The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-03-15
Indian Mound Builders.

We are not, moreover, without testi-
mony to the fact that the present Indian
tribes did build mounds. Lewis and
Clark mention the custom among the
Omahas, saying that "one of their
great chiefs was buried on hill, and
mound twelve feet in diameter and six
feet in height erected over him." Ber
tram states that the Choctaws covered
the pyramid of coffins taken from the
bone-house with earth, thus raising a
conical hill or mound. Tomochichi
pointed out to General Oglethorpe a
large conical mound near Savannah,
in which he said the Yamacraw
chief was inferred, who had, many
years before, entertained a great white
man with red beard, who entered
the Savannah river in a large vessel,
and in his barge came up to the YAM
acraw bluff. Featherstonhaugh, in his
" Travels speaks of the custom among
the Osages, referring to mound built
over the body of chief, called Jean
Defoe by the French, who Unexpectedly
died while his warriors were absent on
hunting expedition. Upon their re-
turn they heaped mound over his re-
mains, enlarging it at intervals for
long period, until it reached its present
height. Bradford says that many of
the tumuli formed of earth, and oc-
casionally of stones, are of Indian
origin. They are generally sepulchral
mounds-either the general cemetery
of a village or tribe, funeral monu,
ments over the graves of the illustri-
ous chiefs, or upon a battlefield
commemorating the event and en-
tombing the fallen, or the result of a
custom, prevalent among some of the
tribes, of collecting at stated intervals
the bones of the dead. and interring
them in common repository. A mound
of the latter description was formerly
situated on the low grounds of the
Rivanna river, in Virginia, opposite the
site of an old Indian village (Jefferson's
Notes of Virginia." PIP. 100, 103). 1t
was forty feet in diameter and twelve
feet in height, of spheroidal form,
and surrounded by trench, whence
the earth employed in its erection
had been excavated. The cir
cumstances attending the GUS
tom alluded to were the great
number of skeletons, their confused
position, their situation in distinct
trata, exhibiting different stages of de-
composition, and the appearance of
bones of infants. A mound of similar
character, and constructed in layers or
strata at successive periods, existed
near the south branch of the Shenan-
doah, in the same State. A tumulus of
stones, in New York State, is said to
have marked the grave of a distin-
guished worrior. " "Beck's Gazetteer"
states that ga mound of the largest
dimensions has been thrown up. within
few years in Illinois, over the remains
OF an eminent chief.-ProfeSOr N. FL.
WinCheh.
The Christian Almanac for 1882 gives
the following statistics of the Evan
gelical association Whole number of
members 1851, being an increase
over last year of 1,674 newly convert
ed, 1O, ,469, a decrease of 2, ,O43 from last
year adults baptized, 1928 children
baptized, 1928; itinerant preachers,
912 local preachers, Gil number of
churches, 1884; parsonages, 456 ;
value of church property, So, 1872, 295 ;
Sunday-schools, 2,016; catechumens,
s, 632 Sunday-school scholars, 127,-
557 total of contributions, 800, 926.47.