ANOMALOUS MOUNDS.
Besides the mounds already described, the purposes of which seem
pretty clearly indicated, there are many which will admit of no
classification. Some of them possess features in common with all
classes, and seem to have been appropriated to a double purpose;
while others, in our present state of knowledge concerning them,
are entirely inexplicable. As these mounds differ individually from
each other, it is of course impossible to present anything like a
general view of their character. We can therefore only describe a
few of the more remarkable, dismissing the remainder with the single
observation that their features do not indicate any specific design,
and are not sufficiently distinct or uniform to justify or sustain a
classification.
One of the most singular of these mounds, and one which best
illustrates the remark that certain mounds were probably made to
subserve a double purpose, is situated within a large enclosure on
the east bank of the Scioto river. (Marked «c e», Plate XX.) A plan
and section of the mound are herewith presented (Fig. 67).
[Illustration: Fig. 67.]
It is an irregular oval in form, and is one hundred and sixty feet
long, ninety broad at its larger end, and twenty feet in height.
Excavations were made at the points indicated in the section. The one
towards the right or smaller end of the mound disclosed an enclosure
of timber, eight feet square, and similar, in all respects, to those
found in the sepulchral mounds, except that, in this instance, posts
eight inches in diameter had been planted at the outer corners, as
if to sustain the structure. These posts had been inserted eighteen
inches in the [p179] original level or floor of the mound. The holes
left by their decay were found filled with decomposed material; when
this was removed, they exhibited perfect «casts» of the timbers.
The casts also of the horizontal timbers were well retained in the
compact earth, and one of the workmen, without much difficulty, was
enabled to creep more than half the way around the enclosure which
they had formed. Within this chamber the earth was as firm as in any
portion of the mound. Upon removing a portion, a skeleton partly
burned was found, and with it a thin copper plate seven inches long
and four broad, perforated with two small holes; also a large pipe
of bold outline, carved from a dark compact porphyry (Fig. 68). The
bones seemed to have been enveloped in a species of matting, which
was too much decayed to be distinctly made out. The floor of the
mound, it should be mentioned, so far as explored, was composed
of clay, was perfectly level, and had been burned to considerable
hardness.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.—Half size.]
The second excavation (B) was made in the larger end of the mound,
somewhat to one side of the centre, at a spot marked by a depression
in the surface. At the depth of twenty feet was found an altar of
clay of exceeding symmetry. This was sunk, as shown in the section,
in the general level or floor of the mound, and had been surrounded
by an enclosure in all respects similar to the one above described,
except that the timbers had been less in size. A fine carbonaceous
deposit, resembling burned leaves, was found within the altar.
Amongst the decayed materials of the surrounding enclosure were found
several «skewers», if we may so term them, in lack of a better name,
made of the bones («ulna») of the deer. They were finely tapered to
a point, and had evidently been originally highly polished. Some
were not less than nine or ten inches long. Though apparently sound,
they were found to be exceedingly brittle, retaining little if any
of their animal matter. Drifts were carried in the course shown in
the section, and the evidences of another enclosure discovered. The
excavation was suspended at this point, in consequence of heavy and
continued rains. The holes soon became partly filled by the caving in
of the loose earth near the surface; which discouraging circumstance,
joined to the extreme difficulty of digging,[121] prevented a
resumption of [p180] the investigation. It is very certain that
another, perhaps several other chambers are concealed by this mound.
The surface of this mound was covered with the layer of pebbles and
coarse gravel already mentioned as characterizing the mounds of
the first class; but the sand strata were absent. Around the base
had been laid, with some degree of regularity, a large quantity of
flat stones, constituting a sort of wall for the better support
of the earth. These stones must have been brought from the hills,
which are here nearly half a mile distant. Why the altar as well as
the skeleton had been enclosed, and why the floor of the mound had
been so carefully levelled, cast over with clay, and then hardened
by fire, are questions which will probably remain unanswered and
unexplained unless future investigations serve further to elucidate
the mystery of the mounds. At any rate, this singular mound can prove
no greater puzzle to the reader than it has to the authors of these
inquiries.
A detached mound stands on the bank of Walnut creek, about three
miles below the one just described, which is entirely anomalous in
its character. It is about nine feet in height by forty base. The
following section will best explain its construction.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.]
