Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1872-11-14
A LOST RACE.
IMFEAisHABLE ReeoRps OF ITS eE.
MUS AND 0IylkIZATf0N.

1 . Z .
& correspondent whose :state-
msnt has since besn sesifed -Srit-
ing frosn one q the mining settle-
ments on the shores SSf Lake Su-
perior says that fhe femains Of a
considerable number Of ancient cop
per mines hase been lately discov
cred on: the Isle Royal, in Thunder
Bay, on the northern boundary of
the lake, which EXHIBIT an doubted
evidence OF having been vorked by
race of men long since extinct,
and Of whom wa posses NO knowl-
edge save that left behind by such
traces as are now being brought to
view. u A. hi
Shafts of considerable depth, fill
ed and cheked with the accumula-
ted debris ofages, hayebeen opened
and in penetrating TOT depth Of
sixty feet tools Of wonderful work
manship have been discovered, to-
gether with charcoal remains, which
mark the spot where skilled sntis-
ans formed, from copper, ,toolslw hose
temper and durability would aston
ish the ingenious makers of the
present day. Hammers and chisels
seem to have been the principal i'm
plements for working this mine,
which, together with fire, reduced
the ore to q condition which rem
dered its remov.il in detail easily ac-
eompiished. Finely enipered knife
blades have been picked out of the
pit, and granite hammers of such
size as to require the strength of no
ordinary man to WELD successfully.
These discoveries, wonderful as
they are, do stand alone, nor do they
present any new facts in relation to
the people who formerly inhabited
this continent. They simply go to
strengthen the evidence that cen
turies before the written history of
America, a powerful and civilized
communities occupied every portion
of its domain, who, disappearing,
left behind them proofs of their
progress in the arts and sciences
and their lndubitable skill in archi-
lecture. 7 For tiree1thonsand miles
along the valleys of our great Wes-
tern rivers traces of towns and cities
occur at intervals, together with the
remains of large fortified encamp-
ments, which show, from their po-
sitiOn and arrangement, that their
builders were no mean adopts in
the art of warfare. Vast tumuli,
with the dead buried in sitting po-
sitiOn, and at their feet shell un.
known to- this continent, exist by
the hundred in the Ohio and Miss
issippi valleys. f.,-f .t.t.t
In the dense Yucatan forests
there are ruins Of temples and pal
aces resembling in solidity of con
struction, massiveness of materials,
general designs and execution, the
ancient remains of the old Egyp-
tian dynasties. Yet neither in Wes-
tern America nor in Yucatan ex-
lists the faintest tradition as to that
mysterious race which has left be-
hind it tire imperishable record of
it's genius and civilization. We can
do nothing but conjecture. Pursue
our Investigations as we may, we
are still led back to the starting
point, with no more definite knowl-
edge than when we set out. The
thread is lost, never to be recovered.
1t is a singular fact that thus far
there has never been discovered up
on any of the ruins, or in connec
tion with the tools and war imple
ments mentioned, any mark, letter,
or trace, whereby any clue, either
to the origin, customs or language
of this mysterious race might be
caught or gathered up. In Europe
the gradual process of development
from half savage state to the high
culture of the present day can | e
traced, stage by stage, and every
distinct era marked by q definite
date. Bnthere the links that bound
One generation to another have been
severed, and the mound-builders of
the Ohio, the architects of Copen
and Palenque, and the copper-work-
ers on the shores of Lake Superior,
alike lie beyond the reach of the
historian and the speculations of
the archaologist. :.--J ~ |
The relics they have left behind
them only serve to excite the CON
lectures Of the curious and the in
vestigations oil the scientific. Pos
sibly, in Some yet undiscovered ruin,
or tomb, the key may be found to
the problem which now puzzles the |
world; but then it is only posi- |
bility. There is little doubt that
the mystery will remain 4 mystery
until the great day when the sea
shall give up its dead and the past
be stretched before us like a scroll. |
OHIO IN CONGRESS, I