THOMAS.] ARKANSAS. 231 



made the large fiiul tif pottery previous to bis couiiection witli the 

 Bureau of Ethnology. 



As Dr. Palmer's report of his previous work has uot been published, 

 I copy from it his remarks in regard to this grouj): 



I found that this mound (the Meniird hill) had been previously dug into, and I 

 learned that a metal cross was found 4 feet below the surface. A field of 20 acres 

 surrounds it, in which ar(! numerous remains of ancient dwellings. lii these, ashes 

 were discovered under a layer of burnt clay, which I jiresume formed the roofing of 

 the dwellings. Close to (under) the ashes a skidetoii was usually found with from 

 one to three pieces of pottery by the side of the skull. 



The most important result of the exploration was finding the remains of a large 

 house. About 2 feet under the surface was a thick layer of burnt clay, which prob- 

 .ably formed the roof. In tracing out the circumference a hard clay tloor was found 

 beneatli, and between the two several inches of ashes, but no skeletons. There were 

 a great many pieces of broken dishes so situated as to lead one to believe they were 

 on top of the hous(^ .at the time it was burned. When restored most of these v^es- 

 sels proved to lie basiu-shajjcd bowls. 



LEE COUNTY. 



The topographical features of this t-onnty are very .similar to those of 

 St. Francis county, whicli joins it on the nortli. 



gkekk's mound. 



This is a very regular, oblong truncated or tiat-topped mound, situ- 

 ated upon the point of a second or upper terraee of the L'Anguille 

 river 2 miles above its confluence with the St. Francis. It is rectangu- 

 lar, measuring on the top S7 feet in length and 51 feet in width and is 30 

 feet high; the slope of the sides is very steep, being about 45°. 



A shaft sunli in it near one end some years ago revealed, as is stated 

 by the parties who made the exploration, the stump of a small tree and 

 a stake 4 or 5 feet long near the bottom, the former growing iu the 

 natural soil. Layers of swamp mud and fire beds were found atiiTcgu- 

 lar distances through the whole depth. 



Permission to make further exploration was not obtained. 



ANCIENT IiWELLING SITES AND CEMETERIES. 



A careful examination was made of the bluffs and valleys both of the 

 L'Anguille and St. Francis rivers above their confluence for a distance 

 of fully 20 miles, from which it was found that scarcely a terrace or 

 hilhjck was without evidences of ancient occupancy, such as brick-red 

 fire-beds, charcoal, ashes, etc., indicating camps or dwellings. 



For more than fifty years the Priest and Forest farms, where these 

 evidences appear iu greatest abundance, have been noted for the 

 amount of ancient pottery of superior quality trequently unearthed in 

 cultivating the land and recently by rejic hunters. Quite a number of 

 whole vessels of this pottery were obtained by the Bureau. 



