LINDLEY ON JACKSON COUNTY MOUNDS. 



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Mound Explorations in Jackson County, Iowa. 



BY C. T. LINDLEY. 



In Iowa Township, Jackson County, Iowa, four miles below the mouth 

 of the Maquoketa River and about half a mile from the Mississippi, is a 

 group of nine mounds, situated on the farm of Thomas Boothby, near a 

 locality known to the people of the neighborhood as " The Point.'" The 

 land on which the mounds are situated rises very abruptly from the 

 river. The sweeping view of the two rivers and the height of the eleva- 

 tion makes this a very commanding and beautiful locality, thus exhibit- 

 ing another example of the taste displayed by these ancient people in 

 selecting the sites of their works. The place is still a favorite resort for 

 fishing parties and hunting excursions. 



At my suggestion, Mr. G. W. Boothby, of Goose Lake, Clinton County, 

 Iowa, examined four mounds of this group, and the following account 

 has been prepared from his statements. 



The mounds are nine in number, arranged in a single row. The first one 

 examined was that farthest up the river, and may be designated No. 1. 

 This mound was about five feet in height, and was an elongated pyra- 

 mid in shape, instead of conical, like the others. The remains of seven 

 skeletons were found, three with their heads to the east, and four with 

 the heads to the west. All were lying on their backs. Just above the 



riG. 7.-Two-thirds Natural Size. 



skeletons were three or four large stones. Under one of the skulls, be- 

 longing to a skeleton having its head to the west, was found a very thin 

 crescent-shaped implement of copper (Fig. 7), which was probably used 

 as a knife.* On the floor of the mound, about four feet north of the 

 center, was foimd a curious earthen vessel, lying bottom side up. It 

 was about twenty-five inches in circumference, and four inches deep. 

 The frailty of its structure was so great that it was almost wholly de- 

 stroyed in the attempt to unearth it. Directly under this vessel a perfo- 



*A shnilar implement, from a mound near Fond du Lac, Wis., is figured by Dr. Rau iu his 

 Account of the Archseological Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, page 60, 



