Youngstown City (part 2 of 33)

Their battle with the Erics, which lias been often told, was ]>erhaps the most desperately contested of any in their war-like and bloodstained history. It is said by some writers to have taken place in 1656, at a point alxmt half way between Canandaigua Lake and the Genesee river. The Eries. who were known also as Erries. Erigas, or Errieonons, and who, as we have seen, were of the same blood, and s(K>ke a dialect of the same language as the Iroquois, occupied the region lying immediately south of I-ake Erie, and their claims doubtless extended over all of northeastern Ohio and a part of western New York. Their tribal seat was on the Sandusky plains. They are descried as lieing a most powerful and warlike tril>e. Their jealousy of the Iroquois it is said was brought to a culmination by a gymnastic contest in which they bad invited the latter to participate with them. The invitation, after Ixring given and declined several times was finally accepted, a place of meeting ap|x>iuted, and one hundred voting Iroquois braves were selected to maintain the honor of their respected tnl>es. Each side deposited a valuable stake. The game of tall, which had l>een proposed, was won by the Iroquois, who tliereupm took |x»ssession of their prizes and prewired to take their leave. Hut the Eries. dissatisfied with the result of the game, promised a running match, to l>e contested b\ ten men on a side. This was agreed to, and the Iroquois were again victorious. The chief hi the Eries now propped a wrestling match, also l>etween ten contestants on a side, to which he attached the bloody condition that each victor should dispatch his adversary on the spot, by braining him with a tomahawk, and hearing off his seal]) as a trophy. This challenge was reluctantly agreed to by the Iroquois who privately resolved, perhaps from motives of prudence, nut t<> execute the sanguinary part of the proposition. Victory again inclined to the champions of the Five Nations. As the first victorious Iroquois ste|>j)ed back, declining to execute l is defeated adversary, the chief of the Eries, now furious with rage and shame, himself seized the tomahawk and at a single blow scattered the brains of bis vanquished warrior on the ground. A second and third Erie warrior after a similar defeat met the same fate. The chief of the Iroquois, seeing the terrible excitement which agitated the multitude, now gave the signal to retreat, and six>n every memlier of the party was lost to in the depths of the forest. The long slumtaring hatred of the Eries for the Iroquois was now thoroughly aroused. Though they felt that they were no match for the Five Nations collectively, they formed a plan to accomplish the destruction of the tribes by attacking tlicm suddenly and in detail . To this end they made quick and secret preparations, selecting the Senecas as the objects of their first onslaught, hut the Senecas had received timely warning from a woman of their tril>e, who was the widow of an Erie warrior, and it was with the united Five Nations that the Eries. soon after taginning the assault, found that they had to cope. Nerved to desperation by the knowledge that the loss of the tattle meant their utter destruction, they performed terrific feats of valor, and the result was long in doubt. But after one side and then the other had lieen several times successively driven back, and Ixith parties were beginning to tire, the Iroquois brought up a reserve of one thousand young men. who had never been in battle, and who had taen lying in ambush. These rushed nix ni tie now almost exhausted Eries with such furv that the latter, unable any longer to sustain the contest, gave way and tied, to bear the news of their terrible defeat to the old men. women and children of the trita. The Iroquois long kept up the pursuit, and five months elapsed before their last scalp-laden warriors returned to join in celebrating their victory o\er their la<t and most powerful enemies, the Erics. It is said that many years after, a jxwverful war party of the descendants of the Fries came from beyond the Mississippi and attacked the Senecas. who w ere then in jx ^session of the Erie's former territory, but were utterly defeated and slain to a man.

With the other Indian tribes inhabiting' the extensive region referred to at the beginning of tin's chapter, this history has little to do. They included the Seminoles. in Florida ; the Apalaches, on Apalache bay; the Giickasaws on the head waters of Mobile river ; the Choctaws, between the Mobile and Mississippi rivers, and the Yemassees, around Port Royal Bay. South Carolina. They all Ixrlonged to the Chahta-Muskoki stock, some branches of which were found west of the Mississippi river. De Soto and other early European explorers, describe some of these tribes as being extensively engaged in agriculture, dwelling in permanent towns and well-constructed wooden edifices, many of which were situated on high mounds of artificial construction, and using for weapons and utensils stone implements of great l>eauty of workmanship. They manufactured tasteful ornaments of gold, which metal they obtained from the auriferous sands of the Macoochc and other streams by which they resided. Says Dr. Brinton. "Their artistic development was strikingly similar to that of the Mound Builders, who have left such interesting remains in the Ohio valley, and there is, to say the least, a strong probability that they are the descendants of the constructors of those ancient works, driven to the South by the irruptions of the wild trilx's of the north.

Chapter Colonial Charters And Land Titles

lirroncous Ideas of Early Xavigalors and Geo graphcrs -- Attempts to Reach the South Sea Overland - I 'irgitiia's Charters - Massachusetts' Charters - The Grant to Pain - Overlapping Boundaries - Dispute vt'/fc I 'iVgiii in - Connecticut's Claims - Conflict -.citit Pennsylvania^ -Council of Trenton - Western Reserve.

While the French were pushing their way Says Wins.tr, in his history of "The Mis-isinto the interior of North America hy means of sippi Basin." '-The charters winch the English the river St. Lawrence anil the Great Lakes, kinij had given while parceling out the Atthe English were no less busy in making settle lantie seaboard of the present 1'nitcd States, merits along tlie North Atlantic coast, Some carried the hounds of the several grants westfew of these, notahly the early settlements of ward to the great ocean supposed to lit- some- Sir W alter Raleigh in Virginia - were failures, where beyond the .Mleghenies. Thouglt Drake owing chiefly to the character of the colonists and others had fallowed the Pacific northward themselves, who were for the most part gentle- to up|>er California, the determination of !ongimcn adventurers, disinclined to laltor, an<| hop- tude was still so uncertain that different cstiing to aopiire sudden wealth hy the discovery mates prevailed as to the width of the o ntiof precious metals rather than hy the slower nent. When the charter of Virginia was enand more laliorious mcthoils of cultivating the tinned, in irV:.,, there was .lying out a c-»ncepsoi! or establishing profitable industries. Later ti..n which had prevailed among geographers, efforts, undertaken under more favorahle aus hut which the itisiitmions of Mercator had pices, and hy men of a different stamp, proved done much to dispel, that a great wesiern >ea successful. Into the histoiy of these early col- approached the Atlantic -> mew here midway onies. as defined in their respective charters, along its sealtoard. This theory had come so far as is has to do with the region northwest down from the voyage of Varra/ano." of the Ohio river, long known after its dis Thus a map of Virginia, sold in London coverv hy the French as the Northwest tern- in 11.51. lays down the Hudson river as cmtorv. ' municating hy a "mighty great lake" with the the extent of the continent westward, was the inscription, running along the sh> re of Calisource of great confusion and error among fornia. "whose happy shores (in ten .lays' with as profitable rivers which necessarily must run into that peaceful Indian sea) may lx> discovered to the exceeding l>enent of Great Britain and joye of all true English." Smith, Hudson, and Cartier expected to find the Indian road in the rivers that they explored. Captain Newport, in idKo, brought over from England a barge so constructed that it could he taken to pieces and then put together, with which he and his company were instructed to ascend the James river as far as the falls and descend to the South sea, being ordered "not to return without a lump of gold as a certainty of the said sea." This persistent misconception of North America was due to the mental prepossession which prevented men seeing any insuperable obstacle to their finding a western scaroad to the Indies, and to the fact that Balboa. Drake, and others, from the mountains of Darien, had seen the two oceans that wash its shores. The English, shut out from the St. Lawrence river by the French, and from the Gulf of Mexico by the Spanish, and confronted at a distance of from one to two hundred miles from the coast by the great Appalachian mountain range, which long proved an almost insuperable barrier to western settlement, were much slower than their rivals in seeing in North America a vast continent.

Virgin I A 'S Chart Krs

The first charter of Virginia, granted by James I. in 1606, to the London and Plymouth companies bestowed on them in equal proportions the territory in America, including adjacent islands, lying between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude. It was stipulated that one-fifth of the precious metals found should l>elong to the king: also that all waterways near the colony were to be , explored for the purpose of finding a short and easy route to the Pacific ocean.

The second Virginia charter, granted by James I. in 1609, to the London and Plymouth and others, constituting the London company, denned the limits of the company's territory as follows: "all those lands, countries, and territories, situate, lying, and iK-ing. in that part of America called Virginia, from the Point of Land called Caj>e or Point Comfort, all along the Sea Coast to the Northward two hundred miles, and from the said Point of Cape Comfort all along the Sea Coast to the Southward two hundred Miles, and all that Space and Circuit of land lying from the Sea Coast of the Precinct aforesaid up into the I-and, throughout from Sea to Sea. West and Northwest, and also all Islands lying within one hundred Miles', along the Coast of both Seas of the Precinct aforesaid." This is the first of the "from sea to sea" boundaries that play so important a part in history. Some vagueness in the phrase "up into the land throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest" gave rise to a long discussion as to its meaning, but as construed by Virginia, more than one-half the North American continent was embraced within the boundary lines, including the whole of the Northwest territory.

