Chapter X: The Mound Builders.1 (1)

Meaning of “Mound Builders”—Location of Mound Building tribes—All
Mounds not the work of men—Altar Mounds—Objects found on the
Altars—Altar Mounds possibly burial Mounds—Burial Mounds—Mounds
not the only Cemeteries of these tribes—Terraced Mounds —Cahokia
Mound—Historical notice of a group of Mounds—The Etowah
group—Signal Mounds—Effigy Mounds—How they represented different
animals—Explanation of the Effigy Mounds—Effigy Mounds in other
localities—Inclosures of the Scioto Valley—At Newark, Ohio—At
Marietta, Ohio—Graded Ways—Fortified Inclosures—Ft. Ancient,
Ohio—Inclosures of Northern Ohio—Works of unknown import—Ancient
Canals in Missouri—Implements and Weapons of Stone—Their
knowledge of Copper—Ancient mining —Ornamental pipes—Their
knowledge of pottery—Of Agriculture—Government and Religion—Hard
to distinguish them from the Indians.

The past of our race is irradiated here and there by the light of
science sufficiently to enable us to form quite vivid conceptions
of vanished peoples. As the naturalist, from the inspection of a
single bone, is enabled to determine the animal from which it was
derived, though there be no longer a living representative, so
the archæologist, by the aid of fragmentary remains, is able to
tell us of manners and times now long since removed. In the words
of another: “The scientist to-day passes up and down the valleys,
and among the relics and bones of vanished people, and as he
touches them with the magic wand of scientific induction, these
ancient men stand upon their feet, revivified, rehabilitated, and
proclaim with solemn voice the story of their nameless tribe or
race, the contemporaneous animals, and physical appearance of the
earth during those prehistoric ages.”2

We have already learned that the world is full of mysteries, and
though, by the exertion of scholars, we begin to have a clearer
idea of some topics, yet our information is after all but vague
and shadowy. The amount of positive knowledge in regard to the
mysterious tribes of the older Stone Age, or the barbarians of
the Neolithic period, or the struggling civilization of the early
Metallic Ages, is lamentably deficient. On our Western Continent
we have the mysterious remains in the gold-bearing gravels of the
Pacific coast, the significance of which is yet in dispute. We
have the Paleolithic Age of Europe, represented by the remains
found in the gravels of the Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey. When
deposited there, and by what people used, is, perhaps, still
enshrouded in doubt.

Leaving now the past, expressed by geological terms, or by
periods of thousands of years, we draw near to our own tribes,
near, at least, comparatively speaking, and behold, here, also,
we discern evidence that an ancient culture, as marked as that
which built its cities along the fertile water-courses of the Old
World, had its seat on the banks of our great rivers; that here
flourished in full vigor for an unknown length of time a people
whose origin and fate are yet in doubt, though, thanks to the
combined efforts of many able men, we begin to have clearer ideas
of their social organization. We know them only by reason of
their remains, and as these principally are mounds, we call them
the “Mound Builders.”

The name is not a distinguishing one in every sense, since
mankind, the world over, have been mound and pyramid builders.
The pyramids of Egypt and the mound-dotted surface of Europe and
Asia bear testimony to this saying, yet nowhere else in the world
are they more plainly divided into classes, or marked with design
than here. In some places fortified hills and eminences suggest
the citadel of a tribe or people. Again, embankments of earth,
mostly circular or square, separate and in combination, generally
inclosing one or more mounds, excite our curiosity, but fail to
satisfy it. Are these fading embankments the boundaries of sacred
inclosures, or the fortification of a camp, or the foundations on
which to build communal houses? Here graded ways, there parallel
embankments raise questions, but suggest no positive answer. We
are equally in doubt as to the purposes for which many of the
mounds were built. Some seem to have been used as places of
sepulcher, some for religious rites, and others as foundation
site of buildings. Some may have been used as signal mounds, from
which warning columns of smoke, or flaming fires, gave notice of
an enemy’s approach.

Before coming to details let us, at a glance, examine the picture
as a whole. This country of ours, with its wide plains, its
flowing rivers and great lakes, is said by scholars to have been
the home of a people well advanced in the arts of barbarian life.
What connection, if any, existed between them and the Indians, is
yet unsettled. We are certain that many years before the Spanish
discovery of America they made their settlements here, developed
their religious ideas, and erected their singular monuments. That
they were not unacquainted with war, is shown by their numerous
fortified inclosures. They possessed the elements of agriculture,
and we doubt not were happy and contented in their homes. We are
certain they held possession of the fairer portions of this
country for many years.

We must now seek to gather more particular knowledge of them, and
of the remains of their industry. We must not forget that these
are the antiquities of our own country; that the broken
archæological fragments we pick up will, when put together, give
us a knowledge of tribes that lived here when civilization was
struggling into being in the East. It should be to us far more
interesting than the history of the land of the Pharaohs, or of
storied Greece. Yet, strange to say, the facts we have just
mentioned are unknown to the mass of our people. Accustomed to
regard this as the New World, they have turned their attention to
Europe and the East when they would learn of prehistoric times.
In a general way, we have regarded the Indians as a late arrival
from Asia, and cared but little for their early history. It is
only recently that we have become convinced of an extended, past
in the history of this country, and it is only of late that able
writers have brought to our attention the wonders of an ancient
culture, and shown us the footprints of a vanished people.

