The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1873-02-27
An EXTINCT RACE.
Traces Of Their wsrkfsg Asefesi Cope
Mfnes On the Norsh Shore 0f Lake Superior.

Mines the N0rsh shore or Lake Superior.
Hon. S. W. Hill, Of Marshall, Mich, has teer
engaged. during the past summer, i'm making Q
thorough exploration Of Isle Royal, Lake Supe.
rior, for mineral, and was successful beyond al
anticipation. We are indebted to Mr.. H. for a
beautiful geological map of Isle Royal, which, il
not the first, is the most full and accurate ever
published. He writes that many works of a
race extinct have been found, far exceeding
in extent and importance anything Of the kind
in any other part of the world.
The remains of considerable number of an
cisnt copper mines have been lately discovered
in Isle Royal, in Thunder, Bay, ON the northern
border of the lake, which exhibit undoubted evil
dence of having been worked by race of men
long since extinct, aud Of whom We possess no
knowledge, save that left behind by such traces
as are now being brought to view
Shafts Of considerable depth, filled and choked
with tie 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 spot where skilled artisans for
med, from copper, tools whOse temper and dura-
bilify would astonsh the ingenious makers of the
present day. Hammers and chisels seem tO have
been the pricipal implements for working this
mine, which, together with fire. reduced the ore
to a condition which rendered its removal in de-
tail easily accomplished Finely tempered knife
blades have been picked out of the pit, and gran
lite hammers Of such sizes rs to require the
strength of no ordinary man to WELD Success
fully. The Iron Age, in allndng to- these late
discoveries on Isle Royal, says:
"These discoveries. wonderful as they are, do
not stand alone, nor do they present auy new
facts in relation to the people who formerly in
habited thiscontinent. They simply 60 ostrensth-
en- the evidence that centuries before the
written history of America, powerful and civil
lvized communities occupied every portion Of
its domain, who, disappearing, left behind them
proofs of their progress in the arts and sciences
and their indnbtable skill in agriculture. For
1900 miles along the valleys of our Westrn riv-
traces of towns and cities occur Mt intervals,
together with the remains of fortified encamp-
ments, which show from their position and ar
rangement that their builders were no mean
adopts in the art of warfare Vast tumuli, with
deal buried in sitting posture, and at their feet
shell unknown to this continent, exist By the
Ohio and Mississippi valleys.
In the dense Yucatan forests there are ruins
of temples and places resembling in soldity and
construction, massiveness of materials, general
design aud execution, the ancient remains of the
old Egyptian dynasties. Yet neither in Western
America nor i'm Yucatan exists the faintest ira
ditioR as to that mysterious race which has left
behind it the imperishable record Of its genius
and civilization. We car do nothing but con-
lecture. Pursue Investigations rs we may, we
are still led hack to the starting point, with no
msre definite knowledge than when We set ont.
The thread is lost, never to be recovered.
IL Is sinSuidT that tuus tuCic hsaS
never been discovered upon any of the ruins, or
in connection with the tools, and war implements
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 Earppe, the gradual process of develop
ment from half savage stage to the high cnl-
ture of the present day can be traced, stage by
stage, aud every distinct era marked by def
mite date. But here the links that bound one
generation TO another. have been abruptly severed
and the mound builders of the Ohio, the archi-
tects of Copek and Palenqne, and the copper
workers on the shores Of Lake Superior, alike lie
beyond the reach of the historian and the specu-
latiOps of the archaOlogist.
"The relics left behind thGm only serve to ex-
cite the conjecture of the curious and the investi
cation Of the scientific. Possibly. in some yet
undiscovered ruin or tomb, the key may be found
to the problem which now pnzzles the world; Int
then it is only possibility. There is little doubt
that the mystery will remain q mystery until the
great day when the shall give up its dead.
and the past be stretched before US like scroll"
-Indnsfriaf Age.