Monday, March 19, 2012

into the deep dark hole

I was in the bed and my mind was clicking so I got up. I was thinking about when we first moved on the farm on dry creek. Then I got to thinking that if I live until may 3, which is right around the corner I will have lived longer than mama or daddy did so I figured their age when they died. Daddy lived 73 years and 1 month lacking 4 days. Mama lived 71 years and 7 months and 12 days.
If I live until may 3, which is 43 days from now I will be 74 years old so I have lived 9 months longer than daddy lived as of now.
When we moved to the farm after daddy got out of the Navy I believe it must have been late October, 1945 we lived in an old house that was built in front of a cave which was our water supply. I was scared to go into that cave because of snakes, copper head snakes no less.
The pipe for the water went back and down into this room and some times the pipe would get knocked off the pipe that came out of the rocks when this happen Richard and me would have to take a Lantern and climb over these big rocks that looked like they had fallen from the ceiling of the cave down into the dark with only the lantern to see by which Richard always carried and tried to leave me in the dark.
when we got down to the bottom there was a Rickey old ladder and Richard would give me the Lantern to hold while he climbed the ladder and hooked the pipe back to the pipe coming out of the rock wall. I was scared to dead all this time and telling Richard to hurry. I think he moved slow just to scare me more.
when he climbed down the ladder he would take the Lantern back and climb out of the deep with me scrambling to keep up. The boy would put on some speed to try leaving me behind.
We went into the cave because daddy told us too and I assure you I never went back into that cave after it wasn't necessary to get water. I know what terror is and it is in that cave.
When you were at the back of the cave there was a rock wall which was about 10 foot high and someone years before our time had drove a pipe into the rock at the top of the wall. You could hear water falling behind that wall and there is no way to figure how much water is behind the rock wall. I ask daddy once in later years why he hadn't set a dynamite charge and blown thro' the wall which he could have done because he had used dynamite. Daddy said he didn't know how much water would come out of the cave and what would he say to his neighbors if a stream of water came out the size of the mouth of the cave? I thought about that awhile and told him perhaps he wouldn't have any neighbors after the water went down dry creek.
We found arrow heads in the plowed ground along dry creek and I have always thought Indians lived in the cave during their day.
I heard one story about the first settler on our land being killed by Indians while they were trying to steal his horses. I also was told that dry creek was called "Jumping rabbit creek" by the Indians. This no doubt was referring to the cotton tail rabbits which was along the creek.

2 comments:

Galla Creek said...

I was just thinking the other day that on your birthday you would be older than Dad when he died. I hope you get several years on him! We lost him too soon.

Sister--Helen said...

well sis, we all liked your story...Betty and I added pictures