Bird-Shaped Stone Tumult in Putnam County, Georgia
The existence of curious effigy-mounds in the
southern counties of Wisconsin was noted by Mr. Lapham in 1836.
Subsequently, Mr. Taylor, Professor Locke, and Messrs. Squier and Davis
furnished additional information in regard to the distinctive
characteristics of these unusual structures. It was reserved, however,
for the Smithsonian Institution, in the seventh volume of its
"Contributions," to furnish, from the pen of Mr. Lapham, the most
complete account of these interesting remains. They were quite numerous
along the great Indian trail or war-path from Lake Michigan, near
Milwaukee, to the Mississippi above the Prairie du Chien. Generally
representing men, buffaloes, elks, bears, otters, wolves, raccoons,
birds, serpents, lizards, turtles, and frogs, in some instances they
were supposed to typify inanimate objects, such as bows and arrows,
crosses, and tobacco-pipes. While the outlines of not a few had been
seriously impaired, others in a spirited and correct manner declared the
objects of their imitation. Constructed of earth, they varied in height
from 6 inches to 7 feet. In certain localities the animals were
delineated not in relief but in intaglio, by excavations and not by
elevations.
Two animal mounds have been observed in Ohio. On an
elevated spur of land near Granville is an earthwork known in the
neighborhood as the Alligator. Its total length is 250 feet. The head
and body, four sprawling legs and a curled tail, were all clearly
defined. Across the body it was 40 feet broad, and the length of the
legs was 36 feet. Four feet, expressed the average height, while at the
shoulders the mound attained an elevation of 6 feet. It was manifestly
the effort of the primitive workmen to preserve the proportions of the
reptile.
Situated on a ridge rising 150 feet above Brush
Creek, in Adams County, is a still more remarkable structure, which,
from its configuration, has received the appellation of the Great
Serpent. "Conforming to the curve of the hill, and occupying its very
summit, is the serpent, its head resting near the point and its body
winding back for 700 feet in graceful undulations, terminating in a
triple coil at the tail." If extended, its entire length would be not
less than 1,000 feet. The embankment is upward of 5 feet high, with a
base diameter of 30 feet at the center of the body, whence it diminishes
somewhat toward the head and tail. "The neck of the serpent is stretched
out and slightly curved, and its mouth is opened wide, as if in the act
of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partially within
the distended jaws."
When and by whom these remarkable tumuli were built
is not known. The object of their construction is equally a matter of
conjecture.
It has been supposed that these animal-shaped mounds
existed only in Wisconsin and a few other localities in the West. Our
recent observations prove, however, that the primitive dwellers in the
South have left similar traces of their constructive skill.
Six miles and a half north of Eatonton, in Putnam
County, Georgia, on a plantation owned by the heirs of the late Mr. I.
H. Scott, may now be seen a bird-shaped mound of definite configuration.
Located in the midst of a beautiful wood, and crowning a high ridge near
the headwaters of Little Glady Creek, it is composed entirely of bowlers
of white quartz rock, gathered from the adjacent territory. Most of
these bowlers are of such size that they could have been transported by
a single individual. For the removal of others two or three persons
would have been requisite. These bowlers were carefully piled one above
another, the interstices being filled with smaller fragments of milky
quartz. Into the composition of the structure enters neither earth nor
clay.
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Bird shaped stone mound in Putnam County,
Georgia |
This stone mound represents an eagle lying upon its
back, with extended wings. (See Fig. 1.) The head is turned toward the
east. In the construction of this tumulus respect was had to the object
imitated; the height of the tumulus at the breast of the bird being
between 7 and 8 feet, its altitude thence decreasing toward the head and
beak, where it is not more than 2½ feet high, and also toward the
extremity of the wings and tail, where it has an elevation of scarcely 2
feet The beak is decidedly aquiline, and the tail is indented. Measured
from the top of the head to the extremity of the tail this structure is
102 feet long. From tip to tip of the wings, measured across the body,
we have a distance of 120 feet. The greatest expanse of tail is 38 feet,
the same as the lateral diameter of the body. The proportions of the
head, neck, wings, and tail are cleverly preserved. That this tumulus
was designed to typify an eagle, we think may be affirmed with some
degree of confidence, and that it possesses unusual attractions will not
be denied. Surrounded by primitive forest and composed of most durable
material, its antiquity is evidently very considerable. If undisturbed,
it will preserve its integrity for an indefinite period.
