History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 67

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin > Part 67

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"9. Southeast quarter Section 14, Town 6, Range 6 west. Quite an extensive group, consisting of an animal form, three oblong mounds and a number of small, round mounds, is to be seen at this locality. They are situated about half a mile above the Wisconsin River bridge at Banfill, on a raised level piece of land near the foot of the bluff. The land was formerly under cultivation, but not for a sufficiently long time to injure the appearance of the mounds. The effigy-mound is quite large and appears to be the central figure around which the others were grouped, and was probably the first earthwork constructed. It is quite large and well-proportioned, with the head thrown up and forward, and the legs bent forward and backward. It seems designed to represent some animal in a springing or jumping posture. At the intersection of the body, neck and forelimbs, a hole was sunk, six feet long by three wide, by Messrs. Rice, Mitchell, Thompson, Haven and myself. Nothing was found, except that the mound was constructed of a very hard and compact clay, quite homogeneous throughout, and apparently the same as the underlying soil, into which we penetrated about eighteen inches.

" Abandoning operations on the effigy-mound, we next excavated one of the circular mounds by means of a trench, about two feet wide, carried in from the circumference to the center on the same level as the adjacent ground. On reaching the center, a human skeleton was found, the bones of which were so brittle and crumbling that no perfect ones could be obtained. During the exhumation the following facts were observed: The process of burial had been as follows: The body was seated on the level ground, with the face to the west. and the legs stretched out in the same direction, but not separated, the knees not being at all drawn up. The body and head were erect, and the arms placed by the sides. The mound was built up around the corpse in this position. Since then, the process of decay, by removing the soft internal parts of the body, had permitted all the bones of the skull and body to fall down into and on the pelvis, where most of them were found confused and mingled together, .compacted in a hard, dark clay, from which the bones were separated with much difficulty. Parts of the tibia, femur, pelvis, ribs and skull were recovered, together with parts of the jaw- bones and numerous teeth. The jaw-bones and teeth were in the best state of preservation of

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

any obtained, the teeth being especially so. Several loose teeth were found belonging to the upper jaw, and the lower jaw still retained most of its teeth. They indicated an adult indi- vidual, and were, without exception, flattened and worn smooth on their grinding surfaces.

" The clay of which the circular mound was constructed was somewhat different from that excavated in the effigy mound. The upper part of the circular mound, for about eighteen inches, consisted of a sandy clay, which was easily removed with a shovel alone. All below this con- sisted of a very compact clay, containing but little sand, so hard that a pick was necessary, and the point would not penetrate more than an inch or two at a stroke. So great was the dif- ference in the compactness of the clay in the two mounds excavated, that it occurred to me that the circular mound might have been stamped or rammed, or otherwise compacted at the time when it was built, perhaps for the purpose of protecting the corpse against the attacks of prowl- ing animals.

"I do not think that the most skeptical person could regard this as an intrusive burial of a date more recent than the formation of the mound. It bears no internal evidence of ever having been disturbed ; and externally the mound precisely resembles all the others in this vicinity, and hundreds of others in different localities which we are accustomed to attribute to the Mound-Builders.

"10. Southeast quarter of Section 19, west half of Section 20, south west quarter of Section 17, southeast quarter of Section 18, all in Town 6, Range 6 west. All these several localities appear component parts of one grand chain, series or procession of mounds. This procession may be said to begin near the residence of Hon. Robert Glen, not far from the line between Sections- 19 and 30, of Township 6, Range 6 west. The first seen are the four round ones in the orchard near the house. They seem to be in a manner set apart from the rest, as quite a distance inter- venes between them and the first long one, and they are the only ones of the circular kind.

"Proceeding along the crest of the ridge, nothing is seen for about half a mile, until the first of the mounds is found, following which is a row of twenty round mounds, each about twenty-five feet in diameter, five or six feet high and about twenty-five feet apart. They are. arranged in straight lines, conforming to the crest of the ridge. The long north-and-south row of eleven mounds, when viewed from the south end, presents a peculiarly striking and impres- sive appearance. At the northern end of this row of mounds the ridge turns abruptly to the west, and a change in the mounds also takes place. No more round mounds are to be found, but more animal structures, of which may be observed the following peculiar arrangement. As all the effigies at the south end of the circular mounds are headed away from them, so also those at the northern end appear to be departing from them in a westerly direction.

