San Saba County news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1874-19??, 1892-07-22
ARCHAEOLOGY.
Evidences of the Occupation OF san Saba
Coaniy by an Ancient Race at
an Extremely Remote Age.

D OA4OAOhN0 u NNAA NAAANA Jun fBNADtA ~ ~
valley there is, covering q space of
| 10000 acres or more, evidence of
the whole of this tract having been
occupied by the dwellings of an
cient people. Thousands of circu-
lar elevations exist of a size almost
uniform, being % feet in diameter
across from the out line of circum-
ference at the base of the mounds
the elevations at the highest
point do not average more than %
feet above the surrounding plains.
Instead of being mound shape,
round on the top, they have in the
center a depression six feet in di-
ameter. This depression never ex-
ceeds in depth one third the height
of the mound. The material of
which the circular ridge is compos-
ed is generally small broken stones
or gravel taken from the surround
ing deposits, irtermixed with earth.
The material of which the central
part is composed is of somewhat
different nature, being earth and
ashes intermixed with small frag-
ments of stones which show I'M
mistakable evidence of having
been submitted to frequent heat
ings-the earth shows to have been
baked. Fragments of the shells of
the shells of mullusks, principally
muscles, of species differing from
those found i'll the neighboring
creeks at the present time are com
mon.
In fact the shells are constantly
found, but always fragmentary,
showing evidence of great age.
These mounds were evidently con-
structed by a prehistoric race and
formed the base for tent like
dwellings probably made of the
skins of animals similar to the
tepe of the American Indians.
The amount of labor necessary
to construct these mounds; the vast
number of them; their close vicin-
ity to each other, indicates the ex-
istence at a very remote period of /
a vast city, peopled by popula-
ton of men different from our
American savage, and also from
the different races found in South
and Central America. In the CEN
trail part of this district there is
an immense quantity of tuffa,
honey combed rock formed by the
waters of ancient streams or
springs. This vast quantity Of
rock material was formed precise
ly as it is now being formed in
many localities in the county; nota-
bly, at the falls of Barnet Springs, |
three miles east of San Saba. The
waters are impregnated with lime
and other minerals, and when it
pours over the numerous decliyi-
tives forming beautiful cascades,
the water which is sprayed upon
the surrounding abundant vegeta-
ton, deposits upon the leaves,
stems, roots, &c, this rock forming
In tins the leaf, branch,
or roots, become completely meas
ed in a stone coffin; it dies, decays,
and passes away but leaves in the
rock perfect cast of its external |
form. In the valley of the creek |
formed by the Barnet Springs
there are a great number of very |
large boulders, some as large as
small house which have been form
ed in this way. Break a piece
from any of these masses and
there will be found impressions
of leaves, ferns, moses, roots,
branches, DC.
The quantity of tuffa found in this
interesting valley, its locality, and
rate of its present formation may
give some data to base an esti-
mate upon, of the vast length of
time which has elapsed since the
spring first began to flow. The
large spring of or town is a very
recent one; but the same process
is going OH. Its waters being pre-
cisely the same in composition as
that of the Barnet Spring. This
very small amount of tuffa which
is found at and in the vicinity of
the declivity where there was
fall much higher than
at the Barnet Spring, proves con-
clusively that our great spring is
Of very recent date.
These mounds were constructed
at time when there were many
such springs as ours which are
now no longer in existence. The
evidence is strong that perhaps
thousands Of years have elapsed
since those mounds were construct
ed, and the great city inhabited
with race of people long since
extinct.