HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY - 75 them, for beneath those rough exteriors beat hearts as noble as ever throbbed in the human breast. These veterans have been compelled to live for weeks upon hominy and, if bread at all, it was bread made from corn ground in hand-mills, or pounded up with mortars. Their children have been destitute of shoes during the winter ; their families had no clothing except what was carded, spun, wove and made into garments with their own hands ; schools they had none ; churches they had none ; afflicted with sickness incident to all new countries, sometimes the entire family at once ; luxuries of life they had none ; the auxiliaries, improvements, inventions and labor-saving machinery of to-day they had not ; and what they possessed they obtained by the hardest of labor and individual exertions, yet they bore these hardships and privations without murmuring, hoping for better times to come, and often, too, with but little prospect of realization. As before mentioned, the changes written on every hand are most wonderful. It has been but fourscore years since the white man began to exercise dominion over this region, erst the hone of the red man, yet the visitor of to-day, ignorant of the past of the country, could scarcely be made to realize that within these years there has grown up a population of over 3,000,000 people, who in all the accomplishments of life are as far advanced as are the inhabitants of the older States. Schools, churches, colleges, palatial dwellings, beautiful grounds, large, well-cultivated and productive farms, as well as cities, towns, and busy manufactories, have grown up, and occupy the hunting grounds and camping places of the Indians, and in every direction there are evidences of wealth, comfort and luxury. There is but little left of the old landmarks. Advanced civilization and the progressive demands of revolving years have obliterated all traces of Indian occupancy, until they are only remembered in name. In closing this section it would be well to impress on the minds of the reader the fact that a debt of gratitude is due to those who pioneered this State, which can be but partially repaid. Never grow unmindful of the peril and adventure, fortitude, self-sacrifice and heroic devotion so prominently displayed in their lives. As time sweeps on in its ceaseless flight, may the cherished memory of them lose none of its greenness, but may future generations alike cherish and perpetuate them with just devotion and gratitude. 76 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. WOMEN PIONEERS. Thus far the pioneer has been referred to as of the sterner sex, but were they the only pioneers in these once uncivilized regions I Was man the only one who suffered privation and want, who worked that a generation, then verging on manhood, might find the way " blazed " to the light "of a, higher civilization, and that a generation yet unborn might find the fruits of struggle in well-tilled fields, a full granary, and a home blessed with all the art and progress that a new era gave them I Was it in the culture and refinement of the people of a later day, who had received not only wealth descended from their forefathers, but those benefits which science had discovered hidden in the deep and dark mysteries of nature, and were they to thank men alone for the blessings around them? No! but high on the scroll of fame should the pioneer women of our land have their names emblazoned that generations yet to come, and for all time, may honor and bless the memory of the heroic women who gave themselves to the duties of a pioneer's life, and who proudly and uncomplainingly did the work which came before them, as only women could do it, smoothing their rugged lives with the light of an undying love, and proving in every way the equal of man in carrying forward the work of making a wilderness take upon itself the garb of civilization, and barren plains the wealth of fruitful fields and abundant harvests. Thus have the pioneer women worked and struggled, and the rude cabin to them was a home of love and happiness. Rude and primitive as that cabin might be, with a floor of mother earth, simple and unadorned, there was found within its walls many a heroine of early days. Not in the palaces of the rich of what is called this enlightened era, was more true life-like happiness found than in those lowly cabins. There was no waiting in those days for a home of splendor before man found his mate, but the heroes and heroines of those days joined hands and hearts, and helped each other down the rugged pathway of life. He went into the field to work, that he might supply the food necessary for life, while she worked on in her own sphere, furnishing her husband's cabin with the smiles of a loving heart, greeting her partner with the evident work of willing hands, keeping her true and womanly talents in full play, not only in preparing the food for the family meal, but in spinning and weaving, cutting and making, not only her own clothing, but the garments of those who were of her HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 77 household and under her loving care. Much has been written of the "old pioneer " and his struggle in the early years of his life, heavy trials, misfortunes, and, ultimately, his success, but little has been recorded of his noble companion, the light of his cabin, who cheered him in his misfortunes, nursed him in sickness, and in health gave her whole strength to labor for their future welfare and happiness. There was little luxury or ease for the pioneer's wife of those early days, but whatever her destiny might be, it was met with a firm faith and a willingness to do her whole duty, living in the love of her husband and children and trusting in Providence to receive her final reward for the unceasing labor of years, well and nobly performed. Yes, there was something decidedly primitive in the building and furniture of those cabins of old. They were built one and a half stories high, in many cases, that they might have a " loft" to store away things, and sometimes to Bleep in. The windows were covered by a light quilt to keep the wind and rain out; the puncheon floor was laid, the stick and mud chimney set up, a table and a chair or two, or stools made of split logs, with auger holes bored to put in the legs ; some shelves made of the same material, holes bored and pins put in to hang up their clothes and other things, and that pioneer heroine was ready to meet her friends and neighbors and the world at large in a roomy and comfortable house. A house-keeping outfit of that style in these days, would send a young woman into hysterics, make her declare that " she would go right home to her pa," and probably for herself and that young man it would be the best place for her. A calico or gingham dress was good enough to visit in or go to church, but oftener a home-spun dress did duty on the same occasions; then the