We are apt to suppose that the wild inhabitants of the New World have
ever existed in the same savage state as that in which they are found.
Vast numbers, however, of remains, and buildings of great antiquity,
have of late years been discovered, showing that at one time either
their ancestors, or other tribes who have passed away, had made great
progress in civilisation. As the white man has advanced westward, and
dug deep into the soil, whilst forming railway cuttings, digging wells,
and other works, numerous interesting remains have been discovered--a
large number of fortified camps of vast extent, and even the foundations
of cities, with their streets and squares, have been brought to light.
Idols, pitchers of clay, ornaments of copper, circular medals,
arrowheads, and even mirrors of isinglass, in great numbers, have been
found throughout the country. Some of the articles of pottery are
skilfully wrought, and polished, glazed, and burned; inferior in no
respects to those of Egypt and Babylon.
In Tennessee, an earthen pitcher, holding a gallon, was discovered on a
rock twenty feet below the surface. It was surmounted by the figure of
a female head covered with a conical cap. The features greatly
resembled those of Asiatics, and the ears, extending as low as the chin,
were of great size. Near the Cumberland River an idol formed of clay
was found about four feet below the surface of the earth. It is of
curious construction, consisting of three hollow heads joined together
at the back by an inverted bell-shaped hollow stem. This specimen also
has strongly-marked Asiatic features; the red and yellow colour with
which it is ornamented still retaining great brilliancy. Another idol,
formed of clay and gypsum, was discovered near Nashville. It
represented a human being without arms. The hair was plaited, and there
was a band round the head with a flattened lump or cake upon the summit.
Numerous medals, also, have been dug up, representing the sun, with its
rays of light, together with utensils and ornaments of copper, sometimes
plated with silver; and a solid silver cup, with its surface smooth and
regular, and its interior finely gilt.
But besides these, and very many similar articles, throughout the whole
country, and especially towards the west, immense numbers of fortresses
of great size have been discovered, with walls of earth, some of them
ten feet in height, and thirty in breadth. There is a vast fortress in
Ohio, near the town of Newark. It is situated on an extensive plain, at
the junction of two branches of the Muskingum. At the western extremity
of the work stood a circular fort, containing twenty-two acres, on one
side of which was an elevation thirty feet high, partly of earth and
partly of stone. The circular fort was connected by walls of earth with
an octagonal fort containing forty acres, the walls of which were ten
feet high. At this end were eight openings or gateways about fifteen
feet in width, each protected by a mound of earth on the inside. From
thence four parallel walls of earth proceeded to the basin of the
harbour, others extending several miles into the country, and others on
the east joined to a square fort containing twenty acres, not four miles
distant. From this latter fort parallel walls extended to the harbour,
and others to another circular fort one mile and a half distant,
containing twenty-six acres, and surrounded by an embankment from
twenty-five to thirty feet high. Further north and east the elevated
ground was protected by intrenchments. Traces of other walls have been
found, apparently connecting these works with those thirty miles
distant. When we come to reflect that there were many hundreds of
similar forts, some of which were of equal size, and others even of
still greater magnitude, we cannot help believing that an enormous
population, considerably advanced in the arts of civilisation, must at
one time have existed in the country, over which for ages past the
untutored savage has roamed in almost a state of nature. And now these
wild tribes are rapidly disappearing before the advancement of a still
greater multitude, and a far more perfect civilisation. Whether these
ancient races were the ancestors of the present Indians or not, it is
difficult to determine, as are the causes of their disappearance. It is
possible that, retreating southward, they established the empires of
Mexico and Peru, or, overcome by more savage tribes, were ultimately
exterminated.