142 The American Naturalist. 



[February, 



heaps investigated by the writer on the east coast, the west 

 coast and the River, a few words as to the stature of the 

 mound builders may not be considered amiss. 



In forming estimates from the whole or a part of a skeleton, 

 as to the height of the body during life there is but one basis 

 upon which to go: actual measurement; and unless these 

 data are furnished by men of the utmost reliability, measure- 

 ments made in person are alone of value. 



As the German physicians where no post mortem has been 

 made dismiss useless theorizing as to the cause of death with 

 the simple words " no autopsy " so it is well to put aside all 

 reports of the finding of skeletons which, "judging from their 

 bones must have been of giants." 



In all scientific researches of this nature the explorer comes 

 in contact with three classes of inhabitants, the conscientious 

 resident whose memory is possibly defective ; the kind-hearted 

 inhabitant, who, having learned what information is wanted, 

 rather than disappoint, will corroborate anything; and the 

 facetious native, who, seeing a city man spending time and 

 money upon what lie regards as matters of small import, takes 

 delight infilling to repletion, with marvelous details evolved 

 from his own imagination, the person whom he considers to be 

 a mild form of lunatic. 



For a scientist with a theory to establish the native Floridian 

 is an acquisitition beyond price. 



On an average the length of the femur is about two hundred 

 and seventy five thousandths 1 of the entire height; thus the 

 thigh bone of a six foot man would be 19*8 inches in length. 

 To those unfamiliar with this relative size of the thigh bone, a 

 femur when found in nearly every case gives the idea of hav- 

 ing done duty in a body of abnormal size. 



The writer well recalls in March 1879, while engaged in an 

 imperfect investigation of the burial mound at Bluffton on the 

 St. John's, having found a skeleton and in association with it 

 a pipe of stone, an arrow head and a portion of a drinking cup 

 wrought from a human skull and ornamented— an object by 

 the way, of groat archaeological interest. The femur of this 



Professor George A. Piersol. 