calico or gingham would last a year or two, and it only took eight yards for a dress. Hoop-skirts had not yet put in an appearance, and pin-backs were of another day and generation. So with a multiplicity of duties the young wife kept on her way. By and by, when a family had grown up around them, cares began to increase ; the wife and mother was often compelled to sit up night after night that the husband's and the children's clothes might be mended, their stockings darned, and the preparations for the coming morning's work made ready. Then it was discovered that woman's work was never done. The household was asleep. The tired husband and father was resting his weary limbs in dreamland, the children were tossing here and there on their beds as restless children always do. Nature itself had 78 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY gone to rest, and the outer world, was wrapped in darkness and gloom, but the nearly exhausted mother sewed on and on, and the midnight candle was still shedding its pale light over the work or the vigils of the loved and loving mother. And this is the record of the thousands of noble women, the female pioneers, whose daily presence, loving hearts, earnest work, and keen judgment made the work of civilization and progress one of success. And the question has often been asked, " What would the men of olden times have done if the women of olden times had not been with them?" And the reply comes back, " Ali! yes, what would they have done?" These were the kind of women who made civilization a success, and brightened the pathway of material progress with the, promise of a glorious future. There are a few yet living of that glorious pioneer band of women who gave their lives to the hard fate of a pioneer's wife. They bore their share of the trials, troubles, and labor of the times. They are deserving, the love and veneration of all, and may their pathway to the unknown river be brightened by kind words and loving hearts. Let them glide softly and pleasantly down the river of time, and let no regrets come from them of neglect or coldness. Their young days were days of hardship; let the evening of their life be bereft of care, peaceful and joyous. Of those who are now sleeping the sleep that knows no waking, they did their duty nobly and well, and while their allotted time on earth has passed they have gone to a better world, a reward to all those whose life's pilgrimage has been worthily performed. And thus the pioneer women pass away. May they be ever blessed while living. One and all, living or dead, deserve a high and honored place in our country's history, and the compiler of the History of the Hocking Valley gives this short tribute to their memory. Not that it is much, but that the lives of those who have done so much to bring this once wild valley to a land of civilization and Christianity, has the veneration of the writer, and of those he has met. And of those who have gone before will he hold a cherished memory until he, too, joins the throng on the golden shore, where time ceases and eternity begins the endless round. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY -79 OLD SETTLERS' POEM. It is almost a hundred years Since you and I, old pioneers, With aspirations free, A home within this region sought; But who of us then dreamed or thought To see the many changes wrought That we have lived to see ? From different countries there we came; Our object and our aim the same— A home in this far West. A cabin here and there was found, Perhaps a little spot of ground Inclosed and cleared, while all around In nature's garb was dressed. Here then we saw the groves of green Where woodman's ax had never been— And pleasant valleys, too. Within these groves so dense and dark Was heard the squirrel's saucy bark ; The bounding stag was but the mark To prove the rifle true. But all is changed, and cabin's gone, The clapboard roof with weight-poles on, The rough hewn puncheon floor ; The chimney made of stick and clay Are seen no more— gone to decay ; The men who built them— where are they I need not ask you more. They're gone, but they're remembered yet, Those cabin homes we can't forget, Although we're growing old ; Fond memory still the spot reveres, The cabin homes of youthful years When with compatriot pioneers We pleasures had untold. The dense and tangled woodland, too, The groves we often wandered through, No longer now are there; The valley with it's sward of green With flowerets wild no more are seen, But farms with dusty lanes between Are seen where once they were. 80 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. Large towns and villages arise, And steeples point toward the skies Where all was desert then ; And nature's scenes have given place To those of art; the hunter's chase Has yielded to the exciting race Of speculative men. Ah! what a change the pioneer In eighty years has witnessed here ; The country changing still ; How many changes it's passed through, And we, old friends, are changing too, There's been a change in me and you, And still that change goes on. And when we think upon the past, Those friends whose lots with us were cast On this once wild frontier, And pass them all in our review, As oftentimes in thought we do, Alas! how very few Are there remaining here. A few more years will come and go As other years have done, you know ; And then— ah! yes, what then? The world will still be moving on ; But we whose cheeks are growing wan Will not be here! We'll all he gone From out the ranks of men. Our places will be vacant here, And of the last old pioneer The land will be bereft; The places which we here have filled, The fields which we have cleared and tilled, Our barns, though empty or though filled, To others will be left. Let us go back,-- in memory go,— Back to the scenes of long ago, When we were blithe and young; When hope and expectations bright Were buoyant, and our hearts were light ; And fancy, that delusive sprite, Her siren sonnets sung. 'Tis natural that we should think, While standing on the river brink, How wide the stream had grown. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 81 We saw it when 'twas but a rill, Just bursting from the sunny hill, And now its surging waters fill A channel broad, unknown. 