The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-12-10
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| bankment, and within the ditch on the
| inside, the trees are rs large as those up
| on the undisturbed portions of the
ground around and within the fort. The
I cltlzen still lives in Newark who cut an
oak tree upon this bank sixty-two years
/ ago which numbered over $50 rings of
/ annual growth. From this mammoth
| gateway two parallel walls of earth, a
/ few rods apart, lead TO a rectangular in-
| closure over half n mile to the northeast,
which has an area of about twenty acres:
beyond which, nearer the city, are still
other works, traces of which are some
what obliterated. From this network
near the city two sets of parallel walls
run west more than two miles Ia another
Enclosure IN the form of an octagon, con-
tanning about fifty acres, To the south
west of which, and almost joining it, is
another circle about equal in size to the
odd fort" Both of these are situated
on a range of hills. The plowshare has
performed lis work of demolition to some
eNten. upon the walls of these latter in
closures, with the exception of one point
in the circular emhankment. This CON
sists of earth and stone somewhat irreg-
ularly built TO the height of twenty five
feet, and, as il lies to the extreme south
west of the whole system of works, il is
thought by some that this was the watch
tower or signal statIun OIL The west.
When, by whom, and 70 what purpose
these mammoth works Sere built, are
puzzles which have always baiiled the
skill of archaologiSts. 1t is evident that
they were built long ages ago, for where
the timber has not been removed by
civilized man, as in the case of the "oid
fort dense forests covered the works
which must have required thousand
years to grow where they now stand. 1t
Is not altogether unreasonable to sup
pose that generation after generation of
forests has grown and dccayed upon this
soil since ii was built by the duSky saw
ages into the form we now find it, Also
other things go to prove the antiquity of
these works. The Indian had no knowl-
edge or tradition concerning their cree
ton. Skulls found at the bottom of some
of these mounds differ greatly from those
of the Indian. Also "A species of hemp
cloth has been found in some of them, Il
thing unknown to the Indian. From
these and many other facts one may
reasonably conclude that they were
erected by race of people anterior to
the Indian race, whom by common CON
sert we will call the Mound Builders.
Fer what purpose these works were con
structcd has not been satisfactorily set
tied. Some have the appearance of
military structures; others look as though
they were built for purposes of observ,
tlon, while still others seem 10 have
been designed for religious or burial
purposes. Some mounds have the
form of birds, serpents, alligators.
or other animals The "old fort" at
Newark has . mound in the center sew
cral 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 charrcd wood and
ashes were discovered. What this indi-
Gates it is difficult to tell. Perhaps the
priest of some mighty nation once Of
Tered sacrltlcc upon this mound in the
presence of the assembled thousands.
Or it may have been here the concluding
ceremony of some national game was
performed. Notwithstanding the man
ner of constructing the works, their ap-
pearanCe is decidedly military. 1t takes
but little imagination to hll that vast
arena with dusky savagcs, or to believe
that the wall was once throngcd with Il
dark array. Perhaps that mighty gate
way witnessed the iina, struggle of an
eXtinC. race. One of our best historians
says. The American Indian, when first
known TO the whites, was destitute of all
knowledge of the arts and sciences" 1t
certainly was no barharc skill that could
trace out those perfect circles, or survey
those roctangles and octagons, much less
control the tens of thousands of lahorcrs
that must have been necessary to con-
struct these earthen walls. But it is all
"A mystery. One can only wonder that
such mighty people should so complete
ly pass away as to leave no trace of their
history but these piles of earth-Ne,rark
(OtiO) Cor ". y TrtJuHe.