■HoMAs.) • FLORIDA. 3^20 



in (irdcr to satisfy my curiosity in regard to certain points counectcd 

 with its eonstruetioii. In tliis exaniinatiou I developed eertain facts 

 wliicli seem worthy of being put on record, as they will, to some extent, 

 modify the inference in regard to the construction of these mounds 

 whicli might be drawn from the admirable monograpli of Wyman. 



"It will be understood, of course, that my remarks relate only to 

 the particular mounds which I have examined, though perhaps they 

 may prove of wider application. 



"The present state of the mound at Old P^nterprise is one of dilapi- 

 dation. It is situated on land belonging to the De Bary estate and is 

 fenced in, but the material is used in fertilizing oraiige groves and 

 making shell walks, and, by the owners, or with their permission, 

 probably two thirds of the mound have been carted away. The work 

 of desfruction at all events gives au ex<'ellent section of the mound 

 down to its very foundations, and, however deplorable it may be on 

 other grounds, was certainly a great help to me in determining its 

 structure. 



" The mound is smaller than Wyman's frontispiece woiild lead one 

 to believe, a misconception which has been brought about unintention- 

 ally by the artist, and which might have been remedied by ]jutting a 

 human figure in the forcgiound. Though it has extended about 150 

 feet along the- lake shore, its width at right angles to that direction 

 coidd not have exceeded 50 feet and was probably less. The margins 

 were originally so steej) as to be difficult to scale, excejjt by the path 

 intended for ascent, but only a few yards of the original slope now 

 remain, and this will soon be dug away. The mound is situated just to 

 the eastward of the point where a considerable stream enters the lake, 

 forming the outlet of the beautiful (ireen Sulphur spring which lies a 

 few rods inland. ^Torth of the mound a triangular piece of swamp ex- 

 tends from near the stream, which its apex nearly reaches, to a little 

 bay 400 or 500 yards to the eastward, where the base of the triangle 

 may be a hundred yards in breadth or more. It is too soft to cross, 

 and full of saw ])almetto, reeds, etc., growing in hummocks separated 

 by water and semiflnid mud. This swamp is being c-leared and drained 

 and will soon cease to exist, but, as the mound originally stood, must 

 have nearly isolated it from firm ground and formed an excellent defense 

 against attack from that direction. Moreover, in this swanij) lived the 

 mollusks whose shells have been so imjtortant in the construction of 

 the mound. 



" Westward from the mound and northwestward from the swamj) lies 

 an orange grove and some woods; the land gradually rising from the 

 lake. The soil is composed of a layer 2 or 3 feet thick of beach sand, 

 humus, and an admixture of muddy matter derived from the swamp, 

 which was once more extensive in this direction. The surface of the 

 ground is covered with shells from the mound, wiiich have arrived 

 there in three ways. Some have been carted over and spread about as 

 a fertilizer; much has been washed along the shore by storms and 



