vegetables for me and my brother to subsist on, give me or any other perscn a claim to your land." Post, having retired, to give the chiefs and council time to deliberate, was addressed as follows at a second interview : "Brother! Now as you have spoken more distinctly, we may perhaps be able to give you some advice. You say you are come at the instigation of the Great Spirit to teach and to preach to us. So, also, say the priests at Detroit, whom our father, the French, has sent among his Indian children. Well, this being the case, you, as a preacher, want no more land than they do; who are content with a garden lot to plant vegetables and pretty flowers in, such as the French priests also have, and of which the white people are all fond. Brother! As you are in the same station and employ with those preachers we allude to, and as we never saw any one of those cut down trees and till the ground to get a livelihood, we are inclined to think, especially as those men without laboring hard look well, that they have to look to another source than that of hard labor for their maintenance. And we think that if, as you say, the Great Spirit urges you to preach to the Indians, he will provide for you in the same manner as he provides for those priests we have seen at Detroit. We are agreed to give you a garden spot, even a larger spot than those have at Detroit—it shall measure fifty steps each way, and if it suits you, you are at liberty to plant therein what you please." Post agreed, as there was no remedy, the boundaries of the lot were stepped off, stakes were driven at the corners, and Post told that now he might go on. (Heckewelder's narrative.) But Post's activity among the Indians was only of short duration. Pontiac was at this time secretly maturing his formidable conspiracy and the missionaries were soon ordered to return to the settlements. No further attempt was made to Christianize the Indians for several years. Finally, in the spring of 1768, the Moravian Zeisberger established himself among them. The suspicious savages saw nothing "but evil in the white man's eye," and sought 'by secret conspiracies and open threats, to compel him to abandon his mission. But Zeisberger labored on, and bore with patient serenity the indignities to which he was exposed. The conversion of a few of the principal Indians animated him to persevere. After some time he was encouraged to settle with his associates on the banks of the Big Beaver, and, not long after, the Delawares and Wyandots proposed that his little Christian community should take up its abode on the banks of the Muskingum. This invitation was finally accepted and resulted in founding the village of Schoenbrunn, on the 3rd of May, 1772. Being joined, the year following, by other converts, from the banks of the Susquehannah and Big Beaver, the little Moravian colony in the depth of the wilderness, though occasionally regarded with suspicion by the surrounding tribes, slowly increased in numbers, and, for a considerable period, escaped molestation. Zeisberger's first settlement consisted of twenty-eight persons. The emigration from the Susquehannah amounted to two hundred and forty-one persons, and the one from Beaver Creek to about one hundred. A part of the new arrivals, Mohicans, founded the village of Gnadenhuetten, ten miles below Schoenbrunn. When the pilgrimage from the distant Big Beaver was happily ended, and the Indians in council had welcomed their brethren, David Zeisberger and John Heckewelder summoned the congregation together. John Ettwein, about to invoke the blessing of heaven and depart to Bethlehem, stood near while the rules of the congregation (the phrase is Heckewelder's in his narrative), as agreed to and approved by the national assistants, were read and accepted by the whole congregation. It was a scene not wholly unlike the first compact of the Puritan community in the cabin of the Mayflower. An August sky was above them, the waters of the Elk Eye glided gently by, - 25 - the "beautiful spring" reflected the motionless group and the voice of prayer and praise hallowed the adoption of the following homely frame of civil and religious obligation, the first act of Ohio legislation, the constitution of 1772: 1. We will know of no other God, nor worship any other but Him who has created us and redeemed us with his most precious blood. 2. We will rest from all labor on Sundays, and attend the usual meetings on that day for divine service. 3. We will honor father and mother, and support them in age and distress. 4. No thiefs, murderers, drunkards and adulterers shall be suffered among us. 5. No one shall be permitted to dwell with use without the consent of our teachers. 6. No one that attends dances, sacrifices or heathenish festivals can live among us. 7. No one using Trchappich (witchcraft) in hunting shall be suffered among us. 8. We will renounce all juggles, lies and deceits of Satan. 9. We will be obedient to our teachers, and to the helpers who are appointed to see that good order be kept, both in and out of town. 10. We will not be idle and lazy—nor tell lies of one another—nor strike each other—we will live peaceably together. 11. Whosoever does any harm to another's cattle, goods or effects, etc., shall pay the damage. 12. A man shall have only one wife—love her and provide for her and the children: Likewise a woman shall have but one husband, and be obedient to him ; she shall also take care of the children and be cleanly in all things. 13. We will not permit any rum or spirituous liquor to be brought into our town. If strangers or traders happen to bring any, the helpers are to take it in their possession, and take care not to deliver it to them until they set off again. 14. None of the inhabitants shall run in debt with traders, nor receive goods on commission for traders, without consent of the national assistants. 15. No one is to go on a journey or long hunt without informing the minister or steward about it. 16. Young people are not to marry without the consent of their parents, and take their advice. 17. If the stewards or helpers apply to the inhabitants for assistance, in doing work for the benefit of the place, such as building meeting and school houses, clearing and fencing land, etc., they are to be obedient. 