USA > Michigan > Gazetteer of the State of Michigan, in three parts with a succinct history of the State, from the earliest period to the present time with an appendix, containing the usual statistical tables, and a directory for emigrants, &c > Part 15
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In the south-west corner of the county of Calhoun, on the north side of the St. Joseph, is a semi-circular fort, 200 feet in diameter, and another in the south-east corner of the county, of the same dimensions, with an embankment from one to three feet high. In the county of Wayne, in Spring Wells township, on the north bank of the Detroit river, is a fort of the circular or elliptical kind, with an em- bankment two or three feet in height, and encompassing perhaps an acre, situated on firm land and surrounded by a swamp. On the east side, in approaching the fort, there
* In some of the north-western States, and in Ohio especially, public attention was early awakened, and choice cabinets, both private and public, have been collected of the monuments of antiquity ; and it is in some measure to these enlightened efforts, that the world are indebted for the light thrown upon western Archeology. If this spirit had prevailed in the first settlement of Kentucky and western New York, by preserv- ing some of the best specimens, which are now lost to scientific investi- gation, by the reckless desecration and ignorance of the first settler- what is now merely hypothetical, might admit of demonstration. The virtuoso, reflects with the deepest chagrin upon that Vandal spirit which consigned to oblivion those curious specimens of antiquity ; but they are lost forever.
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are two parallel embankments of earth, within a few feet of each other, rising four or five feet, and crossing the swamp in a direct line towards the fort. If this, and the two last mentioned works, deserve the name of forts, as they are called, these two embankments might have been covered ways, which led from the fort to this swamp, which, at this place, was formerly a ravine, as present appearances indi- cate. But it is seriously doubted whether these works have ever been used for military defences of any civilized peo- ple, without their embankments have dwindled from a re- doubtable elevation to their present inferior condition. Without they were stockaded, they could have presented no formidable resistance to an invader. It is not improbable that they were the work of our native Indians, who, in great emergencies, have been known to entrench them- selves in a similar manner.
Forts of the square, or the rectangular kind, are some- times found. There is said to be one two miles below the village of Marshall, one in the township of Prairie Ronde, several on the Kalamazoo, and in some other places. In Bruce township, in the county of Macomb, on the north fork of the Clinton, are several. The latter consists most- ly of an irregular embankment with a ditch on the outside, and including from two to ten acres, with entrances, which were evidently gate-ways, and a mound on the inside oppo- site each entrance. In the vicinity there are a number of mounds. Several small mounds have been found on a bluff of the Clinton river, eight miles from Lake St. Clair. In sinking the cellar of a building for a missionary, sixteen baskets full of human bones were found, of a remarkable size. Near the mouth of this river, on the east bank, are ancient works, representing a fortress, with walls of earth thrown up, similar to those in Ohio and Indiana .*
In Spring Wells township, ( Belle Fontaine, ) three miles below Detroit, exist a group of mounds on the right bank of the river. Several years ago, one of these was opened and found to contain bones, arrow heads, stone axes, &c. in abundance.
In the spring of '37, the author in company with a scien- tific friend, resolved to excavate another of them, in order
* American Antiquities.
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to obtain a more minute information concerning their con- tents. On repairing to the spot, they were found to be lo- cated upon a sandy elevation, or bluff, which gradually pro- jected into the river, and rose above the surrounding coun- try, a prospect of which it commanded for some distance to the interior, and of the river both above and below, a dis- tance of at least seven miles .* A selection of one was made for excavation. The shape of it was conical, and the height about eight feet. In surveying the surface upon the top, small fragments of pottery, pieces of human bones, and sev- eral of the molar teeth were discovered, the latter of which, in apparent perfection ; but on examination, only the ena- mel remained, which is a phosphate of lime, a substance said to oppose a stronger resistance to decay than any other part of the human system. The excavation was com- menced on the top, and continued a depth of four feet be- low the base. The soil, like the country around the mound, was sandy, but exhibited a mixture of decomposed animal matter, and occasionally fragments of bone, some of which had evidently undergone the process of calcination. At the depth of about two and a half feet, in distinct positions, were found the remains of six different human skeletons, that appeared to have been buried in a promiscuous man- ner. Deposited near each were arrow heads, stone axes, spear heads, and some other utensils of stone of such un- couth shape as to be difficult to imagine their use, much more to name. There was likewise found a kind of rouge, that had the appearance of the earth called Spanish brown, and supposed to have been used as a pigment. It was in a friable state, and colored a deep red by applying it to any substance. In each deposit there were several pounds. About one foot from the base of the mound, a stratum of charcoal, three inches thick, was penetrated. Immediately below this were found six other human skeletons, not col- lectively, but lying in as many separate places, in different
* Some have supposed, that, from the unusually eligible locations in which they are found, they were used for places of look-out, or for military defence. A moment's reflection would seem to refute this notion. Think of a mound in shape of a mole hill, of six, ten, or even thirty feet high, to be used as a defence against an enemy, or for the purpose of espying his approach ! Is it not more probable, that their battle fields, by chance, happened to be here, and that these monuments are the memorials, as well as sepulchires of the fallen brave whose manes are here inhuined ?
