Paint Township (part 9 of 14)

After having received his sentence, and shortlj' before the execution. Smith acknowledged the killing to Sheriff Strale}'. Upon being furnished with stationery by the sheriff, he proceeded to write a history of his life. On the morning of the execution, a large crowd pressed to the door of his cell. He became very indignant at what he called their insolence, and remarked that he had written " a lot of stuff," which would be eagerly sought after, but the people should not be satisfied. He then destroyed the sketch, which he had written with great care. He said, "I didn't kill John Gray, but could throw some light on the subject." While on his way to the scaffold he stopped to say " good-by " to the sheriff's family. He ascended with a firm step, and Avas brave to the last, seemingly ready and willing to die. While the noose was being adjusted, he made a few remarks, saying that this was a solemn occasion, but that he was innocent.

Smith was reared in Hardy County, Virginia. It is said that prior to his removal to this state, he was, on one occasion, pursued by a constable with an execution for debt. Smith was found in a mill, which the constable entered. The former was in a desperate mood, and threatened to turn the water into the mill if the oiScer of the law did not acknowledge that the account was paid. The request waa promptly complied with.

The following brief sketch of the life of Smith was furnished by him the day before his execution, and appeared in the H'drald, December 20, 1866 :

" I was born in Hardy County, Virginia, on the waters of the south branch of the Potomac, April 15, 1817. My parents were not religious - very seldom went to meeting - but yet were of a moral character. Did not allow their children to use profane language. Had very few religious influences thrown around me. Sometimes went to Sabbath-school, but as I had five miles to walk I did not attend regularly. When quite young committed a considerable part of the Gospel of Matthew to memory. I never attended meeting much ; never heard but one whole sermon, and two parts of sermons.

" I grew up a reckless young man. At the age of eighteen was married to my present wife. My principal occupation was trading in and driving stock. My home after marriage was in Hardy County, Virginia, near my parents. From about twenty years of age I used liquor pretty freely. I also gambled a good deal ; was generally successful. It would have been better for me if I had lost. I cared little for it ; it was spent as freely as though it had no value.

" After coming to Ohio, which was some ten years ago, I did not gamble much, as the mode here was different from that to which I had been accustomed. Still, my companions were of the loose, drinking class. Sometimes got into quarrels, but not often. Never misused my family by harsh abuse, but did much neglect them; spent too much of my time from home. If I had been more attentive to the claims of my family, and the advice of my wife, it would be better with me now.

Execution Oe Avm. G. Av. Smith. S47

tliG future world. I believed in the existence of a God, in a future state of rewards and punishments, and, in my thoughtful moments, felt I was not doing right - felt condemned. At such times I resolved to reform and lead a different life, but was led off' by my besetting sins.

"I was never arrested for any crime until in 1864. I was arrested for the murder of John Gray, with which I now solemnly protest before God, before whom I must soon stand, that I had no connection, and knew nothing of it until after it was committed. To-morrow I suppose I must hang for a crime for which I am not guilty. I am innocent of it, and the world will some day know it. But I feel prepared for death - it has no terrors - only I feel that it is hard to suffer innocently. But I believe I have Christ for my friend, and that my sins, though many, are all forgiven ; and I can die rejoicing in His pardoning mercy, and in hope of heaven.

"Could I be permitted to address young men, I would urge them to avoid intemperance, profanity, and the gambling table - all lead to present and eternal ruin - shun them as you would the deadly viper. Do not violate God's day - seek the company of the good, and avoid all associations with the reckless and the vile, and above all to love and revere God.

I can forgive all those who have in any way injured me - yes, even those who swore my life away. The time with me is short, but I trust to meet you in a better world. Farewell."

The Execution

"Although the execution was conducted privatel}^, crowds of people began to assemble early in the morning, and long before noon the town was full, and the jail-yard completely surrounded by the curious, anxious to obtain, if possible, a last look at the prisoner, and to see whatever there was to be seen. Sheriff Straley had issued a proclamation requesting that the day be observed in a quiet, orderly manner, and that no liquor be sold, and Captain Henkle with part of his company, were called out to act as guards around the jail-yard, and preserve order during the day.

time in prayer and reading of the Bible. He dressed liimself with a great deal of care, and sat down to his breakfast eating very little. Daring the day few visitors were admitted, "except the prisone r's family and religions advisers, who remained with him up to the moment of his execution. At about twelve o'clock, his last meal was brought to him, but he scarcely touched it, and being informed by Sheriff Straley that his last hour was near at hand, he expressed his readiness for the sacrifice at any time. At ten minutes past one o'clock, he entered the enclosure about the gallows, accompanied by his spiritual adviser, his counsel, Sheriif Straley and deputy, ascending the platform at the request of the sheriff, seated himself in a chair upon the drop. A short prayer was then offered by Rev. C. T. Emerson, during which the prisoner was kneeling with his face covered, and when he arose his face showed no sign of agitation, though during the prayer his face could be seen to tremble as if in some emotion. After the prayer, the death warrant was read to him by the sheriff, and he was asked if he had anything to say before taking his departure. He arose, and stepping to the front of the platform, began :

"'Gentlemen, I have httle to say. It is a solemn occasion, and I hope I may be the last man who will have to suffer death in this way. But I am innocent of the murder of Old John Gray, for which I must die. The confession I have given to my advisers is strictly true. Death has no terrors for me - none whatever. We must all die; it is only a matter of time. I do not fear death; but it is the manner in which it comes, and the disgrace it leaves upon my family. For fifty years I have lived in rebellion against God ; but now, thank God, I have a hope in him.'

"Smith then took farewell of those on the platform, and if at any time there could be detected the least trembling in his voice, it was when he parted with Mr. Emerson, who had been with him much of the time during his confinement, and to whom he expressed a wish of meeting him in heaven. Stepping forward on the platform, he said, 'Gentlemen, adieu to you all,' then turning to the sherift", motioned him to proceed, and the noose was adjusted, the black cijp pulled down over his face. At just twenty-eight minutes past one o'clock the drop fell, and the prisoner was launched into eternity. During about five minutes he continued to struggle, and then all was quiet. After hanging nineteen minutes, the physicians in attendance pronounced that life was extinct, but the body was not taken clown until it had hung nearly twentyfive minutes. It was then taken down and placed in a common varnished coffin, and given into the care of his family.

"Smith met his fate with the stubborn firmness of one who had nerved himself for the trial. From the time he stepped upon the platform until the moment the drop fell, there was little or nothing in his countenance, or the tone of his voice, to betray any emotion he might have felt, and it seemed as if indeed death had no terrors for him. He protested his innocence to the last, although there can scarcely be a doubt of his guilt.

" Thus ended the Gray tragedy. The law has been enforced, and William G. W. Smith has sufiered the extreme penalty of the law for his crime, and his soul has gone to meet the judgment of a just God, who knows of his innocence or guilt."

In about the year 1817, a mill was built on tlie present site of the Milliken Mill and a high dam erected, which, during the wet season, backed the wateriip and overflowed the adjacent lands, and when the rains ceased and the waters dried up, produced great miasma and consequent sickness. In time, this grew to such an alarming extent as to threaten the depopulation of the town. Drs. Hilton and McGarough were confident that the cause arose from the stagnant waters of the dam, and the proprietors were requested to take it down during the season of low water - from June till September, which was accordingly done in about 1825, and the sickness ahnost wholly disappeared. It was taken down every year, till about 1837, when through carelesness it remained up a year or two, and again the fever and ague manifested themselves. The loss of many valuable citizens, among whom was the owner of the mill, Jesse Milliken, rendered prompt action necessary, and the administrator, CuiTcn Milliken, was requested to remove it but refused ; upon which a number of citizens, among whom were ^. W. Heagler, Daniel McLain, John C. Eastman, Arthur McArthur, L.D.Willard, David McLain, and Peter Wendell, proceeded to the spot with the necessary tools, determined to remove the dam. They were met by the owner, at the head of an equal number, equally as determined that it should remain. The " contending forces " met in the center, and in the struggle L. D. Willard slid down the slippery plank into the mud and was nearly drowned.

Curren Milliken finally praposed to take it down if the other party would leave, to which they responded that they cam« to tear it down and it should. be done. After considerable parleying and some high words, he agreed to take it away if they would desist, which being complied with, the central portion was removed, and the parties withdrew.

Sanitary

Millikeii immediately went before the grand jury, and had them all indicted for riot. Whereupon the criminals brought an action against Milliken for keeping a nuisance. The case was decided in their favor, and of course the bottom was knocked out of the indictment as w^ell as the obnoxious dam, and the court decreed that the latter be demolished entirely.

Milk Sickness

One of the greatest scourges to the early settlers in this county, was a disease known as milk-sick or trembles, which not only affected cattle, sheep, hogs, horses and dogs, but the human family as well. Human beings and stock would often be infected with the disease without any symptoms manifested until brought into activity by certain conditions, when it would suddenly develop itself with rapid and fatal effects.

According to the symptoms, it has been given various names, such as sick-stomach, swamp-sickness, fires, slows, stiff joints, puking fever, river sickness, etc.

Treatment

Quiet the stomach with opiates ; blister ; use castor oil and injection; dilute nitric acid has also proved eflicacious in extreme cases- Dunglison recommends gentle emetics, laxatives with quiet, and mucilaginious drinks.

