Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1889-02-23
pIaaINa ur THE aoNEs.

Six men were engaged, and the spot
where the graves lay was carefully dug
over. It was found that about forty
skeletons had been exhumed by the
freshet and carried away by the waters.
Many more remained, some of which
had been disturbed by tho pillow, for they
were buried Only two feet deep. One Of
these was found to have inferred with
the body stone tips for his arrows, beads
as a necklace, q whole pot Of clay rudely
fashioned and holding several decayed
bones of the deer, This had been his
cooking; vessel, and when inferred with
the warrior 1t was filled with deer joints,
luscious and juicy, the meat of which
sustained his soul In its march through
the Happy Hunting Grounds.
Another skeleton had d similar outfit
placed with it. Many of the bodies were
buried in cramped positions, few were
extended as we place our dead, many
bones were missing and the skulls of
some individuals seemed crushed and
broken. / therefore drew q conclusion
that most ofss..,se warriors were killed
in battle. AS it was Il Indian custom
TO mutilate the bodies Of the shin, in.
some instances to smash the skulls, the
condition Of the skeletons is eas....v ac-
counted for. In the loose earth thrown
out of the excavations and everywhere
about the surface we found arrow points,
broken pottery, copper beads. glass
beads, shells, parts of stone tomahawkss
etc. One excavation revealed an old fire.
place. We took out about FIVE bushels
of ashes, the bones of deer, buffalo and
ground hog. The buffalo or bison bojniees
ARE seldom met with Iii the east. 1t IS
known that the bison roamed ali oyer
this country but the whites found him
further west than the Mississippi. There
fore the date of this burial place can be
placed very far back. The presence of
glass ind copper beads shows the tribe
had contact withttho whites. But these
beads were foundson the surface and not
buried with the bodies, u, &
ANOTHER INDIAN VILLAGE,
After examining this cemetary I went
twelve nliles down the river to another
Indian village sslte. With q force of
seven mensI began work Ia seine high
clay banks which fronted thu river.
Here the bodies had never been disturbed
and lay just as the Indians had Ieftthem..'
We took out nearly twenty entire akkele-
tons. The sknlls OF q number We're pre-
served whole, and when any fellto pieces
the fragments were large enough to nd
nit Of their being put together. The
averagesdepthEof these graves was three
feet. With one we found a copper plate,
d fine dish of clay with handles and hold
ing on the inside a shell with strange
markings ca-. The copper plate was
not Of European manufacture. II was
the native Lake Superior copper ham
mered ou1tjna cold state by the Indians,
was about Ave inshes long, two inches
wide and perforated for suspension as ian
ornament
Another body had a necklace OF sixty
two bone beads. while a third had over
three hundred small beads These had
been placed in d mass; by the leftsfore.
arm, but had not been strung. A bona
awl almost as sharp as d needle and
wonderfully we'll preserved accompanied
this man. ! The farmer owning the place
presented me with another copper plate
and a atone ~tomahawk, which he had
plowed up not hong before Ialseaeeared
agoodscIay pipeS found with9ono of thu
skeletonss This pipe was shaped some
what like onr cigar holders. only larges,
and was made of hard burned clay. red
in color. d{sa g
The remarkable feature of all Indiar;
skullsis thestateot preservation In which
We find their teeth. never. with but
: one or two exceptions. found q truly pre-.