SOME ABORIGINAL SITES ON RED RIVER. 523 
MOUND NEAR TAYLORTOWN, BOSSIER PARISH, La. 
About one mile NNW. from Taylortown, on property of Mr. A. J. Hall resid- 
ing there, on the edge of a field bordering Flat river," is a mound of alluvial soil, 3 
feet high and 43 feet in diameter of base. These dimensions of the mound as it 
appeared at the time of our visit do not, however, convey an exact idea of the 
former size of the mound, inasmuch as the river, in time of flood, has left a con- 
siderable deposit around the mound, thus lessening its height by about one foot, as 
shown by measurements made by us which reached gray soil, indicating the original 
surface of the ground, at a depth of about 4 feet below the top of the mound, and 
a road made through part of the mound has, to some extent, lessened its diameter, 
An excavation, central in the mound, approximately 5 feet in diameter and 3 
feet in depth at the time of our visit, had been dug by seekers after treasure. We 
were informed by our agent that at the time of his visit to the mound in his pre- 
liminary search, fragments of human bones lay on the surface, near this excavation. 
Thirteen large trial-holes were sunk by us into the mound proper and into the 
level ground traversed by the road to which we have referred. Thirteen burials 
were encountered, remains being found in most of the holes. 
With the exception of one burial 10 inches down, none was encountered at a 
depth less than somewhat more than 3 feet, while most of the burials were from 4 
to 5 feet down and one was a trifle in excess of 5 feet in depth. Hence it will be 
noted that some of the burials were below the original surface of the ground. 
The thirteen burials, none of which was in a condition to save, were of the 
following kinds : 
Skeletons partly flexed on the right side, 5 
Skeletons partly flexed on the left side, 3 
Bunched burials associated with cremated human remains, 4 
Bunched burial without cremated human remains, 1 
The calcined fragments of human bones with the bunched burials sometimes 
were in a small deposit with the unburnt bones of the burial, and sometimes lay 
scattered throughout the burial. 
Of the five bunched burials, one was without a cranium, while the others had 
two, four, seven, and thirteen, respectively. These crania were in no case recov- 
ered entire. 
Artifacts found in this mound were dishearteningly few, and nothing was met 
with in the soil apart from human remains, not even a sherd. 
With Burial No. 1, which was 10 inches from the surface, and consisted of a 
few unburnt bones without a skull, was an undecorated pot 5 inches in diameter 
and about 3 inches in height. 
Burial No. 3, which was bunched, with seven skulls and cremated remains, had 
in association a bone of a deer, badly broken, having the articular part removed at 
1 We are informed that this “old river” leaves Red river at one place and joins it at another. 
Doubtless Flat river at one time was part of Red river, and probably then the mound in question stood 
on its bank. 