We must first try and locate the territory occupied by the
remains of the mound builders. They are not to be found broadcast
over the whole country. We recall, in this connection, that the
early civilization of the East arose in fertile river valleys.
This is found to be everywhere the case, so we are not surprised
to learn that the broad and fertile valley of the Mississippi,
with its numerous tributaries, was the territory where these
mysterious people reared their monuments and developed their
barbarian culture. Throughout the greater portion of this area we
find numerous evidences of a prolonged occupation of the country.
We are amazed at the number and magnitude of the remains. Though
this section has been under cultivation for many years, and the
plow has been remorselessly driven over the ancient embankments,
yet enough remain to excite our curiosity and to amply repay
investigation.

This portion of the United States seems to have been the home,
the seat of the mound building tribes. We can not expect to find
one type of remains scattered over this entire section of
country. Indeed, to judge from the difference of the remains,
they must have been the work of different people or tribes, who
were doubtless possessed of different degrees of culture.3 We
will notice in our examination how these remains vary in
different sections of the country. But it is noticeable that
these remains become scarce and finally disappear as we go north,
east, and west from the great valley. Although they are numerous
in the Gulf States, yet they are not to be found, except in a few
cases, in States bordering on the Atlantic.4 Some wandering
bands, perhaps colonies from the main body of the people,
established works on the Wateree River, in South Carolina,5 In
the mountainous regions of North Carolina occur mines of mica,
which article was much prized by the mound builders; and here
also are to be found traces of their early presence.6 We do not
know of any authentic remains in New England States. In Western
New York there exists a class of remains which, though once
supposed to be the work of these people, are now generally
considered as the remains of works erected by the Indians,7 and
of a similar origin appears to have been the singular
fortification near Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire.8

We have no record of their presence north of the great lakes.
Passing now to the western part of the valley, we do not find
definite traces of their presence in Texas. On this point,
however, some authors state the contrary, apparently basing their
views on a class of mounds mentioned by Prof. Forshey.9 But the
very description given of these mounds, and the statements as to
the immense number of them,10 seem to show they are not the work
of men.11 We do not think the West, and especially the
North-west, has been carefully enough explored to state where
they begin. It is certain that the head waters of the Mississippi
and the Missouri were thickly settled with tribes of this people,
and some writers think that they spread over the country by way
of the Missouri Valley from the North-west. Mr. Bancroft quotes
from the writings of Mr. Dean, to show the existence of mounds
and inclosures on Vancouver Island, and in British Columbia. And
the statement is made that a hundred miles north of Victoria
there is a group of mounds ranging from five to fifty yards in
circumference, and from a few feet to fifty feet in height.12

The inclosures, however, are described as being very similar to
those in Western New York, and are probably simply fortified
sites, common among rude people the world over, and such as were
often erected by Indians. The remains on the upper Missouri and
its tributaries are very numerous, and to judge from the brief
description given us of them, they must be very interesting.13
This section has, however, been too little explored to speak with
confidence of these works.

As showing how much care should be exercised in this matter, we
refer to the account given by Capt. Wilkes in his journal of the
United States exploring expedition. Speaking of the mounds on the
gravelly plains between the Columbia River and Puget Sound, he
tells us that the Butte Prairies are covered with small mounds at
regular distances asunder. Some of them are thirty feet in
diameter, six or seven feet above the level of the ground, and
many thousands in number. He opened some of them, and found a
pavement of round stones, and he thought he could detect an
arrangement of the mounds in groups of five, thus. Five dots

It was his impression that they were the works of men, and had
been constructed successively and at intervals of several
years.14 This observation of Capt. Wilkes is referred to by many
as evidence of the former existence of Mound Builders in this
section.

More careful research in recent times has established the fact
that these mounds were certainly not erected by human hands, and
no one else has been able to discover the supposed arrangement in
groups of five. The pavement of round stones is common to the
whole prairie.

But the greatest objection is the number of the mounds. A
population larger than could have found a living in the country
must have been required to erect them, unless we assume that a
great length of time was consumed in this work. Some other
explanation must be given for these mounds, as well as for those
mysterious ones mentioned by Prof. Forshey. This cut gives us a
fair idea of the scenery of this section and the mounds.15

Mound Prairie.

Within the area we have thus defined are located the works of the
people we call the Mound Builders. What we wish to do is to learn
all about these vanished people. A great many scholars have
written about them, and large collections of the remains of their
handiwork have been made. There is, however, a great diversity of
opinion respecting the Mound Builders and their culture. So we
see we have a difficult subject to treat of. In order to gain a
clear understanding of it, we must describe the remains more
closely. About all we can learn of these people is from a study
of their monuments. We can not call to our aid history or
tradition, or rock-carved inscription, but must resort to
crumbling mounds, broken down embankments; study their location,
and observe their forms. To the studies in the field we must add
those in the cabinet, and examine the many objects found in and
above the mounds and earth-works, as well as the skeletons of the
builders of the works. Rightly used, we can draw from these
sources much valuable information of the people whose
council-fires blazed all along the beautiful valleys of the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers in times far removed from us.

