USA > Missouri > A history of Missouri from the earliest explorations and settlements until the admission of the state into the union, Volume I > Part 7
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The slender, bottle-shaped carafe, or decanter bottle, found in the mounds of southeast Missouri is a marked feature of the prim- itive ceramic ware of America. With the possible exception of Peru,36 in the range of its shape and in several features, it is "strik- ingly unique." One specimen described by Mr. Hilder in a paper read before the Missouri Historical Society deserves more than a passing notice. This unique carafe, taken from a mound in Mis- sissippi county, and made of much finer material than others found in southeast Missouri, was composed of a light-colored, fine-grained yellow clay, well baked; it was 8} inches high and 6 inches in dia- meter at its widest part, and very symmetrical in form, with a bottom just sufficiently flattened to stand firmly; but "the beautiful
33 20th Report, Bureau of Ethnology, p. 85.
34 Ibid, p. 86.
35 Ibid, p. 86.
36 Ibid, p. 87.
50
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
and artistic decoration of this unique and interesting vessel," says Hilder, gives it "an especial value to the student of archæology." Describing it more particularly, he then says that on the bottom, extending 12 inches upward, the color was red, above that line it was originally painted white but only a portion of its surface retained that color, the remainder having disappeared, leaving the yellow color of the material out of which it was composed to form the back- ground for the decoration, which consisted of the following figures: Numbers one and two are repeated twice, and numbers three and four four times on the vessel. These decorations retained a brilliant red color in spite of the great antiquity of the relic. Mr. Hilder's conclusion is that these devices are symbolic, and as such "form an impor- 1 tant item in the evidence to establish € the fact" that "solar worship," so prominent "in all primitive religions 1 2 of the world, prevailed among these mound-builders"; that this "symbolism employed by the ancient inhabitants of this region was far too refined and 3 4 abstract to have been the outgrowth of the religious ideas" of the nomadic historic tribes of savage hunters and warriors found in this re- gion, and that it bore a close analogy to, if it was not absolutely identical with. that in use among the nations of the central part of the continent when invaded by the Spaniards.37 Mr. Beckwith secured a similar carafe, about 8} inches high, bowl, 6 inches in diameter, decorated with three suns, painted with a bright red color, the lower part black. This vessel was found on the main shore, back of Wolf Island, washed out of the banks of the river by the overflow. He found another similar carafe, also in Missis- sippi county, glazed in black, decorated with four suns in bright red on the bowl, the rays of the sun being indicated in the shape of four acorns; the whole beautiful and artistic in design. Many effigies of remarkable character, representing hunchbacked human beings, heads of men, or beasts on cups and vases, and "grotesque nondescript creatures and conceptions," have also been found in southeast Missouri mounds-so many, indeed, in some mounds,
37 Missouri Historical Society, Publication No. 7, Archæology of Mo., p. 8.
51
STONE IMAGE
as to have equipped a museum if they had not been destroyed. But shortly after the completion of the Cairo and Poplar Bluff railroad, what was without doubt the most remarkable discovery was made in one of the mounds near Sikeston, a region rich in mound-builders' relics, and evidently once the seat of a great population. Here was unearthed, with a vast amount of other pottery, much of which was cast aside and carelessly destroyed, the head of a woman of Grecian type, reminding us in features, and the manner in which the hair was dressed and bound, of the Venus of Milo. The nose of this remark- able relic or bust was about half eaten away by moisture or water, but otherwise the image was almost perfect, although the white color had been somewhat tinged and dimmed by the sandy earth. The figure was not more than 8 inches high. Being engaged in the prac- tice of the law, I was on a visit to Charleston, and while there saw this remarkable relic in the hands of a Mr. Price, a farmer, who found it in one of the mounds near STONE IMAGE. (HOUCK) Sikeston and brought it to Charleston, offering it with other relics for sale. Although then not interested in American archæology I carefully examined this unique specimen, as well as a sandstone pipe with a carved face on it, found in the same mound. On account of the damaged condition of the bust I did not buy it, but purchased the sandstone effigy. But the impression made on my mind by the fact that this image with Grecian features should have been found in a southeast-Missouri mound never left me; and when afterward, in 1880, in the Septem- ber number of the North American Review, I read an account of the excavation made by Charnay at Teotihuacan, and that among other singular specimens, he discovered " the face of a woman rather disfigured by a broken nose, but plainly of European or Grecian type, and reminding us, by its features, of a Venus of Milo," as can well be imagined, deeply regretted that I did not secure this remarkable Sikeston relic. I never saw Mr. Price after- ward, nor have I been able to find out what became of this dis-
52
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
covery historically so unique; but no doubt this highly interesting specimen has long since been destroyed, for Mr. Price was but a simple farmer who, owing to the damaged character of the figure, would probably find no local buyer, while professed archæologists were giving at that time no attention to the archæological remains in southeast Missouri. I have endeavored to state the precise cir- cumstances, although they may cause a smile of incredulity. The sandstone pipe which I purchased I still have in my possession. It interested me because I had never seen any VIEW OF PIPE HEAD. (BECKWITH) sculpture attempted by the mound-builders in stone. It seemed to indicate that they were in possession of tools with which they were able to work this yellow soft sandstone, found not many miles north from where this relic was excavated. Mr. Beckwith also has in his collection a part of a pipe found in Mississippi county, made of this same material, more carefully executed and made apparently at a later date, showing a great advance in the art of working stone.
