BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS. 
or 
bs 
of building a judge’s stand in connection with a race-course that was 
laid out around the mound. 
A shaft 12 feet square at the top and narrowing downward was sunk 
to the base. At the depth of 4 feet, in a very hard bed of earth and 
ashes mixed, were found two much decayed human skeletons, both 
stretched horizontally on their backs, heads south, and near their heads 
several stone implements. From this point until a depth of 24 feet was 
reached the shaft passed through very hard earth of a light-gray color, 
apparently clay and ashes mixed, iu which nothing of consequence was 
found, When a depth of 24 feet was reached the material suddenly 
changed to a much softer and darker earth, disclosing the casts and some 
decayed fragments of timbers from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. Here 
were found fragments of bark, ashes, and also numerous fragments 
of animal bones, some of which had been split lengthwise. At the 
depth of 31 feet was a human skeleton, lying prostrate, head north, 
which had evidently been enclosed in a coffin or wrapping of elm bark. 
In contact with the head was a thin sheet of hammered native copper. 
By enlarging the base of the shaft until a space some 16 feet in diameter 
was opened, the character and the contents of the base of the mound 
were more fully ascertained. This brought to light the fact that the 
builders, after having first smoothed, leveled, and packed the natural 
surface, carefully spread upon the floor a layer of bark (chiefly elm), the 
inner side up, and upon this a layer of fine white ashes, clear of char- 
coal, to the depth, probably, of 5 or 6 inches, though pressed now to 
little more than 1 inch. On this the bodies were laid and presumably 
covered with bark. 
The enlargement of the shaft also brought to view ten other skeletons, 
all apparently adults, five on one side and five on the other side of the 
central skeleton, and, like it, extended horizontally, with their feet point- 
ing toward the central one but not quite touchingit. Like the first, they 
had all been buried in bark coffins or wrappings. With each skeleton 
on the east side was a fine, apparently unused lance-head about 3 inches 
long, and by the right side of the northern one a fish-dart, three arrow- 
heads, and some fragments of Unio shells and pottery. No implements 
or ornaments were found with either of the five skeletons on the west side, 
although careful search was made therefor. In addition to the copper 
plate, a few shell beads and a large lance-head were found with the cen- 
tral skeleton. As there were a number of holes resembling post-holes, 
about the base, which were filled with rotten bark and decayed vegeta- 
ble matter, I am inclined to believe there was a vault here similar to the 
lower vault in the Grave Creek mound, in which the walls were of tim- 
bers set up endwise in the ground. But it is proper to state that the 
assistant who opened the mound is rather disposed to doubt the correct- 
ness of this explanation. 
In order to show the character of the smaller burial mounds of this 
region, I give descriptions of a few opened by Colonel Norris. 
