USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > The past and present of Mill Creek Valley, being a collection of historical and descriptive sketches of that part of Hamilton County, Ohio > Part 4
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in Cincinnati, rode with the company also, it being on his way home. And Thomas Goudy (who was the first practicing lawyer in Cincin- nati), with two young women, Abby Coch- rane and Sarah Freeman, went along with the company on horseback as a mere pleasure ex- cursion.
They reached Ludlow's cabins without en- countering any trouble, and Captain White and his party moved on toward their destination.
The road from Ludlow's improvement to White's station had been opened and traveled for several years previous, and formed a part of the great highway leading from Fort Wash- ington to Fort Hamilton, over which had been wagoned or packed all the supplies and muni- tions for Wayne's army. Along this road White's party, including Goudy and the tivo young women, had proceeded not more than half a mile when they heard a volley of mus- ketry but a short distance up the road. They knew from the almost simultaneous discharge of the guns that the firing did not proceed from hunters, and at once suspected that the Ind ans were engaged in some work of death. The whole party were alarmed, and some were excited with fear. Captain White, who was experienced in Indian warfare, having
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BLOODY RUN.
been raised on the borders of Pennsylvania, endeavored in vain to rally them. They returned in confusion to Ludlow's cabins, where they all came to a halt except lawyer Goudy and the two young ladies, who con- tinued their flight down the road to Cincinnati. Captain White determined to remain upon the ground for a time and await further events. It was not long until two men on horseback came dashing down the road. They proved to be pack-horsmen, in the government ser- vice, and from them he learned that the firing was indeed an affair of death. There were four of these men in company, who, while stopping at a little stream beyond to give their horses drink, received a volley from a small band of Indians concealed by the road side. One of their number fell instantly killed, an- other was severely, and a third slightly wound- ed. On learning this grave news, Captain White speedily returned to Ludlow's improve - ment, accompanied by the two men, one of whom was slightly wounded. There he procured a sufficient force and started in pursuit of the sava res. They were not successful in over- taking them, however, but they found the body of the man that was killed, and buried him near the spot where he fell. They also found
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
and took charge of the other soldier who was severely wounded, and sent him to Ludlow's station (now Cumminsville), where he was left at the house of Abner Boston, and where, after lingering for several days, he died. This event gave the name of Bloody Run to the little stream where it occurred, which it still re -. tains.
In 1857, the late Solomon Burkhalter (who died in Reading but a few years since), while engaged in building a new bridge over Bloody Run, dug up the remains of the poor fellow who, sixty-three years before, had fallen there. Not knowing what else to do, Mr. Burkhalter placed the bones deeper in the earth, beneath the abutment, where all that is left of this un- known soldier still remains.
THE OLD BURYING GROUND.
South of the aqueduct at Carthage, upon a little knoll overlooking the villages beneath it, is an object of peculiar interest.
Once so lonely in its wilderness seclusion, now an open, conspicuous, and sunny spot on the margin of the canal ; so near. as to tremble at passing railroad trains ; molested by the " secular confusions " of the fair grounds, but
باعه
non
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THE OLD BURYING GROUND.
undisturbed by the spirit-like communications carried on over the telegraphic and telephonic wires stretched almost immediately above this "noiseless suburb of the land Elysian." Let us enter there. The graves cannot be counted : not because they are numberless, but because nature's hand has smoothed the many "mouldering heaps " down to the level of the earth, and covered and concealed the dream- less ones, so that no evidence whatever re- mains to show that the green sod had ever been broken for the sepulture of the dead. Some graves are yet marked by the still protrud- ing head or foot-stone, but they, too, seem to seek obscurity underneath the ground. Only a few, distinguishable by a simple monu- ment.
On a mouldering stone we read :
"EDWARD WHITE, The 2d. Born 1746. Died 1798."
Born in England, died on the American frontier ! What sought he and his silent part- ners thus afar? Out on the skirmish line of advancing civilization, they fell early on the ground where the battle was finally fought and won.
Here were buried Andrew Goble, and two of Mrs. Pryor's children, who were .
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
killed by the Indians at the time of the battle at White's station. Here also sleep two of the Rudolphs, uncle and cousin to Mrs. Lucretia R. wife of the lamented GARFIELD.
After their toil and struggles and privations, after their homely joys and enduring triumphs, they sleep well. Do they sleep?
" These under-earth inhabitants -- are they But mingled millions decomposed to clay ? Or do they in their silent cities dwell, Each in his incommunicative cell ?
