History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 32

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854

USA > Ohio > Coshocton County > History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881 > Part 32

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mounds of observation are generally situated upon eminences, and were doubtless "observa- tories," " alarm posts," " watch towers," " signal stations," or "look outs," serving the purposes

101

CHISELS, GOUGES AND ADZES,

the Alleghenies, shells from the Gulf of Mexico, | indicated by their title. They are said by some obsidian, and in some instances porphyry from Mexico, as well as silver and copper articles, both for use and ornament.

Temple mounds are less numerous and gen- erally larger than the preceding classes, and in form are oftenest circular or oval; but, whether round, square, oblong, oval, octangular, or what- ever form, are invariably truncated, having the appearance of being in an unfinished condition. They are frequently surrounded by embank- ments, and many of them have spiral pathways, steps or inclined planes leading to their summits. They are generally of large base and of com- paratively limited altitude.

writers to occur in chains or regular systems, and that many of them still bear traces of the beacon fires that were once burning on them. They are sometimes found in connection with embank- ments and inclosures, forming a portion, though greatly enlarged, of the banks of earth or stones that compose said embankments and inclosures.

One of this description is situated two miles west of Newark, Ohio, and though somewhat mutilated, is yet about twenty-five feet high.

This class'of mounds is tolerably numerous in some portions of the State.

Memorial or Monumental mounds belong to the class of tumuli that were erected to perpetu-

186

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

ate the memory of some important event, or in honor of some distinguished character. They are mostly built of earth, but some of the stone mounds found in some portions of the State probably belong to this not numerous class.

Effigies or Animal mounds are simply raised figures or gigantic basso relievos of men, beasts, birds or reptiles, and in some instances, of inani- mate objects. They are on the surface of the earth, raised to a limited height, generally from one foot to six feet above the natural surface of the ground. Mr. Schoolcraft, an authority, calls this class of ancient works Emblematic mounds, and expresses the belief that they were " totems " or " heraldic symbols." Professor Daniel Wilson, the learned author of " Pre-historic Man," and

high ground, and in naturally strong positions, frequently on the summits of hills and steep bluff's, and are often strengthened by exterior ditches. The walls generally wind around the borders of the elevations they occupy, and where the nature of the ground renders some points more accessible than others, the height of the wall and the depth of the ditch at those weak points are proportionally increased. The gate- ways, are narrow, few in number, and well guarded by embankments placed a few yards . inside of the openings or gate-ways, parallel with them, and projecting somewhat beyond them at each end, thus fully covering the entrances, which, in some cases, are still further protected by projecting walls on either side of them.

STONE PESTLE.

other writers of distinction, call them symbolical mounds, and holl the opinion that they were erected as objects of worship, or for altars upon which sacrifices were offered, or that they served some other purposes connected with the religious worship of their idolatrous and superstitious con- structors.

Of the three most notable examples of Effigies in the State, two are situated in Licking county. One is the Eagle mound, near the center of what is known as the "Old Fort," near Newark; and the other is called the " Alligator mound," and is situated on the summit of a hill nearly two hun- dred feet high, near Granville.

Inclosures defensive and sacred, have been briefly mentioned. Most of them are earth- works, though a few are of stone. Defensive in- closures are of irregular form, are always on

These works are somewhat numerous, and in- dicate a clear appreciation of the elements, at least, of fortification, and unmistakably point out the purpose for which they were constructed. A large number of these defensive works con- sist of a line of ditch and embankments, or sev- eral lines carried across the neck of peninsulas or bluff head-lands, formed within the bends of streams-an easy and obvious mode of fortifica- tion, common to all rude peoples.

Covered ways are parallel walls of earth of lim- ited height, and are frequently found contiguous to inclosures, sometimes, indeed, connecting them by extending from one to another One of their purposes, at least, seems to have been the protection of those passing to and fro within them.

