Another heap of stones of like character, but somewhat less in size, is situated upon the top of a high, narrow hill, overlooking the small valley of Salt creek, near Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio. It is remarkable as having large numbers of crumbling human bones—to say nothing of living black snakes—intermingled, apparently without order, with the stones. A very extensive prospect is had from this point. Upon the slope of a lower hill near by, appears to have been formerly an Indian village. Many rude relics are uncovered on the spot, by the plough.
Smaller and very irregular heaps are frequent amongst the hills. They do not generally embrace more than a couple of cartloads of stone, and almost invariably cover a skeleton. Occasionally the amount of stones is much greater. Rude implements are sometimes found with the skeletons. A number of such graves have been observed near Sinking Springs, Highland county, Ohio; also in Adams county in the same State, and in Greenup county, Kentucky, at a point nearly opposite the town of Portsmouth on the Ohio.
Heaps of similar character are found in the Atlantic States, where they were [p185] raised by the Indians over the bodies of those who met their death by accident, or in the manner of whose death there was something unusual. Dwight, in his Travels, mentions a heap of stones of this description which was raised over the body of a warrior killed by accident, on the old Indian trail between Hartford and Farmington, the seat of the Tunxis Indians, in Connecticut. Traces of a similar heap still exist on the old trail between Schenectady and Cherry Valley in New York, with which a like tradition is connected. They were not raised at once, but were the accumulations of a long period, it being the custom for each warrior as he passed the spot to add a stone to the pile. Hence the general occurrence of these rude monuments near some frequented trail or path.
[121] The difficulty of carrying on investigations in the large mounds cannot be readily appreciated. The earth is always so compact as to require, literally, to be «cut out». It has then to be raised to the surface,—a task of great labor, and only accomplished by leaving stages in the descent and throwing the earth from one to the other, and finally to the surface. Four industrious men were employed not less than ten or twelve days in making the excavations in this mound alone.