USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio > Part 39
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Two other analyses are added, in this division, of soils of better grade. No. 7 is from the farm of John Howell, Esq., (Mad River Township, Clarke County), and No. 9 from the land of John Sny- der, Esq., of Springfield. Both of these analyses represent the average yellow clays of this region. No. 8 represents the composi- tion of the subsoil of No. 7; but there is some reason to distrust the
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
results shown in this analysis. In the comparatively large propor- tion of organic matter it can hardly represent the average.
4. One variety still remains to be described, namely, the soil of the black uplands of this region, including the upland prairies that are occasionally met. This soil might with a measure of propriety be distributed among the two last named divisions, as it has differed in fortune from one or other of them in but a single particular. By the accidents of the later geological history of the country, these common deposits of bowlder clay, and stratified sand and gravel, have been left generally in sloping and easily drained surfaces, but sometimes in flat-lying tracts, of greater or less extent.
To the latter of these areas the black soils are confined. If the stratified Drift has furnished their origin, they will agree in charac- ter with the soils derived from the limestone gravel, as represented in analysis No. 4. If formed from the weathering of the bowlder clay, they prove to be the counterparts of the yellow clays last de- seribed. The difference is shown very plainly in the capabilities of the two kinds of tracts respectively. Both form blue-grass land, and furnish the best of pasturage, but only the former can be turned with profit into corn grounds. These constitute, indeed, the best corn ground of the county-the river bottoms not being excepted. A considerable area in the southeastern part of the county, form- ing part of a much broader area which stretches through Madison and Fayette counties, belongs to this division, and numerous isolated tracts are scattered throughout the county. Frequently the most stubborn of the white clays will inclose some central area that lies at a lower level than the rest, and the drainage of which is conse- quently obstructed. This central tract has thus been changed in color from white to black, and has been charged with vegetable matter enough to ameliorate it for half a century at least. It re- wards abundantly the labors of the husbandman, while the sur- rounding lands, that differ from this in no respect but one, namely, that their proportion of organic matter is smaller by five to ten per cent., are tilled without profit, or even at a loss.
There are no soils in southern Ohio that produce as fine blue grass-that great basis of agricultural wealth-as those varieties of the black lands that have been derived from the limestone gravels.
.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Soluble in hydrochloric acid
60.84
48.91
15.27
13.23
5.20
2.35
6.41
8.51
4.89
13 20
Organic matter and water
3.53
8.54
3.78
4.05
0.80
0.12
3.16
1.54
1.13
5.18
Silicic acid.
0.23
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.05
0.31
0.10
0.08
0.08
Iron, sesquioxide
1.86
2.43
4.41
3.25
2.80
1.16
1.91
3.66
2.09
2 50
Alumina ....
0.90
1.05
1.70
1.65
0.50
0.10
0.30
1.52
0.02
1.85
Manganese .
trace
0.07
trace
0.03
0.09
0.05
0.15
0.04
0.02
trace
Lime, phosphate ..
0.24
0.13
0.37
0.28
0.07
0.10
0.14
0.19
0.10
0.21
. Lime, carbonate
50.87
35.85
4,10
2.77
0.21
0.23
0.41
0.37
0.35
2.48
· Magnesia, carbonate.
2.39
0.58
0.46
1.12
0.29
0.31
0 30
0.71
0.29
0.33
Soda and potash.
0.53
0.10
0.06
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.04
0.09
0.10
0 10
Sulphuric acid
0.12
0.10
0.10
0.05
0.03
0.06
0.12
0.28
trace
0.06
Soluble matter found
60 67
48 91
15.04
13.26
4.95
2.28
6.84
8.50
4.41
12.80
Insoluble in hydrochloric acid.
39.16
51.09
84.73
86.77
94.80
97.65
93.5
91.49
95.11
86.80
Organic matter.
6.03
20.80
6.61
5.00
2.05
2.46
1.64
4.06
2.62
8.02
Silicic acid
26.05
20.79
62.41
68.91
85.52
83.95
79.26
70.60
80.12
64.12
4.23
6.22
12.13
7.38
2.43
7.17
9.17
12.90
8 91
10.76
trace
trace
trace
0.32
0.15
trace
trace
trace
trace
Lime.
0.92
0.77
0.71
0.73
0.79
0.91
0.82
0.80
0.91
0.59
Magnesia ..
0.34
0.15
0.87
0.41
0.63
0.40
0.41
0.36
0.20
0.45
Soda and potash.