'Tis natural and proper, too, That compare thethe old and new— The present and the past— And speak of those old fogy ways In which we passed our younger days; Then of the many new displays That crowd upon us fast. We little knew of railroads then, Nor dreamed of that near period when We'd drive the iron horse; And 'twould have made the greatest laugh Had we been told only one-half The wonders of the telegraph— Then in the brain of Morse. We did not have machinery then To sow and reap and thresh the grain, But all was done by hand; And those old-fashioned implements Have long been banished hence, Or, rusting, lie inside the fence— No longer in demand. Yes, there are grown-up men, I know, Who never saw a bull-tongue plow, A flail, or reaping hook ; And who could not describe, you know, A swingling board or knife, although Their grandmas used them long ago And lessons on them took. The young man now would be amused To see some things his grandsire used, Some things he ne'er had seen ; The way in which we cleaned our wheat, When two strong men with blanket sheet Would winnow out the chaff and cheat, And twice or thrice the thing repeat, Until the grain was clean. The single-shovel plow and hoe To clean out weeds was all the show— We knew no better ways ; And now our sons would laugh to scorn Such poky ways of making corn, And bless their stars that they were born In more enlightened days. - 6 - 82 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. They say the world has wiser grown, They've got the speaking telephone— Talk hundred miles or more. And preachers now may preach and pray To congregations miles away ; And thousand other things they say We never had before. And yet .I do not know but what The pioneer enjoyed his lot And lived as much at ease As men in these enlightened days—, With all the strange new-fangled ways The world of fashion now displays The mind of man to please. 'Tis true we did not live so fast, But socially our time was passed, Although our homes were mean; Our neighbors then were neighbors true, And every man his neighbor knew, Although those neighbors might be few And sometimes far between. Ah! yes! old pioneers, I trow The world was brighter then than now To us gray-headed ones; Hope pointed us beyond the vale, And whispered us a fairy tale, Of coming pleasures- ne'er to fail Through all the shining suns. Ambition, too, with smile so soft, Was pointing us to seats aloft, Where fame and honor last. We had not learned what now we know— The higher up the mount we go The storms of life still fiercer blow, And colder is the blast. That though we reach the mountain's top, Fruition find of every hope, Or wear the victor's crown; Though far above the clouds we tread, Other clouds there are still o'erhead, And on the mind there is the dread, The dread of coming down. Ah ! yes! old settlers, one and all, What ever may us yet befall, We will not, can't forget 83 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. The simple, old-fashioned place, The ruts in which our fathers ran Before the age of steam began To run the world in debt. But ere, my friends, we hence embark, We fain would place some lasting mark Upon this mountain shore; A mark the traveler may see In coming years, and know that we Have lived and passed the road that he May then be passing o'er. When death's dark curtain shall be drawn, And we old pioneers are gone, Let truthful history tell To far posterity the tale As down the stream of life they sail, How we with motto " Never Fail " Came here. and what befell. Let history then impartial state The incidents of every date ; And that it so may do, Let pioneers of every age In this important work engage, And each of them produce his page— His page of history true. The incidents of early years, Known only to the pioneers, With them will soon be lost, Unless, before they hither go, Those incidents are stated so Posterity the facts may know, When they the stream have crossed. And while we talk upon- the past, Of friends who are dropping off so fast, And those already gone, It may not be, my friends, amiss For each of us to think of this ; The curtain of forgetfulness Will soon be o'er us drawn. The mind goes back through all the years; We call to mind the pioneers, Those bold and hardy men ;. We pass them in the mind's review, The many dead, the living few, Those unpretending settlers who Were our compatriots then. 84 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. But time would fail to speak of all Those changes that our minds recall ; The world is shifting more, And soon its shifting scenes will bear The last old pioneer to where His lost and loved companions are— The bright and golden shore. The poem closes, more particularly, the career of the old settlers and their work. And it closes in verse a better description of the old pioneer and his work than many pages of prose could have done. Not all has been given which the compiler of this history would have liked to record, and many omissions may be found that should have had a place in the foregoing pages, but what is here given is a record of facts, and will be found to be very full of the passing events of the early settlement of the country. The memory of the old pioneer was not always to be depended upon; dates were seldom remembered, and it was a work of days sometimes to verify a statement and secure the proper date. CHAPTER IV. SCIENTIFIC VIEW OF HOCKING VALLEY. PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS-ITS TOPOGRAPHY-ITS DRAINAGE OR RIVER SYSTEM- ITS GEOLOGY-ITS STRATIGRAPHICAL FORMATION -ITS ARCHEOLOGY-ITS FAUNA-ITS FLORA-ITS METEOROLOGY -SUMMARY-CONCLUSION. PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS. Within an irregular curve, formed by the western water-shed of the Muskingum Valley, and the eastern crest of the Scioto Valley, somewhat parabolic in its contour, lies the Hocking Valley; moderate in its past history, fair in its present, but in its future developments quite unlimited and exceedingly rich. It is the sixth, in size, of the seven river sections of Ohio. It contains parts of nine counties, and has an area of about 4,000 square miles. Though somewhat limited in its area, yet, in its mineral resources, it is without a peer in Ohio, if in any other part of the world. So many stratigraphical shelves crowded with a variety, profusion and richness of mineral commodities can seldom be found. Nature has seen fit, for some wise and inscrutable purpose, to locate in the Hocking Valley one of her great laboratories, her chemical work-room, where she has abundant materials for future "exposition" of her cabinet of mineralogical wealth. Such a valley demands a scientific record. The river section, termed " Hocking Valley," contains portions of the following counties : Fairfield, Perry, Hocking, Morgan, Athens, Vinton, Meigs, Gallia and Lawrence. The entire counties are geographically arranged under the Hocking Valley sectional head, except Morgan County, which lies principally in the Muskingum Valley. We have named it among the Hocking Valley Counties for the reason that Sunday Creek, one of the tributaries of Hocking River, drains its western part. The following scientific sketch relates, principally, to that part of the Hocking Valley district which lies along the Hocking River and its tributaries. In our conclusion, however, we shall take in the entire iron and coal fields. - (85) - 86 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY . These counties, except Fairfield, lie within the coal measures, and form the southwestern part of the iron ore belt. The surface is quite. hilly. The soil is principally native, being formed of the disintegration