And the wolf could scrape them up with his foot. Curious for consideration All this with its dumb recordings! Very suggestive also, The meeting of him, the first-born, Who lived before the rainbow Burst from the womb of the suncloud, In the Bible days of the Deluge-- The meeting very suggestive Of him, with the red Winnebago, Such immemorial ages, Cartooned with mighty empires, Lying outstretched between them. He, the forerunner of cities --His mounds their type and rudiment-- And he, the fag-end of creation, Meaningless sculpture of journeymen, Doomed to the curse of extinction. Curious, also, that I, An islander from far-off Britain Should meet them, Or, the rude scrolls of them. Both together in these wilds, Round about the region of the Black River, Cheek by jowl in a grave. Who was the builder of the grave? A primitive man, no doubt, Of the stone era, it may be, For of stone are his implements. And not of metal-work, nor the device of fire. He may have burrowed for lead And dug out copper ore, Dark-green as with emerald rust, from the mines Long since forsaken, and but newly found By the delvers at Mineral Point. He, or his subsequents, issue of him, I know not; and, soothe to say, Shall never know. Neither wilt thou ever know Anything of me, old Mound Builder! Of the race of Americans, nothing, Who now, and ever henceforth, Own, and shall own, this continent! Heirs of the vast wealth of time Since thou from the same land departed; New thinkers, new builders, creators Of life, and the scaffolds of life, For far-off grand generations! This skull which I handle!-- How long has the soul left it tenantless? And what did the soul do in its house, When this roof covered it? Many things, many wonderful things! It wrote its primeval history Is earthworks and fortifications, In animal forms and pictures, In symbols of unknown meaning. I know from the uncouth hieroglyphs, And the more finished records, That this soul had a religion, Temples, and priests, and altars: I think the life-giver, the sun, Was the god unto whom he sacrificed. I think that the moon and stars Were the lesser gods of his worship; And that the old serpent of Eden Came in for a share of devotion.