The Lamar register., 1893-12-23
THE LITTLE PEOPLE" OF TEN
NESSEE WERE BIG MEN.
bones of the Legendny rigmiss Prove
Them to Have been of at Least Nor
NAL >tature-rh-y Hurled Their Dead
All Doubled Up.


IL did not think there were enough
people here to make a graveyard
thrive.
We were traversing on horseback
one OF the sparsely settled rough
hill districts OF Western Tennessee
and were, | thought. several miles
from any human habitation. What
purpose would graveyard serve,
especially an old one?
.'Tant that my companion
said, compas sionately; "'tan't no
common human graveyard. it's the
Leetle People Been there since the
Lord knows when--they was all dead
an buried long afore white folks
come
The Little People! Who has not
heard the Tennessee, mountaineers'
tradition of the pigmy race which
once inhabited their fields and woods2
And here we were within few steps
OF one of thoir burial grounds, II
would never do to 90 past in this
way. says writer in the New York
Herald.
"Wait, l said. Il want to stop.
aud we turned our horses heads
away from the rough road and
struck across the ridge of low hills
behind which lay the graves of that
almost forgotten people.
Two small streams, one flowing
north and the other northwest met
here among the hills and right at
the confluence, in the angle. lay the
cemeterv
There We're. indeed. two rows OF
shallow graves, one along either Of
the long walls Of the inclosure. A.
together there must have been nearly
a hundred Of them. although only
few were uncovered
The process OF interment had evil
IDENTIFY been very simple. a hole had
been dug and the coffin Of stone slabs
built within it and the body let down.
with or without grave wrappings
and covered with stone lid. the
whole being then covered with earth
These were apparently the graves OF
the common folk, for almost without
an exception the narrow stone collins
contained nothing but the crumbling
skeletons. with an occasional stone
implement or weapon or a piece OF
rude pottery. 1t was easy TO see how
the '.pigmyn idea came about. for the
tombs were truly of diminutive size.
the bodies. with knees doubled up TO
the chin, only requiring a space of
four feet or so in length.
1t was when the work Of uncover.
ing the low mound was begun chat
interest was really awakened. for
here | was plainly getting into the
company OF the ma -nates of the
"pigmyn society. Here were regu-
lar mummy cases. some made OF
skins and some OF woven hempen
fabric, and in some cases so well pre-
served as to suggest that that
strange people must have been pos
sessed of the secrets OF the en-
balmer's art.
The mound had been built up from
the ground with one tier after an
other OF these graves until they
were foUr stories high The begin
ming had been made by the construc-
tion of what seemed to be a small
stone altar resting upon the natural
surface OF the ground, and around
this were built half "a dozen OF .he
cotiin-shaped receptacles for the
dead. these all lying with the feet
resting against the altar that no
space might be lost Then when
this FIRST tier OF tombs was filled a
layer of earth was spread over it and
a second tier was constructed in the
same fashion. These were evil
IDENTIFY the resting places OF
the more important personages of
the race. as could be Judged both