26 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[BULL. 76 



Oo^^fn 



Fig. 1. — Outline of Cairn (1), at Lost 

 Hill, Phelps County, Mo. 



were straight, the others outwardly curved. The approximate out- 

 line is shown in figure 1. In most parts the wall was only one stone 

 high ; in a few places there was another rock laid up. Over and 

 within this wall had been piled loose stones, ranging in size from 



small pebbles to fragments of 150 

 pounds in weight, to form a heap 

 whose original height was about 2 

 feet. 



When all these were cleared away 

 the space within the wall was found 

 to measure 9 feet in each direction. 

 Three feet from the middle of the 

 west wall was a fragment of a child's 

 skull lying on the undisturbed angu- 

 lar gravel which forms the natural 

 surface on this ridge except where a 

 small amount of recently decayed 

 humus may be held by rocks and 

 roots. Halfway between the center 

 and the north wall Avas the top of an adult skull, with three fragments 

 of long bones. These, which were much gnawed by rodents, were 

 in black earth, evidently the former home of some burrowing animal. 

 A foot north of the infant's skull were small remnants of an adult's 

 skull, probably belonging with the 

 piece first found. There were also 

 some scraps of animal bones, much 



gnawed. 



Cairn (2) 



This measured from 16 to 18 feet 

 across to the outer edge of the loose 

 stones, and about 30 inches high. 

 Under the top rocks was a rough 

 wall similar to that in Cairn (1), 

 but all the sides were nearly 

 straight. The outline is given in 

 figure 2. The outside measure- 

 ments, across the center, were 15 

 feet each way. There were more 



stones in this wall than in the first ; mostly there were two, and in 

 some places three, superposed. 



Extending from north to south across the middle of the vault was 

 a row of large slabs standing on edge with their tops leaning toward 

 the east. Their inclination varied from nearly horizontal to nearly 



a 



C2:^E7000m 



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7CZ}OC9iOi 



—Outline of Cairn (2), at 

 Hill, I'helps County, Mo. 



Lost 



