ented on the plate. The Indians had but recently left the place, and the trail leading from the river to their wigwams ran directly over two of the mounds. This turtle was then a very fine specimen of the ancient art of mound-building, with its graceful curves, the feet projecting back and forward, and the tail, with its gradual slope, so acutely pointed that it was impossible to ascertain precisely where it terminated. The body was fifty-six feet in length, and the tail two hundred and fifty; the height six feet.
The ground occupied by this group of works is now covered with buildings. A dwelling-house stands upon the body of the turtle, and a Catholic church is built upon the tail.
Another turtle, represented on the same plate, was found on the college grounds, and differs from the other in being concave on the back, as shown by the section. It is also less symmetrical.
Plate XX. represents a group of structures occupying the very high hill a little east of the town. It consists of two round, four oblong, one turtle, and one bird-shaped mound. Of the last an enlarged view is presented on Plate XXII. No. 1, with its dimensions. Its position is peculiar, on a steep hill-side, with its head downwards. The general outline of the figure, and the shape of the head and beak, leave no doubt that a bird was intended to be represented; but whether an eagle, a hawk, or any particular bird, must be left entirely to conjecture. It will be observed that this bird is but a modification of other forms represented on the same plate (Plate XXII. Nos. 2 and 3); a slight curvature of the wings, and the addition of a beak, being the only difference: and this gradual passage of one kind of mound into another is often noticeable, as we shall have occasion to show elsewhere.
The very fine group, half a mile south of the town (Plate XXI.), fortunately is upon the grounds of Carroll College; and we may, therefore, hope it will be forever preserved as a record of the past. These mounds form a quasi inclosure, and hence, like many other groups of works, have been, by casual observers, called a fort. If we were not well acquainted with works of defence in Ohio and elsewhere, which show that the mound-builders were considerably advanced in military arts, we might suppose this was intended for a rude fortification; but we can only regard it as an accidental arrangement, and not designed for any such purpose.
Much of the ground about Waukesha was, in 1836, covered with Indian corn-hills, or remains of their recent culture of maize. In this locality, as at numerous others, the mounds occupy the highest ground and the points of hills and other places, whence the most extensive view, both above and below, can be obtained. The town of Waukesha stands on a slightly undulating plain, surrounded by hills, forming a fine amphitheatre, which, in ancient times, was doubtless crowded, as it is now, with a numerous population.
The mound marked a on the map (Plate XVIII.) was selected for examination; much of the earth having been removed by the town authorities, so as materially [page 28:] to lessen the labor. At about two feet above the original surface of the ground, the top of a circular wall or pile of stone, about nine feet in diameter, was discovered. It was composed of loose fragments of white limestone, which exhibited evidence of long contact with the earth, by their decayed and softened exterior. The wall was interrupted on the west side. (See Section, Plate XVIII.)
We commenced the exploration by opening a trench three feet wide, beginning on the east side of the original mound, deep enough to reach through the black and mottled earth of which the mound was composed, and to the surface of the yellowish clay subsoil. Continuing this trench towards the centre, we passed the loose stone wall, and found the black earth suddenly extending down about two feet below the natural surface of the ground, and reaching the gravel below the yellow clay. Upon this gravel, two feet below the original surface, directly under the centre of the mound, and surrounded by 