| also stone gouges, some stone axes and many fragments of charred | | wood. This was probably an Iroquois grave. | | | | [16] In the valley of the Mississippi, especially in the northern | | part which had been occupied by the Dakotas, I afterwards saw many | | burial mounds, which, with the exception of the unusually great | | mounds near Miamisburgh and Wheeling, resembled in all respects | | those in Ohio. The methods of burial with the Sioux were evidently | | similar to those of the Mound Builders, with respect to the custom | | of conveying skeletons from considerable distances for the purpose | | of placing them together in one burying heap. | | | | In several of the ancient burial mounds in Ohio, thin flat plates | | or slabs of mica are placed with the skeletons. This shining and | | silvery looking mineral appears to have been greatly valued by | | Indians. When I was on the coast of California, I happened to | | be present when a shell bank was cut open and a section of it | | examined. There was found, piled within it, a confused heap of | | skulls and shells, together with a larger quantity of rough pieces | | of mica. It is remarkable that the use of mica as an ornament | | should have been prevalent over such a wide geographical area | | amongst tribes dwelling so far apart. | | | | [17] I have seen a re-survey of the Newark inclosures made on | | behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, under the direction of | | Professor Cyrus Thomas. The results of this survey are very | | useful. The measurements have evidently been taken with much care. | | With respect to the Octagon, Professor Thomas observes that, “The | | angles at the crossings of the diagonals and diameters at the | | centre O, are so nearly right angles as to be worthy of notice in | | this connection. For instance, the angles at the crossings of the | | diagonals BF and DH, differ but 10´ from true right angles, while | | those at the crossing of the diameters AE and CG differ but 2´.” | | | | As regards the Square he states, that, “This inclosure varies but | | slightly from a true square, the course of the opposite sides in | | one case differing but 31´, and the other but 6´. The greatest | | variation at the corners from a true right angle is 57´.” | | | | The large Circle D is said to have a difference of diameters of | | twenty-six feet, these being respectively 1189 feet and 1163 feet. |