The mound builders; being an account of a remarkable people that once inhabited the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, together with an investigation into the archaeology of Butler County, O.

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THE

MOUND BUILDERS;

BEING AN ACCOUNT OP A REMAKKABLE PEOPLE THAT ONCE IN-
HABITED THE VALLEYS OF THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI,
TOGETHER WITH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE

ARCHAEOLOGY OF BUTLER COUNTY, 0.

By J. P. Maclean,

AiTTHOE OF "A MaSUAI. OF THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN " AND " MASTODON, MAM-
MOTH AND Man."

Illustrated with over One Hundred Figures.

CINCINNATI:

ROBEET CLARKE & CO.,

1887.

/^'

0^my^

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879 by

J. P. Maclean axo riciiaed hrown,

la tlie oliice of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

Within the last few years much interest has been
developed in American archaeology, especially in that
branch relating to the Mound Builders. The mystery
surrounding this lost people creates a fascination which is
greatly increased in the mind of the student of nature as
he lingers among the ruins which invite his attention
and rivet his eye. Standing upon one of the monuments
the lover of the mysterious will lose himself in medi-
tation, or else in imagination will behold a strange people
toiling under the heat of a burning sun, or perhaps see
them suffering from the effects of a winter's wind while
erecting structures devoted to such rites as are recorded
in the pages of history. There are others who behold
these remains and although taking no particular interest
in original investigation, yet desire to obtain such
information as may be known concerning them.

The mounds, even separated from their history, have an
interest in themselves. When one sees them he cannot
help but pay more than a passing notice. Hence it
might be presumed that public attention was early called
to the ancient earth-works of Ohio. In the year 1772
E,ev. David Jones first publicly noticed their existence.
Twelve years later Arthur Lee wrote concerning them.
The first general survey of the works was made by Caleb
Atwater, of Circleville, Ohio, in 1819, under the

4 PKEFACE.

auspices and at the expense of the Archseological Society
at Worcester, Mass. In 1848 the Smithsonian Insti-
tution published, under the title "Ancient Monuments of
the Mississippi Valley," the surveys made by E. G.
Squier and Dr. E. H. Davis, together with the plans
and notes furnished by others who had taken an interest
in the matter. This publication constituted the first
systematic work with descriptions and figures of the
numerous remains of the Mound Builders. From that
time to the present the institution has continued to
publish books and originnl papers relating to this
subject. This has created an impetus on the part of
original investigators, the consequence of which has been
the publication of many manuscripts at private expense.
In placing the present work before the public it is
admitted that, for the most part, it contains such infor-
mation as is already available; yet it is believed that favor
will be accorded it both on the part of the general
reader and the specialist. To the former it attempts to
present all the essential facts which have been gathered
without being burdened with elaborate speculations,
while to the latter, the chapter on the archaeology of
Butler County contributes something new to the study,
and, besides, making what might be termed a complete
report on a county which once M-as an important seat of
the Mound Builders. The design then, of this work,
may be said to be twofold : First, to give the required
information and to quicken the interest of the general
reader; and second, to assist the antiquarian in his
researches. However, it was another reason which
spurred the writer on and held him to the task : The
monuments of Butler County are fast becoming obliter-
ated, and in order to preserve their plans or dimensions

PEEFACB. 5

the work must not be delayed. Assisted by an able
corps of gentlemen the work of investigation was a
pleasant task. It was the endeavor to search out every
enclosure and locate every mound, and if any have
escaped observation, it was because the required infor-
mation could -not be obtained.

In the preparation of this work advantage has been
taken of all the important publications on the subject.
Except in a few cases, I have purposely abstained from
burdening the text with references, although in several
instances I have closely followed the descriptions as
given by others. All such places will be readily
detected by those who are sufficiently acquainted with
the literature of this subject.

In the classification of the implements the archaeologist
will object to assigning Fig. 31 among the chisels. This
was done against my own judgment and in deference to
certain parties who have won for themselves a reputation
in the field of original research. Evidently there has
been a confusion on this point. The chisel is distinctly
separated from the flesher, or barkjDceler or wedge and
the hatchet. Whoever has seen the true chisel will
never mistake one again. A very clear statement of
what a chisel is may be. found in "Archseological Col-
lection, No. 287/' page 13, published by the Smithsonian
Institution. It is a wedge-shaped implement of an
elongated form and of comparatively small size. The
figure referred to is evidently a barkpeeler or hatchet.
I have classed it in the list of cabinets under the head of
fleshers.

Most of the engravings were made especially for this
work. Some of them were taken from old designs, and
others from original plans.

6 PEEPACE.

Through the courtesy of Colonel Whittlesy and C. C.
Baldwin, respectively President and Secretary of the
Historical Society of Cleveland, a loan was tendered of
Figs. 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21.

Mr. E. Gest kindly furnished the cuts of the
Cincinnati Tablet given in Figs. 22 and 23.

Dr. John E. Sylvester, the discoverer of the Berlin
Tablet, generously placed at my disposal the engravings
of that relic.

The fact should not be concealed that the publication
of this volume is largely due to Mr. Richard Brown,
who volunteered to bear half of all the expenses incurred
in the undertaking. This will not be so surprising when
the fact is considered, that for some years he has taken
an active interest in all questions relating to the Mound
Builders. Alone and unassisted he carried on his
investigations in his native township of Ross.

J. P. MacLean.

Hamilton, O., Sept. 2, 1879.

All rights, privileges and interests I have heretofore
possessed in this work, are hereby transferred to iT. P.
MacLean, for a just consideration by him paid to me.

Richard Bkown.

Hamilton, 0., Jan. 24, 1887.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PEELIMINAKY OESBEVATIONS.

PA5E.

A lost race — Origin of the name — Ancient Monuments —
Where tbund — Description of the country — Distribution of
the worlis — Principal localities — General classes — En-
closures — Sites — River formations „ 13

CHAPTER II.

DEFENSIVE ENCLOSUKES.

The great basin — Action of water — General description — Natu-
ral stronghold — Chosen for purposes of defense — Fort
Ancient — General description of — Fortification near
Bourneville — General description of — Fortification near
Carlisle — Minute description of — Fort Hill, Highland
County — Fort near Piqua — Fort below Dayton — Other
fortifications — Remarks 19

CHAPTER III.

SACKED ENCLOSUEBS.

How characterized — Different forms — Newark works — De-
scription of— High Bank works near Chillicothe — Descrip-
tion of ^ Works near Hopeton — Other works — Graded
Tvays — Design of— Graded way near Piketon — Remarks —
Theories 31

CHAPTER IV.

MOUNDS.

Described— Localities — Classes— Temple mounds— Great mound
at Cahokia — Temples at Marietta — Mounds of Southern
States — Mound at Seltzertown — Temple in Georgia — Other
temples— Sacrificial mounds— Altar— Mound City— Crema-
tion — Sepulchral mounds — Contents — Grave Creek Mound
— Mound near Chillicothe — Stone mound near Newark —
Other methods of burial— Symbolical mounds— Great Ser-
pent of Adams County— Alligator mound— Big elephant

O CONTEIfTS.

effigy — Anomalous mounds — Where situated — Purposes of

— Great mound at Miamisburg — Stone heaps 41

CHAPTER V,

WORKS OP ART.

Contents of the mounds — Spear-heads — No real flint in the
"United States — Minerals— General classes of Spear-heads —
Arrow-heads — Ditferent forms of — Rimmers — Knives —
Axes — Divisions of — Hammer-stones — Chisels — Pestles —
Pottery — Pipes— Sculpture — Purity of— Gorgets or Breast-
plates — Use of— Tubes — Hoes and spades— Discoidal imple-
ments — Metals — Articles of bone — Clothing 61

CHAPTER VI.

MINING.

Copper — Galena — ^ Obsidian — Mica — Silver — Green-slate — Dis-
covery of mines — Copper mines — On the Ontonagon —
Minnesota Mine — Isle Royal Mine — Wide distribution —
Relics from — Mica mining — Mines of North Carolina —
Obsidian Mines — Other mines — Flint Ridge 74

CHAPTER VII.

ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES.

Intelligence — Geometrical knowledge — Comparison of earth-
works — Works at Portsmouth — Standard of measurement —
Works — How formed — Works at Alexandersville — Butler
County Works — Graded way at Piketon — Bridging —
Macadamized roads — Art of brick-making — Process of
manufacturing — Art of mining — Position of the Mound
Builders 82

CHAPTER VIII.

TABLETS.

Written language — Frauds — Grave Creek stone — Opinions of
School craff^Of Levy Bing— Of Schwab— Of Oppert— Au-
thenticity — Controversy — Objections — Letter from Colonel
Wharton — Objections considered — Story of Sir Walter
Raleigh — Cincinnati Tablet — Description by E. G. Squier —
Authenticity — Doubted — Examined by Robert Clarke —
Mississippi Tablet — Berlin Tablet — Other tablets „.. 90

CHAPTER IX.

FRAUDS.

Two classes of frauds — Canard — Moon Hoax — Runic inscriptions
— Vault in the Pahsades of the Hudson— Tumulus in Utah-
William Tell — Pocahontas — Sacrificial tablets — Wilmington
tablets — Questioned — Operations of David Wyrick— Newark
holy stone — Likeness of Moses — Ten Commandments —
Stone from Michigan — Axe from Butler county — Inscrip-
tions from Fremont — Rock inscriptions — Declaration of
Nott and Gliddon 114

CONTENTS. 9

CHAPTER X.
CIVILIZATION.

Growth — Agriculture — System — Maize — Tobacco — Potato-
Government— Priesthood— Subjection of the masses —
Rehgion— Sun worship— Serpent worship— Idolatry— Idol
ii-om Illinois— Idols in Tennessee— Amusement— Mihtary... 123

CHAPTER XI.

ANTIQUITY.

Evidences- Periodof the villagers— How told— Garden beds of
the Northwest— A probable race— Forest trees upon the
works — Opinions of President Harrison— Hillocks— En-
croachments madeby streams— Vegetable accumulations-
Condition of Mound Builder skeletons— Local position of
earth-works— Terraces— Facts established— Effigy of Masto-
don — Mastodon pipe — The question becomes more intelli-
gible — flow long were they here — Origin of the Mound
Builders 130

CHAPTER XII.

WHO WBEB THE MOUND BUILDERS AND WHAT BEOAME OF THEM?

An interesting question — Lost tribes of Israel — Different nations
— Works on Lake Erie — Mounds of Wisconsin — Of Georgia
— West of the Mississippi — Of Illinois— Crania — Skull from
Chilllcothe — Various opinions — Of Morton, Nott, Wilson,
Warren and Foster — Characteristics of American Crania —
Expulsion — Disease — Exodus to the South — What became
of them — Immigration— Most ancient Mexicans— Toltecs—
Origin of Mexican civilization 139

ARCHEOLOGY OF BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO.

I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

Where situated — General features — Geology of — Early arehseo-
logical surveys— Chosen by Mound Builders — Productive
wealth — Protection — Traces of Indian remains — Race of
pigmies 153

II. IMPLEMENTS.

Found everywhere — Description of arrow-heads — Spear-heads
Rimmers — Knives — Spades— Hatchets — Pendants — Gorgets
— Pipe — Shuttle — Wands — Remarkable mound — Tube —
Ornament 157

III. , UNION TOWNSHIP.

Where located — Ancient enclosure — Incomplete work — A lost

enclosure — Mounds 171

IV. LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.

Location — Mounds — System of signal stations 175

V. FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.

Boundaries — Want of enterprise — Enclosure on section eight —

10 CONTENTS.

Enclosure on section fifteen — Encroachment of the river —
Contents of the mound — Present condition of the walls —
Where classed — Sacred enclosure on section ten — Fortifica-
tion on section sixteen — Mounds 176

"VI. BOSS TOWKSHIP.

Description — Fortified hill — How strengthened — Fortification in
section thirteen — Double-walled enclosure — Sacrificial
mound— Change in the bed of the Miami — Sacred enclosure
in sections twenty-seven and thirty-ibur — A lost fortifica-
tion — Location and description of mounds — Series of
mounds — History — Ghosts — Discovery of ''fireheds" —
Where located 184

VII. MORGAN TOWNSHIP.

General description — Mounds — Stone circle 197

VIII. EEILY TOWNSHIP.

Where located — Indian Creek — Series of earth-works on section
twenty-two — Description of mound — Remarkable yield of
skeletons — Stone box — Indian graves — Indian trail 198

IX. OXFOED TOWNSHIP.

Bituation — Fortification in section thirty-six — Mounds 203

X. MILFOED TOWNSHIP.

Situation — Enclosure on sections three and ten — Present con-
dition—Mounds 207

XI. HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

Location and general features — Mounds 210

XII. ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP.

Situation — General features — Change in the bed of the Miami
River — Enclosure near Seven Mile — M ounds — Coin from —
Prospect point — Serpent-shaped ridge with mound — Indian
graves — Mastodon's tooth 211

XIII. WAYNE TOWNSHIP.

How bounded — Highest point of land in county — Enclosure in
section thirty — Jacksonburg enclosure — Curious appearance
of hillocks — A discovery — Plan of an earth-work established
— Engineering mounds — A mound composed of vaults —
Snively's Hill— Speculations regarding a temple mound 217

XrV. MADISON TOWNSHIP.

Location — Hill lands — Great mound — Computation — Other

mounds 224

XV. LEMON TOWNSHIP.

Location and mounds 226

XVI. CABINETS.

Collection made by James McBride — Interest taken — Geolog-
ical and Archaeological Society — Remarks — Table showing
contents of cabinets 227

List of important earth-works — Map, 230

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

^IG. PACE.

1. Great Mound at Miamisburg. (Frontispiece)

2. Fort Ancient 21

3. Plan of Newark Works 32

4. Graded Way, near Piketon 38

5. Works at Marietta 44

6. Cross section of an altar 47

7. Section of an altar mound 48

8. Great Mound at Grave Creek 51

9. Great Serpent, Adams County 56

10. Big Elephant Mound 58

11. Five forms of ajrrow-heads 63

12. Three forms of arrow-heads 63

13. Flint knife 64

14. Typical stone axe 65

15. Adze-shaped axe 65

16. Grooved hammer 66

17. Quartz pestle , 67

18. Four gorgets or gauges 70

19. Six gauges or ornaments 71

20. Ancient mining shaft 77

21. Grave Creek inscription 92

22. Cincinnati Tablet — obverse view 106

23. Cincinnati Tablet — reverse view 107

24. Berlin Tablet — obverse view Ill

25. Berlin Tablet — reverse view 112

26. Thirteen arrow-heads 138

27. Five spear-heads 159

28. Two rimmersand one arrow-head 160

29. Flint knife 161

30. Spade 161

31. Chisel 162

32. Hatchet 162

33. Three pendants 163

12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

34. Two gorgets.. 163

35. Gorget 164

36. Copper hatchet 164

87. Image of a hird 164

38. Pipe 165

39. Shuttle 166

40. Wand 166

41. Tube 166

42. Ornament 166

43. Badge of authority 167

44. Six badges of authority 168

45. Five badges of authority 170

46. Ancient Worlcs, Union township™ 171

47. Incomplete Circular Works, Union township 173

48. Incomplete Circular Works, Union township 174

49. Fortification, Fairfield township 177

50. Enclosure, Fairfield township 178

51. Sacred Enclosure, Fairfield township 180

52. Fortification, Fairfield township 182

53. Fortified Hill, Ross township 185

54. Double-walled enclosure, Ross township 188

55. Sacred Enclosure, Rosstownship ._. 190

56. Group of mounds, Ross township 194

57. Earth-works, Reily township 200

58. Fortification, Oxford township 204

59. Somerville Enclosure, Milford township 208

60. Seven Mile Enclosure, St. Clair township 212

61. Seven Mile Enclosure, Wayne township 218

62. Jacksonburg Works, Wayne township 219

63. Plan of Temple, Wayne township 222

64. Second plan of Temple, Wayne township 223

THE nSlOUN^D BUILDERS.

CHAPTER I.

PEELIMINAEY OBSEEVATIOITS.

Origin of the Name — Where Found — Description of the Coun-
try — Distribution of the Works — Principal Localities —
General Classes — Enclosures— Sites.

An ancient race, entirely distinct from tiie Indian,
possessing a certain degree of civilization, once in-
habited the central portion of the United States. They
have left no written history, and all that is known
concerning them is gathered from the monuments
consisting of mounds, enclosures, implements, etc.,
which they have left behind. These remains have been
carefully examined, and after long and patient investiga-
tions, the archseologist has arrived at certain definite
conclusions, and so apparently accurate are they that
we may safely say thnt we are very Avell acquainted
with this lost race. By what appellation they were
known during their existence is past finding out. They
have been called the Mound Builders on account of the

IC PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.

innumerable mounds which they erected, and which
remained until the advent of the white man. Their
works are traced through a great extent of country.
They are found in the western part of the State of New
York, on tlie east; thence westwardly along the
southern shoi-e of Lake Erie, through Michigan to
Nebraska, on the west, and as far as Isle Royal, and
the northern and southern shores of Lake Superior, on
the north. From this line they extend to the Gulf of
Mexico. They occur in great numbers in Ohio, Lidiana,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri,
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, and Florida. They are found in less numbers
in North and South Carolina, western parts of New
York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and Michigan, Iowa,
and a portion of the Mexican Territory.

By some it has been contended that the Mound
Builders did not penetrate into the State of New York,
and the remains there found belong to a later age and
another people. Others would have us believe that
they erected the mounds found in Oregon and other
districts or regions of the far West.

In choosing this vast region lying between the great
lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, and extending from the
Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains and consisting of a
great system of plains, the Mound Builders exercised
great foresight and wisdom. Along one of these plains,
inclining towards the east, flow all the streams from the
west that enter into the lower Mississippi. Of equal
extent is another plain descending from the north,
along which flow the tributaries of the Ohio, and even
the Mississippi itself, until it reaches the Missouri.
Still another plain descends from the Alleghanies, and
is drained by the Cumberland and the Tennessee with
their tributaries. Along the broad levels drained by
this vast river- system the pre-historic remains of man
abound. This whole country affords a perfect system
of navigation. The Alleghany rises on the borders of
Lake Erie at an elevation of nearly seven hundred feet
above the level of the lake and one thousand three hun-

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 16

dred feet above the sea. A boat may start from within
seven miles of Lake Eric, and almost in sight of
Buffalo, and float down the Connewango or Cassadaga
to the Alleghany, thence into the Ohio, and finally
into the Gulf of Mexico, the whole distance being
two thousand four hundred miles. Add to this the great
natural advantages and the f ct that this is pre-
eminently the garden spotof North America, with almost
innumerable other considerations, we may be able to
judge of the wisdom of the Mound Builders.

Distribution of the Works. — These works are very
irregularly distributed, being found principally along
the river valleys. They are only occasionally met with
in the hill or broken country, and when thus found are
always of small size.

Their number is very great ; in Ohio alone there are
not less than thirteen thousand, including both mounds
and enclosures. Within a radius of fifty miles from the
mouth of the Illinois River, in the State of Illinois,
thei'e are about five thousand mounds. All the mounds,
located in the territory occupied by the Mound Builders
do not belong to that ancient people, for many of them
have been constructed by the Indians, and doubtless
many in Ohio have been assigned to the epoch of the
former, when in reality they belong to the latter.

In the irregular distribution of the works, it is noticed
that in certain localities the remains are very numerous,
and from this fact it is easy to point out their j^rincipal
seats, or where the poj^ulation was dense. In Ohio this
is found to be in the vicinity of Marietta, Athens, Ports-
mouth, Chillicothe, Circleville, Newark, Springfield,
Alexanders villa, Middletown, Eaton, Oxford, Hamilton,
and Cincinnati. Smaller settlements are found through-
out the ditferent parts of the State.

General Classes. — The ancient remains, composed of
works of earth and stone, naturally divide themselves
into two general classes, viz.: Enclosures and Mounds;
and these again embrace a variety of works diverse in
form, and designed for diifercnt purposes. The first is
characterized by beiiig bounded by embankments, cir-

16 PEELIMINAEY OBSERVATIONS.

cumvallations, or walls, and include fortifications or
strongholds, sacred enclosures, and numerous miscella-
neous Avorks, mostly symmetrical in structure. Under
the second head we have the true mound build-
ings which constitute one general or single system
of Avorks, and include what has been specially desig-
nated, sacrificial, temple, sepulchral, symbolical and
ianoraalous.

Enclosures. — The enclosures, to the general observer,
form the most interesting class of these remains. They
are massive, sometimes of great dimensions, and required
great labor in their construction. Their number is
great, Ohio alone containing over one thousand five
hundred of them. .They are composed of clay, — some-
times of stone, — the walls having a height ranging from
three feet to thirty, and enclosing areas of from one acre
to four hundred. Enclosures of from one to fifty acres
are common; of two hundred acres not infrequent, and
of greater extent only occasionally met with.

The area enclosed is not always a standard for judg-
ing the amount of labor expended in the erection of
the work. "Fort Ancient," on the little Miami, in
Warren County, Ohio, has between four and five
miles of embankment, yet the entire amount of land
embraced within the walls is only a little over one
hundred acres.

A large proportion of the enclosures are regular in
outline, being constructed in the form of the square,
circle, parallelogram, ellipse, and polygon, — the first two
predominating. The regularly formed works occur on
the level river-terraces, and the irregular works, being
used as places of defense, are made to conform to the
nature of the brows of the hills upon which they are
situated. The square and circle frequently occur in
combination, and are either directly connected with each
other, or else by avenues enclosed by parallel walls.
Nearly all the embankments give evidence of having
been fully completed. A few remain which were left in
an unfinished state. The walls are usually accompanied
by a ditch either interior or exterior to the embankment.

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 17

From this ditch the earth was taken for the foun-
dation of the walls. Where the ditch does not occur,
pits, or excavations are usually found in the immediate
vicinity.

Sites. — In selecting the sites for these earth-works
the Mound Builders were influenced by the same
motives which governed their European successors.
The country is very attractive and the broad alluvial
terraces overlook the flowing rivers, and the capabilities
for development M'hich fascinated the eye of the white
man existed when it was made the resort of the numer-
ous population of by-gone times, and the features sought
for by the modern were equally of advantage to the
ancient.

Attention was called years ago to the fact that nearly
every town of importance in the valleys of the Oliio and
the Mississippi and their tributaries is founded on the
ruins of this ancient people. To the names of those
already mentioned, other sites might be added, such as
Norwalk, Dayton, Xenia, Frankfort, St. Louis, Chicago,
Milwaukee, and so on almost indefinitely.

The river-terraces or bottoms, upon which they occur,
were selected because the rivers are the great natural
highways, and affbrd the best means of communication
among a primitive people where settlements are widely
distributed; and not only because the rivers serve as the
easiest mode of transportation, but also are filled with
their many varieties of fish, and the valleys abound in
game, fruits and rank vegetation. These valleys afford-
ed every advantage which the mind could desire.

Where the alluvial terraces, or river bottoms, are
most extended, there the principal monuments will be
found. At the confluence of streams, where the valleys
are broadest, some of the most extensive works are
situated. The level bottom lands gave them a rich,
warm and quickening soil, easily tilled, and furnished
them the most desirable places for the erection of those
structures within which they performed their mystic
rites and ceremonies. They were afflicted by the inroads
of a hostile people, and in this hour of danger nature

18 PEELIJilNAEY OBSEEVATIONS.

had arranged for their assistance in giving them high
bluffs. Upon these bluffs, or hill-tops they erected their
works of defense, choosing such as were best calculated
for constructing strongholds that might overlook their
settlements.

CHAPTER II.

DEFENSIVE ENCLOSUEES.

The Action of Watei — General Description — Fort Ancient —
Fortification Near Bourneville — Near Carlisle — Remarks.

Through the lapse of countless ages the rivers have
been cutting their deep valleys and, in a measure, divid-
ing the vast sedimentary basin extending from the Alle-
ghanies to the Eocky Mountains. The gradual wasting
of the water has made shallow depressions in the alluvial
plain, writing its record in the broad terraces that mark
the deserted levels. These table-lands are indented by
numerous ravines, and the junctions of one stream with
another have formed tracts considerably elevated, and
almost entirely separated from the main terrace. From
the effect of the water we have valleys, gorges, ravines,
bluffs, headlands, and hills. The table-lands bordering
on the valleys have been so wasted by the action of
water as, in numberless cases, to present sides difficult
of ascent, and in not a few almost absolutely inaccessible.
These hills are sometimes surrounded on three sides by
deep ravines and the bluff on the valley, leaving simply
an isthmus, by which one may easily pass to the broad
terrace. Many of these bluff headlands and isolated
hills, with their broad and level summits, present every
requisite for a stronghold. Where such hills are in the
vicinity of an extensive valley, the military works may
be seen on the one best adapted for purposes of defense.
These defenses show great labor and skill ; the walls
extend a little below the brow of the hill and vary
in height and solidity, as the declivity is more or less
perpendicular. The side most exposed to attack and the

20 DEFEKSIVE EKCLOSUEES.

approaches are protected by trenches and overlapping
walls more or less numerous in different forts. The
trench is usually on the exterior of the wall. The gate-
ways in the walls, situated at the points most easy of
approach, are guarded by overlapping walls, or a series
of them, and in some cases accompanied by a mound
rising above the rest of the works, probably designed
for both observation and defense. Great engineering
skill is invariably displayed in protecting the points
most exposed to attack, and care has been exercised
against any flanking movement that might be made by
an enemy.

A large number of the defensive works occupy the
peninsulas formed by the bends of streams and consist
of a line of ditch and embankments or several lines
carried across the isthmus, and not infrequently
diagonally from the banks of one stream to the banks
of another. The attention of the reader will here be
called to those of the defensive works.

Fort Ancient. — No work on the Mound Builders would
be complete without a description of Fort Ancient, the
most celebrated, and the one most generally known of all
the fortifications of this people. It is situated on the
east bank of the Little Miami River, in Warren County,
Ohio, and about thirty-three miles northeast of Cincinnati.
It has been frequently surveyed, and much lias been
written concerning it, so that, in this place, it will not
be necessary to give an extended notice of it. Reference
to the accompanying engraving will assist the reader in
forming a conception of the structure.

The terrace, upon which the fort is located, is very
difficult of access from the west. The road leading from
Lebanon to Chillicothe passes through it on the north,
and its descent into the valley is steep and winding.
A few years ago the enclosure for the most part was
covered with a primitive forest, with a superabundant
undergrowth consisting chiefly of blackberry bushes.

Note.— The engraving of Fort Ancient is reduced from Squire
and Davis' "Ancient Monuments."

Fig. 2. — FoET Ancient.

22 DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES.

It has already been stated there arc about five miles
of wall enclosing an area of a little more than one hun-
dred acres. The embankment is composed of a tough,
diluvial clay, ranging from five feet to twenty in height,
and averaging between nine and ten feet, and contains
six hundred and twenty-eight thousand eight hundred
cubic yards of excavation.

The hill upon which the work is located is a level
plain, divided into two parts' by a peninsula, its summit
being two hundred and thirty feet above the level of the
Little Miami. The position is a strong one. On the
west, towards the little Miami, is a precipitous bank of
two hundred feet. Two ravines originate near each
other, on the east side and, diverging, sweep around the
hill and enter the rivei', the one above and the other
below the Avork. On the very verge of the ravines the
embankment is raised, and winds around the spurs and
re-enters to pass the heads of gullies, and in several
places is carried down into ravines from fifty to one
hundred feet deep. Where the work is most exposed to
an enemy it is of the greatest solidity and strength. At
the isthmus the walls are twenty feet high. Where the
Chillicothe road enters from the west, the wall is
fourteen feet high by sixty feet base. The south division
is naturally impregnable to any assault that could be
made by a primitive people. In order to protect them-
selves should the north division be carried, two crescent
walls have been thrown across the isthmus, with the
convex side towards the north. A little south of these
are two mounds, situated at the narrowest part of the
isthmus. On the steep slope of the southern portion of
the hill where it approaches nearest the river, as a
fartlaer precuution have been constructed three parallel
terraces, which command a fine view of the valley .in
both directions. Some, however, have regarded these
embankments as land-slides.

There are over seventy gateways in the embankment,
having a width of from ten to fifteen feet. These could
not have all been for places of ingress and egress. I
noticed, during a visit to the place in the summer of

DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES. 23

1866, that some of them faced the precipitous ravines,
with made earth thrown out. These appeared to be
intended for outposts for sharpshooters. By some they
are regarded to have been places for block-houses or
bastions composed of timber. The walls are not
accompanied by a ditch, but within the work there are
not less than twenty-four reservoirs, which, in con-
nection with the springs, would supply sufficient water
for any number which might there be besieged by an
invader.

At numerous points are found large quantities of
water-worn stone which, after an incredible amount of
labor, have been carried from the river below. Near
the exterior of the eastern wall of the north division are
two large mounds from which start off two parallel walls
that continue for a distance of thirteen hundred and
fifty feet, when they suddenly come together, enclosing
another mound at the most eastern extremity. These
walls are now, owing to the plow, almost entirely
obliterated. They are shown in the supplementary plan.
Mr. Isaac Peacock, for many years county surveyor
of Warren County, while making a survey of this fort,
discovered a cave in the side of the hill. This was duly
noted in his field notes at the time, but in searching for
these notes, in order to place them in the hands of the
author, they were nowhere to be found

In order to appreciate tliis, the most interesting
remains of antiquity which this country affords, and to
gain a fair understanding of it, it is necessary to see and
examine it in person.

Fortification Near JSourneville. — In respect to the
magnitude of the area inclosed, the largest fortification
in the country is that near Bourneville, twelve miles
west of Chillicothe. The hill upon which it is situated
is about four hundred feet high, and remarkable for the
general abruptness of its sides. It projects into the
broad valley of Paint Creek — being washed on two
sides by small creeks. Its summit is a broad and fertile
plain with depressions, some of which contain water
during the entire year, and one covering about two acres.
3

24 DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES.

The fortifacation consists of a stone wall, two miles and a
quarter in length, and encloses an area of about one
hundred and forty acres. The structure does not now
present the features of a true wall, but has the appearance
of having fallen outwards. There are indications along
certain parts of the line that it was regularly faced on
the exterior.

The wall is carried round the hill a little below the
brow, save where it rises to cut off the narrow spurs and
to separate the hill from the land beyond. Upon the
western face of the hill, the wall covers a space varying
from thirty to fifty feet in width, and resembles the
protection walls along the embankments of railroads
where they are exposed to the action of large streams.
Along the eastern face of the hill the wall is heavier,
with a height of four feet and a base of fifteen or twenty
feet. On this side the hill's declivity is less abrupt.
The isthmus, which is seven hundred feet wide and the
easiest point of access, has the heaviest wall. On this
isthmus the amount of stone was so great that after
two farmers had removed enough to form a line fence
between their lands, their removal is hardly perceptible.
The wall is continuous save at the gateways, and on one
point of the hill where it is so precipitous as to be
inaccessible. The work contains five gateways, three of
them being on the isthmus. At the gateways the amount
of stone is four times as great as at any other point, and
constitutes broad mound-shaped heaps. Originally there
was still another gateway, but for some reason only
known to themselves, they saw fit to close it up. The
mound-shaped heaps at the gateways exhibit the marks
of intense heat, Avhich is also discernible on certain
other points of the wall. Within the enclosure are two
stone mounds burned throughout. These are located
near the line of the wall commanding the broadest extent
of country. These burnt stones prove that powerful
fires have there been maintained for long periods, and un-
doubtedly used as signals of alarm. Most of the wall is
covered with gigantic forest trees twisting their roots
among the stones, and assisting to dislodge them from

DEPEiiSIVE EKCLOSUKES. 25

the position in which they were placed by the builders.
This wall may have originally been regularly laid up.
That it is now completely in ruins is not singular when
the great lapse of time is taken into consideration, and
the fact that it is situated upon a yielding and
disintegrating declivity, and that successive forest trees,
in their growth and decay, have done much to assist in
its demolition. The wall was, probably, on an average,
eight feet high with equal base. A fort of this descrip-
tion, to a primitive people, must have been impregnable.
The fortification overlooks a number of extensive
groups of ancient .works, and must have been to the
people of the valley what the block-houses and forts
were to the first white settlers of this country.

Fortification Near Carlisle. — Among the most impor-
tant works of the defensive order is that situated in both
Montgomery and Warren Counties, about two miles
west of Carlisle Station, Ohio. As public attention has
not been called to it, a somewhat minute discription will
here be given. My attention was called to it in the
summer of 1876 and on the 31st of August of that year
I made a hasty visit to it. An incomplete survey of it
was made September 5th, 1875, by Messrs. S. H. Bink-
ley and C. E. Blossom, both of whom are very much
interested in American antiquities. To this survey I
made observations of my own, and certain measurements
which may not be absolutely accurate.

This work is situated on the summit of a hill a few
rods west of Big Twin. The hill is bounded on the
north and south by deep ravines; on the east by a pre-
cipitous bluff, with a declivity varying from one hundred
and twenty -five to two hundred feet. On the east of
this bluff is an alluvial terrace leading to the Big Twin.
This terrace is divided into two parts, an upper and
lower, formed in the direction of the stream. On the
west the hill is connected with the level lands by a
broad jieninsula. The wall is not accompanied by a
ditch, and is situated on the brow of the hill, except on
the northern side, where it occurs a little below. The
wall, for the most part, is made of surface material,

26 DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES.

although limestone is found in the southwestern gate.
On the west, where the enclosure is most exposed, are
discovered three walls. The entire length of the wall,
on the direct line of the middle wall, is three thousand six
hundred and seventy-six feet, and encloses an area of
from twelve to fifteen acres. The length of the wall on the
Twin bluff is eleven hundred and ten feet. The interior
is cultivated, and when I visited it was planted in corn,
which made it very unfavorable for practical observa-
tion. A part of the wall is under cultivation, but the
greater portion is covered with a thick undergrowth of
briars, which makes it almost impossible to pass upon it.
In some places the forest trees are still growing upon
it. Within the enclosure were originally two stone
mounds and one stone circle. The circle was near the
center of the enclosed area. The proprietor informed
me that the circle was twenty feet in diameter and three
feet in height when he obtained possession of the land.
Some of the oldest settlers remember it to have once
been not less than eight feet high. The amount of stone
in the two mounds and circle was so great as to be of
sufficient importance to the white man that in order to
obtain it a roadway was cut from the brow of the preci-
pice down to the valley below. Hundreds of wagon
loads were removed and used in building dwelling
houses, barns, wells, etc. Depressions now mark the
spots where the mounds once existed, and only broken
limestone tells where the circle once stood.

Of the walls to the west the exterior one is the
heaviest, and is composed of clay. It is removed to
quite a distance from the middle wall and encloses con-
siderable more territory. The gateway is in an orchard,
but the greater portion in a meadow. The plow is fast
demolishing all these walls on the peninsula, though
they are still raised above the surface from two to four
feet. Where the plow has not touched the wall the base
is much narrower.

On the northeast corner of the work is a graded way
of eight hundred and four feet leading to the bank of
Twin. At three hundred and twenty-four feet the

DEFENSIVE EJS'CLOSUEES. 27

graded way reaches the upper terrace, or the bottom of
the hill. Here we miss fifty-seven feet of the embank-
ment, owing to its having been cut away by the
encroachment of the stream in the north ravine. From
the wash I distinctly traced the embankment two hundred
and ninety-seven feet, or to within one hundred and
twenty-six feet of the bank of Twin. The remaining
distance is very indistinct, owing to its having been
almost entirely obliterated by the plow. At the point
where the embankment approaches Twin, the bank of
the latter is perpendicular, having a declivity of thirty-
one feet. The graded way follows the bank of the
stream in the ravine until it reaches within one hundred
and forty feet of Twin, where it diverges, and forms a
straight line. In taking the grade or fall of this graded
way as it descends from the fort or the bluff, I found it
to be where it is steepest one foot in two and one-half;
at another point, one foot in three and one-half, and near
the foot of the hill, one in five. Where this way reaches
the wall of the enclosure, there is a wash through which
the water passes during rains. This wash was originally,
I suppose, a narrow gateway used for the purpose of
ingress and egress. Why this graded way was con-
structed I can only conjecture. It is evident that on the
bluff it was for the purpose of making the ascent more
easy, and in this work nature assisted them by throwing
out a partial embankment. The embankment along the
terrace, however, I can account for only on the suppo-
sition that when the Mound Builders occupied this
country, the terrace was a swamp. Its direction from
Twin indicates that it was a passage way for those
coming from or living on the east side of Big Twin
Creek.

On the southeast corner of the fort is another way
leading to the second or lower river-terrace. This way
is so remarkable that those who have seen it have sup-
posed it to be artificial. Upon examining it I was at
once led to the conclusion that it had been formed by
the action of water, and owing to a peculiar depression
in it, near the wall of the fort, I have no hesitancy in

28 DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES.

saying that this way is so perfect that the Mound
Builders never sought to improve it. The depression
was undoubtedly caused by water pouring over it, or
upon it, when it first began to cut these furrows in the
hills that we see everywhere.

Big Twin once swept along the foot of the bluff, and
at the southern extremity of the hill made an angle, and
flowed easterly for a short distance. "When this was the
course of the creek, the stream in the southern ravine
was cutting its way deeper and deeper, and seeking to
enter Twin at a point farther below. It succeeded in
flowing into the creek a little beloAV the bluff, thus leav-
ing this very narrow neck of land with its precipitous
sides. I found the entire length of this way, from the
narrow gateway in the wall to the point where it reaches
the terrace, to be four hundred and thirteen feet.
Forty-nine feet from the gateway, a spur leads from the
the way to the right. The upper portion of the way is
so narrow that only one person can walk upon its crown,
although five may go abreast on its rounded surface.
As it approaches the river-terrace it gradually becomes
broader and steeper. Forest trees of large growth are
seen growing upon both of these ways. On the former,
near the waste, I saw a red oak directly upon the center
or middle of the wall, which was not less than four feet
in diameter.

This ancient fortification overlooks the fertile valley
lying between the Twin and the Great Miami. Some
seven miles distant, on the northeast, is the great mound
at Miamisburg, M'hile six miles to the east, and not far
from Springboro, is another mound. At Franklin is the
remains of a stone dam, discovered in excavating for the
hydraulic, in the alluvial deposit, and belonging to the
epoch of the Mound Builders.

Taking it all in all, I consider this fortification to be
one of the most remarkable of the works of the Mound
Builders.

As relics of the fort, I brought away two stone axes,
both of green stone. I have never seen any figured
similar to one of them. It tapers to an edge in both

DEFENSIVE ENCLOSUEES. 29

directions, has the usual crease for fastening on the
handle, and is six inches long, five and one-half wide,
and weighs four pounds. The crease in the other it,
continued only on three sides, the back of the axe being
left flat, so that, when lashed to the handle, it could be
tightened by wedging. It is five and one-half inches
long, three wide, and weighs thi'ee pounds.

Among the other fortifications may be mentioned the
following : Fort Hill, in Highland County, twelve miles
from Hillsboro, is situated on the summit of a hill five
hundred feet above Brush Creek. The wall is composed
of mingled earth and stone, and is over a mile and one-
half in length, varying from six to ten feet in height,
ivith an average base of from thirty-five to forty feet.
It is accompanied by a ditch, and encloses an area of
forty-eight acres.

On the west bank of the Great Miami, two and
one-half miles above Piqua, is a work composed of earth
intermixed with large quantities of stone, enclosing an
oval-shaped area of eighteen acres.

Three miles below Dayton, on the east side of the
Great Miami, on a hill one hundred and sixty feet high,
is a fort enclosing twenty-four acres. The gateway on
the south is covered upon the interior by a ditch twenty
feet wide and seven hundred feet long. On the northern
line of the embankment is a small mound, from the top
of which a full view of the country for a long distance
up and down the river may be obtained.

Other works might be particularly noticed, which are
given in the list of the Earth Works of Ohio at the close
of the volume. Among the fortifications occurring in
other States, the most extensively known are the follow-
ing : Near Lexington, at the mouth of Flat Run, Bour-
bon County, and the one on the left bank of Olentangy
Creek, four and one-half miles north of Worthington,
in Fayette County, Kentucky, and in Franklin County,
Tennessee.

Remarks. — The descriptions and examples thus given
will serve to form some conception of the magnitude of
these structures. It is not to be presumed that the

30 DEFENSIVE ENCLOSURES.

modern art of constructing works of defense was known
to them. Works of wood, used for defense, may have
accompanied these walls. Some have supposed that
palisades were erected upon them, but during the ages
have crumbled away. Indeed, such appears to have
been the case from the general feature of these structures.
The gateways were undoubtedly barricaded with timbers.
They certainly were not left open to the fire and assault
of an enemy. It is natural to infer that the stone heaps,
found at some of the gateways were used to barricade
the entrance during an invasion. But these stone heaps
do not appear at all the gateways, in fact but at few of
them, and hence we are forced to believe that timber
was generally employed. It is difficult to tell the orig-
inal heights of any of the walls composed of clay.
During the great lapse of time, which they have under-
gone, the changes in the weather, the rains, the freezings
and thawings have washed them gradually down until
we meet with only the remnants. If they were built of
sun-dried brick, then they probably ranged from fifteen
to thirty feet in height, and possibly more. These
works were probably guarded at all times, and the
mounds within tliem used as alarm posts, and the fire aj)-
pearing upon them was to give warning to the people in
the valley that the enemy Avas near at hand. If I am
capable of judging, I would say that some of the forts
have been taken by assault. I noticed that this is the
case with the one I have been so particular to describe in
this chapter. I noticed the gateway at the natural
graded way was partially closed; that it was filled almost
to the height of the wall ; that here we discover mingled
clay and limestone, having the appearance of being
hastily thrown together. That the work could be as-
saulted from this point the general features indicate.
That it was assaulted I do not doubt. That there were
serious invasions, and that great conflicts occurred, the
number and formidable appearance of these works
amply testify.

