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stands beside the Rapids. This mound has supplied many in- 

 teresting remains. From this fact as well as from its situation, 

 I would hazard the opinion that here, as at the great Rainy 

 River Falls, three miles farther down, there were villages in 

 the old mound building days. It is a fact worthy of notice 

 that the site of the first French Fort on Rainy River, St. Pierre 

 built by Verandrye in 1731, was a few hundred yards from this 

 mound. 



3. Bark. Specimens of birch bark were found near by the 

 bones. It was no doubt originally used for swathing or wrap- 

 ping the corpses buried. That a soft decayable substance such 

 as bark, should have lasted while a number of bones had de- 

 cayed may seem strange. No doubt this may be explained in 

 the same way as the presence among the remains in Hochelaga, 

 on the Island of Montreal, of preserved fragments of maize, 

 viz. : by its having been scorched. The pieces of bark seem to 

 have been hardened by scorching. 



4. Earth. The main earth of the mound is plainly the same 

 as that of the soil surrounding it. By what means the earth 

 was piled up, is a question for speculation. It seems a matter 

 of small moment. Possibly that the earth was carried in 

 baskets, or vessels of considerable size, is sufficient to account 

 for it. My theory is that the mound was not erected by a vast 

 company of busy workers as were the pyramids, but that it 

 was begun at first for purposes of observation, that as inter- 

 ments were from time to time made in it sufficient earth was 

 carried up to effect the purpose, until in centuries the enormous 

 aggregate of earth was formed. Among the earth of the 

 mound are also found in spots, quantities of red and yellow 

 ochre. The fact that the skulls and bones seem often to have 

 a reddish tinge, goes to show that the ochre was used for the 

 purpose of ornamentation. Sometimes a skull is drawn out 

 of the firm cast made by it in the earth, and the cast is seen to 

 be reddened by the ochre which was probably smeared over the 

 face of the slain warrior. The ochre is entirely foreign to the 

 earth of which the mound is made, but being earthy remains 

 long after even pottery has gone to decay. 



5. Ore. Lying near this skull as if they had been placed in 

 the hands of the corpse were two pieces of metallic ore, one of 

 which is before you. A fresh section of it shows it to be 

 Arsenical Iron Pyrites, each piece weighing four or five ounces. 

 No doubt the shining ore and its heavy weight attracted notice, 

 although it is of no commercial value. The probabilities are 

 that this ore was regarded as sacred, and possibly having been 



