ANTIQUITIES. 381 



ANCIENT FORT AND BURIAL-GROUND. 



Perry City, New York, January 25, 1S64. 



Tlie remains of an ancient fort and burial-ground exist about one-half mile 

 northwest of Waterburg, a small village in the town of Ulysses, Tompkins 

 county, Xew York. When the country about here was unsettled, some sixty 

 years ago, the remains of this monument of a former period was plainly to be 

 seen. _ The fort (by which name it is called and generally known about here) 

 was situated on a rise of ground some twenty-five or thirty feet above the level 

 of a stream of water — Tanghanic creek — large enough, when the country was 

 new, to run a saw-mill four or five months of the year, the creek forming the 

 southeastern boundary of the lot. 



The " fort lot" contained eight or ten acres, perhaps, and around its eastern 

 and northern sides an embankment was thrown up several feet in height. At 

 this time it is not more than one foot, or near that; but, before it was ploughed, 

 it was considerably higher than at present. At the northwest extremity of 

 this embankment a ditch was dug at right angles to it. Around the outside 

 of the embankment posts were set, which, perhaps, served the same or a similar 

 purpose to that Avhich our fence-posts do now. These posts Avere .set into the 

 ground to a depth of three feet, and judging from this we should be led to con- 

 clude that they extended above ground eight or ten feet. On the west side 

 there were three rows of posts, but no embankment that could be discovered. 

 But it is very pfobable that the ditch, of which I have before spoken, extends the 

 whole length of the west side, though it can now be- traced but a little way. 

 At the northeast and southeast corners there were gate-posts set, where the 

 gates were situated, which afforded egress and ingress to the camp. The south- 

 east gate was calculated to afford a direct passage to the stream of water before 

 mentioned, while the other one led directly to a burial-ground. On the southern 

 and southeastern sides there is a bank fifteen or twenty feet in height, and 

 pretty steep. Posts were here set part way down the bank so that a bridge 

 might be formed over the bank for some purpose besides preventing any one 

 from entering from that side. Mr. Jonathan Owen, (an aged former who resides 

 near the fort,) from Avhom I have most of my information, thinks that the inhab- 

 itants of the enclosure had access to the creek by an underground passage. Let 

 this be as it may, it is very evident, from the appearances around, that they 

 guarded against enemies on all sides, thus showing that some other party or 

 nation Avas hostile to them. 



About sixty years ago everything that I have described was distinctly visible. 

 Parched Indian corn was seen in considerable quantities in various places. 

 The corn, in fact, was burnt black, and everything else showed that the Avhole 

 structure had been destroyed by fire. If it had rotted down or decomposed in 

 the ordinary way, it is not probable that the Avooden part of the fabric would 

 have remained many years. The part of the posts that entered the ground had 

 been burnt to charcoal. It is probable that large quantities of Indian corn 

 which were put up for fnture use Avere destroyed by fire. Mr. Owen stated that, 

 " after digging through about two inches of loose dirt," he came to a bed of 

 about the same thickness of bones, oyster, and clam shells, and a considerable 

 quantity of earthenware. The bones Avere principally deer's bones. EeloAV 

 this Avas a bed of ashes of nearly the same thickness. The remains of their 

 earthenAA^are showed that they had made some progress in the arts. 



"When the embankment around the northern and eastern sides Avas ploughed 

 it was found to be composed of a loose mucky earth, very much resembling 

 earth formed mostly from rotten Avood. This led Mr. Owen to the conclusion 

 that the embankment Avas formed of logs covered Avith earth. Its being covered 

 with earth to some depth Avould prevent the logs from taking fire when the 

 structure Avas destroyed in that Avay. 



