Note 30 — Chapter V · MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN OHIO. Ancient Fortified Inclosures at Circleville.—Discoveries in a Burial Mound.—Alligator Totem near Newark.—Fort Ancient.—Age of Trees growing upon the Ramparts at Fort Hill.—Traditions.—Geometrical Ground Plans of Indian Inclosures.—Conclusions.
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Florida was discovered in 1512 by Ponce de Leon, the aged governor of Porto Rico, who was then seeking for the Fountain of Youth, which, according to the statements of the historian of the voyage, was believed to have the power to rejuvenate old men, and restore to them the vigour of early manhood.
An expedition undertaken a few years later, in 1528, by Pamphilo de Narvaez had a disastrous termination. Many Spaniards were left behind, the majority of whom were probably tortured and killed. Others, in accordance with Indian customs, may have been chosen by squaws to be their husbands, and would have consequently taken part in the conduct of tribal affairs.
It is not unlikely that some of these Spanish adventurers, would have taken advantage of any opportunity that may have occurred, to proceed into the interior of the new continent. Due consideration should also be given to the fact that the French may have assisted the Indians in the construction of their forts on the plains, at any period between the dates of their first partial occupation of Canada in 1541, and the final abandonment of their positions in the valley of the Ohio in 1758.
Amongst the various opinions that have been held with respect to the Mound Builders, there is one which attributes their origin to the northern part of Mexico.
Mr. Lewis Morgan, whose works upon the subject of the Indian races have placed him in the position of being a high authority upon all matters relating to them, wrote to me a letter upon the question of their migrations, in which he observed as follows:—“Any opinion as to who were the mound builders must be speculative. It is quite probable that they were village Indians from New Mexico, and having found the climate too severe for their type of village life, retired gradually from the country.” Although it has to be admitted that all theories as to the Mound Builders must be necessarily indeterminate, yet nothing has been found amongst the ornaments or weapons that were placed in their burial mounds, which supports the hypothesis that they were different in race or intelligence from the tribes that surrounded them.