52 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY [^,^

^''fow^ke'^T

exploration OF HRUMBACK

FARISI

53

All thepits

and

graves appear to have been

made

with reference to a regulardisposition around a givenpoint.'

All other

mounds

in this county in which specimens were found contained mica

and

gorgets, but no beadsnor shells,whilethisyielded quantities of the ^latter, but not a flakeof mica nor a gorget, except one roughstone

whose

only artirtciiil feature

was

a rudelydrilled hole.

CITLLEKS KARIM.

On

the

summit

ofa hill onthe farm of Lee Cullers, next west of the

Brumback

farm, is a small

mound

18

by

28 feet, the longer axisnearly east

and

west, parallel with the ridgeon which it stands.

Near

the eastern end

was

a small pile of stones resting on the original surface, but nothing

was

found under them.

At

the middle of the

mound,

stones extended ^t<» the bottom of a grave5

by

² feet

and

a footdeep,trendingnearlysoutheast

and

north-

'Ou ^April 21-23, 1894, this locality was further examined by ProfessorW. H.

Holmes and

W

J McGee. About 100 yards northeast of the large mound, on the levelalluvialbottom, a numberof graves were found, roughly arranged in a line trendinge.istandwest.

AH

were broken up^{by plowing}tosuch anextent that the contents were fragmentary and iudiscriuunately intermingled. Tlic graves were detectedbythed:irk color,duetoorganic matter,ⁱⁿthefreshlyi)b)wedsurface. In

all,fragmentsofinim;inbonesand potsherdswerefound; insomecaseshuman^teeth

occurred,and inoneinstancetliedistalportion of the tibjaof a deerwaspK-kedud.

Cliarcoalwasobservedinseveralgraves,butnocalcined bones wereseen.

The siteisofexceptional interestasan illustrationof aboriginal industry. Pass run,a good-sizedmillstream, flows over al)edofvsmallbowlders and cobbles with smaller pebbles, consistinginpart ofanexceptionallyhard andtoughdiabase, and in size and texture the diabase cobbleswere admirably adapted ^to uumufacture anduseinprimitive fashion. Theextent of manufactureisindicatedby numerous

rejects representing all stages from that of afewtrial or initial blows to nearly Huishcd implements. Theserejectsare of special note in that nearlyall represent the manufacture of l)road-poiuted implements

—

celts or axes

—

ratherthan sharp- pointed objects, such as those represented l)y the rejectage iu the well-known localities on Piney branch and Delaware river.

A

nearlycomplete celt,showing the llaking by which ^itwas wrought out of the original cobble,and gi-ound only towardthe edge, was amongthe objects pitked up, and it was evidently the form which the nrimitive artisanhadinmind iu hiswork on the cobbleswhichresulted only in failures.

Thesource of thediabase cobbles was sought by following Pass run towardits sourcenear thesummitof theBlueridge. Traced upstream,thefragmentsincrease in sizeandnumberuntil, abouttheconfluence of thebranchesastheyemerge from themountaingorges, the material was fouiul to prevail, commonly in the formof huge bowlders; andwellwithin the gorges the rockwas found iu placeas a great eruptivemass. Inviewof therudeappliancesandpurposes of thered menthesite near themouthof Pass run could not be better chosen by civilized intelligence.

Withprimitivetoolsthe hard, toughrock could notbe quarriedwhereitoccursin place; thegrc^at bowldersof the upper reaches could notbe reduced. Afew hun- dred yardsbelowthesite,withthe continence of the largerHawksbillcreekaudits inferiori>el)bles,the materialistoo sparse for ]irofitable se<^king. Atthesiteonly the toughestan<l hardestspecimens have been]>reserved by theselection of stream work, and theyareof litsize forconvenient llaking and sufficiently numerous for easy finding.

— W

^{.1 McGkk.}

54 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY _[Solooy

west.

At

the eastern eud against the sl()i)c were a largeimperforated gorget, vsomeflint

and

qnartz chips, and a long, slenderflint flake.

A

footfrom these 5 small plates of mica, a quartz blade, 5roughly fin-

ished flint knives,

and

a shale gorget in fragments from weathering werefound.

On

the point between the llawksbill

and

the

Shenandoah

there

was

formerly a small stone

mound,

but it is

now

entirelydestroyed.

Many

relicshave been found inthefield inwhich it stood.

J. A. BRUM15ACK FARM.

On

the farm of J.

A Brumback,

at Beyler ferry, is a small cairn almosteffaced by cultivation.

ALGEK FARM.

