HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 33 CHAPTER II THE MOUND BUILDERS AND THE INDIANS. OBSCURE and mysterious, the pre-historic race known as Mound-Builders undoubtedly antedated the various Indian tribes who anciently occupied and claimed title to the soil that now constitutes the state of Ohio, and it seems probable that many centuries intervened between the time of, the advent of the Mound-Builders and that of the Indian tribes or nations. By some it has. been thought not improbable that an effeminate, indolent and demoralized remnant of the former race deteriorated into the latter and formed the nucleus of some of the degenerate tribes-of savages that during subsequent centuries roamed here at will, ultimately passing into hopeless savagery. The extent, variety and labyrinthian intricacies of the Mound-Builders' works still found in many sections of Ohio indicate the plausibility of the view that the state includes what was for many successive centuries a favorite locality with this race, who dwelt here for ages, erected their works and made long chapters of a history that may never be written. The works that still exist in a tolerably perfect condition within the boundaries of the state are approximately estimated at 10,000, but they doubtless far exceeded that number at the date of the first permanent white settlement a little more than one hundred years ago. Only such monuments or remains can be attributed to the Mound-Builders as were regarded by the Indian tribes as antiquities or as the remains and relics of an extinct race. These consisted of mounds, effigies and inclosures. Mounds are subdivided into sepulchral, sacrificial, temple (or truncated) mounds and mounds, of observation and memorial or monumental mounds. Effigies are sometimes called animal mounds and emblematic mounds, frequently symbolical mounds. Inclosures are of several kinds, one class being known as military or defensive works, another as parallel embankments or covered ways, another as sacred in-closures. Under the general title of inclosures are also walls of circumvallation, or ramparts constructed for military purposes, while others were doubtless walls surrounding the residences of those high in authority. Perhaps others were erected for the performance within them of national games and amusements. Some may have served a purpose in the performance of religious rites and ceremonies and facilitated 34 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. indulgence in superstitious practices. Many of these works were constructed of earth, a few of stone, and fewer still of earth and stone combined. Sepulchral mounds are more numerous than any other kinds, and are generally conical in form. They are of all sizes, ranging in altitude from only a few feet to seventy, and always contain skeletons or parts of skeletons or present other plausible indications of having been built or used for purposes of sepulture, and were unmistakably memorial mounds reared over the dead. It has been claimed by some archaeologists that the size of these mounds bears a certain relation to the importance, when living, of the persons over whom they were erected. The mound near Miamisburg, on the bank of the Great Miami river, is symmetrical in form and sixty- eight feet high, and if this theory is correct must mark the burial place of a great chief or ruler of the people. Professor Marsh of the Sheffield scientific school, connected with Yale college, some years ago opened a mound in Licking county which contained seventeen skeletons in whole or in part. But the most remarkable of all mounds within the state was one in Hardin county, in which were found about 300 human skeletons; but it is maintained by some that the leading features of the burials in this mound were indicative. of an Indian rather than a Mound-Builder origin. Sacrificial mounds are usually stratified, the strata being convex layers of clay and loam alternating above a layer of fine sand. They generally contain ashes, charcoal, igneous stones, calcined animal bones, beads, stone implements, pottery and specimens of rude sculpture. These mounds are frequently found within inclosures which are supposed to have been in some way connected with the performance of religious rites and ceremonies, and in such mounds an altar of burnt clay or of stone is usually found. These altars, which sometimes rest on the surface of the original earth, at the center of the mound, are symmetrically shaped and are among the chief distinguishing characteristics of sacrificial mounds. Upon them, sacrifices of animals, perhaps of human beings, were offered up in the flames employed in that cruel, superstitious performance. The presence of skeletons in some of these mounds would seem to indicate their sepulchral as well as sacrificial character. In common with sepulchral mounds, these contain implements of warfare, mica from the Alleghanies, shells from the Gulf of Mexico, obsidian, and in some instances porphyry, from Mexico, as well as useful and ornamental silver and copper articles, Temple mounds are less numerous and generally larger than the preceding classes, and in form are oftenest circular or oval, but whatever their form, circular, oval, round, square, oblong, or octangular, they are invariably trun- cated, presenting the appearance of never having been finished. They are frequently sur- rounded by embankments, and many of them have spiral pathways, steps or inclined planes leading to their summits. They are usually of large base and small height. The supposition of scientists is that the summits of these mounds were crowned with wooden structures that served the purposes of temples, all traces of which have, of course, disappeared. They were used also, to a limited extent, as burial places, as well as for purposes of religious ceremony. Mounds of observation are gener- ally situated upon eminences and have been ariously designated "observatories," "alarm posts," "watch-towers," "signal stations," or' "look-outs," being believed to have served the purposes indicated by these titles. Some writers have asserted that they occur in chains— or regular systems, and that "many of them still bear traces of the beacon fires that were once burning upon them." One of this description is situated two miles west of Newark, in Licking county, and though somewhat mutilated, has a present height of about twenty-five feet. Mound's of observation are comparatively numerous in some parts of the State, and lines of them have been traced through the Great and Little Miami valleys and along the Sciota valley from Delaware county to Portsmouth. Memorial or monumental mounds belong to the class of tumuli that were erected to perpetuate some important event or in honor of some distinguished character. They are mostly built of earth, but some of the stone mounds found in various sections of Ohio probably belong to this not numerous class. It has often caused surprise that mounds which have been thoroughly explored have yielded no human skeletons. The reason may, in some cases, be that they belong to this class, which were erected to perpetuate events, and not for purposes of sepulture.         Effigies or animal mounds are simply raised figures of gigantic proportions, representing men, beasts, birds, or reptiles, and in some instances inanimate objects. Their altitude is usually from one to six feet above the natural surface of the ground. Schoolcraft calls this class of ancient works emblematic mounds, and expresses the belief that they were "totems" or "heraldic symbols." Prof. Wilson and other writers of distinction call them symbolical mounds, and hold HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 35 the opinion that they were erected as objects of worship, or for altars upon which sacrifices were offered, or that they served some other purposes connected with the religious worship of their idolatrous and superstitious constructors. Of the three most notable examples of effigies in Ohio, two are situated in Licking county. One of these, near the center of an ancient' earthwork commonly called the Old. Fort, an enclosure of -high banks about a mile from Newark, containing an area of about thirty acres, is called Eagle mound, from its supposed resemblance to an eagle on the wing. Its length is approximately 200 feet and it measures about the same distance from tip to tip of wings. Excavations into the middle of this effigy brought to light an altar which gave indications of the action of fire upon the stones and earth composing it, while the presence of charcoal and ashes strongly suggested sacrificial offerings. The other, called Alligator mound, is situated upon the summit of a hill about six miles west of Newark. The shape and form of this reptilian monster are distinctly presented. Its I greatest length is 200 feet; the greatest breadth of the body is 20 feet, and the distance from the fore legs to the hind 'legs is $o feet, while the legs are each 25 feet long. The head, foreshoulders and back have an elevation varying from three to six feet, but that of the remainder of the body averages considerably less. The head, -limbs and tail gradually taper off to their termination. Prof. Wilson expresses the belief that it