Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 9: First Territorial Representatives in Congress - Formation of States - Early Settlements, 1881 (part 1 of 2)

THE ordinance of 1787 provided that as soon as there were five thousand persons in the territory, it was entitled toa representative assembly. On October 29, 1798, Governor St. Clair gave notice by proclamation, that the required population existed, and directed that an election be held on the third Monday in December to choose representatives. "These representatives were required, when assembled to nominate ten persons, whose names were sent to the President of the United States, who selected five, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed them for the legislative council. In this mode the northwest passed into the second grade of a territorial góvernment.

The representatives, elected under the proclamation of St. Clair, met in Cincinnati, January 22, 1799, and under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, nominated ten persons, whose names were sent to the President. On the second of March he selected from the 'list of candidates the names of Jacob Burnett, James Findlay, Henry Vanderburgh, Robert Oliver and David Vance. The next day the Senate confirmed their nomination, and the first legislative council of the Northwest Territory was a reality.

The territorial legislature met again at Cincinnati, September 16, but, for want of a quorum, was not organized until the twenty-fourth of that month. The house of representatives consisted of nineteen members, of whom seven were from Hamilton county, four from Ross - erected by.St. Clair in 1798; three from Wayne - erected in 1796; two from Adams - erected in 1797; one from Jefferson, erected in 1797; one from Washington - erected in 1788; and one from Knox - Indiana Territory. None seem to have been present from St. Clair county (Illinois Territory).

After the organization of the legislature, Governor St. . Clair addressed the two houses in the representatives' chamber, recommending such measures as, in his judgment, were suited to the condition of the country and would advance the safety and prosperity of the people.

The legislature continued in safety till the nineteenth of December, when having finished their business, they were prorogued by the governor, by their own request, till the first Monday in November, 1800. This being the first session, there was, of necessity, a great deal of business to do. The transition from a colonial to a semi-independent form of government, called for a general revision as well as a considerable enlargement of the statute book. Some of the adopted laws were repealed, many others altered and amended, and a long list of new ones added to the code. New offices were to be created and filled, the duties attached to them prescribed, and a plan of ways and means devised to meet the increased expenditures, occasioned by the change which had now occurred.

legal form, devolved upon him. He seems to have been well fitted for the place, and to have performed the laborious task in an excellent manner.

The whole number of acts passed and approved by the governor, was thirty-seven. The most important related to the militia, the administration of justice, and to taxation. During the session, a bill authorizing a lottery was passed by the council, but rejected by the legislature, thus interdicting this demoralizing feature of the disposal of lands or for other purposes. The example has always been followed by subsequent legislatures, thus honorably characterizing the assembly of Ohio, in this respect, an example Kentucky and several other States might well emulate.

Before the assembly adjourned, they issued a congratulatory address to the people, enjoining them to "Inculcate the principles of humanity, benevolence, honesty and punctuality in dealing, sincerity and charity, and. all the social affections." At the same time, they issued an address to the President, expressing entire 'confidence in the wisdom and purity of his government, and their warm attachment to the American constitution. The vote on this address proved, however, that the differences of opinion agitating the eastern States had penetrated the west. Eleven representatives voted for it, and five against it.

One of the important duties that devolved on this legislature, was the election of a delegate to Congress. As soon as the governor's proclamation made its appearance, the election of a person to fill that position excited general attention. Before the meeting of the legislature public opinion had settled down on William Henry Harrison, and Arthur St. Clair, jr., who eventually were the only candidates. On the third of October, the two houses met, and proceeded to a choice. Eleven votes were cast for Harrison, and ten for St. Clair. The legislature prescribed the form of a certificate of the election, which was given.to Harrison, who at once resigned his office as secretary of the territory, proceeded to Philadelphia, and took his seat, Congress being then in session.

"Though he represented the territory but one year," says Judge Burnett, in his notes, "he obtained some im- He introduced aresolution to sub-divide the surveys of the public lands, and to offer them for sale in smaller tracts; he succeeded in getting that measure through both houses, in opposition to the interest of speculators, who were, and who wished to be, the retailers of the land to the poorer classes of the community. His proposition became a law, and was hailed as the most beneficent act that Congress had ever done for the territory. It put in the power of every industrious man, however poor, to become a freeholder, and to lay-a foundation for the future support and comfort of his family. At the same session, he obtained a liberal extension of time for the pre-emptioners in the northern part of the Miami purchase, which enabled them to secure their farms, and eventually to become independent, and even wealthy."

ate in his speech at the close of the session, eleven acts to which he saw fit to apply his veto. "These he had not, however, returned to the assembly, and thereby saved a long struggle between the executive and legislative branches of the territory. Of the eleven acts enumerated, six related to the formation of new counties. These were mainly disproved by St. Clair, as he always sturdily maintained that the power to erect new counties was vested alone in the executive. This free exercise of the veto power, especially in relation to new counties, and his controversy with the legislature tended only to strengthen the popular discontent regarding the governor, who was never fully able to regain the standing he held before his inglorious defeat in his campaign against the Indians.

While thig was being agitated, another question came into prominence. Ultimately it settled the powers of the two branches of the government, and caused the removal of St. Clair, then very distasteful to the people. The opening of the present century brought it fully before the people, who began to agitate it in all their assemblies.

The great extent of the territory made the operations of government extremely uncertain, and the power of the courts perfectly worthless. Its division was, therefore, deemed best, and a committee was appointed by Congress to inquire into the matter. This committee, the third of March, 1800, reported upon the subject that:

"In the three western counties, there has been but one court having cognizance of crimes in five years. The immunity which offenders experience, attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned criminals, and, at the same time, deters useful and virtuous citizens from making settlements in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary áttention and assistance is experienced in civil as well as criminal cases. The supplying to vacant places such necessary officers as may be wanted, such as clerks, recorders, and others of like kind, is, from the impossibility of correct notice and information, utterly neglected. This territory is exposed as a frontier to foreign nations, whose agents can find sufficient interest in exciting or fomenting insurrection and discontent, as thereby they can more easily divert a valuable trade in furs from the United States, and also have a part thereof on which they border, which feels so littlé the cherishing hand of their proper government, or so little dreads its energy, as to render their attachment perfectly uncertain and ambiguous.

" The committee would further suggest, that the law of the third of March, 179r, granting land to certain persons in the western part of said territory, and directing the laying out of the same, remains unexecuted; that great discontent, in consequence of such neglect, is excited

` in those who are interested in the provisions of said laws, which require the immediate attention of this legislature. To minister a remedy to these evils, it occurs to this committee, that it is expedient that a divisjon of said territory into two distinct and separate governments should be made; and that such division be made by a line begifíning at the mouth of the Great Miami river, running directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States and Canada. "*

. The recommendations of the committee were favorably received by congress, and, the seventh of May, an act was passed dividing the territory. The main provisions of the act are as follows:

. "That, from and after the fourth of July next, all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky river, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it intersects the territorial line between the United States

The act further provided for representatives, and for the establishment of an assembly, on the same plan as that in force in the northwest, stipulating that until the number of inhabitants reached five thousand, the whole. number of representatives to the general assembly should not be less than seven, nor more than nine; apportioned by the governor among the several counties in the new territory. The act further provided that:

'Nothing in the act should be so construed, so as in any manner to affect the government now in force in the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, further than to prohibit the exercise thereof within the Indiana territory, from and after the aforesaid July next.

*'Whenever that part of the territory of the United States, which lies to the eastward of a line beginning at the mouth of the Great iul river, and running thence due north to the territorial line between the United States and.Canada, shall be erected into an independent State and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States; thenceforth said lines shall become and remain permanently the boundary line between such State and the Indiana territory."

It was further enacted "that, until it shall be otherwise enacted by the legistatures of the said territories, respectively, Chillicothe, on the Scioto river, shall be the seat of government of the territory of thé United States northwest of the Ohio river; and that St. Vincent's, on the Wabash river, shall be the seat of government for the Indiana territory." T

Connecticut, in ceding her territory in the west to the general Government, reserved a portion, known as the Connecticut Reserve, When she afterward disposed of her claim in the manner 'narrated, the citizens found themselves without any government on which to lean for support. At that time settlements had begun in thirtyfive of the townships into which the Reserve had been divided; one thousand persons had established homes there; mills had been built, and over seven hundred miles of roads opened. In 18oo, the settlers petitioned for acceptance into the Union, as a part of the Northwest; and, the mother State releasing her judiciary claims, Congress accepted the trust, and granted the request. In December, of that year, the population had so increased that the county of Trumbull was erected, including the Reserve. Soon after, a large number of settlers came from Pennsylvania, from which State they had been driven by the dispute concerning land titles in its western part. Unwilling to cultivate land to which they could only get a doubtful deed, they abandoned it, and came where the titles were sure.

Congress having made Chillicothe the capital of the Northwest Territory, as it now existed, on the third of November the general assemby met at that place. Governor St. Clair had been made to feel the odium cast upon his previous acts, and, at the opening of this ses- sion, expressed, in strong terms, his disapprobation of the censure cast upon him. He had endeavored to do his duty in all cases, he said, and yet held the confidence of tbe President and Congress. He still held the office, notwithstanding the strong dislike against him.

