History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 2

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 2

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Hill range, first southeasterly, and then towards the northeast, entering the river through its left bank'near Ohio Pile Falls. Big Sandy Creek and Little Sandy Creek rise in the southern part of Fayette, and thence take a southerly course into West Virginia, where their waters join those of the Cheat River, and through it find their way into the Monongahela.

In that part of the county which lies northeast of the Youghiogheny are two mountain ranges, extend- ing from Westmoreland County in a direction nearly south-southwest and parallel with each other to the river. The more western of the two is called Chest- nut Ridge, and the other Laurel Hill, the crest of which latter forms a part of the county boundary between Fayette and Somerset, the remainder of that line, about fifteen miles, being marked by the Youghio- gheny River, as before noticed. The valley between these ranges, broken somewhat by detached hills, is drained by Indian Creek and its small tributaries. Its soil is better adapted for grazing purposes than for the production of grain. West of the Chestnut Ridge is a valley drained by Mount's Creek and its branches. Beyond this the land rises into hills, of which a long and high range lies between the Youghio- gheny and Jacob's Creek, sloping away towards both streams, along the margins of which are narrow bot- tom-lands.

On the southwest side of the Youghiogheny the name of Laurel Hill is applied to the mountain range, which is in fact the prolongation of that known on the other side as Chestnut Ridge. This Laurel Hill range extends from the Youghiogheny southwest- wardly nearly by the geographical centre of the county, and about two miles east of Uniontown, the county- seat ; its summits being more than two thousand five hundred feet above sea-level, and one thousand feet above neighboring valleys. Across the southeast corner of the county, extending southward from the Youghiogheny to and across the State line, is a ridge of rugged hills, which may properly be termed the prolongation of the Laurel Hill range on the other side of the river. These hills are, however, in general much lower and more flattened, there being among them but one summit (Sugar-Loaf ) which in height approximates to those on the northeast side of the river.

West of the Laurel Hill range, and extending in a direction nearly parallel to it across this part of the county, is a beautiful valley several miles in width, drained on the south by York's Run and Georges Creek, and on the northwest and north by Redstone Creek and several small tributaries of the Youghio- gheny River. This valley is the "Connellsville Coal Basin," extending west to the "barren meas- ures," about four miles west of the county-seat. West of this valley are elevated uplands, undulating, and in many places hilly, particularly as they ap- proach the Monongahela, where they terminate some- what abruptly in what are termed the "river-hills,"

LOCATION, BOUNDARIES, AND TOPOGRAPHY.

which descend to the rich bottom-lands, rarely ex- ceeding one-fourth of a mile in width, which lie along the margin of the river.

In all this part of the county west of the Laurel Hill, including the broad valley, the rolling upland, the hilly lands (often tillable to the summits), and the river bottoms, the soil is excellent for the production of grain and fruits, and the country in general well adapted to the various requirements of agriculture.

Delaney's Cave, situated in Fayette County, is a wonderful natural curiosity, which appears, from the descriptions of many who have visited it, to be scarcely inferior to the celebrated Mammoth Cave in Ken- tucky. Its location is about nine miles in a south- easterly direction from Uniontown. A great number of descriptions of the cave have been given by per- sons who have visited it from time to time, but most of these accounts bear the appearance of too great embellishment. The description which is given be- low was written by Mr. John A. Paxton, who visited the cave in 1816, and published his account of it im- mediately afterwards in the American Telegraph of Brownsville. Mr. Paxton was a Philadelphia gentle- man, who being in this section of country in the year named, engaged in the collection of material for a gazetteer of the United States, was detained by an accident to his horse, and obliged to remain two or three days at Uniontown. While there he heard of the great cave, and determined to see and explore it. A party was accordingly made np, consisting of Mr. Paxton, William Gregg, John Owens, James M. John- ston, John Gallagher, and Ephraim Douglass. These having provided themselves with refreshments, can- dles, tinder-box, brimstone matches, lanterns, com- pass, chalk, and a line for measuring, set out on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1816, and proceeded southeast- wardly to Laurel Hill, and ascended the mountain towards the cave. They left their horses at the farm- house of Mr. Delaney (from whom the eave was after- wards named), and requested him, in case they should fail to return from their exploration the following morning, to have the people of the vicinity aroused to search for them, as they had heard the story of two young men-Crain and Merrifield-who had been lost in the cave for nearly two days, and were found at the end of that time locked in each other's arms and des- pairingly waiting for death. It was about the middle of the afternoon when the party, fully equipped, set out on foot for the entrance of the cave, and the story of their exploration was narrated by Paxton, as fol- lows :

