NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY. 
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u two hundred and fifty; the height six feet.” This group of mounds 
is now, alas, covered with buildings. “ A dwelling-house stands on 
“ the body of the turtle, and a Catholic church is built upon the 
“ tail.” 
“But,” says Mr. Lapham, “the most remarkable collection of 
“ lizards and turtles yet discovered is on the school section, about a 
“ mile and a half south-east from the village of Pewaukee. This con- 
“ sists of seven turtles, two lizards, four oblong mounds, and one of 
“ the remarkable excavations before alluded to. One of the turtle 
“ mounds, partially obliterated by the road, has a length of four hun- 
“ dred and fifty feet ; being nearly double the usual dimensions. 
“ Three of them are remarkable for their curved tails, a feature here 
“ first observed.” 
In several places a very curious variation occurs. The animals, 
with the usual form and size, are represented not in relief, but in 
intaglio ; not by a mound, but by an excavation. 
The few “ animal mounds ” which have been observed out of 
'Wisconsin differ in many respects from the ordinary type. Near 
Granville, in Ohio, on a high spur of land, is an earthwork known 
in the neighbourhood as the “ Alligator.” It has a head and body, 
four sprawling legs, and a curled tail. The total length is two 
hundred and fifty feet; the breadth of the body forty feet; and the 
length of the legs thirty-six feet. “ The head, shoulders, and rump 
are more elevated than the other parts of the body, an attempt hav¬ 
ing evidently been made to preserve the proportions of the object 
copied.” The average height is four feet, at the shoulders six. Still 
more remarkable, however, is the great serpent in Adams County, 
Ohio. It is situated on a high spur of land, which rises a hundred 
and fifty feet above Brush Creek. “ Conforming to the curve of the 
“ hill, and occupying its very summit, is the serpent, its head resting 
“ near the point, and its body winding back for seven hundred feet, 
“ in graceful undulations, terminating in a triple coil at the tail. 
“ The entire length, if extended, would be not less than one thousand 
“ feet. The accompanying plan, laid down from accurate survey, 
“ can alone give an adequate conception of the outline of the work, 
“ which is clearly and boldly defined, the embankment being upwards 
“ of five feet in height by thirty feet base at the centre of the body, 
“ but diminishing somewhat toward the head and tail. The neck of 
“ the serpent is stretched out, and slightly curved, and its mouth is 
“ opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, 
“ which rests partially within the distended jaws. This oval is formed 
“ by an embankment of earth, without any perceptible opening, four 
“ feet in height, and is perfectly regular in outline, its transverse and 
“ conjugate diameters being one hundred and sixty and eighty feet 
“ respectively.” 
When, why, or by whom these remarkable works were erected, as 
yet we know not. The present Indians, though they look upon them 
with reverence, can throw no light upon their origin. Nor do the 
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