Ohio History Journal

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF CINCINNATI.

 

 

MARIE PAULA DICKORE', A. M.

History's tales have inspired the great artist to his magnifi-

cent pictures, the bard to lofty epics, the composer to stirring

national hymns. Her illustrious name calls forth a brilliant ar-

ray; nation follows upon nation--Assyrian and Egyptian,

Greek and Roman, Celt and Gaul, Teuton and Anglo-

Saxon. We hear of primitive peoples and the highest civiliza-

tions, of the rise and the fall of nations. History has set her

seal upon them, upon their religions and laws; to all she has

meted out equal justice, but to the one mighty race her adaman-

tine pencil has denied a record. That people whose vestiges we

trace with the greatest of interest is unknown to us and we have

given them the name of "Mound-builders" from the works they

erected in North America.

In the history of our own country we see how the white

race supplanted the Redman and cultivated his beautiful forests.

At first they were. satisfied with the fertile lands east of the

mountains, but soon the bolder and more venturesome traversed

the mountain barriers, penetrated the forests and returned with

glowing accounts of the natural wealth in which the western

valley abounded. Then, after the Revolutionary War was over

and we breathed as a free nation, 258 officers in the Continental

army petitioned Congress to give them land in the Ohio Valley

north of the river in payment for their services. The petition-

ers knew from the early trappers and traders how fertile this

valley was, but they did not know that they were the third race

to select the banks of the Ohio for their abode; that the Indian

and, before them, another mighty people had built their homes

there. The settlers chose for their metropolis the present site

of Cincinnati, and in the hardships endured, these pioneers lost

sight of the meaning of various embankments, enclosures and

mounds found on the chosen location.

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We have all heard of the difficulties encountered by the

early settlers of Cincinnati, of the laborious work performed by

Symmes, Denman, Stites and Ludlow in laying out this city, of

the mysterious disappearance of John Filson, and of the Indian

attacks; but seldom do we hear of the fact that in the remote

ages a powerful people of whom history tells us nothing, had

chosen this beautiful valley between the Miamis for their home;

that this vicinity was once the scene of a most destructive war-

fare; that here the brave warriors of a great nation made a last

heroic effort to protect and preserve the country of their birth,

the ashes of their ancestors, and the altars of their gods. The

evidence for this is found in the relics they have left, but as to

their fate after they were driven out by an enemy still less known

to us, we are left in utter darkness. We know not whence they

came nor whither they went.

Let us follow the Miamis and listen to the story of the great

people who built along their shores and on their hills, so that by

fire signals the news could be flashed by night from village to

village and to the fort up on the Little Miami River. Let us go

to the cemetery at Madisonville and listen to the tale unfolded

of the great struggle that took place there, of the warriors who

fought so valiantly but were finally forced to leave the graves

of their forefathers and the temples of their gbds so abruptly that

even their name has disappeared with them. We know of their

existence only by the mounds they erected and by their bones.

No written language or hieroglyphics remain to tell us their

thoughts or history. The rude tempests of ages have swept over

their country, unmindful of their former power, while the dusky

savage pursued the chase and the warpath and the white man

built his cities, steam and electric roads, heedless of the sanc-

tity of the ground on which they trod.

That Cincinnati was the site of these Mound-builders is an

undeniable fact, for before 1841 this locality showed several im-

portant remains of this ancient people. Dr. Daniel Wilson in

his "Pre-Historic Man," says: "The city of Cincinnati occupies

a remarkable site, within a fine basin of hills on the Ohio river,

which had for its earlier occupants the remarkable people now

referred to (Mound-builders). But the growth of the modern

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.          15

 

city has swept away every vestige of their old earthworks; and

no definite record of their details has been preserved."

