MONUMENTS OF THE NORTH-WEST. ' 137 



at right angles. In different villages their distance apart varies, but is generally 

 uniform in the same group. Sometimes they are as near as ten paces to each 

 other, while in other instances they are separated twenty or thirty paces. These 

 ruined villages are numerous in the vicinity of Mine la Motte.* The town of 

 Frederickton stands upon one of these sites. I have noticed in them the usual 

 prerogative of power, — the largest houses are always nearest the water, and the 

 smallest most distant. It would appear that the selection of the site was governed 

 by the convenience of water alone ; the principals taking the nearest position to 

 the stream. I have counted upwards of two hundred of these mounds in a single 

 group. Arrow-heads of jasper and agate, and axes of sienite and porphyry, have 

 been found in these vicinities. No other remains of a remarkable character have, 

 so far as I am aware, been discovered."t 



It may be conjectured, that the remains here mentioned are the traces of Indian 

 villages. The Mandans, Minatarees, and some other tribes, built their huts of 

 earth, resting on a framework of wood. Previous to their erection, however, the 

 soil was excavated to the depth of about two feet, and the ruins of their towns are 

 designated rather by depressions than elevations. It is also well known that their 

 lodges were grouped without regularity, and close together, with just enough room 

 between them to permit of moving about.:}: The sites of most of the Indian towns 

 are only indicated by the graves in their vicinity, and by the bones and fragments 

 of rude pottery scattered over the surface. 



Besides these remains, there are numerous others in the valley of the Missouri, 

 bearing a close resemblance to those upon the Ohio and its branches. Lewis 

 and Clarke describe a very extensive series of works, one thousand miles up the 

 Missouri, embracing an area of about four hundred acres. It is situated upon a 

 peninsula formed by a bend of the river, and consists of two long walls, from six 

 to fifteen feet 'in height, and from seventy-five to one hundred feet broad at the 



* Remains, similar to those here described, are abundant in Peru, where they indicate the sites of ancient 

 towns and cities. The streets are always easily trac ed, and cross each other at right angles with great 

 regularity. "The sites of the houses or huts are generally marked by heaps of earth; though in some 

 instances the walls of the larger structures remain, in part, standing. These walls are represented to be 

 three feet in thickness. Some of these towns are enclosed by fortifications, which have now crumbled 

 down so as to present the simple appearance of earth embankments. The remains of one of these ancient 

 towns, occurring midway between Truxillo and Huanchuco, cover several miles in extent." — Proctor. 



f It is probable the remains here described are similar to those observed by Lewis and Clarke, on 

 the Missouri, some distance above the mouth of the Platte. " At ten miles above our encampment, we 

 examined a curious collection of graves or mounds, on th e south side of the river. Not far from a low 

 piece of land and a pond, is a tract about two hundred acres in extent, which is covered with mounds of 

 various shapes and sizes : some of sand, and some of both earth and sand ; the largest being nearest the 

 river. These mounds indicate the position of the ancient village of the Ottoes, before they retired to the 

 protection of the Pawnees." — Lewis and Clark, p. 26. 



X Catlin's North American Indians, vol. i. p. 82 ; Breckenridge's Voyage up the Missouri, (Views of 

 Louisiana,) p. 248. " Imagine you see a heap of cabins without order or design, some like cart houses, 

 others like tubs, built of bark, supported by posts, sometimes plastered on the outside with mud in a 

 coarse manner; in a word built with less art, neatness, and solidity, than the cabins of the heaver: and 

 vou have an Indian village." — Charlrroir's Tniwh in Canadn. vol. ii. p. 127, 



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