FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 85 
away and the ground was put under cultivation. As a result, the 
ditch is more or less filled in its entire circuit and wholly obliterated 
for some distance along the southeastern side. At several places 
outside the main wail there is still visible a partially filled ditch; 
and even where no trace of a depression appears the outer slope of 
the wall rises from a space artificially leveled in such manner that 
it resembles an old roadway; in fact, the resemblance is so striking 
that may persons suppose this to have been its purpose. It is thus 
proved that the wall was built with earth taken up on both sides, 
leaving a continuous ditch within and a ditch or level strip without, 
as shown in the various sections in figure 18. 
The entire length of the principal wall, not including offsets or 
minor elevations, is about 2,700 feet; its extremely tortuous course 
may be inferred from the fact that in this distance it was necessary 
to set the compass at just forty stations in order to ascertain the 
changes of direction. The area included is slightly more than 6 
acres. 
The rank growth covering the entire work rendered it necessary to 
clear off with knife, scythe, and ax every foot examined. Conse- 
quently no work other than a survey was attempted, except to 
cut two trenches across the wall and extend them to the natural 
earth on both sides. These crosscuts, which were made not far 
from the north entrance, one on the east, the other on the west, 
where the wall was least altered from its original condition, showed 
the fill from wash and natural accumulation to be only a foot deep in 
the outer ditch or level area, and about 18 inches in the inner ditch; 
and some of this was due to plowing. The wall, where so cut across, 
has now an elevation of about 3 feet. It is not probable there was 
ever a vertical distance of more than 6 feet, if as much, between the 
bottom of the ditch and the top of the wall; the earth in the embank- 
ment, reenforced by that in both trenches, could not be made to 
stand at a greater height. Most careful watch was kept for traces 
of pickets or palisades; there was not the slightest evidence of them. 
From top to bottom, the earth in the wall was uniform in color and 
consistency, as it was in the bottom of the ditches. There was no 
cavity, no dark line, such as must have resulted from the decay of 
timber large enough to have been of service. If there was ever an 
additional method of protection, it involved the use of materials 
placed on the walls, and not extending beneath their surface. At 
both points where cut through, the earth was the tough, reddish- 
brown, clayey loess similar to that covering the hills around, and 
required constant use of a pick in its removal. Had there heen 
even a small post set in this soil the marks would have remained 
indefinitely. 
