History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 36

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

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eupaney of the soil, and that possibly the former were the descendants of the latter. On the other hand, it seems probable that, if this be true, the Indians would have some traditional

or other knowledge of the mounds, fortifica-

tions, sepulchers, templar structures and va- rious species of implements, undoubtedly be- longing to the earlier race. However, with few exceptions, they profess utter ignorance. In opposition to this view, it is claimed that the

Indians have deteriorated in mental power-

have lost the use of many arts, etc., known to their alleged remote ancestors. And again, to meet this, it is asserted that many centuries elapsed from the Mound-Builders' period to the Indians, thus precluding the idea that the latter were their descendants. From their works is derived all that we know of their history, hab- its, modes of life, degree of civilization, knowl- edge of the arts of peace and war, mental and moral progress; but their fate is wrapped in darkness. Many of their mounds and other earthworks have been found from time to time in Summit County ; and so much interest has been aroused regarding this almost unknown race of people, and so much light thrown by patient labor upon their mysterious lives, that

a brief statement will here be given of the prog- ress that has been made in this branch of archæological research, before entering upon the description of the mounds in this county.

Of all States or countries of the same limit, Ohio furnishes a greater number of earthworks, supposed to have been erected by Mound- Builders, than any other. The extent, variety, magnitude and labyrinthian intricacy of the Ohio mounds have rendered them of great value to antiquarians, who have come in pursuit of knowledge from distant parts of the globe. Here may be seen the perishing remains of gigantic artificial structures, that reared their summits high in the air, long years before the State was covered with its present quality of timber, and unknown years before the Indians' occupancy of the soil. These structures, or mounds, have been properly divided into mounds proper, effigies and inclosures. Mounds proper have been subdivided into sepulchral, templar, sacrificial, memorial and observatory. Effigies are animal, emblematic and symbolical. It- closures are military, covered or sacred .* The greater portion of the above works were con- structed of earth, a few of stone, and fewer still of earth and stone combined. Sepulchral mounds are usually conical, and some of them, notwithstanding the lapse of time, are seventy feet in height. They are more numerous than any other class, and beyond doubt were erected as memorials to the dead. They always con- tain one or more skeletons, together with im- plements and ornaments supposed to have been placed there when the individual was buried, for use in the Spirit Land. The mounds are of all sizes, and it has been conjectured that their magnitude bears some relation to the prominence of the persons in whose honor they were erected. Ashes and charcoal are often found in proximity to the skeletons, under con- ditions which render it probable that fires were used in the burial ceremony. With the skel-

etons are also found specimens of mica, pot- tery, bone and copper beads, and animal bones. Though in this class of mounds, ordinarily but one skeleton is found, yet sometimes several are unearthed. A few years ago, a mound, sit-

uated in Lieking County, was opened, and found to contain, in whole or in part, seventeen skeletons. But the most noteworthy of all the mounds was one in Hardin County, which con-

*Isaac Smucker, in Ohio Statistics.

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HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

tained 300 crumbling skeletons. Col. Whittle- sey and others, however, entertained the opin- ion that they belonged to the Indians, who had used the mounds for burial purposes. Templar mounds are few in number, and are ordinarily circular. They are invariably truncated, and are often surrounded with embankments, in- clined planes or spiral pathways or steps, lead- ing to the summit. They are found round, square, oblong, oval and octangular, and rest generally upon a large base, but have a lim- ited altitude. It is supposed that these eleva- tions were surmounted with wooden temples, all traces of which have been removed by the ravages of time. These mounds and the build- ings at their summits are thought to have been erected for religious purposes. Sacrificial mounds are ordinarily stratified, with convex layers of clay and loam above a stratum of sand. They generally contain ashes, charcoal, igneous stones, calcined animal bones, beads, stone implements, pottery and specimens of rude sculpture. They are often found within inclosures, which are supposed to have been connected with the religious ceremonies of the Mound-Builders.

