The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-24
BEFORE HISTORY BEGAN
Curious Relics Found Beneath CAL
ifOrnia Mari Beds.
Well-Prescrvcd Utensils. Proving
the Existence of Races That Gem
crations Throughout Many Ages
Hnd No Knowledge Of-Arro.y-
heads and Bones Brought to Light.

There are constantly being found in
certain parts of California" said an official
of the Smithsonian Institution. "rel!cs Ct
a mysterious and long buried age and peo-
pie. Little Butte Basin, an old mining
claim, is one of these localities rich in
archaeological finds. 1t is about three
quarters of a mile in width either way, and
is capped by bed of mari, supposed, from
the explorations made, to be at least 300
feet in depth, and which Is evidently not
of primary formation. The claim does not
exceed twenty feet at the deepest point.
There have been mortars AID pestles found.
and they are continually being unearthed,
underneath the banks as they are washed
away. These ancient relics contain 20
carvings. Near where the mortars ard pes
ties were found the. remains OF a camp
fire were plainly visible. The charred
brands, the unburned Goals ard ashes had
more the appearance Of the remains Of a
fire recently built and extinguished than of
one actually kindled In the early ages Of
the world. That relics OF fire of certain
ly very remote period should have been
so intactly preserved in such entirety Of
I'm near proximity to the old camp
fire there were six excavations, or pot
holes. as they are commonly called, in
the mari. some four feet il depth, and five
or six feet across the surface, the holes
being in funnel form and perfectly similar
in regard to size. and with particular ex-
actness as to the distance each one from
the other. A piece OF petrifled wood
evidently older--was found near this To-
cality, as was also portion of petrified
bark. number of years ago company
of miners while sluicing near the centre
OF the basin. where the ground was ten
feet deep. uncovered large quantity of
mortars, pestles. and numerous other In
dian trinkets. together with four pipes
constructed of gray slate, eighteen inches
in length, two inches in diameter in the
centre, and faring at each end-both ex-
tremties being formed exactly like the
butt end of common tin horn. The
pipes were tastefully polished. both exter-
nally and internally.
The drilling Of the cavity was evident
ly done with an instrument not of suffi-
Gent length to perform the entire work
from one end. as 1t was plainly to be
observed that the pipes were drilled from
either end. as the uneven condition of the
work at the centre clearly indicated.
These pipes were long kept in the place
where they were found as curiosties, and
frequently shown to different Indians that
the use for which they were constructed
might be ascertained: but the present
race of Indians being ignorant of the pur-
pose of the manufacturing of these sin
gular antiquarian relics as were the
whites, no light on the object of the use
for which they were made could be OBJ
tanned.
'In mining out portion OF the ranch Of
the late Isaac Trip several years ago, many
ancient relics were unearthed similar to
those already mentioned. In a bank twen-
ty feet in depth, mortars, pestles. arrow
heads, and human bones were found from
within two feet from the surface to the
extreme bottom. The skeletons on and
near the mari were not as perfectly pre-
served as those nearer the surface but they
had the appearance OF belonging to a gf
ant race, as the frames were much larger
than those of the present inhabitants.
The trunk of a black oak tree was found
about midway between the top and bot
tom of one of the banks, and in a perfect
state OF preservation. 1t was cut into
stcvewood. and proved to be of the most
infiammable nature, burning with the In
tensity of wood perfectly saturated with
oil; and what Seemed most remarkable
among the peculiar qualities OF the tim
Der was the slow manner in which It was
consumed by the fire.
The earth everything the mari OF the
basin has a singular and diversified ap-
pearance. The banks as they are wash
ed away by the miners. show stratified
formations of a very numerous and inter-
esting character, and each strata seems
to be composed OF substances wholly dis
similar from the Others. which would in
dictate that they were separately formed
in different epochs, and that the materials
composing them came from different
sources. The evidence that the country
was inhabited by race OF people pre-
vious to the formation OF any earth ever
the mari is perfectly conclusive.
The excavations in the mari some have
thought. and the opinion still holds to
some extent. were caused by the action
of the water. but the most remarkable
theory is that they were the work of the
ancient peoples themselves. perhaps the
Easements Of the huts in which they lived,
and, in fact, it would seem that this Is
the most plausible explanation as the pot
holes are only to be seen in the vicinity
where the mortars. pestles. and other
relics of antiquity are formed"