So much for the human. The disease in stock is less know^n from the fact that the human takes the disease from milk or flesh of stock having the ailment.

Many theories have beeu advanced, some that it arises from lead -held in solntiou by water, some that it is a weed, while others contend that it is a malarial epidemic. Judge MeLain says, that abont genus eupatorium, with which he performed the following experiment: Two healthy calves were purchased, taken to the house of Mr, John Rowe, with instructions to confine them to the use of this weed alone. In a short time, the calves manifested all the premonitory symptoms of the disease under discussion, which increased as the experiment advanced, until, in about ten days all its phases were fully developed. Treatment was then begun, consisting of ground corn, which in due time eifected a cure. The weed was again given them with hay, and the experiment pursued until death occurred.

The question may be asked by skeptics, was there sufficient nutrition in the weed, in the absence of other food to support life, and did not the calves starve to death. The reply is, the symptoms produced by eating this weed were identical with those dying from milk-sickness. Again, after this experiment, the weed was removed from the pasture in which it grew, and while previous to this stock died each year, none have died since.

It is a also a fact, that when there is abundance of rain and the grass is rank, stock do not die, creating the presumption that grass is more palatable than the weed, and in such case they do not eat it.

His wife had been very sick with it and finally died ; whether with this disease'or not is uncertain. After which Mr. Dawson prepared to retnrn to Virginia. On his way he stopped at Harrison's Tavern, in Washington C. H., where he died.

It is said that so long as a cow is giving milk she would not show any symptoms of the disease, but would impart it to the sucking calf and those using her milk.

Drainage

Ill addition to the facts already mentioned in the geology of this county, we deem it our dut}' to give credit, in this connection, to some individual eftbrts which have brought about grand results in the direction of agricultural advancement, improvement and development.

Many years prior to the settlement of the territory now included in this county, it was a favorite hunting ground for the roving bands of Indians, who occupied the country lying between the old town of Chillicothe, in Greene County, where they had their council house and headquarters, and the Ohio, and who each year burnt off the grass, which, in some places, grew six feet high. As the white settlers gradually came in, however,, and the Indian withdrew, the rank vegetation was permitted to grow up, fall down and decay, from year to year, until the deep accumulation of vegetable matter produced miasmatic infection to such an extent that the county, during the years from 1818 to 1824, was rendered almost uninhabitable, and all who could possibly leave the comity, did so.

On Lee's Creek, or between Lee's and Rattlesnake, in the early history of the county, a settlement was formed by the Yocums, Bursons and others, which, on account of the extremely niihealthy condition of the same, was totally abandoned, and the empty cabins were seen standing as late as 1820.

These cabins, it is said, were superior in their structure to any in the county, having been hewn smooth on the outside and the corners neatly dovetailed, and carried up straight and square.

To such an extent, indeed, did malaria exist, that the county was in danger of total depopulation in some regions, especially north of Washington, in Jasper, Jefferson, Paint, Madison, Marion, and the northern part of Union, while those south of Washington were level, but the beds of the streams being deeper, formed abetter underdraina^e.

Draining And Tiling

The pioneers in this enterprise were Judge D. McLain and several others, who cut a few open ditches in the wettest lands, one of which, cut by D. McLain, emptying into Vandenian's Eun, was visited by people from a distance, as a great curiosity.

In about 1840, the open ditches were improved by having wood placed in them and filled in with dirt. These again were again superceded b}- the

Tile Ditch

The first effort in this direction was made by Judge McLain, who conceived the idea of placing brick on end, closed at the top, and about six inches apart at the bottom. These, however, when the dirt was thrown in, sank into the ground and proved worthless.

A kind of tube was then manufactured, by hand, which, though a very slow process, was a great improvement upon the open ditch, the wood covered ditch, or the brick.

As the feasability of tiling was established, and the great advantages perceived, the Judge erected a power tile machine, said to be the first in the United States.

In 1856 or 1857, J. W. Penfield procured a patent for a horsepower tile machine and exhibited the same at the state fair, at Cincinnati. Judge McLain saw the machine, finally bought it, set it up on his farm and burned a kiln of tile. Prior to the introduction of this machine, tile were pressed by a large lever worked by hand.

There was much prejudice against tile through the belief that the water could not get through the tile ; which had to be refuted by the actual experiment of placing a closed tile perpendicular in a bed of mortar and filling it with water ; and not until the water was seen oozing through and running away, was prejudice disarmed, and the incalculable value of tile established.

In the beginning, tile were manufactured for his individual use, but in order to introduce the article, and induce others to improve their lands, he would manufacture for others, in small quantities, to test their value

Arguing from the law that water, in sinking through the soil, became perfectly liltered thereby, he placed his tile at a depth of three feet below the surface, so that no sediment would ever be deposited round about the tile. The sequel has proved the wisdom of this reasoning, evidenced by the fact that his first ditches have never been repaired, while those put in shallower, and at a much later date, have been constantly out of order.

It is stated that the difference in the crops for the first year will pay for the tiling. So plainly has this appeared to the people, that now, instead of a few little open ditches, mud, malaria, chills and fever, milk sickness, decaying vegetation, stagnant pools, etc., almost every farm is thoroughly drained. The water sinks down as if by magic, enabling the farmer to work his crops in a few hours after a rain.

Stock Sales

For some years, the monthly sales at London, Madison County, attracted the attention of stock dealers for many miles around, and stock was taken thither from all the surrounding counties.

Early perceiving the advantages arising out of this enterprise to London and Madison County, the leading citizens of Washington C. H., and Fayette, determined to organize a similar enterprise here, so that stock could exchange hands without being driven out of the county.

About the year 1871, James Pursell and Thomas Kirk determined upon a plan of operations, selected referees, in case of any dispute arising, circulated bills, appointed the last Tuesday in the month, one week preceding the London sales, as the day on which the stock was to be sold ; so that in case of failure to secure satisfactory bargains, the owners could drive them on to London.

Jack Bridgeman, of London, was the first crier, Mr. Collins, of Washington, also being present ; but Bridgeman, and Douglass, of Mount Sterling, were secured for the purpose of giving it notoriety in its initial steps.

Correspondence was at once opened with prominent stock dealers in adjacent counties, which, in time, extended to the states of Kentucky, Lidiana, Illinois and Missouri, and cattle were shipped from all these states to Washington C. H. to be sold.

These cattle were placed in the hands of the auctioneer, with the minimum price fixed, divided into bunches of uniform weight and quality, in numbers ranging from twenty to one hundred, or in convepient carloads.

No by-bidding was allowed ; everything was carried on in an honorable, straightforward manner, and the sales from the beginning have averaged about five hundred head each mouth. Soxuetimes,

Stock Sales

Among the principal vendors were William White, and Ramsey Brothers, of Fayette County ; John Darlington, Adams County ; Joseph Eothrock, William Dryden, Davis Connahaugh, of Highland County; Anderson, of Kentucky; Gray, of Kentucky; S. H. Ford, of Cincinnati ; and Pond, of Clinton County; and many others.

Captain Foster informs us that he alone has sold over ten thousand head of cattle for Davis Connahaugh. The principal purchasers were from Fayette, Madison and Pickaway counties.

Horse Trading

Connected with, and growing out of, the original cattle sales, was the trade in horses, which, beginning with a few local transactions, gradually expanded into immense sales and shipments, of numbers ranging from twenty to one hundred each. An amusing feature of the horse department was Trade Alley, generally located on some unfrequented alley, or street, where all kinds of horses, except good ones, were congregated for barter.

The trade language on these occasions was peculiarly adapted to the objects of exchange. In the language of Mark Twain, "one brute had an eye out; another had the tail sawed off close, like a rabbit, and was proud of it; still another had a bony ridge running from his neck to his tail, like one of the ruined aqueducts, in Rome, and had a neck on him like a bowsprit. They all limped, and had sore backs, and raw places, and old scars about their bodies, like brass nails in a hair trunk ; and their gait was replete with variety." The proud owner would parade one of these unique specimens before the gaping crowd, and as he seizes the bridle and lifts the head of the animal, exclaims : " JIo ! will you ? Do you want to run away, you ferocious beast?" When all the time the old thing was doing nothing in the world, and only looked like he wanted to lean up against something and meditate. Then, turning a proud look upon a bystander, his owner remarked, " Jim, how'll you swap ? " Jim stood unmoved, but scrutinized the beast, wisely, drops his head in deep thought, revolves his tobacco quid in his mouth, squirts the juice through his teeth, and with the remark,

" Lem'me try her speed," mounts the shaggy ewe-necked animal, and, like Ichabod Crane, on " Gunpowder," he rode with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle ; his elbows stuck out like grasshoppers ; he carried his whip perpendicularly in his hand, like a scepter, and as the old mare jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike a pair of wings, while the skirts of his coat fluttered out almost to the horse's tail. Wheeling as suddenly as the condition of his .steed would admit, he comes ambling back, dismounts and says, " You bet, Pete, she's a daisy, an' if you'll give me a plug o' tobacker to boot, we'll call it a dicker." So the business goes on. Old watches, harness, dandy wagons, etc., are given in exchange, and each party goes off feeling that he has the best of it.