Sacred inclosures are mainly distinguished

187

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY,

from those of a military character by the regu- larity of their form, their different construction and their more frequent occurrence." They are of all shapes and forms, and where moats or ditches exist they are invariably found inside of the embankments. They are generally in the form of geometrical figures of surprising accu- racy, such as circles, squares, hexagons, octagons, ellipses, parallelograms and of various others. They are sometimes found within military inclosures, and evidently had some connection with the religious ideas and ceremonies of their builders. Frequently there is situated in the center of this class of works a mound, or eleva- tion, supposed to have served the purpose of an altar npon which sacrifices were offered, or which

many such) within which no central elevation or altar occurs, which were erected for the purposes last named, and not exclusively (if at all) for pur- poses connected with religion, and are therefore erroneously called sacred inclosures,

Other ancient peoples, if indeed not all the nations of antiquity, had their national games. amusements, festivals and jubilees, and why not the Mound Builders ? Without doubt they had, and congregated within their inclosures to prac- tice, celebrate and enjoy them,

It is natural to indulge in speculations regard- ing these ancient works. Probably none of them have been constructed since Christopher Colum- bus reached America in 1492. About sixty years lago a tree which stood upon the bank of the

CLUB-HEADED STONES,

was, at least, in some way, used in conducting their religious services. Within these sacred inclosures were doubtless celebrated religious festivals, and npon those central mounds or altar, were undoubtedly performed, by priestly hands, the rites and ceremonies demanded by their sac- rificial and idolatrous religion.

The very extensive works near Newark, known as the "Old Fort," and situated in the fair grounds, evidently belong to this class. Some archæologists, however, maintain that many works called sacred inclosures were erected for and used as places of amusement, where these ancient people practiced their national games, and celebrated their great national events, where they held their national festivals and indulged in their national jubilees, as well as performed the cere- monies of their religion.

It may be that there are those (and there are

" Old Fort," at a point where the bank was twenty feet high, was cut down, and its concentric cir- cles numbered five hundred and fifty, thus prov- ing conclusively that the said inclosure was con- structed more than six hundred years ago.

Authorities ditfer regarding many matters con- nected with the Mound Builders, but a few facts seem to be fully established by their works. There can be no doubt that they were a numer- ous people. Works so elaborate, so gigantic, could not have been erected by a people insignti- cant in numbers. This is the more apparent when it is considered that they were probably without iron or any suitable metal instruments or tools with which to perform their herculean labors.

It could scarcely have been otherwise than that they were also the subjects of a single strong gov- ernment, because, under any other, the perform-

188

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

ance of such an immense amount of, probably, enforeed labor could not have been secured. Very likely some sort of vassalage or servitude prevailed. There is abundant evidence that they were a war-like people, and probably, like some savage nations now existing, they made slaves of their prisoners. The number and magnitude of their works, and their extensive range and uni- formity, prove that they were essentially homo- geneous in customs, habits, religion and govern-

The construction of military works woukl in- dicate that they were, occasionally, at least, at war, either among themselves or with some other nation or tribe. If another nation, what other? Perhaps with the North American Indian to whom the country may have belonged before the Mound Builders entered it. There are various scraps of history relating to the antiquity of the Indian. For instance, in the annual report of the council of the American Antiquarian Society

PERFORATED PLATES, THREAD SIZERS AND SHULTLES.

ment. The general features common to all their | page 40, occurs this note from Sir Charles Lyell : remains identify them as appertaining to a single grand system, owing its origin to men moving in the same direction, acting under common im- pulses, and influenced by similiar causes.

That they possessed military skill, and were not without some knoweldge of mathematics, is quite evident.

Building their defensive works in naturally strong positions, and constructing many of their other works in the form of various geometrical figures, show this.

" A human cranium, of the aboriginal type of the red Indian race, has been found in the delta of the Mississippi, beneath four buried forests, su- perimposed, one upon another, implying, as esti- mated by Dr. Dowler, an antiquity of 50,000 years."

Lyell, himself, estimated the age of the delta at 100,000 years.

