846 REPOET— 1886. 



tinuous line of mounds from the mound centres of the Mississippi River down the 

 Red River to Lake Winnipeg. Human remains, much decayed, are found in the 

 mounds, all buried by being placed on the surface under heaps of earth in which 

 patches of charcoal and ashes frequently occur, though no remains of funeral feasts, 

 as bones, &c., are met with. Indians, when first met with, buried weapons with 

 warriors, but none are found in these mounds, though implements and ornaments 

 of shell, bone, and stone are common, as well as pottery, which last was unknown 

 to Indians of North-west Canada on arrival of whites. One mound has burnt clay 

 and boulder floor similar to the ' Sacrificial Mounds and Altars' of Ohio. Orna- 

 ments of sea-shells, which must have been carried fully 1,200 miles from their 

 native waters, have been found by the author and others in the mounds. Traditions 

 prevalent amongst Indians were given and proved to be not founded on fact. An 

 ancient camp site had been discovered and explored by the author on the bank of Red 

 River, near the group of mounds. A description was given of burial customs of 

 North-west tribes as practised when first visited by whites, and comparison drawn 

 between those customs and the mound form. Moimds from Lake Winnipeg to the 

 Gulf of Mexico have been found of the same character, and were probably made by 

 one race, though the whites found great diversity of mortuary customs prevailing 

 amongst Indian tribes inhabiting this great tract of country. Little exploration 

 has yet been made in the Canadian North-west, which offers a wide and productive 

 field to archaeologists. The mounds are very ancient and are situated in what were 

 the best game districts. 



9. Report of tlie Committee for investigating and publisJmig reports on the 



physical characters, languages, and industrial and social condition of 

 the North-western Tribes of the Dominion of Canada. — See Reports, 

 p. 285. 



10. Report of the Committee for investigating the Prehistoric Race in the 



Greek Islands. — See Reports, p. 284. 



