THE ARC IIKOLOGICAL II J STORY OF NEW YORK 237 



have been found also among other peoples, their combination here 

 seems practically conclusive proof. But what Iroquoian tribe i> 

 this? There are two answers possible: they were either the Erie or 

 Cat Nation, an extinct tribe known to have been of Iroquoian stock, 

 or they were Seneca. Beauchamp, in his ''Aboriginal Occupation 

 of New York," places the Erie in the region southwest of Buffalo, 

 and has done so on good authority, as will be seen from an account 

 of this subject prepared by Mr Dilworth M. Silver of Buffalo, who 

 has given it much attention. The Erie, however, were destroyed 

 by the Seneca in or about 1655, according to the Jesuit Relations 

 and Charlevoix's " History of New France.'' Thus the question nar- 

 rows down to whether or not the site was occupied prior to that 

 date. If it was, the inhabitants were Erie; if not, they were 

 Seneca. The later is probably correct. The European articles found 

 were of a sort similar to those traded to the Indians up to the 

 first quarter of the eighteenth century. Champlain saw iron trade 

 axes among the Iroquois as early as 1609 and it is well known 

 that beads, knives and the like followed soon after. There may have 

 been, however, more or less occupation of the Cattaraugus valley 

 before their arrival. I could find no trace of any tradition con- 

 cerning the fort or its former occupants among the Seneca and 

 most of them were even ignorant of its existence. The probabilities 

 are, then, that the site was occupied by the Seneca after 1655. 



The region is still a rich one for the archeologist. There are still 

 a number of earthworks practically untouched. One of these, 

 situated on the bluffs south of Cattaraugus creek amid dense timber, 

 still retains its wall, ditch and gates in good condition, and moreover 

 shows a lower second wall within the first. 1 



DOUBLE WALL FORT 



EXPLORATION OF AN ANCIENT EARTHWORK IN CATTARAUGUS 



COUNTY, N. Y. 



By M. RAYMOND HARRINGTON 



The highly interesting results obtained in 1903 for the Peabody 

 Museum from the ancient Iroquoian stronghold and burial place 

 known as " Silverheels Site " led to a further examination in 1904. 

 of the same region, the valley of Cattaraugus creek, which enters 

 Lake Erie, about 30 miles southwest of Buffalo, N. Y. In this 

 work the writer was assisted bv Mr A. B. Skinner of New Y'ork 



1 This site was afterward excavated and is reported under the title " Double 

 Wall Fort." 



