Near the center of the round fort * * * was a tumulus of earth about
10 feet in height and several rods in diameter at its base. On its
eastern side, and extending 6 rods from it, was a semicircular
pavement composed of pebbles such as are now found in the bed of the
Scioto River, from whence they appear to have been brought. The
summit of this tumulus was nearly 30 feet in diameter, and there was
a raised way to it, leading from the east, like a modern turnpike.
The summit was level. The outline of the semicircular pavement and
the walk is still discernible. The earth composing this mound was
entirely removed several years since. The writer was present at its
removal and carefully examined the contents. It contained--
1st. Two human skeletons, lying on what had been the original
surface of the earth.
2d. A great quantity of arrow-heads, some of which were so large as
to induce a belief that they were used as spear-heads.
3d. The handle either of a small sword or a huge knife, made of an
elk’s horn. Around the end where the blade had been inserted was a
ferule of silver, which, though black, was not much injured by time.
Though the handle showed the hole where the blade had been inserted,
yet no iron was found, but an oxyde remained of similar shape and
size.
4th. Charcoal and wood ashes on which these articles lay, which were
surrounded by several bricks very well burnt. The skeleton appeared
to have been burned in a large and very hot fire, which had almost
consumed the bones of the deceased. This skeleton was deposited a
little to the south of the center of the tumulus; and about 20 feet
to the north of it was another, with which were--
5th. A large mirrour about 3 feet in breadth and 1½ inches in
thickness. This mirrour was of isinglass (_mica membranacea_), and
on it--
6th. A plate of iron which had become an oxyde, but before it was
disturbed by the spade resembled a plate of cast iron. The mirrour
answered the purpose very well for which it was intended. This
skeleton had also been burned like the former, and lay on charcoal
and a considerable quantity of wood ashes. A part of the mirrour is
in my possession, as well as a piece of brick taken from the spot at
the time. The knife or sword handle was sent to Mr. Peal’s Museum,
at Philadelphia.
To the southwest of this tumulus, about 40 rods from it, is another,
more than 90 feet in height, which is shown on the plate
representing these works. It stands on a large hill, which appears
to be artificial. This must have been the common cemetery, as it
contains an immense number of human skeletons of all sizes and ages.
The skeletons are laid horizontally, with their heads generally
towards the center and the feet towards the outside of the tumulus.
A considerable part of this work still stands uninjured, except by
time. In it have been found, besides these skeletons, stone axes and
knives, and several ornaments, with holes through them, by means of
which, with a cord passing through these perforations, they could be
worn by their owners. On the south side of this tumulus, and not far
from it, was a semicircular fosse, which, when I first saw it, was 6
feet deep. On opening it was discovered at the bottom a great
quantity of human bones, which I am inclined to believe were the
remains of those who had been slain in some great and destructive
battle: first, because they belonged to persons who had attained
their full size, whereas in the mound adjoining were found the
skeletons of persons of all ages; and, secondly, they were here in
the utmost confusion, as if buried in a hurry. May we not conjecture
that they belonged to the people who resided in the town, and who
were victorious in the engagement? Otherwise they would not have
been thus honorably buried in the common cemetery.
