MOUNDS OF CLAKKE COUNTY, MISSOURI. 43

instead ofcircular, thesides tbe fonncr. In tbese only ^si

AltliotighMessrs.

Eardy

a structures as receptacles for yetitis possible tbey

may

b

The mounds

of Pike

County

are chiefly ofmixed material similar to those mentioned,' though

some

of them contain rectangu- lar stone vaults.

One

of these vaults, measuring i

by

5feet,was foundtocon- tain the remains of eight skeletons. Another,areg- ularbox-shapedcistofstone slabs, contained nothing save a few ^cranial bones very

much

^decayed.

^An-

other oflargesizecontained

human

^{remainswithwhich} were

some

arrow-heads, a ves.sclofclay,

and

acarved steatite pipe, having

npon

itsfront atigure-bead.

I have given these ^par- ticulars in order to

show how

closelythey agree with thediscoveries

made

bythe

Bureau

assistant in this region, from

whose

notesI take the following descrip- tion:

Between Fox

Eiver and Sugar Creek, in Clarke County, a sharp dividing ridge about 100 feet high extends in a northerly di- rection fornearlytwomiles from where these streams enter

upon

theopenbottom of the Mississippi. Scat- tered irregularly along the crestof thisridge is aline of circular

mounds shown

to 50feet in diameter

and

ofthe^latterbeing equalto thediameterof nail fragments ofbonecould be found.

11(1 Scheetz evidently considered these stone the dead,

and

as erected for thispurpose, ave been intended for

some

otheruse.

in Fig. 18. These range in size from 15 from 2 to 6 feet high,

and

are circular ia

'Suiithsouiaii Reportl&Sl,p.5:!7.

44

^i!i:kial

mounds of the nortjiern

sectioks.

foiui. InXo. ^3,'diameter35 feet

aud

height5 feet,situatedinthecen- tralportion,

was

found a stonecoffin or cist 7 feet long

and

2feetwide, formed of slabsof sandstone in the usual manner. This

was

covered

firstwith similarslabs

and

then thewhole incasedin a layer ofrougher stones.

Over

this was a layerof hard ^earth, which

was

evidently in a plastic state

when

placedthere, as it

had

run into

and

^filled

up

the in- terstices.

Above

this

was

a^footor

more

of yellowish earth, similar to thatformingthe ridge. In thecoffin

was

the skeleton of an ^adult,ly-

ing horizontally on the back, but too far gone to decaytoadmit of re- moval.

No

specimens of art of

any

kind were found withit.

No. 4, a ^trille smaller than No. 3,

was

opened

by

running a trench from the eastern margin. For a distance of 15 or 16feet nothing

was

encountered except the ^earth,with which itappeared to be covered to the depth of2feet.

Here was

found a layer ofroughstonescoveringa

mass

of charcoal

and

asheswith bonesintermixed. Infact theindica- tionsleave the impression thatoneor

more

i^ersons (or theirbones)had been burned in a fireon the natural surface of the earth near the cen- ter of the

mound,

the coals

and

brands of which were then covered with rough stonesthrownin, without

any

system,tothe depthof 3feet,

over a space 10 or 12feet in diameter,

and

then covered with earth.

Only

fragments of charred

human

bones, pieces of rude pottery,

and

stone chips were found

commingled

with the charcoal

and

ashes.

Another

group on the farmof Mr. J. N. Boulware, near thelinebe- tween Clarke

and

Lewis counties,

was examined by

the

same

party.

This group, which ^is situated on a

bench

or terrace from 20 to40 feet

above the Mississippi bottoms,consists of

some

55 or CO ordinarycircu- lar

mounds

ofcomparatively small size.

In oneof these, 45 feet in diameter

and

5 feethigh, were found,near thetop, thefragments of a

human

skeleton

much

decayed,

aud

broken pottery, encircled

by

a

row

of flatstones set

np

edgewise

and

covered with others of a similarcharacter.

Below

these

was

a layer of very hard light-colored earth,

mixed

throughout with fragmentsof charred

human

bones

and

pottery, charcoal

aud

stonechips.

Another,about60feet in diameter,

was

found to consist(except the tojJlayerofsoil,about1 foot thick)ofhard, dried

"mortar

^" (apparently clay

and

ashes mixed), in

which

fragments of charred

human

bones, smallrounded pieces of pottery, and stone scrapers were mingledwith charcoal

aud

ashes.

"As

^allthe

mounds

opened here," remarksthe assistant, "pi'esented this

somewhat

singularfeature, I

made

a very careful examination of this mortar-like substance. I found that there were differences be-

tweendifferent portions ofthe

same mound

sufficiently

marked

to trace the sepai"ate masses. This would indicate that tiie

mounds

were ^built by successive deposits of mortar thus mixed with charred bones,

and

notin stratabut inmasses."

'C'onntiii";fromthesontliein end oftlieline.

THE OHIO

DISTRICT.

This, as before stiiteil. iiiclttdes Obio, a iiortiou of eastern Indiana,

and

the western part of

West

Virginia.

As

only very limitedexplorationsLave been

made

inthe Obio portion of this district by tbe Bureau of Etbuology, I will content myselfwith a brief allnsion to tbe observations ofothers.

The

descriptionsgiven

by

Squier

and

_Davisof tbefewburial

mounds

tbey explored are too well

known

to require repeating here. Their conclusion in regard to them, which has already been alluded to, is

stated in general termsas follows

:

Mouiulsof thisclass areverynnraerons. Theyare generally of cousiderablesize,

varyingfromG to 80 feet inheight,bnt having an average.altitudeoffrom 1.5to20 or'^5feet. Theystand without thewalls cf enclosuresata distancemoreorless re-

mote from them.

Manyareisolated,with noothermonumentsnearthem; butthey frequently occur in groups,sometimes in closeconnectionwith each other,and exhibiting adepend- encewhich was notwithoutitsmeaning. Theyare destitute ofaltars,nordo they possessthe regularitywhichch.aracterizesthe "temple mounds." Theusualformis

thatofa simple coue; sometimes they are elliptical orpear-shaped. Thesemounds invariably cover a skeleton(inveryrare instancesmore than one, as inthecase of theGrave Creek mound),which at thetimeof intermentwasenveloped in bark or coarse matting, or inclosedinarude sarcophagusof timber, thetraces and insome instances the verycastsofwhichremain. Occasionally the chamberof thedead is builtofstone,rudelylaid up, without cementof anykind. Burialbyfire .seems to havebeen frequently practiced bythe mound-builders. Urn burial alsoappears to haveprevailedto aconsiderable extent intheSouthern _States. Withthe skeletons in these mounds are foundvarious remains ofart,comprising _{ornaments, utensils,} andweapons.'

For

the purposeof conveying to the

mind

aclear ideaof thechar- acterof these mounds, Igive here acopy oftheir figureofoneof

tbem

(Fig. 1!1),

and

also of tbe

wooden

vault found in it (Fig. 20). This

mound,

as

was

tbe case withmostof the burial

mounds

opened

by

tbem, although comparativelylarge, iswithout

any

distinct stratification.

In

some

cases (see Ancient

Monuments,

Figs. .52 and _53, p. 1(;4) a layer of bark

was

first spread on tbe natural surface of the ground after it

had

been cleared, leveled, and packed; on this the

body

was

laid atfull length. It

was

then covered with anotherlayerofbark

and

the

mound was

heapedover this.

^

'AncientMonuments,_p. 161. It m.ay be remarked here that the statement that 'urn burial appears to have prevailed to a cousiderable extent in the Southern States"cannotbe sustainedbyfacts.

43