HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

CHAPTER, I.

GEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, METEOROLOGY.

GEOLOGY-SITUATION AND AREA.

MARION COUNTY lies on the broad watershed between the Ohio River and Lake Erie, about fifty miles south of the west end of that lake. It comprises fifteen townships, of a total of about four hundred square miles. The Scioto is the only river in the county, which, of course, is comparatively small in this region. It enters the county about the middle of the west side, running southeasterly and then southerly, leaving the county near the center of the southern border. The Little Scioto enters near the middle of the north boundary, and runs southerly to Green Camp,

where it empties into the Scioto. The Whetstone runs from northeast to southwest throughout the eastern border of the county. The waters of the Tymochtee and Little Sandusky take their rise in the northwestern portion of the county, and find their way to Lake Erie.

SURFACE FEATURES AND SOIL.

Much of the county is flat, and has a black, prairie soil, especially in the townships of Bowling Green, Big Island, Salt Rock, Grand Prairie, Scott, Claridon and the western part of Marion. The streams that cross these prairie-like tracts are but four to six fret below adjoining level of land, and in time of freshet inundate considerable areas. There are, however, sudden changes in the character of the surface, even in the midst of the prairies. Mounds of the unmodified hard-pan still project above the general surface. These have a rolling contour and an ashen, clayey soil. They were generally covered with forest, while the prairies are treeless. The remaining portions of the county, namely, the townships of Grand, the northern portion of Montgomery, Green Camp, Pleasant, Richland, Tully and the eastern part of Marion, are on the old drift surface, and have, with an undulating or rolling outline, a soil of brown or ashen clay, containing pebbles and bowlders.

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.*

The geological range of Marion County is from the Niagara to the Waverly, being greater than that of any other county in the State, except one, as to time. Thus, this county contains, approximately:

* From the report of N. H. Winchell.


216 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

FEET.

Waverly sandstone .................................. 140

Huron shale (black slate) ........................ 250

Hamilton limestone ................................... 20

Upper Corniferous .................................... 50

Lower Corniferous ................................... 150

Oriskany sandstone .................................. 20

Water limestone ....................................... 100

Niagara limestone ................................... 40

770

The Niagara limestone, the lowest in the scale, is found in the northwestern part of the county, and is followed, toward the east, by the higher members in the order above given, the general dip of the whole being in that direction. The water lime occupies the most of the townships of Salt Rock, Big Island, Green Camp, Montgomery and Prospect, and all of Bowling Green. The Lower Corniferous strikes across the western side of Grand Prairie and Marion Townships. touching Pleasant and Prospect Townships, east of the Scioto River. The Upper Corniferous underlies the remainder of Grand Prairie, Marion, Pleasant and Prospect Townships, and the western portions of Scott, Claridon, Richland and Waldo. The Hamilton occupies a narrow belt just on the east of the Upper Corniferous. The black slate underlies the eastern portions of Waldo, Richland, Claridon and most of Tully Townships. The Waverly is found only in the eastern part of Tully. Of these, the Oriskany and the Lower Corniferous have not been seen in outcrop in the county, owing to the unbroken mass of the drift deposits; and the other formations offer very meager opportunities for learning their characters. It is only by tracing their lines of outcrop from other counties, where they afford better facilities for observation, that their presence and their contents in Marion County can be asserted by the geologist.

The Niagara was examined in the following places in Grand Township, southeast quarter of Section 19, where Jeremiah Winslow has burned a little quicklime; dip southeast. On the northeast half of Section 19 a small creek, which flows northeasterly across this section into the Little Tymochtee Creek, lies immediately on the hard, gray Niagara, for the distance of over half a mile, on land belonging mostly to S. Hartle (1873). Formerly, a great deal of lime was burned from the rock along this creek. The dip is to the northeast, but toward the most westerly point of exposure the surface of the rock presents sudden changes of dip, disappearing with a dip west.

The water lime is seen only in the bed of the Scioto at Prospect. At that place, and about two miles farther south, in Delaware County; also in the bed of the Scioto, it appears as an even-bedded drab rock, bluish on the laminations and blotched throughout with blue and drab. The beds are two to four inches thick, but sometimes not more than an inch, and some blocks are ten inches thick. The blue and drab colors vary and interchange in all shapes and directiors, without reference to the bedding, except that it is not uncommon to see a drab surface to the depth of one-half inch to an inch and a half, with a blue strip through the middle. The surfaces of the beds are diversified with mud cracks, and separated by bituminous films. The stone is slightly vesicular, with small cavities, yet, for the most part, firm and apparently compact. It is a handsome and useful building material, comparing favorably with the Upper Corniferous for all uses.

