SCULPTURES FROM THE MOUNDS.
Many of the carvings in stone, already noticed, display no
inconsiderable degree of taste and skill. There is, however, a
large class of remains, comprising sculptural tablets, and heads
and figures of animals, which belongs to a higher grade of art.
Many of these exhibit a close observance of nature and a minute
attention to details, such as we could only expect to find among
a people considerably advanced in the minor arts, and to which
the elaborate and laborious, but usually clumsy and ungraceful,
not to say unmeaning, productions of the savage can claim but a
slight approach. Savage taste in sculpture is generally exhibited
in monstrosities,—caricatures of things rather than faithful
copies. The dawn of art is marked by a purer taste; the result of
an appreciation of the beauties of nature which only follows their
close observance. The aim of the neophyte is to imitate, rather than
distort, the objects which he sees before him. It is in this view
that the sculptures taken from the mounds seem most remarkable; they
exhibit not only the general form and features of the objects sought
to be represented, but frequently, and to a surprising degree, their
characteristic attitudes and expression.
It will, of course, be understood that nothing of the imposing
character of many of the sculptured relics of Central America is
found in the mounds. Aside from the stupendous earth structures,
which deserve to be classed with the most wonderful remains of
ancient power and greatness, there is nothing imposing in the
monuments of the Mississippi valley. We have no sculptured façades
of temples and palaces, invested with a symbolic meaning or
commemorative of the exploits of chiefs and conquerors, nor have
we ponderous statues of divinities and heroes,—nothing beyond the
simplest form of stone structures. We must therefore estimate the
minor sculptures which we discover here by other standards than
those of Mexico and Peru, with which, from certain resemblances in
other monuments, a comparison would be most likely to be suggested.
They are simple in form as in design, and, as works of art, beyond
a faithful observance of nature and great delicacy of execution,
little can be claimed for them. In these respects they are certainly
remarkable, and will be the more admired, the more closely they are
inspected.
Some of these sculptures have a value, so far as ethnological
research is concerned, much higher than they can claim as mere works
of art. This value is derived from the fact that they faithfully
represent animals and birds peculiar to other latitudes, thus
establishing a migration, a very extensive intercommunication, or
a contemporaneous existence of the same race over a vast extent of
country. [p243] The interesting inquiry here involved will be more
appropriately made in another place, after an examination of the
relics themselves.
It is a singular fact that no relics which were obviously designed
as «idols» or objects of worship have been obtained from the mounds.
Such are occasionally discovered on the surface, but none, so far as
known, within the enclosures deemed sacred or defensive. Those which
have been found are all of exceedingly rude workmanship, quite unlike
any of the authenticated mound remains. They are more abundant in the
region towards the Gulf than upon the Ohio, though not of frequent
occurrence there. It is perhaps not to be wondered at that we
discover none of these in the mounds, if our estimate of the purposes
to which those structures were appropriated is a correct one.
In presenting the following illustrations of this branch of our
subject, it will not be out of place to repeat the observation
already once made, that, in the construction and ornament of their
pipes, the mound-builders seem to have expended their utmost skill in
sculpture. Accordingly most of the objects represented will be found
to have subserved the purposes of pipes; but as the peculiarities
of these implements have been sufficiently explained under the
appropriate head, their bases and unessential parts have sometimes
been omitted in the engravings. In many instances, the remains
were so much broken up by the action of the fire, that it has been
found impossible fully to restore them, although the utmost care
was expended in collecting the fragments. This will account for the
imperfect character of some of the illustrations. It would have been
an easy matter to have restored many of these relics with the pencil,
but it has been preferred to present an actual fragment rather than
a fanciful whole. All the remains which follow, unless otherwise
specially noted, were taken from the mounds by the authors in person,
and are at present deposited in their collection. They comprise,
however, but a limited selection from the whole number; no more being
presented than are deemed sufficient to give the reader a clear
conception of their general character and great variety. The scale
upon which they are drawn is, generally, full size; when this is not
the case, the dimensions are specially given.
SCULPTURES OF THE HUMAN HEAD.—Few sculptures of the human head have
been found in the mounds, though several have been discovered under
such circumstances as to leave little doubt that they belong to the
mound era. Four specimens were taken from the remarkable altar mound,
No. 8, “Mound City,” three of which constitute the bowls of pipes.
Front and profile views of each of these are herewith presented, of
the size of the originals.
Fig. 142 is composed of a hard, compact, black stone, and is
distinguished from the others by the hardness and severity of its
outline. It has a singular head-dress, falling in a broad fold
over the back of the head, as far down as the middle of the neck.
Upon each side of the top of the head this head-dress, which may
represent some particular style of platting the hair, rises into
protuberances or knots. [p244] Encircling the forehead, and coming
down as low as the ears, is a row of small round holes, fifteen in
number, placed as closely as possible together, which, when the head
was found, were filled in part with pearls, completely calcined and
only recognisable from their concentric lamination. The holes were
doubtless all originally filled in the same manner. The ornamental
lines upon the face are rather deeply cut; their form is accurately
indicated in the engravings. Those radiating from around the mouth
might readily be supposed to represent a curling moustache and beard.
The mouth of this miniature head is somewhat compressed, and the brow
seems contracted, giving it an aspect of severity, which is not fully
conveyed by the engraving. The eyes are prominent and open.
[Illustration: Fig. 142.]
[Illustration: Fig. 143.]
Fig. 143 resembles the one last described only in respect to the
peculiar markings on the face, already noticed. Its features are
bolder, and the outline of the face quite different. The nose is
large and prominent, the eyes sunken and apparently closed, and
the forehead high and narrow. The head-dress is very remarkable. A
portion of the hair seems gathered in festoons upon either side of
the head above the ears, the remainder centering in a kind of knot
upon the back of the head. The top of the head is covered with a sort
of lappet or fold, which seems detached from the other portions of
the head-dress, simply resting upon the crown. The ears were each
perforated; and from the strongly attached oxide of copper at those
points, were probably ornamented with rings of that [p245] metal.
This head, unlike the others, does not constitute a pipe bowl, but
seems, from the fracture, to have been attached, at the lower and
back part, to a rod carved from the same stone. The base, shown in
the engraving, is simply an addition of plaster to sustain the head
in a vertical position. The material, in this instance, is a compact
yellowish stone, too much altered by the fire to be satisfactorily
made out.
[Illustration: Fig. 144.]
Fig. 144 is composed of the same material with that last described.
Its features are more regular than those of either of the preceding
examples. The nose turns up slightly at the point, and the lips are
prominent. The eyes seem closed, and the whole expression of the
face is a repose like that of death. The head-dress is simple; and
the ears, which are large, are each perforated with four small holes
around their upper edges. At the lower and posterior portion of the
head are drilled, in convergent directions, two holes, each one fifth
of an inch in diameter and half an inch deep. Were they continued one
fourth of an inch further in the same direction, they would intersect
each other. This head is destitute of markings upon the face. It has
been suggested, from the greater delicacy of the features, that this
was designed to represent a female.
