Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-08-27
A GEORGIA NOUND.
An Object of Interest on the Chattahooche
River.

An Object of Interest on the Chattahooche
River.
Columbus, Ga, correspondent 10 the
Atlanta Constitution writes:
Since the placid bosom of the Chatts
hooche was first ruffied by steamboat,
the interest and wonder of the passengers
of each succeeding craft have been ex-
cited by beautiful mound that like
silent sentinel stands on the crest of the
eastern bank At Woolfolk'S bend, some
twelve or fourteen miles below this city
In winter the leatieSS limbs of tree and
shrub leave exposed and barred sides as
OF frowning fortress from which one
might expect at any moment to see the
ugly muZzles of cannon jut, but in spring
over 1t all an emerald mantle falls
trimmed with the brightest of woodland
flowers, presenting scene of picturesque
beauty-a fitting monument of heroes
dead-whether on the battlefield in de
Tense of loved ones and home or that
from the quieter walks of everyday life
they were called. Who the warriors whose
virtues and deeds of valor it commemor-
ates, or whose the loving hand that raised
its proud crest heavenward in Svmmetri-
cal grandeur, no man knows. 1t was
evidently the work of that extinct race,
known as the mound builders, whose name
Is given from these structures scattered
over this broad land. and which
are of peculiar interest wherever
found. The known Incidence of the
race found here by the white man for
bid the conclusion that he was the build
er nor can he even give a tradition of
their mysterious builders. Though this
mound has long existed, the wonder and
admiration of our people, it was not I'M
til recent years that its hidden myster-
les hcve begun to unfold to the lovers of
antiquarian research-when the surginC
floods began eating into its base, laying
bare the bones of bodies centuries old. At
first faint rumorS gained circulation of
wonders hidden therein, and mercenery
parties fastened hither, but when ardu-
Gus labor with pick and spade was ouly
rewarded by dry bones or ugly pots they
turned away in disgust, leaving further
search to the antiquarians, who valued
| these more than gold. The most sue
cesSful and perhaps the most industrious
of the latter class is q. W. Mcknight.
whose collection of antiquities is doubt
less the largest of any private collection
IN the state. Most of the relics secur ed
from and about this mound consist of
pottery. most of which Is of unique de
sign, with some attempt ut decoration.
The lgrgeSt perfect vessel is in shape
somewhat like carhOy, with shorter
neck and mouth more tlaring. Though
the base is globular it Is SO fashioned or
weighted that turn 1t as you will, right
side up with care it hobs Serenely. On
one of the smaller pots a copper disk was
snugly fitted as cover, and i'll ii were
number of beads, suggesting the possibi-
lity that it had once served some belle of
ancient days as a jewelry-case. Other
pieces in design resemble the modern
cuspadore, and others still are shaped rs
the regulation pot of this day. He also
secured several Indian pipes, four stone
fishers. two stone axes or wedges, medi-
cine stone, and innumerable arrowheads
etc. This mound Is about twenty or
twenty-five fee high, and about forty feet
in diameter at base. 1t commands Il
magnificent view of the river IN and
down, as well as the surrounding country
aud may possibly have been used by the
builders as Il signal station also. there
being several other mounds i'll this sec
ton. The space for several hundred
yards about the mound was evidently
used as a burying- The body i'll
one of the graves opened seemed to have
been nrSt covered IN charred corn, the
grains still retaining their original FORM
or perhaps cremated in the cereal.
A mile and half below, on the Alabama
side, in another mound, though not so
large, 1t is rather oblong or egg shaped
and is situated within the apex of an in
verified N-shaped earthwork and ditch
which runs back to the river. Within
this inclosure there are large quantities
of both human and animal bones, frag-
ments of pottery, and flint arrow-heads.
Mr.. Mcknight tells me that when there
some time since, the bones from thirty or
more graves protruded, exposed by a
previous flood.
Both of these mounds are rich in sub
jects of interest to the archnOlogist seek
ing to unravel the unwritten history of
the mysterious beings who people this
gOodly land of ours before the advent of
the savages found here by our ancestors,
and if the brief account of them will aid
in the work, its mission will have been ac-
complished. As no inscriptions mark
their surface, it is only by a study of the
silent bones they cover and the strange
relics of their hand-work in life inferred
with them this can be done