340 DAVKNPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



as Mound No. 3, on the Cook farm, adjoining the city of Davenport. 

 The principal discoverer was Rev. Jacob Oass, a Lutheran clergyman, 

 then settled over a congregation in Davenport. In this exploration 

 Mr. Gass was assisted by L. H. Willrodt and K. S. Stoltzenau, with 

 five other persons who were accidentally present during the opening of 

 the mound. The discovery was made on January roth, 1877. An 

 exact and careful statement of the facts connected therewith was soon 

 after i>repared by Rev. Mr. Gass, and read at an early meeting of 

 the Davenport Academy. It was published, and may be found in 

 its 'Proceedings.' Upon the announcement of the discovery, the 

 officers and members of the Academy were early on the ground to 

 verify the statements made by the discoverers. The gentlemen en- 

 gaged in the exploration are well known and held in high esteem; their 

 testimony as to all essential facts is clear and convincing, and the cir- 

 cumstances narrated seem to fully establish the genuineness of these 

 relics. That their statement contains only facts all who know them 

 will not question, and that the mound from which the relics were ob- 

 tained had not been previously disturbed is sufficiently established by 

 their testimony. The authenticity of this discovery must therefore be 

 conceded by every fair-minded inquirer. 



"The third inscribed tablet was found on January 30th, 1878, in 

 Mound No. 11, in the group of mounds on Cook's farm, in the suburbs 

 of Davenport, and in close proximity to the mound wherein the other 

 tablets were discovered. That indefatigable explorer, Rev. J. Gass, 

 was also present during these further researches, and had for his assist- 

 ants John Hume and Charles E. Harrison, both members of the Acad- 

 emy, and well and favorably known in this community. The circum- 

 stances of this discovery, as narrated by Mr. Harrison, are published 

 in the Proceedings of the Academy. No suspicions whatever attach 

 to this discovery, and the well-attested facts connected therewith estab- 

 lish beyond reasonable doubt that, whether more or less ancient, the 

 tablet was deposited at the making of the mound. 



"Of the elephant pipes in the museum of the "Academy, one was dis- 

 covered in March, 1880, in a mound on the farm of Mr. P. Hass, in 

 Louisa County, Iowa, by Rev. A. Blumer, a Lutheran clergyman from 

 a neighboring city, and was by him donated to the Academy. Rev. 

 J. Gass, Mr. F. Hass, and a number of workmen were present, assist- 

 ing in the exploration. A detailed account of the finding, prepared by 

 Rev. Mr. Blumer, is published in the Proceedings of the Academy. 

 From the social standing and high character of the principal discover- 

 ers, no question has been, or can be, successfully raised as to the 

 authenticity of this discovery. The other elephant pipe was not ' dis- 

 covered ' by Rev. J. Gass, but was obtained by him from a farmer in 

 Louisa County, Iowa. This man found it while planting corn on his 

 farm several years prior to that date, and attached no particular value 

 to the relic, but had sometimes used it in smoking. A brief account 

 of its finding is given in the Proceedings of the Academy. It will thus 

 be perceived that there are no suspicious circumstances connected 

 with either of these discoveries, but that the surrounding and well- 



