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112. Pestle, on shell-heaps. Point Sal.

113. Black paint, (?) found in pots, and often strewn about the skulls. 114. Knives, arrow-heads, &c., as found on surface near mouth of Santa Maria River and other places, with indications of a formerlypermanent camp.

115. Red paint.

116. Coin.

REMARK.-The name of the grave was attached to the article when exhumed, and the place described when it was found on the surface.

ACCOUNT OF THE BURIAL OF AN INDIAN SQUAW, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, MAY, 1874.

BY W. M. KING.

The body, cleanly washed, was dressed in its best clothing. Outside of the clothing, and confining it to the body, was a bandage, apparently a sheet, torn in half. The feet were covered and bound together, the arms confined to the side, and the face covered by a bandage. The body thus prepared was laid upon the ground, while the men of the party dug the grave. While the grave was being dug, an old squaw danced slowly once round the body, singing in a wailing tone, then seated herself at its head, and continued her singing and wailing, sometimes breaking off and addressing the corpse, at the same time patting its head with her hand. The grave being completed, the body was lowered into it, its head toward the south. The personal effects of the deceased were placed beside her. These consisted of a bundle of bed-clothing, several small bundles of calico, various tin cups and pans, a table-knife and spoon, a frying-pan, and, lastly, a small quantity of live ashes was thrown in and the grave filled up. A fire was then lighted on top of the grave, the squaw who acted as chief mourner gathering the sticks. She also threw on the pile a number of platter-shaped dishes or baskets of plaited grass, which were burned. When the fire had burned itself out, the squaw above mentioned advanced and broke an oya, or water-cooler, on the grave, by violently dashing it on the ground. The party then dispersed.

A day or two afterward the house in which the woman died was purposely burned. The dishes and oya that were destroyed showed signs of long use, but were still perfectly serviceable. During the burial, no signs of emotion were shown by any of the party, either men or women, except by the squaw alluded to.

ANCIENT MOUNDS OF MERCER COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

BY TYLER MCWHORTER, OF ALEDO, ILL.

It may be approximately estimated that there are more than a thousand mounds in this county, yet persons who have not directed their attention to the subject would not suppose half that number to exist. These mounds are generally not such as to attract very special observation, not being of the larger size, the principal groups are very much flattened down by time, and seem to relate to a more remote antiquity than such as are more conspicuous.

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These mounds are all located in the portion of the county bordering on the Mississippi River. This fact, that the western mounds are universally found on lands adjoining the rivers, suggests the inference that the race who erected them procured their subsistence mainly from the water, or that the bottom-lands of the rivers constituted their principal hunting-grounds.

The largest group of mounds in this county is found in Eliza Township (township 15 north, range 5 west,) on high timbered land, about a mile or so back of the Mississippi bluffs. In this group may be found over two hundred mounds within the distance of a mile. This group seems to be of great antiquity, and is quite flattened down by the elements-only rising a few feet above the general level. Probably successive forests have grown and passed away since they were constructed. Only a few have been opened, and these revealed only beds of ashes and a few stones. But what seems strange, traces of ashes are often found mixed with the earth of which the mounds are composed.

In the immediate vicinity are also found obscure lines of old embankments that seem to relate to the same age as the mounds.

On the bottom-lands of the Mississippi, not far from the foot of the bluff, in the same township, are found a few mounds of a very distinct character. They rise up with quite an abrupt elevation, and are manifestly of a much more recent date. Presuming that the more ancient mounds, in the high timbered lands, at some former time had the same abrupt elevation as these, it manifestly must have required many years to reduce them by atmospheric action to their present flattened condition. From this apparent difference in the antiquity of the mounds, it is evident that the race or races who erected them continued to inhabit this country for a considerable length of time. In these more recent mounds human bones have been found with the usual accompaniment of ashes and stones. Also, in one of them a stick of wood was found, about eight inches in diameter, in a horizontal situation, a little to one side of the center of the mound; it was in quite a sound condition.

As no depressions of ground are ever found in the immediate vicinity of mounds, it is often difficult to conjecture where the earth was obtained of which they were constructed; but there is a circumstance in connection with the more recent mounds that seems to have a bearing

on this question. There is a considerable space of ground, nearly two hundred yards distant, where it seems manifest that the upper stratum of the surface soil has been carried away. A uniform upper stratum of soil is common to a large extent in this bottom-land, but in this one spot this layer is gone. It seems, therefore, probable that the earth of which these mounds were constructed was all carried from this place. An approximate estimate of the cubical quantity of the superficial earth removed from this depression, corresponds closely to what seems to have been the original quantity in the recent mounds. It is difficult to understand what motive could induce human beings to impose on themselves such a task as to carry such an amount of earth two hundred yards. But if the amount of material necessary to erect these mounds had been taken from any immediate piece of ground on this uniform surface, some depressions would have remained as evidence of it. But at the distance of two hundred yards we find this depression, which is nearly as hard to account for by any natural process as it would be to explain the mounds themselves by natural agencies.

There is another quite extensive range of mounds in the same town-. ship, on grounds bordering a stream of water called Eliza Creek. So far as I have observed, this group seems to relate to a very ancient period of time. Few of the mounds, to my knowledge, have been opened. I am told that traces of ashes have been found in them, and, in some of them, human remains in a much decayed condition.