The First Railroad

During the session of the Ohio Legislature of 1849-50, the member from this senatorial district, Mr. Linton, introduced a bill which authorized the granting of a charter for a railroad, to be constructed from Zanesville to Cincinnati, via Wilmington. The member of the house from Fayette requested that the name of Washington Court House be included in the charter, but this the gentleman from Wilmington refused to do. The Washingtonians became indignant, and employed Judge Daniel McLean to go to Columbus to work np their interest, who eventually succeeded in eifecting the desired change. The company was organized, and Judge McLean elected one of the directors. The county commissioners were importuned to issue one hundred thousand dollars in bonds, and took action on the matter, as follows :

"And upon examining the act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, passed March 5, 1851, entitled 'An act to authorize the commissioners of Fayette County to subscribe to the capital stock of the Cincinnati, Wilmington and Zanesville Railroad Company,' and being fully satisfied that the preliminaries required by said law, in order to the taking of said stock by said commissioners had all been fully complied with, they thereupon did proceed, for and in behalf of said county, to subscribe to said capital stock of said railroad company the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, in all respects as by said act they are authorized and required to do, as by their subscription upon the books of said company, this day made, will fully and at large appear."

A question arose as to whether bonds could be issued on a railroad before it was constructed, and the commissioners of Clinton County refused to sign the bonds. Meanwhile the contractor, Mr,

DeGraff', demanded some assurance that the money would be forthcoming at the proper time, before he would begin operations. He was full}' assured on that point, and in the fall of 1852 the road was completed from Zanesville to Morrowtown. Judge McLean took a unmber of trips to the East and purchased iron, which had been manufactured at Sweden. The terminus of the road being Morrow instead of Cincinnati, the earnings were insufficient to meet the expense. The road went through various hands, and is at present operated and controlled by the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad Company.

Several railroads have been projected through the county, and at this writing three are in running order. A number of years ago the construction of a road from Dayton to Belpre was agitated, and the line surveyed through this count}'. Bonds for money to assist in the work were issued by the commissioners, and a number of people subscribed- liberally to the general fund. The grading was nearing completion, when, for reasons known best by those interested, the project was abandoned.

In 1874, Dayton capitalists conceived the idea of building a road from that enterprising city to the coal fields of southern Ohio. Great interest was taken in the matter, work was begun and hurried to completion, and, in spite of financial embarrassments, the desired end was reached in the year 1879. The road was constructed as a narrow-gauge, and did an immense business on and after its completion to the coal fields. Li the spring of 1881, it was purchased by the Toledo, Delphos and Burlington Railroad Company, who have connected the same with their extensive narrow-gauge system through Ohio and Indiana, and will extend the Southeastern Division (lately Dayton and Southeastern Railroad) to the Ohio River.

In the meantime, Springfield capitalists determined to construct a narrow-gauge to Pomeroy, Ohio. Work was commenced, and in 1875 the road was finished to Jackson. It was originally named the Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy Railroad, but was sold on a foreclosure of mortgages, in 1879, to a Springfield syndicate, who re-christened it the "Springfield Southern." This management changed the track to a standard gauge, and operated it till the spring of 1881, when the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railroad Company purchased the franchise, and changed the name to Ohio Southern Railroad.

Geology Of Clinton And Fayette

Fayette County is bounded on the north by Madison County, on the south by Highland and Ross counties, on the east by Pickaway, and on the west by Clinton and Greene counties,

I propose to treat these counties together, partly because there is much similarity in the physical characteristics of the two, but particularly because there is comparatively little of geological interest in them. The formations are little exposed, being generally covered with alluvial and drift-deposits; and where they are exposed, they do not present a great variety of material, such as imbedded fossils, to the geologist, by means of which he may read the histor}^ of the life and change of the past, or of those products of the earth, which are so indispensable to mankind, as ores, fossil, coal, and valuable stone, which elsewhere offer such inducements to geological investigations. Still I hope that what I shall present of the geology of these counties will not be utterly devoid of interest to those most concerned, and none the less because I have not atttemped to startle them by any inventions of my own, but I tell only what I have seen, and that in a " plain, unvarnished" way.

In these counties one will not fail to observe how the character and employment of the people depend upon the geological formations which underlie their habitations. Here are no rapid streams affording power for manufacturing purposes, and no iron or coal upon which to build the industries which depend upon them. No cities teeming with pressing throngs employed in the arts of busy life. The level surface of underlying rock, with the no less level superficial covering, the deep, black loam point to agriculture as the chief employment of the citizens of these counties. The character of the soil also determines the kind of agricultural products which may most profitably be produced; and thus the range of human enployment is doubly limited,

The soil of the larger portion of these counties, including nearly the whole extent of Fayette, is finely adapted to the growth of the niost nutritious grasses, as well as the principal cereal grains. Hence stock-raising has very naturally been the chief occupation of the people. It is thus that the geological character of a country modifies the employments, and, to a certain extent, determines the character of those who dwell in it. Where good roads are easily constructed, and where ready access is had, to all parts of a district, there is apt to be a%iigh development of social qualities, and of the refinements of civilized life.

The land is held in large bodies, causing a sparseness of population, which has had, in times past, an unfavorable influence upon the character of public education. The great energy displayed in constructing public roads, has rendered large school districts less inconvenient than they would be where good roads are impossible.

The parting-line of the water-shed of the Little Miami and Scioto rivers, runs a little west of the line separating Clinton and Fayette counties. Consequently, Clinton County is mostly drained into the Little Miami River, and Fayette County wholly into the Scioto. The drainage of Clinton County is mostly efi:ected by Anderson's, Todd's Forks, and the East Fork of the Miami.

Anderson's Fork rises on the line of water-shed to the south of Reeseville, and flows in a circling channel, bending from north to west, and emptying into Cresar's Creek, at a point without the county. No where in its course is this stream far above bedded stone, and at some points it runs upon strata of the Niagara formation, as at places in the " Prairie," at Judge King's, and at Port William it cuts through a portion of the j^^ntamerus beds of this formation where, besides the- bed of the creek being wholly of this stone, tlie banks, from five to ten feet high, are also of the same. Above Port William, the stream is sluggish, and traverses, for some ten or twelve miles, a district of marked character, known as the " Prairie," a tract of wonderful fertility, of deep, black loam, and which has been, at no very distant past time, the location of a shallow lake or swamp. The highest land, I suppose, in the county, is northeast of this " Prairie," and is, perhaps, not far from seven hundred feet above low water mark at Cincinnati. I was not able to obtain tlie elevations of the Cincinnati and Mnskingnm Valley Railroad, which traverses both the counties of Clinton and Fayette, and, therefore, lack some data necessary to state, with exactness, the elevations of the different parts of these counties. But by the kindness of Mr. J. H. Klippart, of Columbus, I obtained those of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, and shall have to refer the elevations of the portions of these counties to those of this road. The highest point in Clinton County, on the Cincinnati and Marietta Railroad, is a point a little east of Vienna, which is seven hunhundrcd and thirty-seven and a half feet above low-water mark at Cincinnati. Anderson's Fork receives but few tributaries in all its course, the tract which it drains being comparatively long and narrow. The bedded stone in its channel is of the Niagara formation as far down as the Lumberton quarries, where it strikes and cuts nearly through the formation known to geologists as Clinton, and at a point a few miles further down stream, at Ingall's Dam, just outside of Clinton County, it cuts about four feet of purple-red shale, underlying the Clinton, and strikes the higher strata of the Cincinnati group, or Blue Limestone.

Todd's Fork, with its tributaries, drains the central and western part of the count3^ Running in a course in general parallel with the last named stream, and within three or four miles of it, during the most of its course, it could receive few and unimportant tributaries on the side next to that creek, of which Dutch Creek is the only one worthy of being named. On the other side there are three, which I shall mention. The smallest of these is Lytle's Creek, draining the immediate vicinity of Wilmington, and along which the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad runs. Cowan's Creek rises on the north of the " Snow Hill " ridge, and in respect of length, and of alluvial bottom, is even more important than the stream to which it is nominally tributary. East Fork rises near Martinsville, and has cut for itself a channel in some places, as within three or four miles of Clarksville, nearly one hundred feet deep in the blue limestone.

The East Fork of the Miami drains that part of the county south of the Cincinnati and Marietta railroad, including the neighborhood of I*^ew Vienna, and the region south of " Snow Ilill " ridge.

go to decay upon their banks, on account of the failure of a supply of water sufficient to turn their wheels during enough months of the year to make" it profitable to keep up the mills. This is due, in considerable degree, to the failure of the water in the streams during the late summer and early fall months. The water which fell during the winter and spring months, when the country was new and mostly covered with forest, was retained on the soil. The small streams were choked with rubbish, and the water stood on flats, protected from speedy evajDoration by the dense foliage of the trees, and^by the heavy coating of fallen leaves, which covered the earth. No artificial drains were in existence. The water gradually trickled from these natural reservoirs, highly colored with the soluble elements of the partially decayed vegetable substances, and kept the streams with at least a partial supply of water during the most of the dry season. Then the mills and dams were less expensive than now, particularly the dams, which were no more than cheap structures of logs and brush, intended chiefly to be of use in changing the current upon the wheel of the mill, rather than detaining the water in a reservoir. Then the machinery of mills was simple and inexpensive, and was suffered to lie idle, without detriment, during the season when the water was insufficient to turn it. ]^ow, numerous improvements have been made in mill machinery, without which, such qualit}^ of flour as is now in demand, cannot be made, and these, being patented, are more expensive than the machinery which they displaced. More expensive dams are necessary to retain a large quantity of water. Formerl}^ the miller was also generally a farmer, and could make profitable use of the dry season in tilling his farm. For such reasons as these, although the same quantity of water still flows through the same channels, the mills are in decay, and the mill seats abandoned.