What he means by "definite records" I do not know, for I

have come upon many letters, statements, and plans of these re--

mains as they were found by the early settlers. Unfortunately,

however, they were not as thoughtful of their successors who

would be interested in the Mound-builders as was perhaps the

Ohio Land Company, which provided in its constitution for

the preservation of the ancient fortifications at Marietta, so that

the antiquarian of today must go to such records as tell where

these mounds, enclosures and embankments stood in old Cin-

cinnati. The earliest printed record which we possess that gives

an accurate account of these evidences of the Mound-builders is

Dr. Daniel Drake's book, "Pictures of Cincinnati." W. R,

Looker in a "Chronological History of Cincinnati," 1788-1872,

mentions the date of the appearance of Drake's book as January

16, 1816, though it was printed late in 1815. In this valuable

book Dr. Drake describes four mounds of various size, three

embankments, one excavation, and the broad ellipse which

seemed to be the central work. Counting the two elevations

that guarded the opening of this last, there were eleven remains

erected by the Mound-builders on the old site of Cincinnati.

In describing these I shall make use of first hand material,

that is, letters written by settlers to friends, which have been

published by various historical societies; statements made by

some prominent citizens who were present when the mounds were

opened; newspaper clippings; and the one great authority ac-

knowledged by archaeologists and historians, Dr. Drake.

The mound that stood at Third and Main streets is first

mentioned by Colonel Winthrop Sargent, Secretary and Gov-

ernor pro tem. of the Northwest Territory, in a letter to Dr. Ben-

jamin S. Barton, of Philadelphia, dated Cincinnati, September

8, 1794. Later Dr. Barton speaks of it in a letter to the Rev.

Joseph Priestly (both letters are given in volume 4 of the

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society). Quoting

from Colonel Sargent: "It was an extensive mound of earth,

raised probably for the purpose of a burial-ground, upon the

margin of the second bank of the Ohio river (suddenly rising

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fifty feet above the first), and now elevated, in the extreme; eight

feet from the general level of the same, with a gradual slope in

the various directions, and a base of about one hundred and

twenty feet by sixty. One of the main streets of the town passes

through the western part of this grave, and in the frequent re-

pairs of the acclivity, human bones have often been found. I

should not omit to mention to you, that upon this mound are

stumps of oak trees seven feet in diameter." A great many

articles were found in it that show remarkable skill in carving,

shells, bits of metal, lead ore, beads, and copper articles. "There

were also many human bones. These were of different sizes;

sometimes enclosed in rude coffins of stone, but oftener lying

blended with the earth, generally surrounded by a portion of

ashes and charcoal. The quantity of these bones, although much

greater than that taken from the other mounds of the town, was

small in proportion to what was expected, - the whole tumulus

not having contained, perhaps more than twenty or-thirty skele-

tons." (Drake).

The large ellipse with which the Third Street mound was

connected was about five hundred feet distant. It extended

from the west side of Race Street almost to Walnut; from a

little north of Fifth to a little south of Fourth Street. It was

about eight hundred by seven hundred feet. (Clarke -800 by

6601; Whittlesey-830 by 7302). The embankment was three

feet high, on a base of thirty. On the east (facing Walnut) was

an opening or gateway about ninety feet wide guarded by two

irregular mounds; from the southern one extended a low wall or

high road, one foot high and nine feet broad, to the mound at

Third and Main streets. There were other segments of such

walls of the dimensions, in different parts of the city, as if the

whole works had been encircled by it.

On Fifth, east of Broadway, was a circular bank, one foot

high, fifteen broad, enclosing a space almost sixty feet in diam-

eter.

Robert Clarke. Prehistoric Remains which were found on the Site

of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a Vindication of the Cincinnati

tablet. 1876.

2 Charles Whittlesey.  Description of Ancient Works in Ohio,

(Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. 3, Art. 7).

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.           17

 

Between Vine and Elm streets and the Canal and Twelfth

Street were two embankments seven hundred and sixty feet long

and almost two feet high. They were parallel and, as Mr. Robert

Clarke tells us, their direction, as ascertained by the compass,

did not "vary two degrees from a true east and west line." They

were from forty to forty-six feet apart, and on the south was an

opening thirty feet wide.

On Plum street near the southwest corner of Liberty was

an excavation. "It is not perceptibly connected with any other

works. Its depth is about twelve feet; its diameter measuring

from the top of the circular bank formed by throwing out the dirt,

is nearly fifty feet."