Altars of igneous clay or stone are often found. Evidences of fire upon the altars yet remain, showing that various ani- mals and probably human beings were immo- lated to secure the favor of the Great Spirit. These mounds infrequently contain skeletons, together with implements of war; mica from the Alleghanies ; shells from the Gulf of Mex-

ico ; differently colored varieties of obsidian ; red, purple and green specimens of porphyry ; and silver, copper and other metallic ornaments and utensils. Mounds of observation were ap- parently designed for alarm-towers . or signal

stations. Some writers have fancied that they

" occur in chains, or regular systems, and that

many of them still bear traces of the beacon fires that were once burning upon them." They are often found built like towers from the sum- mits of embankments surrounding inclosures.

One of the latter, in Licking County, has a

height of twenty-five feet. " Along the Miami River," says Judge Force, "are dotted small mounds or projecting highlands, which seem to have been built to carry intelligence by signals

along the valley." Memorial mounds are of that class of tumuli intended to commemorate some important event, or to perpetuate the memory of some distinguished character. Most

of the stone mounds belong to this class, and usually contain no bones, for the supposed rea- son that they were used only for sepulchers. They are thought to correspond in design with the Bunker Hill Monument, and with the beau- tiful marble column on the field of Gettysburg.

Effigies are elevations of earth in the form of men, beasts, birds, reptiles and, occasionally, of inanimate objects, varying in height from one foot to six feet above the surrounding soil, and often covering many acres of land. Mr. Schoolcraft expresses the belief that this class of mounds was designed for "totems" or tribu- lar symbols ; while Prof. Daniel Wilson and other writers of distinction entertain the opin- ion that they were erected in accordance with the religious belief of the various tribes of Mound-Builders, who worshiped, or in some way venerated, the animals or objects repre- sented by the elevations. A large mound near Newark represents a bird of enormous size, with its wings outspread in the act of flight. Its total length is about 200 feet. An excava- tion in this effigy disclosed a clay and stone altar, upon which were evidences of fire, to- gether with ashes and charcoal. The sur- roundings indicated that the altar had been used for sacrificial offerings. It is called " Eagle Mound" from its fancied resemblance to that bird. Another mound near Newark repre- sents a huge alligator, having a total length of 200 feet. Prof. Wilson believes that it "symbolizes some object of special awe and veneration, thus reared on one of the chief ' high places' of the nation, with its accompany- ing altar, upon which these ancient people of the valley could witness the celebration of the rites of their worship, its site having been ob- viously selected as the most prominent feature in a populous district abounding with military, civic and religious structures." The greatest breadth of the body is twenty feet, and its

body from hind legs to fore legs is fifty feet. Each limb is twenty-five feet long. The prin- cipal portions of the animal are elevated about six feet, while other portions are much lower. The most remarkable mound in Ohio is in Adams County. Its form is that of an enor- mous serpent, more than a thousand feet in length. with body in graceful, anfractuos folds, and tail ending in triple coils. The greatest width of the body is thirty feet, and the effigy is elevated about five feet above the surround-

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ing soil. "The neck of the figure," says the American Cyclopedia, " is stretched out and slightly curved, and the mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partly within the dis- tended jaws. The combined figure has been regarded by some as a representation of the oriental cosmological idea of the serpent and the egg."

Defensive inclosures are irregular in form, and are always on high ground, in positions diffi- cult to approach by a savage foc. "The walls," says the American Cyclopedia, " generally wind around the borders of the elevations they occu- py, and when the nature of the ground renders some points more accessible than others, the height of the wall and the depth of the ditch at these weak points are proportionally in- creased. The gateways are narrow and few in number, and well guarded by embankments of earth placed a few yards inside of the openings or gateways, and parallel with them, and pro- jecting 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. These works are some- what numerous, and indicate a clear apprecia- tion of, at least, the elements of fortification, and unmistakably point out the purpose for which they were constructed. A large num- ber of these defensive works consist of a line of (litches and embankments, or several lines, carried across the neck of peninsulas or bluff headlands, formed within the bends of streams -an easy and obvious mode of fortification common to all rude peoples." The embank- ments of one of this class in Warren County are nearly four miles in length, varying in height from ten to twenty feet to accord with the locality to be protected, and inclose several hundred acres. Covered ways or parallel walls are often found, either connecting different in- closures or portions of the same. They were undoubtedly designed to protect those passing back and forth within. There are large num- bers of sacred inclosures in the form of circles, squares, hexagons, octagons, ellipses, parallelo- grams and others, many of which were designed with surprising geometrical accuracy. They are sometimes found within military inclosures, and very likely were connected with the relig- ious rites and ceremonies of the people, as small elevations are found within them, which were

