Transactions of the Canadian Institute. [Vol. IX. 



Leaden Object. 



1 6. A flat, circular piece of lead a little broader and thicker than a 

 Canadian copper cent. It has two similar perforations about equally 

 distant from the margin and from each other. The edge or margin is 

 rudely decorated by notches, and one face has seven rough indentations 

 in a circle between the two holes and the edge. This is nearly similar 

 to the few leaden discs which have been found in Wisconsin. It was 

 likely made from the galena or lead ore of some of the deposits now being 

 mined in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, and was used either as a coin 

 or as a pendant. The diameter of this disc is about an inch and a quarter, 

 that is, three and two-tenths centimetres. 



Conclusions. 



1. This is an artificial mound. 



2. It was intended for the burial of the dead. 



3. The interment was above the surface of the ground; there are no 

 pits or excavated receptacles for the remains. After the burning of fires 

 upon the ground, perhaps for several days, and probably for ceremonial- 

 or religious purposes, the bodies and relics were placed upon the spot 

 where the fires had been, and were then covered with soil scraped from 

 the surrounding locality wherever it could be most conveniently obtained. 

 Boulders were then brought and placed in a layer above them, and appar- 

 ently separated from the remains by a few inches of soil. More soil 

 was dug up or scraped and heaped upon the stones to a height of four or 

 five feet more, making a total elevation above the surrounding land at 

 the time of completion of perhaps eight or ten feet. At later times other 

 burials took place either by building separate mounds or by attaching 

 new mounds to the original one. 



4. The protective covering and monument is of stone boulders alone. 

 No wooden poles have been found. No cement or calcareous layer, and 

 no skulls of deer or other large animals have thus far been discovered. 

 This method of burial occurs in Manitoba and some other places; but, 

 it is usually found along with other forms of interment. 



5. The artifacts are chiefly of marine shells from the Gulf of Mexico, 

 including Oliva, Marginella and Fulgur. In addition to shells only two 

 fragments of pottery and one bone article have yet been found within 

 this tumulus. 



