The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1909-04-12
TOPRESERVE MOUND.
WEST VIRGINIA WILL BUY GIANT
PREHISTORIC MEMORIAL.
10 Largest In America and May Have
Been Built While Pyramids Were
Enscted-RelIcs Inside Full
Of Mystery.

Charleston, w. Va.-Standlng 20
feet high. 900 feet In circumference,
with trees growing on II 700 years old,
the mammoth mound at Moundsyllle,
w. Va. located on the Grave creek
fats, near the Ohio river-the greatest
monument OF antiquity In the Ohio val
ley. and a memorial to the life Of a
prehistoric people. VIII be purchased
by the state OF West Virginia.
AT the session Of the legislature just
ended. following unceasing activity for
20 years, the state appropriated $1,000
with which 10 save the mound from
the ravages Of modern commercialism-
This sum. with a donation Of $4,000
from the McFadden heirs, owners OF
the property, and a similar donation
from the school children OF the state,
is sufficient to secure the mound for
the state.
A quarter Of a century ago @. s.
McFadden purchased the mound to
prevent It being sold to German.
who knew the value OF the spot for a
popular resort and intended placing
saloon on the summit. Several
months ago the heirs OF McFadden
served notice that they had held the
mound as long as possible, and Il
would be sold at once.
The mound is the largest in Amer
ica. and was discovered by Joseph
Tomlinson in 1870, the first pioneer
settler in that section. Standing in
broad valley OF 1000 acres. II af-
fords a view OF the surrounding coun-
try for several miles
Relative 10 the age Of the mound
little Is known. Tomlinson. the discov-
erer, said that when he discovered It
and FIRST mounted its summit. then 30
feet high. the timber on the mound
was as large and dense as any OF the
surrounding forest. At that time some
OF the trees bore names and dates, one
Of the latter being 1884. A gigantic
oak tree. felled years afterward on the
summit. was ascertained to be more
than six centuries old.
Even conjecture cannot point to the
time when the mammoth mound was
erected by a bygone people. II may
have been when old Cheops was being
built or when Cleopatra's needle was
being fashioned. Certain 1t is that
the mound was erected by prehis-
toric race that was similar to the
Egyptians.
In 1888 the mound was opened by
It's owner by excavating a passage
way from the north side toward the
center AT distance OF 100 feet
from the entrance two skeletons were
unearihed IN a vault crudely construct
ed with unhewn tlmbers and loose
stones. One OF the skeletons was sur
rounded by $50 ivory beads and an
ivory ornament about six inches in
length.
A shaft was sunk from the summit
OF the mound to meet the drift, and
at q point "a feet above the vault first
discovered was another containing a
skeleton which had been ornamented
with copper rings, plates OF mica and
bone heads.
Probably the most interesting curio
or antiquary taken from the mound in
1885 was a stone engraved in unknown
characters resembling those used by
the Scandinavian priests before the
introduction OF the Roman alphabet
The characters are conceded to
be OF European origin, ami il this be
true It is evident that other Euro
peans visited America before Chris
topher Columbus.