Gibson County, Indiana - e Sketch of the Northn, 1884 (part 1 of 2)

Est Territory

that portion of Minnesota lying on the cast side of the Mississippi River. On the first day of March, 1784, Thomas aran Hardy, Arthnr Lee, and tates, including Texas. Out of this magniticent territory have been erected eleven sovereign states | and ight territaris, with an aggregate pBpulation at the present time of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one-third of the entire population of the United States

Tts lakes are fresh-water seas, upon whose bosom onts the commerce of many states. Hs far-stretching Prairies have more acres that are arablt and productive than any other area of like extent on the globe?

waters, visited, astancen prevented hix return thither wil 1521; and then he went only to mect death at the hands of the Indians. the meantime, Diego Miruelo, had n 1516, n Spanish sea-captain, ited the const fimt reached hy Ponce de Leon, and in his barters with the natives had received considerable quantities of gold, with which returned home and spread abroad now stories of the 'wealth hidden iu the interior.

Ten years, however, passed before Mawphil rars undertook to prosecnte the examination of th north of the Gulf of Mexico. Narvaez was excited to action by the late astonishing success of the c of Montezuma, but he found the gold for which he sought constantly flying before him; each tribe of 1 referred him to those living farther in the interior, And from tribe to tribe he and his co dered. They suffered untold privation and foresta; and out of 300 followers only for ut length reached Mexico. And still these disap. pointed wanderers persisted im their original fancy, that Florida was as wealthy as Mexico or Pern,

Among those who hud faith in that report was Ferdinand de Soto, who had been with Pizarro in the conquests of Peru. He asked and obtained leave of the King of Spain to conquer Florida at his own cost. It 'was given in the year 1538, With brilliant and noble band of followers he left Europe uud in May, 1588, after a stay in Cuba, anchored his vessels near the const of the Peninsula of Florida, in the Bay of Spiritu Sante, or Tampa Bay. De Soto entered upon with » determination to sneceed. From June till November of 1539, the Spaniards toiled along until they renched the neighborhood of Appalachee Bay. During the next venson, 1540, they followed the course suggested by the Florida Indians, who wished them out of their country, nnd going to the northeast, crossed the rivers and climbed the mountains of Georgia, De Soto 'was a stern, severe man, and none dared to munnur. De Soto passed the winter with his little band nenr the Yazoo. Tn April, 1511, the resolute Spaniard set forward, and upon the first of May reached the banks of the great river of the West, not far from the 36th parallel of latitude, *

A month wns spent in preparing barges to convey the horses, many of which still lived, across the rapid stream. Having successfully passed it, the explorers pursued their way northward, into the neighborhood of New then turning westward again, marched

200 miles from the Mississippi to the highlands of White River; and still no gold, no gema, no cities - only bare prairies, and tangled forests 'and deep morasses. To the south again they toiled on, and passed their third winter of wandering upon the Washita. In the following spring (1642), De Soto,

'The news sank deep into the stout heart of the disappointe warrior, His health yielded to the contesta of his mind and the influence of the climate.

E of their energetic lender, the Spaniards determined to try to reach Mexico by land. After some time spent in wandering through the forests, despairing of success in the attempt to rescue themselves by land, they proceeded to prepare such vessels as they could to take them to 'sea. From January to July, 1548, the weak, sickly band of gold-scekers Inbored at the doleful task, and in July reached, in the vessels thus built, the Gulf of Mexico, and by September entered the River Paunco. One-half

Dabei probably wat a ewer bats. The Spaniards called the Ma Rib Grande, Great River, wich I Leitern) "Retina ofthe aboriginal nase.

of the six hundred" who had disembarked with De Soto, so gay in steel and silk, left their bones among the mountains and in the morasses of the South, from Georgia to Arkansas.

De Soto founded no settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and heartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery for better purposes. The French nation 'were eager and ready to seize upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by De Soto's defeat, As it was, for more than a century after the expedition, the West remained utterly unknown to the whites.

'The French were the first Europeans to make settle rents oa the St, Lawrence Rider and along the great lakes. Quebec was founded by Sir Samuel Champlain in 1608, + and in 1609 when Sir Henry Hudson was exploring the noble river which bears his name, Champlain ascended the Sorrelle River, and discovered, em bosomed between Green Mountains, or Verdmont, as the chivalrous and poetic Frenchman called them, and the Adirondacks, the beautiful sheet of water to which his name is indissolubly attached, In 1618 he founded Montreal | During the period elapsing between the yenrs 1007 and 1664, the English, Dutch, and Swedes alternately held | possession of portions of the Atluntic const, jealously watching one another, and often involved in bitter controverey, and not seldom in open battle, until, in the Intter year, the English became the sole rulers, and maintained their rights until the era of the Revolution, when they in tura were compelled to yield to the grow: ing power of their colonies, and retire from the field.

"The French movements, from the first settlement at Quebec, and thence westward, were led by the Catholic missionaries. Le Caron, a Franciscan friar, who had been the companion and friend of Champlain, was the first to penetrate the western wilds, which he did in 1616 + in a birch canoe, exploring Lake Huron and ita tributaries. This was four years before the Pilgrims

In 1634, three Jesuit missionaries, Brebouf, Dani 'and Lallemand, planted a mission on the shores of the | lake of the Zroquvis, (probably the modern Lake Sim- | coe), and also established others along the eastern border of Lake Huron.

From a map published in 1660, it would appear that 'the French had at that-date become quite familiar with the region from Niagara to the head of Lake Superior, including considerable portions of Lake Michigan.

In 1641, Fathers Jogues and Raymbault embarked on 'the Penetanguishine Bay for the Sault St. Marie, where they arrived after a passage of seventeen days. A of two thousand natives met them, and a great council was held. At this meeting the French firstheard of many nations dwelling beyond the great lakes.

Father Raymbault died in the wilderness in 1642, while enthusiastically pursuing his discoveries. The same year, Jogues and Bressani were captured by the Indians and tortured, and in 1648 the mission which had been founded st St. Joseph was taken and destroyed, and Father Daniel slain. In 1649, the missions Louis and St, Ignatius were also destroyed, and Fathers Brebeuf and Lallemand barbaronsly tortured by the sone terrible and unrelenting enemy. Literally did those zealous missionaries of tbe Romish Church " take iir lives in their hands," and lay them a willing sacrice on the altar of their faith.

It is stated by some. writer that, in 1654, two fur traders accompanied a band of cn a joumey of 500 lengues to the west. They were absent two years, and on their return brought with 'canoes and 250 Indians to the French tradi

'They related wonderful tales of the countries they they lind visited, and described lofty mountains and mighty rivers in glowing terms. A new impulse was given to the venture, and scouts and traders swarmed 'explored the great lakes und adjacent uy ty wintered in 1050-60 on the south 'shore of Luke Superior.

In 1660 Father Mesnard was sent ont by the Bishop of Quebec, and visited Lake Superior in Oc that year. While crossing the Keweenaw Point he 'was lost in the wilderness and never afterwards heard from, though his cassock and breviary were found lon ufterwurds among the Siow.

1605. The Company of the Hundred Assoice 1682, resigned its charter. 'Tracy was made Viceroy, Courcelles Governor, and 'Talon Intendent.* This was called the Government of the West Indies.

In the same year (1665) Pierre Claude Alloüez was sent out by the way of the Ottawa River to the far West, via the Sault St. Maric and the sonth shore of Lake Superior, where he landed at the bay of Chegoimegon. Here he found the chief village of the Chippewas, and established a mission. He also made an alliance with formidable Iroquois. Alloiez the next year (1000) visited the western end of the great lake, where he met the Siour, and from them first learned of the Mississippi River, which they called "Messipi." From thence he returned to Quebec.

In 1668 Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette ostablished the mission at the Sault called St. Marie, and during the next five years Dablon and Marquette explored the region of Lake Superior on the south shore, and extending to Lake Michigun. They also established the missions of Chegoimegon, St. Marie, Mackinew and Green Bay.