A glance at the map of this county, shows numerous water courses traversing the county from its northern to its southern border, \arying but little in direction. These streams are all somewhat sluggish in the upper half of their course, but they have quite sufficient fall to constitute an ample system of drainage.

Geology

the channels of the streams have been freed from obstructions, and the water has been carried into the water-courses by ditching, this county has taken rank as one of the first agricultural counties of the state.

The water-courses present a singular uniformity in respect of direction and tributaries. The main water channels are nearly parallel with each other, and they take the same general direction, uniformly to the east of south. This is true of Deer Creek, as of Paint Creek and its tributaries. We notice another characteristic of all - the tributaries of all the streams put into them from the west. There is no exception in the county - no instance of any tributary, more than a branch a few hundred yards long, coming from the east ; in fact, the tributary branches of all the creeks of the county, rise within a score or so of rods of the bank of tlie next creek to the west. This shows to the most casual observer that the whole county sheds to east and south, and that as the lowest land in the county is at the point where the water leaves it, so the highest may be looked for in the region whence it flowed - to the northwest.

From Mr. James McClean, county surveyor, I learn that Deer Creek is about one hundred feet lower than North Fork of Paint, on the line of the White Oak Turnpike ; that Compton's Creek, on the line i^f the InTcw Holland and Bloomingburg Turnpike, is fifty feet higher than North Fork, and that East Fork is eighty-seven feet higher than North Fork, and Main Point one hundred and four feet higher than the same stream - so that if this turnpike were a canal, all the water north of Washington could be readily turned into North Fork.

The rise in the land from Washington to the northern boundary of the county, is estimated at not more than fifty feet ; and from the extreme north to the south along Paint Creek, the fall is not far from two hundred and ten feet. As the railroad bridge at Greenfield is four hundred and fifty-one feet above low-water mark at Cincinnati, and perhaps seventy-five feet above the bed of the creek at the Fayette County line, the point of Paint Creek, where it leaves Fayette County, would be three hundred and seventy-six feet above low-water mark, at Cincinnati ; add one hundred and sixty feet, the elevation of Washington, the county seat, above Paint Creek, at the southern line of the county, and the elevation of this town above low-water mark of the Ohio River, at Cincinnati, is about five hundred and thirty-six feet, or nine hundred and sixty-eight feet above tide-water. It will thus appear that the average elevation of Fayette County is about two hundred feet less than that of Clinton County.

If we trace the line of outcrop of the various formations from the point in the western part of Clinton County, where Todd's Fork leaves the county, we shall find that the strata of stone seen under those we meet, proceed to the east, and if a well were dug deep enough at Washington or Wilmington, it would cut through all the strata found to the west as far as Cincinnati. A well sunk at Washington would first penetrate the strata overlying those exposed at Rock Mills, and passing through these,would penetrate the strata represented on Paint Creek, below Rock Mills, as at Rogers' and at James', and then would reach the stone so abundant on Rattlesnake, from the line of the Washington and Leesburgh road to the south, and, passing this, would penetrate the water-lime buildingstone of Greenfield and Lexington, and, going deeper, would penetrate the great Niagara system, one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty feet thick, which is found immediately under the city of Wilmington ; cutting through this it would next reach the Clinton iron ore, and then the stratafied stone of this formation, about thirty feet in thickness, and then, after cutting through three feet of a ferruginous clay would reach the Cincinnati group, or blue limestone, and in about one hundred and twenty-five feet would reach the strata which are seen in Todd's Fork, where it flows out of Clinton County.

It has been stated that the average level of Fayette County is some two hundred feet lower than that of Clinton County, while numerous formations overlie in Fayette County those found exposed in Clinton County. The explanation is easy. It is observed that all the strata which have been named, dip to the east. They do, indeed, dip more, rather than less, than sufficient to make up the difference in the level of the counties, and it is likely I have understated rather than overstated the difference in level, as it was impossible to get the levels of the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad, which would have enabled me to be more exact. I have calculated that the water-lime building-stone, as seen at Lexington and Greenfield, dips from thirty-five to forty feet per mile to the east, (it dips also to the north). In fifteen miles the dip would be between five hundred and fifty and six hundred feet ; subtracting two hundred feet, the 'difference in level, there would be

Denuding Agencies

After the deposition of the rocks now found in Clinton and Fayette counties, the surface was not long, at any early geological period, beneath tlie snface of the sea. While the deposit of sandstone which extends almost from the very border of Fayette County to the south indefinitely, and to the east, underlying the coal, was being made, the land to the north was above water, as well as when the deposits above the sandstone were made ; at least, whatever material, organic or inorganic, was ever deposited here, has long since disappeared. "We have some evidence, however, that the slate which immediately underlies the sandstone extended somewhat further north than the sandstone itself has been found. In Fayette County, near Rock Mills, about one hundred and twentyfive feet above the bed of the stream, on the farms of A. J. Yeomans and Aquilla Jones, as also on the farm of Mrs. McElroy, a mile west of Paint Creek, and near the southern line of the county, a vslate formation is to be seen capping the highest point of land in the southern half of the county. This material must once have been continuous, and may have extended further than any traces of it are found at present.

We have abundant evidence in both of these counties of agencies which have operated in comparatively recent geological periods, and whicb have worn away deposits formerly existing here. We find that the surface of the existing bedded rock has been worn away and channels have been cut in it.

Where the loose material which now overlies the bedded rock has been removed, we find markings upon the surface of the exposed rock, if this is of such a nature as to resist atmospheric and other agencies, which would cause the surface of the rock to disintegrate, which indicate that some agency has been at work to grind down, and wear and smooth the surface. But unfortunately the nature of the stone underlying the clay in these counties is such, that it would not generally retain any strife of a delicate character. We do, however, find stone well polished and delicately striated in Paint Creek. The exact locality is in Ross County above Greenfield, on the Indian Creek road, about three hundred feet up stream from the beginning of the head-race of Smart's Mill, the last place on the east side of the road where stone has been quarried, and about thirty feet above low-water in the creek. I removed the sand and gravel myself from the exceedingly well polished surface of the rock.

Mr. John Sollars reported striated rock in a locality on his place, and another locality was visited by me on the same stream above Rock Mills.

At Rogers, below Rock Mills, the gravel contains many blocks of well smoothed stone, and at Rock Mills, just north of the village, many large bowlders of quartz and granite are mingled without stratification with the gravel, and constitute no inconsiderable part of the extensive beds.

At J. C. Sinsabaugh's, near Bloomingburgh, I saw a block of stone one foot thick, two feet long and sixteen inches wide, which had been taken from a gravel bank on his farm, and which was well worn on a portion of one side, was very smooth and marked with strife, but the edges or corners were not rounded or broken. This was a hard, dark colored stone which gave out a ringing sound at the stroke of the hammer, and seemed to be of the same material as a drift-stone which I saw at Mr. Hegler's, on Herod's Creek, in Ross County, which contained Tentaculites in abundance.

Formations in Clinton County, which were formerly continuous, have been partially removed, as on Cliff Run the Clinton formation is seen in its full thickness, while excavations show that its continuity is broken to the east of this locality, so that the exposure of white limestone on Cliff Run is a mere island of this kind of stone.

Besides the wearing away of the general surface and the removal of particular parts of formations, there were causes at work which have excavated channels far below the general surface, [ce in the form of glaciers, is generally regarded as the means by which the denudation above alluded to has been effected, and moving water has doubtless been the instrument by which the deep channels have been excavated. These channels are only traced by observing the excavations which are made for one cause or another, the sinking of wells, and borings for water.

An instance of this channeling is noticed in that jegion in Clinton County, known as the " Prairie," where it has been frequently observed that they are places apparently forming a continuous line, where rock is not fonnd at any depth yet reached, although on each side it is hut a short distance to the undisturhed strata. This channel has not been thoroughly, but, so tar as observed, nearly, coincided with the direction of the present Anderson's Fork. Doubtless where the bottom of Anderson's Fork is the bedded rock, the old channel was cut to one side or the other of that in which the water flows at present. Connected with the fact of the existence of such deep drainage at a former period, is implied that the whole country was at a much greater elevation above the sea than it is in our time.

The Drift

The old channels became silted up, and other accunnilations were made subsequent to the period of denudation. The surface of the land must have sunk down so as to be beneath the surface of the water. Every indication points to water as the medium by which the deposits were made. Upon the surface of the stone is everywhere found more or less of loose material. The study of this material in both these counties is full of interest.

