Scout leader Smith Murphey looks upstream from the high river bank at the Batesville Mounds site. At right are the remains of a small cabin that will soon topple into the river if the current keeps eating away at the bank under it.

Hot dogs and hamburgers were on the menu Saturday night as Troop 478 prepared for the evening meal at their Batesville Mounds campsite. Sharing chef duties are (from left) Joshua Towles, Jordon McCollins, Archer Murphey and Ta’Darrion Woodard. Older Troop 478 scouts have begun Eagle projects at the Mounds site the city hopes to develop with future grant funds to encourage visitor access.

Looking downstream from Batesville Mounds site, the height of the river bank gradually decreases.

Judge Smith Murphey may be thinking about what first attracted people to this village site, many centuries ago.

Smith Murphey (left) and fellow scout leader Johnny Pace contemplate the distance from the top of the bank to the water.

The cabin threatened by river’s ever-increasing proximity is constructed of thick notched and fitted timbers. Scout leader Johnny Pace is trying to estimate the date of the cabin’s occupancy.

Scouts of Batesville Troop 478 posed Saturday evening just before going to their tents to get their meal ready.

View from the high banks along the river’s south edge looking upstream. Out of sight around the upstream bend lies the Grenada Railway bridge.