M Ass A C 1 1 V Sktts ' C 1 1 Art Icrs

The first charter upon which Massachusetts based her claim to lands in the west, was granted by James I to the Plymouth Company in jOjo, and was the second of the two charters into which that of 1606 was merged. It defined the company's territory as "that aforesaid part of America lying and being in breadth from 40 degrees of northerly latitude from the equinoctial line to 48 degrees of the said northerly latitude inclusively, and in length of. and within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout all the Maine lands from sea to sea * * * and also with the said islands and seas adjoining, provided always, that the said islands, or any of the premises hereinbefore mentioned, and by these presents intended and meant to be granted, be not actually possessed or inhabited 1 iv anv other Christian prince or estate, nor to lie within the liounds, limits and territories of that Southern Colony heretofore by us granted to be planted by diverrs of our loving subjects in the smith part," etc. The king also declared it to U' his will and pleasure that the said territory, in order to he more certainly known and distinguished, should Ik- called by the name

New England in America. It embrace"!. a< - r. .-i>:i^ i'ic i nU 1 1- 'Mi! 'at \ nc, '.I t greater pari "f the present inhabited linlish |ms-.cv>ions I" i the north of tin- I'nited States , all of what is now New Fnirland. New \ rk, one half of New Jersey, nearly all ">f Penn-vl vania. more than the northern half <>f Ohio, and the Mate- ami territories t" the «(-!. north <>f the fortieth parallel.

In if I'harlc- I o 'tilinne-' 1 a charter which, hail been t;r.i:u«-<S t'the Massachusetts Bay l .ih my by the o -unci! at Plymouth, ami in which the boundaries of Massachusetts were dchncd a- extending from three mile- north of the Merriniac K:\er to three miles south «.f the Charles Kivcr and the nv-t -.ntlieiiy [mint m Massachusetts Hay. ami fn>m the Atlantic I l.cin 1" the Smith Sea

I he l'enn-vl vania charter. granted by Charles II to W illiam I'emi. in ioSi, was the cause of more disputes tlian any >>ther in mir hi-tory. The limits of th.e gran! were thro .!e - lined :' "All that tract or part of hud in America, with all the i-Iaiid- tl erein contained, as the -une is hfunded on t'.ie c.-t by 1 Jeiaware River, front twelve miles distance northwards of New I a-tlc Town unto the three ami fortieth decree of northern latitude, it the said river doth extend so far northward: but if the said river shall not extend far northward, then by the said river far as i> d"ih extend, and iri'Hi the head -t the -aid river tile eastern bound- t" be determined by a meridian line, to be drawn from the head ">i the -aid river, unto the -aid three and fortieth decree. The said lands to extend westward fire degrees in longitude, to be computed from the said eastern bounds; and the said lauds to lie banded rm the north by the liegmning "f ' three an<! fortieth decree of northern latitude, and on the south h\ a circle ilrawn at twelve miles distance from New Castle northward and westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line ] westward to the limil oi longitude abwe mentinned." Penn soon after extended his province 1 by the purchase of Delaware fn>m the Duke of S ork ; he al-o obtauieil from him the relm- '[-.11-1 ltu-m of liis claim to the western shore of the river abac the twelve-mile circle, winch had I ecu drawn to leave '.he town <<i New t a-tV in the Duke's hand- The nm-stion arose as to the meaning of the descriptions, "the bcginninc of the fortieth." and "the l«g inning of the [line and fortieth decree i f north latitude." I'enn to'.k the ground that thev meant the U'h.s King Utwccn \<>. 411. and 4^ decree-, and that In- southern ami northern b 'itiid.Ties were eoii-eqneiitlv y> and dcgtces i'.'ith Tin- C' .ti-t met ion. winch made Pennsylvania ov erlap the boundaries of Matyland .and Virginia on the - attlr and ->! I nueciieut ti the m 'tab, inv. >lv cd him and his sttc- I'i-tor- :n the most hitter d:-pntes with tilo-v colonies. That with Mankind, which continued for more than eight v war-, and greatly retarded the settlement and development of a le.iittiftll and tertile coiintrv, alter much litigation, was settled bv a cmpr. mi-e on the part of proprietors in 1700.

lieinjT the settlement ..f IVim-i !'. anian- west of the mountain- in territory that in 1/3^ ('u' 1 ieaeral A-emblv of Virginia - 1* .-.tii.liriy u 11,1 the east bv the I '.hie Ridge, and on the west and northwe t (n "the utnutst limits of Virginia" -had created Augusta Cmtnty, Carried on hy Coventors Diuuuldic and Hamilton cm a question of fortifying the forks of the Ohio, it was for a lime interrupted bv the French .aid Indian war. Uradd. -ck's deteal enabled tlie

French commander < n the Ohio to destroj the English settlements and drive off the inhabitants, hiti after Fort Pumnsne fell into the h nds of the English, in 175H. Virginians and Pennsylvania!).* again began to make their way into the disputed territory, which by thai time had been given a c unity organisation by ltu* government of Pennsylvania also, it being thus under two different pohtival jurisdictions This gave rise to much, strife and turbul.mce. and more, acrimonious corresjx>ndence l>ct\vccii the respective governors, now Penn and Dunniorc. The latter aimed at. an<l finally succeeded in bringing on an Indian war. which takes its name from him. After the trouble Ixnween the two colonic* had gone on for some years longer, with high-handed proceedings on IkuIi sides, for which Lord Dunmore's arbitrary western policy was mainly responsible, it was brought to a termination at the opening of the revolutionary war by a petition from the members'of Congress, who. July 25. 1775, for the lienetit of the patriot cause, united in the following recommendation : "We recommend it to you that all bodies of armed men. kept up by either party, be dismissed ; and that all those on either side who are in confinement, or on bail, for taking part in the contest, be discharged." In 1770 commissioners appiinted by the two States met at Baltimore and signed an agreement "to extend Mason and Dixon's line due west five degrees of longitude, to lie computed from the River Delaware, for the southern extremity of Pennsylvania, and that a meridian hue drawn from the western extremity thereof to the northern limit of the said State lie the western ljoundary of 1'ennsylvani forever." This contract being duly ratified bv the legislatures of the two States. Mason and Dixon's line was extended in 17X5, and the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania established. When the State of Ohio was formed in 1002. the territory left of Virginia east of the Ohio River and north of the Mason and Dixon's lint*, which then showed ii* peculiar proportions for the first time on the may . >f the Cnited Stales, was dubbed the "Panhandle" by the Hon. John McMillen. delegate from Brooke Count).

Cox Xecnc It'S Claims

To understand the dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. :n which we are more interested, and which was in t ut by tar the most important, it will be necessary to glance briefly at the early history of the latter colony.

Connecticut, as originally constitute!, included the three towns of Windsor. Hartford and Weathcrsrield, which were settled in 1636 and 1637 by emigration from Massachusetts, and were for a short time under the protection of that colony. New Haven, founded in 1038, was at first a separate colony, not included in Connecticut, and had no other title than one obtained by purchase from the Indians. X either the Connecticut nor the \ew Haven colonists "had any title to the lands that they I occupied, proceeding from the Crown, previous to the charter that constituted the Connecticut Company, granted by Charles II. April 23. if*/) j. which gave the colony the following limits."

"We * * * do give, grant and confirm unto the said t'overnor and Company, and their successors, all that part of our dominions in Xew England in America hounded on the cist by Xarragausett River, commonly called Xarragausett Pay. where the said river falleth into the sea. and on the north by the line of the Massachusetts plantation, and (>n the south by the sea. and in longitude as the line of the Massachusetts Colony, running from east to west, that is to say, from the said Xarragausett Bay 011 the east, to the south sea on the west part, with the islands thereunto adjoining."

"This charter." says Hillman, "consolidated Connecticut and Xew Haven; it cut into the grant made to Roger Williams and his associates in 10-43. and it did not recognize the presence of the Dutch on the Hudson even to the extent of making the familiar reservation in favor of a Christian prince holding or Christian people inhabitating."

The in rthern lioundary of the colony, identical, according to the charter, with the southern imiindary of Massachusetts, was not. however, settled for more than a centurv, to it* having been incorrectly surveyed in 1042. This gave rise to disputes between the iwo colonies, which were not ended until 17 14. when Ix-th parties agreed or, ;> compromise line almost identical with the present Ik mndarv. This line conforms in general to the parallel of 42 decrees 2 minutes: it marks the southern limit of the Massachusetts claim and the northern limit of the Connecticut claim west of the Delaware

Tin* C onnecticut settlements were much annoyed fur many years by the Dutch, who early in the seventeenth century had planted themselves tinnly ti|*>n the North River, as they called the Hudson, and who claimed all the coast as far as the Connecticut. Die English, basing their claims on the discoveries of the Calmls. hail always denied the validity of the Dutch title. Tn H>'>4. Charles 11 granted to his Vothcr, lame-. Duke of York, a vaguely delined tract of ctintry in New England. Ik' ginning at St. Croix, and including "all that island or islands commonly called by the several name or names of Matowacks or I ."tig ls!an<l scituatc, lying and l>eing toward the west of C ape Codd and ve narrow Higansetts abutting upon the niaine land between the two Rivers there erdled or kiiownc by the severail names of C'oiiecticutt and Hudson* River and all the land from the west side of Conecticutt to ve east side of Delaware Hay and also all those several' Islands called or kuownc by the names of Martin's Vinvard and Nantukes otherwise Nantuckett together with all ye lands islands suyles rivers harbours mines minerals quarryes » marshes waters lakes, etc.