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parts of the mound. Each one had the appearance of hav- ing been inhumed in a kneeling, or rather sitting posture; with the knees so far bent as to leave a space of only four inches between the tibial and femoral bones of the lower limbs, with the body a little reclined backward, with the head pointing invariably towards the north, and supporting with the hands an earthen vessel, in the manner of a per- son in the act of preparing to drink from a ponderous ves- sel .* The bones were generally decayed, except the larger ones of the lower limbs, arms, some of the ribs, and of the cranium, yet these were more or less imperfectly preserved. In all cases, that portion of the cranium which lay under was decomposed, while the superior part was sound. One, which was the most perfect, and which may serve as a sam- ple of the remainder, was decayed on the left and inferior sides. The occipital, right parietal, part of the sphenoidal bones, and the bones of the face, were in perfection. The superior and inferior maxilar bones were whole and with- out the loss of the teeth, which were, without exception, perfectly sound. They were worn off on the edge, so as to present a flat surface, and, so much so, as to indicate their possessor to have been of a greater age at his death, than is usually known in modern times. The general contour of the cranium was different from what is commonly noticed
* Mr. Schoolcraft has preserved some traditions of the Chippewas, concerning their funeral rites, which seem in a measure to favor the belief entertained by some, that the Indians were the authors of the mounds.
" For several nights after the interment of a person, a fire is placed upon the grave. This fire is lit in the evening, and carefully supplied with small sticks of dry wood, to keep up a bright, but small blaze. It is kept burning for several hours, generally until the usual hour of re- tiring to rest, and then suffered to go out. This fire is renewed for four nights, and sometimes longer."
It is related, that a warrior killed in battle in defeating his enemies, is never buried. On the contrary, he is dressed, and all his property de- posited beside him, for his use in his journey to the land of spirits. He is then placed in a sitting posture, with his back against a tree, and his face toward the place where his enemies fled .- Schoolcraft's Travels in 1821, p. 404.
Admitting the analogy-the specious resemblance between the two rites- yet there is but faint proof of the identity of the authors of these mounds, or the common origin of the two customs. Obscure and uncer- tain as the origin of most of the Indian superstitions are, there is as strong a probability, that they borrowed them from the Aztekas, or what- ever people were aboriginal, as, that they were originated by their own tribe.