One mound was near the northeast corner of Seventh and

Mound streets of which Dr. Drake says as follows: "It is about

nine feet high, of a circular figure and nearly flat on the top.

This has been penetrated to the center of its base, without

affording any thing but some fragments of human skeletons, and

a handful of copper beads which had been strung on a cord of

lint." Another similar mound, only about three feet high, was

on the east side of Central Avenue opposite Richmond.

The largest mound stood at the intersection of Fifth and

Mound streets. Dr. Drake says of it in 1815: "It is a regular

ellipsis, whose diameters are to each other nearly as two is to one.

The circumference at the base is four hundred and forty feet.

The earth for thirty or forty yards around it is perceptibly lower

than the other parts of the plain, and the stratum of loam is

thinner, from which it appears to have been formed by scooping

up the surface--which opinion is confirmed by its internal

structure. It had been penetrated nearly to its center, and found

to consist of loam gradually passing into soil, with rotten wood.

The fruits of this examination were only a few scattering de-

cayed human bones, a branch of deer's horn, and a piece of

earthen ware containing shells." When the streets were graded

in 1841 this mound was entirely cut away, and at this time the

"Cincinnati Tablet" and the "Gridley Measuring Stone" were

found in it. I shall speak of them later in more detail.

In a letter of Judge Jacob Burnet addressed to J. Delefield,

dated Cincinnati, October, 1837, Mr. Burnet, a well known pio-

Vol. XVIII--2.

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neer of this city, mentions the various mounds here and also a

curious fact connected with his well which I have not found

elsewhere. The letter is as follows:

CINCINNATI, Oct. 1837.

"Before I close this letter, let me comply with that part of your

request, which relates to the ancient works found at this place. You

are already apprised, that when I first came here, the town had ad-

vanced but very little from a state of nature. The surface of the site,

on which it stands, was undisturbed, except where some rough houses,

and humble cabins had been erected, to shelter its inhabitants. The

works referred to, were in a perfect state of preservation, though de-

pressed in height, by the natural causes which had operated on them for

ages. Within the limits of the town, as originally laid out, there were

two large circles, one near the eastern boundary and the other in a

western direction, near the center of the plat. The former, though

sufficiently distinct to be traced, was not as elevated, or as perfect

as the other. It was about the same diameter, and was uniform in its

curvity. The circle near the center, passes through the block which

I owned, south of Fourth and between Vine and Race streets. It was

an exact circle, about six hundred feet in diameter. The earth which

composed it, had been gradually washed down, till its base had spread

about twenty-five feet, and its apex was reduced to about eight or ten

feet above the plane of its base. On the north side, near Fifth street,

there was an aperture, ten or twelve feet wide, and there might have

been another, which has escaped my memory. The arc within my

enclosure, subtended by a chord of about three hundred feet, was pre-

served with care, while it was in my possession. On that part of it,

I am confident, there was no break or opening. These works were

entirely on the upper level of the town plat, and did not approach the

break of the hill, nearer than four hundred feet. About one hundred

and fifty rods, west of the circle, last spoken of, stood a beautiful

mound, thirty-five or forty feet high, constructed with great exactness,

and standing on a base unusually small, compared with its height.

When the army under the command of General Wayne, was encamped

at this place in 1792-3, he had a sentry box on its top, which com-

manded an entire view of the plain. In the neighborhood, of this

structure, two or three smaller ones were standing, which were found

to contain human bones, as is the case with regard to most of them. Be-

sides these, there was another of medium size, compared with the

others, standing on the brow of the hill, about midway between the

circles, and in advance of them, in the direction of the river, about three

or four hundred feet. By digging down, and grading Main street, this

structure was entirely removed many years ago. * * * *

"You have made particular request for information, relative to

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.                19

 