CHAPTER TIL

SACEED ENCLOSURES.

Cliaraetcr — Different Forms — Kewarh Worhs — High Banle
Worhs — Graded Ways — Work Near Pikeion — Remarks.

The form and location of a very large number of
earthworks render it evident that they Avere not erected
for military purposes. These have been called Sacred
Enclosures. In the careful examination of the works of
defense it is discovered that they are adapted in every
case to the natural features of well chosen hills, and
their avenues guarded with consummate skill. On the
other hand the Sacred Enclosures are situated on the
level river bottoms, and seldom Occur upon the table-
lands, or where the surface is broken. Some of the
reasons for ascribing a portion of the enclosures to a
religious or superstitious origin are thus given: The
small dimensions of most of the circles; the occurrence
of the ditch interior to the embankment; the occurrence
of altars within the enclosures, and the fact that many of
the enclosures are completely commanded by adjacent
heights. The works are generally regular in their
structure, and principally found in groujDS. The circular
works are generally small, having nearly a uniform
diameter of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred
feet, and the larger ones reaching more than a mile in
circumference. They are accompanied by a gateway
usually facing toward the east. In the vicinity of largq
works, small circles varying from thirty to fifty feet in
diameter, and consisting of a light embankment with no
gateway, are numerous. The walls are, for the most
part, comparatively slight, ranging from three to seven

32 SACKED ENCLOSURES.

feet, though at times imposing and reaching a height of
not less than thirty feet. Tlie Avails are composed of
surface material and clay. Many of these works are
accompanied by parallel walls, of slight embankments,
sometimes reaching a length of eight hundred feet. The
square, circle, octagon, ellipse, and parallel walls are
sometimes found in combination.

Newark Works. — The most elaborate and complicated
of all the works of the Mound Builders occur at the junc-
tion of the South and Raccoon forks of Licking Eiver, near
Newark. They are situated upon a plain elevated from
thirty to fifty feet above the bottom land bordering on
the stream. They consist of an extensive series of
square, circular, and polygonal enclosures, with mounds,
ditches, and connecting avenues, extending over about
four square miles. This wonderful series of works have
not continued to remain as they Avere when first dis-
covered. Some of the minor structures have been
nearly obliterated, and others have perhaps undergone
considerable change. Fortunately very accurate surveys
have been made and minute descriptions given, so that
by the aid of the plans something may be known of
these gigantic works. In 1836 Col. Charles Whittlesey
made a very accurate survey ; and since then additions
have been made so that it may now be said that we have
the works complete. Our engraving is drawn from the
plan as given in Wilson's "Pre-Historic Man," Avhich
may be said to contain all that has been discovered.

By the aid of the accompanying plan (Fig. 3,) the
reader's attention may be called to the most interesting
features, although only a general discription will be
attempted. Beginning at the most Avestern point we
first encounter a true circle twenty-eight hundred and
eighty feet in circumference, and six feet in height, with
no ditch. On the southAvestern part of this wall is a
feature never before noticed. It seems to indicate that
the builders commenced to carry out parallel lines from
this point, but after having reached one hundred feet
abandoned the idea and closed the opening by erecting a
mound one hundred and seventy feet long and fourteen

y. T-.r^af^A/TAK ,

34 SACKED ENCLOSTTEES.

feet high. This mound overlooks the Avhole series of
these works, and has received the name of the "Observa-
tory." At the northeastern part, or directly opposite
the Observatory is the gateway leading into an' avenue
three hundred feet long and sixty broad, the walls of
which do not exceed four feet in height. This avenue
terminates in one of the eight gateways of an octagon
enclosing upwards of fifty acres. The gateways of the
octagon are at the angles of the wall, and each covered
upon by a mound five feet high by eighty to one hun-
dred feet base, and placed sixty feet interior to the wall.

From the octagon there extend three lines of parallel
walls. The line extending toward the south has been
traced a distanceof about two miles. The others extend
in an easterly direction, and are a mile in length. The
walls composing these lines are twenty feet apart. The
mpst northern line terminates by being carried down the
foot of the terrace, — the bank being inwardly excavated
upwards of one hundred and fifty feet, and the earth
thus removed appropriated to form an elevated way over
the swampy ground immediately at the foot of the
terrace.

The middle line of parallel walls terminates in a
square, enclosing an area of twenty acres, with seven
mounds symmetrically disposed within the walls. On
the southwest of this wall is a gateway leading into a
wide avenue of dissimilar parts and constructed appar-
ently without relation to each other. Passing along this
avenue, to a distance of about nineteen hundred and fifty
feet, we come to the gateway of an elliptical work, whose
diameters are respectively twelve hundred and fifty and
eleven hundred and fifty feet. The embankment is
about twelve feet in perpendicular height by fifty base,
and has an interior ditcli seven feet deep by thirty wide.
At the gateway the embankment is sixteen feet high,
with a ditch thirteen feet deep, giving an absolute height,
from the interior, of twenty-nine feet. The gateway is
eighty feet wide between the ditches, and as the ends of
the wall curve outward one hundred feet, it is of that
length also.

SACRED ENCLOSURES. 35

In the center of the enclosure is a remarkable struct-
ure in the form of a bird with expanded wings. The
length of the body is one hundred and fifty-five feet ;
width sixty-tliree feet; height seven feet. Length of
each wing one hundred and ten feet; width, in center,
forty-five feet; same next the body, forty feet; height
five feet. From the tip of one wing to that of the other,
in a direct line, two hundi-ed feet. The head points
directly towards the gateway of the enclosure. Upon
opening this effigy it was found to contain an altar.
Immediately in the rear of the effigy and one hundred
feet distant is a semi-circular embankment two hundred
feet in length, not represented in the engraving.

Passing back to the square, we again have it con-
nected with an elliptical work, larger than the rest of
the works, and is situated on the northeast. The dimen-
sions are not given in the surveys in my possession.
There are other parallel walls in the plan and not less
tlian twenty small circles of eighty feet diameter, accom-
panied by the ditch, the gateway in nearly every case
opening towards the east. There are eleven circles
without the gateways, and five other circles of larger
dimensions, three of which are two hundred feet in
diameter, and interior to the ditch have still another
embankment.

The material for the construction of these walls was
taken from the immediate vicinity, the excavated places
remaining, and usually called "wells." A trench was
cut through the "Observatory," when it was discovered
that this part was constructed entirely of clay. From
this it has been concluded that originally it was built of
sun-dried bricks, but during the lapse of ages, the ex-
ternal or exposed surfaces have crumbled away. It may
be that all the larger works of this series together with
the heavier walls were either composed of or else faced
with sun-dried bricks.

The large pond no longer exists, having been drained
in order to reclaim the land. In the circle containing
the bird the fair grounds are now located.

No one has ever supposed that these works were

36 SACRED ENCLOSURES.

designed for a military purpose. Every feature would
disprove it. Fortifications, however, do occur within
four or five miles ; also a gigantic effigy supposed to
represent an alligator, not far from Granville.

High Bank Worhs. — Five miles below Chillicothe and
on the right bank of the Scioto, the enclosures desig-
nated "High Bank "Works" occur. At this point the
river has cut its way up to the third terrace, which in con-
sequence presents a bold bank rising not less than seven-
ty-five feet above the water. This terrace spreads out
into a beautiful level plain. The principal works located
upon this terrace consist of an octagon and a circle, the
former enclosing eighteen and the latter twenty acres.
The octagon is not regular, although its sides are equal,
and its alternate angles coincident. These two works
are connected by a gateway. The wall of the circle is
from four to five feet in height, and the walls of the
octagon about eleven by fifty feet base. The octagon
contains seven gateways, each covered upon by a mound.
It appears that originally there was still another, but
afterwards closed, the accompanying mound still remain-
ing. Almost contiguous to the octagon are two smaller
circles, one two hundred and fifty feet diameter and the
other three hundred. A half mile to the south, and con-
nected with these Avorks by lines of embankment, is a
small group of works partially destroyed by the river.
Besides these, not less than nine circles of fifty feet
diameter are also found near the works.

Other Worha. — The singular group of Avorks at Hope-
ton, same county, is similar to the one just described.
Other interesting works occur in the vicinity of Chilli-
cothe. In Liberty township, same county, is a singular
work consisting of two perfect circles, a square, and one
semi-circle, all in combination. The larger circle is
seventeen hundred and twenty feet diameter, and the
smaller eight hundred, and the square work measures
one thousand and eighty feet upon each side. The walls
are interrupted at the corners and the middle of each
side by gateways thirty feet wide. The gateways in the
middle of each side are covered upon by mounds — the

SACRED ENCLOSURES. 37

corners left exposed. The walls of the entire work are
nowhere more than four feet altitude.

Numerous other works of more or less interest occur
in Eoss County. Also in Athens, Pike, Washington,
Scioto, Franklin, Fairfield, Greene, Montgomery, Butler
and Clermont Connties.

Graded Ways. — Accompanying some of the enclosures
is another class which has been denominated Graded
Ways or Avenues, the purposes of which are not clear.
They sometimes ascend from one terrace to another, and
occasionally descend towards the banks of rivers. One
occurs at Marietta (referred to on page 45), another at
Piqua, another near Richmondale, and the most remark-
able one near Piketon, Pike County. An illustration of
the latter named is given in Fig. 4.

It consists of a graded ascent from the second to the
third terrace, the level of the latter being seventeen feet
above the former. The way is one thousand and eighty
feet long, by two hundred and fifteen feet at the lower,
and two hundred and three feet at the upper extremity.
The earth is thrown outward on either hand — the em-
bankments on the outer sides varying from five to eleven
feet in height. At the lower extremity of grade the
walls upon the interior are twenty-two feet in f)erpen-
dicular height. Upon the third terrace the eastern line
of embankment is extended two thousand five hun-
dred and eighty feet, terminating near a group of mounds,
one of which is thirty feet high. Fifteen hundred feet
from the grade another wall starts off from the main line
at right angles to a distance of two hundred and twelve
feet, when it assumes a parallel course to the principal
line, and continues for four hundred and twenty feet, and
then curves inwardly two hundred and forty feet, and
terminates near a group of mounds.

It is impossible to tell the use of this work. On first
view it would appear to have been constructed to facili-
tate the ascent from the second to the third terrace. But
the manifest connection of the Graded Way with the
mounds unsettles such a conclusion. A probable solu-

SACRED ENCLOSURES. 39

tion will be pointed out when we come to consider the
engineering skill of the lost race.

Remarks. — In giving the foregoing examples of these
ancient structures, the aim has simply been to give the
reader a fair conception of the magnitude of these won-
derful and stupendous works. A detailed list and de-
scription should be accompanied by plans, for without
the drawings the particulars must of necessity be vague.

The structures coming under the head of Sacred En-
closures are supposed by archteologists to be places de-
voted for purposes of worship and the homes of the
priesthood. The diameters of some of the enclosures
are so great that they could not have served as the walls
of temples. Within these places, if we are to judge by
the manners and customs of the ancient Mexicans and
Peruvians, were erected the shrines of their gods, and
the altars of this ancient people. Within the larger
circles may have been their sacred groves, and the temples
made of wood. The smaller cii'cles may have been de-
signed for the priesthood — the I'esidence of the priest —
situated in such an enclosure as was most compatible
with his 23osition in the priesthood. The parallel walls
were possibly intended for protection during the mysteri-
ous marches from one entdosure to another. Possibly
some of these structures were designed for purposes of
sport among the athletic, or else council-houses for pur-
poses of legislation. This idea, however, must neces-
sarily be treated when their manners and customs are
reviewed.

If we assign any or all these structures to religious
purposes, there is nothing singular in the fact that these
great walls were constructed, for it has been the custom
among various heathen nations to protect their sacred
places by walls, in oi'der to preserve them from
desecration by animals, or intrusion by the irreverent.
Even among the ancient Hebrews sacred places were
sometimes enclosed to prevent their profanation. "And
Moses said unto the Lord, the people cannot come up to
Mount Sinai : for thou chargedst us, saying, 'set bounds
about the Mount, and sanctify it,' " (Ex. xix. 23.) We
4

40 SACKED ENCLOSUEES.

are also informed that the Tabernacle had its outer en-
closure. It was supported by pillars of brass, seven
and one-half feet in height, the whole being enclosed by
canvas screens, and only broken on the eastern side by
the entrance. A description of the Tabernacle is given
in Exodus, xxvi., xxvii., and xxxvii. chapters. As
Solomon's Temple was the counterpart of the Tabernacle,
except double it in dimensions, we have here also a
protection.

It is true but few of these sacred enclosures contain
temple mounds, but it does not follow that because ele-
vated places were made for the temples, consequently all
temples must be situated on mounds especially erected
for that purpose. Undoubtedly there were many tem-
ples which were built upon the level surface of the
ground. The sacred enclosures occur in various places
where there are no temple mounds in that vicinity or
region. These places are well marked as having been
densely populated. The people were not without their
priesthood and their place of worship. Suitable struct-
ures were undoubtedly erected for these people. Where
the temple mounds occur were probably the chief places
of worship, the same as the temple at Jerusalem was the
chief place for the Jewish people.

The altars found within the enclosures, and presenting
positive evidence of having been used for sacrifice, and
thus proving, at least, that some were sacred, will be
spoken of in their proper place.

CHAPTER IV.

MOUNDS.

Described — Temple — Cahohia — Marietta — Smithern States—
Seltzertown — Georgia Temple — Other Localities— Sacrificial
■ — Mound City — Sepulchral — Grave Creeh — ChilKcothe —
Stone .Mound Near Newark — Methods of Burial — Sym-
holical — Great Serpent — Alligator — Big Elephant — Anoma-
lous — Observation — Miamisburg — Stone Heaps.

The mounds proper form an interesting feature of
these ancient remains ; they have been carefully studied
and are undoubtedly of as much importance to the
archaeologist as the enclosures. Among the people
generally, who live within the vicinity of the earth-
works, the mounds are better known than the enclosures.
On inquiring for the latter great difficulty is often
experienced in finding it, while almost any one could
readily point out the mound.

As has been already noticed, the mounds in Ohio are
very numerous. They principally occur near large
streams, and are found in great numbers along the two
Miamis, Scioto, Kanawha, White, Wabash, Kentucky,
Cumberland, Tennessee, and other tributaries of the
Ohio arfd Mississippi Rivers. They are of all dimen-
sions, varying from a few feet in height and a few yards
in diameter- to ninety feet in height and covering
several acres at the base. The usual dimensions range
from six to thirty feet in perpendicular height by forty
to one hundred feet in diameter at the base. Some of
the mounds are so great that it would require the labor
of a thousand men, for months, with their best or latest
improved implements, to erect. They are mostly

42 MOU^'DS.

composed of earth, though stone mounds are met with
not infrequently. Sometimes they are composed en-
tirely of clay, while the soil all around them, and for some
distance, is graved or loam. The mounds occur mostly
within or near enclosures; sometimes in groups, and
often detached and isolated. They are found in con-
siderable numbers on the tops of hills, and are frequently
met with on the most elevated and commanding
positions. From the shape, size, and esijecially the
contents found within some of the mounds, it is shown
that they were erected for different purposes, and many
of them indicate years of usage. In treating of these
monuments, it will be necessary to speak of them under
the respective heads into which they have, been divided.

Temple Mounds. — This class of mounds is characterized
by their great regularity of form, large dimensions, and
are chiefly truncated pyraifTids, having graded avenues
or spiral pathways to their summits. In form they
are round, square, oblong, oval, or octangular, all
having the appearance of being left in an unfinished
condition. They are generally high, yet examples are
known in which they are but a few feet in elevation,
although covering several acres of ground. They are
usually surrounded by embankments. They ai-e not
numerous in Ohio, occurring only at Marietta, Newark,
Portsmouth, and in the vicinity of Chillicothe. The
farther south we go the more numerous and the greater
in magnitude they become — being very abundant in
Tennessee and Mississippi. The summits of these
mounds were probably crowned Avith temples constructed
of wood, but no traces remain to tell of their existgnce.

Great Mound at Cahokia. — The monarch of all the
mounds was that at Cahokia, Illinois. This mound was
situated in a group containing not less than sixty
structures. Its form was that of a parallelogram with
sides at the base, respectively seven hundred and five
hundred feet in length, and reared its level summit to a
height of ninety feet. The entire area occupied com-
prised six aci'es, and its solid contents have been roughly
estimated at twenty millions of cubic feet. On the

MOUNDS. 43

southwest there was a broad terrace one hundred and
sixty by three hundred feet, Avhich was reached by a
graded ascent. The summit, or highest part of the
mound, was truncated, affording a platfrom two hundred
by four hundred and fifty feet. From this platform
rose a small conical mound about ten feet high, which,
on being removed, was found to contain human bones
and various implements of stone and pottery, undoubt-
edly belonging to a more recent period. Upon the sum-
mit was probably erected a capacious temple, where were
celebrated their religious ceremonies, and where were
kindled their sacred fires, while the multitudes gathered
below to look on and adore. This mound is no more,
having been swept away to give room for modern im-
provement.

Temples at Marietta. — On the site of the city of Mari-
etta was once a remarkable group of works, a portion of
which still remains. It has been frequently described, and
several surveys of it have been made. A very careful
description and an accurate plan of it was made by Col.
Charles "Whittlesey in 1837. An illustration of these
works, reduced from an oil painting, which was made
before the works had been injured, is given in the accom-
panying sketch. The view is from the north looking
south, the Muskingum Hiver is on the right and the Ohio
in the distance. The works occupy a high, sandy plain
from eighty to one hundred feef above the bed of the
river, and from forty to sixty feet above the bottom
lands of the Muskingum. The earth works consist of
two irregular squares (the one in the foregroimd having
an area of fifty acres and the other twenty-seven) inclos-
ing various mounds and connected with a graded way
on the right and a large mound in the distance. On the
opposite side of the Muskingum, situated upon bold,
precipitous blutfs, are qiiite a number of stone mounds,
which command a very extensive view. The walls of
the enclosures, M'hen first discovered, were about six feet
high by about twenty-five feet base. The smaller square
contains ten gateways, each of which is covered by small
mounds placed either on a line with the embankment or

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MOUNDS. 45

else iraniecliately within the enclosure. The large mound
in the distance and on the left is thirty feet high, sur-
rounded by an embankment. It is now enclosed in the
public cemetery and well guarded from encroachment.

The larger work contains sixteen gateways, unaccom-
panied by the protecting mounds. The gateway at the
southern angle is covered by an interior crescent wall
and another may be said to be protected by the graded
way. Within this enclosure are four temple mounds,
three of which have graded passages or avenues of
ascent to their tops. The principal one is represented in
the right hand corner in the square in the foreground.
It is ten feet high, one hundred and eighty long and
thirty-two w^ide. It has four graded ascents, midway
upon each side, each one being sixty feet long and
twenty-five feet wide. The next in size is the one in the
irregular-looking mound near the center of the picture.
It is eight feet high, one hundred and fifty long and
twenty wide. It has three graded ways to its top. On
the south side, instead of the graded passage, there is a
recess or hollow way fifty feet long by twenty wide. A
few feet from the northern passage is a small, conical
mound. In the corner and to the left of the one
described is another, but not distinctly marked. Still
another occurs near the second one described (not clearly
defined in the engraving) and close to the eastern angle
of the enclosure, having an altitude of six feet, and one
hundred and twenty long by fifty broad.

The graded way or parallel lines of embankment, on
the right of the enclosure and leading to the Muskingum,
begin at a gateway which is one hundred and fifty feet
wide, and continues a distance of six hundred and eighty
feet. This way has been excavated, the embankments
being one hundred and fifty feet apart and from eight to
ten feet high, but at the base of the grade the walls from
the interior are twenty feet high. The center of the
passage way is slightly raised and rounded.

At various points around these works are excavations
supposed to have been made for the purpose of obtaining
clay for the construction of pottery or other utensils.

46 MOUNDS.

Mounds of the Southern States. — The temple mounds
of the Southern States are mostly of the pyramidal
form, and often occur entirely separate from enclosures
of any sort. Some of the mounds are circular; most
have graded ascents, and a few have a low wall
enclosing a level area at their tops. Mounds of this
description are from twelve to fifteen feet high, with
proportionate base.

Mound at Seltzertotvn. — The great mound at Seltzer-
town, Mississippi, is of very singular construction, and
of such dimensions as almost to preclude the idea of its
artificial origin. It is a truncated pyramid, forty feet
high, placed very nearly in reference to the cardinal
points, its greater length, from east to west, being six
hundred feet, and four hundred feet broad, covering
about six acres of ground. It is surrounded by a ditch,
at its base averaging ten feet in depth. The summit of
the mound is accessible by a graded way. From this
platform, embracing an area of four acres, rise three
conical mounds, one near each end and one in the center.
The mound at the west is truncated, forty feet high,
with a level summit thirty feet in diameter. The mound
at the opposite end is somewhat less in size, aud also
truncated. Eight other mounds, measuring from eight
to ten feet in height, are regularly placed at various points.

In exploring the mound it was found to contain
numerous skeletons and specimens of pottery. The
north side of the structure was found to be supported by
a wall of sun-dried bricks, two feet thick, filled with
grass, rushes and leaves. Dr. Dickeson, who explored
the mound, says he found angular tumuli, the corners of
which were quite perfect, formed of large bricks, bearing
the impression of the human hands. On sinking a shaft
to the depth of forty-two feet into the mound they
failed to reach the original soil.

Mound in Georgia* — It ^vould appear that the re-
markable mound in Early County, Georgia, might be
classed among the temple mounds. It is three hundred

^Smithsonian Report, 1872.

MOULDS. 47

and fifty feet long, two hundred and fourteen feet
wide, and ninety-five high. An extensive embankment
surrounds the mound. Near the mound extends, in a
straight line, a ditch twelve hundred feet long.

Other Mounds. — Besides the places already alluded to,
remarlcable mounds of this class also occur in Kentucky,
near Cadiz, Trigg County, near Mt. Sterling, and in
Adair, Hickman, McCracken, Whitely, and Christian
Counties ; in Tennessee, near Claiborne, Clark County,
Paris, Henry County, near Palmyra and near Knoxville;
in Bradford County, several extensive mounds exist, one
of which covers thirty-three acres. Mounds of large
size are found in Missouri.

Sacrificial 3Iounds. — This class of mounds has been
very carefully explored, and possesses several distin-
guishing features. They invariably occur either within
or else in the immediate vicinity of enclosures, being
regularly constructed in uniform layers of gravel, earth
and sand, disposed alternately in strata conformable to
the shape of the mound; and their covering a sym-
metrical altar of burnt clay or stone, on which are depos-
ited numerous relics, in all instances exhibiting traces
of their having been subjected to the action of fire.

The "altar" is a basin or table made of burnt clay,
although a few of stone have been discovered. They
are carefully formed, but vary much both in shape and
size, some being round, others elliptical and others
squares, or parallelograms, and in size range from two to
^^^^^^^^^^^ fifty feet by twelve or fifteen.
Fig. S.-CEOSS Section of altak. Their usual dimensions, how-
ever, are from five to eight feet. Tliey are modeled
from fine clay and usually rest uj)on the original surface.
In a few instances they have been found with a layer or
small elevation of sand under them. Their height
seldom exceeds a foot or twenty inches above the
adjacent level. Upon the altars have been found
calciued human bones, elaborate carvings in stone,
ornaments cut in mica, copper instruments, discs, and
tubes, pearl and shell beads, pottery, spear-heads, etc.
5

48 MOUNDS.

Mound City. — On the left bank of the Scioto River,
three miles north of Chillicothe, is an enclosure con-
taining twenty-six mounds, and embracing an area of
thirteen acres known as " Mound City." All of the
mounds have been opened, and the principal ones found
to contain altars.

Into one of these mounds, which is ninety feet in
diameter at the base, by seven and one-half feet high, a
shaft six feet square was sunk from the apex with the
following results, as given in the annexed engraving
with its explanations :

,.<-;:r^e»,

M'

■^t'^-^:-^^-^^^-

^'

^

^«^

a

b

c d

e f e d

c

6

a

Fig

. 7.— Section of an Altae Mound

a. Layer of gravel and pebbles one foot thick.
6. Layer of earth three feet thick.

c. A thin stratum of sand.

d. Layer of earth two feet thick.

e. Stratum of sand.
/. The altar.

The altar within this mound was in the form of a
parallelogram of the utmost regularity, measuring at its
base ten feet by eight, and at its top six feet by four, its
height being eighteen inches and tlie dip of its basin nine
inches. Within the cavity was a deposit of ashes three
inches thick, intermingled with which were fragments
of pottery and a few shell and pearl beads. Three feet
below the apex of the mound were found two well pre-
served skeletons, which, from the disturbance of the
regular layers, belong to an intrusive age, and were
those of Indians.

Within the basin of the altar of another sacrificisffiis

MOUNDS. 49

mound from the same locality Avere found fine, dry nshes,
intermixed with which were fragments of pottery of ex-
cellent finish, and a few convex copper discs. Above
the deposit of ashes, and covering the entire basin, was
a layer of opaque mica, in sheets, overlapping each other.
Upon this, and immediately over the center of the basin,
was heaped a quantity of burned human bones.

The contents of these mounds vary very much. Upon
some altars are found only pijies ; upon others a single
mass of galena, pottery, or spear-heads. In some of
them, containing human remains, carbonized cloth occurs.
The mounds are sometimes found to contain a series of
altars, superimposed the one above the other, and each
indicating usage.

From the human bones which have been found upon
these altars, it is inferred that the -Mound Builders oifered
up human sacrifices.

The conclusion that the mounds of this class were de-
voted to superstitious rites does not appear to be satis-
factory. They rather appear to indicate that cremation was
practised among this ])eople. To establish the sacrificial
origin of these mounds, it is inferred from the fact that
instead of finding a variety of implements and trinkets,
articles of only one class frequently occur. This infer-
ence may be well, or may not be well grounded ; but the
fact must be patent that owing to the skill displayed in
carving, it is jilausible to assume that a division of labor
was established. Cremation has been practised among
many nations, and articles belonging to the deceased were
burned with the body, and over tlie remains a mound
was raised. Then there is an almost insuperable diffi-
culty to overcome in the sacrificial origin, and that is the
altars are found heaped over with sand, gravel and soil.
Why they should cover their altars, if so they be, with
so much earth must remain inexplicable. Some of the
altars do not contain human bones. It may be owing
either to the possibility of the fires having been long
continued, thus destroying every trace of human remains,
or else the bones and ashes of the dead were removed
to another spot for burial.

50 MOUNDS.

Sepulchral Mounds. — Mounds of Sepulchre are very
numerous, and usually have the form of a simple cone,
but sometimes are elliptical or pear-shaped. They vary
from six feet to eighty in height, but average from fifteen
to twenty-five feet in altitude. They are found without
the walls of enclosures, and removed to a distance more
or less remote. Many are isolated, and others occur in
groups, sometimes connected at their bases. When they
are found immediately connected, one of the group will
be two or three times larger in dimensions than any of
the others, the smaller ones being arranged around
its base, thus evidencing an intimate relation between
them.

These mounds invariably cover a skeleton — occasion-
ally more than one — which is found near the original
surface of the soil. Skeletons have been found in these
mounds at various depths, and not unfrequently in great
numbers, but belonging to a more recent tinie, and gen-
erally of the Indian type. The skeleton of the Mound
Builder is easily distinguished from these, on account of
its position in the mound. The body was enveloped in
bark, coarse matting, or else coarse cloth, and placed upon
thin slabs of wood, or other material which formed the
bottom of the tomb. Over it was sometimes built a
vault of timber, and at other times was enclosed in long
and broad flags of stone. Occasionally the skeleton has
been found with stones heaped carelessly over it, and in
other instances the stones have been heaped upon the
timbers covering the sepulchral chambers.

The skeleton is nearly always found disposed at length,
with the arms carefully adjusted at the sides. Dr. Foster
in his "Pre-Historio E-aces of America" has misread
Squier and Davis on this point, for he says, "Sometimes
it (the skeleton) was placed in a sitting position, again
it was extended, and still again it was compressed within
contracted limits" (page 188.) This is what Squier and
Davis say : "None have been discovered in a sitting
posture, except among the recent deposits ; and even
among these no uniformity exists : some are extended at

MOUNDS. 51

(ength, others lie upon their sides bent nearly double,
others still in a sitting posture, and in a few eases it
seems that the bones, after the decomposition of the flesh,
had been rudely huddled together in a narrow grave." —
("Ancient Monuments," page 172).

With the skeleton have been found personal orna-
ments, such as bracelets, perforated plates of copper, and
beads of bone, ivory, shell, or metal. Few weapons,
such as spear or arrow-points, are found ; stone imple-
ments are common. Plates of mica are frequently met
with, and sometimes of such size as to almost completely
cover the skeleton. The plates are often cut into regular
figures, discs, ovals, etc. Vases of pottery are occasion-
ally found.

Grave Creek Mound. — It will not be necessary to give
the structure and contents of several of the mounds of
this class in order to obtain a knowledge of their general

Fig 8.— Gkeat Mound at Geave Creek.*

character. It will suffice to speak of but two earth
mounds — the one at Grave Creek, and the other not far
from Chillicothe, and one stone mound — the one near
Newark. The Grave Creek Mound, situated twelve
miles beloAv Wheeling, in West Virginia, is seventy feet
in height by nearly one thousand in circumference at its
base. It was excavated in 1838. In it were found two
«Reduced from "Ancient Monuments."

52 MOUNDS.

sepulchral chambers, one at the base, and the othel
-thirty feet above. These vaults had been constructed
of timber and covered -with stones, which had sunk
when the wood decayed, thus giving the summit of the
mound a dish-shaped_ form. The lower chamlicr con-
tained two skeletons, one of which was thought to be
that of a female ; the upper chamber contained but one
skeleton, and that in an advanced stage of decay. With
these remains were found between three thousand and
four thousand shell beads, a number of ornaments of
mien, several bracelets of copper, and various articles
carved in stone. The small flat stone, inscribed with
small antique characters, said to have been found in this
mound, will be spoken of in its proper place.

From the m:ignitude of the mound, the almost in-
credible amount of ornaments, etc., the vault and other
peculiarities,* it is believed that the principal occupant
was a royal personage.

It mny be as Mell to state that, in the construction of
this mound, the builders availed themselves of a small
natural elevation, above which tlie tumulus was raised.
The lower vault was sunk in tliis elevation, and was
(the vault) in the exact form of a parallelogram.

Mound Near Chillicothe. — On the third ri\'er-terrace,
six miles below Chillicothe, a mound twenty-two feet
high by ninety feet base wns excavated. It was com-
posed of a sandy loam, thougli much compacted and
differing slightly in color towards the center. A layer
of charcoal, ten feet square and from two to six inches in
thickness, occurred ten feet below the surface, — the
shaft having been sunk on the west side. The coal was
coarse and clear, the trunks and branches perfectly
retaining their form, though entirely carbonized, thus
proving that the fire had been suddenly covered up.
The earth immediately above and beneath was burned to
a reddish color. Below tlie layer of charcoal, the earth
was more compact and difficult of excavation. At the
depth of twenty-two ftet, or on a level with the original
surface, was a rude frnniework of timber, but reduced to
an impalpable powder, the cast of which was still

MOUNDS. 53

retained. This frumework was nine feet long, seven
wide, and twenty inches high. Within this rude coffin
was found a human skeleton, but in such an advanced
stage of decay that it crumbled to powder on being
touched. Around the neck of the skeleton was found a
triple row of beads, composed of several hundred marine
shells,, also the tusks of some animal. Several still
retained their polish, and bore the marks of having
been turned in some machine.

Stone Mound Nccir Newark. — Perhaps the largest and
finest stone mound in Ohio was that which stood about
eight miles south of Newark, and one mile east of the
reservoir on the Licking Summit of the Ohio canal. It
was composed of stones found on the adjacent grounds,
laid up, without cement, to the height of about fifty feet,
with a circular base of one hundred, and eighty-two
feet diameter. It was surrounded by a low embanliment
of an oval form, accompanied by a diteli, and having a
gateway at the east end. When the reservoir, which is
seven miles long, was mnde, in order to protect the east
bank, so that it might be used for navigation, the stones
from this mound were removed for that purpose. Dur-
ing the years 1831-32 not less thau fifty teams were
employed in hauling them, carrying away from ten
thousand to fifteen thousand wagon loads. Near the
circumference of the base of the mound were discovered
fifteen or sixteen small earth mounds, and a similar one
in the center. These small mounds were not examined
until 1850, when two of them were opened by some of the
neighboring farmers. In one were found human bones
with some fluviatile shells, and in the other, two feet
below a layer of hard, white fire clay, they came upon a
trough, covered by small logs, and in it was found a
human skeleton, around which aj)peared the impression
of a coarse cloth. With the skeleton were found fifteen
copper rings and a breastplate or badge. The wood of
the trough was in a good state of preservation, the clay
over it being impervious to both air and water. The
central mound was afterwards opened and found to

54 MOUNDS.

contain a great many human bones, but no other relics
of any note. Air of these mounds, so far as they have
been explored, contain earth from a distance — the fire
clay having been brought from FHnt Ridge, six or eight
miles distant.

Other Methods of Burial. — Urn burial appears to have
been practised to some extent in the Southern States,
but not in the valley of the Ohio. In the mounds of the
Wateree River, near Camden, South Carolina, have been
discovered ranges of vases, one above the other, filled
with human remains. Where unburnt, the skeletons
have been packed in the vase after the flesh had
decomposed. Entire cemeteries have been found where
urn burial alone was practised. One of these occurs in
St. Catherine's Island, on the coast of Georgia.

It is possible that the caves were resorted to as places
of interment. Human remains in caves have been found
in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and in other States.
As these have not been clearly identified with
the Mound Builders, it will not be necessary to particu-
larize.

It is not to be supposed that the people of Ohio
erected barrows over the remains of all their dead. They
were probably erected only over the bodies of celebrated
persons — chieftains, rulers, and priests. But the graves
of the mass of the people, who thronged our valleys,
and who toiled to erect these stupendous monuments, are
not thus marked. What was done with their remains
we know not. Undoubtedly many were cremated on
the so-called sacrificial altars. Others may have been
buried in graveyards, and their remains long since have
crumbled into dust. In places they may still remain
where the location and earth are adapted to their preser-
vation. We hear of extensive cemeteries in Tennessee
and Missouri which may have been the grand deposi-
tories of the dead of this ancient people.

Symbolical Mounds. — The mounds of this class con-
sist of gigantic bass-reliefs formed on the surface of the
ground, and representing beasts, birds, reptiles, men and
inanimate objects. They principally occur in the lower

MOUNDS. '55

counties of Wisconsin, and are found from Prairie du
Chien, on the Mississippi, hy the way of the Wisconsin
and Roclc Rivers, eastward towards Fond du Lac on
Lake AVinnebago, and Milwaukee and Lalce Michigan.
This scope of country is about one hundred and fifty
miles in length and fifty wide. Here they occur by (he
thousands representing man, the lizard, turtle, elk,
buffalo, bear, fox, otter, raccoon, frog, bird, fish, cross,
crescent, angle, straight-line, war-club, tobacco-pipe,
and other familiar implements and weapons. These
works are seldom isolated, but generally occur in groups
or ranges, and sometimes placed with apparent design in
respect to each other.

The Great Serpent. — The most noted of all this
class of remains is the Great Serpent, located on en-
try 1010 Brattain Township, Adams County, Ohio.
It occupies the entire summit of a crescent tongue of
laud, rising about one hundred feet above Brush
Creek, which washes its base. We have here a series
of ef&.gj works, consisting of a frog, an egg, and a
serpent. The extreme point of the spur is perpen-
dicular, rising forty feet. The face of the rock on
the summit is denuded. Thirty feet from the point
of rock the head of the frog begins. This effigy,
from its nose to the joint formed by the joining of
the hind legs, is fifty-five feet. The head is down,
the fore legs extended, the hind legs pointing back
as though it was in the act of leaping. Partially be-
tween the legs is an oval mass of earth one hundred
and thirteen feet long by fifty feet broad. In the
center is a low mound fifteen feet in diameter The
opposite end of the Qgg extends into the distended
jaws of the serpent. The serpent's head is seventy
feet long and the neck seventy five feet, and the en-
tire length eleven hundred and sixteen feet. The ser-
pent conforms itself to the shape of the hill, its body
winding back, forming seven graceful curves, and ter-
minating on the main land in a triple coil. The mid-
dle of the serpent is about fifteen feet lower than the
head, and about twenty lower than the tail coil. On

56

MOUNDS.

either side of the jaws extend two triangular eleva-
tions, as though intended for wings. Both the egg
and the serpent's head are hollow. The structure

Fig. 9.— Geeat Sekpent, Adams County, Ohio.

contains more or less stone which has been revealed
by the plow. The whole iigure represents a serpent
uncoiling itself on the main land, and gliding towards
a frog sitting upon the point of the spur, and, just

MOUNDS. 57

as it is in the act of seizing it, the frog leaps, ejecting
an egg into the serpent's mouth.

Shall we infer that here is a representation of phal-
lic worship — the frog representing the creative, the
egg the productive, and the serpent the destructive
powers of nature ?

Alligator Mound. — This effigy occurs one mile below
the town of Granville, in Licking County, Ohio, being
situated upon the summit of a spur of land two hundred
feet high, which projects into the valley of Raccoon.
Creek. Its extreme length is two hundred and fifty
feet, average height four feet ; the head, shoulders and
rump are elevated in parts to a height- of six feet; the
breadth of the body is forty feet, and the length of the
legs or paws, each thirty-six feet, the ends being broader
than the links, as if the spread of the toes were origin-
ally indicated. Upon tlie inner side of the effigy is a
raised space covered with stones which have been
exposed to the action of fire, denominated an ahar ; and
from this, leading to the top, is a graded way ten feet in
breadth. The superstructure is of fine clay, which
must have been brought from a distance, as no signs of
excavation are apparent in the vicinity.

It may be that these two effigies had their origin in
the superstitions of their makers. Their positions and
all the circumstances attending them would lead to the
conclusion that they were high places for sacrifices,
where the ancient people gathered on stated occasions to
celebrate the rites of their unknown worship.

Big Elephant Mound. — The effigy known as "Big
Elephant Mound" occurs in Grant County, AVisconsin,
and is described as being situated on the high sandy
bottom-lands of the Mississippi, on the east side, about
eight miles below the mouth of the Wisconsin Eiver.
There are on each side of the mound, some fifteen to
twenty rods distant, sandy, grassy ridges, some
fifteen feet higher than the land about the mound;
the mound is, therefore, in a shallow valley, sloping
gently to the Mississippi Eiver, and only about
eight' feet above high water. Its total length is one

58

MOUNDS.

hundred and thirty-five feet; from hind feet to back,
sixty feet; from fore feet to back, sixty-six feet;
-width across fore legs, twenty -one feet; across hind
legs, twenty-four feet; from end of proboscis or snout
to neck or throat, thirty-one feet; space iDetween fore

5 la 20 30 40 SO 60 TO 80 FeOC

Fig. 10.— Big Elephakt Mound.

and hind legs, fifty-one feet ; from end of proboscis
to fore legs, thirty-nine feet; across the body, thirty-
six feet; general height of body above surrounding
ground, fi\e feet. The head is large, and the
proportions of the whole so symmetrical that the mound
well deserves the name of the "Big Elephant Mound."*
Anomalous Mounds. — Besides the mounds already dis-
cussed there are others which admit of no classification.
Some have features in common with all classes, and
seem to have been used for a double purpose, while
others arc entirely inexplicable. In some of these
mounds have been found a sepulchre and an altar, both
on the same level. Under this general class we may

^Smithsonian Report, 1872.

MOUNDS. 69

include also mounds of observation which were undoubt-
edly used for signal or alarm posts, always situated upon
prominent and elevated positions. They have been
called "observatories," "alarm posts," "signal stations,"
"watch-towers," and "out-looks," which were undoubt-
edly used for signal or alarm posts and occupying some
eminence. A range of these mounds extends on the
eastern border of the Scioto Valley, between Chillicothe
and Columbus, and are so placed in respect to each
other, that if the country were cleared of forests, signals
of fire might be transmitted along the whole line in a
few minutes. Opposite Chillicothe is a hill nearly six
hundred feet in height, the loftiest in that entire
region, upon which is placed one of these mounds.
When the autumn leaves have fallen a fire built ujjon it
would be distinctly seen for tAventy miles up and the
same distance down the valley; at the Circleville
works, twenty miles distant, and for a long Avay up the
valleys of the two Paint Creeks. Similar mounds occur
at intervals along the Ohio, Scioto, two Miarais, Wabash^
and Illinois Elvers, also on the Upper Mississippi. On
the hills overlooking the works at Portsmouth and
Marietta mounds of stone are situated.

Oreat Mownd at Miandsburg, Ohio. — This mound (see
Frontispiece) has been assigned to the class called Mounds
of Observation. It is situated on a high hill just east
of the Great Miami, and has a commanding view of the
broad valley of the river. It overlooks the fort on Big
Twin, and the incomplete works at Alexandersville, as
well as others still farther up the river. A beacon light
ou this mound would be seen from the high mound in
Butler County, near Elk Creek, and from that communi-
cation could be made to all the enclosures of that county ;
it could be seen from the mound near Springboro,
and thence across the country to Fort Ancient. This
mound is sixty -eight feet in perpendicular height, and
eight hundred and fifty-two in circumference at its base,
and contains three hundred and eleven thousand, three
hundred and fifty-three cubic feet.

