It will be observed that several plans and notices of ancient works are presented in the succeeding chapters, upon the authority of the late Prof. C. S. RAFINESQUE. This gentleman, while living, devoted considerable attention to the antiquities of the Mississippi valley, and published several brief papers relating to them. His notes and plans, for the most part brief, crude, and imperfect, at his death found their way into the possession of BRANTZ MAYER, Esq., of Baltimore, late Secretary of the American Legation to Mexico. This gentleman placed them in the hands of the authors, with liberty to make use of the information which they contained. They, however, have chosen to avail themselves of this permission, only so far as to adopt Prof. Rafinesque’s plans, etc., in cases where they have either been able to verify them in person, or to assure themselves by collateral evidence of their accuracy in all essential particulars. His notes are principally important, as indicating the localities of many interesting monuments, rather than as conveying any satisfactory information concerning them.
To SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, M.D., of Philadelphia, the eminent author of “Crania Americana,” is acknowledgment especially due, not only for the warm interest manifested in these investigations from their commencement, but for the use of valuable manuscripts relating to our antiquities,—the collections of many years of laborious research in collateral departments. Among these is the brief account of the ancient remains on the Wateree river in South Carolina, by Dr. WILLIAM BLANDING; and also the highly important account of the monuments of the States bordering the Gulf of Mexico, by WILLIAM BARTRAM, the first naturalist who penetrated the dense tropical forests of Florida. The history of the MSS. from which the latter account was taken, is unknown. It found its way by accident into the hands of its present possessor. It consists of answers to a series of questions, by a second person, (probably Dr. Barton,) relating to the history, religion, manners, institutions, etc., of the tribes which composed the Creek confederacy, and is undoubtedly the most complete and accurate account of those Indians in existence.
Dr. S. P. HILDRETH, of Marietta, and Prof. JOHN LOCKE, of Cincinnati, both of whom have devoted much attention to our antiquities, and whose observations upon the subject are distinguished for their accuracy, are also entitled to honorable mention for facts contributed, and assistance rendered. So also, for surveys of ancient works, drawings and descriptions of ancient relics, and facts of various kinds, is acknowledgment due to J. DILLE, Esq., of Newark, Ohio; S. T. OWEINS and W. B. FAIRCHILD, Esqs., of Xenia, Ohio; Col. B. L. C. WAILES, of Washington, Mississippi; J. H. BLAKE, Esq., of Boston; THOMAS REYNOLDS, M.D., of Brockville, Canada West; ARIUS NYE, Esq., and CHARLES SULLIVAN, Marietta, Ohio; HENRY HOWE, R. BUCHANAN, JOSEPH CLARKE, ERASMUS GEST, jr., and U. P. JAMES, Esqs., of Cincinnati; J. E. WHARTON, Esq., of Wheeling, Virginia; DANIEL MORTON, Esq., of New York; L. K. DILLE, M.D., of Cedarville, Ohio; CHARLES O. TRACY, of Portsmouth, Ohio; Prof. W. W. MATHER, Jackson, Ohio; Rev. W. B. STEVENS, Athens, Georgia; Hon. T. H. CLINGMAN, North Carolina; ASHEL AYLESWORTH, Granville, Ohio; P. N. WHITE, Esq., Circleville, Ohio; C. J. ORTON, Lower Sandusky, Ohio; Lieut. JOHN H. ALLEN, now of Easton, Md.; T. B. HUNT, Esq., of New Haven; WM. F. CLEMSON, Esq., of Chillicothe, Ohio; and JOSEPH SULLIVANT, Esq., Columbus, Ohio.
And while rendering these acknowledgments, it is but proper to express the obligations which the authors of these investigations feel themselves under to gentlemen in the various Atlantic cities, who, if they have not been able to add to the number of facts here presented, have nevertheless by their thorough appreciation of the subject, friendly encouragement, and disinterested aid, extended in various ways, facilitated this new attempt towards the elucidation of the antiquities of our own country. To the learned and venerable President of the American Ethnological Society, Hon. ALBERT GALLATIN, the closing years of whose long, active, and useful life have been closely and successfully devoted to researches in the wide field of American Ethnological Science, are our grateful acknowledgments especially due. His assistance and enlightened approbation have had a controlling influence in sustaining and carrying on these investigations. To JOHN R. BARTLETT, Esq., of New York, Foreign Corresponding Secretary of the Ethnological Society, distinguished for his zeal and energy in organizing and promoting historical and ethnological research, we cannot sufficiently express our obligations. His assistance, in a variety of ways, has been of value, especially in directing public attention to the importance of a subject, the extent and bearings of which were but imperfectly understood.
