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590 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY, 



line, on a high bluff, hardly a quarter of a mile from the river. They are 



somewhat in this shape, the largest 

 mound being in the center. 



The mounds in Barnhill Township, 

 just east of Fairfield, are seven in num- 

 ber. They were explored two or three 

 years ago, butuothingbutcharcoalwas 

 , « • found in the bottom. I have inquired 



of the man living on the farm, but he 



does not find many tools, &c. The mound in Big Mound Township 



marked y-"^ is 3 miles from here. Ttis, probably, alarge natural mound 



o 



on the prairie, to which dirt, &c., has been brought from other parts, and 

 so completed the cemetery. There are many graves, and several bodies or 

 parts of bodies apiiear to be buried in one grave, but they are so decayed 

 that no perfect skulls can be obtained. The graves are made by building 

 the side and end walla of a hard sandstone, with a large one for the bottom 

 and one for the top. The stone could not have been obtained nearer than 

 7 or 8 miles, on the Skillet Fork. Two trees are growing on the mound, one 

 of them a catalpa and the other an dak, both of which have been planted, 

 beyond a doubt. The catalpa is found in abundance in our river bottoms, 

 but there are none on the upland. The other two mounds in the same 

 township are also large, and located in the bottoms in the woods. One 

 of them was found to contain human remains and a few broken i>ieces 

 of pottery, but nothing of value. The other contained human remains, 

 but not in any order of arrangements j also river shells, dccr-horns, 

 wolf jaws, &c. ; also much charcoal and many small stones occur among 

 the mass. The group of mounds in Four Mile Township is near the 

 Skillet Fork. The one in the southwestern corner, marked " Explored," 

 has been plowed over a great many times, and evidently contained 

 human remains and flint tools. The second one above it was explored 

 this spring, but not very thoroughly, as it was very warm and the woods 

 dense. Human remains were found, and one broken piece of pottery, 

 too small to tell its shape, and one flint arrow-point. The pottery was 

 different from any I have ever seen, of bright-red clay and small peb- 

 bles. There are probably a gi^eat many mounds about 12 or 15 miles 

 from here, in the woods, all of which are built on what is called Flem- 

 ing's Kidge, mentioned above. Probably the Mound Builders settled 

 on the same ground for this reason : the best ford on the river was just 

 south of the mounds, in fact it is the only place I know of where it can 

 be forded at all for miles. The place marked " Hay Pond" is a low place 

 that used to be a kind of lake, which was drained by the inhabitants 

 to catch the fish. The mound in Leech Township (on the north) is near 

 my dwelling. Those south of it are three in number, situated as in- 

 dicated in the drawing. Eight on the bluff is a square hole 10 or 12 

 feet in diameter. All of these mounds are unexplored. The square 

 hole used to be much deeper than it is now, about 5 to 7 feet. 