All the hill-mounds were not erected for places of ob-

60 MOUNDS.

servation. In some localities the hill-mounds are quite
numerous, and from examination are known to have
been sepulchral mounds. It is possible that many of *he
"observatories" or "alarm posts" were originally burial
mounds, but afterwards enlarged and used as signal
stations. Upon these mounds this ancient people main-
tained large fires, which they kept burning for long
periods, or else fi'equently renewed them.

Stone jfZeops.— Eude heaps of stone are not uncommon.
They probably belong to a later age and were erected by
the Indians. The stone mounds of the Mound Builders
are very different structures, and should not be con-
founded with the rude accumulations.

CahoTda Mound. — The statement that this mound had been
removed was made on the authority of Dr. Foster, in his "Pre-
Historic Races," page 107. I liave learned since these pages have
been electrotyped that the Caholcia mound has not been removed.
It is to be hoped that this monument will be suffered to remain.

CHAPTER V.

WORKS OF ART.

Contents of the Mounds — Spear-heads — Flint — Arrow-heads —
Rimmers — Knives — Axes — Hatchets — Hammer - stones —
Chisels — Pestles — Mortars — Pottery — Pipes — Sculpture —
Gorgets — Tuhes — Hoes — Discoidal Implements — Metals
— Articles of Bone — Clothing.

It has already been stated that the Mound Builders de-
posited various articles of use and ornament with the
dead. Hence, we find that the mounds are the principal
depositories of ancient art. The same mounds have
been used in later times for places of burial, and also for
depositing the implements and ornaments of the more
recent dead. The difference between the ancient and
more recent deposits is easily told. In the latter the
stratification is broken up, while in the former it still pre-
serves its original integrity.

The implements and ornaments found in the mounds
are made out of minerals, clay, bones, fossils and shells.
The first implements ever used by man — unless the club
be excepted — and the ones chiefly employed by all savage
nations, are made from stone. Among the Mound
Builders, who are not numbered along with the polished
or enlightened nations, we must expect to find many and
various implements of stone, having a great variety of
forms, and used for different purposes.

Spear-Heads. — Flint* is a very important mineral to
the savage and semi-civilized. It enters very largely

*The real flint does not occur in the United States. Under this

§eneral term, in this country, is embraced horu-stone, jasper, chalce-
ony, etc.

62 WORKS OF AET.

into their weapons of warfare and the chase. Ninety-
five per cent, of the arrow- and spear-heads found in Ohio
are composed of the different varieties of chert. Many
points of obsidian have been found, which, judging from
the fragments, must have been of large dimensions. The
ready fracture of this mineral, upon exposure to strong
heat, has been unfavorable to tlie recovery of entire arti-
cles composed of it. Chalcedony also occurs, but not in
abundance. The weajDons or implements made of
flint are found in great abundance. They are of
every variety of form, and for the most part wrought
with care.

The spear-heads have been divided into three classes,
viz., lance-heads, fishing- and hunting- spears. The first
is formed without the notched or stemmed base. They
are sometimes wrought with care, and in length range
from two to fourteen' inches, the width varying accord-
ing to the design of the workman. Some of them taper
at both ends, and are supposed to have been used for
battle axes, having been fastened to the handle at the
middle. The second class, or hunting-spears, has either
a notched or stemmed base. They are found scattered
over the whole country, and their form indicates their
use. The third class is characterized by a certain long
tapering form. While every archasological collection con-
tains them, yet they may be said to be comparatively
rare. They may be picked up along the shores of creeks
and rivers, being doubtless used in spearing fish. It is
a singular fact but very few spear-heads, or any weapons
of stone, are met with in the sepulchral mounds. They
occur, however, in many of the so-called altar or sacri-
ficial mounds. From one altar was taken several bushels
of finely-worked spear-heads. In another mound were
found six hundred spear-heads, or discs of hornstone.

Arrow-Heads. — Weapons of this class are less
abundant than the spear-heads. They arefound through-
OTit the West, especially in the valleys where the mounds
occur, and are met with in the mounds themselves.
They possess a great diversity of form, and any attempt
to classify them is useless, for whatever series of charac-

WORKS OP ART.

63

teristics may be adopted there will be presented so
many exce])tiOns as to make void the rule. Their form
has given rise to different names, and the following eight
varieties have received their appropriate appellations :

6 c d

Fig. 11 - Different Foems of Aerow-Heads.

a. Those which are irianfftdar.

b. Those which are indented at the base.

c. Those which are stemmed.

d. Those which are barbed.

e. Those which are leaf-shaped.

f g ^i'

riG. 12.— DiFFEBENT FOKMS OF AEEOW-HEADS.

/. Tlie lozevge-shaped.
g. The dirk-shaped.
h. The beveled.

Many of these are delicately wrought from the richest

material in the possession of their makers, such as trans-

6

64 WORKS OF ART.

parent quartz, and- obsidian. Every variety of quartz
found in this country, emliracing every shade of color
and degree of transparency, from the dull blue of the
ordinary hornstone to the brilliant, pearly light of the
chalcedonio varieties, has been used. They rarely ever
exceed two inches in length.

Many of .the flint implements classed as spear-heads,
or arrow-heads, were doubtless used for daggers, fleshers
and knives. For these purposes they could easily be
used by first fastening them upon suitable sticks or
handles.

Eimmers. — ^lany stone implements are found perfo-
rated, showing that there must have been some instrument
used for that purpose. There have been found flint
implements having a long shaft and ending in a point
Avhich are supposed to have been used in boring or
drilling holes. Some are very beautiful in execution,
exhibiting artistic design.

Knives. — Knives and other cutting instruments made
of flint and obsidian have been taken from the mounds.
The edges of some of these are as sharp as razors. Their
pattern varies; some arc semi-circular in form, and may
be grasped in the middle. A flint knife* is given in
the accompanying engraving, reduced to one-half the

Fig. 13.— Flint Knife.

diameter. It is from the surface found in Huron
County, Ohio. Another kind called chisels is formed of
brown hematite, some of which have a very sharp,
smooth edge. In the shaping of these, great labor has
been required. They have a sub-metallic lustre, and
*In the Author's Cabinet.

WOEKS OF ART.

65

their specific gravity is
nearly that of iron.

Axes. — Among the most
efficient ntensils was the
axe. They are not abund-
ant in the mounds, but oc-
cur in great numbers in the
valleys. They have been
fashioned with great skill
out of rare and beautiful
materials, the granitic series
of minerals predominating.
They are found with and
without grooves for the
adj u s t m e n t of h a n d 1 e s.
Those designed to be
wielded with both hands

Fig. 14.— Typical Stone Axe.
(One-third Nature)

have an average weight of from six
to ten pounds. They vary in weight
from one pound to sixteen. Fig.
14 is a representative axe, which
may be found in the vicinity of
the mounds, along Indian trails, or
around their villages.

Figure 15* is a very beautiful
adze-shaped axe of compact green
stone found near Florence, Preble
County, Ohio. It is handsomely
finished, and remains in a perfect
condition. The wood-engraver has
not brought it out as he should
have done. It is reduced to one-
half its diameter.

The smaller varieties, called
hatciiets, were used in war, as well as
for domestic puri)oses. They weigh

from one to two pounds; are

Fig 15.— Adze-Shaped Axe. destitute of grooves, and are of all
*In the Author's Cabinet.

66 WOEKS OP AET.

sizes, from two inches to a foot in length. They vary
greatly in design. Some have holes for the reception of
handles. These implements, for the most part, are
polished, and some have been ground and polished with
elaborate care.

Hammer-stones or mauls are also found, made of the
same material as the axes. They
were intended for domestic pur-
poses, and, if used in war, must,
have been formidable weapons. In I
form they vary, some having the I
groove around the middle, and well
finished, others oval, irregular or
flat. _

To all these implements a handle fio.16.-geooved hammer,
or helve was fastened, by thongs of (One-imif Nature.)
rawhide. The handle was either a split Avithe or
forked stick, passing along the groove. The grooved
axe is not generally well balanced, and was probably as
much used for breaking as for cutting wood. The ruder
hammer-stones may have been used as net-sinkers.

Chisels. — There are many imjjlements found re-
sembling chisels. They are generally longer than
the hatchet, and arc often beautifully polished. These
have been termed "fleshcrs" and "bark-peelers."
The smaller ones may have been used in dress-
ing the skins of animals, and the larger for peeling
bark. Flints have been used in cutting and scraping
the skins preparatory for use as clothing or other
purposes. These various implements fastened in
the end of a straight stick would greatly assist in tearing
off hides or jiccling bark.

Pestles. — Pestles are almost as common as the grooved
axes, although they do not occur in the mouuds. They
are mostly rude, but are frequently found polished and
wrougiit with care. They are of various shapes, but the
prevailing form is that of a bluntly-pointed cone, with a
knob-like expanse at the base. They are quite common

■WORKS OF ART.

67

in the form represented in Fig. 17, reduced to one-half
size of nature. Ocoasionally they are met with

having the knob-like ex-
panse at both ends, one
being larger than the
other. The so-called
"rolling-pins" are another
variety. They are long,
straight and round, taper-
ing towards the end. They
are seldom polished, and
vary from seven to thir-
teen inches in length.

Accompanying the
pestles are the mortars,
which consist of stone
slabs or boiilders exhibit-
ing platter - shaped de-
pressions. These were
used for holding the grain
while it was being ground
or crushed by the pestles.
The " rolling-pins," how-
ever, could not have been
used in conjunction with
the mortars, but instead
Fig. i-.-QuAiiTz Pestle. of them they probably

used flat stones upon which to place the parched grain.

Pottery. — An- interesting feature of the works of art
is the pottery, comprising kettles, water-jugs, cups,
vases, urns, etc. In this branch they attained to a
considerable degree of perfection. This class or kind
of works exhibits a variety of forms and is elegantly
finished. These remains are composed of fine clay, and
some of the most delicate specimens are worked pure.
In some of the coarser specimens the clay is intermixed
with pulverized quartz, and in others with salmon-
colored mica in small flakes, which gives a ruddy and
rather a brilliant ajipearance. The surfaces are orna-

68 WORKS OP ART.

mented with curved lines, and upon some have been
moulded the images of birds, quadrupeds, and the
human form. These vessels were all moulded by hand,
for there is no evidence that the potter's wheel was
known. From the marks on some of the vessels, it is
probable that baskets were first made and then the clay
moulded in the basket, and during the process of baking
or burning the basket was consumed, leaving the
indentations upon the hardened clay. None of these
vessels are glazed.*

Pipes. — The stone pipes present the most inleresting
feature of all the contents of the mounds. Upon these
the Mound Builders lavished their greatest skill. The
workman in every case has portrayed the object he
desires to represent with great faithfulness. Besides the
plainer pipes are the more elaborate ones delineating the
squirrel, opossum, raccoon, beaver, otter, wild cat, bear,
elk, wolf, panther, manatee, grouse, duck, swallow,
raven, buzzard, owl, heron, hawk, engle, and many
others. Some of the pipes are small, while others
weigh from three to six pounds. The human head and
form also occur on these pipes.

Sculpture. — The highest grade of art we discover is in

the sculptures, which comprise the heads and figures of

men and animals. As has already been stated they have

lavished upon these their utmost skill. They are

remarkable from the fact that they exhibit the general

form and features of the olijects sought to be represented.

As mere works of art they are of great value in judging

the condition of the people, but they are of even greater

value for the reason that they go to establish a very

extensive intercommunication either among themselves

as spread over a vast extent of country, or else with a

contemporaneous, allied race. Sculptures of the human

head have been found in the mounds, but not frequently.

One of them, from the mounds, is composed of a hard,

compact, black stone, and is distinguished for the

hardness and severity of its outline. The head-dress

*Dr. Foster speaks of a cup from Louisiana, whose surface was
uniformly glazed. "Pre-Historic Races," page 24.5.

A^^OEKS OF ART. 69

falls in a broad fold over the back of the head, as far
down as the middle of the neck. It rises into pro-
tuberances upon each side of the top of the head, -which
may represent some particular s-tyle of plaiting the hair.
A row of holes, fifteen in number, some of which
contained pearls, encloses the forehead, and extends as
low as the ears. Deep cut lines mark the face, the brow
is contracted and the mouth compressed, which give the
face an aspect of severity. These heads also vary. In
some the muscles of the face are well exhibited, and
the forehead finely moulded. The human form is rep-
resented as well as the head. Sometimes there is a
figure with the body of a bird and the head of a man
delicately and symmetrically carved. Masks made from
sandstone are found. Among animals are sculptured
figures of the manitus or sea cow, the beaver, otter,
elk, bear, wolf, wild cat, panther, raccoon, opossum and
squirrel. The sculptures of birds are much more
numerous than those of animals, and comprise between
thirty and foi'ty different kinds. There ai-e also several
varieties of the same sjiecies : for instance among the
owls are the great owl, horned owl, and the little owl.
Sculptures of serpents, turtles, frogs, and others have
been discovered in abundance.

It is worthy of remark that of all the works of art
there is a remarkable avoidance of obscenity. Works of
this class are mot with among the South American
antiquities. Among the Mound Builders there are but
two cases known to nie. One is referred to by Dr.
Foster in his "Pre-Historic Races," that of a female
figure, modeled with some artistic skill, upon a clay pipe.
The other is engraven upon a stone pipe, now in the
possession of G. W. Van VIeck. It is the representa-
tion of a female, who appears to be bound with bands
about her arms. I carefully examined the jiipe; it is very
large, weighing about four pounds, and skillfully carved.

Gorgets, or Breast-Plates. — Implements principally
composed of striped slate with tapering holes through
them have been variously named, and caused .much
discussion. The most common forms are given in

70

WOEKS OF AET.

Figs. 18 and 19. Some have thought they served to
size the coarse thread made of bark, rawhide, or sinew,
or such material as was used for making cloth. Others
argue that they were held in the hand that grasped the
bow in order to protect it from the string. By others
they have been regarded as ornaments which were strung
together and worn suspended from the neck. By others

*»

'• II

/

^fcfc,*'

Fig. is.— Goegets or Gauges.
it has been supposed that they were shuttles used in
weaving; and, again, as badges of authority. There is
no doubt but that this people were superstitious, and
why may they not have been used as charms to keep off
evil spirits, or as safeguards against some unforeseen
danger? If they had been used for domestic purposes
the edges of the holes would liave been considerably
worn; but, on the other hand, they are sharp and
perfect.

WORKS OP AET.

71

_ Various other forms are found, such as crescents,
single and double blades, etc., Avhich have been
regarded as wands or emblems of authority. They are
composed of variegated slate, are not numerous, and well
finished.

. ' Jim

Fig. 19.— Gauges or'Oknaments.

Tubes. — A great variety of stone tubes are picked up
on the surface and found in the mounds. They are
polished with care and composed of a fine grain striped
slate. The short oval ones were doubtless ornaments,
strung liiie beads upon cords. Others may have been

72 WOEKS OF AET.

used as wliistles, or, as some writers have thought^ as a
telescopic help for distant views.

Hoes and Spades. — The largest implements made out
of chert or quartzite are the hoes and spades. They are
slightly oval on one side and flat on the other, generally
tapering towards the ends, the smaller end being
attached to the handle. Some of them are finely
finished. The size and shape seem to indicate that they
were used for agricultural purposes.

Discoidal Implements. — Kumerous discs of stone are
found scattered over the country from the valley of the
Ohio to Peru, South America. A few of them also occur
in the mounds. They are circular in form, capsule-
shaped, and pierced in the center with a hole, and are
often symmetrically wrought and polished from the
hardest materials. They are from three to four inches in
diameter, and about one inch in thickness. Various
other articles of stone occur, such as rings, pendants, etc.

Metals.— TYie Mound Builders were acquainted with
several of the metals, and had their implements and
ornaments of copper; silver in the form of ornaments is
occasionally found ; galena occurs in considerable
quantities, while no trace of iron has been discovered.
They wrought copper into knives, axes, chisels, awls,
spear-heads, and arrow-heads. The copper, for the
most part, Avas hammered out cold, although some of the
implements show the mark of the mould. Hence the
fact is established that the art of smelting was known to
them, prob[\bly during the latter part of their occupancy
of the Mississippi Valley. These implements, as usual,
display skillful workmanship, and are made after
diflerent designs.

Ornaments of copper are comparatively abundant.
They display considerable skill and are in the forms of
bracelets, pendants, beads, gorgets, etc. The bracelets
consist of a simple rod of copjjer, hammered out with
more or less skill, and so bent that the ends approach or
lap over each other. Some of them are smooth and
uniform, and appear to have been originally highly
polished. They are usually found encircling the arms

WORKS OF ART. 73

of skeletons, in the sepulchral mounds, and also upon
the so-called altars. A large number of discs or medals
have been obtained from the mounds and average about
one inch and a half in diameter. They are found on
the altars "where they seem to have been placed together
in pairs. They appear to have been pressed into shape,
and the sandstones have been discovered in wliich were
circular depressions, where doubtless the plates had been
formed. Buttons, also, are found, similar to those worn
a generation or so ago.

Articles of Bone. — Awl-shaped implements made of
the bones of the deer and elk have been obtained from
tlie mounds. They were used for perforating the hides
of animals, and supplied the place of our awl. Many
kinds of ornaments abound made out of shells,
pearls, sections of the small bones of birds, and the teeth
and claws of various animals.

Clothing. — -The Mound Builders, in part, used the
skins of wild animals for clothing, but for their
principal raiment used cloth regularly spun with a
uniform thread, and woven with a warp and woof.
Fragments of clothing have been taken from a low
mound near Charlestown, Jackson County, Ohio. In
constructing the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton
railroad, a mound was cut through near Middletown,
Ohio, and in it, among other things, was found cloth
connected with tassels or ornaments. The cloth was in
thick folds, and very much charred. The fabric appeared
to have been composed of some material allied to hemp,
and the separation between the fibre and the wood was
as thorough as at this day by the process of rotting and
hackling. The thread is coarse, uniform in size, and
regularly spun. The process of spinning and weaving
as carried on by them is not now known.

CHAPTER VI.

MINIISG.

Copper — Galena — Obsidian — Mica — Siher — Grccn-Slatc —
Copper .Mines— Minnesota Mine— Isle Royal— Mica Mining
— Obsidian Mines — Other Mines.

The finding of varions implements marie of the more
precious minerals ^voultl not in itself indicate that the
Mound Builders engaged in mining. Copper was ex-
tensively used, and yet this material has been found in
various localities. It has been found in pieces of several
pounds weight in the valley of the Connecticut,
and near New Haven a mass was found weighing ninety
pounds. It is found in small pieces in New Jersey,
Indiana and Illinois. Small pieces have been picked
up in A'arious localities in Ohio. It is probable that
the copper found in Connecticut and New Jersey
originates from the red sandstone formation, while in
Indiana and Illinois it was deposited during the drift.
In Ohio it has ijossibly been dropped by the hand of man.

What is true of copper is not so of galena, obsidian,
mica and silver.

Considerable quantities of galena have been found in
the mounds of Ohio. Upon one of the altars within a
mound in "Mound City" (three miles above Chillicothe)
a quantity of galena was found, which had been exposed
to the action of fire. It is of frequent occurrence on the
sacrificial altars, and met with in quantities of thirty
pounds weight. "Plumb bobs" and net-sinkers are met
with made out of this material, and yet no original
deposits are known in the State of Ohio.

MINING. 75

Obsidian, a peculiar glass-like stone of volcanic
origin, is obtained from some of the mounds, but in very
small qnantitit's, and in the shape of arrow and spear-
points and cutting implements. This mineral has not
been met in situ north of Mexico and east of the Rocky
Mountains.

Mica (commonly called isinglass) has been taken in
large quantities from the mounds, and often ploughed
up in the neighborhood of the enclosures. In the
sepulchral mound, in the center of the earth-work at
Circleville, Ohio, there was taken out a sheet of mica
three feet long, one foot and a half wide, and one inch
and a half in thickness. In the year 1828, in one of the
low mounds near Newark, Ohio, regular layers of mica
plates, from eight to ten inches in length, four or five
inches wide, and from half an inch to one inch in thick-
ness, were found covering fourteen human skeletons in
an advanced state of decomposition. From this mound
there were taken about twenty bushels of mica. As
mica is found in large quantities, and carefully laid away
in the mounds, it is evident that it was regarded as of
great value. It Avas used for mirrors, ornaments, and,
as it has been found covering the skeleton, may have
been looked upon as having supernatural properties.
Mica is found in New Hampshire and North Carolina.
In the former State it has been found from two to three
feet in diameter; but there is no evidence that the
Mound Builders penetrated that far east, neither have
any ancient mines been discovered there. Traces of
wrought silver have been found, but they are exceed-
ingly scarce, and constituted no technical importance
among them.

The polished stone implements composed of a greenish
slate of close grain have already received attention.
This stone is not found in original deposits in the valley
of the Mississippi, unless it be upon the rim, of the
basin. It belongs to the oldest sedimentary formation
and occurs in considerable masses along the Atlantic
coast, and has been observed from Rhode Island to
Canada.

76 MINING.

From these considerations alone vre readily infer that
the Mound Builders either engaged in mining or else
trafficked with those nations who did so engage. In
1847, about one year before the ancient copper mines
were discovered, it was pointed out* that the probable
source of the copper and silver was the region of Lake
Superior.

The discovejy of the ancient mines has set all
speculations at rest.

Copper Mines. — In the copper regions of Lake
Superior have been found numerous excavations in the
solid rock from which the copper has been extracted.
Uj)on examination, it has been discovered that the
whole extent of the copper-bearing region was resorted
to by this ancient race. The ancient trenches and pits
were found to be filled even with the surrounding
country, and were not detected until many years after
the region had been thrown open to actual exploration.
Mining began effectively in 1845, and it was not until
1848 that S. O. Knapp, then the agent of the Minnesota
Mining Company, made the discovery. In passing
over a portion of the company's grounds, in the winter
1847-8, he observed a continuous depression in the soil,
which he conjectured was formed by the disintegration
of a vein. Following up these indications, he came to a
cavern where he noticed evidences of artificial exca-
vation. On clearing out the rubbish, afterwards, he
found numerous stone hammers, and at the bottom was
seen a vein with ragged projections which the ancient
miners had not detached.

Two and a half miles east of the Ontonagon River
(the center of the great copper region of Michigan) is
the Minnesota mine illustrated in Fig. 20. This shaft
is situated in a wall rock of compact trap. The
excavation reached a depth of twenty-six feet, which
was fillgd up with clay and a matted mass of mouldering
vegetable matter. At a depth of eighteen feet, among
a mass of leaves, sticks and water, Mr. Knapp
discovered a detached mass of copper (m) weighing
*" Ancient Monuments," 196.

MINING.

77

six tons. This mass had been raised about five feet,
along the foot of the lode, on timbers by means of
wedges, and was left upon a cob-work of logs. These
logs Avere from from six to eight inches in diameter,
the ends of which plainly showed the marks of a
cutting tool. The upper surface and edges of the mass
of copper were beaten and pounded smooth, showing
that the irregular protruding pieces had been broken

Fig. 20.— Ancient Mining Shaft,

off. Near it were found other masses. On the walls of
the shaft were marks of fire. Besides charcoal there was
found a stone sledge weighing thirty-six pounds, and a
copper maul weighing twenty-five pounds. Stone mauls,
ashes and charcoal have been found in all these mines.
In further explanation of the engravings the letter b
represents the original matter thrown out by the ancient
miners; a, the angle of the shaft; d, three masses of
copper.

On the island known as Isle Royal, near the
northern shore of the Lake, these ancient works of
man are very extensive, and some of the pits are sixty
feet in depth. On opening one of the pits of this island,

78 MINING.

it was discovered that the mine had been worked through
solid rock to the depth of nine feet. At the bottom wac
a vein of pure copper eigliteen inches thick. The works
are scattered throughout the island, and are located on
the richest veins. These miners were intelligent and
experienced, for they not only showed rare powers of
observation in locating the veins, but also displayed
much knowledge in following them up when interrupted.
The excavations are connected underground, and drains
are cut into the rock to carry off the water. At one
point the excavations extend for over two miles in a
nearly continuous direction.

In these ancient mines have been found wooden
shovels, used in scraping away the soil. AVooden bowls
and troughs of cedar occur. From the splintered piepes
of rock embedded in the rim of some of these bowls, it
is inferred that they were used for bailing out the water ;
and as charcoal also occurs, it may be inferred that the
rocks were heated and then M'ater was dashed on in
order to shatter and destroy the cohesion between the
particles. Stone hammers, or mauls, and copper
implements are frequently met with. The stone
hammers were so numerous that Mr. Knapp alone took
away ten cart-loads, and used a portion of them in wall-
ing up a spring. They were made of greenstone and
porphyry boulders.

From the accumulation of evidence in these ancient
trenches, and the copper implements in the mounds, we
have the proof that this ancient people not only toiled in
building the mounds, but also toiled in the copper mines
of Lake Superior. They were a toiling, plodding
people. The process by which they worked these
mines is very well indicated by the discoveries which
have been made. The soil was removed by the wooden
shovels after it had been loosened by other implements.
By heating the rocks and then dashing water upon them,
and by means of their heavy sledges they were able to
detach the copper from its matrix. Many of the mauls
are merely water-worn boulders, weighing from ten to
forty pounds, and show by the fractures that they have

MINING. 79

been repeatedly used. Around the stone was cut a groove
in order to secure it by a withe, and thus used as a sledge-
hammer. With these the projecting ends of the copper
could easily be broken otf. The industrious miners well
knew the value of the precious metal. They sometimes
manufactured it at the mines, and sometimes took it
home in lumps, and out of it made their copper-axes,
gads, chisels, gouges, spear-heads, knives, bracelets,
ornaments, etc.

The wide distribution of the copper implements shows
that an extensive business was carried on, and to
peneti-ate to Lake Superior, from the valley of the Ohio,
required a journey of a thousand miles, which must
have been performed during the summer. With them
they must have carried their provisions, as there is no
evidence of a settled life in that region, such as mounds,
village-plats, etc. The climate is too cold for the
maturity of Indian corn, and h6nce it was necessary to
go in well-organized companies.

Mica Mining. — While gangs of men were operating
the mines of Lake Superior, there were others engaged in
searching for mica in the mountainous region of North
Carolina. The diggings in the mica regions M'ere open
excavations. They seldom attempted tunneling for mica,
and wherever there is any evidence of such work it is
more like burrowing than cutting a tunnel. Some of the
excavations are extended for several hundred fent, the
dump material having been thrown out right and left.
Whenever a hard point in the vein occurred they worked
over it, and then descended again. As in the copper
mines, so here the same judgment was displayed.
Wherever they did any work, there they discovered the
veins, anil the richest veins yet discovered show that
there the ancient excavations are most extensive. The
kinds of mica now refused were then rejected, carrying
the best away to their homes in the North. It would
appear that when they had mined more than they could
transport they would hide it; for in one case several
cart-loads had been removed from the mine a distance

80 MINING.

of one lii;ndrecl feet and packed down and buried in an
excavation with great regularity.

The same mines that once supplied the ancient
inhabitants of the Ohio now supply the market of this
country.

Obsidian Mines. — It is not reasonable to suppose that
mines of obsidian were worked by the Mound Builders.
In order to have done this they would have been forced
to take long journeys, the result of which would not
have justified the undertaking. Mines of obsidian are
found in Mexico and the western side of the Rocky
Mountains. Many large and fine specimens of pure
obsidian have been found in the volcanic formations in
the neighborhood of Snake or Lewis River. It is used
for arrow-heads by many tribes of American Indians.

The old obsidian mines which supplied the ancient
Mexicans are still to be seen. Hundreds of tons of
fragments about the mines and great numbers of pits
attest the great importance of this mineral to that
ancient people.

It is more than probable that the obsidian came into
the possession of the Mound Builders by way of barter.
This is further confirmed by the fact of copper imple-
ments found in Mexico which came from Lake Superior.
It is evident that some system of traffic was carried
on. The image of the manatus, the pearls and marine
shells, which are peculiar to tropical region, indicate an
acquaintance with the South.

Other Mines. — The galena in all probability came
from Illinois or Missouri. The greenstones and porphy-
ries, out of which they made their axes, came from
the region of Lake Superior, but they are found over
the country where they were dropped during the Glacial
Epoch. The chert, out of which they manufactured
their arrow-heads, spear-heads, hoes and spades, princi-
pally came from " Flint Ridge," which extends through
Muskingum and Licking Counties, Ohio. This ridge is
made of a compact siliceous material. The innumerable
excavations, found the Avhole length of the outcrop, and
the piles of chipped quartz indicate how extensively this

MIXIXG. 81

ridge was worked. The workshops were not all located
here, for other ])laces denote that the flint had been
carried away in hloeks and niannfactiired at leisure.

Chert occurs in other localities, and is found scattered
over the country in certain rep;ions. But experience
taught them that the flint dug from the earth could be
more easily split than that which had been exposed to
the weather.

In all thrse operations it is evident that the raining
was not only conducted under a well-organized eifort,
but the Mound Builders had their leaders, or foremen,
and were well skilled, and had a thorough acquaintance
with their work.

CHAPTER VII.

ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES.

IntelUgeiice — Geometrical Knowledge — Comparison of Earth-
works — Works at Portsmouth — Standard of Measurement —
How Formed — Works at Alexandersville — Butler County —
Piketon Graded Way — Bridging— Macadamized Roads —
Art of Brick-Making — Making Stone Implements — Art of
Mining — Position of the Mound Builders.

We can only judge of the condition and civilization of
a lost race by the remains which they have left. Nor is
it to be supposed that these will give perfect represen-
tations, for many things, especially in the fine arts, must
necessarily sooner or later perish. The coarser works,
made of durable material, the stupendous monuments,
are not easily effaced, even by the wearing influence of
time.

The intelligence of the Mound Builders has been
variously rated. That they were superior to their In-
dian successors, perhaps no one would dispute. That
they were a settled people, every evidence clearly shows.
A wandering people, or a people who lived simply by
the chase, never could have erected these structures,
even in the condition in which they are now found.
Their erection would have required an acqiiaintance
with the mechanic arts by a permanently settled
people. Nor is it just to rank them much below the
ancient people of Mexico and Central America. To the
Mound Builders we assign a much greater antiquity,
and long ages elapsed from the time of the desertion of
these mounds until their discovery and investigation by
the Europeans. Hence they were not found in the same
condition in which they wei'e when left by their makers.

ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES. 83

If the earthworks of Central America had been
exposed to the action of the elements as long as the
mounds of the Ohio, Ave probably would see but little
difference in their general appearance. But for the
present we must content ourselves to judge simply by
such evidences as are afforded in the general features of
these remains.

The tumuli above named aiford us no conception of
the advancement of the people. Ancient barrows arc
found in Europe belonging to savage races, and in order
to understand them properly we must not only judge by
their contents, but other things must be taken into
consideration. "We judge the Mound Builders not so
much by the mounds, but by the enclosures. The
domestic implements also enter largely into forming a
proper estimate of their makers.

Geometrical Knoivledgc. — No one can look over the
f)lans of the Sacred Enclosures without particularly
noticing their great regularity of form. By comparing
them together he will notice that in many instances the
dimensions of some at different points are the same.
Tiiey cannot be merely striking coincidences, for they
must have been made with the view that the one should
represent the area of the other. The " Hopeton Work,"
in Hoss County, Ohio, has the square, circle andparallel
lines in combination. Both the square and the circle
contain an area of twenty acres each, and the parallel
lines twenty-four hundred feet in length. At Newark
the first circle mentioned in the description (page 32),
has an area of twenty acres, as also has the square. The
circle of the " High Bank Works " (see page 36) also
contains an area of twenty acres. The octagon and
circle of these works very much resemble the octagon
and circle, in combination, at Newark. ItAvould appear
that the "Hopeton" and "High Bank Works" were
either modeled after those at Newark, or else the last
Avas a combination of the other two. There is certainly
a wonderful similarity, however it may be I'egarded.
Other combinations might be noticed, where different
squares have the same dimensions accompanied by one

84 ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES.

or more circles. It is evident that these works could
not have been made without some standard of measure-
ment and the use of instruments.

At Portsmouth, Ohio, is a complicated series of works
containing three groups, and extending for eight miles
along the Ohio River, and connected by parallel lines of
embankment. Two of these groups are on the Kentucky
side of the river; the remaining one, together with the
greater portion of the connecting embankment, is on the
Ohio side. Almost opposite Portsmouth is a square
whose sides are each eight hundred feet. This square
has two outworks consisting of parallel walls leading to
the northeast and southwest, or parallel Avith the course
of the river. They are exactly parallel to the sides of
the main work, and are each twenty-one hundred feet
long. The other works, on the Kentucky side, consist
of four concentric circles, and cut at right angles by four
broad avenues. In the center is a large truncated
mound. It is terraced and has a graded way leading to
the summit. From this work is an avenue leading to
the Ohio River one and one-half mile distant. The
avenue begins again immediately opposite on the Ohio
side. These parallel walls, equal outworks, and con-
centric rings, denote an accurate knowledge of measure-
ment, and prove that the plan must have been made
before the work was undertaken, or else enlarged
after the work was begun.

It is not to be presumed that they had the improved
instruments of the present, but used rude methods, and
with such skill as to accomplish the same ends as the
the modern does with the use of the transit and the
gunter's chain. That their Avork was marked out before
commencing the same we have every reason for believing.
Of the three,, or rather four, sacred enclosures at Alex-
andersville, not one is complete. These incomplete
remains prove that all of these works were commenced
at the same time, all abandoned before being finished,
and all show what method was pursued in their
construction. To appreciate the last remark, we must
not rely on the plan of these works as given in the

ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES. 85

"x\ncient Monuments/' which is faultv in more than one
particidai".

In company with two gentlemen, I traversed almost
the entire line of embankments. The three mounds of
the smaller circle, on the west of the Miami canal, which
are figured as being on a nearly straight line, we found
not to be mounds at all, but intended to form component
parts of the intended circle, and were not placed in a
straight line to the circle, but located on the line of the
curve. The fact here brought to light is that the whole
line was established before the work was begun, and
work was performed on diiferent parts of the line at the
same time. This fact is also true of the square a short
distance removed from the circle.

A work in Butler County, which will be described in
its proper place, also confirms the fact that the works
were outlined before the work was begun. In that way
we have four mounds of the circle at I'cgular distances
apart and connecting at their base thus giving the
workmen the line of the curve. This shows a high
degree of proficiency and one that approaches the
modern idea of planning before constructing. It is,
however, to be supposed that many of the works are
growths, enlarged as the necessity of the case demanded.

Undoubtedly the graded way at Piketon is only a part
of an ancient work originally designed to be a great and
complicated structure. Here we have the cluster of
mounds not yet enclosed by the circle. One arm of the
graded way is extended to these mounds, thereby form-
ing a communication between them. The other arm of
the way was never completed. Three sides of the
rectangle were finished, and then left in order to first
form the diverging line which is two hundred and forty
feet in length. Then the main line diverges four
hundred and twenty feet; and if the other had been
extended still farther the two lines Avould have come
together. The probability, however, is, that this was
not designed, but the intention was to throw a circular
line around the mounds, beginning at the end of the

86 ADVANCEMENT IN THE SCIENCES.

minor line. There is another peculiarity here ; the walls
of the graded way are each ten hundred and- eighty feet
in length, and in the works in Liberty Township, Eoss
County, each side of the square is the same distance.
Extensive plans are certainly indicated, and that the
square and circle should accompany them may be
inferred from the Newark Works. It is not to be
presumed that the last named were completed, for it may
be noticed that two of the avenues (enclosed by parallel
walls) end abruptly, as though left in an unfinished
condition. These walls and those at Piketon were
carried out with some definite purpose in view. It is
probable that then as now the ground was first staked
off, and these stakes Avere placed by the engineer and
under his direction the work was carried on.

It appears that in certain localities the works were
completed as they proceeded — that is, working upon one
line until it was finished before beginning on another —
while on others they worked on all the parts at the same
time.

Bridging. — Men that were thus skilled in geometrical
knowledge might have gone farther and understood the
art of bridging. The parallel lines at Portsmouth
indicate an intimate relation between the works on the
Ohio and Kentucky sides, and where the main line is
broken by the Ohio River there must have been some
method of crossing. But the width of the river, and
the inferiority of the tools then possessed would preclude
the idea of a bridge. There must have been a ferry, the
boats of which must have been fastened to either shore
by means of ropes. It should be noted that the parallel
walls are not carried down to the water. This defect
may have been remedied by two lines of fences formed
of palisades connecting the walls with the water.

It is more than probable that the graded way at the
fort on Big Twin was continued over the stream by
means of a M'ooden structure. Still there is a possibility
or even a probability of this way having been made to
pi-otect their gardens at the foot of the bluff, although

ADVANCEMENT IX THE SCIENCES. 87

there is no indication of an cartlnvork extending to the
creek at the southern extremity.

We read of buried inacadamizcd roads having been
discovered in V\'est Virginin, cut by streams, wliich
would indicate some particular mode of crossing a
stream.

Artqf Mahing Brick. — It has already been stated that
brick was used in the mound at Seltzertown. Some of
the earthworks made of clay — with none of that
material in that vicinity — would prove that this clay had
been moulded into brick. A people Avho could erect
such stupendous structures, and understood the art of
moulding as Avell as they did, would not hesitate to
perform any undertaking within their power. They
had the perseverance and the will. It is more
than probable that all their enclosures, and
many of their mounds were faced with brick. It is
true that many of the works are composed of surface
material, and there no clay has been observed. A wall
faced with brick filled in with surface material, after a
great lapse of time, would hardly show the traces of clay.
Walls, thus regularly laid up, would present a more
pleasing appearance to their sacred enclosures, while to
their forts it would add strength by preventing the
enemy from scaling the walls.

Process of Manufacturing. — The copper implements
found in Ohio have been hammered out cold. There
is evidence that either the Mound Builders, or else a
contemporaneous race understood the art of smelting
copper. Daggers, knives, chisels, spear-heads, and awls
have been found in Wisconsin ujion which the markings
of the mould are clearly defined.

While the stone axes required much labor in their
finish, yet the Mound Buildei's in completing them were
governed by the shape of the stone. They first found a
stone somewhat in the shape of the axe they desired to
make, and then by a process of grinding, whetting, or
rubbing it was finally brought to the desired form. I
have seen quite a number of axes formed by water, and

88 ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCES.

never retouched by man. I possess a piece of limestone
six inches long by three and three-fourths in breadth at
the widest part, shaped in every particular like a spade,
including the grooves for fastening the shaft; and yet it
was entirely formed by the action of water. Advantage
was taken of what nature afforded, and what was
naturally a long and slow process was thus diminished.
Axes are frequently found ranging in incompleteness
from the stone in the rough to the finished production.

The flint instruments are not made by blows, but by
pressure. By striking the flint it will be broken ir-
regularly, but by strong pressure the flakes are easily
disengaged.

Art of Mining. — A rude and savage people would not
have made long journeys and toiled in the mines for
the more precious minerals, but would have contented
themselves with implements made from such stones as
could be picked up in surrounding localities. When we
consider the extreme extent of country traced to obtain
mica and copper, added to the earthworks of Ohio, and
other States, and when we remember how extensively
these mining operations were carried on, the Mound
Builders must appear to us to have been a great and
mighty nation. They must have been strong, indus-
trious, and far superior to the aborigines who inhabited
the land when it was discovered by the European. It
presents the fact that they could discover and utilize what
the Indian failed to observe, although he passed over
the same land. When the French first came among the
Indians of Lake Suj^erior, the latter possessed neither
copper kettles nor axes, but only rudely-fashioned
copper knives made from water-worn lumps which had
been deposited by the glaciers along with the sand,
gravel and other loose material.

An industrious people, well settled and extensively
engaged in mining operations and various other
mechanical pursuits, must have been well skilled,
and far from a state of barbarism. Hence, from the
foregoing enumeration, in which is imperfectly reprc

ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCES. 89

sented the great skill displayed, it is evident that
the Mound Builders were somewhat advanced in the
arts and sciences, and occupied no mean position in
life. For their time and surroundings they had
made great strides towards a permanent civilization,
and must be ranked as one of the great people of
ancient times.

CHAPTER VIII.

TABIjETS.

Written Lanr/uagf, — Frauds, — Grave Crcch Stone — Opinions of
Schoolcraft — of Levy Binrj — of Schwab — of Opperi — Aic-
ihenticlty — C mtrovcrsy — Objections — Letter from Colonel
Wharton — ■ Objection!: Considered — Story of Sir Walter
Raleigli — Cincinnati Tablet — Description hy E. G. Squier —
Authenticity — Doubted — Examined by Robert Clarice —
Mississippi Tablet — Berlin lablet — Other Tablets.

American tirchseologists have been more or less
interested in the question whether or not the Mound
Builders had a written language. All the evidence is
against the supposition. We have no evidence that they
had attained to tlie same condition as that possessed by
the semi-civilized nations of Europe, who themselves
had not arrived at the construction of an alphabet. It
must be borne in mind that the alphabet is a very high
attainment, and belongs to the civilized and enlightened.
Nations much in advance of tlie Mound Builders had
not attained to this state, and hence it would be
unwarrantable to assign to them such a superiority. It
would be a reversal of the teachings of history, and an
exception to the law of harmonious development. Not-
withstanding this manifest fact, there is hardly a year
passes unsignalized by the announcement of the discovery
of tablets of stone or metal, bearing some mystical
inscription. Under scientific scrutiny, these alleged
discoveries are proven to be frauds, or else resolve
themselves into very natural productions. So long as
there is an expectation that the mounds will yield some-

TABLETS. 91

thing that will give a clue to a written langunge, it may
be expected that these fraudulent operations will be
continued.

