14-' MY LIFE 



miles below Cincinnati, and he drove US in a light waggon a 

 few miles to see some old Indian mounds. One very large 



tumulus, about twenty-five feet high, had been opened by a 



pit in the centre down to the ground level. At a farmhouse 

 near we found that the farmer had opened it, had found a 

 skeleton, two copper bracelets, several large stone weapons 



and tools, some very finely worked, and a lump of pure 

 aphite. Mr. Skinner thought that graphite had never been 

 found before in the mounds. On the way back we saw a very 

 large elongate mound, covered with trees and close to a vil- 

 lage. The valley of the Ohio was here very pleasant, with its 

 rich fields and low wooded hills of varied outline. Many 

 birds were seen, the brown thrush, red-winged blackbird, and 

 many others, all well known to my companions. The Ameri- 

 can Judas tree (Cercis canadensis) was in full flower and very 

 abundant, and the little spring beauty (Claytonia virginiana) 

 formed sheets of pale pink blossoms on the skirts of the 

 woods. We saw a few patches of virgin forest on the hills, 

 and here and there a rather fine tree, but these are always 

 scarce. 



The following day being very wet, our excursion to the 

 Madisonville Cemeteries was delayed a week. But on Sun- 

 day, the 24th, Dr. Dunn took me in his buggy, accompanied 

 by several other friends in a carriage, for a long drive to 

 the Turner group of mounds, which are very extensive, but 

 have been ploughed over. Near them is the cemetery, con- 

 sisting of a great number of small mounds in a wood, many 

 of which have been opened, and bones, with numbers of stone 

 weapons, ornaments, etc., found in them. Circular plates of 

 mica are common here. On the way back we visited a field 

 where quantities of pottery, flints, bones, etc., have been found 

 near to a small oval mound. The country we passed through 

 was very pleasant, and some of it quite picturesque, with 

 swelling hills, ridges, and valleys, often finely wooded and 

 park-like. 



During the week preceding this excursion I had spent four 

 days with Mr. Dury at Avondale, where he has a small house 

 and some land. There were some patches of the original 