'The plan of exploring the Mississippi probably origi nated with Marquette. It was at once sanctioned by the Intendent, Talon, who was ambitious to extend the dominion of France over the whole West. in 1670 Nicholas Perot was sent to the West to propose a congress of all the nations and tribes living in the vicinity of the lakes; and, in 1671, n great council wus held at Sault St, Marie, at which ¿ho cross was set up, and the nations of the great Northwest were taken alliance, with much pomp and ceremon,

On the 19th of May, 1673, Marquette, Joliet, embarked in two birch canoes at Mackinaw and entered Lake Michigan. The first nation they Visited was the or mation of Wild since known as the Menumonirs, living around the "Baie des Puan," or Green Bay. These people, with whom Marquette was somewhat ncquainted, deavored to persuade the adventurers from visiting the Mississippi. They represented the on the grent river as being blood-thirsty and savage in the ex: treme, and the river itself as being inhabited by monsters 'which would devour them and their canoes togeth

Marquette thanked them for their advice, bnt de clined to be guided by it. Passing through Green Bay, they ascended the Fox River, dragging their canoes over the strong rapids and visited the village, where th found living in harmony together tribes of the Miamin, Mascoutenst and Kikabeane or Kichapo. Lenving point on the 10th of June, they mudo the portage to the "wisconsin," and descended thut stream to the Mississippi, which they entered on the 17th with a joy, as Marquette says, "which he could not express."

Sailing down the Mississippi, the party reached the Des Moines River, and, according to some, visited an Indian village some two leagues up the stream. Here 'the people again tried to persuade them from proseenting their voyage down the river. After a great feast and a dance, and a night passed with these hospitable people, they proceeded on their way, escorted hy 600 persons to their canoes. These people called them-

Leaving these savages, they proceeded down the | river. Passing the wonderful rocks, which still excite | the admiration of the traveler, they arrived at the mouth of another great river, the Prkitanmi, or Missouri of the present day. They noticed the condi tion of its waters, which they described as "muddy, Fishing and noi

Pissing n great rock," they came to the Ouaboustizon, Ohio. Marquette shows this river very small, even ws compared with the From the Ohio they passed us far down ns the or Arkansas, where 'they came very near being destroyed by the natives; but they finally pacified them, and on the 17th of July jong the most important of that age. Marafterwards returned to Minois, and preached to 1075. May of that yenr, while cruising np the custeru const of Lake Michigan with a party of bontinen, he landed ut the mouth of a stream putting into the luke from the enst, since known as the River Marquette, He performed mass, and went a little apart to pray, and being gone longer than his comions deemed necessary, they went in search of him, and found him dead where he had kuelt. They buried him in the sand.

While this distinguished adventurer was pursuing his labors, two other men were preparing. to follow in his footsteps, and make still further explorations, and, possible, more important discoveries These were the Chevalier Robert de la Salle and Louis Hen

La Salle was & native of Rouen, in Normandy. He was educated at a seminary of the Jesuits, and designed | for the ministry, but, for reasons unknown, he left the

Like nearly every intelligent man, he became intense ly interested in the new discoveries of the West, and conceived the idea of exploring the passage to the great South Sen, which by many was believed to exist. He made known his ideas to the Governor-General, Count Frontenac, and desired his co-operation. The Governor at once fell in with his views, which were strengthened by the reports brought back by Marquette and Joliet, and advised La Salle to apply to the King of France in person, and gave him letters of introduction.

Marine. Accordingly, in 1676, he returned to France, 'where be was warmly received by the King and nobility, and his ideas were at once listened to, and every possible favor shows to him.

He was made Chevalier, and invesied with the seigniory of Fort Catarocouy, or Frontenac (now known as Kingston) upon condition that he would | rebuild it, as he proposed, of stone.

| port progress. He was received, as before, with favor, and, at the instance of Colbert and his son, the King 'granted him new letters patent and new privileges. On the 14th of July, 1678, he sailed from Rochelle, ac companied by thirty men, and with Tonti, an Italian, for his lieutenant, They arrived at Quebec on the 18th of September, and after a few days" delay, proceeded to Frontenac. Father Lewis Hennepin, a Franciscan friar, of the Recollet sect, was quietly working in Canada on La Salles arrival. He was a man of great ambition, and much interested in the discoveries of the day. He was appointed by his religions superiors to accompany the expedition fitting out for La Salle.

Sending agents forward to prepare the Indian his coming, and to open trade with them, La Salle bimself embarked, on the 18th of November, in a little | brigantine of ten tons, to eross Lake Ontario. This was the first ship of European build that ever sailed upon | this fresh-water sea. Contrary winds made the voyage

Jong and troublesome, and a month was consumed in beating up the lake to the Niagara River. Near the mouth of this river the Zrogwishad a village, and here La Salle constructed the first fortification, which afterwards grew into the famous Fort Niagara. On the 26th of January, 1679, the kee of the first vessel built on Lake Erie was laid at the mouth of the Cayuga Creek, on | the American side, about six miles above the fall.

In the meantime La Salle had returned to Fort Frontenac to forward supplies for his forthcoming ves- | sl. The litle barque on Lake Ontario was wrecked by carelessness, and a large amount of the supplies she | carried was lost. On the 7th of August the new vessel | was launched, and made ready to sail. She was about seven tons' burden.

La Salle christened his vessel the "Griffin," in honor of the arms of Count Frontense. Passing across Lake Erie, and into the small lake, which they named St. Clair, they entered the broad waters of Lake Huron. Here they encountered heavy storms, as dreadful as those upon the ocean, and after a most tempestuous passage they took refuge in the roadstead of Michillimmachinac (Mackinaw) on the 276 of August. LaSalle remained st this point until the middle of September, busy in founding a fort and constructing a trading. house, when he went forward upon the deep waters of Lake Michigan, and soon after cast anchor in Green Bay. Finding here large quantity of fure and peltries he determined to load bis vessel und send her back to Niagara. On the 18th of September she was sent under charge of a pilot while La Salle himself, with to join him at the hend of the lake. From the 19th of September to the Ist of November, the time was ocenpied in the voyage up this inland sea. On the Instnamed day, La Salle arrived at the month of the river jamin, now St. Joseph. Here he constructed a fort, and remained nearly x month waiting for tidings of his vessel; but, hearing nothing, he determined to push before the winter should prevent him. On the 3d of December, leaving ten men to garrison the fort, he started overland towards the head-watersof the Illinois, accompanied by three monks and twenty men. Ascending the St, Joseph River, he crossed a short portage reached the The%-ticki, since corrupted into Kan- Jub, Embarking on this sluggish stream, they cume shortly to the Ilinois, and soon after found a village of the Min probably in the vicinity of the rocky few miles above the present city of La Salle, They found it deserted, but the quite.» quantity of maize stored here, an eing short of provisions, helped himself to what he required. Passing down the stream, the party, on the Ath of January, came to « lake, probably the Lake Peoria, as there is no other this stream. Here they fonnd n great number of untives, who were gentle kind, and La Salle determined to construct a fort It stood o near the river, and was ir + (broken-heart), most probably on account of the low spirits of the commander, from anxiety for his vessel and the uncertainty of the future. Possibly he had heard of the loss of the "Grifin," li occurred on her downward trip from Green Ba) most probably on Lake Huron. He remained at the Lake Peoria through the winter, but no good tidings came, and no supplies. His men were discontented, but the brave adventurer never gave hope. He resolved to send a party on a voyage of exploration up the Mississippi, under the lead of Father Hennepin, and he himself would proceed on foot to Frontenac, to raise more means and enlist new men while Tonti, his lieutenant, should stay at the fort, which they were to strengthen in the meantime, and extend their intercourse with the Indians.