The Upper Corniferous, in Grand Prairie Township, is worked quite extensively on the northwest quarter of Section 26, by James Dawson.


HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 217

Here the beds dip slightly toward the east; perpendicular exposure, about twelve feet, facing the west. In this immediate neighborhood are the following quarries, also in the Upper Coniferous Southwest quarter of Section 23, by Adam Coonrod; southwest quarter of Section 23, by Philip Rhetter; northwest quarter of Section 26, by heirs of Landy Shoots, and northeast quarter of Section 27, by Eli Powell.

At Marion the Upper Corniferous is extensively wrought by Seas & Huberman and by Franklin Swaigler (1873), who have, in adjoining quarries, an exposure of about twelve feet of perpendicular bedding, dip east. Similar beds are also wrought by John Ballantine, Joshua Finch and Nathan Powers. On the southwest quarter of Section 10, Marion Township, lime is burnt from the Upper Corniferous. On the southeast quarter of Section 9, Leonard Reiver has taken out some stone from the Upper Corniferous. Four and a half miles south of Marion, in Pleasant Township, John Owen burns and ships at Marion considerable quantities of quicklime, and sells building stone on the ground at 50 cents per ton; dip east.

In Richland Township, the Upper Corniferoug appears in the Whetstone, on Sections 30 and 19. and is quarried on the land of Daniel Oborn; also on the land of George King, northeast quarter of Section 20.



In the Hamilton group, in the bed of the Whetstone, about a mile below the village of Waldo, may be seen a very hard. blue, pyritiferous limestone, in beds of eight to twelve inches, which is believed to belong to the Hamilton, although there is not sufficient exposure within the county to determine its horizon. This would furnish a fine building stone, were it not, for the abundance of pyritic crystals contained in the rock. After a few months' exposure to the weather, these will inevitably change to the yellow peroxide of iron, the rusty drippings of which present an offense to the eye and soil the beauty of any wall.

The Huron shale is popularly known as the " black slate." At various places in the bed and banks of the Whetstone Creek, in the townships of Richland, Claridon and Tully, it finds characteristic exposure. It may be seen on the northeast quarter of Section 16, Richland Township, where it is in thin, brittle sheets, and rises several feet along the bank of the stream. It holds large, concretionary masses of a coarse, black limestone. These, are very hard, and appear arenaceous at the center, with a band of more calcareous and crystalline material around the outside. They sometimes exceed four feet in diameter. Globular masses of crystalline pyrites are also common, often several inches in diameter. The black slate may also be seen in Sections 3 and 26 of the same township, and Section 34 of Tully Township, on the lard of James Brown Lee. In the absence of other stone, this slate has been somewhat used for walling wells in the eastern part of the county.

The Waverly sandstone is quarried to a limited extent on the land of J. B. Lee, just referred to. It here has a position to the west of observed exposures of the underlying black slate. and must be an outlier from the more extensive beds of the same stone which lie farther east. Other openings are met with on Section 36 of the same township, and at Iberia in Morrow County.

The drift shows no apparent diminution in Marion County. Since its general character differs in no respect from that already described, but few points of observation will be noted. At Prospect, the contents of a gravel bank were noticed to contain a great many large fragments from the water limestone, so arranged as to indicate not only the agency of water in rapid


218 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

currants, but the direction of its flow. Some of these pieces of limestone were as much as two feet across, but usually not over two inches in thickness, and but slightly water-worn. They lay in the midst of gravel which had a stratification dipping rapidly toward the south. The limestone fragments also lay with their sides almost invariably upward, but sloping with less inclination in the same direction, similar to the arrangement of flat stone or other obstructions often seen in the bottom of streams. It would seem as if the water, 'precipitated in cascades down the southern slope of the glacier, bringing such dislodged portions of the drift as fell into the current, sought to arrange the obstructions to its flow so as to offer the least resistance.

On the southwest quarter of Section 38, Salt Rock Township, a well seventy feet in depth, through adrift deposits, on the premises of R. W. Messenger, furnished no water. About Green Camp, and a mile or two west, there are unusual numbers of bowldors, some as large as six feet in diameter. The country about is rolling, and they seem to have been embraced within the drift. In the southern part of Pleasant and Green Camp Townships, especially in the vicinity of Prospect, the upper portions of the drift are very apt to contain deposits of gravel and sand, with frequent bowlers.

