ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 65 
After leaving the Rock Island site, the Omahas and Poncas . 
roved without long permanent settlements for several years, 
but finally returned to the Xe and built a permanent village 
at Split Rock at the junction of the Big Sioux and Split Rock 
Rivers. 
Mr. Myer spent the month of October, 1921, in exploring 
this Split Rock site. Many interesting relics of the Omahas 
were here unearthed, which throw new light on the life of 
these people before they had been very much changed by 
contact with the whites. 
The 30 mounds on the ridge between the two rivers mark 
the site of that portion of the old town occupied by the 
Omahas. On a hill one-half mile to the east was a group of 
10 more mounds, occupied by the Poncas before they split 
away from the Omahas. 
By following the clues furnished by the traditions, three 
low mounds were discovered on the tall ridge 114 miles to the 
west. These were said to have marked the lookouts for the 
main village; they command a view, ranging from 6 to 15 
miles, on all sides. The mounds on the Split Rock site 
appear to have nearly all been used for burial. 
The exploration of mound No. 1, on the Omaha section of 
the town, showed a beautiful little knoll on the edge of the 
steep, bluff-like bank of Split Rock River. In its soil the 
Indians dug a shallow pit, about 12 by 6 feet and 2 feet deep. 
Here were placed bones belonging to five bodies, several of 
which appeared to have been buried after decay of the flesh. 
One body appeared to have been closely flexed before it was 
placed in the pit. The position of the skeleton of a horse 
with a crushed frontal bone showed that when this body 
bundle had been placed in the pit, a large horse, about 
seven years of age, had been led to the knoll and there killed. 
Then, over all these, a low, round-topped mound, 60 feet 
across at the base and 514 feet in height, had been raised. 
Mound No. 2, the largest of the group, was round topped, 
110 feet across at the base, and 10 feet high. A rectangular 
charnel pit, 12 by 14 feet and 2 feet deep, had been dug in 
the surface of the soil near the center of the town. This 
pit was thoroughly lined or coated with a white layer about 
