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CHAPTER VIII.
Remarks on the Prints of Human Feet in Rock. Bone Bank, Tornadoes. Reach Shawneetown. Scenery of the Ohio Valley.
Battery Rock. Intermitting Spring. Cross the Shawanee Mountains. Illinois Lead Mines.
Before leaving Harmony, our attention was particularly directed to a tabular mass of limestone, containing two apparent
prints or impressions of the naked human foot. This stone was carefully preserved in an open area, upon the premises of
Mr. Rappe, by whom it had previously been conveyed from the banks of the Mississippi at St. Louis. Being aware of the
conclusions which must result to geology from a fact of this nature, and that all former notice of the organic impressions
of our species in well-consolidated strata, have been deemed apocryphal, we were induced to examine the subject with
particular attention. To obtain an exact drawing of these interesting prints, we moistened a sheet of paper to a degree
that permitted its being pressed by the palm of the hand into the most minute indentations. While thus pressed in, we
drew the outlines in pencil. From this drawing the accompanying plate, by Mr. Inman, is a faithful transcript, on a
reduced scale. We present it to the
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public as being more minutely accurate than our own figure of the subject, published in the American Journal of
Science. *
The impressions are, to all appearance, those of a man, standing in an erect posture, with the left foot a little
advanced and the heels drawn in. The distance between the heels, by accurate measurement, is six and a quarter inches,
and between the extremities of the toes, thirteen and a half. But, by a close inspection, it will be perceived, that
these are not the impressions of feet accustomed to the European shoe; the toes being much spread, and the foot
flattened, in the manner that is observed in persons unaccustomed to the close shoe. The probability, therefore, of
their having been imparted by some individual of a race of men who were strangers to the art of
tanning skins, and at a period much anterior to that to which any traditions of the present race of Indians reaches,
derives additional weight from this peculiar shape of the feet.
In other respects, the impressions are strikingly natural, exhibiting the muscular marks of the foot with great precision
and faithfulness to nature. This circumstance weakens, very much, the supposition that they may, possibly, be specimens
of antique sculpture, executed by any former race of men inhabiting this continent. Neither history nor tradition has
preserved the slightest traces of such a people. For it must be recollected, that, as yet, we have
no evidence that the people who erected our stupendous western tumuli possessed any knowledge of masonry, far less of
sculpture, † or that they had even
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*
Vol. V. No. 2.
† The carvings of pipe bowls out of stratitc, indurated clay, and other soft materials, executed by the Indians
of the present day, do not, perhaps, merit the name of sculpture: but even of these, there is, we believe, no evidence
that this simple art was practised before we had made them auqoainted with the use of iron.
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invented a chissel, a knife, or an axe, other than those of porphyry, hornstone, or obsidian.
The average length of the human foot in the male subject may, perhaps, be assumed at ten inches. The length of each
foot, in our subject, is ten and a quarter inches: the breadth, taken across the toes, at right angles to the former
line, four inches ; but the greatest spread of the toes is four and a half inches, which diminishes to two and a half at
the heel. Directly before the prints, and approaching within a few inches of the left foot, is a well-impressed and deep
mark, having some resemblance to a scroll, whose greatest length is two feet seven inches, and greatest breadth twelve
and a half inches.
The rock containing these interesting impressions is a compact limestone of a grayish-blue colour. It was originally
quarried on the left bank of the Mississippi at St. Louis, and is a part of the extensive range of calcareous rocks upon
which that town is built. It contains very perfect remains of the encrinite, echinite, and some other fossil species.
The rock is firm and well consolidated, as much so as any part of the stratum. A specimen of this rock, now before us,
has a decidedly sparry texture, and embraces a mass of black blende. This rock is extensively used as a building material
at St. Louis. On parting with its carbonic acid and water, it becomes beautifully white, yielding an excellent quicklime.
Foundations of private dwellings at St. Louis and the military works erected by the French and Spaniards, from this
material, sixty years ago, are still as solid and unbroken as when first laid. We cite these facts as evincing the
compactness and durability of the stone -- points which must essentially affect any conclusions to be drawn from the
prints we have mentioned, and
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upon which, therefore, we are solicitous to express our decided opinion.
Geologists teach us that the character and relative age of rocks may be determined with considerable certainty, from the
fossil organic remains which they disclose in the most solid parts. They infer from the shells, plants, and other traces
of organic structure, now found in solid strata, that these rocks were once soft and pliable, so as to be capable of
admitting these bodies. They point also to these substances, some of which are derived from the land and others from the
ocean, as evidences of the dominion which the latter has formerly exercised over the surface of extensive portions of
the earth, which are now dry and elevated; and as the most indubitable proofs of the physical revolutions which have, at
remote periods, devastated its surface, involving these genera of shells, plants, &c. in the general catastrophe. The
bones of several large quadrupeds, some of which are of extinct or non-descript species, and the
osseous and enduring remains of birds, fishes, and reptiles, which are often found, not only in alluvial deposite, but
also in well consolidated strata, sufficiently indicate these changes, and point to several distinct submersions;
some of which were manifestly produced by salt, and others by fresh water. Most of these disturbances and reproductions
of strata, have, we believe, been attributed to causes operating in a very remote period of the world. We wish only to
discover the osseous or petrified remains of man, in situations similar to those in which we find the brute tribes of
the creation, to bring the revolutions, to which we have adverted, down to a much later period of history. If we suppose
the present marks to be genuine, we here perceive some evidences of this nature. And they are found,
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as we should naturally expect, not upon those elevated mountains of granites and mica slates, which may be supposed to
be sufficiently firm and well-based to hare resisted the elemental shock; but in the central portions of a low and kindly
valley, on the surface of one of those strata which are confessedly reproductions or resolutions from pre-existing
species.