It may be conjectured from many historical facts, that the Mound Builders were a foreign peo- ple who invaded the soil of America, as there is

189

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

but little evidence that they spread themselves over the continent, but much, that they passed through it from northeast to southwest, covering a broad belt, on which they erected their mysteri- ous mounds. The time occupied by them in crossing the continent can only be conjectured. They probably came in great numbers, attempt- ed to conquer the country, found the Indians too

terest of their religion, shows a strong tendeney toward a superstitious belief. They doubtless of- fered up animals in sacrifice, as a part of their re- ligions ceremonies, and it may be that human sacrifices were not unknown among them. Pris- oners of war are thus disposed of sometimes by peoples and nations who have attained to as high a grade of civilization as that probably reached by

PERFORATED PLATES, THREAD SIZERS AND SHUTTLES.

strong for them, but conquered a certain portion | the Mound Buildlers. The sacrificial character of their religion is clearly established.

of the territory, clung together, moved gradually southwest, protecting themselves on the way by forts and other earthworks, finally disappearing in Mexico, either conquering that country or in- termingling with and becoming absorbed by that people.

The Mound Builders were doubtless a super- stitious people, cherishing faith in some religious system. The amount of labor bestowed upon those of their works that were erected in the in-

The late Dr. Foster hesitated not to say that they were worshipers of the elements; that they also worshiped the sun, moon and stars; and that they offered up human victims as an acceptable sacrifice to the gods they worshiped. Ile de- duced this fact from the charred or calcined hones that cover their altars. Other high author- ities also unhesitatingly assert that there is con- vincing proof that they were fire-worshipers

190

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

It may be well in this connection to notice, briefly, the implements made and used by this people, especially so far as investigation has re- vealed their character in Coshocton county.

Very few copper implements have been found in this part of Ohio, owing partly to the fact of the unexplored condition of many of the mounds, and to the fact that little, if any, copper exists in this part of the United States. What does exist is in loose fragments that have been washed down from the upper lake region. When mounds are explored, great care is neces- sary lest these small utensils be lost, as they are commonly scattered through the mass, and not always in close proximity to the skeletons .. The copper deposits about Lake Superior furnished the pre-historic man with this metal, and, judg- ing from the amount of relics made of this metal now found, it must have been quite abun- dant. The population of the country, then, must have been quite extensive, as occasional copper implements, tempered to an exceeding hardness, are still found about the country. These imple- ments are small, generally less than a half a pound in weight, and seldom exceeding three pounds. There were millions of these in use during the period of the ancient dwellers, which may have been thousands of years in duration. The copper implements left on the surface soon disappeared by decomposition, to which copper is nearly as liable as iron. Only a part of the dead Mound Builders were placed in burial mounds, and of these only a part were buried with their copper ornaments and implements on and about them. Of those that were, only a small part have been discovered, and, in many instances, the slight depth of carth over them has not prevented the decay and disappearance of the coper relics.

Articles of bronze or brass are not found with the builders of the mounds. It is evident they knew nothing of these metals in the Ohio valley, nor did they possess any of the copper that had been melted or cast in molds.

Stone relies are very numerous and well pre- served. Stone axes, stone mauls, stone hammers, stone chisels, etc., are very plentiful yet, and were the common implements of the pre-historic man in this part of the west. None were made

with holes or eyes for the insertion of a helve or handle, but were grooved to receive a withe twisted into the form of a handle. Under the head of axes, archæologists include all wrought stones with a groove, a bit and a poll. They are found unpolished, partly polished and polished. The bit was made sharp by rubbing, and the material is hard and tough, generally of trachyte, greenstone, granite, quartz or basalt. Most of them are straight on one edge. In Ohio, it is very rare that stone axes are found in the mounds, indicating that they are modern, or were not so much prized by the Mound Builders as to be objects of burial. Occasionally, axes of softer material are found, such as slate, hematite and sandstone, but these are small in size and not common. They appear to have been manufac- tured from small, oblong bowlders, first brought into shape by a pick, or chipping instrument, the marks of which are visible on nearly all of them. They were made more perfect by rub- bing and polishing, probably done from time to time after they were brought into use. A handle or helve, maile of a wythe or split stick, was fas- tened in the groove by thongs of hide. The bit is narrower than the body of the ax, which is generally not well enough balanced to be of much value as a cutting instrument.

