Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-08-05
NO. 81.
The Pr.h,..orie Wound. Of the west.

The PrehistOrie Mounds Of the west.
The high bluffs and banks Of the Mississip.
pi river in this section are dotted with mounds
symmetrically built, and ranging from thr,a
TO six feet in height and from TO 1G feet in
breadth at the base. Your correspondent has
assisted in exploring dozen or more mounds
in this neighborhood, and in almost every in-
stance pit, parallelogram in shape, has been
found, dug evidently about two and a half
feet below the original surface Of the ground,
about six feet long and four feet wide, with
the bottom aud sides Of hard baked clay.
These pits are filed with human bones, rep
resenting all ages buried in most cases in a
sitting posture against the sides with legs ex-
tending TO the centre. Over these bones are
found layers of anhydrous earth of dark color,
hard from pressure, but which easily crum-
bled into fine powder. Above this is q STRAIT
um Of hard baked clay or cement on the top
OF which is found layer of ashes mingled
with burnt shells and bones. In one mound
unesrthed on what is called the Portage, q
short distance west Of this city, were found
bones indicating a race Of gigantic stature.
One immense skull was secured which meas
ured 1j inches from the occipital to the 'front.'
al bone The largest mound in the Portage
group which was explored was found TO be
literally filed with bones and l6 skulls, all in
good state of preservation, were removed
from the mass In every one was q deep in
denton on the left side, little above and
behind the orifce of the ear, as though crush
ed in WITH blunt instrument Relics were
found in the shape Of copper bodkins, chisels
and wedges, all finely wrought; axes, arrows
aud spear heads made Of a species of flint not
found in this region a singular and finely
finished pear-shaped implement of stone,
probably used for skinning animals great
numbers of the large teeth of some carnivor-
GUS animal supposed 10 be the bear, in some
instances with a piece of jaw attached and
carved; large pearls, some of exquisite lustre,
perforated to be strung, and a piece of pot
terry about IL inches in height, urn shaped,
round on the bottom and ornamented. On
top of one of the most romantic bluffs in the
upper Mississippi country, about eight miles
from this city, overlooking, what is called the
Sand prairie, are no less than 100 mounds,
uniform in size, and ranged in rows of from
eight to ten. They are located near the edge
of the bluff, and one large mound stands like
a sentinel on the very point of the eminence.
Behind this and about 20 feet away is a deep
ditch, resembling somewhat the western sink
hole, yet scooped out, undoubtedly, by the
same mysterious hands which reared the
mounds adjacent These mounds contained
nothing but fiat stones with bones underneath.
In West Galena, on the Nikol farm, are to be
found lines of Notifications, built evidently
for purposes of defense. They extend along
the brow of high elevation, skirting the
north side of it completely. Behind these
embsnkments or Notifications is q fine level
country. short distance to the rear and at
the middle of the outer line of works is
mound in the shape of q house, and at the
northwest extremity of the same line, and
about an equal distance behind it, is another
mound in the shape Of reptile. The forti-
ications are about two feet in height, about
eight feet wide at the base and fully 80 feet
long. One or two Of them have been
thoroughly explored, but nothing has been
found, not even bones. Chicago Tribune.