At the second session of the assembly at Chillicothe, held in the autumn of 1801, so much outspoken enmity was expressed, and so much abuse heaped upon the governor and the assembly, that a law was passed, removing the capital to Cincinnati again. It was not destined, however, that the territorial assembly should meet again anywhere. The unpopularity of the governor caused many to long for a State government, where they could choose their own rulers. The unpopularity of St. Clair arose partly from the feeling connected with his defeat; in part from his being connected with the Federal party, fast falling into disrepute; and in part, from his assuming powers which most thought he had no right to exercise, especially the power of sub-dividing the counties of the territory.

The opposition, though powerful out of the assembly, was in the minority there. During the month of December, 1801, it was forced to protest against a measure brought forward in the council, for changing the ordinance of 1787 in such a manner as to make the Scioto, and a line drawn from the intersection of that river and the Indian boundary to the western extremity of the Reserve, the limits of the most eastern State, to be formed from the territory. Had this change been made, the formation of a State government beyond the Ohio would have been long delayed. Against it, representatives Worthington, Langham, Darlington, Massie, Dunlavy, and Morrow, recorded their protest. Not content with this, they sent Thomas Worthington, who obtained a leave of absence, to the seat of government, on behalf of the objectors, there to protest, before Congress, against the proposed boundary. While Worthington was on his way, Massie presented, the fourth of January, 1802, a resolution for choosing a committee to address Congress in respect to the proposed State government. This, the next day, the house refused to do, by a vote of twelve to five. An attempt was next made to procure a census of the territory, and an act for that purpose passed the house, but the council postponed the consideration of it until the next session, which would commence at Cincinnati, the fourth Monday of November.

Meanwhile, Worthington pursued the ends of his mission, using his influence to effect that organization, which, terminating. the influence of tyranny," was to "meliorate the circumstances of thousands, by freeing them from the domination of a despotic chief." His efforts were successful, and, the fourth of March, a report was made to the house in favor of authorizing a State convention, This report was based on the assumption that there were now over sixty thousand inhabitants in the proposed boundaries, estimating that emigration had increased the census of 1800, which gave the Territory forty-five thousand inhabitants, to that number. The convention was to ascertain whether it were expedient to form such a government, and to prepare a constitution if

In the formation of the State, a change in the boundaries was proposed, by which all the territory north of a line drawn due east from the head of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie was to be excluded from the new government about to be called into existence.

The committee appointed by Congress to report upon the feasibility of forming the State, suggested that Congress reserve out of every township sections numbered eight, eleven, twenty-six and twenty-nine, for their own use, and that section sixteen be reserved for the maintenance of schools. The committee also suggested, that, "religion, education and morality being hecessary to the good government and happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged."

Various other recommendations were given by the committee, in accordance with which, Congress, April 3oth, passed the resolution authorizing the calling of a convention. As this accorded with the feelings of the majority of the inhabitants of the Northwest, no opposition was experienced; even the legislature giving way to this, embryo government, and failing to assemble according to adjournment.

The convention met the first of November. Its members were generally Jeffersonian in their national politics, and had been opposed to the change of boundaries proposed the year before. Before proceeding to business, Governor St. Clair proposed to address them in his official character. This proposition was resisted by several of the members; but, after a motion, it was agreed to allow him to speak to them as a citizen. St. Clair did so, advising the postponement of a.State government until the people of the original eastern division were plainly entitled to demand it, and were not subject to be bound by conditions. This advice, given as it was, caused Jefferson instantly to remove St. Clair, at which time his office ceased.* **When the vote was taken," says Judge Burnett, *upon doing what he advised them not to.do, but one of thirty-three (Ephraim Cutler, of Washington county) voted with the governor."

"To every person who has attended to this subject, and who has consulted the maps of the western country extant at the time the ordinance of 1787 was passed, Lake Michigan was believed to be, and was represented by all the maps of that day as being, very far north of the position which it has.since been ascertained to occupy. I have seen the map of the department of State which was before the committee of Congress who framed and reported the ordinance for the government of the

* After this, St. Clair returned to his old home in the Ligonier valley, Pennsylvania, where he lived with his children in almost abject poverty. He had lost money in his public life, as he gave close attention to public affairs, to the detriment of his own business. He presented a claim to Congress, afterward, for supplies furnished to*the army, but the claim was outlawed. After trying in vain to get the claim allowed, he returned to his home. Pennsylvania, hearing of his distress, granted him an annuity of three hundred and fifty dollars, afterward raised to six hundred dollars. He lived to enjoy this but a short time, his death occurring August 31, 1818. He was eighty-four years of 'age.

territory. On that map, the southern boundary of Michigan was represented as being above the forty-second degree of north latitude. And there was a pencil line, sald to have been made by the committee, passing through the southern bend of the lake to the Canada line, which struck the strait not far below the town of Detroit. The line was manifestly intended by the committee and by Congress to be the northern boundary of our State; and on the principles by which courts of chancery construe contracts, accompanied by plats, it would seem that the map, and the line referred to, should be conclusive evidence of our boundary, without reference to the real position of the lakes.

* When the convention sat, in 1802; the understanding was, that the old maps were nearly correct, and that the line, as defined in the ordinance, would terminate at some point on the strait above Maumee bay. While the convention was in session, a man who had hunted many years on Lake Michigan, and was well acquainted with its position, happened to be in Chillicothe, and in conversation with one of the members, told him that the lake extended much farther south than was generally supposed, and that a map of the country which he had seen, placed its southern bend many miles north of its true position. This information excited some uneasiness, and induced the convention to modify the clause describing the north boundary of the new State, so as to guard

With this change and some extension of the school and road donations, the convention agreed to the proposal of Congress, and November 29th, their agreement was ratified and signed, as was also the constitution of the State of Ohio - so named from its river, called by the Shawnees Ohio, meaning beautiful - forming its southern boundary. Of this nothing need be said. save that it bore the marks of true democratic feeling - of full faith in the people. By them, however, it was never examined. It stood firm until 1852, when it was superseded by the present one, made necessary by the advance of time.

The general assembly was required to meet at Chillicothe, the first Tuesday of March, 1803. This change left the territory northwest of the Ohio river, not included in the new State, in the territories of Indiana and Michigan. Subsequently, in 1809, Indiana was made a State, and confined to her present limits. Illinois was made a territory then, including Wisconsin. In 1818, it became a State, and Wisconsin a territory attached to Michigan. This latter was made a State in 1837, and Wisconsin a separate territory, which, in 1847, was made a State. Minnesota was made a territory the same year, and a State in 1857, and the five contemplated States of the territory were complete.

Preceding pages have shown how the territory north of the Ohio river was peopled by the French and English, and how it came under the rule of the American left all America in the hands of a new nation. That nation brought a change. Before the war, various attempts had been made by residents in New England to people the country west of the Alleghanies. Land companies were formed, principal among which were the Ohio company, and the company of which John Cleves Symmes was the agent and chief owner. Large tracts of land on the Scioto and on the Ohio were entered. The Ohio company was the first to make a settlement. It was organized in the autumn of 1787, November 27th. They made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men to set out for the west under the supervision of General Rufus Putnam, superintendent of the company. Early in the winter they advanced to the Youghiogeny river, and there built a strong boat, which they named "Mayflower." It was built by Captain Jonathan Devol, the first ship-builder in the west, and, when completed, was pladed under his command. The boat was launched April 2, 1788, and the band of pioneers, like the Pilgrim Fathers, began their voyage. 'The seventh of the month, they arrived at the mouth of. the Muskingum, their destination, opposite Fort Harmar, * erected in the autumn of 1785, by a detachment of United States troops, under command of Major John Doughty, and, at the date of the Mayflower's arrival'in possession of a company of soldiers. Under the protection of these troops, the little. band of men began their labor of laying out a town, and commenced to erect houses for their own and subsequent emigrants' occupation. The names of these pioneers of Ohio, as far as can now be learned, are as follows.

General Putnam, Return Jonathan Meigs, Winthrop Sargeant (secretary of the territory), Judges Parsons and Varnum, Captain Dana, Captain Jonathan Devol, Joseph Barker, Colonel Battelle, Major Tyler, Dr. True, Captain William Gray, Captain Lunt, the Bridges, Ebenezer and Thomas Cory, Andrew McClure, William Mason, Thomas Lord, William Gridley, Gilbert Devol, Moody Russels, Deavens, Oakes, Wright, Clough, Green, Shipman, Dorance, the Masons and others, whose names are now beyond recall.

On the nineteenth of July, the first. boat of families arrived, after a nine weeks' journey on the way. They had traveled in their wagons as far as Wheeling, where they built large flat-boats, into which they loaded their effects, including their.cattle, and thence passed down the Ohio to their destination. The families were those of General Tupper, Colonel Ichabod Nye, Colonel Cushing, Major Coburn and Major Goodale. In these titles the reader will observe the preponderance of military

* The outlines of Fort Harmar formed a regular pentagon, embracing within the area about three-fourths of an acre. Its walls were formed of large horizontal timbers, and the bastions of large upright timbers about fourteen feet in height, fastened to each other by strips of timber, tree-nailed into each picket. In the rear of the fort Major Doughty laid out fine gardens. It continued to be occupied by United States troops until September, 1790, when they were ordered to Cincinnati. A company, under Captain Haskell, continued to make the fort their headquarters during the Indian war, occasionally assisting the colonists at Marietta, Belpre and Waterford against the Indians. When not needed by the troops, the fort was used by the people of Marietta..

distinction. Many of the founders of the colony had served with much valor in the war for freedom, and were well prepared for a life in the wilderness.

