The Clans of the Effigy Builders. 
307 
the tails of the squirrels around over the back, very much as it is 
twisted in the squirrel effigy on the asylum grounds opposite Madison, 
but between the tail and the body of each squirrel, they dug a large pit 
in the sandy soil and so made a trap for the animals which they would 
drive from the forests towards the lake. 
It is probable that they placed timber or brush, palisades or fences 
around these traps but the squirrel effigies and the pits are all that are 
left. The mink clan placed a moose on the highest hill that they could 
find and from the top of this massive effigy could watch the squirrel 
clan chase their game; for the two groups are not so far apart but that on 
a clear day, they might recognize their presence or at least they could 
exchange signals with one another. We are convinced that the clans 
were friendly for these signal stations are scattered all over the state; 
but the border lands between the clans may have been common pro¬ 
perty. 
V. We now turn to the clan centers. The question which arises here 
is, whether there were any clan centers which can be recognized. It is 
well known that every clan has its central organization, its village site, 
its council house, its burial place, frequently its place of sacrifice, and 
its own place of assembly. The hunters did not differ from others in 
this. They had game drives and frequently encamped away from their 
villages, but there was among them a clan organization and a clan 
center. It has been therefore a purpose with us to discover the clan cen¬ 
ters. We think we have done this in some cases, but in others are some¬ 
what doubtful. In the book on Emblematic Mounds we have spoken of 
the villages of the effigy builders, one located at Big" Bend, another at 
Waukesha, both on the Fox river, another at Racine. The village at 
Racine was situated on the summit of an isolated bluff and was sur¬ 
rounded by conical mounds and panther effigies. There were look¬ 
out mounds on adjoining hills and garden beds in the valley below 
and a large number of burial mounds on a hill opposite the village. The 
village at Big Bend was surrounded with oblong mounds and panther 
effigies. Opposite this, on a high bluff, was an altar mound and some 
two or three miles west was a game drive and another two miles north of 
the village, both of them abounding with panther effigies. Caches, or 
pits, for storing corn were numerous near this village. The enclosure 
at Aztlan may have been a clan village or it may have been a general 
capital or a place of general assembly for all clans. Mr. W. H. Canfield 
has located the village of the Mink clan, near Baraboo, and has spoken 
about the council house. He represents this as a sort of circle or en¬ 
closure, which is surrounded by a large number of animals, the mink 
being the most numerous. If we take this as our clue, we should place 
the council house of the Turtle clan on the east side of Lake Koshkon- 
ong, for the group here resembles that at Baraboo in many respects. 
