16 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 
are described by Mr. Thomas Armstrong as found near Ripon, Fond du 
Lac County. Speaking of these, Mr. Armstrong says: 
As to how these bones came to be placed in these mounds, we can of course only 
conjecture; but from their want of arrangement, from the lack of ornaments and im- 
plements, and from their having been placed on the original surface, we are inclined 
to believe that the dry bones were gathered together — those in the large mounds first 
and those in the smaller ones afterwards — and placed in loose piles on the ground and 
the earth heaped over them until the mounds were formed.! 
There can be no doubt that the bones in this case were gathered up 
from other temporary burial places or depositories, as was the custom 
of several tribes of Indians. 

Fig. 3.—Earthen pot from Wisconsin mound. 
A number of burial mounds opened by Mr. W. G. Anderson, near 
Madison, were found to be of the same general type as those mentioned 
by Mr. Middleton. These he describes as being very low and poorly 
made. Eight were opened, all having been built in the same way, with 
only one layer of black earth, so hard as to make the work of exca- 
yation exceedingly laborious. These were circular, and about 4 feet 
high. Skeletons were found as near as 12 or 13 inches to the surface, 
but badly decayed. There were no sarcophagi or coffins, and in all 
cases the heads pointed towards the west.? 
‘Smithsonian Report 1879, p. 337. 
2Smithsonian Report 1879, p. 343. 