It is not our design to pursue this speculation into those details which it is calculated to invite. But we are naturally
led to inquire; -- are these marks natural or factitious? * If genuine, at what period of the world
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* This query, it will be perceived by the following letter from the Hon. Tims. H. Benton, of St. Louis, has been
determined in a manner, which presupposes a high state of the arts, among the unknown race of men,
who are supposed to have executed the larger mounds scattered throughout the Mississippi Valley. The letter of
Mr. Benton, it will be seen, is in answer to one, which we addressed to him on the subject.
Washington City, April 29, 1823.
SIR,
Yours of the twenty-seventh was received yesterday. The prints of the human feet which you mention,
I have seen hundreds of times. They were on the uncovered limestone rock, in front of the town of St. Louis. This rock
forms the basis of the country, and is deposited in horizontal strata, and in low water is uncovered to the extent of
three miles in length on the bank of the Mississippi, and, in some places, from one to two hundred feet wide.
The "prints" were seen when the country was first settled, and had the same appearance then as now. No tradition can
tell any thing about them. They look as old as the rock. They have the same fine polish which the attrition of the sand
and water have made upon the rest of the rock which is exposed to their action. I have examined them often with great
attention. They are not handsome, but exquisitely natural, both in the form and position -- spread-toed, and of
course anterior to the use of narrow shoes. I do not think them "impressions," but the work of hands, and refer their
existence to the age of the mounds upon the American bottom, and above the town of St. Louis. My reasons for this opinion
are: -- 1. The hardness of the rock. 2. The want of tracks leading to and from them. 3. The difficulty of supposing a
change so instantaneous and apropos, as must have taken place in the formation of the rock, if impressed
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were they impressed? Whether by the present race of Indians, or by any other nations who have inhabited this continent
during its primeval age! Have the calcareous rocks of the Mississippi Valley been in a state sufficiently soft to receive
such impressions, since their original formation? Were these rocks deposited during the Noachian deluge, or at any
subsequent time? If deposited at that period, is there any reason to conclude that this continent was
then inhabited? Finally, were these tracks not impressed at a comparatively modern period, probably by that race of men
who erected our larger mounds? May we not suppose a barrier to have existed across the lower part of the
Mississippi, converting its immense valley into an interior sea, whose action was adequate to the production and
deposition of calcareous strata? We do not consider such a supposition incompatible with the existence of transition
rocks in this valley, the position of the latter being beneath the secondary. Are not the great northern lakes the
remains of such an ocean? And did not the sudden demolition of this ancient barrier, enable this powerful stream to carry
its banks, as it has manifestly done, a hundred miles into the Gulf of Mexico? We think such an hypothesis much more
probable than that this remarkable prolongation of its valley, has been caused by the comparatively limited every-day
deposites of recent times. We have been acquainted with the mouths of the Mississippi, like the Falls of Niagara,
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when soft enough to receive such deep and distinct tracks. Opposed to this opinion are: -- 1. The exquisitehess of the
workmanship. 2. The difficulty of working in such hard material without steel or iron. A block of six, or eight feet
long, and three or four wide, containing the prints, was cut out by Mr. John Jones, a stone-mason in St. Louis, and sold
to Mr. Rappe, of Indiana, and, under his orders, removed to his establishment called Harmony, on the left bank of the
Wabash.
Very respectfully, Yours,
THOMAS H. BENTON.
H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT, ESQ.
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for more than a century; and yet its several channels, the distance from known points above, and all its essential
grand features, like the cataract of Niagara, remain to all observation, essentially the same as when first discovered.
We left Harmony at one o'clock; and after a descent of about twenty miles, through a region generally characterized by
its woody aspect, encamped at a late hour on the Indiana shore. Early the next morning we resumed our descent. We had
taken directions for landing: on an elevated part of the shore denominated
BONE BANK.
This part of the shore had been mentioned to us, as one worthy of examination, from the number of human bones, fragments
of antique pottery, and other slowly decomposing substances daily exposed by the encroachments of the river. It is
manifestly indebted for any peculiar features it may possess, to one of those recent mounds, which are clearly
attributable to the ancestors of the present race of Indians. It has lately been undermined by the changing channel of
the Wabash.
