THOMAS.] EFFECT OF AN EARTHQUAKE. 199 



track. From the uuiaber of decayed biiuiiiu bones and fragments of 

 l^ottery found in the remaining itortion, it is supposed to be the prin- 

 cipal burial place of the uiound-builders who occupied the village 

 located liere. 



The small circular mounds were composed chiefly of sandy soil simi- 

 lar to that of the surrounding surface, but the fire beds, burned clay, 

 stone chips, and bones discovered in them render it evident that they 

 had been used as dwelling sites and that the custoni of burying in the 

 iloor of the cabin had been followed here to some extent. 



GREENE COT'JVTY. 



The topographical features of this county are very similar to those 

 of Clay county, its eastern boundary being the St. Francis river, whicli 

 through this and the two counties south is a continuous lake-like 

 swamp, being tlie section known as the " Sunken lands of the St. Fran- 

 cis." The western jjortion consists of the flat Cache river lands, 

 partly black sandy levels and 

 partly wet iiost-oak flats. Be- 

 tween the lowlands of the two ex- 

 tremes and occupying a large por- 

 tion of the area, is Crowley's 

 ridge, with its sandy lands. 



On the plantation of Mr. Rob- 

 ert Law, 9 miles east of Para- 

 gould, fronting the cypress bor- 

 ders of the St. Francis lake, is 

 a group of interesting niounds. 

 They are chiefly in a forest of oak, fig. no.— Effect cf eartimuate of isii on mound, 

 asli,''gum, and other heavy timber. ^'''""' '"""'''• Arkansas. 



The spot they occupy is in the " Sunken land region," or that section 

 so terribly shaken by the great earthquake of 1811. 



At this particular locality the sand ridge and cyjn'ess swamp seem 

 still to retain their original relative elevations, but the ridge is so cut 

 up with trenches, narrow ridges, sinkholes, and "blow-outs" of fine 

 sand as to render the original size and even number of these mounds 

 very uncertain. There are some indications of a surrounding wall, 

 though not sufficient to justify the positive statement that there ever 

 was one. 



The largest mound, which is flat on top, measured 120 feet long by 

 72 feet broad on top, 192 by 145 at the base and 25 feet high. Several 

 medium-sized trees are still standing on it, and there is evidence of 

 larger ones having been overturned, possibly during the earthquake, 

 or by some previoirs or subsequent severe windstorm. Be this as it 

 may, the eft'ects of the earth(iuake are still visible in this artificial 

 structure, after a lapse of eighty years, in two very distinct and 

 peculiar fissures, as shown in Fig. 110. These are from 4 to 6 feet deep 



