CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE NW. FLORIDA COAST. L31 



son so universal was this occurrence of blackened sand in which no particles of 

 charcoal were apparent that a certain amount from the Hall mound, near Panacea 

 Springs, was put aside by us and afterward submitted to Prof Harry F. Keller, 

 Ph. D., of Philadelphia, who, under date of June 28, 1902, reports as follows : 



•' The chemical and microscopic examination of the black sand from the mound 

 at Panacea Springs, Fla., shows that the dark color is due to carbonaceous matter 

 which is very probably of animal origin. Most of it is in the form of very minute 

 black particles adhering to the sand. These particles show no distinct structure and 

 are certainly not wood charcoal. When the sand is strongly heated in air, the car- 

 bon burns off, leaving a residue nearly white. The black particles are soluble to a 

 considerable extent in caustic potash and in nitric acid, imparting a deep brown 

 color to these solvents, an indication that organic matter is present. A few laroer 

 particles which I succeeded in picking by the aid of a lens were incinerated, and t\e 

 residue gave a strong reaction for phosphoric acid. Could this matter be the pro- 

 duct of partial charring or slow decomposition of bone ? " 



Dr. H. F. Keller submitted the sand to Dr. I. Keller, an expert microscopist, 

 who concurred in the belief that the carbonaceous matter was of animal origin and 

 stated, " I cannot think of anything in the vegetable line that could have produced 

 this result." 



Many of the vessels and parts of vessels found by us in this mound, being of 

 ordinary form, of inferior ware and undecorated, will not be particularly described. 



Vessel No. 1. — In Fig. 1 is 

 shown a vessel with five circular 

 compartments, a central one be- 

 ing somewhat raised above the 

 surrounding four. The only deco- 

 ration is an incised line encircling 

 the middle compartment and one 

 almost surrounding each of the 

 others. The ware is thick and of 

 fairly good quality. The central 

 compartment alone has the basal 

 perforation. Maximum diameter 

 of vessel, 9.5 inches ; height, 2.1 

 inches. We have not met with 

 compartment vessels of this char- 

 acter west of this place. 



Vessel No. 2. — Fig. 2 shows 

 an entirely new type, we believe, 

 a combination of the compartment 

 vessel and the life-form. The head, body and tail are represented by the outlines 

 of the three compartments and to make the resemblance still stronger, horns or 

 "feelers," have projected from the head. Parts of these, missing when found, have 



Fig. 1,— Vessel Xo. 1. Mound uear West Bay P. 0. (One-tliird size.) 