At Waldo, the drift is seen to consist, along the river bank, of twentyfive feet hardpan. Brown color prevails downward about fifteen feet, blue below that depth, soon becoming sandy, furnishing water. In other places, within half a mile, the top of the drift is gravel and sand, with only a thin covering of hard-pan.

MATERIAL RESOURCES.

Gravel is found in the southern part of the county, and is extensively employed in road-making. Clay, for red pottery and brick, is abundant throughout the county. Stone taken from the various quarries in the Upper Corniferous formation, serves for all purposes of building. It may be employed in the most massive as well as in all ordinary structures, having resistance sufficient to withstand any pressure needed. It is of a light blue or gray color, and when arranged properly in a building, with a stone of lighter shade, it produces a fine architectural effect. In the city of Marion, it is employed in the county jail and numerous stores. Its dark shade produces in a building the aesthetic effect of strength, age and solidity, making it specially adapted to Gothic structures.

The black slate has heretofore been esteemed of little or no economical value. It is due, however, to the enterprise of E. H. Gleason, of Defiance, that we have the practical demonstration of the eminent hydraulic qualities of the black slate in Ohio. Owing to the inflammable, bituminous matter it contains, the slate is easily and cheaply burned, to a certain extent supplying its own fuel. Six to eight hours of red heat expels all volatile matter, leaving a lima which is easily reduced to powder. The stone is not selected altogether promiscuously from the quarry. It is thought the most compact and calcareous courses, which, when burned, are of a grayish or ashy purple, afford the best hydraulic cement. The more slaty and highly bituminous beds, after burning, are of a light cream color, or white with yellowish streaks and spots; yet more than half of the stone burned by Mr. Gleason is of the latter quality. The cement has been put to practical test in a number of ways at Defiance, and is now being employed in the abutments of an iron bridge at that place over the Wabash & Erie Canal, in connection with the Oriskany sandstone, quarried in Lucas County. Mr. Gleason


HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 219

employs two constant draw-kilns and grinds the lime by steam power. It is only necessary to add that in Marion County the base of the black slate strikes across the townships of Scott, Claridon and Richland, and that its exposure along the Whetstone affords ample facilities for a similar enterprise.

ZOOLOGY.

Although no large body of water exists within or near the borders of Marion County, it has formerly had a respectable share of this world's goods in respect to the number of species and individuals in the animal kingdom. It afforded the Indian and the pioneer an abundance of wholesome wild meats, and in great variety, as well as an interesting variety of useless or mischievous animals. According to the rule the world over, the larger animals disappeared first before the advancing tread of human occupation and then the next in size, and so on down to the raccoon, opossum, etc., which still exist though in diminishing numbers. The buffalo and elk were the largest, and they disappeared on the very first approach of the white man, with his deadly rifle and indefatigable hound.

ANIMALS.

The common doer, which was abundant in pioneer times, is now very scarce in Ohio, being occasionally soon in some of the wildest portions of the State. The last one known to be in Marion County was killed as much as twenty years ago.

The panther (Felis concolor) and two species of wild cat (Lynx Canadensis and rufus) used to infest the woods, and render traveling somewhat dangerous to the early settler, but the last soon in the county was about a third of a century ago.

The black bear, porcupine and beaver have not been seen here for a still longer period.

Minks, weasels and skunks, once common, are diminishing. Twenty to thirty years ago there was a brisk trade here in their furs and other peltry, the principal dealers being T. J. Anderson and Michael Dutt, both now deceased. This trade thinned out the fur-bearing animals perceptibly.

Fox and gray squirrels keep up their proportion with the diminishing forest. The gray species is the most numerous, among which a black specimen is occasionally met with. Flying squirrels are still here, but as they are entirely nocturnal in their travels, they are seldom seen. There are also a few ground squirrels.

Moles, rabbits and bats are, of course, still common.

No otters have been seen for many years, though they were frequent in early days. There are still a good many muskrats.

Occasionally there is a gray fox met with, but no red foxes have been seen for a long time.



Wolves, of the large gray or "timber" specie, were plentiful in early times, and more annoying and mischievous than all other animals together; but the last individual of this hateful tribe in Marion County was killed about thirty years ago by John D. Guthery.

Ground hogs, or " woodchucks," were never plentiful, and probably so scarce now that seldom one can be found.