They began at once the construction of houses from the forests about the confluence of the rivers, guarding their stock by day and penning it by night. Wolves, bears and Indians were all about them, and here, in the remote wilderness, they were obliged to be always on their guard. From the ground where they obtained the timber to erect their houses, they soon produced a few vegetables, and when the families arrived in August, they were able to set before them food raised for the first time by the hand of American citizens in the Ohio valley. One of those who came in August, was Mr. Thomas Guthrie, a settler in one of the western counties of Pennsylvania, who brought a bushel of wheat, which he sowed on a plat of ground cleared by himself, and from which that fall he procured a small crop of wheat, the first raised in the State of Ohio.

The Marietta settlement was the only one made that summer in the territory. From their arrival until October, when Governor St. Clair came, they were busily employed making houses, and preparing for the winter. The little colony, of which Washington wrote so favorably, met on the second day of July, to name their newborn city and its public squares. Until now it had been known.as *The Muskingum" simply, but on that day the name Marietta was formally given to it, in honor of Marie Antoinette. The fourth of July, an ovation was held and an oration delivered by James M. Varnum, who, with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong, had been appointed judges of the territory. Thus, in the heart of the wilderness, miles away from any kindred post, in the forests of the great west, was the tree of liberty watered and given a hearty growth.

On the morning of the ninth of July, Governor St. Clair arrived, aüd the colony began to assume form. The ordinance of 1787 had provided for a form of government under the governor and three judges, and this form was at once put into force. The twenty-fifth, the first law relating to the militia was published, and the next day the governor's proclamation appeared, creating all the country that had been ceded by the Indians, east of the Scioto river, into the county of Washington, and the civil machinery was in motion. From that time forward, this, the pioneer settlement in Ohio, went on prosperously. The second. of September, the first court in the territory was held, but as it related to the territory, a narrative of its proceedings will be found in the history of that part of the country, and need not be repeated here.

The fifteenth of July, Governor St. Clair had published the ordinance of 1787, and the commissions of himself and the three judges. He also assembled the people of the settlement, and explained to them the ordinance in a speech. of considerable length. Three days after, he sent a notice to the judges, calling their attention to the subject of organizing the militia. Instead of attending to this important matter, and thus providing for their safety should trouble with the Indians arise, the judges did not even reply to the governor's letter, but sent him what they called a "project" of a law for dividing real estate. The bill was so loosely drawn that St. Clair immediately rejected it, and set about organizing the militia himself. He divided the militia into two classes, "senior" and "junior," and organized them by appointing their officers.

In the junior class, Nathan Goodale and Charles Knowls were made captains; Watson Casey and Samuel Stebbins, lieutenants; and Joseph7 Lincoln and Arnold Colt, ensigns.

The governor next erected the courts of probate and quarter sessions, and proceeded to appoint civil officers. Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, and Winthrop Sargent were made justices of the peace. The thirtieth of Au-. gust, the day the court of quarter sessions was appointed, Archibald Cary, Isaac Pierce, and Thomas Lord were also appointed justices, and given power to hold this court. They were, in fact, judges of a court of common pleas. Return Jonathan Meigs was appointed clerk of this court of quarter sessions. Ebenezer Sproat was appointed sheriff of Washington county, and also colonel of the militia; William Callis, clerk of the supreme court; Rufus Putnam, judge of the probate court, and R, J. Meigs, jr, clerk. Following these appointments setting the machinery of government in motion, St. Clair ordered that the twenty-fifth of December be kept as a day of thanksgiving by the infant colony, for its safe and propitious beginning.

During the fall and. winter, the settlement was daily increased by emigrants, so much so, that the greatesé difficulty was experienced in finding them lodging. During the coldest part of the winter, when ice covered the river, and prevented navigation, a delay in arrivals was experienced, only to be broken as soon as the river opened to the beams of a spring sun. While locked in the winters embrace, the coionists amused themselves in various ways, dancing being one of the most prominent. At Christmas, a grand ball was held, at which there were fifteen ladies, "whose grace," says a narrator, "equalled any in the east." Though isolated in the wilderness, they knew a brilliant prospect lay before them, and lived on in a joyous hope for the future.

Soon after their arrival, the settlers began the erection of a stockade fort (Campus Martius), which occupied their time until the winter of 1791. During the interval, fortunately, no hostilities from the Indians were experienced, though they were abundant, and were frequent visitors to the settlement.

From a communication iri the American Pioneer, by Dr. S. P. Hildreth, the.following description of Campus Martius is derived. As it will apply, in a measure, to many early structures for defence in the west, it is given entire:

These houses were twenty feet square below and twenty-four feet square above, and projected six feet beyond the walls of the fort. The interthediate walls were made up of dwelling-houses, made of wood, whose ends were whip-sawed into timber four inches thick, and of the requisite width and length. These were laid up similar to the structure of log houses, with the ends nicely dove-tailed together. The whole was two stories high, and covered with shingle roofs. Convenient chimneys were erected of bricks, for cooking, and warming the rooms. A number of the dwellings were built and owned by individuals who had families. In the west and south fronts were strong gateways; and over the one in the center of the front looking to the Muskingum river was a belfry. The chamber beneath was occupied by Winthrop Sargeant, as an office, he being secretary to the governor, and performing the duties of the office during St. Clair's absence. This room projected over the gateway, like a block-house, and was intended for the protection of the gate beneath, in time of an assault. At the outer corner of each blockhouse was erected a bastion, standing on four stout timbers. The floor of the bastion was a little above the lower story of the block-house. They were square, and built up to the height of a man's head, so that, when he looked over, he stepped on a narrow platform or "banquet" running around the sides of the bulwark. Port-holes were made for musketry as well as for artillery, a single piece of which was mounted in the sontheast and ,northwest bastions. In these the sentries were regularly posted every night, as more convenient than the towers; a door leading into them from the upper story of the block-houses. The lower room of the southwest biock-house was occupied as a guardhouse.

"t Running from corner to corner of the block-houses was a row of palisades, sloping outward and resting on stout rails. Twenty feet in advance of these, was a row of very strong and large pickets, set upright in the earth. Gateways through these admitted the inmates of the garrison. A few feet beyond the row of outer palisades was placed a row of abatis, made from the tops and branches of trees, sharpened and pointing outward, so that it would have been very difficult for an enemy to have penetrated within their outworks. The dwelling-houses

'"' Before the Indians commenced hostilities, the block-houses were occupied as follows: The southwest one, by the family of Governor St. Clair; the northeast one as an office for the directors of the company. The area within the walls was one hundred and forty-four feet square, and afforded a fine parade ground. In the center, was a well eighty feet in depth, for the supply of water to the inhabitants, in case of 2 siege. A large sundial stood for many years.in the square, placed on a handsome post, and gave note of the march of time.

After the war commenced, a regular military corps was organized, and a guard constantly kept night and day. The whole establishment formed a very strong work, and reflected great credit on the head that planned it. It was in à manner impregnable to the attacks of Indians,' and none but a regular army with cannon could have reduced it. The Indians possessed no such an armament.

"The garrison stood on the verge of that beautiful plain overlooking the Muskingum, on which are seated those celebrated remains of antiquity, erected probably for a similar purpose - the defence of the inhabitants. The ground descends into shallow ravines on the north and south sides; on the west is an abrupt descent to the river bottoms or

. alluvium, and the east passed out to a level plain. On this, the ground was cleared of trees beyond the reach of rifle shots, so as to afford no shelter to a hidden foe. Extensive fields of corn were grown in the midst of the standing girdled trees beyond, in after years. The front wall of palisades was about one hundred and fifty yards from the Muskingum river. 'The appearance of the fort from without was imposing, at a little distance resembling the military castles of the feudal ages. Between the outer palisades and the river were laid out neat gardens for the use of Governor St. Clair and his secretary, with the officers of the company.,

'Opposite the fort, on the shore of the river, was built a substantial timber wharf, at which was moored a fine cedar barge for twelve rowers, built by Captain Jonathan Devol, for General Putnam; a number of pirogues, and the light canoes of the country; and last, not least, the Mayflower, or 'Adventure Galley, in which the first detachments of colonists were transported from the shores of the 'Yohiogany' to the banks of the Muskingum. In these, especially the canoes, during the war, most of the communications were carried on between the settlements of the company and the more remote towns above on the Ohio river. Traveling by land was very hazardous to any but the rangers or spies. There were no roads, nor bridges across the creeks, and, for many years after the war had ceased, the traveling was nearly all done by canoes on the river."

Thus the first settlement of Ohio provided for its safety and comfort, and provided also for that of emigrants who came to share the toils of the wilderness.

