Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-09-21

verify my theory, or furnish some one more
plausible or correct. 81
If my suggestion is right, it will probably
be confirmed in this way, and by discoveries
such as will indicate.
By scraping off the vegetable soil and de-
bris which have accumulated in and around
these basins and supposed foundations of huts
and lodges, there will be found evidences of
a hard dirt floor. ashes and Goals; and. we
would fain hope, some of the implements and
ornaments used. 'f.s 49,
These, however, we should sooner expect
to find in the graves with the skeletons.
IF there was priesthood or class of sa-
cred persons who resided at these burial
places, we may expect to find in some of the
irregular elevations, collections of the thin
rocks used for the construction of graves.
Search should be made for basin or de-
| preston of larger dimensions than the COM
mon ones, or to detect any popularity dis
tinguishing it from others. For a Council
House, or a Lodge, wherein to perform cere-
monial observances. the aborigines are known
to have used house of larger size than the
huts occupied by families Sometimes these
were upon mounds, but usually on the same
level with other structures.
Mr.. Harding thinks the indications of such
place are in his woods at the northern limit
of this extensive burying ground.
An opinion has long prevailed among old
settlers in Tennessee that there was once a
numerous race of Pign'ies here. They assert
that they have seen the graves or .tombs, made
of slate and other thin rock, which were not
more than two and three feet long,-that they
have examined hundreds of them, and know
the bones were of diminutive race,-that
they were the bones of full grown and aged
persons from the sets of teeth, full or broken,
and from other evidences of maturity.
These opinions have been urged with much
pertinacity, and the chief argument has been
'the shortness of the graves or vaults"
Judge Haywood, the late DIR. Lawrence
(of our city, and others insisted upon these
views.
Some years ago was referred to the small
tombs at an ancient cemetery on the Sulphur
Branch of Obed's river, in Overton county.
in this State, as furnishing unquestionable
proof of race of Pigmies buried there.
/ made an examination: The little vaults
were neatly constructed of slate rock.--were
not more than half the length required for
the interment of man of our day, if laid at
full length.
The bones, lin my judgment,) were not the
bones of children nor of pigmies, but of per-
sons of average height.
We have heard the same opinion expressed
relative to the skeletons found in the graves
within our northern city limits, (McGavock's
addition TO Nashville,) but we find a SINH
larity in all of these burying places, tombs
and bones.
The explanation which we have to offer is
this. and we could refer to early writers in
confirmation at least in part:
1t was customary with many savage or
aboriginal tribes, to erect scaffolds or poles
whereoR to suspend or support dead body;
there it remained, exposed to the weather,
above the reach of wild beasts, until the flesh
had entirely disappeared; then the ceremony
of interment took place. The bones were
taken down, or gathered up from the ground,
and taken with a mourning procession to a
common or favorite place of interment. The
small tombs were prepared and the bones de-
posted, and the ceremony of mourning for
the dead then commenced in earnest, the
bereaved, (and, has been supposed, hired
or professional mourners,) sitting upon the
ground, with heads covered. rocking their
bodies to and fro, and uttering mournful
cultural sounds. These would be continued
for several days.
eve have seen this manner of mourning
repeatedly by Choctaws.)
If bodies had been placed in these tombs
with the flesh upon them, wolves and foxes
would have exhumed them with ease, and we
should discover, might say all of them, to
have been disturbed and opened.
But it is certain that the bones have not
been disturbed or disinterred, or the little
vaults opened by wild beasts.
1t would have been impossible to have
crowded the body. when covered with flesh,
into such diminutive tombs or stone boxes.
AS we discovered the other day, many of
the bones are disjointed and out of position,
thigh-bones at the shoulders, shoulder-blades
by the lower end of the spine, the head upon
the middle part of the body or short ribs.
Mr. McGavock informed us that in making
the road through this burying place, he plow-
ed up fifty or hundred graves, and that at
least twenty skulls were placed by himself
and servants Gas caps,> upon the stakes of the
fence, where they remained until by action Of
the atmosphere they crumbled and fell to
pieces,-and that among them all, there was
but one grave wherein he thought the body
entire, could have been deposited at full
length, and this he regarded as the body of
chief, by whose side was the small tomb in
which was the skeleton of o woman.
AS these two graves seemed TO have been
constructed with much care, and contained
each about bushel of muscle shells, the po-
stion of the bodies was easily observable and
deserve particular notice.
A walnut tree was standing in the line of
his road the large roots were cut excavations
made around and the tree fell, turning up
some of the stones of these graves: Mr.. Nc
GAvocK had the tree sawed in two, the top
of the stump smoothed with a plane, and
counted distinctly one hundred and twenty
yearly rings or growths, showing the tree to
be l20 years old.
He then opened these graves with ease.
The skeleton of the man was supine, that of
the female. the reverse The head of the man
was bent forward, or rested upon the breast
bone,-that of the woman, was turned back
upon the shoulders with the face up Upon
muscle shells, variously carved, in each OF