﻿Report 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  Geologist. 
  859 
  

  

  2, 
  The 
  Locality. 
  

   The 
  discovery 
  was 
  made 
  upon 
  the 
  farm 
  of 
  Richard 
  M. 
  Gage, 
  

   on 
  the 
  east 
  shore 
  of 
  Canandaigua 
  lake, 
  in 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Gorham, 
  

   Ontario 
  county, 
  about 
  six 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  village 
  of 
  Canan- 
  

   daigua. 
  The 
  farm-house 
  stands 
  but 
  a 
  few 
  feet 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  

   lake 
  road, 
  upon 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  cultivated 
  field 
  of 
  rolling 
  

   ground, 
  about 
  200 
  yards 
  back 
  from 
  the 
  lake 
  and 
  from 
  fifteen 
  to 
  

   twenty 
  feet 
  above 
  its 
  level. 
  This 
  field 
  is 
  terminated 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  

   by 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  typical 
  ravines 
  of 
  this 
  region, 
  cut 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Hamilton 
  

   shales 
  and 
  running 
  back 
  at 
  approximately 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  the 
  

   lake 
  shore. 
  When 
  the 
  lake 
  stood 
  at 
  a 
  higher 
  level 
  the 
  waters 
  

   from 
  this 
  ravine 
  emptied 
  into 
  it 
  back 
  at 
  the 
  road, 
  near 
  the 
  farm- 
  

   house, 
  and 
  the 
  eroded 
  material 
  was 
  deposited 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  give 
  

   now 
  a 
  low 
  flat 
  point 
  of 
  land. 
  This 
  land 
  yielded 
  numerous 
  

   arrow-points, 
  celts 
  and 
  hammer-stones 
  and 
  was 
  accordingly 
  

   judged 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  a 
  former 
  Seneca 
  village. 
  Just 
  

   back 
  of 
  the 
  residence 
  a 
  natural 
  knoll 
  rises 
  to 
  a 
  further 
  height 
  of 
  

   fifteen 
  to 
  eighteen 
  feet, 
  the 
  soil 
  of 
  which 
  consists 
  of 
  a 
  stratum 
  of 
  

   brownish, 
  gravelly 
  clay, 
  about 
  a 
  foot 
  in 
  thickness. 
  Beneath 
  this 
  

   clay 
  is 
  a 
  bed 
  of 
  fine 
  argillaceous 
  sand, 
  of 
  unknown 
  thickness, 
  

   grayish 
  in 
  color 
  and 
  distinctly 
  stratified. 
  This 
  land 
  has 
  been 
  in 
  

   possession 
  of 
  the 
  Gage 
  family 
  since 
  1836. 
  

  

  3. 
  The 
  Discoveries. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  June, 
  1893, 
  while 
  harrowing 
  over 
  the 
  knoll, 
  

   Mr. 
  Gage 
  rolled 
  out 
  a 
  well-preserved 
  skull, 
  from 
  which, 
  however, 
  

   the 
  upper 
  and 
  lower 
  jaws 
  had 
  been 
  removed. 
  An 
  excavation 
  

   was 
  at 
  once 
  made 
  upon 
  the 
  eastern 
  slope, 
  some 
  ten 
  feet 
  in 
  

   diameter 
  and 
  two 
  feet 
  deep, 
  passing 
  into 
  the 
  sand. 
  Portions 
  of 
  

   two 
  skeletons 
  were 
  unearthed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Gage 
  and 
  his 
  workman, 
  

   lying 
  about 
  two 
  feet 
  apart 
  and 
  in 
  an 
  approximately 
  north- 
  

   east 
  and 
  southwest 
  position, 
  the 
  heads 
  toward 
  the 
  south. 
  Their 
  

   being 
  imbedded 
  in 
  clay 
  showed 
  that 
  an 
  excavation 
  had 
  been 
  

   made 
  in 
  the 
  sand 
  to 
  the 
  depth 
  of 
  a 
  foot 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  receive 
  the 
  

   bodies. 
  According 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Gage 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  bodies 
  had 
  been 
  

   buried 
  upon 
  its 
  breast, 
  the 
  face 
  turned 
  to 
  one 
  side, 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  

   which 
  the 
  hands 
  were 
  drawn 
  up, 
  the 
  left 
  one 
  tightly 
  clenched. 
  

   Although 
  these 
  hand 
  and 
  finger 
  bones 
  were 
  well 
  preserved, 
  care- 
  

  

  