sion of fortifications existed. side, there was a round fort Commencing upon the westerly containing twenty-two acres, on one side of which stood an elevated observatory, constructed. partly of earth, and partly of stone, beneath which there appears to have been a secret passage-way to a neighboring stream upon the opposite side. This circular fort was connected, by two parallel walls of earth, with an octagonal fort containing forty acres. The walls of the latter were ten feet high, and were cut by eight gateways, each of which was defended by a small mound of earth, or curtain, on the inside. Thence, on the one hand, parallel walls proceeded to the water; on the other, towards the interior of the country, to the distance of several miles; and in the middle, others ranged easterly, connecting the works just described with the following:- A square fort containing twenty acres, connected towards the south, by parallel walls, with a circular fort of twenty-six acres, encompassed by an embankment from twenty-five to thirty feet high; and towards the north, by two covered ways, with the neighboring stream. At the extremity of these covered ways, the former margin of the stream was defended for some distance by a wall, flanked at each end by elevated mounds of earth; upon an elevated plateau to the north-east, protected likewise by an entrenchment, stood several tumuli, containing the remains of the dead. From a careful examination of the adjacent country, and the occurrence of similar walls at various intervals, it has been supposed these works were connected with others at Hockhocking river; thus forming one continuous line of defence, and preserving an open communication. At Circleville, Ohio, there were two earthen enclosures, one an exact circle, and the other a precise square, with its sides facing the cardinal points, under no greater variation than that of the needle.* The square enclosure had eight entrances, equidistant, and all defended by circular mounds within; each side was fifty-nine rods in length, and the wall ten feet high. Upon its west side it was immediately connected with the circular enclosure, which was sixty-nine rods in diameter, and encompassed by double walls, twenty feet high, with a ditch intervening between them. In the centre of this circle was a mound, with a curious semicircular pavement on its eastern side; and a short distance without the walls stood another mound, ninety feet high. In Warren county, on the banks of the Little Miami river, and between two of its branches, we find the summit of an elevated plain defended by walls, from ten to twenty feet in height; their course is irregular, and generally corresponds with the marginal line of the hill. Upon the side facing the Miami, three terraces are cut out of the bank, and command the passage of the river. On the north-easterly side are two mounds, connected by broad parallel roads, or embankments, with a third standing at the distance of a quarter of a mile, around which the roads make a detour, and then meet. These works are constructed of earth, and have fifty-eight openings, or gateways. At Paint Creek, a short distance from Chillicothe, in the same state, were two series of ruins, on opposite sides of the stream.‡ That on the north side was protected by a square and by a circular fort, and contained seventy-seven acres. Both without and within this area were several mounds, and also four large wells, * Arch. Amer., vol. i. p. p. 145. † Ibid. vol. i. p. 156. which still retain water. Among the mounds in the interior were two elliptical elevations, one twenty-five feet high, three hundred and thirty feet long, and one hundred and seventy feet broad, constructed of stones, and containing human bones; and the other was from eight to fifteen feet high, and was formed with two stages or terraces; the summits of both were level. Another work, in the form of a half-moon, was set round the edges with stones; while near it stood a singular mound, five feet high and thirty in diameter, formed entirely of red ochre. The enclosure on the south side of the stream was also irregular; contained two mounds, one of them twenty feet high; and was defended by a square fort, precisely of the same dimensions with that above described. To the east of both these fortifications, upon a rocky, precipitous hill, a wall of unhewn stone, enclosing one hundred and thirty acres, has been thrown up around the edge of the summit, with two gateways, one opening directly towards the river. An immense quantity of cinders was found in the interior of this enclosure. In the bed of the creek, just below the hill, are four wells, dug through the rock, and laid round at the top with hewn stone. Their apertures were closed with circular slabs, having a small hole through the centre, and apparently wrought with tools; the stream, it is thought, has changed its channel since their excavation. On the north fork of Paint Creek are other works, which consist of two enclosures connected with each other. The area of the largest is one hundred and ten acres, surrounded by a ditch, and a wall twelve feet high, and disposed in an oblong form. The smaller work, on the east side, is nearly square, and contains sixteen acres. Within the large enclosure are two circular works, encompassed with embankments, one of which contains six sepulchral mounds, or cemeteries.* Appearances of works similar to those of Paint Creek were, at the close of the last century, visible for nearly sixty miles along the Scioto, to its junction with the Ohio; opposite which, on the Virginia side, were extensive ruins, and among them the remains of chimneys.† In the neighborhood of Portsmouth, on the south side of the Ohio river, there was a square enclosure, with parallel walls diverging from it on either side towards the river, enclosing a fine interval of land; at its south-west corner stood a large mound, covering one quarter of an acre, and twenty feet in height.‡ On the north side of the river there were remains of a more intricate character. They consisted chiefly of parallel walls running from the water, the distance of four miles, to the summit of a large hill, where, after a detour, they terminated near four mounds. Three of these mounds were six feet in height, and covered nearly an acre each, and the fourth had an elevation of twenty feet. In the vicinity were an unfinished tumulus, and another completed, twenty-five feet high, and containing the remains of the dead. At the brow of the hill was a well, still twenty-five feet deep, and also two others each ten feet deep. From the east side of this group of mounds, proceeded parallel walls, two miles towards the river, sweeping in a large circuit of the richest land. * Ar. Am., vol. i. p. 151. † Tr. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. iii. Ibid. vol. i. p. 183. p. 216. Near Somerset, in Perry county, Ohio, was an ancient ruin, whose walls, enclosing an area of forty acres, were built with rude masses of unhewn stone, at present lying in confusion, and but a few feet in height.* One gateway, between two large rocks, opened into the country, before which was an enormous boulder of rock in some degree defending the access. In the line of the wall stood a small stone mound, and towards the middle of the enclosure was another, composed of the same materials, of a conical shape and much larger dimensions. These works were placed upon elevated ground, and, in consequence of their distance from water, are presumed to have been intended for other purposes than habitation. The state of Kentucky contains many of these ruins. There was one near Lexington which has been mistaken for an Indian structure.† Its form was an irregular oval, about fourteen hundred yards in circumference, surrounded by an earthen embankment, from eight to ten feet thick at the base and from five to ten feet high, broken by apertures or gates at irregular intervals. Near the middle of the enclosure was a small mound, about two or three feet in height, and also a number of pits or depressions, resembling sunken graves. The whole work, inclusive of the ramparts, was overgrown with a forest of trees of a large size, and of the growth and kind usual in the vicinity. On the Mississippi, a few miles below lake Pepin, upon a broad plain, the appearance of entrenchments has been observed, forming a breast work about four feet high. Their form was * Arch. Amer., vol. i. p. 147. † Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. N. S., vol. i. pp. 310, 312. |