218 THE CONTENTS OF THE 



where it appears to have been formed of sand, instead of 

 clay, the sand for a depth of two Inches is discoloured as if 

 fatty matter of some sort had been burned on it. In this 

 case a second deposit of sand had been placed on the first, 

 and upon this stones a little larger than a hen's egg were 

 arranged, so as to form a pavement, which strongly reminds 

 us of the ancient hearths in the Danish Kjokkenmoddings. 



In a few instances, traces of timber were found above 

 the altar. Thus in one of the twenty- six tumuli forming 

 the "Mound City" on the Scioto River, were a number of 

 pieces of timber, four or five feet long, and six or eight 

 inches thick. " These pieces had been of nearly uniform 

 length ; and this circumstance, joined to the position in 

 which they occurred in respect to each other and to the 

 altar, would almost justify the inference that they had sup- 

 ported some funeral or sacrificial pile."* The contents of 

 these mounds vary very much. The one just mentioned 

 contained a quantity of pottery and many implements of 

 stone and copper, all of which had been subjected to a strong 

 heat. The pottery may have formed a dozen vessels of 

 moderate size. The copper articles consisted of two chisels, 

 and about twenty thin strips. About fifty or a hundred 

 stone arrow-heads, some flakes, and two carved pipes, com- 

 pleted the list of articles found in this interesting tumulus. 

 In another mound nearly two hundred pipes were buried. 

 Generally speaking, the deposit is homogeneous. " That is 

 to say, instead of finding a large variety of relics, ornaments, 

 weapons, and other articles, such as go to make up the pos- 

 sessions of a barbarian dignitary, we find upon one altar 

 pipes only, upon another a single mass of galena, while the 

 next one has a quantity of pottery, or a collection of spear 

 heads, or else is destitute of remains, except perhaps a thin 

 layer of carbonaceous material. Such could not possibly be 

 * Squier and Davis, I.e. p. 151. 



