684 PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 



MOUNDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI BOTTOM, ILLINOIS. 

 By Wm. JMcAdams, jr., of Otterville, III. 



The first exploration to be described relates to two remarkable mounds 

 the first of which is ou the Illinois River bottom, 15 miles from the mouth. 

 It is oval in outline, 175 feet long and 50 feet wide on the level top, the 

 sides sloping gradually down to the bottom. At the depth of 16 feet we 

 eame to a basin of clay filled with clean white sand. This basin was 25 

 or 30 feet long, and 20 wide. Covered up in the sand was a wagon- 

 load of raw material for stone implements, flints, quartz, chalcedony, 

 jasper, some of these in large pieces and very fine. The flint was from 

 broken nodules, three of which, weighing from 20 to 40 pounds, were 

 entire. These flint nodules were white without and dark brown within, 

 like the flint nodules in the chalk. Some of the material was blocked out 

 for implements. Lying on the sand were three large sea-shell vessels 

 holding two quarts each. At the north end of the basin were found two 

 skeletons in a sitting posture on the sand. The one on the east was that 

 of an old man, judging from the teeth and obliteration of the sutures of 

 the skull. The skeleton at his side was that of a young woman with 

 beautiful even teeth. Around the neck of the old man was a string of 

 shell beads of curious form, the perforation not going entirely through 

 the bead, but out laterally. A few beads were scattered around. On the 

 old man's breast was a circular plate of copper, about 4 inches across, 

 also an ornament of copper like a large sleeve-button or spool 2 inches 

 across the disks. These were much corroded. At the left side of the 

 old man lay a beautiful pipe of mottled catlinite in form resembling many 

 figured from the mounds, the curved base forming the stem. The skull, 

 which I was very anxious to preserve, was broken, but the upper portion 

 was saved. There were ashe^ and evidences of fire around the basin, in- 

 dicating that fire had been used in the funeral ceremonies. 



The second was a remarkable mound previously unexplored, situ- 

 ated on the Mississii^pi bluff' in Calhoun County, Illinois. It was not a 

 large mound, being only about 25 or 30 feet across the top, and 3 feet 

 high. The bones found in it were very old and much decayed, and there 

 seemed to be ten or twelve bodies buried in it. From this mound were 

 taken seven ceremonial axes. They are of porphyritic granite, and are 

 5 to 6 inches long. There were four of the regular axe pattern, and two 

 with narrow wings on the side of the central column, and one with jags 

 at the two ends, like feet. One is of quartz and the other two are of ava- 

 riety of quart zite. The lines on them are straight and true, the perfo- 

 ration passing through the center. They are very smooth and highly 

 polished. Four copper axes of the celt pattern were found, plainly show- 

 ing that they were hammered out from native ore. They are somewhat 

 corroded. Three spear-points, with notched bases C inches long, were 

 also unearthed, two of white jasper and one of red. 



