Spirit Beings associated with caves in
Missouri
Michael Fuller, PHD
St. Louis Community College - Meramec
I appreciate the invitation to present my
research in this symposium at the Society
for American Archaeology. Thank you to
Scott Nicolay and Susie Jansen for
organizing this symposium.
Many problems face an archaeologist trying
to interpret rock art in association with caves
and rockshelters. My presentation will focus
on two pictograph sites that were created
before contact with the Euro-American
settlers. The style and amount of fading
suggests that the pictographs at Turtle
Shelter and at Moniteau Cave were created
between AD 1000 and 1400. Both sites are
situated in the Lower Missouri River Valley
where villages of the Osage and Missouri
Indians were located during the time of
contact with Euro-American explorers.
Interpretation of the Moniteau Cave site is
complicated by the fact that it was damaged
in the 1800s during the construction of
railroad track.
The Turtle Shelter rock art site is high on the
bluff and was not impact by the railroad
construction. Approximately a dozen of the
Turtle Shelter pictographs are “blurred” by
rubbing. There is no evidence that the
rubbing was an intentional vandalism and it
seems plausible that the blurring occurred as
a result of Native American ritual activity
after the painting had been completed.
I acknowledge that the original artist could
have a different meaning to the pictographs.
There are no archaeological sites in Missouri
where there is a preserved Native American
tradition that links the site with a Sacred
Being.
Francis La Flesche (1889) provides a rare
example of a petroglyph site where his
Omaha informant linked the rock art with
Spirit Beings. The site, near Santee
(Nebraska) is called “Where the spirits make
pictures of themselves” (Omaha, In-gthunghae-ke-ka-gha-ee-thun). Actually, I believe
that a more literal translation should be
“Rocks decorated by the shadows.” Did La
Flesche’s informant mean that the artist(s)
where shamanistically directed by Spirit
Beings to make the art? That is the most
obvious, Anthropological interpretation,
BUT La Flesche clearly communicates the
tantalizing idea, that his Omaha informant
perceived the images as created by the Spirit
Beings (in this case slain warriors),
“themselves,”
Turtle Shelter
Turtle Shelter (23CY554) is situated high on
a south facing bluff overlooking the
Missouri River. An amateur archaeologist,
living in the nearby town of Herman, named
the site. The largest and brightest
pictograph, visible from the shore of the
river, is of a snapping turtle (Osage, Ke Cindse Ga-tse) that was a sacred Spirit Being to
the warrior clan within the Earth (Osage,
Hon’-ga) moiety of Osage tribe (La Flesche
1928: 92). From the rivershore, Turtle
Shelter resembles the entrance to a
supernatural sized snapping turtle’s den. In
reality, the shelter is relatively shallow.
There is a small amount of cultural deposit
in the shelter, though most has been
disturbed by looters.
La Flesche interviewed Osage elders who
explained that the seven segments of the tail
of a snapping turtle is symbolic of the seven
military honors open to a warrior (Osage, Odon). The elders also praised the snapping
turtle because its shell is armored – like a
smart warrior’s shield. Another
praiseworthy aspect of the snapping turtle,
according to an Omaha informant, is its
“long, well-protected and fruitful life.”
The snapping turtle pictograph is interesting,
as well as the fact that nearby is a highly
faded ancestral painting of a snapping turtle.
Of far greater significance are 28 medium
size pictographs to left of the image of the
snapping turtle. The medium size
pictographs are more than random animal
images. They are spread around one large
image of a single Green Corn plant (Osage,
To’-ho Ha’-ba).
La Flesche (1928: 57 - 58) reported that
Osage tradition attributed red, blue, white
and speckled corn as the gift of the Spirit
Being named Buffalo Bull (Osage, Tho’-xe).
To the right of the corn pictograph is a
representation of the Buffalo Bull Spirit
Being, two buffalo cows and a buffalo calf.
The two cows to are smeared, but
recognizable. Not defaced, but ritually
smeared.
If you are unconvinced by my identification
of the Spirit Being Buffalo Bull, then
compare it with a sketch published by
Fletcher and La Flesche (1911:Figure 109)
of Buffalo Bull from the moccasin of an
Omaha Indian.
To the left of the Green Corn pictograph are
two images of Deer Spirit beings (Osage,
Ta'inika-shinga). Deer, like snapping turtle,
is a clan emblem belonging the Earth moiety
of the Osage (La Flesche 1921:95-97). One
deer is unharmed, but actively pursued by a
puma and its cub. The second deer was
already wounded by the puma – blood
streams from its belly and mouth. The
shower of blood from the belly of the deer
appears as a sheet of drops – probably
symbolic of heavy rain during the Spring
and Summer. The lighter flow of blood from
the Spirit Deer’s mouth probably represents
the softer showers that occur during the Fall
in Missouri.