and wash of its rock structure, or of the decay of vegetable matter. Its limestone ridges make a durable and very fertile soil. The Hocking bottoms contain a very large amount of gravel belonging to the' drift period. This will be noticed under its appropriate head. ITS TOPOGRAPHY. The topography of Hocking Valley presents a great variety of interesting features. Let us walk about and through its county divisions and gather materials to enable us to construct out of them what would be called in military language an " eye map " —one as perfect as the eye, without instruments, will allow. The rim of this curvilinear basin has many attractive landscapes. Follow the western divide of the Muskingum Valley, beginning its southern extremity and traveling northward. Such is the ever changing surface configuration that the eye never tires of seeing. Nature varies your prospect with every change of horizon. The curve which you are following (the curve of the water-shed) changes its course in every yard of advance. Like the hand of a chronometer, or the rise and fall of the mercury in the barometer, the line of your direction is constantly moving to the right or left, toward the heavens, or gradually or abruptly descending. At one time you are climbing a high conical peak from which your view is quite extended and enchanting. Again you descend into a low gap in the divide, where your out-look is circumscribed by surrounding ridges and protracted spurs, shooting forth from the chief divide. At one time you are passing toward the east, heading a long tributary of the Hocking, while, in a few hours, you are driven equally far to the west by a protracted branch of the Muskingum. In this manner you travel, up and down, to the right and left, till, on the evening of the third day, having traveled not less than 130 miles, passing around the heads of the eastern confluents of Hocking, and noted all their hills, spurs, gulches, ravines and tributary valleys describing its northern curve, you arrive at the extreme head fountain of the river some miles to the north of Lancaster. Your western survey of the Hocking Valley will consume about the same time. During this survey you have an eye view of the western ridges, spurs, slopes, gulches, ravines and valleys, as were HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY - 87 seen on the eastern water-shed. The land surfaces in the Hocking Valley present a continued succession of bottom lands, more or less extended, some a mile wide, others presenting but a few rods of level ground ; above these low creek and river bottom lands are a few plains, such as Wolf's Plains, between Salina and Athens, and Tupper's Plains, which are located toward the southeastern part of Athens County. The higher lands consist of side-hill slopes or plains, forming with the horizon every possible angle of inclination, having a face for every point in the heavens. Other portions of the surface form coves under which were the early creek and river channels, now covered by ancient land slides to the depth of twenty to fifty feet. The crests of the spurs and principal ridges are usually very narrow. Sometimes, however, they are broad, rich, and well adapted to grain and fruit culture. By cross-sectioning the Hocking Valley through Fairfield and Perry, Hocking and Morgan, and, finally, through Athens counties, the above description of the surfaces of the Hocking Valley will be applicable to all the counties, Fairfield excepted. The surface of the northern two thirds of Fairfield County are quite level and very fertile. The reasons for this exception will appear when we examine its geological features. In the Hocking Valley, consisting of the river trough, its tributary valleys, its ravines, gulches, plains, river and creek bottoms, coves, side-hill slopes, spurs, and their main ridges, we can find but little waste land . A few acres of swamps and ponds, the remaining parts of old beds of the river and ,branches, are to be found in the Hocking Valley. It now remains to introduce the agency by which these physical changes, already described, were formed. ITS DRAINAGE OR RIVER SYSTEM. The first topographical feature of Hocking, its surface configuration, has been sufficiently examined. Its land formations, whose varieties we have enumerated and described, are a series of effects, the results of adequate causes. The principal agent that has operated through many geological ages to bring about such stupendous results is water. That fluid is an erosive agent, as well as a shipper. It loosens the dissolving elements and transports them into the sea. Hocking River takes, its rise in a large spring some miles northwest of Lancaster, Fairfield County. Flowing from that fount- 88 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. ain through Lancaster, having been joined by such tributaries as serve to drain that level part of Hocking Valley, it flows some eight or ten miles to Sugar Grove, where it is joined by an eastern tributary called Rush Creek. By a close inspection of the waters of Rush Creek it will be readily seen that the lesser stream carries the river name (Hocking). It has often been claimed, and very properly, that Rush Creek should have been called Hocking, since it is a third longer, and discharges a larger volume of water. It drains much of Perry County, and the southeastern portion of Fairfield County. The waters of Hocking and Rush Creek, uniting at Sugar Grove, are the drainage of the level and Waverly division of Hocking Valley. Principally they are the water outlet of a larger territoryin proportionn to the amount discharged than any other equal section of the river. The reasons are quite obvious: (1) The drainage of flat lands is imperfect; (2) The waters moving sluggishly along their moderately inclined channels are subjected to a greater shrinkage, both by evaporation and by absorption of the soils. For the same reasons water-courses are shortened, as it is invariably the case, with old and well-cultivated lands. Many small branches had once flowed with water during the four seasons, are now dry during nearly half the year. Rush Creek heads, principally, among the coal measure hills of Perry County, which accounts, in part, for her larger discharge of water. About three miles below Sugar Grove Hocking River receives a tributary from the northwest, the natural drainage of Southwestern Fairfield, and the Northwestern portion of Hocking County. With the exception of Margaret's Creek, Hocking River receives no considerable tributary flowing from the west or northwest from Millville, twelve Miles below Lancaster,, to Hockingport, at its junction with the Ohio River, a distance of about sixty-five miles, while her eastern branches are large, numerous and long. As we pass down the river from Millville, Hocking receives no waters except such as drain the river hills, till we arrive at the mouth of Monday Creek, below Nelsonville. Monday Creek is a very important tributary, since