72 



Second, Where tlie river has washed away the bank we have a fine 

 opportunity of examining the deposits beneath the shells, and also 

 their line of juncture with that deposit. We find that deposit made 

 up of sand, gravel, and boulders mingled — a diluvial deposit like all 

 the land in the vicinity beyond the shells; and the line of juncture 

 gives the appearance of shells thrown upon dry ground. There was 

 no appearance of wearing or mingling of the sand with the shells, and 

 in one place, where a boulder was upon the surface of the sand, they 

 seemed to rest against it in a way that precluded, in my mind, the 

 action of the water. 



Third, Wherever we found a deep section of shells so lately made 

 that the surface had not decomposed, the open appearance of the shells 

 was marked. They were not mingled with fragments of bone or 

 broken shells or with sand, presenting, in this respect, an entirely 

 diiferent appearance from the great deposit of oyster shells by water at 

 the mouth of the St. Mary's river, Georgia, which I had an opportuni- 

 ty of carefully observing two years ago. 



Fourth, In these places, in deep sections, we found fragments of 

 charcoal mingled with the shells under conditions that showed conclu- 

 sively that it could have been deposited there only as the shells were 

 deposited. The coal left with you was taken out in a deep section 

 very near the bottom. So common did we find the coal that I feel 

 confident it can be found there by any careful observer. 



Fifth, In one section a dark line was seen near the bottom of the 

 deposit. Perhaps a foot from the bottom, along that dark line, frag- 

 ments of charcoal were found, and the shells for a few inches under- 

 neath were decomposed, as though they had been acted upon by fire; 

 and in this same place were found most of the fragments of bones left 

 in your possession. I have no doubt a fire was built upon the shells 

 when the bed was about one foot in thickness. 



Sixth, The fragments of bones left in your possession are to be sub- 

 mitted to any person desirous of examining them. I consider the jaw 

 and teeth of the rodent animal to be those of a beaver. There is cer- 

 tainly one fragment of a bird bone. And I would call especial atten- 

 tion to the manner in which these bones are broken — as though done 

 with some instrument. I can think of no other means by which they 

 could be broken into such fragments. 



The large mass of shells might be used as an argument in favor of 

 deposition by water, but if careful examination proves that they were 

 deposited by men, then the great mass only proves the great number 

 of men or the great length of time during which these shells were 

 accumulating. No man can pronounce an intelligent opinion upon 

 them without an examination. From what I had heard I expected to 

 find that they were deposited by water. There may be beds of shells 

 in that region deposited in this way, but I am fully convinced that 

 those examined by me were deposited by men. I would write more 



