It was a beautiful autumn day. The leaves had changed to their fall colors, blue jays were hollering and the timber had that luscious redolence only found in the woods. And Grandma Lynam was with us.
After a short hike, we found the small area with those few markers and some large stones. We looked over to see the Middle Nodaway River curving by below.
This photo was taken across the road from the one of the Middle Nodaway River Valley. It isn't the farm gate we went through to the Slide-Off, but it is nearby.
My Uncle Howard's brother wrote the following which is in the 1984 Adams County History Book:
The Old Slide-Off Burying Place
"The tiny tract perched a-top one of the higher bluffs rising abruptly from the river south and east of Mt. Etna involves a bit of half-forgotten local history. Here, to begin with, was an Indian burying ground. Then much later, when smallpox struck the newly-arrived white man, the Mt. Etna settlement brought their dead; --mostly young folks and very small children, to the place.
The steep bluff is known locally as the 'Slide-off'. Many years ago, (around a hundred, according to some sources), a portion of this bluff slid off into the Middle Nodaway, taking along, according to the 'old-timers', an undetermined number of graves.
No one brings flowers to this lonely place. No human hands guard this forgotten abode of the dead to contest the encroaching wilderness as it moves to obliterate all evidence of Man. Those rare hardy souls who must re-explore the old grave-sites, are slated to rely on their two feet and (hopefully), an accrate memory to take them through a trackless wilderness to their destination. After having arrived, they will search in vain for graves. There never were conventional head-stones, and the flat rocks placed there so long ago to mark the last resting place of loved ones, are long gone.
Certain old records list the names of those laid to rest on the Big Bluff. This list (which may, or may not, be complete) contains names familiar to most who lived, or have lived in Adams County. There was a Fees, a Homan, and a Boswell among the little tots buried up here. And Mary Morton, wife and mother, and four of her nine children are buried somewhere in the tangle of tall grass, brush and vines.
The list of names provides practically the only tangible information regarding these graves. And this, plus the 'word-of-mouth' accounts passed down from previous generations, are the scraps, bits and pieces which, when fitted into a pattern, will produce a reasonably accurate account of the Old Slide-off grave-site and its forgotten tenants.
It is desireable that this be set down on paper for posterity. And it is important that this be done while local sources of information are still around. Here is an item of Adams Co. history, -- and a bit, however infinitesimal, of America's past." Eldon (Zeke) Roberts
Zeke served as Adams County Assessor for twenty years. He also wrote The Roberts Clan and Pitchforks and Scoopshovels, both of which are available at the Corning Public Library. I mentioned that he is the brother of Howard, who is my uncle by marriage. So I wouldn't be related to Zeke, except - his wife's mother was a Means - a cousin of my Grandma Delphia. So, I consider their kids my cousins - distant, but, still. My Mom once told me we were related to half of the county. 😀
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