--The next year a fleet sen! out by the Royal Duke t' ok ]x'sscss:..n of New Netherlands. A few years later the Dutch recovered the prov - ince for a single year, but that article of the treaty of Westminster. 1074. which required the surrender by l*.th parties of all conquests made in the course of the preceding war. remaining in the hands of die conqueror, gave (lie English a secure title as against the Dutch. A second charter, dated 1074. confirmed the Duke in possession of the province, the fioundarv descriptions remaining much as before. The Duke gave the province the name hv which it has since been known."

several conflicting charters. >\ idely overlapping the lioundary lines of Massachusetts. Rhode Island and C nuecticut, a condition of things that was then the rule rather than the exception Indeed, much of the 1> -imdai v work dojie in C olonial tunes was ,,f a nature to justify Rufus Choate's celebrated description ot a phase of some dispute arising from this cause: "The commissioners might as well have divided that the hue between the States was l«.unded on the north by a bramble bush, on the south by a hluejav . on the m-t by a hoe of bees in swarming tune, and on the east by live hundred foxes with lire brands tied to their

The establishment of New York as a separate English colony put a new aspect ' -n the claims of Massachusetts and Connecticut as based upon their "sea to sea" charters. There were some disputes, followed by adjustments and readjustments of Imiudanes. the lines being linallv agreed it|i"n in 177.?. with S"tne slight modifications, just as they are today. "W hen the two Slates were afterward told that by consenting to the lines east of the Hudson thev had barred their ow n charter rights to extend farther west, they replied that the Duke of York's grant was bounded mi the west by the Delaware, that he had jumped them, therefore, only to that limit and that their consenting to the fact in no sense barred them west of his l>oiuidary "

The grant made to I'eun carried to 4- ''eglees liortll. conflicted with the t onuect icut charier of jor,_> as well as with all others in which Connecticut was interested, and caused uncertainly as to the political jurisdiction and right of s,,il in a rich and fertile region of more than s.ooo.rnxt acres of lands, west of the I'HjIaware and between the forty-first and fortysecond parallels In 175.?. the Susquehanna Company was organized for the purpose of settling the Ian. Is claimed by C.mecticnt west of New York. In the following year a iract 1 go miles iii length, from ten mites east of the Susquehanna westward, wa- purchased by the 0-nipany from certain Iroquois ducts. In the same year the Albany C -tigress, which had lieen called under authority of the home government for the coiwdcrnli'Ti of existing affairs in the several colonics, passed resolutions declaring the validity of the Massachusetts and Connecticut claims west of the Delaware, and also of the western claims of Virginia. It also devised a practical system for carrying on western colonization. The Delaware Company was soon after organized, which also purchased lands from the Indians. In 1768 five townships were organized in the Wyoming Valley by the older company.

Conflict With Pennsylvania Western Reserve

The Pennsylvania proprietors, who had hitherto done nothing but make protests, now purchased from the Indians, at a congress held at Fort Stanwix, all that part of the Province of Pennsylvania not previously purchased them, and this included the whole Connecticut claim. They also began to lease lands in the Connecticut district on the condition that the leasees should defend them against the Connecticut claimants. The attempts of the lessees to oust the settlers in possession brought on a skirmish of writs and arrests that has been termed the first Pennamite and Yankee war. It is unnecessary to follow the contest in its subsequent details. It was continued under one aspect or another, resort even being had to miltary force, until 1775, when the Continental Congress intervened with a remonstrance, which caused both parties to suspend hostilities. In 1782 a Federal Court, convened at Trenton, decided against the claims of Connecticut. This decision applied to the whole Connecticut claim within the charter limits of Pennsylvania. Connecticut made no objection. Keeping in view the fact that Pennsylvania had a definite boundary on the west, she carried her stake westward and drove it into the ground five degrees west of the Delaware; "that is, she asserted her right to the strip of land lying between 41 and 42 degrees 2 minutes west of Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River, which by the treaties of 1763 and 1783 had taken , the place of the South Sea as the western boundary. This tract was the Western Reserve, and included within its limits what is now Mahoning County.

Chapter Vi The Northwest Wrested From France

American His/cry Iii/ittcnced by the Iroquois - Indian Cessions - lingUsk Settlers Cross the Mountains - The French I'recipilate the U'ar - l'ontiac's Conspiracy - Bouquet's T.xpediiion.

One of the most influential factors in determining tlie ultimate triumph of England over France in North America, was the Indian confederacy known as tlie Six Nations, to which reference has already U-en made. Hoth English and French early reeogni/cd the importance of conciliating these haughty warriors. In this the former were the more successful. The French, though usually more tactful than tlie English in dealing with the al*>rigiucs, on several occasions made the mistake of provoking the people of the "Long House" - a mistake that all subsequent diplomacv. united to live indefatigable exertions of the missionaries, was unable wholly to rectify. While the Jesuits were giving thanks to Cod fi ,r ha.i-tg at b:-t iff -viol tin- --- .iiv el i i . I these formidable savage-, the Iroquois attacked and almost utterly destroyed the friendly Hurons west of the Ottawa Their incessant forays kept the frontier settlements in a miserable state of uncertainty- and suspense that operated as a powerful check to the execution of French plans for obtaining a solfd foothold it the West. It was owing chiefly to the Iroquois that Lake Erie w is tlie fast of tin- ( ireat Lakes, and the territory now known as Ohio, the very last portion of the Northwest, to [*- discovered and explored. After the destruction of the Fries this region was covered by roving bands of Iroquois, ar>d the main body of Erencli immigration was turned aside front the lower lakes to the Ottawa and the Nipi*- srng. Could France have gained the friendship of the Six Nations, |!CI- traders, settlers, and garrisons would have tilled the West, "and cut tip the virgin wilderness int.. fiefs, while as yet the colonies of England w ere but a w eak and broken luie along the shore of the Atlantic."

The feudal nature of the then existing French scheme of government- a government of officers, not of law s - is clearly shown in ft letter of instructions that C'olU-rt wrote to 1't'ontenac in 1672.

"It is well for \oit to observe that you are always to follow in the government of Canada the ("- 'nils in use here, and since our kings have long regarded it as good for their service not to convoke the states of the kino. loin, in order, perhaps, to abolish inscn-ib!y this ancient usage, vou on ytir part ^imiM very rarely, or. to speak more correctly, never <'tvc a cor]*>rate form to the inhabitants of Canada You should even, as the cVny strengthens, suppress irraduatly the office of the syndic who presents

"The Iroquois," says Parkman, "retarded the growth of absolutism until liberty was equal to the final struggle, and they influence our national history to this day, since populations formed in the ideas and habits of a feudal monarchy, and controlled by a hierarchy profoundly hostile to freedom of thought would have remained a hindrance and a stumbling block in the way of that majestic experiment of which America is the field."

Indian Cessions

No sooner had New York been wrested from the Dutch than the English settlers who poured into that province to reap the benefits of the fur trade, which had been established 011 the Upper Hudson and the Mohawk by their predecessors, set themselves to cultivate good feeling and commercial relations with the people of the six tribes, and they succeeded in winning from them many valuable concessions, "some of which they did, and some of which they did not understand." Sometimes the Iroquois jicrmitted New York traders to jviss through their country to the lakes. Once on the shore of Lake Erie a few days' paddling brought the traders to the extensive beaver grounds of the lower Michigan peninsula.

At a later date it was claimed by the English that a treaty had been made by them with the Iroquois, in 1701, whereby the confederated trills had ceded to the English king all the lands to which they laid claim north of the Ohio, and reaching to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, but the genuineness of this deed has lieen doubted. Other extensive concessions, however, were actually made by them to the English. In 1684. the Iroquois at Albany placed themselves under the protection of King Charles and the Ihike of York: in 17.26 they conveyed all their lands in trust to England, to lie protected and defended by his majesty to and for the use of the grantors and their heirs.*'

Lancaster, Pa., in 1744, when the deputies of the Iroquois confirmed to Maryland the lands within that province, and made to Virginia "a deed that cov ered the West as effectually as the Virginian interpretation of the charter of 1609. Says Hinsdale. "It gave the English their first treaty hold upon the West, and it stands in all the statements of the English claim to the country, side by side with the Cabot voyages. Again at Albany, in 1748. the !>onds binding the Six Nations and the English together were strengthened, and at the same time the Miamis were brought within the covenant chain. In 1750-54, negotiators were busy with attempts to draw to the English in terest the Western tribes. Council fires burned at I^ogstown, at Shawneetown, and the Pickawillany, and generally with results favorable to the English."

In 1748 there began a general movement of Pennsylvanians and Virginians across the mountains. Kentucky and Tennessee were explored by a Virginian expedition under command of Dr. Thomas Walker. About tbc same time the Ohio Company was formed for the purpose of speculating in western lands and carrying the trade with the Indians. Adventurous traders and backwoodsmen extended their excursions farther and farther into the Western wilds, and soon the Indian town of Pickawillany. on the upper waters of the Miami, l>ecame a great center of English trade and influence. The growing interest in the West was evinced also by the fact that the Colonial authorities in every direction were seeking to obtain Indian titles to Western lands and to bind the Indians to the English by treaties.

