284 



ABORIGINAL STRUCTURES IN GEORGIA. 



monuments," four or five miles above the fort. Of them he writes as 

 follows : " These wonderful labors of the ancients stand in a level plain 

 very near the bank of the river, now 20 or 30 yards from it. They con- 

 sist of conical mounts of earth, and four square terraces, &c. The great 

 mount is in the form of a cone, about 40 or 50 feet high, and the cir- 

 cumference of its base two or three hundred yards, entirely composed 

 of the loamy, rich earth of the low grounds ; the top or apex is flat ; a 

 spiral path or track leading from the ground up to the top is still visi- 

 ble, where now grows a large, beautiful spreading red cedar {Juniperus 

 Americana). There appear four niches excavated out of the sides of the 

 hill, at different heights from the base, fronting the four cardinal points ; 

 these niches or sentry-boxes are entered from the winding i^ath, and 

 seem to have been meant for resting i^laces or lookouts. The circum- 

 jacent grounds are cleared and planted with Indian corn at present, 

 and I think the proprietor of these lands, who accompanied us to this 

 place, said that the mount itself yielded above one hundred bushels in 

 one season. The land hereabouts is indeed exceeding fertile and pro- 

 ductive." 



Fis. 2. 



Ancient tnmnli on the Savannah Hiver. 



Unable satisfactorily to determine the precise object the aborigines 

 had in contemplation in the erection of this striking monument, he 

 hazards the conjecture that the Indians formerly possessed a town on 

 the river bank, and raised this mound as '' a retreat and refuge in case 

 of inundations, which are unforeseen, and surprise them very suddenly, 

 spring and autumn." 



What were the uses of the smaller elevations he does not suggest. 



Wishing to note the changes which might have occurred during the 

 past hundred years, we visited these tumuli a few weeks since. The 

 attendant mounds, which are mainly grave-mounds, had been materially 

 wasted by the plowshare and the influences of the varying seasons. 



