Williams County, Ohio - Chapter 4: The Boundary Dispute, 1905

THE history of the trouble which arose over the matter of establishing a permanent boundary line between the present states of Ohio and Michigan should be of special interest to the people of Williams county, because of the fact that upon the decision and adjustment of the difficulty depended the question, whether the territory now embraced in the townships of Northwest, Bridgewater, Madison and Millcreek should be a part and parcel of the Buckeye State, or the inhabitants thereof should be numbered among the Wolverines. At one time the trouble threatened to assume the magnitude of civil war between the sovereign State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan, supported, as the latter would unquestionably have been, by the military arm of the United States. The interest manifested was not confined to this locality, by any means, for leading members of Congress - notably John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts - took a hand in the fray, and it formed a subject for heated debate between giants of the political arena. Years have passed since the amicable settlement of this dispute, but time should not efface the record of historical events. Reasoning thus, and believing (with no desire to be invidious) that many people are not familiar with the history of the difficulty, the writer has consulted various authorities and decided to devote a chapter in this work to what is sometimes called "The Ohio and Michigan War."

The question of boundary between Ohio and Michigan antedated the admission of the former into the Union, and had its birth in *he Congress that framed and adopted the "Ordinance of 1787," - an instrument providing for the civil government of the Northwest Territory, then lately ceded to the United States. And it would be within the bounds of truth to say that this controversy, which for a time seriously threatened the peace of the country, was conceived through a blunder committed by a well-meaning though misguided Herodotus, prior to the action of the Confederate Congress. By the "Ordinance of 1787," Congress divided the Northwest Territory into three parts ; the western to include all the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin and a portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; the middle to include the present State of Indiana, and north to the British line ; the eastern to include the territory bounded by Indiana, Canada, Pennsylvania, and the Ohio river ; "Provided, however, and it is further understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three [prospective] States shall be subject so far to be altered, that if Con- gress shall hereafter find it expedient they shall have authority to form one or two states in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan."

The latest map in use at that time, which purported to give a representation of this portion of the earth's surface, was one published by Mitchell & Bradley in 1780, and, being decidedly inaccurate, it showed the southern extremity of the lake to be thirty miles north of where it really is. Congress, however, with only that map as a guide, thought that the "east and west line" would intersect the Detroit river, and hence really intended that the future State of Ohio should extend a considerable distance further north than it does. In fact it was plainly the purpose of the framers of the "Ordinance" that the northern boundary of the State should be near the fortysecond parallel of north latitude. Judge Burnet, in his "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," thus explains the origin of the difficulty:

"The question of boundary, though not expressly referred to the Convention, was one of greater importance than would appear at first view. It is generally known to those who have consulted the maps of the western country extant at the time the Ordinance of 1787 was passed, that Lake Michigan was represented as being very far north of the position which it has since been ascertained to occupy. On a map in the Department of State, which was before the Committee of Congress who framed the Ordinance for the Government of the Territory, the southern boundary of that lake was laid down as being near the forty-second degree of north latitude; and there was a pencil line passing through the southern bend of the lake to the Canada line, which intersected the strait between the river Raisin and the town of Detroit. That line was manifestly intended by the committee and by Congress to be the northern boundary of this State ; and, on the principles on which courts of chancery construe contracts, accompanied with plats, that map, and the line marked on it* should have been taken as conclusive evidence of the boundary, without reference to the actual position of the southern extreme of the lake."

When the act was passed, enabling Ohio to take the necessary steps toward statehood, Congress, under the same misapprehension, bounded the future state on the north "by an east and west line diawn through the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, running east until it shall intersect Lake Erie on the Territorial (British) line and thence on the same through to the Pennsylvania line." Again it is clearly proven that Congress intended the boundary line to be further north; for the Fulton line, so called (the boundary claimed by Michigan), if extended east would not intersect the British line at any point whatever. When the convention that framed the State Constitution was in session, in 1802, it was still the prevailing understanding that the old maps were correct ; and that the line, as defined in the Ordinance and enabling act, would terminate at some point on the Detroit river, far above the Maumee bay. But, while that subject was under discussion, a strolling hunter, who had for many years plied his vocation in the vicinity of Lake Michigan and was well acquainted with its position, happened to be in- Chillicothe, and, in conversation with some of the members, mentioned to them that the lake extended much farther south than was generally supposed; and that a map which he had seen placed its southern bend many miles north of its true position. His statement produced some apprehension and excitement on the subject, and induced the. convention to change the line prescribed in the act of Congress so far as to provide that, ''if the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Mchigan should extend so far south that a line drawn due east from it should not intersect Lake Erie, or if it should intersect the said Lake Erie east of the mouth of the Miami river of the- Lake [Maumee], then and in that case, with the assent of the Congress of the United States, the northern boundary of this State shall be established by, and extended to, a direct line running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Miami [Maumee] bay," etc. The object of thisj proviso was to save to the State of Ohio the valuable ports and harbors on the Maumee river and bay, as was clearly intended by Congress, and which were the prizes contended for in the threatened resort to arms. Congress accepted i his constitution, but, in 1805, Michigan territory was created with the southern boundary as originally specified - the old erroneous map being used as a guide - and without any reference to the Ohio amendment.

