88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 37 
are still 16 to 18 inches high. A rough estimate by the owners of the 
land puts the entire number of deposits at ‘‘about forty,’’ which is 
probably not far from correct. 
In making excavations for cellars, post holes, and other purposes, 
skeletons have been exhumed at various points on this ridge; and 
on one slope where much soil has been washed off, numerous graves 
have been discovered in plowing. These graves seem to extend in 
rows, the bottom 1 foot to 3 feet below the present surface; there is 
no recollection that they have ever yielded any artificial objects. 
It is evident that a dwelling place of some kind was located on each 
of these so-called mounds, which were erected to secure a well- 
drained residence site. The refuse around them is the natural result 
of aboriginal methods of disposing of waste and trash by throwing it 
just outside their dwellings; in fact the ‘“mounds” were partially 
built up in this manner. 
For various reasons only a very limited amount of excavation was 
possible at the time of the writer’s investigations. A spot where it 
was said a mound had once stood was chosen, on top of the ridge on 
Mr. Casebolt’s farm. The ‘‘mound’’ was indicated more by the 
quantity of flint chips than by its altitude; and while the débris was 
less abundant here than at some other points, the discovery of a por- 
tion of a human femur, evidently plowed out, determined the place of 
excavation. 
Three narrow parallel trenches were started toward the ‘““mound”’ 
center from the east margin of the scattered material. These, being 
only exploratory, were about 2 feet wide and extended to the subsoil, 
which lay at a depth of 18 inches. In all the trenches, mingled with 
the earth, was refuse of the same character as that on the surface, but 
much more pottery and bones, these being better preserved where 
protected. The pottery was of two varieties. Most of it was thick, 
strong, quite dark or even black, as if made from ‘‘gumbo”’ earth, 
decorated with dots and smooth indented straight and curved lines 
at various angles; but a few pieces were yellowish, smoothly finished, 
undecorated, apparently made of sand and clay. The heavier 
vessels had handles. 
Buffalo bones, almost entirely scapule, were abundant; there were 
also many bones and teeth of deer, wolf or dog, bear, several smaller 
animals, numerous kinds of birds, especially wild turkey, and of fish, 
some of the last named of large size. A singular feature was the com- 
plete absence of flint implements; not a knife, spear, or large scraper 
was found, and only one very small arrowhead. Even fragments of 
such specimens were rare, but the small thumb scrapers made by 
chipping the end of a thick flake were found occasionally, perhaps a 
dozen in all. , 