symbolizes some object of special awe and :veneration, and it appears quite probable that this effigy was an object of worship. Perhaps the most extensive and remarkable effigy mound in Ohio is situated near Brush creek, in Adams county. It is serpentine in form and more than 1,000 feet long, the body forming graceful curves and the tail terminating in triple coils. The embankment, which constitutes the main body of the serpent, is about five feet in height and thirty feet in width, and diminishes in size toward both the head and tail. "The neck of the figure," says the American Cyclopdia, " is stretched out, and slightly curved, and the mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure Which rests partly within the distended jaws." This oval figure is formed by an embankment four feet high, and is perfectly regular in outline, its transverse and conjugate diameters being 103 and 39 feet, respectively. The combined figure has been regarded by some as a representation of the oriental cosmological idea of the serpent and the egg. Defensive inclosures are of irregular form, are always on high ground and in naturally strong positions frequently on the summit of hills and steep bluffs, and are often strengthened by exterior ditches. To this class of inclosures belongs one of stone walls situated on the top of a high hill, five miles north of Somerset, in Perry county, which embraces about twenty acres, its general form approaching a triangle with two long sides. Its natural position is one of great strength and is quite defensible. Another occupies a very high hill near Bourneville, Ross county. Still another is situated on the summit of a hill, a mile east of the Alligator mound, in Licking county. The most notable of this . class of works, however, is " Fort Ancient," in Warren county, which is situated on a plain 230 feet above the level of the Little Miami river. The embankments measure nearly four miles in length, varying in height according to the natural strength of the point to be protected, from ten to twenty feet, and inclose several hundred acres. These inclosures, and all similar ones having the same general features and characteristics, .are indisputably of a military chracter. Low parallel walls of earth, called " covered ways," are frequently found contiguous to inclosures, sometimes connecting them by extending from one to another. One of their purposes, at least,, seemed to be the protection of those passing to and fro within them. Sacred inclosures are mainly distinguished from military inclosures by the regularity of their form and their more frequent occurrence. They are of all shapes and forms, and when they are provided with moats or ditches such were invariably within, not outside, the embankment. Sometimes they are situated within military inclosures. Frequently there is in their central portions a mound or elevation supposed to have served the purpose of an altar. Within these sacred inclosures were doubtless celebrated religious festivals, and upon their high central places or altars were undoubtedly performed by priestly hands. the rites and ceremonies demanded by the sacrificial and idolatrous religion of the mound-Builders. "The very extensive and labyrinthian works near Newark," says Smucker, "which covers an area of little less than two miles square, and probably comprise ten miles or more of embankments, ranging from two feet to thirty feet in height, are generally believed to be sacred inclosures, particularly that interesting portion of them known as the 'Old Fort,' now called the Fair Grounds. Some archaeologists, 36 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. however, maintain that many works called sacred inclosures were erected for and used as places of amusements, where our predecessors of pre-historic times practiced their national games, and celebrated their great national events; where they held their national festivals and indulged in their national jubilees, as well as performed the ceremonials of their religion. And it may be that those (and there are many such) within which no central elevation or altar occurs, were erected for the purposes last named, and not exclusively (if at all) for purposes connected with their religion, and are therefore erroneously called sacred inclosures. Other ancient peoples, if indeed not all the nations of antiquity, have had their national games, amusements, festivals, and jubilees, and why not the Mound-Builders, too? Notably in this regard, the ancient Greeks may be named, with whom, during the period known as the "lyrical age of Greece," the Olympic, the Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian games became national festivals. And without doubt the Mound-Builders, too, had their national games, amusements, festivals, and jubilees, and congregated within their inclosures to practice, celebrate, and enjoy them." The growth of large trees upon these works, the material of their composition, in some instances different from the soil in the vicinity, and the ignorance of the Indians concerning them, all prove their construction in a far-away time. It is asserted that a solicitude was shown by the Indians that the mounds should not be effaced or marred, but whether this was the result of veneration or superstition, or both, is unknown. Reference has been made to wonderful mounds and earth-cemeteries in the adjoining counties of Perry and Licking, and it cannot be doubted that the mysterious people who constructed them inhabited the territory now included in Muskingum county as well, yet here they left no such conspicuous e tramples of their skill and their civilization. On the Neff farm, in Wayne township, a mound circle was formerly visible, and between the Muskingum river and Moxahala creek, at the mouth of the latter, was a covered way that was probably once employed by some one as a secret passage between the two streams. It is a curious fact that the Moxahala flows "up stream" into the Muskingum instead of flowing down into the latter stream. Archæological discoveries alleged to have been made in Brush Creek township about twelve years ago, and which caused much comment at the time, do not appear to bear the stamp of genuineness, and it is believed that they may be passed by in these pages without loss to the interest or value of this portion of the history of Muskingum county. Naturally, we indulge in speculation as to the antiquity of such ancient works as have been described or referred to. Probably none of them have been constructed since the discovery of America by Columbus. Smucker states that a friend of his, about seventy-five years ago, cut down .a tree upon the bank of one of the great inclosures mentioned, at a point where said bank was twenty feet high, whose concentric circles numbered 550, thus proving conclusively that said inclosure was constructed at some time prior to the year 1245. It is thought not improbable that at least woo years have elapsed since the Mound-Builders ceased to occupy the country between the Ohio river and Lake Erie. Authorities differ as to many things relating to our mysterious predecessors; but a few facts seem to be fully established by their works which still remain. They were without iron or other suitable metal instruments with which to perpare their feats of engineering skill, so elaborate and at the same time so gigantic, and hence it must appear that they were a numerous people. "The number and magnitude of their works and their extensive range and uniformity," says the American Cyclopedia, "prove that the Mound-Builders were essentially homogeneous in customs habits, religion and government. The general features common to all their remains identify them as appertaining to a single grand system owing its origin to men moving in the same direction, acting under common impulses and influenced by similar causes." It could scarcely be otherwise than that they were the subjects of a single, strong government, because under any other the performance of such an immense amount of probably enforced labor could not have been secured. Very likely some sort of vassalage or servitude prevailed. The building of their defensive works in naturally strong positions evidences the military skill of the Mound-Builders, and the construction of their many other works in the forms of various geometrical figures show that they were not devoid of a practical knowledge of mathematics. They were somewhat skilled, too, in working metals and in making horn and bone ornaments, as is suggested by the small articles of use and ornament found in their works; but they probably made few, if any, large metal implements of utility serving the purpose of the ax, hoe or mattock. They were evidently so numerous and so much civilized that they could not have HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 37 subsisted by hunting, and would not have wished to, hence it is plain that they must have cultivated the soil. They were not barbarians. They were evidently a superstitious people, cherishing faith in some religious system. The sacrificial character of their religion is fully. established. The late Doctor Foster maintained that they were worshipers of the elements—that they worshiped the sun, moon and stars—and