PART П. 
WHITE, AND BLACK! RIVERS. 
As stated in our introductory remarks, 265 miles of White river (which takes 
its name from the beautiful clearness of its water) and 109 miles of Black river, in 
both instances from the mouth up, were investigated by us last season. 
The lower part of White river to-St. Charles, 60 miles by water, had been 
carefully searched by us without result in the spring of 1908, the only high ground 
within reach having been Indian Bay, a description of which site may be found in 
a report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.’ 
Still farther up, White river runs through overflow country where sites of 
aboriginal occupancy if present, were not within working distance from the water. 
In fact the entire stream, so far as investigated by us, is lined by much low ground 
where archzological research is not likely to be rewarded. Knowing this in ad- 
vance, and that, with a few trifling exceptions, no aboriginal objects had been 
obtained from the White and Black river regions, in Arkansas, we nevertheless 
decided to search the territory thoroughly in order that a region so favorably 
situated geographically in the midst of a territory filled with Indian remains could 
be placed on record, though realizing that the quest might be a fruitless one. 
While most of the owners of sites along White and Black rivers granted cordial 
assent to our request to investigate their properties, some failed to make reply, 
though addressed a number of times on the subject. We mention this fact in no 
spirit of adverse criticism, but simply to explain the omission on our part of more 
complete investigation. However, presumably, enough work was done by us to 
determine the nature of the territory, for with one exception no site of interest was 
found along White river, and but three vessels of earthenware were encountered 
along the stream. 
Along Black river, while some vessels were found, not one was of a character 
to warrant its transportation home. 
On both rivers, though burials were fairly numerous, they were almost invari- 
ably unaccompanied by artifacts, a remarkable fact considering the custom of lavish- 
ing deposits upon the dead as practised by aborigines of nearby regions. 
As a rule, we shall describe all mounds visited by us along White and Black 
rivers, but shall give details only of such dwelling-sites as yielded burials to our 
search, though many other sites were investigated. 
1 The Black river of Missouri and Arkansas should not be confounded with the Black river of 
Louisiana or the Big Black of Mississippi. 
* Third An. Rep. Bur, Ethn., p. 487 et seq. 
