Washington County, Indiana - Topography, Geology and General Description, 1916

Topography, Geology and General Description

In all of Washington county there are about three hundred and thirtyfoui thousand acres. In point of size it ranks fifth among the counties of the state. For variety of surface and soil and beauty of natural scenery, it is not surpassed by any other county in the state. About one-fifth of the county is low-lying, or bottom lands and very productive. Something like three-fifths is table or rolling lands, well adapted to the raising of cereals of all kinds, and to the scientific, up-to-date farmer yields a bountiful harvest. The remaining fifth may be classed as knob or hill lands, destined, some time in the future, to become very valuable for grazing purposes, or for fruit lands. There are a few thousand acres of land in the county that are too rough and hilly even to be made profitable for agricultural purposes, which, if devoted to timber culture or cultivated to fruits of various kinds, especially the grape, could be made to yield very handsome returns, and in time would become quite valuable. There is thus veiy little waste or worthless land in the county. A strong limestone soil, like that which predominates in Washington county, is not only adapted to a wider range of productive and profitable crops than any other soil, but is easiest to reclaim or build up when run down by excessive cropping or bad management. Corn and wheat are the leading crops. The former is especially adapted to the bottom lands, while the uplands are best for wheat, in fact producing crops that for both quantity and quality cannot be excelled anywhere in the state.

Extending across the eastern part of the county is a range of hills called the "Knobs," rising to an altitude of nine hundred and sixty feet above the level of the ocean. This range extends southeasterly till it reaches the Ohio river just below the Falls, and northwardly till it is lost in the bluffs of the Muscatatuck and White ri\'ers. These hills are very precipitous on the east and north, as if Ijeaten by a current, and from their tops they slope ofif gradually to the southwest. They once formed the western shore of a (3) glacial river that flowed with some current in a southeasterly directiun. A large portion of Gibson township lies in this ancient river-bed, which is made up of drift matter, varying in depth from a few feet to a hundred or more feet in some places. In digging a well in this drift some years since a white walnut log v.as round in a guod state of preser\ation twenty-one feet below the* surface. 'Ihe tops of these "knoijs" command a \-iew of some beautiful scenery. From one point of view the spectateir may look across a vast extent of low country, dotted here and there with farms and farm houses and e\en villages, extending to ranges of hills some twenty miles to the east; while from perhaps another, the beholder stands lost ni wonder and admiration, gazing down a gorge two or three hundred feet deep, hemmed in by steep, craggy hillsides, and out upon a level plain of fertile bottom lands several miles distant.

A range of hills, not quite as high as the "Knobs," extends from east to west across the county near its northern boundary. Along the different streams that drain the county are numerous hills, and there is a hilly section of country in the southwest corner, but lying i>etween them are some very fertile valleys.

Water Courses

The Muscatatuck and its confluence witn Driftwood, forming White river, make the northern boundary of the county, and for a great many years after the country was settled, constituted the main waterway for the outlet of fiatboats that carried the surplus products of this section to the South. For some years small steamboats plied up and down these streams, doing quite a business in trade and traffic. Along the river a number of small towns sprang up, which seemed to have a promising future, but when boating ceased, they were soon deserted and the places that knew them once will know them no more forever. The merchants of Salem shipped considerable quantities of country produce by way of this route. The county is traversed by a number of streams having their origin on the elevated lands, and all are fed by never-failing springs of pure, cold water, which makes this section an exceedmgly well-wateretl one. especially adapted to grazing and stock-raising. In the northeast part of the county is Elk creek, flowing almost due north through Gibson township, emptying into the Muscatatuck river. This stream received its name from the fact that the earliest hunters found an abundance of elk in this low-lying country. Delane^s creek, which drains the greater portion of Monroe township, runs in a northerly direction and discharges its waters in the Mus- catatuck. This creek took its name from an Indian named Delaney, who remained in that section of country a few years after the others of his tribe had gone. He had a wigwam down towards the mouth of the creek. It was on account of the fine fishing and hunting grounds found there that the old Indian was loath to leave. Buffalo creek has its origin in Monroe township, then wends its way among the hills across the northern part of Jefferson township, emptying into White river. Buffalo were known to have ranged up this valley at a very early day, hence the name. Rush, Twin and Clifty creeks are small streams which drain the northwest comer of the county and discharge their waters into White river. A number of boats were made, loaded and floated down Twin creek, and it was once declared navigable by the Legislature. The north and south forks of Lost river have their source in Vernon township, flowirig west. The south fork was the water outlet for the "flat woods," a very level section of country in Vernon township, where at one time there were several small lakes, a favorite resort for the early hunter and trapper.

About two-thirds of the county is drained by Blue river and its tributaries. There are three main branches of this stream, called the south, middle and north forks of Blue river. The south fork is generally known by the name of Mutton fork, because a man who lived - on this stream at an early day was detected stealing sheep and selling mutton. This latter is the longest branch, having its source in the southeast corner of Franklin township, running thence, through Polk, Pierce, Jackson and Posey townships, till it empties into Blue river near the town of Fredericksburg. The middle fork also starts in Franklin township and, uniting with the north fork in the northwest corner of Pierce township, forms Blue river. The main or north fork, has its source in the southwest corner of Gibson township, running southwesterly through Salem. It is also designated as Lick fork or Royses fork. Other streams of considerable size, which in an early day furnished sufificient water to run saw and grist-mills most all the year round, were Mill, Highlands, Rush, Brocks and Bear creeks. Besides these, there are many other small brooks fed by springs that gush from rocky hillsides, rushing and leaping over miniature precipices and along mossy banks, making music for the lover of nature who seeks a retired spot for repose and meditation. "t /li ^ I^O

With the perfecting of long distance transmission of power by electricity, the question of the utilization of the water-power resources of the county is one of great importance. There is an enormous amount of this unutihzed which, if it is ever properly directed, will be of incalculable value. Over a large part of the county, the underground drainage lends itself well to power production. Th°n there is over four hundred feet of fall from the top of the knobs in Gibson township to the point where Blue river leaves the county. This makes it possible for the surplus surface water that is carried down by the streams to be used over and over again a number of times. Three methods of titilizing this power present themselves. First, the building of impounding dams at suitable points; second, the fluming of waters down the banks of streams, after the style of the old "race;" third, the sealing of the mouths of spring caves. When high bluffs extend up close to both sides of a stream the dam is practicable. Along Twin creek there are points where dams could be constructed one hundred feet high, impounding a huge body of water which would extend back upon land of very little value, the same not being fit for cultivation. Where the fall of a stream is quite rapid, flumes could be easily and cheaply constructed. There are at least a half dozen large cave springs in the county that might be successfully sealed and all the power they are capable of exerting utilized. In almost every case suitable stone could be quarried on or near the spot where dams might be built profitably.

