“You remember, Ed, when Captain Hunt and his soldiers came after the Winnebagoes and they left their camps in a hurry, they first buried many of their household utensils in the ground. You know how they then smoothed down the earth and built a fire over the place, so that the ashes and coals would give the ground an appearance of not having been disturbed. I imagine we may find some such caches in that mound village.”
Necessary work interfered with the boys’ plans for several weeks, and the first flakes of late October snow were falling when they set off upon their ten miles’ walk to the mound city.
After some discussion they decided to attack the largest, central mound first, “For,” said Dauphin, “this must have been the mound of the chief, if these mounds were the sites of their homes.”
Carefully they dug a hole six feet across, searching carefully through each spadeful of dirt. In the first two feet down there was nothing discovered; then Ed ran across two long, flint arrow- or spear-heads. A little further down they came upon a human skeleton, the bones of which crumbled so badly, as they were brought out to the air, that the boys were able to save only the top of the skull and one thigh bone intact.
It was only when they reached the depth of about four feet, nearly at the level of the surrounding ground, that their spades struck unmistakable evidences of fire—discolored earth, small coals, ashes, and some brown fragments, the nature of which they could not at once determine. “We have found it, Hurray!” shouted Rob. “They cached their goods and built their fire over them just like our Indians did.”
“Now, boys,” counseled Dauphin, “let’s not be too hasty. Let’s examine every spadeful carefully as we dig.”
Now the finds became more numerous: A stone mortar and pestle, such as the Indians now use for preparing their meal from maize; a red, stone pipe, curiously carved; several pure white arrow-heads, others coal-black; a stone axe, grooved near the head for its fastening to the handle; some broken earthenware vessels, decorated with queer, spear-point designs; and most valuable of all, a copper knife in fairly good state of preservation.
Then they came to a great quantity of brown fragments, which upon examination, proved to be charred bone.
Down through the burned earth they dug in feverish haste toward the treasure they believed to be hidden there. But alas! although they toiled until dark, they were forced to acknowledge to themselves that the ground beneath the fire had never been disturbed before.
“Well,” said Ed, “We didn’t find the ‘key’ to unlock the history of these mounds, but we’ve got one of the old fellows, with some of his dishes, his axe, his pipe, his spears and arrows, and his wife’s grist mill. That’s pretty good for one day.”