Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States
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Title: Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States
Author: Cyrus Thomas
Contributor: Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Release date: December 4, 2012 [eBook #41557]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
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Transcriber's Note:
This paper is a part of the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-1884,
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1887, pages 3-120. The index
has been extracted from the volume index.
Minor printing errors have been corrected in this version and are listed
below.
p72: Inserted the first word of the sentence beginning "A section of
this bed...."
p73: "thichness" changed to "thickness"
p78: "victoms" changed to "victims"
p88: "throughot" changed to "throughout"
p114: "quelqu'vn" changed to "quelqu'un"
Footnote [29]: "Smithonian" changed to "Smithsonian"
Footnote [45]: "Vol," changed to "Vol."
The oe ligature has been represented in this version by [oe], e.g.
M[oe]urs. In the supplemental note (page 112), a character appearing to
be an o with a u above it is used. This has been transcribed as [uo].
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
BURIAL MOUNDS
OF THE
NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
BY
PROF. CYRUS THOMAS.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introductory 9
Burial mounds of the Wisconsin district 14
Burial mounds of the Illinois or Upper Mississippi district 24
The Ohio district 45
The Appalachian district 61
The Cherokees probably mound-builders 87
Concluding remarks 108
Supplemental note 110
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
PLATE I. Group of earthworks, Allamakee County, Iowa. 26
II. Enlarged figure and section of earthwork A, Pl. I. 30
III. Group of mounds and vertical section of bluff,
East Dubuque, Illinois. 36
IV. A mound. (From DeBry). 40
V. Plat of ancient works, Kanawha County,
West Virginia. 54
VI. Enlarged plan of part of the works shown in Plate V. 58
FIG. 1. Section of mound near Racine, Wisconsin.
(After Lapham). 14
2. Section of burial mound. Vernon County, Wisconsin. 15
3. Earthen pot from Wisconsin burial mound. 16
4. Section of burial mound. Crawford County, Wisconsin. 17
5. Section of burial mound. Crawford County, Wisconsin. 18
6. Section of burial mound. Vernon County, Wisconsin. 20
7. Section of burial mound. Davenport, Iowa. 24
8. Section of mound showing stone vault. Iowa. 31
9. Plat of Indian burying ground. Wapello County, Iowa. 33
10. Section of mound 4. East Dubuque, Illinois. 36
11. Section of mound 16 (Plate III), showing vault. 37
12. Plan of vault, mound 16 (Plate III). 37
13. Pipe from Illinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report,
1884). 38
14. Pipe from Illinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report,
1884). 38
15. Pipe from Illinois mound. (From Smithsonian Report,
1884). 38
16. Group of mounds. Brown County, Illinois. 40
17. Form of the larger mounds of the preceding group. 41
18. Groups of mounds. Clarke County, Missouri. 43
19. Ohio burial mound. (After Squier and Davis). 46
20. Wooden vault of Ohio mound. (After Squier and Davis). 46
21. Copper gorget from mound. Kanawha County,
West Virginia. 52
22. Pipe from mound. Kanawha County, West Virginia. 53
23. Pipe from Ohio mound. 53
24. Mound with so-called "altar." Kanawha County,
West Virginia. 57
25. T. F. Nelson mound. Caldwell County. North Carolina. 62
26. T. F. Nelson triangle. Caldwell County,
North Carolina. 63
27. Engraved shell gorget. Caldwell County, North Carolina. 64
28. Cylindrical copper bead. Caldwell County,
North Carolina. 65
29. Bracelet of copper and shell beads. Caldwell County,
North Carolina. 65
30. Iron implement. Caldwell County, North Carolina. 65
31. Iron implement. Caldwell County, North Carolina. 66
32. W. D. Jones mound. Caldwell County, North Carolina. 67
33. Plan of the R. T. Lenoir burial pit, Caldwell County,
North Carolina. 69
34. Fire-bed. Wilkes County, North Carolina. 72
35. Section of mound. Henderson County, North Carolina. 74
36. Section of mound. Henderson County, North Carolina. 75
37. Plan of burials in mound. Sullivan County, Tennessee. 76
38. Pipe from mound. Sullivan County, Tennessee. 76
39. Large mound of Etowah group. Bartow County, Georgia. 96
40. Vertical section of small mound, same group. 97
41. Plan of burials in same mound. 98
42. Copper plate from Etowah mound. Georgia. 100
43. Copper plate from Etowah mound. Georgia. 101
44. Copper badge from Etowah mound. Georgia. 102
45. Copper badge from Etowah mound. Georgia. 103
46. Engraved shell from Etowah mound. Georgia. 103
47. Engraved shell from Etowah mound. Georgia. 104
48. Copper plate from Illinois mound. 105
49. Copper plate from Indian grave. Illinois. 106
BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
BY CYRUS THOMAS, PH.D.
INTRODUCTORY.
All the works of the mound-builders of our country are exceedingly
interesting to the antiquarian and are valuable as illustrating the
habits, customs, and condition of the people by whom they were formed,
but the sepulchral tumuli surpass all others in importance in this
respect. Although usually simple in form and conveying thereby no
indications of the characteristics of the people by whom they were
erected, yet when explored they reveal to us, by their internal
structure and contents, more in regard to the habits, beliefs, and art
of their authors than can be learned from all their other works
combined. From them we are enabled to learn some traits of ethnical
character. The gifts to, or property of, their dead deposited in these
sepulchers illustrate their arts and customs and cast some rays of light
into their homes and daily life, and the regard for their dead indicated
by the remaining evidences of their modes of burial and sepulchral rites
affords some glimpses of their religious beliefs and superstitions. The
larger and more imposing works, as the pyramidal mounds, the enclosures,
canals, etc., furnish indications of their character, condition,
strength, and culture-status as a people or tribe, but the burial mounds
and their contents, besides the evidences they furnish in regard to the
religious belief and art of the builders, tell us something of
individual traits, something of their social life, their tastes, their
personal regard for each other, and even something of the diseases to
which they were subject. What is still more important, the modes of
burial and vestiges of art found with the dead furnish us undoubted
evidences of tribal distinctions among the authors of these works, and,
together with the differences in external form, enable us to determine
in a general way the respective areas occupied by the different tribes
or peoples during the mound-building age.
Judging by all the data so far obtained relating to the form, internal
structure, and contents of these works, much of which has not yet been
published, we are perhaps warranted in concluding that the following
districts or areas were occupied by different peoples or tribes. As a
matter of course we can only designate these areas in general terms.
(1) The _Wisconsin district_, or area of the emblematic or effigy
mounds. This embraces the southern half of Wisconsin, a small portion of
the northern part of Illinois, and the extreme northeast corner of
Iowa. The effigy or animal mounds form the distinguishing feature of the
works of this district, but aside from these there are other features
sufficient to separate the works of this section from those further
south.
(2) The _Illinois_ or _Upper Mississippi district_, embracing eastern
Iowa, northeastern Missouri, and northern and central Illinois, as far
south as the mouth of the Illinois River.
In this region the works are mostly simple conical tumuli of small or
moderate size, found on the uplands, ridges, and bluffs as well as on
the bottoms, and were evidently intended chiefly as depositories of the
dead. They are further characterized by internal rude stone and wooden
vaults or layers; by the scarcity of pottery vessels, the frequent
occurrence of pipes, the presence of copper axes, and often a hard,
mortar-like layer over the primary or original burial. The skeletons
found are usually extended, though frequently in a sitting or squatting
posture.
Walls and enclosures are of rare occurrence in this region.
(3) The _Ohio district_, including the State of Ohio, the western part
of West Virginia, and the eastern portion of Indiana. Although the works
of this region present some features which are common to those of the
Gulf section, there are several peculiar characteristics which warrant
us in designating it as a distinct district. Among other of these
peculiar features we notice the great circles and squares of the
enclosures, the long parallel lines of earthen walls, the so-called
"altar mounds," or mounds containing structures chiefly of clay to which
the name "altar" has been applied; the numerous carved stone pipes; the
character of the pottery and the methods of burial.
(4) The _New York district_, confined chiefly to the northern and
western parts of the State of New York, but including also the lake
region of the central portion.
As the antiquities of this district have been shown by Squier to be
chiefly due to the Indian tribes occupying that section at the time of
its discovery by the Europeans, it is unnecessary to note the
distinguishing characteristics. The works are chiefly enclosing walls,
remains of palisades, and burial mounds.
(5) The _Appalachian district_, including western North Carolina,
eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and part of southeastern
Kentucky.
The characteristics which appear to warrant us in concluding that the
works of this region pertain to a different people from those in the
other districts, at the same time seem to show some relation to those of
the Ohio district. Such are the numerous stone pipes, the altar-like
structures found in some of the mounds, and the presence of mica plates
with the skeletons. But the peculiar features are the mode of burial,
the absence of pottery, and the numerous polished celts and engraved
shells found in the mounds.
Although it is probable that there are at least three districts in the
southern portion of the United States, they appear to pass from one into
the other by such slight changes in the character of the works as to
render it exceedingly difficult to fix the boundaries between them. I
therefore mention the following, provisionally, as being those indicated
by the data so far obtained.
(6) The _Middle Mississippi area_ or _Tennessee district_, including
southeast Missouri, northern Arkansas, middle and western Tennessee,
southern and western Kentucky, and southern Illinois. The works of the
Wabash valley possibly belong also to this district, but the data
obtained in regard to them are not sufficient to decide this point
satisfactorily. This district, like the others of the south, is
distinguished from the northern section by its larger mounds, many of
which are pyramidal and truncated and often terraced, and which were,
beyond question, used as domiciliary mounds. Here we also meet with
repeated examples of enclosures though essentially different from those
of Ohio; also ditches and canals. From the Lower Mississippi and Gulf
districts, with which, as we have said, it is closely allied, it is
distinguished chiefly by the presence of the box-shaped stone cists or
coffins, by the small circular house-sites or hut-rings, and by the
character of the pottery. This is pre-eminently the pottery region, the
typical forms being the long-necked, gourd-shaped vase and the
image-vessels. In this district the carved stone pipes are much less
common than in the Illinois, Ohio, and Appalachian districts.
(7) The _Lower Mississippi district_, including the southern half of
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There are no marked
characteristics by which to distinguish it from the Middle district; in
fact as we move southward along the Mississippi from the mouth of the
Illinois river, the works and their contents indicate a succession of
tribes differing but slightly in habits, customs, and modes of life, the
river generally forming one natural boundary between them, but the other
boundaries being arbitrary. For example, the Cahokia region appears to
have been the home of a tribe from which at one time a colony pushed
northward and settled for a while in Brown and Pike Counties, Illinois.
The extreme southeastern counties of Missouri were probably the seat of
another populous tribe which extended its borders into the western part
of southern Illinois and slightly into northeast Arkansas, and closely
resembled in customs and art the ancient people who occupied that part
of the Cumberland valley in middle Tennessee. This subsection is
principally distinguished by the presence of the small circular
house-sites, which are slightly basin-shaped, with a low ring of earth
around them. As we move farther southward into Arkansas the house-sites
change into low circular mounds, usually from 1 to 3 feet in height, and
in nearly every instance containing a layer of clay (often burned) and
ashes.
These small mounds, which are clearly shown to have been house-sites,
were also burial places. It appears to have been a very common custom in
this section to bury the dead in the floor, burn the dwelling over them,
and cover the whole with dirt, the last operation often taking place
while the embers were yet smouldering. Burial in graves was also
practiced to a considerable extent. As we approach the Arkansas River,
moving southward and from thence into Louisiana, the pottery shows a
decided improvement in character and ornamentation.
(8) The _Gulf district_, including the Gulf States east of the
Mississippi. The works of this section appear to be closely allied to
those of the Lower Mississippi district, as here we also find the large
flat-topped pyramidal mounds, enclosing walls, and surrounding ditches
and canals.
The chief differences are to be found in the forms and ornamentation of
the pottery and modes of burial.
As we approach the Mississippi River the distinguishing features
gradually disappear, although there appears to be a distinct subdistrict
in the northern part of Mississippi, and as we enter the Florida
peninsula a change is observed which appears to indicate a different
people, but the data so far obtained are not sufficient to enable us to
outline the subdistricts.
This districting is to be regarded as a working hypothesis rather than
as a settled conclusion which will stand the test of future
investigations. It is more than likely that other subdivisions will be
found necessary, and that the boundaries of some of the districts given
will have to be more or less modified; still, I believe the arrangement
will be found substantially correct.
As a very general and almost universal rule, mounds of the class under
consideration are more or less conical in form, and are common to all
sections where earthworks are known to exist, in fact they form almost
the only ancient remains of some localities. Often they are isolated,
with no other monuments near them, but more frequently they occur in
groups or are associated with other works. Squier and Davis say "they
are generally of considerable size, varying from 6 to 80 feet in height,
but having an average of from 15 to 25 feet."[1]
This is probably true in regard to the mounds explored by these
archaeologists in Ohio, but is erroneous if applied generally; as very
many, evidently used and intended as burying places only, are but two or
three feet high, and so far as the more recent examinations made in
other sections--especially the explorations carried on under the Bureau
of Ethnology--have shown, tumuli of this character are usually from 3 to
10 feet high, though some, it is true, are of much larger dimensions;
but these are the exceptions and not the rule.[2]
As the authors just alluded to are so frequently referred to by writers,
and their statements in reference to the works explored by them are
taken as of general application, I will venture to correct another
statement made by them in regard to mounds of this character. They
assert that "these mounds invariably cover a single skeleton (in very
rare instances more than one, as in the case of the Grave Creek mound),
which, at the time of its interment, was enveloped in bark or coarse
matting or enclosed in a rude sarcophagus of timber, the traces, in some
instances the very casts, of which remain. Occasionally the chamber of
the dead is built of stone rudely laid up, without cement of any
kind."[3]
I have investigated but few of the ancient works of Ohio personally, or
through the assistants of the Bureau, hence I can only speak in regard
to them from what has been published and from communications received,
but judging from these, Messrs. Squier and Davis, while no doubt
correctly describing the mounds explored by them, have been too hasty in
drawing general conclusions.
That burial mounds in the northern sections very frequently cover but a
single skeleton is true, but that this, even in this section, is
universally true or that it is the general rule is a mistake, as will
appear from what is shown hereafter. Nor will it apply as a rule to
those of the southern sections.
To illustrate the character and construction of these mounds, and modes
of burial in them, I will introduce here brief descriptions of the
leading types found in the different northern districts heretofore
mentioned, confining myself chiefly to the explorations made by the
Bureau assistants.
BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE WISCONSIN DISTRICT.
Following the order of the geographical districts heretofore given, we
commence with the Wisconsin section, or region of the effigy mounds.
As a general rule the burial mounds in this area are comparatively
small, seldom exceeding 10 feet in height and generally ranging from 3
to 6 feet. In all cases these belong to that class of works usually
denominated "simple conical tumuli."
Of the methods of construction and modes of burial there appear to be
some two or three types, though not so different as necessarily to
indicate different tribes or peoples. One of these is well represented
in the following extract from Dr. I. A. Lapham's work describing some
mounds opened by Dr. Hoy, near Racine:
We excavated fourteen of the mounds, some with the greatest
possible care. They are all sepulchral, of a uniform
construction as represented in Fig. 1 [our Fig. 1.] Most of
them contained more than one skeleton; in one instance we found
no less than seven. We could detect no appearance of
stratification, each mound having been built at one time and
not by successive additions. During the investigations we
obtained sufficient evidence to warrant me in the following
conclusions. The bodies were regularly buried in a sitting or
partly kneeling posture facing the east, with the legs placed
under them. They were covered with a bark or log roofing over
which the mound was built.[4]
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Section of mound near Racine, Wisconsin.]
In these a basin-shaped excavation some 2 or 3 feet deep was first made
in the soil in which the bodies were deposited, as shown in Fig. 1.
Mr. Middleton, one of the Bureau assistants, in 1883, opened quite a
number of small burial mounds in Crawford and Vernon counties, belonging
to the same type as those just described; some with the excavation in
the original soil in which the skeletons were deposited, though in
others there were no such excavations, the skeletons being deposited on
the original surface or at various depths in the mounds. I give here
descriptions of a few of them from his notes:
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Section of burial mound, Vernon County,
Wisconsin.]
The one numbered 16, of the Courtois group, is about 20 feet in
diameter, and at present scarcely more than 1 foot high, the ground
having been in cultivation for several years and the mound considerably
lowered by the plow. A vertical section is given in Fig. 2, _a a_,
indicating the natural surface of the ground, _b_ the part of the mound
removed, and _c_ the original circular excavation in the natural soil to
the depth of 2 feet.
Four skeletons were found in this excavation, two side by side near the
center, with heads south, faces up, one near the north margin with head
west, and the other on the south side with head east, all stretched at
full length.
In another mound of the same group with a similar excavation nothing
save a single skull was found. In another of exactly the same kind some
of the skeletons were folded, while others were extended at full length.
In all these cases, and in a majority of the small burial mounds opened
in this western part of the State, there was no stratification; still
there were found some exceptions to this rule.
Vestiges of art were comparatively rare in them, yet here and there were
found an arrow-point, a chipped flint scraper or celt--in some instances
remarkably fine specimens--a few large copper gorgets, evidently
hammered from native copper, copper beads, etc. Very few vessels of
pottery were obtained from them, but one was discovered, shown in Fig.
3, which I believe is of the finest quality of this ware so far obtained
from the mounds of the United States. There were intrusive burials in a
few of these mounds, but these have been wholly omitted from
consideration in the descriptions given.
In a few instances the mounds seem to have been built solely for the
purpose of covering a confused mass of human bones gathered together
after the flesh had disappeared or had been removed. Similar mounds are
described by Mr. Thomas Armstrong as found near Ripon, Fond du Lac
County. Speaking of these, Mr. Armstrong says:
As to how these bones came to be placed in these mounds, we can
of course only conjecture; but from their want of arrangement,
from the lack of ornaments and implements, and from their
having been placed on the original surface, we are inclined to
believe that the dry bones were gathered together--those in the
large mounds first and those in the smaller ones
afterwards--and placed in loose piles on the ground and the
earth heaped over them until the mounds were formed.[5]
There can be no doubt that the bones in this case were gathered up from
other temporary burial places or depositories, as was the custom of
several tribes of Indians.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Earthen pot from Wisconsin mound.]
A number of burial mounds opened by Mr. W. G. Anderson, near Madison,
were found to be of the same general type as those mentioned by Mr.
Middleton. These he describes as being very low and poorly made. Eight
were opened, all having been built in the same way, with only one layer
of black earth, so hard as to make the work of excavation exceedingly
laborious. These were circular, and about 4 feet high. Skeletons were
found as near as 12 or 13 inches to the surface, but badly decayed.
There were no sarcophagi or coffins, and in all cases the heads pointed
towards the west.[6]
In some instances the mound contained a circular stone wall, within
which a pit had been dug to the depth of 2 or 3 feet in the original
soil, as, for example, the one near Waukesha, described by Dr.
Lapham.[7]
A mound in Crawford County, opened by Colonel Norris, one of the Bureau
assistants, in 1882, shows a similar vault or pit, but differs from the
preceding in being distinctly stratified and wanting the stone wall. The
construction of this tumulus and the mode of burial in it were as
follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Section of burial mound, Crawford County,
Wisconsin.]
Proceeding from the top downwards, there was first a layer of soil and
sand about 1 foot thick; next, nearly 2 feet in depth of calcined human
bones, without order, mingled with which were charcoal, ashes, and a
reddish-brown mortar-like substance, burned as hard as pavement brick.