that they offered up human victims as an acceptable sacrifice to their Gods. Prisoners of war have been thus disposed of by nations who have attained to as high a grade of civilization as that reached by the Mound-Builders, and in the case of this people charred and calcined bones cover the altars they erected. Many high authorities unhesitatingly assert that there is convincing proof that they were fire-worshipers. "And now," to quote from Smucker, "a word as to what is not known. We do. not know where they came from, when and how they came, when and how they disappeared —whether they were extinguished by war, pestilence, or famine, or ultimately .degenerated into barbarians, or whether they slowly moved to the Southwest, and finally came within the domain of history as Aztecs; or some more ancient people, once of pre-historic times, in Mexico or Central America! The question of origin has exercised the public mind more, probably, than any other one pertaining to the race of Mound-Builders, and still it remains unsettled. The preponderance of testimony probably makes them Mongolians, although Morton, an authority in matters pertaining to craniology, holds differently, as do others. They probably held an intermediate position, considered physically, intellectually and morally, between the Caucassians and the most civilized portion of Mongolians above them, and the uncivilized inhabitants of the interior of the Malay peninsula below them. The fact, how ever, remains that archaeologists differ widely on this point, some maintaining that they were of Hindoo origin; some that they were of Hebrew, Jew-Tartar, or Persian origin; still others believe that our original Mound-Builders were either Celtics, Egyptians, or Tartars: while still others (Morton included), maintain that the Toltecs, an original race, were probably their progenitors, thus in fact making the Mound-Builders the descendants of an aboriginal race, or the continuation of one, and were therefore natives and to the manner born, and differing from all others. But this opinion derives no strength from a belief that there existed any insurmountable difficulties in reaching this continent from the other quarters of the globe, thousands of years ago. We know that the Northmen reached it from Greenland in 999, A. D., and so might Africans, Phenicians and Europeans have done, long before that period; and Asiatics might have coasted along the Pacific until they reached Behring's Straits, or arrived at that point by an overland journey, and there crossed over to our northwest coast, a distance of only thirty-six miles, and so interspersed with islands that the navigator would never be out of sight of land, if the atmosphere was clear, while crossing the straits. And moreover all difficulties in effecting the passage of Behring strait vanish at once in the light of the fact that it is frozen over every winter. And Europeans, Egyptians and Asiatics might have voyaged across the Atlantic by way of the Western Islands, Iceland and Greenland, or as the Welsh expedition of Madoc did, in 1170, A. D., or as Columbus did in 1492, A. D.; or as might have been done by an earlier, bolder navigator, by way of the mid-ocean island, Atlantis, of which we read, though always doubtingly, in Plato, and which the weight of authority, pronounces fabulous." Of necessity, further remarks in reference to other questions of ethnology, history and archaeology connected with the mysteriously interesting Mound-Builders are omitted in this connection. Nothing reliable or authentic is known of the various Indian tribes that occupied the territory that now constitutes the State of Ohio from the time of the disappearance of the Mound-Builders until the closing years of the first half of the eighteenth century. It is true, however, that there are traditions running back to the year 1656 relating to the destruction by the Iroquois of the once powerful Eries, who inhabited the southern shore of Lake Erie, except a small remnant, which ultimately was absorbed by the Senecas. But comparatively little is known, with the certainty of authentic history, of the Indians of Ohio until after Col. Bouquet's expedition to their towns on the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers, in 1764. The principal tribes were the Wyandots (called Hurons by the French), the Delawares and the Shawnees (both of the Algonquin group), the Miamis (also called Twigtwees), the Mingoes (an offshoot from the Iroquois or a fragment of the Six Nations), and the Ottawas and Chippewas. The Wyandots occupied the valleys and plains bordering the Sandusky river, and some other points; the Delawares occupied the valleys of the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers, and a few other places between the Ohio river 38 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. and Lake Erie; the Shawnees were found chiefly in the valleys of the Scioto and Mad rivers, and at a few points on the Ohio river and elsewhere in small numbers; the Miamis were the chief occupants of the valleys of the Little and Great Miami rivers; the Mingoes were in greatest force on the Ohio river about Mingo Bottom, below Steubenville, and at other points on said river; also on the Scioto river, and at a few places between the Ohio river and Lake Erie, the Ottawas occupied the valleys of the Maumee and Sandusky rivers; and the Chippewas, small in numbers, were chiefly confined to the southern shores of Lake Erie. By the treaty of Fort. McIntosh, formed in 1785, the Ottawas, with the Wyandots and Delawares, were assigned to the northern section of what is now the state of Ohio, and west of the Cuyahoga river, having relinquished by the terms of, said treaty whatever of claims they had to other portions of the territory that now constitutes our state. The first treaty establishing boundaries in Ohio between our government and the Ohio Indians was entered into at Fort McIntosh, in January, 1785. This was followed on May 20, 1785, by an ordinance of Congress which provided for the first survey and sale of the public lands within the present limits of Ohio. Under that ordinance the . tract known as " the Seven Ranges," was surveyed and sales effected at New York in 1787 to the amount of $72,974 The tract of the Ohio Land Company was surveyed and sold pursuant to the provisions of an ordinance of July 23, 1785; and Fort Hamar, situated at the mouth of the Muskingum river, was built during the next year, for the protection of the immigrants that might settle upon it. The title to the Ohio Land Company's purchase was not perfected until October 23, 1787, and until then settling upon the public lands was discouraged and indeed forbidden by the government; but, notwithstanding, a number of settlements were made between the time of the treaty of Fort McIntosh, in January, 1785, and the perfecting of the title of the Ohio Land Company, in October, 1787. These were principally along the Hockhocking and Ohio rivers, and were broken up by military force and the settlers dispersed or driven east of the Ohio river. Settlements that were attempted at the mouth of the Scioto and other places were prevented. Proclamations by Congress were issued against settling upon the public domain as early as 1785, and enforced by military power when disregarded. It is probable that hundreds of families had attempted to settle permanently west of the Ohio river previous to the arrival of the colony of New Englanders, at the mouth of the Muskingum, in April, 1788, but were not permitted to do so. The fact therefore remains that the settlement at. Marietta was the first permanent one within the present limits of Ohio, all others having been but temporary, by reason of the compulsory dispersion of the settlers elsewhere and the destruction of their huts. After these events, settlements were rapidly established in many portions of what is now the State of Ohio. In 1750, Christopher Gist, an agent of the "Ohio Land Company," which had been organized in 1748 by the Washingtons, one or two of the Lees, and other Virginians and some Englishmen, came over the mountains from Virginia, and crossing the Ohio at or below the "Forks" (now Pittsburg), over to the Tuscarawas river, which he descended to its junction with the Walhonding. From thence he traveled down the Muskingum, following an Indian trail to the mouth of the Wakatomaka (now Dresden, Muskingum county), where there was an Indian town. He then followed the Indian trail across the Licking river to King. Beaver's town, situated on the head waters of the Hockhocking river, about equidistant from the present cities of Lancaster and Columbus. The trail he followed must have led him near the "Big Lake," as the Indians called it, now the "Reservoir," a famous, fishing resort, situated in the counties of Licking, Fairfield and Perry. In this exploring expedition Gist was joined at the Walhonding, by George Croghan, and probably by Andrew Montour, a half-breed, son of a Seneca chief, who often acted as an interpreter between the whites and Indians. They crossed the Scioto and traveled on to the Great Miami, which Gist descended to the. Ohio, and voyaged down said stream to a point fifteen miles above the "Falls," from whence he traveled through