Hennepin started on his voyage on the last day of February, 1680, and La Salle soon after, with a few attendants, started on his perilous journey of 1,200 miles by the way of the Illinois River, the Miami, and Lakes Erie and Ontario, to Frontenac, which he finally reached in safety. He found his worst fears realized. 'The Griffin" was lost, his agents had taken advantage of his absence, and his creditors had seized his goods. But he knew no such word as Jail, and by the middle of summer he was again on his way with men and supplies for his band in Ilinois. A sad disappointment awaited him. He found his fort deserted and no tidings of and his men. During La Salle's absence the Indians become jealous of the French, and they had been attacked and harassed even by the Iroquois, who came the long between the shores of Lake Ontario and the Illinois River to make war upon the more pencenble tribes dwelling on the prairies. Uncertain of any assistance. from La Salle, and apprehensive of a general war with the savages, Tonti, ju September, 1680, abandoned his position and returned to the shores of the lakes, La.

im kindly and took hi falls of St, Authony, which they renched o May. These falls Hennepin named in h patron saint. Hennepin and his companions re here for three mouths, treated very kindly ly their captors. At the end of this time they met with a bund of French, led by Sieur de Luth,* who, in pursuit

Robert de la Salle, whose name is more closely connected with the explorations of the Mississippi than that of any other, was the next to descend the river in the year 1682. Formal possession was taken of the great river and all the countries bordering upon it or its tributaries in the name of the King.

La Salle and his party now retraced their toward the north. They met with no serious trouble until they reached the Chickasaw Bluffs, where they had erected a fort on their downward voyage, und named it Prudhomme. Here La Salle was taken violently sick. Unable to proceed, he sent forward Tonti to communicate with Count Frontenac. La Salle himself reached the mouth of the St. Joseph the latter part of September. Fron that point he sent Father Zenobe with his dispatches to represent him at court, while he turned his attention to the fur tråde and to the project of completing a fort, which he named St. Louis, upon the Illinois River. The preciso location of this work is not known. It was said to be upon a rocky bluff 250 feet high, and only accessible upon one side. There are no bluffs of such u height on the Illinois River answering the description. It may have been on the rocky bluff above La Salle, where the rocks are perhaps 100 feet in height.

Upon the completion of this work La Salle again sailed for France, which he reached on the 18th of December, 1698, A new man, La Barre, had now succeeded Frontenac as Governor of Canada. This man was unfriendly toward La Salle, and this, with other untoward circumstances, no doubt led him to attempt

4 the river, clstacles were in his path, he succeeded in obtaining the grant of n fleet from the King, and on the 24th of July, 1684, a fleet of twenty-fonr vessels sailed from Rochelle to America, four of which were destined for nu, and carried u body of 280 people, including the crews. There were soldiers, artificers, und volun- | teers, and also "some young women." Discord soon | broke out between M. de Beaujen and La Salle, and grew from bad to worse. On the 20th of December | they renched the island of St. Domingo.

Jowtel * wus sont ont with this party, which left on tho Sth of February, and traveled eastward three days, 'when they came to a grent stream which they could not cross, they made signals by building great fires, and on the 18th two of the vessels came in sight. The sirenm was sounded and the vessels were anchored under shelter. But again misfortune overtook Le Salle, and tho vessel was wrecked, and the bulk of Plies was lost. At this juncture M. de Beaujeu, second in command, set and returned to France. La Salle now constructed a rude shelter from the timbers of his wrecked versch, placed his people inside of it, and set ont to explore the surrounding country in the hope of finding the Mississippi. He was, of course,

Leaving Joutel to complete the work with 100 men, La Sulle took the remainder of the company and embarked on the river, with the intention of proceeding as far up as he could. The savages soon became troublesome, and on the 14th of July La Salle ordered Jowel to join him with his whole force. They had already lost several of their best men, and dangers threatened them on every side. It would seem from the historian's account of the expedition that La Salle began to erect another fort, and also that he became morose and severe in his discipline, oo much so to get the ill will of many of his people. He finally resolved to advance into the country, but whether with the view of returning to Canada by way of Ilinois, or only for the purpose of making further discoveries, Joutel leaves doubt. Giving his last instructions, he left the fort on the 12th day of January, 1687, with a company of about a dozen men, including his brother, two nephews, Father Anastasius, a Franciscan friar, Joutel, and 'others, and moved northeastward, as is supposed, until been cherishing revengeful fecffngs for some tine, waylajd the Chevalier and 'slot him dead. They also slew one of his nephews and two of his servants,

In 1687 France was involved im a long and bloody war. The League of Augsburg was formed by the Princes of the Empire against Louis XIV.,and England, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Savoy took up amus, und Louis found himself batting with nearly the whole of Europe, und only Turkey for an ally. 'This war ended with the peace of Ryswick in 1097.

No material change took place in America, but the colonists were harassed and many of their people killed or carried captives to the Canadas. In 1688, the French possessions in North America included nearly the whole of the continent north of the St. Lawrence, and the entire valley of the Mississippi; and they had begun to establish a line of fortifications extending from Quebec to the mouth of the Mississippi, between A points they hud three great lines of communication, to wit: by way of Mackinaw, Green Bay, and the Wisconsin River; by way of Lake Michigan, the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers; and by way of Lake Eri the Maumee and Wabash Rivers, and were preparing to explore the Ohio as a fourth route.

In 1699 D'Iberville, under the authority of the crown, discovered, on the 24 of March, by way of the ses, the mouth of the" Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives " Malbouchia," and by the Spaniards, " La Palissade," from the great number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets and satisfying himself as to ita certainty, he erected a fort near ita western outlet, and returned do France. An avenue of trade was now opened out,

At this time the census of New France showed total popalation of 11,249 Europeans. War again broke out in 1701, and extended over a period of twelve years, ending with the treaty of Utrecht, in 1718. 'This also extended to the American colonies, and ite

In 1718 New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colonists. In 1762 the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by France, under the consulate of Napoleon.

In 1808 it was purchased by the United States for the sum of $15,000,000, and the territory of Louisiana and the commerce of the Mississippi River came under the charge of the United States. Although La Salle labors ended in defeat and death, he had not worked and suffered He had thrown open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country; had established several ports, and laid the foundation of more than one settlement there. " Peoria, Kaskaskin and Cahokia are to this day monuments of La Bulles labors; for, though he had founded neither of them (unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Creve-Camr), it was by those he led into the west that these places were peopled and civilized. He

'The French early improved the opening made for them, and before 1093, the Rev. Father Gravier began '© mission among the Illinois, and became the founder

Antrement dit de Miumacnlee de la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." In this letter, the writer tells us that Gravier must he regarded as the founder of the Illinois missions. Soon after the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a lock at Cahokia, while Peoria arose near the remains of Fort Creve-Cour.

In the north, De La Motte Cadillac, in June, 1701, laid the foundation of Fort Pontchartrain, on the strait (le Detroit),' while in the southwest efforts were making to realize the dreams of La Salle. The leader in the last named enterprise was Lemoine D'Iberville, a Canadian officer, who from 1694 to 1697 distinguished

"The authorities in relation to La Salle are Hennepin: a narrative 'ablated In the name of Tout, in 1097, hat dicted by him (Charlevoix 385 - Lettres tantes.

There was an OM Peoria on the northwest abore of the lake ofthat name, a mile and a balt above the outlet" Prom 1778 te 120 te ler abitam left for New Peoria, (Fort Clark at the outlet Amer Bate Papers xvi. 176.

'The post at Vincennes, on the Oubache River (pronounced Wa-bi, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly), 'was established in 1702. It is quite probable that on La Salle's last trip he established the stations at Kas- Kaskia and Cahokia. Until the year 1750, but little is known of the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the new world, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary among the Ilinois, writing "Aux Ilinois," six leagues from Fort Chartres, June 8, 1760 says: "We have here whites, negroes aud Indians, to say nothing of the cross-breeds. There are five French | villages and three villages of the natives with of twenty-one leagues, situated between the nd another river, called the Karkadiad (Kaskuskin), In the five French villages are, perhaps, 1,100 whites, 300 blacks, and some sixty red slaves or savages, The three Illinois towns do not contain more than 800 soule

I told." Most of the French till the soil. They mise wheat, enttle, pigs and horses, and live like princes. 'Three times as much is produced ns can be consumed, and great quantities of grain and flour ure sent to New Orleans."

