One Of Many Burial Sites across the Valley
A Place Of Secrets
Bluffs viewedFrom The Valley
From Moon Valley, a Distant Indian SiteA Time to remember
Moon Valley
By Ronnie Powell
The Niangua River rises from its cradle in northern Webster County, in southern Missouri and flows northward into Dallas County and meanders several miles until it buries itself in the Lake of the Ozarks. It is truly a serpentine stream doubling back in places with less than a mile separating the channels at times.
The Niangua enters the southern edge of Moon Valley between timeless ragged limestone bluffs and flows rather lazily for awhile through this beautiful place. It is best to begin a float at the Windyville Bridge in order to capture the full majestic view leading into the valley. The journey should begin at sunrise, or prior to it and makes no differences whether the morning is bright and clear or grey and misty. The autumn is a good time to float, for the bluffs are more visible including the legendry McKee cave looking out high above the river from the south bank. Often in the winter when passing, steam can be seen leaving the entrance of this cave, vague images drawn into the wind. One bluff in particular, its face barren, weathered by time, crested with an ancient cedar, harbors a dark secret in one of its many small openings.
Square Rock Eddy a beautiful aspect of the Niangua contains a huge square bolder that broke away from the bluff perhaps hundreds of years ago now embedded in the middle of the stream. Catfish and Goggle Eye perch were once abundant in the eddy. Rainbow and Brown trout can be found around the Square Rock in the winter months.
Not far below, the Salt Peter cave can be viewed from the south bank of the river. It once contained an abundance of artifact and burials of the Prehistory Indians and further in presented a beautiful array of Stalactites and Stalagmites along a channel flowing with crystal clear water harboring many forms of life. The once pristine stream is no longer there and much damage has been done to the formations and the great entrance has been despoiled with indiscriminant digging along with rubbish and graffiti. The present owner I am told will restrict visitations into the cave, too late perhaps, but nature has a way of healing if given the chance.
Moon Valley presents a wide panoramic view of the surrounding hills and bluffs and to the distant west, Hildebrand cave can be seen near the crest of a bluff. It too has suffered from thoughtless people over the years; destroying much of the natural beauty inside. It was a safe haven for Prehistory Indians, where a cool stream of water flowed from the entrance, providing water for the early inhabitants. I was allowed to view a collection of Indian artifact taken from the cave by one individual and it included earthen bowls and cooking pots. Several complete skeletons were also present. The collection was massive and I have no knowledge of what happened to it after the death of the man several years ago.
On a high bluff barely visible from the river are several Indian burials, lined with stone and hidden beneath old growth brush and perhaps will remain safe for a time. A rocky glade not far away contains an area where chert flakes are abundant along with many incomplete and broken arrow points, knives and scrapers.
In the hot muggy dog days of summer especially in the deep eddies along the river, Gar fish can be seen lying near the surface, images that have survived and once quite common in another time when the river was free. In the mysterious shadows of this wondrous stream, beaver, muskrat and otter abound and in the trees, Red Tail hawks and Bald eagles thrive. It is not uncommon to see in the first light of dawn buzzards sitting on the limbs of old tree snags, wings outstretched in a ritual as old as time. These silent sentinels are drying their wings soon to ride the winds over the river and Moon Valley.
Many people pass along the river in canoes and kayaks. I doubt if they comprehend the remaining ageless wonders and beauty of Moon Valley, evident by the trash they leave behind and noise they make.
There are times when I am walking along one of those forgotten trails on a quite misty morning I can still glimpse a bit of the pristine wilderness once prevalent in the Valley of the Moon. I have found it easy to become lost in time spanning thousands of years, visiting the sites of ancient people all but erased from this beautiful part of the Niangua River. Adios
Moon Valley
By Ronnie Powell
The Niangua River rises from its cradle in northern Webster County, in southern Missouri and flows northward into Dallas County and meanders several miles until it buries itself in the Lake of the Ozarks. It is truly a serpentine stream doubling back in places with less than a mile separating the channels at times.
The Niangua enters the southern edge of Moon Valley between timeless ragged limestone bluffs and flows rather lazily for awhile through this beautiful place. It is best to begin a float at the Windyville Bridge in order to capture the full majestic view leading into the valley. The journey should begin at sunrise, or prior to it and makes no differences whether the morning is bright and clear or grey and misty. The autumn is a good time to float, for the bluffs are more visible including the legendry McKee cave looking out high above the river from the south bank. Often in the winter when passing, steam can be seen leaving the entrance of this cave, vague images drawn into the wind. One bluff in particular, its face barren, weathered by time, crested with an ancient cedar, harbors a dark secret in one of its many small openings.
Square Rock Eddy a beautiful aspect of the Niangua contains a huge square bolder that broke away from the bluff perhaps hundreds of years ago now embedded in the middle of the stream. Catfish and Goggle Eye perch were once abundant in the eddy. Rainbow and Brown trout can be found around the Square Rock in the winter months.
Not far below, the Salt Peter cave can be viewed from the south bank of the river. It once contained an abundance of artifact and burials of the Prehistory Indians and further in presented a beautiful array of Stalactites and Stalagmites along a channel flowing with crystal clear water harboring many forms of life. The once pristine stream is no longer there and much damage has been done to the formations and the great entrance has been despoiled with indiscriminant digging along with rubbish and graffiti. The present owner I am told will restrict visitations into the cave, too late perhaps, but nature has a way of healing if given the chance.
Moon Valley presents a wide panoramic view of the surrounding hills and bluffs and to the distant west, Hildebrand cave can be seen near the crest of a bluff. It too has suffered from thoughtless people over the years; destroying much of the natural beauty inside. It was a safe haven for Prehistory Indians, where a cool stream of water flowed from the entrance, providing water for the early inhabitants. I was allowed to view a collection of Indian artifact taken from the cave by one individual and it included earthen bowls and cooking pots. Several complete skeletons were also present. The collection was massive and I have no knowledge of what happened to it after the death of the man several years ago.
On a high bluff barely visible from the river are several Indian burials, lined with stone and hidden beneath old growth brush and perhaps will remain safe for a time. A rocky glade not far away contains an area where chert flakes are abundant along with many incomplete and broken arrow points, knives and scrapers.
In the hot muggy dog days of summer especially in the deep eddies along the river, Gar fish can be seen lying near the surface, images that have survived and once quite common in another time when the river was free. In the mysterious shadows of this wondrous stream, beaver, muskrat and otter abound and in the trees, Red Tail hawks and Bald eagles thrive. It is not uncommon to see in the first light of dawn buzzards sitting on the limbs of old tree snags, wings outstretched in a ritual as old as time. These silent sentinels are drying their wings soon to ride the winds over the river and Moon Valley.
Many people pass along the river in canoes and kayaks. I doubt if they comprehend the remaining ageless wonders and beauty of Moon Valley, evident by the trash they leave behind and noise they make.
There are times when I am walking along one of those forgotten trails on a quite misty morning I can still glimpse a bit of the pristine wilderness once prevalent in the Valley of the Moon. I have found it easy to become lost in time spanning thousands of years, visiting the sites of ancient people all but erased from this beautiful part of the Niangua River. Adios
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