The French Precipitate The War

Celoron de Bienville, who in 1749, was sent by (ialissoniere. ("ovenmr of Canada, to take possession of the valley of the Ohio and propitiate the Indians, found the valley full of English traders, and the Indians generally well dis posed to the English. The conflict which was to decide "whether French of English ideals and tendencies were to have sway in North America" was now recognized by all to be close at hand. France took the initiative. Early in 1753, Iwfore the English Colonial governments had agreed upon any concerted plan of action, the Marquis Duquesnc. who had succeeded Galissoniere as Governor of Canada, and who realized the need of prompt action, sent a strong force to seize and hold the northeastern branches of the Ohio. The party constructed two forts, one at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. This called forth a remonstrance from Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, the messenger being George Washington, who thus makes his first appearance in history. The French officer greets Washington with all the politeness and suavity of his nation, but returns the unsatisfactory reply that he will refer the matter to Quebec, and in the meantime proposes to hold his ground. This was in December. Early in the following year - 1754 - a small force of Virginians was sent to seize and fortify the forks of the Ohio - the key to the West. Before the works, which should have been built several years l>efore, could be completed, they were seized and demolished by a large force of French, who had descended the Allegheny, and who proceeded to build a much stronger fort, which they called Fort Dusqucsne. "This was an unmistakable act of war, and it precipitated at once the inevitable contest." It is unnecessary here to follow the long struggle through all its shifting scenes. Though the French gained some early successes, the most important being the terrible defeat they inflicted on the headstrong Braddock. Inly 7. 1755, they were unable long to retain the advantage. In the Mimmer of 175S the current changed. Though the expedition under command of General J"hn Forbes, undertaken for the capture of Fort Duquesnc. received a temporary set-back, in the severe defeat sustained by Grant, who. hurrying forward too rapidlv with the vanguard of Scotch Highlanders, had left his support behind, the object of the expedition was fully attained. On the advance of the main army, the French evacuated the fort and fieri. Forbes, who had conducted the campaign while incapacitated from illness to such an extent that lie had to be carried most of the time in a litter, took possession of the fort and called the spot Pittsburg, after the I great English minister. Placing an officer in command, he left for Philadelphia, where he | died in March of the following year, contented I in his last hours to know that, in spite of his I feebleness, he had been able to restore the red flag to the Great Valley. The capture of Ni- | agara by General Prideaux and Sir William Johnson, in 1759, secured the victory of Forbes, and Fort Pitt was safe. Quebec fell in September of the same year, and the end came a year later at Montreal, when after some desultory operations, Vaudrcuil, commander of the remaining French forces, surrendered to General Amherst. By the terms of his capitulation not only Montreal, but Canada and all its dependencies came into possession of the British Crown. 'Die treaty of Utrecht. 1763. left the French substantially nothing of their vast empire in America east of the Mississippi, save the town of New Orleans and a small strip of land at the mouth of the Great River.

The defeat of Braddock in the early part of the war, let loose swarms of bloodthirsty savages against the frontier settlements of Virginia and Pennsylvania, who kept up their murderous raids, with but few intermissions, for many years thereafter. They seem to have had some provocation in the numerous unauthorized frontier settlements made by vagrant and vicious whites, who debauched them with rum while cheating them out of their lands and destroying their hunting grounds. The Indians who were not parties to the treaty of 1703. felt that they had far more to fear from the English than from the French. The news tli.at France had ceded so large a part of North America, including the Indian lands, to Great Britain, drove them t'> desperation. Pontiac. chief of the Ottawas, one of the stmnpest and must influential of the western tribes, organized :i formidable conspiracy against the whites, in which he was joined by the Ojibways, the Pottawattamie*, and to a certain extent l>y sonic other tribes. In May, i~<>3. a simultaneous attack was made upon all the forts and frontier settlements from Pennsylvania to I^ike SiijK'rior. Tlie settlers, unprepared, were every where slaughtered in great numbers; two thousand are said to have Iccn killed along the ljordcrs outside the armed ixists. Every white man was driven from the upper Ohio and its tributaries all the posts aloi>g the river were destroyed, and the savage foe even >wepl through unguarded passes of the inoutilains. Some "t the smaller forts were also taken an-! their garrisons massacred,

When the extent of the calamity lievame known, a military force of regulars and provincials was organized to relieve the garrisons atitl subdue the Indians. It was placed under charge of Colonel Henry Bouquet, a nun of high, character and ability, who had taken an important ]iart in the war and in some of the events lea<ling up to it. Though delayed and harrassed bv the Peruisvlviiiia authorities, who had raised a force for the borders, hut refused to place it under his control, be at last started with aliout 1.500 men, He lirst encountered the enemy at Bushy Run. twentysix miles from Fort Pitt, and gained some advantages, though at the loss of about sixty men. On the next day the battle was renewed, and curled in the utter rout of the Indians, w ho proved to l>e a mixed force of Delaware*. Siiawnees, Wyandot s and Mingoes. By the I ith "f August Bouc|uct, who had lost altogether in men. reached Fort Pitt, which had successfully stood a siege of five days. All the other forts in the West, except that at Detroit, had Ijceti cither captured by the enemy or al, 11 Ion,

Bouquet's vieP.rv had for a lime a ipiieting effect upon the Indians, though during the autumn small parties continued to commit depredation- aVmg the Virginia frontier. It was known that the Indians had U-en supplied with ammunition by the French, who thus sought to thwart the English and gain the friendship of the savages, with the view of establishing settlements beyond the Mississippi. The next year (General Thomas Gage, who had succeeded General Amherst in the command of the English forces :n America, plumed a campaign against the Indians, putting Colonel Boumiet in charge <>f all the tegular forces in Philadelphia and south of it. These, accompanied by militia, were P> In- pushed into the Mississippi region, while another expedition, under Colonel l'radstreet, was to make a western advance in the direction of Sandusky.

Itradstreet was deluded by the Siiawnees and I k-law ares into making a w orthless treaty, a scheme devised by them to escape punishment. This treaty they had no- intention of honoring, the Dclawarcs. after signing it. continuing to ravage the frontiers Bradstreet. however, relieved tVe weary garrison at Detroit, and sent forward detachments to take r '-session of Mackinac, the Sault. and Green Bay.

Boin|uet. a man of very different caliln-r. after losing some time, owing to the apathy of the local authorities, pu-ln-d at last into the w ilderness to "force peace of his < wu imposing which should relieve the regions east and -outb of the Ohio of die tribes, and preserve the navigation of the Ohio it-elf He had advanced into the Mu-kiugum Valley, when on lhc 17th of N'ovcmlx-r. the Indians about rV-.ight * >\ i-» I - 11 r I'V.n " B. 11. nel would make 110 tenus until every prisoner am >ng them was surrendered. "I give you," -aid he. "twelve days from this dale to deliver into mv hands at Wakatamake all the prisoners in your possession, without anv exception - Englishmen. Frenchmen, women, and children, whether adopted into your triWs, married, or living amongst vii under any denomination ami pretense whatsoev er - 1. with all negroes. And you are to furnish said prisoners with clothing and provision-. and h..r-cs to orry them to Fort Filt When you haw fully complied with the-e conditions, you -hall then know on what terms you may obfmi the peace you sue for." It took the Indians nearly a month to collect the prisoners, who numbered eighty-one males and 125 women and children. The scene at the camp on the arrival of these unfortunates is thus described in the account of Bouquet's expedition (Ohio History Series):

"In the camp were to be seen fathers and mothers recognizing and clasping their long lost hates, husbands hanging around the necks of their newly recovered wives, sisters and brothers unexpectedly meeting together after long separation, scarce able to speak the same language, or for some time to be sure that they were children of the same parents. In all these interviews joy and rapture inexpressible were seen, while feelings of very different nature were painted in the looks of others flying from place to place in eager inquiries after relatives not found; trembling to receive an answer to their questions; distracted with doubts, hopes and fears, on obtaining no account of those they sought lor, or stiffened into living monuments nf horror and woe on learning their unhappy fate.

"The Indians, too, as if wholly forgetting their usual savageness. bore a capital part in heightening the most affecting scene. They delivered up their beloved captives with the utmost reluctance, shed torrents of tears over them, recommending them to the care and proteclion of the commanding officer. Their regard to them continued all the time they re trained in camp. They visited them from day to day, and brought them what com, skins and horses and other matters they had bestowed on than while in their families, accompanied with other presents, and with all the marks of the most sincere and tender affection. Nay. they : did not stop here, but, when the army marched, some of the Indians solicited and obtained leave to accompany their former captives all ' the way to Fort Pitt, and employed themselves in limiting and bringing provisions for them on the road A young Mingoe carried this still : further, and gave an instance of love which I would make a figure even in romance. A young ; woman of Virginia was among the captive* ; for whom he had formed so strong an attach- I ment as to call her his wife. Against all remonstrances and warnings of the imminent danger to which he exposed himself by approaching the frontiers, he persisted in following her at the risk of teingkilled bv the surv iving relations of many unfortunate persons who had teen captured or scal]>ed by those of his nation." Among the forest exiles was one who had given birth to an offspring suppled to te the lirst white child tern in what is now the State of Ohio. Moving imposed his terms. Bouquet broke up his camp and marched to Fort Pitt, which he reached on the jKth of December. When subsequently congratulated by Sir William Julinson on his success, he remarked, "Nothing hu< jienetrating into their country could have done it."

Chapter Vii The Transition Period - From War To War

English JaDoiisy of the Colonics - foot fiunmore's il - frontier Characters - first White Mans I louse in Ohio - Military Expeditions to Die West - Martial Laic - George III forfaits Western Settlement.