Grave Creek Tablet. — The Grave Creek mound has
already been referred to; also the inscribed stone that
was found there. At the time the mound was opened it
belonged to Jesse Tomlinson. The work was under the
direction of Abelurd B. Tomlinson, and was performed
at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars. On the 19th
of March, 1838, the work was commenced. An excava-
tion was made towards the center at the north side of the
mound, ten feet in height and one hundred and eleven
feet long, along the original surface of the ground. At
the end of this adit was a vault twelve feet long by eight
wide and seven deep. Upright timbers had been placed
along the sides of the vault which supported other
timbers thrown across which served for a roof. Over
these timbers had been thrown loose stone, such as is
found in the neighborhood. The timbers were rotten
and the stone had tumbled into the vault. In this vault
were found two skeletons, one of which was surrounded
by six hundred and fifty beads composed of sea-shells,
and a bone ornament six inches long. From the top of
the mound a shaft was sunk, and at the depth of thirty-
four feet from the bottom another vault was found, con-
taining a skeleton surrounded by over two thousand
discs cut from shells, two hundred and fifty pieces of
mica, seventeen bone beads, and copper bracelets and
rings weighing seventeen ounces. It was in this vault
that the inscribed stone was found on the 16th of the
following June. From a letter written to Mr. P. P.
Cherry, March 7th, 1878, by Mr. Tomlinson, it would
appear that the stone was found at the end of a second
drift which was excavated from the sidS of the mound to
the upper vault. After striking the second vault the"
men from the first vault drilled upward until the second
fell to the bottom.

The inscribed stone is an oval disc of white sandstone
nearly circular in form, about three-fourths of an inch
thick, and an inch and a half in diameter. On one of

92

TABLETS.

the flat surfaces are engraved three lines of unknown
characters. An illustration is given in Fig. 21. I have

very carefully
compared this cut
with that given in
Schoolcraft's "In-
dian Tribes of the
United States,"
published by au-
thority of Con-
gress, and discover
that it differs,
perhaps not ma-
terially. Our
illustration pur-
ports to be a fao
FiGf. 21. -Grave Creek Inscription. _ simt'fe of that given
by Schoolcraft. In the original the face-shaped
character at the bottom ou the right has a dot above the
straight line as though an "eye" was intended. The
straight line just above this figure runs into the A-shaped
letter and is not continued across the bottom of that
letter. The first character on the left third line from the
top is closed where the parts come together. It is left
open at the top in our engraving. The B-shaped letter,
on the right, same line, is not an exact counterpart.
There are two or three other defects that might be
noticed.

Many efforts have been made to decipher these
chai'acters. Henry R. Schoolcraft, having examined the
inscription in 1843, arrived at the following conclusions :
"Having a copy of Mr. March's Grammar of the Ice-
laudie, of 1838, the appendix to which contains the
RuniG alphabet, I observed some corresponding char-
acters. By reference to an inscription from Dr. Plott's
History of Staffordshire, it was also seen that there were
several of the characters quite identical -with the ancient
form of the Celtic alphabet, as employed in Britain in
the so-called Stick-Book. A copy of the inscription

TABLETS. 93

(Townsend's copy*) was transmitted to Professor Rafn, at
Copenhagen, the distinguished Secretary of the Royal
Society of Northern Antiquaries. Mr. Rafn does not
find it to be Runic,, but is disposed to consider the

inscription Celtiberic" The Copenhagen

antiquarians were not able to read it, but acl^nowledged
a large portion of its characters to be in the Spanish
type of theCeltic. The "Stick-Book" character of the
ancient British Celtic has a resemblance to it. This is
perceived in seven of the characters "which are common
to both inscriptions, namely, the Celtic and the Virginic.
There M'juld appear to be some grounds here for the
Welsh tradition of INIadoc." f Colonel Whittlesey quotes
Mr. Schoolcraft as having made the following analysis
of the twenty-two separate characters of this stone :
"Four Greek ; four Etruscan ; five North Runic ; six
Ancient Gaelic; seven Old Erse; ten Phoenician;
sixteen Old British. ";{:

At the Congress of Nancy, Monsieur Levy Bing made
a report upon this inscription from an imperfect en-
graving. He states that " after different combinations
of the twenty-three letters I obtain the following result,
that is, eight Canaanite words, having complete sense ;
forming a phrase which corresponds admirably with the
symbol below the inscription. This symbol is a naked
sword horizontally directed toward an arc, and supported
upon the human head imperfectly designed, which
reposes upon two long arms. This must represent the
idea of Sovereignty and Conquest." The translation of
the twenty-three Canaanitish letters is as follows :
"What thou sayest, thou dost impose it, thou shinest in
thy impetuous clan (?) and rapid chamois."

Monsieur Maurice Sciiwab, in 1857, gave the following
rendering : "The Chief of Emigration who reached these
pfaces (or this island), has fixed these statutes forever."
M. Oppert, who followed him, gave this translation :
"The grave of one who was assassinated here. May

*Apr)eared in "Cincinnati Chronicle," Feb. 2, 1839.

f'lnclian Tribes," pp. 121, 124.

t "Arohfeological Frauds^" Number 33.

94 TABLETS.

God to revenge him strike his murderer, cutting off the
hand of his existence."*

Upon the face of it all this is but idle speculation.
This stone has been given more importance than it really
merits. The inscription takes in too wide a range of
alphabetical characters to represent one distinctive
language. If it does represent a language, then in-
scriptions containing similar characters would have been
found in different localities. If, in reality, it does
represent a language, then the Mound Builders must be
placed higher in the scale of civilization than any other
nation has ever attained under similar conditions. That
the stone or tablet was deemed of some impoi'tance by
the owner is proven from the fact of its having been
entombed with him. It may have possessed, to him,
some mysterious importance in his journey to the future
state of existence : and hence a charm to protect him from
the evil influences that might beset him.

Authenticity. — No relic from the mounds has occupied
so much attention or caused so much controversy as the
Grave Creek Stone. No doubt was ever cast on the
authenticity of this stone until nearly ten years after its
discovery, unless the refusal of Dr. Morton to publish it
in his Crania Americana be taken as an exception to
this statement. Public attention was particularly called
to its authenticity in tract number nine, entitled
"Archaeological Frauds," by Colonel Charles Whittlesey,
published February, 1872. During the month of
November, 1876, he followed this up with another tract
which discussed the question more fully. In both of
these tracts Colonel Whittlesey claimed that the in-
scription was a fraud. These two pamphlets probably led
Mr. P. P. Cherry to investigate the subject, the result of
which was a mass of testimony which overthrew all that
had been written against the inscribed stone. This
evidence was published by that gentlemen during the year
1877. That gentleman must have been astonished to
find so much "living evidence" forty years after the
«"Arcliseologioal Frauds," No. 33.

TABLETS. 95

stone had been found. At the meeting of the Ohio State
Archseological Society held at AVooster, September 25th,
1878, Professor M. C. Read read a paper impeaching the
genuineness of the tablet. Colonel Whittlesey published
another pamphlet during the month of April, 1879,
which indirectly reaffirms his former position, devoting a
portion of it to what purported to be newly-discovered
testimony.

I have carefully gone over the whole of this evidence,
both pro and con and have no hesitancy in declaring that
if the authenticity of the "Grave Creek Tablet" has not
been established, then no reliance can be placed upon
human testimony. When I began this investigation I
had no doubt but a fraud had been perpetrated. I am
aware that a shrewd lawyer can pick flaws and badger
witnesses, but our duty as observers and investigators
is to proceed upon fair and candid testimony let the
result be what it may. From the character of some of
the objections or arguments offered it is evident that
there is a certain class fully determined that the
genuineness of this inscription shall not be admitted.
The objections which have been offered may be briefly
summed up as follows:

1. E. G. Squier, as early as 1847, pronounced it a
modern fabrication. This view was sustained by Dr. E.
H. Davis, in 1859.

2. To use the language of Colonel Whittlesey, this
stone "is now universally regarded by archaeologists as a
fraud."

3. " Dr. James W . Clemens communicated to Dr.
Morton all the details of the exploratio'n of the Grave

Creek Mound without any reference to the

discovery of the inscribed stone."

4. Again to use the language of Colonel Whittlesey,
none of the "gentlemen profess to have seen the stone
imbedded in the undisturbed earth of the mound. It
was first seen by them on the barrows of shoveled earth,
as the workmen brought them out along the adit."

5. The evidence that it came from the mound is by

no means conclusive.
9

96 TABLETS.

6. The testimony of the witnesses who claim to have
been present when the stone was found is contradictory.

7. The stone, when found, was not submitted to a
critical examination for the purpose of determining its
genuineness.

8. The inscription is of such a nature that any laborer
of ordinary intelligence could have manufactured it.

9. The inscription was manufactured by David Gate-
wood for the purpose of deceiving or hoaxing Mr.
Tomlinson.

This is a formidable array of objections, and if they
could be sustained would certainly establish the claim of
fraud. However, they are neither objections nor argu-
ments but simply, for the most part, unwarrantable
assertions. Bold declarations will sometimes carry con-
viction, but such declarations, when not supported by
evidence, in the end, only weaken a cause.

Before correcting these statements or assumptions I
will introduce a letter from Colonel James E. Wharton,
who was present when the stone was found, and who is a
thoroughly competent witness. The letter was written
at my request, and after he had seen the recent articles
published upon this subject. I have thought it best to
publish the letter as written.

PoETSMOUTH, OHIO, June 19, 1879.
J. P. MacLban :

Dear Sir — In answer to your polite request to state for
your use what I know of the Grave Creek inscribed stone, I will be
as brief as possible and state all the facts that are fully and clearly
impressed upon my memory bearing upon its being found and giv-
ing the i-easons why I know it to have been a work of great
antiquity.

In 1835 I went to Wheeling, Virginia, on the Ohio River, purchased
the Wheeling Times and a year or two after converted it into a daily
paper, which I published and edited until 1855, when the pro-slavery
feeling becoming too hot for my pronounced anti-slavery views, I
sold out and went North. Grave Creek is twelve miles below
Wheeling on the river — a broad or rather semicircular flat em-
bracing nearly a thousand acres, on which was a small village, the
county-seat of the new county of Marshall. The village contained a
small tavern, store or two, blacksmith shop, doctor, lawyer,

TABLETS. 97

minister, and altogether perliapa five liundred inhabitants— one of
those dry old Virginia towns. On this plain and near the southwest
corner is the large mound, seventy-five feet high and about nine
hundred feet in circumference at the base. On the north line and
partly in the village was an old fort, enclosing, I should judge, ten
acres, a perfect octagon, having bastions and other points of strength.
Eastward, nearly a mile, was a smaller mound, and several still
smaller were scattered over the plain.

In 1837, or before, the old gentleman who owned the mound and
other property died, leaving several children, nearly all grown.
They determined to see what the mound contained, and early in
1838 they commenced a shaft from the top, and a drift in from the ,
north side on a level with the ground — the drift about ten feet high
and six wide, running to the center. I had been at the place two
or three times, and had made a few acquaintances, but remember the
names of none now except Dr. Ganz and a Mr. Curtis.

Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, was preparing his Crania Americana,
and invited Dr. Clemens, an old and highly respected physician of
Wheeling, to go down, report the result, and send him whatever
was of interest for his work. Being an intimate friend, he invited
me to go with him. On going to the end of the drift we found some
debris, and a man or two at work arching, and another wheeling in
brick and wheeling out the dirt that seemed to have fallen. We
went out and lazily engaged in hauling over the dirt for curiosities,
some few of which we found. We were joined by some of the village
idlers and Dr. Ganz, at wh(5se office, nearest the mound, the
greatest portion of the curiosities was stored. During the search a
man, whom I supposed to be a workman, but have since believed
was Abelard Tomlinson, came up and handed Dr. Clemens the in-
scribed stone which has become so famed. I naturally supposed it
had been then found from its appearance and the circumstances.
There was some talk about it, but no doubt of its being a genuine
find. I examined it closely. It was a hard, dark gray sandstone,
the letters mostly Phoenician, and I believe I was the only one present
who had ever seen that alphabet or the Celtic or Bardic, which
were somewhat similar ; they were clear, deep and carefully cut, the
stone oval, the edges neatly beveled all round on both sides. There
were in the cut creases particles of sand that partially adhered to it,
and on one side a blotch of sand of some size that adhered so as to
require scraping to remove. The stone was of its natural color, iiot
smooth or greasy feeling as it would have been if it had been
handled ; the edges of the letters were rounded oil', not sharp as they
would have been if recently "cut. These facts forbid any doubt of
its being genuine. Subsequent reflection presented other proofe.

98 TABLETS.

The letters were not all Phoenician, showing that the one who cut
them had been long mingling with others, and his language had
been corrupted, whereas a fraud would naturally have copied all the
letters from the published alphabet ; the ornament on it is well pro-
portioned, showing that the maker was accustomed to seeing what
he copied. There was no motive for the fraud, no one anywhere in
the region who could have made it if he would, and few frauds of
the kind had then been heard of.

Dr. Clemens, I think, took the stoae to Wheeling, as it was there
sometime afterward. A plaster cast was taken of it, from whicli the
imperfect engraving was made that was published in the O/iiUicothe
Pioneer, and afterward in the Cincinnati Chronicle. No one in Wheel-
ing orGrave Creek ever doubted that it was the work of the ancients.
Had it been a fraud, more than one must have known when and
how it was made, and a hint of it at least must have escaped, yet no
such thing occurred.

■ Dr. Clemens prepared along and elaborate report, including a de-
scription of the stone as of primary importance, which I heard read
and approved. This Dr. Morton saw fit to reject, and published but
a brief description of the opening of the mound and of the skull
sent him. Dr. Clemens resented this as is shown by letters published
by Hon. Sherrard Clemens, and Dr. Morton partially apologized
for the liberty he had taken. The stone was afterwards placed
in Dr. Ganz's ofEce at Grave Creek, and was for a time in a show case
in the drift with the hatchets, beads, arrowheads, etc., that were
found in the mound.

The first one who wrote of this stone as a fraud, and the only one
until a few years since, was E. 6. Squier. and it is due to the truth
of history that I should state what he knew of it. I forget the year,
but it was somewhere between 1838 and 1843 that he came from
Connecticut with a letter to me. He was in my office some hours
and seemed a smart young man enough, but I observed from his
crude inquiries about a little collection I had that he knew nothing
of archteology. He went to Chillicothe where he edited a paper,
got hold of Dr. Davis' collection and notes, skimmed over the state
some, collecting what notes he could, and in ] 847 went East to publish
"Monuments of the Mississippi Valley." He then told me he had
never seen the stone, and asked me to take him to Grave Creek to
see it, which I did ; but we found it had been taken from Dr. Ganz's
office and could not be found. It was not recovered for some weeks
after. Squier went East the same day, regretting he had not seen
it; yet, having only seen the imperfect copy published in the
Pioneer, and knowing nothing of the" circumstances of the finding,
he, as I am told, published, the same year, an article in the

TABLETS. 99

JHhioloffical Journal denouncing it as a fraud. In 1850, as I learn,
Dr. Wills De Hass deposited this stone in the Snaithsonian Institute
The only true and correct copy I have ever seen of it is in School-
craft's work, vol. 1, plate 3, page 123. Yours truly,

J. E. Wharton.

The probability is that the authenticity of this in-
scription would never have been called in question had not
Dr. Samuel George Morton refused to make mention of
it in his Crania Americana. Soon after he was followed
by Mr. Squier, who claimed that there were "insuperable
objections to its reception." These objections consist of
the statements that no intelligent observers writing on
the spot at the time of the excavation made any mention
of it; that no notice of its existence was made public
until after the mound was opened for public exhibition,
and that the character of the inscription is antagonistic
to all the ancient remains of the continent, so far as
known.*

All the objections, statements, or assertions are fully
and completely swept away by the following answers:

1. E. G. Squier condemned this stone before he ever
saw it, and hence did not give it a critical examination.
Dr. Wills De Hass, in a letter to Mr. P. P. Cherry,
under date of August 7th, 1877, says: "E. G. Squier
never took the trouble to inquire whether the tablet was
genuine or not, beyond some doubt, and attempted to
discredit the discovery in a fit of pique against Mr.
Schoolcraft, towards whom he cherished personal ani-
mosity The Grave Creek inscription was

carefully described in a paper which I read before the
American Ethnological Society, New York, February,
1858, at which meeting Mr. Squier was present and
took back all his objections, moving in conclusion a vote
of thanks for the value of the contribution. His few
followers have not been candid enough to do the same."
This testimony certainly settles the authority of E. G.
Squier on this subject. It is more than probable that
Dr. Davis, as many others have been, was influenced by
the objections Squier had raised.
* "Ancient Monuments," p. 274,

100 TABLETS.

2. The claim that the stone is "universally regarded
by archaeologists as a fraud" docs injustice to the candor
and acute judgment of Colonel Whittlesey. I think he
would not make that statement at the present time. Dr.
De Hass, in the letter above quoted, declares "that no
investigator, whose opinions are worth noticing, doubts
the genuineness of the inscription. Colonel Whittlesey
docs hot exactly repudiate, but inclines to doubt. I am
sorry for this, as I regard him as an earnest, cautious
investigator."

3. Dr. James W. Clemens, in communicating to Dr.
Morton all the details of the exploration of the mound,
did most specifically refer to and describe this tablet.
Colonel Wharton, in his letter already given, shows that
Dr. Clemens did give a description to Dr. Morton, and
that Morton partially apologized for refusing to publish
it. Hon. Sherrard Clemens, of St. Louis, a son of Dr.
Clemens, in a letter to Mr. Cherry, of May 4th, 1876,
says: "My father complained very bitterly of the dis-
credit Dr. Morton threw on the sculptured or inscribed
stone found by him in the mound at Grave Creek, and
ignored by the doctor in his 'Americana.' He
demanded the return of his manuscript, and my im-
pression is that he received it."

4. Against the declaration, that none of the "gentle-
men profess to have seen the stone imbedded in the
undisturbed earth of the mound," may be placed the
solemn declaration of Mr. Abelard B. Tomlinson : "I
will, in the j;fresence of God, before whom T must expect,
shortly to appear, being now sixty-eight years old, give
the event of my finding it, according to my recollection,
which is clear and distinct, although thirty-eight years

have elapsed since the event This stone was

found in the upper vault I removed it with,

my- own hands, as I supposed from its ancient bed,
believing it to be a genuine antiquity." (Letter to Mr.
Cherry, August 3, 1876.)

6. The evidence that the stone came from the mound
is of the clearest and most conclusive character. It is
testified to by Colonel Wharton, Dr. Clemens, Mr.

TABLETS. 101

Tomlinson, who found it, and P. B. Catlett, wlio did the
brick work. It is not necessary to repeat the evidence
here.

6. It must be admitted that there are discrepancies
between the witnesses now living,* but however great
they may vary, they are a unit in the declaration that
the stone came from the mound. The only real contra-
diction is that between Messrs. A. B. Tomlinson and P.
B. Catlett.

Mr. Tomlinson declares, " I removed it with my own
hands." Mr. Catlett says, " I was the man who found
the stone." (Letter to Mr. Cherry, May 6, 1876.)

*"Tllustrative of the fact that men do not see alike is the following
curious story : "Sir Walter Raleigh, in his prison, was composing
the second volume of his history of the world. Leaning on the sill
of his window, he meditated on the duties of the historian to man-
kind, when suddenly his attention was attracted by a disturbance in
the court-yard before his cell. He saw one man strike another,
whom he supposed by his dress to be an officer ; the latter at once
drew his sword and ran the former through the body. The
wounded man felled his adversary witli a stick and then sank upon
the pavement. At this juncture the guard came up and carried off
the officer insensible, and then the corpse of the man who had been
run through. Next day Raleigh was visited by an intimate friend,
to whom he related the circumstances of the quarrel and its issue.
To his astonishment his friend unhesitatingly declared that the
prisoner had mistaken the whole series of incidents which had
passed before his eyes. The supposed officer was not an officer at all,
but a servant of a foreign ambassador ; it was he who had dealt the
fii'st blow ; he had not drawn his sword, but the other had snatched
it from his side, and had run him through the body before anyone
could interfere; whereupon a stranger from among the crowd
knocked the murderer down with his stick, and some of the
foreigners belonging to the ambassador's retinue carried off the
corpse. The friend of Raleigh added that the government ordered
the arrest and immediate trial of the murderer, as the man assassin-
ated was one of the principal servants of the Spanish Ambassador.

" 'Excuse me,' said Raleigh, 'but I cannot have been deceived, as
you stipposed, for I was eye-witness to the events which took place
under my own window and the man fell there on that sijot where
you see a paving-stone standing up above the rest.' 'My dear
Raleigh,' replied his friend, 'I was sitting on that stone when the
affray took place, and I received this slight scratch on my cheek in
snatching tlie sword from the murderer, and upon my word of
honor, you have been deceived upon every particular.'

"Sir Walter, when alone, took up the second volume of his history,
which was in MS., and contemplating it, thought — " If I cannot
believe my own eyes, how can I be assured of the truth of a tithe
of the events which happened ages before I was born ?' and he flung
the manuscript into the fire."— S. Baring-Gould's " Curious Myths
of the Middle Ages," pp. 114-116.

102 TABLETS.

In all investigations where human testimony is given the
character of the witnesses is to be taken into consider-:
ation. What stronger indorsement would a person
desire than that which comes from an opposer? Pro-
fessor Read, having championed the cause of those who
discredit the authenticity of the tablet, in the paper
referred to,* gives the folloAviug indorsement of the
witnesses : " Colonel Wharton is evidently a consci-
entious observer, and I will not question his knowledge
as to the difference between an ancient and modern in-
scription. . . . Mr. Catlett evidently is a frank, candid
witness." Speaking of Colonel Wharton and Mr.
Tomlinson, Colonel Whittlesey says, (Tract 33) :
"No one questions the sincerity of their belief that
it is of the age of the mound itself"

We here have credible men, even according to those
who oppose their evidence, then, why should we seek to
invalidate the proof and impeach the testimony ? Is it
at all probable, that three respectable men, two of theni
having no interest whatever in the matter, would con-
spire to perpetrate and maintain a fraud without any
prospect or hope of reward for a period of forty or more
years ? Besides this others must have been a party to it
who have long since departed this life.

It is not incredible that thete should be discrepancies
in the testimony. Forty years must evidently blot some
things out of the memory, while other things would be
dim and confused. Upon this point Colonel Whittlesey
observes : " They do not precisely agree in the details,
but are as nearly in accord as is usual in such cases."!
One thing, however, would cling to the memory, and
that is a stone was found, and that stone came from the
mound. But suppose, after a lapse of forty years, these
witnesses should testify alike on all the details, we
would find that the same persons, who urge the dis-
crepancies now, would then declare that there must be
collusion for the testimony dues not vary enough.

^Published in " American Antiquarian," vol. 1, No. 3.
tXract 44.

TABLETS. 103

7. It is unquestionably true that the stone was not
critically examined at the time of its discovery in order
to determine its authenticity. Why should it have
been ? In all that occurred during the opening of the
mound nothing transpired which would create suspicion.
Is it at all likely, that even now, should anyone, engaged
in opening a large mound which had never been opened
before, and at the center or at any distance within should
discover an implement or other work of art, would at
once give it a critical examination in order to determine
its authenticity? Would such a person leave the imple-
ment in situ and immediately send for an individual of
"critical culture" to determine whether or not it was
really there ? Still the fact remains that there were
pjesent, at the time of the discovery, certain men who
were fully competent to pass judgment upon it. Dr.
Clemens could not have been deceived, and he never
doubted it. The testimony of Colonel Wharton has
already been given. John W. Erwin* informs me that
on June 20, 21, 1838, (four days after the discovery of the
tablet) in company with James McBride and George W.
Jones, (the latter of Camden, Ohio,) he visited the
Grave Creek Mound. They saw and carefully examined
the Grave Creek Stone, and it bore all the marks of age
as described by Colonel Wharton. Mr. Erwin firmly
believes in its genuineness, and states that James McBride
never doubted its authenticity. It must be borne in
mind that both James McBride and John W. Ei'win
were practical archaeologists, and at the time of the
opening of the Grave Creek Mound were as thoroughly
competent to pass judgment on anything that pertained
to the Mound Builders as any one on this continent.
Henry R. Schoolcraft, the eminent antiquarian, ex-
amined the stone in August, 1843, and in his "Indian
Tribes " gave an illustration of it, believing it to be
ancient, and consequently genuine.

8. Suppose it should be admitted by all that any
laborer of ordinary intelligence could have formed the
characters on the stone, would that prove the stone to

*One of the present State Civil Engineers.

104 TABLETS.

be a fraud ? Are we to suppose that the Mound Builders
had arrived at such a degree of culture that the laboring
man of to-day cannot equal their devices or sculptures?
If we are to submit to such a method as.this where shall
we end? Not a single thing has been brought forth
from the mounds but almost any mechanic, with his
improved implements, can surpass it. Does the objector
intend to have us infer that some laboring man of
ordinary intelligence manufactured and put it in the
vault? Why, then, not be liberal about it, and make
the same claim for all the relics found in the mound, or,
indeed, in any other mound ? But consider this simple
fact: If this tablet is a fraud, and placed in the mound
during the excavation, would not the fine grains of sand
formed by the cutting instrument, or the sharp edges of
the characters, have exposed the imposition ? A "laborer
of ordinary intelligence " would not have taken every
precaution against exposure. Again, it would naturally
appear that if the perpetration of a fraud had been
intended it would have taken an entirely different turn :
a larger stone and a more pretending inscription would
have been given.

9. From 1847 to 1878 it was busily promulgated that
the stone was a fraud, and yet the perpetrator remained
unknown. It was even intimated that Mr. Tomlinson
was the guilty party. In February, 1878, Colonel
Whittlesey obtained the track of the so-called miscreant.
The man who possessed the information was Mr. Bore-
man, postmaster at Parkersburg, West Virginia. Pro-
fessor I. W. Andrews was informed as to the new
discovery and had an interview with Mr. Boreman, but
" his report of the interview is that it was not very
explicit." "Mr. Boreman is confident that some one told
him that David Gatewood admitted that he had cut the
characters on the stone and threw it into the excavation
while the men were away, but cannot recall the person
who informed him."

In August, 1878, Colonel Whittlesey visited Mound-
ville, and, after interviewing several parties, among
whom were two of Mr. Gatewood's daughters, arrived at

TABLETS. 105

the following conclusion : " It must be admitted that
tlie proof is not conclusive against Gatewood, and
amounts to little more than suspicion."* Mr. Gatewood
died about fifteen years ago, and, of course, cannot speak
for himself.

In this controversy there is an important fact that has
been entirely overlooked. Schoolcraft tells us that in
one of the minor mounds at Grave Creek there was
found a curious device; also, "a circular stone without
inscription, but identical in material with the inscription
stone." (Illustrations of both are given.) The "curious
device" has characters on it composed of or made up by
straight lines.f These facts must lend weight to the
testimony of the witnesses.

It should be fully considered in forming an opinion
on this question that not a single individual who
examined this stone, for a great many years after its
discovery, ever doubted its genuineness; while out of
the whole phalanx of doubters, probably, not one ever
saw it, but if so, not prior to 1850.

Cincinnati Tablet. — At the corner of Fifth and Mound
streets, Cincinnati, once stood a mound about twenty-five
fret high with a base of seventy feet diameter. During
the month of November, 1841, it was removed in order
to grade one of the streets and an alley. In the center
of the mound and slightly below the surrounding
surface,- a skeleton, greatly decomposed, and other relics
were found. The "Cincinnati Tablet" was taken from
under the skull of the decayed skeleton. A view of
this tablet is given in Figures 22 and 23.

The representations here given are of the actual
dimensions of the original stone. The artist who made
the engraving had the tablet before his eye and his work
is a correct copy. Out of all the engravings which have
been made Robert Clarke pronounces this to be the best.
So far then as general purposes are concerned the reader
can be as well benefited by our engravings as he would
be though he held in his hand the original.
«Tract 44.
t" Indian Tribes," Vol. 1. p. 122-123.

Ii< •vf.i^.

[. 1'

fiFVi-^i'iiijijivsIL

tl^^,-

m: ',<I!L^'

Fis. 22. Cincinnati TiiBLEx— Fuont View.

Fig. 23. CxNU.NNAii TiBLEi— Reveese View.

108 TABLETS.

These cuts are correct representations of the original.
No better idea of the tablet can be conveyed than in
the following description and comments :

" The material is a fine-grained, compact sandstone, of a light
brown color. It measures five inches in length, three in breadth at
the ends, two and six-tenths at the middle, and is about half an inch
in thickness. The sculptured face varies very slightly from a perfect
plane. The figures are cut in low relief (the lines being not more
than one-twentieth of an inch in depth), and occupy a rectangular
space four inches and two-tenths long, by two and one-tenth wide.
The sides of the stone, it will be observed, are slightly concave.
Right lines are drawn across tlie face, near the ends, at right angles
and exterior to these are notches, twenty-five at one end, and twenty-
four at the other. Extending diagonally inward are fifteen longer
lines, eight at one end and seven at the other. The back of the stone
has three deep, longitudinal grooves, and several depressions, evi-
dently caused by rubbing — probably produced in sharpening the
instrument used in the sculpture.

"Without discussing the 'singular resemblance which the relic
bears to the Egyptian cartaucli,^ it will be sufficient to direct
attention to the reduplication of the figures, those upon one side corre-
sponding with those upon the other, and the two central ones being
also alike. It will be observed that there are but three scrolls or
figures — four of one description and two of each of the others.
Probably no serious discussion of the question, wliethcr or not these
figures are hieroglyphical, is needed. They more resemble the stalk
and flowers of a plant than any thing else in nature. What signifi-
cance, if any, may attach to the iioculiar markings or graduations at
the ends, it is not undertaken to say. The sum of the products of
the longer and shorter lines(24X7 + 25XR) is 3fi8, three more than the
number of days in the year ; from which circumstance the suggestion
has been advanced that the tablet had an astronomical origin,
and constituted some sort of a calendar.

"We may perhaps find the key to its purposes in a very humble,
but not, therefore, less interesting class of Southern remains. Both
in Mexico and in the mounds of Mississippi have been found stamps
of burned clay, the faces of whu-h are covered with figures, fanciful
or . imitative, all in low relief, like the face of a stereotype plate.
These were used in impressing ornaments upon the clothes or pre-
pared skins of the people possessing them. They exhibit the con-
cavity of the sides to be observed in the relic in question— intended,
doubtless, for greater convenience in holding and using it— as also
a similar reduplication of the ornamental figures, all betraying a
common purpose. This explanation is offered hypothetically as

TABLETS. 109

being entirely consistent with the general character of the mound-
remains; which, taken together, do not warrant us in looking for
anything that might not well pertain to a very simple, not to say
rude, people."*

Various other views have been given, some having
thought it to be a record pertaining to the standard of
measurement, because of the seemingly systematic vari-
ation of curve and scale in the sides, and others think
they can trace the figure of an idol.

Authenticity. — The genuineness of this relic was called
in question by Colonel Whittlesey, in "Archseological
Tract Number Nine." In looking over Wilson's "Pre-
Historic Man" he saw a written leaf pasted in the book,
upon which were comments by Dr. Jared P. Kirtland,
bearing date of December, 1871. In this statement Dr.
Kirtland declares that in the spring of 1841 it was pre-
sented to himself and Professor John Locke for sale.
Locke examined the engraving through a magnifier, and
remarked sarcastically, "I would advise you before you
attempt to palm this off as a piece of antiquity, to care-
fully brush from the excavations in the stone the fine
grains of sand formed by the cutting instrument." Dr.
Kirtland then examined the stone in a like manner, and
plainly detected the imposition. The Doctor further
states that he afterwards learned that this stone was cut
and engraved in a marble shop in Cincinnati.

In the fall of 1876 Robert Clarke published a pamphlet
of thirty-four pages, in which was a vindication of
the Cincinnati Tablet. This treatment of the genuine-
ness of the tablet is exhaustive and removes all doubt as
to its authenticity. Mr. Clarke thinks it must have beeu
another tablet referred to by Dr. Kirtland, for this one
was not found till the following November, and on
December 7, 1841, was examined by asociety of scientific
gentlemen. Professor John Locke "was a man of rigid
truthfulness, and had an impatient contempt and hatred
of imposture or fraud," and he took a special interest in
this tablet ; had a mold made of it and distributed quite
a number of casts among his friends, and never was
*" Ancient Monuments," p. 275.

110 TABLETS.

heard to doubt or dispute its genuineness, but believed it
to be a true relic of the Mound Builders. Mr. Clarke,
however, falls into an error in stating that "no doubt is
cast upon it for thirty years." In the first edition of Dr.
Daniel Wilson's "Pre-Historic Man," (p. 417), Mr. Gest
is quoted as saying : "So difficult is it to imitate, with our
cultivated hands and eyes, the peculiar imperfection of
this cutting, that some excellent judges who at first
doubted the genuineness of the relic have changed their
opinion upon trying to imitate it."

Mississippi Tablet, — In 1870 there was found a tablet
in a mound near Lafayette bayou in Issaquena County,
Mississippi, which has the same reduplication of figures
in the carved work as exists in the Cincinnati tablet.
It is composed of a fine-grained sandstone, circular in
form, about an inch thick, with a smooth, slightly convex
surface. Upon it, in low relief, is a representation of
two bird-headed, short, thick rattle-snakes, each swallow-
ing a long, slim sort of snake, which coils around the
body of its devourer. One of the serpents has four
rattles, and the other three. On the reverse side is a
circle, and exterior to it the circumference is divided by
fifteen arcs, and from their intersections are notches,
which divide the stone into fifteen sections. In the
center occurs a mortise hole. It is said that this stone
h;is a slight resemblance to the famous Solstitial tablet
found in the city of Mexico.

Berlin Tablet.— T\ds tablet was found June 14, 1876,
by Dr. J. E. Sylvester and Linzey Cremeans, near Berlin,
Jackson County, Ohio. It was found in a small mound
situated on the second bottom of a small tributary of
Dixon's Kun. The stone, which is six inches long, three
and five-eights wide, and half an inch thick, composed
of a fine-grained sandstone of a grayish, brown color,
occurred on a level with the original surface, placed on
its edge with the ends pointing east and west. Both
sides are engraved, the style being of that kind known
as line-engraving. One side is a reduplication of the
other. By the aid of the imagination several figures can
be traced, such as a human figure, a double-bladed oar,

10

Fig. 24.— Berlin Tablet— Fkont View.

Fig. 25.— Berlin Taelet-Eeveese View.

TABLETS. 113

a serpent, a club, a cluck, etc. It probably is a labyrinth,
or the s! ucly of a plan of some proposed work which the
artist had conceived.

We give wood cuts of both sides of this tablet, size of
nature. The front view shows the stroke made by the
mattock. The lines arc evenly cut, and of the same
depth throughout, showing that the workman was well
skilled in his art. The reverse side is poorly executed.
The lines are often mere scratches, and sometimes
doubled as if the artist had made a mis-stroke. Three
indentations will be noticed, through two of which the
lines have been carried, while one, which is the deepest,
and running across the end, either cuts away a part of the
work, or else tlie design was not carried over it.

Upon first inspection it would appear that the front
view was first executed, and upon the back the workman
sharpened his implements. Afterwards ia beginner
attempted to copy this, with what success the picture
fully illustrates.

Other Tablets. — Various other tablets might be
commented on which represent curious scenes, and, instead
of throwing light upon the conditipn of the Mound
Builders, rather cast more darkness upon the subject.
Some of these will be referred to in the following chapter.

CHAPTER IX.

FEATJDS.

Two Classes of Frauds — Canard — 3Ioon Hoax — Runic In-
scriptions — Vaidt in the Palisades of the Hudson — Tumulus
in Utah — William Tell — Pocahontas — Sacrificial Tablet —
Wiltningion Tablets — Questioned— Operations of David
Wyrich — NeicarJc Holy Stone- — Likeness of Moses— Ten
Commandments — Stone from Michigan — Axe from Butler
Count]/ — Inscriptions from Fremont — Rock Inscriptions-^
Nott and Gliddon.

A certain class of frauds has been perpetrated which
should at least have a passing notice. To hoax has
become a mischievous habit among Americans. It is
principally of two kinds, one of which tries the credulity
without resulting in harm, while the other is deliberate
fraud, perpetrated wholly at the expense of truth, and
with a desire to impede investigation. The result of all
this has been to make the men of science more wary.
And so cautions have they become that even actual
discoveries have been discredited. There are frauds
which have a curious history, and have resulted in
giving new meanings to words. The word canard is of
French origin and means a duck, but in the English
language means only an extravagant or ridiculous fabri-
cation. This perverted meaning is due to a French
writer who set afloat an absurd story relative to the
great voracity of ducks. He alleged that twenty ducks
having been placed together, one of them was killed and
cut to pieces, feathers and all, and then thrown to the
other nineteen, which immediately devoured it. The
same was repeated until only one duck was left, this one

FRAUDS. 115

having eaten all the rest in a very brief time. This
story was circulated in all the journals of Europe and
America. Hence ridiculously absurd stories have been
called canards.

The most ingenious of all stories set afloat, and the
one given almost universal credence, is known as the
" Moon Hoax." It was published in New York about
forty years ago, and purported to be a series of dis-
coveries made in the moon by Sir John Herschel, during
his residence at the Cape of Good Hope. It is a well
known fact among astronomers that, with a given-sized
object-glass, the power of the telescope is limited by the
degree to which the image in the focus of the glass can
be magnified; the light remaining the same, the more
the size of the image is increased the darker it becomes.
This writer alleged that by a great improvement in the
telescope the image could be illuminated by artificial
light. By the application of this idea and using an
eye-glass of great magnifying power. Sir John Herschel
observed moving animals on the moon so distinctly that
their forms were actually discovered. Even learned
professors in colleges were duped, failing to detect the
scientific absurdity of illuminating a shadow in order
that it might be more highly magnified.

A young law student in the city of Washington
pretended that he had discovered a series of Runic
inscriptions on the face of a rock in the Potomac River,
and the same was given to the journals for publication.
The various ethnological journals copied it as the truth
and by the Scandinavian antiquarians it was hailed as
another evidence that the Northmen had early explored
this country.

A story was published in Europe concerning a remarka-
ble vault, discovered in the Palisades of the Hudson,
that contained many statues and inscriptions, all of
which only existed in the mind of the writer.

During the year 1869 a Kansas paper published an
account of some imaginary professor having discovered
a tumulus near Evanstown, Shelby County, Utah, in
which was a vault eight feet long, three wide^nd four

116

FRAUDS.

deep. In the cavity Avas found a skeleton, which imr
mediately crumbled upon being exposed to the light.
There were also found an ordinary-shaped earthen pot,
an iron bracelet with a spring clasp, two medicine stones,
similar to Tennessee marble, shaped like a cigar, full of
holes, and of half-pound weight, and a plate of the purest
silver. This article was soon after acknowledged by the
editor as having been written by a sub-editor in order to
offset certain reports on Colorado.

This class of frauds has a great vein of fun in it, and
becomes interesting instead of damaging. The truth is
soon seen and the joke enjoyed. Not so is the deliberate
fraud which is persisted in. Some of these have been
hunted down and completely exposed. It may be hard
to acknowledge that William Tell did not shoot the
apple from off his son's head, or that Pocahontas did not
save the life of Captain John Smith, but before the
inevitable we must bow and acknowledge that the stories
are unworthy of belief

Memorials from the mounds are numerous, and not
unfrequently something is announced entirely out of the
usual line of discovery. The frauds of history are
repeated in tablets or inscribed stones purporting to have
been taken from the mounds. Some of these contain on
their face the evidence of fraud, while others require
the closest scrutiny.

In previous editions of this work, a paragraph was
here inserted, specifying that a certain tablet (not named,
but which referred to the Davenport Tablet) was a fraud.
Recently, I had the pleasure of examining not only the
tablet itself but also the history of its discovery, and am
now fully satisfied that injustice has been done both to
the relic and its discoverers. My previous statement was
based on information which I thought to be trustworthy.
This paragraph is inserted in hopes to rectify the error.
A full, fair and impartial report, with illustrations, may
be found in the Academy's Proceedings.

Wilmington Tablets. — Of all the finds from the mounds
none equal the Wilmington Tablets. In every respect
all previous memorial stones are surpassed. I have

FRAUDS. 117

never seen these tablets, but have carefully examined the
cuts in the pamphlet published by Dr. L."l>. Welch and
J. M Richardson, who claim to have made the important
discovery. The mound, from which these tablets are
said to have come, is situated three and one-half miles
from Wilmington, Ohio, near the turnpike leading to
Harveysburg. ' Tablet "Xo. 1" is of Waverly sandstone,
three and seven-eights inches wide, four and seven-eights
long, and five-eights of an inch thick. The obverse side
of this stone is entirely covered with figures or symbols,
among which are two grinning idols terminating in the
body of a fish. This tablet is encircled with the repre-
sentation of an exceedingly beautiful arrow, terminating
in two arrow points, one of which is attached to the
other. The second tablet consists of engravings upon a
wand or badge of authority. These engravings are
clearly defined, and if the pictures are exact counterparts
of the originals, then they are clearer than any other
engravings left by the Mound Builders. Upon one side
we have the picture of a man holding an implement in
one hand, and a spear in the other. At one end of the
implement, and also at the end of the spear, are half-
moon shaped ornaments fastened to the handles. The
face of the man bears but little resemblance to the human
features engraved on the pipes and pottery of the
Mound Builders. The face is unlike any known type of
mankind, while the moccasins are not unlike those of the
Indians. Near the center is a double-headed serpent,
and at the opposite end is a symbolical representation
formed in sixteen squares among which is a duplicate of
the double-headed serpent near the center. Upon the
opposite side of the wand we encounter another human
figui'e, which seems to be making some kind of an offering
to an alligator, while behind it is a rattle-snake in the
act of striking a panther.