CLIMATE NINETY YEARS AGO.
The Ohio and Scioto companies, in order to induce immigration, sent Joel Barlow to. Europe for this purpose.
He described to the toiling denizens of Paris, the new world to which they were invited, in the following language :-
" The climate of Ohio is wholesome and de- lightful. Fruit, even in winter, is almost en- tirely unknown. The river, called by way of eminence, 'The Beautiful' abounds in excel- lent fish of a vast size. There are noble forests, consisting of trees which spontaneously produce sugar. There is a plant which yields ready-made candles. There is venison in
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INDIAN SUMMER.
plenty, the pursuit of which is uninterrupted by wolves, foxes, lions or tigers. A couple of swine will multiply themselves a hundred fold in two or three years, without taking any care of them. There are no taxes to pay and no military service to be performed."
This might have been so then; but if so, how changed !
D
INDIAN SUMMER.
We obtain an idea of Indian summer, such as the early settlers saw, from a descrip- tion of this remarkable season of the year found in Drake's "Pictures of Cincinnati in 1815."
" It began in October and November, and continued generally two or three weeks with occasional storms. The atmosphere was, for the most part, dry, serene, and smoky, through which the sun and moon, in the morning and evening, exhibited a face of darkened crimson. The verdure of the forest faded away or passed into the cloudless varieties of brown, red and yellow, which gave to the surrounding scenery a dull and sombre aspect."
The cause of the smokiness was supposed to be conflagrations by the Indians of withered
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
grass and herbs in the extensive prairies of the North-west.
" Apollo still our long, long summer gilds,"
But the mellow days of the Indian summer seem to have departed with the red man, to return no more; at least such as were seen by our forefathers, a half a hundred years ago.
" From gold to gray Our mild sweet day Of Indian summer fades too soon ; But tenderly Above the sea Hangs, white and calm, the hunter's. moon." John Greenleaf Whittier.
SIGNIFICANCE AND ORIGIN OF THE NAME OHIO.
Kis-ke-pi-la-sepe, i. e., Eagle river, was the name given to the Ohio river by the Shawanoese. But the Wyandots, who were in this country generations before the Shawanoese, called it O, he, zuh. This is regarded as the primitive name and means, "great, grand and fair to look upon." The French voyagers used this name in their boat songs-adopting its signification when they called it La Belle Riviere.
" Romantick is Ohio's stream,
Through wild woods wandering, deep, and slow, While on its waveless mirror seen Cliffs, trees, and clouds, inverted glow. CINCINNATI, 1829.
N. Guilford.
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HAMILTON COUNTY.
CHAPTER X.
HAMILTON COUNTY
A S at first organized, included about one- eighth of the present area of Ohio.
Clermont, Warren, Butler, Preble, Mont- gomery, Greene, Clinton, Champaign, Miami and Drake counties were formed out of it.
It embraces at present about 390 square miles, or 249 thousand acres.
It is bounded on the south by the Ohio river ; on the west by Dearborn county, Indi- ana; on the north by Butler and Warren counties, and on the east by the Little Miami river.
It was named " Hamilton " county by Gov- ernor St. Clair, in honor of Alexander Ham- ilton, then Secretary of the United States Treasury.
The population of the county in 1880 was 313,870. 4
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
Was organized in 1795. It now contains
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
forty-two sections, some of them being ·less than full size, and containing twenty-five thousand eight hundred and ninety-six acres, and, next to Sycamore township, is the largest in the county.
It is bounded on the north by Butler county, on the west by Coleran, on the south by Mill creek and on he east by Sycamore township. The eastern part of it is in Mill Creek valley. The east and west forks of Mill creek unite in this township, and which, with their tributaries, - render it a well watered region.
The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton rail- road runs through the eastern part ; the Day- ton Short Line, through the north-east corner ; the College Hill road has two miles of track laid in the south-western part. The Cincinnati, Avondale, Glendale and Hamilton narrow guage is projected to form a junction with the Cincinnati Northern upon whose track it seeks to enter the city.
The old Hamilton turnpike passes through it from north to south. The old Wayne war trace is now an avenue through Carthage, Hart- well. Maplewood. Lockland, Woodlawn, to Glendale, Springdale and Hamilton : also the Winton road or pike affords traveling accommo- dations. The Lebanon pike touches the south-
W
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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.
east corner. The Miami canal traverses it about two miles.
