BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOQV BULLETIN 37 PLATE 1
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITESMISSOURIByGerard Fowkaia08-07
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
1^
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYBULLETIN 37
ANTIQUITIES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH-EASTERN MISSOURI
BYGERARD FOWKE
(REPORT ON EXPLORATIONS MADE IX 1906-07 UNDER THE AUSPICESOF THE ARCH.^iOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA)
WASHINGTONGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE1910

LETTER OF TRANSMITTALThe Arch^ologicai. Institute of America,Washington, D. C, September 28, 1908.Dear Sir: I transmit herewith the manuscript and illustrationsof a paper, entitled "Antiquities of Central and Southeastern Mis-souri," by Gerard Fowke. This is a report of two seasons' fieldwork under the auspices of the St. Louis Society of the ArchaeologicalInstitute of America. I am authorized by the executive committeeof that society to offer this manuscript for publication by the Bureauof American Ethnology.I am, with sincere respect, very truly, yours,Edgar L. Hewett,Director ofAmerican ArcTiseology
.
Mr. W. H. Holmes,Chief ofBureau ofAmerican Ethnology,Washington, D. C.
Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti-tution for publication, with his approval, as a Bulletin of the Bureauof American Ethnology. W. H. Holmes, Chief
PREFATORY NOTEThe explorations described in the accompanying report were madeduring the years 190G and 1907 under the auspices of the Archaeo-logical Institute of America, the funds necessary for carrying on thework being provided through the liberality of the gentlemen herenamed, members of the St. Louis Society of the Institute: WilliamK. Bixby, D. I. Bushnell, Edward Mallinckrodt, J. M. Wulfing, Mur-ray Carleton, J. D. Bascom, Geo. O. Carpenter, Mrs. E. A. Howe,C. H. Huttig, J. D. Markliam, James A. Waterworth, Mrs. C. D.Graham, Hugo Koehler, Mrs. I. W. IMorton, Charles Nagel, Dr.W. F. Parks, Dr. H. M. Wlielpley, and J. J. Cole.St. Louis, Missouri.
CONTENTS PageIntroduction 1Explorations near the mouth of Gasconade river 7The Granmann mounds ?. 7Mound no. 1 7Mound no. 2 8Mound no. 3 8The Ruegge village site 9The Uffman mound 9The Birkle mound 10The Smith mounds 11Mound no. 1 11Mound no. 2 11Mound no. 3 12Explorations about the mouth of Osage river 12The Ewing mounds 12Mound no. 1 12Mound no. 2 13Mound no. 3 13Mound no. 4 13Mound no. 5 13Mound no. 6 14Mound no. 7 16Mound no. 8 18Mound no. 9 18Mound no. 10 18Mound no. 11 19The Dallmeyer mound 19Mounds in the vicinity of Hartsburg, Boone county 20The Shaw mounds 20Mound no. 1 21Mound no. 2 21Mound no. 3 22Mound no. 4 23Mound no. 5 23Mound no. 6 23Mound no. 7 24Mound no. 8 26The Dawson mounds 26Mound no. 1 26Mound no. 2 27Mound no. 3 27Mound no. 4 28Mound no. 5 28Mound no. 6 29Mound no. 7 32Mound no. 8 33V
VI - CONTENTSMounds in the vicinity of Hartsburg, Boone county?Continued.The Dawson mounds?Continued. PageMound no. 9 33Mound no. 10 35Mound no. 11 36Mound no. 12 39Mound no. 13 39Mounds in the vicinity of Easley, Boone county 42The Easley mounds 42Mound no. 1 43Mound no. 2 43Mound no. 3 47Mound no. 4 50Mound no. 5 51Mound no. 6 53The Baumhoefer mounds 54Mound no. 1 54Method of construction 57Mound no. 2 59The Buescher mounds 61Mound no. 1 61Mound no. 2 62Mound no. 3 63The Kurtz mound, in Howard county 63Mounds opposite Kansas City 65The Keller mounds 67Mound no. 1 67Mound no. 2 67Mound no. 3 68The Brenner mounds 69Mound no. 1 70Mound no. 2. .' 71The Klamm mound 72Distribution of vault-graves 73Mounds in the vicinity of Warrensburg 74The "Indian House " in Pike county 75Painted Rock 81Old fort and village site in Saline county 82Old fort 82Village-site at ' ' The Pinnacles " 86Arrow Rock 92A reconnoissance in southeastern Missouri 93The Hunter mounds 95The so-called garden or domiciliary mounds 96The copper plates from Maiden, Dunklin county 98Village sites worth excavating 99Localities worth investigating 99Reported localities possibly worth examining 99Additional archeological remains visited or reported 100Report on skeletal material, by Dr. Ales Hrdlicka 103I. Condition of the material 103II. Crania 103III. Long bones 104IV. Detailed measurements and observations 104Index 113
ILLUSTRATIONS PagePlate 1. Archeological sites explored iu Missouri (map) Frontispiece2. Features of Ewing mounds nos. 5 and 6 153. Vaults in Ewing mounds nos. 6 and 7 174. Features of Dawson mounds nos. 4 and 7 325. Features of Dawson mound no. 9 346. Vaults in Dawson mounds nos. 9 and 11 387. Vault in Dawson mound no. 13 428. Interior of Baumhoefer mound no. 1 559. Exterior and interior of Baumhoefer mound no. 2 6010. Vault in Kurtz mound 6411
.
Vault in Kurtz mound 6512. Features of Keller mounds nos. 2 and 3 6813. Features of Brenner mounds nos. 1 and 2 7114. Features of Brenner mound no. 2 and of the Louisiana work 7815-19. Copper plates from Maiden, Dunklin county 98Figure 1. Pot from Granmann mound no. 3 82. North and west walls in Uffman mound 103. Pipe from Smith mound no. 2 114. Flint digging-tool from Shaw mound no. 6 245. Pot from Shaw mound no. 6 256. Pot from Dawson mound no. 9 347. Pipe from Dawson mound no. 11 378. Pipe from Dawson mound no. 11 379. Stone grave-cover in Easley inound no. 2 4410. Pipe from Easley mound no. 3 4811. Unfinished pipe from Easley mound no. 3 4812. Pipe from Easley mound no. 3 4913. Pipe from Easley mound no. 5 5214. Broadhead's plan of vault in Brenner mound no. 1 7015. Broadhead's section of Brenner mound no. 1 7016. Broadhead's plan of two vaults in Pike county 7417. Giddings's sketch of the Louisiana work (from Beck's Gazetteer) .. 7618. The ' ' Old Fort " in Saline county 8319. Pot from village site, Saline county 9020. Lower jaw with two supernumerary bicuspids, from Dawson moundno. 6 106VII

ANTIQUITIES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERNMISSOURIBy Gerard FowkeINTRODUCTIONDuring the first season tlie work here dealt with extended alongthe Missouri river from the Gasconade to Moreau creek on the southside, and from Cedar creek to Easley on the north. The secondseason's work began at Easley and was followed out to the south-west part of Howard county, thence into Saline county; the moundsopposite Kansas City were next examined ; some investigations weremade in Pike county; and work for the year closed in the south-eastern part of the State.On subsequent pages will be found a list of localities of archeologicalinterest in various parts of the State, derived partly from personalinvestigations, and partly from the reports of numerous persons famil-iar with the regions named; this list is necessarily incomplete. Theowners of many of these remains have granted permission for theirexploration, and it is probable that similar leave can be readilyobtained for others. In very few instances was the privilege ofexcavating refused unless there were good and sufficient reasons forthe refusal.As some words have several meanings, dependent on the connec-tion in which they are used, certain terms appearing frequently shouldbe explained to prevent misapprehension or confusion on the part ofthe reader."Summit," or ''apex," means the highest point of a mound; thismay now be several feet from its original position owing to theshifting of earth due to cultivation or erosion."Top" means the present surface of the mound in any part withinthe area where it begins to rise from the natural soil.
"Surface" means the original surface of the ground upon whichthe mound is built."Bottom" means the plane of junction of the deposited earth andthe undisturbed ground, being practically synonymous with theterm "surface."The terms "soil" and "subsoil" are used in their ordinary sense.5780?Bull. 37?10 1
2 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37
"Center" is the vertical line from base to summit of a moundregular in form, or from the middle point within the area coveredin the case of a structure unevenly built, or subsequently altered inform.A "doubled," or "folded," skeleton or body is one which was bentat the joints before burial, so as to occupy less space. Sometimesonly the legs were bent, but usually the knees were drawn up to thechin and the feet against the hips. Perhaps this custom occasionallyhad an occult significance, but in general it was resorted to merelyto avoid the labor of digging a large grave. Nearly all the bodiesthus bent were laid on the side, though some were placed on theback. This method of inhumation is probably the basis of numerousreports concerning "bodies buried in a sitting [or squatting, orcrouching] position." It has never been the fortune of the presentwriter, or of any of his coworkers, to find remains to which any ofthese terms are applicable.
"Skeleton burial" means one in which the bones were denuded offlesh before interment."Bundled" bones are those whose position in the earth indicatesthat some care was taken, or at least an attempt made, to place adisarticulated frame, or portions of it, in somewhat regular order."Bunched" bones are those thrown in carelessly or at random,apparently in a reckless fashion.Except as definitely specified otherwise, all mounds mentioned inthis report are of the so-called conical form. Of course, no moundwas ever "conical;" mounds could not be built in that shape, norwould it be possible for a heap of earth to hold this form throughthe first rain. "Dome-shaped" would be a better term in this con-nection.In descriptions of mounds, especially of those in cultivated fields,measures of height and diameter are usually given to the nearest footand nearest five feet, respectively. Accurate measurements arenearly always impossible, because on sloping ground the margin ofthe base can not be determined. The actual height of a mound canseldom be definitely ascertained until its bottom is reached. Thedistance between mounds of a particular group is measured fromcenter to center as they now stand.Frequently, vegetation is so scanty on the ridges, exposed asthey are to excessive denudation by winds and rains, that sod androots do not leave a distinct stratum at the plane separating naturalfrom dumped earth. In these cases it is necessary to remove notonly the mound itself, but also the soil on which it stands, until thesubsoil is reached. Only thus can the explorer be assured that he isnot passing over a grave or other aboriginal excavation beneath thetumulus which is being examined. Such procedure often involves
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 3the removal of several hundred cubic feet of earth which is in itsnatural position?a great waste of time and labor, but one that cannot be avoided. On the other hand, this method sometimes showsthat material which has every appearance of undisturbed loessforms part of the artificial structure. Very erroneous estimates ofthe age of skeletal or other remains may result from failure to distin-guish earth in situ from earth which has been deposited by humanagency."In all cases where the deposited earth is very hard it is possible thatit was taken from the original situation while wet, or at least damp,and consequently much easier to dig. Its present compactness mayfrequently be only the natural result of laborers walking about uponit while engaged in the task of piling it up. If grave pits or othercavities were required in the subsoil at a time when the ground washarder than usual, the workers could lighten their task by carryingwater and pouring it over the area on which they were engaged. Ina very dry season it is not possible to excavate with primitive toolsthe tough native clay in which some of these graves are found.No special importance attaches to points of the compass asgiven in the descriptions. As most of the mounds were erected onnarrow, winding ridges, their outlines and relative positions aredetermined by the topography only, no attention being paid by thebuilders to cardinal points.The interior faces of the walls in nearly every vault opened had anoutward slope, making the vaults larger at top than at bottom.This method of construction was probably intentional, the purposebeing to prevent the wall from falling inward, the backing of earthand stone built up concurrently holding it from falling outward.But the walls noticed in some of the mounds opposite Kansas Cityprove that the builders could lay them up vertical when they desiredto do so.No effort was made to break joints or to interlock at corners;when a stone was ready, it was placed where needed, regardless ofthe position of the stones below. These characteristics appeared inall the vaults examined; the builders seemingly never learned howto strengthen the structure by arranging the courses differently.But as the vaults were to be covered immediately and never againused, it mattered little how they were put up. If these people haderected stone houses for purposes of shelter, probably they wouldhave learned in time the advantages of both the technical featuresabove mentioned.
1 Nearly all the bones unearthed were so decayed and fragile that it was impossible to remove tliemintact. Many of them were less cohesive than the earth in which they were embedded. This state-ment is applicable even to the slviills and long bones. It was necessary to saturate many of them withglue in order to remove them in even tolerable condition. This explains why no perfect osteologicalremains were recovered.
4 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Although vaults such as arc described in the following pages arevaguely brought to notice by occasional mention in scattered reports,no photographs have previously appeared, nor has there been offereda satisfactory explanation as to their purpose. In some of theearlier works relating to Missouri the few vaults then known arecalled "houses," "walled houses," or "underground houses." Onevery elaborate illustration appeared of the work near Louisiana (seefig. 17). While the structures as they actually exist are roughlylaid up, at the same time they are a new feature in American arche-ology so far as it relates to the region east of the Rocky Mountains.The mounds along the lower Missouri plainly owe their origin toa people whose grade of culture was much inferior to that of themound builders east and south. The skulls are of low type. Thepottery is described by Mr. W. H. Holmes, as follows:The pottery obtained by Mr. Fowke from the mounds of the Middle Missouri regionis limited in quantity, rude in finish, and generally fragmentary. All the vessels arewide-mouthed pots of medium or small size; nearly all show traces of use over fire.With exception of two specimens the clay is tempered with coarse shells and the wallsare moderately thick. The rims of most of the vessels are narrow, upright, or slightlyrecurved, and are crimped on the margin with the finger nail or with an implement.Rudely modeled loop handles connect the rims with the bodies of the vessels and ina few specimens a slight projection takes the place of the handle. The somewhatglobular bodies are decorated in a rude fashion with patterns consisting of incisedlines and indentations. On some specimens these are arranged in zigzag series ofthree or more lines bordered by lines of indents, suggesting the treatment of conven-tional animal forms characteristic of the pottery of the middle and lower Mississippivalley. On a few vessels the designs are impressed rather than incised while othersare excavated as with a gouge. The instrument employed was probably tubular inform, possibly the leg bone of a turkey or a deer.One small vessel (no. 24), neatly wrought, about five inches in diameter, is of avariety distinct from the preceding. The surface is fabric-marked, the meshes of thecloth used being quite small.Another specimen of northern type (no. 64) corresponds closely with pottery obtainedfrom mounds in the vicinity of Davenport, Iowa. The tempering is siliceous andthe surface has been decorated by means of a square-toothed roulette, the lines ofindentation extending round the shoulder and body of the vessel.The methods of interment, as a rule, show but little reverence orrespect for the dead.At least two diverse stages of culture are suggested and certainlymore than one period of occupancy, but boundaries and periods oftime can not yet be determined.In not one of the graves opened was there found any object notof aboriginal manufacture. While this is negative evidence, it istrue, it would indicate that the burials antedate the arrival of whitesin the country where the vaults are found, if they did not precedethe period at which the tribes constructing these vaults may havehad dealings with the first traders who could have brought the whiteman's wares into the country.
FowKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 5The earliest history or tradition we have of this region shows itwas inhabited by the Siouan Indians. Unless they may have madetheir interments in the manner set forth, we must forever remainignorant concerning the people to whom these graves are due.Under the title " Omaha Sociology," J. Owen Dorsey says:'^When the ancestors of the Omahas, Ponkas, Osages, and several other cognatetribes traveled down the Ohio to its mouth, they separated on reaching the Mississippi.Some went up the river, * * *, The rest went down the river ^ * *. Thetribes that went up the Mississippi were the Omahas, Ponkas, Osages, and Kansas.Some of the Omahas remember a tradition that their ancestors once dwelt at the placewhere Saint Louis now stands; and the Osages and Kansas say that they were allone people, inhabiting an extensive peninsula, on the Missouri River.It is also said that ''on this peninsula was a high mountain;"Dorsey supposed the location to be in the northern part of SaintLouis county. Several large mounds are situated on top of thebluffs a short distance above the mouth of the Missouri; one of themis low and flat topped, as if designed for an assembly place, or for thefoundation of a large building.Subsequently, these tribes ranged through a territory, including Osage, Gasconade,and other adjacent counties of the state of Missouri, perhaps most of the countrylying between the Mississippi and the Osage Rivers. The lowas were near them; butthe Omahas say that the Otos and Missouris were not known to them. The Iowachiefs, however, have a tradition that the Otos were their kindred, and that bothtribes, as well as the Omahas and Ponkas, were originally Winnebagos. * * *At the mouth of the Osage River the final separation occurred. The Omahasand Ponkas crossed the Missouri, and, accompanied by the lowas, proceeded[north] * * *.6According to Dorsey's map, the Osage went up the Osage river,on whose course, near the Missouri-Kansas line, they were livingafter the Louisiana Purchase. The Kansa Indians followed theMissouri river; and it is along their route, as given by Dorsey, thatthe stone vaults have been found. The "Indian House," and thetwo similar vaults in Pike county (p. 73), all that are known atpresent away from the immediate neighborhood of the Missouri,may owe their origin to a temporary colony from that stream, whetherKansa or others. Warrensburg (p. 74) is only about 30 miles southof the Missouri.On Marquette's original map of his voyage of 1673 and later *" theOsage, Missouri, and Kansa are placed in about the same localitieswhere they are noted by later explorers; that is, at the mouths ofthe Osage, the Grand, and the Kaw, respectively.Bradbury says:^The Missouri Indians, from whom the river takes its name, were a prominent tribeof Siouan stock, who appear to have lived originally at the mouth of the river; but
a In the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 211, 1881-2, Washington, 1884.6 0p. cit.,212.cSee copy in Shea's The Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, New York, 18.52.d Travels in the Interior of North America (in Thwaites's Early Western Travels, v, 50 (note), Cleve-land, 1904).
6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37
about the beginning of the eighteenth century they moved up to this place [that is,about four miles below old Fort Orleans, near the mouth of Grand river, on the leftbank], where their principal village was found by early French explorers.And further (p. 80)
:
The Missouris are incorporated with [the Oto]; they are their descendants andspeak the same language. * * * A very considerable part of the surroundingcountry formerly belonged to the Missouris, who were once the most powerful nationon the Missouri river, but have been reduced by war and smallpox.Another authority'* shows the "Little Osage ViUage in 1805," onthe south side of the Missouri, in vSahne county, between Grand Passand Malta Bend. The "Missouri Village in 1805" was located inthe southwest corner of Chariton county, near the mouth of theGrand river. Neither of these localities is far from the village siteat "The Pinnacles" (see p. 82).On a map dated 1763, which accompanies Charlevoix's Letters(1720), the village of the Missouri is located above Fort Orleans, inabout the position of the Osage village as given by Royce.It appears from all that now can be learned that the Osage Indiansnever ascended the Missouri farther than the mouth of the Osageriver, and as the stone vaults above that point show progressivelymore skill in their construction we must attribute them either tothe Kansa Indians or to some tribe whose name is now lost.The continuous and extensive changes of channel in the Missouririver, and in the Mississippi below their junction, deprive us of anycertainty as to the location of the "peninsula" referred to in thevSiouan legend. The narrators naturally would have applied thename "Missouri" to the whole river; that is to say, they would haveregarded what we now call the Missouri as the principal stream,because they lived on it, and the Mississippi above the junction as atributary. wSo we may not have to go to "the northern part of SaintLouis county" to find the place the tradition calls for.There is strong evidence that within a comparatively recent periodthe stream crossed abruptly from the Missouri to the Illinois bluffsand then back to the Missouri side, in a space of a few milesabove and below the present levee. Horseshoe and Pittsburg lakesare remains of this former channel. The mounds of the Cahokiagroup correspond in form and situation with mounds which formerlyexisted on the site of wSaint Louis, and they are not at all of the sametype as those nearest them in Illinois?an indication that when builtthey were all on the western side of the Mississippi, or according toaboriginal ideas, of the Missouri, river. Thus it is quite probable, pro-viding We admit the essential truth of the Omaha tradition, that thisis the "peninsula" to which reference is made, and that in the term
a See Royce, " Indian Land Cessions in the United States," in Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau ofAmerican Ethnology, pt. 2, pi. cxliv, 1896-97, Washington, 1899.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 7
"high mountain" we find the hnguistic successor of "high mound"
?
in other words, tlie towering artificial structure called the GreatCahokia Mound. There is no other locality near the mouth of theMissouri which accords with the description given by Dorsey, certainlyno "high mountain," so it is safe to assume that the Siouan tribeswere settled for a time on an extensive bottom in front of thepresent city, with the Mississippi river on the north, east, and south.They may have constructed the small burial mounds found in thecounty and westward; and when, in their renewed migration, theyreached a region where flat rocks were abundant and earth hard todig, may have evolved the stone vaults.As no mention is made in the legend of contact with an unrelatedtribe, either at that time or afterward, the Mound Builders had nodoubt abandoned the site before the advent of the Sioux ; otherwisewe should certainly have heard of them.EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE MOUTH OF GASCONADERIVERThe Granmann Mounds (1)'^A mile west of Gasconade, on the farm of Mr. William Granmann,were three earth mounds, two of which stood about 40 yards apart,on the edge of a bluff overlooking the Missouri.MOUND NO. 1The mound farthest west measured 37 feet in diameter and 3 feetin height. A space 30 feet in width, extending from the south mar-gin to a line midway between the center and the north edge, was firstcleared away to the subsoil, which lay at a depth of from 10 to 12inches. On the bottom, near the center, were a number of bones, ofwhich only a humerus, a tibia, and two femora were in condition tobe identified. Some of the bones showed indentations and stria-tions produced by gnawing, after burial, by mice or other small ani-mals.'' Such markings are found on many bones unearthed frommounds along the Missouri River bluffs, and fragments of bones somarked are occasionally found at some distance below the bottomsof the mounds, having been dragged there by the rodents, some ofwhose burrows are indistinct or even obliterated.The only implement found in this mound was a rough flint knife,which lay loose in the earth.
o Corresponding numerals designating the several areas of excavation dealt with in this paper will befound on the map (pi. 1).6 Incisions of this character are sometimes reported as evidence of the cutting or scratching of honeswith sharpened or pointed implements, indicating cannilialism, or of attrition liy glacial action, eitherdirectly by ice, or indirectly by floods resulting from its melting. In the latter case, bones could hardlyhave found their way into any aboriginal burial place.
BUKEAU or AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [nuLii. .STMOUND NO. 2This mound was 43 feet in diameter and 5 feet in height. Lying8 feet east of the center and 6 inches above the bottom was a crushed,decayed skull, the few teeth remaining with it being much worn.Beginning 2 feet nearer the center was a dej^osit of other bones toomuch decayed for identification with exce])tion of short pieces offemora and tibite. These bones lay on different levels within the'space of a foot, occupying an area about 4 feet in diameter.At the center was an irregular hole 14 to 16 inches in diameter anda foot in depth. Filling this hole, antl extending above and aroundit, was a deposit of mmgled charcoal, soil, and burned earth, whichhad been brought here froma fire near by.Lying west and north ofthe center, on the bottom,distributed over a space ap-])roximately 1 foot by 3 feet,were the charred bones,in very small fragments,of at least two, possiblyof three, persons. Amongthese remains were a boneand a claw of a pantlier.All were covered with earthmuch burned, mingled withcharcoal and soil, as if thedebris of the p}rre had beenthrown on them. Close bywas a fragment of a femuror a tibia; also a skull from which the entire upper jaw had beenremoved before burial. All the unburned bones were very soft andmuch decayed. MOUND NO. 3This mound stood on the first bluff west of Gasconade. Afterhaving undergone much cultivation it measured 75 feet north andsouth by 50 feet east and west, and 5 feet in height. Beginning 25feet south of the apex, a trench 16 feet wide was run toward thecenter. Four feet from the starting point and a foot above thebottom was found a crushed and decayed skull, having its vertextoward the south. With exception of four teeth, no traces of bonesaccompanied it. At a distance of 2h feet to the north of this skull,situated 6 inches higher, was another skull; this lay on the left sidewith the vertex toward the east ; resting on this cranium was a part
J
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 9
of one femur, while other fragments of leg bones lay just in frontof the face. Loose in the earth, 6 inches north of the last describedskull and the same distance above it, was a broken pot (fig. 1) havinga capacity of about 1 j pints ; there was a hole in the bottom, appar-ently intentionally made.Fourteen feet from the assumed center of the mound, near the eastside of the trench, pieces of a pot were discovered. Seven feetnearer the center and a foot above the bottom lay, as if thrown froma basket, a confused mass of skulls and of bones of the hips, legs,and arms from three or four bodies. There were no small bonesamong them. Nearly all these bones were fragmentary from theeffects of decay and pressure, only a few of the long bones beingentire and these very fragile.Two large trees had stood on the site of this mound before it wasbuilt, the holes left by the decay of their roots branching out throughthe soil.Although the excavation was continued for 27 feet be3T)nd thepoint last mentioned, or 45 feet in all, apart from the remains abovedescribed nothing but an occasional flint or chip, fragment of j^ottery,or scrap of decayed bone came to light.The Ruegge Village Site (2)Near Stolpe, on the right bank of the Gasconade, four miles aboveits mouth, is a village site located on tlie Ruegge farm. The ownerpointed out various places, especially one stretch of about 50 yardsalong the top of a gentle slope, where "the ground is white withshells whenever we plow." As the field was under cultivation, noexcavations were made.A single lodge site on the river bank near the edge of tliis field wascarefully examined. Fragments of pottery, flint chips, and musselshells were unearthed in considerable quantities, but at no pointdid these extend to a depth greater than 4 or 5 inches. Of the objectsfound, only one flint and a piece of hematite once used as a paintstone were worth preserving.The Uffman Mound (3)A mile east of Gasconade, on Mr. George Uffman's farm, on a pointnearly 400 feet high, stood a mound of mingled rocks and earth 30feet in diameter and 3 feet in height.In the central part of the structure was a vault 8 feet 6 inches longand 5 feet 4 inches wide (inside measurements), built of sandstoneslabs laid vertically to a height of about 30 inches. The main axisran nearly northeast and southwest. Along the south side, on theoriginal surface, was a pavement 6 feet in length by 2^ feet in width,
10 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY fBULL. .^7made of slabs, terininating 14 inches from each end; in the southwestcorner was a space 1 by 3 feet where no stones had been placed.No reason was apparent for the existence of this pavement. Therewas considerable charcoal mixed with the earth which filled thevault, but no trace of bones or of worked objects appeared.The walls, partially demolished by former investigators, wereheld in place by rocks and eartli piled against the outside surface.The interior of the portion of the walls remaining in place on the northside and at the west end is shown in figure 2. It will be observedfrom this figure that two parallel wails were first built, the other twowalls being so constructed subsequently that the ends of each interiorwall abutted squarely against the faces of the others.
Fiu. 2. North and west walls in Uffman mound.The Birkle Mound (4)Two miles east of Gasconade, on a high point on Mr. Robert Birkle'sland, stood a mound having a base measure of 40 feet east and west,50 feet north and south, and an elevation of 5 feet. Originally thebase was circular, the alteration in form being due to long cultivation.The central portion was cleared out by a trench, or pit, 20 by 24feet. A slab of chert, weighing about fifty pounds, from a stratifiedrock, lay on the bottom at the center, evidently having been placedthere intentionally, and a few sandstone and limestone blocks layscattered about in the earth.
fowice] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 11Not a scrap of bone or other evidence suggestive of the presence ofa grave beneath the original surface was found in the excavation,though the pecuHar color characteristic of "grave earth" showedthat bodies had been deposited in several different places.The Smith Mounds (5)On the east side of the Gasconade, a mile above its mouth, on thefarm of Mr. Christian Smith, were four earth mounds on the crest ofa narrow ridge lying between the river and First creek. Two ofthese mounds were examined.MOUND NO. 1The first mound, a hundred yards from the river bluff, was notmore than a foot high. A space in the center 1 2 feet in diameter wascleared out. On the surface, at the west edge of the excavation, werea few fragments of a partiallycremated skull, teeth, and longbones. Three feet south of thesewere fragments of two skullsshowing no luarks of heat, and afew small pieces of burned bone.In the center was a grave pit 3|feet in diameter and slightly morethan a foot deep, which containedno trace of bone or relic. Scat-tered over and around this gravewere several limestone slabsranging from 5 to 25 poundseach in weight; these seem tohave been thrown in at random, having had apparently no connectionwith funeral ceremonies. The earth in the grave was very hard, as ifpacked in while damp and then tramped or pounded down hard.MOUND NO. 2The second mound, 40 yards east of the first, was 3 feet high and40 feet in diameter. A circle having a radius of 10 feet from the centerof the mound was marked ofl", and the earth within this removed downto the subsoil. At the southwest margin of the excavation were foundthe decayed bones of a skeleton, which lay extended, with the headtoward the east, 6 feet from the center. On the northwest side legbones extended beyond the excavated portion; other bones, includingparts of two skulls, lay in confusion from 8 to 10 feet from the center.Extending eastward from this mass for about 3 feet were still otherbones, whose original position could not be determined; these includedmany small pieces of at least two partially cremated skulls (one thick,
Fig. 3. Pipe from Smith mound no. 2.
12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. .",7one thin), long bones, and one piece of a child's rib. There was alsothe stem of a clay pipe so poorly burned that it fell apart. At theeast end of the deposit was a clay pipe (fig. 3). The earth about thesebones and at various other points within the excavated area was ashard as if once puddled. As in most mounds in this neighborhood,tliere were chips and spalls of Hint, and fragments of human and
.animal bones scattered about loose in the earth.MOUND NO. 3On the highest point of the hill which separates the creek from theriver is a mound 40 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height, built ofearth and stones in about equal proportions. Relic hunters had duga trench from the south margin to a point a few feet beyond thecenter. At one end of their excavation a few rocks, held in positionby roots of a tree, remained to indicate that a vault, or burial cham-ber, had once existed, the walls of which were thoroughly demolished.Examination of the undisturbed portion showed that a considerableamount of rock had been piled against the outside of the east wall tohold it in position. The west and north walls, however, were notthus protected, being kept in place by earth. The method of sup-port for the south wall could not be ascertained. The mound hadnot extended more than a foot above the highest stone of the vault.No material was found in this mound except a few potsherds and asmall piece of skull in the disturbed earth.EXPLORATIONS ABOUT THE MOUTH OF OSAGE RIVERThe Ewing Mounds (6)On the farm of Mr. Paul G. Ewing, a mile and a half west of OsageCity, seven mounds stood along the brow of a hill facing Roisdencreek, which flows at the foot of tlie western slope. All these moundshad been reduced by cultivation.MOUND NO. 1Mound no. 1, that situated farthest south, was 34 feet across and3 feet high. A fot)t below the top and 2 feet south of the centerwere three limestone slabs covering an area of a square foot; nothingwas found under them. On the same level, at the center, lay adecayed skull, the teeth of which were much worn; mingled with thefragments of this skull were the point of a bone awl, a small finelywrought flint drill, three small fragments of , flint, and a rude hammerstone ; no other bones were with or near the skull. A foot below th^.level just mentioned were the feet bones belonging to another body,which had been interred with the head toward the east. In the same
KOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 13plane with these bones, lying 3 feet farther north, was a single frag-ment of a ] ong bone. MOUND NO. 2Mound no. 2, measuring 40 feet in diameter and 3 feet in height,stood 70 feet north of mound no. 1. A space 12 by 20 feet wascleared out around the center. A foot above the bottom, 6 feetsouthwest of the center, lay a skull. On the same level, a foot farthernorth, another skull was unearthed, while a foot higher, 4 feet west ofthe first, a third one came to light. To the north and west of thesecrania lay other bones. All were so soft as to be less coherent thanthe earth in which they were embedded; often only the color, or ash-like patches, remained. At the center a skull was found, and a footto the south of it another one, both on the bottom. Accompanyingthe cranium last referred to was the crown of a molar, having cuspsnot at all worn; this was the only tooth found in the mound.MOUND NO. 3Mound no. 3, situated SO feet north of no. 2, was 40 by 45 feet and5 feet high. Eight feet south of the center and 1^ feet above the bot-tom a number of snaall flat rocks, laid in the same manner as a pave-ment, covered a space 1 by 2 feet. Beneath these, grayish-coloredearth indicated a burial, probably that of an infant. Nothing elseworthy of mention was found in the mound.MOUND NO. 4Mound no. 4, which stood 70 feet from no. 3, was 25 feet in diam-eter and 2 feet in height. A number of small flat rocks, which hadbeen plowed up, lay on top. On the bottom lay an extendedadult skeleton 5 feet 8 inches long, with the head toward the north;the feet lay just east of the center. The bones of this skeleton wereso soft that they adhered to the earth when it w^as removed; all theteeth had disappeared. A foot above the bottom, beginning at thecenter and extending east and south, w^as a layer of limestone slabsoccupying a space 18 by 60 inches; nothing was found under them.MOUND NO. 5Mound no. 5, 200 feet north of no. 4, measured 25 feet indiametert)y 2 feet in height. From 6 to 8 feet south of the center, on theoriginal surface, was a layer of stone slabs extending north of east bysouth of west 2 J by 5 feet (pi. 2). These formed the cover of a gravefrom 16 to 20 inches deep, in wdiich were remains of either one ortwo infants, including part of a jaw in which the teeth had not comethrough the bone.
14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Parallel to these slabs, and on the same level, 2 feet farther north,lay on its back at full length an adult skeleton, with the head towardthe east. About the center of the mound, a foot below the presenttop, were a number of stone slabs covering an area 1^ by 4 feet; noremains of any kind were found under them.MOUND NO. 6Mound no. 6 stood 175 feet northwest of no. 5. It measured45 by 50 feet, the longest diameter extending from southeast tonorthwest, and 6 feet in height. A trench 16 feet wide was startedsouthwest of the center. Stones were soon encountered, extend-ing from the bottom to within a foot of the top. At first view theseseemed to be piled at random, as part of the mound, but when allthe earth above and around them had been removed, they werefound to cover a space approximately rectangular, 17 feet north andsouth by 18^ feet east and west, measured on the diameters. Theeast margin was irregular, while the three other sides were nearlystraight (curved slightly outward) and the corners rounded.About the center and toward the south margin were areas freefrom stones. The removal of the deposited earth from the first ofthese areas disclosed the interior of a vault or chamber made of slabsroughly laid up, as in a foundation or cellar wall, the bottom layerresting on the natural surface. The interior of this vault measured7^ feet east and west by 4^ feet north and south. The walls were astrue and the corners as square as they could be made with undressedstones. The west, north, and east faces measured from 2^ to 3 feetin height. The south face was much lower, being nowhere more thana foot high, in places consisting of only two layers of stone. Thel)rea(lth of the wall on top was fairly uniform all around, varying butslightly either way from 2 feet.The open space on the south side measured 1 1 feet in length by 2^feet in width; it was inclosed by a row of flat stones, which cir-cumscribed the main vault and were in contact with its walls on thewest, north, and east sides. The width of this border was from 2 to 3feet, being greatest on the north; in some places only one stone waslaid, in other places as many as four stones, one on another, butnowhere to a depth of more than S or 9 inches, on a foundation ofbanked earth 18 inches high.At the middle of the vault was a single row of stones extending 3feet east and west by 1 ^ feet north and south ; between these and thenorth side were a few others which had been either loosely thrown inor had fallen from the wall. All these stones, except the ones lyingfarthest toward the east, rested on a mass of burned earth a foot thickwhich extended to the west end of the vault; the condition of thisdeposit was not due to a fire made here, the earth having been

