ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY 



A FEW aboriginal monuments are said to have existed in this county. One or 

 two of these occurred near Pottsdam ; but it is probable they are now nearly, if not 

 quite, obliterated. 



A mound, eight feet in height, still exists on St. Regis Island, in the St. Law- 

 rence River. It is crossed by the boundary line separating the territories of the 

 United States and Great Britain. It was excavated by Col. Hawkins, of the Uni- 

 ted States Boundary Commission, in 1818. Near the surface were human bones 

 in considerable numbers, and in good preservation ; but at the base were found 

 traces of fire, charcoal, burned bones, and fragments of pottery, together with some 

 stone implements and ornaments. 



Upon the Canada shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Morrisville in this 

 county, a singular aboriginal deposit was discovex'ed some years ago, in making 

 the excavations for the St. Lawrence Canal. The principal facts concerning them 

 were communicated to the author by Dr. T. Reynolds, of Brockville, C. W., and 

 are embodied in Vol. I. of the " Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge," pp. 

 201, 202. Amongst the relics of copper and other materials discovered at this 

 spot and described as above, was a small terra cotta mask of very good workman- 

 ship. An engraving of the size of the original is here- 

 with presented (Fig. 1). Mr. Reynolds, who has the 

 relic in his possession, describes it as follows : " It is 

 of clay, and represents the contour of the Indian head, 

 after which it appears to have been moulded. It cor- 

 responds very nearly in shape with the skulls discover- 

 ed at the same place, and the foramina, or holes found 

 in the skull, are well represented, — showing that it was 

 modelled to resemble the bony structure of the head, 

 not the flesh or living subject. It seems to have been 

 broken off from some idol or image." 



