220 



MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



thi.s portion of its coiiist-; yet it is Ijiit ;i iiij>li l);iuk. Nearly a mile 

 northwest of the present landing at tliis place is an oblong, oval-topped 

 mound, 150 feet long, north and south, by 80 broad at the base and 15 

 feet high. This is on the southern bank of a bayou where the river 

 probably ran when it was built. As it is covered with modern graves 

 of negroes and whites no excavations were allowed to be made in it. 

 The people of tlie neighborhood state that in digging graves they bring 

 up the remains of as many ])cople as they bury. 



But the chief i)oint of interest at this place is the old cemetery or 

 burying ground of the ancient mound-builders, which lies immediately 

 east of the mound mainly along the slough. 



A plat of the locality is given in Fig. 120; m indicating the mound, 

 and the space c, surroundexl by the dotted line, the cemetery. 



Although many individuals are buried in mounds, and, in this sec- 

 tion, in the dwelling sites, yet it is evident from the indications of long 



Cultivated Field 



Fifi. TJ9. — Plat of l^eoan'iioint works, ^^issi.saippi couuty, Arkansaa. 



occupancy and a numerous population, in many localities, that a large 

 portion of the dead must have been buried elsewhere. Occasionally 

 tliese burying grounds can be found. In the present ca.se the cemetery 

 furnishes tiie chief evidence that there was formerly an extensive vil- 

 lage here. It is possible the mounds and other works may have been 

 swept away by the Mississippi changing its bed; possibly they never 

 existed. 



Tlie usual mode of burial here was horizontal^— at full length upon 

 the back or side, in a bark coffin placed from 1 to 3 feet below the sur- 

 face. There are, however, exceptions to this mode, as some are placed 

 with the face down, some with the legs drawn up, or, in other words, 

 folded, some in a sitting or squatting i)osture; but this last is usually 

 where ai group of various sizes, as of a family, arc fouiul huddled to- 

 gether around some rare and highly prized object. Tliere is no uni- 

 formity as to the direction in which they were ]tlaced, either in regard 

 to the points of the compass or their relation to one another. It was 



