The sun., 1873-04-17
FL0RIDA'S INDIAN MOUNDS.
THE MYsTERIOUs MONUMEyTs OF
AN EXTINCT FACE.

A visit "a the Great Tur,Ic Nesnd-A Lost
Pillar OF Hcrruic--Tbc Disn ppoi nted
Eagles aud the Wet vuitures-Sir Francis
| Sykes'- skeletons -An ncient Pottery were
The Mound BuiIdrrs Frrema sons r-Stnrtl-
ing Discovery OF an Old Alligator Hunter.
Correspondence Of The sun.
DE SoTo GROVES. FLORIDA, March 20
visited turtle Mound In a cat-rigged sail boat.
| with fair wind II IL days ride from civiliza-
tion. The mound Is ON the beach side of Mus
| quito Lagoon nearly hundred miles south of
| ~. Augustine. About eighty feet In height, it
cOvers nearly an acre NJ ground, and can he seen
| at a great distance looming ny on the eastern
b. Ai1on far above the palmetto scrub fringing
the ocean. 1t is shaped like All immense turtle.
his shape gives il its name. IL Is the highest
| point of land ON the eastern coast Of Florida.
! and stands within three hundred yards Of the
| roaring ocean surf. From the decA Of a vessel
| ten miles at sea it resembles a ruined forin,a-
ton built upon nill.
TuE MuUND.
Turtle Mound IN great heap Of very lsrge
| oyster shells covered with from one to two feet
! OF dirt. ON the northwest corner the rain has
| washed away the dirt, leaving perpend cular
| bank Of shells eighty feet high. The builders
| Of the work evidently raised IL with the great
est care. Every shell was placed IN given posi-
| ton. where the slide has occurred the oyster
shells rest in plumbod layers, with the smooth
| surface facing the sky. A stone wall could not
| have been erected with more precision. The
| mound is alive with tropical shrubbery. wild
| orange trees loaded with fruit wave ON its SUM
NIT above AN almost impenetrabc thickct. A
| hollow covered with rank vegetation has been
| scoopcd ont Of the top Of the hin. II has an
easy .lupe. and II probably twelve feet In depth.
II looks a- though tho bones Of some large AMI
| mai had been dug ont ~ IL IN ages nast Mos
! uur" lagoon washes the western base Of tho
| mound.
rtuN rHE TOR OF TURTLE MOUNp.
| found a small deer path which led from
little sdnd-pit W the side of the hiil. The path,
| however. was soon lost in the thicket. and u
was with the greatest dinlcuItv hat finally sec
| ceeded In forcing my way through the thorny
| uhdererpN th aud sharp-pointed Spanish bay
E.,t, 1ncts to the t.p 81 the mound Even then The
| Mild oranges were higher than the shrubberv.
| spent half an hour Ia forcing myself to point
| The view was magnificent. | stood upon the
verge Of precipice Of oyster shells. There was
| d tinc,ly see the white-capped breakers DASH
| ing over the bar AT smyrna with good glass
the lighthouse at Cape Canavcral, forty miles TO
| the southwark, could he seen. The ocean view
| was Unsurpassed. Triple lines Of foam were
| breaking upon the beach. n hundred porpoiscs
| were rolling outside, aud at immen'e school "f
| large hsh were skipping from wave to wave,
| heaIh mile from shore Two miles north
beai was Looping along the ocean beach. ap-
| parently hunting for turtle eggs. There was
no .ail IN sight, but the dangerous nature II tho
| coast was shown m the old wrecks that dotted
the southern sands The Hillsborough river,
| with It's green mangrOve islands stretched away
| toward -. Augustine and Mosquito lagoon,
bore awly toward Dummitt's Grove. 4 thin
| liuc 4 sand. covered with the inevitable saw
| palmetto. ran north and south ~ far IA the eve
could reach, shutting Of the river and lagoon
| from the ocean. ON the west was ShIpyard
! Island. frin.cd with white cranes and hrrIns
| aud beyond that marshes loaded with ducks,
nins tho = John river and iolin, them. iyas
| in the everglades Of the South.