" Proceeding westward along the ridge, a mound is seen. The animal represented by it appears to have a short tail and horns, and is probably designed to represent some species of deer. It is one of the few effigy mounds in which we can trace a resemblance to some particular ani- mal. It will be seen that its feet are turned to the south, in an opposite direction to all the others. Two hundred feet west of this is the only long mound in the procession. A long interval now occurs, in which no mounds of any kind are found, until at the extreme end of the ridge are two. From this point a beautiful view of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers is obtained.

" 11. Northeast quarter of Section 17, Town 5, Range 6 west. This group or groups of mounds is situated on the Mississippi River bottom. They are the first specimens of the cir- cular mounds anywhere observed. Their diameters vary from twenty to fifty feet, and they are from five to fifteen feet high. The mounds are situated on a low, sandy ridge, a few feet higher than the adjoining grounds, which are not far above high-water mark. They are built in straight lines, consisting of three or four mounds each, the lines making angles with each other, to con- form to the higher portions of the ground. The mounds appear to be constructed of a sandy loam, although, as no excavations were made, it is impossible to say of what material the inside- is composed.

" In two or three of the mounds near the southern end of the group, excavations had been. made which were evidently of a recent date, probably within a few months. The excavations-

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

were shallow holes, about eighteen inches deep, sunk in the tops of the mounds; a large quan tity of human bones and teeth had been exhumed from them in each instance. They were stil lying scattered out on the summits of the mounds, and a number of them were collected. Th bones were well preserved and firm in their texture, and the teeth, some of which were as sound and solid as any in a living person, had the grinding surfaces worn flat and smooth, similarly t those before mentioned.

" The fine state of preservation of the bones, so different from those found in the mount previously described, together with the circumstance of their being found so near the surface leads me to think that they are not the bones of the original Mound-Builders, but rather tha they are intrusive burials ; that these mounds have been resorted to in comparatively recen times by a different race for burial purposes. Unfortunately no crania (except some small frag ments) were found, which might have been of assistance in determining this question ; and my limited time did not permit me to make any excavations.

"12. Southeast quarter of Section 17, Town 5, Range 6 west. Following the course o the Mississippi about a quarter of a mile southeast of the preceding locality, numerous long mounds were seen arranged in several rows parallel to each other and to the river. They are situated in the cultivated fields and are near obliterated. At the time these localities wer visited, the valley was covered by a crop of standing corn, which rendered it difficult to find them, and it is probable that many exist which were not noticed. No circular or effigy mound were found in connection with them.

"13. Southeast quarter of Section 21, Town 5, Range 6 west. Continuing down the valley, we come to a group in which the three kinds of mounds are well represented. They li upon the alluvial bottom, quite near a bayou of the Mississippi, and none of them are more than eight feet above high water-mark, while those in the southern part of the group are not mor than three feet. In this group, where all kinds are represented, there seems to be a separation of the long and round mounds from each other. There is nothing of peculiar interest in th occurrence of the long and circular mounds, but we have here two quite singular effigies. The central one of the group is evidently intended to represent a bird with the wings spread, in the act of flying, the head is directed to the south. The wings measure ninety-four feet each way from the center of the body to their extremities, and the length of the tail is sixty-five feet. İ is quite a large and well-formed effigy, and is different from the other bird mounds in having al angle in the wings.

"Situated at the northern end of the group is the most interesting effigy-mound anywher observed, a description of it by Mr. Warner, of Patch Grove, was published in the Smithsonian Report of 1872, page 416. It is known as the ' Elephant Mound,' and as it lies upon th ground it resembles an elephant or mastodon much more closely than any other animal, and th resemblance is much more perfect in this instance than in any other effigies.