Again, in an epistle dated Nov. 17, 1750, Vivier says: For fifteen leagues above the month of the Mississippi, sees no dwellings * * * * New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, 1 think, than 1,200 persons. To this point come all kinds of lumber, bricks, salt-bef, tallow, ta, skins, and bear's grense; and above all pork and flour from the linois, These things erento some commerce, us forty vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans plantations are again mot with ; the most considerable is colony of Germans, some ten the rivo. At Point Coupee, thirty-five leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along habitations. Fifty leagues farther up is the Natchoz post, where we have a garrison." | Father writing from the post at Vincennes, | makes the same observation. Vivier also saya, "Some | individuals dig lend near the surface, and supply the | Indians and Canada, Two Spaniards, now here, who | claim to be adepta, say that our mines ae liko those of

Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper we would find | silver under the lead; at any rite the lend is excellent | There are also in this country, beyond doubt, copper | mines, as from time to time largo pieces have been | found in the streams."

Ulinois, one at Du Quesne, one at the Maumee, in the | country of Miamis, aud one at Sandusky, in what may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of | the Northwest, they had stations ut St. Joseph's on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, at Fort Pontchar- 'ruin (Detroit), at Michillimackinac or Massillimacinac, Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault St. Marie. The fondest dreams of La Salle were now fully realized. 'The French alone were possessors of this vast realm, busing their on discovery and settlement. | other nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country, and learning of ita wealth began to lay plans for occupying it and for securing the great profits rising therefrom.

'The Inrgest branch of the Mis cast, known to the early F riviere, called "benutiful" river, was discovered by Robert Chevalier de la Salle, in 1669. While La Salle was at his trading-post on the St. Lawrence, he found leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which 'was the Iroquois, While conversing with some Sene- | cns, he learned of a river called the Ohio, which rose in their country and tlowed to the sen.

fn this statement the Mississippi and its tributaries were cousidered as one stream. La Salle, believing as | most of the French at that period did, that the great rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to embark in the enterprise of discovering * route neross the continent. He repaired at once to | Quebec to obtain the approval of the Governor and the | Intendent, Talon, They issued letters patent, authorizing the enterprise, but made no provisions to defray the expenses. |

At this juncturo the seminary St. Sulpice decided to | send out missionaries in connection with the expedi- | tion, and La Sulle offering to sell his improvements at | Lu Chive to raise the money, the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred dollars were raised, with which La Salle purchased four canoes amd the necessary supplies for the outfit.

On the Gth of July, 1669, the party, numbering | 'twenty-four persons, embarked in seven canoes on the Bt, Lawrence, Two additional canoes carried the In- | dian guides. |

In three days they were gliding over the bosom of | Lake Ontario. Their ghides conducted them directly | to the Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in | the vicinity of the present city of Rochester, N. Y. | Here they expected to procure guides to conduct them | to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed. After | waiting» month in the hope of gaining their object, | they met an Indian from the Iroquois colony, at the | head of Lake Ontario, who assured them they could find guides, and offered to conduct them thence. On their way they passed the mouth of Niagara River, when they heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving among the Iroquois they met with a friendly reception, and learned from a Shawnee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks. Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume their journey, and as they were about to start they heard of the arrival of two Frenchmen in 'neighboring village. One of them proved to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. He had been sent by the Canadian government to explore the copper mines on Lake Superior, but had failed 'and was on his way back to Quebec.

On arriving at Lake Superior, they found, as La Salle had predicted, the Jesuit fathers, Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field. After parting with the priest, La Balle went to the chief Iroquois village at Onondago, where be obtained guides and passing thence to a tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far as the falls of Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by La Salle, the persevering aud successful French explorer of the West in 1669.

When Washington was sent out by the colony of Virginia in 1758, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French had built a fort on the Monongahs the haughty commandant at Quebec replied: «We. claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries of La Salle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Obio Valley."

Nom Explorations And Settlements

We have sketched the progress of French discovery in the valley of the Mississippi. The first travelers reached that river in 1678, and when the year 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters and the great Northwest, all was still except those little spots upon the prairies of Illinois and among the marshes of Louis-

Volney, by conjecture, fixes the settlement of Vin- 'cennes about 1785. Bishop Brute, of Indiana, speaks of a missionary station therein 1700, and adds: - "The friendly tribes and traders called to Canada for protection, and then M. De Vincennes came with a detachment, I think, of Carignan, and was killed in 1785.4 Bancroft says a military establishment was formed there in 1716, and in 1742 a setdement of herdsmen took place.) In a petition of the old inhabitants at Vincennes, dated in November, 1798, we find the settlement spoken of as having been made before 1742.§ And 'such is the general voice of tradition. On the other hand, Charlevoix, who records the death of Vincennes, which took place among the Chickasaws, in 1736, makes no mention of any post on the Wabash, or any missionary station there. Neither does he mark any

Hennepin, in 1063-64, had heard of the "Hoh The route from the lakes to the Mississippi, by the Wabash, was explored in 1676,* and in Hennepin's volum of 1608, is journal, said to be that sent by La Salle to Count Frontenac in 1642 or "83, which mentions the route by the Mu to the great western rive ina, Minois, Michigan, Wisere yet under the dominion of. the red men. 'The English knew, however, of the nat- "ire of the vast wealth of these wid

In the year 1710, Gov. Spotswood, of Virginia, hand n meed movements, th the country beyond the to the English crown. In Penusylva Keith and James Logan, secretary the Province from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of Englund the necessity of taking steps to secure the western lands. Nothing, however, was done hy the mother country, except to take certain dipl matie steps to secure the chaim of Britain to this m plored wiklemess. England had from the ontset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, on the groun tht the discovery and possess her grants to Virginin, Connecticut, and were tlrongh from "sen to sea. was not all her el Indian tribes lange tracts of land. This was also a strong argument. In the year 1684, Lord. Howard, nin, h prised at first the Mohawks, Oncidas, Onondagas, Cuyngas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the six nations. They came under the protection of the mother country, and aguin in 1701 they repeated the agreement. Another formal deed was drewn and signed by the chiefs of the National Confederacy in 1720, by which their lands were conveyed in trust to England, "to be protected and defended by his maj esty, to and for the use of the grantors and their heirs.

Lancaster of certain lauds within the "colony of Virgoods, with a promise that as settlements increased, more should be paid. The co t the treaty were Col. Thomas Lee and s settlements extended, and the Indians began to iplain, the promise of further pay was called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the In 1784* Col. Lee and with the

The object of these prowas not the eultivation of the sail, but the monopoly of the Indian trade, Accordingly, after Weiser's conference with the Indians at Logstown, which was favorable to their views, Thomas Lee, with twelve other Virginians, among whom were Lawistine, brothers of George Washingt to grant to the peti the bounds of that colony heyo 200,000 of which were to be located at portion was to be held for ten yours fre provided the company would put there 100 seven build a fort sufficient to pro-

'The company accepted the proshould arrive in panies were also formed abo to colonize the West. On the 12th of June, 1749, grant of 800,000 eres fròm the Bine of Canada, on the worth and west, was made to the Loyal Co pany, and ou the 29th of October, 1751, another of

They saw hat if the British once obtained a stronghold upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent their settlements upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts, and so gain possession of the whole country. Upon the ^ 1744, Vandrenil, the French Governor, the consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading-posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, to further secure the claims of the French ta the West. Having these fears, and seeing the danger of the Inte movements of the British, Gallisoniere, then Governor of Canada, determined to place along the Ohio evidences 'of the French claim to, and possession of, the country.

