USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 5
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General Robinson was himself wounded, but lived until a few years ago and made his home in Kenton. He served several times as a member of congress and also as secretary of state, and was held in the highest esteem, not only by his own party but by his political opponents as well.
CAVES AND CAVERNS.
The caves and caverns that abound around the rocky defile through which the Clear Fork of the Mohican passes between Butler and Newville have never been thoroughly explored.
Below the old site of Winchester, at the Whilom Herring-Calhoon grist- mill, later changed to ạ woolen factory and now in disuse, the Clear Fork, after making a graceful bend, is flanked on either side by high rugged bluffs extend- ing a mile or more down the stream to Greer's bridge, where Noah Watt's carding-machine and fulling-mill stood in the years agone.
The bluff upon the right or south bank is called Prospect Hill, and is the highest point of land in Worthington township, and a good view of the sur- rounding country can be obtained from its summit.
On the opposite side of the stream is Watt's Hill, the ascent of which also is abrupt, the south side being at tliat place almost perpendicular. Curi- ous-shaped rocks adorn the side and top of this hill. A huge bowlder called Dropping Rock, one hundred feet in circumference and fifteen feet high, stands alone, and from its sides water continuously drops as though its interior were a troubled fountain, causing its sides to weep copious tears.
In these bluffs are said to be numerous caves, the best known of which is Fountain Cave in Prospect Hill. Tourists can locate this cave, its mouth being about midway up the bluff from the water-trough at the side of the road. The entrance is what miners call a drift, and the passage at first is only about four feet in height, compelling the explorer to enter upon "all fours;" but in a short distance the ceiling is higher, enabling a man to walk
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erect. But, even when guided by a light, the explorer must be careful of his footsteps, for there is a man hole in the passage to a still deeper cavern, thirty feet beneath. In this lower apartment are larger rooms,-rough, dark, damp and forbidding,-and water can be heard rippling in an unseen subter- ranean stream. The upper passage has been explored to a distance of three hundred feet, part of the way being in the form of a shelf or gallery sur- rounding a chasm of unknown depths,-depths that have never, and can never be explored, for lights in lanterns are extinguished at a depth of from fifty to sixty feet. At the summit of the bluff there is a bowl-shaped depression in the earth nearly one hundred feet in circumference, evidently formed by the sinking of the ground among the rocks of the cavern beneath. This depression is supposed to be the head of a subterranean passage five hundred feet in length, passing through the caverns and ending at the outlet at the spring at the base of the bluff.
Other caves and chasms and fissures have been explored to some extent, but are of smaller size and dimension.
Caves and caverns are not, strictly speaking, synonymous terms, the latter being more chasm-like and of greater depth. Natural caves and caverns were produced by the fracture and dislocation consequent on the upheaval of strata by water or other causes. The denuding or eroding power of water, which has produced the materials of stratified rocks, has formed caverns in the course of streams as well as on the coast-line of the sea. In limestone regions caverns frequently have a calcareous incrustation lining their interior, giving them a light gorgeous appearance; but these Newville rocks, being, sandstone, have no stalactites pendent from their ceiling, and no stalagmites rising like pillars from the floor as if to support the roof.
Some of the smaller Clear Fork caves are said to be ossiferous; but the fossils found are chiefly those of reptiles, some of which were, perhaps, of the pleistocene period.
The general aspect of the locality about Fountain Cavern is mountain- ous and wild and the native forest still covers the hills, from whose sides fountains of pure water gush forth in almost Arctic coldness, while between the bluffs the river flows onward in its course to the sea.
Strange tales have been told of these caverns having been hiding-places for counterfeiters and thieves, all of which may be termed romances founded upon fiction, for no man could live within the damp walls of these cavities, where venomous snakes, poisonous lizards and loathsome toads only can exist. But stories are told of men who have disappeared and of whom no tidings ever came to sorrowing friends. What crimes the unfathomable
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depths of Fountain Cavern may hold secret and conceal will never be revealed until the day dawns when all things shall be made known.
MOODY'S HILL.
Moody's Hill, north of Bellville, was named after John Moody, whose memory is dear to the people of the southern part of Richland county-and to the poor everywhere.
