LINCOLN COUNTY, DAKOTA. 413 



tlie buildiug was erected, or by whom inhabited, I cannot determine ; 

 whether it had been the home of the Jesuits during the jjeriod of their 

 residence in this country, is not clear, as the phice indicates the build- 

 ing- to be of a date prior to that epoch ; and, besides, most of their 

 buildings are yet standing. 



The place is so remote and inaccessible that I can hardly suppose the 

 Jesuits would have reached it. And as the Apaches have held the 

 region for long, long years, so long that it is looked u[)on by them as 

 their original home, and is certainly their stronghold, I incline to the 

 opinion that it is an ancient Aztec or Toltec ruin. 



THE HAYSTACK MOUND, LINCOLN COUNTY, DAKOTA. 

 By a. Barrandt, of Sioux City. 



This mound, one of the finest specimens of archasological remains in 

 the Northwest, is situated in Lincoln County, near the west fork of the 

 Little Sioux of Dakota or Turkey Creek, nearly eighty-five miles north- 

 west of Sioux City. It is situated on a fine bottom, and is 327 feet in length 

 at the base on the northwest side, and 290 feet on the southeast side, 

 and 120 feet wide. Its sides slope at an angle of about 50° ; it is from 

 34 to II feet in height, the northeast end being the higher. To the sum- 

 mit, which is from 28 to 33 feet wide, there is a well-beaten path. It is 

 composed of calcined clay, which by burning has become hard and of a 

 dark brick color. Toward its base on the northeast side there is a 

 large portion of the side built of soft sandstone and limestone, which 

 were probably extracted from the large hill lying about three miles and 

 a half in a northwesterly direction, as I have found a large hole in the 

 side hill partially filled by the caving in of the bank. At first I thought 

 that it was a spur of the main ridge of hill that had been isolated by 

 the action of water which in former ages rushed down that valley, as 

 the cut banks on both sides of the creek clearly indicate ; but, on closer 

 examination, I found that it was built of the above-mentioned materials- 

 AYhat led to making a part of the mound with stone, I am at a loss to 

 conjecture. While examining the mound, I discovered on its southeast 

 side a hole which had all the appearance of a badger-hole ; it was about 

 18 feet from the base of the mound. I determined to ascertain whether 

 it was a badger-hole or some inlet which in the course of time might 

 have been filled up by the falling debris. I accordingly had a hole dug, 

 and, after reaching a distance of 23 feet horizontally, discovered a cavity 

 which was found to contain a part of the vertebra of an elk, several 

 bones, belonging probably to the same animal, and thirty-six broken 

 fragments of pottery, together with a pile of ashes and about half a 

 bushel of charcoal, and charred wood. This cavity was nearly circular, 

 about 7 feet in diameter, and about 3i or 4 feet high. 



