CHAPTER XVI. 



ME'l'ALS, MINERALS, FOSSILS, SHELLS. ETC. 



Frequent allusion has been made, in the preceding pages, to the numerous 

 rare and beautiful varieties of minerals, fossils, and shells, disclosed from the 

 mounds ; but no opportunity has been afforded to speak of them with desirable ful- 

 ness. The identification, accurate or approximate, of the localities from whence 

 these were obtained, will serve, in a degree, to reflect light upon the grand archae- 

 ological questions of the origin, migration, and intercommunication of the race of 

 the mounds. In this respect they are of value ; for, in the investigations here 

 attempted, we are compelled to press into the work of elucidation, every fact and 

 circumstance which can, in any way, affect the subject of our inquiries. The 

 discovery of ohsidian, a purely volcanic production, in the mounds, in a region 

 entirely destitute of the evidences of immediate volcanic action, is, to the com- 

 monest apprehension, a remarkable fact, a subject of wonder ; but neither marvels 

 nor mysticism have aught to do with science. The fact, to the mind of the rational 

 archaeologist, is suggestive only of the inquiry. Whence was this singular product 

 obtained ? Its presence cannot be accounted for, in the quantities discovered, 

 except upon the supposition that it was transported from a distance ; which suppo- 

 sition involves, of necessity, intercommunication or migration. To measure the 

 bounds of intercourse, casual or constant, or define the course of migration, it is 

 necessary to ascertain the exact primitive locality of the product in question. So 

 far as we are informed, the nearest point of its occurrence is Mexico, the ancient 

 inhabitants of which country apphed it extensively to the very purposes for which 

 it was used by the race of the mounds. 



In this process of investigation, there are many circumstances which must come 

 under view and receive due consideration, before we venture upon the simplest 

 conclusions. They are, however, entirely omitted in this connection ; the object of 

 the illustration being simply to show in what general manner facts of this kind 

 may be made subservient, and of what importance they may become in a system 

 of research, in which we have neither written record nor even the voice of tradition 

 to give direction to our inquiries. 



It so happens that it is difficult in every case to detect the true nature of the 

 remains discovered, and often quite impossible to point out their original localities. 

 Hence the necessity of presenting a comprehensive view of their extent and cha- 

 racter, so that oth(!r laborers in the field of antiquarian research may be able to 

 institute comparisons, and indicate localities, and thus gradually work out the 

 grand problems involved in our nboriginal historv. Tlir process may appear tedi- 



