The Grange advance., 1876-10-04

young and beautiful society belle,
Miss Eva La Croix, the heiress of one
of our wealthy merchants, MIR. G La.
Croix. The happy pair have started
on a tour to Europe
The letters on the inside of the ring
are, 81. r. to A. NJ ~..-..s,,
Women do change their minds very
unexpectedly, but don't think it was
the patent lock that was the cause of
Mr.. Belmore's happiness, and I'm a
newspaper Of great experience.
THE MOUND-BUILDERs.
The Mounds in the Vicinity of East St. Louis.
Special Correspondence Chicago Tribune.
The or 10 miles between East St.
Louis and the bluffs-a broad plateau,
rich in corn-delds, ague. and certain
fevers not necessary to specify - have
long been known to scientists as the
former home of very populous tribe,
or nation it may have been, of Mound
Builders. That the many mounds found
on this broad Mississippi bottom were
built by man, far back in former ages,
long before the pale faces from the
East dwelt upon the American Conti-
nent, has been abundantly proved by
the total destruction of some of them
to make way for the streets of East
st. Louis, and by the tunneling of
many others. In all cases they were
found to be constructed of the earth
and soil by which they are surround
ed and they contained the bones of
human beings, with specimens of pot
terry and other implements used by
them, both in peaceful life and war
like operations.
Knowing these facts, our wide-awake
scientist, DR.. Edmund Andrews, accept
ed an invitation of his former pupil,
DR.. Richardson. now doing business in
East St. Louis, to visit this interesting
locality, and, perhaps to make the ac-
quaintance of some of these ancient
Mound-Builders. DR.. Andrews invited
the writer to be the companion of his
researches for it is well for parties,
when delving into the mysteries of the
past, to have at least one vigorous
looker-on to witness the results
achieved.
Promptly on the arrival of the train
yesterday morning, DR.. Richardson
u1CV uO V4V1 LILO NdsA A4OkCS C1Au w . WC1C
soon vending our way to the north.
east, and had ocular demonstration of
the injury the extremely wet season
has inflicted upon the corn-crop in this
usually prolific section of our State.
Wherever the surface of the ground is
little lower than the other parts of
the field, the corn is entirely ruined.
Taken together, the broad prairies be-
tween the river and the bluffs cannot
yield more than half a crop.
Monks mound, the largest of the
series that were the objects of our
visit, and said to be the largest in the
United States, is situated near bayou
about s miles northeast of East. St.
Louis, and mile or two from the
bluffs. 1t derives it's name from the
fact that, for scores Of years after the
first settlement of the country, the
monks lived and had a church Oh the
top of it. No measurements were &C.
cessible to us, and it was too hot for
us yesterday to make them ourselves.
But it was agreed that the mound COW
ers some 10 acres, and that it is from
$50 to 200 feet high. The labor of
constructing it from the material by
| which it is surrounded must have been
immense. There is a house, now un-
inhabited, on the top of it, and large
trees are growing on the top and all
around it.. It appears to have been
nearly square !; and on the southeast is
projection with level surface, per-
haps one third of the way up, and an
other half way between that and the
40r 0npoo1,1cinrn of coi 0nfi c%c
is that the mound is teOcalli, and
that it was used for sacrificing human
beings, as were similar mounds by the
Mexicans. The view from the top of
it is splendid, embracing not only the
Mississippi bottom, but a wide range
of the bluffs, St. Louis, and the beauti-
full hills beyond it.
From this mound a series of other
but smaller mounds extend, at no
great distance apart, all the way to
East St. Louis. DR.. Richardson has
a large number of most interesting ar
ticles found in these mounds, minute
description of which he will no doubt
ere long give to the Scientific World.
It was too hot for us yesterday to do
more than to climb two of these
mounds, and take a general survey OF
them. We were glad to escape from
torrid heats, and find refuge in the hos.
pitable home of Dr.. Richardson.
To-day we examined several burial
places on the bluffs north of the road
leading from East st. Louis to Collins.
vile, and in the afternoon went some
2 miles or more south Of it. There, on
one of these ridges or bluffs, the man
driving the auger into the mound
parted some hard substance; and all