River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-12-11
THE MOUND BUILDERS OF OHIO.
the Most Extensive OF Their Works
al Newnrk-- Their Appearance and
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS a. to
Their Age.
Newark co. Correspondence OF the New
York Tribune

3 @AT''l Ha '"AAN AbhAiN fdlibuo lbltliN VI
4 earthworks in the solitudes of the
wilderness oyergrown with dense for
estS.' 1t is said that Ohio alone has
/ 10000 of these in the sum Of mounds of
various sizes, and 1900 Enclosures are
scattered throughout the State. They
are found in Illinois, Wisconsin, and
O;heI Western States, and in the Gulf
States, varying in size. Some are small
hillocks or 3 feet high, while Others
assume almost pyramidal mag.
nilude, like the mound at
CaholSia. ILL.,, which has base of moro
than acres, summit of nearly
acres in area, and height Of 90 feet.
One Of the most elaborate of all these
works is located at Nesark, O. 1t is
labyrnthine in structure, containing
some IL miles embankment, and after
years Of investigation arch@ologists can
do no more than surInisc as to what its
uses were. Clearly it cannot have been
built for architectural purposes, for the
Enclosures of which it principally con.
sists have the bitches on the inside Of
the cmbankment, while the outside pre-
sents no visible obstacle to an invading
army. One OF the largest of these in
closures, end the best preserved, is
/ known as the ''old fort" and stands
| IL miles southwest Of the city of
Newark. 1t consists Of a circular EN-.
bankment Of more than mile in cir
conference, entirely unbroken except
on the side toward the city, where
"A mammoth gateway, 100 feet wide, was
constructed by the builders. On each
side Of this passage the ends of the am
I bankment project little from the GEN.
I ire Of the inclosurc and rise 10 a height
Of % feet, while the general height is
about IS. Upon this embankment, and
/ within the ditch Oh the inside, the
/ trees are as large as those upon the TN
disturbed portions Of the ground around
/ and within the fort. The citizens still
i lives in Newark who cut an oak tree
/ upon this bank siXty-two years ago
which numbered over $50 rings of an
nual growth. From this mammoth
j gateway two parallel walls of earth,
few rods apart, lead to q rectangular
Enclosure over half a mile to the north.
east, which has an area of about 20
acres; beyond which, nearer the city,
/ are still other works, traces of which
are somewhat oblterated. From this
network Rar the city two sets
/ Of parallel walls run west more than
I two miles 10 another inclosure iii the
+ form Of an octagoIi, containing about
+ fifty acres. to the southwest of which,
and almost Joining it, is another circle
about equal in size to the sold fort.
/ Both Of these are situated on a range Of
hills. The plowshare has performed
its work of demolition to some extent
upon the walls of these latter Enclosures,
with the exception Of one point in the
circular embankmcnt. This consists of
earth and stone somewhat irregularly
built to the height of twenty-five feet
and, as it lies to the extreme southwest
of the whole system of works, i. is
thought by some that this was the
watch tower on signal station on the
west.
When, by whom, and for what pur-
ose these mammoth works were built,
are puzzles which have always blffied
the skill Of psychologists. 1t is evident
chat they were built long ages ago.
for where the timber has not been re.
moved by civilized men, rs in the case
Of the 'old fort, dense forests covered
the works. which must have required
thousand years to grow where they
now stand. 1t is not altgcther unrea-
liable to suppose that generation after
generation Of forests has grown and de.
cayed upon this soil since it was built by
the dusky savagcs into the form we
now find IT,. Also other things go to
prove the antiquity Of these works.
The Indians had no knowledge or ira.
ditiou concerning their erection. Skulls
found at the bottom Of some of these
mounds differ greatly from those Of the
Indian. Also a species Of heIsp cloth
has been found in some Of them, thing
unknown to the Indian. From these
and many other facts, one may reason.
ably conclude that they were erected
| by race Of people anterior to
/ tho Indian race, whom by common
consent We call the Mound Builders.
/ For what purpose these works were
constructed has not been satisfactorily
settled Some have the appearance Of
military structures others look as
though they were built for purposes Of
/ observation, while stlll others seem to
have been designed for religious or bu.
/ rial purposes. Some mounds have the
form Of birds, serpents. alligators, or
other animals The "old fort at New.
ark has a mound in the centre several
! feet high and about fifty feet long, built
IN the shape Of an eagle with spread
wings Upon removing the earth from
/ the top Of this mound, charred wood
/ and ashes were discovered. What this
indicates il is difficult 10 ttll. Perhaps
the priest Of some mighty nation once
offered sacrifice upon this mound IN the
presence Of the assembled thousands.
Or il may have been here that
/ the concluding ceremony IL some ma.
/ tional game was performed. Notwith.
standing the manner Of constructing
4 tho works, their appearance IS decid.
cdly military. II takes but little i'm.
agination 20 on that vast arena with
dusky sayages, or to believe that the
wall was once throngcd With a dark
array Perhaps that mighty gateway
witnC sscd the final struggle OF an e1.
tnct race. One Of our best historians