THE GREAT MOUND ON THE ETAWAH RIVER. 543 
but has on its east side a ramp or graded way by which to ascend 
to the flat space on the top. Its sides and that of the other ten- 
der are from five to ten degrees west of the magnetic meridian. 
All of this group are composed of the rich black alluvial earth 
of the adjacent bottom, with occasional lumps of red clay which 
constitutes the base of the river terraces that border the valley. 
About two hundred yards from the mounds on the north there are 
the remains of a ditch which has been mostly obliterated by culti- 
vation and which encircles the group in a circular form a distance 
of about one-fourth of a mile, coming to the river below but not 
ove. Within and without the trace of this ditch which the 
owner says had an interior embankment, there are low mounds 
partly plowed down. Near its upper or the easterly end, there are 
two large, oblong pits from which a part of the earth of the 
mounds may have been taken. 
There are other small mounds in the valley below on both sides 
of the river. The valley is bordered by limestone bluffs about 
two miles apart which rise two hundred to two hundred and fifty 
feet above the river. On a rocky summit about two miles west of 
the great mound is what is called the ‘* Stone Fort.” It consists 
of a wall or heap of loose blocks of limestone surrounding the 
summit in an oval form, the largest diameter of the enclosure 
being two hundred and twenty poles. There are numerous open- 
ings in it at irregular intervals, some of them fifty feet broad. 
The space around the crown of the hill is clear of loose stones and 
this explains the existence of the wall, which has the appearance 
of a stone fence fallen down. 
It does not have the appearance of a fort or stronghold, but of 
a high place dedicated to imposing ceremonies to which the people 
came up in all directions through the openings or passes in the 
line of stones. Probably, it was then as now covered with oaks. 
The crown of the hill is about fifty feet above the encircling wall, 
and presents from its summit a view of the valley and the country 
opposite that is hardly equalled for scenic beauty. 
It is probably the work of the red man of our times and has no 
connection with the great mound or its builders. 
Professor W. C. Kerr said there is a mound quite similar to the one 
just described by Col. Whittlesey, in the valley of the Tennessee river, 
in Macon County, N. C., with sides equally steep, and outlines equally 
well preserved, of its use, date of construction, or its builders there 