Kentucky to his home in Virginia, where he arrived in May,, 1751. This was probably the first visit of white men to, this section. Upon representations made to Governor Dunmore of outrages that clearly indicated a hostile disposition of the Indians toward the whites and a determination to make war upon them, that functionary, in 1774, commissioned Colonel Angus McDonald and authorized him to organize the settlers of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers for the defense of the frontiers. Lord Dunmore, knowing Michael Cresap to be a man of courage, energy and force of character, personally tendered him a captain's commission with a view to the immediate enlistment of a force for co-opera- HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 39 tion with the troops rapidly organizing by McDonald west of the Alleghenies. Captain Cresap accepted the commission and entered upon his duties promptly. Such was his popularity, that more than the required complement of men were recruited in a very short time, and at once marched to join the command of McDonald, the ranking officer of the expedition. The combined forces, numbering four hundred men, after a dreary march through the wilderness, rendezvoused at Wheeling, some time in June. the invasion of the country of the Ohio Indians was their purpose. In pursuance of their object, they went down the Ohio in boats and canoes to the mouth of the Captina creek, and from thence they pursued their march to the Indian towns at and near the mouth of the Wakatomaka creek (now Dresden), a point about equally distant from the present city of Zanesville and the town of Coshocton, both on the Muskingum river, Jonathan Zane being the chief pilot of the expedition. About six miles from Wakatomaka, a force of forty or fifty Indians lying in ambush, gave a. skirmish, in which two of McDonald's men were killed, and eight or nine wounded, while the Indians lost one or more in killed and several wounded. When McDonald arrived at the chief Wakatomaka town, he found it evacuated, and the whole Indian force were in ambuscade a short distance from it, Which being discovered, the Indians sued for peace. A march to the next village, a mile above the first, was effected; a small skirmish ensued in which some blood was shed on both sides. The result was the burning of the towns and the destruction of their cornfields. There was the usual perfidy on the part of the Indians, and really nothing substantial was accomplished, when the expedition returned to Wheeling, taking with them three chiefs as captives, or hostages, who were sent to Williamsburg, the seat of the colonial government of Virginia. This expedition was designed only to give temporary protection to the frontier settlers, and was preliminary to the Dunmore expedition to the Pickaway Plains, or " Old Chillicothe," towns, near the Scioto, later in year. In 1761, Rev. Christian Frederick Post visited the Delaware Indians, living on the Upper Muskingum River, and took the preliminary steps to establish a Moravian missionary station among them. After building a cabin he went to Pennsylvania to find a suitable associate, one qualified to teach the Indian children to read and write, and thus assist him in. his missionary labors, This companion he found in John Heckewelder, of Bethlehem, who was then engaged at some mechanical employment. In March, 1762, they started for their western mission, Heckewelder being then a youth of only nineteen years. After thirty-three days of weary horse-back travel, they arrived at the Muskingum (now called' the Tuscarawas), and with expressions of gratitude for their protection during their long and perilous journey, they at once took possession of the cabin built by the self-sacrificing missionary the preceding year. Other appropriate devotional exercises signalized their safe arrival in the wilderness of the Muskingum, which, however, was then to be the scene of their missionary operations for a very brief period. They cleared some ground around their cabin and cultivated corn and vegetables for their subsistence, but before the autumn months had gone by, the jealousy and hostility of the Indians rendered their condition not only unpleasant but unsafe, and the mission had to be abandoned, the missionaries returning to Pennsylvania. Ten years later, (1772,) Rev. David Zeisberger renewed the attempt to establish missions on the Upper Muskingum. The first settlement, station, or village that he founded was called Schonbrun, meaning a "beautiful clear spring," and was situated on the west side of the Muskingum, two or three miles from the present town of New Philadelphia, the county seat of Tuscarawas county. The second mission station was established later in the year 1772, and was called Gnadenhutten, that is "tents of grace," and was situated on the east bank of the Muskingum, seven miles below Schonbrun. In this year Rev. John George Jungman located as a missionary at Schonbrun, and in 1773, Rev. John Roth, also a missionary, commenced his labors at Gnadenhutten. In 1776, the Moravians, under the lead of Rev. David Zeisberger, established the town and mission station of Lichtenau, within two miles of the "Forks of the Muskingum" (now Coshocton); and in :1780, Salem, situated on the west bank of the Muskingum, about five miles below Gnadenhutten, was established under the leadership of the same indefatigable missionary. Rev. John Heckewelder was its early minister, and it was here in July, 1780, he entered into the married relation with Sarah Ohneberg, a teacher at the Muskingum mission stations. Revs. Adam Grube, Edwards, Senseman, and others were missionaries at the above named villages at various times. The forcible removal of the Missionaries and of the Moravian Indians from the Musk- 40 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. ingum to Sandusky, by Elliott an emissary of the British, in September, 1781, and the murder of ninety-four of them who, in February, 1782, had returned to gather the corn they had raised the previous season, terminated Moravian missions for many years on the Upper Muskingum. Until 1786 there were none within the present limits of Ohio. During said year Rev. John Heckewelder, and others, established a mission on the Cuyahoga River, twelve miles from its mouth, which was composed mainly of those who had formerly lived on the Muskingum, and who had spent the past few years at New Gnadenhutten, on Huron River, thirty miles north of Detroit. This mission station on the Cuyahoga, known in Moravian history as "Pilgrims'' Rest," was abandoned in 1790, the members returning to the vicinity of Detroit, and ultimately locating near the river Thames, where they built the town of Fairfield. The subsequent history of Moravian missionary effort in Ohio belongs to territorial and later times, but it may be here stated that Revs. Heckewelder and Edwards, in 1798, again established a mission at the Muskingum, upon the site of Gnadenhutten; and in the autumn of said year their fellow-laborers, Revs. Zeisberger and Mortimer, established another upon the Schonbrun tract, and named it Goshen. It was situated seven miles from Gnadenhutten, where the venerated. Zeisberger labored until his death, in 1808, and where he and Edwards are buried. The Muskingum Moravian mission stations were finally brought to a' close in the year 1823, the general government having purchased at that time all the interests previously acquired by the Moravians. Rev. John Heckewelder was conspicuously identified with our pre-territorial, our territorial, and state history, and has been called one of the founders of Ohio. He was a man of talents, of character and integrity, and was one of the associate judges of Tuscarawas county in 1808, 1809, and 1810, when he finally left Ohio, and returned to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he died January 31, 1823, having passed into the closing months of his eightieth year; His influence as a philanthropist, philosopher, pioneer, teacher, author, diplomatist, statesman, ambassador, jurist, and as a Christian missionary, was invaluable. An interesting appendix to Hutchins' history of Bouquet's Expedition describes five different routes from Fort Pitt through the Ohio wilderness. One of these was .128 miles /to the forks of the Muskingum, at Coshocton; six to Bullett's Town on the Muskingum (Virginia township); ten to Wakatomaka, now Dresden, Muskingum county; twenty-seven to King Beaver's Town, near the source of the Hockhocking; forty to the lower Shawnees Town, or the Sciota; twenty to Salt Town, near the source of the Scioto; 190 northeast to Fort Miamis, now Fort Wayne, Indiana; a total distance of 426 miles. Years before the settlement of this country by the white man, there was an Indian trail from Grave creek on the Ohio river to the Scioto towns. It was the route for Indians to travel on their marauding expeditions in Virginia. No doubt many white captives passed over the route, never again returning to their Virginia homes. From Renrock, Noble county, it crossed the line of the county into Meigs township, passing up Negro ridge, crossing Meigs creek near Joseph Trainer's store, thence past the present residence of Mr. Perley Sevall, the M'Cune farm, Rural