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UNIVERSITY 

Vol. XIX 



OF ILLINOIS 

APRIL, 24 1922 
ISSUED WEEKLY 



BULLETIN 

No. 35 



[Entered as second-class matter December n, 1912, at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under the 
Act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at the special rate of postage provided for 
in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 31, 1918.] 



THE GAHOKIA MOUNDS 

WITH 16 PLATES 
A PRELIMINARY PAPER 

BY 

WARREN K. MOOREHEAD 




PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
URBANA 



THE GAHOKIA MOUNDS 



WITH 16 PLATES 



A PRELIMINARY PAPER 



BY 

WARREN K. MOOREHEAD 




PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
URBANA, ILLINOIS 



COPYRIGHT, 1922 
BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



Distributed April 26, 1922 

Contributions from the Museum of 
Natural History, No. 19 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Preface 6 

Introduction 7 

The View from Monks Mound 9 

The Village Site 1 1 

Description of the Mounds and of Recent Explorations 13 

The Largest Mound. Monks or Cahokia 13 

The Ramey Mound 18 

The Kunnemann Mound 18 

Smith's Mound 20 

The Edward's Mounds 21 

The Jesse Ramey Mound 22 

Other Mounds Tested 22 

Conclusions on the Excavations 23 

Exploration of the Village Site 23 

Utensils and Implements from Cahokia 25 

Notes upon a Collection Secured from the Surface 29 

The Pottery from Cahokia 30 

Caches at Cahokia 31 

Use of Copper at Cahokia 3 1 

Conclusions 35 

Possibility of Important Discoveries 36 

Prebervation of the Group 37 

Resolution by American Anthropological Association 39 

Cahokia Bibliography.. 40 



V 



PREFACE 

It is a pleasure to thank those who contributed toward the 
Cahokia explorations of September-October, 1921. The President 
and Trustees of the University of Illinois have my gratitude for their 
liberal appropriation. Doctor A. R. Crook, Chief, Illinois State Mu- 
seum Division, also contributed generously and I desire to express 
appreciation. The Trustees of Phillips Academy made an ad- 
vance appropriation and financed the preliminary work, for which 
I thank them. As the museums and societies had already made 
their budgets for 1921, it became necessary to appeal to individuals. 
A grand total of $4800 was raised, of which the University of Illi- 
nois, the State Museum of Illinois and Phillips Academy, Andover, 
Massachusetts, gave $3,050. I hereby express sincere thanks to the 
following contributors : 

Illinois Historical Society Springfield, 111. 

American Museum of Natural History New York, N. Y. 

Davenport Academy of Sciences Davenport,, Iowa 

John H. Beebe Boston 

E. W. Payne Springfield, 111. 

W. T. Bush New York, N. Y. 

W. F. Chandler Fresno, California 

East St. Louis Traction Company East St. Louis, 111. 

C. L. Hutchinson Chicago 

Dr. 0. L. Schmidt Chicago 

Chicago Historical Society Chicago 

Willard V. King New York, N. Y. 

M. C. Long Kansas City, Mo. 

The Newark Museum Association Newark, N. J. 

The Charleston Museum Charleston, S. C. 

F. P. Hills Delaware, Ohio 

G. C. Fraser Morristown, N. J. 

Joseph Pulitzer, Jr St. Louis 

Victor L. Lawson Chicago 

Major Albert A. Sprague Chicago 

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Sprague Wellesley Hills, Mass. 

John B. Stetson, Jr Elkins Park, Pa. 

Judge Edward Lindsey Warren, Pa. 

Miss Lucy L. W. Wilson Philadelphia, Pa. 

it is thought best not to expand our list by including everyone 
wno gave towards our explorations, but appreciation of their kind- 
ness is hereby expressed. 

To the owners we are all greatly indebted. Without their co- 
operation and permission to explore, it would have been impossible 
to carry on our observations. The Ramey and Merrell families have 
my especial thanks; also Messrs. Edwards, Smith, Cole, Tippetts, 
Powell and Harding. To Mr. Kunnemann and other tenants of the 
properties, and Major Merrell (in charge of the ex-service men's 
camp) we were much indebted. All of the owners, both men and 
women, fully appreciate the importance of Cahokia and were and 
are willing to give a full measure of aid in any movement leading 
up to the preservation of these monuments. 



INTRODUCTION 

One stands upon the summit of the largest Cahokia mound and 
looks across the famous American Bottoms. He is one hundred 
feet above the plain and his vision is, therefore, not impaired since 
there are few buildings nearby, and trees not numerous save far to 
the south. Both the site and the view are conducive to reflection 
on the past and one's mind harks back to the days of Brackenridge, 
Flagg, and Featherstonehaugh for these men saw Cahokia at its 
best. Fortunate indeed is it that these pioneers in Cahokia archeol- 
ogy gave us clear word pictures of conditions then, for while practi- 
cally all of the tumuli remain, their external contour is altered. And 
after these pioneers came Rau, McAdams, Patrick, Putnam, Bush- 
nell, and others who mapped and described the mounds as they saw 
them in the years 1874 to 1905. 

Notwithstanding the preeminence of Cahokia over all other 
mound-groups in the United States there appears to have been little 
attempt at either study or exploration. Indeed, the several gentle- 
men who visited the mounds between the years 1874 an d 1905 con- 
tented themselves with brief descriptions. The longest published 
account is the paper by Mr. D. I. Bushnell, Jr.* 

Mr. W. W. McAdams, who was curator of the State Museum 
at Springfield, and Dr. J. J. R. Patrick seem to have excavated to a 
considerable extent in the cemetery northeast of the largest mound, 
yet I am unable to find any detailed record of their observations. 

After reading all the references to Cahokia I consulted with 
witnesses who were present during McAdams' explorations and 
also with persons living in the vicinity who had more or less knowl- 
edge of conditions at Cahokia during the past fifty years. After one 
has examined the assembled evidence, both written and spoken, it 
is not difficult to explain the lack of thorough exploration of these 
famous mounds. 

Most attention seems to have been concentrated on the largest 
tumulus locally known as Monks Mound. In fact, nearly all the 
descriptions center in this ranking structure. Mr. Thomas Ramey, 
the father of the present eight Ramey heirs, was probably the first 
owner of Cahokia property to manifest a real interest in the preser- 
vation of the mounds. This does not indicate, permit me to hasten 

*Peabody Museum Report; 20 pages, 7 figures, and 5 plates. 



THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 



to explain, that other owners today do not appreciate the importance 
of the group. On the contrary, the statement refers to the past a 
period from about 1868 to 1890. Altho Ramey employed some 
coal miners from Collinsville and ran a short tunnel into the mound, 
and also permitted one or two excavations in mounds south of 
Monks, yet on the whole, he was adverse to excavations. From the 
time of his death until the summer of 1921 his heirs, the Misses 
and Messrs. Ramey, have refused permission to those who sought 
to excavate. This also applies to Mr. George B. Merrell and his 
family and the other owners. Numbers of persons visited the mounds 
with a view to exploration the past thirty years and several collectors 
in the neighborhood also sought to dig. We thus have the explana- 
tion, it seems to me, of the general impression that the owners were 
adverse to an examination of the mounds. As a result of many con- 
versations with these owners I am prepared to state that they are 
not and have not been adverse to scientific research at Cahokia, but 
they think that such should be part of a definite plan which will 
culminate in the preservation of the area in a state or national park. 

There is even a more potent reason why the mounds have not 
been examined. The undertaking would be very expensive. Until 
recent years no museum or institution could spend larger sums of 
money in American archeology excepting perhaps in Central and 
South America. Undoubtedly it would require years to properly 
explore Cahokia. A large force of labor would be required. Mr. 
Ramey, Sr., once desired to ascertain the cost of certain explorations, 
and requested an engineer to estimate the cost of two tunnels at 
right angles through the base of Monks Mound. Even in the days 
when labor was much cheaper, work could not be done short of 
$15,000. We trenched the Kunnemann mound through to the cen- 
ter, employing twenty men and using five teams and our expense 
was $600. It will thus be observed that without great outlay of both 
time and money an exploration of Cahokia would be impossible. 
These two factors explain why Cahokia is, today, practically 
unexplored. 

In the light of modern archeological science, it is fortunate 
that Cahokia has not been explored. We should render all the own- 
ers a full meed of praise since they have protected these mounds at 
considerable expense for many years. Some forty-two acres are 
lost to cultivation. That is, on the several estates mounds not avail- 



INTRODUCTION 



able for agriculture cover forty-two acres. Aside from taxes there 
are charges for drainage, roads, etc. This together with the loss of 
revenue from forty-two acres during the past twenty years amounts 
to many thousands of dollars. 

THE VIEW FROM MONKS MOUND 

We are again standing on the summit of this remarkable pyra- 
mid. Six miles to the west we clearly observe the great city of St. 
Louis. Four miles in the same direction is East St. Louis. A scant 
two miles west, northwest and southwest we see the encroaching 
factories and railway yards. The charm of the Great Plain, the 
primitive simplicity and beauty of the American Bottoms as observed 
by Brackenridge, Ford, and Featherstonehaugh is of the past. Yet 
looking directly south over the Merrell, Ramey, Tippett and Wells 
estates we note that there has not been so great a change. True, 
many of the mounds have been cultivated until the original contour 
is somewhat marred. Yet it would be no very great undertaking 
to restore them to the pyramidal and conical form. About the shores 
of the lake and in the woods and even beyond the railway, two-thirds 
of a mile south where is located the great Harding pyramid, are 
nearly a score of mounds in practically the same condition as they 
were a century ago. Eliminating a few mounds in the edge of East 
St. Louis here to the south and also to the north across Cahokia 
creek we have spread before us a great possibility (and we hope 
probability) of a state park. 

Brackenridge's description, written in 1811 and published in 
1814, has been so frequently quoted it is unnecessary to repeat it 
here. He observed as did Flagg a great number of artifacts strewn 
over the surface and that there were many small elevations which 
have probably since disappeared. What impressed him, as well as 
the others of those early days, was not only the charm and mystery 
of the mounds themselves but their pleasant location in the Great 
Plain and that this plain was not entirely a prairie but broken here 
and there by clumps of heavy vegetation and ponds of water. 

It requires no stretch of imagination to those familiar with 
American archeology to catch the point of view of these early vis- 
itors to the Cahokia group. After reading their accounts carefully, 
it is not difficult for one, from the top of the great mound, to recon- 



io THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

struct the past. One eliminates the factories, the macadam road 
and the cities. And having done this we will surrender the pen to 
Mr. Flagg,* since his account has been less frequently published 
than those of others. 

