Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-03-16
IFron, ihs ST. Louis Repubiran.I
Prehistoric Remains Dating Back Forty.
Five Years B. g. Found at st. Louis.


| in scientific circles ia Europe. thar tIc gigan
tic Undertaking of bridging the Mississippi
river at this point has been already begun
| and that for more than year, when the state
of the river would pernIt, the sound of he
ponaerous machinery has ceased not day nor
night, bur the work of excava;ion has teen
gong on until tie solid rock has bten reaelied
| for the foundation of the l,,ers upon the wes.
tern shore Oae of The piers IS already
above low water mark Ia triumph of mechan-,
\ ical skill. The blocks of stone of which
I it is built are as huge as those of the
/ Pyramids and yet, By the application of orig
inal principles of mechanical and engineering
skill, theseg gantic blocks are moved as easily
as the common foundation stones of our dwell
iings The otter pier is not yet begun, the
excavations therefore not being quite com
pleted. AT this point the wonders begin. the
end of which is not yet. What effect the
discovery of this tunnel under the river may
have upon the location of the bridge the
board of engineers will soon determine,
The workmen engaged in blasting the rocks
in the bottom of the excavation for the fonn-
dation of this pier, discarged an extraordi-i
nary large blast of powder when immediately
after the report, a, strange phenomenon pre-
sented itself, Instead of having the usual
time for the smoke to clear away they saw i
ascend rapidly in column. as though issuing
from the sinokestack of one of our steamers
This soon cleared, and it was found that q
steady amount of air with q strange damp
odor was issuing from, the cavernous excava-
lvation, showing that an opening had been
made into some unknown subterranean pas
sage. Upon descending to the bottom, the
usual mud and water had disappeared through
dark, deep opening in the rock about ten
feet in diameter, made by the last discharge
/ of powder. Ropes, ladders and torches were
Immediately procured and careful explora,
tions begun. We cannot now enter into
detailed description, but having been invited
] to accompany the board of engineers with a
delegation from the Academy of Science and,
Historical Society, we must reserve n full ex>
position of the wonderful discovery until we
shall have made q more careful survey
Suffice it for the present to'say it is certain
that it,passes entirely under the river TO the
Illinois shore, and whether il Is wholly the
work of some ANCIENT race who once inhabi-
I itedfthi land. whose interesting remains are
strown so thickly up aud down this great val
ley. or whether it is partially natural and par
italy artificial, remains to, be scene. In any
case it is none, the less stupendousa The.
main passage we should judge to be. about
ii twenty feet high by fifteen broad ,-apd syste-
matfcally arched overhead; part of the way
ihy cutting through solid rock and part of
substantial masonry. The bottom seemed to
be much worn, as if by carriage wheels of
some sort There are many lateral passages,
which, of course, we had no time to enter:
These arc about eight feet highland six feet
wide. In the main passage we saw no toplsl
or implements of Workmanship, but on enter
itering one of the lateral paseages VIC soon
emerged into large chamber supported by
leaving pillars of solid rock when The cham
Der, was excavated Aronnd the walls of
this chamber there were what seemed to be-
inches closed with closely fitting slabs. each
slab covered with inscriptions in Ruiic nniA
form character wsichato our eyes bore u mar g
yellous resemblance IN those npon the slab in
the Merchantile Library y-lwlich was brought
from the mines of Niueveh. Between. the
inches were protecting Iilasteis, with draped
iAssyriaasor Egyptian heads. which presented
a r,ost impressive ,an5awe 4inspirlIig etfect'as
they were illuminated blythe torch light
Those sweet, sad facesslooked down upon MS
from the ancient ages; like the souls of the
departed. 4 One of the, passages opening on
the north side seemed to follow the course of
ii the river, and it is believed extends to the
great mound now being removed by the
North Missouri Rai1road, which was the
theme of much interesting remark at the
last meeting of the Historical Society. To-
those who have not seen the mounds around
ST. Louis, lit may be necessary TO saythatgthe'
mound known as the Big Mound. is about
one mile above the great bridge now being
built The ymotind know as Monks Mound
is ON tho other side of the river and is but
ono of q. continuous chain of mounds extends
ing from the river to the bluffs. distance OF
so, hat ha
mel under the river audtthe mounds are in
tmatcly connected, and that there was in
ancient timesan. opening through the mounds
from this subterranean highway. OF course
every scientific man is in perfect fever of
excitementsat these grand discoveries which
seem soifull of promise to archaeological and
chronological inquiries after truth. twill be
remembered by our citizens that some few
months since an examination of Monks
Mound was made under tho auspices Of some
Eastern scientific society; and during the
excavations there were frequent CIVILIZATIONS OF
disagreeable gases and odors. Yet we will
not speculate, but wait in almost breathless
suspension for future developments. AS We
returned from our hasty examination, passing
through its pilastered hall above described,
We observed descending opening about sew
en- feet high by three feet WIDE Following
this in its windings about fifty yards We came
to fight of forty steps, ascending which,
we found ourselves in another chamber of
wonders-o, al in shape, about seven feet high
and three feetwide. The walls of this cham-
Der were scalptured in magnificent base re-
lief and Rnuic inscriptions. Professor Bac-
chic, the learned Sanscrit Of the university,
who was with us, has taken upon himself the
task of translatins the inscriptions. OF the
meaning of some of the words and the coios-
sal sculptures, he also speaks of very conf :
IDENTIFY. One of the magnificent groups he
is certairsis intended to represent Ahashu-
erus lerovvnino Opeen Elizabeth. Another