Fig. 69. The principal portion of the mound, which is darkly shaded
in the section, resembles long exposed and highly compacted ashes,
and is intermingled with specks of charcoal, small bits of burned
bones, and fragments of sandstone much burned. Beneath this, and
forming the nucleus as it were of the entire mound, is a mass of
very pure white clay, of somewhat regular outline; but whether this
regularity was accidental or designed, it is not undertaken to say.
The clay rested upon the original soil, and did not appear to have
been subjected in any degree to the action of fire. The carbonaceous
deposit, if we may so regard it, seems from this circumstance to
have been brought here and not to have been produced by burning on
the spot. The mound could not possibly have been designed for a
«look-out», inasmuch as it stands immediately at the base of the
table lands, and commands but a very limited view.
Two other mounds, numbered 6 and 7 in the map, Plate II, exhibited
some features in common with the one last mentioned, though neither
had the clay deposit at the base. After penetrating a foot or
twenty inches into these, traces of ashes and other carbonaceous
matter, with here and there small quantities of burned bones in fine
fragments, became abundant,—indeed the remainder of the mound seemed
entirely constituted of such materials. In some instances, if not
in all, the fragments of calcined bones were of the human skeleton.
It has been suggested that these mounds were composed of the ashes
of the dead, burned elsewhere, but finally thus heaped together. It
is not impossible that such was the case in a few instances, though
mounds possessing these features are too few in number and too small
in size to justify the conclusion that such was the general custom.
A number of mounds, principally within enclosures, have been
examined, which exhibited only a level, hard-packed area at their
base, thinly covered with a [p181] fine-grained, carbonaceous
material similar to that which is sometimes found on the altars, and
which has several times been described as resembling burned leaves
or straw. It has been suggested that sacrifices or offerings of
vegetables or the “first fruits” of the year were sometimes made, of
which these traces alone remain.
In one or two small mounds, deposits of arrow or spear points of
flint have been found. The little mound No. 8 in the map, Plate II,
contained a pile in its centre of twenty or more, each one broken
into two or three pieces. They had not been exposed to the action of
fire. In shape they are singular, differing materially from those
usually found scattered over the fields, and are exceedingly thin and
well wrought. It is fruitless to conjecture why they were thus broken
up, or why indeed the simple deposit was made at all.
A few small mounds have been observed composed entirely of pebbles,
of the average size of one’s fist, unmixed with earth, excepting what
had gradually accumulated over them. Several of those surrounding the
great work on Paint creek (Plate XXI, No. 2) are of this description,
and are supposed, by the residents of the vicinity, to be the
missiles of the ancient people, thus conveniently deposited for use
in case of an attack upon the supposed fortress! Unfortunately for
this hypothesis, the magazines are outside of the walls.
It would prove an almost endless and perhaps an entirely unprofitable
task to describe the peculiarities of individual mounds, not
referable to either of the grand classes already noticed. Most
of them appear inexplicable; not more so, however, than did the
sacrificial or altar mounds when first noticed, and it is likely
that more extended investigations may also serve to explain their
purposes. The examples above presented are adduced to show that,
while the leading purposes of the mounds (of Ohio at least) have been
detected and settled, there is yet much left for future explorations
to determine.
MOUNDS OF OBSERVATION.
It has already been several times remarked, that the most commanding
positions on the hills bordering the valleys of the West, are often
crowned with mounds, generally of intermediate, but sometimes of
large size,—suggesting at once the purposes to which some of the
«cairns» or hill-mounds of the Celts were applied, namely, that of
signal or alarm posts.