_Chillicothe mound._--Its perpendicular height was about 15 feet,
and the diameter of its base about 60 feet. It was composed of sand
and contained human bones belonging to skeletons which were buried
in different parts of it. It was not until this pile of earth was
removed and the original surface exposed to view that a probable
conjecture of its original design could be formed. About 20 feet
square of the surface had been leveled and covered with bark. On the
center of this lay a human skeleton, over which had been spread a
mat manufactured either from weeds or bark. On the breast lay what
had been a piece of copper, in the form of a cross, which had now
become verdigris. On the breast also lay a stone ornament with two
perforations, one near each end, through which passed a string, by
means of which it was suspended around the wearer’s neck. On this
string, which was made of sinews, and very much injured by time,
were placed a great many beads made of ivory or bone, for I cannot
certainly say which. * * *
_Mounds of stone._--Two such mounds have been described already in
the county of Perry. Others have been found in various parts of the
country. There is one at least in the vicinity of Licking River, not
many miles from Newark. There is another on a branch of Hargus’s
Creek, a few miles to the northeast of Circleville. There were
several not very far from the town of Chillicothe. If these mounds
were sometimes used as cemeteries of distinguished persons, they
were also used as monuments with a view of perpetuating the
recollection of some great transaction or event. In the former not
more generally than one or two skeletons are found; in the latter
none. These mounds are like those of earth, in form of a cone,
composed of small stones on which no marks of tools were visible. In
them some of the most interesting articles are found, such as urns,
ornaments of copper, heads of spears, &c., of the same metal, as
well as medals of copper and pickaxes of horneblende; * * * works of
this class, compared with those of earth, are few, and they are none
of them as large as the mounds at Grave Creek, in the town of
Circleville, which belong to the first class. I saw one of these
stone tumuli which had been piled on the surface of the earth on the
spot where three skeletons had been buried in stone coffins, beneath
the surface. It was situated on the western edge of the hill on
which the “walled town” stood, on Paint Creek. The graves appear to
have been dug to about the depth of ours in the present times. After
the bottom and sides were lined with thin flat stones, the corpses
were placed in these graves in an eastern and western direction, and
large flat stones were laid over the graves; then the earth which
had been dug out of the graves was thrown over them. A huge pile of
stones was placed over the whole. It is quite probable, however,
that this was a work of our present race of Indians. Such graves are
more common in Kentucky than Ohio. No article, except the skeletons,
was found in these graves; and the skeletons resembled very much the
present race of Indians.
The mounds of Sterling County, Illinois, are described by W. C.
Holbrook[20] as follows:
I recently made an examination of a few of the many Indian mounds
found on Rock River, about two miles above Sterling, Ill. The first
one opened was an oval mound about 20 feet long, 12 feet wide, and
7 feet high. In the interior of this I found a _dolmen_ or
quadrilateral wall about 10 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4½ feet
wide. It had been built of lime-rock from a quarry near by, and was
covered with large flat stones. No mortar or cement had been used.
The whole structure rested on the surface of the natural soil, the
interior of which had been scooped out to enlarge the chamber.
Inside of the _dolmen_ I found the partly decayed remains of eight
human skeletons, two very large teeth of an unknown animal, two
fossils, one of which is not found in this place, and a plummet. One
of the long bones had been splintered; the fragments had united, but
there remained large morbid growths of bone (exostosis) in several
places. One of the skulls presented a circular opening about the
size of a silver dime. This perforation had been made during life,
for the edges had commenced to cicatrize. I later examined three
circular mounds, but in them I found no dolmens. The first mound
contained three adult human skeletons, a few fragments of the
skeleton of a child, the lower maxillary of which indicated it to be
about six years old. I also found claws of some carnivorous animal.
The surface of the soil had been scooped out and the bodies laid in
the excavation and covered with about a foot of earth; fires had
then been made upon the grave and the mound afterwards completed.
The bones had not been charred. No charcoal was found among the
bones, but occurred in abundance in a stratum about one foot above
them. Two other mounds, examined at the same time, contain no
remains.
Of two other mounds, opened later, the first was circular, about 4
feet high, and 15 feet in diameter at the base, and was situated on
an elevated point of land close to the bank of the river. From the
top of this mound one might view the country for many miles in
almost any direction. On its summit was an oval altar 6 feet long
and 4½ wide. It was composed of flat pieces of limestone, which
had been burned red, some portions having been almost converted into
lime. On and about this altar I found abundance of charcoal. At the
sides of the altar were fragments of human bones, some of which had
been charred. It was covered by a natural growth of vegetable mold
and sod, the thickness of which was about 10 inches. Large trees had
once grown in this vegetable mold, but their stumps were so decayed
I could not tell with certainty; to what species they belonged.
Another large mound was opened which contained nothing.
