the long-continued occupation of them by a savage people, and a
gradual advance of the same in culture—though this apparent
advance may have been simply the inroads of more advanced
tribes. U.S. Geographical Survey W. of 100th M., p. 12.
Wright’s “Studies in Science and Religion,” p. 292.
Morgan’s “Ancient Society,” p. 108, note.
“Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian,” Vol. VII, p.
3.
Bancroft’s “Native Races,” Vol. III, pp. 646, 647.
“U.S. Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian,” Vol.
VII, p. 12.
Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 591.
LeConte’s “Elements of Geology.”
Prof. Winchell, in his last work, “World Life,” p. 363, _et
seq.,_ goes over the entire subject. As might be expected, no
decisive results are obtained. He sums up the arguments to show
that in this country the close of the Glacial Age is not more
than seven thousand years ago (p. 375). The student who reads
these pages and then Mr. Geikie’s work, “Prehistoric Europe,”
will be sorely puzzled to know what conclusions to adopt. We
can not do better than refer to the chapter on Antiquity
Paleolithic Age.
Dana’s _Am. Journal of Science,_ May, 1875.
Foster’s “Prehistoric Races,” p. 62.
See Lockwood, in _Popular Science Monthly_ for 1883, for
account of beaver dam built on a mastodon skeleton and evidence
of contemporaneity of Indians and mastodons.
“The Missouri was a stream thirty miles wide.”
“Hayden,” p. 255.
For the facts on which this paragraph rests, see Report of
Samuel Aughey, Ph.D., in “U.S. Survey of the Territories, for
1874,” p. 243, _et seq._
“American Assoc. Rep.,” 1880, p. 720.
“Illinois Geological Reports,” Vol. III, p. 123.
“Prehistoric Races,” p. 69.
Jones’s “Antiquities of the Southern Indians,” p. 293.
Jones’s “Antiquities of the Southern Indians,” p. 295.
Quoted by Abbott’s “Primitive Industry,” p. 3.
Peet’s “Archæology of Europe and America,” p. 11.
Short’s “North Americans of Antiquity,” p. 27.
Up to the present time (1884) Dr. Abbott has collected over
20,000 specimens of stone implements, and all his more recent
“finds” but confirm the opinion he expressed as to their
significance ten years ago. His collection is at the Peabody
Museum of Archæology, at Cambridge, Mass. (See last Peabody
Report.)
“Nature,” Vol. XI, p. 215.
Ibid.
“Nature,” Vol. XI, p. 215.
Ibid.
“Primitive Industry,” Abbott, p. 506.
Seventeenth Report Peabody Museum, p. 354 and note.
“Primitive Industry,” p. 551.
“Studies in Science and Religion,” p. 324.
Ibid., p. 324.
We believe that similar results will attend the careful
exploration in other sections. As bearing on this subject, it
is interesting to know that Paleolithic implements are reported
from one locality in Mexico. Our information in regard to them
is very slight. (Brit. Assoc. Reports, 1881; Pres. Address,
Count De Saporte, _Popular Science Monthly,_ Sept., 1883.)
Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 540.
“Geographical and Geological Survey,” 1874, p. 254.
Abbott’s “Primitive Industry,” p. 483.
Abbott: “Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History,”
Vol. XXII, p. 102.
“Primitive Industry,” p. 512.
“Primitive Industry,” p. 512.
U.S. survey West of the 100th Meridian,” Vol. VII, p. 12.
Abbott’s “Primitive Industry,” p. 520.
Ibid., p. 519.
U.S. Geographical Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region,” Vol. I,
p. 102, quoted from “Primitive Industry,” p. 519.
_Popular Science Monthly,_ Jan., 1883.
DeCosta’s “Precolumbian Discovery of America,” p. 69.
Winchell’s “Preadamites,” p. 389.
Brinton’s “Myths of the New World,” p. 23. Note.
Prof. DeHass’s “Paper” read before Am. Assoc., 1882.
See chapter, “Cave-men,” p. 113. Note.
See remarks of Prof. Boyd Dawkins quoted earlier.
Chapter X
THE MOUND BUILDERS.1
Meaning of “Mound Builders”—Location of Mound Building tribes—All
Mounds not the work of men—Altar Mounds—Objects found on the
Altars—Altar Mounds possibly burial Mounds—Burial Mounds—Mounds
not the only Cemeteries of these tribes—Terraced Mounds —Cahokia
Mound—Historical notice of a group of Mounds—The Etowah
group—Signal Mounds—Effigy Mounds—How they represented different
animals—Explanation of the Effigy Mounds—Effigy Mounds in other
localities—Inclosures of the Scioto Valley—At Newark, Ohio—At
Marietta, Ohio—Graded Ways—Fortified Inclosures—Ft. Ancient,
Ohio—Inclosures of Northern Ohio—Works of unknown import—Ancient
Canals in Missouri—Implements and Weapons of Stone—Their
knowledge of Copper—Ancient mining —Ornamental pipes—Their
knowledge of pottery—Of Agriculture—Government and Religion—Hard
to distinguish them from the Indians.
The past of our race is irradiated here and there by the light of
science sufficiently to enable us to form quite vivid conceptions
of vanished peoples. As the naturalist, from the inspection of a
single bone, is enabled to determine the animal from which it was
derived, though there be no longer a living representative, so
the archæologist, by the aid of fragmentary remains, is able to
tell us of manners and times now long since removed. In the words
of another: “The scientist to-day passes up and down the valleys,
and among the relics and bones of vanished people, and as he
touches them with the magic wand of scientific induction, these
ancient men stand upon their feet, revivified, rehabilitated, and
proclaim with solemn voice the story of their nameless tribe or
race, the contemporaneous animals, and physical appearance of the
earth during those prehistoric ages.”2
We have already learned that the world is full of mysteries, and
though, by the exertion of scholars, we begin to have a clearer
idea of some topics, yet our information is after all but vague
and shadowy. The amount of positive knowledge in regard to the
mysterious tribes of the older Stone Age, or the barbarians of
the Neolithic period, or the struggling civilization of the early
Metallic Ages, is lamentably deficient. On our Western Continent
we have the mysterious remains in the gold-bearing gravels of the
Pacific coast, the significance of which is yet in dispute. We
have the Paleolithic Age of Europe, represented by the remains
found in the gravels of the Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey. When
deposited there, and by what people used, is, perhaps, still
enshrouded in doubt.
Leaving now the past, expressed by geological terms, or by
periods of thousands of years, we draw near to our own tribes,
near, at least, comparatively speaking, and behold, here, also,
we discern evidence that an ancient culture, as marked as that
which built its cities along the fertile water-courses of the Old
World, had its seat on the banks of our great rivers; that here
flourished in full vigor for an unknown length of time a people
whose origin and fate are yet in doubt, though, thanks to the
combined efforts of many able men, we begin to have clearer ideas
of their social organization. We know them only by reason of
their remains, and as these principally are mounds, we call them
the “Mound Builders.”
The name is not a distinguishing one in every sense, since
mankind, the world over, have been mound and pyramid builders.
The pyramids of Egypt and the mound-dotted surface of Europe and
Asia bear testimony to this saying, yet nowhere else in the world
are they more plainly divided into classes, or marked with design
than here. In some places fortified hills and eminences suggest
the citadel of a tribe or people. Again, embankments of earth,
mostly circular or square, separate and in combination, generally
inclosing one or more mounds, excite our curiosity, but fail to
satisfy it. Are these fading embankments the boundaries of sacred
inclosures, or the fortification of a camp, or the foundations on
which to build communal houses? Here graded ways, there parallel
embankments raise questions, but suggest no positive answer. We
are equally in doubt as to the purposes for which many of the
mounds were built. Some seem to have been used as places of
sepulcher, some for religious rites, and others as foundation
site of buildings. Some may have been used as signal mounds, from
which warning columns of smoke, or flaming fires, gave notice of
an enemy’s approach.
Before coming to details let us, at a glance, examine the picture
as a whole. This country of ours, with its wide plains, its
flowing rivers and great lakes, is said by scholars to have been
the home of a people well advanced in the arts of barbarian life.
What connection, if any, existed between them and the Indians, is
yet unsettled. We are certain that many years before the Spanish
discovery of America they made their settlements here, developed
their religious ideas, and erected their singular monuments. That
they were not unacquainted with war, is shown by their numerous
fortified inclosures. They possessed the elements of agriculture,
and we doubt not were happy and contented in their homes. We are
certain they held possession of the fairer portions of this
country for many years.
We must now seek to gather more particular knowledge of them, and
of the remains of their industry. We must not forget that these
are the antiquities of our own country; that the broken
archæological fragments we pick up will, when put together, give
us a knowledge of tribes that lived here when civilization was
struggling into being in the East. It should be to us far more
interesting than the history of the land of the Pharaohs, or of
storied Greece. Yet, strange to say, the facts we have just
mentioned are unknown to the mass of our people. Accustomed to
regard this as the New World, they have turned their attention to
Europe and the East when they would learn of prehistoric times.
In a general way, we have regarded the Indians as a late arrival
from Asia, and cared but little for their early history. It is
only recently that we have become convinced of an extended, past
in the history of this country, and it is only of late that able
writers have brought to our attention the wonders of an ancient
culture, and shown us the footprints of a vanished people.
We must first try and locate the territory occupied by the
remains of the mound builders. They are not to be found broadcast
over the whole country. We recall, in this connection, that the
early civilization of the East arose in fertile river valleys.
This is found to be everywhere the case, so we are not surprised
to learn that the broad and fertile valley of the Mississippi,
with its numerous tributaries, was the territory where these
mysterious people reared their monuments and developed their
barbarian culture. Throughout the greater portion of this area we
find numerous evidences of a prolonged occupation of the country.
We are amazed at the number and magnitude of the remains. Though
this section has been under cultivation for many years, and the
plow has been remorselessly driven over the ancient embankments,
yet enough remain to excite our curiosity and to amply repay
investigation.
This portion of the United States seems to have been the home,
the seat of the mound building tribes. We can not expect to find
one type of remains scattered over this entire section of
country. Indeed, to judge from the difference of the remains,
they must have been the work of different people or tribes, who
were doubtless possessed of different degrees of culture.3 We
will notice in our examination how these remains vary in
different sections of the country. But it is noticeable that
these remains become scarce and finally disappear as we go north,
east, and west from the great valley. Although they are numerous
in the Gulf States, yet they are not to be found, except in a few
cases, in States bordering on the Atlantic.4 Some wandering
bands, perhaps colonies from the main body of the people,
established works on the Wateree River, in South Carolina,5 In
the mountainous regions of North Carolina occur mines of mica,
which article was much prized by the mound builders; and here
also are to be found traces of their early presence.6 We do not
know of any authentic remains in New England States. In Western
New York there exists a class of remains which, though once
supposed to be the work of these people, are now generally
considered as the remains of works erected by the Indians,7 and
of a similar origin appears to have been the singular
fortification near Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire.8
We have no record of their presence north of the great lakes.
Passing now to the western part of the valley, we do not find
definite traces of their presence in Texas. On this point,
however, some authors state the contrary, apparently basing their
views on a class of mounds mentioned by Prof. Forshey.9 But the
very description given of these mounds, and the statements as to
the immense number of them,10 seem to show they are not the work
of men.11 We do not think the West, and especially the
North-west, has been carefully enough explored to state where
they begin. It is certain that the head waters of the Mississippi
and the Missouri were thickly settled with tribes of this people,
and some writers think that they spread over the country by way
of the Missouri Valley from the North-west. Mr. Bancroft quotes
from the writings of Mr. Dean, to show the existence of mounds
and inclosures on Vancouver Island, and in British Columbia. And
the statement is made that a hundred miles north of Victoria
there is a group of mounds ranging from five to fifty yards in
circumference, and from a few feet to fifty feet in height.12
The inclosures, however, are described as being very similar to
those in Western New York, and are probably simply fortified
sites, common among rude people the world over, and such as were
often erected by Indians. The remains on the upper Missouri and
its tributaries are very numerous, and to judge from the brief
description given us of them, they must be very interesting.13
This section has, however, been too little explored to speak with
confidence of these works.
As showing how much care should be exercised in this matter, we
refer to the account given by Capt. Wilkes in his journal of the
United States exploring expedition. Speaking of the mounds on the
gravelly plains between the Columbia River and Puget Sound, he
tells us that the Butte Prairies are covered with small mounds at
regular distances asunder. Some of them are thirty feet in
diameter, six or seven feet above the level of the ground, and
many thousands in number. He opened some of them, and found a
pavement of round stones, and he thought he could detect an
arrangement of the mounds in groups of five, thus. Five dots
It was his impression that they were the works of men, and had
been constructed successively and at intervals of several
years.14 This observation of Capt. Wilkes is referred to by many
as evidence of the former existence of Mound Builders in this
section.
