MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN OHIO.
Ancient Fortified Inclosures at Circleville. — Discoveries in
a Burial Mound. — Alligator Totem near Newark. — Fort Ancient. —
Age of Trees growing upon the Ramparts at Fort Hill. —
Traditions. — Geometrical Ground Plans of Indian Inclosures. —
Conclusions.
Before quitting the subject of those ancient earthworks, which were
planned upon geometrical figures, it is necessary to take into
consideration certain inclosures that were situated in the higher parts
of the Scioto Valley, in a position which is at the present time,
occupied by the town of Circleville.
The embankments or ramparts have been razed to the ground, and no
traces remain of what appears to have been one of the most perfect
examples of the mathematical accuracy of that type of construction. It
is fortunate that during the demolition of the works, there happened
to be present an antiquarian of such an acknowledged reputation as
Mr. Atwater, for he has written a full account of their form and
dimensions,[20] together with a report upon the strange discoveries
made when excavating a burial mound, inside the circular inclosure near
its centre. Mr. Atwater, who evidently took careful measurements,[21]
wrote a statement which includes the following extracts:-
“There are two forts, one being an exact circle, the other an
exact square. The former is surrounded by two walls, with a
deep ditch between them. The latter is encompassed by one wall,
without any ditch. The former was sixty-nine rods in diameter,
measuring from outside to outside of the circular outer wall;
the latter is exactly fifty-five rods square measuring the
same way. The walls of the circular fort were at least twenty
feet in height, measuring from the bottom of the ditch, before
the town of Circleville was built. The inner wall was of clay,
taken up probably in the northern part of the fort, where was a
low place, and is still considerably lower than any other part
of the work. The outside wall was taken from the ditch which
is between these walls, and is alluvial, consisting of pebbles
worn smooth in water, and sand, to a very considerable depth,
more than fifty feet at least. The outside of the walls is
about five or six feet in height now; on the inside, the ditch
is, at present, generally not more than fifteen feet. They are
disappearing before us daily, and will soon be gone. The walls
of the square fort are at this time, where left standing, about
ten feet in height. There were eight gateways or openings
leading into the square fort, and only one into the circular
fort. Before each of these openings was a mound of earth,
perhaps four feet high, forty feet perhaps in diameter at the
base, and twenty or upwards at the summit. These mounds, for
two rods or more, are exactly in front of the gateways, and
were intended for the defence of these openings.” ...
[Illustration: INCLOSURES AT CIRCLEVILLE.
Reduced from the survey of Mr. Atwater.]
“The extreme care of the authors of these works to protect and
defend every part of the circle, is nowhere visible about this
square fort. The former is defended by two high walls, the
latter by one. The former has a deep ditch encircling it, this
has none. The former could be entered at one place only; this
at eight, and those about twenty feet broad.” ... “The round
fort was picketed in, if we are to judge from the appearance of
the ground on and about the walls. Half-way up the outside of
the inner wall, is a place distinctly to be seen, where a row
of _pickets_ once stood, and where it was placed when this work
of defence was originally erected.” ...
“What surprised me on measuring these forts, was the exact
manner in which they had laid down their circle and square;
so that after every effort, by the most careful survey, to
detect some error in their measurement, we found that it was
impossible, and that the measurement was much more correct
than it would have been, in all probability, had the present
inhabitants undertaken to construct such a work.”
The mound that had been raised within the circle was ten feet high.
Its summit had been levelled in order to obtain a platform which had a
diameter of nearly thirty feet, and had probably been used as a site
for the dwelling of the chief of the tribe. Mr. Atwater watched the
proceedings when this mound was destroyed. He states that it contained:—
(1).—“Two human skeletons lying on what had been the original
surface of the earth.
(2).—“A great quantity of arrow heads, some of which were so
large as to induce a belief that they were used for spear heads.
(3).—“The handle either of a small sword or a large knife,
made of an elk’s horn; around the end where the blade had been
inserted, was a ferule of silver which, though black, was not
much injured by time. Though the handle showed the hole where
the blade had been inserted, yet no iron was found, but an
oxyde remained of similar shape and size.
(4).—“Charcoal and wood ashes on which these articles lay,
which were surrounded by several bricks very well burnt. The
skeleton appeared to have been burned in a large and very hot
fire, which had almost consumed the bones of the deceased.
This skeleton was deposited a little to the south of the
centre of the tumulus, and, about twenty feet to the north of
it was another, with which were—
(5).—“A large mirror, about three feet in length, and one foot
and a half in breadth, and one inch and a half in thickness.