its valley is the natural outlet of one of the most magnificent coal and iron districts in Ohio. It was so named by the original survey, the company reaching that creek on that day of the week. Its head waters are in Hocking, Perry and Athens counties. Its confluents are exceedingly numerous, taking their rise principally in Perry County. The most noted HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 89 branches of Monday Creek are Shawnee Run, the location of the thriving mining and furnace town of Shawnee; Sugar Run, on which New Straitsville is situated; Little Monday Creek; Lost Branch, head- ing in the same ridge with Sugar Run; Kitchen Run, Sand Run, Dorr's Run, Poplar Run, Snow Fork, with its tributaries, Right Branch, Left Branch, Brush Fork, Case Run, Miligan's Branch, Long Run and Smith's Run. These various branches are noted for their coal and iron interests. No one can examine an accurate and minute map of Monday Creek and its net-work of tributaries, without being convinced that this valley, with its numberless tributaries, was grooved out for a higher purpose than that of drainage. The future of Monday Creek will fully justify the remark. On the west side of Hocking River are a few small runs flowing into Hocking from the river hills, noted, simply, for their coal works. Three of these are: (1) Lick Run, three miles above Nelsonville, where are located the coal works of the " Lick Run Coal Company," Brettland; (2) Meeker Run; (3) Floodwood, and (4) Brigger Staff. The Hocking River receives its third large tributary on the eastern side, at Chauncey, six miles above Athens, called Sunday Creek. This branch takes its rise in Perry and Morgan counties. Its head branches are remarkably spread out, east and west, so that its extreme fountains measure a greater distance apart than the length of the stream—wider than long. The East Branch drains the western portion of Morgan County, joining the Middle Branch in section 6, Trimble Township, Athens County. The Middle Branch takes its rise in the water-shed, near the town of Moxahala. Along this branch is constructed the Ohio Central R. R. On it are located Rendville and Corning, with their extended coal works. Though by far the smallest of the three Sunday Creek branches, having but a few small tributaries, it is, by far, the most celebrated. Its valley is quite narrow, having but a few patches of bottom lands. The West Branch has its head waters in the southwestern part of Perry County. It is a large branch of Sunday Creek. Its tributaries are Indian Run, a stream of Perry, Johnson's Run, Windfall and Tucker. The West Branch has at its head waters in Perry some objects of interest—the " Sulphur Springs," visited by invalids; a mill and factory; Buckingham, a coal village. lts head branches are Carter's Fork, Rodgers' Fork, Coal Fork, 90 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. West Fork, Hadley's Fork, and Priest's Fork, noted (all these forks) as draining a very remarkable coal development, in one place measuring thirteen feet of excellent coal. Frotn this district was removed a block of coal thirteen feet and over, which was transported to Philadelphia in 1876, and was an interesting specimen in the Centennial. The village of Hartley (Hartleyville) is located on this branch at the mouth of Johnson's Run. The West Branch is traversed by a branch of the Ohio Central Railroad, which is doing a thriving business in removing coal to the great Northwest. The waters of the three branches form a junction at Sedalia, one mile above the village of Trimble. "Mud Fork " joins the West Branch a few rods above its union with the principal stream at Sedalia. Mud Fork heads in the Snow-Fork ridge. On this branch a shaft was sunk through the " great vein," coal, in which the seam was found to be about twelve feet thick. Strait Run, one of its principal branches, heads with Wolf Run, a tributary of Snow Fork, in a depression or " low gap " of the " divide," between Sunday Creek and Snow Fork. Through this depression a railroad will, probably, soon connect Sunday Creek Valley with that of Monday Creek. Should the two mining districts come under the management of the same company, this union would take place very speedily. At Trimble, one mile below Sedalia, Sunday Creek receives two other tributaries, McCune's Run from the west, and Congress Run from the east. The junction of these waters and the lay of the valleys .(concentering) point to Trimble as a future important mining and iron-making center. With capital in the hands of an enterprising people, Trimble would soon grow into a town of very considerable note. It has an excellent steam flouring mill, a number of stores of various kinds, and shops. Next to Corning, Trimble is the most active, thriving and wide-awake little village in the valley. Another tributary comes into Sunday Creek from the east, nearly opposite to Jackson and its coal works. It is called Woodbury's Run. This stream, with Congress Run and many small brooks of the East Branch, head with Federal Creek. Jackson, the location of a coal shaft and coal works, is a new, village about one mile below the village of Trimble. It takes its name from 0. D. Jackson, its proprietor. It will soon become a town of some note. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 91 Trimble and Jackson will, in time, become the upper and lower divisions of one prosperous city. One mile below Jackson, Sunday Creek receives a western branch, called Green's Run. This branch heads, by two main streams, in the Snow Fork divide. These branches, with their small affluents, cause. Green's Run to afford an excellent outlet for the removal of its mineral resources, which are varied and abundant. Near the month of Green's Run are two salt wells, .where for many years excellent salt was manufactured. At Millfield, two miles below, Jackson's Run flows in from the east, heading with Woodbury's Run and Federal Creek. Below Millfield, from the east, flow Boon, Stony Camp, and Lick Runs, and with these end all the eastern tributaries of Sunday Creek. On the west, one mile above Chauncey, Sunday Creek receives the waters of Bailey's Run—a stream that gives name to a valuable seam of coal. We have been particular in describing Monday Creek and Sunday Creek and their chief confluents because their mineral resources, especially coal, are so vast, that every creek, branch, branch of branches, brook or rill will be noted among capitalists and miners for some peculiarity of its mineral wealth, either in amount or quality, or in both. There is a remarkable feature in the head waters of Rush Creek, Monday Creek, and Sunday Creek, to which we desire special attention. Between the mouths of Rush Creek, Monday Creek and Sunday Creek there cannot be less than forty miles, while Rush Creek and Monday Creek have, in part, the same water-shed, while the head waters of Sunday Creek are quite near. The peculiarity is in the sources of Rush Creek. They