1.40
2.27
1.20
3.58
2.62
2.62
2.19
1.66
2.84
3.00
Phosphoric acid.
0.34
0.19
0.40
0.10
0.18
0.24
0.23
0.14
0.02
0.13
Insoluble matter found.
39.31
51. 9
84.33
86.11
94.54
97.90
93.72
90.52
95.61
87.07
Soluble matter found.
60.67
48.91
15.04
13.26
4.95
2.28
6.84
8.50
4.41
12.80
Total matter found.
99.68 100.10 -
99.37
99.37
99.47
100.18 100.56
99.02 100.02
99.87
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GEOLOGY.
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Alumina and trace of iron.
Manganese ..
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
A single analysis is appended of an upland prairie soil from the farm of John Howell, Esq., of Clarke County (No. 10). . Chemistry shows it to be extremely well equipped for all the purposes of agri- culture-a fact which has been amply demonstrated by practical tests. It agrees very closely with analysis No. 4, as will be seen by a comparison of the results. All that was said of the limestone gravel soil will apply to the one now under consideration.
These analyses were executed by Professor Wormley. They are full of scientific interest, and, it is also believed, of practical value. Some of the inferences fairly deducible from these figures have been made in the foregoing pages, and others will suggest them- selves to the intelligent reader.
No. 1. Mad River bottonis.
No. 2. Buck Creek bottoms.
No. 3. Subsoil of No. 2.
No. 4. Limestone gravel soil.
No. 5. White clay-unproductive.
.
No. 6. Subsoil of No. 5.
No. 7. Yellow clay, or common upland soil.
No. 8. Subsoil of No. 7.
No. 9. Yellow clay, or common upland soil.
No. 10. Upland prairie soil.
v. WATER-SUPPLY.
Brief mention must be made, in conclusion, of the water-supply of the county. The subject is one of great scientific and practical interest. It falls strictly within the purview of Geology, while at the same time it has most important relations to sanitary science.
Greene County has certainly a fair water-supply. It is not quite equal in this respect to Madison County, which must be set down as having, on the whole, the best watered area of the Third Geo- logical District; but, on the other hand, its natural supply is infi- nitely better than that of Clermont, Brown, and Hamilton coun- ties. A larger proportion of the water used by man and beast is derived from springs and the streams flowing from them than is usual in this section of the state. The Drift beds give rise to a part of these natural fountains, but all of these will be left out of present account, and attention will be asked only to the springs that issue from the bedded rocks.
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GEOLOGY.
There are three prominent horizons of springs in the strata of Greene County. The lowermost of these marks the junction of the Lower and Upper Silurian formations. All the conditions that favor the existence of numerous and generous springs are found here. The Clinton limestone furnishes a porous and fractured cap of considerable thickness, and the terminal shales of the Cincinnati group supply the impervious stratum which must turn the water outwards. It must also be remembered that this horizon is shown only along the sides of valleys which in themselves tempt the out- flow of subterranean water. This whole geological boundary is marked as a water-bearer. The fine spring at Goe's Station, which has been used as a source of railroad supply, may be taken as a rep- resentative of the class. The head spring of Ludlow Creek, on the line of the Xenia and Fairfield pike, is another that belongs to this belt. They are found by hundreds within the county. Occasion- ally springs issue from some point in the Clinton formation where its base is not exposed. There can be no doubt that in many such instances they have the same real source as those already named. Several fine springs near Grinnell's Mill belong to this category.
At a point about seventy-five feet higher in the scale the second of these water-bearing horizons is found. The summit of the Ni- agara shales is here reached, and throughout their whole extent in southern Ohio they make an important contribution to the natural water-supply. The springs issuing from this source are confined to two townships in Greene County, namely, Miami and Cedarville. Here, however, they are both numerous and important. Charac- teristic examples of them can be seen on the Water-cure grounds at Yellow Springs, now the farm of A. V. Sizer, Esq., along the gorge of the Little Miami from Grinnell's Mill to Clifton, and in the valley of Massie's Creek for two miles below Cedarville.