" Of this mound Mr. Warner says : 'The mound has been known here for twenty-five year as the " Elephant Mound." There are, on each side of the mound, some fifteen to twenty rod distant, sandy, grassy ridges, some fifteen feet higher than the land about the mound. Th mound is, therefore, in a shallow valley, sloping gently to the Mississippi River, and onl. about eight feet above high water. Its total length is 135 feet ; from fore-feet to back, sixty-si: feet ; width across fore-legs, twenty-one feet; across hind-legs, twenty-four feet ; from end o proboscis or snout to neck or throat, thirty-one feet ; space between fore and hind legs, fifty-on feet ; from end of proboscis to fore-legs, thirty-nine feet ; across the body, thirty-six feet ; gen eral height of body above the surrounding ground, five feet. The head is large, and the prc portions so symmetrical that the mound well deserves the name of the Big Elephant Mound There are many mounds in the form of animals in this section of country, which I have see within the past thirty-five years, namely, in the shape of birds, bears, deer, foxes and men, th latter with legs only to their knees.'

" This mound, in common with all the rest in the group, has been under cultivation, an on account of its size, special efforts have been made, with plows and scrapers, to bring it to th level of the adjacent field. Its size alone has protected it. These efforts have resulted in

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

diminishing its height, increasing its width and general circumference, and rendering its outline somewhat indistinct, so that it was difficult to make exact measurements.

" 14. Northeast quarter of Section 17, Town 3, Range 5 west. A short distance below Cassville, near the bank of the Mississippi, are three animal mounds. Several long mounds were seen in the vicinity, but no circular ones. One of them is probably intended to represent some kind of a lizard or saurian ; another is a bird, with extended wings, and the third is un- certain, but, in common with the first, is remarkable for having a round head. a peculiarity not observed in any other effigies. The first mentioned is a large and symmetrical mound, and is the only one of the kind observed. The mounds are very well defined, and are some of the best preserved effigies seen.

" 15. South half of Section 30, northeast quarter of Section 31, north west quarter of Section 32, Town 3, Range 4 west. This is a long, high ridge, having its general direction a little south of east. Upon it is the most extensive representation and fullest development of the mound sys- tem anywhere observed. Circular, straight and effigy mounds extend along the crest of this ridge for a distance of nearly two miles in uninterrupted succession. The mounds are so exten- sive and numerous that my time did not admit of making even the most general survey of any but the effigies. One of them is a perfectly symmetrical cross, the opposite parts correspond- ing exactly in length. It is difficult to conceive what its object could have been, or of what it is symbolical. Another, from its long tail, slender body and small head, may have been de- signed to represent some one of the feline species. A third and fourth exhibit quite a remark- able formation in the extremities of the limbs.

" Civilization has not as yet encroached on this locality, except to a slight extent at the eastern end, which is beginning to be cultivated.

" Most of the earth works are doubtless in the condition in which they were left at the time of their desertion by their builders. It is probable that, in a few years, all the land will be un. der cultivation, and the mounds obliterated. Perhaps a few dollars would be judiciously appro- priated in making these grounds burial grounds, perhaps, the property of some scientific society, and thus preserve them from further destruction.

"From observations of the mounds at all the foregoing localities, we arrive at the following conclusions in regard to their distribution :

" 1. The circular mounds are frequently found in one locality, and the long mounds in another ; or, if both kinds are found in the same group, they are usually separated.

" 2. When the number of mounds does not exceed five or six, they are usually of the same kind.

"3. The effigy mounds are never found unaccompanied by either long or circular mounds, and are usually attended by both.

"4. All the mounds appear to have been made by scraping up the surface soil, either from the ground immediately adjacent, or from a neighboring hill. In no place was any appear- ance of excavation seen.

" 5. During the Champlain period, the valley of the Mississippi underwent a depression of at least fifty feet, during which period it was filled with a stratified drift, of which occasional patches still remain along the sides of the bluffs. To this there succeeded a period of elevation in which most of the valley drift was removed. The situation of some of the mounds so near the present high-water marks shows that they were not built until after the completion of the last elevatory movement, which probably took place within the recent period.

