OIL IN THE REELFOOT AREA. 21 



With the picture before us of a wide bottom area, composed 

 of low ridges and sloughs, it will be seen that sinking of only 

 a few feet was necessary to form the lake. The writer has not 

 been over the lake extensively, but he has crossed its widest 

 part along two lines, and his conclusion, judging from the 

 present depth of the water, the dead trees yet standing in the 

 water, and information gathered from those familiar with the 

 lake, is that the sinking nowhere much exceeded 20 feet, and 

 that the average probably was less than half that amount. The 

 statement sometimes heard, that the tops of trees may be seen 

 barely projecting out of the water is not supported by the 

 writer's observations nor the word of reliable men who have 

 for years followed the business of fishing on the lake. The 

 mulberry, one of the less common of the dead trees now stand- 

 ing in the water, is even yet occasionally cut to make posts of 

 the trunk. All familiar with this tree know its trunk is short, 

 and if enough stands above the water for a post, not much can 

 be left beneath the surface. To be sure the mulberry grew on 

 the highest ridges of the bottoms, but these were not far above 

 the sloughs. 



A flat-topped, circular Indian mound on the west edge of 

 Chocktaw Island, west of Samburg, is somewhat more than 100 

 feet in diameter and stands approximately 8 feet above the 

 water. As these mounds are never very high, the sinking 

 could not have been excessive at this point. Off the shore of 

 the island, the dead cypress trees are said by those familiar 

 with the water to stand 16 feet beneath the surface. They also 

 report that this is one of the deepest parts of the lake. Not 

 allowing for filling, this would make the top of the mound 24 

 feet above the slough in which the cypress trees grew. Other 

 Indian mounds are reported in the lake. That they were built 

 here is in keeping with the custom of the Indians of the Ohio 

 and Mississippi rivers, along which many mounds are found 

 in swampy places. 



Incidentally, it might be said that the growth of timber over 

 the sunken part was luxuriant, as is shown by the number and 

 size of the dead cypress trees still standing in the water. These 

 will number from 4 to 10 to the acre, the largest ones being as 

 much as 3 feet in diameter. Much of the smaller cypress tim- 