Dale and crossing the Muskingum river at Gaysport, thence by Union Hill across the Morgan county line. The earliest route of travel in the southern part of Muskingum county was the old Federal or Indian trail. The name Federal trail was given it by a portion of St. Clair's army who were unable to obtain water transportation to Fort Washington, passing over it in 1791. John F. Talley, an old settler in Muskingum county and an ex-surveyor of Morgan county, says: In 1820 the seventy-fourth mile tree was standing near the location of James M'Cune's barn in Blue Rock township. This tree was marked "Seventy-four miles from Grave Creek, 1791." In 1820, some vandal destroyed the mark with his ax. From Gaysport to Rural Dale this trail was used by the settlers. Fallen timber had only to be removed, then it was a road for wagons. About the year 1836, it was found necessary to have the road established by law. The county engineer and viewers, examined the route and the road was laid out on the old Indian or Federal trail. The latter part of. June " (1788), says Hildreth, a party of thirty men under the command of Lieut, McDowel, of Fort Harmer, was sent up by water with provisions and presents of goods to the falls of Muskingum, in preparation for the approaching treaty, which was ex-. pected to be held with the Indians on the arrival of Gov. St. Clair. The place chosen for this transaction is about sixty miles from the mouth, on the right bank of the river, where the town of Taylorsville now stands. They were ordered up by Col, Harmer, to erect a council house and build huts for the comfort of the men and the security of the goods against the weather. This remote spot was selected HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 41 by the Indians, in preference to Fort Harmer, as being nearer their own homes, a well-known and favorite locality and not under the influence of a military post. They had commenced assembling from the different tribes, especially in large numbers from the Delawares. Among them was a band of Chippewas, and other Indians, outcasts from different tribes, amounting to about twenty. On the night of the 12th of July, these desperadoes crept slily around the tent containing the goods and fired on the sentries, ten in number, with the intention of plundering them. By this discharge two men were killed and one or two wounded. The sentries returned their fire, and the rest of the guards running to their assistance, the Indians retired without accomplishing their object. One of the assailants was killed and one wounded. The same night they killed and scalped a mulatto man, servant to Maj. Duncan, a trader who was waiting for the assembly of the tribes, with goods to barter for their skins and peltries. The falls were soon, after named Duncan's Falls; which it retained until the slack-water improvement of the Muskingum obliterated the rapids at this place. The next day, on examining the dead Indian, the Delawares pronounced him to be a Chippewa, and that they had no knowledge of, or concern, in the attack. As a test of their ignorance, the Delawares came fearlessly into the camp, bringing with them their women and children. In addition they seized upon six of the offending band, tied them with thongs and handed them over to the commandant of the troops, to be dealt with as they might deserve. They were brought down to Fort Harmer by the reinforcement which went up the next day, and kept in irons for some time, but were finally allowed to escape, either by design or the carelessness of their guards. The large boat belonging to the Ohio Company was sent up, and the goods, stores and troops transported to Fort Harmer This untoward event postponed the treaty for several months. Chalklly Frame, under date of August 4, 1887, gave to the Ohio State Journal, this interesting history: " Years before this fine valley was known to the whit man, a branch of the once great Shawnee nation built Old Town, an Indian village on the site of Duncan's falls. For years White Eyes, the chief, was on friendly terms with the white people, and rendered them assistance in his Indian way. The legendary and historical interest of Duncan's falls has more than interest imparted to it by the tragic fate of the adventurous trapper who gave his name to this place. The different accounts of this intrepid trapper are the same excepting in dates of his death. One places it in 1774, and another in 1794, the evidence being in favor of the first date. He came from Virginia to this place, and being on friendly terms with the Indians at the Old Town village, he was permitted to remain by their chief, White Eyes, to hunt and trap and carry on a little trade with them. This continued for perhaps four years, when he discovered his traps had been meddled with and some of his game stolen. This so enraged him that he resolved to watch and see, if possible, who the guilty party was, when he discovered an Indian taking game from his trap, whereupon he shot the thief. He continued to watch for some months, and made it a point to shoot all Indians who meddled with his rights. He found it necessary to keep himself concealed from them. They were not the friendly Indians of Old Town, but a hostile band who roamed on the west side of the river. They were enraged, and sought an opportunity to capture him. Duncan's place of abode was unknown to them, and when sometimes they saw him on one side of the river and again on the other side, they watched to see how he crossed and could find neither skiff nor boat. This was a great mystery and he baffled them for a long time. Finally they discovered he crossed the river on rocks with a stout long pole, and his manner of crossing was to skip from rock to rock with the aid of the pole, or lay it down from one rock to another where the water was deep and walk over; then move the pole and so get across. This he generally did in the night. On the fatal night, two parties of the bravest Indian warriors, lying in ambush watching, saw him equipped with his gun and pole, leap lightly from rock to rock, till he approached the main channel. Here he placed his pole one end on each side of the channel, and had passed half way over, when a volley from the Indians struck him and he fell dead in the middle of the river. Next day his body was found one-half mile below, on a gravelly ripple. This point was given the name of 'Dead Man's ripple,' from the fact that the dead body of Duncan was found on it and the falls at that place were called Dun-can's falls because it was there that Duncan fell. After the death of Duncan his habitation was found up a small stream on the east side, a short distance below the ' Dead Man's ripple.' The rock cave has ever since been known as Duncan's cave. On the island between the river and the canal, years ago, a gun was found. The gun was purchased by Mr. 42 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. Brelsford*, of Zanesville, a gunsmith, who shortened the barrel and put on a new stock, as the old one was worthless, and took from it a load of powder that had probably been put in it by Duncan. The gun is at present owned by Col. Z. M. Chandler, of the 78th regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, of the Ninth ward, Zanesville, who highly prizes it for its great antiquity and being the gun, as is supposed, that was carried by the daring Duncan. Much of this account of Duncan is gathered from the `Indian Wars,' a small book published in Virginia the beginning of this century." *John Brelsford, since deceased. In nearly all parts of the county Indian relics have been found, but it is thought that there was no permanent Indian town within the present borders of Muskingum, except that at Dresden previously referred to, and Old Town southeast of Duncan's falls. During the pioneer days many Indians camped temporarily within or passed through the county, but they were for the most part friendly to the whites. Red men became fewer and fewer as the years went by, and finally they disappeared entirely before the march of civilization. Some incidents in which Indians figured will be referred to in the histories of some of the townships of the county. CHAPTER III SETTLEMENT, REMINISCENCES, ETC. FROM an official source, the compiler derives the following account of titles in Ohio, which will be found to cover the whole ground fully and explicitly: The territory that now constitutes Ohio was first of all, so far as we 'can judge, in the full possession of the race of Mound-Builders; afterwards (but still in prehistoric times), its sole occupants and owners for some centuries were unquestionably those. Indian tribes or nations already named, and probably the Eries and others that had been subjected to expulsion or extermination. They, as well as the Mound-Builders, held titles acquired probably by priority of discovery, by conquest, by occupancy, or possession. Possessory titles they might be appropriately styled. It is stated by Parkman, and probably by other accredited historians, that the adventurous La Salle, in 1670, accompanied by a few heroic followers, passed from Lake Erie south, over the portage into the Allegheny river, perhaps by way of one of its numerous tributaries, and from thence down into