The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-14
THESE DO NOT FADE
RECORDS OF HUMANITY THAT
WE'RE NOT WRITTEN WITH
PEN AND INK.
FROM BANKS, POTTERY, ETC.
EXPLORER BROWER CALCULATES
THAT MINNESOTA WAS SET
TIED IN CHRisT'S DAY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Last Evening Listening to Two
Interesting Papers.

Col. j. V. Brewer, the explorer, and
Secretary Warren Upham, of the State
Historical society, RECALLED the score or
more members of that association at
the monthly meeting last night with
brief accounts of their travels during
the season just ending Col. Brewer
! told in interesting fashion of some of
| the signs of prehistoric habitation of
| this state, while the secretary related
| something of what he saw in the his
| torical societies and libraries of foreign
| countries.
| There have been no meetings of the
| society during the past few months
while Secretary Upham was absent.
| and the list of letters and contribu-
| lions had accumulated until the num-
| Der OF books, magazines, pamphlets,
! photographs and curios amounted to
nearly 1000. all of which were duly re-
ported and recorded
When the little routine business had
| been disposed of, Col. Brewer, with
the aid of big chart, showed where
the early explorations had been made
In the southwest and northwest parts
of the country. The Spaniards, he said,
in 1541, had marched along the gulf to
and past the seven cities of Cibola, all
of which were told of in history save
one-that being in Kansas, where there
were found this summer the sites Of
fourteen villages. These, he figured,
had constituted the old province or
Quivira, told of by historians He told
something of this section, but be-
lieved his hearers would naturally be
more interested in hearing something
of his researches in their own state.
He had visited a historic spot not far
from Brainerd in the northern central
part of the state to which the Sibley
expedition had gone in 1868. He was
member of the party at that time.
and was much surprised this summer
to find at Lake Jessie the old Camp
AtchisOn, ten acres in extent, and also
some old buildings near Bismarck In
excellent state of preservation, all
things considered. The camp was in
reality on Lake Sibley, five miles West
of Jessie lake, and the signs of the
work done upon it so long ago were
still very plain. He had crossed to
Idaho, where the snow banks 10000
feet above the level of the seas prac-
tiCally started the Missouri river, and
where there were found a large num-
Der of prehistoric implements. One
spot in this state he illustrated by his
chart. 1t was west of the Mississippi,
east of the Crow Wing river, south of
Leech lake and north of Brainerd.
1t was in the disputed territory be-
tween C9SS and Crow Vino oO11pfiaS
Although there was no clue as to just
When the northwestern part of the
state had been discovered and first in
habited by man, he advanced the
theory, based upon his observation
and study, that the ancient ancestry of
the American Indian was the real dis
coverer. They were the mound build
ers and the land formation and char
acter of tree growth made him think
that they lived here as far back as
would allow two growths of forests to
exist
The presence of land entertainments
made by hand when there were no
beasts of burden, in separate localities,
led him to the belief that certain fac
tions were at hand, and that they
Warred among themselves. He pointed
out from the discovery of the burial
of a number of bodies in a small
space, that the dead were only inferred
after the skin had been taken from
their bones.
In one embankment, he declared,
signs were found which showed that
not less than $50 bodies had been
buried there. He made the statement
that this state was probably populated
before the time of Christ, saying
among other things that there was
certainly habtatiCn here as long ago
as 1900 years, as shown by the
signs of the mound builders before the
last two growths Of forests. Secretary
Upham told his hearers something of
the sights he had seen in the libraries
and historical societies in Great Brit
ain, Norway. Sweden, Denmark and
even in the Alps. in Switzerland. The
famous British museum. he explained,
was, in fact, a great library, and not
a museum. There they kept on record
all newspapers and magazines and
pamphlets. This country, he said, full
Iy held her own with other countries
in the matter of historical societies.
and Minnesota was fully up to her
proper place In the list.