'Cbe Conservative * u
timber , ninny three and even four stories
high and neatly thatched , " shows an
other typo of structure.
After one has read all these descrip
tions , meagre as they are , and has
tramped over the ancient sites thus des
cribed for a few years he gets a pretty
fair idea of how they must have looked
when first seen by the adventurous
Spaniards three hundred and fifty years
ago. Whether they were in the bloom
of their beauty , on the decline in mag
nificence , or still growing in their per
fection of architectural splendor , is a
matter of conjecture to the student of
today.
Construction of Lodges.
One naturally reads much between
the lines in these voluminous Spanish
accounts , written as they were by men
who jotted the points as they happened
to observe them and not in a systematic
or logical way. Many little tilings ore
told which leads one to an opinion for
which he cannot give the best of reasons
at all times. I believe the aborigines
heaped earth about their permanent
lodges for protection in this cold climate.
Now the Spaniards did not say so , but
the remains of the lodges wherever they
are seen in this part of the state have
that appearance. These lodges were
evidently not "mud huts , " as some
would have us believe ; if they were ,
clay would have been used as the black
soil would not have answered the pur
pose. One of the groups of lodges
explored was situated on a very sandy
ridge and the soil here would not make
a plaster that would stand drying.
There are no indications of clay in any
of the sites explored.
They doubtless built their fire in the
center and let the smoke escape at the
highest point of the roof. We get this
idea from the facts recorded of all abor
iginal races of whatever country we
may be studying ; the Zuni remains in
New Mexico show this to be the custom
there , although but few writers mention
it as their observation at the time the
Spaniards were visiting them or exter
minating them , as you please. These
lodges were doubtless made of both
straw and skins , whichever was the
most convenient , placed over a structure
of poles and branches of trees ; earth
was heaped on the outside as a proteo-
' tion against cold in winter.
The lodges differed , even in the same
village , as one clan , or totem , or family
would naturally bo more skillful than
others in building ; the villages varied
as they became more or less permanent ;
that this is true may be observed by the
lodge circles. Some are larger than
others and some of the smaller ones
show the largest banks around the
edges. But after three hundred years
of erosion and thirty of cultivation , one
must have sharp eyes to notice these
differences ; the site would doubtless be
passed over by even an experienced
archaeologist without being noticed
were it not for the numerous pot-shards
and chipped flints found there.
The subject of lodge circles is an im
portant one and can not be exhaustively
liondled in one article. The subject is a
new one in this state where so little has
been done in archaeology , although Ne
braska is one of the richest fields in the
Mississippi valley. Much light has been
shed on this field by Hon. J. V. Brewer ,
who has done so much in the Kansas
field. The two states occupy the same
field of archaeology and , in many in
stances , what is true of one is true of
the other , so one may gather many
points from a careful reading of his
works which apply alike to the archaeology
elegy of both states.
Nebraska as a Field for Study by Archae
ologists.
The geographical location of the Ne
braska field is such that the subject will
be a difficult one ; students will be in
clined to confound the remains left by
the various nomadic tribes with the re
mains of the permanent inhabitants ,
who were themselves semi-nomadic and
followed the buffalo every autumn for
their supply of meat and robes. ( That
these permanent inhabitants domesti
cated the buffalo in an early day is a
mooted question. I do not believe the
evidence is sufficient to justify an
opinion either way ; however , I am in
clined to doubt a theory until it is
proven ) . Careful , diligent search and a
careful systematizing of the remains
will , in time , give a very satisfactory
summary of the ethnology of Nebraska.
It will take years of study , exploration
and classification of the relics left to ac
complish this even under the most favor
able circumstances , but what state is
more worthy ? What subject can add
more to the scientific kilowledge of the
human race and do more to give us a
broad , charitable comprehensive
view of the human family ?
Why send our scholars to Egypt and
Troy , to Babylon and Pompeii , when a
race of human beings left relics as inter
esting , and who knows but as ancient ,
as the wonderful tablets of Tapar :
In time we hope to shed more light on
this subject of lodge circles , but
enough is known now to convince one
that there is much more to learn and
this is often in itself a good education.
The mills are numerous and consist of
flat rooks , usually igneous , which
naturally offered a surface suitable for
aueather mill stone and a somewhat
smaller stone which could be held in the
hand for an upper mill stone. I have a
few stones from the Rooa site which
wore probably the upper stones , but no
large , igneous rooks that could have been
used for the lower stones have been
found.
There are rumors of largo limestones
K t
found hero in an early day , which the
old settlers say were hollowed out as if
by constant grinding. The limestones
are very hard and would have answered
the purpose very well. Owing to the
quarries , almost within the confines of
; he village , these rocks were doubtless
used as mills. Constant climatic changes
effect the surface of these rocks , and as
; he mills were loft on the surface , they
have either deteriorated with time or
were removed for building purposes in
an early day. Some eight miles farther
up the creek I have discovered a large
rock that has been used as a mill. This
gives me the idea that another village
site may be discovered near the rock.
Primitive Milling.
These mills were used to grind corn.
The meat taken during the fall hunt
was cut into very thin slices , Castaneda
says no thicker than a leaf , and dried in
the sun ; it was then ground to a powder
and stored in the intestines of the
buffalo after they had been carefully
cleaned and dried. In this way the food
supply could be easily carried and
would keep for a long time. It was
prepared for food by placing a handful
of this meat-meal in a pot of water over
a fire and it would swell up and form a
sort of soup which was very savory.
The mills were used for the double pur
pose of preparing meat and grinding
corn. Mention is also made of herbs
being ground for food or for medicine.
The mills are numerous throughout the
state and some have been found which
have been chipped very nicely into rect
angular forms having a raised edge all
around to keep the grain in place ; most
of them , however , are simply flat rocks
with a slanting surface.
Coming now to the last division of my
article , the places of burial , I must say
at the start that I know little if any
more of this point than when I first be
gan the study of Nebraska Indians ten
years ago. At none of the village sites
have we been able to find a single bone
of an ancient Indian ; a few remains of
more recent interments have been found
near these sites but one can easily note
that the bones are of a recent Sioux or
Pawnee.
How these ancient people disposed of
their dead is a mystery as deep as the
direction from which they came to
populate these beautiful sun-kissed hills
and smiling valleys.
The various theories proposed as a
probable solution to the mystery are
better not repeated ; they are only
theories and until we can find conclu
sive evidence of the manner of disposing
of the dead it is better to frankly- admit
that we do not know. This leaves the
subject open for investigation and some
day it will bo solved , while if this
theory or that theory is given credence
the most feasible one will gradually be
accepted and an error ( probably ) will