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GENEALOGY COLLECTLOH

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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 02490 0190

HISTORY

BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.

INDIANA.

FROM THE EARLIEST TIME TO THE PRESENT, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL

SKETCHES, NOTES, ETC., TOGETHER WITH A SHORT HISTORY

OF THE NORTHWEST, THE INDIANA TERRITORY,

AND THE STATE OF INDIANA.

ILLTISTRATED.

CHICAGO:

BRANT & FULLER,

1888.

f 1490209

PREFACE.

After several months of almost uninterrupted labor, the History of Bartholomew County is completed. In issuing it to our patrons we do not claim for it perfection ; but that it contains that reasonable de- gree of accm-acj which onl}' could be expected of us, is confidently asserted. The difficulties that surround such an undertaking can scarcel}^ be realized by one who has never engaged in work of the kind. To reconcile the doubtful and often conflicting statements that are so frequently made by those who would seem to be best informed, is a task both perplexing and tedious. Yet we believe that we have been able to present a history of the coiuity that is as nearly complete as reason can demand, and the book exceeds our promises in almost every particular. We have endeavored to set forth the facts in as concise and unostentatious language as possible, believing it is for the facts and not for -rhetorical display that the book is desired. The mechanical execution and general appear- ance of the volume will recommend it, even to the fastidious. The arrangement of the matter is such as to render an index almost superfluous, as the subject under consideration is at the top of every right-hand page. For further details the italic subdivisions will enable the reader to refer with readiness to any topic. In the spelling of proper names there is such a wide difference, even among mem- bers of the same family, and it is a matter of so arbitrarj^ a nature, that our only guide was each man's desire. Every clew that gave promise of important facts connected with the count3''s historj' has been investigated by those engaged in the work. We believe the volume will be favorably received and highly appreciated by those for whom it was prepared. Our thanks are due to those who have rendered us assistance and to our patrons.

THE PUBLISHERS. Chicago, Ili.., September, 1888.

CONTENTS.

• Past i-histoet of indiawa.

CITAPTER I. rAGK.

PfiEHISTORIC Raci:s 17

Antiquities 1^

Chinese, Tlio 18

Discovery by CoUniitnis 33

Exploralious by tlie Wliites 87

Indians, The 31

Immigration, The First 18

Immigralion, Tlie Secona 20

ryrauiids. etc. The 21

Relics of the Mound-Builders 23

Siivage Customs 34

Tartars, The 23

Vincennes 39

Wabash Kiver, The 39

AVhite Men, The First 37

CHAPTER II.

National Policies, etc 41

American Policy, The 46

Atrocity of the Savages 47

Burningof Hinton 48

British Policy, Tlie 46

Clark's Expeditiou 52

French Scheme, The 41

Gilbault, Father 65

Government of the Northwest 67

Hamilton's Career 64

Liquor and Gaming Laws 74

Missionaries, The Catholic 42

Ordinance of 1787 70

Pontiac's War 46

Kuse Against the Indians C4

Vigo, Francis 6

CHAPTER III.

Operations Against the Indians 75

Battle at Peoria Lake 104

Campaign of Harrison 92

Cession Treaties 93

Defeat of St. Clair 79

Defensive Operations 70

Expedition of Harmer 75

Expedition of Wayne 79

Expedition of St. Clair 78

Expedition of Williamson 78

Fort Miami, Battle of 80

Harrison and the Indians 87

Hopkins' Campaign 105

Kiekapoo Town, Burning of. 78

Maumee, Battle of. 75

Massacre at Pigeon Roost 103

Mississiuewa Town, Battle at 106

Oratory, Tecumseh's H4

Prophet Town, Destruction of 100

Peace with the Indians 100

Siege of Fort Wayne 101

Siege of Fort Harrison 103

Tecumseh Ill

Tippecanoe, Battle of. 98

War of 1812 lol

War of 1812, Close of the loS

CHAPTER IV.

Obganization of Indiana Territory 82

Bank, Establishment of 120

Courts, Formation of 120

County Offices, Appointmentof. 119

Corydon,the Capital „ 117

Gov. Posey 117

Indiana in 1810 84

Population in 1815 118

Territorial Legislature, The First 84

Weilem Sun, The 84

CHAPTER V. PAGE.

Organization of tiik Statk, etc 121

AmendiiRut, The Filteenth 147

Black Hawk War UG

Constitution, Formation of the 121

Caiiipai',Mis Against the Indians 128

Deloal of Black Hawk 130

lOxodu.s of the Indians 131

General Assembly, The First 122

Guadaliii' -Hidalgo, Treaty of 142

Harmony < omniunity 134

Indian lilies 132

Immigration 125

Lafayette, Action at 127

Land Sales 133

Mexican War, The 136

Slavery 144

CHAPTER VI.

