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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 12 3 1 2 3 4 5 ■ 6 r))V -sr^i' lORCMTO POSLIG LlB-iaV bs. V 1 BIBf .'DUI'Ml'fc; NATION VfJi: I I I i I I S I i i <:^ r, MOUND-BUILDERS i^ . BY REV.W, J, SMYTH, M,A„ B,SC„ Ph, D„ Pastor of St. Joseph Street Presbyterian Church, Montreal. I I I I i Published by Eeqliest of Natural History Society, j »-^j Y Toronto. i ■3. i MONTREAL: Ci/^ZETTE PRINTING COMPANY. April, 1886. \ irs '''^mf&m^M^'m^^':^m^^^^:m'km';m:M'mtm'\m'M^^M''^mim% 4 '? MOUND-BUILDERS BY REV, W, J. SMYTH, M,A„ B.Sc, Ph.D., Pastor of St. Joseph Street Presbyterian Church, Montreal. PUBLISHKD BY liEQUEST OK NaTURA[, lIlSTOIir SoC[ETV', Toronto, MONTREAL: OAZETTE PRINTING COMPANY. April, 1886. 03 t 13 6^ \ MOUND-BUILDERS. • . V ' By Rkv. WiuiAM ,1. Smyth, M.A., H.Sr., I^.R When the wirly settlers he,o-un to pioneer the unbroken forestH of North America, they consi-UTed the various Indian tribes to be llie true Ahorii-ines of this continent. But lon^- before the I'ed man, even long before the growth of the pre^- sent forests, there lived an ancient race, whose origin and fate are surrounded with impenetrable darkness. The remains of their habitations, lemjilesand tombs, are the only voices that tell us of their existence. Ovei- broad areas, in the most fertile valleys, and along the numerous tributaries of the great rivers of the central and western portions of the United States, are to be found these wondei-ful remains, of the existence and origin of which, even the oldest red man could give no history. Following in the track of these ancient tumuli, which have been raised with some degree of order and sagacity, we are bound to believe that they were constructed by a very intelligent and somewhat civilized race, who during long periods enjoyed the blessijigs of peace, but like most nations of the earth, at times were plunged in the horrors of war. We cannot tell by what name these strange people were known during their existence. But archicologists, to Monnd- Hu'/der: i ktiop =li(!m8olvos8al«', have i;;iveti llieiii lln- luunout" MuuikI- Itiiildors," iVoiii llio iiJiliii(^ ul' llm s( riictiircs k'{'(, l)ohinfl (hem. (31" this woM(lcrriil, scmi-(ivili/,(i(|, |»i'fhis(i»i'i<' race, wo liavo iH) writlt^ii tostiniuiiy. Their mystiu'loiis oiiciosiifos, im|»k'iiuMi(s of w.'T, aii'l ( oiiipaial ivcly iinprog'iialtin lorl-ifi- ralions, luii;ethor with a lew stfaiiy,!' tabl(;ts, ;iru the only evidenco of their character, civilization, and doom. No con- (empoi-ary i-ace, if .such there exiHted on lliis < (tntiiK^it, fias h'ft unv record of them. The mounds thv.y ha\-c h'fl arc found in (he western |)art of the State of N"(nv ^'ork. and t-xtend, it is said, as far as Neliraska. And as liiey have hiloly heen found in theXorth west, they have thus a mucii moi-o northern limit than was at. first thought, while the Houthern liinit is the Gulf of M(!xico. Having seen only a few mounds in Illinois, indianti and Kentueky, J must contini! my ])apcr to (liosc found in the State of Ohio, wliere, durini;- a residence of seventeen months, 1 made the closest in\estii;-ation my time and duties pcimiitted. In Ohio, (he number of mounds, including encdosures of dilferenl kinds, is estimated at about l.'{,000, though it requires the greatest earo to distinguish between (he mounds proper and those subse(|uentl3' erected by the Indians. In some parts they are very close together, which is strong evidence that these regions were densely populated. Jn others, a solitary mound, with adjacent burial mounds, gives us the i■ " ivall of five n.iles in length, bnt owtng to Ibe uneven cou.-so of the rivcf, ,b„,.„ a,'e only enclosed one hnndfed acres. The wall has n tncM-o! opcntnss which, however, are well protected by inn w, - n'ounds. Those openings conid Ik, oecpied' by w f Win, the en., losnre arc disposed twenty-fonr reservoi,;, ' ;-;;l-l '-l-lconsly connected with springs, so tha Th t T, *'";;, ''.'-■>■ "■'""'' '« "'">l«"--"ivcly independent. The strens I, 01 (h,s fortress does not depend on the walls "lone, wh.ch ran,., in height fron, tive t' twcdy IW-t I, "lK>n .ts tsolated position an.l stecp sides, .^ear'tbe toftifi "lonnd. We cannot tell what j,art, these outer wails and ■nonnds payed in the dcfenc of this fortitication. B ,tt know that all gtve evidence of an in„„ense garrison occ , p.ed by an ancient and somewhat civilised ra,;,wb.