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Discovery of the Cave Where Aroet Lucious Little Hale was Held Captive by Indians in June 1856
Journal of Robert Morgan Hale
Thanksgiving 2003 with Randy and Sharon [Hale] in Las Vegas.
“On Wednesday, my father [Whitney D. Hale] drove to our house at Noon. We had lunch. At 1:00 PM, we picked up [our daughter] Erika at Hillcrest High and drove straight to Las Vegas in Father’s car. We stopped in St. George to refuel and eat dinner. We arrived at Randy and Sharon’s new home on Midnight Ride Street at about 7:30 PM Pacific time.
“Their home is way out to the NW of Las Vegas, in a place called Tule (Too’-lee) Springs (that is probably what Tooele was supposed to be called if it had been spelled different).
“On Thanksgiving Day, Randy wanted to take Father and I to see the Indian cave where we think Great-great Grandfather Aroet was held captive by a Paiute Indian band as mentioned [pages 25-27] of his life history. My brothers Lance and Randy found it last [2002] Thanksgiving. It is located in Hidden Valley, west of Moapa NV. There is a LDS Recreation Area with camping and swimming out there, which was once owned by billionaire Howard Hughes.
“Not 50 yards east of the entrance to this recreation area from the byway, is the mouth of a dry creek gulch that comes from the south. About 150 yards back up this draw is a cave on the southwest side of cliff wall. One very large boulder and smaller ones, brush and a stunted tree obstruct the view of the cave. If you don’t know it is there by exploration or observation, you would never know it was there by visual sighting.
“Randy and I walked circuitously around the boulder to find it, avoiding a direct approach because of fear of disturbing native bees which have four or five hives with visible combs right on the face of the aggregate rock wall above the cave. But we had no problems for the weather was cool with a NW breeze blowing and the temperature in the mid-40°s. The bees had some activity but most was in only one hive. As we arrived at the mouth of the cave, I could easily see the smoke-carbon deposits on the ceiling of the cave. The cave was about 30 feet wide by 20 feet deep in a semi-circle with slanting ceiling and rising floor toward the back. The floor also gently leaned to the west or right side. It is gravel and soil with a ring of cantaloupe-sized rocks on the right side half-way to the back. The roof is black with carbon soot at the mouth from fires. Toward the back the roof is again black, but not nearly so black between the mouth and the back.
“Water has flowed through the cave in the past from the left upper to right lower cave floor. Where the water has exited the cave it has created a ditch a foot deep at its deepest and three feet in length. In its side we found protruding the tips of a rib cage exposed six inches below the left top of the ditch. Two vertebrae with a single rib attached were found loose in the ditch. We also found fur/hair exposed about a foot from the top of the ditch, reddish brown in hue. A large dung deposit was also at this right side of the cave a foot or two further in. It was the size of a football. A rock scraper about 2 1/2 inches across was also found in the ditch.
“Randy has an archeologist acquaintance at UNLV (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) where he works. He will consult with him concerning these evidences.
“I had my camera and took nine film pictures. Randy also took many with his digital camera. I also had my GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) unit and took a reading at the door to the cave. It is located at N. 36 deg. 42′ 56.9″, W. 114 deg., 43′ 18.2″.
“After we left the cave we drove back out the gulch, crossed the road to the recreation area and saw the bridge my nephew, David Hale, built as an Eagle Rank Project a few years earlier. It goes between campsites 2 and 3. It has a huge palm tree leaning on its handrail now. It needs to be removed before it crushes the railing.
“We drove west to Nevada Highway 18 and west to US 93, then southeast to near a line of high tension wires where there is an entrance to the Desert Wildlife Preserve. We drove south toward the mountains on a very rough road and up over Mormon Pass, by Mormon Wells, all located on Sheep Mountains. We even passed snow at the 6350′ level. The pass was 6600′ above sea level. About a half mile on the south side of the pass, we found a lone cedar tree in a sage brush meadow all decked out in Christmas decorations. Very interesting! We descended through a huge Joshua Tree forest and out onto US 95 northwest of Las Vegas and drove about eight miles back to Randy’s home. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner was prepared and we ate at 4:00 PM.”
–Robert Morgan Hale
Photo 1: From a prominence on the desert plains, we can look down across a dry wash and see the cliff, boulder and cave where we believe GG Grandfather Aroet Lucious Little Hale and companions were held captive by Paiute Indians in 1856. They healed the papoose of the chief and his squaw and were freed after smoking the peace pipe.
Photo 2: Randy Hale of Las Vegas NV and his dog, Ginger, on a prominence south of the LDS recreation area at Warm Springs NV, west of Moapa about five miles or so. Mormon Mountain is over Randy’s back. Palm trees, deciduous trees, willows and grape vines line the creek sides. Shallow cleaned-off bedding areas were found all around where we were standing here. Probably cleaned off by the Indians to make laying on the ground much more comfortable.
Photo 3: To avoid disturbance of the beehives, we approached the cave area from around the boulder’s left (east) side. Even from the NE approach, a tree blocks direct view of the cave. One hive is visible in the upper left. The cave is behind the small tree.
Photo 4: The cave is well hidden even from 50 feet away in the dry wash. One reason the Paiutes may have stayed here is the presence of beehives and honey. There are four or five hives near this cave high on the cliff side in pockets of the conglomerate rock. The hive’s combs look like fins two inches thick, smaller toward the ends, larger in the center and vertically aligned.
Photo 5: Randy photos the fire ring in the back of the cave.
Photo 6: Randy examining rock shards on the cave floor.
Photo 7: Robert kneels at the center of the cave mouth. The ditch begins at the extreme lower right of this photo. Carbon soot can be seen above and to the left.
Photo 8: Taken from the depths of the cave looking out, the heavy coating of soot on the caves deepest ceiling indicates fires were used in the depths to ward off the desert’s cold and to cook in the fire ring. Randy and dog, Ginger, are at the opening.