Art. XXI. An Account of several Ancient Mounds, and of two Caves, in East Tennessee.
Art. XXI. An Account of several Ancient Mounds, and of two Caves, in East Tennessee, by Mr. John Henry Kain, of Knoxville.
(Communicated for the American Journal of Science, &c.)
Mounds.
On the plantation of Mr. John Kain of Knox county, near the north bank of the Holston River, 5 miles above its junction with the French Broad, is a curious collection of mounds of earth, evidently the work of art, but of an almost antediluvian antiquity, if we may form any conjecture of their age, from that of the forest which grows around and upon them. They are about half a dozen in number, and arise on about half an acre of level ground without any seeming regularity. They are pyramidal in their shape, or rather sections of pyramids, whose bases are from 10 to 30 paces in diameter. The largest one in this group rises about 10 feet above the level ground, and is remarkably regular in its figure. A perpendicular section of this mound was made about a year since, but no important discovery was made. It was found to consist of the surface thrown up, and contained a good deal of ashes and charcoal.
This group of mounds is surrounded by a ditch, which can be distinctly traced on three sides, and enclosing besides the mounds, several acres of ground. It is like the mounds covered with trees, which grow in it and about it. At every angle of this ditch, it sweeps out into a semicircle, and it appears in many respects well calculated for defence.
There are many other mounds of the same form in Tennessee. At the junction of the French Broad with the Holston, there is one in which human bones are said to have been found. Farther up French Broad, near Newport, is a very large mound. It reposes on a very level and extensive plain, and is itself the largest I ever saw. It is thirty feet high, and its base covers half an acre of ground. As it ascends from its base, there is a slight inclination from a perpendicular on all sides, and the upper surface is as level as the rest is regular. From the great size of this mound, its commanding situation, and the mystery which veils its history, it is a most interesting spot of ground. There are many other mounds of this description in the State of Tennessee, but I have not visited them.
Though not immediately connected with this subject, I take the liberty to subjoin an account of a remarkable cave or grotto, in a bluff of limestone, on the south bank of the Holston River, opposite the mounds first described. The bluff is perhaps 100 feet high and 50 wide. The grotto is a large natural excavation of the rock, 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. It is very irregular, and to the very top bears marks of the attrition of waves. The river to have been so high, must have covered the valley through which it now winds its quiet way. The excavation gradually diminishes in size as you proceed backward, till at 100 feet from the entrance, it terminates. A remarkable projection of the rock divides the back part into two stories. This grotto, whose walls are hung with ivy, and the bluff crowned with cedars, and surrounded by an aged forest, on which the vine clambers most luxuriantly, viewed from the river which winds slowly around it, and reflects its image, is more than beautiful: it is even venerable. But what renders it most interesting to many visitors, is a number of rude paintings, which were, as tradition reports, left on it by the Cherokee Indians. These Indians are known to have made this cave a resting-place, as they passed up and down the River Holston. These paintings are still distinct, though they have faded somewhat within my remembrance. They consist of representations of the sun and moon, of a man, of birds, fishes, &c. They are all of red paint, and resemble in this respect, the paintings on Paint Rock near the warm springs.
Much has been said of the objects of curiosity in the country north of us; and I took the liberty to describe some of them in my preceding communication. Indeed we may say, without danger of exaggeration, that the range of Alleghany Mountains presents a variety of the most curious features, and many objects of beauty and sublimity. I have noticed a few of the most prominent, but "the half is not told."
Extract of a Letter, &c.
Knoxville, Nov. 24, 1818.
I was on a visit to a friend a few days since, about 30 miles to the north of this, and was invited by him to visit an interesting curiosity in the neighbourhood. We crossed the Clynch River where it is much confined by mountains, and banks as high as mountains. Our guide conducted us to the foot of a steep declivity, where we left our horses, and with some difficulty ascended about 70 yards. Here we came to the mouth of a cave which had been stopped up by a stone wall. The wall was made of limestone and mortar, which is now harder than the stone itself. It is, without a doubt, artificial, for besides the evidence afforded by its structure, it contains bones and animal remains.
What was this wall built for? There was a tradition among the inhabitants that it contained money, and they were much disappointed on opening it, not to find any. Like other caves, it contains a variety of calcareous concretions, and I obtained some fine specimens of brown spar, which I will take the first opportunity to send you.
I remain your Friend,
JOHN H. KAIN.
N. B. This wall is 10 feet thick.
For the American Journal of Science, &c.
Benjamin Silliman, Esq.
Dear Sir,
Should you think the facts detailed in the following statement worthy of publication, you are at liberty to publish them. The knowledge of the first, I derived in the year 1802, from a gentleman and a lady, both inhabitants of the town where the person whose case is detailed, lived: of the third in 1802, from the same lady: and of the second in 1802, from a lady, a near relative of Mrs. S. When the facts were communicated to me, I immediately committed them to writing, and to avoid mistakes, read what I had written to the persons communicating them.
I am very respectfully,
Your Friend, and obedient Servant,
BENJAMIN W. DWIGHT.