ANTIQUITIES OF KNOX COUNTY, INDIANA, ETC. 415 



able, and we may yet ascertain who were their builders, and for what 

 purpose they were made. 



It is to be regretted, however, that more extended and more thorough 

 examinations of the many mounds in this and Lawrence County, Illi- 

 nois, have not been made, as this region certainly presents a most 

 favorable field for ethnological investigations. From the great number 

 of mounds in this locality and the very large size of some of them, 

 together with the relics already found, it may be supposed that the 

 Wabash Valley, and especially Knox County, Indiana, and Lawrence 

 County, Illinois, were once densely populated by that ancient race of 

 people whose history is so veiled in obscurity that it is difacult to 

 determine who they were or whence they came. It is very probable 

 that there have been many intrusive burials in the mounds that have 

 been examined, and it is, . therefore, difficult, but very important, to 

 determine questions of race by the careful inspection of the crania and 

 the relics removed with them. If a well-preserved cranium could be 

 discovered near the center and at great depth in any of the larger 

 mounds, it might be taken for granted that it belonged to the original 

 race of mound-builders. It is, therefore, desirable that further explora- 

 tions should be made in the Sugar Loaf and Pyramid Mounds. By 

 tunneling horizontally, commencing near the base and proceeding 

 toward the center, using strong timbers for pr6tectioii against the 

 falling earth, discoveries of great scientific interest might be made, 

 and I would be very much pleased to see a work of this kind under- 

 taken by some competent person. The beautiful little valley in the 

 center of which Vincennes now stands was, doubtless, once a great city, 

 occupied by the mound-builders, and their villages and farms were 

 scattered over the country as ours are at present. There is a line of nat- 

 ural elevations almost surrounding the valley on the north, south, and 

 east sides, having the river on the west. There is a low piece of land lying 

 between the southern mound and Bunker Hill of about 900 yards, and 

 from Bunker Hill to the river there is an opening of about a mile, in 

 which, however, there is one mound still standing; and from the frequent 

 findings of pottery and stone implements between these points, it is very 

 probable that there was once an artificial embankment from Bunker 

 Hill to the river, and from Bunker Hill to the southern mound. In 

 addition to this, Professor Collett has expressed the opinion that 

 there is a continuous line of artificial defenses extending from the river 

 above Fort Knox around to Bunker Hill, nearly, a mile in the rear 

 of the line on which the mounds are situated. Professor Collett is a very 

 accurate observer, but his time was too limited to enable him to make a 

 thorough and satisfactory examination. It has been supposed by many 

 observers that the Wabash Kiver once occupied the entire plain between 

 its present western shore and the line of the elevations on which the large 

 mounds are situated; and that, when those mounds were first erected, 



