Show ANCIENT fortifications ony TO THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON ort in his work north amer lwis ff p 81 gives the following list a for defense b for a purposes e miscellaneous undo adb W aj 0 of f sacrifice b for sites c of sepulchre d of obon 4 r ke of defense seem to be reas the object for which the it number of mounds were built fix reports ports made by distinguished explorers to the peabody museum and the institution we learn that a succession of entrenched camps and fortifications are to be met with in the whole space separating the alleghenies from the rocky mountains mounta the sites for these ramparts stockades and trenches were evidently chosen by persons possessing engineering skill and military acumen in a marked degree the positions selected were such as would utilize natural conditions and advantages thus projections promontories eminences and especially the j u notion action of rivers were fixed upon as strategic points and many of these selections bear witness to im an intelligence that would do honor to the most famous of modern military experts all the he defensive remains are found in the neighborhood of water courses and in close proximity to many of them are the remains of villages and towns which they evidently were intended to protect jt to is a remarkable fact that those incidental ci sites of ancient cities have been pitched upon as most favorable situations for such modern cities as st louis louisa newark portsmouth frankfort new mexico and many others reference is made to these fortified cities in numerous places in the book of mormon alma speaking of the great general moroni says he had been strengthening the armies of the Nep hites and erecting small forts or places of resort throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies and building walls of stone to about round about their cities and the borders of their lands 1 J alma 8 9 and it came to pass that moroni 11 did ad not stop making preparations for war or to defend his bis people against the Lama for he be caused that his armies should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities throughout all the land which was possessed by the Neph Nep itee hites alma I 1 L 1 in corroboration of the statement that stone was sometimes used in the fortifications the author of prehistoric pre historic america I says bourne boisne ville twelve miles from Chilli chillicothe is one of the most curious fortified enclosures in ohio it t occupies the summit of a steep hill the walls wall a rare enough instance are of stone built up without cement the mound builders used the materials at hand band when stones were abundant they piled them up with earth to lo make their walls but these stones are never quarried or dressed nor are they ever cemented with instances may be quoted notably ft a stone fort on duck river near man chester tennessee in which the walls are of unworked stone detached from neighboring rooks rocks at the entrance two mounds can be made out which are supposed to have been posts of observation Per PY P 89 and footnote with regard to the area of some of the defensive earthworks earthworms earth works and the vast extent of some connected systems of fortifications we have the testimony of several reliable authorities squier describes an ancient fortress on fort hill ohio it is built upon an eminence overlooking overlook a stream called paint creek the walls enclose an area of one hundred and eleven acres there are ample evidences that the space protected was occupied with human habitations mr cox reported in 1874 to the american association hartford conn A remarkable remarks bl ancient stone fort in clarke county ohio the space covered by the fort is only about ten acres but the works are remarkably strong and skillfully fully built the hill upon which it stands to Is washed at its base by the ohio and the fourteen mile creek tills hill rises two hundred and eighty feet above the river and on that side presents almost perpendicular walls A break h fault which occurs is defend defended eJ by a wall seventy five ve feet high built of rough stones atones without mortar the sides not no protected by water have a deep ditch dug other earthworms earthworks earth carth works situated in ross ROBE county are described by the same author and known as clarks clark Is works the ridges enclose two hundred and seventy five feet by one hundred and seventy seven in a parallelogram and a square covering an area of sixteen acres it required three million cubic feet of earth to construct these forts forte whittlesey on the weapons and character of the mound builders many of these works are connected with each other with a skill which is very remarkable squier aquier is of the opinion that a continuous system of fortifications stretches diagonally across the state of ohio from the sources of the allegheny alleghany Alleg hany liany and of in the state of new york to the wabash river there are three forts forte on the line of the great miami river biver one at its mouth another at colerain and still another at hamilton beyond this last point other works extend for a distance of six miles mile along salong the river protecting the tributaries tributa ries of the great miami on the north and west or ranged in succession as far as dayton or piqua liqua so as to complete the line of defense all these points are isolated mounds mostly situated upon hills commanding an extensive view A mound on the ohio called themi the mi amis burgh mound is a good ermen of these signal stations station sas as they are supposed to have been it is now biety eight feet in height and an deight leight hundred and sixty two feet in circumference at the base short the north americans of antiquity 0 p 62 52 there is another lofty eminence called lookout mountain a short dis tance from Cir circleville cleville of the same character of course the ravages of time and the perpetual attrition of the elements have lessened considerably the altitude of these them observation towers while the breadth of the base would be proportionately tiona tely increased hy by the washing down of the earth fort ancient affords one of the best beat examples of the magnitude and importance of these earth works abild and the amount of work and skill employed in the defensive operations of the mound builders there are numerous earth works which while they can scarcely be called military forts were evidently permanent defenses against an ever present danger they occur mostly in the western states it to is certain that the walls enclosed the habitations tombs and other appurtenances of man mans a fixed abode A regular form and style characterized them all all the figures ara are perfect and all sides equal with right angles A remarkable example is found in the scioto valley newark it includes an covering an area fifty seven acres acree a square ot of twenty acres and two circles of twenty and thirty acres respectively ively the walls of the largest circle are twelve feet high by fifty feet wide at their base they are protected by a trench in the inside seven feet deep by thirty five feet wide according to a survey made by colonel whittlesey the whole of these works occupy an area of twelve miles square the large entrances are defended by slopes thirty five feet high and trenches thirteen feet deep on these abandoned ruins forest trees have grown to a great age others preceded them as their gigantic trunks now in a state of decomposition bear witness cicman man actuated by motives unknown to us 11 says bac I 1 fled from these scenes where everything testifies to his power and his bis intelligence the vigorous vegetation of nature is the only life which has endured pre his am p JOHN H K to be continued |