Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-01-25

sci was found, the top OF Whlcn repre-
I seated three heads Joined together on
one neck, the cheeks painted redi the
lips thick, the hair curly
At Lancaster, Ohio, vessel etgh-
teen feet long and six feet wide was
I found in a mound.
An idol was taken out at Nashville,
being the figure Of man without
arms and a fiat nose. Medals or coins
were also found, on which was rep
resentatiOn of the sun and his rays.
Ancient vessels were also found Of
great beauty AID strength, one being
dug out ten feet below the surface,
which was in perfect condition and
would hold ten gallons Of water.
At Hamburg, in New York, an urn
was found buried In a mound, and on
opening the urn, it was discovered
to contain curious glass beais, red,
opaque, enamel and green. They had
a tube running through the center,
and were altogether Of patterns never
before seen.
A tree Of giant growth stood on an
old grave at Big river, Missouri, ana
on opening the grave it was found TO
contain many curious beads OF VaF1-
oDs cOlors and extraordinary size.
Well burnt bricks have also been
found in mounds and many cut
stones. Urn covers, made of ealcare-
Gus breccia: pipes and dishes skill
fully wrought and beautifully carved
in reliefs, have also been taken from
ancient graves.
On the Mississippi, near st. Louis,
is a mass Of tabular rocks, on which
is sculptured two hundred feet, and
before them lies a SCROLL On the
Ohio. about fifty miles below Pits
burgh, near the east shore, are some
very hard rocks, on which are num-
bers evidently cut with an iron chisel
hundreds of years ago. So, too, on
the Tennessee river, are rocks con-
tanning figures Of beasts and birds,
more than one hundred feet above
the present high water mark. Near
the confluence of the Elk and Kama
wha rivers, in Virginia, on some
rocks, are several fguers cut in stone.
One of these is a man, another is q
child, another q woman, a fourth rep
resents an eagle, fifth q torguOise, a
sixth a turkey, and on the side Of a
rock is a man with uplifted hand, as
if engaged in prayer. All these fig
ures, except one, are in relief, and the
chiseling in some places Is over an
inch in depth. Most of the metallic
remains that have been found, so
far, are of copper. ArrOwheads, pipe
bowls, dishes, beads, medals, brace
lets, crosses, axes. and many other
things, were made of this metal and
indeed 1t seems 10 have been the IA
vOrite metal Of the ancient Ameri-
cans.
In a mound at Marietta, Ohio, a
silver cup, shaped like a cone, was
picked up. It's sides were smooth
and regular, and inside it was finely
gilded. In Illinois, at the State Salt
Works, excavations four hundred feet
in circumference were found and at
the bottom OF an immense well pots
and kettles were dug up, and the
well was found to connect with the
works of a drain. There can be no
doubt but these salt wells were at one
time worked by the aneients.
In Pennsylvania, examined in
Center county, Notifications Of vast
extent. The works were square, and
the walls had been over twenty feet
high. Only two gates led into the
round earthen towers. On the breast
works giant trees were growing, and
had stood there for hundreds of years.
10 Arkansas, near Duvall's Bluffs,
examined an ancient park. The trees
were set out in regular rows, and the
lawn was distinctly marked. These
trees were hundred of years old, and
were undoubtedly planted where they
stood by human hands. / might 90
on multiplying instances Of ancient
civilization in America; but these
examples will suffice for the present.
I think every candid reader will
agree with me in believing that the
people who executed these works
were not relations OF the present In
dian tribes. If they were, then their
ancestors, ages ago, lost the arts Of
civilization, and their baTbarism dates
back so far we know not to the con-
trary. No Indians living OF this con-
tinent, in a wild state, have any con-
siderable knowledge Of agriculture,
architectural or military structures;
nor did they ever hear of their ances- !
tors living in any other way than /
they themselves do. They have no /
traditions Of the arts and sciences, |
and that is why believe they are a |
race separate and distinct from the |
mound builders. l think it is not |
possible to wholly destroy the history /
Of q people, whether oral or written; /
and il the ancestors OF our Indians OF /
the present day had ever built mounds /
or made earthen vessels, there would |
still be some memory of it present |
among the tribes. l will here again /
reassert my opinion that the half-civ- |
ilized mound builders and stOnecut- /
ters of America came from Mexico,
and that the savages who Oyerrun 4
them came from Asia, and that the |
two races are separate and distinct 4
from each other. Dropping the more 1
civilized ancients out Of sight, what
have we that the present /
wild tribes came from Asia2 1 think /
we can claim it has been pretty clearly |
that the high cheek bone,
haired Indians of America
are of Asiatic origin. ! have exam
ined every authority l could get on
the subject, and am fully convinced
that our Indians are from Asia. So
long as the geography of the West
arn Hemisphere was unknown, the I
origin of the North American In
dian could not be otherwise than a
mere matter Of conjecture; but now
that locality of tribes, their Ian
guage, habits, customs and manners
are known, we can, with much Ger.
tainty, establish their nativity. The
most authentic geographical records
show us that the eastern shore of
Asia is divided from our continent by
3 strait only thirty-nine miles wide.
this strait is situated in the sixtieth
degree of north latitude, and in win
Ter is frozen solid so that both men
and animals can erOss over on the ice
from Kamtchatka to Alaska. But it
Is not necessary that the people of
Asia should have crossed the straits
IN winter in order 70 get 70 America,
for the Aleutian Islands form almost
! continuous chain, beginning with
Island, and extending from
opposite TO Kamtchatka to Alaska, so
that in the rudest canoe an Indian
could pass from the eastern extremity
Of Asia over 10 the American shore.
But, perhaps, the strongest proof that
our Indians are from Asia, is the fact
that the nOmadlc tribes of Alaska are
related to the Kamtchatkians, and
even now, at times, pass and repass
the BehTing Strait. Then, again,
tribe has lately been found in Alaska
speaking the sans language that is
spoken in Kamtchatka; and still fur
n - u, -.