ANTIQUITIES. 383 



As to proof of the age of these ruins, trees have been cut down having one 

 hundred rings, which were grooving inside of the piles of ashes. 



That they were at least civilized, is shown by our finding the locality of a 

 blacksmith's forge, where the cinders, bits of iron, &c., were plenty. Each 

 house was furnished with a fireplace of stone, the foundations of which are 

 easily found. 



Among the articles I now have, though somewhat decayed, are knives, forks, 

 a fish-hook, piece of china bowl, piece of looking-glass, very long and well made 

 wrought nails, part of an iron hinge, part of a clay pipe, strips of copper, one 

 knife of extra fine quality of steel — has the name of " Pelou" on the blade. 

 If among your antiquities you have any cutlery bearing the same mark, it may 

 perhaps assist us to ascertain the direction these ancient settlers came from. 



If you deem this information of any value, and will give me any directions 

 regarding further explorations and the manner in which you wish the articles 

 sent you, I will, as soon as the frost in spring will permit, turn over the ashes 

 in several more places, in hopes to find some record to add interest to the dis- 

 covery. 



Can you gather any information by examining a jaw-bone of a human skele- 

 ton ? I have one I can send, found near the forge. 

 I remain yours, most respectfully, in haste, 



0. H. KELLEY. 



P. S. — I am the oldest white settler, with one exception, in this neighborhood, 

 having been here since January 1850, and have seen th'e forest cleared from the 

 ground Avhere these ruins are found, and the present little town of Dayton 

 built up. Senator Eamsey will vouch for my being an old settler here. 



ANCIENT RELICS IN MISSOURI. 



Washington, March 14, 18C4. 



My Dear Sir: I promised you some time ago a description of some ancient 

 relics of pottery from the mounds of Missouri, but that promise has remained 

 unfulfilled up to this time. 



Accompanying this note are photographs of three vessels : 



1. Front view i of probably a priest, or some official personage, if we re- 



2. Profile view ] gard the head-dress as a badge of office. 



.' -r^ n^ • i of a captive, bound, perhaps, for immolation. 



4. Profile view j ^ ^ ^ 



5. A plain vessel without any ornamentation. 



These vessels are about twelve inches in height and are composed of clay 

 slightly burnt, and are without any glazing. The interior is hollow, and the 

 orifice in two instances is at the side, and in the other at the top. The thick- 

 ness of the crust is about one-fourth of an inch. I regard them as water- 

 coolers ; the texture being such as to retain "water for a considerable time, and 

 also to allow evaporation from the exterior surface. 



I think you will agree with me that the ancient sculptor exhibited consider- 

 able skill in moulding. The proportions of the features are not very grossly 

 exaggerated, and he possessed sufficient skill to delineate the traits character- 

 istic of his race. Those traits belong not to the North American Indians, but, 

 I think, to the Peruvians. The fillet on the head I am disposed to think was 

 made of cloth. I hand you specimens of ancient weaving, which I have here- 

 tofore described. {Vide Trans. Am. Asso., Albany meeting,) [1855 ?| 



These specimens were taken from mounds in Mississippi county, Missouri, 

 by the late Sylvester Sexton, of Chicago, and are now in the possession of his 