The next spring, the influx of emigration was so great that other settlements were determined, and hence arose the colonies of Belpre, Waterford and Duck creek, where they began to clear land, sow and plant crops, and build houses and. stockades. At Belpre (French for "beautiful meadow"), were built three stockades, the upper, lower and middle, the last of which was called * Farmers! Castle," and stood on the banks of the Ohio, nearly opposite an island, afterward famous in western history as Blannerhasset's island, the scene of Burr's conspiracy. Among the persons settling at the upper stopkade, were Captains Dana and Stone, Colonel Bent, William Browning, Judge Foster, John Rowse, Israel Stone, and a Mr. Keppel. Atthe Farmers' Castle were Colonels Cushing and Fisher, Major Haskell, Aaron Waldo Putnam, Mr. Sparhawk, and, it is believed, George and Israel Putnam, jr. At the lower were Major Goodale, Colonel Rice, Esquire Pierce, Judge Israel Loring, Deacon Miles, Major Bradford and Mr. Goodenow. In the summer of 1789, Colonel Ichabod Nye and some others, built a block-house at Newberry, below Belpre. Colonel Nye sold his lot there to Aaron W. Clough, who, with Stephen Guthrie, Joseph Leavins, Joel Oakes, Eleazer Curtis, Mr. Denham J. Littleton and Mr. Brown, were located at that place.

"Every exertion possible," says Dr. Hildreth, who has preserved the above names and incidents, "for men in these circumstances, was made to secure food for future difficulties. Colonel Oliver, Major Hatfield White and John Dodge, of the Waterford settlement, began mills on Wolf creek, about three miles from the fort, and got them running; and these, the first mills in Ohio, were never destroyed during the subsequent Indian war, though the proprietors removed their families to the fort at Marietta. Colonel E. Sproat and Enoch Shepherd began mills on Duck creek; three miles from Marietta, from the'completion of which they were driven by the Indian war. Thomas Stanley began mills farther up, near the Duck creek settlement. These were likewise unfinished. The Ohio company built a large horse mill near Campus.Martius, and soon after a floating mill.

The autumn before the settlements at Belpre, Duck creek and Waterford were made, a colony was planted near the mouth of the little Miami river, on a tract of ten thousand acres, purchased from Symmes by Major Benjamin Stiles. In the preceding pages may be found a history of Symmes' purchase. This colony may be counted the second settlement in the State. Soon after the colony at Marietta was founded, steps were taken to occupy separate portions of Judge Symmes' purchase, between the Miamirivers. Three parties were formed for this purpose, but, owing to various delays, chiefly in getting the present colony steadfast and safe from future encroachments by the savages, they did not get started tili late in the fall. The first of these parties, consisting of fifteen or twenty men, led by Major Stiles, landed at the mouth of the Little Miami, in November, 1788, and, constructing a log fort, began to lay out a village, called by them Columbia. It soon grew into prominence, and, before winter had thoroughly set in, they were well prepared for a frontier life. In the party were Colonels Spencer and Brown, Major Gano and Kibbey, Judges Goforth and Foster, Rev. John Smith, Francis Dunlavy, Captain Flinn, Jacob White, John Riley, and Mr. Hubbell.

the other parties who commenced, their settlements below them on the Ohio. This village was also, at first, more flourishing; and, for two or three years, contained more inhabintants than any other in the Miami purchase.

The second Miami party was formed at Limestone, under Matthias Denham and Robert Patterson, and consisted of twelve or fifteen persons. They landed on the north bank of the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Licking river, the twenty-fourth of December, 1788. They intended to establish a station and lay out a town on a plan prepared at Limestone. Some statements affirm that the town was to be called " Z-os-anti-ville," by a romantic school-teacher named Filson. However, be this as it may, Mr. Filson was, unfortunately for himself, not long after, slain by the Indians, and, with him probably, the name disappeared. He was to have one-third interest in the proposed city, which, when his death occurred, was transferred to Israel Ludlow, and a new plan of a city adopted. Israel Ludlow surveyed the proposed town, whose lots were principally donated to settlers upon certain conditions as to settlement and improvement, and the embryo city named Cincinnati. Governor St. Clair very likely had something to do with the naming of the village, and, by some, it is asserted that he changed the name from Losantiville to Cincinnati, when he created the county of Hamilton the ensuing winter. The original purchase of the city's site was made by Mr. Denham. It included about eight hundred acres, for which he paid five shillings per acre in Continental certificates, then worth in specie about five shillings per pound, gross weight. Evidently, the original site was a good investment, could Mr. Denham have lived long enough to see its present condition.

The third party of settlers for the Miami purchase were under the care of Judge Symmes, himself. They left Limestone January 29, 1789, and were much delayed on their downward journey by the ice inthe river. They reached the * Bend," as it was then known, early in February. The judge had intended to found a city here, which, in time, would be the rival of the Atlantic cities. As each of the three settlements aspired to the same position, no little rivalry soon manifested itself. The judge named his proposed city North Bend, from the fact that it was the most northern bend in the Ohio below the mouth of the Great Kanawha. These three settlements antedated, a few months, those made near Marietta, already described. They arose so soon after, partly from the extreme desire of Judge Symmes to settle his purchase, and induce emigration here instead- of on the Ohio company's purchase. The judge labored earnestly for this purpose and to further secure him in his title to the land he had acquired, all of which he had so far heen unable to retain, owing to his inability to meet his payments.

All these emigrants came down the river in the flatboats of the day, rude affairs, sometimes called ''arks," and then the only safe mode of travel in the west.

Judge Symmes found he must provide for the safety of the settlers on his purchase, and, after earnestly soliciting General Harmar, commander of thé western posts, succeeded in obtaining a detachment of forty-eight men, under Captain Kearsey, to protect the improvements just commencing on the Miami. This detachment reached Limestone in December, 1788. Part was at once sent forward to guard Major Stiles and his pioneers. Judge Symmes and his party started in January, and, about. February 2d reached Columbia, where the captain expected to find a fort erected for his use and shelter. The flood on the river, however, defeated his purpose, and, as he was unprepared to erect another, he determined to go on down to the garrison at the falls at Louisville. Judge Symmes was strenuously opposed to his conduct, as it left the colonies unguarded, but, all to no purpose; the captain and his command went on to Louisville early in March, and left the judge and his settlement to protect themselves. Judge Symmes immediately sent a strong letter to Major Willis, commanding at the falls, complaining of the conduct of Captain Kearsey, representing the exposed situation of the Miami settlements, stating the indications of hostility manifested by the Indians, and requesting a guard to be sent to the Bend. This request was at once granted, and Ensign Luce, with seventeen or eighteen soldiers, sent. They were at the settlement but a short time, when they were attacked by Indians, and one of their number killed, and four or five wounded. They repulsed the savages and saved the settlers.

The site of Symmes City, for such he designed it should ultimately be called, was above the reach of water, and sufficiently level to admit of a convenient settlement. The city laid out by Symmes was truly magnificent on paper, and promised in the future to fulfil his most ardent hopes. The plat included the village, and extended across the peninsula between the Ohio and Miami rivers. Each settler on this plat was promised a lot if he would improve it, and in conformity to the stipulation, Judge Symmes soon found a large number of persons applying for residence. As the number of these adventurers increased, in consequence of this provision and the protection of the military, the judge was induced to lay out another village six or seven miles up the river, which he called South Bend, where he disposed of some donation lots, but the project failing, the village site was deserted, and converted into a farm.

During all the time these various events were transpiring, but little trouble was experienced with the Indians. They were not yet disposed to evince hostile feelings. This would have been their time, but, not realizing the true intent of the whites until it was too late to conquer them, they allowed them to become prepared to withstand a warfare, and in the end were obliged to suffer their hunting-grounds to be taken from them, and made the homes of a race destined to entirely supersede them in the New World.

By the means sketched in the foregoing pages, were the three settlements on the Miami made. By the time those adjacent to Marietta were well established, these were firmly fixed, each one striving to become the rival city all felt sure was to rise. For a time it was a matter of doubt which of the rivals, Columbia, North Bend or Cincinnati, would eventually become the chief seat of business. In the beginning, Columbia, the eldest of the three, took the lead, both in number of its inhabitants and the convenience and appearance of its dwellings. For a time it was a flourishing place, and many believed it would become the great business town of the Miami country. That apparent fact, however, lasted but a short time. Washington built there, and in spite of all that Major Stiles, or Judge Symmes could do, that place became the metropolis. Fort Washington, the most extensive garrison in the west, was built by Major Doughty, in the summer of 1789, and from that time the growth and future greatness of Cincinnati were assured.

east of and near Main street. It was simply a strong log cabin, and was erected of the forest trees: cleared away from the ground on which it stood. The lower part of the town was covered with sycamore and maple trees, and the upper with beech and oak. Through this dense forest the streets were laid out, and their corners marked on the trees.

The settlements on the Miami had become sufficiently numerous to warrant a separate county, and, in January, 1790, Governor St. Clair and his secretary arrived in Cincinnati, and organized the county of Hamilton, so named in honor of the illustrious statesman by. that name. It included all the country north of the Ohio, between the Miamis, as far as a line running "due east from the Standing Stone forks" of Big Miami to its intersection. with the little Miami. The erection of the .new county, and the appointment of Cincinnati to be the seat of justice, gave the town a fresh impulse, and aided greatly in its growth.