The third and last of these water-bearing beds is found from twenty to thirty feet above the one last named, in a shaly seam in the Springfield division of the Niagara series. It is of much less importance than either the others in every way. The seam of shale is too thin to make an effective stop to the descending water. Many fine springs, however, especially in the vicinity of the village of Yellow Springs, must be referred to this horizon. The most re- markable of all, that from which the village of Yellow Springs derives its name, appears to issue from this level. There is good reason, however, for believing that its source lies deeper, and that
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406
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
its outlet is obstructed at its true horizon. In other words, it is probably derived from the greater belt of shales below. Its tem- perature varies but little with the change of seasons, and its volume is not affected by drought or flood. Neither of these things could be true if its underground channel lay as close to the surface as its point of emergence would seem to indicate. According to measurements made twenty years ago, under the direction of Hon. William C. Mills, at that time its proprietor, its volume of water is one hundred and seven and one-half gallons per minute. From some chemical examinations also made at the date above given, the statement has been published that the spring " deposits bicarbonate of soda, magnesia, and iron, and is charged with carbonic acid gas." There are such obvious sins of omission in this statement that it fails to inspire confidence. Its water contains, as will be seen, in addition to the usnal impurities of limestone springs, a notable quantity of peroxide of iron. The ochreous travertine deposited by it has formed a bank in front of its point of issue that may be roughly estimated at seventy-eight thousand cubic yards. The deposit has doubtless raised the level of the spring to the point where it now appears. Its composition is shown in the appended analysis (Mees) :
Carbonate of lime, - 92.97
Carbonate of magnesia,
2.42
Sesquoixide of iron and alumina, 3.80
Silicious matter, - .80
99.99
A heavy bed of the same ochreous travertine that the spring is now depositing, roughly estimated at fifty-five thousand cubic yards, is found two hundred yards to the north of the present point of outflow, showing that in the course of its history the spring has been shifted latterally as well as vertically. The raising of the spring vertically must have been a gradual process, due to the blocking up of the outlet by the slow accumulation of traver- tine, but the transfer of its waters to a lower point of the glen must have been made at once.
Much of the surface of the main bank is covered with red cedar trees, some of which are at least a century old. From the relation
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GEOLOGY.
that the parts so covered bear to the rest of the formation, we can see how insignificant an item a century is in the ages of its growth.
No clue can be given as to the source of the iron of the spring. There is certainly no unusual amount of iron ore shown in any of the neighboring rock sections. Iron occurs quite abundantly in the state of sulphuret throughout the Niagara shales, but other springs of the region that traverse the same rocks and issue at the same horizon, contain no noticeable quantity of iron. If the waters of the spring were slowly infiltrated through some large deposit of ochreous gravel, such as the later stages of the Drift produced through all of this country, an adequate source for its mineral matter would be provided. There is room enough in the high lands to the northward for such deposits, but none can now be pointed out. If, on the other hand, the deposit is derived from the bedded rocks, we can be sure that cavernous spaces must be left underground by the removal of so much material.
·
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XENIA TOWNSHIP.
BOUNDARY AND HISTORY.
Inasmuch as Xenia City was the county seat, and the nucleus around which most of the subsequent settlements clustered, and, by natural sequence, the reservoir from which the greater portion of the earlier county history has been drawn, it was, therefore, unavoida- bly blended with and absorbed in the same, leaving facts for an indi- vidual history almost as anæmic as King Psamis's mummy in Cæsar's reply to Clodius over the Greek girl Zoe. Xenia should not, therefore, be jealous, or feel slighted, if she loses the luster of individual history in the more exalted flame of the initial point of county history.
.We may say, with Milton, " That other shape, if shape it might be called, that shape had none distinguishable" in corner, line, or angle. Beginning at the northwest corner, it runs east one-half mile, thence north one-half mile, thence east about one and one- half mile, thence south one mile, thence east to the river, thence in a southeast line one-half mile, turning abruptly southwest; again, southeast about three miles, then following a line a little west of south about a mile, then on an irregular line nearly east, a straight line south one-fourth mile, thence east bearing south, thence in a general south line bearing west to about a mile south of the Cleve- land and Columbus Railroad, thence southwest one mile, southeast one-fourth mile, southwest one-fourth mile, southeast one-half mile, southwest three-fourths of a mile, southeast one-half mile, thence, with Cæsar's Creek, about three miles, to L. Peterson's farm, thence north three-fourths of a mile, thence west, a little north, three miles, thence northwest one mile, thence north, about four miles, to the river, thence with the river about two miles, thence north one mile, west one-half mile, north one mile, west one-half mile, north one and one-half mile to place of beginning. These distances may
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XENIA TOWNSHIP.
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not be exactly correct, but the directions and proportion of distance are as nearly so as could well be obtained.
