Note 136 — PART I. (continued 6)

"The only reference we have to the mounds of Oregon is contained in a paragraph in the Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, vol. iv. p. 313:—We soon reached the Bute Prairies, which are extensive, and covered with tumuli, or small mounds, at regular distances. As far as I can learn, there is no tradition among the natives concerning them: they are conical mounds, thirty feet in diameter, about six or seven feet above the level, and many thousands in number. Being anxious to ascertain if they contained any relics, I subsequently visited these prairies, and opened three of the mounds, but found nothing in them but a pavement of round stones."