Indiana inthi^, Reheli.ion 148

Batteries of Ijight Infantry 182

Battle Record of States 188

Call to Arms, The 149

Colored Troops of Indiana 182

Calls ol 18G4 177

Field, In the 152

Independent Cavalry Regiment 181

Morgan's Raid 170

Miuute-Men 170

One Hundred Days' Men 176

Regiments, Formation of 151

Regiments, Sketch of 153

Six Months' Regiments 172

CHAPTER VII.

State Affairs After the Rebellion 189

Agriculture 209

Coal 207

Divorce Laws 193

Finances 194

Geology 205

Internal Improvements 199

Indiana Horticultural Society 212

Indiana Promological Society 213

Special Laws 190

State Rank „ 196

State Board of Agrieulture 209

State Expositions 210

Wealth and Progress 197

CHAPTER Vin.

Education and Benevolence 215

Blind Institute, The ; 232

City School System 218

Compensation of Teachers 220

Denominational and Private Institutions.... 2.30

Deaf and Dumb Institute 236

Education 265

Enumeration of Scholars 219

Family Worship 252

Free School Sysiem, The 215

Funds, Management of the 217

Female Prison and Reformatory 241

HouBOof Refuge, The ...243

Insane Hospital, The 238

Northern Indiana Normal School 229

Origin of School Funds 221

Purdue University 224

School Statistics 218

State Universilv, The 222

State Normal School 228

State Prison, South' 239

State I'rison, North' 240

Total School Funds 220

VI

CONTENTS.

PART 11.— HISTORY OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.

4 CHAFl'ER I.

Geoi-ooy — TopoLTajiIiy — Drniimge — Drift Period— Cailjoniforous A^e — Niagura Group — Local Details — Fossils — Auti- quites, Etc 277

CHAETER II.

County Organization — Legislaf ire Enact- uieut— First Board and Its Doings— Lo- catiug the Connty Feat — Sale of Lots— Changes in the Board — Rnances — County Poor — Public Buildings, Court Houses aud Jails — Avenues of Travel- Ferries and Bridges — Public Officers — , Elections— Oi'gauization of Townships- Agricultural Societies— Medical Society. 313

CHAPTER HI.

Early Settlement — Character of the Pio- neers — William Connor — First Settlers aud "VVheie They Located — Early J^uul Sales — Hunters and Their Game — Pio- neer Dress — Amusements — Earlv Mar- riages—Trade and Commerce — Politi- cal Campaigns, Etc 3C6

C&APTER ly.

Indian History — Situation Unfavorable for the Red Man — Indian Land Tides — The Delaware Nation — A Doomed Race — Pigeon Roost Massacre — Battle at Tip- ton's Island — Tieaty at St. Marys 405

CHAPTER V.

Bekchand Bar— First Courts — Adoption of Seal — p:arly Cases — Miscellaneous Items — Judges of Circuit and Common Pleas Courts— Associate Judges— Prose- cuting Attorneys — Clerks— Sheriffs — Roll of Attorneys 413

CHAPTER VI.

Military History — Early Militia— Mexi- can War Companies — Conditon Prior to the Civil War — Beginning of HostiU- ties — First Company for the War — Other Troc^s — Later Public Sentiment

—Morgan Raid — Drafts — Men Furnish- ed by tlie Counly — Bounty and R.'lief —Roll of Honor 431

CHAPTER VII. Religious History- The Methodisl Epis- copal Church — Its Classes at St. Louis, Hope, Newbern, Hai-tsville, Carter's Chapel, Bethel Chuich, St. Louis Cross- ing, Clifford, Pelersville, Burnsville, Trmity, Azalia, Walesbnro, Eli/abetli- town. New Zion, South Bethany, Mount Healthy, Mount Olive, Nineveh and Mount Pleasant — The African Jletho- dist Episcopal Church — Baptist Clnircli — Its Cla.sses at Sharon, Haw Creek, Little Sand Creek, Columbus, South Bethany — Second Baptist (Colored; C;hurch — The Catholic Church — United Brethren — Society of Friends — New Light Christians — Si')>arafe r.aiitists in Christ — St. Paul E)iist'opal Mission — German Evangelical Liithcian t'lunvh — English Evangelical Lutheran Clnnvh — Christian Union Clnn-L-h— The .Methodist Epi.scojial Church, Snuth- Jewish Svn- agogue — Christ ian Church— The Morav- ian Chm'ch of Hope 4?o

CHAPTER VIII.

