OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 39
marks which seem to indicate that they were turned in some machine, instead of being carved by hand. A few lamine of mica were also discovered, which completed the list of articles found with this skeleton. The feet of the skeleton were nearly in the centre of the mound. A drift beyond it developed nothing new, nor was a corresponding layer of charcoal found on the opposite side of the mound. It is clear, therefore, that the tumulus was raised over this single skeleton. In the case of a mound of this class, opened at Gallipolis, on the Ohio river, the chamber enclos- ing the skeleton was found just below the original surface, —which can always be detected by a strongly marked line and the uniform drab color of the earth beneath it.
The layer of charcoal is not uniformly found in mounds of this class, though it is a feature of frequent occurrence. It would seem to indicate that sacrifices were made for the dead, or that funeral rites of some kind were celebrated. The fire, in every case, was kept burning for a very brief space, as is shown by the lack of ashes, and the slight traces of its action left on the adjacent earth. That it was suddenly heaped over, is also proved by the facts already presented.
Bracelets of copper and silver ; beads of bone and shell ; mica plates and ornaments; stone instruments of various kinds, some of which are identical with those found in mounds of the first class, &c. &c., are found with the ske- letons. In every instance falling within our observation, the skeleton has been so much decayed, that any attempt to restore the skull, or indeed any portion of it, was hope- less. Considering that the earth around these skeletons is wonderfully compact and dry, and that the conditions for their preservation were exceedingly favorable, while, in fact, they are so much decayed, we may form some esti- mate of their remote antiquity. In the barrows and crom- lechs of the ancient Britons, entire and well-preserved skeletons are found, although having an undoubted antiquity of 1800 years.
