158 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 76 



In support of this theory, too, is the positive statement of Nebraska 

 geologists who have had ample opportunity to become familiar 

 with loess in all its phases; and they claim the deposit is the original 

 and has not been disturbed. 



It is necessary for these advocates, however, to tell where such 

 fragments of bones could have come from and how they could have 

 been washed to the place where found, when all these bluffs were 

 covered with water, as they had to be at that time. 



2. The bones could have been carried by rodents into their burroAvs 

 or runways, as Hrdlicka suggests. In this case the material in 

 contact with the bones would have to be somewhat different in ap- 

 pearance and consistency from that which lay a few inches, or per- 

 haps only an inch, away. The Nebraska men say this was not the 

 case. 



3. There may have been an excavation or pit similar to that in 

 which the Hurons buried their dead. But as no such burial pits have 

 been discovered in this part of the country, this supposition must 

 be excluded. 



A corollary to the last is that a deep but small pit similar to the 

 so-called " caches " in the lodge sites may have been dug here and 

 the bones thrown in. There is no indication whatever of a lodge 

 site or any other form of habitation at this point, but I have found 

 such pits in the vicinity of Indian houses, though not just on their 

 site. The deepest one I have ever found was 10^ feet and less than 

 6 feet in diameter. There would be no difficulty in digging into this 

 loose material as far as an excavator cared to go, until he had 

 reached a depth at which he could no longer get the loosened earth 

 to the surface of the ground. As mentioned above, a pit south of 

 Omaha had a depth of 13 feet, or only 1 foot less than is claimed 

 for this — or rather for the greatest depth at which it is claimed 

 fragments of bone were found. 



The objection made to this theory is that the earth thrown out 

 of the hole was unmixed, presenting throughout the appearance and 

 consistency of loess as it occurs where -exposed in ravines or on 

 slopes in the vicinity. It is contended that if any previous excava- 

 tion had been made here and filled up afterwards the mixed earth 

 would be easily distinguished from that which was not removed, 

 and that the line of demarcation would be easily discernible. 



As a rule, this is true ; but when dry loose earth of homogeneous 

 consistency is thrown out of a pit and then thrown in again without 

 becoming mixed with any other it is sometimes impossible to dis- 

 tinguish it at a later excavation. This is especially true of earth 

 free from vegetable matter, as ordinary sand; or composed largely 

 of vegetable mold, as the soil in overflow lands which have built up 



