GASS ON JACKSON COUNTY MOUNDS. 155 



Mr. W. C. Putnam read an unpublished letter of the late 

 Gov. Joseph Duncan, describing the battle of Fort Stephenson, 

 fought at Lower Sandusky, August 2d, 1813. where 150 men, 

 nearly all of whom were very young, and whose commander. 

 Major Croghan, was but twenty-one, defeated 3,000 British and 

 Indians in a hardly fought battle. 



August IYth, 1877. — Geological and Archaeological Section. 

 Prof. W. H. Barris in the chair. 

 Fifteen members present. 

 The following communication was presented : 



Examination of a large Monnd in Jackson County, Iowa. 



BY REV. J. GASS. 



To the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences : 



During the month of June of this year I visited and examined a very 

 large mound in Jackson County, Iowa. This is, perhaps, the largest 

 mound in the eastern part of tlie State. It is of an oval form, tlie longer 

 diameter at the base being about 200 feet, and the shorter i20 feet, the 

 circumference nearly 700, and height yo to 35 feet. The sides are very 

 steep, sloping probably at an angle of about 70^ from the horizontal- 

 The top is a flat surface, about 30 x 5^ feet, and oval. Contrary to the cus- 

 tom of the mound builders, this mound is bi;ilt in a deep ravine, ou the 

 bottom of a small valley, and near the bank of a creek. 



At the center of the surface I dug a hole twelve to foiu'teen feet deep, 

 but found neither bones nor other indications of burials ; only a few 

 pieces of iron ore — hematite— some of which had evidently been burned, 

 and two arrow heads, all of which are now in our Museum. Owing to 

 the looseness of the earth, it was not safe to penetrate deeper, and I was 

 still about twenty feet above the level of the base. Not satisfied with 

 the result, but convinced of the impossibility of a successful exploration 

 under present circumstances, I was obliged to give up the work. 



A thorough exploration of this mound would seem to be a matter of 

 very great importance, on account of its extraordinary size, its particular 

 form, its peculiar situation, its undisturbed condition, and the fact that 

 no such large mound has been fully investigated here in the West. 



The public attention being so much directed toward mound explorations, 

 a case of so much importance as this will soon come to public notice, 

 and our Academy may lose a valuable opportunity to secure important 

 facts of the pre-historic tiirfe. I would therefore express the earnest 

 hope that the Academy will take measures to assist me in making an ex- 

 ploration of this remarkable mound as soon as possible. 



EespectfuUy submitted. J. Gass. 



