Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 8

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 8

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First Settlers .- Hugh Sidwell, Thos. Clark and his brother, and a Mr. Bollard settled on Slate creek, at the mouth of Naylor's branch, about 1783. In 1775, Elias Tolin made an "improvement," by building a temporary cabin and clearing a small piece of land, on Slate creek, where the old Bourbon furnace now stands. Wm. Calk was on Slate creek in 1779.

Ancient Fortifications and Mounds .- A quarter of a mile north of Sharps- burg, are the remains of a fortification, which forms a complete circle, em- bracing an area of about eleven acres. In 1807, the embankment enclosing the fortification was three or four feet high. There are two small mounds near the embankment, and equidistant from it-one on the east, the other on the west side of it. On the south side, mainly within the embankment, but extending outside, is a pond or pool of water, at the head of a small branch; the pool evidently was made by excavating the earth for the purpose. Two hundred yards south-east of the fortification, is a third and much larger mound; and also a fourth mound, small, south-west of it. Large trees are, or have been, growing upon all of these mounds. In 1871 this remarkable work had lost much of its distinctness, cultivation having almost leveled it with the surrounding plane.

Four miles N. E. of Sharpsburg is a mound twenty feet in height; and a mile distant, another of nearly its size, which has a promontory or back- bone projecting eastward. On both of these mounds the trees are as large and apparently as old as those in the surrounding forest. East of Flat and Slate creeks, which flow through the county northward into Licking river, are but few mounds; while to the west of them, almost exclusively in the rich limestone lands of the county, they are quite numerous-many of them small, and some almost leveled by cultivation.

Mammoth Remains .- On the land of John R. Wren, in Sharpsburg, on the highest ground in the town and as high as any in the vicinity, is a natural pond known as Fleming's pond-so called, tradition says, because Col. John Fleming secreted himself in or near it after being wounded by the Indians. In 1851, while clearing out and deepening this pond-which had become dry and full of mud (as it was again in 1871)-at the depth of four feet, were discovered in a stratum of blue clay, slightly intermixed with dark loam, the remains of a mastodon ; the overlying stratum was of decomposed vegetable matter, with chips of wood, evidently made by the axes of the first settlers. Several teeth, 3 or 4 inches broad and 6 inches long, perfectly sound ; a tusk, 8 feet long and 7 inches in diameter at the base, which crumbled on exposure to the air; a hip joint 9 inches across the socket ; a section of a rib, 6 inches broad, and some other bones correspondingly large, proved the animal to be of enormous proportions. Some of the specimens were sent to the museum of Centre College; others are in possession of Dr H. E. Guerrant, of Sharpsburg.

BATH COUNTY.

The following interesting incident in the early settlement of Bath county, is related in McClung's "Sketches of Western Adventure," a work published by the author of these notes in the year 1832 :

"In the month of August, 1786, Mr. Francis Downing, then a mere lad, was living in a fort, where subsequently some iron works were erected by Mr. Jacob Myers, which are now known by the name of Slate creek works, and are the property of Colonel Thomas Dye Owings. About the 16th, a young man be- longing to the fort, called upon Downing, and requested his assistance in hunting for a horse which had strayed away on the preceding evening. Downing readily complied, and the two friends traversed the woods in every direction, until at length, towards evening, they found themselves in a wild valley, at the distance of six or seven miles from the fort. Here Downing became alarmed, and repeat- edly assured his elder companion, (whose name was Yates), that he heard sticks cracking behind them, and was confident that Indians were dogging them. Yates, being an experienced hunter, and from habit grown indifferent to the dangers of the woods, diverted himself freely at the expense of his young companion, often inquiring, at what price he rated his scalp, and offering to ensure it for a six pence.

" Downing, however, was not so easily satisfied. He observed, that in what- ever direction they turned, the same ominous sounds continued to haunt them, and as Yates still treated.his fears with the most perfect indifference, he deter- mined to take his measures upon his own responsibility. Gradually slackening his pace, he permitted Yates to advance twenty or thirty steps in front of him, and immediately afterwards descending a gentle hill, he suddenly sprung aside, and hid himself in a thick cluster of whortleberry bushes. Yates, who at that time was performing some woodland ditty to the full extent of his lungs, was too much pleased with his own voice to attend either to Downing or the Indians, and was quickly out of sight. Scarcely had he disappeared, when Downing, to his unspeakable terror, beheld two savages put aside the stalks of a canebrake, and look out cautiously in the direction which Yates had taken.

