Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-08-13
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
Further discoveries Of Relies Of N,
Ancient Inhabitants.

fuTlltF FiNlNNF4iF~ " MN ~ ssiN
Ancient Inhabitant,.
\ dispatch to the Denver Nclrs
dated at Jamestown, North Dakota,
says:
Professor r. n. Lewis. an archg-
olosi,t u II. paul, has ioen making
Ills city his headquarters during
/ The last two or three weeks, viii e
exploring the adjacent cUuniy for
mounds aud other caTthwuris % the
prehistoric mound builders. Thus
/ lar he hss hg.u ~crv surcySs.ui.
| having surveyed over 80 mounds
along the bluffs bordering the val
ley. and some thiEty-iyc around
| spirit Wood lake.
The finest guup of oarthwuTks ia
this n-ziou Is located on the hluii,
! about two miles southwest Oi Mont
| Keller. on the south side 81 Beaver
| Greek. and west Of the river. The
work is plallri0ETnm In thc ground
| plan. Il enclose sluie twenty SCrss.
1 At the northeast corner there i7 q
! ronical rsuuIsi twelve feet hight
al the suuihc8~t CORNER, i,sy-c Is a
tuucatud mound eight feet highs
and at the u0Itltw,>; corner .ucrc BE-
/ another Of the same height. Ihc~c
! three cuTu.rs are connected together
/ sy cml5uku,rr,- that a-sragc some
| two feet IN height. From On. north
| wet n!nu.td there Is another vm-
/ Iaukmcut abgut the same height
running iu q sUutSUrly .ir-t iun "a
the head 81 the rlviuel forming
/ third side. TGc north h.uS 'l tEc
| raviuc g. very -se-'p and 81 defends
| tn, ~u.I:h slide, ga tIat \ wall J. Uu-
| Necessary. Tire uali- on lhrov ,i'its
were probably fai>giU,i anu there ],
an oFcniug, or q gateway, on the
/ north auG another on tiic west silC.
IL Is very cyiieu, that the mounds
/ were built frs. as monuments. Al
/ a later rs.riul the works were built
aud the mounds Wcre utilized Ca
/ form Iart 81 the enclosure, thus
/ sayiu. a lar... amount II laD1r.
! There are twelve mounts la al
! diti0u t0 the walls forming the ci-
sl1sur,.. AMI Do. earth in 81. nf them
was cirgic,l frnm a distance there
] Icing no evidence in tile vicinity 1"
show where tire GiIt was oiiainti.
| Many have uu;iUJTi ciFclcs cumpusJ,d
| OF half buried hrIiiera that abound
on the summits ~ many u the bui!c>
and cuiUcacus ia the Jim River
| valley. Thu~e extend over a vast
area u the northwest, from Manitoba
! a. a.. .Ea... - T..v.s.s sU,.ss anil f-Tsrlr
-. Paul 20 treat Falls, Montana
They are pariirtIioTly Ghu-uaut
along The Missouri. Big Sioux and
Jim River valleys aud are nearly
always found ugara lake or water
course. The present Indian triue-
uf the DlkJtIs know nothing ~
their oFi-iu. Gabrielle Eyuvcillc,
the old chief 81 Iife SiS>ctpus. slys
uu tradition uf the DIkut5s a-i7Uunts
| nr them. and tlH DdkBtas never
bothered with stone work. They
either buried tilir dead like the
whites or Tl1c,-i the lo,!i,s ON seNf-
folds or in ircts- Neither do thc
Nlaalans know anything About
them.
These rings OF hOuIlers show
great antiquity, and a.. cpmItrJ-
| lively rtiuies- region 4 peculiarly
. a ian;cd fur lr-- -rTius Them. Hun
drtzis % years must o!ai=e before
the large b1ullcrs are covered by
the ordinary prJcess %. nature, yet
| ia many % the circles or high
grsvrlly points, fuulirrs are just
visible on the slrtacc, willie gNs
cavatiOn shows that many are buried
Olt of sight cutirciy. Thee IT,
mains are not always ia the form ~
. | circles. There are boulder IGvc-
mcuts aruund the circle where tire
-iout=s have lvUu placed - thicbly
. | together l- % touch each other.
) some 81 tie circles have opening
, others not. Explanation q their
: origin n bcing u~ci b hold down
b. | tcpe.=s. j. q superficial and not a
correct one. The rings will average
1 about l6 feet In diameter, although
there are many only two OF three
5 ! feet acruss. Some 4 them are - large
! | n forty f,-et across Others are divided
by rows OF JIulders into four parts.
= There are s,lInus, parallc!osE siills
: aud triauEles. one large circle dis
r covered near tliis place has \ thick
: Is ~ stove pavement two fuet wide
= bordering a cicdle, with another
4 circle Of large b0llders around 30,
outside 81 the pavement. Ia AT
dition TO these circles there n a
/ stone heaps and ul1uuis- uudguhted'
Is used rs burial Iinces.
Between James,1wn and lampur'
Professor Lewis estimates that thvg,
are $40 Of ths--e stone heaps. MhaI
q. Wa the usc or oi.gct vi the Cisciys
aud sIuarrs T. yeta matter Of uiys
terry. They arc certainly not In,
9 work % the Dakota Indians, OF Of
] their immciiate Ancestors. Prof
: Lewis is Of the opinion that they
have been LEFT hy a race succee,iiu.
1 the original m1uui buiilsrs, VIM e
{ works are ~ common IN this ioCali
e ~.
= Evidences OF the mounIbuildcu
are found in every truncatei cone
Near montpelier there have beer
discovered copper hatchets and chs
els. Earth wOTiss AM emhank
n ments show an advanced kIioWlc.i.,
4 In architecture, while the precision
:. / with which the walls are construct
= cl shog great intelligence aud care
: These Qualifications are cumposssi %
. different kiuIs q earth, carficd 4
y the spot, showing the constitution
y IN the different periods by different
y tribes. II the builders had hern ~
= a hurry a trench would have hcci
!, dug.
y Buried mounds have been con
! fined with forts-iI some cases Their
z are intrusive Eraves On top Of TN
, older mounds AMI embellishments
n showing the work u the late tribes
u The excavations aUund mounds AZ
not prolific IN specimens and bpne-
= tut where n truu-aie-i mound
found, anywhere a,ruSs It's top, with
: in deI.th Il tar-e or four feei
abundant Specimens nay lie ha'.
;. Most OF these mouuis are filiesl Viil
n bones, showing that an immens
. plumber Of peoP!e lived on thes
- prairies-