THE MISSO UEI MO UND B UILDERS. 15 



explain. Among the findings I may further mention a comb of bone, and 

 six perforated, round; flat, transparent white pieces of stone of a necklace, 

 a door button of alabaster, and a large fragment of a bas-relief represent- 

 ing a man with a line, probably a bridle, in the hand; he was, no doubt, 

 reiDresented standing on a chariot, and resembles very much the man who 

 holds the horns of tlae fantastic animal in one of the bas-reliefs described 

 in my first letter from here. Henry Schliemann." 



This brings us to the latest reports that have been made by Dr. 

 Schliemann upon his discoveries, which are regarded by the highest scien- 

 tific authorities in London as the most important yet made in the history 

 of archasological investigation, carrying us back beyond historic times, and 

 to a great extent overturning the theory of several modern writers on 

 history. 



THE MISSOURI MOUND BUILDERS. 



A PAPER READ BY JUDGE E, P. WEST BEFORE THE KANSAS CITY ACADEMY 



OF SCIENCE. 



Gentlemen: Some of you, no doubt, will remember that I stated in a 

 paper which 1 had the honor of reading before the Academy of Science, at 

 its meeting in September last, that I had reason to believe that there were 

 numerous artificial mounds in the vicinity of Kansas City, rich in paloento- 

 logical remains. In this, upon investigation, my expectations in some 

 respects have been more than realized, while in other respects the results 

 have not been what I anticipated, but are, j^erhaps, none the less important 

 in an ethnological point of view. 



From Mr. Keller's farm, overlooking a branch of Line Creek, in Clay 

 County, to Line Creek in Platte County, a distance of about three-fourths 

 of a mile, I have located as many as twenty-five mounds. I have seen 

 others east of Mr. Keller's, extending as far as Randolph, and I am informed 

 by reliable gentlemen that they are seen west of Line Creek. On the south 

 side of the Missouri Eiver, I have located other mounds, in the vicinity of 

 Rock Creek, in Jackson County ; but whether erected by the same people 

 remains to be determined upon further investigation. 



In shape, the mounds examined represent the frustum of a cone, and 

 vary in size from forty to eighty feet in diameter at the base, and from 

 eighteen to thirty-five feet at the superior plane. They are found situated 

 on the highest points, those commanding the finest views along the summit 

 of the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, and with a few exceptions are 

 arranged in groups of from three to five. Those on the left bank of the 

 river nearly all contain buried chambers or vaults, built of stone, compact- 

 ly and regularly laid, quadrangular on the inside and circular on the out- 

 side. The stones, which are undressed, on the inside are laid horizontally, 

 and apparently have been selected with great care, the walls presenting, 

 when the earth is removed, a smooth inner face. 



