114 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
THE LATEST PREHISTORIC NEWS.
The actual results of archaeological
explorations in Ohio and else-
where in this country are sufficient to
arouse interest and curiosity in
the life and world of the lost and
unrecorded people. But what the
newspapers say concerning these
explorations surpasses the tales of
Arabian Nights or Baron Munchausen. For
instance, concerning the
exhumations by Prof. W. C. Mills at Fort
Ancient the past summer
(1908), a leading Ohio daily exploited
the following:
"A remarkable stone, bearing what
is thought to be the hiero-
glyphics of the mound builders, was
found yesterday on the portion of
old Fort Ancient recently purchased by
the state. Surveyors are busy
laying off plans of the new possessions
preparatory to making excava-
tions and the stone was picked up. It is
about the size of a man's hand
and is very dark, almost black. Upon the
surface are small markings
resembling the Chinese picture writing.
This is the first evidence of
a writing by the mound builders that has
ever been found, it is claimed,
and an effort will be made to cypher out
the meaning of the writing."
And another metropolitan journal went
on-or better, went off-
to say:
"The entrance to what is thought to
be a cave of large dimen-
sions has been discovered at Fort
Ancient, the historic earthworks of
the Mound Builders in eastern Warren
County. Workmen are clearing
away the underbrush from that section of
the old fort recently pur-
chased by the state and slight
excavations have brought to light some
new facts.
"At the base of the fort
immediately within the Great Gateway,
while the workmen were about the base of
a tree, a layer of stone was
struck.
Further excavations showed that it was at some pavement,
which had been covered with about
eighteen inches of earth.
"This pavement leads to the base of
the fort where a small open-
ing was found in the rock. The tearing
away of earth and rock revealed
a larger opening, which seemed to lead
into a cave of gigantic dimen-
sions. A torch was thrust in at the
opening and the walls were seen
to gleam with great brilliance. A stone
was thrown into the opening,
but could not be heard to fall. The
mouth is only a foot in diameter
and the solid rock so surrounds it that
the cave can not be entered with-
out extensive blasting."
These
are samples of the latest news received by the reporters
over wireless connections concerning the
Mound Builders who are unable
to deny or disprove the statements. Of course no such hieroglyphic
stone or cave was ever discovered
because neither ever existed.