It is very seldom the material is hard enough to cut green and sound timber. The poll is usually round, but sometimes flat, and rarely pointed. It is much better adapted to breaking than cutting, while the smaller ones are better fitted for war-clubs than tools. As a maul to break dry limbs, they were very efficient, and this was probably the use made of them. In weight they range from half a pound to sixteen pounds, but are generally less than three pounds. The very heavy ones must have been kept at the regular camps and villages, as they were too heavy for convenient transportation. Such axes are occa- sionally found in the Indian towns on the frontier, as they were found in Ohio among the aborigines. The Mound Builders apparently did not give them as much prominence among their imple- ments as their savage successors. Double-headed hammers have the groove in the middle. They were made of the same material as the axes, so bal- ianeed as to give a blow with equal force at either

191

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

end. Their mechanical symmetry is often perfeet. As a weapon in war, they were, indeed, formid- able, for which purpose they are yet used among the Indians on the Pacific coast.

Implements known as " fleshers" and "skin-

thing without destroying the perfect edge most of them now exhibit. The grooved axes were much better adapted to this purpose.

Stone pestles are not plentiful in this county, while stone mortars are rare, indicating that they

DRILLED CEREMONIAL WEAPONS-SLATE.

ners," chisel-formed, commonly called "celts," were probably used as aids in peeling the skin of animals from the meat and bones. For the pur- pose of cutting tools for wood, they were not suf- ficiently hard, and do not show such use, excepting in a few flint chisels. They may have been applied as coal serapers where wood had been burned; but this could not have been a general

were made of wood, which is lighter and more casily transported. Most of the postles are short, with a wide base, tapering toward the top. They were probably used with one hand, and moved about in the mortar in a circle. The long, round instrument, usually called a pestle, does not appear to be fitted for crushing seeds and grain by pounding or turning in the mortar. It

192

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

was probably used as a rolling-pin, perhaps on a board or leveled log, not upon stone. It is sel- dom found smooth or polished, and varies from seven to thirteen inches in length. In outline they taper toward each end, which is generally smooth, and circular in form, as though it had been twirled in an upright position.

There is almost an endless variety of perforated plates, thread-sizers, shuttles, etc. They are usually made of striped slate, most of which have tapering holes through them flat-wise, the use of which has been much discussed. The ac- companying plate exhibits several specimens of these; but there are, doubtless, many other forms and styles. They are generally symmetrical, the material fine-grained, and their proportions graceful, as though their principal use was that . of ornamentation. Many of them may well have been worn suspended as beads or ornaments. Some partake of the character of badges or en- signs of authority. Others, if strung together on thongs or belts, would serve as a coat of mail, protecting the breast or back against the arrows of an enemy. A number of them would serve to size and twist twine or coarse thread made of bark, rawhide or sinew. The most common theory regarding their use is, however, lacking one important feature. None of them show signs of wear by use. The edges of the holes through them are sharp and perfect. This objec- tion applies equally well to their use as suspended ornaments. Some of them are shuttle-form, through which coarse threads might have been passed, for weaving rude cloth or bark of fibrous plants, such as milk-weed or thistles. There are also double-ended and pointed ones, with a cross section about the middle of which is a eirele, and through which is a perforation.

A great variety of wands or badges of distine- tion are found. They are nearly all fabricated from striped and variegated slate, highly finished, very symmetrical and elegant in proportion, evi- dently designed to be ornamental. If they were stronger and heavier, some of them would serve the purpose of hatchets or battle-axes. The ma- terial is compact and fine-grained; but the eyes, or holes, for handles or staves, are quite small, seldom half an inch in diameter. Their edges are not sharp, but rounded, and the body is thin,

usually less than one-fourth of an inch in thick- ness.

