300 MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



but slightly excavated and but little lower than the original surround- 

 ing surface; the remainder is about the same depth as the expanded 

 l)ortion of the ditch immediately above. The portion of the ditch ex- 

 tending from this basin to the outlet of the other, marked /, has never 

 been plowed over and has suffered but little change ti-om its original 

 condition; here it is about 40 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The excava- 

 tion I is correctly represented in the figure ; it is over li acres in extent 

 and is 17 feet deep at the deepest point, the eastern side, where the 

 bank or margin is almost perpendicular, a fact which seems to forbid 

 the idea of great antiquity. The remainder of the ditch to the river 

 has been plowed over and hence its sides are much worn down; never- 

 theless the depth is some 8 or 10 feet, and the width at x y (i8 feet. 

 The distance from s to p is 1,070 feet. Its euti-ance to the river has 

 been closed bj' the present owner to keep out the backwater. There 

 are no indications at any point that there ever was an embankment on 

 either side, the material taken out having doubtless been used in build- 

 ing the mounds. East and north of the large mound is a considerable 

 depression from which, in all probability, additional material was ob- 



FiG. 183. — Large mound of the Etowah groiii>. 



tained. The outer margin of this depression is indicated by the shaded 

 line. As the small mounds d, c, and / are in this depression, it is prob- 

 able they were built subsequent to the construction of the larger ones. 



The Un-fH' mound, a. — This is truly a grand and remarkable structure, 

 being exceeded in size in the United States, judging by the cubical 

 contents, only by the great Cahokia mound. All the descriptions of it 

 which I have seen fail to note the important fact that the broad road- 

 way which ascends it on the south side does not reach the top, falling 

 short in this respect by 20 feet perpendicular and about 30 feet slant 

 height. This fact is apparent from the views of it given in our Fig. 

 183 and PI. XV, the latter from a photograph. 



A carefiil survey of it was made in 1884 by Mr. Victor Mindeleff for 

 the purpose of preparing a model for the Exposition at iSTew Orleans. 

 A plat drawn to an exact scale, with heights, measurements, etc., is 

 given in PI. xvi. From this it will be seen that the highest point, c, 

 is CCi feet, assuming the northwest corner, which is Mr. Mindeleff's 

 zero, as the base. Hut from personal inspection and what has been 

 discovered in regard to the other two mounds near it, Tam satisfied the 