Schools — Northwest Territory — Early School Legislation — Changes in the Laws — Early School Days — Qualifica- tion of Teachers — Examinations — The Pioneer Teacher — Rules and Cus- toms — Other Customs — Branches Taught— City of Columbus — Its Pub- lic Schools — Township Schools— Harts- ville University — Pi-ogress Under the New Constitution 635

CHAPTER IX. Towns — City of Columbus — ANHien and How J'ouuded — Pri\ations of the Early Settlers — Early Taverns — Pioneer Doc- tors — First Merchants — Railroads — Waterworks, Gas and Electric Light — Public Buildings — Additions— News- papers— Fraternities— Banking — Manu- factories — Hope — Elizabethtown — HartsviUe — Jonesville, Etc 573

PART III.— BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

In order to find any particular biographical sketch, refer to the township in which the per- son liyes, where they will be found in alphabeti- ci!l order. The sketches for each township be- gin as follows:

Clay Township 039

Clifty Township 649

Columbus City 601

Columbus Township 700

German Township .". 793

Haw Creek Township '.'.'..'. 804

Jackson Township 802

Nineveh Township 865

Ohio Township ['/' 871

Rock Creek Township 879

Sand Creek Township ' ' ' ] 881

AVayneTownsliip g}j5

Sutherland, Blutord 890

PORTRAITS.

Banker, A. J 579

Brown, James S 647

Cooper, Geo. W 477

Crumji, Francis J 341

Crump, John S 081

Hord, Francis T 375

Irwin Jeseph 1 409

Lambert, II. W 749

McCormack, P. H 511

Norton, Wm. F 013

Reeves, A. B 715

Reeves, M. T 783

Stansifer, Simeon 443

Swengel, W. S 545

Terrell, W. H. II 307

HISTORY OF INDIANA:

FORMER OCCUPANTS.

PREHISTOEIC KACES.

Scientists have ascribed to the Mound Builders varied origins^ and though their divergence of opinion may for a time seem incom- patible with a thorough investigation of the subject, and tend to a confusion of ideas, no doubt whatever can exist as to the compar- ative accuracy of conclusions arrived at by some of them. Like the vexed question of the Pillar Towers of Ireland, it has caused much speculation, and elicited the opinions of so many learned antiquarians, ethnologists and travelers, that it will not be found beyond the range of possibility to make deductions that may suffice to solve the problem who were the prehistoric settlers of America. To achieve this it will not be necessary to go beyond the period over which Scripture history extends, or to indulge in those airy flights of imagination so eadly identified with occasional writers of even the Christian school, and all the accepted literary exponents of modern paganism.

That this continent is co-existent with the world of the ancients cannot be questioned. Every investigation, instituted under the auspices of modern civilization, confirms the fact and leaves no channel open through which the skeptic can escape the thorough refutation of his opinions. China, with its numerous living testi- monials of antiquity, with its ancient, though limited literature and its Babelish superstitions, claims a continuous history from antediluvian times; but although its continuity may be denied with every just reason, there is nothing to prevent the transmission of a hieroglyphic record of its history prior to 1656 anno mimdi, since many traces of its early settlement survived the Deluge, and became sacred objects of the first historical epoch. This very sur- vival of a record, such as that of which the Chinese boast, is not at variance with the designs of a God who made and ruled the universe; but that an antediluvian people inhabited this continent,

•IS msTour OF Indiana.

will not l)c claimed; because it is not probable, iLougli it may 'be possible, that a settlement in a land v/hich may be considered a portion of the Asiatic continent, was effected by the immediate Ibllowcrs of the first progenitors of the human race. Therefore, on entering the study of the ancient people who raised these tumu- lus monuments over large tracts of the country, it will be just sufficient to wander back to that time when the flood-gates of lieaven were swung open to hurl destruction on a wiclced world; and in doing so the inquiry must be based on legendary, or rather upon many circumstantial evidences; for, so .far as written narra- tive extends, there is nothing to show that a movement of people too far east resulted in a "Western settlement.

THE FIRST IMMIGRATION.