" Wild hogs," or domestic hogs, escaped and running wild, were abundant in pioneer times.. In a few generations these animals became as furi-


220 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

ous and dangerous as wolves. They were all killed out by about the year 1850.

BIRDS.

Of the 250 species of birds found in Marion County, either constantly or occasionally in emigration, the group of singers exceeds in number all others, though the really superior musicians among them number but fifteen or twenty. The most numerously represented division, the wood warblers (Tanagridoe) are not fine singers. The best songsters of the forest belong to the thrush and mockingbird family. For the sake of convenience lot us take a glance at the feathered creation in Marion County by families.

Thrush Family.-The superior singing bird of Marion County is the superior singer of all the world, namely, the wood-tbrush. It is really more entertaining than the famous nightingale of Europe. Its melodious, flutelike tones are altogether "too sweet" for description. They are grouped into short tunes of eight, ten or twelve notes each, and there are six or eight tunes sung by this bird, with intervals of five to six or seven seconds between them. Next to this prima donna of the forest are the olive-backed (or Swainson's) thrush, Wilson's thrush, the northern mockingbird (or catbird), the brown thrush and the robin. These are all migratory birds, spending the summer here but the winter in the South. The robin sometimes remains all winter. The hermit and the olive-backed thrushes are more common in the spring and fall. The robin and the cat-bird frequent the orchards and gardens, nesting about the door-yards, and prefer these places to the woods, probably because of greater security from birds or other animals of prey. The brown thrush is found in thickets of hazelbrush, briers, etc., which skirt old fences and the edge of woods, and generally nests in brush heaps. The remainder of this family is confined to the woodland. Their food consists of beetles, grasshoppers, snails, spiders, caterpillars, etc., together with small fruits and berries.

Bluebird Family.-The bluebird is the only representative of this family in the county. It is common from spring to fall, nesting in birdhouses, fence-posts, decayed trees, and feeds on winged insects, worms, grasshoppers, spiders and a scant proportion of berries.

Kinglets.-The ruby-crowned and the golden-crowned kinglets and the blue-gray gnat-catcher are all common during the spring and fall. The first-mentioned is frequently found in winter, and the gnat-catcher is abundant during the summer. These are confined to the woods. The kinglets nest in the lake region, but the gnatcatcher nests here, building a wonderful structure high up on the oaks. It is somewhat purse-shaped, and often at the extremity of a bough, so as to sway .with the wind, secure from enemies. It is placed in a concealed situation, and artistically as well as substantially finished.

Chickadee.-The titmouse, or black-capped chickadee, the only member of this family here, feeds upon insects, seeds, berries, crumbs, meat, etc., and generally nests in the woods, where it makes its home most of the year. but during the winter it is seen near the house, feeding upon sweepings from the table.

Nuthatches.-The white-bellied and the red-bellied nuthatch are common, especially the former. These birds are found in woodlands and orchards. Their nests are built in holes in trees. Food-ants, eggs of insects, and seeds.


HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 221

Brown Creeper. -A common spring, fall and winter resident, and a woodland bird, is to be mentioned in this connection.

Wren Family. - The Carolina wren is a very rare straggler from the South. The house wren is common locally. The winter wren is a common spring and fall visitor, often remaining during the open winters. The long-billed marsh wren is a common summer resident of the marshes, building a large, globular nest of coarse sand-grass, suspended to reeds or flag stems. The short-billed marsh wren is a common summer resident, generally found on low meadow lands. The wrens feed on insects only.

Lark Family.-The horned lark is a winter resident, but sometimes breeds here. It frequents barren and gravelly fields, feeding on seeds and insects. When the ground is covered with snow, they may be seen feeding upon the droppings of stock about the farm.

The Titlark is an abundant migrant in late fall and early spring, frequenting the same localities and subsisting on the same food as the preceding. There are sometimes large flocks of this species of bird.

Warblers.-These are numerous. The black and white creeper is a common summer resident, nesting on the ground, generally beside a fallen log. The blue yellow-backed warbler, a rare migratory bird, is sometimes found in the tree-tops of the wild forest. The blue-winged yellow warbler is rare. The blue golden-winged warbler is common in spring and fall. The Nashville and Tennessee warblers are very common. The orange-crowned warbler is rare. The yellow, the black-throated green, the black-throated blue, the blue, the yellow-rumped, the Blackburnian, the black poll, the yellow red poll, and the chestnut-sided warblers are all common -some of them abundant; all migrants. The bay-breasted, the Cape May, the prairie, the yellowthroated and Kirtland's warblers are rare. The golden-crowned thrush (Sciurus auricapillus) is a common summer resident, frequenting low, open woods. The water thrush (S. noevius) is rare, but. breeds here. The large billed water thrush is common in swampy timber lands. The Connecticut warbler is rare, but may become common. It is a fine songster. The Maryland yellow-throat is found occasionally. The black capped fly-catching warbler is common during the spring and autumn. Canada fly-catching warbler, common. Red start, very common

Tanagers.-The scarlet tanager is common, and the summer red bird (sometimes kept in cages) rare, accidentally straying from the South.

