Il6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



shelter or cave just southwest of Indian Hill, locally known as " Buf- 

 falo Bill's Cave ". It is a limestone formation with slightly smoke- 

 blackened walls but has no soil deposit on the floor and is therefore 

 sterile from an archeological standpoint. 



CONCLUSIONS REGARDING PRAIRIE DOG CREEK SITES 



From the foregoing it is clear that we only sampled the sites in the 

 vicinity of the junction of Prairie Dog Creek and the Republican 

 River. It is evident that at least one village site similar to that de- 

 scribed from Lost Creek is located in the corn fields below the Graham 

 ossuary. It is also probable that there are other burial places in the 

 vicinity and that extremely careful excavation on the summit of Indian 

 Hill might yet recover valuable details in regard to this badly looted 

 but undoubtedly significant site. From the information so far avail- 

 able concerning Indian Hill we are unable to state whether it is similar 

 to the Graham ossuary or to the Marshall ossuary which will be de- 

 scribed shortly, or whether it is unique in possessing complete inter- 

 ments. Careful work around and under the looted areas may yet 

 answer these questions, and the scientific excavator who is fortunate 

 enough to discover an untouched burial place of this type will obtain 

 even more valuable information. 



Concerning the Graham ossuary it seems most probable that this 

 communal pit was used for the ultimate disposal of human remains 

 previously exposed elsewhere. The fact that many of these bones are 

 charred suggests that the racks or scaffolds on which they had been 

 exposed may have fallen down and the bones been scorched by prairie 

 fires. From time to time these remains were gathered up with such 

 votary oft'erings as remained with them and thrown into the pit, where 

 they were covered with soil. Such an explanation best accounts for the 

 utterly haphazard disposition of the bones and the weathering of the 

 artifacts as well as the occasional charring of both bones and of- 

 ferings. It is noteworthy that no individual pits for interment oc- 

 curred ; rather a general area, approximately 24 feet square, was used 

 in common and presumably over a considerable period. Beyond once 

 more referring to the close similarity between the cultural remains 

 from this ossuary and the material from the Lost Creek houses, we 

 will leave further consideration of cultural correspondences for later 

 general discussion. 



Ossuary on the Republican River (Marshall Site), 

 Harlan County 



On the Marshall farm, 3 miles west and 2 miles north of the Graham 

 site and close to the south bank of the Republican River, is located 



