USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Early history of Cleveland, Ohio : including papers and other matter relating to the adjacent country : with biographical notices of the pioneers and surveyors > Part 3
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A single fortification on the bluffs of the Little Miami, called "Fort Ancient," in Warren county,
31
MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS.
Ohio, has a parapet which in some places is eighteen feet high, and fifty feet thick at the base. The entire work, is computed to contain six hundred thousand cubic yards of embankment, and would allow of twenty thousand men for its defence. Near Newark there is a circle, one-fourth of a mile in diameter, where the bank is at the highest point, twenty-six feet above the bottom of the ditch. This people has left numerous ruins, not only over the southern half of this State, but throughout the low lands of Kentucky, Western Tennessee, Southern Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Mexico. The large cities, if we may judge by their position, were selected on the same principle by which our fathers selected theirs. Extensive ruins were once visible, on or near the sites of Cincin- nati, Marietta, Portsmouth, Chillicothe, Circleville, Dayton and Newark.
They were contiguous to large tracts of good land upon valuable water courses. The same people worked the copper mines of Lake Superior. Many of their mounds, are monuments raised to the dead, where valuable relics were placed; consisting of beads and shells and plates of native copper and silver.
Their tools are of copper, which appears to be the only metal they had for implements. They forged of it spears, arrow heads, axes, chisels, spades and gouges in its native state, never having been melted or refined. Their tools are found, not only with the
32
ANCIENT COPPER MINES.
ashes of their dead, but on the surface, in the vicin- ity of their works. Very good cutting tools were made of stone, of which great numbers have been found. The race of red men had also stone axes, knives, spear and arrow heads, but did not possess implements made of copper, with the exception of some very rude knives, found among the tribes inhabiting Lake Superior. Here the Chippewas have sometimes fashioned an awkward knife, or an instrument for dressing skins, from nuggets of native copper which they found in the gravel. The style and finish of their rough knives, enables one at once to separate them, from the more perfect work of the mound builders. This difference of mechanical perfection, aptly distinguishes the civil- ization of the two races.
The North American Indian relied principally upon flint, which the race of the mounds used very sparingly.
As implements of wood soon perish, we have little trace of them, although they must have been numerous. Some of the wooden shovels and bowls, which they used in the mines of Lake Superior, have been preserved beneath the water and rubbish of old mines. A part of the decayed handle of a cop- per spear, was found in the same situation. In the north eastern part of Ohio, in the county of Geauga, a war club of Nicaragua wood, was discovered early in the settlement of that region. This might have
33
IMPLEMENTS AND WEAPONS.
belonged to either of the races, which preceded white men on this soil. Wooden ornaments and imple- ments, not being so precious, were not buried with the dead. If they had been, there are cases where something would remain of them. Threads of hempen cloth, and timber forming a sort of coffin or vault, have, in some cases, resisted decomposition. So has their ornaments of shell, bone and stone; and their pipes, grotesquely carved with images of animals. All these relics, show a condition ad- vanced beyond the people, called by us the Abori- gines, who were the second, perhaps the third, race which preceded us.
Along the south shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, are numerous ancient works; but of a char- acter different from those on the waters of the Ohio. There were two of them within the limits of the city of Cleveland. A low mound was visible within the last twenty years, on the lot at the south east corner of Erie and Euclid streets. But the mounds, embankments and ditches, throughout the lake coun- try are insignificant in size, in comparison with those in the southern part of the State.
Most of those in New York and the northern part of Ohio, are fortifications; while a large part of those farther south were not designed for the pur- poses of war. Many of the latter had reference to religious ceremonies and sacrifices, probably of human beings.
34
FORTIFICATIONS ON LAKE ERIE.
There is a wide belt of country through central Ohio which is nearly destitute of ancient works, as though there was a neutral tract, not occupied by the ancient races. Those on the waters running northerly into the lake, are generally in strong natural positions. They may still be seen on the Maumee river, above Toledo, and on the Sandusky, Huron and Black rivers. A group of these enclo- sures existed at the forks of Huron river, where the road crosses, about a mile and a half west of Nor- walk. As a sample of ancient forts in the lake country, I insert plans of some of those which are not yet destroyed.
ANCIENT FORT, NEWBURG.
