Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/541

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��woods of gi-and old oaks, sugar, hickory, beech and all varieties of hard wood ; these towering hills, quiet ^'alleys and dark ravines ; these sparkling streams, springs of pure water, and little lakes ; the great variety of game and fish, altogether made this region a perfect Indian home.

From the time of the first settlement to the present, the farmers have plowed up great num- bers of Indian relics — flint arrow-points, stone axes, stone wedges and many other varieties of stone implements. Hundreds of these are now in possession of the people, but too often they are passed by and plowed under again without a thought of their value. On the farm of Ben- jamin Staman (the same upon which Martin Ruflfnor, who was killed by the Indians, built his cabin) is an old Indian burA'ing-ground. It is about one-fourth of a mile west of Staman's Mill. A number of graves were found and, be- ing quite shallow, were readily exposed. The most sti'iking peculiarit}- about them is the fact that the bodies were buried in a sort of stone coflfln. After digging the gi'ave, it appears the bottom was covered with small bowlders, the body placed upon them and a sort of wall of the same materials placed around it. Over it were placed flat stones, thus forming a stone coffin, upon which the dirt was thrown. Many of these skeletons were in a good state of pres- ervation when discovered. It is also stated that near the cemetery have been found many trinkets, used as ornaments for the nose and ears. Mr. Staman has a small collection of relics, gathered from different parts of his farm ; among others, a musket barrel, partly rusted away, which was found about eighteen inches under- ground, near the bank of the Black Fork. One of Johnny Appleseed's nurseries was located on this same farm, about half a mile from Petersburg.

On the bottom northwest of Petersburg (Mif- flin), is a large mound, evidently an artificial structure. It is composed of drift-rounded bowlders, gravel and light loam.

��In the year 1809, the red men of Black Fork heard "the first low wash of waves," coming up that stream from the direction of the Muskingum, and the "human sea," destined soon to overwhelm and destroy them. In that year, James Copus, from Greene County, Penn., became the first actual settler in the township. He was afterward murdered by the Indians, to- gether with Martin Ruffner and the Zimmer family, all these names being familiar in the history of this State. As this tragedy receives particular attention in a separate chapter, no detailed account of it will be given in the his- tory of the township.

In the same 3'ear, several white men came up as far as Greentown, where about one hun- dred Indians were living in comfortable cabins, under an old chief named Armstrong. Among them were Samuel Lewis, Henry McCart, Mr. ShaeflTer and Andrew Craig. The latter was in this vicinity before James Copus, but so far as is known, did not settle within the limits of Miiflin. These men and others were hunting homes in the wilderness, and maj^ have squatted for a short time, and some permanently, in the township about the same time with Mr. Copus. The nextA-ear (1810), Archibald Gardner, Samuel Hill, David Hill and some others came. It is not certainly known whether they came in the fall of 1809, or the spring of 1810, more likely the latter. It is a question whether Samuel Hill or Archibald Gardner was the first settler in Mifflin on the Richland County side of the line, but the preponderance of evidence seems to be in favor of the former. Samuel Hill settled on the north- east quarter of Section 33, now occupied by Solomon Balliett. If he settled there when he first came — and there is no evidence he did not — he was the first, or among the first settlers in Mifflin in Richland County. Where Archibald Gardner was during the j-ear 1810 has not been ascertained, but in the following year, he traveled up the Black Fork, and built his cabin three-fourths of a mile north of the present

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