MOUNDS OF THE UNITED STATES — BUSHNELLi 685 



Continuing southward from the land of the Timucua, on the low 

 sandy keys off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, are the mounds of 

 sand and shells, with the great intervening and connecting canals and 

 lagoons, constructed centuries ago. Some are very extensive and 

 reveal a degree of skill possessed by their builders that is quite re- 

 markable. But who were the builders of these ancient works now 

 hidden by the luxuriant growth of semitropical vegetation? An- 

 other unsolved question. 



At some time in the future when many old sites not only within 

 the United States but on the islands of the West Indies, in Mexico, 

 and other parts of America, have been carefully examined, a com- 

 parison of the material discovered will undoubtedly reveal the route 

 of migration of many tribes who occupied parts of the United States 

 within historic times, and thus lead to an identification of their 

 older habitat. But much remains to be accomplished before we can 

 hope to arrive at any definite conclusions. 