Upon this technicality arose the boundary difficulties, and the location of the line was considered very uncertain, even by the Ohio Legislature; for at different sessions, in 1807, 1809, and r 8 r 1 , resolutions were passed, requesting that commissioners be appointed to establish definite boundaries on the north and west. Michigan claimed jurisdiction over the disputed land from the date of her organization as a territory, and by assuming authority in the Maumee country her officials soon excited jealousy and resentment upon the part of the settlers in the disputed strip who professed allegiance to Ohio. Upon January 23, 1812, Amos Spafford, Collector of the Port at' Miami Rapids, addressed a letter to Governor Meigs, in which he stated it "to be the general wish of the people in this settlement (which consists of about fifty families) to have the laws of the State of Ohio extended over them." He informed the Governor that the people, with few exceptions, considered themselves clearly within the limits of Ohio - the exceptions being those who held office under the Governor of Michigan, whose orders they were endeavoring to enforce. Collector Spafford stated that if no adjustment should be made, he feared the contention would ere long become serious. This letter of Mr. Spafford, it will be observed, was written during the period when the population of the western frontiers were excited by the unfriendly relations existing between England and the United States; and which resulted in a declaration of war made by the latter in Tune of the same year. The great issue of a foreign war, threatening a common danger, united all the people of the frontier, including those of the disputed jurisdiction, in support, of the general welfare, and national patriotism subdued for a time the promptings of local and selfish interests.

Yet congress, heeding the petitions of Ohio's legislative assembly, and recognizing the seriousness of the boundary dispute and the importance of its early settlement, on May 20, 1812, passed an act authorizing and instructing the Surveyor General of the United States, under the direction of the President, and as soon as the consent of the Indians could be obtained, "to cause to be surveyed, marked and designated, so much of the western and northern boundaries of the State of Ohio, which have not already been ascertained, as divides said State from the territories of Indiana and Michigan, agreeably to the boundaries as established by the [enabling] act" of 1802. As will be observed, the framers of this act had in mind the line as originally stipulated (due east from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan) ; but they evidently recognized the mistake made in such designation, for they instructed the Surveyor General "to cause to be made a plat or plan of so much of the boundary line as runs from the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, particularly noting the place where said line intersects the margin of said lake, and to return the same when made to Congress." But, as before stated, the war of 1812 came on, and this, with ensuing difficulties, served to defer the making of the survey as directed.

The matter remained in statu quo for several years, until 1817, when, peaceful treaties having been made with the Indians, Edward Tiffin, Surveyor General of the United States, in pursuance of the instructions contained in the Act of Congress mentioned above, employed William Harris, a skillful surveyor, to run a portion of the western and all of the northern boundary line. Indiana had been erected into a state in 1816, and its northern boundary, as defined by act of Congress, included "a strip of land, ten miles wide, off the southern portion of Michigan Territory." This was another recognition of the old line which had been established through a mistaken idea of the geography of the country; but by extending Indiana ten miles further north, Congress showed its disregard for the instructions given in the Ordinance of 1787, and gave to the Ohio claimants a precedent decidedly in their favor. Harris found that a due east line from the head of Lake Michigan would intersect Lake Erie, seven miles south of the most northerly cape of Maumee bay, his survey in this matter agreeing perfectly with that afterwards made by Fulton. He accordingly, in conformity to the constitution of Ohio, ran another line from the lower extremity of Lake Michigan to the northerly cape of Maumee bay. This line established the northwest corner of Ohio at a point on the Indiana line, five miles, 24 chains and 64 links north of where the due east and west line located the same. Or, in other words, the difference in the lines at this place was the distance between the northwest corner and southwest corner of Northwest township in Williams county.

