122 General Parsons' Discoveries in the Western Country/. 



open this grave, but proceeded down tlie river about 



ty 



miles to the mouth of the Muskingum : near this river 

 are the remains of an ancient fortress; a plan of which I 

 find has been ^ transmitted you by President Stiles. As this 

 is the same I furnished him, it will be needless to attempt 

 a more particular description of it. On the ruins of this 

 work, has grown a white oak, now more than three feet di- 

 ameter, which has an appearance of having sprung from 

 the decays of a tree in the same place. This however, is con- 

 jectural, there not being so great evidence, as to render the 

 fact certain. 



After two days spent here, I proceeded on my journey a- 

 bout three hundred and eighty miles, without any extraor- 

 dinary discoveries, to the great Miami. At the great Ko- 

 nahway and sundry other places, we fou;id Indian graves 

 similar to, but not as large as that at Grave Creek. Find- 

 ing that the bones of a large animal had been discovered 

 about thirty two miles from this statio.n, curiosity led us to 

 make search for them. Accordingly an excursion was made 



to the Big Bone Lick, the place where those bone^ were 



* 



found. This place is a resort of all species of beasts in that 

 country. A stream of brackish water runs through the land, 

 hich is a soft clay. About twenty acres are almost clear 



and are surrounded by higher lands. At this place 



of 



were found 



some on the surface, and some at a depth of four 

 feet and more in the ground, the bones of the animal. An 



entu-e skeleton we did not fmd, but of dilTercnt , 



brought off about four hundred pounds. A thi^di bone 



P 



entire 



