Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-09-21
Sixty Skeletons Found In a Pit.

Friday, september y, l9O4:-
All western Wayne county in
general. and the people of the town
of Macedon in particular, have been
stirred up for the past few days over
the finding of about sixty skeletons
in a pit on Mud creek, one mile
east Of Macedon village, uncovered
in the excavating preparatory to lay
ing the track of the Rochester, Syra-
cuse & Eastern railway.
For many years the territory be-
tween Palmyra and Macedon has
been prolific field for archaeolo-
gists, and there is scarcely a family
between the two villages which has
not collection of Indian relics of
greater or lesser importance. In Ma
cedon village there are several col
lections of arrow heads, tomahawks
and other relics, which are among
the most notable in western New
York. According to the calcula-
tions of the local Archaeologists, an
Indian trail formerly ran from what
is now Canandaigua. north to a
point east Of Macedon. Here it
turned and ran westward, skirting
Ia low range of hills, for perhaps
half a mile, when it turned north to
Pultneyville, on Lake Ontario.
That section of country was inhabi-
ted by the Iroquois. The trail is
traced by arrows, tomahawk heads,
Eg1inastones and other upmistakable
Indian relics.
1t was just west Of where the In
dian trail turned to the west, before
striking out for Lake Ontario, on
the alluvial fats of Mud creek, that
the discovery was made which has
SO greatly excited the Wayne county
students of Indian lore.
The earliest records of the coun-
try show that in 1857 De Nonyille,
the governor of Canada, came to the
south shore of Lake Ontario. De
Nonville landed at Irondequoit bay
with 5000 soldiers. They passed
through Macedon, then q part of the
town Of Palmyra, and on to Victor,
where o battle was fought with the
lroquois. De Nonville went on to
Geneseo. No further traces of his
journey are found in the neighbor-
hood If Macedon
The operation of grading the
track was watched by DR.. G. P.
Jennings, Eli II. Gallap, w. S.
Eddy, and others of Macedon, who
thought to gather Indian relics up
on the plowing of the soil. Instead
Of which the burrows disclosed parts
of bones which later proved to be
human.
DR.. Jennings and his colleagues
procured shovels and began sys-
tematic investigation of what was
apparently q pit, which had former.
ly been q slough hole. They soon
unearthed thirteen more skeletons.
The number of skeletons was deter
mined by the skulls and the femora,
which seemed to have the longest
resisted decay.
DR.. Jennings said that three OF
the skulls were close together, and
underneath them were found many
femora. He drew the conclusion
that the bodies had been thrown
into depression, or slough hole in
the ground, and heaped promiscu-
ously upon one another.
There is another striking fact in
regard to the finding of these skele-
tons. The most careful search, by
men who have hunted Indian relics
for years, failed to reveal anything
in the shape of an implement OF
trinket within the basin-like place
of sculpture. The soil was sifted,
in part, in order to determine
whether the pit contained anything
in the way of implements. Not a
trace of anything but mouldering
bones was found.
DR.. Jennings is inclined to the
opinion that the skeletons found on
Mud creek flats are from 25O to SOC
years old. He is himself an archae.
ologist of more than local renown,
and he inclines to the opinion ex.
pressed by the only Indian in the
town, I Vt fight occurred between
two tribes Of Indians, and that the
victorious sayages threw the bodies
of their victims into a convenient
slough hole along the creek, afte,
stripping them Of implements and
ornaments. He is also of the opin.
ion that some of the bones were
those of females, although this, he
says, is largely conjecture.
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