"The view from the southern extremity of the mound, which is free from trees 
and underbrush, is extremely beautiful. Away to the south sweeps off the broad 
rirer-bottom, at this place about seven miles in width, its waving surface variegated 
by all the magnificant hues of the summer flora of the prairies. At intervals, from the 
deep herbage is flung back the flashing sheen of a silvery lake to the oblique sunlight; 
while dense groves of the crab-apple and other indigenous wild fruits are sprinkled 
about like islets in the verdant sea. To the left, at a distance of three or four miles, 
stretches away the long line of bluffs, now presenting a surface marked and rounded 
by groups of mounds, and now wooded to their summits, while a glimpse at times 
may be caught of the humble farmhouses at their base. On the right meanders the 
Cantine Creek, which gives the name to the group of mounds, betraying at intervals 
its bright surface through the belt of forest by which it is margined. In this direction, 
far away in blue distance, rising through the mist and forest, may be caught a glimpse 
of the spires and cupolas of the city, glancing gayly in the rich summer sun. The base 
of the mound is circled upon every side by lesser elevations of every form and at vari- 
ous distances. Of these, some lie in the heart of the extensive maize-fields, which 
constitute the farm of the proprietor of the principal mound, presenting a beautiful 
exhibition of light and shade, shrouded as they are in the dark, twinkling leaves. 
The most remarkable are two standing directly opposite the southern extremity of 
the principal one, at a distance of some hundred yards, in close proximity to each other 
and which never fail to arrest the eye. There are also several large square mounds 
covered with forest along the margin of the creek to the right, and groups are caught 
rising from the declivities of the distant bluffs. 

"Upon the western side of Monk Mound, at a distance of several yards from the 
summit, is a well some eighty or ninety feet in depth; the water of which would be 
agreeable enough were not the presence of sulphur, in some of its modifications, so 
palpable. This well penetrates the heart of the mound, yet, from its depth, cannot 
reach lower than the level of the surrounding plain. I learned, upon inquiry, that 
when this well was excavated, several fragments of pottery, of decayed ears of corn, 
and other articles, were thrown up from a depth of sixty-five feet; proof incontestible 
of the artificial structure of the mound. The associations, when drinking the water 
of this well, united with its peculiar flavour, are not of the most exquisite character, 
when we reflect that the precious fluid has probably filtrated, part of it, at least, 
through the contents of a sepulchre." 

Aside from the mounds the depressions or ponds and the vil- 
lage site are quite important. From our vantage point we note that 
while certain of the mounds are clustered together, others are at a 
considerable distance apart. In these level spots lying between the 
mounds is a village site. Indications of Indian habitation were most 
The Far West, Vol. I, pages 166, 167, 1838. 



INTRODUCTION . n 



numerous northwest of Monks Mound, about the pyramid owned 
by Mr. Smith, 400 yards east and south across the fields to the line 
of timber. It is impossible at present writing to give the actual ex- 
tent of the village. Although we spent two months at Cahokia with 
a large crew it can be truthfully affirmed that our observations are 
just begun. 

THE VILLAGE SITE 

Where we excavated at various points in the village site, we 
found disturbed ground at depths ranging from one to four feet. 
Northeast of the dominant mound the debris appears to be the 
thickest, yet all over the area south of the state highway pot- 
tery fragments, chips, and flint arrowheads may be found from 
the surface to a depth of one foot. More than a thousand broken 
artifacts and pottery were secured by us from our test pits. In our 
preliminary examination there were extensive areas of land which we 
were unable to test. These should be carefully' inspected during 
the coming season and next year. 

One of these, which we did not see, should be here noted. In 
the Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 
pp. 133-134, Dr. Cyrus Thomas describes the work of McAdams 
and Patrick on the banks of the old channel of Canteen creek the 
southern branch of Cahokia creek. He states: 

"It is worthy of note that nearly all the relics found at the Cahokia group of 
mounds have been taken from the low ground between the mounds. The remarkable 
find of pottery, implements, and shells made by Mr. McAdams in the winter of 1881 
was in the low land a short distance from the northeast corner of the great mound. 
The articles were nearly all taken from a square rod of ground. This has been to 
some extent Dr. Patrick's experience in making his fine collection of pottery. 

"The real burial place of the builders of the Cahokia mounds probably is yet 
to be discovered. 

" The bank of Cahokia creek during the occupation of the mounds was evidently 
more to the south than its present line along the eastern part of the group. The old 
bank is still plainly visible. The low land between this old bank and the creek is 
now covered with forest trees. All along this bank, which forms the edge of the 
plateau on which the mounds stand, are abundant evidences of occupation in remote 
times. In digging 2 or 3 feet at almost any point along this bank indications of fire- 
places are found, with numerous river shells, broken pottery, and kitchen refuse. 
As all the arable ground about the mound has been in cultivation many years, it is 
quite possible that some of the burial places, which are usually quite shallow, have 
been destroyed, as pieces of human bones are very common in the plowed fields." 



12 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

Since, as stated, barely sufficient has been done to make sure 
of the presence of a large village site, further comment on it at this 
time is unnecessary. Subsequently in this report we shall quote 
Dr. Rau upon pottery and agricultural implements found at Cahokia 
fifty years ago. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS AND OF RECENT 
EXPLORATIONS 

The best and most complete map of the Cahokia group I have 
observed is the result of a survey made by County Surveyor Hilgard 
under the direction of Dr. J. J. R. Patrick assisted by B. J. Van 
Court of O'Fallon, 111., and Wm. J. Seever of St. Louis. The work 
was done about 1880 and the original map owned by the Missouri 
Historical Society was loaned us. We made a copy which is here- 
with reproduced (Fig. i). The plot of the mounds presented in the 
I2th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Plan VI.) (oppo- 
site page 134) apparently reproduces Hilgard's map. 

A model was prepared for the Peabody Museum at Harvard 
by Mr. D. I. Bushnell, Jr. A small model has been made by Doctor 
George B. Higgins of St. Louis and left with the Ramey family. 
Doctor Higgins does not claim that his model is accurate, but it 
shows the location of the principal mounds 

Reference to our map will indicate that the majority of the 
mounds are west, south or east of Monks Mound. There are a few 
on the north side of Cahokia Creek. The larger tumuli occupy the 
center of the group east and west, but not the center north and south. 
Probably the low lands lying along Cahokia Creek interfered with 
mound construction. Seven of the rectangular mounds or pyramids 
are almost in a straight line east and west. Today many of the 
mounds shown in the original map by Mr. Hilgard, also on Bush- 
nell's model and Thomas' map, appear externally as ovals rather 
than pyramids. This is due to farming operations. It will there- 
fore be necessary for us to compare and check up very carefully all 
descriptions by observers in the past with measurements and de- 
scriptions to be made in the future. Manifestly the survey of 1875 
is accurate and if Mr. Hilgard or Mr. Patrick drew a certain mound 
as a pyramid and today it appears as an oval or oblong mound, it 
should be classified as a pyramid. The steep conical mounds do not 
seem to have been altered as much as the larger pyramids. 

THE LARGEST MOUND. MONKS OR CAHOKIA. 
This has for many years been called Monks Mound (Figs. 3, 4) 
because of the presence of the Trappists during a short period be- 
tween 1808-1813. It would seem to the writer that we should call 
the entire group of tumuli the Cahokia group and that the larger 



14 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

mounds should be named in honor of the many owners rather than 
numbered. Whether the largest mound should be called Cahokia or 
Monks can be determined later. Most persons refer to all of them 
as the Cahokia group, and to designate one mound as the Cahokia 
Mound seems rather confusing. For the present, or at least in this 
report, we shall refer to the largest one as Monks Mound. 

It is much washed and weather-worn at the present time, and 
has lost a great deal of its original charm. In fact if one should com- 
pare the various views taken twenty or thirty years ago of the mound 
with a photograph of it today, one would scarcely imagine the two 
to represent the same structure. 

The truncated pyramid effect was observed by all the early 
visitors. It is necessary to make use of their descriptions in order 
to reconstruct the mound as it was. 

Professor Putnam was in close touch with Doctor Patrick and 
others and in the I2th Annual Report of the Peabody Museum he 
presents the following observations. 

"Cahokia Mound. In company with several gentlemen from St. Louis, I had 
the good fortune in September last (1879) to visit the largest mound within the limits 
of the United States. * * * While there is not the slightest evidence that the 
Cahokias of the time of LaSalle were builders of this, or of other mounds in the vicin- 
ity, it is a gratification to be able to perpetuate the name of an extinct tribe of Ameri- 
can Indians in connection with this monument of an unknown American Nation, 
rather than that of a religious order of foreign origin. 

"Situated in the midst of a group of about sixty other mounds, of more than 
ordinary size, several in the vicinity being from 30 to 60 feet in height, and of various 
forms, Cahokia Mound, rising by four platforms, or terraces, to a height of about 
one hundred feet, and covering an area of over twelve acres, holds a relation to the 
other tumuli of the Mississippi Valley similar to that of the Great Pyramid of Egypt 
to the other monuments of the Valley of the Nile. 

"I am glad to be able to state that Dr. J. J. R. Patrick, a careful and zealous 
archeologist, residing in the vicinity of this interesting monument has, with the 
'assistance of other gentlemen, not only made a survey of the whole group of which 
Cahokia is the prominent figure, but has also prepared two accurate models of the 
mound itself; copies of which have been promised to the Museum. 

"One of these models (Fig. 5) represents the mound as it now appears, with its 
once level platform and even slopes gullied, washed and worn away; and the other 
(Fig. 6) is in the form of a restoration, showing the mound as it probably existed before 
the plough of the white man had destroyed its even sides and hard platforms, and thus 
given nature a foothold for her destructive agencies. The projecting portion (A) 
from the apron (B) points nearly due south. 