[Illustration: Fig. 145.]
Fig. 145. This is the most beautiful head of the series, and is
evidently that of a female. It is carved from a compact stone, which
is much altered, and in some places the color entirely changed by
the action of the fire. The muscles of the face are [p246] well
exhibited, and the forehead finely moulded. The eyes are prominent
and open, and the lips full and rounded. Whether the head is encased
in a sort of hood, or whether the hair is platted across the forehead
and down the sides of the face, it is not easy to say. The knots
observable at the top of the forehead, and just back of the ears, may
be designed to represent the manner in which the hair was gathered or
wound. The workmanship of this head is unsurpassed by any specimen
of ancient American art which has fallen under the notice of the
authors, not excepting the best productions of Mexico and Peru. The
whole is smooth and well polished.
These heads are valuable as being the only ones taken from the
mounds, the ancient date of which is clearly established. In the same
mounds in which they were found, it has already been observed, were
also found upwards of a hundred miniature sculptures of animals,
most of which are indigenous. The fidelity to nature observed in the
latter fully warrant us in believing that the sculptures of the human
heads discovered with them are also faithful copies from nature, and
truly display not only the characteristic features of the ancient
race, but also their method of wearing the hair, the style of their
head-dresses, and the character and mode of adjustment of a portion
of their ornaments. This conclusion will appear the more reasonable,
when we come to observe the exactness displayed in the effigies of
animals.
It is impossible to overlook the coincidence between the fillet
of «real» pearls displayed upon the forehead of the head first
described, and the similar range of sculptured pearls upon the brow
of the small statue described by Humboldt, and denominated by him the
“statue of an Aztec priestess.”[159] The manner of its adjustment
is in both instances substantially the same, and indicates a common
mode of wearing those ornaments among both the mound-builders and
the Mexicans. The markings upon the faces of two of these sculptures
may be taken as representing paint lines or some description of
tattooing. We know that, among the North American tribes, the custom
of painting the face with every variety of color, and ornamenting
it with fantastic figures, was wide-spread and common. The singular
head-dresses observed in these figures bear little resemblance to
those of the Indians, so far as we know anything of them. The North
Americans usually allowed but a single tuft of hair to grow, which
depended from the centre of the scalp; the hair of the women was
allowed to fall loosely upon the shoulders, or was simply clubbed
behind. Plumes of feathers, or the dried skins of the heads of
certain animals, constituted about their only style of head-dress.
That the practice of wearing rings and pendants in the ears existed
among the race of the mounds may be inferred no less from these
relics than from the character of some of the ornaments which have
been occasionally discovered. The practice was almost universal among
the hunter tribes and the Central American nations.
In respect to the physiological characteristics exhibited by these
relics, it need only be observed that they do not differ essentially
from those of the great [p247] American family, the type of which
seems to have been radically the same through the extent of the
continent, excluding, perhaps, a few of the tribes at the extremes.
[Illustration: Fig. 146.]
Fig. 146 is carved from a light-colored sandstone, and represents a
human figure resting upon its knees and elbows, the soles of the feet
and the palms of the hands being placed together. It is also adapted
as a pipe. It has a singular, painful expression of countenance. A
double set of converging lines start from the eye upon the right side
of the face and extend diagonally across it. Upon the left side is a
single set terminating in a point near the ear. This figure is boldly
but not delicately carved, and was found while digging a mill race,
three feet below the surface, on the west bank of the Miami river,
near the village of Tippecanoe, Miami county, Ohio.[160] It measures
six inches in length by about the same height.
[Illustration: Fig. 147.]
Fig. 147 is a fine specimen of ancient sculpture. It was found within
an ancient enclosure twelve miles below the city of Chillicothe, and,
from the material and style of workmanship, may be regarded as a
relic of the mound-builders. The [p248] material is a fine porphyry
of a greenish brown or lead-colored ground, interspersed with black
and white granules of a harder nature, and is identical with the
material composing many similar articles taken from the mounds. It
has the body of a bird with the head of a man, and is delicately
and symmetrically carved. It is adapted as a pipe; the bowl rising
from the centre of the back communicates with a hole drilled for the
insertion of a stem from the side. The attitude of the entire figure
is graceful, and the proportions of the different parts in admirable
harmony. The face displays less individuality than those already
noticed, and is distinguished for its greater width. The eyes are
closed, and the general expression, especially of the profile, is
that of repose. The ears have been mutilated, but display the usual
marks of perforation. There is no head-dress distinguishable; but
there is a longitudinal band extending from the back of the head to
the body of the figure, the purpose of which is not obvious, unless
designed to strengthen the attachment of the parts. The wings are
closely folded, and a waving line runs along the centre. It measures
five inches in extreme length.
[Illustration: Fig. 148.]
Fig. 148 very closely resembles Fig. 146, above described. The
posture is the same, but the limbs are barely indicated. The head
however is better carved and is more characteristic. It will be
observed that it is also distinguished by a line bounding the face,
and has similar markings extending from the eyes. A large serpent is
folded around the neck, the head and tail resting together upon the
breast of the figure. The head is surmounted by a knot, resembling
the scalp lock of the Indians. It is carved from a compact red
sandstone, and is six inches in greatest length by five inches in
height, with a broad flat base. It was found on the banks of Paint
creek, one mile distant from the city of Chillicothe. It is also
adapted as a pipe. Several other articles, closely resembling these
two, have been found at various points on the surface, but none have
been taken from the mounds. Both in the character of their material
and style of workmanship they sustain a close relationship to certain
“stone idols,” as they [p249] have been termed, found, for the
most part, in the States of Tennessee and Mississippi. One of these
“idols” was discovered some years since, in ploughing upon the Grave
creek Flats in Virginia.[161] It represents a human figure in a
squatting attitude, with its elbows drawn back and its hands resting
upon its knees. It is thirteen inches high by six inches and a half
broad. In material and workmanship it is identical with the articles
last described, and, like Fig. 148, is distinguished by a crown-tuft
or “scalp-lock.” There are two orifices communicating with each other
in its back. It was probably designed to serve as a pipe. A stone
“idol,” destitute however of orifices, was found not long since near
the mouth of the Scioto river. It represents a human figure in a
squatting attitude, the arms clasped around the knees, upon which the
chin is resting. This is the common position of the North American
Indians, when seated around the fires in their wigwams. It seems most
likely that these rough sculptures have a comparatively recent date,
and are the remains of the tribes found in possession of the country
by the whites. As works of art they are immeasurably inferior to the
relics from the mounds.
[Illustration: Fig. 149.]