the Ohio, which they descended as far as the "falls" of said river (at Louisville;) and that they were therefore the first white men—the first of European birth—to enter upon the soil of Ohio; the first civilized men to discover and explore the territory that constitutes the now populous. State. It must be admitted that some shades of doubt rest upon the foregoing problematical expedition of Cavalier La Salle; but whether he-voyaged down the Ohio or not at the, time named, his name must ever be identified with the State as one of its earliest explorers, if not its discoverer, so far as the white race is concerned, as will be made apparent in the following paragraphs. In 1679, this intrepid explorer accompanied by thirty-four Frenchmen, sailed along the entire length of the southern shore of lake Erie, in the "Griffin," a vessel of about sixty tons burthen, which he had built in the Niagara river, above the "falls," and which was the first vessel that ever unfurled a sail on said lake, or upon any waters within the present limits of Ohio. Again, in 1682, La Salle descended the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to the mouth of the latter; and in 1684 he sailed past the mouth of the Mississippi (which he intended to enter, but failed), and along the Gulf of Mexico to some point on the coast of Texas, and landing there, became its discoverer. And it is upon these three last named voyages, and upon the provisions of some European treaties, more than upon the somewhat doubtful and uncertain voyage of discovery by La Salle down the Ohio river to the "falls," in 167o, that France rested her title, claiming that the Upper Valley of the Ohio (at least the portion northwest of the HISTORY OF MUKINGUM COUNTY - 43 Ohio river), was a part of Louisiana, thus acquired by La Salle for France, and held by said power by right of discovery and possession. There was, of course, little controversy between Great Britain and France as to title northwest of the Ohio river, before the formation of the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, when and by which certain matters in dispute between those governments were adjusted. And France not only asserted ownership and held possession of the territory that now constitutes Ohio, from the time of the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, until the treaty of Paris, in 1763, by which peace was established between France and England, but also exercised authority therein, and maintained control over it by military force. And this, too, in defiance of titles set up by Great Britain, one of which being based upon treaties with the Iroquois or Six Nations of Indians, who claimed to have conquered the whole country from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and from the lakes to Carolina, and hence were its owners, and authorized to dispose of it. By conquest and treaty stipulations, Great Britian came into possession in 1763, and substantially retained it until the close of the Revolutionary war, when, by the treaty of peace concluded at Paris in 1783, and ratified by the American congress in January 1784, ownership was vested in the government of the United States, which in October, 1784, by the terms. of the treaty of Fort Stanwix, extinguished the title of the Six Nations to the Ohio valley, and which, from time to time, by treaties concluded at various times and places, extinguished all other Indian titles, and thus acquired full right to the soil, and complete and undisputed territorial jurisdiction, By the treaties of Forts McIntosh and Finney alone, held respectively in January, 1785, and 1786, all Indian titles to Ohio territory were extinguished, except that portion situated chiefly between the Cuyahoga and Maumee Rivers. New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, after the, ratification of the treaty of peace, in. 1784, between Great Britain and the United States, and for some time before, had asserted claims to portions of the territory now composing the state of Ohio, and Virginia claimed title to the whole of it and much more, even to the "entire extent of the territory northwest of the river Ohio," organized four years thereafter. Virginia had asserted ownership, and exercised a nominal jurisdiction over the territory of the state, by establishing the county of Botetourt, in 1769, whose western boundry was the Mississippi river: The State's claim 'was founded, as heretofore stated, upon certain charters granted to the colony of Virginia by James I, bearing dates, respectively, April 10, 1606; May 23, 1609; and March 12 , 1611; also upon the conquest of the country, between the the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and the northern lakes, by General George Rogers Clark, in 1878-79. But whatever the claim was founded upon, the state legislature waived all title and ownership to it (except to the Virginia Military district), and all authority over it, by directing the representatives of said state (Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy; Arthur Lee, and James Moore) to cede to the United States all right, title, and claim, as well of soil as of jurisdiction, with the exception named, "to the territory of said state lying and being to the northwest of the river Ohio;" which was accordingly done, March 1, 1784. The charter of Massachusetts, upon which that state's title was based, was granted within less than twenty-five years after the arrival of the Mayflower; and that of Connecticut, bearing date March 19, 1631, both embracing territory extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and that of New York, obtained from Charles II, on March 2, 1664, included territory that had been previously granted to Massachusetts and Connecticut, hence, the conflict, of claims between those states, their several charters covering, to some extent, the same territory; and hence, also, their contest with Virginia as to a portion of the soil of Ohio. Probably the titles of some or all of the aforesaid contesting states were in some way affected by the provisions of treaties with the Iroquois, or by the fact of their recognition by them, as appendants of the government of New York, New York's deed of cession was favorably reported upon by a committee of congress May 1, 1782; and by like acts of patriotism, magnanimity, and generosity to those of New York and Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut soon followed by similar acts of relinquishment of title or by corresponding deeds of cession to the United States. The legislature of the state of Massachusetts, on the 13th day of November, 1784, authorized her delegates in congress to cede the title of that state to all the territory west of the western boundary of the state of New York to the United States, and the measure was consummated in 1785. Connecticut, in September, 1786, ceded all her claim to soil and jurisdiction west of what is now known as the Western Reserve, to the United States. Five hundred thousand acres of the western portion of the Western Reserve was set apart for the relief of 44 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. the Connecticut sufferers by fire during the Revolution, since known as the "Firelands"; the Indian title to which was extinguished by the treaty at Fort Industry (now Toledo), in 1805, Charles Jouett being the United States commissioner, and the chiefs of the Shawnees, Wyandottes, Chippewas, Ottawas and solve minor tribes representing the, interests of the Indians. The remainder of the Western Reserve tract, amounting to about three millions of acres, was sold, and the proceeds dedicated to educational purposes; and has served as the basis of Connecticut's common school fund. Jurisdictional claim to the Western Reserve was ceded by Connecticut to the United States May 30, 1801. The Indian treaties by which. the lands in Ohio were purchased are thus set forth by Atwater: "By the treaties, with the Indians of 1785-6, congress acquired the lands watered by the Muskingum, Sciota, Little and Great Miami rivers. In 1788, another treaty was made, by which the country was purchased, from the mouth of the Cuyahoga river to the. Wabash, lying south. and east of a certain line mentioned in the treaty. The Indians were dissatisfied with this treaty, and it was not relied on by our government. In 1795, twelve tribes attended on General Wayne, and treated with him for the sale of a considerable portion of the now territory included within our limits. In 1805, seven tribes sold to the United States all that part of New Connecticut lying west of the Cuyahoga river. In this treaty the Connecticut people joined, and paid $4,000 to the Indians, and agreed to pay them $12,000 more. In 1807, that part of Ohio which lies north of the Maumee, and east of the meridian line, passing through the mouth of the. Auglaize river, was purchased of the Indians. In 1808, a strip of territory, two miles wide, was acquired by treaty, running from the western boundary of the Western Reserve to the Maumee river at the rapids. And in the same treaty, another strip, 120 feet in width, was acquired, also running along the bank of the Maumee. These cessions were intended for roads. By all these several treaties, the United States acquired