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JUUXU -* ■ .LLua.'XU IVjCIOU a vear.ANCIEKT MOUNDS IN XXONI1.We have heard and read much of fchlt;* ancient moil mis in Wisconsin; but never had an opportunity of examining them uutil one day Inst week. These are situated upon the farm of Mr. Joseiu C. Rugc, a few rods north of Rock River, in the town of Ixonia, in this county. We have never seen any mention made of them m any publication on this subject, and enow not how they will compare as to magnitude with the generality of those to he found in the lerritory; but to usthey proved full of interest.These mounds are between thirty and forty in number, and are situated upon a hill some eighty rods long, that has every appearance of being partially artificial. The hill rises about one hundred feet above the surrounding country; its sides are unusually smooth, being marked by some of those inequalities of surface peculiar tu •ill natural rickes; while its top i^gemly crownin’, and of uniform height, except where it isstiltheYojsenmarbasi“coBut in igatidarTilrJRmantoasarkwil]PepnpritheagrW«shring, and of uniform height, except dotted by the mounds. These appe; ranees go far to prove that the hills is in part tl e work of art. Rut this idea is strengthened by another circumstance. Thepredoininatingsojl throughout that region is a sandy loam, as well upon the highlands as the lowlands. But upon the hill in question, the soil to the depth of from two to lour feet, is a coarse gravel. Under this coat of gravel, as has been proved by cxauiina-’ j tioti in a number of places, the same -tratum of loom is found which prevail* in every other part of the neighborhood. A shori distance north of the lull, is a low' piece of ground, the peculiar make of which adord* still farther evidence in support of this supposition. It is the general opinion of all who have examined the two places, that the grave] upon the one was taken from the other,5 ] Tlio larger of these mounds are about forty I feet in diameter at their base, and some ten foot i high. There are a number of this cl. *s, though j the most of them arc smaller. But one of them , cowiphAsofdu00tocs«ofhas been opened, and that was done icr the pur- j ltli nose of converting it into a potatoe hole! This \pose of converting it into a potatoe hole/ i his j pQ was two or three years ago. The excavation was made from the*top. After digging eight or ex ten ieet, a large number of human bones were mih$colielitm;colull;alca,Q-3-y:dni-o-leeen-found, in an excellent state of preservation.They were thrown out, without much care to make room tor the potatoes, and most of them have remained there ever sinc.e. These skulls, however, which had suffered the least from the ravages of time, have been carried aw ay, as have also some of the other bones.An examination of these bones, however superficial, must satisfy every one that they belonged to a race cf beings of much larger stature than the present generation. When covered with muscles, and flesh, and skill, their owners . ^ must have stood seven feet or moie in their moccasins. We brought away the lower jaw bone of one of these aboriginal giants, for ton giant only could it have belonged, as nil will concede upon an examination of it. It may he seen at this office.The bottom of thi3 mound was nearly as hard as solid rock. The earth of which it was made, had undergone some process either of pounding or baking, which rendered it almost impervious to the pick-ax. Upon this floor all the bones excepting those belonging to one person, were found. The bones of this person reposed upon a solid earthen seat, extending the whole widthtotooi the mound, about eighteen inches high and ofES«tusitie:*:$lien-ben-edff-the same width. This seat was com] losed of theze*e-id.iiy►reastrn-erelydlymeBO-ltBlt;1tltlsame materials as the floor, and was quite ashard. Who the individual was who occupied this evident seat of honor, must oi course be wholly left to conjecture; he was probably, however, one of the leading men of the nation or tribe. We did not learn that anything in the shape of war implements, beads or other trinkets, was found with the fcones^ And the only thing of the kind we saw in trie vicinity, were rude flint hatchets, anumber cf which, we were told, had been found in the immediate neighborhood.The other mounds remain as they were when first discovered. The entire hill im covered a with a heavy growth of timber, a portion only of which has been cleared. Upon some of the mounds, trees two feet in diameter are stillgrowing.The size of some of these mou nls, and the large number of them, certainly render them an object of curiosity, even in a country abounding with so vast a number of antiquities as Wiscon-, sin does, and would well repay a vUt to them ing 1 by any person living in this part of die country. — Watertown ChronicleaattpeAbouctiok of a young Gmu.—Intelligence reached New York on the 1st inst, of the ab- i ‘ C 1. .... l! i1..! iim.no. r\lt; 1 1 1-H'iva nf
Newspaper Details
Weekly Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Wed, Aug 18, 1847
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WI, USA 07 Oct 2017
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