" The mounds themselves reveal that order and government must have prevailed to some extent among the race which built them, but afford no clew to the time in which they lived."

In January, 1870, as some workmen were engaged in digging the foundation for a saw- mill at Potosi, near the bank of the river, they had descended about seven feet, having dug into one of the circular mounds which abound in that vicinity, when they came upon two human skeletons, the bones of which were almost entire and in a good state of preservation. They were taken out and an accurate measurement made, when one of the skeletons was found

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

seven and one half feet, and the other eight feet in length. Under the bodies were found arrow-heads in great abundance, and a collection of strange toys. Unfortunately, these relics of an unknown race were suffered to become scattered and destroyed.

In 1877, Mr. E. B. Crane, of Hazel Green, made an investigation of a mound situated on a bluff overlooking the Sinsinawa River, about four miles southwest of Hazel Green, and thus describes the result of his explorations :

" We had every appurtenance required with which to make the exploration carefully. The mound was fifty feet long, five feet high and fifteen in width. Its length represented an east and west line, and after looking it over carefully, we decided to break earth at the west end. Two feet below the surface we found many pieces of burned sandstone, which is a characteristic of all the mounds that I have explored in this part of the country, in which were found human remains. At a depth of three feet we discovered a few small pieces of broken pottery. Next we found many flat stones, neatly arranged, with edges close together, and evidently intended to aid the heavy coating of clay, which was also placed over the remains to protect the dead from being disturbed by burrowing animals. However, having removed some of the stones, we discovered that time and decay had allowed one of the larger rocks to settle, and that a wood- chuck or some other animal had succeeded in making the tomb of these pre-historic people his home, and while making or digging his burrows had destroyed some of the bones and broken the pottery in a fearful manner. We found the remains-or rather, part of the remains-of four persons, one in a kneeling and the others in a reclining position, with their heads to the east. The skeleton in the best state of preservation was that of a female, whose bones as well as whose teeth indicate great age. The crowns of the teeth were worn down to the gums without any indication of decay or cavities in them. The head was badly broken, and some parts of it entirely gone. However, I succeeded in restoring it to its original form by use of plaster of Paris, and careful manipulating. The head is almost precisely like that of a negro, except that the nose and mouth is more projected, like that of an orang. The lower maxillary is wanting, It must have been thrown out while the animal referred to above was making its burrows. By the side of this female was placed an earthern pot or vase, made of clay and pulverized granite. This was also badly broken, but I have succeeded in restoring it to its original form, supplying the missing parts artificially. This vase will hold nearly three quarts, and is the shape of an egg, with small end down and the top slightly narrowed to form a sort of neck, the upper edges flaring out a little. One of the other remains unearthed was that of a male, the bones of which were in a bad state of preservation, moisture having reached them through the burrows of the little animals to which previous reference has been made. This man, I should judge, was six feet in height. The female was not more than five. We also found the femoral and tibeal bones of a child not more than a year old. These were in a fair state of preservation. Aside from the remains already mentioned, nothing of interest was found, if we except the temporal bone of a pre-natal skull. This some scientists seem to doubt, maintaining that bones so fragile (if indeed they are more than cartilages) could not be preserved in the earth for a great length of time. However, the fact is established beyond question, and I have several pre-natal bones in my possession, which I found embedded in a fine quality of clay, which is equivalent to her- metically sealing such bones in a metallic case. We investigated three other mounds in this vicinity, but they were made of black soil, and the remains which had once been there had long since returned to mother dust. No pottery, implements of any kind, or other relics were found in these last examined mounds, so that we concluded our search unrewarded, which is the case eight times out of ten."

Many mounds in different parts of the county have been opened by parties living near by, but being prompted in most cases simply by a mere curiosity, the results of their investigations tended in no way to throw any additional light upon the question of the antiquity of their builders. In the years to come it is to be hoped that the efforts of the many earnest anti- quarians who give this subject their special thought, will result in the unearthing of new evi- dence which shall at once dispose of this mystery.