The history of this township is so intimately blended with that of the county that it will be difficult to discriminate facts common to both. Many years anterior to its permanent settlement by the whites, some parts of this township seemed to possess peculiar attractions for the Shawanoes nation of Indians, prominent among which was Chillicothe, an appellation extremely common among them, the name, also, of one of their principal tribes, as well as a town on the present site of Frankfort, Ross County; Westfall, Pick- away ; Piqua, Miami County ; and on the Maumee. The etymology of this word, according to the Wyandot, is, Tat-a-ra-ra-do-tia, or town at the leaning bank, and according to the Shawanoes, Chilli- cothe-otany, the latter syllable, otany, meaning town, and the for- mer by some defined to mean chilled coffee .. In contradistinction to other places of the same name, this town was called Old Chilli- cothe, and now it is known as Oldtown. Pleasantly situated near the Little Miami, about three miles north of the site of Xenia, it was a favorite rendezvous for the Indians, near which they planted their fields of maize, and in which they held their annual feast of green corn, dancing in thanks to the Great Spirit for his care over his red children.
In the year 1773, white men visited this place for the purpose of conciliating the Indians, and establishing amicable relations between the aboriginal owners of the soil and themselves. To this end, Captain Bullet, we are informed, came down the Ohio from Vir- ginia, to form a settlement in Kentucky. Leaving his companions on the river, he traveled through the wilderness to Old Chillicothe, to gain the consent of the Indians. Alone, bearing a white flag, he entered their town before he was discovered. Struck with admira- tion at his temerity, the Indians gathered around him, when, ac- cording to Burnett, the following dialogue ensued :
Indian Chief .- What news do you bring? Are you from the Long-knife? If you are an ambassador, why did you not send a runner?
Bullet .- I have no bad news. The Long-knife and the red men are at peace, and I have come among my brothers to have a friend- ly talk with them about settling on the other side of the Ohio.
Indian Chief .- Why did you not send a runner?
Bullet .- I had no runner swifter than myself; and as I was in
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
haste, I could not wait the return of a runner. If you were hungry, and had killed a deer, would you send your squaw to town to tell the news, and wait her return before you would eat ?
This illustration delighted the Indians, and unbending from their native stoicism, they responded with a hearty laugh, and conduct- ing their visitor to the principal wigwam, feasted him with venison ; and after smoking with him the pipe of peace, he addressed them as follows :
BROTHERS :- I am sent with my people, whom I left on the Ohio, to settle the country on the other side of that river, as low down as the falls. We came from Virginia. I only want the country to settle, and to cultivate the soil. There will be no objection to your hunting and trapping in it as heretofore. I hope you will live with us in friendship.
In reply, the principal chief arose and said:
BROTHER :- You have come a hard journey through the woods and the grass. We are pleased to find that your people, in settling our country, are not to disturb us in our hunting; for we must hunt to kill meat for our women and children, and to have some- thing to buy powder and lead, and procure blankets and other necessaries. We desire you will be strong in discharging your promises toward us, as we are determined to be strong in advising our young men to be kind, friendly, and peaceable toward you.
Having concluded his friendly mission, Captain Bullet returned to his companions, descended the river to the falls, and began his settlement.
Under very different circumstances was the advent of the next white man.
About the year 1777, Colonel Bowman sent Simon Kenton and two other men, Montgomery and Clark, on a scouting expedition to the old Shawanoes town, (now Oldtown,) on the Miami. Stealth- ily approaching the town at night, they observed a number of horses in an inclosure. These at the time were inestimable prizes, and forgetting their mission, they each mounted a horse, and, to cripple all pursuit, tied the others together, and started toward the Ohio. The Indians soon discovered their loss, and started in hot pursuit, and though at a distance, still followed the trail. When Kenton and his party arrived at the banks of the Ohio, they found it so rough that the horses would not venture in. A council was held, and in view of the great distance between them and their
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XENIA TOWNSHIP.
pursuers, it was resolved to remain until sunset, and await the probable abatement of the wind. On the contrary, however, the gale increased, and by night the river was absolutely impassable.