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 2
. l^-
.?l^ 5 -*v'^f">r
>^
i. STONE GRAVE COVER IN MOUND NO. 5
VAULT IN MOUND NO. 6, LOOKING NORTHFEATURES OF EWING MOUNDS NOS. 5 AND 6
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 15brought in from the outside. Beneath this burned layer wereremains of a closely folded skeleton; the tibiae lay against the northwall, while the feet lay toward the east and the head toward thesouthwest. East of these bones, at the same level, were smallfragments of skull. Along the south wall, beyond the limits of Iheburned earth, a body or skeleton, evidently that of a child, or at leastof a young person, had been placed, with the head toward the westand the other bones, even those of the feet, almost in contact with it
;
the skull was quite thin. East of the skull were found other bones,but whether these belonged to the above or to some other humanskeleton is uncertain, as only small fragments of any of them re-mained.On the original surface three or more bodies, extended, had beencovered with a foot of earth, upon which in turn at least two othershad been placed and similarly covered. One skeleton of each buriallay so close to the north wall that fragments of bone were forced intothe crevices. The only evidences of these interments were a numberof fragments of long bones.In the northeast corner, under the edge of the wall, was a clavicle,one end of which had decayed and disappeared; this, no doubt, wasan accidental deposit, as its position indicated that it did not belongwith any other bones discovered.In line with the outer face of the supplementary wall along thesouth side of the vault, midway between its ends, and a foot lowerthan the bottom rock, a skull lay in close contact with a thick flatstone ; the vertex was turned toward the south, both maxillaries wereabsent, and no other bone was foimd near it except a single humerus,which lay on the other side of the stone and ol)viously liad no con-nection with the cranium.South of this skull, entirely outside of the inclosure, were a largeslab and two small ones, evidently intentionally placed, but nothingremained to indicate their purpose.Under the southeast corner of the stone wall circumscribing thevault lay a crushed skull, on the lower part of the face of whichrested a thick rock. The teeth werp sound, but much worn. Fromthe position and condition of bones near by, it was inferred that onlypart of a skeleton had been interred here.All bones of adults discovered indicated persons of medium size.The interior faces of the vault were held in place by from two tofour stones set at each corner, as if for markers, the interveningspaces being filled with stones laid up in a rough wall; these in turnwere held up by earth piled against them. A clear idea of both theinterior and the exterior arrangement of the vault may be had fi-omplates 2 and 3. On the completion of the funeral ceremonies, thevault was filled with earth, on which stones were piled, the whole
16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull.:}?then being covered with earth to form the mound. No doorway orother opening, as found in vaults excavated later, existed in thisinstance, but the south wall was very low and probably the entireend was left open until the burials had been made.MOUND NO. 7Mound no. 7 stood at the end of the ridge, 85 feet north of no. 6;it was 22 by 30 feet, with the longer axis from north to south, and 4feet high. The presence of many stones scattered over its surfaceindicated an interior construction similar to that just described.Within this mound undisturbed stones covered an area 14 feetnorth and south by 14^ feet east and west. A central inclosure 6 feetnorth and south by 9 feet east and west, in which no stones occurred,proved to be the vault. In this vault, a foot below the top of themound, was a skull; nearly a foot lower, two skeletons, extended,with the heads toward the east, were uncovered, while at variouspoints from 6 to 10 inches apart vertically, extending to the bottom,were fragments of nine more skulls and of many other bones. Solarge a proportion of the remains had entirely disappeared, and all thebones found were so decayed, that it was impossible to segregate thevarious parts of any particular skeleton or to determine whethercertain bones belonged to one skeleton or to several. Each pile mayhave contained remains of more than one person. At one point, inthe fourth layer from the top and a foot above the bottom, was theskeleton of a child of about 6 years of age, having the skull muchdecayed and most of the other bones missing; at' the neck were elevenbeads, drilled lengthwise, made from the columella of a large sea-shell, ranging from slightly less than an inch to nearly an inch and ahalf in length. In five different places were small fragments of par-tially cremated human bones, including all parts of the frame. Theremains of one infant had been cremated, the residue being laidtogether in a little pile; the deposit was about the color of woodashes, as were a few of the other remains, but most of them resembledcharcoal.One of these deposits was of special interest because of an apparentattempt to i)lace the partially incinerated fragments in their properrelative positions on and in contact with another body, or perhaps askeleton in wliich the cartilages still held the frame firmly togetherat the time of interment. The skeleton lay at full length, on the nat-ural surface, with the head toward the east. Fragments of the twocrania were intermingled, as were other bones, down to and includingthose of the feet. The bones of one foot (except the toes) and a por-tion of the lower leg of the partially cremated skeleton, thoughburned black entirely through, were found in nearly their naturalorder, as if the flesh had baked or hardened in the fire sufficiently to

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 3
IN MOUND NO. 6, LOOKING SOUTHWEST
IN MOUND NO. 7, LOOKING NORTHEASTVAULTS IN EWING MOUNDS NOS. 6 AND 7
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 17hold tliein together until they were laid on the corpse (or skeleton)previously placed on the ground.It appears, then, from the foregoing that at this stage of the exca-vation the fragments of separate skulls brought to light gave evi-dence of not fewer than seventeen burials, including the crematedremains, and there may have been a greater number.On the north side the bones extended beneath some large stones;the latter may have fallen from the top of the wall, as may otherstones at the east and west ends.When fully cleared out, the vault measured at the bottom 8^ feeteast and west by 7 feet north and south. The highest point of thewall, at the southwest corner, was 4 feet above the bottom of thelowest stone; the lowest point was on the west side, where the wallwas only 18 inches high.In the south wall was a doorway, shown on the right (pi. 3),31 inches wide at the top and 15 inches widp where the sides mostnearly approached each other, these dimensions affording evidencethat the vault had been completed first and the bodies or bones car-ried in, rather than that the inclosure had been built up around theremains. Further proof of this fact is furnished by the discovery,not only here but in other vaults, of fragments of bones crowded intocrevices by the settling of earth which lay over and around them.Two skulls, one having teeth not at all worn, the other havingsome teeth worn down nearly to the roots, lay on the bottom closeto the north wall. Near the center of the vault, in a small depression6 inches deep, were pieces of another skull. Across the east end, reach-ing to the wall on each side and separated by a space of 22 inches,were placed two large slabs on the south and three on the north, laidone on another, as seen in plate 3. Between these and the eastwall was a space 6^ feet north and south by 10 inches east and west.Occupying part of the space in the opening between these slabs and})art of that in the chamber behind them, was found a shallow holecontaining the remains of an infant only a few months old.Unlike that in no. 6, the vault wall in no. 7, from top to bottom,consisted of a single thickness of stones held in place by earth piledagainst the outside during the building. There were some stones inthis earth, but these had been thrown in at random as a part of thesupporting material, not laid up separately. Rocks were not to behad near at hand, and the workmen probably tired of carrying themfrom the adjacent ravine. In a few places the wall did not reachdown to the natural surface, but rested upon deposited earth, asmay be observed in the case of the large stone on the far side of thedoorway, in the illustration. This was especially noticeable at the5780?Bull. 37?10 2
18 BUFEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37
northeast corner, where there was at least a foot of dumped earthbelow the bottom stones. In this earth were found several scatteredfragments of a skull, a clavicle, an upper rib, and part of a jaw?allof which were more solid and strong than those buried within thevault, perhaps from being better protected. Under a stone atanother point lay the broken lower jaw of an adult, with no otherbone near it. In close proximity to the fragments first men-tioned, extending under the wall from its inner to its outer face,were unearthed a humerus, fragments of a hip bone, a vertebra, ribs,and a scapula, all lying as if thrown in at one time with a load ofearth. Clearly these last three deposits were gathered up with earth,possibly from shallow graves, and dumped in promiscuously.Outside of the vault, lying close to the wall at the northeast corner,were two small pieces of skulls, one of an adult, the other of a child.
North of Mr. Swing's house, on the edge of a bluff rising abruptlyfrom the Missouri river, were 6 mounds, all in the primitive forest.Four were opened. MOUND NO. 8The mound farthest west was not more than a foot high. A crushed,decayed skull lay 4 feet north of the center, with a few fragmentsof long bones (one a femur) 2 to 3 feet north and northwest of it.There were no traces of other bones. A few potsherds and flintchips lay loose in the earth, some of them on the original surface.MOUND NO. 9The third mound in this series, 200 yards northeast of the first, was35 feet in diameter and 3 feet in height. At the center was a gravedug a few inches into the subsoil, in which lay the remains of twobodies, extended in the same direction, with the heads toward theeast. Only the skulls and leg bones were left, and these were verysoft and fragmentary. The teeth of one skull were much moreworn than those of the other. Nothing was found with them, andthere were no other remains in the structure.MOUND NO. 10The fourth mound, 65 feet northeast of the third, measured 40 feetin diameter and 5 feet in height. A space 22 feet wide was clearedout around the center. A foot below the apex were portions of afemur and a tibia, probably intrusive; near the center, at the bot-tom, a portion of a skull was discovered, lying on the left side, facingwest. Nothing else was found in this mound.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 19MOUND NO. 11The last mound of this group was 200 yards east of the fourth.It measured 30 feet in diameter and 3 feet in height. The presenceof fragments of bones at the bottom indicated that two bodies hadbeen placed on the natural surface and the mound erected over them.One of the two remaining mounds had been thoroughly ransacked.The other, which is 7 feet in altitude and slightly more than 50 feetacross at the base, being very symmetrical and commanding anextensive view up and down the river and over several counties,was left intact in compliance with Mr. Ewing's wish.In all these mounds were found various objects, as flint chips,potsherds, and hammer stones, thrown in with the earth and havingno special significance.The Dallmeyer Mound (7)On a farm owned by Mr. W. A. Dallmeyer, situated betweenRoisden and Moreau creeks, 5 miles east of Jefferson City, are 20mounds, which vary greatly in size, the smallest being not more thana foot high; the dimensions of the largest are given below. Five ofthese mounds cap a bluflf rising steeply from the Missouri; 15 arein a line along the crest of a higher ridge about 200 yards from theriver. Only the largest structure in the latter group was explored.This extended 72 feet east and west by 40 feet north and south,with a height of 5 feet. Originally the top rose in two points orpeaks, as if tw^o mounds had been started so near together that theyoverhipped in the course of building; but it had been reduced bycultivation until at the time of excavation, viewed from either end,it presented the ordinary "conical" or dome shape, while from thesides the top appeared level to the end slopes.The middle of the mound was cleared out by means of a trench20 feet wide and 50 feet long, dug to the subsoil.Midway between the ends were two graves, extending east andwest, al)out 2^ feet apart. Measured from the original surface level,the one on the south was 4^ feet long, 18 to 24 inches wide, and 16inches deep; in outline it much resembled a moccasin. Along thenorth side of the depression lay an extended human skeleton havingthe head toward the east. Only portions of the skull and of the longbones remained ; these were very soft. The cusps of two molars w^erenot worn in the least, and the other teeth only slightly so. Thepresence of fragments of skulls and a few teeth on the south side ofthe grave showed that it had contained a second body. At the south-east corner or curve were one sandstone block and two chert blocks,the largest about 25 pounds in weight, laid in contact, and at thesouth end was a rough piece of chert w^eighing about 15 pounds; aUthese were on the north edge of the bank.
20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37The north grave, extending east and west, was 7 feet 5 inches long,3 feet 7 inches wide, and 5 feet 6 inches deep. Here the aborigineshad to dig through nearly 5 feet of tough clay, which must beloosened with a pick before a shovel can be forced into it; possiblythey worked only when the ground was wet. The sides and bottom ofthe grave were rough and lumpy, and it had evidently been excavatedwith pointed implements of small size, as bone, antler, or sharpenedsticks hardened by heating, used as picks, prods, and levers, themarks of such tools showing in the hard earth.On the bottom lay extended, on its back, with the head towardthe east, a skeleton 5 feet 9 inches long. No ribs or phalanges andonly two or three cervical vertebrse remained; the skull was softand crushed, as were the fragments of long bones remaining. Theteeth were not much worn. Near the top of the head was a musselshell, which crumbled when touched; at the neck were nine diskshell beads, with fragments of others and of mussel shell. Oppositethe center of the grave, against the north wall, were teeth of a childnot more than 2 or 3 years old.Twenty inches above the graves (placed there w^hen the mound hadreached that height) were the skull and large bones of an adult, care-fully piled in as small a space as they could be made to occupy. Theskull and the lower jaw lay in diagonally opposite corners of the pile.On the natural surface, 20 feet from the foot of the west slope,was a thick block of limestone, weighing perhaps 150 pounds, withthree smaller rocks lying against it ; but there was nothing to indicatetheir purpose. Loose in the earth were a rough hammer stone anda few flint chips. There was nothing else in the structure?no evi-dence of two centers, or of more than one period of construction.Numerous other mounds lie along the river bluffs on both sides ofMoreau creek, and also near the mouth of Osage river. Results inthis vicinity had been so discouraging that none of these were opened.MOUNDS IN THE VICINITY OF HARTSBURG, BOONECOUNTYThe Shaw Mounds (8)A mile southeast of Hartsburg, on the farm of Mr. James Shaw,a spur from the table-land, projecting toward the south, practicallylevel along the top and sloping abruptly on each side, expands towardits outer extremity to a width of about 750 feet. This spur ends ina rugged descent to a precipice facing the ^lissouri River bottoms.Extending in a line nearly east and west across the end of the spur,the outer margins reaching down on the slope above the bluff, were8 mounds. Five stood near together at the western terminus of thenearly level area. Three of these were never more than 2 feet high;
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 21the other two were 3 and 4 feet high, with diameters of 35 and 30 feet,respectively. The distance from the easternmost to the hirgest two oftlie group was 300 feet. Two hundred feet still farther east was thelast mound, lying below the beginning of the eastern slope.All the mounds were composed mostly of clay, which is exceedinglyhard to remove even with a pick; in places there was sand or softerearth. As in all mounds opened in this vicinity, the center was notthe focal point. The pottery was in small pieces; bones were softand more or less decayed, not one being entire. Various stone arti-cles, some only partially wrought into form, others much worn byuse, were found scattered in the earth; among these were arrow-heads, pieces of hematite, rubbing stones, polishing stones, knives,and spearheads. MOUND NO. 1The most western mound of the group was nearly effaced. Thecentral portion was cleared out to the extent of an area 8 feet across,to undisturbed subsoil; no trace of a burial was found. On whatseemed to be the natural surface were a flint knife or spearhead anda broken pitted stone. MOUND NO. 2In the next mound, a circular area 16 feet in diameter was clearedout. At the center, 18 inches above the bottom, were fragmentarybones of an adult skeleton, lying extended with the head toward thewest. The skull was fully one-fourth of an inch thick; no teeth ac-companied it. Parts of two smaller femora were with these bones,above which a number of small flat stones was placed, but not insuch manner as to cover them all.Nothing else was found in the body of the structure. Beneath itwere two graves. One, 5 feet west of the center, measured 5 by 3feet; it was not regular in outline, being longest approximately fromnorth to south, and somewhat more than a foot deep. The filledearth was extremely hard and tough, almost of the consistency ofwax. A pot of about half a gallon capacity had stood upright at thesouth end, but was crushed by pressure. It was of a pattern notfound elsewhere during these explorations, having a cylindrical neck,round body, and flat base. The neck and bottom were punctate,and the sides were decorated with indented curved lines. Clearly,this vessel was not made by the artisans to whom may be attributedother mound specimens figured in this report." The decoration some-
o It is the opinion of Mr. AV. H. Holmes that this vessel is intrasive in this region or with the tribes repre-sented in the sites examined, and that it came t)y exchange from the triljes of eastern or southeastern Mis-souri, or was the work of some member of those tribes dwelling among the more primitive peoples farthernorth and west. It is especially noteworthy that the pottery represented in the collection, with the excep-tion of the vessel here referred to, is exclusively culinary, consisting of rude globular-bodied pots generallyshowing marks of use over fire, and decorated with symbolic incised or indented designs. The principalmotive consists of a series of broken zigzag lines or meanders, bordered by dotted indentations, doubtlesssymbolizing some animal form having a superstitious relation to the use of the vessel.
22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37what resembles that of pottery in Saline county (see fig. 19), but theform differs from any yet found there. Nothing else was found inthis grave.The second grave, halfway between the center and the northernmargin, was rectangular in shape, 7 feet 6 inches long east and west,3 feet 4 inches wide, extending 21 inches into the subsoil, or about 30inches below the natural surface. On the bottom lay on its back anextended skeleton, with the head toward the west. Only portionsof bones w^ere left, but enough to determine that the body was lessthan 6 feet in length. One foot from the left side of the head, towardthe north, was a pot with a flaring top and globular bottom, holdingabout a pint. Being poorly burned, it crumbled wdien exposed.Near the pot was the front part of a lower jaw, the ramus on each sidepurposely having been broken away. Five molars remained, thesixth having disappeared with the missing bone. All the other teethhad fallen out or had been extracted either after death or shortlybefore, as there was no evidence of growth or closure of the bone, andthe sockets were filled with earth. About the pelvis w^ere part ofanother jaw, a vertebra, and a bone from the foot, lying as if thrownon the body either intentionally or with a load of earth. There wereindications, though not conclusive, that the graves were filled andsmall mounds made over them separately, and the larger mound sub-sequently built above both of these.MOUND NO. 3In the third mound a few fragments of human bones lay loose inthe earth here and there; all these were accidental. Around the cen-ter, 18 inches above the bottom, was a mixed mass of ashes andburned earth, extremely hard, scraped together elsewhere and thrownhere. It covered a space about 4 by 5 feet, and was a foot deep atthe maximum. All through this layer, especially in the east half,were small cindery fragments of human bones, wdiich must have beensubjected to great heat for a considerable length of time after theflesh had disappeared, to be so thoroughly charred and reduced to sosmall pieces.On the same level, 3 feet south of these fragments, were bunchedbones; and on the red clay subsoil one to two feet southeast of thelatter lay other bones, indicating a folded body or skeleton. Four feeteast of the center, at the bottom, was most of the upper part of a skullwith no other remains near by. None of these bones were burned.Midway between the center and the south margin was a grave 7 feetby 3 feet 8 inches, having the greatest length east and west, and 20inches deep, reaching well into the hard subsoil. On the bottom laytwo extended skeletons, with the heads toward the west. Therewere several inches of clear space between the bones and each end of
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 23the grave. With the femora of the two skeletons was part of a smallerone. By the right humerus of the skeleton toward the south lay an-other humerus, likewise smaller, and by its chin, a patella. Theseadditional bones had not been thrown in with the surrounding earth,but had been laid with care where found. The skull toward the southlay on its left side. The other, near the north side of the grave pit,rested on the vertex, which was crushed in; the lower jaw, inverted,lay on the right shoulder, w^ith the chin turned toward the breast. Afew of the bones held their form, but went to pieces when the sup-porting earth was removed. For 2 feet from the east end of thegrave, scattered promiscuously through the earth, were dismemberedbones, all small or medium in size, of two or more persons. Amongthese, the entire frame was represented; there were 3 humeri, andparts of at least 2 skulls. When put here some of these bones werewhole, others in fragments; they lay in all directions and at all an-gles. Evidently an old grave, or graves, had been robbed to furnishpart of the material for filling this one.MOUND NO. 4Fully three-quarters of the fourth mound was barren of anythingworth noting. Between northwest and southwest from the centerwas a cartload of hard-burned earth, almost like brick, mixed w4thcharcoal and loose soil. In this was a little pile of partially crematedbones, in small pieces, of a child 3 or 4 years old. In another pilewere parts of a thick and a thin skull, a short piece of a femur of anadult, and the lower end of a humerus of a child 10 or 12 years old.Each pile occupied a space not more than a foot across, and a stoneweigliing 15 or 20 pounds lay at the edge of each. Pieces of a brokenpot were found loose in the earth.MOUND NO. 5In the fifth mound, a flint scraper and a small flint digging tool,highly polished, lay loose in the earth. A foot west of the center wasthe end of a grave, irregular in shape, which extended 3 feet east andwest, 2 feet across, and a foot into the subsoil. This contained a fewscraps of bone, among which were teeth not at all worn.MOUND NO. 6In the sixth mound much of the earth in the upper part was softand could be shoveled like sand, but elsewhere, particularly in thelower part, it was exceedingly hard.About the central part, a foot below the top, were fragments ofburned femora; on the original surface lay a small pot broken intoHttle pieces. Just south of the center a few detached bones were
24 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL, n?found near the bottom, imong them the left half of a cranium.These were thrown in loosely with the earth covering a skeleton,which lay extended, with the head toward the west, the remainingportion of the skull lying over the pelvis. The body rested on the claysubsoil, but no definite outline of a grave could be distinguished. Aside-notched hoe, or hatchet (fig. 4), 5^ inches long, was found loosein the earth near the head.Northeast of the center, on the bottom, lay a small rough pot,having a row of little points or bosses encircling the rim, and corre-sponding depressions on the inside (fig. 5). Three feet north of thecenter was the edge of a rectangular grave, approximately 7 feet long,3J feet wide, and 18 inches deep, the longest dimension being nearlynorthwest and south-east. On the bottomwere two extendedskeletons, with theheads toward thenorthwest; only por-tions of bones werefound. The teeth ofone skull had entirelydisappeared ; a fewmuch worn, accompa-nied the other. Be-tween the two skullswere the pieces of athick pot of not more than half a pint capacity, which had lain onits side. Around the upper part was a row of small circular indenta-tions made by pressure with the end of a stick or reed.MOUND NO. 7The seventh mound was the largest of the Shaw group, measuring55 feet nearly east and west by 45 feet across, and 5 feet above thehighest point at its edge. The apex, which is here regarded as at thecenter, was several feet northwest of the middle point within the mar-gin. The base of this mound and that of the last preceding oneoverlapped somewhat.An excavation 30 feet long and 20 feet wide was made to conformwith the outline of the structure.Four feet southeast of the center, 3 feet above the bottom, werefour skulls in contact; with them were two bowl-shaped pots, one ofabout a gallon, the other of less than a pint, capacity. The teeth inall the skulls indicated adult age, one set being worn nearly to theroots. One lower jaw, with its normal complement of teeth in place,
Fig. 4. Flint digging-tool from Shaw mound no. 6.
fowke] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 25had another set embedded in the bone. The effect of wear on thecrowns was very unequal.Above the skulls was a mass of earth a foot thick, filled with boneslying in all positions, which apparently had been gathered up inbaskets and thrown here at random. Among them were bones andteeth of a child 3 or 4 years old.Above this deposit was a foot of earth free from remains, and abovethis, again, a wagon load or more of earth, some portions of whichshowed no marks of heat, while other portions were burned to abrick-like hardness. This deposit covered a space 5 or 6 feet indiameter; it had no connection with the bones or with any otherdeposit, having been put in as a part of the structure. The earth hadnot packed firmly, coming out under the pick in large clods.At the center, 2 J feet above the bottom, were three skulls closetogether. The teeth indicated various ages, some being much worn,others only slightly worn; one wis-dom tooth was not cut. There werealso teeth of a cliild 7 or 8 yearsold, and of a very young infant.Under one of the skulls lay a pot,and fragments of a pot were nearanother skull. All about these skulls,though mostly toward the south andwest, lay a mass of detached bones,seemingly thrown in with the earth,which covered a space 6 feet in di-ameter. At one place femora layparallel, as if a body had been depos-ited there ; and at another point a femur, a tibia, and part of a pelviswere in the proper positions ; there were no other indications of ceremo-nies except those pertaining to loose-bone burial. No estimate couldbe made of the number of bodies represented, but there were certainlynot fewer than twenty. Near the center, among the bones, were twopots in addition to those already mentioned.East of the center, on different levels, and 2 feet apart, were partof a lower jaw in which the wisdom tooth was not through the bone,and a small piece of a thin skull. Similar finds were made in severalother parts of the mound.Southwest of the center a grave had been dug, not penetratingthe subsoil at one end but sunk into it 5 or 6 inches at the other end,to make the bottom level. In this grave w^ere traces of two skele-tons of medium length, having small bones, lying with the headstoward the northwest. At the foot of the grave were much-wornteeth; a little higher was part of a jaw with the last molar not at all
Fig. 5. Pot from Shaw mound no. 6.
26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37
worn. Of the skulls, only part of the top of one and part of theorbit of the other remained; but these were solid and strong, thelatter especially so, having a smooth polished appearance as if it hadbeen much handled.Near the center, just above the bottom, lay loose in the earth alower jaw of a young person, well polished. It is not unusual tofind bones, especially skulls, which seem to have been long preservedand much worn by rubbing or carrying around. Three or 4 feetfrom the jaw was the right half of a frontal bone, with the orbit, ofa young infant. MOUND NO. 8The eighth mound was almost effaced. On the ground were a pieceof a tibia and a broken columella. No grave could be found.The Dawson Mounds (9)On the farm of Mr. A. E. Dawson, a mile west of Hartsburg, were 15mounds. Two of these, situated on a high point from which theground slopes in every direction, have been much ravaged and werenot examined. The others ranged in close order along the windingcrest of a narrow ridge or spur, whose general trend is from northwestto southeast; this slopes gently on one side toward Bonne Femmecreek, and more steeply on the other to the Missouri River bottomland. On the latter side, toward the foot, are bluffs which forbidascent except at two points, where ravines are eroded. The longeraxis of those mounds, which had an elliptical outline, followed thedirection of the ridge at the points where they were located. In eachmound opened every part was excavated except a narrow strip aroundthe margin. MOUND NO. 1This mound was the farthest from the end of the ridge; it measured70 feet in length northwest and southeast, 35 feet in width, and 3Jfeet in height.At a distance of 12 feet west of the center w^as a pavement of lime-stone slabs, 13 in number, covering a space 26 by 40 inches, thegreater dimension being exactly in line with the major axis of themound. Most of the slabs were broken by the weight of earth restingon them. Apparently they had been supported by some perishablematerial whose decay allowed them to settle unevenly into a smallpit, dug to a depth of 8 inches in the soil, in which lay on its back,with the head toward the southeast, a closely folded skeleton; theknees were brought up to the chest, the feet were in contact with thehips, and the face was turned to the left. The joints in the sacrumwere closed solid and the teeth were much worn. The lumbar verte-brae and some of the cervical vertebrae were still firm enough to be
fowke] antiquities OF MISSOURI 27lifted from the earth ; most of the others had completely disappeared.Portions of only two or three ribs could be found. Near the skullwere a few flint chips. A fine quartzite muller, and part of another,lying on the natural surface a foot to the west of the stones, wereprobably accidental.From 2 to 4 feet north and east of the center, piled on the surfaceover an area 18 by 36 inches, lay bones in the utmost confusion; theseincluded parts of skeletons of five adults and three children, one of thelatter an infant. MOUND NO. 2This was 125 feet southeast of mound no. 1 ; it was 60 feet long,20 feet wide, and IS inches high. No sign of a grave or trace of boneswas found in it. MOUND NO. 3This was 117 feet east of south from mound no. 2; it measured 75by 35 feet and 3^ feet high. From 7 to 9 feet northeast of the centerwas a grave cover of six slabs, occupying a space 20 by 42 inches,the latter representing the distance north and south. The grave wasdug a few inches into the subsoil and at the bottom measured 3 feet6 inches by 2 feet; the rocks did not cover it entirely at either end oron the west side. In this grave a closely folded body had been laid,on its left side, w^ith the head toward the south; the face was turnedso that the chin was brought upward and toward the rear in a positionit could not have assumed, in a person of normal build, by any degreeof displacement possible after burial. The spine was curved andtwisted and the upper end lay under the skull. Clearly, the individualwas badly deformed. The bones were too soft to be properly uncov-ered for photographing. The teeth, though large, were but slightlyworn. A small rock lay on the south end of the grave, its edge almosttouching the skull.Another grave lay south of the one last mentioned, east of the center,the nearest stones of the two graves being 17 inches apart. This wascovered with four slabs extending 4 feet north and south and 2 feet6 inches east and west. Under these lay a skeleton, on its back, withthe head toward the south; the legs were drawn up so that the feetrested against the body and had settled over to the left. Of the spinalcolumn only three lumbar vertebrse remained; the femur was 16^inches long; the teeth w^ere very little worn.Eleven feet south of east from the center, less than a foot below thetop, were four slabs covering a space 1 by 2 feet. These were inclinedtoward the east at an angle of 45? ; no remains of any sort were foundunder them. Ten feet south of the center, just below the sod, werenine small stones irregularly laid, occupying a space 2 feet east andwest by 20 inches north and south. Nothing was found under them.
28 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 37Seven feet farther south were fragments of long bones, close to thetop, which evidently had been disturbed by the plow, as they lay inall directions. Beneath these was a sacrum, other vertebrtB extendingsouthward therefrom. Vertebrae are usually the first bones to decay.The body had been laid on its left side, with the head toward thesouth; no trace of cranium or scapula was left. Close by were smallfragments of pottery.At the bottom of the structure, 20 feet south of the center, was ahematite nodule which had been rubbed to procure paint material.MOUND NO. 4This was 110 feet south from no. 3. It was 65 by 35 feet, thelongest diameter running north and south, and 4 feet high.Sixteen feet northwest of the center, just below the original sur-face, were five teeth of an adult and eight of a child, with a piece ofseashell and a scrap of bone too small to identify. Eight feetnorth of the center, 6 inches below present top, were portions of skulland arm bones. Five feet west of north from the center, in a holedug to the subsoil, lay a skull on its right side, the top to the south,with the left side crushed in. The cranium was of low type?theforehead flat and receding, the jaws extremely prognathous, thefacial angle and cephalic index very small.South of this skull, with 6 inches of earth intervening, were partsof skulls and arm bones of two children, one of them not more than2 years old, and part of the skull of an adult. Teeth of all threewere present. Seven feet west of the center, 20 inches above thebottom, were leg bones, in slivers, and pieces of teeth, of an adult.Six feet south of the center, just below the sod line, five small stonescovered a space a foot in diameter. Under these were the bunched,much decayed, hip and leg bones of a small person. Twenty feetsouth of the center was the inner edge of a grave cover of nine stones(pi. 4) on a space 2 by 3 A feet, the greater dimension being east andwest. The inner ends of these had fallen from their original surfacelevel into a grave 18 inches deep, with slanting sides. In the bottomof the grave were a few very soft fragments of skull and long bones.Twenty-eight teeth were large, solid, well preserved, and but slightlyworn; two of the wisdom teeth were represented by the crowns onlyand the other two had not developed."MOUND NO. 5This was 130 feet east of south from no. 4. It Avas 78 feet long,extending nearly north and south, 34 feet wide, and 3 feet high.
o Contrary to current belief, it is very unusual to find a full set of sound teeth in an aboriginal grave,even in the case of a comparatively youthful person.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 29At the center, a few inches under the sod, were two small angularrocks, beneath which were fragmentary bones of an infant. A footfarther west, on the bottom, were portions of a child's skeleton, withthe head toward the east; the teeth were not worn in the least.Lying close to the sod, 6^ feet west of south from the center, wereeight rocks distributed over a space 22 by 46 inches, the latter rep-resenting the distance north and south. Beneath these lay on itsback the skeleton of an adult, with the head toward the south;the legs were flexed and lying to the right. A fracture of the skullabove the inner angle of the right eye, such as would be caused by ablow from a round stone or the blunt end of a tomahawk, was nodoubt the cause of death.Twelve feet south of the center, a foot above the bottom, was abroken pot with a square top, resembling that shown in figure 1,except that the bottom is somewhat pointed.Ten feet east of south from the center was a mixture of burnedearth and charcoal, fiUing a hole where a stump a foot in diameterhad burned. In the debris was a core of chert from which severalflakes had been struck off. On the natural surface, 21 feet south ofthe center, were fragments of teeth and bone from an individualwhose wisdom teeth had just been cut.MOUND NO. 6This mound was 115 feet east of south from no. 5. It measured75 feet long, north and south, and 40 feet wide; the height was 4|feet.Twenty-four feet west of north from the center, 30 inches abovethe natural surface, were fragments of arm bones, and of a skullthree-eighths of an inch thick. Four feet nearer the center, 18inches above the bottom, was the edge of a grave cover consisting of24 slabs and blocks covering a space 4 feet east and west by 3 feet 4inches north and south. Under this lay on its back the much-decayedskeleton of an adult of medium size, with the head to the south;the legs were flexed and lying over to the left. Only traces of bonesremained. The teeth were moderately worn.Thirteen feet west of the center, 18 inches above the bottom,traces of bones appeared, for the most part resembling ashes. Of theskull, which had belonged to an adult, only the top was left. By itsleft side was a bowl of soft-burned red pottery, much broken byearth pressure. Seven feet south of the center, 2 J feet above thebottom, were small, much decayed pieces of long bones.Eleven feet northeast of Jthe center, a foot above the bottom, was apile of bones consisting of two femora, three tibise, a patella, and onefibula. A femur and a tibia lay side by side, at the top of the pile,the knee ends together, with the patella in its proper place. The
30 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37knee of the other femur and the ankle of one tibia (the two beingcrossed hke a narrow X) lay under the hip and ankle joints of thefirst two. The third tibia was under the latter two bones; beneathit, in turn, parallel to those at the top, was the fibula; the lower endof this fibula, or, if not, the corresponding end of still another fibula,
. was broken off and lay under the uppermost femur.Tlie description of this interment, if it properly may be so called,is thus elaborated to give the reader a perception of the singularpractices of which the explorer is continually finding evidence. It isquite obvious that these bones were entirely denuded of flesh beforebeing deposited, and that the manner in which they were arrangedwas intentional and in accordance with some ceremony or beliefwhose significance must be altogether a matter of conjecture.A foot above the bottom, 7h feet west of the center, were teeth ofan infant and small shells, all very much decayed. Five feet northof the center, 3 feet above the bottom, were arm or leg bones, toofragmentary to uncover in position; 2 feet south of these, no doubtbelonging to the same skeleton, was a skull lying on its left side,with the face toward the west; the teeth were worn flat.On the bottom, 9 J feet west of the center, was a skull resting onits left side, with the top toward the south ; the bones belonging withit lay, bundled, toward the north, presenting every evidence ofskeleton burial, the vertebrjB being under the leg bones, which laycompactly together with the knee end of a tibia touching the headof a femur. The teeth were worn flat.Eight and a half feet west of the center was the north end of apavement of thirteen slabs, the largest in average size yet found,covering a space 3 feet 10 inches north and south by 2 feet east andwest. Under these slabs, on the natural surface, was the extendedskeleton of a woman, lying on its back, with the head to the south-east, the face being turned to the left. Lying at the vertex of theskull, as if worn in the hair, were many shell beads having theborder of the opening ground off. At the right side near the waistline were similar beads, and fragments of a skull which had belongedto an infant only a few months old. The few small pieces still remain-ing of the woman's right arm lay in a position indicating that it wasextended to hold or protect the body of the child; the left forearmlay across the waist. There were no stones over the feet, the rightknee, the infant's remains, or the part of the skeleton above a linerunning from the left shoulder to the right hip; but they extendedbeyond the body on the left.At the center, in a hole dug a foot into the subsoil, was an adultskull lying on its left side, facing southwest; in a compact bundle,lying against the face, were all the bones of two legs. South of these,extended in natural position, were bones of a small person; the feet
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 31were turned toward the west, and the skull, having; teeth muchworn, was in its proper place. Fragments of the pelvis were traced,but no additional bones of either skeleton remained.Two feet above the bottom, 5 feet southeast of the center, was apile of bones which included ribs, arms, legs, and skull of a child.The lower jaw lay teeth upward, with the chin against the back ofthe skull, which rested on its left side, with the face toward the east.Only a few of the second teeth were through the bone.On the bottom, 8 feet east of the center, was a decayed skull; notraces of bone were found near by.Nine feet southeast of the center, on the natural surface, were afew teeth not at all worn. Eleven feet south of west from the center,18 inches above the bottom, was a flat rock 12 by 18 inches. Underthis lay the fragments of an inverted pot, and close to it, but not underthe stone, was a "cocoanut pot"'^ of a pint and a half capacity.Twelve and a half feet east of the center was the end of a gravecover extending 6 feet toward the southeast; its width was 2 feet4 inches. This was composed of 17 large slabs, which had sunk inalong the middle line, as the result of the decay of supporting tim-bers. Under these were 5 other slabs or blocks of stone, one at thetop of the head, one against the right shoulder and the side of thehead, and the others by the side, of a skeleton which lay on its backon the natural surface, with the head toward the southeast. Theright hand was at the breast, the left hand on the neck; the legs wereslightly flexed and lying to the left. This skeleton was the largestand best preserved yet found; from crown to ankle, as nearly ascould be determined, it measured 5 feet 9 inches. The shouldersappeared to be of unusual breadth, but displacement preventedaccurate measurement. Between the right elbow and hip lay theshoulder blade of a deer and fragments of a thin, dressed boneapparently from the same animal. Most of the skull was crushedand decayed, though a portion of the front part, and the lower jaw,were fairly solid. In the upper jaw were 16 teeth, all sound except1 bicuspid; in the lower jaw, 15 of the regular set, besides 2 super-numeraries, one of which has its crown on the same level with theothers, the remaining one being embedded in the bone (see fig. 20).Fourteen feet south of the center were 42 stones, the bottom rockresting on the natural surface; these varied in weight from a poundto 50 pounds. They were rudely piled to a height of 18 inches overa space extending 4 feet 6 inches northeast and southwest with abreadth of 2 feet 6 inches; the pile may have been higher originally,as the upper stones had been disturbed by the plow. The interspaces
a By "cocoanut pot" is meant one having a pointed bottom, resembling In shape a cocoanut with oneend cut ofl. In some specimens the top Is more or less flaring. Many of the pots or vessels found in thisregion are of approximately the size above mentioned, and most of them, whatever the size, are of theshape described.
32 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37were closely packed with earth. Under the stones were a few frag-ments of a child's bones; not all the teeth were cut; about the headwere beads made of small sea-shells.In a few places in this mound, as in other mounds along the river,were dark lines or streaks resembhng old sod, indicating that thesemounds were built intermittently; certain burials were made, andafterward other interments were made above these. This feature isnot unusual, some tumuh containing evidence of several periods ofbuilding. MOUND NO. 7This mound was 133 feet southeast of no. 6.From the apex to the bottom of the slope measured 20 feet; theheight was 4j feet. Several large rocks were scattered over theslope.Seven feet west of south from the center, a foot above the originalsoil, were small leg bones; a foot nearer the center were larger ones.Five feet from the extremities of these, or about south of the center,were fragments of two skulls. The teeth of the one in line with thelarger bones were much worn, while those of the other were worn butslightly. In each skull at least one tooth was not worn at all, indi-cating early loss of the tooth opposite. Close to the smaller skullwas a small pot. Stones were found at various points near the topof the structure. Removal of all the earth over and about thesestones disclosed part of a vault, constructed by setting large flatrocks on end around three sides of a space nearly square, about 6 feeteach way, the southwest side, that toward the river, being left open.All except the southeast wall and a portion of the northeast wallhad been destroyed by relic hunters. The portion left is shown inplate 4. The southeast wall was braced at the bottom on theoutside by earth on which were placed flat stones, as seen in thefigure. Nine feet west of the center, a pavement of two large andtwo small slabs constituted the remaining bracers of tlie northwestwall. The vault seems to have been made for the two bodies men-tioned, as no other burials were found in it. Whether by accidentor design, the vault was not properly "centered," being situatedentirely in the southwest half of the mound, on the verge of thesteep slope, with the earth covering mostly to the northeast.When all the stones were removed and the earth was leveled, theeast corner of a grave was found 2 feet 8 inches south of the center.Tliis grave was somewhat irregular in outline, but rudely rectangularalong the top, measuring 6 feet 10 inches northwest and southeastby 3 feet 4 inches across. It had been dug through the surface earthand 16 inches into the hard sandy subsoil. The lower part wasmore regular in form than the upper, the sides and ends being nearly
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 4
STONE GRAVE COVER IN MOUND NO. 4
SOUTHEAST AND PART OF NORTHEAST WALL IN MOUND NO. 7, LOOKING EASTFEATURES OF DAWSON MOUNDS NOS. 4 AND 7

