MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 581 



a trail, but all other marks are uovr obliterated. Still further to the 

 south, but whose exact positiou I did uot learn, are several other inouuds, 

 which 1 think have been more or less explored. To the southeast, at a 

 distance of 5 or G miles, is a structure known now as "Stone Fort," that 

 is supposed to have been constructed by the Indians, and probably for 

 defensive purposes. This is, or evidently has been, a wall across the 

 neck of a projecting point of rocks, thouj^h it is now but a lon<^ pile of 

 stone as though a wall had been demolished. Northwest from this 

 mound, some 12 or 15 miles west of Carbondale, are other mounds, while 

 north or northwest of these are others, as though forming a line with 

 those that have been found within the vicinity of East Saint Louis and 

 Alton. All these facts seem to bear more or less directly on the idea 

 that at some time this locality had been a place of general work and 

 resort. 



The central part of the mound had been more or less disturbed on 

 top by having been a place where brush and other refuse had been 

 burned, and where hogs had lain and rooted, but it was claimed by Mr. 

 Norbur}^, the owner of the place, that other than this it had not been 

 disturbed. As intinrnted before, the mound was composed of th^ nat- 

 ural black surface soil of the place mingled with chips of flint and broken 

 pieces of pottery, the latter red, the flint of a blue kmd, and in all shapes 

 and sizes, but we found no arrow-heads or other imi)lements of the same 

 kind of stone. We found only one arrow-head, and that was of white 

 flint, regular lanceolate shape and about 3 inches long. The pie<3es of 

 pottery were all small and of irregular shai)es. The only implement 

 found, other than the arrow-head, was a thong-gauge, about 3 inches 

 long by about an inch and a half wide, with two gauge-holes and a slight 

 depression on one side between the holes as though a place for the thumb 

 when used. This wag composed of either red stone or pottery ; I am 

 inclined to think the first, as it seemed to be too compact for pottery, or 

 at least more so than the broken pieces found. 



In the northwest part of the mound was found a skeleton in a hori- 

 zontal position b'ing on the back with the head towards the northeast, 

 and about 3} feet below the toj) of the mound. The bones were so de- 

 composed that it was with difficulty that a whole one of any part of the 

 skeleton could be taken out without breaking and crumbling, though 

 while in position the shape of the skull indicated that it corresponded 

 with those taken from other mounds at Sand Eidge, this county, and 

 other i)oints in the vicinitj*. 



Xo other complete skeleton was found in the mound, though pieces of 

 human bones representing nearly all parts of the skeleton were scattered 

 through different parts of the structure, together with the bones of other 

 animals. Of these we could recognize the lower maxillary of deer and 

 the atlas of a bear, but the rest were too much broken to be identified. 

 Besides these there were a few laud-shells, a species of helLv, and a few 

 broken salt-water shells, perhaps of some species of uuio. The scattered 