" Fearful that they had seen him step aside, he determined to fire upon them, and trust to his heels for safety, but so unsteady was his hand. that in raising his gun to his shoulder, she went off before he had taken aim. He lost no time in following her example, and after running fifty yards, he met Yates, who, alarmed at the report, was hastily retracing his steps. It was not necessary to inquire what was the matter. The enemy were in full view, pressing forward with great rapidity, and " devil take the hindmost," was the order of the day. Yates would not outstrip Downing, but ran by his side, although in so doing he risked both of their lives. The Indians were well acquainted with the country, and soon took a path that diverged from the one which the whites followed, at one point, and rejoined it at another, bearing the same relation to it, that the string does to the how

"The two paths were at no point distant from each other more than one hun. dred yards, so that Yates and Downing could easily see the enemy gaining rap- idly upon them. They reached the point of re-union first, however, and quickly came to a deep gully which it was necessary to cross, or retrace their steps. Yates cleared it without difficulty, but Downing, being much exhausted, fell short, and falling with his breast against the opposite brink, rebounded with vio- fence, and fell at full length upon the bottom. The Indians crossed the ditch a few yards below him, and eager for the capture of Yates, continued the pursuit, without appearing to notice Downing. The latter, who at first had given himself ap for lost, quickly recovered his strength, and began to walk slowly along the ditch, fearing to leave it, lest the enemy should see him. As he advanced, how- ever, the ditch became more shallow, until at length it ceased to protect him at all.

" Looking around cautiously, he saw one of the Indians returning, apparently in quest of him. Unfortunately, he had neglected to reload his gun, while in the diteli, and as the Indian instantly advanced upon him, he had no resource but flight. Throwing away his gun, which was now useless, he plied his legs man- fully in ascending the long ridge which stretched before him, but the Indian gained on him so rapidly that he lost all hope of escape. Coming at length to a large poplar which had been blown up by the roots, he ran along the body of the

BATH COUNTY.

tree upon one side, while the Indian followed it upon the other, doubtless expect- ing to intercept him at the root. But here the supreme dominion of fortune was manifest.

" It happened that a large she bear was suckling her cubs in a bed which she had made at the root of the tree, and as the Indian reached that point first, she instantly sprung upon him, and a prodigious uproar took place. The Indian yelled, and stabbed with his knife; the bear growled and saluted him with one of her most endearing " hugs ;" while Downing, fervently wishing her success, ran off through the woods, without waiting to see the event of the struggle. Downing reached the fort in safety, and found Yates reposing after a hot chase, having eluded his pursuers, and gained the fort two hours before him. On the next morn- ing, they collected a party and returned to the poplar tree, but no traces either of the Indian or bear were to be found. They both probably escaped with their lives, although not without injury."

One of the pioneers of Bath county, James Wade, long since deceased, de- lighted to tell the following incident in the life of Daniel Boone: In 1780, while passing alone, which he frequently did, from Boonesboro to the Upper Blue Licks, Boone diverged to the eastward of the direct route, down Slate creek. Fresh signs of Indians near Gilmore's station (then deserted), 12 miles east of Mountsterling, caused him to move with great caution. Passing over several miles of level forest, now the property of Judge Ewing, 2 miles south of Owingsville, he reached the brow of a gentle slope extending to Slate creek, and halted to quench his thirst at a clear spring. A rifle-ball whistled near, and scaled a piece of bark from the beech tree which over- hung the spring. Bounding rapidly down the slope to the creek, he swam to the opposite bank, and disappearing in a thick cane-brake, parted his way stealthily down the creek, a hundred yards. The Indians, two in number, had also gone down the creek, and were cautiously advancing towards the water's edge, suspicious that the hunter had treed and was watching for his victim. Boone determined to kill both at one shot, and bringing his gun to his shoulder aimed at the foremost and waited anxiously for the other to fall in range. He did so, and Boone fired, the ball passing through the head of one and lodging in the other's shoulder. The wounded Indian, with a yell of alarm and pain, dropped his gun and darted off. Re-crossing, Boone selected the best of the Indians' guns, and throwing the other into the creek, where it was afterwards found, made his way undisturbed to the Blue Licks. The scar of the Indian's ball on the tree was plainly visible for many years.

The court house at Owingsville is adorned with an excellent portrait of Bath's most distinguished citizen, RICHARD H. MENEFEE-from which was copied the engraving in the group of statesmen opposite page 000. [See sketch under Menifee county.]

