The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-02-23
WHOLE NO. ll43.
PREHISTORIC RELICS.
Interesting Archaeological Treasures I'm
earthed I'm Iowa.
[From the Davenport Gazette. ]


earthed I'm Iowa
[From the Davenport Gazette1
Cooks point, on the river bank lust
west of the city, bids fair to become re-
nowned as the depository of the most
remarkable archaeological treasures ever
discovered in the Mississippi Valley
and the Davenport Academy of Scien-
ces will soon have extensive fame in con-
nection Herewith. II is only some two
years ago that that earnest academician,
Rev. j. e. Gass, pastor of the First
German Lutheran Church, made the
grand discovery of copper axes and
hatchets-some of them cloth bound
with pottery and human remains, in one
of the mounds ON the Cook property
and now the same gentleman has another
streak of pre- historic luck, in " find |"
that will create a sensation among scien-
fists who are delving after knowledge of
the prehistoric man-that is if the
articles prove to be of no later origin
than the ones lately found OF that mys-
terious yet numerous individual.
AS Mr.. Gass and Mr.. l.. III. Wilrodt
were exploring mound, they came
upon some small slabs of dark shale,
the surfaces of which were covered with
yellow clay. These were found near
some human bones. On removing the
clay, what was their astonishment to find
that they had secured pictured rocks of
great value. The largest was 1919 inches,
and IL inches thick. In rubbing the
clay, this slab split in two-and one
face of each of the plates of shale
were covered with etchings - or
rather deep scratches with some metal
instrument. One picture represents a
scene of sacrifice, evidently. A fire
blazing, in the center is a ring; on one
side of the blaze is PROSTATE human
figure, and on the other side are two
more beings, all bound, and around the
fire and bodies fourteen persons are
dancing. In an upper corner is the
sun, with long and short rays, oppo-
site is the moon. We are sorry
to state that, since this slab has been ex-
posed to the public gaze, persons have
tested the shale by scratching it, and
thus what was well-formed face in
the moon has been most wholly OBJ
scured by scratches. The other repre-
sents animals of various kinds-some
creeping, some walking, and all much
as little child might draw on a slate.
One of the animals is three-legged
monstrosity with a body shaped like
mushroom-it couldn't have been in
tended for turtle, as It's legs are too
long for that. Then there are various
circles, with peculiar marks inside.
There is picture of q hunter with bow
n hand, he having just shot deer
which lies near him. So it seems the pre-
historic man killed deer with bow and
arrow, rs do the Indians of our era.
Another slab, six inches square, shows
a series of circles, with twelve figures
between each circle-while outside of
the outer circle are twelve peculiar fig
ures that are neither human nor ami
NAL. The distances between the figures
is exactly the same IN tine margin as Is
that between the rings. In the center
is small ring from which are marks
pointing to the outer signs. This is
supposed to be sort of zodiacal record.
Members of the academy VINO have ex-
amined these treasures have no doubt
as to their antiquity-in fact the best
posted feel convinced that they are of
the same age as the copper implements
found in mounds which surrounded this
one, from which these stone tablets
were taken. And we ought to have
said before that some of the bones found
in the mound are copper-stained, and
near them small pieces of copper were
found.
1t is believed that these tablets will
be deposited in their proper receptacle,
the cabinet of prehistoric relics in the
Academy of Science. Another thing,
they ought to be Immediately placed
where they may be viewed and not han
died, for the shale "chips OFF, easily.
Mayhap some skilled person in decipher-
ing hieroglyphics will come along and
translate these strange pictures. But
they ought not to be taken away from
here for that service.