evidently used for altars, upon which sacrifices of various kinds were offered. Some archæolo- gists maintain that many of the so-called sacred inclosures were intended and used for national games and celebrations, and it is probable that those without the altar were used as such.

The mounds and their contents afford abun- dant opportunity to speculate as to the charac- ter and customs of the ancient people, of whom nothing is left save their crumbling habitations. They were a numerous people, as is clearly proved by the magnitude and elaboration of their works. Their presence here, beyond ques- tion, antedates the coming of Columbus, and very probably extends back a thousand years or more. Perhaps a majority of intelligent men who have made the subject a study, place the Mound-Builders' period back to that of the Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians-to a period two or three or more thousand years be- fore the Christian era. Many interesting and important considerations, too lengthy to be narrated here, have been discovered in com- paring the customs of the Mound-Builders with those of ancient nations in the East. An un- accountable similarity is found in religion, in the arts of war and peace, in character and quality of habitations, in methods of agricul- ture, in domestic affairs, and in many other essen- tial particulars. The Mound-Builders were un- questionably subservient to rulers, or superiors, who had power to enforce the erection of gigan- tic structures, which, considering the semi- barbarous condition of the people, their lack of suitable implements of labor, and their imper- fect and insufficient knowledge of mechanical principles, are surprisingly vast in extent and ingenious in design. Their works indicate that the people were warlike ; that they were famil- iar with many mathematical and mechanical rules ; that they were religious and probably idolatrous ; that they were skilled in the man- ufacture of bone and metallic ornaments and pottery ; that they had attained no little degree of perfection in the working of metals ; and that they were essentially homogeneous in cus- toms, pursuits, religion and government. They of necessity were an agricultural people, being too numerous to live by the chase alone. They offered burnt and other sacrifices and oblations, to both good and bad spirits. Dr. Foster says they worshiped the elements, such as fire, air and water-also the sun, moon and stars, and

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HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

offered human sacrifices to the gods they wor- shiped. Yet many of these views are specu- lative, and have but little substantial evidence upon which to rest. Authorities are widely at variance in their views. But little can ever be known of the history of these people, yet throughout all the future, the civilized world will look with awe upon the decaying remnants of their works, and weave the bright fabric of romance about their mysterious lives.

This much has been given on the authority, among others, of Schoolcraft, Wilson, Pidgeon, Smucker, the American Cyclopedia and others, to prepare the way for the classification and detailed description of the ancient earth and stone works in this county. While almost every township can boast of the presence of these works within its limits, yet they are found in greatest number and magnitude along the val- ley of the Cuyahoga River, or on the adjacent highlands. It not infrequently happened that Indian villages were built on the sites of these ancient works, and care must be used to pre- vent confounding Indian earthworks with those of the Mound-Builders. A few of the princi- pal mounds and inclosures in the county have been personally inspected by the writer, and these and all others of sufficient importance will be described. The inclosures usually oc- cupy naturally strong, defensive positions, and, where necessary, are formed by earth embank- ments, varying in altitude and basal diameter, and protected on the outer side by a deep pit or moat. On the farm of Milton Arthur, Esq., Northfield Township, is an ancient earth forti- fication, of which the following description is given by Charles Whittlesey : " The engineers who selected the site of this fortification un- derstood very well the art of turning natural advantages to good account. Why they did not embrace in their plan the whole of the level space on the erest of the bluff is not easily ex- plained, unless we presume that their numbers were few, and not sufficient to defend the whole. On all sides, the gullies are from eighty to one hundred and ten feet deep, and are worn by running water into the blue and yellow hard-pan that here forms the bluffs along the Cuyahoga River. The earth is as steep as it will stand, and, in fact, is subject to slides, which leave the soil in terraces, resembling platforms made by art. Before the ground was cultivated, the ditches are said by the owner to have been