The form of badges, known as "double-cres- cents," are the most elegant and expensive of any yet brought to notice. They were probably used to indicate the highest rank or office. The single erescent, perhaps, signified a rank next below the double. In the collection of Mr. John B. Matson, of Richland county, there is a rough-hewn double one in process of construction, the horns of which turn inward. In nearly or quite all the finished ones the points turn outward. The finish around the bore of all winged badges and the crescents is the same, and the size of the bore about the same-from two-fifths to three-fifths of an inch. On one side of all is a narrow ridge; on the other, a flat band, lengthwise, like a ridge that has been ground down to a width of one to two-tenths of an inch. Badges and creseents are invariably made of banded slate, generally of a greenish shade of color. The other forms of wands or badges, such as those with symmetrical wings or blades, are also made of green striped slate, highly polished, with a bore of about one-half inch in diameter, apparently to insert a light wooden rod or staff. They were probably emblems of distinc- tion, and were not ornaments. Nothing like them is known among the modern tribes, in form or use, hence they are attributed to the Mound Builders.

In addition to stone ornaments, the pre-historic man seems to have had a penchant, like his sar- age successors, to bedaub his body with various colors, derived from different colored minerals. These compounds were mixed in hollowed stones or diminutive mortars -" paint cups," -- in which the mineral mass of colored clay was reduced to powder and prepared for application to the body. Such paint cups are not common; in fact, are quite rare, but one being known to exist in this part of the State, that in the collection of Dr. Craig, of Mansfieldl.

The comparative rarity of aboriginal smoking pipes is easily explained by the fact that they were not discarded, as were weapons, when those by whom they were fashioned entered upon the iron age. The advances of the whites in no way lessened the demand for pipes, nor did the whites substitute a better implement. The pipes were

193

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

retained and used until worn out or broken, save the few that were buried with their dead owners. What was the ultimate fate of these can only be conjectured. In very few instances does an In- dian grave contain a pipe. If the practice of burying the pipe with its owner was common, it is probable that the graves were opened and robbed of this coveted article by members of the same or some other tribes.

It only remains to notice the " flints," in addi- tion to which a few other archeological relics of minor importance are found about the country, but none of sufficient import to merit mention, or to throw additional light on the lost tribes of America. Arrow and spear heads and other similar pieces of flaked flints are the most abund- ant of any aboriginal relies in the United States. They are chiefly made of hard and brittle silice- ous materials; are easily damaged in hitting any object at which they are aimed, hence many of them bear marks of violent use. Perfect speci- mens are, however, by no means rare. The art of arrow making survives to the present day among certain Indian tribes, from whom is learned the art practiced that produces them.

A classification of arrow heads is not within the scope of this work; indeed, it is rarely attempted by archeologists. The styles are almost as numerous as their makers. In general, they are all the same in outline, mostly leaf- shaped, varying according to the taste of their makers. The accompanying cut exhibits a few of the common forms, though the number is infinite. They may have been chipped-proba- bly most were-and some may have been ground. Spear heads exhibit as large a variety as arrow heads. Like arrow heads, spear heads were inserted in wooden handles of various lengths, though in many tribes they were fast- ened by thongs of untanned leather or sinews.

Their modes of manufacture were generally the same. Sometimes tribes contained "arrow makers," whose business was to make these im- plements, selling them to, or exchanging them with, their neighbors for wampum or peltry. When the Indian desired an arrow head, he could buy one of the "arrow maker " or make one himself. The common method was to take a chipping implement, generally made of the

pointed rods of a deer horn, from eight to six- teen inches in length, or of slender, short pieces of the same material, bound with sinews to wooden sticks resembling arrow shafts. The "arrow maker " held in his left hand the flake of flint or obsidian on which he intended to operate, and pressing the point of the tool against its edge, detached scale after scale, until the flake assumed the desired form.

NOTE .- For more particular information regarding the works of the Mound Builders, in different parts of this county the reader is referred to the history of the different townships in which such works are located.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 32

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 854

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854