four-fifths of this State. That portion of the ceded tracts above latitude 41̊ north, extending from Pennsylvania, on the east, to the western limits of Sandusky and Seneca counties, was given by Congress to Connecticut, and is called the Western Reserve, or New Connecticut. It extends 120 miles from east to west., and on an average is so miles in width, from north to south. Its area contains about 3,800,000 acres. Five hundred thousand acres of this tract, off the west end, the State of Connecticut gave to certain sufferers by fire in the Revolutionary war. A part of the ceded lands lying along the Ohio river, including the. mouths of the Muskingum and the Hockhocking rivers, was sold by the old congress to the Ohio Company. This was the first sale of lands before the present constitution of the United States was adopted.. It was sold for one dollar an acre, payable in congress notes, at twenty shillings in a pound, whereas the interest on these notes made them worth twenty-eight shillings and sixpence on the pound at that time. These securities were funded under the constitution of the United States, and became a part of the national debt from that time forward, until paid off. So the Ohio Company made a very bad bargain for themselves with Congress. John Cleves Symmes, of New jersey, was the next purchaser of land in Ohio. He bought of the old congress the land lying between the mouths of the two Miamis, and extending northerly so as to contain 600,000 acres. Symmes gave sixty-six cents an acre for his land. On the 13th day of July, 1787, congress assumed the jurisdiction of this territory, and passed an ordinance for its government, by the provision of which ordinance the territory was to be governed by a governor, secretary and three judges. The president appointed these officers. These persons were to make the laws and excute them. This form of defective government was to continue until the Northwestern territory contained 5,000 free white male inhabitants over 21 years of age, when the people were authorized to elect a legislative house of assembly. The house of representatives of the United States congress were to nominate a legislative council and the assembly were authorized to appoint a delegate to congress. This second grade of colonial government was to continue until the population of each part of the Northwestern territory, into which it was eventually to be divided (not less than three nor more than five states), amounted to 60,000. Then this colonial government was to cease, and such territory was to become a state, and be admitted into the Union on the same footing with the original thirteen states. This act of the old congress of 1787 contained other provisions of the greatest value. By that ordinance there was never to be either slavery or involuntary servitude in the territory northwest of the Ohio river. All the larger streams were declared forever to be highways, and remain free from all obstructions to all who wished to navigate them. They were declared to be highways, and so to remain forever. HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 47 These are the most material provisions of this ordinance of the old congress. Virginia had reserved the lands lying between the Scioto and "Little Miami rivers, which she gave to her soldiers of the revolution belonging to the continental army as a reward for their services. This we call the Virginia Military tract. And the United States had. promised her soldiers who had served during the war of the revolution lands for their services, so congress laid off a tract for that purpose, lying south of New Connecticut, extending from the Ohio river on the east to the Scioto on the west. This is the United States Military tract. There were some refugees during the revolutionary war, from Nova Scotia, to whom congress gave a strip of land, extending from the Muskingum, opposite Zanesville to the Scioto at Columbus ; it is several miles in width. The remaining parts of the state were surveyed by congress, and' are now (1838) mostly sold. That portion of our state, not until then purchased of the Indians, was ceded to us during Mr. Monroe's administration, except some small reservations. In the United States lands, the Virginia Military, and in part of Symmes' purchase, the original owner obtains his patent from the United States land office. Lands ceded to Ohio by congress, on condition of making-certain canals, are deeded to purchasers by our governor and secretary of state" and disembarked at the site of Marietta on April 7, 1788, and thus by forty-eight men was begun the settlement of the State of Ohio and of the Northwest territory. Following this and other events previously referred to, settlements were rapidly established at other points. On the first of December, 1787, the advance detachment of the Ohio Company's first band of pioneers departed for the West from Danvers, Mass., under the command of Maj. Haffield White, being sent ahead to build boats upon the Youghiogheny, a small affluent of the Monongahela, in Western Pennsylvania. Another party, including the surveyors and a member of the Ohio Company, under Col. Ebenezer Sproat, left Hartford, Conn., January 1, 1778. Gen. Rufus. Putman, who was to have commanded the march, was detained in New York, and overtook the company in Eastern Pennsylvania on the '24th of the month. On the 14th of February they arrived at Sumrill's ferry, on the Youghiogheny, where they met the men who had preceded them. The remainder of February and the whole of March were consumed in the building of boats, and on the 1st of April the united company, embarking upon a little flotilla, consisting of three log canoes, a flat boat and a galley of fifty tons burden, called originally the "Adventure Galley," but afterward the" Mayflower," left Sumrill's ferry, and floating down the Youhiogheny to the Monongahela, was borne onward to the Ohio. Peacefully and uneventfully the great river swept them southward. They arrived, A Virginian, named Duncan, clad in buckskin, appeared on the banks of the Muskingum, near the Indian village known as Old Town. His life, exploits and death and the naming of the falls near the present site of Taylorsville in his honor, are elsewhere referred to. The need of a known route, along which the settler might proceed to find for himself a home in the forests, induced congress to pass a law, in May, 1796, authorizing Ebenezer Zane to lay out a road from Wheeling, Va., to what is now Maysville, Ky. In 1'797, Zane, in company with his brother, Jonathan Zane, and his son-in-law, John McIntire; experienced woodsmen, surveyed the desired road, and the latter two proceeded to cut out obstructions, so as to make the route passable on horseback. To remunerate Mr. Zane for locating this road, congress gave him the privilege of selecting three sections of military land, each one mile square. The first of these was located where the "Zane trace," as the road was called, crossed the Muskingum river, the second at the Hockhocking river, and the third at the Scioto river. A distinction is made between an actual grant and a permit to locate on unappropriated lands. The law clearly indicated the latter. Duncan's falls was the first point chosen for a crossing of the Muskingum, but the immense and valuable hydraulic power furnished by the falls at the present site of Zanesville, induced Zane to cross at that place, and thus gain the privilege of locating the section of land including the falls. For their assistance in making the trace, Jonathan Zane and John McIntire received the Muskingum section, on which they laid out nineteen squares of the present city of Zanesville. The place was first given the name of Westbourne, and was so known until a. postoffice was established, under the name of Zaneville. In 1797 two old frontier scouts from Virginia squatted at the mouth of the Licking, and erected the pioneer cabins Their names were Elias Hughes and. John Ratliff. A number of families joined them in 1798, and the "Mouth of Licking" settlement grew in importance. These two remained but a year, and :then removed twenty miles up the Licking. Among their early successors was John Channel, a noted hunter, who, likewise, in 1804, moved up the Licking. In 1798 three pioneers came on from 48 - HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY. Virginia, accompanied by wives and children. The Blands started with four children from Pendleton county, Va., to find a northwestern home. Hundreds of miles they rode on packhorses, along blind bridle-paths; over the Alleghany mountains to Marietta, thence up to the "Mouth of Licking." No cabin stood ready to receive the travelers, and rest was taken in a sugar-camp. Before Bland had a cabin ready to occupy; a son was born to him, and Silas Bland, the child of the sugar-camp, was rocked to sleep in a sugar-trough, and began his long and honorable career in the hardships of a savage life. Henry. Smith was a justice of the peace, appointed by Gov. St. Clair in 1799; his wife, born at Hagerstown in 1770, lived fifty years on the frontier, and died at the age of ninety-seven. The third of the Virginians, the Priests, lived several years at the "Mouth of Licking," and thence removed- to a settlement