Owing t<> a growing jealousy of the colonies, the policy of the home government in regard to the settlements we-t of the mountains was shifting ami inconsistent. In 17'*) thc Ohio Company, whose purposes had been thwarted by the war. was absorbed in a scheme in which Thomas \VaI|>olc. Benjamin Franklin and others were interested, to establish a western colony on the south side of the Ohio River. It was opposed |,y Lord J lill-lx.mngh, president of the F.opls Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, who affirmed that the great object of the North American colonies was to "improve and extend the commerce, navigation and manufacture- of Falkland." Shore colonies he approved iK-cau-e they fit! filled this condition: inland colonics he condemned l«ccanse they would not fulfill it. It was. Ivs - -: hi i that ' lie king ' 1 W e\ ct - me.,r - to check the progress of the western settlements. ;md should not make grants m' land that would nave an immediate tendency to encourage them."

menace to die commercial interests of Crcat P.main. Some were even in favor of restoring Canada to the French in exchange for the island of Gaudeloupc. with the idea that a French establishment in Canada would serve to hold the co[i aiies in check. For the present the western frontier continued to l>e a wilderness inhabited chieflv bv wandering Indian tril»cs, and the almost cmialjv savage white traders, whom Franklin described in a letter to (ieorge Whitcticld in tjso, as "the most vicious and alwudoncd wretches of our nation " These men. regardless alike of honor, conscience, or even common prudence, and eager only for gain and the gratification of their lawje-s ut-tiiict-. were responsible for tp.atn of lite Indian upi:-ing- which, for si. long atthcteii the we-tetu settlements. In shuddering over the horrid cruelties intliftcd 1 1 \- the Indians ttpoil their prisoner-, it -li.ard I*. re memhered that their acts were often the resull of almost equally fiendish excesses nn the part the murder of many settlers along the Virginia frontier, as well as a great slaughter in Iwttle of both, whites and Indians, was directly provoked hy the wanton murder of some peaceful Indians, with their families, hy Captain Cresap, commander at Fort Fiucastle. In this detestable act he was imitated by one Daniel Greathouse, who, at the head of a bloody gang of ruffians, treacherously slaughtered a party of Indians encamped near the mouth of Yellow- Creek, having first taken the precaution to make them intoxicated. Among the victims were the entire kin of Chief I-ogan, of the Cayugas, who, from an influential advocate of peace, was thus converted into a determined enemy of the whites in Virginia. Bald Ea^le, another friend of tile pale faces, while alone in the wood:-, near the Moiiongahcla, was murdered by three white men. who "placed the lifeless body of the native in a sitting position in his canoe and sent it adrift down the stream." The war which followed: and which was participated in by several tribes, was brought to an end after the Indians had been defeated in a great kittle by Lord Ehmmore, who was more than suspected of having instigated it. lie made a treaty with the Indians in which they acknowledged the Ohio River as the boundary Iwtween the white man's territories and their own hunting grounds.

Frontier Characters

Among the interesting personages of the period of the French war and for some years lxith previous and subsequent to it, were the adventurous scouts and frontiersmen, Christoj>her Gist. George Croghan and Andrew Montour, all of whom were employed at various times, and. indeed, for most of the time, by the Colonial governments or the great trading companies, to negotiate with the Indians. These three men took a large j>art in shaping the history of those eventful years. Gist had accom|Kinied Washington on bis mission to the commander of the French troops on the up|>er Ohio just previous to the breaking out of the war, and on a subsequent expedition. He was also employed by the Ohio Company to make explorations and treat with the Indians. He kept a journal in which lie described the country through which he passed on his various missions, and his descriptions, and the maps which he drew of the course of the Ohio and of the surrounding country, were reproduced in the leading London journals of the day, as the most accurate source of information obtainable of the valley of that river.

George Croghan, who was employed by the Pennsylvania government in transactions with tlx Indians, and who was "the idol of the Scotch-Irish settlers," had spent some years in trading along the shore of Lake Frie. and in acquiring the Indian tongue. He was a man of great tact and thoroughly understood how to deal with the Indians. His services were of the utmost value in counteracting French in -

I the latter to F.ngland, after Bouquet's expedition, to advise with the government upon Indian matters, and his recommendations had a direct influence on shaping the policy embodied in the treaty made at Fort Stanwix with the Iroquois four years later.

Andrew Montour, perhaps the most picturesque character of the three, was the son of Big Tree, an Oneida chief, by a French halfbreed mother. When Gist, in the latter part of the year 1750, was sent out by the Ohio Company to survey the country along the Ohio take note of the tribes on the way, and search for good lands, he overtook Croghan and Montour at the Muskingum River. The latter, who was on the war path against the Catawba Indians, who some years before had slain his father, was painted like a savage, and with his clothes decked out with tinkling spangles. He was regarded by tl»e Indians as a chief, and was a valuable aid to Croghan in his negotiaj tions with them. His services also were in request by Washington during the early operations of tile war.

Christian Frederick Tost, "an honest and tearless Moravian." who had married among tlie savages, and was thoroughly familiar with their customs. In 1761 he huilt himself a cabin <m Tuscarawas Creek. Stark County, "which." says Winsor, "was prolxihly the first white man's house in the wilds of Ohio."

Military Expeditions To The West

From 1760 to 1764 the English made several military expeditions into the lake country, one of which - that under Colonel Bradstreet - has heen already noticed. That under Major Rogers, in the autumn of 1760, took possession of Detroit. Major Rogers is said to have had an interview with Pontiac, the famous chief of the Ottawas. who. with some haughtiness, demanded to know by what authority the English had invaded his country. Another expedition, under command of Major Wilkins, was shipwrecked on Lake Erie in Decemljer. 1763. owing to a sudden storm, and seventy men and three officers perished.

Unlawful Settlements Suppressed

The vagrant whites who at tlie close of the war, under the pretence of hunting, were making unlaw fid settlements which had a tendency to provoke the Indians, met with a determined enemy in Colonel Bouquet, who was in command at Fort Pitt. Besides removing interlopers from tlx? Monongahela, he issued a proclamation "prohibiting all settlements beyond the mountains without the permission of the general or of the governors of the provinces," under the penalty of martial law. This called forth a protest from C3ovcrnor Fauquier, but Bouquet was supported by Amherst, who, however, cautioned his sul>- ordinate to be discreet, "for no room must be given to the colonies to complain of the military power."

George Iii Forbids Western Settlements

In Deceml>er. 1761. the Colonial governors received orders forbidding them to make any grants of land in disregard of Indian rights. On October, J7<>3- King- George III. in a proclamation, with the concurrence of his council and in disregard of the sea-to-sea charters, established as crown lands to 1* held "for the use of the Indians, for the present, and until our further pleasure is known." all the vast region lietween the Alleghenies and the Mississippi, wherever in the north its source might be. The governors of the Atlantic colonies were "restrained from allotting any lands ljeyond the sources of the divers which fell into the Atlantic Ocean, or upon any lands reserved to the Indians, and not having l>een ceiled to, or purchased by. the king." All private persons were forbidden to buy land of the Indians, such right of purchase l*ing reserved to the crown.

This proclamation caused much discontent to a large and growing party in the colonies, who regarded it as a "tyrannous check on the inevitable expansion of the race, and as an adoption by the home government of what was recognized' as the French system. By the conservative adherents of the crown it was looked upon as a necessary protection of the rights of the Indians. It was probably the king's purpose to confine the colonies as much as possible to the coast, within easy reach of the British trade, and to keep the population under the restraint of the seaboard authorities. As a means of pacifying the Indians, it came, as has l)cen seen, too late. That it was equally ineffective in restraining white emigration is shown in the fact that. 011 a reliable estimate, from 1765 to 1768 some thirty thousand whites crossed over and settled beyond the mountains.

Chapter Viii Expedition Of Geor.Gk Rogers Clark

Clark's Project - Capture of Torts Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Tiucennes - The British Try to Recover the Torts - Project Against Detroit Abandoned - Disappearance of the t rench Population - The British Retain the Northwestern Torts After the Treaty of Paris.

With one important exception there were no events of any historical significance during the Revolutionary period. Great Britain was fully occupied in the endeavor to conquer her rebellious subjects, and the demands upon the resources ot the colonics in the arduous and protracted struggle were too great to allow any attention to be given to schemes of Western colonization. The exception to which refer encc has l>een made was the capture of the British military posts in the west by George Rogers ( lark. Clark was a Virginian who had made his home in Kentucky. With a farsighted sagacity, which had in it something of statesmanship, he conceived and executed the plan which subsequently furnished the American commissioners entrusted with the negotiation of the treaty of at Paris, with their strongest argument in support of the claim of the I'nited States to territory west of the Ohio. It is probable that Clark did not himself fully realize its far-reaching consequences. I lis immediate purpose was to put a stop to the persistent Indian attacks 0:1 the outer settlements, which he reasoned could he most effectually done bv destroying the British p<>-t- whence the savages obtained supplies, ammunition, and oftentimes leadership. One person, however, appreciated the lull significance of Clark's p'an, as will lie seen by the following extract from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to Clark before the issue of the campaign was known in Virginia: ".Much solicitude will be felt for the issue of your expedition to the Wabash ; it w ill at least delay their expedition to the frontiersettlement, and if successful have an important bearing ultimately in establishing our northwestern loundary."

I'.U'Ti Re Of Forts Kaskaskia, Cahokia And

In 1777 Clark sent out scouts to spy out the country, secure information in regard to the forts, and ascertain the sentiment of the French inhabitants of the villages. Having received a favorable renort. he went to Williamsburg, then the capital of Virginia, where he obtained authority from Governor Patrick Henry to enlist a militia force of seven companies of men to act under his command. The object of the expedition was kepi as secret as possible. Private instructions were given Clark by the Governor, in accordance with which he was to attack the post of K i--k i-k-a. Supplies were to lie obtained at l it l'n\ The secrecy which lie was obliged to maintain made the work "f recruiting his command one of great difficulty, and he found obstructions thrown in his way by many leading men on the frontier, "which prevented the enlistment of as many men as had been contemplated, and led to frequent desertions." At last, on June 26, 1778, with a small command, not exceeding two hundred men, he left the Falls of the Ohio, and descended the river in boats to Fort Massac, forty miles from its mouth. Thence he marched to Kaskaskia, which fell into his hands, as did Cahokia soon after, without the loss of a single life. Vinccnncs surrendered "to a mere proclamation when there was not an American soldier within 100 miles of the place." For this easy victory Clark was largely indebted to Father Gibau'lt, who, representing the sentiment of the French population, entered into his plans with great warmth and energy, and afforded him all the assistance in his power.

