What do you guys make of this cave carving?

[mn9000]

Sorry for the poor quality photos, a good friend sent them to me & he would kill me if he knew I was posting the pictures on an Internet forum so I blurred out his face.

This is along a smaller feeder creek that flows into a larger creek in a very remote part of southern Missouri. We have plenty of rock carvings in our part of the Ozarks but I'm not aware of any that look this one. And the fact that the eagle is facing to its left instead of its right makes it that much more of a mystery to me.

He didn't crawl into the opening but he took a look in there & thinks it may go back a ways. Oddly enough, the cave is just a few feet above the normal water level of the creek so it certainly flooded out several times a year. Surely the person who carved the image knew the cave would be under water during heavy rains. But maybe not.

There were plenty of Bushwackers living in these parts & a few small Civil War skirmishes in the surrounding area but I can't seem to find any similar examples of civil war era carvings. Any thoughts?

 

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[Ditlihi]

Very interesting carving, thank you for posting it!

Without giving away the exact location, would this area happen to be near the unincorporated community of Eagle Rock, in Barry County, southern Missouri?

 

[mn9000]

That's interesting that I posted a picture of an eagle on a rock taken in southern Missouri & there's actually a town called Eagle Rock in southern Missouri. That's a neat coincidence, I don't think the two are related though. Eagle Rock got its name from an eagle that built its nest on top of a rocky bluff line back in the mid 1800's. The eagle carved into the rock is far enough away to where the two couldn't possibly have any relation. I was told that it's likely either a grave marker for an important person or a coded symbol giving directions to something-- treasure or a weapons stash possibly.

 

[mdog]

The wing on the left side seems to be tilted up. Is there a bluff behind the eagle rock. If there is, is the eagle on the east side of the bluff. If there is a bluff, work your way to the top and look for other signs. If there isn't a bluff, check behind the left wing anyway. I wouldn't crawl under that rock if I were you. Looks like a big mouse trap.

 

[weekender]

mn9000,
Thanks for putting up the picture, it is a work of art.
Looks like the beak has been broken off, wonder why?
I agree with mdog about the mouse trap, looks a little
too obvious to mean much more than some kind of pain.
-Weekender

 

[Ditlihi]

It is indeed a work of art.

It must have taken quite a bit of time to create. I'm wondering if anyone would take a chance on spending that much time in an area to have planned to cache anything nearby.

Also, It was a known quantity to confederate troops, that rest and food could be found near Eagle Rock. There is a cave midway up the mountain there, where they could find rest and food from sympathizers in the area. This could be a signal put there as a signpost.

I wouldn't rule the community completely out. I'm curious, does the head point towards Eagle Rock?

Another thought, the KGC ( or Masons, etc) were known to leave directional symbols that you actually followed the opposite direction from where it pointed. You may have to check both to be sure.

Mdog and Weekender, y'all make some very good points. Especially the advice not to try getting under there. I agree it's too obvious. But then again, so is the carving.