" Laurel Hill Cave, which I have taken the liberty to name, it being in want of one, is situated in Pennsyl- vania,-Fayette County, Georges township,-on the top of Laurel Hill Mountain, nine miles southeasterly of Uniontown, three miles easterly of Delaney's farm- house. At four o'clock P.M. we commenced our operations. We first descended into a small pit, on

the side of which we found the mouth, about three feet by four, which we entered, and immediately found ourselves in a passage about twenty feet wide, and descending about fifty degrees for forty feet in a northwest course, when we found a less declivity and smoother floor; here we left our great-coats and things we had no immediate use for, and proceeded in the same course a short distance, when we found that the passage forked into two avenues more contracted, both leading, by a considerable descent, into the first room ; this is about twenty-four feet in diameter, with a roof of rock about twenty feet high. . A large de- scending passage leads from this room, the same course, with a very high roof, and is about twelve feet wide for some distance, when it becomes more contracted and leads into the second room, which is fifty feet by one hundred, with a large body of rocks on the floor that have fallen from the roof, which is not very high. At the end of the passage is a running spring of excellent water. In this room the person who had the tinder-box unfortunately let it fall among the rocks, which opened it, and by this acci- dent we lost nearly all our tinder. A very narrow, uneven, and descending passage leads from the second room, in a northeast direction, to the narrows,-a pas- sage two and a half feet high and about fifty feet broad, leading horizontally between rocks, with a small descent for about one hundred and fifty feet to a perpendicular descent over rocks; through this small passage we had in many places to drag our- selves along on our bellies, and the buttons on my coat were torn off' by the rocks above. This passage evidently was formed by the foundation of the nether rock being washed by the veins of water, which caused it to separate from the upper rock and formed the route to the perpendicular descent, which we found to be twenty-two feet. I desceuded by a rope ; but my companions found their way down by cling- ing to the rocks. We now found ourselves in a very uneven rocky passage, which ascended about twenty degrees for two hundred and thirty-four feet; but as we could not find an outlet from this, after the most particular search, we returned and ascended the per- pendicular precipice, and to the right of it discovered a passage which had a great descent, was very rocky, uneven, and so contracted for about eighty feet that it was with the greatest difficulty we made our way through it; this led to a second perpendicular de- scent of thirty feet over rocks, which we with great difficulty got down. We now found ourselves in a large avenue, or Little Mill-Stream Hall (as I called it), with a very high roof and about twenty-five feet wide; it had a sandy floor, with a stream of water running through it sufficiently rapid and large to turn a grist-mill. On the sides of this stream were some large rocks which had fallen from the roof. This avenue is about six hundred feet in length, with a considerable descent to where the water loses it-elf through a small aperture in the rocks.

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

"On returning from the bottom of the avenue we discovered a passage leading horizontally and at right angles from the side of this avenue, the entrance of which is elevated about eight feet above the floor. We found this a very pleasant passage in comparison to the rest ; the roof, sides, and floor were quite smooth, and we could walk upright. It is one hundred and twenty feet long, and leads into the last and largest avenue, or Great Mill-Stream IIall. This we found to be very spacious, being about from twenty to thirty feet wide, from thirty to eighty feet from the floor to the roof, and twelve hundred feet in length, with a stream sufficient to turn a grist-mill running its whole length. From the source of this stream, where there is a considerable collection of white spar, formed in flat cakes and cones, caused evidently by the constant dripping of water, the avenue has a descent of about thirty degrees to where the stream disembognes itself through a small aperture in the rocks. Before we arrived at this aperture the avenue became so con- tracted that Mr. Gregg and myself had to creep on our hands and knees through the water for about fifty feet. Here in the sand we found the name of ' Crain' written, which we considered a mortifying discovery, as we thought we were the first persons who had penetrated so far in this direction. We wrote our names likewise in the sand and then joined the rest of the party.