This layer is numbered 4 in the annexed cut (Fig. 4), which represents a
vertical section of the mound. Immediately below this was a layer about
1 foot thick (No. 3) of clay or mortar mixed with sand, burned to a
brick-red color. Below this, in the space marked 2 in the cut, were
found the bones of fifteen or twenty individuals, in a confused heap,
without order or arrangement. Mingled with these were fire-brands,
charcoal, and ashes. The bones were charred, some of them to charcoal,
and some were glazed with melted sand. The mass appears to have been
first covered with soft clay-mortar, which ran into and filled the
spaces, and the burning to have been done afterwards by means of brush
or wood heaped on the top, as among the bones were lumps of hard burned
clay.
The bottom of this layer corresponded with the original surface of the
ground, but the excavation being continued, a circular vault or pit, 6
feet in diameter, was found extending downwards, with perpendicular
sides, to the depth of nearly 3 feet. The bottom of this pit was covered
to the depth of an inch with fine chocolate-colored dust. Although the
filling of this pit was chiefly sand, there was a cavity at the bottom a
foot high in the center, over which the sand filling was arched as shown
in the figure.
It is evident that the skeletons in this mound were buried after the
flesh had been removed, as we can on no other supposition explain the
fact that the clay or mortar had filled the interstices between the
bones, and that in some cases it had even penetrated into the skulls.
Another mound, opened by Colonel Norris in the same neighborhood,
presented some peculiarities worthy of notice, although not sufficient
to mark it as belonging to a distinct type.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Section of burial mound, Crawford County,
Wisconsin.]
According to his report, the southern portion had previously been
explored by Judge Branson, who found at the base some six or eight
skeletons lying stretched out horizontally, and covered by a dry,
light-colored mortar which must have been spread over them while in a
soft condition, as it had run between the bones and encased them, and in
some cases, as in the mound just described, filled the skulls. As only
the southern portion had been opened he removed the remainder. The dried
mortar-like substance was very hard and difficult to dig through, but
the pick soon struck some rough, flat limestone rocks which proved to be
parts of a rude wall about 3 feet high and 8 feet long, built on the
natural surface of the ground. In the opposite side of the mound, 12
feet distant from and parallel with it, was another similar wall.
Between them and on the natural surface of the ground, side by side,
were a number of skeletons lying flat and lengthwise and parallel with
the walls. A vertical section of this mound is shown in Fig. 5. The
little circles at the bottom between the walls indicate the heads of the
skeletons; No. 4, the layer of mortar over the bones; 3, a layer of hard
clay mixed with ashes; 2, a layer of clay; and 1, the top covering of
sand and soil about 18 inches thick. Before being disturbed this mound
was 35 feet in diameter and 6 feet high.
As it is evident that the burials in this case were made at one time,
and as the mortar-like substance had run into the interstices, it is
more than probable that the skeletons were deposited after the flesh had
been removed.
The following description of a mound with a single original and several
intrusive burials is also taken from Colonel Norris' notes of work in
Crawford County:
One large mound of this group, 70 feet in diameter and 10 feet high,
still unexplored, was opened. It had been considerably defaced,
especially on the west side. According to tradition it was a noted
burial place with the Indians, which was certainly confirmed by the
result. The surface or top layer was composed of sand and alluvial earth
to the depth of some 3 or 4 feet. Scattered through this in almost every
part of the mound were human skeletons in various stages of decay and in
different positions, but mostly stretched horizontally on the back.
Scattered among the remains were numerous fragments of blankets,
clothing and human hair, 1 copper kettle of modern pattern, 3 copper
bracelets (hammered from native copper), 1 silver locket, 10 silver
bracelets (one having the name "Montreal," and another the letters "A B"
stamped on it), 2 silver earrings, 6 silver brooches, 1 copper
finger-ring, 1 double silver cross, 1 knife-handle, and 1 battered
bullet. In fact the top layer to the depth of 3 or 4 feet seemed to be
packed as full of skeletons and relics as possible.
Carrying the trench down to the original surface of the ground, he found
at the bottom, near the center, a single skeleton of an adult in the
last stages of decay. With it were the following articles: 2 stone
scrapers, a small stone drill, fragments of river shells, and pieces of
a mammoth tusk. The earth below the upper layer was mixed with clay and
ashes, evidently different from the surrounding soil.
Several mounds opened by him in Grant County contained charred human
bones, and one or two covered confused masses of bones, being similar in
this respect to some of those heretofore mentioned.
A mound which he opened in Sheboygan County, containing a single
skeleton, is described as about 50 feet in diameter and 5 feet high.
After passing through 18 inches of surface soil, the central mass,
composed of earth mingled with charcoal, ashes, and loose stones, was
reached. Near the center of this mass, and at the bottom of the mound, a
large human skeleton was discovered, apparently holding between the
hands and knees a large clay vase. Immediately over this skeleton was an
irregular layer of flat bowlders.
Another mound of this group, about the same size as the preceding, was
found literally filled with skeletons to the depth of 2-1/2 feet,
evidently intrusive burials, as they were accompanied with iron
implements, silver ornaments, etc. Beneath these was a layer of rounded
drift bowlders aggregating several wagon loads. Below these and in a
shallow excavation in the natural surface of the ground were some forty
or more skeletons in a sitting or squatting posture, disposed in circles
around and facing the central space, which was occupied by an unusually
large shell (_Busycon perversum_).
It is worthy of notice in this connection that there are no effigy
mounds, so far as known, in the immediate section where the two works
just mentioned are situated, but there is near by, one small oval
enclosure about 50 feet in diameter.
In studying the burial mounds of the district now under consideration,
of which the foregoing may be considered as types, there appears to be
no marked distinction between the intrusive burials of modern Indians
and the original burials for which the mounds were constructed. In both
we observe from one to many skeletons in a place; in both we find them
stretched out horizontally and also folded; in both we sometimes notice
evidences of fire and partially-consumed bones; in both we find
instances where the mortar-like covering has been used, and in both we
meet occasionally with those confused masses of bones which seem to have
been gathered from graves or other temporary burial places into these
mounds as common depositories. Moreover the transition from one to the
other is so gradual as to leave us nothing save the position in the
mound and the presence of vestiges of civilized art to distinguish the
former from the latter.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Section of burial mound, Vernon County,
Wisconsin.]
A large portion of these mounds, as has already been stated, are
unstratified, and each was probably thrown up and completed at one time;
yet skeletons are found at various depths in some of these, as, for
example, one opened by Mr. Middleton, in Vernon County, a vertical
section of which is shown in Fig. 6, _a a_ indicating the original
surface of the ground and the stars the positions of the skeletons, some
of which were stretched out at full length while others were folded. The
heads were towards different points of the compass and the bones of all
were so much decayed that none could be preserved. Several instances of
this kind were observed, in some cases those skeletons near the surface
or top of the mound indicating burial after contact with the whites.
It is apparent, therefore, that although some of the burial mounds of
this district must be attributed to the so-called mound-builders, others
were certainly built by the Indians found inhabiting it at the advent of
the whites. There can scarcely be a doubt that some of the small
unstratified tumuli described are the work of the Indians. If this is
conceded there would seem to be no halting place short of attributing
all of this class in this district to the same race.
Dr. Hoy's statement that in some cases there was evidence that the
bodies had been "covered with a bark or log roofing," is in exact accord
with a well-known burial custom of some of the tribes of the Northwest.
According to Mr. M. B. Kent, the Sacs and Foxes, who formerly resided in
the region now under consideration, buried the body "in a grave made
about 2-1/2 feet deep, which was laid always with the head towards the
east, the burial taking place as soon after death as possible. The grave
was prepared by putting bark in the bottom of it before the corpse was
deposited, a plank covering made and secured some distance above the
body."
Another method followed by the same people, according to Mr. J. W.
Spencer[8], was to make a shallow hole in the ground, setting the body
in it up to the waist, so that most of the body was above the ground. A
trench was then dug about the grave, in which pickets were planted. But
the usual method was to place split pieces of wood about three feet long
over the body, meeting at the top in the form of a roof, on which dirt
was thrown to keep them in place.
According to Potherie[9], the Iroquois were accustomed to cover the
bodies, after being deposited in the "fosse," with bark of trees, on
which they cast earth and stones.
According to Schoolcraft[10], the Mohawks of New York--
make a large round hole in which the body can be placed upright
or upon its haunches: which after the body is placed in it is
covered with timber to support the earth which they lay over,
and thereby keep the body from being pressed. They then raise
the earth in a round hill over it.[11]
The burial customs of northern tribes, known to have occupied portions
of the effigy mound district, agree so exactly with what we see in the
sepulchral tumuli of this district as to justify the conclusion reached
by Dr. Lapham, after a long and careful personal study of them, that
they are to be attributed to Indians. Some he was rather inclined to
ascribe to tribes which had migrated, had been driven off by other
tribes, or been incorporated into them previous to the advent of the
white race. But he maintained that the subsequent tribes or those found
occupying the country "continued the practice of mound-building so far
as to erect a circular or conical tumulus over their dead." And he adds
significantly, "This practice appears to be a remnant of ancient customs
that connects the mound-builders with the present tribes."[12]
The evidence in regard to these unstratified mounds appears to lead
directly to the conclusion that they are all the work of the Indians
found occupying the country at the time it was first visited by whites
or of their ancestors. If it is conceded that the small unstratified
tumuli are in part the work of these aborigines, there would seem to be
no escape from the conclusion that all the burial mounds of this
district are to be ascribed to them; for, although there are some two or
three types of burial and burial mounds, the gradation from one to the
other is so complete as to leave no marked line of distinction, and Dr.
Lapham is fully justified in asserting that the evidence connects the
mound-builders with the modern Indians. The stratified mounds in which
the hard clay or mortar covering over the remains is found, and which we
shall again meet with in the adjoining district, may be the work of
different tribes from those which constructed the small unstratified
tumuli, but the distinctions between the two classes are not such as to
justify the belief that they are to be attributed to a different race or
to a people occupying a higher or widely different culture-status.
Having reached this conclusion it is impossible for us to halt here; we
are compelled to take one step farther in the same direction and ascribe
the singular structures known as "effigy mounds" to the same people. The
two classes of work are too intimately connected to admit of the
supposition that the effigy mounds were built by one race or people, and
the conical tumuli by another. We might as well assume that the
enclosures of Ohio were the work of one people, but the mounds
accompanying them of another.
That works of different tribes or nations may frequently be found
intermingled on areas over which successive waves of population have
passed is admitted, but that one part of what is clearly a system is to
be attributed to one people and the other part to another people is a
hypothesis unworthy of serious consideration. The only possible
explanations of the origin, object, or meaning of these singular
structures are based, whether confessedly so or not, on the theory that
they are of Indian origin. Remove the Indian element from the problem
and we are left without even the shadow of an hypothesis.
The fact that the effigy mounds were not used as places of sepulture,
and that no cemeteries save the burial mounds are found in connection
with them, is almost conclusive proof that the two, as a rule, must be
attributed to the same people, that they belong to one system. If this
conclusion is considered legitimate, it will lend much aid to the study
of these works. It is true it is not new, but it has been generally
ignored, and hence could not aid in working out results.
The following extract from Dr. Lapham's "Antiquities of Wisconsin" will
not be considered inappropriate at this point:[13]
The ancient works in Wisconsin are mostly at the very places
selected by the present Indians for their abodes, thus
indicating that the habits, wants, modes of subsistence, &c.,
of their builders were essentially the same.
If the present tribes have no traditions running back as far as
the time of Allouez and Marquette, or even to the more recent
time of Jonathan Carver, it is not strange that none should
exist in regard to the mounds, which must be of much earlier
date.
It is by considerations of this nature that we are led to the
conclusion that the mound-builders of Wisconsin were none
others than the ancestors of the present tribes of Indians.
There is some evidence of a greater prevalence than at present
of prairie or cultivated land in this State at no very remote
age. The largest trees are probably not more than five hundred
years old, and large tracts of land are now covered with
forests of young trees where there are no traces of an
antecedent growth. Every year the high winds prostrate great
numbers of trees and frequent storms pass through the forest,
throwing down nearly everything before them. Trees are left
with a portion of the roots still in the ground, so as to keep
them alive for several years after their prostration. These
"wind-falls" are of frequent occurrence in the depths of the
forests and occasion much difficulty in making the public
surveys. The straight lines of the sections frequently
encounter them.
The amount of earth adhering to the roots of a tree when
prostrated by the wind is, under favorable circumstances, very
considerable, and upon their decay forms an oblong mound of
greater or less magnitude, and a slight depression is left
where the tree stood. These little hillocks are often by the
inexperienced mistaken for Indian graves. From the paucity of
these little "tree-mounds" we infer that no very great
antiquity can be assigned to the dense forests of Wisconsin;
for, during a long period of time, with no material change of
climate, we would expect to find great numbers of these little
monuments of ancient storms scattered everywhere over the
ground.
Whether the greater extent of treeless country in former times
was owing to natural or artificial causes it is now difficult
to determine, but the great extent of ancient works within the
depths of the present forests would seem to indicate that the
country was at least kept free from trees by the agency of man.
Many of these tree-mounds were observed on and about the
ancient works.
Another curious circumstance that may be noticed by inspection
of the figures of mounds accompanying this work is the gradual
transition, as it were, or change of one form into another.
Examples can be found of all forms, from a true circle through
the oval and elongated oval to the oblong mounds and long
ridges. Again, there is a succession of mounds, from the simple
ridge of considerable size at one end and gradually diminishing
to a point at the other, through the intermediate forms, having
one, two, three, or four projections to the "turtle-form." In
this way, also, we may trace a gradual development (so to
speak) of nearly all the more complicated forms.
It is not pretended to assert that this was the order in which
the mounds were erected; or that the aborigines gradually
acquired the art by successive essays or lessons. Indeed, we
are led to believe that the more complicated forms are the most
ancient.
The relative ages of the different works in Wisconsin, so far
as they can be ascertained from the facts now before us, are
probably about as follows:
First and oldest. The animal forms, and the great works at
Aztalan.
Second. The conical mounds built for sepulchral purposes, which
come down to a very recent period.
Third. The indications of garden-beds planted in regular
geometrical figures or straight lines.
Fourth. The plantations of the present tribes, who plant
without system or regularity.
Thus the taste for regular forms and arrangements, and the
habits of construction with earthy materials seems to have been
gradually lost, until all traces of them disappear in our
modern degenerate red men.
The animal-shaped mounds and accompanying oblongs and ridges,
constituting the first of the above series, are composed of
whitish clay or of the subsoil of the country.
The mounds of the second series, or burial mounds, are usually
composed of black mould or loam, promiscuously intermixed with
the lighter-colored subsoil.
BURIAL MOUNDS OF THE ILLINOIS OR UPPER MISSISSIPPI DISTRICT.
This district, as heretofore stated, includes eastern Iowa, northeastern
Missouri, and northern and central Illinois as far south as the mouth of
the Illinois River.
Although we are justified in concluding that this area was occupied
during the mound-building age by tribes different from those residing
in the Wisconsin district, yet the distinguishing characteristics are
more apparent in the forms of the works than in the modes of burial and
internal construction of the burial mounds. We shall see by the
illustrations hereafter given that at least one of the types found in
one district is common in the other. But this is to be expected and is
readily explained by the supposition that the tribes which have occupied
these regions moved back and forth, thus one after another coming upon
the same area. The absence of evidence of such movements would indicate
that the mound-building period was of comparatively short duration, a
theory which I believe has not been adopted by any authority, but to
which I shall have occasion again to refer. One class of the burial
mounds of this district is well represented in a group, explored by the
members of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, on the Cook farm,
near Davenport, Iowa. The mounds of this group are situated on the
immediate bank of the Mississippi at a height not exceeding 8 to 12 feet
above high-water mark; they are conical in form and of comparatively
small size, varying in height from 3 to 8 feet. Nine of them were
opened, of which we notice the following:
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Section of burial mound, Davenport, Iowa. [From
the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences.]]
In No. 1 the layers from above down were, first, a foot of earth; then a
layer of stones 1-1/2 feet thick; then a layer of shells 2 inches thick;
next a foot of earth, and lastly a second layer of shells 4 inches
thick. Immediately under this, at the depth of 5 feet, were found five
skeletons stretched horizontally on the original surface of the ground,
parallel to each other, three with heads toward the east and two with
heads west. With them were found one sea-shell (_Busycon perversum_),
two copper axes, to which fragments of cloth were attached, one copper
awl, an arrow-head, and two stone pipes, one representing a frog.
Mound No. 2, though similar in form and external appearance to the
preceding, presented a quite different arrangement internally, as is
evident from the vertical section shown in Fig. 7. Here there were no
layers of shells, but two distinct layers of stones. At the depth of 5
feet eight skulls (five only are shown in the figure), with some
fragments of bones were unearthed; these were lying in a semicircle of 5
feet diameter, each surrounded by a circle of small stones (shown at _a_
in the figure). From the position of the skulls and bones it was evident
these bodies had been buried in a sitting posture. The articles found
accompanying the skeletons were two copper axes, two small hemispheres
of copper and _one of silver_, a bear's tooth, and an arrow-head.
No. 3, though the largest of the group, was apparently unstratified, the
original burial consisting of the bones of two adults and one infant, at
the original surface of the ground, under a thin layer of ashes, and
surrounded by a single circle of small red stones. With these were found
copper axes, copper beads, two carved stone pipes (one in the form of a
ground-hog), animal teeth, etc. Near the surface of the mound were two
well-preserved skeletons, with evidences of an "oakwood" covering over
them and accompanied by glass beads, a fire steel, clay pipe, and silver
ear-ring--evidently an intrusive burial.
No. 4 was found similar in construction and in all other respects to No.
3, except that at the feet of the skeletons was a round heap of stones,
3 feet high, neatly laid up, and that in the earth where the skeletons
lay could be distinctly seen traces of cloth or some woven material, in
which they had probably been enveloped.
No. 5 was similar to No. 2, except in the following respects: The
skeletons (probably two) were in a confused heap at the bottom under a
6-inch layer of hard clay (probably similar to what Colonel Norris calls
"mortar"). Near these, but outside of the clay layer, was a stone heap
similar to that in No. 4. "On this lay two very strong thigh bones and
three ribs placed diagonally across each other. There were also a few
bones leaning against the heap at one side. The stones were partly
burned to lime, and all of them showed more or less marks of fire, while
the bones in the mound showed not the slightest trace of it."
Four or five feet south of the stone heap was a large quantity of human
bones in complete confusion. The relics were broken pots, arrow-heads, a
stone pipe, etc.
Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were similar to No. 1, varying only in minor
details.[14]
My object in noticing the construction of so many mounds in a single
group and the modes of burial in them, is to call attention to the
differences in detail where there can be no doubt that they were built
by one tribe and probably by one clan, as the size of the group
indicates a comparatively limited population. In these nine mounds we
notice the following differences: some are stratified, others not; in
some the skeletons are placed horizontally on the ground, in others they
are in a sitting posture, while in others they are dismembered and in
confused heaps; in some there are altar-like[15] structures of stone
which are wanting in others; in some the skeletons are covered with a
hard clay or mortar coating which is wanting in most of them, and
lastly, we see in one or two, evidences of the use of fire in the burial
ceremonies, though not found in the others.
In some respects these mounds remind us of some of the stratified tumuli
of Wisconsin, especially those opened by Colonel Norris in Sheboygan
County, to which they bear a strong resemblance.