so deep that a man standing in them could not look over the wall. In the gully on the north, the water is permanent at all seasons. But the ancient inhabitants appear to have dug wells within the fort at two or more points, and these, as stated by old settlers, were stoned up like our wells. On the western face of the bluff, near where the road descends, is a small spring, not reliable at all seasons. There are double earth embankments on each exposed side of the fortification, though they do not extend en- tirely across the necks of land, there being in two or three cases a small space left at the ends, apparently for a passage-way. There is one small mound within the inclosure, and another just without. The approach is along a sharp ridge, called a hog's back, nearly broad enough for a single road track, for the distance of thirty rods, and the sides are as steep as any part of the bluffs adjacent. It is not very evident why a few rods of ground were cut off by lines at the southwest angle, nor why part of the ditch was made on the inside on the north and west." It must be observed that inclosures of this character in the county are formed by an earth embankment and a moat or ditch running along its side, sometimes within and sometimes with- out the fort. There are two or more others in Northfield, similar in construction to the one described. One of these is protected on one side by a steep declivity, while on the exposed sides is a semi-circular embankment in the form of the curved portion of the letter D. Near the residence of John Hovey, in Northamp- ton, is a fort which, in early years, must have been one of the finest in the county. The em- bankment inclosed several acres, and was five or six feet in height, and near the walls were several low mounds, and small circular excava- tions, apparently designed for arrow pits. The walls can still be traced, although they have been plowed over many years. Several small forts are to be seen in Boston Township. There are mounds at the farms of Ambrose Bliss, Mr. Wetmore, James Fairweather, Mr. McKay, and the old farm of Watrons Mather. These are usually some five or six feet in height, and twenty or twenty-five feet in diameter at the base. Several have been opened, but nothing noteworthy was discovered. In the western part of Northampton Township, where Hale Run and Furnace Run come quite close to- gether, is perhaps the most important fortifica-

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tion of the kind in the county. The streams approach each other, and form a steep, narrow ridge, barely wide enough for the passage of a wagon. This ridge descends some ten feet be- low the mainland, to which it is connected, and extends about fifteen rods, when it gradually assumes a width of some ten rods, and, finally, after a distance of perhaps eighty rods from the mainland is reached, the bluff terminates perpendicularly to the railroad track. When the ridge begins to widen, it ascends until on a level with the mainland. Beyond the neck or ridge, the summit of the bluff consists of about eight acres, and at the eastern extremity, where, on all sides except the western, the bluff ter- minates as abruptly as the soil will rest, is a well-defined earth fortification. Back toward the mainland, at a distance to leave at the ex- tremity of the bluff about five acres, an unusually large earth embankment, with its ditch, extends across the ridge at right angles to its course. The embankment is much larger than any other seen by the writer in the county, and at each end is an open space, evidently designed as a passage. On both sides of these two open spaces, are perhaps fifteen small circular exca- vations, arranged so as to guard the passages, and seemingly intended for arrow pits. The embankment is four or five rods in length, and on the side toward the extremity of the bluff, several of the supposed arrow pits are found at a considerable distance from the open spaces. In fact, proceeding from the embankment to- ward the termination of the bluff, it becomes at once apparent that arrow pits were dug along the edge of the bluff, to defend the position from an assaulting foe, that might make the effort to ascend the steep sides. At the eastern end of the bluff, within a small area, are some fifteen or twenty more arrow pits, one of them being about eight feet across and three feet deep. This is one of the strongest positions of the kind in the county.