The Drift is composed of clay, with varying proportions of sand and gravel, with occasional rounded blocks of granitic rock, and with the remains of trees, and sometimes of other vegetation. The greatest thickness of the Drift in our district is in Clinton County, east of the " Prairie," where a deposit of over one hundred feet is found. Whether the whole surface of the county was covered as deeply as this limited area, may admit of doubt; but there are reasons for believing that the surface was once covered with a heavy drift deposit. In some places the soft material has been washed away, leaving large accumulations of sand and gravel; in other places, as in the level region between the East Fork of Todd's Fork and Blanchester, the material of the drift was a finer sediment than is found in other places, and has not been removed or disturbed to such a degree as. in other portions of the county, and, consequently, even if sand and gravel exist in it, such extensive beds of these substances as are found where the sediment had a dift'erent character, or was subsequently washed in currents of water.

The clays of the drift are both blue and yellow, the former apparently prevailing in both counties, as shown in the excavations for wells. There was considerable variation in reports of the strata penetrated in sinking wells, but blue clay, or, as it is frequently called blue mud from its appearance, was uniformly found, but there was no uniformity in the thickness of it. Sometimes it is but a few feet thickness, and in another place not a mile distant, it is no less than forty feet thick. It is gen erally interstratified with sand and fine gravel, but sometimes no such stratification is seen.

Water is found nearly everywhere within a very few feet of the surface of the earth, so that it is seldom excavations were carried further than from ten to twenty feet below the surface, and our knowledge is limited of the material underlying to this slight extent.

i^ear Washington, on the farm of Mr. D. Waters, the blue clay is interstratified with sand, while on that of Mr. Noah Evans, adjoining, there is a continuous deposit of the same material of forty feet in thickness with gravel. This blue clay being impermeable to water, it is when beds of sand in it are reached that water is obtained, and usually in abundance.

In some parts of our district, particularly those which are flat, there does not occur within the usual range of the wells, much, if any, yellow clay. If it is found, it is just below the soil for from three to ten feet, where fine grained blue clay invariably occurs, interstratified with sand.

These are found scattered over the surface of both counties, and seem to belong above the blue clay deposit, rather than in it. The largest bowlder, perhaps, which is found so far south in this state, is found in Clinton County, on the county infirmary farm, near Wilmington, and this lies on the fine-grained blue clay, upon which it would seem to have fallen by the washing away of the clay in which it was formerly imbedded, and which at a higher level lies near it on all sides. This bowlder contains about twelve hundred cubic feet, and weighs upwards of ninety tons. Other large bowlders are found in the extreme northern part of Fayette County, scattered numerously over the surface of the ground, and weighing from twenty to thirty tons. Besides these large erratic blocks, smaller ones are found more or less abundantly every where throughout these counties, especially in the northern half. They are found lying on or near the surface, where they have been left by the removal by water of the material deposited with them, '

Gravel And Sand

Mingled with the drift is always found a considerable proportion of these substances, but being scattered throughout the whole mass, or at most, showing only a slight tendency to be distinct in strata, more or less mixed with soft material. Where the original drift is in quantity and undisturbed, the sand and gravel in it are not available for economic purposes.

A few years ago these counties were thought to be lacking in these important adjuncts to civilization. It was not until within the last five years, when the demand for gravel for road-making became exceedingly urgent, that thorough and exhaustive, and as the result proved successful, search was made for it. It is now known that no real deficiency exists. People have learned where to look for it. When the currents of water carried away the lighter material of the drift deposit, those constituents which were heavier were left behind. We may regard the highest land as the former level of the region we are speaking of. There was then a deposit of loose material, sometimes a hundred feet in thickness above the bedded stone. This material was manifestly deposited from water. And to account for the character of the markings upon the rock surface, and the promiscuous intermixture of clays, sand, and gravel, and sometimes a certain limited measure of stratification, or assorting of the material according to their weight, and for the evidently remote origin of the stony constituents requiring that they should have been brought hither, and especially for the numerous bowlders conspicuous, both for their size and clear marks of foreign origin, we unhesitatingly come to "the conclusion that ice in some form contributed to the same end. Water in a liquid state alone could not carry such material so far without having an enormous velocity, sufiiciently to move before it not only the loose material, but the very stone beneath it. When the water subsided, new lines of drainage appeared, corresponding more or less, depending upon the physical features of the countr}', with pre-existing ones. The emergence of the land was gradual, and the subsiding water stood for greater or less periods of time at diiferent levels, which may be pointed out to-day with more or less distinctness. During the emergence of the solid earth, the currents of water carried away some of the material constituting the drift sediment of the former period. The channels of dramage mark the direction of the current. Within these channels, the drift deposits were removed sometimes to the bedded rock. The varying force of the currents distributed the material as we now see it. Strong currents carried all before them ; weaker currents only the more refined sediment. Any current bearing substances along will deposit the heavier material first, when the current becomes checked. It is thus that matters carried in currents of water become assorted and distributed. When a current bearing sediment finds a wider channel and expands, the current is checked at the side upon which it finds room to spread out. Here will be a deposit of the heavier parts of its freight. If two currents meet at the point of intersection, the currents will be retarded, especially if one be more swollen than the other, and the heavier material carried will be deposited. Where now are mere brooks, the ample extent of the washing, the broad valleys, show that rivers once flowed. Wherever the drift clays were not washed, the gravel lies interspersed through it ; but where the clays are broken, where valleys have been cut in them, on the sides of these cuts, on the escarpment of the broken clay and gravel drift, the clay has been removed and the gravel is left in beds. Following the principles before referred to in regard to the laws of sedimentary deposits, the road-maker of to-day may find the deposits of gravel he needs. Along the declivity, where two former currents met, far back from the meeting point of the diminutive stream of the present time, on a point and looking from the higher land, he who seeks this useful material need not look in vain. As there were various levels of the water at that far distant period, so are there several elevations at which gravel is actually found. In addition to those beds on the escarpment of the hills, there are found hillocks or natural mounds of gravel which represent eddies, or places in which for some cause the water was more quiet, and hence, unable to carry forward all its load of sediment. Besides these, the soil of the present bottoms is in many places underlaid with ample deposits of gravel.

Drifted 'wood is found in the blue clay in all our district. The instances in which wood has been found in the clay beds, penetrated in well-digging, are by no means few ; nearly every neighborhood furnishing one or more. A kind of jointed grass or rush was obtained from a well near Reeseville, in Clinton County.

edge of the present inhabitants, was ahiiost uniformly made use of as places of interment by some former race of people. Scarcely a gravel bed has been extensively worked in either of these counties in which abundance of human bones have not been discovered. The skeletons are usually found within two or three feet of the surface. We are left to conjecture in giving any reason why this material was used to make interments for the dead. Trinkets of any decription are extremely rare in such graves, although not entirely unknown. In none, of which I have heard, were there any indications of unusual care or elaborateness in the interments. Possibly the ease of excavating a grave in such material may have determined the choice. But is it not a little singular that the inhabitants of a long-past age should have known the position of these gravel beds, covered, as they were, with a dense forest, while two generations of the intelligent people of this age had not any thought of their existence uiitil within a half dozen of years?

Stone imrplements. - Flint, arrow and lance-points, stone hammers, bark-peelers, hematite fishing bobs or sinkers, and other articles of this class are found especially along the water-courses. As no value and but a passing interest have been attached to these articles, they have not been preserved, but have been broken up or lost. Still many are found yet by persons engaged in working the soil. No one locality has furnished more than the borders of Deer Creek, but they are common on all the streams, and, indeed, over the whole surface of the county are they found. As the soil in Fayette and in parts of Clinton has not been subjected to the plow as much as in other places, and, of course, some of it not plowed at all, there perhaps remain more still to be gathered than have ever been heretofore. Some persons, seeing in these articles a story of a former race of human beings, who have left but little else to tell of their manners of civilization, are gathering them up to preserve them from destruction. Nothing more amazes one in contemplating these relics of a people of a long past age than the immense number of them scattered over the surface of the earth. Perhaps no single acre of ground in central or southern Ohio but has furnished at least one flint arrow-point; but the average would be much greater than one to the acre, and it is not too much to say that every farm, at least, has furnished sometime a stone hatchet or bark-peeler.

iiel Lamar, one of the comity Gommissioiiers, I found a hematite bowlder weighing about two hundred and fifty pounds. This was extremely hard, and seemed to be of the same material from which the sinkers, referred to in the last parr.graph, were made.

Flow-wells. - There are several wells in each county, from the mouth of which the water constautly flows. . The well at* the fair ground, near Washington, is a good illustration of the principle of the artesian well. It was sunk through a stratum of blue clay to one of sand, from which the water rises and comes to the surface. About one mile distant is a well on the farm of Mr. D. Waters, in which the water rises to within six feet of the surface of the ground. The use of a level show^s that the ground rises about the same number of feet between the fair grounds and Mr. Waters', and this person must dig as much deeper to penetrate to the water-bearing stratum of sand. The water stands on the same level in Mr. Waters' well as at the fair grounds.

