THE ABORIGINAL WORK ON BLUFF POINT, YATES CODNTY, N. Y. 



By S. Haet Wright, Penn Yan, N. Y. 



The accompanying diagram (plate 14) represents an ancient work in 

 the town of Jerusalem, Yates county, N. Y., and is on Bluff Point in 

 lots numbers 5 and 6, on the farm of Mr. Harris Cole. 



Bluff Point is a high and rather sterile region lying between the two 

 arms of Keuka lake, its ridge being about 800 feet above the lake. 



This aboriginal work occupies about seven acres of land, extending 

 from the highway on the - top of the ridge westward, or toward the 

 west arm of the lake, having a slight descent westward. The sedi- 

 mentary shales and flags of the Portage group are only one or two feet 

 below the surface. 



The curious structure consists of (what I may call for the want of a 

 better term) graded ways of from three to eight feet wide, and now 

 about one foot high, with a vast number of large flat stones set in the 

 ground edgewise on each side of the ways, the stones leaning toward the 

 middle of the ways. The indications are that these graded ways have 

 never been over two feet high. All the areas between these ways are 

 depressions, in which water remains until evaporated, the nearness of 

 the rock below, often being only twelve or fourteen inches, preventing 

 its absorption. These areas, or many of them, contain bogs of carex, 

 and some grass, but in the summer are dry and afford a fair pasturage. 

 The dirt used to make the ways was taken from these areas causing 

 the depressions, and the rock beneath was no doubt at that time com- 

 pletely laid bare and furnished the flat stones that are set in on each 

 side of the graded ways. 



All of that portion of the work in lot number 6 has never been 

 ploughed and the ways are easily traced when the grass has been re- 

 moved. Those lying in lot number 5 have been destroyed, but are 

 traced from the quantity of small fragments of stones still on the sur- 

 face. 



I have not been able to find any relics in this work, which is one 

 of the strangest structures in the State. I find nothing similar to it, 

 figured in any work on archaeology. 

 [Sen. Doc. No. 38.] 25 



