The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc., Part 8

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company
Number of Pages: 932

USA > Illinois > Peoria County > The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc. > Part 8

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of the correctness of the conjecture that the material for the inner wall was brought from a distance. There is but one original opening, or passage, into the circular fort, and that is on the east side, connecting it with the square one. The latter has seven avenues lead- ing into it, exclusive of the one which connects with the circle. There is one at every corner, and one on each side equi-distant from the angular openings. These avenues are each twelve feet wide, and the walls on either hand rise immediately to their usual height, which is about twenty feet. When the town of Circleville was originally laid out, the trees growing upon the walls of these fortifications and the mounds enclosed in the square one, were apparently of equal size and age, and those lying down in equal stages of decay, with those in the surrounding forest, a circumstance proving the great antiquity of these stupendous remains of former labor and ingenuity. Of course, the progress of modern civilization in the building of a city over these ancient remains, has long since nearly oblit- erated many of their parts. The above is a description of them as they appeared sixty years ago, when Circleville was a mere village, and before the hand of modern vandalism had marred or obliterated any of the parts. A somewhat minute description of these ancient remains is given, not because they are more remarkable than many others found in different parts of the Northwest, but as an example to show the magnitude of many similar works. Among others in the same State may be mentioned a remarkable mound near Marietta, which is enclosed by a wall embracing an area 230 feet long by 215 wide. This mound is thirty feet high and elliptical in form. This mound, with the wall enclos- ing it, stands apart from two other irregular enclosures, one containing fifty and the other twenty-seven acres. Within the larger of these two enclosures there are four truncated pyramids, three of which have graded passage ways to their summits. The largest pyra- mid is 188 feet long by 132 feet wide, and is ten feet high. From the southern wall of this enclosure there is a graded passage way 150 feet broad, extending 600 feet to the im- mediate valley of the Muskingum river. This passage way is guarded by embankments on either side from eight to ten feet high. In the smaller square there are no pyramidal structures, but fronting each gate-way there is a circular mound. The walls of these several enclosures are from twenty to thirty feet broad at the base, and from five to six feet high. Besides these, many similar embankments may be traced in the same vicinity.

Squier and Davis, authors of that most elaborate work, entitled "The Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," estimated that there were in Ross county, Ohio. at least one hundred enclosures and five hundred mounds. They give the probable num- ber in that State at from one thousand to fifteen hundred enclosures, and ten thousand mounds. These estimates are quite likely to be far below the actual number, as their investigations were made many years ago, when large portions of the State were yet covered with forests, and before any general interest had been awakened on the subject of which they treated. Among the remarkable fortifications in Ross county is one at Cedar Bank, on the east side of the Scioto river, about five miles north of Chillicothe. It is a square form, enclosing an area of thirty-two acres. The west side of this enclos- ure is formed by the high bluff bordering the river at this point. There are two gate- ways opposite each other, one on the north and the other on the south side. Inside of the enclosure, on a line with the gate-ways, there is a mound 245 feet long and 150 feet broad.

When this work first attracted the attention of Mr. E. G. Squier, Dr. Davis, and others engaged in archaeological research, it was in the midst of a dense forest of heavy timber. Trees of the largest growth stood on the embankments, and covered the entire area of ground enclosed. About a mile and a half below, on the same side of the Scioto, are other fortifications, both circular and square, even more remarkable than the one last described, on account of the forms and combinations which they exhibit. An- other fortification in this county, in the form of a parallelogram, 2,800 feet long by 1,800

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feet wide. encloses several smaller works and mounds, which altogether make 3.000,000 cubic feet of enbankment.

A series of the most wonderful and most gigantic of these pre-historie works, is to be found in the Licking Valley, near Newark. They cover an area of two-square miles. The works are of such vast magnitude that even with our labor-saving implements to construct them, would require the labor of thousands of men continued for many mouths. " Fort Ancient," as it is called. in Warren county, Ohio, has nearly four miles of em- baykment, from eighteen to twenty feet high.

