Miscellaneous Papers Relating to Anthropology/Mounds on Flynn's Creek, Jackson County, Tennessee
MOUNDS ON FLYNN'S CREEK, JACKSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.
By Joshua Haite, Sr., of Jackson County, Tenn.
The valley in which these mounds are situated is on the east bank of Flynn's Creek, which empties into the Cumberland River, and is 3 miles above the mouth of the creek and 1 mile south of the river. The valley is 4 miles west of Gainesboro', the county seat, and near the center of a section of country that abounds in mounds and graves. This valley which is full of these graves, contains near 100 acres, and is the site of the village called Flynn's Lick. There are five limestone springs, one sulphur spring, and a salt spring. From the number of mounds of earth, stone, and shell, it is evident that it has been a large town and a place of note among the inhabitants of that day. A further reason is that the valley is easily approached from every direction. The valley is full of graves, placed as close as they can be in the ground. It has been in cultivation sixty-five years. Before it was cleared it was covered with a dense forest of trees, some of which are from 4 to 6 feet in diameter. Even on the tops of these mounds trees were standing (of the oak and poplar species) measuring 4 and 5 feet in diameter. At the time the valley was cleared it was not known that there were any graves there.
The graves are of all sizes, varying from 18 inches to 6 feet in length and the usual size in width. The coffins are made of slate-rock slabs (which now seems to be plentiful 4 miles up the creek, where there is a large quarry), and are generally neatly polished. The bones and pottery are now found from 18 to 20 inches below the surface of the ground. The coffins are constructed in the following manner: They first placed on the bottom of the grave one or two slabs of slate-work neatly polished and jointed closely together in the middle when they had to use two of them; they next placed one at the head and one at the foot of the grave; then they set up one or two, as the case required, on edge on both sides, neatly fitted together in the middle and at the ends, which forms a box. They next took one or two pieces, as the size of the coffin demanded, neatly polished and jointed together in the middle and at the ends, and placed them on for the lid, projecting on all sides from 2 to 4 inches. Occasionally we find a grave where they have used limestone instead of slate rock.
On the east side of the creek, about 100 yards from its bank, is the grand earthen mound, which is larger and higher than any of the others in the valley. All the graves as a general rule face this grand mound; but occasionally, owing to the rock in the ground, this rule is varied and the direction changed, showing that closeness or compactness was their leading idea.
The mounds referred to in this valley and vicinity are composed both of earth and stone, and are found on both sides of the creek. The largest earthen mound, which I call the grand mound because all the graves are facing it, is about ninety feet in diameter, and at this time about 4 feet high; but when first discovered by whites it was 5 or 6 feet high. This mound has not yet been examined, but others in the valley, not so high but larger in diameter, have been looked into and were found to contain graves, pottery ware, pipes and arrow-heads made of dirt or cut out of rock. These are found in the graves in the mound and in those around it.
On a hill adjacent to the valley, about 200 feet high, are six stone mounds constructed of rough limestone rock. These mounds are situated about 300 yards east of the valley. They are about 20 feet in diameter and 2½ or 3 feet high. Four of them have been examined, and all of them were found to be full of human bones and pottery ware, but not so close together as the others. The graves were constructed, or covered over with rock, differently from the others. The corpse seems to have been put in first, and then rock slabs set up and placed together at the top in the shape of the roof of a house. In this way was the place filled with graves all over a certain spot, and then rough stone piled on until the mound was formed. I have spoken of only six mounds on this hill, of this kind, but there are many in this vicinity of this kind, but they have not been examined. Near the center of the mound examined by me, in a grave, were found bones of a human being charred perfectly black, around which were placed all the others.
On the west side of the creek is a bluff in which were found several holes, and on examination one of them was found to lead into a cave which has been explored for about 100 yards. This cave contains several apartments which are dry, and within this are found a great many human bones, some of which are still in a state of preservation.
A female skeleton was taken from a grave found about 80 yards west of the mound that I have designated in this letter as the grand mound. This skeleton was lying with the face towards the mound, with a pipe in her right hand resting on her right thigh. With this skeleton I found in opening the grave an infant child lying with its feet against the thigh bones of its mother. When first opened this child's skull-bone and other bones were in perfect form, but as soon as the air came in contact with it it broke into lime, or powder. This female evidently died in childbirth, the feet of the fœtus coming first. This female we are led to believe, from the pains taken in burying her, must have been of note amongst them, for I found in disinterring this skeleton that the remains were deposited in a wooden coffin, and then this one was put into one of neatly polished rock. A jug was found, with the mouth down and the bottom upwards, placed against the skull-bone. The stone with a hole in the center, which is called a corn-muller, I found about 80 yards from the grand mound. This was plowed up and found, among a large number of human bones in a decayed condition, upon the top of a small mound in the valley. The pottery, of the character sent, is found in all the graves and in a similar condition.