The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1867-10-18
TENNESSEE ANrIQUTTIEs.
Researches Among the Bones Of DoA4
The Remnins Of nm Ektinet Race.
From The NASHVILLE Press and Times /

From the Nashville Press and Times.l
Tennessee contains many wonderful an.
tiquities which, like her other resources,
80. TO speak, have been but little developed,
Her grand mountains, deep aud maRnif.
cent forests, her noble river and wild Sc.
questered valleys must have been cher.
ished and loved with an intense patriot.
ism by the former races who once dwelt
in the country we now call our own. The
grand and picturesque scenery in which
Tennessee abounds, must have found in the
heart OF the aboriginal tribes q 6tting re.
sponse. Ii must have been thickly in.
habited and peoplod by hardy and enet.
gotc races. The supposition is strength
ened by the remains which are almoei
everywhere found 80 plontiOlly. !
We remember in our rambles over
Lookout Mountain to have detected MI,
merous vestiges Of now extinct race, aud
at Chattanooga, in the National Cemetery
grounds, stands "a mound, which, in the
course of excavations made two years and
half ago, was found TO be full Of ,tha
bones Of the dead, the domestic aud war.
like Implements of people .whoSs history
| Ia lost forever. In the caves of the noun.
tains in the deep valleys and rugged fast,
nesses, which abound in tue eastern portion
Of the State wonderful revelations have
been discovered. Forti6catiOhs and the
sites of towns have been detected with the
imprint of antiquity stamped upon them,
which places them beyond the Indians
who roamed the forests, at the discovery
Of America by Columbus,
1t may be lot generally known that the
grounds on which tho city of Nashville now
tlnds was once the site of an ancient and
| populous town, yet such is supposed to be
the fact
Some Of the most interesting antiquities
of our State are found along the lever
course of Stone River, but few miles from
Nashville. A wide area of the country
there is covered thickly with thousands OF
graves of now forgotten people. =
But few days ago several gentleman
made some researches in this region, and
found their labors richly rewarded by
snme striking discoveries. At q place
known as Sohells' Spring, they found d
mound of consider able height and Of per.
haps forty feet in diameter, which proved
upon examination, to be nothing less than
" vast mausoleum of the dead. The graves
were found to be made OF fiat rocks. Gym
metrically joined together, and three tiers
do p from the base of the mound 10 its
apex. Bones were found in q, ,,rema kahle
state OF r servatior, tog etler with pottery
and sh, IS. Very large ornaments have
been dug out of this locality, made from
shells found only in the Gulf of Mex 90.
A gentleman of knowledge, skill and
autholity in antiquarian matters, who eon.
Quoted the reseaTches made few days ago,
estimates that the remains which they un-
earthed could not have O less ago than
six or seven hundred years. What Is re-
markable, no warlike implements ere
found in this locality, from which il is in.
ferred that they were peaceful rape, and
were probably extsrminated or driyen away
by Indians. In one OF the graves was found
beautiful little vase. which had been
placed in the hand of the inmate Of, the
tomb at the time of burial Upon this little
bit of earthenwafe was the model Of 4
diminutive animal. The care which these
people took Of their dead shows high de.
gree of humanity.
We learn that other Investigations in
this section are to be made ere long. The
field is certainly a Itch one for the anti.
quari0n.