This mirror was of isinglass (mica membranacea) and on it—
(6).—“A plate of iron which had become an oxyde; but before it
was disturbed by the spade, resembled a plate of cast iron.
The mirror answered the purpose very well for which it was
intended. This skeleton had also been burned like the former,
and lay on charcoal and a considerable quantity of wood ashes.
A part of the mirror is in my possession as well as a piece of
brick, taken from the spot at the time.”
About two hundred yards from this tumulus, and outside the circular
inclosure was a large mound, supposed to have been the common Indian
cemetery. It contained an immense number of human skeletons of all
sizes and ages. The skeletons are laid horizontally, with their heads
generally towards the centre, and the feet towards the outside of the
tumulus. A considerable part of this work still stands uninjured,
except by time. In it have been found, besides these skeletons, stone
axes and knives, and several ornaments with holes through them, by
means of which, with a cord passing through these perforations, they
could be worn by their owners.
The vestiges of occupation that have been left by those ancient tribes
who raised the earthworks in this region are not of a character that
render it possible to form any absolute conclusions about them.
There are, however, in Ohio two large and important mounds built in the
shape of animals which may, possibly, have been made for the purpose
of indicating the emblems which were adopted by the Indians as their
totems. One of these is placed on the summit of a hill overlooking the
valley of one of the tributaries of the Licking river, and about three
miles from the octagonal inclosure near Newark.
In consequence of its shape, it is called the Alligator. There have
been various theories with regard to this strange earthwork, and it has
been supposed that sacrificial ceremonies were performed there. I had
expected to find this figure to a certain extent excavated upon the
surface of the earth, but I observed, upon examining it, that it was a
regularly built up mound of considerable size.
The other large totem, which represents a huge serpent, is upon the
brow of a hill about one hundred miles to the South-west of the
Alligator, above a small river called the Brush Creek. According to the
measurements of the earliest surveyors, its length, if extended, is
about one thousand feet. It was five feet high in the centre, and had,
at that part, a base of thirty feet, which diminished towards the head
and tail.[22]
Upon the slopes of the hills near the Alligator, there are numerous
remains of ancient earthworks. One of the most extensive of them was in
every respect different from those at Newark, and other geometrically
designed works, and seems to have been raised for other purposes, or
possibly by a different tribe. Its embankments, which are irregular in
their form, are in no part higher than six feet, and are thrown up in
such a manner as to inclose the top of a small hill, which is situated
a short distance from the Alligator. The area contained within them is
about eighteen acres. In the centre there is a small circular earthwork
nearly one hundred yards in circumference, and in another part of the
inclosure there are two mounds which have been opened. They contained
large quantities of ashes and some broken pottery.
There are also other camping grounds near the river. The largest of
them inclosed a space exceeding twenty acres, and was surrounded
by a low bank evidently thrown up for the purposes of inclosing a
temporary encampment. Near the Alligator totem I noticed a singular
earthwork made in the shape of a half-moon. The farmers living in the
neighbourhood told me that they had opened and destroyed many of the
small mounds that had been upon their lands. In all cases they had
contained nothing but fragments of rough pottery, together with small
heaps of ashes.[23]
Finally, there remains to be taken into consideration those great
earthworks on the hills which have been specially classified as having
been undoubtedly raised for the purposes of defence, and which
entirely differ from such works as those that were placed upon the
plains. The largest of these camps has been called Fort Ancient, and
it must be acknowledged to be one of the most important fortified
entrenchments that has ever been constructed in any part of the world.
It is placed upon the summit of a hill overlooking the Little Miami
river about thirty miles above its junction with the Ohio. The site
that was chosen by the Indians is remarkable for its natural strength
and is, upon three sides of it, almost impregnable. The hill which is
about two hundred and thirty feet above the valley, is in the form of
a narrow promontory having almost precipitous sides except where it is
joined to the plateau. The Little Miami winds round one part of the
base, and some small tributary streams join it from the other side.
The shape and length of the embankments are shown in the accompanying
plan, which is a reduction that I have drawn from one that was made
in 1843 by Professor Locke of Cincinnati.[24] It will be observed
that the ramparts follow closely the curves of the ridge of the hill
and that the camp is practically divided into two parts, the outer
division being near the plain, and the inner one being at the head of
the promontory, where the sides of the hill are the most steep and
inaccessible. The latter was probably intended as a final stronghold in
the event of the outer work being captured.
The magnitude of the inclosing embankments of the outer camp is
astonishing. It is here that the position is most open to direct
attack, and no efforts or labour have been spared in carrying out
what was thought necessary to prevent capture. No Roman or British
encampment that I have seen surpasses this great Indian work. I walked
round the entire circuit of the ramparts. They are not less than four
miles in length. They follow every curve of the hill and the heads of
all the numerous ravines.