Here, although in possession of the country, Clark was placed in an embarrassing position, owing to the desire of his men to return home, their term of enlistment having expired. It was necessary to hold the conquered territory, or all would be lost. After much persuation he prevailed upon 800 of the men to reenlist for eight months, and then filled up his companies with recruits from the villages, at the same time sending an urgent request to Virginia for reinforcements. The good effect of his expedition was already seen in the conduct of the Indian tribes, some ten or twelve of which within five weeks sent representatives to sue for peace. Clark completed his conquests on the Wabash by capturing the post of ( hiiatenon, and also showed great ability in '-utwitting the English and counteracting their influence with the savages.

Thk British Tky To Kkcovkk Tiik Forts

"And now." says Hinsdale, from whom this narrative has been condensed. "Clark be- L'an really to feel the difficulties of his situation. Destitute of money, poorly supplied, commanding a small and widely scattered force. he had to meet and circumvent an active enemy who was determined to regain what he had lost. Governor Hamilton projected a grand campaign against the French towns that had been captured and the small force that held them. The feeble issue was the capture, in December, 1778, of Vincenncs, which was occupied by but two Americans. Clark, who was in the Illinois at the time of this disaster, at once put his little force in motion for the Wabash, knowing, he says, that if he did not take Hamilton, Hamilton would take him; and, February 25, 1779, at the end of a march of two hundred and fifty miles, that ranks in peril and hardship with Arnold's winter march to Canada, he again captured the town, the fort, the governor, and his wliole command. Hamilton was sent to Virginia a prisoner of war. where he was found guilty of treating American prisoners with cruelty, and of offering the Indians premiums for scalps but none for prisoners."

Project Auaixst Detroit Abandoned

Clark was very anxious to attempt the capture of Detroit, as being by far the most important of the Hritish j)osts. but he had to abandon the enterprise owing to the lack of sufficient resources. The project was several times considered by Congress, and also by the Virginia State authorities, but was as often abandoned for the same reason. Detroit, therefore, to Clark's great chagrin, remained in the hands of the British till the end of the war, and, in fact, till 1 706. As it was. Clark won and held the Illinois and the Wabash in the name of Virginia and of the United States, thus enabling the American commissioners "to plead ill! f>oxshlrfi.t in reference to much of the country teyond the Ohio." "It would not be casv." savs Hinsdale, "to find in our history a case of an officer accomplishing results that were so great and f ir reaching with so small a force "

Tt i« worthv of note that Clark's success was due lanrclv to the spirit in which he was received ami aided by the French settlers beyond the Ohio. In thus assisting him Ihev were actuated by their ancient feeling of antipathy to the British, and by a desire to see the work [ of 1763 apparently undone; yet in reality they were aiding to perfect it. The French alliance of 1778 "made them think the}- were again \ opposing the old enemy." "But * * * the welcome whiclr they gave the Americans did not arrest their fate or retard their decline. The breath of Anglo-American civilization seemed almost as fatal to them as to the Indians themselves. Louisiana and the fur lands continued to draw away their strength and scarcely a trace of them can l)e found in Northwestern life today, Cbamplain laid the foundation of the British province of Quelle; the State of Louisiana is the child of the French colony; but the habitants of the Northwest seem as effectually l'-st in the past as the Mound Builders/'

After The Treaty Of Paris

It was the Clark conquest, together with the colonial titles, that enabled the United States to wrest the Northwestern territory from Great Britain. Possession was reluctantly yielded, and for some time England, in the hope that the young republic would prove a failure, refused to surrender the military posts in the territory that remained in her hands at the close of the war. alleging as an excuse the non-fulfilment on the part of the United States of certain stipulations of the treaty of peace. For thirteen years after the conclusion of the treaty British garrisons continued to occupy Oswego. Niagara. Detroit, Mackinaw, and a numlier of minor posts, and a British force even invaded territory that England did not hold at the close of the war and built Fort Miami at the rapids of the Maumee. It was at these forts that the Indians found aid and encouragement in their attacks on the settlements. This state of things was finally brought to an end by General Wayne, who pursued the Indians up to the very guns of Miami, and, in 1795. negotiated with them the treaty of Greenville. The Jay treaty by which England buind herself to surrender the forts which she should have yielded in 1783 had been negotiated the year l>efore. "On July 11. 1790. a detachment from Wayne's army raised the Stars and Strqies al>ove the stockade and village of Detroit, where the French and British colors had successively waved, and this act completed the tardy transfer of the old Northwest to the United States."

The war of iNi_\ with Hull's surrender of Detroit, revived for a time British hopes of recovering the Northwest, and not until the signing of the treaty of Ghent was the destiny of the territory fully assured.

Chapter Ix State Cessions

A Sew Phase of the Land Question - Maryland's Proposal - Sational Ownership Proposed by Rhode Island - Delay in Ratifying the Articles - Claims of the Indiana and Other Companies - AVk» York Makes the First Cession - Conditional Cessions - Unconditional Cessions L'rged by Congress - Triumph of the Sational Idea.

The flcmamls upon the resources of the colonies lor carrying on tlie Revolutionary war, caused the western land question to assume a new and complicated phase, which led ultimately, through State cession*, to the nationalization of the entire Western territory. This was in the nature of a contest lietwecn those states which laid claim to W estern lands by virtue of their colonial charters and those which had no such claim. The hater included New Hampshire. Rhode Island. New Jersey, and Delaware, which were confined to the Atlantic plain, and Pennsylvania, which now had a definite western boundary just beyond the Forks of the Ohio.

"All charges of war and all other expenses that shall lie incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall U- defrayed out of a common treasury which shall be supplied bv the several States, in pi option to the value of nil land within each State granted to, or surveyed for. any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled shall from time to time direct and appoint."

The land issue was fust raised on the following i lav. when the proposition was submitted by Maryland "'That the United States in Congress assembled shall have the sole and exclusive right and power to ascertain and fix the western 1» -uudarx of such States as claim to the Mississippi or the South Sea. and layout the land l«cyond the boundary so ascertained into separate and independent States, from time t" time, as the numbers and circumstances the- people thereof may require"

This was the first proposition that Congress should exercise sovereign jurisdiction o\er (lie Wrsiern country, and was a plain proposition to nationalize the 1-itn I -_ It met with immediate opposition from the e'ainiaui States, who on Oclolier J~th caused to lie inserted in the Articles a clause to the effect that the United States in Congress assembled should be "the last resort, on appeal, in all disputes and differences between two or more States concerning' boundaries, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever," and further declared that "No State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States." Massachusetts, Rhode Island. New York. Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, voted for the amendment; New Hampshire voted against it ; New Jersey and South Carolina were divided; Maryland and Georgia were not present or did not vote, and Connecticut was not counted, as but one member was present.

National Ownership Proposed By Rhode Island

When a month later Congress sent a circular letter to the several States requesting the ratification of the Articles, a number of amendments were proposed, some of which related to the land question. Maryland revived her proposition of the year before, though in a slightly modified form, and was supported by Rhode Island. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, all non-claimant States. The claimant States in general, with New Hampshire, voted against it; New York was divided, with North Carolina and Georgia not present or not voting. Rhode Island submitted an amendment providing for the national ownership of all lands within the States, the property of which before the war was vested in the Crown of Great Britain, the jurisdiction to remain with the States to which such lands severally belonged. This was lost by a vote of nine to

New Jersey proposed that Congress should have power to dispose of all vacant and unpatented lands, commonly called Crown lands for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the war. with the same provision as to jurisdiction as in the case of Rhode Island. Though all these amendments were voted down, it was apparent that "the opposition to ihe I nn 1 claims of the claimant States was broadening and i If per.: n

Delay In Uat1F Yincj Ihe Articles

There was a delay on the j«irt of several States in ratifying the Articles. Delaware wished Congress to assign moderate limits to those States claiming to the Mississippi, and also declared that the western lands ought to be "common estate to be granted out on terms beneficial to the United States," since they had been, or must l>e, gained by the blood and treasure of ail. She finally, however, ratified the Articles, as did also New Jersey and Georgia, being willing to trust to the wisdom of future deliberations for "such alterations and amendments as experience might show to be expedient and just."

Maryland still held back, basing her opposition on the ground that it was contrary to every principle of eqtiity and good policy "that Maryland or any other State entering into the Confederation should be burdened with heavy e.xjK'nses for the sulxluing and guaranteeing of immense tracts of country, if she is not in any way to Ik benefitted thereby. She held out for the right of Congress to fix the western limits of the States claiming to the Mississippi river, and also for a national claim to the lands lying to the westward of the frontiers thus fixed, besides protesting against the exclusive claim set up by some States to the whole western country without any solid foundation, which she declared, would, if persisted in. "prove ruinous to the interests of Maryland and other States similarly situated, and in process of time lx- the means of subverting the confederacy."