Fig. 149. This singular specimen of sculpture bears a close
resemblance to those above described, but is of much superior
workmanship. The features and style of ornament are peculiar. The
material is a gray sandstone. It is now deposited in the museum of
the Historical Society of New York; but its history is unknown. It
is clearly the original from which the drawing published by Baron
[p250] Humboldt was made. This drawing was copied by Choris, in his
“«Voyage Pittoresque»,” where it is described as having been found
in an ancient tumulus in the State of Connecticut, and presented
to Baron Humboldt by Baron Hyde de Neuville, French ambassador to
Rio Janeiro. There must, of course, be some mistake as to the place
of its discovery; for there are no ancient tumuli in the State of
Connecticut.
[Illustration: Fig. 150.]
Fig. 150 is a mask of the human face roughly carved from sandstone.
It is twelve inches long, seven and a half broad at the ears, and
weighs nearly nine pounds. It is slightly concave upon the back, the
front being proportionally convex. There is a hole underneath the
chin, as if the object had been designed to be carried upon the point
of a staff. It was found, in ploughing, near Lawrenceburgh in the
State of Indiana.[162]
Similar relics, some of which vary little from the above in size, are
found in Mexico. They are said to occur in the ancient Aztec tombs,
covering the faces of skeletons. Many of these are sculptured from
«obsidian», and are smooth and beautifully polished; others are of
serpentine and a variety of ornamental stones.[163] [p251]
[Illustration: Fig. 151.]
[Illustration: Fig. 152.]
Figs. 151 and 152, are front and profile views of a relic found in
Belmont county, Ohio, nearly opposite Wheeling, on the Ohio river.
The original is six inches length. It is composed of sandstone. The
back is deeply grooved, but it exhibits no marks of having ever been
attached to any object.
SCULPTURES OF ANIMALS.—Sculptured figures of a considerable number of
animals have been found in the mounds, including the lamantin, the
beaver, otter, elk, bear, wolf, panther, wild cat, raccoon, oppossum,
and squirrel.
[Illustration: Fig. 153.]
Fig. 153. «The Lamantin, Manitus, or Sea-cow» is not found in this
latitude, but is peculiar to tropical regions. Seven sculptured
representations of this animal have been taken from the mounds,
of which three are nearly perfect. When first discovered, it was
supposed they were monstrous creations of fancy; but subsequent
investigation and comparison have shown that they are faithful
representations of one of the most singular animal productions of the
world. Naturalists assume to know but little of the lamantin, beyond
its form and general characteristics. Its habits are involved in much
obscurity. It is thus described by Godman:
“The general figure of the lamantin is rather elliptical and
elongated. Its head is shaped like a simple truncated cone, and
terminates in a thick fleshy snout, semi-circular at its extremity,
and pierced at the upper part by two small semi-lunar [p252]
nostrils directed forwards. The edge of the upper lip is tumid,
furrowed in the middle, and provided with thick and stiff whiskers.
The lower lip is narrower and shorter than the upper, and the opening
of the mouth is small. The eyes are situated towards the upper part
of the head, at the same distance from the snout as the angle of the
lips. The ears are very small, scarcely perceptible, and placed at
the same distance from the eyes that the latter are from the snout.
“The neck is not distinguished by any diminution or difference in
size from the head and trunk, and the latter does not diminish except
from the umbilicus, whence it rapidly decreases until it spreads out
and becomes flattened, with a broad, thin, and seemingly truncated
extremity. The tail forms about a fourth of the length of the animal.
“The arm-bones which sustain the fins are more separated from
the body than those of the delphinus, and have digits more
distinguishable through the integuments. The edges of the fin have
four flat and rounded nails, which do not extend beyond the membrane,
the nail of the thumb being deficient. The skin is of a gray color,
is slightly shagreened, and has upon it a few scattered hairs, which
are more numerous than elsewhere about the angles of the lips and the
palmar surface of the fins.
“The full-grown lamantin is from fifteen to twenty feet in length, by
eight in circumference, and weighs several thousand pounds.”[164]
“Head not distinct from the body; eyes very small; tongue oval;
vestiges of nails on the margin of the pectoral fins; six cervical
vertebræ; sixteen pair of thick ribs; «moustaches composed of a
bundle of very strong hairs directed downwards and forming on each
side a kind of corneous tusk».”[165]
[Illustration: Fig. 154.]
These external features are faithfully and minutely exhibited in the
sculptures from the mounds. The truncated head, small and scarcely
distinguishable ears, thick, semi-circular snout, peculiar nostrils,
tumid, furrowed upper lip, singular feet or fins, and remarkable
moustaches, are all distinctly marked, and render the recognition
of the animal complete. Only one of the sculptures exhibits a flat,
truncated tail; the others are round. There is however a variety of
the lamantin [p253] («Manitus» «Senigalensis», DESM.) which has a
round tail, and is distinguished as the “round-tailed manitus.” It is
smaller in size than the other variety.
The name of «Manati» was given to this animal by the Spaniards in
consequence of the short anterior extremities, which were regarded
as hands. It has been found difficult to assign a place to it in
the animal creation, and it has been remarked that it “may be
indiscriminately called the last of beasts or the first of fishes.”
It has two pectoral or abdominal mammæ, which from their position
probably gave rise among mariners to the fable of the mermaid.
Columbus, when he first saw these animals in the West Indies, called
them «sirens». They bring forth two young ones at a birth; in defence
of which the manitus, though a peaceable and harmless animal, is
insensible to pain or fear. Its habits are little understood. It is
supposed never to leave the water, but frequents the shores to feed
on the grass at the edge. Sea-grass or fucus and marine herbage are
supposed to constitute its principal if not its only food; though
this is a point upon which naturalists have not ventured to give
a decision. The opinion, however, seems general, that it is an
herbivorous animal.
As before observed, the manitus is found only in tropical waters,
frequenting the mouths of rivers, but sometimes ascending them to
great distances. They were seen by Humboldt in the Rio Meta, a branch
of the Orinoco, one thousand miles above its mouth; and it is said
they are found in the Amazon two thousand miles from the sea. They
are also found among the Antilles on the southern coast of Mexico,
and on the coast and in the rivers of Florida, in the United States.
Excepting upon that peninsula, we have no account of their occurrence
on our coasts. Bartram mentions a singular spring, a few miles below
Tallahassee, Florida, which was frequented by the manitus; and its
bones are found, and occasional living specimens observed, in the
Manitee river, which enters Tampa bay.[166]
The flesh of this animal was used by the Indians for food, and its
bones and thick tough hide employed in various manufactures. It was
hunted for these purposes; and Oviedo, who seems to have been the
first author who noticed it, gives a particular account of the manner
in which it was captured. Bartram observes:
“The basin and stream were continually peopled with prodigious
numbers and varieties of fish and other animals, such as the
alligator, and, in the winter season, the manate or sea-cow. Parts
of the skeleton of one which the Indians had killed last winter, lay
upon the banks of the spring; the grinding teeth were about an inch
in diameter, the ribs eighteen inches long and two and a half inches
in thickness, bending with a gentle curve. This bone is esteemed
equal to ivory. The flesh of this creature is counted wholesome and
pleasant food; the Indians call them by a name which signifies ‘the
big beaver.’ My companion, who was a trader, saw three of them at
one time near this spring; they feed chiefly on aquatic grass and
weeds.”[167] [p254]
Humboldt mentions a branch of the Apures river, itself a tributary
of the Orinoco, “called the «Cano del Manati», from the great number
of manatees caught there.” He states that their flesh is savory,
resembling pork, and was in great request among the Indians during
Lent, being classed by the monks among fishes. The fat was used in
the lamps of the churches, and the hide cut into slips to supply the
place of cordage.[168]
The flesh of this animal furnished formerly a large part of the
subsistence of the inhabitants of St. Christophers, Guadaloupe,
and Martinique. The fat was used at a late day for many of the
purposes to which lard is applied, sometimes supplying the place of
butter.[169]
The sculptures of this animal are in the same style and of like
material with the others found in the mounds. One of them is of
a red porphyry, filled with small white and light blue granules;
the remainder are of sandstone, limestone, etc. Most of the mound
sculptures are from these materials.