Swallow Family. -The barn, cliff or eave, white-bellied, and the bank or sand swallows are common. The purple martin, formerly common, is being driven out by the English sparrow. The swllows feed exclusively upon winged insects.

Wax-wings-The Carolina wax-wing or cherry bird is a common resident, breeding in August and September, and feeding on the cultivated fruits.

Vireos.--There are a half-dozen species of these in this section of the country, inhabiting woodlands, soma of them common, some of them rare.

Shrikes or Butcher Birds.-The great Northern shrike is rare; the loggerhead shrike, two varieties, is common. These form a small but interesting family of bold and spirited birds, quarrelsome among themselves. They form a kind of connecting link between insect-eating birds and birds of prey. Their food consists of large insects, mice and small birds and snakes. They are noted for impaling their prey on thorns or sharp twigs and leaving it there-for what purpose is not yet known.


222 - HISTORY OF -MARION COUNTY.

Finch and Sparrow Family. -Numerous. Pine grosbeak, an occasional winter visitor. Purple finch, a common migrant. White-winged and red crossbills, rare winter visitors. Red-poll linnet, an irregular winter visitor. Pine linnet, a rare winter visitor from the North. Goldfinch, or yellow bird, common and well-known; has the appearance of a canary. Snow bunting, a common but irregular winter visitor. Lapland long-spar, a common winter visitor. Savannah sparrow, a common migrant. Bay-winged bunting, very common from spring to fall. Yellow-winged, Henslow's and Lincoln's sparrows, rare summer residents. Swamp and song sparrows, common, the latter abundant all the warm season. Snow-bird, common in winter. Mountain sparrow, common in winter. Chipping and field sparrows, common in summer. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows, common migrants. English sparrow, abundant in the towns, driving out our native song-birds; another imported nuisance from Europe, as bad as the Canada thistle and about as easy to get rid of as house-flies! Fog sparrow, a very common spring and fall visitor. Black-throated bunting, growing common. Rose-breasted grosbeak, a common summer resident; breeds along the water-courses in low trees and shrubs. Indigo bird, abundant in summer, frequenting low woodlands overrun with briers. Towhee bunting or chewink, abundant.

Birds of this family feed entirely upon seeds, except during the breeding season. Those which are residents all the year and those which are summer residents only, subsist during the breeding season and feed their young almost exclusively upon insects. At other times, their food consists of the seeds of grass and weeds. The rose-breasted grosbeak is the only bird known to feed on the potato bug, and the white-crowned sparrow feeds on the grape-vine flea-beetle. The common yellow bird, or goldfinch, prefers the seeds of the thistle and lettuce. The fox sparrow and chewink scratch the ground for hibernating insect and snails. The crossbills feed on the seeds in pine cones, and the English sparrow feeds on the seeds contained in the droppings of animals.

Blackbird Family.-Bobolink, common and well-known; a fine and cheerful songster. Cow-bird, or cow blackbird, a summer visitor, frequenting old pasture land and the edge of woods. Like the European cuckoo, it builds no nest, but lays its eggs in the nests of smaller birds, such as warblers, vireos and sparrows. Red-winged blackbird, abundant in summer. Meadow lark, well-known. Orchard and Baltimore orioles are very common. Rusty blackbird, or grackle, is common for a week or two in the spring. Crow blackbird, common and well-known.

With the exception of one or two species, this family is decidedly gregarious. Insects and the grains constitute their food. The cow-bird destroys the eggs and young of other birds. The orioles feed largely on hairy caterpillars and also on some of the small fruits, green peas, etc.

Crow Family.-Raven, was common, but now rare. Common crow,. well-known, emigrate southward during the coldest weather. Blue jay, the gayest plumaged and harshest voiced bird of the American forests. Birds of this family are omnivorous.

