OP BYE-GONE DAYS.

‘ MEN SEVEN FEET HIGH.

There has juBt been received at the Ma>y~

land Academy of Soknces the skeleton of an

Indian , seven feet tell. It IVBS discovered

near Antietam a few day«. Thoro are

now. skeletons of three powerful Indiana at

the academy, who at ono time in their wild

nesa roamed over the atate of Maryland

srmcd wltil such instruments as Nature gave

them, or that their limited ‘kill taught them

to make- Two of thona skeleton!) belonged

to individuals evidently of gigantic aizo. ‘the

vertebrae and bones of the legs are nearly

as thick as those of n horse, and the length

of the. long bones exceptional. The skulls

are of fine proportions, ample, and with walls

of moder»;e thicltncse, but of groat strength,

and stiffaned behind by a powerful ocoipitud

ridge. The curves of the forehead »rt

moderate and not retreating, suggesting

intelligence, and connected with jaws of

moderate development.

Tho locality from which these skeletons

cams ia in Frederick country, near Antio

tam ereek. It was formerly supposed t»

have been the background of tno tribes

of Indiana, the Oatawb»s and the Datawares.

Tradition haa handed down tho statement

that between the yearo 1730 and 1736 the

Oatawbas’took over a band nf DelawareB at

the mouth of’.the Anliott.m, and in tho

little that ensued tho Delaware! were

completely annihilated. JSo the tradition

goes, but according to Dr Philip. R. Uhler,

president of tho Marlylund Academy of

Sciences and provost of the Peabody In

stitute. a careful examination of this locality

hai failed toosiablish evidences of a battle at

that point, although numerous spear and

arrow heads have been taken from tho soil

there.

It is of groat interest, howevor, to notion

that tho locality was, at [an earlier date

befortt the coming of the white man

-occupied’as a village site by Indians of

great stature, some of them nix and a half

to seven feet in height. The bones of these

were buried, likethoae of prehistoric tribea,

in othep parts of the state. The manner of

burial was liko this : Tho flesh was oleaned

from the bones, noma of which wero then

charred. The small bones of tho face and

neck were packed with clay. In tho gravi

was also placed pottery, n tomahawk and tho

other weapons belonging to tho Indians. No

stone marked the grave, and no beads or

wampum were buried -with tho skeleton.

But over all the »arth wae heaped up into

a small oblong mould, along which other

similar mounds extending for raimy feet.

The overflow ot a neighboring rivor at this

poiut had almost destroyed tho burial area,

so that only three of tho-e small

elevations were recognisable at tho time of

exc&v&tton. ?

-Baltimore American.

The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954) Tue 25 Jan 1898 Page 4 GIANT INDIANS​​