254 MOUND-BUILDEES IN ILLINOIS. 



everywhere, on all its most beautiful spots. Stone implements, copper 

 weapons and ornaments, and the remains of their plastic art are also 

 frequently found. 



The antiquities of that portion of Eock Eiver flowing through the 

 State of Wisconsin and of the Wisconsin counties lying immediately 

 north of this part of the State of Illinois have been fully described by 

 Mr. Lapham, in Vol. YII of the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowl- 

 edge. But the antiquities of the Southern Eock Eiver Valley and of 

 Northwestern Illinois yet remain comparatively unknown. 



It is the design of the writer to indicate briefly the character and ex- 

 tent of the works of the mound-builders in this region of Illinois. 



The first thing to be noticed is the contrast between the character 

 of the remains found here and those of Wisconsin and the Ohio Valle3\ 

 The animal figures and efiBgies of the former State are almost wanting 

 here. With the exception of a large turtle mound within the limits of 

 the city of Eockford, and a few rude serpent-shaped structures in an- 

 other part of the district examined, the mounds are round or oblong in 

 form. Nothing like the great field-works, fortifications, and sacred iu- 

 closures of Ohio, or such as are found at Aztalan, in Wisconsin, exist, 

 so far as known, on or near the shores of Southern Eock Eiver. But 

 the oblong and common round mounds, some of them of large size, may 

 be counted by thousands. The valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin Eivers, 

 not a great distance from us, are very similar to this section of country 

 in their physical geography. Tlie upper valley of Eock Eiver very much 

 resembles the lower; the mound-builders swarmed over them all; yet the 

 efiigy mounds are peculiar to a portion of Wisconsin, and are bounded 

 by geographical limits, outside of which they are seldom found. 



Commencing with Winnebago County, the most interesting remain 

 is the Turtle Mound, within the city limits of Eockford, already re- 

 ferred to. It is noteworthy on account of its great size and fine pro- 

 portions, but more so because it is the only one of the kind on Low^er 

 Eock Eiver. It is generally known as the " Turtle Mound,*' but the 

 resemblance to a headless alligator is more striking. The following are 

 its dimensions: Length, 150 feet; width, opposite fore legs, 50 feet; 

 width, opposite hind legs, 39 feet ; length of tail, 102 feet. The figure 

 lies up and down the river, on a line almost north and south, the tail 

 extending northward. The body rises into a mound as high as a stand- 

 ing man. The feet and tail gradually extend into the greensward. 

 The measurements acrossthe body at the legs include those appendages, 

 which are only a few feet long. The efiSgy, whether of alligator, lizard, 

 or turtle, seems to be headless, and no depression in the surrounding 

 soil would indicate that the materials of which it is constructed were 

 obtained in its immediate vicinity. Near by this is an oblong-shaped 

 mound, and several round mounds. The oblong mound is rather re- 

 markable, 130 feet long, about 12 feet wide at the base, and 4 feet 

 high. 



