Summary of the archeology of Saginaw Valley, Michigan

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(From the American Anthropologist (N. s.), Vol. 3, July-September, 1901)

SUMMARY OF THE ARCHEOLOGY OF SAGINAW
VALLEY, MICHIGAN— H

By HARLAN I. SMITH

SAGINAW RIVER VALLEY
Bay County

Saginaw River. — The History of Saginaw County ' states that
" the water courses of the district comprise the Sac-haw-ning, or
home of the Sacs. . ."

Tchigaiinibeivin Village Site. — The History of Saginaw County
(p. 592, •[ 2) states that " it must also be remembered that the
Great Camp, or Kepayshowink [Ka-pay-shaw-wink], of these wan-
dering bands did not hold the same position in summer as in win-
ter, so that he who relies upon Indian legends simply, and without
further inquiry, might associate the summer camp on the lake
shore with the winter camp of the interior. Both were great
camps ; , . . the second, or summer camp, was north of Nesh-
ko-ta-younk; . . . [and] the first in coming down from the
lake. In winter the Bay-shore camp was called Tchigaiinibewin
by travelers as being ' close by ' the great camp, and in summer a
reversal of terms was simply used to denote that the upper camp
was the place ' close by.' "

Nesh-ko-ta-yoiink Village Site. — The History of Saginaw
County (p. 592) states that the " summer camp [Tchigaiinibewin],
was north of Nesh-ko-ta-younk."

McCormick Mound. — W. R. McCormick," referring to the
Water Street mound, wrote as follows :

' Page 288, •[ 2.

"^ Hist. Sag. Co.. p. 284, •[ 3, second part ; and •[ 4, p. 285. McCormick,
" Mounds," p. 381, •[ I, 2, and 3, gives the same informaticui, with the exception

501

502 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 3, 1901

" Some thirty rods below, on Water street, between Twenty-
second and Twenty-third streets, is an elevation, the highest on
the river, on which is located the Bay City brewery, Barney
hotel, the residence of W. R. McCormick and other residences,
comprising nearly two acres. I wish to describe this elevation
as I saw it, in a state of nature, over forty-five years ago. For
many years it was considered to be a natural elevation of the
land, but subsequent excavations have proved it to have been
constructed by some remote race of people.

" When I first became acquainted with the location it was
covered with a dense growth of timber, with the exception of the
mound and about an acre and a half in the rear of it, where
[from which] the earth was taken from to build the mound. It
was then a duck pond, with water three feet deep, grown up with
alder bushes. In grading Twenty-second street through the
north end of the [this] mound, some years since, we found at a
depth of II feet three skeletons of very large stature with large
earthen pots at the head of each. In excavating for the cellar
of the Bay City brewery, we found at the depth of four feet the
remains of Indians in a good state of preservation, with high
cheek bones and receding forehead, while, below these again, at
the depth of four or five feet, the remains of a more ancient race,
of an entirely different formation of skull, and with those burned
stone implements and pottery were found. I have been unable
to preserve any of these skulls, as they crumbled to dust when
exposed to the air. I found one skeleton in a sitting position.

of the parts here in itcilics and with the addition of the matter here in brackets,
McCormick (W. R.), " Mounds and Mound-Builders of the Saginaw Valley." By W.
R. McCormick. of Bay City. Pp. 379-383. Pioneer Collections, Vol. iv [1S81],
Lansing : W. S. George & Co., 1883. 8"".

W. R. McCormick, according to Hist. Sut^. Co., pp. i8o-ig2, was born in 1S22,
removed from Ali)any, N. Y., to the present site of Flint, (icnesee Co., Michigan,
in 1832, later moved to Portsmouth, Bay Co., Michigan, and finally lived in Bay City.
He was the first inhabitant of Saginaw valley to make any permanent archeologic
records. Author of various items in Hist. Sag. Co., pp. 11 7-1 20, 282-2S7, and
' Mounds " above noted.

smith] the archeology of sagina w valle y 503

facing the west, with a very narrow head, and long, as if it had
been compressed. I laid it aside in hopes to preserve it, but in a
few hours it had crumbled to pieces.

" This mound is full of the remains of ancient pottery and
small stones that have been through the action of fire. A friend
of mine found an awl made of copper which was quite soft with the
exception of about an inch from the point which was so hard that
a file would scarcely make an impression on it. This seems to me
to show that the Mound-Builders had the art of hardening copper."

