Editorialana. 105
the people as one might suppose it to
have been in the days of the tenth
century. The author carries the
credulity of his reader to the very limit.
For instance, he fully describes the
girls' and boys' schools at Lekin,
the name which he gives to the present
site of Newark, in the vicinity
of which there still stand to-day vast
and complete earth-works of those
long lost tribes. These people, as General
Beatty pictures them with a
graphic pen, reached a stage of
considerable civilization, one far beyond
that of their successors the Indians.
They had a written language, a
commerce that extended to foreign
nations in South America, and en-
gaged in many of the amusements
prevalent among our smartest set.
They indulged freely, and often too
frequently, in palatable wines, and
appear to have been especially fond of
gambling. Indeed the indulgence
in this pastime got the hero Ivarr into
very serious trouble from which
he had most thrilling escapes. Ivarr
takes a long journey from the
country of the Acolhuans to Central
America, and Mexico the country
of the Taltecs, who, the author states,
were the kinsfolk and contem-
poraries of the Acolhuans of the Ohio
valley. There is of course a love-
thread running through the story. One
lady Gunhild, a princess among
the Acolhuans, is the beloved of Ivarr,
and with her he subsequently re-
turns to Norway, where they live, in
their later life enjoying the mem-
ories of their experiences among the
Mound Builders of Ohio. General
Beatty has woven into this interesting
story very much that the Archaeo-
logists claim in behalf of these
prehistoric people. The "Acolhuans" is
not only an excellently imagined story
itself, with many thrilling scenes
and graphic descriptions, but is,
moreover, well calculated to attract our
attention to and interest us in the days
and life of the Mound Builders,
as we see them in our mind's eye. The
book is embellished with several
illustrations of the rehabilitated
cities and localities of the Mound Build-
ers, the special one of which is that
reproducing Fort Ancient as it was
in the day of its habitation. Fort Ancient
the author describes as the
city of refuge and the capital of the
province. This is in accordance
with a much accredited belief that Fort
Ancient was the great central
capital of these people in the Ohio
valley. General Beatty very fittingly
dedicates his volume to Colonel E. L.
Taylor, a life member of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, and one than whom there
are few, if any, so well versed in the
life and character of the Mound
Builders and their followers the
American Indian. General Beatty's book
is published by McClelland & Co. of
Columbus, Ohio.
THE GREATEST MAN -AN
OHIOAN.
A most attractive and interesting little
pamphlet has just been
published by Mr. S. F. Harriman,
Columbus, O., under the pretentious title
"The Greatest Living Man." The
author is Col. William Jackson Arm-
strong, the distinguished writer, and
who, under Grant's Administration,
*8 Vol. XII.