[Illustration: _Fort Ancient_]
The ground of the inclosure is level. At the time of my visit it was
covered with forest trees, amongst which were many poplars. Upon the
slopes of the embankments there was a luxuriant growth of large beeches
and oaks. The quantity of earth that must have been conveyed and thrown
up when forming these banks must have been enormous. The ramparts
vary in height between ten and twenty feet according to the character
of the natural defence afforded by the slopes of the hill. At the
approach from the plain they are fifteen feet high and have a base of
sixty-three feet. The platform at the top averages five feet wide.
There is no ditch. Nothing could more clearly mark the difference
between this fortification and one that would have been made by a white
race. An outer ditch is usually considered as not only of essential
importance in works of defence, but its excavation supplies the earth
required for the ramparts. It seems evident that either these Indians
in their method of defensive warfare did not always consider a ditch to
be useful, or it is possible that, in consequence of not having shovels
or pickaxes, they preferred obtaining earth in some other manner which
they found more convenient.
Upon inquiring among the farmers who were occupying the adjacent land,
I found that there was a prevalent opinion amongst them that the earth
composing these embankments had been brought from a distance and that
it had been carried by hand. It was also believed by them that the fort
could not have been made by Indians and that it was built at a very
remote period by some other race.
When walking upon the top of the broad ramparts I observed that there
were no evidences of the excavations that supplied the earth for the
formation of the enormous banks. In some parts of the interior there
were some shallow depressions, and also several holes which had been
made for some unknown purpose, but they could not have provided the
quantities required. It is possible, and, I think probable, that the
earth was taken from the surface of the land within the inclosure. A
shallow excavation made to a depth not exceeding six inches over the
whole area of one hundred and forty acres would have given a sufficient
supply. The methods of digging the ground, and of conveying the earth
must necessarily have been very primitive, and it is surprising that,
with all the difficulties that had to be overcome, works of such
magnitude should have been raised.
At a gap in an angle over-looking the river the remains of a road,
which led down to the water, can still be traced. At the part where
this road entered the fort it is evident that it had been paved
with flat water-worn stones. The ramparts here reach their greatest
dimensions, being fully twenty feet high. The appearance of Fort
Ancient from this position was very remarkable, and the effect was
heightened by the beautiful foliage of the forest trees that crowned
the summits of these lofty earthworks.
The inner part of the camp was strongly fortified. High banks were
raised across the narrow part of the enclosure at the centre, and
two mounds guarded the approach. The road to the outer camp from the
plain was also protected by two mounds, and from these there ran low
parallels for a distance of nearly fourteen hundred yards. They then
terminated by closing round another mound which was probably used for
the purpose of a look-out. Some labourers at a farm near this position
told me that there once existed other parallel banks connected with the
fort, which could be traced for several miles, but that these had been
destroyed.
There are certain features in the construction of this fortification
which have attracted attention, but their purpose has not been, and
probably cannot be, explained. There are not less than seventy gaps
or openings leading out of the embankments. It has been supposed that
these were intended to allow the escape of water from the interior.
There is another theory which has been suggested, according to which
it is thought possible that they were openings made with the object
of enabling the Indians to rush out at several points to repel their
enemies, and that they were fenced by stockades.
It, however, happens that these gaps are sometimes in positions where
the slopes of the hill are so steep as to be practically inaccessible,
and at other places they are on the level ground from which no surplus
waters could drain away. They seem to have formed part of the system
of fortification, for they occur in the same inexplicable manner at
another hill work of defence, built under similar conditions, on the
summit of a promontory with precipitous slopes, about forty miles to
the south-east of this position, which was evidently built by the same
race.
This large earthwork is called Fort Hill, and it is singular in the
respect of having afforded to its surveyor the means of forming a
judgment upon the question of its antiquity. Consequently it has become
possible to establish well-founded conclusions with respect to the
dates of the construction of earthworks of a similar character.
Professor Locke, in his report on the geology of that part of Ohio,
stated that on the top of the wall of Fort Hill stood a chestnut tree
six feet in diameter. “Counting and measuring,” he observes, “the
annual layers of wood where an axeman had cut into the trunk, I found
them at nearly 200 to the foot, which would give to this tree the age
of 600 years. A poplar tree, seven feet in diameter, standing in the
ditch, allowing the thickness to the layers which I have found in
like poplars, 170 to the foot, would give nearly the same result, 607
years.”[25]
Accepting the deductions of Professor Locke as being correct, it
follows that the period when this hill fort was constructed was not
later than the thirteenth century. Admitting that the thirteenth
century, is therefore the latest age that can be ascribed to works
of this type, they may be much older, for the forest trees within the
inclosures may have succeeded earlier growths.
