THOMAS. 1 



TENNESSEE. 



279 



OBION COUNTY. 



RF.F.I.FOOT LAKK MOIND.S. 



Around Eeelfoot lake are several groni)s of nioumls, mostly of small 

 size. About half a uiile southwest of Idlewihle four low rnouuds, not 

 exceediug 2 feet in height, were examiued. Below the top soil was a 

 layer several iuches thick of ashes and charcoal, iu which were mussel 

 shells, bones of birds, fishes, and quadrupeds; also, stone implements 

 and fragments of pottery, but no burnt clay. 



At the crossing, on the northwest bor- 

 der, another group of somewhat lai'ger 

 mounds was visited, but only one could 

 be opened; it was composed entii-ely of 

 clay and contained no relics. 



A small groui) on Grassy island was 

 also examined. One of these, circular in 

 form and 8 feet high, was thoroughly ex- 

 plored, yielding a rich return for the labor 

 spent upon it. It consisteil chiefly of 

 daik vegetable mold without any indica- 

 tions of layers. Fifteen skeletons were 

 unearthed; eight of them were unac- 

 companied by anything except ashes and 

 charcoal. By the others, vessels and im- 

 plements were discovered as follows: 

 By one, a stone spade and two jiots ; by 

 another, two pots ; by another, a drinking 

 vessel in the form of a kneeling female, 

 shown in Fig. 175, and two pots, one iu- 

 sideof the other; by the fourth, three pots; and by three others, one 

 pot each. Another vessel was found embedded in a mass of ashes 1'^ 

 feet thick, in which were also bird, fish, and quadruped bones, more or 

 less charred. Several stone implements were also found scattered 

 through the mound. 



Another mound of this group, G feet high, was excavated and found 

 to consist entirely of sandy loam. Nothing was discovered iu it. 



Two other mounds ou the opposite shore of the lake, conical in form 

 and about 7 feet high, yielded a similar i-esult. 



Fia. 175. — Imago vesaul from niouud, 

 Obiou county, Tenne.ssee. 



KENTUCKY. 



Wliile nearly all of southeastern Missouri below Cairo is level and 

 subject to overflow during great floods, the bottoms on the Kentucky 

 side opposite are usually narrow and the river skirted or directly 

 flanked by bluffs, mainly of yellow clay, rising from KKt to 400 feet 

 above it. These are cut by many creeks and rivulets, thus forming 