take their rise among the hills of Perry, on the western slope of the great divide between Monday Creek and Moxahala, and descend from the coal measures of Perry toward the Waverly group of Southeastern Fairfield. The general direction of the flow of these three creeks indicates high lands in the regions of the heavy coal and iron-ore deposits. The Hocking River has a large western affluent about one mile west of Athens, called Margaret's Creek. This stream is the natural drainage of the western part of Athens County, including principally Athens, Waterloo, Alexander and Lee townships. Near its mouth it receives two branches, Little Factory and Big Factory. Further up the stream comes in another branch, the East Branch; then the middle and west branches. There are many smaller affluents which we have not room, neither is it necessary, 92 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. to describe. The towns situated on its waters will be noticed in other chapters. The peculiarity of its drainage deserves a brief touch. Margaret's Creek is the water outlet of more surface rainfall than its volume at its mouth would indicate. The philosophy of this fact of science may not be so readily understood. This part of Athens County is peculiar in its surface configuration. It is a high semi-table land, with some hills near Hocking River. Margaret's Creek has grooved this plain to perfect its drainage, though this drainage is as complete as the nature of the territory will allow; still, at the ordinary stage of water, the stream is sluggish, and, therefore, by evaporation and absorption, an unusually large per cent. of its waters never reach the river. Another result is obvious, large rainfalls are at times disastrous. Another inference is, perhaps, correct. Table and flat lands are not generally rich in valuable mineral products, hence the natural process of exposure by rapidly flowing water is not required to expose any deep mineral resources. The Divine Author adapts his means to the ends designed to be accomplished. Drainage is not the entire object of our river systems. Irrigation and exposure of deep and otherwise hidden treasures are evidently had in view by the Author of Nature with all its elementary combinations. He that makes eyeless fishes where no light can ever penetrate would not upheave and plow down the earth's crust without having in view some special object. noting Valley is not, by any means, destitute of the foot-prints of the Deity. Hocking Valley is a proof of his handiwork. About four miles below Athens, Hocking receives another small tributary called Stroud's Run. This stream has nothing worthy of special note. The next branch from the east is Federal Creek, so named from its thirteen branches. This creek heads principally with Sunday Creek and Wolf Creek. The stream is not as large as Sunday Creek, but it has about it many interesting features. Its dividing ridges are rich with limestone formations. They furnish the valley great mineral wealth by the decay of its limestone formations. Federal Creek was early settled by citizens from New England. Its various branches furnished homes for the early pioneers of the county. It was on the Walker Branch that the "Coonskin Library " had its origin. Many of our ablest citizens, those whose names have been heard through the civilized world, claim this valley as their native land. Its minerals, such as iron ore and coal are quite valuable, and will, in coming tune, attract public attention. Federal Creek has had many pan HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 93 some years it furnished a large amount of oil for the general market. The flood waters of Federal Creek are peculiarly rich in lime held in solution. The soil of this creek is the most productive of any other in the county, and quite exhaustless. Tributaries of Hocking below the mouth of Federal Creek are quite numerous, yet they are small, taking their rise principally in the river hills. They are devoid of sufficient interest to justify any special description. They are short, and flow down steep declivities, making for themselves deep channels in the various rock strata. We have completed our survey of the river system of Hocking Valley, have carefully noticed its tributaries from its fountain head till its waters are seen mingling with its kindred waters of the noble Ohio. Many questions of interest might be discussed relative to this river system. Of the seven river systems of Ohio, which is the most ancient ? for they are, geologically, quite different in their ages and unlike in their growth. Their modal of formation and their movements and their mission are dissimilar. A few thoughts relative to the ages and mission work of the Ohio rivers will enable the reader better to understand the philosophy of the things in the Hocking Valley. To know that such things exist on and under a given district may be satisfactory to the masses; but, to the mind that desires to look into the reason of things, many questions step forward and demand satisfactory answers. Why do the things exist ? Why in such a form? How long have they existed ? What made them? Why are they formed ? Such queries have correct answers. We are surrounded by an endless variety of objects which, for convenience of explanation, we call " things." They are principally effects. The causes that produced them may often be obscure. It is the object of the science of philosophy to make visible the reasons of things. Cast your eye over a large map of the State. Fix your attention upon one class of objects—rivers, for instance. There are seven river systems. Why differ in so many particulars ? In the broadest sense there are but two river systems: (1) The waters flowing into Lake Erie forming one system; (2) Those flowing into the Mississippi forming the other system (the seven being called sections). The causes of these variations lie below the surfaces of each district. 1. The Maumee Valley, embracing eighteen counties, shows glacial action over its entire surface, in its heavy drifts of bluish 94 - HISTORY OF HOCK LNG VALLEY. clay intermingled with sand, gravel and boulders. Its drainage is peculiar. The St. Joseph River has no tributaries on the south, and the St. Mary is without any on the north. Old drift deposits determine the features of its drainage, whether to the lake or to the Mississippi. 2. The Western Reserve drainage is sluggish, except where the streams head near the lake. Twelve counties lie principally within the lake basin. The rim is about 600 feet, in places, above the surface of Lake Erie. The Cuyahoga and Chagrin rivers are rapid and eroded ; deep valleys mark their flow to the lake. 3. The Ohio River section has its peculiarities of drainage. This section numbers four counties.It is drained principally by short affluents of the Ohio, taking their rise in the extremity of the spurs of the river hills. The valleys are, generally, deep erosions. 