544 ANCIENT ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN OHIO. 
exists no tradition in the region. Its form is the frustum of a cone, 
whose base is about seventy-five feet in diameter, and top about fifty, and 
its height thirty or forty feet. It stands on the alluvial river-bottom, and 
was doubtless built of the same material, although all signs of excavation 
for this purpose have been entirely obliterated by subsequent deposition. 
On digging into this pile, nothing was found which could throw any light 
on its history. Bi 
Prof. G. C. SWALLOW remarked that Hon. Godfrey Lesceur, grandson 
Indians had a curious tradition respecting the mound b s ey said 
“ We did not build the mounds, we came is (Mississippi) valley fr 
the nor 
st. Here we found a quiet, peaceable people cultivating 
the soil and living in communities, and having mounds for the Great 
Spirit and burial. They begged us to leave them, as there was eountry 
to the northeast. We went, but found the country poorer, and after a 
time returned and drove out the mound builders, who went to the south- 
S 
by fire; at least those in North Madrid, Mexico, as remains of the 
charred wood-work still exist in the mounds. 
Ancient Rock Inscrivrions 1N Ono. — By CoL. C. WHITTLESEY. 
SEVERAL diagrams were presented to the section representing 
rock sculptures in Ohio, that are presumed to be ancient and to 
have some significance. The largest is a tracing made by Dr. J. 
H. Salisbury, of Cleveland, with the assistance of Mrs. Salisbury, 
from a mural face of conglomerate, near the famous “ Black 
Hand” in Licking County, O. Once there was a space of ten or 
twelve feet in height, by fifty or sixty feet in length, covered by 
these inscriptions. Most of them have been obliterated by the re- 
cent white settlers. 
In 1861, Dr. Salisbury took copies from a space about eight by 
fifteen feet, by laying a piece of coarse muslin over them, and 
tracing such as remain uninjured, life-size, on the cloth. In this 
Space there are found to be twenty-three characters, most of which 
are the arrow-head or bird-track character. These are all cut on 
the edge of the strata, presenting a face nearly vertical, but 4 
little shelving outward, so as to be sheltered by the weather. 
Another copy of the remnants of similar inscriptions was taken 
by Col. Whittlesey and Mr. J. B. Comstock, in 1869, from the 
“Turkey Foot Rock,” at the rapids of the Maumee, near Perrys- 
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