596 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



very summits, for the cultivation of wheat and other products. The 

 lower levels for miles are ditched and diked for rice-cultivation. This 

 is specially marked along the coast bordering the Inland Sea, and along 



P^SSRG-E. 



S ^_ |- 



O { ir V— —> -V V ^^ 



22 feet. ...^ 



^. 



Fie. 3.— Plan of Chamber. Usual form. 



the western coast of Kiushiu from Nagasaki round through Higo to 

 Satsuma, This widespread cultivation has necessitated the leveling 

 or other modifications of large tracts of country, and with this disturb- 

 ance have probably disappeared many evidences of an ancient race. My 

 attention was first called to the existence of some curious stone struc- 

 tures near Osaka, by Professor Yatabe, of the University of Tokio, 

 who had received a letter from Mr. Ogawa, of the college at Osaka, 

 with the request that I should examine them. This letter, accompanied 

 by a few sketches, was published by Professor Yatabe in a Japanese 

 periodical in Tokio. 



On my return from an expedition to the southern portion of the 

 empire, I visited Osaka with my assistant, Mr. Tanada, for the pur- 

 pose of examining these structures. Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Amakusa, 

 both teachers in the Osaka College, kindly accompanied me and ren- 

 dered much assistance in the work of exploration. Our time was too 

 limited to do more than make a hasty reconnaissance. We left Osaka 

 early in the morning hj Jinrikishas (vehicles drawn by coolies), our 

 way leading across extensive rice-fields, and our course directed to a 

 range of low mountains about ten miles away. The country was as 

 flat as a prairie, and had evidently been the floor of the sea at no remote 

 geological period. 



The dolmens are found in the villages Hattori Gawa and Kori 

 Gawa, which lie at the base of a low chain of mountains. Having 

 reached Hattori Gawa, we left our jinrikishas, and hunted up the head- 

 man of the village who was to accompany us to the dolmens. 



Providing ourselves with candles, we started up a rather steep road, 

 and after a while diverged to the left, down through a tangled ravine 

 — stopping at the door of a temple to examine an old pot which was 

 brought out for our inspection, and which proved to be a piece of Bi- 

 zen-ware, not very old. Shortly after, we came to a group of dolmens. 



