***
The following is from the actual log of James E. Moore(see note at end) who with archeologists from the Smithsonian Institute explored several of the mounds around Sarasota, Florida. Mr. Moore was one of many who migrated to Florida at the turn of the Twentieth Century. We hear of Edison and his light bulbs, the Ringlings of circus fame, Crosley who brought us radios, cars, refrigerators and such, but the more common man was as much a part of early Florida and actually contributed more to its development than those who saw Florida as a place to be, rather than a place to build. James Moore was active in land development and through this he learned much about the land. He also was an Indian and revered the history of his people. So it is not surprising that his interest lead to many of the discoveries in and about Sarasota Bay. The book by Greisner entitled Sarasota is a good start in learning more about this area.
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January-12-32
Was talking to Mr. Pierce and he told me about an Indian Mound East of Laurel that the County road Gang had just torn down that was full of skeletons and pots and he thought I might be interested in seeing it.
The next day I took my wife and son out to see it and found the entire center had been hauled away, the remaining edges of it looked like the crater of a volcano, just a rim with a hole in the center.
Judging from the large pine stumps still standing the mound origionly (originally) about seven feet above the surrounding country and was about thirty five feet wide, just East of the mound was an impression from which the mound was made, it was in the pine woods about two hundred yards from Skaketts Creek.
The North side of the mound had all been hauled away and the trucks drove in the mound from this side, the mound was constructed of earth and sand and the floor was red from the heat of an alter fire which covered a space of about fifteen feet across, some scrub oaks and palmetto were still growing around the out side of the mound, we started to dig under the ccrub (scrub) with our trowels and hatchets on the South side of the mound, about 16 or 18 inches below the surface and at once found broken pottery and charcoal, digging back about a foot I took out half a pot shaped-like a common drinking glass with scroll carving on it and nearby half of a boat shaped paint cup with some of the red paint still in it.
My wife and boy found lots of broken pottery some with fancy handles and unique markings, some were delicate and some were crude but all showing some attempt at decoration, all of the pottery seemed to be between the South Central and the West central part of the mound.
On the South side almost level with the ground my boy dug out a basket weave pot large enough to hold two gallons but it was very badly broken in a dozen pieces, also a human effigy pot handle.
On the West side of the mound about six feet below the the (double use of the) surface my boy found a nest containing eight eggs about the size of hen eggs in fine dry sand these eggs are as rough on the shell as a rasp I never saw eggs like them before.
One peculiar thing about this mound is the absence of conch and other shell fish shells as the mound is only a few miles from the Bay and gulf. The sun was very hot and we thought we could find a better day to dig farther into the rim of the mound, so we went home to return again.
January-28-32
Drove to Laurel and to the mound and examined the fill by bridge found broken pottery in it and fossil bones., enamel from the lobe of a mastodon tooth, dug in floor of the mound about ten feet south of the center and found two layers of skeletons, found but one in the upper layer which was overlooked and undisturbed by the road gang. Reports from Mr. Merrill and others that the upper layer of skeletons were placed in a circle with the heads in the center coinsides (coincides) with the lower layer. About a foot below the upper layer, as we uncovered seven skeletons whose heads formed a circle, about four feet across, all these skeletons were face down, with the arms crossed and the face resting on the arms, all bones were so decomposed that they were in small fragments caused by the heavy wheels of the trucks that hauled the sand away from the mound, as the wheel tracts (tracks) were in evidence all over the floor of the mound where the trucks backed into load the sand.
When I located the skull of the skeleton in the upper row I was rubbing the sand away with my hands when I felt a loos (loose) piece which I thought was a piece of the skull bone that had come loose and was surprised to find it was an arrow head about one and a half inch long that looked like it was made from moss agate, the top of the point was missing. I worked the sand away from under the face of the skull and when a chunk of sand caved off it left exposed the (can't read word) end of something dark green and I thought at first it was the butt end of a 44 caliber bullet, but when I pulled it out it was a splendid green granite, polished and perfect..plummit. (plummet, Note: a plum bob or decorative piece intended to be suspended by a string and worn about the neck) I sifted all the sand from then on, but found nothing but charcoal and two fragments of pottery. The large pile of stumps and brush that was in the center of the mound was in our way and was too much of a job to move, so we set it on fire and left to return again.
The skull from the upper layer I removed and hid back in the brush to dry out, looks like it might hold together. Stopped on the way home at Brookside and saw Mr. Merrill who had charge of the men that wrecked the mound and got a fine piece of pottery with hands and arms on it he found in the mound, it had three human hands on bent arms on the sides, it was yellow and the hands and arms were painted black outlined with dotted lines. This was given to the Peabody Museum.
