The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1895-06-21

'OillC VI lllOSC WdkOuS UP
from the city through the mud and over
corduroy roadways made of logs and
poles; and some had come down from
the northward over better roads and
through forests and were bound for
the same city, which was then their
only market. The whole scene was
weird and peculiar, and it was little
wonder that Joe found it the source of
what he called ''fun."
Mr.. Gust had an early breakfast and
was off by o'clock; and through vary
ing slopes of farm and forest, and over
better roads than those of the day be-
fore, reached Lebanon by noon and
found quarters at the Indian Queen
hotel of Uncle Billy Ferguson; and by
o'clock he and Joe were off for Old
Fort, distant seven or eight miles, over
a passably good road. They crossed
the Miami by rope ferry, in boat
propelled by the current, and reached
the fort by o'clock. The rest of the
day was consumed in pitching the tent
near the river, at the northwestern
angle of the vast earthworks, and in
getting ready for the intended survey.
by o'clock next morning breakfast
was over, and Mr.. Gust and Joe started
for a preliminary survey by walking
over the entire work and making notes
of its leading features. This is what
they found
The fort-lf fort it was-was stu
ated on wooded plain elevated some
forty feet above the level of the Miami
river. In general terms, it was a
square cmbankment nearly half mile
in extent on each of its four sides, with
a mound of forty feet base and thirty
in elevation in the center. At several
points along the sides were indications
of former bastions rauch worn away
by time and the elements. At the
northwest angle where the corner
came near the river was an opening
twenty feet wide in the main embanlI-
ment, from whence banks of earth
continued dow to the waters edge
though now much worn away-with
strong indications that this had once
been covered way from the fort down
20 the water The height of the main
cmbankment was eighteen or twenty
crably more, and the base forty feet.
And over all these banks of earth and
over the inclosed area was heavy
growth of forest trees-not of one or
a few varieties, as generally occurs
on newly timbered plains, but
oaks, hickories, hackberries, walnuts,
naples, sugar trees" and all the
variety of the surrounding forest
Upon the sloping sides of these broad
banks, and upon their tops, were forest
trees, some of which were three feet in
diameter, indicating growth of hun
dreds of years; and over the entire
scene time had left the marks of CEN
turtles in the decayed trunks of other
trees which had fallen long before.
After walk over the grounds last
ing several hours, and a careful scru-
tiny of all matters worthy of note,
Mr.. Gust proceeded to dig into the
mound for relics of the mound build
crs." This was not very light labor,
and although the surveyor had some
assistance from Joe-who was becom-
ing quite robust and liked the Fun" OF
digging-they had only gone down a
few feet before the hour for dinner ar
rived. But they had already passed
through the earth and loan which
scm.lc the upper portion of the mound
when they came upon dry, light sand,
easily excavated, and which promised
lighter digging thenceforth.
While Mr.. Gust and Joe were at din
ner company of young men and
maidens from Lebanon rode up and
alighted near the surveyors tent.
They had learned of Uncle Billy
Ferguson at the Indian Queen
what was being done at the fort,
and had taken this occasion TO
have horseback ride together, and to
visit the fort. They came familiarly
mp and soon made the acquaintance of
Mr.. Gust, and started on ride around
the banks. The females had all OBJ
served 1.-THE silent boy" and all pro-
nounced him very handsome. Joe had
indeed lost all claim to be called cit
tea title given to him in childhood
and was fast growing into youth of
fine form, with promise of becoming
tall and improving in stature and
manly bearing.
On resumnng his investigations at the
mound, Mr. Gust made rapid progress
ia the light sand, and within an hour
had unearthed number of interesting
relics, among which were a shear head
of beaten copper procured probably
from the Lake Superior region, sew
ssral stone hatchets, some pottery and
number of discoid beads made from
unto shells from the river. But Mr..
Gust had been urged by Dr. Drake to
make special effort TO find skull OF
the mound-builders And in that he
was at length successful; but the era
Mum nc found, though still quite per-
feet in form in nearly all its parts, was
fragile and nearly ready TO fall TO
pieces Obeying the instruction
of the doctor, Mr. Gust saturated the