- posable product. The lands near that place are consequently
much increased in value, and town lots sell at high prices.
November 23. I again resumed my way for Limestone. By the road side are many conical mounds of earth, called Indian graves. About a mile east of Bainbridge is a large camp.[62] The ditch is in every part visible. One side is inclosed by a bend of Paint Creek, where the opposite bank forms high and strong ground. I conjectured that the fort contained nearly one hundred acres. It is not understood that the aborigines have constructed any such works since Europeans became acquainted with them. It is therefore a natural inference, that the country must have been antecedently inhabited by a more civilized and more powerful people.
From Bainbridge to Middletown the land is hilly; a small portion of it is cleared, and it is much less {102} fertile than the grounds by the river Scioto, and Paint Creek.
November 24. The ground west of Middletown is of clay, with a mixture of siliceous particles, and the oxide of iron. Wheat is the most prevalent crop. The health enjoyed on these high lands, is an ample compensation for the lack of a few bushels. Wheat sells at a dollar per bushel; Indian corn at thirty-three one-third cents; beef and pork at four cents a-pound; labourer's wages, fifty cents; joiners, a dollar, with provisions.
25th. At ten miles from Limestone, the soil is good, but broken with irregularities of surface. There was a little frost in the morning, but the forenoon was warm. I observed several insects of the genus Vanessa, (painted
