Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-25
AVID cANoN AND CLIFF.
How Interesting Discoveries Are SoS
Made are to be Supplemented.
10 ~ Wtshlnalol. -.

T Bureau Oh Ehnboio8y mas utth HA"Pb~''
out by Maj Powell; the appropriation OF
/ about $4,000 mas been appOrtioned among
the several divisions, and the plans have
received the formal approval of Prof
Baird DR.. Cyrus Thomas, in charge Of
the division Of mound exploration. VIII
take the field with two or three assistants
soon after the beginning Of the FISCAL year.
going first TO Wisconsin to examine and
study the efiizy mounds Of that locality,
and later i'm the season 20 Mississippi and
Tennessee. where considerable work has
already been accomplished. The study
Of the work OF the mound builders, IT,
getber with the survey of the mounds
themselves and their surroundings, Is
gradually leading to q solution OF certain
archae0iic riddles which a few wears since
appeared uusnlyable. Under the new
lights the MY steries which have attached
To the mounds and their unknown build
ers are disappearing. While some OF the
mounds are doubtless very ancient others
similar in character and equally interest
ing have certainly been built up since the
advent of Europeans A string OF elelgh-
bells, much cOrrnded but still capable OF
tinklng was found among the flint ana
bone implements in mound in Tennessee,
while in Mississippi, at the point where
De Soto is supposed 10 have tarrled, a
Spanish cOat-Ot-arms in silver, one Diade
OF pair OF scissors and other articles OF
European manufacture Were found in
positions which indicated that they were
buried by the original builders Of the
mound. In "A Georgia mound two copper
plates We're found, upon which were
stamped figures resembling the sculptures
upon the Central American ruins. The
workmanship is vastly superior 10 that
displayed in the articles of pottery, stone
and bone found in the mounds, and their
origin and purpose are not yet explain
able. Aside from these plates nothing has
been found to indicate a connection be-
tween the mOund-buildeTs and the Aztecs
or the PueblOs, while, on the other hand,
appear many reasons for not going be-
YOud the CherOkees and their fellow red
men Of the Ohio and Mississippi valley
10 find the origin of these curious cree
tions. The purpose Of The mounds still
remains in some cases mystery While
in many others they are known to have
/ been made sometimes for burial places,
sometimes as foundations for Indian vii
lagos, secure from the floods to which the
/ lOwlands were periodically subjected. A
famous "elephant' mound, which has
long been a bone Of contention among
ethnOlOgists, and which, in the opini6p OF
some, proved that the mOund-buildels
were cOeXistent with the elephant upon
this continent, appears by the latest and
most careful survey TO have no trunk at
| all.
Earlier surveys compared with each
other show the trunk in widely different
positions, which leads to the inference
that il the appendage WAS not entirely
imaginary it was never anything more
than a sand hill piledup and shifted about
by the wind. Without the trunk the
mound bore as much resemblance TO a fox
4 ola 70 IF
explorations are carefully classified and
the time and place Of their finding re-
corded as a basis for the study OF future
psychologists and for the purpose of es-
tablishng the connection and differentia-
ton ofnative American races.
Mr.. Victor Mindeleh. the artist and
architect, whose models in clay of the
Pueblo cliff and cove villages are among
the most conspicuous and interesting
objects in the National Museum, has al
ready started out TO revisit New Mexico,
Utah and Arizona. In the Chaco canon,
New Mexico, which is two or three days
march from the nearest civilization, the
ruins are Of masonry far superior TO the
Pueblos Of the present day, and remain
standing in places to the height of forty
feet, showing the floor lines of three and
four stories. The longest group covers
more ground than the capitol at Wash
( iugtOn. The canon he will also visit is
a narrow cash in the earth 600 feet deer
and fifty miles in length, in the precipi
tOus sides of which, sometimes 900 fee
above the bottom. are found huge caves
. containing ruined villages ofconsiderabl'
extent.
Z Col. Garrick Mallory and Mr.. w. J
E Hoffman will continue the study OF sign
r languages and picture-writing, but as al
ample store of material is already IN hau(
little or no field work viii be undertaken
, this year. Their work in this branch o
g ethnology has already attracted wide at
b tentiOn among scientists. Having cOdi
J fed the expressive gestures OF the aborig
e ines so that the meaning of each is read
,. ily understood they have discovered tina
4 the rock etehings and paintings found Il
all parts of the country, and which appea
}. 10 the casual observer as meaningless a
the idle pencilings Of schoOl-boy, are, 70
D. the most part, conventional signs
n transferable by any one familiar with tn
a gesture language. Much is learned il
/ this way regarding the extent Of countr,
{ occupied by each of the great tribes, an,
q something Of their history and char
b acteristics is thus gathered which can b.
r learned in no other way. These researche
j. cover the Rocky Mountain region, Alaski
G and the Alleghanies. The Photography o
J. American Indians OF years ago is foun,
v 10 be almost identical with that OF tn
+ Chinese under the Chang dynasty of 1870
{ b. G.
j. Mr.. II. w. Henshaw and assistant
l. continue their work in relation to the Ian
e guages Of North American Indians, hav
= ing in view the classification OF the tribes
d The material In hand is sufficient 70 obvi
a ate the necessity OF much field work thi
n season. Many curious developments, en-
y tirely unsupported or remotely hinted a
?. in tradition. have been made. For eX
y ample, the Apaches and Navaioes, TN
$ TWO most powerful tribes Of Southwest
ern nomads, have been traced to
common origin far up in British NOrt
America, where the parent tribes
8 speaking the same languages, still rG
n main.
10 Mr.. W. II. Holmes, an artist and geOlC
l. gist Of the geological survey. has foun
5 time during the last three wears 10 max
+ an exhaustive study Of the decorativ
D art OF the native American races. con
a tributiuV the results 10 the publication
o of the Bureau OF EthnOlogy. lie will
s during the present season make shOr
d visit 20 Arizona 10 pursue the study fur
y Their.
n The art Of the North American Indian
u Of the last two or three centuries N N
b., exact equivalent In point OF advance
q ment 10 that OF Europe and the Orient II
h . tho et0up uuN Tao amount ,f fuutariu