On

the farm of A. J. Alger, 8 miles northwestof Luray, on a spur which extends from Massanuttcn mountain ^{to the} Shenandoah, is a

mound

50feet long

and

from 22 to28 feet in breadth, the longer axis nearly northwest

and

southeast, or aboutparallel with the spur.

The

height varies from 4 to5 feet.

A

broad shallowditch extends nearly around^it, the inner edge being^.'3 to4 feet fromthebase ^ofthe

mound.

Excavation proved ^{it to consist of}

two

nearly circular earth

mounds

whosebasesoverlapped on the adjacentsides,the wholebeing covered with bowldersto adepth of1 to 2 feet. Thirteen feetinward from the southeastern end

and

8 feet from the northern side

was

agravelarge enoughtocontainan extendedbody.

Two

feetsouthwestofthis

was

a pit3feet in diameter.

From

these to the southernedge ofthe

mound

extendeda streak of burned earth and charcoal

GtolO

feet inbreadth, apparently theremains of a fireon the surface. Eighteenfeetinward, 10 feetfrom the northern^side,

was

apit5 feet in diameter containing a fewfragments^ofsoftbones,

among

which weretheteeth ofachildandan adult; alsoabrokenflintspearhead.

Twenty

feetinward^8feetfromthe northernside,Avasagrave5feet long. Twenty-eightfeetinward onthe centerline

was

agrave⁴ by1i feet. Allofthesereachedonlytothehard subsoil,

and

in noneof them, except ^as mentioned above, were found

any

relicsor traces ofbone. Fortyfeetinward, or 10feetfromthenorth- westernend, equidistant from the^sidesofthe

mound, was

agravenearly 7feet longextending a,foot nitothe hard gravelly clay, whichis diffi-

cult topenetrateevenwith apick.

Much

ofthe earth

removed had

been thrown back

and

mingled with cobblestones or bowlders.

Near

the center were2 small copperbeads

and

a scrap of mica.

At

the north- western end were angorget-form piece ofslate(not perforated),a gorget otgreen slatebroken

and

redrilled, a pieceof mica, a^flintarrowhead, a

<iuartzite knife, apiece of white ^quartz,

and

apieceof quartz crystal.

Stones filled allthegraves

and

werepiledabove them to thetop of the

mound.

In several of the graves flat stones wereinclined against the sidesAvithoneendin thebottom, as ifpoles orothersnp])orts

had

been

rHEOLOOYT

KOWKE J

GRAVES ON

ALGP:R

FARM 55

placed acrossto protect the bodies

and

haddecayed, thus allowing the stonesto fall in. This feature

was

observed in nearly every

mound

in the valley in which slabs were found.

HILEYVILLE.

On

tlie farm of F. M. Huflfmaii, a mile southwestof Kileyville, is a narrow ridgesoii>ewhatlowerat themiddle than ateither end. Inthis slight depressionis a

mouud

(50feet long, liO to24 feetwide,

and

li too feet high, being lower and narrowerat the middle than near theends.

The

longeraxis isnearlyeast

and

west or ata rightangle totheridge, extending across the latter to the slope on either side. Thereis a shallow ditch alongeachsideof the

mound and

a stratum ofbowlders ranging from 10 to r»0

pounds

in weight covers the top. It will be observed thattlie

method

of construction is exactly the

same

as that of theAlger

mound.

At

the extreme western end

was

a grave feet

by

18 inches,

dug

nearly to the subsoil,partially refilled with earth, and then covered with apileof bowlders. This is unusual iu such graves, as noothers have been foundin the valleyiuwhich the rocks did notextend to the bottom.

A

footfromthe eastern

end

of the grave, justbelowthestones,

y:

^^

^

Fui.15.

—

Coppercrescentfrom¥.M.Hufl'maiimound, Pagocounty, Virginia.

was

a crescentof copper inches acrossthe horns, punclied near theconvex edge (ligure15). Directly inches of earth intervening,were8 triangular black feet from these, at a slightly lower level,

was

a quartzitechips

and

spalls.

At

14 feet from tlie end began a

mass

of stones feet indiameterat thett>pof the

mound and

tilling

that reached a few inches into the soil.

On

the

with 3 smallholes underthis, with^(>

tiintknives.

Two

double handful of covering a space8 a graveG

by

⁴ feet bottom, a few feet

56 JAMES AND POTOMAC ARCHEOLOGY

^pBlTREAU_Lethnology^OF from tlio eastern end, were two i)ieces of _(luartz crystal

and

a large rectaiignlar gori^et in wbicli, a ^liole

had

been started but not com-

l)leted.