In the same neighborhood are several other forts, two of them being small with quite high, irregular walls, which seem to be strengthened by bastions, though William Hale and others reject this idea as improbable. These inclos- ures comprise from two to five square rods of land, and the interior has the appearance, as if a party of men, with spades, had thrown up the irregular embankment, leaving the surface extremely uneven. There are, also, in the

same neighborhood, in a cultivated field, eight mounds, one of them, over which the plow has run for many years, being four feet high and eighty feet in diameter at the base. This is said to have been over eight feet high in early years. An Indian skeleton, in a fair state of preservation, was unearthed a number of years ago on the summit about two feet below the surface. An excavation was made to the cen- ter of this mound, and a small quantity of crumbled and crumbling bones was found. William Hale, who was present at the time, states that the bones were found in a position to lead to the inference that the party or parties were buried in a sitting posture, as the bones of the body, save those of the arms and legs, were together, while the latter extended out into the sandy soil like lines of chalk. The remains, when found, were sufficiently well pre- served to prove beyond doubt that they were bones, though whether they were human bones or not is another question, not quite so well cleared up. The evidence satisfied all present. however, that the remains were those of human beings. The other seven mounds are not quite so large, and those which have been opened contained nothing of importance. It is thought that the large mound contained the crumbling bones of more than one person. The quantity found, and its state of preservation. would lead to this view. One of the small, irregular forts referred to above and found in this neigh- borhood on quite low land, has a double wall on the side adjoining the river. Another in- closure near this, but on high land, is an irregu- lar octagon in shape, and comprises over half an acre of land. William Hale's residence is situated in a small valley, which, in his opinion, was once a cultivated field. At the earliest settlement, the land was covered with a heavy forest; but, when this was removed and the soil turned up by the plow, various implements were found, among which were arrow and spear heads ; fleshing instruments of flint ; pestles and mortars ; a small, smooth, hard, flat stone, shaped like a diamond, with the central portion elongated and perforated with a hole near each end, supposed to have been used in weaving a coarse cloth; and a rough, irregular stone, six or eight inches in diameter, flat on two sides. on one of which were from one to six artificial holes, about an inch deep and an inch and a half across, the use of which is extremely diffi-

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HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

cult to determine. Many of these various kinds are found a few rods north of Botzurn Sta- tion, on the extremity of a bluff, through which the railroad cut has been made, in an Indian burying-ground. It comprises about an aere of land, and some forty skeletons, the most of which were in a fair state of preservation, have been unearthed, and many more are yet in the ground. They were first discovered in 1843, when an addition made to the canal disclosed

several at the point of the bluff. When the railroad was cut through the center of this burying-ground, thirty or forty skeletons were plowed out in almost as many minutes. They were lying in somewhat irregular rows, which extended north and south, while the individ- uals lay with their heads some to the east and some to the west. There were skeletons of

males and females, and perhaps one-third of these belonged to children. Many crumbled to pieces immediately ; but quite a number of skulls and some of the larger bones were pre- served for several years-are perhaps in exist- ence yet. The soil where each skeleton lay, was discolored-was black-and in one of the graves was found a stone kettle, four inches deep and eight inches across. Various imple- ments have been found in the soil and on the surface. The skeletons were lying about two feet beneath the surface. The teeth were as sound and white, apparently, as when their owners used them. Very likely many of the owners of these skeletons had been killed dur- ing the latter part of the last century, by dar- ing borderers from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Perhaps the grandfathers of those who assisted in unearthing these skeletons, were among these borderers. Probably the most important earth inclosure in the county, is in Copley Township, near the residence of Delos Bosworth. In the center of a swamp of muck and marl and partially formed peat, is a circular island about twenty-five rods across, which is elevated from five to fifteen feet above the surface of the swamp. There is no natural approach to this island. It is surrounded on all sides by twenty or thirty rods of what, in early years, must have been an impassable swamp. On this island and almost covering it, is an artifi- cial inclosure of earth. The embankment is about two feet high, and the ditch is on the outside. There are twelve or fifteen openings in the wall, and a causeway of earth leads from

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 36

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104