ANTIQUITIES OF WAYNE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
By H. F. Sibley, of Fairfield, Ill.
Wayne County is one of the larger counties of the State, located on the southern border of the prairie region. At least three-fourths of its surface was originally timbered land. The prairies are generally small. The principal streams are the Little Wabash and Elm Rivers and the Skillet Fork (a branch of the Wabash). The surface is generally rolling and elevated from 50 to 125 feet above the stream beds. The Wabash and Skillet Fork bottom lands are generally rather low and flat, with the exception of some few ridges of high land, ordinarily lying parallel with the watercourse. On the ridges generally we find the ancient tumuli of the Mound Builders. One of the most prominent places of ancient resort in our county was a ridge in the Skillet Fork bottom, now known as Fleming's Ridge, in Arrington Township. (See map.) The ridge commences at the river and runs almost due north to the prairie, and is from one-half mile to one mile wide. Near the south end of the ridge, about one-quarter to one-half mile from the river, is a group of mounds, seven or eight in number. Several farms have been opened up, and mounds are found all over the ridge. Two of them have been explored and the ordinary fragments of pottery, shells, human remains, &c., were found, but all seem to have been disturbed. Just to the southwest of the ridge I have drawn a half-moon shaped figure for a pond, or rather where a pond had been, but which has been drained for the fish. It is now known by the name of the Horseshoe Pond from its peculiar shape. It was probably an artificial fish-pond built by the Mound Builders, as it fills up when the river is high, but can easily be shut up even during high water. Southeast of the ridge are two more mounds, about 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, and now 6 or 7 feet high. One of them was examined, and in it were found some flint arrow-heads (very rude), an immense number of turkey and wolf bones, together with deer-horns, &c., which seemed to have been thrown into fire, some of them being partially consumed. Human remains were also found, as well as some broken bits of pottery. There seemed to be no line of separation.
In the southwest corner of Big Mound Township are three mounds in one group which have never been examined. Northwest and near to them are two more, of which one was examined, and in it were found rude arrow-heads, broken pottery, &c., but could not get a skeleton in any state of preservation at all, so as to determine how they were buried.
On the east edge of the township, some 2 miles south of this place (Fairfield), are two mounds, one of which was slightly examined, and found to be a burial mound. One mile farther south, almost right in the center of Little Mound Prairie, is a natural elevation, topped out by
