MOUNDS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA. 371 



The only earthwork (enclosure) which I know of in the county is sit- 

 uated three miles north of Brookville, on a hill nearly 350 feet high, 

 which juts out against the west bank of the east fork of the White 

 Water Biver, immediately beside the bridge at that place. 



The mounds of this county are nearly all situated on prominent points 

 or headlands overlooking the valley below. The site does not seem to 

 have been selected with reference to convenience of water or ease of ac- 

 cess. The land in most cases is in the same condition as found by the 

 present inhabitants, except that a part is used as pasture and is cleared 

 to some extent. I know of but one case of the grouping of mounds which 

 has been before referred to. This group is situated on a terrace about 

 one mile and a half south of Brookville. This terrace is about 00 feet 

 above the river, and 250 feet below the tops of the hills and level of the 

 adjacent country. It contains about 250 acres of land, most of which is 

 cleared and under cultivation. The part which is occupied by mounds 

 is at present covered by a heavy growth of sugar trees (Acer sacchari- 

 num). The mounds are all low, none being more than 4 feet high by 40 

 feet across. Approaching along the brow of the terrace from the west, 

 we first come to a pair of low mounds almost on the edge of the terrace. 

 They are situated so near each other that their bases almost blend to- 

 gether, one a little smaller than the other. Going on directly east about 

 200 yards, we find another pair about 50 yards from the edge of the ter- 

 race. These two are almost exactty like the first in relative size and 

 position. About .40 yards north of this pair is a small heap of earth, 

 which I am certain is of artificial origin, but being so small is hardly 

 worthy of being called a mound. Southeast of the last pair, on the edge 

 of the terrace, is another pair similar in every respect to the others. 



Near these, and nearly north of them, is a curious circle of earth. The 

 center is slightly below the surrounding level, while the edge is as much 

 above. The circumference is about the same as that of the mounds. 

 The outline of the terrace here turns to the north, and following it we 

 find three more mounds situated singly, at intervals of 200 or 300 yards, 

 on the brow of the terrace. Northwest of the first pair about 500 yards, 

 in a field, is another, almost obliterated by plowing. The mounds are 

 composed of a mixture of sandy clay and loam taken from the sur- 

 rounding surface. In the single one which I have examined the mate- 

 rial is heaped together without respect to arrangement. Slight depres- 

 sions about the mounds show that the material was obtained from the 

 surrounding surface. One mound has been explored (by digging a pit 

 in the center) by the writer and others; all appear to have been opened, 

 but by whom is unknown. Nothing was found but charcoal and a few 

 charred bones. No account has ever been published, with the exception 

 of the one mentioned before. No trees grow upon them at present. 