The Boundary Line Of Cincinnati Group

The line separating the blue limestone and the Clinton white limestone is easil}' distinguished. It may be distinguished in all the streams in the western part of Clinton County, which all cut abruptly through the Clinton and into the blue limestone. I shall here indicate where that line runs, beginning just without the county, oiT Anderson's Fork, near In gall's Dam, wdiere the upper beds of the Cincinnati Gjroup and the Clinton formation are seen at one glance. To the west a mile or two, on Cliff Run, as well as on Buck Run, the Chnton stone may be seen forming low clifts, cut off from the main body of the formation ; but the true line is on Anderson's Fork, as mentioned above. On Todd's Fork, just above the crossing of the Lebanon road, near the line which divides the surveys, 1554 and 1556 (H. Gates), the same formations are seen in juxtaposition. Further south, on Lytle's Creek, was not seen; but on the next stream. Cowman's Creek, the line of the Clinton sweeps around to the east and appears above the village of Antioch, on the farm of Mr. James Gregory, and does not here rise above the surface of the earth. The next point in the line is back to the west, about one mile northeast of Martinsville, where it is quarried, and then its next appearance is at a point about one mile south of Farmer's Station, on the Cincinnati and Marietta Railroad, on a trib- ntary stream of the East Fork of the Miami. The last point at which the bkie limestone is seen on the East Fork of the Miami, is near Pitzer's meeting-house, on the edge of White's survey. The very interesting fossils of the bine limestone of the Cincinnati Group will be figured in volumes of this survey, devoted to the subject of paleontology.

The Clinton Formation

This is seen on Anderson's Fork, at Oglesby's quarry, and in Todd's Fork from the point of its first appearance, near the Lebanon road, to Babb's quarr}' in the base of the Niagara. At either of these localities the whole of the formation may be studied.

The lower strata have the distinctly sandy constitution characteristic of this formation, from which the stone is frequently called sandstone. These strata are good fire-stones, and resist the action of fire as a back wall in fire-places, for a generation, without softening or crumbling. But the strata a few" feet higher are burned into lime, and make a medium quality for building purposes, and, no doubt, a very good quality of caustic lime for softening straw in the manufacture of paper. Some part of the ten feet of massive stone furnishes good building material. This stone has been obtained in Todd's Fork, but is expensive on account of thickness of superincumbent stone of a poor quality which must be removed before good stone can be reached. On Anderson's Fork, at Oglesby's quarry, the same stone is more accessible, and is the best building stone obtained from this formation. The quality of this stone at Oglesby's has led some to refer it to the Niagara. But it has the hardness and gritty character of the Clinton, and on surfaces which have been exposed in the quarry to the action of atmospheric agencies for a period of several years, it is seen to be composed almost wholly of a solid mass of broken encrinitic stems. Aside . from lithological characters, this stone at Oglesby's is in the Clinton horizon about midway from top to bottom, exclusive of the iron ore in the upper part. The twelve feet from the top of the Clinton is well seen from the under-strata at Babb's quarry, on Todd's Fork, down stream to the locality of the iron furnace formerly erected to work the ore. This twelve feet is highly fossiliferous throughout, but it is only in a few feet at the bottom where the proportion of iron is greal enough to entitle it to the name of iron ore. Ill this part the imbedded fossils are deeply colored by the iron. For some reason the furnace erected here about twentyseven years ago did not prove a success, and was soon abandoned, although the quality of iron was regarded as very good. The richest ore is a brittle stone, mostly composed of small, exteriorily smooth and shiny lenticular grains, reminding one of flax-seed. The ore is easily crumbled in the hand, and contains numerous disjointed crinoidal disks, partially eroded. The species of fossils become more numerous as we approach the higher strata. Sometimes the stone is highly granular or crystalline, while still crumbling easily in the fingers, and is less ferruginous, and the imbedded fossils become light colored. The iron ore occurs in considerable quantities, being exposed in an outcrop along the slopes for several miles, and large quantities could be obtained by stripping. If it were more convenient or nearer furnaces in operation, it might become valuable to mix with other ores in making certain qualities of iron, particularly if it should be found to serve likewise as a flux The fossils in the upper beds are better preserved than in the lower, but good cabinet specimens are difficult to obtain. That locality alluded to before as Grubb's quarry, in the southern part of the county, abounds in fossils, and I recommend it as a promising field for palfeontological research. It was but little opened at the time of my visit, but as the stone obtained seemed to answer well for building purposes, it will doubtless be further developed and furnish many fossils, and possibly some that are new to science.

The Niagara Formation

This designation, as well as many others in our geology, includino- the subject of the last paragraph - the Chnton - are derived from the account of the geology of the State of Kew York published some years since, and are taken from the occurrence of these strata in well known localities in that state.

The Niagara formation is not exposed very extensively in Clinton County, and dips far under the surface in Fayette. It lies immediately on the iron-stone or ore just referred to at Bahb's (|uarry, on Todd's Fork, Here, proceeding from the upper strata of Clinton in the bed of the creek, near Babb's quarry, we find, commencing at the Clinton, thence upward :

The supply of this building stone, however, is limited and much below the demand. In the inferior strata no trace of organic remains were found, their fine, even texture suggesting that they may have been deposited as calcareous mud in quiet water. In no part of the twelve or fifteen feet here exposed were organic remains found, except in the most meager quantity, here and there occurring a small mass of coral which is completely incorporated in the substance of the stone, being unbroken and standing upright as it was formed, having been silted up by fine, sedimentary deposits. Above this building stone the system assumes that loose and porous character so often observed in this formation, full of casts of large Pcntamerus ohlongus and other fossils, with numerous small cavities stained with carbonaceous matter. At Port William the exposure on Anderson's Fork was perfectly characteristic of this formation, the jagged and cavernous masses being worn and corroded by the elements into fantastic shapes.

But the most interesting exposure of this formation in the county is that known as Black's quarry, near Snow Hill, where the strata belong to the upper portion of the Niagara. This is a highl}- fossiliferous stone, but unsuitable for building purposes, as it is soft and porous, and can be crumbled in the hand. The stone used in constructing the Vienna and Wilmington Turnpike was obtained here. The fossils are difficult to obtain without being broken, but man}^ of them are very good specimens, the most delicate markings being preserved. The stone is so fragile that the specimens are greatly injured by handling, and can not be packed in the usual manner without detriment. Among those I brought away I find a HhynchoneUa caneata, an Aflnjrls, a Polypora and Striatopora, and a Favistella plumosa. The moHuscous fossils obtained were casts of the shells, the interiors being entirely empty and showing the muscnlar impressions with great distinctness. It will doubtless repay the palaeontologist richly to make a thorough exploration of this quarry. If there is any economic value in the product of this quarry, not heretofore discovered, I suggest that it may be as material for lime. The best quality of building lime is manufactured in other localities from stone obtained in this horizon of the Niagara formation. There may be a question of its practical utility for this purpose on account of the liability of the stone to break up. There were indications that in some portions of the quarry the quality of the stone might be less liable to this objection. So far as my observation extended, this portion of the Niagara occurs nowhere else in our district. All the bedded rock eastward of the localities I have named, where the Niagara may be found, belong to the same formation, as all places where stone in position is found along Anderson's Fork, near Wilmington, and also near Reese ville.

The Lower Helderberg, Or Water Line

This formation occurs next above the Niagara, and overlies it in Fayette County. The Niagara dips to the east, and the Lower Helderberg overlaps it. On Rattlesnake, in Fayette County, about one hundred feet in perpendicular thickness of this stone are accessable to observation. The exact locality where the greatest thickness can be observed, is on the Washington and Leesburg road, west of Rattlesnake Creek - the hill in the rear of the school house has an exposure near the summit. Going from the Falls of Rattlesnake, near Monroe, in Highland County, against the stream, after leaving behind the Niagara at the Falls, and some distance above, the next stone in position is the Lower Helderberg. The fine building stone of Lexington and Greenfield belongs to the lower strata of the water-lime. The same quality of stone has not been found on the Rattlesnake ; whether it occurs there or not, remains to be seen. Within the Fayette County line, along the creek, from one' hundred to one hundred and twenty-five feet, in perpendicular nieasiirement, are found. In the lower strata of this exposure, numerous bivalvular mollusks were found, which I have not identified. On Paint Creek, near Smith's Mill, a profusion of a small moUusk, in a broken and confused condition, was noticed. These I did not find on Rattlesnake. In the higher strata, no organic remains were obtained. This stone, through the entire one hundred and. twenty -five feet, maintained strikingly tlie same characteristics.

When exposed to the air in masonry, this stone resists the weathering influences on the surface, but is liable to shell otf and actually becomes fissured, through and through, until massive blocks become nothing more than a tottering collection of loose splinters and fragments. This stone is not now approved as material for bridge abutments or foundation walls. If a slab, from eight inches to a foot in thickness, is struck a few smart blows with a hand hammer, it not only fractures through and through, but breaks into pieces often not more than one or two inches in any dimension. The fracture is, in every instance, conchoidal. The stone is of an uniform texture, new fractures having a velvet}^ appearance, with a fresh, brown color. It has been burned into lime, but I could not learn anything definite as to its quality. As the stone contains lime and allumina, there may be some portions of it adapted to the manufacture of hydraulic lime. Some of the higher strata resemble the Dittenhouse stone in the northern part of Ross County, which makes a good qnality of water-lime. The striated rock on Paint Cree4s:, near Smart's Mill, spoken of heretofore, is referred to this formation as the equivalent of that on Rattlesnake. There does not occur any more bedded rock on Rattlesnake above this development not referred to. But above the exposures near Smart's Mill, on Paint Creek, occur strata successively as one ascends the stream. In fact, all the bedded rock which occurs in Fayette county, except a limited exposure on Deer Creek, in the extreme eastern part of the county, is represented in that which is encountered on Paint Creek, from near the southern boundary line, to the vicinity of Rock Mills. To keep the continuity of strata, as we proceed in our investigations, we shift the scene from Rattlesnake to Paint Creek.