Mound and Circle.

We will first speak of the simplest form of these works, the
ordinary conical mound. This is the one form found all over the
extensive area designated. They exist in great numbers on the
banks of the upper Missouri, as well as the river bottoms of the
South. This cut represents a very fine specimen of a mound, in
this instance surrounded by a circular embankment. We must not
forget that mounds are found all over the world. “They are
scattered over India, they dot the steppes of Siberia and the
vast region north of the Black Sea; they line the shores of the
Bosphorus and the Mediterranean; they are found in old
Scandinavia, and are singularly numerous in the British
Islands.”16

The principle in human nature which leads to the erection of
mounds is living and active to-day. The shaft which surmounts
Bunker Hill is but a modern way of memorizing an event which in
earlier ages would have led to the erection of a mound, and the
polished monument which marks the resting place of some
distinguished man was raised for the same purpose as the mounds
heaped over the chiefs and warriors of another age. The feeling
which moves us to crown with steeples or spires our houses of
worship is evidently akin to that which induced older races to
erect a mound on which to place their temples, their idols, and
altars of sacrifice.

If mounds were the only works remaining of these ancient people,
we would not take so great an interest in them, and, as it is, we
are not to suppose that all the mounds are the works of those
people we call the Mound Builders. Recent investigation and
historical evidence unite in showing that some comparatively
recent Indian tribes formed and used mound structures. Early
explorers have left abundant testimony to show that in many cases
the Indians resorted to mound-burial. Thus, it seems that it was
the custom of the Iroquois every eighth or tenth year, or
whenever about to abandon a locality, to gather together the
bones of their dead and rear over them a mound. To this custom,
which was not confined to the Iroquois, are doubtless to be
ascribed the barrows and bone mounds which have been found in
such numbers in various parts of the country.17 Although it is
well to bear these facts in mind, yet it is not doubted that the
larger number, and especially the more massive ones, were erected
by the same people who built the other mysterious works, and so
it is necessary that they be carefully studied.

Altar Mound and Plan and Section of Altar.

In the valley of the Ohio there have been found a class of mounds
known as Altar Mounds. These, it should be stated, nearly always
occur in or near inclosures. This cut gives us a good idea of
mounds of this kind. Near the top is seen an instance of what is
called “intrusive” burial. After the mound was completed it had
been dug into and a body buried near the surface. This burial was
evidently later in time, and had no connection with the purpose
for which the mound was originally built. We also notice in this
mound the different layers of which it was composed. These layers
are of gravel, earth, and sand, the latter being only a few
inches thick. Mounds made in this manner are called stratified
mounds, and all altar mounds are probably of this kind. The lines
of stratification have been described as curving so as to
correspond with the shape of the mound, and such we are told is
the general rule.18

The peculiar feature, however, is the altar at the bottom of the
mound, directly above the natural surface of the ground. The
small cut gives us a clear idea of the altar, the light lines
running around it showing the plan. These altars are almost
always composed of clay, though some of stone have been
discovered. They are of various shapes and sizes. We notice the
dish-shaped depression on the top of the altar. The clay of which
they are composed seems to have been moulded into shape directly
over the surface of the ground. Sometimes a layer of sand was put
down as a foundation. They are nearly always thoroughly burned,
the clay being baked hard, sometimes to the depth of fifteen or
twenty inches. This must have required intense and long continued
heat.

We are at once curious to know the object of this altar. Within
the basin-shaped depression are generally found all manner of
remains. Sometimes portions of bones, or fragments of wood,
arranged in regular order; pieces of pottery vessels, and
implements of copper and stone; spear-heads, arrow-heads, and
fragments of quartz and crystals of garnet. Pipes are a common
find, carved in miniature figures of animals, birds, and
reptiles. Two altar-mounds but recently examined near Cincinnati
had altars about four feet square that were loaded down with
ornaments.

One especially contained quantities of ornaments of stone,
copper, mica, shells, the canine-teeth of bears and other
animals, and thousands of pearls. They were nearly all
perforated, as if for suspension. Several of the copper ornaments
were covered with native silver which had been hammered out into
thin sheets and folded over the copper. One small copper pendant
seems to have been covered with a thin sheet of hammered gold, as
a small piece was still clinging to it. This is the first example
of finding native gold in the mounds.19 On this altar were also
found masses of meteoric iron, and ornaments of the same
material. One piece of mica showed the profile of a face.20

In all cases the articles found on the altars show the action of
fire. We seem justified, then, in supposing that after the altar
was formed, fires were lit on them, and into this fire were
thrown the various articles just enumerated. But what was all
this for? This will probably never be very clear to us, beyond
the fact that it was a religious rite. Portions of the human
skeleton have been found on these altars, and it has been
suggested that human victims were at times part of the sacrifice;
but as it is known that this people practised cremation, it may
be that the altars were sometimes used for that purpose, the
remains being afterwards gathered and buried elsewhere.

