Ohio History Journal

Editorialana.                       161

mouth begin to move and approaching the immobile features, silent for

centuries, he placed his ear to the stone lips and heard a sound like a

subdued murmur "you're another." As Artemus Ward would say of

this controversy of the critics "it would be funny if it were not serious."

The Mound Builders builded better than they knew. Their works are

food for thought and subjects for study. Certain it is that they were a

vast and enterprising and interesting race, whence and whither and why

we evidently have not learned. Archaeological "history" is largely archaeo-

logical speculation, and with speculation one man's guess is as good as

another's, unless it happens to be your own and then of course it is a

good deal better than some one's else.

"But first I would remark, that it is not a proper plan

For any scientific gent to whale his fellow-man,

And, if a member don't agree with his peculiar whim,

To lay for that same member for to 'put a head' on him."

FORT ST. CLAIR.

In the first week in July it was the privilege of the editor to be the

guest for a day of two of the Hon. C. R. Gilmore of Eaton, the pretty

little county seat of Preble county. Mr. Gilmore is the son of the late

Judge W. J. Gilmore who was for many years a trustee of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society, and one of its most active and

enthusiastic advocates and workers. He was a devoted lover of historical

lore especially that pertaining to Ohio and the Northwest. His grave

is located in the picturesque cemetery of Eaton and commands a view

of the nearby hill upon which was located the memorable Fort St. Clair.

This historic site and the surrounding fields were the property of Judge

Gilmore, and at his death passed to the possession of his son Clement R.

Gilmore.

Fort St. Clair was erected in the tempestuous months of the Winter

of 1791-2. It was started December 15, 1791, and completed January

26, 1792. Gen. Wilkinson sent Major John S. Gano, belonging to the

militia of the Territory, with a party to build the fort. William Henry

Harrison then but an ensign, commanded a guard every other night for

about three weeks, during the erection of the fort. They had neither fire

nor covering of any kind and suffered much from the winter cold. It

was a stockade of the usual kind, about three hundred feet square and had

about twenty acres cleared around it. The outline can yet be traced

in the contour of the field surface. It was designed to be the midway

fortification between Fort Hamilton on the south and Fort Jefferson on

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162         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

the north-forts some forty-four miles apart. It was another advantageous

link in the chain of secure stations to extend from the Ohio to the mouth

of the Maumee. This line of forts, Washington, Hamilton, St. Clair,

Jefferson, Recovery, St. Marys, Defiance Deposit, Miami and Industry,

with some others near or along the line was for the purpose not only

of enabling transit across the state, but to form a continuous impediment

to the inroads of the hostile Indians of the old Northwest country. The

four southern posts, Washington, Hamilton, St. Clair and Jefferson were

about twenty-five miles apart, and connected by a road or trace cut

through the dense timber and undergrowth by the soldiers of St. Clair's

army. It required about six days to go on horse from Fort Washington

to Fort Jefferson and return. After St. Clair's defeat garrisons were

left at the posts and it was necessary to furnish these with provisions.

In the autumn of 1792, Little Turtle, the celebrated chief, at the head of

about 250 Mingo and Wyandot warriors, started out to attack a new

settlement of the whites then forming at the mouth of the Little Miami

river (Columbia, Ohio). When passing near Fort Hamilton, the Indians

attacked some of the garrison working in the timber and captured two of

them. From these they learned that a company of from fifty to one

hundred mounted Kentucky riflemen, escorting a brigade of pack-horses

and under command of Captain John Adair, were on the way to Ft. Jef-

ferson, and would pass on the return trip at a certain time. Ac-

cordingly they lay in ambush along the trail. The escort how-

ever rested at Fort Jefferson over Sunday, and did not appear as soon

as expected. Hearing when the Kentuckians had advanced as far as

Fort St. Clair, the Indians planned a surprise and attacked them before

daylight, November 6, 1792 under the walls of the fort. A hot fight

ensued which developed into a running scrimmage to near the present

site of Eaton, Ohio, where the Indians were lost sight of just after day

light. Twenty or thirty horses were killed, six left to the soldiers and

the balance taken by the Indians who seem to have made the attack

principally for this result. The bodies of two Indians were found among

the dead horses and several others had probably been carried away by

their friends. Several Americans were wounded and the following six

were killed: Lieutenant Job Hale; Sergeant Matthew English; Privates

Robert Bowling, Joseph Clinton; Isaac Jett and John Williams. These

six heroes lie buried in the grove just south of the south line of the fort.

Mr. C. R. Gilmore is about to have their board markers replaced by neat

stone slabs bearing the names as now designated, thus rescuing these

sacred spots from decay and oblivion.

