The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1853-02-05
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
ANCIENT FoRTIrICAIroSs oS THE MIAMI
RIVER


The Miami it NAV he known, l. o. Of ,hc
principal tributaries that the Ohio River re-
crivrs from the north. II takes irs rise in the
fiat, marshv lan'i covered with hcrrh al pop
lar timber, whirh forms the central por;ip,,
of the great State of Ohio. ami flowing In
>outhwestcr'y direction di>c charre> its water.
into the "hrautiful river" near the southwest
corner cf the Safe For some miles before
the junction Of the Miami with the Ohio. ia
""nrse rs ihr"u-h a rich lotion. wlirh from.
lts extent AM fertility, = rommonl, known AZ
The Great Rot'om" Between the source
and mouth ot this river. il Is i,,r r,anv ml"-
h"r'i-red hy a constant surrc>Sion or rugged
hills. whl"h ar" frequently pictur"<quclr d.
posed. The hills 70 the northwest of the
stream are covered with inc growth Of ok;
10 the southeast they arr coih.-! liz f.r..-ts
Of walnut AMI lo~us, Their. J. r-ni.rkai..,:
difference in th" Guaii'v Of the. soil on ,l,.
'iiffrren, sides of the river. On the ,ikrn
hills the land is thin and unproiu,tivc. willis
the dark. rugged walnuts invariably mar,
deep. riri. soil.
The anci"n: iorrif arions. a, ~l,ch pro-
pose 10 speak, are nearly all situated anon.
the hills that ar" covered with oak timber
This simple fact nighr hc deemed 20 in,li,,a;,
that the mysterious iar,. who reared the rre:..
mounds were not cui;ivat"r> oi the SOIL
Through the section oi Tn. rorn.ry of which
can speak from personal observation. ania,
present will 90 no fnrrher. the. singular
elevations may hc found u-,nn nearlv every
square nila Of gronnd. Suh ol them a I
have observed vary greatly in size MANY
o: them are not more than ten f,r IN h..in!i:
AMI 4 couple Of rods in diameter at the la...
while others rise near eighty feet above T..
level Of III" original land and arr wil,. ii. pr,,-
portion. Evidence. abound, illat sta remo,a
age the country '"rmc,i witt a multitniinous
population. Norh;n-, however. iha, is found
outside Of the mounds can with anY lr..r,a
Of certainty be as,riE..! to the same agency,
unless il is the remnants OF a rule bridge. o:
which I will speak I.rc-rn'ly.
Over large porrion OF Butler COUNTY. (ths
Second county from the Ohio River, and one
Of the range which bounds he State of In,li-
ana-)the mounds are c'ura located in manner
that Indicates system. From the ton of anr
one. others, where The view Is not oi,s-rur,ri
hv trees. NAV be i!>c"rmrl The lirht of a
fire kinflrd upon one Of the largest morH.i.
would he Dis, >,overablr more readily from the
Smilier ones than from anv Other points
Of observation at equal distances THIS state
Of things has given crc,l.nre T. the >li,,Ir,>i-
ton that the>" strange elevations wcr. de
s'Cn"d as wa'ch-towrr>. or tn furnish mean,
for communication in times Of danger. for fire
signals. Bat this suppo>itinn j. liable TO the
objection that the mounds are of;en more nu-
mcrous than wouil have been desirable for
such purpose. | viii hot however, impose
upon YOU but a very few of the numher'ess
coniectures that have grown out of this sub
iect.
Our good old ba, kwood>m-n entertained
the idea that the mounds must contain treas
urrS; consequently. the symmetry of the
queer structures has universally lern nnarreI
toy Jealous seekers for tanriiul gold lido not
r,.r, ,h..r IL
not bear deep marks of the SPADE Many
singular stories are told of III" persons who
engaged in this delu>ire gold seeking. They
generally commenced operations at midnight
on moonle>s nights. and as they considered
that they had 10 desi>t before the rising of the
sun. thev worked with the utmost energy
while time allowed. One of the most bind
ING rules of the excavators was, that no, a
word was to be spoken while at work. A
single exclamation, ii was thought. would
cause the hidden treasure 10 sink far beyond
reach. And one reason WHY nothing of go.-
den value was ever found SC IL IS Vet conf
IDENTITY asserted, i, that the wUrkmcn could
not refrain from swearing Ashes, mingled
with bones. were frequently found: and burn,
stones were often picked up from the ashes
Once pot Of clay AMI shells, rendered hard
and firm by the action of fire, was ,lug UP
Its finders were sure, When they first struck
1t, that their fortunes were made. but one Of
the part, SAID something, ami the pot upon
examination proved 10 bc filled bat with com
mon earth. This was doub, sore tisap-
pointment, ard the unluckr yessal was un-
tremendously ! cast a>i'i,.. Ii l. now in the
'abinct of gentleman residing IN the vicini-
". and is a noticeable CURIOSITY. and mus,
have required considerable skill and art
One of the largest mounds ut which have
lirect knowledge was situated Oh the east
bank fthc Miami River. about four miles be-
os the town of Hamilton, th,. flouri>biuu
County seat of Butler County 1t was beau
lully shaped, anI Tor a long time attracted
,rea; attention, hut only fra .mcnt Of il now
'c.nains; the river al that luir.t cncroaci.cI
ipon the bank, aud swept away the venerable
,elic. II contaued large quantities of ashes
md bones About two miles, la the course
# the river, below THIS .pol, is situated the
most remarkable series of ancient fortiica-
Gre & rh' 7 lave any knowledge They