The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-02-18

pie and the people with short and BROAD
heads. There is evidence that the long
beaded people came from northern ASIA,
and. crossing Behring strait. continued
their way downward as far as California.
Then they crossed to the great lakes,
went down the St. Lawrence, made their
way along the Atlantic coast as far south
as North Carolina, and spread themselves
into Ohio and Pennsylvania. There is
evidence that they resemhIed the people
of northern Asia in face and form.
The short headed people had the char
acteristics of the people of southern Asia,
and resemhled the Malay race. The first
traces of them we find in Peru and Cen
trail America From there they worked
toward the north into Mexico, New
Mexico, Arizona. and following the river
which empty into the gulf of Mexico,
notably the Mississippi. they mingled at
last with the long headed people in Ten
nessee and Ohio, and We're finally alb
sorbed by them. The Indian is descen-
dant of those two races. - The speaker
then went on to describe the mounds
built by these people. He told how the
former method of digging a hole in the
center of the mound which was at first
practiced by explorers. has been aban-
doned for a more exhaustive method of
research. Professor Putnam does not
excavate the mounds. but slices them off
in perpendicular sections until the whole
mound has been laid open TO inspection.
He described at length the use Of the
mounds for burial. and said there were
many ways in which the bodies were
prepared for interment. Sometimes they
We're crematea and sometimes simply laid
| in the ground; sometimes rough stone
| tomb surrounded the bodies, sometimes a
| sort of log house work of timber.
Besides the burial mounds, there are
| other mounds, +" said the speaker. That
is, mounds used for great religious cere-
monies. | have been making explora-
tons in the Little Miami valley, and am
| glad at this time to pay a tribute TO the
work of Col. Whittlesay in the Little
Miami valley. To him we owe much of
our information of the ancient Lake
| Superior mining, as well as of the mounds
| of the Little Miami valley. The mounds
| in that valley are sacred mounds; that is.
| they were for the purpose of sacrifice and
religious ceremonies. On these mounds
fires were kindled and sacrifices were
made-nOt human sacrifices, but sacri-
| fees to the fire. In one of these mounds
we found terra Gotta figures, beautifully
| carved and perfect representations of
people in perfect attitude of rest, and
/ there was nothing to suggest action.
There were, besides, these stone of inn
ages of fine shape. There were copper
pendants and thousands of copper beads.
Many earrings were found of copper COW
cred with native silver. and over 60, 900
| pearls. 1t seemed as if all the pearls of
all the tribes had been cast upon this
altar. We have found these affairs in
everal mounds, and sometimes we found
several affairs, so you see many of the
great mounds We're for other purposes
than burial.
Having spoken of the mounds the
speaker introduced the subject of the
serpent in Adams county. The SER
| pent. said he, twas worshiped by the
Mexicans and Peruvians. and it appar-
emily served some purpose among the an
Gent people of Ohio. We have one rep
resentation of it in Adams county. 1t is
the only one on earth. 1t is partly of
stone, but principally of earth. The
speaker then described its size and gave
some facts concerning it which are
familiar to all people who have read his.
tories of America or even of ancient
Ohio. The property surrounding the SER
pent to the extent of sixty acres has been
purchased for the Peabody museum by
Boston ladies, and is now in the hands of
Professor Putnam, who has already made
some explorations into the mounds sur
rounding and adjacent to the serpent,
with very encouraging results. He has
found in the mounds skeletons of peo-
pie who must have belonged to different
eras, whose bodies must have been laid
in the mound by people who We're moi
aware that mounds had been used by
other people for the same purpose before.
Professor Putnam hopes to make extern
sive explorations, from which he thinks
valuable facts concerning the mound
builders will be learned. - Cleveland
Herald.