Portage County, Ohio - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 2 of those read), 1885 (part 6 of 6)

Hill, dale and streamlet, with all the families of plants from the lofty forest tree to the creeping ivy, gave to the landscape variety and picturesque beauty. An unchanged progression of periodical decay had from time imme morial been forming a rich vegetable soil, in preparation for the wti when civilized man should take possession and become its cultivator. Oak of several varieties, chestnut, am i hickory in all its species, wore the principal <^rowth on the dry gravelly luuds; red and white beech, maple or sugar tree, linden or baaswooo, somadk, white aah, ooenmbert poplar, white, mSi and slippery elm, walnut, ironwood, dogwood, sassafras and cherry, on the rich loamy Boil; and on the wetlands hemlock, black ash, tamarack, sycamore, soft maple and birch; while there was a varying undergrowth of fruit-bearing trees and vines, sooh as the plum, Qr»b*apple, white, red and blaeik haw, alder, whortleberry, blackberry, raspberry, serviceberry, gooseberry, currant, cranberry and strawberrj', also nute of several varieties, and hops, ginseng, bloodroot, chocolate root, together with innumerable kinds of other roots and herbage of valuable properties, wore the apoDteneoiiB growth of Portage 00111117. _^ A thick undergrowth gave an excellent covert to the wild aniauds thatcmoe abounded in this section of the State, viz. : the elk, deer, panther, wolf, bear, wild cat, fox, marten, otter, polecat, beaver, groundhog or woodchuok, opossum, raccoon, haxe^ rabbit, blank, grey, red or pine, flying and ground or striped ,^ squirrels, nuu^at, mink, weasel, porcupine, tield-mouse, deer-mouse, common rat and mouse. Of these the elk, panther, wolf, boar, wild cat and beaver are extinct in this county, or if any are ever seen it is a very rare occurrence.

Among the birds which are natiyes of this oonnty or Tiiit it annnally, ^ther to build or tooehing it in their migraticm to a more northerly region, are the bald and gray eagle, rarely if ever seen; the hen hawk, fish hawk, pigeon hawk, shrike or butcher bird, the white, the cat and screech owl, the swan, wild goose, black duck, mallard, wood duck, shelldrake, teal, batterbolt, loon, dippw, water hen or oDot, plover, jacksnipe, sandsnipe, kingfisher, turkey, pheasant, partridge or quail, woodcock, rail, pigeon, dove, whip-poor-will, robin, thrush, catbird, cuckoo, lark, oriole, blnejay, tieldfare or red breasted groesbeak, martin, the bam swallow, bank swallow, oven swal* low, Unebird, wren, cow bird, bobolink or reed-bird, yellow bird, redbird, blaokbird, redwing, starlings black or lai|{e woodpecker, red>headed woodj _ d by Google poeker, gray woodpecker, flicker, oedar bird or toppy, orookbill, sfreon bud. Bumming bird, aod a variety of noall birds with whose species the writer ia not familiar. Some of these members of tho feathery kingdom have become TM^ rare or aitogether extinct, while others have come into the connty. The vbito-breaaied swallow ia one of the later inhabitants, as is also the hardy, pognacioos ^English apezrow, which sinoe his coming has driven many of the moet beautifal songsten fcom the towns now inhaUted by thoae litUe fellows in great numbers.

The snakes that were foond in this locality are the black and yellow rattle- 1 snakes, the former of whieh osnally frequented the wet or swampy lands, and the latter tho hilly or drygronnd. Hundreds of thoBe "yellow skins," as they were commonly calle<l, were killed, dtirincr the first few years of settlement, in nearly every township in the county. Regular hunting parties were sometimee orgaalaed in thia spring-time^ to inviMto their draa among the ledges, and by this means thoKB dangerona peeta were rapidly exterminated. The water snake whh a large black snake, often growing from five to seven feet in length; the small black snake or white-ringed viper, the brown or house snake, the gairter aaa]» and fhe green anako ware plantifoL AU of fhoae mentioned aie innoonoua eioepi die rattlesnake, and it ia fortonately now nearly or altogether extinct.

The wild denizens of tho forest roamed at will during the earlier years of tiie ooanty*fl history, and many of the pioneera eoold tell of dangers and hairbreadth escapes from an enraged beoOTy a pack of ravenous wolveB» or a treacherous wild cat, which at one time were more plentiful in this region than cattle, sheep or hoga. To rid the country of these daneerous neighbors, big himla weir« gotten up, when game of every sort went do wn in aoorea, befbre die nnerring rifles of the frontier Bportsmen. A whole township would be surrounded by a line of hunters, and at a pre-concerted signal all would begin the march toward the center, driving the game before them and shooting down any that tried to eeoape. Great quantitiee of Tahnable game were slao^tered in thia way, and as there were premiums paid for the soalpa of the more dangerons animals, these hunts nsnally proved a financial success. In a big hunt which took place in Freedom Township, in December, 1818, there were killed twenty-three bears, seven wolves and thirty -six deer, besidea aoores ct tmrkeya; and other game. On the 25th of December, 1818, another hnnt took place in Windham Township, when twenty- one bears, sixty-eight deer, one wolf, one wild cat, with turkeys and other small game innumerable, were bagged. The aame year at the close of a hunt in Edinburg Township, seven bears, five wolves, one hundred deer and four hundred imSeys were eonnted as the result of the day's sport. Another hunt occurred in Edinburg and Atwater Townships l^ocember 24, 1819, tho result of which was twenty .tne bears, eighteen Wolve6, one hundred and three deer, and more than three hundred turkeys. hk 1819 a similar raid waa made npon the game of Streetsbovo Township, and five bears, four wolves and sixty deer were slain. Such hunts took place at different times in nearly every township in the county, but those given will folly illustrate tho great amount of wild game which once inhabited the valleys of the Mahoning and Cuyahoga. Those oi^^aniaed hunting parties soon had a telling effect in lessening the game, and finally becoming unpopular, met with a determined opposition from a large class of citizens and were abandoned. Long after the surrounding country was well settled, the tarnaraeic swampe of Briiaileld Township afforded an ezeellent ooveit for wild game^ and bears, wolves, deer etc., were quite numerous in that locality. Bears eapeoially were ao plentiful (hat the township waa familiarly known aa

**BMr Town." 8trooU»boro, Freedom, Parie and Edinbarg TowmAkipe wem also iiot«d hunting grounds for some years after the game in the adjoining territory had boi^n pretty well thinned out. The last wolf kill(*d in Streeteboro Township was shot by Merrill Stanton, March 6, 1838, about which time the larger ana mora tronbleflome wild animals had, mndi to the relief of those settlers vhose cattle, hogs and sheep often went to satisfy their vonMlioaa appetites, entiroly disappearpd from the forests of this county.

The general topography of Fortage County is slightly rolling, the uplands QBOAlljr of a sandy or gravelly nature, and the more TeTel portions prineipally OOmposed of a clay soil. Few counties in Ohio are better watered. The whole eastprn half is drained by the Mahoning River, with its sevornl local branches, Silver Creek being the most important, which rise along the central portions of the county, from north to south, and flow in an easterly direction, uniting before reaching Warren, Ohio; thence take a soatheast coarse to the Shenango, with whose waters tho Mahoning unites about two miles south of Nowoastle, Penn., when the two streams become Benvpr River. The word Mahoning is, according to Heckewelder, derived from either the Indian if oAoni, signifjring **a lick,"" or MahonhOB, **attbe Uoic;'* bat Lucins Y. Bieroe^ in his pkotches of tho Western Eesorvo, says that it OOmSS feom the Indian HOrd M(i nin ing, meaning "the way to tho market."

The Cuyahoga River takes its rise in Geauga County, and flowing southwest enters Portage near tiia. northwest comer of Hiram Township; thence crossing mid corner and keeping the same general course across the southeast corner of Mantua, and the northwest corner of Shalersville Township, turns southward through the southeastern tier of lots in Streetsboro Townshijp; thence winding diagonally across Franklin Towndiip, frcnn its northeast to its southwest corner, passing through Kent on its route, enters Summit County. It there mak^ a big bond, and turning northward empties into Lake Erie at Cleveland. This river receives its name from the Indian word Cuy-o-gc^ meaning "crooked,'* a term dgnifioant of the stream, which is Tory wining. Its largeet tributaries in this county are the Little Ouyahoga and the Breakneck The former drains the south oafit corner of the county, Fritcb's Pond, in Suffleld Township, being one of its sources, and Springfield Lake, across the line in Sommlt Ooonty, Oie other. The Breakneck heads in Stark Oonnty, and winding northward through Randolph and Rootstown Townships, turns across the southwest comer of Ravenna Townshij^ and thence northwestward throiic^h Franklin Township, discharges its waters into the Cuyahoga, about a mile and a half northeast ot Kenl. One hraneh of the Chagrin Riter heada in Aoront and Mantua Townships, and tiienoe passing northward joins the main stream in Cuyahoga County.

Portage is also well supplied with small natural lakes and ponds. In Franklin Township we find Brady's Lake, Pippin Lake, Twin Lakes and Stewart's Pond; in Rootstown. Sandy Lake,Maddy Lake (which is partly located in Ravenna Township). Muzzy's Pond and Ward's Pond; in Suffield, Congress Lake (partly) and Fritch's Pond, and Long Pond in Aurora Township. Brady's Lake received its name in honor of Capt Samuel Brady, of ^' Brady's Leap ** fams^ whoftntnnately escaped from Indian vengeance by hiding beneath its wa> ters. Pippin Lake was called after the apple of that name; Twin Lakes, because of their close proximity to each other, and connection l)y a small branch; Stewart's Pond, after a pioneer of that name; Sandy and Muddy Lakes, from the character of the soil sarroandine them; If assy's Pond, after Nathan Mnsiy, a peculiar character who claimed to have discovered it; Ward's Pond, from a piooeer of that name; Congress Lake^ from the lake bearing that name in

Geology of Porkige GENiiily.* - ^Potti^ Ooonty li6B entirely on fhe watershed which separates the streams that flow into Lake Erie from the tribatarisa of the Ohio. Its central portion rises to an altitude of (kSf) feet above the lake, while the valleys bj which its surface is divexsilied descend about 800 feel lower. The highest point of the oonntj is near the line of the Qeveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, between Bootstown and Atwater, whiltt the lowest is in the of the Mahoning, below Garretteville.

When iirst entered by the whites, the county was covered with an unbroken growth of primeval forest, eonsisting, <hi tibe lower and more level portioDs, of beaoh and maplo; of oak, chestnut, etc., on the higher and drier lands.

Though underlaid by rocks of diverse character, the surface is mainly formed by a sheet of olay,which has given a peculiar character to the agrionltvral poiaolts of ttie inhsiMtantsi and nss made this a portion of the great dairy diatriet of the Western Reserve.

In some localities on the northern and weatom tlope of the water-shed, but near its summit, are heavy beds of gravel, forming swells of the surface, or even-roanded hills of considerable altitude. Typical examples of these may be seen in Randolph, Rootstown, SniBeld, Franklin and Brimfield, and near fiarlville, on the lines of the two railroads which pass through the county. In the basins inclosed by these gravel hills and ridges lie most of the lakes and peat bogs of the county. These gravel hills constitute an interesting feature in the sorfaoe depoaits, and will be fdnnd described in the ficst chapter of Vol. II, under the head of Karnes. I have ascribed thorn to the action of waves on the Drift deposit of the shore and sboalB which formed the margin of the great inland sea that once tilled all the basin of the lakes.

& the northern part of fhe eonnty fhe Drift depoeits are generally of so great thickness as to cover and conceal the underlying rocks. Wherever exposed to view, the rock surface is found to be planed and grooved by glacial action, and nanally the over.lying clay may be designated as a bowlder clay, sinee it oontains masses of rook derived from neighboring eonroee, with emaller and usually eeratohed and worn fragments brought from distant localities. This clay is unquestionably the material ground ap by the groat glacier which once covered northern Ohio, pushed forward by its advance, and left in an irregular ehset npoo fhe rooky foundation in its retreat Ln come plaoea the slay ia finer, witbcnit gravel or bowlders, and is aoenratsly stratified by the action of water.

Immediately beneath the soil, or projecting above the surface, ure found many transported bowlden, frequently of lai^ size, composed of granite, greenstone, and other crystalline rocks, evidently of foreign origin, and apparently derived from the hiLrhlands north of the groat lakes. Thn^o bowlders are rarely found deeply buried in the Drift, and, as I have elsewhere shown, mnsl have been fioaled by icebergs firam thmr place of origin, and dropped into their preeent position. Some of tiie superficiiil gravels which overlie ttw bowlder clay seem to hsEVe been transported by the same agency.

As a whole, the soil of Portage Gountr is productive, and although, from its tenacious character, and the dense growth of forest by which it was ooversdf it has required much patience and labor for its subjugation, this task has been well and thoroughly performed by the intelligent and indnstrious population into whose possession it came, and it has repaid their efforts by a constant and generous support through the last half century.

Id common with the other portions of the great divide on which Portage County is located, its rolling smrfaoo forma nmnoroaB looal bafllns, many of which have been, and some still are, occupied by lakee. Of the8e laksB Stewart's Pond, Twin Lakes, Brady's Lake, and Pippin Lake, in Franklin, Muddy Lake, Sandy Lake and Muzzy 'e Lake in Bootetown, and Fr itch's Pond in Snflield, may be died as examplee. Theee lakea aw supplied by springs whieh flow through the Drift gravels, and their water is usually clear and pure; they contain great numbers of fine fish, and are also int<>re^^tinf» and beautiful features in the scenery. Some of these basins formerly occupied by water have been gradually filled up by the growtti of Tegetation, and now exifit as swampa underlaid by peat. One of. the best known of these ia near Bayenna, where considerable font has boon cut and manufactured. There is another and still more extensive peat marsh in Brimlield, and small ones occur in nearly every township. Uaaally tiieae peat bogs are oeoapied with Sphagnum (the peatproducing moaa), eranbenry Tines, huckleberry ImslMa, and larehes, and thej are often known as tamarack or huckleberry swampa. The peat in these swamps is not unfrequently underlaid by shell marl, and both these are capable of being used witii profit by the farmers as fertilizers. It is also probable that the cranberry may be successfully cultivated on the swamp sufacee. In the Eastern States the cultivation of cranberries has prnved to be liighly remunerative to those engaged in it, and there seems no good reason w^hy the same success should not be attained by the inhabitants of those portions of Ohio where the cranberry grows spontaneously, and where there are marshes which are well adapted to its cultivation.

Striking and typical examples of the glacial fmrows which have l>een referred to above may be seen ou the hill near the house of Mr. Theodore darh, in the township of Edinbnrg. The direotion of the sfaria is here N. (^0^ E. The rock is a sandstone, overlying the lower seam of coal. Near the center of I'ahnyra is a still better exhibition of glacial marks. On the hill, three quarters of a mile west of the center, the bearing of the furrows is N. 90** E. In the town of Palmyra, on a sorf aoe of eanotone eacpoeed in front of Mr. Wilson's store, the traces of glacial action are ver^- conspicuous; the rock surface being planed down very smooth, and marked with scratches and furrows, of which the direction is N. 26° K In jnany othet parts-Xil the wunty similar ioe inMriptioos may be observed* ohiefly on the snrfaees of the beds of 8and8tone, aa tfa^ are better retained on ttiie indestmotable material than on the softer or more soluble rocks.

The bowlder day which overlies the glaciated surface varies considerably in appearanoe in different looalitiee, aeoording to the exposure and drainage to which it has been subjected, and the local circumstances which controlled ite formation. In the valleys it will be found to be of a bluish color throughout. On the higher lands the upper portion is frequently yellow, sometioLea down to the depth of ten or twelve feet, while tiie lower portion ie bine or gray. This differenoe I attribute to the oxidation of the iron contained in flw clay, where it has been exposed to the air and to surface drainnf:ce. The number and character of the pebbles and bowlders contained in the clay also maoh in different localities. In some places, as near Campbellsport, the Drift depoeits are largely made'up of angular or little-worn fragmentaof aand* stone, torn from their beds in the immediate vicinity ; while in places remote from such outcrops of the harder rocks, the stones coutflined in the clay are small, much worn, and many of them are composed of granite, etc, brought from the region north of the lakes. - bowlder clav, >nit perhaps oftener on the nnderlying rock, showing that the 4MniBe0 which produced the accumulation of gravel generally removed all the elaj. Where the gravel beds overlap the bowlder clay, the materiala which aompoae them teeoi to luKve baen waahed back Cram Che higher gronndB. It will be noticed that the pebbles in the gravel beds are well rounded and often irregalarly stratified, while those found in the bowlder clftv are sub-angalar, scratched and worn, but rarely rounded. It is evident, therefore, that the giavala have bean nibjeetad to a tritoraiing action quite different from tiiat exerted by glaciers on the materials which they move. The facta show far« ther that water, either in shore waves or in river currents, has been the ngent bj which the pebbles of the gravel have been rounded ; and as it is dilhcult to eoneeiTe of a&y ooimta which oonld leaTe beda and hilla of gttmH each aa are foond along the di'vide between the waters of the lake and the Ohio, I have been led to consider these deposits as the effect of shore waves, when the lake basin was hlled to this height, on the bowlder olay and other Drift mataorial which once oorered the nnderlying rocka. It ia powible, too, tibat the drainage from the glacier, when it filled the lake basin and was melting along its southern edge, contributed to the washing of the clay and the rounding of the pebblea. In this view the gravel hills and sheets which cover ao amoh of tiie great divide whieh croeses the Stale be compared to the taiminal moraines of existing glaciers, but in no mominaof which I have any knowledge are the pebbles and bowlders nearly so well rounded as in the deposits under consideration ; and I am sore all who will carefully examine theee will agree with me that free and swift moving water, in large quantity, has been the chief agent in producing the phenomena exhibited. Along certain linee leading from the summit of the watershed to the Ohio, both east and weet of Portage County, there are belts of gravel and bowlders, which mark, aa I ooncieve, broad and long- existing drainage channels, by which the surplus water of the lake baain fleered thrra§^ oectain waste-weiia cut in the watersbrd and escaped southward, bot the grsrel hilla of Portage County can hardly be referred to such a cause.

Geological Structure. - The number and relative positions of the strata wUik aona to tha anrfaea within the limita of' Portage Ooanfy will ba aaan at a glamB^ hj xafamnaa to the aeetion itivan below: ammarated in the preoediug section belong to flie Oarbon* iferouB system, of whieh they reptesent two members, viz. -. the Conglomerate and the Cos! Measures. The area of the comity is about equally divided between the two formations. All the nq^thern half has the Conglomerate for fully exposed in the vallevB of thf IMahoning and Cuyahoga. The trough of the latter stream is cat in the Couglomerate all the way from the point where it entera the eoanty, in Hinun, to iti place of edt, on tlM west side of Fnikk> lin. The Conglomerate is well seen in Mantua and Garrettsville, and still bettor in Franklin and Nelson. In all these localities it exhibits essentially the same characters, viz. : a coarse, drab-oolored sandstone, in places thickly aatwith qiiarta pebUaa from the siae of a pea to tliat of aa egg. In some places, as in Windham, the stone it furnishes is finer, whiter, and mora homo* geneons, and would answer admirably for architectural purp>oees. As a general rule, however, it is rather coarse for all fine work, but fomiBhes a strong and durable stone, well adapted to bridge-building, cellar walls, and, indeed, to all plain and massive masonry.

Nenr Kent certain layers of the Conglomerate have been found, which are white enough to serve for the manufacture of glass. The coloring matter of the rock is usually iron, and it here contains much less than usual.

The best sections of the Oonglomerate foond in the county are in Nelson, where its entire thickness is Bhown - 175 feet - and it forms bold epcarpmonts, which constitute the western boundary of the valley of Urand Kiver. These escarpments are known as the .Nelson Ledges. They affotd the most pictnresqne seamy to be fbnnd in the eonnty, and are noted places of resort for the inhabitants of the surrounding region. In the extreme northeastern corner of the connty an island of the Conglomerate lia-s been cut oft by erosion from the main plateau. Though less bold in its outline, it has the same topographioal diaraoter and relation as Little Uoontain, in Lake County.

At the base of the Nelson Ledges the Cuyahoga Hhale is imperfectly ej^xjsed. This is the upper member of the WaverJy formation, and will be fonnd fnlly described in the reports on Onyahoga, Snnmat» and Tmmboll Ooontiee. A few years since quite an excitement was raised by the reported discovery of gold at the Nelson Ledges. As is usual in such caaefl, stock companies were formed, and many dreams of wealth were indulged in by thoee who obtained ahares of the sto^ It is hardly neeoaeaiy to say that these dreams have passed like *the baseless fabric of a vision." The excitement was caused by the discovery of iron pyrites in certain beds of the Conglomer* ate - another of the innumerable examples of the mistake of "fool's gold" for tme gold. A little knowledge of geology would haye preifented this mtw, and would have taught the BuSferers that gold could neverbe fonnd in paying quantities in Portage County. That minute particles may sometimes be detected in the superticiul gravels is very probable, since these gravels are largely made up of quartz {lebblee, which are only rolled masses of the quarts veins oontained in the crystalline rooks of the Canadian highlands, and which frequently carry a little gold. It is also probable that with suflScient care in searching for it, an infiniteeimal quantify of gold might be detected in the Conglomerate, as the quartz pebbles it contains were doubtless derived from the aame sonree with those to whioh I have already referred ; but it may be confidently predicted that the precious metal will never be obtained from either of the sources mentioned in sufiicient quantity to compensate the most idle and worthless member of the community for any time he may speed in

Coal Measures. - Nearly three-fourths of the surface of Portage County is underlaid by coal-measure rocks, and they once covered its entire area. From the valleys of the Mahoning and Cuy^ogathey have been removed by erosion, so that in the northern part of the connty they are reekioted to a small island

In the liortheru part of Portage County the Drift deposits are so thick aa to hide fbe ontorope of the eoal roc»v and it is here very difRonU to trace the line along whioh the edge of the lowest coal seam shoald be found. It is probable that coal, in greater or less tlyckness, underlies the principal part of Hiram, the western half of Shalersville and Bavenna, and the southwestern corner of Windham. The northern and Bonthem portions of Paris, and nearly all of Charlestown, lie above the horizon of the lower coal,^ domostof Palniyr^ Deerfield, Brimheld and Huffiold.

Along a belt running through the central part of the county, the laud is ' high enough to eaiiy tlw seoond end third seaiiMi of ooal from the bottom. With this breadth of coal srea it would at first sight seem that Portage County should produce as large an amount of coal as Trnmhull, and much more than Summit, but up to the present time the ooal production of the county has been esoeedingly anwlL This arises from the ftet that the margin of the lower ooal (Ooal Na 1) is so generally covered with Drift that it does noteh ow itself at the surface in many localities, and also that this ooal here, as in the Mahoning Valley, lies in detached basins of limited extent, and is entirely absent over large areas from the place where it belongs, or is so thin as to be of litUe valua We may expect, however, that important basins of the Briar Hill ooal will be found within the limits that have been marked out. W^ere it not for the Drift it would be easy to follow the outcrops of the rocks, and knowing just where to explore by diggiug or boring, to determine the presence or absence of the ooaL In the present circumstances, however, even where ooal may be supposed to exist, it can only be detected by boring blindly through the Drift de]>08it8. In many places these will doubtless be found so thick as to cut out the coal, though the surface may be considerably above the coal level. Even where the rodka which belong above the coal may be foond in place, from the irr^ular distribution of this soam, the chances are more than equal that the result of boring will show it to be absent, or too thin to have any economic value. Since, however, the ooal of this stratum is so excellent, it will be the part of wisdom for all flioee who own territory lying within the linee I have traced to maJ^SQCh explorations as may determine whether or not they are in poesession of some portion of this great source of wealth. The level of Coal No. 1, in the northern half of Portage County, varies from 500 to 600 feet above the lake. The dip being toward the south, the coal sinks rapidly in that direction, and rises correspondingly toward the north. At Ravenna the place of the coal is probably not far from the level of the intersection of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh and Atlantic k Great Western iiaiiroads, or about 500 feet above Lake Erie.

CJoal No. 1 has been opened, and is now quite extensively mined in Palmyra. It here exhibits the same general feature, both as regards thickness and quality, as the coal of the neighboring counties of Mahoning and Tram> bnlL The coal mining of Palmyra is principally done by the Western Beeerve Coal Company, to a member of which company. Mr. W. "B. Wilson, d Palmyra, I am indebted for much valuable information concerning the operations of his own company, and in regard to other developmontB of coal made in this township. The ooal mined by the Western Reserve Coal Company is reached bj a shaft which is eighty-one feet deep to the coal, or ninety-five feet from the tip. It is reported that in Hinking the shaft eighteen feet of earth was first passed through, and then sixty -three feet of rock, mainly nhale, in which were two strata of " kidney" ore. The coal varies from two to four feet in thickness, being thickeet in a "swamp'' which runs northwest and BOTithonst in a tortuous course. On each side of this crooketl basin the coal rises and thins, and is workod to the thickness of two feet The company is taking oat about 4,000 tons por annam, selling it at the mine at 18.00 per ton. The coal is of excellent quality, being very free from sulphur, and containing little ash. It is a block coal, finely laminated with charcoal seams, and is not surpassed in (quality by any coal in the SState outside of the Mahoning Valley. According to tmr barometric measnrements by a single line of obeervatione, the center of Palmyra is 120 feet above Ravenna Station, or 050 feet above Lake- Erie. The tip of the coal ooinpany's shaft is 430 fo'»t above Lake Erie, and the coal 335 feet above the lake. Owing to the variability of the barometer, these figures can not be relied upon as absolutely correct. The Western Reserve Goal Company has 200 acres of coal land in the eastern part of Palmyra, on the center rond. How Inrf^© a part of those 200 acres is underlaid by coal of workable thickness has not yet been ascertained. Other companies have been making explorations in this neighborhood, and report about 200 acres of good coal land in addition to that before mentioned.

In the northwestern part of the township some 300 acres of coal proporty aio said to have been tested, and the coal is reported to be from threo to four feet in thickness. Coal has also been found in the northeastern and south* westmi parts of the township. We thns have good reason for believing tiMt a Bomowhat cxtonsivo basin, or series of basins, of the Briar Hill coal exists in and about Palmyra, but years of ex|)loraf ion will be required before it will be known what the connection, limits and value of this coal held are.

From the shaft in Palmyra the coal extends west and south to an unknown distance, and |)ossibly reaches under much of the central and southern parts of the county. Since the placo of Coal No. 1 is from 200 to 250 feet below the surface over a considerable part of the higher land, it is apparent that most of the boring yet done has formed no test of its presence or absence.

In the valley of the Mahoning, in Deerfield, an outcrop of coal may bo seen which was supposed by Mr. Bead, who examined it, to be the Briar Hill coal. It is, however, only about a foot in thickness, and it is probable that it is the nest seam abova A boring of limited depth would decide the question. Li Brimfield and Su£SeId there is a large amount of territory- which desprvos more carefnl exploration than it has yet received. Hero the land rises to 150 feet above the level of the coal, bat the surface is generally occupied by Drift. Little is known of the natora of the underlying rocks, but from the relation which this district holds to the coal basins of Tallmadge and Sprir)<;tiold, in Summit County, thoro is a great probability that sooner or later good deposits of coal will be found here. It should be borne in mind, however, that from the cinmmstances which I have folly explained in the report on the geology of Summit, the lower coal is oftener absent than present in tlie ])lace where it belongs, atvl it is, therefore, to bo expected that a laige part of the trials which may be made here will result in disappointment.

At Limaville, on the southern line of the county, Coal No. 1 has been stmck in borings by Dr. J. A. Dales, at the depth of about 170 feet, or less than 350 foot above the lake. Accordinrr to tho reports liy Dr. Dalos, the coal lias here a thickness of over four feet. Analyses prove that it has the purity and physical character of the Mahoning Valley coal. Should a considerable area in this vicinity be found to be underlaid by Goal No. 1, it would be difficult to exaggerate the importance it would assume among the wealthlirndtK'iiif^' olMiuonts of the county, and it is sincerely to be hoped that the examinations begun here will be carried through the townships lying north, until this important questiaii shall be definitely settled

Coals No8. 3 and 4. - By reference to the general section of the rocks of the county, it will be seen that at a distance from the lower coal - generally from fifty to seventy-iive feet - a thin seam occnrs. This has no value in this pari of tiie State, and requires hero no further notice.

From 150 to 200 feet above Coal No. 1, two other seams come in, which are sometimes of workable thickness. These we have designated as Coals No. 3 and Na 4. They ore separated by a dlHtance oi thirty to fifty feet, and are Qsaally both ororlidcl by limeatoiio. SometimeB* bow«T«r, one or l>otb of limestones are replaced by shale. These coal seams, here as elsewhere, have proved to be quite irregular in their thickness, although in a general way continuous from Portage through Summit, Stark, Wayne, Holmes, Coshocton Conntiea, ete;, to and beyond tbe NaUonal Boad. Bodi tbeae ooala may be aeen in tbe north eastern corner of Atwater, where the north and south road erodes a small stream, and not far from the localitv where bo much fire clay is dng. Here tbe limestone of Na 3 shows in the bed of the brook at a level of twenty feet abore the railroad at Atwater, or 680 feet abo?e Lake Brie. It ia about four feet in thickness, and, as nsual, has iron ore over it The ooal beneath is only a few inches thick. Some twenty feet above the limestone Coal No. 4 is seen in the road, here apparently four feet thick, but with scarcely any covering. No limealMie iM Tiaible orer it

In Limestone Bidge, in Freedom, both these strata are shown. The upper one is thin, bnt is overlaid by limestone, which is here burned for quicklime. Coal No. 3 is seen in the road at the south end of Limestone Bidge; as usual, it ia underlaid by a thick bed of fire clay.

On the fann of "Wilson Davidson, about half a mile dibtant ftom the lastnamed locality, this coal has been mined. th(mp;h not largely, for a number of years. It is here about twenty-two inches thick. From the fact that this seam waa represented as Coal No. 1 by the geologist who, when connected with tbe firat geological survey of the State, male an examination of tbiarogion (Annual Report of 1R38, p. 59), no thorough exploration has ever been made of the strata below it. Possibly such explorations would have been fruitless, as the lower seam is so frequently absent from its place; but as the true position of Ooal Na 1 is at laaat 150 feet below Mr. Davidson's ooal, it ia evident that a large area in the vicinity deserves examination by deep boring. Considerable money has been speut in boring in Freedom, but, so far as I can learn, none of the wells have been carried deep enough to determine the presence or abaeneeof the loirar ooal. One well bored on Limeatone Bidge ia reported to baTie.fQmiahed the following aeokion: attract notice. The lower limestone was al)sent, as seems to be the case genamlly in this vicinity. The place of the lower coal was not reached by from eerenty.fiTe to one nxmdred feet Another bole waa bored by William Oraa* nage, for Mr. George Worthington, of Cleveland, without finding the coal

At Hiram Center a yellow saudrock of the Coal Measures is quarried just back of the hotel. South of the Center, about one mile, shale erops oat in the load below thin sandrock. Near this pointy bat west and on hi^ber ground, a well on Mr. Hopkins' land gave -

Stratum Na 4 of ibis section was called by the drillers " bottom rock," but in tiiis vieinity no proof should be accepted of having passed the place of

In tho south part of Hiram, coal has been taken from a natural outcrop twelve to eighteen inches thick, and used by the blacksmiths. This is probably Goal No. 1.

In going from Drakesbtirg to Garrettsville the surface descends nearly two hundred feet, passing down from a broad ridgo or divide, which is a marked feature in the topography, and which stietches connectedly north into the center of Geauga County. The top of this ridge or table is above the coal level from Freedom to Burton, and more or less coal has been foond in it all the way, althoiif^h it is usually thin.

At Garrettsville the Conglomerate is fully exposed, and rises thirty feet above the depot, or 485 feet above the lake. Two miles west of Garrettsville the base of the ridge referred to is reached, and in the ravine bj the roadside the following section is exposed : lu Mantua there are many natural outcroj^ of coal, viz. : at the railroad cut northeast of the Comers a few inches (two to four) thick; a mile south of the Corners, on Mr. Blaine's Inud, sixteen inches ; one and a half miles east of the Corners, six to eight inches thicL Three wells drilled near each other in this vicinity gave -

A boring was made one and a half miles Booth of the Comers, to the dep4h of 136 feet, penetrating earth, sandrock and shale, of which the fehioimew is not known. Ck>al was found six to eight inches thick.

Thb oeoter of Charloatown rises to the bmght of 576 feet above the laha^ and m ootoN^ol ooal is visible on the King place, in the road leading to Ravenna, and about fifty feet below the Center. This is evidently the Briar Hill seam. The hill on the opposite side of the valley rises 000 feet above flM lake and nearly 100 feet above tiie eoal level, bat flw coal, it it ezists tlMrSi is concealed. The valleys of the streams in this region are out below the coal, and all the high lands should carry it ; but unfortnnnt^ly heavy beds of Drift conceal its outcrops and make the work of exploration expensive and onoertain.

In the central part of Edinburg the land is all at least 160 feet above the ooal level. This is proved, not only by barometric mpasnremeiit, bnt by the explorations made east of the Center by Mr. G. L. Chapman. He has bored many holes in search of coal, and has found it in several. In one place a shaft was snnk with the expectation of mining it, The eoal, however, was fonnd to he very irregular in thicknesB, and the pnter[)rise was not snccegsfnl. In making these explorations Mr. Cliapman nt tirst supposed that the coal he found was the Briar Hill seam, but it is i^uite certain that the place o£ Coal Na 1 is at least 160 feet below the bottom of the shaft Two beds of ooal and two of limestone were passed through in Borae of the borings made by Mr. Chapman, all within fifty feet of the surface. The section exposed in the shaft referred to is as follows:

A bonng made somewhat cast of the shafts and envied to a greater depth affords a much better view of the geologicnl sab^stmobare of this region. The record of this boring is as follows: surface, and that the lower part of the boring was in a thick bed of sandstone. This sandstone is the massive stratum which overlies the Briar Hill ooal, sometimes coming down to it, and sometimes even cutting it out com- pletclv, hut moro ^nprally resting npon r bod of shale of varinblo fliickaMS* Theplace of Coal JSo. i is plainly below the bottom of this hole.

GnDW my ttni yiait to Bdinbnr^, Mr. Ohapmaa has oontiniiMl his osplora' Uom, and others have been oamed on by D. W. Ooss, but, so far, I believe, without very satisfactory reanlts. The many borings made show great irregalaritr in the deposition of the strata here, and it is evident that this has been a rpr^i >n throogh whioh rapid onrrente of water have swept, which have cut away ti ie coal seams and deposited sands and elays in a very unequal way. Thi"; viWl Ih3 evident Ttpnn nn oxamination of the record^? of aonsol UftS drill* inga. A well bored one mile northeast of the Center gave - the fact that the Conglemprfite is bore absent. TIur is somewhat sarprising, as in the valley of the Mahoning, only a few miles distant, it is fully 100 feet in fhidmssa.

This hole certainly did not roach near the horizon of the block coal, but is carried to about the place of the bottom of the phaft. and shows the mixed character of the deposits in even a greater degree than the shaft section.

Mr. Goaa has Bent me aeetiouH of three wells bored aoutb of the Center to the depths respectively of 126jt, 88 and 78 feet. They fihovr alternations of Hbale. Raiidstone and fire-olaji with a little aoal| but do not reaoli to the plaoe of Coal No. 1.

in any valuable deyelopment in the township of Edinbnrg. It is to be hoped, however, that under this broad and elevated table^land the lower ooal will be somewhere fonnd of workable thickness.

Faaiin^ wrath from Edinhnrg the land ormtiiraes high, and the snrflaoe nowhere oomes nearer than 150 feet to Coal Na 1; while in some instanees it ifase to such a height that the coal must be from 200 to 250 feet beneath.

In Atwater much bonne has been done, and ooal found, which has been opened both 1^ diaft and amt. Th» eo^lotitioaB made here wsce undertaken on the supposition that the ooal, of whieh outcrops had been known, was the Briar Hill seam. This was, however, an error, and there can bo no quention that it is Coal No. 4. The place of Coal No. 1 is far below the bottom of the Atwater shaft, and probably below the bottom of the deepest well bored in the vicinity. The ooal mined at Atwater is of good thickness - from foor to five feet - but it exhibits the URnal characteristics of the limestone seams, being of irregular thickness and variable quality. It is a serviceable fuel for the generatiim of steam, and is a pleasant grate-coal, but from the quantity of sulphur it contains is not well adapted to the manufacture of iron. The following analyses of this coal, made at the School of Mines by Mr. W. P. Jenney, will indicate very fairly its composition. No. 1, upper bench; Na 2, lower bench:

At the shaft of the Atwaler Coal Company the ooal is from four to five feet in thickness, in two benches, separated by a hony parting. It is overlaid by black shale, which contains many discoid ahells UJiscina). In theahale above ifl eonsiderable granular iron ote^ hut not of very good quality. The shale ia by sandstone, 08 in all this region. The coal ia opened by an adit^ half a mile east, on lower orronnd.

On John Hines' farm, one and a half milee southeast from Atwater Center, a alu^ haa been sunk to Cool No. 4, passing through - 1, snrfaoe elay; 2, 8, hlaefc and gray ahale; 4, Uaok shale; 5, ooal. Goal la here four

About half a mile east the same ooal is struck at a depth of eleven feet, on tbe farm of ICdiael Strong. It here liee ten ieet Ugber thn at Hines', while the surface falls off rapidly toward the eaat The tbiolmoai of the ooal 18 the same as at Hines' farm.

In some of the borings made by Mr. Christy, near the Atwater sh^ft, the ooal wae found to be ont ont by hea^ beds of nndfltone; no ooal whate^ having been reached in borings carried to a depth of 200 feet It is quite possible, therefore, that in this locality no workable coal exists below Coal No. 4, but it is not certain that the deepeut boring has been oarried to the level of the Briar Hill aeam, as the eurfaoe of tfaia portion of the townahip is at least 200 feet above the leveL "From the proximity of the railroad, the Briar Hill coal would have sppoial vnlue if found under these highlands, and it seems very deeirable that a sofiicient number of borings ahoold be made to determine ita presenoe or abeenoe. The cost of boring to the depth of 200 feet need not exceed $300 for each bole, and experienced and reliable drillers can be found who will contract to do the work at this price. The result of boring at Limaville has already been reported, and this la saoh as to encourage further effort. At Limaville the upper coals are found in their proper positions, and Coal Na 1 at ite regolar level, far below.

It is certain, therefore, that the lower peam does exist in this region - at least in basins of limited area - and we may conHdently predict that foresight and energy will bring to some fortunate person ample reward by its discovery in this part of Portage Ooonty.

Firc-cla]!. - I hnve stati'd on a preceding? page, tlie Atwater coal crops out in the northeast corner of the township. The lower limefitone coal is here very thio, but, as usual, is underlaid by a seam of iire-clay, which is, perhaps, the mostvaloable in the eoriee. This is apparently the same bed with uat worked in Springfield, Summit County, and also that which furnishes most of the lire el ay made into pottery and tire-bricks along the Ohio, in Columbiana

Jefi'ertion Counties. It also forms the basis of au important manufacture in Portage Cotinty, aa it snppliea the material for the potteriea at Lima and Atwater. It is chiefly derived from John Spire's farm, Lot 10. Atwater Town* ship. The heA is about twelve fpet thick, divided into two layers by a parting of back slate. The upper seven feet is not used in the potteries on aeoonnt of the oontained iron. The clay generally immediately nnderlies the soil, and is worked in open pits, bat it is in some places ovr rlaidfayooal about thirty inches in thickness. A specimen obtained from the mine or pit (but whether from the upper or lower bench is not certain) was analyzed by I^of. Wormley, giving the following reaolt:

TllE PRE-illSTOKIC RA( tS - MOUND-BUILDERS - TlIEIK (iUEAT A NTI<iUITY - OCCUPATION OF THE Country - The Wondeuful Monuments Wnicii They Left Bbhimd Th£M - Som£ Evidenges of Thbir Existence in Pobtaoe County - The North AMERicAir Indians - Their Sttpposed Orioin - Briep Sketch

THAT a very nnmerotis race of people occnpiM that portion of the North American ContineDt uovr known as the United Statee, long anterior to its oeeupanoy by the present Indians, is beyond proof, but of ibis people nothing is now known, more than can be gleaned or conjectured from tho multiplicity of massive works left by them throughout, almoet, the entire extent of the country. These works exist to-day as mounds, varying in eize and character, and seattored either in groups or singly, from the sources of the Allegheny to the headwaters of the Missouri, and, exttmding southward, stretch from the Appalachians in the Carolinas to Texas. There are three grand divisions of these elevations, but they all bear the same general characteristics, being either mounds in the true sense, or circumvallations of earth and stone, the State of Ohio, alone, it is oompiited, containing no less than 10,000 of the former and 1,500 of the latter, some of "wbiph aro of n vory marked and extraordinary character. These raystpriouH dwoUei-K of a long- forgotten age, called Mound- Builders, in lieu of a more accurate designation, evidently possebsed a civilisation distinetiTe of themseWes, and that ttiey need a written language appears entirely probnblo, from some peculiar hieroglyphic characters discovered upon their potterj' ware and stone implements. But, beyond their almost imperishable monunients, the archaeologist seeks in vain for a further solution of the S^and problem of the coming the life, and the exodns or decay of this mysteriouK race. On opening a monnd,ho fincis only mouldering skeletons, scattered and shutterpd remnantR of vessels of earthenware, rude weapons of warfare, axes of stone, flint drills, spear-heads, and bottles of irregular, yetfiuibhed workman- «hip» out ttd polished from eztremely hard atons^ never, or rarely, indigencnis to thespot where found, sbowing the owners of them to have been aa essentiallj migrotoiy people^ or a conquering nation, shifting about from plaM to place, yet leaving monomenta bemncl tlwm whose impcriAhability is not interior to

A thousand interesting queries arise respecting them, but the most searching inveetigaiions only give us vague and unsatisfactory speculations as an answer. If we knoek at their tombs no spirit reposing within tespondB to the summons, but a sepulchral ocho comos riiip^ing down the ages, reminding us how fruitless the search into that inscrutable past over which the curtain of oblivion seems to have been irrevocably drawn. Whence came these people; who and what were Ihsj, and whither did they go? Some writers have dis. rnvered PTidonces, convincing, apparently, to tbemselves, that this pre historic rac ' came from the other side of the {^lobo, and that their advent was mnde at dil^ureut times and from different points of a general hive in the supposed cradle of homanily - Central Asia. Others thiu them to hare bedki the forgotten ancestors of the degenerate and now decaying American Indians, who, having no preservative written language, the memory of their ancestors has ^adually slipped from them. Still others fancy them to have been the orig^ inal indigenons, spontaneous prodnet of the soil Begardless, however, (tf the origin, progreBS and destiny of this curious people, the fact of their haring - been here is certain; therefore the best that can be done by the archteologist is to examine their works and draw from them the conolosions that seem the moat pxobaUe.

The monnds vary in height from about five feet to thirty feet, with several notable exceptions, when they reach an altitude of eighty to ninety feet The erections consist of villages, altars, temples, idols, cemeteries, monuments, oamps, fortificatioM and pleasnze grounds. They are ehiefly of some symmetrical figure, as eirole^ ellipse, rectangular parallelogram, or regular polygon, and inclose from one or two acres to as high as fifty acres. The circumvallations generally contain the mounds, although there are many of the latter to be found standing isolated on the banks of a stream or in the midst of a broad plateau, being erideatly thus placed as odtposts of offense or defense, for the fact that tbpy were a very warlike and even conqnerin^^ race, is fully attested by the numerous fortifications to be met with wherever any trace of them is found.

three groups: The first p-onp extends from the upper sources of the Alle gheny River to the lieadwators uf the Missouri; the second occupies the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, and the third stretches acrobs the country, with very little interruption, from South Oarolina to the weetem limits of Tokss. These p-ouj»8 arc subdivided into three varieties of elevations, mounds, inclosures and efligieu, which are designated as mounds of sepulture, sacrifice, worship, observation, commemoration and defense. Mounds of sepulture are mere numerous than the others, are eonioal in shape, and range from three to fifty feet in height. They usually contain the bones of one or more skeletons, accompanied by ornaments and implements of stone, raica, slate, shell or obsidian, besides pottery, whole and fragmentary, bone and copper beads, and the bones of animala Mounds of sacrifice are recognized by their stratification, being convex and constructed of clay and sand on the normal level of tbe soil, on top of which can be found a layer of ashon, charcoal and calcined bones, which in time has a layer of clay and sand, followed by more ashea, oharooal, etc., till the gradual upbuilding resulted in thei manner we now seek These mounda also often contain beads, slone implementB, potj _ d by Google tery and rude sculpture, and occasionally a skeleton, showing that they may luiTe been wed as burial plaeee. MoundB of worship, whiob are oomparatively fow, hnvo genornlly h largo base nnd low elevation, and nro in some instances terraced and havins; inclined ways to the top. Their size and character haye led to the iufereuce that these flat-topped mounds originally were erowned mth temples of wood, tor had tiiey been stone, traces of uat material would be found. Monnds of observation, or beacon or signal mounds, are generally found upon elevated positions, and apparently could have subserved no other purpose than as look-out" stations, or beacon points, and as oonfirmatevT of the latter purpose^ aahes and ohareoal haire been foond imbedded in their summits. These mounds ooonr on the line of what are oonaidered the outposts of these pre historic oonqtiprors. Mounds in commemoration of some important event or character are here and there to be found, and they are thus classed beoanse from their composition, position and character they are neither aepnldira], sacrificial, temple, defensive nor observation mounds. Thej are generally constructed of earth, but in some instances in Ohio, whore they are stone erections, they are considered to be monumental. Mounds of defense, however, with tiie exception possibly of one or two effigies in Ohio, are the most remarkable. These mounds in some instances give evidence that their builders were acquainted with all the peculiarities in the cnTi?;truction of the best defensive earth and stone-works. They are always upon high ground, on precipitous binfb and in positions that would now be selected by the accomplished strategist. The gateways to these forts are narrow and are defended by the usual wall in front of tlieni, whilst the double angle at the corners and projecting walls along the sides for enhlading attack show a knowledge of warfare that is phenomenal in so rude a people as their jmplemento would indicate. Moats are often nuUoed around tihese fortifications, and oisternR are to be found within the inclosures.

When the first settlers arrived at the sites of Marietta and Circloville, Ohio, a number of these earthworks were discovered, some of which yet exist; and at Newark when the dramiTallation known as the fort ** was fint seen by those who settled there in the early years of the century, a large tree, whose age was possibly not less than six hundred years, stood upon one of the embankments over twenty feet above the general level, thus giving great antiquity to the erection. Cniio oontoins many cnrioos forms of these works, two of the most singular being in Licking County and known respectively as the "Eagle" and "Alligator" effigies. The first is a bird with outstretched wings raised about three or four feet above the ground in the same manner as a bas-relief of the senlpton; the other ie an animal dosely resembling an alligator. They are supposed to have been idols, or in some way oonneoted with the religion of the people who built them.

In iioss County a defensive incloeure occupies the summit of a lofty, detached hill, twelve miles west of ChilllooQia This hill is not far from 400 feet in perpendicular height, and some of its sides are actually inaccessible, all of them being abrupt. The defenses consisted originally of a stone wall carried around the hill a little below the brow, the remains of this wall existing now only in a line of detaehed stones, but showing plainly their evident purpose and position. The area inclosed embraced about 140 acres, and the wall itself was two and one-quarter miles in lenfjth. Trees of the largest size now grow upon the ruins of this fortification. About six miles east of Lebanon. Warren County, on the Little Miami Biver, is another extensive fortifi> cation, called " Fort Ancient." It stands on a plain, nearly horizontal, about 280 feet above the level of the river, between two branches with very stsep altboagh following their angles, retreating and salient, they probably reach & distance of six miles. Another of those incloeures is located in the southeasternpart of Highland County, on an eminence 500 feet above the level of Bniah QnA, whidi waahea iia biua. The waUa of the fortifieationa axe over bait a mile lon^ and the works are locally called " Fort Hill." The remains of an inclosure may yet be seen near Carrollton, a few miles sonth of Dayton, Montgomery County. All of those inclosoree were evidently oonstrocted for defensive pnrposes, and give signal proofs of the military knowledge of their builders.

Burial mounds are very numerous in this State, and there are few counties that have not a greater or less number of these tumuli. The most remarinble ol this elass was a mound opened by John B. B. Mataon, in Hardi D County, in which over 300 human skeletons were found. Some antiquarians, however, entertain the belief that they were not all the remainK of Mound-Builders, but many of them Indian remains, as it is well known that the latter often interred their dead in those monuments of their predeceaaora. "When tile first band of pioneers to the Western Bsserve arrived at the month of Conneaut Creek, July 4, 1790, thev discoverorl soveral mounds, and ccnld easily trace the outline of a large cemetery then overgrown with forest. Explorations were subsequently made, and some gigantic skeletons exhumed fi-om monnda which stood on the site of CSonneani, Aahtabnla Oonnty. The framsa and jaw-bonos wore those of piantn. and could not havp bolont::;o<l to the race of Indians then inhabiting any portion of this country. Several years ago a boriul mound was opened in Logan County, from which three skeletons were taken. The frame of one waa in an eaoellent atate of pieaervation, sud measured nearly seven feet from the top of the skull to the lower part of the heel. In 1850 a mound lying on the north bank of Big Darby about one mile north webt of Plain City, in Union County, was opened and several massive skeletons taken tiiererrom. Hie loww ]aw<bonaa» like thoae fonnd at Oonneaut, could be easily fitted over the jaw of a very large man, outside the flesh. These bonee - and they are usually large wherever fonnd - indicate that the Mound- Builders were a gigantic race of beings, fully according in aiae with the ooloasal remains they have left beUnd them.

The largest mound in Ohio, called the "Ghreat Mbnnd," is located on the east bank of the Miami River, a short distance southeast of Miamisburg, Hontgomezy County. The surf ace elevation at this point is more than 150 feet above the level ol the stream. The moond meaanreH 800 feet aronnd the baae, and about aixty-five feet in height, though archaeologists claim that it was orig' inally more than eighty feet high. Explorations and the wear and tear of the elements have worn off the summit about fifteen feet At the time the pioneers first oame to the Miami Valley this mound was oovered with trees, a large maple crowning the top, from which, it is said, the few oabica then con^ stitnting Dayton were plainly visible. In 1869 a shaft was sunk from the top of the raound to a distance of two feet below the base, and about eight feet from the surface a human skeleton was found in a sitting posture facing due eaai A deposit of vegetable matter, bones of small animala, also wood and stone snrronndod the Bkeleton, while a eover of elay,ashea and ehavooal aeema to have been the mode of burial.

There are few traces left of the Mound Builders in Portage County, althongh at an early day in the settlem«it of this ssetion, many small tomnli were observed, which the plow has long since almost entirely obliterated. Still, there are eminencee in varioos sections in the northern and soatheasi- era portions of tne oounty which seemingly owe their origin more to the labors of man than to nature. In Randolph Township, we have been informed, a mound was opened some jears ago which disclosed the bones of a skeleton, tof|«ilier with eooM fragmflnto ef potttty and rode stone implements. To the northeast of Hiram Center the writer noticed an elevation that bears the almost unmistakable marks of artiiicial workmanship, and it is believed that if ezoavatioDs were made into it the usual pre-historic "hnds" would be the wwaid. In the townships of Snffield and Streetsboro are eemal tmmili which ree^ble the works of the Mound- Builders, but as no scientific examination has been made into them, they are still held in doubt. In Palmyra Township, a little northwest of the Centejr, about one mile therefrom, is a low but welldelued series ci mounds, almost nnsotioeable to the nntnined eye, that have aU the ehaiaoteristios of die tnie mound. They are not far from where there was, in the early days of the county, an Indian camp or small village, th^ nx>t being pointed out to us by Mr. Alva Baldwin. But all these indioatuma» ontil they ha^e some aotoal foundation fi^ven them by examination, nuisl be taken with a grain of allowanoe. The remains of this strange people are uaually found near the larger wat«r courses and lakes, and as Port^^e County lies somewhat out of the course of theee by-ways of navigation, many -vidsBMs of their preeenoe oannot be looked Ibr here. Te^ thai thqr passed over those very hills is beyond 'all reasonable doubts for their mounds are to be saso eastward and westward of this section.

The question of the origin of the North American Indians has long intersatodarduBotoffists, and is one of ^e moet difficult they have been called npon to answer. The oommonly accepted opinion is that they are a derivative raoe^ and sprang from one or more of the ancient peoples of Asia. Some writers have put forward the theory that the Indians, from their tribal organization, faint similarity of language and religion, and the high cheekbone in the well developed apeoimeii of the raoe, are flie deeoendante of the two lost tribes of Israel. Others contend that they descended from the Hindoos, and that the Brahmin idea which uses the sun to symbolize the Creator has its counterpart in the sun-worship of some Indian tribes. They have lived for centuries without miidh apparent progress - purely a hnnter rotoe - while the CSanoaslan, ondar the transforming power of Christianity - the parent of art, science and civil government - has made the moet rapid advancement. Under the influences of the churchy howevo:, the Indian has often shown a commendable capability for -ooepting Uie teaohings of dviliaation; bat the eanest efibrts of her devoted missiomffies have often been nollifled or totally destroyed by the unwise policy pursued by the governing power, or the dishonesty and selfishness of the (^cials in charge. Stung to madness at our injustice and usurpation of Ilia hunting-groonds, he has remained a savage, and his career in the upward marsh of man is forever stonted. The Indian race is in tiie pontion of a halfgrown giant cut down before reaching manhood. There never has been a savage people who could compare with them in their best estate. Splendid in physique, with intense dttewdnesB and common sense, and posaessed of a bravery nnssoelled, there never was a race of uocivilized people who had within them so much to make them great as the red man. Whatever he has Iwen or is, he was never charged with being a coward or a fool, and as compared to the barbarians of other portions of tho globe, he is as "Hyperion to a Satyr.** The advent of the whites upon theT shores of the Western continent engendered in the bosom of the aborigines a spark of jealouBv, which, by the impolitic course of the former, was soon fanned into a blaze, and a contest was thereby inaugurated that sooner or later must end in the extermination of planned by warriors worthy and able to command armios, for the destruction of the pale-faced invaders When Philip strnck tho blow which he hoped would forever crash the growing power of the white men, both sidee recognized the auprome importanoe of the oonteet, and the ooorage and reeonroea of the New England colonists were taxed to the utmost to avoid a defeat, which meant final destmction. The fierce rpsistance of later days, as the Indians were driven farther and farther toward the setting san, are historic facts with wMdi the fltadent ia already familiar. The conspiracy of Ponttae, Ibe famoos Ottawa chieftain, in 1763. failed in its object of ezterminatioD, and the bravery and sagacity of the colnbrated Indian leaders, Brandt, Rod Jiickot, Cornplanter, Cornstalk, Ijogan, Black Hoof, Tarhe, Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, could not preTail against the heroes of the Eevolution, and the triumph of Wayne in 1794 closed a long series of bloody Indian wars. A few years passed by, when Tecumseh fiashod out like a brilliant meteor in the firmament of ^eat Indian leaders, and organized the Western tribes for a last desperate effort to hold their own against the advancing tide of civilization. But he too went down in defeat and death before tiie prowess of Harrison's legions. When the Creeks, in 1813, through the intrigue of TocnmBoh, challenged the pfxjplo of the South to mortal combat, it roquirod tho pfnius of a Jackson, and soldiers worthy of such a chief, to avert a serious calamity. But since the decisive battle of Tohopeka, March 27, 1814, there baa been but one Indian war of any considerable magnitude, viz. : the Seminole war in Florida. The Black Hawk outbreak iD Illinois in 1832 required but a few WAoks' service of raw militia to quell, but the Ueminoles of Florida, led by the indomitable Osceola, a halfbreed of great talente, carried on a bitter atxuggle from 1885 to 1889, when their power was completely crushed, and they were soon after removed beyond the Mississippi. Since then campaigns have dwindlod into mere raids, and battles into skirmishes. The massacre of Caster's command in Montana must be regarded aa an aooident of no pennanent importanoe, and a doaen ench melancholy events would not in flie leaet alarm the conntry. Indian fighting, though not free from peril, now serves a useful purpose for the army graduates of West Point, who might otherwise go to their graves withoat ever having smeUed hostile gunpowder.

Two hundred years ago the white man lived in Amoiica only by the red man's consent, and within that period the combined strength of the red man might have driven the white into the sea. Along the Atlantic coast are still to be aeen the remains of the mde fortifications which the early settlers bnilt to pcotect themselvee from the host of enemies around; but to find the need of such protection now, one must go boyond tho Mississippi to a few widely scattered points in Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon. The enemy that once camped in sight of the Atlantic has retreated toward the slope of the Pacific, and from that long retreat there can be no returning. East of the stream which he called tho Fatbor of Wators, nothing is loft of the Indian except the beautiful names he gave and the graves of his dead, save here and there the remnants of once powerful tribes, living on reservations by the sufferance of their conqnerors. The Indian haa resiated and will oontinne to resist every effort to civilize him by coercion - every attempt to force at the point of the bayonet the ^vllite man's ideas into his brain. He does not want and will not have our manners or our code of morals forced upon him. The greatest redeeming feature in the Indian character and career ia that be has always preferred the wofat sort of freedom to the best sort of slavery. Whether his choice was a wise one or not the reader can determine; bt^ it ia impooaible not to feel some admiration for the indomitable spirit that has never bowed to the yoke - never called anj man master." The Indian is a savage, but he never was, never . will b«v - alave. We haye treated him like a dog and aie tarprised that he ' bites. In a speech in New Yoilc Oityf not long before his death, Gen. Sam | Houston, indisputable authority on snch matters, declared with solemn emphasis, thai "there never was an Indian war in which the white man wau not tiie aggressor.** Aggreesioii leading to war ie not our heaTieefe sin against * the Indian. He has been deceiTed, oieated and robbed to such an extent that i he looks upon mijst of the white race as villains to whom he should show no quarter. A very decided feeling of justice to the abused red maajs gaining groond of late veaie, and nomerons able pens have been engaged in defending him, among whom are Joaqnin Miller, the poet, and Hon. A. B. Meacham. Bat we can well afford, after getting all hiH land and nearly exterminating him, to extend to him a little cheap sympathy.

The Indians of this continent were never so nnmerous as has generally been snpposed, althoogh thsy were spread over a vast extent of count^. Con* tinual wars prevented any gr? at increase, and their mode of life was not calculated Uy promote longevity or iiumberB. The great body of them originally were along the Atlantic seaboard, and most of the Indian tribes had traditions flmt their forefathers lived in splendid hnoting grounds far to the westward. The best authorities affirm that on the discovery of this country the number of the scattered aborigines of the territory now forming the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan could not have exceeded 18,000.

The earliest date of any anthentie knowledge of the Indian in this seetion is 1650, when the Eriee held possession of the northern portion of what is now Ohio. They lived along the southern Iwrders of the lake which bears their name, but when their domains were invaded by the Iroquois, about 1655, most of them f^ll before their relentless foee, whilst Che remainder became incorporated wiUl otiMr tribaSi were driven farther southward, or adopted into those of their conqnerors. During the tirst half of the seventeenth century the Shawnees were living along the valley of the Ohio, but they, too, were disp«r8ed by the Five Nations or Iroqnois. and dispossessed of their lands, though they subsequently returned to their early honting grounds. For many years before and aftor 1700 this entirf* territory was occupied by the remnants of defeated tribes, who were permitted to remain by aufferance of their oonquerers, tile latter exacting a tribnte^ collected at will from the wandering and onsettied tribes. In 1750, however, something like permanent occupation had agniu taken place, and we find in what is now Ohio the Wyandotts, Delawares, bhawanees, Miamis, Munsees, Chippewas, Ottawas, Senecas, Cayugas, Mohawlta, Oneidas and Onondagas, the last five being known in history as the Mingoes of Ohio. They were Mttled mostly along the larger streams and on the southern shore of Lake Erie.

When the first settlere reached what is now Portage County, the then nnbroken wilderness was filled with wild animals and nearly as wild men. There were members of several tribes, as this oonnty was amongf the beet of the hunting grourulB of the red man. In the northwestern section there were reprepentntivPB of three tribes: the Senecfis, who had their headciuarters near the Cuyahoga River, in Streeteboro Township, on land now owned by Samuel 01in» and iraoee ehief was Bigson; the Ottawas, who had their village near the month of the Little Cuyahoga River, whose chief was Stignish, and the Chippewas, who lived further west in Medina County, about Chi])pewa Lake, but who occupied a portion of this section in summer, where they hunted. These tribes had their hnnting grounds as well defined as the bonndaviee of a mnBcalar frame, well proportioned, with keen black eyee, a stem and dignified look, honest and upright in nil his dealings with the whites, a firm friend, or an implacable enemy. His family consisted of four sons and three danghters, only two of tiw bodb being wifh him: J<^n Amnr and John Ifohawk, &e latter the one who ahot. Diver in Deerfield Township. The hnabands of the daughters were George Wilfion. Nickshaw and Wobmung. - Tbe«e Indians did most of their trading with Capt. Heman Oriatt, who kept a little Indian etore aboat one mile eonUi of Hndaoo* They named the old trader " Oop|Miqua, " from the fact that he waa ao badly cheated in a trade on one occasion that he cried - the term Ck)ppaqua meaning to shed tean." This, also^ was the Seneca name for Cuyahoga Falla

In what is now Windham Township fhero waa a village of Indians up to about 1807 or 1808, a short distance northwest of where now stands the depot of the Mahoning Branch of the New York, Lake Erin it Wcbtt rn Eailroad. There were small clearings and a few decaying wigwamR Btill to be seen when the first settlers arrived in that section. There was, also, an old orchard, set out by the red men, and from the old tnee, one of the sons of these first settlers infomipd tho writer he had eaten apples. An Indian trail ran along the northern lK)r(li'r, and at variouB points the pioneers discovered the remains of villages. What are now Nelson and Hiram Townships was a favorite hunting reaort of the Indians, and members of aeveral tribes psHodieally visited this section, amont^ whom woro ScnccaB, Ottawns, Onondagas, and a few Oneidas, but mostly Cayugaa, with their chief Big Cayuga, and his nephew, Snipnoee Cayuga, who succeeded him, after the redoubtable Capt Delaun Mills had killed the former. The "ledges'* in the upper part of Nelson afforded excellent shelter for the red skins, and a few wigwams could always be seen under them. Many thrilling tales are told of the adventures, hairbreadth escapes and dreadful vengeance of the early settlers, and partioalarly of Oapi Mills, the most of which, however, has been summed up in the sketui of Nelson Township.

When the first settlors came into Palmyra TownHhip, and for several yoars afterward, a number of families belonging to the Onondaga and Oneida tribes were living in that locality. Th« Onondagas had their village about a mile west of the Center, a little to the northeast of the reaidenoe i f Mr. Alva Baldwin, and one of the trees under which they used to congregate is still standing on the spot. This settlement was on the line of the Great Trail," which extendea from Fort Mdntosh, where Beaver, Penn., now is, to Sandusky and Detroit From the Big Beaver the trail passed up the left branch of the Mahoning, crossing it fibout three miles abiwe Youngstown; thence by way of the Suit Springs in Trumbull County, through Milton and on through Uie apper portion of Palmyra; thence through Edinbnrg, after crossing Silver Gredc one mile and a half north of the Center rond; thonce through Bavenna and Franklin, crossing the Cuyahoga at Standing Rock, about a mile from the city of Kent, where the waters enter the narrow gorge made so famous by the ^'Leap" of Capt Brady; the trail then passed in a northwesterly direction to Sandusky. Along this great thoroughfare parties of Indiana frequently passed for tnnny years, even after the whites had taken posseKsir-n of the country. Tlx re were several large piles of stoneH in Palmyra Township, along this trail, under which human skeletons were found, supposed to be the remainB of Indians slain in war, or murdered anamiee, and aa it waa the ons' in paseing, helped to form the piles. In 1S14, near where the trail crosses Silver Creek, several devices were found carved upon trees. The bark had been carefully shaved off, and in one instance seven Indian figures carved thereon, one of which waa without a head, the infaranee being that seven of the red skins had started out on one of tiieir foraya, and Hiat one of &e band had been slain; hence the memorial.

The Indians living in Deerfield at the time Diver was shot were, according to Ohriatian CaoUer, who knew them well, Seneoas, and not HohawlcB, as Howe, in his "Historical Colleetions" makes them, nor were they permanent dwellers in that portion of the county, their cnrap boin^ in Strt'oLshoro Township, where they would erect, in the winter- time, a large wigwam, spaoions enoogfa to contain the whole remnant of their tribe in thia section. NidEshaw, who traded horses with Diver, was a Bon-in law of the Seueea ehiel, John Bigeon, and John Mohawk, who shot the unfortnnnto man, was a son of the chief. A detailed account of this affair will bo found in the chapter on Deerfield Township. In the summer of 1800 Bigson lost his sqnaw by death, at their head quarters on the Cuyahoga River. She was a large, stout woman, and very good looking, liaving, like her husband, a very di^iticd, not to say stoical, appearance. She was said to be very kind and friondJy for an Indian. Her age was between fifty and sixty years. They made a new calico frock for her after she was dead, and placing it on the corpse, literally covered the arms and ankle'' with silver beads and bronchos. Slio was buried in a cofRn made of bark, in a {.,'rave three feet deep, beinrr iirst rolled up in a larf^o blanket, the covering being so arranged that a hole was left that bhe might see out of it when she waa aommoned to ariae again and enjoy the happy hunting gronnda in the domain of the Great Spirit.

This chapter can have no more appropriate closing than to give a few extracts from the recollections of the late Christian Cackler. who was an eye* ' witneaa to what he relatoa. Speaking of the head^nartera of John Bigson, the Seneca chief, whom he knew personally for many years, the old gentleman writes in the following quaint style: "I have boon there a great many times when they lived there, and if they had anything to bestow upon you in the way of e^bles, it waa aa free aa water. They iSonght it a privilege to give, ftor tfaflfjr thought it waa a token of friendship, and if they gave one they gave all present. Their wigwam was about twenty-five feet long or more, and they had their fire through the middle, and had it so constructed aa to leave room for a tior of them to lie down on each aide of the fire ao as to have their feet to the fire, for they laid on their skins and furs, and were covered over with their blankets. They had a space left open on the ridge of their camp to let the smoke pass out. They had their wigwam thatched with bark, eo that it was tight and warm, and had a door in each end so that they conld hanl in their wood without much chopping. They laid there as warm and coTufortable aa a king in bis palace. The Seneca chief n.sed to gather in all his family oonnections and lay thcro all winter. In the spring they would scatter out over their hunting grounds, each family by themselves, and build their wig* wama for the summer. They were as careful of their game as we are of onroat' < tie, and would kill nothing unless wanted for present use. - - They had no government expenses, no taxes to pay, no jails to build, no locks to > buy. |think the Indian is the happiest man in the world, in the wildurness. ; - -^^^ nevOT knew they had any language in whieh to awear. He will ( ©at all kinds of animals and tish and horscB, or anything that a dog will eat, and aometimee I hare thought what a dog would not eat They often paint |

Describing one uf tbeir dmnken frolics, Ifr. Oackler says: "They got their whisky and had a Buit made like a little boy's suit, all whole, but open before so they conld atiek their arms and legs in. It wan fringed all anMmd, and liad claws of several kinds - df>er, bear, turkey, coon, etc. The one that was daticin<x would jump, hop and kick around the floor, * - * and when he got tired he would take a drink and another would try his hand. But when they got perfeoUy drunk, the claws rattling looked more like the devil than anything I ever saw. * * Then the squaws went into it and got as drunk as oould be, and went tumbling around on the ^ound. But after they got through they looked as though they ha^i lost their best friends." -