Western Scenes and Reminiscences: Together with Thrilling Legends and Traditions of the Red Men of the ForestSchoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
Western Scenes and Reminiscences: Together with Thrilling Legends and Traditions of the Red Men of the Forest
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Indian captivities; Indians of North America
relics, most of which were analogous to articles of the same kind
occurring in other ancient mounds in the west. The occasion would not
indeed have justified the high expectations which had been formed, had
it not been for the discovery, in one of the vaults, of a small flat
stone of an oval form, containing an inscription in ancient characters.
This inscription, which promises to throw new light on the early history
of America, has not been decyphered. Copies of it have been sent abroad.
It is thought by the learned at Copenhagen, to be Celtiberic. It is not,
in their view Runic. It has, apparently, but one hieroglyphic, or
symbolic figure.
A good deal of historical interest clusters about this discovery of the
inscribed stone. Tomlinson, the grandfather, settled on these flats in
1772, two years before the murder of Logan's family. Large trees, as
large as any in the forest, then covered the flats and the mound. There
stood in the depression I have mentioned, in the top of the mound, a
large beech tree, which had been visited earlier, as was shewn by
several names and dates cut on the bark. Among these, there was one of
the date of A. D. 1734. This I have seen stated under Mr. Tomlinson's
own hand. The place continued to be much visited from 1770 to 1790, as
was shewn by newer names and dates, and indeed, continues to be so
still. There was standing at the time of my first visit in 1818, on the
very summit of the mound, a large dead or decayed white oak, which was
cut down, it appears, about ten years afterwards. On counting its
cortical layers, it was ascertained to be about 500 years old. This
would denote the desertion of the mound to have happened about the
commencement of the 13th century. Granting to this, what appears quite
clear, that the inscription is of European origin, have we not evidence,
in this fact, of the continent's having been visited prior to the era of
Columbus? Visited by whom? By a people, or individuals, it may be said,
who had the use of an antique alphabet, which was much employed,
(although corrupted, varied and complicated by its spread) among the
native priesthood of the western shores and islands of the European
continent, prior to the introduction of the Roman alphabet.
The next object of antiquarian interest, in my descent, was at
Gallipolis--the site of an original French settlement on the west bank,
which is connected with a story of much interest, in the history of
western migrations. It is an elevated and eligible plain, which had
before been the site of an Indian, or aboriginal settlement. Some of the
articles found in a mound, such as plates of mica and sea shells, and
beads of the wrought conch, indicated the same remote period for this
ancient settlement, as the one at Grave Creek Flats; but I never heard
of any inscribed articles, or monuments bearing alphabetic characters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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