As we approach the upper shores of the St. John's River, extensive
swamp-lands, overgrown with various kinds of timber, are seen, where
very bony-looking stock eke out a spare subsistence during a portion of
the year, but commence recruiting as soon as the grass begins to grow,
in February. Habitations are not frequent, the only variations being
mounds, or bluffs, as they are usually termed. Many of these voiceless
monuments of the mute past, around which cluster records of deep import,
are found scattered throughout various portions of Florida, as in many
other localities, furnishing food for the thoughtful, and conjecture for
the inquiring mind. All efforts heretofore made to enlighten the world,
or explain these curious structures, are founded upon the diversity of
opinion and research of the different writers. Their appearance sheds
sufficient light on the subject for us to know they are the cemeteries
of an early, though partial, civilization--probably a relic of the
Mexican race--from which we may derive illustrations of the habits,
manners, and ideas of a people, "on whose graves the firmly-rooted oak
has so long kept its dominion that it seems to the Indian supplanters to
have been the first occupant of the soil."
Although we have no means left us of determining the cause by which the
change was produced, the day dawned on them not less abruptly than that
of the Aztecs of Mexico, or the Incas of Peru, when their sacred fires
were extinguished, their altars desecrated, and the "primeval forest
slowly resumed its sway over the deserted temples and silent cities of
the dead," thus leaving glimpses of an unwritten history, full of
interest, even in a tantalizing form. The remains of the American
mound-builders are replete with surprise for us, which the magnificence
of Montezuma's capital throws in the shade; and, while reading with
implicit faith the narrative of the conqueror, we cannot but think the
age of America's infancy lies buried in these older mounds. The chasm
between these monumental mounts and the present time has never been
bridged by any historian, however well versed in archæological records,
or chronological _data_--except their belief in the resurrection of the
body, which may be inferred from the careful manner in which they
disposed of their friends after death.
It is within the remembrance of some persons still living that tribes of
Indians now extinct have been seen passing through the country on
pilgrimages to the graves of their sires, where they regard the earth
that entombs the dust of their friends as too sacred for any thing but a
shrine. When the Spanish invaders came to conquer Mexico, they
disinterred the bones from the mounds, when the Indians entreated them
to desist, "as their owners would not find them together when they
returned." "Ancestral veneration was a peculiar trait belonging to the
aborigines, which is shadowed with an air of melancholy."
In these _tumuli_ were deposited all the implements which the departed
were supposed to require on their entrance into the unexplored regions.
Here we find the ax upon which months and years had been expended in
reducing to useful proportions, attrition being the only means employed;
also the mortar and pestle, to pound their maize; the stone spear and
arrow-head, to kill game; the bone fish-hook, to seize the astonished
finny tribe as they swam though the purling streams of the newly-found
paradise; the calumet, to be used while communing face to face with the
Great Spirit; the pearl ornaments, to deck their persons in a becoming
manner for their new position; the essential wampum, that no reflections
could be cast as to their former condition in life, as lacking the
important requisite to become a member of the _élite_ society in the
"long-fancied mild and beautiful hunting-grounds."
Mausoleums reared with many hands, inscriptionless monuments, tombs
without epitaphs! Whose ashes rest beneath your storm-beaten,
time-scarred surfaces? what prowess could you boast beyond your peers?
was it the hand of violence or disease that severed the silver cord, and
ushered you into the presence of the Great Spirit? We may continue to
question, but the locked secrets of by-gone deeds will be borne on no
zephyr, however soft, to gratify the longings of those who try to lift
the misty veil of obscurity. When searching for a record of the
architects of these pyramidal structures, we find our mind drifting upon
the quicksands of instability. That the archæological history of the
mound-builders in America is in its infancy cannot be doubted, although
some imagine they have probed it to the foundation, as they have stood
where a few bones, beads, and pottery were thrown out. Mounds are not
limited to America, but are found in Europe and Asia, although dignified
by different titles--as barrows, moat-hills, and cairns--all belonging
to the same family as our earth-mounds. The Indians say that before the
"pale faces" scattered them, they had mounds erected for different
purposes--for sepulture, for sacrifice, for signals, for refuge in war,
and the residence of the cazique. The first and most frequent of these
was for sepulture. Homer and Hesiod both speak of monumental mounds over
the graves of heroes.
While surveying these colossal works, reared by hands of clay, a wonder
seizes our minds how the almost nude aborigines, with so limited a
number of implements, could collect so much material, and fashion it
into any form adapted to their necessities. It is true, they had some
knowledge of the manner in which stone could be utilized, as chert and
flint have both been found in the oldest earth-works, several feet below
the surface--from which also can be deduced facts with reference to
their roving habits of life, as this formation does not exist naturally
in Florida.
