Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-05-12

hood all those years. His father ana
grandfather had lived in that part OF
Fairfax county and the Trammen line
reached back to Indian days. Uncle
Jimmy had the story of that Indian
burial ground handed down to him from
his own ancestors.
buried there it is not what one would
call an Indian burial ground. The Ram
bier has talked this matter over with
S. V. Proudft. who, like DR.. w. II.
Holmes. curator of the National Mu-
iseum, and James Mooney of the ethno-
logical bureau. knows all that can he
learned about the Indians who lived
where we live. Mr.. Proudfit for many
years has given up large part OF his
time to the location of the sites OF In
dian villages and habitations and the
collection of relics of Potomac Indians.
His collection is now in the Smithson-
ian. No indian burial ground has been
found i'm the District of Columbia. 1t
was not the custom of the Potomac
Indians to bury their dead. They laid
the bodies among the branches OF trees
or on a rude wicker or brush plat
form high above the ground. After a
while the bodies that were placed
in trees disintegrated and the bones
fell to the ground The brush struc-
cayed and collapsed. What disposition
if any was made of the bones is
question that cannot be answered me
probabilities are that they were left to
In some parts of Maryland near
Washington there existed until recent
times immense mounds of oyster shells
left by Indians. The Indians had their
oyster feasts at these places and the
mounds of shells no doubt were the rel
les of centuries of feasts.
I~N - tow Nf a w
to erect kilns at these shell mounds
for the production of oyster shell lime,
and in a number of cases human bones,
identified By the shape of the skulls as
these shell mounds bysthe lime burn
ers. Beyond the recovery of these re-
mains few Indian graves have been
found. Some years ago, in the course
of railroad excavations near Benning.
it was reported that Indian bones had
been unearthed. DR.. Proudfit fastened
to the place. but could never learn what
disposition had been made of the bones
reported to have been found, and. in
fact he seemed to be unable even to
verify the report that human bones had
been found. If bones of men were dug
up by the railroad builders. it is just
as likely that they were the bones OF
white men and that the workers had
come upon one of the abandoned and
long-forgotten private cemeteries.
II you would visit the Indian burial
ground above Great Falls it would be
well to start at the river end or the
east end of the River Bend road. At
that point you will come upon DR..
Ladd's camp. The next place is the
home of Anthony Cowley. The next is
John Rollins farm, and the next is the
place of DR.. John D. Harrison. Then
you come to Mrs. Platter Trammelrs
place and next to Lewis F. Rollins neat
and CHEEKY home. Mrs. Rollins was,
before her marriage, Miss Carrie Cum
nell, q descendant of John and William
Gunnell. who were residents of Fairfax
county before the American revolution,
and she is either a great-granddaugh
ter or a great-grandniece of that ia
nous old Confederate. Squire Gunnell
of Great Falls. whom the Rambler men
toned last week and who gave the