The authors of this pamphlet claim that several things
are settled by these discoveries, among which we may
note the following: 1. The exact type of the Mound
Builders : they were brachyceplialic, or phort-hended, with
bold massive forms, or just such men as we would suspect

118 FEAUDS.

had made these great structures. 2. The crescent-formed
ornaments were used as a hand-hold to the spears. 3.
The so-called Indian battle-axe is of Mound Builder
origin. 4. It establishes the costume, showing that the
"wearer thereof was an inhabitant of a warmer climate."

One of these tablets the authors have called the "Rich-
ardson Tablet," and the other "relic has been named by
Mr. Eichardson the 'Welch Butter-fly,' in honor of
Dr. L. B. Welch, of Wilmington." The Introduction is
written by L. B. Welch, D. D. S, in which he declares
that "we are at a loss to express how great would be our
chagrin did we for a moment think that any doubt could
be entertained as to the gemiiueness of the articles."
On the eighth page the authors declare that "we Avell
recollect the cry of fraud that was raised against the

Cincinnati Tablet M'hen it was fovind but as to

the circumstances attending the discovery of the relics
herein described, we are free to say that no chance for
doubt exists, and having enjoyed a privilege no others
ever have, that of seeing the Richardson Tablet and
the Cincinnati Tablet placed side by side, we do most
unequivocally j)ronounce the Cincinnati Tablet genuine."

There are certain queries and considerations which
naturally arise that may be noticed. 1st. If any person
having the crescent-shnped ornament should attach the
same to the end of the handle of a spear or battle-axe for
a hand-hold, how long would it last after the first strain?
It is evident to anyone that in such a position and
for such a purpose it would be easily broken. 2nd.
Why should the authors have expressed themselves in
reference to their chagrin, should the authenticity of
these articles be doubted? 3d. Was there a cry of
fraud when the Cincinnati Tablet was discovered?
This tablet was found in 1841, and the "cry of fraud"
was not raised until over thirty years after. It is
true that some had doubts concerning it, but these doubts
were not very loud, nor were they raised into a "cry,"
for had such been the case Robert Clarke, who is well
posted in the history of this tablet, would have mentioned
it in his phamplet. The " cry " must have been ex-

FEAUDS. 119

ceedingly feeble. It is hardly probable that the doubts
expressed by some of Mr. Gest's friends were heralded
abroad. 4th. Why should the authenticity of the Wil-
mington Tablet make the Cincinnati Tablet unequivo-
cally genuine? 5th. Admitting their authenticity and
the genuineness of everything else that has ap])eared
under the sun, what is there in them to lead to the
following conclusion as expressed on the eighth page?
"We do unhesitatingly say that in these tablets we have
the fact well established that pre-historic man, upon
this continent, possessed a written language : not a
pictorial language, but a language composed of different
and distinct characters, well and plainly written."

The costumes of the human figures attract the eye.
No modern tailor could make a more complete fitting
suit than that worn by the male figure. The pantaloons
and close-fitting jacket are distinctly modern, and just
such as all have seen worn by Americans at one time or
another. The other figure is dressed in the same attire
as is frequently used by female performers at a circus.

Further criticisms are unnecessary. It will be suf-
ficient to say that these relics will never be appreciated
by archaeologists. It is possible that they may have
been found as described; but as being either of
Mound Builder or Indian origin the very outlines are
against the supposition. If of Mound Builder origin,
then all the sculptured pipes, and pottery, and many
other things which have been found in the mounds
must be assigned to a different race.

Operations of David Wyrick. — David Wyrick, of
Newark, Ohio, was an uneducated man, but on the
subject of mathematics possessed decided ability. He
had held the office of county surveyor until he was
forced to retire on account of long-continued attacks of
acute rheumatism. He was regarded as an eccentric
character and incapable of deliberate deception. He
had adopted the idea that the Hebrews were the builders
of the earthworks of the West, and as often as his disease
would permit he sought diligently for proofs of his
theory. His first discovery was made during the
1]

120 FRAUDS.

month of June, 1860. This discovery consisted in what
is known as the " Newark Holy Stone," and was found
about a mile southwest of the town, near the center of
an artificial circular depression, common among; the
earth-works. As soon as he found it he ran away to the
town, and there with exultation exhibited it as a
triumphant proof of his Hebrew theory. Upon exami-
nation it proved to be a Masonic emblem representing
the " Key Stone " of an arch formerly worn by Master
Masons. The Hebrew inscription has been thus
rendered into English : " The law of God, the word of
God, the King of the earth is most holy." The stone
did not have the appearance of antiquity, and probably
was accidently dropped into the depression, and then
covered over by the accumulation of loam and vegetable
matter continually washed into the center of the cavity.
Wyrick continued his researches and soon made a
startling discovery. During the summer of 1860, with
three other persons, he repaired to the spot where the
stone mound had stood (see page 53) and there dug up
the trough which had been re-entombed by the farmers
in 1850. In the following November Wyrick, with five
other men, met at this spot and made still farther
examinations. They found several articles of stone,
among which was a stone box enclosing an engraved
tablet. Upon one side of the tablet is a savage and
pugnacious likeness of Moses, with his name in Hebrew
over his head. Upon the other side of this stone is an
abridgment in Hebrew of the Ten Commandments.
Archffiologists never had much faith in the Holy Stone
and the discovery of Moses and the Ten Commandments
soon established Wyrick's character as an impostor.
"Not long after this he died, and in his private room,
among the valuable relics he had so zealously collected,
a Hebrew Bible was found, which fully cleared up the
mystery of Hebrew inscriptions 'even in Ohio.' This
had been the secret and study of years, by a poverty-
stricken and sutfering man, who, in some 2-cspects, was
almost a genius. His case presents the human mind in

FRAUDS. 121

one of its most mysterious phases, partly aberration and
partly fraud."*

Stone from Michigan. — An engraved stone was plowed
up on the eastern shore of Grand Traverse Bay. The
stone is sandrock, half an inch thick with both faces
flat. The arrangement of the letters is confused, the
characters lack individuality, and it is diflficult to de-
termine which was intended to be the upper side. By the
aid of a magnifier it has been detected that the engraving
is fresh and recent and made by one who was not an
expert.

Axe from Butler County, Ohio. — This is a grooved
stone axe covered with English letters, the purport of
which is that in 1689 Captain H.- Argill passed there
and secreted two hundred bags of gold near a spring.
The letters are so rude and fresh as to deceive no one
versed in antiquities.

Inscriptions from Fremont, Ohio. — About thirty years
ago there was found in a mound near Fremont (then
Lower Sandusky) a series of oval mica plates, " in-
scribed with numberless unknown characters, probably
containing the history of some former race that inhabited
this country." Upon examination, these plates were
found to be of that variety of mica known as "graphic
mica;" hence the "unknown characters" were simply
natural workings.

Rock Inscriptions. — Before closing what we have to
say relative to frauds, and indirectly to the consideration
of a written language, we should give a passing notice to
Rock Inscriptions, although it has not been ascertained
whether or not any of them were made by the Mound
Builders. The inscriptions have been observed at various
points within the United States. Their direct object is
not understood. The inscriptions in Ohio, which have
l)epn prominently noticed, occur near Barnesville,
Belmont County, near Wellsville, near Newark, near
Perrysburg, at Independence, Cuyahoga County, and
other places.
»Tract Nine.

122 FRAUDS.

If the Mound Builders had a Avritten Linguage, they
were in possession of abundant means to have perpetuated
it. Numerous plates of copper and polished slate were
at their command, and if they possessed this art, letters
would certainly have been engraved upon them, and
uniform characters would have been found from the
Great Lakes to the Gulf.

The following observation from Nott and Gliddon's
"Types of Mankind," (p. 283), may be quoted with
propriety : "No trace of an alphabet existed at the time
of the conquest of the continent of America; but some
tribes possessed an imperfect sort of picture-writing,
from which a little archaeological aid can be derived;
though we are compelled to look chiefly to traditions,
which are often vague, and to the light which emanates
from the physical characters, antiquities, religions, arts,
sciences, language, or agriculture."

We should hesitate a long time before placing the
Mound Builders higher intellectually than the ancient
Mexicans or Peruvians. All pretences to a discovery of
alphabetical characters should be regarded with doubt,
and not received unless supported by the most convincing
or unquestionable testimony.

CHAPTER X.

CIVILIZATIOX.

Growth— AgriadtHre— System — Maize— Tobacco— Potato — Gov-
ernment — Priesthood — Subjection of the Masses — Religion —
Sun Worship — Serpent Worship — Idolatry — Idol from Illi-
nois — Idols in Tennessee — Amusement — 3Iilitary.

All the cultured nations hud their eras of barbarism
and serai-civilization before they entered upon their
career of prosperity and refinement. It is possible that
the Mound Builders grew out of a state of savageism.
When they left the valley of the Ohio they were no
longer barbarians, but were making rapid strides towards
a higher state of existence. As to their exact condition,
we may never be able to unravel it. We can approximate,
but to tell their actual position or condition in life is
beyond the grasp of human attainment.

Agriculture. — If no other proof existed save that of
the size and number of the mounds, it would be sufficient
to establish the fact that the Mound Builders were, to a
certain extent, tillers of the soil. The earth-works not
only indicate that an immense amount of labor was ex-
pended upon them, but also required time, and the efforts
of a vast multitude of men. As has already been stated,
a people subsisting solely or principally by the chase,
could not have erected these structures. It has been
estimated that in the hunter state it requires fifty thousand
acres for the support of one hunter, and as there are
twenty-five million four hundred and forty-six thousand
seven hundred and seven acres in Ohio, we then could
have, upon the above estimate^but five hundred and nine

124 CIVILIZATION.

able-bodied men, supported aloiie by tbe flesh of wild
beasts in Ohio. Even the Indians were forced to
partially support themselves by the cultivation of maize,
and in order to secure enough game were compelled to
hunt in Kentucky, and yet their numbers were by no
means great. During the period of occupancy by the
Mound Builders, there were certainly districts densely
populated, as indicated by the remains, which do away
entirely with the idea of dependence, upon the chase, and
prove that they subsisted upon the products of the soil.
In order to have supported a large population, the soil
must have been cultivated in a methodical manner.
Their system of agriculture must have been very com-
plete in order to have sustained so large a population.
These monuments arose slowly, and untold multitudes
constantly toiled upon them. In order to have supported
the laborers there must have been plenty of cheap food,
which in a well-populated district could only be produced
by skilled labor. Their chief subsistence was un-
doubtedly maize, and their settlements were located
within the area best adapted to its cultivation. No other
plant was better adapted to their use, for it is highly
prolific, easily cultivated, and the product of a single
acre is sufficientto sustain, for an entire year, about two
hundred able-bodied men. They cultivated other grain,
and the tobacco plant, and such fibrous plants as could
be used for making cloth. Their numerous pipes attest
that they were inveterate smokers, from which we may
conclude that tobacco was cultivated with great care
and raised in abundance. As the potato and tomato
are indigenous to America, it is more than probable that
their great value Avas known, and hence large fields
devoted to their culture.

Government. — It would be an easy matter to assume
that the government of this people was not unlike that
of the ancient INIexicans. In this we might not be
altogether justified. If the INIound Builders had a more
ancient origin than the Mexicans, then some ad-
vancement must be allowed for the latter. It would be
more safe, however, to judge simply by the remains, for

CIVILIZATION. 125

the present, and then, if an intimate relation can be es-
tablished between the two, it would necessarily follow
that their methods of government were similar. Every
indication shows thnt it was largely a government of the
priesthood, and, as history teaches us, such a government
is one not to boast of Where the priesthood rules,
oppression prevails. The people have no voice, and
must obey in mute silence. Such a government is only
content with the complete subjection of the masses,
which results in personal servitude, and an abnegation
of all political and personal rights. It can not be said
that the Mound Builders were entirely ruled by the
priests, but undoubtedly to a very great extent. There
were probably very powerful rulers, or chieftains, who
had a voice with the priesthood, and who together con-
trolled the masses, and had supervision over their labor.
The numerous works of this people, and the useless but
gigantic tumuli, give evidence that they Mere not free
men, but in a conditjon of servitude. These men, by
stupendous labor, with rude imjjlements, would not have
erected, of their own accord, the Grave Creek and other
mounds sim2:)ly to gratify a ruler who wished to
perpetuate his name.

This government apportioned the work among the
masses and selected the avocation for each and every one.
It implies a complex system, and one showing rare
judgment in order to keep the masses down. While a
portion were engaged in toiling on the earth-works, others
provided for them the necessaries of life, and all things
worked together that the government of the priesthood
might be perpetuated. It is possible that the lands,
buildings, etc., all belonged to the rulers.

In such a condition of affairs a redress of grievances
is scarely possible. In all conditions and stages of
society there must at least be a jjretence to right the
wrongs of the people, and hence it may necessarily
follow that some of their enclosures, called sacred, were
used for council-houses, as places for adjudicating.

While they had a very strong centralized and despotic
government, it is extremely doubtful if the race consti-

1 26 CIVILIZATION,

tuted one nation or empire. It is probable that they had
separate governments, for the different settlements,
although alike, yet an interchange of priests preserved
them, in one sense, as a compact nation.

Religion. — Among nearly all tribes, however degraded
they may be, there is a recognition of an invisible, con-
trolling power. The object of woi'ship, from a low form,
ultimately becomes an Invisible, Spiritual Presence.
Among the ancient inhabitants of Central America and
Mexico the worship of the sun was practiced, as well as
among other nations of antiquity. It is not improbable
that the Mound Builders erected their great temple
mounds to the Avorsliip of the sun, moon and stars. Upon
these mounds were erected other structures made of
wood, and in them the perpetual fires burned by day and
by night. If the so-called altar-mounds were places of
sacrifice, then more light is thrown upon this subject,
and in imagination we may behold strange and revolting
rites. Upon these altars, then, were offered up their
most precious ornaments, and the most skillful works of
their hands. No gift was too costly, none too highly
esteemed. Their most elaborately carved pij)es, their
garments woven with patient toil, their precious materials
brought from long distances, were freely offered to
appease the wrath of their deities. Nor is this all.
Around those altars the priesthood assembled, and with
strange songs, marched in solemn procession, while one
or more of their numbers offered ujj a human being as a
sacrifice. Not one, but many of their own nation, or
some poor victims taken in war, were condemned at once
to pour out their blood in obedience to the forms of a
superstitious and sanguinary religion.

Among a few archteologists it is maintained that the
serpent was worshiped, and as evidence of this fact
there may be cited the Great Serpent Mound in Adams
County, figures of the reptile on tablets, etc. It has
been farther claimed tliat a portion of the walls of Fort
Ancient bears a resemblance to the serpent. This is the
wall forming the lower enclosure, and made after the
form of two serpents. Their heads are represented by

CIVILIZATION. 127

the two mounds which cover the entrance into the narrow
enclosure that connects the two grand divisions of the
fort. These serpents are apparently contending with
each other, and their bodies bend in and out and rise
and fall like two serpents engaged in fighting. At the
opposite end from the heads the walls taper down until
the opening or gateway is reached. It may be that these
walls were constructed in the form of serpents, but the
fact must remain that before and since this discovery was
announced no one has been able to detect the form of a
serpent. Dr. John Locl^e who gave it the most careful
survey, assisted by twelve engineers, was forced to
establish one hundred and ninety-six stations in order to
complete the survey, which required two days, and yet
this careful surveyor, who Avas well informed on such
subjects, failed to notice the serpent symbol. After the
"important discovery" had been made, a party of
gentlemen visited the fort, having in view the serpent
symbol, but failed to notice anything unusual in the
structure.

It is not here denied that the serpent was
worshiped by the Mound Builders, but it is maintained
that there is no evidence to that«ifect. It is a fact that a
person may start out with any theory, and soon he will
be overwhelmed with proof. It might as well be main-
tained that the Mound Builders worshiped man, the
club, and other objects both animate and inanimate. It
will soon be discovered that the proof is abundant. If,
however, the Mound Builders were connected with the
ancient Mexicans, it is probable that their religions
were not unlike.

The evidence that they were idolaters, or worshiped
graven images, is by no means conclusive. It would
appear that if such had been the case, large graven
images would have been found in the vicinity of the
temple mounds. A few images have been found which
have been taken for idols. Jn Union County, Illinois,
was found a wliite porphyry stone, weighing forty
pounds, carved into the human form. The image is in a
sitting posture, with the left leg drawn under the body,

128 CIVILIZATION.

and the right leg drawn up to the thigh (?), supporting
thereon the right hand. The face is finely chiseled,
preserving all its parts and perfect in its anatomical
proportions. Its height in the sitting position is
thirteen inches, and if the whole body was extended it
would measure twenty-five and one-half inches. Dr.
Joseph Jones in his " Antiquities of Tennessee " gives
an account of quite a number having been found in that
State. Other writers also describe them, so that
images in Tennessee appear to be numerous.

It is manifest that this race was very superstitious, for
it must be confessed that the element of superstition
entered more into their worship than that of simple
devotion. If they had not been pre-eminently a re-
ligious or more probably a superstitious race these great
structures for purposes of worship never would have been
erected, and thus serve as monuments for future genera-
tions to judge of their servile condition, and their subjec-
tion to the fear of their gods, as well as their rulers.

Amusement. — It is doubtful if a people can become so
subdued as to be restrained from all amusement. Amuse-
ment is almost a necessity ; it is an element in man's
nature. If there are thwse who are strangers to such a
sense they are to be pitied, and their condition shunned.
However despotic the government of a priesthood may
be, and however servile their subjects, yet the attempted
banishment of all amusement would be a hazardous
experiment. Before the removal of the Creeks to their
reservation they had what were called "Chunk Yards,"
or rectangular areas occupying the center of the town.
At the opposite corners of them stood the "Great Winter
Council House." Some of these yards are from six
hundred to nine hundred feet in length, and of pro-
portionate width. The area is level and sunk from two to
three feet below the lands surrounding it. In the center
of this area is a low circular mound, in the middle of
which stands the " Chunk Pole," which is a high ojielisk,
made of wood from thirty to forty feet high, on the top
of which is fastened some object which serves as a mark
to shoot at. This area is designed for a public place of

CIVILIZATION. 129

exhibition, for shows, games, etc. Formerly the most
barbarous and tragic scenes were enacted within them.
Of the origin of these structures the Indians know
nothing. They were found when the Indians occupied
the country, and by them were kept partially in repair.
They were, probably, originally used for games, shows,
etc. Remains of this class occur near Mount Royal,
Florida. They are situated upon an eminence overlook-
ing the shores of the lake and command an extensive and
charming view. The mound is a conical pyramid forty
feet high. From it leads off an avenue, enclosed by two
parallel walls, to an artificial pond one-half mile distant.

The discoidal implements spoken of elsewhere were
probably used in games which may have been similar to
that played in the chunk yards. The game called
" chungke" is played by two parties, one of which rolls
the stone on its edge, in a direct line, a considerable
distance towards the middle of the other end of the ground.
Each party has a sharpened stick, about eight feet in
length, and after they have run a few yards each darts
his pole after the stone. When the pole strikes the
stone it counts two, and in proportion to the nearness of
the poles to . the stone one is counted, unless both
spears strike at equal distances. They will play this
stupid game all day, and stake their ornaments on the
result.

Military. — The military skill of these people has been
largely considered in their works of defense. But from
the character of the people it can hardly be considered
that they were warlike. They engaged in Avar as a
matter of necessity and not from choice. This necessity
for engaging in war will more properly be considered
under the head of " What Became of Them ?"

From these considerations we may be able to judge
whether or not they were superior to their Indian
successors. When every part is taken into contem-
plation, their civilization and condition must appear
remarkable. That they were a remarkable people of an
original civilization there is no room for doubt.

CHAPTER XL

ANTIQUITY.

Evidences — Period of the Villagers — Garden Beds of the North-
west — A Probable Race — Forest Trees Upon the Works — •
Encroachments Made by Streams — Vegetable Accumulations
— Condition of the Skeleton — Local Position of Earth-
works — Terraces— Facts Established — How Long Were They
Here — Origin of the Race.

In considering the antiquity of the Mound Builders
the preconceived opinions of the majority will be
antagonized. There is a feeling of distrust pervading
the public mind in reference to every discovery and
every argument which carryback the origin of man to
a period beyond the Historical Era. The true scholar,
the true thinker, and the man of science do not share
this feeling. We must believe upon evidence, however
unwilling we may be to accept a new truth or discovery;
The recent origin of man has already been sufficiently
exploded, and we are warranted in ascribing to man a
very great antiquity. This being the truth we need not
be surprised should a higher antiquity be assigned to the
Mound Builders than was anticipated.

In order to ascertain the time when the Mound
Builders occupied the valley of the Ohio, we have a
variety of indisputable evidence. It is not claimed by
any one of reputed authority that the exact time can be
named when this people ceased to live north of the Ohio,
but there is abundant evidence that their works belong
to a distant period. All the facts taken together give
an array of evidence which should not only be
thoroughly studied, but also form a very interesting part

ANTIQUITY. 131

of the investigation. These facts may be presented in
the following manner :

1. The Period of the Villagers. — It is pretty M'ell
established that since the time of the Mound Builders,
and prior to the advent of the Indian, a race known as
the "Villagers" occupied certain districts of this
country and made the " garden beds" found in northern
Indiana, lower Missouri, and in the valleys of the
Grand Eiver and St. Joseph's, Michigan. These beds
exist in the richest soil in that part of the country.
Some of the lines of the plats are rectangular and
parallel, others are semicircular and variously curved,
forming avenues, differently grouped and disposed.
The ridges are low, averaging four feet in width, and
the depth of the walk between them is about six inches.
They cover from ten to one hundred acres, and sometimes
embrace even three hundred acres. The beds are
laid out with great order and symmetry, and have certain
peculiar features that belong to no recognized system of
horticulture. These beds are entirely. different from the
system of field culture as practiced by the Indians, and
no similar remains are connected with the enclosures of
Ohio.

It is evident that these beds do not belong to the
epoch of the Mound Builders, for in some cases they
extend over mounds, which certainly would not have
been permitted by the builders. Nor is it to be pre-
sumed that these villagers immediately succeeded their
predecessors, for these encroachments must have been
long after the mounds had been abandoned and their
purposes forgotten.

The Indians have no traditions concerning them and
know nothing about this people.

It is a singular fact that but few, if any, of the usual
aboriginal relics are found within them. The beds are
the only memorials of this race. But from them we
readily draw the conclusion that they were a settled,
peaceable people, of industrious habits and advanced
tastes. Their implements and their dwellings mast
have been of wood.

132 ANTIQUITY.

Time must be allotted for them to take possession of
the country; then growth and decadence would have
required ages, so that an almost incredible period must
have elapsed from the time they took possession of the
country until they retired. If it should be established
that the animal mounds were made since the structures
in Ohio were built, then another people lived between
the time of the Villagers and the Mound Builders, which
would give a still greater antiquity to the latter. There
must have been a great lapse of time between the
abandonment of these beds and the period when they
were discovered by the white man. Schoolcraft tells us*
that in 1827 an oak tree on one of the " gai'den beds" in
Grand River Valley, Michigan, was cut down, which
measured thirty-eight inches in diameter, at the height
of twenty-six inches above the ground, and which
denoted three hundred and twenty-five annual rings of
growth. The oak was not the first tree to grow on these
jbeds after they had been deserted, for other trees must
have preceded. This will be treated under the second
head.

There is another consideration which appropriately
comes under this head. Since the period of the Villagers
and before the advent of the Indians, still another race
may have existed. This belongs to the possibilities,
and is not incredible. Suppose that the North American
Indians had been destroyed by a pestilence or war before
Pamphilo de Narvaez landed in Florida, what traces of
them would have been left? They have left, in the
States, no distinctive trace of their existence, unless it
is in the little hillocks used for hills of corn, which are
not yet entirely obliterated.

2. Forest Trees upon the Works. — The great age of the
works is indicated by the growth of forest trees upon
them. It is evident that the mounds and the walls of
the enclosures were kept free from the intrusions of the
forest so long as they were occupied for sacred or secular
use. Yet when this country was first visited by the
Europeans they were covered with forest trees of great

*Indian Tribes, vol. 1, p. 57.

ANTIQUITY. 133

dimensions. On one of the embankments of "Fort
Hill/' Highland County, E. G. Squier noticed a chestnut
measuring twenty-one feet in circumference ; also an
oak, which stood on the wall, though fallen and much
decayed, then (1S46) measuring twenty-three feet in
circumference; and all around were scattered the trunks
of immense trees, in every stage of decay. Actual ex-
amination of the chestnut tree showed the existence of
nearly two hundred annual rings to the foot, which
would give nearly six hundred years as the age of the
tree. Upon one of the mounds at Marietta stood a tree
of eight hundred rings of annual growth. On the
Ontonagon River Captain Peck observed some stone
mauls and other implements, at a depth of twenty-five
feet, and in contact with a vein of copper. Above these
was the trunk of a large cedar, and over all grew a large
hemlock indicating a growth of three hundred years.
To this must be added the cedar, which showed even a
greater age, and then the protracted period during which
the trench was slowly filled uji, which would require
many more centuries.

After these works had been abandoned many ages
must have elapsed before the trees began to grow upon
them. In speaking upon this subject President Harrison,
who was well skilled in woodcraft, observed in an address
delivered before the Historical Society of Ohio, "that
several generations of trees must have lived and died
before the mounds could have been overspread with that
variety which they supported when the white man first
beheld them, for the number and kinds of trees were
precisely the same as those which distinguish the sur-
rounding forest. We may be sure that no trees were
allowed to grow so long as the earth-works were in use;
and when they were forsaken, the ground, like all newly-
cleared land in Ohio, would for a time be monopolized
by one or two species of trees, such as the yellow locust
and the black and white walnut. When the individuals
which were the first to get possession of the ground had
died out one after the other, they would in many cases,
instead of being replaced by the same species, be sue-

134 ANTIQUITY.

ceeded (by virtue of the law which makes a rotation of
crops profitable in agriculture) by other kinds, till at last,
after a great number of centuries (several thousand
years, perhaps), that remarkable diversity of species
characteristic of North America, and far exceeding what
is seen in European forests, would be established."

I have my doubts about the little hillocks, formed by
uprooted ti-ees, having any particular bearing upon this
subject. I have noticed the hillocks upon the very top
of the wall. The hillocks must sooner or later he
worked to a level with the surrounding surface. In some
woods I have not noticed any, while in other places they
are abundant. Their endurance is owing to their par-
ticular positions and the kind of earth composing them.

3. Encroachments Made by Streams. — There are several
instances of the streams encroaching upon the works and
carrying portions away. In order to get an approximate
length of time, from these encroachments, it must first
be observed how many inches the streams advance per
year, and even then it would be impossible to tell how
far the works were originally placed from the stream.
Something definite could be reached in a careful study of
the fort near Carlisle, elsewhere described, (see p. 25).
It was stated that at the northeast of this structure is a
graded way leading to Twin Creek. A j^ortion of this
grade is still from two to three feet high along the
terrace. There must have been a necessity for this grade.
The necessity, primarily, may have been a swamp, and,
secondarily, to protect their field. The questions for
computation are, how long has it taken Twin Creek to cut
the thirty-one feet (of depth) ; what relation has that to
the drainage of the swamp, and the time i-equired?

These streams have not only encroached upon the
works, but afterwards receded, in one instance (High
Bank "Works, Ross County), to a distance of three-fourths
of a mile. The intervening space, when first observed
by the white man, was covered with a dense forest.
Tills recession and subsequent growth of the forest must
have taken place since the river encroached upon
the works.

ANTIQUITY. 135

4. The Vegetable Accumulations in the Ancient Exca-
vations. — One of the pits at "Mound City" is eighteen
feet deep, by one hundred and twenty feet in width, and
over two hundred feet in length. The accumulation of
vegetable deposit at the bottoni is thirty inches. In the
ditch, accompanying the wall of the fort, four miles
below Hamilton, is a deposit of three feet and eight
inches of vegetable and other matter. The trenches of
Lake Superior have already been spoken of, and the
filling of them must have been very slow and the work
of untold ages.

5. The Decayed Condition of the Skeleton. — In nearly
every case the skeleton has been found in such a state of
decay as to forbid an intelligent examination. Probably
not over a half dozen have been recovered in a condition
suitable for restoration. This is all the more remarkable
from the fact that the earth around them has invariably
been found wonderfully compact and dry. The locality,
the method of burial, the earth impervious to water, all
tend to the preservation of the body. "Well-preserved
skeletons have been taken from the tumuli of Europe,
known to have been deposited there not less than two
thousand years ago. The mode of burial was not better
adapted for the pi-eservation of the body than that of the
Mound Builders. Yet the latter when exhumed is in a
decomposed and crumbling condition. From this con-
sideration alone a greater antiquity must be assigned
than that ascribed to the barrows in Europe.

6. Local Position of the Earth-works. — None of the
mounds and enclosures occur on the lowest- formed of the
river-terraces. There is no good reason Avhy builders
should have avoided erecting these structures on the
lowest terraces, unless the terrace was formed since, or
was being formed about the time the Mound Builders
took their departure. In some instances avenues
running upon the lowest terrace would seem to indicate
the beginning of the formation of the terrace about the
time the works were abandoned.

The streams generally show four successive terraces,
which mark four distinct eras of their subsidence. The
12

136 ANTIQUITY.

last, upon which these works do not occur, must have
been the longest in forming, because the excavating
power necessarily diminishes as the channels grow
deeper. This geological change proves, for the mounds,
a very great antiquity; how long, Ave could only
approximate.

On the Lower Mississippi the ancient monuments are
invaded by water. In this case, the fact must be borne
in mind that the bed of the stream is rising from the
deposition of materials brought down from the upper
tributaries, where the excavating process is going on.

7. Effigy of the Mastodon. — The discovery of the "Big
Elephant Mound" in "Wisconsin establishes the fact
that the Mound Builders were acquainted Avlth the form
of the Mastodon. Instead of helping the antiquarian
out of difficulties, this discovery increases them. No
bones of any of the elephant family have been found in
the ancient monuments of the Mississippi Valley. The
striking form of this family is not delineated on their
pottery. In all the Mound Builder relics from the
valley of the Ohio, no trace of the elephant family has
been found. The remains of the Mastodon and Mam-
moth have been found in the gravel and other deposits.
These animals must have ceased to exist in the United
States long before the Mound Builders began to flourish.
Still the Mastodon must have existed somewhere. The
mound of Wisconsin is no ideal structure. If the
"Report of the Davenport Academy of Sciences" is to
be accepted, then this effigy is not an isolated case. It
states that a member of the association has found a
carved pipe in the form of an elephant. This, however,
is not incredible, on account of the discovery of the
"Winconsin mound. It is evident that in order to have
delineated the form of this animal, it must have been
seen. If, however, the builders of the mound saw the
Mastodon in the valley of the Ohio or Mississippi, then
to the Mound Builders must be assigned an antiquity
which other evidences would not warrant. It must be
that during their intercourse with the Mexicans the

ANTIQUITY. 137

animal was there seen.* As Mexico was probably the last
retreat of the proboscideans on this continent, and as they
became extinct a great many centuries ago (several
thousand years, perhaps), we have it definitely settled
then that a great antiquity must be assigned to the
Mound Builders.

The great antiquity thus given to the Mound Builders,
instead of making more obscure the suiyect, in reality
throws more light upon it. It gives the student of
anthropology a starting point in his investigations as to
the relative position this lost race occupied to the most
ancient Mexicans. It does away with a \-ast amount of
speculation, which has been indulged in liv those who
desire to establish an Asiatic origin. It declares an
original civilization, and an antiquity that suri'ounds
itself with considerations whicli are not presented in the
history of any other race. Wiien these fixcts are clearly
understood or recognized, certain difficulties which now
beset the antiquarian will be done away with, and
the investigation freed from so much unnecessary
encumbrance.

How Long Were They Here f — That the Mound
Builders occupied their jjrincipal seats in the Ohio
and Mississippi Valleys fora long time there is ;ibundant
proof. On the Ohio and its trii)utaries these settlements
were very numerous and populous. From the Ohio
they spread in all directions. Time must be allowed
for this increase of population, the spread elsewliere,
and the development of their civilization. Each settle-
ment must have been old and jiopulous before a new
colony was sent forth. The (onstruction of these
stupendous works must have been a growth — one made
by the toil of years. Each settlement experienced the
same labor and the same growth. They must have
dwelt here a long time before they discovered the copper
of Lake Superior. How long after its discovery before
they became acquainted Avitii its value no one can tell.
For a great length of lime they worked these mines.
The progress of their work in these mines must have
*Discussed in "Mastodon, Mammoth and Man."

V68 ANTIQUITY.

been very slow. These mines cover the entire region,
even where the white man has not yet begun to operate.
The time occupied, then, can only be left to conjecture;.
Probably thousands of years elapsed from the time they
entered the valley until they took their departure, and
other thousands to the present.

Origin. — The origin of this race, like others of
antiquity, is, and must be, enveloped in impenetrable
mystery.

CHAPTER XII.

WHO WERE THE MOUND BUILDERS, A:SD WHAT BECAME
OF THEM?

An Interesting Question — Different Nations — -Lost Tribes of
Israel — Works on Lake Uric — Mounds of Wisconsin — Of
Georgia — West of the Mississippi — of Illinois — Crania —
SliuU from Chiilicothe — YarioiLs Opinions — Of Morton,
Nott, Wilson, Warren, and Foster — Characlerisl ics of
American Crania — Expulsion — Disease — At the South —
What Became of Them — Immigration — Toltecs — Founders
of Mexican Civilization.

The investigation of the question relating to the

Mound Builders as a race is a very interesting one. It

is of gi-eat importance to the ethnologist. There is a

great diversity of views upon this subject, and much

learned discussion has been the result. It will be the

object here to give the most plausible view, and not

attempt the refutation of certain theories which have

been maintained and elucidated. To follow all the

vagaries which have been put forth Avould be a task not

necessary to perform.*

«There has bten a vast amount of discussion relative to the ten
lost tribes of Israel. The literature upon this subject is extensive
and somewhat amusing as well as absurd. Some have thought they
were the Jlound Builders, and others have contended they were the
ancestors of the Indians There is no evidence that the ten tribes
were lost. It is probable that some of the Israelites were absorbed
by or amalgamated with the people of Media and Assyria, while
others were scattered abroad. According to the New Testament,
the twelve tribes were in existence at the time of the Apostles, for
James (chap. 1. v. 1) speaks of," the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad." The Jews early settled in all the commercial and
manufacturing cities of Syria, Egypt, and other parts of the sea-
coasts of Africa, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy.

140 WHO WEEE THE MOUND BUILDERS?

Different Nations. — There is one thing that impresses
itself upon the mind of the investigator, viz: that owing
to the manner in which they lived, the extent of
territory occupied, and the diversity of the works, there
conld not have been a central government, but there
must have been separate, although cognate, nations. A
map of the State of Ohio containing the earth-works
would indicate three distinct things. 1st. A belt of
country running through central Ohio from east to west,
entirely devoid of ancient earth-works. 2d. South of
this belt are numerous military and religious enclosures.
3d. !North of the belt numerous military but no sacred
enclosures. These works are not so formidable as those
of southern Ohio. The soil of central Ohio is productive,
and hence there must have been some very strong reason
for not occupying it. Again, if the same nation occupied
northern Ohio that occupied the southern part, we
would certainly meet with sacred enclosures. Tt appears
that there were in the State two distinct nations, having
different sympathies, and on account of the dispai-ity
existing between them they placed themselves wide
apart, being separated by the belt of neutral territory.

If the mounds of Wisconsin belong to the snir.e era as
the mounds of Ohio, we have another distinct nation.
The animal mounds of Wisconsin are very numerous,
while in Ohio the animal mounds probably do not
number half a dozen, and the greatest of all these is
entirely separated from any of the enclosures. If the
sympathies of these nations were the same it would
appear that vnst numbers of this class of mounds should
be found in Ohio.

Two bird mounds made of stone occur in Putnam
County, Georgia. With these exceptions, together with
the three or four in Ohio, the effigy mounds belong to
one locality, and to a people who had not the character-
istics of contemporary nations. The occurrence of these
mounds in other States may have been caused by an
irruption of the Wisconsin nations into the States farther
south. Or possibly the desire to imitate, which was so

WHO WERE TI-li; MOUND BUILDERS? 141

characteristic of the Ohio Mound Builders, was the
cause of these anomalous structures.

The mounds west of the Mississippi are entirely unlike
those of the Ohio Valley. In southeastern Missouri and
eastern Arkansas are found the sites of ancient towns
and cities. These towns or cities are indicated by a
series of little square-shaped mounds, from one to two
feet in height, all ranged in straight lines in two directions
so that every dwelling stood u])on a street. These
mounds were originally mud dwellings, or else made out
of sun-dried brick-. This is proven from the fact that
whenever opened there are found wood ashes and
charcoal, broken pottery, flint arrow-heads, and stone
axes.

Hon. William McAdams, in his "Antiquities of Jersey
County, Illinois," states that he has met with a certain
class of mounds which "are generally situated about the
borders of prairie lands, near some spring or water course.
They occur in groups of two or three to thirty or more,
, and are from two to six feet in height, round or oval in
shape, and fifteen to twenty feet in diameter. Some are
forty to fifty feet long. In several of the groups the
mounds are arranged in a circular manner. If a group
is on a hillside or declivity, the larger mound will occupy
the commanding position on the upper side. Other
groups have apparently no design in their arrangement,
and are irregular, or form a line ou the bank of the
creek or top of some ridge. These mounds ai'e most
numerous of any in the county. Although I have made
large excavations in them, and digged trenches entirely
through them, I have met with nothing but ashes,
charcoal and pieces of animal and fishes' bones, with
shells of the Unio of the adjacent streams." Mr.
McAdams concludes that these mounds were "house
mounds," and were made by placing strong poles in a
circular form with one end in the ground and the upper
ends inclined and fastened together, and the whole
covered with earth or sod.

The investigator fails to discover mounds of this class
in Ohio, although occasionally one such might be dis-

142 WHO "WERE THE MOUND BTTILDEES ?

covered. It may be that the Illinois mounds, together
with those of Missouri smd Arkansas, belong to a much
later age.

Crania. — Craniologists have examined the skulls of
the Mound Builders in order to assign them to their
proper family among the types of mankind. Instead of
arriving at definite .conclusions, there has been a diversity
of opinion. As an illustration of this we may take the
skull discovered by Squier and Davis which has been
so often commented on. This skull was taken from a
mound near Chillicothe. The mound is composed of a
tough, j^ellow clay, which at a depth of three feet is
intermixed with large, rough stones. Beneath these
stones is a deposit of burned earth about two feet in
thickness. Within the center of tliis burned earth was
found the skull. It was submitted to Dr. Morton, the
eminent craniologist, for examination, who declared that
its characteristic features resembled the Toltecan. Nott
and Gliddon* state that it is "exceedingly characteristic
of our American races, although more particularly of the
Toltecan." According to both Drs. Morton and Nott,
the peculiarities of this skull consist in the "forehead,
low, narrow and receding; flattened occiput; a perpen-
dicular line draAvn through the external meatus of the
ear divides the brain into two unequal parts, of which

the posterior is much the smaller Viewed from

above, the anterior part of the brain is narrow, and
the posterior and middle portion, over the organs of
caution, secretiveness, destructiveness, etc., very broad,
thus lending much support to phrenology : vertex
prominent. "t

Dr. Wilsonl does not agree with the conclusions of
Dr. Morton, for he remarks : "Tried by his (Morton's),
own definitions and illustrations, the Scioto Mound
skull essentially differs from the American typical
cranium in some of its most characteristic features.
Instead of the low, receding, unarched forehead we have

«"Types of Mankind," p. 291.

tlhid.

J"Pre-Historic Man," p. 435.

Who were the mound builders? 143

here a finely-arched frontal bone, with corresponding
breadth of forehead. The conical or wedge-shaped
vertex is, in like manner, replaced by a well-rounded
arch, curving equally throughout; and with the ex-
ception of the flattened occiput, due, as I believe, to
artificial, though probably undesigned compression, in
infancy, the cranium is a uniformly proportioned ex-
ample of an extreme brachycephalic skull."

Dr. John C. Warren pronounced the Mound and
Peruvian crania to be alike. This would essentially
agree with Morton, for the Peruvian is a fair sample of
the Toltecan type.

Dr. Foster* abruptly dismisses this skull by stating
that " any comparative anatomist will instantly recog-
nize it as of the Indian type."

Undoubtedly Mr. Foster desires us to infer that the
skull is that of an Indian. In speaking of the general
type of American crania, the Indian and all other
varieties of mankind, found on this continent prior to the
advent of the white man, are included. " The anatomical
characters of the American crania are, small size, aver-
aging but seventy-nine cubic inches internal capacity; low,
receding forehead ; short antero-posterior diameter ;
great inter-parietal diameter; flattened occiput; promi-
nent vertex ; h igh cheek-bones ; ponderous and somewhat
prominent jaws."t

Mr. Foster describes what he believes to have been the
true Mound Builder type, and for examples takes three
skulls, one of which was found in Illinois, one in
Indiana, and the other in Iowa. He regards the one
found at Meroni, Indiana, as representing the distinctive
characters of the Mound Buildei's. " In its general
outlines the observer is struck by the scantiness of brain
capacity, seen in the narrow forehead, the receding
frontal bone, and a similar recession in the region of the
lambdoidal suture which give to the vertex an undue
prominence, and to the longitudinal arc an outline

approaching in form a Gothic arch The

*" Pre-Histoi-ic Races," p. 291

t" Types of Mankind," p. 441.
13

144 WHO WERE THE MOUND BUILDERS?

skulls which I have described possess peculiarities which
ally them more nearly with the Mongolian race than

with the Negro or European The Mound

Builders, assuming these skulls to be typical, were
doubtless neither eminent fof great virtues nor great
vices, but were a mild, inoffensive race, who would fall
an easy prey to a crafty and cruel foe."*

It would appear that Dr. Foster has examined skulls
distinct from those of the true Mound Builders. They
may represent a contemporaneous race, and in that case,
it would establish different types of mankind living upon
this continent at the same time.