The strong argument against Florida not having been the first location
of the inhabitants who built these earth-works, is their tendency
toward the West, not being found on the Atlantic coast, showing the
course of emigration to have been from the West to the South. These
structures also indicate strength, and not the hasty work of a nomadic
tribe, having once been the site of a vast population.
The Florida mounds, unlike those of the Mexicans, bear no marks of
magnificence or grandeur, but are of gigantic proportions, in
consideration of the appliances with which they had to work, not having
either plow or draft animals. They are the only records left us for
determining the habits, occupation, and manner of living, of its former
residents, which, if more enduring, are scarcely less satisfactory than
a foot-print in the sand, as a guide to the pursuits and inclinations of
its owner.
Intrusive burial has, without doubt, been practiced in Florida, as
mounds which have been fully excavated furnish evident marks of burial
at different periods, the lower strata having hardly a vestige of
ossified substance, with only a few shells or stone implements
remaining. The forest-growth on these mounds dates farther back than the
earliest settlement of America, but anterior to that leaves us sailing
upon the sea of conjecture. Whatever may be said in regard to the
aborigines manifesting a natural instinctive downward tendency in the
erection of earth and shell, they developed a different direction--that
of elevating their residences while living, and having their remains
above a common level after death. Here may not the question be asked, If
the pyramids of the East, erected to the memory of kings, and those of
America have not a connection, or common origin? A distinguishable
feature has been observed in regard to the ancient mound-builders,
different from the other Indians, in having their skulls flattened--only
one of which has ever been exhumed whole.
The largest sepulchral mound of which we have any knowledge, on the
upper St. John's, is located in the vicinity of New Smyrna, containing
the remains of the Yemassees, who were slain by the Creeks--a fierce,
warlike tribe--they being driven into a point of land, where they became
an easy prey to their enemies. Thirty of these burial-mounds were seen
here by Bartram, more than a century since, covering an area of two or
three acres. Their form was oblong, being twenty feet in length, and ten
or twelve in width, varying from three to four in height, covered with a
heavy growth of laurels, red-bays, magnolias, and live-oaks--all
composing a dark and solemn shade.
Many burial-mounds, three or four feet in height, can be seen now in
South Florida, as we have been present when excavations were made in the
vicinity of Tampa and Manatee, where beads, pottery, and well-preserved
_tibia_ of both sexes, were dug out. These bodies had been buried with
their heads all toward a common center, with the greatest regularity.
The cranium seems to crumble more than any other ossified portion of the
body--the jaw-bones being very perfect, teeth much worn, having belonged
to old persons in whose service they had been employed for many years.
Firmly-rooted oaks of ancient date were resting on these graves, and
spreading a mantle of green for several feet around them.
The large mound at Cedar Keys, about which so much has been said, has
trees growing on it of immense size, which the winds and tempests of
that boisterous coast have rocked for five centuries; but no one,
however shrewd or learned, has ever been able to elicit a single
historical event from them, during that lapse of years, their age only
being determined from the rings, or exogenous growth, of their trunks.
This mound is taller than most of those found in Florida, no doubt
produced in part by the action of the tides and waves which have washed
the earth away from the base. Solid mounds have been opened which
contained no bones, and, on account of their peculiar structure, were no
doubt used for sacrifice, where human beings had been offered, their
enemies being the victims.
The following is a record taken from an ancient Spanish author in regard
to the manner of sacrifice by an extinct tribe of Indians: "They laid
him on a great mound of earth, with the sacred fire burning at his head,
in a large vessel of baked clay, formed with a nice art by the savages,
on the outside of which was painted the mystic figure, with the bloody
hand. His garments were removed, and his limbs fastened separately to
stakes driven in places about the mound. Thus were his hands and legs,
his body, and his very neck, made fast, so that whatever might be the
deed done upon him, he was unable to oppose it, even in the smallest
measure."
The stupendous sacrificial pyramid of Cholula, bearing a resemblance to
the Egyptian structures, but larger, is probably the most remarkable
specimen extant. Its form, like that of the other Mexican teocalli, was
a truncated cone. The following description, taken from Prescott, will
enable us to form an idea of its gigantic proportions: "Its greatest
perpendicular is one hundred and seventy-seven feet, the base one
thousand four hundred and twenty-three feet--twice the length of the
Cheops pyramid--this temple being dedicated to the god of the air." High
over all rose this grand structure, with its undying fires, flinging
their radiance far and wide around the capital, thus proclaiming to the
nations that there was the mystic worship. It covered forty-four acres
at its base, and the platform on its summit more than one acre. The
effect, when the sun shone on these dazzling splendors with such bright
effulgence, was the eclipsing of every other object but the reflection
of the grand luminary--which caused a saying among the Indians, that
"gold was the tears wept by the sun." On these altars horrid deeds of
darkness were perpetrated, inhuman butcheries enacted, to appease the
war-god of the Aztecs, who was supposed to delight in offerings of human
hearts, torn fresh from the helpless victims, guilty of no crime but
self-defense against blood-thirsty persecutors.