The first and most probable sources in which the origin of the Builders must be sought, are those countries lying along the east- ern coast of Asia, which d.. btless at that time stretched far beyond its present limits, and pre nted a continuous shore from Lojnitka to Point Cambodia, holding a population comparatively civilized, and all professing some elementary form of the Boodhism of later days. Those peoples, like the Chinese of the present, were bound to live at home, and probably observed that law until after the con- fusion of languages and the dispersion of the builders of Babel in 1757, A.M. ; but subsequently, within the following century, the old Mongolians, like the new, crossed the great ocean in the very paths taken by the present representatives of the race, arrived on the same shores, which now extend a very questionable hospitality tc them, and entered at once upon the colonization of the country south and east, while the Caucasian race engaged in a similar move- ment of exploration and colonization over what may be justly termed the western extension of Asia, and both peoples growing stalwart under the change, attained a moral and physical eminence to which they never could lay claim under the tropical sun which shed its beams upon the cradle of the human race.

That mysterious people who, like the Brahmins of to-day, wor- shiped some transitory deity, and in after years, evidently embraced the idealization of Boodhism, as preached in Mongolia early in the 35th century of the world, together with acquiring the learning of tlie Confucian and Pythagorean schools of the same period, spread all over the land, and in their numerous settlements erected these ratlis, or mounds, and sacrificial altars whereon they received their

HISTOliV OF INDIANA. 19

periodical visitinrr gods, surrendered tbcir Ltidies to natural absorp- tion or annihilation, and watched lor the rclurn of some transmi- grated ^oul, the while adoring the universe, which with all beings thej believed would be eternally existent. They possessed religious orders corresponding in external show at least with the Essencs or Theraputa3 of the pre-Christian and Christian epochs, and to the reformed Thcraputre or monks of the present. Every memento of their coming and their stay which has descended to us is an evi- dence of their civilized condition. The free copj^or foinid within the tumuli; the open veins of the Superior and Iron Mountain copper-mines, with all the modus ope?'andi of ancient mining, such as ladders, levers, chisels, and hammer-heads, discovered by the French explorers of the Northwest and the Mississippi, are conclu- sive 2:)roofs that those prehistoric people were highly civilized, and that many flourishing colonies were spread throughout the Missis- sippi vallej', while yet the mammoth, the mastodon, and a hundred other animals, now only known b}^ their gigantic fossil remains, guarded the eastern shore of the continent as it were against sup- posed invasions of the Tower Builders who went wdst fi-om Babel; while yet the beautiful isles of the Antilles formed an integral portion of this continent, long years before the European ^Northman dreamed of setting forth to the discovery of Greenland and the northern isles, and certainly at a time when all that portion of America north of latitude 45" was an ice-incumbcrcd waste.

Within the last few years great advances have been made toward the discovery of antiquities whether pertaining to remains of organic or inorganic nature. Together with many small, but telling relics of the early inhabitants of the country, the fossils of pre- historic animals have been unearthed from end to end of the land, and in districts, too, long pronounced by geologists of some repute to be without even a vestige of vertebrate fossils. Among the collected souvenirs of an age about which so very little is known, are twenty-five vertebrre averaging thirteen inches in diameter, and three vertebrtB ossified together measure nine cubical feet; a thigh-bone five feet long by tveenty-eight, by twelve inches in diameter, and the shaft fourteen by eight inches thick, the entire lot weighing 600 lbs. These fossils are presumed to belong to the cretaceous period, when the Dinosaur roamed over the country from East to West, desolating the villages of the people. This animal is said to have been 6i::ty feet long, and when feeding in cypress and palm forests, to extend himself eighty-five feet, so that he may

20 HISTORY OF INDIANA.

devour the budding tops of those great trees. Otlier efforts in this direction may lead to great results, and culminate probably in the discovery of a tablet engraven by some learned Mound Builder, describing in the ancient hieroglyphics of China all these men and beasts whose history excites so much speculation. The identity of the Mound Builders with the Mongolians might lead us to hope for such a consummation; nor is it beyond the range of probability, particularly in this practical age, to find the future labors of some industrious antiquarian requited by the upheaval of a tablet, written in the Tartar characters of 1700 years ago, bearing on a subject which can now be treated only on a purely circumstantial basis.

THE SECOND IMMIGRATION

may have begun a few centuries prior to the Christian era, and unlike the former expedition or expeditions, to have traversed north- eastern Asia to its Arctic confines, and then east to the narrow channel now known as Behring's Straits, which they crossed, and sailing up tlie unchanging Yukon, settled under the shadow of Mount St. Elias for many years, and pushing South commingled with their countrymen, soon acquiring the characteristics of the descendants of the first colonists. Chinese chronicles tell of such a people, who went North and were never heard of more. Circum- stances conspire to render that particular colony the carriers of a new religious faith and of an alphabetic system of a representative character to the old colonists, and they, doubtless, exercised a most beneficial influence in other respects ; because the influx of immi- grants of such culture as were the Chinese, even of that remote period, must necessarily bear very favorable results, not only in brino'ing in reports of their travels, but also accounts from the fatherland bearing on the latest events.