4. The Muskingum River Valley, having sixteen counties, has its name from its principal river, its system of drainage. It is a valley of erosion, it being noted for its small amount of drift, and, consequently, its large amount of native soil—that which is formed from erosion and disintegration of its own strata. Its drainage extends to the center of the State. 5. The Scioto River section includes fifteen counties. The Scioto River has great length in proportion to its volume of water. Its course is from the north to the south, following one meridian in much of its southern division. Its branches are usually lengthy, its western affluents predominating. The coal-measure hills give rise to its eastern tributaries. 6. The Miami forms another extended river system. It includes fifteen counties, and has an area of 6,440 square miles. This section has the highest and the lowest land in the State ; still the surface slopes. so gradually, that the country seems somewhat level. The river erosions have been moderate, the waters flowing tardily. It will be seen, from the sketch above given, that Hocking Valley has its peculiarities of drainage, the closer resemblances being found between it and the Scioto and Muskingum valleys. Hocking River system of drainage is more active, and, consequently, more perfect than that of any of the other systems, if we except the Ohio River system, which is quite limited. One other remarkable feature in the Hocking River system is worthy of notice—the direction and flow of the river itself. A single glance at the general course of Hocking River shows us that its HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 95 flow is in the direction of the greatest dip. It rises in the Waverly group and enters the Ohio River high up in the lower coal measures. Geologically speaking, therefore, its head spring is about 1,200 feet higher than its mouth, and the stream flows up—up the strata, but down the natural slope of the valley. This will be explained under the geological division. THE GEOLOGY OF HOCKING VALLEY. Having noticed its surface, structure and drainage, we propose to investigate the causes, which, in the past ages, have superinduced these surface configurations and drainage. The rock formations of the valley are chiefly the coal measures. They are fire-clay, sandstone, limestone, coal and iron stone and shale. In Fairfield County we have the Waverly group, and the glacial drift, which also has its beds down the main valley of Hocking. The geology of this portion of Hocking Valley, that of Fairfield County, will occupy but little space, since it has no very peculiar features. The northern and western two thirds of the county, are, to the geologist, somewhat monotonous. The fertility of the soil and its large, well-cultivated and well-stocked farms are the objects of attraction in this district. In the southern portion of the county the surface prospects assume a more rugged form; spurs, between which are seen the most lovely valleys, give signs of your proximity to the Alpine district of Ohio. The drift forms the peculiar geological feature of Fairfield. On the low lands wells reach the blue clay of the drift; and over nearly the entire surface are found gravel and boulders of the drift formation. The immense gravel beds and terraces along the Hocking River come from these immense drift deposits. The boulders, which are profusely scattered over the surface, vary in size from that of a few inches to the one on Baldwin's Run, whose dimensions are eighten feet by sixteen feet. They are usually granitic, demonstrating their foreign origin. In some cases, however, they are limestone, and are utilized by burning into quicklime. Fairfield, though covered in many parts with drift, lies within the Waverly formation, except one lofty hill near East Rushville, showing signs of the coal measures. Fairfield produces no coal. The products of her rich agricultural land are exchanged for fuel. The Waverly formation, which lies immediately under the coal measures, is seen most distinctly on Rush Creek, in a ravine be- 96 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. tween East Rushville and West Rushville. The sandstone is fine grained, but too soft for building stone. The Waverly sandstone seen in the cliffs along the Hocking below Lancaster are coarse grained, passing into a conglomerate. Its color is rich yellow and dark brown. At times it is richly variegated. It forms the courthouse at Lancaster, and some costly buildings in Columbus. The Waverly sandstone constitues the only mineral wealth yet found in the Fairfield division of the Hocking Valley. There is an increasing demand for this Waverly sandstone. Quarries are being opened and quite extensively worked. By the proximity of the Hocking Valley R. R. the rock may be readily shipped to the towns farther west. It may, in time, become valuable, and yield a very considerable revenue to the citizens dwelling in this portion of the valley. Still the Fairfield section of Hocking Valley must draw its principal wealth out of its soil. This will always place its industrious citizens among the most wealthy and thriving of the interesting valley. THE GEOLOGY OF HOCKING COUNTY. Passing down the Hocking Valley the next county we enter is Hocking. This section of the valley lies principally within the Waverly group. In this county the drift forms terraces along the Hocking River. The rocks of this county are the coarse Waverly sandstone, the conglomerate, and the Logan sandstone. Upon this sandstone as its floor is the Maxville limestone. The southeastern part of the county comes into the horizon of the lower coal measures. The Waverly rocks have been noticed in their lower formations as seen in Fairfield County. Hocking County is rich in its mineral formations. Its sandstones are excellent for building purposes; its fire-clay has not yet been fully tested. It has limestone in considerable quantities, and good. It has beds of excellent ores .of iron. Its coal is perhaps the most valuable of its mineral products. This coal field lies on Monday Creek, and its waters flowing into it from the east and west. It contains the great coal seam of Ohio, usually called the " great vein, "or " Nelsonville" coal seam, it having been mined at Nelsonvile and in its vicinity for many years. This coal seam in many localities is a dry, burning coal. It varies in thickness from six feet to thirteen feet. It lies high in _the Monday Creek hills, and is mined by drifting. A vertical section passing from the mouth of Monday Creek in Fork Township to a point near New Straitsville, on the divide between HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 97 Monday Creek, extending down to the Waverly group and to the highest hill of the aforenamed water-shed would cut the various geological formations in about the following order: A limestone horizon, shales of various degrees of thickness, sandstones, three coal seams, several horizons of iron ore, and about an equal