6S NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



1 " In the town of Alabama in the extreme northwest of the 

 county, were once three of these works all of small size. . . 

 This town adjoins the town of Shelby, Orleans co. on the south, 

 and touches Newstead, Erie co. on the west. It will ultimately be 

 seen that its ancient works constitute ■ part of a chain extending 

 from the lake ridge on the north, to Buffalo creek on the south- 

 west, a distance of 50 miles. Not less than 20 ancient works are 

 known to occur in this range." — Squier, p. 64 



2 Tonawanda is a modern Seneca village on that reservation 

 and along the Tonawanda creek. It seems to have been near here 

 that Mr Kirkland came to another fort on his way toward Buffalo, 

 but farther east. " On the south side of the Tanawande creek 

 at a small distance, are to be seen the vestiges of another ancient 

 fortified town." — Yates, p. 18 



3 " The old fort in Oakfield, has a ditch and bank inclosing 10 

 acres." — French, p. 327. It is half a mile west of Caryville, and was 

 the best preserved of these works which Squier saw. There are 

 five gateways, and a graded way to the water. The general outline 

 is oval and the lodge sites were plainly seen. Broken pottery was 

 found, as in all such works. There had been traces of palisades 

 by one of the gates. It was 800 feet long by 600 wide. — Squier, 

 p. 65, pi. 8, no. 2. His plan is in fig. 38. . 



4 A mile northeast of this was a large work called the Bone fort, 

 because a mound was Inside " 6 feet in height by 30 at the base, 

 which was entirely made up of human bones slightly covered with 

 earth." Squier thought this certainly one of the works described 

 by Rev. Samuel Kirkland in 1788. Six miles west of Batavia '* he 

 rode to the open fields and arrived at a place called by the Senecas 

 Tegatainedaghque, which imports a doubly fortified town or a town 

 with a fort at each end. Here he walked about half a mile with 

 one of the Seneca chiefs to view the vestiges of this doubly fortified 

 town. They consisted of the remains of two forts, the first con- 

 tained four acres of ground, the other, distant about two miles at 

 the other extremity of the ancient town inclosed about eight acres. 

 The ditch around the first was about five or six feet deep. A small 

 stream of water and a high bank circumscribed nearly one third 