Feb-8-32
Went to the laurel Mound and dug where the pile of stumps were that we burned and on the North edge were three skeletons that were on the floor of the mound, the other two were almost a foot below the floor, no objects were with them, heads were to the South. I got the skull I hid in the brush the last time, it had dried out real well, the front of the face was caved in where it had rested on the arm bones, but not too bad.
We dug in the West and South sides of the mound and found only broken pottery, we took a walk along the creek shore trying to locate their village site which should be near the mound as the mound itself showed no evidence of kitchen middens.
There might be something in the East side of the mound but the prods failed to locate it., So we called it good and quit trying.
All we found that was good is in the Bradenton Museum.
This is a copy of the notes I made each night after I came home from the mound.
J. E. Moore (His signature)
***
Investigations June 14-18-21
Jack Bispham, who lives in Sarasota told me of a mound located four miles
North of Ellenton and one fourth mile East, being about one fourth mile from
Frog Creed, Bispham who is now 45 years old said when he was a boy of about 12
years of age he lived near this mound and herded cattle all around it and that
one Sunday; he and some other boys dug into it and found some skeletons.
On June-14-36 he took me to the mound and showed me where they dug in to it
more than 30 years ago, some one else had recently dug into the mound, South
and West of the center, dug quite a large pit, there were fragments of pottery
and a number of human bones lying on top of the dirt that had been thrown out,
at this time I prodded north of the center of the mound and found the remains
of two quite large pots, it was raining so made only a short stay at this
time.
This mound measured 28 feet East and West and 27 feet North and South, was
between six and seven feet high above the surrounding prairie and was covered
with a growth of palmetto and scrub oak and had one cabbage palm growing on
the N.W. side twenty feet tall, about 100 feet to the North of the mound was
what had been a prehistoric river bed, easy to identify by the heavy black
soil and the dense growth of palm and oak trees, it can be traced for miles in
either direction as it winds in and out through the palmetto covered
prairie.
The floor of the mound consist of the common gray sand upon which is a layer
of white sand varying from one to 4 inches in depth, above this is a yellow
sand to within 18 inches of the surface of the mound, the upper. 18 inches is
a dark gray sand containing leaf mould and many roots, the yellow sand is
interspersed with patches of sand that are almost brown and of a waxy
consistency, this is interspersed with layers of charcoal in depth from one to
3 inches, no ashes are in evidence and the sand shows no indication of intense
heat.
On June 18th. I took some colored men and started a trench at station 31 and
dug South to station 18 (Note: A map of the site is provided in Mr.
Moore's
log which sections the mound into identifiable regions and locates the
findings) finding nothing but a few broken fragments of pottery and some conch
shells, we then worked West troweling our way to the stations 29-32, as I
approached station 32 about 30 inches below the surface I found a pot with a
large flat handle, badly broken, I got three fourths of the rim and some of
the bottom. This pot had a scroll design around the rim and was of good
texture, marked AA@ an plat (on plot), between this and station 29 were
several broken pieces of pottery from 2 to 3 inches in size and were from a
large pot.
At station 29-marked AB@ was an olla (water bottle) undecorated, the rim was
perfect but some of the bottom was gone, this was 6 inches across the top and
10 inches through the middle, around this olla was 3 extra large whelk (as
distinguished from conch shells which are of the same genera) shells, these
were wedged around the pot so that they had to be removed in order to reach
the pot, they were so soft I could mash them with my hands.
Just SW of this olla was part of a large pot, about one fourth of it, in three
pieces, there were also small pieces of two other pots that were decorated,
between station 32 and 33 I found two small vases, one the shape of an
ordinary drinking glass, chips out of the top and bottom gone, red in color
decorated with incised lines all over, the other was the shape of a flower
pot, some of the top gone and a very; neat hole cut in the bottom, this pot is
canary; yellow in color, of a very unusual texture, has raised decorations,
located on plat at AG2.
At station 28- located at AH2 I found a cone shaped vase 6 inches at the
base
and one inch at the top, about one fourth of one side was missing, this is
profusely decorated, just to the East of this I found a very large bowl 12
inches across the top, bith (with) 4 handles, this was broken but I got all of
the rim but about 2 inches and a large part of the rest of it, this is
decorated around the rim and below it, between this pot and the cone shaped
vase to the S. of them I found a bird head made of pottery, what ever was on
the head of the bird is gone, it could have been a pipe this is an unusual
piece, the eyes extend more than half an inch from the head, there is a flat
piece under the head like the wattles of a rooster, all the above were found
in the brown sand about thirty inches below the top of the mound.
Between stations 33-& 34 was barren except for a pot well made, with very
large flat handle, a piece 12 inches by 3 inches was missing from the top is
decorated with scroll design, red in color and very hard, is 6 inches wide
across the top.
