NOT IN HISTORY

By: T. A. Walton

Ironton Register, Thursday, May 5, 1892
No. 19

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  EDITOR REGISTER. - I read your article, some time since in regard to
the find on the Luke Kelly farm, and was waiting to hear from your esteemed
fellow citizen, Ambrose Jackson Trumbo, for further particulars, but not
hearing from him and reading Mr. Carpenter's letter in regard to it, I at
once got out my "Notes of the early settlers of Lawrence county, Ohio," and
in it find the following.

       "Ante-white man's time or knowledge on the Austin farm appeared
     to have been a battle ground or a town or both, many years ago. Many
     large skeletons of humans, bear tusks, buck horns, and other bones have
     been found at about three feet depth, and large quantities of bullets
     have been picked up from the same farm, which had been plowed out. They
     wee about the size of a musket ball. They have been picked up by the
     hat full, and G. Trumbo plowed up about a peck of bullets which had
     been what appeared to have been a linen sack. There appeared to have
     been a pavement made of broken boulders, on this farm. On this farm
     have been found pieces of earthen ware, tomahawks, stone pipes, arrows
     and stone axes. On a mound on G. Trumbo's land stood a white oak tow
     feet in diameter, the mound was dug to make the brick for A. J.
     Trumbo's house on it; about three feet in depth was a skeleton; over
     the skeleton was a stone about 3 * feet across and 4 inches in depth;
     under the stone was a buck or elks horn about 2 * inches in diameter,
     and nearly in the shape of a pick (it is a beautiful stone and was in
     the possession of A. J. Trumbo) and a stone pipe. There appears to have
     been a battle ground opposite here in Kentucky; on top of high hills
     are stone mounds with skeletons in them."

  I will say in addition to the above extracts, that after diligent
search and inquiry and talking with many people on the subject, I believe
the so called "mound builders" built mounds over their kings or rulers and
over large heaps of dead soldiers, something like is done now where large
numbers are slain in a battle. There were remains of old earthworks and
many, many relics of war in the old sand plain between Paddy creek and the
river. I had gathered battle axes, arrowheads and stones so made as to be
used with a wythe on it and many other weapons of warfare. There were
hundreds of mounds in this bottom, but the chief one seemed to be the one
still standing north of where we lived.
  Where Proctorville now stands was one day part of a well paved city,
but I think the greater part of it is now in the Ohio river. Only a few
mounds, there; one of which was near the C. Wilgus mansion and contained a
skeleton of a very large person, all double teeth, and sound, in a jaw bone
that would go over the jaw with the flesh on, of a large man; the common
burying ground was well filled with skeletons at a depth of about 6 feet.
Part of the pavement was of boulder stone and part of well preserved brick.
  In a pamphlet about the size of an almanac, entitled "Notes of early
times and people in what is now Ohio," I found among other things something
like the following: "In 1764 a French general by the name of General Boquet
who was descending the Ohio river with French soldiers and friendly Indians
under his command, was met by several tribes of Indians in the big bottom of
the Ohio side below what is called Hanging Rock, and there a great battle
was fought and the French defeated."

The above book may be in the Auditor of State's office.

T. A. Walton.

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                    Compiled by Sharon Milich Kouns.


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