No doubt a large population at some prehistoric period dwelt in what is now Missouri, and especially in eastern and southeastern Missouri. It is the opinion of Brackenridge that "an immense population" was once supported by this country. Indeed, it would appear from the vestiges yet remaining of these prehistoric people that during the era of their occupancy of the land the population of the country was greater, at least in those local- ities of the state where the mounds are most numerous, than even now. It is impossible to estimate the number of these prehistoric people. Large as the number may appear, I am certain that the 28,000 mounds which have been discovered within the limits of the state, mostly in the eastern portion, only indi- ANOTHER VIEW OF PIPE HEAD. (BECKWITH) cate approximately the prehistoric population. As a deeper interest in Missouri archeology grows up among all classes of the people we may expect many additional discoveries. Even now fragments of pottery, agricultural implements of stone,
53
LIVED ON FERTILE LAND
village sites and prehistoric habitations are uncovered at most unex- pected places. How much more by close observation will yet be revealed it is impossible to tell.
All the evidence tends to show that these so-called mound- builders were a homogeneous race and an agricultural people; nothing indicates that they were either ferocious or warlike; no weapons what- ever have been found in their burial mounds.38 But spear, arrow, and lance heads are found in every variety on and near other mounds, and also in greater abundance apparently near points where prob- ably shops or factories existed and where such arrow, or lance heads were made. As already stated, clay pottery sling-balls or bullets were unearthed several feet below the surface near some mounds. That these mound-builders were a sedentary, semi-civilized people is certain. The immense works which still attract our attention were not built by a migratory people, but "by a race that lived long in the land," and Bancroft thinks that some of the works "could not have been accomplished in less than four or five centuries," of course taking into account their methods and facilities.39
This also has been noted, that the mound-builders always had their settlements on good and fertile soil. Brackenridge, in 1810, noticed that the prehistoric mounds "invariably occupy the mosi eligible situations for towns and settlements," that there is "not a rising town or a farm of an eligible situation in whose vicinity some of them may not be found," and further says that "a surveyor of public lands" told him "wherever any of these remains were met with he was sure to find an extensive body of fertile soil." 40 This observation has been found to be generally correct.
Returning now to my simple purpose to enumerate the most con- spicuous monuments of the mound-builders in Missouri, it may be observed that the St. Francois basin at one time appears to have been the center of the greatest prehistoric population. The largest portion of this alluvial district, embracing the counties of Pemiscot, New . Madrid, Dunklin, Scott, Stoddard, Mississippi, and portions of Cape
38 Bancroft's Native Races of America, vol. iv, p. 781.
39 It is well to remember that, according to the various narratives of his expedition, De Soto found a large and sedentary Indian population within the limits of Missouri, and that the agriculture practiced at that time by these Indians may have been destroyed by the gradual encroachment of the buffalo, and thus the sedentary Indians of that period converted into nomadic hunters, as suggested by Prof. N. S. Shaler.
40 Brackenridge's Louisiana, p. 170 (Baltimore, 1817).
54
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
Girardeau, Bollinger, Wayne, Butler, and Ripley, lies within this state. In these counties the most remarkable remains of the mound-builders are found. The greatest number of mounds, and the largest ones, are found not far from the last out-runners of the Ozarks on the alluvial flat lands, beginning at Cape Girardeau, thence going southwest in the direction of Poplar Bluff to the state-line of Arkansas, in a dis- trict from six to ten miles wide, as a glance on the maps of the counties on the southeast slope of the Ozarks will show. As naturally to be expected, we also find numerous mounds along the valleys of the creeks emptying their waters into the St. Francois and its tributaries, as well as on the Mississippi hills above Cape Girardeau and the high plateau between Apple creek and the Maramec. It is very probable that the prehistoric people of northeast Arkansas, embracing the lower section of the St. Francois basin, and those that lived in the upper section of this basin and near the flanks of the Ozarks, and on the Mississippi as far north as the Missouri, belonged to the same race.