tory of Michigan, and, after investigating the boundary question, claimed the line to be the one established by the Ordinance of 1787 and accordingly claimed the disputed territory. A lengthy correspondence followed between Governor Cass and the Surveyor General, and the matter was taken up by the Ohio legislature in January, 1818, strong resolutions being passed, affirming the Harris line as the true one and holding that Congress so decided in approving the organization of the State. Governor Cass obtained an order through William H. Crawford, then Secretary of the Treasury, to run the due east and west line, and John A. Fulton was employed to make the survey. The result of course agreed exactly with the first line run by Mr. Harris, and it became known from that time as the "Fulton line" - said line being the present boundary between the northern and middle tiers of townships in Williams county, extending thence east through Fulton, and leaving a good portion of the city of Toledo in the present state of Michigan. The United States surveys, for subdividing the lands purchased from, the Indians into townships and sections were completed a few years thereafter, and as they were closed in Ohio and later in Michigan upon the Fulton line, it seemed that the government had decided favorably to that boundary.

Ohio, however, claimed to the Harris line and proceeded, wherever the population was sufficient, to organize townships, etc., accordingly. Wordy discussions followed and civil officers, were appointed by each claimant. Nothing serious occurred for several years, but, "a disputed jurisdiction/' as Lewis Cass wrote to Edward Tiffin, "is: one of the greatest evils that can happen to a country." Claims which involve vast sums of money fail to provoke strifes as acrimonious as those relating to contested land boundaries. The anxiety of the inhabitants of the infant settlements, occupying the disputed tract, can, be easily imagined, and almost any decision would have been welcomed by tliem if it ended the strife and established an undisputed jurisdiction. Dr. Horatio Conant, in December, 1823, wrote a letter from Fort Meigs to Hon. Ethan A. Brown, then a United States Senator from Ohio, appealing for some solution of the difficulty, but breathing loyalty to Ohio and the Harris line.

Dr. Conant was one of the pioneer physicians in the Maumee Valley. He was born at Mansfield, Connecticut, November 25, 1785, and was educated at Middlebury college in that State. He studied medicine in the state of New York, and, in 1816, came to Ohio, locating at Fort Meigs, where he followed the mercantile business for one year. He then began the practice of his profession and made it his chief business during life, although he held several official positions, among which was judge of the court of Common Pleas. His professional visits extended up the Maumee river to Defiance andembraced all the country below. In one instance, in making a horseback trip to Defiance, he swam no less than eight streams and was compelled to purchase a canoe and float back home. Dr. Conant was among the most public-spirited citizens who aided in planting white settlements and civilization in this then wilderness countrv and earn- estly endeavored to remove all obstacles to such progress. In the boundary dispute he displayed the same earnestness and good citizenship that characterized his long and useful life.

. During John Quincy Adams' administration arose the question of internal improvements all over the country, and the project of uniting the waters of Lake Erie and the Wabash river by a canal was considered. As is well known, General Andrew Jackson, who succeeded Adams as president, did not favor internal improvements by the aid of the general government; but the state of Indiana obtained an appropriation by Congress of each alternate section of land, five miles wide, on each side of the proposed canal, and extending its entire length, including the portion through Ohio. Indiana conveyed to Ohio the portion within the latter state upon the conditions of the original g*rant. Thus Ohio became interested, and in March, 1834, the legislature authorized Governor Lucas to appoint three commissioners to locate the canal line through the State. During the same year a survey of the proposed canal was made and it was found necessary to locate the eastern terminus at a point on the Maumee river, north of the Fulton line, in order to reach navigable water. This re-opened the mooted boundary question and brought the partisans of the rival claimants to a frenzied state of excitement. On February 1 2, 1835, the Territory of Michigan passed a law inflicting heavy penalties upon any person attempting jurisdiction over any part of the territory without authority from the United States or the Territory of Michigan. In accordance with a further provision of this act, Stevens T. Mason, the youthful and impulsive acting governor of Michigan, sent a message to Governor Lucas of Ohio, who in turn submitted it to the legislature, then in session. The legislature replied by passing an act on February 23, 1835, affirming the jurisdiction of Wood, Henry and Williams county to the Harris line; and it gave notice to congress that, "it ill becomes a million of freemen to humbly petition, year after year, for what justly belongs to them and is completely within their control."

