Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1851-12-17
Ancient Cloth taken from the Mounds
of Ohio.

Mr.. Foster, U. S. Geologist. describing
samples of ancient cloth taken from the
mounds of Ohio. We. give an abstract
"In 184e, Mr.. Foster procured from a
resident Of Charleston, jackson county,
] Ohio, several fragments of cloth taken
I from mound in that vicinity. They
were found near the bottom enYeloping
several copper rings, and greatly decay
ed though some were sufficiently pre-
served to evidence their having been wol
ven. Fearing deception or error. Mr.
Foster refrained from making public at
that time, a fact so novel in itself, and so
repugnant to prevailing ideas as to the
degree of civilization possessed by the
mound builders but having lately recei-
we'd from Mr.. John Woods, of Ohio, a
gentleman high in Office, and of unques-
tionable veraoity, additional samples &C.
companied by descriptive letter, all
doubt as to the propriety of publishing
the discovery is removed, In his letter,
Mr.. Wood states that the fragments OF
charred cloth, together with an arrow,
and considerable quantity of charcoal
and bones were taken from the mound on
the western bank of the Great Miami Ri
yer, two miles north of Middletown, But
Ter county, Ohio, during some excava-
tons rendered necessary in constructing
the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton
Railroad. The mound was originally
twenty feet high, and fifty years ago was
covered with trees. About ten feet from
its surface, there was compact layer OF
fee, rcd, and apparently burnt clay, about
an inch thick underneath which, near
the middle of the mound was another
layer of fine, cream colorcd clay, differing
from any in the neighborhood, Under
this latter, the charcoal, cloth and bones
were found. The bones were few and
small Little earth was mixed with tho
coal and cloth, which evidently had re
manned as they had been placed when
burned and covered up. The charcoal
appeared to be on the outside of the cloth,
which was freqently in folds of half
dozen thickness. The layers of burned
and cream colored clay did not occupy
but about five or six feet of the monnd.-
AS to the period when the charcoal and
cloth were deposited in the mound, the
only question occurring to Mr.. Woods was
whether the mound erected by former
race NAV not have been made a burial
place by the Indians living here when
AnltTlCd WAS ulSCONGICus VA
this question while at the mound, he was
careful to examine the condition OF the
earth around and above the relics, and
came to the conclusion that it could not
have been disturbed afterit was placediu
the mound.
On this question Mr.. Foster further re-
marks, that there is no evidence that the
North American Indians possessed the
art of spinning and weaving when first
known to the whites; consequently they
never possessed it; for an art so useful,
when once acquired, would not be lost
That the cloth was obtained from the Eu-
ropcans by the Indians and then placed
in the mound, at comparatively recent
period, is improbable for the following
reasons. The layers of earth surroun-
ding it were undisturbed its material be-
ing less adapted for clothing and more
costly wool, is not such as II civilized race
would manufacture for barbaroIT one:
and Il,oreawe- H. t---s..s.' lsss'-Sofne OF the
samples could not have been formed in
an ordinary loom, but was undoubtedly
woven by hand. From these facts Mr..
Foster infers that the mound builders
who have left memorials of their exis-
tcncc from the shores of Lake Superior to
those of the Mexican Gulf, were labo-
rious, intelligent people, far more civilized
and advanced in the arts than the pre-
sent race of Indians with whom they ap-
pear to have been in connection. Tho
fabric in these samples Of cloth, seems to
be of some material allied TO hemp and
the separation of the fibre from the wood
is as complete as if done by the modern
process of rotting and heckllnp. The
thread, though coarse, is regularly spun.
The texture of the samples from Jackson
county, is formed by the alternate inter-
section of the warp and WOOL but in 9th
ers from Butler county, the welt is wound
once around the warp-a process only to
be accomplished by hand There is no
reason TO doubt that these woven fabrics
are the work of the mound builders
The art OF spinning and weaving was
practised by the ancient Peruvians. At
Pachscamac, thirty or forty miles from
Lima, where stands the temple of the sun,
there are numerous remains of walls built
of sun-dried bricks, indicating the site of
a once large and compact town In the
burial-place here, are numerous mummies
in sitting posture, wrapped in many
folds of a woven cloth, with an exterior
covering Of coarse mating. The fabric
consists of the wool of the lama or alpaca.
and cotton which here grows spontanc-
ously.
The CONVENTION, held at Romney, Va,
on the 25th ult., to adopt measures 70 con-
meet the Manassas Gap Road with the
ii -