The use of the word " race " instead of " tribe " is probably a
mistake in nomenclature, since the author evidently did not refer
to the early European explorers or settlers. The statement that
skeletons of ver}' large size were found is probably due to mis-
judgment. Such remarks are commonly heard in the folklore
repeated to explorers throughout the region.

It is still possible that this site is a natural hill in which were
graves, and that the " duck pond " was also natural and not the
source of the material of which the mound was made. Many of
the hills in this region are formed by the wind and are increased
and decreased by the same means. This would satisfactorily
account for burials at different depths.

Fragile bones that would crumble on exposure to the direct
rays of the sun, or even to dry air, may often be preserved without
the use of other means than by wrapping in paper and boxing
quickly so as to retain the moisture and allow them to dry slowly
enough to become hard without warping.

While the narrow skull, described by Mr McCormick, may
have been a case of post-mortem deformation due to pressure of
the soil, it may more probably have been the skull of the rarer of
two types, since not only the Sauk and Ojibwa have inhabited
the region, but the Potawatomi and other tribes have visited it ;
and again, two forms of crania have been found elsewhere in this
valley.'

' See Fobear Mound No. i, under Saginaw County.

504 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 3. 1901

The statement that part of the point of the awl was so hard
that a file would scarcely make an impression on it is a fallacy
probably derived from the feel and effect on the file of the thickly
oxidized metal as compared w^ith that of a clean piece of metallic
copper.

The term " Mound-builders," as used by Mr McCormick,
probably refers to a mysterious extinct people, whereas the word
" Indians " would doubtless have been more suitable in this con-
nection.

William McCormick' states that "in the vicinity of the resi-
dence of William R. McCormick, that being the highest land, and
where they [the Sauk] had attempted to fortify themselves ;
- . . at the present time, by digging in this hill, you will find
it full of human bones."

Mr McCormick," referring to the mounds of Saginaw valley,
•states that " the plow has helped to level many of them, with the
■exception of the Fraser, Fitzhugh, and McCormick mounds.
And to prove that the last three are artificial and not natural
is the fact that in the rear of all these are low places, showing
where the earth had been taken from [procured] to build the
mounds.

"Again, the soil on the mounds differs from the soil around
them with the exception of the low places referred to from
where the earth was taken ; . . . And in no part of the valley
will you find those relics except in those mounds."

The description of the varieties of soil is perhaps too arbi-
trary, and specimens such as are found in the mounds arc found
also on village sites.

Professor Thomas ' states that there is a " large artificial ele-
vation on Water street, in Bay City, east side. . . . Described

' Hist. Sag. G?.. p. 118.

' Ilist. Saf;. Co., p. 287, ^ I. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 383, ^ 1-3, gives the
same information with the exception of the parts here in italics and with the addition
of the matter here in brackets.

' Thomas, Catalogtu, p. 107.

smith] the archeology OF SAGINA W VALLE V $0$

by W. K. McCormick, in Michigan Pioneer Collection, vol. 4
(1881), p. 382."

Water Street Mounds. — W. R. McCormick ' wrote as follows :
" On the Saginaw river, toward its mouth, when we come to what
is now the corner of Twenty-fourth and Water streets in Bay
City, where the Center House now stands, we find the old Mc-
Cormick homestead. Here were two large mounds in the gar-
den, which my father plowed and scraped down. They
contained a number of skeletons, stone axes, knives, and quite an
amount of broken pottery."

Professor Thomas * states that " two large mounds, now gone,
stood on the east side of the Saginaw River, at the corner of
Twenty-fourth and Water streets, Bay City. . . Described by
W. K. McCormick, in Michigan Pioneer Collection, vol. 4 (1881),
p. 382."

More Mound. — W. R. McCormick' wrote as follows: "We
will now pass over to the west side near the mill of More, Smith
& Co. There was here, 45 years ago, a mound just above the
mill about 100 feet across in a circular form and about three
feet high. Originally it must have been much higher. I have
never examined this mound, but have understood from old
settlers that there were a great many stone implements found in
it. The plow has nearly leveled it, so that it is scarcely noticed
any more."

Professor Thomas * states that " there was a mound on the
west side, near the mill of M. Smith & Co." as "described by
W. K. McCormick, in Michigan Pioneer Collection, vol. 4 (1881),
p. 382."

