28 ANTIQUITIES OF WISCONSIN. 



to lessen the labor. At about twO feet above the original surface of the ground, 

 the top of a circular wall or pile of stone, about nine feet in diameter, was dis- 

 covered. It was composed of loose fragments of white limestone, which exhibited 

 evidence of long contact with the earth, by their decayed and softened exterior. 

 The wall was interrupted on the west side. (See Section, Plate XVIII.) 



We commenced the exploration by opening a trench three feet wide, beginning 

 on the east side of the original mound, deep enough to reach through the black 

 and mottled eai'th of which the mound was composed, and to the surface of the yel- 

 lowish clay subsoil. Continuing this trench towards the centre, we passed the loose 

 stone wall, and found the black earth suddenly extending down about two feet 

 below the natural surface of the ground, and reaching the gravel below the yellow 

 clay. Upon this gravel, two feet below the original surface, directly under the 

 centre of the mound, and surrounded by the circular heap of stone, was found a 

 human skeleton, lying on its back, with the head towards the west. Stones had 

 also been placed at the sides and over the body, forming a rude sort of coffin. The 

 bones were very much decayed, and only fragments could be obtained. The plates 

 of the skull were too far gone to be restored. 



In the left hand was a pipe of baked clay or pottery, ornamented with holes 

 around the bowl, and also a quantity of red paint. In the right hand was a 

 smaller pipe, cut from a soft kind of stone. They are both very small, and appear 

 to have been articles of fancy, rather than use. At the head were found many 

 fragments of pottery which had been crushed by the weight of the earth ; these 

 fragments were originally portions of two vessels, which had the form represented 

 in Fig. 8. They are of the same coarse and rude materials as the fragments 

 so frequently found on and near the surface in many localities 

 throughout the State. The earth immediately over the skeleton 

 was hard and black, indicating the action of fire, though no other 

 evidence of this was discovered. Fragments of fresh-water shells 

 (of the genus JJnio^) were found with the fragments of pottery. 

 No wood was found, nor were any vacant places noticed where it 

 might have decayed. 



Another mound was opened a short distance west of the first, by 

 sinking a shaft in the centre five feet in diameter. We soon reached burnt clay, 

 of a yellow or reddish-yellow color, with stones almost calcined into quicklime by 

 the intensity of the heat. Much charcoal was obtained, showing still the original 

 pores and concentric circles of the wood, which appeared to be oak. The bones of 

 a portion of the leg of a human being were found ; but the remainder of the skele- 

 ton had evidently been consumed at the time of the interment. There had been 

 no excavation below the natural surface of the ground in this case. 



The materials composing these mounds were taken from the surface, so that no 

 perceptible excavations are left in their vicinity; and the whole body of the 

 tumulus consists of black mould, with occasional spots of yellowish clay. The 

 difference between the artificial and natural soil was quite apparent. No articles 



'■ Apparently the Vhio siliquoides of Barnes. 



