The New York herald., 1876-01-27

their rude mechanical appliances, it was q labor OF
long duration 10 construct one such article aiter.
ward became convinced II was an emblem or symbol OF
authority, and worn around the neck OF the
priests But why these precious relics laid upon
the lowest altar and buried many feet beneath the
surface, possibly never again to the HIGHT Is mex
pcable We're they hidden by a conQueril tribe with
rival gods TO prevent desecraton Of the hs surface
AS Elijah destroyed the false prophets OF ID l. or
IL act or alteration 10 bury them that me- might not
look upon these "holy OF holes g'i Where nd these
people OF long procure their copperf THIS country
affords none unless 1t be in the far OF mountains Of
Unaka distant 800 miles, or else upon the sti more
distant shores of Lake Superior The existence OF cop
per implements Is rare in this State that they must
have been indeed precious possession TO the tribe
owning them and may have been here buried for safe
keeping
The two smaller mounds we're now examined but in
one no discovery was made II having been previously
examined by DR.. Joseph Jones. OF New Orleans. In
the other, however, found figure plate and ngure
The gaena lay TO one side OF the others, ABOUT our
inches apart Figure is piece OF the lower naSl-
larry bone and lying between the two bases or ng
ure g. man had been buried in this mound, ana al
that lett Of him was bono earth, showing
jaw bone preserved by It's contact with the copper
II being colored and permeated by the oxide OF copper
IL rs the central piece OF the lower jaw and shows the
sutures on each sde Tho mental foramen appears,
and IL also shows the absorbed remains OF the aveolar
processes The rudiments OF the incisors alone re-
main 70 tell the tale OF teeth Now the circumstance
OF the balance of the body being entirely decayed only
this small fragment remaining plainly Indicates It's
great antiquity for in all the mounds examined, not
bones are discovered at all, much, If not all is In
tolerable state or preservation, the great
depth dept & OF the sspulsSrH PpFeserVne p,som ,bs
mound, before disturbed exposed 70 the al
mosphere only TINS remains, and even that was only
preserved by chance contact with this piece OF copper
Nor was this tho only strange preservation by this
copper, for the stem Of the bobbn was about
eighteen inches Of fax thread while a piece of cord
was threaded through the hole in the centre The
thread and cord green with the copper and have some
degree Of strength They to be fax but that is not
otpcVo
microscope only and they had every appearance OF fax
They certainly not OF animal texture but vegetable
They bad evidently been suspended around the neck OF
the skeleton over whom the mound was erected, and
the lower jaw dropping naturally down the mental por-
ton OF the bone became wedged in the copper boobn,
and thus II remained until my discovery The skeleton
was OF an old mana very old man. In all my exhu-
nations have not before found toothcss skeleton,
rarely missing tooth They kept their teeth until
time, the great invncine extracted them The process
Of loss Is well knownhrst the molars, next the bcus
pids and then the ncisors Here all we're gone. From
these facts Judge that this man must have attained
very great age, and from the known veneraton OF tho
later OF Indians for the old he must have been
ftheir rulers The Indiana being also patriarchAl
in their form Of government he must have been priest
and great one no mound would have marked tho
place of his burial This then, Is my reason for oeev
ing these copper bobbns were symbol OF office or
authority, and not simply spool upon which TO wind
their thread The fragment Of thread is coated with
some kind Of gum, probably asphaltum, and that, no
doubt contributed TO its preservation These few
relics were all that obtained from these mounds
except the piece of galena fore alluded TO- which may
some stalwart warrior.
Close by found there few isolated graves, from
which procured very perfect vase, with ears to H.
This was bottom up in grave by the neck Of q
male skeleton, with which were also some bones Of
the deer. pile of rocks thts grave indicated,
as thought, another repository Of human remains,
but found il TO be oven, brick lined
at bottom and sides, and covered with hat rocks.
IL contained broken pieces Of pottery The bricks
not regularly shaped, but seemed to be simple lining
OF the cavity with clay which had then been baked 10
hardness On the largest OF the three mounds. about
half way up the slope grave was discovered and q
large skeleton was in It. Piercing the sternun from
the posterior small decately shapca head,
the cause, doubt, OF his death He was probably
buried where he fell This depleted In It's nat
ural size in plate 1, figure s.
We have to consider the most interesting relics
found among the dead aborgines-viz the idols As
have before stated IL is universally conceded that h
American Indians the only known savage who
do not worship idols and II is therefore difficult 10 de-
fine the position these relics obtained among thor
owners. have procured four specimens, all composed
of sandstone, except one which is OF clay and sand,
and burnt TO harden IT, Plate represents profile OF
the lagest and best Of them,