Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-12-20
A LOST RACE.
ImperishabIe Records OF its Genius
and Civilization. r

ImperishabIe Records OF its Genius
and Civilization.
A correspondent statement has
since been verifed-wriingf from one OF the
mining settlements on the shore Of Lake
Superior, saws that the remains of a consid-
erable number OF ancient copper mines
have been lately discovered on Isle Royal,
in Thunder bay, on the northern border OF
the lake.. which exhibit undoubted evidence
of having been worked by race Of men
long since extinct, and of whom we pos
sess no knowledge save that lefG behind
by such traces as are now being brought TO
view.
Shafts of considerable depth, filed and
choked with the accumulated debris of ages,
have been opened, and in penetrating 70
depth of sixty feet tools of wonderful
workmanship have been discovered, To-
Cether with charcoal remains, which marx
the spot where skillad artisans formed, from
copper, tools whose temper and durs0lllty
would astonish the ingenious makers OF the
present day. Hammers and chisels seem TO
have been the principal implements for
working this mine, which, together with
fire, rendered its remoyalin detail easily &C
complished. Finely tempered knife-blades
have been picked out Of the pit, aud gran
ite hammers of such size as to require ths
strength of no ordinary man to WELD sue
cessfllly. -..t ... ...4. ....., ...s.s...
These discoveries, wonderful as they are,
do not stand alone, nor do they present al J
new facts in relation to the people who
formerly inhabited the continent They
simply 90 to strengthen the evidence that
centuries before the written history OF
America, powerful and civilized communi-
ties occupied every portion Of its domain,
who, disappearing, left behind them proofs
| of their progress in ths arts and sciences,
and their indubitable skill in architecture.
For three thousand miles along the valleys
of our great Western rivers traces of towns
| and cities occur at intervals, together wish
the remains of large fortified encampments,
which show, from their position and al
rsngement, that their builders were 20
| mean sdepts in the art of warfare. Vast
| tumuli, with the dead buried in sitting
posture, and at their feet shells unknown On
this continent, exist by the hundreds In the
| Ohio and Mississippi valleys. --..-
In the dense Yucatan forests there are
ruins of temples and palaces resembling In
solidity of construction, massiveness OF ma
| terials, general design and execution, the
ancient remains of the old Egyptian dynas-
! ties. Yet neither ia Western America nor
| In Yucatan exists the fsintest tradition as
to that mysterious race which has LEFT be-
hind it that imperishable record ofits genius
| and civilization. We can do nothing Dut
| conjecture. Pursue our Investigations as
we nav. we are still led back to the start
| ing point, with no more definite knowledge
| 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 upon any of the
ruins, or in connection with the tools and
war implements mentioned, any mark, let
ter or trace whereby any clue, either to the
| origin, customs or language of this mys-
terious race might be caught or gathered
ND, In Europe the gradual process OF
development from half savage state to the
| high culture of the present day can te
traced, stage by stage, and every distinct
| era marked by definite date. But here
the links that bound one generation to an
other have been abruptly severed, and me
mound builders of the Ohio, the architects
of Copsn and Palenquo, aud the copper
workers on the shores Of Lake Superior
alike lie beyond the reach Of the historian
and the speculations Of the arch9ologlst.
The relics they have left behind them
only serve to excite the conjecture OF the
curious and the investigations of the scien-
tific. Possibly, 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 possibility. There Is little
doubt that the mystery will remain mys-
terry until the great day when the sea shall
give up its dead and the past be stretched
before US like scroll.