More careful research in recent times has established the fact
that these mounds were certainly not erected by human hands, and
no one else has been able to discover the supposed arrangement in
groups of five. The pavement of round stones is common to the
whole prairie.
But the greatest objection is the number of the mounds. A
population larger than could have found a living in the country
must have been required to erect them, unless we assume that a
great length of time was consumed in this work. Some other
explanation must be given for these mounds, as well as for those
mysterious ones mentioned by Prof. Forshey. This cut gives us a
fair idea of the scenery of this section and the mounds.15
Mound Prairie.
Within the area we have thus defined are located the works of the
people we call the Mound Builders. What we wish to do is to learn
all about these vanished people. A great many scholars have
written about them, and large collections of the remains of their
handiwork have been made. There is, however, a great diversity of
opinion respecting the Mound Builders and their culture. So we
see we have a difficult subject to treat of. In order to gain a
clear understanding of it, we must describe the remains more
closely. About all we can learn of these people is from a study
of their monuments. We can not call to our aid history or
tradition, or rock-carved inscription, but must resort to
crumbling mounds, broken down embankments; study their location,
and observe their forms. To the studies in the field we must add
those in the cabinet, and examine the many objects found in and
above the mounds and earth-works, as well as the skeletons of the
builders of the works. Rightly used, we can draw from these
sources much valuable information of the people whose
council-fires blazed all along the beautiful valleys of the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers in times far removed from us.
Mound and Circle.
We will first speak of the simplest form of these works, the
ordinary conical mound. This is the one form found all over the
extensive area designated. They exist in great numbers on the
banks of the upper Missouri, as well as the river bottoms of the
South. This cut represents a very fine specimen of a mound, in
this instance surrounded by a circular embankment. We must not
forget that mounds are found all over the world. “They are
scattered over India, they dot the steppes of Siberia and the
vast region north of the Black Sea; they line the shores of the
Bosphorus and the Mediterranean; they are found in old
Scandinavia, and are singularly numerous in the British
Islands.”16
The principle in human nature which leads to the erection of
mounds is living and active to-day. The shaft which surmounts
Bunker Hill is but a modern way of memorizing an event which in
earlier ages would have led to the erection of a mound, and the
polished monument which marks the resting place of some
distinguished man was raised for the same purpose as the mounds
heaped over the chiefs and warriors of another age. The feeling
which moves us to crown with steeples or spires our houses of
worship is evidently akin to that which induced older races to
erect a mound on which to place their temples, their idols, and
altars of sacrifice.
If mounds were the only works remaining of these ancient people,
we would not take so great an interest in them, and, as it is, we
are not to suppose that all the mounds are the works of those
people we call the Mound Builders. Recent investigation and
historical evidence unite in showing that some comparatively
recent Indian tribes formed and used mound structures. Early
explorers have left abundant testimony to show that in many cases
the Indians resorted to mound-burial. Thus, it seems that it was
the custom of the Iroquois every eighth or tenth year, or
whenever about to abandon a locality, to gather together the
bones of their dead and rear over them a mound. To this custom,
which was not confined to the Iroquois, are doubtless to be
ascribed the barrows and bone mounds which have been found in
such numbers in various parts of the country.17 Although it is
well to bear these facts in mind, yet it is not doubted that the
larger number, and especially the more massive ones, were erected
by the same people who built the other mysterious works, and so
it is necessary that they be carefully studied.
Altar Mound and Plan and Section of Altar.
In the valley of the Ohio there have been found a class of mounds
known as Altar Mounds. These, it should be stated, nearly always
occur in or near inclosures. This cut gives us a good idea of
mounds of this kind. Near the top is seen an instance of what is
called “intrusive” burial. After the mound was completed it had
been dug into and a body buried near the surface. This burial was
evidently later in time, and had no connection with the purpose
for which the mound was originally built. We also notice in this
mound the different layers of which it was composed. These layers
are of gravel, earth, and sand, the latter being only a few
inches thick. Mounds made in this manner are called stratified
mounds, and all altar mounds are probably of this kind. The lines
of stratification have been described as curving so as to
correspond with the shape of the mound, and such we are told is
the general rule.18
The peculiar feature, however, is the altar at the bottom of the
mound, directly above the natural surface of the ground. The
small cut gives us a clear idea of the altar, the light lines
running around it showing the plan. These altars are almost
always composed of clay, though some of stone have been
discovered. They are of various shapes and sizes. We notice the
dish-shaped depression on the top of the altar. The clay of which
they are composed seems to have been moulded into shape directly
over the surface of the ground. Sometimes a layer of sand was put
down as a foundation. They are nearly always thoroughly burned,
the clay being baked hard, sometimes to the depth of fifteen or
twenty inches. This must have required intense and long continued
heat.
We are at once curious to know the object of this altar. Within
the basin-shaped depression are generally found all manner of
remains. Sometimes portions of bones, or fragments of wood,
arranged in regular order; pieces of pottery vessels, and
implements of copper and stone; spear-heads, arrow-heads, and
fragments of quartz and crystals of garnet. Pipes are a common
find, carved in miniature figures of animals, birds, and
reptiles. Two altar-mounds but recently examined near Cincinnati
had altars about four feet square that were loaded down with
ornaments.
One especially contained quantities of ornaments of stone,
copper, mica, shells, the canine-teeth of bears and other
animals, and thousands of pearls. They were nearly all
perforated, as if for suspension. Several of the copper ornaments
were covered with native silver which had been hammered out into
thin sheets and folded over the copper. One small copper pendant
seems to have been covered with a thin sheet of hammered gold, as
a small piece was still clinging to it. This is the first example
of finding native gold in the mounds.19 On this altar were also
found masses of meteoric iron, and ornaments of the same
material. One piece of mica showed the profile of a face.20
In all cases the articles found on the altars show the action of
fire. We seem justified, then, in supposing that after the altar
was formed, fires were lit on them, and into this fire were
thrown the various articles just enumerated. But what was all
this for? This will probably never be very clear to us, beyond
the fact that it was a religious rite. Portions of the human
skeleton have been found on these altars, and it has been
suggested that human victims were at times part of the sacrifice;
but as it is known that this people practised cremation, it may
be that the altars were sometimes used for that purpose, the
remains being afterwards gathered and buried elsewhere.
After the offerings had been flung into the fire, while it was
yet glowing on the altar, earth or sand was heaped over them for
a few inches, then successive layers of earth and sand, or ashes,
clay, or gravel. Sometimes the altars were used several different
times, in which case a layer of clay several inches thick was
laid over the old altar. In one case three layers had been burned
in before the final addition of earth and sand were heaped over
it. These strange monuments of a by-gone people hint to us of
mysterious rites. We wish we had more positive knowledge of the
ceremonies they commemorated; but at present we must rest
satisfied with conjecture.
The next class of mounds are known as burial mounds, some of
which are stratified, and resemble the so-called altar mounds. A
mound explored in Butler County, Ohio, had in the center a layer
of clay an inch thick, which had been burned until it was red.
Underneath this was another layer of clay, beneath which was
found charcoal, burnt cloth, and charred bones. Mr. Foster thinks
that in this mound the body was placed on a rude altar, fires
were lit, and that while yet burning, clay was thrown over it
all, and that then fires were built all over the mound,
sufficient to burn the clay for an inch in thickness.21 We have
also a description of a group of mounds explored near the
Mississippi River, in which there were evident signs of
cremation. At least in several mounds fires had been built close
above the bodies. But in cremation other victims may have been
burned to accompany the departed chiefs or warriors. In one mound
evidence of such a custom was observed.
In another mound the center was found to be a mass of burned clay
interspersed with calcined human bones. No less than ten or
fifteen bodies had been burned here. “They must have worshiped
some fierce ideal deity, and the ceremony must have been
considered of great importance to have required so many victims.”
This may have been, however, nothing more than simple
cremation.22
Pidgeon has described mounds in Minnesota, in many respects like
the altar mounds. In one case he mentions there was an altar or
pavement of stone on the original surface of the ground, a few
feet above which was a layer of clay, showing the action of
fierce and long-continued fires. We furthermore are told that
cremation, especially of chiefs, was more or less common among
the Village Indians of North America, that similar usage was
observed among many of the tribes of Mexico, and that the Mayas,
of Yucatan, burnt the bodies of their lords, and built temples
over their remains. So it may be that the altar mounds are but
varieties of funeral mounds, the remains of the bodies burned
here being buried elsewhere.23
Burial Mounds.
The nations that celebrated their mysteries around these mounds
have long since departed; the altar fires long since burned low.
We are not sure that we understand their purport, but we are
certain they were regarded as of great importance, and we can
readily imagine that when the fires were lit on the altars,
gathering crowds stood round, and participated in the religious
observance, throwing into the fire their most valued ornaments,
in this manner paying their last respects to the departed chiefs
and great men of their tribe.
The true burial mounds are very numerous, an comprise by far the
larger number of mounds. They are to be found all over the Mound
Builders’ territory, and are about the only class of remains
found in the prairie regions of the West. From the upper waters
of the Missouri and the great lakes on the north to the Gulf
States on the south, and from west of the Mississippi to the
Alleghenies of the East, in all this vast region they are the
prevailing class of remains, and occur by hundreds, and even
thousands, along the valleys. The mounds themselves are often not
very conspicuous; as a rule they are simply heaps of dirt raised
above the surface and rounded over, and from two or three to
fifteen or twenty feet high, although many are of much larger
size. They are seldom found on the lower, or recent river
terrace, but are common on the upper terrace, and are often built
upon the high bluffs bordering the streams, where a wide stretch
of country is exposed to view. Black-bird, an Omaha chief, who
died about the year 1800, desired to be buried on a high bluff
overlooking the Missouri, so that he might see the boats passing
up and down the river. Perhaps from a similar superstitious wish
the Mound Builders sometimes chose the sites of their burial
mounds where they could watch over their country; or it may be
that the monuments over the dead were placed in such conspicuous
positions that they might be readily seen by the people.
The next cut represents an ordinary burial mound, which was
explored by tunneling in from one side. We notice there are no
different layers or stratifications in this case. In some cases,
at least, the building of such a mound occupied several years. We
can see where the dirt was thrown down in small quantities,
averaging about a peck, as if from a basket. In one case grass
had started to grow on the unfinished surface of the mound, to be
covered up by fresh dirt.24
Burial Mounds.
In the majority of cases the mounds contain the remains of but
one individual, with various relics of a rude and barbarous
people. Where but one body was buried, the usual mode of
procedure seems to have been to first clear a space on the
surface of the ground; the body was then placed in the center of
this prepared place, and often a rude framework of timber was
placed around it, sometimes a stone chamber was built up. Over
this the mound was erected to the desired height. This
description would apply to nearly all of the many thousands of
burial mounds in the country.
In the cut a layer of charcoal is noticed near the top. Nearly
all mounds show evidence of the existence of fire during some
period of their construction. In some cases these fires were
fierce and long continued, as if the object had been to cremate
the body. It may have been a part of their religious belief that
it was necessary to keep fires blazing on the mound for a short
length of time to keep off evil spirits, or to comfort the soul
of the departed. Such at any rate was the custom among some
Indian tribes. We are told that among the Iroquois, a “fire was
built upon the grave at night to enable the spirit to prepare its
food.”25
In some cases, many individuals were buried in the same mound.
These may be communal burials, such as we have already referred
to. Mounds of this kind have been examined near Nashville,
Tennessee. One mound alone was the burial place of over two
hundred persons. Pidgeon describes some triangular burial mounds
in Minnesota, differing in shape only from the ordinary circular
mounds that belong to this division. In general, burial mounds
are not very high, yet there are exceptions to this rule.
Grave Creek Mound.
This cut represents one of the largest of these mounds. It is
situated at the junction of Grave Creek and the Ohio River,
twelve miles below Wheeling, in West Virginia. It measures
seventy feet in height, and its base is nearly one thousand feet
in circumference. An excavation made from the top downward, and
from one side of the base to the center, disclosed the fact that
the mound contained two sepulchral chambers, one at the base and
one near the center of the mound. These chambers had been
constructed of logs, and covered with stone. The lower chamber
contained two skeletons, one of which is supposed to have been a
female. The upper chamber contained but one skeleton. In addition
to these, there were found a great number of shell beads,
ornaments of mica, and bracelets of copper.26
A moment’s thought will show us what a great work such a mound
must have been for a people destitute of metallic tools and
domestic animals. The earth for its construction was probably
scraped up from the surface and brought thither in baskets. A
people capable of erecting such a monument as this, with only
such scanty means at their command, must have possessed those
qualities which would sooner or later have brought them
civilization.