18. All necessary contributions for the public ought cheerfully to be attended to. The above rules were made and adopted at a time when there was a profound peace; when, however, six years later, during the Revolutionary War, individuals of the Delawares took up the hatchet to join in the conflict, the national assistants proposed and insisted on having the following additional rules added, namely : 19. No man inclining to go to war—which is the shedding of blood, can remain among us. 20. Whosoever purchases goods or articles of warriors, knowing at the time that such have been stolen or plundered, must leave us. We look upon this as giving encouragement to murder and theft. When the battles of Bunker Hill and Lexington had been fought, the preparations made by Great Britain and her revolted colonies to gather strength for a prolonged struggle, led the - 26 - emissaries of both to court the assistance of the red man which jeopardized the peaceful seclusion of the Muskingum Village. To break down the influence of British agents in the West, Colonel Morgan, an honest, energetic and popular trader, was appointed Indian Superintendent for the middle department, and in the spring of 1776, he took up his residence at Pittsburg. The Pottowattamies and Ottawas, influenced by Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, sought to bring the Delawares and Shawanese into alliance with the British, and for some time their intrigues threatened a general Indian war. Congress becoming alarmed, despatched three commissioners to con, ciliate the tribes in that territory, but it was with the greatest difficulty the chiefs could be prevailed upon to attend a council proposed to be held at Pittsburg. Finally, however, during the month of October, the commissioners were met by delegates from the Delawares, Senecas and a part of the Shawanese ; but very little good resulted from the conference. The Shawanese speedily joined the Northern Indians ; and though a portion of the Delawares wavered for a time in their fidelity to Great Britain, they finally followed the council of Captain Pipe, one of the principal chiefs, and flocked under the royal banner. Although a dubious neutrality was maintained by the various Indian tribes during the year 1776, it is well known that the majority of them were in the British service, and that a renewal of the war upon the frontiers might be expected at any moment. Colonel Morgan exerted himself to keep the Indians quiet as long as possible, but his efforts, although not altogether unsuccessful, were destined to he frustrated by the treacherous murder of Cornstalk, a brave Shawanese chief, at Fort Randolph, a military post erected at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. Already the threatening aspect of affairs on the Ohio River had led Congress to prepare for the breaking out of hostilities. Thirty large batteaux, forty feet long and nine feet wide, were constructed in the Monongahela. ready to be used in an invasion of the Indian country ; but notwithstanding the Mingos were harassing the frontiers of Virginia and other savage bands were constantly crossing the Ohio to attack the settlements in Kentucky, Morgan, justly dreading the effects of a general Indian war, earnestly remonstrated against the sending of an expedition at this time, and recommended instead that the borderers should themselves be firmly restrained from encroaching upon Indian territory, and that an attempt should be made to avert the danger by forbearance and conciliation. This judicious advice being well received by the federal authorities, the proposed expedition was abandoned for the season, but the clamorous outcry for protection on the frontiers, led to its revival shortly after, n a more imposing scale. During the spring of 1778, General Lachlan McIntosh crossed the mountains at the head of five hundred men and commenced building a fort, which was subsequently known by his name, on the banks of the Ohio, near the mouth of the Big Beaver Creek. As the bands of Indian braves who persevered in maintaining a constant warfare upon the border stations were encouraged by Hamilton, the commander of Detroit, the reduction of that post was made the principal object of the expedition. In the month of October one thousand men were assembled at the new fort, but the season was then so far advanced that the original design was abandoned, and a treaty of peace having been concluded with the Delawares, the army was thrown forward to erect a military post on the banks of the Tuscarawas, preparatory to marching against the Wyandots and other hostile tribes in the neighborhood of Sandusky. A stockade work, called Fort Laurens, was built, and leaving it in garrison of one hundred and fifty men, under the command of Colonel Gibson, McIntosh returned with the main body of his troops to Fort Pitt. Left alone, and unsupported, deep in the wilderness, Fort Laurens was speedily invested by a large force of Shawanese and Wyandot warriors, - 27 - who cut off all communication with the Ohio, slew a number of the garrison and reduced the remainder to great straits for want of food. The post was, however, relieved by McIntosh, early in 1779, but it was subsequently found so difficult and dangerous to maintain a proper connection with a military station in the heart of an enemy's country that the fort was finally evacuated during the following August. Later the fort was again occupied, at least so far as to conclude an Indian treaty there, in the fall of 1785. There was another campaign against the Indians in the spring of 1782. The American expedition was commanded by Colonel Williamson, and it was in this campaign that the settlements of Christian Indians on the Muskingum were destroyed and nearly all the peaceful Indians were either murdered or driven away by Colonel Williamson and his men. Another expedition immediately afterwards started from Wheeling under Colonel Crawford. It pressed forward to Upper Sandusky, but was finally defeated by the Indians. Colonel Crawford was taken prisoner and burnt to death at the stake, within the limits of the county which bears his name. OLD MAP OF THE INDIAN SETTLEMENTS - 28 - CHAPTER III Creation of the Northwestern Territory The Birth of a New Empire.-Ordinance of 1787. The Ohio Land Company.---First Settlements of Marietta and Cincinnati. The "Miami Slaughter House." Unfortunate Warfare against Murderous Indians.-St. Clair's Defeat by the Red Warriors. -General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  The Battle of Fallen Timbers.