185 



Mr. CALEB COOKE gave an interesting account of his 

 experience in examining Indian graves, both in this county 

 and at the west, and stated that the place where these re- 

 mains were found was on the top of a hill overlooking 

 Salem harbor, west of the new cemetery, and known as 

 Bessom's pasture. On the surface are irregular depres- 

 sions marking the site evidently of the wigwams of a con- 

 siderable village of Naumkeag Indians. In the rear of 

 the brow of the hill, at the other end of the pasture, as 

 he was informed by Mr. J. J. H. Gregory, may be seen a 

 ridge of earth, with a ditch in front, running in a straight 

 line across the pasture. This probably had palisades, 

 and formed the defence of the village. On digging into 

 these depressions, fragments of charcoal, as well as the 

 shells of the Natica, Pecten, Mijtilus^ Modiola and My a, 

 also fragments and entire bones of mammalia and fishes, 

 were met with ; in the bottom of some of them a collec- 

 tion of stones was found, showing the evidence of having 

 been exposed to the action of fire ; mixed with them were 

 fragments of charcoal and traces of ashes. It was just 

 outside of one of these cellars that the skeletons on the 

 table were found. 



No. 1 of the photographs, in realit} 7 -, consists of por- 

 tions of two persons, one of them of middle age, the 

 other, judging from the size and thinness of 'the pieces of 

 the skull, that of a young person. This can be seen near 

 the pelvis of the adult, and may have been a child buried 

 in the arms or lap of its mother. Some of the bones of 

 the legs of the adult are in a reversed position, showing 

 that in this case there was a reburial, or that they, were 

 not buried until the body had decayed, and at the burial 

 of the others these were gathered up and placed with 

 them, being laid in as nearly a natural position as pos- 

 sible. This body was placed in the grave with the head 