Another very interesting mound of this class once stood in the
city of St. Louis. The rapidly growing city demanded its removal
in 1869. It was an oblong mound, one hundred and fifty feet long
by thirty in height. In its removal it was shown that it
contained a burial chamber seventy-five feet long, from eight to
twelve feet wide, and from eight to ten feet high, in which about
thirty burials had taken place. The surface of the ground had
first been leveled, then the walls raised to the desired height,
made firm and solid, and plastered with clay. Timbers formed the
roof, over which the mound had been raised to the desired height.
Cross-section St. Louis Mound.
In process of time the roof decayed and fell in, thus giving a
sunken appearance to the top of the mound. This view is a cross
section of the mound as it was revealed by the workmen. We notice
where the roof has fallen in, and the outline of the interior
chamber. This burial chamber was perhaps an exact model of the
cabins in which the people lived. Can it be that this mound was
the final resting place of some renowned chief, and that the
other bodies were those of his attendants sent to accompany him
to the other world? This is perhaps as reasonable a conjecture as
any. Certain it is that this tumulus and that at Grave Creek were
fit pyramids for the Pharaohs of the New World.
It is not to be supposed that the mounds were the sole cemeteries
of the people who built them. Like the barrows of Europe, they
were probably erected only over the bodies of the chiefs and
priests, the wise men, and warriors of the tribe. The amount of
work required for the erection of a mound was too great to
provide one for every person. The greater number of the dead were
deposited elsewhere than in mounds, but it is doubtful whether we
can always distinguish the prehistoric burial places from those
of the later Indians. An ancient cemetery, discovered near
Madisonville, Ohio, proved to be a most interesting find, as it
was thought to be a burial place of the Mound Builders,27 but it
seems there is strong doubt on this point. One writer thinks this
was a cemetery of the Erie tribe of Indians, and not very ancient
in date.28
In Tennessee are to be found numerous burial places known as the
stone-grave cemeteries. Stone graves of a similar character are
found in Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. These are as yet but few
facts which can be used as indicating that all the stone graves
are of one people. Many of these cemeteries are of great
antiquity, while similar stone graves are of quite recent date.
In some places the cemeteries cover very large areas.
Terraced Mound.
We have now to describe a class of mounds that are always
regarded with great interest, as a number of our scholars think
they see in them the connecting link between the remains in this
country and those of Mexico and the South. These are generally
known as “temple mounds,” from the common impression that they
were sites of temples or public buildings. In general terms,
mounds of this class are distinguished by their large size and
regularity of form, and they always have a flat or level top. On
one side there is generally a graded way leading up to the
summit, in some instances several such methods of approach.
Sometimes the sides of the mound are terraced off into separate
stages.29
We have already noticed that different sections of country are
distinguished by different classes of mound remains. In the
present State of Ohio are found many altar mounds and inclosures.
In the West are large numbers of burial mounds, but the so-called
temple mounds are most numerous in the South. At one place in
Wisconsin is found a low embankment inclosing four low mounds
with leveled tops. But the resemblance between these and the
regular temple mounds is certainly slight. Only a few instances
of these flat-topped mounds are found in Ohio. Of these the still
existing “elevated squares” at Marietta are good examples.
Elevated Square, Marietta. This cut represents the mound
preserved in the park at Marietta. It is ten feet high, one
hundred and eighty-eight feet long, by one hundred and thirty-two
feet wide. The platform on the top has an area of about half an
acre. Graded ways lead up on each of the four sides. These grades
are twenty-five feet wide, and sixty feet long.30
As we approach the Gulf States, these platform mounds increase in
number. The best representative of this class, the most
stupendous example of mound builders’ work in this country, is
situated in Illinois, not far from St. Louis. The mound and its
surroundings are so interesting that they deserve special
mention. One of the most fertile sections of Illinois is that
extending along the Mississippi from the Kaskaskia to the Cahokia
river, about eighty miles in length, and five in breadth. Well
watered, and not often overflowed by the Mississippi, it is such
a fertile and valuable tract that it has received the name of the
“Great American Bottom.” It is well known that the Mound Builders
chose the most fertile spots for their settlements, and it is
therefore not surprising to find the evidence that this was a
thickly settled portion of their territory. Mr. Breckenridge,
writing in 1811, says: “The great number of mounds, and the
astonishing quantity of human bones, everywhere dug up or found
on the surface of the ground, with a thousand other appearances,
announces that this valley was at one time filled with
habitations and villages. The whole face of the bluff, or hill,
which bounds it on the east, appears to have been a continuous
burying ground.”31
Mounds are numerous in this section. We learn that there are two
groups of mounds or pyramids, one about ten miles above the
Cahokia, and the other about the same distance below it, more
than one hundred and fifty in all. Speaking of the group above
the Cahokia, Mr. Breckenridge says: “I found myself in the midst
of a group of mounds mostly of a circular shape, and, at a
distance, resembling enormous hay-stacks scattered through a
meadow. One of the largest which I ascended was about two hundred
paces in circumference at the bottom, the form nearly square,
though it had evidently undergone considerable alteration from
the washing of rains. The top was level, with an area sufficient
to contain several hundred men.” He represents the view from the
top of the mound to be a very extensive and beautiful one. From
this elevation he counted forty-five mounds or pyramids, besides
a great number of small artificial elevations. This group was
arranged in the form of a semicircle, about a mile in extent, the
open space being on the river.
Cahokia Mound.
Three miles above occurs the group in which is found the famous
big mound.32 This cut gives us a good idea of the mound as it was
in its perfect state. All accounts given of this mound vary. From
a cut of the model, as prepared by Dr. Patrick, the area of the
base is a trifle over fifteen acres.33 The ascent was probably on
the south side of the mound, where the little projection is seen.
The first platform is reached at the height of about fifty feet.
This platform has an area of not far from two and four-fifth
acres. Large enough for quite a number of houses, if such was the
purpose for which this mound was erected. The second platform is
reached at about the height of seventy-five feet, and contains
about one and three-fourth acres. The third platform is elevated
ninety-six or ninety-seven feet, while the last one is not far
from one hundred feet above the plain. The area of the last two
is about three-fourths of an acre each. The areas of all the
platforms are not far from six acres. We require to dwell on
these facts a moment before we realize what a stupendous piece of
work this is. The base is larger than that of the Great
Pyramid,34 and we must not lose sight of the fact that the earth
for its construction was scraped up and brought thither without
the aid of metallic tools or beasts of burden, and yet the earth
was obtained somewhere and piled up over an area of fifteen acres
in one place to a height of one hundred feet, and even the lowest
platform is fifty feet above the plain. Some have suggested that
it might be partly a natural elevation. There seems to be,
however, no good reason for such suggestions.
What motive induced the people to expend so much labor on this
mound? It is not probable that this was a burial mound, though it
may ultimately prove to be so. The most probable supposition is
that the mound was erected so as to secure an elevated site,
perhaps for purpose of defense, as on these platforms there was
abundant room for a large village, and an elevation or height has
always been an important factor in defenses. In this connection,
Prof. Putnam has called our attention to a fact which indicates
that a very long time was occupied in the construction of the
mound, and further, that a numerous population had utilized its
platforms as house sites—that is, that “everywhere in the
gullies, and over the broken surface of the mounds, mixed with
the earth of which it is composed, are quantities of broken
vessels of clay, flint chips, arrow-heads, charcoal, bones of
animals, etc., apparently the refuse of a numerous people.” The
majority of writers, however, think that this elevated site,
obtained as the result of so much labor, was utilized for
important public buildings, presumedly the temple of their gods,
and no one can help noticing the similarity between this
structure and those raised by the ancient Mexicans for both
religious purposes and town sites.
Mr. Foster thinks that “upon this platform was reared a capacious
temple, within whose walls the high-priests gathered from
different quarters at stated seasons, celebrated their mystic
rites, while the swarming multitudes below looked up with mute
adoration.”35 Mr. Breckenridge, whose writings we have already
referred to, at the time of his first visit, “everywhere observed
a great number of small elevations of earth, to the height of a
few feet, at regular distances apart, which appeared to observe
some order: near them pieces of flint and fragments of earthen
vessels.” From this he concludes that here was a populous town,
and that this mound was a temple site. It is doubtful whether we
shall ever pierce the veil that lies between us and this
aboriginal structure. The pyramids of the Old World have yielded
up their secret, and we behold in them the tombs of Egypt’s
kings. But this earthen pyramid on the western prairie is more
involved in mystery, and we do not know even its builders. If the
result of religious zeal, we may be sure that a religion which
exacted from its votaries the erection of such a stupendous piece
of work was one of great power.
As before remarked, “temple mounds” increase in numbers and
importance as we go south. In Kentucky they are more frequent
than in the States north of the Ohio River, and in Tennessee and
Mississippi they are still more abundant.36 We also learn that
they are often surrounded, or nearly so, with moats or ditches,
as if to fortify their location. Our next cut illustrates such an
arrangement—a circular wall of earth four feet high and two
thousand three hundred feet in circumference, incloses four
mounds, two of which are temple mounds. According to the late
Prof. Forshey, temple mounds abound in Louisiana. He described a
group situated in Catahoola County, in which the principal mound
has a base of more than an acre, a height of forty-two feet, and
the upper platform an area of nearly one-third of an acre. The
smaller mounds are arranged around this larger one. This group is
defended by an embankment. From this point for a distance of
twenty miles along the river, are scattered similar groups of
mounds; in all cases the smaller ones arranged around the larger
one, which is presumably the site of a temple.
Temple Mounds inclosed in a Circle.
A digression right here may not be devoid of interest. We are not
sure but that the dim, uncertain light of history falls on the
origin of this group of mounds. When the French first commenced
their settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley, the Natchez
Indians was the most powerful tribe in all that section. In the
course of time, wars ensued between them and the French, and in
the year 1730 they fled into Upper Louisiana, and settled at the
place where these mounds are now found. But the French followed
them a year or so afterwards, and nearly exterminated. them. Some
of our scholars think that they erected these mounds.37 The
historian of that epoch simply says they had “built a fort
there.” It is however questioned whether they had time to build
works of such magnitude. But they were both a mound-building and
a mound-using people, and we are not prepared to say how long it
would take them to do the work, until we know the number engaged,
methods employed, and other considerations.38 If they did not
build these works, they doubtless cleared them of trees and
utilized them; and this place was therefore the scene of the
final downfall of the Natchez—a people we have every reason to
regard as intimately connected with the prehistoric
mound-building tribes.
The largest temple mound in the South is near Seltzertown,
Mississippi. Its base covers about six acres, and it rises forty
feet. This slope was ascended by means of a graded way. The
summit platform has an extent of nearly four acres. On this
platform three other mounds had been reared—one at each end, and
a third in the center. Recent investigation by the Bureau of
Ethnology have shown that the base of this mound is a natural
formation. Lumps of sun-dried, or partially burnt clay, used as
plastering on the houses of the Mound Builders, gave rise to a
sensational account of a wall of sun-dried bricks two feet thick,
supporting the mound on the northern side.39 The famous Messier
Mound, in Georgia, is said to reach a height of ninety-five feet.
But a large part of this elevation is a natural eminence; the
artificial part is only a little over fifty feet.
Etowah Mound, Georgia.
A work of unusual interest occurs on the Etowah River, Georgia.
This cut gives us a plan of the work. We notice, first of all,
the moat or ditch by which they fortified their position. The
ditch is still from five to twenty-five feet deep, and from
twenty to seventy-five feet wide. It connects directly with the
river at one end, but stops short at the other. It surrounds
nearly fifty acres of land. At two points we notice reservoirs,
each about an acre in size, and an average depth of not less than
twenty feet. At its upper end is an artificial pond. This ditch,
with its reservoirs and pond, is no slight work. The large mound
seen in the center of the space is one of the largest of the
temple mounds. Its shape is sufficiently shown in the cut. The
height of the mound is sixty-five feet. We call especial
attention to the series of terraces leading up the south side of
the mound. Graded ways afford means of access from one terrace to
the other. A pathway is also seen on the eastern side.
