me high enough to cover it. This root was
exposed for 160 feet in the trench, or 180 feet from the tree; at this
point it was 3 inches in diameter and turned aside into a crevice. As
the root could not have grown in the open air, it furnished proof that
much deposited material has been carried out of the front portion of
the cavern and away from the ledge since this tree was a sprout.

III. EXPLORATIONS ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER BLUFFS IN KANSAS AND
NEBRASKA

VICINITY OF WHITE CLOUD, KANSAS

About 4 miles southeast of White Cloud, Kansas, is the "Taylor Mound,"
from which Mark E. Zimmerman and William Park took 56 skeletons, or
portions of skeletons, in a space not more than 6 by 20 feet. This was
clearly an intrusive communal burial of skeletons carried from some
other point and interred in the mound which owed its origin to persons
who had piled it up at some previous time. The bones, which were not
arranged in any order, were 30 inches beneath the present surface of
the mound, but this does not mean they were no deeper originally, as
the mound has been plowed for many years and is in a situation where
it will easily wear down when cultivated.

A few feet away, at a depth of 7 feet, other bones, or fragments of
bones, were found in a mass of burned clay. A cremation had taken
place at some point away from the mound, and the resultant burned
earth, with so much of the bone matter as was not destroyed by the
fire, was carried here and buried. The depth in this instance is not
significant; the earth is loose and very easily dug; besides, the
grave pit was near the margin of the mound and earth had washed down
over it from above.

Some stones, carried from neighboring ravines, have been exposed by
the wear due to erosion from natural causes and from cultivation. The
main portion of the structure is still intact, and it is probable that
no deposits belonging to it at the time of its construction have been
unearthed. A systematic exploration, showing the original construction
as well as the alterations resulting from later burials, is much to be
desired.

While this is the largest mound in the vicinity, and is claimed to be
the largest mound in Kansas, it is not different except in size from
many others within a few miles. All of them are made of the same earth
as that which lies around them--a light, sandy loess which is easily
removed with a shovel, requiring no picking or other loosening. In
fact, it is