Another very extensive range of mounds is located in the township. of New Boston, which is the next township south of Eliza. These are on the south side of the Edwards River, where this stream winds its course across the higher bottom-lands of the Mississippi. The ground of these mounds has been under cultivation for many years, hence but obscure traces of them now remain. Their location was on the open prairie, about a half-mile from the timber-grounds bordering the Edwards.

Broken pottery, pipes, and some implements were found by early settlers in the vicinity of these structures; but I have been unable to learn with certainty whether these were disinterred from the mounds themselves.

There is, however, one circumstance in connection with this group of earthworks that should not be passed unnoticed. Between them and the Edwards is a long range of depressions in the ground. This range of depressions runs nearly parallel to the range of mounds, and is about forty rods distant. The size of these hollows seems to correspond very nearly with the size of the adjacent mounds. The conjecture seems unavoidable that from each of these depressions sufficient earth was carried to construct a single mound. These excavations have no raised borders to indicate that the earth was merely thrown out; they indicate that so much earth has been really taken away; and, further, I learn that the number of these depressions corresponds quite

nearly with the number of the adjacent mounds, being about one hundred and fifty.

Another considerable group of mounds is located in the same township of New Boston, several miles farther up the Edwards, on high terrace-ground, about a half-mile from the stream. This group was entirely away from timber, the situation being formerly covered with grass. For many years the ruthless plow has been leveling down these ancient memorials, and fields of grain have long waved over the ashes of a by-gone race.

On the south side of Pope Creek, near where the valley of this stream cuts through the Mississippi Bluffs, is quite an extensive group of mounds. Some of them are high up on the brow of the bluffs. Nothing that I can learn distinguishes this group from others already spoken of. Human bones have been found in some of them.

The next, and last, group of mounds to which we would call attention is about twelve miles from the Mississippi River, being the most remote from that river of any group in the country. It is situated near the north side of the township of Millersburgh, on the high-timbered division between the Edwards River and Camp Creek. Ashes and some much-decayed relics of human skeletons have been found in the few that have been opened. Some traces of ashes were found in the earth above the human remains.

I have made diligent inquiry of all the oldest settlers, and am unable to learn that any mounds are to be found in the eastern portion of the county, except that two or three isolated ones, which are reported to be far up the Edwards. These I have never seen.

SHELL-HEAPS.-Before closing this paper, it may be proper to state that formerly very large shell-heaps existed on the high, sandy bank of the Mississippi, immediately below New Boston. But it seems more probable that these heaps of kitchen-refuse relate to the subsequent Indian race, and not to the mound-builders. Though these shell-heaps are in a considerable state of decay, enough remains of them to show that the shells belong to the present species of our rivers. Broken pottery is found about these heaps, and collections of burned stones, indicating old camp-fires; also, abundance of flint-chips, and some broken arrows, are found here, to indicate that flint-implements have been manufactured. A careful inspection of these flint-chips leads to the conclusion that the flint of which these implements were made was obtained from what is called the "chert-bands" of the Burlington limestone. This formation crops out along the Mississippi, about forty miles below this place. Probably the material for the manufacture of these implements was brought up the river in canoes.

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ANTIQUITIES OF WHITESIDE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

By W. H. PRATT, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

Corresponding Secretary Davenport Academy Natural Sciences, Davenport, Iowa.

On the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, in Whiteside County, Illinois, is situated the village of Albany. Over the bluffs in the neighborhood is a growth of young oak trees, the largest of which are ten or twelve inches in diameter. On the bluff and the slope toward the river, about a mile south or southwest of the village, scattered irregularly over an area of about one-fourth by three-fourths of a mile, are fifty-one ancient mounds, the positions and dimensions of which I have approximately determined, having spent several days in August of this year, 1873, in the exploration in the interest of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences.

A general view of the whole is represented in the accompanying plan, (Fig. 1.)

The land is owned by Mr. Samuel Rosenkranz, of Albany, who kindly allows the exploration and excavation of the mounds without restriction, except the reservation of a few of the most prominent. A few other mounds are said to exist not far distant to the northeast, but I have not seen them. It is also stated that two or three were removed some years since in making the grade of the Western Union Railroad, which passes close by the mounds, between them and the river. Over the area above mentioned he young timber has been mostly cut off, and on the higher portions evidently very few trees have ever existed. The soil is almost entirely sand. The high land or bluff terminates abruptly to the southward in a bold, narrow point.

A position on one of the highest mounds, some of which are situated on this point, commands one of the broadest views to be found in the whole Mississippi Valley, with a sweep of more than half a circle, including the river and valley, and islands to the north and west and southwest; and to the south and southeast the "Dosia," as it is commonly called, or "Maredosia Slough," or, as it was originally named, the "Marais d'Ogée," an ancient channel of many miles in extent, connecting the Rock River with the Mississippi. In this the current flows in either direction from the higher toward the lower of the two rivers at different times. The "slough" is a broad marsh, nearly dry during a dry season, and is believed to have been once the channel of a part of the Mississippi, which divided at this point, and re-united at the present mouth of Rock River, forty miles below. The location is one of rare beauty, and has doubtless been for ages, as it is now, a favorite resort of bunters. The high point above mentioned is a narrow and rather abrupt sandridge, formed doubtless by the action of the current when the Father of Waters occupied the entire breadth of the valley.

There is nothing in the relative position of the tumuli, as will be

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