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THE RED MEN OF IOWA.
In Jackson county there are numerous mounds. One which has been described as of an oval form. Its diameter at the base the longer way is two hundred feet, and the shorter way one hundred and twenty feet; circumference nearly seven hundred feet, and height thirty feet. The top is a flat surface, thirty by fifty feet, and the sides very steep. Another mound in the same county, being opened, was found to contain three copper implements, some fragments of pottery, and some calcined bones with ashes. This mound was circular or round in form, with a diameter of thirty feet at the base, and an elevation of about four feet. The copper, implements were two knives of different patterns, and a spear-head. This mound was opened in September, 1877, under the auspices of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences.
In the vicinity of a group of mounds in Scott county, some years ago were found several stones inscribed with various figures. On one are a human head, a quadruped having the appearance of a bear, a bird, and some other figures. On another are cut very distinctly the outlines of human features. Still another has a human head on one side, with the figure of a tree rudely cut on the reverse side. Where these stones were found was also found a copper implement. All these relics are preserved in the museum of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences.
These works of prehistoric man abound in the northeastern portion of the State. Hon. Samuel Murdock, of Clayton county, has given much attention to antiquarian subjects. His researches have been extensive, and successful in giving to the scientic world a vast amount of information in regard to these ancient remains. From him
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PREHISTORIC MAN IN IOWA.
we learn that in Clayton county alone there exist thousands of these artificial mounds, including the two classes, elongated and round. The former range from one hundred to six hundred feet in length, and are characterized by the usual flat area on top, like the teocallis of Mexico and Central America. Judge Murdock has conducted examinations of a large number of the mounds, and, so far as explored, all were found to contain more or less human remains. One near Clayton he estimated to contain the remains of over one hundred human bodies. Skeletons are found in the mounds of both classes, but those in the elongated are in a more advanced state of decay, which suggests the inference that these structures are more ancient than the round ones. Some years ago, while workmen were engaged in excavating in one of the mounds for the foundation of a house in the city of McCregor, a stone axe, weighing thirteen pounds, and some human bones were found at a depth of twenty feet below the original surface. Six miles north of Fort Madison, a few years ago, a mound was opened. It was a small one of the elongated form, being only about thirty feet long by fifteen wide, and about six feet in elevation. It contained a number of separate compartments. There was a level floor made of smooth limestone, and above this, with an intervening space of about twenty inches, there was a roof, also made of limestone. The vault thus formed had been enclosed at the sides with stone walls, but these had partially broken down, and it was thought the roof had originally been much higher. There were also partition walls of stone dividing the vault into separate compartments. Each compartment contained the remains of a human body, and also some