Mounds and fortifications similar to those in Ohio are found in all the States of the Northwest, and indeed, throughout the entire valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries. In the valley of the Wabash, in Indiana, are many interesting remains of the works of the Mound Builders. Near Kahokia, Illinois, there is a mound 2.000 feet in circumfer- ence. and ninety feet high. Many remarkable objects of interest to the antiquary are found in Wisconsin. Seattered over her undulating plains are earth-works, modeled after the forms of men and animals. At Aztalan, in Jefferson county, is an ancient forti- fication 550 yards long and 275 yards wide. The walls are from four to five feet high. and more than twenty feet in thickness at the base. Near the Blue Mounds, in that State, there is another work. in form resembling a man in a recumbent position. It is one hundred and twenty feet long and thirty feet across the trunk. At Prairieville there is still another resembling a turtle in shape which is fifty-six feet in length. At Cass- ville there is one which is said to resemble the extinct mastodon. In some instances these animal resemblances and forms are much defaced by time. while in other cases they are distinctly visible. Fragments of ancient pottery are found scattered about most of them.

Scattered over the surface of lowa, also, are to be found many of these monuments of a pre-historie race. The mounds especially are numerous, appearing most in that por- tion of the State east of the Des Moines river, but in a few instances west of it. Groups of mounds are found along lowa river, in Johnson county, presenting the same general appearance with those in the States east of the Mississippi. Near the mouth of this river, in Louisa county, are the remains of an ancient fortification, with a number of mounds in the same vicinity, which have attracted the attention of the curious. In the vicinity of Ottumwa. Wapello county, are a large number of mouuds, several of which have been examined. There is a chain of them in this last named county, commencing near the mouth of Sugar Creek, a small tributary of the Des Moines, and extending twelve miles northward, with distances between them in some instances as great as two miles. Two of them were excavated several years ago. One of them was about 45 feet in diameter, and situated upon the highest ground in the vicinity, The other was directly north about one-fourth of a mile. Its diameter at the base was about 75 feet. In the center of this last named mound, was found, at the depth of four feet, a layer of stoue, with the appearance of having been subjected to the action of fire. There were also found a mass of charcoal, a bed of ashes, and calcined human hones. A number of relies were also found in the smaller mound first mentioned. These examinations were made by several gentlemen of Ottumwa.

Mr. F. C. Roberts, in a Fort Madison paper, writes of the examination of a mound situated about six miles north of that city, a few years ago. It is located on the brow of a hill. is of an elliptical shape, and small in size, being only about 30 feet long. and 15 feet wide ; its height was about six feet. The mound contained a number of separate compartments, constructed as follows: First, there was a floor made of lime- stone, which must have been brought a distance of several miles, as none nearer could have been obtained. This floor was laid regular and smooth, the best stone ouly being used. Above the floor, with an intervening space of about twenty inches, there was a roof, also made of limestone. The sides of this vault, if it may so be called, seemed to

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have once had stone walls, but they were more or less caved in. It was also thought that the roof had originally been much higher. The compartments were made by partitions or walls of stone. Each compartment was occupied by a human skeleton, and articles of flint and stone, as well as some bones of animals. All the skeletons of human origin were placed in a sitting position, with the knees drawn up, and the head inclined forward between them. The arms were placed by the side, and sometimes clasped around the knees. Besides the human bones, there were those of some large birds and of some animal. Some of these were charred, and were found in connection with charcoal and ashes. There were numerous flint weapons, and small three cornered stones.