To this group of works an interest attaches similar to that of
the group of works mentioned in Louisiana. We are not certain but
that we catch a glimpse of it while it was yet an inhabited
Indian town. This is contained in the brief accounts we have of
the wanderings of the unfortunate De Soto and his command. One of
the chroniclers of this expedition La Vega, describes one of the
towns where the weary Spaniards rested, and which we are sure was
somewhere in Northern Georgia, in such terms, mentioning the
graded way leading to the top, that Prof. Thomas, who has spent
some time in this investigation, thinks his description can apply
only to the mound under consideration.40 Whether this conclusion
will be allowed to stand, remains to be seen. But, if true, then
the darkness which rests upon this aboriginal structure lifts for
a moment and we see around it a populous Indian town, able to
send five hundred warriors to battle. The Spaniards marched on to
sufferings and death, and darkness again closed around the Etowah
Mound. When the Europeans next beheld it around it was the silent
wilderness; the warriors had departed; the trees of the forest
overspread it.
We have now described the principal mound structures, and shown
the different classes into which they are divided. But a large
class of mounds are found scattered all through the Mound
Builders’ territory that were probably used as signal mounds.
Burial mounds were also often used for this purpose.41 This was
because their location was always very favorable for signal
purposes. Signaling by fire is a very ancient custom. The Indians
on our western plains convey intelligence by this means at the
present day. Some tribes use such materials as will cause
different shades of smoke, using dried grass for the lightest,
pine leaves for the darkest, and a mixture for intermediate
purposes. They also vary the signal by letting the smoke rise in
an unbroken column, or cover the fire with a blanket, so as to
cause puffs of smoke. The evidence gathered from the position of
the mounds, and traces of fire on their summit, is that the Mound
Builders had a very extensive system of signal mounds.
Hill Mounds.
To illustrate this system, we would state that the city of
Newark, Ohio, was the site of a very extensive settlement of the
Mound Builders. This settlement was in a valley, but on all the
surrounding hills were located signal mounds. And it is further
stated that lines of signal mounds can be traced from here as a
center to other and more distant points. The large mound at Mt.
Vernon, twenty miles to the north, was part of this system. As
the settlements of the Mound Builders were mostly in river
valleys, we would expect to find all along on the bluffs fronting
these valleys traces of signal mounds. In the Scioto Valley, from
Columbus to Chillicothe, a distance of about forty miles, twenty
mounds “may be selected, so placed in respect to each other that
it is believed, if the country was cleared of forests, signals of
fire might be transmitted in a few minutes along the whole line.”
Some think the chain is much more extensive than this, and that
the whole Scioto Valley, from Delaware County to Portsmouth, was
so provided with mounds that signals could be sent in a very few
minutes the whole distance.42
Miamisburg Mound.
The valley of the Miami River was equally well provided with
signal mounds. This great mound, at Miamisburg, Ohio, rising to
the height of sixty-eight feet, was one of the chain by which
signals were transmitted along the valley. Not only was each
river valley thus provided, but there is evidence that
communication was established between different river systems, so
we can easily see how quickly the invasion of their country by an
enemy from any quarter would become known in widely scattered
sections. Immediately across the river from Chillicothe, Ohio, on
a hill nearly six hundred feet high, was located a signal mound.
A fire built upon it would be visible twenty miles up the valley,
and an equal distance down. It would be also visible far down the
valley of Paint Creek. Some think that such a system of lofty
observatories extended across the whole State of Ohio, of
Indiana, and Illinois, the Grave Creek mound, on the east, the
great mound at Cahokia, on the west, and the works in Ohio
filling up the line. We do not believe, however, it is safe to
draw such conclusions. It is doubtful whether there was any very
close connection between the tribes in these several sections.
In the State of Wisconsin are found some of the most interesting
remains of the Mound Builders. They are so different from the
ordinary remains found elsewhere that we must admit that the
people who built them differed greatly from the tribes who built
the great temple mounds of the South, or the earthworks of Ohio.
The remains in Wisconsin are distinguished not by their great
size or height, but by their singular forms. Here the mound
building instincts of the people were expressed by heaping up the
earth in the shape of animals. What strange fancy it was that led
them to mould the figures on the bluffy banks of the rivers and
the high lands about the lakes of their country, we shall perhaps
never know. That they had some design in this matter is, of
course, evident, and if we would try and learn their secret, we
must address ourselves to a study of the remains.
Effigy Mounds. Effigy mounds are almost exclusively confined to
the State of Wisconsin. We, indeed, find effigy mounds in other
sections, but they are of rare occurrence.43 They, however, show
that the same reasons, religious, or otherwise, exists in other
localities, while in the area covered by the southern portion of
the State of Wisconsin it found its greatest expression. This cut
affords us a fair idea of effigy mounds. Here are seen two
animals, one behind the other. On paper we can readily see the
resemblance. Stretched out on the ground, and of gigantic
proportions, the resemblance is not so marked, and some might
fail to notice it at first sight. Either of those figures is over
one hundred feet long, and about fifteen feet wide. With few
exceptions, effigy mounds are inconsiderable in height, varying
from one to four feet. These mounds have been carefully studied
of late years, and there is no doubt that in many instances we
can distinguish the animals represented.
We learn, then, that tribes formerly living in Wisconsin had the
custom of heaping up the earth in the shape of the various
animals peculiar to that section. But no effigies are found of
animals that have since become extinct, or of animals that are to
be found only in other lands.
Elephant Mound. Our next cut represents the famous elephant mound
of Wisconsin, on the strength of which a number of fair theories
have been given relating to the knowledge of the mastodon by the
builders of the mound, and its consequent antiquity. It now bears
some resemblance to an elephant, but we learn that the trunk was
probably produced by the washing of the banks and, from the same
cause, a projection above the head, supposed to represent horns,
has disappeared. Taking these facts into consideration, it is
quite as likely that it represented a buffalo.44 One writer even
thinks he found a representation of a camel, but the fact is, the
more these effigy mounds are studied, the more certain are we
that they are representations of animals formerly common in that
region.
Emblematic Mounds.
The manner in which they represented the various animals is full
of interest to us. It has been discovered that they worked on a
system. The last cut represents a group of three animals
discovered a few miles from the Blue Mounds in Dane County. We
notice at once a difference between the central animal, with a
tail, and the other two. It will also be observed that the
animals are represented in profile, with only two projections for
legs. They are never separated so that we can distinguish the two
front and the two hind feet. Animals so figured are the bear,
fox, wolf, panther, and others. Grazing animals, such as the
buffalo, elk, and deer, are represented with a projection for
horns. In the last cut the other two animals are buffaloes. In
various ways the particular kind of animal can nearly always be
distinguished.45
Grazing Elks. Fox in the Distance.
The preceding cut represents two elks grazing, and a fox in the
distance. The long embankments of earth at one side are
considered by Mr. Peet as in the nature of game drives. But we
call attention to the expressiveness with which these figures are
delineated. What could be more natural than the quietly grazing
elks, with the suspicious prowling fox in the distance. In the
cut we also see two cross-shaped figures. This was their method
of representing birds, a projection on each side of a central
body denoting wings. These figures are often very expressive.
Eagle Mound.
In this cut we have no difficulty in recognizing an eagle. It is
represented as soaring high in the air. On the bluffs above it is
a wolf effigy, and several conical and long mounds. In the cut
preceding this the eagle and the hawk are hovering over the
feeding elks, while in this cut a flock of hawks are watching
some buffaloes feeding in the distance. This group of effigies
was found on the banks of the Kickapoo River.
Hawks and Buffaloes.
Goose and Duck. Our next cut represents a wild goose with a long
neck and beak followed by a duck with a short neck, flying
towards the lake.
Water-loving animals, such as salamanders and turtles, are
represented in still another way, two projections on each side of
a central figure. The next following cut represents a turtle. The
tail was not always added. The salamander closely resembles the
turtle, but notice the difference in the body, and still
different is the cut of the musk-rat (see later). Fishes are
figured as a straight embankment of earth tapering to a point.
Turtle.
The same system that was observed in the location of signal
mounds is to be noticed in the arrangements of these groups of
effigy mounds. They are not alone. One group answers to another
on a distant hill, or is in plain view of another group in the
valley below. Distant groups were so related, each commanding a
wide extent of country, and thus group answers to group, and
mound to mound, for miles away, making a complete system
throughout the region.
Salamander and Musk-rat and Man-shaped Mound.
We notice this as to the location of the mounds. When we examine
the mounds themselves we observe no little skill in the way they
represent the animals. They often impressed on them something
more than mere animal resemblances. “There are groups where the
attitudes are expressive of a varied action. Certain animals,
like the weasel or mink, being seen with a bird so near that,
apparently, it might be caught by a single spring; and still
others, like the wolf or wild-cat, are arranged head to head, as
if prepared for combat; and still others, like the squirrel or
coon, are in the more playful attitudes, sometimes apparently
chasing one another over hill or valley; and again situated
alone, as if they had just leaped from some tree, or drawn
themselves out of some den or hole.”46
Nor is the effigy of the human form wanting. It is found in
several localities throughout the State. This cut shows us one
such effigy. This was the beginning of a long train of animal
mounds, presumably representing bears, found near the Blue
Mounds, Wisconsin.47 We can not observe that any more importance
was ascribed to the effigy of a human being than to that of an
animal.
In casting about for suitable explanation for the erection of
these animal mounds, we find ourselves lost in conjecture as to
the motive which induced these people to prepare these earthen
effigies. We may be sure that it was for some other reason than
for amusement, or to give exercise to an artistic feeling. Only
in very few instances do we detect any arrangements which would
imply that they were in the nature of defenses. In some cases the
effigies are so arranged as to form a sort of inclosure, some
portion of the figure being prolonged to an unusual extent and
thus inclosing a space that may have been utilized for a village
site. This group on the Wisconsin River illustrates this point.
Here the area thus partially inclosed, is about an acre. It is a
singular fact that these inclosures are almost always triangular
in shape.48 But it is manifest that a simple earth wall would
serve for defense much better than these forms. They probably
were not burial mounds, as few contain human remains, and it is
not yet certain that these remains were not intrusive burials.49
It seems, therefore that they must have been in some manner
connected with the religious life of the people.
Emblematic Mound Inclosure.
If we examine the various groups scattered throughout the State,
this belief is strengthened. It is found, for instance, in nearly
every group, that some one effigy is the principal one, and is
placed in a commanding position, about which the other forms are
arranged. It is also thought that the same effigy is the
principal or ruling effigy over a wide district. In illustration
of this, it can be stated that in the south-eastern part of the
State the turtle is always the ruling effigy. In any group of
effigies it is the principal one. It seems to watch over and
protect the others. In subordination to it are such forms as the
lizard, hawk, and pigeon. Passing to the North, the turtle is no
longer the important figure. It is replaced by the wolf, or
wild-cat. This is now the principal form, and if the turtle is
sometimes present, it is of less importance.
So marked is the fact we have just stated that Mr. Peet says,
“that sometimes this division assumes almost the character of a
river system, and thus we might trace what seems to be the
beginning in this country of that which prevailed on classic soil
and in Oriental regions—namely, river gods and tutelar divinities
of certain regions, each tribal divinity having its own province,
over which it ruled and on which it left its own form or figure
as the seal of its power and the emblem of its worship.”50
Looking for some explanation of this, we may find a key in the
known customs of various Indian tribes, and the lower races of
men. It is known that a tribe of Indians is divided into smaller
bands, which are called gens or clans. A gens may consist of
several hundred persons, but it is the unit of organization. It
takes the place of a family among civilized people. These various
bands are generally named after some animal. In the beginning
these names may have been of no special significance, but in
course of time each band would come to regard themselves as
descendants of the animal whose name they bore. Hence the animal
itself would be considered sacred in their eyes, and its life
would seldom be taken by members of that gens.
The animal thus honored by the gens was, in the Indian dialect,
the totem of the clan. This organization and custom we find
running all through the Indian tribes. In many tribes the Indians
were wont to carve a figure of their totem on a piece of slate,
or even to carve a stone in the shape of the totem, which carved
or sculptured stone they wore as an ornament, or carried as a
charm to ward off evil and bring them good luck.51 We need only
suppose that this system was very fully developed among the Mound
Builders of Wisconsin, to see what important bearing it has on
these effigy mounds.
