pip.m'llr' HISTORIC SITES ARCHEOLOGY — MILLS 35 



(pi. 1, h). The total number of brick rows, whole or fragmentary, 

 numbered five. 



The brick rows were separated by five whole or fragmentary mor- 

 tar strips (fig. 1 and pi. 2, a). The one nearly complete strip was 1 

 foot in width, 25 feet long, and about 2 inches deep. The latter meas- 

 urement is an approximation, as the underside of the mortar strip 

 was somewhat decomposed. 



An intrusive right- angle trench was located 7.5 feet north of the 

 northernmost roAvs of brick (fig. 1). The south and west arms of 

 the trench indicated its association with the brick-mortar area. It 

 was not possible to determine the function of the trench but it appears 

 to have been a feature the construction of which was never completed. 



Beneath the brick and mortar strips the earth showed evidence of 

 baking from fire for about 6 inches (pi. 2, 6 ) . One puzzling feature of 

 the site, however, was the absence of a firepit or furnace that func- 

 tioned as the heating unit for the brick making. The burned earth 

 adequately demonstrates the overall heating of the floor area and the 

 fire was spread in an area contiguous to the burned earth. Yet there 

 is no direct evidence (i.e., ash layers, furnace foundations, or char- 

 coal) that would locate the fire center. The bricks found in situ 

 probably represent the last production of brick in the kiln. The 

 function of the mortar strips remains unknown, as comparative data 

 are lacking. 



ARTIFACTS 



Few artifacts were recovered from the site. One center-fire shell 

 of .44 caliber (pi. 8, n) with copper primer and brass case can be 

 assigned to the .44-caliber Colt magazine rifle or revolver or to the 

 Winchester .44-caliber rifle. This would date the shell in the 1870's. 

 A blowout on the side of the case had apparently failed to fire the 

 bullet. A conical bullet of .58 caliber was found (pi. 8, m). This 

 type of specimen fits the following description abstracted from an 

 article by Dr. Carlyle S. Smith (Howard, MS., Appendix V, pp. 

 75, 76) : 



This is the regulation U.S. Government bullet for use in the muzzle loading 

 rifled muskets Model 1855, 61, 63 and 64. It was known popularly as the "minie 

 ball", named for the French inventor of the hollow base bullet, Minie. They 

 were not widely used by the Army until after 1856 when it became the standard 

 bullet for nearly all the regular infantry regiments. It was used for a long 

 time after the Civil War by Indians and other people who could not afford or 

 otherwise acquire a more modern breech loading gun. 



A lead shot (pi. 8, g) , 16 mm. in diameter, is nondiagnostic, as this 

 type ball was used in muzzle loading in pre- and post-Civil War 

 days. Three buttons (pi. 9, h-d) are also of indeterminate date, 

 these forms being used on military clothing into the 20th century. A 

 fired clay pipe fragment (pi. 9, e) is of a type made in Europe in the 



