272 



MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



first two, thoufih it was uot quite so wet. The dirt for 2 or 3 feet above 

 all these holes was much looser than that at the sides, as if something 

 had been placed over them which afterward gave way. Eleven feet 

 from the center the surface rose to its natural place, making a step of 

 11 inches, showing that the depression was not carried on a level. 



On the south side of this trench, 5 feet from the surface, were three 

 graves, 11, 7, and 4 feet, respectively, from the center. Each was filled 

 with loose dark dirt and surrounded by a mass of very hard clay, which 

 showed no marks of burning, but seems rather to have been packed 

 wet and allowed to dry before being covered over. In the fii'st, which 

 was 2 feet long and 18 inches across, no signs of bones appeared; in 

 the second were the bones of fhe right forearm and the lower extrem- 

 ities, which were in their proper position and lay with the feet toward 

 the southwest. Under the head of the right femur was a piece of rib, 



Section along the northeast trench, njound No. 1, Union county. 



and under the middle of it the right half of a lower jaw, with the wis 

 dom tooth just through the bone. The femur measured 17 inches and 

 the tibia was not flattened. A few drilled shell beads, some large, 

 others small, were found with the bones of the arm. 



In the last grave were traces of wood, probably the remains of bark 

 wrapping, which fell to dust on being touched. This grave lay toward 

 the southeast, intersecting the second one at about 4 feet from the edge 

 of the trench. Each was 2 feet across. 



The peculiar arrangement of the dirt in this mound led the explorer 

 to run another trench from between the north and northwest. (Figs. 

 171 and 172.) Eighteen feet from the center, 2 feet from the surface, were 

 some small fragments of bones and a few human teeth. Fifteen feet 

 from the center, on the same level, were fragments of a skull and teeth, 

 all too decayed for handling. A foot above these were the bones of 



