ARCHÉOLOGIE

ON SOME CLAIMS OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS BY Mr. s. B. Evans.

I wish to submit to the Congress some observations on the American Indians and examine the claims made for them that they are the builders of the works of antiquity found in the United States and Mexico :

There are races of men inimical to civilization, and in this nineteenth century are struggling against its approach,as they hâve been from the time history was carved in stone or imprinted on the cylinders of Babylon. Why thèse were so created, it is not the purpose of this paper to inquire, but simply to note : Builders of the pyramids and the splendid temples on the Nile pushed their civilizing conquests no farther to the south than the ruins of their cities show, and beyond thèse were then, as now, the howling savages of an African wilderness w^ho fight now, as they did then, against the advancé of a humanizing culture. On the borders of Assyria, whilst her cities were building and during the greatest splendor of that wonderful empire, there were hordes of barbarians nomads, who neither tilled the soil nor built permanent habitations, but subsisted on the growth of their half-tamed flocks, which fed in turn on the natural productions of the earth. The ancient civilizations perished but the barbarians remain, preserving wdth fidelity the rude customs of their forefathers, and warring still against the ideas which their ancestors fought, with a persistence that speaks well for that

quality, if for nothing else, that is theirs. If one should search for the marks they hâve made on the earth's surface, the search woiild be vain ; their mission is to destroy, not to build ; to burn, not to create ; they made no monuments in the past ; they are making none now ; they never will make any I It would be as reasonable to expect that coneys would grow into dam-building animais like beavers, as to believe that the cliild of the désert would, of his own free will, develop into a builder of cities. As well look for quails in a swallow's nest as to look for pyramids or temple columns, except where the race of pyramid builders hâve been dominant. Bédouins may be annihilated, but they cannot be housed ! Thèse observations are based on events recorded in history, accepted as facts by the enlightened world, and will not perhaps be questioned. I will undertake now to show, by a parity of reasoning, that a similar state of facts must exist, when applied to a race of people so closely allied to the barbarous and nomadic tribes of Asia and Africa that it will be difficult to separate tliem.

The American Indian does not differ essentially from other nomads ; througii the various degrees of latitude where he is found, he préserves the traits of his race, and an Arctic travel- 1er who observes a native on the American side of Behring's Straits, will fînd his counterpart on the Asiatic side.

On the barren wastes of Siberia linger the probable descendants of Scythians, who made themselves distinctive in their time, by scalping their encmies, as do Indians, from the equator to the frozen zone, Barring environments that compel déviation, the Indian is the same whether encountered in Labrador or Florida, Alaska or Guatemala ; and where ver he may be, he willbe found making the most out of the spontaneous contributions of nature, and doing the least possible amount of labor to maintain existence. To appease the supernatural forces conjured by his imagination, wrings from him his greatest exertion, but even this does not impel him to such manual labor as the building races employ on ordinary occasions. He fills a fetich-bag with

tufts offeathers, bitsof minerai and curions stones, scrawls hideous caricatures on the face of a cliff, or plants a pôle in the ground, surmounting it with a streamer of hair, and this in his esteem is a sufficient fulfillment of the obligations due to his deity. The squaws of a tribe do ail the labor that is necessary to such a rude existence ; stretch skins over the bent pôles of the wigwam, dress and prépare the food while the lord of the forest takes his pleasure in kilHng game on which to subsist ; when the wild animais are driven by his déprédations to other fields, he goes with them, the women carrying the scant equipments, and a new home is established wherever game is abundant.

On the sea-coast, where fîrst encountered by Europeans, the fish-eating tribes were perforée compelled to sedentary habits, and to some extent cultivated corn that was indigenous to the soil, but this did not impel them to build permanent habitations : the highest example of house-building that bas corne under the observation of chroniclers was the « long-house » of the Iriquois, and this was but a palisade of logs, covered with skins or the bark of trees. With ail the faculties of the Indian mind centered on the destruction of birds and animais, he never invented a device for that purpose superior to the implements used by primitive men everywhere ; his highest raptures are exultations over dead and dying enemies, and his idea of a future life a hunting-ground where vdld beasts may be slaughtered day after day, and yet the number never diminish. That his occupancy of the country bas been of long duration there are proofs that seem conclusive, and although prodigal in the slaughter of animais when given an opportunity, yet his skill was met by the cunning of the game he sought ; the wild bufFalo multiplie d on his hands and convered the country from one océan to the other. The wild ox and the nom ad flourished alike together, and disappear alike at the approach of civihzation.

