ARCHEOLOGY. 13 



shallow depressions in some have been called reservoirs, but these would- 

 be very precarious as they depend entirely upon rain-fall and are dry 

 most of the summer and autumn; to carry from the base of the hill an 

 amount adequate for the multitude which could find quarters within the 

 enclosure or be necessary for its defense, would be an undertaking arduous 

 always, and hazardous in time of war. 



(c.) PROTECTIVE ENCLOSURES. 



The more elaborate works, having been so often described and 

 figured are somewhat familiar to the public; fully as interesting, though 

 not so impressive, are those which have been less noticed. They vary iti 

 design from a straight wall, to a combination of elliptical or nearly circu- 

 lar enclosures, with accompanying wing walls or supplementary structures, 

 covering many acres. Apparently their general purpose was for protec- 

 tion to villages or settlements within them. The point of a high hill 

 with precipitous sides, or a peninsula in a level bottom, is cut off from 

 the adjacent country by an earthen or stone wall, straight, curved, or 

 broken, as may be most suitable; as large a level area as may be desired 

 is enclosed by a crooked embankment, whose ends abut upon a cliff or 

 stream; or, where these plans are not feasible, the entire space required 

 is often artificially enclosed. All these methods may be combined in one 

 series. Generally, but not always, a ditch accompanies the wall; it may 

 be interior or exterior. It is probable the earth in the majority of these 

 embankments upheld palisades. Such barriers were common with the 

 Hurons and Iroquois of the seventeenth century and earlier; logs were 

 placed vertically in a ditch and the excavated earth packed solidly against 

 them. When necessary, greater stability was obtained by piling against 

 the rampart a quantity of earth gathered from the surface close about, or 

 taken from a trench which in its turn gave additional security. 



Analogous works are found in the southern states, some where Indian 

 towns are known to have stood, others in natural strong-holds where they 

 have been erected within this century, during war with the whites, by 

 Creeks and other Indians who manifested much tactical skill in their 

 construction and use. 



In Ohio, remains of this sort are most numerous in the valleys of 

 the two Miamis and in the two or three tiers of counties south of L,ake 

 Erie, though not uncommon in other portions of the State. Many of 

 them closely resemble enclosures and defensive works in other states 

 known to have been occupied or built within the historic period. In a 

 few cases transverse cuttings have shown marks along the center line, 

 due, beyond question, to the decay or burning of posts that stood in them. 



The works at Norwalk, Huron county, shown in Plate IX, fairly 

 represent this division; the method of closing the entrance in the ellipse, 

 the manner in which the end of the hill is guarded against forays, the 



