132 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



TRACES OF THE ABORIGINES IN RILEY COUNTY. 



BY PROF. G. H. FAILYER, STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



Animated by several rich discoveries in our midst, a few of us of the Agri- 

 cultural College found time, during the closing weeks of last spring term, to 

 make some examination of the burial mounds and pottery fields in the vicin- 

 ity of Manhattan. This work was partially under the direction of and by 

 a college organization known as The Scientific Club, and to some extent by 

 individual effort — all, however, by members of the club. I therefore come 

 before you more as a representative of these labors collectively, than of my 

 own actual work. I shall simply present some account of the work in this 

 line without indulging in generalizations ; premising that more extended 

 investigations must be made ere we are justified in more than outlining 

 possible hypotheses regarding these ancient inhabitants. 



In various portions of Riley county are found abundant evidence of the 

 existence of a people long since departed from their once familiar haunts. 

 These evidences are found in their burial mounds containing implements, 

 utensils and ornaments, and in the sites of their pottery yards and kilns. 

 These shall be described more in detail. 



In making some investigations along the track of the tornado of May 30, 

 1879, which passed near Stockdale, my attention was called to the flint arrow- 

 heads and fragments of pottery which from time to time had been picked up 

 in a field just south of and bordering upon the little town of Stockdale. A 

 few specimens were then collected. Nothing further was done with this un- 

 til our party of eight, accompanied by Gov. Green, who resides near Stock- 

 dale, repaired thither on the 22d day of May, 1880. This field belongs to a 

 Mr, Condray. It covers about forty acres, and has been in cultivation for 

 upwards of twenty years. After each plowing, fragments of pottery with 

 the well-known grass-marks, and variously ornamented, arrow-heads, scrap- 

 ers, etc., have been picked up. When we visited it, there was a growing 

 crop on the field ; but, being corn which was yet small, a pretty fair view of 

 the field could be had. Extensive digging, however, was out of the ques- 

 tion. At various places over the field were elevations one to two feet in 

 height. These were evidently the sites of furnaces or other structures where 

 their pottery was burned. The height of these elevations had probably been 

 reduced considerably by the plow. Removing the soil one and a half to two 

 feet in depth, limestone plainly showing the action of fire was found. This, 

 seemingly, was used as the floor of their kilns. Pieces of burned clay, not 

 mixed with sand, and fragments of pottery, were especially abundant about 

 these kilns. It must be borne in mind that pottery and flint implements 

 are scattered all over the field. When the removal of the crop will permit, 

 the club intends to complete the work, making surveys, etc. I have here 