*Twelfth Annual Report, Peabody Museum of American Archeology, pages 

.470-475, 1880. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS 15 

"Probably this immense tumulus was not erected primarily as a burial mound, 
though such may prove to be the case. From the present evidence it seems more 
likely that it was made in order to obtain an elevated site for some particular purpose; 
presumably an important public building. One fact, however, which I observed, 
indicated that a great length of time was occupied in its construction, and that its 
several level platforms may have been the sites of many lodges, which, possibly, may 
have been placed upon such artificial elevations in order to avoid the malaria of a dis- 
trict, the settlement of which in former, as in recent times, was likely due to the pro- 
lific and easily cultivated soil; or, more likely, for the purpose of protection from 
enemies. The fact to which I allude, is that everywhere in the gullies, and over the 
broken surface of the mound, mixed with the earth of which it is composed, are quanti- 
ties of broken vessels of clay, flint chips, arrowheads, charcoal, bones of animals, etc., 
apparently the refuse of a numerous people; of course it is possible that these remains, 
so unlike the homogeneous structure of an ordinary mound, may be the simple refuse 
of numerous feasts that may have taken place on the mound at various times during 
its construction. The first interpretation, however, is as well borne out as any other 
from our present knowledge of this mound; the structure and object of which cannot 
be fully understood until a thorough examination has been made, and while such an 
examination is desirable, it is to be hoped that this important and imposing monument 
will never meet the fate which Col. Foster, under a false impression* due to a confusion 
of names and places, mourns as having already occurred. 

"McAdams spent a great deal of time at the group and studied the largest 
mound in some detail which he describes in his volume, 'Records of Ancient Races in 
the Mississippi Valley. St. Louis, 1887.' " 

McAdams gives a general account of the mounds in central and 
southern Illinois in his book. It is unfortunate he did not make 
more complete observations as his opportunities were unexcelled. 
The collections made by him are somewhat scattered, yet it may be 
possible, through some research, to identify considerable of the ma- 
terial. 

His observation are: 

"The form of the Cahokia Mound is a parallelogram, with straight sides, the 
longer of which are north and south. It is about one hundred feet in height. 

"On the southern end, some 30 feet above the base, is a terrace or apron, con- 
taining near two acres of ground. 

"On the western side, and some thirty feet above the first terrace, is a second 
one of so.newhat less extent. 

"The top of the mound is flat and divided into two parts, the northern end being 
some 4 or 5 feet higher than the southern portion. The summit contains about an 
acre and a half.** 

" Near the middle of the first terrace, at the base of the mound, is a projecting 
point, apparently the remains of a graded pathway to ascend from the plain to the 
terrace. The west side of the mound below the second terrace is very irregular, and 

*The destruction of "Big Mound" on the opposite side of the river, within the 
city limits of St. Louis, probably led Col. Foster into error. 

**See Plate IV, Figs. 5 and 6, from Putnam's report, previously quoted. 



1 6 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

forms projecting knobs, separated by deep ravines, probably the result of rain-storms; 
to the northwest corner of the base of the structure there seems to be a small mound 
attached, in exact imitation of the small mounds attached to the base of the pryamids 
of Egypt as well as those of Mexico. 

"The remaining sides of the structure are quite straight and but little defaced 
by the hand of time. 

"About the sides of the mound are still growing several forest trees, one of which 
is an elm several centuries old. 

"As the size of the Cahokia Mound has been given variously we applied to Mr. 
B. J. VanCourt, a practical surveyor living in the vicinity, at O'Fallen, and whom we 
knew had made a regular survey of the mound. Mr. VanCourt sent us the following: 

" 'In my survey I did not follow the irregularities of the mound, but made 
straight lines enclosing the base. The largest axis is from north to south and is 998 
feet, the shortest from east to west is 721 feet. The height of the mound is 99 feet. 
The base of the structure covers 16 acres, 2 roods and 3 perches of ground.' 

"The summit and lower terrace of the Cahokia Mound has been plowed a few 
times. Brackenridge who visited the mound in 1811, says that the monks used the 
lower terrace for a kitchen garden, and also had the summit of the structure sown in 
wheat. The great pyramid has not been materially changed, however, and doubtless 
presents the same outlines to-day as at the time of the discovery of this continent by 
Columbus. 

"Since some doubts have been expressed as to the artificial origin of this struc- 
ture we were much interested to ascertain what could be learned in this respect by 
examination. On the top of the pyramid are the remains of a house, said to have been 
commenced by the monks, but afterwards added to and finished as a comfortable 
residence for the family of a man named Hill, an enterprising settler who owned the 
mound and a large body of land adjoining. Beneath this house is a deep unwalled 
cellar. A section down the side of the cellar to the depth of ten feet is very plainly 
revealed a deposit of various kinds of earth without stratification. The principal part 
of this deposit was the black humus or mould, so common in the bottom and forming 
the principal soil, very sticky when wet and breaking into cubical blocks when dry. 
Here and there, as if thrown promiscuously among the black mould, is a bunch of 
yellow clay, or sand, or marly loess, these bunches being about such size as a man 
could easily carry. 

"Similar sections can be seen up the old road made by Hill to ascend to his 
residence. 

"On thfi second terrace is a well (He republishes Flagg's account of it). 

"About midway, on the north side, or face of the pyramid, and elevated 25 or 
30 feet above the base, in a small depression, stands a pine tree, singularly enough, 
since this tree is not found in the forests in this locality. There was a story rife among 
the early settlers that this tree stood at the mouth of an opening or gallery into the 
interior of the mounds. To ascertain the truth of this matter, Mr. Thomas Ramey, 
the present owner of the mound, commenced a tunnel at this tree and excavated about 
ninety (90) feet towards the centre of the mound. When fifteen feet from the en- 
trance to the tunnel a piece of lead ore was discovered, but no other object of interest 
was found. The deposits penetrated by the tunnel are very plainly shown to be the 
same as seen in the cellar mentioned above." 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS 17 

Mr. Bushnell, as previously stated, gives us our best account of 
the group. His measurements of Monks Mound are north and 
south, i, 080 ft., east and west 710 ft., with a height of 100 ft. The 
Ramey family tells me that they have understood the height to be 
104 ft. The differences in the dimensions are easily explainable. 
There is a long or gentle slope or "feather" edge at the base of the 
mound, on all sides. One observer might differ 30 to 50 ft. from 
another investigator as to where the mound actually began. A new 
survey of the entire group is scarcely necessary, but it would be well 
to remeasure Monks Mound. 

A question arose some years ago with reference to whether 
Monks mound was built by man or a natural formation. None of 
the archeologists ever doubted the artificiality of the large mound, 
but the statement that it might be natural seems to have affected 
the legislature and that was one of the reasons why the bill to make 
a state park at Cahokia failed of passage. The evidences of Hill's 
well, previously cited, and Ramey tunnel, together with the presence 
of pottery fragments and bones which were apparent last fall in the 
gulley six or eight ft. in depth in the lower terrace, are sufficient to 
prove that the mound is the work of human hands. The brief 
statement that broken pottery was found at the depth of 60 or 65 
ft. is significant. 

Some light is shed on this question by another observer who 
talked with the first owner nearly eighty years ago: 

"At this time it is the possession of the mechanic named Hill, who has built a 
home at the top, around which we saw abundance of Indian corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, 
etc., for the soil of which it consists is the rich black mould taken from the surface 
below which is extremely fertile. Mr. Hill laid the foundation of his dwelling upon 
an eminence he found on the summit of his elevated territory, and upon digging into 
it found large human bones, with Indian pottery, some axes and tomahawks, from 
whence it would appear that this mound not only contained a sepulchret at its 
base, but has been used for the same purpose in aftertimes at the summit." * 

Until the mound is tunnelled or trenched, one can not draw 
positive conclusions as to the purpose of construction, but it is my 
opinion that it was a long time in the building and that it probably 
began as a repository for the dead. That is, certain burials were 
made, as in the case of the large mound of the Hopewell group, 
Ohio, and other small mounds added as burials were made. Finally 

*Excursion through the slave States. G. W. Featherstonehaugh, F. R. S. Lon- 
don, 1 844, pp. 264 to 272. 



i8 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

the structure became so large that the natives made it into a pyramid, 
added the upper terraces and used the top as a place of residence. 
This is mere opinion and may be not verified by exploration. 

THE RAMEY MOUND 

Across the state highway, a little southwest from the ranking 
mound, is a large pyramid over 27 ft. in height on the summit of 
which is the residence constructed by Mr. Thomas Ramey. Instead 
of numbering this mound, we gave it the name Ramey Mound. Mr. 
Bushnell gives the elevation as 25 ft. dimensions of base 200x180 ft. 
We did not measure this but Mr. Fred Ramey and his brother ran 
lines and state that the base of the mound is 425 feet square. On 
the summit it is 250 feet east and west and 225 feet north and south. 
Possibly Mr. Bushnell refers to the mound just west of the Ramey 
residence as that one corresponds more nearly with his measure- 
ments. Our headquarters were in the farm house on top of this 
structure. We looked it over carefully and believe that the mound 
covers interments. 

The personal equation is a large factor in archeological re- 
searches. It will be impossible to give the reasons why we believe 
the Ramey Mound to contain many burials. It is merely a matter 
of opinion. It certainly should be explored. 

THE KUNNEMANN MOUND 

About half a mile directly north of Monks site, on the land of 
Mr. George Merrell is a large mound. Mr. Merrell's tenant, Mr. 
A. Kunnemann has resided on the tract for over twenty-five years 
and we named the structure for him. Originally the tumulus was 
about 400 feet diameter and conical not a pyramid as has been 
recorded qn one of the maps. Twenty years ago fifteen to sixteen 
feet of the summit was removed and a trench run in from the north 
side some 90 feet in order that earth to build a dyke along Canteen 
creek might be obtained. Thus the mound had been seriously dam- 
aged. We wished to test one of the larger structures, and as this 
one offered unusual facilities, we began work Sept. i6th. Witnesses 
present during the previous work were questioned and all agreed 
that the mound was conical or "pointed" as Mr. Kunnemann ex- 
pressed it. The present diameter of the top is 75 by 56 feet. The 
sides are about twenty-five percent slope. Restoring this same 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS 19 

ratio of slope to the top would give fifteen to sixteen feet more ele- 
vation, as stated. We found the base near the center to be thirty- 
five feet below the present flattened summit. Therefore, the tumu- 
lus was originally not below 50, or more than 51 feet in altitude. 
This would make it the third mound of the whole group in height, 
but not in cubic contents. 

Some two weeks were spent upon Kunnemann's Mound. When 
we stopped work we were near the center and had excavated some 
80 feet beyond the point reached by the dyke builders (Figs, n, 
12). No skeletons were discovered, but in the earth were great 
quantities of flint chips, broken pottery, animal bones and other re- 
fuse scooped up by the natives when they took the earth from about 
their cabins to build the mound. 

As we had before us a nearly straight wall thirty-five feet in 
height, we were able to study the mound construction. 