A tribe located on one of the fertile river valleys of Wisconsin
was composed of various gens or clans. On some common point in
proximity to their villages, or some spot which commanded a wide
view of the surrounding country, each gens would rear an effigy
of its totem, the animal sacred to them. In every tribe some gens
would be the most powerful, or for some cause the most respected,
and its totem would be given in the largest effigy, and would be
placed in the most commanding position. In a different locality
some other tribe would be located, and some other totem would be
regarded as of the most importance.
In this light effigy-mounds are not mere representatives of
animal forms. They are picture-writings on a gigantic scale, and
are the source of much true history. They tell us of different
tribes, the clans which composed them, the religious beliefs, and
the ruling gens of the tribe. Contemplating them, we seem to live
again in the far-off past. The white man disappears; waving
forests claim their ancient domain, and the rivers, with a more
powerful current, roll in their olden channels. The animals whose
forms are imaged here, go trooping through the forest or over the
fertile bottom lands. The busy scenes of civilization give place
to the placid quiet of primeval times, and we seem to see
peaceful tribes of Mound Builders paying a rude veneration to
their effigy-gods, where now are churches of a more
soul-satisfying religion.
But there is still another point to be learned from an
examination of these ancient mounds. Not only are they totems of
the tribes, but they were looked on in some sense as being
guardian divinities, with power to protect the homes of the
tribe. This is learned by studying the location in which they are
placed. They occupy all points of observation. In other parts of
the Mound Builders’ country, wherever we find signal-mounds we
find corresponding positions in Wisconsin occupied by groups of
effigy-mounds, or if one only is present, it is always the one
which, from the considerations we have stated, was regarded as
the ruling effigy of that section. It is as if their builders
placed them as sentinels to guard the approaches to their homes,
to give warning of the arrival of hostile bands. This is further
borne out by finding that mounds placed in such positions
frequently show evidence of the action of intense fire, and so we
conclude they were used as signal stations also. So we need not
doubt but that the region thus watched over by these
effigy-mounds, group answering to group along the river banks, or
in the valleys below, was at times lit up by the signal fires at
night; or the warning column of smoke by day betokening the
presence of dancer.52
Bird Mound, surrounded by a Stone Circle.
Before leaving the subject of effigy-mounds, we must refer to
some instances of their presence in other localities. This cut is
an eagle effigy discovered in Georgia. Only one other instance,
also occurring in Georgia, is known of effigy-mounds in the
South. Measured from tip to tip of the wings, the bird, in this
case, is one hundred and thirty-two feet. This structure is
composed of stones, and a singular feature is the surrounding
circle of stone.53
Big Serpent Mound.
Several examples of effigy-mounds are found in Ohio. The most
notable one is that known as the Great Serpent Mound, in Adanis
County. We give an illustration of it. The entire surrounding
country is hilly. The effigy itself is situated on a tongue of
land formed by the junction of a ravine with the main branch of
Brush Creek, and rising to a height of about one hundred feet
above the creek. Its form is irregular on its surface, being
crescent-shaped, with the point resting to the north-west. We
give in a note some of the dimensions. The figure we give of this
important effigy is different from any heretofore presented. We
are indebted for the plan from which the drawing was made to Rev.
J. P. MacLean, of Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. MacLean is a well-known
writer on these topics. During the Summer of 1884, while in the
employ of the Bureau of Ethnology, he visited the place, taking
with him a thoroughly competent surveyor, and made a very careful
plan of the work for the Bureau. All the other figures published
represent the oval as the end of the works. Prof. Putnam, who
visited the locality in 1883, noticed, between the oval figure
and the edge of the ledge, a slightly raised, circular ridge of
earth, from either side of which a curved ridge extended towards
the sides of the oval figure. Mr. MacLean’s researches and
measurements have shown that the ridges last spoken of are but
part of what is either a distinct figure or a very important
portion of the original figure. As figured, it certainly bears a
very close resemblance to a frog, and such Mr. MacLean concludes
it to be.
There is both a similarity and a difference between this work and
those of Wisconsin. The fact that it occurs isolated, the other
effigies in Ohio being many miles away, shows that some special
purpose must have been subserved by it. There the great numbers
gave us a hint as to their purpose. In this case, however, nearly
all observers conclude that it was a religious work. Mr. MacLean,
after describing these three figures, propounds this query: “Does
the frog represent the creative, the egg the passive, and the
serpent the destructive power of nature?” Not a few writers,
though not acquainted with the presence of the frog-shaped
figure, have been struck with the combination of the egg and the
serpent, that plays such an important part in the mythology of
the Old World. We are told that the serpent, separate or in
combination with the circle, egg, or globe, has been a
predominant symbol among many primitive nations. “It prevailed in
Egypt, Greece, and Assyria, and entered widely into the
superstitions of the Celts, the Hindoos, and the Chinese.”
“Wherever native religions have had their scope, this symbol is
sure to appear.”54
Even the Indians have made use of this symbol. On Big Medicine
Butte, in Dakota Territory, near Pierre, is a train of stones
arranged in the form of a serpent, which is probably the work of
the Sioux Indians. Around about on the hill is the burying-ground
of their chiefs. This was to them sacred ground, and no whites
were allowed near. The stones are about the size of a man’s head,
and are laid in two rows, from one to six feet apart. The length
in all is three hundred and fifty feet, and at the tail, stones,
to represent rattles, are rudely carved. The eyes are formed by
two big red bowlders. No grass was allowed to grow between the
two rows of stone.55
It seems reasonable to suppose that the few isolated effigy
mounds we have outside of Wisconsin were built to subserve a
different purpose than those in that State. Mr. Peet has made
some remarks on their probable use that seem to us to cover the
ground, and to do away with any necessity of supposing on the
part of its builders an acquaintance with Old World mythologies.
Nature worship is one of the earliest forms of worship. The
prominent features of a landscape would be regarded as objects of
worship. Thus, for example, the island of Mackinac resembles in
its outline the shape of a turtle; so the island was regarded as
sacred to the turtle, and offerings were made to it. A bluff on
the same island at a distance resembles a rabbit; accordingly, it
was called by that name, and offerings were made to it. It is
quite natural that the effigy-mound builders should seek to
perpetuate by effigy some of these early traditions.
In the case of the Big Serpent mound this point is worth
considering. The ridge on which it stands is not only in the
midst of a wild, rough region, but is so situated that it
commands a wide extent of country. In shape this tongue of land
is also peculiar. It is a narrow, projecting headland, and would
easily suggest the idea of a serpent or a lizard. “This, with the
inaccessibility of the spot, would produce a peculiar feeling of
awe, as if it were a great Manitou which resided there; and so a
sentiment of wonder and worship would gather around the locality.
This would naturally give rise to a tradition, or would lead the
people to revive some familiar tradition and localize it.”56 The
final step would be to make an effigy.
It seems to us very hazardous to draw any conclusions as to the
religious beliefs of the Mound Builders from this effigy, or
combinations of effigies. It also seems to us reasonable to
suppose that but one figure was intended to be represented. A
very slight prolongation of the serpent’s jaws and the limbs of
the frog would connect them, in which case we would have some
amphibious creature with an unduly extended tail, or perhaps a
lizard. We must remember that the whole figure has been plowed
over once or twice, so that we are not sure of the original
outlines. We can not tell why they should represent a portion of
the body as hollow, but neither can we tell why the head of the
supposed serpent should be represented as hollow. We do not find
any important earth-works near here. The hill on which it is
placed commands a very extensive view of the surrounding country.
Within the oval a pile of stones showed evidence of a
long-continued fire, which would indicate that this was also a
signal-mound. Prof. Putnam thinks it probable that there was a
burial place between it and the large conical mound not far
away.57
In the vicinity of Newark, Ohio, are two examples of effigy
mounds. This cut represents what is called the alligator mound,
but it is probably the effigy of a lizard. The position which
this mound occupies is significant. It is on the very brow of a
hill about two hundred feet high, which projects out into a
beautiful valley. The valley is not very wide. Directly across
was a fortified camp, in the valley below it was a circular work,
and a short distance below on another projecting headland was a
strongly fortified hill. The great works at Newark were six miles
down the valley, but were probably in plain view. That it was
perhaps a signal station, is shown by the presence of traces of
fire.
Alligator Mound.
The length of this effigy is two hundred and five feet, the
breadth of the body at its widest part, twenty feet, average
height about four feet.58 The effigy mounds of Wisconsin, and the
other few examples mentioned, are among the most interesting
objects of aboriginal work. Except in a few favored instances,
they are rapidly disappearing. To the leveling influence of time
is added the assistance of man, and our knowledge of them will
soon be confined to existing descriptions, unless something is at
once done to preserve them from destruction. Interesting mementos
of a vanished race, we turn from their contemplation with a sigh
of regret that, in spite of our efforts, they are still so
enwrapped in doubt.
Mounds and effigies by no means complete the description of Mound
Builders’ remains. One of the most interesting and mysterious
class of works is now to be described. Early travelers in Ohio
came here and there upon embankments, which were found to inclose
tracts of land of various sizes. It was noticed that the
embankments were often of the form of perfect circles, or
squares, or sometimes octagons, and very often combinations of
these figures. It was further evident that the builders sought
level, fertile lands, along the various river courses. They very
seldom built them on undulating or broken ground. Often have the
very places where civilized man has laid the foundation of his
towns proved to be the sites of these ancient works of the Mound
Builders, and thus it has happened that many of the most
interesting works of antiquity have been ruthlessly removed to
make way for the crowded streets and busy marts of our own times.
The larger number of inclosures are circular, often of a small
size. Where they occur separately they either have no gateway, or
but one. Sometimes the circles are of very large size,
surrounding many acres. Sometimes, though not very often, a ditch
was also dug inside the embankment. This last circumstance is by
many regarded as a strong proof that the primary object of these
circles was not for defense.59 But an inclosure of this kind,
even with the ditch on the inside, if surmounted by a row of
pickets or palisades, would prove a strong position against
Indian foes armed with bow and arrow. The Mandans constructed
defenses of this kind around their villages.60 As to the original
height of the walls, in the majority of cases it was not very
great, generally from three to seven feet.
It is estimated that in Ohio alone there are fifteen hundred
inclosures, but a large number of them have nothing especially
worthy of mention. Some, however, are on such a large scale that
they call from all more than a passing glance. In contemplating
them, we feel ourselves confronted by a mystery that we can not
explain. The ruins of the old world excite in us the liveliest
feeling of interest, but we know their object, their builders,
and their probable antiquity. The mazy ruins at Newark, and other
places in Ohio, also fill the mind with astonishment, but in this
case we are not certain of their antiquity, their builders are
unknown, and we can not conjecture with any degree of certainty
as to their use. Before so many uncertainties imagination runs
riot, and we are inclined to picture to ourselves a scene of
barbaric power and magnificence.
High Bank Works.
One beautiful specimen of this work is found in this cut. It
occurs on the right bank of the Scioto river, five miles below
Chillicothe. Here we notice a combination of the octagon and the
circle. The areas of each are marked. The octagon is nine hundred
and fifty feet in diameter, and nearly regular in shape. In 1846
its walls were eleven or twelve feet high, by about fifty feet
base. It will be noticed that there is a gate at or near each
angle of the octagon except one, and in front of that angle was a
pit, from which some of the earth to form the walls was taken.
Facing each gateway a mound was placed, as if to guard the
entrance.
The circle connected with the octagon is perfect in shape, and is
ten hundred and fifty feet in diameter. Its walls were only about
half the height of the octagon. We notice some other small
circular works in connection with the main work. In this case the
parallels are not very regular, and seem to be connected with one
or more circular works. In a work situated but a few miles from
the one here portrayed, the parallels extend in one direction
nearly half a mile, only one hundred and fifty feet apart. They
terminate on the edge of a terrace. The object of such parallels
is as yet unknown. In some cases, after extending some distance,
they simply inclosed a mound.