ANDREW TRUMBO was born Sept. 13, 1799, in that part of Montgomery now included in Bath county; at 15 entered the county clerk's office, and rose to be clerk himself; studied law and began the practice in 1824; was commonwealth's attorney; in congress for two years, 1845-47; and presi- dential elector in 1848, casting his vote for Gen. Zachary Taylor; removed to Franklin county, and died there August 11, 1871.

JOHN C. MASON was born in Virginia; came to Bath, and engaged ex- tensively in the iron business ; was a representative in the Kentucky legis- lature in 1839, 1844, and 1848, and in the 35th congress, 1857-59; served in the war with Mexico, in the quartermaster's department, with the rank of major, and took part in the storming of Saltillo; died in 1865, in the city of New Orleans, on his way to Kentucky from Texas, where he then resided.

Gen. JOHN B. HOOD was born in Owingsville, June 29, 1831; educated at Mountsterling; entered West Point military academy in 1849, graduating in 1853; served with the 4th infantry two years in California; was transferred, July, 1855, to the 2d cavalry, then commanded by Col. Albert Sidney John- ston and Lieut. Col. Robert E. Lee, on the western frontier of Texas, and was wounded, July, 1856, in a fight with the Indians; was ordered from Texas to West Point as instructor of cavalry; resigned his commission April 16, 1861, and entered the new army of the South as first lieutenant; May, 1861, captain of cavalry, and while such, in the fight at Great Bethel; Sept.

II ... 4

BATH COUNTY. -

30, 1861, colonel of infantry; March 3, 1862, brigadier-general; for distin- guished services at Gaines' Mill, promoted to major-general; for gallant services at Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863, and previously, made lieutenant- general; July 18, 1864, succeeded to the command of the Army of Tennessee ; fought the desperate battles of Peach Tree creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Frank- lin, Tenn., on Nov. 30, 1864, and of Nashville, Dec. 16, 1864; Jan. 23, 1865, at his own request, was relieved of the command of the army, and after publishing his official report of the disastrous Atlanta campaign, retired to · his home at San Antonio, Texas.

HENRY S. LANE, a native of Bath county, where many of his relatives still live, removed when a young man to Indiana; practiced law ; was a repre- sentative in congress for two years, 1841-43, and U. S. senator for six years, 1861-67.

AMBROSE DUDLEY MANN, special agent of the United States government to Austria in 1846, to Hungary in 1849, and to Switzerland in 1850, and who filled other honorable missions, was a native of Bath county, and an editor.

REV. BENJAMIN SNELLING. [See sketch in Vol. I.]

It is generally believed and reported in Bath county that the daughters of Cols. Boone and Callaway, when captured at Boonesboro, in July, 1776, were rescued from the Indians on Bald Eagle, a branch of Flat creek, at a point 3 miles east of Sharpsburg, on the buffalo trace, yet plainly to be seen lead- ing to the Upper Blue Licks. A similar belief obtains among the residents further west, that the rescue occurred in Harrison county. The earliest printed account which gives the location is in Bradford's Notes on Kentucky in 1826, which says it occurred " a little below the Upper Blue Licks." But the proximate location was recently ascertained by the author of this revision, from a deposition of a son-in-law of Edward Boone, Daniel's brother, who passed over the identical ground in 1780, in pursuit of the Indians who had murdered Edward Boone; he says the recapture took place "2 or 3 miles south of the Upper Blue Licks."

From the reports of the state geological survey, made in 1858-59, is copied or condensed the following :

Falling Waters .- The traveler over the old state road along the crest of the Dry Ridge (which forms the center of the mineral section of Bath county) by a few steps to the right or left, finds himself at the edge of high precipi- tous cliffs-over which; at short intervals, plunge numberless waters, wearing for themselves deep and narrow channels in the conglomerate. At the Laurel Spring meeting-house, the streams falls over a projecting ledge to a depth of 110 feet; further east, Raccoon creek falls 41 feet down upon a shelving mass of the conglomerate, and then with another plunge of 44 feet reaches the bottom of the gulf. Instances of this kind are as common as they are pic- turesque and beautiful.

Springs are abundant, of two kinds-one of cold, hard water, issuing at the base of the limestone; the other a soft water, not cold, issuing higher up in the hills, and marking the place of the coal.

The Coal Arca of Bath county is in the southeast corner, and small; its outcrop in the ridge which divides the headwaters of Gilladie and Indian branches of Red river from the headwaters of Beaver, Blackwater, Duck, and Salt Lick creeks, as far west as the head of Slate creek. It contains only the sub-conglomerate bed, which is here a double vein of workable thickness, which ranges from 28 to 36 inches, most of it with a clay parting. Much of it is hauled to Mount Sterling, for blacksmith purposes and the grate. This bed of coal is within three to six miles of the two lines of railroad surveys made in 1852-53 near the Olympian Springs.