' Hist. Sag. Co., p. 284, 1 3, first part. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 380, "y 5, p.
381, first part.

■^ Thomas, Catalogue, p. 107.

^ Hist. Sag. Co., p. 285, ^ I. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 381, ^ 4, gives the
same information with the exception of the parts here in italics and with the addition
of the matter here in brackets.

•• Thomas, Catalogue, p. 107.

506 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 3, lyoi

West Bay City Village Site. — On the sand ridge close to the
river at West Bay City, where the railroad roundhouse is located,
were found fragments of chert and burned stones in sufificient
numbers to suggest that the place had been a village site.

West Bay City Graves. — In the West Bay City village site
several human skeletons were dug out by the railroad section
workmen, one of whom, on inquiry, reported the same. The
place of these graves appeared to be a natural sand ridge in
which interments had been made. This burial site may be identical
with what Mr McCormick terms the Birney mound.

Birney Mound. — W. R. McCormick' wrote as follows: "The
mound which was located near the west end of the Detroit &
Bay City railroad bridge, [which] for reference I will call the
Birney mound, as it is located on the lands of that great philan-
thropist, the late Hon. James G. Birney. This mound was not
so large in circumference, but much higher than the one just
noticed."'

" In this were [was] also found human bones, in a much better
state of preservation than any of the rest. I procured from this
mound a skull with a hole in it just above the temple bone, pro-
duced by a sharp instrument, which undoubtedly caused death.
This skull I presented to J. Morgan Jennison, of Philadelphia.
It was of an entirely different formation from the Indian skull of
the present day, as it did not have their high cheek bones nor
their receding forehead, but a very intellectually developed head,
showing that it was of a different race of people from the Indian.
Some years since some boys were digging in the side of the
mound, as they had often done before, to get angle-worms for
fishing, when they came across a small silver canoe, about five
inches long. A [, and a] gentleman who was fishing with them,

' Hist. Sag. Co., p. 285, 1[ 2, p. 286. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 381 , ^ 5, and p.
382, ^ I, gives the same information with the exception of the parts here in italics
and with the addition of the matter here in brackets.

' Refers to tlie More mound " about 100 feet across . . . and about three feet
high."

smith] the archeology OF SAGINA W VALLE V 507

offered them 50 cents for it, which they accepted. After clean-
ing it up, he found it to be of exquisite workmanship, with the
projecting ends tipped with gold. [ [Query. — Was not this
a present from some early Catholic missionary of whom history
makes no mention?]] A rough copper kettle of peculiar shape
and make, having been wrought into shape by hammering, with-
out any seam, was also taken from one of ^/lese [those] mounds,
and is now in the State capitol among.?/ Mr. [O. A.] Jenison's
[Jennison's] collections oi a}itiguities [antiquity']."

On August 28, 1890, Mr McCormick told the writer that the
hole in the skull above mentioned may have been made as a
post-mortem religious custom. Regarding the remarks concern-
ing the shape of the skull, it must be remembered that, at the
time Mr McCormick wrote, exact somatologic methods were un-
known in his section, and the great difference in the shape of the
skull from that of the others found (unless the skull were that of a
Caucasian, possibly an early French voyageur) was probably exag-
gerated owing to lack of familiarity with crania. The word " race,"
in this connection as in others, is used indiscreetly by the author.

The silver canoe may have been introduced after the first con-
tact with the early French traders. It suggests that the burial
was comparatively recent.

The Birney mound may have been merely a natural sand
ridge in which there were graves, and possibly is identical with
the site of the West Bay City graves.

Professor Thomas" states that " a mound formerly stood near
the west end of the Detroit and Bay City Railroad bridge, on
land of James G. Birney. . . . Described by W. K. Mc-
Cormick, in Michigan Pioneer Collection, vol. 4 (1881), p. 382."

Ly?in Graves. — W. R. McCormick,' referring to his preceding
item about the Birney mound, wrote as follows : " The next

' [Unfortunately the Legislature declined to purchase this valuable collection, and
it has been repossessed by Mr Jenison.] '^ Thomas, Catalogue, p. 107.

^ Hisl. Sag. Co., p. 286, T[ I. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 382, ^f 2.

