line, on a high bluff, hardly a quarter of a mile from the river. They are somewhat in this shape, the largest mound being in the center.
The mounds in Barnhill Township, just east of Fairfield, are seven in number. They were explored two or three years ago, but nothing but charcoal was found in the bottom. I have inquired of the man living on the farm, but he does not find many tools, &c. The mound in Big Mound Township marked is 3 miles from here. It is, probably, a large natural mound on the prairie, to which dirt, &c., has been brought from other parts, and so completed the cemetery. There are many graves, and several bodies or parts of bodies appear to be buried in one grave, but they are so decayed that no perfect skulls can be obtained. The graves are made by building the side and end walls of a hard sandstone, with a large one for the bottom and one for the top. The stone could not have been obtained nearer than 7 or 8 miles, on the Skillet Fork. Two trees are growing on the mound, one of them a catalpa and the other an oak, both of which have been planted, beyond a doubt. The catalpa is found in abundance in our river bottoms, but there are none on the upland. The other two mounds in the same township are also large, and located in the bottoms in the woods. One of them was found to contain human remains and a few broken pieces of pottery, but nothing of value. The other contained human remains, but not in any order of arrangements; also river shells, deer-horns, wolf jaws, &c.; also much charcoal and many small stones occur among the mass. The group of mounds in Four Mile Township is near the Skillet Fork. The one in the southwestern corner, marked "Explored," has been plowed over a great many times, and evidently contained human remains and flint tools. The second one above it was explored this spring, but not very thoroughly, as it was very warm and the woods dense. Human remains were found, and one broken piece of pottery, too small to tell its shape, and one flint arrow-point. The pottery was different from any I have ever seen, of bright-red clay and small pebbles. There are probably a great many mounds about 12 or 15 miles from here, in the woods, all of which are built on what is called Fleming's Ridge, mentioned above. Probably the Mound Builders settled on the same ground for this reason: the best ford on the river was just south of the mounds, in fact it is the only place I know of where it can be forded at all for miles. The place marked "Hay Pond" is a low place that used to be a kind of lake, which was drained by the inhabitants to catch the fish. The mound in Leech Township (on the north) is near my dwelling. Those south of it are three in number, situated as indicated in the drawing. Eight on the bluff is a square hole 10 or 12 feet in diameter. All of these mounds are unexplored. The square hole used to be much deeper than it is now, about 5 to 7 feet.