The fight was now on in earnest. The commissioners of Williams county met on March 30, 1835, and in accordance with the legislative enactment extended the county jurisdiction to the Harris line, notifying all citizens of such extension. Wood and Henry counties likewise extended. A further provision of the act of the Legislature (passed February 23, 1835) provided for the appointment of three commissioners to run and re-mark the Harris line. Uri Seely of Geauga, Jonathan Taylor of Licking, and John Patterson of Adams, were appointed such commissioners, and the first of April was named as the time to commence the survey. Governor Mason of Michigan, keenly watching the Buckeye movements, ordered Gen. Joseph W. Brown, who commanded a division of the territorial militia, to be prepared to meet the impending crisis and to "use every exertion to obtain the earliest information of the military movements of our adversary." On March 31, Governor Lucas, accompanied by his staff and the boundary commissioners, arrived at Perrvsburg on their way to run and re-mark the Harris line in compliance with the act "in such case made and provided/' General John Bell, in command of the Seventeenth division of the Ohio Militia, arrived about the same time with his staff and mustered into service a volunteer force of about six hundred men, fully armed and equipped. The force went into camp at old Fort Miami and awaited the orders of the chief executive. Governor Mason, with General Brown, arrived at Toledo with a force under the immediate command of the latter, variously estimated at from 800 to 1,200 men, and went into camp, ready to resist any advance of the Ohio authorities upon the disputed territory to run the boundary line or any other movement inconsistent with Michigan's claim of jurisdiction over it. As a distinguished lawyer has put it, "the two governors, having made up an issue by legislative enactments, found themselves confronted by a military force that had been called out to enforce their respective legislative pleadings. Governor Mason, representing the tenant in possession, was content to rest at his ease. Governor Lucas, representing the. plaintiff, had to open the trial."

The whole country in the meantime became wild with excitement,, and Governor Lucas had determined to order General Bell with his; force to Toledo as soon as he could make the necessary preparations,, and risk the consequences. No doubt such action on his part would have resulted in a serious military engagement and possibly menaced the peace of the entire country ; but before he had got his preparations made, two eminent citizens - Hon. Richard Rush of Philadelphia, and Col. Benjamin C. Howard of Baltimore, arrived from Washington as commissioners from the President of the United States, to* use their personal influence to stop all war-like demonstrations.. Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, of Ohio, accompanied the commissioners, as a voluntary peace-maker. The commissioners and Mr. Whittlesey had several conferences with both governors, and finally, on April 7, submitted the following propositions for their assent:

"1. That the Harris line should be run and re-marked pursuant to» the act of the last session of the Legislature of Ohio, without interruption.

"2. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio having taken place throughout the disputed territory, that the people residing upon it should be left to their own government, obeying the one jurisdiction or the other, as they may prefer, without molestation from the authorities of Ohio or Michigan until the close of the next session of Congress."

Governor Lucas. 011 the urgent request of the commissioners and Mr. Whittlesey, agreed, reluctantly, to accept the proposition as peaceable settlement until after "the close of the next session of Congress." Governor Mason refused to acquiesce in the propositions. Notwithstanding this refusal on the part of the Michigan hotspur. Governor Lucas assented to the agreement, regarding the governor of a territory as a subaltern, subject to the control of the President. He looked upon the agreement as one made with the President, through Messrs. Rush and Howard as his representatives, and hence disbanded the military force he had collected Governor Mason partially did likewise, but still continued to make preparations for any emergency that might arise and stationed a military force at Adrian under the command of General Brown to keep a close watch upon events.

