102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 7 
differs from all the rest, resembling a half cylinder inverted. Their 
women and children generally accompany them on these excursions, 
which often occupy three months.” Schoolcraft soon crossed the ridge 
separating Swan Creek from Findley’s River, the latter “running 
from the north-east, and tributary to James’ river, the main north- 
western branch of White River.” (Op. cit., pp. 52-53.) 
It must be understood that this description applies to a temporary 
encampment of the Osage, not to a permanent village, although they 
would probably not have differed greatly in appearance. The struc- 
tures in a camp were rather smaller than those in the villages, and 
the latter were covered with mats or sheets of bark instead of the 
walls being composed of the crude wattlework, as mentioned in the 
preceding account. 
Throughout the region traversed by Schoolcraft are to be found 
traces of ancient camps, some quite large, others small. The in- 
numerable caves and caverns occurring in the limestone formations 
through which the many streams have cut deep valleys show evidence 
of long occupancy by the natives. Great masses of wood ashes, inter- 
mingled with broken and lost implements of bone and stone, frag- 
ments of pottery vessels, and charred or broken bones of animals 
which had served as food, are to be found accumulated near the 
opening, beneath the overhanging strata. The great majority of 
such material should undoubtedly be attributed to the Osage, whose 
hunters penetrated all parts of the Ozarks. 
A beautiful example of a frame for an Osage habitation is shown 
in plate 82, a, a reproduction of a photograph made near Hominy, 
Oklahoma, in 1911. This was probably the form of structure seen 
by the early travelers, which is more clearly described on the fol- 
lowing pages. It is interesting, showing as it does the manner in 
which the uprights were placed in the ground, then bent over and 
bound in place. As the Osage undoubtedly lived, generations ago, 
in the Ohio Valley, it is possible the, ancient village fos discovered 
in Ross County, Ohio, belonged either to this or a related tribe, 
and the ground plan of the structures revealed during the explora- 
tion of a certain site would agree with the typical Osage habitation 
of recent years., A ground plan was prepared by the discoverer of | 
the ancient village-site (Mills, (1)) and was reproduced on page 139, 
Bulletin 71, of this Bureau. 
On the plan of the ancient settlement which stood many genera- 
tions ago are several interesting features in addition to the outline 
of the oval habitation. North of the space once occupied by the 
dwelling are many comparatively large caches, with fireplaces be- 
tween. On the opposite side of the structure were encountered 30 
burials, representing children and adults, It would be of the greatest 
