INTRODUCTION. 



In the arrangement of my subject, I prefer to make use of the natural features 

 of the State, rather than the political divisions into counties. At almost every 

 annual session of the legislature, the boundaries of old counties are chaiiged, and 

 new ones are established from time to time with the progress of settlement and 

 improvement; while the natural features, the great valleys or basins and their 

 dividing ridges, always remain the same. It is also found that this is a more 

 natural division of the ancient works ; for they lie mostly along the valleys of 

 streams, or on the borders of the small clear crystal lakes with which the State 

 abounds. I have also indicated localities by reference to the numbers of the sec- 

 tions, townships, and ranges, as adopted in the government survey's of the public 

 lands, rather than to the names of the towns. 



It has been a leading object to ascertain whether any order or system can be 

 detected in the arrangement of the several works. With this view, the exact 

 relative situation of groups of mounds has been carefully observed and delineated; 

 and for the purpose of determining whether there existed any general system of 

 arrangement extending over large districts, the accompanying map (Plate I.) has 

 been constructed, showing the relative position of all the works of which the pre- 

 cise location has been ascertained. This map has been carefully reduced from 

 the public surveys, and exhibits the general features of the State with sufficient 

 minuteness for the purpose intended. 



The first narrative in which any notice of the existence of ancient works in this 

 State was made public, is that of Major Long's Expedition in 1823 ; from which 

 the description of those at and near Prairie du Chien is copied in the following 

 pages. The next is that of the late R. C. Taylor, in Silliman's Journal for 1838, 

 Vol. XXXIV. Dr. John Locke made accurate measurements of several works be- 

 tween the Four Lakes and the Blue Mounds, published in his report on the geology 

 of the Lead Mine District. But the most extended essay is that of Mr. S. Taylor, 

 relating chiefly to the ancient works at and near Muscoda, on the Wisconsin Rivei*. 

 The results of these several papers are embodied by Messrs. Squier and Davis in 

 their "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," constituting the first volume 

 of the " Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge." 



As the district embraced in these researches has but recently been brought into 

 notice, a short account of its general physical features will not be out of place here, 

 and will aid in understanding the descriptions which follow. 

 1 