In the latter part of 1882 Colonel Norris examined a group of works in
Allamakee County, Iowa, which presents some peculiarities worthy of
notice in this connection.
This group, which is represented in Plate I, consisting of enclosures,
lines of small mounds, and excavations, is situated on the farm of Mr.
H. P. Lane, about 7 miles above New Albin. It is on a bluff in one of
the numerous bends of the Little Iowa River, the character of the
locality indicating that it was selected as one easily defended. I shall
at present only notice those particulars which seem to have some bearing
on the character of the burial mounds and mode of interment.
Although there are no effigy mounds in the group, the relative positions
and forms of the tumuli, as shown in the figure, and other particulars
to be noticed, leave no doubt in my mind that the works, in part, are to
be attributed to the people who built the figure mounds of Wisconsin.
But, as will be seen from the particulars mentioned, there is conclusive
evidence that the locality has been occupied at different times by at
least two distinct tribes or peoples, differing widely in habits and
customs.
[Illustration: PL. I. GROUP OF EARTHWORKS, ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, IOWA]
The largest work is an enclosure marked _A_ in Plate I, and shown on an
enlarged scale in Plate II. It is situated on the margin of a bluff
overlooking the Little Iowa and an intervening bog-bayou, probably the
former channel of the river. It is almost exactly circular, the curve
being broken on the east side, where it touches the brink of the bluff,
being here made to conform to the line of the latter, though probably
never thrown up to the same height as the other portion. The ends at the
southeast overlap each other for a short distance, leaving at this point
an entrance way, the only one to the enclosure. A ditch runs round on
the inside from the entrance on the south to where the wall strikes the
bluff on the north, but is wanting along the bluff and overlapping
portion. The north and south diameter, measuring from outside to
outside, is 277 feet; from east to west, 235 feet; the entire outer
circumference is 807 feet, the length of the portion along the bluff 100
feet, and of the overlapping portion at the entrance 45 feet. The wall
is quite uniform in size, about 4 feet high and from 25 to 27 in width,
except along the bluff, where it is scarcely apparent; the entrance is
16 feet wide, and the ditch 5 to 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep. On the
north, adjoining the wall on the outside and extending along it for
about 100 feet, is an excavation (_c_, Plate II) 35 feet wide at the
widest point and 3 feet deep.
As this ground, including the circle, has been under cultivation for
fifteen years, it would be supposed the height of the wall is
considerably less than it originally was, but this is probably a
mistake. On the contrary, it was originally probably but 20 feet wide
and not more than 3 feet high, composed mainly of yellowish brown clay
obtained, in part at least, from the ditch, but during occupancy the
accumulation of countless bones of animals used as food, stone chips,
river shells, broken pottery, and dirt, and, since abandonment, the
accumulation of sand drifted by the winds from the crumbling
sandstone butte (_C_, Plate I) overlooking it, have not only filled the
ditch but elevated the wall and whole interior area 2 feet or more. This
accumulation of sand is so great and so uniform over the plateau that
fifteen years of cultivation have not sufficed to reach the clay of the
original surface nor to unearth or even penetrate to the bones, pottery
fragments, and other refuse matter covering the original surface in the
circle.
Trenches cut across the wall at various points indicate, first, a layer
of sand about 1 foot thick; immediately below this an accumulation of
refuse matter forming a layer from 1 to 2 feet thick; under which was
the original clay embankment 2 feet thick, resting on the natural
surface of the ground. A section of the ditch, embankment, and
excavation is shown in Plate II. The dotted line _a b_ indicates the
natural surface; No. 1 the original clay layer of the wall; No. 2 the
layer of earth and refuse material with which the ditch is filled; and
No. 3 the top layer of sand.
In No. 2 were found charcoal, ashes, fragments of pottery, fractured
bones, etc.
A broad belt of the inner area on the east side was explored, and the
same conditions were found to exist here as were revealed by the
trenches across the wall and ditch, except that here the shells were
more abundant in layer No. 2, and there were many burnt stones.
On the southeastern portion of the plateau (_B_, Plate I) are six nearly
parallel lines of mounds running northeast and southwest, mostly
circular in form, varying from 15 to 40 feet in diameter, and from 2 to
6 feet in height; a few, as indicated in the figure, are oblong, varying
in length from 50 to 100 feet. The number in the group exceeds one
hundred.
While engaged in excavating these mounds Colonel Norris observed a
number of patches of the level area quite destitute of vegetation. The
owner of the land, who was present, could give no explanation of this
phenomenon, simply remarking that they had always been so, never having
produced a good crop of anything, although there was no apparent
difference between the soil of these spots and the surface around them.
As some of these extended across the area occupied by the mound group,
he concluded to explore them, and was surprised to find them to be
burying places, and scattered here and there among the graves, if such
they could be called, were stone chips, shells, charcoal, and ashes. He
was surprised at this, as he supposed the mounds alone were used as
depositories of the dead, and was at first disposed to attribute these
burials to a people who had occupied the ground long subsequent to the
authors of the works. Possibly this may be the correct solution, but if
so, they were certainly the same as those who buried in the mounds of
this group, as no difference in the contents and internal arrangement
could be observed. In both cases there was a compact layer of hard,
light-colored earth, having the appearance of lime-mortar, possibly clay
and ashes mixed together, which had been subject to the action of fire.
As the burials in these sterile spots were seldom more than 18 inches
deep, the only layer above them consisted of sand from the butte, while
the mounds were uniformly covered with a layer of richer soil, although
below this and covering the skeletons was a layer of hard, light-colored
earth. Skeletons and bones were found in great abundance in the mounds
and under the surface of the plateau, though none were discovered in the
circle or nearer than 200 yards of it. They were sometimes mingled
promiscuously with charcoal and ashes, but were usually in whole
skeletons lying horizontally, though some were in a sitting posture;
they were within from 1 to 3 feet of the surface, without any apparent
system, except that they were always covered with a layer of hard earth.
A trench cut through the long mound of this group, No. 1, revealed near
the center an oblong pile of sandstones, beneath which was found a rude
stone coffin, formed by first placing flat sandstone slabs on the
natural surface of the ground, then other slabs at the sides and ends,
and a covering of similar stones, thus forming a cist or coffin about 6
feet long and 18 inches wide. Within this, extended at full length, with
the head west, was the skeleton of an adult, but too much decayed for
preservation. With it were some stone chips, rude stone scrapers, a
_Unio_ shell, and some fragments of pottery similar to those dug up in
the circular enclosure.
The mounds on the sand butte marked _C_, Plate I, which is something
over 100 feet high, were opened and found to be in every respect similar
to those already mentioned, showing them to be the work of the same
people who built the others.
The three mounds in the square enclosures marked _D_, (Plate I), were
also opened, with the following results: The largest, oval in form, 30
feet long, about 20 feet broad and 4 feet high, was found to consist of
a top layer of loose sand 1 foot thick, the remainder of hard yellowish
clay. In the latter were found several flat sandstone fragments, and
beneath them, on the original surface of the ground, a much decayed
skeleton, with which were a few stone chips, _Unio_ shells, and
fragments of pottery.
The second in size, 18 feet in diameter and 3 feet high, although
covered with a layer of sand, was mainly a loose cairn of sandstones,
covering traces of human bones, charcoal, and ashes. The third was found
to be similar to the second, but in this case the pile of stones was
heaped over a mass of charred human bones, mingled with which were
charcoal, ashes, and fragments of pottery.
Fragments of pottery were found in abundance in the circle, in the
mounds, in the washouts, and in fact at almost every point in the area
covered by the group. Judging by the fragments, for not a single entire
vessel was obtained, the prevailing forms were the ordinary earthen pot
with ears, and a flask or gourd-shaped vase with a rather broad and
short neck, often furnished with a lid. The paste with which this
pottery was made had evidently been mixed with pounded shells. The only
ornamentation observed consisted in the varied forms given the handles
or ears and indentations and scratched lines.
Nearly all the implements found were of stone, exceedingly rude, being
little else than stone flakes with one sharp edge; many of them having
been resharpened and used as knives, scrapers, and skinners. Some had
been worked into moderately fair perforators or drills for making holes
in horn, bone, and shell--specimens of all these, with such holes,
having been found here.
The immense quantity of charred and fractured bones, not only of fish,
birds, and the smaller quadrupeds, such as the rabbit and the fox, but
also of the bear, wolf, elk, deer, and buffalo, shows that the occupants
of this place lived chiefly by the chase, and hence must have used the
bow and arrow and spear; yet, strange to say, although careful search
was made for them, less than a dozen arrow and spear heads were found,
and these so rude as scarcely to deserve the name. A single true chipped
celt, three sandstones with mortar-shaped cavities, and a few mullers or
stones used for grinding were obtained; also, some fragments of
deer-horn, evidently cut round by some rude implement and then broken
off, and several horn and bone punches and awls, one barbed and another
with a hole through the larger end.
The object in view in presenting these details is to give the reader an
opportunity of judging for himself in reference to some inferences drawn
from them.
The form of the circular enclosure reminds us at the first glance of the
palisade enclosures figured by De Bry,[16] which, according to
Lafitau,[17] was the form usually adopted by the Indian tribes who were
accustomed to erect such structures. We have here the almost exact
circle, save where interrupted by the margin of the bluff, the
overlapping of the ends, and the narrow entrance-way. We have here also
the clay with which it was the custom, at least in the southern section,
to plaster the palisades or which was cast against their bases as a
means of supporting or bracing them at the bottom, a custom not entirely
unknown among the northern tribes in former times.
The indications are therefore very strong that this enclosing wall was
originally a palisade which had been in part plastered with clay, or
against which clay had been heaped to assist in rendering it firm and
secure, and, if so, then it is probable it was built by Indians.
Be this supposition right or wrong the evidence is conclusive that the
area on which this group is situated has been the abode of at least two
tribes or peoples: first, it was occupied by the authors of the
enclosures, whose stay was probably not very protracted, and after they
had abandoned the locality or been driven from it by a second tribe,
evidently comparatively numerous, that made it for a long time a
dwelling place; a tribe differing in customs from its predecessor, and
one that did not rely upon enclosures for protection. By no other
supposition can we account for the fact that the refuse layer which
covers the interior of the circle also spreads in equal depth over the
ditch and clay remains of the enclosing wall, as those who left this
refuse layer could have made no possible use of the wall as a defensive
work, for which the position chosen and other particulars show it was
designed.
The form of this enclosure, as we have before intimated, seems to
connect it with some one of the Indian tribes; its age is uncertain but
the accumulation of refuse matter and sand since the abandonment by the
first occupants indicates considerable antiquity.
Although we cannot say positively that the second occupants were the
builders of the mounds, as the investigation was not as thorough as it
should have been, still I think we may assume, with almost absolute
certainty, that such was the fact. The mounds in the square work marked
D, in Plate I, present considerable differences from those in the group,
and are probably the work of those who built the enclosures.
The stone grave in the oblong mound indicates the presence of
individuals of a more southern tribe[18] at this place, during its
second occupancy. The position of the cist in the mound would seem to
forbid the idea of an intrusive burial, otherwise I should certainly
suppose such to be the fact. I cannot, in the present paper, enter into
a discussion of the question "to what tribe or people are the box-form
stone graves to be attributed," but will state my conviction to be,
after a somewhat careful study of the question, that they are to be
ascribed to the Shawnees, Delawares, and Kickapoos.
[Illustration: PL. II. ENLARGED FIGURE AND SECTION OF EARTHWORK A, PL.
I.]
Without further discussion of this group, which, as before intimated,
presents, so far as the mounds are concerned, some features which appear
to ally the latter to one class of burial mounds found in Wisconsin, we
will now refer to some other works of this district explored by the
Bureau assistants.
On the land owned by Mr. Fish, in Iowa, near the Mississippi River, a
short distance below where the Little Iowa joins it, is a group of
mounds placed on the crest of a ridge running parallel with the former
stream about one-fourth of a mile therefrom. There are in all about
thirty of these mounds, circular in form, and varying from 20 to 40 feet
in diameter. These are all burial mounds, but one singular feature
observed is that those on the higher sandy ground, although about the
same size and having cores of clay similar to those on the firm clay
portion of the ridge, have a layer of sand, some two feet or more added
to them, yet when opened the contents and mode of construction of the
two classes were found to be the same, to wit, a layer of hard clay
covering decaying human bones, fragments of pottery, and rude stone
implements. There were generally two or more skeletons in a mound, which
were placed horizontally side by side on the natural surface of the
ground.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Section of mound showing stone vault (Iowa).]
Upon the terrace below the group were found the remnants of a row of
comparatively large burial mounds. A railroad line having been carried
along here, the larger portion of these works were destroyed; still,
enough remained to show that the height varied from 6 to 15 feet, that
they were composed chiefly of sandy loam similar to that around them,
and that each had a hard central core of clay mixed with ashes, usually
covering but a single skeleton. The relics found in them when opened
consisted chiefly of stone axes, arrow and spear heads, and a few copper
celts. In one, which was 32 feet in diameter and 8 feet high and less
injured than the others, was a circular vault, walled as represented in
Fig. 8. This was built of flat, unworked stones, laid up without mortar,
gradually lessening as it ascended, and covered at the top by a single
flat stone. In it was a single skeleton in a squatting posture, with
which was a small earthen vase of globular form.
A singular fact was observed in a group near the town of Peru, Dubuque
County. This group is situated on a dry, sandy bench or terrace some 20
feet or more above a bayou which, makes out from the Mississippi. It
consists chiefly of small circular tumuli, but at the north end are four
oblong mounds varying in length from 40 to 110 feet and in height from
1-1/2 to 4 feet; there is also an excavation about 30 feet in diameter
and 6 feet deep, and scattered throughout the group are a number of
circular earthen rings varying in diameter from 12 to 30 feet and from 1
to 2 feet in height.
Quite a number of the circular mounds were opened, but only detached
portions of a skeleton were found in any one, as a skull in one, and a
leg, arm, or other part in another, four or five adjacent ones
apparently together containing the equivalents of an entire skeleton.
Some of these bones were charred, and all were much decayed, indicating
by their appearance great age. The inner portion of the mounds consisted
of hard, compact earth, chiefly clay, resembling in this respect most of
the burial mounds of this region.
Unfortunately the examination of this group was too partial and too
hastily made to enable us to form any theory as to the meaning of this
singular mode of burial, or even to be satisfied that the idea of our
assistant in this regard is correct.
As possibly having some bearing upon the question, the following facts
relating to another similar group at Eagle Point, three miles above
Dubuque, are given.
This group, which is situated on a bluff about 50 feet above high-water
mark, consists of about seventy mounds, all of which, except two oblong
ones, are small and conical in form. Eleven of these circular tumuli
were thoroughly explored, but nothing was found in them except some
charcoal, stone chips, and fragments of pottery. But in an excavation
made in the center of a long mound just west of the group were found two
decayed skeletons. Near the breast of one of them were a blue stone
gorget and five rude stone scrapers; with the other, thirty-one
fresh-water pearls, perforated and used as beads. Excavations were made
in an oblong and circular mound near the extreme point of the bluffs.
Each was found to have a central core of very hard clay mixed with
ashes, so hard in fact that it could only be broken up with the pick,
when it crumbled like dry lime mortar, and was found to be traversed
throughout with flattened horizontal cavities. These cavities were lined
with a peculiar felt-like substance, which Colonel Norris, who opened
the mounds, was satisfied from all the indications pertained to bodies
which had been buried here, but from lapse of time had entirely crumbled
to earth save these little fragments. We are therefore perhaps justified
in concluding that a more thorough and careful examination of the mounds
of the other group would have shown that the skeletons had so far
decayed as to leave but a small part in a mound. Nevertheless it is
proper to state that Colonel Norris does not coincide with this
conclusion, but thinks that the dismembered skeletons were buried as
found. Possibly he is correct.
In this connection, and before referring to the mounds of this district
on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, I desire to call attention to
some modern Indian burials in this region. As the statements here made
are from one claiming to be an eye-witness, I give them as related to
the Bureau assistant.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Plat of Indian burying-ground, Wapello County,
Iowa.]
The locality is a level plat in a bend of the Des Moines River between
Eldon and Iowaville, Wapello County. The plat of this area and the sites
of the burial places, as shown in Fig. 9, are based upon the statements
of Mr. J. H. Jordan (the person referred to), who has resided here since
the close of the Black Hawk war, and was the agent of the Sacs and Foxes
from their removal hither after the war until Black Hawk's death,
September 15, 1838.[19]
The extreme width of the area represented is about 2 miles. Close to the
point of the bend formerly stood the agency building, near which is the
present residence of Mr. Jordan. The triangle marks the position of
Black Hawk's grave; the parallel lines, the race-tracks; the rings in
the upper corner, the mounds of the Iowas; those in the lower corner,
near Iowaville, the mounds of the Pottawattamies; and the open dots,
near the same point, the place where the scaffolds for their dead stood.
Mr. Jordan says:
"This valley had long been a famous haunt for the warring Indians, but
was, at the time of my first personal acquaintance with it, in
possession of the Iowas, whose main village was around the point where
my present residence now stands. The race-course consisted of three hard
beaten parallel tracks nearly a mile in length, where the greater
portion of the Iowa warriors were engaged in sport when Black Hawk
surprised and slaughtered a great portion of them in 1830. After Black
Hawk and his warriors had departed with their plunder, the remaining
Iowas returned and buried their dead in little mounds of sod and earth,
from 2 to 4 feet high, at the point indicated on the diagram.
"After the Black Hawk war was over, the remnant of the Iowas, by treaty,
formally ceded their rights in this valley to the Sacs and Foxes. At
this place this noted chief was buried, in accordance with his dying
request, in a full military suit given him by President Jackson,
together with the various memorials received by him from the whites and
the trophies won from the Indians. He was placed on his back on a
'puncheon' [split slab of wood], slanting at a low angle to the ground,
where his feet were sustained by another, and then covered with several
inches of sod. Over this was placed a roof-shaped covering of slabs or
'puncheons,' one end being higher than the other; over this was thrown a
covering of earth and sod to the depth of a foot or more, and the whole
surrounded by a line of pickets some 8 or 10 feet high."
Here we have evidence that some at least of the Indians of this region
were accustomed to bury their dead in mounds down to a recent date.
One of the most important burial mounds opened in this district by the
employés of the Bureau is situated on the bluff which overhangs East
Dubuque (formerly Dunleith), Jo Daviess County, Illinois. As I shall
have occasion to refer to others than the one mentioned, I give in Fig.
15, Plate III, a plan of the group, and in Fig. 16, same plate, a
vertical section of the bluff along the line of mounds numbered 13, 14,
15, 16, and 17, in which is seen the general slope of the upper area.
The mounds of this group are conical in form, varying from 12 to 70 feet
in diameter and from 3 to 12 in height. All appear to have been built
for burial purposes.
In No. 5, the largest of the group, measuring 70 feet in diameter and 12
feet in height, a skeleton, apparently an intrusive burial, was found at
the depth of 2 feet immediately below the apex. Near the original
surface of the ground, several feet north of the center, were the
much-decayed skeletons of some six or eight individuals of every size
from the infant to the adult. They were placed horizontally at full
length with the heads toward the south. A few perforated _Unio_ shells
and some rude stone skinners and scrapers were found with them. Near the
original surface, some 10 or 12 feet from the center, on the lower side,
was discovered, lying at full length on its back, an unusually large
skeleton, the length being something over 7 feet. It was all distinctly
traceable though it crumbled to pieces immediately after removal from
the hard earth in which it was encased. With it were three thin,
crescent-shaped pieces of roughly-hammered native copper, respectively
6, 8, and 10 inches in length, with some small holes along the convex
margin; also a number of elongate copper beads, made by rolling together
thin sheets, and a chert lance-head 11 inches long; the latter was
placed near the left thigh. Around the neck were the remains of a
necklace of bears' teeth. Lying across the thighs were dozens of small
copper beads, evidently formed by rolling slender wire-like strips into
small rings. The assistant who opened this mound, and who is personally
well acquainted with Indian habits and customs, suggests that these
beads once formed the ornamentation of the fringe of a hunting shirt.
