The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-21
M.LIE LBC ARCHAEOLOGY
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION OF DEF
MITE EXPLORATIONS ALONG
BRANCHES OF MISSISSIPPI
THE HISTORY OF THE MOUNDS
Section of the Address Recently De-
IfVered Before the Historical
Society-Early History
OF Minnesota.
By J. V. Brewery

as follows:
From 1860 to 1885, Mr. Alfred J. Hill ex-
pended about twenty-five thousand col
lars in the Northwest in earchaeologlc
studies and field work, a large portion
of which sum was paid as wages Tor thS
survey of mound groups ana lncloentdi
expenses connected herewith. he died
in 1885 before his conclusions We're mace
known concerning the identity OF me IN
dams who constructed the mouhus anu
e3rthWOrkS which have been dlScoEerSu
from time to time by numerous lndlVld-
uals in Minnesota. To locate a group
OF mounds, an adjacent village site, ana
construct a chart of the same; and to-
secure the bones OF the dead and Inc
flint implements and pottery discovered
in and about the mounds explored, is or
indefinite value in the absence OF Inc
results of q determination Identifying
the Indians who made the f1ints and clay
vessels and erected the earthWorks dis
est efforts We're directed toward the pro-
cess of charting the many groups OF
mounds discovered and perpetuatng
record OF the results.
mis- present inquiry is to determine
as near as possible, by original eXplora-
->tions and the application of historic
events, the identity of the INDIANS VINO
constructed the artificial earthworks at
Mile Lac.
The last formidable Sioux war party,
Irecipitated against the OJibway nation
of Indians, of which there is DEFINITE
knowledge, proceeded from the valley OF
Minnesota river to the valley of Crow
" lug river, via Long Prairie. Minnesota,
in June, 1860. The party camped one
night on the East shore of Charlotte
lake in Todd county, where the warriors
erected a curious elongated circle OF gla-
cial bOulders which they colOred with
Vermilion. There were about $50 paint
ed, bedecked and ornamented Indians in
The party, and approximately an equal
number of bOulderS III the circle. On
the outward march the warriors pro-
Cee5ed under cover, steathily, back of
the hills and through the timber, On
7se-ff=. al Ind ~
file the war chief led his followers along
the open trails and highways on the prai-
RE. Five or more individuals are living
who witnessed the fOrma ton of the file
of Dakotss into circle on the hill where
the court house at Long Prairie now
stands when, in sitting posture, a pipe
10 mouth, until each individual lnGiaA
had taken his puff and echoed ms greet
iTE in Characteristic form, when the
march was resumed on the old trail lead
irg from Long Prairie river to Sank
river. The writer, 10 satisfy curiosity,
marched with this Sioux war party at
that time along the trail, several m les
southwark Ia Round Prairie, near Wnere
The forces of SaVageS disappeared in the
forest never to return. on the July "a
1868, the writer witnessed and took
part in the cavalry charge under COM
mand of Col. Samuel McPhail, against
some of the same and other Sioux In
dams, when the battle of Big Mound was
fought and won. Such experiences and
the indelible and lasting impressions
gained under those circumstances are
mentioned here to convey an idea of the
intensity of desires now entertained to
more fully understand the earliest his
tory of Minnesota. where the Sioux IN
dams We're first heard of and earliest
p encountered by the cOurierS of the So
called march of civilization from the
East toward the West, heraldtng the
downfall and the now accomplished doom
Of Indian nations in America, and there
by to ascertain the true character of the
ancient occupants of kathiO. Uninter-
rupted observations among the Indian
tribes and along the course of the Mis-
sissipp and many of its tributaries final
ly resulted in u definite exploration OF
the source of the Mississippi in 1888 and
of the source of the Missouri III 1855
Some interesting archaeoIogic dlSc0V-
cries having been accomplished, a study
of ancient tumui and associated mate
rial resulted in the series of Memoirs OF
which this is one section, accomplishing
n closer unity between prehistoric times
and the historic period than vas
thought possible Personal observations
of the region from the western extremity
OF Lake Superior to the crest of the
Rocky mountains, and from 1taSca lake
southwark to the valley of the Missouri,
have so influenced the formation of opin-
ions that the fantastic and seductive idea
That an extinct race of people, long ante
dating the Indian tribes in the basin of
the Mississippi, constructed the. mounds
and earthworks found there, has now
ceased to appear worthy of considera-
ton.
The earthworks at Mile Lac We're con-
stlucted by Indians. The stone and
copper implements. and the clay vessels
made and used there, likewise were made
by the same Indians while occupying the
sites Of their villages along the shore Of
the lake
Mile Lac has been made a test case,
c ont ate as the most avail Val
nesota, because the earliest :iThi known Town
in the annals Of history. in order to gain
more thorough knowledge of why, by
whom, and when the mounds were con-
structed there and elsewhere along the
course of the head branches of the Mis-
sissippi. An intimate ana personal knowl-
edge of the habits and customs of the
tive lodges, obtained previous TO the con-
StrGction Of any railroad in the North
west. and While each was a hunter nation
at warfare with the other, when buffalo;
elk, antelope and moose We're common in
Minnesota, and the possession of hunting
privileges continued to be a subject of
savage contention and strife, does not
lessen the information imperatively re-
guIred for a determination of questions
now sought TO be more thoroughly under
stood and relieved from unnecessary and
continued doubt The tours of observa-
ton and discovery, noted in many field
books, need not be elaborated at this time
except where advisable to show results of
explorations at and near Mile Lac. A
'cafef III eXamina tlCn of one selected mound
was made, at the Pine river group, in
crow wing county, near where the
certain the character of its structure.
The mound selected for exploration was
ten feet in height, perfectly round, and
SeNenty-1Ve feet in diameter 1t con-
tanned the decomposed bones of one per-
son placed on the original surface of the
ground IN the exact center of the space
covered by the earthen structure in
sandy soil covered with black loam The
lean had been scraped up from the sur
lace OF the surrounding region IN small
parcels, containing about one-half of q
Ixrhi Sr1,7i
Gated that q fraction of the amount of
material used was pure sand. AS each
successive parcel of loan and sand was
placed over and around the interment it
was made compact to an extent which
protected the remains of the dead from
the elects of rainfall, and when the CEN
Ter OF the mound was trenehed, the dry
walls stood firm and intact. The structure
this mound compared favorab.y with the
descriptions given by Prof Cyrus
Thomas in chapter vi Introduction 70
study Of North American archaeology
Similar structural formation of mounds
in other groups at Mile Lac has been
black soil or dark loan was thu material
used. The remains of original burials
found ~ the mounds have shown that
the flesh was invariably removed before
the skeletons were DEPOSITED. AMI oc-
caSionally calcined bones have been
Iound IN contact with such deposits
None OF the mounds explored have yield
ca any considerable quantity of flint or
stone implements. and nc earthen YES
sci has been discovered in contact with
The barricaded remains. Ancient village
sites are indentitiable at or near all the
PRINCIPAL mound groups which are gem
orally discovered at the inlet or outlet of
the numerous lakes or along the princ;-
pal streams. or between two neighhorir,y
siakes Mile Lac covers an area of 200
square miles. and the mound groups AMI
village sites are near the creeks enter
ing the lake, or at the extremities of the