The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1885-08-21
Tng MOUNDS.
Great MyAtery solved at nAst...rhe Mound
builders Chimcrieal...A Beautiful
Thcery spoiIcd...And Fnrt OF
mtktory shorne OF Its Magic
aud Ramattc Charms.

How long the earth has stood none
can say. How many physical changes
it has passed through, we have no
means Of knowing. How long the earth
has been spherical is past finding out.
How many ages thesurface of the globe
has appeared, as it does move with its
continents, islands, mountains, valleys
aud various bodies Of water, we know
not. Whether the division Of the earth
ia the days of Peleg was political or
physical, and to what extent the face
Of the globe was farrowed by the de-
luge must s,ill remain ia the Geld OF
conjecture. Since geology has become
a science, and men OF learning have de-
voted their time and energy to that
field, they have collected vast amount
Of knowledge and have classified facts
aud phenomena until they have cor.
viuced Us that we know nothing yet,
as we ought to know This we believe,
that God created all things, true we do
not believe that he created rock or
lodges as We find them, and created
bones or fossils in them. The bones
grew in some animal before they lodged
in the rock. The very fact that bones
are found . in rock formations, is con-
elusive that they existed in animals be-
fore the rocks which contain them were
formed. The general outer motion of
the earth is now as IL mas been 20 long
as man has known anything about it.
Ncah's Ark rested on Ararat, and all
the other mountains stood forth as now
appeared then as they appear now, to
the inhabitants all over the earth At
least no account of any important
change aince mans history. The geo.
logical agencies, chemical, mechanical,
electric, ealoric, volcanic, atmospheric
and aqusus have corrodipE teeth, which
never rest and are at work to-day
what changes they do not effect by
slow processes they effect by violent
convulsious. This continent was once
under water how loag since, who can
tell Fossil remains Of aquatic ami
NAL life are found in tho earth, in the
valleys, on the hills and on tho tepI Of
the highest mountain, on the contin.
ent and at the farlLest distance from
our sess aud oceans. All believe, all
know that it was once submerged and
was afterwards emerged by those agen-
sies above nam ed. possibly all energet-
ically combined, and when it was
em rged Il brought all on its surface
along with l., no dissenting voice here.
Silent nature has here the loudest
voice. With the upheavsl must have
come the mountsins and possibly the
mounds, il not then, perhaps soon after,
when the whole surface was plant, but
they were not formed at the same line.
We said the mountains Of the globe
were not all formed at the SANS i,niF,
shis is evident ffoGi tho trend If some
mountain systems and the transverse
position Of others then again from tbs
diversity in their size. The geological
agencies operated with different degrees
of intensity when the mountains were
produced, hence their sizp, height, length
and outer shape and at different periods,
hence their transverse positions. Then
there are other geological phenomena
that prove this theory equally conclu-
sive. Thus we say that the geological
agencies do not operate according tc
any uniform and inyariable laws, bri
are sometimes intense and sometimes
more feeble, but they may operate uni
formIy in any given period, whether
general, or local, and on such occasions
the effects will be uniform, whether
great or small. Promising this. Th'
mounds all over the continent being
similar and of general uniform size
we corclude that the producing agen
cies were general and uniform, as these
agencies would not likely rise to th'
game intensisy of periods a great dis
i.tapce apart ss 10 time. If the mound
q prodncing agenci-,s bad heen periodica
the mounds in some pats Of the Unitec
i States would be much larger than il
othor parts, and Of different shapes a
1.-THE mountains now are, but their gen
eral similarity and uniformity Of siz
has been the main reason why they ar
said to be artificial. Let ns suppog
that they are artificial. What is you
reason : Why their similarity in forr
7. aud uniformity in sizel They wer
produced by a uniform and systenatl
appliances Of human energy. Well, thi
liz lust why we say that they were pro
dnced IL. tho same period when th
agencies operated generally and un
formly in all parts where they are foun
and hence producing similar result
making all mounds about the same aia
,d lal;La, in lapnearance. They wei