"Virginia, by selling on the most moderate terms a small proportion of the buds in question, would draw into her treasury vast sums of money: and in proportion to the sums arising frmn such sales, would be enabled to lessen her taxes. Lands comparatively cheap am I taxes comparatively low. with the 1and< run! taxes nf an adjacent State, would quick'y drain the Stale thus disadvantage, .ndy circumstanced of its must useful inhabitants; its wealth and its consequence in the scale of the confederated States would sink of course. A claim so injurious to more than one-half, if not to the whole of the United States, ought to be supported by the clearest evidence of the right. Vet what evidence of that right have been produced? W'hal arguments alleged in supjjort either of the evidence or the right ? None that we have heard of deserving a serious refutation."

Claims Ok The Indiana And Other Companies

This description evidences the somewhat exaggerated estimate of the value of wild lands then prevalent both with Congress and the States. Such lands in the long run have not been found a source of revenue by the government.

As Maryland persisted in her refusal to ratify the Articles of Confederation unless they were amended in accordance with the spirit of her proposition of 1777, the machinery for filling the treasury and recruiting the army could not be set in motion and a condition ensued which threatened serious injury to the national cause. In May, 1779, Virginia, in disregard of the growing sentiment in favor of endowing the United States with the western lands, opened a land office and made preparations to sell lands in the western territory claimed by her. This proceeding, however, was interrupted by a memorial signed by George Morgan and presented to Congress on behalf of certain persons who claimed title by virtue of a grant received from the Six Nations, at tfie Fort Stanwix Congress, of a tract of land on the south side of the Ohio river between the southern limit of Pennsylvania and the little Kanawha river. This tract, called Indiana, as included within the bounds of a larger tract called Vandalia. was. they asserted, separated by the King in Council from the domain which Virginia claimed over it. and was not subject to the jurisdiction of Virginia or of anv particular State, but of the United States. Hence the memorialists prayed Congress to take such action as should arrest the sale of lands until j the rights of the owners of the tract called Vandalia could be ascertained, and the sovereignty of the United States and the just rights of individuals supported. Another memorial, signed by William Trent, on behalf of Thomas \Valj)ole and his associates in the Grand Company was presented at the same time. After some opposition on the part of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia and both Carolinas, both memorials were referred to a committee. The committee was also instructed to inquire into the question of the jurisdiction of ] Congress over this matter, the right of such I jurisdiction having been denied by Virginia. On October 29th the committee reported that they "could not find any such distinction between the question of the jurisdiction of Congress and the merits of the cause as to recommend any decision upon the first separately from the last."

Maryland then offered another resolution against the apportionment of vacant lands during the continuance of the war. This was voted against only by Virginia and North Carolina, New York being undecided. In December Virginia addressed a remonstrance to Congress, protesting against the action of that body in hearing the petitions from the Indiana and Vandalia companies, as being a matter outside the jurisdiction of that body, and asserting the rights of the claimant States to the lands described in their respective charters. She also called attention to the fact that she had already enacted a law to prevent further settlements on the northwest hank of the Ohio river. In addition, she declared herself willing to furnish lands northwest of the Ohio to the troops of the Continental establishment of such of the States as had not unappropriated lands for that purpose. "Indeed it was clear that a denial of the Western titles on the ground that the western lands belonged to the Crown, tended to subvert the very foundation on which Congress instructed its foreign representatives to stand while contending with England. France, and Spain for a westward extension to the Mississippi." Thus Congress wisely kept clear of the Maryland doctrine and eventually worked out a solution of the Western question on the principle of compromise and concession."

New York Mak1C5 The First Cession

New York led the way, in January, 1780, to a practical solution of the difficult question, by authorizing its delegates in Congress to limit and restrict its boundaries in the western parts by such lines and in such manner as they should judge to be expedient "with respect either to the jurisdiction, or right of soil or both; (2) that the territory so ceded shall be and inure for the use and benefit of such of the United States as shall become members of the Federal alliance of the said States, and for no other use or purpose whatever; (3) that such of the lands so ceded, as shall remain within the jurisdiction of the State, shall be sun-eyed, laid out, and disposed of only as Congress may direct."

This act. which was thought by Prof. Adams to be the direct result of Maryland's influence, was the first of the State cessions and immediately changed the whole situation. A committee to whom all the documents in the case had been referred, on September 6, 1780, submitted a report in which they declared that they had considered it "unnecessary to examine into the merits or policy of the instructions or declaration of the general assembly of Maryland, or of the remonstrance of the general assembly of Virginia, as they involve questions a discussion of which was declined, on mature consideration, when the articles of confederation were debated; nor in the opinion of the committee, can such questions U- now revived with any prospect of conciliation. That it appears more advisable to press tipm those States which can remove the embarrassments respecting the western country _ a literal surrender of a portion of their territorial claims, since they cannot be preserved entire without endangering the stability of the general confederacy; to remind them "how indispensably necessary it is to establish the federal union on a fixed and permanent basis, and on principles acceptable to all its respective members; how essential to public credit and [ confidence, to the support of the army, to the I vigor of our councils, and success of our [ measures, to our tranquility at home, our reputation abroad, to our very existence as a free, I sovereign, and independent people; that they are fully persuaded the wisdom of the respective legislatures will lead them to a full and impartial consideration of a subject so interesting to the United States, and so necessary to the happy establishment of the federal union ; that they are confirmed in these expectations by a review of the before-mentioned act of the legislature of New York, submitted to their consideration; that this act is expressly calculated to accelerate the federal alliance by removing, as far as depends on that State, the impediment arising from the western country, and for that purix)se to yield up a portion of territorial claim for the general benefit :

"Resolved, That copies of the several papers referred to the committee be transmitted, with a copy « »f the report, to the legislatures of the several States; and that it be earnestly recommended to those States who have claims to the western country to pass such laws, and give their delegates in Congress such powers, as may effectually remove the only obstacle to a final ratification of the articles of confederation ; and that the legislature of Maryland be earnestly requested to authorize their delegates in Congress to subscribe to the Articles."

"This report." says Hinsdale, "was agreed I to without call of the' roll. Its adoption marks a memorable day in the history of the land controversy. No other document extant shows so clearly the w ise policy that Congress adopted. That policy was neither to affirm nor to deny, nor even to discuss, whether Congress had jurisdiction over the wild lands, but to ask for cessions and to trust to the logic of events to work out the issue. The appeal made to Man - land was one that she could not well refuse to heed. And then, that nothing but selfish interest might stand in the way of the other

"Resolved, That the unappropriated lands that may be ceded or relinquished to the United States, by any particular State, pursuant to the recommendation of Congress of the sixth day of September last, shall be disposed of for the common benefit of the United States, and be settled or formed into distinct Republican States, which shall become members of the federal union, and have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other States: That each state which shall be so formed shall have a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred or more than one hundred and fifty miles square, as near thereto as circumstances will admit : That the necessary and reasonable expenses which any particular State shall have incurred since the commencement of the present war, in subduing any British posts, or in maintaining forts and. garrisons within and for the defence, or in acquiring any part of the territory that may be ceded or relinquished to the United States, shall be reimbursed ;

"That the said lands shall be granted or settled at such times and under such regulations as shall hereafter be agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled, or by any nine or more of them."

The papers sent to the claimant States under the resolution of September 6th called forth early responses. On Octolier 10th, by a legislative act, Connecticut offered to cede lands within her charter limits, west of the Susquehanna purchase and east of the Mississippi, on condition that the State retain the jurisdiction, the quantity of land so ceded to be "in just proportion of what shall l)e ceded and relinquished by the other States claiming and holding vacant lands as aforesaid," etc.

Virginia responded in January, 1781, by making conditional cessions of lauds northwest of the Ohio, which action, though it left some things undecided, was followed, on February 2d. by the ratification of the Articles of Confederation on the part of Maryland. The principal condition insisted upon by Virginia was a guarantee of her remaining territory' by the United States. This met with opposition from New York, who thought it unjust that sin: should be asked to guarantee the reserved territories of other states while receiving no guarantee of those which she had herself reserved, and it was some time before this matter was satisfactorily adjusted.

Unconditional Cessions Urged By Congress

Committees were appointed by Congress early in 1781 to deal w ith all difficult questions arising out of the land issue, and as these questions were many and complicated, they will not here be considered in detail. The committee reported in November, 1781, and among other things, their reports strongly urged Massachusetts and Connecticut to make an immediate release of all their claims and pretentions ; to Western territory w ithout condition or reser- ; vation. Virginia's cession was not accepted, I by reason of the guarantee demanded, the validity of her claim being denied. She was also recommended to make an unconditional cession of all her claim to Western lands.

j all its phases to its culmination in the final and unconditional cessions of their territories by the claimant States to the national government.

! Ohio, excepting the Connecticut Western Reserve." Of this tract jurisdictional claim was not ceiled to the United States until May 30, 1800. ' * .

lands were not and could not be fully nationalized, as the Articles gave Congress no resources except such as came from the States. Accordingly the deeds made to the United States stipulated that the lands and their proceeds should be distributed among all the States in the Union: and this was the principle upon which the land act of 1785 was based. When the Constitution went into effect it fully nationalized the public domain.

Sale Of The Western Reserve

By the cession of September, 1786, Connecticut yielded all her claims south of the 41st degree of north latitude, and west of a line 1 jo miles from the west line of Pennsylvania. She had left the Western Reserve, which had thus been shorn of its original extension to the Mississippi River. Even to this her title was questionable and was not admitted anywhere outside of Connecticut. To strengthen it she resolved upon immediate occupancy, and soon after the cession, offered for sale all that portion of her reserved territories lying west of Pennsylvania, and east of the Cuyahoga and the portage path leading from that river to the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum.