It was found that the mound (that is, the portion we excavated) 
rested upon a heavy layer of clear sand. Test pits sunk in this sand 
indicated that it was natural, had not been deposited by man. The 
lowest part of the mound is ordinary mixed earth and not stratified. 
About eight feet above the sand, or base, is dark earth in which are 
many broken artifacts. Above this, some five or six feet of yellow- 
ish loam, then a rather distinct decayed vegetation layer running 
across the face of our fifty foot trench. This is rather thin and 
even; then several feet of darker soil, but not gumbo, and above 
this the heaviest layer of decayed vegetation, in some spots about 
half an inch in thickness. Yellow loam containing some sand extends 
fully ten feet above. In this and the layer below, the "dumps" or 
basketfuls of earth are noted. That is, natives carried the earth in 
loads varying from a trifle over a peck to a half bushel or more. 
Just below the summit is a four to five feet layer of heavy, compact 
gumbo 'Tig. 2). 

All these lines and strata are more or less even, that is level, 
indicating that the people did not first build a small conical mound 
and gradually increase the size. Apparently, they decided to con- 
struct a large tumulus, built up layers of somewhat different soil, 
and placed the heavy gumbo some distance from the apex. 

After the work had progressed some days and when we were 
at a point north of the center, and where the mound was originally 
about forty-one feet high, we found a heavy layer of burned earth. 



2O THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

This was almost floor-like in character. It was followed for a dis- 
tance of thirty-five feet east and west, but was considerably nar- 
rower north and south. In the northern edge of this floor, eighteen 
feet above the base and eight feet below the present summit, we 
uncovered a circular, altar-like burned basin. It is shown in Fig. 13. 
Half of this had been broken off, whether by the Indians or the dyke 
builders, we do not know. The latter state that they observed no 
burned basin. It was empty, but consisted of ordinary clay, hard 
burned. It was about a yard in diameter, ten or twelve inches deep 
and surrounded by a well defined, broad rim somewhat elevated. 
Extending in all directions beyond (save north) was the level, burned 
floor referred to. Why this altar should be nearly half-way above 
the base, we are unable to state. All the Ohio mound altars lie 
upon the base line. 

When we had dug to near the center of the mound we observed 
a burned area extending most of the distance across the face of our 
wall. It was sometimes nearly two feet thick. There was also a 
light sand stratum, some twenty feet above the base line, which ex- 
tended some thirty-eight feet east and west. 

Near the center and twenty-seven feet from the base, Mr. 
Eldridge found the head of a frog effigy pipe and numerous frag- 
ments of fine pottery. Various large, flat shell beads were also dis- 
covered from time to time. Pottery fragments were secured by the 
hundreds. 

Why no burials were found in the north half of Kunnemann's 
Mound, we do not know. Possibly they will be found in the south- 
ern or eastern portions of the structure. The mound should be 
completed, but as stated on page 8, we did not feel justified in con- 
tinuing operations. Some fragments of human bones were mingled 
with the village-site debris, but they were not burials. 

SMITH'S MOUND 

It lies just back of Mr. Smith's hotel, a quarter mile east of 
Monks Mound. This is a pyramid with flattened summit. On 
the east side is an extensive platform, or elevation. While this 
to one's eye does not appear to be over five feet in altitude, yet on 
examination we found that burnt stone, pottery sherds and refuse 
extended to a depth of over seven feet. There was also a layer of 
burnt ear that that depth. Rising about 80 ft. above the platform 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS 21 

is the long pyramid owned by Mr. Smith and whose name we gave 
to it. The southern edge has been much disturbed, and measure- 
ments were not made by us. Mr. Smith kindly agreed to the re- 
moval of a large dance-pavilion located on the summit in order that 
we might run an 80 ft. trench through. We decided to wait un- 
til some future time, but we did make two large excavations in 
the platform. 

No one seems to have excavated a terrace, or "apron" leading 
up to one of the larger mounds. This apron is 1 1 5 ft. E. and W. x 
1 10 ft. N. and S. in extent and about 5 ft. high. The field notes are 
herewith condensed as follows: 

Oct. 3rd, 1921. Began a long trench at the extreme eastern end 
of Smith's platform. Ran due west, keeping on the base line. 
This trench extended fifty-five feet. Fourteen men completed the 
trench in two days. After proceeding west for 35 ft. we sank a test 
pit 10 ft. 5 in. deep. Disturbed earth, charcoal and small pottery 
sherds were found at 7 ft. 3 ins. depth. At the 55 ft. stake another 
10 ft. deep pit was excavated and the bottom of disturbed area 
reached at 7 ft. 8 ins. Pottery and animal bones found. During 
the course of excavation half a bushel of broken artifacts were found, 
some of the pottery being of superior workmanship. What was 
more interesting, we discovered lumps of burnt clay containing im- 
pressions of the reeds or rushes of which the cabins were built. 

Nearer the base of Smith's pyramid by means of team and 
scraper we excavated a pit some thirty feet long and eight feet deep. 
The same formation noted in the hand-dug trench was apparent. 
This was a hard burned layer, or floor, near the base line. 

Dr. Higgins dug a small mushroom cellar in the north end of 
Smith's Mound. He secured a number of artifacts. Whether it is 
a burial structure or merely for houses or ceremonial lodges, can not 
be determined until a wide trench is carried through the structure. 

THE EDWARDS' MOUNDS 

About a quarter of a mile directly east from Smith's Mound are 
four small tumuli north of the Collinsville road and on the land of 
Mr. Edwards. The largest of these is not over 9 ft. in height. We 
explored the two mounds lying about half way between the turnpike 
and Canteen creek. In the one to the west was found the skeleton 
shown in Fig. 14. This was at a depth of 4 ft. and was extended and 
all the bones present and in position. There were some flint chips 



22 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

and two or three flint knives near the head, also some large fragments 
of broken pottery. The base of the mound was about a foot below 
the present surface. A trench some 60 ft. in length and 20 ft. wide 
was run through the structure. The soil was filled with broken 
pottery. 

East of this, distant about 400 ft. is another mound about 7 ft. in 
height. We dug a trench through the center and sunk eight or ten 
test pits, finding no burials but discovered scales of copper on the base 
line. About one-third of this mound remains to be explored next 
year. 

THE JESSE RAMEY MOUND 

This is about 20 ft. in height at the present time, the base dia- 
meter some 300 ft. It is the second mound directly south of Monks. 
It is not quite clear whether this was originally an oblong mound or 
of the pyramid type since it has been cultivated for many years. 
Some twenty-five men were employed in the work and a trench 65 
ft. in length was extended from near the base on the south side to a 
line some distance from the center. This trench was excavated to 
an average depth of 10 ft. Then test pits were sunk and post augers 
used. Five or 6 ft. farther down (a total depth of 14 to 1 6 ft.) we 
came upon rather soft, dark earth quite different from the clay and 
gumbo of which most of the mounds were composed. It resembled 
the earth found about burials in the several mounds of the Hopewell 
group. There were a few scales of copper, and some fragments of 
highly finished pottery. The pottery was above the average found 
on the surface or in the village site. That is, the fragments recovered 
indicate the finer pottery such as accompanies burials. 

This mound was trenched late in October and being the end of 
our season we filled the excavation. While it can not be confidently 
confirmed, yet it is the opinion of the author that the Jesse Ramey 
Mound is .a burial structure and should be thoroughly explored. 
OTHER MOUNDS TESTED 

Between the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio railroad 
tracks is a little triangle of land over which there was a dispute as to 
ownership. Mr. Cole now owns it. Here was a large mound of 
which the Baltimore & Ohio construction crew removed two-thirds. 
A stone pipe, said to represent an eagle and some 20 inches in length, 
was found in this mound, in the late 50*5. We dug eight or ten test 
pits in the structure but found very little. We do not recommend 
exploration. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNDS 23 

On the south side of the Collinsville road are the lands of Mr. 
Tippett, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Wells. Two mounds were tested super- 
ficially. Both are composed of gumbo and while there was much 
broken pottery, no burials were encountered. 

CONCLUSIONS ON THE EXCAVATIONS 

Although we employed a very large crew, we were a short time 
at Cahokia. The area of Indian occupation covers at least 1,000 
acres. It will therefore be observed that it would be impossible 
for any corps of explorers to do work which might be considered thor- 
ough in less than five or six seasons. It is the writer's opinion that 
about ten years are necessary to a thorough understanding of the 
Cahokia culture. 

Our purpose was to test some of the mounds both large and 
small and first learn the construction and also ascertain whether 
burials were general in the mounds. With the exception of the 
smaller Edwards Mound, none of them were thoroughly explored by 
us. Technically, we can not affirm that the others are not burial 
mounds, since they were not dug out entirely. Briefly, our limited 
explorations would indicate that excepting the Jesse Ramey Mound, 
and Kunnemann Mound, the other mounds examined were house 
sites. The Kunnemann Mound is more or less of a mystery since 
being cone shape there would not be room for more than one very 
small lodge on the summit. If there are burials, they remain in the 
unexplored two-thirds. 

Mr. W. J. Seever, who was present during McAdams' excavations 
and dug somewhat himself, thinks that the views of Putnam and 
others correct to the effect that there are one or two cemeteries which 
have not been found and that these are in addition to presumable 
burials in the larger mounds. We hope to do more thorough work 
in the seasons of 1922 and 1923. It is proposed to put several men 
testing the plain in various directions for the cemetery and concen- 
trate another body of workers either on Smith's Mound or one of the 
flat pyramids to the west or south of Monks. 

The excavations indicate that the village was well established 
and populous at the time the mounds were constructed. This is 
proved by the great quantities of broken artifacts, which lay about 
the ground near the houses and were scooped up with the earth. 
EXPLORATION OF THE VILLAGE SITE 

About 600 ft. north-east of Monks Mound, McAdams is said to 
have found the pottery and skeletons. Both of his sons, as well as 
Mr. Seever and one or two other witnesses, visited the scene of our 



24 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

operations and indicated where Mr. McAdams had dug. On page 
57 of his volume he says that he secured 100 urns, pots or bottles 
from the cemetery near the base of Monks Mound. Some of these 
were painted. In plates i and 2 in his pamphlet entitled "Antiqui- 
ties of Cahokia or Monk's Mound" (Edwardsville, 1883) he illus- 
trates a number of these and other objects from the Cahokia village 
site. 

He says "there were also the paint pots and dishes holding the 
colors, together with the little bone paddle for mixing, and other im- 
plements of the aboriginal artist." It is unfortunate that such an 
exhibit could not have been kept intact and preserved in the State 
Museum. 

