The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-13
MISSOURI MOUND BUILDERS.
a Wonderful COLLECTION Of Relies OF
Prehistoric Race.


gazed upon the works Of that mysterious
people known as the mound builders. my
mind received a class of Impressions which
subsequent years have failed to efface.
1t was a bright summers morning.
and the sunlight, streaming through a
dense canopy of foliage above. fell upon
the ground In fiickering patches. a slum-
berous silence filled the air; and l confess
that, as l traced out the labyrlnthine sys-
tenn Of earthworks here displayed, with
Its great circles and squares, its octagonals
and its gateways, parallel roads and tu-
null, the whole spread over an area OF
several square miles; and as l speculated
upon the purposes of their construction,
and on the origin and extinction of the
people by whom they were reared, l was
profoundly impressed"
There is little doubt that, under similar
conditions any one might be profoundly
impressed, and find created within him a
desire to know more of the origin of this
strange race, their habits, and of their
destiny. Such desire prompted Mr..
Thomas BeclNwith of Charleston, Missis.
sippi county Mo, to devote number of
years to the collection Of relics, and to-day
he has more than 5000 pieces, making it
the largest private collection OF the kind
in the world. Nor is il excelled by any
except that of the Smithsonian Institute
at Washington.
A Globe-Democrat representative was
recently shown these wonderful relics, and
as each department was visited he was
thoroughly convinced that the race of
mound builders was an advanced race, pos
sfbly of higher intelligence than has been
accorded them by our most famous arch
biologists. Mr.. Beckwith's collection Is
purely local one, each relic being secured
from the mounds of his county, and from
excavations directed under his immediate
supervision. The mounds from which he
has secured them are of the predominant
type, circular or pyramidal, built to a
hight of from 10 to 80 feet and from 80 to
90 feet at the base. Other mounds are
known as wall or animal mounds, and are
rarely more than l to feet high Large
trees, oak and pecan are growing on their
SUBMITS, many of more than 70 feet in
circumference evidencing the fact that
the mounds on which they stand were cree
ted years and years ago. 1t Is probable
| that these mammoth trees are successors
OF previous generations of trees
The country in Southwest Missouri for
merly inhabited by the extinct race is
principally lowland, more commonly know
as bottom land and in Mississippi county
where the collection of Mr.. Beckwith was
obtained, IS an alluvial formation created
oy the Mississippi river 1t would seem
that the geologist, with his knowledge Of
such formations, would be able to APP
proXimately fix the date when the differ
ent strata were created, but 1t is claimed
| that they have given UP the problem. IL
! Is tact, nevertheless, that this region
interspersed with swamps and bayous, has
changed but little, geographically, since
| the mound builders inhabited it, The con-
| dition of the mounds, of which there are
many, viii demonstrate this. The relies
show that these people, who may have
| fiourished long before the days of Monte
nf Nj
| possessed some kind Of religion, as their
| mounds contain idols not unlike those now
| found in Asiatic countries, large number
| of which are in Mr.. Beckwith's collection.
| Ihere is also evidence that the mound
builders Of Missouri had a vague knowl-
edge of the use of metals, as several crude
implements and piece of copper ore were
| found, and are In this collection There
| are no copper mines or deposits In that
| locality, and 1t win in all probability re-
main mystery where the metals came
| from.
The mounds are found in groups, rarely
| less than three In one locality sometimes
| more than a dozen In close proximity
! The relies secured from these mounds
| prove an interesting and varied collection
| Through them something is learned OF the
| mound builders manner Of warfare. some
| thing of the arts known to them, of their
| food and manner OF Its preparation, of
their dress, their religion, their govern
ment and their burials.
! In one department Mr.. BeckWith has
| their supposed implements of warfare
| They consist of arrow points, javelin
| points crude tomahawks. from which the
| Indians doubtless patterned the tyeapons
that terrorized the early settlers OF our
country. Every indication. however, IA
| vors the theory that they were a peace
| loving people.
In the second group Mr.. Beckwith has
| collected their agricultural implements
| This department alone consists of nearly
300 pieces-axes, hoes, wedges, shippers
and hammers and their Implements for
| sharpening their tools. The hoes, SHAPED
| much like the modern hoe, however rough
| and crude, are indications that the race
was thrifty one These hoes and axes
are from to II inches in length, and from
to inches wide Some Of them are leaf
shaped. others paddle-shaped, while SIN
others are square with a projection to
! which were fastened handles tied secure
| ly with sinews or barks. OF the axes some
are grooved, and In Mr.. Beckwith's coll
lection can be found more than 100 OF these
with grooved niche encircllng the blunt
end Of each. These specimens are rarely
found in the lowlands. while, on the 9TH
er hand, the smooth axes,of which he has
large number, are rarely found i'm the
hills or mountainous countries.
A grewsome sight IN this collection Is
the section set apart for the skeletons Of
this departed race. More than twenty
well-preserved skulls and the large bones
OF the skeletons are grouped together.
Each of these has been taken from the
mounds Of Mississippi county. They do
| not resemble the skulls OF Indians IN those
particular points that aid In distinguish
ing the skull Of an Indian from that Of
other races The cheek bones do not pro-
trude TO any marked extent and the fore
head Is high, showing a mental develop-
ment greater than the Indians.
The next department shown your CORE
spondent was that Of idols. The religion
Of the mound builders has been the SUBJ
ject Of much discussion. Some have said
that they were worshipers OF the sun;
others Of craven images and others claim
that their belief was like that Of the In
dians. IN Great Spirit and the immor-
talty Of the soul. n they had a religion
OF any kind, this collection bears out he
theory that they were worshipcrs OF idols.
! Mr. Bcckwiths collection embraces about
twenty idols OF all shapes and sizes. Some
Of them are not more than two, others
aigIf luahfu hlgh Tshax 70 all ,,.1. -.