The remains of the Mound Builders are found in this township. Mr. Olden says :-
A number of mounds and other ancient relics have been discovered in Springfield and Sycamore townships. There is a small mound on the Readinbo farm (now belonging to the estate of Dr. Wright). It is of the ordinary conical shape, at present seventy-five feet in diameter, and seven to eight feet high ; having been plowed over for many years, its height is greatly reduced. Another of more singular construction is situated on the lands formerly belonging to Price Thompson. It consists of a circular excavation, 500 feet in circumfer- ence, with an embankment on the outer circle, which originally must have been twelve to fif- teen feet high, measuring from the bottom of the excavation. In the centre of this circle is a conical shaped mound, raised as high, or perhaps to a greater height than the outer em- bankment. The many centuries of rains and the recent cultivation of the lands have greatly m :rred the shape and former appearance of this work. The writer remembers it fifty years ago, then much more distinct and prom- inent. Its outlines, however, are still plainly traceable.
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
On the farm of Mr. James Shepherd, ad- joining Lockland, is a small mound, forty feet in diameter at the base, five feet high, and of oval shape. About two hundred yards east, and on the lands of Mr. Francis Pentland, is an excavation from which there is little doubt the earth was taken that forms the mound. A few years ago Mr. Shepherd dug into it and found at its centre base a heap of ashes and charcoal, but nothing more.
Another small mound, about the same di- mensions as the last described, except that it is one foot higher, is situated in section 4, Spring- field township, on the lands of Noah Babs.
One, larger than either of the two last men- tioned, is on the farm now owned by Maynard French, in section 11, Springfield township, south of Glendale. It is seventy-three feet in diameter north and south, and sixty-three feet east and west, at the base, with an altitude of eight feet. It is covered with forest trees, oak and ash, some of which are more than twenty inches in diameter. Some persons in digging into it years ago, left two uneven and ill-look- ing depressions, which mar the appearance of this otherwise beautiful little mound."
As a theatre of war, it may be stated, that it has resounded to the tread of armed men ;
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
a portion of General Clark's forces in 1780, and the left wing of General Harmar's army in 1791, passed through it on the way to chastise the Indians of the Miami valley ; the armies of St. Clair and Wayne crossed and recrossed it; the rebels, under the command of General John H. Morgan, passed through Springdale and Glendale in 1863, and General Hobson, commanding the union forces, in pur- suit.
Dr. Drake in his "Pictures of Cincinnati," says : "In 1810, Springfield township had nearly 58 inhabitants to each square mile, and could certainly support many more."
It is now populous and wealthy. Its farm lands are rich and highly improved. Some of the principal suburbs of Cincinnati are in it- Glendale, Springdale, Woodlawn, Park Place. Wyoming, Lockland, Maplewood, Hartwell, and North Carthage.
Its tax duplicate in 1880, exclusive of incor- porated villages, was. $2,907,834, and its pop- ulation was 7,979.
MILL CREEK VALLEY
Comprises the following political divisions : That part of Cincinnati township lying im- mediately on each side of Mill creek at its
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
entrance into the Ohio river, Mill Creek township, Springfield township, and the west- ern part of Sycamore township.
It extends from the Ohio river to the Great Miami river bed at Hamilton.
In Judge Burnet's note on the North-west territory we read, that
"Those who are acquainted with Mill Creek valley know that it is connected with the Great Miami in the neighborhood of Hamilton, and that there is now a large pond near that · place, about twenty miles from Cincinnati. from which, in wet seasons, the water passes through Pleasant Run into the Miami below Hamilton, and by Mill creek into the Ohio at Cincinnati.
Geologists claim that nothing but drift ter- races, that make the walls of the present course of the Big Miami, shut out that stream from entering the Ohio river where Mill creek now enters it, and assert that there is the best rea- son for believing that the Great Miami at one time did pursue this valley, or ancient river bed, to the Ohio, and furthermore, speak of it now as "a deep and wide valley traversed by an insignificent stream, wholly inadequate to account for the erosion of which it has availed itself."
*
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
There was a time, it is asserted, when there was no valley here, or rather, no hills in Ham- ilton county. They are merely the isolated remnants of the old plateau which so long and so far have resisted the slow process of denud- ation. This valley is the result of that erosion.
