The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1891-12-18
MOUND DUiLDERs.

uhOttttil SOHhNIuSteu tiVUh ihbu VI tuuay
Were there mere giants among them
than there are now among the white racer
Or, were they fading race of giants leav
Ing their footprints behind that other races
might know they exisledl Their history
was not written In books, but builded In
their mounds, which held their works of
art Implements OF war and working
utensils.
The forearm and shin. bone of the ne
gro are longer than that of the white race,
and 1t Is said he cannot jump Us far as his
white brother, other things being equal,
because his heels leaYc the imprint further
back than the white mans. These things
we know arc distinctive Of the African
race.
Had the mound builder as defined an
anatomical dlstlnetionl
Were their skulls as rule formed dh-
ie,ently from eursI
These questions forced themselves upon
my mind when l examined skull found
In the Castle Mound which. contained five
Wormian bones, and heard the history
connected with the mound
This mound Is on what is known as Castle
Farm, about FIVE miles south OF Klngwood
w. Va, and was first opened In 1884 by
Hon. James & McGrew and others of King
wood. They fourd peculiarly shaped
stone pipe, stone relic In the shape Of an
hour-glass, which was neatly and meehan.
ically made, and, no doubt had been used
for the recording of time.
Wiley's history says OF this hour glass /;
alt might be captured ane placed In the
mound for safe'kecpIng by an Indian,as the
mound builders are supposed to have left
Egypt when the sun dial was used. and be-
fore the lnven,ion and introduction of the
hour glass"
In 1891 an exploration OF the mound was
made and In the bottom was a layer Of
bones, men, womea aud children having
been buried, In sitting posture, In circle
with their feet out. Bits Of charcoal scat
tered through ashes, also the bones show
Ing to greater or less extent the effects
OF ire, tell plainly the story that they
burned their drad-were eremA,lonlsts.
Above this layer a couple OF feet, Is a
second layer, buried in the same manner
as the 6rs,, and dlre>lly above Il, In the
top, are found other remains.
Every skull found In The mound by Mr.
Wiley aud others contained wormlan
bones, |. C., extra bones found In the su,ure,
of the bones Of the Uranium, aud named
from OlAns wormlus, who Is said TO have
first discovered them, although they had
been noticed by pbyielan a, S,rasburg.
6 Andernoch, before Wormius described
them. They are generally found OH top
OF the skull and are quite rare. Occasion e
ally skull Is found containing ore or two,
bu, the skull seen by the writer had five Of
these extra bones on the tep su,urss OF the
skull.
a great many skulls were found In this
mound, but they were so brittle. from the
effect of fire, no doubt, that they could
no, be taken out without erumblIng to
pieces. The top of every skull showed the
Worm!ana.
The skulls were long and narrow, with
low foreheads and long narrow faces. The
wonderfully large bones found interpreted
through the bottom layer show that there
were giants among them, a; less, seven
ieet high, whilst the majority would In
dicate heights OF feet s to 8 feet.
II Ii is speculation, thes, 10 say that they
were a fading race of giants with ,hess
data, what of the scientific men who con-
siruct whole skeletons, even giving us the
contour In outline, oi prehistoric animals
when they have one or two bones to star,
from'
The mound builder sought a warmer
cline in the sunny south, Likely forced to
do so by the on-coming Of the Indian.
m Heersmans OF the Preston County
Journal of Kingwood. w. Va, has few
pieces OF incinerated bonss, some arrow
heads, Indian matches, etc, that he Iound
in mound on the farm OF Isaac Elliott,
two miles cast Of King wood.
DIR THppett of Kingwood has a very fine
specimen Of the Indian ha,chet. ltis made
Gf the hardest granite, beautifully be-
specked and very smooth. found on the
Ridenon farm, Portland district, three miles
from Kingwood. He has an arrow head
OF white flint, almost perfect In form,
which was found few days ago by Master
Charles Morris, on the Morris farm, Cheat
River Bottom, one and half miles south
of Kingwood. The doctor also owns a
very small arrow head, about the size Of a
mans thumb nail. II Isexceedingly sharp,
and the most perfect ever seen In this
country. It was found In cave about
fifteen miles west of Klngwood. It had a
film OF something on 1t when found that
was bitter and puckeiing 10 the taste,
which required an acid solution to remove.
This Is thought to be poisoned arrow.
William Braham, a tenant OF the Hon.
G NJ Bishops, two miles east Of Kingwood,
found on the farm on which ne lives, the
smallest specimen of an Indian ha,chct
the writer has ever seen. II is about two
inches by I,made of granite, and was given
to Di TrIppett and Is now In the Trippett-
Heermans collection.
Mr. BrAham also found an exceedingly
large speer head of dark flint on the lower
end of the Morris farm, spoken OF above,
known as the Old Ferry place.
Many years ago there we're three mounds
on the bndrew Goff farm, seven miles
above Rowlesbury, on the Baltimore and
Ohio, Preston County, w. Va. Two of
them have been torn down, but one yet
remains.
There is another on the old McGill farm
three miles east of Fellowsville, Preston
County, and another close to Kingwood,
which will soon be explored.
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wHOPPER.