For that purpose he sent, in the summer of 1749, Louis | 18th of June they all united in signing a deed, con- Celeron, with party of soldiers, to place plates of | firming the Lancaster treaty in ite fullest extent. Meanlead, on which were written out the claims of the while the powers beyond the seas were trying to out- French, in the mounds and at the mouths of the rivers. | manaiuvre each other, and were professing to be at

'These were heard of by William Trent, an Indian com- | peace. The English generally outwitted the Indians, missioner, veut out by Virginia in 1762, to treat with | and secured themselves, us they thought, by their polite it may now be found. These measures did not, how- . ing, however, a more satisever, deter the English from going on with their explor- | factory interview took place at Carlisle, between the ations, representatives of the Iroquois, Delawares, Shawnees,

In February, 1751, Christopher Gist was sent by the | Twigtwees and Wyandots, and the commissioners of Ohio Company to examine lands. He went to | Pennsylvania, Richard Peters, Issac Norris and Benjavillage of the Twigtwees, on the Miami, about 150 | min Franklin. Soon after this, no satisfaction being miles above its mouth, From there he went down the | obtained from Ohio, either us to the force, position, or Ohio River,neurly to the falls, at the present city of | purposes of the French, Robert Dinwiddie, then govem- Louisville, and in November he commenced a survey of | or of Virginia, determined to send to them another the company's Inds. In 1761, Gen. Andrew Lewis | messenger, and learn, if possible, their intentions, For commenced some surveys in the Greenbrier country, on | this purpose he selected a young surveyor, who, at the behalf of the company already mentioned. Meanwhile | age of nineteen, had attained the rank of major, aud the French were busy in preparing their forja for de» | whose previous life had inured him to hardships and ense, and in opening roads. Tn 1762, having heard | woodland ways; while his courage, cool judgment and of the trading houses on the Minmi River, they, assisted | firma will all ited him for such a mission. This perby the Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked it, und, after | sonage was no other than the illustrious George Wash- a severe battle, in which fourteen of the natives were | ington, who then beld considerable interest in western. killed and others wounded, captured the garrison. The | lands. He wns twenty-one years old at the time of the traders were carried away to Canada, and one account | appointment* Taking Gist as a guide, the two, acsaya several were burned. This fort, or trading house, | companied by four servitors, set out on their perilous was called by the English writers Picknwillany. A | march. They left Will's Creek, where Cumberland now memorial of the King's ministers refers to it as" Picka- | is, on the 16th of November, and on the 224 reached wellanes, in the centre of the territory between Ohio and | the Monongahela, about ten miles above the fork. the Wabash." This was the first blood shed between | From there they went to Logstown, where Washington the French and English, and occurred near the present | had a long conference with the chiefs of the nation city of Piqua, Ohio. The English were determined on | Here he learned the position of the French, and also their part to purchase a title from the Indians of lands | that they had determined not to come down the river which they wished to occupy, and in the spring of 1752 | until the following s 'The Indians were non- Messrs. Fry.* Lomax and Patton were sept from Vir- committal, they deeming a neutral position the safest. int to hold a conference with the natives at Logstown, | Washington, finding nothing could be done, went on to learn just what they objected to in the treaty at Lan- | to Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of the 'aster, and to settle al difficulties, On the 9th of Juno | French Creek. Here the French had a fort called Fort 'the commissioners met the red men at Logstown. This | Machault. On the 11th of December be reached the was a village seventeen miles below Pittsburgh, upon | fort at the head of French Creek. Here he delivered 'the north side of the Ohio. Here had been a trading | Governor Dinwiddie's letter, received his answer, and post dor many years, but it was abandoned by the In- | upon the 16th set out upon his return journey with no diane in 1760. At frat the Indians declined to recognize | one but Gist, his guide, and a few Indiane, who will 'the treuty of Lancaster, but the commissioners taking | remained true to him. They reached home in safety Montour, the interpreter, who was a son of the | on the 6th of January, 1764. From the letter of St. famous Catharine Montour, and a chief among the six | Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by Washnations, being three-fourths of Indian blood, through | ington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was perfectly clear his infuence an agreement was effected, and upon the | that the French would not yield the West without

- - | a struggle. Active preparations were at once made in Commander.n-chet over Wasbiagton at tbe com- | an OT PORT 'menoement o the French War of 1779. "Sparks Washington, Vo pp 429-447.

all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French finished their fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications to be in readiness. The Old Dominion was alive. Virginia was the center of rent activities. Volunteers were called for, and from neighboring colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac men were enlisting under the Governor's proclamation, - which promised 200,000 acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were gathering ws far as Will's Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent had come for assistance, for his little hand of forty-one men, who were working away in hunger und vant, to fortify that point at the fork of the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest. "The first birds of spring filled the forest with their songs. The swift river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of spring and April showers, The leaves were appearing, n few Indian scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand, and all was so quiet that Frazier, an old Indian trader, who had been left by Trent in command of the new fort, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten miles up the Monongahela. But though all was so quiet in that wilderness, keen eyes had seen the feet had borne the news of it up the valley, morning of the 17th of April, Eusign Ward, who then. had charge of it, saw npon the Allegheny a he supped with hi id the next day was bowed off by the Frenchman, and, with his men and tools, marched Monongahela. The French and Indian War had begun. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, bad left the boundaries between the French and English 'possessions unsettled, amd the events already narrated show that the French were determined to hold the country watered hy the Missisand its tributarios: while the English laid claim to the country by virtue of the discoveries by the Cabota, and claimed all the country from New Found: land to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 'Tho first decisive blow had been struck, and the first attempt of- the English, through the Ohio Company o occupy these lands had resulted disastrously to them. The French and Indians immediately completed the fortifications begun at the fork, which they had so easily captured, and when completed gave to the fort the name of Du Quesne. Washington was at Will Greek, when the news of the capture of the fort arrived. He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he where he erected a fort called by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia.

The English Government immediately planned for 'campaigns, one against Fort Da Quesne, one against Nova Scotia, one against Fort Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755~'66, and were not successful in driving the French from their posses: sions. The expedition against Fort Du Quesne was led by the famous Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those acquainted with Indian 'warfare, suffered an inglorious defeat. This occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally knowA As the battle of Monongahela or " Braddock' defeat," des through '57, when, nt the commencement of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then retary of state, afterward Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year: one under Gen. Amherst, against Louisburg; another under Abererombie, against Fort Ticonderoga; and a third under Gen. Forbes, against Fort Du Quesne. On the 26th of July Louisburg surrendered after a desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the Can- "dian. possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort Du Quesne, of which Washington the activo command, arrived there, it was found in flames and deserted. The English at once took ponsession, rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the name to Fort Pitt,

The great. object of the campaign of 1750 was the reduction of Canada, Wolfe was to lay siege to 'Quebec; Amherst was to reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; and Gen. Pridenux was to capture Niagara. 'This Intter place was taken in July, but the gallant Pridenux Jost his life. Amherst captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point, without a blow; and Wolfe, after making the memorable ascent to the Plains of Ahraham, on Boptember 13th, defeated Montcalm, and on the 18th the city capitulated. In this engagement, Montealm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montealm's successor, marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of defeating the English, und there, on the 26th of the following April, was fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the city of Montreal. The Governor signed a capitulation by which

'This practically concluded the war, but it was not until 1768 that the treaties of peace between France and Enentrenched himself at a place called the Meadows," | gland were signed. This was done on the 10th of Feb- of thut year, and under ts provisions all the coun- cust of the Mississippi and north of the Iberville River in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the sane time, Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.

Ou the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers | was went from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the | only remaining French post in the territory. He ar rived there on the Mh of November, and summoned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post, Beletre, refused, but on the 29th, bearing of the continued defeat of the French army, surrendered. The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the wish rule, In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded | Louisiana to Spain, to prevent it falling into the hands | of the English, who were becoming masters of the entire West, The next the treaty of Paris, signed nt Fontainebleau, gave to the English the dominion in question. Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States und England, that part of Canada lying south und west of the Great Lakes, comprising large territory, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States. In 1803 Louisiana was | ceeded by Spain back to Franco, and by France sold to | the United States. Dy the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including all these and other towns of tho Northwest, were given over to England; nt they do not appear to have been taken possession of 'until 1765, when Captain Stirling, in the name of the | Mujesty of Englund, established himself at Fort Char- | Ares, bearing with him the proclamation of Gen. Guge, dated Dec. 30, 1764, which promised. religion freedom to all Catholics who worshipped here and the right to leave the country with their effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of English-

During the yeurs 1775 and 1776, by the opera tions of land companies and the perseverance of indi Vidas, several settlements were firunly established be. | tween the Alleghenies und the Ohio River, aud western speculators were busy in Ilinois and on the We m of English. traders, calling themselves Land Company," obtained from the chiefs of the Kuskuskin, Cahokia und Peoria tribes two large tracto of land lying on the east side of the Mississippi h of the Ilinois. In 1775 a merchant from |

'country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes ns the ngeut of the association called the " War bash Lund Company." On the th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs a deed for 37,- 407,000 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested by a number of the inhabitants of | Vincennes, and afterward recorded in the office of a | notary public at Kaskaskia, This and other land com- | panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the Wost; but all were frustrated by the breaking ont of the Revolutionary War. On the 20th of April, 1780,

COUNTY, INDIANA. the two companies named consolidated under dhe name of the" United Illinois and Wabash Land Company;" they alterward made strenuous efforts to bave these | grants sanctioned by Congress, but all signally failed. When the war of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky! was an unorganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders.