Fly-catcher Family.-The king-bird is abundant in summer, frequenting orchards and the edge of the woods. Great crested fly-catcher, abundant in the forest; uses snake skins as a part of its nest material. Pewee, or Phoebe bird, common. Wood pewee, a common bird of the orchard and woodland. Least fly-catcher, common, summer. Yellow-bellied fly-catcher,, a common migrant, but rare summer resident.


HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 223

The king-bird and pewee frequent open places; the others of this family dwell in the forest. They all subsist upon winged insects.

Goatsucker Family.-Whippoorwill and night-hawk, well-known and common. These birds are nocturnal in their habits and feed upon insects.

The Chimney Swallow is the only member of the family Cypselidoe that is found in this latitude. It is sometimes seen in large flocks, roosting in unused chimneys, barns and hollow trees.

Humming-bird, Family.-The ruby-throated is the only species found here. It feeds upon insects, which it captures within flowers.

King-fisher Family. - The belted king-fisher is a common summer resident in suitable localities. It feeds upon small fish.

Cuckoo Family.--The black-billed species is common; has been called "rain crow." The yellow-billed cuckoo is not common. Omnivorous.



Woodpecker Family.-There are half a dozen species of woodpecker found in this locality, all common, viz., the hairy, downy, yellow-bellied, red-bellied, red-headed and golden-winged. Omnivorous.

Owl Family.-The great horned, the mottled, the screech, the longeared and the short-eared are abundant. The barn owl is a rare straggler from the South. Possibly one or two other species may occasionally be found here.

Hawk Family.-The marsh hawk, the sharp-shinned, Cooper's, the sparrow, the red-tailed, the red-shouldered, the broad-winged, the rough-legged or black, and the fish hawks are all common. The white-tailed kite, the goshawk, the pigeon hawk, Swainson's hawk and the bald eagle are more rare.

The Turkey Buzzard belonging to a distinct family, is rare.

Pigeon Family.-The wild pigeon, an abundant migrant, sometimes breeds here. The Carolina dove, a common resident here most of the year, is common.

The Wild Turkey, once abundant, but now rare, is the only member of its family native to this region.

Grouse Family.-Prairie chicken, once occasional, none now. Ruffed grouse, or partridge, occasional. Quail, common.

Plover Family.--The golden plover, the killdeer and the semi-palmated are common about unfrequented ponds. The black-bellied plover is rare, if ever seen at all.

Sandpiper Family.-The most common species of this family are the semi-palmated, least, pectoral, red-breasted, Willst, solitary, spotted and upland sandpipers, the snipe and the woodcock. Less common are the buff-breasted and red-backed sandpipers, long-billed curlew and perhaps occasionally two or three other unimportant species.

Heron Family.-The green and night herons, the bittern and the least bittern are common residents. The great blue heron is a common migrant and the great white heron a rare summer visitor.

Cranes.-The whooping and sand-hill cranes are sometimes seen in migration.

Rail Family.-The Virginia and Carolina rails and the coot are often seen in the vicinity of the streams and in the margin of ponds; the clapper, king, yellow and black rails, very rarely; the Florida gallinule, occasional.

Duck Family.-The common spacies are the mallard, black, big blackhead, little black-head, ring-necked, red-head (or pochard), golden-eye, butter-ball, ruddy and fish (goosander) ducks, the brant and Canada geese,


224 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

widgeon, golden-winged and blue-winged teal and the hooded merganser. Rarely are seen the pintail, gadwall, shoveler, wood duck, canvas-back duck, long-tailed duck and red-breasted merganser. All the duck family are migratory.

Gull Family.-About ten species may rarely be seen in passing.

Loon.--One species sometimes strays into this locality from the North.

Grebes. - The horned and the pied-billed grebes are occasional. One or two other species very rare.

FISHES.

As there are no lakes or large streams in Marion County, the number and variety of fishes are limited, especially in these days of mill-dams and city sewage. There are nine mill-dams on the Scioto above Columbus, and two below.



Stickleback Family.-This furnishes the chief game fish, as bass and sun-fish. The local names of these fish are so various that we scarcely know bow to refer to them; but we may venture to name the black bass, the green or Oswego bass, the big black sun-fish or rock bass, goggle-eye, and the two common sun-fish, all of which have materially diminished within the last five years.

Perch Family.-There are no perch, or " jack salmon," in the county. They were once common throughout the State, but now are only to be found occasionally in some of the most favored places. They are among the finest fishes, and ought to be cultivated. The salmon sometimes attains a weight of forty pounds.