" In our search through this great avenue we had to climb over or creep under a thousand craggy rocks that lay scattered on the floor, and which had fallen from the sides and ceiling. I have every reason to believe that no person except ns ever visited the source of the stream and head of the avenue, as we found no sign of human invention within many hun- dred feet of the spot, and which was very common in every other part of the cave, as the sides of every place that had been previously visited were covered with names and marks made with coal, and if any person had penetrated this far they certainly would have left some token of their perseverance. We now found ourselves at the end of our exploring expedi- tion, and as we had plenty of candles left and had taken the precaution to mark with chalk an arrow on the rocks at every turn, we were confident of being able to retrace our steps to the entrance.

" Returning, we measured with a line the extreme distance we had been in, and found it to be three thousand six hundred feet, but we must have trav- elled altogether upwards of two miles. Our return was found to be much more tiresome, as it was an as- cending route nearly the whole distance. We arrived in safety at the mouth at ten o'clock at night, after having traveled incessantly for six hours. We were about sixteen hundred feet perpendicularly below the entrance. We heard the water running beneath the rocks in every part of the cave. The temperature we found agrecable, but owing to our great exertions we · were kept in a profuse perspiration during the whole

time we were in. In different parts we saw a few bats, but a gentleman from Uniontown informed me that the roofs of the two first rooms were covered with millions of bats hanging in large bunches in a torpid state and clinging to each other.

"This cave is composed of soft sandstone rocks, and has every appearance of having been formed by the veins of water washing them and their founda- tions away, which caused by their weight to separate from the standing rocks above. There is not the smallest doubt in my mind but this cave is consider- ably enlarged by the friction of the water each year, for all the rocks on the floors of the different apart- ments would exactly fit the parts of the ceiling im- mediately above them. The rocks that now form this cave will certainly fall by degrees as their foun- dations are washed away, therefore it is impossible to form an idea of the very great spaciousness that it may arrive to. The knowledge that the rocks above are subject to fall is calculated to create the most in- expressible horror in the minds of persons who visit this subterranean wonder. The arches of all the avenues are formed by roeks meeting in the middle of the roofs, with a crack extending in each the whole length."

CHAPTER II.

THE WORKS AND RELICS OF AN EXTINCT PEOPLE.

Ix Fayette County, as in many other parts of West- ern Pennsylvania, and in a great number of locali- ties farther towards the southwest, there exist evi- dences of a very ancient occupation of these valleys and hills by a people other than the native Indians who held possession at the time when the first white settlers came here. These evidences are found chiefly in curious mounds and other forms of earthwork, some apparently having been devoted to purposes of sepulture alone, and others having the form and ap- pearance of defenses against hostile attack.1 The great age of these structures was proved, not only by their general appearance of antiquity, but more de- cidedly by the fact that in many instances trees of the largest size were found growing on the embankments. In reference to these works and the evidence which they furnish that this region, in common with others, covering the entire Mississippi and Ohio River val- leys, had been anciently occupied by a people su-

1 The Moravian writer, Zeisberger, says, io reference to this subject, " In war they [the builders of these earthen works] used some ramparts about their towns, and round hillocks, in the lop of which they made a hollow place to shelter their women and children In; they placed then- selves around and upon it to fight ; in such battles were commonly many killed, whom they buried all in a heap, covering the corpses with the bark of trees, stones, earth, etc. On the place where Schonbrunn, the Christinn Indian town, was built [in Ohio], one can plainly see such a wall or rampart of considerable extent, and not n grent way off, in the plain, is such a burinl-place, or made billock, on which large oaks now stand."

THIE WORKS AND RELICS OF AN EXTINCT PEOPLE.

perior in skill and intelligence to the Indian tribes whom the first white visitors found in possession, Judge Veech says,-

" That these [the native Indians] were the succes- sors of a race more intelligent, or of a people of dif- ferent habits of life, seems clearly deducible from the remains of fortifications scattered all over the terri- tory, and which are very distinct from those known to have been constructed by the tribes of Indians named or any of their modern compeers.

