Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-23
Final Investigation of Indian
Mound on the Banks of
Lake Okoboji
HISTORY TO BE MADE PLAIN
RELICS From Two or More Races Were
Found in the Mound and Many Pho
toaraphs, Drawings and Notes Have
Been Neutrality-suspicious. of ExpIora-
ton Much Gratified.
Special to Times-Republican

Iowa City, Nov. 23.-That northern
Iowa was one time inhabited by race
of Indians remarkable in their size and
physical courage is the conclusion
reached by DR.. Duren j. II. Ward, Of
this place. who has returned from his
final investigation Of the now famous
Indian mound on the banks of Lake
Okoboji. His investigations have been
carried out under the direction of the
State Historical Society OF Iowa, ad-
vised by the Anthropological Society
of the state university, and the results
are gratifying to the projectors Of the
exploration.
Details of the Indian life, their hunt
ing episodes and their death can all
be practically traced by the remains
they have themselves left for the in
spection of the explorers. Speaking
of the exploration, which he declares
has revealed races more different than
the Greeks and Romans, DR.. Ward
said:
Il arrived at Lake Okoboji week
ago and proceeded Immediately to
work Permission had already been
obtained from the present owner of the
ground, James Clark Of Sioux Falls,
s. D., to proceed with the exploration.
mapped out. The mound that we ex-
plored is 800 yards west Of Lake Oko-
boil, and three quarters of a mile
II !
ty-five feet in diameter and six feet
high and the formation shows that 1t
had been built layer on layer during
the past several hundred years. The
very latest work is fully hundred
years old.
Excavation proceeded by removing
layers and slices from the east side of
the mound foot or so wide, and going
one or two feet beneath the floor level
Of the mound. Every pocket and cav
ity that had been dug there by the
Indians was carefully followed out
and explored. Whenever bone or
any other object was discovered our
spades were put aside and we proceed
ed with the utmost caution with trow-
els and smaller instruments. The rel
les were uncovered and carefully
brushed, and many times photos We're
taken in stu" as we say.
This was done in order that we
could accurately determine the rela-
tive age of the different deposits and
to what strata" each relic belonged.
We made a great many drawings and
many notes and when these are all
worked over the actual history of the
mound and Of the different peoples
that have added to it will be known.
The bodies discovered in the lowest
area that is those that were first
placed in the mound were by far the
best preserved and belonged to this
race of larger Indians that believed
we have discovered. Indications point
/ to their being warriors who had been
killed at distance and later brought
to and buried In the mound by their
friends or relatives.
1.-TWO Of the best preserved skulls
show evidences Of blows of heavy war
clubs. The measurement of the bones
Of the bodies that were found with
these skulls indicate that the warriors
were 6 feet 2 or inches in height. AL
together there were found the relics of
% different bodies and indications
point to the fact that there must have
been nearly 100 people buried there
tho the bones Of the greater number
have long since disappeared. We took
nearly thirty photographs which will
be made into lantern slides and used
for the study of the history Of the
mound.
"This mound is especially interesting
in the fact that it contains relics from
two or more races. 1t is improbable
that the later people were descendants
of the earlier. believe that the
country about Lake Okoboji was the
common ground of several races, and
that they often met here in combat.
"These remains will be compared
with the finds at Davenport and else
where in Iowa, and later will COM
pare them with the material at the
Fields Columbian museum at Wash
ington and the Smithsonian institute
at Washington"