stone corn-cracker; 9, 10, front and side view of a spoon; 11, bone reed,

for making twine; 12, bone fish-hook;

13, bone shuttle; 14, stone arrow-heads; 15, 16, stone pots; 17, awls made of deers' antlers; 18, quoit; 19, 20, spearheads.

a female head covered with a conical cap. Huge fragments of earthen-ware, as well as urns of elegant patterns, and large vessels regularly formed, have been found at great depths in some of the mounds described below.

18

19

20

13

At the Illinois state salt-works is a large pit 400 feet in circumference, which, besides ashes and fragments of pottery, contained the remains of a well and drain. Hence it is supposed that the manufacture of salt was here carried on many years ago. Similar discoveries have been made at other salt springs, and vessels have been dug up of a shape and strength suitable for evaporating water, as is now done in making salt. Well-burned bricks, laid in the form of fire-places and the Indian relics represented in the engraving. What was found at the Illinois state salt-works? What conclusion is drawn from this? What else have been brought to

chimneys, have also been brought to light several feet below the surface, beneath trees that have stood for centuries.

39. The number of mounds erected by the early and civilized inhabitants of this continent is variously estimated at from five to ten thousand. Scattered throughout the whole region now occupied by, the United States, Mexico, and Central America, they are most numerous in the two last named countries, and on the banks of the Mississippi and the Missouri. Some of them seem to have been erected for religious purposes, others as means of defence, and a third class as burial places for the dead. The last are the most frequent, and have furnished the greater part of the ornaments and urns mentioned above. A mound of this class, 150 feet around and 15 feet high, was opened some years ago near Lancaster, O. On a level with the surrounding surface was found a furnace of unhewn stone eighteen feet long, on which rested a well-moulded earthen vessel, containing twelve skeletons of men, women, and children. Around the neck of one of the small skeletons was a string of beads, shells, and arrow-heads. The bottom of the vessel bore marks of the action of fire, and beneath it was a great quantity of charcoal and ashes.

Eleven miles from Natchez, Mississippi, was a group of mounds erected for defensive purposes. One of these was thirty-five feet high, and contained an area of four acres on its top, from which rose several smaller mounds. In the middle of the summit was the mouth of a subterranean passage leading to a spring. The remains of a ditch are still to be seen around the base of the large mound; while its steep sides are marked with indentations and projections like those in modern works of the same kind. Ancient roads leading to this great work may still be traced; and many weapons, implements, and human bones, have been dug up in the neighborhood.

light? 39. How many mounds are there estimated to be? Where are they most numerous? For what purposes were they erected? What were the dimensions of one opened at Lancaster, O.? What was found within it? What was found eleven miles from Natchez? Describe one of these defensive works. What have been dug up in

ANCIENT WALLS, FORTIFICATIONS, ETC.

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40. In the numerous remains of walls, fortifications, and cities, scattered throughout North America, we have still more remarkable evidence of mechanical skill in the early inhabitants. At least a hundred of these works have been discovered in the State of New York; but they are yet more numerous throughout our Western and Southern country, as well as in Central America and Mexico. They display no little knowledge of engineering and architecture; while the size of some of them proves that multitudes of men must have united in their construction.

In Gasconade County, Missouri, under a tract covered with large cotton-trees and full-grown poplars, are still to be seen stone foundations, the remains of houses, and other ruins of an ancient town regularly laid out in squares and streets.

Among the most remarkable ruined fortifications are those near Newark, Ohio, at the junction of two branches of the

ment and connected on the north by two covered ways with the river, and on the south by parallel walls with a circular

the neighborhood? 40. What other remarkable remains have we? How many of these works have been discovered in N. Y.? Where are they most numerous? What does the size of some of them prove? What are still to be seen in Gasconade Co, Mo.? 41, In What ruins are mentioned as among the most remarkable? Describe them.

fort. Another pair of walls, running west, joins these forts with two others, four miles distant from them. One of these is circular; the other, octagonal. The former contains an observatory of earth and stone; and from the latter parallel walls are traceable several miles southward into the country. From the occurrence of similar remains at intervals, it is supposed that these works were connected with others thirty miles distant.

41. Mexico and Central America abound in extensive ruins, the remains of pyramids, temples, and cities, equal in magnificence to the grandest of the old world. The city of Mexico alone contained two thousand py-ram'-id-al mounds, the largest of which, 121 feet high, was built but a short time before the country was explored by Cor'-tez. Many of these works, however, like the ruined walls discovered in the United States, are evidently centuries old. Among them are finely sculptured columns, statues of idols, vast altars, immense edifices, massive aqueducts, and roads said to have been the best in the world. The pyramid of Tezcuco [tathkoo'-ko] is a specimen of the most delicate workmanship. It was built of large blocks of basalt, highly polished and beautifully sculptured. The largest Mexican pyramid is that of Cholula [cho-loo'-lah], built of alternate layers of clay and unburnt bricks. It is 1,423 feet long, and 177 feet high. Like nearly all the other works of this class, it was devoted to religious purposes.

42. Both Mexico and Peru, when first explored by Spaniards, were the seats of powerful nations, possessing regular systems of government and religion, acquainted with the arts and sciences, and widely different from the savage tribes of the North. The soil was well cultivated and checkered with numerous cities, some of which are said to have contained several hundred thousand inhabitants. Indeed, the great

what do Mexico and Central America abound? How many mounds did the city of Mexico contain? When was the largest of these built? How high was it? What is said of the age of many of them? Of what do these remains consist? What pyramid exhibits the most delicate workmanship? Of what was it built? What is the largest Mexican pyramid? Of what is it built? What are its dimensions? 42. What was the character of the Mexicans and Peruvians, when first known to the Spaniards? What is

THE MEXICANS AND PERUVIANS.

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works alluded to above could not have been built had not the country been densely populated.

43. The Mexicans and Peruvians were no doubt descendants of the earliest settlers of the continent, who, as before described, emigrated to it at so early a period that they still retained the arts known in the East. They originally occu pied the fertile valleys of our great North American rivers, and left in them numerous monuments of their industry and skill. Allured by the more genial climate or driven out by later emigrants from Asia, they afterwards found their way southward, and finally settled in the fertile plains of Central America and Peru. There, leading an agricultural life, they retained their knowledge of art for many generations; while the northern tribes, neglecting tillage and giving themselves up to the chase, sunk deeper and deeper in barbarism. That such is their history we have additional proof in the resemblance between the skulls of the ancient mound-builders, as found in their burial-places, and those of the Mexican Indians, both strikingly different from the skulls of the northern tribes. The National Annals of the Mexicans, moreover, state that they originally dwelt in the North, whence they commenced migrating in the sixth century under their illus trious emperor, Citin [see-tin'].

CHAPTER V.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIANS.

44. Personal Appearance.-Though the first European settlers observed some points of difference in the appearance of the various Indian tribes, yet there was a strong general resemblance between them. They were all distinguished by

said of their soil and cities? What proves the population to have been dense? 48. Of whom were the Mexicans and Peruvians no doubt descendants? Where did they originally live? What induced them to change their location? What kind of a life did they lead? What proof have we that such is their history? What do the National Annals of the Mexicans say on this point?

44. By what were all the Indians distinguished? Describe their forms. From what