or so years ago. But it's still real cool finding this stuff... and some has not yet been explained or understood yet... maybe never?
Anyone to Clay... Come in Clay... Anyone here... HELLO!!!!! I'm thinking torches for the most part. This would explain (I think) the small round holes I see in the ceiling as you go back into cave. Here's 3 photos within the first 50 yards of some "circular indications" in ceiling. I've always wondered how they got there or why there're there. And maybe these aren't from torches...? I'm still having a hard time buying into the sediment casts scenario. Wouldn't there be a lot of them? Every photo I found of them there were numerous ones around.
Candles were much more common then torches. Any light is better then pitch black when your're in total darkness. The major threat, is from thermal fracturing which was a known threat in those days. If you apply to much heat to the rock above you in a cave, you run the risk of having the cave roof collapse, so you wanted as little heat with as much light as possible. It's better to have a little light and no risk of collapse, then alot of light with alot of risk of collapse. Imho.
Also, fire doesn't really burn through rock, it would just fracture it. Then you're just asking to have the roof collapse on you.
Thanks for info /concern Spectre ... Now this is NOT what any cave diver wants to hear... but... The roof does not appear to be "solid rock" as the bottom. I say this because even as an amateur... I see "not" all SOLID ROCK... above me. I see solid rock below me in spring bed... because the constant spring running through cave "hit it" and has continued to carve deeper for many, many years. So... are the pics I posted from torches placed for a long period of time... I admit I have no idea. I'll PM soon.... Brad
Clay... "Then again you said the ceiling is black"... Now I did say I thought there was evidence of fire but never said the ceiling was "black". Now up by the entrance there is a LARGE deep circular indentation on the ceiling (5-6' feet wide x 3-4" deep). And the other photos I've posted ... I can't say that either. NOW... I've found black debris on the cave floor that I think are from LONG AGO FIRES or torches but none on the ceiling yet.
And boy Clay are you right... "start sifting and see what I find up front"... I truly wish you were here to help... Thank you Clay for all your help and interest.... (I do appreciate it all) Later, Brad.
Mound and ceiling(current) or ceiling and bedrock at the mound? With water running through the cave there has absolutely been some mud settling near or in front of the mound. One of my first inclininations is to always attempt to visualize how the area looked in the past, not the present. The same is done with relic hunting, once you've gone over an area you can somewhat see how the area was most likely laid out at the time those items were dropped. Items in the ground really don't shift around much once dropped (unless we're talking heavily plowed fields, and the like, ofc).
Speaking of 'black caves', there was an old silver mine I visited (ok...snuck into, shhhh) in California at a popular 'old west town' park. Throughout the entire mine all of the walls and ceiling had been coated in soot. So much so, miners had to literally hold torches to them to form this thick coating. This was done (as far as I know) that there was no fresh digging in that area and wasn't where they should be focusing. This 'mine' was also very shallow from ground level and 90% dirt, not stoney like we see in this cave, so it was miles safer to do it in this environment.
Even dirt, when heated, can dry out/fracture (think, old clay) which can weaken the support of the tons of stone above. At the mouth of a cave, seeing 'some' soot is normal. Smoke doesn't blow in one direction 100% of the time, so there will always be a little in that area if they were in and out of the cave mouth, either working in it or using it as a hideout. They wouldn't be sitting outside the cave mouth if it was raining/snowing either, which can be pretty rough on your only source of heat.