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 33
straight. Fragments of bone were found here and there on the bottom,but only a fragment of skull near the west end and two worn teeth nearthe center could be identified as human. Some of the bones seem to bethose of a deer; there was also a piece of turtle or terrapin shell.Beside the skull were fragments of a pot. The east end and cornerof this grave lay beneath the end of the wall; before being molestedthe vault had covered probably half of it.MOUND NO. 8This mound was 70 feet south of east from no. 7. It was 25 feetin diameter and 18 inches high.At the center was the east end of a grave dug into the hard sub-soil, in which was a decayed skull with a pot on each side. One ofthese pots, which stood upright, held its shape, although badly frac-tured; the other lay on its side, being crushed flat. In the bottomof the latter pot was carbonized matter, apparently vegetable, andthe tooth of a deer. The grave extended west about 6 feet; hereand there were traces of bone, including half the shaft of each femur.Southwest from the center 6 to 7 feet were fragments of bones, twoskulls being represented ; beside one of these were the small fragmentsof a pot.At the same distance to the east was the inner side of an area 3feet 4 inches north and south by 18 inches east and west, covered bysix stones; these were somewhat below the natural level and hadpartially settled into a grave dug into the subsoil. In this grave,with the head toward the south, lay the skeleton of an infant whosefirst teeth were not through, the bone and whose clavicle was only2{ inches long." MOUND NO. 9This mound was 50 feet approximately east from no. 8. It was35 by 45 feet, the longer axis extending south of east, and 3 feethigh; the natural slope had been much altered by cultivation.On the natural surface, 6 feet east of the center, was. a skeletonabout 5 feet 6 inches long, extended on its back, with the headtoward the south; on the left side of the skull was a pot, standingupright, but broken into several pieces by pressure. An entirepot, also upright, was found 7 feet west of north from the center,at the bottom.At several points projecting rocks, apparently belonging to segre-gated graves, were distributed over an area 30 feet east and west,
a In many cases bones of very young children are found in a much better state of preservation than thoseof adults. The skull of this mfant, though not thicker than ordinary blotting paper, and much fracturedand distorted by pressure of earth, was not crushed, and a larger proportion held together than is usualwith heavier bones. While the deficiency of lime accounts for the plasticity, it would seem that this mustresult in a more rapid dissolution and disappearance of the animal matter.5780?Bull. 37?10 3
34 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY |i;i-LL. 37
with a maximum breadth of 21 feet, reaching nearly to the east marginof the mound. When cleared off, these rocks were found to lieentirely to the west of the center, there being but few in the easternhalf, and those superficial. At the top the rocks were in the form of arough wall of irregular height, inclosing a space 9^ feet southeastby 7 feet northeast. The northeast wall was straight for 8 feet 9inches; the northwest wall for 4 feet 10 inches; the southeast wall for4 feet 9 inches; the two corners of these three walls were somewhatrounded. The southwest wall, 10 feet long, had a tolerably regu-lar outward curve. The above dimensions are all inside measure-ments; the corresponding outside measurements were: Northeastwall, 11 feet 6 inches; northwest wall, 6 feet 6 inches; southeast wall,7 feet 6 inches; southwest wall, 14 feet.The general appearance of this vault, on the outside, before thesupporting earth was removed,is well shown in plate 5, a.In clearing out the vault,fragments of human boneswere found scattered throughthe earth from top to bottom.There were parts of 12 skulls,and fragments of 5 pots, thelatter entire when placed herebut now much broken by pres-sure, besides numerous pot-sherds. Two of the pots, oneupright (fig. 6), one inverted,were near one skull. Besideone of the pots were part of ahuman ulna and three legbones of a panther. The vaultwas 2 feet 9 inches deep from the top of the highest stone to thebottom of the lowest stone. In the southwest wall was a space 24inches wide, filled with earth, in which no stones appeared exceptthree slabs along the outside, set up against the earth. This wasthe doorway or entrance to the vault, the stones in the wall at eachside of it being regularly laid up (pi. 5, h, c).Along the bottom, the inside of the vault was nearly rectangular,the walls being about as straight as they could be made with un-dressed stones. The length on the bottom from northwest to south-east was 8 feet 7 inches; the breadth 3 feet 11 inches. The northeastwall was composed mainly of seven slabs, inclined slightly from theperpendicular to rest against the supporting earth outside; thelargest slab was 36 by 19 inches; the longest, 41 by 16 inches. The
Fig. 6. Pot from Dawson mound no. 9.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 5
a EXTERIOR OF VAULT
b LOOKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS VAULT
C DOORWAY IN VAULTFEATURES OF DAWSON MOUND NO. 9

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 35distance between their extreme outer edges was 7 feet 10 inches.Four of these slabs may be seen in plate 6, which shows also theinside face of the northwest wall. The other sides were built up wallfashion, of smaller rocks, most of them lying flat, though some werefound slightly inclined on account of the unequal settling of theearth against which they rested.In this vault, as in all others investigated during the first summer,the walls leaned slightly outward, making the chamber wider at thetop than at the bottom, proving that, as each rock or row of rockswas placed, earth was piled against it. In fact, many stones musthave been held up until the supporting earth was packed underthem, since when it was removed nearly every one fell outward.This was especially true of the long slabs at the northeast, whichrested against a bank of earth containing only the single row of rocksalong the top. Yet the walls were so nearly vertical as to excludethe. idea that earth was piled up first and then stones laid. Thebuilding of both parts must of necessity have progressed concurrently.At the northwest end, on the bottom, were two rocks?a slab 12by 36 inches, and a block of about the same weight; these appearedto have fallen in from the top, though their position might havebeen the result of design. At the southeast end were three stones onthe bottom, reaching to each side wall. The clear space betweenthese stones was 6 feet 4 inches. When they were removed, thedistance along the floor of the vault between the end walls, withwhich they had lain in close contact, was 8 feet 7 inches.The northeast wall stood partly over a grave pit measuring 9 feetfrom northwest to southeast and 4 feet in width. The outer part ofthe northeast vault wall extended diagonally across it from theorth to the south corner. At the natural surface level, lying on theearth with which this grave had been filled, was a skeleton 5 feet 6inches long, extended on its back, with the head to the southeast.The teeth, though sound and strong, were considerably worn. Theearth which covered these bones was that which held in place theslabs of the northeast wall.The grave was shallow and dish-shaped. On the bottom lay anextended skeleton 5 feet 4 inches long, with the head to the southeast.The teeth were worn flat, and the skull, though well shaped, was small.MOUND NO. 10This mound, 50 feet east of no. 9, was 32 feet in diameter and notmore than a foot in height.Loose in the earth were a side-notched, very rough chert implement,evidently intended for a hoe, and a specimen which from its leaf-shaped form and its size would be classed at once as an ordinary
36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37knife, except for a considerable polish on its broader end, resultingfrom use as a digging tool.At the center was a grave of irregular outline, 4 feet from northwestto southeast, 2 feet across, and 2 feet deep. The earth in the gravewas extremely hard and tough. On the bottom lay a skeleton; thehead was at the northwest end, resting on the left side, with the faceturned toward the other end. Across the top of the skull lay part ofan arm bone; the pelvis was near the center; the legs were at thesouthern end, close together, but not in proper order, the knee endof one being at the hip end of the other, affording evidence of askeleton burial. The bottom of the grave was 12 or 14 inches wide.MOUND NO. 11This mound stood 56 feet southeast of no. 10. Its diameter atthe base was 50 feet, and its height from 6 to 9 feet, according to theside on wdiicli the measure was taken from the surrounding slope.On the surface lay a few stones, which had been plowed up in theonly attempt made to cultivate the mound.A grave a few inches beneath the summit contained an extendedskeleton, lying on its back, with the head to th? southeast. Thebody rested on flat rocks forming a pavement about 2 feet wide;other slabs were inclined outward around these, the outer edges,raised 6 or 8 inches, forming a shallow, basin-like grave. Timbershad been placed across this to support covering slabs which, whenunearthed, lay at various angles directly on the bones; these boneswere much broken and crushed and badly decayed, and the teethwere worn fiat. The entire space covered b}^ the stones, most ofwhich were large and thick, was 6^ feet southeast and northwest by5 feet in width. 'Beneath the northwest end of this grave, with several inches ofearth intervening, was a skidl, face up, the vertex being toward thenorthwest; the forehead and part of one side were burned, but otherparts showed no marks of heat. The teeth were moderately worn.Directly under the skull were a femur, tibia, and fibula, and at the wnistline several teeth, some worn to a considerable degree, some not atall worn, and one burned black. Southwest of the skull were otherbones in small fragments. Outside and below the level of the southcorner of the grave were fragments of a skull. This cranium, likethe one partially burned, lay about 18 inches below the top of themound. On the same level, a little south of the burned skull, werefragments of another, the outer plate burned black, the inner platebrowned. Just beneath the former was a pile of cremated bones,with pieces of three pots, all l3^ing in confusion. A foot southwest ofthese were fragments of another pot; a few inches north of this
fowke] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 37
Fig. 7. Pipe from Dawson mound no. 11.
was a clay pipe (fig. 7). Extending northwest from the three potswere burned bones whose position showed that an effort liad beenmade to place them in proper order; but various discrepancies, as apatella by the head of a femur, showed they were cremated elsewhereand brought here. The bones of the lower legs were less burned thanthe femora, and the lat-ter in turn less than theskull and upper parts;but the feet resembledcharcoal. These bonesand pots lay in a massof hard-burned, brick-like mixture of clay andsand ; the leg bones werepartly in this and partlybelow it in minglede a r t h , burned earth
,
charcoal, and ashes
?
additional evidence thatthe cremation had takenplace outside. The burned material extended beyond the remainson all sides. Clearly the earth on which the funeral pyre waserected, and perhaps more prepared for the purpose, had beengathered up and made into a sort of coffin and covering; the pots,possibly containing food, had been placed beside the fragments ofskulls. In one pot was thehead of an adult's femur.Under the clay pipe werebones burned until porousas cinder and sparkling likejet. These were slightlybelow the level of the high-est stones in the vault wall,and belonged to two bodieswhich had been laid sideby side, extended, with theheads toward the southeast,and burned on the spot.FIG. 8. PipefromDawsonmoundno.il. ^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^^ g-^j^ ^f p.^^l^skull was a pot; between the skulls was another. All these pots wereupright, filled with earth.Under one of the skulls was a pipe made of soft white material,much like chalk; in shape this somewhat resembles the ''monitor"type (fig. 8).
38 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BtiLL. 37This was the last object found above the vault walls; below itlay only soil, filling the vault to the top. All the remains thus fardiscovered bear no relation to the original character of the structure,but pertain to a subsequent ceremony.At the bottom of the vault were remains of a number of bodies andskeletons, which had been placed on the bare ground after severalinches of the upper soil had been scraped away. At least six of thebodies were cremated; the others showed no signs of burning. Thefuneral rites for some of the former remains were conducted outside,and such portions of bone as were not destroyed by fire were gatheredup and thrown in piles, each lot to itself. Near the northeast sidethree bodies had been laid extended, in close contact, on the back,with the heads toward the southeast; then a fire had been keptburning over them until all the bones were converted to charcoal.One of these bodies was that of a young person; three bone beadswere found at the neck. Beside another of these skulls was a pot.While all three skulls were broken into many small pieces, they stillheld their shape fairly well. They were filled, or nearly filled, withearth which had worked its way into them, and as the materialabove was burned so hard that it had maintained its position, thefragments had not fallen apart.In the north and south corners were unburned bones, which hadalmost disintegrated from the effects of decay. Those to the southwere mingled with partially cremated bones. There was likewise alittle heap of burned boiies, in small pieces, in the west corner, pre-senting the appearance of having been swept or scraped together,as, indeed, was the ca^e with nearly all such bones except thosepartially cremated where found. Among the bones were one wholepot and fragments of several others. An unburned frontal bonebore indications of artificial flattening, but the specimen was so smallas to make this inference uncertain.The entire space between the side walls at the southwest end ofthe vault had been left free for entrance and exit until the burialceremonies came to an end. It was then closed with mingled earth,ashes, and charcoal, piled as high as the walls and just within them,so as to leave the ends slightly projecting. On the outer side thismaterial was held in place by stones placed slantingly against it.On the south side of the doorway, leaning against the wall, was aslab 62 inches long, 12 to 17 inches wide, and 7 inches thick. Thelower end was sunk 10 inches below the natural surface (see pi. 6).On the opposite side of the doorway another rock, wider but shorterand thinner than that just described, had been set with its edgeagainst the northwest wall. The open space between these tworocks, in their undisturbed position, measured 5 feet 6 inches.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 6
NORTHWEST WALL, INSIDE, IN MOUND NO. 9
SOUlHWEST END IN MOUND NO. 11VAULTS IN DAWSON MOUNDS NOS. 9 AND 11

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 39In taking away the earth that filled the entrance fragments ofpartially cremated human bones that had been thrown in with thedumped material were found scattered at random; antl a walnut logseveral inches in diameter, burned to charcoal after being depositedhere, lay near the inner face, midway between top and bottom.When fully cleared out the vault measured from northeast tosouthwest 14 feet at the top and 9 feet on the bottom; from north-west to southeast, 12 feet at the top, 7 feet on the bottom. Theheight of the wall on every side was the same, 3 feet 2 inches to alin? representing the average height of the tops of all the stones.MOUND NO. 12This mound was 112 feet nearly southeast of no. 11. Its meas-urements were 70 feet northwest and southeast, 30 feet wide, andslightly less than 2 feet high. At the center was a shallow hole ofsomewhat irregular outline, about 3^ feet in diameter, in which wasa mass of bones lying in confusion. Among these were three skulls,in which the teeth were worn very little or not at all; in one jawsome of the teeth were not cut. There were no other remains inthe structure. MOUND NO. 13This mound was 130 feet nearly south from no. 12. It was muchthe largest of tiie group, being 50 feet in diameter, with an originalelevation at the center of at least 10 feet.The presence of many stones thrown out by previous investigatorshinted at a central vault or stone graves.Southwest from the center 12 feet was a pot-shaped hole a footin diameter, dug 16 inches into the subsoil. Directly south of it was aanother hole similar in size and appearance; the adjoining marginswere about a foot apart. Both cavities were filled with loose earth,and there was nothing in or about them to give the slightest clue totheir purpose.A distance of 13 feet nearly north of the center were the feet of askeleton which lay extended on the back with the head to the south-east. The feet bones, even the smallest bone of the toes, were solidand strong; the bones of the right leg were sound, except the upperend of the fibula; those of the left leg fell to pieces when uncovered;the portions of the pelvis remaining?constituting less than half
?
were soft; there were no traces of vertebra or of upper extremities;of the skull enough was left to mark its location, but not, alone, todetermine its character; there was not a fragment of tooth or evena trace of enamel. This single example furnishes convincing evi-dence of the futility of attempting to judge by the condition of askeleton its antiquity, either absolute or relative.
40 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Toward the south margin lay burned bones here and there, toofragmentary to identify, except a short piece of a human femurconverted into charcoal.In the middle of the structure was a vault, a considerable portionof which was in a chaotic state as the result of the efforts of theearlier diggers. Possibly stone graves were made in portions of thismound as in no. 11. However this may be, there was good evidencethat a minor or secondary vault had been constructed on top of theearth filling the principal one. vSo far as could be determined thisupper vault was 5 feet 3 inches long inside and 9 feet long outside;it was built on the same lines as the lower or older one. Close toits northwest wall, inside, were several fragments of deer bones,including the leg and the skull. At the bottom, a foot east of thecenter, was an adult skull, quite thick, but so crushed that its posi-tion could not be determined, though it seemed to face northwest,with the vertex toward the northeast. Close to it were beads madeof small marine shells, and teeth of a young child. Two feet south-west of the skull were fragments of the lower portion of a pot whichhad been placed there upright.When the main walls were laid bare in their entire circuit, therewas exposed a structure approximately quadrilateral, with roundedcorners. The diameters were 17 feet 8 inches from northeast tosouthwest, and 13 feet 6 inches from southeast to northwest. Alongthe outside, between the points where the boundary lines wouldintersect if projected, the measures were: From south to east corner,18 feet; from east to north corner, 13 feet; from north to west corner,15 feet 6 inches; from west to south corner, 11 feet 8 inches. Theouter boundaries of stones fell within these intersections as follows:East corner, 3 feet; north corner, 16 inches; west corner, 16 inches;south corner, 15 inches. The height from the original surface of theground to the highest undisturbed stone in the upper vault was 5feet 6 inches; to the average level of the top of the slabs of theupper vault, 5 feet; to the top of the original vault, 3 feet 8 inches.From a point near the north corner to the east corner, thence for 7feet 6 inches toward the south corner, there was apparently a break inthe outer part of the wall, a single row of rocks at the top resting onearth. When this earth was thrown out, the rocks fell. It was soonfound, however, that this earth filled the same oflice as the outerstones at other points, its purpose being merely to support or bracethe main wall, and that the outer row of stones along its top hadbeen placed tliere as the finishing layer.Near the surface of the earth iilling the lower vault was a charredlog, apparently white walnut, extending from the east corner, pastthe center, almost to the opposite wall; this had been burned here,
fowke] antiquities OF MISSOUEI 41for while the upper part had become charcoal, the lower side wasonly scorched.The northern half of the vault was filled with earth?some hardburned, some only partially burned, the remainder free from tracesof fire?whose thoroughly mixed condition showed that it had notbeen burned where found, but gathered from some place where alarge fire had been maintained for a considerable time ; a wagonloadof it was of brick-hke hardness. No remains were found in this depositor in any part of the vault except near the bottom. Here, in theeast corner, were partiall}'^ cremated small fragments of bones; atleast two skulls, perhaps more, were represented, and there werebones from all parts of the frame, mingled as if swept together andthrown into a basket. Among these were two bone beads an inchlong; also, in an inverted position, a pot holding a pint, with smallprojecting points at intervals around the outer edge of the rim. Inthe south corner, in a pile, partly under a large flat rock, were frag-ments of cremated skull, vertebrae, and arms. Northwest of thesewas an extended skeleton, not charred in the least, from which thearms and upper parts were missmg. The burned skull was in posi-tion to belong to this frame; but it was very clear that all thesebones had been burned elsewhere and carried here, since they lay inearth not marked in the slightest degree by fire and entirely unmixedwith charcoal or ashes except such as had been thrown in with thebones. There were hard-burned feet bones at the other extremity ofthis skeleton. Altogether, appearances indicated that the head, arms,and feet had been removed from a body and burned, the remainingparts deposited in their natural condition, and then an attempt madeto place the burned bones where they belonged. On the face of it,this supposition seems absurd; the idea would naturally suggestitself that the entire body had been laid down and a fire made overthe head and feet only. The objections to this hypothesis are thelack of traces in the earth which would result from the use of fire, andthe bunching of the partially cremated arms, vertebrae, and skull,instead of their presence in the places where they belonged.The entire bottom of the vault was covered with cremated skele-tons; the bones were so broken and mingled that it was impossible toascertain the number, but there were at least a dozen, and may havebeen twice as many. The loose surface soil had been scraped awaybefore they were deposited ; they were then laid on the hard bottomand covered either with the same earth, or with other earth carried infrom the surrounding slopes. Flat rocks were lying over a few ofthe skeletons, but most had no such protection. Some unburnedbones were found at intervals, but, from their situation, all appearedto belong with the cremated ones. A few shell beads were found nearthe center, and there were two entire pots besides the small pieces of at
42 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Ir.uLL. 37least two others. All stages, from infancy to old age, were repre-sented among these corpses. The pots seemed to have been placedwith or near certain skulls, though this is open to doubt.The doorway was, as usual, in the southwest wall. The north sidewas practically vertical; the south side was sloping, either throughdesign or because rocks had slipped down and had not been replaced.(PI. 7, a.) The opening was filled with loose rocks and earth, andslabs were set up against the outside.The northwest and northeast walls were intact and well laid up.(PI. 7, b.) The southeast wall contained much earth mingled withthe stones, and only part of it was found in the original order. Thisconfusion is probably due to the relic hunters, as it is not at alllikely the builders would have left the wall in the condition shown inthe plate.The rocks of the inner walls, with the exception of the southwestone, were much smoked and scorched, and some of them burnt; themarks of fire were plainly visible even on stones in the lowest layer.Evidently large fires were made after the completion of the vault andbefore the filling was begun. No doubt some of the bodies werecremated on the spot, but it was clear that most of them, at any rate,had been burned outside the vault; the hard-burned earth whichfilled the north end of the vault certainly had been so treated, sincesmall lumps of it were scattered through the earth in the south partin the direction of, and in, and on the outside of, the doorway.As constructed, the vault measured at the top 13 feet from south-west to northeast, 9 feet from southeast to northwest ; on the bottom,11 feet 2 inches, and 7 feet, respectively. The southwest wall aver-aged 3 feet 4 inches in height, the three other walls 3 feet 8 inches.The whole structure is well represented in the illustrations.Every mound of the Dawson group contained more or less workedmaterial loose in the earth, as flint implements, chips, and cores;polishing and rubbing stones; pieces of hematite; fragments ofpottery.Various other un(Hsturbed mounds exist in the vicinity of Ilarts-burg.MOUNDS IN THE VICINITY OF EASLEY, BOONE COUNTYThe Easley Mounds (10)Lying north of Easley post-office, on the Missouri, Kansas andTexas railway, is a narrow ridge curving somewhat in the form of ahorseshoe, the two ends coming almost to the railway tracks. Thewest end of this ridge is a slope, up which it is possible to drive anempty wagon; the other drops off in a vertical clift". Along the crestare 9 mounds?5 of them near the east end, 4 at the curve. Six of
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 37 PLATE 7
a LOOKING NORTHEAST THROUGH DOORWAY
/) INSIDE THE VAULT, LOOKING NORTHVAULT IN DAWSON MOUND NO. 13

