MILITARY CHARACTER OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 479 



arations for war seem to have been with them a secondary object. Perhaps their forts 

 were not erected until after a long residence here, when they were threatened by warlike 

 neighbors. 



The period during which they were compelled to turn their attention to military affairs 

 was probably short ; and, when their preparations were made, they may have withdrawn 

 further south without a vigorous defence. 



The conclusion at which I arrive is, that we have not yet discovered the fighting implements 

 of the race of the Mounds. Although there is no satisfactory evidence that they engaged 

 in wars, it would be against all history and the inherent pugnacity of the human race to 

 conclude that they had none. A people without wars and warlike preparations has never 

 been known. The race of the Mounds constructed a large number of strong and perma- 

 nent forts, most of them located with military skill, so as to make the most of the position 

 for defensive purposes. 



We find no proof that these works were called into requisition for defence, but the fact 

 of their existence shows that they were prepared for war. If so, they must have had 

 weapons of offence and defence, but what they were we cannot affirm. Their stone axes 

 may have served the double purpose of battle-axes and of cutting instruments, but a people 

 thus highly advanced in mechanics must have had something better. Their copper knives, 

 daggers, and spears are not strong enough for the purposes of a lance or spear intended to 

 stand the shock of armed men. Nothing resembling a sword has been discovered. 



The sharp instruments with sockets and shanks, which I have presented, were doubtless 

 designed for short handles, no larger than could be used in one hand, like a dirk or dagger. 

 The smaller ones could also be used as arrow-heads, and all of them are better fitted for 

 hunting wild animals than for military purposes. 



I have referred to the small number of flint knives, and arrow or spear-heads of stone 

 found in the mounds. Most of the flint implements are discs, or oval cutters with curved 

 edges. Most of the flint knives and arrow-heads, which are so plentifully found at the West, 

 appear to belong to the Indians, who did not use them as spears or lances. 



Some of the flint implements might have formed the cutting part of a war club, or wooden 

 battle-axe. There are many modes known among uncivilized tribes for making a formidable 

 weapon out of wood and sharp stones or bone, in the nature of a club. It is singular that 

 so few relics of a warlike character are found in the mounds, while so many forts exist in 

 the country. If the tumuli were erected in honor of martial heroes, there should have 

 been in their tombs the warlike implements which they used in battle. Instead of this, 

 most of the relics which have been discovered are mere ornaments and symbols, the latter 

 of a religious cast. 



o 



3. Fortifications of the Aborigines. 



There are those who attribute the old forts to the red men, which the white race found in 

 possession of the country. Objections to this view are so numerous that it will not bear 

 examination. Tbe Indian mode of warfare as against their own race, consisted in surprises 

 and retreats, not in persistent attacks or defences. To open fighting they have always been 

 averse. In the first expeditions of Champlain against the Iroquois, south of Lake Ontario, 

 in 1609 and 1615, he found their forts to consist of wooden barricades only, made of posts, 