John Moody was a preacher of the faith of the Christian denomination. He owned a gristmill at Bellville, with a large farm adjoining. He took no pay for his preaching, and when the country was threatened with a famine in the '30s, Moody's garners were well filled with grain. When crops failed and people went to Moody's mill to buy breadstuff, the question was asked each, "Have you money to pay for it?" If the answer was in the affirmative they were told to go elsewhere and buy. Those who had no funds went away with well filled sacks, and were told to return again when they needed more. The product of thousands of bushels of grain was thus given away, but giving to the poor and hungry did not impoverish Moody, for the blight of drought did not touch his fields, but each succeeding harvest the crops yielded grain more abundantly, and Moody was blessed in the giving, as the people were in receiving his assistance. John Moody needs no monument in marble, for the memory of his good deeds lives in the hearts of the people of Bellville, from generation to generation.
Captain Miller Moody was a son of John Moody. Miller Moody received a college education. He inherited wealth but never engaged much in business. He represented Richland county in the legislature and served his country as a soldier in war. Moody was one of the best dressed men in the county, and his cuffs and Byronic collar were always faultless in their whiteness. Captain Moody died of wounds received at the battle of Antietam, after suffering five amputations, and his remains repose in the cemetery of his native village, and his memory is held in affectionate regard by his old-time friends and neighbors. Each recurring Memorial day, the Moody monument is garlanded with evergreen and the grave decorated with flowers, fitting tribute to a warrior for whom
"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo."
ANCIENT EARTH-WORKS.
There is an ancient earthwork two miles east of Mansfield that is but
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little known by our people of to-day, although it was surveyed and mapped by the county surveyor in October, 1878. It is situate on the Balliett farm, and is approached by the road leading east from the top of the Sherman hill. This earthwork was surveyed in 1878 by the county surveyor, John New- man, who made a report of the same to the Smithsonian Institute at Wash- ington, and also made his report a matter of county record. This work is upon an elevation at the east side of the head of Spook Hollow, and consists of an 'oval-shaped embankment or fort, five hundred and ninety-four feet long, by two hundred and thirty-eight feet wide in the center, and contains two and two-thirds acres.
Southwest of the fort seven hundred and ten feet there is a spring at the side of the ravine from which a copious flow of water issues at all seasons of the year. Directly south of the fort, upon the side of the hill leading to the old stage road, is the furnace, which is an excavation walled with stone like a well and is called a "furnace," as charcoal, charred bones and evidences that fire had been used there were found at the bottom of the drift with which the place was filled. This furnace is about five feet across, is circular in form and its uses and purposes must be conjectured. At the east side of the fort there were a number of depressions, varying from four to twenty feet, but they have been so filled up in the tilling of the land as to be nearly obliterated. In excavating one of these depressions at the time of the survey, at a depth of eight feet a drift was struck leading toward the fort. Geographically the fort was platted upon longitudinal lines and upon geometrical measurements, and the depressions were variously located with relative mathematical dis- tances, all giving evidences that the people who planned and made and occu- pied these works were well advanced in the higher branches of mathematics.
Since their day and occupancy large forest trees have grown upon these earthworks-trees of at least six centuries growth. These works are relics of that pre-historic age of which much has been written and but little is known. The perspective view of the fort in the outline is discernible from the road and the location was well chosen, as it commands a fine view of the valley opening to the south. Looking over and beyond Spook Hollow, which with its wierd traditions lies at the base of the hill, a valley of garden-like loveliness is presented and the landscape picture extends for miles, embracing the hills in the far distance, amid which the spire upon the church steeple at Cesarea can be seen.
The Lafferty Knoll, four miles below Bellville, in the Clear Fork valley, has received considerable attention, but the consensus of opinion is that it is a natural mound.
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In the Darling settlement, in the Clear Fork Valley below Newville, near St. John's church, is a circular "fort" containing an area of nearly three acres with embankments leading down to the steram. When discovered by Judge Peter Kinney, the embankments of this fort were over three feet high and were covered by large timber,-evidence of its antiquity. It was doubtless intended as a garrison of defence. It commands a fine view of the valley and is worthy of note.
There are a number of mounds in Ashland county, the majority of which are no doubt of pre-historic origin and were raised by the Mound Builders. It is claimed by some who have made archaeology a study that these Ashland mounds are of a more recent period,-that they were built in the seventeenth century by the Eries to protect their people from the invasion of the Iroquois tribe.
When the mound on the Parr farm was opened in 1828, according to a statement made by the late Dr. J. P. Henderson, of Newville, it was found to contain bones, charcoal, stone implements, a copper wedge, a stone pipe, the stem of which was wrapped with copper wire, and other relics.
It is claimed by many that the Mound Builders were of Asiatic origin and were as a people immense in numbers and well advanced in many of the arts. Similarity in certain things indicate that they were descendants of the ancient Phoenicians. Of the Mound Builders we have speculated much and know but little. But the mounds at Greentown are so small and so unlike the others that they evidently do not belong to that class.
In this asynartete sketch only brief mention can be inade of several places of geographical and historical interest in the valley of the Black Fork. The Petersburg lakes are well known. There are three and are fed by springs. They form a chain of lakes, the largest of which covers an area of about fifty acres ; the middle, about thirty ; and the smallest, ten acres. These lakes were favorite fishing resorts in Indian times, as they are to-day. The Copus spring flows from the base of a hill on the east side of the valley, near where the Copus cabin stood. And when
"Mother earth is full of beauty, In her summer glories dressed, Here, upon her lap reclining · Like an infant, will I rest And enjoy the healthful current That is flowing from her breast."
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HEMLOCK FALLS.
Hemlock Falls, a mile and a half south of Newville, is situate amid pic- turesque and rugged surroundings, and takes its name from a hemlock tree which formerly overhung the falls.
The stories that are told of that locality as'traditions and legendary tales are largely of the imaginary and visionary kind, mostly of recent manufacture, and are not even founded on facts. The falls region was never the home of old Captain Pipe, for he never lived in Richland county. In fact, the place was never an Indian habitation at any time. There are no conveniences there to make it a desirable place of abode. There is no spring of cool, sparkling water, no green swards, no sheltering caves, no shady grottoes, no environ- ment to entice a prosaic Indian to make the place his home.
The Falls, however, is interesting in the geological formation of the ledge of rocks over which the water is precipitated; interesting in its topo- graphical appearance, in the picturesqueness of the scenery and in the grandeur of the waterfall itself, where the waters pour over slanting rocks for a dis- tance of fifty feet, then make a leap of twenty feet to the fragmentary rocks below ; and when the stream is swollen the altisonant roar of the falls can be heard afar.
The falls also have historical associations from the fact that the first pioneer meeting in Richland county was held upon the plateau at its summit. The meeting was held the first Saturday in September, 1856. William B. Carpenter, now a resident of Mansfield, was president of the meeting, and the late Dr. J. P. Henderson was the marshal of the day. General R. Binkerhoff and the late Rev. J. F. McGaw were the principal speakers. A great many people were in attendance and a bountiful picnic dinner was served to all.
Fleming's Falls is situate in Mifflin township, seven miles northeast of Mansfield. This fall has picturesque surroundings and is a favorite resort for picnic parties.
"UNCLE JONAS' LAKE."
"Uncle Jonas' Lake" is in Mifflin township, seven miles east of Mans- field. It covers an area of eight acres and its depth is about seventy feet. This little body of water has been called by different names, such as Sites', Sweringen's and others, but in the past was simply "Uncle Jonas' Lake," after Jonas Ballyet, the first owner. It is now more generally known as the lake where the wagon-load of hay sunk, meadow and all, according to tradition.
In 1821 Jonas Ballyet entered the northwest quarter of section 15 (Mif-
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flin township), and near its center he found a lake covering about an acre. Its immediate surroundings was level land to the extent of eight acres, all enclosed with a rim of hills of gentle slope, except a place at the east side where the ground was lower as though inviting an outlet. Through this depression "Uncle Jonas" cut a ditch with the view of making the low land about the lake tillable. The lake lies a mile west of the Black Fork of the Mohican, and between them is a tract of marshy land called the Black Swamp, and into this a ditch was cut from the lake.
