248 GEOLOGY OF THE TfflRD DISTRICT. 



a mound, requiring only to be insulated and rounded at the part now attached, to be like the 

 one in the midst of the flat. It would appear that the whole of the flat was once filled with 

 the same material of which the moimd is composed, the removal of which left the mound, it 

 having held a neutral position. 



There is another elevation, which would pass for a mound, were it seated in a plain or 

 flat ; it is in Fulmer valley, Herkimer county, to the right of the road going up the valley. 



The mounds which I have seen, descending a part of the Ohio river, were at the junction 

 of a tributary with that river; appearing to have been caused by the removal of alluvial 

 banks, the mounds holding the position of an eddy, with the two opposing currents which 

 swept away those parts within their vortex. In the same manner it is easy to conceive, that 

 when two bodies of water meet at right angles, carrying loose materials, the greatest deposit 

 would take place where their forces neutralize each other ; and from the circular movement 

 which results, a mound in form would be produced. Those seen, however, appeared to have 

 been caused by the removal of contiguous parts, and not by accumulation. 



That mounds are also of artificial origin, and the work of the aboriginal inhabitants, is also 

 unquestionable, from the observations of Dr. Locke of Ohio, and other western observers. 

 In New- York, earth-works of art have been met with, showing that the same labor could also 

 • have thrown up the earth in the form of a mound. These earth-works were seen, one near 

 Elmira, the first year of the survey ; and a second to the south of Fort-Plain, near the mouth 

 of Oxtimgo creek. The points chosen were just where two water-courses meet, the sides of 

 the bank being steep. These works are placed at a few hundred yards from the point of 

 junction, and consist of a bank of earth extending from creek to creek, gently sloping on the 

 outside of the triangle, the ditch from which the earth was taken to form the bank being 

 within the triangle. These works appear to have been made for the purpose of entrapping 

 deer ; it being easy to pass over into the area, but not so easy to return if pursued. They 

 are here noticed, to show that works of earth were formed by the original people of the 

 country, and that mounds may have been formed by them also ; and that undeniably, as in 

 the flat to the southeast of Marcellus village in Onondaga county, they are the result of what 

 are termed natiu-al causes, and belong to the quaternary period. 



