Fort Ancient. 85 



for a Jong distance. These terraces are above the gravel deposit, 

 and are cut into the limestone, and in some cases nearly down to 

 the bed-rock. Now, if they were formed by water, as some think, 

 they would not be up one hundred and thirty-two to one hundred 

 and thirty-five feet above the river, but would be from eighty-five 

 to one hundred feet up, and would be entirely composed of gravel. 

 They could not have been formed by land-slides, because they 

 present too regular an appearance. 



If a level be taken at the end of one and then at a distance of half 

 a mile at the other extremity, we find that one end will not average 

 one foot above the other. Then, for the most conclusive proof. 

 We find at the depth of two feet, pottery, charcoal and a few chips 

 of flint. This proves beyond question their artificial origin. 

 Objects of aboriginal manufacture could not be deposited here by 

 glaciers, as man was not here in the glacial period^ but man fol- 

 lowed; the terraces, thus, are not of glacial origin. The highest 

 point of the plateau above low water mark is 269 feet. Adding to 

 this the height of the embankment in the highest place, we have 

 291 feet above low water level. s 



There have been thousands of Indians buried in past ages in and 

 about this structure. We see the places where they were interred 

 on every prominent point, on every terrace and on every little 

 knoll throughout the entire fortification. There is a large cemetery 

 in the Old Fort, and the graves are very numerous in the Middle 

 Fort, and there are evidences of burial also in the New Fort. These 

 stone graves are divided into two classes : the stone graves proper, 

 and the stone heaps. The stone graves are from two to three feet 

 below the surface of the ground, and contain skeletons extended, 

 having large flat stones on each side of them, at the head and feet, 

 and as a covering. The stone heaps are mounds of lime and sand- 

 stone, covering a number of bodies. These bodies are rarely 

 more than ten or fifteen inches below the surface of the ground, and 

 much broken on account of the weight of the rock above, and 

 much decayed because of the absorption of water from the surface. 

 In that portion of the inclosure known as the New Fort, are four 

 small mounds which form a rude square, being nearly equally dis- 

 tant from each other. An examination of these mounds yielded 

 nothing of interest. 



In the Old Fort, near the center of the fortification, is a large 

 cemetery ; this is covered by a great deal of broken pottery, bones 



