_"How fertile is this 'dark and bloody ground!'
Here Death has given many a horrid wound."_
Kentucky was called the "dark and bloody ground" by the Indians, in
consequence of many of the fiercest contests having occurred there; it
was the common hunting ground of many of the tribes, and here they
frequently met in their excursions, scarcely ever without bloodshed.
At my request, I was kindly furnished with the annexed note by Judge
Hall, on the subject of Indian mounds, which should have been inserted
under the passage which alludes to them; but the reference at the
proper place being accidentally omitted, it is given here. Judge Hall
will readily imagine why the author has omitted some passages of the
note, which to himself were not the least pleasing.
This gentleman has lately become a citizen of Cincinnati, where those,
who knew him formerly but by his high reputation, now feel how much
courtesy and kindness increase its charm.
Judge Hall is of opinion that most of the mounds are natural; speaking
of them he says:
"There are few objects so well calculated to strike the poetic
imagination as these mounds, standing alone in the wilderness. The
belief that they are the workmanship of human hands, awakens curiosity
and leads to a long train of reflections. For if men have thrown up
these singular elevations, we feel inquisitive to know by whom, and
for what purpose, they were erected. They are large and numerous; and
they bear every mark of great antiquity. Indeed, I am of opinion, that
they are as old as the hills.
"Supposing them to be artificial, we are led into a vast field of
conjecture. Were they made by the present race of savages, who are
ignorant of all the mechanic arts, and disinclined to labor? If so,
what inducement could have been placed before them, sufficiently
powerful, to break down the barriers of nature, and bring men
habitually indolent, to so herculean a task? The Indian, as we see him
now, never works. He is the sovereign of the woods, and strides over
his heritage with the step of a master, and the wild glance of one who
disdains employment. He submits to no restraint but that of military
discipline.
"Viewing them as artificial, nothing can be more curious; and whether
we suppose them to have been graves, or temples, or fortifications,
they are equally calculated to awaken feelings of wonder, if not of
awe. We see them in the wilderness, where, for ages, savage men alone
have dwelt, and we behold them covered with majestic oaks, which have
flourished for centuries. They have existed here in the silence and
repose of the forest, unchanged amid the revolutions which have been
carried on around them. They are among the few records of the past. A
people ignorant of writing, painting, or sculpture, destitute of the
mechanic arts, and without any knowledge of the use of metals, have
left few memorials; unless we see them in the mounds, we might,
perhaps, say none.
"If we suppose them to be natural, which, in my opinion, is the
most rational belief, as to the majority of the mounds, they are
still attractive, as natural curiosities, and as displaying a
wonderful exhibition of the creative power. Beheld in any light,
they are interesting. Whatever may have been their origin, they
adorn the monotony of western scenery, and afford employment to the
fancy of the traveller. The plodding foot may tread carelessly over
them, the uninquiring eye may pass them, unheeded; but the poet and
philosopher linger around the hallowed spot where they stand, to
catch inspiration, or to gather wisdom from these silent memorials."
Judge Hall further says, "satisfied I am that if ever any rational
hypothesis, in relation to these interesting remains of past ages,
shall be invented, we shall owe it to the inspiration of the poet, and
not to the researches of the philosopher."
It is very certain that no one can confront the traveller who may be
speculating upon these mounds, as Edie Ochiltree did the Antiquary,
with "I mind the bigging o' it."