314 PROC'KEDJNGS OF THE ACADEMY OK [1894. 



absence, in connection with freedom from consideral)le quantities of 

 arsenic, or antimony, or botli, may always he rejL^^anied as a'ood 

 es'ideace against an early European origin. 



Clakkxck Ji. ^looKE. 



"Thic MjcrzGER ]V[ouKD. — This structure, the property of Mr. 

 (Jliarles Metzger, is located on Deer Creek, about two miles from 

 Yellow Bud (southwest). Situated upon a hill one hundred and 

 fifty or one hundred and sixty feet in altitude, the mound commands 

 a fine view of the surrounding country. The plains stretch away 

 towai'ds the Scioto three miles distant and continue two miles east 

 of the river, where they terminate in high hills. The mound is very 

 nearly round, and is thirty-four feet in height by two hundred feet 

 in diameter at the base. Alongside of it is a horse-shoe or crescent- 

 shaped embankment and two small mounds. 



"On August 20, 1894, work was begun upon the structure. 

 The mound had been originally opened by some farmers. When 

 they began work the structure stood forty feet in height. They sank 

 a circular shaft eight feet in diameter from the apex downwards. 



"Our men first reduced the height of the mound about ten feet. 

 This gave a platfoi-m fifty feet in diameter and twenty-four feet 

 above the surroiuiding surface. The ground in the center of the 

 structui'e (where the previous excavation had been sunk), we found 

 to be very damp and heavy, and as we proceeded downward, we be- 

 came convinced that the log pen found by the original excavators in 

 the center of the structure would be in a bad condition, and that we 

 must depend on other pens were we to take out any logs entire. 



"The structure was composed of ordinary hill clay. At the top it 

 was not stratified, and as it varied but slightly in color, it was 

 extremely diflficult to distinguish any of the ' dumps.' ' On August 

 22nd a very fragmentary skeleton was found about twelve feet below 

 the top and four feet southwest of the central excavation. The body 

 had been originally buried in bark which percolation of water from 

 above had utterly decomposed. With the bones was a spool-shaped 

 button of copper, about an inch in diameter, heavily coated with 

 copper oxide. 



"The 25th two teams were put upon the mound, and they, together 

 with the shovels, reduced it rapidly. When within four feet of the 



^ A " dump " represents the load deposited by one man. — C. B. M. 