In Hutchins' Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time Kaskaskia contained eighty houses, 'and nearly 1,000 white and black inhabitants, the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia contained fifty houses, 800 white inhabitants, aud eighty negroes. There were west of the Mississippi River, about the year 171 - when these observations were made - "800 white men capable of bearing arms, and 298 negroes." From 1775 until the expedition of 'Clark, nothing is recorded and nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778, From it the following extract is made: - "Near the mouth of the river Kaskaskia, there is a village which appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of the lato Revolution; there are twelve fa lies at a small village at La Prairie du Rochers; and nearly fifty families ut the Cobokia village. There are also four or fivefamilies at Fort Chartres and St. Philip's, 'which is five miles further up the river." St, Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time contained, including its neighboring towns, over 600 whites and 150 negroes. It must be remembered that all the country west of the Mississippi was under French ale, and remained so until ceded back to Spain, ite original owner, who afterwards sold it and the country including New Orleans to the United States, At Detroit, there were, according to Captain Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1768 to 1776, moro: than 100 houses, and the river was settled for more than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated, the people being engaged in the Indian trade,

On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British beld every post of importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests, and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those within the com- 'monwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their civil privileges in electing John Todd and Richasd Gallaway burgesses, to represent them in the assembly of the present state. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, 'who had represented her the year previous east of the 'mountains, was now meditating a move of unequalled boldness. He had been watching the movements of the British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them easy access to the 'various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British intended to penetrate the country from the north and south, and annihilate the frontier fortresses. This 'moving, energetic man was Colonel, afterwards Gen. George Rogers Clark. He knew that the Indians were not unanimously in accord with the English, and he 'was convinced that, could the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives might be 'easily awed into neutrality; by spies sent for the purpose, he satisfied himself that the enterprise agai the Illinois settlements might easily succeed, - Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at once entered heartily into Clark's plans. The same plan had before been agitated in the colonial assemblies; but there was no one until Clark came who was suficiently nequainted with the condition of affairs at the scene of action to be able to guide them.

Clark, having satisfied the Virginia lenders of the fensibility of his plan, received on the 24 of January two sets of instructions: one secret, the other open. "The Intter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three months from their arrival in the West. 'The secret order authorized h procure his powder and lead of G bung, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.

With these instructions Clark -repaired to Pittsbu choosing rather to raise his men west of the mountain Here he raised three compu volunteers. Clark at length commenced his deseo the Ohio, which he navigated as far as the falls, where he took possession of and fortified Corn Island, between the present sites of Louisville, Ky., and New Albany, Ind. Remains of this fortification may yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him with auch regruits ns had reached Kentucky by the sonthern route. Here he announced to the men their real destination. On the 24th of June barked on the river, his destination being Fort Massac or Massacre, and then marched direct to Kaskaskia. "The march was accomplished and the town reached on the evening of July 4th. He captured the fort near the village, and soon after the village itself, by surprise, tout. the loss of a single man or killing any of the enemy. Clark told the natives that they were at per fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the conflict they wonld, and he would protect them from any barbarity from British or In foes. This had the desired effect, and the inhabitants 'at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and when Clark desired to go to Cahokia the 6th of July, they accompanied and through their influence the inhabitants of the place surrendered. Thus two important poste in Illinois passed from the hands of the English into the possession of Virginis. During the a year (1779) the famous "Land Laws" of Virginia were passed. The passage of these laws was of mare conse quence to the pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian conflicts, These grants confirmed in the main all grants made, and guaranteed to actual settles their rights and privileges. After providing for the settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at forty cents per nere. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the legislature sent four Virginians westward to attend to the einen opened their court on Oct, 18, 1779, at St. Asaplis, and continued until April 26, 1780, when they 'adjourned, having decided 3,000 claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor - George May - who assunied the duties on the 10th day of the month whose name he bore. With the opening of the next year (1781) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Mississippi commenced. The Government of Spain exacted such measures in relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right to wigate its channel. To enforce their claims, n fort was erected below the mouth of the Ohio on the Kenicky side of the river The settlements i tucky were being rapidly filled by em Tt was this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the West in this young and enterprising 'commonwealth.

'The settlers did not look upon the b fort in a friendly the Indians. during their straggle for independence, and though for a while this friendship nppenred in danger from the refusal of the free navigation of the river, yot it wax finally settled to the satisfaction of hoth nations. 'Ph winter of 1779-90 wasone of the most nmustally severe ones ever experienced in the West. The In referred to it as the "Great Co hers of wild 'animals perished, and nota few pioneers lost their lives. "The following summer party of Canadians and In dians attacked St, Louis, and attempted to take possesion of it ly disposition of | Spain to the revolting colonies. They met with auch | a determined resistance on the part of the inhabitants,

| even the women taking part in the buttle, that they were compelled to abandon the contest. They also made an attack on the settlements in Koytneky, Int, becoming alarined in some unacconutable manner, they fled the country in great haste. About this time arose | the question in the Colonial Congress concerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The agitation concerning atem | eren ate Papers subject finally led New York, on the 19th of Feb- 1780, to pues a law giving to the delegates of that state in Congress the power to cede her western lands for the This law wis luid before steps were taken concerning it nutil September th, when n resolution passed that body calling upon the states claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body. This basis formed the Union, and vas the first after all of those legislative measures

Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. 'year, the plan of conquering 'The conquest might easily have been effected by Clark, the necessary aid been fur. ing decisive was done, yet the heads.

the Kentucky was divided into the counties of Lincoln, Fayette, and Jefferand the net establishing the town of Louisville. iu nexordanee with the resolu- 4 Congress, on the 2 day of Junmary, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not necede with the mother country, and consequence thereof. but little heed was given to the Upon the 16th of April, 1781, north of the Ohio River of American ing that of Mary Heckewelder, massnere by the hands of the frontier settlers, who been exasperated by the murder of several of their neighbors, nnd in their rage committed, without regard to humanity, a deed which forever afterward cast n shade of shame upon their lives. For this and Kindred outrage on the part of the whites, the Indi comuitted many deels of cruelty which darken the years of 1781 und 1742 in the history of the Northwed. During the year 1782 a number of battles amoug the Indians and frontiersman occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyandota. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practiced on the captives, many of such dark deeds transpiring under the lendership of frontier outlaws. These occurred chiefly iu the Ohio valleys. Contemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky, in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who often, by bis skill and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel

COUNTY, INDIANA. destruction. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American banner, and on the 80th of November provisional articles of peace had been arranged between the commissioners of England and her unconquerable colonies; Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October preceding, and the liberty of 'America was assured. On the 19th of April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was proclaimed to the Army of the United. States, and on the of the next September, the definite treaty whieh ended our revolutionary struggle was concluded, By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the West were as follows: - On the north the line was to extend along the centre of the Great Lakes; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake, thence to the Lake of the Woods; then to the head of the Mississippi River; down its center to the 91st parallel of latitude, then on that line cast to the head of the Apalachicola River; down its center to its junction with the Flint; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River, and thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose lands adventurous whites would settle ere remedy this evil, Congress appointed commissioners to 'reat with the natives and purchase their lands, und prohibited the settlement of the territory until this could. bo done. Before the close of the year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however, not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling tbe interest in the Northwest she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of December preceding authorized the whole of her posseesions to be deeded to the United States. This was done on the 194 of March following, and the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion. To Gen. Clark 'and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of 150,000 seres of land, to be situated anywhere north of the Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected the region opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the village of Clarksville, about midway between the cities of New Albany and Jeffersonville, Ind. While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit refused to evacuate, alleging that he had no orders from his king to do so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. Iu the spring ol 1784, Pittsburg was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur Lee, who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian council at Fort McIntosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in ppearance. He says, "Pittsburg is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who live in paltry, log houses, and are as dirty as if in the North of Ireland, even Scotland. ` There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being brought at the vast expense of 45 shillings per 100 Ibs. from Philadelphia and Baltimore, They take in the shops

Kentucky at this time contained 30,000 inhabitants, and was beginning to discuss measures for a separa: tion from Virginia. A land office was opened at Lonis ville, and measures were adopted to take defensive precaution against the Indians, who were yet, in some instances, incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year, 1781, the militery chimants of lands began to occupy them, although no entries were recorded until 1767. The Tudian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished, they held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Conpress adopted means for treaties the original owners und provided for the surveys of the lands 'gained thereby, us well as for those nc rth of the Ohio, now in ite possession. On Jun. 31, 1786, a treaty was made with the Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanvix had been made in 1784, that at Fort Melntosh 1785, und through these vast tracts of land were gained. 'The Wabash Indians, however, afterwards refused to comply with the provi with then, and ite provision which resulted in no definite m to excite speculation in regard to the Western Congress had promised bounties of land to the Revolution, but owing to the unsettled ion of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its navigation, and the trade of the Northwest, that body bad in 1783 declared its inability to fulfil these promises until u treaty could be concluded between the two governments. Before the close of the year, 1786, however, it was able, through the treaties with the I dians, to allow some grants and settlements there and on the 14th of September Connecticut coded to the general government the tract of land known as the "Connecticut Reserve," and before the close of the year large tract of laud was sold ton company, who at once took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company were to pay the United States dollar per acre, subject to a deduction of onefor bad lands and other contingencies; they received 750,000 acres bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the Seventh Range of townships, on the west by the Sixteenth Range, and on the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without the reservation. In addition to this Congress afterward granted 100,000 acres to actual setters, and 214,286 acres as army bounties under the resolutions of 1789 and 1790, While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance for the poitical and social organization of this territory. When the cession was made by Virginia, 1784, a plan was offered, but rejected, A motion lind been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered, and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina, By this proposition the territory was to have been divided into ten states by parallels and meridian lines. There were, however, serious objections to this plan; the root of the was in the resolution of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries of the coded lands to be from 100 to 150 miles square, The resolutions being prevented to the legislatures of Virginin and Masssachusetts they desired a change, and in July, 1780, the subject was taken up in Congress and changed to favor a division into not more than five states, and not Jess than three: this was approved by the legislature arrangements for a party of forty-seven men, under the superintendeney of Gen. Rufus Putin, to set forward. Six boat-buildere were to leave at once, m the Ist of January the surveyors and their au twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hartford and proceed on their joumey westward, remainder to follow us soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the 34 of October, had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and to prevent unauthorized intrusions, and two days Inter ap- Pointed Arthur St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest.

was now complete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from the east began to come into the country rapidly. The New England Company sent their men during the winter of 1787-88, pressing on over the Alleghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into Braddock's road, and which has since been made a national turnpike from Cumberland, westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled and by April were all gathered on the Youghjogheny, where boats had been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band ean justly claim that honor.

Gen. St. Chir, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having yet arrived, a set of laws were passed, written ont, and published by being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Beige ap- Pointed to administer them. Washington, in writing of this, the first American settlement in the Northwest, suid: - "No colony iu America was ever settled under such favorable wuspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum. 1 know many of its settlers personally, und there were never men better calenlated to promote the welfare of such a community." On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held ow the banks of the Muskingum, "for the purpose of naming the new bora city and ita squares." As yet the settlement was known us the "Muskingum," but was afterwards changed to the mame Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette. Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Vanum, who with 8. H. Parsons and Jolin Armstrong, had been appointed to the judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9th Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act of 1787 provided two distinct grades of government for the Northwest, under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a governor and three district judges. This was sinmedintely formed on the Governor's arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th of July: these provided for the or- 'ganization of the militia, and on the next day appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the county of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the 2d of September the fist court was held with imposing cere-

'The emigration westward at thistime was very great. 'The commander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported 4,600 persons as having passed ready to receive them. On the 26th of November, 1787, 'Symmes issued a pamphlet stating the terms of bis contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In January, 1788, Mathias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest in Symmes' purchase, and located among other tracts the sections upon which Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the three about August commenced to lay 'out a town on the spot, which was designated as being Licking River, to the mouth of which they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. These settlements prospered, but suffered greatly from the flood of 1789. On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into operation, and on April 90th George Washington was inaugurated President, and during the next summer an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The President at first used pacific means, but these failing, he sent Gen. Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but was defeated in two battles, near the present city of Fort Wayne, Ind. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796 Gen. St. Clair was appointed in command, and marched 'against the Indians; but while he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee, he was attacked and defeated with a lose of six hundred men. Gen. Wayne was then sent against the savages. In August, 1794, he met them near the rapide of the Meunce, and gained a complete victory. This suecess, followed by vigorous meseurcs, compelled the In- to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year the treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large tract of country was ceded to the United States. Befcre proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cin cinnati. Nearly all the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the whole country, have had their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Pontchartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud cities of Chicago, Cincinnati and Detroit. Bo of most of the flourishing cities east and west of the Mississippi. Fort Washington, erected by Doughty in1790, 'was a rade but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of strongly-built hewed log cabine. Those designed for soldiers' barracks were a story and a half high, while those composing the of- 'cere' quarters were more imposing and more convenently arranged and furnished. The whole was wo placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about an acre of ground, with block house at each of the four angles. Fort Washington was for some time the headquarters of both tbe civil and military governments of the Northwestern Territory. Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land speculations were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana large tract of lands. These were generally discovered in time to prevent the schemes from being ¿carried out, and from involving the settlers in war. On October 27, 1795, the treaty between the United States and Spain was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured. No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been ratified than settlers began to pour rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1798 was the oceupation of that part of the North test Michigan, whieh was this year, under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British forces, The United States, owing to certain conditions, did not feel justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit aud other frontier posts, When at last the British anthorities were called ipon to. give them up, they at once complied, and Gen. Wayne, who had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements, and who before the year's close sickened and died near Erie, transferred his headquarters to the neighborhood of the which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Mi and the northeast of Indiana. During-this same year sottlements were formed at the present city of Chilliothe, along the Miami from Middletown to Piqua, while in the more distant west, settlers and speculators began to appear in great numbers. In September the city of Cleveland was laid ont, and during the summer und antun Samuel Jackson and Jonathan Sharples ected the first manufaetory of paper - the ^ Redstone Paper-Mills" - in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy houses, and Detroit over 300, and along the river, contiguous to it, were more than 000 inhubitants, mostly French Canadians, Inuns und InlCbrecds, scarcely any Americans venturing yet into that part of the Northwest. The election of representatives for the territory had taken place, on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville - now known as Cinciunati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and considered the capital of the territory, - to nominate persons from whom the mem. hers of the legislature were to be chosen in accordance with a previous ordinance, This nomination being le, the assembly adjourned until the 16th of the following. September. From those named the President selected ns members of the council, Henry Vanderburgh, of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Find. ley, and Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville, On the 16th of September the territorial legislature met, and on the 24th the two houses were duly organized, Henry Vanderburgh being lected president of the council. The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the legislature September

| St. Clair. The whole number of acts passed at this session and approved by the Governor were thirty-seven - eleven others were passed but received his veto, The most important of those passed related to the militia, to the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this protracted session of the first legislature in the West closed, and on the 80th of Decembor the President nominated Charles Willing Byrd to the office of secretary of the territory, rier Willi. Henry Harrison, elected to Congress. Tho Senate confirmed his nomination the next day.

'The increased emigration to the Northwest, and extent of the dom in, made it very difenlt to conduet the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the eficient action of courts most impossible; to remedy this it was deemed advisable to divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, nppointed co. mittee to examine the question and report some means for its solution.