After the offerings had been flung into the fire, while it was
yet glowing on the altar, earth or sand was heaped over them for
a few inches, then successive layers of earth and sand, or ashes,
clay, or gravel. Sometimes the altars were used several different
times, in which case a layer of clay several inches thick was
laid over the old altar. In one case three layers had been burned
in before the final addition of earth and sand were heaped over
it. These strange monuments of a by-gone people hint to us of
mysterious rites. We wish we had more positive knowledge of the
ceremonies they commemorated; but at present we must rest
satisfied with conjecture.

The next class of mounds are known as burial mounds, some of
which are stratified, and resemble the so-called altar mounds. A
mound explored in Butler County, Ohio, had in the center a layer
of clay an inch thick, which had been burned until it was red.
Underneath this was another layer of clay, beneath which was
found charcoal, burnt cloth, and charred bones. Mr. Foster thinks
that in this mound the body was placed on a rude altar, fires
were lit, and that while yet burning, clay was thrown over it
all, and that then fires were built all over the mound,
sufficient to burn the clay for an inch in thickness.21 We have
also a description of a group of mounds explored near the
Mississippi River, in which there were evident signs of
cremation. At least in several mounds fires had been built close
above the bodies. But in cremation other victims may have been
burned to accompany the departed chiefs or warriors. In one mound
evidence of such a custom was observed.

In another mound the center was found to be a mass of burned clay
interspersed with calcined human bones. No less than ten or
fifteen bodies had been burned here. “They must have worshiped
some fierce ideal deity, and the ceremony must have been
considered of great importance to have required so many victims.”
This may have been, however, nothing more than simple
cremation.22

Pidgeon has described mounds in Minnesota, in many respects like
the altar mounds. In one case he mentions there was an altar or
pavement of stone on the original surface of the ground, a few
feet above which was a layer of clay, showing the action of
fierce and long-continued fires. We furthermore are told that
cremation, especially of chiefs, was more or less common among
the Village Indians of North America, that similar usage was
observed among many of the tribes of Mexico, and that the Mayas,
of Yucatan, burnt the bodies of their lords, and built temples
over their remains. So it may be that the altar mounds are but
varieties of funeral mounds, the remains of the bodies burned
here being buried elsewhere.23

Burial Mounds.

The nations that celebrated their mysteries around these mounds
have long since departed; the altar fires long since burned low.
We are not sure that we understand their purport, but we are
certain they were regarded as of great importance, and we can
readily imagine that when the fires were lit on the altars,
gathering crowds stood round, and participated in the religious
observance, throwing into the fire their most valued ornaments,
in this manner paying their last respects to the departed chiefs
and great men of their tribe.

The true burial mounds are very numerous, an comprise by far the
larger number of mounds. They are to be found all over the Mound
Builders’ territory, and are about the only class of remains
found in the prairie regions of the West. From the upper waters
of the Missouri and the great lakes on the north to the Gulf
States on the south, and from west of the Mississippi to the
Alleghenies of the East, in all this vast region they are the
prevailing class of remains, and occur by hundreds, and even
thousands, along the valleys. The mounds themselves are often not
very conspicuous; as a rule they are simply heaps of dirt raised
above the surface and rounded over, and from two or three to
fifteen or twenty feet high, although many are of much larger
size. They are seldom found on the lower, or recent river
terrace, but are common on the upper terrace, and are often built
upon the high bluffs bordering the streams, where a wide stretch
of country is exposed to view. Black-bird, an Omaha chief, who
died about the year 1800, desired to be buried on a high bluff
overlooking the Missouri, so that he might see the boats passing
up and down the river. Perhaps from a similar superstitious wish
the Mound Builders sometimes chose the sites of their burial
mounds where they could watch over their country; or it may be
that the monuments over the dead were placed in such conspicuous
positions that they might be readily seen by the people.

The next cut represents an ordinary burial mound, which was
explored by tunneling in from one side. We notice there are no
different layers or stratifications in this case. In some cases,
at least, the building of such a mound occupied several years. We
can see where the dirt was thrown down in small quantities,
averaging about a peck, as if from a basket. In one case grass
had started to grow on the unfinished surface of the mound, to be
covered up by fresh dirt.24

Burial Mounds.

In the majority of cases the mounds contain the remains of but
one individual, with various relics of a rude and barbarous
people. Where but one body was buried, the usual mode of
procedure seems to have been to first clear a space on the
surface of the ground; the body was then placed in the center of
this prepared place, and often a rude framework of timber was
placed around it, sometimes a stone chamber was built up. Over
this the mound was erected to the desired height. This
description would apply to nearly all of the many thousands of
burial mounds in the country.

In the cut a layer of charcoal is noticed near the top. Nearly
all mounds show evidence of the existence of fire during some
period of their construction. In some cases these fires were
fierce and long continued, as if the object had been to cremate
the body. It may have been a part of their religious belief that
it was necessary to keep fires blazing on the mound for a short
length of time to keep off evil spirits, or to comfort the soul
of the departed. Such at any rate was the custom among some
Indian tribes. We are told that among the Iroquois, a “fire was
built upon the grave at night to enable the spirit to prepare its
food.”25

In some cases, many individuals were buried in the same mound.
These may be communal burials, such as we have already referred
to. Mounds of this kind have been examined near Nashville,
Tennessee. One mound alone was the burial place of over two
hundred persons. Pidgeon describes some triangular burial mounds
in Minnesota, differing in shape only from the ordinary circular
mounds that belong to this division. In general, burial mounds
are not very high, yet there are exceptions to this rule.