In 1832, new observations of latitude were made, under an act of Congress, by Captain Talbott, assisted bv Lieut. Robert E. Lee, then a recent graduate from West Point but afterwards the famous military chieftain of the Confederate forces and the idol of all loyal Southerners. These observations showed that the originally proposed line, if extended due east from the southern point of Lake Michigan, would not touch the international boundary in the middle of Lake Erie, but would pass several miles south of it, and coming to land again would throw into the territory of Michigan a considerable part of Northeastern Ohio. This absurdity was so apparent that it was confidently expected that the alternative line, which was provided for in the Ohio constitution, would be confirmed - especially so, when the fact was considered that Congress, by admitting Ohio to statehood, had constructively approved it. The matter was submitted to Benjamin F. Butler, at that time Attorney General of the United States, but he, with that tenacity which is a characteristic of lawyers in adhering to the letter of the law, decided that until Congress acted otherwise Michigan had the right of dominion over the disputed strip. He softened a little, however, by saying that no harm could come from the re-survey of the Harris line, as proposed by the Ohio authorities. Accordingly, Governor Lucas thought he cpuld run and re-mark the line without serious molestation and directed the commissioners to proceed with the work. Engineer S. Dodge, who was engaged in the construction of the Ohio canal, was employed as surveyor and together with the commissioners and a considerable party, came up the Maumee river to Defiance and then started across the country to the Northwest corner of the state to commence the survey. They arrived at the Fulton line on April 19, but as the "border" was infested with Michigan scouts the party decided not to advance without further advice from Governor Lucas. The Governor instructed them to run the line at all hazards, and they proceeded to what is now the extreme corner.of Northwest township, Williams county, where they found the corner of the state as described in the field notes of Surveyor Harris. Thence the commissioners and party proceeded eastwardly along the line, finding it with little or no difficulty and re-marking it as directed, until they reached a point near the present town of Lyons, in Fulton county, on April 25. There they left the line and retired about a mile to the south, where they expected to spend the following day, Sunday. At about high noon of the next day, however, they were attacked by a mounted force under General Brown, and in the melee that followed nine of the Ohio party were captured and escorted to Tecumseh, Michigan. The remainder of the force succeeded in reaching Perrys-

In addition to this outrage upon the official surveying party there were numerous flagrant assaults upon individuals - some of the events being ludicrous, but all of them doubtless having a serious aspect to the victims. Among the latter was Major Stickney, one of the most interesting and famous characters who were figuring on the Maumee in those early days. It will add a humorous interest to the drv details of this boundary dispute if we digress here and devote a little space to this eccentric individual, the facts being gleaned from reminiscences penned by Thomas W. Powell. Major Stickney had been appointed bv President Jefferson as Indian Agent, and as such had long resided in the Western country - first at Upper Sandusky and then at Fort Wayne. He was a man of some intelligence, and assumed to be a scholar and philosopher. His wife was a highly respectable lady - in every way amiable, and a daughter of General Stark of Revolutionary fame. But his wife's accomplishments did not prevent Major Stickney from resorting to all kinds of eccentricities. A part of this was to be as much as possible like nobody else. This he carried out in the naming of his children - not after any names found in either Christian or profane history; but the boys were to represent the numerals and the girls the states - as far as their numbers would go. The bovs, therefore, were named One, and Two, etc. ; and though he condescended to name his eldest daughter, from respect to Mrs. Stickney, Mary, the rest of his daughters were named after the states, Indiana, Michigan, etc. This eccentricity produced some of the most ridiculous anecdotes, among which is the following: Soon after the family moved to the Maumee Valley, and while living in a house erected near the landing at the mouth of Swan Creek, Mrs. Stickney, one morning, came to the piazza in front of the house, where a vessel laid at anchor, and calling to her sons, said, "Two, call One to breakfast." A sailor aboard the vessel looked up and said: "Is this Maumee? It is a terrible hard country, if it takes two to call one to breakfast."

In the spring of 1821, Major Stickney was a ruling spirit in what was already a thriving settlement in the neighborhood of' Swan Creek. Up to this time the little colony had been without a question within the jurisdiction of Ohio. Writs had been issued from Maumee in Wood county, to the settlers, as witnesses, jurors and suitors, and they, until then, had answered as such without a question as to jurisdiction. But other views had entered into Major Stickney's policy and philosophy. He called a public meeting of the citizens, and' to them when thus assembled he represented that the citizens of the incipient city had very seriously mistaken their interest as to the question - where the true northern line of the State of Ohio was. ' He did not care as to what the constitution of the State of Ohio said on the subject - the true line was the one run due east from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, which run considerably south of the settlement and would leave them in the Territory of Michigan, instead of the State of Ohio, and therefore they were Wolverines instead of Buckeyes. He averred that it was greatly to their interest to be so; that while they were citizens of the Territory they would be cherished and protected under the auspices and guardianship of the United States, while in Ohio they could not expect anything except to be taxed. He said he was well acquainted with General Cass, the Governor of Michigan at that time, and would go to him and get a commission as justice of the peace for Michigan in the settlement, in case the citizens there would sustain him. The motion carried - the secession was complete. Major Stickney procured his commission and proceeded to exercise the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace of Michigan over the seceded territory. Soon after these things had matured, Gen. J. E. Hunt of Maumee, had some official business to transact in that vicinity as an officer of Wood county. The citizens threw every obstacle in his way to prevent the discharge of his duties and to convince him that they had really seceded. General Hunt returned with just complaint of the conduct of the citizens there. A meeting of the commissioners of the county was called and the question was, what shall be done with the seceding rebels - shall they be prosecuted and hung? Perhaps so, if justice were done them. But mild and discreet measures and counsels were adopted. It was considered that Congress and the State of Ohio would in due time settle the question, and in the meantime it was neither discreet nor prudent to get up a war which could be avoided. This policy prevailed and Major Stickney and his followers were let "alone in their glory."

