Sinking lake levels have exposed some of Hill County's hidden
secrets. Fossils and Native American tools from eight thousand
years ago are easy to find at Lake Whitney, and looters are
taking advantage. They used to be buried in underwater caverns,
but the drought has evaporated that protection. "The looter and
scavenger comes and digs up the site," said U.S. Army Corps
Engineer Brad Demsey. "They just destroy all that and leave it
to the side." Even in remote parts of Lake Whitney that were
once buried under concrete for security, scavengers unearth and
discard valuable history. There are fossils and Native American
tools from prehistoric times. Texas and federal laws ban the
removal of Native American artifacts from archaeological sites,
but burial grounds have been disturbed. It has been decades
since the lake has been this low. Demsey said it has been 20
years since anyone has seen the caverns. Authorities patrol Lake
Whitney and have made 30 arrests. Violators were put on
probation and fined thousands of