preservative mode-the ashes and coal for the bed of the sleepers, and the hard burnt clay as their covering. Under such circumstances it required years for these bodies to molder away. Perhaps where these mounds stand forests have grown up, fallen, and decayed to give place to other species, and yet a goodly portion of the skeletons are exhumed from these tumuli in a good state of preservation. The people who once occupied this land have had their turn, and in the most joyous career of their vanity and splendor their strength failed, and they have again returned to dust. Therefore the whole world is but a sepulcher, and there has nothing lived on its surface but has been entombed beneath it. The mounds and obscure cemeteries all over the world are full of this loathsome dust of bodies once quickened by living souls, who perhaps occupied thrones, presided over assemblies, marshaled armies, and subdued provinces. Mounds surrounded by circular walls are scattered along the valley and on the hill-tops that command a view of the greatest territory; those in the valley generally stand on the second terrace formation, near the greatest prominence. Why are the circular walls thus built? Is it to mark the peculiar purpose for which they were constructed, as signal, crematory, or sacrificial. Perhaps these walls were built to serve the purpose to which have been attributed the smaller circular works without any center elevation. All the lesser works of this character were probably constructed for the same purpose as mentioned heretofore. They are the remains of a primeval wigwam, it may have been of a religious character, or one in which the royal chief and family dwelt. Exploration does not develop anything positive. It is seldom that any fragment of bone is found. When such is the case it is of an animal, but the species cannot be determined. Generally fragments of pottery are found throughout the work, but domestic implements are seldom found. If such be the case it will be only a fragment. Another noticeable feature is that these structures contain no ornamental or ceremonial stones. If one is allowed to judge from the material that is found within them, of a domestic character, they would be classed as kitchen mounds, containing more fragments of plain domestic pottery than anything else. They cannot be works of defense, for they are too small, measuring only 40 to 80 feet in diameter. These circular works were simply the protection walls of a wigwam or temple, perhaps of religious character. Nothing can be more obvious than that they were built in accordance with a general plan and for a specific purpose. When, however, a conclusion is sustained by analogies of a most striking character, it is invested with double value. It is then that we proceed with some degree of confidence to inquire how far we are justified in supposing that these ancient structures were temples of worship, or palaces for the chief ruler. It is true, we have neither the light of tradition nor that of history to guide us in our inquiries. Even the name of the people by whom these works were constructed is lost. Therefore every attempt to draw aside the curtain that separates myth from truth may fail, but if this investigation is but partially successful in casting a ray of light upon these mystical structures, the labor will not have been in vain. SIGNAL MOUNDS OF BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO. BY J. P. MACLEAN, of Hamilton, Ohio. The great mound of the valley of the Great Miami River is situated on one of the highest hills in its immediate vicinity, and located about three-quarters of a mile southeast of the town of Miamisburgh, Montgomery County, Ohio, and about the same distance east of the Miami River. The hill is composed of limestone representing the geological formation known as the Hudson River epoch. Broken limestone crops out on the surface, and the soil is very thin, not adapted to agricultural purposes. The hill from the north and west is steep and may be said to be difficult of ascent. The surface of the country for a considerable distance to the east and south is very much broken. The mound is on the summit of the hill and on a natural knoll of a very noticeable declivity. The sides or various slopes of this knoll appear to be regular and of equal descent, or rather rising evenly from all directions. On the east side of the mound and penetrating it is an excavation walled with stone and probably used as a milk house. Two or three rods farther removed is a farm-house, while the same distance to the northeast is a barn. The mound is 68 feet in perpendicular height, and 852 in circumference at its base, and contains 311,353 cubic feet. The summit is level, circular in form, with a diameter of about 20 feet. a view may be seen extending for 20 miles up the valley and the same distance down the river. The day I visited it was cloudy and rainy, causing the view to be limited, although one of the grandest sights within the State presented itself to my eyes. Some of the hills of Butler County, upon which I knew were located mounds, were before me. It is said that from this point The summit of the mound overlooks some of the most important inclosures of the valley. Looking north a distance of 3 miles are the incomplete works at Alexandersville, figured and described in "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," p. 82. In a southwest direction and 5 miles distant from the mound is the Fort on Big Twin located on Sec. 3, German Township, Montgomery County, described in my work on "The Mound-builders," p. 25. An enlarged plan of the work is given. Nine miles northeast of the last-named fort, and 14 miles south by west of Farmersville, situated on Big Twin Creek, is another inclosure containing two irregular circles, with still another at the north gateway. The work is situated on a spur of land about 100 feet above the creek with a perpendicular declivity. Toward the north the hill slopes and the |