AVith the idea of a second and important exodus there are many theorists united, one of whom says: "It is now the generally received opinion that the first inhabitants of America passed over from Asia through these straits. Tlie number of small islands lying between both continents renders this opinion still more probable; and it is yet farther confirmed by some remarkable traces of similarity in the physical conformation of the northern natives of both continents. The Esquimaux of North America, the Samoieds of Asia, and the Laplanders of Europe, arc supposed to be of the same family; and this supposition is strengthened by the affinity which exists in their languages. The researches of Hum-

HISTORY OF INDIANA. 21

boldt have traced the Mexicans to the vicinity of Bchrincr's Straits; whence it is conjectured that thej^ as well as the Peruvians and other tribes, came originally from Asia, and were the Ilionrrnoos, who are, iu the Chinese annals, said to liave emigrated under Puno, and to have been lost in the North of Siberia."

Since this theory is accepted by most antiquaries, there is every reason to believe that from the discovery of what may be called an overland route to what was then considered an eastern extension of that country which is now known as the " Celestial Empire," many caravans of emigrants passed to their new homes in the land of illimitable possibilities until the way became a well-marked trail over which the Asiatic might travel forward, and having once entered the Elj'sian fields never entertained an idea of returning. Thus from generation to generation the tide of immigration poured in until the slopes of the Pacific and the banks of the great inland rivers became hives of busy industry. Magnificent cities and monuments were raised at the bidding of the tribal leaders and populous settlements centered with happy villages sprung up everywhere in manifestation of the power and wealth and knowl- edge of the people. The colonizing Caucasian of the historic period walked over this great country on the very ruins of a civil- ization which a thousand years before eclipsed all that of which be could boast. He walked through the wilderness of the West over buried treasures hidden under the accumulated growth of nature, nor rested until he saw, with great surprise, the remains of ancient pyramids and temples and cities, larger and evidently more beauti- ful than ancient Egypt could bring forth after its long years of uninterrupted history. The pyramids resemble those of Egypt in exterior form, and in some instances are of larger dimensions. The pyramid of Cholula is square, having each side of its base 1,335 feet in length, and its height about 172 feet. Another pyramid? situated in the north of Vera Cruz, is formed of large blocks of highly-polished porphyry, and bears upon its front hiero- glyphic inscriptions and curious sculpture. Each side of its square base is 82 feet in length, and a flight of 57 steps conducts to its summit, which is 65 feet in height. The ruins of Palenque are said to extend 20 miles along the ridge of a mountain, and the remains of an Aztec city, near the banks of the river Gila, are spread over more than a square league. Their literature consisted of hieroglyphics; but their arithmetical knowledge did not extend farther than their calculations by the aid of grains of corn. Yet,

22 HISTORY OF INDIANA.

notwitlistanding all their varied nccoiuplisluncnts, and they were evidently many, their notions of religious dut}' led to a most demo- niac zeal at once barbarously sava:;-e and ferociously cruel. Each visiting, god instead of bringing new life to the people, brought death to thousands; and their grotesque idols, exposed to drown. the senses of the beholders in fear, wrought wretchedness rather than spiritual happiness, until, as some learned and humane Monte- zumian said, the people never approached these idols without fear, and this fear was the great animating principle, the great religious motive power which sustained the terrible religion. Their altars were sprinkled with blood drawn from their own bodies in large quantities, and on them thousands of human victims were sacri- ficed in honor of the demons whom they worshiped. The head and heart of every captive taken in war were offered up as a bloody sacrifice to the god of battles, while the victorious legions feasted on the remaining portions of the dead bodies. It has been ascer- tained that during the ceremonies attendant on the consecration of two of their temples, the number of prisoners offered up in sacri- fice was 12,210; while their own legions contributed voluntary victims to the terrible belief in large numbers. Nor did this horrible custom cease immediately after 1521, when Cortez entered the imperial city of the Montezumas; for, on being driven from it, all his troops who fell into the hands of the native soldiers were subjected to the most terrible and prolonged suffering that could be experienced in this world, and wheu about to yield up that spirit which is indestructible, were offered in sacrifice, their hearts and heads consecrated, and the victors allowed to feast on the yet warm flesh.