-
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in the present races of inhabitants now among us. The mouth, large and broad ; face (especially the lower part,) wide and short; sockets of the eyes extremely large; the forehead exceedingly low and receding backward in an un- usual degree, making the volume of the cerebral portion of the brain very small, which, agreeably to the modern doc- trine, would indicate small intellectual powers. The skull was unusually thick. It was the unanimous opinion of the party, on the first view, that the frontal part of the cranium most resembled the negro race. From some calcula- tions made on the femoral bones, it was judged that the stature of none would exceed five feet three inches. Arrow heads, small pieces of hornstone and some of a silicious kind, (the same with that manufactured into gun flints,) and quartz, wrought and unwrought, of the rudest kind, used undoubtedly as a substitute for knives, were found bu- ried beside them. Some of these were so sharp as to cut flannel and several other substances, with the same facility as a knife. No metal was discovered; but the oxyd, or rust of iron, was traced in the shape of a vessel, holding some two or three gallons, which proved it to have been of iron. By the side of one was found the remains of an uncommon- ly large white marine shell. Around the bodies of two were found some 30 or 40 rosaries, or beads, made of the same kind of shell just mentioned. Their shape was cylindrical, three fourths of an inch and an inch in length, and half an inch thick, with a perforation through them in a longitudinal direction. It is probable there were many more. They lay on different parts of the skeleton, and six were found enclosed in the mouth. From the latter cir- cumstance, it is inferred, that they were amulets, supposed to possess the talismanic property of preserving and defend- ing the soul of the deceased from evil. The vessels were generally too much broken to preserve their natural shape. They appeared to be in the shape of half an egg, abruptly contracted toward the mouth, with a flaring brim, and with- out a handle, smooth on the inside, carved and marked with various fantastic figures on the exterior, and with the capa- city of holding two or three gallons. Their composition was argile, or clay, and pounded quartz and other stone. In place of broken quartz, sometimes coarse sand was sub- stituted. Their appearance showed that they had been
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subjected to the action of fire, and perhaps used for culina- ry purposes. They appeared to be of the same kind which the author has found in Tennessee, Ohio, and New Eng- land, and which are common to western tumuli .*
There are some general inferences, naturally drawn from the few facts here presented, taken in connexion with simi- lar facts, respecting other ancient works found in the west, already before the public ; and
1st. That the tumuli were generally used as deposito- ries of the dead, and not improbably for their chiefs or priests, exclusively.
2d. That as it regards the mounds at Belle Fontaine, . they evidently contained two distinct classes of persons. The bones found near the surface were probably those of the Indian, as not only these mounds, but the country on and about the bluff, had been used by them as a burying ground. Those deposited near the bottom belonged to the race who were the real authors of the mounds, whose di- minutive stature, shape of features and cranium, indicated an entirely different people from the Indians.
3d. That they were one remove from the savage, or emerging into a civilized state of society. Stone knives, stone axes, spear and arrow heads, indicate the savage. The uniform soundness of the teeth, is strong evidence of a coarse habit of life, unaccustomed to the luxuries of refine- ment. But the pottery, iron and brass, show a knowledge of some of the economical arts of civilization. Brass, for instance, is a compound of zink and copper, and no people possessing a knowledge of chemical principles sufficient to combine those two metals, merit the appellation of savage, to the import usually given the term.
4th. That the antiquities of Michigan are of a class the same as have been found in various parts of the Mississippi valley. The fortress in Macomb, with mounds at the gates, though comparatively smaller, has a striking resemblance to
* Mr. Schoolcraft, in his Travels, mentions much larger specimens, dug at the depth of 80 feet from the surface, at some of the salines in Illi- nois. They were composed of the same material, and he appears to consider them the best adapted to resist the action of heat. Some time since, there was found, in digging a well in Washtenaw county, an earthen vessel of this description, eight feet below the surface of the ground. Its form was entirely different, and it held about eight gallons.
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similar works found at Marietta, Paint Creek, and in other places in Ohio. The shell beads, found in the mound at Belle Fontaine, are precisely like those discovered by Mr. Atwater, in a large mound in Cincinnati.
5th. That the authors of these works inhabited this re- gion in the primeval age of their existence. The history of man proves, that the progress of nations and tribes, in society, is generally on the advance or decline, either ris- ing more or less perceptibly in the scale of civilization, or retrograding into barbarism. It is presumable that this an- cient nation was in the ascending node of national exist- ence, while inhabiting this region of America, although but one remove from barbarism. Comparative perfection in the arts, is a sure index to the state of civilization. The simple fact of the identity in the class of northern and southern relics, and the superiority, both in number and perfection of the latter, are adduced in support of the posi- tion.