"Through the summer, but little interruption in the growth of the settlements occurred. "The Indians had permitted the erection of defensive works in their midst, and could not now destroy them. They were also engaged in traffic with the whites, and, though they evinced signs of discontent at their settlement and occupation of the country, yet did not openly attack them. The truth was, they saw plainly the whites were always prepared, and no opportunity was given them to plunder and destroy. The Indian would not attack unless success was almost sure. An opportunity, unfortunately, came, and with it the horrors of an Indian war.

went from Marietta to a place on the Muskingum known as the Big Bottom. Here they built a block-house, on. the east bank of the river, four miles above the mouth of Meigs creek. They were chiefly young, single men, but little acquainted with Indian warfare or military rules. The savages had given signs that an attack on the settlement was meditated, and several of the knowing ones at the strongholds strenuously opposed any new settlements that fall, advising their postponement until the next spring, when the question of peace or war would probably be settled. Even General Putnam and the directors of the Ohio company advised the postponement of the settlement until the next spring.

The young men were impatient and restless, and declared themselves able to protect their fort against any number of assailants. They might have easily done so, had they taken the necessary precautions; but, after they Had erected a sude block-house of unchinked logs, they began to pass the time in various pursuits; setting no guard, and taking no precautionary measures, they left themselves an easy prey to any hostile savages that might choose to come and attack them.

About twenty rods from the block-house, and a little back from the bank of the river, two men, Francis and Isaac Choate, members of the company, had erected a cabin, and commenced clearing lots. 'Thomas Shaw, a hired laborer, and James Patten, another of the associates, lived with them. About the same distance below the block-house was an old "Tomahawk Improvement " and a small cabin, which two men, Asa and Eleazar Bullard, had fitted up and occupied. The Indian .warpath, from Sandusky to the mouth of the Muskingum, passed along the opposite shore of the river. Dr. Hildreth says:

The Indians, who, during the summer had been hunting and loitering about the Wolf Creek and Plainfield settlements, holding frequent and friendly intercourse with the settlers, selling them venison and bear's meat in exchange for green corn and vegetables, had withdrawn and gone up the river, early in the autumn, to their towns, preparatory to going into winter quarters. They very seldom entered on any warlike expeditions during the cold weather. But they had watched the gradual encroachment of the whites, and planned an. expedition against them. They saw them in fancied security in their cabins, and thought their capture an easy task. It is. said they were not aware of the Big Bottom settlement until they came in sight of it, on the opposite shore of the river, in the afternoon. From a high hill opposite the garrison, they had a view of all that part of the bottom, and could see how the men were occupied and what was doing about the block-house. It was not protected with palisades or pickets, and none of the men were aware or prepared for an attack. Having laid their plans, about twilight they crossed the river above the garrison, on the ice, and divided their men into two parties - the larger one to attack the block-house, the smaller one to capture the cabins. As the Indians cautiously approached the cabin they found the inmatesat supper. Part entered, addressed the whites in a friendly manner, but soon manifesting their designs, made them all prisoners, tieing them with leather thongs they found in the cabin.

At the block-house the attack was far different. A stout Mohawk suddenly burst open the door, the first intimation the inmates had of the presence of the foe, and while he he held it open his comrades shot down those that were within. Rushing in, the deadly toma- In the assault, one of the savages was struck by the wife of Isaac Woods, with an axe, but only slightly injured. The heroic woman was

There were twelve persons killed in this attack, all of whom were in the prime of life, and valuable aid to the settlements. They were well provided with arms, and had they taken the necessary precautions, always pressed upon them when visited by the older ones from Marietta, they need not have suffered so terrible a fate.

The Indians, exultant over their horrible victory, went on to Wolf's mills, but here they found the people prepared, and, after reconnoitering the place, made their retreat, at early dawn, to the great relief of the inhabitants. Their number was never definitely known.

The news reached Marietta and its adjacent settlements soon after the massacre occurred, and struck terror and dismay into the hearts of all. Many had brothers and sons in the ill-fated party, and mourned their loss. Neither did they know what place would fall next. The Indian hostilities. had begun, and they could only hope for peace when the savages were effectually cor.quered.

The next day Captain Rogers led a party over to the Big Bottom. It was, indeed, a melancholy sight to the poor borderers, as they knew not now how soon the same fate might befall themsevles. The flre had so disfigured their comrades that but two, Ezra Putnam and William Jones, were recognized. As the ground was frozen outside, a hole was dug in the earth underneath the block-house floor, and the bodies consigned to one grave. No further attempt was made to settle here till after the peace of 1795.

The outbreak of Indian hostilities put a check on further settlements. "Those that were established were put in a more active state of defence, and every preparation made that could be made for the impending crisis all felt sure must come. Either the Indians must go, or the whites must retreat. A few hardy and adventurous persons ventured put into the woods and made settlements, but even these were at the imminent risk of their lives, many of them perishing in the attempt.

The Indian war that followed is given fully in preceding pages. It may be briefly sketched by stating that the first campaign, under General Harmar, ended in the defeat of his army at the Indian villages on the Miami of

Clair was next commissioned to lead an army of nearly three thousand men, but these were furiously attacked at break of day, on the morning of November 4, 1791, and utterly defeated. Indian outrages sprung out anew after each defeat, and the borders were in a continual state of alarm. 'The most terrible sufferings were endured by prisoners in the hands of the savage foe, who thought to annihilate the whites.

The army was at once re-organized, General Anthony Wayne put in command by Washington, and a vigorous campaign inaugurated. Though the savages had been given great aid by the British, in direct violation of the treaty of 1783, General Wayne pursued them so vigorously that they could not withstand his army, and, on the twentieth of August, 1794, defeated them, and utterly annihilated their forces, breaking up their camps, and laying waste their country, in some places under the guns of the British forts. The victory showed them the hopelessness of contending against the whites, and led their chiefs to sue for peace. The British, as at former times, deserted them, and they were again alone, contending against an invincible foe. A grand council was held at Greenville on the third of August, 1795, where eleven of the most powerful chiefs made peace with General Wayne on terms of his own dictation. The boundary established by the old treaty of Fort McIntosh was confirmed, and extended westward from Loramie's to Fort. Recovery, and thence southwest to the mouth of the Kentucky river. He also purchased all the territory not before ceded, within certain limits, comprehending, in all, about four-fifths of the State of Ohio. The line was long known as "The Greenville Treaty line." Upon these, and a few other minor conditions, the United States received the Indians under then protection, gave them a large number of presents, and practically closed the war with the savages.

The only settlement of any consequence made during the Indian war, was that on the plat of Hamilton, laid out by Israel Ludlow, in December, 1794, Soon after, Darius C. Orcutt, John Green, William McClennan, John Sutherland, John Torrence, Benjamin F. Randolph, Benjamin Davis, Isaac Wiles, Andy Christy and William Hubert, located here. The town was laid out under the name of Fairfield, but was known only a short time by that name. Until 1801, all the lands on the west side of the Great Miami were owned by the general government; hence, until after that date, no improvements were made there. A single log cabin stood there until the sale of lands in April, 1801, when a company purchased thé site of Rossville, and, in March, 1804, laid out that town, and, before a year had, passed, the town and country about was well settled up.

The close of the war, in 1795, insured peace, and from that date, Hamilton and that part of the Miami valley grew remarkably fast. In 1803, Butler county was formed, and Hamilton made the county seat.

mand of Major Rudolph, a cruel, arbitrary man, who was displaced by General Wayne, and who, it is said, perished ignobly on the high seas, at the hands of some Algerian pirates, a fitting end to a man who caused, more than once, the death of men under his control for minor offences.

While the war with the Indians continued, but little extension of settlements was made in the State. It was too perilous, and the settlers preferred the security of the block-house or to engage with the army. Still, however, a few bold spirits ventured away from the settled parts of the territory, and began life in the wilderness. In tracing the histories of these settlements, attention will.be paid to the order in which they were made. They will be given somewhat in detail until the war of 1812, after which they become too numerous to follow.

The settlements made in Washington - Marietta and adjacent colonies - and: Hamilton counties have already been given. The settlement at Gallia is also noted, hence the narration can.be resumed where it ends prior to the Indian war of 1795. Before this war occurred, there were three small settlements' made, however, in addition to those in Washington and Hamilton counties. They were in what are now Adams, Belmont and Morgan counties. were in a continual state of defence. The first. of these, Adams, was settled in the winter of 1790-91 by General Nathaniel Massie, near where Manchester now is. General Massie determined to settle here iu the Virginia military tract - in the winter of 1790, and sent notice throughout Kentucky and other western settlements that he would give to each of the first twenty-five families who would settle in the town he proposed laying out, one in-lot, one out-lot and one hundred acres of land. Such liberal terms were soon accepted, and in a short time thirty families were ready to go with him. After various consultations with his friends, the bottom on the Ohio river, opposite the lower of the Three Islands, was selected as the most eligible spot. Here Massie fixed his station, and laid off into lots a town, now called Manchester. The little confederacy, with Massie at the helm, went to work with spirit. Cabins were raised, and by the middle of March, 1791, the whole town was inclosed with strong pickets, with block-houses at each angle for defence.

This was the first settlement in-the bounds of the Virginia district, and the fourth one in the State. Although in. the midst of a savage foe, now inflamed with war, and in the midst of a cruel conflict, the settlement at Manchester suffered less than any of its cotemporaries. This was, no doubt, due to the watchful care of its inhababitants, who were inured to the rigors of a frontier.

life, and who well knew the danger about them. "These were the Beasleys, Stouts, Washburns, Ledoms, Edgingtons, Denings, Ellisons, Utts, McKenzie's, Wades, and others, who were fully equal to the Indians in all the savage arts and strategems of border war."