Pike Family.-The larger pike, sometimes called "grass pike," used to be met with, especially in draining off the marshes. The pickarel was also native here, but none are to be found at the present day. Nor have gar pike ("gars") existed here since the age of mill-dams came in.

Sucker Family.-To this family belong the buffalo (rare), red horse (occasional) and the white sucker (also occasional). Black suckers and mullets still thrive in some parts of Ohio, but not here.

Catfish Family.-Fish of this family are still common, but are small, weighing only a pound or two. We can scarcely name the species in English. Perhaps we may say the channel, or mud catfish, the blue and the yellow, the bull-head and one or two other small species are found in Marion County. The yellow are the most common.

Minor Sorts.--Besides the above, there are several varieties of chubs, silver-sides, and large numbers of other species, denominated minnows, which are found in the smallest spring branches as well as the larger streams.

Fish planting has not yet been introduced into this county.

REPTILES.

Ohio is notable for the number of species of Tortoises found within its limits. In this respect it exceeds the number in Europe several times. The snapping and softshelled turtles are at home here, and the box or land tortoise, or terrapin, is now very rare. Nearly all the species are esteemed as food, and the snapper is sold in the city markets. Not so large specimens are found now as formerly.

Of the twenty-three species of Snakes that have existed in this State, and probably in this county, several of the largest have been about exterminated. Only two of them are venomous, namely, the copperhead, and


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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 227

the massasauger. Very few of these are to be found at the present day. The smaller species are useful animals, like toads, in destroying mice, moles and other vermin, and are preserved by intelligent farmers on this account.

Of Lizards there are very few in this section. Those creatures which resemble them are innocent salamanders, and are really as useful as toads in the destruction of flies and other insects. There are eighteen species of these animals. in Ohio. The largest attains a length of eight inches, and is black, with large, irregular yellow spots. Another large species is entirely yellow; another, of a brilliant vermillion, haunts cold springs. The second in size is the " mud alligator," or "water dog," a frequent annoyance to fishermen. Still another species has external gills, for respiration in water, thus resembling pollywogs.

Of Frogs there are five species, and of toads five. Four are tree toads. One species of frog is subterranean, excavating its burrows backward with its hind feet, which are shovel-formed. It comes to the surface to breed, after thunder-showers in April, in the evening, when it is easily recognized by its loud, discordant notes.



ANECDOTAL.

A Wolf Story -John R. Knapp relates the following, as having occurred in Big Island Township in early day:

Sam Britton, an eccentric young man, who was not afraid of anything or anybody, used to lend a hand in the sugar-making season and make himself generally useful, and sometimes, when he took it into his head, obnoxious. On one occasion, a dark and rainy night. he became irritated by something that occurred and bade the boys good-bye, saying that he was going home, when, in fact, his intention was to visit a neighboring sugar camp. He had not trudged his way through the darkness long, before a pack of wolves took after him, and he was obliged to drop in at an old, deserted cabin, at one end of which was a shelf about thirty inches wide, and some eight or ten feet from the ground. Sam lost no time in securing this place of refuge, for he had hardly got into his quarters before the whole cabin floor was crowded with wolves, some howling, some snapping their teeth and others jumping up for their prey. When Sam looked down on those "varmints," he saw their eyes glistening in the darkness like balls of fire, and had serious fears of becoming food for the beasts; but as he had about eight inches to "count on," he hugged the cabin wall so close as to make him sweat.

All night long the wolves kept up their revelry, seemingly taking their turns in jumping at him. It was fortunate for him that the shelf was so high from the floor, or he would have been a " gone Sammy, sure!" As daylight approached, his tormentors left him--greatly to his relief. On examining the front part of the shelf, it was found that at least two inches of it had been torn oil' in pieces by the wolves, in their desperate efforts to capture their prey.

Sam returned to the camp he had left in such high dudgeon the previous night, a wiser boy, and relished a square meal of fat pork and corn bread.

As late as May, 1861, $72.25 was offered for each wolf killed in Grand Prairie Township, and $15 for each whelp.

An Escaped Leopard.-During the year 1875, there appeared in the woods of Grand Township, this county, and Marseilles Township, Wyandot County, a furious animal, taken to be a panther or huge Canada lynx. The


228 - HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.

citizens were frightened, and some depredations upon domestic animals in the vicinity were attributed to this ferocious beast. Ominous accounts were given of it from time to time, by those who professed to have obtained more or less clear sights of the creature until November., 1877, when it attacked a number of men in Union County and wounded; them severely. Several contests were had with him from time to time, and yet it was not settled by the public what the animal was. Some thought it was a lioness. The people were greatly alarmed, while they knew the " critter" was still alive and roaming at large.

