diameter.* The circumference of its base is three hundred yards; and there is no excavation in the vicinity whence its materials could have been obtained. At a short distance stand three smaller elevations, and several others appear scattered around in different directions. Some of these contained relics of copper, instruments of stone, and human bones; and one is encompassed by a ditch, and parapet five feet in height, intersected by a single gateway.†

One of these mounds has been recently penetrated on the north side, about four feet above the base, by a passage proceeding horizontally towards the centre. Two vaults were discovered, constructed at different dates; one placed near the top, the other near the bottom: they had been built with pillars of wood supporting a roof of stone. The lower chamber contained two skeletons,—the bones much decayed,-which appeared to have been buried in an erect or sitting position. In the upper chamber, besides the decomposed bones of a skeleton, there were found ivory beads, copper wristlets, small plates of mica, marine shells of the genus voluta, and a flat stone marked with unknown characters.

On the low grounds of the Kenhawa, in Virginia, near the junction of one of its branches, the Elk river, is a mound nearly forty feet in altitude. The circumference of its base measures one hundred and forty yards; its form is that of a truncated cone; and upon the summit there is a level area twelve or thirteen feet in diameter. Near it is a group of several smaller mounds; and within a few miles of this stands another, said to

* Harris's Tour, p. 62.--Silliman's Journal, vol. vi. p. 166.

† Amer. Phil. Trans., vol. iii. p. 215.

be much higher. No marks of excavation are to be seen in the neighborhood, and it is supposed that the earth employed in its erection was brought from some distance.*

On the Cahokia, nearly opposite to St. Louis, in the state of Illinois, within a circuit of four to seven miles, there are upwards of one hundred and fifty mounds. One of these, called The Monk mound, from having been occupied by some friars of the order of La Trappe, is truncated, and in the form of a parallelogram, stretching from the north to the south. Its height

is ninety feet, and the circumference of its base has been estimated to be from two thousand to two thousand four hundred feet.‡ Upon the southern side is a terrace, twenty feet lower than the summit, which formerly was approached by an inclined plane, projecting from its middle, about fifteen feet wide. The arrangement of some of the smaller mounds appears to have been made with reference to this; and the mounds of another group, near by, are symmetrically placed in the form of a semicircle. Arrow-heads, earthenware and human bones have been discovered in the vicinity, and by excavations into the body of the Monk mound. At the junction of the Catahoola, Washita and Tensa rivers, in Louisiana, another truncated mound, with a similar step or terrace, may be observed, surrounded by a group of smaller size.§

In the immediate vicinity of St. Louis, on the other side of the Mississippi, there are also several other groups of mounds. One of these mounds, situated on the second bank of the river, is formed with three stages, or platforms, upon the side facing

* Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. vol. vi. p. 138.

† Beck's Gazetteer, pp. 43, 139.

Brackenridge's Views, p. 173.

§ Ibid. p. 175.

the river; and another with two stages. The arrangement of these series of mounds is symmetrical, and they are generally in the form of truncated pyramids. Those of them that have been excavated have disclosed human bones, earthenware, charred wood, and other miscellaneous articles.*

Near Natchez is a number of mounds, several of which have been penetrated. Of these, a group about eleven miles from that city, is the most remarkable. One of them thirty-five feet high, of an oval form, and with precipitous sides, presents on its summit an elliptical area of four acres, encompassed by an embankment around the margin. Within this enclosure on the east side rises another mound fifteen feet high: on the north side are two more, on the south two, and on the west is a fifth thirty feet high, and with a flat summit. The large mound is surrounded by a ditch at its base, and on its sides are indentations, and projections resembling salient angles. In the middle of the area at the top of the mound, is the mouth of a subterranean passage leading to a spring, and in the opposite quarter towards the south are traces of a similar outlet. On the eastern side are two smaller elevations ten feet high, which appear like terraced bastions. Remains of excavated roads converging to this great work are still visible, and many weapons, implements, vessels, fragments of pottery and human bonest have. been discovered.

Upon the north side of the Etowah river, in Georgia, is a mound seventy-five feet high, and one thousand in circumference at its base. An inclined plane for the purpose of ascent to

* Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. i. p. 155. Southwest by a Yankee, vol. ii. p. 224. Silliman's Journal, vol. i. p. 322.

its level summit extends from one of its sides; and two others, after rising thirty or forty feet, terminate in triangular platforms or terraces, upon the other side. At the south-east is another mound with its top encircled by a breastwork.*

In Florida there are numerous mounds. Some upon the shores of the sea are composed of shells, and have been found to contain clay-ware, ashes, and charcoal. One found on Penon island, of a conical form, upon being opened disclosed human bones; and De Soto is said to have obtained from others pearls, "and the figures of children and birds made also of pearl.”† Numbers of earthen mounds appear throughout the whole of this territory, unconnected with the ancient fortifications; and from their being found bearing at cardinal points from each other, remote from natural landmarks, and in conspicuous situations, it is supposed they were intended as marks of territorial division.‡

On the eastern margin of a prairie at the back of Vincennes in Indiana, are several uncommonly large mounds, presenting the form of vast truncated cones. "In the immense masses of earth employed in their construction, and perhaps also in their comparatively ill-defined basal margins, these tumuli bear a close resemblance to the mounds of St. Louis.§

Mount Joliet, another mound of some celebrity, is situated in the northern part of the state of Illinois, and was first ob

* Mr. Adair describes two of these structures which existed in the Choctaw country. They were of great size, of an oblong form, and both enclosed by a broad deep ditch and a breast-work.-Adair, p. 378.

† A Relation of the Invasion and Conquest of Florida, etc. pp. 64, 65.

G. F. Clarke's Essay.

Schoolcraft's Mississippi, p. 157.

served by the Sieur Joliet in 1673.* It is an oval structure corresponding in its position with the cardinal points; the length of its base is about one thousand feet, and its breadth seven hundred and fifty. It is of a pyramidal form, level at the top, and one of the largest mounds in the United States.

Near New Madrid, Missouri, a number of mounds occur, one of which is twelve hundred feet in circumference, and forty in height. It is also truncated, and surrounded at its base by an entrenchment and ditch.t

Upon the Arkansas river, just below the town of Arkansas, formerly stood a large mound, forty feet high, situated towards the centre of a circle of other smaller mounds, and some elevated platforms, or terraces of earth.‡

Such is a brief sketch of the most remarkable of the ancient mural remains, mounds, and other relics of the nations which formerly occupied a large portion of our country. In these monuments are we presented with the only direct testimonies wherefrom to deduce some historical knowledge of their authors; and before proceeding further, it may be well to inquire what facts appear to be established at this stage of the investigation.

1. Their identity of origin.-The general character of all

* Beck's Gazetteer, p. 141.

† Ibid. p. 304.

Nuttall's Arkansas, p. 69.-Vide also, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. iii. p. 217.

At Baton Rouge there are mounds composed entirely of shells, like some of those in Florida. Mr. Brackenridge says, "I have been informed that in the plains between the Arkansas and St. Francis, the mounds are numerous and some very large," and he also gives a list of fifteen different places, at the West, where there are extensive groups of these monuments.—Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. iii. p. 155.