The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-11-04
THE. MOUND.BUILDERS.
Traces of Their Work In Mississippi-R'
hIa Prehisfnric niscnuerr.

Traces of Their Work In Mississippi-Re-
markabIe Prehistoric Discovery.
+ Prof. James r. 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 oiscoveryief % 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 a few days, but they do not appear to
haye realized a tithe Of its antiquarian
and archaeological interest and impor-
tance- 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
forlneda general quarry for furnishing
large blocks of stone. But the farmers
have never, it seems, been aware of the
antiquarian Importance Isofl 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 a 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 wofkmen uncov-
cred the wall toa depthof 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 t the ter
Il Aa--, for,,&,1n 81 Th1,, -o-a horr, N1t
1of 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 toiithe washing out of the creek,
making it q large exposure, and lit lis
therefore judged that this is a continue
ton of the ancient wall. n The wall was
button the side of m ridge overlooking
a swamp which, uin aneientstimes, was
evidently the bed Of a lake, and the in
! ference is that the wall was erected by
! the ancient occupants as a. barrier
: against IN enemy, or possiblyias an ran
feient levee OF dyke erected for the pro
, lection of the Inhabitants against the en-
croachments of the lake or the waters o.
! the Mississippi. From other evidences
, of thelwide extent of this wall, as de
scribed by Prof. Gage, it appears that i
included a large area of land, covering
! probably 400 square miles, and extend
: ing to the Mississippi river. The local.
! ty where the wall exists is in the neigh
! borhood of the Natchez Indians, VIII
9 were found in q state of considerabl,
. civilization when first visited by tn
French, and these remains, it is con
jectured by Prof. Gage, had some con
nectisn swithth occupation by the wal
= like ancestors of this interesting an,
lannon's tribe. 49, ~ s--