, 1860-09-28
American AnIiGuitieS.

1t is evident that the great valleys OF the
Ohio and Mississippi were once the abode
Of mighty nation-ciVilized and refined
warike and brave-deScendants Of mighty
nations who settled in this country long be
fore the appearance of the Saviour on the
earth.
Near Lexington, Ky, are the remains OI
on ancient catacomb formed in the solid
rock Of limestone. This curiosity was dis
covered in the year l776, by the early set
tiers in that country. The mouth Of the
cavern was carefully concealed with stones
which, on being removed, opened into a
cave Of immense magnitude.
The sides Of this spacious apartment were
found, upon examination, to be cut into
inches or departments, occupied by figures
representing men. By further investigation,
these figures were discovered to be mum.
mies-persons preserved by the art Of EN-.
balming--and exhibited 4 state of perfec-
ton equal to that known at any time among
the Egyptians; and you will bear in mind
that this art was practiced by that people
three thousand four hundred and seventy
FIVE years previous to this discovery in Ken
lucky. The catacomb was capable of hold
ing two thousand subjects.
Again there is found on the Ohio, nearly
twenty miles below Wabash river, another
remarkable work of antiquity. 1t is q very
large cave, with smooth perpendicular walls,
and level floor. The walls are covered
with hieroglyphic figures, cut in solid stone
and well executed Among them are rep
reservations Of animals unknown to the
present generation, Tie cave is one Of
the greatest curiOsities on the Ohio, and is
connected with a dark, dismal cavern,
nearly the same size, which is located d.
rectly above it, and which is accessible
through a chimneylike aperture.
When we view the ancient mounds, and
tumuli Of the west, we are lost 10 wonder
in view of the number, magnitude and OBJ
scnrity Of their origin. There are several
hundreds Of these works in the valleys Of
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and some
Of them are found to be filled with thous.
ands of human skeletons, indicating that
they were. deposit of the dead. They
also bear the appearance Of having been
contiguous to some large and pOpulOus
city.
Many strange and curious antiquities
have been from time to time exhumed from
these mounds, and is it not significant, that
in q great majority of instances, there ex-
lists o remarkable resemblance between
these relics found in the nineteenth century,
and articles which were known to have
been used among the Romans, Grecians
and Egyptians before the days Of Christ :
We append'a statement made by Mr..
David Wyrick. of Newark, Ohio. The
American says:
Mr.. David Wyrick, of this city, who has
recently been pushing his Investigations re-
specting our ancient works with more thor
oughness than heretofore, and has made
new surveys, traced new lines, and made
many new discoveries, found on Friday
last, in one Of the little circles or sink holes
connected with the larger works, a very
curious and interesting relic. Mr.. Squier,
in bis antiquities of New York, says that
these sink holes, which are uniformly con
nected with our ancient works, usually con
tain human bones; and Mr.. Wyrick went
out on the Cherry Valley plateau in order
to learn, by a careful examination, whether
the same thing was true Of these sink holes
in Ohio. He found no bones, but he was
satisfied that the excavation had been filed
by material other than that which was taken
from il, and he found beside a beautiful
granite ball, highly polished and Of a red
Cish color, and also q very curious tapering
stone, Eve or six inches long, the four sides
nearly alike, and on each, in neat Hebrew
characters, brief inscriptions, which seem to
be characteristic Of the old Hebrews, and
give new vitality to the old theory that
these works are in some way connected
with the lost tribes. Inscriptions have
been examined carefully BY our best He
brew scholars, and translated as follows:
Bdr Ieue-The Word Of the Holy Lord.
Kdsh Kdshim-The Holy Of Holes.
Thurth Ieue-The Law Of the Lord.
Mix Artz-The King Of the Earth.
Our readers will remember that some
weeks ago we described o stone whistle
taken from large burial mound. The
stone here referred to seems to be Of the
same general character. 1t is neatly pol
shed, aud the Hebrew characters are very
distinctly engraved, neat and orderly. i
is treasure Of no ordinary interest, anC
may possibly unravel the mystery whicl
has so long hung over these interesting re
mains. Can it be possible that these work
are of Hebrew origin? If so, what ha'
become of the lost race