A488 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS—II [PTH. ANN, 44 
half an inch to an inch of pinkish substance resembling ochre or 
powdered hematite ore. This was filled with compact grayish clay 
like that deposited in backwater from the river. A foot above this, 
2 feet to one side of it was part of a human skull. It was quite 
firm; but as there was no other indication of a burial, this fragment 
may have been accidental. 
No trace of a grave or of other form of interment was found. 
MOUNDS AND GRAVES IN ALLEN COUNTY, KY. 
A letter was received at the office of the Bureau of American Eth- 
nology concerning certain Indian burial places in Allen County, Ky. 
From the description given they appeared to be similar in character 
to the stone cists or box graves of Middle Tennessee. But according 
to this report the stones of which they were constructed were much 
larger than those used in graves elsewhere, being “mostly as large 
as 4 by 5 feet.” The bones found in them were of a size to corre- 
spond with the receptacle; pieces of skull “ near half an inch thick” 
and “shin bones nearly 214 feet long” were exhumed. These “tall 
giants . . . have red bones; they are as red asa fox squirrel bones.” 
Mounds also were reported, some of which were described as being 
about 40 feet across, 3 feet high, with a flat raised border about 10 
feet wide around the top, within which is a depression. One mound 
was said to be “8 or 9 feet high and in diameter 20 or 30 feet.” 
Archeologists have learned to discount stories of marvelous things, 
but this communication was written in a convincing manner that 
made it seem worthy of investigation. The region was visited and a 
careful examination made of the country for several miles around 
Petroleum, from which place the information was sent. 
It was found that along Big Trammel Creek and many of its 
tributaries, on ridges and hills of varying elevations above the stream 
levels, are numerous cist graves, such as are described by Thruston 
and others. Many of these have been examined in a desultory way 
by residents of the region, sometimes merely out of curiosity, but 
usually with the idea that “treasure” is concealed in them. Very 
few were thoroughly cleared out by these excavators, but sufficient 
work was done in many of them to give a correct knowledge of their 
structure and contents. The method of construction was the same in 
all. A grave was dug, the size and depth depending somewhat upon 
the nature of the earth; they are seldom as much as 2 feet in depth or 
more than 5 feet in length. The usual depth is from 16 to 18 inches; 
the average length about 4 feet. Slabs of limestone or of shale 
(“slate”) were placed on edge around the sides and ends of the pit; 
sometimes similar slabs were laid on the bottom, but in a majority 