the stumps which were found in my well. I have seen in print, several

exaggerated statements, professing to describe their appearance, and

the situation in which they were found. One writer has said, that they

had been cut, by a metallic instrument--that the marks of an axe

were visible, and that chips, in a state of perfect preservation, were

found on, and near them. Another has stated, that the rust of iron was

seen on the stumps; and a third has affirmed, that an axe was found

near them. Neither of these statements is true. The facts are simply

these, that in sinking a well, in 1802, within the circular work above

described, at the depth of ninety-three feet, I found two stumps, one

about a foot, and the other eighteen inches in diameter, standing

in the position in which they grew. Their roots were perfectly sound,

and extended from them, horizontally, on every side. Their tops were

so decayed and mouldered, that no opinion could be formed, as to the

process, by which the trunks had been severed. The surface of the earth,

at the place where they were found, is one hundred and twelve feet above

the present low water mark of the Ohio river, according to the level of

Joseph Geist, city surveyor. They could not have been brought there by

a current of water, because of their upright position, and the regular, hori-

zontal extension of their roots proves that they must have grown on the

spot, where they were found. There is another fact connected with this

matter, worthy of notice. Prior to the time of digging the well, I had

never seen a mulberry tree, growing on, or near the premises; though

they were found in the neighboring forests; yet, the next season, they

sprang up wherever the excavated earth had been spread, in such

numbers, as made it necessary to destroy them, and they continued thus

to shoot up, for several years, though not one made its appearance, on

any other part of the lot. This fact induced me to conclude that the

stumps, or at least one of them was of the mulberry kind.  *  *  *  *

It may throw some light on the subject, to state, that when the town

was laid out, the appearance of it indicated, that the surface of the

earth, had undergone no material change, probably in five hundred

years; as it exhibited the remains of trees, which had matured, de-

cayed and fallen, by the side of others still flourishing, and giving evi-

dence, that they had been growing some centuries. The stump which

was supposed to be mulberry must have been in the situation, in which

it was found (ninety-three feet below the surface), for an equal period

of time, and yet, when the earth about its roots, was spread on the

surface, where no mulberry tree existed, young mulberries sprung up

immediately in great numbers."

 

Of the general topography of the city in connection with the

mounds the statement made by William Henry Harrison in an

address before the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio,

1837, is very interesting:

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"I have before mentioned Cincinnati as one of the positions occu-

pied by the more civilized people. When I first saw the upper plain

on which that city stands, it was literally covered with low lines of

embankments. I had the honor to attend General Wayne, two years

afterwards, in an excursion to examine them. We were employed the

greater part of a day, in August, 1793, in doing so. The number and

variety of figures in which these lines were drawn, was almost endless,

and as I have said, almost covered the plain. Many so faint, indeed,

as scarcely to be followed, and often for a considerable distance entirely

obliterated, but by careful examination, and following the direction,

they could be found again. Now, if these lines were ever of the height

of the others made by the same people (and they must have been to

have answered any valuable purpose), or, unless their erection was

many ages anterior to the others, there must have been some other

cause than the attrition of the rain (for it is a dead level) to bring

them down to their then state. That cause I take to have been con-

tinued cultivation. And as the people who erected them, would not

themselves destroy works which had cost them so much labor, the

solution of the question can only be found in the long occupancy, and

cultivation of another people, and the probability is, that that people

were the conquerors of the original possessors."

 

Besides these letters I found in old scrapbooks, now be-

longing to the Historical Society, several clippings from local

newspapers which comment on the mounds and their contents

at the time when they were explored.     They do not, however,

add anything to what we have noted already.

As to the Fifth and Mound streets mound and its contents,

I can not do better than quote from Mr. Clarke, who in 1876,

made a thorough investigation of it and of the Cincinnati tablet

found in it, in order to prove that the latter was not a fraud. "At

the opening of Mound street and the alley running west from it,

the mound was demolished. This was in November, 1841. The

work was commenced at the top, the earth being thrown down

until it was not more than eight or ten feet high, when it was

dug down perpendicularly and the material carted off. Several

skeletons, in good state of preservation, were found near the

surface, evident depositions of the later Indians, and with them

stone axes, arrow-heads, mica, etc. The principal grave, how-

ever, for which the mound was commenced, was found nearly

on a level with the original surface, and contained a much de-

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The Mound Buiidcrs of Cincinnati.         2   cayed skeleton, of which a portion of the skull is still in the possession of Mr. Gest, who was the owner of the ground on which the mound stood. Under this skull was found the stone known as the "Cincinnati Tablet," with two polished, pointed bones about seven inches long, charcoal and ashes." This stone immediately excited a good deal of interest and attention. From the time it was found in 1841 to 1876 when Robert Clarke published his valuable pamphlet, this little stone

