



1852.] 



EDITORIAL. 



25 



€tie CuitaMaH %mml 



TORONTO, SEPTEMBER, 1852. 



In the August Number of the Journal we alluded briefly to 

 its objects, and enumerated in general terms the sources from 

 which we hoped to obtain co-operation and support. We now 

 propose to consider more in detail the manner in which that 

 co-operation may be afforded, not, however, intending to restrict 

 in any way the intentions of our well-wishers, but rather with 

 the view of suggesting subjects of enquiry and observation which 

 some of our readei-s might consider unsuitable to the pages of 

 this Journal, or the objects of the Canadian Institute. 



First, then, we attach great impoi'tance to the opportunities 

 for observation and discovery presented by railway operations 

 now in progress in various parts of Upper Canada, and would 

 warmly urge upon the gentlemen engaged in the construction of 

 the different lines the importance of accurately recording the 

 many interesting facts which are daily disclosed. We recently 

 noticed in a local paper* a short account of the discovery of an 

 Indian burying-ground by the workmen on the Great Western 

 Railway, in excavating a bank in the neighbourhood of Windsor. 

 " In the burying-ground were found a large number of Indian 

 ornaments, consisting of silver pins, brooches, bracelets, amber 

 bead necklaces, &c., also, red stone pipes, copper camp kettles, 

 and a variety of articles usually buried with an Indian. The 

 place where these things were found was an Indian burying- 

 ground. A great many skulls, bones and skeletons have been 

 disinterred." 



With a view to collect accurate and complete information on 

 such interesting revelations as the one to which we have just 

 adverted, the Canadian Institute, in a circular of enquiry dated 

 June 12th, 1852, proposed ("and distributed far and wide) a 

 number of queries which we subjoin : — 



Indian Remains. — Although the subject of Indian mounds and 

 intienchmenta has of late years received much attention in the neigh- 

 bouring States, and it has been shewn by the investigations of Mr. 

 Squiert and others, that they exist in considSerable numbers in western 

 New York — particularly in the regiou occupying the first and second 

 plateaux round Lake Ontario — Upper Canada, a part of the same 

 region geographically, and peopled originally by the same, or nearly 

 allied races, remains to a great degree a terra incognita with respect to 

 this enquiry. I'he Council of the Canadian Institute deem it one 

 particularly worthy of tlie attention of those persons who, by their 

 pursuits, are brought into contact with such objects ; and from the 

 professedly practical character of their body, one of those also upon 

 which authentic and valuable information may be looked for, at the 

 hands of its members, as au early result of its incorporation. 



Tn one county alone, of the State of New York, (Jefferson County,) 

 Mr. Squier was enabled to discover fifteen inclosures or intrenchmeiits, 

 and he has estimated the total number which formerly existed in that 

 state, at from two hundred to two hundred and fifty. " Were these 

 works," he remarks "of the general large dimensiona of those of the 

 Western Slates, their numbers would be a just ground of astonishment. 

 They aie, however, for the must part, comparatively small, varying 

 from one to four acres, the largest not exceeding sixteen acres in area. 

 The embankments, too, are slight, and the ditches shallow : the former 

 seldom more than four feet in height, and the latter of corresponding 

 proportions. The work most distinctly marked exists in the town of 

 Oakfield, Genesee County ; it measures, in some places, between seven 



•The Canada Oak. 



tSmithsoni.in contributions to knowledge : Amtrican Journal, Vol. Xlf, No. 3?. 

 Vol. J, No. 2, Septkmbee, 1852. 



and eight feel from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the wall. In 

 some cases the embankment is not more than a foot in height, and the 

 trench of the same depth. Lest it should be doubted whether works 

 so slight can be satisfactorily traced, it may be observed that a regular 

 and continuous elevation of six inches may always be followed with- 

 out difficulty." 



" In respect to position," adds the same writer, " a very great unifor- 

 mity is to be observed throughout; most occupy high and commanding 

 sites near the bluff edges of the broad terraces by which the country 

 rises from the level of the lakes. When found on lower grounds, it is 

 usually upon some dry knoll or little hill, or where banks of streams 

 serve to lend security to the position. A few have been found upon 

 slight elevations in the midst of swamps, where dense forests, and 

 almost impassable marshes, protected them from discovery and attack. 

 In nearly all cases they are placed in close proximity to some unfail- 

 ing supply of water, or running streams. Gateways, opening toward 

 these, are always to be observed, and in some cases guarded passages 

 are visible." 



To this clear and concise description little need be added. The 

 enquiries proposed by the Canadian Institute, are the following : — 



1. Name of township and number of lot in which any Intrenchment 

 or Mound exists. 



2. The area and dimensions, from actual measurement, and if possi- 

 ble, a plan, with sections. 



3. A general description of the situation and neighbourhood. 



4. Are there any trees growing on the artificial earthwork, if so, 

 their size, the number of rings of annual growth in the largest stump 

 to be found ? To cut a tree down to ascertain this fact, unless they 

 are numerous, would be to destroy a very valuable standing evidence 

 to the antiquity of the work. 



5. Are there still, or were there, previously to clearing, trees of large 

 size in the area of the work ? 



6. Is the place known to the Indians in the neighbourhood by any 

 name ? Have they any traditions respecting it 1 



7. Are stone axes, arrow-heads, weapons or utensils, ever ploughed 

 up in the vicinity ? Is broken pottery common ? Have the remains 

 of concealed stores been discovered ? Specimens of any of these 

 objects will be highly valued. 



8. Are there evidences of the place having been suiTounded with 

 posts or pickets ? 



9. Have utensils or weapons of copper or iron ever been discovered, 

 leading to the inference that the place was occupied since the inter- 

 course of the natives with Europeans began ? 



10. Specimens of Indian skulls or crania having evidence of anti- 

 quity will be valued. But the Council distinctly disown any wish or 

 desire to disturb native burial places of comparatively recent date, and 

 strongly recommend that they be treated with respect. 



11. Are there any mounds or tumuli of artificial construction, or any 

 mounds or elevatious which from their regularity suggest a suspicion 

 of such an origin, if so, state the same particulars respecting them ? 



12. Are there any local names of Indian origin in your township or 

 neighbourhood ; if so, a list of them, indicating the language to which 

 tliey belong, their correct pronunciation, their interpretation or meaning, 

 ana the local circumstances on which they may appear to be founded, 

 will be highly .icceptable ? 



13. Copies of any noteworthy native drawings or writings, such as 

 those existing on what are called the pictured rocks of Lake Superior 

 and Lake Huron, and generallv drawings of any objects connected 

 with the subjects of these enquiries, will be thankfully received. 



We solicit the attention of those who are interested in the 

 attractive subject of Indian Remains to the foregoing enquiries. 

 For our own part, we shall at all times be glad to introduce into 

 the Journal wood-cuts of any relic possessing peculiar interest, 

 when transmitted for the inspection of the Institute, or as a 

 contribution to the Museum now in progress of formation. 



Another subject of much scientific and economic importance 

 is involved in the collection and publication of accurate descrip- 

 tions and diagrams of strata, which may be disclose<l by deep 

 cuttings, either in the drift formation or in rocks upon which 

 the drift reposes. Fossil remains of large dimensions are not 

 unfrequently found in the drift, and the foundation limestone 

 rocks of the Western part of the Province teem with innumer- 



