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Fig. 116.

62761. A pierced tablet of gray slate, 4½ inches long, 1½ inches wide, and half an inch thick. The two perforations are 2½ inches apart; they have been bored from opposite sides, and show no evidence of use. Nine notches have been cut in one end of the tablet. It has been much injured by recent use as a whetstone.

62764. Cup stone of rough sandstone, having seventeen shallow cup-like depressions, from 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The stone is of irregular outline, about 10 inches in diameter and 4 in thickness.

62765. A large pipe of gray steatite; the bowl is square and about 3 inches in length, by 1 in diameter. The stem end is 4 inches in length and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The bowl has a deep, conical excavation. The same is true of the stem-end also.

MOUND AT THE JUNCTION OF THE PIGEON AND FRENCH BROAD RIVERS.

ARTICLES OF CLAY.

62870. The mound from which these fragments were obtained was located 3 miles from Newport. It was 12 feet square and 6 feet high. The original height was probably much greater. The pottery was mixed with ashes and débris of what appeared to be three fire-places. No human remains were found. The fragments are not numerous, nor do they indicate a great variety in form. There is, however, considerable variety in decoration.

Material.—The clay is generally gray or dark-reddish gray in the mass, and is apparently quite siliceous or sandy, numerous grains of quartz being visible. There is generally a sprinkling of finely-powdered mica, but no shell matter can be detected. When much weathered the surface is quite gritty.

Form.—The leading form is a round-bodied, pot-shaped vase. There is one small hemispherical bowl. The outlines have been quite symmetrical. The mouths of the pots are wide, and the necks deeply constricted. The lip or rim exhibits a number of novel features. That of the larger specimen, of which a considerable segment remains, is furnished on the upper edge with a deep channel, nearly one-half an inch wide, and more than one-fourth of an inch deep. First section, Fig. 117. Others have a peculiar thickening of the rim, a sort of collar being added to the outside. This is about 1 inch in width, and is thicker below, giving a triangular section. Third section, Fig. 117.

Fig. 117.

The walls of the vessels are usually quite thin. The bottoms were probably round, or nearly so. No fragments, however, of the lower parts of the vessels were collected. There is but one example of handle, and this presents no unusual features. Middle section, Fig. 117.

Ornamentation.—The ornamentation is in some respects novel. The double or channeled rim of the larger specimen, the mouth of which has been 13 or 14 inches in diameter, is embellished with a line of flutings, which seem to be the impressions of a hollow bone or reed.

The whole exterior surface is embellished with a most elaborate ornamental design, which resembles the imprint of some woven fabric. If a woven fabric has not been used, a pliable stamp, producing the effect of a fabric, has been resorted to. The fact that the sharply concave portions of the neck are marked with as much regularity as the convex body of the vessel, precludes the idea of the use of a solid or non-elastic stamp.

The pattern consists of groups of parallel indented lines, arranged at right angles with one another, the puzzling feature being that there is no evidence of the passing of the threads or fillets over or under each other, such as would be seen if a woven fabric had been used. The outer surface of the triangular collar peculiar to many of the pots has been decorated with a herring-bone pattern, made by impressing a sharp implement. The handle in one case is similarly ornamented. This handle has been added after the figure previously described was impressed upon the neck of the vessel. One small fragment shows another style of indented or stamped pattern, which consists of series of straight and curved lines, such as are characteristic of many of the vessels obtained from the Gulf States.

A small fragment of coal-black ware is entirely smooth on the outside, and indicates an unusually well finished and symmetrical vessel. Another shows the impression of basket-work, in which a wide fillet or splint has served as the warp and a small twisted cord as the woof. One interesting feature of this vessel is that from certain impressions on the raised ridges we discover that the vessel has been taken from the net mold while still in a plastic state.

Still another reddish porous fragment has a square rim, which is ornamented with a series of annular indentations.

COLLECTIONS FROM SEVIER COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

THE M^cMAHAN MOUND.

On the west fork of the Little Pigeon River, at Sevierville, on a rich bottom, 125 yards from the river, is a celebrated mound, the owners of which have for years refused to have it opened.

Mr. Palmer spent several days in trying to obtain permission to open it, and was about leaving in despair, when the owners finally yielded, not, however, without requiring a number of concessions on the part of the collector, which concessions were put in the form of a legal document.

This mound is 16 feet high and 240 feet in circumference.

Three feet below the surface, a stratum of burnt clay, 15 feet wide by 30 long, was reached. This has probably formed part of the roof of a dwelling.

Beneath this was a bed of charcoal 4 inches thick. In this bed remnants of cedar posts from 2 to 4 inches thick and 1 to 2 feet in length were found.

Below this was a stratum of ashes, covering a limited area to the depth of 4 feet. Surrounding this, the earth contained fragments of numerous articles used by the inhabitants, while beneath came 4½ feet of earth, in which numerous skeletons had been deposited.

The bodies had been interred without order, and the bones were so intermingled, and so far decayed, that no complete skeletons could be collected. Beneath the layer of bones came a second deposit of ashes, 2 feet thick by 2½ feet in diameter, and beneath this a mass of red clay, 18 inches in thickness. In the earth surrounding the ashes and clay, a number of skeletons were found; these were in such an advanced stage of decomposition that only a few fragments of skulls could be preserved.

Three feet below the second layer of bones, the undisturbed soil was reached.

Two boxes of bones were collected, the well-preserved crania numbering about twenty.

A great many interesting specimens of the