5o8 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 3, 1901

mound was about half a mile up the river, and formerly stood
in the center of Linn street, West Bay City, but has been graded
down many years since. I was not there at the time, but was
informed by others that it contained human bones and stone imple-
ments. Charles E. Jennison, a pioneer of Bay City, informs me
that he dug up two skeletons many years ago in the side of this
mound. He found with the skeleton;? two copper kettles, which
he has still in his possession. I am inclined to think that these
were not the remains of the original Mound-Builders, but a race
of a subsequent period."

On August 28, 1890, Mr McCormick told the writer that the
mound was fifty or sixty feet in diameter and twelve feet high.
The copper kettles suggest that the bodies with which they were
found were buried since the advent of the whites and that the
site was a burial place in the sand knoll rather than a mound.

Professor Thomas ' states that " another [referring to his pre-
ceding item about the Birney mound] stood half a mile up the
river, same side [west], at what is now the centre of Lean street,
west Bay City." He also mentions that copper kettles were
found and that the information was derived from W. K. McCor-
mick, in Michigan Pioneer Collection, vol. 4 (1881), p. 382.

Fitzhugh Graves. — W. R. McCormick,' referring to his pre-
ceding item about the Lynn graves, wrote as follows : " We now
proceed a half-mile more up the river, to the rise of ground in the
rear of Frank Fitzhugh's grist-mill. This elevation, 45 years
ago, when I first saw it, was the most picturesque spot on the
Saginaw river. Here was also a beautiful spring of cold water,
and was a favorite camping ground of the Indians. It was
also, according to the Indian tradition, the original site of the
Sauk village, and where the great battle was fought when the

' Thomas, Catalogue, p. 107.

' Hist. Sag. Co., p. 286, ^ 2. .McCormick, " Mounds," p. 382, •[ 3 and 4, gives
the same information with the exceptiim of the parts liere in italics and the addition of
the matter here in brackets.

smith] the archeology OF SAGINA W VALLEY 509

Chippewas exterminated that nation.' This I will call the Fitz-
hugh mound, as it is on the lands of Frank Fitzhugh. [•[] This
elevation, comprising two or three acres, was always thought to
be natural ; but I am satisfied from recent excavations, and a low
place to the southwest, that the earth has been taken from this
point to raise the mound higher than the surrounding land, and
that it is, therefore, mostly artificial. Then again, the land ad-
joining on the north is a yellow sand, while on the south the
land fell off abruptly, and is composed of the same kind of soil
as the mound, black sand and loam, from where the earth was
taken. I am now speaking of this mound as it appeared 45 years
ago. Since then the railroad company have excavated a part of
it for ballasting up their road, and many other excavations and
alterations have taken place, so that it has not the same appear-
ance it had when I first saw it. Some years since Mr Fitzhugh,
or the village authorities of Wenona, now West Bay City, ex-
cavated a street through this mound, which brought to light
many relics, and proved beyond a doubt that this eminence was a
mound built in remote ages. A great many skeletons were ex-
humed, together with a great many ornaments of silver, broken
pottery, stone implements, etc., and, like the McCormick mound
on the opposite side of the river, was full of broken stone which
had been through the action of fire."

The site is probably a sand ridge, with graves in it and a
natural pond near it. The ornaments of silver were doubtless
the traders' ornaments commonly found in the region and suggest
that the graves were made since the advent of the whites.

On August 28, 1890, Mr W. R. McCormick informed the
writer that this mound was oblong and covered an acre and a half.

Mr McCormick,' referring to the mounds of Saginaw valley,
states that " the plow has helped to level many of them, with the

' See footnote 2, p. 287, American Anthropologist, 1901.

^ Hist. Sag. Co., p. 287, ^ I. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 383, ^ 1-3, gives the
same information with the exception of the parts here in italics and with the addition
of the matter here in brackets.

5IO AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [x. s.. 3, 1901

exception of the Fraser. Fitzhugh and McCormick mounds. ["If]
And to prove that the last three are artificial and not natural is
the fact that in the rear of all these are low places, showing
where the earth had been taken from [procured] to build the
mounds, . . . [•[] Again, the soil on the mounds differs
from the soil around them with the exception of the low places
referred to from where the earth was taken ; . . . And in no
part of the valley will you find those relics except in those
mounds."

The statement regarding the varieties of soil is perhaps too
arbitrary, and specimens such as are found in the mounds are
found also on village sites.

Professor Thomas ' states that there is " half a mile farther up
the river, on same side, [referring to his preceding item about the
Lynn graves, west side,] an artificial excavation back of Frank
Fitzhugh's gristmill, now considerably disfigured. Many relics
[were] found [in it]. Described by W. K. McCormick, in Michigan
Pioneer Collection, vol. 4 (18S1), p. 382."