TuE WET vULTUREs.
| Five hundred fec, above me were a dozen bald
eagles sweeping through the air in great circles,
| with piercing cries. and watching a half dozen
| osrreys that had been fishing near the mound
| Near 10y was an Island covered with dead man
| groves. \ hundred Nulturcs sat upon the limbs
OF these leaiic-s trees, with their wings spread
| out as { pasted To- the wood II had been rain
| ins, and the wet Nulturcs were drying their
Killed hy the frost over forty wears ago vet none
| Il them showed any signs uf decay. The man
grove i~ tough tree. for IL draws it, su>tonance
! rom tue salt water, and the salt Is drawn up
INTO the NOR OF the wood. preserving IL Tor
centuries. Northern settlers have been known
- Use iuangrpve tor stove wood. nui not lou.
for while II makes hot IRE, the sat IN The Wood
Ge-iru!s dstuNc within two weeks.
VINO HrIrr TURTLE NoUNp.
y" wouu'Nil~ nor hi.i- ro.ld he seen from
tnr mound; nothing but one ,ast uut surface
NtIh'd with lug"ou~ and rivers ana covered witu
great -ulut. 90 waX-ll,c vegetation.
IA, builders OF Turtle Mound are unknown.
ihrN were undoubtedly a race of Indians who
were wiped uut ut existence centuries ago. Tho
Scminolc- anu other Florida tribes declare that
they have no traditions that explain the mystc-
~. lheN look ui On the mounds with nearly the
same awe - the whites. What j. singular with
regard TO Turtle Mound is the fact that there
are no oysters excepting the small coon OYSTER,
within thirty Wile.. 10 would be interesting t.
know why these shells were brought from an
oyster region FAR away and 50 carefully de.
mound builders 81 Florida were contemporary
wlth the mound builders of the West Tn v
believe that the whole state was once under
their control, and that thousands Of years ago
they were accustomed To visit Turtle Mound
once year. hll themselves with fat oysters
AT haNa haa f,.tfl ia
the vicinity, and pile the shells in layers they
now appear IN the mound; This may have been
religious observance with the indians liut
the whole thing is speculation. Nobody knows
any thing about II, and there Is no probability
that any one Will ever discover the secret.
DIR. wALLACE's DISCOVERIES.
Indian mounds are scattered throughout the
state, hut Turtle Mound II the only one made of
mounds, side by side, about sixty feet in neght.
llr. Wallace, formerly of savannah, and we'll
known Confederate machinst during the rebel
lion, has a residence ON the summit Of one OF
these mounds on the other no has "A black
smith shop. There is nothing fancy about the
spends his time Ia hunting and fishing and doing
odd jobs of iron work for men living from hftv
To hundred miles away. Tue mounds are COW
cred with bananas and bird peppers. The ba-
nanas are If delicious favor and far ahead of
heads ~ red mint have been cxhuIned from the
mounds, and they seem t. lie iiled with human
bones. The Doctor, however, has made no
caNattons. und takes more interest In his bananas,
"a Vas, and red peppers than he does in his
mpu nds. The mounds are spUattcd upun the
nordegs of Il rich hhmmuck. and the Doctor d.
doing his best t. make II productive. With salt
water on either side OF him, he claims To- he ont
OF lhc Inc OF FROST aud declares that he can
raise all kinds OF tropical fruits.
SIR FRANCIS sYKEss skTLfToNs.
one ut the most interesting mu.ul- ia the
state is that ut buInhams hrlNc, IN, lulir~ west
of ttl A." "ttua'rru Situated lu he ccufrrof G.pt.
hurrham celebrated urrurc grove. ii u,W nut
hrapol DIRT, some year. ago SIR Francis sykes,
q british nphlcman, visited tupe Cuuaycral.
lY cant. liuiIutn pcrmi~-ilu hC cACaNatUd
the mound, and took ont tWcufN-seNcu COM
plcte skeletons, Whici. he forwarded TO England.
lhc - 'irtuus were found living -iuu 10y side in A
circle, Nlth their heads toward the centre of tho
mound. The bones showed that tneir owner,
were men ot powerful physique. lhey must
nave averaged ia feet in height. Their shoul1ers
were broad, and the jaw bones particularly Of
rcmukahlc leuFtu and strength. fHc -kIlls
W.rr very lhlch, and the tlish bones long and
solid "''
H' ,ranct, sykes also took ont ui tie mound
several q. Wp,tc pieces "f pottery in tie conn
ul Vases. These were sent 10 England. To-Day
the mo nd Is StrcWn with bones and fragments
OF ancient pottery The vase, were primitive In
Of clay, and baked. The broken pieces are
creased in diamOnd-shapcd squares IA II an
euort al ornamentatirn had been made It j.
lr"hahlo however that this was caused through
backing the clay against wicker Palmetto