Red Earth People Traditional Cache

This cache is place in the Mine of Spain Recreation Area with the permission of the Iowa DNR.   The park is open year around from 4 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.   Watch out for muggles.   Follow the Praire Ridge Loop Trail to the cache.   The trail starts from the Parking Area which was given as a waypoint.

The Native Americans:   There is evidence of prehistoric Native American cultures, some dating back as many as 8,000 years.  Mounds, village sites, rock shelters, trading post sites, and campsites dot the landscape of this region.  The Mesquakie (Sac & Fox) wer the earliest know historic inhabitants of the Mines of Spain.  The "Red Earth" people are believed to have originated on the east coast and are Algonquian by language.  They were later forced out of the Great Lakes region by the French and finally settled in this area.  Their village was located at the mouth of Catfish Creek.  From this site, the Mesquakie carried on a fur trade with French voyagers.  They also worked the lead mines for many decades before the Revolutionary War.