It is easy enough to describe this work and give its dimensions,
but who will tell us the object its builders had in mind? The
walls themselves would afford but slight protection and if they
were for defense, must have been surmounted with palisades. Works
that were undoubtedly in the nature of fortified camps, are found
in this same section, and one of the strongest was located not
more than twelve miles away; but such defensive works differ very
greatly in design from regular structures such as we are now
describing. A very eminent scholar, Mr. Morgan, has advanced the
theory that the walls were the foundations on which communal
houses, like the Pueblos of the West, were erected.61 But this is
mere theory. All traces of such habitations (if they ever
existed) are gone, the usual _debris_ which would be sure to
accumulate around house-sites, is wanting, and the walls
themselves seem unfit for such purpose.62
They may have been embankments surrounding towns and cultivated
fields, but little has yet been found which can be cited as
proofs of residence within the area so inclosed. We should not be
surprised, however, if such would ultimately prove to be the
case, since we now know that the Mound Builders of Tennessee did
fortify their villages by means of embankments and ditches.63 A
number of writers think that these regular inclosures were in
some way connected with the superstitions of the people. In other
words, that they were religious in character. Mr. Squier remarks,
“We have reason to believe that the religious system of the Mound
Builders, like that of the Aztecs, exercised among them a great,
if not a controlling, influence. Their government may have been,
for aught we know, a government of the priesthood—one in which
the priestly and civil functions were jointly exercised, and one
sufficiently powerful to have secured in the Mississippi Valley,
as it did in Mexico, the erection of many of those vast
monuments, which for ages will continue to challenge the wonder
of men. There may have been certain superstitious ceremonies,
having no connection with the purpose of the mound, carried on in
inclosures especially dedicated to them.”64 Another late writer
to whom we have several times referred, tells us there is no
doubt but what a “religious view” was the controlling influence
in the erection of these works, and that they express a
“complicated system of symbolism,” that we see in them evidence,
of a most powerful and wonderful religious system.65 Still such
assertions are easier made than proven, and until we know
somewhat the purpose for which they were used, how are we to know
whether they were sacred or not?
Casting conjectures, for the moment, aside, let us learn what we
can from the works themselves. From their large extent they could
only be reared by the expenditure of great labor. This implies
some form of government sufficiently centralized and powerful to
control the labors of large bodies of men. Moreover, they were
sufficiently advanced to have some standard of measurement and
some way of measuring angles. The circle, it will be remembered,
is a true circle, and of a dimension requiring considerable skill
to lay out. The sides of the octagon are equal, and the alternate
angles coincident.
Every year the plow sinks deeper into these crumbling
embankments, and the leveling forces of cultivation are
continually at work, and the time is not far distant when the
curious traveler will with difficulty trace the ruins of what was
once, to the Mound Builders, a place of great importance.
Square and Circle Embankment. The more usual combination was that
of a square and a circle. An example is given in this cut, which
is a plan on a very small scale, of works which formerly existed
in Circleville. One peculiar feature about this work was that a
double wall formed the circle, with a ditch between the two
walls. In the next cut we notice a peculiar combination of these
two figures. The square is inclosed within the circle. Whatever
we may ultimately decide as to the larger works, it would seem as
if this could only be explained as in the nature of a religious
work. We can see no reason for constructing a defensive work, or
inclosing a village, or erecting foundations for houses of such a
shape as this. They must have been in some way connected with the
superstitions of the people.
Square inscribed in a Circle.
Circle and Ditch. A peculiar feature is also noticed in reference
to some of the smaller circles in this section. The cut at left
illustrates it. The circle has a ditch interior to the
embankment, and also a broad embankment of about the same height
with the outer wall, interior to the ditch, running about
half-way around the circle. A short distance from the circle was
one of those elevated squares, one hundred and twenty feet square
at the base, and nine feet high.66 It may be that this square was
the foundation on which stood a temple, in which case the circle
might have been dedicated to religious purposes also.
The great geometrical inclosures are especially numerous in the
Scioto Valley. All the works we have described were in the near
neighborhood of Chillicothe, and works as important as these are
scattered all up and down the valley. We must also recall how
well provided this valley was with signal mounds. All indications
point to the fact that here was the location of a numerous
people, ready to defend their homes whenever the warning fires
were lit. Although Mound Builders’ works are numerous in the
valley of the two Miami Rivers, Cincinnati being the site of an
extensive settlement, yet they were not such massive structures
as those in the Scioto. This would seem to indicate that these
valleys were the seats of separate tribes.67 But this Eastern
tribe must have occupied an extensive territory, since works of
the most complicated kind are found at Newark.
All indications point to the fact that near this latter place was
a very important settlement of the Mound Builders. Several
fortified works exist a few miles up the valley; signal-mounds
are to be seen on all heights, commanding a wide view, and the
famous alligator mound is placed, as if with the design of
guarding the entrance to the valley. No verbal description will
give an idea of the works, so we refer at once to the plan. This
will give us a good idea of the works as they were when the first
white settlers gazed upon them. They have nearly all been swept
away by modern improvements, excepting the two circular works and
the octagon. Here and there fragments of the other works can
still be traced.
Mound Builders’ Works, Newark, Ohio.
Two forks of the Licking River unite near Newark; the bottom
between these rivers comprising several square miles, was
occupied by these ancient earth-works. By reference to the plan,
we see the works consisted of mounds of various sizes, parallel
walls, generally of a low elevation, small and low embankments,
in the form of small circles and half-circles. There are also
several large works consisting of a circle and octagon combined,
one large circle, and a parallelogram. The circular structure at
‘E,’ is undoubtedly one of the best preserved and most imposing
in the State. There are many inclosing larger areas, but none
more clearly defined. As this is now included in the fair-grounds
of Licking County, it is preserved from destruction, and will
remain a monument of aboriginal work long after all traces of the
others have disappeared. “At the entrance, which is towards the
east, the ends of the walls curve outwards for a distance of a
hundred feet, leaving a passage way eighty feet wide between the
deep ditches on either hand.” From this point the work, even now
presents an impressive appearance. The walls are twelve feet in
perpendicular height, and about fifty feet base. There is a ditch
close around it on the inside, seven feet deep by thirty-five
feet wide. The area inclosed is about thirty acres.
Eagle Mound. In the center is an effigy-mound, represented by
this cut. It represents a bird on the wing, and is called the
Eagle Mound. The long mound in the body of the bird has been
opened, and it was found to contain an altar, such as has been
already described. Was this a place of sacrifice, and did this
wall inclose a sacred area? Our question remains unanswered. We
can dig in the mounds, and wander over the embankments, but the
secret of the builders eludes us.
A mile to the north-west of the part of the work just described
are the Octagon and works in connection with it. The Octagon is
not quite regular, but the sides are very nearly equal. At each
angle is a gateway, interior and opposite to which is a mound, as
if to guard the opening. The cut gives a view of the Octagon,
looking in through one of these gateways. At present, however,
but a small portion is in the forest. Most of it is under
cultivation, but the work can still be easily traced, and is one
of the best preserved in the State. A portion of it, still in the
forest, presents the same appearance to-day as it did to the
first explorer. When a stranger for the first time wanders along
the embankment and ascends the mounds, he can not fail to
experience sensations akin to those of the traveler when he comes
upon the ruins of some Old World city. We wish that for a brief
space of time the curtain of the past would up-roll, and let us
view these works while yet their builders flourished here.
Gateway of Octagon.
Connected with the Octagon by parallel walls three hundred feet
long and placed sixty feet apart, is the smaller circle, “F.”
This is a true circle, and is upwards of half a mile in
circumference. A portion of it lying in the woods, still retains
its primitive form, but the larger part is now under cultivation.
There is no difficulty, however, in tracing its entire length.
The most interesting feature in connection with this part of the
work is immediately opposite the point of entrance from the
octagon, and is represented in our next cut. At this point it
seems as if the builders had started to make parallel walls, but
afterwards changed their design and threw across the opening a
large mound. From this mound a view of the entire embankment
could be obtained. It is called the Observatory Mound. It has
been so often dug into that it is now really in ruins, but is
still too steep to be plowed over.
Observatory Mound, Newark Works.
It is scarcely necessary to describe the works further, except to
state that three lines of parallel embankments lead away from the
octagon. Those extending south have been traced for upwards of
two miles, and are gradually lost in the plain. It was the
opinion of Mr. Atwater, one of the earliest investigators, that
these lines connected with other works thirty miles away, in the
vicinity of Lancaster.68 Small circles are numerous in connection
with these works. It has been suggested by several that they mark
the sites of circular dwellings. The larger ones, indicated by
the letter “G,” are more pretentious. They have the ditch and
embankment, which we have already described. Many interesting
coincidents in dimensions will be perceived between portions of
this work and those described in the Scioto valley.69
Although we have devoted considerable space to this branch of the
Mound Builders’ work, we must still find space to describe the
works at Marietta, which possessed some singular features. This
cut gives us a correct plan of the works as they were when in
1788 the first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum to
lay out their town. The growth of the beautiful town of Marietta
has completely destroyed these works, except the elevated
squares, A and B, the large mound and inclosing circle at X, with
a portion of the adjoining embankments, and a small fragment of
the parallel walls forming what has been called the “Graded Way.”
The elevated squares are the finest examples of “temple” mounds
remaining in the Ohio Valley. The circle and ditch with the
conical mound inclosed is also a fine example of that class of
works. From the summit of the mound an extensive view is to be
had both up and down the Ohio.
Works at Marietta, Ohio.
The gateways of the smaller square were guarded by mounds, which
were wanting in the larger one. We would call especial attention
to the two embankments which led from the larger square towards
the river. They were six hundred and eighty feet long, and one
hundred and fifty feet apart.70 Some have supposed these walls
were designed to furnish a covered way to the river. But as Mr.
Squier remarks, we would hardly expect the people to go to the
trouble of making such a wide avenue for this purpose, nor one
with such a regular grade. Besides, the walls did not reach the
river. The work seems to be simply a passage way, leading from
one terrace to the other, but why the builders should have made
such a massive work, we can not explain. It has been called the
“Sacred Way,” and this name may possibly be applicable, but it is
only conjectural. Some twenty years ago these two massive and
beautiful embankments were still preserved, thanks to the care of
the early settlers, who planned a street to pass between them,
which was named the _Via Sacra._ These words still remain on a
corner signboard; but alas for sentiment! the banks, so long
revered, have been utilized for brick-working.
Graded Way, Piketon, Ohio.
Several instances of these graded streets or ways have been found
in connection with the Mound Builders’ works. Sometimes they lead
from one terrace to another, sometimes directly to the water. One
of the latter kind formerly existed near Piqua, Ohio.71 This cut
is a view of a graded way near Piketon, Ohio. In this case,
though the difference in level between the second and third
terrace is but seventeen feet, these ancient people laid out a
graded ascent some ten hundred and eighty feet long, by two
hundred and ten feet average width. The earth was thrown out on
either side, forming embankments. From the left hand embankments,
passing up to the third terrace, there could formerly be traced a
low embankment running for fifteen hundred feet, and connected
with mounds and other walls at its extremity.
Some have supposed that formerly the river flowed at the
extremity of this graded way, and a passage way to the water was
thus furnished. Squier says, in this connection: “It is
sufficient to observe that the river now flows half a mile to the
left, and that two terraces, each twenty feet in height,
intervene between the present and the supposed ancient level of
the stream. To assent to this suggestion, would be to admit an
almost immeasurable antiquity to the structure under
consideration.” The casual observer would say that it was
intended to afford an ascent from one terrace to the other. But
as the height was only seventeen feet, we can not see why it was
so necessary to have a long passage way of easy grade from one
terrace to the other. It was evidently built in connection with
the obliterated works on the third terrace. This interesting
remain is now utilized as a turnpike, and the passing traveler
but little recks he is going over one of the most ancient
causeways in the land. It may be that ceremonious processions,
with stately tread, utilized this causeway in years long since
elapsed. Speculation, always an unsafe guide to follow, is
especially so in this case, and so we leave this memento of a
vanished people as much an enigma to us as to its first
explorers.
We have described but a few of the sacred inclosures of Ohio, but
enough have been given to give us a fair idea of all. We wish now
to call attention to another class of remains. We have seen how
the works we have been describing are lacking in defensive
qualities. This becomes more marked, when we learn there are
works, beyond a doubt, defensive in character, in which advantage
is taken of all circumstances which would render the chosen
retreat more secure. In the first place, strong natural positions
were selected. They chose for their purpose bluffy headlands
leading out into the river plain. A people surrounded by enemies,
or pressed by invaders, would naturally turn their attention to
such heights as places susceptible of defense. Accordingly, it
does not surprise us to find many heights occupied by strong and
complicated works. Generally the approaches to them were rugged
and steep on all but one or two sides, and there they are guarded
by walls of earth or stone.
A fine example of a fortified hill was discovered in Butler
County, Ohio, a few miles below the town of Hamilton. This hill
is the highest one in the immediate vicinity. By reference to the
figure, we see that on all sides, except towards the north, the
approach was steep and precipitous, almost inaccessible.
Fortified Hill, Hamilton, Ohio.
