Indians of North America -- Antiquities; Mound-builders -- Ohio; Mounds -- Ohio; Ohio -- Antiquities
enclosure will compare not unfavorably with Edinburgh Castle, the
stronghold of Quebec, or the impregnable Gibraltar.
Another stronghold of considerable importance may be seen at Fort
Hill, in Highland county, on an elevation of 500 feet, and enclosing
an area of forty acres. There is another near Piqua, on a hill 160
feet high; and another near the city of Dayton, on a hill 160 feet
high, where a mound is enclosed, which like the ancient watch-towers
of Scripture, can command a view of the whole surrounding country.
Near Carlisle lies the site of another remarkable military enclosure,
which overlooks the fertile valley, between the Twin and Miami Rivers.
Two deep ravines fortify the north and south sides, while an almost
perpendicular bluff fortifies the east. The wall which is partly of
earth and partly of stone is 3,676 feet in length, and encloses a
beautiful area of fifteen acres.
The settlers state that in early times there were two stone mounds and
one stone circle, which contained such excellent building stone, that
they removed them for building purposes. They had to cut a way and
grade it, to remove the stones, which those rude architects of early
prehistoric times found no difficulty in taking from a distant quarry
to that high elevation. We must therefore agree that their knowledge
of the mechanical powers was far superior to anything the Indian race
has shown.
About the largest fortification in Ohio may be seen at Bournville. It
encloses a magnificent area of fertility, on an elevation of 400 feet.
The sides are remarkably steep, and are washed by small creeks, that
empty into Paint Creek hard by. Within the fortification are several
depressions, where water remains most of the year. The area, of
itself, would be a beautiful farm, as it consists of 140 acres. The
wall, which was about 2-1/4 miles in length, is very much in ruins,
being chiefly built of stone. Some years ago the whole place was
covered by the trees, and on the dilapidated stone wall, may still be
seen immense trees, whose growth among the stones helped to displace
them. The decayed wood beneath some of these trees indicates that
successions of forests have flourished since these forts were
abandoned by those who made them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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