66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64 



On reaching the ground level the opening of a narrow passage 18 

 inches square was discovered which led obliquely downward toward 

 the east for a distance of 8 feet ; it was lined with roughly squared 

 flags of limestone and terminated in a small stone-lined chamber 

 2 feet square. On the floor, half buried in fine dry earth, lay a small 

 urn, roughly made of coarse pottery, neither painted nor glazed. It 

 was circular in form, 38^ inches in circumference, with a semicircular 

 handle at each side, and was covered by a mushroom-shaped lid; with 

 the lid in situ the whole formed a somewhat irregular sphere. In the 

 urn and almost completely filling it were 20 small pottery figurines, 

 comprising 3 warriors, 1 seated human figure, 4 alligators, 4 dragons, 

 6 quashes or picotes, and 2 serpent-like creatures. 



The warrior figures resemble very closely those found in Mound No. 

 24 (see pi. 8), the only difference being that while two of them hold 

 shields on their left forearms, and grasp spears in their right hands 

 (as in pi. 8), the third warrior from this mound grasps a long dagger, 

 instead of a spear, in his right hand. The seated figure is very 

 similar to those from Mound No. 24 (see fig. 15), the only difference 

 being that the glans penis is grasped in the left hand while the right 

 hand wields the knife. The alligators are closely similar to those 

 already described, except that they are solid throughout instead of 

 being hoUow. They are painted red, white, and black, and vary in 

 length from 5 J to 6^ inches. The tigers are similar to those found in 

 Mound No. 24, but are rougher, and not so carefully modeled ; all are 

 hollow and are painted red throughout. The four dragon-like 

 creatures vary from 6 to 7 inches in length; the body, which is round 

 and slender, ends in a flattened bifid tail; the mouth, which is held 

 wide open, is furnished with a set of formidable teeth. Upon the 

 upper lip is a horn-like excrescence, and over the thorax are one 

 dorsal and two lateral fins. Each animal is painted white over the 

 whole surface; the inside of the mouth is painted red over the white 

 layer. The six quashes are exactly similar to those found in Mound 

 No. 24, as are also the two serpents. 



Mounds containing animal and human effigies appear to be singu- 

 larly limited in their distribution. At Santa Rita seven have been 

 explored in all, each containing 1 to 49 effigies, some very crudely 

 and roughly made from sun-dried clay, others nicely modeled and 

 painted in various colors. Probably several more of these mounds 

 had been removed by the former owners of the estate to obtain stone 

 for buildhig and road-making purposes, as figurines similar to those 

 taken from the excavated mounds were found in the possession of 

 coolie laborers working on the estate, which they said they had 

 found from time to time when digging for stone. The effigies com- 

 prise figures of men, alligators, turtles, quashes, lizards, birds, sharks, 