This committee on the 3d of March reported: - " In the western countries there had been but one court having coguizance of crimes, in five years, and the i munity which offenders experience attracts, as to asylum, the most vile and abandoned criminals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assistance is experienced in civil ft Toremedy this evil it is expedient to the committee that division of territory into two distinct and separate governments should he made, and that such division be made by beginning ut the month of the Great Miumi River,

"The report was accepted by Congress, record with its suggestions, that body passed an net extinguishing the Northwest Territory, which was upproved May 7th, Among its provisions were these:

'That from and after July 4th 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 a point opposite the month of the Kentucky River, and

» thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north il it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate territory and be called the Indiana Territory."

» Harrison (afterwards President), was appointed iovernor of the Indiana Territory, and during his residence at Vincennes he made several important treaties with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracta of land. 'The next year is memorable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from France by the United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful manner the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction of the Northwestem Government. The next year Gen. Harrison obined additional grants of land from the various Indian mations in Indiana and the present limits of Illinois, qui on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treaty at St. Louis, whereby over 61,000,000 acres of land were obtained.

During this year Congress granted a township of lund for the support of a college und began to offer in- Aucowents for settlers in these wilds, and the country mow comprising the State of Michigan begun to fill rapidly with settlers along its southern borders. This same year law was passed orgunizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two portions,- - the Territory of New Orlexus, which city was mado the sent of govermnent, and.

istrict of Louisiana, which was annexed to the do- y Gen. Harrison. On the 1th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed, and William Hull appointed Govemor, with heulquarters nt Detroit, the change to take effect Ju in the place. When the officers of the new territory reuched the post, they found it in ruins, and the inbabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuilding, however, was commenced at once. While this was being done, Indiana passed to the second grade of gov. ernment. In 1809 Indiana Territory was divided, and was formed, the vent of governand through her general ussenubly lid obtained large tracts of land from the tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, » of bis. attempt to unite the various. 'conflict with the settlers. He visited

'ance with most of the tribes, and then joined the cause of the British in the memorable war of 1812. Tecumsch was killed at the battle of the Thames, Tecumsch 'was, in many respecto, a noble character, - frank and honest in his intercourse with Gen. Harrison and the settlers; in war, brave and chivalrous. His trentment of prisoners was humane, In the summer of 1812 Perry's victory on Lake Erie occurred, and shortly after, active preparations were made to capture Fort Malden. On the 27th of September, the American army, under command of Gen. Harrison, set sail for the shores 'of Canada, and, in a few hours, stood around the ruius of Malden, from which the British army under Proctor had retreated to Sandwich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the valley of the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen. McArthur took possession of Detroit aud the Territory of Michigan. On the 2d of October following, the American army began their pursait of Proctor, whom they overtook on the 6th, and the battle of the Thames followed. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in the Northwest. In 1806 occurred Burr's insurrection. He took possession of an island in the Ohio and was charged with treavonable intentions against the Federal Government, His capture was effected by Gen. Wilkinson, acting under instruction of President Jefferson. Burr was brought to trial on a charge of treason, and, after a prolonged trial, during which defended himself with great ability, he 'was acquitted of the charge of treason. His subsequent career was obscure, and died in 1896. Had bis scheme succeeded, it would be interesting to know what effect it would have had on the Northwestern Territo The battle of the Thames was fought Oct. 6, 181 It effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although pesce was not restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was made at Greenville, by Gen. He

On the 24th of December the treaty of Ghent was | signed by thie representatives of England and the | United States. This treaty was followed the next year

Brief Sketch Of Indiana

¡HIS is one of the interior states of the Union, and the sixth admitted under the Federal Constitution; situated between latitude 87° 47° and 41° 46° N.,and longitude 84^, 49° and 88° 21° W.; extreme length north and south, 276 mil age brendth, 140 miles; area, 33,800 square miles or 21,697,760 acres. It is bounded on the north by Lake Michigan and the State of Michigan, east by Ohio, south by Kentucky, from which itis separated by the Ohio River, and west by I nois, from which it is partly separated by the Wabash, 'The profile of Indiana forms a nearly exact parallelorum, occupying one of the most fertile portions of the great Mississippi Valley. 'The greater extent of surface braced within its limits consists of gentle undulating risings into hilly tracts, toward the Ohio bottom. "The chief rivers that drin it are the Ohio, Wabash and particularly so in the valleys of the Ohio, Wabash, Whitewater and White Rivers. The northeast and cen tral portions are well timbered with virgin forests, and the west in notably rich in coal, constituting an offshot of the grent carboniferous feld. Iron, copper, marble, excellent building stone, slate, gypsum, and various clays are also abundant. From an agricultural point of view, tne staple products are maize and wheat, with the other cereals in lesser yields; and besides these Bax, hemp, sorghum, tobacco, hops, ete., are extensively mised. "Indiana ie divided into ninety-two counties, and numbers among her principal cities those of In anapolis (the capitol), Ft. Wayne, Evansville, Terre Haute, Madison, Jeffersonville, Columbus, Vincennes, South Bend, ete.

Eur Serrusstent. - The state was first settled by Canadian voyageurs in 1702, who erected a fort at Vin ceunes, which was for years afterward known as Port judgment, in the latter part of the seventeeth century, 'attempted a union of their settlements on the Mississippi with their possessions in Canada. In order to 'effect this, they established a cordon of posts from the Lakes to the Gulf, including one or more military stations on the Illinois and the Wabash. Early in the 'eighteenth century there was one at Vincennes, one at Kaskaskia, before that period, another at the nfóuth of the Wea, a short distance below the site of the town of the concurrence of circumstances usually attendant upou 'ational schemes, where colonies are to be formed at a distance, and which in the event of war with a rival power are the first objects of attack and conquest, might have been successful. And New France, for that was the intended designation of this transatlantic em pire, might, in all the elements which constitute wealth and power, by this time heve rivaled its founder. But the war with Great Britain, which was concluded by the peace of 1763, transferred Canada to the British dominion, and Louisiana, by the secret treaty with Spain in 1762, to the latter power. It was in the necompli 'ment of this bold and maguificent scheme for a western l'empire, on the part of the French court, that the settlements on the Wabash were formed. It was not the military subjection alone of the western country that France had in view. 'There was another and higher lic religion--tbe established religion of Franco - whicl she wished to introduce into her possessions on the continent. Wherever, therefore, she sent. of her troops she accompanied it with n the cross; and while the aborigines of the country were kept in awe by the force of her arms, it is no less true, and certainly more creditable, that the child of the forest was led to obedience by the milder, but no less powerful, influences of the new creed which the pious priests introduced to their understanding. It is 'an admitted fact that the Jesuits who accompanied th expeditions did much to soften their feelings and ci ize their manners, during the short period they occupied the country; and the influence of their doctrines and the amenity and kindness of their manners are yet re memabered by the tribes who occupied, a few years since, the country between the Lakes and the Ohio, Xo set of men in pursuit of any object, temporal or spiritual, ever endured greater hardships, suffered more perils, or made greater sacrifices than these reverend fathers. 'The whole course of travel to the Mississippi was either by the Ilinois or Wabash. The only co cation with the Mississippi was by the French Intter part of the seventeenth and early in the eight: enth century, and was from the Lakes. The priests and soldiers were the only travelers. 'They ascended the Maumee, crossed the Portage, and descended the Wabash to Post Vincennes. The nations of Indians the south side of the Ohio where at war with those on the north side. They wished to cross to Kaskaskin.

'The Indians told them there was danger in descending further. They wended their way across Illinois on the old Vincennes and Kaskaskia trace. Striking the Mississippi at the latter point, they descended that stream to the missions previously established on the site of New Orleans, and when they found the Ohio pouring ita food into the " Father of Waters," they naturally supposed it to be the same stream they had. navigated

'Thus France by right of discovery lay claim to the Mississippi Valley, the fairest portion of the globe, an 'empire in extent, stretching from the Gulf to the Lakes, 'and from the farthest sources of the Ohio to where the headwaters of the Missouri are lost in the wild solitudes of the Rocky Mountains. Ta Salle bestowed upon the territory the name of Louisiana, in bonor of the King of France, Louis the XIV.