472 



THE SENECA NATION 



escarpment known as the "Mountain Ridge". The hill is one 

 of the highest points in Niagara County, being 640 feet above 

 the sea, and it commands an extensive view of the lower lying 

 fruit-tree-covered Ontario plain and, beyond, the blue waters of 

 Lake Ontario. Eastward the escarpment is broken by a gully 

 in which is a considerable creek, the east branch of Eighteen 

 Mile Creek. A rather strong spring bubles out of the limestone 

 at the base of the hill. 



■ .-> 



** ■«•?*"'''" 







M 



Upper surface of the ossuary. Photograph by F. Houghton. 



Fifty years ago or more a house stood on the crest of the 

 hill which at that time was covered by an apple orchard. This 

 house and the orchard have disappeared. 



There is no story regarding any burial place here, nor is 

 there any among the neighboring people, many of whom can 

 remember the site for half a century or more, and the finding of 

 the first ossuary was a surprise to everyone. 



No Indian village site has been found nearby. The nearest 

 is probably that at Shelby, near Medina. On the edge of the 

 gully before mentioned, however, I found a few small black 

 spots which undoubtedly mark the sites of Indian cabins or 

 tents, and in these I found a few potsherds and flint flakes. A 