The teocalli found in the City of Mexico was unsurpassed in grandeur,
but of less dimensions, being three hundred feet square and one hundred
in height, on the summit of which was an altar for human sacrifices.
They ascended by flights of steps on the outside, each flight extending
to a platform, which reached quite around the structure--the exhibition
of pageant on State occasions being terribly imposing, conducted by
priests and victims, marching around their temple, rising higher on the
sides as the place of inhuman sacrifice was reached, amid the shouts of
a gazing and excited throng. Before each of these altars burned the
undying flame, the vestal lamp, whose pale, constant light boded good
while burning, but ill when extinguished.
In other parts of Mexico Cortez found monuments dedicated to the sun and
moon, with lesser ones to the stars. For many years it had been supposed
all pyramids were hollow, but discoveries have been made of some with
only a small opening, which, like the one in Egypt, no doubt contained
the bones of a king.
Another class of mounds held in much veneration by the early tribes of
Florida Indians were the sacred mounds, or mounts of ordinance, only
used on certain occasions, when the Medicine Man, after ablutions
similar to those practiced by the Rabbis before entering the temple to
offer sacrifices for sin, ascended to commune with the Great Spirit,
like Moses, the lawgiver, on Sinai. He was always accompanied by a few
of his warriors, whom he took to witness the descent of sacred fire
which he invoked and they obtained by vigorous efforts with flint and
steel. This ceremony was conducted during the month of July, when the
maize, being in the milk, the heavenly fire was procured for cooking
that product, it being held in high esteem as their chief article of
sustenance. The Peruvians procured these fires by the use of a concave
mirror of polished metal, the sacred flame being afterward intrusted to
the Virgins of the Sun.
It was a natural feeling with the Indians to worship on "high places;"
for this reason temples were built over their dead, where they might
come to give expression to the reverence with which they regarded the
departed ones. Images for worship were sometimes placed on the pinnacle
of these temples, as the one mentioned by De Soto near Espiritu Santo
Bay, upon which was found a painted wooden fowl with gilded eyes,
containing choice pearls.
Near the outlet of Lake Harney was located the residence of King Philip,
a Seminole cazique, on a shell plateau in rear of which is a
burial-mount, twelve feet high, surrounded by a trench. The following
graphic description, taken from Professor Wyman, will enable us to form
an idea of its extent:
"This shell-mound is about four hundred and fifty feet in length, with
an average of one hundred and twenty in breadth. It stretches nearly at
right angles to the river, borders a lagoon on the south, and on the
north merges into cultivated fields, over which its materials have
become somewhat scattered--its greatest height being about eight feet.
Fragments of pottery may be found anywhere on the surface, and with
these the bones of various edible animals. Excavations were made at
many points, from a few inches to several feet in depth, to ascertain if
similar objects were within its interior. The most unequivocal evidence
that this mound, while in process of erection, had been occupied by the
aborigines was obtained from a pit four or five feet in diameter, and
from five to six feet deep, which was dug near the center. Not only were
fragments of pots and bones found at all depths, but at the distance of
three feet the remains of an old fire-place were uncovered, consisting
of a horizontal layer of charcoal, beneath which were perfectly calcined
shells, and near these others more or less blackened with heat. Still
farther off were fragments of the bones of deer, birds, turtle, and
fish--all just as they would naturally have been left around a fire
where cooking had been done for some time. In addition it may be
mentioned, as a matter of negative evidence, that not a single article
was discovered which could have been attributed to the white man."
Near the outlet of Lake Jessup are the remains of a mound nine hundred
feet in length, with an average width of one hundred to one hundred and
fifty feet. This structure has been much wasted by the river, but
originally it must have been among the largest in the State. That the
Indians confined their encampments, or at all events their cooking,
almost entirely to these mounds, is proved by the fact that fragments of
pots were found in large quantities along the shore wherever the shells
are seen in the bank, and not elsewhere, though careful search was made
for them. Fragments of deer-bones, turtle, and alligator, were also
seen. The shells forming these mounds were chiefly _paludinas_, or
fresh-water snails, although _unios_ and _apellarias_ are met with also.
Mounds on the sea-shore are composed entirely of marine shells, also
containing clay-ware, ashes, and charcoal. On the St. John's, at
different times, and by various naturalists, over fifty mounds have been
explored, in some of which were seen human bones having the appearance
of violence. As so few remains were found during these excavations that
had the appearance of being subjects of regular interment, the question
is suggested, What disposition was made of their dead, unless all the
numerous vessels seen, which could not have subserved for cooking,
contained the ashes of their friends which had been cremated?
