The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-04-26

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ends at the remote Mexican time.
If the intelligent and cultured Ameri-
can public can be convinced there Is
work in Mississippi older than the
pyramids of Cholula, and that a
glimpse Of it's history, and of the
strange people who built it, is revealed
in the records of the great nation who
used and built this wall and it's attend
ant works, the public will make haste
to rescue 1t from the clutches of your
enterprising house builders"
The conditions tor miles around pre-
clude any chance of the wall being a
natural ledge. The nearest sandstone
is in the upper part of Kinds county
nearly fifty miles away, and it is of a
totally different character from the
stone in the wall under. discussion and
is located upon a high plateau, which
ends on the Mississippi river, with a
long line of steep hills, as shown In
the map, and the soil is loan, free
from rock, but plentifully besprinkled
with gravel, and is peculiarly suscepti-
BILE to erosion by the elements and is
gradually being reduced thereby to
perfectly flat level
Colonel Dlpre died several years ago
and his copious notes which he is
known to have made in regard to the
wall cannot be found. Captain Bird
song is one of the leading citizens OF
Hazlehurst, in Copiah county, and his
statements Are verified by many intelli-
gent people who have seen parts OF
the wall at various places.
Related to Mexican Works.
If in Central America and southern
Mexico there existed a civilization ca
pable Of building magnificent palaces
and temples, which have recently been
q Il a 1T
ed OF at length by the Century Maya
zine. illustrated from photographs in
several issues Of that magazine during
the years 1898 and 1899, and If there
was a powerful nation there capable of
such work, 1t was not a long journey
across the water to the high lands of
Mississippi. The lower parts Of Missls-
sippi and Louisiana are evidently OF
more recent origin, being deposits by
the sediment from the Mississippi river
and gulf, aided by the erosion of the
higher lands above, upon part of which
stands the work under discussion.
The Magyar civilization of Central
America antedates that Of the Aztecs
by hundreds Of years, so the more re-
cent discoveries show, and. in addition,
legends, inscriptions, and picture writ
ings show the Mayas Of Central Amer
lea to have been a maritime race.
IL REQUIRES ITO SlreCCQ OF the 1n1ag1na-
ton to suppose that a tribe or part
of a trfpe emigrated to the North
American continent to there set up a
government of their own. and that in
pursuance of that purpose they built
wall about their city, and, in a
strange land, perhaps built the wall
first.
Governor LONGING of Mississippi has
become so interested in the subject that
he has individually set to work and
collected fund of several hundred
dollars to be expended in making ex-
cavations along the wall. and in the
hill referred to. In addition, private
expedition. consisting of r. w. Nc
Claughry, warden of the United States
penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan,
and several scientists is expected dur
Ing the present month, as Is an expe-
ditton under the auspices Of the Uni
versfty Of Chicago, with the projectors
OF Which Governor Longino has been
corresponding, and which is also ex-
pected some time during the present
month. 1t is probable that Governor
Longino will turn over his fund to the
university expedition that 1t may be
expended intelligently in research and
the character of the wall and works
definitely determined by men Of knowl-
edge and experience in matter Of arch.
aeology.