The Portland daily press., 1876-10-13
tFrom the Philadelphia Press
The MOund-B Builders.
Description of the Archaeological C.,,.s-
ii on in she Goverpme emit Building.

VI i"o AHch1Oiokieai Cellee-
ii On in abe Government Building,
In addition to the many interesting relics of
Tue American stone age, already described, the
0in 'iefsonian Institutes collection in the gov
e' lment building continues on into the age of
copper, many rare and valuable specimens of
'hiS class OF products of aboriginal skill being
shown The implements include celts or chis-
els, axes, hatchets and other cutting tools. all
hammered out of the cold metal instead of ba-
ing cast The Indians never shaped copper by
any otner process than the tedious one of
slo"iy ha'nmerlDg it into the form required,
and yet 1t is strange that, although in placing
IL upon their funeral piles they must have seen
the copper melt and assume the shape of sur-
rounding obstacles, the idea of casting IL nsver
occurred to them. There are also disnlaved n
large quantity of large beads, bracelets, tubes
probably used for pipe-stems, and other articles
OF utility or ornament, all roughly shaped, but
some OF them finely polished Passin o,op. the
Vlsitor hnds large number of implements and
ornaments made of bone and shells. In this
collection are included smoothing tools, wedges.
finely polished perforators, harpeon heads. fish
ike knives, but without an edge-and a great
variety OF whistles. The whistles ara made in
an SORTS or forms fren many kinds of shells
ana several parts of the skeletons of animaIs.
w naI thelr usa was can only be conjectured,
as some CT them give forth mere soua.k
wniie others sound loud and shrill Several
are made of birds bills. Near this collection 4.
nnr1ber of shells used as CUPS for holding
a. asp Galtum, substance largely employed bS
u-e Indisns as a k;nd Of glue, and some OF the
nhalf -,
beads are globuiar, only in exceptional cases:
generally they are large, fiat dies coarsely made.
and as iDartistic as they must have been use-
less. Tue next row of cases contain many val
liable relics left by the mysterious mound.buid-
ers OF centuries or ages ago. These mounds
nave been found 10 many different portions of
the country. but all are made on the same gem
eral principle, and all contain remains of the
9saa' Th curious ola pottery, strange weapons, SC
Inc mound-builders were evidently totally
dinerent people from the Indians of the North
and w est, and some enthusiasts have endeav
ored to Identify them with the Toltecs. who
were afterwards conquered by the Aztecs, the
theory being that as they journsyed south they
erected these mounds on the way But oue Of
the hrst lessons deducible from history teaches
that mental advancement or culture aiways he
gins In warm countries, where food and cloth
ing may De obtained without labor and the
mind 1t therefore left free for reflection. Then
as the seeds OF advancement are carried north
tney are more and more developed by people
VINO seize upon every improvement which can
minister to their necessities. Again, In
ulans thai anu the modnd-buildars ornamentsd
their pottery with figures Impressed with
Dasket-work, or cut with ai curiousy carved
stone called the "cartaush" a stamp which
Delng cylindrical In shape, was rolled around
the vase SO that the raised surfaces could fol-
low IN any direction in regular lines One re-
markable specimen of funeral urn exhibited
was found in Georgia in a low mound always
$50 far as the records extend) covered with i'm
penetrabe cane-brake lying beneath a vast
swamp Iorest, which is subject to the yearly
oVernow OF the Oconee river. The urn is only
TWO feet In height by foot in diameter, and is
ornamented with basket-work figures When
found it had an arched lid and was hermeti-
caliy sealed; on opening the strange relic re-
mains OF teeth, fingers, toes &C., were found
but they soon crumbled to dust when exposed
10 tne ar There is no way to estimate with
any degree of certainty the age of this funeral
urn, but, very fortunately, discovery has been
made wnicn shows conclusively that all the
mound builders did not live so many ages ago
as some theorists would have us believe. DR..
swift found ia mounds in both Maryland and
Louisiana the same typical vessels, and with
tnem the remains OF the suS SerofuS or COM
mon hog. AS the hog was not known in this
this country until introduced by the Spaniards
IN the middle of the 17thl century, it ia very
evident that the mounds in question must have
been OF still more recent date. In exploring
another mound Dr. Swift came upon the re-
and two Clipped and polished jaspar salts As
the horse was introduced by the Spaniards at
about the same time, and as the relics found in
IL correspond closely to those discovered in
places where 1t is impossible to fix a date, it is
presumable that the other mounds are not of
much more ancient origin
only about nifty years ago the Sioux chief
ckbird was buried III the presence Of several
WHITES after fashion not greatly differing
from that of the mound builders. The dead
Chief was mounted on his favOrite pony, spear
IN hand, and with all the weapons or imple,
ments which could be of any possible use in
this or the next world and over him was then
piled mound eighteen feet high. Among the
southern Indians the same kinds Of mounds are
found, and all contain pottery cells. perforators,
stone hammers, etc., while some of them hold
the remains OF jesuit fathers whe came over in
the seventeenth century. Between one hun
dred and fifty and one hundred and seventy
nVe years ago Del Pratz saw the southern r.
dians manufacturing the long necked pottery
and ornamentlng it with basket-worb. Taking
all the evidence offered by both theorists, It
specimens of mound pottery in the governments
building must have been the work of southern
Indians more advanced than the tribes left be-
hind oy the northward movement. Many in
teresting carvings in stone and ornaments of
earthenware are also exhibited, some of them
showing marked artistic genius combined with
considerable skill, and others having but faint
resemblance to the objects intended to be rep
AoSoneeu. Mauy Ot Luem, InOuen ruQely de-
signed, are evidently of nature which proves
most conclusvely that the moral standard of
the aborigines must have been of the lowest
possible grade, and it is not matter of regret
that the artists were not always able to clearly
express their ideas. A collection of pottery or
naments and carvings by the Mexican Indians
bears close resem alliance in general design 10
antique japanese ware, and in fact, this Mon
goian influence can be traced all the way from
the Northwest Indians to the Aborigines on the
Gulf coast. There is the same evidence of pa
tient initiative labor, the same love of orna-
ment, the same incongruous ideas Of beauty,
and in some cases, almost identical designs.