----Treaty of Greenville. -Settlements in the Western Reserve and the Founding of Cleveland. Ohio's Admission into the Union as a State. WHEN the treaty of peace with England in 1783 fixed the Mississippi as the western boundary of the United States, the land north of the Ohio River was practically an unknown country ; but several States claimed that old grants from England gave them large tracts of land in those parts. The real value of those claims was not appreciated, but their claimants held to them, and, when peace with England brought the erstwhile colonies relief from war and its horrors, some of the States paid their soldiers in deeds to lands west of the Alleghenies. This brought on a scattering exodus to the West, and the far-seeing men of the day were not long in discovering that the wealth and importance of the frontier had long been underestimated. This fact soon was realized as keenly by the States which had no western lands as by those that did. It was argued and wisely, too — that the growing value of those holdings would enrich the fortunate States so rapidly that other States could nct hope to keep pace with them. And such a condition of affairs would in the end endanger the future of the new Republic. This was not an imaginary alarm, for the United States was then in a chaotic condition. It could scarcely be said to be a nation. The old articles of confederation had held the colonies together during the struggle with England, but proved insufficient when the common danger was removed. Each colony was left practically to pursue its own course. The need for a firmer union was felt, but what form it should take was uncertain. In fact, the statesmen of the day were not unanimous in the belief or hope that the colonies would eventually evolve into a country with a stable government. There was, however, a universal sentiment for union, and, strange as it may seem, the Western land question, the first bone of contention, proved the solution of the critical situation. The smaller States, headed by Maryland, demanded that the unsettled territory west and north of the Ohio River be made the property of the country at large, to be 'held and administered under the direction of Congress for the benefit of, the nation at large. The proposition was, of course, at first opposed by the States most interested, but when it was seen that their neighbors would enter no further alliance. until they consented, one by one, with many reservations, conditions and stipulations, Virginia, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts surrendered their claims. The Northwest Territory was created—the first government ever erected by a document that recognized the absolute equality of all men ! Three great fundamental principles that were embodied in the original law of the territory by the Confederate Congress have remained to this day the guiding stars of Ohio's men. "First : Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. Second : The said territory and the States that may be formed therein shall remain forever a part of this Confederacy of the United States of America ; and, Third : There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory." The historic ordinance which created the Northwest Territory is as follows: - 31 - An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio River: "Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said territory, for the purpose of temporary government, be one district; subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the estates both of resident and nonresident proprietors, in the said territory, dying intestate, shall descend to and be distributed among their children, and the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts ; the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them ; and where there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of .kin, in equal degree; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have in equal parts among them their deceased parent's share ; and there shall in no case be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half blood ; saving in all cases to the widow of the intestate, her third part of the real estate for life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dower shall remain in full force until altered by the Legislature of the district. And until the Governor and Judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned, estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her, in whom the estate may be (being of full age) and attested by three witnesses; and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release or bargain and sale signed, sealed and delivered by the person, being of full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed for that purpose ; and personal property may be transferred by delivery, saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vincents, and the neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance of property. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that there shall be appointed from time to time, by Congress, a Governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress ; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. There shall be appointed from time to time, by Congress, a Secretary, whose commission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner revoked ; he Shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of his office; it shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the Legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the Governor in his executive department ; and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings, every six months, to the Secretary of Congress. There shall also be appointed a court to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common-law jurisdiction, and reside in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of their offices, and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior. The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress, from time to time, which - 32 - laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the general assembly therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but afterwards the Legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit. The Governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general officers ; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress. Previous to the organization of the general assembly, the Governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers, in each county or township, as he Shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same : After the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and other civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the Governor. For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal and civil, the Governor shall make proper divisions thereof—and he shall proceed from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships; subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the Legislature. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the Governer, they shall receive authority, with time and place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships, to represent them in the general assembly : Provided, That for every five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one representative; and so on, progressively, with the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five, after which the number and proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the Legislature: Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified to act as representative unless he shall have been a citizen f one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years; and in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land within the same: Provided also, that a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being resident in the district; or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative. The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years, and in case of the death of a representative, or removal from office, the Governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term. The general assembly, or Legislature, shall consist of the Governor, Legislative Council, and a House of Representatives. The Legislative Council shall consist of five members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress, any three of whom to be a quorum, and the members of the council shall be nominated and appointed in the fcllowing manner, towit: As soon as representatives shall be elected, the Governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together, and, when met, they shall nominate ten persons, resident in the district, and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress; five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid ; and whenever a vacancy shall 'happen in the Council, by death or removal from office, the House of Representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term ; and every five. years, - 33 - four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of the council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the council five years, unless sooner removed. And the Governor, Legislative Council and House of Representatives shall have authority to make laws in all cases for good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the Governor for his assent ; but no bills or legislative act whatever shall 'be of any force without his assent. The Governor shall have power to convene, prorogue and dissolve the general assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient. The Governor, Judges, Legislative Council, Secretary and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the district shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office, the Governor before the President of Congress, and all other officers before the Governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district the council and house, assembled in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary government. And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which forms the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected ; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory—to provide also for the establishment of States, and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a share in the Federal councils on an equal footing with the original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest. It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless by common consent, towit : Article I. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments in the said territory. Article II. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writs of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury ; of a proportionate representation of the people in the Legislature, and of judicial proceedings, according to the course of the common law ; all persons shall be bailable unless for capital offenses, where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great ; all fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted ; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land ; and should the public exigencies make it necessary for the common preservation to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same—and in the just preservation of rights and property it is understood and declared that no law ought ever to be made or have force in said territory that shall in any manner whatever interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide and without fraud previously formed. Article III. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education, shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians ; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent ; and in their property, rights and liberty they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars author- - 34 - ized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them. Article IV. The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this Confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made; and to all acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the Federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress. according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States ; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures of the district, or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The Legislatures of those districts, cr new States, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States ; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence and carrying places between the same shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and thcse of any other States that may be admitted into the Confederacy, without any tax, impost or duty therefor. Article V. There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor more than five States; and the boundaries of the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, towit : The western State in said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash Rivers, a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Port Vincents to the Ohio ; by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line, and by said territorial line. The eastern State shall be bounded by the last-mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania and the said territorial line: Provided, however, and it is further understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to be altered, that if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient they shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan ; and whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatsoever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government: Provided, the constitution and government so to be formed shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles, and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the confederacy, and such admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand. Article VI. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly - 35 - convicted : Provided, always, that any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the resolutions of the 23d of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this ordinance, be and the same are hereby repealed and declared null and void." The great concessions of the States that possessed the grant of land made possible the constitution, fostered the national spirit and was one of the most potent agencies in welding together the disjointed States. By virtue of it the first government of the territory was LANDING OF PIONEERS ON THE SITE OF CINCINNATI DECEMBER, 1788 inaugurated in October, 1787. General Arthur St. Clair was made the first Territorial Governor, Winthrow Sargeant the first Secretary, and Samuel Holden and James M. Varnum the first Judges. The necessary laws were framed by these gentlemen. Treaties—none too binding and often broken—were made with the various Indian tribes, and settlement in real earnest began in the land that is now the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wiscon sin. The first settlement of the territory followed immediately after the ordinance and preceded the actual establishment of the newly-authorized government. There was one military post within the limits of what is now Ohio—Port Hamar, built in 1785 by United States troops under the direction of Major John Doughty, and named in honor of his Colonel, Josiah Hamar, whose regiment occupied it for several years. This outpost was situated on the west bank of the Muskingum River at its conjunction with the Ohio. It was in no sense of the word a settlement, or even a permanent garrison, but the fact that it existed was doubtless the main reason why Secretary Sargeant, as one of the agents of the New England Ohio Company, selected a tract of land in this vicinity in arranging for a large purchase from the United States Government. The deed was issued on the 27th of October, 1787, and the first settlers arrived on the scene on the 7th of April the year following, and began to build houses on the east bank of the Muskingum, opposite the fort. This was - 36 - The Beginning of Marietta the first permanent settlement in Ohio. Just three years before that event several families from Pennsylvania had attempted to establish themselves on the site of what is now Portsmouth, but the Indians drove them back. The government of Ohio began at Marietta. On the 2d of July the city was christened in honor of Maria Antoinette, and the 4th of July celebrated in fitting style—orations from the new judges and general jubilation on the part of fifty pioneers as well as the garrison of Revolutionary veterans. The Governor arrived on the 9th of the month, organized his cabinet, and on the 25th published his first law, establishing the militia. The next day the first county was erected, including what is now more than the eastern half of the State, and appropriately named Washington. On the 2d of September the first court was held. All the settlers at Marietta were shareholders in the Ohio Company, which had been organized in Boston on the 1st of March, 1786, and which had secured a big tract of land. The purchase made by the representative of the Ohio Company comprised 1,500,000 acres, and the contract for its sale was duly signed on behalf of the Treasury of the United States on the 27th of October, 1787, by Samuel Osgcod and Arthur Lee, and on behalf of the Ohio Company by Mannasseh Cutler and Winthrow Sargeant. Payment was to be made "in specie, loan office certificates reduced to specie, or certificates of the liquidated debt of the United States." The price was one dollar an acre, liable to a reduction by "allowance for bad land and all incidental charges and circumstances whatever ; provided, that such allowance shall not exceed one-third of a dollar per acre." Rights for bounties, or what have since been known as soldiers' land warrants, might be used in payments, but not for more than one-seventh of the whole tract. The contract authorized the settlers to enter at once upon half of the tract. The company paid one-half the purchase money, the government agreeing to make a deed when the second half was paid, but this payment was never made. The failure of some of the shareholders to pay for their shares in full, the expense incurred by the company in waging war against the Indians on their lands, together with the losses sustained by the defalcation of their treasurer, Richard Platt, of New York, so embarrassed the company that it was impossible for them to pay the five hundred thousand dollars required for the final payment. Consequently the directors met at Philadelphia early in 1792 and asked Congress for relief. So well pleased were the public generally with the conduct of the company that the com- ON THE MUSKINGUM RIVER - 37 - mittee of the House of Representatives, to whom the company's memorial had been referred, recommended a release and deed for the whole tract ; but this proposition was modified by making a deed for that half of the tract the money received had paid for, a conveyance of 214,285 acres or one-seventh of the original purchase, to be paid for within six months by warrants issued for bounty rights, "military land warrants," and another conveyance for ioo,000 acres, which was to be distributed in tracts of one hundred acres as a bounty to each male person of not less than eighteen years of age who should become an actual settler. The act of Congress, as it passed the House, further provided that the company might receive the remainder of the original purchase by paying for the same within six years at the rate of 25 cents an acre, but the provision was stricken out by the Senate and that respecting the "Donation Lands," as they were subsequently called, was only saved from a like fate by the casting vote of the Vice President. Approved on the 21st of April, 1792, the three patents were issued on the loth of May to Rufus Putnam, Manasseh Cutler, Robert Oliver and Griffin Green, in trust for "The Ohio Company of Associates," and signed by George Washington, President, and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State. These three grants and one made to the State of