New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-08-21


Prof Alexander though. that 1t III events he numsar
Il numerical coincide here b'ough; forward psSc
it Irobable that we hsd in he theory glimpse OF he
plan BY which be great D~Possr " all hnss bad a.
| isyed the worlds.
ftof BAcHr presented paper f5r Col. to,,hay
uICn system Of current Ao,is, ba. the time OF I'D
jourpneIt having arrived, the lection voted 20 ad-
| journ.
Col. CHakIEs WBIITLSsET Of Cleveland, spoke on
| ihe ancient MI ing operations OF Lake suPenor. n
be object in the Geography ofLsse Superior
is point ktwep8w, extending out into the lake some
| 20 miles in firm like the hoax OF an eagle. The
spne q! this peninsula IS elevated some hVe OF elk
huLdreo feet and filed with copper rock, which eI'
cLds tey oid the limits Of tie poin: TO an aggregate
| 'epgib Of 100 miles. In very ancient pcnods OF
| rne mining was carried On here extensively, and
| excavations have been found two miles long, and
iicn % 10 so feet deep. This mining was oy open
| eu.s Ike quarries, for the mrers bad M means OF
peLetic,ir deeply into the earth nor neshs OF rsls-
ing large masses had they penetrated. The copper
found there is well knowa 10 exist in rs native orn
dhd II nasses from minute specimens 20 'hoee OF JoV
| TINS. The Implements end tools msde by tncm OF inc
| Me's were Constructed WITHOUT melting H. ny slmpy
O.s.g ito form lite cold state, and there are no
| sigIs whatever that they had any idea OF melting
| copper Their mode Of Mining was 10 build mes
| ulon them to soften the rock, and then break
| cut the pieces of metal by means OF large stone
han mers; masses OF i've or six tuns are found ron
which pieces have been beaten, aid the rest Ieit IN
| place.
L
in place IS feet, ard recently upon openng their
excavation, a mass was found, which az been raised
| upon skds by means Of wedges, weighing tuns. ihe
| oYelng had been filed up by rubbish as the miners
d, ana tlus with the accumulation OF centu-
is il addition, it lot easily percepuble. Tree
| Of jul growth covered il when again found. aud I'll
pro, that tbs real excavation Tor mining pur.
losts wa a.trded by burnt wood stone hammers sId
| the Ike. This IL sample al those ancient works
| scattered along line OF 10 miles. some lev caVl-
ties have been found, in extent like large room or
| Lal'-placcs whore a dozen men could easily work
The niLtrs' tools, banners of hard stone, , {" -
pouads IN we:gn: wooden rhovels of cedar. ueed f.
scTapipg oiri showD 10y the form to which they are
| w,rn; copper implements ike the geooSsts CAD, 70
be used cold ct-es beaten by the stone inan!4i
| spear leads copper knives aud cbiels, end the Ike
| Uptn blocks Of timber ale stl 20 be seen marks OF
these axes or chsels
There tools and the marks they have left give hint
| toward proving the connection of the people who
mine that copper with the ancient hexicaps; for the
copper tools and the cuts made by Them as depicted
in Squier Il Daviss work, correspond precisely
to those Of Lake Superior. Again, when
| Col. W. first saw the cuts upon the timber at
the Lake, he saw at onco that they must
| have been made by al instrument like the copper
tx Of the Ohio mounds. Another fact was noted, that
in the copper tools found in Ohio are seen spots oi
native sivor-a wei known fact in relation TO the
| Lake copper-aud this proves both that the Ono
people Of the Mound Epoch did not possess lie art OF
| smelling copper-else the silver would have been
neltet-and that they did derive their copper rom
|
| MEXICAN and Ohio of people the same-the forms
OF their mounds pyramids, &C. being the same leads
to this LiereLceand these facts equally tend TO snow
the identity Of the latter with the miners OF Lake
| Superior.
