The Cave Drawing

The Cave Drawing

Friday, March 30, 1962

Approximately 2 PM

22859 Dewey Lake Street

The Dewey Lake Cave Drawing

This photo was taken in 1962 in the woodland marsh area located at 22859 Dewey Lake Street by visiting Anthropologist Abraham Stein.

The drawing was discovered by accident by Dr. Stein who was in the area with a group of graduate students on a search for Potawatomi or Miami arrowheads.

As the group followed a path of increasing artifacts primarily concentrated in a small section of the SE corner of the thick woodland (above the expansive swamp) it lead directly to a hillside cave otherwise covered in thick brush.

Dr. Stein took several pictures of the wall painting just inside the cave opening. As the doctor and two students proceeded deeper into the cave, a loud "grumbling" sound forced the group to cease their ingress until they could return with proper equipment and personnel.

The doctor believed the noise that was heard to be an echo of the swamp-water/underwater-stream convergence deep inside the cave.

When the doctor returned to the cave the following week, the entrance was collapsed into the marsh and surrounding brush strewn about the swamp below. The entrance collapse caused the cave/tunnel to flood.

As the county was not clearing brush in the area, the collapse was considered to be the result of an early spring tornado or, more likely, a simple collapse initiated by the disturbing of the long-since untouched structure.

Considering the substantial clay pits and argillaceous limestone along the marshland surrounding the swamp. No further investigation was pursued.

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The ground in the area cited here in fact does contain limestone, more specifically argillaceous limestone, as well as, clay.  Just as the article states.

As MIchigan is the home to the biggest limestone quarry in the world (LINK: http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0214.htm), I should think it would behoof anyone claiming absence of limestone at any given location in the state to do some research first.  Because the fact it ...

1.  There are several exposed Marl (argillaceous limestone) pits on both Ball and Bond Road(s) less than 2 miles away from this very spot referenced.  

2.  Two (2) mining companies in Cass County list their primary mineral extraction as "LIMESTONE".  LINK:  http://www.us-mining.com/michigan/cass-county

3.  Larger "industrial" limestone mines can be found as near as neighboring Barry County.

LINK: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/GIMDL-MI1953_302552_7.pdf

4.  Michigan has the largest limestone mine in the world located in Rogers City, Michigan, located north of the Huron Forest in the lower pennisula.

LINK: http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0214.htm

Michigan has a considerable amount of varied types of limestone throughout the state.  

This is well-documented.  

To claim otherwise, or more specifically, to assert that a referenced area, less than two miles from open argillaceous limestone pits, could NOT POSSIBLY contain any "limestone"  is based on nothing and exhibits rank ignorance of the terrain.