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 43them were excavated and are numbered in the order in which theywere opened, beginning at the point of the chff.MOUND NO. 1This proved to be only a small heap of earth containing no remainswhatever, yet it was plainly artificial. It was on land belonging toMr, Abram Sapp.The remaining mounds were on land owned by Mr. W. G. Easley.MOUND NO. 2The second mound, 390 feet north 60? east of the first, was 11feet in height and SO feet in diameter.Two narrow trenches?one from the west, one from the northwest
?
were carried in 10 feet and connected by a cross trench. In the latterwere found several loose flat stones, not laid in contact or in anyparticular order. Beneath them, with some earth intervening, wasan extended skeleton a foot above the bottom of mound. It layon its back, with the head toward the south and the face towardthe west; the right arm was straight by the side, the left arm acrossthe waist. The bones were large and heavy, the front teeth con-siderably worn, and the molars ground down on the outer facealmost to the roots.A foot east of this skeleton and 2 feet above it, or near the topof the mound, were fragments of an adult skeleton, the teeth ofwhich were much worn.Distant 13 feet from the west margin, 3 feet above the originalsurface, were nine large limestone slabs covering a space 2 feet eastand west by 5| feet north and south. These had evidently pro-tected a body, though no trace of bone could be found.Near the southeast corner of these stones, a foot lower, were bonesof a child a few months old. The body had been placed on theback, with the head toward the south and the face toward the west.On the face lay a decayed mussel shell.Below the infant's bones, its west edge being directly under andparallel with the east edge of the stones, was a grave extending afew inches into the natural earth. This contained portions of anadult frame having the arm and leg bones extended in their naturalposition and the feet toward the north, but there was no trace ofvertebrae or skull. The shafts of the leg bones were solid, thoughthe ends fell away when they were lifted. The feet extended to thesouth end of another grave, 8 feet 9 inches long, 2 feet 6 inches wide,3 feet deep. On the bottom was a skeleton 6 feet long, lying extendedon the back, with the head toward the south. Nearly all the bones,though quite heavy, were much decayed. The skull, which was
44 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 37thicker than usual, hxy on its right side, broken in pieces. At theneck were 6 cyhndrical shell beads averaging an inch in length bythree-eighths of an inch in diameter; under the jaw lay a piece ofcolumella 3 inches long and an inch thick.On the original surface, just north of this grave, were portionsof a skeleton; on the same level, still farther north, the remains ofanother skeleton. Only a few fragments of either remained.Loose on the bottom, 15 feet from the west margin, was a potbroken to pieces.Midway between the north margin and the center was an extendedskeleton 5 feet 4 inches long," on its back, with the head lying
Fig. 9. Stone grave-cover in Easley mound no. 2.north of east and turned to the right; the teeth were worn flat andthe angle of the jaw was much rounded. The body was bent to theright at the hips; the left femur was quite crooked.At a distance of 18 feet west of the center was the outer marginof a pile of stones covering a space 17 feet north and south by 8 feeteast and west. These were laid flat on one another, in some placessix or seven deep, as if intended to protect a series of graves, butwith no attempt at orderly arrangement. The upper layers are
a It must be understood that measurements of skeletons are only approximate. As the skull is crushedand the feet bones are displaced in nearly every instance, it is seldom possible to determine their exactlimits. The popular notion that "Mound Builders," or indeed aborigines anywhere in the MississippiValley, were *' giants" is entirely without foundation. Their skeletons indicate a i)eople no larger thanthose who have succeeded them.
FOWKB] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 45shown in figure 9, looking toward the center. The eartli underand among them was very black, but contained no trace of bone orother indications of burial. Similar flat rocks, which are abundanteverywhere on the hillsides, were found at many places in the struc-ture; sometimes only 4 or 5, sometimes 20 or 30, placed either as arude pavement, or superposed to some extent. Under some ofthese piles were marks of burials; under others, similarly laid, noremains whatever. There were also many stones which appeared asif thrown in with the earth, to fill up. Altogether, at least 25 wagonloads were taken out.On the west side, near the center, were three graves, parallel, thelonger axes extending practically east and west. The north and southdiameter of the mound crossed the center of the northern grave andthe east ends of the other two. The grave farthest south was coveredwith rocks so irregularly placed that their purpose was not suspecteduntil most of them were removed. This grave was the largest yetdiscovered. It measured 9 feet 6 inches in length, 3 feet in width ateach end, 3 feet 8 inches in width at the center, and 6 feet 2 inchesdeep. The corners were somewhat rounded. A step or bench about16 inches high and 14 inches wide extended along the north side,while across the east end was a similar bench 28 inches high and 18inches wide. These benches were left for use by the excavators thatthey might reach the top in throwing out the earth, which was spreadaround for several feet to the east and the south. On the bottom laya skeleton, extended on its back, with the head toward the w^est andturned to the right. Although the bones were in dry sandy earthunderlying the loess, they fell to pieces at a touch. The skeletonmeasured 5 feet 9 inches long. The teeth were sound and showedsigns of but slight wear. Under the lower jaw were six small cylin-drical shell beads. The tibi?e did not correspond in size or shape;one of them showed marks of disease, being somewhat enlarged,with the posterior surface flattened. Some traces of white walnutwere found. This may have been originally over or under the body.The middle grave lay almost exactly west of the center, its margin4 feet 6 inches north of that of the first; it measured 6 feet 10 incheslong, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. The earth in it was dry and loose,seemingly a perfect preservative of bones; but only minute fragmentsof wood, resembling ashes, or of bone, resembling coarse cornmeal,remained in a thin layer on the bottom. Distant 19 inches fromthe west end were teeth of a child. With these were five cylindricalshell beads three-fourths of an inch to an inch and a half long and halfan inch in diameter, drilled lengthwise.The north grave was separated from the central one by a spaceof 5 feet 9 inches. It was 7 feet 7 inches long, 2 feet 5 inches wide,
46 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37and 2 feet deep. The earth fiHing this grave was muddy, yet,with the exception of the skull, which was crushed flat, the skeletontherein was better preserved than any other found in this work. Itlay extended on its back, with the head toward the west; the handswere crossed on the pelvis. This skeleton was 5 feet 7 or 8 incheslong.Lying on the south bank of the last grave, near its west end, weretwo small flat rocks. Under the west one were fragments of bonestoo much decayed to identify. Under the east one lay a piece ofscraper or small digging tool.It is quite probable these three graves were intended to be at thecenter of the mound; either the apex was carried too far to the eastin constructing it, or erosion had somewhat altered its form.Distant 15 feet northeast of the center, a foot below the naturalsurface, on the yellow clayey subsoil, was a skeleton 5 feet 9 incheslong, extended on its back, with the head toward the southeast, andthe face turned to the right. The right half of the lower jaw and allof the upper jaw lay on a line where the sternum should have been,the latter having entirely disappeared. The bone above the rightorbit showed signs of having been gnawed, so the displacement wasundoubted!}^ caused by mice. The bones of the feet were solid, aswere those of the legs except at their ends, the cellular portions beingmostly decayed. The portion of the pelvis remaining was soft. Therewere no vertebrae; the clavicles were partially preserved; the skullwas filled with earth and partially destroyed. Apart from the jaws,such bones as remained were in their proper order, except the righttibia, which lay outside the fibula, with its front downward. It wasthe only entire bone found except some from the feet. The tibiaewere much flattened.At a distance of 5 feet east of the center was a grave dug to the sub-soil, having thin flat rocks laid on the bottom and stood on edge alongeach side but not at the ends. On the floor were bones of an infant,the head toward the east; teeth were still within the bone; the clavi-cle was less than 2 inches long. Flat rocks la}^ over the body. A fewinches above its head were fragments of a pot of about a pint capacity,which lay beside the skull of an adult whose body was extendedtoward tlie east, and whose feet were near the head of the skeletonwith displaced jaws.Near the east margin, 18 inches above the bottom, under flat stones,was an adult skeleton, on its back; the teeth were much worn. Southof this, on the bottom, rested the skeleton of a child of 2 or 3 years,with small flat stones above the head; south of this, again, anotheradult skeleton, and west of the last, 2 feet higher, that of a youngchild. All these skeletons lay with their heads toward the south.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUKI 47The space cleared out in this mound had an average radius of 15feet around the center. A considerable area on the south and westsides was left undisturbed. Fragments of human bones were foundthroughout the part examined. Some of these may have been gath-ered up from old graves; but most of them probably marked wherebodies or skeletons had been laid, all the other portions having disap-peared. Only those deposits which undoubtedly belonged to inter-ments are described above. MOUND NO. 3The third mound, 115 feet north of the second, was 4^ feet high,with an elliptical base 30 by 55 feet, the longest line running northand south. Work was started at the south end. Almost in thebeginning bones were found?at the west corner a bundled skeleton,at the east corner 6 skulls in contact. Of the latter 2 were those ofchildren, one of them quite young; the other 4 were crania of adultsof various ages.The entire mound was removed except a narrow strip around theoutside. Up to the very margin were piles of stones, only a few ineach pile, most of them over fragmentary bones; in some placesbones were found without such covering.A bundled skeleton, the teeth but slightly worn, was near the cen-ter line of the mound, 12 feet from the end and less than a footbelow the top. With it was a portion of the shaft of a long bone,having a perforation near one end, which shows characteristic mark-ings of aboriginal flint and sandstone drilling and rubbing tools. Theedges of the hole are somewhat worn by a cord or thong by means ofwhich it was suspended.Under some stones near the east side of the mound, 10 feet fromthe end, were a few small fragments of bone and a much decayedpiece of columella drilled lengthwise. Among these fragments waspart of an upper jaw in which the crown of the wisdom tooth wasbelow the level of the other tooth-crowns, and showed no trace ofwear; the next molar was somewhat worn, while the next two wererubbed fiat; these comprised all the teeth that remained. Thisexample illustrates the difficulty or uncertainty of judging age bycondition of the teeth. Had these teeth been found separately theywould have been ascribed to individuals of widely differing ages.*^On the original surface, 8 feet from the south end, were adulthuman bones in a pile, among which was a skull, crushed flat; here,also, were teeth of an infant and several shell beads.Near the west side, 15 feet from the end, a foot above the bottom,was a skull, much crushed, lying on its left side, with other bones
a Even the first set, or "milk teeth," of children in our own communities sometimes show flatteningor chiseling from wear.
48 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 37
Fig. 10. Pipe from Easley mound no. 3.
under and around it. Near the vertex was a clay pipe, shown infigure 10.At the center, 6 inches a])ove bottom, was a sandstone pipe whichhad become so friable that it fell to pieces when the earth was removedfrom around it. North of the center 3 feet, 18 inches above the bot-tom, was a fragment of skull,near which lay the fragmentsof a pot of about a pint anda half capacity. When thiswas deposited it contained anunfinished pipe of soft rock,now almost disintegrated
,
shown in figure 11, a roughpiece of hematite worketl ailover with the apparent inten-tion of shaping it into a coneor a hemisphere, and a fewsmall flint chips. Close by thepot were two well wrought flintknives or spearheads and the point of another. Near this pot andflints were upper and lower teeth, much worn, all in natural order,with crowns in contact, as if still in the mouth of a living person;but there was no trace of jawbones or of any other part of a cranium.Close to these were an unfinished granite celt, and a thin flint knife7| inches long; thesetwo objects undoubt-edly belonged to thesame individual andwere buried withhim; yet the flint isa beautiful specimenof fine, delicate chip-ping, while the celtis crudely shaped androughly pecked.There were evidentlytwo burials, the pieceof skull first foundbeing fully 2 feetfrom the teeth; andall the articles mentioned may have belonged either with one orwith both.In several other places around the central part of the mound weretraces of burials, some indicated b.y small piles of rocks. Amongthem, a foot below the present top, was an extended skeleton with
Fig. 11. llnflnished pipe from Easley mound no. 3.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 49the head toward the south. At one point, not accompanied bybones, was a piece of cohimehaAt the center was a grave pit 8 inches deep, irregular in outUne,and 4 to 5 feet in diameter. Fragments of bones found in it indi-cated bunched or bundled skeletons. The presence of a number ofteeth of infants and children and of adults up to a considerable age,denoted at least six individuals. In several instances only the crownsor scraps of enamel were remaining, there being no trace of bone nearthem. Yet, lying on the bottom of the grave was part of a humerusso solid it could not be broken with the hands?another example, likethat of the skeleton in Dawson mound no. 13, of the danger ofattempting to fix even the relative date of a burial by the conditionof the bones.Near the bottom, 6 feet north of the center, a pot was found in anupright position. A foot north of it, at same level, was a round-bottomed pot of less than a gill capacity, which fell to pieces; by thelatter were part of a jaw and some teethof a young child. A foot north of the sec-ond pot was still another, similar to thefirst, lying on its side, crushed by pressure.No doubt these pots and nearly all othersfound under similar conditions were origi-nally placed with bodies of which everytrace had disappeared.Near the north end of the structure, afoot below the top, was a folded adultskeleton. The skull lay on the right side, ne. 12. Pii)e from Easiey moundbut the femora were nearly upright, extend- ^?- ^?ing almost to the sod line, as if the body had been placed on theback with the legs drawn up. Rocks were piled over the frame.The sockets in the right half of the lower jaw were entirely closed.A foot from the skull, toward the northeast, and probably belongingwith it, was the clay pipe shown in figure 12.Immediately under this body was a skull, lying on the right side,with the face toward the east; the lower jaw was in its normal posi-tion; the teeth were much worn and decayed. No other bones werefound except parts of three cervical vertebrae ; under the head were afew small disk-shaped shell beads. Some rocks lay over the head.Many skeletal remains were found thus partially protected, thoughsome had only one stone, or at most a very few, as if for markers,none of them weighing more than 20 pounds, and few of them morethan half as much.Near the northeast margin of the mound, with the head toward theeast, lay the bundled skeleton of a youth whose wisdom teeth werenot worn in the least, though the adjacent molars were. Two feet5780?Bull. 37?10 4
50 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 87above the bottom, at the north end, were the leg bones of oneperson, laid in a close pile. On the natural level, 5 feet south of thesebones, were teeth of infants or young children, in three different places,but all within an area a foot in diameter. No traces of bones werearound them.No accurate count, or close estimate, could be made of the numberof bodies or skeletons unearthed; but there were at least forty.A greater number of hammerstones and rubbing stones was foundloose in the earth in this mound than in any three other moundsopened during the season.The mound was composed entirely of subsoil or tough clay, verydifferent from the soil of mounds nos. 2 and 4, which were built ofsurface earth from the narrow ridge and adjacent slo])es, leaving onlythe underlying clay for the construction of the mound now underconsideration.The central grave was probably the nucleus with which this generalburial mound began. Not only the deposits of bones at various levels,but also horizontal or slightly curved streaks, like old sod lines, a footor so apart vertically in several places, indicated varying periods ofinterruption of the work of construction.MOUND NO. 4The fourth mound, 190 feet north of the third, was 10 feet in heightand 70 feet in diameter. An area 20 feet in diameter, in the centralpart, was cleared out. The natural surface and the sod line were verydistinct, and as material taken up outside for erecting the structureincluded both dark soil and yellow subsoil, each separate depositcould be definitely traced. The amount carried at a load variedfrom half a peck to a peck.At a distance of 3 feet south of the center, 5 feet cbove the bottom,was a " cocoanut pot " of half a gallon capacity, which had been placedthere entire, in an upright position; the size of the specimen is unusual.Distant 25 feet from the north margin was the north side of anelliptical grave 8 feet 2 inches east and west, 3 feet 8 inches northand south, at the top, and 18 inches deep. At each end of the gravewere four flat rocks, not on the natural surface, but about a foot aboveit on deposited earth. One of these was half of a sandstone mortar.The yellow subsoil was scattered on the original surface for five or sixfeet on every side. In places it split off smooth and flat on the underside, because of the presence of a thin streak of white sand beneath it;this does not belong on the hills and was probably carried there fromthe river and sprinkled over the ground as a part of the ceremony.A heavy rain had fallen while the grave was still open, and anotherafter it was filled but before work on the tumulus had been begun.The bottom of the grave measured 6 feet 10 inches long by 3 feetwide. Marks, still very plain, showed the excavating tools were
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 51sharpened sticks, antler points, or dressed flints, used after thefashion of picks or spuds; some of the resultant channels were shal-lower or with flatter curves than others.Decayed wood or bark, as loose as dry ashes, covering the bottomof the grave, was all that remained of a floor on which a body hadbeen laid with the head toward the east. Across the grave, restingon solid ground, had been placed poles and split wood to shield thecorpse; these had finally given way under pressure of earth above andhad settled down at the sides and on the bottom. That they sup-ported the weight for some time was proved by the loose cloddy con-dition of the earth for 3 or 4 feet above the pit.The only remaining indication of burial was a small amount of bonedust resembling coarse cornmeal, and a few teeth, the latter from twopersons, though they all lay together. Above the upper layer ofwood, near one side of the grave, were a few fragments of bone, prob-ably not human.Distant 4^ feet south from the south edge of this grave and parallelwith it was the north margin of another grave. This was 7 feet 3inches long, 2 feet 6 inches wide, and on an average 13 inches deep.The bottom was very irregular or "lumpy," varying from 3 inchesabove to 3 inches below a median plane; it was rectangular in formexcept for the rounded corners; the tool marks here were of the samecharacter as those in the first grave. As in that, too, the sides andbottom were lined with wood, or bark, or perhaps both, and tracesof bone found therein were similarly covered.A foot south of the west end of the second grave was a hole 1 footdeep and wide, and 2 feet long, apparently the grave of an infant,though it contained no remains.The onl}^ artificial objects besides the pot found in the course ofthe excavation were a hematite paint stone, the broken sandstonemortar, and a few flints, all loose in the earth and not intentionallydeposited. MOUND NO. 5This mound is at the end of the curve farthest from the river, andwas built on the slope instead of on the summit of the ridge. Thediameter of base was 65 feet, and the elevation 12 feet. A spacenearly circular, averaging 40 feet in diameter, was cleared out to thesubsoil; fully 300 cubic yards of earth were removed, nearly all ofwhich had to be loosened with picks before it could be shoveled.At a distance of IS feet east of south from the center, 18 inchesabove the original surface, was the bottom or floor of a stone cist(grave A) containing fragments of an adult skeleton. The skull laytoward the east and projected beyond the stones. At the foot andalong each side were stones, some of them set vertical to form the
52 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bl-LL. 37
outline of a grave, others inclined at various angles as if a cover hadfallen in. The tibiae, though in better condition than the other bones,were much swollen as if from rheumatism. Beside the pelvis werefragments of an infant's skull.West of south 16 feet from the center, 4 feet above the originalsui-face, were decayed pieces of skull and of bones of the feet, about5 feet apart, with no other bones between them (grave B). A flatstone lay over the skull and several such stones over the bones of thefeet; the latter, thus protected from percolating water, were tolerablysound, even to the phalanges. Only a few teeth, not much worn,were found with the skull. A round-bottomed pot of about a quartcapacity had been placed upright by the right side of the chest. Atthe left side of the head, at a slightly lower level, was an inverted" cocoanut pot " of about half a gallon capacity.Under the feet of this skel-eton, at a depth of 2 feet, laythe upper portion of anadult's skull; it was not con-nected with a burial, but waslying loose in the earth. Onthe same level as this pieceof skull, 6 feet northwest ofit, was the large clay pipeseen in figure 13. Nothingelse was found about eitherthe skull or the pipe.Directly under the head ofgrave A were the teeth of twoadults, one set worn nearly tothe roots, the other set wornscarcely at all; a foot east of these were parts of two other sets sim-ilarly denoting different ages; traces of bone were found extendingtoward the west. All these remains were in a grave only a fewinches deep.Distant 20 feet slightly south of west fi'om the center, in a grave(C) extending less than a foot below the surface, was the skeleton ofa child about two years of age. In a similar shallow grave (D), 18feet east of the center, was an extended adult skeleton, lying on theback, with the head toward the south; the skull, which was lying onthe left side, though slightly crushed by pressure, was in much bettercondition than any other found during the summer's work. Only afew stumps of teeth were in the upper jaw, which crumbled away,though the teeth remaining in the lower jaw were fairly well pre-served. Eight feet south of this skull, a foot above the bottom,were fragments of several teeth and of jawbones, with no other bonesaround them.
Jig. in. Pipe from Easley mound no. 5.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 53On, slightly under, and within a foot above, the natural surface, atvarious points on the east, west, and south sides of the mound werefound teeth (nearly all milk teeth), most of them worn either slightlyor not at all, and without the roots, which had disappeared.Six feet south of the center, a foot above the bottom, was a massof bunched bones in utmost confusion. Teeth and femora foundamong these had belonged to at least three adults, a youth, and achild. The bones had been laid on wood or bark and covered withthe same material. Some of the adult teeth were very large and allthe teeth were remarkably well preserved, while most of the boneswere as soft as wet earth.Distant 3 feet north of the center, 6 feet above the bottom, weretraces of an adult skeleton, with the head toward the w^est.Beneath the mound, at the center, was a grave pit measuring 6Jfeet by 8 feet, the longest line running nearly east and west. This pitwas quite shallow, extending nowhere more than 9 inches into thesubsoil. The sides were somewhat curved and the corners rounded,making it between an ellipse and a rectangle in form. The earth for3 to 4 feet above the pit was very loose, proving that therehad })een a temporary protective structure of wood. The bottomhad been covered with bark or wood, which extended up the sidesand around the margin. On this were two adult skeletons, lyingextended on the back, with the heads toward the west. The skulls,which had been thick and strong, were crushed into small pieces.Enough was left of the one to the south to show that it was verynarrow, with low, sloping forehead, and eyes unusually close together.This skeleton lay so close against the margin of the grave that it wasbent sidewise at the hips to conform to the curve. At the left side ofthe other skeleton, lying close to the north border of the grave, were afew fragments of bones of a child 3 or 4 years old. Near the center,between the two skeletons, were teeth of two young children, one aninfant.On the middle line of the grave, 2 feet from the east end, was a holeabout 12 by 16 inches and 8 inches deep. A similar hole was 2 feetoutside of the southeast corner. Nothing was found in either cavityexcept earth which had settled in.At each corner, just outside the pit, was a pile of rocks, containingabout a wheelbarrow load. There were no remains under thesestones, which were probably in the nature of a monument.Most of the interments in this tumulus were remains of children orat least of young persons. MOUND NO. 6This tumulus was a caii-n 2 feet high and 25 feet in diameter,situated 650 feet northeast of mound no. 8.
64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37As soon as the uppermost stones were removed, pieces of skullsand other bones appeared ; these were found among the rocks to thebottom of the mound and 6 inches in the earth beneath. Most ofthe remains were in the southwest quarter of the cairn. Not awhole bone was discovered except one claAncle of a child, which layin soft earth fully a foot from any other bone; nearly all the bonesapparently were in small fragments when put here. Appearancesindicated that a number of graves had been cleared out and theircontents, bones and earth together, brought here and scatteredpromiscuously to a depth of 6 inches before any stones had beenplaced. From this stage to the completion of the structure stoneshad been thrown in along with the subsequent burials.All ages were represented in the burials; there were fragments ofinfants' jaws with the teeth not through the bone; teeth worn to theroots; and jaws from which teeth were missing and sockets closed up.Bones from every part of the body lay in contact, those from old andyoung together, in many cases crushed between flat stones whichwere in so close contact that no earth had made its way in betweenthem. One body, that of an infant, had evidently been buried soonafter death; the few bones remaining were in proper position, andsmall disk-shaped shell beads lay near the head. A few flints werescattered here and there.Probably this spot, which commands an extensive outlook towardevery point of the horizon, is the site of a communal burial, containingthe remains of all who had died during a period of several years.After having been buried elsewhere in the earth, or in some casesperhaps after having been kept on scaffolds or about the houses, allthe remains were finally collected and interred here.The Baumhoefer Mounds (11)Two miles directly south of Easley, on the farm of Mr. Fred Baum-hoefer, is a cultivated ridge running west to a precipice borderingthe Missouri bottoms and sloping steeply to each side. On thecrest were two mounds, having many stones on the surface.MOUND NO. 1The mountl nearer the end of the ridge was opened first. Thisstands on a point commanding an extensive outlook, hills 20 milesaway being in plain view.There was so much in the construction of this mound that wasdifficult to understand, so many features whose interpretation wasuncertain until the work was completed, that two statements willbe submitted with respect thereto: First, a full transcript of thefield notes; second, a description of the methods employed by the

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE
a NORTHWEST CORNER. PART OF TOP AND OF NORTH WALL, LOOKING WEST
b CIST GRAVE, NORTH SIDE OF VAULT, LOOKING SOUTHEAST
C CIST GRAVES, NORTH SIDE OF VAULT, LOOKING SOUTHWESTINTERIOR OF BAUMHOEFER MOUND NO. 1
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 55builders from the inception to the close of their labors. The firstis perhaps unnecessary but it will assist the reader to realize theperplexities which sometimes embarrass an investigator.After carefully viewing the mound from every direction, the bot-tom was conjectured to be on a plane which would give the structurea diameter of about 50 feet, with a height of 8 feet. A trench deepenough to reach the yellow subsoil was started in at this level, on thenorth side. This sloped rapidly upward, and the discovery was soonmade that the excavators were entirely outside of the mound, whoseactual diameter proved to be not more than 25 feet, and its presentsummit only 4 feet above the base. Just within the real marginstones were reached extending in a fairly straight line east and west.At each end this row of stonec turned, extending to an irregular heapalong the south side. When fully disclosed all around, these stonesseemed to be the bracers or outer portion of an interior vault. Meas-ured across the center, the space covered by them was 22 feet northand south by 21 feet east and west, the sides being straight and thecorners rounded. Measured between the points where the outer edgeswould have intersected, if carried on in straight lines, the length ofeach side was as follows: North, 21 feet; west, 21 feet; south, 19 feet;east, 22 feet. Seeming discrepancies in these figures are due to un-equal projections of stones roughly laid up. On the west side, wherethe wall was highest, the distance from top to bottom was 2 feet 4inches.On the south and west sides the stones were in a compact mass,like a single rough, heavy wall; on the east and north sides was aninner wall of stones separated by a space from an outer wall whichconsisted of only a single row of rocks. This outer wall joined the
"rough, heavy wall" at the northwest corner. On the north side,near the east corner, the distance between the inner and outer wallsmeasured 7 feet; but within the space there were other stones whichseemed to belong to a grave made against the inner division of thewall, and separated from the outer part by about 4 feet of earth.These features can be made out in plate 8, a. The camera had to beset very close.When cleared off, this grave, for such it proved to be, was outlinedon the north side and on both ends by slabs placed edge-up and in-clined outward, the south side being formed, apparently, by theinner wall, as represented in plate 8, 6. The inside measurementson the bottom were 6 feet 7 inches by 1 foot 1 1 inches. In the gravewas a skeleton 5 feet 8 inches long, which lay extended on the backwith the head toward the east, and the feet crossed?the last-men-tioned feature being unusual. The remains rested on flat rockslaid on earth that was somewhat mixed, and about at the natural level;other slabs were placed over the body.
56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. .".TRemoval of all loose rocks and earth showed that this grave didnot rest directly against the inner wall, as lirst supposed, hut againstanother grave similar in construction though much smaller, beingonly 10 by 29 inches on the bottom. This contained the bones of achild of seven or eight years. The two graves and a part of the wall,looking southwest, are shown in plate 8, c.Continued excavation revealed a burial vault filled with eai-th andconstructed in the manner described below. One skeleton, a footunder the surface, with the head toward the west, was probablyintrusive.The inclosing wall measured outside 14 feet east and west, and 10feet north and south. The north side was indented, the effect be-ing to give the structure a somewhat reniform outline; the 10-footmeasurement was made to the actual limit, not to the point wherea continuous line would bring it. Had the curve been uniform, theboundary would have formed a regular ellipse with a breadth of 12feet, extending to the middle of the child's grave. The averageheight of the wall inside was 2 feet 2 inches, except at this indentedportion, where it was not more than a foot; but the stones were sowell laid, and so continuous at the bottom with those on each side asto show that there had not been a doorway or entrance here, butthat the wall was built as a whole in its entire circuit. Afterward,the single row of stones was run to include both graves within thegeneral system of burials of which the vault was the principal feature.Under the main wall, where the incurve began, on the north side,was the skeleton of a young child, lying on the natural surface, withthe head toward the east.Beneath the smaller grave, outside, was another dug a foot intothe subsoil. It was 7 feet 8 inches long east and west, 2 feet 4 incheswide, and contained the extended skeleton of an adult about 6feet long, which lay on the back with the head toward the east; theteeth were much worn.Within the vault was an excavation 8 feet east and west by 4 feet7 inches north and south. This had contained five bodies, at adepth of a foot in the subsoil. At the west end was an adult skull;at the east end there were three adult skulls, and the teeth of an infant.Enough traces of other bones were found to indicate that all theadult skeletons were extended on the back, two of them on the earth,two on small flat stones. Three skulls were turned to the left, oneto the right. At the vertex of the best preserved skull to the east,as if worn in the hair, were a conch or similar sea-shell about an inchlong and fragments of a larger one too much decayed for any portionto be secured. The back and the left side of this skull were crushedand decayed; a portion of it was saved, however, as was also a jaw
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 57from one of the other crania. All the teeth except those belonging tothe child were much worn.These skeletons were not resting on solid ground, but in an oldergrave partially re-excavated to receive them. Under them was a footof filled earth, beneath which a layer of flat stones covered an ex-tended body having the head turned toward the east, resting uponundisturbed earth, 2h feet lower than the natural level. The skeletonwas 5 feet 6 inches long; the teeth were worn down into the gums,in places below the enamel. The grave was 6 feet 4 inches by 2 feet5 inches; thin slabs set upon edge and shghtly inclined outwardlined the sides and ends. Some of these were torn out before theirtrue purpose was discovered, under the impression that they per-tained to the burials above.From so much of the mound as was cleared out fifteen wagon-loads of rock were hauled away.METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION.A description will now be given of the work carried on by the ancientgrave diggers, based on the preceding data.To begin with, a grave was dug on the culminating point of theridge, near the river blufi". This was longest about east and west,or parallel with the axis of the spur; 6 feet 4 inches in length, 2 feet5 inches in width, with a depth of 2^ feet below the natural level.Around it thin stone slabs were set on edge, inchned shghtly outwardat the top; these may have been placed either before or after theinterment. On the bottom was laid a corpse, about 5 feet 6 incheslong, extended, with the head toward the east. The teeth wereworn down below the enamel in places, a condition indicating con-siderable age. Above the body, as a covering or protection, wereplaced other flat stones; the grave was then filled. Afterward theearth filling and surrounding it was dug away to a depth of a footbelow the top of the subsoil, over a space 8 feet east and west by 4feet 7 inches north and south. Along the north half of this laterexcavation were laid small flat stones on which rested two adultskeletons with the heads toward the east, apparently placed on theback. Parallel to these, on the earth to the south, was a thirdskeleton similarly placed. At the top of the head of one of thesewere two small sea shells. The skeleton of an infant lay to the rightof the last body, its head being near the east end of the grave. Thebody of another adult had been placed near the south side of thegrave, with its head toward the west.Around the bodies were rocks, some of those nearest the graveturned up on edge, others laid flat, and all supported by rocks andearth piled against the outside. They formed an ellipse modifiedby a shght incurve on the north side, whose length from east to
58 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Iiull. :{7
west, outside, was 14 feet; the breadth to the edge of the indentedportion was 10 feet; had the curve continued normahy on the norththe breadth would have been 12 feet. The average height of thewall, inside, was 2 feet 2 inches. On the north side, just east of theindentation, the wall passed over the body or bones of an infant,lying on the natural surface, with the head toward the east, probablyplaced here some time before the others w^ere interred, as the stonesscarcely would have been piled directly upon the un])rotectedremains.Outside of and close to the north wall a grave was dug a foot intothe subsoil. This was 7 feet 8 inches long east and west, 2 feet 4inches wide. It contained the body of an adult about 6 feet long,lying on its back with the head toward the east; the teeth weremuch worn. This burial may have been prior to or contempora-neous with those in the vault. If the former, it was so recent thatthe site of the gi-ave was remembered and the wall curved to avoidcovering it; if the latter, there was probably some good reason fornot including it within the vault. The burial could scarcely havebeen subsequent to the interments in the vault, for it is not reason-able to suppose the old-time undertakers would have made the wallirregular in order to provide a particular final resting place for onewho was not then in need of it. Possibly the change in direction wasmade to avoid another grave just above the one described. Thelatter, placed directly in a line which the wall would have taken hadits curve been regular, was made of stones set edgewise and inclinedoutward at the top. The bottom, which was only 2 feet 5 incheslong east and west by 10 inches wide, was paved with small flatstones. On these w^as laid the body of a child 7 or 8 years old.North of this small grave was a larger one, the contiguous sidesbounded by the same stones, so far as the smaller one extended.The larger grave was 6 feet 7 inches east and west by 23 inches northand south. Its construction was similar to that of the grave withwhich it was in contact?a cist of stones set up on edge, out-wardly inclined at the sides and ends, and a level bottom of thinslabs, on which was placed a corpse about 5 feet 8 inches long, ex-tended on the back with the feet crossed and the head toward theeast; the teeth w^ere worn flat, some almost to the roots; the bodywas covered with thin stones.When the vault was filled to within a foot of the top another body-was placed in it with the head toward the west, and the filling incompleted." Then a supplementary wall was built, consisting of asingle row of stones starting at the southeast corner of the vault,extending northward, then westward, and again joining the vaultat the northwest corner. This wall was plainly of later construction
"This may have been, however, a later intrusive burial.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 59than the main vault, and was built for the purpose of inclosing thetwo cist graves which lay to the north of the latter. At thenortheast corner the wall was 4 feet outside of the larger grave. Inthis space, as well as in the vault proper, no filling stones appeared.The entire area covered by the vault and by this single wall measured22 feet north and south by 21 feet east and west. The greatestheight of the walls at any point was 28 inches. Finally, earth waspiled over the whole structure to form a mound about 25 feet across.At the time of exploration this diameter was increased, and theheight of the summit reduced to about four feet, though evidentlysomewhat greater originally.In the above description it is not intended to convey the idea thatthis work was carried on without interruption. Possibly yearselapsed from the time of the first burial until the completion of themound. MOUND NO. 2This was situated 240 feet south of east from the first. Itsappearance (pi. 9, a) indicated an artificial structure 11 feet in heightand 75 feet in diameter. A trench run in from the south side, begin-ning at a point 25 feet from the summit, at a level 9 feet lower,showed that the bottom ascended as in mound no. 1, though lesssharply ; material for building had been taken from the crest at eachside, and the mound was erected on a slight natural knoll, so itsactual elevation was but somewhat more than 6 feet.At a distance of 20 feet south of the center, on the yellow subsoil,were traces of an extended skeleton; within the next 4 feet werethree other skeletons, two on the subsoil, one a few inches above it.These all lay east and west; the heads of two were toward the east,but of the others not enough remained to show how they were placed.Distant 9 feet south of the center, 4 feet below the present surfaceof the mound, were fragments of bones of an adult. A foot north ofthis, on same level, were the remains of another adult, and 2 feet stillhigher and directly above were small fragments of the skeletons ofan adult and child. All of these rested on layers of flat stones withsimilar stones above them.At various other places in the south half of the mound, at all levelsfrom the bottom nearly to the top, were parts of human frames,most of them no doubt the remains of bodies or skeletons interred,though some seemed to have been thrown in promiscuously as ifgathered up with the earth from shallow graves outside. In oneplace a set of upper and lower teeth were found in normal contact inthe earth; careful search failed to reveal a trace of the skeleton towhich they belonged; even the roots of the teeth had disappeared.
60 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY |mij.. :17The earth of the mound was much mixed, humus, soil, and subsoilappearing within the compass of a cubic foot or less. There werealso many stones, sometimes one alone, apparently dumped in;sometimes two or three rather regularly laid, probably grave markers;occasionally ten or twelve in a pavement as if a body had rested onor under them.An unusual feature was observed in this tumulus, one that hasbeen reported only three or four times in the whole history of moundexploration. After its completion it had been reopened to a depth of4 feet below its present summit, and consequently to a greater depthfrom its former apex. This excavation was basin shaped, 15 feet indiameter; the bottom was lined with small flat stones, on which sev-eral bodies were placed and covered with earth upon which a level pave-ment of similar stones was laid. The mound was then restored to itsoriginal form and a stratum of earth, mostly subsoil, spread all overit. The earth above the bottom stones of this intrusive burial wasnot of the same character as that below them, being looser and darker.Thus, the curved lower layer of stones, the level upper layer, and theaddition of earth on the top, prove the up})er part to be a later ceme-tery of mound-building Indians; but there was no means of decidingwhether it was the work of the same tribe that built the mound in thefirst place, or of subsequent dwellers in the locality.A section across the center of the structure, showing the secondaryburial pit and also two graves in the undisturbed part of the mound,toward the west, is represented in plate 9, h.Some bones in the secondary pit had stones placed over them;others were in clear earth. Beside one of the skulls, which laybetween stones above and below, directly under the apex, was apiece of a large sea shell having the edges worked smooth, and a'piece of ocher. The best preserved bone in the entire tumulus was apartially decayed lower jaw from this pit.On the crest of the ridge, under the center of the mound, was agrave intermediate in form between an ellipse and a rectangle, theoutline being not quite regular. This measured about 5 feet east andwest, 3 feet north and south, and 2 feet deep; it was filled with loosesand}^ loam so dry as to be almost dusty?material in which bonesshould be well preserved ; yet the only contents consisted of traces ofbark, like ashes, and a few spots here and there of coarse brown dustwhich required a magnifying glass to prove it was all that remainedof a skeleton.Nothing more was found in the structure except a few rocks andfragmentary decayed bones.A fourth of a mile east of these mounds, on the highest part of thehill, are two others, now about 3 and 4 feet high, respectively. Both
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 9
a BEFORE EXCAVATION
h SECTION SHOWING INTRUSIVE BURIAL BY THE MOUND BUILDERSEXTERIOR AND INTERIOR OF BAUMHOEFER MOUND NO. 2