These singular relics have been thus minutely noticed, inasmuch as
they have a direct bearing upon some of the questions connected
with the origin of the mounds. That we find marine shells or
articles composed from them, in the mounds, is not so much a matter
of surprise, when we reflect that a sort of exchange was carried
on even by the unsympathizing American tribes, and that articles
from the mouth of the Columbia are known to have found their way,
by a system of transfer, to the banks of the Mississippi; their
occurrence does not necessarily establish anything more, than that
an intercourse of some kind was kept up between the builders of
the mounds on the banks of the Ohio, and the sea.[170] There is,
however, something more involved in the discovery of these relics.
They are undistinguishable, so far as material and workmanship are
concerned, from an entire class of remains found in the mounds; and
are evidently the work of the same hands with the other effigies of
beasts and birds. And yet they faithfully represent animals found,
(and only in small numbers,) a thousand miles distant, upon the
shores of Florida. Either the same race, possessing throughout a like
style of workmanship, and deriving their materials from a common
source, existed contemporaneously over the whole range of intervening
territory, and maintained a constant intercommunication; or else
there was at some period a migration from the south, bringing with
it characteristic remains of the land from which it emanated. The
sculptures of the manitus are too exact to have been the production
of those who were not well acquainted with the animal and its habits.
[p255]
[Illustration: Fig. 155.]
[Illustration: Fig. 156.]
[Illustration: Fig. 157.]
[Illustration: Fig. 158.]
[Illustration: Fig. 159.]
[Illustration: Fig. 160.]
[p257]
Fig. 155. THE BEAVER.—Three sculptures of the beaver have been
obtained from the mounds,—all in the characteristic attitudes of that
animal. The engraving does not do justice to the original, which is
better proportioned. These animals were frequent in the North-western
States, but have now almost entirely disappeared. The large head,
blunt snout, small ears and eyes, peculiar claws, and broad, oval,
scaly tail, are all well characterized in the sculptures.
THE OTTER.—Two sculptures of the otter have been discovered, one
of which represents the animal grasping a fish in its mouth; it is
however much mutilated. That of which an imperfect engraving (Fig.
157) is given is composed of the peculiar porphyry already described,
and displays in a striking manner the features of the animal. The
flattened head, small mouth, almost imperceptible ears, rounded body,
and short but strong and fin-like legs, no less than the attitude
of the figure, enable us to recognise at once the most active,
courageous, and voracious of the indigenous amphibious animals.
The otter is still found, in limited numbers, about the waters of
the North-western States. The eyes in this specimen were formed by
drilling a narrow but deep hole, which was filled with a material
of different color, resembling bone. In many instances small pearls
were inserted for eyes, some of which have been found retaining their
places, unreduced by the fire to which they have been exposed. This
relic, in common with all the mound sculptures, is delicately carved
and polished.
THE WILD CAT.—Figs. 158, 159, 160. Of this animal and others of the
same genus a large number of sculptures have been obtained. One
of these represents the female animal erect; the remainder are in
characteristic positions. They are very minutely sculptured, the
whiskers and variegated color of the hair around the head, as well
as the general features of the animal,—strong jaws, short neck,
and short thick tail,—are all well exhibited. Fig. 160 presents a
head slightly different from most of the others. It bears a close
resemblance to that of the cougar. Most of these are exquisitely
carved from a red, granulated porphyry, of exceeding hardness,—so
hard, indeed, as to turn the edge of the best tempered knife.
[Illustration: Fig. 161.]
Fig. 161 is a very spirited representation of the head of the elk,
although it is not minutely accurate. [p258]
Numerous other illustrations of these miniatures might be introduced;
the above will, however, convey a very clear notion of the character
of the sculptures and the fidelity of the representations.
[Illustration: Fig. 162.]
Fig. 162 is a fragment of a large and elaborately carved pipe
representing the head of some animal. It is composed of the beautiful
micaceous stone already several times noticed, and in respect of size
is unlike any of the articles of this description which have been
taken from the mounds. The circular striæ left by the instrument
used in boring the tube are distinctly marked. At the termination of
the bore, is what is technically termed “the «core»,” showing that
the drilling had been effected by some hollow instrument, probably
a thin stem of cane. The cane is used at this day by the Indians
for drilling, and with the aid of fine sand and water forms a very
efficient instrument. It is probable that all the tubes, large and
small, found in the mounds, were produced in this manner. This
fragment of sculpture is nine inches long. The bowl was evidently
carved in the form of some animal, but it is too much broken to be
made out.
[Illustration: Fig. 163.]
Fig. 163 is one of the most delicate specimens of ancient workmanship
thus far discovered. It is of the same material with the article last
noticed, and like that has the form of an animal’s head. What animal
it was intended to represent, it is not easy to determine; in the
length of its ears it resembles the rabbit. A portion of the point of
the nose is broken off. It is hollowed like a canoe upon the under
side, leaving but a thin shell of material, not exceeding, for the
most part, the tenth of an inch in thickness. It is perforated with
small holes at the root of each ear, and has a hole, drilled from the
interior, in the crown. It is impossible to conjecture the purpose
to which this article was applied, unless that of ornament. It is
elegantly and symmetrically carved, and highly polished.
SCULPTURES OF BIRDS.—The sculptures of birds are much more numerous
than those of animals, and comprise between thirty and forty
different kinds, and not [p259] far from one hundred specimens. We
recognise the eagle, hawk, heron, owl, buzzard, toucan (?), raven,
swallow, parroquet, duck, grouse, and numerous other land and water
birds. There are several varieties of the same species; for instance,
among the owls, we find the great owl, the horned owl, and the little
owl; there are also several varieties of the rapacious birds. It is
impossible to present examples of all these. The following specimens
will, however, serve amply to illustrate the strict fidelity to
nature which the sculptures display, as also the skill with which
they are executed.
[Illustration: Fig. 164.]
