LIVINGSTON COUNTY— EARTH -WORKS, ETC. 45 



caused by the decay of palisades), that shght parallel embankments extended down 

 the slope of the hill, and enclosed the spring here referred to. Be that as it may, 

 the position was well chosen for defence, for which purpose the work was doubtless 

 constructed. 



A mile and a half to the southward are remains of some old fortified towns of 

 the powerful tribe of the Senecas, for plans and descriptions of which the reader is 

 referred to the chapter on " Palisaded Works." 



It is said that a mound, containing a large number of human bones, occurs near 

 the head of Hemlock Lake, in the township of Springwater ; but no opportunity 

 was afforded of visiting it. At various places in the county large cemeteries are 

 found ; but most, if not all, of them may be with safety referred to the Senecas. 

 Indeed, many articles of European origin accompany the skeletons. A cemetery 

 of large size, and, from the character of the relics found in the graves, of high 

 antiquity, is now in part covered by the village of Lima. Pipes, pottery, etc., are 

 discovered here in great abundance; and it is worthy of remark, they are identical 

 with those found within the ancient enclosures. 



A number of ancient works are reported to exist higher up the Genesee River, 

 in the southern part of Livingston and in Alleghany counties ; but this entire region 

 has been brought so thoroughly under cultivation, that it was esteemed hopeless 

 to look for them with a view to their survey or measurement. The only informa- 

 tion of any authentic kind which was received in addition to what is here pre- 

 sented, relates to a remarkable work upon a high hill, not far from the falls of the 

 Genesee, in Alleghany county. Says Judge Porter, in a private letter dated Nia- 

 gara Falls, November 18th, 1848 : " Upon the west side of Genesee River, a mile 

 or two above the falls, there is a hill, the base of which may perhaps cover two 

 acres of ground, circular in form, and shaped like a sugar-loaf, with a truncated 

 summit a fourth of an acre in area. Upon this summit is a breastwork. The 

 height of the hill is between eighty and one hundred feet. I visited it in 

 1798, before any settlements were made by the whites nearer than Mount 

 Morris." 



Mr. Moses Long, of Rochester, describes a work which is substantially the 

 same, as follows : " About four miles above the village of Portage, in Alleghany 

 county, is a circular mound or hill, which rises probably a hundred feet above the 

 surrounding interval or ' bottom ' lands. The acclivity is steep on all sides. The 

 Genesee River curves around its base, describing nearly a semicircle, and then 

 sweeps on in a tortuous course to the cascades or cataracts below the village of 

 Portage. The top of the hill is quite level, covered thinly with small forest-trees, 

 and its area may comprise an acre. There are appearances of an entrenchment 

 around that part of the summit unprotected by the river. 



" My guide informed me that he had been acquainted with Shongo, an aged 



■ chief, and several other Indians of the Caneadea Reservation, who all concurred in 



saying, that they had no knowledge nor any tradition in relation to this work. 



Shotigo remembered the invasion of Sullivan, when the Indians cut up their corn 



and threw it into the river, and then retreated with their movable effects a few 