The next account relates to the grave-mounds near Pensacola, Fla., and
was originally published by Dr. George M. Sternberg, surgeon United
States Army:[21]
Before visiting the mound I was informed that the Indians were
buried in it in an upright position, each one with a clay pot on his
head. This idea was based upon some superficial explorations which
had been made from time to time by curiosity hunters. Their
excavations had, indeed, brought to light pots containing fragments
of skulls, but not buried in the position they imagined. Very
extensive explorations, made at different times by myself, have
shown that only fragments of skulls and of the long bones of the
body are to be found in the mound, and that these are commonly
associated with earthen pots, sometimes whole, but more frequently
broken fragments only. In some instances portions of the skull were
placed in a pot, and the long bones were deposited in its immediate
vicinity. Again, the pots would contain only sand, and fragments of
bones would be found near them. The most successful “find” I made
was a whole nest of pots, to the number of half a dozen, all in a
good state of preservation, and buried with a fragment of skull,
which I take, from its small size, to have been that of a female.
Whether this female was thus distinguished above all others buried
in the mound by the number of pots deposited with her remains
because of her skill in the manufacture of such ware, or by reason
of the unusual wealth of her sorrowing husband, must remain a matter
of conjecture. I found, altogether, fragments of skulls and
thigh-bones belonging to at least fifty individuals, but in no
instance did I find anything like a complete skeleton. There were no
vertebræ, no ribs, no pelvic bones, and none of the small bones of
the hands and feet. Two or three skulls, nearly perfect, were found,
but they were so fragile that it was impossible to preserve them. In
the majority of instances, only fragments of the frontal and
parietal bones were found, buried in pots or in fragments of pots
too small to have ever contained a complete skull. The conclusion
was irresistible that this was not a burial-place for _the bodies_
of deceased Indians, but that the bones had been gathered from some
other locality for burial in this mound, or that cremation was
practiced before burial, and the fragments of bone not consumed by
fire were gathered and deposited in the mound. That the latter
supposition is the correct one I deem probable from the fact that in
digging in the mound evidences of fire are found in numerous places,
but without any regularity as to depth and position. These evidences
consist in strata of from one to four inches in thickness, in which
the sand is of a dark color and has mixed with it numerous small
fragments of charcoal.
My theory is that the mound was built by gradual accretion in the
following manner: That when a death occurred a funeral pyre was
erected on the mound, upon which the body was placed. That after the
body was consumed, any fragments of bones remaining were gathered,
placed in a pot, and buried, and that the ashes and cinders were
covered by a layer of sand brought from the immediate vicinity for
that purpose. This view is further supported by the fact that only
the shafts of the long bones are found, the expanded extremities,
which would be most easily consumed, having disappeared; also, by
the fact that no bones of children were found. Their bones being
smaller, and containing a less proportion of earthy matter, would be
entirely consumed. * * *
At the Santa Rosa mound the method of burial was different. Here I
found the skeletons complete, and obtained nine well-preserved
skulls. * * * The bodies were not, apparently, deposited upon any
regular system, and I found no objects of interest associated with
the remains. It may be that this was due to the fact that the
skeletons found were those of warriors who had fallen in battle in
which they had sustained defeat. This view is supported by the fact
that they were all males, and that two of the skulls bore marks of
ante-mortem injuries which must have been of a fatal character.
Writing of the Choctaws, Bartram,[22] in alluding to the ossuary, or
bone-house, mentions that so soon as this is filled a general inhumation
takes place, in this manner:
Then the respective coffins are borne by the nearest relatives of
the deceased to the place of interment, where they are all piled one
upon another in the form of a pyramid, and the conical hill of earth
heaped above.
The funeral ceremonies are concluded with the solemnization of a
festival called the feast of the dead.
Florian Gianque, of Cincinnati, Ohio, furnishes an account of a somewhat
curious mound-burial which had taken place in the Miami Valley of Ohio:
A mound was opened in this locality, some years ago, containing a
central corpse in a sitting posture, and over thirty skeletons
buried around it in a circle, also in a sitting posture, but leaning
against one another, tipped over towards the right, facing inwards.
I did not see this opened, but have seen the mounds and many
ornaments, awls, &c., said to have been found near the central body.
The parties informing me are trustworthy.
As an example of interment, unique, so far as known, and interesting as
being _sui generis_, the following description by Dr. J. Mason
Spainhour, of Lenoir, N.C., of an excavation made by him March 11,
1871, on the farm of R. V. Michaux, esq., near John’s River, in Burke
County, N.C., is given. The author bears the reputation of an observer
of undoubted integrity, whose facts as given may not be doubted: