and we quote from their Sixteenth Annual Report: The large mound proved a most interesting structure, unlike anything heretofore discovered. It contained a small central tumulus, surrounded by a carefully built stone-wall and covered in by a platform of stones, over which was a mass of clay. On this wall were two depressions in each of which a body had been laid, and outside the wall in the surrounding clay were found several skeletons, one of them lying upon a platform of stones. With these skeletons were found a copper celt, ornaments made of copper and shell, and two large sea-shells. With each of three of the skeletons was a pair of the spool-shaped ear ornaments of copper, and in every instance these ornaments were found one on either side near the skull.' Large Earth Enclosure.-From the base of the graded way heretofore described extend two embankments forming the segments of an oblong oval, enclosing an area of about 16 acres. These embankments extend in an easterly direction, gradually approaching each other until an opening or gateway, 150 feet in width, remains. To protect this gateway a mound is erected just within the opening, having a diameter at base of 125 feet and a perpendicular height of seven feet. Within the above enclosure are fourteen mounds and one large circular embankment, having a diameter of 300 feet and a gateway to the south sixty feet wide. Near the northern side of this circular enclosure was a small mound covering a stone cist containing a human skeleton. Altar Mounds.-On the southern side of the oval was a group of eight mounds. Several of these mounds contained "Altars or basings of burnt clay, on two of which there were thousands of objects of interest, which are described as follows by Prof. Putnam in his report: "Two of these altars, each about four feet square, were cut out and brought to the museum. Among the objects from the altars are numerous ornaments and carvings unlike anything we have had before. "One altar contained about two bushels of ornaments made of stone, copper, mica, shells, the canine teeth of bears and other animals, and thousands of pearls (50,000 have been counted and sorted from the mass). Nearly all of these objects are perforated in various ways for suspension. Several of the copper ornaments are covered with native silver, which had been hammered out into thin sheets and folded over the copper. Among these are a bracelet and a bead, and several of the spool-shaped ear ornaments. "Gold in Mound.-One small copper pendant seems to have been covered with a thin sheet of gold, a portion of which still adheres to the copper, while other bits of it were found in the mass of material. This is the first time that native gold has been found in the mounds, although hundreds have been explored. The ornaments cut out of copper and mica are very interesting, and embrace many forms. Among them is a grotesque human profile cut out of a sheet of mica. Several ornaments of this material resemble the heads of animals whose features are eшphasized by a red color, while others are the form of circles and bands. Many of the copper ornaments are large and of peculiar shape; others are scrolls, scolloped circles, oval pendants and other forms. There are about thirty of the singular spool-shaped objects or ear-rings made of copper. Three large sheets of mica were on this altar, and several finely-chipped points of obsidian, chalcedony and chert were in the mass of materials. "There were several pendants cut from a micaceous schist and of a unique style of work. There are also portions of a circular piece of bone, over the surface of which are incised figures, and flat pieces of shell similarly carved. Several masses of native copper were on the altar. Meteor ic Iron and Terra-Cotta Figurines.— But by far the most important things found on this altar were the several masses of meteoric iron and the ornaments made from this metal. One of these is half of a spoolshaped object like those made of copper, with which it was associated. Another earornament of copper is covered with a thin plating of the iron, in the same manner as others were covered with silver. "Three of the masses of iron have been more or less hammered into bars, as if for the purpose of making some ornament or implement, another is apparently in the natural shape in which it was found. "On another altar in another mound of the group were several terra-cotta figurines of a character heretofore unknown from the mounds. 66 Unfortunately these objects as well as others found on the altars have been more or less burnt, and many of them appear to have been purposely broken before they were placed on the altars. Many pieces of these images have been united, and it is my hope that we shall succeed in nearly restoring some of them. "Enough has already been made out to show the peculiar method of wearing the hair; the singular head-dress and large buttonlike ear-ornaments shown by those human figures are of particular interest. On the same altar with the figurines were two remarkable dishes carved from stone in the form of animals; with these was a serpent cut out of mica. On the altar were several hundred quartz pebbles from the river, and nearly 300 astragali of deer and elk. As but two of these bones could be obtained from a single animal, and as there were but one or two fragments of other bones, there must have been some special and important reason for collecting so large a number of these particular bones. "A fine-made bracelet made of copper and covered with silver and several other ornaments of copper, a few pearls and shells and other ornaments were also on this altar."' Near the last group of earth-works are two parallel ways or embankments, 100 feet apart and extending one-half mile in length northwestwardly across the lands of Mr. Gano Martin Small Earth Enclosures.-Of the smaller earth enclosures, the one in the Stites Grove, near Plainville, is in the best state of preservation. It consists of a circular embankment, inner ditch, across which is a causeway leading to an opening in the embankment to the southeast. Numerous ancient burialplaces are found in the county, and the mortuary customs are varied, indicating that the territory has been occupied by various tribes at different periods. We find the stonecist burials, burials under flat stones, burials in stone circles, burials in the drift gravel beds, burials in pits in the horizontal and also in the sitting positions, original mound burials, intrusive mound burials and evidences of cremation. Ancient Cemetery, Near Madisonville, O.The most extensive and interesting of the ancient burial-places is the one known as the pre-historic cemetery, near Madisonville, Ohio, which has become noted for its singular ash-pits, as well as for the skeletons buried in or at the bottom of the leaf-mould covering the pits. One thousand and sixtyfive skeletons, 700 ash-pits, upwards of 300 earthen vases, numerous implements of bone, horn, shell, copper and stone have been found. These The Ash-pits are discovered after twelve to twenty-four inches of the leaf-mould has been removed and the hard pan or clay is reached, when the pit is discovered by a circular discoloration or black spot. ash-pits, as they have been well named, are circular excavations in the hard pan of the plateau, from three to four feet in diameter and from four to seven feet deep. The contents themselves are of peculiar interest, and the purpose for which they were made is still a mystery. The average pit may be said to be filled with ashes in more or less defined layers. Some of the layers near the top seem to be mixed with the surrounding gravel to a greater or less extent; but generally, after removing the contents of the upper third of the pit, a mass of fine gray ashes is found, which is from a few inches to over two feet in thickness. Sometimes this mass of ashes contains thin strata of charcoal, sand or gravel. Throughout the mass of ashes and sand, from the top of pit to the bottom, are bones of fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals. With the bones are the shells of several species of unionidæ. There are also found in these pits large pieces of pottery, also a large number of implements made of bones of deer, and elk antlers have been found. Those made of elk antlers are in most cases adapted for digging or agricultural purposes, and often so large and so well made as to prove that they are effective implements. Among other objects made of bone are beeds, small whistles, or bird-calls, made from hollow bone of birds, also flat and cylindrical pieces with. "tally" notches and marks cut upon them, short round pieces of antler carefully cut and polished together, with arrow points, drills, scrapers and other chipped instruments of stone. A few polished celts and several rough hammer stones have been found in the pits. Corn-Pit.-A number of objects of copper, particularly beads, have been taken from these pits, as have also several pipes of various shapes cut out of stone. One pit discovered August 26, 1879, known as the "corn-pit," is of peculiar interest. The depth of this pit was six feet, its diameter three feet. The layers or strata from above downwards were: 1st, Leaf-mould 24 inches; 2d, Gravel and clay 15 inches; 3d, Ashes containing animal remains, pottery sherds, unio shells 10 inches; 4th, Bark, twigs and matting 4 inches; 5th, Carbonized shell corn 4 inches; 6th, Layer of twigs, matting and corn leaves 2 inches; 7th, Carbonized corn in ear 6 inches; 8th, Boulders covering the bottom of the pit 6 inches. Immediately along-side of this pit was another the same depth, 3 feet 7 inches in diameter; containing leaf-mould, 24 inches; ashes with animal remains, fragments of pottery, shells, etc., 4 feet. The bottom layer of all the pits was invariably ashes, and in the ashes were found, in good state of preservation, bone implements, representing fish hooks, fish spears, bone and horn digging tools, bone beads, solid cylinders of bone two to three inches in length, one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter, bone awls, needles, fifes, grooved bones, cut pieces of antler of deer and elk, copper beads, perforated unios, together with numerous animal remains; of these many were identified as belonging to the deer, elk, bear, buffalo, raccoon, opossum, mink, woodchuck, beaver, various species of birds and water fowls, turkey, fish, together with various species of unio shell. Pottery.-The skeletons were buried in the horizontal position, and are generally found at a depth of from eighteen inches to three feet; with the skeletons have been found a number of vessels of pottery; the most common of these are small cooking-pots with pointed bottoms and four handles. Most of the vessels are simply cord-marked, but some are found ornamented within with incised lines, or with circular indentations. Several have been obtained on which were small and rudely made medallion figures representing the human face. Lizard Ornamentation.-On one pot a similarly formed head is on the edge so as to face the inside of the vessel. One vessel lent to the Smithsonian Institute has luted ornants representing the human face on either side between the handles. A half dozen small vessels have a very interesting form of decoration; these are known as lizard or salamander pots. On some of these vessels the salamander, which is fairly modeled, is on the surface of the broad, flat handles on opposite sides, on others these ornaments are placed between the handles, and on one they form the handles. In all, the head of the salamander is on the edge or lip of the vessel, and in one or two is carried a little to the inside. A few other forms of vessels are represented by single specimens. Such are an ordinary pot attached to a hollow stand a few inches high, two vessels joined together, one above the other, the upper without a bottom, the two having eight handles and a flat, long dish with two handles at each end. The pre-historic cemetery, near Madisonville, occupies an area of about fifteen acres covered with vast forest trees. Many of the skeletons and pits are found beneath the roots of large oak, walnut or maple trees. Mardelles or Dug-outs.-In the county but two of the circular excavations designated as "mardelles" have been found. The best preserved of this class of works is the one situated on the lands of the John Turner estate, two miles northeast of the village of Newtown. This pit has a diameter of sixty feet at the top, depth in the centre twelve feet; six feet from the edge of the pit is a well-marked embankment conforming to the circular edge of the pit. The embankment is two feet high, eight feet wide at the base, and is interrupted by a gate-way or opening fifteen feet wide at the east. There are many interesting objects in the county that warrant a detailed description; we can, however, but briefly call attention to the terraced hill at Red Bank and the old road-way in Section 11, Columbia Township. The hill at Red Bank, just north from the railway station, has an elevation of about 300 feet, and is terraced on its eastern and southern slopes. The terraces are five in number, and are undoubtedly the work of human hands. This hill is surmounted by a small mound. The ancient road-way in Section 11, Columbia Township, Madisonville, is cut along the face of a steep hill extending from the creek in a southwestwardly direction to the top of the hill ending near the Darling homestead. The road-way is upward of 1,600 feet in length, having an average width of twenty-five feet, and is overgrown with large forest trees. near Implements of Preglacial Men.-Evidences of preglacial men having existed in Ohio have been given by the finding of rudely chipped pointed implements at Madisonville and at Loveland in the glacial deposits as before stated. The discovery of the altar mounds in the Little Miami Valley similar to those discovered and explored by Squire and Davis in the Scioto Valley, near Chillicothe, would indicate that the territory that is now known as Ross and Hamilton counties was once the great centre of the pre-historic population of Southern Ohio. THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. Hamilton county was the second settled in Ohio. Washington, the first, had its first settlement at Marietta, April 7, 1788. The country between the Great and Little Miamis had been the scene of so many fierce conflicts between the Kentuckians and Indians in their raids to and fro that it was termed the "Miami Slaughter House." In June, 1780, the period of the Revolutionary war, Captain Byrd, in command of 600 British and Indians with artillery from Detroit, came down the Big Miami and ascended the Licking opposite Cincinnati on his noted expedition into Kentucky, when he destroyed several stations and did great mischief. And in the August following Gen. Rogers Clark, with his Kentuckians, took up his line of march from the site of Cincinnati for the Shawnee towns on Little Miami and Mad rivers, which he destroyed. On this campaign he erected two blockhouses on the north side of the Ohio. These were the first structures known to have been built on the site of the city. The beautiful country between the Miamis had been so infested by the Indians that it was avoided by the whites, and its settlement might have been procrastinated for years, but for the discovery and enterprise of Major Benjamin Stites, a trader from New Jersey. In the summer of 1786 Stites happened to be at Washington, just back of Limestone, now Maysville, where he headed a party of Kentuckians in pursuit of some Indians who had stolen some horses. They followed for some days; the latter escaped, but Stites gained by it a view of the rich valleys of the Great and Little Miami as far up as the site of Xenia. With this knowledge, and charmed by the beauty of the country, he hurried back to New Jersey, and revealed his discovery to Judge John Cleves Symmes, of Trenton, at that time a member of Congress and a man of great influence. The result was the formation of a company of twenty-four gentlemen of the State, similar to that of the Ohio Company, as proprietors of the proposed purchase. Among these were General Jonathan Dayton, Elias Boudinot and Dr. Witherspoon, as well as Symmes and Stites. Synimes, in August of next year, 1787, petitioned Congress for a grant of the land, but before the bargain was closed he made arrangements with Stites to sell him 10,000 acres of the best land. SETTLEMENT OF COLUMBIA. Under the contract with Symmes, Stites, with a party of eighteen or twenty, landed on the 18th of November, 1788, and laid out the village of Columbia below the mouth of the Little Miami; it is now within the limits of the city, five miles east of Fountain Square. Among The settlers were superior men. them were Col. Spencer, Major Gano, Judge Goforth, Francis Dunlavy, Major Kibbey, Rev. John Smith, Judge Foster, Col. Brown, Mr. Hubbell, Capt. Flinn, Jacob White and John Riley, and for several years the settlement was the most populous and successful. Two or three blockhouses were first erected for the protection of the women and children, and then log-cabins for the families. The boats in which they had come from Maysville, then Limestone, were broken up and used for the doors, floors, etc., to these rude buildings. They had at that time no trouble from the Indians, which arose from the fact that they were then gathered at Fort Harmar to make a treaty with the whites. Wild game was plenty, but their breadstuffs and salt soon gave out, and as a substitute they occasionally used various roots, taken from native plants, the bear grass especially. When the spring of 1789 opened their prospects grew brighter. The fine bottoms on the Little Miami had long been cultivated by the savages, and were found mellow as ash heaps. The men worked in divisions, onehalf keeping guard with their rifles while the others worked, changing their employments morning and afternoon. Turkey Bottom, on the Little Miami, one and a half miles above Columbia, was a clearing in area of a square mile, and had been cultivated by the Indians for a long while, and supplied both Columbia and the garrison at Fort Washington at Cincinnati with corn for that season. From nine acres of Turkey Bottom, the tradition goes, the enormous crop of 963 bushels were gathered the very first season. Before this the women and children from Columbia early visited Turkey Bottom to scratch up the bulbous roots of the bear grass. These they boiled, washed, dried on smooth boards, and finally pounded into a species of flour, which served as a tolerable substitute for making various baking operations. Many of the families subsisted for a time entirely on the roots of the bear grass; and there was great suffering for provisions until they could grow corn. SETTLEMENT OF CINCINNATI. The facts connected with the settlement of Cincinnati are these: In the winter of 1787-1788 Matthias Denman, of Springfield, New Jersey, purchased of John Cleves Symmes, a tract of land comprising 740 acres, now but a small part of the city, his object being to form a station, lay out a town on the Ohio side opposite the mouth of the Licking river, and establish a ferry, which last was especially important. The old Indian war-path from the British garrison at Detroit here crossed the Ohio, and here was the usual avenue by which savages from the north had invaded Kentucky. Denman paid five shillings per acre in Continental scrip, or about fifteen pence per acre in specie, or less than $125 in specie for the entire plot. Denman the next summer associated with him two gentlemen of Lexington, Ky., each having one-third interest, Col. Robert Patterson and John Filson. The first was a gallant soldier of the Indian wars, and John Filson a schoolmaster and surveyor, and author of various works upon the West, of which he had been an explorer, one of them "The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucky," published in 1784; also a map of the same. Filson was to survey the site and lay it out into lots, thirty in-lots of half an acre and thirty out-lots of four acres to be given thirty settlers on their paying $1.50 for deed and survev. He called the proposed town Losantiville, a name formed by him from the Latin "os," mouth, the Greek "anti," opposite, and the French "ville," city, from its position opposite the mouth of the Licking river. And this name it retained until the advent of Gov. St. Clair, January 2, 1790, who, being a member of the old Revolutionary army Society of Cincinnatus, expressed a desire the name should be changed to Cincinnati, when his wish was complied with. Preliminary Exploration.-In September, 1788, a large party, embracing Symmes, Stites, Denman, Patterson, Filson, Ludlow, with others, in all about sixty men, left Limestone to visit the new Miami Purchase of Symmes. They landed at the mouth of the Great Miami, and explored the country for some distance back from that and North Bend, at which point Symmes then decided to make a settlement. The party surveyed the distance between the two Miamis, following the meanders of the Ohio, and returned to Limestone. On this trip Filson became separated from his companions while in the rear of North Bend, and was never more heard of, having doubtless been killed by the Indians, a fate of which he always seemed to have a presentiment. Israel Ludlow, who had intended to act as surveyor for Symmes, now accepted Filson's interest, and assumed his duties in laying out Losantiville. Landing at Cincinnati.-On the 24th of December, 1788, Denman and Patterson, with twenty-six others, left Limestone in a boat to found Losantiville. After much difficulty and danger from floating ice in the river, they arrived at the spot on or about the 28th, the exact date being in dispute. The precise spot of their landing was an inlet at the foot of Sycamore street, later known as Yeatman's Cove. Ludlow laid out the town. On the 7th of January ensuing the settlers by lottery decided on their choice of donation lots, the same being given to each in fee simple on condition: 1. Raising two crops successively, and not less than an acre for each crop. 2. Building within two years a house equal to twenty-five feet square, one and a half stories high, with brick, stone or clay chimney, each house to stand in front of their lots. The following is a list of the settlers who so agreed, thirty in number: Samuel Blackburn, Sylvester White, Joseph Thornton, John Vance, James Dumont, -Fulton, Elijah Martin, Isaac Van Meter, Thomas Gissel, David McClever, Davidson, Matthew Campbell, James Monson, James McConnell, Noah Badgely, James Carpenter, Samuel Mooney, James Campbell, Isaac Freeman, Scott Traverse, Benjamin Dumont, Jesse Stewart, Henry Bechtle, Richard Stewart, Luther Kitchell, Ephraim Kibbey, Henry Lindsey, John Porter, Daniel Shoemaker, Joel Williams. The thirty in-lots in general terms comprised the space back from the landing between Main street and Broadway, and there was the town began. The North Bend settlement was the third within the Symmes Purchase, and was made under the immediate care of Judge Symmes. He called it North Bend because it is the most northerly bend on the Ohio west of the Kanawha. The Judge with his party of adventurers left Limestone January 29, 1789, only about a month after that of Denman at Cincinnati, and two months after that of Stites at Columbia. The history of this with other connecting historical items we extract from Burnet's Notes: The party, on their passage down the river, were obstructed, delayed and exposed to imminent danger from floating ice, which covered the river. They, however, reached the Bend, the place of their destination, in safety, early in February. The first object of the Judge was to found a city at that place, which had received the name of North Bend, from the fact that it was the most northern bend in the Ohio river below the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The water-craft used in descending the Ohio, in those primitive times, were flatboats made of green oak plank, fastened by wooden pins to a frame of timber, and caulked with tow, or any other pliant substance that could be procured. Boats similarly constructed on the northern waters were then called arks, but on the western rivers they were denominated Kentucky boats. The materials of which they were composed were found to be of great utility in the construction of temporary buildings for safety, and for protection from the inclemency of the weather, after they had arrived at their destination. At the earnest solicitation of the Judge, General Harmar sent Captain Kearsey with forty-eight rank and file, to protect the improvements just commencing in the Miami country. This detachment reached Limestone in December, 1788, and in a few days after, Captain Kearsey sent a part of his command in advance, as a guard to protect the pioneers under Major Stites, at the Little Miami, where they arrived soon after. Mr. Symmes and his party, accompanied by Captain Kearsey, landed at Columbia, on their passage down the river, and the detachment previously sent to that place joined their company. They then proceeded to the Bend, and landed about the first or second of February. When they left Limestone, it was the purpose of Captain Kearsey to occupy the fort built at the mouth of the Miami, by a detachment of United States troops, who afterwards descended the river to the falls. That purpose was defeated by the flood in the river, which had spread over the low grounds and rendered it difficult to reach the fort. Captain Kearsey, however, was anxious to make the attempt, but the Judge would not consent to it; he was, of course, much disappointed, and greatly displeased. When he set out on the expedition, expecting to find a fort ready built to receive him, he did not provide the implements necessary to construct one. Thus disappointed and displeased, he resolved that he would not build a new work, but would leave the Bend and join the garrison at Louisville. In pursuance of that resolution, he embarked early in March, and descended the river with his command. The Judge immediately wrote to Major Willis, commandant of the garrison at the Falls, complaining of the conduct of Captain Kearsey, representing the exposed situation of the Miami settlement, stating the indications of hostility manifested by the Indians, and requesting a guard to be sent to the Bend. This request |