In Clayton and other counties in the northeastern part of the State, the Mound Builders have left numerous monuments of their existence in that region in pre-historic times. The researches of Hon. Samuel Murdock, of Clayton county, have been exten- sive and successful in giving to the scientific and antiquarian world much information in relation to these works of an ancient people who once occupied our continent. He has collected a vast number of relics from the mounds in that portion of the State. After long and thorough investigation, he gives it as his opinion that in Clayton county alone there are not less than one hundred thousand artificial mounds, including the two classes, the round and the elongated, the latter ranging from one hundred to six hundred feet in length. All of them, so far as examinations have been made, contain more or less skeletons. One which was examined near Clayton was estimated to have contained over one hundred bodies. From investigations made, the inference is drawn that the elongated mounds are of greater antiquity than the round ones. The skeletons found in the former are in a more ad- vanced state of decay, and in some of them there is scarcely any trace of bones. In nearly all the round mounds skeletons were found in a remarkably good state of pre- servation, and can be obtained by the thousand. These facts indicate most conclusively that the elongated mounds were the work of an older race of the Mound Builders, and that they were erected ages before the round ones were. The fact that human remains have been found in nearly all of both classes favors the theory that they were erected as receptacles for the dead.

While workman were excavating a mound for the foundation of a warehouse in the city of McGregor, in the Summer of 1874, human bones were found, and also a stone ax weighing thirteen pounds. It was embedded twenty feet below the original surface.

As stated, the work of the Mound Builders was not confined to that portion of the State embracing the Mississippi drainage. Similar remains, though not so numerous, are observed on the western slope of the water-shed between the two great rivers bordering the State. Some five miles below Denison, Crawford county, in the valley of Boyer river, there is a semi-circular group of artificial mounds. They are situated on a plateau, rising above the first, or lower bottom, and are about nine in number, each rising to a height of from five to six feet above the general level of the ground. Another similar group is located on a second bottom, at the mouth of Paradise creek, in the same county. Human remains have been found in some of them.

GALENA MOUNDS.

On the top of the high bluffs that skirt the west bank of the Mississippi, about two and a half miles from Galena, are a number of these silent monuments of a pre-historic age. The spot is one of surpassing beauty. From that point may be obtained a view of a portion of three States,-Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. A hundred feet below, at the foot of the perpendicular cliffs, the trains of the Illinois Central Railroad thunder around the curve, the portage is in full view, and the " Father of Waters," with its numerous bayous and islands, sketches a grand panorama for miles above and below. Here, probably thousands of years ago, a race of men now extinct, and unknown even in the traditions of the Indians who inhabited that section for centuries before the discovery of

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America by Columbus, built these strangely wonderful and enigmatical mounds. At this point these mounds are circular and conical in form. The largest one is at least forty feet in diameter at the base, and not less than fifteen feet high, even yet, after it has been beaten by the storms of many centuries. On its top stands the large stump of an oak tree that was cut down about fifty years ago, and its annual rings indicate a growth of at least two hundred years.

One of the most singular earth-works in Illinois was found on the top of a ridge near the east bank of the Sinsinawa creek in the lead region. It resembled some huge animal, the head, ears, nose, legs and tail, and general outline of which being as perfect as if made by men versed in modern art. The ridge on which it was situated stands on the prairie, 300 yards wide, 100 feet in height, and rounded on the top by a deep deposit of clay. Centrally, along the line of its summit, and thrown up in the form of an embank- ment three feet high, extended the outline of a quadruped measuring 250 feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, and having a width of 18 feet at the center of the body. The head was 35 feet in length, the ears 10 feet, legs 60 and tail 75. The curva- ture in both the fore and hind legs was natural to an animal lying on its side. The general outline of the figure most nearly resembled the extinct animal known to geolo- gists as the Megatherium. The question naturally arises, By whom and for what purpose was this earth figure raised ? Some have conjectured that numbers of this now extinet animal lived and roamed over the prairies of Illinois when the Mound Builders first made their appearance on the upper part of the Mississippi Valley, and that their wonder and admiration, excited by the colossal dimensions of these huge creatures, found some expression in the erection of this figure. The bones of some similar gigantie animals were exhumed on this stream about three miles from the same place.

LARGE CITIES.