But about this time the canal question became an absorbing theme to the people of the Maumee Valley. When fully acquainted with the project, Major Stickney called another meeting of the citizens of Swan Creek, and to them he now represented that they had committed a great error in seceding from Ohio and going over to Michigan ; that while they belonged to Michigan they could not expect that the State of Ohio would construct the canal to Swan Creek ; they must go back to Ohio ; they must secede from Michigan and go back to Ohio again ; they must undo their former secession and rebellion or they could not expect to secure the canal. Thereupon all sorts of resolutions were adopted, to the effect that they were and of right ought to be a part and parcel of the State of Ohio ; that Ohio was a great and glorious State, and that they would maintain their position, if necessary, at the point of the bayonet. These measures succeeded in arousing Michigan to a demonstration of war. Militia soldiers were sent from Detroit by land and water to Swan Creek, to whip the rebels into subjection to their legitimate authority. They came in martial array and took possession of the territory where the proud city of Toledo now stands, making the citizens succumb to the power and jurisdiction erf Michigan. They returned to Detroit in the most jubilant triumph, drinking all sorts of toasts to the glory of Michigan and to the anathematization of Major Stickney in Ohio, one of which was, "Here is to Major Stick- nev's potatoes and onions - we draft their tops and their bottoms volunteer !" This, however, was all to the wishes of the svcophantical Major, and in accordance with his policy he went immediately to Columbus and represented to the Governor and people of Ohio th; intolerable barbarity of the Wolverines - how they had desecrated the just authority of Ohio and trampled under foot the loyal citizens of the State. Among the individuals arrested by the Michigan authorities during the troublous times of 1835, was Major Stickney, who was taken while on a visit to friends in Monroe, Michigan. He was confined in. jail at the latter place for some time, as he described it, "peeping through the grates of a loathsome prison for the monstrous crime of having acted as the judge of an election within the State of Ohio/' He was finally released, however, but it is doubtful if ever, in cither ancient or modern history, there has been an instance of secession and rebellion so successful, or a hero of one so clearly entitled to the distinction as Major Stickney.

Other citizens of the disputed strip, who claimed allegiance to Ohio, were arrested and harshly treated, among whom being Messrs. N. Goodsell and George McKay of Toledo, and feeling was aroused to a high pitch. The commissioners appointed to re-mark the Harris line reported the attack upon them to Governor Lucas, and he in turn reported the facts to President Jackson. The President sent a copy of the report to Governor Mason and directed him to send a statement "by the officers engaged in the transaction complained of." William McNair, under-sheriff of Lenawee county and the officer who made the arrests, replied, denying that the commissioners* posse was fired upon. Great excitement prevailed throughout Ohio. The press spread the news with such comments as corresponded with their views. Most of the papers advocated the cause of the Governor, and severely condemned the conduct of Michigan; but some few of the Whig papers, or those anti-Democratic in politics, took an opposite view and severely berated the conduct of Governor Lucas and those who sided with him. They treated the proceedings 011 the part of the authorities of Ohio as ridiculous and calculated to bring the State into disgrace. But the number of these papers that spoke freely against the course pursued by the State were very few. Governor Lucas, finding it impracticable to run the line or enforce jurisdiction over the disputed territory, called an extra session of the legislature to meet on the 8th day of June. That body passed an act "to prevent the forcible abduction of the citizens of Ohio." The act was intended of course to prevent if possible a repetition of offenses heretofore mentioned - and also had reference to counteracting the previous acts of the legislative council of Michigan - and made such offenses punishable bv imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than three nor more than seven years. An act was also passed at this special session creating the county of Lucas out of the north part of Wood and Henry counties. This new county extended from the east line of Williams to Lake Erie, the greater part of the new division lying between the rival boundary lines. An act was also passed levying appropriations to carry into effect all laws in regard to the northern boundary. Three hundred thousand dollars were appropriated out of the treasury and the Governor was authorized to borrow three hundred thousand more on the credit of the state. The determination to run and re-mark) the Harris line was still in evidence, and a resolution was adopted inviting the President to appoint a commissioner to go with the Ohioans when they again attempted to make the survey.

