. Indiana and Indianans : a history of aboriginal and territorial Indiana and the century of statehood . mound; and some as many as three. On the neighboring hills, northeast of the to\vn, are a number of the remains of stone houses. Theywere covered with soil, brush, and full grown trees. We cleared awaythe earth, roots and rubbish from one of them, and found it to havebeen anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was about twelve feet square;the walls had fallen nearly to the foundation. They appeared to havebeen built of rough stones, like our stone walls. Not the least traceof any iron tools h
. Indiana and Indianans : a history of aboriginal and territorial Indiana and the century of statehood . mound; and some as many as three. On the neighboring hills, northeast of the to\vn, are a number of the remains of stone houses. Theywere covered with soil, brush, and full grown trees. We cleared awaythe earth, roots and rubbish from one of them, and found it to havebeen anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was about twelve feet square;the walls had fallen nearly to the foundation. They appeared to havebeen built of rough stones, like our stone walls. Not the least traceof any iron tools having been employed to smooth the face of them couldhe perceived. At one end of the building we came to a regular hearth,containing ashes and coals; before which we found the bones of eightpersons of difierent ages, from a small child to the heads of the family. 20 INDIANA AND INDIANANS The positions of their skeletons clearly indicated that their deaths weresudden and simultaneous. They were probably asleep, with their feettowards the fire, when destroyed by an enemy, an earthquake orpestilence. i*. The Feast of the DeadFrom Lafitaus Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, Paris, 1724 The statement of facts in this extract is so careful and intelligent—aS, indeed, all of Mr. Browns observations were—that one wonderswhy it did not occur to him that the occupants of the stone house may i« lud. Hist. Coll. Indiana as Seen by Early Travelers, pp. 152-4. INDIANA AND INDIANANS 21 _ have been placed there after death, and that the incinerated occupantsof the mounds might have been corpses. The probable explanation isthat he was not familiar with Indian mortuary customs, and had thecommon American idea of that time that the chief occupation of theIndians was burning prisoners. Most of the Indian tribes gave a greatdeal of attention to the care of their dead. The custom of placingbodies on scaffolds was preliminary to burial or cremation, the objectbeing to get rid of the flesh, as the b
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