It was on a bright Sabbath morning that Mr. Gilmore and the writer

footed the way from the town to the location of the Fort. Dodging

between showers, we trod the water-soaked fields, climbed the interven-

ing fences, walked the slippery logs across Garrison Branch, the swollen

stream near the battle ground, picked our path through the thick forest

Editorialana.                       165

Mr. Perkins was a courteous, affable gentleman, beloved by all

who knew him and honored and respected by all who had dealings with

him. A touching instance of his relationship in life to his employes was

the fact that at the private burial at Oak Wood Cemetery the pall bearers

were the faithful and sorrowing workmen who had been in his service

for the years respectively noted after their names: Wm. Gott, twelve

years; Wm. Nesbit, ten years; Thos. Nesbit, thirty-five years; Jos.

Latimer, fifty years; John Waters, twenty-five years Howard Craig,

twenty years.

In the funeral address delivered by Rev. W. L. Swan, a friend and

pastor of Mr. Perkins for many years, occurs this fitting allusion:

"On one of the many public occasions when Mr. Perkins was called

upon to preside, was the occasion when the soldiers' monument was dedi-

cated. Ex-President Hayes then said  'It is a partially truthful saying

that men who need monuments do not deserve them, and men who deserve

them do not need them.' Equally true is it of eulogy. And in this community

where he whom we mourn to-day, was born, and lived his useful life, and

died, where he stood so generously in the material and moral interests

of the place, to us, who lived with him and knew him, no eulogy is more

than a vain repetition.

His life was not an ordinary one. Much might be said of that broad,

strong grasp on practical affairs, of the judgment quick and clear, of the

tastes as simple as they were refined, of the kindly sympathy and help-

fulness he was ever so ready to manifest, of the beautiful, even ideal

home life among those he loved, and who loved him so well."

SALT LICKS OF JACKSON COUNTY.

We are indebted to Mr. D. W. Williams for a copy of his History

of Jackson County. This is the first of other volumes, if the publication

of other volumes is encouraged by the public. This volume is devoted

mainly to the history of the famous Salt Licks in the Scioto Salt Reserve,

set aside by Congress May 18, 1796. "These springs or licks" says Mr.

Williams "are as old as the hills, for that erosion which carved out the

valleys between, exposed the strata from which they flow: They were

discovered by the wild animals of the forest, and became one of their

most favored resorts long before man appeared upon the earth. No better

evidence of this is needed than the great quantity of fossil remains of

extinct animals, which have been discovered from time to time in the

neighborhood of the licks."

Mr. Williams then relates how these Salt Licks became the popular

resort, so to speak, from way back, even before the Glacial period, for the

Mammoth, Mastodon, Megatherium, Buffalo, Elk, Deer and other game.

Then came the Primeval man the Mound Builder who must have regarded

166         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

the Salt Licks as his fashionable Saratoga, where he could imbibe health-

ful saline water, and then the Indian, perhaps the Shawanese were the

first, who recognized the value of these springs. "There is no record of

the coming of the Indians, but it is known that the Shawanese owned and

occupied Jackson county when it was discovered by the whites. It ap-

pears, however, that all the Ohio tribes were allowed to visit the salt

springs and to make salt. Situated as they were on the great Indian

trail from the mouth of the Kanawha to the head of the Maumee, they

were visited by hundreds, and sometimes, thousands of Indians, during

the summer months. These gatherings resembled the Russian markets

of the last century. Many of these visiting Indians bought their salt,

giving in exchange flint implements, tobacco, beads, pipestone and other

articles of aboriginal commerce. It is told that tribes at war with each

other would observe a truce during these visits. The squaws performed

all work, chopping the saplings for fuel, drawing the water and watching

the fires day and night, while the men spent their time huntnig, fishing,

playing ball, gaming and telling yarns. In later years, they tortured

white captives in the presence of the assembled tribes. Even after the

whites had taken possession of the licks the Indians used to revisit them

every summer until about 1815."

Mr. Williams' book of 188 pages has a great deal of interesting and

valuable data of the early history and traditions of the county. It is all

arranged under headings and indexed so as to be easily accessible. It is

to be hoped Mr. Williams will bring forth successive volumes.

FORT WASHINGTON.

Mr. Robert Ralston Jones is responsible for an attractive little volume

on Fort Washington, erected in 1789 and demolished in 1808 to make

way for the encroaching city of Cincinnati.  Fort Washington was one

of the most famous and important of the frontier forts, and played a

potent and prominent part in the affairs of the Northwestern territory.

It was the rendezvous and starting point of the Harmer, St. Clair, Wil-

kinson, Wayne and lesser expeditions. About Fort Washington cluster

a crowd of interesting events and traditions. Mr. Jones makes succinct

and reliable statements of the chief historical incidents connected with

the fort. His book is illustrated with portraits and plats. It is not a

pretentious book in size or matter, but is a valuable compendium of much

early Ohio history. It is dedicated to Mr. Herbert Jenney, governor of

the Society of Colonial Wars in the state of Ohio, "through whose per-

sonal efforts the plan for marking the site of Fort Washington, at Cin-

cinnati was successfully carried out."  A full account of this marking

of the site of Fort Washington was published in Volume X Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society publications.