lixdley and pratt. mounds in rock island co. ill. . 173 



April 29th, 1881. — Regular Meeting. 



The President, Mr. J. D. Putnam, in the chair. Fourteen persons 

 present. 



Messrs. W. S. Smith and L. R. Witherell were elected regular 

 members. Mr. S. V. Proudfit. Glenwood, Iowa, was elected a cor- 

 responding member. 



May 27th, 1881. — Regular Meeting. 



Mr. W. H. Pratt in the chair. Four members present. 



Rev. J. Gass reported explorations of several mounds in Rock Is- 

 land County, Illinois, obtaining two stone pipes, and stated that he 

 would make a full report when he had made some further explor- 

 ations. 



The following paper was presented: 



Exploration of Nine Mounds in Rock Island 

 Covmty, 111., May 19th to 33d, 1881. 



BY U. T, LINDLEY AND C. L. PRATT. 



Under the instructions of the Academy, Messrs. C. T. Lindley, H. 

 M. White, D. T. McDonough, W. H. Davisson, and C. L. Pratt went 

 down the river, on the 19th inst, to a point in Illinois nearly opposite 

 Fairport, for the purpose of investigating a few of the very numerous 

 mounds in that district. We camped on the river bank, in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of the mounds, and near the farm of Mr. Eli Martin. 



The mounds are in several groups on the bluffs, which run along- 

 half a mile from the river, and these groups are pretty widely scat- 

 tered. We first began the work upon a group containing five 

 mounds, and lying on the bluff but a short distance east of Mr. Mar- 

 tin's house. Here we opened three mounds; but, although the search 

 made was systematic and complete, our labors were rewarded only 

 by the finding of a few bones in one of them. This one was con- 

 structed, seemingly, on a plan different from that employed in the 

 others, being of soft, black dirt; while the others were of clay, and 

 so hard as to require the constant use of a pick-axe. 



Concluding that further search in this quarter would be fruitless, 

 we adjourned to another group farther down the river, some two 

 miles west from Mr. Martin's house, and comprising nine mounds. 



Of these we chose such as appeared most likely to repay our efforts; 