As No. 4 of this group presents some peculiarities, I take the
description from Colonel Norris's notes:
During a visit to this locality in 1857, he partially opened this mound,
finding masses of burned earth and charred human bones mingled with
charcoal and ashes. At his visit in 1882, on behalf of the Bureau, a
further examination revealed, on the lower side, the end of a double
line of flat stones set on edge, about a foot apart at the bottom and
leaned so as to meet at the top and form a roof-shaped flue or drain.
Following this up, he found that it extended inward nearly on a level,
almost to the center of the mound, at which point it was nearly 3 feet
below the original surface of the ground. Here a skeleton was discovered
stretched horizontally in a vault or grave which had been dug in the
ground before the mound was cast up. Over that portion below the waist
(including the right arm) were placed flat stones so arranged as to
support one another and prevent pressure on the body, but no traces of
fire were on them; yet, when the upper portions of the body were
reached, they were found so burned and charred as to be scarcely
traceable amid the charcoal and ashes that surrounded them.
It was apparent that a grave had first been dug, then the right arm had
been dislocated and placed by the side of the skeleton below the waist,
and this part covered with stones as described, and then the remainder
burned by a fire kindled over it.
A section of the mound showing the grave and stone drain is given in
Fig. 10, in which 1 is the outline of the mound on the hill slope; 2,
the pit; and 3, the stones of the drain.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Section of mound 4, East Dubuque, Illinois.]
No. 13 was found to contain a circle or enclosure, 10 feet in diameter,
of stone slabs set on edge at the natural surface of the ground. Within
this circle, but some 2 feet below the surface, were five skeletons: two
adults, two children, and one infant. They were all lying horizontally,
side by side, with heads south, the adults at the outside and the
children between them.
We are reminded by the mode of burial in this case of that in the mound
opened by Dr. Lapham at Waukesha, Wisconsin, before referred to. In that
the remains of a single individual were discovered, but in this it would
seem that the skeletons of an entire family, gathered from their
temporary resting places, had been carefully buried side by side, a
silent testimonial to parental love and affection of friends among the
mound-builders.
No. 1, 6 feet high and 45 feet in diameter, was found to be an ossuary.
Beneath the top layer was an arched stratum of clay and ashes mixed, so
firm and hard as to retain its form unsupported over a space of several
feet. This covered a confused heap of human bones, many of which were
badly decayed.
The marked feature of the group was found in No. 16, a remarkably
symmetrical mound 65 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. After passing
downward 6 feet, mostly through a hard gray layer, a vault partly of
timber and partly of stone was reached. A vertical section of the mound
and vault is shown in Fig. 11, and the ground plan of the vault in Fig.
12.
This vault or crypt was found to be rectangular in form, inside
measurements showing it to be 13 feet long and 7 feet wide, surrounded
by a sandstone wall 3 feet high. Three feet from each end was a
crosswall or partition of like character, thus forming a main central
chamber 7 feet square, and a narrow chamber or cell at each end
something over 2 feet wide and 7 feet long. The whole had been
completely covered with a layer of logs from 6 to 12 inches in diameter,
their ends reaching slightly beyond the side walls in the manner shown
in Fig. 12.
[Illustration: PL. III. GROUP OF MOUNDS AND VERTICAL SECTION OF BLUFF,
EAST DUBUQUE, ILL.]
In the center chamber were found eleven skeletons: six adults and five
children of different ages, including one infant, the latter evidently
buried in the arms of one of the adults, possibly its mother. Apparently
they had all been buried at one time, arranged in a circle, in a
squatting or sitting posture, against the walls. In the center of the
space around which they were grouped was a fine specimen of _Busycon
perversum_, which had been converted into a drinking-cup by removing the
columella. Here were also numerous fragments of pottery.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Section of mound 16 (Pl. III) showing vault.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Plan of vault, mound 16 (Pl. III).]
The end cells, walled off from the main portion, as heretofore stated,
were found nearly filled with a very fine chocolate-colored dust, which
gave out such a sickening odor that the workmen were compelled to stop
operations for the day in order to allow it to escape.
The covering of the vault was of oak logs, most of which had been peeled
and some of the larger ones somewhat squared by slabbing off the sides;
and the slabs and bark thus removed, together with reeds or large grass
stems, had been laid over them. Over the whole was spread layer after
layer of mortar containing lime, each succeeding layer harder and
thicker than that which preceded it, a foot or so of ordinary soil
completing the mound.
As there can be scarcely a doubt that the mounds of this group were
built by one tribe, we have here additional evidence that the same
people were accustomed to bury their dead in various ways. Some of the
skeletons are found lying horizontally side by side, others are placed
in a circle in a sitting or squatting posture, while in another mound we
find the dismembered bones heaped in a confused mass. In one place is a
single huge frame decked with the ornaments of savage life, while in
other places we see the members of a family lying side by side, and in
others the bones, possibly of the ordinary people, heaped together in a
common ossuary.
The timber-covered vault in mound No. 16 calls to mind very vividly the
similar vaults mentioned by Squier and Davis,[20] found in the valley of
the Scioto in Ohio. In the latter the walls as well as the covering were
of logs, instead of stone, but the adaptation to circumstances may,
perhaps, form a sufficient explanation of this difference. While there
are several very marked distinctions between the Ohio works and those of
the district now under consideration, there are also some resemblances,
as we shall see as we proceed, which cannot be overlooked, and which
seem to indicate relationship, contact, or intercourse between the
people who were the authors of these different structures.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Pipe from Illinois mound. (After Smithsonian
Report.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Pipe from Illinois mound, 1/2. (After
Smithsonian Report.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Pipe from Illinois mound, 1/2. (After
Smithsonian Report.)]
In additional support of this view, I call attention to the carved pipes
found by members of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, in the
mounds near Davenport, Iowa, already referred to, which are represented
on Plates IV and XXXIV of Vol. I of the Proceedings of that society,
and to others obtained by Judge J. G. Henderson from some mounds near
Naples, Illinois, and described in the Smithsonian Report for 1882. The
latter are shown in Figs. 13, 14, and 15. The relation of these to the
pipes found in the Ohio works by Squier and Davis is too apparent to be
attributed to accident, and forces us to the conclusion that there was
intercourse of some kind between the two peoples, and hence that the
works of the two localities are relatively of the same age.
The mode of burial in one of the mounds near Naples is so suggestive in
this connection that I quote here Judge Henderson's description:
The oval mound No. 1 was explored in April, 1881, by beginning
a trench at the north end and carrying it to the original
surface and through to the south end. Lateral trenches were
opened at intervals, and from these and the main one a complete
exploration was made by tunneling.
Near the center of the mound a single skeleton was found in a
sitting position, and no objects were about it except a single
sea-shell resting on the earth _just over the head_, and a
number of the bone awls, already described, _sticking in the
sand around the skeleton_. The individual had been seated upon
the sand, these awls stuck around him in a circle 4 or 5 inches
in the sand, and the work of carrying dirt begun.
When the mound had been elevated about 6 inches above the head
the shell was laid on and the work continued.
The shell alluded to is a fine specimen of _Busycon perversum_, with the
columella removed in order to form a drinking cup.
The particular point to which I call attention is this: In Plate XI,
Part II of De Bry,[21] which is reproduced in the annexed Plate IV, is
represented a very small mound, on the top of which is a large shell,
and about the base a circle of arrows sticking in the ground. The
artist, Le Moyne de Morgues, remarks, in reference to it, "Sometimes the
deceased king of this province is buried with great solemnity, and his
great cup from which he was accustomed to drink is placed on a tumulus
with many arrows set about it." The tumulus in this case is evidently
very small, and, as remarked by Dr. Brinton,[22] "scarcely rises to the
dignity of a mound." Yet it will correspond in size with what the Naples
mound was when the shell was placed upon it; nevertheless the latter,
when completed, formed an oval tumulus 132 feet long, 98 feet wide, and
10 feet high.
It is therefore quite probable that Le Moyne figures the mound at the
time it reached the point where the shell cup was to be deposited, when,
in all likelihood, certain ceremonies were to be observed and a pause in
the work occurred. Whether this suggestion be correct or not, the cut
and the statement of Judge Henderson furnish some evidence in regard to
the presence of these articles in the mounds, and point to the people by
whom they were placed there.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Group of mounds and hut-rings, Brown County,
Illinois.]
[Illustration: PL. IV. A MOUND, FROM DE BRY.]
Colonel Norris opened a number of the ordinary small burial mounds found
on the bluffs and higher grounds of Pike and Brown Counties, Illinois,
which were found to be constructed in the usual method of this district;
that is, with a layer of hard, mortar-like substance, or clay and ashes
mixed, covering the skeletons. The positions of the skeletons varied, as
we have seen is the case in other localities. The number of intrusive
burials was unusually large here. In a number of cases where there were
intrusive burials near the surface, no bones, or but the slightest
fragments of the bones of the original burial, could be found, although
there were sure indications that the mounds were built and had
apparently been used for this purpose. These mounds also present
evidence of the intrusion of an element from one people into the country
of another. On the farm of Mr. Edward Welch, Brown County, Illinois, is
the group of mounds shown in Fig. 16. This consists of conical and
pyramidal mounds, and the small earthen rings designated house sites.
The form of the larger mounds is shown in Fig. 17. Although standing on
a bluff some 200 feet above the river bottom, it is evident at the first
glance that these works belong to the southern type and were built by
the people who erected those of the Cahokia group or farther south. No
opportunity was allowed to investigate the burial mounds or house sites,
but slight explorations made in the larger mounds sufficed to reveal the
fire-beds so common in southern mounds, thus confirming the impression
given by their form. It is probable that these mark the point of the
extreme northern extension of the southern mound-building tribes. A
colony, probably from the numerous and strong tribe located on Cahokia
Creek around the giant Monk's mound, pushed its way thus far and formed
a settlement, but, after contending for a time with the hostile tribes
which pressed upon it from the north, was compelled to return towards
the south.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Forms of larger mounds of the group shown in
Fig. 16.]
Passing to the northeastern portion of Missouri, which, as heretofore
stated, we include in the North Mississippi or Illinois district, we
find a material change in the character of the burial mounds, so marked,
in fact, that it is very doubtful whether they should be embraced in the
district named. Although differing in minor particulars, the custom of
inclosing the remains of the dead in some kind of a receptacle of stone,
over which was heaped the earth forming the mound, appears to have
prevailed very generally.
The region has been but partially explored, yet it is probable the
following examples will furnish illustrations of most of the types to be
found in it.
From an article by Messrs. Hardy and Scheetz in the Smithsonian Report
for 1881,[23] we learn the following particulars regarding the burial
mounds of Ralls County:
Occasionally an isolated one is found, but almost invariably they are in
groups of three to ten or more. They are usually placed along the crest
of a ridge, but when in the bottoms or on a level bluff they are in
direct lines or gentle curves. They are very numerous, being found in
almost every bottom and on nearly every bluff. They are usually circular
and from 2 to 12 feet high, and are composed wholly of earth, wholly of
stone, or of the two combined. Where stone was used the plan seems to
have been first to pave the natural surface with flat stones, in one or
two thicknesses, for a foundation. In one case the stones were thrown
together indiscriminately. Human remains are almost invariably found in
them. The bones are generally very much decayed, though each bone is
found almost entire except those of the head. This seems to have always
rested on a stone, and to have been covered by one or more stones, so
that it is always found in a crushed condition. In rare instances stone
implements, pipes, etc., are found in the mounds. The remains found in
tumuli wholly of stone are much more decayed than in those of mixed
material.
One opened by the writers of the article is described by them as
follows:
On the south side of it the bed stone had been formed into a
shallow trough. On removing the flat stones which covered this,
and which showed no action of fire, we found a bed of charcoal
several inches thick, both animal and vegetable, and the
limestone which composed it was burned completely through. Some
fragments of a human femur were found in a calcined state.
There were no indications of fire elsewhere in the mound, but
there were the partial remains of several skeletons, lying in
two layers, with stone and earth between them.
In another, examined by them, fragments of human bones were found so
near the surface as to be reached by the plow; but deeper, on the north
sides, were single skeletons laid at length east and west, and between
them a mass of bones confused as though thrown in indiscriminately. The
diameter of this mound was about 30 feet, height 2-1/2 feet.
In section 24, township 55, range 7, is a small hill, known as "Wilson's
Knob." Its crest, which is about 120 feet long, is completely covered
with stone to the depth of several feet, the pile being about 20 feet
wide. Examination brought to light the fact that this was originally a
row of stone mounds or burial vaults, nine in number, circular in form,
each from eight to nine feet in diameter (inner measure), and contiguous
to one another. Judging from appearances it would seem that each had
been of a conical or dome-like form. They were composed wholly of stone,
and the remains found in them were almost wholly decomposed.
On another ridge the same parties found another row with four stone
mounds similar to those described, except that the cists were square
instead of circular, the sides of the latter being equal to the diameter
of the former. In these only small fragments of bone could be found.
Although Messrs. Hardy and Scheetz evidently considered these stone
structures as receptacles for the dead, and as erected for this purpose,
yet it is possible they may have been intended for some other use.
The mounds of Pike County are chiefly of mixed material similar to those
mentioned,[24] though some of them contain rectangular stone vaults. One
of these vaults, measuring 4 by 5 feet, was found to contain the remains
of eight skeletons. Another, a regular box-shaped cist of stone slabs,
contained nothing save a few cranial bones very much decayed. Another of
large size contained human remains with which were some arrow-heads, a
vessel of clay, and a carved steatite pipe, having upon its front a
figure-head.
I have given these particulars in order to show how closely they agree
with the discoveries made by the Bureau assistant in this region, from
whose notes I take the following description:
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Group of mounds, Clarke County, Missouri.]
Between Fox River and Sugar Creek, in Clarke County, a sharp dividing
ridge about 100 feet high extends in a northerly direction for nearly
two miles from where these streams enter upon the open bottom of the
Mississippi. Scattered irregularly along the crest of this ridge is a
line of circular mounds shown in Fig. 18. These range in size from 15 to
50 feet in diameter and from 2 to 6 feet high, and are circular in form.
In No. 3,[25] diameter 35 feet and height 5 feet, situated in the
central portion, was found a stone coffin or cist 7 feet long and 2 feet
wide, formed of slabs of sandstone in the usual manner. This was covered
first with similar slabs and then the whole incased in a layer of
rougher stones. Over this was a layer of hard earth, which was evidently
in a plastic state when placed there, as it had run into and filled up
the interstices. Above this was a foot or more of yellowish earth,
similar to that forming the ridge. In the coffin was the skeleton of an
adult, lying horizontally on the back, but too far gone to decay to
admit of removal. No specimens of art of any kind were found with it.
No. 4, a trifle smaller than No. 3, was opened by running a trench from
the eastern margin. For a distance of 15 or 16 feet nothing was
encountered except the earth, with which it appeared to be covered to
the depth of 2 feet. Here was found a layer of rough stones covering a
mass of charcoal and ashes with bones intermixed. In fact the
indications leave the impression that one or more persons (or their
bones) had been burned in a fire on the natural surface of the earth
near the center of the mound, the coals and brands of which were then
covered with rough stones thrown in, without any system, to the depth of
3 feet, over a space 10 or 12 feet in diameter, and then covered with
earth. Only fragments of charred human bones, pieces of rude pottery,
and stone chips were found commingled with the charcoal and ashes.
Another group on the farm of Mr. J. N. Boulware, near the line between
Clarke and Lewis counties, was examined by the same party. This group,
which is situated on a bench or terrace from 20 to 40 feet above the
Mississippi bottoms, consists of some 55 or 60 ordinary circular mounds
of comparatively small size.
In one of these, 45 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, were found, near
the top, the fragments of a human skeleton much decayed, and broken
pottery, encircled by a row of flat stones set up edgewise and covered
with others of a similar character. Below these was a layer of very
hard light-colored earth, mixed throughout with fragments of charred
human bones and pottery, charcoal and stone chips.
Another, about 60 feet in diameter, was found to consist (except the top
layer of soil, about 1 foot thick) of hard, dried "mortar" (apparently
clay and ashes mixed), in which fragments of charred human bones, small
rounded pieces of pottery, and stone scrapers were mingled with charcoal
and ashes.
"As all the mounds opened here," remarks the assistant, "presented this
somewhat singular feature, I made a very careful examination of this
mortar-like substance. I found that there were differences between
different portions of the same mound sufficiently marked to trace the
separate masses. This would indicate that the mounds were built by
successive deposits of mortar thus mixed with charred bones, and not in
strata but in masses."
THE OHIO DISTRICT.
This, as before stated, includes Ohio, a portion of eastern Indiana, and
the western part of West Virginia.
As only very limited explorations have been made in the Ohio portion of
this district by the Bureau of Ethnology, I will content myself with a
brief allusion to the observations of others.
The descriptions given by Squier and Davis of the few burial mounds they
explored are too well known to require repeating here. Their conclusion
in regard to them, which has already been alluded to, is stated in
general terms as follows:
Mounds of this class are very numerous. They are generally of
considerable size, varying from 6 to 80 feet in height, but
having an average altitude of from 15 to 20 or 25 feet. They
stand without the walls of enclosures at a distance more or
less remote from them.
Many are isolated, with no other monuments near them; but they
frequently occur in groups, sometimes in close connection with
each other, and exhibiting a dependence which was not without
its meaning. They are destitute of altars, nor do they possess
the regularity which characterizes the "temple mounds." The
usual form is that of a simple cone; sometimes they are
elliptical or pear-shaped. These mounds invariably cover a
skeleton (in very rare instances more than one, as in the case
of the Grave Creek mound), which at the time of interment was
enveloped in bark or coarse matting, or inclosed in a rude
sarcophagus of timber, the traces and in some instances the
very casts of which remain. Occasionally the chamber of the
dead is built of stone, rudely laid up, without cement of any
kind. Burial by fire seems to have been frequently practiced by
the mound-builders. Urn burial also appears to have prevailed
to a considerable extent in the Southern States. With the
skeletons in these mounds are found various remains of art,
comprising ornaments, utensils, and weapons.[26]
For the purpose of conveying to the mind a clear idea of the character
of these mounds, I give here a copy of their figure of one of them (Fig.
19), and also of the wooden vault found in it (Fig. 20). This mound, as
was the case with most of the burial mounds opened by them, although
comparatively large, is without any distinct stratification.
In some cases (see Ancient Monuments, Figs. 52 and 53, p. 164) a layer
of bark was first spread on the natural surface of the ground after it
had been cleared, leveled, and packed; on this the body was laid at full
length. It was then covered with another layer of bark and the mound was
heaped over this.
Although no mounds containing stone sepulchers fell under their notice
during their explorations, they obtained satisfactory evidence that one
within the limits of Chillicothe had been removed, in which a stone
coffin, "corresponding very nearly with the _kistvaen_ of English
antiquarians" was discovered.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Ohio burial mound (after Squier and Davis).]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Wooden vault (after Squier and Davis).]
