4 MOUND EXPLORING OF THE 



Viewiii}; the phius solely from a working staiidpoiut, without consid- 

 ering the conditions and limitations under w^hich the work has necessa- 

 rily been carried on by the Bureau or its relation to other subjects un- 

 dergoing simultaneous investigation, it is conceded that the first and 

 second are more systematic and more scientific than the third, the first 

 being entitled to preference in the latter respect. The third is, how- 

 ever, the plan under which the work has actually been done, and, as the 

 wisdom of adopting it has been, to some extent, questioned, it may not 

 be amiss to give here the reasons for its adoption : 



First. A thorough and accurate survey of all the ancient works of 

 the country and the preparation of maps and charts showing their lo- 

 cation and character, accompanied by full descriptions, would require 

 the entire appropriation of the Bureau for at least ten years. To have 

 attempted a work of such magnitude with the means allowed the divis- 

 ion — though as liberal as proper regard to the other investigations of 

 the Bureau jnstitied — would have entailed a great waste of money, as 

 no adequate results could possibly have been obtained. Moreover, in 

 the mean time, the valuable contents of the mounds, which, after all, 

 furnish the chief data bearing upon the problems relating to the pre- 

 historic times of our country, would have i)assed into the hands of pri- 

 vate collectors, or would have been scattered, and thus in a great meas- 

 ure lost to science. 



Second. One leadingobject the Bureau and the Smithsonian Institution 

 have had in view in this work is to collect material and data which sci- 

 entists may study and by means of which the various questions relating 

 to the pre-Columbian age of this continent may ultimately be solved. 

 It was apparent that by neither the first nor the second plan could as 

 much be accomi)lished in this direction in a reasonable length of time 

 as by the third, esi)ecially if the variety of types and forms was to be 

 taken into consideration. Clinuitic obstacles rendered the second plan 

 impracticable if the field work was to be carried on throughout the 

 year, as desired. 



The (juestions relating to prehistoric America are to be determined 

 not alone by the study of its ancient monuments, but by tlie study also 

 of the languages, customs, art, beliefs, and folk-lore of the aborigines. 

 Only by siieh a comprehensive study can the exact relations of the an- 

 cient archieological remains to the historic Indian tribes be made ap- 

 parent. 



Maj. J. W. Powell, the Director of the Bureau, taking this compre- 

 hensive and scientitic view of the subject, saw at the outset the neces- 

 sity of deciding as soon as i)ossible the question " Were the mound 

 builders Indians r' If a careful examination and study of the works 

 and their contents should result in deciding it in the affirmative, then 

 the investigation of the questions relating to their objects and uses 

 would be merged in the study of the former habits, customs, art, beliefs, 

 &c., of the Indians. There would then be no more blind groping by 