In this investigation it is possible that a thorough
study of the human faces carved on the pipes or repre-
sented on the pottery may throw some light upon the
subject.

Expulsion. — It requires no profound observation in
order to understand what became of this people— north
of the Ohio. Every indication shows that they were
expelled from this territory by force. When they were
harassed by the inroads of the warlike bands of a foreign
race, they erected their strong fortifications, for retreats
during the predatory raids. On the hills they erected
the mounds for posts of observation, and when a war
party came down upon them, the fires were kindled, and
the people thereby warned sought their shelters of
refuge.

The mounds of observation tell the direction the
enemy came from. Along both Miami Hivers are small
mounds on the projecting highlands, and a series of
them along the Scioto, across Ross County, and ex-
tending down into Pike and Pickaway Counties. Mounds
are so placed that in a few minutes intelligence of an
invasion could be flashed from DelaAvare County to
Portsmouth.

The invaders came from the North and assaulted the
various settlements along the different rivers. The belt
of country between the northern and southern works of
Ohio probably remained a dense forest, and through it

*'" Pre-Historio Races," p. 295.

WHO WEEK THE MOUND BUILDEHS? 146

came the warlike bands. In order to warn the settle-
ments, when such a band should approach, it was found
necessary to have these signal stations. Judging by the
primitive methods employed these wars must have
continued for ages. If the settlements along the two
Miamis and Scioto were overrun at the same time before
they had become weakened, it would have required such
an army as only aoivilized or semi-civilized nation could
send into the field. It is plausible to assume that a
predatory warfare was carried on at first, and on account
of this the many fortifications were gradually built.
During a warfare such as this, the regular parties of
miners would go to the mines, for the roads could be kept
open, even should an enemy cross the well-beaten paths.
Communication with Lake Superior would be hard to
cut off by any nation, however populous they might be at
the north. Nor is it to be presumed that the warfare
was continuous until the final expulsion.

However long the war may have continued it is evident
that the final overthrow or expulsion of the Mound
Builders was sudden and complete. It was so sudden
that the mines of Lake Superior were abandoned in such
haste as to cause them to leave their implements behind.
On the temple mounds were probably scenes of carnage.
They never would submit to give up these places without
first offering the most stubborn resistance. Those mounds
were covered with multitudes of brave and self-sacrificing
men, who shed their blood in defense of their home and
religion. The grim visage of war, with its relentless
fury, burst upon them, carrying death and destruction in
its course. At last this peaceable and quiet people were
expelled from the Ohio, and never after returned.

It is true we do not find the implements left on the
field of battle, nor the remains of the devastating fires.
Occasionally implements are plowed up, either within or
close to the fortifications. It must be remembered that
to these places both the conquerors and Indians had
access, and the implements left by the former were taken
up and scattered by the latter. The time has been so

146 "WHO WERE THE MOUND BUILDEES ?

great since these devastations as to remove many of the
traces of war.

It is not to be supposed that the Mound Builders
never crossed the Ohio until their expulsion. We have
already seen that mica mining and an extensive commerce
were carried on with the people in the South. It is
probable that the Mound Builders early crossed the
Ohio, and there founded settlements, many centuries
before their overthrow. It is probable that the. settle-
ments in the South were very extensive at this time, and
during the wars in the valleys of the Ohio and its
tributaries they felt that the strongholds must be held for
the double purpose of protecting their original seat, as
well as to check the further advance of the enemy.

This overthrow was not accelerated by a deterioration
of the race. It is true that disease crept in among them.
"We have evidence that they were occasionally afflicted
with a loathsome disease. A skeleton bearing evidence
of this fact was exhumed near Alexandersville, Ohio.
That this skeleton belonged to the Mound Builders is
evident from the fact that it was buried beneath the
original surface in a stratum composed of ashes, char-
coal and soil. Over this was a cover of clay and ashes
one foot in thickness. Upon this was heaped the mound
of clay, six feet in height by forty feet in diameter at
the base. There were two skeletons, one a male and the
other belonging to a female. Both of these skeletons I
have seen and examined. The crest of the ilium of both
OS innominata and the femora of the male were strongly
marked by nodes. This disease continued its ravages
after the Mound Builders had crossed into Tennessee, as
we learn from Dr. Joseph Jones' "Antiquities of Ten-
nessee."*

Disease will weaken or deteriorate a race. But it
must take vital hold upon the people, and consequently
become general. Such was not the case Math the Mound
Builders. At the time of their expulsion they were in
the height of their power. They were engaged in con-
*Publishecl by Smithsonian Institution, see pp. 65-73.

WHAT BECAME OF THEM? 147

structing other works, and attempting to strengthen their
civilization.

Having been forced to abandon the valley of the
Ohio, they strengthened their ])osition in the Southern
States. Their enemy did not pursue them any farther
than the banks of the Ohio. But as a precaution, or as
a protection against other enemies, forts were erected in
the South, but not such formidable ones as occurin Ohio.
They were not now surrounded by such hardships, and
instead of defending their homes they were allowed to
build their great mounds, which in architectural wonder
surpass those at the North. Here in peace and plenty
they must have continued down to a comparatively
recent period.

What Became of Them? — It has already been stated
that the type of the skull, according to certain crani-
ologists, belonged to the Toltecan family. If this be true,
then the fact would be established that the Mound
Builders were the original Toltecan race. The Tolteos
at an early date settled in Mexico. Before their arrival
Mexico was possessed by an ancient native civilization ;
and among the races were the Olmecs, the Otomi, the
Totonacks on the eastern terraces of the Cordilleras, the
Mixtecs on the coast of the Pacific, the Tarasks in
the greater part of Michoacan, and the Zapotecs in
Oaxaca.

From time immemorial there has been immigration
into Mexico from the north. One type after another has
followed. In some cases different branches of the same
family have successively followed one another. Before
the Christian Era the Nahoa immigration from the north
made its appearance. They were the founders of the
stone works in northern Mexico. Certain eminent
scientists have held that the Nahoas belonged to the race
that made the mounds of the Ohio and Mississippi
Valleys. Following this people came the Toltecs, and
with them light begins to dawn upon ancient Mexican
migration. They were cultivated, and constituted a branch
of the Nahoa family. There is a difference of opinion as
to the time when the Toltecs entered Mexico. Some argue

148 WHAT BECAME OF THEM?

the date of their appearance in Mexico to have been A. D.
648. Clanigero carries it back to the year 596. Other
writers appear to make the Nahoas and Toltecs the same,
and date the time back to 955 B. C. The Toltec
monarchy came to an end A. D. 1018, on account of
famine, pestilence and war. The remnant took refuge in
Gfuatemala and Nicaragua. A century later the barba-
rous Chichiniecs took possession of the deserted land.
Scarcely had the Chichimecs taken possession when the
Aztec (a race speaking the same tongue as the Toltecs,
and one branch of that family), immigration poured in
from the north, and gradually overran the country,
where their descendants still remain.

But little can be gleaned relating to the Toltecs, on
account of their written records having perished. But
through the nations which succeeded them, we learn that
they were well instructed in agriculture; understood
most of the useful mechanic arts ; were fine workers of
metals, and engaged in many enterprises. .They were
the founders of that civilization which distinguished
itself in later times. The noble ruins of religious
and other edifices still remaining owe their origin
to this race.

It would be impossible to tell Avhether the Mound
Builders were the original Nahoas, and as such immi-
grated into Mexico, or the Toltecs, and as such came
later. Whichever may be true, still it appears to be
certain that the Mound Builders did immigrate into
Mexico. This is proven from the fact that the farther
south we go we discover a gradual improvement in their
structures, which finally develop into the higher archi-
tecture of Mexico.

If the Mound Builders had come from Mexio, then
their structures would have remained the same, or else
they would have passed into a higher architecture as
they proceeded north.

In the light of modern discovery and scientific in-
vestigation we are able to follow the Mound Builders.
We first found them in Ohio engaged in tilling the

WHAT BECAME OF THEM? 149

soil and developing a civilization peculiar to them-
selves. Driven from their homes they sought an asylum
in the South, and from there they wandered into Mexico,
where wc begin to learu something more definite con-
cerning them.

ARCHAEOLOGY OF BUTLER COUNTY.

Archaeology of Butler County.

I. GENERAL DBSCEIPTION.

Butler County is situated in southwestern Ohio, being
bounded on the north by Preble and Montgomery
Counties, on the east by Warren, on the south by Ham-
ilton, and on the west it extends to the Indiana
line. In form the county is irregular, and contains two
hundred and ninety-one thousand and fifty-five acres.
The Great Miami Eiver runs through the county in a
southwesterly direction, dividing it into two unequal
divisions, the larger part lying west of the river. The
county is well drained by many creeks or small streams
which empty into the Miami. On the east of the river
there are no streams of any note, while on the west the
principal tributaries are five, Elk, Seven Mile, Four
Mile, Indian and Paddy's Run, all of which flow in a
southeasterly directioil. The Miami River, for the most
part, has a broad valley, composed of a rich alluvial soil.
The creeks for untold centuries have been cutting their
beds lower and lower until some of them have plowed
out their valleys in places to adepth of from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred feet.

The geology of the county is Lower Silurian repre-
senting that period known as the Hudson River epocli,
with the exception of a very small area in the north-
-eastern corner of Oxford township, which belongs to the
Clinton limestone. Some of the streams run over rocky

154 GENEEAL DESCEIPTION.

or stony beds, while others flow over heavy alluvial
deposits, thus concealing the original rock. The valleys
of most of the creeks and the stone quarries are rich in
the fossils belonging to this particular formation.

When the country was discovered by the white man
this county was densely covered with fine forest trees.
_The early settlers noticed the remains of what purported
to be fortifications, covered with the same kind of trees,
and of the same size that grew in the immediate vicinity of
these earth-works. For diagrams and surveys of most of
these works the antiquarian owes a debt of gratitude to
James McBride and John W. Erwin. These two gentle-
men took a deep interest in these ancient remains, and
commenced surveying and .making plans of them as
early as 1832. Every earth-work that came to their
knowledge was searched out and surveyed. They saw
the works undefaced by the plow, and through briars
and thorns they carried their chains and mathematical
instruments that their forms or dimensions might be
accurately known ere they were leveled or obliterated by
the hand of progress. Most of these surveys were pub-
lished by the Smithsonian Institution in 1848, in the first
volume of its "Contributions to Knowledge."

Butler County may truthfully be said to be one of the
most interesting spots on the continent so far as its
archseological remains are concerned. With the exception
of Ross County it contains more ancient earth-works or
enclosures than any other county in the State. Some
other counties have more extensive enclosures, and perhaps
more interesting, but do not present a greater variety, or
a more complete system of protection.

In selecting this county for a seat they showed the
same general foresight which they so frequently displayed
in other things. The soil is very fertile, and there are but
few spots but may be cultivated. The hill lands for the
most part produce exceedingly well, but are not so rich
as the valleys formed by the Miami and its tributaries.
That a fair conception of the natural wealth of the
county may be formed, the following statistics may be
given. The total valuation of the county for the year

GENERAL DESCEIPTION.

155

1878, and upon which taxes "were paid, was thirty-three
millions forty-four thousand eight hundred and one
dollars. The land alone was valued at seventeen millions
two hundred and fourteen thousand seven hundred and
fourteen dollars. According to the " Ohio Statistics for
1878," the following table will give some of the products
of the county for the year 1877 :

WHEAT.

RYE.

BUCKWHEAT.

Acres.
33,900

Bushels.

525,8«9

Acres.
831

Bushels.
8,967

Acres.
250

Bushels.
4,951

OATS.

BARLEY.

CORN.

Acres.
9,037

Bushels.
2.^8,088

Acres.
15,852

Bushels.
484,724

Acres.
75,749

Bushels.
3,273,070

POTATOES.

TOBACCO.

Acres.

1,778

Bushels.
154,375

Acres.

285

Pounds.

284,849

This includes the whole county, taking superior, good
and indifferent lands. As has already been observed
corn, potatoes and tobacco were the principal products
raised by the Mound Builders.

Within the borders of this county they erected
seventeen enclosures, eight of them within five miles of
the city of Hamilton. About one mile south of the
county line, and in Hamilton County, on the east bank
of the Miami River, is an earth-work known as the
"Colerain Works," enclosing an area of ninety-five acres.
Six of the Butler County works are classed, by Squier
and Davis, under the head of defensive works, and six
assigned to sacred enclosures.

These works are all protected by a perfect system of
signal stations. Upon one of the highest hills in Madison
Township stands the largest mound in the county. From
it a fire on the Miamisburg mound could be readily seen.
The watchman then lighting his fire could warn the
watchmen on the other towers almost instantly.

The following system of signaling is clearly defined:
A fire on the great mound in Madison Township can be
seen from the circular works on section fourteen, Wayne
Township, and the works on section sixteen, Fairfield

156 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

Township. From the mounds on sections nine and sixteen
of St. Clair Township, which overlook the two enclosures
near Seven Mile, the same fire could be seen. To
protect the work near Somerville the station on section
nine of above township would suffice, but an addition is
made by erecting a mound on section one of Milford
which overlooks the works. The ' fire on the mound
could also be seen from the mound on section thirty-one,
St. Clair. These fires would light up the whole valley,
and with the addition of lights on other mounds on the
highlands the whole county would be alarmed. There
is a system of mounds connecting the works in Union
with that at Madison, and the same is true of those in
Eeily and Oxford Townships.

The Indians have left their traces in the county. On
the west side of Indian Creek and following its curves is
an old Indian trail. On the -farm of Colonel Griifen
Halstead, in section thirty, Ross Township, was an
Indian village. In the same township on section twenty-
three was a favorite camping ground. Indian graves
have been noticed along Indian Creek, in Reily Town-
ship, in St. Clair, along the Miami River, along
Seven Mile Creek in both Wayne and Milford. In
conjunction with these remains have been found beads
and other trinkets possessed by the aborigines. It has
been claimed that the skeletons of dwarf men have been
found on the west bank of the Great Miami, north of
Middletown, not far from Poast Town. Since the
account of the graves of pigmies in Tennessee has been
exploded, it is well to receive all such accounts with
caution. Haywood, in his "Natural and Aboriginal
History of Tennessee," devotes an entire section to the
consideration of "the ancient pigmies." Their skeletons
were found near Sparta, in White County — the graves
being only two feet in length, fourteen inches broad and
sixteen inches deep. Upon careful examination by Dr.
Joseph Jones and other competent authorities, these
skeletons turned out to be those of children, instead of
pigmies. While I have not seen any of the bones from

IMPLEMENTS. 157

near Poast Town, yet I venture the opinion that the
bones supposed to belong to "dwarf men," in reality are
those of children.

II. IMPLEMENTS.

Scattered all over this county are implements belonging
to both the Mound Builders and Indians. When these
relics are found on the surface it is impossible to tell
which race they belonged to. That the Indians lost
many of their implenjents in the chase, we know to be
true. That the Mound Builders did the same is un-
doubtedly true. That the Indians appropriated the
implements of a former race is a confession made by
themselves. Some of these different implements have
been engraved especially for this work. All here given
are reduced to one-half their diameter — that is the
representations are just half as long and half as wide as
the originals. Unless otherwise mentioned, all came
fro"ra Butler County. It will not be necessary to describe
the different kinds of implements found, for this part of
the subject has already been discussed in chapter five.
Let it suffice that the same kind of implements have
been found in this county that have been picked up in
other counties of the State.

Fig. 26 illustrates thirteen varieties of arrow-heads,
which are frequently met with. Number 1 represents a
carefully-chipped arrow with deep notches, in order to
secure it permanently to the shaft. Number 2 is found
in both Europe and America. It is not as common as
many other varieties. It may be called diamond-shaped,
although it belongs to the lozenged-shaped pattern. The
angles are so chipped as to serve as barbs. Number 3 is
rather unique. The stem is sufficiently wrought to
secure it to the shaft. Number 4 is one of the most
common forms of stemmed points. It is most admirably
adapted for an arrow-head ; its sharp point, well-defined
edges and deeply-notched base combine to render it
secure to the shaft, and effective as a weapon. Closely
approaching this is Number 5. Number 6 is from

"III

/^■?

^- ' 10

13

Fig. 26— Flint AKKOw-riEADS.— Feom Axithok's Cabinet.

Fio. 27— Flint Speae-Heads.— From Author's Cabinet.
14

160

IMPLEMENTS.

Warren County, found on the farm of James Mclvane.
The picture is not a fair representation, for the original is
perfectly formed, having all its parts in exact proportion.
It is a perfect specimen of the triangular form. Number
7 is peculiar in shape, and belongs to the same pattern as
the first named. Number 8 is a representative example
of the abundant form of stemmed points. Number 9
belongs to that class whose stem is bifurcated. Number
10 is a beautiful form of the stemmed pattern, having its
barbs Cjuite prominent. Number 11 is another variety
of number 4, tiie main diffei'ence consisting in having the
base concave. Number 12 is characterized by its
prominent barbed-points. Number 13 was probably not
intended for an arrow point. Blunt arrow-heads of this
pattern are used by the Indian boys of Canada, when
they are beginning to learn the use of the bow. But
this implement has rather a sharp edge. It is probable
that it was used as a scraper or knife, having a shaft
attached to it.

a be

Fig. 28.— Eijimees.'*

Five varieties of spear-heads are given in Fig. 27.
All but one belong to the stemmed variety. Their shapes
show that they were used for thrusting, and then re-
maining fast to the shaft when it was removed or with-
■'■In Author's Cabinet.

IMPLEMENTS.

ir3i

drawn from the ol)jcct it bad penetrated Number 3 is a
very fine speeinien of the serrated type Number 1 is
an excellent representation of the barbed spear-head.
Number 2 is a leaf-shaped rounded base lanee-head.

We have two kinds of rimmers or drills given in
Fig. 28. The jioints of both a and h are missing. The
illustration marked c belongs to the same pattern as the
arrow-head marked 2 in Fig. 26. It may have been
used in a war club, thus making it a formidable wea])on.

Fig. 29 shows the usual form of the knife. This
one is double-edged, and usage has somewhat damaged it.
It was used for skinnina: wild animals.

Fi _ -Kmie

There is a certain class of implements which have been
variously termed hatchets, battle-axes, war-club teeth,
lance-heads, hoes, spades and shovels. One of them is

reproduced in Fig. 30.

■•'Ill Author's Cabinet.

It is beautifully wrought,

162

IMPLElfEXTS.

showing that the workman had taken pains with it. It
is composed of jasper, of a reddish color. Several of
these have been recently fonnd in the county.

Figs. 31 and 32 are polished implements, made out

Fig 01.— chisel

Fig.

of fine compact greenstone. Both are destitute of the
gi'oove, and have been generally called ''celts." These
implements were probably used for various purposes,
such as a supplementary tomahawk, a chisel, or a hatchet.
When larger they were used as wedges or bark-peelers.
Three varieties of pendants are shown in Fig. 33.
Of these (a* cj) two were probabl}^ worn in front, sus-
pended by a string encircling the neck. They are

"In Author's C'abinot.

IMrLEMEJv^rS.

163

composed of green slate. The other {b ) is composed of
hematit<>, aud luav liave been used as a plummet or net
sinker.

liii

Mil '

b C

Fig oj —Pendants.

Fig. 34.— GOEGETS-t
•fin Author's Cabinet.

164

IMI'LEIIBNTS.

The implements called gorgets or gauges are no longer
numerous in this county, although they are occasionally
met with. Two of tliese are illustrated in Fig. 34.

Fig. 35.— Gorget.*

They are made out of green slate. The one marked b
is the only one I have ever seen ^vith three perforations.

Fig. 36.— Copper Hatchet. t Fio. 37.— He.id of a Bird.

a copper gorget, gauge, breast-plate, or

Fig. 35 is

«In Cabinet of Geological and AreliLCological Society.
fin Author's Cabinet.

IMPLEJLENTS.

165

badge of authority talvcn from the cast iiiouud of the
two in section nine, Fairfield Township.

About fifteen years ago Mr. Pliny fShaw, then a resident
of Ross Township, plowed up, on his farm, seventeen
copper hatchets, all from one locality. The spot was on
low bottom gronnd bordering a stream known as Dry
Run. Four of these hatchets are still in the fiimily of Mr.
John Powell, and one each in the cabinets of Messrs.
Richard Brown, G. B. McKnight, and the author. One
of these is shown in Fig. 3(j. The rest are probably
scattered.

Fig. 37 belonged to the cabinet of James McBride.
It was taken from a mound in this county, but what
mound would now l)e difficult to discover. It is executed
with much spirit, and represents the head of a bird,
somewhat resembling the toucan. It appears to have
been attached to some vessel, but had been broken off
before being deposited in the mound.

Fig. 38— Pipe. -

Genuine Mound Builder pipes are rarely met Avith
Indian pipes are more frequently found. Fig. 38 repre-
sents a genuine Mound Builder pipe, made out of lime-
stone and finely polished. The bowl still remains perfect
but both ends of the stem or base are broken off.
»Iri Cabinet of Geological and Archasological Society.

166

IMPLEMENTS.

Fig. 39 is called a weaver's shuttle. The perforation
is uot exaetly in the center. Fig. 40 is a wand or

Fig. 39.— Shuttle

Tig. iO.— Wand.

badge of distinction. It is also perforated. Both have
been carefully worked, and present a fine finish. They
are made out of a fine-grained green slate.

It would be difficult to tell the use of Fig. 41. ' It is
too large for a bead, and could hardly be considered a

'■)

Fia.

Fig. 41.— Tude,
badge of authority,
a hole running lengthwise through it,

-Ornament.

It is composed of green slate with
It would be
classed under the general head of tubes.

We have a very peculiar and rare implement in Fig.
42. This is composed of serpentine, highly polished,
and of singular form. It has every appeai-ance of having
been finished. Its use is unknown. Only a few have

IMPLEMENTS.

167

been found, and this is the only one in the county, so far
as my information extends.

In Fig. 43 we cer-
tainly have a very rare
imjjlement. It was taken
from a mound on the farm
of Mr. William Brown
l)y Mr. Richard Brown,
situated onsection thirty-
three, Ross Township.
It Avas found beneath the
original surface of the
ground, and is undoubt-
edly the work of a
Mound Builder. It is
composed of eannel-coal,
is jjerfectly symmetrical
and highly finished. At
the corners of each of
the four wings is a cir-
cular knob
implement a fine
pearance.

It is doul)tfid if our

skilled workmen could

make one of these

I badges more jjerfect than

this.

The six implements
in Fig. 44 we class
Fig. 43.— Badge of authokity.*' under the general head

of badges of authority, although it is very doubtful
if all really belong there. All these imjjlements evince
great care, and prove tliat a skillful hand was em-
ployed. All are made out of green slate, b, c, d, and J
being of tliat variety known as stri]ied. Tlie one marked
e is comjwsed of a very compact slate, of a darkish color.
If our artist had slioMii as nuich skill in reducing these

*In Cabinet of Eichard Brown.
15

giving^ the

ap-

Fig. 44.— Badges of Auti-iokity.— Fkom Authoe's Cabinet.

IMPLEMENTS. 169

to wood as the original workmen have exhibited, we
could present the reader with a much finer eilgraving.
The figures b and / are called badges or wands or cere-
monial stones. The former is composed of two wings
Avith a perforation- through the center. It is perfect with
the exception of a notch on one of the wings. It is
sometimes called a butter-fly, on account of its supposed
resemblance to that insect. It was found in Madison
Township. The otheris broken and considerably notched.
It was plowed up in Reily Township. It is probable
that it has been damaged since its original owner lost it.
AVe have a shuttle represented by d. It was found either
in or else within the immediate vicinity of Hamilton. A
tube is given in figure c. A curious implement is repre-
sented by e. Some have thought it was a cross, but
the shoulders, for' its size, are too massive. I have
thought it might have been intended to represent a bird
on the wing. It came from St. Clair Township. A rare
implement is given in figure a. This was found on the
-east bank of Gander Eun, in Clear Creek Township,
Warren County. It has a round ball in the center, from
whicli start out two arms. Tliese arms or points were
evidently intended to be of the same length. A. flaw in
the stone caused the workman to shorten one arm, and
thus bring it to a point, not abruptly, but by a gradual
taper. Several of these have been found in the State.
Their use is unknown.

We have an excellent illustration of five varieties of
badges in Fig. 45, composed of striped green slate.
They were found in Liberty and Lemon Townships. In
the upper right hand corner we ha\'e the butter-fly badge.
Opposite it is a double crescent with the bore through
the center. Some have maintained that the double
crescent Avas used by the individual who ranked higher
than the one who wore the single crescent. The double
crescent, in the center of the picture, is supposed to have
been worn by persons of the highest rank. However
true this may be no one knows. Two other badges are
given in the lower part of the picture.

These illustrations do not represent all the varieties

x\"V

I \

^ '

V> '^'■^^

/

^

,y

Fig. 45.— Badges of Authority.

DXIOX TOAVXSHIP.

171

wliieli have been found, liy any meaas. In treating of
the cartli-works it lui.s been thought best to talvc up each
township separately.

III. l^XIOX TOWNSHIP.
[From a survey by W. II. Ilarr and J. P. MacLean.]

Union Township is situated in tlie southeastern corner
of the county Tlie southeastern part of tlie township

is rather rugged,

and all the territory is rolling, with the

exception of certain lands bordering on the east and
west forks of ^lill Creek. This level or low land has
received the name of Cream A^alley, owing to its fertility.
For many years no special attention has been paid to
the ancient structures of the townshijj. These enclosures
have been noted. The one of mo^t importance is that
located on section fourteen, on the farm of the heirs of D.
S. Irwin, (marked A on the map). As shown in the en-
graving, it consists of a group of works. The main
work is a rectangle two hundred and twenty feet long by

Fig. 40.— Ancient Wokk.s, Union Township.*

one hundred and twenty feet broad, unaccompanied by a
ditch. At the time of the survey, in 1842, the walls
were about five feet high and on them were standing a
red oak tree three and a half feet in diameter, and a
white oak tree three feet in diameter. On visiting this
work during the past spring, we found the north and east
walls entirely obliterated. At the southwest angle the
A\all is quite prominent. The work had two gateways.
®rrom a survey by James 5Ic Bride and .Jolin W. Erwin.

172 UNION TOWNSHIP.

The one in the south wall we found to be twenty-seven
feet wide. The work is situated on low ground in a level
field, which has been cultivated for many years. It is
entirely surrounded by hills, save at the southwest angle.
A few rods distant from this angle, in an open field, is a
mound five feet in height. Squier and Davis class this
work among the sacred enclosures. There is nothing to
indicate that it was used for that purpose, unless it be its
regular form and its location on the bottom land. But
its location at the confluence of two streams, and the hills
being some distance removed, would equally indicate that
it was used for other purposes. Twenty rods north of
this work is a truncated mound ten feet high ; and a
short distance still farther north rises a steep bank, fifty
feet in height. From this elevated ground a view of the
country to the northeast and southwest may be obtained.
Upon this plain was situated a small elliptical work,
enclosing a mound, and near it were three other small
mounds. Upon the brow of the bank, at a was a pile
of burned limestome, the use of which was unknown to
the early settlers. North of these works a distance of a
quarter of a mile, in the woods, is a small mound on a
projecting point of land.

On the adjoining section (eight), on the land of W.
Schenck's heirs, is a circular work eighty feet in diameter,
(marked B on the map.) It occurs on the elevated land,
surrounded by forest trees, but none growing either
within the enclosure or upon the walls. The work is
incomplete, being composed of four mounds, three feet in
height, corresponding with the cardinal points of the
compass. Between the mounds the walls gradually taper
until they meet midway. The ditch is on the inside. It
is regular and of equal depth at all points. The mounds
are; composed of clay, and yet from the general ap-
pearance it would seem that the intention was to take the
surface material from A\ithin the enclosure, and out of it
make at least a portion of the wall. These mounds may
represent the original height of the proposed Avail. One
thing should not escape our attention, and that is the
ditch preserves the same proportion the whole distance.

uxiox Towxsriip.

173

It is no wider or deeper opposite the mounds tlian it is
between thaiii. Our eiiijraving, (Fig. 47), docs not give
us a good representation of tliis worlc. The mounds

S»SfflS-;i

Fio. 47.-C1ECULAK WoEK, Union Township.*

should be more prominent, aud the avails between them
should be conuected and much narrower. To give a more

^Surveyed by W. II. Hai-r and J. P. MaeLean.
the latter.

Delineated by

174

UNION TOWNSHIP.

correct illustration, another cut was made, but it (Fig.
48), does not represent Avliat wo want. This work is oii
the east side of the same stream, upon \\'hose bank is
located the Mork in Fig. 46, and distant from it about

Fig 48 — Cipct l iE Wobk

one mile. The small stream, into which the three
rivulets flow, has cut its bed to a depth of about fifty feet
at this point. The road Avhich crosses it is both winding
and steep.

About forty years ago John W. Erwin surveyed an
eai'th-work located on the farm of James Beatty,in section
nine, about one mile from .Jones' Station. The diagram
and notes were "borrowed" by E. G. Squier of James
McBride, at the same time ho obtained the other surveys.
It is undoubtedly lost. Mr. Erwin is luuible, at this date,
to form a diagram of it. At the time of his survey the
walls were plowed down, but not obliterated. On
visiting the vicinity June llih, 1879, I was unable to
either discover it or find anyone that knew anything
about it.

libehty township. 175

Besides those already noticed there are eight other
mounds. The finest and most conspicuous of all is that
on the farm of E. Riker, on section fourteen. It is in
an open field near the turnpike leading from Pisgah to
Sharonville. It rises almost abruptly to a height of eight
feet, with a diameter at its base of eighty feet.

On the farm of Sylvester McLean, section seventeen,
is a mound five feet in height by thirty-five feet in
diameter at the base.

Section twenty-four contains three mounds. One is
located on the farm of D. Williamson, and measures
nine feet in height by seventy feet diameter at the base.
One is located immediately on the line between the farm
of D. Williamson and that of N. Gorsuch. It is ten feet
high by seventy-four feet base. It is near the Cincinnati
and Dayton turnpike, from which it is readily seen. The
remaining one is on the farm of J. C. Phillips. It has a
height of four feet by thirty -six feet diameter at the base.
On the farm of J. Rose, in section thirty, near Gregory's
Creek, is a mound whose dimensions we did not ascerlain.

A mound is located on the farm of S. Howard, section
twenty-six, and one on the farm of Joseph Allen, in
section thirty-two, the dimensions of which were not
ascertained.

There may be other mounds in the township, but
these were all that came to our knowledge.

The mounds we personally examined have never been
opened, with the exception of the north mound composing
the circle in Fig. 47. This mound was systematically
opened by an experienced hand (Alonzo Miller, of Mason,)
but, as we were informed, it yielded nothing.

IV. LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.
[Surveyed by K. T. Slieplierd.]

Liberty Township is located immediately north of
Union. The land is elevated and rolling. The soil
produces well and nearly all the farms are under a good
state of cultivation. The marlcs of tlie glaciers are dis-
cernible in the clay b;inks which they deposited.

There are no ancient enclosures, and only seven
mounds in the township.

176 FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.

On the farm of S. Rose, in section twenty, is a mound
eight feet in height by ninety-eight feet in diameter at
the base. In the same section, on the farm of the heirs
of D. B. "Williamson, is an oblong mound six feet high,
with a diameter at the base of thirty-seven by sixty feet.

In section twenty-six, on the farms of Stephen Clawson
and C. Bandle, are three mounds. The largest is thirteen
feet high by seventy feet in diameter at the base, and by
far the finest mound in the township. At present this
mound is covered with underbrush, while on its top and
nearly in the center is a large oak stump, and also one
on the side. Immediately east, and joining this mound is
another, and to the north a distance of one hundred and
twenty feet is still another, their dimensions being four
feet in height, by twenty-five in diameter at the b^se.

The other mounds are located on sections fifteen and
thirty-four. The former is on the farm of E. J. Crane,
and the other on the Shepherd farm. These mounds are
small and injured by the plow.

The mounds in both Union and Liberty Townships,
for the most part, form a connecting line between the
two enclosures in Union and the fortification on section
sixteen of Fairfield, or else communicate directly with
the Miami River, in order to obtain a fair view of the
great mound in Madison Township. The large mound
on section fourteen overlooks (if the trees were cleared
away), a portion of the works on the Irwin farm. Fii-es
on the mounds in Liberty Township would be seen by
the watchman on the largest mound in section twenty-
four (Union), and from thence to section fourteen.

Numerous implements have from time to time been
picked up in both townships. At one time a bushel of
flint implements was plowed up in the old graveyard in
the northeast corner of section fourteen — just across the
stream from the circular work shown in Fig. 47.

V. FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.

[From the Surveys of James McBride and John W. Erwinll

Fairfield Township is somewhat in the form of a
triangle. It joins Union and Liberty on the east, on the

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.

177

south is Hamilton County, and on the west and north it
is separated from adjoining townships by the Miami
River.

The eastern, northern and southern portions are mostly
hill lands. The greater part is bottom land and very
fertile. Perhaps as good land as may be found any-
township. Notwithstanding this

Akp;^^ N-

w

where is in this

Fig. 49.— Ancient Fortification.

fact, many of the farms are in a dilapidated condition.
About Symmes Corner there is a very fine farming
district, and yet many of the farms show a want of
enterprise on the part of the owners.

Four enclosures are located in this township, two of
which are of a very interesting character.

178

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP.

1 The ancient fortlficatioa* (Fig. 49, marked C on the
map) is situated on the flirm of R. Hungerford, in section
eight. It occupies the summit of a high detached hill
that overlooks a large section of the Miami Valley. The
hill rises one^ hundred and twenty feet above the valley,
the north side being very abrupt, but the remaining sides
comparatively easy of ascent. The wall is carried around
the brow of the hill, and contains six gateways, two of
which open on natural bastions. The enclosure contains
twenty-eight acres, the ground gradually rising to the
center. Near the eastern wall are two mounds on the
highest point placed near together, and measuring re-
spectively ten feet in height. When the original survey
was made in 1840, the wall was four feet in height.

Fig. 50.— Ancient Encmstjee.*

Southeast of this work and nine hundred feet distant is
a hill fifty feet still higher, although its area on top is
small. Upon this hill have been observed traces of ancient
occupation. As it is the highest point in the neighbor-
hood, it would be plausible to infer that it was used for
a watch tower.

The enclosure marked D on the map, situated on the
farm of Mrs. R. Brant, has been partly destroyed by the

'•From survey by James McBride and Johil W. Erwin.

FAIRFIELD TOWKSHIP. 179

encroachments of the river. At the time of the survey
in 1840, the enclosure coutained three and one-half
acres. Before it was injured by the river it is supposed
to have contained an area of five acres. It is composed
ofa ditch and a wall, the former being exterior to the
latter. The wall was about three feet in height and the
ditch two feet in depth. At the bank of the river the
original depth of the ditch was seen to be five feet and
eight inches. If the wall had subsided to an equal
extent, its original height from the bottom of the trench
must have been about twelve feet. Within the center of
this enclosure was a mound. Our engraving (Fig. 50)
represents a little more than half the mound. When the
■ mound had been about one-half removed by the action
of the river, it was examined by Mr. McBride. In his
original notes he observes : "The mound was composed
of rich surface mould, evidently scooped up from the
surface ; scattered through which were pebbles and some
stones of considerable size, all of which had been burned.
Upon excavation we found a skeleton with its head to the
east, resting upon the original surface of the ground,
immediately under the apex of the mound. Some
distance above this was a layer of ashes of considerable
extent, and about four inches thick. The skeleton was
of ordinary size ; the skull was crushed, and all the bones
in extreme decay. Near the surface were other skeletons.
The inhabitants of the neighborhood tell of a copper
band with strange devices found around the brow of a
skeleton in this mound; and also of a well-carved
representation of a tortoise, of the same metal, twelve or
fourteen inches in length, found with another skeleton."
At the present time a small portion of the mound
remains, probably four feet in height. A road runs
through the enclosure. The greater part of the remaining
work is in a field and corn growing within it. The
walls are plowed down, but can readily be traced, owing
to the ditch, which is still visible, and the large amount
of gravel which is seen to predominate. The walls
between the road and the river are two or three feet

180

TAIEFIELD TOAVNSHIP.

high. The river does not sweep along the bank, unless
it is during high water, but appears to be receding.

Squier and Davis class this work among the sacred
enclosures, although its curve is irregular. This classi-
fication is arbitrary. There is nothing in cither its form
or location to indicate its purpose. While it is over-
looked by the surrounding hills, yet they are too far
removed to afford vantage-ground to an enemy.

About a quarter of a mile below this work is an
aboriginal cemetery, the graves being indicated by small
regular elevations.

N
W I E

Fig. 51.— Sacred Enclosure

The earth-work illustrated in Fig. 51 is almost entirely
obliterated. It was surveyed in 1 840 by James :\IcBride.
It was located on the farm of C. Hagermau, in section
ten. On the map it is marked by the letter E. It
occurred on the level bottom lands of the Miami, and at
a distance from any high grounds. The work was in two

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP. 181

parts ; the principal one, representing a square, although
not exact, was composed of an embankment of earth
four feet high by fifty feet base, and enclosing an area
of thirteen acres. The walls were unaccompanied by a
ditch. Two gateways were in the wall, and forming
the western angle was a large oblong mound. A gateway
opens from the principal work into a circle, the walls of
which are heavier and accompanied by an interior ditch.
From the circle an avenue, containing a small mound,
leads to the hank of a small stream. At the time of the
survey the larger portion of this work was situated in
timbered land, and upon the walls were trees of the
largest size, surrounded by the fallen and decayed trunks
of their predecessors.

Near the southwestern angle of the enclosure in a grove
are two mounds, placed one hundred and thirty-five feet
apart. They are about eighty feet in diameter and
fifteen feet high. The one to the east has been partly
cut down, in order to utilize it for a sorghum mill. In
scraping the~top away the implement represented in Fig.
35 was found. These two mounds are on the farm of R.
Cooper, in section nine.

One of the best preserved works in the county is that
on the farm of John Seagardner, in section sixteen
(marked F on the map) and shown in Fig. 52. The
plan is taken from that made by James McBride and
John W. Erwin, in 1840. The work lies between two
small streams and its line of walls borders on the natural
banks, and then closes across the narrow neck of land at
the south. The bank of the western stream is steep,
having a descent of sixty feet, thus making it difficult of
ascent. The area enclosed is seventeen acres and con-
sists of an upland and a lowland. The ground is elevated
at the south, but comparatively low at the north, while
the intervening bank is sloping. On the east the wall
follows the curves of the stream, which has been
encroached upon by the latter. The walls are low, ranging
from three to four feet in height. The entrance on the
south presents a very interesting feature, a supplementary

182

FAIRFIELD TOWKSHIP.

plan of which is given in the engraving. The ends of the
wall curve inwardly, forming a true circle ninety-eightfeet
in diameter. Within the circle thus formed is another
circle, with no opening, fifty-eight feet in diameter. The
external gateway e is seventy-five feet in width, covering
which is a mound five feet high and forty feet in diameter
at the base. The internal gateway (d) is twenty feet

w

Fig. 52.— Ancient Poktification.

wide. The pa.ssage way between the mound and the
embankment, and between the walls of the circles is
about six feet wide. External to the southern walls is a
small ditch which subsides into the ravines on either
side.

PAvIEFIELD TOWNSHIP. 183

"Within the enclosiye are three mounds. The one
marked h is fifty-two feet in diameter and about four
feet high. Bordering the bank of the Miami Canal is a
low mound which has been opened. The mound that was
at the northeastern corner has been removed.

These works remain undisturbed, with the exception
of a treasure-seeker having dug into the circle, and the
mound at the entrance defaced by a furnace used for
making maple sugar. The upper or southern portion is
still in timber, while the northern is used for pasture
land. The general appearance of the work indicates it
to have been used for a stronghold. If this is the case,
then it would be necessary to fortify the bluff on the
east. The stream here cuts a perpendicular bank on the
east, while at the west the land descends with the stream.
Thus the bluff is elevated above and immediately over-
looks the northern part of the fort, and the embankment
bordering the stream would afford no protection
whatever. Otherwise the position is a strong one.
Previous to the construction of the canal the terrace next
the river had a perpendicular bank of fifty feet. Besides
this, a fortification at or near this point appears to be
necessary, for the valley beyond the river is broad and
contains many traces of an ancient population, among
them being two religious or sacred enclosures. Within this
fortification have been found several human skeletons,
and quite a variety of carved stone implements. These
occurred on the highest ground at the point where the
upland begins to recede towards the lower terrace.

There are but few mounds in the township, most of
them having already been mentioned. On a promontory
belonging to Thomas VanCleaf, in section twenty-one,
overlooking the valley beyond, is a circular depression,
out of which limestone has been taken. There is a
tradition that a stone mound once stood on this spot. A
few of the stone still remain. On tiie farm of R.
Kennedy, same section, is a small earth-mound. On the
land of' John Pottenger, section three, are two small
mounds which have been plowed over. On the north-
16

184 EOSS TOWNSHIP.

eastern corner of section ten is angther whose dimensions
are not determined.

A mound once stood in the northeastern part of what
is now the city of Hamilton. In grading a street it
was found necessary to remove it. In it were found
several skeletons and quite a number of trinkets.

