Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-03-01
A PREHISTORIC RACE.
Strange Discoveries Made by an Explor'
on the Pacific Coast.


Strange Discoveries Made by an Explorer
on the Pacific Coast.
A strange and apparently important
discovery of old graves. copper and
stone weapons and implements, and
monoliths, was lately made in Santa
Maria and Guiana valleys, in the Coast
mountains. Thus far the discovery has
attracted the keenest interest, though
as yet it is known only locally.
The graves are in mounds which rise
five or six feet above the surface of the
ground, and the mounds themselves
are often seventy-flve or one hundred
feet in length and of almost round or
oblong shape. 1t is believed there are
thirty or forty graves in each mound
A. ID. Bowen, of the state senate, told
the details as far as known.
The discovery was made by Juan
Olives, of Santa Maria, who dug into
the mounds, which have been known
to exist for long time. At depth of
ten feet, when he dug into the grave,
the first thing his pick struck was a
polished slab of a slightly greater
length than that of an ordinary coffin
OF an adult of the present age. When
he gaZed underneath he looked into a
long box of stone that had nothing in
it but dust. The body had laid So long
that even the bones had disappeared
and there was nothing but ashes The
grave was older than any he had heard
of on the Pacific coast The slab was
of a peculiarly hard and polished stone
the like of which does not exist in the
country. 1t was thin, however, having
been worked down till it was not more
than half an inch thick.
Olives worked away and got out
other stones. The top, bottom, sides
and ends were all of the same curious
hard and thin stone, and had been set
in the earth and held by the soil with.
out grooves or other fastening. He ex-
plored further and found numerous
battle-axes and other weapons of cop
per, and vessels peculiarly made and OF
stone. Curious copper disks resembling
coins were also found. There were
many in the grave, and the investigator
pushed his way still farther into the
mound. There he found many other
copper implements, some being axes
and others rude knives, while some were
quite long and looked as though they
had been used as spears
The mounds are scattered along fol-
couple of miles, and there are prob
ably hundred of them.
Knowing there were similar mounds
in Guiana valley adjoining he pushed
on to them, and, digging in them, found
collins, dust, and implements of stone
and copper similar to those of Santa
Maria. Everywhere were the marks OF
an ancient race-a race, as is believed,
far antedating any hitherto known on
the coast He gathered up some of the
dust and kept it with the copper and
stone weapons he had secured. Some
of the weapons are now in the town OF
Santa Maria, where they are attracting
great attention.
An expedition is being talked Of to
go to the ancient mounds and thor,
oughly explore them. Mr.. Bowen alsC
tells that high above the stage road
between Los Olives and Santa Bar.
bara, near the graves, are some natura,
monolits or rocks with smooth sur.
faces, on which are carved many strange
characters, looking much like charac-
tiers used by the Egyptians in desig-
| mating their tombs.-San Francisco
| Chronicle.