Geological Formation

The rocks of four geological epochs of the Lower Carboniferous period form the surface of W asjiington county. These are the Knobstone and the three groups of limestone - the Harrodsburg, Bedford Oolitic and Mitchell. The rocks of the Knobstone consist of blue and gray shales, sandstone and rarely a little limestone. In this county it ranges from three to five hundred feet in thickness. It contains few seams or fissures, hence is never a waterproducing stratum. (J\erl\ing the Knobstone is a group of rocks called Harrodsburg limestone. It is bufi^ or blue in color and in this county has a depth of about forty feet, on an average. It is readily recognized l)y the crinoidal remains and gee ides it contains.

The next stratum overlying the Harrodsburg limestone is the Bedford Oolitic, a granular limestone made up of soft shells: is eas}- to car\-e, weathers well auA i> probably the most in)i)ortaiit liiiilclin;.; stone found in the whole countr\- It is buff and blue in color and lies m beds or strata, varying from a few feet up to fifty feet in thickness, .\lio\e the Oolitic limestone is the hard gray and blue MitrhcU |.;roup of limestone, ranging from one hundred to two hundred feet in thickness. It is in this group that caves are found, and on the surface are many sinkholes, all of which lead into caverns.

The rocks of the Knobstone group are exposed in the townships of Brown, Jefferson, Monroe, Gibson, Franklin and Polk and in the north part of Washington. In Brown township they are only seen at the bottom of the bluff of Clifty creek, near its mouth or in the bed of the creek and they are exposed in the same manner on Twin creek. Passing up Twin to the mouth of Rush creek the Knobstone exposures are much more prominent. Five miles north, the sandstones reach to the tops of the highest bluffs, and this same formation continues for a distance of three or tour miles up Buffalo creek.

Delaneys creek is marked by high, steep bluft"s on each side, the same features possessed by all the other streams that flow toward White river or the Muscatatuck. Along this creek the sandstones are found extending to the tops of the ridges for a distance of five miles aliove the mouth, dibson township exhibits nothing but Knobstone rocks, except in the southwest corner, where the ridges are capped with Ilarrodsburg limestone. The knobs here reach an altitude of one thousr.: d and ninfeteen feet above sea level and are three hundred feet above the creek liottoms. In the townships of Franklin anrl Polk, Knobstone is not exposed except in the cuts made by this creek. About three miles northeast of Salem, in a cut in the road and along the creek bank, there are exposures of blue shale, and it extends southwest in the beds of the creeks as far as Salem, where it disappears, owing to the westward di|) of the strata. The general dip of rocks in Washington county is from ten to twenty feet to the mile, trending a little south of west.

Excellent Building Stonic

The more compact .sandstones of the Knobstone group have considerable economic value as building material. The shales would be found prulitable for clay wares or for the clay ingredient of Portland cement, if there were railroad facilities to render them marketable.

The Harrodsburg limestone practically covers an area of count rv which lies northeast of a cHrect line drawn from the southeast to the northwest corners of the county and extending east to the {<>]> of the knobs and north to the summits of the ridges that lie south of the Muscatatuck and \\'hite rivers. This formation is found in layers of \ariabk- thickness, from a few inches up to a few feet. It is of a gray or blue color and verv hard.

It makes fairly good lime and has been used considerably about Salem in structural work. The first 1)rick houses ever built in Salem were put up on foundations made of these thin mck. laid up without uK.irtar. and s.mie of these structures have stood for almost a centur\- with walls just as solid, seemingly, as they were the day they were put ui). Where these thin rocks could be readily quarried they have been used quite extensi\ely in fence building. The fertile calcareous clay lands about the central portion of the county were formed l>y the weathering of this Plarrodslmrg group i)f limestone. Northeast of Salem it has yielded a clay that in some places is twenty-five feet deep.

Lying atop of this latter forniati(_)n and along its southwest area is the Bedford Oolitic limestone. This most valuable grou]) of stone extends in a strip from one {<> three miles in width, from Martinshurg in the northwest corner of the cuunt}-. and lies in sufficient strata at \arious ]i(_>ints ahjiig this belt to be of great commercial value if facilities were provided for getting it to market. The finest stone has been found about Salem and northwest along Rush, Twin and (."lifty creeks.

The first quarry to be opened and worked in this count\- was the one located a mile southwest of Saler.i. Work was begun there about 1855 ^"'^l for se\-eral years all the stone tliat was shipj)ed (jul of the count}- was carried from the quarry to the railroad, a distance of about ime-third of a mile, by means of a huge pair of trucks, the blocks of stone being swung beneath the truck axle. In 1870 a switch was extended from the railroad up to the quarry on a wooden trestle. l^Voni 1875 to igoo this quarry was operated quite extensively. Large saw, turning and planing mills were erected and their products \\ere shipped to all parts of the country, to be used in the construction of large buildings. This quarry furnished the stone for the Gait House, the city hall, the city hospital and a number of large churches in Luuisville, and tlie state capitol> of ( icorgia and Xew Jersey; the Cincinnati court house and the Xew ( )rleans I otton Exchange are of this stone. A .lalf dozen large limekiln^ were built and operated to utilize the refuse stone from the cjuarries. Se\ eral small quarries ha\e been opened on Twin creek to supply local demands for liuilding stone. There some of the finest beds of Oolitic stone in the count\ are found, in some instances showing a face, at the outcrop, of from tifl\ to ninety feet.

'l"he Mitchell limestones .ire the surface rocks found in that ]ionioii ,if the county known as the "baneus" and throughout the southwot part of the county, \\here the sinks .iccuiv The exposures are few and the cl.ivs are characterized by a peculiar reddish-brown color. The stone's color is darkgray or blue and it is very hard, being suitable for little else than road material. It is also called "cavernous" limestone liecause of the fact that caves of greater or less extent, are ahi*ays found in this formation.

Fossil Form.Ations

All the rocky exposures in Washington county are rich in fossils, making this locality a -paradise for the collector of geological specimens. The most famous locality is Spurgeon hill, situated in section 24, township 2 north, range 4 east. It has a world-wide reputation for the variety and abundance of its finely-preserved specimens. It has for \ears past been the resort of eminent geologists from all parts of the country, and will still be, as its treasures are inexhausible. No calnnet, public or private, is now considered complete, unless it contains a full series of Spurgeon-hill specimens. In sections 7,2 in Gibson township and 25 in the nordiwest corner of Washington, the finest fossils belonging to the Knobstone formation are found. In all the railroad cuts and along the lieds and banks of all streams that pass through the Harrodsburg limestone, more or less rare and fine fossils are found. Geodes are numerous in the InitT ledges and shaly layers of this same formation in many places, ranging in size from a walnut up to some grand specimens two feet across. Some of these have been flattened by pressure, but their most usual shape is spherical.

The Clays

The clays of the county are mostly residual, being the resitluuin of rock decay, the soluble portions of the parent rock having been wholly or partly carried off or dissolved beneath the surface. The main factors in bringing about this change were water, the disintegrating effects of heat and cold, and the action of roots of plants. Such clays are usually very impure and highly colored by iron, which accounts for them Ijeing red, as a rule, in this county. A shale is only a clay which has Iiecome consolidated into a hard mass by pressure. When weathered, or when ground and mixed with water, it becomes a soft jjlastic mass, like clay. The Knobstone and coal-measure shales constitute the most valuable sedimentary clay deposits of the state. Probably abotrt trtte-lifth t,f the surface of Waslvington county shows the shale or sedimentary clay. These shales liave, as yet, received but little attention from rla\- ni;uuifaclurers, hut thev are destined to become one of the most important clays of the state. They are beginning to l)e used to a considerable extent as the clay ingredient of Portland cement at some of the large factories in this state. They are also suitable for paving-brick and pressed-front brick. Should a railroad ever be built up through the knob region of the northeast part of the county an inexhaustible supply of clayworking material could be easily and cheaply secured. The residual clays of the county furnish excellent material for the manufacture of common brick, and kilns have been burned in various localities e\er since the country was first settled. Tile factories have l)cen operated successfully in several paits of the county where drain-tile was in demand. In the low bottoms of Gibson township there is some alluvial clay, which seems specially adapted to the manufacture of drain-tiles.

Minpzral Waters

There are several mineral springs and wells in Washington county, hut their waters have little more than a local reputation. In section 30. in Franklin township, there is a spring which yielded, on analysis, chloride of sodium bicarbonate of lime, sulphate of lime, bicarlionate of magnesia, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of soda and sulphate of iron. \Mieii used it acts beneficiaUv as an aperient, alterative and tonic. It is a water that is not very pleasant to the taste and conseciuently is not used \ery extensixely.

In section 26, township 4 north, range 3 east, thirteen miles north of Salem, is a mineral well sunk in 1870 to a depth of nineteen feet, through clay, gravel and blue mud into a shale from w'hich the water is derixed. The water stands ten feet deep in the well and when raised has a temiterature of fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. ^Vhile free from the odnr of hydrogen sulphide, it has a distinct, but slight, sulphur-saline taste. A rather heavy whitish efflorescence on the ground below the well and on the rocks rein(i\e(l and thrown to one side, when the well was dug, are indications of aluminum silicate. A partial analysis made in [Sjc by a Cincinnati chemist resultetl as follows: Basis - Sodium, potassium, calcium magnesium, iron. Acid radicals - Sulphuric, hydrochloric, carbonic, phosjihoric.

"Of these, the sodium, calcium ami magnesium, among the metals, ,ind the sulphuric and hydrochloric, of the acids, are the most aliund.int The iron and potassium are present only in very small proportions. Among the more soluble salts, the chlorides and phosphates of sodium and magnesium exist in by far the largest quantities, (^f the less soluble salts the sul])hate of calcium is the most abundant.

"The specitic gravity of the water is 1.0033. It affords, upon standing, but a very slight sediment, containing a small quantity of organic matter. This water is to be classed with the saline springs and wells such as those of Seidlitz, Pyrniont, the Ballston Spa, of Saratoga, and the St. Louis artesian well."

The water has quite a local reputation for kidney, bladder, stomach and rheumatic troubles. It has been prescribed in a great many instances by resident physicians of the county and has been shipped to a number of townsand cities of southern Indiana where its remedial effects are known.

A cluster of springs which give forth a saline-sulphuretted water is^ found in the northeast quarter of section 10, township i north, range 3 east, six miles .southwest of Salem and one-half mile northwest of Becks Mill. Here three springs issue from limestone rock ; two of them about thirty feet apart, on opposite sides of a shallow ravine. The water of the larger spring flows- horizontally from the ledge of limestone, at the rate of one gallon per minute, and is collected in a basin hollowed out in the rock, [n this basin and in the rill bearing away the overflow, there are white, black and ])urple precipitates of salts of sulphur. The water has a distinct taste and odor of hydrogen sulphide, combined with a slight saline taste, and a temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

The water of the accond spring, very similar in character, wells up perpendicularly from a crevice in the limestone rock, at th" rate of one-half gallon per minute. The third spring is located one-quarter of a mile farther north, on the west bank of Mill creek. The v^ater flows about fifteen feet, into that stream, at the rate of about one gallon per minute. Two other springs of similar water formerly welled up on low gr ^und, thirty rods west of the first two mentioned, but their openings are now covered with mud and decayed vegetation. The water from all these springs has quite a local reputation for dyspepsia and stomach trouble. The scenery in this locality is \ery romantic and pleasing.

In the earlv settlement of the country there were two salt "licks," or springs, a few miles east of Salem. In making well borings in and about Salem, salt water is reached almost invariably at a depth of from seventyfive to one hundred and fifty feet.

Coal And Iron

Upon the range of hills that lie in the southwest part of the county Sdine (lutlines of the Huron jrroui) of stone occur. It consists of a dark,.

hard blue limestone capped with sand rock. This group of stone lies at the lx)ttom of the coal-measures of Indiana. It originally extended eastward to the vicinity of Salem. Init the ancient erosions that created this great valley in the central part of the county carried away almost every trace of this formation, together with much of the underlying rock, while the sand ridge on the west remained as a monument to show the wonderful destructiveness of the forces that once were in existence. It is thus seen that all the rock formations in Washington count}- are below the coal-measures, conseuently no coal deposits in paying quantities will ever be found.

The top of Spurgeon hill is one hundred and thirty-five feet higher than the railroad track at Harristown, one of the highest points in the county, but it is still too low for coal. A few fossils of coal plants have been found at the top of the hill, showing that the higher points would more likely reveal evidences of coal than by digging down in less elevated localities. In a few localities in the west part of the county coal seams have been found running from three to six inches in thickness. , One of these occurs al)out a mile north of Hardinsl)urg and it is said that in an early day, when coal was hard to get, the blacksmiths of that neighborhood obtained some coal there for use in their work. There is another thin vein found in a hillside about two miles south of Livonia, but both of these are now lost, being co^-ered up by the wash from the hillsides.

Iron may be found in small quantities in almost any part of the county, upon or near the surface, forming a part of the residuum resulting from the disintegration of superior strata, but it exists nowhere in anything like paying quantities.

No precious metals will e\'er be found in this county, because primitive formations, in which mines of gold and siher are found, do not exist. The fabulous stories, said to ha\e been handed down through a long line of Indian chiefs, about concealed siher mines in the county long since lost credence in the minds of considerate penple.

Sand And Guavel

(^f white (ir glass sand there is practically an inexhaustible supply found iin the kn(il)s in the smitheast part of the count}-, which was used in ccmsiderabk- (piantUy liy the \e\\ All)any glass works while thev were l)eiii,i;- operated. I "he sand wa^ carted to P.orden, from which point it was shipped by rail to the works. l'"or ;i numl)er of years this industrv was a source of consideralile re\ enue to landowners and teamsters ni that iiai-t of the country. In the level country lying west of Salem large beds of reddish sand are occasionally found, which contains a sufficient proportion of alumina to make it a most excellent sand for molders' use. A large deposit of this sand is foimd in section 23, township 2 north, range 3 east, about four miles southwest of Salem. There is quite a steady demand for this sand from various iron and brass foundries in the Ohio valley and it is said to be one of the l>est articles of the kind to be found anywhere. These deposits are the residuum of the Hyron sandstones that once extended across that part of the country. Any amount of sand, for building purposes, is to be found along White river and the streams that flow into the same from this county. Beds of excellent sand for plasterers' use are found at various places along Blue river and most of its tributaries. These streams also furnish unlimited quantities of gravel suitable for road building. Where the gravel beds along these creeks are exhausted during the summer months by road builders, the spring freshets carry down another supply from the crumbling banks above and from the rocky ledges where the process of disintegration is always going on.

A deposit of pit gravel, which is probably an overwash from the large gravel deposit to the north, exists on the top of a high hill in section 30, in Monroe township. It covers about thirty acres and has been used extensively for top-dressing roads of the vicinity. The gravel is composed mostly of chocolate-colored chert, pieces of quartzite and brown and yellow hard sandstone. There is much oxide of iron intermingled, which causes this gravel to cement \ery closely and firmly, thus making a road surface which does not wear into ruts, and which is free from dust at most seasons. By far the finest roads in the county, and the most durable as well, have been top-dressed with gravel from this pit. While the supply is practically inexhaustible for this part of the county the only pity is that it does not extend to a wider range of territory.

To anyone who takes delight in exploring the earth's caverns, Washington county presents an interesting field. They are found all over the southwest half of the county. Three miles north of C'ampljellsburg in the east half of section 14, two very interesting caves are found. The mouths of these two caverns are about two hundred yards apart. Clifty creek has its source in the streams which emerge therefrom. The caves are designated, respectively, by the terms "wet" and "dry," the former being the smaller of the two. Across the mouth of the wet cave a cement dam has been built, and it supplies enough water at most all seasons of the year to run the machinery of a grist-mill. The mouth of this cave is a perfect archway in the solid limestone, fourteen feet wide and eleven feet high. This cave is only explorable by boat, which carries one back about six hundred feet, at which point rapids are encountered and further exploration must be made by wading in the stream. There are some good-sized rooms in this cave and several short avenues leading ofi in ditterent directions.

The entrance to the "dry" cave is eighteen feet high and twenty feet wide. The first five hundred feet of the main passage is very crooked, but beyond that point it runs comparatively straight. Some of the branches which diverge from the main passage are over four hundred feet long. At two thousand feet the passage is one hundred feet wide and contains much fallen rock. When a distance of three thousand feet from the mouth is reached the cave narrows so that it becomes difficult to proceed farther. Here huge boulders have f;illen from the ceiling, some of them fifteen by i^hirty feet in size.

Along the bluffs of Twin creek several interesting caves are found, which have been explored from a quarter to a half mile. One of these is said to have been occupied by a band of thieves and robbers that infested this part of the country at an early day. In section 19, Monroe township, is a very interesting cavern known as "Houses" Cave." Before the hand of the \andal robbed it of much of its beauty and grandeur its stalactites of varied hues were the wonder and admiration of all explorers. "Cave Spring" situated in section 34, Madison township, takes its name from the l)eautiful cave from which it issues. This cave is dry a short distance back from the entrance. It branches off in a number of different ways. Iiut does not extend in any direction more than about six hundred feet. The walls of this ca\e from fioor to ceiling, are covered with beautiful concretions of carbonate of lime, some of which are stained to a deep pink color by oxide of iron. The ceilings vary in height from eight to twenty feet and the width from ten to sixty feet. This cave contains enough beauty to make it well worth a visit. 1 here are se\eral smaller caves in this locality, one known as the Mitchell ca\e. two miles southeast of Hanlinsburg lienig quite extensi\e.

There is a ca\e at Beck's mill which ha.-, been explored tor more than a mile, and in it are found some \erv intere-lin,L', formations. It has two entrances, one where the huge spring l;u-.1k-s forth that runs the mill, and another oxer the hill a half mile s. mth, \ ^pecio of blind lish are found in the pools of water within thi^ ciuc. llu- tiuarrx ca\e. one and one-half

Some very interesting caves are found in the southeast part of the county. One, two miles south of Martinsburg, connects Washington and Floyd counties by tunnel, which can easily l>e traveled its entire length, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. ..,..,

The Barrens

Where the cavernous limestone occurs, most of the country, at an early day, was destitute of timlx;r and water and was consequently called "The Barrens," by the early settlers. This barren country included the greater part of Howard and portions of Vernon, Madison, Pierce and Posey townships. Along the streams there were borders of timber. These barren uplands, for years swept by autumnal fires, presented to the eye the treeless effect of the western prairie, but with their many undulations were robbed of the prairie monotony. They presented a beautiful picture of the splendor and bounty of untrammeled nature when the rank prairie grass had perfected its summer's growth and was overtopped wrth wild flowers innumerable and the stately meadow fern. Here the wild strawberry grew without stint and produced fruit in the greatest abundance. There were acres upon acres of hazel bush here and there which yielded annually a rich harvest of nuts, and the wild-grape vine fairly groaned Ijeneath its weight of fruit.

The rain which falls on these prairie barrens finds an outlet through innumerable sink-holes, all of which lead to some subterranean system of brooks, creeks and rivers which flow through rock vaults in midnight darkness, where eveless fish, beetles and salamanders exist.

Outside the "barrens" Washington county was originally a heavilywooded country. In fact no county in the state ever grew timber in greater variety or of finer quality. The prevailing sjjecies were white, black, red and chestnut oaks, white and black walnut, ])opular, white and yellow sugar, soft maple, hickory, white and red ash, blue and white, and red and white beech, wild cherry, white and red elm, chestnut, sycamore, red. black and sweet gum, sassafras, mulberry, Cottonwood, hackberry, birch, honey locust, cedar, white pine and several other varieties of less note. In the White ri\er region of countrv' there were sassafras trees that measured two feet across the stump and chestnut trees that measured over five feet. There were black wahiut and wild cherry trees in different parts jf the country that were over four feet in diameter, while a few yellow poplars were eight feet through and seventy-hve feet to the tirst limb. There were poplar trees on the public square of Salem that measured twenty feet in circumference. It was from the stumps of some of these trees that the first oratorical eft'orts ever made in Salem were heard. Grape vines in abundance, some of which were over a foot in diameter, often climbed to the tops of the tallest trees.

Beneath these forests there grew a dense mass of '^hrubl>ery, consisting chiefly of spicewood, paw-paw, waa-hoo. black-haw. thorn, 'eatherwood. prickly ash, red-bud, sumac, dogwood, etc. Tn every place where the forest and shrubbery were sufficiently open to admit a glimpse of sunshine, the ground was covered with pea vines, which furnished inexhaustable browsmg for all kinds of stock. Such was the primitive condition of this county when it was wrested from the red man. T!ie forests have dwindled down to a few patches of woodland, surrounded by cultivated fields; the undergrowth has entirely disappeared and the pea \ines are botanical curiosities. A few spots have been preser\ed in their prinntive wildness by those who are lovers of nature, but even these will soon disappear.

The last one of the giant poplars was cut in 1878. It stood m sec:ion 32, three miles south of Salem. This tree measured eight feet across the stump and made six logs twelve feet long. It took fourteen horses to haul the first cut to the saw-mill in Salem, where it made three thousand feet of five-eights-inch lumber, many of the boards being forty-two inches wide. The entire tree made over twelve thousand feet of lumber. The enormous amount of wild cherry, lilack walnut, yellow poplar and white oak sawed into lumber and shipped out of the county may be roughly estimated when the fact is considered that during the past twenty-five years one saw-mill in Salem has shipped out over thirty-five million feet of luml^er, while the county has been dotted all over with small mills that have exhausted a much larger amount of its valuable woodlands.

The greatest obstacle in the way of the rapid development of this country was the forests and they were recklessly cut down and burned, to make way for cultivated fields. Up to i860 the very best of the ash, cherry, walnut and white oak timbei was chopped into ten-foot lengths and split into railr for fencing. When it was desired to express in the strongest terms possible the irksomeness of any sort of muscular eftort it was said to be "as hard as mauling rails."

Natural History

In bygone ages, no one knows how long ago, the gigantic mastodon stalked across the plains and waded in the marshes of all this western country. We know that they once were to be found in this county from the fact that in 1878, [xirtions of a skeleton were dug out of the creek bank twa miles east of Salem, a few hundred feet northeast of Royses Lick- The find consisted of some huge teeth, a portion of a jaw-bone, some vertebrae and a tusk. As one carefully inspects these bones they cannot avoid reflecting on the time when the huge frame of this great animal was clothed with its peculiar integuments and moved by appropriate muscles, when the mighty iieart dashed forth its torrents of blood through vessels of enormous caliber and the mastodon strode along in supreme dominion over every other tenant of the wilderness. Enormous as were these creatures during life, and endowed with faculties proportioned to the bulk of their frames, the entire race has been utterly destroyed, leaving nothing behind but the "mighty wreck" of their skeletons to testify that they once were among the living occupants of this land.

No positive evidence can now be produced substantiating the tact that buffalo were e\er killed by ihe earliest trappers and hunters that visited this region of country, but skeleton heads and horns have l)een preserved that were picked up at an early day in the northeast part of the county, Elk horns were occasionally ])icked up_in the lowlands of Gibson township as late as 181 2, and elk were killed there only a few years prior thereto.

The county once abounded in wild animals and the streams were well stocked with fish of all the varieties usually found in western waters. The black or cinnamon bear, the gray and black wolf, deer, panthers, wildcat and porcupine were plentiful hereabouts while an unbroken forest remained. In every cave that a bear could crawl into there were bear wallows, where this animal retired to take his long winter nap. A few deer remained in the county up to as late as 1845. Other animals that still e.xi.st in the county are the fo.x, gray and red, raccoon, ground-hog, skunk, weasel, muskrat, opossum, squirrel, rablsit and mink. A\'ild turke\s were found back in the hills and flat woods region as late as 1850. The prairie hen was exterminated before 1820. Pheasants and quail were abundant until the country !)ecame quite thickly settled. Wild geese and ducks came in great flocks during the late fall and winter months and filled the streams and the few small lakes of the county. Some species of ducks reared broods along the

Muscatatiick and White rivers during the summer months. About the time the acorns and beech nuts ripened, milhons upon milHons of wild pigeons swooped down upon the country from the north and remained here for several weeks, or as long as the mast lasted. They would come in great clouds, extending clear across the sky in every direction as far as the eye reach, fairly blackening the heavens. One of their favorite roosting places was on ttie tops of the knobs in the eastern part of the county, where they clustered so thickly that all the' smaller limbs of trees were broken otT by their weight. Hunters from all parts of the country would visit these roosts of nights, and with clubs would kill the pigeons by the bag full, or as many as they could haul home. These pigeons vanished suddenly and mysteriously about 1855.

For a period of fifty years after the coming of the first settlers, this was a suitable paradise for the hunter - but nearly all the game that was then so plentiful has disappeare^i. A few timid quail, with perhaps, here and there, a scattering pheasant, are the only birds left for the hunter's nxark. In the timber spots a few squirrels are still found and the rabbit is quite numerous. Up' to about the year i860 one never saw anything but a gray squirrel or gray fox. in this part of the country. Xow both squirrels and foxes are mostly of the red species.

Snakes were quite numerous while the country was new. Indians and hunters always wore buckskin leggings to protect themselves against snakebites. There were snake dens in hiany places, usually along rocky clififs. where hundreds of reptiles would congregate. The numerous snakes were the copi>erheads, rattlers, spreading-adders and water moccasins. Rattlesnakes and copperheads were most dangerous. The most numerous snakes were the racers or black-snakes, garter and cow snakes. The latter was the largest of all. The ground snake was a dwarf species not over a foot long. The green snake was about two feet long and very slender, about the size of a lead pencil. Dens of water snakes were quite common along the creeks.

Chapter

When the nrst hunters, trappers and homeseekers ventured into this territory there were a number of Indian villages here and there along the numerous streams, the remnants of tribes and nations that had been driven back from the East, who subsisted by hunting, fishing, the spontaneous productions of the earth, and some cultivation of the soil. In the southwest part of the county there were some Shawnees, their villages extending south to and across the Ohio river. Painkashaus were located north on White river, while there were several villages of Delawares in the central and northeastern part of the county. A mile west of where Salem now stands, along the gentle slope just east of what was known as "Camp" spring, because of its being a favorite camping place for both Indians and white emigrants, was a Delaware village headed by an old chief named Highland. This spring is located a few rods below the waterworks pumping station. The creek that courses down the valley here and empties into Blue river, was named for this Indian chief. Another chieftain was named "Old Ox," who ruled over several villages within the present bounds of the county, the principal one of which was located at a place known as "The Lick" about two miles east of Salem on the north bank of Blue river. Plis followers had a number of villages over in the northeast part of the county, where hunting and fishing were considered the very best. An occasional cleared spot of land near good springs up and down all the streams in the county showed where Indians had in days gone by, pitched their teepees. Bumed stone and flint spalls still mark places where Indians once lived and operated their workshops. At Beck's spring, seven miles south of Salem, there was a clearing of some fifteen acres and every indication points to this as being at one time the largest Indian town in the county. Only a few families of Delawares were here when first settlers came in. It was no uncommon sight for the earliest hunters and trappers to, come upon deserted Indian villages, as they followed the trails that wound about through the country, marked by the small clearing and perhaps the rotting, tumble-down wigwam made of poles and bark that had at no distant day been the red man's abode. (4)

These locations were frecjuently chosen by the early pioneer for a cabin site, having thus a spot of cleared land for a roasting-ear patch the first season. Near most Indian villages there were to be found Ijurial places. and graves were marked by shells, such as could be ])icked up along the banks of the larger streams, 'i'hese shells would sometimes l)e edged up around the gra\e or a mound of earth would l)e made ami this covered all over with shells. The Indian grave wuuld settle very little, as burials were made without any sort of coffin, the ileceased l)eing wrapped in his best blanket, along with his favorite hunting or war weaix)n. It was in many instances the custom to obliterate all trace of burial places when a village was abandoned in order that graves coukl not l)e desecrated and robbed of their contents. This was more particularly the case when tribes were hostile to each other in any particular section of country.

Most of the Indians found here were armed with spears, tomahawk, bow and arrow, but not a few had procured guns of the then formidable flint-lock pattern. These had been procured of the British on the north, who scattered arms cjuite freely among all Indian tribes that, during the Revolution, would war against Americans. The pioneer blacksmith did quite a business in shaping up spear, arrow points and tomahawks which were readily bartered to the Indian for furs and provisions. The Indians here were generally friendly to the whites and there was never any general uprising in this particular locality or massacre on what is now Washington countv soil. .\t times there were scares when everyliody retreated to nearby forts, caust-d bv savages located farther north and west, bent upon pillage and plumler, who would not hesitate to carry out their nefarious schemes, even at the cost of the life of a settler or his entire family. With the exception of some horse or cattle stealing, the first settlers suffered no serious trouble, for thev were constantly on the alert for warring, prowling bands of savages.

-\fter the battle of Tippecanoe. Xovemljer 7, iSii, the Indians were scattered and divided into small, prowling liands. On Septenil)er j;. iNu, a band of Siiawnee warriors peri>etrated the Pigeon Roost massacre, which brought out tlie entire militia of the county to aid in the attem])t to capture the fleeing savages. The women and children all took refuge in the forts. -\nd it was not until after the close of the Indian war in 1815 tliat the countv .settled down and had no further fear of attack from red men. ( )ccasional visits would be made l)y liaiuls of Indians to the settlements f>ir the purpose of barter and trade. The last IiuIkiu -care in this countv wa- in June, iSi.v It was reported that a consider.ible band ni Dehi- ware Indians were committing various depredations among the settlers north of White river, and to be rid of them, Colonel Bartholomew got together a force and moved from Vallonia in a westerly direction to surprise and break up the various Indian villages that still remained in that section of country. Major Depauw had command of the company that joined this body of troops from Washington county. This was the last time the militia was called out to rid the country of Indians bent on doing mischief to the whites.

Ytry few readers of this history ha\'e e\er seen the Indian in his native wilds, and can only draw his -pictures in their imaginations. Among all Indians there was a striking uniformit\- in their appearance, character, manners, customs and opinions. This uniformitx ma^- still be seen among the few tribes now found upon reser\ations in western parts of the United States. i\s to color they were all of a reddish copper, with some diversity of shade. The men were tall, large boned and well made; with small black eyes, lodged in deep sockets, high cheek bones, nose more or less aquiline, mouth large, lips rather thick and the hair of the head black, straight and coarse. They wore no l)eard, carefully extracting every hair that might make its appearance on the face. .\t the present time one may be seen sporting a light mustache. Their general expression of countenance was thoughtful and sedate. The\- were little gi\en to mirth, had sound understanding, quick apprehension, a retentive memory, with an air of indifference in their general beha\ior. The women, or squaws, differed considerably from the men, both in person and features. They were small and short, with homely, broad faces, which often wore an expression of mildness and even sweetness, .^t times she was not deficient in prattling loquacity. .\11 spoke in low tones of voice and employed few words in casual conversation, but their chiefs, in council, would become loud, rapid and vehement. Young people among them had \arious games and sports in which they engaged, such as ball playing, hi(le-:ind-seek. leaping, climbing and shooting with bows and arrows. The smaller ones l)uilt queer little wigwams, shaped canoes and in many ways imitated the lives and occupations of those about them.

The sight, smell and hearing of the Indian, being frequently and attentively exercised, were all remarkably acute. They could trace the footsteps of man or beast through the forest or swamp, when an inexperienced eye could not discern the slightest \estige. They could pursue their course through the pathless forest or over vast plains with undeviating certainty, being guided by marks which would have entirely escaped the notice of the white man. Their distinguishing qualities were strength, cunning and

Their dress diitered considerably in different tribes or nations. The Indians found here were mostly clothed in fur robes and blankets. Everything they could seize upon in the way of gaudy trinkets or ornamentation, was rapidly appropriated. Much time was spent by the squaw in fashioning out of furs and feathers the showiest kind of head dress, belts and neckwear. Ordinarily they went bare-headed winter and summer, but a sort of cap was usually worn by the warriors, and a quill or feather \\as suspended from it for every enemy slain in battle. Leggings protected the lower limbs, and moccasins the feet. A breech cloth, fastened to a girdle, passed around the loins and lower part of the body. In some tribes the hair was allowed to flow loosely over the shoulders ; in others it was carefully braded, knotted and ornamented as well as soaked in grease. ^Nlost of them suspended from, their ears wampum beads and trinkets of various kinds. They were fond of bracelets and rings. Beads of various kinds were the favorite ornament for the squaws, but they took more pride in painting up and adorning their husbands than themselves. The woman who could turn out the most gaudily bedecked warrior was the envy of everyone else. A tobacco pipe and pouch were always suspended from the ginlle, for all were inxeterate smokers. The women's dress was ver\' sinlilar to that of men, except in being more simple and less gaudy.

The wigwams or lodges of the Indians were differently constructed in different tribes. The modest were formed of poles stood up against trees or benches of rock, covered with grass or cedar boughs. A more pretentious shelter was made of poles stuck in the ground in a circle, the tops !>eing brought together and tied with pliant strips of bark or \ine of some sort. Skins of wild beasts were often used for tent co\-ering, making very comfortable quarters for winter. Light was admitted by a small doorway, and by an aperture at the top, which also served for the escape of smoke Fires were kindled in the middle of the lodge, and the family sat around it on the bare ground, but a skin was spread for a visitor. Indians at the time this county was first settled, had learned to start fires with flint and steel from the whites. Cooking utensils were very few. In some instances a pot or kettle had been procured from the white traders, but more often an earthen pot of their own make was the onW utensil used around the fire, ^^'ooden liowls were sometimes employed in serxing meals. The stomach or skull of some animal was usetl for carrying water and hot stones were used in heating Avater as necessit\' (.Icmandcd. Tlu^ir inod consisted in the main of ])arclu'u corn, wild fruits, fish and the tiesh of wild animals. In travelling or going to war, peinican was their favorite food. This consisted of tlesh cut into thin slices and dried, after which it was beaten to a coarse powder tetween two stones, and packed into a bag. They had no fixed time for meals, either at home or in hunting or traveling, but ate when they were hungry. When a stranger entered the lodge he was first presented with food, and having partaken of same, his business was made known, if he was other than a simple caller.

Most Indians were satisfied with one wife, but occasionally they would take to themselves two or three, and there was no law or custom to prevent it. When polygamy was practiced and wives grew quarrelsome or refractory, a wholesome castigatinn was administered by the bead of the lodge to adjust matters.

The big brave never lowered himself to do any sort of drudgery work, or in fact work of any sort. The sfjuaw was depended on to do e\'erything. except the hunting and fishing. She made the lodges, gathered in the fuel and kept the fires going. She looked after the dress of the whole family, cultivated the ground and cared for the baggage on the journey. In their small clearings they grew corn, beans, pumpkins, melons and tobacco. They possessed no tools for cultivating the soil other than sharp pointed bones, shells or flat stones. About the time settlers first came into this part of the country they had learned to use the hoe, as made by the blacksmith.

Indians never chastised their children, 'especially the boys, thinking it would dampen their spirits, check their love of independence and cool their martial ardor. Parents, by example, instruction and advice, would endeavor to train them to diligence and skill in hunting and inspire them with courage and contempt of danger, pain or death. The old men put in most of their tiiue exhorting and teaching the young ones how they should demean themselves in after life. The Indian's name was always a descri]>tion of the real or supposed qualities of the individual to whom it was applied. Most frequently the young man went unnamed until by some daring feat or accomplishment he had earned a title, and names were often changed se\'eral times.

To the healing arts they were in a great measure strangers, although by means of some simple remedies they performed many cures. Most of their "medicine-men" were simply conjurers, pretending to ha\e communication with the Great Spirit. They professed to be able to chase awav disease by howling, blowing on the trum|>et, and by various incantations, slight-ofhand performances and sujierstitious rites. The bead of e\ery family had his medicine bag the same as the ijrofessional doctor, consisting of rdds and herbs of various kinds pounded up together, and when needed was administered with a httle warm water. When advanced in Hfe, and being no longer able to participate in the chase or take part in war, they often longed for the hour of dissolution. The dying man rejoiced in the hope of immortality, and talked of the happy hunting grounds to which he was soon to be transported - where the trails would always be smooth and the sky clear

When there was a death in the village friends assembled around the body, the men in mute silence, while the women indulged in hand-clapping and loud lamentations. The burial followed soon after death. The body was wrapped in some sort of robe or skin and carried to the grave on the shoulders of two or three men. With the body they buried such of the deceased's belonging- as they thought he might use when he arrived at the happy hunting ground. They believed that if this was not done his spirit would be ill at ease and he would not be properly prepared for his entrance into the other world.

Among the red men, wherever found, society was always in the loosest state in which it could possibly exist. They had no laws, no magistrates or tribunals to protect the weak or punish the guilty. Every man asserted his own rights and averiged his own wrongs. He was neither restrained nor protected by anything but his innate sense of shame, or the promptings of honor, together with the approbation or disapprobation of his tribe. His misdeeds sometimes caused him to be cut off from his people, to become a wandermg miscreant doomed to an untimely end. Among these savages sentiment and habit often did more to curb passion and set matters aright than wise laws accomplish in civilized society. They were always ambitious to preserve the honor of their tribe or nation, proud of its success, and zealous for its welfare. No people were ever more ready to sacrifice everythmg, even life itself if necessary, for country. When all are equally poor, the distinctions founded on wealth cannot exist ; and among a people when experience is the only source of knowledge, the aged men are naturally the sages of the nation.

In many tribes the sachems or chiefs had a sort of hereditary rank, but in order to maintain it they had to prove themselves worthy of the honor conceded. Bravery, good conduct and generosity were the principal means of maintaining any rank or distinction. Matters of general import to the tribe were discussed in a council composed of the chiefs and principal warriors, in which the acknowledged head chief presided. He had no power to compel, so that argument and persuasion were resorted to in order to gain influence or prestige. The chief was merely the most confidential individual in the tribe, and was never installed with any ceremony nor distinguished by any badge. The men of the tribe usually settled their controversies among themselves, seldom applying to their chiefs, except for advice.