This consists of a double line of breast works with ditches across the narrow part of a peninsula, between two gullies, situated about three miles south-easterly from the city, on the right of the road to Newburg, on land heretofore owned by the late Dr. H. A. ACKLEY. The position thus protected against an assault, is a very strong one, where the attacking party should not have projectiles of long range.
On three sides of this promontory, the land is abrupt and slippery. It is very difficult of ascent, even without artificial obstructions. Across the ravine, on all sides, the land is upon a level with the
35
OLD FORTS, CUYAHOGA COUNTY.
enclosed space. The depth of the gully is from fifty to seventy feet. About eighty rods to the east, upon the level plain, is a mound ten feet high and sixty feet in diameter. At the west end of the inner wall is a place for a gateway or passage, to the interior.
Ancient Fort, Newburg.
1340278
TREA
DEEP RAVINES
1
(.AREA 5 ACRES
-
1/2
2
3
The height of the embankment across the neck is two feet, and the enclosed area contains about five acres. Perpetual springs of water issue from the sides of the ravine, at the surface of the blue clay, as they do at Cleveland.
About six miles from the lake, on the eastern bluffs of the Cuyahoga river, is a similar work that
36
ANCIENT FORT, SUMMIT COUNTY.
has but one line of embankment, with a ditch. The bluffs are higher, but not quite as inaccessible as on the ACKLEY farm. About the middle is an unexca- vated space across the ditch, but the breast work has no gap for an entrance.
Two miles farther up the river, on the same side, is a third work, in the same style, similarly located, but enclosing about twice as much space. The general figure of the enclosure is very much like the one on ACKLEY's premises. Two small branches head near each other at the upper end of two ravines, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet deep. Across the neck are two parallels, which have been nearly obliterated by cultivation. The inner parallel does not appear to have been as high as the outer one, and between them was a broad, but not a very deep ditch. A conspicuous ditch was made on the outer side of the outer wall, from which, no doubt, the earth was taken for the embankment. There are no gateways in either of the walls.
A much stronger and more elaborate fortified position, exists in Northfield, Summit County, on the river bluffs, two miles west of the center.
A road leading west from the center to the river, passes along a very narrow ridge, or "hogs back," between two gullies, only wide enough for a high- way. Before reaching the river bluffs, this neck of land expands right and left, where there is a level space of about two acres, elevated near two hundred
-
.
NORTHFIELD SUMMIT CO. OHIO.
CEU
SECTION
2 /2 M WEST OF CENTRE,
a
SCALE 250 FT TO IN.
0H10
R
CANAL
2 ACRES
M
M
a
.
-
....
CEU YEAH REGA RETEVEEER
38
OTHER ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS.
feet above the canal and river. Where this area begins to widen out on the land side, there are two lines of banks, with exterior ditches, which are forty feet apart, and extend across the neck, without entrances or gateways. From the top of the breast work to the bottom of the ditch, is now from four to five feet. Mr. MILTON ARTHUR, the owner of the land stated, that before the land was cultivated, a man standing on the ditch could not look over the wall. On all sides, the flat land is bounded by gullies, eighty to one hundred feet deep, except where it is joined to the ridge.
There is permanent water in the ravines. The earth of the bluffs is so steep that it is subject to slides. It is remarkable that there is, within this, area, another set of lines on the side towards the river, reducing the fortified area to about one-half the space, whose edges are at the bluffs. Two projecting points are cut off by these lines, and left outside the works. In this way, much of the natural strength of the position is lost. At these places, there are pits, which the early settlers of Northfield say were filled with water, and were stoned around like wells. There are also two low mounds, m, m, on the east side. Where the bluff is not as steep as it is elsewhere, there is a parapet thrown up at the crest. A part of the earth on the north and west side, was taken from the inside, which indicates a state of siege, or at least some
39
FORT ON WEST SIDE OF RIVER.
pressing haste when this part of the line was finished. Perhaps their enemies had gained a foot- hold in the level space outside the lines.
On the west side of the river is another ancient fortification, opposite this, and it is stated there is in the township of Independence, on the bluffs, north of Tinker's creek, near its mouth, another work of the same character. There are no doubt others which are known to the inhabitants not yet surveyed or described.
40
FORTIFICATION NEAR WEYMOUTHI.
.........