-As soon as they had completed preparations for defence, the whole population went to work and cleared the lowest of the Three Islands, and planted it in corn. The soil of the island was very rich, and produced abundantly. The woods supplied an abundance of game, while the river furnished a variety of excellent fish. The inhabitants thus found their simple wants fully supplied. Their nearest neighbors in the new territory were at Columbia, and at the French settlement at Gallipolis; but with these, owing to the state of the country and the Indian war, they could hold little, if any, intercourse.

The station being established, Massie continued to make locations and surveys. Great precautions were necessary to avoid the Indians, and even the closest vigilance did not always avail, as the ever watchful foe was always ready to spring upon the settlement, could an unguarded moment, be observed. During one of the spring months, General Massie, Israel Donalson, William Lytle and James Little, while out on a survey, were surprised, and Mr. Donalson captured, the others escaping at great peril. Mr. Donalson escaped during the march to the Indian town, and made his way to the town of Cincinnati, after suffering great hardships, and almost perishing from hunger. In the spring of 1793, the settlers at Manchester commenced clearing the out-lots of the town. While doing so, ar incident occurred, which shows the danger to which they were daily exposed. It is thus related in Howe's Collections:

"Mr. Andrew Ellison, one of the settlers, cleared an out-lot immediately adjoining the fort. He had completed the cutting of the timber; rolled the logs together, and set them on fire. The next morning, before daybreak, Mr. Ellison opened one of the gates of the fort, and went out to throw his logs together. By the time he had finished the job, a number of the heaps blazed up brightly, and, as he was passing from one to the other, he observed by the light of the fires three men walking briskly toward him. This did not alarm him in the least, although, he said, they were dark-skinned fellows; yet he concluded they were the Wades, whose complexions were very dark, going early to hunt. He continued .to right his log-heaps, until one of the fellows seized him by the arms, calling out, in broken English, 'How do? how da?' He instantly looked in their faces, and, to his surprise and horror, found himself in the clutches of three Indians. To resist was useless.

"The Indians quickly moved off with him in the direction of Paint creek. When breakfast was ready, Mrs. Ellison sent one of her children to ask its father home; but he could not be found at the log-heaps. His absence created no immediate 'alarm, as it was thought he might have started to hunt after he had completed his work. Dinner time arrived, and, Ellison not returning, the family became uneasy, and began to suspect some accident had happened to him. His gun-rack was examined, and there hung his rifles and his pouch. General Massie raised a party, made a circuit around the place, finding, after some search, the trails of four men, one of whom had on shoes; and the fact that Mr. Ellison was a prisoner now became apparent. As it was almost night at the time the trail was discovered, the party returned to the station. Early the next morning preparations were made by General Massie and his friends to continue the search. In doing this, they found great difficulty, as it was so early in the spring that the vegetation was not grown sufficiently to show plainly the trail made by the savages, who took the precaution to keep on high and dry ground, where their feet would The party were, however, as unerring as a pack of hounds, and followed the trail to Paint creek, when they found the Indians gained so fast on them that pursuit was useless.

"The Indians took their prisoner to Upper Sandusky, where he was compelled to run the gantlet. As he was a large, and not very active, man, he received a severe flogging: He was then taken to Lower Sandusky, and again compelled to run the gantlet. He was then taken to Detroit, where he was ransgmed by a British officer for one hundred dollars. The officer proved a good friend to him. He sent him to Montreal, whence he returned home before the close of the summer,

'Another incident occurred about this time which so aptly illustrates the danger of frontier life that it well deserves a place in the history of the settlements in Ohio. John and Asahel Edgington, with a comrade, started out on a hunting expedition toward Brush creek. They camped out six miles in a northeast direction from where West Union now stands, and near the site of Treber's tavern, on the road from Chillicothe to Maysville. They had good success in hunting, killing a number of deer and bears. / Of the deer killed, they saved the skins and hams alone. They fleeced the bears; that is, they cut off all the meat which adhered to the hide, without skinning, and left the bones as a skeleton. They hung up the proceeds of their hunt on a scaffold, out of the reach of wolves and other wild animals, and returned to Manchester for pack-horses. No one returned to the camp with the Edgingtons. As it was late in December, few apprehended danger, as the winter season was usually a time of repose from Indian incursions. When the Edgingtons arrived at their camp, they alighted from their horses and were preparing to start a fire, when a platoon of Indians fired upon them at a distance of not more than twenty paces. They had evidently found the results of the white men's labor, and expected they would return for it, and prepared to waylay them. Asahel Edgington fell dead. John was more fortunate. The sharp crack of the rifles, and the horrible yells of the savages as they leaped from their place of ambush, frightened the horses, who took the track for home at full speed. John was very active on foot, and now an opportunity offered which required his utmost speed. The moment the Indians leaped from their hiding-place, they threw down their guns and took after him, yelling with all their power. Edgington did not run a booty race. For about a mile, the savages stepped in his tracks almost before the bending grass could rise. The uplifted tomahawk was frequently so near his head that he thought he felt its edge. He exerted himself to his utmost, while the Indians strove with all their might to catch him. Finally, he began to gain on his pursuers, and, after a long race, distanced them and made his escape, safely reaching home. This, truly, was a most fearful and well-contested race. The big Shawnee chief, Captain John, who headed the Indians on this occasion, after peace was made, in narrating the particulars, said, 'The white man who ran away was a smart fellow. The white man run, and Irun. He run and run ; at last, the white man run clear off from me."

The settlement, despite its dangers, prospered, and after the close of the war continued to grow rapidly. In two years after peace was declared, Adams county was erected by proclamation of Governor St. Clair, the next year court was held, and in 1804, West Union was made the county seat.

During the war, a settlement was commenccd near the present town of Bridgeport, in Belmont county, by Captain Joseph Belmont, a noted Delaware Revolutionary officer, who, because his State could furnish only one company, could rise no higher than captain of the company, and hence always maintained that grade. He settled on a beautiful knoll near the present county seat, but ere long suffered from a night attack by the Indians, who, though unable to drive him and his companions from the cabin or conquer them, wounded some of them badly, one or two mortally, and caused the captain to leave the frontier and return to Newark, Delaware., The attack was made in the spring of 1791, and a short time after, the captain, having provided for the safety of his family, accepted a commission in St. Clair's army, and lost his life at the defeat of the general in November. Shortly after the captain settled, a fort, called Dillie's Fort, was built on the Ohio, opposite the mouth of Grave creek. About two hundred and fifty yards below this fort, an old man named Tato, was shot down at his cabin door by the Indians, just as he was in the act of entering the house. His body was pulled in by his daughter-in-law and grandson, who made an heroic defence. They were overpowered, the woman slain, and the boy badly wounded. He, however, managed to secrete himself, and afterward escaped to the fort. The Indians, twelve or thirteen in number, went off unmolested, though the men in the fort saw the whole transaction, and could have punished them. Why they did not was never known.

On Captina creek in the same county, occurred, in May, 1794, the "battle of Càptina," a famous local skirmish between some Virginians from Fort Baker, and a party of Indians. Though the Indians largely outnumbered the whites, they were severely punished, and compelled to abandon the contest, losing several of their bravest warrlors.

These were the only settlements made until 1795, the close of the war. Even these, as it will be observed from the foregoing pages, were temporary in all cases save one, and were maintained at a great risk, and the loss of many valuable lives. They were made in the beginning of the war, and such were their experiences that further attempts were abandoned until the treaty of Greenville was made, or until the prospects for peace and safety were assured.

No sooner, however, had the prospect of quiet been established, than a revival of emigration began. Before the war it had been large, now it was largely increased.'

Wayne's treaty of peace with the Indians was made at Greenville, in what is now Darke county, August 3, 1795. The number of Indians present was estimated at thirteen hundred, divided among the principal nations as follows: One hundred and eighty Wyandots, three hundred and eighty-one Delawares, one hundred and forty-three Shawnees, forty-five Ottawas, forty-six Chippewas, two hundred and forty Pottawatomies, seventy-three Miamis and Zel River, twelve Weas and Piankeshaws, and ten Kickapoos aud Kaskaskias. The principal chiefs were Tarhe, Buckongahelas, Black Hoof, Blue Jacket, and Little Turtle. Most of them had been tampered with bythe British agents and traders, but all had been. so thoroughly chastised by Wayne, and found that the British only used them as tools, that they were quite anxious to make peace with the "Thirteen Fires." By the treaty the former ones were established, the boundary lines confirmed aud enlarged, an exchange and delivery of prisoners effected, and permanent peace assured.

