, 1869-05-02
THE "BIG MOUND" AT ST, LOUIS
Its Dcmo1ftt0us
From tAe St Lcuia EkpnbIindn, dEril E

From. tie St. Lcuis Repub1irdn, AjF1ls
Yesterday morning the Last shnvclful Of Garth
which composed the Eg Mound was taken away,
hill stoo.i IL now on level with foalway AMI the
adjacent streets in the erection OF the mound,
artistic skin had much less to do than In the build
lug OF the PJr1EatoA- The elevation OF new grave
in which single body had been buried may haze
originated the thought Of Increasing Il 10
make 4 last longer; and when such m artificial
hill had reached q cersn1n elevation, the
emulation Of the various Indian tribes
may have driven the most powerful to
erect stu higher tnnbs than othe1s had oullt over
the sieatlithat fell IN their uternectue wAyA These
mounds, at best, wcrr only m imitation Of nature,
anil ibis alcne does not constitute AT. The mate
rial OF waich they were bCIt, moreover, Eas such
as nature Afforded In 9rsates, abundance. Neither
sk4l nor Industry changed II In the least; and
willie very. advanced state OF mechanical per-
lection must be presumed 10 have existed In the
stone upon each olher, these e7lIh-pyrAids In the
Valley Of the Alsaisslppl seem to present only \
certain Eugue Idea TINT bulk might perhaps, e1-
lie tnstEntncance OF the Artistic thought, u
there L any at all connected with the mound, cr1-
DENLY Is the ca1se ofIhe Indifference Of our sc.en-
the institutions during the removal Of this In.
mense monument OF American antiquity. The
fpade and the shovel Of the d1ggeH were neither
Guided nor controlled By any scientific hand, and
few prts ale individuals alone Ahowed an interest
IN collecting few human bones and the lnuume1-
ntle shell beads drg ont Of the immense, ,ma1sole-
unn, while the general s0peEtntendence Of The
"lSbE 20AlAA04eA L4LEICSh ~08 lStS Cuu[Gly 70
schooEloya. Mere childish curiosity, partly, aud
Iartly the innate sense Of American bGys 10r bust
uess and Speculation. interested the jusene pop
wBs situated, 20 that the d!gEers were constantly
surrounded and often htuteresl IN their labor by
hrndreds Of urchlns, who collected leads ard
bones. to either Keep them or sold then
as cul1os1tica They stood along Broadway
With long sutnga of beads and beakets
full OF Indian sh!nbones and broken
sknlls offering them, according to ,the quantity
thcy had collected, II from ten TO tE ensy cents
loI PaIts of Indian skeletons arc now scattered
over the whole city, And white, with some care, Il
might, perhaps, have been easy to procure whole
fEnEe, or = l1rXe portion OF one, BY 4 few ncurs
Of rational supenntendence Of the Ggltu9. 1t wtIl
now be found nearly impossible to nut one toseta-
eI. Aside iFpnl Whist scientific direction might
hare done 70 establish the Character and the
age Of tne Faft9us relies discovered In the mound,
We certainly DO not intend 10 ret1cet On anybody
Whose duty II may hase{oeeu to look Into tbs n4i-
lei. We only record tie astonlAhtng Antiquarian
interest shown by the school children OF this city
during the removal Of the mound, in comparison
70 which the activity Of our scienttnc men
Wss less than insizn16caal When IN nny
part OF Euaope = deep Get Ia made
through ncuntatnchain By railroad
coupsuy, hg,on Of geolo91sts arc always on
Land. Esne the gTat0ttous opportunity 10 enIsrRe
theu knowitIGc- Il, without similar activity, Ill
the results which American Archaeology had cause
to expect from the dlGdng down OF S1ch an an
We shall te elad to hear Of II. md shau EtIpQtv
re,rac. whAteter, IN tits obituary Of the *Utr
Mound, " may be construed into reptoach OF our
H4TAnt1