A reference is made here to the period when the Montezumas ruled over Mexico, simply to gain a better idea of the hideous idolatry which took the place of the old Boodhism of the Mound Builders, and doubtless helped in a great measure to give victory to the new comers, even as the tenets of Mahometanism urged the ignorant followers of the prophet to the conquest of great nations. It was not the faith of the people who built the mounds and the pyramids and the temples, and who, 200 years before the Christian era, built the great wall of jealous China. No: rather was it that terrible faith born of the Tartar victory, which carried the great defenses of China at the point of the javelin and hatchet, who afterward marched to the very walls of Rome, under Alaric, and

niSTOUY OF INDIANA. 23

spread over the islands of Polynesia to the Pacific slopes of South America.

THE TAllTARS

«

came there, and, like the pure Mongols of Mexico and the Missis- sippi valley, rose to a state of civilization bordering on that attained by them. Here for centuries the sons of the fierce Tartar race con- tinued to dwell in com])arative peace until the all-ruling ambition of empire took in the whole country from the Pacific to tiie Atlan- tic, and peopled the vast territory watered by the Amazon with a race that was destined to conquer all the peoples of the Orient, and only to fall before the march of the arch-civilizing Caucasian. In course of time those fierce Tartars pushed their settlements northward, and ultimately entered the territories of the Mound Builders, putting to death all who fell within their reach, and causing the survivors of the death-dealing invasion to seek a refuge from the hordes of this semi-barbarous people in the wilds and fast- nesses of the North and Northwest. The beautiful country of the Mound Builders was now in the hands of savage invaders, the quiet, industrious people who raised the temples and pyramids were gone; and the wealth of intelligence and industry, accumulating forages, passed into the possession of a rapacious horde, who could admire it only so far as it offered objects for plunder. Even in this the invaders were satisfied, and then having arrived at the height of their ambition, rested on their swords and entered upon the luxury and ease in the enjoyment of which they were found when the van- guard of European civilization appeared upon the scene. Mean- time the southern countries which those adventurers abandoned after having completed their conquests in the North, were soon peopled by hundreds of people, always moving from island to island and ultimately halting amid the ruins of villages deserted by those who, as legends tell, had passed eastward but never returned; and it would scarcely be a matter for surprise if those emigrants were found to be the progenitors of that race found by the Spaniards in 1532, and identical with the Araucanians, Cuenches and HuiL tiches of to-day.

RELICS OF THE MOUND BUILDERS.

One of the most brilliant and impartial historians of the Republic stated that the valley of the Mississippi contained no monuments. So far as the word is entertained now, he was literally correct, but

2i IlISTOKY OF INDIANA.

in some hasty effort neglected to qualify his sentence by a refer- ence to the numerous relics of antiquity to be found throughout its length and breadth, and so exposed his chapters to criticism. The valley of the Father of "Waters, and indeed tlie country from the trap roclcs of the Great Lakes southeast to the Gulf and south- west to Mexico, abound in tell-tale monuments of a race of people much farther advanced in civilization than the Montezumas of the sixteenth century. The remains of walls and fortifications found in Kentucky and Indiana, the earthworks of Yincennes and throughout the valley of the Wabash, the mounds scattered over Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Virginia, and those found in Illi- nois, "Wisconsin and Minnesota, are all evidences of the univer- sality of the Chinese Mongols and of their advance toward a com- parative knowledge of man and cosmology. At the mouth of Fourteen-Mile creek, in Clark county, Indiana, there stands one of these old monuments known as the '' Stone Fort." It is an unmistakable heirloom of a great and ancient people, and must have formed one of their most important posts. The State Geolo- gist's report, filed among the records of the State and furnished by Prof. Cox, says: "At the mouth of Fourteen-Mile creek, and about three miles from Charleston, the county-seat of Clark county, there is one of the most remarkable stone fortifications which has ever come xinder my notice. Accompanied by my assistant, Mr. Borden, and a number of citizens of Charleston, I visited the 'Stone Fort' for the purpose of making an examination of it. The locality selected for this fort presents many natural advantages for making it impregnable to the opposing forces of prehistoric times. It occupies the point of an elevated narrow ridge which faces the Ohio river on the east and is bordered by Fourteen-Mile creek on the west side. This creek empties into the Ohio a short distance • below the fort. The top of the ridge is pear-shaped, with the part answering to the neck at the north end. This part is not over twenty feet wide, and is protected by precipitous natural walls of stone. It is 280 feet above the level of the Ohio river, and the slope is very gradual to the south. At the upper field it is 240 feet high and one hundred steps wide. At the lower timber it is 120 feet high. The bottom land at the foot of the south end is sixty feet above the river. Along the greater part of the Ohio river front there is an abrupt escarpment rock, entirely too steep to be scaled, and a similar natural barrier exists along a portion of the northwest side of the ridije, faciuii: the creek. This natural wall