Between stations 28 & 27 at AM2 right on the base of the mound, resting on
the
gray sand floor I found another bird head, this is made of pottery painted
black, except around the eyes and bill which is cream color, this undoubtedly
was broken from a pot as the piece of decorated ware at the bottom shows part
of a pot, however the head would have to be on the inside of the pot as it
points inside, this head is also unusual, it depicts a vulture and the
portrayal is very good, the head is bald and the slits for the none go all the
way through the bill, in fact it resembles a condor more than the common
vulture.
From this location we moved over to station 11 & 14, this was at the edge of
the pit that was dug before I saw the mound, we dug a trench joining where the
previous diggers left off and found 3 skeletons with heads to the south in a
very pad state of preservation, I saved parts of two lower jaws of very old
persons, the teeth being worn down almost to the roots, (note: It was a common
practice to mix tobacco with ground and burnt shell, or limestone and chew the
mixture. Whether this was a palliative to assuage tooth aches or for some
other reason is unknown. See
snuff ,
tobacco its use and culture.) those skeletons were about 18 inches below the
top of the mound, Mr. Bishpam informs me that when he was a boy that the mound
was much higher than at present, he said that the surrounding country was
burned over each year so fresh grass would come up for the cattle and that
after each fire the mound would be bare for a time and the wind and rains
lowered the mound considerable.
Just South of the mound is the pit from which the dirt to build the mound was
taken, it is at present about 40 feet long and twenty feet wide and about
three feet deep, there is no growth in the pit outside of some water cress,
There is no evidence of contact with the white man in this mound as yet as I
have sifted a large amount of the sand and there is no beads or other evidence
of contact.
July-12-36. I took 4 diggers and went to the mound we worked from the N. side
toward the center much of it barren at station 27 we uncovered half of a nice
little pot, 4 inches across the top, scrool (scroll) work on the sides,
between stations 25 & 26 we found a perfect water bottle, 10 inches high and
perfect not a nick in it, the usual round hole was in the bottom, this bottle
is engraved with triangle designs and is a very nice piece.
July-19-36. Went to the mound with 4 diggers and dug over stations 2-3-4-&5
outside of one large conch shell it was barren, we then went over to the North
of stations 32-33-34 &35 and found at station 34 several slabs of a large pot
and either a small vase or the top broken from a water bottle in this was a
small well made triangular arrow head one and one quarter inches long, no
bones or skeletons were encountered, the absence of skeletal remains in this
section shows the burials were all in the center of the mound.
October-4-36 Went to mound with 2 diggers for about 2 hours, too hot to dig
much, trenched N. in station 10 a few feet under heavy palmetto roots and
scrub oak, found badly decomposed bones and pottery fragments, about three
feet below the top of the mound I found a fossil sand dollar or key hole
urchin, with fragments of bones, well fossilized and the hole was smoothed
from what seemed to be where a thong or cord had been attached, as if it had
been used as a gorget.(neck decoration or armor). Sun too hot for such work
so went home. Location on plat just East of AP2.
Note: "Some of the richest fossil beds in the entire state of Florida were
found in Sarasota County while drainage ditches were being dug or creek beds
dredged. Many of the principal finds have been made by J. E. Moore, of Indian
Beach, an ardent student of paleontology. Altogether he discovered more than
70 fossil species, some of which have not been duplicated anywhere else in the
state. Working for years in cooperation with Dr. George Ridley, of the
Smithsonian Institution, he helped to bring Sarasota to the attention of
scientist throughout the world.
One of Moore's most important finds was the mineralized skeleton of a man
which he unearthed May 4, 1929, from the bank of a newly-dug drainage ditch
near the head of Phillippi Creek. Paleontologists aserted it was at least
20,000 years old, perhaps much older, and they hailed it as a discovery of the
first magnitude.
Historians, often more conservative than paleontologists, admitted that the
Phillippi skeleton was indeed ancient. But as for its being 20,000 years old
- well, the historians havee their fingers crossed. They insist there is
nothing "in the record" to indicate that human beings existed in Florida so
long ago, at least fourteen millenia before the construction of the first
pyramid in Egypt. But who knows? Historians have been wrong before and, in
this case, they may be wrong again. Somewhere in Florida soil there may be
positive proof that the paleontologists are right.
Time alone will tell.
In the meantime we can dwell on how the tooth of a mastadon and the
prehistoric bird(?) eggs came to be mixed with the last remains of the
Indians who inhabited the area. A fictional account of how these mounds
came to be may be found in Speculation
.
The Historians are sitting tight and sticking to their
contention that the first human beings came to Florida comparatively recently
- say within the past two tthousands years or so."
***
The Story of Sarasota, Karl K. Grismer, 1946, M.E.Russell, Sarasota,
Florida(1st), Paschal & Paschal Publishers Inc. (2nd).