X48 ANCIENT MONUMENTS. 



lower sand stratum in this, as in several other instances, rested directly upon the 

 outer sides of the altar. 



In this mound, three feet below the surface, were found two very well preserved 

 skeletons, the presence of which was indicated, at the commeijpement of the 

 excavation, by the interruption of the layers, as above described. They were 

 placed side by side, the head of one resting at the elbow of the other. Under and 

 about the heads of both were deposited some large rough fragments of greenstone, 

 identical with that of which most of the stone implements of the former Indian tribes 

 of the valley were made. There were also deposited with the skeletons many imple- 

 ments of stone, horn, and bone ; among which was a beautiful chip of hornstone, about 

 the size of the palm of one's hand, which had manifestly been used for cutting purposes. 

 There were several hand-axes and gouges of stone, and some articles made from 

 the horns of the deer or elk, w hich resemble the handles of large knives ; but no 

 traces of iron or other metals were discoverable. Among the implements of bone 

 was one formed from the shoulder-blade of the buffalo, in shape resembling a 

 Turkish scimetar ; also a singular notched instrument of bone, evidently hitended 

 for insertion in a handle, and designed, in common with similar articles in use by 

 the Indians of the present day, for distributing the paint in lines and other orna- 

 mental figures on the faces of the warriors. Another instrument was also found, 

 made by cutting oft" a section of the main stem of an elk's horn, leaving one of the 

 principal prongs attached ; used perhaps as a hammer or war-club. Besides these 

 there were some gouges made of elk's horns, and a variety of similar relics ; all of 

 exceeding rudeness, and of no great antiquity. The skulls found in this mound 

 possessed no marked features to distinguish them from the crania found in the 

 kn own burial-places of the Shawanoes and other late Indian tribes. 



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This mound, Fig. 33, is numbered 4 in the plan of " Mound City." It is oblong 

 in shape, measuring ninety by sixty feet base, and six feet in height. It has two 

 sand strata, as shown in the section. The altar in this mound is remarkable from 

 its depth, which is twenty-two inches, the hollow of the basin sinking a foot or 

 more below the original surface of the soil. Its form and dimensions are best 

 explained by the plan and section. Nothing was contained in the basin, except a 

 white mass or layer five inches thick, a, presenting all the appearances of sharp 