« , , . erons enemte.,, doubtless, forced such strong defence , point of .nacccssibility, engineering sidll, anrT.strengtb' th ffiWaltar '■""*-'' "''^''''"'' ™' "'" '"l-Sn-We JnTZT^T'-'^;:' considerable importance may be 500 fret I ■, '" °"'''""' '■"""'>•■ «" •■'" "'«-"l'''» "f 500 feet, and enclosing an area of Ibi-tv a,:rcs. There is .-.nothe.. near Piqna, o„ a hill m feet high ; and the nearthec,tyofDayton,ona hill 1,;0 feet high whet-e a mound „ enclosed, which HI,, the ancient ^va,c:tove^ < count, J . Near Carl.sle lies the site of another ,-emarkabl? ♦; Mmmd- Bull den. military onclosui-e, which ovcrloojcs tlie fortilo vulloy, botwcen the Twin and ^liami Rivers. ^Pwo (loop ravinoH fortify (he north and south sides, wliilc an almost porpoii- tlicuhir hhiff lortifies the east. The wall which is partly of earth and ])aiily of stone is 3,(I7. Within the fortititation are several depres sions, where water remains most of the yeai-, Tlir area, of itself, would be a beaiititul farm, as it c(u\sists of 140 acres. The wall, which was about 2.[ miles in length, is very much in ruins, being chiefly built of stone. Some years ago the whole place was covei-ed by the trees, and on the dilapidated stone wall, may still be seen immense trees, whose growth among the stones helped to displace lliem. The decayed wood ben»\ath some of these trees indicates that successions of forests have flourished s, 3 these forts wei-e abandoned by those who made them. (traded Ways. — It is well knowji that, in most of these valleys, there are several terraces, froni the river bottom or flats, up to the high lands in the ilistance. Near a place called Piketown there is a beautiful graded avenue. The third terrace is seventeen feet above the second and the second about fourteen feet from the river flat. These ter races form, when graded, this avenue, which has walls on either side in height twenty-two feet. These walls run for 1,010 feet to the third terrace, where they continue to run Mound-Builders, ^ for 2,580 feet, terminating- in ji ^r,-oup of moiindH one of which is thirty feel high. Scuo distance fn.n. th.-s(. wmIIh .-mother wall runs 212 feet ut i-ight an-les, and then turns imrallel for 120 feet, when it curves inwardiv for 240 feet. Mounds.— I stated at the outset that the mounds in Ohio were very numcM-ous. Th(^y are of va.-ious sizes, ranging from those which are only a few leet in height and a tew yards at theii- hase, to those which are ahout !)0 feet in height, and covering some acres at theii- hase. These mounds are mostly composed of earth, the material often ditlering greatly from the surrounding soil. When we c(msider the nmltitudes of these mounds, and the immense transportation of earth and stones ie(|uii-ed in their structui-e, it needs no Htretch of imagination to ' Muclude that the Mound-huilders wei-e a mighty race. Mo.sL of tliese mounds are locjated near large rivers or slrea. .s, and, cons- i^uently, in the valleys, although some few are to he found on high lands, and even' on hills very saitahle for militaiy purp(»ses. Sometimes they may |. '3 seen in .iiisierH, indicating a great husiness centre and large population, wliile again only one may be found in a Journey oi' titty or one hundred miles. During the last fifty ycurs, these tumuli have been ca»-o- fully examined, and, li-om their contents, shape and position, they are now classified as Temple or Sacrificial Mounds,' Burial or Sepulchral Mounds, Symbolic Mounds, Signal Mounds and Indefinite Mounds. 1 shall briefly describe the characteristic of each class and give a few examples. Tenqjle ilfoimJ.s.— These mounds are not so numerous in Ohio as in some other States, yet they occur in sufficient immbers to deserve a small share of our attention. The city vo ii-regular squares containing 50 and 27 acres respectively. They are situated on a level plain 100 feel above the level* of the Ohio and Muskingum Elvers. The smaller square has ten gateways, which are covered by mounds, while the larger squa^o, being strictly a sacred enclosure, has m: mounds to cover the 16 openings, but contains nevertheless four temple mounds of considerable interest. On the top ■■■■I 8 Mound- Builders . rp of these mounds, doubtless there were erected capacious temples, as there are significant avenues of ascent. There may si ill be seen the remains of the ancient altar, where, without