In Pemiscot county we find the largest existing mound in the state. This immense monument of prehistoric times is 400 feet long, 250 feet wide, and 35 feet high, with an approach from the south end leading up to the top of the mound. On the north end it is 15 feet higher than at the south end. Upon this mound a residence has been erected. The sides apparently were covered with burnt clay three or four inches thick, with split cane originally laid between the layers. Two miles south of this large mound is another, in form resembling a crooked gourd-handle, 250 feet long, the larger part 150 by 75 feet in size, and the handle 70 feet in length and 10 feet wide. In section 20, township 17, north of range II, Mr. Bean found a large mound 250 feet in diameter and about 15 feet high; and immediately south of this mound he discov- ered what appeared to be the foundation of a large building. Here several pillars just below the surface, made out of material like soft brick attracted his attention. In the same township and in sec- tion 18 he found another mound, 600 feet long and 200 wide, but only 8 feet high. In section 16, township 18, north of range 12, near Deep Slough, is a mound formed something like a cross, 200 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 8 feet high, known as "Bull's Island;" and not far from Wardell, in the same county, two conspicuous mounds, one 250 feet long and 30 feet high, and the other 125 feet by 200 feet,
PEMISCOT-MOUND
55
56
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
25 feet high, are situated in a short bend of Little river. About two miles southwest of Portageville, on an island in section 35, town- ship 21, north of range 12, an earth embankment exists, apparently a fort, from 5 to 8 feet high on the east side, the base 25 to 50 feet wide, diameter of enclosure about 500 feet, surrounded by two arms of the waters of Portage Bay. The total number of mounds in Pemiscot county is seven hundred.41
In New Madrid county, a square mound at present 150 by 200 feet and 35 feet high is situated three miles west of the town of New Madrid. Excavations have been made here and much pottery se- cured, and more destroyed. A trench has been cut through this mound, revealing the fact that apparently some soft brick was used in the construction of it. It is claimed that a ditch once ran around this mound, but Mr. Bean found no traces of it when he made his examination in 1904. Brackenridge, speaking of the mounds in New Madrid county, says there are a number in the vicinity of the town, and, apparently describing this mound, says that "one on the bank of a lake four miles from New Madrid is at least 400 yards in circumference and surrounded by a ditch at least 10 feet wide, and at present 5 feet deep; it is about 40 feet in height and level on top," 42
41 Other mounds in Pemiscot county may be noted, as follows: on a line between sections 35 and 36, t. 17, r. 12, three mounds near Skillet-handle lake; north mound 75 feet in diameter and 10 feet high; the middle mound 50 feet in diameter, 6 feet high; the south mound 25 ft. high, round and located in the woods. On a line between sections 7 and 8, t. 16, r. 12, one mound 15 ft. high, 75 by 150 ft., on Cagle lake; near center of sec. 13, t. 17, r. 12, five mounds in a field, six ft. high; s. w., s. w., s.26, t. 18, r. 12, two mounds; n. w. corner s. 35, t. 18, r. 12, one mound; n. w. corner sec. 34, t. 18, r. 12, three mounds, one 600 ft. long, 6 or 7 ft. high, with a slough or ditch near; in secs. 32 and 33, t. 18, r. 13, thirty-two mounds (this group has been much explored); s. e., s. w., sec. 23, t. 17, r. II, one mound (on excavating in this mound a pre- historic coffin was found); north parts secs. 2 and 3, t. 16, r. 11, nine mounds between Lost bayou and Pemiscot bayou; s. e., s. e., section 4, t. 16, r. 11, four mounds; n. w. pt. sec. 14, same township and range, four mounds; n. e., n. e., sec. 22, same twp. and range, one mound; n. e. sec. 36, t. 17, r. 10, two mounds; s. e., sec. 25, t. 17, r. 10, one mound; s. w. pt. sec. 30, t. 17, r. II, seven mounds; n. w. pt. sec. 31, same twp. and range, seven mounds; on a line between secs. 1 and 2, t. 16, r. 10, two mounds; on n. w., s. e., sec. 18, t. 17, r. 17, one mound 600 ft. long, 200 ft. wide and 8 ft. high; on s. w., n. w., sec. 16, t. 17, r. II, one mound 200 ft. long, 100 ft. wide, 8 ft. high, on Pemiscot bayou; n. e, n. w., sec. 20, same twp. and range, four