In regard TO the period when the mining operations
| were in progress he said that the timber growing IN
tie old excavations Is OF full size and age: lie hss
couI ted go rings of annual growth But tbs does not
cary us back far can 90 with saiety. There
is plenty of that these ancient trees arr OF
the second grew u, at lcsst since the mine. were de
1...l- l. 20 hsr HraH
years. 1t must however not be forgotten that the
same species Of tree does not Immediately succeed
when one fails but Others take Its place The miners oi
course mut Rave cut the timber, and thus we may win
confidence carry back date to period at least
| thousand or twelve hundred years ago. Again, Judg-
iig from the amount of work done, and their want OF
facilities their lsbois must have extended through
uCried Of five hundred years. Fromthe tat that no
remains Of bouses in that severe climate found,
roads por other Improvements made by permanent IN
babitans the conclusion seems inevitable that the
| mines were wrought only in Summer, and then by
come people who came tbther for the psrpose aud
depart.d with the approach of Winter. This people,
he lie of opirioD, dwet in Ohio. The mounds and he
| mines are Of the same age. The Indians OF our ere
could not have been the miner, nor have they any
| traction whatever relating 10 the mines.
Another gentleman de.cii5ed an ancient pit on por-
tsge Lake ~ elyc TO fifteen feet deep where chises
| many stone hammer stones used for sharpening
| gads a skid, thaned by ire, &c, were found.
10 th- pit tree with four hundred annual circles
growing. He concuTed fully in Col. WIS conc!u-
|
Prof. LESLIE described subtelranean wall OF stone
forty TO fly yards in length and i've feet thick recent
IL found at Jiopewell PeIusylv sna, ard mentioned
that On the Baltimore and Ohio Canal at the bottom
Of the solid aluvjum tw eDty three feet deep, on the
al cent sold ground circle of had been found
| with the chered remains Of wood-a place for tire
| Ore cisely Ike those row made by our Ipdians.
Col GIBBONS mentioned that Peruvian tools of cop
Der were hardened by alloy Of tin, showing that
they knew how TO use the crusible; moreover, that
| the tools found in Nneveh and Egypt had been an
IL. IL. "a nd "a, ha tHs ms
| Col NnIITLysEY sugges ted that in the long period
| which hsd elapsed between the migration from Ohio
atd the discovery Of Me1ico there was ample time for
| the progress made by them in civilization.
Prof. WILSON called attention ~ tire importance OF
| collection Of Indin Paintings and Antiquities cy-
bibed by Mr.. Paul Kane, Of Toronto, at the request
of the Local Committee II contained pictures hus'
tIatiye Of the manners of the haibreed tribe now in
the BED River country. 1t was singular that here
should be tribe pursuing course different ailke
from whites and Indians. They lived by the chase,
| Here was an actual example of hybtidity. 1t was
race which deserved careful study There were elso
implements and portraits Of Chppewas, the Assina:
BONES Blaekieet and tiatheads. one Toman nesd
represened In the process Of having its head haened.
| There wa. the skul Of 1attead, from Vsncouvere
island the skull Of dog could not exhibit SIS frontal
| or cerebral Uranium. There was also portrait OF
| ostinquishcd Esquimsux which supported the view
that the EsquiInau1 and Indians gradually passed into
each other and were not Morton had laid 1t down,
different races. Sculptures On ivoIy were IN tAe col
lection aid were exceedingly interesting. Among the
Bsbme tiibe ii wss found that while the males were
always burned the women scadolded; that is,
placed in canoes on raised scaifoldf. II was found,
too that the hattenirg of skulls OF he fla'heads
did not ipiure their intellect indeed it was mark Of
Of robliiy, and no slave was allowed to apply the
sa,teppg process to her chllds head The result of
investigation in this direction would seem to indicate
| flat IL would be well for 10 adopt the process
means Of sharpening intellect by shaTpenin.
| our skuIs.
| MIR KANE said that he had brought selection OF
| - ;,,iteh IN exhibit them IN the room in which the