Christopher Columbus and the New World of His Discovery
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD OF HIS DISCOVERY A NARRATIVE BY FILSON YOUNG Volume 3 THE NEW WORLD CHAPTER I THE ENCHANTED ISLANDS Columbus did not intend to remain long at San Salvador. His landfall
red, some portions having been almost converted into lime.
On and about this altar I found abundance of charcoal. At
the sides of the altar were fragments of human bones, some
of which had been charred. It was covered by a natural
growth of vegetable mold and sod, the thickness of which was
about 10 inches. Large trees had once grown in this
vegetable mold, but their stumps were so decayed I could not
tell with certainty; to what species they belonged. Another
large mound was opened which contained nothing.
The next account relates to the grave-mounds near Pensacola, Fla., and
was originally published by Dr. George M. Sternberg, surgeon United
States Army:[21]
Before visiting the mound I was informed that the Indians
were buried in it in an upright position, each one with a
clay pot on his head. This idea was based upon some
superficial explorations which had been made from time to
time by curiosity hunters. Their excavations had, indeed,
brought to light pots containing fragments of skulls, but
not buried in the position they imagined. Very extensive
explorations, made at different times by myself, have shown
that only fragments of skulls and of the long bones of the
body are to be found in the mound, and that these are
commonly associated with earthen pots, sometimes whole, but
more frequently broken fragments only. In some instances
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE NEW WORLD OF HIS DISCOVERY A NARRATIVE BY FILSON YOUNG Volume 3 THE NEW WORLD CHAPTER I THE ENCHANTED ISLANDS Columbus did not intend to remain long at San Salvador. His landfall