The issue was now changed ; and to quote again from a legal chronicler of the events, "the United States now became defendant as claimant of title in fee." The determined attitude of Michigan to prevent Ohio from exercising any authority over the disputed strip aroused a feeling of State pride that could not well brook the idea that the thinly populated Territory of Michigan, with her stripling (Governor, should successfully defy Governor Lucas and a State of la "million" inhabitants. Governor Lucas investigated the military strength of the State and found that at least twelve thousand men were ready to respond to a hurry-up call. The authorities of Michigan became exasperated. They dared the Ohio "million" to enter the disputed ground and "welcomed them to hospitable graves." Prosecutions for the crime of holding office under the laws of Ohio were conducted with greater vigor than ever, and the people of Monroe county, Michigan, were busy in acting as a sheriff's posse to make arrests of the recalcitrant Buckeyes. The partisans of Ohio being thus continually harrassed bv the authorities of Michigan and attempting frequently to retaliate in kind, the disputed strip was not an attractive point for the home-seeker during the greater part of the summer of 1835.

But such a state of affairs could not permanently exist and was certain ere long to reach its culmination. The frequent arrests and imprisonments of reputable men tended to keep the matter at a fever heat, and in a few instances homicide was narrowly averted on the part of the infuriated citizens. On July 15, 1835, an attempt was made to arrest Two Stickney, second son of the doughty Major, and to re-arrest George McKay. The accused were found at a tavern, "in the village of Toledo," by officers Lyman Hurd and Joseph Wood, of Monroe county, Michigan; but Stickney and McKay resisted the efforts to arrest them, and in the melee that followed, Officer Wood was severely wounded by a dirk knife in the hands of Stickney. This and other similar proceedings were reported by Governor Mason to President Jackson, who was becoming strongly impressed with the necessity of interposing some check to the evident tendency towards serious trouble.

Some time previous to this, Governor Lucas, perceiving considerable uneasiness at Washington for the peace of the country, had sent to the Federal City, Noah H. Swayne, William Allen and David T. Disney to confer with the President on the subject of the boundary difficulties. The result of this mission was the urgent appeal of the President for "the mutual suspension until after the next session of Congress/' of all action that would by possibility produce collision, and the assurance that an earnest recommendation would be Immediately sent to the acting Governor of Michigan and the other authorities of the Territory, whom he could rightfully advise in the performance of their duty, 'that no obstruction shall be interposed to the re-marking of the Harris line ; that all proceedings already begun under the act of February 12, 1835, shatt be immediately discontinued ; that no prosecution shall be commenced for any subsequent violations of that act, until after the next session of Congress, and that all questions about the disputed jurisdiction shall be carefully avoided, and if occurring inevitably, their discussion shall be postponed until the same period."

This arrangement was made with Messrs. Swayne, Allen and Disney, on July 3, 1835, and the provisions defined the base of operations for Ohio. The State now had the direct promise of the President that he would advise that "no obstruction shall be interposed to the re-marking of the Harris line," etc. ; but the authorities of Michigan for a time entirely disregarded the arrangements, and the pugnacious Governor Mason seemed bent upon fighting it out regardless of Federal interference or Presidential advice. The act of the Ohio legislature, erecting the new county of Lucas, also provided "that the said county of Lucas, when organized, shall be attached to the second judicial circuit; and the court of common pleas in said county shall be holden on the first Monday of September next." Accordingly, preparations were made for the holding of court at Toledo upon the date mentioned, but such action by the Ohio authorities excited very intensely the belligerent proclivities of the youthful ex-officio Governor of Michigan. He levied a small army and, cm Sunday, the day before that set for holding the court, he invaded the district and encamped with a force of twelve hundred men in the lower part of the town of Toledo. This ill-advised operation was attended by no particularly serious consequences : for the Michiganders found no one to oppose them, and of course they were barely fighting the wind. The court of Common Pleas met on Monday morning early, made a record of their session and adjourned without Governor Mason and his forces being aware of their meeting. In consequence, the court exercised its jurisdiction without being disturbed, and the gallant Governor Mason marched to Toledo with his twelve hundred men, flourishing his drums and trumpets, and then marched back again.

