Account of the Discovery of Inscribed Tablets |
Common terms and phrases
abundant Acad ACADEMY OF NATURAL alphabet American Archæology ancient arrow head authenticity Aztecs Bardic Big Bone Lick bituminous shale bones were found Brantz Mayer says calendar stone Cherokee coal slate Congress of Americanists contemporaneous existence continent Cook Farm Group copper axe cremation scene DAVENPORT ACADEMY Davenport inscription depth diameter Dighton Rock discovered DISCOVERY OF INSCRIBED east evidence excavation extinct animals fact figures GASS Grave Creek stone hard clay human bones Hunting Scene inches in thickness Indian inscribed stone INSCRIBED TABLETS layer of shells limestones Lower shell bed lying mastodon mentioned monuments mound builders Nancy NATURAL SCIENCES north side number of copper Ohio one-half feet outer circles phonetic picture writing Plate pottery Proc PROCEEDINGS R. J. FARQUHARSON remains remarked Schoolcraft Sequoyah shell layer skeletons skull sloped south side stratum of earth surface Thorfinn three inches Tribes tusks twelve 12 vicinity
Popular passages
Page 113 - ... of his feet are still to be seen, and hurled his bolts among them till the whole were slaughtered, except the big bull, who presenting his forehead to the shafts, shook them off as they fell ; but missing one at length, it wounded him in the side ; whereon, springing round, he bounded over the Ohio, over the Wabash, the Illinois, and finally over the great lakes, where he is living at this day.
Page 112 - Their chief speaker immediately put himself into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp suited to what he conceived the elevation of his subject, informed him that it was a tradition handed down from their fathers, " That in ancient times a herd of these tremendous animals came to the...
Page 114 - He was the contemporary of many extinct mammalia at a time when the outlines of land and sea, and the conditions of climate over large parts of the earth, were wholly different from what they now are, and...
Page 106 - The Chief of Emigration who reached these places (or this island) has fixed these statutes forever." M. Oppert, however, gave additional variety by the translation, so that all tastes can be suited: "The grave of one who was assassinated here. May God to avenge him strike his murderer, cutting off the hand of his existence.
Page 112 - A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe having visited the Governor of Virginia, during the revolution, on matters of business, after these had been discussed and settled in council, the Governor asked them some questions relative to their country, and among others, what they knew or had heard of the animal whose bones were found at the Saltlicks on the Ohio. Their chief speaker immediately put himself into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp suited to what he conceived the elevation...
Page 112 - Virginia," written about 1794, and in answer to an inquiry of a gentleman in France. Jefferson says : " Our quadrupeds have been mostly described by Linnaeus and Monsieur de Buffon. Of these the mammoth or big buffalo, as called by the Indians, must certainly have been the largest. Their tradition is, that he was carnivorous, and still exists in the northern parts of America. .' A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe, having visited the Governor of Virginia during the Revolution, on matters...
Page 112 - That in ancient times a herd of these tremendous animals came to the Bigbone licks, and began an universal destruction of the bear, deer, elks, buffaloes, and other animals which had been created for the use of the Indians...
Page 104 - ... in length, average width over sixty feet, and height, at the highest point, seven feet. It appears to be mainly composed of clay, and is overgrown with grass. Speaking of the writing of these people, Col. Whittlesey says : " There is no evidence that they had alphabetical characters, picture-writing or hieroglyphics, though they must have had some mode of recording events.
Page 114 - The principal part of the animal had been consumed by fire, that had not been created by a volcanic eruption, but had been made of wood, as I found nine feet beneath the surface a layer of ashes from six...
Page 111 - ... characters, to which he added eight, representing the sounds s,ka,hna, nah,ta,te,ti, tla, making, altogether, eighty-five characters. This alphabet, as already mentioned, is better than ours. The characters are indeed numerous, but when once learned the pupil can read at once. It is said that a boy can learn Cherokee, when thus expressed, in a few weeks, while if ordinary letters are used, two years are required.