SOURCE OF ST. PETER's RIVER. 239 



orig;inally erected for the protection of the white population 

 at the village ; as a military post, its situation is by no 

 means a judicious one, for it commands neither the Mis- 

 sissippi nor Wisconsan ; but as the necessity which led to 

 . its construction is daily becoming less urgent, this posi- 

 tion will doubtless soon be abandoned ; one of the block- 

 houses of the fort is situated upon a large mound, which 

 appears to be artificial. This mound is so large, that it 

 supported the whole of the work at this place, previous to 

 the capture of the fort by the British and Indians ^during 

 the late war. It has been excavated, but we have not 

 heard that any bones or other remains were found in it. 



This is by no means the only mound found in the vi- 

 cinity of the Prairie. There are very numerous remains 

 of Indian works on the Wisconsan, near the Petit cap au 

 Gres ; Messrs. Say, Keating, and Seymour, went to examine 

 them. They found the bluffs which border upon the Wiscon- 

 san, about four miles above its mouth, covered with mounds, 

 parapets, &c. but no plan or system could be observed among 

 them, neither could they trace any such thing as a regular 

 enclosui'e. Among these works, they saw an embankment 

 about eighty-five yards long, divided towards its middle 

 by a sort of gateway, about four yards wide ; this parapet 

 was elevated from three to four feet ; it stood very near to 

 the edge of the bluff, as did also almost all the other em- 

 bankments which they saw. From this circumstance, they 

 were led to consider them as raised for the protection of 

 a party placed there, either for the defence of the bluff, or 

 to command the passage of the river. For either of these 

 objects, it must be acknowledged that the selection of the 

 position would be very advantageous. No connexion 

 whatever was observed between the parapets and the 

 mounds, except in one case, where a parapet was cut ofl^ 



