76 



JOURNAL OF THE 



very little disturbance of the majority of the skeletons after their 

 burial. The bones of the upper limbs, also, were see- ingly bent 

 upon themselves at the elbow; thosf of the fore-arm (humerus) gen- 

 erally lying quite or nearly side by side with the bones of the thigh 

 and leg; the elbow joint pointing toward the hip bones, while the 

 bones of the two arms below tiie elbow joint (radius and ulna) were 

 in many eases crossed, as it were, in front of the body. The ribs 

 and vertebi'se lay along by the side of, on top of, and between the 

 bones of the upper and lower limbs; generally too far decayed to 

 indicate their proper order or position. The skulls generally lay 

 directly above or near the hip bones, in a variety of positions ; in 

 some cases the side, right or left, while in other cases the top of the 

 skull, the base or front was downward. 



But two of the crania (A and B of the following table) obtained 

 from this mound were sufficiently well preserved for measurement; 

 and both of these, as shown by the teeth, are skulls of adults. C 

 of this table is the skull of an adult taken from mound No. 2, 

 below. 



The skeletons were too much decomposed to permit the distin- 

 guishing of the sexes of the individuals to whom they belonged ; 

 but the size of the crania (adults) and other bones seem to indicate 

 that a portion of the skeletons were those of women. One small 

 cranium found was evidently that of a child — the second and third 

 p-air of incisor teeth appearing beyond the gums. 



Mound No. 2, located If miles east of Hallsville, Duplin county, 

 on a somewhat elevated, dry, sandy region. Base of mound nearly 

 circular, 22 feet in diameter; height, 3 feet, surface rounded over 

 the top. Soil similar to that which surrounds the mound — light 

 sandy. Excavations of one-half of the mound exposed portions of 

 eight skeletons, fragments of charcoal and pottery, arranged in 

 much the same way as described above in case of mound No. 1. The 

 bones being badly decomposed, and the mound being thoroughly 

 penetrated by the roots of trees growing ovei it, the excavation 



