28 BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 
owner of the land, who was present, could give no explanation of this 
phenomenon, simply remarking that they had always been so, never hav- 
ing produced a good crop of anything, although there was no apparent 
difference between the soil of these spots and the surface around them. 
As some of these extended across the area occupied by the mound group, 
he concluded to explore them, and was surprised to find them to be bury- 
ing places, and scattered here and there among the graves, if such 
they could be called, were stone chips, shells, charcoal, and ashes. He 
was surprised at this, as he supposed the mounds alone were used as 
depositories of the dead, and was at first disposed to attribute these 
burials to a people who had occupied the ground long subsequent to the 
authors of the works. Possibly this may be the correct solution, but if 
so, they were certainly the same as those who buried in the mounds of 
this group, as no difference in the contents and internal arrangement 
could be observed. In both cases there was a compact layer of hard, 
light-colored earth, having the appearance of lime-mortar, possi ly clay 
and ashes mixed together, which had been subject to the action of fire. 
As the burials in these sterile spots were seldom more than 18 inches 
deep, the only layer above them consisted of sand from the butte, 
while the mounds were uniformly covered with a layer of richer soil, 
although below this and covering the skeletons was a layer of hard, light- 
colored earth. Skeletons and bones were found in great abundance in 
the mounds and under the surface of the plateau, though none were 
discovered in the circle or nearer than 200 yards of it. They were 
sometimes mingled promiscuously with charcoal and ashes, but were 
usually in whole skeletons lying horizontally, though some were ina 
sitting posture; they were within from 1 to 3 feet of the surface, with- 
out any apparent system, except that they were always covered with 
a layer of hard earth. 
A trench cut through the long mound of this group, No. 1, revealed 
near the center an oblong pile of sandstones, beneath which was found 
a rude stone coffin, formed by first placing flat sandstone slabs on the 
natural surface of the ground, then other slabs at the sides and ends, 
and a covering of similar stones, thus forming a cist or coffin about 6 
feet long and 18inches wide. Within this, extended at full length, with 
the head west, was the skeleton of an adult, but too much decayed for 
preservation. With it were some stone chips, rude stone scrapers, a 
Unio shell, and some fragments of pottery similar to those dug up in 
the circular enclosure. 
The mounds on the sand butte marked C, Plate I, which is something 
over 100 feet high, were opened and found to be in every respect similar 
to those already mentioned, showing them to be the work of the same 
people who built the others. 
The three mounds in the square enclosures marked D, (Plate 
I), were also opened, with the following results: The largest, oval in 
form, 30 feet long, about 20 feet broad and 4 feet high, was found to 