Puma (Osage, In-gthon’-ga) is a Spirit
Being emblematic of another of the Earth
clans of the Osage that is also associated
with the sun (La Flesche 1921:107 - 109). It
is recognized by its round paws, and long
tail. The name for puma in Omaha literally
translates as “Long Tail.” I see this
somewhat smeared pictograph as an female
adult hunting with its cub. Fletcher and La
Flesche (1911:512) reported that the Omaha
admired the puma because it rose at sunrise
to hunt. The Spirit Being called Male Puma
as a symbol of their courage (La Flesche
1921: 194).
One of the sacred Osage songs recited by
Saucy Calf to Francis La Flesche (1930:545)
sounds as if it narrates the puma portion of
the Turtle Shelter pictographic panel:
"And what shall the little ones make of be
their symbol of courage, as they travel the
path of life? It has been said, in this house.
The male puma that lies outstretched, they
said,
He who is their grandfather, a person of
great courage,
They shall make to be their symbol of
courage.
At break of day
My grandfather (the male puma) rushed
forth to attack.
The dark-horned deer that lies outstretched,
Within the very bend of a river.
My grandfather brought the deer to the
ground, to lie outstretched in death.
He [male puma] uttered a cry of triumph,
then spake, saying:
When the little ones go forth to strike the
enemy, In this very manner they shall
triumph.
Their hands shall ever be upon the foe, as
they travel the path of life."
Another important Spirit Being in the panel
around the Sacred Corn is Black Bear
(Osage, Wa-ca’-be). Spirit Bear is portrayed
rubbing against a “Bear Tree” to mark his
territory. The Osage elders told La Flesche
that Black Bear symbolizes fire and charcoal
(La Flesche 1921: 104 - 105). Black Bear
clan members had the authority to initiate
war movements.
The representation of the Spirit Black Bear
at Turtle Shelter is just about as good as the
representation that Fletcher and La Flesche
(1911: Figure 109) recorded of a Black Bear
drawn on the moccasin of an Omaha youth.
Another Spirit Being associated with the
Earth moiety of the Osage is Great Elk
(Osage, Opon Tonga). This Spirit Being was
revered by the Osage for its act of selfsacrifice to make the earth habitable to all
animals and the Osage (La Flesche 1921:
Plate 11b).
Just because an animal is associated with a
Spirit Being does not mean it can not be
hunted. Hunts that would kill an emblematic
animal would required rituals of song and
offerings to the Spirit Beings. It is
interesting that elk, bear and deer where all
hunted in early winter by the Osage. One
interpretation for the Turtle Shelter site is
that the images relate to the 3rd great hunt of
each year – that occurs after the corn
harvest.
One last pictograph at Turtle Shelter
deserves special mention: an open hand
with finger pointing to an “outlined” cavity
in the bedrock. A recent exhibit of Osage art
explained hand symbols as pertaining to war
trophies. I find no ethnographic or
archaeological evidence to support this
interpretation. A more plausible explanation
is that upraised hand, as in the photograph of
Slow Bull taken by Edward Curtis, is a form
of invocation to the Spirit Beings.
So, what was the function of the Turtle
Shelter? It was a “rock art” worldview
marker for several Spirit Beings sacred to
the Hon’ga (Earth) moiety of the Osage. The
large shelter was perceived as the home of
the Snapping Turtle Spirit Being. Other
Honga Spirit Beings associated with this site
included puma, deer, black bear, and elk.
Not a clan Spirit Being, but of great
importance to the Osage, was the symbolic
representation of Sacred Corn. There is also
the strong possibility that the choice of
Spirit Beings also related to rituals of
warfare and raiding.
Moniteau Site
The Moniteau Site (23BO476) is situated
above the entrance to a medium size cave in
a south facing bluff along the Missouri
River. It is approximately 40 miles upstream
from the Turtle Shelter site. The cave at the
Moniteau Site has a surging underground
stream and a strong draft at its entrance.
•
•
The Native American word Moniteau was
associated with the site during the 19th
century. It is slightly perplexing to have an
archaeological site in Missouri named
Moniteau because it certainly looks like a
variant of the Alonguin word (Manitous)
that means Gods / Spirit Beings. This
meaning is shared among the Ojibway,
Western Cree, Innu, Assiniboine, and
several Algonkian tribes. Why would this
term be used for a site in the Lower
Missouri River Valley? One of my
colleagues speculated that it is an indication
that Algonkian speaking hunting parties
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penetrated deep into Osage territory. This
seems implausible considering the
effectiveness of Osage warriors at protecting
their territory.
•
Another possibility is that Moniteau is a
French spelling of the Chiwere words: Maha
chi (cave) tun (give birth). The Chiwere
language was spoken by the Missoulia,
Otoe, and Ioway; tribes situated immediately
north of the Osage territory.
•
•
The Moniteau pictographs were recorded in
an 1881 sketch by Charles Teubner.
Brownlee relocated and published the site in
1956; it was already badly faded and he
relied heavily upon the original Teubner
sketch. Diaz-Granados and Duncan
(2000:10) raise legitimate questions about
the Brownlee published sketch. I
photographed the Moniteau pictographs
using a Nikon D200 camera and adjusted the
contrast and color balance to bring out some
of the badly faded portions of the panel. My
conclusion is that the 1881 sketch by
Teubner is accurate and that the Brownlee
redrawing captures the essence of the panel.