The United States Bureau of Ethnology in its capacity as a governmental department bas seen fit to lend the weight of its

commanding influence to a theory that ail the works of antiquity in the United States are to be referred to the Indians, whose characteristics are briefly sketched in the foregoing pages. Everything contrary to the theory they maintain and foster, is characterized as romantic and visionary in comparison with the opinion announced with something like officiai authority, by the respectable gentlemen who hâve crcated a school which might be designated as the Fennimore Cooper School of American Archaeology, for the reason that it claims for the Indian more than he would claim for himself. Disciples of this school hâve met with the expériences usual to those who attempt to adjust facts to pet opinions, and a notable instance is afforded in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau, where a distinguished observer writing under the sanction of his chief , alludes to the manner of Black Hawk's burial, and brings that forward as proof that Indians built mounds within the historié period. This most unfortunate référence is not perhaps a fair example of the so-called évidences in favor of the Indian solution of the mound problem, but should at any rate serve as a caution to prevent one from receiving with open mouth and willing ear, everything that proceeds from officiai sources. ïhe burial of Black Hawk (as related by an eye-witness), is évidence directly opposed to the Bu reau theory. He was placed on a slab which rested on the top of the ground, with head slightly elevated ; then puncheons or slabs were placed over the body in a roof-shaped structure, and this was covered with earth to the depth of a few inches. The earth was placed over the roof, not as a monument, but for sanitary reasons, and in the interest of deccncy, at the suggestion of a whiteman. It was but a rude afï'air, although Black Hawk was a great chief ; and when the timbers supporting the roof gave way, the structure would fall, but the mass would form only a slight irregular élévation that would bear no resemblance whatever to the mounds proper, which, in this case, are on the heights near by.

In the State of Illinois, and a few miles from St-Louis, there

is a stupendous mound of earth, covering an area of nearly fourteen (14) acres ; its height is ninety seven (97) feet, and the summit is a plateau in the form of a rectangular parallelogram comprising nearly one and a half acres. The cubical contents of this structure approximate very closely to 1,076,000 cubic yards of earth.

C. H. Sharman, a civil engineer of repute, in St-Louis, has estimated the amount of labor involvcd in the construction of the mound. Mr Sharman says : « To construct a mound of this magnitude in thèse modem times and witli the best appliances for moving earth, it would cost the labôr of 75 teams and 150 men for a period of two years, seven months and seven days ; it would require the labor of one man 5896 years ; or, putting it in better form, it would take 2448 men two years, or 150 mound-builders, 39 years, 3 months and 18 days. »

It is not the purpose of this paper to theorize, and no explanation of the uses of such a structure will be attempted ; its mère présence is noted, and whether viewed as a monument or site for a building, it commands attention as a mighty record of human toil and human enterprise. The enormous amount of labor required for such an undertaking involves the necessity for a state of things to exist inconsistent and impossible withthe Bureau theory. To hâve carried on such a work,there must hâve been a large con tingent engaged in coUecting food for laborers ; there would hâve been variety of occupations and a compétition in industrial pursuitsthat would hâve induced labor-saving inventions, and thèse, or a trace oftheir existence, would hâve been handed down to the descendants of any mound-building race to remote générations.

The présence of such a structure and the fifty or more smal- 1er mounds of the vicinity, imply a large résident population which could not hâve been subsisted on the spoils of the chase or the meagre supplies that would accrue from the rude system of agriculture employed by Indians. Large Indian villages hâve neverbeenencountered except on extraordinary occasions. When

Custer, standing- on the heights of the Little Big Horn country, looking clown on Sitting Bull's camp, which he hoped to surprise and capture, exclaimed, « It is the largest Indian village on the continent ! » he expressed a fact ; but the village was an accident, and melted away soon after the battle ; the bands dispersed to seek safety and food. Indian policy is opposed to concentration except in time of war ; necessity compels wide dispersion.

In the vicinity of Newa,rk, Ohio, is a System of ancient works that inspire admiration and wonder from the most indijïerent observers. A great circle embraces within its limits the fair grounds of the Licking County Agricultural Society. It is in a fair state of préservation, and is briefly thus described :

The w^all varies in width from 33 to 55 feet. There is a ditch which varies in width from 28 to 41 feet and in depth from 8 to 13 feet. It is more than half a mile in circumference and is nearly a true circle, as measured by a Bureau officiai. The circle of the High Bank works has a diameter of 1050 feet, and is so near a perfect circle that the Bureau in one of its publications is compelled to make the folio wing admission : « The somewhat unexpected results to which allusion has been made in référence to this and the Observatory Circle, are first that the figure is so nearly a true circle ; and second, that the radius is almost an exact multiple of the surveyor's chain. » The close approximation to géométrie regularity in thèse works is frankly admitted by the same observer, and yet the conclusion is drawn that Indians might lay ont true circles, and therefore Indians were the builders.

If it be admitted that it is possible for barbarians to arrive at such a culture as to be able to describe true circles of such dimensions as at Newark, there must still be a motive supplied which would hâve induced them to go to such pains. What would prompt a Iribe of such people to lay out grand circles or throw up enormous embankments ? Certainly not for the purpose of holding the country against enemies, as Indian tactics

do not include the defence of fortifîed positions, and there is no necessity even in modem warfare for true circles. If they were made for any other purpose than war, that would be évidence of a culture which would survive to some extent at least, in any living descendants of the builders. That survival does not exist among Indians !

