USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 66
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" As we leave the river in a right line, either east or west, our course is rapidly intercepted by deep channels plowed through the rock. We leave our direct line to follow one of these gaps to its origin or commencement. Perhaps a brook of diminutive size is rippling its way among huge blocks of detached rock, that have been dislodged, by the action of frost and rains, from the jutting sides and sharp points above. As we progress, one after another of the spark- ling springs are passed, of which the brook we are tracing is formed ; the hills upon either side have been lessened in heighth and increased in slope, and vegetation has supplied the place of rocky barrenness. The ravine up which we are passing (for it is now nothing more), is made the receptacle of a fast succession of smaller ones, both constantly decreasing in size and inden- tation, until they are completely lost in the level of the ridge beyond.
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" Resuming our right line, the ravines gradually become less and less in depth, the ridges spread out wider and wider, and we begin to fancy that the general level of the country is gained, when suddenly the ground again becomes broken, the hills, torn and distorted, appear heaped upon each other, the gush and gurgle of a rivulet is heard below, rocks are threateningly poised upon the peaks, others having been displaced and hurled into the narrow valley more than a hundred feet below. We are past this barrier, and after crossing some harsh points, hewn to a variety of patterns, as many ravines (perhaps in as many different directions), carelessly and awkwardly excavated, roughness rapidly gives place to a uniformity, the depressions become broad and shallow, and the whole surface wears the appearance of high agricultural suscepti- bility. We have now reached the predominant characteristic of the mining district-a rolling country. With just sufficient descent to carry off the surface waters handsomely, every square foot arable, yes, highly productive, we are at the same time surprised, as we pass along, at the unending variety and picturesque softness it comprises. Indeed some parts appear more like well-executed etching in a picture than any result of the ordinary workings of nature. We have . traveled for miles, perhaps, over this description of surface, when we find ourselves upon the main 'divide,' or summit, between two considerable water-courses. We will once more leave our right line for the purpose of obtaining a more accurate knowledge of these 'divides,' which are easily definable from the almost exact level they preserve. We will not turn to the southwest, for it would only be to take a survey of increasing irregularity, growing more wild and confused as we advanced, until soon we would find ourselves upon one of those topping, cragged points of the Mississippi bluffs which overlooks for miles the peaceful meanderings of the river below.
"But we will turn toward the northeast; and as we go along, a larger and still larger stretch of country, rich in soil and scenery, opens before us. Upon either side, and at short distances only, we cast our eye down some long line of gentle depression, with other and smaller ones all the while opening into it, the rises between which appear actually to interlock. The encroachments these main depressions make upon our road, renders it quite serpentine, often forming heavy, and sometimes even right angles to the general direction of the ridge. As we advance still farther, the scope of undulating country becomes more and more extended, until the 'divide,' which we have followed, is imperceptibly lost in another and generally more important one, running perhaps in a counter direction to it."
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
Fitly might this ancient race, relics of whom are seen on every hand, be characterized as the wonder-puzzle of scientists. That they were once here, occupying the land which now teems with wealthy, bustling cities and their ever-restless myriads of toilers, is certain. Here is beheld their imprint ; yet to-day investigators are as far as ever from deciding the question as to when and how these pre-historic, traditional people came or how they went. Like the will-o'-the-wisp, ever before and ever eluding, the subject still continues one over which the cloud of mystery hangs, unpenetrated by any of those rays of the sun of intelligence by which so much that has been " seen darkly " is now as clear as the noonday.
That these monuments are the work of a race anterior to the one inhabiting this country at the time of its discovery, and reaching back probably in its existence to the earlier periods of the world's history, is the single established fact to which the antiquarian can make good his claims. Beyond this all is a blank.
Of the mounds themselves, silent monuments of this wonderful race which " being dead yet speaketh " through their works, we are, fortunately, not without such specimens scattered with a prodigal hand over the United States as precludes all chances of a crop of doubting Thomases.
The mounds themselves are of three classes, and include the earthwork or fortification, the circular and oblong tumuli, and the " animal " mound. This latter class is by far the most interesting and includes in the category representations of the human form, birds, bears, foxes,
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elephants, deer, lizards-in fact, almost everything pertaining to the animal or feathered king- dom. This class of mounds abounds throughout Wisconsin, although numerous instances of the circular tumuli arc to be found in the southwestern portion of the State, and especially in Grant County. The National History Review (London) thus refers to this peculiar evidence of the pre-historic races : "Not the least remarkable of the American antiquities are the animal mounds, which are principally, though not exclusively, found in Wisconsin. In this district, thousands of examples occur of gigantic basso-relievos of men, beasts, birds and rep- tiles wrought with a persevering labor on the surface of the soil, while inclosures and works of defense are almost entirely wanting, the ancient city of Aztalan being, as supposed, the only example of the latter class." But very few of the animal mounds have been found elsewhere than in Wisconsin.