In the latter part of September, after the treaty of Greenville, Mr. Bedell, from New Jersey, selected a site for ahome in what is now Warren county, at a place since known as ''Bedell's Station," about a mile south of Union village. Here he erected a block-house, as a defence against the Indians, among whom were many renegades as among the whites, who would not respect the terms of the treaty. Whether Mr. Bedell was alone that fall, or whether he was joined by others, is not now accurately known. However that may be, he was not long left to himself; for, ere a year had elapsed, quite a number of settlements were made in this part of the terri- tory. Soon after his settlement was made, General David Sutton, Captain Nathan Kelley, and others began pioneer life at Deerfield, in the same locality, and, before three years had gone by, a large number of New Jersey people were established in their homes; and, in 1803, the county was formed from Hamilton. Among the early settlers at Deerfield was Captain Robert Benham, who, with a companion, in 1779, sustained themselves many days when the captain had lost the use of his legs, and his companion his arms, from musket balls fired by the hands of the Indians. They were with a large party commanded by Major Rogers, and were furiously attacked by an immense number of savages, and all but a few slain. The event happened during the war of the Revolution, before any attempt was made to settle the Northwest Territory. The party were going down the Ohio, probably to the falls, and were attacked when near the site of Cincinnati. As mentioned, these two men sustained each other. many days, the one having perfect legs doing the necessary walking, carrying his comrade to water, driving up the-game for him to shoot, and other duties necessary; while the one who had the use of his arms could dress his companion's and his own wounds, kill and cook the game, and perform his share. They were rescued, finally, by a flat-boat, whose occupants, for awhile, passed them, fearing a decoy, but, becoming convinced that such was not the case, took them on down to Louisville, where they were nursed into perfect health. A settlement was made near the present town of Lebanon, the county seat of Warren county, in the spring of 1796, by Henry Taylor, who built a mill one mile west of the town site, on Turtle creek. Soon after, he was joined by Ichabod Corwin, John Osbourn, Jacob Vorhees, Samuel Shaw, Daniel Bonte, and a Mr. Manning. When Lebanon was laid out in 1803, the two-story log house built in 1797, by Ichabod Corwin, was the only building on the plat. It was occupied by Ephraim Hathaway, as a tavern. He had a black horse painted on an immense board for a sign, and continued in business here until 1810. The same year the town was laid out, a store was opened by John Huston, and, from that date, the growth of the county was very prosperous. Three years after, the Western Star was established by Judge John McLain, and the current news of the day given in weekly editions. It was one of the first newspapers established in the territory, outside of Cincinnati. As has been mentioned, the opening of navigation in the spring of 1796, brought a great flood of emigration to the Territory. The little settlement made by Mr. Bedell, in the autumn of 1795, was about the only one made that fall ; others made preparations, and many selected sites, but did not settle until the following spring. .

That spring, colonies were planted in what are now Montgomery, Ross, and Madison counties, while preparations were in turn made to occupy additional territory, that will hereafter be noticed.

The settlement made in Montgomery county was begun early in the spring of 1796. As early as 1788, the land on which Dayton now stands was selected by some gentlemen, who designed laying out a town to be named

Venice. They agreed with Judge Symmes, whose contract covered the place, for the purchase of the lands. The Indian war which broke out at this time prevented an extension of settlements from the immediate neighborhood of the parent colonies, and the project was abandoned by the purchasers. Soon after the treaty of 1795, a new company, composed of Generals Jonathan Dayton, Arthur St. Clair, James Wilkinson, and Colonel Israel Ludlow, purchased the land between the Miamis, around the mouth of Mad river, of Judge Symmes, and, the fourth of November, laid out the town. Arrangements were made for its settlement the ensuing spring, and donations of lots, with other privileges, were offered to actual settlers. Forty-six persons entered into engagements to remove from Cincinnati to Dayton, but during the winter most of them scattered in different directions, and only nineteen fulfilled their contracts. The first families who made a permanent residence here, arrived on the first day of April, 1796, and at once set about establishing homes. Judge Symmes, however, becoming unable soon after, to pay for his purchase, the land reverted to the United States, and the settlers in and about Dayton found themselves without titles to their lands. Congress, however, came to the aid of all such persons, wherever they had purchased land of Symmes, and passed a pre-emption law, under which they could enter their lands at the regular government price. Some of the settlers entered their lands, and obtained titles directly from the United States; others made arrangements with Daniel C. Cooper to receive their deeds from him, and he entered the residue of the town lands. He had been the surveyor and agent of the first company of proprietors, and they assigned to him certain of their rights of pre-emption, by which he became the titular owner of the land.

When the State government was organized in 1803, Dayton was made the seat of justice for Montgomery county, erected the same year. At that time, owing to the title question, only five families resided in the place, the other settlers having gone to farms in the vicinity, or to other parts of the country. The increase of the town was gradual until the war of 1812, when its growth was more rapid until 1820, when it was again checked by the general depression of business. It revived in 1827, at the commencement of the Miami canal, and since then its growth has always been prosperous. It is now one of the best cities in Ohio. The first canal

1829, and the first one from Lake Erie the twenty-fourth of June, 1845. In 1825, a weekly line of stages was established between Columbus ana Cincinnati, via Dayton. Two days were occupied in coming from Cincinnati to Dayton.

On the eighteenth of September, 1808, the Dayton Repertory was established by William McClure and George Smith. It was printed on a foolscap sheet. Soon after, it was enlarged and changed from a weekly to a daily, and, ere long, found a number of competitors in the field.

the remains of ancient works, scattered about over the bottom. About a mile and a quarter southeast of the village, on an elevation more than one hundred feet above the level of the Miami, is the largest mound in the northern States, excepting the mammoth mound at Grave creek, on the Ohio, below Wheeling, which it nearly equals in dimensions. It is about eight hundred feet around the base, and rises to a height of nearly seventy feet. When first known it was covered with forest trees, whose size evidenced great age. The Indians could give no account of the mound. Excavations revealed bones and charred earth, but what was its use will always remain a conjecture.

cotemporary with that of Dayton, in what is now Ross county. The same spring, 1796, quite a colony came to the banks of the Scioto river, and, near the mouth of Paint creek, began to plant a crop of corn on the bottom. The site had been selected as early as the year 1792, by Colonel Nathaniel Massie * and others, who were so delighted with the country, and gave such glowing descriptions of it on their return - which accounts soon circulated through Kentucky - that portions of the Presbyterian congregations of Caneridge and Concord, in Bourbon county, under Rev. Robert W. Finley, determined to emigrate thither in a body. They were, in a measure, induced to take this step by their dislike to slavery, and a desire for freedom from its baleful influences and the uncertainty that existed regarding the validity of the land titles in that State. The Rev. Finley, as a preliminary step, liberated his slaves, and addressed to Colonel Massie a letter of inquiry, in December, 1794, regarding the land on the Scioto, of which he and his people had heard such glowing accounts.

'The letter induced Colonel Massie to visit Mr. Finley in the ensuing March. A large concourse of people, who wished to engage in the enterprise, assembled on the occasion, and fixed on a day to meet at the Three Islands, in Manchester, and proceed on an exploring expedition. Mr. Finley also wrote to his friends in western Pennsylvania, informing them of the time and place of rendezvous.

<" About sixty men met, according to appointment, who were divided into three companies, under Massie, Finley and Falenash. 'They proceeded on their route, without interruption, until they struck the falls of Paint creek. Proceeding a short distance down that stream, they suddenly found themselves in the vicinity of some Indians who had encamped at a place, since called Reeve's Crossing, near the present town

.* Nathaniel Massie was born in Goochland county, Virginia, December 28, 1763. In 1780 he engaged, for a short time, in the Revolutionary war. In 1783, he left for Kentucky, where he acted as a surveyor. He was afterward made a government surveyor, and labored much in that capacity for early Ohio proprietors, being paid in lands, the amounts graded by the danger attached to the survey. In 1791, he established the settlement at Manchester, and a year or two after continued his surveys up the Scioto. Here he was continually in great danger from the Indians, but knew well how to guard against them, and thus preserved himself. In 1796, he established the Chillicothe settlement, and made his home in the Scioto valley, being now an extensive land owner by reason of hislong surveying service. In 1807, he and Return J. Meigs were competitors for the office of governor of Ohio. Meigs was elected, but Massie contested his eligibility to the office, on the grounds of his absence from the State and insufficiency of time as a resident, as required by the constitution. Meigs was declared ineligible by the general assembly, and Massie declared governor. He, however, resigned the office at once, not desiring it. representative afterward. He died November 13, 18r3.

of Bainbridge. The Indians were of those who had refused to attend Wayne's treaty, and it was determined to give them battle, it being too late to retreat with safety. The Indians, on being attacked, soon fled with the loss of two killed and several wounded. One of the whites only, Joshua Robinsen, was mortally wounded, and, during the action, a Mr. Armstrong, a prisoner among the savages, escaped to his own people. The whites gathered all their plunder and retreated as far as Scioto Brush creek, where they were, according to expectation, attacked early the next morning. Again the Indians were defeated. Only one man among the whites, Allen Gilfillan, was wounded. The party of whites continued their retreat, the next day reached Manchester, and separated for their homes.

