234 



CERTAIN SAND MOUNDS OF 



tallized native copper, found at a considerable depth in his mine in the State of 

 Coahuila, Mexico. An analysis by Dr. Harry F. Keller showed : — 



" Copper 

 Silver 



. 99-9521 per cent. 

 Trace. 



Antimony 

 Arsenic 



. 0-0054 

 . 00149 



Iron 



. 0-0168 



Bismuth 



Doubtful reaction 



99-9892 per cent. 



"Gold, lead, tin, nickel, cobalt, selenium and tellurium were tested for with 

 negative result. 



"The gangue amounted to - 0462 per cent, and was deducted before the above 

 percentages were calculated." 



A quantitative analysis of this copper by Ledoux and Company yielded con- 

 firmatory results. 



Cuba. — Pre-Columbian intercourse between Cuba and the mainland has never 

 yet been conclusively shown by results of mound investigation, owing, perhaps, to 

 our unfamiliarity with prehistoric art-products of the island and to the scanty 

 archasological work hitherto done on the Peninsula, which has kept within narrow 

 limits the supply of objects on which to base conclusions. 



Records as to intercourse before the Discovery are, however, explicit enough. 



"It is certain," writes Herrera, 1 "that John Ponce de Leon, besides the maiu 

 Design of making new Discoveries, as all the Spaniards then aspir'd to do, was in- 

 tent upon finding out the Spring of Bimmi, and a River in Florida, the Indians of 

 Cuba and Hispaniola affirming that old people bathing themselves in them, became 

 young again, and it was certain that many Indiaiis of Cuba, firmly believing that 

 there was such a River, had, not long before the Spaniards discover'd that Island, 

 pass'd over into Florida in Quest of that River, and there built a Town, where the 

 Race of them continues to this Day." 



And again we are told that Ponce de Leon, at the discovery of Florida, found 

 there an Indian familiar with the Spanish tongue, 2 conclusive proof of previous in- 

 tercourse with the islands. 



The reader of Part II will recall that in the great mound at Tick Island, 

 Volusia County, totally levelled by us, a disc of copper was found about 6 inches 

 below the surface. This disc, about 3 inches in diameter, was covered with a 

 beautiful coat of polished patina, a sure guarantee of antiquity. In the Tick Island 

 mound, neither superficially nor otherwise, were any objects discovered hinting at 

 White contact, and it is well to bear in mind that while intrusive burials are always 

 superficial, the converse is far from being the case and that many objects of un- 

 doubted antiquity are discovered on or near the surface. This disc, which a mar- 



1 Op. cit., Vol. II, pages 37-38. 



2 Ibid, Vol. II, page 36. 



