MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 633 



but my companions would not stop. I was assured, by a gentlemau 

 who had resided on the island for 24 years, that the canal extended 

 across the island a distance of 3 miles, and that it could be traced in- 

 land (from the shore of the mainland) a distance of 14 miles. A canal 

 similar in character exists between the falls at the head of the Caloosa- 

 hatchee and Lake Okeechobee. An old coaster informed me that he 

 had discerned an ancient canal on one of the Thousand Islands south 

 of Cape Eomano. Those excavations are evidently very old and not the 

 work of Indians. They were not construicted for defensive purposes, 

 but evidently for canals. 



In his examinations, Professor Wyman did not visit the large mounds 

 of the State. The largest of those standing are to be found on Pine 

 Island and Gasparilla Island, Charlotte Harbor, at Old Fort Centre, 

 Fish Eating Creek, on the plain between l^ew Fort Centre and Fort 

 Thompson, and between Fort Myers and Cyprus Bay. The mound at 

 Old Fort Centre is about 50 feet high. It was evidently used for burial 

 purposes, and if an excavation was made many things might be collected. 

 I used a stick, and with a few minutes' scratching I found bones every- 

 where. The largest and most interesting mounds in the State have es- 

 caped notice and examination. From the immense number and large 

 size of the shell heaps on the southwest coast, this section must have 

 been inhabited for a long period by a large population. The distribution 

 of the shells in some of the heaps led me to believe that the inhabitants 

 were governed by some law. In some of the heaps you will find a layer 

 of conch shells several feet in thickness, and above or below a layer of 

 oyster shells. The largest number of shell mounds are to be found on 

 the IS^elt River, a lagoon or river connecting Crystal and Henoosana 

 Rivers. 



In my wanderings I found a remarkable shell deposit on the shore of 

 Orange Lake. I noticed an elevation on the flat near the shore of the 

 lake, covering ov^er an acre and about 6 feet high. I noticed on the 

 surface fragments of oyster shells. I obtained a grubbing hoe and 

 made an excavation about 2 feet deep, and found a bed of oyster shells. 

 They differed from other shells I have examined in other portions of the 

 State. As far as examined, each shell had been broken at the end, as 

 oysters were opened some years ago. The present elevation of Orange 

 Lake is 48 feet 8 inches above the ocean level. The nearest oyster bed 

 is distant 43 miles. This immense heap of shells was not trans])orted 

 43 miles, but in my opinion were obtained from Orange Lake when it 

 was a bay or estuary of the sea. From my investigations I feel assured 

 that the oysters were collected and eaten when the State of Florida 

 consisted of a belt of high land extending from the Chattahoochee to a 

 point south of Sumterville, and before the balance of the State at- 

 tained its present elevation above the ocean. If my views are correct, 

 Florida was inhabited a long time ago. If the shells referred to have 

 not presented the endeavors of man's work I might have referred the 