doubt, these people assembled for worship, and where, from the presence of human bones, we may conclude human beings were offered in sacrifice. In all the sacred enclosures, evidences of altars have been found, on which, doubtless, the sacrificial fires blazed for ages. Often are to be found successions of alternate layers of ashes and blue clay, indicating a desire for pure sacrifice. In the neighborhood of Newark, Ohio, at the forks of Licking Eiver, may ho seen most elaborate enclosures, square, circular, and polygonal in their form, covering in all an extent of four square miles. Like the ancient temples of the Druids, most of the enclosures have their openings to the east, or rising sun, so that the first rays shall strike the altar where doubtless :i priost.from the early hour ol' dawn, perlbrmed mysterious rites. On the west, there is ei-ected a mound. 170 feet long and 14 feet in height, which overlooks the whole works, and has been styled "the Observatory ". To the east is a true circle 2,880 feet in circumfei-ence, the wall being (I feet in height. To the noi-th of this is an avenue leading from the * circle to an octogon of fifty acres, in the wall of which are eight gateways, which, however, are covered b}'^ mounds five feet in height. From this strange eight-sided figure run three pai-allel walls. Those to the south are about two miles in length, and those I'unning towards the east ai-e each about one mile in length. About a mile east, where the middle line of parallel walls terminates, is a squai-e containing twenty acres, within and ai'ound the walls of which are disposed seven mounds. To the north-east of this is an elliptical worlc of large dimen- sions. On the south-east is a circle, in the centre of which is the form of a bird with wings expanded. The bodj' is 155 feet, the length of each wing 110 feet, and the head of the bird is towards the opening. AHien this structure was opened, there was found an altar, proving that, in this circu- lar place, this ancient people must have assembled for worship. i s<",l \ \'t Mound- Builders. 9 ^■^ priest who pei-foi-med liis sacred functions before the altar for many yeai-s, the people, to whom he had so long ministered, laid, or burned his remains on the altar which they so much revered, and then, like the ancient builders of ine pyramids, erected a monument to departed worth, and dur^ ing the strange ritual deposited beside the respected remains whatever implements oi- ornaments they could part with in honor of the dead. 10 Mound-Builders. Burial Mounds.— As in modern days, a place of sepulture is usually selected some distance from the city or town, so the burial mounds may be expected without the enclosures. In our own time we find some cemeteries densel}- popu- lated with graves, and others have but few. 80 it was in the days of the Mound-builders; for we find in some places groups of burial mounds, and in other places only a few may be found scattered over the plain. Burial mounds are of various sizes, I presume, according to the dignity of the individual entombed. Sometimes one large mound is found to possess a skeleton, and some inter- esting relics, which indicate the position of the departed, while a group of smaller mounds is situated around it. The large one perhaps contained the skeleton of a leadei-, surrounded by a few of his intimate followers. Or perhaps it was that of a pati-iarch, surj-ounded by his numerous progeny, much as, in onr own day, burial plots are set apart for families. Grave Creek burial mound, which stands at the junction of Grave Creek, Virginia, with the Ohio, is one of the largest and most important burial mounds in America. It is 70 feet in height and at its base it is 1,000 feet in cir- cumference. When this mound was opened, two vaults were found, one at the base contained two skeletons, one of them a female. The logs of which this vault was com posed were all decayed, and the earth and stones lay upon the skeletons. In the upper vault there was a single skele- ton very much decayed. Within these vaults and beside the illustrous dead, were found more than 3,000 shell-beads, ornaments of mica, copper bracelets, and other stone carv- ings. Around the lower vault were found ten much decayed skeletons, all in a sitting posture. The skeletons in the vaults, doubtless, were the remains of royalty, «.r some distinguished chiefs, whose memory these devoted people desired to perpetuate, while the ten skeletons, which surrounded the vault, were perhaps some of theii- loyal subjects who were sacrificed according to the custom of some of the heathen nations both ancient and modern. Foster, desiring to draw a comparison or rather 'h J* f/S" *? Moimd-Builder. 