There might have been further trouble had not President Jackson, at about this time, removed the obstreperous Mason from his position as acting Governor of Michigan and placed the affairs of the Territory in the hands of one whose disposition was less fiery and whose acts were governed more by reason. John S. Horner was appointed to the position, on September 21, 1835, and immediately entered into an amicable correspondence with Governor Lucas, the effect of which was to allay all excitement and restore peaceful relations, leaving the final settlement of the question with Congress at its session the following winter. This, however, merely changed the scene of the conflict and the personnel of the combatants, for when the matter was taken up in Congress the advocates on each side displayed a feeling in the matter no less intense than that exhibited by the partisans on the Ohio frontier. John Quincy Adams championed the cause of Michigan, and declared in an impassioned address that never before in his life had he known "a controversy in which all the right was so clearly on one side and all the power so overwhelmingly on the other/' He had able assistants in the debate, but Ohio also was represented by men who were abundantly equipped with ability to do battle for the other side of the contention. Thomas Ewing in the Senate and Samuel F. Vinton in the House were the Buckeye knights, and in the following June, 1836, Ohio won the day and the disputed strip - Congress holding that the State constitution, having been solemnly accepted, authorized Ohio to annex the territory in question. In the main, this action of Congress was more in the nature of a compromise than a clear-cut decision upon the merits of the controversy. Congress is not a court of equity, and the members thereof are sometimes actuated by motives other than a desire to give force and effect to the letter and spirit of existing law. What a chancery tribunal would have done, had a proper issue been joined and brought before it for adjustment, is of course problematical ; but with the facts fully stated (as the writer has endeavored to give them in this chapter), and with the intent of the framers of the Ordinance of 1787, so apnarent, it seems that exact justice would have placed the boundary line considerably further north than it is. But following the strict letter of the Ordinance and the ensuing acts of Congress, a judge of the law would doubtless have named the Fulton line as the southern boundary of Michigan. In fact the Supreme Court of Ohio, in the case of Daniels vs. Stevens, lessee, reported in the Nineteenth Ohio Reports, Chief Justice Hitchcock delivering the opinion, affirms that Michigan had jurisdiction to the Fulton line until the act of Congress was passed, in June, 1836, which established the Harris line as the true boundary. And the United States Circuit Court, in a case of considerable interest (Piatt vs. Oliver and others, reported in 2 McLean, 267), in which the question of State jurisdiction became important, decided the right of jurisdiction to be in Michigan until the boundary line was changed by Congress, in 1836. The latter case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and there the jurisdiction over the disputed territory was again treated as rightfully and clearly in Michigan. - 3 Howard's R. 333.

But those were days of compromises in American politics, as is evidenced by the act of Congress admitting Missouri, the tariff law of 1833. etc., and in the settlement of this disputed boundary line, the; handiwork of a skilled peace-maker is also apparent. Michigan had applied for admission to the sisterhood of states, and to secure such recognition could be easily induced to surrender her claims to a narrow strip of land, averaging about eight miles wide. As addi- tional salve for her wounded pride, however, she was given as a part of her domain the large peninsula between Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, now so well known for its rich deposits of copper and other minerals. If "the jingle of the guinea helps the hurt that honor feels," when speaking of men, the same is doubtless true of states, and Michigan was abundantly compensated in mineral wealth for whatever damage was done to her escutcheon. The chief value to Ohio of the territory contended for was the harbor at Toledo, formed by the mouth of the Maumee - essential, as her public men believed, to enable her to reap the benefit of the commerce made by the canals to Cincinnati and Indiana. Results have shown that they judged correctly, for Toledo has proved to be the true poiyit for the meeting of the lake and canal commerce.

Thus the angry strife, resulting- from a geographical error, was happily settled through the ascendency of conciliatory statesmanship ; and the citizens of the two commonwealths, once on the verge of open warfare, became united in a common interest, and nothing but tranquil and fraternal relations have since prevailed between them.