Fig. 164 will readily be recognised as the tufted heron, the most
indefatigable and voracious of all the fisher varieties. The small
body; long wings, extending to the extremity of the short tail;
long, thin neck; sharp bill, and tufted head, are unmistakeable
features. He is represented in the attitude of striking a fish, which
is also faithfully executed. Nothing can surpass the truthfulness
and delicacy of the sculpture. The minutest features are shown; the
articulations of the legs of the bird, as also the gills, fins, and
scales of the fish, are represented. It is carved from the red,
speckled porphyry, already several times mentioned as constituting
the material of many of these sculptures. As a work of art it is
incomparably superior to any remains of the existing tribes of
Indians. The engraving, in point of spirit, falls far short of the
original. [p260]
[Illustration: Fig. 165.]
Fig. 165 represents a rapacious bird, probably some variety of
the eagle or hawk, in the attitude of tearing in pieces a small
bird, which it grasps in its claws. The sculpture is spirited and
life-like, as well as minute and delicate. The wings are folded
across each other; and the finer feathers upon their superior
portions, and upon the thighs, are well represented. The eyes of this
bird were composed of small pearls, inserted about half their depth
in the stone. Pearls seem to have constituted the eyes of nearly all
the birds.
Fig. 166. This fragment also represents some variety of rapacious
bird. It is wrought with admirable skill and spirit, and it is to be
regretted that the entire figure was not recovered.
THE SWALLOW.—Fig. 167. This fine specimen cannot be too much admired
for its fidelity to nature and its excellent finish. The body is
thrown forward, and the wings are apparently about to be expanded,
as if the bird was just ready to dash off on its swift and erratic
flight. This attitude will readily be recognised as eminently
characteristic, by those who have watched the graceful movements
of this active, cheerful bird. The engraving fails to convey the
lightness and spirit of the original, which, it should be mentioned,
is carved in red porphyry.
SUMMER or WOOD DUCK.—Fig. 168. This bird is common throughout the
United States. The head is well characterized, and is admirably
executed. The engraving conveys but an imperfect notion of the
original, which is lighter and of better proportions.
THE TOUCAN. (?)—Fig. 169. The engraving very well represents the
original, which is delicately carved from a compact limestone. It is
supposed to represent the toucan,—a tropical bird, and one not known
to exist anywhere within the limits of the United States. If we are
not mistaken in supposing it to represent this bird, the remarks made
respecting the sculptures of the manitus will here apply with double
force.
Fig. 170. This specimen will readily be recognised as intended to
represent the head of the grouse. It is exceedingly spirited, and
in execution is inferior to none of the articles recovered from the
mounds. Birds of this species, though not abundant in the Scioto
valley, are plentiful on the plains of Indiana and Illinois. The
material is the red granulated porphyry so often mentioned.
Fig. 171. This specimen, which is well exhibited in the engraving,
is carved from a compact limestone. It was probably intended to
represent the turkey-buzzard. This bird is common in southern Ohio.
[p261]
[Illustration: Fig. 166.]
[Illustration: Fig. 167.]
[Illustration: Fig. 168.]
[Illustration: Fig. 169.]
[Illustration: Fig. 170.]
[Illustration: Fig. 171.]
[p264]
[Illustration: Fig. 172.]
[Illustration: Fig. 173.]
[Illustration: Fig. 174.]
[Illustration: Fig. 175.]
[Illustration: Fig. 176.]
[Illustration: Fig. 177.]
[p265]
THE PARROQUET.—Fig. 172. Among the most spirited and delicately
executed specimens of ancient art found in the mounds, is that of the
parroquet here presented. The fragment shown in the cut was alone
recovered. The engraving, though very good, fails to do justice to
the original. The parroquet is essentially a southern bird; and,
though common along the Gulf, is of rare occurrence above the Ohio
river. It is sometimes seen in the Scioto valley, fifty miles above
its mouth.
Fig. 173. The bird here represented much resembles the tufted “cherry
bird.” The head is somewhat disproportioned to the body,—a defect
more common than any other in the mound sculptures. It is carved from
a brown, granulated porphyry, and is finished with great delicacy.
The bowl is ingeniously enlarged, below the opening, so as to admit a
greater quantity of tobacco, or whatever article was smoked, without
interfering with the symmetry of the bird, which a larger bore would
have much impaired.
Fig. 174. This specimen does not differ widely from that shown in
the preceding figure, and was probably intended to represent the
same bird. The too great size of the head observed in the other is
not so marked in this instance. The material somewhat resembles, in
color and substance, the red pipe-stone of the «Coteau des Prairies»,
but has less of the talcose appearance and feel. It receives a very
good finish, but is not susceptible of a high polish. The pearls
which had been inserted in the cavities representing the eyes, were
in this instance found retaining their places. They had lost their
brilliancy in consequence of exposure to the fire, but were yet
easily recognisable.
Fig. 175. The remarks made in respect to the relic last mentioned
apply to the specimen here represented. It is carved in the same
material as Fig. 173, and is probably intended to represent a bird of
the same variety. Nothing can exceed the life-like expression of the
original.
Fig. 176. This specimen seems unfinished, and the features of the
bird sought to be represented are not well made out. It seems to have
been rubbed or ground into its present shape, and is yet unpolished.
Fig. 177. This is one of the least tasteful specimens recovered
from the mounds, and, like the one last noticed, seems to be in an
unfinished state. The lines indicated in the cut are sharply graved
in the stone. It is not undertaken to say what bird is designed to be
represented.
Fig. 178. This carving is roughly executed, and represents a bird of
some variety not easily recognisable. The bill is broad and heavy,
and the toes are long and wide-spread. It is evidently intended to
represent a bird in the act of picking up some articles of food,
which are indicated by small circles on the palm of an extended hand.
On account of the convexity of the base of the pipe, these [p266]
details are not shown in the engraving, which in all other respects
is a faithful copy of the original.
From the size of its bill, and the circumstance of its having two
toes before and two behind, the bird intended to be represented would
seem to belong to the zygodactylous order—probably the toucan. The
toucan («Ramphastos» of Lin.) is found on this continent only in the
tropical countries of South America.
[Illustration: Fig. 178.]
Pozzo, a distinguished naturalist, speaks of taming them very
easily. Other travellers inform us that they are very highly prized
by the Indians of Guiana and Brazil, principally on account of
their brilliant plumage. They pluck off the skin from the breast,
containing the most beautiful feathers, and glue it upon their cheeks
by way of ornament. In those districts the toucan was almost the only
bird the aborigines attempted to domesticate. The fact that it is
represented receiving its food from a human hand, would, under these
circumstances, favor the conclusion that the sculpture was designed
to represent the toucan.
[Illustration: Fig. 179.]
Fig. 179. This characteristic specimen is carved in limestone, and
is well finished in every respect. It is uncertain what bird it is
intended to represent. At the tail are two holes, evidently designed
for the insertion of feathers or other ornaments.