A scholarly gentleman * passing through Mill Creek valley, noticed the remarkable geological formation exposed by the cut made by the railroad just above the Maplewood depot in the southern part of Wyoming. He wrote a learned paper accounting for it on geological principles. From it we gather im- portant and reliable information. He asserts that "at one time this valley did not exist ; that the country from the Little to the Big Miami was a dead level." This was when the earth was young, approaching maturity through the glacial period. He theorizes "that an immense mountain of ice and snow found its way from far northern regions to the southward, until its southern base reached to the Ohio river and perhaps beyond, and ex- tended back as far as Glendale." This enor- mou weight ploughed out this valley, leaving the hills standing because of their being filled
* Prof. Florien Giauque, of the Cincinnati Bar.
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
with stone, which resisted glacial action while the soft intermediate earth yielded.
Under the action of the sun, "through the still lapse of ages," this ice mountain finally melted, and, the water running to the sea left a residuum of gravel and sand and soil. From this sprang the forests and vegetation which shadowed the valley and enriched it with their deciduous leaves ; then came the green pastures beside the still waters, and the abound- ing game,-in its pristine beauty, the whilom habitation of pre-historic man, who cast up the mute, mysterious mound, buried his dead and departed forever ; then the happy hunting ground of the Indian, who loved it as his wildwood home, and in defense of which many and many a warrior has died before the white man forced his way across. its verdant threshold.
Ye say they all have passed away, That noble race and brave ; That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave ; That 'mid the forests where they roamed There rings no hunter shout; But their names are on your waters, Ye may not wash it out.
Then came the pioneers and transformed it
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MILL CREEK OR MAH-KE-TE-WAH.
into farm lands. To-day it is an amphi-theatre where may be heard and seen the hum and crowd and shock of men in a great civic tourn- ament which will be continued, with increasing attractions,
" To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow To the last syllable of recorded time."
MILL CREEK OR MAH-KE-TE-WAH
Is'an ancient water course. The east branch brings us water from Butler county ; the west
" From sources which well In the tarn on the fell "
in the broken uplands of Colerain township. These two branches become united in one stream at Hartwell, and then journey together to the sea. How gleefully they turned the old- fashioned water wheels of the grist-mills in the reclaimless past ! How famous and prolific the fishing pools! Before the woods upon its margin bowed to the axe of the pioneer, how cool and inviting its banks !
Its waters have refreshed the hunter when in pursuit of game or pursued by the savage.
Here the wounded stag has cooled his swollen tongue,
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
That from the hunter's aim Had ta'en a hurt and come to languish, And the big round tears coursed One another down his innocent nose In piteous chase, and stood on the Extreme verge of the swift brook Augmenting it with tears.
All this before Lockland became the little manufacturing city that it is-and, to- gether with the lower Villages, Infimaries, Factories, etc. on its banks, converted Mill creek into little less, at times, than an open Parisian sewer-suggesting that described by Victor Hugo in which Jean Valjean found himself-" on all sides putridity and miasma, and here and there a trap through which Villon inside converses with Rabelais outside."
Ma-ke-te-wa is supposed to be the Indian name for Mill creek. This, however, is but a supposition. It is not a tradition. And yet it has been called that by poets and authors for over fifty years.
William D. Gallagher, the Pioneer of West- ern poets, has immortalized this little stream in the following beautiful poem :-
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THE SPOTTED FAWN.
THE SPOTTED FAWN.
On Maketewa's flowery marge The red chief's wigwam stood, When first the white man's rifle rang Loud through the echoing wood ; The tomahawk and scalping knife Together lay at rest- For peace was in the forest shades, And in the red man's breast.
Oh, the spotted fawn ! Oh, the spotted fawn ! The light and the life of the forest shades With the red chief's child is gone !
By Maketewa's flowery marge The Spotted Fawn had birth, And grew, as fair an Indian girl As ever blessed the earth ; She was the red chief's only child, And sought by many a brave,
But to the gallant young White Cloud Her plighted troth she gave.
Oh, the Spotted Fawn ! &c.
From Maketewa's flowery marge Her bridal song arose; None dreaming, on that festal night, Of near encircling foes ; But through the forests, stealthily, The white men came in wrath ; And fiery deaths before them sped, And blood was in their path.
Oh, the Spotted Fawn, &c,
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THE MILL CREEK VALLEY.
On Maketewa's flowery marge Next morn, no strife was seen ; But a wail went up were the young Fawn's blood And White Cloud's dyed the green, And burial in their own rude way The Indians gave them there, While a low and sweet-toned requiem The brooks sang, and the air.
Oh, the Spotted Fawn ! Oh, the Spotted Fawn ! The light and life of the forest shades With the red chief's child is gone.
