Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1867-09-14
DAILY DEMOCRAT.
AN ElQl'ETIEs.
Reeearches Among .h. fsonca Of
Dead Ccnsuries.. Wonderful
MnusO leuSn.--Ih klemains Of
an ExtflCl Race.

um Extl1C1 ksace.
From the Nashville Times
Tennessee contains many wonderful an
tiquities which. ike her other resources, 20
TO speak, have been bu, little developed
Her gfand mountains, deep and magplt-
cent forests, her noble rivers anl Wild So
ques.ered valley must have been cherished
and loved ri,h az intense patriotism BY
former races, vito once dweit .u The coun,
try We now call our 0wn. Tie grand 4ad
picturesque scenery IN winch tennessee
abounds must have found in tue hearts 81
the aboriginal tribes ft,irg response II
must have been ,hiekly inhsb.tel AID peo>
pied by hardy ard. energetic races. ilis
suppositon 8 strengthened by t.c remains
which are almost everywhere found 80 ii n
tlfully We remember in our FAMILIES ever
Lookout Mountain 10 have detected uumeF>
Jus yestises Of nov extinct race, and at
Chattanooga, u The National I sineteTy
grounds. stands mound which, - tie
course Of excavations mad teo AID q hall
years ago, was found 10 be fall OF tne bones
Of the dead the domestic ara wErke im>
plements Of u people whose history is lost
forever. IL the caves vi the u 0unfsius. in
which abouud in the eastern portion Of tie
State, wonderful reyelssi rs have been 4 :
covered. For,iscatlons end tie sites 81
towns have been detected with the impru;
Of an antiquity stamped upon them which
places them beyond the Indians who roam.
ed the forests az the discovery # America
by Columbus.
II may not be generally known that the
ground Oh which the city of Nashville now
stands was once the site OF al ancient and
populous town, yel such Is supposed u BE-
the fact.
Some Of the most interesting antiquities
Of our State are found along the lower
course Of Stone river, but few miles from
Nashville. A wide area Of the country there
10 covered thicky with thousands Of raves
Of now forgotten people.
But few days ago several gentlemen
made some researches in this region. and
found their labors richly rewarded by some
striking discoveries. At a place known rs
Schell's Spring they found a mound Of con
sideiable height, and OF perhaps forty fee,
in diameter, which proved, upon exaniua,
ton, to be nothing less than vast msuso-
leum of the dead. The graves were found
70 be made Of Tat rocks, symnetrica.ly
Joined together, and three tiers deep from
the base Of the mound To the apex. Bones
were found In q remarkable state of 2reser-
walton, together with pottery and shells
Very large ornaments have been dug out ia
this locality, made from shells found only il
the Gulf Of Mesico.
A gentleman Of acknowledged skill Gnd
authority in antiquarian matters, who COM
ductedthe researches made few days ago,
sstirnstes that the remains which they un
earthed could not have a less age than six
or seven hundred years. What is remark
able, no warlike implements are founi in
this locality, from which il is inferred that
they were a peaceable race, and were proba
bly, exterminated or driven away By Ind.
ans. In one of the graves was found
beautiful little vase, which had been placed
in the hand Of the inmate Of tie tomb at
the time of burial. Upon this little BIZ II
earthenware was the model IF dminut.y,
animal.
The care which these people took 81
their dead shows high degree of humans
itv