Fig. 180. A great variety of fragments have been taken from the
mounds, which it has been found impossible to match with others,
so as to complete the [p267] originals. This is the more to be
regretted, from the fact that many of them denote a degree of skill
equalling, if not surpassing, that displayed in the most complete
specimens. The two heads here presented, probably intended to
represent the eagle, are far superior in point of finish, spirit, and
truthfulness, to any miniature carvings, ancient or modern, which
have fallen under the notice of the authors. The engravings, though
very accurate and spirited, still fail to do full justice to the
originals. The peculiar defiant expression of the “king of birds” is
admirably preserved in the carvings, which in this respect more than
any other display the skill of the ancient artist.
[Illustration: Fig. 180.]
[Illustration: Fig. 181.]
Fig. 181. This engraving, which is half the size of the original, is
introduced simply to illustrate the great variety of devices adopted
by the mound-builders in the construction of their pipes. A number
very much resembling the one here figured, have been recovered.
[Illustration: Fig. 182.]
Fig. 182. This specimen is unfinished, and plainly exhibits the
process adopted by the ancient artist in bringing it to its present
state. None of the more minute details have as yet received any
attention. The base and various parts of the figure exhibit fine
striæ, resulting from rubbing or grinding; but the general outline
seems to have been secured by cutting with some sharp instrument,
the marks [p268] of which are plainly to be seen, especially at the
parts where it would be difficult or impracticable to approach with
a triturating substance. The lines indicating the feathers, grooves
of the beak, and other more delicate features, are cut or graved in
the surface at a single stroke. Some pointed tool seems to have been
used, and the marks are visible where it has occasionally slipped
beyond the control of the engraver. Indeed, the whole appearance
of the specimen indicates that the work was done rapidly by an
experienced hand, and that the various parts were brought forward
simultaneously. The freedom of the strokes could only result from
long practice; and we may infer that the manufacture of pipes had a
distinct place in the industrial organization of the mound-builders.
MISCELLANEOUS SCULPTURES.—Sculptures of serpents, turtles, frogs, and
other animals, have been discovered in abundance; all displaying a
like faithful observance of nature.
Figs. 183 and 184. These sculptures of the toad are very truthful.
The knotted, corrugated skin is well represented in one of them;
which, if placed in the grass before an unsuspecting observer,
would probably be mistaken for the natural object. Fig. 184 is in
an unfinished state. It very well exhibits the mode of workmanship;
while the general surface appears covered with striæ running in every
direction, as if produced by rubbing. The folds and lines are clearly
«cut» with some sort of graver. The marks of the implement «chipping»
out portions a fourth of an inch in length, are too distinct to admit
the slightest doubt that a cutting tool was used in the work. Those
who deem expression in sculpture the grand essential, will find
something to amuse as well as to admire in the lugubrious expression
of the mouths of these specimens.
THE FROG.—Fig. 185. A large number of sculptures of the frog have
been discovered; most, however, are much broken up by fire. This
specimen is carved in white limestone.
Fig. 186 certainly represents the rattle-snake. Other sculptures of
the serpent, coiled in like manner around the bowls of pipes, have
been found. One represents a variety not recognised. It has a broad,
flat head, and the body is singularly marked. All are carved in
porphyry. Two sculptures of the alligator have also been found, but
much broken up by the fire.
Figs. 187 and 188. Two views of a sculptured stone, representing,
probably, the head of a goose; upon the back is carved a death’s
head. It is composed of a hard, black stone, and measures three and
a half inches in length by two and a half in height. Found near
Brookville, Indiana. [p269]
[Illustration: Fig. 183.]
[Illustration: Fig. 184.]
[Illustration: Fig. 185.]
[Illustration: Fig. 186.]
[Illustration: Fig. 187.]
[Illustration: Fig. 188.]
[p271]
Figs. 189 and 190. These are fragments of sculptures, of which it was
found impossible to collect the various pieces. Fig. 189 is supposed
to represent the head of the bear; Fig. 190 the head of the wolf.
[Illustration: Fig. 189.]
[Illustration: Fig. 190.]
[Illustration: Fig. 191.]
Fig. 191. This is a reduced copy of a curious carving, representing
some animal. Whether it is a “fancy piece,” or whether the original
counterpart exists in nature, it is not assumed to say.
[Illustration: Fig. 192.]
Fig. 192. The remark last made holds good respecting this singular
sculpture. It has been supposed to represent the head and shoulders
of the morse. [p272]
[Illustration: Fig. 193.]
Fig. 193. This is probably a rude representation of the head of
some kind of toad or frog. It is boldly cut, evidently with little
attention to nature, and is chiefly interesting as illustrating the
great variety of figures which these relics assume.
Such is the general character of the sculptures found in the mounds.
It is unnecessary to say more than that as works of art, they are
immeasurably beyond anything which the North American Indians are
known to produce, even at this day, with all the suggestions of
European art and the advantages afforded by steel instruments. The
Chinooks, and the Indians of the North-western Coast, carve pipes,
platters, and other articles, with much neatness, from slate. We see
in their pipes, for instance, a heterogeneous collection of pulleys,
cords, barrels, and rude human figures, evidently suggested by the
tackling of the ships trading in those seas. Their platters, too, are
copies of English ware, differing only in material and ornaments.
The utmost that can be said of them is, that they are elaborate,
unmeaning carvings, displaying some degree of ingenuity. A much
higher rank can be claimed for the mound-sculptures; they combine
taste in arrangement with skill in workmanship, and are faithful
copies, not distorted caricatures, from nature. They display not only
the figures and the characteristic attitudes, but in some cases, as
we have seen, the very habits of the objects represented. So far as
fidelity is concerned, many of them deserve to rank by the side of
the best efforts of the artist-naturalists of our own day.
The Mexicans and Peruvians were very skilful in their representations
of animals, and the early historians are profuse in praise of their
workmanship, extolling it beyond that of the old world. Says La Vega
of the Peruvians:
“They fashioned likewise all beasts and birds in gold and silver;
namely, conies, rats, lizards, serpents, butterflies, foxes, mountain
cats (for they have no tame cats in their houses); and they make
sparrows and all sorts of lesser birds, some flying, some perching in
trees; in short, no creature that was either wild or domestic, but
was made and represented by them according to its exact and natural
shape.”[171]
Clavigero says of the exceeding skill of the Mexicans in the arts,
that their works “were so admirably finished, that even the Spanish
soldiers, all stung with the same wretched thirst for gold, valued
the «workmanship» more than the materials.” And Peter Martyr,
noticing the works of the people along the coasts of the Caribbean
sea and the Gulf of Mexico, exclaims,—“If man’s art or invention ever
got any honor in such like arts, these people may claim the chief
sovereignty and commendation.”[172]
The method practised by the makers of the articles above mentioned,
in reducing them to shape, seems to have been the very obvious
one resorted to by all rude nations unacquainted with the use of
iron; namely, that of rubbing or grinding upon stones possessing
a sharp grit. The Mexicans, it is said, used tools of obsidian in
their sculptures; and the Peruvians, although possessing implements
of [p273] hardened copper, according to La Vega, “rather wore
out the stone by continued rubbing, than cutting.” Most of the
mound-sculptures have been so carefully smoothed and are so highly
polished, as to show few marks of rubbing; but some have been found,
as has already been shown, in an unfinished state, which exhibit
fully the mode of workmanship. These show that the makers had also
sharp cutting instruments, which were used in delineating the minor
features. The lines indicating the folds in the skin of animals, and
the feathers of birds, are not ground in, but «cut», evidently to
the entire depth, at a single stroke. Sometimes the tool has slipped
by, indicating that it was held and used after the manner of the
gravers of the present day. The time and labor expended in perfecting
these elaborate works from obstinate materials, with no other than
these rude aids, must have given them a high value when finished.
