ANIMAL MOUNDS. 225 



a hundred and fifty feet above Brush Creek. "Con- 

 forming to the curve of the hill, and occupying its very 

 summit, is the serpent, its head resting near the point, and 

 .its body winding back for seven hundred feet, in graceful 

 undulations, terminating in a triple coil at the tail. The 

 entire length, if extended, would be not less than one 

 thousand feet. The accompanying plan, laid down from 

 accurate survey, can alone give an adequate conception of 

 the outline of the work, which is clearly and boldly defined, 

 the embankment being upwards of five feet in height by 

 thirty feet base at the centre of the body, but diminishing 

 somewhat toward the head and tail. The neck of the ser- 

 pent is stretched out, and slightly curved, and its mouth is 

 opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an 

 oval figure, which rests partially within the distended jaws. 

 This oval is formed by an embankment of earth, without 

 any perceptible opening, four feet in height, and is per- 

 fectly regular in outline, its transverse and conjugate 

 diameters being one hundred and sixty, and eighty feet 

 respectively." 



When, why, or by whom these remarkable works were 

 erected, as yet we know not. The present Indians, though 

 they look upon them with reverence, can throw no light 

 upon their origin. Nor do the contents of the mounds 

 themselves assist us in this inquiry. Several of them have 

 been opened, and in making the streets of Milwaukie many 

 of the mounds have been entirely removed, but the only 

 result has been to show that they are not sepulchral, and 

 that, excepting by accident, they contain no implements or 

 ornaments. 



Under these circumstances speculation would be useless ; 

 we can but wait, and hope that time and perseverance may 

 solve the problem, and explain the nature of these remark- 

 able and mysterious monuments. 



15 



