THOMAS.] WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS, MISSOURI. 535 



having- been previously located. There are, however, exceptioii.s to this 

 rule. Whether their siguitieance be mythical, religious, or totemic is 

 a question which yet remains to be determined. Although of much 

 smaller dimensions than the massive elHgies of Wisconsin, yet there 

 can be scarcely a doubt that they represent in this more western area 

 the others in the eastern section, and that they are the latest and com- 

 paratively modern indications of a long maintained custom abandoned 

 only when the influence of European civilization began to be felt. This 

 seems to be proved beyond any reasonable doubt by their association 

 with other remains which are explained by historical evidence and by 

 the fact that a few are formed of bones. 



ELON(iATE MOUNDS. 



The elongate or wall-like mounds form another feature peculiar to 

 this district; in fact, they may properly be called the peculiar feature, 

 as the effigies, though more striking and attracting most attention, 

 are not confined exclusively to this district, a few, as before stated, 

 being found elsewhere, while true elongate mounds, so far as I am 

 aware, have not been obserA'ed in any other district except those in 

 northern Illinois referred to and one or two in northeastern Missouri. 



Tumuli of this class appear more like sections of earthen walls than 

 true mounds in the limited sense and are quite different in appearance 

 from the oblong or elongate oval mouuds. They vary in length from 

 50 to 900 feet, though the usual length is from 75 to 200 feet, the width 

 from 15 to 35 feet, and the height from a few inches to 4: feet. They 

 are usually straight, terminating abruptly at the ends ; yet in a few 

 instances they are bent abruptly or are slightly curved, and are occa- 

 sionally tapered to a point at one end. Examples of the different forms 

 may be seen by referring to the plates of Dr. Lapham's " Antiquities 

 of Wisconsin," especially Pis. 11, '2(>, 42, 43, 47, 48, and 49; and also 

 to that part of the preceding "Fiehl Report" relating to Crawford 

 county, Wisconsin. They are usually connected with groups contain- 

 ing other forms. Although there is seldom exact uniformity in their 

 relation to each other in a group, as to direction, that is to say, they 

 are not always placed parallel to one another, or at right angles, yet 

 there is a general trend in one direction in each group; the direction 

 may be quite different in one group from what it is in another but a 

 short distance away. They are not confined to level ground, as some 

 are found running directly, or obliquely, up and down quite steep slopes, 

 as, for example, those represented in Dr. Lapham's plate 26, where the 

 slope is nearly 40 degrees. 



The area over which works of this type extend is somewhat broader 

 than that to which the effigies are limited (omitting from consideration 

 the few of the latter in distant districts), as they are found as far soixtli 

 in Illinois as the latitude of Peoria, northward along the Souris river, 

 and westward, if we rightly interpret Mr. Barrandt's statement, as far 



