The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1889-05-02
AN ANCIENT CEMETERY.
PREHISTORIC RELICS UNEARTHED
N WEST VIRGINIA.

AoAAcA AhOk OStAu- EeauS, ARROW
Heads, Tonahawks and Other Things
Discovered-Teeth Wonderfully Sound.
Eight miles up the Potomac river from
Romney, w. Va, is small island cut
off from the main line by a mill race.
This island is nearly all sand and made
splendid burying place for the aborigines
OF this country. For space of 30 by
2OO yards there are many graves about
two to three feet in depth and contain
ing, besides skeletons of Indians, manv
peculiar relics, such as beads, shells,
pipes, arrow heads. bones of animals
once used for food, pottery, etc.
Two years ago the river rose higher
than it had been known to rise for years.
1t washed out this mill race, and when
the banks caved in there were exposed
to view many skeletons, as above men
toned. The farmers and boys of the
neighborhood visited the place out of
curiosity and carried off many articles.
No account was printed at the time, and
no examination of the place was made
until The World called the attention of
che Smithsonian men to this find, and a
letter was at once written there to the
postmaster. But before a reply came
was we'll on my way to the scene of the
discovery.
DIGGING UP THE BONES.
Six men were engaged, and the spot
where the graves lay was carefully dug
over. 1t was found that about FORTY
skeletons had been exhumed by the
treshet and carried away by the waters.
Many more remained, some of which
had been disturbed by the pillow, for they
were buried only two feet deep. One of
these was found to have inferred with
the body stone tips for his arrows, beads
as necklace, whole pot of clay rudely
fashioned and holding several decayed
bones of the deer. This had been his
cooking vessel, and when inferred with
the warrior it was filled with deer Joints,
luscious and juicy" the meat of which
sustained his soul in it's march through
the Happy Hunting Grounds.
Another skeleton had similar outfit
placed with it. Many of the bodies were
buried in cramped positions, few were
extended as we place our dead, many
bones were missing and the skulls of
some individuals seemed crushed and
broken. therefore drew a conclusion
that most of these warriors were killed
IN battle. As it was the Indian custom
=" nutilate the bodies of the slain, in
70 instances to smash the skulls, the
coalition of the skeletons is easily ac-
counted for. In the loose earth thrown
out OF the excavations and everywhere
about the surface we found arrow points,
broken pottery, copper beads, glass
beads, shells, parts of stone tomahawks,
etc. One excavation revealed an old fire
place. We took out about five bushels
OF ashes, the bones of deer, buffalo and
ground hog. The buffalo or bison bones
are seldom met with in the east. It is
known that the bison roamed all over
this country, but the whites found him
further west than the Mississippi. There
fore the date of this burial place can be
placed very far back. The presence of
glass and copper beads shows the tribe
had contact with the whites. But these
beads were found on the surface and not
buried with the bodies.
ANOTHER INDIAN VILLAGE.
After examining this cemetery went
twelve miles down the river to another
Indian village site. With force of
seven men began work in some high
clay banks which fronted the river.
Here the bodies had never been disturbed
and lay just as the Indians had left them.
We took out nearly twenty entire skele-
fOnc Tho c1-,11I1 oe H..
served whole, and when any fell to pieces
the fragments were large enough to adj
NIT of their being put together. The
average depth of these graves was three
feet With one we found a copper plate,
fine dish of clay with handles and hold
ing On the inside a shell with strange
markings on it. The copper plate was
not of European manufacture. 1t was
the native Lake Superior copper ham,
mered out in cold state by the Indians,
was about five inches long, two inches
wide and perforated for suspension as an
ornament.
Another body had necklace of sixty
two bone beads, while third had over
three hundred small beads. These had
been placed in mass by the left fore
arm, but had not been strung. A bone
awl almost as sharp as needle and
wonderfully well preserved accompanied
this man. The farmer owning the place
presented me with another copper plate
and stone tomahawk, which he had
plowed up not long before. Ialso secured
good clay pipe found with one of the
Skeletons This pipe was shaped some
what like our cigar holders, only larger,
and was made of hard burned clay, red
in color.
The remarkable feature of all Indian
skulls is the state of preservation in which
we find their teeth. / never, with but
one or two exceptions, found truly pre-
historic skeleton in which the teeth were
not without sign of decay. Sometimes
when the bones are almost ready to fall
into dust the teeth remain sound.
Whether it is due to their diet Of meats,
not having known the use of any of our
modern teeth destroying foods and
sweetmeats, leave for the consideration