[♠]

XXXVII. Ancient Works on the Wateree River, Kershaw District, South Carolina.

PLATE XXXVII. REMAINS ON THE WATEREE RIVER, KERSHAW DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA.

It is unquestionable that the race of the mounds occupied a portion of the State of South Carolina; and although the traces of their occupation are far from abundant, they are still sufficiently numerous to deserve notice. The only reliable information we have concerning them, is contained in a MS. letter from WILLIAM BLANDING, M. D., late of Camden, South Carolina, a gentleman distinguished for his researches in natural history, to SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, M. D., of Philadelphia, the eminent author of “Crania Americana,” by whose permission it is embodied in this connection. The observations of Dr. Blanding were confined to a section of the valley of the Wateree river, embracing about twenty-five miles in the immediate vicinity of Camden, and mainly included in the Kershaw district.

“The first monument deserving of notice is ‘Harrison’s Mound’ (A in the Map). It is the highest in position of any on the river, and is situated on the west side of the same, in the Fairfield district. It is about four hundred and eighty feet in circumference at the base, fifteen feet high, and has a level area one hundred and twenty feet in circumference at its summit.

“The next relic of antiquity is the ‘Indian Mortar,’ (B in the Map,) in the Kershaw district. It is a regular bowl-shaped excavation in a solid block of granite, holding upwards of half a bushel, and is evidently the work of art. It p106 was used as a mortar by the early settlers, and is still devoted to the same purpose. The part of the rock projecting out of the ground is equivalent to eight or ten tons.

“Next is an old Indian town or camp near the mouth of Beaver creek (C in the Map). A little below the mouth of the creek is an old fortification, of oblong form, consisting of a wall and ditch (D in the Map). The embankment is now not more than three feet high above the level of the plain. The ditch is distinct. Nearly opposite this work, on the west side of the river, are the traces of an old Indian village, remarkable for its arrow-heads, fragments of pottery, etc.

“Proceeding down the river, we come to a point near the head of the canal, where the land rises to the extraordinary height of five hundred feet, forming a long, narrow hill. Upon the point of this hill nearest the river, stands what is called the ‘Indian Grave’ (F in the Map). It is composed of many tons of small round stones, weighing from one to four pounds each. The pile is thirty feet long from east to west, twelve feet broad, and five feet high, so situated as to command an extensive view of the adjacent country, stretching as far as Rocky Mount, twenty miles above, and for a long distance below on the river. It may be suggested that this is the elevated burial-place of some great chief, or that it was designed as some sort of an observatory. The Catawba Indians can give no account of it, nor will they venture a conjecture as to its purposes. A mound, G, is situated opposite this stone heap, on the other side of the river. The ‘shoals’ in the immediate vicinity seem to have been a favorite haunt of the ancient and more recent races. Here to this day is to be found an abundance of fish and game, and the vicinity is marked by numerous aboriginal relics. Here also is the highest boundary of the long-leaved pine, and the limit of the alluvial region. Below, the river becomes sluggish, and during high water leaves its banks and spreads over large tracts of land.

“The mound next below, H, was two hundred and fifty feet in circumference at the base, seventy-five feet at the top, and thirteen feet high. It was situated about a hundred yards from the river on lands subject to overflow. Three other small mounds surrounded it. In 1826 it was levelled, and the material used for manuring the adjacent lands. A part of the treasures which it contained were saved, but the rest are scattered or destroyed. The mound presented, upon excavation, a succession of strata, varying in thickness from six inches to one foot, from top to base. First vegetable loam, then human and animal bones, followed by charcoal of reeds, vessels of clay and fragments of the same, (some holding not more than one pint,) arrow-heads and stone axes, then earth, etc., alternately. In one small vessel was found a tag or needle made of bone, supposed to have been used in making dresses. Near it was found the skeleton of a female, tolerably entire, but which fell in pieces on exposure. A stratum of dark-colored mould was mixed with these articles; perhaps decomposed animal matter. The superstructure of the mound was the alluvial loam, and constituted tolerable manure. It was mixed with great quantities of mica, some pieces three or four inches square. Marine shells, much decomposed, were found in this as in other mounds, mixed with the bones, from top to bottom.