Grave Creek Mound.

This cut represents one of the largest of these mounds. It is
situated at the junction of Grave Creek and the Ohio River,
twelve miles below Wheeling, in West Virginia. It measures
seventy feet in height, and its base is nearly one thousand feet
in circumference. An excavation made from the top downward, and
from one side of the base to the center, disclosed the fact that
the mound contained two sepulchral chambers, one at the base and
one near the center of the mound. These chambers had been
constructed of logs, and covered with stone. The lower chamber
contained two skeletons, one of which is supposed to have been a
female. The upper chamber contained but one skeleton. In addition
to these, there were found a great number of shell beads,
ornaments of mica, and bracelets of copper.26

A moment’s thought will show us what a great work such a mound
must have been for a people destitute of metallic tools and
domestic animals. The earth for its construction was probably
scraped up from the surface and brought thither in baskets. A
people capable of erecting such a monument as this, with only
such scanty means at their command, must have possessed those
qualities which would sooner or later have brought them
civilization.

Another very interesting mound of this class once stood in the
city of St. Louis. The rapidly growing city demanded its removal
in 1869. It was an oblong mound, one hundred and fifty feet long
by thirty in height. In its removal it was shown that it
contained a burial chamber seventy-five feet long, from eight to
twelve feet wide, and from eight to ten feet high, in which about
thirty burials had taken place. The surface of the ground had
first been leveled, then the walls raised to the desired height,
made firm and solid, and plastered with clay. Timbers formed the
roof, over which the mound had been raised to the desired height.

Cross-section St. Louis Mound.

In process of time the roof decayed and fell in, thus giving a
sunken appearance to the top of the mound. This view is a cross
section of the mound as it was revealed by the workmen. We notice
where the roof has fallen in, and the outline of the interior
chamber. This burial chamber was perhaps an exact model of the
cabins in which the people lived. Can it be that this mound was
the final resting place of some renowned chief, and that the
other bodies were those of his attendants sent to accompany him
to the other world? This is perhaps as reasonable a conjecture as
any. Certain it is that this tumulus and that at Grave Creek were
fit pyramids for the Pharaohs of the New World.

It is not to be supposed that the mounds were the sole cemeteries
of the people who built them. Like the barrows of Europe, they
were probably erected only over the bodies of the chiefs and
priests, the wise men, and warriors of the tribe. The amount of
work required for the erection of a mound was too great to
provide one for every person. The greater number of the dead were
deposited elsewhere than in mounds, but it is doubtful whether we
can always distinguish the prehistoric burial places from those
of the later Indians. An ancient cemetery, discovered near
Madisonville, Ohio, proved to be a most interesting find, as it
was thought to be a burial place of the Mound Builders,27 but it
seems there is strong doubt on this point. One writer thinks this
was a cemetery of the Erie tribe of Indians, and not very ancient
in date.28

In Tennessee are to be found numerous burial places known as the
stone-grave cemeteries. Stone graves of a similar character are
found in Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. These are as yet but few
facts which can be used as indicating that all the stone graves
are of one people. Many of these cemeteries are of great
antiquity, while similar stone graves are of quite recent date.
In some places the cemeteries cover very large areas.

Terraced Mound.

We have now to describe a class of mounds that are always
regarded with great interest, as a number of our scholars think
they see in them the connecting link between the remains in this
country and those of Mexico and the South. These are generally
known as “temple mounds,” from the common impression that they
were sites of temples or public buildings. In general terms,
mounds of this class are distinguished by their large size and
regularity of form, and they always have a flat or level top. On
one side there is generally a graded way leading up to the
summit, in some instances several such methods of approach.
Sometimes the sides of the mound are terraced off into separate
stages.29

We have already noticed that different sections of country are
distinguished by different classes of mound remains. In the
present State of Ohio are found many altar mounds and inclosures.
In the West are large numbers of burial mounds, but the so-called
temple mounds are most numerous in the South. At one place in
Wisconsin is found a low embankment inclosing four low mounds
with leveled tops. But the resemblance between these and the
regular temple mounds is certainly slight. Only a few instances
of these flat-topped mounds are found in Ohio. Of these the still
existing “elevated squares” at Marietta are good examples.

Elevated Square, Marietta. This cut represents the mound
preserved in the park at Marietta. It is ten feet high, one
hundred and eighty-eight feet long, by one hundred and thirty-two
feet wide. The platform on the top has an area of about half an
acre. Graded ways lead up on each of the four sides. These grades
are twenty-five feet wide, and sixty feet long.30

