CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS, BLACK WARRIOR RIVER. 199 
Encouraged by this discovery, two more trial-holes were made and a trench 
was dug, 22 feet 6 inches long by 6 feet broad, 4 feet deep on the summit plateau, 
and 5 feet deep on the slope, over a part of which it extended. With the exception 
of a rough ball of earthenware, about 2 inches in diameter. no objects were found. 
As the summit plateau had been thoroughly covered by us, the investigation 
was abandoned with the conviction on our part that while burials had been present, 
doubtless in the eastern part of the original plateau, they had washed away with 
the mound, leaving the artifacts found by us, which were near the eastern edge. 
Movunp L. 
Mound L, the sides of which almost exactly coincide with the cardinal points, 
is bounded on the north and west by a cultivated field, and on the south and east 
by an artificial pool of water that marks the place whence material for the mound 
was taken. The summit plateau, which has been under cultivation, is 93 feet long 
E. and W., and 80 feet broad N. and S., approximately. 
The height of the mound is 12 feet 9 inches from the north; from the west, 
13 feet 4 inches; from the south, 14 feet 10 inches. 
Twenty-five trial-holes, covering the entire plateau, were sunk by us with only 
negative result. 
Next, an excavation 18 feet square, having for its center the central part of 
the summit plateau, was carried to a depth of 14 feet 10 inches, at which level the 
excavation was about 13 feet 6 inches by 12 feet 4 inches. The mound showed no 
distinct stratification. Хо pits were met, and no sign of dual oecupaney ; the only 
artifaets found were several small bits of pottery. 
As the base of our exeavation, however, still seemed to be composed of dis- 
turbed clay, a circular hole 4 feet in diameter was made, which, at a depth of 1 
foot 10 inches, came upon homogeneous material, clayey sand of lead color, which 
extended downward to an unascertained depth. Неге we have a domiciliary mound, 
similar, we believe, to the majority of such mounds, that is, one not put to secondary 
use as a place of burial. 
Могхр M. 
Mound M, is simply the remnant of what has been a small domiciliary mound, 
now partly washed away. Тһе dimensions of what remains of its summit plateau 
are 56 feet by 22 feet. "Thirteen trial.holes were witheut material result. 
Мосх» N. 
Mound N, fairly symmetrical, has a summit plateau, about 65 feet square, 
which has been under cultivation. Twenty-nine trial-holes, without discovery of 
any sort, convinced us that this mound had not been used for burial purposes. 
Мосхр О. 
Mound О, a symmetrical, little mound but slightly affected by wash of rain, 
and previous to our visit, a stranger to the plough, had been trenched from the 