It is but at a comparatively recent date that thorough and exhaustive explorations of these reminders of a lost race has been instituted. The mounds in this State vary considerably in height, being from three to fifteen feet above the general level, and the latter height is confined entirely to the conical mounds, those representing animals being much lower, and in all instances recumbent. The figures are, in a majority of cases, placed with their backs to the rising ground, and their feet pointing down-hill. In 1842, Silliman's Journal contained an interesting account of the explorations made by Mr. Stephen Taylor among these mounds, and mentioned among others the figure of a quadruped. thought to be a wildcat, being one of a group of three closely resembling each other at that time, lying in the western part of the village of Muscoda, in this county, which measured in length from the front part of the head to the end of the tail 264 feet. One of the other figures, supposed to represent the turtle, measured from the tip of its nose to its posterior extremity 76 feet. At this point it is 18 feet in width, and over the projections representing claws it is 37 feet. The greatest elevation, near the junction of the neck, was 30 inches, and at the narrow end 15 inches, while the head, neck and claws were only 9 inches. The whole figure had retained its original shape in great perfection, owing to the coat of sward which covered it. The bearings of this figure were east and west, the head being pointed toward the eastward.
No better description of the present mounds in Grant County has been given than the following by Mr. Moses Strong, Assistant State Geologist, describing his visit to the different mounds which form almost a continuous procession along the Wisconsin and down the eastern shores of the Mississippi in Grant County. Mr. Strong says :
" During the course of my geological examination of the lead region of Wisconsin, in the summer and fall of 1874, my attention was directed to the numerous and remarkable tumuli which are found in the valleys of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, and on the adjacent bluffs. "The entire number of mounds of which this article treats may be classified in three kinds, according to their form.
"1. The Round Mounds .- They are perfectly round or circular at the base, and are dome-shaped or conical, according to their height, which varies from three to fifteen feet. By far the larger number, probably as many as four-fifths, are less than five feet high, and are spherical segments, with an average diameter at the base of about twenty-five feet. The conical mounds usually exceed this diameter and height, and are always rounded off at the apex ; whether this was by design, or is a modification due to the lapse of time, it is difficult now to decide. Some of the largest attained a diameter of fifty feet and a height of fifteen feet. Again, many of the round mounds were so low as almost to escape observation, and sloped so gradually into the ground on which they were thrown up, that the true diameter could not be exactly as- certained. No traces were seen of ridges or trenches surrounding any of the round mounds, such as are described in other localities, as at Hutsonville, Ill .; nor were there any terraces on their sides, or any appearance of a platform on their summits. All the circular mounds were perfectly plain and simple in their structure.
" 2. Oblong Mounds .- These tumuli are invariably straight, and of various lengths, from fifty to 300 feet. They are seldom more than four feet in height, and will average about
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two and one-half feet high and fifteen in width. They always slope gradually at the ends to the ground. Sometimes these mounds are found in a long, straight line, and, at others, in parallel rows, but a systematic arrangement is always apparent. Excepting in their length, there is less variation from a uniform standard seen in the oblong mounds than in any other kind.
" 3. Effigy Mounds, or those having Animal Forms .- These are the most singular and interesting of all, perhaps, for the reason that it is most difficult to find any theory which ration- ally accounts for their existence. They are found of all dimensions, as regards length, being from fifty to 200 feet long, and are usually a little higher and wider than the long mounds. Their average height is about four feet, and their width twenty-five.
"They usually represent animals lying upon one side, with the head up and legs apart, as if in motion. Representations of the human form were not observed, although such exist north of the Wisconsin River. Three instances of the representation of birds were observed, and one of an animal like a lizard.
" That these mounds were intended to represent animals can be seen at a glance, but what particular. genus of animal is seldom so evident. In general, all that is plainly seen are the head, neck, body and legs of an animal. Sometimes there are added to them ears, horns or a tail, the two latter being quite infrequent.
" Localities of the Mounds .- The following descriptions of the several localities where mounds were seen, with a few explanatory remarks, will convey an idea of the former works of the Mound-Builders, and the sites selected by them for their tumuli :
"1. Southeast quarter of northeast quarter of Section 36, Town 4, Range 2 east-five straight mounds, each about fifty feet long, situated in a direct line coinciding with the axis of a low ridge, on which they are built. This ridge is the terminus of a long divide between two branches of the Pecatonica River. The mounds are about 200 feet from the eastern branch, and about thirty feet above it. As a dwelling-site it would have been very convenient.
" 2. Southwest quarter of Section 25, and northeast quarter of Section 24, Town 4, Range 2 east. Proceeding in a northwesterly direction from the preceding locality, and follow- ing the crest of the same dividing ridge, numerous long mounds are seen lying parallel to the axis of the ridge. This land is now under cultivation, and the mounds are nearly obliterated.
"3. Northwest quarter of Section 22, Town 7, Range 4 west. On the summit of a bluff at the junction of the Green and Wisconsin Rivers, a straight mound was observed. It is 200 feet long, two feet high and six feet wide. From this point a beautiful view of the valley is obtained. No other mounds of any kind were found near it.
"4. Northwest quarter of Section 25, Town 7, Range 5 west. At the mouth of Dry Hollow, and near the bank of a bayou of the Wisconsin River, are a number of mounds, both long and round, scattered about without any apparent order of arrangement.
"5. Southwest quarter of Section 26, Town 7, Range 5 west, proceeding down the valley of the Wisconsin to a deserted farm known as the 'Schlundt place,' several long mounds were seen on the road, lying parallel to the . foot of the bluff, and a few yards from it. At the Schlundt house, one long and three round mounds were seen, one of which is quite conspicuous for its size.
"It has the form of the frustum of a cone; the diameter of the base is forty feet, the diameter of the upper surface twenty-eight feet, and the height four feet. In the center of this mound, a cottonwood tree, seventeen inches in diameter is growing. The appearance of the mound indicates that it has been cut or worn down several feet, to make its upper surface level ; and that the tree was subsequently planted, perhaps for shade. The mound is constructed of sandy clay, which, however, contains much less sand than the adjacent ground. The material of which the mound is constructed may have been brought from the bluff, which is not far dis- tant. About one hundred feet south of this large mound, is a small circular mound, fifteen feet in diameter, and three feet high. Thirty feet east of the small mound is a straight one, seventy- seven feet long. Following the road for about a quarter of a mile west of the 'Schlundt place,' a mound was discovered. It is situated immediately on the bank of the Wisconsin River, and
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HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
about fifty feet from the foot of the bluff. This mound is the only one of its kind seen. It is, perhaps, intended to represent a bird with its wings and tail spread, as shown by the circular expansion at the rear end. If this is its design, it is not nearly so well proportioned as the other bird mounds which were seen, none of which, had their tails spread.
"6. Northeast quarter of Section 2, Town 6, Range 5 west, making a short detour from the valley of the Wisconsin, up the valley of a small stream on which the village of Millville is situated, we find a singular mound. It is situated in a meadow owned by Mr. Kidd, the miller, and about three hundred feet south of his house. The mound lies on the level ground, with its limbs fronting to the creek, which is distant but a few yards. The meadow has been under culti- vation for a number of years, so that the mound is much reduced in height, although it can still be distinctly traced. The remains of several others were observed, but they are so obliterated by cultivation that their forms can no longer be identified. As it lies upon the ground. the effigy is not particularly suggestive of any known living animal. The fore limbs are the longest, and each longer than the body, while the neck has been omitted in the construction of the animal. Altogether it is one of the most singular effigies seen, and the only one of its kind.
"7. Center of Section 15, Town 7, Range 5 west. This locality was formerly known as Warner's Steam Mill, and is situated on the bank of the Wisconsin River. Here is a strip of bottom land, half a mile wide, lying between the bluffs and the river, on which a large number of small circular and conical mounds were found scattered about without any apparent law of distribution. No straight or effigy mounds were seen.
"8. Quarter posts, Sections 5 and 8, Town 6, Range 5 west. On the new road from Millville to Bridgeport three straight mounds were found, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet long. The mounds lie at the foot of the bluff and parallel to it, about fifteen feet above high-water mark, with a bayou of the Wisconsin in front of them and but a few yards distant. Nothing particular was noticed in their mode of distribution.
" 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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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, southwest 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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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 still lying scattered out on the summits of the mounds, and a number of them were collected. The 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 to those before mentioned.
" The fine state of preservation of the bones, so different from those found in the mound 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 that they are intrusive burials ; that these mounds have been resorted to in comparatively recent 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 of 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 were 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.
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