The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-12-25

east of the city on the Beaver farm and
dig a bit TO see what they can find. The
greater portion of them do not dig very
deep. and few feet down makes them
content with the find of small relics. Thsre
are others who are determined to invesfi-
gate fully. Two OF the most persistent
Hunt They were at the mounds ysster-
day and dug into the earth eight or nine
feet in the largest mound. They say that
there are dozen mounds over there and
IN time they intend "wading' Though all
of them. They had good luck yesterday
and made valuable find In excayating
the big mound. they inform Us. when
about four feet beneath the surface they
oaTne upon a number Of stones so arranged
as TO form a vault or small chamber After
removing these stones they found an
empty space of little more than a foot in
depth, where they came upon ashes. Mixed
with these ashes were found few small
pieces of charred bone and few pieces OF
bone which crumbled Immediately on being
exposed to the atmosphere. However.
very few pieces remained intact SO as TO
be examined sufficiently TO ascertain thai
they were human. such as the fenur or
thigh bone of a child. two vertebrae. the
axis and atlas This layer OF ashes var
led from two to six inches in thickness.
Immediately beneath the layer OF ashes
and about eight feet beneath the surface
was presented reddish brown cement
This vas several inches in thickness and
rested upon and imbedded within which
was uneartked what IS purported to be a
sacrificial altar. This altar consisted OF
two large stones, peculiarly fashioned ard
wrought so as to represent in the position
found basin-or more properly. nearly
perfectly formed pelvis. with the pubic
arch OF the same formed and fashioned so
that each segment was made to meet its
fellow with a nicely which seems marvel
Gus: the body. of the two stones being
about seven inches in thickness, two feet
in length, twelve to fourteen inches an
width, but tapering toward the arch, the
arch being not more than one-half inch in
thickness and about two and half inches
in breadth; from the center of the body
of the stone outward TO its extremity Il
tapered gradually by peculiar swells and
depressions toward the haring end or rim
Of the peivis. Where it was joined to the
larger stone was found a stone somewhat
smaller than the other two and crudeIy re-
sembling human heart. This whole altar
was cemented firmly TO the rock bed; be-
meath this bed lay a perfectly smooth and
fiat surface of native limestone. Previous
TO the finding of the arched stone vault
they found a few pieces of pottery in
which are found many little pieces of shell
and very small pebbles, one piece consist
ing of the handle of an urn or vase-the
handle was shaped very much as the ham
die to our modern jugs-also small arrow
head worked down to very fine point.
They also found attached to the larger
stone composing the altar very small
ornament of dark brown color and nicely
polished, and very close to the altar they
wrought, whether to represent some OBJ
ject or to be used in the sacrificial rite is
mere conjecture. From these findings ii
Is thought that these gentlemen dug into
the sacrifcial mound. This altar was the
most sacred altar. They made il to rep
resen. those portions of the human body
which at the earliest dawn of history were
considered sacred, namely the pelvis and
the heart. This afternoon it was learned
that Arthur Parker few years ago dug
found a stone war club, which was evil
IDENTIFY used about the time a sacrifice was |
offered up.