Undoubted proof has been discovered of the cannibal propensities of some
large tribe now passed away, in mounds situated on high ground, and in
swamps in the neighbourhood of the coast. On opening one of them--
upwards of 20 feet in height and 130 in diameter at its base--it was
found to be composed of shells mixed with a large number of broken
bones, apparently the relics of meals. The shells were chiefly
periwinkles; there were also mussels, the large claws of crabs, the
bones of vertebrate fishes and land animals, as well as some hard slabs
of pottery resembling the baking-pans used by the wilder tribes at the
present day. Among them, the labourers were startled by coming upon
human bones, in irregular positions and at unequal depths, huddled and
jumbled together. The skulls, some of which were of great thickness,
were in fragments. The long bones had all been cracked open, and
contained sand and dust. Each mass appeared to have been deposited,
without ceremony, in a common heap. Scarcely any were found in natural
juxtaposition. Having dug up the bones of several adults, the labourers
came upon the remains of a little child; one side of its head had been
beaten in, and other bones broken open. With these human relics several
stone axes or tomahawks, most of them broken, were dug up; and a
sharp-edged stone, which might have been used as a knife. The Indians
engaged in the work were very uneasy at having meddled with the human
remains, or, as they said, "troubled the bones of the old time people."
Other mounds of similar appearance were opened, and found filled with
similar contents. Though some of the long bones had been broken up, in
several instances they had not been severed from each other at the large
joints, but merely doubled or twisted one upon the other before they
were cast aside.
Mr Brett continues: "It was impossible to explain by any supposition of
respectful or decent interment the broken condition of these relics, the
violence with which they had been treated, or the apparent contumely
with which they had been cast into the common receptacle for refuse
matter. The great depth at which many of these remains were found,
seemed a convincing proof that they had not been deposited after the
completion of the shell heap, but during its accumulation. An old
Indian with whom I discussed the matter expressed the opinion of his
people very plainly: `That,' said he, `is the way in which the nations
who used to eat men always broke open the bones to get out the marrow;
so our fathers have told us.'" The Caribs anxiously stated that they
knew nothing whatever about the mound, and that their fathers had never
lived in its neighbourhood. Two other mounds were afterwards
discovered; one 250 feet in length and 90 feet in width, and about the
same height as the former, and similarly situated. Among the remains
were the bones of a man who must have been of large stature and of
immense strength. His skull, which was very thick and hard, was found
to have been broken in twenty-seven pieces, which all fitted exactly;
but when built up, a hole still remained in the right side near the
crown, where it would seem the fatal blow--by a pointed stone tomahawk--
had been given. Some of the mounds appeared to be of later formation,
and in them fragments of pottery were found, though in the older ones
none were discovered. While searching over these fragments, the first
personal ornaments yet found were discovered,--two small plates of
silver with holes bored in them, by which they must have been suspended
from the ears. One had lost a corner; but they had originally been cut
or broken to the same size and form, and were evidently a pair. Between
them lay a skull, which had been placed by itself, and was the first
found unbroken. The ornaments, from their position, seemed to have been
detached from the head when deposited there. A few feet from that relic
lay the limbs of a female, of slight and delicate form. They were
unbroken, and much slighter than any others found there. Between the
plates was the fragment of a piece of cotton cord which had attached one
of the plates to the ear.
While everything about the relics from the previous mounds indicated the
savage condition of the people who formed them, these little silver
trinkets, though rude, proved feelings approaching women in a state of
civilisation. They, with the unbroken condition and comparative
soundness of the bones found near them, bring us nearer our own times.
As the state of the remains differed from those of the others, so
probably did the period and circumstances of the poor girl's fate; but
there is a mystery about it which cannot now be explained. After the
mound had been opened, the Indian congregation, neatly dressed, went in
procession, with their pastor and teacher, from the chapel to the mound,
and collecting round and over it, the various tribes joined in singing
the glorious hymn--
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth his successive journey run!"
while the lamb, the dove, and other Christian emblems on the banners
borne by the school children, waved over the yawning cavity which had
disclosed such relics of barbarous days, indicated a blessed change in
the life of that long neglected race. May it be extended over the whole
continent!