The images above the cave at Moniteau are
not animals, but Spirit Women (Hunter
1978: 46) and represent the women’s
mysteries associated with the cave.
Pictographs 1 and 3 are crescents and dots
associate with menstruation and fertility.
Woman image number 2 is possibly the
Spirit Being of darkness which symbolized
reproduction (Osage, Wa kon da Hon non).
The largest female pictographic may be the
Female Spirit Being of Earth (Osage, Wa
kon da Hin dse ta).
Cliff Cave/Indian Cave
Cliff Cave, also known as Indian Cave
(23SL895), situated near the mouth of the
Missouri and Meramec Rivers. Cliff cave
served as during the French colonial period
as a trading post and tavern. Later, it was
converted into a winery, then a beer storage
depot in the 1900s. During Prohibition it
was an illegal speakeasy. The walls of the
cave are heavily vandalized, so any
prehistoric rock art is forever lost.
Cliff cave has a surging underground stream
and strong draft. The strength of the surging
cave stream is so strong that it drowned 6
amateur cavers in the 1993.
An underground pool is situated in Cliff
Cave at a point approximately 65 meters
from the entrance. Today, the pool is devoid
of life because of groundwater pollution.
Similar cave pools in unpolluted portions of
the Ozarks contain a variety of albino fish,
isopods, salamanders and crayfish.
The Osage elders from the Puma clan
reported to La Flesche that their ancestors
had received 4 colors of clay and
instructions for its ritual use by a Spirit
Being called “Little Earth” or “Earth child”
(Osage, Monenka zhiga). La Flesche
recorded “Earth Child” as a crayfish. Puma
elders said it lived in a “house” with a
“flaring rim entrance.” A cave?
Yes, there are hundreds of large caves in
Missouri that once had albino cave crayfish.
But the home of the “Earth child” must have
been along the path wandered by the Osage
ancestors under the leadership of Radiant
Star. I reconstruct that path as starting at the
mouth of the Missouri River and going
southward towards Elephant Rocks park.
Along that path, Cliff Cave is a
“EXCELLENT” candidate for the house of
Earth Child (Osage, Monenka zhiga). A
large cave, with surging water and a pool of
albino crayfish - had to be seen as the home
of at least one Spirit Being.
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Summary
•
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The ethnographic studies of the Osage do
not pinpoint any specific locations in
Missouri associated with Spirit Beings. I
suggest that Turtle Shelter was sacred to the
Snapping Turtle Spirit Being. Also at Turtle
Shelter, are pictographs of several Spirit
Beings sacred to the clans of the Earth
Moiety, as well as a representation of the
sacred corn.
•
•
The Moniteau rock art images were painted
above the entrance to a large cavern with
surging underground stream and powerful
draft. The site name and imagery link it with
the Osage Spirit Beings associated with
conception and birth.
•
Not supported by rock art, but by Puma clan
traditions of Radiant Star, is the hypothesis
that Cliff Cave was the sacred home of the
Spirit Being called “Earth Child.”
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my wife and colleague,
Neathery Fuller, for helping record and
interpret the Moniteau cave site. Amira
Fuller deserves special thanks for helping
explore and record Cliff Cave even after I
explained its dangerous nature. David Ludig
guided me to Turtle Shelter and patiently
waited while I photographed and sketched
the numerous pictographs. I must
acknowledge my debt to the wonderful
ethnographic documentation prepared over a
century ago by Francis La Flesche and Alice
C. Fletcher. Finally, many thanks to Frank
Magre for his pioneering work with
Missouri Rock Art and his willingness to
talk with me about rock art interpretation on
several occasions.
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Bibliography
Brownlee, Richard S.
1956 The Big Moniteau Bluff Pictographs in
Boone County, MO. Missouri Archaeologist
18(4): 49 - 54.
Curtis, Edward S.
1907 The North American Indians: 3, The
Teton Sioux, Yanktonia and Assiniboin.
Diaz-Granados, Carol and James C. Duncan
2000 Petroglyphs and Pictographs of
Missouri. Alabama University Press.
Fletcher, Alice C. and Francis La Flesche
1911 The Omaha Tribe. Smithsonian.
[Reprinted by the University of Nebraska
Press.]
Hunter, Carol Ann
1978 A study of Osage Mythology: A
Literary Perspective. University of Denver
dissertation.
La Flesche, Francis
1889 Death and funeral customs among the
Omaha. Journal of American Folklore
2(4):3-11.
1921 The Osage Tribe: Rite of the Chiefs;
Sayings of the Ancient men. Smithsonian.
1928 The Osage Tribe: Two Versions of the
Child-Naming Rite. Smithsonian. [Reprinted
by Kessinger Publishing]
1930 The Osage Tribe: Rite of the Wa-Xo'Be. Smithsonian. [Reprinted by Kessinger
Publishing]
Teubner, Charles
1881 Indian pictographs in Missouri. Kansas
City Review of Science and Industry
6(4):208-210.
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/CliffCave.html
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/moniteau.html
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/Turtle.html