The wall is not of regular shape. It runs around on the very brow
of the hill, except in one or two places, where it cuts across a
ridge. In 1843 this wall was still about five feet high and
thirty-five feet base. The earth and stone of which the wall is
made were evidently gathered up from the surface of the hill. In
some places holes had been excavated, probably for the double
purpose of securing materials for the wall, and providing
reservoirs for water against a time of need. There are but four
openings in the wall, and each is very carefully guarded. The
complicated walls guarding the main entrance to the north are
especially noticeable. There are no less than four inner walls
besides the crescent shaped embankment on the outside. The signal
mound was about five hundred feet to the north of the main
opening. The stones on the surface of the mound all show the
action of fire.
If we were uncertain of the uses of the other class of
inclosures, which have been named Sacred Inclosures, we have no
need to hesitate as to the character of this work. Every thing in
reference to it betokens that it was a defensive work. The valley
of the Big Miami, in which it occurs, was a favorite resort of
the Mound Builders. On the opposite side of the river, to the
south, was a square and an ellipse combined, and several other
large works were ranged along the river in the course of a few
miles. We need scarcely doubt that this was a citadel in times of
need, and that when warning columns of smoke or flaming fires
showed the approach of an enemy, the old and the sick, the women
and the children, fled hither for protection, while the warriors
went forth to battle for their homes.
We will call attention to but one more of these fortified hills,
but this is on a magnificent scale. It is known as Fort Ancient,
and is situated on the Little Miami River, about forty miles east
of Cincinnati. It was not only a fort, but was also a fortified
village site, and has some features about it which are regarded
as of a religious nature. The hill on which it stands is in most
places very steep towards the river. A ravine starts from near
the upper end on the eastern side, gradually deepening towards
the south, and finally turns abruptly towards the west to the
river. By this means nearly the whole work occupies the summit of
a detached hill, having in most places very steep sides. To this
naturally strong position fortifications were added, consisting
of an embankment of earth of unusual height, which follows close
around the very brow of the hill. This embankment is still in a
fine state of preservation, but is now annually exposed to
cultivation and the inroads of cattle, so that it will not be
long before it will be greatly changed if no effort be made to
preserve it.
Fort Ancient.
This wall is, of course, the highest in just those places where
the sides of the hill are less steep than usual. In some places
it still has a height of twenty feet. We notice the wall has
numerous breaks in it. Some of these are where it crosses the
ravines, leading down the sides of the hill. In a few cases the
embankment may still be traced to within a few feet of a rivulet.
Considerable discussion has ensued as to the origin and use of
these numerous gateways. Mr. Squier thinks that these openings
were occupied by timber work in the nature of blockhouses which
have long since decayed. Others, however, think that the wall was
originally entire except in a few instances, and that the breaks
now apparent were formed by natural causes, such as water
gathering in pools, and musk-rats burrowing through the walls,
and we are told that such an opening was seen forming in the year
1847.72 No regular ditch exists inside the wall, the material
apparently being obtained from numerous dug holes.
It will be seen that the works could be naturally divided into
two parts, connected by the isthmus. More than one observer has
pointed out the resemblance in general outline of this work to a
map of North and South America, but of course the resemblance, if
any, is entirely accidental. Mr. Peet has called attention to the
resemblance which the walls of the lower inclosure bear to two
serpents, their heads being the mounds, which are separated from
the body by the opening which resembles a ring around the neck.
Their bodies are the walls, which, as they bend in and out, and
rise and fall, much resembles, he thinks, two massive green
serpents rolling along the summit of this high hill. If any such
resemblance occurs, we think it purely accidental. In relation to
the wall across the isthmus, it has been thought to have been the
means of defending one part of the work should an enemy gain
entrance to the other. It has also been supposed that at first
the fort was only built to the cross wall on the isthmus, and
afterwards the rest of the inclosure was added to the work.
The total length of the embankment is about five miles, the area
enclosed about one hundred acres. For most of this distance the
grading of the walls resembles the heavy grading of a railroad
track. Only one who has personally examined the walls can realize
the amount of labor they represent for a people destitute of
metallic tools, beasts of burden, and other facilities to
construct it.
Now, what was the object of this work? We think it was not simply
a fort, but rather a fortified village. That it must have
required the work of a numerous body of people, is undoubted, and
if they lived elsewhere, where are the works denoting such a
fact? We would further suggest that, if this was the seat of a
tribe, each of the two divisions might have been the location of
a phratry of the tribe, by a phratry, meaning the subdivision of
a tribe. We would call especial attention to the two mounds seen
just outside of the walls at the upper end. From these mounds two
low parallel walls extended in a north-easterly direction some
thirteen hundred and fifty feet, their distant ends joining
around a small mound. As this mound was not well situated for
signal purposes, inasmuch as it did not command a very extensive
view, and as the embankments would afford very little protection,
unless provided with palisades, it seems as if the most
satisfactory explanation we have is that it was in the nature of
a religious work.
Mr. Hosea thinks he has found satisfactory evidence that between
these walls there was a paved street, as he discovered in one
place, about two feet below the present surface, a pavement of
flat stones.73 From this, as a hint, he eloquently says:
“Imagination was not slow to conjure up the scene which was once
doubtless familiar to the dwellers at Fort Ancient. A train of
worshipers, led by priests clad in their sacred robes, and
bearing aloft the holy utensils, pass in the early morning, ere
yet the mists have risen in the valley below, along the gently
swelling ridge on which the ancient roadway lies. They near the
mound, and a solemn stillness succeeds their chanting songs; the
priests ascend the hill of sacrifice and prepare the sacred fire.
Now the first beams of the rising sun shoot up athwart the ruddy
sky, gilding the topmost boughs of the trees. The holy flame is
kindled, a curling wreath of smoke arises to greet the coming
god; the tremulous bush which was upon all nature breaks into
vocal joy, and songs of gladness bursts from the throats of the
waiting multitude as the glorious luminary arises in majesty and
beams upon his adoring people. A promise of renewed life and
happiness. Vain promise, since even his rays can not penetrate
the utter darkness which for ages has settled over this people.”
Thus imagination suggests, and enthusiasm paints a scene, but,
from positive knowledge, we can neither affirm nor deny its
truth.
Most of the works of the Mound Builders are noticeable for their
solidity and massiveness. We see this illustrated in the great
walls of Fort Ancient. Some of our scholars think this is a
distinguishing feature of the Mound Builders’ work.74 It seems to
us that it is difficult to make this a distinguishing feature, as
we have no means of knowing how much “massiveness” is required in
a work to entitle it to be considered a work of the Mound
Builders. Should this distinction be established, however, we
have to notice that while in the western part of the State of
Ohio the Mound Builders’ inclosures are more often of the
defensive sort, the type changes to the eastward, where, as in
the Scioto Valley, we find the so-called sacred inclosures in
larger numbers. In the State of Ohio, then, there were at least
two well defined types of works by the Mound Builders. But if we
split the Mound Builders up into tribes, where shall we draw the
line between them and our later Indians?
Fortified Headland, Northern Ohio.
Inclosures, Northern Ohio.
Scattered through Ohio, but especially abundant in the northern
part of the State, is a class of works which has excited
considerable comment. This cut illustrates a work of this kind.
It was located near where Cleveland now stands. The defense
consists mainly in the location. The wall seems to have been
rather of a secondary affair. The hill was too steep to admit
approach to it except from the rear, where the double wall was
placed. With both of these works a ditch was dug outside the
wall. These works did not always consist simply of fortified
headlands. This cut is of a portion of the works formerly
existing near Norwalk, Ohio. The circular work, D, is shaped much
like the sacred inclosures, though not on so large a scale. In
the larger work, at B, we notice a truncated mound. The ditch is
on the outside of the circles. This cut is of a work formerly on
the banks of the Black River. Here we have a square inclosure,
defended by two embankments and a ditch.
Square Inclosure, Northern Ohio.
This class of works was formerly common not only in Ohio and
Western New York, but they were also to be observed in other
sections of the country. They existed alike in the valley of the
two Miami Rivers, and in that of the Scioto. They were also found
throughout the South. Even Wisconsin, the home of the effigy
Mound Builders, is not destitute of this class of remains. The
peculiar interest attaching to them arises from the fact that in
some places, at least, we have good reason to assign their
construction to Indian tribes. Those of Western New York were
very thoroughly studied by Mr. Squier. When he commenced his
investigations, he was under the impression that he was dealing
with the remains of a people very similar, at least, to those who
built the massive works in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere, but he
was led to the conviction that they were the works of the
Iroquois Indians, and as further proof that such was the case, we
are told that since the palisades that once inclosed places known
to be villages of the Iroquois have disappeared, there is no
difference to be observed between the appearance of the ruins of
such a village site and any of the earthworks in Western New
York. But we have just stated that the remains last mentioned are
identical with those found in Northern Ohio, and indeed over a
wide extent of country. The conclusion seems to be, then, that
one large class of works in many points resembling Mound
Builders’ works, found widely distributed throughout the
Mississippi Valley, were really the works of Indians.75 But we
are approaching a subject we do not wish to discuss just yet. We
simply point out that not all the remains of prehistoric people
in the Mississippi Valley are referable to the Mound Builders.
We have tried to point out the more important works that are
ascribed to them. It must of necessity occur in a work of this
nature that the review should be very brief, yet we have touched
on the different classes of their works. But before leaving this
part of our field we must mention some anomalous works, and refer
to others which, if they can be relied on as works of the same
people, certainly imply a great advance on their part.
Our next cut is named by Mr. Pidgeon the “Sacrificial Pentagon.”
Writing in 1850, he states, “This remarkable group . . . has
probably elicited more numerous conjectures as to its original
use than any other earth-work yet discovered in the valley of the
Mississippi. . . . It is situated on the west highlands of the
Kickapoo River, in Wisconsin.”76 Mr. Pidgeon claims to have
discovered two of these pentagons. We are not aware that any one
else has verified these discoveries, and it is difficult to
decide what value to give to his writings. He claims to have made
extensive researches around the head-waters of the Mississippi as
early as 1840, and there to have met an aged Indian—the last of
his tribe—who gave him many traditions as to the mounds in that
locality. Most of our scholars think his writings of no account,
whatever, and yet Mr. Conant says, “He seems to have been a
thoroughly conscientious and careful observer, faithfully noting
what he saw and beard.”77
Sacrificial Pentagon.
We will briefly describe a few of the earth-works he mentions,
notice their singular form, and give an outline of the traditions
in regard to them, leaving the reader to draw his own
conclusions. Of this work the outer circle is said to have been
twelve hundred feet in circumference, the walls being from three
to five feet in height; width on the ground from twelve to
sixteen feet. The walls of the pentagon were from four to six
feet high. The inner circle was of very slight elevation. The
central mound was thirty-six feet in diameter. This singular
arrangement of circle, pentagon, and mounds, is traditionally
represented to have been a sacred national altar—the most holy
one known to tradition—and no foot, save that of a priest, might
pass within the sacred walls of the pentagon after its
completion. The sacrifice offered on this altar was that of human
life. Twice each year the offering was made.78
Festival Circle.
The work represented in the figure at left is stated to have been
in the near neighborhood of the former, and to have been
intimately connected with it. Mr. Pidgeon claims to have found
five of these circles and two pentagons. So far as we know, he is
the only authority for their occurrence, no one else having been
so fortunate as to have found them. This is surely a singular
work, and we can not fail to recognize in it a representation of
the sun and the moon. In excavating in the central mound, we are
assured that small pieces Of mica were found abundantly mixed
with the soil. “Had the surface-soil been removed with care, and
the stratum beneath been washed by a few heavy showers of rain,
so thoroughly studded was it with small particles of mica, that
under the sun’s rays it certainly would have presented no unapt
symbolic representation of that luminary.”79
Crescent Works.
Our next figure is another singular arrangement of
crescent-shaped works and mounds. Lapham says that
crescent-shaped works are found in Wisconsin. Pidgeon says that
crescent works are found in Illinois, but works arranged as shown
in this wood-cut he found in but four places in Wisconsin. Could
we verify this author’s statements, this illustration and the
preceding one would be very good evidence of the prevalence of
sun-worship among the effigy Mound Builders of Wisconsin. This
would be nothing singular, since the Indian race almost
universally reverenced the sun.80
The figure below represents a group of works which, we are told,
were of a class formerly abundant in Missouri and Iowa. The
embankments are stated to be of varying heights, but all of the
same length. They do not quite meet, but a mound defends the
opening. Sometimes a square is so represented, and sometimes but
two walls.
Triangular Works.
