Note 16 — Chapter IV · ANCIENT INDIAN MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN OHIO. Earthworks of the Mound Builders and their geographical position.—Miamisburgh Mound.—Grave Creek Mound.—Ages and contents of burial mounds.—Rectangular, circular and octagonal Inclosures near Newark.— Marietta Earthworks.—Discoveries made in a burial mound.—Fortifications near Portsmouth.—Encampments in the valley of the Scioto.

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.