1G6 
THE SCIENTIST. 
mounds, when it would seem much 
easier to bury as at the present day; 
but instead, they, with great labor, 
carried the rock from a great dis- 
tance, and it is reasonable to sup- 
pose, also, that the earth was brought 
from a distance with which they are 
surrounded and piled high above as 
there is no trace of an immediate or 
local excavation. 
In my view from the mounds and 
their surroundings I would unhesi- 
tatingly say the water, the foot- 
hills of the glacier and the swamps 
left in its wake were but a short dis- 
tance to the north of them, and dur- 
ing the summer months the melting 
ice would send a volume of water 
down this valley that the Missouri 
River of to-day is but a miniature of, 
and therefore the highest hills were 
the only land that could be used by 
that ancient race. 
In this connection I would make 
the following suggestions that may 
lead to more important disclosures : 
My object is the hopes of a more 
thorouo'h investio'ation at somef uture 
time. Nearer to the top of the 
mound was found, certainly, the 
remains of a people of more recent 
date than those found in the vault, 
as their bones were lai-ger, which 
would indicate a more stalwart tribe, 
and also their mode of burial was 
different, as there was no indication 
of fire being used as was the case 
with the lower burials. I would pro- 
nounce the upper interments those 
of Indians of the present day; the 
tools found with these were weapons 
of the chase. On the other hand those 
found in the vault Avere of a peaceful 
character, and their surroundings 
would readily comport, in my opin- 
ion, to the glacial period. The 
entire absence of flint in the bottom 
of the mound would show one of 
two things, either they were unac- 
quainted with the use of flint or at 
that time there was no flint to be 
had — -it is there now in great abund- 
ance in such forms for cutting pur- 
poses that would render the "cotton 
rock" almost useless. The flint is 
found in a hill close to the river 
bank about half a mile from the 
mound, and the upper portion of the 
ledge has the appearance, to me, of 
glacial action and probably forms a 
moraine, as it has, evidently, been 
pushed over the underlying ledge, 
and been ground and splintered in 
a manner that could not have been 
without great crushing force. It 
would be reasonable enough to sup- 
pose that the action of the river may 
have uncovered this flint by washing 
away the softer material since the 
occupation of the older race. 
In relation to the Indian inter- 
ment in the examined mound, I 
could not say distinctly whether the 
Indian burials had been such as to 
make them aware of former burials 
or not, but I think from the thick- 
ness of the clay between the two 
that they were ignorant of former 
burials. The mounds of the modern 
Indian, so far as my investigations 
are concerned, would indicate a more 
rudely formed structure which would 
