Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-11-20
wonders IL the Mounds.

Dr. r. Stinson writes as follows to the
Evansville Journal:
Below give the result of an archao-
logical search made during a two weeks
rambling through the hills and valleys
of Perry County, Indiana, and Breckin-
ridge County, Kentucky;
First, found in the bend of what is
called Polk's bottom and Tobin's Point,
fre-pits, quite a 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 Mr.. To-
Kin found tanners fe0hing knife and
two pieces of French silver coin, only
dating back a little over hundred
years, showing about what date these
fre-places were last used, and that ten
feet of solid dirt had formed on the top
of them in less than one hundred years.
On the surface, above the pits or fire.
places, there were abundant signs of
camping grounds, covered over with
lints, mussel shells, etc. Great guam
titles Of arrow heads have been found
on the surface all over this bend. next
went in company with James j. Wheel
er 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 dwelling for perhaps
centuries, for we found ashes and burnt
earth, for some three feet deep, all over
the bottom of this cave, which 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 the top, tapering to the bot
tom, twenty-five inches deep. These
are called mortars, and, by-the-by, l
learned of some seventy-fve of these
mortars in Breckenridge County, Ken
lucky, all about the same pattern. In
some of these moTtars were found bowl
ders, but nowhere were pestles found
that could have been used for pounding
corn in these mortars. / next visited
a cave situated about two miles north
Of Hardensburg, Breckenridge County,
Kentucky, on Harden's creek. This
cave, or rock house was forty by tw en-
ty feet in diameter,
Mr.. H. Clay Jolly dug into this cave
in the year 1872, when he found eleven
and a half feet of ashes all over the bot
tom. In the center and at the bottom
was an altar built of sand stone, based
upon stool of sandstone. The altar
was twenty-six by twenty-three inches
in diameter, thirty-four inches high,
eoncave on the top, and filed with
ashes and fre-coals. On two sides of
this altar lay tier of human skeletons
ten in each row. Then on top of each
tier lay another one, with some ten
inches of ashes between, until there were
eleven and one-half feet of skeletons
and ashes in depth, covering 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
skeleton showing signs Of having been
burned about the waist before inter-
ment. With the exception of those
burned portions the skeletons were re-
markably well preserved, ashes and
saltpetre preserving them-their teeth
round and entire, all of the incissors
pointed or serrated. At the lower part
of the chest were numerous 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,
commingled with the ashes and skele-