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 61
are elliptical in form, one about 50 by 20 feet, the other somewhatless. There is also a cairn on the point of the ridge. None of thesewere opened. The Buescher Mounds (12)On the farm of Mr, George Buescher, who lives a mile northwest ofEasley, are seven mounds on the crest of a long narrow ridge whichcaps the river bluffs. Three were explored.MOUND NO. 1This mound, 45 feet across and 6 feet high, was composed entirely ofloamy surface earth. Nothing was found in the body of the structureexcept occasionally a flint chip or broken point, or a potsherd. Tenfeet north of the center appeared a small cavity which containedthree or four pebbles, two potsherds, and a few scraps of charcoal;these had evidently settled in or had been dragged there.At the center was a grave measuring 8^ feet east and west, 4 feetnorth and south, and 2 feet 7 inches deep. This was lined with splitwood or bark, on which lay an extended skeleton, on the back, withthe head toward the west and the face turned to the right. Thebody also had been covered w4th bark. The bones of one foot laynear the right knee; there was an interval of at least a foot betweenthe adjacent ends of a humerus and its radius; part of the sternum,one clavicle, and two ribs lay beyond the outer side of the right arm.Other bones w^ere in their proper positions, though the skull wascrushed flat. From the top of the skull to the end of the tibia was 5feet 9 inches. Two teeth could not be found; aU the others weresound, solid, and but little worn. The last molars had not appeared,and there seemed to be no room for them. On the mouth lay a rec-tangular shell gorget 2 J by 3} inches, having a hole at one end andanother at one edge, for suspension. The presence of incised lines,nearly obliterated, on the convex surface, suggested decorativemarkings of some kind. Under the skull and among the cervicalvertebrae were three cylindrical shell beads perforated from end toend, and particles of at least one other.About 3 feet north of the east end of this grave, lying on the yellowsubsoil thrown out in digging it, were portions of teeth and leg bonesof an elk?probably remains of a funeral feast; these were placed hereafter the grave was dug and before it was filled. Three feet farthernorth, in a hole a foot deep, were three roughly worked flint picks ordigging tools, two of them having the points broken off. These toolswere used, no doubt, in digging the grave; with them were a leg boneand broken jaw of a deer, and small scraps of mussel shell.
62 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [pull. 37MOUND NO. 2Mound no. 2 was a hundred yards west of no. 1. Its diameter was55 and height 8 feet.Distant 6 feet northeast of the center was the outer edge of a rectan-gular grave 8 feet-^2 inches northwest and southeast, 2 feet 8 incheswide, and 16 inches deep. The bottom had been hned with wood, onwhich lay an extended skeleton, with the head toward the northwest.Most of this had disappeared; the feet bones were solid, while theother bones remaining had become progressively softer. The skullhad entirely disappeared, only one tooth, worn to the gums, remain-ing. Against the instep of the right foot, which was turned outward,lay the top of the skull of a child about 4 years old; though it wassoft and crushed, most of it was still present. Only here and there,however, could be found a fragment of the rest of the frame. Somelarge solid teeth, not much worn, lay at the center of the grave, butthere was no trace of a skeleton to which these could have belonged.They probably represented all that was left of a skull deposited withthe two bodies mentioned.At the center was a grave, nearly rectangular, with rounded corners,though rather irregular in outline, the sides and ends not beingstraight either horizontally or vertically; its length, northwest andsoutheast, was 9 feet at the top, 8 feet 2 inches cm the bottom, itswidth 3 feet at the top, 2 feet 8 inches on the bottom, and its depth 2feet. In this grave, with its head to the west, was a skeleton 5 feet 8inches long, lying extended on the back; the teeth indicated consid-erable age. The bones of the skull, arms, and legs still held theirshape; other bones were more or less decayed, and none were solidexcept some phalanges. The larger bones were rough, as if fromrheumatism, and a joint of one finger was completely anchylosed.Six feet from the south edge of the central grave was the north edgeof a third grave parallel with it; this was 9 feet long, 3 feet 8 incheswide, and 15 inches deep. In it lay two skeletons side by side, withthe heads toward the west, extended on their backs, the faces beingturned toward each other. Only fragments of bones remained, andthese were crushed flat. The teeth of one skull were worn to thegums; those of the other were much less worn.At the west end of the grave, beyond and between the skulls, and ata little higher level, were several pieces of a pot which had been inten-tionally "killed" by knocking out the bottom from the inside.The three graves were made at intervals in the order here given.The earth from the first was thrown over the space later used for thesecond, and earth from this, in turn, over the site of the third.Four feet higher than the last grave, over the eastern end of it, wasthe skeleton of a child.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 63MOUND NO. 3Mound no. 3 was one-fourth of a mile northwest of the first twomounds, at the end of the spur overlooking the river; it was 45 feetin diameter and from 4 to 6 feet in height, according to the side fromwhich the measurement was taken.Near the surface on the western slope was part of a small potthrown in with the earth.Distant 10 feet south of the center, 4 feet from the bottom, under apavement of small flat stones were scraps of bone of a half-grownperson.Beneath the apex was a grave 2 feet 10 inches deep, having the fol-lowing dimensions at top and bottom, respectively: 8 feet 3 inchesand 7 feet 2 inches long; 3 feet 2 inches and 2 feet 4 inches wide at theeast end; 3 feet 9 inches and 2 feet 4 inches wide at the west end.Lying extended on the bottom, with traces of wood and bark aboveand below it, was a skeleton, with the head toward the west, whosebones, though more solid in a few parts than any other bones yetfound, were much decayed in, or wholly absent from, other parts.Beside the left knee were nine thin, slender, arrow-heads from five-eighths to nine-eighths of an inch long; judging from their positionthey had evidently been in a quiver. Beside the left side of the skulland at the neck were five pieces of columellas from 2f to 3| incheslong, drilled lengthwise; also six cylindrical shell beads, which fell topieces. The teeth were very little worn; one wisdom tooth had notgrown level with the next molar, and another could not be found,though the shallow socket showed it had existed.THE KURTZ MOUND, IN HOWARD COUNTY (13)Numerous mounds, some of them 15 feet in height, exist in thesouthwestern part of Boone county and in the adjacent part ofHoward county. In most of those which have been opened byfarmers and relic hunters, limestone or sandstone rocks from the sur-face and ravines near by are found in quantities. From the accountsgiven it would appear that cist graves or vaults have been found insome of the mounds, and many skeletons have been exhumed. Thecontents seem to have been but limited in quantity and commonplacein character.On the farm of Mr. Strother Kurtz, a mile northwest of Lloyd'sstation, which is 3^ miles west of Rocheport, are six mounds rangingin height from 2 to 12 feet.In one of these, 1 1 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, the centralportion was cleared out over an area averaging 24 feet in diameter.Nothing was found in the body of the structure except earth andabout four wagon-loads of stone promiscuously thrown in with it.
64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bvll. 37Around the center was a compact pile of stones covering a space 13feet by 11 feet 9 inches, the longer axis running slightly north of eastand south of west. (PI. 10, a.) The stones, which extended nearly 5feet above the natural level, inclosed a vault 7 feet 9 inches long.This vault was neatly rounded at both ends, the south face in asregular a line as could be followed with undressed stones; the northface curved outward; the width was 2 feet 4 inches where the curvebegan at the west end, 2 feet 5 inches at the east end, and 3 feet atthe center. Its general form may be seen in plate 10, b, and in plate11, Unfortunately, before the vault was fully exposed, meddlesomevisitors tore away the stones at the west end, making it appear as ifintentionally left open; as constructed, however, the two ends werealike.Inside the wall, at a depth of 21 inches, was a rock pavement onwhich were traces of a skeleton of medium size; some of the teethwere much worn, while others showed scarcely a trace of wear. Norelics of any character were above the slabs, but under the one onwhich the head had lain were three cylindrical shell beads an inchlong. When the pavement was removed it was found that it hadrested on filled-in earth, on which the vault was built. Test holesdug into this and carried under the wall disclosed no other stones,though there were many human bones, some of which extendedunder the inner margin of the vault wall, showing they were buriedbefore the latter was built.The wall of the grave and its outside bracer or supporting stoneswere next removed. Below the level of the pavement these wereapparently intended for no other purpose than to limit and confinethe earth of a mound about 3 feet high, erected as a foundationfor the vault; consequently they were torn away without any especialattention being paid to their position. Too late it was found thatthey formed the outer portion of another vault whose exact innerdimensions could not then be ascertained; but it was considerablylarger than the upper vault. It contained the remains of at least25 individuals, ranging in years from infancy to old age. Nearlyall were laid north and south; they were found at all levels fromthe original surface to the pavement of the upper vault, which, infact, rested in close contact with some of them. Scattered amongthem were fragments of partially cremated bone. The bodies seem tohave been interred at various times after death; in some cases boneswere in their proper order; in others, bundled, bunched, or scattered.In two instances, two skulls lay in immediate contact. Two skulls,a jaw, and one pot were secured in fairly good condition.It is much to be regretted that more careful work could not be donein the lower vault. But the nature of this structure was not ascer-tained until noon of the dav on which work had to close; and the
ULLETIN 37 PLATE 10
a EXTERIOR, LOOKING NEARLY EAST
h INTERIOR, LOOKING SOUTHWESTVAULT IN KURTZ MOUND


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 11
LOOKING NORTHEAST
LOOKING NEARLY EASTVAULT IN KURTZ MOUND
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 65
choice lay between tearing it all out hastily, determining as accuratelyas possible the method of construction and securing what it mightcontain, or abandoning it, practically untouched, for someone in theneighborhood to demolish.MOUNDS OPPOSITE KANSAS CITY (14)Four miles directly north of Kansas City, lying along both sidesof the line separating Clay and Platte counties, on the farms of Mr.Eugene Keller and Mr. J. P. Brenner, are IS mounds located on aridge approximately parallel with the Missouri bluffs and a fourth ofa mile from the ends of the projecting spurs. These mounds arenot evenly distributed, but are in subgroups of three, three, five,and seven, on knolls separated by slight depressions. All of themhave been excavated to a greater or less extent by relic hunters,and more methodically by members of the Kansas .City Academy ofScience and others. Abridgments of published reports are presentedbelow.Partly as a result of these reports, the impression has gone abroadthat the stone chambers described were intended as places of occupa-tion, or at least as shelters, and the name "underground houses"has been applied to them. It seems that in some of the mounds nostones were found, thus casting doubt upon the residential theory.In an article on "The Missouri Mound Builders,"" Judse E. P.West describes the result of his explorations in the group containingfive, all of which he excavated. Three of these contained vaults; thetwo others were composed entirely of earth. A portion of his reportis reproduced here, as follows
:
Number one, the most easterly, contains a stone chamber seven and one-half by-eight feet, three feet high, with a doorway two and a half feet wide in the center ofthe south wall. Within the chamber, and on the plane of the base of the wall, fivehuman crania and other human bones were found. Two of these crania were on thewest side, two on the east side, and one near the center. One of them was entirelypierced, probably by a small arrowhead.Number two contained a vault eight and one-half by eight and one-half feet, threeand a half feet high, with a doorway two and a half feet wide on the south side. Thischamber contained large quantities of burnt human and animal bones, burnt clay,wood ashes, and charcoal, extending from the plane of the base of the wall to withineighteen inches of the upper surface. Many fragments of human crania were found.One was eighteen inches below the top, better preserved than the others, and prob-ably an intrusive burial.Mound five contained a stone chamber eight and a half by eight and a half feet,four feet high, with a doorway two and a half feet wide at center of south wall. Itcontained a large quantity of burnt human and animal bones, burnt clay, wood ashes,and charred wood, all intermingled and extending entirely over the floor, at irregulardepths. In the center of the chamber this mingled ash heap was not less than eightinches thick. Beneath it, on the natural surface, parts of four skeletons were found.oin the Western Review of Science and Industry, I, 15, Kansas City, Mo., 1877-78.5780?Bull. 37?10 5
66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37These mounds were not covered with wood, because no traces of it are found; norwith stones, otherwise they would be in the vault. If covered at all, and it is highlyprobable they were, the covering must have been of the brick clay of which they arecomposed, and which is well adapted to the piu-pose, made into a stiff mortar andarched over the chamber like a bake oven, with an opening for the escape of smokeat the top; or else of the skins of animals, like a tent.Many reasons seem to justify the conclusion that these chamljers were dwellingplaces as well as places for interment. The doorway in all the chambers opening to thesouth, the great thickness of the ash heaps on the floor of the chambers, the intermin-gling of the bones with the ashes, and the size of the chambers?are all significant facts.The depth of the mingled ash heaps in mounds two and five precludes the idea thatthey could have been accumulated by the ordinary funeral rites, even though pro-tracted for weeks. The doorway, the number of skeletons, the thickness of ashes,preclude the idea of a single interment, the undisturbed upper strata preclude theidea of successive interments at different periods. It is probable, from the situationsin which the remains are found, covered with clay at no greater depth than the floor ofthe chamber, that successive interments, after the soft parts of the body had decayed,were made while the chamber was occupied as a dwelling, and so near the surfaceof the floor that the bones were sometimes reached by the domestic fire.Another of the mounds above mentioned, which stood in Mr.Keller's garden about a hundred yards north of his house, was openedby a party of students, apparently in the summer following JudgeWest's explorations. They made the following statement of theirdiscoveries to the Kansas City Star :On the farm of Mr. Eugene Keller in Clay county, a mound was opened and fiveskulls were found, with other bones. As no evidence of fire v/as found, it is supposedthat the bodies were not cremated, as were those in the mound opened by JudgeWest last October. One skull was found in an upright position, and almost under itwere the leg bones. This seems to prove that the body was placed in the mound in asitting posture. Another skeleton was found lying at full length along the side of thewall. Between twenty and thirty teeth were found, all in an excellent state of pres-ervation. They were all very much worn, some being worn flat, almost to the roots.* * *The mound contained a square stone chamber, facing almost east and west, with anentrance on the eastern side. It is supposed that these mounds were covered withearth, supported by a network of branches, and held in place by stones. This theoryis upheld by the fact that the bones are found so shattered, and that some of the skullswere crushed, also by the number of stones found in the mound.-In order to ascertain, if possible, the exact nature of the chambers,so that a comparison might be made with those farther down theriver, described in preceding pages of this report, several of thesemounds were carefully investigated. It was not to be expectedthat skeletons or associated objects would be found if the excavatorshad been thorough in their work; but it could be seen that portionsof the walls remained in several places, and there was a bare chancethat something might be discovered which would give a clue to themanner and purpose of the construction of these mounds.All measurements given in relation to these different groups pertainto the mounds as they exist after being cultivated and otherwisealtered in form.
fowke] antiquities of missouri 67The Keller MoundsOf the eighteen mounds, eleven are on the Keller farm. Theserange from 20 to 40 feet in diameter and from 2 to 5 feet in height.Three of them were examined.MOUND NO. 1The first mound was 400 feet north of Mr. Keller's house, near thatreferred to in the above account from the Star; it measured 40 feetin diameter and 3 feet in height. A shght depression in the topindicated previous excavation.Ditches were run in from the north and the east until rocks werereached; the rock deposit was followed around its entire outline,which was quite irregular, with an average breadth of 26 feet.The central space, filled with mingled earth and stone, was nextcleared out. Unfortunately, the earlier explorers, in the excess oftheir zeal, not only had dug entirely below the base level of themound, but had torn down most of the wall; the}^ had then thrownback promiscuously the material handled, leaving the interior in sochaotic a state that nothing could be learned of its original appearance.Only 7 feet of the wall was left intact along the north side; this wasabout 3^ feet high. Many of the stones composing this wall werelarger than one man could lay up, and the face was practicallyvertical.In the south wall was an entrance or doorway; only the east sideremained. A minor or wing wall extended several feet from this,gradually lowering and narrowing. Evidently a walled passage-way the width of the entrance had formerly existed, through whichit was necessary to pass in order to enter the vault. The south wall,east of the doorwa}^, was intact to the southeast corner of the vault.The distance from the corner of the doorway to the north wall wasabout 1 1 feet ; an exact measurement could not be made.MOUND NO. 2This mound was on a slope 30 yards east of no. 1 ; it measured 30feet in diameter, a foot in height on the upper, and 3 feet in height onthe lower, side.When the sod and upper earth were cleared away, there wasrevealed a rough wall, having some stones inclined at various angles,others laid flat. The area covered was shaped like a pear with aportion of the stem end cut off; it measured 22^ feet from north tosouth and 15 feet from east to west. The extension, whose directionwas down the slope, was the prolongation of two wing walls leading, oneon each side, from a doorway in the south wall. Through this wasreached a vault about 7^ feet square. The doorway was barely wide
68 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37enough to walk through, but as the bordering stones were all out ofline, the passage was no doubt more nearly adequate when made.The southwest and northeast corners of the vault were intact, aswas the west corner of the doorway, where not disturbed by theplow. The outside and top of the wall on the west side are shown inplate 12,a.Behind the stones forming the inner face was a backing of earth; theouter rocks were partly piled against this and partly laid on it.As in the first mound, the interior of the vault was so torn upthat its method of construction could not even be guessed at. Thewalls showed marks of intense heat; small fragments of partiallycremated bones were found ; and there was half a cartload of earth,some of the pieces as large as a gallon bucket, burned hard as abrick. This condition could result from the cremation of a bodyincased in or covered with clay; such finds have been reported.But numerous smaller pieces, from the size of a pea to that of a hen'segg, burned equally hard, and scattered here and there in depositedearth previously undisturbed and showing no marks of fire, must havebeen carried in from the outside in the process of building ; and per-haps all of it was. However this may be, a great fire had been main-tained for a considerable time within the vault.Several pieces of sihceous iron, ore were found, the interior hard,the outside soft and rubbing off' easily. Some of the stones were quitered where tha "paint" had settled on them. This may explain thered coloring matter on "painted bones" found elsewhere in thisvicinity, the oclier, softened by the action of water and carried alongby the same agent, having been deposited on the bones.The walls of this vault, while not now vertical, seem to have beenlaid up so, and afterward pushed in or out by pressure of earth andgrowing trees. The greatest height of any part was 2-^ feet.MOUND NO. 3Three hundred yards northwest of Mr. Keller's house were threesmall mounds close together. No stones appeared around one ofthese; in another the defaced walls of a vault were visible. Thethird seemed not to have been disturbed to any serious extent ; whenexcavated by the writer it was 40 feet in diameter and 2 feet inheight.The central portion was first cleared out, when a vault was disclosedwhich measured 8 feet north and south by 6 feet 9 inches east andwest, the walls following almost exactly cardinal fines. The stoneswere quite large, particularly on the north side where four of themmade up the entire height of the wall (pi. 12,7>). The greatest eleva-tion at any point was 26 inches, the least 21 inches; but some stonesmay have been plowed off the top. On the south side was a doorway
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 37 PLATE 12
a OUTSIDE AND TOP OF WEST WALL IN MOUND NO. 2
b NORTH WALL, AND CLOSED DOORWAY IN SUUTH WALL, IN MOUND NO. 3
C SOUTH WALL, DOORWAY, AND PASSAGE IN MOUND NO. 3FEATURES OF KELLER MOUNDS NOS. 2 AND 3

FowKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 692 feet 4 inches wide at bottom and 2 feet 7 inches at top ; the sideswere somewhat irregular, as if laid up hastily or carelessly, but thestones were much disturbed, so the vault may not have been in thesame condition as when built.At the bottom of the vault, in a shallow, irregular depression about2 by 4 feet, having its greatest length from north to south, were smallfragments of partially cremated bones of an adult and also of a child5 or 6 years old, scattered about over the surface as if carelesslythrown in, though it is quite possible their condition was due toformer excavating.Beneath these bones was a grave reaching from the east to thewest walls, 2 feet wide. In this, extending its full length, lay fourthin slabs 2 feet below the bottom of the wall; a similar slab at thewest end stood nearly upright, its surface in line with the inner faceof the vault. These rocks were not on the bottom of the grave, but4 inches above it, that amount of earth having been filled in beforethe stones were placed. No remains were found in the grave eitherabove or below the pavement except here and there a fragment ofburned bone too small to identify.After the burials were made and the vault was filled, the doorwaywas closed by means of earth and stones thrown in promiscuously, asshown in the illustration.Stones around the outside of the vault covered a space 18 feetnorth and south by 15 feet 4 inches east and west. The vault wallwas apparently upheld entirely around its lower part by earth uponwhich the stones were placed ; but as none were removed exceptfrom the doorway, this is only a surmise.All the walls were well laid up. The inside of the doorway, thesouth wall, and the two southern corners are shown in plate 12,c.The west and north walls and the northwest corner were equally dis-tinct. It will be observed from the last figure that the corners areabutting and not interlocking, and that only occasionally are stonesso placed as to break joints; even when they do so the constructionmay not be the result of design. The south wall abutted on the ad-joining walls at each end; the north wall against the east wall; thewest wall against the north wall. It appears, therefore, that thewalls were erected in this order: East, north, west, while the southwall may have been either the first or the last laid up.The Brenner MoundsMr. Brenner's farm lies next to IVIr. Keller's on the west, and in-cludes the terminal portion of the ridge, which slopes toward theriver on one side and toward Line creek on the other. Along thecrest are seven mounds, all of which were explored by Prof. G. C.Broadhead "in the summer of 1878, in company with members of the
70 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Kansas City Academy of Science and the Kansas State Academy ofScience."Of the three mounds farthest east, Professor Broadhead says in hisreport:"
* * * they .seemed to be nicely rounded earth mounds, but digging into themeach disclosed regularly built walls about three feet high, exactly at right angles toeach other, and enclosing a space 7 feet 9 inches square. The walls were constructedof thin, even layers of limestone laid flat upon each other, and built up with a regularperpendicular face, in fact much more true to the line than many so-called masonswould place them. The crypts appeared to have been built above ground. * * *In No. 3 several skulls and one good skeleton were found,together with fragments of others. With the exception of thisone skeleton all seemed to have been buried in a sitting pos-ture, or with knees bent, the hands close to or resting on theknees. * * * This vault had an entrance 3 feet wideopposite the eastern side, as represented in figure 9.bThe vault in Mound No. 2 contained a large quantity ofcharcoal, with fragments of charred bones, and much of theclay was reddened by burning. This was evidently a crema-tion vault.The vault in Mound No. 1 is similar in sha])e and contents tothat of No. 2 * * *. The vaults in each of the mounds 1,2, and 3 had entrances or openings in the wall 3 feet wide, extending to the bottomof the wall. * * *Mound No. 4, the largest, is about 5 feet high and 40 feet in diameter, and is builtentirely of earth.Mound No. 6 was similar to 1 and 2, and contained a concealed vault 7 feet 9 inchessquare, but without an entrance. Eight human skulls were obtained from this vault,but no complete skeleton, althoughsome bones were exhumed in a fairstate of preservation. In digging intothis vault a few flags of limestone werefound a few inches below the surface.Eighteen inches below was anotherfragmentary roof of limestone, beneathwhich skulls and portions of vertebrae were disclosed. The flagstones were not reg-ularly arranged nor quite close to each other, but only a few appear to have beenplaced above the bones, and then earth was heaped upon them. Some fragments offlagstones were also found in No. 2, perhaps the remains of a former roof.Of the mounds described by Professor Broadhead, two wereexamined. As stated, his ''No. 3" reappears here as
?
Fig. 14. Broadhead 's planof vault in Brennermound no. 1.
^-- Qre-?-r--f\Fig. 15. Broadhead's section of Brenner mound no. 1.
MOUND NO. 1This mound was 38 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height, but, likeall the others, had been originally higher. The stones of the walls,projecting here and there above the grass, could be traced in mostof their circuit. The space inclosed by them was nearly filled with
a Smithsonian Report tor 1879. 352-354, Washington, 1880.b Reproduced here as figure 14. Professor Broadhead's view of a section of the mound is reproducedhere as figure 15. Mound no. 3 of Broadhead corresponds to mound no. 1 of the present writer.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 13
EAST WALL, DOORWAY, AND PASSAGE IN MOUND NO. 1
NORTH WALL, SHOWING ABUTTING STONES, IN MOUND NO. 2FEATURES OF BRENNER MOUNDS NOS. 1 AND 2
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 71
earth containing many rocks torn from the walls. Removal of thisdebris disclosed a vault 8 feet 4 inches east and west by 8 feet northand south. The west and north walls had been partially demolished,the former having been pushed inward at the middle by a tree whichhad grown on it; the east wall was intact. The greatest height ofthe wall was 3 feet. The walls abutted at the corners.The doorway on the eastern side measured 2 feet 7 inches wide atbottom. Access to it was between two wing walls, extending east-ward for a distance of 6 feet 6 inches from the inner face of the vault,while bracer stones, roughly laid, extended 3 feet farther in the samedirection. Neither wing wall was laid up smoothly or regularly.On the south side, the width from the inner face of the vault tothe outer margin of the brace rocks was 6 feet. The other sides werenot cleared off; but these measurements indicate for the entire areacovered by stones a space about 20 feet north and south by 24 feeteast and west, the excess of the latter dimension over the formerbeing due to the extension of the wing walls on each side of the en-trance.In plate 13 are shown the east wall and doorway, inside.There is no mention in Professor Broadhead's report of the fifthmound opened by him. His "No. 6 " must have been the last or mostwestern of the group, as the sixth in order had a well-defined doorway;it is here described as
?
MOUND NO. 2This mound stood on a northward-sloping surface. It measured45 feet in diameter and 5 feet in height. One inside corner of thevault was visible, the stones apparently not having been displaced.Wlien the debris was thrown out it was evident that only the eastand west walls, including a corner of the doorway, were injured.The other walls were in practically their original condition, only afew stones along the top being somewhat out of position. Acrossthe center the vault measured 8 feet each way; the sides followednearly cardinal lines, though not parallel, the east and west wallsshowing more divergence than the other two. Each wall in succes-sion was measured at top and bottom, the results being: North wall,8 feet 6 inches and 7 feet 11 inches, respectively; west wall, 8 feet 7inches and 7 feet 4 inches; south wall, 7 feet 5 inches and 7 feet 7inches; east wall, 8 feet and 7 feet 10 inches. These dimensionsshow there was considerable outward slope to the south and eastwalls while the other two were perpendicular.The highest vertical measure of any face?the same on north andwest sides?was 3 feet 8 inches.The walls in this structure were laid up more accurately than inany other examined.
72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37On the bottom of the vault were four flat stones, under which werefemora and parts of skulls of two adults, and a femur of a personhalf-grown. All these had been dug out and thrown back at anearlier exploration. They were solid and fresh-looking, though onlythe shafts of the femora remained; all were much gnawed by mice.The doorway in the south wall was 2 feet 3 inches wide at thebottom. This also was reached between wing walls, which werewell laid up for 3 feet 10 inches from the inside of vault, and con-tinued irregularly for 3 feet farther. The brace rocks of the mainwalls were larger than found elsewhere, and placed in a more orderlymanner. The measurements between their outer margins were 19feet 5 inches north and south by 15 feet 2 inches east and west.The north wall with abutting stones is shown in plate 13, and thesouth wall inside, with west wall of doorway, are shown in plate 14.It is clear that these misnamed "underground houses" are ofessentially the same character as the burial vaults in Boone andother counties to the eastward. The only point of difference is inthe wing walls extending outward from the doorway, a feature thathas not been noted elsewhere. There can be no doubt that all these
''vaults" were intended for burial places, and for that purpose only.Though careful watch was kept, no indication was discovered in anyof them of supports for a roof or other covering to shelter the interiorfrom the weather. Neither was there trace of a fire-bed or ofthe natural accumulation of rubbish which would result from occu-pancy for living purposes. The diminutive size of the chambersis also against the theory of "houses;" though large enough to crawlinto, yet if poles had been laid across even at a sharp angle andthatched with grass or weeds, there would have been no room tostand or move about; a skin wigwam would be more commodiousand satisfactory. The condition and appearance of the earth inall of them prove it was carried in; it did not fall from, or with,a roof. The Klamm MoundNorth of Brenner's is Mr. Klamm's farm. On a narrow ridge onhis land stood a mound about 25 by 30 feet and 4 feet high. Severalyears ago the north end was much dug by relic hunters, and in thefall of 1906 the remainder of it was torn out. All this work was donerecklessly; shortly after the last spoliation, among the earth andstones thrown out were fragments of bones indicating the presence ofthe remains of at least four persons, one of large stature. There werethree jaws, two those of persons not fully grown; in the other jaw themolars had disappeared so long before death that the cavity in thebone had entirely closed. Broken pottery, scattered around, showedby varying decoration that not fewer than four vessels were de-stroyed.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 73The last excavator could remember that he had found
?
Nine whole pots, but broke seven of them in getting them out. One of the pots wadmuch larger than the others and had angels stuck on all around; but these all droppedoff. There was a lot of shells and shell beads, yellow paint, some flints, hoes, arrows,and things like that. There were three whole skulls, but these broke all to pieces ingetting them out.The ''yellow paint" was red hematite, which had colored some ofthe bones and gave the impression they had been painted. This wasdue altogether to natural action of water soaking through. The
"angels" were small, crudely made objects, apparently rude attemptsto represent heads of birds, attached to the pots after they were par-tially hardened.DISTRIBUTION OF VAULT-GRAVESThe researches so far made, described in these pages, show the stonevaults to extend from the great bend of the Missouri river at KansasCity, to the mouth of the Gasconade. Mounds containing "stones,"or ' 'stone graves," are reported beyond these limits in both directions;but whether these are vaults, cist-graves, or merely loosely piledstones, can not be ascertained with certainty from the reports.There is said to be an aboriginal burial-place near Eureka Springs,Ark., where "walled pens of stone" contain skeletons covered witha slight thickness of earth, but with no mound over them. It isreported also that the Osage Indians formerly disposed of their dead,or of some of them, in this manner. Osage once lived along theMissouri, and moved up the river which bears their name.One of the writer's workmen stated he had ' 'seen Indians out in theTerritory build a wall like these we are digging out, and put the deadinside."These vague reports are merely recorded here; they are not givenas facts, or indorsed as being worthy of consideration in the absence ofmore definite knowledge.So far as we have accurate or reliable information, these vaults areknown in only two other Missouri counties.In the Smithsonian Report for 1879 (p. 351) Professor Broadheaddescribes
?
* * * an ancient walled burial place situated on the summit of a ridge 250 feetin height, which rises on the north side of Salt river,a in the southeast quarter of sec-tion 11, township 55, range 3 west. The walls are constructed of rough limestonetaken from the subjacent strata of the hill, and they enclosed two vaults, each 9 feetsquare, and from 2 to 3 feet in height. The vaults were not exactly in the same linebut varied about 5?. Some of the stones had been removed and carried off. I sawonly a few fragments of human bones, but was informed that other and very largebones had been found. The annexed sketch exhibits the form and relative position
a Salt river flows into the Mississippi about four miles north of the town of Louisiana.
74 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BDLL. 37
of the two vaults, with their dimensions in feet marked thereon. They appear to havebeen originally built with a step on the outer face, as shown at B. The outer portionof the wall lies partly tumbled as if pulled down. Other similar burial places haveexisted in the county, bu.t at present their sites only remain, the stones having beenused for building purposes.The sketch mentioned is reproduced here as figure 16.Evidently Professor Broadhead regarded the two vaults as con-stituting a single burial place. The open space to the left, marked
"rocks removed," is clearly a doorway. Reference to the variousillustrations herein will show that in any of the vaults with bracerocks piled against the outside "the outer portion of the wall liespartly tumbled as if pulled down."He says further (p. 352)
:
In Montgomery county, on the bluffs of Prairie Fork, near its mouth, in the south-east quarter of section 9, township 47, range 6 west, there are remains of a similarwalled burial place to that on Salt river. Pike county. The walled space is ten feet
Fig. 16. Broadhead's plan of two vaults in Pike county.
square, and the walls were two feet high when I saw them in 1859. A few pieces ofhuman bones were found.And again, on the same page, in regard to certain mounds inJohnson county:These I have not seen. They are located on the bluffs of Blackwater river, and aredescribed as being very similar to those of Clay county, but of larger dimensions,with vaults built of stone, and having lids of the same kind of material, the wholecovered over with earth so as to present the contour of large rounded mounds. Somepottery and flint implements have been obtained from them.The reference to "lids" is obscure. Possibly it means that flatstones were used to cover the vault after it was filled.Mounds in Vicinity of Warrensburg (15)No doubt the last-named mounds are those referred to by C. W.Stevenson'* under the head of " New Mound Discoveries," in substanceas follows:
a In the Kansas City Review of Sciences and Industry, ii, 106, 1878-9.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 75In the vicinity of Warrensburg [15] ? are mounds, every one excavated showing astone box within, forming a true cist. They are essentially the same, their dimen-sions being nine by eleven feet, and six feet deep.It is unfortunate that we have not a more detailed account of thesemounds.THE "INDIAN HOUSE" IN PIKE COUNTY (16)Among the remains which have aroused great interest, but whichhave been instrumental in creating a false impression concerningthe aborigines of the Mississippi valley, is a peculiar stonework inPike county, near Louisiana.The earliest known reference to this structure is found in a workby Beck.^ The illustration which he gives has been widely copied, andits complete lack of resemblance to anything ever constructed by a"Red Indian," or by his mythical predecessor, the "Mound Builder,"has furnished a basis for all sorts of fanciful theories. The smooth-ness and regularity of the walls, the accurate alignment of the stones,as portrayed in his cut (reproduced here as fig. 17), might well excitethe envy of a skilled stone mason of our own day. The statementin his text that "all the walls consist of rough unhewn stone" provesthe inaccuracy of the drawing, in which they are shown as smoothand even as they could be made with modern tools and machinery.Nevertheless, writers imbued with the idea of a "lost race" or a
"high civilization" overlook this inconsistency and take only thedrawing as a text.Beck's description follows:Noyer creek, a trifling steam, runs an easterly course through Pike county andempties into the Mississippi two miles below the mouth of Salt river. It is princi-pally noted on account of the singular ancient works found on its banks about twomiles southwest of the town of Louisiana. They are built of stone, with great regu-larity, and their site is high and commanding, from which I am led to infer that theywere intended for places of defence. Works of a similar kind are found on the banksof Buffaloe creek and on the Osage river. They certainly form a class of antiquitiesentirely distinct from the walled towns, fortifications, barrows or mounds. Theregularity of their form and structure favors the conclusion that they were the workof a more civilized race than those who erected the former?a race familiar with therules of architecture, and perhaps with a perfect system of warfare. The annexedengraving [fig. 17] will illustrate the form of these works.Fig. 1, faces the southeast.ABCD outer wall, 18 inches in thickness; length 56 feet; breadth 22 feet.(All the walls consist of rough unhewn stone, and appear to have been constructedwith remarkable regularity. Although they are at present considerably decayed,their form is still distinct.)E is a chamber, 3 feet in width, which was no doubt arched the whole way, as somepart of the arch still remains. It is made in the manner represented in fig. 3, and isseldom more than five feet above the surface of the ground; but as it is filled withrubbish, it is impossible to say what was its original height.
a The corresponding number on the map (pi. 1) designates this group of mounds.b A Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri, by Lewis C. Beck; Albany, 1823.
76 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BUM,. ;'.7F is a chamber, 4 feet wide, and in some places the remains of a similar arch stillexist.G is a chamber, 12 feet in width, at the extremity of which are the remains of afurnace.H is a large room, walled with two entrances, I and K. It is covered with a thickgrowth of trees.The walls are at present from two to five feet in height.
' HtMB^
T .|lflll , ?lllll!J1i^HW>i^; VAffrrff:'
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Fio. 17. Giddings's sketch of the Louisiana work (from Beck's Gazetteer).One of the trees in the work is two feet in diameter.Fig. 2 is a smaller work, about 80 rods due east from the former.A and C are two chambers, without any apparent communication with B.B is a room nearly circular, with one gate or entrance.The walls are similar to the former.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 77For the account of these interesting antiquities, I am chiefly indebted to the Rev.S. Giddings, of St. Louis, who visited them a few years since and sketched a plan ofwhich this is a copy. It should be remarked that in the passage G (fig. 1) severalhuman bones have recently been found.The above work is on a ridge about half a mile long and 400 feethigh, 2 miles in a direct line southwest of Louisiana; this is knownas the McMoore hill, from a former owner. ''Nye" creek, as it iscalled by residents (the "Noix" creek of Broadhead; "Noyer" ofBeck) , flows along the west side and north end ; on the east is a deepravine, on the south a low gap. Thus the hill is almost isolated.
.The slope is so steep as to be quite difficult of ascent at every pointexcept the south end. There is no level ground on the summit, theslopes terminating in a sharp curve along the median line. The
"walls" are on the south end of the ridge, probably 30 feet lowerthan the highest point, and west of the crest; the north end of thestructure is fully 3 feet higher than the south end, making the naturaldirect slope between them from the northeast to the southwestcorner.The whole place had been so thoroughly ransacked by relic huntersthat no trace of a wall was visible at any point; but many stones,ranging in size from small angular fragments like gravel to slabsweighing 300 pounds, were scattered confusedly over a space 65 by42 feet. There was enough stone to make a mound probably 50 by25 feet, and 2 feet high.A trench was run around the outer margin at ample distance toinclude all the part on which it seemed possible the walls could havestood; this trench was continuous except where trees interferedwith digging. Bed rock, which outcropped on the slopes a few feetbelow and on each side, was found within a foot or less of the surfaceof the debris, except at the north end where earth washing down thenatural slope of the ridge had covered it a few inches deeper.From this trench excavations were made on every side toward thecenter, to ascertain whether any stones remained undisturbed; butnone such were found except about the northeast corner. Herewere two slabs, each as heavy as two men could handle. One wasat the beginning of a row of flat stones extending 12 feet southward;the other at the beginning of a similar row reaching 15| feet west-ward. These partial rows were all that remained as they were origi-nally placed, and formed the bottom of the wall around this corner.For the most part there was only a single layer; but for a few feet onthe north side there were two, three, and in one place four, stonessuperposed, as seen in plate 14,6; these were all thin and small. Abrupt
"steps" or offsets along the bed rock in the interior indicated thatthe aborigines had pried off all they could of the projecting outcrop,for the double purpose, probabl}^, of making level spaces on the bottomand procuring material for the wall.
78 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 37When all debris was removed so the ground could be inspected,the distance from the northeast corner, outside, to a point where itseemed the northwest corner should be was 22 i feet; to a similarpoint at the southeast corner, 48^ feet. When the condition of theremains is considered, these figures do not differ greatly from thosegiven by Beck. Measuring outwardly at right angles from the pointat which the two walls met (at the ends of the pick and shovel,pi. 14, b), the width of the east wall was 6 feet; of the north wall, 4feet.In plate 14, 6 are shown the outside of the north wall and the topof the east wall, looking south from the outside.It is apparent that the bottom layer, whatever its breadth, restedon the surface of the ground, and that the wall was not laid up eithervertically or longitudinally in a manner more symmetrical or accuratethan is possible with rough slabs having a wide variation in shapes andsizes. Moreover, it is said in the text that the walls were partiallydemolished before the sketch was made. In view of these facts, itwould seem clear that Mr. Giddings saw only a portion of the struc-ture and that his drawing as given by Beck is largely conjectural.Instead of separate stones being shown as they would actuallyappear in form and dimensions, Beck's figure is its own witness thatspaces to represent each rock are marked off along nearly parallellines. Furthermore, the walls are represented as standing uprightinstead of being flat on the ground; limestone slabs of irregularshapes, even if set up edgewise, could not have such symmetrical,brick-like outlines. Indeed, it is quite likely that the original sketch,made on the spot, was rather crude, its present finished appearancebeing such as would accord with the ideas of a draftsman who drewthe stones after the conventional manner of text-books.Col. Richard Hawkins, of Louisiana, says he first saw this workin 1867, and that the "wall" was then 2 feet high in some places.On the other hand, Mr. Homer Reed, whose father formerly ownedthe land, says he has a distinct recollection of it since 1868, and thatit was not then essentially different from what it is now?a pile ofrocks without any regularity, and certainly without resemblance toa wall at an}^ point. He was present on more than one occasionwhen his father was excavating in the cairn which, first and last, hedid pretty thoroughly, finding some eight or ten skeletons ratherclose together, but each in its own "grave." These were l.ying onthe surface (a dug grave would be impossible in this rock), coveredor protected by rocks set along the sides of each body and inclinedinward at the top. Probably this position of the protecting rocksgave rise to the idea of an "arch." It will be observed that Becksays there were only remains of an arch. His sketch, "D, 3," how-ever, shows a grave that is built up remarkably like a so-called "fur-
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ULLETIN 37 PLATE 14
a SOUTH WALL, DOORWAY, AND PASSAGE IN BRENNER MOUND NO. 2
b LOOKING ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE LOUISIANA WORKFEATURES OF BRENNER MOUND NO. 2 AND OF THE LOUISIANA WORK

