| Show IN A MOUND OF EARTH ballymoney BALLY MONEY MONZY ireland march 26 1896 noticing several everal items in regard reffard 10 mound builders and their to in your most moat valuable paper MB lime tim eago ago and thinking a few it from this land of the eba sha would be of interest to its if many road real ers ere I 1 will endeavor to lo describe BOOM om that are found on this side of we the ato at lant cantlo lo upon hearing of one oae be belac newly opened la in able local locality itys 00 06 wednesday iday a beautiful morn lagi I 1 boarded a train bound for a mall village some ome five miles trot bailey money where alexander pod aes and nd I 1 are laboring in I 1 the bo gospel the railroad I 1 went on is a line aulk ru ging to bally castle a 2 small waterlog watering place near the famous giant ca way a great resort for tourists in bumb a mor mer 0 on a arrivi arriving dc at the station latton and making inquiries I 1 found that I 1 had bad to walk some two miles to the maate or an wey bey are called here my walk was waa the town of Stran stra sod aud the beautiful demeans of mr W ford fora hutchinson who kindly gave we me the be privilege of 01 going through and investigating the mounds which W oo 00 hla his land upon arriving at my destination 31 found the mounds entirely united by tree iron and ana on ascending amending to the he WP toft I 1 discovered that it was waa flat 1104 and that dw some ome fresh areah dust duit had been thrown throw aft ft appears shag that mrs Mra lk had been having some agricultural work done and the workmen workman noticed a falling failing in of the boll excavating cava ting deeper to ascertain the cause they unearthed the entrance of what proved to be a remarkably extensive and well preserved ean house bouse this underground dwelling dw eiling la Is remarkable to la many ways way it is situated under the south rampart ot or an old earth forth about three hundred feet in diameter and about twenty feet high being do on the highest elevation in the neighborhood doi and affording a splendid view of the surrounding country count try there la is a deep toss tome on the east side bide being an almost perpendicular descent of eighty feet to the rush buan river which winds around its ite base the subterranean edifice to is entered by a flight of five well formed but narrow steps which lead from the original level of the interior of the fort to the floor of the vestibule of the cave dwelling from this the first chamber extends due south under the rampart for six feet by one foot six inches wide and tour four feet high at the ond end of this first chamber Is a door one foot four inches wide and about two feet high behind which the opening at once takes a right angle turn to the east aask running thirteen feet with fairly even dimensions to another and smaller door which leads to a chamber twenty mine alne lost feet long and one foot eight inches wide and averaging four toot feet nine inches high three feet from the door of shia bis chamber and on an the north side of it Is ie another and smaller door leading to a line floe chamber at right angles to it extending ten cling forty feet northward by two feet six inches wide and tour four feet ten inches high at theand of the great east chamber Is a small tunnel or two feet high and eighteen laches inches wide leading to the outside of the forts rampart this seemed to have been for or the double doable purpose of an escape tor for the occupants if hard pressed from the main and also for draining the underground dwelling which has a gradual fall to this point the walls are bulls built oi 01 rough boulder stones and the she root roof to Is composed of 0 flat stones spanning span from wall to wall which appeared to have been laid up in a very uncouth manner nei in two places there appeared to have been vents carried up rom from the telling ceiling the floor la Is earth throughout the only things found in the chain bers when opened were two bones sup posed tu to have belonged to a cow two pieces of iron ore also fragments of pottery and a piece of a for grinding corn the exact date of the building of these mounds cannot be learned but suffice to say it has boon been many centuries ago this object was for or a defense defence against any enem ene yso they are always built on the highest elevation near rivers affording a splendid view of the country surrounding them the supposition is that they were built by danes by carrying the loose earth up in their aprons thus building these passages anti and sacking the he bartu around them there are a great many of those these mounds or forts in the north of ire land but not all have subterranean passages in or it if they have these have not been opened yet vet After spending an hour or so there hen and getting gettine what Inform information sUon I 1 could I 1 returned to our field of labor a little town of inhabitants inhabitant which we have hare traveled and find the people very reticent in regard to religious loua matters and adhering very closely to their own As AB this to la a now new field of labor we have no special news at this writ ing DANIEL WHIPPLE |