Midway between

theextreinitiesof the

mound

"were2 graves 3

by

5 feet extending slightly below the original surface,

and

6 feet

beyond these

was

another of the

same

size

and

general character^, reaching tothe subsoil.

Fici.IG.

—

I'ipcIroiiiV.M.llMiriii;iii iiioiM,i<l, I'lige^<iimitN An^iiua

At

It!feetfrom tlie eastern ^eiid ofthe

mound

were4 graves on a line nearly north iind south.

The

noitheni one, near the edge of the mound,

was

(juite shallowand 1

by

5 f^etin extent.

The

next

was

the

same

length,but(3 inches wider.

At

itseastern end

was some

greasy^

shining bhick substance mingled witli the earth, in which

was

a rec- tangular gorgetli

by

T) inches with onehole.

Near

the middle

was

a smaller gorget of similar form with

two

holes. Against the northern side, oppo- sitethecenter,

was

another,still smaller, withcurvedsides.

Near

thewesternend,

()inches l)elowthelevel ofthefirstgorget

f(mnd,

was

alarge plateofmica,thus show- ing that thebottomof thegrave

had

not been

made

level.

A

pine

stump had

been burned onthes])otwhereit

was

dug.

The

charcoaland resinfromtherootscould be tracedbelowand on either sideoftheex- cavation.

The

third grave

was

³feet in diameter.

At

the center lay a finely finished plat- form pipeof bluish-gray sandstone, with the bowl

upward

(figure10),

and

a i>aint cup or unfinished pipe of the

same

material (figure17). Tiiefourth grave, almost at the margin of the

monnd,

measured 15 by 5 feet,

and

Avas

dug

tothe subsoil.

At

the eastern end werea small gorget

and

a fewscraps of mica.

Fig.17.— Paintcup fromF.M.Hiifiinan luouud, I'ago couuty, Virgiuia.

AKCIIEi

KOWf^"^']

GRAVES ON HUFFMAN FARM 57

'J'wo leett'iist of the liist of tlicse i^raves, almost at theedge of the

mound,

was one3 feet in diameter, reachiuj^' to the subsoil;

and

at the extreme easteru

end

of the

mound was

another uot quite so deep, 4 feetin diameter.

In all eases the measurements given apply to the bottom of the grave, the top being larger,

owing

to the outward inclination of the sides,whoseslope

was

notatallevenor regular.

No

tracesofbone were foundinanyof them.

The

longergraves layparallelwith the

main

axis ofthe uiound,

and

the position oftherelics indicates that the bodies

had

been placed in

them

with the heads toward the east.

The

clay below thethin coating ofsoil

was

ofthe consistency ofputty.

Manifestly there werethree i)eriodsof construction.

At

the easteru

end

7 graves were covered

by

a

mound

about 24 feet in diameter; a fewfeet west of this a similar

mound was made

over 2 graves; then two additional graves were

made

in the narrow spacebetween, suffi- cient stone

and

earth being piled above to give the appearance of a single

mound,

but not

enough

to

make

it symmetricin form.

Each

of the largergraves

may

have contained

more

than onebody.

Fragments

of mica, quantities of quartzite chips and sjialls, and occasionally a knife or arrowhead were scattered throughthe earth of the

mound. A

pieceofclay pipe

was

found near thetop.

On

the adjoiningfarm ofJ. It.Huffman, ona, knoll

somewhat

higher than theridge, is a smallcairn

now

nearly destroyed.

KEYSER FARM.

On

the farmof J.

W.

Keyser, three-fourths of a mile northwest of Rileyville, is a cave from which several

human

skulls have beenob- tained. In the debrisnear the

mouth many

fragmentary bonesoccur,

and

in a

room

about 30 feet farther back bones are restingon

and imbedded

in the stalagmite.

Some

entire skulls have been found in this room.

Systematicinvestigation isimpossible until the openingtothecave

isgreatly enlarged

and

the accunuilated mattercleaned out.

M. L()N(; FAim.

On

thefarm of Mrs Michael I^ong, 2^ miles north of Rileyville, on a spur locally

known

as " Indian

Grave

ridge," are 2 stone mounds, both^ofwhichha^'ebeen ravagedtosiu-h an extentas to renderfurther examination useless.

One

is 70 feet in length with a breadth of 15 to20feet; the other is about30 feetin diameter; each probably3 or4 feethigh originally.

On

the farm ofA. Shii)e, near Ida, are 2 small

mounds

or bowlder

piles which havelong been

known

as Indian graves; but they are on