HISTORY OF INDIANA. 27

is joined to the neck of an artificial wall, made by piling up, mason fashion but without mortar, loose stone, which had evidently been pried up from the car])oniferous layers of rock. This made wall, at this point, is about 150 feet long. It is built along the slope of the hill and had an elevation of about 75 feet above its base, the ujiper ten feet being vertical, ■ The inside of the wall is protected by a ditch. The remainder of the hill is protected by an artificial stone wall, built in the same manner, but not more than ten feet high. The elevation of the side wall above the creek bottom is 80 feet. "Within the artificial walls is a string of mounds which rise to the height of the wall, and are protected from the washing of the hill- sides by a ditch 20 feet wide and four feet deep. The position of the artificial walls, natural cliffs of bedded stone, as well as that of the ditch and mounds, are well illustrated. The top of the enclosed ridge embraces ten or twelve acres, and there are as many as five mounds that can be recognized on the flat surface, while no doubt many others existed which have been obliterated by time, and though the agency of man in his efforts to cultivate a portion of the ground, A trench was cut into one of these mounds in search of relics, A few fragments of charcoal and decomposed bones, and a large irregular, diamond-shaped boulder, with a small circular indentation near the middle of the upper part, that was worn quite smooth by the use to which it had been put, and the small pieces of fossil coral, comprised all the articles of note which were revealed by the excavation. The earth of which the mound is made resem- bles that seen on the hillsidcj and was probably in most part taken from the ditch. The margin next to the ditch was protected by slabs of stone set on edge, and leaning at an angle corresponding to the slope of the mound. This stone shield was two and one-half feet wide and one foot high. At intervals along the great ditch there are channels formed between the mounds that probably served to carry off the surplus water through openings in the outer wall. On the top of the enclosed ridge, and near its narrowest part, there is one mound much larger than any of the otliers, and so situated as to command an extensive view up and down the Ohio river, as well as affording an unobstructed view east and west. This is designated as ' Look-out Mound,' There is near it a slight break in the cliff of rock, which furnished a narrow passage way to the Ohio river. Though the locality afforded many natural advantages for a fort oi* stronghold, one is compelled to admit that much skill was displayed and labor expended in making its defense as perfect as possible at

O O

28 UISTOUY OF INDIANA.

all points. Stono axes, pestles, arrow-heads, spcar-points, totums, charms and flint flakes have been found in great abundance in plowing the field at tjie foot of the old fort."

From the " Stone Fort " tlie Professor turns his steps to Posey county, at a point on the Wabash, ten miles above the mouth, called "Bone Bank," on account of the number of human bones continually washed out from the river bank. *' It is," ho states *' situated in a bend on the left bank of the river; and the ground is about ten feet above high-water mark, being the only land along this portion of the river that is not submerged in seasons of high water. The bank slopes gradually back from the river to a slough. This slough now seldom contains water, but no doubt at one time it was an arm of the Wabash river, which flowed around the Bone Bank and afforded protection to the island home of the Mound Builders. The Wabash has been changing its bed for many years, leaving a broad extent of newly made land on the right shore, and gradually making inroads on the left shore by cutting away the Bone Bank. The stages of growth of land on the right bank of the river are well defined by the cottonwood trees, which increase in size as you go back from the river. Unless there is a change in the cur- rent of the river, all trace of the Bone Bank will be obliterated. Already within the memory of the white inhabitants, the bank has been removed to the width of several hundred yards. As the bank is cut by the current of the river it loses its support, and when the water sinks it tumbles over, carrying with it the bones of the Mound Builders and the cherished articles buried with them. No locality in the country furnishes a greater number and variety of relics than this. It has proved especially rich in pottery of quaint design and skillful workmanship. I have a number of jugs and pots and a cup found at the Bone Bank. This kind of -work has been very abundant, and is still found in such quantities that we are led to conclude that its manufacture formed a leading indus- try of the inhabitants of the Bone Bank. It is not in Europe alone that we find a well-founded claim of high antiquity for the art of making hard and durable stone by a mixture of clay, lime, sand and stone; for I am convinced that this art was possessed by a race of people who inhabited this continent at a period so remote that neither tradition nor history can furnish any account of them. They belonged to the Neolithic, or polished-stone, age. They lived in towns and built mounds for sepulture and worship and pro- tected their homes by surrounding them with walls of earth and

niSTOKY OF INDIANA.