The chief causes of war among different tribes or nations most commonly originated from the stealing of horses, elopement of squaws or the encroachment on hunting grounds. When a warrior felt that he had been wronged he advised with the chief, and, if in his opinion the matter was of sufficient importance, a council of war was called, and if there was strongfollowing, the war dance was put on and a call for volunteers followed. No one was obliged to fight against his will. Sometimes a small party went forth to right a supposed wrong, headed by the brave who was most enthusiastic in the cause. Before starting out the head warrior would give a feast to those who had signified a willingness to follow him, and it was distinctly understood that they who partook of his hospitality thereby pledged themselves to be faithful followers and partners in his enterprise. Before starting out the medicine bag was always arranged and the oracles consulted. On the medicine bag much reliance was placed for the successful termination of the adventure. It usually contained the skin of a sparrow hawk, wampum beads, tobacco and various trinkets. The bag was cylindrical in shape and from one to two feet long and was suspended on the back of the leader by the girdle which passed round his neck. The leader marched at the head of the column, the others following in line two or three pace? apart, and usually treading in each other's footsteps.

An experienced woodsman was usually sent ahead as scout or spy, and when he reported that the enemy was near, a halt was called, the medicine bag was opened and preparations were at once tnadt for action. The band then moved on with cautious tread, always endeavoring to fall upon the enemy when least expected. The attack began with the war whoop. If they were in the forest each one took shelter behind a tree. If it was ou open ground they dodged about from side to side to prevent the enemy ffom taking a deadly aim. The successful carrying^ away of an enemy's scalp was a much greater honor than simply to shoot him, for he then carried back a sure mark of victory. To take the scalp the victor set one foot on the neck of his dead or disabled enemy, entwined one hand in his hair, and by a slash or two with his scalping knife the scalp was lifted.

After a successful encounter the victors buried their dead and returned rapidly to their village. The scalps were displayed and the dance renewed. A sort of drum and a rattle, consisting of a skin bag filled with pebbles.

were the only musical instruments they had. In these encounters a watchful eye was kept on the young warrior. If he displayed marks of bravery he was at once put into the rank of braves. If prisoners were taken the women were made slaves and the children were adopted by families of the tribe, but the men had little show for their lives. When not burned at the stake, they were allowed to run the gauntlet. Two lines were formed, ,iot only of warriors, but squaws and children also participated. They took their places about six feet apart, each armed with club, spear or tomahawk, which was held in readiness to strike down the prisoner as he passed through the lines. If he was agile and was dexterous in warding ofi the blows aimed at him he might get through with his life, but this did not always give him his lil>erty. The council was then called which determined his fate. When prisoners were burned and tortured at the stake they never murmured or complained, for they had been taught that courage and fortitude were the glory of man.

Among all tribes and nations the pipe or calumet was the symbol of peace, and the pledge of friendship. This pipe was about four feet long, with a bowl made of clay or stone, with a stem of light wood or reed. It was variously decorated and ornamented, and carefully preserved. The bearer of this sacred symbol was never treated with disrespect. Peace was concluded and treaties ratified by passing round the pipe and all participated. Presents were also exchanged. When tribes, friendly towards each other, desired an exchange of commodities or food supplies, the needy tribe would send a deputation of their number to make their wants known and smoke with their more fortunate neighbors. It was considered a breach of courtesy to send them away unprovided for, as they might sometime in turn be compelled to ask for aid when misfortune might overtake them.

The Indians, in general, like other ignorant people, were believers in witchcraft, and thought most of their ill-luck, as well as many of their diseases, proceeded from the arts of sorcery. Believing this, it was not ti difficult matter for impostors to take advantage of their credulit\-. A case in point was the burning of a witch only a mile from where Salem is located. In 1804-5 ^ brother of Tecumseh, named Law-le-was-i-kaw (which signifies the loud voice) visited at one of the Delaware villages on West fork of White river. In order to make for himself a reputation and gain influence over his people he assumed the roll of prophet. He would go about from village to village and harangue his ignorant hearers by telling them alx)ut the danger of witchcraft, the horrible results of using fire-water to excess, how unholy it was 'for Indian maidens to marry white men and the bad practice of selling Indian lands to the United States. He told them also that the Great Spirit iiad appeared untu him and had f;i\en him puwer ti i reineiK these evils, and in addition thereto had given him power to e\ en sta\ the arm of death in sickness rmd on the battlefield. He called himself 'Fhe Prophet and was everywhere looked upon as such. He visited all the I )elaware villages in this part of the state and was particularly se\ere on wUclic^.

About a mile down the creek from v.here old chief Highlands town was located in and near a cave, afterwards known as Zink's ca\ e, there was another village, and at both places there had been an unusual amount of sickness. He laid the trouble to some witch and when he left, achised them to keep strict watch on an old squaw whom he susjiected was the cause of all the trouble, saying that upon his return the matter could be more fulK determined. He thus went aljout o\er the state pointing out wizards and witches and exhorting the bra\es to continue their warfare against the palefaces. In many places where he went Indians were accused of witchcraft, were tried, condemned and either tomahawked nr burned at the stake. Through the inHtience of this arch-bend this whole Indian C(juntr}- became as superstitious as the Massachusetts I'urilans, but should not lie held to the same accountability, for one was an ignorant sa\age race, while the other was an intelligent one and professed Christianity.

In the spring of 1807 The Prophet made another visit to this locality and was not long in pointing out the old squaw who was the author of all their trouble. She was accordingly brought forward before "Big Medicine'" and all sorts of charges were preferred against her. She had no defendei'. no one to plead her case, and in short order she was found guilty as accused, the sentence being that she should be burned at the stake. A procession was formed and she was led down to the forks, where Highland creek and Royse's fork of P>lue river meet, where she was tied to a tree and burned, after suffering severe torture. She stood it all without nuirnuir or complaint, in regular stoical Indian fashion. The earliest settlers, among them Brock and Beck, knew of this tragedy and vouched for its correctness, and had a number of times seen the spot where the scene had been enacted.

It was probably about the time that Salem was laid out, 1814, that the Indians bade farewell to these hunting grounds, struck teejiees and mo\ ed farther west where they would be free from encnjachment of the whiter and find game more abundant. For some years afterward a small part\- of friendly Indians would occasionally come through tne country, visiting scenes of early days and nearly always professing to be on the hunt ni treasures that had been hidden and left behind when their tribe had fled the country.