was the bone of contention among scientists, some holding that It was genuine, others that it was a fraud. But Mr. Clarke suc- cessfully proved that it was not a fraud; and we can go to the Art Museum   (Cincinnati) to see this remarkable relic of an ancient race which first occupied this locality. It is a small, beautifully carved stone, made of a "fine- grained, compact sandstone, of a light brown color. It measures almost five inches in length, three in breadth at the ends, and two and six-tenths at the middle, and is about half an inch in thick-

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ness. The sculptured face varies very little from a perfect plane.

The figures are cut in low relief (the lines not being more than

one-twentieth of an inch in depth), and occupy a rectangular

space four inches and two-tenths long, by two and one-tenths

wide. The sides of the stone, it will be observed, are slightly

concave. Right lines are drawn across the face, near the ends,

at right angles, and exterior to these are notches, twenty-five

at one end, and twenty-four at the other. Extending diagonally

inward are fifteen longer lines, eight at one end, and seven

at the other. The back of the stone has three deep, longitudinal

grooves, and several depressions, evidently caused by rubbing

-probably produced by sharpening the instrument used in the

sculpture."

In their work, "The Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi

Valley," (1848) Squier and Davis say:

"Without discussing the 'singular resemblance which the relic bears

to the Egyptian cartouche, it will be sufficient to direct attention to the

reduplication of the figures, those upon one side corresponding with

those of the other, and the two central ones being also alike. It will

be observed that there are but three scrolls or figures-four of one

description and two of each of the others. Probably no serious dis-

cussion of the question, whether or not these figures are hieroglyphical,

is needed. They more resemble the stalk and flowers of a plant than

any thing else in nature. What significance, if any, may attach to the

peculiar markings or graduations at the ends, it is not undertaken to

say. The sum of the products of the longer and shorter lines (24x

7 + 25 x 8 is 368), three more than the number of days in the year; from

which circumstance the suggestion has been advanced that the tablet

had an astronomical origin, and constituted some sort of a calendar.'"

 

The second stone found in the Fifth Street mound is men-

tioned by J. S. Williamson in the "American Pioneer," May,

1843, as "a stone instrument nine inches long and three wide;

this is about a fourth of an inch thick. These (with others de-

scribed) were discovered by and are in the possession of Mr.

Gridley of Longworth street."     A  better description is given

in a newspaper clipping, which gives neither author nor date:-

"The one stone is shaped like the half of an ellipse, so cut that

the whole of one curved end is upon each side of the diameter.

The straight side is exactly nine inches long and the curved

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.         23

 

side exactly twelve inches and the complete ellipse is the exact

counterpart as to proportions of the mound in which it was

found. This has led archaeologists to argue that it was an in-

strument of measurement used in laying out the mound and by

intent or purpose buried in it." This view is held by J. Ralston

Skinner,⁵ and he not only describes this stone as the unit of

measure but also applies it to all the mounds possible in the

Ohio Valley.

Mr. Skinner was the first to bring the stone into promi-

nence again, for from the time when Mr. Gridley, having found

it together with other articles, upon request of Mr. S. T. Carley

deposited them with the Western Academy of Sciences with the

understanding that he could have them whenever he wished,

until Mr. Skinner used it for his paper, the existence of the

stone was forgotten. Some years after they were loaned to the

Academy this society was merged into the Natural History So-

ciety and these relics were transferred with the other specimens.

In 1878 Mr. Gridley, residing in Springfield; asked for the re-

turn of his articles. In 1883 the matter was taken up by iMr.

Skinner to ascertain the exact circumstances relating to the find-

ing of the peculiar stone, with the following results  It was

found at a depth of about twenty-six feet below the top of the

mound and near the center before the Cincinnati tablet was

found, but within a short distance from it.