VI. ROSS TOWNSHIP.
[Prom the notes and survey of Eiehard Brown.]

This township is separated from Fairfield Township on
the east by the Miami River, and a portion of St. Clair.
On the south it joins Hamilton County ; on the west it
is bounded by Morgan Township, and on the north by
Hanover. For the most part the township is rugged,
and in certain localities the soil is thin. The sections on
the south and east, with the exception of one and twelve,
are comparatively level, ranging about seventy-five feet
above the river. The greater part of the remaining
sections range from one hundred and twenty to two
hundred feet above the river. Indian Creek flows
through the township in a southerly direction, over a bed
of sand, clay and gravel, with here and there an outci'opping
of limestone. The same may also be said of Big Dry
Run and Paddy's Run, save at their northern extremities,
where the beds are composed almost entirely of limestone.

In the township are three important enclosures, all
near the river, the largest of Avhieh is that situated on
the farms of P. Bittener and J. L. Garver, section twelve
and marked L on the map. The illustration (Fig. 53) is
taken from a survey made in 1836 by James McBride.
The hill upon which this woi'k is located is the most ele-
vated of any in the vicinity, and constitutes a spur, the
summit of which is about tM'o hundred and fifty feet high.
It is a short distance from the river, and surrounded on all
sides, save a narrow space at the north, by deep ravines.
From the line of fortification the hill is sloping, but before
reaching the bottom of the ravines it becomes steeper, and
in places presenting almost inaccessible declivities. On
the north the descent is inconsiderable, making it easy of
access. The embankment, composed of a stiffclay mingled

EOSS TOWNSHIP.

185

■with stone, and having a height of five feet by thirty-five
feet base, skirting along the bi'ow of the hill, and generally

Fig. 53.— Fortified Hill.

conforming to its outline, enelose.s an area of a little over
sixteen acres, the interior of which gradually rises to the
height of twenty-six feet above the base of the wall. It

186 EOSS TOWNSHIP.

has no accompanying ditch, the material composing the
wall having probably been taken up from the surface
or out of the dug-holes, which occur at various points
within the wall. These dug-holcs, or excavations, are
uniformly near the gateways, some of which are sixty
feet over, filled up with mud to a depth of about ten feet.
The line of wall has four gateways, each twenty feet
wide ; one opening to the north, and the others towards
the south. Three of these are completely covered with
inner lines of embankment, the most intricate being that
at the nortli, and marked N in the engraving. Beyond
the gateway is a crescent wall extending almost entirely
across the isthmus. Within the works are four more
lines of wall, which not only protect the gateway, but at
this point render the fortification impregnable against the
assault of an enemy. The gateways E and S are of
peculiar construction, belonging to that class known as
Tlascalan. The former opens upon a parapet, and the
other is partly defended by a stone mound. The gateway
at W is partly covered by a stone mound, which, at the
time of the survey, was eight feet high. At the present
time, (1879), only a few stones remain, the rest having
been hauled away. This gateway also opens upon a
natural parapet.

The southern half of this work is still covered by
forest trees, while the remainder is under cultivation.
The walls are not yet plowed down, being still raised to
a height of three or four feet. The western line of the
wall has suffered moi'e than any other i)art of the em-
bankment, with the exception of that part covering the
gateway.

Thirty rods north of gateway N is a mound composed
of mingled earth and stone. This mound in 1836 was ten
feet high, and a few years previous to that time it was
partially excavated, and a quantity of stone taken out,
all of which had undergone the action of fire. The
mound is now about seven feet high, and occasionally is
dug into, but the bottom has not yet been reached.

There is a mound a few rods distant from the embank-
ment between S and W. It is finely rounded, being

ROSS TOWNSHIP. 187

about five feet in height. Ou account of the thick
underbrush it had not been discovered until September,
1878, when it was noticed by Mr. R. Brown and myself.
The outlines of the enclosure show the distinctive
characters of this work. That it was constructed for
purposes of defense is beyond all question. The position
it occupies is naturally strong, and the artificial defenses
exhibit a great degree of skill. Every avenue is strongly
fortified. The principal approach is guarded by four
walls, with the addition of two supplementary walls.
Should an enemy carry the exterior crescent wall, and
then successfully assault the gateway, they have yet to
penetrate the fortress. They meet with a complex
system of walls calculated to mislead and bewilder.
These are also protected by sink-holes, which still add to
the difficulty. Besides this the walls are so arranged that
but very few would be able to pass between the lines at a
time, where they must contest hand to hand with the
defenders. These walls having been strengthened by
palisades would give an advantage to the besieged, which
would render still more difficult any plan of assault.
Within these palisades may have been port-holes or
other openings, which would allow the besieged to pour
forth a destructive fire. As we know but little of the
military system of this ancient people, the advantage
given by this method or plan of defense may be much
greater than we can understand.

On account of the natural declivity of the hill, the fort
would be less liable to an assault at the other gateways.
Yet should this be undertaken and the gateways carried,
the assaulting party, necessarily limited in numbers ,to a
few at a time, would be exposed, owing to the peculiar
construction of the gateways, to a double cross fire.

On account of the complicated construction of this
work, it may be safely inferred that it had been several
times assaulted, and after each attack some part deemed
insecure was strengthened.

The mounds were used as signal stations to warn the
people of the approach of any enemy. If the burnt

188

EOSS TO^r^'SHIP.

stone be taken as a criterion, then these mounds often
served the purpose for which they were erected.

A little over half a mile distant from this work is
another enclosure, located on the farm of J. C. Andrews,
in section thirteen. A plan of tliis work is given in Fig.
54, and on the map is marked by tlie letter M. This is
one of the two works of Butler County possessing double
walls. It differs from the other (marked K on the map)
in having two instead of one ditch. The outer wall

N
W — I E

Fig. 54.— Double- Walled Enclosure.*

consists of a simple line of embankment, which in

184(i was five feet high, -with an exterior ditch four

feet deep. It is interrupted by a single gateway fifteen

feet wide. The ditch is interrupted at a a from some

cause now unknown. Interior to this is another line of

embankment, of less dimensions, and accompanied by a

ditch on its exterior. This wall is carried over a large

broad mound (a — m) somewhat below the summit on the

outer side. These walls approach the river, and at that

*From a survey made in 18i0 by James McBride and John W.
Erwin.

EOSS TOWNSHIP. 189

point the inner embankment is very prominent, and the
ditch quite deep. The bank of the river at this point is
perpendicular, or nearly so, and is about seventy feet
high. On the other side the walls are carried to the
bank of Big Run, the point c, of the outer wall, having
been carried down to a lower level. The bank of the
stream is inaccessibly steep, being fifty or sixty feet high.
These walls embrace an area of a little less than eighteen
acres.

The outer wall at the present time is partially destroyed.
It resembles a graded roadway. The inner wall towards
the west is obliterated.

The large mound, over which passes the inner wall, is
a natural formation, composed of gravel, with a thin layer
of soil, and is about thirty feet high. It has been
opened and a portion of the gravel taken to complete a
neighboring road. The small mound, marked M in the
plan, is composed of burnt limestone, gravel and sand,
and is supposed to belong to that class of mounds denomi-
nated "sacrificial." Forty years ago it was ten feet in
height, but now is not over six or seven, having been
plowed over for many years. A human skeleton and
pieces of pottery have been taken from it. In company
with Mr. R. Brown I visited this work at the same time
we examined "Fortified Hill," and although the enclosure
was thickly covered with clover, yet almost at any spot
we were able to pick up pieces of pottery made out of
clay and burnt shells. Whether this pottery was made
by the Mound Builders or the Indians we were unable
to determine.

It has been suggested that the large mound was used
for a signal station. It is possible that such may have
been the case. From it a view of the river may be ob-
tained for a considerable distance in both directions.

This enclosure has been regarded as a defensive work.
Its position, with its double line of embankment, strongly
confirms this conclusion.

It should be noted that in 1866 the river changed its
bed at this point. At that time it cut a new channel to
the southeast, and the old bed no longer directs the

190

ROSS TOWNSHIP.

water save during a freshet. One bed is now called
New River and the other Old River.

The work given in Fig. 55, marked !N" on the map, is
now almost wholly obliterated. It was situated on
sections twenty-seven and thirty-four, on the farms of
B. T. Bedinger, M. A. Carnaliam and R. Wade. It was
surveyed in 1847 by James McBride and John W.
Erwin. They describe it to have been a perfect circle,
enclosing an area of twenty-six acres. The embankment
was two feet high, composed of earth taken up evenly
from the surface, or else brought from a distance. There

Fig. 5j.— Sacred Enclosuee.

was an entrance to the west two hundred and seventy-
five feet wide, and upon either hand the embankment
terminated in a small mound, between four and five feet

ROSS TOWNSHIP. 191

high. At the eastern part of the wall was a gateway,
the width of which is not given. The plain upon which
the work occurs is about fifty feet above the adjacent
bottoms. The area of the enclosure is level, and was
covered with forest trees, although small, owing to the
nature of the soil, which is thin and gravelly.

The mound towards the north, with one hundred and
fifty feet of its accompanying embankment, still remains
in a grove. The rest is obliterated, owing to the forest
having been cleared away and the land cultivated.

This work is classed among the sacred enclosures, its
position and form indicating that it was used for religious
purposes.

Between this work and the one last described, Mr.
Erwin states, there is or was another, but the location has
passed out of his memory. It was similar, in construction,
to that near Jones' Station. In the hopes of finding
it I visited the locality on the eleventh of August. I
made diligent inquiry of the people in the neighborhood,
among whom was Judge Fergus Anderson, but he knew
nothing of it. It is probable that the walls were low
and long since plowed down, and as no particular interest
is taken in that immediate vicinity in archaeology, such a
matter would easily pass out of recollection.

Mr. Brown visited and located forty-nine mounds in
this township, and found them to vary in height from
eighteen inches to twenty-six feet. These mounds are
almost wholly located in the southern half of the town-
ship. Section thirty-two contains nine, the largest of
which is seven feet high by forty-five feet base, being
situated in a woods on the farm of John Evans. A shaft
was sunk into tliis mound, which extended to the original
soil, but only a thin layer of charcoal and ashes was met
with, and that near the bottom. On an adjoining farm
belonging to Mr. Evans, on the point of a hill, occurs a
small stone mound. A similar mound likewise situated
is on the farm of William Brown. Near by is a stone
circle, thirty feet in diameter, with a base of eight feet
and an elevation of seven or eight inches. On the farm
is still another mound located in an old field, and but
17

192 BOSS TOWNSHIP.

little elevated above the surrounding surface, having been
plowed over until its appearance, as a mound, is almost
obliterated. That it is an artificial mound is evident
from the burned earth, the broken shuttles and pieces of
pottery that have been found in it. A mound was once
located on the farm of Benjamin Brown. Where it
stood is now a farm house. In making the excavation
for the foundation and cellar it was found necessary to
remove it, and during the excavation several stone and
bone implements were found, also a skeleton of the
ordinary size. Directly over these human remains stood
a white oak tree, three feet in diameter. A short distance
west of this is another mound (on the farm of William
Brown), but, having been plowed over for the last fifty
years, is now quite low. Another mound on the same
farm is situated on the low ground of the township,
being only a few feet above high water mark of the
Miami River. It occurs on the face of a low gravelly
ridge. Before being disturbed by the plow it is now
supposed to have been six feet in height by fifty feet
base, but during the last seventy-five years it has been
under cultivation, which, together with the action of the
elements, has reduced it almost to a level with the ridge.
On excavating this mound the skeletons of both adults
and children were found. Those found at the bottom of
the mound appeared to have been placed there with
considerable care. Some had their bodies reclining with
the hands thrown over the head, and the knees drawn
up. There were two exceptions to this. One had the
head resting in the center of the mound with the feet
extended to the northwest. The other was ten feet
distant with the head to the northwest, and near the outer
circle of the mound. The color of this skeleton differed
from that of the rest. It appeared red, as though it had
been stained with carmine or Venetian red. The gravel
immediately surrounding it partook of the same color.
These two skeletons were found three feet below the
original surface. With the former, and surrounding the
neck, occurred several perforated teeth of animals, which
were used for a necklace or string of beads, and about

BOSS TOWNSHIP. 193

the waist were several bird bones, each about an inch in
length, which also appeared to have been used for beads.

The skeletons above these were deposited without any
perceptible order, the bones being more or less charred,
showing that cremation had been practiced, or else
human sacrifices offered. A peculiarity of six or eight
of the crania consisted in having the occipital bone
flattened. This peculiarity is also noticed in some of the
skulls which have been taken from the banks of the
Great Miami. The relics found with the remains con-
sisted of pestles, fleshers, hatchets, tubes of stone and of
baked clay — the clay crumbling as soon as disturbed —
flint implements, chips of chert, chalcedony and slate,
whistles made from buck's horn, needles and awls of the
same, and other bone implements.

It was in this mound that the wand given in Fig. 43
was found. It did not occur with any of the skeletons,
although it was on a level with the two mentioned, three
feet below the original surface, and in conjunction with a
rude pestle and a buck's horn implement, eight inches in
length. A small mound also occurs on the land of Henry
Grabel.

In section thirty are five mounds, all of which are now
small. The two on the farm of Matthias Reisch are
quite small, one of which is two feet in height by twenty-
five feet in diameter. One foot beneath the top is a
layer of burnt clay, which, when raised with a mattock,
comes up in large lumps. It bears the marks of having
grass or weeds mixed with it, which, on being subjected
to the action of fire, burns out and leaves its mould on tlic
clay. This clay is in a silicious condition, presenting the
appearance similar to that of brick which hns been
burned in the arch of the kiln. Two mounds occur on
the farm of Murat Halstead, both in open fields. They
are about five feet in height by sixty feet in diameter at
the base. There is a mound near the northwestern
corner of the section, on the farm of Colonel Griffin
Halstead. It has been plowed over and its original size
greatly reduced. Near this mound was once an abo-
riginal village. A vast number of implements of all

194 EOSS TOWNSHIP.

varieties have been picked up here, and from this spot
Colonel Halstead made his collection. Some of the
finest specimens he donated to McBride's cabinet, under
the impression that the cabinet should never leave the
county.

Section twenty-nine contains three mounds, the largest
being ten feet in height by sixty feet in diameter at the
base. It is located on the farm of E. N. Demoret. On
the farm of O. Brown, in a field, is a mound about six
feet in height. The one on the farm of James R.
Timberman is in an open field, and has been plowed over
until it is not over three feet high.

Section seventeen contains three mounds : the largest
is twelve feet high by seventy feet in diameter at the base.
It is located on the farm of James Wynn. The farm of
Nicholas Bach man contains two, the larger being about
ten feet in height.

In the northeast quarter of section eighteen, and on
the farm of Peter Minton, is a mound that Avas opened
many years ago by Samuel Demoret. He cut a trench
through it and found what had the appearance of a stone
back-wall or fire-place with coals and ashes against it.
Besides these, bones and pieces of pottery were unearthed.
At the present time the mound is but slightly elevated
above the surrounding surface.

On the farm of Bartholomew Demoret, section
twenty, is a mound between three and four feet in height.

On the farms of
William Hogan and
Charles Borger, sec-
tion twenty-one, is a

group of mounds, six -^S^-T
in number. A planfc^ii ^^
of these is given in^B& *

Fig. 66. The largest ^^^^

is twenty-six feet!

high with a base ^^
eighty feet in diame-
ter. The rest_ vary "^ fig. sg.-geoup op mounds.
in height, ranging from three to eight feet. The illus-

EOSS TOWNSHIP. 195

tration gives the relative sizes, positions and distances
of the mounds composing the group. The group is
sitaated on the highest point of land in the township, and
from the summit of the largest mound a view of the
surrounding country can be obtained. To the east, if the
forest trees did not intervene, the city of Hamilton could
be seen ; while to the south it overlooks the Colerain
hills. Its position indicates that it was used as a signal
station. A fire on the mound on Wilson's hill, section
thirty-one, of St. Clair Township, would be instantly
seen, and then the watchman on this mound would warn
the people of the valley to flee to the forts in that vicinity.
This mound would serve as the signal station for all the
enclosures in the township, also a part of those in Fairfield
and the Colerain works in Hamilton County.

Mr. L. Demoret looked up the history of and the
stories concerning this mound, and writes as follows:

"About the year 1820 this mound was opened by a
man named Young, assisted by the Keever brothers, in
hopes of finding a treasure-chest. They worked only
during the hours of darkness, and in perfect silence, in
the belief that the chest never could be reached if a word
was spoken while at work. A story was started, and
believed by many, that the chest was finally discovered,
when one of the excited diggers exclaimed : 'I've got it
at last!' whereupon it slipped from his fingers and
vanished, leaving a smell of brimstone in the air.

" The tunnel was started on the north side, about half
way up the slope, and ran downwards at an angle of
thirty-five degrees, for a distance of thirty feet, when the
center was reached, from which point it was carried
eastwardly several feet. It was stated at the time that
the center of the mound gave the appearance of having
been once a hut formed of leaning timbers to sustain the
great weight of earth. Within this vault were found
a stone back-wall, coals and ashes, and human bones.

" Sometime after the work had been abandoned, a
party of young fellows concluded to take a look at the
place, but on their arrival at the mouth of the tunnel
they heard unearthly groans, and the rattling of chains.

196 EOSS TOWNSHIP.

They staid to see or liear no more, but ran for home
frightened ahuost out of their wits. Wonderful stories
of ghosts and hobgoblins were soon told in connection
with the mound. However, it soon leaked out that a
mischievous young fellow had provided himself with
chains and entered the tunnel in advance of the party for
the purpose of frightening them."

Seventy-five yards east of the large mound is another
seven feet high by sixty-iive feet in diameter at the base.
The same distance soutliAvest of the big mound is another
mound about six feet high. Half of it is in a woods.

On the farm of the Clark heirs, section twenty-eight,
is a mound, but the dimensions are not given.

Two mounds are noted in section twenty-two, south-
west quarter, on the school lands belonging to Crosby
Township, Hamilton County. A mound also on the farm
of S. D. Hedges about five feet in height.

On the farm of B. T. Bedinger, section twenty-seven,
in a grove, a few rods north of the circular works (Fig.
55), are three low mounds close together, and on a line
running east and west.

Partly in section twenty-six and partly in section
twenty-three, on the farms of R. Wade and James Ander-
son, are three large mounds close together, and on a line
with each other, running north and south. On the lower
bottom terrace, opposite to each mound, is a corresponding
hole or excavation, from which the earth composing the
mounds, it has been supposed, was taken.

A small mound occurs west of Indian Creek, section
twenty-three, on the farm of Judge Fergus Anderson.

On the farm of J. A. Crawford, section eleven, is a
mound five feet high. In constructing the New Ijondon
turnpike it was partly cut away.

Mr. Brown has paid considerable attention to what he
calls "firebeds." He describes these to have been pits
sunk into the ground to the depth of from six to twelve
feet, with a diameter of from four to five feet. The
bottom of these pits are covered to a depth of two or
three feet with river-washed limestone, which presents the
appearance of having been dumped or loosely thrown in.

MORGAN TOWNSHIP. 197

These stones bear the traces of fire, and the sides of the
walls are charred. The space intervening between the
stone and the surface is filled up with soil. Within them
pieces of pottery have been discovered.

The "firebeds" are traced through the level lands of
sections thirty-four and thirty-three, beginning at the
mouth of Indian Creek, and extending into Hamilton
County. In these sections they are very numerous. The
river here continually encroaches upon its bank, and every
year it exposes other pits. In draining a pond, although
the ditch was less than a mile in length, yet three of these
"firebeds" were exposed. Crossing the river at the
mouth of Indian Creek, into Fairfield Township, they are
again met ^nith, extending northward to the mouth of
Bank Creek. They are again met with in the low lands
of that part of St. Clair Township, south of the city of
Hamilton.

VII. MOEGASr TOWNSHIP.
[From the Notes of Eichard Brown.]

Morgan forms the southwestern township of the county.
Reily joins it on the north, Ross on the east, Hamilton
County on the south, and on the west it extends to the
Indiana line.

The land is very much broken, but must be fertile in
order to sustain so large an agricultural population. Dry
Fork of White Water Creek runs through it in a south-
eastern direction ; also Paddy's Run and Howard's Creek.

No enclosures occur in this township, and only eight
mounds are noticed. In the southeast quarter of section
fourteen, on the farm of Robert Reese, is a mound four
feet high by foi-ty-five feet in diameter at the hese. It is
in an open field, and has never been disturbed save by the
plow. It is located on a hill overlooking the valley of
Paddy's Run.

Near the center of section twenty-eight, on the farm of
Thomas Griffis, is a mound four feet high by fifty feet
base. It is in an open field.

Section twenty-one contains four mounds, the largest
being on the farm of Thomas DeArmond, located on the

198 REILY TOWNSHIP.

southwest quarter, near the south line. It is twelve feet
in height by seventy feet in diameter at the base. The
top of the mound has been removed, and a shaft sunk
into it, but not far enough to reach the bottom. Ashes,
charcoal and pieces of pottery were thrown out. Near
the center of the section, and on the same farm, is another
mound. It is five feet high and fifty feet in width. On
the farm of George Wynn is a mound, in the woods, of the
same dimensions as the above. The remaining mound is
in the northeastern part cf the section, on the farm of
Charles Shields, and measures four feet in height by forty
feet in diameter. These mounds are all on high ground,
the three last mentioned overlooking the valley of Dry
Fork of White Water.

Two other mounds occur, one in section nine, on the
farm of Z. T. Whipple, and the other' on the farm of
William Pugh, in section four. Their dimensions are not
ascertained.

In the southwestern quarter of section eighteen, Frank
Myers observed a stone which excited his curiosity, and, in
order to satisfy himself, dug it up, and found it to be
surrounded by a stone circle five feet in diameter. On
removing the stone he found traces of fire under them.
A similar stone occurs across the brook.

VIII. EEILY TOWNSHIP.

[From survey by Richard Brown and J. P. MacLean.]

This township is located immediately north of Morgan,
and joins the south line of Oxford Township. Bounding
it on the east is Hanover, and on the west is the Indiana
line. Indian Creek passes diagonally through it, flowing
southeast, and cutting a deep valley in the northwestern
part of the township. In places the valley is broad, in
(Others narrow, presenting baiiks over an hundred feet in
height. The bed of the creek is generally composed of
drift material, with an occasional outcropping of lime-
stone. The stream has detached hills from the level
country, which have the appearance of great oblong
mounds, the length of the hill extending parallel with the

EEILY TOAVNSHIP. 199

direction of the stream. The general surface is rolling,
and the soil productive.

The township contains two enclosures, both situated on
the farm of James Davis, in section twenty-two, on a hill
overlooking the village of Reily. Indian Creek passes
between the hill and the village. The valley at this
point is narrow, and the village hemmed in by hills. The
enclosures are east of the village. On the north is a
small stream, along which is the road to Wood's Station.
The bank on the west is perpendicular, and about seventy-
five feet high. On the north, commencing at Indian
Creek, it is also perpendicular, but as the road ascends
the hill the bank becomes sloping, until the level land is
reached. At the northwest corner is a "way," formed by
the junction of the two streams, over which we ascended
the hill. That part of the hill on which the enclosures
are located is covered with forest trees. The larger of
the two earth-works is a rectangle sixty -five feet long and
fifty feet wide. The wall is about eighteen inches high
and unaccompanied by a ditch. The interior of the work
is slightly below the surrounding surface, thus leading to
the conclusion that the earth composing the wall was
taken up from within the enclosure. A peculiarity of the
work consists in having no gateway. There must have
been some method of obtaining entrance. Perhaps this
was remedied by a gateway in the palisades, which proba-
bly were erected on top of the Avail. Instead of the
square corners, the wall is rounding at the angles. A
beech and a sugar tree, each five feet in circumference,
are growing on the wall.

After we had made a report on this work. Dr. D. D.
Borger, in searching for it, discovered another enclosure
situated on the bank of the creek. Both of these works
are given in Fig. 57, marked P on the map. Dr.
Borger reports that this work is about sixty yards west
of the other, situated on a surface that slopes to the
south. This work is also a rectangle, measuring thirty
feet one way and twenty-four the other, the walls being
from twelve to eighteen inches high. The angles are

5

I

^ri"-''"'

EEILY TO^VNSHIP. 201

rounding the same as in the other work. A gateway is
represented in the south angle. Of this gateway Dr.
Borgersays : "I do not think the builders left an opening
iu the work ; for the base of the work, in the gateway,
(an still be seen, and, besides this, the natural slope of
the ground would bring all the force of the water, caught
within the work, to its lowest part, sometimes causing an
overflow, thus more or less cutting down the em-
bankment, and continuing to overflow occasionally for
years would eventually wash it down, and give it the
appearance of having been left purposely in that state."

By referring to the illustration it will be seen that the
works are parallel, the smaller a little south of the larger.

On the same farm, a little east of the larger work, in
an open field, is a mound six and a half feet high by
fifty-eight feet in diameter. It is probable that the
mound was not much higher than this, for the field has
the appearance of having been cultivated for only a few
years. On the same farm, in the northeastern corner is
a small mound.

On the hill west of the village of Reily, and near the
cemetery, on section twenty-one, located in the woods on
the farm of P. Wunder, is a mound ten feet high by
fifty feet in diameter. Many years ago this mound was
dug into, and many earthen vessels taken from it. An
oak tree of considerable size is growing on the side of
the mound.

A mound is situated on the Enyart farm, section
sixteen, and overlooking the village of Reily. This
mound has been plowed over for many years. It was
originally twelve feet high, but has been reduced to about
six feet.

The mound on the farm of George Roberts, section
thirty-six, has been opened. Only charcoal was found.

Two mounds occur on section twenty-four. The one
on the farm of H. Galloway is nine feet high by sixty-
five feet in diameter. Near the top stands a white oak
ten feet and five inches in circumference. This mound is
located on the table-land, and from its top a view of the
hills beyond Indian Creek may be obtained. West of

202 EEILY TOWNSHIP.

this mound a few rods, on the farm of S. Bresler, in the
woods, is a small mound.

In the northeastern corner of section twenty-six once
stood a mound. On removing it twenty-four human
skeletons were found. These were arranged in a circle
with the heads pointing towards the center.

On the farm of J. B. Morris, section seventeen, is a
mound four feet high by forty-two feet in diameter,
located in the woods. On its top is a sugar tree eight
feet in circumference. This mound stands almost on the
brow of the bank of Indian Creek. At this point the
bank has almost a perpendicular declivity of one
hundred feet.

Section eight contains four mounds, three of which are
located on the farm of Samuel Landon. All are situated
on high land, being about one hundred and thirty feet
above Indian Creek, and overlooking the valley for a
great distance. Two of these mounds have been plowed
over for the last forty-five years. Mr. Landon states
that the one on the brow of the hill was originally about
twelve feet high. Charcoal and several large spear-
heads have been plowed out, but the bottom has not been
reached. The other mound is located in the woods. It
is about four feet high. A few years ago a poplar tree,
twenty-one feet in circumference, stood on the mound.
A trench from the west has been cut into the mound and
reaching the center, but no relics were discovered.
Across the creek, and on the Smith farm, is the fourth
mound, about six feet high. It is located in the woods.

On the fai-m of J. B. Millikin, section five, is a mound
nine feet high by fifty-five feet in diameter. Near the top
is a beech tree seven feet four inches in circumference.
A few rods north is a depression or excavation called a
"bear-pit." It is filled with water during most of
the year.

Two mounds occur on the farm of Samuel King, section
six. These mounds are about five feet high. On one is
a large flat limestone. .

A mound once stood on the farm of J. D'. Smith,
section nineteen. It was removed in constructing the

OXFORD TOWNSHIP. 203

state line road. No relics were foimd, although some
charcoal was noticed.

By the foregoing enumeration and a glance at the map,
it will be noticed that all of these mounds, with one
exception, are located along Indian Creek.

Along the creek many Indian graves have been found.
Some of these have been filled up with limestone l;iid
with some regularity. Within the vicinity of the village
of Bunker Hill quite a number have been discovered.

South of the southeastern corner of Bunker Hill,
across the creek, and on a prominent detached hill, a
stone box was discovered forty years ago. We visited
the spot, saw the excavation and some of the limestone
which had been thrown out, and noted the surroundings.
The hill is oblong, with steep declivities, and from the
summit a view of the beautiful valley is obtained. All
we could learn concerning the box was, "There is a
mystery concerning it." It is probable that the spot was
the site of an Indian grave, and the box consisted of
limestone, set up on edge and covered with stone of like
material, the whole enclosing a skeleton.

On the western side of the creek is an old Indian trail.
In section sixteen it passes one-fourth way down the
bank of the stream and over the level track made by a
land-slide. In section twenty-two the trail appears to
divide, one going farther south, and the other following
the bank of the stream in its southeastern direction.

IX. OXFORD TOWNSHIP.
[From a survey by Hev. L. E. Grennan and J. P. MacLean.]

This township constitutes the northwestern corner of
the county. Preble County is on the north, Milford
Township on the east, Eeily on the south, and the
Indiana state line on the west.

We here meet with high land. The farms are small,
and the agricultural population quite large for the terri-
tory embraced. With the exception of two or more
sections, the land nominally belongs to Miami University.
The trustees of the University "leased the land for
ninety-nine years^ renewable forever^ subject to the

204

OXPOED TOWNSHIP.

annual payment of a quit rent of six per cent, on tlie
purchase money.''

Indian Creek runs through the southwestern corner,
and through the eastern part of the township in a
southerly direction flows Four Mile Creek. In places
the valley of the latter is deep and narrow, and not
infrequently presenting bold or precipitous banks.

An ancient fortification occurs on the land of H. H.
Wallace, section thirty-six, marked J. on the map. It is
situated on a bold headland with precipitous banks,
rising sixty feet above the creek. At this point Four
Mile makes a remai-kable bend, constituting a peninsula

N
W—

-ASCIEKT FOKTIFICATION.*

one thousand and sixty feet across the neck. Across this
neck is carried a crescent-shaped wall with an outer
ditch, thus enclosing an area of twenty acres. A portion
of the wall is on the dividing line between Oxford and
Milford Townships. A plan of this work is given in
Fig. 58. There is a gateway at the point c twenty feet
wide. At the point d the bank is perpendicular. The
letter B represents the low ground bordering the stream,
*Froma survey by James McBride, in 1832.

OXFORD TOWNSHIP. 205

The declivity at the point b is steep and difficult of
ascent. The wall is carried along the bank at that point,
probably designed to protect the flank of the defense.
The wall has been plowed down, but is easily traced by a
swell in the ground. "When we visited the spot the
greater portion was in a wheat-field. The wall was
indicated by the yellowish color of the soil and the
wheat thin, while the ditch was lower and the wheat
heavy. Originally the wall was too high to plow over.
It was reduced by plowing along it longitudinally,
throwing the furrows into the ditch.

The engraving, between the natural bank at d and the
bed of the creek, represents a terrace thirty feet wide
about midway from the top to the water. Some have
supposed it to be artificial, but it may have been caused
by a land-slide.

The position thus selected is naturally a strong one,
and one that is secluded. As we approached the bed of the
creek from the west the general aspect was wild and
forbidding. We descended over a steep, stony road, and,
having reached the bed of the creek, proceeded the rest
of the distance on foot. The soil is thin overlying the
limestone, and appears to be worn out. We learned that
the fort is known in the vicinity as "Chaw-raw Hill,"
deriving the epithet from some early travelers who
encamped there, and eat their food without being cooked.

The township contains thirteen mounds, all of which
were kindly located for us by Mr. John M. Stern and
Samuel Gath, Jr., before we visited them. We first
visited that on the farm of W. D. Jones, section fourteen,
near the Horner graveyard. It is four and one-half
feet high by forty-three feet in diameter. A drift has
been cut in from the south, but the center not reached.
Near the top is a sugar tree six feet in circumference.
A sugar tree stump on the side exhibited eighty rings
of annual growth. The mound is on a beautiful knoll
in the corner of a grove. On the same farm, near the
residence, once stood two mounds, each eight feet in
height. In the center and on the original surface of the
ground occurred a human skeleton, surrounded by

206 OXFOED TOWNSHIP.

charcoal. It was iu mi extended position, with the feet
to the southwest. With it was a perfect jawbone of a
child. The human remains were sent to the Dental
College of Cincinnati. Several axes, pestles and spear-
heads occurred. The hill upon which these mounds were
situated overlooks the town of Oxford.

On the W. and J. Mitchel farm, section eleven, in an
open iield, is a mound two and one-half feet high by
thirty-seven feet in diameter. Judging from the base, it is
probable that the mound, before it had been disturbed,
was not over five feet high. It is located on elevated
land. On the farm of James Horner, west side of the
creek, same section, is a mound in an open field, five feet
high. Several years ago some boys undertook to open
this mound, but having been called "Digger Indians"
they desisted from the work. Before abandoning the
undertaking they secured many implements. On the
land of Michael Buckley, same section, is the largest
mound in the toAvnship. It is picturesquely situated,
being located on the alluvial land of Four Mile Creek,
and almost entirely surrounded by hills. Near by flows
a small but rapid stream. To the southwest a tongue of
land projects into the valley. This spot for natural
beauty is not excelled elsewhere in the county. The
mound is composed of broken limestone, sand, gravel
and surface material. Its shape is oblong, and twenty-
five feet in height; the diameters being respectively one
hundred and twelve by ninety-three feet. It has never
been opened, although a slight excavation appears near
the top.

One of the finest mounds in the township is that on
the farm of D. M. McDill, section four. It is eight feet
high by seventy-one feet in diameter at the base. It
stands along the roadside, and a portion was removed in
grading the road.

A fourth of a mile north of this mound, in Preble
County, is another. Not visited.

The mound on the farm of J. J. Fry, section thirty-
four, was opened in grading the road. In the center, at
the bottom, a skeleton was uncovered, under which was

MILPORD TOWNSHIP. 207

burnt earth. It was in an extended position, with the
feet to the southwest. Several skeletons were exhumed
in the eastern part of the mound. The earth composing
the mound is diifercnt from any in the vicinity. At the
present time the mound is five feet high by sixty-eight
feet wide.

In the barnyard of R. RatlifF, section thirty-five, once
stood a mound. In grading the yard the mound was
removed. Some charcoal, but no relics, occurred.

On the farm of Hiram King, section one, in an open
field, is a mound three feet high by forty feet base. On
the side is an elm stump showing efghty-eight rings of
annual growth.

On the farm of Mrs. Nancy Decker, section twelve, are
three mounds which have been plowed oyer for the last
forty years. They are now quite low.

On the farm of D. M. Magie, section fourteen, is a
mound five feet high by thirty-five feet in diameter. It
has been opened and a skeleton taken from it. Two
gorgets and two spear-heads were found.

On the land belonging to P. Taylor, section seven, is a
mound, located in the woods. It has been opened, and in
it were found three perfect spades and two gorgets.
These are now in the possession of Samuel Gath, Jr.

A glance at the map will show that four of the mounds
are near Four Mile, and on elevated positions. The other
eightare within a mile and a half of the creek.

X. MILFOED TOWNSHIP.
[Prom a survey by J. P. MacLean.]

Milford Township is joined by Preble County on the
north, Wayne Township on the east, Hanover on the
south, and Oxford on the west. Seven Mile Creek runs
through it in a southeasterly direction, and Four Mile
enters it in the southwest. The valley of Seven Mile is
beautiful, and the soil productive. The hill lands yield
an abundant crop.

An interesting enclosure occurs in the southwestern
quarter of section three, and northwestern quarter of
section ten. A plan is given in Fig. 59, taken from an
18

208.

MILFORD TOWNSHIP.

old survey made by James McBride and John W. Erwin,
marked I on the map. It occupies the second terrace
between Seven Mile Creek and Williams' Run. This
terrace is about thirty feet higher than the first, and
presents a perpendicular bluff. Tiie entire wall, with the
exception of the southwestern part, is in open fields, and
may be traced by the color of the soil and the corre-

N
W E

Fig. 59.— Anctent Enolosuee.

spending exterior ditch. "When this work was origi-
nally surveyed, the walls were four feet high, and the
ditch of proportionate depth. That portion of the wall in
the grove is very distinct, and in places about three feet
high. A blue ash stump, on the wall, contains two
hundred and one rings of annual growth. Within the
enclosure arc twelve and one-half acres. It appears that
both streams have encroached upon the embankments.
Since then both have subsided. At the northern part
the stream still washes against the bank of the second
terrace, while at the southeastern part it has subsided a
distance of ninety feet. The first terrace presents a
perpendicular bank of ten feet to the surface of the
water. A little lower down the stream has made three
other terraces between the first and its bed ; the last

MILFOKD T0WN8HIP. 209

appears to have been made within the last iive years. It
is composed entirely of gi'avel and sand. The first river
terrace is covered with a rich layer of alluvial soil. Near
the center of the enclosure is a mouiid thirteen feet in
altitude by one hundred feet in diameter at the base. It
is covered with a thick growth of underbrush. An exca-
vation has been made in the top of the mound, out of
which several stone axes and other implements have been
taken. The road to Oxford runs along the base of the
mound, and cuts away about four feet of it. A quantity
of limestone regularly laid up occurred in the northeast
corner of the work. From the general appearance and
location of the work, it was probably intended for
purposes of defense. North of the work a few hundred
yards is the third river-terrace, rising about fifty feet
above the second. While it has a commanding view of
the enclosure, yet it possessed no advantages for an as-
saulting party. It is possible that the Avork was used for
both sacred and military purposes, having belonged to a
new settlement.

It is more than probable that there are more mounds
in the township than have been particularly noticed.
The general features of the land would not especially
indicate many mounds. Those which have been observed
are small.

On the farm of Walter J. Smith, section one, is a
mound located in the woods with small trees growing
upon it. The mound is seven feet in height by sixty feet
in diameter. It occurs on as high ground as there is in
the vicinity.

In the village of Somerville, section three, occurs a
mound. It is about one hundred feet in diameter at the
base-. It has been cut down to within four feet of the
level, a partially-graded street running over it. On
giving it a hasty examination, I was in doubt as to its
being an artificial construction. The exposed limestone
appeared to be in the natural jjosition. Gravel and sand
enter largely into the structure. I learned that on
striking the ston« with a heavy substance a hollow sound

210 HANOVEE TOWJSFSHIP.

is produced. A thorough examination might prove that
stone vaults are at the base.

On the Abraham White farm, section six, is a mound
of moderate dimensions. It is partly located in Preble
County.

The only other mound I could hear of is located on the
farm of Thomas Coulter, section nineteen. Dimensions
not ascertained.

From the general surface it would appear that some
mounds should occur along Darr's Run and Four Mile
Creek.

XI. HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

[From a survey by J. P. MacLean.]

Hanover Township is situated south of Milford, on
the east it is joined by St. Clair, on the south by Ross,
and on the west by Reily.

The general features, as well as the situation, would
forbid the supposition that many mounds should be
located in the township. The bluff lands of St. Clair
separate it from the Miami River, while the streams that
are in it ai'e very small, with the exceptions of Four
Mile, which runs through the northeastern corner, and
Indian Creek, which cuts through the southwestern
corner. Notwithstanding this want of large streams, the
small ones have cut deep beds in many places. The
banks, however, are generally sloping. High hills occur
in the southeastern part, undoubtedly caused by the
Great Miami.

On the farm of Andrew Lewis, section thirty, is a
mound six feet high, in an open field. It has all the ap-
pearance of having been plowed over for many years.
It is erected on a hill with sloping sides, and overlooking
the valley of Indian Creek.

On the James Beatty farm, section thirty -three, is a
small mound between the turnpike and the creek.

On the farm of J. Schafler, section thirty-six, situated
on a hill, is a mound Avhich has been plowed down until
it is but little higher than the surrounding surface.
Burned earth occurred near the base. About tweoty-five

ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP. 211

yards south of this mOund are the remains of an old
camp fire.

On the farm of J. Delaplane, section twenty-five, are
two small mounds, situated a few rods apart (a rivulet
separating them), in an open field. They have been
plowed over for many years. One is about four and the
other three feet in height. The ground is sloping, and
surrounded by hills.

A mound eight feet high occurs on the farm of J. W.
Fye, section nine. One-half is in an open field, and the
other in a woods. It'is located on high ground, near a
small stream that flows into Stony Run, a tributary of
Four Mile. In the same field is a mound about three
feet high by one hundred feet base.

A mound occurs on the farm of E. L. Woodruff,
section sixteen, and another on the farm of R. Works,
section thirteen.

XII. ST. CLAIE TOWNSHIP.
[Surveyed by J, P. MacLean.]

St. Clair Township is bounded on the north by Wayne,
on the east by Madison^ on the south it is separated from
Fairfield by the Great Miami, and on the west by Ross
and Hanover. The township is very irregular in outline,
made so by the Miami River, and by attaching a narrow
strip to it on the south, which, topographically speaking,
should belong to Ross.

With the exception of the land west of Four Mile, and
west of the Miami, south of Four Mile, the township is
level, and composed of the second river-terrace. The
land on the west is high and rugged, the banks probably
averaging one hundred feet in height.

During the high water of 1805 the Great Miami
changed its bed. Prior to that time the river swept
around to the east over the bed of what is now known as
Old River, east and south of the island now owned by
Hon. L. D. Campbell. Four Mile Creek emptied into
the river a little south of what is now the mouth of Two
Mile. During that year the Miami broke through the
tail race of a mill, and emptied into Four Mile, in section

212

ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP.

twenty-one, and since then has occupied that bed. Th
partis known as New River. A part of the Old Rivi
bed, now filled up with sediment, produces a luxTiriai
growth 6f corn.

Four Mile Creek flows through the township, and c
section eight, forms a junction with Seven Mile.

