Racine High School - Kipikawi Yearbook (Racine, WI)

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K in. ,f+' ,,x A-ffrsrw A 1 .-fs,fw.M,.-- ,-.'. H--swwfzf x.-:f.1 4j.fQ1Q3-Q--445:15 .Q . 'ai'-n b . v-'N.1frf11..e: 1' .--' -f '... yr-f . -XL ,.-.. Mesa,--'ss hw.-...f'112sif. ' - -I evA-rw-vs-fan--'-re-'mfr-az-. . .- -- - .- - ' fr, ,N ,- 3' i f- Jas V -T. . A... ,, .. ,. ,Q X t i ii' . -Y if . l . X 2 .iff 3'i:q'R' ji- F. f p Imam ffik, +' ff.: m, iff' K W MOUNTDS AND MOUND-BUILDERS IN RACINE COUNTY Among the relics left by the Indians, the mounds are especially interesting. Wisconsin is one of the greatest mound districts in America, and Racine county is fortunate in having a large number of these antiquities. A detailed study re- garding every particular of the same was made and recorded by Drs. Hoy and Lap- ham. The theory which had been supported for the last century, namely, that the mounds were built by another and more singular race of men than the Indians found in Wisconsin when Hennepin first arrived, has very little justification by the leading archaeologists of today. The theory adhered to at the present time is that they were built by the ancestors of the modern Indians, and that as the white men appeared and forced them to discon- tinue many of their mystic rites and cere- monies, the manufacture of Wampum, flint and copper implements, so he also forced them to abolish their custom of mound- building. Although late investigations have been made, nothing as yet has re- vealed anything strange in the habits or characteristics of these Indians. It has been concluded, however, that Wisconsin had two or three generations of these tribes, who have left in the southern and eastern portions of the State many coni- cal, -eifigy, and elongated mounds. Wis- consin is famous for its effigy mounds, which are limited to this district, with the exception of three in Ohio and two in Georgia. We can, indeed, be proud of the antiquities left by the Indians in our State and city. One of the groups in this city was situ- ated upon an area of high ground, border- ing on Root River, about one to two miles west of the margin of the lake. This group consisted mostly of circular burial mounds of no great size or height. This cluster was carefully surveyed in an ef- fort to find some system of arrangement. None could be discovered, and it has been decided that the Indians merely selected a suitable spot and there deposited the re- mains of their deceased relatives and friends. One of these was opened by Dr. Hoy, who found several persons buried in a sitting posture, all facing the east. An- other of the same group contained a con- fused mass of bones of at least three per- sons. There were several other groups in our city, namely, the Erskine, Hoy, Bluif, Slauson, and Mound Cemetery groups. The twelve mounds in the cemetery group are now being preserved with great care. None of these, however. have been opened. During the earlier history of our city there were about one hundred twenty-eight mounds in this vicinity. The Hoy group, situated on the north' bank of Root River, contained a lizard 111ound eighty feet long, being one of the few ef- figy mounds near this city. Parts of this have been destroyed by cultivation of land. Many of the above-mentioned clus- ters have been opened, the majority of which contained several bodies, proving that the mounds in the vicinity of Racine were used for cemetery purposes. From a collection of the results from the various excavations of these earth- works it has been found that the average size is from twenty to thirty feet in diam- eter, from two and one half to four and one half feet in height, and the burial pit, about ten to fourteen inches below the surface of the surrounding ground. The bodies were regularly buried in a sitting or partly kneeling posture, facing the east. The pit was then covered with a log roofing over which the mound was constructed from earth. Sometimes bod- ies were found near the surface, but these were subsequent burials made by the modern Indians. A very few of the mounds contained rude pottery. Nature has made it possible to obtain some estimate of the age of the mounds in Racine. Upon one there was found a burr oak containing two hundred and fifty rings, upon another, a stump of an oak containing three hundred and ten

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ef-mee- rings, and upon still another, a tree, five feet in diameter. From these evi- dences, archaeologists conclude that the mounds in Racine were built at least one thousand years ago. The mounds are now almost entirely ob- literated by cultivation or city improve- ments, with the exception of the twelve conical ones in the Mound Cemetery group. The former sites of the Bluff, Hoy and the sections of the Mound Cemetery group lying west and south of the pres- ent burial ground are now occupied by streets and city residences. The Teegar- den group, situated at the eastern end of Mound Cemetery, which contained one of the most interesting effigy earthworks in southern Wisconsin, has been destroyed by the taking away of soil, and has now become the dumping ground for refuse from the cemetery. Outside of this city, in Racine county, there are many other mounds of just as great importance. In the township of Raymond there is the West group, in Burlington the Fox River group, in Nor- way the Bensene and Larson groups. The Larson group is of much interest, as its construction differs from the mounds in Racine. In October, 1912, after this earth- work had been under cultivation for twenty years, Mr. Larson opened it. There were twenty-one skeletons, the bones of which crumbled when touched. The bottom was fourteen inches below the surrounding surface, on a blue subsoil. The mound itself was fourteen feet long and twelve feet wide. The skeletons were laid in double rows with their heads toward the east. These skeletons were then covered With about eight inches of rather hard clay or cement, above which was placed eight inches of almost pure ashes and charcoal, then the mound was completed with a composition of charcoal ashes and black loam. This is the only mound in Racine county of this kind. Mr. Larson has replaced the contents of it as accurately as possible. Some of the mounds contained rude pottery, copper implements and orna- ments, which have been collected and may now be viewed at the State Historical So- ciety at Madison, Milwaukee Public Mu- seum and U. S. National Museum at Wash- ington, D. C. Thcse, together with the mounds that have escaped injury, are now carefully kept as monuments or relics of the H Mound-builders. ' ' -Ida Frederickson, '12. Contributed by History Department. NATURE Nature had waked up cross! While everyone was still asleep, she tossed, and fumed, and stormed around house corners, and then, because no one paid her any at- tention, she did something worse-she cried. All day long she cried and cried and let the big tears, better known as rain, drop to the sulky earth. And then, just because she was cross and ill-tem- pered, she vainly tried to make others cross, also, and she blew their most cher- ished new straw hats into murky mud puddles. Occasionally one could see, as the sun struggled out from behind the clouds for a second or two, that Nature was for a moment impishly smiling over what she had done, but the cold tears always came back again. Angry with all of life in gen- eral, she blustered madly about, blowing the waters of the lake into waves a moun- tain high and the temper of the people higher still. All day long, she was cross and sulky. Toward night, worn out with the exer- tions of the day, she sent the sun to bed early, then, like a naughty child, she cried herself to sleep. -Frank Weeks, '13. Ray: I hear you are going to de- bate, Barr. Barr: Yes, I made it, all right. Ray: Huh! Another premium on poor laborf'