114 Ciyuiiniati Society of Natural History. 



The two parallel walls, which form the guarded road-way, as 

 it has often been styled, start off, we know, from the large 

 mounds, and run in a north-east direction for the distance of 

 over half a mile. This guarded-way commences on the true 

 w^ater-shed, and by the direction taken, it is enabled to keep 

 on the divide, thus avoiding the larger streams and their numer- 

 ous branches. 



A careful study of the character of the ground immediately 

 to the north and south of the two large mounds can not fail 

 to throw some light on the nature of the two ditches that are 

 seen here. We will be convinced that the}' are artificial, and 

 that they were not constructed simply for drainage purposes, 

 as has been frequently suggested. The natural drainage from 

 the mounds is good in both directions : and if it had been 

 desirable to improve this by constructing open sewers, differ- 

 ent directions would have been taken, as being more efficient 

 and much less expensive. Kspecialh- will this apply to the 

 moat that starts from the mound on the south side of the road. 

 Here the natural course for a drain is toward the southeast, 

 where it could, in a short distance, be made to enter a small 

 ravine. It bears, however, more toward the south on higher 

 ground, and throughout most of its course has less fall than 

 if carried in a different direction. 



The directions and positions of these moats at once suggest 

 that they were constructed for defensive or strategic purposes. 

 They could be used as rifle-pits, or more properly bow-pits ; 

 and, besides, would serve as passways to enable persons to 

 enter the guarded roadway from the large ravines unobserved. 

 Warriors from the villages in the river bottoms, by means of 

 the large ravines, these moats and the guarded-way, could 

 pass entirely unobserved to the high ground northeast of the 

 fort, which would make a distance of fully a mile and a 

 quarter. 



The guarded-way, we have said, is over half a mile in 

 length. Its direction from the large mounds is generally 

 given as northeast. Its true bearing, however, is a few 

 degrees further toward the east. Whatever may have been 

 the real object in constructing this long passway, it seems to 

 have been necessary that it should reach the high ground 

 east of the fort. This could have been accomplished in about 



