Evening star., 1901-02-23
Valuable Discoveries in the Region Of
Puget Sound.
RELICS OF A VANISHED RACE
In Each One Single SkeIeto,
Was Found.
s II r OU d ED IN YSTERY

Written for The Evening Star.
The region of British Columbia and
Washington has for some years been ia
vorite exploring ground for ethnologists
who are collecting material about the In
dfans of the region. Owing to contact with
the whites the native stock of Indians Is
fast disappearing, and with them their Gu
rious ceremonies and customs. OF the
scientific investigators who making
study of this region a number have noted
there heaps of rocks of varying size, for
which they could find no adequate explana-
ton. Some considered them to be freaks
of geological upheaval, while others be-
lieved that the present Indian inhabitants
had piled them up for some ceremonial
purpose, though the Indians deny any
knowledge of them. Last summer Prof
Harlan l. Smith of the Jesup North Pacific
expedition tore apart number of these
mounds and the result is an interesting and
valuable addition to American ethnology.
Every mound explored by Prof. Smith
was found to be a tomb in which had been
buried individual of a race whose his
tory is entire blank, whose very exist
ence has hitherto been unknown to eth
nologists. This style of burial is not known
I'm the earliest records of any of the north
western coast peoples One of the unusual
and puZZling features of the discovery IS
the fact that the explorers have not been
able to Gull from the enduring stone sep
ulchers single definite fact to the iGcn-
tity of the race now vanished from the
face of the earth No architectural re-
mains ruins were found which might
have been inhabited by these people. and
the Indians who today inhabit that region
have no traditions or legends regarding
t. EN-. Prof. Smith believes that the race
was of lower form of civilization than
the cliff dwellerS mound builders, aid
hpyOnd
before the advent of the whites.
Ancient Cairns.
The excavations began in the south
eastern part of Vancouver Island. B. c.,
and in the San Juan group and Whidbey
Islands, state of Washington. A whole
series of the massive stone tombs, each
containing a single skeleton, was found.
Some of the skeletons We're in state of
good preservation; others were all but
disintegrated. The great number of the
burial places, extending well down into
the state of Washington, indicated that at
one time the race which practiced this !
form of sepulture must have been numerI- !
cally strong and politically powerful Prof |
Smith spent three months of the past sum |
mer in uncovering and examining some |
hundred of these old buriaIs. which ha i |
escaped the serious attention of previous |
investigators. He thus describes these !
ancient tombs, which are, technically, |
termed cairns:
''They from six to twenty-five feet
in diameter and generally consist of an ir- !
regular pile of boulders many of which (
are of huge size, weighing several tons
and requiring the strength of four men
with crOwbarS to dislodge them. These
structures are usually situated on slopes
with gravelly soil. strewn with angular
boulders. They overlook. and in most cases
are near, the sea. and the graves in each
group are about twenty feet apart. They
are usually located within a mile or so of
shell heaps As these latter very nu-
m'rous all along the coast, their proximity
Is thought to imply probably a historical
relation between the two kinds of struc- |
lures. One stone tomb is found over each |
body.
within the TOmbs.
''The entrance is composed of a more or
less rectangular opening, formed by placing
the straightest side of several boulders in
ward and covering the opening thus formed
with two or more slab-shaped rocks of like
character. In some cases the vault is not
well formed, and in other instances the COW
e. stones are so small that they do NOT
I rm projecting roof over the body Over
thlS vauit-like opening the rough pile of | .
the tomb is reared 1t is frequently bound |
ed by a single row of large stones, while
tn nltng between this wall and the vault |
IS of small fragments, bUulders and I'm |
some cases largely Of soil or mixtures of | !
tEese materials. Rectangular tombs have
been found where the outer row of rocks
mas been carried up SO as to form a re- I
tanning wall. making the whole structure !
similar to a truncated pyramid Struc
lures Were also found in which the bod,,
was placed at the side of large boulder ,
and covered with smaller ones piled nm
against the large rocks. The stones form, !
ing the interior sepulcher and those of the
outer row are often imbedded deep in the
soi around the grave. 1t is probable that 1
they were not 50 placed in the beginning, +
but sank TO this position by reason of their ! ,
large size and great weight
The position of the skeletons shows that
The body was placed on the side and was '
deposited either the original surface or ,
IN shallow hole dug into the gravel be- | =
ow. In some OF the graves the skeletons !
we're found sunk four feet and greatly de-
secured Some Of the skeletons We're partly c
burned but it is thought that the burning ,
lid not take place In the grave"
In Large Numbers. a
The greatest number of these tombs were | q
ound on land belonging to the Hudson Bay a
Company, about four miles northeast of ! :,
Victoria, near Cadboro bay In this vicin- | q
ty was evidently the capital of the mys- | n
erious race of rock tomb builders for the E,
graves here seemed to have reached the a
llgnest type of development. O.
The structures north and south from this F
,olnt appear to have undergone modifica- (,
ions as the distance increased. Those made V
" the largest boulders and the most elab- | e
rate in construction were found near Vic b
oria- The burials of Whidbey Island, in I
he state of Washington, resemble those U
ound at Victoria more than do those at b
ther places. h
One of the largest Of these stone mauso- v
Gums was found San Juan Island | G.
outheast of Vancouver, and north of the b
tate of Washington. 1t measures twenty il
I've feet square and five feet high in the t,
enter. 1t is composed of large bouders, | m
ne lower ones being set up on edge. The c
ody was found to be placed on the ground: | ir
ne skeleton was in fragments. A feature II
this grave is that huge fir tree six | q