108 BULLETIN 18 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



for relics. Not one had escaped partial despoliation; several had been 

 more or less thoroughly plundered; and two or three had been so 

 completely torn apart that even the original size, dimensions, and 

 position of stones were no longer obtainable. For the most part this 

 digging had been done surreptitiously and in defiance of the stated 

 wishes of the property owners. Since the mounds were all of com- 

 paratively limited size and depth, any one of them could have been 

 entirely cleared and demolished in one day by two or three persons 

 seeking only relics or skulls. This circumstance makes their protec- 

 tion well-nigh impossible even by well-intentioned land owners. What 

 information as to structural details was secured by the excavators, if 

 indeed such considerations ever occurred to them, is not known ; so far 

 as I am aware, no photographs, sketches, or notes of any sort were 

 kept. Accurate interpretation of archeological remains is almost al- 

 ways difficult even under optimum conditions. When to this is added 

 the mischief done through partial effacement of such evidence as has 

 survived the passage of time, the obstacles to reconstruction of native 

 customs and practices become formidable indeed. In the present 

 instance, we reopened and examined every mound in the three groups, 

 and such conclusions as have been advanced elsewhere rest on the 

 evidence salvaged from all. 



In the ensuing description, the mounds have been arbitrarily di- 

 vided into three groups according to the property on which they lie. 

 Within each such group, the mounds have been further designated 

 individually by letters — thus Pearl A, B, C, D, and E, Nolan A, B. 

 C, and D, and Babcock A and B. Their exact position relative to 

 one another and to topographic and other features may be understood 

 by reference to the key map (fig. 12). Exact elevations above sea 

 level of their bases are as follows: Pearl A, 965 feet; Pearl B, 932; 

 Pearl C, 966; Pearl D, 964; Pearl E, 962; Nolan A, 967; Nolan B, 957: 

 Nolan C, 956; Nolan D, 948; Babcock A, 974; Babcock B, 872. 



Pearl A. — Of the entire group of mounds at Pearl Branch, this (fig. 

 12, 1) alone seems to have escaped the ravages of the pothunter until 

 shortly before our arrival. Wlien first seen and reported to me by 

 Shippee, it was about 25 feet across and not over 18 inches high. Bits 

 of burnt red clay and some stones were scattered over the surface, but 

 the evidences were generally very slight by comparison with the neigh- 

 boring mounds. Unfortunately its existence came to the notice of 

 relic collectors said to live in Leavenworth, Kans., and during the 

 spring of 1938 it was very considerably damaged by these individuals 

 in an effort to anticipate the investigations of the National Museum. 

 When we arrived on the scene, many large and small pieces of burnt 

 bricklike clay, limestone slabs, and occasional bits of calcined human 

 bone littered the surface. Subsequent examination showed that an 

 area not less than 10 feet across had been dug to a maximum depth 



