MOUNDS, FORTIFICATIONS, AND EARTHWORKS. 37 



I have examined similar works of an extensive character on the Mississippi in 

 the vicinity of the present town of Hickman, Tennessee. 



One of the most remarkable aboriginal remains in Tennessee was found in the 

 fork of Duck River, near Manchester, and is known as the Stone Fort. The walls 

 of the structure were formed of loose stones gathered from the bed of the river. 

 The gateway, which opens towards the neck of land lying between the branches 

 of the river, is carefully protected by an inner line of works so constructed that 

 the enemy entering the area would be received into a cul-de-sac. Directly in 

 front of this gateway, and about half a mile distant, stands a remarkable mound, 

 the structure of which is similar to that of the walls of the Fort, being composed 

 of stones, the largest of which do not exceed a foot and a half in diameter. This 

 oblong mound is 600 feet in circumference, and -10 feet in height, and the labor 

 of collecting and depositing the loose stones by hand must have been considerable. 



"With these preliminary remarks I proceed to give a detailed account of the 

 results of my explorations. It has been deemed best not only to record the 

 general results of the explorations of the mounds, fortifications, and graves, but 

 also to give, at the same time, descriptions of the various relics. 



Stone Grave Burial Mounds. 



In a small mound, about forty-five feet in diameter, and about twelve feet in 

 height, which I explored, about ten miles from Nashville, near Brentwood, on the 

 banks of a small rivulet issuing from a cool never-failing spring of water, and 

 which contained, perhaps, one hundred skeletons, the stone graves, especially 

 toward the centre of the mound, Avere placed one upon the other, forming in the 

 highest part of the mound three or four ranges. Tlie oldest and lowest graves 

 were of the small square variety, whilst those near or on the summit, were of the 

 natural length and width of the inclosed skeletons. In this mound, as in other 

 burial places, the bones in the small square stone graves were frequently found 

 broken; and whilst some graves of this description contained only a portion of an 

 entire skeleton, others contained fragments of two or more skeletons mingled 

 together. These square graves were not of sufficient depth to receive the body in 

 a sitting posture, and appeared to have been the receptacles of the bones after the 

 flesh had been removed. The small mound now under consideration was one of 

 the most perfect in its construction, the lids of the upper stone cists being so 

 arranged as to present a iniiformly rounded, sloping rock surface. This mound 

 was situated on the western slope of a beautiful hill, covered with the magnificent 

 growth of the native forest. The remains of an aboriginal earthwork were still 

 visible surrounding the site of an extensive encampment and several mounds. 

 In a large and carefully constructed stone tomb, the lid of which was formed of a 

 flat rock over seven feet in lengtli and three in width, I found the bones of an 

 aged individual. The skeleton was about seven feet in length, and the huge jaws 

 had lost every A'estige of teeth, the alveolar processes being entirely absorbed. In 

 a grave occupied by what appeared to be a female skeleton, there was near the 

 head a small compartment or stone box, separated from the main coffin by stone 