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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

CHAPTER II.

INDIAN OCCUPANCY-THE FIRST WHITE MAN IN GRANT COUNTY -OTHER EARLY VISITORS- WATER WAYS-THE WINNEBAGO WAR-THE BLACK HAWK WAR. .

INDIAN OCCUPANCY.

Back as far as Champlain's time, in 1615, rumors of the existence of a tribe of Indians known as the Five Nations, and living many leagues beyond Lake Huron, were prevalent among the tribes on the St. Lawrence. This tribe was better known at a later date as the Mascouting. It is believed that their home at that time was upon the Fox River, and here they were visited by civilized man less than a score of years afterward. The supposed site of their villages is included in the present limits of Green Lake County, somewhere on Fox River between Berlin and Lake Puckaway. When visited by Joliet and his party in 1673, the Kickapoos and Miamis were included in their village. The nearest tribe to the Mascoutins, down the Fox River, was that of the Winnebagoes, whose homes were at the mouth of the stream. To the south, extend- ing, perhaps, well up the Rock River, was the territory of the Illinois. This tribe, who lived in a country " where there was a quantity of buffaloes," were afterward driven across the Missis- sippi, but subsequently returned to the river which still bears their name. The country west of the Mascoutins, and in fact all of the present State of Wisconsin, except, perhaps, the extreme southeastern portion, was originally claimed by the Sioux, and, that their claim was a substantial one, is evidenced by the fact that, as late as 1681, Hennepin was taken prisoner by them on the Mississippi, below the mouth of the Wisconsin, as an intruder upon their country. But now commenced a migration of the Mascoutins and their kindred the Kickapoos and Miamis, to the south ward, at least so far as the south end of Lake Michigan, they being pressed back and their place taken by the warlike Foxes and their relatives the Sacs. These tribes also emigrated in time, pushed back in their turn by the advent of the white man, and laid claim to the country to the west and southwest, including the present limits of Grant County. The Winnebagos also began moving, by slow degrees, from the head of Green Bay up the Fox River, having outlying villages on the shores of Winnebago Lake and Rock River. This brings us up to the time the United States began making treaties with these tribes. During the Revolutionary war, the Sacs and Foxes had fought on the side of the English, having transferred their allegiance from their former allies, the French.

By a treaty negotiated at Fort Harmar, in Ohio, on the 9th of January, 1789, the Potta- watomie and Sac tribes of Indians, among others, were united in a " league of peace and amity" with the United States. November 3, 1804, a treaty was made and executed at St. Louis, between William Henry Harrison on the part of the United States, and the following chiefs and head men of the Sacs and Foxes : La-you-vois, Pashe-paho, Quashquame, Outchequa and Hash- equarhequa. This treaty was afterward repudiated by Black Hawk, and was the foundation cause of much of the future trouble between the whites and these tribes, until their defeat in the famed " Black Hawk war " put an end, once and for all, to their claims. This treaty Black Hawk claimed, was signed by the chiefs without authority from the united tribe, they having been sent to St. Louis to endeavor to effect the release of one of the tribe who was then confined at that place for killing an American.

By this treaty the united Sac and Fox tribes were received into the friendship and protec- tion of the United States, while the tribes on their part were to consider themselves under the pro- tection of the United States, and of no other power whatsoever. They also ceded the lande in- cluded within the following boundaries to the United States : " Beginning at a point on the Missouri River opposite the mouth of the Gasconade River, thence in a direct course so as

(DECEASED) BOSCOBEL.

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.

to strike the River Jefreon at a distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down the said Jefreon to the Mississippi ; thence up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wisconsin River, and up the same to a point which shall be thirty-six miles in a direct line from the mouth of said river ; thence by a direct line to a point where the Fox River (a branch of the Illinois) leaves the small lake called Sakaegan ; thence down the Fox River to the Illinois River, and down the same to the Mississippi."

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 67

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044