June 27, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



38 f 



straig-lit base, found also in the Ohio mounds. As the author 

 quoted wrote before any specimens had been unearthed from 

 mounds, he must have seen in use that of which he speaks. 

 This, we repeat, is somewhat remarkable, and forms a link 

 coniiectins: the Cherokees and mound-builders of Ohio suffi- 

 cient to warrant the theory here advanced, were there no 

 other evidences bearing on the question. 



The fact that no engraved shells bearing designs like 

 those found in North Carolina and Tennessee have been dis- 

 covered in Ohio forms no objection to the theory. Arts and 

 ■customs are not always ethnical or tribal: some are acquired 

 hy contact and intercourse with other tribes. The custom of 

 carving and wearing these shell gorgets did not originate 

 with the Cherokees, but was acquired by coutact with other 

 tribes, after they had reached their southern home. 



These objections do not militate against the theory, which 

 IS established on too broad a basis of facts and resemblances 

 to be set aside by its failure to account for all the discov- 

 eries made. Investigations in regard to the origin and use 

 of these ancient monuments must be made chiefly by com- 

 parisons and deductions, as historical evidence is in most 

 cases wanting, and absolute demonstration impossible. 



Attention was called in the first part of the paper to the 

 conclusion reached by linguists, that the language of this 

 tribe belongs to the Huron-Iroquois family, thus necessi- 

 tating the inference that we must look to the same locality 

 for the origin of both. This throws a faint ray of light on 

 the history of our tribe preceding their arrival on the banks 

 of the Mississippi. But before attempting to follow this 

 slender clew, attention is called to some general considera- 

 tions drawn from a comprehensive study of the monuments 

 of the mound section. 



In entering upon a discussion of the routes by which the 

 mound-builders came into this section, an examination of 

 the general distribution of the prehistoric remains is neces- 

 sary. At present we are concerned only with what may be 

 considered the boundaries thereof. Although the data are 

 not sufHcient to determine these limits accurately, enough 

 has been ascertained to indicate what will probably be found 

 in the end to be true. 



Limiting the consideration to what are usually classed as 

 the genuine works of the mound-builders, the eastern bound- 

 ary extends from central New York along the Appalachian 

 range to Virginia, diverging thence south-eastward so as to 

 strike the Atlantic coast in South Carolina. The Gulf coast, 

 west of Florida, appears to be generally bare of mounds 

 (with the exception of shell and refuse heaps) for some dis- 

 tance toward the interior. On the north, the lakes and 

 Rainy River form a tolerably well defined border, but west 

 of the source of the Mississippi there is a northward exten- 

 sion into Manitoba which has not been fully traced; yet the 

 indications are that but few ancient works will be discovered 

 north of the Assiniboin region. Most of the mounds of this 

 section which have been explored appear to be somewhat re- 

 cent, though others bear evidence of being contemporaneous 

 ■with the works of Wisconsin. On the west the plains ap- 

 pear to form the boundary from North Dakota to Texas, a 

 line of recent works along the Missouri River forming the 

 only exception, so far as known. 



The statement frequently made, that the works of the 

 mound-builders continue across Texas into Mexico, appears 



to be without any foundation ; for up to the present time 

 but few have been discovered south of Red River, except in 

 the eastern part of Louisiana. 



So far, therefore, as the facts ascertained are concerned, 

 the distribution of the works of the mound-builders affords 

 but little evidence on which to base a theory in regard to the 

 lines along which the authors of these works entered the 

 mound section. The exceptions, if any, are to be found in 

 Florida and the North-west. But this statement must not 

 be taken as indicative of a theory held by the writer, for he 

 is not inclined to the opinion that the mound-building ele- 

 ment, except possibly that of southern Florida, entered 

 through this peninsula. Although he has reached no set- 

 tled conclusion on this subject, he has been inclined to look 

 more to the north-west and west for the lines of immigration 

 than elsewhere, but freely confesses that he finds but little 

 in the works along the border on which to base any theory 

 on this subject. 



While this is true considering the section as a whole in its 

 relation to the other comprehensive archaeological divisions 

 of the continent, there are, on the other hand, decided indi- 

 cations of movements within the mound section. 



The works of the effigy-mound district, confined chiefly to 

 the southern half of Wisconsin and the immediately adjoin- 

 ing sections, are peculiar, and formed a puzzling factor to 

 those holding the theory of one great nation of mound- 

 builders. The study of these appears to lead all those who 

 have devoted attention to them to the conviction that the 

 more elaborate forms, are, as a rule, older than the simpler 

 ones. 



Following up the slight clew thus afforded, and using the 

 faint rays of light thrown on the history of the builders by 

 the distribution of the mounds, we are led to believe that 

 their entrance into the district was most likely at its south- 

 western corner, about what is now the north-eastern part of 

 Iowa, and that the area longest occupied was the south- 

 western portion of Wisconsin. The indications are, that 

 they shifted back and forth between the Mississippi River 

 and Lake Michigan, and finally made their exit at the north- 

 western boundary of the State, a part going as far north as 

 southern Manitoba. From there they at length passed 

 southward into Dakota, where the mounds fade out, and the 

 presence of the descendants of the builders — who, we are in- 

 clined to believe, pertain to the Dakotan stock — is indicated 

 only by surface figures 



Another movement, traced by certain classes of works and 

 vestiges of art which we ascribe to the ancestors of the 

 Cherokees, was that already mentioned, extending from east- 

 ern Iowa through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Vir- 

 ginia, to the mountain region of North Carolina and East 

 Tennessee. 



A tiiird line is indicated by certain types of prehistoric re- 

 mains extending from Michigan, along the southern shore 

 of Lake Erie, into New York; but nothing has been found 

 in these remains by which to determine the direction of the 

 movement. There is little doubt, however, that the works 

 along this line are attributable to one or more tribes of the 

 Huron Iroquois family. 



Another class of works forms an irregular line extending 

 from southern Illinois, through Kentucky and middle Ten- 

 nessee, to the north-east corner of Georgia; the area of chief 



