The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-02-24
Relics of an Ancient City in New Madrid
County, Mo.

The St. Louis Republican of the 10th
says: Capt. Whitley has just returned
from New Madrid County with over one
hundred more specimens of pottery and
relics of the prehistoric residents of
Missouri, which will be classified and
added to the Centennial collection.
Capt. Whitley and the party who ac-
companied him have traced the remains
of a former extensive city, which shows
the evidence of having been densely
populated. The city was surrounded
by Notifications, the embankments with
covered ways connecting the Outworks
of which have been traced for several
miles. The remains of mounds serving
either for outlooks to watch an enemy
or as cemeteries for the burial of the
dead, in which are found skeletons, as
sociated with drinking-vessels, are also
found distributed about the area of this
ancient encampment The indubitable
traces of the dwellings, streets and
avenues were also traced over large
portions of the grounds, the proper sur
vey of which would doubtless tend to
throw new light on the origin of these
people. The houses were quite small,
from eight to twelve feet
in diameter, and located about
ten feet apart. They existed in
regular rows, with streets and avenues
running through the city at right angles
and at proper distance apart. The
foundations of the dwellings, if not the
entire structure, were made of a kind
of adobe brick, of a red color like mod
ern brick but of cOarser material. The
brick, specimens of which were brought
up here by Capt. Whitley, have trans
verse holes passing through, supposed
by some to act as ventilatOrs to the
dwellings, as the bricks being laid flat
wise in the wall, the sides of the house
would be thereby pierced with multi
tude of holes for the admission of the
outside air. Another and more prob
able theory is that the bricks in a NAL
leable state were pierced with round
sticks for the more readily handling and
burning, and the sticks having burned
out leave the impression of their form
in the shape of a hole. The sites of
these ancient habitatiOnS are plainly OBJ
served by a sunken depre. sion of sever
al feet in the ground, leaving evidence
like that seen in the sites of demolished
habitations frequently met with in the
country in modern times. At first sight
of these habitations the observer might
be led to believe that these ancient peo-
pie lived in cellars and built their houses
under ground, but this impression will
vanish on rejecting that the accumu-
lated debris of ages has entombed these
dwellings beneath the surface. Beside,
on one side of the ancient city there is
still a lake or marsh, which at some re-
mote period may have OverHowed its
banks, submerging portions of the site
of the ancient city long after its extinc-
ton, and added its deposits to the ac-
cumulating debris The site of the city
is now covered with trees, mostly oak,
of an ancient growth, showing that
thousands of years have rolled round,
before the handiwOrk of these early
Missourians was exhumed for exhibit
ton at the Centennial. The pottery
brought up here this time by the indie
fatigable antiquarian, some of which
was taken out on Satur-
dav last, consists largely of
drinking cups, culinary utensils
and bottles of a gourd-shape. There are
also rude trOwels and tools used for
fashioning and Ornamenting the pot
tery, and whet-stones for sharpening
the stone axes and other instruments in
use. But the fantastic character of the
ornamentation of the vessels is what
strikes every one with surprise. There
are very accurate figures of fish, frogs,
hedgehogs, and such animals as existed
at the time, besides among the feather
ed tribes are the goose, duck, owls,
hawk, and probably the rooster from
his comb.
There are miniature busts OF male
heads carved out of clay, representing
a type of face more resembling the an
cient Aztec race than the modern Amer
lean Indian; but further and more care
full inquiry is necessary before coming
to any conclusion on this point which
would tend to settle the origin of these
early builders and taxpayers of the
State.