Whitey in the jungles of the Dom. Rep...........in an underground spring.............


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Deep in a cave in the remote rain forest of the Dominican Republic, an underground spring may hold clues about the first Indian group to make contact with Spanish explorers.
U.S. archaeologists won permission Wednesday night to explore the spring, which they believe was the ceremonial heart of the Tainos (tah-EE-nohs) Indians five centuries ago.
The Indiana University team, along with local archaeologists, will dive more than 200 feet beneath the jungle floor to recover artifacts, and will excavate a nearby cave.
Preliminary dives have recovered more than 200 artifacts from the spring, including dozens of pottery vessels and a chieftain's wooden ceremonial chair.
"We believe this area was the heart of the Taino Caribbean civilization, and our findings should yield priceless information about the first contact between the Spanish and the Indians in the New World," said Charles Beeker, director of Indiana's underwater science program.