The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1872-11-16

D<OSt k18Ces
correspon dent-whose statement has since
been withdrawing from one of the mining
settlements on the shores of Lake Superior, says
ancient copper mines have been recently discov.
cred On Isle Royal, in Thunder Bay, on the
northern border of the lake, which exhibit M.
doubted evidence of having been worked BY u
race OF men long since extinct, and Of whom We
possess no knowledge save thst left behind by
such traces as are now being brought to view.
Shafts OF considerable depth, filled and ohoke1
with the accumulated debris Of ages, have been
opened, and in penetrating to a depth of SIXTY
feet tools OF wonderful workmanship have been
discovered, together with charcoal remains, which
marked the point where skilled artisans formed,
from copper. tools whose temper and durability
would sstonlsh the ingenious makers of the pres
ent day. Hammers and chisels seem to have
besn the principal Instruments Cor working this
mine, which together with fire, reduced the ore
to a condition which rendered its removal in de.
tau easily accomplished. Finely tempered knde
blades have been picked out of .he pit, and gran
tie hammers of such size as to require the
strength OF an ordinary man to WELD success.
fully.
These discoveries, wonderful a. they are, do
not stand alone, nor do they present any nevsfacts
in relation to the people who formerly inhabited
this continent. They simply 20 to strengthen
the evidence that centuries before che written
history of America, powerful and civilized com.
munitles occupied every portion of its dom ain,
who, disappearing, left behind them proofs of
Sheir progress in the arts and sciences and their
iudubitab.e skill in architecture.
For three thousand miles along the valleys of
our great western rivers traces of towns and
cities Occur at intervals, together With the re.
MAINS OF large fortified encampments, which
show, from their position and arrangement, that
taeir builders were no mean adopts in the art of
warfare Vast tumuli, with the dead buried in
sitting posture and at their feet shells I'M.
known tie this continent exist by the hundred
In the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. In the
dense Yucatan forests tAere are ruins Of TEN Piles
and palaces resembling in solidity of construc-
ton, masslveness of materials, general design
and execution, the ancient remains Of the old
Egyptian Gymnastics. Yet neither in western
America nor in Iucstan exists the faintest ira.
diiion as 70 that mysterious race which has eft
behind - the imperishable record AZ its gsniu.
and civilization. We can do nothing but con-
lecture. Pursue our investigation. as We NAV,
we arc stu! led back to the starting point with
no more definite knowledge than when we act
out. Lhe thread Is lost. never to be recovered
Ii Ia - singular fact shat, thus far, there has
never been discovered upon any of the ruins, or
~ connection with the tools aud war implements
mentioned, any mark letter or trace, whereby
eny clue, either to the origin, customs or lam
SnaGe OF this mysterious race, might be caught
or gathered up. In Europe the gradual process
Of Development from half savage state 10 tho
nigh culture Of the present day can be traced
stage by stage, snd every distinct era marked by
a definite date. But here the links that bound
one generation to another have been abruptly
severed, and she mound builders of the Ohio.
the architects of Copan and Paleuoue, aud the
copper workers on the shores of Lake Superior
alike lie beyond the reach of the historian and
the specnlations Of tho scientifc. Possibly, IN
some yet undiscovered ruin or tomb, the key may
ye. be found to the problem which now puzzles
the world, but then it is Only possibility.
There is no doubt but the mystery will remain
snoh unit! the erea. day when the sea shall give
up its dead and the past be stretched before us
like scroll-Bostsn Globe.