These facts, both concerning the Gest tablet and the Grid-

ley stone are vouched for in letters written by different citizens

of our city. In 1876, when Mr. Clarke investigated the former,

Mr. Erasmus Gest (who died in March, I9o8), in whose pos-

session the tablet had been ever since it was found, and Mr.

J. L. Wayne, Jr., who found it, made statements asserting the

truth of its discovery. S. T. Carley testifies as to Mr. Gridley's

honesty concerning his relics.

In research work of any kind we are always ready to ask

the reasons for and the purpose of whatever we are studying;

and so it is with the mounds. A great many books have been

6J. Ralston Skinner, "The Identification of the British Inch as the

Unit of Measure of the Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley,"-Journal

of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, Vol. 8.

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written on the builders of these ancient remains, their works, and

many theories have been advanced. It is now generally accepted

that the skeletons and articles found in the various mounds, their

location, and delineation indicate three purposes:

I. For defence, as is shown by works laid out in triangles,

squares, pentagons and circles (the last were also used for vil-

lage enclosures, as in Cincinnati).

2. Religious; here we see many animal effigies; the well

known Serpent Mound in Adams County, the squirrel, the opos-

sum, birds, etc.

3. For burial; these are either separate tumuli or groups

as in the cemetery at Madisonville. The highest of these were

also used for lookouts in some localities.

That our Cincinnati mounds were of the first class, was

shown by General William Henry Harrison in 1837: "Great as

some of the works in the interior were, and laborious as was

the construction, particularly those of Circleville and Newark,

I am persuaded they were intended for military purposes. On

the contrary, those upon the Ohio river were evidently designed

for that purpose. The three that I have examined, those of

Marietta, Cincinnati, and at the mouth of the Great Miami, par-

ticularly the latter, have a military character stamped upon them

which can not be mistaken. * * * The engineers who di-

rected the execution of the Miami works, appear to have known

the importance of flank defences. And if their bastions are

not as perfect as to form, as those which are in use in modern

engineering, their position as well as that of the long lines of

curtains, are precisely as they should be."

The mounds, embankments, and enclosures along the Ohio

River were a unit in themselves, constituting a part of some

greater system. The central work, 800 by 700 feet, on the upper

plain, was large enough to be the nucleus of the village, being

protected from the river front by its elevation and a thick screen

of trees. Buildings, of whatever material, wood or clay, prob-

ably stood on the embankment which was thirty feet broad.

The Third Street tumulus, being connected with this work must

have served as a lookout, for it commanded the mouth of the

Licking River; the hill to the east of it (Mount Adams) over-

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.         25

 

looked the approach from up the Ohio, while the hill to the

west was too far back from the river to command the Ohio

as it makes the curve, so the mound at Fifth and Mound streets

was built to be used in the signal system from the Big Miami.

At the time when Dr. Metz made his explorations in the

valley of the Little Miami, at Madisonville, Ohio, and Linwood,

(Cincinnati), the evidences of a Mound-builder cemetery at

the former village and of an ancient village at Linwood, were

not thought of in connection with the Cincinnati mounds, but

it is very interesting to see in just what relation they were to

the central works.

The evidence for this remarkably fine military and defensive

system laid out in the valley between the two Miamis has been

gathered at different times as each mound, embankment or en-

closure belonging to it was discovered. General M. F. Force6

is the first to weave the various facts gleaned from each ex-

plorer into a whole, and I have completed his plan with notes

from Dr. Metz and Dr. Hill, both of the Cincinnati Society of

Natural History.

The system of the Miami Valley was planned so as to guard

three main approaches: I. From up the Ohio River; and in order

to guard this they erected the great mound at the confluence of

the Big Miami and the Ohio, another at Colerain and a third at

Hamilton. From these points they built defensive works extend-

ing six miles along the river, several to the north and west of

Hamilton, connecting these with others at Dayton and Piqua. 2.