number of horizons of fire-clay, as they usually underlie veins of coal and iron ore. In this section the Bailey's Run coal seam shows an imperfect development, it being located .too high in the Monday Creek hills. This will be more fully seen in a section further to the east. The Nelsonville seam shows well, though its location is rather high. One vein of iron ore has been worked to advantage by a number of furnaces. Mining, however, even in this district, is in amide state, and, consequently, its formations are imperfectly ex posed. Many rich beds of iron ore may yet be exposed which have never yet been seen. Prospecting so far has done wonders in discovering and bringing to view its mineral resources. Much mains still to be accomplished in the exposure of its mineral THE GEOLOGY OF THE ATHENS COUNTY SECTION OF THE HOCKING VALLEY. This county takes in the entire valley of Hocking from a point few miles above Nelsonville to its junction with the Ohio at ,Hocking port, a distance of nearly forty miles. It lies wholly within the productive coal measures. More or less coal has been developed over the principal portions of the county. For present use we shall have to confine our investigations to the Sunday Creek Valley, including the northen part of Athens County and the southern townships of Perry County. We select this district for various reasons: 1. Of the three eastern tributaries of the Hocking River, Monday Creek, Sunday Creek, and Federal Creek, Sunday Creek is the middle stream. Monday Creek is the stream where the great coal seam is high, and is mined by drifting; and, consequently, there must be a large amount of crop coal, and worthless. On Federal Creek the great vein, if there, is deep and would require very heavy expenses to obtain it by shafting. On Sunday Creek we have the mean between the crop coal and expensive shafting. 2. Along the Sunday Creek Valley is the completed Ohio Central R. R., a road which, from its directions and pecuniary abili- - 7 - 98 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. ties, affords the best shipping facilities that can be found anywhere/. Capitalists desiring to invest in coal and mineral property are interested to know what they are purchasing. In a vertical section 1,100 feet of vertical face, extending below the surface of the valley of the Waverly group, 500 feet; and from the creek to the summit of the most elevated hill, 600 feet, we have the vertical section of 1,100 feet. Beginning at the Waverly and passing upward, we can count the various geological formations. We shall not, at present, enumerate the strata, but simply the different formations: 1. The rock containing brine, from which a vast amount of salt has been manufactured. We then alternate between the lime. stone shales and sandstone till we reach ( 2 ) fire-clay, of which there' are many horizons. 3. Above the first fire-clay we have our first coal formation. The entire coal formation of this section measures about twenty-seven feet. Another valuable formation we discover in the face of the section. 4. Iron ore. This appears in various horizons and varies m terially in its per cent. of iron. 5. Another valuable geological formation appears—limestone. The limestone formations are numerous and quite pure. 6. Alternating with coal and iron ores, we have heavy shale deposits—still-water formations. There can be seen ( 7 ) various layers of sandstone; some of these layers are more than fifty feet thick and excellent for the manufacture of glass. Others are excellent for building stone. There are also beds of flagstone. Flowing in two porous blue ( 8 ) sand rocks is petroleum. 9. Illuminating gas flows with the oil and with salt water. All these mineral products are seen in the Sunday Creek Valley, and are found within the 1,100. feet. Let us form them into a list: Gas, salt water, shale, fire-clay, limestone, sandstone, iron ore and coal. Such are our geological formations. On Federal Creek and continuing eastward to the rim of the Hocking Valley basin is the Pittsburg coal seam, measuring about eight feet of coal. Above this coal are very heavy horizons of limestone, shales, marls, sandstone and iron ore. On Federal Creek, and on the East Branch of Sunday Creek are oil wells which have produced many thousand barrels of rock oil. The disintegration of the higher limestone formations has made for Federal Creek and other eastern tributaries of Hocking a soil of great productiveness. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 99 Their waters-sheds are full of lime, which being washed down the slopes and into the valleys, produces a black soil, equal to any on the globe. Such is a brief outline of the geological formations of Hocking Valley, between the Waverly and Drift of Fairfield and the buff limestone of the eastern water-sheds. Our space will not allow us say more about its geological formations. We now come to examine another interesting feature of the Hocking Valley; it may be ermed the analysis of its geology. ITS STRATIGRAPHICAL FEATURES. In our geological sketch we described each formation as a whole, such as shales, sandstones, limestones, fire clays, marls, iron ores, and coal. We shall now view these formations in their distinct horizons, or layers.   All the formations native to the Hocking Valley are what may be termed sedimentary. The particles of which they are composed were held in solution by the waters of the ocean once covering the entire globe. Hocking Valley cannot date beyond the Waverly. Its age is that of the lower productive coal measures. The valley is, geologically, young. Ages after the Laurentian Mountains of Canada and the Adirondack Mountains lifted their snow heads above the primeval ocean the Allegheny Range quietly slept be neath its turbid brine. In the revolving cycles, the loftiest peaks struggled into atmospheric life; through a series of risings above the sea surface, and fallings beneath it, the mountains stood forth to sink no more. By the upheaval of the Allegheny Mountains and the Cincinnati Arch, the Ohio River trough was formed, the western side of which has, in part,been grooved out into what is now called the Hocking Valley. The valley itself has, therefore, been formed since the deposit of all its eroded strata, and is more recent than the Cincinnati Arch and the Allegheny Mountains. The strata that form the lower coal measures are sedimentary deposits from the ancient ocean. And since coal is of vegetable origin, the forests which produced the coal must have grown above the waters; and afterward, submerged, and made the floor of later deposits. All the other strata, such as shales, fire-clay, limestone, sandstone, iron ore, were submarine deposits.   In our division it is our purpose to notice these distinct sedimentary deposits, which aggregate about 1,100 feet in thickness. The lowest strata in the valley are the Waverly, in Fairfield County, covered by the glacial drift of a more recent date. This floor dates,