Some rather singular burial mounds have been described as found in
different parts of this State, but unfortunately the descriptions are
based largely on memory and second-hand statements and hence do not have
that stamp of accuracy and authenticity that is desirable. For example,
a large stone mound, which formerly stood a short distance from Newark,
is described[27] as conical in form, 182 feet in diameter, and from 40
to 50 feet high, composed of stones in their natural shape. This, upon
removal, was found to cover some fifteen or sixteen small earth mounds.
In one of these were found human bones and river shells. In another was
encountered a layer of hard white fire-clay. Two or three feet below
this was a wooden trough. This was overlaid by small logs of wood to
serve as a cover, and in it was found a skeleton, around which appeared
the impression of a coarse cloth. With it were fifteen copper rings and
a "breastplate" of the same metal. The wood of the trough and covering
was in a good state of preservation. The clay which covered it was
impervious both to air and water. The logs which overlaid the wooden
sarcophagus "were so well preserved that the ends showed the axe marks,
and the steepness of the kerf seemed to indicate that some instrument
sharper than the stone axe found throughout the West had been employed
to cut them."
"In another of these mounds a large number of human bones, but no other
relics worthy of note, were found."[28]
In a mound situated in Clear Creek Township, Ashland County, a stone
coffin or cist was discovered, constructed of flat stones set up
edgewise. It contained six or eight skeletons, "neatly cleaned and
packed, in a good state of preservation."[29]
A statement worthy of notice in this connection is made by Mr. H. B.
Case in the Smithsonian Report for 1881.[30] The Delaware Indians
formerly had a village in the northern part of Green Township, Ashland
County, which was still occupied by them when the white settlers reached
there in 1809. An examination of their graves in 1876 brought to light
the fact that in some cases the dead were buried in stone cists; in
others small, round, drift bowlders were placed around the skeletons.
One of the most satisfactory and most important accounts of Ohio burial
mounds will be found in a "Report of Explorations of Mounds in Southern
Ohio," by Prof. E. B. Andrews, published in the Tenth Annual Report of
the Peabody Museum. Speaking of the George Connet mound, in Athens
County, he says:
This is a low mound about 6 feet high with a broad base perhaps
40 feet in diameter. It has for years been plowed over and its
original height has been considerably reduced. My attention was
drawn to this mound by the burnt clay on its top. A trench 5
feet wide was dug through the center. On the east side much
burnt yellow clay was found, while on the west end of the
trench considerable black earth appeared, which I took to be
kitchen refuse.
About 5 feet below the top we came upon large quantities of
charcoal, especially on the western side. Underneath the
charcoal was found a skeleton with the head to the east. The
body had evidently been enclosed in some wooden structure.
First there was a platform of wood placed upon the ground, on
the original level of the plain. On this wooden floor timbers
or logs were placed longitudinally, and over these timbers
there were laid other pieces of wood, forming an enclosed box
or coffin. A part of this wood was only charred, the rest was
burnt to ashes. The middle part of the body was in the hottest
fire and many of the vertebræ, ribs, and other bones were burnt
to a black cinder, and at this point the enclosing timbers were
burnt to ashes. The timbers enclosing the lower extremities
were only charred.
I am led to think that before any fire was kindled a layer of
dirt was thrown over the wooden structure, making a sort of
burial. On this dirt a fire was built, but by some misplacement
of the dirt the fire reached the timbers below, and at such
points as the air could penetrate there was an active
combustion, but at others, where the dirt still remained, there
was only a smothered fire, like that in a charcoal pit. It is
difficult to explain the existence of the charred timbers in
any other way. There must have been other fires than that
immediately around and above the body, and many of them,
because on one side of the mound the clay is burned even to the
top of the mound. In one place, 3 feet above the body, the clay
is vitrified.
It is possible that fires were built at different levels, open
fires, and that most of the ashes were blown away by the winds
which often sweep over the plain. I have stated that there was
first laid down a sort of floor of wood, on which the body was
placed. On the same floor were placed about 500 copper beads,
forming a line almost around the body.
In addition to these copper beads a number of shell beads, and also a
hollow copper implement in the shape of a caulker's chisel, were found.
The copper implement and beads were made of thin sheet-copper which,
Professor Andrews says, had been "hammered out into so smooth and even a
sheet that no traces of the hammer were visible. It would be taken
indeed for rolled sheet copper." Some of the bones were pretty well
preserved.
The professor closes his description with the remark: "The skeleton
undoubtedly belonged to a veritable mound-builder." In this he is
certainly correct, as the mode of burial in this case agrees so exactly
with that observed by Squier and Davis in the larger mounds opened by
them as to leave no doubt that both are to be attributed to one people,
although the mound described by Professor Andrews is probably of much
more recent date than those mentioned by Squier and Davis.
What explanation shall we give of the presence in this work of thin
sheet-copper "hammered out into so smooth and even a sheet that no
traces of the hammer were visible," and that "would be taken for rolled
copper"?
The simple and most natural explanation would be that it was derived
from European traders and early adventurers; and such, I am disposed to
believe, is the correct one. The distinction between the sheets and
ornaments hammered from native copper with the rude implements of the
aborigines, and many specimens made of this smooth sheet-copper found in
mounds, is too apparent to be overlooked. But of this more hereafter, as
I shall have occasion again to refer to the subject.
In another mound, 8 or 9 feet high, in the same county, he found near
the top a considerable bed of kitchen refuse; at the bottom, on the
original surface, ashes and burnt human bones. "These bones," he
remarks, "had evidently been burned before burial, and had been gathered
in miscellaneous confusion and placed in a narrow space 5 or 6 inches
wide and from 2 to 3 feet long. The ashes were doubtless brought with
them, at least there appeared to be no evidences of a local fire in the
reddening or hardening of the clay or in remnants of charcoal."
As bearing upon a suggestion made by Colonel Norris, and previously
referred to,[31] in regard to the probable use of copper beads found
across the limbs of a skeleton, I call attention to another statement of
Professor Andrews. Speaking of the School-house mound he says:
At a point near the northwestern corner of the school-house and
perhaps 15 feet from the center of the mound, there was plowed
up, in extremely hard and dry dirt, a large piece of what I
suppose to have been an ornamented dress. It was covered with
copper beads, which were strung on a buckskin string and placed
on four layers of the same skin. It was found 8 feet below the
original surface of the mound and in extremely hard, dry dirt
which had never been disturbed.
From the figure and the description we can have but little doubt that
this was a buckskin hunting-shirt, which gives support to Colonel
Norris's suggestion.
Recently some interesting burial mounds near Madisonville have been
carefully explored by Dr. C. L. Metz in the interest of the Peabody
Museum. Only partial notices of these explorations, which are not yet
completed, have been published, but we deem these of sufficient
importance in this connection to quote freely from them,[32] so far as
they serve to illustrate the modes of burial and construction of burial
mounds of this region.
Speaking of one of the mounds of a group situated in Anderson Township,
Professor Putnam remarks:
Mound 21 of Group C was about 4 feet high and 50 in diameter.
It proved to be made entirely of the sandy loam of the
immediate vicinity. The remains of five skeletons were
discovered at different points in the lower portion of the
mound. The bones were nearly all reduced to dust, and only a
fragment here and there could be saved. There was not a single
relic found with the skeletons, and a few flint chips and a
broken arrow-head were the only artificial objects found in the
earth composing the mound. The condition of the bones showed
considerable antiquity, but their advanced decay and friability
were probably largely due to the character of the soil in which
they were enclosed. The position of the skeletons rather goes
to show that the several bodies were buried at different times,
and that the mound was gradually constructed as the burials
took place. For the present we are inclined to consider this
mound, with some others in the valley, as a place of sepulcher
by tribes of a more recent time than the builders of the
earthworks of the Turner group.
Mound No. 22 proved to be of a more interesting character than
the last. This mound was 14 feet high and about 100 in
diameter. It was composed of pure clay, except in the central
portion. Five feet from the top there was found a hard mass of
burnt earth and ashes, 7 feet deep and a little over 9 feet in
width and length. Resting on top of this, about in the center,
and covered in part by the overlying clay, lay a large stone
celt. A foot below this, in the burnt material, was a stone
implement perforated at its upper end. Below this, at points
several feet apart, in the burnt mass, were three holes or
pockets, each of which contained the remains of portions of
human skeletons, surrounded by a thin layer of clay. Near the
bones in the lowest pocket were three spear-heads or chipped
points. A few potsherds and several flint chips were found
throughout the burnt mass. Under it was a circular bed of black
soil and ashes, 13 inches thick in the center and 14 feet in
diameter, beneath which was a layer of fine sand and gravel, 3
inches thick, which covered another circular bed of black soil
and ashes, 14 inches thick in the center and 15 feet in
diameter. Directly under the center of this lower layer was a
pit 4 feet deep and 10 feet 4 inches long, 4 feet wide at the
ends and 3 feet 5 inches wide at the center. This pit probably
had contained a wooden structure, as its sides showed rough
striations, as if large logs had once rested against them. The
pit had been dug in the drift gravel upon which the mound was
built, and was nearly filled with soft, spongy ashes mixed with
a reddish substance. Extended at full length at the bottom of
the pit was a human skeleton, with the head to the west. Among
the bones of the neck a single shell bead was found; at the
feet were ten stones or small bowlders, such as are common in
the drift gravel. It is evident that this interesting tumulus
was erected over the grave which was dug in the underlying
gravel, and that the human bones placed in the burnt mass above
the grave, with the few stone implements found in or on the
mass, had some connection with the funeral ceremonies which
took place in connection with the burial of the body in the pit
below. The regularity of the deposits over the pit, which was
under the center of the mound, seems to be sufficient proof of
this.
Another mound, nearer the river, situated on an elevated portion of
bottom land, was found to differ in construction from any of the others
explored in this vicinity. This is described as follows:[33]
According to Mr. William Edwards, sixty years ago it was about 9
feet high, and covered by a heavy forest growth, which also
extended over the region about. Over fifty years ago the land was
cleared and the mound scraped down by Mr. Edwards, who, after
removing about 4 feet of earth from its summit, came to a large
quantity of stones, with which were many human bones. Since that
time the mound has been plowed over and stones have been taken from
it until it has been so nearly leveled as hardly to be noticed.
Thus only the base of the mound could be explored; but that has
proved of great interest in connection with the other works of the
valley. On removing the earth around the base it was found that
stones, many of considerable size, had been so arranged as to form
a mound about 5 feet high in the center and 90 feet in diameter,
over which the earth had been placed to the height of about 4 feet,
as stated by Mr. Edwards. In height about one-half of the stone
portion of the mound was undisturbed. On removing the outer
covering of stones it was found that many burials, probably at
least one hundred, had been made in the mound. The remains of
seventy-one skeletons were obtained. These skeletons were all more
or less crushed by the stones which surrounded them, as, in
addition to the outer stones of the mound, each body had been
surrounded with stones at the time of its burial. In many instances
large slabs of limestone had been used, and in a few cases they
were set on edge around the body. In other cases small stones had
been piled around and over the bodies, which had been placed in
various positions, some extended and others flexed in various ways.
With many of the skeletons were stone implements and ornaments,
among which were several of the flat stones with two or more
perforations, generally known as gorgets. There were also many bone
implements, shell and bone ornaments, and cut teeth of bears.
Several small copper awls in bone handles, and the shells of
box-turtles, were also found with the skeletons. Many fragments of
pottery and broken bones of animals were scattered through the mass
of stones and human bones. At the feet of the skeleton, in the
center of the mound, there was an upright slab of limestone 2 feet
long by 20 inches wide, and with this skeleton were the following
objects: Resting on the chest was a large ornament made from the
apex of a conch shell, with a hole at one edge for suspension;
below this, on the ribs, was a spear-shaped gorget, with one hole,
and by its side were several shell ornaments, also perforated.
Lying near the right femur and parallel with it was a carved bone,
grooved on the under side and having two holes; between this and
the leg bone were four small pieces of carved bone about an inch in
length. In the bones of the right hand was a small awl made of
native copper and inserted in a little round handle made of bone,
similar to others found with other skeletons in the mound. At the
south side of the mound, on the original surface, was a burnt
space, on which was a large quantity, several bushels, of broken
bones of animals, clam shells, and fragments of pottery mixed with
ashes. This mass seems to have existed before the mound was made,
or at all events completed, as five of the burials had taken place
above it. On the plain about the mound are evidences of the site of
a former village, and the annual plowing brings to light many
animal remains, fragments of pottery, and stone implements of the
same character as those from, the mound. From this fact, and from
the character of the burials in the mound, as well as that of the
objects found with the skeletons, and from the absence of the
characteristic ornaments found with so many of the human remains in
the Turner group and other ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley, we
are led to look upon this stone mound as the burial place of a
tribe of Indians living in the region subsequent to the builders of
the Turner mounds. The remains found in this stone mound, as a
whole, indicate that the people here buried were closely connected
with those who made the singular ash-pits in the ancient cemetery
near Madisonville.[34]
Passing into West Virginia we notice first the celebrated Grave Greek
mound. This has been described and figured so often that it is
unnecessary for me to do more than call attention to certain particulars
in regard to it to which I may desire hereafter to refer by way of
comparison. It is in the form of a regular cone, about 70 feet high and
nearly 300 feet in diameter at the base. A shaft sunk from the apex to
the base disclosed two wooden vaults, the first about half way down and
the other at the bottom. In the first or upper one was a single
skeleton, decorated with a profusion of shell beads, copper bracelets,
and plates of mica. The lower vault, which was partly in an excavation
made in the natural ground, was found to be rectangular, 12 by 8 feet
and 7 feet high. Along each side and across the ends upright timbers had
been placed, which supported other timbers thrown across the vault as a
covering. These were covered with a layer of rough stones. In this vault
were two human skeletons, one of which had no ornaments, while the other
was surrounded with hundreds of shell beads. In attempting to enlarge
this vault the workmen discovered around it ten other skeletons. While
carrying the horizontal tunnel, several masses of charcoal and burnt
bones were encountered after a distance of 12 or 15 feet had been
reached.
Before making any comments on the construction of this noted work and
the mode of burial in it, I will present some facts recently brought to
light in regard to the burial mounds of the Kanawha Valley by the
assistants of the Bureau.
A large mound situated on the farm of Col. B. H. Smith, near Charleston,
is conical in form, about 175 feet in diameter at the base and 35 feet
high. It appears to be double; that is to say, it consists of two
mounds, one built on the other, the lower or original one 20 feet and
the upper 15 feet high.
The exploration was made by sinking a shaft, 12 feet square at the top
and narrowing gradually to 6 feet square at the bottom, down through the
center of the structure to the original surface of the ground and a
short distance below it. After removing a slight covering of earth, an
irregular mass of large, rough, flat sandstones, evidently brought from
the bluffs half a mile distant, was encountered. Some of these
sandstones were a good load for two ordinary men.
The removal of a wagon load or so of these stones brought to light a
stone vault 7 feet long and 4 feet deep, in the bottom of which was
found a large and much decayed human skeleton, but wanting the head,
which the most careful examination failed to discover. A single rough
spearhead was the only accompanying article found in this vault. At the
depth of 6 feet, in earth similar to that around the base of the mound,
was found a second skeleton, also much decayed, of an adult of ordinary
size. At 9 feet a third skeleton was encountered, in a mass of loose,
dry earth, surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. This was in a
much, better state of preservation than the other two. The skull, which
was preserved, is of the compressed or "flat-head" type.
For some 3 or 4 feet below this the earth was found to be mixed with
ashes. At this depth in his downward progress Colonel Norris began to
encounter the remains of what further excavation showed to have been a
timber vault, about 12 feet square and 7 or 8 feet high. From the
condition in which the remains of the cover were found, he concludes
that this must have been roof-shaped, and, having become decayed, was
crushed in by the weight of the addition made to the mound. Some of the
walnut timbers of this vault were as much as 12 inches in diameter.
In this vault were found five skeletons, one lying prostrate on the
floor at the depth of 19 feet from the top of the mound, and four
others, which, from the positions in which they were found, were
supposed to have been placed standing in the four corners. The first of
these was discovered at the depth of 14 feet, amid a commingled mass of
earth and decaying bark and timbers, nearly erect, leaning against the
wall, and surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. All the bones
except those of the left forearm were too far decayed to be saved; these
were preserved by two heavy copper bracelets which yet surrounded them.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Copper gorget from mound, Kanawha County, West
Virginia.]
The skeleton found lying in the middle of the floor of the vault was of
unusually large size, "measuring 7 feet 6 inches in length and 19 inches
between the shoulder sockets." It had also been inclosed in a wrapping
or coffin of bark, remains of which were still distinctly visible. It
lay upon the back, head east, legs together, and arms by the sides.
There were six heavy bracelets on each wrist; four others were found
under the head, which, together with a spear-point of black flint, were
incased in a mass of mortar-like substance, which had evidently been
wrapped in some textile fabric. On the breast was a copper gorget (Fig.
21). In each hand were three spear-heads of black flint, and others
were about the head, knees, and feet. Near the right hand were two
hematite celts, and on the shoulder were three large and thick plates of
mica. About the shoulders, waist, and thighs were numerous minute
perforated shells and shell beads.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Pipe from mound, Kanawha County, West
Virginia.]
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Pipe from mound, Butler County, Ohio.]
While filling in the excavation, the pipe represented in Fig. 22 was
found in the dirt which had been removed from it. This pipe has been
carved out of gray steatite and highly polished. It is worthy of note
that it is precisely of the form described by Adair as made by the
Cherokees, and also that it approaches very near to an Ohio type (Fig.
23).
Another mound of rather large size, in the same locality, was opened by
the Bureau assistant.
In order that all the facts bearing on its uses may be understood it is
necessary to notice its immediate surroundings.
Plate V is a map showing the ancient works in the valley of the Kanawha,
from 3 to 5 miles below Charleston, and Plate VI is an enlarged plat of
the area embracing those numbered I, II and 1, 3, and 4 on the map. As
will be seen by an inspection of the latter plate, the works included
are two circular enclosures, 1 and 2; one excavation; one included
mound, 2; three mounds, 3, 1, and 4, outside of the enclosures; and a
graded way. As our attention at present is directed only to the large
mound, 1, it is unnecessary to notice the other works further than to
add that each enclosure is about 220 feet in diameter, and consists of a
circular wall and an inside ditch. The excavation is nearly circular and
about 140 feet in diameter. The large mound is conical in form, 173 feet
in diameter, and 33 feet high. It is slightly truncated, the top having
been leveled off some forty years ago for the purpose of building a
judge's stand in connection with a race-course that was laid out around
the mound.
A shaft 12 feet square at the top and narrowing downward was sunk to the
base. At the depth of 4 feet, in a very hard bed of earth and ashes
mixed, were found two much decayed human skeletons, both stretched
horizontally on their backs, heads south, and near their heads several
stone implements. From this point until a depth of 24 feet was reached
the shaft passed through very hard earth of a light-gray color,
apparently clay and ashes mixed, in which nothing of consequence was
found. When a depth of 24 feet was reached the material suddenly changed
to a much softer and darker earth, disclosing the casts and some decayed
fragments of timbers from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. Here were found
fragments of bark, ashes, and also numerous fragments of animal bones,
some of which had been split lengthwise. At the depth of 31 feet was a
human skeleton, lying prostrate, head north, which had evidently been
enclosed in a coffin or wrapping of elm bark. In contact with the head
was a thin sheet of hammered native copper. By enlarging the base of the
shaft until a space some 16 feet in diameter was opened, the character
and the contents of the base of the mound were more fully ascertained.
