Miscellaneous Papers Relating to Anthropology/Antiquities of Knox County, Illinois
ANTIQUITIES OF KNOX COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
By M. A. McClelland, of Knoxville, Ill.
The drainage of the eastern and southern part of Knox County, Illinois, is accomplished by numerous small streams navigable in the spring for canoes. Their general course is toward the southeast to empty into Spoon River, a tributary of the Illinois. In the northwestern part of the county numerous other small streams have their rise, and, running to the west, finally empty into the Mississippi. The portage between the headwaters of these streams is only a few miles in extent.
The trails anciently followed by the aborigines have now entirely disappeared, but along their former course, and upon the bluffs of the streams, are still found implements of war, amusement, and the chase. The discoidal stone, stone hatchet, and arrow-points sent to the National Museum were all found upon the north bluffs of Court Creek, principally upon sections 13, 14, 15, 16, township 11 north, range 2 east, Knox County, Illinois. The stone axes, and arrow-points came also from these sections, except the largest, which came from Haw Creek, section 3, township 10 north, range 2 east.
To all the interrogatories contained in circular No. 316 I return a negative answer, except as to mounds and cemeteries.
Mounds and excavations.—No. 1. One and a half miles west of Knoxville, on section 30, township 11 north, range 2 east, Knox County, Illinois, on the east side of a ravine running into Haw Creek, on a level piece of timber land belonging to Harvey Montgomery, esq., is a single mound 51 feet in diameter, and at the center about 3 feet above the general surface. The trees upon this land are of two ages, viz, first, large oaks, elm, &c., 2 feet 8 inches in diameter, and a smaller growth, of black-jack, and white oak, ash, hickory, &c., 6 to 8 inches in diameter. The mound is surrounded by six or seven of these larger trees, one on the southwest edge of the mound, the others, west, north, northeast, west, and south,east, at variable distances, from 20 to 32 paces. Upon the mound there are numerous trees, of from 3 to 6 inches, growing. There are very large areas of ground in this same timber, in which the larger trees are very sparsely scattered. The mound is circular in form, and 60 feet S. S. W. is a circular pond or excavation, about 40 feet across, from which, doubtless, much of the earth of which the mound is composed was taken. Within 60 feet of its western edge the ground begins to decline to form the ravine which carries the water from the adjacent prairies to Haw Creek.
The mound had been dug into before, by whom I do not know, and I think nothing was found—at least that is the report. I cleaned out the former excavation, which was in the center, and about 4 feet across, enlarging it to 6 feet, carrying it at least 2 feet deeper, or 2½ feet below the general surface of the soil, and thence ran a trench 6 feet wide towards the west 10 feet. The composition of the mound from surface down was as follows: thin layer of humus; then yellow clay and humus mixed, becoming more largely mixed with humus as it reached the level of the surrounding country, this layer being 2 feet 10 inches; then a thin, light colored layer one-half an inch to an inch in thickness, which I suppose to be ashes of grass and leaves, as there was no sign of charcoal in any part of the layer; then a layer of a few inches thickness, similar to the surrounding soil; then a firm yellow clay, that had no appearance of having ever been disturbed. The ash layer was undermined to the extent of two feet on each side. It was found to lie horizontally and at about the level of the surrounding ground. Nothing else was found.
No. 2, on the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter section 16, township 11 north, range 2 east, Knox County, Illinois, is 36 feet across, and on the east side of a ravine that runs into Court Creek from the north. The land is lightly timbered. A quarter to a half a mile nearer Court Creek, however, there are some fair-sized trees (2 feet). The ground immediately surrounding has hazel brush and scrub oaks, black-jack, &c. In height the mound is similar to No. 1. Its envelopes are similar, but the ash layer contains decided traces of charcoal. Nothing found by a very positive excavation carried to the depth of 3½ feet below level of surrounding surface. In the fields around for a quarter of a mile a great many arrow-points have been found. The twenty-eight nearly or quite perfect ones sent in package to the National Museum were found within this area.
To the north and a little to the east, about 100 rods, there is a very high point of land, from the summit of which an extensive view may be had of the surrounding country. This hill is and has been for thirty or forty years under cultivation, and upon it arrow-points in large numbers have been found. There are places on it where the ground is white with flakes and chips of the same material as the arrow-points. The stone hatchet of Witterell's collection was found about 40 rods east of the top of the hill. Between this point and where the hatchet was found, the old trail running from Maquon, on Spoon River, to Henderson Grove, on the head of Henderson Creek, was easily recognized thirty years ago. Upon the eastern slope of this hill and upon both sides of the old trail, and upon the south slope, towards the mound, are found numerous deposits of small, mostly flat-faced stones. The stones are found now but 2 or 3 inches beneath the surface. These are so placed that their flat faces are on the same horizontal plane, and cover a space of a foot or two, with intervals of a rod or two between them. Many of them are reddish, as if some ore of iron might enter into their composition, which upon being heated had become changed to red. The stones present other appearances of having been subjected to the influences of fire.
Trails.—Thirty years ago there were three distinct trails running across the country. One ran from Maquon, on Spoon River, to Henderson Grove; thence, in a northerly direction, to Galena, on the Mississippi. Another from the mouth of Court Creek, on Spoon River, to the same points. A third trail ran from Maquon north to strike the trail from mouth of Court Creek to Henderson Grove. These two trails met in township 11 north, range 3 east. Along these routes all the specimens sent you were found. Maquon was an Indian settlement on Spoon River. Here, within the memory of our oldest settlers, they had a village, and lived from year to year. There is an old Indian cemetery at this point and another at the mouth of Court Creek. Near the south line of Knox County, half a mile west of Spoon River, there is a group of three mounds, not yet examined, and half a mile further south, in Fulton County, there is another group of three, none of which have been explored.