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Cameron arrived on time at the Serenity Inn and took the elevator to the fourth floor, then went down the hall to Brian’s room and knocked. A few moments later, the door swung inward.
“Come in,” Brian said. “Eddie’s here, too. The rest of the crew left for home this morning. There are cold drinks and coffee on the bar. Help yourself.”
“I’m good, but thanks,” Cameron said. “I’m just anxious to see if you’ve got anything for us.”
Brian grinned. “We have stuff. Whether it’s anything that will aid in your search, I can’t say. But it’s interesting, to say the least. Have a seat at the table. We’ll explain things as we go.”
As Cameron sat, Brian took the chair beside him, then opened his laptop.
“First off, I’m going to show you all this in real time, although we’ve loaded it all onto a flash drive for you and have a whole series of still shots printed off as well. So whichever works best for your search, you’ll have it. Now we begin.”
Cameron leaned forward, listening as Brian began explaining what was on screen. It was like deciphering a whole other language, and it took a bit for him to realize what he was looking at. The drone-mounted Lidar had given him in-depth images of what lay hidden beneath the dense forest and undergrowth, while the GPR would reveal disturbances to the soil below. Thearea around Big Falls was where the search was focused, and there were two things that stood out.
“What’s this?” Cameron asked, pointing to a specific shot captured near the falls.
Brian frowned. “We’re not sure. Lidar doesn’t penetrate water very well, but a best guess is some kind of aperture behind the waterfall itself.”
Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “That’s weird. I swam in that pool beneath the falls many times, and I never noticed any kind of opening.”
“That’s understandable. Like I said, Lidar doesn’t refract properly through water, even when it’s in the ocean or in a lake. And this water coming off the falls is falling hard and fast, which stirs up a continual mist. It may be nothing, but if there’s a crevice or an opening in the wall of the falls, there could be a containment spot of some kind behind it.”
Cameron made a mental note to check that out, while Brian kept talking.
“Here’s another interesting point. This would be in the woods south of the falls. We think it’s some kind of structure. There aren’t any walls, of course, but what appears to be remnants of a foundation,” Brian said.
Cameron frowned. “There aren’t any existing buildings back there and haven’t been in my time. I’ve spent too many hours in the woods around Big Falls not to know that. So this is interesting.”
Brian nodded. “Another verification of a possible home or cabin once being there is in this footage.” Then he pointed. “In this image, we’re looking at treetops. Lookslike a big green carpet, doesn’t it? Different varieties of trees grow to different heights, of course, but see here, where it looks like a big indentation…like a giant used the trees for a bed and left an impression when he left?”
“Yes. What does that mean?” Cameron asked.
“While we know the variety of trees growing on Pope Mountain haven’t changed, in this particular area we’re looking at, the growth is considerably shorter than the growth surrounding it. You don’t notice this from the ground, but it’s obvious from aerial views. This might indicate it had once been a clearing, and the growth there now is considerably newer than the surrounding area. It’s near the indication of a hidden foundation. Maybe trees were cut down in the past century or so to build a cabin?”
Cameron kept staring, trying to picture where this was from ground level. “It’s amazing how this aerial view can be interpreted with Lidar. I knew the technology existed because I’ve seen documentaries about new findings on Mayan cities lost to the jungles from centuries past, but to see it used on a place I know is a revelation.” He leaned forward again, pointing to a different configuration on the laptop screen. “What’s this area here?”
“Those are indicative of cave entrances, like the caves and tunnels that have been present for thousands of years. Not man-made holes, like graves or where something large has been buried, which GPR would pick up.”
This was info Cameron would have to compare to the cave maps he had of the state. “Did you find anything on the GPR?” Cameron asked.
At this point, Brian turned it over to Eddie and traded places.
Eddie opened his laptop so Cameron could see what he was talking about.
“As you know, we were limited to scanning, because GPR only works in open areas. We tried getting into the forest, but GPS isn’t made for use in small intermittent areas, so it’s impossible to get good data from it. What you’re seeing here is the creek bank area only, and a little bit around the rock face of the falls. See how the striations stay even through most of it? That means the earth beneath hasn’t been disturbed. Nothing dug up or buried. But we do have this odd anomaly near the falls. We did some research, and it seems that when the New Madrid quake happened in 1811, it was devastating in ways these people had never before encountered. Not only was it pivotal in this area, but in a good portion of the central U.S. as well. The quake first hit in December 1811, and intermittent quakes continued through February 1812. People thought the world was coming to an end and abandoned everything in an effort to escape. The earthquakes were of a magnitude of 7.0 or larger, so we can only imagine the continuing horror and devastation in those times. We think this portion of the scan is representative of that because the timeline fits. Those quakes appear to have changed the formation of how Big Falls looks now. But I don’t see anything that would relate specifically to your search.”
“I don’t think I knew about that quake,” Cameronsaid. “People must have been horrified.” But then he began putting two and two together. “It could explain why some of the old trappers’ cabins no longer exist. Why I never saw any when I was growing up. If the quake happened in December, then it would be cold on the mountain. Anyone inhabiting those dwellings would be burning wood to keep warm, and if those cabins caught fire during the tremors, people would have fled the area, and there would have been no one left to rebuild.”
“Agreed,” Eddie said. “Even though our GPR scans didn’t turn up much for you, you’ll have copies of still shots and scans on the flash drive.”
“And here they are,” Eddie said as he pushed a large manila envelope across the table, then handed Cameron the flash drive. “If we can be of any further service, just give us a call.”
“Do I pay you now?” Cameron asked.
Eddie shook his head. “Naw…you’re Rusty’s guy, so that’s good enough for us. We already invoiced you.”
Being considered “Rusty’s guy” made Cameron smile. “Thanks again for your prompt response.”
“What your family is trying to do is pretty special,” Brian said. “Do us a favor. If you do find your lost ancestor, let us know, will you?”