This brought to light the fact that the builders, after having first
smoothed, leveled, and packed the natural surface, carefully spread upon
the floor a layer of bark (chiefly elm), the inner side up, and upon
this a layer of fine white ashes, clear of charcoal, to the depth,
probably, of 5 or 6 inches, though pressed now to little more than 1
inch. On this the bodies were laid and presumably covered with bark.
The enlargement of the shaft also brought to view ten other skeletons,
all apparently adults, five on one side and five on the other side of
the central skeleton, and, like it, extended horizontally, with their
feet pointing toward the central one but not quite touching it. Like the
first, they had all been buried in bark coffins or wrappings. With each
skeleton on the east side was a fine, apparently unused lance-head about
3 inches long, and by the right side of the northern one a fish-dart,
three arrow-heads, and some fragments of _Unio_ shells and pottery. No
implements or ornaments were found with either of the five skeletons on
the west side, although careful search was made therefor. In addition to
the copper plate, a few shell beads and a large lance-head were found
with the central skeleton. As there were a number of holes resembling
post-holes, about the base, which were filled with rotten bark and
decayed vegetable matter, I am inclined to believe there was a vault
here similar to the lower vault in the Grave Creek mound, in which the
walls were of timbers set up endwise in the ground. But it is proper to
state that the assistant who opened the mound is rather disposed to
doubt the correctness of this explanation.
In order to show the character of the smaller burial mounds of this
region, I give descriptions of a few opened by Colonel Norris.
[Illustration: PL. V. PLAT OF ANCIENT WORKS, KANAWHA COUNTY, W. VA.]
One 20 feet in diameter and 7 feet high, with a beech tree 30 inches in
diameter growing on it, was opened by running a broad trench through it.
The material of which it was composed was yellow clay, evidently from an
excavation in the hillside near it. Stretched horizontally on the
natural surface of the ground, faces up and heads south, were seven
skeletons, six adults and one child, all charred. They were covered
several inches thick with ashes, charcoal, and fire-brands, evidently
the remains of a very heavy fire which must have been smothered before
it was fully burned out. Three coarse lance-heads were found among the
bones of the adults, and around the neck of the child three copper
beads, apparently of hammered native copper.
Another mound, 50 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, standing guard, as
it were, at the entrance of an inclosure, was opened, revealing the
following particulars: The top was strewn with fragments of flat rocks,
most of which were marked with one or more small, artificial, cup-shaped
depressions. Below these, to the depth, of 2 or 3 feet, the hard yellow
clay was mixed throughout with similar stones, charcoal, ashes, stone
chips, and fragments of rude pottery. Near the center and 3 feet from
the top of the mound were the much decayed remains of a human skeleton,
lying on its back, in a very rude stone-slab coffin. Beneath this were
other flat stones, and under them charcoal, ashes, and baked earth,
covering the decayed bones of some three or four skeletons which lay
upon the original surface of the ground. So far as could be ascertained,
the skeletons in this mound lay with their heads toward the east. No
relics of any kind worthy of notice were found with them.
Another mound of similar size, upon a dry terrace, was found to consist
chiefly of very hard clay, scattered through which were stone chips and
fragments of rude pottery. Near the natural surface of the ground a
layer of ashes and charcoal was encountered, in which were found the
remains of at least two skeletons.
A mound some 200 yards south of the inclosure, situated on a slope and
measuring 50 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height, gave a somewhat
different result. It consisted wholly of very hard clay down to the
natural surface of the hill-slope. But further excavation revealed a
vault or pit in the original earth 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet
deep at the upper end. In this was found a decayed skeleton, with the
head up hill or toward the north. Upon the breast was a sandstone
gorget, and upon it a leaf-shaped knife of black flint and a neatly
polished hematite celt. The bones of the right arm were found stretched
out at right angles to the body, along a line of ashes. Upon the bones
of the open hand were three piles (five in each) of small leaf-shaped
flint knives.
As the four small mounds just mentioned pertain to the Clifton groups,
in the Elk River Valley, we will call attention to one or two of the
Charleston group, for the purpose of affording the reader the means of
comparison.
Below the center of No. 7 (see Plate), sunk into the original earth, was
a vault about 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. Lying extended
on the back in the bottom of this, amid the rotten fragments of a bark
coffin, was a decayed human skeleton, fully 7 feet long, with head west.
No evidence of fire was to be seen, nor were any stone implements
discovered, but lying in a circle just above the hips were fifty
circular pieces of white perforated shell, each about 1 inch in diameter
and an eighth of an inch thick. The bones of the left arm lay by the
side of the body, but those of the right arm, as in one of the mounds
heretofore mentioned, were stretched at right angles to the body,
reaching out to a small oven-shaped vault, the mortar or cement roof of
which was still unbroken. The capacity of this small circular vault was
probably two bushels, and the peculiar appearance of the dark-colored
deposit therein, and other indications, led to the belief that it had
been filled with corn (maize) in the ear. The absence of weapons would
indicate that the individual buried here was not a warrior, though a
person of some importance.
Mound No. 23 of this group presents some peculiarities worthy of notice.
It is 312 feet in circumference at the base and 25 feet high, covered
with a second growth of timber, some of the stumps of the former growth
yet remaining. It is unusually sharp and symmetrical. From the top down
the material was found to be a light-gray and apparently mixed earth, so
hard as to require the vigorous use of the pick to penetrate it. At the
depth of 15 feet the explorers began to find the casts and fragments of
poles or round timbers less than a foot in diameter. These casts and
rotten remains of wood and bark increased in abundance from this point
until the original surface of the ground was reached. By enlarging the
lower end of the shaft to 14 feet in diameter it was ascertained that
this rotten wood and bark were the remains of what had once been a
circular or polygonal, timber-sided, and conical-roofed vault. Many of
the timbers of the sides and roof, being considerably longer than
necessary, had been allowed to extend beyond the points of support often
8 or 10 feet, those on the sides beyond the crossing and those of the
roof downward beyond the wall. Upon the floor and amid the remains of
the timber were numerous human bones and also two whole skeletons, the
latter but slightly decayed, though badly crushed by the weight pressing
on them, but unaccompanied by an ornament or an implement of any kind. A
further excavation of about 4 feet below the floor, or what was supposed
to be the floor, of this vault, and below the original surface of the
ground, brought to light six circular, oven-shaped vaults, each about 3
feet in diameter and the same in depth. As these six were so placed as
to form a semicircle, it is presumed there are others under that portion
of the mound not reached by the excavation. All were filled with dry,
dark dust or decayed substances, supposed to be the remains of Indian
corn in the ear, as it was similar to that heretofore mentioned. In the
center of the circle indicated by the positions of these minor vaults,
and the supposed center of the base of the mound (the shaft not being
exactly central), and but 2 feet below the floor of the main vault, and
in a fine mortar or cement, were found two cavities resembling in form
the bottle or gourd shaped vessel so frequently met with in the mounds
of southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. Unfortunately the
further investigation of this work was stopped at this stage of progress
by cold weather.
In another mound of this group the burial was in a box-shaped stone
vault, not of slabs in the usual method, but built up of rough, angular
stones.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Mound with so-called "altar," Kanawha County,
West Virginia.]
Mound 31 of this group seems to furnish a connecting link between the
West Virginia and the Ohio mounds. It is sharp in outline, has a steep
slope, and is flattened on the top; is 318 feet in circumference at the
base and about 25 feet high. It was opened by digging a shaft 10 feet in
diameter from the center of the top to the base. After passing through
the top layer of surface soil, some 2 feet thick, a layer of clay and
ashes 1 foot thick was encountered. Here, near the center of the shaft,
were two skeletons, lying horizontally, one immediately over the other,
the upper and larger one with the face down and the lower with the face
up. There were no indications of fire about them. Immediately over the
heads were one celt and three lance-heads. At the depth of 13 feet and a
little north of the center of the mound were two very large skeletons,
in a sitting posture, with their extended legs interlocked to the knees.
Their arms were extended and their hands slightly elevated, as if
together holding up a sandstone mortar which was between their faces.
This stone is somewhat hemispherical, about 2 feet in diameter across
the top, which is hollowed in the shape of a shallow basin or mortar. It
had been subjected to the action of fire until burned to a bright red.
The cavity was filled with white ashes, containing small fragments of
bones burned to cinders. Immediately over this, and of sufficient size
to cover it, was a slab of bluish-gray limestone about 3 inches thick,
which had small cup-shaped excavations on the under side. This bore no
marks of fire. Near the hands of the eastern skeleton were a small
hematite celt and a lance-head, and upon the left wrist of the other two
copper bracelets. At the depth of 25 feet, and on the natural surface,
was found what in an Ohio mound would have been designated an "altar."
This was not thoroughly traced throughout, but was about 12 feet long
and over 8 feet wide, of the form shown in Fig. 24.
It consisted of a layer of well-prepared mortar, apparently clay,
slightly mixed with ashes. This was not more than 6 or 8 inches thick in
the center of the basin-shaped depression, where it was about 1 foot
lower than at the other margin. It was burned to a brick-red and covered
with a compact layer of very fine white ashes, scattered thickly,
through which were small water-worn bowlders, bearing evidences of
having undergone an intense heat. Mingled with this mass were a few
thoroughly charred human bones. The material of the shaft, after the
first 3 feet at the top, consisted almost wholly of finely packed ashes,
which appeared to have been deposited at intervals of considerable
length and not at one time.
It is evident from this description, which is abridged from the report
of the assistant, that we have here a true representation of the
so-called "altars" of the Ohio mounds. But, contrary to the usual
custom, as shown by an examination of the Ohio works, this mound appears
to have been used by the people who erected it as a burial place, for
the mode of construction and the material used for the body of it forbid
the supposition that the lower burial was by a different people from
those who formed the clay structure at the base.
It is proper to state that around and near the inclosure (No. 7 of Plate
V) were a number of stone graves of the ordinary box shape, constructed
in the usual way, of stone slabs.
At this place was also discovered a pit or cache resembling those found
at Madisonville, Ohio. A more thorough examination will probably bring
to light others.
The descriptions of other burial mounds of this region, differing
slightly in minor details from those mentioned, might be presented, but
the foregoing will suffice to give the types and show the character of
the structures of this kind in this section. The details given will, I
think, satisfy any one that the authors of these structures were also
the authors of the Ohio works, or that they belonged to tribes so
closely related that we may justly consider them as one people.
I have been and am still disposed to connect the mound-builders of the
Kanawha valley with those of western North Carolina, but our
explorations in the two sections have convinced me of their close
relation to the people whose mysterious monuments dot the hills and
valleys of Ohio. That they were related in some way to the
mound-builders of North Carolina and East Tennessee is more than
probable, but the key to unlock this mystery, if it exists anywhere, is
most likely to be found in the history, traditions, and works of the
Cherokees, and the traditions relating to the Tallegwi.
As a result of my examination and discussion of the burial mounds of
Wisconsin, I reached the conclusion that they were built by the Indian
tribes found inhabiting that section at the advent of the whites, or by
their ancestors. The data, of which but a comparatively small portion
is given, seem to justify this conclusion. But the case is somewhat
different in reference to the works of the Ohio district. Although the
data obtained here point with satisfactory certainty to the conclusion
that Indians were the authors of these works, it cannot be claimed that
all or even the larger portion of them were built by Indians inhabiting
the district when first visited by the whites, or by their ancestors.
[Illustration: PL. VI. ENLARGED PLAN OF PART OF THE WORKS SHOWN IN PL.
V.]
Hence the mystery which enshrouds them is deeper and much more difficult
to penetrate than that which hangs about the antiquities of some of the
other districts; in fact, they present probably the most difficult
problem for solution in this respect of any ancient works of our
country. That some of the burial mounds, graves, and other works are to
be attributed to Indians who entered this district after the Europeans
had planted colonies in Canada and along the Atlantic coast is probably
true, but that much the greater portion of the typical works belong to a
more distant period must be conceded. It is a singular fact that in the
latter half of the seventeenth century, when European explorers began to
penetrate into this region, what is now the State of Ohio was
uninhabited.
The Miami confederacy, inhabiting the southern shore of Lake
Michigan, extended southeasterly to the Wabash. The Illinois
confederacy extended down the eastern shore of the Mississippi
to about where Memphis now stands. The Cherokees occupied the
slopes and valleys of the mountains about the borders of what
is now East Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. The great
basin bounded north by Lake Erie, the Miamis, and the Illinois,
west by the Mississippi, east by the Alleghanies, and south by
the headwaters of the streams that flow into the Gulf of
Mexico, seems to have been uninhabited except by bands of
Shawnees, and scarcely visited except by war parties of the
Five Nations.[35]
With the exception of some slight notices of the Erie or Cat Nation
dwelling south of Lake Erie, the mere mention of the Tongarias (possibly
but another name for the Eries, with whom Colden identifies them),
located somewhere on the Ohio, and the tradition regarding the Tallegwi,
the only history which remains to us regarding this region previous to
the close of the seventeenth century, is to be gathered from the ancient
monuments which dot its surface. Even conjecture can find but few
pointers on this desert field to give direction to its flight. But it
does not necessarily follow, because we are unable to determine the
direction in which the goal we are seeking lies, that we cannot tell
some of the directions in which it does not lie, and thus narrow the
field of our investigation. I will therefore venture to offer the
following suggestions:
As the evidence in regard to the antiquities of the northwestern, the
southern, and the Appalachian districts points so decidedly to the
Indians as the authors, I think we may assume that the works of Ohio are
attributable to the same race. As they bear a strong resemblance in
several respects to the West Virginia and North Carolina works, and as
the geographical positions of the defensive works indicate pressure
from the north and north-west, we are perhaps justified in excluding
from consideration all tribes known to have had their principal seats
north of the Ohio in historic times, except the Eries, which form an
uncertain and so far indeterminable factor in the problem.
The data so far obtained seem to me to indicate the following as the
most promising lines of research: The possible identity or relation of
the Tallegwi and the Cherokees; the possibility of this region having
been the ancient home of the Shawnees or their ancestors (though I
believe the testimony of the mounds is most decidedly against this and
the following supposition); and the theory that the builders of these
works were driven southward and were merged into the Chahta-Muscogee
family.
Be our conclusion on this question what it may, one important result of
the explorations in this northern section of the United States is the
conviction that there was during the mound-building age a powerful tribe
or association of closely allied tribes occupying the valley of the
Ohio, whose chief seats were in the Kanawha, Scioto, and Little Miami
Valleys. We might suppose that one strong tribe had occupied
successively these various points, yet the slight though persistent
differences in methods and customs indicated by the works seem to favor
the other view. Moreover, the data furnished by the burial mounds lead
to the conclusion that all the works of these localities are relatively
contemporaneous. Not that those of either section are all of the same
age, perhaps by some two or three or possibly more centuries, but that
those of one section, as a whole, are relatively of the same age as
those of the other sections. Nevertheless a somewhat careful study of
all the data bearing on this subject leads me to the conclusion that the
Cherokees are the modern representatives of the Tallegwi, and that most
of the typical works of Ohio and West Virginia owe their origin to this
people.
In each section there are some indications that the authors of these
works followed the custom of erecting burial mounds down to the time the
Europeans appeared on the continent. These evidences have not been given
here, as it is not my intention to discuss them in this paper.
In Ohio there are undoubted evidences of one, if not two, waves of
population subsequent to the occupancy of that region by the builders of
the chief works. But these were of comparatively short duration, and
were evidently Indian hordes pressed westward and southward by the
Iroquois tribes and the advance of the whites.
THE APPALACHIAN DISTRICT.
This district, as already defined, includes East Tennessee, western
North Carolina, southwestern Virginia, and the southeastern part of
Kentucky. It is probable that northeastern Georgia and the northwestern
part of South Carolina should be included, but the investigations in
most of the sections named have not been sufficiently thorough to
enable us to fix with any degree of certainty the boundaries of the
district.
Although there is uncertainty in reference to the area occupied by the
people who left behind them the antiquities found in this region, there
can be no doubt that here we find a class of burial mounds differing in
several important respects from any we have so far noticed.
Some of the most important mounds of this class found in this district
were discovered in Caldwell County, North Carolina, and opened in 1882
by Mr. J. P. Rogan, one of the Bureau assistants, aided by Dr. J. M.
Spainhour, a resident of the county.
As Mr. Rogan's descriptions are somewhat full, I give them substantially
as found in his report:
_The T. F. Nelson mound._--This mound, so insignificant in appearance as
scarcely to attract any notice, was located on the farm of Rev. T. F.
Nelson, in Caldwell County, North Carolina, on the bottom land of the
Yadkin, about 100 yards from the river-bank. It was almost a true circle
in outline, 38 feet in diameter, but not exceeding at any point 18
inches in height. The thorough excavation made revealed the fact that
the builders of the mound had first dug a circular pit, with
perpendicular margin, to the depth of 3 feet, and 38 feet in diameter,
then deposited their dead in the manner hereafter shown, and afterwards
covered them over, raising a slight mound above the pit.
A plan of the pit, drawn at the time (after the removal of the dirt),
showing the stone graves and skeletons, is given in Fig. 25.
The walled graves or vaults and altar-shaped mass were built of water
worn bowlders and clay or earth merely sufficient to hold them in place.
No. 1, a stone grave or vault standing exactly in the center of the pit.
In this case a small circular hole, a little over 3 feet in diameter and
extending down 3 feet below the bottom of the large pit, had been dug,
the body or skeleton placed perpendicularly upon its feet, and the wall
built up around it from the bottom of the hole, converging, after a
height of 4 feet was reached, so as to be covered at the top by a single
soapstone rock of moderate size. On the top of the head of the skeleton
and immediately under the capstone of the vault were found several
plates of silver mica, which had evidently been cut with some rude
implement. Although the bones were much decayed, yet they were retained
in position by the dirt which filled the vault, an indication that the
flesh had been removed before burial and the vault filled with dirt as
it was built up.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Appearance of T. F. Nelson mound after
excavation.]
Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, although walled around in a similar
manner, were in a sitting posture on the bottom of the pit. In the grave
of No. 2 was found a polished celt, in that of No. 3 a single discoidal
stone, in that of No. 6 two polished celts, and immediately over No. 9 a
pitted stone.
Nos. 11, 12, and 13 are three skeletons in a squatting posture, with no
wall around them and unaccompanied by relics of any kind.
Nos. 14 and 15 are two uninclosed skeletons, lying horizontally at full
length. With the former some pieces of broken soapstone pipes were
found, and with the latter one polished celt.
No. 16, an uninclosed "squatter," of unusually large size, not less than
7 feet high when living. Near the mouth was an uninjured soapstone pipe.
The legs were extended in a southwest direction, upon a bed of burnt
earth.
The faces of all the squatting skeletons were turned away from the
standing central one.
At A was found a considerable quantity of black paint in little lumps,
which appear to have been molded in the hull of some nut. At B was a
cubical mass of water-worn bowlders, built up solidly and symmetrically,
24 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 18 inches high, but with no bones,
specimens of art, coal, ashes, or indications of fire on or around it.
Many of the stones of the vaults and the earth immediately around them,
on the contrary, bore unmistakable evidences of fire; in fact, the heat
in some cases left its mark on the bones of the inclosed skeletons,
another indication that the flesh had been removed before burial here,
either by previous burial or otherwise.
Scattered through the dirt which filled the pit were small pieces of
pottery and charcoal. The bottom, and sides of the pit were so
distinctly marked that they could be traced without difficulty.
This mound stood about 75 yards south of the triangular burial pit
described below.
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Burials in the T. F. Nelson triangle, Caldwell
County, North Carolina.]
