, 1877-02-28
THE lOUND-BUILDERS.
Meeting OF the Archaeological
Section Of the Academy.

Section Of the Academy.
Interesting Papers Read by Dr.. Andrews
and Mr. Bust, Of Wisconsin.
An unusually Interesting meeting Of the Ar !
ehnolo1Ics1 4ectlon Of the Academy Of Sciences !
was held last evening. |
LiTeHA1CnE or THu NorxD-nUELDEHs.
Remarkable discoveries have recently been
made respecting the ancient "Mound- Builders"
Of the West. We knew before that they had
agriculture, commerce. and rudc mechanic arts
Now VIC discover, to our ahtonfshment. that they
positively had literature. and wc have from
their own nanas drawings representing their re-
tgious worship and The famous "l1appy Hunt
!nr-tirounds" Of departed souls.
| The pictures drawn by these people arc cx-
| ccssisciy ride, not one Of them showing the
akil manifested In tie famous autobiography
Of Sitting Bull, but they have tho merit oi con-
vcTng their meaning ia an snmtstnkaiEc man
ner.- Their literary inscriptions, on the other
linnd, have not vet hccn lcttphcrcd:
The arst discovery Of this sort which game to
body. Of so1dlers IN Tcunesscc were cncampel
by large ta@ rlfcfal mound nearly 2}0 feet long
by, 10W feet vide. Actuatct BY curl
sa q camp 'i;'se ill., .sy e x fssss ssss
spades. and In few days dug the wholc mound
down. Various articles were found, aud among
them an oval slab Of stone slx Inches long with
iUrtrayed mound with an altar upon liz sum-
init. On the altar lay tho body Of man Ut .
beat partly covered Siti, woo1 ,. anl enye1opsd
drawn the sun with 4 band of RAYS bcamine
ubl!1ue!y down upon the sacrifice. To the lett
Of the sun there was d quantity of IlicruQlyphEcs
which nonc could read. 1t ia feared that this
stone Is lost.
The next discovery WAS at Rockford. III. Some
gentlemen Of character md standing there opcn-
q large mound On tho banks Of Rock River.
figures srulpturcd upon IT,. IN the centre is nis
tmagc If the sun supported on u pedestal. On
the iace Of the sun nrc urawn human features,
also showing part Of human face. On eael, side
IL q column OF hlerog!ypblcs contsfnlng
twelve characters Ia all. Prescott snys that
tho Aztecs knew the fact TINT the moon caused
cclIpscs ol the sun, and tcpresened these cyenta
~ figure ht tue sun with tuoon drawn on ls
disc. It would sectn not impossible that tlIIs
stoue therefore may be record ol an eclipse.
{! third discovery, moro lmpurtant thnn all,
hos been made this winter. II would sccm that
when sacrisscial mound was erected. the priests
were In the habit Of lepos!tng in Il nn nkcrtlcd
Assyrtan Kings put reeorls tuserlbed on
term Gotta cylinders into tic masonry
Of their palaces, and as We ourselves put rarlous
documents into the corncr.stoncs Of our great
buildings. During the present winter q worthy
Lutheran clergyman, whose truhtwufthtncss ta
we'll voucl!cd for by thu Davenport Academy Of
Sciences, determined to examine large mound
friends, he broke through the frozen crust, and
dug 10 the bottom. Here on the levcl Of the
original ground lay two slabs Of inscribed slate
" We hare here round central object encon,.
passed will luur accurate coucentrfc circles and
two round objects above; representing. perhaps.
I ftr, ,tne emit an+ Mt