established at the mouth of the Wakatomaka, now Dresden. As an evidence of hardship, associated with energy, it may be said that Mrs. Priest walked from Culpeper to Muskingum, 400 miles, carrying an infant. The entire furniture and the five elder children were conveyed on pack-horses. The journey was of thirty-two days' duration, and Winchester and Wheeling were the only villages worth noting on the route. Mrs. Priest lived to the age of one hundred and two years. In 18o1, two pioneers occasionally visited the little Village of Zanesville; one was Maj. Cass, from Wakatomaka; the other, Squire Reeves, from Salt creek.. The former secured .a tract of 4,000 acres of rich bottom lands between the Wakatomaka creek and the Muskingum, and there closed an eventful life. He was the father of Gen. Lewis Cass. The latter crossed the mountains, an adventurous pioneer, and located on Salt creek in 1801. He was of that enterprising and manly class to whom, in a great degree, is to be ascribed the later successful development of the county. Further details of the settlement of the county will be found, in the several township histories. The dates of settlement in each township may be 'thus given approximately, at least, in all cases, exactly in most: Falls, 1790; Muskingum, 1797; Newton, 1797; Harrison, 1798; Jefferson and Cass, 1799; Madison, 1800; Salt Creek, 1800; Washington, 1801; Adams, 1801; Perry, 1802; Springfield, 1802; Wayne, 1802; Licking, 1802; Hopewell, 1803; Union, 1803 to 1806; Blue Rock, 1805; Rich Hill, 1805; Meigs, 1807; Highland, 1808; Monroe, 1810; Salem, 1810; Brush Creek, 1810; Clay, 1812; Jackson, 1815. The following incidents of pioneer life and mention of pioneers and early conveniences and improvements are from the storehouse of the memory of many an old resident of the county and were penned by one long familiar with Muskingum and its history. Pioneer adventures and settlers' journeys, early customs and rude structures are priceless legacies to, the later generations, and the simple reminiscences of Muskingum's first residents are pleasant reading and valuable reference. Reuben Atchinson was engaged as principal chainman to Mr. Buckingham in 1802, and from then till 1812 aided in. the survey of Muskingum and other counties. About half a mile down the Muskingum river, and separated from South Zanesville by a bluff, is Putnam. The land on which it stands was purchased at Marietta in 1801, at the first public sale of United States lands held in this county, by Rufus Putnam, Increase Mathews and Levi Whipple. During the same year they laid out the town, and in 1802, the first houses were erected. The name of Springfield was given to the place, and retained till 1815. The early settlers of this part of Zanesville were from New England, and among them lived. Mr. Atchinson, of the surveying party. He used to tell of traveling down the old Marietta and Zanesville trail, blazed through the woods when not a single clearing existed on the way. When starting upon the trip, he would place a blanket and pack-saddle upon a horse, mount and ride on till night or weariness overtook him, then camping by the way, he would build a fire as a defense against the wolves while he slept. When nights were bright and moon-lit he could see wolves trooping and capering along the hillsides, while their howling made hideous discord on the air. In 1815 he located on the west branch of Wills creek, and was a schoolteacher as early as 1817. The log cabin is an American habitation. Its history is associated with all the dear old memories which cluster around the life of a pioneer. Its roof sheltered the noblest citizens of the broad State. Its school or church is dear as the scenes of our childhood. To raise the cabin was a duty arid pleasure. The new settler notified the pioneers within a circuit of eight or ten miles. These promptly assembled at the site. Ox-teams hauled the logs, while choppers cut them in right lengths. Some split clapboards of oak for the roof, each six to eight inches wide, four feet long, and half to three-fourths of an inch thick. When all was ready, a good axeman stood at each corner to notch the logs, while others shoved them HISTORY OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY - 49 into position. A story completed, straight saplings were placed across to rest a clap-board loft. From the second story the logs were cut shorter and the ends tapered to form a roof by placing straight logs three or four feet apart as rests for the clap-boards, the last log of the main round jutting over for the eaves, upon which was placed a log for the first course of clap-boards. Each course was secured by a roof-pole, supported by blocks extending from pole to pole. The chimneys were very large. On the outside they were built of split timber, and, lined with stone and clay. A section of the logs was cut out for a door, chimney and a window or two. The floor was made of split timber, called puncheons. Many of the cabins had only earth floors for several years. Generally the settler was influenced in his location by the vicinity of a fine spring. The cabin being finished, congratulations followed, and all hands dispersed. Their homes, built by generosity, were ever the abode of hospitality, and the pioneers of Muskingum passed in them the happiest of their many years. Names and dates will make the following apply to many a scene in the early days of old Muskingum. The dense forest yielded to the united strength of the settlers. Custom assembled the pioneers for miles, to cut and heap the logs. To secure advantageous work the hands were divided into squads, and, aided by ox-teams, the piles were made ready for firing. These loggings required strength, and the strong backwoodsmen competed for the championship. With rugged frame, the pioneers were full of fun and frolic. Often when the rolling was done a foot-race, a wrestle or a boxing-match was in order. If blows followed, hands had to be shaken, a mutual drink taken and the parties agree to, be good friends. It was held cowardly to hold resentment. The finest enjoyment of the youth was at corn-huskings, flax-scutchings and quiltings. The corn was broken from the stalk, hauled and piled in a long row, and an invite sent out. When gathered captains —were chosen, who selected their hands; the pile was measured and a rail marked the centre. The captains took positions next the rail to see fair play. "Husk!" is the signal for a lively, exciting rivalry. A song, a drink of whisky, shouting and hurrahing were all in keeping. Some hid away unhusked corn, and, if undiscovered, were esteemed shrewd. Work done, supper was called, and then the women folks were found to have had a good time quilting and preparing a bountiful meal. Then came the "French Four" and the "Old Virginia Reel"; and the pioneers never felt better than when keeping time to the merry old chime of the violin upon the puncheon floor. Cottons, calicoes and other goods were costly. Home manufacture supplied the want. Flax was heavily raised by the early settlers, who of the linen made general wearing apparel. Mixed with wool, it was known as "linsey-woolsey," and worn by both sexes. The men wore hunting-shirts, which had a cape, a belt and fringe upon the edges, and were a favorite garment of that day. The women were no laggards, and every rude home contained a wheel, and most housewives could use the loom. Young men and women gathered to scutch the flax: The straw was broken, the shives separated and prepared for spinning and weaving. The work done, a pleasant dance concluded all. Roads were prime necessities, and we have seen the bounty paid to Zane for brushing out a trace. The first road was the Zanesville and Marietta highway. It kept along the ridges eastwardly at the head of the three valleys. Roads were opened up the valley to intersect this road as early as 1816. In 1804 Andrew Crooks opened a wagon-road to Jonathan's creek, Newton township, and, locating at the point where it crossed Zane's Trace, opened a public house, which was known for many years as Cook's tavern. The acts of commissioners are chiefly relative to the survey and location, on petition, of roads to convenient points. The early road was but ten or twelve feet wide. Brush was cut and piled beside the road. There were too few to keep the roads in order for them to be good. The road-master was a public benefactor and a person of importance. Logs were cut, ruts were filled and bridges made, and much hard labor done. Slowly and with difficulty loaded teams proceeded, and the journeys over the routes to Marietta or to Pittsburg are still a memorable portion of the early history of other than the Muskingum pioneers. The first settlers found the woods filled with game. They obtained meat, grease for cooking, skins for bedding and much exciting pastime by hunting. In the winter of 1792 two hunters from Marietta, named Hamilton Kerr and Peter Nighswonger, killed six buffaloes. In one day these men killed forty-five deer in Washington county, and afterwards secured the venison. The bear and the wolf disappeared from Muskingum about 1820. Among the last bears killed was one which made its appearance near the home of Joshua Brown., It was seen by a party of men at work