daily
pearls from the Gulf, as he was told. The chief returned the visit of
La Salle, coming in great state, with attendants, one of whom bore a
disk of copper, supposed to represent the sun, the chief's great
ancestor.1 The wooden eagles recall the large copper bird
taken from mound No. 25 at Hopewell ; and the copper disk carried
before the chief suggests a similar use for some of the large objects
of the same metal. The whole account is extremely interesting in its
resemblance to the Ohio remains.
The
most complete study of these ancient structures is that of the Harness
mound, not far distant from the Hopewell, conducted under the direction
of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, in 1905, by
their curator and librarian, Prof. William C. Mills.2
The
Harness group contains within and about it fourteen mounds ; the works
as a whole were described by Squier and Davis, on page 56 of their
great report ("Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," 1848), and
have been frequently mentioned and pictured for their striking form,—a
large and perfect circle, opening at one side into a smaller circle and
also into an exact square. They are located, like the Hopewell, in Ross
County, and stand on a terrace of the Scioto River, nearly a mile from
its eastern bank, and about eight miles south of Chillicothe.
The
square inclosure measures 1080 feet on each side, and the diameters of
the two circles are about 1600 feet for the larger and 650 feet for the
smaller. In general character, this group closely resembles the
Hopewell: there is the same low wall or embankment, some four feet
high, though without any ditch as at Hopewell, and the same problem as
to its object. A number of small mounds are placed here and there, and
one large and important one recalls the Effigy, though it is somewhat
less in size and much more regular in form. In 1846, when Squier and
Davis examined it, unfortunately most of the ground was covered with
woods ; but these are gone, and the works have since been much reduced
by tillage and partly obliterated by railroad and other constructions.
The
one large mound is named for the recent owner of the property, Mr.
Edwin Harness ; the present owner, his son, Mr. John M. Harness, aided
and facilitated the explorations in every way. This fact, as also in
the case of Mr. Hopewell, stands in pleasing and honorable contrast to
the narrow policy of some land-owners, who refuse permission for any
such work, even when the structures are upon unused and valueless
ground.
1 "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great press of Fred. J. Heer, 1907. "Ohio Archse-West," Parkman, p. 281.
ological and Historical Quarterly," Vol. XVI,
2 William C. Mills, "Explorations of the No. 2. Edwin Harness Mound, Columbus, O.";