It is not possible to form an estimate of the age of earthworks from
their appearance,[26] and it is only by counting the annual rings
of trees that happen to have been growing upon them, that any safe
theories respecting their antiquity can be adopted.
Looking at the geographical position of Fort Ancient, with reference
to the other hill works of defence that are supposed to have been
made by the Mound Builders, there are good reasons for assuming that
this was their last stronghold, built with the intention of creating
a permanent barrier against the attacks of their enemies. In time
of war it was a secure encampment, large enough to contain the men,
women and children of a numerous tribe. In time of peace it was well
situated for the usual requirements of Indians. It was in the midst
of a country abounding with game, and was immediately connected with
a good navigable river which enabled their canoes to maintain direct
communications with the Ohio and Mississippi.
Although, as far as I was able to judge, there was nothing in the
principles of construction of the hill defensive works which appeared
to be beyond the capacities of a purely Indian race, I invariably
found that the men who were settled as farmers near the principal
entrenchments held the opinion that they must have been raised by a
people possessing a superior condition of civilisation to the tribes
who occupied the land at the close of the eighteenth century, and who
were personally known by many of the early settlers.
It is, perhaps, desirable that these local opinions should not be
altogether disregarded, especially when it is remembered that they are
supported to some extent by Indian traditions and by the fact that no
embankments of a similar formation exist in any other part of North
America. It is therefore necessary that the statements of the Indians,
respecting the previous occupation of parts of Ohio and Kentucky by men
of a white race, should be given a passing consideration.
The Shawnees, who were found to be in possession of this region,
informed the European colonists that the ancient forts had been made
by white people, who after long wars against the Indians had been
exterminated. Their traditions upon this subject were said to have been
clear and decided.
On the other hand the statements of the Delawares, who were settled in
the Northern parts of the State point to other conclusions. They said
that the men who had raised the forts and entrenchments were called
the Tallegewi, and that great wars took place between them and the
Iroquois. After many years the Tallegewi were defeated and left the
country. The Delawares made no allusion with respect to any differences
of race or colour between the Tallegewi and the other Indian tribes.
It is much to be regretted that the evidence upon this interesting
subject is so vague and obscure. If men of foreign origin had been
settled in Ohio before the fourteenth century it would be reasonable
to expect that traces of them would have been left there or some
remaining indications of their religion. In the reports and letters of
the French missionaries, many of whom spoke and understood the language
of the tribes amongst whom they lived, there is no mention made of any
rumours or traditions of white people having dwelt in this part of
America. There were however at a later period, about the middle of the
eighteenth century, certain statements made by officers and men who had
been made prisoners by the Indians, which, at that time, received much
attention. A cavalry officer, named Stuart, said that in the country
west of Mississippi he had seen a tribe of Indians who were remarkably
white in colour and had reddish hair. He was informed by them that
their forefathers came from a foreign land and had settled in Florida,
but that when the Spaniards invaded that country they moved to their
present dwelling places. A fellow-captive, who was a Welshman, declared
that he understood the language of the tribe, as it differed very
little from what was spoken in Wales.
Other reports of a similar character were made by men who had lived
with tribes occupying lands near the southern parts of the Mississippi
valley. It has also been noticed that Indians having fair hair and
blue eyes, were living with the Mandans in their settlements near the
Missouri. With respect to the statements about Welsh speaking Indians,
it is possible that the captives may have been influenced by the
belief in the truth of the tradition that ships, under the direction
of Prince Madoc, left the Welsh coasts in the twelfth century and
landed their crews and emigrants on the eastern shores of the Florida
peninsula.[27]
It is not, however, necessary to account for the existence of large
but irregular embankments, such as those at Fort Ancient, by the
supposition that the actions of a numerous tribe of Indians were under
the influence or direction of men belonging to another race. But it is
otherwise with reference to the geometrical inclosures on the plains,
for these must have been unquestionally planned by men who possessed a
competent knowledge of the methods of tracing mathematical designs.
Take for example the plans of the works at Newark and Circleville.
It may be thought that simple figures, such as the squares, would be
within the comprehension of uneducated Indians. It would nevertheless
be found difficult to lay down upon open fields a square, with all the
sides equal and its angles true right angles, containing so large an
area as twenty acres.[28]
[Illustration: OCTAGONAL AND CIRCULAR INCLOSURES NEAR NEWARK.]
The execution of the outlines of correct circles inclosing spaces of
nearly thirty acres, presents still greater difficulties. It would
have required a specially trained mind to form the conception of a
circumference having an imaginary point within, from which all lines
drawn to it would be equal.
But the figure which would have been absolutely impracticable to
construct without proper surveying appliances for making accurate
measurements, and fixing the true angles, is that of the octagon. Even
under the most favourable circumstances, with the help of suitable
instruments, it would have required much skill and calculation to
trace a true octagon whose embankments contained within them an area
exceeding forty acres. It is difficult to suppose that an accurately
designed work of this shape and magnitude could have been planned by
Indians, or that the construction of a figure so essentially scientific
and unusual, could have been originated by them. It is therefore
possible to conclude, that, the geometrical earthworks in Ohio may have
been raised by native tribes, acting under the direction of European
surveyors, or of men who had received a mathematical education.
Considerations upon the subject of the race and capacity of the
builders, have been to some extent complicated by the reports that were
made concerning the ages of the trees that grew upon and within the
ancient ramparts at Marietta. In the letter of Dr. Hildreth, quoted
in the previous chapter, it is clearly stated that trees were growing
there which were from four to five hundred years old.
As this evidence is very important it is desirable to examine it with
attention. This statement was made when he was attempting to fix an
approximate date for the age of a burial mound which was placed near
the fortifications. It was at the bottom of this mound that were
discovered the ornaments of a sword belt and scabbard. These ornaments
were made of copper and plated with silver, and must therefore have
been of European manufacture.
The calculation of the age of the trees is probably based upon the
results of an examination that took place shortly after the settlement
of Marietta during the latter part of the eighteenth century. It was
at that time decided by several of the inhabitants to fell some of
the largest and oldest trees then growing within the earthworks, and
ascertain their ages by counting the number of annual rings contained
in them. The operations were executed in the presence of Governor St.
Clair and the Rev. Dr. Cutler. Several of the trees were found to have
between three hundred and four hundred circles. One tree was carefully
examined and Dr. Cutler stated that it contained at least four hundred
and sixty-three circles.[29]
As nothing can be more conclusive as a proof of age than the number
of rings found in any tree growing beyond the tropics, this evidence
establishes an antiquity for these embankments earlier than the middle
of the fourteenth century.
The ages of the trees growing upon the Marietta inclosures do not
however enable a date to be estimated for the construction of such
works as those at Newark, for the shapes at Marietta are irregular
and, according to the survey, do not appear to have been laid down
with geometrical accuracy. It is therefore probable that the Newark
inclosures were made at some later period.
The fact of a ferule of silver and a plate of iron having been placed
with the skeletons in the burial mound at Circleville leads to the
conclusion that the tumulus like the one at Marietta was raised since
the time of the arrival of the Europeans. On account of its having been
placed within the inclosure it was originally conjectured that it
belonged to the same people that formed the surrounding embankment, but
the evidence is not sufficient to establish the correctness of a theory
of such importance.
It is difficult to understand what could have been the object of the
Indians in constructing large earthworks in the shapes of squares and
circles. Various theories have been advanced upon the subject, but
nothing that can be considered satisfactory has yet been ascertained.
Upon an examination of the plans it naturally occurs to the mind
to endeavour to form an opinion as to the reasons which led to the
adoption of these particular forms.
It is probable that these types of inclosures would be convenient for
the habits and purposes of an Indian tribe during peace, and that
they afforded protection in war. The square inclosures may have been
intended to contain the village, the dwellings of the chiefs, and the
council house. The circles, with their single opening for approach,
which could be strongly guarded, would in that case be the strongholds
in which, during hostilities, would be placed the women and children.
A circular fort, such as that at Newark, would, under the usual
conditions of Indian warfare, be practically impregnable. In the event
of the outer square being captured it would have a sufficient area to
give the space that would be wanted for the defending tribe.
The antiquity of these works is a problem that does not possess all
the elements that are required for its solution. But in consequence
of the exceptional system of construction certain inferences can be
determined. It may be assumed that the geometrically shaped inclosures
could not have been planned by Indians, and that therefore the
square, circular and octagonal works, were constructed at some period
subsequent to the landing of the Spaniards in Florida, in the beginning
of the sixteenth century.[30]
If these embankments were raised before that period, it would be
almost necessary to admit, that white men possessing a knowledge of
mathematics were living amongst the Indians before the discovery of
America by Columbus in 1492.
The difficult and interesting questions relating to the origin,
civilisation and fate of the Mound Builders, have been the subjects of
frequent investigations and of numerous theories. They appear to have
inhabited Ohio for many centuries.