For a number of days we excavated at the McAdams site and 
also for a radius of 300 yds. east and north-east. Some of the 
trenches were 50 ft. in length. Broken human skeletons were found 
scattered here and there, probably where Mr. McAdams had made 
finds. We discovered one flex burial accompanied by half of a bowl. 
There was another partial burial a few feet to the west. The ground 
about it was much disturbed. Above both burials was a layer of 
hard baked, red earth some i ft. from the surface. The disturbed 
earth extended from 3 to as much as 5 ft. in depth. During the 
course of operations in the village site, numbers of fragments of 
galena, portions of Busycon shells, arrowheads, hammerstones and 
other material in common use among the Indians were discovered. 

When excavating by means of test pits, with a view of studying 
the character and extent of the village site, we found a number of 
level, clay burned floors varying from 20 to 30 ft. in diameter. Three 
or four of these had been disturbed by the plow, others somewhat 
deeper were well preserved. One near the shore of the lake, a 
quarter of a mile south of Monks Mound, was composed of ordinary 
clay, burned quite hard and some 20x25 ft. in diameter. Whether 
these are tne floors of wigwams or houses, we do not know. They 
seem rather small for dance floors or assembly places. There may 
be many more of them revealed by future explorations. No more 
refuse occurred on these floors than elsewhere on the village site. 

Just north of Smith's Mound are three mounds which have been 
cultivated until the edges overlap. About the bases of these the 
village site material seems to be most numerous. We are of the 
opinion that this part of the site should be quite thoroughly ex- 
amined, since we dug up several pottery heads of birds, etc. all of 
exceptional form and finish. 



UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS FROM CAHOKIA 

It will be necessary to visit several museums and also inspect 
some of the larger private collections within one-hundred miles of 
Cahokia in order to make studies and comparisons of the various 
artifacts found at this famous place. This will require considerable 
time but it will be possible to identify a great deal of Cahokia ma- 
terial. From the collection in the Missouri Historical Society and 
the large exhibits owned by E. W. Payne, Esq., of Springfield, Doc- 
tor H. M. Whelpley, and Doctor George B. Higgins of St. Louis, the 
Ramey heirs, William Waters, Esq., of Godfrey, Illinois, and one 
or two persons in Edwardsville, an idea of prevailing Cahokia 
forms may be obtained. These were inspected by the writer some- 
what superficially, yet it can be stated that there are in the chipped 
implements (if not in the ceramic art) what might be called the 
Cahokia types. That is, the Cahokia people lived for such a length 
of time that they established their own localized art. The details 
of this can be worked out later when all collections are more care- 
fully studied. 

On the objects or artifacts themselves I find little or nothing 
has been published save by Doctor Charles Rau, formerly Curator 
in the Smithsonian Institution. He presented a study on pottery 
and other observations on agricultural flint implements in the Smith- 
sonian reports. The descriptions follow herewith. 

" That the fabrication of earthenware was once carried to a great extent among 
the Indians, is shown by the great number of sherds which lie scattered over the sites 
of their former villages and on their camping places; but they are, perhaps, nowhere 
in this country more numerous than in the "American Bottom," a strip of land which 
extends about one hundred miles along the Mississippi, in Illinois, and is bounded by 
the present bank of that river and its former eastern confine, indicated by a range of 
picturesque wooded hills and ridges, commonly called the "Bluffs." This bottom, 
which is n an average six miles wide and very fertile, was formerly the seat of a 
numerous indigenous population, and abounds in tumular works, cemeteries, and other 
memorials of the subdued race. Among the lesser relics left by the former occupants 
may be counted the remnants of broken vessels, which occur very abundantly in vari- 
ous places of this region. These fragments are, however, mostly small; and, according 
to my experience, entire vessels are not found on the surface, but frequently in the 
ancient mounds and cemeteries, where they have been deposited with the dead as 
receptacles for food, to serve on their journey to the happy land of spirits. 

"About six years ago, while living in the west, I was much gratified by the dis- 
covery of a place in the American Bottom where the manufacture of earthenware was 
evidently carried on by the Indians. The locality to which I allude is the left bank 



26 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

of the Cahokia creek,* at the northern extremity of Illinoistown, opposite St. Louis. 
At the point just mentioned the bank of the creek is somewhat high and steep, leaving 
only a small space for a path along the water. When I passed there for the first time, 
I noticed, scattered over the slope or protruding from the ground, a great many pieces 
of pottery of much larger size than I had ever seen before, some being of the size of a 
man's hand, and others considerable^ larger; and, upon examination, I found that they 
consisted of a grayish clay mixed with pounded shells. A great number of old shells 
of the unto, a bivalve which inhabits the creek, were lying about, and their position 
induced me to believe that they had been brought there by human agency rather 
than by the overflowing of the creek. My curiosity being excited, I continued my 
investigation, and discovered at the upper part of the bank an old fosse, or digging, 
of some length and depth, and overgrown with stramonium or jimson weed; and upon 
entering this excavation, I saw near its bottom a layer of clay, identical in appearance 
with that which composed the fragments of pottery. The excavation had unmistak- 
ably been dug for the purpose of obtaining the clay, and I became now convinced 
beyond doubt that the fabrication of earthen vessels had been carried on by the 
aborigines at this very spot. All the requisites for manufacturing vessels were on 
hand; the layer of clay furnished the chief ingredient, and the creek not only supplied 
the water for moistening the clay, but harbored also the mollusks whose valves were 
used in tempering it. Wood abounded in the neighborhood. All these facts being 
ascertained, it was easy to account for the occurrence of the large fragments. When- 
ever pottery is made, some of the articles will crack during the process of burning, and 
this will happen more frequently when the method employed in that operation is of a 
rude and primitive character, as it doubtless was in the present case. The sherds 
found at this place may, therefore, with safety be considered as the remnants of 
vessels that were spoiled while in the fire, and thrown aside as objects unfit for use. 

"I did not succeed in finding the traces of a kiln or fireplace, and it is" probable 
that the vessels were merely baked in an open fire, of which all vestiges have been 
swept away long ago. The occurrence of the broken pottery was confined to a com- 
paratively small area along the bank, a space not exceeding fifty paces in length, as 
far as I can recollect. They were most numerous in the proximity of the old digging, 
and at that place quite a number of them were taken out of the creek into which they 
had fallen from the bank. Farther up the creek I saw another excavation in the bank, 
of much smaller dimensions, and likewise dug for obtaining clay. Among the shells 
and sherds I noticed many flints which had obviously been fashioned to serve as cut- 
ting implements; they were perhaps, used in tracing the ornamental lines on the vessels 
or in smoothing their surfaces. 

"I did not find a single complete vessel at this place, but a great variety of 
fragments, the shape of which enabled me to determine the outline of the utensils of 
which they originally formed parts. This was not a very difficult matter, especially 
in cases when portions of the rim remained. The rim, it will be seen, is formed into 
a lip and turned over, in order to facilitate suspension; sometimes, however, it is cut 
off abruptly. Some of the vessels more especially the smaller ones were provided 
with ears, others had the outer rim set with conical projections or studs, both for 

*This creek runs in a southwardly direction through Madison county and a 
part of St. Clair county, and empties into the Mississippi, four miles below St. Louis, 
near the old French village of Cahokia. 



UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS FROM CAHOKIA 27 

convenience and ornament; and a few of the fragments exhibit very neatly indented or 
notched rims. In size these vessels varied considerably; some measured only a few 
inches through the middle, while the largest ones, to judge from the curvature of the 
rims, must have exceeded two feet in diameter. The bottom of the vessels mostly seems 
to have been rounded or convex. I found not a single flat bottom-piece. This, how- 
ever, may be merely accidental, considering that flat-bottomed vessels were made by 
the Indians. The appearance of the fragments indicates that the earthenware was 
originally tolerably well burned, and the fracture exhibits in many instances a reddish 
color. But, as the art of glazing was unknown to the manufacturers, it is no wonder 
that the sherds, after having been imbedded for many years in the humid ground, or 
exposed to rain and the alternate action of a burning sun and a severe cold, are now 
somewhat brittle and fragile; yet, even when new, this aboriginal earthenware must 
have been much inferior in compactness and hardness to the ordinary kind of European 
or American crockery. 

"The thickness of the fragments varies from one-eighth to three-eighths of an 
inch, according to the size of the vessels, the largest being also the strongest in ma- 
terial. But in each piece the thickness is uniform in a remarkable degree; the rims 
are perfectly circular, and the general regularity displayed in the workmanship of 
these vessels renders it almost difficult to believe that the manufacturers were un- 
acquainted with the use of the potter's wheel. Such, however, was the case. I have 
already mentioned that the clay used in the fabrication of this earthenware is mixed 
with coarsely pulverized unio-shells from the creek; only a few of the smaller bowls 
or vases seem to consist of pure clay. The vessels were covered on the outside, and 
some even on both sides, with a thick coating of paint, either of a black, dark brown, 
or beautiful red color, and in some fragments the latter still retains its original bright- 
ness. Only one color, however, was used in the painting of each article. It is evident 
that the coloring preceded the process of baking, and the surfaces thus coated are smooth 
and shining, the paint replacing to a certain extent the enamel produced by glazing."* 

Doctor Rau comments as follows on "A deposit of Agricultural 
Flint Implements in Southern Illinois:" 

"I was, therefore, much interested in the recent discovery of a large deposit of 
such implements at East St. Louis, (formerly Illinoistown), in St. Clair county, Illi- 
nois, a place situated directly opposite the city of St. Louis, in the so-called "American 
Bottom," which forms a fertile plain extending for a considerable distance along the 
Mississippi shore in Illinois. This region, I must state, is very rich in Indian remains 
of various descriptions,**but particularly interesting on account of numerous artificial 
mounds, among which the celebrated truncated pyramid called Cahokia Mound, or 
Monk's Mound, is by far the most conspicuous, reminding the beholder of those gi- 
gantic structures in the valley of the Nile, which the rulers of Egypt have left to 
posterity as tokens of their power and their pride. 

"The particulars of the discovery to which I alluded were communicated to me 
by Dr. John J. R. Patrick, of Belleville, Illinois, a gentleman to whom I am greatly 
indebted for long-continued co-operation in my pursuits relative to the subject of 

*I possess a small food vase of this shape, which was taken out of an old Indian 
grave on the "Bluffs," near French village, six or seven miles east of Illinoistown. 
It was, perhaps, made at the very place which I have described. 