Fitzhugh Village Site. — VV. R. McCormick," referring to his
preceding item about the Lynn graves, wrote as follows: "We
now proceed a half-mile more up the river, to the rise of ground
in the rear of Frank Fitz-hugh's grist-mill. This elevation, ^5
[forty-five] years ago, when I first saw it, was the most pic-
turesque spot on the Saginaw river. Here was also a beautiful
spring of cold water, and was a favorite camping ground of the
Indians ; it was also, according to the Indian tradition, the original
site of the Sauk village, and where the great battle was fought
when the Chippewas exterminated that nation."

William McCormick * states that " the main village of the
Sauks stood on the west side of the Saginaw river, just below
where the residence of Mr Frank Fitzhugh now is, and opposite

' Thomas, Cntalogue, p. 107.

* Hist. Sag. Co., p. 286, T[ 2. McCormick, " Mounds," p. 382, T[ 3.
'See footnote 2, p. 287, American Anthropologist, 1901.

* I/ist. Sag. Co., p. 117, 1 3.

smith] the archeology OF SAGINA W VALLE Y 5 1 1

the mill of the Hon. N. B. Bradley." He further states' that on
the west side of the river the main village of the Sauks was
located, across the river from another village (the Portsmouth
village site) " which stood near where the court-house now stands,
near the ferry, in Portsmouth."

PortsmoiitJi Village Site. — William McCormick " states that,
across the river from the main village of the Sauk, there was
" another village, which stood near where the court-house now
stands, near the ferry, in Portsmouth."

West Bay City Mound.— Ovl August 28, 1890, MrW. R. McCor-
mick informed the writer that on the west side of Saginaw river,
near Peter Smith's mill, in the first ward of West Bay City, there
was a very high sacrificial mound of conical form.

Sagenong Village Site. — William McCormick,' referring to
Skull island, states that " just below this locality . . . lies
Sag-e-nong, upon a high bank on the west side of the river.
This is the Saginaw of the red man, and the only place known to
him by that name. The meaning of the word is the ' land of
Sauks.' The place known to the white men as Saginaw lies
12 miles or more up the river, and is called Ka-pay-shaw-wink."

Skull Island Graves. — William McCormick' relates that
" Skull Island, which is the next island above what is now Stone's
Island . . . [is] known as ' Skull Island,' from the number
of skulls found on it." He further relates ' that " about 12 miles
below Saginaw City is ' Skull Island,' so named by the Indians
in consideration that upon it exists an endless quantity of * dead
heads,' which were left here after a great fight, years long past,
between the Chippewas and Sauks, . . . christening . . .
about two acres of Bad Island." The approximate date is given : *
" 1520 — Massacre of the Sauks by the Otchipwes." The writer
has found no place named " Bad Island " or " Skull Island " on

' Hist. Sag. Co., p. 118. * Ibid., p. 118.

^ Ibid., p. 118. * Ibid., p. 120, ^ 2.

^ Ibid., p. 120, •[ 2. ' Ibid., p. 474.

512 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s,, 3, igoi

any map and suspects that the former term, at least, was used
descriptively in that instance only and was perpetuated by
typographic error in capitalization.

Syiiaconning Creek. — The " Map of Saginaw and Tuscola, with
part of Genesee, Lapeer, Huron & Midland Counties. Michi-
gan," ' gives the name Syuaconning to the creek given on the map
accompanying the History of Saginaw County as Syaaquanning
creek. The History (p. 289) also refers to it as " Squa-hawning,
or Last Battle river," and it states (p. 290) that " Squahaun-
ing creek (south branch) rises in the township of Kotchville, and
flowing northeasterly enters the Saginaw river about six miles
from the mouth."

Chcboyganinc Creek. — The History of Saginaw County (p. 289)
gives the name of this creek as "Che-boy-gun" and states (p.
290) that " Chcboy creek rises in Tuscola county, and flowing in
a northwesterly direction, through the townships of Blumfield,
Buena Vista and Zilwaukee, enters the Saginaw above Bay City."

' Published by D. A. Pettibone. Bridgeport Center, Michigan. Lylhographed
printed and mounted by J. H. Colton & Co. New York. Copyrighted 1858.

FL