FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 77 
For the account of these interesting antiquities, I am chiefly indebted to the Rev. 
S. Giddings, of St. Louis, who visited them a few years since and sketched a plan of 
which this is a copy. It should be remarked that in the passage G (fig. 1) sev eral 
human bones have recently been found. 
The above work is on a ridge about half a mile long and 400 feet 
high, 2 miles in a direct line southwest of Louisiana; this is known 
as the McMoore hill, from a former owner. “‘Nye”’ creek, as it is 
called by residents (the ‘‘Noix” creek of Broadhead; ‘‘Noyer”’ of 
Beck), flows along the west side and north end; on the east is a deep 
ravine, on the south a low gap. Thus the hill is almost isolated. 
The slope is so steep as to be quite difficult of ascent at every point 
except the south end. There is no level ground on the summit, the 
slopes terminating in a sharp curve along the median line. The 
‘“‘walls” are on the south end of the ridge, probably 30 feet lower 
than the highest point, and west of the crest; the north end of the 
structure is fully 3 feet higher than the south end, making the natural 
direct slope between them from the sori ae to the southwest 
corner. 
The whole place had been so thoroughly ransacked by relic hunters 
that no trace of a wall was visible at any point; but many stones, 
ranging in size from small angular fragments like gravel to slabs 
weighing 300 pounds, were scattered confusedly over a space 65 by 
42 feet. There was enough stone to make a mound probably 50 by 
25 feet, and 2 feet high. 
A trench was run around the outer margin at ample distance to 
include all the part on which it seemed possible the walls could have 
stood; this trench was continuous except where trees interfered 
with digging. Bed rock, which outcropped on the slopes a few feet 
below and on each side, was found within a foot or less of the surface 
of the débris, except at the north end where earth washing down the 
natural slope of the ridge had covered it a few inches deeper. 
From this trench excavations were made on every side toward the 
center, to ascertain whether any stones remained undisturbed; but 
none such were found except about the northeast corner. Here 
were two slabs, each as heavy as two men could handle. One was 
at the beginning of a row of flat stones extending 12 feet southward; 
the other at the beginning of a similar row reaching 154 feet west- 
ward. These partial rows were all that remained as they were origi-_ 
nally placed, and formed the bottom of the wall around this corner. 
For the most part there was only a single layer; but for a few feet on 
the north side there were two, three, and in one place four, stones 
superposed, as seen in plate 14, 6; these were all thinand small. Abrupt 
“steps”’ or offsets along the bed rock in the interior indicated that 
the aborigines had pried off all they could of the projecting outcrop, 
for the double purpose, probably, of making level spaces on the bottom 
and procuring material for the wall. 
