A GRASP OF GEOLOGIC TIME. 173 



he throw so small an object into a hole where not one 

 chance in a thousand existed that it would ever be seen 

 again by any person. 



If this object does not date from the age of the stra- 

 tum from which obtained, it can only be a relic of the 

 sixteenth or seventeenth century, buried beneath the allu- 

 vium deposited more recently by the Illinois river. The 

 country is a level prairie, and " Peoria Lake " is an ex- 

 pansion of the river ten miles long and a mile and a 

 half broad. It is certainly possible that in such a region 

 deep alluvial deposits may have formed since the visits 

 of the French in the latter part of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury. But it is not easy to admit an accumulation of 

 114 or 125 feet, since such a depth extends too much 

 below the surface of the river. In Whiteside county, 50 

 miles northwest from Peoria county, about 1851, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Moffat, a large copper ring was found 120 

 feet beneath the surface, as also something which has 

 been compared to a boat-hook. Several other objects have 

 been found at less depths, including stone pipes and pot- 

 tery, and a spear-shaped hatchet, made of iron. If these 

 are not "ancient," their occurrence at depths of 10, 40, 

 50 and 120 feet must be explained as I have suggested 

 in reference to the "coin." An instrument of iron is a 

 strong indication of the civilized origin of all. 



I do not present these facts as evidence that the Indian 

 roamed over Illinois before the prairie soil was deposited. 

 I do not conclude that these objects may have been lost 

 from Indian canoes at a time when the prairies of Illinois 

 were under water. I think it proper, however, to put 

 them on record, and leave the subject for future elucida- 

 tion. 



