Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/47

 MISTOUY OF GOODHUE COUNTS 19 One of the places to see the mounds on a magnificent scale is Goodhue county. Parts of the county are so rich in mounds that she need not take a back seal in archaeology, by any means. Archaeologists will he taxed for many years to come before the perplexing problems presented by the relics shall he unraveled into dear and continuous history. What is the meaning of the mounds.' Who made them? Whence did the mound builders come .' When did they live here? What sort of life did they lead? What was their state of culture? Who were the first inhabitants of Goodhue county? These are some of the questions which archaeology is busy trying to Solve. While Goodhue county cannot boast of mounds having such gigantic proportions as some other parts of the United States can. nor of such grotesque mounds as the serpent mound of Ohio, yet the mounds of our county are so striking in number, kind and distribution that they present a rich field for archaeological inquiry. Our late state archaeologist, J. V. Brower, had in mind the publication of another book whose main contents were to be the presentation of all known facts relative to the mounds and Indian relics of Red "Wing and vicinity. As it is, the mounds of Goodhue county will make no small showing in the forthcoming volume which is now in preparation under the direc- tion of Prof. N. Winched, former state geologist. The number of mounds in Goodhue county is considerable. The largest number is found in the vicinity of Red AYing along the banks of the Mississippi. Spring creek and the lower course of the Cannon. Here they frequently occur in groups of no mean pro- portions, while smaller clusters, sprinkled over the spaces inter- vening between the larger ones, help to make a long, continuous series of mounds, extending many miles in length. Isolated mounds are not uncommon. The larger groups are invariably situated near the water courses and usually on the lofty terraces that give a commanding view of the magnificent valleys. Such a distribution of the mounds finds its explanation in the fact that the rivers offered beautiful sites for habitations and routes of travel in times of peace and war. and above all, two sub- stances absolutely necessary to the maintenance of life, namely, water and food. The mound builder was not slow in picking- out picturesque places as a location for his village sites. The distribution of the mounds bears ample proof of this. Anyone who visits the following groups cannot fail to be convinced that the mound builders were certainly guided in the selection of the location for their mounds by an unerring sense of beautiful scenery and a high appreciation and instinctive love of nature as well as by other factors. At Red Wing there used to be some