A singular statement is made in reference to a nice proportion
said to be observed between the heights of the embankments and
walls. In this case, for instance, the heights of the embankments
are, three, four, and five feet; the sum of these, twelve feet,
was the exact height of the central mound. Furthermore, the
square of the sum of the heights of three embankments gives us
one hundred and forty-four feet, which is the length of the
embankments. We are gravely assured that this same nice
proportion is always observed in works of this kind. The
embankments being always of equal length, but of varying heights,
still the sum of these heights, whether three or four sides,
being always equal to the height of the central mound.81 We do
not know of any specimen of this class of works now existing. If
this early explorer’s account be reliable, then we have in works
of this class very good evidence that some of their inclosures
were in the nature of sacred inclosures. The trouble is to verify
Mr. Pidgeon’s account. There is a good deal that is strange and
marvelous in reference to the Mound Builders, and we must use
judgment as to what is told us, unless we are sure there is no
mistake, or unless the reports are vouched for by many observers.
We wish to call attention to some singular works in Missouri,
which would imply that the Mound Builders were possessed of no
little engineering skill. We have every indication that near New
Madrid was a very extensive settlement. The works consist of
inclosures, large and small mounds in great numbers, and
countless residence sites. One of fifty acres was noticed, which
had evidently been inclosed by earthen walls. In some places in
the forest, where this wall had been preserved, its height was
found to be from three to five feet, and its base width fifteen
feet.82 But the suggestive features about these works are noticed
along the edge of the swamp near which they stood. This swamp in
1811 was a lake, with a clear, sandy bottom. It is not at all
doubted but that it was at one time the bed of the Mississippi
River, and probably this town stood on its banks. The river is
now some eighteen miles away. It must suddenly have changed its
course, leaving behind it a lake, which, in course of time,
became a swamp.
But along the shores of this ancient lake, in front of the
inclosure, small tongues of land have been carried out into the
water, from fifteen to thirty feet in length, by ten, or fifteen
in width, with open spaces between, which, small as they are,
forcibly remind one of the wharfs of a seaport town. The cypress
trees grew very thickly in all the little bays thus formed, and
the irregular, yet methodical, outlines of the forest, winding in
and out close to the shore of these tongues of land, is so marked
as to remove all doubt as to their artificial origin.83 The
suggestion is made in view of these wharfs, that the Mound
Builders must have had some sort of boats to navigate the waters
of the lake.
And the singular part is, that right in this neighborhood are
many evidences of a system of canals. A glance at the map will
show that the portion of Missouri around New Madrid, and to the
south of it, is dotted with swampy lakes and sluggish bayous. The
evidence is to the effect that the ancient inhabitants connected
these bayous and lakes with artificial canals, so as to form
quite an extended system of inland water-ways. Right east of the
town of Gayoso, we are told that a canal had been dug that now
connects the Mississippi with a lake called Big Lake. A bayou
running into this lake was joined by a canal with Cushion Lake.
From this last lake, by means of bayous and lakes, a clear course
could be pursued for some miles north, where finally another
canal was cut to join with the Mississippi a few miles below New
Madrid. The entire length of this water way was some seventy
miles, but we are not told how much of it was artificial, neither
are the dimensions given. Prof. Swallow speaks of a canal “fifty
feet wide, and twelve feet, deep.” Whether this was one of this
series or not, we do not know.84 This is indeed a singular piece
of work. It would be more satisfactory if we had more definite
information in regard to the same.
With our present knowledge of the state of society among the
Mound Builders, as made evident by the remains of their
implements and ornaments, we are not justified in believing this
part of a system of internal navigation. We have already seen
that further south they sometimes surrounded their village sites
with a wide and deep moat or ditch, as was observed around the
inclosure containing the great mound on the Etowah. We are
inclined to believe that a more careful survey would greatly
modify the accounts we have of these canals, if it did not, in
fact, show that they were the works of nature. According to a
writer in the _American Antiquarian,_85 the whole lower part of
the Mississippi Valley was abundantly supplied with canals,
irrigating ditches, and evidences of a high intelligence. He
speaks of observing the presence of an extensive canal a little
north of the section we have described. He asserts they were dug
to convey the surplus waters of the Mississippi in times of flood
to the White and St. Francis Rivers, thus preventing disastrous
overflows. It is needless to caution the reader against such
conclusions. Our information in regard to those canals is far too
limited to support the views advanced.
This finishes our examination of the works of the Mound Builders.
Except in the case of the more massive works, they have become
obliterated, but here and there are left traces of the former
presence of these now vanished people. The antiquary muses over
the remains of their inclosures, their fortified places, their
effigies and mounds. By the combined efforts of scholars in many
departments, we may yet hope that the darkness now enshrouding
this race may be dissipated, but at present our positive
knowledge is very limited indeed. It is as if we were asked to
reconstruct a picture which had faded in the lapse of time so
that only traces here and there are visible. Here, perhaps, a
hand is seen; there a piece of foliage; in one place something we
think representing water, in another a patch of sky, or a
mountain peak. Until a key is found which shall show us how to
connect these scattered parts, our efforts are useless, since
many pictures could be formed, but we have no surety we are
right. So we may form mental conceptions of the Mound Builders,
but they are almost as varied as the individual explorers.
Science may yet discover the key which will enable us to form a
clear mental conception of the race which flourished here many
years ago, and left their crumbling memorials to excite the
curiosity of a later people.
We must now turn our attention to another branch of inquiry and
learn what we can of the culture of the Mound Builders. This is
to be determined by an investigation of the remains of their
implements, weapons, and ornaments. When we know the skill with
which they manufactured these articles, and gain an insight into
some of their probable customs, we shall know where to place them
in the scale of civilization. What we have learned of their works
has already convinced us that we are dealing with a people
considerably above the scale of Savagery. The nice proportion
between the parts, the exact circles and coincident angles show
considerable advance in mechanical skill. The character of the
works indicates that the people had permanent places of abode,
and were not subject to the vicissitudes of a hunter’s state of
life for subsistence. This implies that we are dealing with a
people living in village communities, practising agriculture and
many other arts, and therefore entitled to rank in the middle
status of Barbarism corresponding to the Neolithic inhabitants of
Europe.86 We will now see how far this conclusion is sustained by
an examination of the remains of the handiwork of the people.
Arrow Points. Ax found in a Mound.
Implements of stone are of course abundant. But men, when in the
culture of the Stone Age, having a common material to work upon,
and under the pressure of common needs, have everywhere provided
similar forms. For this reason it is hard to find distinctive
points of difference between implements of stone of Mound
Builders’ work and a series of similar implements the work of
Indians. We are assured, however, that when examining a series of
each, those of the Mound Builders display a superior finish.87
The preceding wood-cut represents a collection of arrow-points
found in the mounds, but they are not particularly so
distinguishable from specimens found on the surface. Great
numbers of arrow-points are occasionally found on altars. Here we
have a view of one of the stone axes fashioned by the hands that
heaped the mounds. It is certainly a very fine specimen.
The Mound Builders must have had all the varieties of stone
implements common to people in their stage of culture, such as
axes, fleshers, and chisels. They also must have possessed
mortars and pestles for grinding corn, and some implements did
duty as hoes and spades. We represent in a group a collection of
weapons and implements from the mounds and stone graves of
Tennessee. All these articles are finely finished. One of the
axes has a hole bored through it. One of them is further provided
with a stone handle, and is characterized as being the “most
beautiful and perfect stone implement ever exhumed from the
aboriginal remains within the limits of the United States.”
Weapons of Stone from Tennessee. (Smith. Inst.)
People in the culture of the Stone Age make but very rare use of
metal, as metals are to them simply varieties of stone, much less
useful for their purpose than the different kinds of flints,
except for ornaments. From the altar mounds, near Cincinnati,
were taken ornaments of silver, copper, iron and traces of gold,
all of which had been worked into their present shape by simply
hammering. The iron, it should be remarked, was meteoric iron,
which can be hammered as easily as native copper. We have already
remarked that about the only native iron is obtained from such
sources. Copper was utilized for a great variety of purposes.
Copper Ax.
We give a cut of a copper ax found in one of the Ohio mounds.
Copper axes have lately been found quite frequently in mounds
near Davenport, Iowa, and in most cases before being deposited in
the mounds, they had been wrapped in cloth. Copper ornaments are
a more common find. Bracelets, beads, and ear ornaments are
numerous. Our next cut represents some very fine bracelets found
in a mound near Chillicothe, Ohio, Copper tools and weapons have
been found quite frequently on the surface, but we are not sure
in this case whether they are not the work of recent Indians. The
early explorers noticed the presence of copper ornaments among
the Indians. “When Henry Hudson discovered, in 1609, the
magnificent river that bears his name, he noticed among the
Indians of that region pipes and ornaments of copper.” The
account says: “They had red copper tobacco pipes, and other
things of copper they did wear about their necks.”88 De Soto also
noticed among the Southern Indians axes of copper. Other accounts
could be quoted showing that the Indians were well acquainted
with copper.89 The fact is, in this matter also, it is impossible
to draw a dividing line between relics of the Mound Building
tribes and the Indians. However, the Mound Builders were
certainly acquainted with copper, but to their minds it was only
a singular stone, one that they could hammer, into a desired
shape.
Copper Bracelets.
Where did they obtain their copper? We are all aware that in this
country great supplies of pure copper exist near the southern
shore of Lake Superior, and there is a peculiarity about the
copper found there, that is, the presence of small pieces of
silver with the copper. This is a very singular mixture, and we
are not aware of its occurrence elsewhere. It would trouble the
best chemists to explain it. From this fact we are enabled to
identify articles of copper derived from that source, and to that
region we can trace the copper from which are formed most of the
copper implements and ornaments found in this country. It is also
noticeable that the nearer we get to this region the more
numerous are the finds of articles of copper. More are reported
from Wisconsin than the rest of the United States put together.
This leads us to a very interesting subject. In 1848 Mr. S. O.
Knapp, agent of the Minnesota Mining Company on the northern
peninsula of Michigan, discovered that the modern miners were but
following in the footsteps of some ancient people who had mined
for copper there some time now far past. The general conclusion
is that these old miners were Mound Builders, but here the
evidence of their presence is not found in the existence of
mounds and earthworks, but of pits and excavations, which, by the
slow accumulation of years, had become filled to near the surface
with _débris_ of various kinds. Many had noticed these little
pits and depressions without suspecting they had aught to do with
the presence of man. The hollows made by large trees, overturned
by the wind, frequently left as well marked depressions as these
excavations.
We have abundant proof that these old miners were practical
workmen. They evidently did not neglect the most trifling
indication of metals. They made thorough research and discovered
the principal lodes. Our present day miners have long since
learned to regard the presence of these ancient pits as excellent
guides in this matter. With modern appliances they penetrate far
beyond the power of the old workmen. At the Waterbury mine there
is in the face of the vertical bluff an artificial opening, which
is twenty-five feet wide, fifteen feet high, and twelve feet
deep. The materials thrown out in digging had accumulated in
front, and on this forest trees common to that region were
growing of full size. Some of the blocks of stone which were
removed from this recess would probably weigh two or three tons,
and must have required the use of levers to move them. Beneath
the surface rubbish was discovered the remains of a cedar trough,
by which the water from the mines was conducted away. Wooden
bowls were found, which were probably used to dip the water from
the mine into this trough.
Near the bottom of the pit, shovels, made of cedar, were found,
shaped much like a canoe paddle, but showing by their wear that
they were used as shovels. Although they appeared solid while in
water, yet, on drying, they shrunk up, and were with difficulty
preserved. A birch tree, two feet in diameter, was observed
growing directly over one of these shovels. No marks of metallic
tools were observed anywhere about this large pit.
Ancient Mine, Michigan.
In this case they constructed a sort of a cave, but in many cases
they mined open to the air, that is, they simply dug trenches or
pits. A row of these ancient pits, now slight depressions,
indicate a vein. What they seem to have especially sought after
was lumps of copper that they could easily manage and fashion by
hammering. They had not discovered the art of melting. When they
found an unusually large piece, they broke off what they could by
vigorous hammering. In one case they found a mass weighing about
six tons of pure copper. They made an attempt to master this
piece. By means of wedges they had got it upon a cob-work of
round logs or skids, six or eight inches in diameter, but the
mass was finally abandoned for some unknown reason after breaking
off such pieces as they could until the upper surface was smooth.
This mass rested on the framework of logs while the years came
and went, until, after the lapse of unknown time, the white men
once more opened the old mine.