37 



win. This house, a two story brick, was built some fifty years dgo. 

 In the process of removing the clay it is said that a quantity of bones 

 was unearthed but afterward re-interred. Work was begun by carry- 

 ing an adit from the side towards the center, and after the center was 

 reached sinking a shaft toward the base. Some two feet from the 

 surface the bones of several skeletons were found. These are fre- 

 quently found in the surface of mounds, and are generally accounted 

 to be those of some Indian tribe and of comparatively recent date. 

 At the depth of twelve feet the original place of sepulture was reach- 

 ed. Here a rude structure of bark and branches had been made as a 

 receptacle for the dead, constructed, as nearly as could be ascertained, 

 in the following manner: First a layer of bark was laid down, then 

 the bodies placed upon this, the head of the one being directed toward 

 the east, of the next toward the west, and so on. Logs were placed at 

 the sides and between the bodies, dividing the grave into as many 

 compartments as there were persons to be buried. The whole was 

 then covered with a thick layer of bark, upon the surface of which 

 was found a thin layer of charcoal. Bark, branches and bodies had of 

 course reached the last stage of decay, only the ashes of the former 

 remaining to show how they had been disposed, and long hollow cavi- 

 ties filled with dust alone indicated the position of the logs. The 

 whole mass had been pressed down and flattened by the weight of the 

 overlaying earth, and most of the bones showed evidences of the great 

 pressure, being crushed in and broken. The first skeleton reached 

 was found lying with head toward the east, and it was judged to be 

 that of a female. In the vicinity of the pelvis a number of bones of 

 the head and limbs were found evidently belonging to an unborn 

 child, judging from the condition of the teeth in the lower jaw, and 

 that of other parts of the skeleton. Some of these bones are figured 

 of their natural size in Plate 1, Figs. 3 and 4, and also in Plate 3, 

 Figs. 3 and 4. (In Plate 1 Fig. 3 represents one of the bones of the 

 toes, and Fig. 4. several of the fingers. In Plate 3 the bones of the 

 thigh and leg are seen). A small copper ring was found near the 

 head which had probably been worn in the ear or nose. (Plate 2, 

 Fig. 2). Further excavation disclosed a second skeleton, having its 

 head directed to the west. The bones of this skeleton were evidently 

 those of a warrior, being very large and strong, and those of the lower 

 limbs were in a remarkable state of preservation. Near the hand and 

 lying across the body were the flint heads of three spears or arrows. 



