Layhigh, Ohio

The work given in Fig. 55, marked IS" on the map, is now almost wholly obliterated. It was situated on sections twenty-seven and thirty-four, on the farms of B. T. Bedinger, M. A. Carnaham andR. Wade. It was surveyed in 1847 by James McBride and John W. Erwin. They describe it to have been a perfect circle, enclosing an area of twenty-six acres. The embankment was two feet high, composed of earth taken up evenly from the surface, or else brought from a distance. There was an entrance to the west two hundred and seventyfive feet wide, and upon either hand the embankment terminated in a small mound, between four and five feet high. At the eastern part of the wall was a gatcAvay, the width of which is not given. The plain upon which the work occurs is about fifty feet above the adjacent bottoms. The area of the enclosure is level, and was covered with forest trees, although small, owing to the nature of the soil, which is thin and gravelly.

Passage source: The Mound Builders : Being an Account of a Remarkable People That Once Inhabited the Valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, Together with an Investigation Into the Archæology of Butler County, O., published 1879.

Section eight contains four mounds, three of which are located on the flirm of Samuel Landon. All are situated on high land, being about one hundred and thirty feet above Indian Creek, and overlooking the valley for a great distance. Two of these mounds have been plowed over for the last forty-five years. Mr. Landon states that the one on the brow of the hill was originally about twelve feet high. Charcoal and several large spearheads have been plowed out, but the bottom has not been reached. The other mound is located in the woods. It is about four feet high. A few years ago a poplar tree, twenty-one feet in circumference, stood on the mound. A trench from the west has been cut into the mound and reaching the center, but no relics Avere discovered. Across the creek, and on the Smith farm, is the fourth mound, about six feet high. It is located in the woods.

Passage source: The Mound Builders : Being an Account of a Remarkable People That Once Inhabited the Valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, Together with an Investigation Into the Archæology of Butler County, O., published 1879.

little elevated above the surrounding surface, having been plowed over until its appearance, as a mound, is almost obliterated. That it is an artificial mound is evident from the burned earth, the broken shuttles and pieces of pottery that have been found in it. A mound was once located on the farm of Benjamin Brown. Where it stood is now a farm house. In making the excavation for the foundation and cellar it was found necessary to remove it, and during the excavation several stone and bone implements were found, also a skeleton of the ordinary size. Directly over these human remains stood a white oak tree, three feet in diameter. A short distance west of this is another mound (on the farm of William Brown), but, having been plowed over for the last fifty years, is now quite low. Another mound on the same farm is situated on the low ground of the township, being only a few feet above high water mark of the Miami River. It occurs on the face of a low gravelly ridge. Before being disturbed by the plow it is now supposed to have been six feet in height by fifty feet base, but during the last seventy-five years it has been under cultivation, w^hich, together with the action of the elements, has reduced it almost to a level with the ridge. On excavating this mound the skeletons of both adults and children were found. Those found at the bottom of the mound appeared to have been placed there with considerable care. Some had their bodies reclining with the hands thrown over the head, and the knees drawn up. There were two exceptions to this. One had the head resting in the center of the mound with the feet extended to the northwest. The other was ten feet, distant with the head to the northwest, and near the outer circle of the mound. The color of this skeleton differed from that of the rest. It appeared red, as though it had been stained with carmine or Venetian red. The gravel immediately surrouuding it partook of the same color. These two skeletons were found three feet below the original surface. With the former, and surrounding the neck, occurred several perforated teeth of animals, which were used for a necklace or string of beads, and about

Passage source: The Mound Builders : Being an Account of a Remarkable People That Once Inhabited the Valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, Together with an Investigation Into the Archæology of Butler County, O., published 1879.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Ross Township - it names this place 2 more 2 times.