**Smithsonian Report, 1866, pp. 346 to 350. 



28 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

American antiquities. As soon as Dr. Patrick heard of the discovery he hastened to 
East St. Louis, for the purpose of ascertaining on the spot all details concerning the 
occurrence of those flint tools; and in order to obtain still more minute information, 
he afterwards repeatedly revisited the place of discovery which is about 14 miles dis- 
tant from Belleville, and can be reached after a short ride, the latter place being con- 
nected by railroad with East St. Louis. The removal of ground in extending a street 
disclosed the existence of the deposit, and Dr. Patrick derived all facts concerning it 
character from Mr. Sullivan, the contractor of the street work, who was present when 
the tools were exhumed, and therefore can be considered as a reliable authority. The 
results of my informant's inquiries, communicated in various letters addressed to me, 
are contained in the following account: 

"In the early part of December, 1868, some laborers, while engaged in grading 
an extension of Sixth street in East St. Louis, came upon a deposit of Indian relics, 
consisting of flint tools, all of the hoe and shovel type, and of small fossil marine shells, 
partly pierced, and in quantity about equal to the contents of a bushel. Close by 
were found several boulders of flint and greenstone, weighing from 15 to 30 pounds 
each, and many fragments of flint. The soil in the immediate neighborhood is com- 
posed of black loam, overlying a stratum of a sandy character, and the deposit which 
occurred in the latter, was covered with from 1 8 to 24 inches of the black earth, bearing 
a luxuriant turf on its surface. According to the contractor's statement, the flint 
tools, the shells, and the boulders were deposited in three separate holes dug out in 
the sand, but not more than a food apart from each other, and placed like the corners 
of a triangle. To use his language, the implements formed a "nest" by themselves, 
and so did the shells, and likewise the boulders. The flint tools, however, instead of 
being packed close together, like the shells and the boulders, were arranged with some 
regularity, overlapping each other or standing edgewise, and covering a circular space. 
The whole deposit did not extend more than seven or eight feet on either side. The 
contractor neglected to count the implements, but he thinks there were from 70 to 75 
in all; some 50 hoes and about 20 shovels. No other stone articles, such as arrow and 
spear-heads, tomahawks, etc., had been deposited with the agricultural implements. 
The latter were soon taken away by persons from the place, attracted by the novelty 
of the occurrence, and it is to be regretted that many, if not most of them, have fallen 
into the hands of individuals who are unable to appreciate their value. But this is 
usually the case when discoveries of similar character are made. Dr. Patrick ex- 
amined upwards of 20 of the flint implements, and found that none of them had been 
used, as they had not received the slightest polish on the cutting edge. 

"The place of discovery lies about a mile and a half, or still further, from the 
Mississippi, on elevated ground, and above ordinary high-water mark; but formerly 
before the bed of the river was narrowed by the dike connecting the Illinois shore with 
Bloody Island, the distance cannot have been more than half a mile. The spot is 
situated nearly midway between two mounds, half a mile apart from each other. 
One of them was formerly used as a graveyard by the French of the neighborhood, 
and the other serves as the substructure for a dwelling-house. 

"Several of the agricultural implements found at East St. Louis are now in my 
possession. Their material is a yellowish-brown variety of the flint to which I al- 
ready referred. In shape they correspond with the tools of the same class previously 
described by me; most of the shovels, however, instead of having the end opposite 



UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS FROM CAHOKIA 29 

the cutting part worked into a rounded edge, terminate in a more or less acute angle. 
The edges of all are chipped with the utmost regularity, and exhibit not the slightest 
wear, which proves that the implements were in a perfectly new condition when 
buried in the ground.* 

"The fossil shells of marine origin are all small univalves, and belong almost 
entirely to the genus Melampus. Of nearly 300 specimens sent to me by Dr. Patrick, 
19 only represent other genera, namely, Columbella, Marginella, Conus, and Bulla. 
All have a decayed and chalky appearance. They were probably obtained in the 
neighborhood, and obviously destined for ornamental purposes. This may be in- 
ferred from the fact that a number of the Melampus shells are pierced with one hole in 
the lower part, which was sufficient for stringing them, as the connecting thread could 
easily be passed through the natural aperture of the shell. On close examination, I 
found that these shells had been reduced, by grinding, to greater thinness at the place 
of perforation, in order to facilitate the process of piercing. 

"The boulders, which formed a part of the deposit, were probably designated 
for the manufacture of implements. A piece of one of the boulders was sent to me for 
examination. It is a compact diorite, the material of which many ground articles of 
the North American Indians, such as tomahawks, chisels, pestles, &c., are made."** 

NOTES UPON A COLLECTION SECURED FROM THE SURFACE 

The Messrs. Ramey have accumulated more than 1,200 various 
objects found on the surface of the village site and the mounds the 
past thirty years. Omitting detailed descriptions, considerable 
can be learned from inspecting material found within a distance of 
one-half mile from Monks mound. In the chipped objects the tri- 
angular arrow point predominates. The drills, or perforators, are 
very slender and rather short. There are not many scrapers. There 
are over eight-hundred flint objects in the collection and while these 
have not been accurately divided, it is safe to assume that nearly 
80% are of the peculiar Cahokia triangular form. There are a 
number of discoidals or bicaves and one fine disc composed of rose 
quartz. Several of the more interesting objects were photographed 
and are presented in Figs. 39 to 46. Attention is called to the 
sandstone tablet about 3^ inches in diameter on which a peculiar 
lattice-like design has been carved (Fig. 44). There are several 
effigies in pottery. The Cahokia people frequently made a little 
base, slightly curved, of clay, adding to same the head of a bird. 
These should not be confused with handles to pottery. There is an 
excellent example of this in the Ramey collection. It is painted red 
on the back and is shown in Fig. 37. 

*Some years ago I discovered near East St. Louis the traces of an Indian pottery, 
described in the Smithsonian report for 1866. 
**Smithsonian Report, 1868, pp. 402, 404. 



30 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

Mr. James Ramey found a cache of several rough, notched hoes 
and spades all composed of limestone. Among them was a rough 
axe 10^ ins. long, and nearly 5 ins. in width. There was also a 
large, flat stone which was covered with various grooves and de- 
pressions due to grinding other stones upon its surface, and a few 
hammer-stones. These have been carefully preserved and probably 
are the working tools of some aboriginal lapidary. 

There are a few specimens of hematite in the collection and a 
remarkable bone awl, or perforator, made from the bill of some large 
bird (Fig. 34). It is about 3 ins. in length, carefully hollowed out 
and perforated. Certain peculiar forms in flint occur, such as the 
square, or angular, knife-scraper type. 

The Ramey collection would indicate the correctness of previous 
observations to the effect that fixed types have developed at Ca- 
hokia. 

THE POTTERY FROM CAHOKIA 

We confine our brief description to fragmentary pottery, since 
we have not yet positively identified the perfect vessels and bowls 
found by McAdams and others. The fragments indicate that 
black, brown, red and combination of red and white are the favorite 
colors employed by the pottery maker. Figs. 15 to 32 present a 
number of fragments. The handles are quite interesting, some of 
them portraying the forearm and hand, the fingers usually clenched 
against the palm (Fig. 15). Other handles are round and pointed. 
The third form of handle, shown in Fig. 17, is sharply grooved on the 
upper surface and rounded on the lower. 

Eliminating the common bowls and pottery which appear to 
be of the same forms as elsewhere in the Mississippi valley, the 
distinctive Cahokia types are shown in the figures. The large 
fragment Fig. 20 is a most favored design and also occurs farther 
south. Figs. 1 6 and 18 are characteristically Cahokia. Both are 
in red and both contain small, depressed squares. In these may have 
been inserted thin squares of shell. Of this we are not certain. 

Mr. W. E. Myer, who is familiar with pottery from the south 
and middle Mississippi valley, examined the Cahokia fragments 
and concurs in the opinion that they indicate not only a highly de- 
veloped ceramic art but specialized art, that the people had developed 
certain designs and motifs which do not occur outside of the Cahokia 



UTENSILS AND IMPLEMENTS FROM CAHOKIA 31 

area. It is too soon for us to form positive conclusions and these 
few observations are based upon a hasty examination of some hun- 
dreds of fragments. 

When perfect vessels are discovered with burials in the cemetery 
or in the mounds, we shall be able then to present proper classifi- 
cation and study of the ceramic art of the Cahokia people. 

CACHES AT CAHOKIA 

A number of caches have been discovered from time to time, 
one with several bicaves or discoidal stones was found by a tenant 
and is now in the possession of Mr. Payne. Another was composed 
of unusually large Busycon sea shells. Two or three of these are in 
the collection at Edwardsville. One of Mr. Merrell's tenants last 
spring discovered several large agricultural implements compactly 
placed together near the surface. A large quantity, said to exceed 
a bushel, of the black, perforated shell beads > to i}4 inches in 
diameter were found with some burials in the bluffs a few miles di- 
rectly east of the largest mound. 

There is a low mound on Mr. Merrell's land some 300 yds. due 
west from Kunnemann's sites. At the present time this is not over 
one or two ft. in elevation. Mr. Seever informs me that large num- 
bers of unfinished celts, many of them of considerable size, were here 
discovered and that he secured and distributed something like 100 
of these objects the past twenty-five years. The fields have been 
searched by persons desiring specimens for nearly one-hundred years 
and thousands of objects have been found and carried away. One of 
the most interesting of the fixed types is the so-called Cahokia type 
of arrowhead, the name having been given by Doctor H. M. Whelp- 
ley. I present several of them in Fig. 33 from Doctor George B. 
Higgins' collection. Not many were found by us as we spent very 
little time in surface hunting. The characteristic feature is the 
notch iii the base. This occurs in hundreds of specimens of all 
practically the same form. 

USE OF COPPER AT CAHOKIA 

The only detailed reference to copper from the Cahokia region 
was written by Doctor Rowland many years ago. This has never 
been reprinted and should be inserted here.* 

*From Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. Recent Archeologi- 
cal Discoveries in the American Bottom, by Henry R. Rowland. March 2, 187?. 



