The Clans of the Effigy Builders. 
305 
eagle clan and placed their clan effigy on the same ground. The Eagles 
seem to have been great hunters, for there are a great many game drives 
in their territory — the elk and the moose being very common. Next to 
the eagles were the mink —the same clan that we have referred to 
before. This clan seemed to have had its center in the neighborhood of 
Baraboo, but it extended south across Sauk Prairie to Honey creek, east 
to the four lake region, north to the neighborhood of Portage and north¬ 
east to Buffalo lake. There is a group of effigies near the stone quarry 
two miles west of Madison, in which there is a large elk, a mink, and an 
eagle. There is another group near Merrill’s Springs, in which there are 
two buffalos and an eagle, but no mink, and half a mile east, two eagles, 
a wild goose, a wolf and several animal effigies. The mink is not com¬ 
mon in the four lake region, but is very numerous about Baraboo. The 
raccoon is another clan. This was located northwest of the mink clan — 
in Adams county and Juneau county. The raccoon is a very interesting 
effigy. It is difficult to measure and to plat, but when it is platted, 
comes out very beautifully. The wonder is that the effigy builders could 
have made it so correct. They were much better imitators than the or¬ 
dinary white man. The individual who has made the work a study sees 
more skillful molding of animal forms than he is able to exercise in de¬ 
lineating them and is led to go beyond the critics, especially if they are 
critics who have never seen these imitative forms. 
The clan east of the mink was that of the squirrel. Their habitat was 
very extensive. It reached from Buffalo lake across Green lake to Win¬ 
nebago lake, and occasionally visited Horicon lake, even to the head¬ 
waters of Milwaukee river. 
IV. The manner in which the clans marked their boundaries is an¬ 
other point. The effigy builders were evidently hunters, but they were 
hunters who seem to have carried this totem system to a great length. 
We find clan totems present everywhere and are able to recognize the 
clans by the effigies. A preponderance of one particular animal or bird 
over all others will be so great in one region, that it becomes a cer¬ 
tainty that this was the clan emblem. We can fix even the habitat of 
the clan, by this means. Having entered into the region, we first ascer" 
tain the preponderating effigy, then follow this to the limits, until we 
find a change to some other. Within the bounds the clan totem appears 
not only in the villages and centers but near thq game drives, and near 
temporary encampments. We ascertain by this means all about the 
clan. 2. The clan totem is not often carried beyond the habitat but ap¬ 
pears near the boundaries of other clans. In such cases the effigies which 
embody the totem will be much larger than nearer the clan center. There 
may have arisen at times disputes as to the hunting grounds. This would 
lead the clan which claimed the hunting ground to make its totem 
specially conspicuous. 3. We find also, that the emblems which are 
20—A. & L. 
