654 MOUND EXPLOKATIONS. 



If this description be compared with the ttgureof the inclosure near 

 Evausville, given in the seeond part of this volume, the stron.i>- re- 

 sembhmce -will be seen at once. 



Adair, in his " History of the American Indians." says the Indians 

 daub their houses with " tougli mortar mixed with dry grass;" that they 

 buihl winter or hot houses after tlie manner of Dutch ovens, covered 

 with chiy mixed with grass, and, as "they usually build on risiufj f/round, 

 the floor is often a yard lower than the earth, which serves them as a 

 breastwork against an enemy, and a small peeping window is level with 

 the surface of the outside ground to enable them to rake any liu'king 

 invaders in case of an attack." In reference to the town house he says: 

 "The only difference between it and the winter house, or stove, is in its 

 dimensions and application. It is usually built on the top of a hill.'" ' 



There is scarcely any reason to doubt that he refers, by the exi)res- 

 sions italicized, at least the last one, to artificial mounds. Further ref- 

 erence will hereafter be made to some of his statements in this connec- 

 tion, as they give at least a hint as to the explanation of some things 

 found in the mounds. 



Following up the recorded accounts of these works in the order of 

 time, we next refer to the notices found in William Bartram's notes of 

 a jfmrney through the scmthern states made in 1773. In this work fre- 

 <iueut mention is made of mounds, but notice will be taken of those 

 only which appear to connect them in some way with the Indians then 

 occupying that region, or that indicate their recent desertion. 



He makes the following remarks in regard to a movmd on Lake George: 



At about fifty yards distauce from the liinding jilai-i? stands a iiiaguitieeut Indian 

 mount. About tiftei-n years ago 1 visited this place, at which time there were no 

 settlements of white people, but all appeared wild and savage ; yet in that unculti- 

 vated state it possessed an almost inexpressible air of grandeur which was now 

 entirely changed. 



At that time there was a very considerable extent of old Jield>i round about the 

 mount ; there was also a large orange grove, together with palms and live oaks, extend- 

 ing from near the mount along the banks downwards. ' * * But what greatly con- 

 tributed towards completing the uiagniticence of the scene was anoble Indian liigb way 

 wliich led from the great mount on a straight line, three-(|uartcrs of a mile, first 

 through a point or wing of the orange grove and continuing thence through an awful 

 forest of liveoaks, it was terminated by palms and laurel magnolias on the verge of an 

 oblong artilicial lake, which was on the edge of an extensive, green, level savanna. 

 I'his grand highway was aliout fifty yards wide, sunk a little lielow the common 

 level, and the earth thrown up on each side, making a bank of about two feet high.'- 



The condition observed here certainly does not warrant the belief 

 that the place had been abaiidoiK'il for centuries before this intelligent 

 traveler visited it. Yet the historical records relating to the region 

 reach back two centuries and a half previous to that visit. Had any 

 l)eople (if superior culture to that of the Indians inhabited the region in 

 that time or within a century previous thereto, some notice of the fact 

 would be found in the somewhat abundant literature relating to the 



Pp. 417-421. ' Hnitrinirs Travels, p. 90. 