Iron .-- Analyses of fourteen samples of Bath county limonite ores ranged from 26.61 to 60.41 in per centage of metallic iron-an average of 49.10; and of three of carbonate of iron, 27.22 per cent. One or more furnaces in this county were worked about 1790.

BOONE COUNTY.

BOONE county, the 30th in order of formation, was organized in 1798, out of part of Campbell county ; so named in honor of Col. Daniel Boone; is situated in the most northern part of the state, in the " North Bend " of the Ohio river ; average length, north to south, about 20 miles, average breadth about 14 miles ; bounded on the E. by Kenton, s. by Grant and Gallatin counties, N. and w. by the Ohio river, which flows along its border about 40 miles, dividing it from the states of Ohio and Indiana. The land is nearly all tillable, a portion level, but generally hilly ; the river bottoms very productive ; farther out from the river, good second-rate. The principal streams are Woolper, Middle, Gunpowder, Big Bone, and Mud Lick creeks.

Towns .- Burlington, the county seat, incorporated 1824, is 13 miles from Covington ; population in 1870, 277 ; Florence, 9 miles from Covington and 6 from Burlington, incorporated 1830, population 374 ; Petersburg, on the Ohio river, 22 miles from Covington (originally Tanner's Station), population 400 ; Taylors- port, on the Ohio river, population 120; Grant, on Ohio river, 30 miles from Covington, population 61; Walton, on L., C. and L. railroad, 18 miles from Covington ; Bullittsville, Belleview, Beaver Lick, Carlton, Constance, Francisville, Hamilton, Hebron, Union, and Verona.

STATISTICS OF BOONE COUNTY.

When formed See page 26 | Tobacco, hay, corn, wheat .. pages 266, 268 Population, from 1800 to 1870 .p. 258 Horses, mules, cattle, and hogs ...... p. 268

whites and colored. .p. 260 Taxable property, 1846 and 1870 .... p. 270

towns. .P. 262 Land-No. of acres, and value ....... p. 270

white males over 21. .. p. 266 Latitude and longitude. .p. 257

children bet. 6 and 20 .. .. p. 266 D.stinguished citizens see ludex.

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM BOONE COUNTY, SINCE 1859.

Senate .- Chas. Chambers, 1859-63.

House of Representatives .- Fountain Riddell, 1859-61 ; Jas. Calvert, 1861-63 : Wm. H. Baker, 1863-65 ; Jas. M. Corbin, 1865-67 ; Jas. A. Wilson, 1867-69; Geo. W. Ter- rell, 1869-71; T. S. Fish, 1871-73, died Jan. 29, 1872, and succeeded by I .. W. 'Lassing, 1872-73 ; Jas. A. Wilson, 1873-75.

[ See page 000.]

Amongst the antiquities of this county is the site of an aboriginal burying ground, whose history is hid in the darkness of past ages, now covered by the flourishing town of Petersburg. In digging cellars for their houses, the inhabit- ants have excavated pieces of earthenware vessels and Indian utensils of stone, some of them curiously carved. A little above the town, on the bank of the river, are the remains of an ancient fortification. All that is now visible is an embankment or breastwork, about four feet high, and extending from the abrupt bank of the Ohio to the almost precipitous bank of Taylor's creek, including be- tween the river and the creek an area of about twenty or twenty-five acres.

At the mouth of Knobley branch, about twelve miles nearly west from Burling- ton, is a singular chasm in a hill. which has been cleft from top to bottom. The part split off is separated by an interval of ten or twelve feet from the main body of the hill, thus forming a zigzag avenue through it from the low land or bottom on the Ohio river to Knobley branch. The north side of this chasm is a perpendicular wall of rock seventy or eighty feet high, of pebble stones.

