June 6, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



341 



As the earth of this floor did not appear to he the natural 

 soil, the shaft was carried down four feet farther. This re- 

 vealed a pit, the lateral extent of which could not be deter- 

 mined, but which had been dug to the depth of four feet in 

 the original soil. On the floor of this pit, at one side, ar- 

 ranged in a semicircle, were six small clay vaults in the 

 shape of beehives, about three feet in diameter at the bot- 

 tom, and the same in height. 



They were made of clay and ashes mixed, very hard, and 

 impervious to water. Possibly they had been allowed to 

 dry before being covered with earth. They were partially 

 filled with a dark, dry dust, apparently of some decayed 

 substance. A few fragments of bones were found in them. 



In the centre of the space around which these little vaults 

 were arranged, but only two feet below the floor of the large 

 wooden vault, were two small clay-lined cavities about the 

 size and form of the ordinary water-jars from the Arkansas 

 mounds. Possibly they were decayed, unburnt vessels which 

 had been deposited here at the time of burial. 



The bottom of the pit, which consisted of the natural de- 

 posit of yellow sand, was covered with a layer of charcoal 

 and ashes two or three inches thick. This sand appeared to 

 have been heated, from which it is inferred that the burning 

 took place in the pit previous to the formation of the vaults. 



The work was suspended at this stage, on account of ex- 

 treme cold weather, but was recommenced the following 

 season by running trenches from the sides into the shaft, and 

 afterward carrying a tunnel in at the base. In one of these 

 trenches, nine feet from the top, occurred a layer of soft 

 earth, in which were numerous fragments of decayed tim- 

 bers and bark, also casts of logs extending horizontally into 

 the sides of the trencJi. These, it is presumed from what 

 was afterward discovered, pertained to a wooden burial- 

 vault. The tunnel carried in at the base was from the south 

 side, ten feet wide, and eight feet high. For a distance of 

 twenty feet it passed through the hard gray material of 

 which the body of the mound was composed. Here the ex- 

 plorers suddenly encountered a deposit of soft earth in len- 

 ticular masses and of various colors, showing that it had 

 been brought from the hillsides and bottoms near by. A 

 short distance from this point they began to find the casts 

 and remains of the timbers of the large central vault, but, 

 before reaching the interior, passed over a small refuse-heap, 

 evidently belonging to an age preceding the date of the 

 building of the mound. As they entered the remains of the 

 vault, they began to find tolerably well preserved human 

 bones, but no whole skeletons. Seeing here indications of 

 the pit before mentioned, the tunnel was carried downward 

 four feet, disclosing five little clay vaults similar to those 

 found on the other side, and, like them, placed in a semi- 

 circle. It was now decided to remove and thoroughly ex- 

 plore about one-half of the mound. Many stone imple- 

 ments, some entire but most of them broken, seemingly by 

 the action of fire, were scattered through the hai-d upper 

 layer; also numerous single valves of mussels which had 

 been used as digging-tools until they were worn from the 

 outside entirely thi-ough. 



There was a marked dissimilarity between the northern 

 and southern sides of this mound, the former being a com- 

 pact mass of variously colored soils from different points in 

 the vicinity, in alternate horizontal laj-ers. The separate 



loads of the individuals who carried this earth were plainly 

 defined ; and the different sizes of these small masses indi- 

 cate that many persons, some much stroQger than others, 

 were simultaneously engaged in the work. 



With the exception of the imperfect or broken specimens 

 mentioned above, no remains of any kind were found in 

 that portion of the mound above the flre-bed and north of 

 the central shaft, and only two skeletons beneath it ; while 

 many interesting finds of implements were made all through 

 the loose, ashy dirt of the southern part, and many skele- 

 tons below it. The amount of rotten wood and bark ob- 

 served, and the positions of the casts of logs and poles, some 

 of which extended downward four feet below the natural 

 surface of the ground, render it probable that there was a 

 wooden structure here twelve feet square and three stories 

 high, or, what is more likely, three structures, one above 

 another. 



A foot above the natural surface, or twenty-four feet from 

 the top of the mound, was a smooth horizontal layer of sand 

 and ashes, interrupted by two heavy fire-beds. These beds 

 were circular in form, eight feet in diameter, and about ten 

 feet apart. The earth was burned hard for eight inches be- 

 low the ashes. Under these beds were several human skele- 

 tons. 



No. 1, a medium-sized adult, was extended on the back, 

 head south, arms by the side. This was four feet below the 

 centre of the northern fire-bed. No trace of a coffin was ob- 

 served, but a rude hoe and a rough lance-head were at the 

 left side. 



No. 2 was four feet north of No. 1, at the same depth. It 

 lay with the feet toward the centre of the mound, and was 

 enclosed in a kind of coffin formed by leaning flat stones to- 

 gether over the body in the form of an inverted V, and 

 placing a similar stone against the end at the head. A 

 number of relics were with this skeleton, and on the stone 

 at the head was a hematite celt. Two feet north of the head 

 were the fragments of a large clay vessel. 



No. 3, similarly placed, was four feet under the north 

 edge of the other fire-bed. Some relics were found above the 

 head, and others in a small conical vault near the left side. 



No. 4, same depth as the preceding, had the head toward 

 the centre of the mound. A small vault near the head con- 

 tained several relics of different sorts. 



Nos. 5 and 6 lay near together, with heads south. There 

 was a small vault near the feet of the smaller skeleton. 



None of these skeletons were found immediately in the 

 centre of the mound, and all were about four feet below the 

 natural surface of the ground, resting on the bottom of the 

 pit, as were the little conical vaults. Nine vaults in addi- 

 tion to those mentioned were unearthed, — four of them on 

 the bottom of the pit, and five above it. They were similar 

 in form and size to those heretofore described. There was 

 one toward the south side of the pit elongate in form, and 

 not more than two feet wide and two feet high. 



Another mound, numbered 30 in the original plat, had a 

 circular pit beneath it, in which were several beehive-shaped 

 clay vaults similar to those heretofore mentioned. The ex- 

 plorer, however, in this case, fails to mention the arrange- 

 ment or to note particularly the contents, owing perhaps to 

 the pit being partially filled with watei", which prevented a 

 thorough examination. 