Mr. Breckenridge, who examined the antiquities of the Western country in 1817. speaking of the mounds in the American Bottom, says: " The great number and extremely large size of some of them may be regarded as furnishing, with other circum- stances, evidences of their antiquity. I have sometimes been induced to think that at the period when they were constructed there was a population here as numerous as that which onee animated the borders of the Nile or Euphrates, or of Mexico. The most numerous. as well as considerable, of these remains are found in precisely those parts of the country where the traces of a numerons population might be looked for, namely, from the mouth of the Ohio on the east side of the Mississippi, to the Illinois river, and on the west from the St. Francis to the Missouri. I am perfectly satisfied that cities similar to those of ancient Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have existed in this country."

It is sometimes ilifficult to distinguish the places of sepulture raised by the Mound Builders from the more modern graves of the Indians. The tombs of the former were in general larger than those of the latter, and were used as receptacles for a greater number of bodies, and contain relies of art, evincing a higher degree of civilization than that attained by the Indians. The ancient earthworks of the Mound-Builders have occasionally been appropriated as burial places by the Indians, but the skeletons of the latter may be distinguished from the osteological remains of the former by their greater stature.

The fact that their works extend into Mexico and Peru has induced the belief that it was their posterity that dwelt in these countries when they were first visited by the Spaniards. The Mexican and Peruvian works, with the exception of their greater magnitude, are similar. Relies common to all of them have been occasionally found, und it is believed that the religious nses which they subserved were the same.

Having noticed briefly some of the various forms in which these stupendous works

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of men who lived far back in the centuries, whose annals have not come down to us in any written language. we can say now that the most learned have only been able to conjecture as to the remoteness of their antiquity. The evidences that they are of very great age are abundant and conclusive, but how many hundreds or thousands of years ? This is the problem that many an antiquary would freely give years of study and inves . tigation to solve. The length of time which elapsed during which these works were in progress is another of the unsolved questions connected with them, and yet there is abundant evidence that some of them are much older than others; that the process of their construction extends over a large duration of time-a time during which the Mound Builders themselves passed through the changes which mark the monuments that they have left behind them. It is a well known fact that the manners and customs of rude nations isolated from intercourse and commerce with the world, pass through the process of change and development very slowly. The semi-civilized nations of eastern lands, after the lapse of thousands of years, still cling to the manners and customs, and the superstitions of their ancestors. who lived at the early dawn of our historic period. They use the same rude implements of husbandry, the same utensils in the household, the same arms in warfare, and practice the same style of dress-all with but little change or modification. The changes are only sufficiently marked to be perceptible after many generations have passed away. Situated as the Mound Builders were, we can but infer that they too passed slowly through the processes of change, and the works which they have left behind them thoroughly attest the truth of this proposition. Their older works appear to be more elaborate and more intricate, showing that the earlier workers were possessed of a higher degree of attainment in the mechanical arts than those whose works are more recent. The inference is that probably after long ages, they gradually retrograded, and were finally subdued or driven southward into Mexico and Central America, by the ancestors of the Indians, who came upon them from the northwest, as the Goths and Vandals invaded and subverted the Roman Empire. This final subjuga- tion may have resulted after centuries of warfare, during which time these fortifications were constructed as defences against the enemy. That they were for military purposes is scarcely susceptible of a doubt. This implies a state of warfare, and war implies an enemy. The struggle ended in the final subjugation of that people to whom we apply the name of Mound Builders-their conquerors and successors being a race of people in whom we recognize to this day, traces of the Asiatic type.

We, another race of people, after the lapse of other ages, tread to - day, in our turn. on the ruins of at least a limited civilization - a civilization older than that of the Aztecs, whom Cortez found in Mexico. This great Mississippi valley was once a populous empire, millions of whose subjects repose in the sepulchers scattered in our valleys and over our prairies. While we bow at the shrine of a more intelligent Deity, and strive to build up a truer and better civilization. let us still remember that we tread on classic ground.

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CHAPTER IX.

WESTERN AND NORTHWESTERN STATES.