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 79nace" in Allamakee county, Iowa, made of rough sandstone slabsgradually drawn together until one stone reaches both sides at thetop.<^The only relics found in this cairn, so far as Mr. Reed can remember,were some small shell beads (columellas).The "wall no, 2" of Beck's drawing is fully half a mile in a directline east of this work; it also is on a hilltop. As there are two stonemounds here, only a few yards apart, within plain view of each other,it is singular that only one should be mentioned. It may be thatthe second had not been opened at the time; it certainly could not beoverlooked. The seniorMr. Reed examined these mounds also ; judgingfrom their present appearance, they were only cairns, perhaps with acist grave inside. The interior has been cleared out and the stoneshave been thrown toward the margin all around. There is no sign of awall, and Mr. Reed says there never was one; neither is there anyindication that either rock pile was ever in the square form shown.At present, the outline of the base in each is an irregular circle, all thecentral stones having been removed, down to the natural surface.A well-made clay pipe was found in one of these.Small cairns stand on many of the hills along the river and on"Nye" creek. From the descriptions of those opened they containcists, or small bowl-shaped graves, in which are skeletons covered withflat rocks.It is reported that near Busch station, north of Louisiana, on a ridgebetween Salt river and the Mississippi, there were at one time walledgraves, the walls being partially sunk in the earth, but that all arenow destroyed. The expression "sunk in the earth" probably meansearth was piled over or against them but not to such extent as tomake a noticeable mound. Probably these graves are the same asthose described by Broadhead (see page 73).Beck's Gazetteer (p. 234) contains other references to "IndianHouses." Under Gasconade county is found the following:
* * * a stone work exists, as I am informed by General Ashley, about 10 milesbelow the mills [referring to some "sawmills" whose location is not given]. It ison the west side of the Gasconade, and is about 25 or 30 feet square, and, although atpresent in a dilapidated condition, appears to have been originally built with anuncommon degree of regularity. It is situated on a high bald cliff, which commandsa fine and extensive view of the country on all sides. From this stone work is a smallfootpath running in a devious course down the cliff to the entrance to a cave, in whichwas found a quantity of ashes.Under Pike county (p. 243) is the statement
?
In this county are several singular and interesting ancient works, which are similarin some respects to those on the Gasconade. They are situated on Noyer creek, andwill be described under that article.
a For description see Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 106, 1890-91 , Washington, 1894.In the same report (p. 107), is a figure of a circular vault near the "furnace," similarly laid up.
80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 37But Beck makes no mention of any on "Noyer creek" other thanthe one near Louisiana.Again, on page 263:[On] Buffaloe creeh, a small stream of Pike county, * * * there are also theruins of a number of ancient forts, similar to those on the Noyer creek and Osage river.On page 289 : .LoHtre river, a stream of Montgomery county, * * *, On the headwaters of thisstream are said to be ancient works, similar to those on the Mississippi, for a descriptionof which the reader is referred to Noyer creek.It would seem from the text tliat Beck's knowledge of these remainswas derived entirely from reports made to him. Possibly, too, heconfused "houses" and "cairns."One of these "houses" is on a bluff overlooking the Osage, a milefrom the "Painted Rock," 16 miles nearly south of Jefferson City.A space approximately square and some 12 feet in diameter is sur-rounded by a heavy stone wall about 3 feet high. A similar smallerinclosure stands against one side of this "house," or perhaps all con-stitute one structure of irregular form. As no excavation wasallowed, its nature is uncertain, but it seems to be a vault, not coveredwith earth as is customary.If the reader will turn back to various illustrations herein, showingboth the inside and the outside of vault-graves and will then consultanew Broadhead's drawings of the Pike county and Platte countymounds, in which are represented the outside regularly laid up in hypo-thetical steps (figs. 14, 15, 16), and will finally compare these with thesketch by Mr. Giddings (fig. 17), he will probably infer that the
"Indian House" of Pike county, as well as all the others mentioned,are simply walled graves built in conjunction, and not covered over.The fact that chamber E was "filled with rubbish," that "inG * * *human bones have recently been found," and the discoveries madeby Mr. Reed in his excavations, are all in consonance with the viewthat such is their purpose.The explicit statements of Mr. Giddings and Colonel Hawkins thatthey saw the walls can not be set aside. Walls of some sort, thoughnot as pictured, certainly existed. There is evidence in the illustra-tion in plate 14, h, of a vertical outside face at the northeast corner.The bottom rocks here were never disturbed by relic hunters, conse-quently had brace rocks been piled against the outside they wouldstill be in place; but there are none. Again, there is not now, andprobably never was, enough earth on the upper part of McMoore'shill to build a mound completely over this structure.Only one explanation ofi^ers itself.The aborigines made burial chambers in a series, whether all atone time or during a long period does not appear. These were rock-
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 81
walled enclosures constructed on the same general plan as those de-scribed on preceding pages. But as both earth and stones were diffi-cult to procure, a mound was not practicable, nor could the walls bebraced in the usual manner. So another wall, facing outward, wasbuilt around the grave vaults, the two probably leaning slightly to-ward each other, thus affording mutual support. Slight evidence ofsuch construction is offered in the condition of the east wall, where thelarge stone at the corner is entirely outside the line of stones extendingtoward the south. PAINTED ROCK (17)Among the numerous paintings on rocks and cliffs in the Missourivalley is one on the right bank of Osage river, 25 miles above itsmouth and 16 miles south of Jefferson City.The figures, evidently made with ocher or powdered hematite, arenow faint. On a rock face high above flood are a so-called "buffalo,"a design resembling a man with upraised arms, and several otherstoo nearly obliterated to venture a guess as to their meaning. Lower,where the river occasionally covers them, are a zigzag line, probablyintended for a serpent, and two or three ''turkey tracks;" the lattermay indicate diverging trails in the vicinity.The paint has penetrated the soft limestone to a slight depth,a fact which accounts for the preservation of the figures. The sur-face of stone of this character gradually weathers off, the rate oferosion depending on the degree of exposure to atmospheric influ-ences; so in time the figures will entirely disappear. It is quiteunlikely they are of considerable antiquity; even in dry caves theroof and walls slowly disintegrate, and the process is naturally muchmore rapid with rocks in the open air.The late Attorney-General H. Clay Ewing, of Jefferson City, givesthe following tradition as to the origin of the figures i*^
* * * Painted Rock is at the upper end of the bluff and gets its name fromvarious rude drawings representing animals, such as buffalo and deer. These paint-ings are composed of some red substance, which can be plainly seen from the river.The figure most distinct seems to have been intended for a buffalo; it is about fifteeninches long and eight or nine inches high. * * * There is a rather interestinglegend concerning this rock.He then proceeds to describe the capture by Indians of MarieRoy, daughter of Joseph Roy, one of the principal men of the vfllageof Cote Sans Dessein, and of the nine-year-old son of Widow Moreau,and of their rescue. Four men set out in pursuit of the Indians
?
Joseph Roy, Jean Moreau, and two unnamed companions. Roy andone man went up the Osage; Moreau and the other man up the creek
a In an article in the American Field gf April 14, 1882.5780?Bull. 37?10 6
82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37which now bears the former's name. Moreaii and his companionwere probably waylaid, as it is said "they never returned, and hisname was given to the river."Roy and his companion hid their canoe, went across the countryon foot, and thus got above the Indians and their captives, whowere in canoes. Taken by surprise, the Indians ran away, and thewhites started back.
* * * When they passed the rock where the figures I have described appeared,Marie told her father that they had stopped there for a few hours as they went up,and the head man or chief in charge of the party had "painted the rock," and fromthat day to this it is called the Painted Rock.OLD FORT AND VILLAGE SITE IN SALINE COUNTY (18)The area lying along the bluffs overlooking the Missouri riverfrom two to six miles southwest of Miami, in Saline county, is asuccession of knolls, ridges, and peaks, having steep slopes on everyside except where cols connect them with one another or with theplateau farther back from the stream. The summits are of moderateelevation, nowhere more than 200 feet above the level of the overflowbottom land; most of them are less than 150 feet. In some casesrock outcrops near the bottom of the bluffs, but none is found at agreater elevation than 75 to 100 feet, all above this being loess.Near the river the natural wear of the land is reinforced by theaction of numerous springs which flow out over the limestone, andwork precipitous ravines into the bluffs, the combined surface andsubterranean erosion producing the rugged features to which thisregion owes its rather fanciful name of "The Pinnacles."Aboriginal burial mounds stand on various points along the bluffs,though not in so great numbers as farther up or down the Missouri;the largest, so far as can be remembered by residents, was not morethan 6 feet high. Nearly all of the mounds have been dug into moreor less; but it seems very little has been discovered in them.Old FortOn a ridge running nearly south from the general level of the table-land, on the farm of Mr. George P. Haynie, of Miami, is an eartheninclosure popularly known as the "Old Fort." Its exact location ison E. h SW. \ SE". \ sec. 24, T. 52 N, R. 22 W.The north and south ends are on the summit of the ridge, whilethe east and west sides are carried along on the slopes at variousdistances below, curving and winding along the hillsides to conformas nearly as may be with the various inequalities produced bynatural erosion.
fowke] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 83A better understanding of the work may be had from the map(fig. 18) than from verbal description; the soHd black lines representembankments, the shaded lines ditches. The work is plainly defen-sive in nature. Except at the ends, approach is possible only byclimbing the slopes; the latter, however, are not so steep as topresent peculiar difficulty. The most accessible and vulnerablepart is at the northern extremity; here the overlapping ends of thewall compel a detour in entering. At the opposite end, where thereis a considerable levelarea outside thewalls, protection is in-sured, or augmented,by a complicated ar-rangement of minorembankments andtrenches. But thesides of these couldnot be made so steep,nor of sufficient heightor depth, with theamount of earth avail-able, as to balk a de-termined enemy.Residents in thevicinity who were fa-miliar with the workbefore it was dis-turbed, state therew^as an interior ditchall around except atthe entrances. Pro-fessor B r o a d h e a d
,
who also saw it inprimitive forest, givesthe following descrip-tion:" Fig. 18. The '? Old Fort" in Saline county.In Saline county, Missouri, four miles southwest of Miami, I visited, in 1872, aninteresting locality showing ancient earthworks, walls, and ditches on high groundin a dense wood. The outline was somewhat of a circular shape, though quite irregu-lar, caused by ravines breaking off near the outer rim, the walls being re-entrant insuch places. The inclosed space is about 40 acres, around which there partly extendedthree ridges and two valleys, or rather depressions, where at one time existed deepditches. We have first a ridge 8 feet wide and 3 feet high, then a ditch 6 feet wideand 3 feet deep, then a ridge 8 feet wide and 3 feet high, then a ditch 10 feet wide
a. Smithsonian Report for 1879, 356, Washington, 1880.
84 BUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37
and 3 feet deep, and lastly a ridj^e 10 feet wide and li feet high. The ridges wereapparently entirely formed of earth dug from the ditches, and two of them extendedentirely around the space. No rocks appeared near by or in the enclosure. Black-oak trees 3 to 5 feet in diameter were growing over the walls, ditches, and inner area,and the whole surface was covered with a dense and luxuriant growth of bushes,vines, and trees. The ridges had certainly been at one time much higher, and theditches much deeper.The meaning of the hist sentence is, probably, that they musthave been "higher" and "deeper" in order to be effective. As willappear later, when Professor Broadhead saw them they were in a con-dition not very different from that in which the builders left them,being protected by the forest growth which he mentions.The following are extracts from the report of Judge West inregard to Missouri archeology. Referring to this earthwork, he says:"On this spur, about a quarter of a mile back from its terminus on the river valley,stands a wonderful work, known as the "Old Fort." It consists of intrenchmentsthrown up on the verge of the summit of the ridge on both sides. The intrench-ments are still from two to three feet deep, and are on either side one thousand onehundred feet in length measuring through the center from end to end, and inclosean area of from two hundred to three hundred feet wide, the trenches following thecurvature of the summit of the ridge. At the sides there is but a single trench, butat each end there is a double defense closing the trenches except leaving a pass-wayabout fifteen feet wide. Near the center of the work a single trench is thrown upconnecting with the main trench on either side, with a pass-way in the center ofthe same width as those at the ends. There are four small mounds in the works,which were opened last summer by Mr. Middletou, of Kansas City. Two of themounds stand at the north entrance and to the right of the pass-way as you approachfrom the north, and two of them are near the center cross intrenchments to theleft of the pass-way as you approach from the same direction. Mr. Middletonfound human bones, broken pottery, and flint chippings in the mounds. Thebones were very much decayed. The pottery is precisely the same as that found inthe fields in the vicinity. The trees growing in the intrenchments are of the sameage as those in the adjacent forests. * * *I dug into two of these mounds, in the field of Mr. Casebolt?they extend overfour or five large farms?and for a depth of five feet I found successive layers ofwood ashes and clay filled with broken pottery, flint chippings, bones, and shells.The bones were those of birds and animals. But Mr. Casebolt, on the same farm,had a cellar dug under a part of his house after it was built, and in digging, at a depthof about three feet, two human skeletons were found side by side, buried extendedin a horizontal position at full length. The bones were said to be very much decayed,and crumbled upon exposure to the atmosphere.These mounds are possibly among the group on the adjacent farm,to the northwest of the "Fort," though it is more probable theywere two of the smaller elevations at the village site to be describedlater. If the latter, Judge West happened to strike one of the shal-lower pits and followed it to the bottom.Some time after these visits the timber and brush on the hilltopand for a few yards outside the structure on the slopes were cleared
oin the Kansas City Review of Science, 530, Jan., 1882.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 85away and the ground was put under cultivation. As a result, theditch is more or less filled in its entire circuit and wholly obliteratedfor some distance along the southeastern side. At several placesoutside the main wad there is still visible a partially filled ditch;and even where no trace of a depression appears the outer slope ofthe wall rises from a space artificially leveled in such manner thatit resembles an old roadway; in fact, the resemblance is so strikingthat may persons suppose this to have been its purpose. It is thusproved that the wall was built with earth taken up on both sides,leaving a continuous ditch within and a ditch or level strip without,as shown in the various sections in figure 18.The entire length of the principal wall, not including offsets orminor elevations, is about 2,700 feet; its extremely tortuous coursemay be inferred from the fact that in this distance it was necessaryto set the compass at just forty stations in order to ascertain thechanges of direction. The area included is slightly more than 6acres.The rank growth covering the entire work rendered it necessary toclear off with knife, scythe, and ax every foot examined. Conse-quently no work other than a survey was attempted, except tocut two trenches across the wall and extend them to the naturalearth on both sides. These crosscuts, which were made not farfrom the north entrance, one on the east, the other on the west,where the wall was least altered from its original condition, showedthe fill from wash and natural accumulation to be only a foot deep inthe outer ditch or level area, and about 18 inches in the inner ditch;and some of this was due to plowing. The wall, where so cut across,has now an elevation of about 3 feet. It is not probable there wasever a vertical distance of more than 6 feet, if as much, between thebottom of the ditch and the top of the wall; the earth in the embank-ment, reenforced by that in both trenches, could not be made tostand at a greater height. Most careful watch was kept for tracesof pickets or palisades; there was not the slightest evidence of them.From top to bottom, the earth in the wall was uniform in color andconsistency, as it was in the bottom of the ditches. There was nocavity, no dark line, such as must have resulted from the decay oftimber large enough to have been of service. If there was ever anadditional method of protection, it involved the use of materialsplaced on the walls, and not extending beneath their surface. Atboth points where cut through, the earth was the tough, reddish-brown, clayey loess similar to that covering the hills around, andrequired constant use of a pick in its removal. Had there beeneven a small post set in this soil the marks would have remainedindefinitely.
86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37The cross "trench" mentioned by Judge West?who, by a sHp ofthe pen, uses the word "trench" on several occasions when he means"embankments"?can be traced only so far as is shown on the mapby the short projection from the eastern wall. There is an openingat the southwest end through which a farm road passes ; it can not beascertained whether this is the "pass-way" to which Judge Westrefers, or a modern road. There is another opening farther towardthe east, as shown on the map, which may be the one he mentions;but it is not referred to specifically in either account from whichthese quotations are made.At the south end two short minor walls appear within the mainwall; there is also an exterior ditch beginning at the top of thesteep slope, about 50 feet from the main outer ditch, and connectingwith it at what is perhaps the "pass-way" of Judge West's de-scription. One of the short interior walls joins the ditch inside themain wall.These are all the features of the "Fort" which can now be traced;more might be discovered were it completely cleared off. Theprocess of cultivation has destroyed much, and has defaced nearlyall that is left.It is reported that in the mounds at the north end, which havebeen repeatedly dug into, many skeletons were exhumed from adepth of 18 to 20 inches beneath the surface, " piled in on one anotheras if all thrown in at one time." At the south end skeletons werealso found in the space between the ditches outside the wall and stillothers inside the "Fort" near the west side. A skull from the latterplace " had a gold plug in one tooth.
"
The "Fort" much resembles some of those farther east, especiallyalong the lower lakes, which are known to be of comparatively recentorigin. There is nothing "remarkable" or "w^onderful" about it,nothing to indicate any greater "ability" than the capacity to tracea fairly level line around a hilltop and pile earth along it.It has been surmised this may be the fort erected by the MiamiIndians; but theirs was a small affair, inclosing not more than "afourth of an acre," and surrounded by logs, "in an elevated prairiebottom," in the upper end of Saline county, "four or five milesbelow the town of Miami."On a ridge or knoll a fourth of a mile northwest of the "Fort"are several burial mounds. Nothing more definite could be learnedin regard to them than is contained in the extracts from Judge West'spaper. Village Site at "The Pinnacles"From half a mile to a mile eastward from the "Fort" erosion hascut numerous ravines in various directions in the plateau, leavingthe higher portion^ somewhat in the form of a letter T, the top of
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUKI 87the T extending in a general easterly course and the stem southwardfor several hundred yards. Most of the land belongs to Mr. E. S.Casebolt; the southern part belongs to Mr. W. H. Utz.Over all this area are abundant indications of an aboriginal villagesite. The ground is strewn for acres with potsherds, broken bones,and especially with the refuse resulting from the manufacture of flintimplements. A great amount of good museum material, includingnearly every class of objects usually found under such circumstances,has come from here.The same conditions, but confined to a much smaller area, arereported to prevail on the eastern part of Mr. Utz's farm, on asegregated knoll. This was in a blue-grass meadow, where nothingon the ground could be seen at the time of the writer's visit.With reference to this village site, Judge West says :"'
* * * From a half to three-quarters of a mile from the earthworks [the "OldFort"] and on a line parallel with the west side, there begins an area of countryextending to near the terrace before mentioned [the Petite Osage plains], a distance ofabout two miles and which is about the same width the other way. This entire areais literally covered over with low mounds, containing wood ashes, stone implements,pottery, mussel-shells and animal and human bones. Indeed the whole groundseems to be filled in this way.[Page 533.] This district may very aptly be termed a city in ruins. The groundfor a depth of from three to five feet, or more, is filled with the bones and domesticimplements of a departed race, and for miles around their broken implements liescattered everywhere. They were undoubtedly a people who had a fixed and per-manent abode, and an agricultural people, to a limited extent at least, for some oftheir stone implements must have been made for the cultivation of the soil. Theymust have used their pottery vessels for cooking their food, and the low moundsrepresent their kitchens, in which wagon loads of broken vessels might be gatheredup?broken at the domestic hearth.The "two miles in extent either way," which Judge West con-siders the area of former occupation, would carry the limits of thevillage site far beyond the points where any indications of it exist.The "low mounds," the only real evidence of an aboriginal town("city in ruins" is hardly applicable), do not exist in this neighbor-hood outside of the limits of the two farms mentioned. Further-more, it is not to be inferred that the debris on the main village siteis equally distributed over the entire space; it occurs in separatedeposits. In spots ranging from 20 to 50 yards apart the ground isliterally covered and filled to a level below plow depth; but in goingfrom one of these spots to another, the debris becomes less abundant,in places almost disappearing midway between the deposits whichare farthest ap*art. The deposits are in one or two rows, accordingto the width of the ridge. Locally these are called "mounds," hav-ing been somewhat elevated at one time, though most of them arenow leveled by cultivation. Some of the deposits, in pasture lands,
oin the Kansas City Review of Science, 531, Jan., 1882.
88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 37
are still 16 to 18 inches high. A rough estimate by the owners of theland puts the entire number of deposits at "about forty," which isprobably not far from correct.In making excavations for cellars, post holes, and other purposes,skeletons have been exhumed at various points on this ridge; andon one slope where much soil has been washed off, numerous graveshave been discovered in plowing. These graves seem to extend inrows, the bottom 1 foot to 3 feet below the present surface; there isno recollection that they have ever yielded any artificial objects.It is evident that a dwelling place of some kind was located on eachof these so-called mounds, which were erected to secure a well-drained residence site. The refuse around them is the natural resultof aboriginal methods of disposing of waste and trash by throwing itjust outside their dwellings; in fact the "mounds" were partiallybuilt up in this manner.For various reasons only a very limited amount of excavation waspossible at the time of the writer's investigations. A spot where itwas said a mound had once stood was chosen, on top of the ridge onMr. Casebolt's farm. The "mound" was indicated more by thequantity of flint chips than by its altitude; and while the debris wasless abundant here than at some other points, the discovery of a i)or-tion of a human femur, evidently plowed out, determined the place ofexcavation.Three narrow parallel trenches were started toward the "mound"center from the east margin of the scattered material. These, beingonly exploratory, were about 2 feet wide and extended to the subsoil,which lay at a depth of 18 inches. In all the trenches, mingled withthe earth, was refuse of the same character as that on the surface, butmuch more pottery and bones, these being better preserved whereprotected. The pottery was of two varieties. Most of it was thick,strong, quite dark or even black, as if made from "gumbo" earth,decorated with dots and smooth indented straight and curved linesat various angles; but a few pieces were yellowish, smoothly finished,undecorated, apparently made of sand and clay. The heaviervessels had handles.Buffalo bones, almost entirely scapulte, were abundant; there werealso many bones and teeth of deer, wolf or dog, bear, several smalleranimals, numerous kinds of birds, especially wild turkey, and of fish,some of the last named of large size. A singular feature was the com-plete absence of flint implements; not a knife, spear, or large scraperwas found, and only one very small arrowhead. Even fragments ofsuch specimens were rare, but the small thumb scrapers made bychipping the end of a thick flake were found occasionally, perhaps adozen in all.
FOWKB] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 89Near the center of the space where surface signs were most abun-dant, about 18 inches deep, were pieces of a large pot, bones of ayoung deer in small fragments, and a pile of ashes. It looked as if apot while in use had broken on or over a fire bed, and the whole masshad been raked up and thrown out together.Among other things found was a small thin piece of catlinite,highly polished, apparently a fragment of a disk pipe.Distant 15 feet from the center, the most northerly of the threetrenches entered a pit 4 feet in diameter and 21- feet deep. This wasevidently a refuse or trash receptacle, as it was filled with ashes andearth, among which were fragments of bone and pottery, flint chips,and unfinished or broken implements of flint and other stone. In thisdebris was one human femur.In the second, or middle, trench was a pit of the same character asthat in the first, but much larger, and the deepest, probably, everdiscovered. It was about 6 feet by 4^ feet in diameter at the top,and, as first dug, 4 feet m diaxneter at the bottom, with a depth of 7-|feet. Toward the bottom, on the south side, were narrow steps likea steep stairway, in the solid earth, to enable the diggers to carry outthe dirt. Afterward, a hole 3 feet in diameter was sunk 3 feetdeeper on the east side, making the entire depth 10^ feet. The pitwas filled with earth and ashes, among which were as many frag-ments of bones, pottery, stones, and flint chips, as would fill a half-peck measure. Extending from the west edge of the pit, a fewinches under the sod on a ]>ile of ashes, were the solid leg and feetbones of an adult. As no other bones were present, it would seemthe burial antedated the pit, and the missing parts were thrown asidein the digging.In the line of the southern, or third, trench were two pits. Theone first reached was 5 feet deep. From the north and west sidesthis was cleared out over an area 7 by 10 feet toward the east andsouth without reacliing the margins in these directions. Near thetop were the leg and feet bones of an adult, placed one above theother as if a body had been laid in on the right side, with the headtoward the northwest. Below these were the corresponding bonesof another adult, laid parallel as if belonging to a body placed onthe back. In neither instance were there any traces of other bonesbelonging with them.The second pit in the third trench was several feet west of thefirst ; this was 6 feet in diameter and 4 feet in depth. The only humanbone in it was the skull of a child of 5 or 6 years. Both jaws weremissing and the skull lay with the vertex downward.Between these two pits were the pelvis, leg bones, and feet of aperson about the size of a normal 16-year-old boy.
90 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULI,. 37At a distance of 3 feet northwest of the cliild's skull, on the samelevel (about 18 inches in depth), but not within the pit, was a finepot, nearly perfect, standing upright in a bed of ashes (fig. 19). Westof this was a scraper or pohshing tool 15 inches long, made from thespHt rib of a buffalo or an elk.Another trench was run from the center toward the south. Eightfeet out, in a slight depression dug into the subsoil, was the craniumof a child, as smooth as if polished or at least much handled. It layon the face, unaccompanied by any other bone.Three feet farther from the center was the edge of a pit 5 feet indepth and 6 feet in diameter. At one point on the bottom was apile of minute flint chips scaled off in making implements of smallsize or dehcate finish; there were enough of these to fill a pint cup.A shghtly smallerquantity of similarchips lay higher up.A satisfactory ex-planation of thesepits remains to befound. Such ex-cavations occuraround and inmany Indian vil-lage sites, modernas well as prehis-toric. They seemto fall into twoclasses: Store-houses in which topreserve grain andother food, and re-fuse pits to receivethe trash accumulating under ordinary living and working condi-tions. Very Hkely pits of the former class, when their usefulnessas storage chambers was over, were utilized for the latter purpose.Neither object seems to have been altogether in view at ''The Pin-nacles," All the pits here contain much more earth than ashes, andwliile some of tliis may have fallen in from the top or sides, not a greatquantity could have come from this source, or the pits would besomewhat conical. As it is, the sides are vertical or nearly so. Be-sides, they contain comparatively little of ordinary wastage. Somebroken implements of stone or bone, potsherds, flint chips, and a smallamount of charcoal were found in them, enough to show they werenot designed for any especial purpose other than to receive ashes;and even so, the amount of earth evidently thrown back into themindicates some use not yet made plain.
Fig. 19. Pot from village site, Saline county.
FOWKEj ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 91The area excavated measures less than 30 feet in diameter in anydirection and not half the earth in this Hmited space was examined.Neither was this the most promising site; in other phiceson the ridgemany more specimens have been gathered up tlian in this iiehl andmore graves uncovered, and the surface is more tliickly strewn withpotsherds, bones, and flints.The pottery was abundant, of good quaHty, and entirely differentin form and decoration from any other ware found in explorationsalong the river. Nearly all the impressions are such as would bemade with small rounded or pointed bones.No agricultural implements of bone, shell, or stone were found,except one fragment which seems to be the end of a small flint hoe,but shows no polish. There was one piece of coarse sandstone, usedfor sharpening bone implements.The only vegetable food discovered was a handfid of charredacorns in one of the pits.All indications point to continuous occupancy by a tribe whosesubsistence was derived from hunting and fishing. The numerousscapulae of buffalo bear no marks to show that they were used fordigging; some scrapers, skinners, and polishers were made frompieces of these bones, and other implements made of bones of smallermammals and of birds were found. The entire absence of cutting orpiercing implements of flint from an area where bushels of flakes andchips can be gathered from the surface in a day, and where the groundis filled with them to the subsoil, is a most perplexing feature. Boysand collectors have gathered all finished and imperfect implementsto a depth where the plow can turn them up ; but flakes continue inquantity to a greater depth than the plow has ever reached, and itwould seem that many rejects, at least, should be in the pits.There is no e^adence as 3'et, except Judge West s statement regard-ing the similarity of pottery, to connect the builders of the ''Fort"with the dwellers on the village site. The former was seeminglyoccupied for onl}^ a short time or at irregular intervals, for althoughmuch desultory digging has been carried on at different places witliinthe "Fort," no one in the neighborhood could recall the discoveryof pottery, fhnt chips, or any other remains existing so profuselyaround the Httle "mounds."The very limited amount of investigation so far made here does notjustify any theory, argument, or conclusion, but the site is wellworthy of most thorough research. The following item may havesome bearing on the question of the time at which it was occupied.In an article by John P. Jones, of Keytesville, Mo., on "Incidentsof Early Travel in Mssouri," this statement appears:^La Harpe's Journal has the following account of a voyage to the Missouris and Osages:
"Dec. 29th, 1719, M. de Bienville received a letter from M. Dutisme, of the Kaskaskias,oin the Kansas City Review of Science, p. 20, May, 1881.
92 BUREAU OF AMERICAK ETHNOLOGY [boll. 37dated Nov. 22nd, 1719, containing a narrative of his voyage to the village of the Mis-souris by the river of that name. One league from this village, in the southwest, is avillage of the Osages * * * ."Jones adds in a footnote:This town was located near the present town of Miami, Saline Co., Mo. A descrip-tion ? of an ancient earthwork near the site of this village appeared in the Review forApril, 1878.But if the Osage occupied this spot, manufactured the potteryfound here, and utihzed bones, especially those of the buffalo, to sogreat an extent in making implements, then the grave-vaults certainlyare not to be attributed to them; for the art objects found in these areso widely different in shape, finish, and material as to offer almostpositive proof that they must represent the industry of a peoplebelonging on another plane of culture and governed by very differentmotives and ideas.Probably Dutisme referred to the Osage village near Grand Passor to some other whose location is not recorded. His ''one league"may have denoted a distance quite indefinite.ARROW ROCK (19)In Saline county, Missouri, on the Missouri river, between Boonvilleand Glasgow, is the town of Arrow Rock, which takes its name fromthe cliff against whose foot the river flows. An impression existsamong archeologists that the name was given because here was thesite of an aboriginal flint quarry or workshop. In a footnote to hisedition of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (vol. i, p. 18) Coues makesthe statement, without citing authority or giving his reasons for it,that "the rock was so called from being resorted to by Indians forstone arrow-heads." The impression as to the origin of the name,however, much antedates the appearance of this publication. InThwaites's edition of Lewis and Clark (vol. i, p. 44) the exact wordingas it appears in their manuscript is thus: " * * * Several SmallChannels running out of the River below a Bluff [Cliff of rocks calledthe arrow rock] * * * ", the bracketed remark being intercalated,whether by the original authors or by some one else does not appear.If there had been any foundation for the prevalent belief, these earlyexplorers would surely have referred to it, for they record that
?
a Short distance above the mouth of this Creek [i. e., Big Moniteau, on the south side,between Boonville and Jefferson City], is Several Courious paintings and carving on theprojecting rock of Limestone inlade with white red & blue flint, of a verry good quallity,the Indians have taken of this flint great quantities.There is no trace of aboriginal quarrying in the vicinity of ArrowRock, nor any place where it would have been practicable. The
a See excerpt from Broadhead, p. 83. '
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 93lower Carboniferous formation of Missouri contains a vast quantityof chert, and where this has weathered out of the parent rock withoutbeing disintegrated in the process the aborigines naturally gatheredsuch of it as they could use. The hmestone of Arrow Rock beingcomparatively soft and easily weathered, workable nodules are notrare along the shore, some of them containing solid cores capable ofbeing formed into implements several inches in length. Evidencethat some work was done here may be found in a little terrace nearthe upper end of the bluff, where a few square rods of surface arestrewn with chips. But greater quantities of chips extending overlarger areas, are common in places considerable distances from anyavailable flint in place.No one now living at Arrow Rock ever heard of the origin of thename as stated by Coues and by others before him, though whothese are can not now be recalled. Only one tradition exists toaccount for it. A number o"f young warriors assembled on a sand baropposite the cliff to test their power with the bow by ascertaining whocould send an arrow farthest out into the stream, the victor to wedthe chief's daughter. One of them shot clear across the river, hisarrow lodging in a crevice high above the water ; and so the cliff wasthenceforward known as ''The arrow rock." No citizen of the placehas ever heard of any other explanation of the term.A RECONNOISSANCE IN SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURIIn 1879 and 1880 the people in the neighborhood of Charleston [Missouri] discoveredthat the pottery in which the mounds of this region seem to have been unusually richhad a considerable commercial value. A regular mining fever at once broke out andspread so rapidly that in some instances as many as twenty-five or thirty men, women,and children could be seen digging for pottery in one field at the same time."This paragraph gives voice to a widespread impression whichexists, that in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas all,or nearly all, mounds contain pottery, often in so great quantitiesthat he must be indeed an enthusiastic collector who would notpresently terminate his explorations through sheer satiety.Acting on this supposition, researches were undertaken by thewriter, in southeastern Missouri, in the hope and with the expectationof securing a large or at least a typical collection. Only a short timewas required to expose the error of this belief.Nearly every point recommended as worth investigating inStoddard, Scott, Mississippi, and New Madrid counties was visited.Collectors, farmers, and other persons who were presumed to haveknowledge of or interest in such matters were interviewed, and theiradvice and assistance sought. Almost without exception they were
a From Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 183, 1890-91, Washington, 1894. Collectorshad been busy in the region for several years prior to the date given.
94 BUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [-RvhT.. 37
courteous and obliging. The information was practically the same inevery instance, and may be condensed into a few paragraphs.The principal finds were almost invariably made on the sites ofvillages, generally in the immediate vicinity of mounds, thoughoften several hundred yards from the nearest one. Usually one,sometimes two, rarely three, pots are found with a skeleton. Occa-sionally there is a burial mound in which many bodies have beeninterred. In one which was nearly effaced by cultivation the firstintimation that it might yield anything was the uncovering ofpottery fragments in plowing. This was explored by Mr. ThomasBeckwith, of Charleston, who found the base to be 4 feet lower thanthe surrounding level. Whether this had been a burial pit filled andcovered, or whether the field had been built up to that extent bydeposits after the mound was made, he was unable to say; butskeletons and pottery were found everywhere from top to bottom,the lowest of them in standing or soil water. Exactly 300 potswere saved, including practically every size, shape, style, and degreeof finish found in the region. There were also two human effigiescarved in sandstone.Though fine specimens are occasionally found in them, the largermounds as a rule contain very little; and it would seem from thedescriptions of the position and manner in which skeletons or relicsare placed, that they were mostly deposited in the course of uprear-ing a structure which was primarily intended for some purpose otherthan that of sepulture.There are real mortuary mounds from which pottery is procuredin greater or less amounts, but compared with the total numberthese are few. Probably 90 per cent, or even more, of moundsin the territory comprising and adjacent to the "Sunk Lands" wereerected with some end in view which did not include either funeralrites or the concealment of relics.The prospectors of twenty to thirty years ago proceeded system-atically; they used long steel probing rods with which they testedalmost every foot of a field they wished to explore. There are nostones, scarcely a pebble, in this alluvial soil ; consequently when therod met with an obstacle the searcher could be almost certain it wasan implement, a piece of pottery, or other artificial object. In thisway they soon learned in what sort of situation or amid what sortof surroundings a village site and its associated cemeteiy were likelyto be found; and when one was discovered they usually exhaustedits possibilities before going elsewhere. Further, a series of fruitlessexcavations taught them that mounds made of earth so hard theprobe would not readily penetrate it would almost certainly bedestitute of contents, or, if otherwise, that articles of pottery wouldbe broken by pressure. So, in time, the prospectors became quite
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 95expert in selecting localities where digging would "pay," and foundaboriginal vessels literally by the carload; and they inspected thecountry so carefully that only by chance is a source of fresh supplydiscovered. Yet from time to time enough is disclosed to assurean explorer good results, provided always he can find the rightplace and secure permission to examine it. Two promising localitiesare now known which have never been worked, but the owners willnot allow researches to be made. Undoubtedly many others awaitdiscovery.Occasionally a vessel of some description is found by a laborer andcarried to a store where it is exchanged for goods; but specimensaccumvdate very slowly in this way. Mr. Beckwith, whose collectionis famous, has been twenty-five years or longer in getting it together,during all which time it has been a matter of common knowledge thathe is in the market for whatever is worth having; and most of hiscollection has come from his own tenants. He remarked ''If I knewwhere pottery could be found, I would go there and dig for it."More than thirty years ago, while the territory was practicallyundisturbed. Professor Conant carried on a very profitable explora-tion for the St. Louis Academy of Science. His principal work wasalong the west bank of St. John's bayou, between Sikeston and NewMadrid. The success of his efforts led to the selection of this vicinityas the site of the only mound excavating attempted.The work resulted solely in a verification of the information setforth above. The Hunter MoundsOn the farm owned by Mr. A. B. Hunter, 7 miles north of NewMadrid and half a mile south of Farrenburg on the Cotton Beltrailway, is a group of mounds extending for half a mile or more alongthe west bank of St. John's bayou, the extreme width of the groupbeing about 200 yards. Much of the area on which these moundsstand was under cultivation when examined, so the exact number isuncertain; but there are not fewer than sixty. All of them havebeen more or less farmed over and thereby somewhat reduced inheight; at present they range from 1 foot to 6 feet in height, and from30 to 75 feet in diameter. Five of the mounds are along the edge ofthe terrace overlooking the bayou; the others are behind these, onthe nearly level ground.Near the south end of the group, at the edge of the terrace, is anamphitheater-like depression of about an acre, facing the bayou; itis said so much broken pottery occurs here that ''in plowing, the plowsounds as if it is running through gravel." It is generally supposed,perhaps correctly, that this is the site of a pottery factory; but noexploration could be made at the time.
96 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Seven of the mounds were opened, from the largest to the smallest.Two of these were on the edge of the bayou; the others were selectedat random among those farther back. In each, the central portion ofthe structure was removed to a depth which made it certain thatundisturbed earth or subsoil was reached, and the excavation wascarried to a sufficient distance on all sides to show there was nothingbeyond worthy of investigation.On the bottom, at the center, of the largest mound, next to thebayou, were decayed fragmentary human bones; but neither in thismound nor in any of the others explored was any artificial objectdiscovered except a few pieces of flint or pottery, which clearly hadbeen gathered up in the course of the building and thrown in with theearth. In one mound was a fragment of a clay disk; in another, abroken specimen of one of the objects commonly called bottle stoppersfor the reason that cases are reported in which vessels with slendernecks (the gourd-like form) have been found with these objects in themouth or opening. While many of the ''stoppers" were no doubtthus used, it is probable that others, perhaps most of them, wereemployed in the manufacture of pottery. The convex surface of theexpanded portion, if carefully polished, as most of these objects are,would be well adapted for shaping and smoothing the interior ofvessels built up by the coiling process, or by gradual accretion fromthe base, the projecting part affording a convenient handle.It seems the " stoppers " also filled a more important office in thissort of work, as described by Mr. Christopher Wren in the followingparagraph:"At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition * * * the writersaw a Cocopa Indian fromArizona making pottery * * * . The tools she used for molding a clay pot consistedof a baked clay implement somewhat larger than and resembling an ordinary doorknob, with a stem or handle about four inches long projecting from one of the flatsides, and a small wooden paddle made from a piece of dry goods box. Seating herselfon the bare ground * * * she held the clay implement in her left hand on whichshe placed a flattened ball or "pat" of clay, containing as much of the moderatelymoistened clay as would make the vessel she was working upon. With the woodenpaddle in her right hand, being right handed, she beat the clay down, causing it tospread over the "door knob" implement and to hang down over the edges. Fromtime to time, as the work progressed, she moved the tool in her left hand about on theinside of the vessel as the necessities of the case required. After the vessel had beenlargely molded with the help of the two simple tools, she discarded them entirely and,turning it over on the bottom, she completed the rim and finished it with her barehands. The So-called Garden or Domiciliary MoundsThe small flat mounds beginning in the Iron Mountain neighbor-hood in Missouri, and extending southward into Texas and Louisiana,are inexplicable in our present state of knowledge. Speaking now
a In The Proceedings and Collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, ix, 156.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 97only of Missouri, it may be said they exist by thousands, amid sur-roundings of every sort. Some extend in close succession for miles atthe rate of two to seven or eight on every acre, broken, perhaps, nowand then, by a slough or a cypress brake, beyond this continuing asbefore. Nearly all the smaller ones^re made either of reddish, sandyclay, such as forms the upland subsoil, or of gumbo from the lowgrounds, consequently they are almost invariably infertile, so much sothat in a field covered with vegetation their location may be deter-mined by the sparser growth on them. This feature, which wasrepeatedly stated as a fact by farmers, entirely destroys the hypoth-esis that the mounds were erected for agricultural purposes, thoughthis is probably true of some mounds here and there on which goodcrops are raised.Nor is the theory more plausible that these mounds were erectedfor camping places by hunters, for there are more of them thanthere would be animals to hunt at one time.They were not residence mounds, for there are lacking aroundthem the usual indications of an Indian domicile?broken pottery,bones, fragments of implements, etc.Nor are they burial mounds, for with rare exceptions they arebarren of contents.The mounds are found in various situations from well-drained highlevels to swamps where, after a period of prolonged dry weather whenthe roads become hard and even dusty, they can be reached only bycarefully stepping on roots and stumps to keep out of the mud andwater surrounding them. Moreover, scores, even hundreds of them,in the compass of a few square miles, are built on sticky clay low-lands within a few yards or rods of sandy ridges, never muddy, wherethe ground is dry on the surface within a very short time after theheaviest rains, and where various crops jdeld abundantly.It is evident that all the land where the mounds now stand, andperhaps the entire country except the present swamps, was prairieland, destitute of timber at the time they were built. The sloughsand bayous mark the courses of former streams, and it may be thatwhen the mounds were made these were open channels clear of timber,affording free passage in canoes. This would explain the location ofvillage sites along their margins. With the actual levels of uplandand water courses remaining as at present, if there were no forestgrowth at all there would be no great overflows except backwaterfrom the Mississippi, because local rainfall would rapidly drain away.Many floods now are caused by the choking up of streams with drift-wood; if this were all cleared out, to give an unobstructed flow, waterwould pass away in half the time or less.5780?Bull. 37?10 7
98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37It is agreed among geologists that a large area in Missouri andArkansas, including a considerable part of the mound territory, sankseveral feet at the time of the great earthquake of 1811. Conse-quently, lowlands now subject to periodical overflow were perhapssufficiently elevated prior to that catastrophe to escape any butphenomenal floods, and were quite habitable. If this be the case,more extensive excavations about these mounds may reveal themotive or purpose of their construction.The Copper Plates from Malden, Dunklin CountyThese objects (pis. 15-19) were plowed up by Mr. Ray Groomes onthe farm of Mrs. Baldwin, 2| miles south of Maiden, Dunklin county.Mr. Groomes makes in substance the following statement:He was plowing much deeper than usual, probably 16 or 18 inches. His attentionwas attracted by something shining or glittering on the land turned over by his plowat this point, and he stopped to examine it. He found a few small scraps of copper.On looking at the bottom of the furrow, whence they had come, he found that his plowhad struck the upper end of these copper pieces, which lay in close contact, "with theheads down," and inclined at an angle of 45?. He saw no evidence that they had everbeen wrapped in cloth or any other substance, separately or together. He dug aroundthem with his pocketknife, the loose sand and soil being easily removed, and drewthem out of the earth one by one. There was something with them which looked tohim like a small piece of "slate" [shale], such as he had frequently noticed in thisground in plowing. Possibly this was all that remained of a sun-dried or soft-burnedclay vessel which went to pieces in the earth. There was also a small amount of some
"white substance," not identified, none of which was preserved.Mr. Groomes is positive in his statement that the specimens werein immediate contact, as he lifted them out one after another, andthat very little earth had worked in between them.Mr. Groomes afterward did a little digging at the spot, but foundnothing more, except a few fragments which his plow had brokenfrom the objects.Neither he nor anyone else consulted had ever seen or heard of anyevidence of a village site in the vicinity ; no flints, shells, bones, orpottery had ever been observed. Neither are there any mounds inthe immediate neighborhood, the nearest being at Bernie, 9 milesnorthward. From there for many miles to the south the landstretches in a dead level to the East and West swamps, which boundit on either side.It is altogether probable that the articles'^ were buried here bysome aboriginal trader, who may have procured them from Mexico,either in person or by traffic, and who was prevented from returningto the spot or was perhaps unable to locate it again.
a The plates finally came into the possession of Mr. J. M. Wulflng, of St. Louis, who was kind enoughto furnish the photographs from which the accompanying illustrations were made.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 15
COPPER PLATE FROM MALDEN, DUNKLIN COUNTY

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 16
COPPER PLATES FROM MALDEN, DUNKLIN COUNTY

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 37 PLATE 17
COPPER PLATE FROM MALDEN, DUNKLIN COUNTY

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
COPPER PLATES FROM MALDEN, DUNKLIN COUNTY

