OF NEW-YORK. 79 
a hill in Wales of a circular form, with a great fosse and dike, and a small 
artificial mount within the precinct.’? How exactly does this correspond 
with our old forts. The Danes, as well as the nations which erected our 
fortifications, were in all probability of Scythian origin. According to 
Pliny, the name of Scythian was common to all the nations living in the 
north of Asia, and Europe. 
In the town of Camillus in the same county of Onondaga about ‘four 
miles from the Seneca river, thirty miles from lake Ontario, and eighteen 
from Salina, there are two ancient forts on the land of Judge Monro, who 
has been settled there about nineteen years. One is on a very high hill, 
and its area covers about three acres. It had one eastern gate, and in the 
west there was another communicating with a spring about ten rods from 
the fort. Its shape elliptical. The ditch was deep, and the eastern wall ten 
feet high. In the centre was a large lime stone, of an irregular shape, which 
could be raised by two men—the bottom was flat, and three feet long. It 
contained, in the opinion of Judge Monro, unknown characters plainly figured. 
on the stone to the extent of eighteen inches in length, and three inches in 
breadth. When | visited this place the stone was not to be seen, and my 
inquiries to find it were unsuccessful. I saw the stump of a black oak on 
the wall one hundred years old, and about nineteen years ago there were 
indiciz of two preceding growths. The second fort is about half a mile 
distant, on lower ground, constructed like the other, and is about half as 
large. Near the large fort there are the marks of an old road, now covered 
by trees. I also saw in several places in this town, on high ground, consi- 
derable ridges stretching from the top to the bottom of the hills, and the 
gullies between of no great width. This phenomenon occurs in very an- 
cient settlements, where the soil is loamy and the hill steep, and it is occa- 
sioned by crevices produced and gradually enlarged by torrents. In a 
forest state this result cannot occur: and this evinces that these grounds 
were cleared in ancient times. When settled by us they exhibited the same 
appearance as now, except being covered by woods: and as stumps are 
now te be seen in the gullies, the ridges and intervening small ravines could 
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