530 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
ing the records with innumerable brief
sketches of the leading settlers.
This material will be of great value to
genealogists and biographers.
It is rich in concise descriptions of
pioneer life, its perils and hardships
and detailed accounts of the settlement
and growth of the older com-
munities and institutions of the county;
and it is perhaps, not too much
to say that this book contains more information
and data relative to the
history of the various families of the
county in question that is usually
given in county histories. As a sample
of the extent of the work, the
list of early marriages in the county
numbers 7,500 and their early
burials 5,000. The book is produced in
attractive binding and will fill
a valuable place in the historical
biography of Ohio.
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
A late number of The Northwest
Magazine has a review of a note-
worthy paper read recently before the
Minnesota Historical Society by
J. V. Brower, of St. Paul. The reviewer
of the paper states that Mr.
Brower presented evidence tending to
show that the Mound Builders of
Minnesota were none other than the old,
full blooded Sioux Indians.
He traced these aborigines back to their
ancient habitations and villages.
and in the course of his researches
arrived at some surprising conclusions.
After describing every tribe of Indians
known to have been permanent
residents of the region explored, Mr.
Brower gave his attention to the
geological age of the lakes, the surface
of the ground, and to the rivers,
creeks and other streams.
It was shown distinctly, he says, that
the mounds were built on the
top of the black soil and of that
material, indicating that hundreds of
them are of more recent origin than many
suppose. From the numerous
village sites there have been collected
stone, copper, flint and earthen
objects and artifacts which are exactly
similar to the same kind of material
taken from the mounds adjoining the
village sites. That fact shows that
the people who built the mounds also
occupied the ancient villages.
Each of the village sites discovered has
been explored and charted.
By the side of the chart of 1900 the
Fauquelin chart of 1688 was placed,
and it was distinctly demonstrated by
the two charts that the Sioux vil-
lagers residing in Mille Lacs in 1688
were resident at identical places
where the village sites were observed in
1900.
The next proposition submitted was proof
from the records left by
Radisson, Hennepin, Duluth, Le Sueur and
Carver that the Sioux made
and used stone implements, clay pots,
copper crescents, flint knives,
quartz arrow points, and various stone
and copper objects, following
which it was demonstrated beyond dispute
that the Sioux removed the
flesh from the remains of their dead and
deposited the bones, in a bun-
dled condition, with the skull. Catlin's
works were here produced to
show that as late as 1835 the Sioux were
building mounds over their
Comments, Notes and Reviews. 531
dead. A chart was shown delineating the
bundled bones of Indians at the
surface of the ground at Mille Lacs,
with mounds of earth built over
them.
James W. Lynd, historian of the Sioux
nation, was quoted show-
ing that the Dakota people were at Mille
Laces at a very ancient period;
in fact, so long ago that no tradition
remained to show where they came
from or how long they had been there.
No trace of two distinct classes of
stone implements and earthen
pots had been found at Mille Lacs, and
the only island in the region
where the Sioux had a village, to which
Hennepin was taken in 1680, is
overspread with broken clay vessels and
stone implements.
PRE-HISTORIC BILL OF FARE.
A recent number of Chamber's Journal has
an interesting article
concerning what might be styled the menu
of the pre-historic man. The
article says:
Our attention has recently been called
to some curious experiments
conducted some time ago by Mr. Charters
White, M. R. C. S., lately
the president of the Royal Odontological
Society of Great Britain. Upon
examining some skulls dating back from
the stone age, he noted that
several of the teeth, although quite
free from caries, were thickly coated
with tartar. It occurred to him that it
would be possible by a rough ana-
lysis to identify any particles of food
that might be embodied in this nat-
ural concrete, and so reveal the
character of the aliment partaken of by
pre-historic man. Dissolving the tartar
in weak acid, a residue was left
which, under the microscope, was found
to consist of corn husks,
particles, hairs from the outside of the
husks, spiral vessels from
vegetables, particles of starch, the
point of a fish tooth, a con-
glomeration of oval cells, probably of
fruit, the barblets of down and
portions of wool. In addition to this
varied list were some round, red
bodies, the origin of which defied
detection, and many sandy particles,
some relating to quartz and some to
flint. These mineral fragments were
very likely attributable to the rough
stones used in grinding the corn,
and would account for the erosion of the
masticating surfaces, which in
many cases was strongly marked. This
inquiry into food of men who
lived not less than 4,000 years ago is a
matter of archeological interest.
OHIO PRESIDENTS.
The inauguration of William McKinley on
March 4th and the death
of Benjamin Harrison, on March 14th
leads to the inquiry from several
quarters concerning the date and place
of birth of the so-called "Ohio
Presidents."
We give them in order of their
succession: