MOUND EXPDOKATIONS — COOk's FARM GROUP. 223 



let, with their points directed inwards —one at the top, one at the bottom, 

 and one on each side about midway between the top and bottom. On 

 the upper left-hand corner of the tablet was found a shell [Unio pustulo- 

 sus) containing powdered red ochre, like that used to paint the figures on 

 the tablet. A beautiful quartz cry.stal was lying upon the center of the 

 tablet over the human figure. Outside of and around the vault were 

 numerous decayed shells, and a few small fragments of pottery. No 

 bones or relics other than those named were found. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TABLET (PLATE VII ). 



The tablet is a very evenly stratified, non-fossiliferous limestone, 

 apparently resembling the Upper Ilelderberg limestone composing the 

 mass of the rock of the lower end of Rock Island. It is about twelve 

 and a half inches (32 centimeters) long, seven and a half inches (1!) cen- 

 timeters) wide, and one and a half inches {3S millimeters) thick. 



The under side, as it was found lying in the vault, is a surface of nat- 

 ural cleavage, presenting no marks of inscriptions, nor of grinding. The 

 upper side had been roughly rubbed or ground to a somewhat smoother 

 or more even surface. 



The principal figure inscribed or graven is an uncouth human figure, 

 seated upon or astride a circle, with radial lines extending from it, appa- 

 rently intended to represent the sun. Within this circle, which is about 

 two and three-eighth inches (6 centimeters) in diameter, is engraved in 

 ouiline a face about half that size, but placed nearer the lower edge of 

 the outer circle. Above and rather to the right of this face is a crescent, 

 or arc of rather more than half a circle, whicli may or may not be in- 

 tended to represent the new moon. The human figure may represent the 

 sun-god seated upon his throne, the sun. He apparently holds in his 

 right hand some large object — perhaps a thunderbolt, and in his left 

 hand or by the left arm, a long staff or scepter. On the breast of the 

 figure is a very imperfect figure of a face, about five-eighths of an inch 

 (16 millimeters) in diameter. Immediately over his head is cut a figure in 

 the usual form of the copper "axes" found in the mounds, but much 

 smaller. Above this, at each of the upper corners, is cut a complete fig- 

 ure of a bird pipe, such as are f nmd, carved of stone, in these mounds, 

 and of nearly full size. These have each a bit of quartz crystal set in 

 for an eye— like the eyes of the animal figure from Mound No. 3, found 

 last year, and, like those, they were held in place by a white cement of 

 some kind, but which had lost its adhesive quality. Beneath these 

 pipes, and surrounding the head of the principal figure, are a number of 

 inscribed figures, at least five of which are identical with characters in- 

 scribed on the tablet from Mound No. 3. These consist of five characters 

 on the left and five on the right side, and on the right side are also two 

 groups of lines and dots. 



All these figures were formed by incised lines, which in the small fig- 

 ures are about one millimeter (1-25 inch) in depth, and in the large ones 

 three or four times as deep, and quite wide and coarse. The work has 

 apparently been done with poor and imperfect tools, and in the curved 



