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NASHVILLE
"THE ADVANCE-GUARD OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION."
By GATES P. THRUSTON
The beautiful site upon which the city of
Nashville stands must have been famous
in prehistoric times. Its natural salt spring
near the bank of the Cumberland River was
a noted resort of the Indian and buffalo.
Some years ago, the huge bones of a mastodon
were exhumed from the alluvial deposit upon
its margin. Near the flowing spring was an
ancient cemetery of the long-vanished Stone
Grave race, the mound-builders, of Tennessee,
and upon the opposite bank of the river and
in the adjacent valleys have been found not
less than ten thousand rude stone cists containing
their mortuary remains. These interesting
memorials have yielded a vast store of
archæological treasures, illustrating their arts
