NO. 3 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIOXS, I915 



77 



or of evidences of fires throus^iiout the mound at varyini;- levels, and 

 by the finding" of a few objects derived from tlie white man in the 

 upper part and in the slopes of the mound, but not in the lower 

 levels. From this last observation it is evident that the occupancy 

 of the mound extended well into the historical period, a fact sup- 

 ported by the memory of the grandparents of present residents of 

 the Xacoochee A^alley who recalled the mound when the Cherokee 

 Indians still occupied it and the surrounding area. 



Fig. 92. — Trench, east side of mound. View from the south. The lowermost 

 part of the excavation shows the base of the mound. 



The fact that the mound was used for burial purposes is attested 

 by the finding of the remains of 75 individuals during the course of 

 the excavations, the graves occurring from slightly beneath the 

 summit to a depth of about 19 feet, or below the original base of 

 the mound. These graves, with few exceptions, were unmarked, and 

 in most instances were not accompanied with objects of ceremony or 

 utility. The exceptions were those remains with which were buried 

 stone implements, shells or shell ornaments, a smoking pipe, a pottery 

 vessel, or the like. The skeletons were found usually with the head 

 pointed in an eastwardly direction, and were all in such a greatly 

 decomposed condition that it was impossible to preserve any of them 