2D

stone. In same of these mounds specimens of various kinds of pottery, in a perfect state of ])reservation, liavc from time to time been foitnd, and fragments are so cojumon that every student of archa3ologj can liave a bountiful supply. Some of these fragments indicate vessels of very great size. At the Saline springs of Gal- latin I picked up fragments that indicated, by their curvature, ves- sels five to six feet in diameter, and it is probable they are frag- ments of artificial stone pans used to hold brine that was manufac- tured into salt by solar evaporation.

" Now, all the pottery belonging to the Mound Builders' age, which I have seen, is composed of alluvial clay and sand, or a mix- ture of the former with pulverized fresh-water shells. A paste made of such a mixture possesses, in high degree, the properties of hydraulic Puzzuoland and Portland cement, so that vessels formed of it hardened without being burned, as is customary with modern pottery."

The Professor deals very aptly with this industry of the aborig- ines, and concludes a very able disquisition on the Bone Bank in its relation to the prehistoric builders.

niKROGLYPniCS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

The "-reat circular redoubt or earth-work found two miles west of the village of New Washington, and the " Stone Fort," on a ridge one mile west of the village of Deputy, ofier a subject for the anti- quarian as deeply interesting as any of * the monuments of a decayed empire so far discovered.

30 HISTORY OF IKDIANA.

From end to end of Indiana there are to be found many other rel- ics of the obscure past. Sotne of them have been unearthed and now appear among the collected antiquities at Indianapolis. The highly finished sandstone pipe, the copper ax, sto)ie axes, flint arrow-heads and magnetic plummets found a few years ago beneath the soil of Cut-Oil' Island near New Harmony, together with the pipes of rare workmanship and undoubted age, xmearthed near Covington, all live as it were in testimony of their owner's and maker's excel- lence, and hold a share in the evidence of the partial annihilation of a race, with the complete disruption of its manners, customs and industries; and it is possible that when numbers of these relics are placed together, a key to the phonetic or rather hieroglyphic system of that remote period might be evolved.

It may be asked what these hieroglyphical characters really are^ "Well, they are varied in form, so much so that the pipes found in the mounds of Indians, each bearing a distinct representation of some animal, may be taken for one species, used to represent the abstract ideas of the Mound Builders. The second form consists of pure hieroglyphics or phonetic characters, in which the sound is represented instead of the object; and the third, or painted form of the first, conveys to the mind that which is desired to be repre- sented. This form exists among the Cree Indians .of the far North- west, at present. They, when departing from their permanent vil- lages for the distant hunting grounds, paint on the barked trees in the neighborhood the figure of a snake or eagle, or perhaps huskey doir; and this animal is supposed to guard the position until the warrior's return, or welcome any friendly tribes that may arrive there in the interim. In the case of the Mound Builders, it is un- likely that this latter extreme v/as resorted to, for the simple reason that the relics of their occupation are too high in the ways of art to tolerate such a barbarous science of language; but the sculptured pipes: and javelins and spear-heads of the Mound Builders may be taken as a collection of graven images, each conveying a set of ideas easily understood, and perhaps sometimes or more generally used to designate the vocation, name or character of the owner. That the builders possessed au alphabet of a phonetic form, and purely hieroglyphic, can scarcely be questioned; but until one or more of the unearthed tablets, which bore all or even a portion of such characters, are raised from their centuried graves, the mystery which surrounds this people must remain, while we must dv/ell in a world of mere speculation. ,

UISTOET OF INDIANA. 31

Yigo, Jasper, Sullivan, Switzerland and Ohio counties can boast of a most liberal endowment in this relation; and when in other days the people will direct a minute inquiry, and penetrate to the very heart of the thousand cones which are scattered throughout the laud, they may possibly extract the blood in the shape of metal- lic and porcelain works, with liicroglyphic tablets, while leaving tlie form of heart and body complete to entertain and delight un- born generations, who in their time will wonder much when they learn that an American ])eoplc, living toward the close of the 59th century, could possiblj' indulge in such an anachronism as is im- plied in the term "Kew World."

THE INDIANS.

The origin of the Red Men, or American Indians, is a subject which interests as well as instructs. It is a favorite with the eth- nologist, even as it is one of deep concern to the ordinary reader. A review of two works lately published on the origin of the Indians treats the matter in a peculiarly reasonable light. It says :

" Kecently a German writer has put forward one theorj' on the subject, and an English writei' has put forward another and directly opposite theory. The difference of opinion