Mound No. 25 105 



nothing was found, save a unio shell and fragments of human tibia. 

 The field-notes state, "The bowlder mosaics have, however, amply- 

 repaid for the trouble and expense." It is most unfortunate that a plan 

 of them is not available for reproduction. The work in the first section 

 in Mound No. 25 was expensive, and there being no results, I at once 

 consulted with my friend, Dr. Thomas Wilson. He advised that we 

 omit the next cut (No. 7) and take No. 2, which lay some distance 

 toward the west (Plate XLII). This was done. Teams were put to 

 work, and the shovelers transferred to smaller mounds. 



November 12. The second cut in Mound 25 had reached a point 

 but three feet from the base line. Decayed skeletons noted in several 

 places in the course of sinking experimental shafts led us to exercise 

 great care. Abandoning teams, we put in the men with shovels, and 

 completed the examination of the remainder of the cut by hand. In 

 this cut (as in the east-end section) , hundreds of small masses of various 

 colored earths were observed: short, irregular layers of sand also extend- 

 ed in various directions. A very singular feature in the mound (alike 

 in detail with No. 23) was the partially hollow pits or holes having 

 dome-like roofs. It seems that the builders erected little frameworks 

 of small poles, bent together at the top, and enclosing a space of the 

 size of an ordinary tobacco hogshead, over each skeleton. The earth 

 was heaped above. In the case of weaker domes, the weight of the 

 earth above would crush them flat; but some of the structures were 

 composed of two or three inch saplings, and resisted the pressure for 

 many years. Then they caved in. As the earth above had become 

 more or less caked or hardened, an arch was thus formed; and in many 

 instances the earth had not completely filled these hollows. The horses 

 engaged in scraping broke through one of these holes, and were impris- 

 oned up to their necks for several minutes, as some of the peculiar 

 dome-shaped affairs were several feet in height and diameter. 



We now present the notes on excavation of cuts 2, 3, 4, and 6. 

 With few changes or expansion, these were taken from Dr. Dorsey's 

 copy of the original field-book. It is possible that all of the material 

 was not taken out of cut No. 6 or cut No. 4. The fact will be deter- 

 mined when the exploration of the mound is completed at some future 

 time. The walls frequently caved in, due to winter rains, and the work 

 from November 20 to February 10 was carried on under great diffi- 

 culties. Previously, no survey had conducted explorations through an 

 Ohio winter. 



On November 12 about 8 a.m., the second cut reached a depth of 

 about eighteen feet. This was near the bottom, and four skeletons 



