The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-07-07
THE ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.

4.
Weextract from the able and in
structive paper entitled TIE ".Aborigi-
nal Remains and Quaternary Fossils
OF the Mississippi Valley" by Rev.
Edw'd Fontaine, and read before the
New Orleans Academy of Sciences on
the 5th inst, the following statement
of the mounds and other aboriginal re-
mains SO frequently to be met with
in the valley of our great river. DR..
Fontaine has devoted much attention
to this subject, and his analysis of the
various questions connected with this
subject will be found of interest. We
regret that our limited space will pre-
vent US from publishing the papef as a
whole:
s.
/ will not in this paper attempt to
show who were the ancient builders of
the ruined cities and mounds, and OF
the various works of architecture in
North and South America. In a
manuscript volume, entitled "How
the World Was Peopled,n now ready
for publication, / havegiven the most
important facts in regard to the anci-
ent inhabitants of this continent, and
its settlement in prehistoric times
from Eastern Asia and Western Eu-
rope, which have been able to collect
from various sources; and shall say
but little in reference to the builders
of the tumuli of the Mississippi Valley.
My principal object will be to suggest
a few ideas tn those who are interest
ed archaeological Investigations in re-
ference to the antiquity of tl.ese abo-
riginal remains.
Although the mound builders of our
valley may not have been the ances-
tors of the Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Shawnees, Sioux, Sauks, and various
tribes of their copper-cOlored kindred,
who occupied their ancient possessions
when they were first discovered by the
modern Europeans, am confident
that they were of the same race, and
that they migrated from Northeastern
Asia, and entered first the northwest
ern part of our continent; and also
that they were the same people who
settled Mexico in successive
hordes, who descended from the
The earlier swarms of
these Asiatic immigrants seemed to
have been the most civilized and the |
least warlike. L have little doubt that |
the vast pyramids on the Ohio, Ten
nessee and Mississippi Rivers were
built by the same people who con-
that at Cholula, and the great |
temple in the City of Mexico. Their
traditions all point to the Northwest |
as the direction from whence their an
cestors came. The Indians of Nootka
Sound, the Peruvian Quichuas, and
some others on the Pacific coast, have
different traditions, and l have en-
deavored to prove their descent from
the ancient Malays in the work 'tHow
the World Was Peopled." The Tus-
caroras and Mandans are of European
and the COlhuas of Cen
trail America, who conquered the CHI
cimecs, were probably "the bearded
whitemen" from the old world who
the kingdom of Xibalba in
times. The Chicimecs af-
[erward, aided by the Toltecs, over
threw the empire of the Calhuas, who
in the course of time, were subdued by
.he Aztecs. The Chichimecs, Toltecs,
Aztecs .and many other tribes who
entered Mexico, all came
from Northeastern Asia. /
nave not the time at present to DEM
this probability. In the man.
lscript mentioned the facts are pro-
iuced upon which the opinion is
BASED.