PERCH LAKE AND OTHER NEW YORK MOUNDS 1 <J 



Mr R. D. Loveland, of Watertown, found a few small fragments 

 of pottery in the large mound near the boathouse, but did not pre- 

 serve them, as he obtained larger pieces of the usual types near the 

 shore, where these might be expected. Had none been found else- 

 where those in the mound might be thought intrusive. A clay pipe 

 was also found near the shore. 



In the Bulletin of Natural History of Nezv Brunswick for 1884, 

 p. 14, Mr G. F. Mayhew gives his ideas of how such hut rings were 

 gradually raised. I infer that these might have been well known 

 there, but am not certain on this point. He supposed that in some 

 circular lodges moderate cleanliness was preserved, not by removing 

 refuse altogether, but by drawing it back and filling in the center 

 with fresh gravel. A constant repetition of this would preserve the 

 circular form and the central depression as the mound rose above 

 the surface. Bone needles found near the edge he thought had been 

 stowed at the back of a couch. Pottery was much like that found 

 elsewhere. Arrowheads were made by the fire, few flakes being seen 

 out of doors. Most ordinary aboriginal implements were found. 



This general mode of elevation reasonably accounts for the form 

 and growth of the Perch lake mounds. A pit was made in the 

 center for the fire, and a large circle was thrown up at the edge of 

 the lodge to carry off water. A slope from this to the fireplace gave 

 an easy position to the reclining people within. It was necessary to 

 remove or rake the embers away, and the edge gradually rose. To 

 make it cleaner it was as easy to bring in a fresh supply of dirt as 

 to carry accumulations away. In all this there was a natural over- 

 flow which enlarged the borders of the mound. The original fire- 

 place was all the time retained, and so the largest mounds are the 

 deepest. 



Mr Harlan I. Smith suggests a likeness in these to some he recently 

 examined on the Pacific coast, and I give plate 10, figure I, to illus- 

 trate this point. In his explorations he found that up to a recent 

 date the Thompson river Indians made huts of this kind. In this 

 section a is an excavation in the ground, which increased the hight 

 of the interior of the lodge, and supplied material for its covering. 

 Around this excavation an arch b was raised, resting on the surface 