32 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

"Prior to the destruction of the St. Louis "Big Mound," in 1870, no articles of 
copper had been found in the vicinity; in leveling that mound two "spoon-shaped" 
copper implements were discovered, and in the possession of Dr. J. J. R. Patrick, of 
Belleville, 111., is a nugget of native copper, which was found in a large mound at East 
St. Louis. The mound from which the articles now under consideration were taken 
was one of that second group of the American Bottom system to which I have alluded. 
Some twelve miles north of East St. Louis, a sluggish creek or slough with high banks, 
called Long Lake, joins Cahokia Creek, and on its banks, near the point of junction, 
stands a group of some thirteen or fourteen mounds,circled around a square temple mound 
of moderate height. At the western border of this group, and close to Mitchell Station, 
stood originally three conical mounds of considerable size, which were first cut into some 
years since in laying the tracks of the Chicago and Alton Railroad. On the twentieth 
of January, 1 876, acting upon a chance intimation in a St. Louis morning paper, I 
visited this group, and found that the largest of these three mounds was being removed 
to furnish material for building a road dike across Long Lake, replacing an old bridge. 
The work was already far advanced, but in its progress some singular discoveries had 
been made. The mound was originally about twenty-seven feet high, and measured 
one hundred and twenty feet in diameter at the base, but the various assaults which 
from time to time had been made upon it for similar purposes had materially altered 
its proportions, the surface workings having reduced its height some ten feet, though 
I could not learn that in these early openings anything of especial interest had been 
discovered. 

"During the present excavations, however, the workmen found, at a height of 
four or five feet above the base of the mound, a deposit of human bones from six to 
eight feet in width, and averaging some eight inches in thickness, which stretched 
across the mound from east to west as though the remains had been gathered together 
and buried in a trench. On this level, scattered about within an area of six or eight 
feet square, and perhaps twenty feet from the south-easterly side of the mound, were 
discovered a number of valuable relics, together with a large quantity of matting in 
which many of them had been enveloped. The archaeological zeal of the Celtic mind 
was, however, not adequate to the preservation of this matting, and, unfortunately, 
most of it, together with the bones, had been carted off and re-interred in the ditch. 
I was able to secure several small fragments, which show a coarse, vegetable cane-like 
fibre, simply woven without twisting, the flat strands measuring about one-eighth of 
an inch in width. 

"Among the many curious articles carefully wrapped in these mattings, and 
here buried, were found a number of small tortoise shells formed of copper, which, 
being unique, are worthy of special attention. Of these I obtained three specimens, 
the rest having been scattered. 

"They are made of beaten copper scarcely more than one sixty-fourth of an inch 
thickness, the larger and more perfect one measuring two and one-eighth inches in 
length and 13-16 inches in height. Their shape is remarkably true and perfect, showing 
a central ridge from end to end, produced by pressure from the under surface. A 
narrow flange or rim, about 5^12 inch in width, is neatly turned at the base, and over 
the entire outer surface the curious markings peculiar to the tortoise shell are care- 
fully produced by indentation the entire workmanship evincing a delicate skill, of 
which we have never before found traces in any discovered remains of the arts of the 



UTENSILS FROM CAHOKIA 33 

the Mound Builders. Each of these tortoise shells would seem to have or- 
iginally been covered with several wrappings of a very singular character, 
and one still adheres to its original envelope, presenting a peculiar mummified 
appearance. Closely fitting over the outer surface of the copper shell is, first, 
a woven cloth of a vegetable fibre, similar in its general character to the outer 
matting above described, but of a stronger and better preserved fibre, apparently 
more like that which forms the woven coating of the Davenport axes.* This is covered 
in turn with a softer, finer fabric, now of a dark-brown color, formed of twisted strands, 
laid or matted closely together, though apparently not woven. The material of 
which these strands are formed proves, under microscopic examination, to be animal 
hair. This fact is of singular interest, as it is believed that this is the only instance in 
which any such fabric has been discovered in connection with relics of the mound 
builders. A careful examination would seem to show the material to be rabbit's 
hair, in a perfect state of preservation, though none but short hairs are found and most 
of these are without either tip or base, though occasionally, as shown in the plate, 
the tips are found, as also the parts towards the base of the hairs, showing several rows 
of cells. 

"Overlying this singular fabric and adhering quite closely to it is a dark colored 
layer, which under the microscope is shown to consist of a membraneous substance with 
numerous pores and distinct cellular structure (nuclei not visible), and would seem 
unquestionably to be an animal cuticle, a conclusion which is confirmed by the opinion 
of the eminent botanist Sir Josep Hooker, who has examined the specimen. The 
pores are apparently gland openings, and the dark line shows a rent in the cuticle. 

"This layer seems also very carefully and smoothly shaped, and is covered in 
turn with a final coating of small dark iridescent scales which probably owe their 
color to carbonization, as they show in the spectroscope traces of carbon. They appear 
however, on microscopic examination to be the remains of a layer of non-striated muscu- 
lar fibre with connecting tissue, possibly from the intestines or bladder of some animal, 
this having originally served as an outer wrapping for these carefully treasured objects. 

"Next in point of interest are two specimens (also believed to be unique in their 
character) of the lower jaw of the deer in both of which the forward part or that con- 
taining the teeth is ensaced in a thin covering of copper, which extends over the teeth, 
and over this copper sheathing are the same mummy-like wrappings which I have 
already described, though in one specimen the coarse vegetable fibre-cloth is lacking, 
and the case is primarily formed of the fine, soft, matted fabric of animal hair which 
in the others forms the second coating. In both, these wrappings are skillfully made 
to form a close-fitting and symmetrical case. They measure about two and a half 
inches fron the end of the teeth to the point where the bone is cut off, and the copper 
sheathing reaches to within half an inch of this, while a hole is bored from side to side 
through the back of each jaw, as though the articles had been worn suspended from the 
neck for totems or as badges of authority. 

"Three curious implements which were found were in the shape of two flat cir- 
cular discs of uniform size, 2 3-16 inches in diameter, united by a central shaft, and in 
general appearance not unlike a narrow spool or thread reel, each having a circular 
hole through the center % inch in diameter. These were made of bone, and having 

*Prof. Asa Gray, on a hurried examination of this matting, expresses the opinion 
that it is made of a bark fibre (not bast), possibly from the fibrous bark of Thuja. 



34 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

been polished very smoothly were neatly coated with beaten copper. This is also 
true of a slender pointed rod of wood 8# inches long, which was skillfully covered 
with a thin copper sheathing extending over its entire length. A number of pieces of 
very thin wood (of which I secured eight specimens), were also found, which were 
about 3 inches long, probably about 2> inches across at the widest point and very 
carefully shaped, being rounded at the base and running to a point at the top where 
they were perforated for convenience in stringing or fastening them together. The 
striking peculiarity of these thin plates of wood, as of the other objects just mentioned, 
is that they show evidence of having once been coated with thin copper, many frag- 
ments of which still adhere to their surfaces. It is as difficult to conjecture the use 
of these articles as of a series of five flat copper rods, measuring 3/4 inches in length 
and pointed at one end, placed edge to edge and fastened together with flat bands 
probably of the same material. 

" Close at hand were one or two rude weapons of stone. Of one a fragment only 
was preserved, the other was a double-pointed spear head, a foot long, made of light- 
colored chert and precisely similar to those made by the North American Indians. 
With them was found a bundle of eight copper rods or needles from fourteen to eighteen 
inches in length, all in one bundle, wrapped together with matting. In addition to 
these, several awls and needles of various sizes made of bone were discovered, and with 
them a considerable quantity of beads made from the column of Busvcon shells; two 
of those which I obtained measure respectively 21-8 and 4 inches in length, are slightly 
curved in shape and perforated from end to end. Not less curious is a necklace or 
circlet of twenty flat crescent-shaped ornaments of shell, each some three inches long 
and pierced at one end for the cord or thong which fastened them together. 

"A day or two later, in digging on the northwest side of the mound, the work, 
men found near its base a mass of bones indicating another trench burial; but the only 
relics found with these remains were numerous sea shells of the species Busycon peroer- 
sitm, which must have been brought from the Gulf of Mexico, concerning which it is 
worthy of note that the crowns or tops of the shells are missing, having apparently 
been cut off in each instance at about the same angle, indicating that one part or the 
the other was made to serve some useful purpose in the economy of this strange people. 
In one very large specimen which I secured, the whorl or column of the shell had been 
cut away and the edges smoothly ground, forming a scoop-shaped implement about 
a foot in length." 



CONCLUSIONS 

No definite observations as to age, cultures, or people can be offer- 
ed the reader at this time. Our work is but begun. However, it seems 
to be generally, accepted by all observers that Cahokia is strictly 
pre-historic, since later Indians seem to know nothing concerning 
its builders. 

When Marquette, LaSalle or Hennepin visited the region, they 
certainly would have stopped at so large a settlement as Cahokia 
had it then been occupied. That La Salle and Hennepin went to 
the Illinois villages, more than a hundred miles north-east seems to 
indicate that Cahokia in 1670 to 1680 was uninhabited. Dr. J. Owen 
Dorsey made a special study of Siouan tribes. In the Third Annual 
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 1884), ne refers to 
a tradition that the Omahas once dwelt at a place near the present 
city of St. Louis. Also, that there was a "high mountain" on this 
peninsula. Mr. Gerard Fowke has given the subject considerable 
attention and published in Bulletin Thirty-Seven of the Bureau of 
American Ethnology (pp. 6 and 7) his observations which are as 
follows: 

"The continuous and extensive changes of channel in the Missouri river, and 
the Mississippi below their junction deprive us of any certainty as to the location of 
the "peninsula" referred to in the Siouan legend. The narrators naturally would 
have applied the name " Missouri " to the whole river; that is to say, they would have 
regarded what we now call the Missouri as the principal stream, because they lived 
pn it, and the Mississippi above the junction as a tributary. So we may not have to 
go to "The northern part of Saint Louis county" to find the place the tradition calls 
for. 

" There is strong evidence that within a comparatively recent period the stream 
crossed abruptly from the Missouri to the Illinois bluffs then back to the Missouri 
side, in a space of a few miles above and below the present levee. Horseshoe and 
Pittsburg lakes are remains of this former channel. The mounds of the Cahokia 
group correspond in form and situation with mounds which formerly existed on the 
site of Saint Louis, and they are not at all of the same type as those nearest them in 
Illinois an indication that when built they were all on the western side of the Mississip- 
pi, or according to aboriginal ideas, of the Missouri, river. Thus it is quite probable, 
providing we admit the essential truth of the Omaha tradition, that this is the "penin- 
sula" to which reference is made, and that in the term "high mountain" we find the 
linguistic successor of "high mound" in other words, the towering artificial structure 
called the Great Cahokia Mound. There is no other locality near the mouth of the 
Missouri which accords with the description given by Dorsey, certainly no "high 
mountain," so it is safe to assume that the Siouan tribes were settled for a time on an 
extensive bottom in front of the present city, with the Mississippi river on the north, 



THE CAHOKJA MOUXDS 



They 



their icmed 

ud f Jiifc hard 





1 tBC StC IM 1IBC.' 