" These remains of embankments or 'old forts' are numerous in Fayette County. That they are very ancient is shown by many facts. The Indians known to us could give no satisfactory account of when, how, or by whom they were erected, or for what purpose, ex- cept for defense. While the trees of the surrounding forests were chiefly oak, the growths upon and within the lines of the 'old forts' were generally of large black- walnut, wild-eberry, and sometimes locust. We have examined some which indicated an age of from three to five hundred years, and they evidently of a second or third generation, as they were standing amid the decayed remains of their ancestors. How they got there, whether by transplanting, by deposits of floods or of birds, or otherwise, is a speculation into which we will not go. v

"These embankments may have been originally composed of wood, as their débris is generally a veg- etable mould. Nostones were used in their construc- tion, and among their ruins are always found some remains of old pottery, composed of clay mixed with crushed mussel-shells, even when far off from a river. This composite was not burnt, but only baked in the sun. These vessels were generally circular, and, judging from those we have seen, they were made to hold from one to three quarts.

" These 'old forts' were of various forms,-square, oblong, triangular, cirenlar, and semicircular, Their superficial areas ranged from one-fourth of an acre to ten acres. Their sites were generally well chosen.in reference to defense and observation, and, what is a very singular fact, they were very often, generally in Fayette County, located on the highest and richest hills, and at a distance from any spring or stream of water. In a few instances this was otherwise, water being inclosed or contiguons, as they are generally in Ohio and other more western parts of the Missis- sippi Valley.

" Having seen and examined many of these 'old forts' in Fayette County, and also those at Marietta, Newark, and elsewhere in Ohio, we believe they are all the works of the same race of people, as are also. the famous Grave Creek mounds, near Elizabethtown, Va., and if this belief be correct, then the conclusion follows irresistibly that the race of people was much superior and existed long anterior to the modern In- dian. But who they were, and what became of them, must perhaps forever be unknown. We will briefly indicate the localities of some of these 'old forts' in

Fayette County. To enumerate all, or to describe them separately, would weary the reader. The curi- ons in such matters may yet trace their remains.

" A very noted one, and of most commanding lo- cation, was at Brownsville, on the site of 'Fort Burd,' but covering a much larger area. Even after Col. Burd built his fort there, in 1759, it retained1 the names of ' the old fort,' ' Redstone Old Fort,' or ' Fort Redstone.'

"There was one on land formerly of William Gee, near the Monongahela River, and just above the mouth of Little Redstone, where afterwards was a settler's fort, called Cassel's or Castle Fort; and an old map which we have seen has another of these old forts noted at the mouth of Speers' Run, where Belle Vernon now is.

" Two or three are found on a high ridge south- wardly of Perryopolis, on the State road, and on land late of John F. Martin. Another noted one is on the western bank of the Youghiogheny River, nearly op- posite the Broad Ford, on land lately held by James Collins.

" There are several on the high ridge of land lead- ing from the Collins' fort, above referred to, south- westwardly towards Plumsock, on lands of James Paull, John M. Austin, John Bute, and others ; a re- markable one being on land lately owned by James Gilchrist and the Byers, where some very large human bones have been found. There is one on the north side of Mounts' Creek, above Irishman's Run.

" A very large one, containing six or eight acres, is on the summit of Laurel Hill, where the Mud pike crosses it, covered with a large growth of black- walnut.

" One specially noted as containing a great quan- tity of broken shells and pottery existed on the high land between Laurel Run and the Yonghiogheny River, on a traet formerly owned by Judge Young.

"There are yet distinct traces of one on land of Gen. Henry W. Beeson, formerly of Col. McClean, abont two miles east of Uniontown.

"There was one northeast of New Geneva, at the locality known as the 'Flint Hill,' on land now of John Franks.

" About two miles northeast of New Geneva, on the road to Uniontown, and on land late of William Morris, now Nicholas B. Johnson, was one celebrated for its great abundance of mussel-shells.

"On the high ridge southwardly of the head-waters of Middle Run several existed, of which may be named one on the Bixler land, one on the high knob eastwardly from Clark Breading's, one on the

1 Mr. Veechi did not (as some of his critics have appeared to suppose) intend to say that Bird's fort occupied the site and took the name of Redstone Old Fort. It was built a short distance from the site of the old earthwork, and was always called Fort Burd. Dut the locality-a prom- inent point on the Monongahela-did retain the appellation of " Redstone (ld Fort" for a great many years; and even at the present day no reader of history is at a loss to understand that the name designates the site of the present borongh of Brownsville.

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Alexander Wilson tract, and one on the land of Den- mis Riley, deceased, formerly of Andrew C. Johnson. " These comprise the most prominent of the 'old forts' in Fayette. Of their cognates, mounds erected as monuments of conquests. or, like the Pyramids of Egypt, as the tombs of kings, we have none. Those that we have seen are of diminutive size, and may have been thrown up to commemorate some minor events, or to cover the remains of a warrior.

" Piles of stones called Indian graves were numer- ous in many places in Fayette, generally near the sites of Indian villages. They were generally on stony ridges, often twenty or thirty of them in a row. In many of them have been found human bones in- dicating a stature of from six to seven feet. They also contained arrow-heads, spear-points, and hatchets of stone and flint, nicely and regularly shaped, but how done is the wonder. On a commanding eminence overlooking the Youghiogheny River, upon land now (1869) of Col. A. M. Hill, formerly William Dicker- son, there are great numbers of these Indian graves, among which, underneath a large stone, Mr. John Cattom a few years ago found a very curious chain, consisting of a central ring and five chains of about two feet in length, each branching off from it, having at their end clamps, somewhat after the manner of handcuffs, large enough to inclose a man's neck, indi- cating that its use was to confine prisoners, perhaps to fasten them to the burning stake. The chains were of an antique character but well made, and seemed to have gone through fire."

Of all the prehistoric works noticed in the above account by Mr. Veech, none was so famed, none so widely known as the first one he mentions,-Redstone Old Fort. In the early years it was frequently visited and examined by antiquarians, and many descriptions of it (all of them, however, apparently exaggerated and embellished) were written. One of these ac- counts is found on page 84 of " American Antiqui- ties." by Josiah Priest, 1834, being taken from an earlier account in the "Travels of Thomas Ashe," who claimed to have visited the old fort and made some excavations there in the year 1806, The ac- count is as follows :

itself has only one grand gateway outward. Exactly in the centre stands a mound thirty feet high, sup- posed to have been a place of lookout, At a small distance from this place was found a stone measuring eight feet by five, on which was accurately engraved a representation of the whole work, with the mound in the centre, whereon was the likeness of a human head, which signified that the chief who presided there lay buried beneath it.

"The engraving on this stone is evidence of the knowledge of stone-cutting, as it was executed with a considerable degree of accuracy. On comparing the description of this circular monument with a de- scription of works of a similar character found in Denmark, Sweden, and Ireland, the conclusion is drawn that at some era of time the authors of this kind of monumental works in either of those countries have been the same."

Having given the above account, as written by Ashe, it is proper to remark that he did, without doubt, enlarge upon the plain facts,-in some particu- lars, at least. Old residents of this locality-among them Mr. Nelson B. Bowman, who was born in 1807, within rifle-shot of the place indicated-say that the account is unsupported by anything they have ever seen or heard narrated by their fathers. Still, the fact remains unquestioned that the first white ex- plorers found here, within the present limits of Brownsville, and occupying an elevated site which commands the Monongahela River above and below, an inclosure of several acres, surrounded by an earthen embankment, evidently centuries old, antedating even the most ancient traditions of the Indians, and this mysterious work they christened Redstone Old Fort. But the hand of Time has obliterated all traces of it, and neither parapet nor central mound have been visible for many years. So it is with the mounds which have been mentioned as having existed in other parts of Fayette County, By the processes of agriculture, continued for generations, and by various other means, they have become so far leveled that in many cases not a trace remains, and in others the outline is barely discernible of works which a cen- tury ago stood out bold and clearly defined.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 2

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314