"Uncle Jonas' " theory seemed quite plausible, but he was later confronted with a condition he had not anticipated. The ditch was opened on the 25th day of July, 1846, and was of sufficient depth to lower the surface of the lake eight feet. On the day following, the greater part of the level land surrounding the lake, comprising about six acres, was engulfed,-sank out out of sight, leaving only the tops of the high trees, with which the land had been covered, visible; and in time the treetops also disappeared. The opinion was that the lake was of greater size beneath than was apparent upon its surface, and that lowering the water caused the ground to break off from the rim of hills and being thus loosened sank to the bottom.
The sinking caused the earth to quake and tremble for miles around, and alarmed the people of that vicinity ; and some, thinking the "end of the world" had come, began to pray as they had never prayed before. As this incident occurred during the Millerism period, people were more prone to attribute the trembling and jar to heavenly than to earthly causes; for, although there may not have been a Millerite in that neighborhood, yet the doctrine and teachings of the Rev. William Miller had been so universally dis- , seminated and propogated that they influenced many unconsciously.
The time set by Miller for the "second coming of Christ" was the year 1843, as he interpreted the prophecies ; but, as the expected event did not occur, other dates were given later, and people were admonished to say not in their hearts, "My Lord delayeth His coming."
Digging this ditch outlet was a losing enterprise to "Uncle Jonas," for instead of reclaiming land he lost six acres thereof, timber and all!
A few years later there was another sinking of ground into the water, increasing the lake to its present size of between eight and nine acres; but as the low land has all been engulfed, no apprehension is felt that any similar occurrence will take place in the future, as it is not believed that the lake extends beneath the hills.
Prior to this land-sinking episode, catfish, sunfish and some other varie-
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ties iabounded in the lake in great quantities, but are not so abundant there now.
The water of the lake when viewed as a body is an ocean-green in tint of coloring, yet when dipped up seems pure and clear. The lake is circular in form and in its hill-frame setting is one of the most beautiful of the many attractive places in old Richland. The slope at the southeast is covered by a shady grove, from whose retreat one might imagine some highland maid might appear and
"-with hasty oar Push her light shallop from the shore,"
to meet her Malcolm at the other side. But, alas! no Ellen comes in answer to the hunter's call. The lake is not only beautiful in sunshine but is inter- esting in storms, when the thunder's deep reverberations roll like billows over its waters. And when the gleaming rainbow sheds its luster upon the placid surface. no artist can sketch its beauty, while in the background of the picture may be read by faith the eternal promise that the earth shall not again be destroyed by water. Pleasure parties find "Uncle Jonas' " lake interesting by day and still more attractive under the pale light of the stars.
SPOOKS' HOLLOW.
"An ancient minstrel sagely said, Where is the life which late we led?"
After the war some of the Indians returned to Richland county; but, Greentown having been destroyed, they had no fixed habitation here. Tivo young "braves" by the names of Seneca John and Quilipetoxe came to Mans- field and got on a spree, and at the Williams' tavern, at the site of the present Park Hotel, got into trouble with some of the settlers. The Indians left late in the afternoon, intoxicated and swearing vengeance against the whites. They were followed by five settlers, who overtook the redskins about a mile east of town and in the battle that ensued both Indians were killed and their bodies buried in the ravine east of the Sherman hill; and the place has since been called "Spooks' Hollow."
It is not my purpose to say that the killing of these Indians was justifiable; but the settlers would have had to have been more than human not to retaliate at times for many wanton murders committed by the Indians. To err is
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human. To be influenced with the desire for revenge is natural. That the passions of the pioneers, stimulated by the cruelty and outrages the savages committed did not degenerate into a thirst for revenge, was a credit to their manhood. Many narratives of Indian treachery and cruelty could be given. The family of the settler, as they gathered around the evening fireside, could not feel that their house was their castle, for a murderous foe might then be in ambush to wreak wrath upon them in the still watches of the night. I have no desire to exaggerate : the truth is stranger than any coloring of fancy.
Spook Hollow! What of it? Of that locality strange tales have been told of apparitions seen by belated travelers, sometimes as though two Indians were lurking in the weird shadows; at other times a number of forms would appear as warriors plumed for battle, and
"All silent there they stood, and still, Watching their chieftain's beck and will;"
and then they would disappear as mysteriously as they came and
"It seemed as if the mother earth Had swallowed up her warlike birth."
While no one may believe these spook stories now, it is generally known that they were freely circulated in the past and may have been believed to some extent. It has even been stated that the road was changed and located farther south to avoid the hollow where apparitions were said to be seen.
In speaking of the Indians I want to say en passant, that in the ante- war times we heard and read a great deal of the "irrepressible conflict" be- tween slavery and freedom; but anterior to that there was another conflict, also irrepressible in its nature, between the white man and the Indian; and in that conflict there could be no compromise : the races were too unlike. An edict was issued from the court of progress that the Indian should disappear, should be removed to the west and then remanded to the past. And destiny is blind; it neither smiles at human happiness or weeps at human woe. Des- tiny, whether of nations, of races or of individuals, strides onward like a ferocious Titan, regardless as to who is trampled under its feet. It has been said that there is a science of historical physics-that the fundamental maxim in the dynomics of progress is that the greater force oversomes the less. The student of history has read how the Hellenes exterminated or absorbed the Pelasgians, that the Oenotrians were overwhelmed by the aggressive
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colonists of Magna Graecia, and that the Gaulish and British Celts sank, as it were, into the earth under the pressure of the Roman and the Saxon. And in our own land the Indian was forced almost across the continent and the remnant of the race stands like a specter on the western horizon of civilization to-day.
FACTS VERSUS FICTION.
What of Lily Pipe! History mentions her not, and the name is not con- nected even with the traditions of that period. The first known of Lily Pipe was when the romance of "Philip Seymour" appeared in print in 1857. It is a romantic story, depicting pioneer life, and was entertainingly written by the gifted author, the Rev. James F. McGaw. A number of the pioneers then living did not take kindly to the interpolation of fictitious characters, as future generations might be unable to eliminate the fiction from the facts. But the work claims only to be "founded on facts," and was written as a historical novel. It is complimentary to the author's ability that he made the characters so real that people believe in the verity of their existence.
Philip Zimmer (or Seymour) married a Miss Elizabeth Ballantine, of Pickaway county, at the close of the war, and she was never in this part of the state, and she was the only wife Philip ever had. Muniments on file attest this statement. McGaw needed a character with which to embellish his story, and that of Lily Pipe was his creation and served well its purpose. But Lily Pipe was a myth-a myth of composite parts created to represent certain characteristics and conditions. Braving the dread of being called an iconoclast, I make the further statement that Martin Ruffner's "bound boy" was not "Billy Bunting." but Levi Bargaheizer, and that McGaw changed not only the name but also gave the character "a lisping, stammering tongue," which the boy did not possess.
Kate Zimmer was not engaged to be married, and "Henry Martin," like "Lily Pipe," was a myth. Old Captain Pipe never lived in Richland county, and was not a cave-dweller. His home was at Jeromeville from 1795 to 1812-the period between the signing of the treaty of Greenville and the war of 1812.
There was a young Captain Pipe, said to have been a son of the old cap- tain. The younger Pipe lived at Greentown a year or' two, then went to Pipestown. Wyandot county, then later to Kansas, where he died.
Old Captain Pipe was last seen in these parts at the great feast of Green- town, in 1811, the meaning of which was never explained to the white settlers,
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but which is now understood to have portended the war of 1812, which soon followed.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The driveway from Mansfield to Shelby passes through a country of pastoral loveliness and of well cultivated farms. The land is sufficiently level to give an extended rim to the horizon, and at the summer season of the year, when the morning rays of the sun kiss the dewdrops and make the broad acres glad, when the birds carol their praise and the leafy branches of the trees wave their welcome, the scene is one of enchantment, of beauty' to the eye and pleasure to the heart.
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