A mile to the north-west of the part of the work just described are the Octagon and works in connection with it. The Octagon is not quite regular, but the sides are very nearly equal. At each angle is a gateway, interior and opposite to which is a mound, as if to guard the opening. The cut gives a view of the Octagon, looking in through one of these gateways. At present, however, but a small portion is in the forest. Most of it is under cultivation, but the work can still be easily traced, and is one of the best preserved in the State. A portion of it, still in the forest, presents the same appearance to-day as it did to the first explorer. When a stranger for the first time wanders along the embankment and ascends the mounds, he can not fail to experience sensations akin to those of the traveler when he comes upon the ruins of some Old World city. We wish that for a brief space of time the curtain of the past would up-roll, and let us view these works while yet their builders flourished here.
Connected with the Octagon by parallel walls three hundred feet long and placed sixty feet apart, is the smaller circle, “F.” This is a true circle, and is upwards of half a mile in circumference. A portion of it lying in the woods, still retains its primitive form, but the larger part is now under cultivation. There is no difficulty, however, in tracing its entire length. The most interesting feature in connection with this part of the work is immediately opposite the point of entrance from the octagon, and is represented in our next cut. At this point it seems as if the builders had started to make parallel walls, but afterwards changed their design and threw across the opening a large mound. From this mound a view of the entire embankment could be obtained. It is called the Observatory Mound. It has been so often dug into that it is now really in ruins, but is still too steep to be plowed over.
It is scarcely necessary to describe the works further, except to state that three lines of parallel embankments lead away from the octagon. Those extending south have been traced for upwards of two miles, and are gradually lost in the plain. It was the opinion of Mr. Atwater, one of the earliest investigators, that these lines connected with other works thirty miles away, in the vicinity of Lancaster.68 Small circles are numerous in connection with these works. It has been suggested by several that they mark the sites of circular dwellings. The larger ones, indicated by the letter “G,” are more pretentious. They have the ditch and embankment, which we have already described. Many interesting coincidents in dimensions will be perceived between portions of this work and those described in the Scioto valley.69
Although we have devoted considerable space to this branch of the Mound Builders’ work, we must still find space to describe the works at Marietta, which possessed some singular features. This cut gives us a correct plan of the works as they were when in 1788 the first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum to lay out their town. The growth of the beautiful town of Marietta has completely destroyed these works, except the elevated squares, A and B, the large mound and inclosing circle at X, with a portion of the adjoining embankments, and a small fragment of the parallel walls forming what has been called the “Graded Way.” The elevated squares are the finest examples of “temple” mounds remaining in the Ohio Valley. The circle and ditch with the conical mound inclosed is also a fine example of that class of works. From the summit of the mound an extensive view is to be had both up and down the Ohio.