CINCINNATI, December, 1844.
"THE SPOTTED FROG."
A parody on the " Spotted Fawn," soon after appeared, which created a sensation and became the rage for awhile. The authorship remained a long time a mystery. But now it is widely known, that Lewis J. Cist, Esq., a literary pioneer of the west, is its gifted and distinguished author. We here insert it :-
On muddy Mill creek's marshy marge, When summer's heat was felt, Full many a burly bullfrog large And tender tadpole dwelt, And there at noondays, might be seen,
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THE SPOTTED FROG.
Upon a rotted log; The bullfrogs brown and tadpoles green, And there the spotted frog. Oh, the spotted frog ! Oh, the spotted frog ! The light and life of Mill creek's mud Was the lovely spotted frog !
By stagnant Mill creek's muddy marge The spotted frog had birth, And grew as fair and fat a frog As ever hopped on earth ; She was the frog chief's only child, And sought by many a frog ; But only upon one she smiled, From that old rotted log. Oh, the spotted frog ! &c.
From muddy Mill creek's stagnant marge Her bridal song arose, None dreaming, as they hopped about, Of near encircling foes ; But cruel boys in search of sport, To Mill creek came that day, And at the frogs with sticks and stones Began to blaze away ! Oh, the spotted frog ! &c.
On marshy Mill creek's muddy marge, Next morn, no frogs were seen ; But a mortal pile of sticks and stones Told where the fray had been ; And time rolled on, and other frogs Assembled 'round that log,
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
But never Mill creek's marshes saw Again that spotted frog ! Oh, the spotted frog ! Oh, the spotted frog ! The light and life of Mill creek's mud Was the lovely spotted frog ! CINCINNATI, January, 1845.
A PIONEER'S POEM. 1
The following affectionate apostrophe to Mill creek, was written by one born upon its banks more than sixty years ago.
Only communion with its running waters in its earlier days, could have inspired such a pretty pastoral poem-a rural picture and story -the sentiment of which is both beautiful and ennobling.
Its modest author is rightly supposed to be John G. Olden, Esq., whose "Historical Sketches, etc. in Hamilton county " have been of valuable assistance to the writer ; grate- ful acknowledgments for which are here and now made.
TO MILL CREEK.
Thou rude little stream, so modest in mien, And flowing so quietly by, No white pebbled floor or rock mantled shore, Nor cliffs mounting rugged and high.
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A PIONEER'S POEM.
No dark lurid dells, or deep hidden cells, My reverence or awe to inspire, No pomp or display in coursing thy way, Nor aught for the world to admire.
Yet dearer to me than Niagara, Or all the bright rivers of earth, For a spot I descry thy waters near by, Marked out as the place of my birth.
Oh, the scenes lying near, to memory how dear, And incidents blended with thee ! The brooks and the rills, the valleys and hills, Have each a charmed legend for me.
'Twas there in the glades and deep forest shades, My happiest moments were spent, Unburdened with care and free as the air, A rustic young monarch I went.
There I plucked the black haw and yellow paw-paw, The mulberry purple and red, The juicy wild plum and blue grapes that hung In clusters just over my head.
When summer had come in verdure and bloom, With other young truants I ran Along the green banks with merry wild pranks, And oft in thy waters we swam.
We climbed for the nest of the robin redbreast, Threw stones at the blackbird and wren, .We drove the young thrush from her nest in the bush, The chipmonk we chased to her den.
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MILL CREEK VALLEY.
Unheeding the sign, with hook and the line We angled thy waters for bass, Yet ever content if homeward we went With shiners enough for a mess.
At night's darkest hue the coon to pursue, The hounds from the kennel we take ; And away we all go with a wild " Tally-ho !" Through tanglewood, marshes and brake.
A bleak tempest-blast, brings winter at last And robes the earth over in snow, The rabbit we trail-we're trapping the quail, Or down the hill coasting we go.
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Again, at a time in my youthful prime, With a witching young friend I strayed ; While roaming thy shores to pluck the wild flow'rs, Our secrets to each we betrayed.
'Twas there in the shade that the sycamore made, The redbird sang sweetly above, Through mystical charms that beauty adorns, My heart beat responsive to love.
Where wild lilies grew and violets blue, And buttercups gaily arrayed, Mid the fragrant perfume of the may-apple bloom, Our vows to each other we made.
But oh ! fleeting Time, with ruthless design, Had wrought many changes since then, His magical wand had swept the woodland, And furrowed the faces of men.
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