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ABORIGINAL SITES 1N LOUISIANA AND IN ARKANSAS. 41 
and on the east by Tensas river. Near Mr. Hinds’ residence are four mounds 
and a small rise by the roadside, all near together and in sight from the river. 
The mounds have cach a building upon it, and three of them, originally small, 
have been so worn and washed that they are of inconsiderable size. 
The largest mound, which has been Square, with the sides facing the cardinal 
points, has rounded corners at present, but is otherwise well preserved. The 
height is 12 feet 8 inches; the diameter of base is about 140 feet. The summit- 
plateau is 50 feet in diameter. 
Owing to the presence of buildings, these mounds were not dug into by us. 
Following the Tensas river northward about half a mile to Indian bayou, 
One comes upon a group of eight mounds in woods, which form an irregular ellipse 
with two mounds facing each other and three mounds on each side. This 
ellipse is about 88 yards by 54 yards, interior measurement, and the mounds 
which compose it are visible from the banks of the stream, some of the mounds 
in fact bordering the water. These mounds, which are very irregular in outline, 
are of moderate size, the northernmost being 7 feet 6 inches in height and 120 
feet by 135 feet in diameters of base. 
These mounds for convenience were assigned letters of the alphabet, be- 
ginning with the largest mound, A, and continuing in order through the western 
side of the ellipse and then along the eastern side bordering the water. As the 
mounds on Mr. Hinds’ place are the only refuge in the case of high water, we 
did not consider it fair to dig into them to any great extent, though Mr. Hinds, 
with great courtesy, placed no restrictions upon us. All, however, were dug into 
to a greater or less extent, some giving evidence of being made of raw clay, pre- 
sumably without burials. 
Mound C, about 2 feet in height, however, had seattered fragments of 
mussel-shells mingled with the soil that composed it. The skeleton of an adult, 
extended on the back, was found in this mound at a depth of 28 inches. 
Mound Е, on the bank of the stream, has been undermined slightly by the 
water and has, at the opposite side, a road passing over it. Two diameters of 
its irregular basal outline were 77 and 90 feet. Its height is 5 feet. 
Two recent burials have been made in this mound, so that our digging in it 
was somewhat restricted. Aboriginal burials in numbers were reached almost 
at once by trial-holes, which showed the mound to be composed approximately 
of a superficial layer of dark soil mingled with organic matter and quantities of 
fragments of mussel-shells. Below this layer was a stratum of light-brown clay, 
2 feet 8 inches in depth, which showed no admixture indicating former aboriginal 
occupancy. Below the clay was a stratum 1 foot 8 inches in depth containing 
organic matter and broken mussel-shells, but to a less extent than did the super- 
ficial layer. Below this was undisturbed clay. 
This mound, then, had been a dwelling-site; had been increased in size 
and then had been occupied for a further period as a place of abode. The 
burials had all been made from the top layer into the stratum of clay below it, 
