CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS, MOBILE BAY. 291 
use of copper, are, of necessity, centrally perforated and form a negligible per- 
centage of the earthenware discs that are found. 
But to return to the mound. Ап interesting 
effigy of a human head, of earthenware, originally part 
of a vessel, was met with in this mound (Fig. 7). Тһе 
nose, broken at the end, has been carefully smoothed 
at the place of fracture. | 
A flat pebble, neatly rounded, lay among the 
shells. А mass of ferruginous sandstone and a small 
dise of the same material came from the mound; a 
larger dise of the same material was found on the sur- 
face of the field, as was a quartz pebble 3.5 inches in 
length, to which a cutting edge had been given at one 
end. 
SHELL RIDGE NEAR Bon Secours RIVER, 
BALDWIN COUNTY. 
On the south side of Bon Secours river, about 1.5 
miles up, at the northeast point of Oyster bay, behind 
Fio, Т.—Ра of earthenware vessel. the dwelling of Mr. W. R. Steiner, on whose property 
(About full size) ish rive. it is, ds a ridge or mound of irregular shape and vary- 
ing height, extending into adjacent fields. 
Eleven excavations, from 3 to 5 feet in diameter at the opening, were carried 
to the base, the greatest depth being 4 feet. The ridge, where dug, was composed 
of black, sandy loam with a varying percentage of oyster-shells, among which were 
a few small clam-shells. Below the shells was a layer of black, loamy sand, free 
from admixture of shell; and beneath this was yellow sand, the original surface. 
Fragmentary human remains were found in four places, none at a depth greater 
than 2 feet. 
Near the fragments of a skull was a shell hair-pin with part of the shank 
missing through an early fracture. 
Ten cannon-bones of the deer, parallel one to another, lay in a little pile about 
2.5 feet from the surface. 
In addition to several pebbles and masses of ferruginous sandstone, two lumps 
of hematite were found, very bright in color, ready to grind for paint. 
The earthenware, of which many fragments were uncovered, varies greatly in 
quality, some fragments being strong and bearing a considerable polish. The ware 
is shell-tempered in nearly every instance, though in several specimens the eye fails 
to detect evidence of shell, and in one fragment sand-tempering is plainly visible. 
The ware, when decorated, bears the small check-stamp; incised designs, including 
part of the human hand ; punctate markings; and, in one specimen, raised decora- 
tion. A selection of sherds from this place is shown in Fig. 8. Two small dises, 