One enclosure is found, surveyed in 1836 by Jame
McBride and John W. Erwin. This work is situated c
the second river-terrace, on the banks of Seven Mile, c
sections four, five, eight and nine, marked K on the ma
It is formed by two irregular lines of embankment, wit
an exterior ditch, and enclosing an area of twenty-fi^

w-

PiG. 60.— Ancient Wokk.

acres. The embankments are parallel throughout, an
the outer wall, at that time (1836), was four feet higl
and the inner, three feet. The ditch, out of which th
material was taken for constructing the wall, was six fee

ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP. 213

•deep and thirty-five feet wide. Both walls and ditch had
their greatest dimension at the southern portion of the
work. The inner wall curves inwardly along the terrace
bank for a considerable distance near its southern ex-
tremity. There is a gateway at d (Fig. 60), thirty feet
wide. The letter b marks the natural bank eighteen feet
high. The low, arable bottom lands between the bank
and the creek are indicated by the letter a. The mill
race is marked by the letter y.

A few rods from the northeastern gateway is an
elliptical mound, eleven feet altitude ; its conjugate and
transverse diameters are respectively ninety-two and one
hundred and eighteen feet.

At the present time the walls are quite low. Standing
on the elliptical mound they can be easily traced with the
eye just after the ground has been plowed. In a few
years they will be scarcely visible. The mound has been
plowed over, and at present is about eight feet high.

The map shows that all the mounds but four are
situated west of Four Mile and the Miami, and, with
three exceptions, all are on the hill-tops.

The largest mound in the township is that on the farm
of A. Logedrost, section eighteen. It is perfectly formed,
composed of clay, and sixteen feet altitude by eighty-
eight feet in diameter at the base. It is located in an
open field, and from the summit may be seen the hills
beyond the Miami, and the hills in the distance at the
north ; the view beyond the valley to the southwest is
cut off by a range of hills. A drift has been sent in
from the east a distance of ten feet, the material having
been taken to fill up a depression in the barnyard.
Within this drift was found an American half-dollar of
the year 1812. It is slightly worn and much tarnished.
From the south a drift has been made a distance of eight
feet. Two excavations are in the top, one three feet and
the other five in depth. From the latter a portion of a
human skeleton, and a grooved stone axe, weighing over
four pounds, were taken. I was fortunate enough to
secure both the axe and the coin. Less than a fourth of
a mile southeast of this mound, situated on the farm of

214 ST. CJLAIR TOWNSHIP.

Adam Hammerle, section nineteen, is another five fe
high, evidently plowed over for many years. It
composed of clay, with limestone scattered through
It is on the summit of a high hill, overlooking the ci
of Hamilton, the hills of south and east Fairfield, ai
the hills to the northeast. The range of hills two mil
to the southwest limits the view in that direction.

No better view of the valley of the Great Miami
obtained than from "Prospect Point," on the northwestei
corner of William Caldwell's farm, section sixteen. Tl
promontory juts out, forming a slight bend in Four Mil
The side of the hill is perpendicular, and about one hu
dred and fifty feet above the water of the creek. The h
has a considerable slope in all other directions. Tl
scene looking north, east and south is enchantin
The variegated fields, hemmed in by the distant hills, tl
highly cultivated farms, and the meandering Mian
present a picture which might be reproduced on canvs
but one that pen cannot describe. On the very edge •
the declivity of this hill is a beautiful mound composi
of clay, fourteen feet high by seventy-five feet
diameter at the base. A fire on this hill would be se(
for many miles around. It has been disturbed, b
scarcely enough to perceptibly deface it. A little west
this, on the farm of J. Betz, is a small mound.

In section nine Four Mile makes an acute bend, ai
projecting into it is a headland, upon the top of which
the farm of William Parker. In his orchard, on t
very summit, are three mounds, the largest being t
southern one. It is oblong and ten feet high ; its co
jugate and transverse diameters are seventy-five and o:
hundred and twenty feet respectively. Near the top <
this mound some hnmau bones were exhumed, and
conjunction with them three copper hatchets. Thi
hundred and sixty feet north of this mound is anotln
ten feet high by ninety feet in diameter, composed
limestone and surface material. Between these t^
mounds, but not iu a direct line, is a small mound abo
four feet high.

The orchard prevented an observation of the si

ST. CLAIE TOWKSHIP. 215

rounding country, hut from this point the valley of Four
Mile to the west, Seven ]\Iile to the north, and a portion
of the Miami Valley to the east, and the hills of Fairfield
to the southeast could be obtained, if the trees were
removed. A fire on any of the prominent mounds,
especially on that of Madison, could be seen.

A long, narrow ridge of land, running nearly east and
west, in section thirty-one, and belonging to Pollock
Wilson, is the most prominent point close to the city of
Hamilton. On this ridge are three small mounds. The
one located in the rear of the dwelling is now about
eighteen inches high, and used for a flower bed. The
other two are in a grove, one forty feet and the other
forty-eight feet in diameter. Both are three and a half
feet high, and four feet apart. Upon one is a red oak
stump two feet in diameter. On the adjoining hill to the
south, belonging to John "VY. Wilson, is a mound of about
the same size.

Section seven contains five mounds, three of them
located on the farm of S. Crane. The two in the field
are low, one of them containing burnt clay. Out of this
some implements have been taken; also plaited hair in a
charred condition. The remaining mound is four feet
high, and located in the woods. The other two mounds,
located on the farms of J. Garver and A. Shobert,
are small. On the farm of A. Werner, section eighteen,
is a low mound.

Within the corporation of the city of Plamilton, on the
land of Henry Gray, near the tile factory, once stood a
mound, composed of clay. A number of implements
have been taken from it.

The farm house of D. F. Dick, section thirty, is built
on a mound.

In digging the cellar for the farm house of T. L. Ehea,
section twenty-nine, a skeleton was disinterred. Near by
is a mound out of which other skeletons have been
taken. In the northwestern quarter of same section
occurs an interesting formation, on the same estate,
situated between the two forks of Two Mile. It consists
of a ridge about a quarter of a mile long, one hundred
19

2i6 ST. CLAIE TOWNSHIP.

feet wide at the base, and ten feet high. It bends in an
out and rises and falls, giving it the appearance of
serpent in motion. At the southern extremity, a few fet
distant from the ridge, and on an exact line with it is
mound of the same height and width, thickly covere
with the ailantus. Into this mound a shaft five feet i
depth has been sunk, and at the bottom burnt limeston
occurred. The ridge is covered principally with th
sugar tree. The ridge is composed of clay, while o:
either side the land is flat and damp. "We noticed oi
this damp ground four fungous plants, in a row clos
together, each being not less than eighteen inches ii
diameter, and almost perfectly round.

I am of the opinion that this ridge or tongue is
natural formation, and also the mound. The mound ma;
have been used as a place of burial, or the burnt ston
may have served as a hearth for some ancient hunter whi
had here sunk a pit in order to hide the blaze of the fir
from the keen eye of an enemy.

On the farm belonging to the estate of L. Snider
section twenty-one, are two small mounds. In the north
west corner of same section, on the farm of W. A. Elliott
is a mound five feet high, situated on a sandy surface, an(
for several years has been plowed over. Near the nortl
end of the railroad bridge, spanning the Miami, on th(
farm of G. Warwick, in an open field, is a mound abou
five feet high.

On the farm of J. "Warwick, section eight, is a mounc
seven feet high. It is on high ground, and from it, il
the land was cleared of timber, the mound on "Prospec
Point" could be seen. A trench has been dug into thi;
mound, and from it some human bones and stom
implements were taken.

On the farm of Mr. Gebhart, section fourteen, situatec
on a hill, is a mound six feet high.

The mound on the estate of W. K. Walker, sectioi
four, will be considered under the comments on thi
temple mound of Wayne Township.

Indian graves are frequently met with along the wes
bank of the river ; also along Seven Mile. Severa

WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 217

skeletons have been dug up on the farm of Robert
Hueston, section nine. In a gravel pit on this farm a
mastodon's tooth, now in my possession, was found. A
mammoth's tooth, now in the possession of G. B.
McKnight, was found while excavating for a cellar in the
city of Hamilton.^''

XIII. WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
[Surveyed by Dr. J. B. Owsley and J. P. MacLean.)

Wayne Township is bounded ou the north by Preble
County, on the east by Madison Township, on the south
by St. Clair, and on the west by Milford.

The highest point of land in the county is situated in
this township, on the farm belonging to the heirs of W.
W. Phares, section nine. Its elevation is six hundred
and forty-two feet above the Ohio River at Cincinnati.
Notwithstanding the fact that the land of this town-
ship is considerably elevated, yet none of the higher
lands of the county are more fertile.

In this township we meet with two enclosures. One
of these is situated on the farm of Isaac Snively, section
thirty. It occurs on the second river-terrace between
Seven Mile and Nine Mile, bordering on the bank of the
latter. The work is composed of an embankment without
any opening, and an interior ditch enclosing an area of
about eight acres.

Fortunately this work was surveyed, in 1840, by James
McBride and John W. Erwin, and thus a plan of it has
been preserved. An illustration is given in Fig. 61. It
is marked H on the map. At the present time it is
utterly destroyed, with the exception that the ditch on
the southwest may be traced from the turnpike to the
railroad, the latter cutting away the southern extremity.
Within the enclosure were two beautiful oblong mounds.
Nearly the whole of the mound in the center was re-
moved in constructing the Eaton turnpike. During the
excavation a quantity of bones was discovered, but
nothing definite was ascertained concerning them. The

*In locating the mounds of this township, I received m»ch valu.
able assistance from G. B. McKnight.

218

WAYNE TOWNSHIP.

other mound has been partly excavated, and the remaining
portion is under cultivation.

On the farm of John Weaver, section fourteen, is one
of the most interesting works in the county. It ii
situated upon what is known as upland, or the earliest

Fig. 61.— Akcient Ekclosuke.

formation. An illustration is given in Fig. 62, marked
G on the map. This work is a ]ierfect circle two hundred
and thirty feet in diameter. The walls are two and a
half feet high, and accompanied by an interior ditch. At
the east the line of circumvallation is broken by a gate-
way twenty-three feet wide. The enclosure is situated in
a woods with forest trees growing around, within and on
the walls. On one oak stump, occurring on the top of the
embankment, I counted two hundred and seventy-two
rings of annual growth.

Within the enclosure is a mound partially surrounded
by hillocks. This mound is two feet high by twenty-two
feet in diameter at the base. On it is a white oak stump
having two hundred and twenty-six annual rings of

JPriv/jte Hand to Farm House

s

'm. .^ IS M

Fig. 62,— Jacksoneukg \Vokks.— Delineated ey J. P. MacLean.

220 WAYNE TOWNSHIP.

growth. Three of the hillocks surrounding it form £
section of a circle, but the fourth is in almost a dired
line towards the gateway. The corresponding depression
to these four hillocks faced the center mound. This
excited our curiosity. While the hillocks with theii
depressions were exactly of the same kind as those made
by uprooted trees, yet the cavity in every instance facing
the mound was a puzzle. It was not likely that four
trees should fall in such a manner as to produce this
result. Dr. Owsley thought we might discover some-
thing in the vicinity that would unravel or make cleai
this problem. One hundred and forty-five feet north of
this enclosure we came upon twelve hillocks, eleven
of which made a complete circle two hundred and thirty
feet in diameter, or exactly of the same diameter as the
enclosure. All of these eleven hillocks, except one to
the southwest, had their corresponding depressions facing
the center. A tree had grown upon the one to the
southwest and fallen inwards, thus leaving a cavity on
the exterior. Wo could find no other hillocks in the
immediate vicinity. We knew it was not reasonable to
presume that eleven trees on the line of a circle should
fall, and, in every instance but one, leave the correspond-
ing dejDressions so as to face eacH other. We came to
the conclusion that a plan for a work had been hero laid
out, the mounds or stakes had been set, and then for
some cause the work was abandoned. It may have been
the intention of the builders to connect the two, but as
to this we are entirely left to speculation. The twelfth
mound is at the north and not more than five feet from
one of the other mounds. It was thrown up for a
purpose, but whether or not as part of a plan for a
graded way no one can tell.

This work gives us the clearest and most positive
proof that the ancient engineers first planned and then
executed their work. Taken in connection with the
incomplete work in Union Township and the unfinished
works at Alexandersville it gives us quite an insight into
the methods of thought as exhibited by the ancient
engineers.

WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 221

So far as we could ascertain there are but five mounds
in the township. That on the farm of R. D. Leslie,
section twelve, so far as known, has not its parallel in
the county. It is twenty feet high and five hundred and
forty feet circumference at the base. It is composed of
gravel and surface material. In November, 1868, it was
excavated on the east side for the purpose of obtaining
gravel. This excavation extends to the center, but does
not reach to the bottom or the original surface of the
ground. The opening thus, formed brought to light the
fact that within this mound was a series of stone vaults
superimposed one above the other and reaching to within
one foot of the apex, the number of vaults in each layer
or 'level increasing in number as we proceed from the
top to the bottom. These vaults are not immediately
contiguous but separated by a filling of gravel, more or
less mixed with clay and surface material. The vaults
are composed of limestone averaging in size three feet in
length and breadth by three inches in thickness, the
stone being set upon end at an angle of seventy-five
degrees. Within each vault occurred a human skeleton,
which must originally have been placed in a sitting
posture, for the skeleton had fallen into a heap. A
portion of eight skeletons was sent to the Smithsonian
Institute by Dr. Owsley. No implements have been
found within the mound, but ashes and charcoal abound.
I noticed that the loose limestone on the top of the
mound exhibited traces of fire.

On the farm of Hampton Long, section twenty-four, is
a mound which has been partially cut away in order to
grade a road. The accompanying ditch of this road
passes through what was the center of the mound. At
the base of the tumulus was a skeleton in an extended
position. On the chest was a spear-head made from
blue chert, nearly six inches in length and two inches
broad just below the barbs, the whole being symmetrical.
I was fortunate enough to secure this relic. That part
of the mound now remaining is five feet high.

222

WAYNE TOWKSHIP.

Two mounds are located on what is known as Snively's
Hill, section twenty-six. This hill is five hundred and
sixty-three feet above the Ohio Eivcr at Cincinnati.
One is situated on the farm of Henry Snively and the
other on the farm of J. Good. The former is in an open
field and the latter in the woods. Both are about six feet
high. This commanding hill would be of importance
to the Mound Builders, for it overlooks the broad
acres of the Miami on the south, and to the ancient
tillers of the soil, in the valley, it would serve for an
additional beacon light.

I have indulged in some speculation concerning the
mound on the farm of Joseph Henry, section thirty-six.
This mound is situated in an open field near the base'of
the slope of the table-laud, or where it joins the second
river-terrace. It has been under cultivation during the
last fifty years. A great many skeletons have been
taken from it and every year the plow turns out others.
Forty years ago people would repair to the mound in

FiQ. 03.— FiEST Plan of the Temple.

order to collect stone mortars, cups, pottery, and other
aboriginal relics. Fragments of burnt limestone may
still be seen on the top. The mound is a rectangle two
hundred and twenty-five feet long by one hundred and
twenty feet broad, and seven feet high. Its direction is
from southeast to northwest.

On first examination I concluded it must be a temple
mound, the square corners and perpendicular sides of
which had been destroyed by the corroding influence of

WAYNE TOWNSHIP.

223

time and effectually effaced by the white man. To the
southeast ajipeared to be a graded way forty-five feet
long, and to the northwest anotlier Avay fifteen feet long.
Upon these measurements I made out the plan as giveii
in Fig. 63. It Avill be noticed as a matter of curiosity
that the length and breadth of the mound, as mcU as the
length of the two graded ways, are divisible by fifteen.
It would not necessarily follow that the structure was
built on this basis, but is simply a coincidence. U))on
reflection it occurred that the graded way at the north-
west was simply due to the earth having been thrown
out by long continued plowing. Hence this gateway

DM

Tig C4 - ^EfuND ILI'^ or the TEiirLc.

must be only assumption, which conscquentlj' led to the
construction of the plan as given in Fig. 64. It should
be noticed that the mound was not level on top, but
convex or rounding. This fact would not conflict with
the supposition that it was a temple, for it must be
considered that the action of the plow would constantly
throw the earth away from the sides, thus leaving the
center elevated.

An examination of the mound on the farm of the
Walker heirs, St. Clair Township, dispelled all dreams
of a tem])le mound in Butler County. This mound is
of about the same size, located in a woods and covered
with forest trees. It bears no resemblance to a temple
mound except in size. What were taken for graded
ways are simply slopes, the longer indicating that it had
been intended to lengthen the mound. Before the forest

224. MADISON TOWNSHIP.

was cleared off it is more than probable that this mound
did not appear unlike the one on the Walker farm.

XIV. MADISON TOWNSHIP.
[From the notes of J. W. Eeppeto and W. B. Poast.]

Madison Township is bounded on the north by
Montgomery County, on the east by Warren, and
separated from Lemon Township by the Miami River,
which also separates it from Fairfield on the south. On
the west it is joined by Wayne and St. Clair. It is very
irregular in shape, the western line being ten miles long,
the eastern three and one-half, the northern six, and the
southern extremity two.

That part of the Miami River Valley lying in this
township is very narrow, with the exceptions of ten
sections in the southern extremity and a few sections
about Poast Town. The hill land is not what may be
called fertile, although some of it yields well. Elk
Creek and Brown's Run flow through this township in a
southerly direction, cutting deep valleys, which in places
are bordered with high hills having steep declivities.
The water flows over beds of limestone, exposing a
formation rich in fossils.

]Sfo enclosures occur in the township. Twelve mounds
have been observed, the largest of which is the Great
Mound of Butler County located on the land of T.
Henry, section nineteen. Its altitude is forty-three feet
with a circular base of five hundred and eleven feet.
The hypothenuse is eighty-eight feet, the contents being
eight hundred and twenty-four thousand four hundred and
eighty cubic feet. At twenty-two cubic feet per load, this
would give thirty-seven thousand four hundred and
seventy-six wagon-loads, which, allowing ten loads per
day, would take one man nearly twelve years (not includ-
ing Sundays) to remove the mound,' say a distance of one
mile.* This will give us some idea of the great labor be-
stowed upon this structure. But when we consider that the
most primitive methods were used, and the earth carried

*From a computation made by Dr. J. B. Owsley.

MADISON TOWNSHIP. 225

in sacks thrown across the shoulders, or else in earthen
vessels, the labor, at one?, is seen to have been
stupendons. This mound has a commanding view of the
country for twenty miles around. It is located on a
high elevation, and from its altitude of observation a fire
on the Miamisburg mound could be seen, and then the
watchman here kindling the fire in resi>onse would give
warning to tiie people throughout the valley to leave
their sacred enclosures and their homes, and immediately
flee to the forts on the hill-tops for protection. If the
theory that mounds as posts of observation bo true, then
this was certainly one. Its position and nature indicate
it. Its primary object may have been for sepulture, but
evidently having been enlarged, it was used for a signal
station. Many years ago some persons undertook to
open it. The excavation is but slight and at the top.
Some bones and traces of fire occurred.

I superintended the opening of the mound on the farm
of E. Mattix, same section. It is located about one-
third of a mile southeast of the Great ]Mound. It is six
feet high with a diameter of eighty feet. It has the
appearance of not having been finished, for there is quite
a level area on top. The mound is composed of clay
with a slight mixture of surface material. At or near
the bottom the clay was so compact as to make it difficult
to penetrate. In this lower layer of clay were distinct
traces of fire.

One-half mile north of Miltonville, on the land of E.
Mattix, section thirty, is a mound three hundred feet in
circumference and five feet in height.

On the farm of Kobert Lnndis, section thirty-two,
situated a little over a mile northeast of Trenton, is a
mound seven feet high by three hundred and six feet
circumference at the base. This mound commands a
fine view of the Miami Valley, and from its top the
Miamisburg mound may be seen.

On the farm of Phebe Long, section twenty -nine, one
mile northeast of Miltonville, is a low mound two and
one-half feet high by forty-five feet diameter.

A mound about six feet high occurs on the farm of

2'i-6 LEMON TOWNSHIP.

Hannah Holderman, section seventeen, just back of the
Lutheran Church.

On the farm of D. Barcalow, section eleven, occur tlie
remains of a mounci, through the center of which passes
the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. It was in
this mound that the relics were found which arc spoken
of on page 73. Besides these there were found human
bones and flint implements. Before this mound was
disturbed it was from fifteen to twenty feet high by one
hundred feet in diameter. It stands on the alluvial lands.

A mound occurs on the farm of R. Marsh, section
twelve ; one on the estate of P. Selby, section thirty-six;
and another on the farm of R. Marsh, section two. All
these mounds range from eight to ten 'feet high, with a
diameter at the base of about forty feet.

On the land of Jacob Kemp, section sixteen, are two
small mounds, one being a little above the level surface,
and the other about four feet high. The latter has been
excavated, but only charcoal was obtained.

XV. LEMON TOWNSHIP.

[Prom the notes of E. T. Shepherd. ]

This township is triangular in shape. On the west
and north it is separated from Madison by the Miami
River. On the east it joins Warren County, and on the
south Liberty Township. Nearly one-half the township
is composed of alluvial lands. The hill lands vary in
fertility. Dick's Creek flows through the township in a
westerly direction.

No enclosures and only four mounds occur, the largest
of which is situated on the farm of J. B. Martin, section
thirteen. It is oblong, the greater diameter being one
hundred and twenty-five feet, and the lesser seventy feet.
It is ten feet high, located in an open field, and has been
plowed over for many years. Near the top is au old and
decayed oak stump two and a half feet in diameter. On
the same farm is another about five feet high. It is
located in the woods. On the farm of Austin McCrcary
is a mound nine feet high, located in a field and partly
destroyed.

CABINETS. 227

On the farm of E. Britton, section eighteen, is a
mound four feet high by one hundred and eighty feet in
circumference. It is located in a woods, on a high liill,
and commands an extended view of the surrounding
country.

XVI. CABINETS.

It is a lamentable fact that until within the last few years
but little interest, on the part of the citizens of Butler
County, has been taken in these ancient remains. The
zeal exhibited and interest taken in this subject thirty years
ago by James McBride and John W. Erwin should have
stimulated the people. The splendid cabinet of James
McBride was sold at executor's sale, and thus allowed to
leave the county, and perhaps the country. Some indig-
nation was manifested on account of this act, for many
of the specimens were contributed under the impression
that the cabinet was to be a permanent thing. The
present interest is partly due to traders, hucksters and
speculators who have been through the county picking
them up. The system resorted to by some of these
traders is to barter trinkets for them, placing fictitious
values on their wares. Private collections are now
being made in the county. All persons known to be
thus engaged have been communicated with and
requested to furnish a statement of all pre-historic
remains in their possession. All have kindly responded
but four, who for some reason unknown have declined
to give the information.

In order to work systematically both in archaeology
and geology several gentlemen met in the court-house
during the month of November, 1878, for the purpose of
organizing a society. They continued to meet weekly
until they completed an organization known as the
"Butler County Geological and Archaeological Society,"
the purposes of which are to become better acquainted
with the science of geology and archaeology, and to form
a cabinet which shall contain representative specimens of
all the fossils that may be found within the county,_ and
to preserve all such aboriginal relics as may be obtained.

228 CABINETS.

In order to assist this movement the city council of
Hamilton voted an appropriation of one hundred and
fifty dollars for the purpose of purchasing cases for the
cabinet and placed them in the j)ublic library.

The constitution of the society was adopted January,
1879, and the" following officers elected for the ensuing
year: President, J. P. MacLean; Vice President, N. E.
Warwick ; Secretary, T. E. Crider ; Treasurer, H. T.
Berry; Curator, Richard Brown. Besides the above the
following are also members: F. II. Scoby, W. H. Harr,
John Weidenborner, Jr., Alexander Dilg, General F.
Vanderveer, Dr. J. L. Kirkpatrick, E. T. Shepherd,
Israel Williams, Dr. J. B. Owsley, I. N. Warwick and
L. L. Kemp.

In the following table, giving a list of the various
implements in the different cabinets in the county, it has
been the aim to include all under the various names
given. Some of the divisions may be arbitrary, and in
other cases various implements have been classed under
one head. For instance, fleshers and barkpeelers are
classed as one. The same is true of hoes and spades.
In this place it might be well to remark that the largest
stone axe in the county belongs to Colonel Griffin Hal-
stead. It weighs nearly sixteen pounds. The next is
in the possession of Samuel Gath, Jr. It is perfect;
weighing fourteen and a half pounds, and thirteen inches
in length. A discoidal stone is in the possession of D.
A. McCord, and a very large stone maul in the cabinet
of W. P. Cooch.

Note. — It should have been mentioned in the proijer place that a
mound occurs on the farm of J. R. Symmes, section 13, Hanover
Township. It has been plowed over for many years. Original
height about sixteen feet. A stone made into both a hatchet and
pipe was taken from it. The groove around the bowl was filled up
with lead.

■AECH^OLOGICAL CABINETS IN BUTLER.
COUNTY, OHIO.

? -5.

■< -5

B B

<t . r

; : : ;

U3

i i

Morgan

•<
Oxford !."."".^"..'."".....V.""

Lemon

B

1

WtS!.; :

(TJ fti ~ -

2^|B
-2! :"

jonii K. iievis

LlcwcHvn G. Bonham

SamuerCath, Jr.

D. A. McCorcl

Prof. B. r. Mnrsh

Wm. fliid Richard Martindale

John M. Stern

aarry Wetmore

ilichard Brown

T. and J. Demnret

Col. GrifHn Halstead

J. 1". Sharkey

R. T. Shepherd

Marion Warner

F. W. Whittalcer

Prof. J. A. Clarl:

J. L. Evans

Winter Morris

W.P. Cooch

W. H. Han

Wm. Huber. Jr

G. B. MeKniglit

J. I^ MacLean

J. G. Shepherd

P. L Whitehead

P. W. Clark

a
>

o'-': coCToSSoit-'o: w!S-iEmocc

■ ro oi *.■ CO rci-' ^

Axes.

ooKj; MboOioSoo: ": m oi (-> *. o w jj.

ototo: : —•j^osh:a>io'-j'^iCicn-~

Hnfehefs.

I : : :

: v-l

: Mi : f : : : :

ocst ci: : m: : : : :

mosm: : 1-:

: : : :

: i-": -i; en:

o:

Rammers.

! M :

1-1 : en

• : : I ; ■ '

: : : : :

: :

• i-<

Chisels.

: <yi i-j I-. w >ft. CO c

-iJ : : • ■ ■

3>: mi : ojch: : mco:

: : : ^DtcS.a.

'. to O O -H3 *1 C-1 -1

Flesh ers.

i wi i

>-j: o^(

: : : ' ' ' : = ■
?>: : wi : : : i o: :

• : : • ■ ■
: i : : : toi

: 1 1 u-ind: 1-

.Spades.

Sons! wis3cico^7C--i: co: o-^co: oiKJC^

■ N'3l-il~ii-lC01-«MC7iOC?lfc!^Ka>CC

Pestles.

: 1 m:

^i : : : : i : : : :

: : I : i

: ' '

t-ii I

; M'

Mortars.

croons:

: I :

: : : :

: :

m: : !l!iocor^

Knives.

: : : • )-•

: : : i-ii^: lo j

^i : : hK I— 1 '-' to CO h3 o3 vti* >-'

':■::: o*-

* * t-iu

: to w h3 ui CT" CO c:

Rimmers.

rs o C.T ro o to o o o -1 o -1 :;; -^ ;;i i .^ -,i j^^

^-^

B^i'S^S^

Arrow Heads.

o ^1 z-s o to v\ o :: ~i o

SnocoSs! ggc^egpissssess

: rofoS: !:^!^oSgSs?3Sgg

SpenrHends.

: ; :

: : : :

w: : i-i: : : ! iom:

: : ■ ; : :

i : i-fl : i

Pipes.

: : :

MMk^^

::::::;:::■

: : : : ^^

u-il ; tJoo: w

Polishers.

: : :
i i-ii :

! :::::: : :
: Ns: : : ; : : m: :

: : : : coi

: : t-jro: :

Shuttles.

co; : :

: : m!

: : ' : :

: : (-ito! cat coc.-':

: : : : oi-i

1 : comi-':

; ^

Wnnds.

: ■ ■

: : : :;::::
: : : m: : : : i : to

: : : 1 ro>-.

; : k->>— 1 : :

Crescents.

: I :
to: : :

: : :
: : i-i:

: : : i

: Mho: : m: wMj-'to

: : : • :

: : tow-i: :

: ^

Tubes.

: : :
ct: : :

:

m: c:-

: : : ; ; : i_i :
j: : : ib,: tu: : oo--:

: : : M

1-' : to to ro i--

: ^

GoTfrets.

'•'•': I

: :

; : : : : : i :
a: : i-i: : : : co"-*: i

; : ; I

: : : 1 uii-'

I : cs u-i : ;

Pendants.

■ III

: : : :

: :::::: : ;

: : : :

: : ; : ■

Imflges.

: : Ns:

■ ! i-ii : : : : i i 1

::;:::

: : : : i

Pottery.

I \ \\

g>: So

^! c.! 1 U i 1 w! i

*..:::; §w.

: :

: : c

: HI

Miscellaneous.

LOCATION OF SOME OF THE ANCIENT EN-
CLOSURES OF OHIO, INCLUDING BOTH
MILITARY AND SACEED.

{Corrected from Ohio Centennial Eeport.)

Valley op the Geeat and Little Miami Kivees.

Butler County.

1. Union township, See. 14.

2. Union township, See. 8.

3. Fairtield townsuip, Bee. 8.

4. Fairtield towushiij, Sec. 15.
6. Fairtield township, See. 10.

6. Fairtield townsliip, See. IG.

7. Ross township, Sec. 12.

8. Ross township, See. 13.

9. Ross township. Sees. 27 and 34.

10. Eeily township, See. 22.

11. Oxlord townsnip, See. 36.

12. Millord township, Sees. 3 and 10.

13. Wayne townshijj. Sec. 14.

14. Wayne township. Sec. 30.

15. St. (Jlair township. Sees. 4, 5, 8, and 9.

Hamilton County.

1. Large earth-work, Cincinnati, now obliterated.

2. North Bend ; a large Ibrt.

3. Colerain township, east bank of Great Miami.

Montgomery County.

1. Three miles south of Dayton, east bank Great Miami.

2. Alexandersville.

3. South of Germantowii.

Miami County.
1. Stone circle, near Piqua.

Warren County.
1. Fort Ancient.

Clermont County.

1. Milford, on Little Miami.

2. Newtown, on Little Miami, left bank, three miles up stream.

OHIO EAETH-WOEKS. 231

Prehle County.
1. Fort, six miles southeast of Eaton.

Green County.

1. Seven miles east of Xeiiia, Sec. 24, T. 4, R. 8.

2. Massie's Creek, west bank Little Miami.

Valley of the Scioto Rivbh.

Scioto County.

1. Portsmouth.

2. Pond Creek, west bank of Scioto; efiSgies.

Pilce County.
1. Seal township.

Rois County.

1. Franklin township.

2. Big Bottom canal.

3. Chillicothe.

4. Twelve miles north of Chillicothe.

5. Alderson's.

6. lillgore's Mill.

7. Three miles south of Chillicothe, Sec. 18, T. 9, R. 22.

8. One mile north of Hopeton.

9. Near Bourneville, on Paint Creek.

10. Near Frankfort, one mile east.

11. One mile soutli of Bourneville.

12. Stone fort, one and a half miles south of Bourneville.

13. Harp-shaped work, two and a half miles southeast of Bourne-

ville.

14. Five miles north of Chillicothe.

15. Hopeton.

16. East bank of Scioto, opposite No. 15.

17. Mound City, three miles north of Chillicothe.

18. Liberty township, southeast of Chillicothe.

19. Two miles southwest of Chillicothe.

20. Fifteen miles west of Chillicothe.

21. Bainbridge.

22. Stone circle, two miles west of No. 12.

Piclcaujay County.

1. Circleville ; principally obliterated.

2. Near Tarleton.

3. South line of county, on the Scioto.

4. North line of county, west bank of Scioto.

Franldin County.

1. One mile west of Worthington.

2. Three miles southwest of CJolumbus.

3. Four and a half miles north of Worthington.

Waters op Lake Ekie.
Ashtabula County.

1. Fort on Conneaut Creek, three miles southwest of Conneaut.

2. Fort on Pymataning Creek, Wayne township.

20

232 OHIO KAETH-WOEKS.

Lake County.
1. Port, three miles east of Painesville, on Grand River.

Cuyalwga County.

1. Fort ; lot 313, Newburg, near Cleveland.

2. Fort ; right bank of Cuyahoga ; south line of Newburg town-

ship.

3. Fort ; left bank of river, near center of Independence.

4. Fort; right bank, mouth of Tinkers Creek, south side.

5. Forks ot Rocky River, below Berea.

_ Summit County.

1. Fort; lot 79, Northfield ; right bank of Cuyahoga.

2. Fort; Boston, right bank, two miles south of Peninsula.

8. Fort and caches, both sides of the river, near the line between
Boston and North Hampton.

Medina County.

1. Fort ; Rocky River, Weymouth.

2. Circle, half mile east of Granger.

3. Canal, half mile west of Medina Centre.

Lorain County.

1. Fort ; east bank of Black River, two and a half miles from

Lake Erie.

2. Fort ; east bank, at French Creek, Sheffield township.

3. Fort ; east bank of Vermillion River, Brownhelm township.

4. Fort ; west bluff, of Vermillion River.

Huron County.

1. Three enclosures at the Forks of Huron River, two miles west
of Norwalk.

Erie County.

1. Stone fort; Danbury township, near Lake shore.

2. Fort ; Kelly's Island, soutii side, near the landing.

Lucas County.

1. Inclosure, south bank of Maumee, two miles above Toledo.

2. Forts ; two in Toledo.

Wood County.
1. Fort; Eagle Point.

Waters of Muskinqum, Hocking, and Other Rivees.

Licking County.

1. Near Newark ; a very large and complicated work, with

several forts on the adjacent hills.

2. Two miles east of Jackson, a small inclosure and stone mouiid.

3. Granville, two miles east. Fort.

4. Granville, one mile south. Fort.

5. Jackson, two miles east. Fort.

6. Fort, three miles south of Newark. In this county are a large

number of moundSj five to forty feet high.

OHIO EARTH- WORKS. 233

Richland County.
1. Near Mansfield.

Washington County.

1. Marietta.

2. Cats Creek, east bank of Muskingum.

3. Lowell, on Muskingum River.

4. Adams township.

5. Belpre.

Athens County.
1. Four miles north of Athens.

Highland County.
1. Fort Hill.

Perry County.
1. Stone fort, five miles northwest of Somerset ■

Fairfield County.

1. Kook Hill.

2. Three miles west of Lancaster.

3. Several groups near the Hocking River.

Jachson County.
1. Near Jackson, two miles north, two small works.

Knox County.
1. A group of forts near Fredrickstown,

Ashland County.

1. Ramsey's Fort, Jackson township, See. 28.

2. Metcalfs Fort, Mohecan township, Sec. 21.

3. Winbigler's Fort, Mohecan township. Sec. 9.

4. Gamble's Fort, Montgomery township, Sec. 8.

5. Bi-yte's Fort, Clear Creek township. Sec. 26.

6. Shambaugh's Fort, Green township, Sec. 18.

7. Parr's Fort, Green township. Sec. 19.

8. Darling's Fort, Hanover township.

Wayne County.
1. Tyler's Fort, Flaiu township, Sec. 24.

THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN.

THE SEVENTH AND REVISED EDITIOB- OF THE

PNUALOFTHEPTIQUITYOFPN,

BY

J". :e=>. :m:j^c! LE^iT.

(NOW READY.)

It contains tte results of the latest researclies in tlie field of Pre-
Historic Science. Just the book for the young student of Pre-history,
popular and entertaining in style, and finely illustrated.
C O K X E Iff T S a

Chapter I,— Introduction. II.— Glacial Epoch. III.— Glacial Epoch continued. TV.—
Pre-glacial Kpocbs. V.— ConJition of Man in the Earlipst Times VI— Inter,
glacial Epoch. VII. — Condition of JIan in tbft Inter-glacial. VIII. — lleindeer
Epoch. IX— Manoflhe Ueindeer Epoch. X.— Neolithic Epoch. XI— Manoflhe
Neoliihic Epoch. Xll.— Bronze Epoch. XIII.— Iron Epoch. XIV —Traces of Man
in Ainsrica. XV.— Written History. XVI.— Language. XVII.— Unity of the Hu-
man Race. XVIII.— The Bible.

It gives the reader a correct idea of the later formations of the
earth.

It explains the cause of the great ice-fields which once covered a
large portion of the earth.

It places the great beasts of the past in their exact relations.
It shows that man has lived on this earth for many tens of thou-
sands of j-ears.

It abounds with copious, explanatory, and suggestive notes.
It explains those difficult passages in Genesis which have resulted
in so much controversy.

It answers the five principal objections to the unity of the human
race.

It is handsomely illustrated.

It is the only work containing an ideal restoration of the Neander-
thal Man.

It contains superior portraits of Sir Charles Lyell and Prof Hux-
ley, which alone are worth the price of the book.

It is acknowledged to be the best book ever written on the subject.

It is the only book ever written which places the ancient remain?
of Man in their exact geological position.

It is just the book that every person should have in order to become
acquainted with the latest results of scientific investigation.

It is handsomely bound and printed on superior paper.

It has received the hearty recommendations of clergymen, physi-
cians, historians, and the secular and religious press, a few of which
we append herewith.

TESTIMONIALS.

"It is an excellent work. '' — Reo. J. W. Hanson, D. D.

"A small book on a great subject. We have been particnlarly
struck with the large accumulation of facts, the clear and concise
manner in which they are arranged, and the modest manner in -which
conclusions are stated and applied. The writer deals in none of the
offensive dogmatism of science, but gives successive statements
of the facts gfej-TOarae to the subject, compiled with great care from
more ambitious works, allowing very largely the facts themselves to
indicate the conclusions. The work is a highly useful compilation,
and puts iu brief compass the facts of recent science on the inter-
esting subject." — Rev. J. S. Cantwell, D. D.

" Whether we at once fall in with the author's views or not, this
work has great merit. In fact, it is the most instructive book upon
this subject — the natural history of the human race — we have ever
read. No one can fail to be interested in reading this book ; and
when you begin to read it, you will not quit till through ; and when
once read, you will want to read it again." — The American Medical
Journal.

" We heartily welcome this boos. It popularizes for the general
reader the grand facts and discoveries appertaining to the science ;
and gives him, in simple language, the evidence on which some
of the most profound minds of the iay have been irresistibly led to
the conclusion that our world is a very old world, dating back not
merely tens of thousands, but probably millions of years, and that
tens of thousands are required to measure the duration of man upon
it." — Henry Howe, The Historian of Ohio.

"As the title indicates, this volume is an attempt to present in
synoptical form the evidences geological, archa3ological, historical,
and physiological, bearing on man's existence upon the earth. He
adopts the view of a pre-hisioric rudimentary condition from which
man slowly emerged by a process of intellectual and moral develop-
ment, which view his array of data appears to warrant. The book
is neatly illustrated with portraits of scientists, and views of inter-
esting human relics which investigation has brought to light."—
Phrenological Journal.

" The ordinary reader is so often confronted with scientific dis-
cussionsand quotations from elaborate treatises upon what is known
of Primitive Man, that a pressing need has been created for an
epitome or an abridged account of our race in the earlier and savage
state. This want has been happily supplied by Mac Lean's Manual
of the Antiquity of Man. The work furnishes every fact and
rational idea in regard to the physical condition and surroundings
of Primitive Man, and brings together in compact form, what would
require much time, and cost of books, to obtain in any other way."
^A. J. Howe, M. D., Professor of Surgery in Eclectic Medical In-
stitute, and Curator of Comparative Anatomy to the Natural His-
tory Society of Cincinnati.

TH£ SECOND EBITION OF

Mastodon, Mammoth and Man.

BY J. P. MACLEAN.

Now Rbaoy. Cloth. Fikely Illustrated. Pkice 6o Cents.

CONTENTS.

iiRT First. — The Mastodon.

I.— General Description. II.— History. Ill— Name. IV.— Range. V.— Condi-
tion of the Bones. VI.— The Teeth. VII.— Food. VIII.— Hair. IX.— Dis-
tinct Species. X.-,GeoIogy. XI.— First Appearance. XII.— Disappearance.

-Part Second. — The Mammoth.

'•—Name. II.— Description. III.— Range. IV.— History. V.— Climate VI.—
Food. VII.— Destruction. VIII.— Preservation. IX.— Epoch.

^ VKB.t Third. — Man.

I.— Introduction. II.— The Miocene. Ill— The Pliocene. IV.— The Glacial. V.
The Inter-Glacial. VI.— Reindeer Epoch.— VII.— Recent. VIII.— Tradition.

This work 16 of great value to tlie Geologist and Zoologist,
as well as to the ordinary reader. All accessible facts oon-
cernlng the Mastodon and Mammoth are given. The work is
accompanied by a table, enumerating the thirty-eight varieties
of the Mastodon, with their scientific names explained and the
epochs and localities to which each belonged.

Part Third shows that Man was contemporary with these
animals from the earliest times.

The book is handsomely bound in cloth, with gold stamp on
side.

Prof. A. J. Howe, M. D., Curator of Comparative Anatomy
to the Natural History Society of Cincinnati, says of it:

"The author has handled this subject so well the reader is
charmed with the work. The topics treated upon can not be
found in any other work. They are as fresh as the last novel.
I heartily commend this excellent and valuable contribution to
a branch or feature of natural science that has been somewhat
neglected. Mr. MacLean has won an enviable place among the
Geologists and Zoo'ogiists of the present day."

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