Legislation in Regard to Ohi ) - Admission as a State - Description - Climate and Soil - Onggin of Name - Seat of Government - Legislation in Regard to Indiana - Description - Lost River - Wyandot Cave - Seat of Government - Internal Improvements - Vincennes - Iilinois- Physical Features - Productions - Towns and Cities -" Lover's I.eap "-" Buffalo Rock "-" Cave in the Rock " - Michigan - The Boundary Question - Admission a> a State - Description - History - Towns and Cities - Wisconsin - Description - Climate and Production, - Objects of Interest - Towns and Cities -Sketch of Milwaukee - Minnesota - Descrip- tion - 1.akes - Climate and Productions - Natural Scenery - Red Pipe Stone - Historical Sketch - Towns and Cities - Nebraska - Description - Towns and Cities - Missouri - Organic Legislation - The " Mis ouri Compromise " - Description - Early Settlement - St. Louis.

OHIO.

Ohio was the first State formed out of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and was ceded to the United States by the General Assembly of Virginia in 17-3, and accepted by the Congress of the United States, March 1. 1754. This territory was divided into two separate governments by act of Congress of May 7, 1800. Ohio re- mained a Territorial government until under an act of Congress, approved April 30. 1802, it adopted a State constitution, and was allowed one representative in Congress. On the first of November of the same year the constitution was presented in Congress. The people having, on November 29, 1802, complied with the act of Congress of April 30, 1802, whereby the State became one of the United States, an act was passed and approved February 19, 1803, for the due execution of the laws of the United States within that State.

The State embraces an area of about 39,964 square miles, or 25.576,960 aeres. There are no mountains, but the central portion of the State is elevated about 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, while other portions are from 600 to $00 feet in elevation. A belt of highlands north of the middle of the State separates the rivers flowing north into Lake Erie from those flowing south into the Ohio river. The middle portion of the State in great part is an elevated plain with occasional patches of marsh land. A large proportion of the State when first settled was covered with forests, but in the central part there was some prairie. Boulders are found scattered over the surface, as they are generally throughout the Northwest.

The bituminous coal-field of the State extends over an area embracing nearly 12,000 square miles. It occupies the eastern and southeastern parts, with its northern boundary running near Wooster, Newark, and Lancaster. There are also frequent beds of lime- stone, as well as sandstone well suited for heavy masonry. The most important of the other mineral productions is iron, which it possesses in great abundance. This is found run- ning through the counties of Lawrence, Gallia, Jackson, Meigs, Vinton, Athens, and Hocking, in a bed 100 miles long by 12 wide. For fine castings it is not surpassed by that found in any other part of the United States. Salt springs are also frequent.

The great river of the State is the Ohio, which forms its southern boundary, and receives the tributary volume of waters flowing from the Muskingum, Scioto, and Miami. as well as those of many smaller streams. The interior rivers mentioned vary in length from 110 to 200 miles. The Ohio is navigable by steamboats of the first-class during one-half the year to Pittsburgh. The Muskingum is navigable by means of dams and locks to Zanesville, 70 miles from its mouth, and at times 80 miles farther up to Coshoc- ton. On the northern slope of the State, beginning at the northwest, are the Maumee,

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Sandusky, Huron, and Cuyahoga, all flowing into Lake Erie, and all flowing their entire course within the State, except the Maumee, which rises in Indiana. The last-named river is navigable for lake steamers a distance of 18 miles. Lake Erie coasts the State about 150 miles on the north and northeast, affording several good harbors.

The climate in the southern part of the State is mild, while in the north the temper- ature is equally as rigorous as in the same latitude near the Atlantic. Great droughts have occasionally prevailed, but the State is regarded as one of the most productive in the Union. Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley, are the leading cereals. All the fruits of the temperate latitudes are generally abundant. The forest trees are of many kinds, including the several varieties of oak, hickory, sugar maple, beech, poplar, ash, sycamore, paw-paw, buckeye, dogwood, cherry, elm, and hackberry.

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The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc., Part 8

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company Number of Pages: 932

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company
Number of Pages: 932