mounds, also located on Pemiscot bayou. Near these mounds are the three rows of burnt earth pillars, about 1 ft. square, level on top; on s. e. pt. sec. 8, two mounds; on s. w., s. w., sec. 4, one mound; on s. w., s. w., sec. 9, one mound; on s. e., s. e., sec. 15, one mound; all in twp. 17, range 11; on n. pt. sec. 28, t. 18, r. 11, four mounds; on s. pt. sec. 31, t. 19, r. II, three mounds, two of these mounds on a tongue between Clay-root hayou and Little river, and one located on opposite side of Little river in the overflow; on n. e. pt. sec. 24, same twp. and range, two mounds; on s. w. pt. sec. 35, t. 18, r. II, one mound; on n. w. sec. 20, t. 18, r. II, two mounds; on n. w. pt. sec. 10, t. 18, r. II, one large mound 250 ft. long, 100 ft. wide and 4 ft. high, the other two mounds are 200 ft. long by 8 ft. high; near s. corner secs. 12 and 13, t. 19, r. 11, three mounds; in center sec. 6, t. 19. r. 12, eleven mounds, an ancient ditch located near these mounds, which are still in the woods; this ditch is nearly a mile long, and leads into Little river; on n. w., n. w. sec. 26, t. 20, r. 1I, two very fine mounds; on n. w. corner sec. 9, t. 20, r. 12, two mounds 10 ft. high; on s. e., n. w., sec. 34, t. 19, r. 12, one mound 150 ft. diameter, 10 ft. high; on n. e. cor. sec. 15, t. 18, r. 12, one mound; on s. w., n. w., sec. 16, t. 18, r. 12, is a mound in the form of a cross, mentioned above, and one other mound about 50 ft. in diameter, 6 ft. high; n. pt. secs. 4 and 5, t. 20, r. 13, five mounds; on secs. 16, 21, and 28, t. 20, r. 13, are ninety-one mounds of all sizes, located along a cypress slough; here much ancient pottery has been found; on n. pt. secs. I and 2, t 20, r. 13, are five mounds.
42 Views of Louisiana, p. 175. Brackenridge undoubtedly refers to the same
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58
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
located not far from the channel of an old bayou. According to tradition, a brick or tile floor once existed between this large mound and a smaller one situated about 150 feet north of it. The slope of this mound, which, as already stated, was square in shape, was about sixty degrees. Numerous remains furnish abundant evidence that a large prehistoric population resided north of New Madrid along what is now known as St. John's bayou. On this bayou near Sikes- ton, in 1878, Colonel Crosswell partially uncovered some earthworks, the embankment in the shape of an elongated horseshoe, the length of the enclosure being 200 feet, the greatest width 76 feet 6 inches, and the narrowest (at the outlet) 18 feet, the greatest depth within the enclosure being 9 feet 6 inches. When Colonel Crosswell made his exploration the site was covered with oak, elm, and sweet-gum trees. The largest tree, a black oak, being 10 feet 6 inches in circumfer- ence. A great deal of pottery was found at this place.43 St. John's bayou is now a sluggish stream running through a low dis- trict of country filled with cypress trees, but early travelers described it as a body of clear water with a sandy bottom. Undoubtedly it was much changed by the earthquake of 1811. Along the west bank of this bayou on the margin of the slope from the high ridge, known as "Big prairie," we find the greatest number of prehistoric re- mains in New Madrid county. Only during late years the land along this slope to the bayou has been cleared of timber and reduced to cultivation; and just as in the prairie above in times past, so now, many large and small conical and truncated mounds have been, and are being, practically leveled down and obliterated. Conant says that one mound on this bayou, circular in form, 75 feet in diameter, and 20 feet high, "disclosed nothing but pottery." 44 He also observed that small tongues of land were " carried out into the water from 15 to to 30 feet in length, by 10 to 15 feet in width, with open spaces be- tween, which, small as they were, forcibly remind one of the wharves of a seaport town," and from this he infers that "the inhabitants were fisherman and had plenty of boats of some sort." This St. John's bayou, he conjectures, was once the bed of the Mississippi,
mound examined by Mr. Bean in 1904, because since 1811 the river has caved in for over a mile, and the town of New Madrid has been moved back as a consequence that distance toward the mound. Conant refers to it in his chap- ter on the Archæology of Missouri in Switzler's History, p. 31.