>-

FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUKI 99VILLAGE SITES WORTH EXCAVATINGAt "The Pinnacles," near Miami, Saline county, on the farms ofMessrs. W. H. Utz and E. S. Casebolt.On the land of Messrs. August Langenberg and Timothy Leech,at the mouth of Third creek, near Cooper Hill, Osage county.On the farm of Mr. J. Ed Belch, at the mouth of Osage river.On the Heyde farm, north of Advance, Stoddard county.A mile west of Vanduser, Scott county, on the old Batt farm, nowowned by Mr. James Farris, of Benton, Scott county.On next farm south of above, owned by Mr. John E. Marshall, ofSikeston.On the farm of Mr. J. H. Drew, 8 miles south of East Prairie, onnorth side of Upton Slough.On Mr. Lorin Hawke's land, the ''old Peter Bess settlement," onwest bank of Castor river, above Frisco bridge, a mile west ofBrownwood, Stoddard county,LOCALITIES WORTH INVESTIGATINGOld Bollinger farm, now the Evans farm, a mile south of Advance,Stoddard county.Farm of Mr. Colbert, 2 miles south of Advance.August Schonoff farm, 1 J miles west of Advance.McKinney farm, south of Sikeston, Scott county.William Andrews farm, adjoining the McKinney farm on the south.Sikes farm, adjoining the Andrews farm on the south.South of Green Cox station, on west bank of Little Field swamp,Cape Girardeau county.REPORTED LOCALITIES POSSIBLY WORTH EXMIININGMuch pottery has been found at the McFadden farm, 2 miles upthe river from Belmont, Mississippi county, and on the Hudsonfarm next above McFadden's.Many relics have been found around the base of a large mound atTraverse, a mile south of Crosno, Mississippi county.Distant 5 to 6 miles west of Belmont is Sassafras ridge, wheremany specimens have been discovered.On Hoecake ridge, a mile west from Sassafras ridge, are moundson Mr. Tom Quick's land.There are mounds, and numerous specimens have been found, onPinhook ridge, 2^ miles south of Sassafras ridge, and on the Farrinfarm, at the old "Tarr store," a mile north of Wolf Island post-office, Mississippi county.
100 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Southwest of New Madrid, on the farms of Mr. W. E. Davis, onNoHn Cypress still farther southwest, and thence on to Little river, arenumerous mounds. Some have been opened, which were found tobe barren of contents.ADDITIONAL ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS VISITED ORREPORTEDOn the Gasconade riverCairns and village sites about Gascondy.Village site on river bank a fourth of a mile below Boiling Spring,near Gaines's ford above Vienna.Cairn on Martin's bluflf, 8 miles above Cooper Hill.Cairn at Fishing Rock, 5 miles above Cooper Hill.Cairn on Ilollenbeck bluff, 4 miles above Cooper Hill.Cairn on Ilowerton's bluff, 2 miles below Fishing Rock.Village site on Schockley's farm, near mouth of Pointer's creek,just above Howerton's bluff.Village site on Mr. Gum Miller's land, 1^ miles above Cooper Hill,opposite Massie's bluff.Cairn on Iron hill on Third creek, a mile from Cooper Hill.Cairns on Nixon's farm on Third creek, 3 miles from Cooper Hill.Several cairns about Freedom and Hope, on lands of Dr. Jettand Messrs. Fleck, Schollmeyer, and Koch; all have been opened.The earth is strewn with flint chips in the field next below Heck-mann's mill.Two cairns, destroyed, on Campmeeting bluff, IJ miles belowPinoak creek.A series of six connected cairns covering a solid space 20 by 70feet on the first bluff below Mud, or Muddy, creek; also a singlecairn at the lower end of the bluff. All are destroyed.On Mueller's and Witte's farms, at the mouth of Second creek, aresix cairns extending along the top of Lost hill.Mound of stone and earth on the south end of Turnpike bluff.At Stolpe, earth mound on Ongken farm; two earth and stonemounds on Bohl's farm. Boone countyMOUNDSOn Cedar creek, 2 miles east of Claysville.On Mr. Luther Hart's farm, on first bluff east of Hartsburg.Two on Mr. John Osterloh's farm, adjoining Shaw's on the east.Six on Mr. Henry Lohrey's farm, east of Osterloh's.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 101One on Walker's farm, adjoining Lohrey's.Two in edge of Hartsburg, on Mr. Rudolph Bischer's farm.Five on next farm north of Bischer's.Six on Matthew's land, a mile west of Hartsburg.Several near Wilton station.Three on Mr. Henry Baumhoefer's farm, 3 miles south of Easley.One on Wright's farm, a mile south of Easley.Three on Mr. Will Rippetoe's land, | mile southeast of Easley.One on Ridgeway's farm, ^ mile east of Easley.Nine on Leineke's farm, 2 miles north of Easley.Fourteen on Messrs. Burnett's and O'Rear's farms, a mile south ofProvidence.Five on the Hunt estate, at Huntsdale station.Several on Torbitt's land, 4 miles east of Rocheport.Five on Burk's farm, east of Torbitt's.Several on Robey's farm, 1 mile east of Rocheport.Several on Mr. James Warren's land, north of Providence.Three on Doctor Chinn's land, west of Rocheport.One on Mr. Henry Walther's land, 2 miles west of Rocheport.One, large, on Mr. Frank Smith's land, 5 miles northwest of Colum-bia, near Perche bridge.Three near Indian Mound schoolhouse, 3 miles northeast of Harris-burg.One near Silver Fork of Perche creek "contained two bodies and asword much rusted." Callaway countyMounds all along the top of Cote San Dessein.Cole countySix on Mr. Frank Shannon's land, at Osage City.One on Huffman's farm, adjoining Shannon's on the west.Four on Walther's farm, near mouth of Moreau creek.Several west of mouth of Moreau creek.Franklin county
. "Shawnee Town" (in 1817) on sec. 4, T. 42, R. 1 E, of the fifthprincipal meridian, near Shawneetown ford on Bourbeuse river.Burial place near Labaddie, T. 44, R. 1 E.Mounds on nearly every bluff from Labaddie to Washington.Mounds on Mr. E. Holtgrieve's farm, 2 J miles southwest ofWashington.
102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37_Gasconade countyMounds on Mr. C. Danuser's land, SW. {, SE. i, sec. 8, T. 45, E. 4,4 miles southeast of Hermann.Mounds on Mr. Henry Tinnemeier's land, adjoining Danuser's onthe south.Mound on Mr. Fritz Witte's farm, near Brown's shanty, near mouthof Second creek, on NE. i NE. of i, sec. 27, T. 44, R. 6.Cairns on Mr. August Roseen's land, near Gasconade river, 3 milessouth of Morrison.Mound on Louck's land in edge of Morrison.Mounds on Duffner's and Fricke's farms, at mouth of Cole creek, 4miles east of Gasconade; locally termed "the fort."Eight (formerly thirteen) mounds on Straub's farm, on edge ofGasconade. Howard countyMounds on the Sinclair lands, 6 miles northwest of Ilarrisburg,on Moniteau creek; on Parmentree's, west of Bailey's ford; onDoherty's, 2 miles northwest of Sinclair schoolhouse.Three mounds on east side of Missouri, between Boonville andArrow Rock. Moniteau countyMound on bluff 22 miles east of Boonville.Several mounds between Lupus and vSandy Hook.Osage countyVillage site near mouth of Loose creek, 2 miles above Osage City.Mounds on Mr. Amil Vincent's land, 1^ miles west of Bonnet's mill.Village site on right bank of Osage river, 6 miles above OsageCity. Phelps countyMounds on Mr. J. L. Kellogg's " Spring Valley Farm," 3 miles westof Rolla; and on the next farm south of it."Goat Bluff cave," 4 miles up the river from Arlington, much usedas a shelter by Indians."Gourd Creek cave," 10 miles south of Rolla, contains much refuseand many human remains.Cairns on Lost hill, \ mile south of Gourd creek cave.Randolph countyMounds on sec. 2, T. 52, R. IG; also, stone graves.Warren countyMounds on bluff near Case station, on Link's land.
REPORT ON SKELETAL JVL^TERIAL FROM MISSOURIMOUNDS, COLLECTED IN 1906-7 BY MR. GERARD FOWKEBy Ales Hrt^licka
I. Condition of the MaterialThe osteological specimens gathered by Mr. Fowke during theexcavations described in the preceding pages were divided into twoportions, one of which was sent to the Bureau of American Ethnologyand thence transferred to the National Museum, while the other wasreceived subsequently for examination.On the whole the material is very defective ; there is not an entireskull, and there are only a few entire long bones. The specimenswere damaged for the most part during excavation, as shown byfresh breaks, and in most cases important parts thus broken off werelost. More than nine-tenths of the bones of the skeletons are missingaltogether. Moreover, the surfaces of some of the skulls were treatedwith a glue-like substance which has since begun to crack and scaleoff, doing further damage.It is very difficult to make a satisfactory study of, and to drawconclusions of value from, material in this condition. All that canbe safely stated is embodied in the following pages.
II. CraniaMost of the crania are of the dolichocephalic, Indian type. Twoor three of them are extreme forms in tliis respect, suggesting similarspecimens recovered in New Jersey from the burials of the Delawares.A close general resemblance exists between the dolichocephahcMissouri skulls and those from the mounds along the Illinois river;both are representatives of the general type, examples of which werefound on repeated occasions farther north along the Missouri, par-ticularly in the Gilder mound and vicinity, near Florence, Nebr.,and also farther south. Several of these skulls (especially nos.249,679 and 249,681) are characterized by low foreheads'^ and noneare above moderate in capacity. On the average they are rather
o See a special report on one of these skulls, in "New examples of American Indian skulls with lowforehead," Proc. U. S. Nat. Mm., xxxv, 171-175, 1908. 103
104 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37thinner and show less pronounced mascuHne features than Indiancrania of related forms from other localities.One of the skulls (original no. 127, from Kurtz mound, p. 63),female, is brachycephalic and belonged doubtless to an individualfrom another tribe. Besides this there is a male lower jaw (originalno. 110, from Easley mound no. 2), which is unusually broad andshort and belonged probably to a short skull; while the male skull,original no. 128 (exact locality not stated), gives breadth-length indexslightly in excess of the upper limit of mesocephaly.The jaws and remnants of the alveolar processes show an unusualprevalence about the roots of the teeth of pathological conditions ofinflammatory and suppurative nature.Finally, the teeth of the individuals beyond middle adult age are,almost as a rule, badly and irregularly worn down.
III. Long BonesThe long bones, particularly those of the lower limbs, indicategood musculature; but, as only very few of these bones are entire,not much can be learned as to the height of the people. In severalinstances where estimates are possible the statures indicated are offair size, but not exceptional.In their anthropological features the bones show all the character-istics of the Indian, namely, a rather marked flatness of the humeriand tibiae, and a moderate platymery, or subtrochanteric flatteningof the femora. The heads of the tibiae, in the few cases wherethey are left, show an inclination backward slightly greater than theaverage in whites.A number of the femora and tibiae present pathological conditionsof protracted inflammatory nature, possibly syphilis.Numerous long bones and two skulls bear the marks of rodents'teeth, and also more pronounced incisions, seemingly due to cutting.As in many other instances, it is here impossible clearly to distin-guish the marks due to rodents from those due to the use of the knife.IV. Detailed Measurements and ObservationsOriginal no. 3 (from the Dallmeyer mound): Pieces of lower andupper jaws of a young male. No special features except that thethird molar on the right side of the lower jaw is impacted; it liesnearly horizontal, facing forward and slightly upward.Original no. 19 (from Dawson mound no. 14): A defective, female,adult, very dolichocephalic cranium of moderate capacity; slightpost-mortem deformation. The lower jaw, which is much damaged,was quite high. Teeth, slightly worn, show no abnormal features.
fowke] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI 105Measurements of the skullDiameter frontal minimum 9. 1 cm.Orbits, height, right 3. 5 cm.Orbits, breadth, right 4.1 cm.Orbital index, right 85.4Nose, height, approximate 5. 2 cm.Nose, breadth 2. 5 cm.
Diameter antero-posterior,maximum 19.0 cm.Diameter lateral maximum,approximate 13.2 cm.Basion-bregma height, approxi-mate (14.6) cm.Alveolar point-nasion height,approximate 7. 8 cm.Original no. 23 (from Dawson mound no. 6): Pieces of upper andlower jaws of a male skull. The only feature of interest consists inthe greater size in both length and breadth of the third right lowermolar than of either the first or the second.Original no. 27 (from Dawson mound no. 6) : The front of a maleadult skull. The bones are somewhat less in thickness than theaverage in the Indian.The upper jaw has a well-formed arch, moderate alveolar prognath-ism, and sixteen normal teeth.The lower jaw also has a regular arch and shows some prog-natliism. The third molar on the left side was lost very early, ormore probably never appeared, though there is sufficient space forit. Anteriorly, this jaw shows a rare and interesting dental anomaly(fig. 20). Ventrally and midway between the bicuspids, both ofwhich are positively second dentition teeth, there is on each sideanother dental element. On the right side tliis is quite fully erupted,nearly as high as the bicuspids and resembling these in the shape ofthe crown, though somewhat smaller; on the left side a similar toothis just appearing. There are no diastemae between the lower teethand there is no visible cause for the extra bicuspids.Measurements of the skullNose, breadth, maximum 2. 45 cm.Nasal index 46.7Palate, external length 5. 7 cm.Palate, external breadth, max-imum 6.7 cm.Palatal index (Turner) 117. 6
Menton-nasion height 1.27 cm.Alveolar point-nasion height.
.
7. 65 cm.Diameter frontal minimum 9. 1 cm.Orbits, height, right 3.7 cm.Orbits, breadth, right 4. cm.Orbital index, right 92.5Nose, height 5. 25 cm.Original no. 39 (from Dawson mound no. 9): Upper jaw and aportion of the lower jaw of an adult male. The upper jaw presentsmarked alveolar prognathism; teeth normal, moderatel}^ worn; pal-ate regular, external breadth, 6.0 cm., external length, 5.5 cm,,index 109.1. Breadth of nose, 2.5 cm. Suborbital fossae pronounced.Original no. 41 (from Dawson mound no. 11): Female adult upperjaw, quite prognathic; median incisors shovel-form, as usual in Indi-ans. Left third molar diminutive, right not erupted ; teeth moderately
106 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. ?.7and somewhat irregularly worn, especially the molars. With thisspecimen were a few fragments of burnt human bones.Original no. 76 (from Shaw mound no. 7) : Lower jaw of an Indian.Rami show cuts as well as signs of rodents' teeth.Original no. 89 (from Easley mound no. 8): Male adult skull; basemissing, some post-mortem deformation, facial parts broken.Alveolar processes show signs of inflammatory conditions. Theteeth of the lower jaw are moderately but irregularly worn; those of
Fig. 20. Lower jaw with two supernumerary bicuspids, from Dawson mound no. 6.the upper jaw are nearly all lost (post mortem). Chin angular, quiteprominent. Measurements of the sTcuIlDiameter antero-posterior max-imum 18. 6 cm.Diameter lateral maximum 13. 8 cm.Cranial index 74.2Thickness of left parietal boneabove temporo-parietal suture 5-7 mm.
Diameter frontal minimum 9. cm.Circumference maximum abovesupra-orbital ridges 50. 7 cm.Arc, nasion - opisthion 37. cm.Heightof symphisis of lower j aw,approximate 3. 5 cm.
fowke] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOURI lOYOriginal no. 110 (from Easley mound no, 2): Pieces of the upperand lower jaws of an adult male. The lower jaw is unusually broadand short, and belonged in all probability to a brachycephalic cra-nium. The bones are of medium strength; the teeth are moderatelyworn anteriorly, and much more so, particularly on the outside, pos-teriorly. The genial spines are unusually high (7 mm.). In aboutthe locality where the submaxillary gland lay against the bone thereis, on the left side, an abscess cavity and on the right side a deepenedand rough depression. These lesions point doubtless to disease of theglands which secondarily affected the bone.The upper jaw shows, on the right side, a short distance below themalar articulation, a small pathological perforation.Measurements of the lower jawDiameter bigonial 11. 3 cm.Angle, r.iffht 133? Angle, left 127?Height of symphisis 3. 45 cm.Original no. Ill (from Easley mound no. 2): Pieces of apparentlydeformed (flat-head ?) male skull and jaws. The walls of the cranialcavity are thick; the lower jaw is high (4.3 cm. at the symphisis) andstrong. The teeth are slightly worn below, much worn above. Theupper jaw was large and prognathic.Original no. 114, U- S. Nat. Mus. no. 249680 (locality not given):Half of a female adult lower jaw. Height of symphisis, 3.6 cm.;angle on left, 124?; teeth normal, slightly worn. Genial spines pro-nounced.Original no. 116 (from Baumhoefer mound no. 1): Remnants of awell-formed, symmetric, dolichocephalic, adult male skull, of faircapacity. The occiput shows a medium-sized epactal. Parts of theright vertical ramus of the lower jaw have been cut or gnawed off.Teeth normal, but showing advanced and irregular wear. The pal-ate presents in its anterior third a quite marked median torus.Measurements of the sJcullDiameter antero-posterior maxi-mum, approximate 18. 7 cm.Diameter lateral maximum, ap-proximate 13. 5 cm.Thickness of left parietal boneabove temporo-parietal suture 4-5 mm.Menton-nasion height 12. 3 cm.Alveolar point -nasion height,about 7. 3 cm.
Diameter frontal minimum 10. 1 cmNose, height 5. 3 cm.Nose, breadth, maximum 2. 7 cm.Nasal index 50. 9Orbits, height, right 8. 2 cm.Orbits, breadth, right 3. 9 cm.Orbital index, right 82.
1
Heightof lower jaw at symphisis 3. 7 cm.
Original no. 117 (from Baumhoefer mound no. 1): Fragments ofupper and lower jaws of an adult male individual, with badly andirregularly worn teeth; chin angular; height at symphisis, 3.4 cm.
108 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 37Original no. 122 (from Buescher mound no. 1): Pieces of upper andlower jaws of a male skull, apparently that of a 3^oung adult. Theteeth are all slightly worn; all third molars missing (never erupted);lower jaw was strong and prognathic.Original no. 124 (from Buescher mound no. 1): Male adult skull,damaged; })robably dolichocephalic. The frontal bone shows amarked external dull metopic crest, extending to the sagittal region.There was a pronounced alveolar prognathism. The vertical rami ofthe lower jaw are narrow (least breadth, 3.4 cm.). The teeth arenormal, but considerably and irregularly worn; all the molars of theupper jaw were lost in life, and at the summit of the roots of eachsecond upper molar there is a perforation, due to suppuration, intothe cavity of Highmore.Measurements of the slcuUDiameter lateral maximum 14. 4 cm.Thickness of parietal above tem-poro-parietal suture 5 mm. Diameter frontal minimum 9. 5 mm.Angle of lower jaw, mean 118?Height of symphisis 3.9 cm.Original no. 126 (from Buescher mound no. 3): Lower jaw of ayoung female, damaged; alveolar process prognathic; teeth normal,anteriorly slightly crowded. Third lower molars are larger, as toboth length and breadth, than either the second or the first, and eachhas six cusps.Original no. 127 (from Kurtz mound) : A female, probably adult,rounded, somewhat asymmetrical skull. The asymmetry does notappear to be pathological; it may possibly be post-mortem. All thesutures of the vault are patent.MeasurementsDiameter antero-posterior maximum, approximately 16. 5 cm.Diameter lateral maximum 15. cm.Original no. 128 (exact locality not stated) : A skull of an adult,probably a male, of regidar form and moderate capacity. Sexualfeatures not pronounced. Lower jaw missing.MeasurementsDiameter antero-posterior maxi-mum 17.7 cm.Diameter lateral maximum ... 14. 3 cm.Basion-bregma height 13. 4 cm.Cranial index 80.8Height-length index 75.
7
Height-breadth index 93.7Cranial module 15. 13 cm.Thickness of left parietal boneabove temporo-parietal suture 4-5 mm.
Basion-nasion diameter 10. 4 cm.Diameter frontal minimum 8. 8 cm.Foramen magnum, mean diam-eter 3. 25 cm.Circumference maximum (abovesupraorbital ridges) 50. cm.Arc, nasion-opisthion 36. 4 cm.
FOWKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUKI 109Original no. 129 (exact locality not given) : Lower female adultjaw; alveolar process prognathic; teeth normal, much worn.MeasurementsDiameter bigonial 9. 9 cm. | Angle, right - 146?Height at symphisis 3.8 cm. I Angle, left 141?Original no. 131 (from Brenner mound no. 2) : An adult male skull,very dolichocephalic, partially deformed. There is a slight flatten-ing on the frontal bone above the middle, on each side of the medianline, seemingly produced by the pressure of two small pads, andthere is also a quite marked occipital compression. The forehead islow, though showing distinct convexity. The supra-orbital ridgesare prominent and the supraorbital border distad from them isprotruding.Along the border, just mentioned, of the orbits are marks made byrodents' teeth and also marks resembling knife cuts; and in the lowerpart of the right parietal, about the middle, there is a semicirculararea bearing lines resembling cuts and also traces of rodents' teeth;this is 3 cm. in diameter.Original no. 131a (locality probably the same as that of the previousspecimen) : A portion of a calvarium of an adult skull, sex not ascer-tainable. The right parietal shows several defective areas of differentsizes, all approximating more or less to the circular in form, causedapparently by rodents; yet some of these areas may be due to humanagency.Original no. 134 (from the Salme County village site) : Frontal por-tion of the calvarium of an adult female. The skull was apparentlydolichocephalic. Diameter lateral maximum?the only measurementof importance determinable? 13.4 cm. The walls are rather thin.U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 2^9679^ (exact locahty not given) : Part of thevault of a skull, including most of the frontal and a small portion ofthe top of each parietal. The skull was probably that of a malebeyond middle adult life. It was narrow and long in form, and notdeformed. The bones are rather delicate for a male, the thickness ofthe front ranging from 3 to 5 mm.The specimen is interesting principally because of a low forehead,marked ventrally as well as dorsally. The supraorbital ridges arenot excessive, but the border distad from them protrudes from theforehead proper, forming with the ridges a prominent supraorbitalarc.TJ. S. Nat. Mus. no. 249681 (from the Klamm mound, oppositeKansas City; see p. 72): Parts of an adult, male, dolichocephalicskull, of moderate size and average thickness of bones, with low
a Discussed more in detail in the "New examples of modern Indian skulls with low forehead," in Proc.U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXV, 173, 1908.
110 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37forehead; also a few bones of the l)ody. The outer surface of theskull, ami to a less extent that of the bones, show remains of redpigment, apparently ocher; l)ut it docs not seem, notwithstandingthe absence from the specimens of red stains ventrally, that the pig-ment was applied as a paint. The cranium is so damaged that nomeasurements of importance are obtainable.The various ridges and processes on the bones indicate a powerfulmusculature. The upper portion of the right femur shows markedplatymery (3.9 x 2.75 cm. at the broadest part of the flattening).The left femur has strongly developed linea aspera.A portion of the right tibia is diseased; this is considerably thick-ened and the surface bears evidence of some slow inflammatoryprocess?possibly syphilis.The portion remaining of the left tibia is normal. The shaft is ofshape 3;^ it measures, at about the middle, 3.45 cm. in the antero-posterior and 2.55 cm. in the lateral diameter.The humeri give the following dimensions at the middle: Diameterantero-posterior, right, 2.7 cm.; left, 2.55 cm. Diameter lateral,right, 1.8 cm.; left, 1.9 cm.TJ. S. Nat. Mus. no. 249683 (exact locality not given): Parts offive femora.All of the specimens in this lot show defects due probably to cuttingas well as to the gnawing of rodents. These are found on both endsof each bone, and wdien the bones are placed side by side the defectsappear to be similar, reaching in a more or less rounded way into thewall of each bone posteriorly, below the trochanters. The similarityof the effects produced argues against them being the work of rodentsalone, although signs of rodents' teeth are plain everywhere in thecuts.Physically all the femora show strongly developed linea aspera;they show also more or less marked platymery (specimen A, 3.5 x 2.5cm.; specimen B, 3.4x2.6 cm.; specimen C, 3.2x2.55 cm., at thegreatest breadth of the flattening).Nat. Mus. no. 2496S4; original no. 40 (exact locality not given)
:
Bones from the right lower limb of a female adult skeleton.Femur broken, shaft shape 1, strong linea aspera, marked thirdtrochanter and pronounced tubercle at the top of the anterior inter-trochanteric line. Diameters at the broadest part of the sub-trochanteric flattening, 3.25 x 2.3 cm.Right tibia, shaft shape 1; length, 34.7 cm. The bone is notplatycnemic and besides its natural stoutness the shaft is slightlythickened by disease.
a See "Typical forms of shaft of long bones," in Proc. Assoc. Amer. Anatomists, 14th ann. sess., 1900,55 et seq.
rowKE] ANTIQUITIES OF MISSOUEI 111U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 24^685; original no. II4 (exact locality notgiven) : Bones of a male skeleton.Femora: Length (bicondylar) , right, 45.0 cm., left, 45.4 cm.Diameters at greatest expanse of subtrochanteric flattening, right,3.45 X 2.4 cm. ; left, 3.35 x 2.4 cm. The right bone shows a moderateand the left a pronounced third trochanter; while anteriorly bothpresent a well defined tubercle at the upper limit of the inter-trochanteric line. In shape the shaft of each represents type 1.Special: In its lower two-fifths the right bone is diseased, showingan irregular diffused swelling, with a marked increase in weight, andthere is a small spot, honeycombed through suppuration, both ante-riorly and posteriorly above the lower articular surface; all of whichprobably indicates syphilis. The left femur and the tibias are normal.Tibine: Length, right, 38.0 cm.; left, 38.2 cm. Diameter antero-posterior at middle, right, 3.4 cm.; left, 3.35 cm. Diameter lateralat middle, right, 2.5 cm.; left, 2.1 cm. Shape of shafts, both approxi-mating type 2. The head in both shows quite marked inclinationbackward. Right fibula, normal; length, 37.0 cm,U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 24-9686 (exact locality not given) : Left humerusof an adolescent, damaged. No special features physically. Thisspecimen shows numerous positive marks of cutting, especially atthe middle and the upper third, where they penetrate, particularlyat the middle, in a V-shaped incision into the cavity of the shaft,n. S. Nat. Mus. no. 249687 (exact locality not given) : Right tibiaof an adolescent, probably of the preceding subject; damaged.This shows marks of cutting as well as of rodents' teeth; otherwisethere are no special features.U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 249688; original no. 30 (exact locality notgiven) : Bones of a male skeleton.Left femur: Length, 48.5 cm.; diameters at greatest breadth ofupper flattening, 3.9 x 2.9 cm.; shape of shaft, rounded; pronouncedlinea aspera.Tibiffi damaged; shape of shaft in each approximately type 2.Diameter antero-posterior at middle, right, 3.9 cm.; left, 4.0 cm.Diameter lateral at middle, right, 2.3 cm.; left, 2.3 cm.Head shows slightly more than average inclination backward ascompared with the average head of the tibia in whites.TJ. 8. Nat. Mus. no. 249689; original no. 115 (from Easley moundno. 2) : A pair of damaged adult tibiae. Shape of shaft in both, type3. Diameter antero-posterior at middle, right, 3.6 cm.; left, 5.0 cm.Diameter lateral at middle, right, 2.65 cm.; left, 2.6 cm. Bothbones, but especially the right, show a moderate bend backwardabove the middle.V. 8. Nat. Mus. no. 249690; original no. 60 (exact locality notgiven) : Pieces of three tibiae and one fibula.
112 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 37Specimen A: Right tibia, male, adult, damaged. Shape of shaft,3; diameter antero-posterior at middle, 3.9 cm.; diameter lateral atmiddle, 2.3 cm. Quite marked bend backward above middle.Specimen B: Right tibia, female, adult, damaged. Shape, 3.Diameter antero-posterior at middle, 3.0 cm.; diameter lateral atmiddle, 2.3 cm. Slight outward bend.Specimen C: Left tibia, adult, probably female, damaged. Shape,2, typical. Diameter antero-posterior at middle, 3.3 cm.; diameterlateral at middle, 2.0 cm.Specimen D: Left female adult fibula, normal; length, 33.9 cm.U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 249691; original no. 16 (exact locality notgiven) : Bones of a female adult skeleton, mostly damaged.Femora: Length, right, 42.4 cm.; left (?).Diameters of upper flattening at its greatest breadth, right,3.1 X 2.4 cm.; left, 3.2 x 2.4 cm. Shape of shafts both approximat-ing elliptical; linea aspera in both pronounced. Third trochantersmall but well-defined on right, moderate-sized on left; in additioneach bone presents a pronounced gluteal ridge. A rather large bulgeor tubercle is seen on each side at the upper extremity of the anteriorinter-trochanteric line.Tibite: Length, right, 35.8 cm.; left (?). Diameter antero-poste-rior at middle, right, 3.5 cm.; left, 3.4 cm. Diameter lateral at mid-dle, right, 1.85 cm.; left, 1.9 cm. Shape of shaft in each, type 4.Head of right bone shows a pronounced bend backward; that of theleft is missing. Upper third of the sacrum shows a defective, pos-teriorly open, neural arch.TJ. S. Nat. Mus. no. 24-9692 (exact locality not given) : Bones of amale skeleton, mostly damaged.Femora: Diameters at greatest breadth of upper flattening, right,3.65 X 2.6 cm.; left, 3.5 x 2.6 cm. Shape of shaft in both approxi-mates type 5; the linea aspera is strong in the right, moderatelystrong in the left bone. A medium-sized well-defined third tro-chanter is present on each side, and there is in each bone a well-marked tubercle at the upper end of the anterior inter-trochantericline.Both bones show appreciably greater curvature backward thanusual at the upper third of the shaft.Tibite: Diameter antero-posterior at middle, right, 3.85 cm.; left,3.75 cm. Diameter lateral at middle, right, 2.25 cm.; left, 2.15 cm.Shape of shaft: both type 4, pronounced. The left bone shows amarked exostosis of the popliteal ridge. Left fibula, length, 36.9 cm.Besides the above there is in this lot a specimen which shows abony fusion, in a semiflexed position, of the proximal two phalangesof one of the fingers.
INDEXAborigines? Pagecharacter 4,5stature 15,31,44Animal remains found in mounds-deer .33, 61 , 88, 89elk 61mingled specimens 87, 88panther 8,34turtle (or terrapin) 33Apex of mound defined 1Archaeological Institute of America,aclcnowledfirment to ivArcheological remains in Missouri 100-102Archeological SITES in Missouri, location.. 1,99Arrow Rock, description of 92-93Bascom, J. D., acknowledgment to ivBaumhoefer mounds?description 54-61skeletal remains 107Beads. See Objects (principal) found, etc.Beck, Lewis C, on "Indian House" 75-80Beckwith, Thomas, as a collector and ex-plorer 94 , 95Birkle mound, description of 10-11BiXBY, William K., acknowledgment to ivBlackwater river, mounds on 74Bones, human. See Skeletal remains.Boone co., Mo.?mounds in 63. 100-101Easley mounds 42-54Bottom of mound defined 1Bradbury, on Missouri Indians 5-6Brenner mounds?cranium, from 109description 69-72Broadhead, Prof. G. C?on Brenner mounds 69-70,71on " Old Fort" 83-84on vault-graves on Salt river 73-74Buescher mounds?description 61-63skeletal remains 108Buffaloe creek, ancient works on 75,80Bunched bones defined 2Bundled bones defined 2Burial customs. See Mortuary customs.Burials, aboriginal?age 4, 49arrangement of remains 16-17, 29-30communal 54, 59cremation of remains 8, 36, 38, 41 , 42, 68intrusive 605780??Bull. 37?10 8
Burials, aboriginal?Com inued. Pagemetliods employed 4teeth found in 28See also Mortuary customs, Vault-graves.Busch station. Mo., vault-graves near 79BusHNELL, D. I., acknowledgment to ivCahokia mounds, origin of 6-7Callaway co., Mo., mounds in 101Cannibalism, indications of 7Cape Girardeau co.. Mo., archeologicalsites. 99Carleton, Murray, acknowledgment to ivCarpenter, George O., acknowledgment to ivCasebolt, E. S.?excavations by, at " Old Fort " 84owner of portion of "The Pinnacles" 87Center of mound defined 2Charleston, Mo., pottery "fever" in vicin-ity of 93Charlevoix's Letters, map in. cited 6Clay co.. Mo., mounds in 65CocoANUT pots. See Pottery.Cole co., Mo., mounds in 101Cole, J. J., acknowledgment to ivCompass points not significant 3CoNANT, Professor, explorations of 95Conical mouNos defined 2Copper plates from Maiden, Mo., descriptionof 98CouES, Dr. Elliott, on name Arrow Rock.
.
92,93Crania from Missouri mounds, general char-acteristics of 103-104See also Skeletal material.Crem,\tion. evidences of. 8, .36. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 64, 68Dallmeyer mounds?description 19-20skeletal remains 104Dawson mounds?description 26-42skeletal remains 104-106Deformity in skeleton, description of 27Digging implements, kinds of 50-51Sec Objects (principal) found, et:-.Dome-shaped mounds defined 2Domiciliary- mounds, description of 96-98Dorsey, J. Owen, on early movements ofSiouan tribes 5Doubled skeleton defined 2Dunklin co.. Mo., copper plates from Mai-den 98Dutisme, reference by to village of Missouri. 91-92113
114 INDEX
rageEarthquake of ISU, PtTect of 98Easley mounds?description 42-54skeletal remains 104, 106-107Eureka Springs, Ark., aboriginal ceme-tery near 73Europeaninfluence absent from burials.. 4EwiNG, H. Clay, on figures of "PaintedRock" 81EwiNG mounds, description of 12-19Explorations, extent of 1Farrenburg, Mo., mound excavating near. 95Folded skeleton defined 2Franklin CO., Mo., mounds in 101
" Furnace,'' Allamakee co., Iowa, descrip-tion of 78-79Garden mounds, description of 96-98Gasconade co. , Mo. , mounds in 102Gasconade river?archeological remains on 100explorations near mouth 7-12
" Indian houses "on 79Giddings, Rev. S., authority on "IndianHouse" 77,78,80Graham, Mrs. C. D., acknowledgment to. .
.
ivGranmann mounds, description of 7-9Graves, aboriginal. See Vault-graves.Great Cahokia mound, origin of 0-7Groomes, Ray, on discovery of copper platesnear Maiden 98Hartsburg, Boone co.. Mo., mounds invicinity of 20-42Hawkins, Col. Richard, on "IndianHouse" 78, 80IIaynie, George P., owner of sited" OldFort" 82Hematite. See Objects (principal) found,etc.Holmes, \V. II.. on pottery from Missourimounds 4, 21Howard co.. Mo., mounds in 03, 102Howe, Mrs. E. A., acknowledgment to rvHrdlicka, Ales, report of, on skeletal ma-terial from Missouri mounds 103-112Human remains. See Skeletal remains.Hunter mounds, description of 9')-9fiHuttig, C. H.. acknowleilgment to iv
"Indian House, "description of 5.75-81Indian houses, description of 79-80Indian mounds?location, by counties 100-102report, on skeletal material from 10.3-112Inhabitants of region. See Aborigines.Iowa (.STATE), "furnace" In Allamakee co.. 79-80Iowa (tribe), early movements of 5Johnson co., Mo., vault-graves in 74Jones, John P., on Indian village in .'^allneCO., Mo 91-92Kansa?builders of stone vaults (?) 6early movements 5
rageKansas City Acaukmy of Science, explora-tions of?Brenner mounds r.j, 69-70Keller mounds 05Kansas City mounds, description of 66-66See also Brenner mounds, Keller mounds.Kansas City Star, quoted on excavation ofKeller mounds 66Kansas St.vte Academy of Science, ex-ploration by, of Brenner mounds 1.9-70Keller mounds, description of 67-C9Klamm mound?description ; 72-73skeletal remains 110Koehler, Hugo, acknowledgment to ivKurtz mound?crania from 104, 108deseript Ion 03-05Lewis and Clark, on Arrow Rock 29"Little Osage Village," location of ftLong bones from Missouri mounds, generalcharacteristics of 104Louisiana, Mo., "Indian House" near 75-81Loutre river, ancient works on 80Malden, Mo., copper plates from 98Mallinckrodt, Edward, acknowledgmentto IVMarkham, J. D., acknowledgment to ivMarquette's map cited as to location of Slou-an tribes 5Miami Indians, supposed builders of "OldFort" 80Miami Saline co.. Mo., Indian works near. 82,86,92Middleton, , excavations by, at "OldFort " 84Mis.sissippi, aboriginal use of name 6Mississippi co.. Mo.?archeological sites G9as a source of Indian pottery 9$Missouri, aboriginal use of name 6Missouri (tribe)?early movements and history .5-6mentioned by La Harpe 91-92
"Missouri village" 6Moniteau co., Mo., mounds In 102Montgomery co., Mo., ancient works in... 74,80MoREAU, Jean, adventure of 81-82Morton, Mrs. I. W., acknowledgment to... ivMortuary custom.s?folding bodies 2sprinkling of soil on graves 50See also Burials, Cremation.Mound Builders?in and near Cahokia mounds 7of the lower Mississippi, characteristics of. 4stature -i-iMounds?construction 32general discussion of 1-3measurements 2-3terminology 1^2See also Vault-graves and specific namesof mounds.Nagel, Charles, acknowledgment to ivNew Madrid co., Mo., as a source of Indianpottery 93
INDEX 115New Madrid, Mo., mound excavating near. 95Noix CREEK. See Noyer creek.NoYER CREEK, ancient works on 7r>. 77, 79-80Nye creek. See Noyer creek.Objects (principal) found in mounds-arrows and arrowheads 21,0.3,7.3beads
?
bone 38, 41shell 10,20,30,31,40,41,44,45,47,49,01,63,64,7.3,79
"bottle stoppers" 96catlinite 89celt 48digging implements 20, 23,24,35-.36,46,61,73,91flint implements 9, 12, 42gorget (shell) 61hammer stones 12, 19, 20hematite 9, 21 , 28, 42, 51 , 73knives 7, 21 , 48mortar, sandstone 50muller, quartzite 27polishing and rubbing stones 21,42scrapers 23, 90shells 50. 57. 63, 73spearheads 21 , 48See also Pipes, Pottery."Old Fort," Saline CO., Mo.?builders 91description 82-86Om.\ha, early movements of 5Osage?connection with grave-vaults 73,92early movements 5village in Saline co. , Mo 91-92O.SAGE CO. , Mo. , archeological sites in 99, 102O.SAGE river?ancient works on 75explorations about mouth 12-20Painted Rock "on 81-82Oto, early movements and history of 5,
6
"Painted" bone.s, explanation of term 68,73Painted Rock, description of 81-82Park.s, Dr. W. F., acknowledgment to ivPhelps co., Mo., mounds in 102PiCTOGRAPHS, description of 81-82Pike co., Mo.?ancient works 80"Indian House" 75-81vault-graves 74" I'innacles, The"?description 82village site 86-92Pipes?from Dawson mound no. 11 37from Easley mounds 48, 49, 52from "Indian House" 79from Smith mound no. 2 12PiT.s around and in Indian villages, e.xplana-tion of 90Platte co., Mo., mounds in 65PoNCA, early movements of 5Pottery?character 21-22cocoanut pots 31, 50, 53collection in southeastern Missouri 93-95
PagePottery?Continued.Dawson mounds-bowl 29pots 29,31.32,33,34,38,40,41.42Easley mounds (pots) 49,50,52Hunter mounds 95.96Klamm mound 73Kurtz mound 64manufactured by Cocopa Indians 96middle Missouri region 4Mississippi co.. Mo 99"Old Fort" 91Shaw mounds (pots) 21,22,23,24,25"The Pinnacles" 87,88,89,90,91Peairie fork, mounds on 74Prospectors for pottery, methods of 94-95Randolph co.. Mo., mounds in 102Reed, Homer, on "Indian House" 78.73Refuse pits, description of 90Rodents, work of 7, 104, 1 10RoYCE,on location of " Little Osage Village".Roy, Marie, capture of 81-S2Ruegge village site, description of 9St. Louis Socifty, Archaeological Instituteof ,\merica, acknowledgment to ivSaline co.. Mo.?ancient works in 82-86, 92village site 99, 109Salt river, vault-graves on 73-74Scope of work 1Scott co.. Mo.?archeological sites 99as a source of Indian pottery 93Scrapers. See Objects (principal) found,etc.Shaw mounds?description 20-26skeletal remains lotiSikeston, Mo., mound excavating near 05Siouan tribes, movements of .5-7Skeletal material from Missouri mounds-age 3 , 39, 49condition 3, 103crania 4, 38, 103-104incised lines on bones 7long bones 104measurements and observations 4^, 104-112of children 33
" paint " found on bones 68. 73spinal curvature 27terminology .- 2Skeleton burial defined 2Skulls. Sec Skeletal material.Smith mounds, description of 11-12Soil, use of term 1Southeastern Missouri, reconnoissancc
?
copper plates from Maiden 98garden or domiciliary mounds 9C-98general account 93-95Hunter mounds . r. 95-96Spinal curvature, case of 27Stevenson, C. W., on mounds near Warrens-burg 74-75Stoddard co., Mo.^archeological sites 99as a source of Indian pottery 93
116 INDEXPageStorehouses, pits as 90Subsoil, use of terra 1Summit of mound defined 1"Sunk Lands" as a source of Indian pottery. 94Surface of mound defined 1Syphilis, indications of in skeletal remains.. 104,109,110.111Teeth found in aboriginal graves-condition 28index of age 47set in normal contact without skeleton. .
.
59specimen having gold plug -86supernumerary 31,105, 106typical condition 104Terms defined 1-2Top of mound defined 1Uffman mound, description of 9-10Underground houses?explanation of term 65identical with burial vaults 72See also Vault-graves.Utz, W. H., owner of portion of "The Pin-nacles" 87Vault-graves?benches 45builders 5-6, 92
rageVault-graves?Continued,construction-breaking of joints and interlocking.. 3,69method of building walls. 3,10,35,57-61,64use of timbers 36, 51distribution 73-75intrusive burial 60largest 45purpose 4Sec also Underground houses.Village site at "The Pinnacles," descrip-tion of 80-92Warren co., Mo., mounds in 102Warrensburg, mounds near 74, 75Waterworth, James A., acknowledgmentto IVWest, Judge E. P.?on mounds opposite Kansas City 65,66on "Old Fort" 84,86on pottery of "Old Fort" and villagesite 91on village site at " The Pinnacles " 87Whelpley, Dr. H. M., acknowledgment to. ivWinnebago, tradition relating to 5Wren, Christopher, on Indian potterymaking 96Wulfing, J. M.; acknowledgment to iv,98o