CERTAIN ABORIGINAL MOUNDS OF THE ALTAMAHA RIVER. 183 



left a bole 6 feet by 4 feet reaching almost to the base. In the sand thrown out 

 were bits of calcined human remains. The remainder of the mound was demolished 

 by us. A number of sherds, some having the complicated stamp, lay in the sand. 

 About 8 feet from the center were a number of unburnt bones which apparently 

 had been disturbed. Seven feet from the center were a skull and vertebras with a 

 number of shell beads, some two-thirds of an inch in diameter. Two feet down, 

 about 7 feet from the center, was a skeleton of a female, flexed on the right side. 

 Near the skull w r ere a shell pin 3.25 inches in length, a part of another, and a con- 

 siderable number of good-sized shell beads. Loose in the sand at various points, 

 were two polished hatchets of volcanic rock and a small chisel. 



Mounds near Iron Mine Landing, Appling County (2). 



These mounds, about 15 yards apart, were one-quarter of a mile in a westerly 

 direction from the landing. Apparently they had been under cultivation. They 

 were on the property of Mr. John J. Robinson, residing not far from the landing, 

 which is about 94 miles from Darien. Each had a diameter of base of 24 feet, a 

 height of about 15 inches. About one-half of each and the central portions were 

 dug through by us. A few feet from the center of one was a bunched burial containing 

 parts of two individuals. In the other, near the center, was a bunched burial and 

 a few bits of calcined bone. Shell beads were in association. 



Mound near Hell's Shoal, Appling County. 



Hell's shoal, a rocky and dangerous passage, is about 97 miles above Darien. 

 Landing on the southern, or Indian side of the river, as it is still called, and going 

 about one mile in a southwesterly direction, one comes to a mound on the border of 

 a cultivated field. The mound also, in former times, had evidently been under 

 cultivation. Its original diameter of base was probably about 35 feet ; its height, 

 at the time of our visit, a trifle over 2 feet. A hole 2 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet deep, 

 with fragments of bone in the sand thrown out, had been made previous to our visit. 

 A trench 21 feet by 26 feet was made from near the margin along the base through 

 the center. The original central hole had cut through a skeleton. About 4 feet 

 from the center, just below the surface, was an undecorated bowl of ordinary type 

 with a diameter of 12 inches. Its original height had been about 8 inches. Part of 

 the rim had been ploughed away. The vessel, to a depth of 3 inches was filled with 

 small fragments of cremated bone. Beneath the bowl was charcoal and partly burnt 

 wood, though the outside of the vessel show r ed no trace of fire. 



Mound near Buckhorn Bluff, Appling County. 

 Buckhorn bluff is about 100 miles by water above Darien. The mound, in an 

 old field now overgrown, was about 500 yards west of the landing. Its height was 

 3 feet 9 inches ; its basal diameter, 38 feet. Two insignificant holes had been dug 

 in it previous to our visit. Trees growing on the marginal parts encircled the 

 mound. The clear portion, including all the center, w r as investigated by us with 



