Mac Curdy — Passing of a Connecticut Rook Shelter. 517 



I X B 1753, 1 Forward 1753, Thomas Williams 1753, John 

 Pell, Jeffrey Smith 1754, W. Williams, Ezra L'hommedieu. 



Both Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock insist that there was a thick 

 solid layer of black earth and ashes resting on the sand beach. 

 This layer contained many artifacts and a number of water- 

 worn pebbles of various shapes and sizes carried there by the 

 Indians and for the most part bearing marks of utilization; but 

 very few angular pieces (talus) of trap were encountered. 

 Above was a deposit of talus mixed with more or less black 

 earth and ashes, in which artifacts were likewise found. 



If their observation was correct, one of two conclusions may 

 be drawn : (1) The Indians came there so soon after the gla- 

 cial retreat that a talus formation had not yet encroached upon 

 the floor of the Cave ; or (2) finding talus there, they removed it. 

 Had they taken up their abode on the talus covering, some 

 black earth and ashes would have sifted through to the sand 

 bench, but hardly enough to produce the effect of a deposit 

 comparatively free from talus ; the presence of artifacts near 

 the sand bench would be even more difficult to explain. 



In front of the most protected part of the shelter and near 

 the top of the black layer were two or three wagon loads of 

 shells. Farther to the east were heaps of bones of favorite 

 game animals, chiefly the Virginia deer. Mr. and Mrs. Wood- 

 cock estimated the thickness of the black layer at about three 

 feet, which estimate would seem to be confirmed by the 

 author's finding of a fish vertebra still sticking in a crevice of 

 the rock at least three feet above the sand beach. 



Thefaunal remains,* exclusive of shell, include : Bear ( Ursus 

 americamts), Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Dog, Lynx, Gray Fox 

 ( Urocyon cineveoargenteus), Wapiti ( Cervus canadensis), Beaver 

 {Castor canadensis), Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus), Gray 

 Pabbit (Lepus sylvaticus), Muskrat {Fiber zibiticus), Gray 

 Squirrel {Sciurus carolinensis), Field Mouse (Arvicola vipo- 

 ma), Whitefooted Mouse (Hespevomys leucopus), Turkey (Mel- 

 eagris gallopavo), Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentura), 

 Blackfish (Labrus tautoga). Of human skeletal remains 

 Messrs Bostwick and Darby found only two fragments : the 

 upper portion of a bone of the forearm (radius) and a part of 

 the left temporal and sphenoid. These came from the talus 

 near the east end of the cave. 



The shells f comprise : Ostrea virginiana, Venus merce- 

 naria, Pecten irradians, Myo arenaria, Modiola plicatula, 

 llyanassa obsoleta, Tritia trivitatta, Balanus eburneus, Crep- 

 idula convexa, Crepidula fomicata, Littorina irrorata Say, 

 and common species of land shells. The presence of Littorina 



* Identified by Mr. George F. Eaton, 

 f Identified by Prof. A. E. Verrill. 