Mounds have been opened in various portions of the State abounding in
fluviatic muscles and clams, the inference being that they contained
pearls, and for that reason had been opened. These mounds can be
accounted for in two ways--the first and most important: they consumed
the contents of these shells, of which they were very fond; the last was
the necessity for elevated plateaus to protect them from the sudden
inundation of streams when they were traveling through the country
camping, consequently they utilized the _débris_ as a prevention against
accidents. In their journeyings they depended entirely upon the products
of the forest and streams for sustenance, and for this reason followed
the water-courses, stopping, like the migratory birds, wherever night
overtook them.
Many copper weapons of warfare have been discovered in these
earth-works, the metal of which was brought from the mines of Lake
Superior, when the Indians followed the great river to the sea, three
thousand years ago. These faint traces of mechanical and architectural
skill favor the idea of a more enlightened race than that which
possessed the soil when first discovered by the Spaniards--a society
which, no doubt, sank amid storms, overthrown and shattered by
unavoidable catastrophes. In Florida no discoveries have been made which
evidence marks of a great nation, while in Mexico and on the Pacific
coast, south, they increase.
The Creeks, Cherokees, and Seminoles all agree in attributing the mounds
of Florida to a race anterior to their own, as their traditions are
handed down "that they were here when their ancestors took possession of
the country." It is also asserted that the Florida Indians formerly
worshiped the sun, which fact has been ascertained by their heraldic
devices; also the location of their temples in such a manner that the
first morning ray from this rising luminary would flash upon their
sacred edifice--the Medicine Man, or High-priest, being in attendance to
present his invocations with symbolic gestures, whose mysteries were a
sealed book to all those around him, but supposed to be well understood
by the Great Spirit, whose favor they wished to obtain. The Everglade
Indians now venerate the moon, which can be seen from the silver
crescent ornamental emblems with which they deck their persons. Like
the ancient Greeks, they deposited the remains of their dead in burial
urns, the difference being that the Greeks always prepared the bodies by
cineration, when the ashes only were entombed, while the entire bodies
of Indian children have been discovered in clay vases in the Florida
_tumuli_. In sepulchral mounds about Tampa were discovered large
quantities of the heaven-born product called pearls, which created much
interest and more cupidity among the Spanish settlers than we could well
imagine. It is Pliny who tells us that dew-drops distilled from the
heavens, or falling into the mouths of oysters, in certain localities,
were converted into pearls. The Florida coast was looked upon by the
adventurers who first landed here as the long-sought-for country which
contained these treasures. After the arrival of De Soto on the coast of
Espiritu Santo they were welcomed by the Empress, who presented them
with pearls as the most costly offering from her domains, for which
kindness these cruel creatures dragged her about as a hostage for their
own security. However, when an opportune moment presented itself, she
succeeded in making her escape, at the same time recovering large
quantities of imperforate pearls which the Indians through fear had
permitted them to rob from their dead. However much evanescent
satisfaction these newly-found treasures supplied them with, history
makes no mention of Spanish officials being enriched by the discovery.
The enormous size which the fertile imagination of those explorers
mention them does not come within the present limits of these precious
gems of commerce.
The Indians understood the method of making beads from the conch-shells,
their novelty and delicate color attracting the Spaniards--the size
being equal to an acorn, and larger. The natives persisted in boring the
pearls with a heated copper spindle, that they might be worn as
ornaments for the neck, arms, and ankles, which rendered them valueless
for other purposes.
Pearls are frequently found now on the south coast of Florida the size
of an English pea, and less. Some of these are taken from clam-shells of
immense size, weighing two or three pounds; also found in the oyster.
These are all opaque, some of them slightly pink, a dull white, or the
usual pearl color. Those examined by connoisseurs have never been
considered of any positive value in the manufacture of jewelry. Both
from study and observation we are led to the conclusion that, whatever
might have been the impression received by the overwrought imaginations
of the Castilian explorers, no pearls of great price, fed by heavenly
dews, have ever existed or been discovered on the Florida coast.
Let us now pause and inquire, Who were the architects of these
earth-works? What was their fate? and whither did they flee when
overpowered? We have only proof that a nation has perished, leaving no
record or history but these monuments. They must have had some knowledge
of engineering, or they never could have reared such enduring,
well-proportioned structures. While the subject furnishes food for
reflection, the dark curtain drawn over their obscure presence has never
been raised; however great the effort made by those who have desired to
penetrate their unyielding secrets, the key to open these hidden
mysteries has never been found. Whether called _tumuli_, plateaus, or
mounds, they are objects of interest, in whatever locality they may be
seen, of sufficient importance to engage the attention of the scientist
when generations yet unborn shall walk the earth, and vainly try to
pierce the portals of the silent past.
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