Ranges of these mounds may be observed extending along the valleys
for many miles. Between Chillicothe and Columbus, on the eastern
border of the Scioto valley, not far from twenty may be selected, so
placed in respect to each other, that it is believed, if the country
were cleared of forests, signals of fire might be transmitted in a
few minutes along the whole line. On a hill opposite Chillicothe,
nearly six hundred feet in height, the loftiest in the entire region,
one of [p182] these mounds is placed. After the fall of the leaves
in autumn, it is a conspicuous object from every work laid down on
the Map of a section of twelve miles of the Scioto valley, to which
such frequent reference has been made, as well as from other works
not exhibited in the map. It is indicated by the figure 5 in this
map. A fire built upon it would be distinctly visible for fifteen or
twenty miles up, and an equal distance down the valley, (including in
its range the Circleville works, twenty miles distant,) as also for a
long way up the broad valleys of the two Paint creeks,—both of which
abound in remains, and seem to have been especial favorites with the
mound-builders. In the Map of six miles of the Miami valley, (Plate
III,) a similar feature will be observed. Upon a hill three hundred
feet in height, overlooking the Colerain work, and commanding an
extensive view of the valley, are placed two mounds, which exhibit—in
connection with other circumstances not entirely consistent with the
conclusion that they were simple signal-stations—strong marks of fire
on and around them. Similar mounds occur, at intervals, along the
Wabash and Illinois rivers, as also on the Upper Mississippi, the
Ohio, the Miamis, and the Scioto. On the high hills overlooking the
Portsmouth and Marietta works, (Plates XXVI and XXVII,) mounds of
stone are situated; those at the former place exhibit evident marks
of fire. On the heights around the works at Grave creek in Virginia,
similar features have been observed.[122] A trip of exploration, made
with special reference to this and kindred points, disclosed the
fact that, between the mouths of the Scioto and Guyandotte rivers,
the hills upon both sides of the Ohio, for the entire distance, were
studded with mounds. Many of them, however, occurred in groups,
their bases joining, and were placed so far back from the brow of
the hills as to be entirely invisible from the valley,—facts wholly
opposed to the hypothesis which ascribes a common purpose to all of
the hill-mounds. Indeed, for the distance above specified, these
mounds, though less in size, seemed quite as numerous as those in the
valley; in which, besides mounds and a few small circles, no works of
magnitude were discovered,—another fact which may not be without its
importance in this connection.
Some of the hill-mounds bordering on the Ohio have been opened by
explorers, and found to contain human remains, but whether of an
ancient or modern date, it is difficult, from the imperfect nature of
the accounts, to determine. The remarkable mound already mentioned,
situated on the high hill near Chillicothe, was opened some twelve
or fifteen years ago; and, it is said, human remains and a variety
of relics were discovered in it. Although the investigation of this
class of mounds has, from a variety of causes, been comparatively
limited, yet enough has been ascertained concerning them, to justify
the belief that a large proportion contain human remains, undoubtedly
those of the mound-builders. And, although traces of fire are to be
observed around very many, the marks are not sufficiently strong to
sustain the inference that all were look-outs, and that fires were
kindled upon them as signals. It is not impossible that a portion
were devoted to sepulture, another portion to observation, and that
some answered a double purpose. [p183] This is a point which remains
to be settled by the disclosures of the mattock and spade, and by a
close and extended observation of the dependences which exist, not
only between the hill-mounds themselves, but between them and the
other monuments of the same people.
It may perhaps seem, from what has been adduced, that the
classification of any portion of the hill-mounds as places of
observation, is not sufficiently well authorized. The positions
however which many of them occupy, are such as would most naturally
be chosen for such purposes, though not necessarily for such only.
The apparent dependence which exists between some of them and the
larger earthworks would also seem to favor the idea that they were
look-outs. But whether signal-stations or otherwise, there can be
no doubt that the ancient people selected prominent and elevated
positions upon which to build large fires, which were kept burning
for long periods, or renewed at frequent intervals. For what purposes
they were built, whether to communicate intelligence or to celebrate
some religious rite, it is not undertaken to say.[123] The traces
of these fires are only observed upon the brows of the hills: they
appear to have been built generally upon heaps of stones, which
are broken up and sometimes partially vitrified. In all cases they
exhibit marks of intense and protracted heat. They are vulgarly
supposed to be the remains of “«furnaces»,” from the amount of
scoriaceous material accompanying them, which often covers a large
area, and is several feet in thickness. This popular error has led to
some very extravagant conjectures as to the former mineral wealth of
the vicinity in which they occur; an error which has been perpetuated
in various works on American antiquities.
The dependence which exists between certain mounds, and the defensive
structures within or near which they are located, is too evident
to admit of doubt. It has already been made a subject of remark,
(page 43,) and need only be referred to here. In the case of the
fortified hill, Plate VI, we find a large mound commanding the only
avenue leading to it, and so placed that no approach could be made
unobserved from its summit. Similar dependences, perhaps still more
marked, are perceived in other works, where mounds are placed on the
approaches, or at such points within or without the walls as are best
adapted for observation. (See Plate XI, Nos. 1 and 2.) [p184]
STONE HEAPS.
Rude heaps of stone, occasionally displaying some degree of
regularity, are not uncommon at the West, though by no means peculiar
to that section of country. It is exceedingly questionable whether
any of them belong to the same era with the other works here treated
of, although they are usually ascribed to the mound-builders. The
stone mounds, of which mention has already been made, are very
different structures, and should not be confounded with these rude
accumulations.
One of the most remarkable stone-heaps observed in the course of
these investigations, is situated upon the dividing ridge between
Indian and Crooked creeks, about ten miles south-west of Chillicothe,
Ohio. It is immediately by the side of the old Indian trail which
led from the Shawanoe towns, in the vicinity of Chillicothe, to the
mouth of the Scioto river; and consists of a simple heap of stones,
rectangular in form, and measuring one hundred and six feet in
length by sixty in width, and between three and four in height. The
stones are of all sizes, from those not larger than a man’s head,
to those which can hardly be lifted. They are such as are found in
great abundance on the hill slopes,—the fragments or «debris» of
the outcropping sandstone layers. Some are water-worn, showing that
they were brought up from the creek, nearly half a mile distant; and
although they were disposed with no regularity in respect to each
other, the heap was originally quite symmetrical in outline. The
stones have been thrown out from the centre, and an excavation of
considerable depth made in the earth beneath, but without results.
The heap is situated upon the highest point of land traversed by the
Indian trail; upon the water-shed, or dividing ridge, between the
streams which flow into Brush creek on the one side, and the Scioto
river on the other.
Another heap of stones of like character, but somewhat less in size,
is situated upon the top of a high, narrow hill, overlooking the
small valley of Salt creek, near Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio. It
is remarkable as having large numbers of crumbling human bones—to
say nothing of living black snakes—intermingled, apparently without
order, with the stones. A very extensive prospect is had from this
point. Upon the slope of a lower hill near by, appears to have been
formerly an Indian village. Many rude relics are uncovered on the
spot, by the plough.
Smaller and very irregular heaps are frequent amongst the hills. They
do not generally embrace more than a couple of cartloads of stone,
and almost invariably cover a skeleton. Occasionally the amount of
stones is much greater. Rude implements are sometimes found with the
skeletons. A number of such graves have been observed near Sinking
Springs, Highland county, Ohio; also in Adams county in the same
State, and in Greenup county, Kentucky, at a point nearly opposite
the town of Portsmouth on the Ohio.
Heaps of similar character are found in the Atlantic States, where
they were [p185] raised by the Indians over the bodies of those
who met their death by accident, or in the manner of whose death
there was something unusual. Dwight, in his Travels, mentions a
heap of stones of this description which was raised over the body
of a warrior killed by accident, on the old Indian trail between
Hartford and Farmington, the seat of the Tunxis Indians, in
Connecticut. Traces of a similar heap still exist on the old trail
between Schenectady and Cherry Valley in New York, with which a like
tradition is connected. They were not raised at once, but were the
accumulations of a long period, it being the custom for each warrior
as he passed the spot to add a stone to the pile. Hence the general
occurrence of these rude monuments near some frequented trail or path.
[Illustration: Fig. 70.—CONICAL MOUND.]
FOOTNOTES:
[121] The difficulty of carrying on investigations in the large
mounds cannot be readily appreciated. The earth is always so compact
as to require, literally, to be «cut out». It has then to be raised
to the surface,—a task of great labor, and only accomplished by
leaving stages in the descent and throwing the earth from one to the
other, and finally to the surface. Four industrious men were employed
not less than ten or twelve days in making the excavations in this
mound alone.
[122] Transactions of the American Ethnological Society, vol. i. p.
409.
[123] When Lieut. Fremont penetrated into the fastnesses of
Upper California, where his appearance created great alarm among
the Indians, he observed this primitive telegraphic system in
operation. “Columns of smoke rose over the country at scattered
intervals,—signals by which the Indians, here as elsewhere,
communicate to each other that enemies are in the country. It
is a signal of ancient and very universal application among
barbarians.”—«Fremont’s Second Expedition», p. 220.
[p186]