The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-10-29
THE MOUND.BUILDERS.
Traces Of Their Work I'm Mississippi-Re-
nlarkable Prehistoric Discovery.

Traces OF Their Work I'm Mississippi-Re-
nlarkabie Prehistoric Discovery.
Prof. James II. Gage, of Washington
City, an eminent geologist and mineralo-
gist, who has recently been engaged in
making extensive explorations regarding
the works of the ancient mound-builders,
reports the discovery of a very remark
able wall in Claiborne county, eighteen
miles east of Port Gibson, Miss. The
discovery has been incidentally men-
toned in several papers within the course
of few days, but they do not appear to
have realized 1.-THE of its antiquarian
and archaeological interest and impor-
lance. We condense the particulars of
the discovery from the Professors state
ment in the Washington Republican. 1t
appears that blocks of the stone have
been taken by the farmers for building
purposes for many years, and it has
formed "A general quarry for furnishing
large blocks OF stone. But the farmers
have never, it seems, been aware of the
antiquarian importance of this wall,
which is claimed to be coeval or anterior
to that of Hadrian's famous wall in En-
gland. Prof. Gage employed laborers
and uncovered n portion of the wall 20
feet in width and It's feet in length; but
on removing the soil here and there he
traced it 600 feet. The workmen uncov-
cred the wall to depth of six feet, but
lower than this the excavations were not
continued. Large forest trees of pine
and oak, several hundred years old, are
growing on top of the wall. The blocks
are limestone, and belong to the ter
tiary formation. They were hewn out
Of this formation and are three feet in
length, twenty inches in width and
twenty-five inches in thickness. One of
these blocks has been shipped to Phila-
delphia for the Centennial. The wall
from which it was taken forms two sides
OF rectangler, one part running east
and west and the other north and south.
The excavations were made near the
angle. Three miles due south from this
point another portion of the wall reap
pears on the banks of Bayou Pierce, ow-
ing to the washing ont of the creek,
making it large exposure, and it is
therefore judged that this is continue
ton of the ancient wall. The wall was
built on the side of ridge overlooking
swamp which, i'll ancient times, was
evidently the bed of lake, and the in
ference is that the wall was erected by
the ancient occupants as a barrier
against an enemy, or possibly as an an
cient levee or dyke erected for the pro-
lection of the inhabitants against the en-
croachments of the lake or the waters OF
the Mississippi. From other evidences
of the wide extent of this wall, as de-
scribed by Prof. Gage, it appears that il
included a large area of land, covering
probably 400 square miles, and extend
ing to the Mississippi river. The locali-
! ty where the wall exists is in the neigh,
oorho0d Of the Natchez Indians, who
were found in state of considerable
civilization when first visited by the
French, and these remains, it is con
jectured by Prof. Gage, had some con
nection with the occupation by the war
like ancestors of this interesting and
famous tribe.