"After Wayne's treaty, Colonel Massie and several of the old explorers again met at the house of Rev. Finley, formed a company, and agreed to make a settlement in the ensuing spring (1796), and raise a crop of corn at the mouth of Paint creek. According to agreement, they met at Manchester about the first of April, to the number of forty and upward, from Mason and Bourbon counties. Among them were Joseph McCoy, Benjamin and William Rodgers, David Shelby, James Harrod, Henry, Basil and. Reuben Abrams, William Jamison, James Crawford, Samuel, Anthony and Robert Smith, Thomas Dick, William and James Kerr, George and James Kilgrove, John Brown, Samuel and Robert Templeton, Ferguson Moore, William Nicholson and James B. Finley, later a prominent local Methodist minister. On starting, they divided into two companies, one of which struck across the country, while the other came on in pirogues. The first arrived earliest on the spot of their intended settlement, and had commenced erecting log huts above the mouth of Paint'creek, at the 'Prairie Station, before the others had come on by water. About three hun. dred acres of the prairie were cultivated in corn that season. :

"In August, of this year - 1796 - Chillicothe* was laid out by Colonel Massie in a dense forest. He gave a lot to each of the first settlers, and, by the beginning of winter, about twenty cabins were erected. Not long after, a ferry was established across the Scioto, at the north end of Walnut street. The opening of Zane's trace produced a great change in travel westward, it having previously been along the Ohio in keel-boats or canoes, or. by land over the Cumberland mountains, through Crab Orchard, in Kentucky.

" The emigrants brought corn-meal in their pirogues, and after that was gone, their principal meal, until the next summer, was tHat pounded in hominy mortars, which meal, when made into bread, and anointed with bear's-oil was quite palatable.

*'When the settlers first came, whiskey was four dollars and fifty cents per gallon; but, in the spring of 1797, when the keel-boats began to run, the Monongahela whiskey-makers, having found a good market for their fire-water, rushed it in, in such quantities, that the cabins were crowded with it, and it soon fell to fifty cents. Men, women and. children, with some exceptions, drank it freely, and many who had been respectable and temperate became inebriates. Many of Wayne's soldiers and camp-women settled in the town, so that, for a time, it became a town of drunkards, and a sink of corruption. There was, however, a little leaven, which, in a few months, began to develop itself.

"In the spring of 1797, one Brannon stole a great-coat, handkerchief and shirt. He and his wife absconded, were pursued, caught and brought back. Samuel Smith was appointed judge, a jury impanneled, one attorney appointed by the judge to manage the prosecution, and another the defence. Witnesses were examined, the case argued, and the evidence summed up by the judge. The jury, having retired a few moments, returned with a verdict of guilty, and that the culprit be sentenced according to the discretion of the judge. The judge soon announced that the culprit should have ten lashes on his naked back, or that he should sit on a bare pack-saddle on his pony, and that his wife, who was supposed to have had some agency in the theft, should lead the pony to every house in the village, and proclaim, ' This is Brannon, who stole the great-coat, the handkerchief and shirt ; and that James B. Finley, afterward chaplain in the State penitentiary, should see the sentence faithfully carried out. Brannon chose the latter sentence, and the ceremony was faithfully performed by his wife in the presence of every cabin, under Mr. Finley's care, after which the couple made off. This was.rather rude, but effective jurisprudence.

*Chillicothe appears to have been a favorite name among the Indians, as many localities were known by that name. Colonel John Johnston says: <" Chillicothe is the name of one of the principal tribes of the Skawnees. They would say, CAZL-i-cothe otang, i. e., Chillicothe town. The Wyandots would say, for Chillicothe town, Z'2£-a-ra-ra, Do-tia, or town at the leaning of the bank."

"Dr. Edward Tiffin and Mr. Thomas Worthington, of Berkeley county, Virginia, were brothers-in-law, and being moved by abolition principles, liberated their slaves, intending to move into the territory, For this purpose, Mr. Worthington visited Chillicothe in the autumn of 1797, and purchased several in and out lots of the town. On one of the former he erected a two-story frame house, the first of the kind in the village. On his return, having purchased a part of a farm, on which his family long after resided, and another at the north fork of Paint creek, he contracted with Mr. Joseph Yates, a millwright, and Mr. George Haines, a blacksmith, to come out with him the following winter or spring, and erect for him a grist- and saw-mill on his northfork tract. The summer, fall and following winter of that year were marked by a rush of emigration, which spread over the high bank prairie, Pea-pea, Westfall and a few miles up Paint and Deer creeks.

'Nearly all the first settlers were either regular members, or had been raised in the Presbyterian church. "Toward the fall of 1797, the leaven of piety retained by a portion of the first settlers began to diffuse itself tbrough the mass, and a large log meeting-house was erected near the old graveyard, and Rev. William Speer, from Pennsylvania, took charge. The sleepers at first served as seats for hearers, and a split-log table was used as a pulpit. Mr. Speer was a gentlemanly,

"Thomas Jones arrived in February, 1798, bringing with him the first load of bar iron in the Scioto valley, and about the same time Major Elias Langham, an officer of the Revolution, arrived. Dr. Tiffin, and his brother, Joseph, arrived the same month from Virginia, and opened a store not far from the log meeting-house. A store had been opened previously by John McDougal. The seventeenth of April, the families of Colonel Worthington and Dr. Tiffin arrived, at which time the first marriage in the Scioto valley was celebrated. The parties were George Kilgore and Elizabeth Cochran. The ponies of the attendants were hitched to the trees along the streets, which were not then cleared out, nearly the whole town being a wilderness. Joseph Yates, George Haines, and two or three others, arrived with the families of Tiffin and Worthington. On their arrival there were but four shingled roofs in town, on one of which the shingles were fastened with pegs. Colonel Worthington's house was the only one having glass windows. The sash of the hotel windows was filled with greased paper.

"Colonel Worthington was appointed by General Rufus Putnam, surveyor general of the Northwest Territory, surveyor of a large district of Congress lands, on the east side of the Scioto, and Major Langham and a Mr. Matthews, were apponited to survey the residue of lands which afterward composed the Chillicothe land district.

'*The same season, settlements were made about the Walnut plains by Samuel McCulloch and others; Springer, Osbourn, Dyer, and Thomas and Elijah Chenoweth, on Darley creek; Lamberts and others on Sippo; on Foster's bottom, the Fosters, Samuel Davis and others, while the following families settled in and about Chillicothe: John Crouse, William Keys, William Lamb, John Carlisle, John McLanberg, William Chandless, the Stoctons, Greggs, Bates, and some others.

'Dr. Tiffin and his wife were the first Methodists in the Scioto valley. He was a local preacher. In the fall, Worthington's grist- and sawmills on the north fork of Paint creek were finished, the first mills worthy the name in the valley.

" Chillicothe was the point from which the settlements diverged. In May, 1769, a post office was established here, and Joseph Tiffin made postmaster. Mr. Tiffin and Thomas Gregg opened taverns; the first, under the sign of General Anthony Wayne, was at the corner of Water and Walnut streets; and the latter, under the sign of the 'Green Tree,' was on the corner of Paint and Water streets. In 1801, Nathaniej Willis moved in and established the Scioto Gazette, probably the second paper in the territory."

In 1800 the seat of government of the Northwest Territory was removed, by law of Congress, from Cincinnati to Chillicothe. The sessions of the territorial assembly for that and the next year were held in a small two-story, hewed-log house, erected in 1798, by Bazil Abrams. A wing was added to the main part, of two stories in height. In the lower room of this wing, Colonel Thomas Gibson, auditor of the territory, kept his office, and in the upper room a small family lived. In the upper room of the main building a billiard table was kept. It was also made a resort of gamblers and dis- reputable characters. The lower room was used by the legislature, and as a court room, a church or a school. In the war of 1812, the building was a rendezvous and barracks of soldiers, and, in the year 1840, was pulled down.

The old State house was commenced in 1800, and finished the next year for the accommodation of the legislature and the courts. It is said to be the first public stone edifice erected in the territory. Major William Rutledge, a Revolutionary soldier, did the mason work, and William Guthrie, the carpenter. In 1801 the territorial legislature held its first session in it. In it was also held the Constitutional convention of Ohio, which began its sessions the first Monday in November, 1802. In March, 1803, the first State legislature met in the house, and continued its sessions here until 1810. The sessions of 1810-11, and 1811-12, were held in Zanesville, and from there removed back to Chillicothe, and held in the old State house till 1816, when Columbus became the permanent capital of the State.

Making Chillicothe the State capital did much to enhance its growth. It was incorporated in 1802, and a town council elected. In 1807 the town had fourteen stores, six hotels, two newspapers, two churches - both brick buildings - and over two hundred dwellings. The removal of the capital to Columbus checked its growth a little, still, being in an excellent country, rapidly filling with settlers, the town has always remained a prominent trading center.

During the war of 1812, Chillicothe was made a rendezvous for United States soldiers, and a prison established, in which many British prisoners were confined. At one time a conspiracy- for escape was discovered just in time to prevent it. The plan was for the prisoners to disarm the guard, proceed to jail, release the officers, burn the town, and escape to Canada. The plot was fortunately disclosed by two senior British officers, upon which, as a measure of security, the officers and chief conspirators were sent to the penitentiary at Frankfort, Kentucky.

Two or three miles northwest of Chillicothe, on a beautiful elevation, commanding an extensive view of the valley of the Scioto, Thomas Worthington * one of the most prominent and influential men of his day, afterward governor of the State, in 1806, erected a large stone mansion, the wonder of the valley in its time. It was the most elegant mansion in the west, crowds coming to see it when it was completed. Governor Worthington named the place Adena, *Paradise" - a name not then considered hyperbolical. The large panes of glass,