STONE MOUNDS IN WEST VIRGINIA. 871 



One previously explored. It contained a single inclosure or coffin. No 

 remains except a fragment of a long bone were found. 



No. 3. A third of this group, situated about 30 yards down the 

 mountain and on the lower side of an old road, was examined. Its con- 

 struction and general outlines were the same as those already described. 

 No remains were discovered, and from its position in the deepest part 

 of the hollow it is .supposed that all traces had long since been de- 

 stroyed. 



No. 4. The fourth mound was situated about 200 yards from the " In- 

 dian Rock," near the base of the mountain. Though much smaller, it 

 resembled the above in all particulars. A large number of fragments 

 of bones belonging to various parts of the body were collected. The 

 exterior shape of the mound had been very much disfigured by hunters. 



Mr. French, the owner of the property, needing stone for building 

 purposes, had previously opened several graves and removed from them 

 a quantity of bones and some pieces of pottery. 



There were no means by which we could judge the age of these 

 mounds, even approximately. The first graves or stone heaps exam- 

 ined were encircled by a grove of oak and locust trees of an inferior 

 size. Near the fourth there grew several large oaks, but all were at too 

 great a distance to be of any avail in such a determination. The amount 

 of earthy matter on or within could not be relied upon as affording any 

 definite clew, since very little could penetrate the grave, and what was 

 there could easily have been deposited in the lapse of time by nature. 

 The stones were not placed immediately upon the corpse, perhaps ; but 

 they rested upon logs and brush, which were supported by the walls of 

 the inclosure. If this supposition be correct, the amount of debris could 

 have been greatly increased. 



It is generally supposed that these mounds were quite small at first, 

 and were increased in size by new interments and by the addition of 

 stone from time to time. It is said that whenever a friendly Indian or 

 tribe passed a grave, each individual, out of respect, added a stone or 

 more to the heap. Though this may be plausible, it is just as likely 

 that it was the final interment of the body, and that the size of the 

 mound depended upon the rank and tribal standing of the person. If, 

 on the other hand, these interments were only temporary, it is probable 

 that the large mounds were the final resting places of a large number of 

 bodies by secondary interment. 



This hypothesis is in accordance with the customs of many tribes, 

 east and west, and was practiced by the natives of the lower districts of 

 Virginia long after its settlement by the whites.* 



The total absence of all stone implements is accounted for by the 

 residents, the supposition being that these were women's graves or of 

 those members of the tribes who were of minor importance. The find 

 of pottery in one or two would strengthen this supposition. 



This theory is again to some extent sustained by the opening of sev- 



* "Jefferson's Notes" on Virginia. 



