GASS ON MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 141 



Report of Exploration of Mound. No. 10, Cook's Farm Group. 

 BY REV. J. GASS. 



To the Academy of Natural Sciences: 



Having recently explored another mound of the Cook Farm Group, I 

 would respectfully present the following brief description of it : 



FIG. 15.— Scale, six feet to one inch. 



Vertical section of Mound No 10, Cook's Farm Group, east and west; c-s, original surface of 

 the earth; eee, undisturbed earth: a, altar or pile of stones; b, human lei^ bones under the 

 stones : c, layer of shells ; d, fragments of pottery. 



This mound, which we will designate as Mound No. 10, is situated in 

 the second or northwesterly row of mounds, and is ninety-five feet north- 

 west of Mound No. 1, and 100 feet northeast of Mound No. 5. It should 

 be mentioned that these mounds have been numbered in the order of 

 their exploration, and without reference to their relative position. Mound 

 No. 10 is the smallest and least important one of the group. It was about 

 fifteen feet in diameter, and about eight inches above the surrounding 

 surface. All the mounds in this row, viz: Nos. 7, 5 and 10, are less ele- 

 vated than those of the other line. Six inches below the surface I found 

 a pile (or altar Vi of stones, which were packed closely together through- 

 out, and although of irregular size and form, they were so arranged as to 

 present a tolerably even surface on each side of the pile, which was 3^ 

 feet long from east to west, and 2* feet from north to south, and 2? feet 

 high. The whole pile rested upon the hard, undisturbed clay at the bot- 

 tom of the excavation, and 3 feet from the surface of the ground. The 

 excavation was about ten feet long from east to west, and 6 feet wide, 

 rather more than 2 feet deep, and rounded at corners and bottom, being 

 of the same form as those already described in Mound No. 3. The 

 mound was 3 feet in depth, from the surface to the hard clay at the bot- 

 tom of the excavation. In the lowest layer of the pile was a flat stone, 

 2 feet long, 10 inches wide, and about 2 inches thick, lying with the 

 smoother side downward. Beneath this stone I found fragments of the 

 leg bones of a human body, pressed down into the clay. About 2 to 2i 

 feet west from this pile, and 1 to 1+ feet below the surface, was a small 

 layer of the usual river shells, about 3 feet long from north to South, and 

 2+ feet wide and 1 inch thick. This layer was in an arched form, tlie 

 north and south edges being curved downward. The shells were much 

 decayed, and not a single one could be preserved. Three or four inches 

 below this shell layer, and directly under the middle, were several frag- 

 ments of pottery, evidently comprising not nearly all of the original ves- 

 sel, and three small polished stones. The pieces were nicely packed 



