848 



PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 



large broken bowlder, covered by a layer of fine ashes. Within this 

 bed of ashes was a large charred piece of wood. 



A ditch,/ /, is easily traced, which seems to have escaped all pre- 

 vious observers. Whether it was the intention to carry this ditch around 

 the cluster of mounds, or was simply a depression left after excavating 

 for the earth in order to construct the mounds, it would be difficult to 

 tell. Between the mounds e and g there is quite a depression extending 

 from the northeast to the southwest, as though it had been purposely 

 hollowed out. The ditch does hot seem to be accidental, for it is not 

 only placed a little above the deepest part of the depression but its 

 curve is regular. It might be fair to conclude that the ditch was an 

 afterthought, and it was the final intention to carry a circular wall 

 around the group, excluding g and h. 



In Ancient Monumeuts of the Mississippi Valley, Plate xi, Fig. 3, is a 

 representation of an earthwork washed by the Great Miami, a descrip- 

 tion of which occurs ou page 30. In the diagram is a mound marked 

 " 10 feet high." On the 7th and 8th days of August, 1883, with suffi- 

 cient help, I opened this mound. A general survey of the inclosure 

 shows it to be rolling, with prominent knolls here and there. The 

 whole field was matted with a very heavy growth of clover. The land 

 is exceedingly fertile. From the productions of this one field, a large 

 family of children was brought to the years of maturity. The soil is 

 black loam mixed with sand. At almost any point fragments of pottery 

 may be picked up. This pottery is composed of burnt clay intermingled 

 with crushed fragments of the shell of the unio. 



The mound does not lie in the place it is put in Ancient Monuments, 

 but is farther removed from the river. The excavation was commenced 

 from the north side at the point y (Fig. 2), and carried to the bottom of 



9 e 



Fig. 2. — Mound iu Fort, Ross Township, Ohio. 



the mound d. The treuch is 35 feet long, 4 wide, and at the center 

 of the structure 9 feet deep. Before commencing the mound proper, 

 the builders scooped away the earth, forming it in the manner of a 

 basin. Immediately upon this basin was placed a layer of sand con- 

 taining charcoal. Over this was placed a layer of charred bark 1 inch 

 in thickness. The fiber of the bark was very coarse, and in places 



