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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 93 



contact have been found in this village gives a minimum age of some 

 350 years for the site, although it may be much older. 



Prior to the wholesale breaking up of the prairie sod Lost Creek 

 was evidently a sizable stream at all times of the year, and its steep 

 western banks, some 50 feet high, testify to considerable cutting 

 power. At the time of our visit, July 8-27, 1930, the lower course of 

 the stream was bone dry, and only a few pools marked its southern 

 extension. In time of heavy rainfall, however, the stream still carries 

 a large amount of water. Cottonwoods, willows, bur oaks, elms, and 

 other deciduous trees grow thickly along the river and creek beds, but 

 beyond the draws leading into such bottoms the rolling hills are devoid 



Fig. 4. — Sketch map of Lost Creek district, Franklin County, i, 2, earth lodges 



at Dooley site. 



of trees. The soil of the hills and bottoms is a fertile sandy loam 

 favorable to both recent and ancient cultivation. In the course of 

 cutting its channel Lost Creek has exposed beds of limestone which 

 contain layers of brown and yellow jasper. The jasper is mostly of 

 a poor grade, though some clear deposits of the mineral occur. The 

 poorer quality jasper takes the form of thin layers which break oli' 

 in slabs ranging from a few inches to several feet in horizontal dimen- 

 sions and only a few inches in thickness. Both the clear jasper and the 

 slabs were employed by the natives in the manufacture of stone 

 artifacts and occasionally for flooring material. This juxtaposition of 

 wooded river bottom, rolling plains, and surface jasper quarries made 

 the general site exceptionally favorable for aboriginal occupation. 