_The T. F. Nelson triangle._--This is the name applied by Mr. Rogan to
an ancient triangular burying ground found on the same farm as the mound
just described and about 75 yards north of it.
It is not a mound, but simply a burial pit in the form of a triangle,
the two longest sides each 48 feet and the (southern) base 32 feet, in
which the bodies and accompanying articles were deposited and then
covered over, but not heaped up into a mound; or, if so, it had
subsequently settled until on a level with the natural surface of the
ground. The apex, which points directly north, was found to extend
within 3 feet of the break of the bank of the Yadkin River, the height
above the usual water-level being about 12 feet. The depth of the
original excavation, the lines of which could be distinctly traced,
varied from 2-1/2 to 3 feet. A rude sketch of this triangle, showing the
relative positions of the skeletons, is given in Fig. 26.
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 indicate the positions of single
skeletons found lying horizontally, on their backs, heads east and
northeast. With No. 2 was found a broken soapstone pipe, and with Nos. 5
and 9 one small polished celt each.
Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 indicate the positions of skeletons
inclosed in rude stone vaults built of cobblestones and similar to those
in the preceding mound. (See Fig. 25.) Nos. 10, 12, 13, and 15 were in a
sitting posture, without any accompanying articles.
Graves 11 and 14 contained each two bodies, extended horizontally, the
lower ones, which were of smaller stature than the upper ones, face up
and with heavy flat stones on the extended arms and legs. The upper
ones, with face down, were resting on those below. No implements or
ornaments were found with them.
Near No. 12 about a peck of singular, pinkish-colored earth was found.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Engraved shell gorget from mound, Caldwell
County, North Carolina.]
In the northwest part of the triangle (at A in Fig. 26) ten or more
skeletons were found in one grave or group, which from the arrangement
the explorers concluded must have been buried at one time; the "old
chief" (?), or principal personage of the group, resting horizontally on
his face, with his head northeast and feet southwest. Under his head was
a large engraved shell gorget (Fig. 27); around his neck were a number
of large-sized shell beads, evidently the remains of a necklace; at the
sides of the head, near the ears, were five elongate copper beads, or
rather small cylinders, varying in length from one and a quarter to four
and a half inches, part of the leather thong on which the smaller were
strung yet remaining in them. These are made of thin pieces of copper
cut into strips and then rolled together so that the edges meet in a
straight joint on one side. (See Fig. 28.) The plate out of which they
were made was as smooth and even in thickness as though it had been
rolled.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Cylindrical copper bead from mound, Caldwell
County, North Carolina.]
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Bracelet of copper and shell beads, Caldwell
County, North Carolina.]
A piece of copper was also under his breast. His arms were partially
extended, his hands resting about a foot from his head. Around each
wrist were the remains of a bracelet composed of copper and shell beads,
alternating, thus (Fig. 29):
[Illustration FIG. 30.--Iron celt from mound, Caldwell County, North
Carolina.]
At his right hand were four iron specimens, much corroded but still
showing the form. Two of them were of uniform thickness, one not
sharpened at the ends or edges, the other slightly sharpened at one end,
3 to 3-1/2 inches long, 1 to 1-1/2 inches broad, and about a quarter of
an inch thick. The form is shown in Fig. 30. Another is 5 inches long,
slightly tapering in width from one and an eighth to seven-eighths of an
inch, both edges sharp; it is apparently part of the blade of a long,
slender, cutting or thrusting weapon of some kind, as a sword, dagger,
or knife. (Shown in Fig. 31.) The other specimen is part of a round,
awl-shaped implement, a small part of the bone handle in which it was
fixed yet remaining attached to it.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Iron implement from mound, Caldwell County,
North Carolina.]
Under his left hand was another engraved shell, the concave surface
upward and filled with shell beads of all sizes.
Around and over the skeleton of this chief personage, with their heads
near his, were nine other skeletons. Under the heads of two of these
were two engraved shells. Scattered over and between the ten skeletons
of the group were numerous polished celts, discoidal stones, copper
arrow-points, plates of mica, lumps of paint, black lead, etc.
_The W. D. Jones mound._--Two miles east of Patterson, same county, and
near the north bank of the Yadkin River, running out from a low ridge to
the river bank, is a natural terrace about 12 feet high, with a level
area on top of about an acre, the sides steep and abrupt. According to
tradition this terrace was formerly occupied by an Indian village.
About 200 yards east of this, on the second river bottom or terrace, was
located a low, circular mound 33 feet in diameter and not more than 1
foot high, on the land of Mr. W. D. Jones.
This mound was found on investigation to cover a circular pit 32 feet in
diameter and 3 feet deep, the margin and bottom being so well defined as
to leave no doubt as to the limits of the pit; in fact, the bottom,
which was of clay, had been baked hard by fire to the depth of 2 or 3
inches. The mound and the filling of the pit consisted of earth and
loose yellow clay, similar to that around it. In this mound were found
twenty-five skeletons and one stone heap, the relative positions of
which are shown in Fig. 32.
1. A "squatter," walled in with water-worn stones, the face turned
toward the west; no relics.
2. Sitting with the face toward the center; two polished celts at the
feet, and immediately in front of the face a cylinder of hard gray
mortar (not burned) about 5 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, with a
hole through one end.
3. Sitting with the face toward the center; several polished celts at
the feet.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--W. D. Jones mound, Caldwell County, North
Carolina.]
4. Horizontal, head southeast; several celts at the feet.
5. Horizontal, head toward the center; several celts at the feet.
6. Facing the center, sitting; shell beads around the neck, a _Unio_
shell on top of the head, with the concave surface down, a conch shell
(_Busycon perversum_) in front of the face, and celts at the feet.
7. Sitting, facing the center; celts at the feet.
8. Very large, lying on the left side, legs partially drawn up, walled
in with bowlders; no implements.
9. Horizontal, face down, head toward the center; celts and discoidal
stones at the feet, and a pot resting, mouth down, upon the head.
10. Horizontal, face up, feet toward the center; pot resting on the
face, stone implements at the feet.
11. Horizontal, head southeast, arms extended, and a bracelet of copper
and shell beads around each wrist; shell beads around the neck; face up
and food-cup (without handle) at the right side of the head.
12. Horizontal, face up, head southeast; shell beads around the neck, a
hook or crescent shaped piece of copper on the breast, and a soapstone
pipe near the face; one hand near each side of the head, each grasping
small, conical copper ornaments (ear-drops) and a bunch of hair. Was
this individual, apparently a female, buried alive?
13. Horizontal, lying on the back, head southeast; copper and shell
beads around the neck and wrists, a hook or crescent shaped piece of
copper on the breast, a food-cup (with handle) lying on its side with
mouth close to the face, a pipe near the mouth, and two celts over the
head.
14. Horizontal, lying on the back, head northeast, arms extended; each
hand resting on a shell which had evidently been engraved, though the
figures are almost totally obliterated.
15. Horizontal, on the back, head west, knees drawn up; stone implements
at the feet.
16. Too much decayed to determine the position.
17. Four skeletons in one grave, horizontal, heads toward the east, and
large rocks lying on the legs below the knees; no implements.
18. Two skeletons in one grave, heads west, faces down, knees drawn up;
no implements.
19. On the back, horizontal, head east; no implements.
20. Sitting, with face toward the east, walled in, a large rock lying on
the feet (though this may have fallen from the wall); no implements.
21. Sitting, walled in; over the head, but under the capstone of the
vault, a handful of flint arrow-heads.
22. Doubled up, with the head between the feet.
A. A solid oval-shaped mass of bowlders, 33 inches long, 22 inches wide,
and 24 inches high, resting on the bottom of the pit. No ashes or other
indications of fire about it.
Fragments of pottery, mica, galena, charcoal, red and black paint, and
stone chips were found scattered in small quantities through the earth
which filled the pit. All the celts were more or less polished.
_R. T. Lenoir burial pit._--This is a circular burial pit, similar to
those already described, but without any rounding up of the surface. It
is located on the farm of Mr. Rufus T. Lenoir, about 9 miles northeast
of Lenoir and nearly a mile west of Fort Defiance.
A diagram showing the relative positions of the graves or burials is
given in Fig. 33.
It is on the first river terrace or bottom of Buffalo Creek and some 200
yards from the stream, which empties into the Yadkin about half a mile
southwest of this point. This bottom is subject to overflow in time of
high water.
The pit, which is 27 feet in diameter and about 3-1/2 feet deep, is
almost a perfect circle, and well marked, the margin, which is nearly
perpendicular, and the bottom being easily traced. The dirt in this
case, as in the others, was all thrown out.
No. 1. A bed of charred or rather burnt bones, occupying a space 3 feet
long, 2 feet wide, and about 1 foot deep. The bones were so thoroughly
burned that it was impossible to determine whether they were human or
animal. Beneath this bed the yellow sand was baked to the depth of 2 or
3 inches. Under the bones was an uncharred shell gorget.
No. 2. A skeleton in a sitting posture, facing northeast; a pipe near
the mouth and a polished celt over the head.
No. 3. Sitting, facing east, with shell beads around the neck and also
around the arms just below the shoulders.
No. 4. Horizontal, on the back, head east and resting on the concave
surface of an engraved shell; a conch shell (_Busycon perversum_) at the
side of the head, and copper and shell beads around the neck.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Plan of the R. T. Lenoir burial pit, Caldwell
County, North Carolina.]
No. 5. Horizontal, head northeast; shell beads around the neck and two
discoidal stones and one celt at the feet.
No. 6. A communal grave, containing at least twenty-five skeletons, in
two tiers, buried without any apparent regularity as to direction or
relative position. Thirteen of the twenty-five were "flat-heads;" that
is, "the heads running back and compressed in front."
Scattered through this grave, between and above the skeletons, were
polished celts, discoidal stones, shells, mica, galena, fragments of
pottery, and one whole pot. Around the neck and wrists of some of the
skeletons were also shell beads. There may have been more than
twenty-five individuals buried here, this, however, being the number of
skulls observed.
No. 7. Horizontal, on the left side, head northwest; no implements.
No. 8. An irregular layer of water-worn stones, about 4 feet square. On
top was a bed of charcoal 3 or 4 inches thick, on and partially imbedded
in which were three skeletons, but showing no indications of having been
in the fire. Scattered over these were discoidal stones, one small,
saucer-shaped dish, shells (of which one is engraved), pipes, shell
beads, and pieces of pottery.
No. 9. A grave containing three skeletons, lying horizontally on their
backs and side by side, the outer ones with their heads east and the
middle one with the head west; no implements.
No. 10. Horizontal, on the right side, head north, with stone implements
in front of the face.
No. 11. Doubled up, top of the head south; shell beads around the neck
and celts at the feet.
No. 12. A grave containing seventeen skeletons, seven of which had flat
heads, two of the number children. Two of the adult heads were resting
on engraved shells.
In this grave were found four pots and two food-cups, the handle of one
representing an owl's head and that of the other an eagle's head. One of
the small pots was inside a larger one. Scattered among the skeletons
were shell beads, polished celts, discoidal stones, paint, etc. None of
the skeletons were inclosed in stone graves.[36]
In order to convey an idea of the number of articles deposited with the
dead in some of these burial places, I give here a list of those
obtained from the pit last described:
One stone ax.
Forty-three polished celts.
Nine vessels of clay.
Thirty-two arrow-heads.
Twenty soapstone pipes, mostly uninjured.
Twelve discoidal stones.
Ten rubbing stones.
Two hammer stones.
One broken soapstone vessel.
Six engraved shells.
Four shell gorgets.
One _Busycon perversum_ entire, and two or three broken ones.
Five very large copper beads.
One lot of fragments of shells, some of them engraved.
A few rude shell pins.
Shell beads.
A few small copper beads.
Specimens of paint and plumbago.
Three skulls.
It is evident from the foregoing descriptions that the mode of burial
and the depositories of the dead of the mound-building tribes of this
part of North Carolina differed in several marked and important respects
from the mode of burial and burial mounds of the sections previously
alluded to, and in fact from those of any other district.
Here the pit seems to have been the important part of the depository and
the mound a mere adjunct. In some cases the bodies appear to have been
buried soon after death, while in others--as, for example, the groups in
the triangle and Lenoir burial pit--the skeletons were probably
deposited after the flesh was removed.
We are reminded by these pits of the mode of burial practiced by some of
the Indian tribes, as mentioned by Lafitau,[37] Brebeuf,[38] etc.; but,
before attempting to draw conclusions, we will give other illustrations
of the burial mounds of this district, which are far from being uniform
in character.
Comparatively few mounds have as yet been opened in North Carolina;
hence the data relating to this region is somewhat meager. As bearing
upon the subject, and probably relating to a period immediately
following the close of the mound-building era, I give from Mr. Rogan's
notes the description of a burial place explored by him on the farm of
Mr. Charles Hunt, in the central part of Wilkes County:
This is not a "burial place," in the usual sense of that term, but is
probably the site of a camp or temporary village. It is about three
miles and a half east of Wilkesborough, on the second bottom or terrace
of the Yadkin River. It differs from the burial places just described in
having no large pit, the graves being separate and independent of each
other. A diagram showing the relative positions of the graves and small
pits accompanies Mr. Rogan's report but is omitted here, although the
numbering of the graves is retained in the description.
No. 1 is a grave or oval-shaped pit 2 feet long and 18 inches wide, the
top within 8 inches of the surface of the ground, while the bottom is
2-1/2 feet below it. This contained the remains of two skeletons, which
were surrounded by charcoal; some of the bones were considerably
charred. In the pit were some fragments of pottery, a few flint chips,
and a decayed tortoise shell.
No. 2. A grave 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet deep. It contained
quite a quantity of animal bones, some of them evidently those of a
bear; also charcoal, mussel shells, and one bone implement.
No. 3. A grave of the same size and depth as No. 2, containing animal
bones, broken pottery, and some charcoal.
No. 4. Grave; the size, depth, and contents same as the preceding.
No. 5. A circular pit 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. This contained
a very large pot, in which were some animal bones; it was on its side
and crushed.
No. 6. A pit 2-1/2 feet deep and 2 feet square, with a bed of charcoal
in the bottom 6 inches deep. On this bed was a layer of flint chips, and
on the chips a quantity of broken pottery, animal bones, a discoidal
stone, and a bone implement.
No. 7. A grave similar to those described.
No. 8. A large grave, containing three skeletons, lying at full length
upon the right side, with the heads a little east of north. Between the
front and the middle one was a mass of mussel shells. At the head and
back of the front one were a number of animal bones, and between it and
the middle one, opposite the pelvis, was a large broken pot. The right
arm of the third or back one was extended forward and upward, the left
arm resting across the head, a white flint chip grasped in the hand. The
head of this skeleton was resting on a piece of a broken pot, and in
front of the face, at the distance of a foot, was also part of a pot,
containing a stone fragment and some animal bones. Under the legs of the
three skeletons, the head extending in front of the legs of the third or
back one, was the skeleton of a bear, and in front of the latter were
three broken pots, containing animal bones.
[Illustration FIG. 34.--Fire-bed, Wilkes County, North Carolina.]
No. 9. A basin-shaped fire-bed, or bed of burnt clay, 8 inches thick. A
section of this bed is shown in Fig. 34--_b_, _b_, _b_, the bed of burnt
clay, 8 inches thick, the material evidently placed here and not a part
of the original soil. The basin _a_ was filled with ashes, to the depth
of 12 inches; the diameter, from 1 to 2, 2 feet 3 inches, from 1 to 3
and from 2 to 4, 1 foot 6 inches.
No. 10. A bed of mussel shells, 3 inches thick and 3 feet in diameter,
lying on a flat bed of burnt earth 3 inches thick.
No. 11. A pit 5 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, filled with animal
bones, mussel shells, and broken pottery.
There was no mounding over any of these graves or pits.
The basin-shaped fire-bed, No. 9, reminds us very strongly of the
so-called altars of the Ohio mounds, and may possibly assist us in
arriving at a correct conclusion concerning these puzzling structures.
A mound opened by Dr. J. M. Spainhour in Burke County, some years ago,
presents some variations, though, so far as the posture and relative
positions of the skeletons are concerned, reminding us of those in
Caldwell County. The following extract is from the article containing
the description:[39]
Digging down I struck a stone about 18 inches below the surface,
which was found to be 18 inches long and 16 inches wide and from
2 to 3 inches in thickness, the corners rounded. It rested on
solid earth and had been smoothed on top.
I then made an excavation in the south of the mound, and soon
struck another stone, which upon examination proved to be in
front of the remains of a human skeleton in a sitting posture;
the bones of the fingers of the right hand had been resting on
the stone. Near the hand was a small stone about 5 inches long,
resembling a tomahawk or Indian hatchet. Upon a further
examination many of the bones were found, though in a very
decomposed condition, and upon exposure to the air they soon
crumbled to pieces. The heads of the bones, a considerable
portion of the skull, jaw-bones, teeth, neck-bones, and the
vertebræ were in their proper places. Though the weight of the
earth above them had driven them down, yet the frame was
perfect, and the bones of the head were slightly inclined
toward the east. Around the neck were found coarse beads that
seemed to be of some substance resembling chalk.
A small lump of red paint, about the size of an egg, was found
near the right side of this skeleton. From my knowledge of
anatomy, the sutures of the skull would indicate the subject to
have been twenty-five or twenty-eight years of age. The top of
the skull was about 12 inches below the mark of the plow.
I made a further excavation in the west part of this mound and
found another skeleton similar to the first, in a sitting
posture, facing the last. A stone was on the right, on which
the right hand had been resting, and on this was a tomahawk
which had been about 7 inches in length, broken into two
pieces, and much better finished than the first. Beads were
also on the neck of this one, but were much smaller and of
finer quality than those on the neck of the first; the
material, however, seemed to be the same. A much larger amount
of paint was found by the side of this than the first. The
bones indicated a person of larger frame and I think of about
fifty years of age. Everything about this one had the
appearance of superiority over the first. The top of the skull
was about 6 inches below the mark of the plow.
I continued the examination, and after diligent search found
nothing at the north part of the mound, but on reaching the
east side found another skeleton, in the same posture as the
others, facing the west. On the right side of this was a stone
on which the right hand had been resting, and on the stone was
also a tomahawk about 8 inches in length, broken into three
pieces, much smoother and of finer material than the others.
Beads were also found on the neck of this, but much smaller and
finer than on those of the others, as well as a large amount of
paint. The bones would indicate a person of forty years of age.
The top of the skull had been moved by the plow.
There was no appearance of hair discovered; besides, the
principal bones were almost entirely decomposed, and crumbled
when handled.
A complete exploration of this mound, the dimensions of which are not
given, would possibly have shown that the skeletons were arranged
somewhat in a circle. The doctor does not state whether there was a
pit.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Section of mound, Henderson County, North
Carolina.]
Some mounds in Henderson County, opened in 1884 by Mr. J. W. Emmert, who
was temporarily employed by the Bureau, present some peculiarities
worthy of notice. One of these, situated on the farm of Mrs. Rebecca
Conner, and perfectly circular, was found to be 44 feet in diameter and
6 feet high; a number of small trees were growing on it. The annexed cut
(Fig. 35) shows a vertical section of it, the dark central triangle
representing a conical mass of charcoal and ashes. The conical mass
measured 16 feet in diameter at the base and 5 feet high, the top
reaching within 1 foot of the top of the mound. The outer portion
consisted of charcoal, evidently the remains of pine poles, which had
been placed in several layers, sloping toward the apex. The inner
portion consisted of ashes and coals mixed with earth, in which were
found some burnt human (?) bones, and some accompanying articles, among
which were two stones with holes drilled through them. The fragments of
bones and the specimens were at the base, in the center.
