NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG Il5 



whether there were similar pits nearby. For the same reason a trench 

 was run across the high ridge about 200 yards to the northeast (fig. 8, 

 site la). No evidences of human disturbances were found, and if other 

 pits exist here we were unable to find any trace of them. Since an 

 area 5 feet square, covered with limestone boulders and jasper slabs, 

 had been noted on a hill about one-half mile to the southeast, we also 

 sank pits here (fig. 8, site ib). The stones were all on the surface 

 of the ground and after removing these we sank a trench to a depth of 

 3 feet with negative results. These stones, which are not natural on 

 such an eminence, may have been carried to the spot to form a fireplace, 

 either by whites or Indians. 



As previously mentioned, Indian Hill (fig. 8, site id), to the south 

 of Graham Hill, received its name from skeletal remains dug up in 

 times past. The entire summit of Indian Hill and many places on the 

 sides have been completely overturned by numerous relic hunters. 

 Since no records of any of this work exist and since the material 

 secured is hopelessly scattered, it is impossible to draw any con- 

 clusions regarding its significance. We sank many trial pits on such 

 parts of the hill as had not been completely dug over but obtained 

 only negative results. It is possible that careful excavation on the 

 extreme summit, which we neglected because of its hopelessly torn-up 

 appearance, might reveal deeper and undisturbed deposits. Bertrand 

 Schultz, of Red Cloud, secured many shell beads here and found two 

 nearly complete skeletons. Around the neck of one were many shell 

 beads and the three cut shell ornaments illustrated here (pi. ii, fig. i, 

 g, h, i) , which had formed part of a necklace. The ornaments are cut 

 from the shell of a fresh-water mussel. A priori it might seem logical 

 to suppose that there was once an ossuary pit on Indian Hill as there 

 was on Graham Hill, but evidence as to the exact nature of the former 

 site is too fragmentary to support any conclusion. It may be signifi- 

 cant that Schultz does not report any pottery from this site, nor 

 did we find any, either in our trenches or on the dirt piles of the 

 former excavations. On a low knoll to the northwest of Indian Hill 

 (fig. 8, site le) a trench 4 feet deep yielded a few bits of burned clay 

 and charcoal in the upper 2 feet, but no other traces of habitation. 

 There should be aboriginal house sites in this vicinity, to judge from 

 the favorable location just above the stream with its bottom lands 

 and below the burial hills. However, our trenches here did not find 

 them. The arroyos and canyons in this vicinity yield many fossils, 

 and the bluft* region along the Republican River generally may well 

 yield much more ancient traces of man than those already reported. 

 It may be mentioned that members of our party visited a large rock 



