Miscellaneous Papers. 



221 



Butte with Indian mound and grave excavated by expedition. 



The field containing the remains forms an almost exact 

 equilateral triangle, with its apex to the west and with sides 

 one-half mile in length. This makes the area approximately 

 seventy acres. Within this area are situated twelve mounds, 

 some quite noticeable, others so low that their presence is 

 not discovered except on close approach. Some of these 

 mounds are about two feet above the surface of the surround- 

 ing plain and are quite regular in their form On each of 

 these it is easy to distinguish the outline of an enclosure made 

 of stone, which bears a strong suggestion, if not resemblance, 

 to the foundation walls of a building. With the exception 

 of one or two, these outlines are rectangular in shape and 

 vary from a few feet to over sixty in their length, and have 

 proportional widths. The stones, however, are not laid as 

 for a foundation or wall of a building, but are set on edge 

 in much the same fashion as the borders of a walk made of 

 unhewn stones would be. The stones vary in size, from a few 

 inches in diameter up to a foot or more. None of them show 

 the least trace of a tool ever having been used on them. They 

 are of the same appearance and character as the stone in the 

 ledge of the escarpment adjoining the field, and doubtless were 

 obtained from the debris of the talus-slopes, which come 

 within a short distance of the mounds. Excavation revealed 

 the fact that there is more than this surface row of stones. 

 They extend down for a depth of two or three feet, or a little 

 lower than the bottom of the mounds. Throughout this dis- 

 tance they appear to have been placed in a similar manner 