Hence we find a great deal of ingenuity exhibited in restoring them
when accidentally broken. This was accomplished by drilling holes
diagonally to each other in the detached parts, so that by the
insertion of wooden pegs or copper wire, they were, in technical
phrase, “bound together.” This attachment was further strengthened,
in some cases, by bands of sheet copper; occasionally the entire
pipe, when much injured, seems to have been plated over with that
metal. When the fracture was such as materially to injure the tube,
a small copper tube was inserted within it, restoring an unbroken
communication. Many interesting facts of this kind, which perhaps may
seem trivial and unimportant to most minds, might be presented. They
illustrate how highly these remains were valued by their possessors.
The manner in which the drilling was probably accomplished has
already been indicated.
TABLETS.—A few small sculptured tablets have been found in the
mounds. Some of these have been regarded as bearing hieroglyphical,
others alphabetic inscriptions, and have been made the basis of
much speculation at home and abroad. Nothing of this extraordinary
character has been disclosed in the course of the investigations
here recorded; nor is there any evidence that anything like an
alphabetic or hieroglyphic system existed among the mound-builders.
The earthworks, and the mounds and their contents, certainly indicate
that, prior to the occupation of the Mississippi valley by the more
recent tribes of Indians, there existed here a numerous population,
agricultural in their habits, considerably advanced in the arts, and
undoubtedly, in all respects, much superior to their successors.
There is, however, no reason to believe that their condition was
anything more than an approximation towards that attained by the
semi-civilized nations of the central portions of the continent,—who
themselves had not arrived at the construction of an alphabet.
Whether the latter had progressed further than to a refinement upon
the rude picture-writing of the savage tribes, is a question open to
discussion. It would be unwarrantable therefore to assign to the race
of the mounds a superiority in this respect over nations palpably
so much in advance of them in all others. It would be a reversal
of the teachings of history, an exception to the law of harmonious
development, which it would require a large assemblage of well
attested facts to sustain. Such an array of facts, it is scarcely
necessary to add, we do not possess. [p274]
It is true, hardly a year passes unsignalized by the announcement
of the discovery of tablets of stone or metal, bearing strange
and mystical inscriptions,—generally reported to have a “marked
resemblance to the Chinese characters.” But they either fail to
withstand an analysis of the alleged circumstances attending their
discovery, or resolve themselves into very simple natural productions
when subjected to scientific scrutiny. It will be remembered that
some years ago it was announced that six inscribed copper plates
had been found in a mound near Kinderhook, Pike county, Illinois.
Engravings of them and a minute description were published at the
time, and widely circulated. Subsequent inquiry has shown that the
plates were a harmless imposition, got up for local effect; and that
the village blacksmith, with no better suggestion to his antiquarian
labors than the lid of a tea-chest, was chiefly responsible for
them. Within the past two years an announcement was made of the
discovery, in a mound near Lower Sandusky, Ohio, of a series of oval
mica plates, inscribed with numberless unknown characters, which, in
the language of the printed account, probably “contained the history
of some former race that inhabited this country.” These plates were
found, upon examination, to be ornaments of that variety of mica
known as “graphic” or “hieroglyphic mica,”—which is naturally marked
with figures somewhat regular in their arrangement.
The Grave creek mound was also said to have contained a small
stone, bearing an alphabetical inscription, which has attracted
the attention of a number of learned men both in this country and
in Europe. A critical examination of the circumstances attending
the introduction of this relic to the world is calculated to throw
great doubt upon its genuineness. The fact that it is not mentioned
by intelligent observers writing from the spot at the time of the
excavation of the mound, and that no notice of its existence was made
public until after the opening of the mound for exhibition, joined to
the strong presumptive evidence against the occurrence of anything of
the kind, furnished by the antagonistic character of all the ancient
remains of the continent, so far as they are known,—are insuperable
objections to its reception. Until it is better authenticated, it
should be entirely excluded from a place among the antiquities of our
country.[173]
A small tablet was discovered, some years ago, in a mound at
Cincinnati, of which Fig. 194 presents a front, and Fig. 195 a
reverse view.
This relic is now in the possession of ERASMUS GEST, Esq., of
Cincinnati. The circumstances under which it was discovered are thus
detailed by Mr. Gest in a letter published at the time:
“I herewith send you what I deem to be a hieroglyphical stone, which
was found buried with a skeleton in the ‘old mound,’ situated in the
western part of the city, together with two pointed bones, each about
seven inches long, taken from the same spot. (See page 220.)
“In the course of the excavation several skeletons were disinterred;
and their being generally in a good state of preservation and near
the surface, gave rise to [p275] the inference that they were
deposited there since the mound was erected: but the one with which
the sharpened bones and hieroglyphical stone were found, was in a
decayed state. Being in the centre and rather below the level of
the surrounding ground, it was no doubt the object over which the
mound was erected. I have a part of the skull; the remainder of the
skeleton was destroyed by the diggers.”
[Illustration: Fig. 194. From a drawing by H. C. GROSVENOR.]
[Illustration: Fig. 195.]
The position of the skeleton with which it was found, as also the
other circumstances attending the discovery of this relic, leave
little doubt as to its authenticity. It was discovered in December,
1841. The material is a fine-grained, compact sandstone, of a light
brown color. It measures five inches in length, three in breadth at
the ends, two and six tenths at the middle, and is about half an
inch in thickness. The sculptured face varies very slightly from a
perfect plane. The figures are cut in low relief, (the lines being
not more than one twentieth of an inch in depth,) and occupy a
rectangular space four inches and two tenths long, by two and one
tenth wide. The sides of the stone, it will be observed, are slightly
concave. Right lines are drawn across the face near the ends. At
right angles and exterior to these are notches, twenty-five at one
end, and twenty-four at the other. Extending diagonally inward are
fifteen longer lines, eight at one end and seven at the other. The
back of the stone has three deep, longitudinal grooves, and several
depressions, evidently caused by rubbing,—probably produced in
sharpening the instrument used in the sculpture.