As we approach the Gulf States, these platform mounds increase in
number. The best representative of this class, the most
stupendous example of mound builders’ work in this country, is
situated in Illinois, not far from St. Louis. The mound and its
surroundings are so interesting that they deserve special
mention. One of the most fertile sections of Illinois is that
extending along the Mississippi from the Kaskaskia to the Cahokia
river, about eighty miles in length, and five in breadth. Well
watered, and not often overflowed by the Mississippi, it is such
a fertile and valuable tract that it has received the name of the
“Great American Bottom.” It is well known that the Mound Builders
chose the most fertile spots for their settlements, and it is
therefore not surprising to find the evidence that this was a
thickly settled portion of their territory. Mr. Breckenridge,
writing in 1811, says: “The great number of mounds, and the
astonishing quantity of human bones, everywhere dug up or found
on the surface of the ground, with a thousand other appearances,
announces that this valley was at one time filled with
habitations and villages. The whole face of the bluff, or hill,
which bounds it on the east, appears to have been a continuous
burying ground.”31

Mounds are numerous in this section. We learn that there are two
groups of mounds or pyramids, one about ten miles above the
Cahokia, and the other about the same distance below it, more
than one hundred and fifty in all. Speaking of the group above
the Cahokia, Mr. Breckenridge says: “I found myself in the midst
of a group of mounds mostly of a circular shape, and, at a
distance, resembling enormous hay-stacks scattered through a
meadow. One of the largest which I ascended was about two hundred
paces in circumference at the bottom, the form nearly square,
though it had evidently undergone considerable alteration from
the washing of rains. The top was level, with an area sufficient
to contain several hundred men.” He represents the view from the
top of the mound to be a very extensive and beautiful one. From
this elevation he counted forty-five mounds or pyramids, besides
a great number of small artificial elevations. This group was
arranged in the form of a semicircle, about a mile in extent, the
open space being on the river.

Cahokia Mound.

Three miles above occurs the group in which is found the famous
big mound.32 This cut gives us a good idea of the mound as it was
in its perfect state. All accounts given of this mound vary. From
a cut of the model, as prepared by Dr. Patrick, the area of the
base is a trifle over fifteen acres.33 The ascent was probably on
the south side of the mound, where the little projection is seen.
The first platform is reached at the height of about fifty feet.
This platform has an area of not far from two and four-fifth
acres. Large enough for quite a number of houses, if such was the
purpose for which this mound was erected. The second platform is
reached at about the height of seventy-five feet, and contains
about one and three-fourth acres. The third platform is elevated
ninety-six or ninety-seven feet, while the last one is not far
from one hundred feet above the plain. The area of the last two
is about three-fourths of an acre each. The areas of all the
platforms are not far from six acres. We require to dwell on
these facts a moment before we realize what a stupendous piece of
work this is. The base is larger than that of the Great
Pyramid,34 and we must not lose sight of the fact that the earth
for its construction was scraped up and brought thither without
the aid of metallic tools or beasts of burden, and yet the earth
was obtained somewhere and piled up over an area of fifteen acres
in one place to a height of one hundred feet, and even the lowest
platform is fifty feet above the plain. Some have suggested that
it might be partly a natural elevation. There seems to be,
however, no good reason for such suggestions.

What motive induced the people to expend so much labor on this
mound? It is not probable that this was a burial mound, though it
may ultimately prove to be so. The most probable supposition is
that the mound was erected so as to secure an elevated site,
perhaps for purpose of defense, as on these platforms there was
abundant room for a large village, and an elevation or height has
always been an important factor in defenses. In this connection,
Prof. Putnam has called our attention to a fact which indicates
that a very long time was occupied in the construction of the
mound, and further, that a numerous population had utilized its
platforms as house sites—that is, that “everywhere in the
gullies, and over the broken surface of the mounds, mixed with
the earth of which it is composed, are quantities of broken
vessels of clay, flint chips, arrow-heads, charcoal, bones of
animals, etc., apparently the refuse of a numerous people.” The
majority of writers, however, think that this elevated site,
obtained as the result of so much labor, was utilized for
important public buildings, presumedly the temple of their gods,
and no one can help noticing the similarity between this
structure and those raised by the ancient Mexicans for both
religious purposes and town sites.

Mr. Foster thinks that “upon this platform was reared a capacious
temple, within whose walls the high-priests gathered from
different quarters at stated seasons, celebrated their mystic
rites, while the swarming multitudes below looked up with mute
adoration.”35 Mr. Breckenridge, whose writings we have already
referred to, at the time of his first visit, “everywhere observed
a great number of small elevations of earth, to the height of a
few feet, at regular distances apart, which appeared to observe
some order: near them pieces of flint and fragments of earthen
vessels.” From this he concludes that here was a populous town,
and that this mound was a temple site. It is doubtful whether we
shall ever pierce the veil that lies between us and this
aboriginal structure. The pyramids of the Old World have yielded
up their secret, and we behold in them the tombs of Egypt’s
kings. But this earthen pyramid on the western prairie is more
involved in mystery, and we do not know even its builders. If the
result of religious zeal, we may be sure that a religion which
exacted from its votaries the erection of such a stupendous piece
of work was one of great power.

