It seems to have been made for this single personage, as
this skeleton alone was discovered. The bones were very much decayed,
and many of them crumbled to dust upon exposure to the air."
Mr. Squier says, "These articles have been critically examined, and it
is beyond doubt that the copper bosses were absolutely plated, not
simply overlaid, with silver. Between the copper and the silver exists a
connection such as, it seems to me, could only be produced by heat; and
if it is admitted that these are genuine relics of the Mound Builders,
it must, at the same time, be admitted that they possessed the difficult
art of plating one metal upon another. There is but one alternative,
viz., that they had occasional or constant intercourse with a people
advanced in the arts, from whom these articles were obtained. Again, if
Dr. Hildreth is not mistaken, oxydized iron or steel was also discovered
in connection with the above remains, from which also follows the
extraordinary conclusion that the Mound Builders were acquainted with
the use of iron, the conclusion being, of course, subject to the
improbable alternative already mentioned."
In connection with this subject, we would refer to the interesting
evidences that the copper mines of the shore of Lake Superior had been
at some very remote period worked by the Mound Builders.
Pages:
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540