

THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 403 
Anything once detached is carried away by the current 
which is here somewhat brisk. When removed, the flint 
had all the evidence of having been “chipped,” and was evi- 
dently the result of a rude attempt at an arrow-head. We 
cannot, therefore, in view of all the facts resist the conclu- 
sion that the mound was of human origin. 
The only shell-heaps visited by us in which we failed to 
find satisfactory traces of man, was on the left bank of the 
river, a few miles below Hawkinsville (formerly Oceola). 
This deposit is one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in 
length and eight feet high, has a swamp in the rear from 
which it rises very abruptly; on the front it has been so 
much undermined by the river that it presents a nearly ver- 
tical face, showing a good section through its whole length. 
A series of excavations had been made along the summit 
during the rebellion, for military purposes, so that there 
Were unusually good opportunities for examination. Not- 
withstanding all this, we failed to find any pottery or other 
Works of man at any point, except within a few inches of the 
surface. The contrast with Black Hammock and Old Enter- 
prise was very striking. The mound was composed almost 
entirely of Paludinas, and, in some points, of these mixed 
with sand, forming a solid conglomeration. In this last we 
saad fragments of the tibia of a deer, which had been broken 
in the same manner as the bones from the other shell-heaps. 
The abruptness with which the mound rose from the level 
Surface on the rear gave it the appearance, and this was the 
wad pe astance which did, of artificial origin. — To be con- 

THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 
BY AUGUSTUS FOWLER. 

Tus bird, Ceryle Alcyon, perforates the sand or gravel- 
K for a breeding-place, preferring a situation near some 
