Six buttons were also discovered bearing on their faces the mermaid, the coat of arms of the Principality of Wales.
Passing thence westward to the streams which empty into the Ohio,—the Alleghany, Monongahela, Muskingum,—and down the Ohio itself on both sides, many wonderful earthen remains have been brought to view, those circular in form being the most frequent. They show, too, that they were constructed by a people who were migrating from one part of the country to another through the pressure of enemies or the inducement of more fertile lands.
In the year 1784, Mr. John Filson published a pamphlet entitled "The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky," wherein, after mentioning the story of Madoc, he has these words: "This account has at different times drawn the attention of the world; but, as no vestiges of them [the Welsh] had then been found, it was concluded, perhaps too rashly, to be a fable,—at least, that no remains of the colony existed. But of late years the Western settlers have received frequent accounts of a nation at a great distance up the Missouri (a branch of the Mississippi) in manners and appearance resembling other Indians, but speaking Welsh and retaining some ceremonies of the Christian worship; and at length this is universally believed to be fact. Captain Abraham Chaplain, a gentleman whose veracity may be entirely depended upon, assured me that in the late war, being with his company in garrison at Kaskaskia, some Indians came there, and, speaking the Welsh language, were perfectly understood, and conversed with two Welshmen in his company, and that they informed them of their situation as mentioned above." Mr. Filson then continues: "That there are remains in Kentucky which prove that the country was formerly inhabited by a nation farther advanced in the arts of life than the Indians, and that these are usually attributed to the Welsh, who are supposed formerly to have inhabited these parts; that a great number of regular intrenchments are found there, and ancient fortifications with ditches and bastions,—one in particular containing about six acres of land, and others three acres; that pieces of earthenware were plowed up, a manufacture the Indians were never acquainted with."
About the time Mr. Filson's pamphlet appeared, Rev. Mr. Rankin, a resident of Kentucky, told William Owen, of London, that it was certain that a tribe or tribes of Welsh Indians then existed far westward, and that a vast uncultivated hunting-ground intervened, through which it was dangerous to pass, because of the depredations of the wild Indians, who destroyed everything that came in their way. He declared that there were unmistakable evidences of their formerly having occupied the country about Kentucky, such as wells dug which remained unfilled, the ruins of buildings, mill-stones, implements of iron, ornaments, etc.
The statements of these early writers have been abundantly confirmed, respecting the existence of monumental remains and traces of civilized life, by the patient explorations of such workers as Schoolcraft, Squier, Davis, Pidgeon, and others, who have opened up many of these half-concealed monuments and disclosed their contents. Squier, in speaking of those found along the Ohio Valley, says, "The British Islands only afford works with which any comparison can safely be instituted. The 'ring-forts' of the ancient Celts are nearly identical in form and structure with a large class of remains in our own country." The same author has given some deeply interesting accounts in his "Aboriginal Monuments" of his explorations of mounds, his finding human skeletons in rude frame-works of timber, instruments and ornaments of silver, copper, stone, and bone, sculptures of the human head, pottery of various kinds, and a large number of articles, some of which evince great skill in art. He says, "In every instance falling within our observation, the skeleton has been so much decayed that any attempt to restore the skull, or indeed any portion of it, was hopeless. Considering that the earth around these skeletons is wonderfully compact and dry, and that the conditions for their preservation were exceedingly favorable, while in fact they are so much decayed, we may form some estimate of their remote antiquity. In the barrows and cromlechs of the ancient Britons, entire and well-preserved skeletons are found, although having an undoubted antiquity of eighteen hundred years." There is, however, no safe rule by which to judge the antiquity of human skeletons by the surroundings. Some have been kept in a wonderful state of preservation under apparently the least favorable conditions, while others have crumbled to dust when it was thought they ought to have been preserved.
It must be borne in mind that these mounds bear no resemblance to Indian burying-grounds. They are the sepulchres of a superior people.
In 1844 a gentleman in Ohio sent to the librarian of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, a cross, the emblem of the Christian faith. It was made of silver, and was about two and a half inches long. It was found on the breast of a female skeleton which was dug from a mound at Columbus, over which a forest of trees had grown. On this cross the capital letters I. S. are perfectly visible. These initials are interpreted to mean the sacred name, Iesus Salvator.
A relic which obtained great celebrity some years ago, and which is now in the possession of some person in Richmond, Virginia, was found at Grave Creek, Virginia, near the Ohio, in the upper vault of the celebrated mound there. The attention of the learned world was brought to it by Mr. Schoolcraft, who made a correct drawing and published it. The mound went by the suggestive name of "The Grave." It was pointed out to travellers on the Ohio, and was frequently visited. Dates were cut upon the trees surmounting it as early as 1734. The relic was found, with other things, by the side of some skeletons. It is nearly circular in form, and composed of a compact sandstone of a light color. The inscription upon it runs in three parallel lines, and comprises twenty-four distinct characters, having at the bottom a hieroglyphic or ideographic sign. It has been subjected to the studious scrutiny of many learned men, with various results. The most of the characters have been decided to be Celtic or old British; and therefore they afford some clue as to the origin of the relic itself. The very fact of these characters being alphabetical indicates that the inscription was made by those of European origin.
What, then, is the conclusion? That it was inscribed by those who understood the old British or Welsh language, who occupied the valley of the Ohio centuries ago, and who were the followers or descendants of Madoc.
Some years ago, a circular plate, made of copper and overlaid with a thick plate of silver on one side, was found near the city of Marietta, Ohio. The copper was nearly reduced to an oxide, or rust. The silver was black, but could be brightened by being rubbed. A small piece of leather was inserted between the two plates of silver and copper, and both held together with a central rivet. This relic exactly resembled the bosses or ornaments appended to the belt of the broadsword of the ancient Briton or Welshman. It lay on the face of the skeleton, preserving the bone, as it did the leather and the lint or flax around the rivet. Near the body was found a plate of silver, six inches long and two in breadth, and weighing one ounce. There were also several pieces of a copper tube, filled with rust.