43 See account in the Missouri Republican, August 26, 1878.
44 Conant's Archæology of Missouri in Switzler's History, p. 32.
On Sur. Tu. 3miles SW From New Madrid
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60
HISTORY OF MISSOURI
which, by suddenly changing its course, left a large open lake that in the course of ages has gradually filled up. Eight miles southeast from the banks of bayou St. John, on what is known as West lake, Conant found in 1876 another "prodigious" group of mounds in a heavy growth of timber. Yet what he saw and describes forms, in his opinion, only "a small part of the multitudinous works with which this whole region abounds." Mr. Potter found, thirteen miles above New Madrid on the edge of West lake, 22 feet above the present level of the water in the adjacent bottom, on the edge of a bluff, an ellipti- cal mound 110 feet by 70 and 11 feet high,45 and all along the edge of West lake, in township 23, evidences of prehistoric settle- ments. Near Lewis's prairie, at the so-called "Cyprie" or "Mound church," he also mentions a group of mounds with two walls about 4 feet high, with a circular mound at one angle 120 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, the depression around this mound being well marked. About 165 feet from this group is a mound 110 feet in diameter on top with a base of 270 feet, 21 feet high, and still another 150 by 120 feet at the base and 90 by 60 feet on top, 11 feet high. These were excavated by Prof. Swallow many years ago, and fully reported by him in the annual report of the Peabody Museum.46 Baked clay formed an important element in the construction of one of these mounds.47
The most conspicuous mound in Mississippi county is located on the Beckwith farm in section 29, township 24 north, of range 17 east, and forms a truncated pyramid. When Mr. Beckwith first knew this mound it was covered with heavy timber, as well as the
45 Potter's Contributions to the Archæology of Missouri, p. II.
46 2Ibid, p. 14.
47 On e. pt. sec. 32, t. 21, r. 13, are three mounds; in same township and range, as follows: s. w. pt., sec. 33, near Open Bay, two mounds; n. e., sec. 28, two mounds; n. w., sec. 27, two mounds; n. e. pt., sec. 34, seven mounds; in the central part sec. 3, t. 20, r. 13; a group of thirty- six mounds along Open Bay; on the s. e., s. w. sec. 32, t. 21, r. 14, are eighteen excavations about ten feet square and four feet deep, lined with something like brick; s. w., n. w., sec. 6, t. 21, r. 14, one mound; s. e., n. w. sec. 20, t. 21, r. 14, one mound; n. e., n. w. sec. 29, t. 22, r. 14, one mound; n. pt. sec. 17, t. 22, r. 14, eight mounds, one 100 ft. diameter, 10 ft. high, in a group near Portage Bay not far from Mississippi river; s. e., n. e., sec. 7, t. 22, r. 14, one mound; on survey No. 711, t. 22, r. 14, are ten mounds which have been already fully described above; on sec. 19, t. 23, r. 16, three mounds; near center of sec. 31, t. 23, r. 13, twenty mounds; this group is near Paw-paw station; s. e. corner sec. 22, t. 24, r. 13, one mound; sec. 20, t. 23, r. 15, on a slough, in a row, six mounds, 50 ft. in diameter, 12 ft. high, much pottery has been found here; on secs. 1, 2, and II, t. 23, r. 15, six mounds; in middle of sec. 2, t. 24, r. 14, two mounds; on n. e. cor. sec. 19, t. 24, r. 15, three mounds; in w. pt. sec. 20, t. 21, r. II, five mounds; on e. pt. secs. 1 and 2, t. 21, r. 10, twelve mounds in a row; s. w. pt. sec. II, t. 25, r. II, three mounds; in addition a large number of mounds are found along St. John's bayou as well as on the east of Big Prairie and below Sikeston, also on the west edge of Big prairie in this county. In Pot- ter's Contributions to the Archeology to Missouri, pages 15 and 16, are also described other smaller mounds along St. John's bayou, and which may be embraced in the foregoing list, Potter giving no section, township, and range. Nine miles north of New Madrid in township 24. Potter mentions a mound 280 feet by 270, 11 feet high, and another mound 200 feet in diameter, 6 feet high, located on the Davis farm.
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