As before remarked, “temple mounds” increase in numbers and
importance as we go south. In Kentucky they are more frequent
than in the States north of the Ohio River, and in Tennessee and
Mississippi they are still more abundant.36 We also learn that
they are often surrounded, or nearly so, with moats or ditches,
as if to fortify their location. Our next cut illustrates such an
arrangement—a circular wall of earth four feet high and two
thousand three hundred feet in circumference, incloses four
mounds, two of which are temple mounds. According to the late
Prof. Forshey, temple mounds abound in Louisiana. He described a
group situated in Catahoola County, in which the principal mound
has a base of more than an acre, a height of forty-two feet, and
the upper platform an area of nearly one-third of an acre. The
smaller mounds are arranged around this larger one. This group is
defended by an embankment. From this point for a distance of
twenty miles along the river, are scattered similar groups of
mounds; in all cases the smaller ones arranged around the larger
one, which is presumably the site of a temple.

Temple Mounds inclosed in a Circle.

A digression right here may not be devoid of interest. We are not
sure but that the dim, uncertain light of history falls on the
origin of this group of mounds. When the French first commenced
their settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley, the Natchez
Indians was the most powerful tribe in all that section. In the
course of time, wars ensued between them and the French, and in
the year 1730 they fled into Upper Louisiana, and settled at the
place where these mounds are now found. But the French followed
them a year or so afterwards, and nearly exterminated. them. Some
of our scholars think that they erected these mounds.37 The
historian of that epoch simply says they had “built a fort
there.” It is however questioned whether they had time to build
works of such magnitude. But they were both a mound-building and
a mound-using people, and we are not prepared to say how long it
would take them to do the work, until we know the number engaged,
methods employed, and other considerations.38 If they did not
build these works, they doubtless cleared them of trees and
utilized them; and this place was therefore the scene of the
final downfall of the Natchez—a people we have every reason to
regard as intimately connected with the prehistoric
mound-building tribes.

The largest temple mound in the South is near Seltzertown,
Mississippi. Its base covers about six acres, and it rises forty
feet. This slope was ascended by means of a graded way. The
summit platform has an extent of nearly four acres. On this
platform three other mounds had been reared—one at each end, and
a third in the center. Recent investigation by the Bureau of
Ethnology have shown that the base of this mound is a natural
formation. Lumps of sun-dried, or partially burnt clay, used as
plastering on the houses of the Mound Builders, gave rise to a
sensational account of a wall of sun-dried bricks two feet thick,
supporting the mound on the northern side.39 The famous Messier
Mound, in Georgia, is said to reach a height of ninety-five feet.
But a large part of this elevation is a natural eminence; the
artificial part is only a little over fifty feet.

Etowah Mound, Georgia.

A work of unusual interest occurs on the Etowah River, Georgia.
This cut gives us a plan of the work. We notice, first of all,
the moat or ditch by which they fortified their position. The
ditch is still from five to twenty-five feet deep, and from
twenty to seventy-five feet wide. It connects directly with the
river at one end, but stops short at the other. It surrounds
nearly fifty acres of land. At two points we notice reservoirs,
each about an acre in size, and an average depth of not less than
twenty feet. At its upper end is an artificial pond. This ditch,
with its reservoirs and pond, is no slight work. The large mound
seen in the center of the space is one of the largest of the
temple mounds. Its shape is sufficiently shown in the cut. The
height of the mound is sixty-five feet. We call especial
attention to the series of terraces leading up the south side of
the mound. Graded ways afford means of access from one terrace to
the other. A pathway is also seen on the eastern side.

To this group of works an interest attaches similar to that of
the group of works mentioned in Louisiana. We are not certain but
that we catch a glimpse of it while it was yet an inhabited
Indian town. This is contained in the brief accounts we have of
the wanderings of the unfortunate De Soto and his command. One of
the chroniclers of this expedition La Vega, describes one of the
towns where the weary Spaniards rested, and which we are sure was
somewhere in Northern Georgia, in such terms, mentioning the
graded way leading to the top, that Prof. Thomas, who has spent
some time in this investigation, thinks his description can apply
only to the mound under consideration.40 Whether this conclusion
will be allowed to stand, remains to be seen. But, if true, then
the darkness which rests upon this aboriginal structure lifts for
a moment and we see around it a populous Indian town, able to
send five hundred warriors to battle. The Spaniards marched on to
sufferings and death, and darkness again closed around the Etowah
Mound. When the Europeans next beheld it around it was the silent
wilderness; the warriors had departed; the trees of the forest
overspread it.

We have now described the principal mound structures, and shown
the different classes into which they are divided. But a large
class of mounds are found scattered all through the Mound
Builders’ territory that were probably used as signal mounds.
Burial mounds were also often used for this purpose.41 This was
because their location was always very favorable for signal
purposes. Signaling by fire is a very ancient custom. The Indians
on our western plains convey intelligence by this means at the
present day. Some tribes use such materials as will cause
different shades of smoke, using dried grass for the lightest,
pine leaves for the darkest, and a mixture for intermediate
purposes. They also vary the signal by letting the smoke rise in
an unbroken column, or cover the fire with a blanket, so as to
cause puffs of smoke. The evidence gathered from the position of
the mounds, and traces of fire on their summit, is that the Mound
Builders had a very extensive system of signal mounds.

Hill Mounds.

