CALKIXS OX FLORIDA SHELL MOUXDS. 227 



river, north of Pilatka, and was some 250 feet long. 200 wide, and about 

 seven feet in depth, and made np of the little univalve shell Vivipara 

 contectoides, which I may remark now lives there as well as in our 

 northern waters. The top of the mound was overgrown with Saw Pal- 

 metto [Sabal semdata) ; also with live and water oaks {Qiiercus), which 

 seemed to find sufhcient nourishment in the scanty soil or sand that had 

 accumulated to the depth of a foot. Many of the trees could not have 

 been less than 800 years old. These are young, compared with some 

 growing on other mounds. I began digging at various points, but found 

 my labor constantly impeded by the intricate net work of roots. I man- 

 aged, however, to go down five feet, and was rewarded by finding a piece 

 of pottery and flint chip ; also, an awl made of the bone of some animal. 

 This was nearly two inches long, and broad at one end. with a hole 

 drilled through it. The other end was narrow and pointed. Below the 

 depth stated, the shells were crushed and disintegrated, showing great 

 age and a tendency to stratification. This is only one of many mounds 

 of the same character on the banks of the St. Johns. In addition to 

 these, broken pottery and shells are found almost everywhere, very fre- 

 quently on the suface of the soil. Much of the pottery is ornamented, 

 and I have found specimens exactly similar to some from Wisconsin. 

 Very few whole pieces occur, however, having been broken up by the 

 agencies of time, and where buried by the numerous roots which pene- 

 trate and destroy everything within reach. At Jacksonville may be 

 seen roads made from the material from the shell mounds. 



From the immense deposits then, we may conclude that the popula- 

 tion of this section must have been large, and the shells and game of the 

 country far more abundant than now. The shell-fisli were used for food, 

 and the empty shells became the foundations of the camps and huts of 

 the natives, and finally mounds of large extent. Successive generations 

 have occupied them as dwelling places, which they would naturally do 

 in a country so low and flat. Tradition speaks of three races having 

 inhabited Florida, and no doubt the earliest of these built the mounds. 

 The human bones found in them in a broken condition preclude the idea 

 of burial in a natural manner. It is almost certain that cannibalism 

 existed, but at what period we cannot tell. From all I could learn, I 

 should not assign an age of less than 600 years to the mounds of the in- 

 terior. But this is, of course, mere conjecture, and the secret must 

 remain forever buried with the strange people who reared these shell 

 structures. 



THE SHELL ^lOUKDS OF THE COAST. 



There are many of these on both the Atlantic and Gulf sides of Flor- 

 ida of large extent. Some are now far inland, others immediately on 

 the shore. I examined one of the largest mounds at Cedar Keys with 

 guite interesting results. I understand that Dr. Brinton examined the 

 same one and published his observations, but I have never seen his 

 work, much to my regret. The mound is situated on Way Key— one of 

 the group known as Cedar Keys. Here, under the shadow of the ancient 

 metropolis, as it may well be called, stands the modern city of Cedar 



