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MISSISSIPPI A RCHAEOLOG Y
for his survey descriptions. The archaeological profession might have profited had he turned the soil a bit more frequently. Seldom does one say such things about nineteenth-century archaeologists.
One final point, which should be emphasized, is that Wailes always referred to the mounds that he recorded as ?Indian mounds.? Throughout much of the nineteenth century, professionals and laymen alike debated the origins of the hundreds of mounds that peppered the Eastern Woodlands (Thomas 1894). To my knowledge, Mississippi?s first archaeologist did not question the aboriginal nature of the abundant and wonderful mounds that graced his homeland. It is ironic, and testimony to how important it is to publish journals, that Wailes? many contributions were not recognized by Cyrus Thomas or others who wrestled with such questions.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the editor, Patricia Galloway, who encouraged me to convert an oral presentation on Wailes that I gave at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (Baton Rouge, 1997) into an expanded written version. I am not sure this article would have happened without her gentle pressure. I would also like to express my appreciation to Stephen Williams and Jeffrey P. Brain for their comments on earlier drafts. Finally, Gordon Cotton, my good friend and mentor at Campbell Swamp University (Because of Hobbs Freeman, there is also an art school, thus expanding the academic foundations of this fine institution of higher learning) deserves credit for reminding me over the years that B. L. C. Wailes was a ?Gentleman of Redbone? too.
Ian W Brown is Curator of Gulf Coast Archaeology at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama.
References Cited Adams, Alexander
1966	John James Audubon: A biography. Capricorn Books, G. P. Putnam?s
Sons, New York.
Agassiz, Elizabeth C. (editor)
1886	Louis Agassiz: His life and correspondence. 2 vois. Houghton, Mifflin
and Company, Boston.