ERm
...... C 6
Weymouth
Village ur
E Branch
Enlarged profile on the line a, b.
a
8
92 feet
A short distance east of the village of Weymouth, in a bend of the Rocky River, is a fortified point of land, with three lines of banks and ditches. From the outer to the middle one is forty-two feet, and thence to the inner parallel, thirty-eight feet. In 1850, the outer and the inner lines were in the best condition. From the top of the outer wall to the bottom of the ditch, is five feet; of the middle
41
ANCIENT WORK AT GRANGER.
one four feet, and the inside parallel six feet. The excavations for the ditches reached to the slate. This ground was selected by the first white settlers, for a burying ground, but was abandoned because the soil is not deep enough for graves. Around the bend in the river is a deep channel, with vertical rocky walls, thirty to fifty feet high. It is therefore, a very defensible position.
The length of this peninsula is three hundred feet, from the inner parapet to the extreme front, and the distance across the base, one hundred feet. There are no openings or gateways through the parallels, and no breaks in the ditches. The engi- neer who planned the works, must have provided for passing over the embankment, into the enclosed space, by wooden steps, that have perished. Near the village of Weymouth are five small mounds, m, and within the fortress, one.
One-half mile east of the center of Granger, in the same county, is a low circular enclosure, about three hundred feet in diameter. It has a slight exterior ditch. There is an opening for entrance on the north-west side, near where the east and west road crosses the work. Two small streams of living water pass along the sides of it. The situation is low and flat, with a slight rise on the west, which overlooks the interior of the enclosure. It possesses no natural strength of position, and was doubtless designed for other purposes than defence.
4
42
ANCIENT FORTS.
FORT NEAR PAINESVILLE.
On the west bank of Grand river, about three miles east of Painesville, is a narrow peninsula of soap stone and flags, which has been fortified by the ancients. A tall growth of hemlock furnishes a refreshing shade, to which the citizens resort for May-day pic-nics, and Fourth of July celebrations. A small creek runs outside the point, which is about 200 feet wide by 600 in length, entering the river at the apex. The elevation is from 40 to 60 feet above water level. At the extremity of the point is a lower bench, across which is a low bank and ditch.
About 400 feet farther back from this are two parallels across the peninsula, which are 86 feet apart. In most places it is nine feet from the bottom of the ditches, to the summit of the walls. All the ditches are on the outside and are well preserved. There are very few places where a party could climb up the soap stone cliffs, without the aid of trees or ropes. The course of this projecting point is east and west, joining the mainland on the west. In this direction there is higher land within 300 feet of the outer parallel.
43
ANCIENT FORTS.
FORTIFIED HILL NEAR CONNEAUT.
On the south side of the creek above the village of Conneaut, in Ashtabula county, is a detached mound of shale, about seventy feet high, which is crowned with an ancient fortress, or strong-hold, represented in the plan here inserted.
ROAD FROM CLEVELAND TO CONNEAUT
CREEK
CONNEAUT
........... .
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....
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--- ANCIENT ROAD
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PROFILE
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SLATE ROCK
On the north side there is a low bank of earth following the crest of the hill. There is here no berme, or level space, outside of the embankment.
.......
.....
44
FORTIFIED HILL, CONNEAUT.
On the south side, where the bluff is not as steep and difficult of ascent as on the north, there is a ditch between the parapet and the crest, as repre- sented in the profile, a, b. Outside of the ditch is a low bank on the edge of the natural slope. Thus the side having the least natural strength, was made stronger by art. It would be almost impossible, for men to ascend the steep escarpment of soap stone on the north. A narrow ridge of gentle ascent, allows of an easy grade on the south-eastern side, where there was in 1840, the remains of an ancient road.
This leads to the gateway at c, where there must have been some obstructions of wood like a "porte cullis," which the inmates could open and close at their pleasure. Why there should have been an opening in the enclosing wall, at the end next the river is not apparent. Within the enclosure, embra- cing about five acres, the soil is black and rich, while it is clayey and lean without. This is a common feature of the old earth-works on Lake Erie. It
indicates a lengthy occupation of the place, by human beings. The ground occupied by Indian villages in the north, is always more fertile than the same soil outside of their towns.
In the valley of the creek, there is much good land which the ancients no doubt cultivated. These strong natural positions, resemble the fortified vil- lages of the Moques, on the waters of the Colorado;
45
RESEMBLANCE TÔ INDIAN FORTS.
which were visited and described by Prof. J. S. NEWBERRY in 1854.
If the North American Indians, had been found intrenched in earth-works, when the whites first knew them; or possessed traditions concerning them, we should attribute the small forts which are upon the waters of Lake Erie, to them. But I have not seen among descriptions of the early French writers, any thing of the kind more permanent than pickets and stockades.
-
----**
EVIDENCES OF THE PRESENCE OF WHITE MEN NOT KNOWN IN HISTORY.
In 1840, I was requested to examine the stump of an oak tree, which was then recently cut; and which stood in the north-west part of Canfield, Mahoning County, about fifty miles south-east of Cleveland. The diameter was two feet ten inches when it was felled, and with the exception of a slight rot at the heart, was quite sound. About seven inches from the center were the marks of an ax, perfectly distinct ; over which one hundred and sixty layers of annual growth had accumulated. The tree had been dead several years when it was cut down, which was in 1838.
When it was about fourteen inches in diameter, an expert chopper, with an ax in perfect order, had cut into the tree nearly to its heart. As it was not otherwise injured the tree continued to grow ; the wound was healed, and no external signs of it remained. When it was felled, the ancient cut was
1
1
48
AX MARKS IN WILLOUGHBY.
exposed. I procured a portion of the tree extending from the outside to the center, on which the ancient and modern marks of the ax are equally plain; the tools being of about the same breadth and in equally good order.
Soon after this I received from JASON HUBBELL, Esq., of Newburg, in this county, a letter describing some ax marks which he had observed, in a large poplar tree situated in that township. In this case the tree was larger, but Mr. HUBBELL considered the age of the cutting, to be from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty years.
Mr. STEPHEN LAPHAM, formerly of Willoughby, Lake county, now of Janesville, Wisconsin, presented to Prof. J. L. CASSELLS a portion of a hickory tree, the stump of which still remains, a few feet from the railway, a mile and a half west of Willoughby.
In a letter to me, Mr. LAPHAM says, "it was cut in May or June, 1848 or 1849, on the farm I then occupied. I sent a hired man to cut some wood, and directed him to fell this tree, which was about two feet in diameter. I saw the tree fall, and measured the length of the wood he was to cut. As the man cut in near the heart, I noticed ancient ax marks. It had been cut into when a sapling about four inches in diameter. There was the old dry bark on the " tree, above and below the old cut. There was eleven inches of growth outside of the cut, and about forty- six rings or layers to the inch. The tree was green
49
AX MARKS IN BERLIN.
and sound when it was cut. I preserved the piece near the heart, with the old marks on it."
I examined this stump in 1859, and now have the piece which Mr. LAPHAM preserved. It was difficult to count the layers of annual growth, but there were more than four hundred. Mr. LAPHAM was of the opinion, that the first chopping was done before Columbus landed on this continent. If so it cannot have been the work of white men. The style of the cut is that of a perfectly sharp ax, in all respects like the work of a good chopper of our times.
Although the rule is, that one layer of growth accumulates each year, there are exceptions, though they are very rare. Four hundred years before 1848 would carry us back to 1448, forty-four years before the island of St. Salvador was discovered.
There are trees which form two terminal buds in a year, and in that case two layers of growth are formed. If it was so in this case, the time elapsed would be two hundred years, instead of four hundred, and the date would be about 1648.
Another instance of the work of old choppers, is furnished in the following letter from H. L. HILL, Esq., of Berlin, Erie Co., O. :
BERLIN HIGHTS, Jan. 23, 1859.
In the summer of 1831, I felled one of the giant oaks of the forest, which was about three feet in diameter. It was cut for the purpose of making
50
LETTER OF MR. HILL.
wagon hubs. One cut or length, was sawed off, the size of the hubs marked out, leaving six to ten inches around the heart. As we split the bolts, three cuts or strokes, of a sharp narrow bitted ax were plainly visible, the chips standing outward from the tree as distinct as when they were first made.
My brother and myself counted two hundred and nineteen rings of annual growth outside of the cuts. It was with the greatest difficulty, we were able to count the fine growths near the butt of the tree, and may have made a mistake of a few years. The tree stood on lot seven, Range seven, Berlin township, on a dry piece of ground, nearly surrounded by wet land; for about twenty rods forming good ground for a camp.
In the spring of 1857, I pulled out the stump of this tree, and in plowing through the ground where it stood; turned up the ax you saw in the Museum. I think it must have been between the roots of the tree, or we should have seen it before.
