352 MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



flint knife. The bones were so decayed that most of them crumbled to 

 pieces as soon as exjiosed to the air. 



Mound Xo. 2 stood on the south side of the river oppcjsite to No. 1 

 and about the same distance from the stream as the latter. It was cir- 

 cular in outline, rounded on top, 38 feet in diameter at the base, and 5 

 feet hfgh. On the top was a pine stump 14 inches in diam- 

 eter, the tree having been cut down about thirty years ago. 

 The excavation which was begun atthe margin soon reached 

 a walls feet high and about a foot thick, built of stones taken 

 fi"om the bed of the river. This was followed and found to 

 be an almost perfect circle 14 feet in diameter, in which, when 

 the earth was cleared away, were discovered twelve small, 

 beehive-shaped vaults built of stones of the same kind as 

 i those in the wall. One of these was exactly in the center, 

 " the other eleven being placed in a circle around it and about 

 5 equally spaced, as shown in Fig. 232. The bottom of the 

 ^. area within the circular wall, which corresponded with the 

 I natural surface of the ground, was covered to the depth of 

 a 3 inches with charcoal and the graves or vaults were built 

 I on this layer. In each vault were the remains of a single 

 M sitting skeleton, all of adults. In the center vault a number 



of shell beads were found around the neck of the skeleton 



i--Q B and near the mouth the fine stone pipe shown in Fig. 233. 

 I This pipe is made of fine-grained syenite and highly ijolished. 

 » No articles were found with any of the other skeletons. 

 ■9 Each of the two last mentioned mounds is on the bench or 

 Z upper bottom and about one-fourth of a mile from tlie river. 



1 This locality is said to have been for a long time an Indian 

 " camping ground, which seems to be confirmed by the fact 



1 that the siuface of the ground is thickly strewn with flint 



2 chips and iragmeuts of jiottery. Tradition says that the In- 

 dians once had a great battle here, and that one party buried 

 their dead in mound No. 2 and the other party buried theirs 

 071 the opposite side of the river, where there is still a great 

 mound of river stones. 



Mound No. 3 (not shown in the plat) is also on the Holston 

 river, 2 miles above those just described. This mound, 



(which resembles No. 2 in several respects, was circular, 60 

 feet in diameter, and nearly 5 feet high. The original surface 

 of the earth had first been covered over with charcoal to the depth of 

 3 inches, then the bodies or skeletons laid on it and each walled up 

 separately with river stones; these were then covered over with a layer 

 of black earth 18 inches thick, and on this was spread a layer of sand 

 over a foot thick and on this was a thin layer of surfoce soil. On one- 

 half of the circular layer of charcoal were six skeletons walled up sep- 

 arately as before stated, but so thoroughly decayed that only one skull 



