Miscellaneous Intelligence. 285 
_ In the sepulchral, are found human bones, generally much decayed, 
so that no skeletons and rarely a perfect bone can be extricated—so an- 
cient are they ; and often the mounds of all descriptions are covered by 
gigantic forest trees. In one instance a section of a tree gave 600 an- 
nual rings. The sacrificial mounds cover altars sometimes of large 
size and constructed of baked earth hardened like bricks or tiles, and 
more rarely of stone. These altars contain calcined human bones, char- 
coal, and other proofs of the operation of fire. The merely sepulchral 
piles are earth mounds thrown up at random without arrangement of 
the materials; those covering altars were artificially stratified—layer 
over layer of alternating beds of gravel, earth and sand, but following 
_ &common curvature, like a series of caps drawn over the same head ; 
this stratification, when heretofore named but not fully and accurately 
teported, induced Prof. Hitchcock to suppose that the mounds were di- 
-luvial; but their form and the interred altars with their relics disprove 
_ that opinion, although we know not why the altars were covered with 
so much care, or why covered at all: probably the proceeding was in- 
terwoven with their religious notions. In both kinds of mounds, but 
More especially in the mounds of sacrifice, are found very remarkable 
works of art wrought in stone. Among them were images of many 
of the animals and birds of that period; they were often wrought 
into pipes. of ‘various fanciful shapes; an otter with a fish in its 
Mouth; a hawk tearing a bird to pieces; owls, eagles, bears, &c., 
_ and many human heads and faces, giving doubtless the craniology 
and physiognomy of the people—besides many things not exactly ob- 
Vious as to their. import. There are many stone arrow and spear- 
heads beautifully chipped out of hornstone of various colors, or form- 
ed from obsidian, or limpid quartz; and among the relics are much 
white mica ‘in flakes, vessels of pottery, and pipestone similar to that 
of Prairie du Chien described in the American Journal, Vol. REAPS) 
P. 140. The minerals grouped in these mounds came often from 
Temote regions; and thus furnish proof of extensive migrations; OF 
_ friendly or warlike travelling or commerce. ‘There are strings af 
beads of ivory, (probably from the mastodon or Elephas priumge- 
_ Mexico; and there were also fossil teeth of sharks, and other teeth prob- 
‘ (see Amer. Jour., iii, 204,) now lies in the court-yard of the War 
a, Srconp Serres, Vol. II, No. 5.—Sept., 1846. 37 