Yours respectfully,
H. L. HILL.
If the cuts mentioned by Mr. HILL, were made by the Indians with their rude squaw axes, they possess. no special meaning. Those upon the Canfield and the Willoughby trees were by a different tool, a well . formed ax, with a clear sharp cutting edge. Very soon after the French and the English encountered the Indians 1608-20, they were furnished with
51
THE JESUITS AND LA SALLE.
squaw axes. These axes were narrow bitted, made of iron or inferior steel, and were never kept in order by the Indians.
Where they have used them upon modern trees, the style of the stroke at once shows it to be this kind of a tool. It is never sharp enough to cut a surface smooth, like a modern choppers ax. The Jesuits were among the Iroquois of Western New York as early as 1656, but we have no historical traces of them as far west as Ohio.
The Canfield tree must be considered a good record as far back as 1660.
Many historians infer that LA SALLE passed through Northern Ohio, from the Illinois river in the winter of 1682-83.
That he made a journey by land from Crevecoeur to Quebec in that winter cannot be doubted, but there is no proof on which side of Lake Erie he traveled. It is far more probable that he avoided the hostile Iroquois, and bearing northward crossed the Detroit river, where the Indians were friendly to the French. A hasty traveller like him, could have left few marks of his ax. There must have been hundreds of trees on the Western Reserve, upon which axes had been used, in order to furnish us, so many examples after a lapse of two centuries.
THE RACE OF RED MEN.
CHAMPLAIN is the earliest authority, in relation to the savages upon the great lakes. He spent twenty- five years among them, beginning with the year 1603, four years before the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, and sixteen before the Pilgrim fathers set foot on Plymouth rock. He identified himself with them as hunter, trader, and warrior.
In 1609 he accompanied a war party of Algonquins through Lake Champlain, to attack the Iroquois, whom they fought between Lake George and Crown Point. On both shores of the Ottawa river were the " Algommequins," Ottawas, or Attawawas. The Hurons, or Wyandots, were then seated between Lakes Huron and Ontario. Between Huron and Erie were the "Petuns," or Tobacco nation.
On the south of Lake Ontario were the five con- federate nations, whom the French called Hiricois, or Iroquois. By means of their alliance, they were too powerful, for any other nation or confederation.
54
LOCATION OF INDIAN TRIBES.
They were also more intelligent, built better cabins and strong holds; and cultivated more maize. This superiority, enabled them to send large hunting parties, and war-like expeditions, far beyond their admitted bounds. Sometimes their dreaded warriors crossed Lake Ontario and attacked the Algonquins, pursuing them even to Lake Superior.
Then the savage crowd surged southward, into Pennsylvania ; overcoming the Lenni-Lenape, or Delawares; and even to Virginia and South Caro- lina. Where is now the State of Ohio, CHAMPLAIN places the "Neutral nation," whose fate is involved in much obscurity. Farther West he fixes the nation "which has plenty of buffaloes," and North of them, around the "Great Lake," or Lake Mich- igan, are the "Astistaquenonons," or the "Nation of the Fire," afterwards known as Mascoutens. His ideas about Lake Superior were very imperfect, such as Indians usually give of their country. (See a portion of his map, inserted beyond.) During his explorations, and for nearly half a century after- wards, neither the French or the Algonquins could venture on Lake Erie. The Iroquois were not cleared away, from the East end of that Lake, till after a number of French expeditions against them, assisted by their Indian allies, north of the lakes.
It was not until 1635, the French reached Lake Superior, and did not become well acquainted with it till 1659-'60. It was still later when they
**
55
WARS OF THE IROQUOIS.
reached Lake Erie, in 1679. CHAMPLAIN, when his map was published in 1632, supposed Lake Mich- igan to be the greatest of the lakes, and that there was a fall between it and his "Mer Douce," or Lake Huron. Lake Superior is there represented as a small body of water, including an island on which there was copper. The "Puant or Skunk Indians," afterwards known as Winnebagoes, he supposed were situated North of this lake. Indian tribes appear in history under so many names, and changes of residence, that it requires special research to follow them from CHAMPLAIN's time to our own. When the French undertook to secure the friend- ship of the Iroquois, and detach them from the the English, by means of their missionaries, in 1654, there were two nations inhabiting the eastern end of Lake Erie.
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