By some curious persons an attempt was made, years
ago, to pry into its secrets. A partial opening was affected in the
breast, but with what results we could not learn. It excites no surprise
that the eagle should have been selected in ancient times as a symbol of
all that was swift, powerful, watchful, daring, and noble. Of its
feathers was the battle flag of the Creeks made. Their council-lodges
were surmounted with carved images or stuffed skins of this regal bird.
None among the Cherokees, save approved warriors, were permitted to wear
its plumes. To this king of the feathered tribe were religious honors
paid by the Natchez, who regarded its feathers not simply as ornaments
and trophies, but as marks of dignity and insignia of no common import.
About a mile and a half from Lawrence's Ferry, on the
Oconee River, and situated on a stony ridge near the main road, on the
plantation of Mr. Kinchen D. Little, in Putnam County, is another of
these bird shaped mounds. Like the former, it is composed wholly of
boulders of white quartz rock, collected from, the hill on which it
stands. (See Fig. 2.)
Its dimensions do not materially differ from those of
the tumulus on the Scott place. The tail, however, is bifurcated. The
head of the bird lies to the southeast, and its wings are extended in
the direction of northeast and southwest. The entire length of the
structure, from the crown of the head to the end of the tail, is 102
feet and 3 inches. For a distance of twelve feet the tail is bifurcated,
and just above the point of bifurcation it is 12 feet wide. Across the
body, and from tip to tip of the wings, the tape gave us a measurement
of 132 feet. The body of this bird, which is evidently lying upon its
back, is stouter than that of the eagle, being 76 feet in diameter. Its
wings are relatively shorter. The proportions of the head, neck, and
tail are tolerably well observed. What particular bird this tumulus is
designed to typify, we are at a loss to suggest. The altitude at the
breast is about 5 feet, and from that point the structure tapers to the
head and tail, which are some two feet high. At the tips of the wings,
which are short and curved, the height is not more than a foot and a
half. The ridge upon which this mound rests has never been cleared.
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Fig 2 Image
Bird-shaped stone mound in Putnam County, Georgia |
Surrounding this bird-shaped tumulus is an enclosure
of rocks similar to those of which the mound is built. This stone-circle
is symmetrical in outline, and at its nearest approach passes within a
few feet of the tips of the wings.
Crowning the elevated ridges by which this county is traversed, are
occasional rock-mounds of artificial origin. Usually from 4 to 8 feet
high, and with base diameters of from 30 to 40 feet, they are circular
in form, and are composed of the fragments of milky quartz so common in
the region. Some have been opened, and from them have been taken human
bones and relics of various sorts. Manifestly such are grave-mounds, it
being easier in the rocky neighborhood to heap such stone piles above
than to cover the dead with earth. Of this class of tumuli we instance
one on the plantation of Dr. J. T. de Jarnette, 12 miles from Eatonton
and about a mile from the Oconee River, and another on the land owned by
Capt. A. S. Reid, four miles from Eatonton and near Little River.
It was intimated by some of the early observers that
tumuli of this description were not infrequently temporary in their
character, and designed as a protection to the dead who perished away
from their homes, until such time as they could be conveniently removed
and carried back for interment in the established burial-grounds of the
tribe or community of which the deceased were members. While it may be
true that some, and perhaps many of the smaller rock-piles so frequent
in many portions of Cherokee Georgia, may have originated in this way,
we are of opinion that the substantial structures to which we have
alluded are permanent in their character, and were erected as enduring
memorials of the primitive dead of this region. Surely no more lasting
monuments could have been devised at that early period.
The existence of two distinctly marked bird-shaped mounds, of firm
construction and excellent proportions, within the territory occupied by
the Southern tribes, is deeply interesting, and will attract the
attention of the student of American archaeology.
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Source: Aboriginal Structures In Georgia, By Charles
C. Jones, Jr., Reprinted From The Smithsonian Report For 1877,
Washington: Government Printing Office,1878.
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