Attempts hâve been made to connect the Cherokees with moundbuilding in the historié period, but the proofs are as faint as in the case of Black Hawk. The same character of évidence is broug-ht forward to establish that De Soto encountered mound-builders during his wanderings in the territory nov^^ embraced in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Arkansas. The most authentic narrations of that journey are compiled by Théodore Irving, where bare mention is made of artifîcial hills as Jjeing in some instances the sites forwigw^ams of pettychiefs. Onsuch flimsy testimony as this, grave archaeologists déclare that De Soto encountered the mound-builders ! To this day the mounds in the South and elsewhere are selected by people who never built mounds, as convenient places on which to erect modem buildings, and early in the century a monastery occupied the summit of the great ancient structure at Cahokia. For three hundred years the world believed that Spaniards undcr Gortez reduced a magnifîcent city, and built as great a onc from the ruins. The chroniclers of that romantic adventurc had everytliing to themselves, and prompted by tlieir commander, magnifîed the importance of the conquest, and made the Halls of the Montezumas as gorgeous as imagination would conceive. Thèse marvellous créations were accepted as absolute realities by a blind historian who was never in the country, and related by the brilliant author embellished with ail his grâce and élégance, they for many years passed for grave history. AU the world now knows that the city on Lake Texcoco, taken by the Spaniards, was l)ut an enormous Indian village (perhaps as large as that one attacked by Guster), composed of huts ; that the socalled Emperor was but the chief of a tribe of barbarians who

subsisted principally on insects, reptiles, the puny fîsh of a shallow lake, and the spontaneous products of tlie soil. Thèse barbarians had entered the valley perhaps six hundred years ago, and found there the relies of an ancient culture : thirty miles from their swamp village was a city in ruins, with remains of temples, and a pyramid two hundred feet in height stood in the midstofthe désolation. It is to the crédit of the Bureau that it does not associate the Aztecs with the buried cities of Mexico, but bclieves that some kind of a culture existed in that country which is not to be attributed to Indians : but the dividing line between the ancient works of Mexico and those of the United States has not yet been established on the Rio Grande. Until we hear from officiai sources, that line will be difficult to locate. On the plateau of Puebla, beneath the shadow of Popocatapetl, is the mound of Cholula, which if transported to the Great American Bottom in Illinois, would fit the surroundings and be pronounced a part of the System of works ; on the other hand, if the mound at Cahokia were placed on the Mexican plain,it would be called a pyramid.

Recurring to the proposition advanced in the opening pages of this paper, and applying it to the barbarians of America, it is easy to believe that they are not exceptions to the gênerai rule, differing in essentials from nomads of the Old World. Of the latter we know that their characteristics are preserved through succeeding générations. « So unchanged are habits in this cradle of thebuman race (the East) that the traveller of to-day, yet meets on the slopes of Mt, Olympus the same Turcoman shepherd, as simple, as primitive and as barbarous as were bis ancestors five hundred years ago ». The Bédouin sheik leads bis marauding band over Arabian plains as his fathers did in the time of Napoléon, of Charlemagne, and of Asshur-Bani-Pal. The same stubborn persistence in the ways of nomadic life belong to the American tribes. The European has known them nearly four hundred years and they are now as when Columbus came. An example is brought to mind : A fragment of a tribe holds a reser-

vation near the center of a populous State, where three hundred individuals of the race are surrounded by the apphances and inventions of the âge, and yet, with ail the influences that contact with a high civilization afFords, thèse lingering relies of a barbarism that once held a continent within its folds, adhère rigidly to the customs, religion, modes and superstitions of primitive life. There are tribes that roam and peoples who build, and the sentiment that prompts each to their doom is as dominant over them as the instinct of birds and beasts confîning each within their respective sphères. Barbarism and the roaming propensity still exist as well as a highly developed taste for architecture, but there is no survival eitlier in x^merica or elsewhere, of the culture thatprompted menin the old days to build pyramids and mounds : the Egyptians who made Cheops are dead ; likewise the men who made the mounds ! Were they the ancestors of nomads ? If so, it carries us back to a period so remote that a race of men hâve had time to materially and radically change its habits and retrogade from a certain sort of culture to the lowest depths of barbarism. More than this : the rules that ordinarily govern would necessarily bave been sus. pended in order that such a state of facts could exist.

Expérience and observation of human history teach that there are no miracles accomplished for the benefît of, or to the détriment of anyrace. Certain faculties are vouchsafed by Nature, and thèse permit development within certain bounds. The builders of to-day inherit that propensity from a line of ancestry reaching back through the centuries to a time no man may measure. If diversifies in their works appear, they are explained by the admixture of blood and incorporation of barbarie caprice with hereditary taste and culture. So with peoples to whom a différent héritage bas fallen. We see the persistence with which they adhère to the tents and wild freedom of their Ishmaelitish fathers : and so long as the purity of a race of nomads is preserved, so long will there be those to whom it will seem idle to build permanent habitations, which may be theirs to-day, and to morrow abandoned for-ever.