; of the Sim; < 

PossramTT or IMFOKTAXT DISCOVERIES 

In the large, low depression or pond, south of the largest mound 
great quantities of village site debris. One of the survey 
collected a peck of broken pottery, chips, arrowheads and 
laam stone several hundred feet from the shore. As the bottom of 
the pond is below the depth at which village site material has been 
found, it is difficult to account for the presence of so much fragmen- 
tary material. It is not HaimeH that the ancient Cahokia people 
fived on pfle dweffings over the water, but it seems advisable to make 
a thorough examination of the bottom of this and other ponds. 

The original diameter of many of the mounds can be ascer- 
tained by trenching IB from the present feather edge. Scales of 
copper, the fading of a broken copper serpent, and some fragments 
of copper indicating repousse work, point to die possibility of copper 
general use. The copper plates found in Dunklin County, 
and described by Mr. Fowke in Bulletin 37 of the Bureau 
of American Ethnology report, present a characteristic Cahokia 




am a fn&mnt of pottery. 



A fragment of pottery is illustrated in the figure above. 
On this is the same symbolic bird-head-eye design present on all the 
copperplates. Tnis design was generally used at Cahokia. 



COXCLVSIOXS 37 

An inspection of the fragments of pottery furnished evidence 
of die remarkable development of the crramir art and it is to be 
hoped that perfect vessels will be secured for study. 

The relationship of Cahokia to other mound groups in the region 
is important and has as yet received no attention. The range of 
possibility for archeological work of importance at Cahokia seems 
almost limitless. The place certainly merits detailed and intensive 
study on the part of some observer for many years to come. 

P&ESEKVATIOX OF THE GROUP 

The chief purpose of the writer's visit to Cahokia the past year 
was to arouse interest on the part of the public in the preservation 
of these famous mounds. They could be explored subsequently 
provided they were protected by the state or the nation, or some 
wealthy individual. Obviously, they could not be explored satis- 
factorily if the tracts were sold for commercial purposes and factories 
erected, as has been suggested. During this present year, the owners 
assure us the tumuli may be considered safe, yet it b probable that 
should the state decline to purchase, some if not all of the mounds 
may become lost to posterity. East St. Louis is rapidly growing and 
extending its streets, buildings and factories toward the east. A 
railroad has already been constructed within a mile and a half of 
some of the largest mounds. Real estate values are increasing and 
die owners may be forced to sell these properties, since the land is 
now too valuable to be longer used for agricultural purposes. 

Various statements to the effect that the land owners placed a 
high valuation on their properties, or that the largest mound was 
to be destroyed by steam shovels and the earth used to make ills 
across the American Bottoms, have been in circulation. After 
consultation with certain members of the National Research Council 
and prominent archeologists it was thought best to make a pre- 
liminary investigation. We now know that the owners do not seek 
more than the ordinary real estate value of their lands, and to such 
they are entitled. We are also aware that some years of exploration 
at Cahokia are necessary. It is for the citizens of the state of Illi- 
nois ID inaugurate and carry to successful termination a movement 
having for its purpose the preservation of these remarkable monu- 
ments. In brief, a state park of 1,000 acres would safeguard for 
all time these tumuli.* The writer was informed that there were 

"Or, even' 500 acres naiii indnde ate dnef i 



38 THE CAHOKIA MOUNDS 

several proposals to make parks of certain areas of bluffs along the 
Mississippi. From a little below Alton to above Quincy there are 
many miles of picturesque bluffs which might be secured at any time, 
and these are in no danger of destruction. This is mentioned par- 
ticularly, because several men of prominence stated to the writer 
that they were interested in any state park project provided it was 
to be located in their particular neighborhood. They did not fully 
appreciate that Cahokia may be lost irrevocably; other sites cannot 
be destroyed. Persons really familiar with the situation believe 
there should be concentrated action by men's and women's clubs, 
educational institutions and all organizations in order that the bill 
to be introduced next winter may be certain of passage through the 
legislature. Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, New Mexico and other 
states have made parks of their prehistoric monuments. Unfortu- 
nately, there are many citizens who do not realize that there is great 
danger of the Cahokia lands being sold for commercial purposes. 
While the writer was at Cahokia there was a tentative proposition 
involving nearly $800,000 made to a certain group of owners. Their 
patriotism and high regard for the mounds lead them to defer action. 

The parks in Ohio Serpent Mound, Fort Ancient and the 
great works at Newark are visited by thousands of persons each 
summer and are practically self supporting. The great expanse of 
rich soil lying about the mounds of Cahokia, when leased, would 
bring in sufficient revenue to take charge of the overhead expense. 
Many appeals have been made through pamphlets and memorials 
to the state officials of Illinois on the part of intelligent citizens of 
that commonwealth and elsewhere. Far back in 1836, Mr. Ed- 
mund Flagg, a very intelligent traveler, lamented the fact that some 
of the St. Louis mounds had been destroyed. He offers this sug- 
gestion: "The ancient tumuli could, at no considerable expense, have 
been enclosed, ornamented with shrubbery and walks and flowers, 

and thus preserved for coming generations The practical 

utility of which they are available appears the only circumstance 
which has attracted attention to them. One has already become a 
public reservoir, and measures are in progress for applying the larger 
mound to a similar use, the first being insufficient for the growth of 
the city." Flagg's plea might well be transferred to Cahokia at the 
present time. People come from remote sections of the United 
States to see the Cahokia mounds. While we were at work last 



CONCLUSIONS 39 



year a Scotchman and an Englishman, touring America, visited the 
group. The mounds preserved in a state park would be a continual 
reminder to coming generations of the strange and interesting life 
of our prehistoric Indians. To destroy them and erect on the spot 
where they once stood unsightly factories is nothing short of sacrilege, 
and we of today would be subject to severe censure. Future gener- 
ations would say of us, even as has been said of Easau of long ago, 
that we sold our priceless heritage of the ages for a mess of pottage. 

RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSO- 
CIATION AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN BROOKLYN, N. Y., 
DEC. 29, 1921. 

Since it has come to our knowledge that steps are now being 
taken by citizens of the State of Illinois to preserve the large and 
unique group of pre-historic earth-works near East St. Louis, we 
desire to express our hearty approval of these efforts and our sincere 
wishes for the success of the undertaking. Not only do we regard 
the preservation and restoration of this group as urgent, but it is 
also highly desirable that an early survey of the whole site be made to 
reveal the culture of the builders and their place in the pre-historic 
life of the Mississippi valley. 

ALFRED V. KIDDER, Secretary 



NOTE 

For the benefit of any readers unfamilar with the work of the 
American Anthropological Association, it is well to state that the 
men and women comprising it represent all the leading museums, 
researcn institutions, and many of the colleges of the entire United 
States. Nearly all persons engaged in the study of the American 
Indian both past and present belong to this organization. 



CAHOKIA BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Account of an Expedition in the years 1819-20 under command of 
Major Stephen H. Long. Philadelphia, 1823. Vol. 11, pp. 
59-62. 

An Account of de La Salle's Last Expedition. Tonti. London, 
1698, pp. 77 and 85. 

Antiquities of Central and South-Eastern Missouri. Gerard Fowke. 
Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 37, pp. 6 and 7. Wash- 
ington, 1910. 

The Ancient Mounds of Illinois. Hon. Wm. McAdams, Jr. Pro- 
ceedings of the A. A. A. S., Vol. XXIX, 1880. Boston Meeting. 

Annual Report (i2th) Bureau of Ethnology. Maps of Cahokia. 

P. 134. 
Annual Report (i2th) Peabody Museum. Prof. Putnam and Dr. 

Patrick. P. 472. 
Cahokia and Surrounding Mound Groups. D. I. Bushnell, Jr. 

Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archeology and 

Ethnology, Harvard University, Vol. III. No. I. 
Excursion through the Slave States. G. W. Featherstonehaugh, 

F. R. S. London, 1844. Vol. I, pp. 264 to 272. 
The Far West. Edmund Flagg. New York, 1838, pp. 166-167. 
Footprints of Vanished Races. A. J. Conant. St. Louis, 1879, 

pp. 29 and 40. 
Handbook of American Indians. Bureau of American Ethnology, 

Bulletin 30, Part I, p. 186. 
Journal of a Voyage to North America. Charlevoix. London, 

1761. Vol. II, p. 256. 

Literary Digest. W. K. Moorehead. New York, Sept. loth, 1921. 
The Mound Builders, Cahokia or Monk's Mound. Published by the 

Ramey 'family about 1916. (Extracts from various publications.) 
Ohio Mound Builders. E. O. Randall. Columbus, 1908, 
The Rambler in North America. La Trobe. New York, 1835. 
Save the Mounds. Letters and resolutions from individuals and 

societies favoring a state park to include the tumuli. Cahokia 

Mound Association, 1914. 
Smithsonian Report. Charles Rau. Washington, 1866, pp. 346- 

. 353 ' 
Smithsonian Report. Charles Rau. Washington, 1868, pp. 401-407. 

Views of Louisiana. H. M. Brackenridge. Pittsburg, 1814, p. 287. 








PLATE II 

Fig. 2. Cross section of Kunnemann Mound a short distance north of the 
center. The outline is not exact, but it is approximate. Depth of strata in feet 
at the left of the figure. A Top removed. B Dark, rather uneven gumbo layer. 
C Yellowish loam, mixed with sand. D Burned floor. E Altar. F Vegeta- 
tion. G Dark soil, rather irregular. H Light sand stratum. I Thin vegeta- 
tion layer. J Yellowish loam. K Dark earth. I- Mixed earth. M Clear 
sand base. 





PLATE III 

Fig. 3. East view of Monks Mound. Photograph by Mr. Gordon Sewant. 
Fig. 4. North view of Monks Mound. Photograph by Mr. Gordon Sewant. 



42 




i 




43 




44 




c/5 







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46 






PLATE VIII 

10. A large pond near the Kunnemann Mound. Fig. n. Trench in the Kunnemann Mound. 

Fig. 12. The face of the trench of the Kunnemann Mound at a height of 25 feet. 



47 






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53 




PLATE XV. 

Fig. 34. The hollowed bone awl referred to on page 30. 
Fig. 35. A slender, broken drill. 

Fig. 36. Cahokia type arrowheads. 

All found in the field opposite Monks Mound. From Ramey collection. 



54 



UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 



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