The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-05-21
TnR% MouNpsYILLE HOUND.
An old story interestingly Re-
Deated.

Prom q letter In The Tyler County Star.
Among the objects Of general interest
worthy 0 Especial notice, IL the mammoth
mound, a relic Of an age and people that
are gone. The mound stands back IRON
the river about u half mile, and towards
the lower end Of the bottom, forming a
ridge, trending parallel with the river.
The mound was discovered in the year
.l772 BY Joseph Tomlinson,. who was
the 6rst settler, the pioneer Of this place.
Tbe mound is Of the shape Of q frustrum
Of a 0 In height It Is SO feet, in
circumference at Its base 900 feet and at
tbe ion 100 feet. The top Is fat and
about 80 feet In diameter. The fiat top,
At the time Of It's discovery, was slightly
depressed, occaSioned by the falling in oil
A vault. The slant Of the sides Of the
mound 10 about 45 degrees. Trees Of var
ious kinds, oaks, naples, beeches, &c,
are growing on the slope and around the
base Of the mound, making a fne grove Of
much beauty. Some Of the trees are very
large and old; one measuring not less
than twenty feet in circumference at Its
base. A white oak tree formerly stood
on the summit Of the mound, but II slowly
died, andIwas therefore cut down 4 number
Of years ago. On cutting trayersley the
trunk OF this oak, the number Of con-
centric circles showed that It's age was 500
years. The mound therefore must have
been reared before the beginning Of the
14th century. From a tree that stood on
the mound at Marietta, o., II was found
in like manner that that mound was over
800 years old. In 1888 Mr.. Tomlinson be-
gan at the base Of the mound and ran an
horizontal excavation a distance Of Ill
feet 10 the centre OF the mound, where he
came 10 the vault that had been ~excayat-
ed in the earth before the mound was
made, The excavation was arched, and
Ia about six feet wide by eight feet high.
1.-THE vault was IA feet long, 5 feet wide
and Z feet high. Along each side and the
two ends stood upright timbers,. which
had supported trayersed timbers, forming
the ceiling; over the timbers had been
placed unhewn stones but the decay Of
the umbers occasioned the fall OF the
stones and su~perincumbent earth, so as
nearly 10 fll the Vault In this vault
we're found two human skeletons, one had
bead ornaments attached to It, An
other excavation wa commenced at
the centre Of the summit Of the
mound, and extended downwards so as TO
intersect the horizontal excavation.
This excavation is circular in form and
about 10 feet in diameter and go feetdeep,
and Is walled with brick to prevent the
sides from caying and falling down:
" Midway between the top and bottom
and over the first vault was discovered a
similar vault, aud this was also cAyed in
by the falling Of the ceiling and the
earth. Here were discovered another
skeleton and 100 beads, 800 sea shells,
and Eve bracelets. The shells and beads
were around the neck Of the skeleton,
while the bracelets encircled the wrists.
Pieces OF isinglass were strewn over and
about the body. The mound is composed
OF earth Of the same quality as that OF
the bottom around it. In the first exca-
walton, when a distance Of eight feet was
reached, blue spots began to appear in
the earth; on close examination these
spots were found 10 contain ashee and
burnt bones.n This would indicate that
the bodies OF the dead were burned-cre.
mated, and their ashes deposited in the
mound, thus making 1t a monument or
memento OF the dead. Or, perhaps, the
mound might have been the sacrifcial
altar whereon the priests burned the sac.
rifees offered by the people, as was the
custom Of old.
The mound no doubt was used for reli.
gious rites, although it may have been
applied also to other uses. The most in.
teresting thing found 10 the mound was
a small fat atone, inscribed with antique
alphabetic characters. "These charac.
tiers are in the ancient rock alphabet OF
16 right and acute angled strokes, used
by the ancient Pelasgi and other ancient
Mediterranean nations" Twenty two
characters are on the stone, some Of them
the same. This is the largest mound that
is known. There are many along the
Ohio valley. At Marietta there is a very
pretty mound, similar in shape to this
one In M~oundsyille; it has never been ex-
cavated aud its relics, II il contains any
are undiscovered. In Tyler county, this
State, on MIR. Parker's farm, is another
small mound built by the same people
and for the same mysterious purposes.
It is thought that these mounds were
used "a signal stations in times OF war, as
there has been discovered about each
mound a system Of signal posts, connec-
ting with each other. At some Of the
mounds underground roads have been
discovered leading from one mound TO
another, and also TO outposts.
"Who bnilt the mounds is q matter Of
speculation. There are no traditions
handed from ancient times in regard to
them. The Indians knew nothing Of their
origin and builders. There was not a ira
dition about the mounds, or the mound
builders among their many traditions.
By whom and why built he knew not
The mound builders may have been the
race Of which the ancient Mexicans are
a remnant.