11 identify this mode of burial with those of the Greeks and other nations, directs our attention to Herodotus, Book IV, Chaps, 71 and 190. And for identifying the ceremonial with the funeral of Achilles, our attention is called lo the Odys- sey, Book XXIV, with the hui'ial oi' Hector in the lUad, Book XXTV. Dr. Wilson identities the Imi-ial of the living with tlie dead by giving an account of the burial of Black Bird, the great chief of the Omahas more than 60 years ago. He caught the smallpox at Washington, and dying on his way home, he gave instructions to his braves around him how he was to bo buried. "'His body was clothed with the gay- est Indian robes, decorated with scalps and war eagle plumes, and he was carried to one of the loftiest l)lutis on the Missoui'i. He was placed upon his favorite war horse, a beautiful white steed. His bow was placed in his hand. iris shield, quiver, pi[)e, medicine-bag and tobacco-pouch hung by his side, for his comfort on his jent lies towards the point of the spur, and then like the serpent, its hody winds gracefully hack foi- 700 feet, the tail curved into a triple coil. Prom this and other evidenctss lately collected, we may assume that theseri^enf was among the sacred animals. Between the Jaws of this serpent there is a stone mound, Itearing marks of long use as an altar. The hody. which is a mere winding wall, is, on an average, five feet in height, and thirty feet hroad at the hase near the centre. Doubtless this wall was much higher w^hen tiist made, and owing to the rains of centuries ii has bocojne lower and broader. Another mound, the shape and |)roportion of an alligator, may he seen in Licking county, Ohio, about one mile from Granville. This is also on a spur of land near the Licking River. Its length is 250 feet and height about four feet. Its whole outline is sti'ictly conformable to the alligator with which animal they must have been familiar along the Mississippi, where they could easily j( urney by boat. Kather thaii transpoi't the animal from the south, they doubtless ei-ected this representation of what they must have held sacred. Tn the State of Wisconsin there is one symbolic mound more woi-thy of notice than any other. It is called ''the Klephant Mound," from the fact that it hears the proportion and conformability of the Mastt)don. This people must have known something of this animal which in early times roamed over thisjcontinent. 1 think we should not be going 14 Mound- Builder s. too far if we supposrd that the Mound-bnilderH lived con- leraporiiiieoiisly witli tho last ol'thi'so monsters of the Pre- histoi'ic forests. Siynnl Mounds. — It seems (^uito in ki^epini;- with what we have ah-eady seen of the sagacity of this wonderful race, that (hey should erect stations of ohscrvation in various suit- ahhi regions, ^o Ihiit signals fould be given to the multi- tudes who repare tor combat oj- shelter. Such a system has been used by all nations, both civili/ed and savage. We need not wonder that the Mound-builders with such sagacity and forethought, should establish such a system of alarm by which the inhabitants could be apprised of invasion. Indefinite Mounds. — ^Of this class there are maiiy. Thou- sands of such indetinite mounds and squares and circles are to be seen scat tered ovei" the various States of the l-nion. Their structure, composition and contents, give us no clue by which they may be assigned a place. It is believed that ^ Mound-Builders. 15 •many of the Htitm^o. works tliat aboimd in Butler county, Ohio, iuid wJiicli cannot ho chissitiofl, aro among (ho incom- pieto workn, that is, woi-ks loll nntinisiieic(l. or are encroached upon by the modern cities. We may with safety assert that the population about Newark, and Xenia, and Mound City, ^v^as far above what it, is now. The country about Dayton. Mianiisburg, Oxford, Hamilton and Mai-ietta was, undoubtedly, in the days of the Mound-builders moving with a greater mass of human beings than it can boast of to-day. And if those peaceable and industrious inhabitants were as numerous as their remains indicate, what must have been th(^ strength of those invading hoi-des who caused their downfall and perhaps wiped out forever every living repre- sentative of that ancient race, who could leave no more last- ing memorial of their existence and struggles than those mysterious mounds which have given them their name. Antiquity of the Mound-Builders.— Upon this i)oint there arc many theories, some regarding them as the ear- liest of the Indian tribes. Others give them a very gi-eat age and claim them to belong to preadaniite man. By far the greater number of archaeologists, however, place their existence at about 2,000 years ago. ( Mound- Builders. It In favor of the hittor x'm^w wo may call as ovidonco the present forest trees, wiiieh, though of i^reat a^e, still flourish on some of the aneiont remains. On one of the mounds at Marietta, Ohio, tliore stood a i^Mgantic tree, which, when cut down, displayed 800 rings of annual gi-owth. 1 n many other places, trees of the age of 750 years have heen cut, and undei- neath thoiu evidences of previous forests found. One tree 750 yoars old was foun'l to have underneath it, on the walls of one of tin- forts in Ohio, the cast of another tree ofe(iuaI size, which would carry us l)ack at least 1,500 years since those trees began to grow on those deserted walls of that ancient fortification. Wo have some data in (he vegotahle accumulations in the anciojit mining shafts neai- Jjake .Superior, as well as in the vegetable and other matter deposited in the numerous pits and trenches found iimong the works. Though these evi- dences cannot give the exact time of their accumulation, yet they give it approximately by comparison with similar recent deposits. There is another still stronger argument in favor of their antiquity, viz., tlu^ decayed condition of the skeletons. The skeletons of the oldest Indian tribes are comparatively sound while those of the Mound builders are much decaj'cd. If they arc sound when brought out, they at once begin to disintegrate in the atmosphere, which is u sure sign of their antiquity. We know that some skeletons in Europe have lately been exhumed, wiiich, though buried more than 1,000 years, are comparatively firm and well-preserved. Wc are, I think, bound to ascribe a greater antiquity to the Mound- builders' skeletons than to tho.se found in the ancient bar- rows of Europe. Other considerations, such as stream encroachment, and river-terrace formation, might also bo brought in as presumptive arguments infavor of their great antiquity. \ OiiKJiN ov THE MouNn-EriLDERs. — This is a question not easily answereil. It brings me into no discredit before the educated world to acknowledge ignorance on this mysteri- ous'point. The study^of Craniologyjmd Philology, in con- 18 Mound-Builders, noctioii willi Kthnoloijfy, sliull alone throw liirht on thin Hubiecl. Dr. Wilson says, in liis " l»r(^liiH(oric iVan " (p. 123), " Tlu! oMmical clasHification oI'Miirt straniyo race is Hiill an unsettled (|ueHtion," md he deelarca -willioiit Tear of eonlradiclion, " that ospecially coiieornini;- the Scioto Mound hUuII, the elevation and hreadth ollhc IVontal hone, ditlers essentially from tlio Indian, and that, the cei-ebral develop- ment was more in accordance with the character of that Hiiiirfiiar people, who without architecture have perpetuated, in mere structures of earth, the evidences of i^eometric skill, a definite moans of dctorminini,' anc^leM, a fixed standard of measurement, and the capacity as well as tlie practice ot repeating _i>;cometrically consti-ucted works of lar^e and uniform dimensions." Undoubtedly they were skilled in agriculture, from the remains of ancient ijjarden-beds, which were cultivated in a methodical manner. The modern Indians i^ive no such evi- dence of labor. For wherever they are found they love to roam in undisputed possession of the forest, and lead an indolent life. Of course V do not iissitrn this as a valid rea- son for their not l)ein,i;- identified Avith the Mound-builders, ^n ancient race mux have a de-, they were douhtless driven Houtliward hy the invadinii; ti'il)es (»f the nortli. They nobly fought their way, contesting- every loot, until superior numbers took them by force. Thus these (|uiet and inoti'ensive creatures Avere finally cxjjclled from their homo which doubtless their fathei-s hud occupied tlirouijh centuries. If any escaped they, no doubt, foun