The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1876-11-10
The Mound Builders.


referred 10 that mysterious race which .
inhabited the central portion Of North T.
America long before the present abOrig-
ines obtained foothOld here. Select .
inc the largest of these mounds, the eN-
plorers dug n trench from rs outer
edge 10 the center, thirty feet long, i've
feet wide, and at the center attaining I
depth of ten feet. About foot from
the bottom, al The deepest part Of the
excavation, a layer of ashes and decay
ed wood was laid bare. A few inches
below this was hard deposit resem-
bling mortar, and beneath were found
the remains of four adults and two
children. That they belonged 10 the
race Of Mound builders is inferred from
the fact that there had previously been
eNhumed, only eighteen inches below
the surface, complete Indian skele-
ton. The other, and vastly more i'm
portant, relics were eight and a half
feet lower down. The first of
these, the skeleton of a man, lay
with the head 10 the west in reclining
/ position. At the knees, near each hand,
were two ornaments, composed Of the
teeth of some wild animal, about four
inches long, and having holes bored
through for the string which attached
I them to the wrists. Close by was the
skull, but so badly decayed as 10 pre-
Z vent removal. A little 10 the south Oi
the skull were four perfect arrow-heads,
/ as clearly cut as If the work had been
done by the best modern machinery.
Living around and under the shoulders
were % beads, manufactured from
small shells, and perforated, so a. 10 be
worn as a necklace. Evidently this was
I the skeleton of some famous parsonage,
/ for among the bones of the i've others
no ornaments whatever were found.
The chiefs companions were arranged
about him in the west, northwest and
east In the jaw-bone Of one Was part
" developed wisdOm-tooth, and most
ofthe jaw-bones and teeth were in good
preservation
We have characterized the Mound
builders as "a mysterious race" but
they are as wonderful As mysterious.
The traces they have left behind IN the
West and Northwest are entirely
unique; nothing al al resembling them
having a. vet been discovered in the
Eastern hemisphere. Fort Hill. in
Ohio, is surrounded by a wall and ditch
a mile and a half lOng-part OF the ditch
being cut through solid rock. Within
the wall are skillfully constructed reser-
voirs for water, and al one end IS = sort
of citadel with independent fortifica-
tons and water-supply. Clark's Work,
in Scioto Valley, Ohio, appears 20 have
been q fortified town, inclOsing IL
acres, having three miles Of embank-
ments estimated 10 contain 3,OUO,upl
cubic feet Of earth. At Newark, Ohio,
an area of several miles is literally
covered with connected groups OF
circles, octagOns, squares, ellipses and
avenues. formed by entertainments
twenty or thirty feet in height. Ac-
! curate survey has shown that these
enormous geometrical figures are sbsO-
! lutely correct in their outline, though
/ the sides Of some II the squares meas
! ure a thousand feet. and the diameter
of the circles a third Of a mile. In 9th
er States, more particularly Wisconsin
, these earthworks are in the shape Of
) gigantic animals, following nature a:
closely as the geometrical figures do
! science. The length Of time and IN
, dustry required 10 execute the task IN
, dertaken by the Mound-builders may b
, remotely guessed AZ when il i known
, that in Ohio alone there are between
2 eleven and twelve Thousand Of thes'
e monuments of an extinct people-many
I Of them Of the largest and most els
I borate kind.
Unfortunately, though the graves 81
B the Mound-huilders are not uhfrequent
I IN discovered. a. in the instance above
s mentioned, only few skulls sufficient
" undecayed TO permit careful scien
tific examination have As vet besn ob
tanned. The possessor Of one Of the
few describes il as "a beautiful skull
j. worthy Of a Greek" The Milton
e mound seems 10 have contained moth
4 ing of special importance, but in other
:, have been found bones and copper
Z, tools and ornaments, some fine speci
o mems of pottery and, most interesting
d and important Of 81, sculpiured ston
y heads, evidently drawn from originals
e MIR. Alfred Russell Wallace, from
e whose address TO the British AssOcia
e ton for the Advancement 81 Science
d recently in session al Glasgow, we hay'
e borrowed literally, SAYS Of these heads
= "They present to Us the features O
o an intellectual and civilized people
e The nose in some j. perfectly straight
e and neither prominent nor dilated; IA
'e mouth is small and the lips thin; n
e chin and upper lip are short, contrast
r ing with the ponderous jaw Of IN
I, modern Indian, while the cheek-bone
r, present no marked prominence. Othc
D. examples have the nose somewhat pr
At jectirg at the apex, IN q manner qui;
ie unlike the features Of any American il
$ digines."