To illustrate this system, we would state that the city of
Newark, Ohio, was the site of a very extensive settlement of the
Mound Builders. This settlement was in a valley, but on all the
surrounding hills were located signal mounds. And it is further
stated that lines of signal mounds can be traced from here as a
center to other and more distant points. The large mound at Mt.
Vernon, twenty miles to the north, was part of this system. As
the settlements of the Mound Builders were mostly in river
valleys, we would expect to find all along on the bluffs fronting
these valleys traces of signal mounds. In the Scioto Valley, from
Columbus to Chillicothe, a distance of about forty miles, twenty
mounds “may be selected, so placed in respect to each other that
it is believed, if the country was cleared of forests, signals of
fire might be transmitted in a few minutes along the whole line.”
Some think the chain is much more extensive than this, and that
the whole Scioto Valley, from Delaware County to Portsmouth, was
so provided with mounds that signals could be sent in a very few
minutes the whole distance.42

Miamisburg Mound.

The valley of the Miami River was equally well provided with
signal mounds. This great mound, at Miamisburg, Ohio, rising to
the height of sixty-eight feet, was one of the chain by which
signals were transmitted along the valley. Not only was each
river valley thus provided, but there is evidence that
communication was established between different river systems, so
we can easily see how quickly the invasion of their country by an
enemy from any quarter would become known in widely scattered
sections. Immediately across the river from Chillicothe, Ohio, on
a hill nearly six hundred feet high, was located a signal mound.
A fire built upon it would be visible twenty miles up the valley,
and an equal distance down. It would be also visible far down the
valley of Paint Creek. Some think that such a system of lofty
observatories extended across the whole State of Ohio, of
Indiana, and Illinois, the Grave Creek mound, on the east, the
great mound at Cahokia, on the west, and the works in Ohio
filling up the line. We do not believe, however, it is safe to
draw such conclusions. It is doubtful whether there was any very
close connection between the tribes in these several sections.

In the State of Wisconsin are found some of the most interesting
remains of the Mound Builders. They are so different from the
ordinary remains found elsewhere that we must admit that the
people who built them differed greatly from the tribes who built
the great temple mounds of the South, or the earthworks of Ohio.
The remains in Wisconsin are distinguished not by their great
size or height, but by their singular forms. Here the mound
building instincts of the people were expressed by heaping up the
earth in the shape of animals. What strange fancy it was that led
them to mould the figures on the bluffy banks of the rivers and
the high lands about the lakes of their country, we shall perhaps
never know. That they had some design in this matter is, of
course, evident, and if we would try and learn their secret, we
must address ourselves to a study of the remains.

Effigy Mounds. Effigy mounds are almost exclusively confined to
the State of Wisconsin. We, indeed, find effigy mounds in other
sections, but they are of rare occurrence.43 They, however, show
that the same reasons, religious, or otherwise, exists in other
localities, while in the area covered by the southern portion of
the State of Wisconsin it found its greatest expression. This cut
affords us a fair idea of effigy mounds. Here are seen two
animals, one behind the other. On paper we can readily see the
resemblance. Stretched out on the ground, and of gigantic
proportions, the resemblance is not so marked, and some might
fail to notice it at first sight. Either of those figures is over
one hundred feet long, and about fifteen feet wide. With few
exceptions, effigy mounds are inconsiderable in height, varying
from one to four feet. These mounds have been carefully studied
of late years, and there is no doubt that in many instances we
can distinguish the animals represented.

We learn, then, that tribes formerly living in Wisconsin had the
custom of heaping up the earth in the shape of the various
animals peculiar to that section. But no effigies are found of
animals that have since become extinct, or of animals that are to
be found only in other lands.

Elephant Mound. Our next cut represents the famous elephant mound
of Wisconsin, on the strength of which a number of fair theories
have been given relating to the knowledge of the mastodon by the
builders of the mound, and its consequent antiquity. It now bears
some resemblance to an elephant, but we learn that the trunk was
probably produced by the washing of the banks and, from the same
cause, a projection above the head, supposed to represent horns,
has disappeared. Taking these facts into consideration, it is
quite as likely that it represented a buffalo.44 One writer even
thinks he found a representation of a camel, but the fact is, the
more these effigy mounds are studied, the more certain are we
that they are representations of animals formerly common in that
region.

Emblematic Mounds.

The manner in which they represented the various animals is full
of interest to us. It has been discovered that they worked on a
system. The last cut represents a group of three animals
discovered a few miles from the Blue Mounds in Dane County. We
notice at once a difference between the central animal, with a
tail, and the other two. It will also be observed that the
animals are represented in profile, with only two projections for
legs. They are never separated so that we can distinguish the two
front and the two hind feet. Animals so figured are the bear,
fox, wolf, panther, and others. Grazing animals, such as the
buffalo, elk, and deer, are represented with a projection for
horns. In the last cut the other two animals are buffaloes. In
various ways the particular kind of animal can nearly always be
distinguished.45

Grazing Elks. Fox in the Distance.

The preceding cut represents two elks grazing, and a fox in the
distance. The long embankments of earth at one side are
considered by Mr. Peet as in the nature of game drives. But we
call attention to the expressiveness with which these figures are
delineated. What could be more natural than the quietly grazing
elks, with the suspicious prowling fox in the distance. In the
cut we also see two cross-shaped figures. This was their method
of representing birds, a projection on each side of a central
body denoting wings. These figures are often very expressive.

Eagle Mound.