94 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



ers, the bones being in a good state of preservation, and. as is often 

 found in Indian graves, covered with the boughs of oak trees. 



The objects found with these bones were a fire steel, a common clay 

 pipe, a nur::ber of shell and glass beads, and a silver ear ring. A few of 

 the bones exhibit some cuts, made apparently by sharp teeth or some 

 cutting instrument. It should also be remarked that fragments of human 

 bones were found scattered through the earth at about the same depth as 

 the skeletons above referred to, viz : one and one-half feet below the 

 surface. 



Immediately beneath the above mentioned skeletons was found a thin 

 layer of river shells, from one to two inches in thickness, which sloped 

 slightly toward the north (c). At the south side of this excavation, about 

 two feet below the surface, we found a large quantity of ashes. This bed 

 of ashes was beyond the circumference of the shell layer, hence we can- 

 not positively determine whether the ashes have been placed there by the 

 mound builders. 



The layer of shells above mentioned rested upon a stratum of earth 

 twelve inches in depth, under which was found a second bed of shells (d), 

 three or four inches in thickness. This second layer of shells sloped 

 more abruptly to the northward, which induced us to proceed in that 

 direction, until we reached what proved to be the south side of the 

 grave A. Here, at the depth of about two feet below the second shell 

 bed. about five and one-half feet below the surface, were discovered three 

 skeletons, two of adults, and the third that of a child, lying in a horizon- 

 tal position on the hard clay, with the heads to the west and the feet to 

 the east. The small skeleton was lying between the two larger ones. 



At the east end of the grave we found several small fragments of 

 skulls All of the bones were covered with loose black earth, occupy- 

 ing the space between them and the lower sliell bed. Immediately in 

 contact with the bones of the child's skeleton were a large number of 

 copper beads (see Nos. 12 to 18, Plate VI, A^ol. I). About three inches 

 above the southernmost of the two larger skeletons, and near the right 

 shoulder were discovered two copi>er axes (Nos. 3 and 5, PI. V, Vol. I) 

 lying side by side, with the sharp edges toward ihe south. 



Near the northernmost skeleton were found three copper axes (Nos. 1, 

 2 and 4, PI. V) in the same relative position, except that they were about 

 two feet above the bottom of the grave, and immediately beneatli the 

 lower layer of shells. Nos. 1 and 2 were lying side by side, with the 

 sharp edge toward the south, and No. 4 lying across them with the edge 

 westward. All the axes had been wrapped in cloth, which was more or 

 less imperfectly preserved. A few of the bones of the child were of a 

 greenish color, quite well preserved, probably by the action of the cop- 

 per, while the rest of them, as well as those of the other skeletons, 

 crumbled in pieces as soon as removed. 



Just north of the northernmost large skeleton, and in a small cavity 

 excavated at the north side of the grave (e), were found the following arti- 

 cles, viz : 1st, a number of small red stones arranged in the form of a 



