392 ANTHROPOLOGY. 



PRELIMINARY EXPLORATIONS AMONG THE INDIAN MOUNDS IN SOUTHERN 



FLORIDA. 



By S. T. Walker, of Clear Water, Florida. 

 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Much of the work reported in the following pages was done during 

 the spring and summer of 1879, at intervals snatched from business 

 engagements, and whatever was obtained in the way of relics at once 

 transmitted to the Smithsonian Institution, together with letters fully 

 explanatory, written while the whole affair was fresh in my mind. 



I have endeavored to keep my imagination in subjection to reason, 

 and whatever is offered in the way of theory is the result of much 

 thought, and supported by many facts. 



It is also necessary, perhaps, to state that the mounds were not ex- 

 amined in the order adopted in this report, as the first on the list were 

 among the last examined. I have pursued the present plan in order 

 that the reader may follow them in regular order along the coast as they 

 occur, going south, into and around the shores of Tampa Bay. I have 

 purposely omitted any descriptions of mounds composed entirely of 

 shell, as I believe them to belong to an entirely different class. These 

 will be described in a separate paper devoted especially to their con- 

 sideration. 



1. MOUNDS AT THE MOUTH OF ROOTLE RIVER. 



This little stream is known by various names. The older maps desig- 

 nate it as the Achaskotie, others as the Pith-le-ches-ko'tie, but it is com- 

 monly known among the people as the Kootie. It empties into the Gulf 

 of Mexico about ten miles north of Anclote River, in Hernando County. 

 Its mouth is filled with oyster bars, which extend up the river some dis- 

 tance, making navigation difficult for the smallest craft. On the south 

 bank of this stream, one-fourth of a mile above its mouth, are two 

 mounds of considerable size. The one nearest the sea is oblong in shape, 

 168 feet in length, 55 feet in breadth, and 5 feet high. It lies with its 

 longest diameter nearly due north, and is composed of alternate layers 

 of sand and shell, each layer being from 8 to 12 inches in thickness. 

 The superincumbent soil was 8 inches thick. The shells used in its con- 

 struction are those of the common oyster principally, with a slight ad- 

 mixture of small conchs and scallops. Figs. 3 and 4, Plate I, will give 

 a good idea of this mound in ground plan and in section. The dotted 

 portions show where excavations were made by me. Ko relics whatever 

 were obtained from this mound, and, from its level top and general con- 

 struction, I class it as a mound for residence. About 300 feet east of 

 this lies another mound, somewhat longer and higher than the preced- 

 ing, remarkable for its singular shape, which is somewhat like a club, 



