184 Editorial Miscellany. 



The prairies along- the AVhite and Arkansas rivers are dotted with 

 the remahis of once populous cities, whose outlines may be readily 

 traced in the foundations of dwellings Avith avenues between. Beside 

 countless smaller elevations the lowlands west of Memphis contain 

 many mounds varying from 40 to 60 feet in altitude. In the swamps, 

 covered with decayed vegetation, are found remains of brick structures ; 

 and the highway opened years ago t»y Gen. Gaines, follows an artificia) 

 roadway lifted above the flood-tide of the INlississippi by the ancient 

 race. 



Many interesting relics of primitive art are found which exhibit a 

 singular beauty of workmanship, but do not differ materially from those 

 discovered hi other localities. Among these, however, are some whose 

 evident uses throw new light upon the customs of the aborigines. 

 Earthen vessels, very thin and light, from graves near Osceola, when 

 suspended in the air on a hot day are found to render contained water 

 excedingly cold by rapid evaporation through the porous clay— a use 

 clearly indicated by the peculiar shape of the vessels. A "bronze" 

 (copper?) idol from a mound near Fulton, Tennessee, singularly 

 resembles Japanese workmanship and design. In the same mound 

 was found an earthen box Avith close-fitting lid, containing "pills." 

 A skeleton beside it crumbled on exposure to the air. The pills 

 were sent to Cincinnati for analysis, but the result was never ascer- 

 tained. A crucible, showing marks of use, and containing glistening 

 particles of molten metal, and a narrow necked vessel with glossy 

 surface, resembling Etruscan ware, are also described. 



Wheat, grown on the banks of the Mississippi from grains taken out 

 of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, possesses stalks and leaves resemb- 

 ling miniature Indian corn or sorghum ; and the Avriter quoted, speak- 

 ing, as is alleged, with specimens so groAvn before him, asserts that the 

 same wheat, degenerate, but perfect in all its incidents, still grows 

 among the weeds and grasses that cover the Avorks on the lowlands 

 referred to, eighteen miles west of Memphis. A mound, sixteen miles 

 east of Little Rock, Arkansas, is 250 feet in height. Another near 

 by, 100 feet in height, is a truncated square pyramid, Avhose summit is 

 an acre in area. 



Colorado Antiquities. — The results attained by the First Division 

 of the Geological and Topographical Survey of the Territories include 

 the discovery of numerous ruins of towns and dAvellings of extinct 

 races Avho inhabited the mesas and canons, sometimes elevated a thous- 

 and feet vertically above the stream beloAV. Remains of glazed pottery, 

 and the structure of these dwellings and fortifications indicate a more 