The next outcrop ascending this stream, above the striated rock in the vicinity of Smart's Mill, in Ross County, is above the bed of the creek, and one or two miles up stream from the last locality, on the farm of Mr. Evan James. Here, we observe, a marked change has taken place in the lithological character of the bedded rock. I had no iustrnmental equipment which would enable me to ascertain whether or not this stone was conformable in dip with that of the last exposure. A considerable difference in altitude existed between the two exposures, but the intervening formations were not visible. The stone at James' is a limestone, light in color, and fine grained ; a good quality of stone for building purposes. The quarry was but little worked where the building stone had been procured but a short distance further up the stream, the strata near the creek are very thin, often uot more than one-half an inch thick, and none more than two inches thick, nearly white in color, and show finely sun and water cracks. These marks are delicate, but distinct, and roughen the surface but little. They seem to have been formed on the beach of a shallow, quiet water. The stone is fine in texture and soft to the touch. These strata are traced along the creek for about two miles, getting somewhat thicker in the upper part of Rogers' quarry. In no part of this distance were ai]y organic remains discovered, but on the Washington and Greenfield Turnpike, fifty or more feet higher on the horizon, and about west from the point of first appearance of the bedded rock in the creek, in the ditch, by the roadside, occur strata which show clearly marked indications of a lamellibranch moUusk, less than a quarter of an inch in its longest measurement, also very distinct and beautiful fucoidal impressions. The fractures showed delicate markings of dendrites. This is perhaps the same stone which occurs w^est of this locality, at Mrs. Doster's, on Walnut Creek, and has a local reputation as a fire-stone.

Another and more massive exposure, occurs two miles above Rogers', a harder stone than any found above Paint, and in some respects reminded me of the Clinton.

The locality of Rock Mills presents more points of interest to the geologist than any other in Fayette County. Below is a section of all the strata visible in this vicinity :

Blue clay, u ^ a a . . & Shale or slate, " " " . 10 Strata of stone unconformable with those next below, seen best just above "Lower Cedar Hole," contains a stratum of breccia 50

The fifty feet or more of strata, near " Lower Cedar Hole," did show about one foot in ten to the south. The upper strata contained no fossils so far as seen, but near the bottom occurs one stratum which is composed in part of breccia. The fragments are about one-eighth of an inch thick, and are clearly defined, and imbedded in a matrix of a lighter color. A portion of one of the strata was almost wholly composed of what seemed to be internal casts of a small shell - probably Loxonema hydraulica. - Hall.

I shall add no further remarks to those which have been made above, except that the stratum marked as being fossiliferous above, contained many fragments of orthoceratites. No good cabinet specimens of any kind of fossils were secured here. Tlie strata above the. fossiliferous one are nearly all water-marked, or rather sunmarked, as if dried or baked in the hot sun. They exhibit no signs of fossils, either animal or vegetable.

From this locality the building-stone, used in Washington and vicinity, is mostly obtained. The pavements are flagged with the thin sun and water-marked stones.

The only strata in the county, higher than those at Rock Mills, are found on Deer Creek, in the eastern part of the county. It would be difiicult to assign these strata to their exact position without tracing them down stream on Deer Creek.

The Paving-Stones Of Washington Court House

We have so often been asked what caused the peculiar marking of these stones, that a briej" explanation may be of some interest in this connection. It is a well-known fact that Unie and sand stone are formed by successive sedimentary deposits, through the agency of water. Every one has noticed during dry weather the deep cracks in the earth, especially in the bottoms of ponds and creeks, after the water has all disappeared. When a heavy rain comes the ground is again overflowed, foreign matter is carried in, and the cracks are filled with a difterent material from the original, thus presenting the same phenomenon at the present time as formerly, when the rocks in question were formed. The water has receded, the exposed surface has been subjected to the intense rays of the sun, and in the rapid process of drying, cracks and crevices have been formed, which have been filled up by the overflow, as the process of rock-formation goes on from age to age.

The first giiu discharged from the reljel batteries at the stars and stripes, floating over the ramparts of Fort Sumpter, resounded over the waters and through the valleys, reverberating from hill to hill, proclaimed to the patriots of tliis country the intelligence throughout the vast Union, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, that the old flag was insulted, the government in danger, and that the brave sons of Ohio were called upon to protect the old ship of state. Ohio as a whole responded nobly to the call for volunteers. Fayette County, as a part of that glorious whole, sprang to the rescue. The fires of patriotism were lighted in every loyal heart, not only of her brave sons, but her noble women, who, with Spartan heroism, urged them to the tented fields.

Fifty-Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Recruiting for this regiment began in the latter part of the summer of 1861, the place of the rendezvous being Camp Dennison, where the regiment was organized and drilled during the fall of 1861. The men composing this command were from the comities of Allen, Auglaize, Butler, Cuyahoga, Fayette, Greene, Hamilton, Logan, and Preble.

On the 17th of February, 1862, the regiment went into the field with an aggregate of eight hundred and fifty men. The 54th reached Paducah, Kentucky, February 20, 1862, and was assigned to a brigade in the division commanded by General Sherman. On the 6th of March, the command ascended the Tennessee River, disembarked at Pittsburg Landing, and camped near Shiloh Church. On the 6th of April, the regiment engaged in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, its position being on the extreme left of the army,

In the two days' fighting the regiment sustained a loss of one hundred and ninety-eight men killed, wounded, and missing. On the 29th of April the regiment moved upon Corinth, skirmishing severely at Russell House, May 17th, and engaging in the movement upon the works at Corinth, May 31st. On the morning of the evacuation the 54th was among the first organized bodies of troops to enter the town. The regimental colors were unfurled from a public building, and the regiment was designated to perform provost duty, the commanding officer of the regiment being appointed co^mmandant of the post of Corinth.

The regiment moved with the army to La Grange, Tennessee, and from there to Holly Springs ; from there to Moscow, Tennessee, and thence to Memphis, whore it arrived July 21, 1862. During the summer the regiment was engaged in several short expeditions, and on the 29th of November it moved with the army toward Jackson, Mississippi, by way of Holly Springs. The regiment soon returned to Memphis, and with a portion of the army, under General Sherman, moved down the Mississippi and went into position before the enemy's line at Chickasaw Bayou. It was engaged in the assault on the rebel works, December 28th and 29th, with a loss of twenty men killed and wounded. On the 1st of January, 1863, the regiment withdrew, ascended the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, and engaged in the assault and capture of Arkansas Post.

The 54th again descended the Mississippi River, and disembarked at Young's Point, Louisiana. Here it was employed in digging a canal, and in other demonstrations connected with the siege of Vicksburg. It was a severe march among the bayous to the rear of Vicksburg, which resulted in the rescue of the gunboats, which were about to be abandoned and destroyed!

On the 6th of May the regiment began its march to the rear of Vicksburg by way of Grand Gulf, and was engaged in the battles of Champion Hills and Big Black Bridge. It was engaged in a general assault on the enemy's works in the rear of Vicksburg, on the 19th and 22d of June, losing in the two engagements fortyseven killed and wounded. It was continually employed in skirmishing and fatigue duty during the siege of Vicksburg, except for six days, which were consumed in a march of observation toward Jackson, Mississippi.

In The Rebellion

After the fall of Vicksburg, the 54th moved with the army upon Jackson, Mississippi, and was constantly engaged in .skirmishing, from the 9th to the 14th of July. After the capture of Jackson, the regiment returned to Vicksburg, and remained until October, 1863, when, forming a part of the Fifteenth Army Corps, it ascended the Mississippi River to Memphis, and from there proceeded to Chattanooga.

It was engaged in the battle of Missionary Ridge, November 26th, and next day marched to the relief of the garrison, at Knoxville, Tennessee. It pursued the enemy's wagon-train from Knoxville through the southeastern portion of Tennessee, and a short distance into llTorth Carolina, and then returned to Chattanooga, and moved thence to Larkinsville, Alabama, where it went into winter quarters, January 12, 1864.

The regiment was mustered into the service as a veteran organization on the 22d of January, and at once started to Ohio on a furlough. It returned to camp in April, with an addition of two hun- ' dred recruits, and entered on the Atlanta campaign on the first of May.

It was in a severe skirmish at Nicojack Creek, July 3d, losing thirteen, killed and wounded ; and was in a battle on the east side of Atlanta, July 21st and 22d, sustaining a loss of ninety-four killed, wounded and missing.

The 54th lost eight men, killed and wounded, at Ezra Chapel, on the 28th of July, and from the 29th of July to the 27th of August, it was almost continually engaged in skirmishing before the works at Atlanta.

After resting a few weeks in camp, near Atlanta, the regiment started in pursuit of Hood,, and followed him within sixty miles of Chattanooga, and from there to Gadsend, Alabama, when it returned to Atlanta, and prepared for the march to Savannah.

The 54th started on that wonderful march on the 15th of November, and on the 15th of December, was engaged in the assault and capture of Fort McAlister, near Savannah.

The regiment assisted in tlie destruction of the Gulf Raih'oad, towards the Altamaha River, and on the 7th of January, 1865, marched into Savannah.

After a rest of several weeks, it moved with the army on the march through the Carolinas, skirmishing at the crossing of the South Edisto and North Edisto rivers, on the 10th and 12th of February, respectively.

The regiment marched to Richmond, Virginia, and from there to Washington City, where it took part in the grand review of the "Western Army. On the second of June it was transported by railroads and steamboats to Louisville, Kentucky, und after remaining there two week:s, it proceeded to Little Rock, Arkansas, and there performed garrison duty until August 15, 1865, when it was mustered out. The regiment returned to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where it received final pay, and was disbanded on the 24th of August, 1865.

The aggregate Strength of the regiment, at muster-out, was two hundred and fifty-five - twenty-four officers and two hundred and thirty-one men. It marched, during its term of service, a distance of three thousand six hundred and eighty-two miles; participated in four sieges, nine severe skirmishes, fifteen general engagements, and sustained a loss of five hundred and six men, killed, wounded and missing.

Company In The Rebellion

Timothy Morgan, private, enlisted December 30, 1861. Jacob Bales, private, enlisted December 2, 1861. John High, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Usual Kimbell, private, enlisted Septei^ber 20, 1861. Archibald Stetsworth, private, enlisted September 11, 1861.

Charles A. White, captain, enlisted September 1, 1861. Joseph Hauser, first lieutenant, enlisted September 18, 1861. John S. Wells, second lieutenant, enlisted September 7, 1861. James P. Wyatt, sergeant, enlisted September 12, 1861. John A. Kuhl, sergeant, enlisted September 18, 1861. Harrison Doster, sergeant, enlisted September 18, 1861. David Hopkins, sergeant, enlisted October 20, 1861. Milium Birk, corporal, enlisted September 20, 1861. John Reynolds, corporal, enlisted September 11, 1861. Rabers Wells, corporal, enlisted October 20, 1861. Edmund Updegrove, corporal, enlisted September 11, 1861. Peter Tammany, corporal, enlisted September 18, 1861. Thomas C Doster, corporal, enlisted October 19, 1861. Edmund Millikan, musician, enlisted December 6, 1861. Francis L. Blakemore, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. James M. Bougham, private, enlisted October 22, 1861. William Black, private, enlisted October 19, 1861. Charles W. Craig, private, enlisted September 7, 1861. John Craig, private, enlisted September 7, 1861. John Caplin, private, enlisted September 9, 1861. John Conner, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. John B. Dewey, private, enlisted October 17, 1861. James Dewey, private, enlisted November 19, 1861. John W. Dorman, private, enlisted October 18, 1861, Dennis Dorman, private, enlisted December 6, 1861. William Eastman, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. Thomas S. Edminson, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. Matthias Engle, private, enlisted October 25, 1861. Anthony Prickers, private, enlisted September 9, 1861. Jasper Hire, private, enlisted September 10, 1861. Timothy Hixon, private, enlisted October 19, 1861. Henry M. Grove, private, enlisted December 6] 1861. James M. Goldsberry, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Michael Halton, private, enlisted October 19, 1861, Thomas C. Hellen, private, enlisted October 19,1861.

David Jones, private, enlisted Sepbember 18, 1861. Edward King, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. Patrick Karon, private, enlisted December 6, 1861. William D. Keith, private, enlisted October 21, 1861. Isaac Miller, private, enlisted September 12, 1861. William Miller, private, enlisted December 6, 1861. Leopold Mader, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. . Robert Nixon, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Fergus Nixon, private, enlisted October 23, 1861. John N. Pocock, private, enlisted September 17, 1861. William Priddy, private, enlisted September 20, 1861. Levi Ross, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Isaac N. Rorice, private, enlisted September 17, 1861. Samuel Solvers, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. Samuel Sallars, private, enlisted October 19, 1861. Jonathan Sallars, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Joseph Smith, private, enlisted September 20, 1861. Charles W. Smith, private, enlisted November 1, 1861. Isaac Smith, private, enlisted November 15, 1861. Silas M. Smith, private, enlisted December 6, 1861. Oliver Vaupelt, private, enlisted September 11, 1861. Charles Willson, private, enlisted September 18, 1861. Joseph Willson, private, enlisted December 6, 1861.

James M. Doster, corporal, enlisted February 8, 1864. Albert Siddens, private, enlisted February 8, 1864. Isaac J. Shields, private, enlisted February 20, 1864. Robert Wells, private, enlisted October 20, 1861. Albert P. Coyner, private, enlisted October 28, 1861. Matthias Engle, private, enlisted December 21, 1861. Dennis Dorman, private, enlisted December 6, 1861.

Complete roster of all officers and men, who enlisted at Washington C. H., Ohio, for three years, or during the war, and those who veteranized :

Walter L. Hill, veteran sergeant, enlisted September 5, 1861, died January 5, 1865, at Andersonville, Georgia, of wounds received at Kenesaw Mountain.

Jacob Rankin, non- veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861, died May 31, 1862, at New Corinth, Mississippi, of wounds received at Shiloh.

Discharged On Surgeon'S Certificate

Thoma.s J. Lindsey, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 18G1, dischar}>;ed December 19, 1SG2, of wounds received at Shiloh, Tennessee.

Charles P. Smith, non veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861, discharged December 11, 1862. Wounded at Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6, 1862.

Samuel E. Hamilton, non-veteran 1st sergeant, enlisted September 5, 1861. Joseph White, non- veteran sergeant, enlisted September 5, 1861. James K. Ayers, non-veteran corporal, enlisted September 5, 1861. Robert D. Blue, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Rufus Degroat, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Godfred Gestner, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Paul Jones, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Simon Kaulter, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Lucean McCollum, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Levi Murphy, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Benjamin Office, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. John Piggott, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. John Servis, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Hensy C. Steel, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861. Richard Weber, non-veteran private, enlisted September 5, 1861.

Ninetieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry

This regiment was organized at Lancaster, Ohio, on the 15th of July, 1862, by the military committees of the counties of Fayette, Pickaway, Fairfield, Hocking, Vinton, and Perry. August 28, 1862, the organization of the regiment was completed, and it was mustered into service. Its aggregate strength was thirty-eight commissioned officers, and nine hundred and forty-three, men. At 8 o'clock p. M., August 29th, it was on its way to Covington, Kentucky, where it reported to Major General Wright, on the 30th. At 10 A. M. it was on the cars, with orders to report to General Nelson, at Lexington, Kentucky. General Nelson being disabled by a wound, Colonel Ross reported to General Wright, who had assumed command. This officer ordered Major Yeoman to take four companies and picket all the approaches to the city. This duty was faithfully performed until 3 o'clock of September 1st, when rumors of the advance of the rebel army from Richmond became so strong that orders were issued to burn the army stores and prepare to move at once. By 7 o'clock p, m. the regiment was in line on the Versailles turnpike, detailed as guard for the wagon train, four companies in the rear, under Major Yeoman, and six in the advance, under Colonels Ross and Rippey.

continued to Louisville, the men suffering terribly from thirst and the stifling dust. The fatigue was truly agonizing, This suffering was intensely aggravated by guarding the wells and cisterns along the road, which compelled the officers and soldiers to drink from the stagnant pools beside the road. The command consisted mostly of new levies, consequently the men were unused to such hardships, and many sank under the terrible strain. At Shelby ville (a beautiful village) the thirst of the men was alleviated by the clear, cold, spring water, kindly issued to each man by the citizens, as the column passed along.

At 1 o'clock p. M., September 5th, the regiment reached its camping-ground, near Louisville, having marched one hunclred miles in eighty-six hours - taking, in the meantime, less than sixteen hours sleep.

The regiment remained in camp until the 5th of September, engaged in picket duty and drill. On the 16th it was assigned to Brigadier General Craft's brigade, of Brigadier General Woodruff"'s division. After maneuvering in the vicinity of Louisville for several days, the regiment was assigned to the twenty-second brigade, Brigadier General Charles Crafts ; fourth division. General W. S. Smith ; twenty-first army corps, General T. L. Critenden, and marched with General Buell's army in pursuit of the rebel forces under General Bragg. On the 8th of October it approached to within two miles of Perryville. The musketry of the battle was distinctly heard, but from some unaccountable cause the regiment was not allowed to engage in the conflict.

October 10th it moved on the Danville road, and on the 11th reached that place. On the 12th it moved to the left of Danville, and in front of Camp Dick Robison. On the 13th it countermarched to Danville, and on the 14th resumed the pursuit of Bragg, and bivouacked near Stanford. On the 15th, at noon, it reached Crab Orchard.

Passing through Mt. Vernon, it crossed Little Rockcastle River, and, meeting the enemy posted on the road leading to Wildcat Mountain, drove them from that position. On the 20th the regiment surprised twelve hundred of the enemy, and with a yell swooped down upon them, capturing two hundred prisoners, and over tAvo hundred head of cattle. While on this march it effectually destroyed the Goose Creek salt works, a valuable depot, from which the rebels had long been drawing their supplies of that indispensable article.

The march through this region was one of great hardship. Many of the men were shoeless, and in marching over the snowclad roads, they left their foot-prints marked with blood.

October 27tli the regiment bivouacked near Somerset. Continuing the march, it passed over the battle-ground of Mill Springs, and on the 4th of Noveml)er reached Glasgow, Kentucky. It remained here until the 8th, when it broke camp, and on the 19th marched through Nashville, and went into camp nine miles beyond that city.