Without discussing the “singular resemblance which the relic bears to
the Egyptian «cartouch»,” it will be sufficient to direct attention
to the reduplication of [p276] the figures, those upon one side
corresponding with those upon the other, and the two central ones
being also alike. It will be observed that there are but three
scrolls or figures, four of one description, and two of each of the
others. Probably no serious discussion of the question whether or
not these figures are hieroglyphical is needed. They more resemble
the stalk and flowers of a plant than anything else in nature.
What significance, if any, may attach to the peculiar markings or
graduations at the ends, it is not undertaken to say. The sum of the
products of the longer and shorter lines (24×7+25×8) is 368, three
more than the number of days in the year; from which circumstance
the suggestion has been advanced that the tablet had an astronomical
origin, and constituted some sort of a calendar.
We may perhaps find the key to its purposes in a very humble but
not therefore less interesting class of Southern remains. Both in
Mexico and in the mounds of Mississippi have been found «stamps» of
burned clay, the faces of which are covered with figures, fanciful or
imitative, all in low relief, like the face of a stereotype plate.
These were used in impressing ornaments upon the clothes or prepared
skins of the people possessing them. They exhibit the concavity of
the sides to be observed in the relic in question, intended doubtless
for greater convenience in holding and using it, as also a similar
reduplication of the ornamental figures,—all betraying a common
purpose. This explanation is offered hypothetically as being entirely
consistent with the general character of the mound remains; which,
taken together, do not warrant us in looking for anything that might
not well pertain to a very simple, not to say rude, people.[174]
[Illustration: Fig. 196.]
Fig. 196. From one of the mounds, numbered 1 in the plan of the great
enclosure on the North Fork of Paint creek, (Plate X,) were taken
several singularly sculptured tablets, of one of which the figure
here presented is a copy, so far as it has been found possible to
restore it from the several fragments recovered. It represents a
coiled rattlesnake; both faces of the tablet being identical in
[p277] sculpture, excepting that one is plane, the other slightly
convex. The material is a very fine cinnamon-colored sandstone,
and the style of the sculpture is identical with that displayed in
the tablet from the Cincinnati mound already noticed. The original
is six inches and a quarter long, one and three eighths broad, and
one quarter of an inch thick. The workmanship is delicate, and the
characteristic feature of the rattlesnake perfectly represented. It
is to be regretted that it is impossible to restore the head, which,
so far as it can be made out, has some peculiar and interesting
features,—plumes or ornamental figures surmounting it. Previous to
the investigation of the mound by the authors, an entire tablet
was obtained from it by an individual residing near the spot,
who represents it to have been carefully and closely enveloped
in sheets of copper, which he had great difficulty in removing.
Incited by a miserable curiosity he broke the specimen, to ascertain
its composition; and the larger portion, including the head, was
subsequently lost. The remaining fragment, from its exceedingly well
preserved condition, confirms the statement of the finder respecting
its envelopment. It seems that several of these tablets were
originally deposited in the mound; the greater portions of four have
been recovered, but none displaying the head entire. The person above
mentioned affirms that the head, in the specimen which he discovered,
was surrounded by “feathers;” how far this is confirmed by the
fragment, the reader must judge for himself. The tablets seem to have
been originally painted of different colors: a dark red pigment is
yet plainly to be seen in the depressions of some of the fragments;
others had been painted of a dense black color.
It does not appear probable that these relics were designed for
ornaments. On the contrary, the circumstances under which they were
discovered render it likely that they had a superstitious origin, and
were objects of high regard and perhaps of worship. It has already
been observed, in connection with the account of the great serpentine
structure in Adams county, Ohio, (Plate XXXV,) that the serpent
entered widely into the superstitions of the American nations,
savage and semi-civilized, and was conspicuous among their symbols
as the emblem of the greatest gods of their mythology, both good and
evil. And wherever it appears, whether among the carvings of the
Natchez (who, according to Charlevoix, placed it upon their altars
as an object of worship), among the paintings of the Aztecs, or upon
the temples of Central America, it is worthy of remark, that it is
invariably the «rattlesnake». And as among the Egyptians the «cobra»
was the sign of royalty, so among the Mexicans the rattlesnake was
an emblem of kingly power and dominion. As such it appears in the
crown of «Tezcatlipoca», the Brahma of the Aztec pantheon, and in the
helmets of the warrior priests of that divinity. The «feather-headed
rattlesnake», it should be observed, was in Mexico the peculiar
symbol of «Tezcatlipoca», otherwise symbolized as the sun.
FOOTNOTES:
[159] «Researches», vol. i, p. 43.
[160] In the possession of J. VAN CLEVE, Esq., Dayton, Ohio.
[161] See memoir on the Grave creek mound by H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq.,
«Transactions of American Ethnological Society», vol. i. p. 408.
The original is regarded by that gentleman as furnishing tangible
evidence of the existence of idol worship among the North American
tribes. Its purposes, whatever they were, seem to differ but slightly
from those to which the ruder articles noticed in the text were
applied. The orifices in the back are supposed by Mr. Schoolcraft to
be designed for the insertion of the thumb and finger in lifting the
object, or for the introduction of a thong or cord in transporting or
suspending it.
[162] In the collection of JAMES MCBRIDE, Esq.
[163] Several of these masks are embraced in the collection of
Mexican antiques, presented by Mr. POINSETT to the American
Philosophical Society, at Philadelphia.
[164] Godman’s American Natural History, vol. ii. p. 154.
[165] Desm. «Nouv. Hist Nat.», xvii. p. 213.
[166] Observations on the Geology of East Florida, by T. A. Conrad.
Silliman’s Journal of Arts and Sciences for July, 1846.
[167] Butram’s Travels in North America, p. 299.
[168] Humboldt’s Travels and Researches in South America.
[169] Godman’s Natural History, vol. ii. p. 155.
[170] Mr. Schoolcraft mentions, in illustration of the extent of
Indian exchanges in shells and ornaments, that he saw at the foot
of Lake Superior, Indian articles ornamented with the shining white
«Dentalium Elephanticum» from the mouth of the Columbia.
[171] Commentaries of Peru. Book vi. p. 187.
[172] De Orbo Novo, Dec. 4, cap. 9.
[173] For a critical examination of the question of the authenticity
of this relic, see «Transactions of American Ethnological Society»,
vol. ii.
[174] The following just observations are from the published notice
of this relic, accompanying the communication of Mr. Gest, above
quoted:
“The relic found here was with a skeleton, in the very centre of the
mound, and all the external evidence favors the belief that it was
placed there when the tumulus was raised. But the best evidence of
its genuineness is this, that a person in our times could scarcely
make so perfect an engraving as this stone, and not make it more
perfect, the engraving represents something, whatever it is, the two
sides of which are intended to be alike, and yet no two curves or
lines are precisely alike, nor is there the least evidence of the
use of our instruments to be discovered in the work. So difficult
is it to imitate with our cultivated hands and eyes the peculiar
imperfection of this cutting, that some excellent judges, who at
first doubted the genuineness of the relic, have changed their
opinion upon trying to imitate it. What the sculpture means is
another matter.”
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