282 ABORIGINAL STRUCTURES IN GEORGIA. 



that of the eagle, being 76 feet in diameter. Its wings are relatively 

 shorter. The proportions of the head, neck, and tail are tolerably well 

 observed. What particular bird this tumulus is designed to typify, we 

 are at a loss to suggest. The altitude at the breast is about 5 feet, and 

 from that point the structure tapers to the head and tail, which are some 

 two feet high. At the tips of the wings, which are short and curved, the 

 height is not more than a foot and a half. The ridge upon which this 

 mound rests has never been cleared. 



Surrounding this bird-shaped tumulus is an inclosure of rocks similar 

 to those of which the mound is built. This stone-circle is symmetrical 

 in outline, and at its nearest approach passes within a few feet of the 

 tips of the wings. 



Crowning the elevated ridges by which this county is traversed, are 

 occasional rock-mounds of artificial origin. Usually from 4 to 8 feet 

 high, and with base diameters of from 30 to 40 feet, they are circular in 

 form, and are composed of the fragments of milky quartz so common 

 ju the region. Some have been opened, and from them have been taken 

 human bones and relics of various sorts. Manifestly such are grave- 

 mounds, it being easier in the rocky neighborhood to heap such stone- 

 piles above than to cover the dead with earth. Of this class of tumuli 

 we instance one on the plantation of Dr. J. T. de Jarnette, 12 miles from 

 Eatonton and about a mile from the Oconee River, and another on the 

 land owned by Capt. A. S. Eeid, four miles from Eatonton and near 

 Little Kiver. 



It was intimated by some of the early observers that tumuli of this 

 description were not infrequently temporary in their character, and 

 designed as a protection to the dead who perished away from their 

 homes, until such time as they could be conveniently removed and carried 

 back for interment in the established burial-grounds of the tribe or com- 

 munity of which the deceased were members. While it may be true 

 that some, and perhaps many of the smaller rock-piles so frequent in 

 many portions of Cherokee Georgia, may have originated in this way, we 

 are of opinion that the substantial structures to which we have alluded 

 are permanent in their character, and were erected as enduring memo- 

 rials of the primitive dead of this region. Surely no more lasting mon- 

 uments could have been devised at that early period. 



The existence of two distinctly marked bird-shaped mounds, of firm 

 construction and excellent proportions, within the territory occupied by 

 the Southern tribes, is deeply interesting, and will attract the attention 

 of the student of American archaeology. 



