MOUNDS, FORTIFICATIONS, AND EARTHWORKS. 53 



implement which had ever come into my possession in connection with the stone 

 graves and mounds, I made a careiul search for the old negro, but he had either 

 died or had removed to some other place, and it was impossible for me to form 

 any judgment as to its connection with the stone grave race, as it might have 

 been deposited or lost in the field by the Cherokees or Chickasaws, who inflicted 

 much damage on tlie early settlers in the Cumberland Valley. 



Nine miles from Nashville, near the White Creek Road, on the farm of Mr. 

 Dixon, I examined numerous stone graves lying on the western slope of a high 

 hill. These graves were of various sizes, from that just large enough for a new- 

 born babe to that long enough for the skeleton over six feet in length. As was 

 usually the case in other stone grave burying-grounds, the small graves were con- 

 structed of thin slate, and the sides were parallel; whilst in the large graves the 

 side slabs approaclied each other towards the foot. Tlie greatest width of the 

 long graves was in that portion occupied by the shoulders and thorax of the 

 skeleton. The general outline of many of these long graves, therefore, resembled 

 that of the modern coffin. Although this ancient cemetery had been long cultivated, 

 the stumps of several large trees were still standing, and beneath the roots of a very 

 large poplar, and partially covered by the central trunk, lay the grave of a small 

 infant, most carefully constructed of fiat rocks. The stump of the tree had been 

 partially consumed by fire, but from its great size, and the numerous rings remain- 

 ing, I judged that it must have been at least two centuries old at the time of its 

 destruction. 



Stone-hatchets, arrow-heads, vases, fragments of pottery, and several large stone 

 implements, which appear to have been used as spades and hoes, have been 

 exhumed from time to time during the cultivation of the soil in and around this 

 ancient graveyard. 



One of the largest, flat, spear-shaped implements, ten inches in length and four 

 inches in breadth, is represented in Fig. 21, greatly reduced in size. 



Fig. 21. 



Stone implement of silex, from an ancient bnrying-ground near ihe "White Creek Eoad, on the farm of Mr. Dixon, 



nine miles from Nashville. 



From a large stone grave in this locality a remarkable vase, composed of black 

 clay and crushed shells, was obtained. The neck terminated in the head of some 

 animal which bears a striking resemblance to a raccoon. This vessel is 7.7 inches 

 in height and 20.2 inches in circumference. The large oval portion appeared to 

 have been fashioned first, and then the neck and head were joined, the place of 

 union being distinctly visible. Although this vase is of remarkable symmetry, it 



