Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-09-06


tons Of national Importance. Monks Mound is
the largest structure of its kind in the world The
Mississippi valley is dotted with the earth struc-
lures of prehistoric peoples and these Cahokia
Mounds are presumably the most important of
them all from an archaeological viewpoint. When
$ were they built? Who built them? What became
of the builders?
These same questions were asked of the Illinois
Indians when the first white men set eyes on the
Cahokia Mounds $50 years ago. The answer
the same then as now-"Nobody knows"
These first white men were Joliet and Mar
quette-French explorer and Jesuit priest-who
came down the Mississippi in 1873 from Canada
by canoe. In 1875 the famous Jesuit founded
mission among the Indians at Kaskaskia. LaSalle
began his operations in the Mississippi Valley in
1919 by building Fort Creve the Illinois river
at PEORIA Then the French settled all along the
east side of the Mississippi from Cahokia to Fort
Charities. Until the English wrested Canada from
France in 1865 all this region was French. The
French staid on, with the British as overlords.
Then came the Revolution and George Rogers
Clark's splendid military coup, with results that
made the American march across the continent in
evtable-of which more later.
First, as to the Cahokia Mounds: The iIlustra-
lions herewith are by courtesy of Prof Warren
X. Moorehead and are from article by Robert
II. Moulton in America Today, Chicago, with the
title, movement Is Launched to Preserve Prehis-
toric Mounds in Illinois," This article contains
the following:
"There is in Illinois group of relics that stand
to the prehistoric Indian culture of the United
States as the pyramids do to that of Egypt-the
Cahokia Mounds near East st. Loais, including
the Monks Mound, the largest known mass Of earth
ever built up by the labor of human hands.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Egyptian
pyramids are. masses of store and that they stand
in region without value, they have been partially
demolished Complete destruction would before
have been their fate, in all probability had
the Egyptian pyramids been great earthworks and
the surrounding land needed for industrial devel-
opment. A warning was sounded by Professor
Warren X. Moorehead, the welknoWn archeolo-
gist and largely through his efforts movement
has been started to have the state of Illinois pur
chase the entire Cahokia Mound region for park
purposes. A bill having in view the preservation
of these mounds failed of passage in the Illinois
legislature in 1913. 1t appears, however, that it
was not much the cost of the land that deferred
the state legislature from acting favorably in the
matter, as the question raised by some to
whether the mounds were built by man or were
a natural formation, Notwithstanding that there
has never been any doubt in the minds Of archie
ologists to their artificial construction.
To set at rest all doubts in the matter, Profess
sor Moorehead, with the cooperation of the Uni
versity of Illinois, Phillips Academy of Andover,
Mass. and a number Of individuals, began a series
of explorations of several of the mounds during
the fall of 1921 and continued them the following
spring with the most gratifying results POTTERY
fragments in great abundance, large quantities of
flint chips, animal bones, and many complete
human burials unearthed at considerable depths in
several of the mounds prove conclusivey that they
are the work of human hands. 1t is the belief of
Professor Moorehead that the largest of the group,
Monks Mound, so-called because of the presence
there of the Trappists during snort period be-
tween 1908 and 1913, was very long time in the
building and that it probably was begun re-
pository for the dead. That is, certain burials
were made and other small mounds added as buri-
ais took place. Finally the structure became so
large that the natives made it into a pyramid,
added the upper terraces and used the top as
place of residence.
while practically all of the Cahokia group of
mounds, Y in number, remain, their external con-
tour has altered since the pioneers in CahoEia ar
theology gave US clear word pictures of conditions
as they existed several generations ago. In all
written accounts of the mounds most attention
seems to have been concentrated on the largest
tumulus known as Monks Mound In fact, nearly
all the descriptions center in this ranking struc-