The approach down the Ohio was guarded by mounds on the

high hill above California, Ohio, from which the signal mounds

on Linwood and Norwood (Ohio) Heights, respectively five

and seven miles distant, can be clearly seen. On the Little

Miami the villages were connected with the large mound at the

mouth of the East Fork and with Fort Ancient (as we call the

fine old fortification) by a line of signal mounds on prominent

points. 3. The third approach was by the valley of the Lick-

ing River, and this was guarded probably by a mound on the

Kentucky bluffs of which we have no record, for it was de-

stroyed, perhaps, by the elements before the settlement of the

6To What Race Did the Mound-builders Belong? 1877.

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26       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

valley. This was in communication with the two mounds in

Cincinnati, the one on Third Street and the one on Fifth and

Mound streets, which could also receive news from that

at the mouth of the Great Miami. Dr. H. H. Hill showed in

1874, that Brighton Hill (where the Cross Town incline now

is) was used by the Mound-builders as well as by the Indians

as a lookout station, for it commands the Millcreek Valley from

its mouth to Glendale and from these mounds to Hamilton.

The large mound on Norwood Heights still stands as a sen-

tinel throughout the ages. The city has built its water tower

near it and keeps it under strict supervision to prevent vandalism.

From it a wide view can be had, eastwardly through a depres-

sion in the hill at Redbank to the lookout above California;

northwardly through Millcreek valley to Hamilton; and signals

could be flashed by means of the Cincinnati mounds westwardly

to the fort at the mouth of the Great Miami River. Back of this

system at the apex, as it were, of these three lines of defence,

stood the great fortification, Fort Ancient, on the Little Miami

River.

Historians, archaeologists and geologists, are all deeply in-

terested in the problem  of the Mound-builders; all present

hypotheses and endeavor to prove them. There are so many

conflicting opinions as to who these builders of the mounds were,

what enemy drove them out, where they came from and where

they were driven, that it is impossible to arrive at any one con-

clusion. There are a few facts, however, upon which most of the

historians and archaeologists agree, and these are briefly: Though

this ancient people settled the greater part of this continent, the

thirteen thousand mounds and enclosures in the state of Ohio

go to show that this locality was the most densely populated.

Professor W. K. Moorehead, formerly of the Ohio Archaeologi-

ca1 and Historical Society, to whom we owe so much for what

he has done in exploring and preserving the Ohio mounds, says:

"The center of the great Mound-builder power was in southern

Ohio, for no where else do we find remains of such extensive

and carefully planned works both of villages and fortifications."

This latter fact, together with the large burial grounds, has led

many to believe that this ancient people made their last stand

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The Mound Builders of Cincinnati.           27

 

against the enemy in this vicinity, and there is indeed ample

proof to uphold this theory. The cemetery at Madisonville and

the one near Fort Ancient show, according to Mr. Moorehead,

that "two races fought for position and supremacy in Ohio,"

for:

a) Two types of crania are found at Madisonville and

Fort Ancient.

b) There were two modes of burial. A grave in Lin-

wood, Cincinnati, in the squares bounded by Elmwood, Walnut,

Oak and Maplewood Avenues, shows a curious fact. The bodies

had been buried in two circular layers, with the heads towards an

earthenware vase.⁷

c) Two classes of implements and pottery have been found.

d) There were two kinds of lodge or house circles.

There is, however, no evidence to show whether the enemy

came from the north and drove the Mound-builders south, or

whether they came from the south and carried them home as

slaves. Some hold the former theory, saying that the fortifi-

cations seem to show that the war was carried from Ohio into

Kentucky and Tennessee, later into the Gulf states until the

Mound-builders were submerged in the conquering race,

The Mound-builders are claimed by some scientists to have

been contemporaneous with the Trojans considering the state of

preservation of their skeletons. But unlike them no historian

has recorded their name, no epic relates the exploits and

prowess of their warriors, no marble or stone has retained their

images. Only their mounds and a few relics have withstood the

ages. The monuments in this vicinity do not show the ravages

of war, but repose in the slow decay of time, gradually relapsing

into the still mystery of bygone ages, requiring at this day

rather the science of the geologist than the scrutiny of the anti-

quarian to determine their monumental character.

7There are in the Cincinnati Art Museum two stone axes and two

round peculiar stones which were found in one of these graves in Lin-

wood in 1896 while making excavations for the foundations of a house.

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