Now, agreeably to the history of the antiquities of the other Western States, as before observed, these ancient works are the largest, approach the nearest to perfection, contain a greater number of utensils and emblems of civil- ization, on the banks of the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Illinois, and Rock rivers, than are to be found north of them ; and that they decrease in size and quality, northward from a parallel of 40 degrees, to the great lakes, save those on some of the streams of Illinois and Wisconsin. Hence, this was the region of the first habitations of this people, from which they were probably expelled by foreign tribes from the north; and by supposing this to be the country of Azte- lan, the hypothesis has support from the traditions of the Wyandott Indians, before mentioned. From the annoying attacks of these northern hordes, they might have been induced to journey southward, and settle upon the Missis- sippi and its branches, where they increased and attained the higher degree of civilization which the monuments re- maining tend to prove.
Garden Beds. These are a species of antiquity, a descrip- tion of which it is believed has not heretofore been present- ed to the public. The remains of ancient Indian corn fields are of frequent occurrence in all those parts of Michigan previously occupied by the Indians. The agriculture of the 15*
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Indians is as rude as they are uncivilized and indolent. It consists in a preparation of the ground in the crudest and most irregular manner, and barely planting the seed, and with trifling assistance, leaving nature to rear the crop. So that between these and the following, there is not the most distant analogy.
The ancient garden beds, as they are called, are found near the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo rivers, in Cass, St. Jo- seph, Kalamazoo, and Calhoun counties; but the most nu- merous in the three former. They exist in some of the prairies and burr oak plains, in some of the richest soil, and, without exaggeration, it may be said, a soil as fertile as any in the United States. It is a very fine loam, of a color perfectly black, and possessing a cohesive quality, even when dry, which is unknown to any other soil. The cause of this tenacious property is not to be satisfactorily accounted for, as the amount of argile, if any, entering into its composition, is so trifling as not to be easily dis- cerned. Whatever the cause may be, neither time nor the inciemencies of weather, have effaced the traces of anti- quity-the impression of ages, which it possesses the qual- ity of retaining as legible, almost, as rock itself. These beds are occasionally found in soils of so little consistency as to be less easily discerned, while in other places their delineations are as perfect as the work of yesterday.
One of the most singular circumstances is, their won- derful extent. They cover from 20 to 100 acres, and it is said upon credible authority, that some extend over a su- perfices of 300 acres in one field or garden. Were there any thing which they resemble, with which they might be compared, it might be supposed that they were used for other purposes than cultivation.
They appear in various fanciful shapes, but order and symmetry of proportiou seem to govern. Some are laid off in rectilineal and curvilineal figures, either distinct or com- bined in a fantastic manner, in parterres and scolloped work, with alleys between, and apparently ample walks or avenues leading in different directions, displaying a taste that would not discredit a modern pleasure garden.
It is regretted that one of the more interesting speci- mens could not be obtained in season for this work. The specimen here presented, is a small section of one
Section of an Ancient Garden.
100 f
5£
.
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of the ordinary kind. It is found in the county of St. Joseph, on the west bank of the St. Joseph river, a short distance from the village of Three Rivers, on one side of an oval prairie, surrounded by burr oak plains. The prairie contains about 300 acres, of the black soil before mentioned. The garden is judged to be half a mile in length, by one third in breadth, containing about 100 acres, regularly laid out into beds, running north and south, in the form of parallelograms, five feet in width and 100 in length, and 18 inches deep, with alleys between them of 18 inches in breadth and of the same depth. At the extrem- ity of each, is a semi-lunar bed, or a semi-circle, of the same depth, and diameter corresponding to the width of the beds. The whole was covered with a tough sward of prairie grass. The beds have the appearance of being raised above the adjacent country, and their regularity and out- line are as perfect as if recently made.
These gardens evidently bear the stamp of antiquity and civilization. Of antiquity, as they are often found over- grown with burr oaks of an age precluding their construc- tion within the last two centuries, at least; beside, the In- dians belonging to the ancient Peninsular tribes, to all in- terrogatories on the subject, betray the same ignorance of their origin and history, as they do of the mounds and forts. When they were constructed, and by whom-whether by the builders of the mounds and forts, or not, we know nothing ; but of this we do know, they are the certain evidence of the former existence of a great agricultural population, possessing industry and cultivated taste, subsisting not upon the precarious success of the chase, but upon the fruits of the earth.
