The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-17
WONDERS OF THE MOUNDS.
Curious Discoveries i'm the State Of
Kentucky.


Kentucky. '.-
DIR. F. Stinson writes as follows to the
Evansville Journal:
Below | give the res 1t of an arch@o-
logical search made during a two weeks
rambling through the hills and valleys of
Perry County, Indiana, and Breckinridge
County, Kentucky.
First, | found in the bend of what Is
called Polk's Bottom and Tobin's Point,
fire-pits, quite number, at an average
depth of ten feet below the surface. In
these pits were ashes, fire-coals, arrow
heads and stone axes. In one MIR. Tobin
found tanners feshing-knife and two
pieces of French silver coin, only dating
back little'over hundred years, show
ing about what date these fire-places
were last used, and that ten feet Of solid
dirt had formed on top of them in less
than one hundred years.
On the surface, above the pits or fire
places, there were abundance of signs of
camping-grounds, covered over with fiints,
mussel-shells, etc. Great quantities of
arrow-heads have been found on the sur
face all over this bend. / next went in
company with James J. Wheeler to what
is known as Cedar Lick cave, situated
four miles north of Rome, Spencer
County. Here we found the aborigines
had occupied this cave or rock house as a
dwelling for perhaps centuries, for we
found ashes and burnt earth, for some
three feet deep, all over the bottom of
this cave, whicn was thirty by forty feet.
Buried in these ashes had been found
human skeletons, with arrow-heads, axes,
and fragments of flint.
Some hundred and fifty yards from
this rock house we found two holes
drilled in sandstone, eight inches in di-
ameter at she top, taperlng to the bot
tom,, twenty-five inches deep. These are
called mortars, and, -the-by, I learned
of some seventy-fve of these mortars in
Breckenridge County, Kentucky, all
about the same pattern. In some of
these mortars were found bowlders, but
nowhere were pestles found that could
have been used for pounding corn in
these mortars. l next visited cave
situated about two miles north of Har-
densburg, Breckenridge County, Ken
lucky, on Harden's creek. This cave or
rock house was twenty by forty feet in
diamet r.
Mr.. Fl. Clay Jolly dug into this cave
in the year 1872, when he found eleven
and half feet of ashes all over the bot
tom. In the center and at the bottom
was an altar, built of sandstone, based
upon stool of sandstone. The altar was
twenty-six by twenty-three inches in
diameter, thirty-four inches high, concave
on the top, and filled with ashes and fire
Goals. On two sides of this altar lay
tier of human skeletons, ten in each row.
Then OH top of each tier lay another one,
with some ten inches of ashes between,
until there were eleven and one-haf feet
of skeletons and ashes in depth, cover
ing the top Of the altar with ashes some
seven feet-supposed to be about fifty
skeletons in all and seven thousand four
hundred bushels of ashes.
Upon or over the Uranium of each of
these skeletons lay fiat rock, each skele-
ton showing signs of having been burned
about the waist before interment. With
the exception of those burned portions,
the skeletons were remarkably we'll pre-
served, ashes and saltpetre preserving
them-their teeth round and entire, all
of the incisors pointed or serrated. At
the lower part of the chest were numer-
Gus relics, most of which were ornaments
composed of camel coal, shell and stone.
BY the side of each of these skulls was
found a wisp of hair or queue some twelve
inches long, tied in three places. Then,
commirgled with the ashes and skeletons,
were found great quantities of relies,
such as hints, arrow-heads, axes scrapers,
pelters, and knives, some Of which | pro-
cured from Mr.. jolly, and brought home
with me.
This wonderful development in this
cave is very particular, and as yet with
out parallel. Hence it is very inter-
esting to the arch@ologist and scientist.
With the above before me | arrive at
the conclusion that the customs and
habits of the aborigines of America are
hard to find out, and are calculated to
puzzle the brain of the most eminent
archeologist orasethrologist; that it is
very difficult to designate between the so
called mound builders and Indians OF
the eighteenth century.