SKETCH OF ANCIENT EARTH WORKS ?)61 



of from twelve to fifteen skeletons, upon wlucli were laid large plates, consist- 

 ing of mica of thi; finest quality in regird to transparency and size. Now, it is 

 ■well known that no mica is found in place in the Mississippi valley, and the 

 quej^tion arises as to where such plates as those, of from eight to ten inches in 

 length, by from five to seven inches wide, and from one-half to one inch thick, 

 are to be found. It is evident that they must have been brought from a great 

 distance, perhaps hundreds of miles, and since the quantity, estimated at from 

 twelve to twenty bushels in this place alone, was so great, the labor of trans- 

 porting it could not have been trivial. It would seem that this mineral was 

 highly esteemed by the mound builders, since many large plates of it have been 

 ploughed up for several miles around. To what use these plates of transpartnit 

 mica were put, or what superstition was connected witli them, is another riddle 

 that remains to be read. 



The structure and plans of thf principal ancient earthworks of the Missis- 

 sippi valley have been described and dehneated by Atwater, Davis, and Squier, 

 and others ; yet much remains to be done in determining the precise purposes 

 for which they were constructed. We may assume as an obvious fact that the 

 mound builders; in the peculiarity of every form, curve, and line of their works, 

 had a purpose or design, but what that design was in many cases is yet to be 

 discovered. Wise or foolish, it is locked up in the grave with its projectors, 

 and there it will probably remain. That this people was progressive, or that 

 the ancient works were constructed by difierent races having each peculiarities 

 of their own, is evident; for, on going south, we find a change in the outlines 

 and plans of these remains. In southern Tennessee the writer has examined 

 several earthworks, and found that the large circular enclosures, the great 

 squares, and the long parallel lines have given way to another class of structures. 

 At Fort Pickering, two miles below Memphis, on a high bluff overlooking a 

 long and graceful bend of the Mississippi, stands what the writer supposed to 

 be an a'tar, which is one of the most conspicuous objects on the river. It is in 

 the form of a parallelogram, which by stepping was found to be about two hun- 

 dred and twenty feet long by one hundred and twenty feet wide, and by estima- 

 tion from twenty to twenty-five feet high, with steep sides and a flat upper 

 surface. In 1849 this mound was in a good state of preservation, and on dig- 

 guig into it the material of which it was composed was found to be calcined 

 clay, changed by burning into a brick co^or, the clay before being burnt having 

 evidently been mixed with the twigs of cypress, birch, and poplar, which was 

 clearly shown by examining the fragments of charcoal under a magnifying glass. 

 In the vicinity of this mound were several small circles of fifteen or twenty 

 feet diameter, some of which were circular ridges, and others were low mounds, 

 seldom exceeding one foot in height, and flat on the top. 



On the battle-field of Shiloh a great many similar right-angled, flat-topped 

 mounds were observed, varying but little in size, form, and height. The mounds of 

 this class are found for miles along the Tennessee river, and are very numerous 

 near the mouth of a small stream, I think called Bear creek, which was in the 

 very midst of one of the battle-fields of our late contest. One of these mounds 

 is on the bank of the river, a little below the mouth of the stream just mentioned, 

 on the side of a high bluff, which affords a fine view of the great bend of the 

 Tennessee river. On its south side it is about seven feet above the level of the 

 land, but situated as it is on the brow of a h,ll, its north side is raised from 

 twenty-five to thirty feet above the plain below. In the course of a walk of 

 about a mile back from the river, from twelve to fifteen mounds of this class 

 were counted. Their general length is about sixty feet, width forty feet, and 

 he.ght from six to eight feet. Many of them were made the burial places of the 

 slain who fell in the fearful contest. 



As in the case of the mound at P'ort Pickering the surrounding land was 

 marked with small circular mounds, ridges, and crescents, which were so close 