In the morning, while Kenton was standing some distance from his comrades, he observed three Indians and a white man approach- ing him on horseback. His rifle was at once to his eye, and aiming at the breast of the foremost Indian, he pulled the trigger; but the gun missed fire. Kenton made good use of his legs, but was soon caught, bound, and brought back. The Indians were very angry at the loss of their horses, and manifested their displeasure in no gentle way, by seizing Kenton by the hair, and shaking him " till his teeth rattled; " scourging him over the head with thir ramrods, at every blow hissing through their teeth, " Steal Indian hoss, hey !" At this juncture Montgomery came .bravely to his assistance, when two savages emptied their rifles into his breast, and he fell on the spot, and in a moment his bloody scalp was shaken in the captive's face, with threats of a similar fate. In the meantime Clark, unob- served by the Indians, who were giving Kenton their sole attention, slipped away and escaped.
Kenton was thrown upon his back, his face to the sun, his neck fastened to a sapling by a halter, his arms stretched to their full extent, and pinned to the ground by stakes, his legs forced apart and secured in the same way. A stick was placed across his. breast, and each end fastened to the ground, so that he could not move his body. This was done, too, in the most accomplished style of savage cruelty-kicks, cuffs, and blows, accompanied with imprecations of "a tief," " a hoss steal," " a rascal," "a squaw," etc., prefixed always with " damn." In this uncomfortable condition, Kenton remained all day and the next night. In the morning, the Indians having collected their scattering horses, selected one of the wildest and most vicious colts, placed Kenton upon it, tied his hands behind him, and his feet under its belly, and started him ahead of them, through the thick woods and brambles, on their return. At night they halted, and untying their prisoner, who was now bloody and scarred from the scratches of the brush and brambles, placed him in the same uncomfortable position as the night before.
"Again the horse was brought; 'Twas but a day he had been caught ; And snorting, with erected mane, And struggling fiercely, but in vain.
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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
In the full foam of wrath and dread, To me the desert-born was led ; They bound me on, that menial throng, Then loosed him, with a sudden lash- Away ! away! and on we dash."
The following day, they reached the Indian village of Chillicothe- now Oldtown in this county-on the Little Miami. In the mean- time, a courier had preceeded them, and informed the village of their arrival, every member of which came running to look at the illustrious captive. One of the chiefs, Blackfish, with a stout hick- ory in his hand approached Kenton, and accosted him thus: " You have been stealing our horses, have you ?"
" Yes," was Kenton's bold reply.
" Did Col. Boone tell you to steal our horses?" " No," answered Kenton, "I did it of my own accord."
Blackfish then applied the hickory so vigorously over the bare head and shoulders of the captive, as to cause the rapid flow of blood, accompanied with the acutest pain. The whole motley crew, con- sisting of nearly two hundred men, women, and children, now sur- rounded him, yelling, hooting, and screaming like the stygian off- spring of the hadean guard, stopping often to beat and kick him, and calling loudly for his immediate execution at the stake, that their savage eyes might behold the pleasing spectacle. A stake was driven in the ground, and Kenton was firmly lashed to it with rawhide thongs. Piece by piece, the demoniac hags stripped his clothing off, and danced, yelling fiendlishly around, till midnight, when he was released to run the gauntlet next morning. .
Nearly three hundred savages of all ages, and both sexes were assembled for the occasion. Stretching away in two parallel lines about six feet apart, the Indians stood armed with axes, clubs, hick- orys, and all sorts of weapons. Between these lines the unfortunate victim, naked, and already bleeding, was compelled to run, with the glimmering prospect of safety in the council house. With his arms above his head, he swiftly flies down the line, receiving at each step, kicks, blows, stripes, and wounds, until, at the lower extremity, he observes two warriors with knives ready to take his life. Breaking through the lines, he rushes for the council house, pursued by the howling redskins. Just as he had reached the town, and the coun- cil house was within his reach, he was confronted by an Indian with his blanket around him, walking leisurely out to the same. Fling-
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XENIA TOWNSHIP.
ing off his covering, he sprang upon Kenton, who, exhausted, and wounded could but feebly resist, and was soon surrounded by the enraged crowd, who kicked, and scourged him until he was nearly dead. When he had partially recovered, they brought him food and water, and as soon as he was able, they took him to the council house to decide upon his fate. The warriors disposed themselves in a circle, with an old chief in the center. Many speeches were made, some for burning, and some for mercy; but Kenton soon learned from the ferocious glances cast upon him that his fate was sealed. After the deliberations and speeches, the old chief passed the war club to the nearest warrior, and with a knife and stick prepared to register the votes. Those who were in favor of death, struck the ground violently with the club, those to the contrary passed it on ; a notch was cut on one side for death, and on the op- posite for mercy. It was soon decided in favor of death, at which one prolonged shout arose.
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