440 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS—II [ETH, ANN, 44 
ments after they got here, and in either case left them as not worth 
carrying away when they returned to their homes; or, secondly, it 
may have been permanently occupied by aborigines of a low grade 
who had not the skill to fabricate more artistic articles. In support 
of either supposition is the absence of almost everything that is not 
crude or roughly finished. The second theory seems plausible by 
reason of the number of burials. Unless the supposed sojourners 
from the inland villages lived at a considerable distance they would 
probably carry their dead back to the places where they had formerly 
resided. The young children whose remains were found would also 
indicate a somewhat permanent residence. 
But whoever lived here, and in whatever condition, the accumu- 
lation of the shells must of necessity have been confined to certain 
periods of the vear. When the water was high, muddy, or uncom- 
fortably cold, the mollusks would be practically inaccessible. 
Before the backwater from the great dam had covered the shoals, 
immense flocks of wild geese stopped here during their migratory 
flights. to eat the snails. As no bones of these fowls were found in 
the shellheap, it is clear that from some cause the Indians did not 
catch them. 
The numerous worked objects scattered throughout that portion 
of the mound which was excavated, and presumably in all other 
parts of it as well, being merely derelicts, so to speak, not distinc- 
tive in material, form, or in any other respect, cast no hght upon 
the identity of the tribe who may have made them or the time at 
which the users may have left them here. Consequently no necessity 
exists for entering into particulars regarding the depth or the part 
of the mound where they were discovered. Only unusual features 
will be herein recorded; burials, of course, will be somewhat fully 
described. 
All distances given are from the beginning of the trench and 
from its western wall or side. 
At the middle of the trench, at 40 feet, 4 feet above the bottom 
was found the first “barbecue hole,” filled with earth and shells, 
mainly the latter. It may be explained that a “barbecue hole” is 
one dug in the earth, of a size and depth determined by what is 
to be cooked in it, whether fish, flesh, or fowl; and in this case by 
shellfish as well. Sometimes the pit is large enough to contain 
several animals; again there may be a hole of a size not to exceed 
that of a large dishpan. A fire is maintained in it until the earth 
is well heated and a mass of live coals has accumulated in the bot- 
tom. The article to be cooked, whatever it may be, is placed in 
this. properly supported, closely covered, and allowed to remain 
as long as need be; experience in the art is needed to enable the 
purveyor of the feast to know the proper length of time. The pit 