It was provided that the territory should be divided as nearly as possible into townships of six miles square; that six tiers of townships should 1« laid out parallel with the west line of Pennsylvania: that the range of townships next to that State should l>e designated as the first tier, and so on to the west in numerical order. It was provided also that the townships should be numbered from north to south, No. 1 of each tier beginning at Lake F.rie. A committee of three jK'rsons was ap]K>intcd to make sale. The land was to be sold at not less than three shillings an acre, which was alxnit equal to fifty cents of our present money. The price

! of a township was put at twenty-seven dollars in specie. It was provided that in each township 500 acres of good land were to be reserved for the support of the Gospel ministry, and 500 acres more for the support of schools in each town forever ; and 240 acres were to be granted in fee simple to the first Gospel minister who should settle in such town. The general assembly agreed to guarantee the preservation of peace and good order among the settlers.

At the next term of the Assembly, held at Hartford in May. 1787, some changes were made in the Resolutions, whereby it was provided that the townships should be numbered from south to north, instead of in the reverse order, as at first proposed ; also that the Governor of the State should execute a patent of any town bought to the purchaser, on presentation of the necessary certificates from the committee, the same to be countersigned by the secretary and registered in his office. The committee were further authorized to lay out one or more tiers east of the Cuyahoga, in addition to the si\ tiers authorized by the former resolution.

The Parsons Purchase

in the Reserve until the sale to the Connecticut Land Company in 1795. His patent was executed February 10, 1788, the lands he purchased being- known later as the Salt Springs Tract. General Parsons, who had previously explored the country, selected this tract on account of the existence thereon of saline springs, where the manufacture of salt had long been carried on in a crude way by the Indians and white traders. The salt was obtained by boiling the water in kettles; but so small was the projx>rtion of salt in the water and so slow the process of manufacture by the crude methods employed, that the price of the commercial article for a long time was over six dollars per bushel. Although the lines of tlie tract were not yet run out. General I 'arsons proceeded to make sale and to deed various undivided parts of it to different individuals.

"This patent." says Joseph Perkins, in an historical sketch of the Connecticut Land Company (Historical Collections of the Mahoning Valley. Vol. I, i87<V>. "was recorded in conformity to a provision in the original resolution authorizing a sale in the Secretary's office in Connecticut. It will be seen als<> from the same resolves, that the State of Connecticut claimed an exclusive jurisdiction over this territory, as it is also a matter of history that immediately after, in the year 1788. the Governor of the Northwestern territory originated the county of W ashington, and embraced all this territory within the limits of that county.

'- The United States having thus set up a claim to the territory. General Parsons caused his (latent to lie recorded in the Recorder's office, that county, as did likewise many of the subsequent purchasers from him of several parcels .if that tract. Still, as it was a doubtful question whether this territory was in fact in Washington County legally at any time, most, but not all of these deeds, were again recorded in Trumbull County, after its organization, and the United States had acquired unquestionable jurisdiction. In the year 1708. Jefferson Count v was carved out, a part of Washington County, and this territory embraced within its limits, and it so continued until the organization of Trumbull County. During this period two deeds of land in this tract were there recorded which have never been recorded in Trumbull County. No taxes were ever effectually itnjwjscd on any lands within the Connecticut Reserve until after the organization of Trumbull County, although there were some inhabitants in the territory before that period, yet they were left in a state of nature so far as civil government was concerned by the State of Connecticut, and but once were they disturbed by the United States, wltcn the authorities of Jefferson County sent Zenas Kimberly into this county to inquire into the situation of things with a view of taxation. As the people did not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the United States they lieset him with laughter and ridicule until he left them, and no further effort was made to interfere with them until the question of jurisdiction was afterwards settled, and the county became an undoubted part of the northwest territory."

General Parsons was made one of the first three judges of the Northwest territory and subsequently became chief justice. He was drowned at Beaver Falls in Noveml>er, 1789, while on his way from Marietta, where he made his home, to conclude a treaty of peace with the Indians on the Reserve. "His heirs, either on account of inability or lack of confidence in the speculation, failed to make the back payments, so that the patent, with all the deeds based upon it, was returned to the I State."

The British Army having wholly or partially destroyed several towns and villages in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. a petition was sent to the legislature in 1791 by a large numl>er of the inhabitants of Fairfield and Norfolk, praying for compensation for their kisses thus sustained. "The legislature," says Whittlesey, "in their session in May, i-oj, took up the rejMjrt of their committee and released to the sufferers then alive whose names appeared on the list made, and where any were then dead, to their legal representatives and to their heirs and assigns forever, five hundred thousand acres of land, then belonging to the State, lying west of the State of Pennsylvania, bounding northerly on the shore of Lake Erie, beginning at the west line of said lands and extending eastward to a line running northerly and soutlterly parallel to the east line of the tract belonging to the State, and extending the whole width of the land, and easterly so far as to make the quantity of five hundred thousand acres, to be divided among them in proportion to their several losses, to which grant was appended the names of all the original sufferers and the sum of their several losses. This grant, it may l>e observed, included none of the islands within the limits of the claim of Connecticut in Lake Erie and north of the western part of the reserve." The land thus granted was knowp as the "Fire Lands," owing to the fact that most of the petitioners had suffered tlve destruction of their property by tire. It embraced all of Huron and Eric counties and the township of Ruggles in Ashland County.

Sales To The Connecticut Land Company

The victory of Wayne at the battle of the Fallen Timber had given a new impulse to western emigration, which for some years previously had been held in check by the fear <>f Indian outbreaks. The fever of land speculation was raging all over New England, and the State of Connecticut now resolved to put the balance of her reserved lands upon the market. The resolution directing their sale was passed by the General Assembly at Hartford in May. 1795. and read as follows:

"Resolved, by this Assembly that a committee be appointed to receive any proposals that may lx? made by any person or persons, whether inhabitants of the United States or others, for the purchase of the lands belonging to this State, lying west of the west line of Pennsylvania as claimed by said State, and the said committee are herein- fully authorized and empiwered in the name and behalf of this State, to negotiate with any such person or persons on the subject of any such proposals. And also to form and complete any contract or contract- for the sale of said lands, and to make and execute under their hand and seals, to the purchaser or purchasers, a deed or deeds duly authenticated, quitting on behalf of this State, all right, title, and interest, juridicial and territorial, in and to the said lands, to him or them .-Mid to his or their heirs, forever. That before the executing of such deed or deeds, the purchaser or purchasers shall give their personal note or bond, payable to the treasurer of this State, for the purchase money, carrying an interest of six per centum payable annually, to commence from the date thereof, or from such future period not exceeding two years from the date, as circumstances in the agreement of the committee may require, and as may be agreed on between them and the said purchaser or purchasers with good and sufficient sureties, inhabitants of this State, or with a sufficient deposit of bank or other stock of the United States or of the particular States, which note or lxMid shall be taken payable at a period not more remote than five years from the date, or, if by annual installments, so that the last installment be payable within ten years from the date, either in specie or in six per cent, three per cent, or deferred stock of the United States, at the discretion of the committee. That if the committee shall find that it will be most beneficial to the State or its citizens to form several contracts for the sale of said lands, they shall 1 not consummate any of the said lands apart by ! themselves while the others lie in a train of I negotiation only, but all the contracts which taken together shall comprise the whole quan- | tity of the said lands shall l>e consummated together, and the purchasers shall hold their respective parts or proportions as tenants in ' common of the whole tract or territory, and not in severalty. That said committee, in whatever manner they shall find it best to sell the said lands, whether by an entire contract or by several contracts, shail in no case be at liberty to sell the whole quantity for a principal sum less than one million of dollars in sjiecie. or if day of payment \x given, for a sum of less value than one million of dollars in s]>ecie with interest at six per cent per annum from the I time of such sale."

to negotiate the sale consisted of John Treadwell, James Wadsworth, Marvin Wait, William Edmonds. Thomas Grosvcnor, Aaron Austin, Klijah Hubbard and Sylvester Gilljert, one man from each of the eight counties of the State. It will he observed that the State did not guarantee a clear title to any purchaser, hut merely offered a quit claim deed. This, however, did not deter Connecticut people, who believed in the validity of their State's claim, from purchasing the land, arid the rage for land speculation was such that other purchasers were soon found. Sales were made to the aggregate amount of twelve hundred thousand dollars, the members of the committee entering into separate contracts with the individual purchasers, though in a few instances two or three of the purchasers associated together and took their deeds jointly. The names of the individuals with the amount of their contracts were as follows :

As no survey had yet been made it was im possible to determine the number of acres to which each purchaser was entitled. Accordingly the committee of eight made out deeds to each of the purchasers or association of purchasers of as many tvvelve-hundred-thousandths in common of the entire tract as they had subscribed dollars.

These deeds were recorded in the office of the Secretary of State of Connecticut. They were afterwards transerilied into a l>ook commonly designated as the "Rook of Drafts," and transferred t>> the Recorder's office at Warren. This Ik, ok embraces all the proceedings of the Connecticut Land Company, so far as any his- 1 --> M hem U to he :', 'iind h :he Stati .,-'!':!-- It does not appear that any part of the consideration was paiil in hand. " Thus the State made t'mal disposition of all her western lands except the tract purchased by General Parsons, winch reverted in consequence of non-payment of the stipulated price. This tract was divided up and afterwards - Id by order of the legislature, the deeds being issued by the Secretary of Slate"