556 MOUND EXPLORATIONS. 



that they are "of such an extent as to require for their construction 

 tioie and the persistent labor of many people. Situated on the river 

 blnfifs, their location combines jiicturesque scenery, susceptibility for 

 defense and convenience to transportation, water, and productive lands." 

 He also states that there is evidence here that conical knolls of the 

 loess have been artificially rounded and used for sepulchral purposes. 



Other mounds on the Indiana side of the lower Wabash, especially 

 in Knox county, are of comparatively large size and appear in some 

 instances to have been truncated, earthen pyramids. Very little evi- 

 dence of biirial has been found in them; it is, therefore, to be presumed 

 that they were built for other than burial purposes. They contain 

 traces of lire, the prevailing feature being the presence of one or more 

 strata of ashes in which are found fragments of bones. On the Illinois 

 side of this part of the valley and in the region of Sangamon river 

 in the central part of the state, the mounds, which occur in considera- 

 ble number, are comxiaratively small, unstratified, and used only for 

 burial purposes. Some of them at least are comijaratively recent, as 

 articles showing contact with the whites are found in them where there 

 are no indications of intrusive burial. The same is true also of a i-lass 

 of small mounds found in northwestern Illinois. It is frequently the 

 case that the skeletons found in mounds of this type ai'e in a sitting 

 posture; occasionally the bones are in a confused heap; liowever, the 

 horizontal position is probably more common than any other. As a 

 rule, but few implements or ornaments are found in mounds of this 

 class. 



In reference to this north and south belt of the district, extending 

 from the northwest part of Indiana southward and including the 

 Wabash valley, it may be stated with considerable confidence that its 

 archeological features indicate the presence here of several different 

 tribes. It may also be aflirmed that these tribes were small ones, or 

 portions of large ones which remained for a comparatively short period 

 in this section. 



There is a group of mounds in Vanderburg county, Indiana, that 

 seems out of place in the region where it is found. 



These mounds, as will be seen by leference to our " Catalogue of Pre- 

 historic Works East of the Itocky Mountains," were first noticed by Mr. 

 John CoUett' and subsequently briefly described by Floyd Stinsou, in 

 the Smithsonian Report for 1881. Recently I have examined the group 

 and had a surva-y made of it. As the description is not included in the 

 report of the field work, it is given here. 



This group, commonly known as the "Angel mounds," is situated 

 about 8 miles southeast of Evansville, in Vanderburg county, near the 

 Warwick county line, close to the Olno river. At this point of itscourse 

 the Ohio sends off a branch or bayou which cuts ofi" the " Three Mile 

 island." It is on the margin of this bayou opposite the lower end of 



1 Geol. Surv. Ind., 1875. 