Hon. GEO. P. MARSH, of Burlington, Vermont, whose disinterested exertions have mainly contributed to the appearance of this memoir in its present form, has kindly examined the following chapters and given them the benefit of his sound and critical judgment. To Prof. EDWARD ROBINSON, D.D., and to Prof. W. W. TURNER, both of New York, and both officers of the American Ethnological Society, are we also indebted. The gentleman last named has supervised the memoir, and his suggestions have been deferred to with a readiness implying a confidence in his critical abilities, which is shared alike by the authors and by the public.
To Professors B. SILLIMAN and B. SILLIMAN, jr., of New Haven; Prof. JEFFRIES WYMAN, of Boston; Prof. LEWIS AGASSIZ, of Cambridge; S. F. HAVENS, Esq., Librarian of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester; and to numerous other gentlemen in various parts of the Union, and particularly to GEO. R. GLIDDON, Esq., whose lectures and publications upon the subject of Egyptian Archæology have given a new and powerful impulse to cognate researches in America, and invested them with a popular interest indispensable to their successful prosecution,—to all of these are the warmest thanks of the investigators due.
It will not be improper here to mention, that the literary part of the present work, the responsible task of arranging and embodying for publication the original MSS. and other materials jointly got together in the course of these investigations, has devolved mostly upon the gentleman whose name stands first upon the title-page, who has also prepared the plans, drawings, and other illustrations. The other gentleman has been engaged for a number of years in researches connected with our ancient monuments, and in collecting relics of aboriginal art; and it is due to him to say, that the investigations here recorded, so far as they involve inquiries in natural science, have principally been made by him. He has also sustained the larger proportion of the expenses attending these explorations, and devoted considerable time to the restoration and arrangement of the relics recovered from the mounds.
Before concluding these prefatory remarks,—already extended beyond the original design,—we may be permitted to say that it has been a constant aim in the preparation of this memoir, to present facts in a clear and concise form, with such simple deductions and generalizations alone, as may follow from their careful consideration. With no hypothesis to combat or sustain, and with a desire only to arrive at truth, whatever its bearings upon received theories and current prejudices, everything like mere speculation has been avoided. Analogies, apparently capable of reflecting light upon many important questions connected with an enlarged view of the subject, have seldom been more than indicated. Their full consideration, as also that of the relations which the ancient monuments of the Mississippi valley bear to those of other portions of America and the world, has not been attempted here. To such an undertaking, involving long and careful research, as also a more comprehensive view of the monuments of the central parts of the continent, this memoir is only preliminary. It yet remains to be seen whether all the ancient monuments of the Mississippi valley were constructed upon similar principles; whether they denote a common origin, and whether they were probably contemporaneous or otherwise in their erection. It remains to be settled whether the singular and anomalous structures of Wisconsin and the North-west are part of the same grand system of defensive, religious, and sepulchral monuments found in the valley of the Ohio, and the more imposing, if not more regular remains which abound in the Southern States. The work of investigation has been just commenced; its future progress may, and no doubt will, result in new and perhaps more important disclosures than any hitherto made.
The importance of a complete and speedy examination of the whole field, cannot be over-estimated. The operations of the elements, the shifting channels of the streams, the levelling hand of public improvement, and most efficient of all, the slow but constant encroachments of agriculture, are fast destroying these monuments of ancient labor, breaking in upon their symmetry and obliterating their outlines. Thousands have already disappeared, or retain but slight and doubtful traces of their former proportions. Such an examination is, however, too great an undertaking for private enterprise to attempt. It must be left to local explorers, to learned associations, or to the Government. And if this memoir shall succeed in directing that attention to the subject which it merits, and thereby in some manner secure the thorough investigation of these monuments, that result will prove an ample recompense for labors performed in a field of absorbing interest, and one which holds out abundant attractions to the Antiquary and Archæologist.
CHILLICOTHE, OHIO, June, 1847.