One reflection : If the ancient Indians built these mounds, forts, gardens, &c., would not their descendants possess, at least, some traditionary knowledge respecting them ? Is it possible these monuments could have stood in the eyes of any people whose forefathers were the con- structors, and their history suffered to pass into oblivion ? There is a curiosity natural in man, to inquire into the ori- gin of things, especially those of artificial constructions. Is it not, then, to be presumed, the history of these would have been traditionally transmitted from father to son, through all succeeding generations, so that at the present
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day, some vestige of it, at least, might be found in the tribe ? The contrary supposition seems to violate the laws of the human mind. The plain inference is, that they were made by some people, other than the present race of Indians.
In conclusion, it is remarked, that the several hypotheses put forth in this article, have been thus presented and argu- mentatively supported, more for the purpose of engaging serious attention to an interesting subject, than a confident reliance in the infallibility of any of them; and it is to be hoped, that some exertions will be made by the scientific, to rescue these ancient relics from an oblivion, to which the otherwise absorbing business of an enterprising people, or the ignorance or heedless inadvertence of others may sub- ject them .*
HISTORY.
The outlines of the history of Michigan are all that the limits of this work will permit, and these collected from scattered fragments and delineations more or less imperfect, from the loss of many facts with which the incidents of its history are connected.
Name. The word Michigan appears to be derived from two words of the Chippewa language, Mitchaw, great, or mighty, and Sagi'egan, lake-great lake. As Lakes Hu-
* A mound should be examined by scientific persons exclusively. A select party is most agreeable, and it is preferable to conduct the examin- ation privately, to preclude the presence of rude spectators. The exam- ination should be deliberate, the excavation made with great care, and every subject found should pass the most rigid scrutiny. A minute de- scription should be given of every thing discovered within it, however trivial it may be, together with every circumstance attending the discov- ery. An apparently trifling fact is not unfrequently productive of im- portant developments in archeology. A mound is a species of public property, that should be preserved, for the gratification of public curios- ity, and the development of their history should be entrusted to the charge of qualified persons, who are the rightfal disposers of this species of knowledge. Each of the party should apply the spade, and no Vandal hand be allowed to search for what it is incapable of appreciating. The inconvenience resulting from the manual operation, will be amply repaid by the pleasure and satisfaction it will procure.
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ron and Michigan formerly constituted one lake, as is shown by geological indications, the name was probably given to that lake, although now restricted to but a part of it. The word " Michigan," then, according to its etymology and present application to the Peninsula, is rendered, "the country, or land of great lakes."
Its discovery and early settlement were promoted by the French, the motive of which, seems to have been the en- grossing of the Indian fur trade, and, incidentally, the con- version of the aborigines. In prosecution of the latter pur- pose, Father Sagard reached Lake Huron, by way of the Grand river (of Upper Canada), in 1632, seven years sub- sequent to the founding of Quebec, although the present site of the city of Detroit had been visited as early as 1610. Soon after the middle of the seventeenth century, trading posts were established at Sault de Ste. Marie, Michillimaci- nac (old fort), and Green Bay ; the two former, in a mili- tary point of view, very important positions.
From information received through the Indians, that there existed a large river west of the great lakes, running south, it was supposed from the limited geographical knowledge at that time, that this river discharged into the Pacific. To ascertain this important fact, the French Intendant, M. Talon, employed Joliet, a citizen of Quebec, and Father Marquette, a jesuit, to make the discovery. They conducted the expedition through the lakes, ascended the Fox river, crossed the portage, and descended the Wisconsin, to the Mississippi, where they arrived the 17th of June, 1673. They descended the Mississippi to the Arkansas, which they ascended ; but, from some untoward circumstance, were thwarted in their purpose, and compelled to return, without accomplishing their object. But the project was not to be abandoned. Robert de La Salle, a native of Normandy, but who had, for many years, resided in Canada,-a gentle- man of intelligence, enterprise, and the most indefatigable perseverance,-obtaining the permission of the king of France, set upon this expedition of discovery, from Fronte- nac, in 1678, accompanied by Chevalier Fonti, his lieutenant, Father Henepin, a jesuit missionary, and 30 or 40 men. He built the first vessel that ever navigated these lakes. She was called the Griffin, and was launched at Erie, in 1679.
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