NO. 3 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I9QI5 Ge] 
or of evidences of fires throughout the mound at varying levels, and 
by the finding of a few objects derived from the white man in the 
upper part and in the slopes of the mound, but not in the lower 
levels. From this last observation it is evident that the occupancy 
of the mound extended well into the historical period, a fact sup- 
ported by the memory of the grandparents of present residents of 
the Nacoochee Valley who recalled the mound when the Cherokee 
Indians still occupied it and the surrounding area. 
Fic. 92.—Trench, east side of mound. View from the south. The lowermost 
part of the excavation shows the base of the mound. 
The fact that the mound was used for burial purposes 1s attested 
by the finding of the remains of 75 individuals during the course of 
the excavations, the graves occurring from slightly beneath the 
summit to a depth of about 19 feet, or below the original base of 
the mound. These graves, with few exceptions, were unmarked, and 
in most instances were not accompanied with objects of ceremony or 
utility. The exceptions were those remains with which were buried 
stone implements, shells or shell ornaments, a smoking pipe, a pottery 
vessel, or the like. The skeletons were found usually with the head 
pointed in an eastwardly direction, and were all in such a greatly 
decomposed condition that 1t was impossible to preserve any of them 