On Saturday, December 1, 1877, a man named Burnison, an engineer of the Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus & Indianapolis Railroad, was out hunting birds about two miles from New Bloomington, this county, when he came across the beast beside a log. He was in a position ready for a spring, and waving his tail from side to side preparatory to the leap. Mr. Burnison, knowing that his shot-gun was no defense against the monster, raised it toward biro and walked backward, facing him; but the leopard did not follow. Mr. B. hastened back to New Bloomington, and raised the alarm for assistance. At once Ed Kessler and Samuel Johnson armed themselves, went out and found the animal. Kessler fired first, with his heavy rifle, but did not wound him severely. Johnson then fired, with but little better effect. The beast then attacked Johnson, striking him down and tearing the side of his face and neck pretty bodly. Kessler then struck the animal across the back with his gun, crippling the animal and breaking the stork from the barrel of his gun. He seized the barrel, and a man named Moore attacked the leopard with an ax, pounding it upon the head, and the two together, after a desperate fight, succeeded in killing the animal.

The dead leopard, a beautiful animal, was then brought to Marion, and exhibited in the city hall at 10 cents a head, and hundreds went to see it. It was found to measure seven feet in length and weigh 128 pounds, It was a male, and doubtless had escaped from a traveling menagerie.



Before the close of the month (December, 1877), a tiger or similar animal was observed in the woods near New Bloomington.

METEOROLOGY.

In respect to the climate, Marion County is situated near the northern side of what might be termed the "mud belt," the central part being the Ohio River; that is, the winters seldom keep the ground constantly frozen, and from November to April there is a continual strife between the cold zone of the north and the warm zone of the south, as to which shall have the mastery. From May to October the average temperature of the atmosphere is delightful.

From 1865 to 1871, a period of nearly seven years, the average spring temperature, as observed by Harry True, was 48.4°; summer, 71.1°; autumn, 53.5°; winter, 27.2°; the year, 50.1°. This is about two degrees warmer than at Cleveland, and two to five degrees cooler than at Cincinnati.

The principal storms and frosts that have done damage to property and life in this county are as follows: In 1825 occurred the famous hurricanes in Bowling Green and Scott Townships, sweeping the ground in places so that it could be immediately cultivated. A full account is given in the history of those townships. In June, 1835, a severe frost killed the growing wheat and even the young leaves on the oaks of the forest, making them


HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. - 229

appear as if fire had gone through them. Also, this year a heavy wind did considerable damage. In 1842, a wind carried light timbers through the air, and overthrew many light structures. In 1847, a damaging frost occurred out of season. About 1848, a high wind did some damage at Marion, blowing down the gable of the Presbyterian Church, carrying the roof away, etc., and doing other mischief in the vicinity. In 1855, there was frost every month in the year. August 18, this year, it injured the corn and killed the buckwheat. Sunday morning, June 4, 1859, a frost occurred which considerably damaged all the crops, though utterly destroying none except the tender garden vegetables and fruits.

The wettest seasons have been 1844, 1855 and 1883. Several other seasons, it has been too wet in May and June to permit the crops to have a good start.

The prevailing wind, or upper current of the atmosphere, in this part of Ohio, is from the southwest, which comes circling round from the Gulf of Mexico, loaded with moisture. In the summer time, when a cold body of air sets in from the northern section of the Rocky Mountains, this moisture is condensed at the point of contact, and rain results. This is the cause of all the rain we have here. This same body of cooler air continues to move along until its front portion has passed along to the east or southeast, and thus we always have our clearing oft with a western or northwestern cooler breeze. In winter, the process is precisely the same, only the product'is snow instead of rain. In the nature of the case, the ground current has more or less to take an opposite direction, as all wind is really a rolling or whiriing motion of the air, and we see the rain or snow precipitated upon the ground and objects thereon with a western movement, striking the east side of houses, etc.

Hail storms and hurricanes seldom occur in Marion County.

From 1864 to 1871, the depth of rain, including the snow as melted, was an average, for the spring months, of 10.5 niches; summer, 11.2 inches; autumn, 8.8; winter, 8.2 inches; for the year, 38.7 inches. At the village of Marion, it was 40 inches; at Cincinnati, 46, and along the shore of Lake Erie, 32 to 34 inches.


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