the Esquimaux to that of the Fuegians;* and though neither by their size nor their contents, do they impress us with a high opinion of the civilization of their authors, still they shed some light upon their ancient history. If the Indians are the branches and descendants of a more civilized people, and have retrograded from a higher condition of society-an opinion supported by many curious facts-we may expect to find the greatest differences between them, and their more civilized ancestors, in such circumstances as are always affected by a change in mode of life; and to discover the strongest signs of affinity, if any, in religious belief, and in such customs as are arbitrary, and not the spontaneous and natural growth of a particular state of society. Accordingly we can trace a few such resemblances in their productions of art, and in their domestic manners; but the moment we contemplate their religion, and, above all, their method of disposing of the dead and their sepulchral monuments, a great and striking uniformity is exhibited. Reverence for the dead, though it be a feeling common to all mankind, and natural to the human heart, is a most marked and distinguishing trait in the character of the members of the Red race-not however as a sentiment, but as a religious and mystic feeling, springing less from the kindly affections of the soul, than from a superstitious impression, deeply imprinted in the very elements of their character. Even among such barbarous native tribes, as possess the lowest estimate of social virtues and duties, and as are characterized by the most savage indifference and selfishness in all the near and tender relations of life, the moment the spirit has left the body, a new chord seems to be struck in the hearts of

* Parry's Voyages.--Silliman.

the survivors, and those, who were neglected and perhaps hated when living, are venerated in death; and thus monuments have been reared over the bones of the departed, which, when alive and in the full tide of successful power and commanding influence, they could not have extorted as tributes of respect or obedience. Amid the barren waste of Indian apathy, here is a green spot whereon to rest the eye-a singular exception to that impenetrable, obdurate stoicism, possessed by them, in common with the more cultivated nations of the same race. Herein we perceive the reason, why the tumuli are the only monuments of the Indians; for with this religious feeling, as transmitted to them from their forefathers, they have also preserved the custom of erecting sepulchral mounds. In this view, these rude monuments are of important consideration; for, appearing alike, among the remains of art, and in the seats of the ancient civilized nations, and in remote regions whither civilization never penetrated, they develope one of the arguments tending to establish the common origin of all the American aborigines, whether barbarous or cultivated.

CHAPTER II.

ANCIENT REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE next, and perhaps the only legitimate class of American antiquities, affords unquestionable proofs of an origin from nations of great cultivation. Though all of them are assimilated by many striking general resemblances, still their local position and some characteristic differences suggest a ternary division, into such as have been discovered, 1st, within the territory of the United States; 2d, in Central America, Mexico and the adjoining provinces; and 3d, in Peru and other parts of South America.

1. The ancient remains of the United States bear evident marks of being the production of a people, elevated far above the savage state. Many of them indicate great elegance of taste, and a high degree of dexterous workmanship and mechanical skill, in their construction; others betoken the existence of a decided form of religious worship; while the size and extent of the earthen fortifications and mounds demonstrate the former existence of populous nations, capable of executing works of enormous dimensions, requiring perseverance, time and combination of labor for their erection.

A detail of these vestiges of that vast population, which once occupied the richest agricultural portion of our country, though minute and circumstantial, cannot be devoid of interest; and in

any event these relics demand attention, as the monuments of an ancient and perhaps enlightened species of the human race, whence, in the absence of clearer testimony, we must endeavor to gather materials for their history.

The first class of these antiquities is composed of articles of mechanical workmanship, which have most frequently been discovered within the graves, mounds, and mural remains; and of other objects, of a miscellaneous character. The art of pottery is one of very early invention, as fragments of earthenware are found among the oldest ruins of the world. Its productions, though fragile, have withstood the effects of time more durably than the most massive structures, and specimens still exist entire, coeval in date with the remotest periods of civilization. Those found in the United States, of ancient construction, are of different qualities and dimensions--some, by estimate from fragments, having been of large capacity.* The chalk banks below the mouth of the Ohio river have contained several of great merit in execution, and a pitcher, which has been discovered there, is said to resemble the Scyphus of the ancients. Its model was the bottle-gourd; the neck is moulded in imitation of that of a woman with clubbed hair; the outlet resembles a distorted human mouth; and the whole vessel, though formed by the hand, is modelled with great nicety and precision.‡

An earthen vessel found at Nashville, Tennessee, twenty feet below the surface, is described as being circular, with a flat bottom rounding upwards, and terminating at the summit in the figure of a female head. The features of the face are

* Flint's Recollections, p. 166. Archæologia Americana, vol. i. p. 214.

† Ibid, pp. 173, 174.

Asiatic, the head is covered by a conical cap, and the ears are large, extending as low as the chin. The most curious specimen of pottery is that denominated the Triune-vessel, which was disinterred from the earth, near an ancient work upon the Cumberland river.* It consists of three heads, joined together at the back, near the top, by a hollow stem or bottle. The heads are of the same dimensions, and represent very accurately three different countenances, two appearing young and the other old. The faces are partly painted with red and yellow, the colors still preserving great brilliancy. The features are distinguished by thick lips, high cheek-bones, the absence of a beard, and the pointed shape of the head. An idol† discovered in a tumulus at Nashville presents the figure of a man without arms, and the nose and chin mutilated. The head is covered with a fillet and cake, and the hair is plaited :-The composition is of fine clay mixed with gypsum. Colored medals representing the sun with its rays, other idols of various forms, and urns containing calcined human bones, some modelled after the most elegant and graceful patterns, have been found in the mounds. The fragments of earthenware, discovered at great depths near the western salt-works, are often of immense size. A large vessel, of coarse description, has been found there, eighty feet below the surface, of capacity to hold ten gallons; while others have been excavated at greater depths, and of larger dimensions. Within a mound lately opened at Lancaster, in Ohio, upon a furnace disposed at the level of the earth, there rested the largest ancient vessel yet discovered. It was eighteen feet long, six

* Archæologia Americana, vol. i. p. 238.

Ibid. vol. i. p. 211.

Ibid. vol. i. p. 243.