Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-07-12
TENNESSEE MOUND BUILDERS.
Paper Read Before Cincinnati Litera
ry Club, by III. Il. Force.

Before closing, desire to say a few
words about some works near Savan-
nah, Tennessee, described in the Smith
sonian octave for 1871. b. j Parish
Steele. On the river bluff, about two
miles below Savannah, is a group of
these mounds of the ordinary type
but at the fcot Of the bluff, in the
swampy land between it and the river,
Is long intrenchment, not wholly OBJ
liberated. There is ditch along its
| front toward the river. At regular
intervals or at every eighty yards, the
tracing of the embankment projects to
the front, so as to make flank defenses,
or rudimentary bastiOns, eighty yards
apart. On the edge of the town, on
the river bluff, is another group of
mounds. This group of mounds is in
closed by double line of intrench-
ments, each like the one jastdescribed.
The flank defenses that project from
the angles of the main embankment
extend out thirty yards; the others
extend out only twenty yards. One
of the mounds, eight feet high, stands
on slope. In constructing it three
trenches were first dug in the surface
of the ground and then arched over
with tempered clay, making three fur
naees. Rows of upright sticks or logs
appear then to have been placed be-
tween these furnaces, partly for the
purpose of protecting them from too
great pressure. The mound was then
made by throwing on earth. But fues
of tempered clay were made, some ex-
tending directly up to the upper sur
face of the mound, others sinuously
winding through it so as to convey
heat to every part. Logs of green
wood were interspersed thicklY through
the mound, and bits of dry wood pa:eed
about them. When the mound was
opened, all the wood was found re-
duced to charcoal, and the whole
mound baked almost to brick. In an
other of the group were found frag-
ments of burned clay hues and bits of
charcoal The first has the appear
ance of an elabOrately constructed
charcoal pit, from which the charcoal
has not been removed the other, one
from which the charcoal had been ta-
ken. A tree, growing on one of the
mounds, was found to be two hundred
and fifteen years old. The other
mounds were found to contain some
bits of pottery and few stone imple-
ments. While these are undoubtedly
works of the natives, it is not easy to
believe that the intrenchments and
charcoal mounds were not made by
Europeans.
De Soto, marching north across AL
ALBANIA, reached river which he cross
ed in boats that he built, in December,
1540. He took possession of the little
Indian town Chiaea, and went into
winter quarters. The Indians made
a sudden night attack, set FIRE to the
town, and the surprised Spaniards lost
everything. De Soto gathered all the
fragments of metal from the ashes,
moved to another town halt a league
off, and then tempered the sword
blades and made new lances, saddles
and implements.
This Chiaca, has been generally sup
posed to have been in the northern
part of the present state of Mississippi.
But it may be that the works two
miles below Savannah mark its site,
while the group on the edge of the
town of Savannah, including the char
coal mound, may indicate the place
where De Soto repaired his armament.