The popular disposition to magnify objects of this kind, and to clothe them with a degree of importance, which does not
belong to them, is frequently a tax, no less upon the time, than upon the patience of travellers in this quarter: --
and it requires no ordinary degree of vigilance to escape the imputation of credulity. The progress of settlement is
constantly disclosing some objects in the forests or prairies of the west, which are sources of wonder to those only who
will not take the trouble to investigate. Bones crossed in an unusual manner in the ancient graves
or tumuli, which are so common throughout this region, or collected into measured piles, and
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sometimes mixed with the more elongated joints of certain quadrupeds, afford full evidence of the
giants and other monstrous or deformed creations of which we have heard. We have a recent instance of this kind
in the reported discovery of the bones of a non-descript animal in the alluvial soil near Baton Rouge. This animal is
described as having bifurcated black horns, and long claws, very disproportionate to a small raccoon-like body. Nature
proceeds by stated, unalterable laws, and whatever contradicts them may, without much hazard, be pronounced false. If we
are told of eagles with two heads, or raccoons furnished with horns, these laws teach us to disbelieve it, because it is
contrary to the axioms of philosophy, and the evidence of our senses.
With regard to that class of our western mounds, which merely consist of conical heaps of earth, we
think too much mystery has been thrown about the discussions. We are inclined to think, that they do not furnish
sufficient evidence of that high state of the arts, among the people who raised these earthy pyramids, which has been
claimed for them. Their construction does not appear to involve a greater knowledge of architecture, geometry, or
mechanical skill, than we may concede to have been possessed by the ancestors of the present race of Indians.
And their erection by these tribes, at an early period of their history, can scarcely be deemed as evincing a greater
degree of industry, than we may suppose compatible with the habits and condition of populous, fierce, and warlike
nations, engaged in constant disputes for the right of territory, and evincing a noble thirst for fame, by seeking
continual opportunities of proving themselves great warriors, expert hunters, and superior men.
We have for some time entertained the opinion, that many of these mounds were erected by the tribes inhabiting
the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, to defend themselves
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against the encroachments of their enemies. We may suppose these mounds to have served as a rallying point for the tribe
on the first news of an invasion, where they fought under the immediate inspection of their patriarchs, and where they
were consequently excited to acts of the greatest daring. Before the introduction of fire-arms, these artificial
hills, raised on a flat surface, way have been considered as places of warlike annoyance, capable of being maintained
against superior numbers, and from which the most dreadful sallies may have been made into the ranks of their opponents.
They must certainly have been eligible sites for casting missiles among the bands of the assailants.
Here, we may conclude, the collected strength of the nation was mustered, here they staked their all on the issue of a
battle in defence of their liberties, and here, if defeated, they left a monument of their bravery, drenched with the
blood of their fighting men, and consecrated to posterity by their slowly decaying bones. We cannot conceive a higher
effort for a brave but rude people.
There is a tradition of this kind extant among the Wyandots, and we doubt not, if proper researches were made, similar
traditions would be found among the other western tribes. In the year 1802, Col. Williams, a Wyandot Chief, then on a
visit at New Haven, told Mr. Calhoun, that these mounds were erected by the western Indians, to defend themselves against
the confederate Iroquois. * That they were not more than two or three
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* HISTORY OP THE FIVE NATIONS. The following testimony of the power and achievements of these nations,
from an authentic work published in the last century, may prove interesting: -- "It is well known that a confederacy of
savage tribes, whose principal residence is now to the southeast of Lake Ontario, and who were known by the name of
Iroquois, or Five Nations, made themselves the most conspicuous of all the Indian powers of America, about the middle
of the last century, and that they retained
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hundred years old, and that such was the concurrent account given by the old men of the Wyandot tribe. This chief
belonged to a band residing on the Maumee. He could read and write well, having been taught these branches by the French,
and was a man of sense and information. Our limits do not permit us to pursue this discussion. But we
think it important in the examination of these tumuli, which have been so fruitful a theme of discussion, to discriminate
those which are attributable to existing tribes, from another class of ancient works which are fewer in number, more
ancient in their character, and seem to have required higher efforts both of skill and of industry in their erection.
We landed a short time at the Wabash ferry. At this place the main road, upon which the mail is carried, between
Vincennes and Shawneetown, crosses this stream, within about four miles of its mouth. Heavy, unvaried
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their dominion and superiority through the greater part of the present. They entirely subdued all the nations upon
three of the great lakes, and upon all the rivers which fall into the Mississippi. They were very near driving the
French out of America, and for a long time wasted their colony of Canada with a most cruel war. But having suffered
some repulses in that war, becoming perhaps jealous of the growing power of the English, and finding among the Indian
Nations nothing that was capable or willing to give them any disturbance, they fell gradually into more quiet
dispositions, and began to enjoy the fruit of that sovereignty they had so long and so earnestly contended for.
The historians of our colonies represent this people as originally of very pure and severe manners, But they were
corrupted by an intercourse with those nations, by whose debauchery thrv were enabled to conquer them. Luxury, of which
there may be a species even among the savages, by degrees enervated the fierce virtue of the Iroquois, and weakened their
empire, as it has done that of so many others. Their numbers, which their frequent wars in some degree lessened, were
yet more diminished in time of peace; and the renown of their name, rather than their real power, for some time
preserved that high and haughty authority, which they for a long time continued to .exercise over a great part of
America." -- Annual Register, for 1763.
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