Pennsylvania during the month of March in the same year; conveying to that State the northern half of the territory claimed by the State ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ERIE, NEAR CLEVELAND, OHIO of Connecticut, were the first land patents ever issued by the United States Government. The settlement of the company's lands was conducted with system. They were carefully surveyed and laid off and subdivided into townships of one hundred-acre divisions, and when, subsequently, these latter were under the terms of the patent donated to those settlers who entered the new territory under the auspices of the Ohio Company, the conditions of the patent were strictly complied with. The settler was to release to the company any land in his tract required for highways ; to build a substantial house within five years ; to plant not less than fifty apple trees and twenty peach trees within five years; to be constantly provided with a rifle or musket and ammunition for same, and to be subject to perform militia duty when called upon by proclamation. They were to settle in companies of not less than twenty men on as many subdivisions of one hundred acres, so as to be able to defend themselves against hostile savages, and each settlement was to have - 38 - a block-house, within which, in case of general attack, they all could assemble in safety. tinder the liberal policy of the Ohio Company many emigrants were induced to settle near and in Marietta. The settlements on the Muskingum River proving- most attractive to those who ventured into the new territory. Besides that at Marietta, other settlements on the of the company increased in importance, notably those in Waterford, Belpre and Big Bottom. The largest accession at one time to the population occurred in 1790. A number of persons, moved by the example of the Ohio Company, organized them into What they called the Scioto Company for the purpose of securing a part of the Marietta purchase. The original promoters met with little success, until they became allied With an English adventurer, who pointed out that the project would at that time be more favorably received in France. The Bastille had fallen, the French Revolution had begun and Frenchmen were coming to America every day. Accordingly, a most elaborate and generally untruthful prospectus was printed and circulated in Paris, and, as the new promoter had predicted, purchasers were frequent. Many paid money in good faith and received their deeds; others gave sufficient security, and early in 1790 more than four hundred left Havre de Grace for their new homes. In the meantime, however, a juggling of titles had begun, and when the foreigners arrived at Marietta they were informed that their deeds were worthless. The unfortunate emigrants who had expended their money buying land for which they could get no lawful title were, after also paying the expenses of their   CINCINNATI IN 1802. - FROM OLD SKETCH emigration to where their lands should have been, in destitute circumstances. The Scioto Company, to secure so advantageous a lot of settlers, had agreed to build houses for and furnish a year's provisions to them, and otherwise provide for them until they could clear fields and grow crops for their own support ; but that company being, as it proved, totally unable to fulfill its contract, the emigrants besought the Ohio Company to assign them land, and, this being done, they soon erected a village the bank of the Ohio River in the most southern part of the company's purchase and named it Gallipolis. Most of these emigrants were artisans and trades people from the capital of France, wholly unaccustomed to farm work, consequently life in the wilderness was more pleasing in imagination to them than in reality, and during the years of Indian wars upon the settlers they suffered much from privation. They were not molested by the Indians upon their making themselves known as - 39 - people from France, but were treated and accepted as friends. Some years later Congress, knowing how these French settlers had been defrauded, donated them a tract of 24,000 acres of land in what is now the southeastern part of Scioto County, fronting on the Ohio River, to which a number of the French emigrants removed, while others remained where they had first settled in what subsequently became Gallia County. Scme of them returned to their native land, and others sold or rented their allotment and removed to other settlements. The "Scioto Company" failed utterly because, it has been alleged, the English promoter embezzled the funds from the sales in France, and this failure brought on the first disturbance in financial circles in New York, for in that city much speculation was rife in reference to this project of the above-named company. As far as history notes, this was the first "slump on Wall street." The Birth of Cincinnati Between 1783 and 1785 the lands lying between the two Miami Rivers were, by various ineffective treaties, ceded to the whites by the Indians. Among others whose attention was attracted to this territory was Benjamin Stites, cf Redstone, now Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He visited New York to purchase for himself and others interested a tract of these lands, and there proposed to John Cleves Symmes, a member of Congress from New Jersey, to join him. Mr. Symmes decided to visit the country before perfecting the arrangement, and consequently made a journey to the territory, and upon his return entered with Mr. Stites in the purchase of what was supposed to be about one million acres of land lying between the Great and Little Miami Rivers, but which was proven to contain, upon survey, some six hundred thousand acres. Of this purchase ten thousand acres below the mouth of the Little Miami River was sold by Symmes to Stites, and in. January, 1788, the whole of Section 18, in the fourth township, first range, and a fraction of Section 17, lying between it and the river, were sold to Matthias Denman, of New Jersey. These, with a fraction of Section 12, in the same range and township, composed the site of Cincinnati, - 40 - originally laid out. In the summer of 1788, Denman and his associates entered into an arrangement to lay out the town and establish a ferry opposite the mouth of the Licking River. As an inducement to settlers, the proprietors agreed to give an inlot, six rods by twelve--nearly half an acre—and an outlot of an entire square of four acres to each of the first settlers on condition that they would make certain improvements to promote the growth of the settlement. In September, 1788, John Cleves Symmes, