ALTAR-PIECE, TEMPLE OF THE CROSS, PALENQUE.

TRAVELS AMONGST
AMERICAN INDIANS
THEIR ANCIENT EARTHWORKS
AND TEMPLES;

INCLUDING A JOURNEY IN
GUATEMALA, MEXICO AND YUCATAN,
AND A VISIT TO
THE RUINS OF PATINAMIT, UTATLAN, PALENQUE
AND UXMAL.

BY
Vice-Admiral LINDESAY BRINE,
(Member of Council of the Royal Geographical and Hakluyt Societies.)
Author of “The Taeping Rebellion in China; a Narrative of its Rise and Progress.”

LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY,
LIMITED,
St. Dunstan’s House,
FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET, E.C.
1894.

london:
Farmer & Sons, Printers, 295, Edgware Road, W.;
and at kensington.

PREFACE.

The attention of archæologists and students of the ancient Mexican hieroglyphs has latterly been directed to the mysterious subject of the origin of the astronomical and architectural knowledge that existed in Mexico, Guatemala, and Yucatan before the discovery of America. In the United States researches have also been made for the purpose of establishing, upon a scientific basis, conclusions respecting the tribes who made the extraordinary ramparts and geometrically planned inclosures in Ohio.

It is a remarkable fact that although, since the period when Mexico was conquered by Cortes, an almost uninterrupted series of investigations have taken place into the peculiar conditions of civilization of the Mexican and Central American Indians, nothing satisfactory has yet been ascertained which explains the manner in which that civilization could have arisen amongst those exceptionally instructed races.

Las Casas who, in the sixteenth century, lived for many years amongst the Indians in his diocese of Chiapas and Yucatan and saw several of the temples in that region, declared that the land contained a secret. That secret may possibly be discovered if the hieroglyphs and symbolic characters of the Toltecs and Aztecs can be interpreted. But until trustworthy methods of decipherment are determined, all conclusions, in default of other evidence, must necessarily be conjectural.

It was with the vague expectation that I should observe, either amongst the earthworks in the North or in the constructions at Palenque and Uxmal, analogies with the works of other races in Asia or Polynesia, that the travels described in this volume were undertaken. After my arrival in England a brief paper upon the subject of those travels, so far as they related to Guatemala and Mexico, was read before the British Association in Edinburgh and was afterwards published in 1872 under the title of “The Ruined Cities of Central America.”

More than twenty years then elapsed before the approaching termination of my naval career gave me sufficient leisure to examine my journals with that exclusive attention which the complicated and perplexing nature of the subject required. This interval of time has enabled me to obtain a more vivid perception of the relative proportions of the problem, and to bring together in a more defined focus the impressions and observations which had been written during the journey. The theories then adopted have been modified or strengthened by the knowledge that has been subsequently acquired in other quarters of the world.

It will be observed, upon an examination of the illustrations of the ruins of Uxmal, that the Indians in Yucatan must have possessed great architectural capacities. Pyramids, Temples, Monasteries and other religious structures were built under most difficult circumstances, in a manner which commands admiration.

But it is not only the later civilization of the Mexican Indians that has to be taken into consideration in any attempts that may be made to solve the difficult and complex problem of this Indian advance towards higher conditions of life. Underlying the whole question are the native proclivities based upon the strange and significant practices of earlier forms of Pagan superstitions and sacrifices. Some of the profoundly interesting characteristics of these developments of the aboriginal Indian belief in supernatural influences have formed the subject of that chapter which relates to the ancient religious observances of the North American Indians.

Athenæum Club, May 15, 1894.

CONTENTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Note.—The illustration of the Serpent Emblem in the Casa de las Monjas is reproduced from a large photograph taken at Uxmal by William D. James, Esq. It will be observed that the details of the sculpture of the rattlesnake are very clearly defined.

The illustrations marked † are from a series of valuable photographs, also taken at Uxmal, by Captain Herbert Dowding, Royal Navy, who placed at my disposal such of them as I considered to be required for the purposes of this work.

I wish to call particular attention to the representation of that part of the Casa de las Monjas where the adjacent Temple of the Dwarf is seen. In comparing the structures with the pyramid, it has to be remembered that the Casa de las Monjas is placed upon a raised platform not less than seventeen feet in height. The Pyramid of the Dwarf is completely detached.

Upon an examination of the frontispiece it will be noticed that the centre stone which, when I saw it lying on the ground at Palenque, was uninjured, is there shown in two portions which are kept in position by iron clamps.

It was accidentally broken when being removed from Palenque to the museum in the City of Mexico.

The left slab, upon which is graven the smaller figure, is from a photograph of a moulding made by M. Desiré Charnay. The right slab is from a photograph of the original stone now placed in the museum at Washington, and which was represented in the Memoir upon the Palenque Tablet written by Professor Rau, and published by the Smithsonian Institution. The photographs of the right and left slabs have been reduced to the size of that of the centre, and thus an exact reproduction of the whole of the Tablet of the Cross has been obtained. The representation in the frontispiece is, approximately, upon the scale of one inch to the foot and is therefore a twelfth of the size of the original tablet when it was in its position within the temple.

The illustrations of Indians are from photographs collected by me during my travels and were selected as being typical of the respective tribes. My small sketch of the entrance to the Casa de las Monjas at Uxmal is drawn to scale, and the character of the Indian horizontal arch is delineated in its architectural proportions.

TRAVELS AMONGST AMERICAN INDIANS:
THEIR
ANCIENT EARTHWORKS AND TEMPLES.

CHAPTER I.
New York.—Mr. Grinnell.—Search for Sir John Franklin.—Southern States.—The Negroes and their prospects.—Naval Academy at Annapolis.—Military Academy at West Point.—Shakers.—Boston.—Professor Agassiz.—Prairies and Glacial Action.—Coral Reefs in Florida.—Mr. Ticknor.—Shell Mounds in Florida.—Schools.—Dr. Howe’s Institution for the Blind.—Laura Bridgman.

Upon my return to England, after having completed several years of foreign service, I obtained permission from the Admiralty to proceed upon a journey into North and Central America.

There were certain subjects that I particularly wished to examine, especially those that were connected with the mounds or earthworks in the valley of the Ohio, and the ruined temples of the southern regions of Mexico and Guatemala. In the lands inhabited, at the time of the Spanish Conquest, by Indian tribes who had reached a singular form of civilisation, the origin of which has not yet been traced, it is probable that some discovery will be made which will throw light upon the manner in which their knowledge was obtained.

The problems which have yet to be solved with respect to the ruins at Palenque, and in Yucatan, have a fascination for those who are interested in the endeavour to seek an explanation of the strange events that must have happened amongst the Indians who inhabited that part of the world. It is possible that evidences may be found which will lead to the conclusion that at some period, not very remote, there has been an introduction amongst the aboriginal races of influences derived from Europe or Asia, and it is not unreasonable to expect that when the hieroglyphs within the altars of Palenque are interpreted, much that is now unintelligible will be made clear. The investigations of Mr. Stephens, in 1840, together with the earlier reports of Del Rio and Dupaix, directed attention to the extraordinary character of the pyramids and stone structures that were found deserted and ruined within the tropical lands and forests.

In the North the field of research has been carefully examined by competent explorers, but, even in that region, there is much that is open to theory or conjecture with regard to the purposes for which the great earthworks in the interior of the Continent were raised. There is also an almost complete absence of definite knowledge respecting the race and subsequent migrations of the tribes that dwelt within those embankments. The extensive shell heaps or kitchen middens found near the seacoasts, have been partly excavated, and, judging from the implements of bone and the weapons which they contain, it has been made evident that the Indians must have had customs singularly corresponding with those of the tribes who formed the shell mounds in Europe.

I had no theories to establish, but I expected to find that the tribes in the West and North-West resembled the Manchu race I had seen in the North of China, and that the Indians in Central America would show traces of kindred with the Malays. I also thought that, in the ruined temples, there would be seen architectural affinities with the Buddhist monasteries in Upper Burmah and Cambodia. These were however only surmises, and I was prepared to recognise that it would be necessary to adopt other conclusions.

It was difficult to arrange for any decided plan of travel, but I intended, in the first instance, to visit the Navy Yards and observe what progress was being made with respect to ships and their armaments; and then to proceed to those parts of America where the principal works of the aboriginal tribes still remain. Finally, I hoped to be able to cross the Continent and go down the Mexican and Guatemalan coasts, and from one of the ports on the Western seaboard, cross Central America from the Pacific to the Atlantic towards Yucatan. Such was the outline of the direction that I proposed to follow, but which would be varied or changed as circumstances might require.

We left Liverpool in the Samaria on the 15th of March, 1869, and reached New York late in the evening of the 28th, after having experienced a continuation of head winds and stormy weather, which made our passage across the Atlantic long and tedious. My first care, upon arrival, was to call upon Mr. Henry Grinnell,[1] whose exertions and services in prosecuting, at his own expense, the search for Sir John Franklin and the ships beset in the Arctic ice, are so well known.

In the year 1850 Lady Franklin sent her appeal to the President of the United States, in which she urged the Americans, as a kindred people, to help in the enterprise of rescuing our sailors from perishing from cold and starvation in those Northern latitudes. The appeal was not unanswered, but in consequence of the unavoidable delays incidental to obtaining the sanction of Congress for the necessary expenditure, there was much risk of the season becoming too advanced for reaching the channels in time, and that, consequently, a whole year’s work would be lost. It was then that Mr. Grinnell, a leading merchant and shipowner, prepared and fitted out for Arctic service two of his own vessels. These ships, respectively called the “Advance” and the “Rescue,” were officered and manned by the Naval Department and reached the ice in time to do useful work. The fate, however, of Sir John Franklin and his crew was not ascertained, although traces of his winter quarters were discovered.

At Washington, I found that Congress was sitting. Political affairs were in an unusually excited condition in consequence of the state of things resulting from the Civil War and the admission of negroes to the franchise. Soon after my arrival I attended the Levée of President Grant, and in the evening dined with our Minister, Mr. Thornton, at the Legation. Several members of the Diplomatic body were present, some of whom I had previously met in Europe.

The question of the capacity of the negroes with respect to their taking an equal share with the white citizens in the management of the government policy occupied the attention of politicians. It was thought impossible to foresee what would be the effect of the emancipation of over three millions of slaves. It seemed certain that the Americans would have eventually a complicated problem to deal with, presenting grave difficulties.

From Washington I went into the Southern States. In the districts where large numbers of slaves had been employed, the subject of their education was being seriously considered, and schools were established for the purpose of advancing the intelligence of the black children. The ignorant and hopeful parents were speculating upon the brilliant future that seemed to be opening before them. They had vague dreams that some new and prosperous destiny was going to be granted to their race. They thought that, as a result of freedom and education, their children would become active and useful citizens, equal, if they had fair opportunities, to those who had been their masters.

Such was the universal belief amongst the elders, and great will be the disappointment amongst the children upon growing up into manhood to discover, that, in obedience to an unexplained law, there seems to be a limit to their power of reaching the standard of proficiency to which they aspired.

I had seen the emancipated negroes in the islands of the West Indies, and the extraordinary condition of Hayti when under the rule of the black emperor Soulouque. It was therefore not possible to think that there was any probability of these school children rising to an equality with the white races around them. There was something almost painful in listening to the faith of the fathers in the prospects of their sons, and the earnest manner in which they spoke of their future career, if they worked hard and did their best to deserve success.

After passing through the low-lying lands near the coast, which had in previous years been cultivated by this race, I proceeded up the Chesapeake Bay, and stopped at Annapolis for the purpose of looking at the Naval Academy. The system of training officers for sea service is, in many respects, radically different from that which is followed in England. With regard to the comparative results it is difficult to form an opinion. It is presumable that the English system is the best for developing the naval capacity of English lads, and the regulations carried out at Annapolis may be more suitable for the Americans. Both schools succeed in producing efficient young officers.

The principle underlying the policy of the training system in England is youth. It is thought that in order to make a good sailor, officer or man, the future seaman must be entered when young, and thus begin his sea life while he is still capable of being naturally accustomed to the performance of his duties. In America and also with the maritime powers on the European continent different conclusions are held. At Annapolis the age for entry is between fourteen and sixteen, and as the entries usually take place at the latest period, the age upon passing out into sea service is about twenty. The preliminary training is thoroughly carried out, and the Academy is exceptionally fortunate in being situated on the shores of a large and well-sheltered bay where there is room for practising the necessary gunnery exercises.

The Military Academy at West Point is placed in a very beautiful situation. Nothing can be finer than the scenery at that part of the Hudson river. The site has been well selected with regard to the various requirements for training officers for general service, with reference to drills, cavalry exercises, and topographical and engineering studies. Professor Bartlett, to whom I had a letter of introduction from Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institute, did everything that was in his power to make my stay agreeable. I was also much indebted to General Pitcher, the officer in command, who made me acquainted with all the details of the system in operation.

The Cadets are chosen in the same manner as at Annapolis. Ten are appointed annually by the President, and the remainder are usually nominated by members of Congress from their respective states. Private allowances are discouraged, and the Government make a grant of 500 dollars a year for each pupil, or the same allowance that is given to the midshipmen at Annapolis. General Pitcher told me that about one half of the candidates usually failed at the preliminary examination, and that, upon the average, one-third of the remainder were rejected at the succeeding examinations, a proportion of failures which corresponds with that at the Naval Academy. They rise at five, clean their rooms, place everything in order, attend early drills, and are constantly at work throughout the day. The series of drills and studies is very continuous, and there is only just sufficient time allowed for meals, and very little time for recreation. The average age of the lads is over twenty-one; the term is for four years. Many distinguished officers have graduated here and habits of self-reliance are strictly enforced. The principle which governs the system which is maintained during the earlier part of the training is that of accustoming each cadet to be independent of help.

In proceeding from West Point, I visited the Shakers at their settlements, near the village of Lebanon. I was received by their chief Elder, a man named Evans, who, by his energy and firmness of will, had obtained much personal influence over the community. The Shakers had been successful in securing for themselves a considerable degree of financial prosperity which was the result of their economy and industry.

Evans was acquainted with the scheme of life contemplated by Mr. Harris, near Brocton. The community established there had been joined by Mr. Laurence Oliphant,[2] and I was interested in hearing the opinions of the Shakers about them. Evans thought that they could not long keep together, because marriage was permitted amongst its members. Marriage, he said, meant personal property and where that existed a communistic society could not succeed.

A few days after arriving at Boston, I dined with Mr. Charles Francis Adams, who had for many years been the United States Minister in England. I had met him frequently at the house of Sir Charles Lyell in London. The conversation turned chiefly upon the conduct of the troops in the Civil War,[3] all the details of which were eagerly discussed.

An officer present, who had commanded a brigade with distinction throughout the campaign, gave us some information with regard to the behaviour of the troops of the Northern army under fire, from the point of view of their respective nationalities. Of the negroes he spoke highly from personal knowledge, for during a part of his service, a regiment of those troops was placed under his command. He said that they were not intelligent, but were easily disciplined and controlled. They were found to be useful in covering an assault as they did not appear to be shaken in their courage or firmness by any great slaughter in their ranks.

The Germans were expected to be cool and phlegmatic, but it was found that they were excitable and easily startled and unsettled. The Irish were always ready to fight, but they were soon depressed by any reverses. The Americans were excellent as cavalry, as infantry they were steady and deliberate.

I mentioned that, at West Point, I had met General Vogdes, who had commanded a negro regiment, and that he considered his men to have proved that they were reliable and obedient, and capable upon occasions of showing that they were not wanting in daring. In the operations around Nashville, a great proportion of the losses in the army fell upon the coloured troops in consequence, as the general commanding reported, of the brilliant manner in which they charged the enemy’s earthworks. This kind of dashing courage on the part of negroes, who had been bred in slavery, was surprising. I was deeply interested in hearing the details of the war, particularly such of them as related to the conduct of the black troops when under fire.

I had seen in the South, the emotional side of the character of the American born negroes, as shown in their political meetings and their religious services, but I had not been previously aware that these apparently lethargic people had by nature, the capacity for becoming brave and impulsive soldiers. It is obvious that they felt they were fighting for freedom, and for the emancipation of their wives and children, the most powerful incentives that could stimulate their actions. They were ready and willing to face the risk of death in order to obtain that freedom which, to those that have it not, must be the most coveted prize that this world can give.

One afternoon I went to Cambridge for the purpose of meeting Mr. Bartlett, a partner in the publishing firm of Messrs. Little and Brown. I was indebted to him for many kind acts in assisting me in visiting the museums, and we had arranged to go to the Harvard University together, in order to have an interview with Professor Agassiz, who had returned from Florida, where he had been engaged in the examination of the coral reefs.

After looking at the extensive collection of corals and shells which had been placed in the Museum, we walked across the college grounds to the Professor’s house. I delivered my letter of introduction, and was received with great courtesy. Agassiz for some time talked about his varied experiences in many parts of the world and his recent researches, but upon hearing that I was going to visit the prairies in the North-west, he showed much interest in the details of the journey that I proposed to take.

He said that he had been in many parts of those prairies, and had made several careful investigations with the object of establishing certain facts with regard to their formation, and had come to the conclusion that they were caused by glacial action. He thought that the theory that they were once sea beaches was erroneous, for he was convinced that the sea had never been in those regions. He also spoke about the consequences of the habits of the numerous herds of buffaloes that had roamed, in remote times, over those lands and had made their wallows there. These shallow depressions collected large quantities of water, and influenced the manner in which many of the streams originated.

After having drawn my attention to the chief objects of geological interest that might possibly come within my notice in the region to the south of Lake Superior, Agassiz mentioned his work in Florida. He had given much consideration to the outlying banks fringing the southern coasts of that promontory. The facts he had established were not in accordance with the views of Darwin and Lyell. “If,” he said, “the Pacific formations were as described by Darwin and others, those on the coast of Florida were entirely different. In no way could Darwin’s theory explain the Florida formations.” He had ascertained that the corals grew up from great depths, for he had dredged to a depth of eight hundred fathoms and had brought up live corallines; thus proving that they existed and worked in very deep waters. It was his opinion that Darwin’s coral theories had not had a sufficient study of evidence given to them.

In the evening, at Mr. Ticknor’s house, there were present at dinner Commodore Rogers, Superintendent of the Navy Yard; Mr. Francis Parkman, author of several historical works relating to the early European settlements in North America; Mr. Hillard, also an author of considerable reputation, and Mr. Frank Parker. Mr. Ticknor[4] told us anecdotes of his travels in Europe soon after the restoration of Louis XVIII. He had known many of the celebrities of that time, and spoke of Sir Walter Scott, Sir Humphrey Davy, Mrs. Siddons, Lord and Lady Byron, Talleyrand, Madame de Stael and Madame Récamier.

There was a long discussion upon the uncertain future of the republic. It seemed to be considered that as America became more populated, it was much to be feared that universal suffrage, freedom and equality of race, would lead to disorder. Mr. Ticknor mentioned that Prince Metternich, when speaking to him about this subject, remarked that there was a great difference between old Austria and America. In Austria he had always to look out for mischief and prepare to meet it or contrive a remedy. In America, he said, a mischief, if it exists, takes time and grows until it gradually forces itself upon the attention of the people. Finally, if it becomes alarming, the mass deals with it and arrests its progress as it best can, and then things go on as before.

Professor Jeffries Wyman,[5] who had discovered several extensive shell banks on the eastern coasts of Florida, gave me, at his house at Cambridge, an interesting account of his investigations. He thought that the mounds were entirely formed by the refuse of the food eaten by the tribes dwelling near the sea; but, whether by a large settlement of tribes in a comparatively short time, or by a small tribe in a long time, it was difficult to determine. Some of the banks were from fourteen to twenty-five feet high. They varied in length from one hundred to five hundred yards. On the tops of several of them he had seen large trees, whose age he estimated to be not less than eight hundred years. It did not appear that the mounds followed the outlines of any particular plan of encampment, except in an instance where one of the longest of them had the shape of an amphitheatre.

He also examined some fresh water shell heaps. These, he thought, were made in the same manner as the sea shell mounds, by the Indians eating the fish and piling up the shells. In all of them he had discovered fragments of pottery and other marks of human life. The Professor proposed that I should make an appointment with him in order to have a thorough examination of his collection, not only from the shell heaps, but also from the tumuli of the mound builders and other Indian tribes. A day for this purpose was accordingly fixed. In the meanwhile my time was occupied in visiting the public schools: Mr. Frank Parker, who was interested in educational work, usually went with me.

From a national point of view it was considered of great importance that the children of the emigrants should receive a sound education so as to enable them to become useful and self-respecting citizens. The majority of the parents upon their arrival at New York or Boston, do not attempt to seek their fortunes away in the West, but settle in those quarters of these cities where they find that others of their race are already established. The elder members of the emigrating families are quite aware that their age or other circumstances practically debar them from all hope of success in any attempts to gain a livelihood by their own work. Thus their attention is directed to the training of their children, so that these may have a fair start in life. For this purpose, the free and thoroughly practical system of education carried out in the schools seems to be excellent.

It is needless to dwell upon the methods adopted in American cities for raising the standard of knowledge among the boys and girls of the poorer classes, for they are well known. Nothing can be more pleasing than to observe the development of the minds of these young wanderers from other lands, where their fate was adverse and their lives were without hope. They appear to seize with eagerness the chances that are given them to attain, by their own intelligence, higher and more secure positions, and thus break away from the discouraging conditions into which they were born. The construction and size of the school buildings were well adapted for their purpose. The health and attention of the students are, therefore, not affected by close confinement or the insufficiency of pure air.

There was an institution in Boston, devoted to the work of teaching the blind, which had an especial interest of its own, and I was therefore glad to accept Dr. Howe’s invitation to dine with him and then see Laura Bridgman,[6] the blind girl, whose education had been so successfully managed, and whose history had, for many years, attracted observation.

After dinner Laura came into the room. I noticed that she was of average height and looked thin, pale and delicate. She had a shy and peculiar manner. Mrs. Howe placed herself in communication with her, and Laura immediately became more assured. When I was introduced she expressed, by the movements of her fingers, that she was much pleased to have my companionship. I asked if she wished to inquire about any English friends? She replied, “Yes. Do you know Dickens, how is he?” Then suddenly, before I had made any answer, she felt Mrs. Howe’s sleeve and said, “You have a new dress,” and named the material—a sort of French silk. Mrs. Howe said that the guess was correct. She then became more animated and bright, but showed a singularly quick impatience when wanting Mrs. Howe to listen to her. When not occupied in maintaining a conversation she became quiet and looked sad.

Mrs. Howe asked in what way she amused herself and what was her greatest pleasure. She replied, “reading.” “What reading do you like best?” To this question Laura replied, “Bible, hymns and psalms.” Mrs. Howe turned round to me and said this answer was very curious as Dr. Howe had brought her up without any religious training, because he did not wish to give her mind any especial bent in that matter; but owing, it was supposed, to the influence and teaching of some friend, she had been made acquainted with the Bible and had become intensely attached to it.

It was said that Laura was able to articulate two words—“Doctor” and “Grandmother”—and I asked her to say them. “Doctor,” was pronounced in a distinct manner giving the sound “Dok-tá.” The word “Grandmother” was not so clearly spoken and she gave the sound very rapidly. It was however sufficiently expressed to be understood. I was told that these words had in some manner been learnt by feeling the throats of other people who pronounced them, and finding that certain expansions of the muscles occurred when the sounds were made. She conversed by holding out one hand and moving the fingers. Mrs. Howe held her wrist and communicated her remarks by touch upon it. In this manner an intelligent conversation was carried on. Laura evidently enjoyed the excitement caused by this interchange of ideas, for when thus engaged she looked very happy.

She was blind, deaf and dumb.

CHAPTER II.
Professor Wyman.—Indian Antiquities.—Concord.—Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson.—Margaret Fuller.—Note upon a visit to Mr. Longfellow.—Saturday Club.—Dinner at Harvard University.—Shell Mounds at Concord and Damariscotta.—Note upon the Ancient Inscription upon the Dighton Rock.

Upon the day arranged for my visit to Cambridge, I found Professor Wyman prepared to employ several hours in examining the Indian collections. He proposed that we should begin by looking carefully over the contents of a case within which was placed everything that had been discovered in a burial mound in Illinois. The mound had contained the bones of nine adults, several fragments of rude stone implements, and some arrowheads. The skulls had been flattened and shaped by pressure.

We then examined the collections of human skulls that had been received from all parts of the continent. Amongst these, were several of an important character, obtained by Mr. Squier in Central America. They were long and flattened upon the top, and were supposed to have belonged to the race that built the stone temples in Yucatan. Other groups were then compared. It was observable that some tribes had the custom of pressing in the back of the head to such an extent as to make it nearly perpendicular. Others pressed the skulls so as to give them great length. In a few instances, they were given a tall, oval form. The Californian Indians appear to have given their children a high, receding forehead. This method of shaping the head is still followed by the Flathead Indians in the West. It is done by the pressure of boards tied together in such a manner that the infant gets its skull shaped when it is in the cradle.

A question arose as to the effect of the artificial shapes of the head upon the character of the tribes; and particularly, whether, in accordance with certain theories, there was any known difference in disposition between the tribes who flattened the forehead and those who flattened the skull at the back. The Professor said that the matter had been the subject of inquiry. It was considered, as far as could be ascertained, that the alterations in shape made no difference in the character, and that the Indians, whether with long, high, or flat heads, were similar in their savage nature.

Amongst the Mexican antiquities were a number of terra-cotta figures which were thought to be emblematic of the worship of serpents, lizards, and other reptiles. There were also idols carved out of hard, volcanic stone. After having seen these, and also quantities of rudely shaped stones, which were probably used by the Indians on the north-east coast for sinking their nets, the Professor began to examine the various things that had been taken from the American shell mounds.

First, in order, were the collections that had been brought from Maine and Massachusetts. There were oyster shells, the bones of wolves, deer and birds, fragments of coarse pottery, layers of charcoal, and bone awls. In the shell heaps at Concord there had been discovered various stone weapons and flint arrowheads. In the Florida mounds there were found the remains of crocodiles, implements made of stone, the bones of deer, and numbers of small sharp needles, made from bird bones, which had been used by hand.

It appears from the evidence obtained by the investigation of the shell banks, that tribes of similar habits dwelt on the cold coasts of New England and the almost tropical shores of Florida. It is also clear, that in many of their customs and methods of obtaining food they resembled the races that formed the kitchen middens in Denmark. Their stone and flint implements and their bone awls and needles were of the same shapes as those used by the prehistoric people who lived upon the shores of the Swiss lakes.

Many of the stone axes and arrowheads that have been found in the burial mounds, or in the neighbourhood of the ancient Indian encampments in North America are of the same type, and show the same system of workmanship as those that were made by the aboriginal tribes in Western Europe. The similarities in form, size and methods of adaptation for use are remarkable, for, although it may be expected that men, in an uncivilised condition would, in all parts of the world, have the same wants or necessities, yet it must be considered surprising that in the construction of the implements for war and for domestic purposes, the methods of design should be so singularly alike amongst the savages of the old and new continents.

Upon a subsequent occasion, when the doubtful question of the influence of the formation of the skull upon the mind was discussed, Mr. Ticknor mentioned the singular fact that the head of Daniel Webster[7] grew larger after he had passed middle age. His attention had been drawn to this circumstance by observing a change in the likeness of that statesman, and, as he knew Webster intimately, he asked him about the matter, and Webster said, “Yes, I find that I have constantly to increase the size of my hats.”

Towards the latter part of my stay in Boston, I received a letter from Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, asking me to dine with him at Concord, and mentioning that he had also invited Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. Upon the day he had fixed for the purpose, we travelled down to the station, and were met by Miss Emerson, who drove us home in her quaint old-fashioned carriage. The pony, she told us, was a friend who had been in the family for twenty years. We were received by Mr. and Mrs. Emerson. A few other guests came from Cambridge, and then we went in to dinner. Mr. Emerson talked much of De Quincey, whom he had known at Lasswade, near Edinburgh, and then referring to our English poets, mentioned with admiration, Tennyson’s poem, “Tithonus.” One of his daughters spoke with enthusiasm about Professor Agassiz’s deep sea dredgings, the lectures upon which she had been attending.

Finally, the (always) absorbing topic of American politics was dwelt upon, especially with respect to the effect of democratic institutions upon the character of the people. Mr. Emerson alluded with much sadness to those evil influences of political corruption and office-seeking which appeared to be inevitable blots upon all systems of democracy, but he said that he thought things would come right in the end. Upon the various occasions that I met and conversed with leading politicians (amongst whom was Chief Justice Chase), I observed that they usually spoke of the future of their country with the same anxiety.

There was much doubt and uncertainty as to what was going to happen in the Southern States, which had so recently been made desolate. Men’s minds were still agitated by the memory of the serious events that had happened during the Civil War. That great national convulsion had engaged the thoughts and actions of all American citizens to the fullest extent, and had necessarily diverted the conduct of affairs from the ordinary channels. There was consequently a feeling of disquietude amongst those who loved their country, their freedom and their laws. But this temporary form of misgiving was always accompanied by the firm conviction that in some manner, not then quite clear, the nation would ultimately triumph over all difficulties.

After dinner, Mr. Emerson took me into the library, and began to look over his books and point out his favourites. He said that what he most delighted in were the translations from Persian and other Eastern works. Finding that I was interested in his Oriental studies, he did not care to quit his books, and so we remained in the library until it was time to leave. In the meanwhile, he had taken down from the shelves many volumes. He also showed me photographs of his friends, and drew my attention to a likeness of Margaret Fuller, whom he had known for many years, and for whom he had felt great regard and esteem.

Margaret Fuller, who must have been a woman of extraordinary genius, was one of the leaders of the school of thought called Transcendentalism. Her end was as strange as her life. She crossed the Atlantic, travelled in Italy, married the Marchese d’Ossoli and was in Europe when the Revolution of 1848 broke out. Her sympathies being entirely with the cause of Italian freedom, she took a prominent part, under the direction of Mazzini, Garibaldi and other patriots, in the defence of Rome, doing much good service in the hospitals. After the adverse events of 1849, she embarked with her husband on board a sailing vessel bound for her own land, on the shores of which she was wrecked in a storm and all perished.

Before we went away, Mr. Emerson suggested that I should look at the exterior of the house, in which he seemed to take great interest. He told me that he had lived in it thirty-five years and had only made one change—the addition of the drawing room. It was an unpretending plank building of two stories, standing in its own small grounds, and was chiefly noticeable in consequence of having some fine chestnut trees in front between the door and the road.

Upon our return to the city, the President of the University asked me to be the guest of the Alumni of Harvard. His letter ran thus:—

“June 23.”

“My dear Sir,”

“On behalf of the Alumni of Harvard College, I invite you to be present at the Commencement Dinner in Harvard Hall, Cambridge, on Tuesday, the 29th inst. The Alumni and their guests will assemble in Gore Hall, the Library, at 2 p.m. on that day. I hope to receive your acceptance, and to have the pleasure of meeting you on the occasion.”

“Very respectfully yours,
WM. GRAY,
Pres. of Alumni Assoc.”

At one of the customary afternoon meetings of the members of the Saturday Club, I dined with them as the guest of Dr. Howe. Among those present were Mr. Sumner, Professor Wyman, Mr. Lowell, Judge Hoar, Mr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Professor Gurney, the editor of the North American Review. Mr. Emerson was the chairman. The possibility of spontaneous generation, was the topic that happened to be chiefly discussed. Professor Wyman had been carrying out a series of experiments at Cambridge, and he told us what had been the results of his experience. He said that he had ascertained that the theory that boiling water killed life was, to a certain extent, erroneous. A first boiling killed some of the living creatures, a second boiling killed more, living organisms being reduced gradually in quantity. After a fourth severe boiling he failed to trace any life whatever. Finally after having carried out with great care, tests of all natures, he doubted the possibility of creating life where no life had previously existed.

In the following year I accepted the invitation of Mr. Ticknor to stay a few days with him before leaving America, and I was fortunate in meeting at his house, Mr. Longfellow, who, at the time of my previous visit to Boston, was away from home, travelling in England, chiefly, as he afterwards told me, amongst the English lakes and in Devonshire. He proposed that I should go and see him at Cambridge, and this was arranged, and I went down there upon the first available day. I found him in his study, a small room looking out upon the lawn, and commanding a view of the country towards the bridge.

Before dinner, he showed me a bill of fare which had been given to him at a public banquet in London, which was framed and placed on the mantel piece of the dining-room. It was a coloured drawing of a scene described in his poem of “Hiawatha.” The sun was shining on the still waters of a lake, or inland sea, and a group of Indians were gazing at it. I think it was meant to represent the final departure of Hiawatha, westwards towards the sunset.

Mr. Longfellow said that he was much pleased with this mark of attention, not only on account of the merit of the picture, but because he appreciated the feeling that prompted the gift, as “Hiawatha” was the poem by which he most cared to be remembered.

He expressed strong sympathies with the poetical legends and traditions of the Iroquois and Dakota Indians. His conversation was, however, chiefly directed to the question of the future social and political condition of the negroes in the Southern States.

Later in the day, I witnessed a most important triumph of mechanics, as applied to the removal of a heavy building. The house that was being moved was large and strongly constructed of stone. It stood at the corner of a street which was about to be widened, and therefore it was necessary, either to pull it down or place it in another position, and it had been decided to execute the latter operation. The building had a frontage of seventy feet and a depth of one hundred feet. It was composed of a basement, five principal stories and a Mansard roof. The engineer in charge of the works told me that his calculations were based upon having to move a weight of fifty thousand tons. At the time I saw the house, it was full of residents, many of whom were looking out of the windows and watching the proceedings. The contractor permitted me to go underneath and observe the process of moving. The weight was taken by a vast number of screw jacks, and the building was lifted off the foundations. It was progressing towards its new site at the rate of fourteen inches in one hour.

On Commencement Day I went down to Cambridge early in the afternoon, and after being received by the President, fell into my place in the ranks of the procession formed in the college grounds. We then marched into dinner and I took my seat at the table. My immediate neighbours were Mr. Lowell, Mr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Judge Hoar and Judge Grey. About six hundred were present in the hall and three hundred dined in another room. The gradations of age corresponded with the positions of the tables. The seats towards the left were occupied by comparatively young men, but on the right, were successive rows of heads, showing advancing years, until upon the extreme right were the white haired seniors.

At the conclusion of the dinner, in accordance with an ancient custom, all stood up and sang a Psalm to the tune known by the name of St. Martin. The President then gave his annual address and the usual speeches followed. Mr. Adams made a good speech and referred to his late absence as the United States Minister to Great Britain. The President then rose and told the Alumni that a “representative of Great Britain” was present and called upon me to respond. This I did as briefly as possible, and upon resuming my seat I was astonished at the enthusiastic manner with which the said representative was received. After much cheering, the band played “God save the Queen,” which was again the occasion for a strong outburst of cordial good feeling towards England. As I looked down the hall I saw the slight, tall form of Mr. Emerson bending forward as he joined in our National Anthem. Mr. Holmes then recited a poem and Mr. Lowell gave a speech in which he alluded to the question of the Alabama which was causing such bitter feeling in America, and after speaking of the volcanic ground into which he had wandered, said

“O matre pulchra filia pulchrior,

Pout if you will, but sulk not into war.

Had Adams stayed, this danger had not been,

This less than kindness of two more than kin.”

The singing of “Auld Lang Syne” was the fitting conclusion to an interesting day.

Professor Wyman told me that, before leaving the States, I ought to visit the shell mounds at Damariscotta in Maine and also those near Concord. The latter were considered to be remarkable on account of their being composed of fresh-water shells. Mr. Emerson had offered to help me in my examination of them, but not wishing to occupy his time in this unusual manner, I went down to Concord and tried to find them by myself. In this attempt I failed, and, finally, I decided to obtain his help. Fortunately, he was at home and at once put the harness on his pony and drove me down to the place. We crossed some fields and found the shell heaps near a sharp bend of the river. They were about a hundred and fifty yards long, twenty yards wide and twelve feet high, and were chiefly composed of mussel shells. For more than an hour we worked zealously and made slight excavations at different parts of the banks, and found some fragments of bones which had been shaped by hand, but we were not successful in seeing any stone celts. We then went to an adjoining hillock upon which the Indians were accustomed to encamp and there we picked up three rudely-made arrow heads which had been formed out of hard porphyritic stone.

After finishing the inspection of the middens, we went back to the house, and remained for an hour or two in the library where we had tea. Mr. Emerson told me that in order to pass through, with comparative comfort, the long winter, he and others had formed a society of twenty-five members and arrangements were made for meeting at their respective houses. Each member gave a reception in turn upon Tuesdays. When the time was at hand for going to the train he went to the stable, and again harnessed the pony, and drove me to the station. When saying “Good-bye,” he expressed many kind wishes with regard to my projected journey.

Americans must naturally feel interested in whatever relates to the past history of the native races who were the original inhabitants of their country, and who possessed, in combination with their savage nature and cruel practices, certain qualities of honour and fortitude which seem to point to the existence of latent conditions of mind placing them upon a different footing from other ordinary savage races. Theories which relate to the migrations of the tribes who entered Mexico from the North have also much attraction. As years roll onwards, and the events, that then occurred, are more distant or obscure, the causes of those movements and the origin of the influences that created the subsequent advance in civilisation amongst those Indians are becoming almost incomprehensible.

On the way from Concord towards Canada I stopped at Portsmouth for the purpose of seeing the Navy Yard,[8] which was the last naval establishment that I had to visit on the eastern coast, and then proceeded to the remotely situated village of Damariscotta.

The shell mounds near the adjacent river far exceeded in magnitude what I had expected to find. They were placed about twelve miles from the sea within the limits of the ebb and the flow of the tides, and formed the banks of a small promontory round which the river made a sharp bend. Within these banks was a flat space of land which had been used by the Indians for their camping ground, and which is known to have been visited by small bands of them as late as the end of the last century. The heaps extend along the shores of the river and round the promontory for a length of about six hundred yards, and vary in height from fifteen to thirty-five feet. It was difficult to estimate their average width, but in many places it was not less than twenty-two yards.

The mound that I chiefly examined rose directly from the beach close to the line of the present high water mark. It was thirty-three feet high, sixty feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet long. Looking from the river, it presented the appearance of a steep cliff formed of compact layers of large oyster shells. In consequence of the face of this cliff being exposed, it was possible to trace all the horizontal strata. Beginning from the top of the bank there was, in the first place, a deposit of shells closely packed about eighteen inches thick. Then there was a well-defined layer of earth or mould, averaging a thickness of half-an-inch throughout the whole length of the bank without any break or change in its width. The next layer was not so deep as that on the top, and was one foot thick. Then came another deposit of mould, half-an-inch in thickness, resting upon another layer of shells. In this manner, the alternating deposits of earth and shells succeeded each other down to the base.

There were not any signs of kitchen midden refuse amongst the shells, but in the intermediate layers of earth I saw fragments of broken pottery, charred wood, several rounded stones, small quantities of bones of animals, and one bone awl which had evidently been much used. A portion of the cliff which had been undermined by the action of the river had slipped down upon the beach, consequently the interior of the mound was exposed. I made an excavation into this new face and found a stone knife, or scraper, and a small stone chisel. In another part of the bank I discovered a plank lying flat upon the third layer of mould below the surface. It was made of fir, and was four feet six inches long, six inches wide and half-an-inch thick.

These shell heaps, the relics of the feasts and food of the Indians, although interesting as evidences of the habits of life of the savage races that once occupied this part of America, prove but little more than the fact that those races have existed and passed away. The successive layers of earth in the heaps would enable an estimate to be made of their age, if the length of the intervals of time that elapsed between the encampments could be known. The saw-cut plank, resting upon the third layer is an evidence that the two upper deposits of shells were made since the arrival of the English colonists. The Indians then dwelling on these lands were called the Abenakis. These oyster heaps may have been raised by them when they visited the coast of Maine after leaving their hunting grounds.[9]

CHAPTER III.
Indian Reservations.—Lake Superior.—Beavers and their works.—The Forest.—Houghton.—Ancient Indian mining pits and trenches.—An Indian battle ground.—The Glacial Drift.—Note regarding the Dauphin.

From Damariscotta I went up the valley of the St. Lawrence, and visited the reservation lands of the Algonquins, Hurons, and other tribes that had originally held possession of that part of the country. The most important assemblage of Indians was placed upon a large tract of land near the banks of the Grand river in Upper Canada. There I saw, dwelling in their separate villages, the descendants of the once powerful confederacy of the Iroquois, who had been our faithful allies in our wars.

Nearly three thousand Indians were gathered together belonging to the tribes of the Senecas, Onondagas, Mohawks, Cayugas, Oneidas and Tuscaroras. Some of them had been converted, but many still maintained their ancient faiths and performed their customary Pagan ceremonies.

It was extraordinary to observe how unavailing had been the influence of European civilisation in advancing the intellectual capacities of the tribes. The French missionaries at Lorette, Oka, and St. Régis, many of whom were well acquainted with the language of the converts put under their care, told me that all their efforts were useless, and that the labours of nearly three centuries were absolutely without any practical result.

After having passed a few weeks in the vicinity of the lakes, for the purpose of seeing the condition of various remnants of certain North American Indian tribes placed upon reservations, I reached the shores of the Georgian bay, and then proceeded to the port of Marquette in Michigan.

Plan of the Lake Superior Iron and Copper region.

My chief object in landing upon the southern shores of Lake Superior, was to visit the places where ancient Indian mining operations had been discovered, in order that I might be, in some degree conversant with matters relating to the origin of the copper ornaments that had been found in some of the burial mounds in Ohio. I also wished to make some excursions into the forests where, amongst the numerous lakes and rivers, the beavers were still constructing their dams and building their lodges. I desired to see something of beaver life and work before the advance of civilisation had removed these forests and beavers away for ever.

I obtained convenient quarters in the mining village of Ishpeming, placed in a clearing that had been made in the forest, on the summit of the hills ten miles from the coast. In the interior, within a few miles from the settlement were two rivers called the Carp and the Esconauba. Upon these streams and their connected ponds, the works of the beavers were numerous. They consisted of lodges, dams, canals, excavations, and the open spaces in the forests called beaver meadows.

There happened to be an unusually large work constructed across one of the principal bends of the Carp, which by its action in confining the waters had created a small lake. As the size and formation of that dam give a good knowledge of the capacity of the beavers, and their powers of executing works of considerable magnitude, it will be interesting to describe it with some detail.

It was two hundred and sixty-two feet in length and nearly six feet high in the centre, where the water was deep. This height diminished gradually towards the banks. The average width upon the top was two feet. The slope outwards was in the direction of the angle which happened to give the utmost resisting power. The base was about fourteen feet wide. The dam was not made in a direct line across the stream, but had curves which were convex towards the current, and were placed at the points of the greatest pressure. The slopes were formed in such a manner that the upper side acted as a barrier against the water, and the opposite side acted as a supporting buttress.

Beaver Dam, Lodge, and Pond, near Ishpeming, Michigan.

The entire construction was evidently made with a correct knowledge of the strength that was necessary to resist the outward pushing force that was exerted against it. When an engineering work of this nature, so great in proportion to the power and intelligence of its constructors, is examined, and its fitness for the object for which it has been made and for the duty it has to perform, has been ascertained, it occurs to the mind to consider whether such operations are the results of instinct or of some exceptional degree of reasoning faculties.

Within the pond was the lodge. It was placed near to the bank which by its curve gave the most shelter. It was shaped like a rounded beehive and measured nearly eight feet in diameter, and twenty-two feet over the outer circumference. The exterior was composed of small sticks cut in nearly equal lengths, and so intertwined, crossed and plastered with mud as to give great cohesion.

There were three entrances, two of them leading in the direction of the bank, and one towards the middle of the pond. The former are said to be used as the approaches to the inner room, and the latter for escape. All these entrances were below the surface of the water, and ran upwards into the dwelling room which was a dry comfortable apartment, the floor being well above the highest water level.

The beavers, when cutting the branches of the trees into the requisite lengths, seem to have an accurate perception of what is necessary for the special works that are then in progress. Thus in their lodges, which are chiefly made for shelter and warmth, the sticks composing them are small, and when well plastered together with mud make a good compact residence. The dams which have a different purpose are differently built, and in these the sticks are often of considerable size, being sometimes fully six feet long. Some of the cuttings, however, are small and many of them are like short poles, having a diameter about the size of a man’s arm.

The methods of forming the foundations of their dams are most practical, and the manner in which earth, stones, mud, twigs, fibres and brushwood are combined, not only show marvellous ingenuity, but prove that beavers work perseveringly together with incessant labour for long periods of time.

The superstructures are differently made. They are composed of a framework of sticks placed at various angles inclined upwards. This open form of disposition appears to be intended to allow the surface waters to escape to the extent that is necessary to keep the level of the pond at the uniform height that is desirable.

Although it is usually considered that the intelligence of the beaver communities is chiefly shown by their ability in raising works of construction, I was informed by men who were intimately acquainted with the habits of these animals, that a greater sagacity was displayed in the methods adopted by them, under especial circumstances, for maintaining communications between their dwelling places and the woods from which they obtained their food and building materials.

These rare and singular works of excavation are called beaver canals. One of these, which was the largest that was known to occur in this part of Michigan, I examined with the utmost attention. It was an open trench or channel, about half a mile long, two to three feet wide, and from one to two feet deep. The bottom was of the same width as the surface, the sides being perpendicular. It connected a large pond with the adjacent forest. The canal was sufficiently large to give room for a beaver to swim in it and push in front of him the cutting of birchwood that was to be conveyed to the lodge and there stored for the winter supply of food. The depth was enough for the purpose of concealment.

I also examined some other canals connecting the ponds with trees, which were of a different character and much smaller. The Indians were of opinion that these must have been made exclusively for escape when the beavers, whilst at work, were suddenly alarmed.

But the most important results of the actions of the beavers are the alterations made by them in the aspect of the country, in consequence of their raising the levels of the water and causing large spaces of land to be subject to overflow. Thus, when the dams are in order and efficiently maintained, much of the adjoining land, when it lies low, becomes a swamp and the trees decay and fall. Then if the works are neglected and the waters follow their usual direction, the lands become dry and are changed into fertile grass meadows. Some of these meadows are of considerable extent. Around Ishpeming they supply the fodder required for the cattle employed at the mines. One of them, which occupies a large acreage, yields over fifty tons of hay annually.

An explorer who happened to pass through a region of this nature after it had been deserted by the beavers, would be surprised, when following the trail through the forest, to find himself entering into one of these open spaces, which have the appearance of small savannahs, and he would be unable to understand how such sharply defined inclosures could have been formed.

Near the borders of the meadows and ponds, several birches were undergoing the process of being felled. The operations were extremely curious, and it was evident that the beavers are both careful and ingenious in the execution of the work.

The trees selected for their purposes are generally about three or four feet in circumference at the part that is within reach. The trunk of each tree is, in the first place, gnawed evenly round, until only a portion of the centre, about two inches in diameter, is left to maintain it in an upright position. It is then carefully gnawed from the direction towards which the tree is intended to fall, which is often a matter of some importance. When it is lying upon the ground, the bark is stripped and stored for food, the branches are cut into the requisite lengths and used also partly for winter provision, but chiefly with regard to what may be wanted for the construction and repair of the dams and lodges.

Upon returning one afternoon from the River Carp, I found that, by some inattention, I had left the track and had wandered into the forest. Men who are accustomed to explore this region had stated that the safest course to adopt when such an event occurred was to observe the position of the marks of the weather upon the trunks of the trees. In Michigan, it held been noticed that these evidences of exposure, consisting of moss or lichen, were upon the Northern sides, and it was considered that by watching these indications, a line of direction could be followed.

It is possible that in places where the trees are much exposed this system may be useful, but in this case I did not find it so.

The indications of weather were often very faint and difficult to trace. Where they did clearly exist, they varied so greatly in their position, that it was impossible to follow a straight line. I consequently soon gave up the attempt to find the trail by this method. Night was approaching, and the outlook was becoming grave. In all directions but one, there was nothing but many miles of dense forest, which it would be hopeless to attempt to pass through.

The direction which was available had a broad base, being the road from Ishpeming to Marquette. This I knew must lie between south and south-west. Consequently if I could follow a line between these points, it was probable that the road would soon be reached, as its distance was less than three miles. I had my watch with me, and fortunately, the sun could be seen occasionally, so it was possible to make that my guide.

Upon a rough calculation of the true bearing of the approaching sunset, I found that by keeping the glimmer of the light on the right hand, and walking steadily forward, the road ought to be reached before dark. It was, however, anxious work and it was getting late when I unexpectedly emerged into an open clearing, where a squatter had temporarily settled. It was with no slight pleasure that I heard the sounds of life, the lowing of cattle, and the welcome movements of a busy farmyard.[10]

After concluding my expeditions to the lands and ponds of the beavers, I went to that part of Michigan where the ancient mining pits and trenches have been discovered. The earliest knowledge of them was obtained by an American explorer who, in the year 1847, when seeking for indications of metal ore, noticed several depressions in the ground, and saw lying in a heap, near what seemed to be an ancient excavation, a number of rude stone hammers that he thought had probably been used by hand.

In the following year another excavation was discovered, and after clearing this out to a depth of eighteen feet, there was found a detached mass of copper weighing over six tons which rested upon oak sleepers, and beneath it there was a vein of copper five feet thick. There were also several stone hammers, grooved for the purpose of having handles attached to them, and a copper chisel with a socket for a wooden handle, a fragment of which although much decayed, was still in its place. In an adjoining pit at a depth of ten feet, there was a wooden bowl and some charcoal.[11] In some workings, subsequently discovered upon Isle Royale and near the end of the Kee-wai-wona promontory, a number of wooden wedges were seen, together with traces of extensive trenches.

In consequence of these discoveries further investigations were made, and a large number of ancient pits were found in the forests, especially in the districts where are now placed the towns of Ontonagon and Houghton. It was within a few miles from the latter town, that the explorers observed the heap of stone hammers, and their attention was directed to the fact that they had been preceded in the search for copper by men of some unknown race, who possessed capacities for mining operations greater than could be attributed to the Chippewas who then occupied the land.

In order to examine this heap I engaged a man—who knew the mining and forest region—to guide me to the spot where the hammers still remained. After crossing the Portage Lake and passing over some low neighbouring hills, we came to a depression in the ground which looked like an old ditch or trench. At the side of this ditch, I saw several hundreds of rounded water-worn stones of various sizes. These had evidently been chosen on account of the convenience of their shape, for the purpose of being used for crushing the rocks that contained metal.

A few of the stones appeared to have been partly shaped by hand, but the majority of them were in their natural form. Several were perforated by small round holes, caused probably by the action of water. Some men who happened to be employed at one of the mines in the neighbourhood, told me that in their opinion they had been made for thumb holes. They were, however, much too small for such a purpose.

Upon my return to Houghton I met Mr. I. H. Forster, who was the agent for mines and a Senator for the State. He proposed to accompany me to the sites of those ancient workings that he had personally inspected. After passing through a forest of birch and pine trees, we reached an open space where we saw the evidences of the nature of the operations that had been executed.

The direction of the trenches could be easily traced, although they were filled with earth and leaves. Several of the pits had been cleared out by the men employed at one of the new mines, and it was therefore possible to go down to the bottom of them and observe the methods of excavation. The first that I examined was twelve feet deep; from the base there ran two nearly horizontal galleries or adits, following the direction of the lode which ran N.W. and S.E. These adits were five feet wide and extended laterally about six feet. Upon the surface, near the edge of the pit, was the stump of a basswood tree, six feet in circumference, and at the opposite edge was the stump of a pine, four feet in circumference.

The second pit was twenty yards from the first, and had evidently been sunk in the direction required in order to reach the same lode. It was ten feet deep. From the base there was one adit following the direction of the deposit of copper. Close to the edge of this pit was the stump of a small birch tree. Beyond this were seven other pits, from twenty to fifty yards apart, and in connection with these, there were several short trenches from two to four feet wide.

The pits were discovered in 1865. Some animals were being driven along a track in the forest, when one of them straying from the path, plunged his feet deep into the ground; this was noticed, and an explorer for copper examined the place and pushed his stick down it. This led to a further search, and the hole was found to be an ancient pit. Shafts were sunk, and the result has been, that, one of the most important mines in the district was established near the spot.

Upon another occasion I went with Mr. Forster to look at the trenches and pits that had been found in a more distant part of the forest. These pits were smaller than those that I had previously seen, but the trenches were frequently of considerable depth. I measured several that exceeded six feet deep. These trenches were usually in short lengths, but one of them was nearly two hundred feet long. Upon making inquiries amongst the leading men of the various copper mines that have been placed in the neighbourhood of the earlier workings, I was told that the practical miners were of opinion that these excavations were of considerable antiquity. It has, however, been proved by the condition of the things that were found in the pits that these conjectures are not well founded.

Near Ontonagon, to the south-west of Portage Lake, a line of trenches was observed in 1863, and a shaft was sunk in a depression which was considered to be an old pit. At a depth of nine feet, one of the workmen drew out upon the point of his pickaxe, a small untanned leather bag in a good state of preservation. It was noticed that the mouth of the bag was traversed by a leather string, which was in its place and could be used for drawing the opening together. The bag was seven inches wide and eleven inches deep.

Two years afterwards, some men exploring the same part of the forest, observed a small mound about six feet high. After digging through it down to the ground, they reached the surface of a pit, which was carefully excavated by them. At the top there was a deposit of sand; below that, were many closely pressed layers of decayed leaves. At the bottom of the pit they saw a birch bark basket, in all respects, similar to those that are made and used by the modern Chippewas. Near the basket they also found a bit of beaver or otter skin with the fur upon it, portions of the jaw of a bear, several pieces of charcoal, a beating block—fourteen inches square and three inches thick—made out of a lump of copper conglomerate, some lengths of knotted strips of buckskin, and a rough bit of wood about three feet long, which the miners call a digging stick. A collection of these things had been placed in an office at Houghton, where I saw them. I noticed that the digging stick was worn and frayed at the end where it had been used, and that the fur on the beaver skin was still in good condition.

In the same forest country as that where the pits were dug, several copper spear heads have been picked up. Those examined by me were unquestionably made by persons skilled in the working of metal. Several of the members attached to the mission at Sault Ste. Marie,[12] in the early part of the eighteenth century, made crosses and ornaments from copper that was brought to them by Indians, who had found small lumps of the metal on the surface of the ground. The spear heads may have been made at the mission house.

After the cession of the Canadas to Great Britain in 1763, an English Company was formed for the purpose of searching for metal in this region. The operations were conducted by Mr. Alexander Henry, and it has been ascertained that for several years he worked near Ontonagon, and at other places upon the Kee-wai-wona promontory. Judging from the method in which, at the ancient workings, the lodes of copper have been traced through dense forests, it is evident that fixed plans of operations must have been pursued, and I came to the conclusion that the surveyor who directed them, must have had a competent knowledge of the use of the compass. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume, that all the pits and trenches were excavated under the superintendence of Europeans, at some period later than the sixteenth century.

Several miles to the south of these works I was shown the spot where the last and decisive battle was fought between the Chippewas and Iroquois. This battle field, which was on a point of land near Kee-wai-wona bay, was remarkable because it affords an instance of the great distances that were sometimes traversed by Indians when conducting their wars of extermination. The Iroquois whose territories and villages were upon the southern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie, crossed into the Chippewa lands by the way of the channels leading to Sault Ste. Marie. Therefore, supposing that they followed the most direct line to the place where the battle was fought, they must have passed over a distance of not less than six hundred miles.

One of the burial mounds which had been opened, contained a large skull, a pipe made of dark slate and a stone hatchet. Upon the top of the mound was a pine tree which measured thirty inches in circumference. The scattered descendants of the Chippewa tribes dwell in the districts to the west of Lake Superior, but they occasionally wander into their original country. I met some of them near the shores of that great inland sea.

During the time that I was travelling in these iron and copper regions, I took the opportunity of accompanying the superintendent of one of the mines to look at the evidences of the action of the glacial drift upon the surfaces of the hills that had been cleared for the purpose of executing some preliminary mining operations. Some of these hills were composed of solid hematite iron and jasper, and yet these hard rocks were deeply grooved by the pressure that had been exerted against them.

Near Ishpeming there was a low range of hills or knobs, whose formation was a compact greenstone with wide veins of iron, which had been subjected to a severe grinding, and was furrowed with grooves two feet wide and five and a half inches deep. The general direction of this range was from E.N.E. to W.S.W. and the action of pressure was greatest where the sides of the hills faced towards the north. The grooves were about nine hundred feet above the level of Lake Superior. Large erratic boulders covered the surface of the land. I measured one of them which was lying exposed in a depression between two conical hills, eight hundred and fifty feet above the lake. It must have weighed over twenty tons. The boulders were usually masses of basalt, black or red granite, porphyry and jasper. Rounded boulders of pure copper are sometimes found. One of these, of exceptional size, was in the forest, in the direction of Ontonagon, and was estimated to weigh about eighteen tons.

Near Houghton, Mr. Forster showed me the surface of a hill, four hundred feet above the lake, which had been made perfectly smooth by the action of the drift passing over it. At another part where the rock was exposed we counted fifty-seven grooves over a space of sixty-seven feet of surface. Judging from the direction of the groovings on the Kee-wai-wona promontory and the iron hills of Michigan, the boulders appear to have been carried from Labrador.

Chippewa Chief.
(west of lake superior.)

The waters and floating icebergs must have swept over this country with much force for in many places the pressure exerted seems to have been enormous.

On my way south from this land, which contained so much that attracted attention, I visited the reservation of the Oneidas, at the spot where the council fire of that tribe was originally established, near Lake Ontario. I was received by the hereditary chief of that tribe, who was named Beech-tree. As he could not speak a word of English, our conversation was carried on with the assistance of his grandson, who acted as interpreter. Beech-tree was a large, broad shouldered man, with a remarkably massive head. If I had met him in the north of China, I should have taken him for a Manchu Tartar. His hair was very long and black, and tinged with grey.

He told his grandson to say that he was proud of his unmixed descent from the ancient chiefs of his nation, which had once been powerful, and that the land upon which we stood belonged by right to the Oneidas, and was the place where they held their great councils and decided upon questions of war or peace. After having made, with assumed dignity, this brief oration, Beech-tree retired into the interior of his hut, and I returned to my country cart, which had conveyed me to his territory, and finally reached the shores of Lake Erie. After traversing Lakes Huron and Michigan, I proceeded to the banks of the Ohio river, with the purpose of making expeditions to the works of the Mound Builders.

Before quitting the Oneida reservation, I made inquiries about a man named Williams, concerning whom I had heard, when at Boston, a strange and romantic story. It appears that Williams, whose parentage was uncertain or unknown, was sent early in the present century from the Indian village of St. Régis, to act as a missionary among the Oneidas. Some years later, rumours were spread to the effect that he was the true Dauphin, the son of Louis XVI. These rumours were stated to be based upon grounds which warranted a fair degree of belief.

The story as told to me at Oneida was that Williams was supposed to have been born at St. Régis (a picturesque village reservation on the South bank of the St. Lawrence, and which, at the time that I saw it, contained a population of fifteen hundred Iroquois, the majority of whom were half-breeds).

In early manhood he was sent to a college, trained for missionary work, and ultimately appointed to preach among the Oneidas. I was informed, by those who had previously known him, that he was an honest, zealous missionary, who was quite incapable of attempting any form of imposture.

It however happened (such is the story,) that the Prince de Joinville, when travelling in America, came to Oneida and saw Williams. It is also stated that he visited him on a second occasion. After this second meeting, it was thought by the residents in the neighbourhood, that Williams was possibly the Dauphin.

A picture of Simon, the gaoler who treated the young prisoner in the Temple with such incredible brutality, was shown to him, and he instantly started back with horror, as if recalling some painful memory. Williams had no recollection of anything about his youth before the age of fourteen.

In consequence of these apparent corroborations of the local surmises, it was conjectured that after the execution of Louis XVI., the young Dauphin was removed from the prison, sent to America and placed in an Indian family at St. Régis. Williams lived for many years with the Oneidas, and died at an advanced age. He was described as having been a man of portly physique, with large features and big hands and feet. His complexion was rather dark. I think it is probable that he was descended from half-breed Indian parents.

It will be observed, that, the whole value of the evidence supporting the theory of his being the Dauphin, depends upon the accuracy of the story that he received two visits from the Prince de Joinville. This statement, if correct, appears however to establish the presumption that the Royal Family of France, may have had some doubts with regard to the truth of the report of the death of Louis XVII. in the Temple. It is certain that a boy, said to have been that young prince, was buried by the orders of the Commune in an obscure churchyard in the Faubourg St. Antoine, in the year 1795; but the evidence is scarcely conclusive upon the subject.

Plan of the region within which are the Earthworks of the Mound builders.

CHAPTER IV.
ANCIENT INDIAN MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN OHIO. Earthworks of the Mound Builders and their geographical position.—Miamisburgh Mound.—Grave Creek Mound.—Ages and contents of burial mounds.—Rectangular, circular and octagonal Inclosures near Newark.— Marietta Earthworks.—Discoveries made in a burial mound.—Fortifications near Portsmouth.—Encampments in the valley of the Scioto.

The great earthworks in Ohio are the subject of much antiquarian interest and conjecture. Several surveys of them have been made for the purpose of ascertaining their purpose and the probable period of their construction, but nothing definite has yet been determined.

In considering the various theories respecting the migrations of the aboriginal tribes, it is strange that traces of the same kind of encampments have not been found either in the North-West towards Asia, or in the southern parts of the valley of the Mississippi. It is difficult to understand how it happens that these works only occur within a comparatively confined region. Their actual geographical limits are contained within an area bounded approximately, towards the South, by the left bank of the river Ohio, from the neighbourhood of Cincinnati towards the West, to Wheeling towards the East, and not extending northwards beyond a line drawn from East to West through the centre of Ohio.

Consequently it will be seen, upon making a reference to the map, that the works of the people called the Mound Builders, are situated within the southern division of the State including both banks of the Ohio river. These were their extreme limits, but the part of the country chiefly occupied by them has a much lesser area.

It is evident from the positions of the earthworks, that the tribes which raised them thought it necessary to maintain their communications by water with the valley of the Ohio, and on the banks of that river they had several important fortifications or encampments. It is, however, upon the banks of the tributaries that fall into the Ohio from the North, that their settlements were most numerous, especially upon the Scioto, the Muskinghum and the streams entering those rivers near Newark and Chillicothe.

The first earthwork that I visited was the great mound of Miamisburgh, which is situated upon the summit of high ground overlooking the valley of the Little Miami river. It was opened and examined in 1869, a few months before I saw it. In appearance and shape it resembled the largest of the Tumuli that were raised upon the plains of Troy, but the dimensions of this American mound are much greater. It is sixty-eight feet high, and has a circumference at the base of about eight hundred and thirty feet.

A perpendicular shaft was sunk from the centre of the summit to the centre of the base, and two horizontal shafts were made, one at eighteen feet, and another at thirty-six feet respectively. At a depth of four feet from the top, there was a layer of wood ashes. At eight feet there was discovered a skeleton and some decayed wood. At fifteen feet there was a layer of charcoal and lime. At the depth of twenty-four feet a singular construction was found. It consisted of an upright stone, standing upon two flat stones, together with a number of rounded water-worn stones. With these there was some closely pressed material, looking like a kind of cloth made from wood fibre. Upon reaching the depth of thirty feet, there was discovered a quantity of charcoal and ashes. Six feet below this was a hollow space and, from the character of the contents within, it was supposed that there must have been a vault there, which had been surrounded and covered with logs of wood. At the base of the mound there was a large quantity of charcoal.

Before the tumulus was opened, it had been conjectured that it was raised by the Indians for the purposes of observation. It is situated at the extreme western limit of the territories of the Mound Builders, and at a considerable distance from any of their other earthworks. The other great burial mound was placed in a similar manner beyond the eastern boundary at the confluence of a small stream called the Grave Creek with the Ohio, near Wheeling. On my way there by the river, I passed the mouths of the Scioto and Muskinghum, and the towns of Portsmouth and Marietta,[13] where are the remains of extensive encampments.

The Grave Creek Mound is similar to that at Miamisburgh, but it is, in all its measurements, rather larger and rises to a height of seventy feet. In the early part of the present century, some slight excavations were made upon the slopes, and it was then ascertained that numerous skeletons were buried there.

In the year 1838, a more thorough system of examination was adopted. A shaft was carried through horizontally from the surface of the ground at the base to the centre. Then a perpendicular shaft was sunk from the centre of the summit to the base, connecting these with the passage already opened. At three feet from the summit there was found a skeleton in a complete state of decay. Thirty-two feet lower down, there was a small vault or structure of logs of wood, within which was another skeleton also decayed. At the base there was a larger vault, containing two skeletons which were in a sufficiently well preserved condition to enable them, subsequently, to be exhibited. These skeletons were found to be partly enveloped in a fibrous material, and they were placed within a structure, formed by a number of upright logs of wood, covered by other similar logs placed horizontally. Upon the top of this roof there had been piled a small heap of stones.

The excavation of the horizontal shaft, near the surface, disclosed a very singular system of burial.

Dr. Clemens,[14] in his account of this operation, states that at a distance of twelve or fifteen feet were found masses of a substance composed of charcoal and burnt bones, and also that when enlarging the lower vault, in which were the two skeletons, ten more skeletons were discovered, all of them in a sitting posture, but in a state so fragile as to defy all attempts to preserve them. In this lower vault there were six hundred and fifty beads made of shell and perforated in the centre. In the smaller vault above, in which was the single skeleton, there were seventeen hundred shell beads, about one hundred and fifty small plates of mica perforated at their sides and corners, five hundred marine shells and five copper bands or bracelets which were placed on the bones of the arms.

There was a tree growing upon the top of the mound which interfered with the operations. Dr. Clemens stated that it was two-and-a-half feet in diameter, and had three hundred growths from centre to circumference. Some years earlier another oak which had become decayed was cut down by the proprietor, who said that he had counted upon it nearly five hundred annual rings. The number of rings in the trunk of a tree, growing upon any part of the mound, gives clear evidence upon the question of its least age, and therefore it may be assumed that the date of the completion of the burial mound cannot be later than the fourteenth century. It is, however, possible that there may have been several successive growths of trees on the slopes, and in that case it may have been raised at some earlier period. The Miamisburgh mound, at the time when I saw it, was covered with trees, none of which appeared to be of great age. They must have been preceded by other growths.

The nature of the ornaments buried with the skeletons in the Grave Creek mound, seems to prove that there must have been communications between these Ohio races, and the tribes dwelling to the South of the Mississippi valley,[15] for the small sea shells were considered to be of the same kind as those seen on the beaches in Florida. The glittering flat slabs of mica, which hung over the breast, either as ornaments or marks of distinction, were similar to those discovered in burial mounds in the Iroquois country, near Lake Ontario. The copper bracelets were of rude workmanship, and were probably hammered into their shape from lumps of native copper. Similar bracelets have been found in some smaller burial mounds in other parts of Ohio. Those examined by me were made in the most rough and simple manner. The copper seems to have been beaten out into the required lengths, and then bent over to form the bracelets. The shapes resembled the bangles made in Hindostan and Persia.

There are circumstances with respect to the manner of burial by the Mound Builders which require to be noticed. It seems from the evidence of the various excavations that have been made, that it was frequently the custom to construct in the centre of the spot intended to be a burial place, a vault surrounded by upright logs of wood. In this was put the earliest burial, which was probably that of a chief. This vault was then covered with a roof of logs, and over it was piled a heap of stones. Other mounds were added in the course of time, and were placed on the surface of the ground in a circle surrounding the vault. This system of placing mounds was then continued in circles, one outside the other, until the space or area intended to be occupied was filled up. The later interments were probably made successively one above the other, until the tumulus was completed. The time that would elapse before a tribe had raised such a high mound as that at the Grave Creek, would necessarily be very long.

In the town of Newark, situated in a part of the country which appears to have been much occupied by the races that built the ancient earthworks, a very interesting collection of local antiquities had been brought together. Amongst the various relics discovered in the mounds were, stone axes and chisels, quantities of rude coarse pottery, many shell beads, and some copper bracelets.

Dr. Wilson, who was a resident in the neighbourhood, and took much personal interest in antiquarian investigations, told me he had observed that the larger burial places seemed to have been raised gradually, and at intervals. He had formed the opinion that the Indians usually traced upon the surface of the ground the outer base of the tumulus. Within the inclosed space a number of skeletons were then laid and covered over with layers of earth or small mounds. Over these, after a certain time had elapsed, more skeletons were placed and similarly covered. This system of burial was continued until the mound was completed. There were evidences of a great burning having taken place upon the top of every successive series of burials. The nature of the contents of such of the smaller mounds as had been opened varied in many respects. In some instances nothing was found except ashes and broken pottery. In others were skeletons together with stone pipes, chisels made of hard greenstone, flint arrow heads, bone awls and numerous beads. There were also occasionally found a few rudely made copper rings. In a mound which was supposed to be a child’s grave, a necklace of beads, strung upon a kind of fibre, was placed round the neck of the skeleton.

There was a large cairn, above forty feet in height, placed a few miles south of the town, which was destroyed about the middle of the present century in order to obtain materials for constructing a portion of the banks of a canal. When the stones were removed, fifteen small mounds composed of earth were discovered ranged in a circle at some distance from the centre, and near the outer part of the base. There was also a central mound which contained a quantity of human bones. In one of the outer mounds the explorers saw a hollow wooden trough, in which was a skeleton and several rings made of copper. I examined some fragments of this trough that were preserved in the Museum. The wood was black and very hard. It was considered that the mounds beneath the cairn contained earth that must have been brought from a distance. This singular fact is in accordance with what has been observed in other Indian works, and probably has a special significance.

Judging from the character of the relics that have been discovered in the Ohio mounds,[16] it does not appear that there is any reason to justify the conclusion that the Mound Builders differed in their condition of civilisation from the other Indian tribes. The consideration of this subject has been made perplexing in consequence of the existence of the numerous burial places of the tribes who were settled in this region after the arrival of the Europeans. In several mounds were found gunbarrels, silver crosses and other objects which are undoubtedly of foreign workmanship. The crosses were usually placed upon the breasts of the skeletons, and from this circumstance it is probable that they belonged to Indians who had been converted by the French missionaries.

After I had seen the principal burial places of the Mound Builders, I proceeded to look at the largest and most important group of that class of earthworks, which were considered by Messrs. Squier and Davis, who surveyed them in 1845, to have been raised for the purpose of religious ceremonial, and who accordingly called them sacred inclosures. It has also been conjectured that they may have been fortified camps.

They are situated a few miles from Newark, upon a slightly elevated plain, about forty feet above a river now called the Licking Creek. Upon two sides of them there are smaller streams, respectively named, South Fork and Racoon Creek: thus the camps are surrounded on three sides by water. The site chosen by the Indians was well adapted for the purpose of defence, when the habits or requirements of the tribes were such as to make it desirable for them to establish their dwelling places as near as possible to a river. The inclosures are designed with skill, and their construction must have involved arduous and long continued labour, which was probably executed in consequence of the apprehension of serious danger from the attacks of enemies. Upon an examination of their formation, it becomes evident that the men who traced the lines of the embankments, followed clear and well-defined rules.

As these earthworks are, with respect to their principles of construction, the most remarkable of their kind in North America, it is expedient to investigate their plans with careful attention. The inclosure, which is marked A on the annexed ground plan, consists of a large octagonal work connected with a smaller circular work. The octagon contains an area of about forty acres, surrounded by an embankment whose existing average height slightly exceeds five feet. There are eight entrances or gateways placed at equal distances from each other. They are guarded by mounds, made sufficiently wide to extend a little beyond the width of the openings and thus cover the approach. These mounds are of the same height as the ramparts, and are placed within them. They were made flat upon the top, and possibly the platform thus made was useful for defensive operations.

At one end of the inclosure the ramparts leave the octagon, and form two parallel banks leading into the circle B. This approach is nearly one hundred yards long and about fifteen yards wide. At its termination the banks turn to the right and left, and form a circular work containing an area of twenty acres. At the outer edge of the circle and opposite to the entrance, is placed a large flat-topped mound, attached to, but outside the general line of the banks. This mound, according to my measurements, was twelve feet in perpendicular height, and had a platform on its summit which was about one hundred and eighty feet long by thirty feet wide. In consequence of being several feet higher than the embankments and outside their line, it commands the approaches to that part of the inclosure. There is no exterior or interior ditch to either of these works.

Plan of Indian Inclosures and Parallel Embankments near Newark, Ohio

From the central, or eastern opening of the octagon a long low line of parallel embankments connect it with another group of earthworks which, in the plan, is marked C. The inclosure has been, in many parts, destroyed or levelled, but it is possible to trace its original form. It appears to have been an exact square, containing an area of twenty acres. This square is connected with the circular work D by parallel banks in the same manner as the octagon is joined to the circle B, but they are of greater length and magnitude. At the entrance, where the banks diverge outwards and begin to form the curve of the circle, they rise to a height exceeding fifteen feet.

The appearance of these great avenues of approach, and the inclosing banks, covered with forest trees, is very impressive, and it can be well understood why it has been thought probable that the circular work was raised for the purpose of performing religious or sacrificial ceremonies. With respect to that opinion it should be observed that, in this particular instance, the theory that the lofty banks were intended as a fortification is to some extent doubtful, because it happens that the ditch is placed within the ramparts. This method of defence is unquestionably opposed to all the rules of European fortification. Possibly in the systems of Indian warfare where stockades were generally used, and sometimes placed on the sides of sloping banks, an inner ditch may have been considered more capable of defence than one placed externally.

The inclosure, like that at B, is in the shape of a circle. It contains an area of about twenty-six acres. The ramparts have an average height of nearly twelve feet, and the depth of the ditch is over nine feet. At that part of the work which is near the entrance, the dimensions are, however, of still greater importance, and the perpendicular height measured from the bottom of the ditch exceeds twenty-eight feet. The length of the inner slope may be estimated as being about forty-two feet. In the centre of the inclosure, there is a low heap of earth and stones which, in consequence of its shape, has received the name of the eagle mound. It is not improbable that this was the spot where, after the Indians returned from their wars, their prisoners were tied to a stake, then tortured, and burnt in accordance with the usual customs, and war dances with other savage ceremonies, were performed in the presence of the women and children assembled around.

When taking into consideration the various circumstances which are apparent in the[17]Newark inclosures, particular attention should be given to the fact that their ground plans are geometrical figures. Thus the circle B is accurately traced. D has some small difference in the lengths of its diameters, but is very nearly a true circle. The square has its four sides equal, and all its angles are right angles. The octagon is carefully laid down, and its angles are almost mathematically correct.

The plans and measurements are evidences of the existence of mental capacities which were far in advance of those of the present Indian races, who are remarkable for their extreme indifference to all ideas of regularity of form, and who have not, and never could have had, the slightest acquaintance with the rules of geometry.

The Licking river, after passing these inclosures, finally enters the Muskinghum, and the Muskinghum falls into the Ohio. The confluence takes place near the town of Marietta, where there are groups of earthworks which, in many respects, resemble those at Newark, and some of the areas were equal. The positions for the inclosures were evidently chosen upon similar principles. They were upon a comparatively elevated plateau, and had direct communication with the river.

In the early part of the present century some discoveries were made, which were considered to be of the utmost importance. It was thought that they had a direct bearing upon the question of the civilisation and antiquity of the Mound Builders, and a letter, written by Dr. Hildreth, has been acknowledged to be a very important contribution to the evidence upon these subjects.[18]

The letter ran as follows:-

“Marietta, July 19th, 1819.

“In removing the earth which composed an ancient mound in one of the streets of Marietta, on the margin of the plain, near the fortifications, several curious articles were discovered the latter part of June last. They appear to have been buried with the body of the person to whose memory this mound was erected.

Inclosures at Marietta. 1837.

“Lying immediately over, or on the forehead of the body, were found three large circular bosses, or ornaments for a sword belt, or a buckler; they are composed of copper, overlaid with a thick plate of silver. The fronts of them are slightly convex, with a depression, like a cup, in the centre, and measure two inches and a quarter across the face of each. On the back side, opposite the depressed portion, is a copper rivet or nail, around which are two separate plates, by which they were fastened to the leather. Two small pieces of the leather were found lying between the plates of one of the bosses; they resemble the skin of an old mummy, and seem to have been preserved by the salts of the copper. The plates of copper are nearly reduced to an oxyde, or rust. The silver looks quite black, but is not much corroded, and on rubbing, it becomes quite brilliant. Two of these are yet entire; the third one is so much wasted, that it dropped in pieces on removing it from the earth. Around the rivet of one of them is a small quantity of flax or hemp, in a tolerable state of preservation. Near the side of the body was found a plate of silver which appears to have been the upper part of a sword scabbard; it is six inches in length and two inches in breadth, and weighs one ounce; it has no ornaments or figures, but has three longitudinal ridges, which probably corresponded with edges, or ridges of the sword; it seems to have been fastened to the scabbard by three or four rivets, the holes of which yet remain in the silver.

“Two or three broken pieces of a copper tube, were also found, filled with iron rust. These pieces, from their appearance, composed the lower end of the scabbard, near the point of the sword. No sign of the sword itself was discovered, except the appearance of rust above mentioned.

“Near the feet, was found a piece of copper, weighing three ounces. From its shape it appears to have been used as a plumb, or for an ornament, as near one of the ends is a circular crease, or groove, for tying a thread; it is round, two inches and a half in length, one inch in diameter at the centre, and half-an-inch at each end. It is composed of small pieces of native copper, pounded together; and in the cracks between the pieces, are stuck several pieces of silver; one nearly the size of a four-penny piece, or half a dime. This copper ornament was covered with a coat of green rust, and is considerably corroded. A piece of red ochre, or paint, and a piece of iron ore, which has the appearance of having been partially vitrified, or melted, were also found. The ore is about the specific gravity of pure iron.

“The body of the person here buried, was laid on the surface of the earth, with his face upwards, and his feet pointing to the north-east, and head to the south-west. From the appearance of several pieces of charcoal, and bits of partially burnt fossil coal, and the black colour of the earth, it would appear that the funeral obsequies had been celebrated by fire; and while the ashes were yet hot and smoking, a circle of flat stones had been laid around and over the body. The circular covering is about eight feet in diameter, and the stones yet look black, as if stained by fire and smoke. This circle of stones seems to have been the nucleus on which the mound was formed, as immediately over them is heaped the common earth of the adjacent plain, composed of a clayey sand and coarse gravel. This mound must originally have been about ten feet high, and thirty feet in diameter at its base. At the time of opening it, the height was six feet, and diameter between thirty and forty. It has every appearance of being as old as any in the neighbourhood, and was, at the first settlement of Marietta, covered with large trees, the remains of whose roots were yet apparent in digging away the earth. It also seems to have been made for this single personage, as the remains of one skeleton only were discovered. The bones were much decayed, and many of them crumbled to dust on exposure to the air. From the length of some of them, it is supposed the person was about six feet in height.

“Nothing unusual was discovered in their form, except that those of the skull were uncommonly thick. The situation of the mound on high ground, near the margin of the plain, and the porous quality of the earth, are admirably calculated to preserve any perishable substance from the certain decay which would attend it in many other situations. To these circumstances, is attributed the tolerable state of preservation in which several of the articles above described were found, after lying in the earth for several centuries. We say centuries, from the fact that trees were found growing on those ancient works, whose ages were ascertained to amount to between four and five hundred years each, by counting the concentric circles in the stumps after the trees were cut down; and on the ground, besides them, were other trees in a state of decay, that appeared to have fallen from old age.”

It should be observed with reference to the statements made in the above letter, that the age of the trees, said to have been estimated by the early settlers at Marietta, has generally been accepted as being correct, and based upon direct and accurate evidence. Consequently it would be necessary to admit that the earthworks were raised at some period before the fifteenth century.

Passing from the question of this date, as calculated by the annular rings counted upon the trees, to the subject of the contents of the burial mound which was excavated in the presence of Dr. Hildreth; the problem that has chiefly to be solved is the age of the silver-plated ornaments. It is difficult to fix the time when these were made, but judging from the sketches of them, as published in the account of these discoveries, the ornaments appear to have been such as would have been placed upon the sword belt and scabbard of a European officer of rank.

When the inclosures and their ramparts were for the first time surveyed and described in the year 1805, it was observed that there were parallel passages or protected ways leading from the larger of the forts down to the river. These appear to correspond with the parallels that can still be traced at Newark, and which also lead to the river. Those at Marietta were however more remarkable, because, in order to obtain the gradual approach which was required, it was necessary, apparently, to excavate the river bank in such a manner as to make a sunken road. A conveniently sloped communication with the water was thus constructed. It is probable that at the river side where the protecting embankments terminated, a fleet of canoes was kept ready for use or escape.

The next confluence of rivers below Marietta, occurs at the point where the Scioto falls into the Ohio. Near the spot where the town of Portsmouth is now situated, are traces of an extensive series of low embankments which seem to have been made for temporary entrenchments. On the opposite or south bank of the river, there was an inclosure constructed in the shape of a square, each of the sides being eight hundred feet long; the area inclosed was nearly fifteen acres. The embankments were over twelve feet high: and there was no ditch.

This fort was brought into especial notice in consequence of a strange discovery. A large number of iron pickaxes, shovels and gunbarrels were found buried in the ramparts. It has been conjectured that they were hidden there by the French soldiers when they retreated down the Ohio after the capture of Fort Du Quesne[19] by the British forces in the year 1758. The Indian fortifications on the banks of that river were placed upon the direct line of the communication with the other French forts in the valley of the Mississippi and Louisiana. In the ordinary course of events they would probably have been used by the French and their Indian allies, when they happened to be in their neighbourhood.

The valley of the river Scioto above Portsmouth, towards Chillicothe, was evidently much frequented by the Indians, who dwelt in inclosures resembling in their formation the square and circular works at Newark, although the embankments were of smaller dimensions. A brief description of one of them as it existed when first surveyed, is sufficient to give a knowledge of the usual plans of these encampments. It was situated on the left bank of a tributary of the Scioto, called Paint Creek.

There was a square inclosure, each of whose sides was one thousand and eighty feet in length. Attached to this square, which contained an area of twenty-seven acres, was a large circular inclosure having a diameter of about seventeen hundred feet. This circle had another smaller work connected with it which was also circular, and had a diameter of eight hundred feet. The embankments of all these inclosures were low, and did not anywhere exceed five feet in height. The position of the gateways and the mounds protecting them was the same as in the octagonal work at Newark. The large circle had an opening into it leading out of the square, and the small circle had also one opening which connected it with the other.

This part of Ohio was, in the eighteenth century, occupied by settlements of the Shawnee tribes. In several of the burial mounds, which are supposed to have belonged to them, there have been found copper kettles, silver crosses and iron gunbarrels—all of which must have been unquestionably made by workmen of European descent.

CHAPTER V.
MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN OHIO. Ancient Fortified Inclosures at Circleville.—Discoveries in a Burial Mound.—Alligator Totem near Newark.—Fort Ancient.—Age of Trees growing upon the Ramparts at Fort Hill.—Traditions.—Geometrical Ground Plans of Indian Inclosures.—Conclusions.

Before quitting the subject of those ancient earthworks, which were planned upon geometrical figures, it is necessary to take into consideration certain inclosures that were situated in the higher parts of the Scioto Valley, in a position which is at the present time, occupied by the town of Circleville.

The embankments or ramparts have been razed to the ground, and no traces remain of what appears to have been one of the most perfect examples of the mathematical accuracy of that type of construction. It is fortunate that during the demolition of the works, there happened to be present an antiquarian of such an acknowledged reputation as Mr. Atwater, for he has written a full account of their form and dimensions,[20] together with a report upon the strange discoveries made when excavating a burial mound, inside the circular inclosure near its centre. Mr. Atwater, who evidently took careful measurements,[21] wrote a statement which includes the following extracts:-

“There are two forts, one being an exact circle, the other an exact square. The former is surrounded by two walls, with a deep ditch between them. The latter is encompassed by one wall, without any ditch. The former was sixty-nine rods in diameter, measuring from outside to outside of the circular outer wall; the latter is exactly fifty-five rods square measuring the same way. The walls of the circular fort were at least twenty feet in height, measuring from the bottom of the ditch, before the town of Circleville was built. The inner wall was of clay, taken up probably in the northern part of the fort, where was a low place, and is still considerably lower than any other part of the work. The outside wall was taken from the ditch which is between these walls, and is alluvial, consisting of pebbles worn smooth in water, and sand, to a very considerable depth, more than fifty feet at least. The outside of the walls is about five or six feet in height now; on the inside, the ditch is, at present, generally not more than fifteen feet. They are disappearing before us daily, and will soon be gone. The walls of the square fort are at this time, where left standing, about ten feet in height. There were eight gateways or openings leading into the square fort, and only one into the circular fort. Before each of these openings was a mound of earth, perhaps four feet high, forty feet perhaps in diameter at the base, and twenty or upwards at the summit. These mounds, for two rods or more, are exactly in front of the gateways, and were intended for the defence of these openings.” ...

Inclosures at Circleville.
Reduced from the survey of Mr. Atwater.

“The extreme care of the authors of these works to protect and defend every part of the circle, is nowhere visible about this square fort. The former is defended by two high walls, the latter by one. The former has a deep ditch encircling it, this has none. The former could be entered at one place only; this at eight, and those about twenty feet broad.” ... “The round fort was picketed in, if we are to judge from the appearance of the ground on and about the walls. Half-way up the outside of the inner wall, is a place distinctly to be seen, where a row of pickets once stood, and where it was placed when this work of defence was originally erected.” ...

“What surprised me on measuring these forts, was the exact manner in which they had laid down their circle and square; so that after every effort, by the most careful survey, to detect some error in their measurement, we found that it was impossible, and that the measurement was much more correct than it would have been, in all probability, had the present inhabitants undertaken to construct such a work.”

The mound that had been raised within the circle was ten feet high. Its summit had been levelled in order to obtain a platform which had a diameter of nearly thirty feet, and had probably been used as a site for the dwelling of the chief of the tribe. Mr. Atwater watched the proceedings when this mound was destroyed. He states that it contained:—

1. “Two human skeletons lying on what had been the original surface of the earth.
2. “A great quantity of arrow heads, some of which were so large as to induce a belief that they were used for spear heads.
3. “The handle either of a small sword or a large 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.
4. “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 centre of the tumulus, and, about twenty feet to the north of it was another, with which were—
5. “A large mirror, about three feet in length, and one foot and a half in breadth, and one inch and a half in thickness. This mirror was of isinglass (mica membranacea) and on it—
6. “A plate of iron which had become an oxyde; but before it was disturbed by the spade, resembled a plate of cast iron. The mirror 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 mirror is in my possession as well as a piece of brick, taken from the spot at the time.”

About two hundred yards from this tumulus, and outside the circular inclosure was a large mound, supposed to have been the common Indian cemetery. It contained an immense number of human skeletons of all sizes and ages. The skeletons are laid horizontally, with their heads generally towards the centre, 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.

The vestiges of occupation that have been left by those ancient tribes who raised the earthworks in this region are not of a character that render it possible to form any absolute conclusions about them.

There are, however, in Ohio two large and important mounds built in the shape of animals which may, possibly, have been made for the purpose of indicating the emblems which were adopted by the Indians as their totems. One of these is placed on the summit of a hill overlooking the valley of one of the tributaries of the Licking river, and about three miles from the octagonal inclosure near Newark.

In consequence of its shape, it is called the Alligator. There have been various theories with regard to this strange earthwork, and it has been supposed that sacrificial ceremonies were performed there. I had expected to find this figure to a certain extent excavated upon the surface of the earth, but I observed, upon examining it, that it was a regularly built up mound of considerable size.

The other large totem, which represents a huge serpent, is upon the brow of a hill about one hundred miles to the South-west of the Alligator, above a small river called the Brush Creek. According to the measurements of the earliest surveyors, its length, if extended, is about one thousand feet. It was five feet high in the centre, and had, at that part, a base of thirty feet, which diminished towards the head and tail.[22]

Upon the slopes of the hills near the Alligator, there are numerous remains of ancient earthworks. One of the most extensive of them was in every respect different from those at Newark, and other geometrically designed works, and seems to have been raised for other purposes, or possibly by a different tribe. Its embankments, which are irregular in their form, are in no part higher than six feet, and are thrown up in such a manner as to inclose the top of a small hill, which is situated a short distance from the Alligator. The area contained within them is about eighteen acres. In the centre there is a small circular earthwork nearly one hundred yards in circumference, and in another part of the inclosure there are two mounds which have been opened. They contained large quantities of ashes and some broken pottery.

There are also other camping grounds near the river. The largest of them inclosed a space exceeding twenty acres, and was surrounded by a low bank evidently thrown up for the purposes of inclosing a temporary encampment. Near the Alligator totem I noticed a singular earthwork made in the shape of a half-moon. The farmers living in the neighbourhood told me that they had opened and destroyed many of the small mounds that had been upon their lands. In all cases they had contained nothing but fragments of rough pottery, together with small heaps of ashes.[23]

Finally, there remains to be taken into consideration those great earthworks on the hills which have been specially classified as having been undoubtedly raised for the purposes of defence, and which entirely differ from such works as those that were placed upon the plains. The largest of these camps has been called Fort Ancient, and it must be acknowledged to be one of the most important fortified entrenchments that has ever been constructed in any part of the world.

It is placed upon the summit of a hill overlooking the Little Miami river about thirty miles above its junction with the Ohio. The site that was chosen by the Indians is remarkable for its natural strength and is, upon three sides of it, almost impregnable. The hill which is about two hundred and thirty feet above the valley, is in the form of a narrow promontory having almost precipitous sides except where it is joined to the plateau. The Little Miami winds round one part of the base, and some small tributary streams join it from the other side.

The shape and length of the embankments are shown in the accompanying plan, which is a reduction that I have drawn from one that was made in 1843 by Professor Locke of Cincinnati.[24] It will be observed that the ramparts follow closely the curves of the ridge of the hill and that the camp is practically divided into two parts, the outer division being near the plain, and the inner one being at the head of the promontory, where the sides of the hill are the most steep and inaccessible. The latter was probably intended as a final stronghold in the event of the outer work being captured.

The magnitude of the inclosing embankments of the outer camp is astonishing. It is here that the position is most open to direct attack, and no efforts or labour have been spared in carrying out what was thought necessary to prevent capture. No Roman or British encampment that I have seen surpasses this great Indian work. I walked round the entire circuit of the ramparts. They are not less than four miles in length. They follow every curve of the hill and the heads of all the numerous ravines.

Fort Ancient

The ground of the inclosure is level. At the time of my visit it was covered with forest trees, amongst which were many poplars. Upon the slopes of the embankments there was a luxuriant growth of large beeches and oaks. The quantity of earth that must have been conveyed and thrown up when forming these banks must have been enormous. The ramparts vary in height between ten and twenty feet according to the character of the natural defence afforded by the slopes of the hill. At the approach from the plain they are fifteen feet high and have a base of sixty-three feet. The platform at the top averages five feet wide.

There is no ditch. Nothing could more clearly mark the difference between this fortification and one that would have been made by a white race. An outer ditch is usually considered as not only of essential importance in works of defence, but its excavation supplies the earth required for the ramparts. It seems evident that either these Indians in their method of defensive warfare did not always consider a ditch to be useful, or it is possible that, in consequence of not having shovels or pickaxes, they preferred obtaining earth in some other manner which they found more convenient.

Upon inquiring among the farmers who were occupying the adjacent land, I found that there was a prevalent opinion amongst them that the earth composing these embankments had been brought from a distance and that it had been carried by hand. It was also believed by them that the fort could not have been made by Indians and that it was built at a very remote period by some other race.

When walking upon the top of the broad ramparts I observed that there were no evidences of the excavations that supplied the earth for the formation of the enormous banks. In some parts of the interior there were some shallow depressions, and also several holes which had been made for some unknown purpose, but they could not have provided the quantities required. It is possible, and, I think probable, that the earth was taken from the surface of the land within the inclosure. A shallow excavation made to a depth not exceeding six inches over the whole area of one hundred and forty acres would have given a sufficient supply. The methods of digging the ground, and of conveying the earth must necessarily have been very primitive, and it is surprising that, with all the difficulties that had to be overcome, works of such magnitude should have been raised.

At a gap in an angle over-looking the river the remains of a road, which led down to the water, can still be traced. At the part where this road entered the fort it is evident that it had been paved with flat water-worn stones. The ramparts here reach their greatest dimensions, being fully twenty feet high. The appearance of Fort Ancient from this position was very remarkable, and the effect was heightened by the beautiful foliage of the forest trees that crowned the summits of these lofty earthworks.

The inner part of the camp was strongly fortified. High banks were raised across the narrow part of the enclosure at the centre, and two mounds guarded the approach. The road to the outer camp from the plain was also protected by two mounds, and from these there ran low parallels for a distance of nearly fourteen hundred yards. They then terminated by closing round another mound which was probably used for the purpose of a look-out. Some labourers at a farm near this position told me that there once existed other parallel banks connected with the fort, which could be traced for several miles, but that these had been destroyed.

There are certain features in the construction of this fortification which have attracted attention, but their purpose has not been, and probably cannot be, explained. There are not less than seventy gaps or openings leading out of the embankments. It has been supposed that these were intended to allow the escape of water from the interior. There is another theory which has been suggested, according to which it is thought possible that they were openings made with the object of enabling the Indians to rush out at several points to repel their enemies, and that they were fenced by stockades.

It, however, happens that these gaps are sometimes in positions where the slopes of the hill are so steep as to be practically inaccessible, and at other places they are on the level ground from which no surplus waters could drain away. They seem to have formed part of the system of fortification, for they occur in the same inexplicable manner at another hill work of defence, built under similar conditions, on the summit of a promontory with precipitous slopes, about forty miles to the south-east of this position, which was evidently built by the same race.

This large earthwork is called Fort Hill, and it is singular in the respect of having afforded to its surveyor the means of forming a judgment upon the question of its antiquity. Consequently it has become possible to establish well-founded conclusions with respect to the dates of the construction of earthworks of a similar character.

Professor Locke, in his report on the geology of that part of Ohio, stated that on the top of the wall of Fort Hill stood a chestnut tree six feet in diameter. “Counting and measuring,” he observes, “the annual layers of wood where an axeman had cut into the trunk, I found them at nearly 200 to the foot, which would give to this tree the age of 600 years. A poplar tree, seven feet in diameter, standing in the ditch, allowing the thickness to the layers which I have found in like poplars, 170 to the foot, would give nearly the same result, 607 years.”[25]

Accepting the deductions of Professor Locke as being correct, it follows that the period when this hill fort was constructed was not later than the thirteenth century. Admitting that the thirteenth century, is therefore the latest age that can be ascribed to works of this type, they may be much older, for the forest trees within the inclosures may have succeeded earlier growths.

It is not possible to form an estimate of the age of earthworks from their appearance,[26] and it is only by counting the annual rings of trees that happen to have been growing upon them, that any safe theories respecting their antiquity can be adopted.

Looking at the geographical position of Fort Ancient, with reference to the other hill works of defence that are supposed to have been made by the Mound Builders, there are good reasons for assuming that this was their last stronghold, built with the intention of creating a permanent barrier against the attacks of their enemies. In time of war it was a secure encampment, large enough to contain the men, women and children of a numerous tribe. In time of peace it was well situated for the usual requirements of Indians. It was in the midst of a country abounding with game, and was immediately connected with a good navigable river which enabled their canoes to maintain direct communications with the Ohio and Mississippi.

Although, as far as I was able to judge, there was nothing in the principles of construction of the hill defensive works which appeared to be beyond the capacities of a purely Indian race, I invariably found that the men who were settled as farmers near the principal entrenchments held the opinion that they must have been raised by a people possessing a superior condition of civilisation to the tribes who occupied the land at the close of the eighteenth century, and who were personally known by many of the early settlers.

It is, perhaps, desirable that these local opinions should not be altogether disregarded, especially when it is remembered that they are supported to some extent by Indian traditions and by the fact that no embankments of a similar formation exist in any other part of North America. It is therefore necessary that the statements of the Indians, respecting the previous occupation of parts of Ohio and Kentucky by men of a white race, should be given a passing consideration.

The Shawnees, who were found to be in possession of this region, informed the European colonists that the ancient forts had been made by white people, who after long wars against the Indians had been exterminated. Their traditions upon this subject were said to have been clear and decided.

On the other hand the statements of the Delawares, who were settled in the Northern parts of the State point to other conclusions. They said that the men who had raised the forts and entrenchments were called the Tallegewi, and that great wars took place between them and the Iroquois. After many years the Tallegewi were defeated and left the country. The Delawares made no allusion with respect to any differences of race or colour between the Tallegewi and the other Indian tribes.

It is much to be regretted that the evidence upon this interesting subject is so vague and obscure. If men of foreign origin had been settled in Ohio before the fourteenth century it would be reasonable to expect that traces of them would have been left there or some remaining indications of their religion. In the reports and letters of the French missionaries, many of whom spoke and understood the language of the tribes amongst whom they lived, there is no mention made of any rumours or traditions of white people having dwelt in this part of America. There were however at a later period, about the middle of the eighteenth century, certain statements made by officers and men who had been made prisoners by the Indians, which, at that time, received much attention. A cavalry officer, named Stuart, said that in the country west of Mississippi he had seen a tribe of Indians who were remarkably white in colour and had reddish hair. He was informed by them that their forefathers came from a foreign land and had settled in Florida, but that when the Spaniards invaded that country they moved to their present dwelling places. A fellow-captive, who was a Welshman, declared that he understood the language of the tribe, as it differed very little from what was spoken in Wales.

Other reports of a similar character were made by men who had lived with tribes occupying lands near the southern parts of the Mississippi valley. It has also been noticed that Indians having fair hair and blue eyes, were living with the Mandans in their settlements near the Missouri. With respect to the statements about Welsh speaking Indians, it is possible that the captives may have been influenced by the belief in the truth of the tradition that ships, under the direction of Prince Madoc, left the Welsh coasts in the twelfth century and landed their crews and emigrants on the eastern shores of the Florida peninsula.[27]

It is not, however, necessary to account for the existence of large but irregular embankments, such as those at Fort Ancient, by the supposition that the actions of a numerous tribe of Indians were under the influence or direction of men belonging to another race. But it is otherwise with reference to the geometrical inclosures on the plains, for these must have been unquestionally planned by men who possessed a competent knowledge of the methods of tracing mathematical designs.

Take for example the plans of the works at Newark and Circleville. It may be thought that simple figures, such as the squares, would be within the comprehension of uneducated Indians. It would nevertheless be found difficult to lay down upon open fields a square, with all the sides equal and its angles true right angles, containing so large an area as twenty acres.[28]

Octagonal and Circular Inclosures
near newark.

The execution of the outlines of correct circles inclosing spaces of nearly thirty acres, presents still greater difficulties. It would have required a specially trained mind to form the conception of a circumference having an imaginary point within, from which all lines drawn to it would be equal.

But the figure which would have been absolutely impracticable to construct without proper surveying appliances for making accurate measurements, and fixing the true angles, is that of the octagon. Even under the most favourable circumstances, with the help of suitable instruments, it would have required much skill and calculation to trace a true octagon whose embankments contained within them an area exceeding forty acres. It is difficult to suppose that an accurately designed work of this shape and magnitude could have been planned by Indians, or that the construction of a figure so essentially scientific and unusual, could have been originated by them. It is therefore possible to conclude, that, the geometrical earthworks in Ohio may have been raised by native tribes, acting under the direction of European surveyors, or of men who had received a mathematical education.

Considerations upon the subject of the race and capacity of the builders, have been to some extent complicated by the reports that were made concerning the ages of the trees that grew upon and within the ancient ramparts at Marietta. In the letter of Dr. Hildreth, quoted in the previous chapter, it is clearly stated that trees were growing there which were from four to five hundred years old.

As this evidence is very important it is desirable to examine it with attention. This statement was made when he was attempting to fix an approximate date for the age of a burial mound which was placed near the fortifications. It was at the bottom of this mound that were discovered the ornaments of a sword belt and scabbard. These ornaments were made of copper and plated with silver, and must therefore have been of European manufacture.

The calculation of the age of the trees is probably based upon the results of an examination that took place shortly after the settlement of Marietta during the latter part of the eighteenth century. It was at that time decided by several of the inhabitants to fell some of the largest and oldest trees then growing within the earthworks, and ascertain their ages by counting the number of annual rings contained in them. The operations were executed in the presence of Governor St. Clair and the Rev. Dr. Cutler. Several of the trees were found to have between three hundred and four hundred circles. One tree was carefully examined and Dr. Cutler stated that it contained at least four hundred and sixty-three circles.[29]

As nothing can be more conclusive as a proof of age than the number of rings found in any tree growing beyond the tropics, this evidence establishes an antiquity for these embankments earlier than the middle of the fourteenth century.

The ages of the trees growing upon the Marietta inclosures do not however enable a date to be estimated for the construction of such works as those at Newark, for the shapes at Marietta are irregular and, according to the survey, do not appear to have been laid down with geometrical accuracy. It is therefore probable that the Newark inclosures were made at some later period.

The fact of a ferule of silver and a plate of iron having been placed with the skeletons in the burial mound at Circleville leads to the conclusion that the tumulus like the one at Marietta was raised since the time of the arrival of the Europeans. On account of its having been placed within the inclosure it was originally conjectured that it belonged to the same people that formed the surrounding embankment, but the evidence is not sufficient to establish the correctness of a theory of such importance.

It is difficult to understand what could have been the object of the Indians in constructing large earthworks in the shapes of squares and circles. Various theories have been advanced upon the subject, but nothing that can be considered satisfactory has yet been ascertained. Upon an examination of the plans it naturally occurs to the mind to endeavour to form an opinion as to the reasons which led to the adoption of these particular forms.

It is probable that these types of inclosures would be convenient for the habits and purposes of an Indian tribe during peace, and that they afforded protection in war. The square inclosures may have been intended to contain the village, the dwellings of the chiefs, and the council house. The circles, with their single opening for approach, which could be strongly guarded, would in that case be the strongholds in which, during hostilities, would be placed the women and children. A circular fort, such as that at Newark, would, under the usual conditions of Indian warfare, be practically impregnable. In the event of the outer square being captured it would have a sufficient area to give the space that would be wanted for the defending tribe.

The antiquity of these works is a problem that does not possess all the elements that are required for its solution. But in consequence of the exceptional system of construction certain inferences can be determined. It may be assumed that the geometrically shaped inclosures could not have been planned by Indians, and that therefore the square, circular and octagonal works, were constructed at some period subsequent to the landing of the Spaniards in Florida, in the beginning of the sixteenth century.[30]

If these embankments were raised before that period, it would be almost necessary to admit, that white men possessing a knowledge of mathematics were living amongst the Indians before the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492.

The difficult and interesting questions relating to the origin, civilisation and fate of the Mound Builders, have been the subjects of frequent investigations and of numerous theories. They appear to have inhabited Ohio for many centuries.

CHAPTER VI.
The burning of the Steamer Stonewall.—Indian Mounds and Earthworks at Cahokia.—Confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri.—Sacs and Foxes.—Education of Indians.—Nauvoo.—Winona.—Sioux Encampment.—Ancient Mounds near St. Paul’s.—The Sioux War in Minnesota.—Note upon the Ogallalas.

Upon the conclusion of a navigation of the waters of the Ohio, which had extended over a distance exceeding nine hundred miles, we arrived at the mouth of that river, and proceeded on our course up the Mississippi. Evening was approaching when we saw a large steamer called the Stonewall, passing us on her way to New Orleans, crowded with passengers happily unaware of the terrible nature of their impending fate, and of the event about to happen before nightfall.

At sunset, all those who were on board of our vessel, were assembled upon the upper deck, watching the unusual brilliancy of the reflections upon the water, and the vivid colouring of the clouds gathering round the setting sun. We then supposed these effects to be caused by the haze sometimes observed in the atmosphere during that beautiful season towards the close of the year, which has been given the name of the Indian summer. We were ignorant of the conflagration that was taking place lower down the river, or we might have surmised that the glowing tints were possibly caused by the smoke and flames rising from the burning of the steamer we had seen earlier in the afternoon.

We were afterwards informed that news had been received, that a disastrous fire had occurred on board the Stonewall shortly after we passed her, and the flames spread with such rapidity, that, although she was close to the river banks, only thirty-five out of two hundred and forty passengers were saved. The accident was caused by the carelessness of a man, who, when lighting his pipe, accidentally set fire to a quantity of hay that was carried between the upper decks as cargo. It was usual to protect the hay when embarked in this manner, by covering it with a tarpaulin, but through some inattention this precaution had been neglected. The Stonewall was burnt to the water’s edge.

As we drew near to St. Louis, we passed the wide low plains upon which is situated the great Cahokia Mound. As it was my purpose to make an expedition to that part of Illinois before proceeding to the upper part of the Mississippi Valley, I went there a few days after we had landed from the steamer.

The mound when seen from the plains, stands out from them in a manner so isolated and prominent, that it seems at the first glance, to be unquestionable that it must have been raised by human labour; but upon a closer investigation there are good reasons for believing it to be a natural formation of the land, shaped originally like a rounded hillock, and subsequently terraced and altered in such a manner as to make it appear to be altogether artificial. It is ninety feet high, and the base, if the whole of the irregular and spreading area is included, covers a space of about nine acres. The summit is level, and contains nearly two acres. Upon this was established a substantial farmhouse, which I found to be tenanted by a kind and hospitable family, who were evidently in a prosperous condition, and able to cultivate their land advantageously.

The hillock has been given locally the name of Monks Mound, in consequence of its having been for several years the site of a small monastery, belonging to some of the brethren of La Trappe, who, towards the close of the last century, emigrated to this remote spot when the monastic orders were suppressed during the French Revolution. The monks used the lower slopes as a garden, and there still remain the indications of the terraced ground which was used by them for their solitary walks. The Trappists are supposed to have left Cahokia at the time of the restoration of the Bourbons. Probably they returned to France when the Monastery of La Trappe was re-established, in the reign of Louis XVIII.

Before the mound was used as a farm there was on its summit an Indian tumulus. The farmer taking a practical view of this burial heap, destroyed it and spread the contents over his land.

The accompanying sketch of the mounds was taken from the slope of the Cahokia Mound, at a height of about forty feet above the plain. It represents what now remains of these singular earthworks; they must originally have been much more numerous.

On the plain below, there exists a remarkable group of circular and platform mounds, which, in consequence of their unusual position and ground plan, demand careful attention. They differ from the earthworks in Ohio, and appear to have been raised by a tribe having exceptional customs and habits of life. The mounds are not surrounded by any embankments, and were entirely unprotected. They were probably raised to make high platforms for the dwellings of the chiefs. One of them was used, at the time of my visit to Cahokia, as the site of the village schoolhouse.

I endeavoured to trace the plan of the ancient inclosure, which contained a group of the greatest archæological importance, but so many of the mounds had been levelled, that it was difficult to form definite conclusions with regard to its shape or extent. It seems to have been an irregular parallelogram, about fifteen hundred yards in length, having at each end a large earthwork or mound, with a wide and well levelled platform on the top. In the centre, there were two conical mounds, which must have been raised in that position for some important purpose. They were each about forty feet high, and appeared to have been so placed as to dominate the mounds forming the sides of the inclosure. The men farming the adjacent plains, stated that there had been a large number of small burial mounds on their lands, most of which had been destroyed. They had found in them quantities of bones and skulls, but no ornaments or stone weapons.

When ploughing the ground, they had seen below the surface, fragments of rude pottery and many flint arrow heads. A large and highly polished stone spear head was discovered near the settlement and given by the finder to the young American lady who was then acting as teacher at the school house on the mound. It was a hard kind of flinty chert, and was a singularly fine specimen of Indian workmanship.[31]