A mound on the farm of Mr. J. B. Alexander, 2 miles above the one just
described, was examined by Mr. Emmert, and found to cover a pit similar
to those explored in Caldwell County.
This mound was situated on an elevated level, about a quarter of a mile
from the creek, in an old field which had been plowed over for sixty
years. It was 2 feet high when he explored it, but the old people stated
to him that it was formerly 10 feet high, and had a "tail" or ridge
running away from it 200 feet long; but the only indication of this that
Mr. Emmert could see was a strip of clay running off where it was stated
to have been. It runs in the direction of the creek bottom, where any
quantity of broken pottery may be picked up. The mound, which was 30
feet in diameter and composed wholly of red clay, was entirely removed
to the original surface of the ground. Nothing was found in it, but
after reaching the surface he discovered a circular pit 12 feet in
diameter, which had been dug to the depth of 4 feet in the solid red
clay. This he found to be filled full of ashes and charcoal, but failed
to find any bones or specimens in it.
Although Mr. Emmert failed to find any evidence that this was a burial
mound, its similarity with those of Caldwell County will, I think,
justify us in concluding it was constructed for this purpose.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Section of mound, Henderson County, North
Carolina.]
Another mound on the same farm as the one last mentioned, a
cross-section of which is shown in Fig. 36, is of the common type,
examples of which are found in most of the districts: diameter 52 feet
and height 9 feet; the upper layer, No. 1, red clay, about 4 feet thick,
No. 2, a thin layer of charcoal, about 3 inches thick; the lower stratum
or central core, No. 3, dark-colored earth. In this lower layer were
found five skeletons, on the natural surface and at the points indicated
by the dots, which crumbled to pieces as soon as exposed to the air.
With one were sixteen large, rudely made, white flint arrow-heads, so
nearly alike as to make it apparent they were the work of one
individual, and with another a small pipe and some arrow-heads.
Passing westward over the mountains into East Tennessee, we find some
variations in the modes of burial, but not so widely different from
those east of the range as to justify the belief that the authors of the
works of the two localities were different peoples or belonged to
different tribes.
A burial mound opened by Mr. Emmert in the valley of the Holston,
Sullivan County, described by him as mound No. 1, on the north side of
the river, was found to be 22 feet in diameter and 4 feet high. It was
composed of red clay and sand. Digging down to the level of the
surrounding ground, there was found a pile of rock in the center, which
proved to be a burial vault built of water-worn bowlders, over a sitting
skeleton. It was 3-1/2 feet in diameter at the base and 3 feet high. On
the head of the skeleton was a slender, square copper spindle about 11
inches long and a quarter of an inch thick in the middle. It has
evidently been hammered out with a stone hammer. Under the lower jaw
were two small copper drills or awls, with portions of the deer-horn
handles still attached. About the shoulders, one on each side, were two
polished stones, with holes in them. Near the head was a small pile of
flint chips, and at the knees a flint scalping knife. The bones were so
badly decayed that but few of them could be secured.
Mound No. 2 was on the south side of the river, opposite No. 1 and about
the same distance from the river. It was 38 feet in diameter and 5 feet
high, and on the top was a pine stump 14 inches in diameter.
Mr. Emmert, in opening it, commenced at the edge to cut a ditch 4 feet
wide through it, but soon reached a wall 3 feet high, built of "river
rock." He then worked around this, finding it to be an almost perfect
circle, 14 feet in diameter, inside of which were found, on throwing out
the dirt, twelve stone graves or vaults, built of the same kind of
stones, each containing a sitting skeleton, as shown in Fig. 37. One of
these graves or vaults was exactly in the center, the other eleven being
placed in a circle around it, and about equally spaced, as shown in the
diagram.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Mound on Holston River, Sullivan County,
Tennessee.]
[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Pipe from mound, Sullivan County, Tennessee.]
In the center grave he found shell beads around the neck of the
skeleton, and near the mouth the pipe shown in Fig. 38.
The bottom of the area within the circular wall was covered to the depth
of about 3 inches with charcoal, and the graves were built on this
layer. Both of these mounds were on the bench or upper bottom, and about
three-fourths of a mile from the river.
Mr. Emmert says he learned that there was a tradition of the
neighborhood that the Indians once fought a great battle at this place,
and that one party buried some of their dead in mound No. 2, and the
other party buried their dead on the opposite side of the river, where
there is a large pile or mound of "river rock."
He opened one of the rock mounds occurring in this region half a mile
from the river and near the foot of the mountain. A large tree had grown
up through it, the stump of which was yet standing, or the mound had
been built around it. After removing the rock and digging up the stump,
he found, at the depth of 4 feet and directly under the stump, two stone
axes, a large number of arrow-heads, two polished celts, and some pieces
of mica.
Another mound on the Holston River, 2 miles above the two heretofore
described, was examined. This was 60 feet in diameter and 4-1/2 feet
high. The original surface of the earth had been first covered over
about 3 inches thick with charcoal, then the bodies or skeletons laid on
it, and each walled up separately with river rock. These were then
covered with black earth, over which was cast a layer of sand about the
same thickness, the remainder being top soil.
Mr. Emmert, who opened this, commenced cutting a ditch 4 feet wide,
proceeding until he struck the bed of charcoal; then followed around the
outer edge of it, finally removing all the dirt inside the circle. One
side of the circle had six skeletons in it, all walled up, as before
stated, separately, but so thoroughly decayed that only one skull could
be saved.
The other side of the mound had nothing in it except a fine pipe which
he found on the bed of coals, some 10 or 12 feet from the nearest
skeleton; some beautiful arrow-heads, shell beads, a polished celt, and
two small stones with holes in them were also discovered.
In addition to the foregoing descriptions from the reports of my
assistants, I present the following, from accounts of earlier
explorations in this region:
A burial mound situated on the left bank of the Tennessee River, about 1
mile from Chattanooga, was opened by Mr. M. O. Read in 1865. This was
oval in form and flat on top, the diameters of the base 158 and 120
feet, and those of the top 82 and 44 feet; height, 19 feet. Mr. Read
says:[40]
For the purpose of examination, a tunnel was excavated into the
mound from the east, a little one side of the center and on a
level with the natural surface of the ground. When the point
directly under the outer edge of the top of the mound was
reached, holes were found containing fragments of rotted wood
showing that stakes or palisades had been erected here when
the mound was commenced. The sound of the pick indicating a
cavity or different material below, the excavation was carried
downward about 2 feet, when two skeletons were uncovered,
fragments of which preserved are marked No. 1. The bones were
packed in a small space, as though the bodies were crowded
down, without much regard to position of hands, into a pit not
exceeding 3 feet in length. One of the skulls is of especial
interest, as possibly indicating that the remains are those of
victims immolated in some sacrificial or burial rites.
The side was crushed in, as if with a club. I have connected
together the pieces of the upper jaw so that they retain the
position in which they were found, a position which cannot with
probability be supposed to be the result of the settling of the
earth around it, if unbroken when buried. The bones of the
bodies, although so friable that they could not be preserved,
were entire, in positions indicating that the bodies had not
been dismembered and forbidding the supposition that they were
the remains of a cannibal feast.
The excavation was carried forward as indicated on the plat and
on a level with the location of the skeletons first found. It
became evident at once that the material of which the mound was
constructed was taken from the immediate neighborhood, it being
composed of the same alluvial soil, full of the shells found on
the surface, but in a much better state of preservation; but no
arrow-heads, chippings of flints, or fragments of pottery now
covering the surface were found. These would have been abundant
if the mound had been erected subsequent to the manufacture of
the pottery and arrow-heads at that place. Single fragments of
pottery were found, but these were painted and of much better
quality than those found on the surface.
The mound was composed of alternate layers of earth and ashes,
showing that a surface of the size of the top, when finished,
was kept substantially level, and raised only 2 to 3 feet at a
time, when fires were kindled, which must have been large or
continued for a long time, as the amount of the ashes and
charcoal abundantly indicates.
Near the center of the mound rows of stake-holes were found, as
far as followed, marking two sides of a rectangular
parallelogram, which continued would have formed an enclosure
around the center. In some of these were the remains of the
wood and bark, not enough to show the marks of tools, if any
had been used. They penetrated the natural surface of the
ground to the depth of about 2 feet.
Here and at about the same level as at No. 1 were found the
skeletons of which the skull bones and other parts are marked
No. 2. They were apparently the remains of a youngish woman and
two children, all so far decomposed that only the parts sent
could be preserved. The larger skeleton was in such a position
as a person would take on kneeling down, then sitting upon the
feet; the hands were brought to the head and the body doubled
down upon the knees. The head was toward the south. The remains
of the children were found at the right side of this body, the
bones mingled together.
About 2 feet directly under these the skeleton of which the
skull is marked No. 3 was found, in a similar position, it is
said (I was not present when it was taken out), with the one
above it.
I attempt no description and indulge in no speculations in
regard to these remains, as I have decided to forward them to
you for the examination of those who can compare them with
other skulls and are better qualified to make a proper use of
them. They are unquestionably of the age of the mound-builders.
We are reminded, by the remains of upright timbers found here, of the
wooden vaults of the Grave Creek and other mounds of West Virginia, but
in the form of the mound we have an indication that it belongs to the
southern class of ancient works.
Rev. E. O. Dunning mentions[41] a stone-grave mound which he examined in
the valley of the Little Tennessee. Speaking of this mound he remarks:
I did not expect to find rock graves in a mound of earth, but
after clearing away rubbish and penetrating 6 feet below the
top, near the center the workman struck a slab of slate, which
proved to be part of the covering of a stone tomb. It was much
like those scattered over the "river bottom"--more nicely
constructed, however, and fitted with more care, being arched
over the top, at an acute angle, with pieces of slate 3 inches
thick. Owing to its situation, raised above the level of the
river and covered with sand to the depth of 6 feet, its
contents were better preserved than those of the graves just
mentioned. At the head of it I took out a vessel of fine red
clay and pulverized mussel shells a foot in diameter,
gourd-shaped, and having a handle and spout 6 inches long, and
holding about a quart. It was preserved nearly whole.
Artificial fire had been kindled in the tomb, but it had been
smothered by the throwing in of sand before all the contents
were consumed. Besides some entire bones of the human skeleton,
flint arrow-heads and a large number of flint and stone beads
were removed. The beads could be traced along the lines of the
legs and arms, as if they had been attached to the garment in
which the dead was buried. Further excavations disclosed two
more of these stone sepulchers, the first 3 feet below the one
described, the other 2 feet from it, in the same plane. They
contained only fragments of bones, charcoal, and ashes.
The mound, which was conical in shape, must have been 15 feet
high and 50 feet in diameter. Successive floods had impaired
its original dimensions. The last carried away a section on the
west side, exposing a tomb and some valuable relics, which have
not been preserved. Among them were large shells, pyrulas,
probably, judging from the description, from the Gulf of
Mexico. In connection with marine shells, images in stone were
found in this tomb. The mound was composed of sand-loam taken
from the bank of the river, and raised upon a foundation of
water-washed rocks 4 feet high, from the bed of the stream hard
by. There had been extensive burnings throughout this mound, at
various depths, indicated by layers of charcoal, ashes, and
burned clay, simply in honor of the dead, or to consume their
effects or mortal parts, or for human sacrifices to their
manes.
Speaking of stone graves in the immediate vicinity as explanatory of
those in the mound, he says:
They are built of slabs of slate, nicely fitted together, about
3 inches thick, 4 feet long, and 2 broad, enclosing receptacles
not of uniform space, generally 5 feet long, 4 feet high, and 2
broad, covered with flat pieces, resting upon the upright slabs
and conforming to the rounded corners of the tomb.
As one of the principal objects in view in exploring and studying the
mounds of our country is to ascertain, if possible, by what people or
tribes they were built, a brief discussion of the question so far as it
relates to the district now under consideration will be in place. My
reasons for touching upon the topic in this connection, and limiting the
discussion to the antiquities of the one district, are as follows:
First. The characteristics of the works of this section are so well
marked as to leave little, if any, doubt on the mind of any one who will
study them carefully that they are work of one people, probably of a
single tribe.
Second. Because in this instance I think the evidence points with at
least reasonable certainty to the particular tribe by which they were
erected.
Third. Whether our second reason prove to be correct or not, we find
data here which appear to form connecting links between the prehistoric
and the historic times, and hence call for some discussion in regard to
the authors.
Fourth. The statement of the result of our explorations of these works
(especially the burial mounds) will, as I conceive, be incomplete
without some intimation of the bearing they have had on my own mind in
reference to their authorship. This it is true will apply with equal
force to the works of other districts. I have already briefly stated my
conclusions in this respect regarding the antiquities of Wisconsin, but
have refrained from entering at length upon the question as to the Ohio
and West Virginia works, as I confess and have already intimated that
these present more difficulties in the way of explanation than most of
the other sections.
It may be thought premature to speculate in this direction, and some of
our ablest scientific journals appear to deprecate any such attempts
until more data have been obtained and the materials already collected
are more thoroughly digested. I admit that, as a very general and almost
universal rule, such a course is the proper one in respect to scientific
investigations, but must dissent from its application in this instance,
for the following reasons:
The thought that a mighty nation once occupied the great valley of the
Mississippi, with its frontier settlements resting on the lake shores
and Gulf coasts, nestling in the valleys of the Appalachian Range and
skirting the broad plains of the West, a nation with its systems of
government and religion, its chief ruler, its great central city, and
all the necessary accompaniments, but which has disappeared before the
inroads of savage hordes, leaving behind it no evidences of its
existence, its glory, power, and extent save these silent forest-covered
remains, has something so fascinating and attractive in it, that when
once it has taken possession of the mind, it warps and biases all its
conclusions.[42]
So strong, in fact, is the hold which this theory (in the broad sense,
including also the Toltec and Aztec theories) has taken of the minds of
both American and European archæologists, that it not only biases their
conclusions, but also molds and modifies their nomenclature, and is
thrust into their speculations and even into their descriptions as
though no longer a simple theory but a conceded fact. Hence it is
necessary, before a fair and unbiased discussion of the data can be had,
to call attention to the fact that there is another side to the
question.
Unless some protest is presented or some expression of opinion is made
on this point in my paper, the facts I give will be viewed through the
medium of this "lost race" theory. This I desire, if possible, to
prevent, and whether the "Indian theory" proves to be correct or not, I
wish to obtain for it at least a fair consideration. I believe the
latter theory to be the correct one, as the facts so far ascertained
appear to point in that direction, but I am not wedded to it; on the
contrary, I am willing to follow the facts wherever they lead.
Although additional data will hereafter be obtained and many new and
important facts be brought to light, yet, as I believe, sufficient
evidence has been collected (though much of it remains unpublished) to
indicate what will be the final result so far as this general question
is concerned.
We see that already the theory that these remains scattered over the
face of our country from Dakota to Florida and from New York to
Louisiana were the work of one people, one great nation, is fast
breaking down before the evidence that is being produced.
The following quotation from the last report of the Peabody Museum,
which is repeated in substance in Science, June 27, 1884, p. 775, will
serve not only to indicate the conflict which is going on in the minds
of some of our most active and progressive archæologists on this
subject, but also to show the difficulty of finding applicable and
well-defined terms, and of clearly stating the real question at issue:
The different periods to which the various mounds and burial
places belong can only be made out by such a series of
explorations as the museum is now conducting in the Little
Miami Valley, and when they are completed we shall be better
able to answer the question, "Who were the mound-builders?"
than we are now. That more than one of the several American
stocks or nations or groups of tribes built mounds seems to me
to be established. What their connections were is not yet by
any means made clear, and to say that they all must have been
one and the same people seems to be making a statement directly
contrary to the facts, which are yearly increasing as the spade
and pick in careful hands bring them to light. That many Indian
tribes built mounds and earthworks is beyond doubt, but that
all the mounds and earthworks of North America were made by
these same tribes or their immediate ancestors is not thereby
proved.
Mr. Carr, in his recent paper published by the Kentucky
Geological Survey, has taken up the historical side of the
question, but it must not be received for more than he
intended. He only shows from historical data what the spade and
pick have disclosed to the archæologist. It is simply one side
of the shield; the other is still waiting to be turned to the
light; and as history will not help us to read the reverse,
only patient and careful exploration will bring out its
meaning.[43]
This, it is true, is but an incidental paragraph thrown into a report of
the work of the museum, but I have selected it as the latest expression
on this subject by one of our most active and practical American
archæologists, and because it will furnish a basis for the remarks I
desire to make on this subject.
In order that the reader may clearly understand the particular points to
which I shall call attention, I will introduce here a brief review of
the leading opinions so far presented regarding the authorship of these
ancient works.
It was not until about the close of the eighteenth century that the
scientific men of the Eastern States became fully impressed with the
fact that remarkable antiquities were to be found in our country.
About this time President Stiles, of New Haven, Dr. Franklin, Dr.
Barton, and a few other leading minds of that day, becoming thoroughly
convinced of the existence of these antiquities, and having received
descriptions of a number of them, began to advance theories as to their
origin. William Bartram had come to the conclusion, from personal
observation and from the statement of the Indians that "they knew
nothing of their origin," that they belonged to the most distant
antiquity.
Dr. Franklin, in reply to the inquiry of President Stiles, suggested
that the works in Ohio might have been constructed by De Soto in his
wanderings. This suggestion was followed up by Noah Webster with an
attempt to sustain it,[44] but he afterwards abandoned this position
and attributed these works to Indians.
Captain Heart, in reply to the inquiries addressed to him by Dr. Barton,
gives his opinion that the works could not have been constructed by De
Soto and his followers, but belonged to an age preceding the discovery
of America by Columbus; that they were not due to the Indians or their
predecessors, but to a people not altogether in an uncultivated state,
as they must have been under the subordination of law and a
well-governed police.[45]
This is probably the first clear and distinct expression of a view which
has subsequently obtained the assent of so many of the leading writers
on American archæology.
About the commencement of the nineteenth century two new and important
characters appear on the stage of American archæology. These are Bishop
Madison, of Virginia, and Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, of Massachusetts.
Dr. Haven, to whose work we are indebted for reference to several of the
facts above stated, remarks:
These two gentlemen are among the first who, uniting
opportunities of personal observation to the advantages of
scientific culture, imparted to the public their impressions of
western antiquities. They represent the two classes of
observers whose opposite views still divide the sentiment of
the country; one class seeing no evidence of art beyond what
might be expected of existing tribes, with the simple
difference of a more numerous population, and consequently
better defined and more permanent habitations; the other
finding proofs of skill and refinement, to be explained, as
they believe, only on the supposition that a superior race, or
more probably a people of foreign and higher civilization, once
occupied the soil.[46]
Bishop Madison was the representative of the first class. Dr. Harris
represented that section of the second class maintaining the opinion
that the mound-builders were Toltecs, who after leaving this region
moved south into Mexico.
As we find the principal theories which are held at the present day on
this subject substantially set forth in these authorities, it is
unnecessary to follow up the history of the controversy except so far as
is required to notice the various modifications of the two leading
opinions.
Those holding the opinion that the Indians were not the authors of these
works, although agreeing as to this point and hence included in one
class, differ widely among themselves as to the people to whom they are
to be ascribed, one section, of which, as we have seen, Dr. Harris may
be considered the pioneer, holding that they were built by the Toltecs,
who, as they supposed, occupied the Mississippi Valley previous to their
appearance in the vale of Anahu
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