In this county is situated the celebrated Big Bone Lick, about twelve miles a little west of south from Burlington, and one mile and a half east from Hamil- ton, on the Ohio river. 'The lick is situated in a valley which contains about

BIG BONE LICK.

one hundred acres, through which flows Big Bone creek. There are two prin- sipal springs, one of which is almost on the northern margin of the creek ; the other is south of the creek, and at the base of the hills which bound the valley. There is a third spring of smaller size some considerable distance north of the creek, which flows from a well sunk many years ago, when salt was manufac- tured at this lick. The valley is fertile, and surrounded by irregular hills of un- equal elevation, the highest being on the west, and attaining an altitude of five hundred feet. The back water from the river, at times, ascends the creek as far as the lick, which, by the course of the stream, is more than three miles from its mouth. At a very early day the surrounding forest had no undergrowth, the ground being covered with a smooth grassy turf, and the lick spread over an area of about ten acres. The surface of the ground within this area was generally depressed three or four feet below the level of the surrounding valley. This de- pression was probably occasioned as well by the stamping of the countless num- bers of wild animals, drawn thither by the salt contained in the water and im- pregnating the ground, as by their licking the earth to procure salt. There is no authentic account of this lick having been visited by white men before 1739.

In the year 1773, James Douglass, of Virginia, visited it, and found the ten acres constituting the lick bare of trees and herbage of every kind, and large num- bers of the bones of the mastodon or mammoth, and the arctic elephant, scattered upon the surface of the ground. The last of these bones which thus lay upon the surface of the earth, were removed more than sixty years ago; but since that time a considerable number have been exhumed from beneath the soil, which business has been prosecuted as zealously by some, as others are wont to dig for hidden treasures. Some of the teeth of these huge animals would weigh near ten pounds, and the surface on which the food was chewed was about seven inches long and four or five broad. A correspondent informs us that he had seen dug up in one mass, several tusks and ribs, and thigh bones, and one skull, be- sides many other bones. Two of these tusks, which belonged to different ani- mals, were about eleven feet in length, and at the largest end six or seven inches in diameter ; two others were seven or eight feet long. The thigh bones were four or five feet in length, and a straight line drawn from one end of some of the ribs to the other would be five feet ; the ribs were between three and four inches broad. These dimensions correspond with what Mr. Douglass has said of the ribs which he used for tent poles when he visited the lick in 1773. Our corres- pondent thinks the skull above mentioned certainly belonged to a young animal, and yet the distance across the forehead and between the eyes was two feet, and the sockets of the tusks eighteen inches deep. . The tusks which have been sta- ted to be seven or eight feet long exactly fitted these sockets. This lick is the only place in which these gigantic remains have been found in such large quan- tities, and deserves to be called the grave yard of the mammoth. The first collec- tion of these fossil remains was made by Dr. Goforth in 1803, and in 1806 was intrusted by him to the English traveler, Thomas Ashe, (the slanderer of our country), to be exhibited in Europe, who, when he arrived in England, sold the collection and pocketed the money. The purchaser afterwards transferred parts of this collection to the Royal College of Surgeons in London, to Dr. Blake of Dublin, and Professor Monroe of Edinburgh, and a part was sold at auction. The next collection was made by order of Mr. Jefferson, while he was president of the American Philosophical Society, about the year 1805, and was divided between that society and M. Cuvier, the distinguished French naturalist. A third collection was made in 1819, by the Western Museum society. In the year 1831 a fourth collection was made by Mr. Finnell. This was first sold to a Mr. Graves for $2,000, and taken by him to the eastern states, and there sold for $5,000. In 1840, Mr. Cooper, of New York, estimated that the bones of 100 mastodons, and of 20 elephants, besides those of several other animals, had been collected here.

Salt was manufactured at Big Bone Lick by the Indians before 1756 (see next page); and by the whites as late as 1812. It required 500 or 600 gallons of the water to make a bushel of salt.

The springs here have been considerably frequented for many years, on account of their valuable medicinal qualities. Additional buildings were erected in 1871, and the accommodations are now excellent.

BOONE COUNTY.

First Visitors. - The first known white visitors to Kentucky, at any point above the mouth of the Wabash, were to the Big Bone Lick. 1. A French- man named Longueil (see vol. i, page 15), who discovered it in 1739 while descending the Ohio from Canada; 2. Other Canadian French, when follow- ing the same route (vol. i, 15); 3. " Two men belonging to Robert Smith," in 1744 (vol. i, 16); 4. Mrs. Mary Inglis, a Virginian, and three Frenchmen, in October, 1756 (see below ) ; 5. Col. Geo. Croghan, an English Indian agent, on May 30, 1765 (vol. i, 18); 6. Capt. Thos. Bullitt, Hancock Taylor, Jas. McAfee, Geo. McAfee, Robert McAfee, Jas. McCoun, Jr., Samuel Adams, Jacob Drennon, Wm. Bracken, John Fitzpatrick, on July 4th and 5th, 1773 (vol. i, 17, and depositions) ; 7. James Douglass and others, later in the same year; 8. Simon Kenton and others in 1773.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 8

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1654

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654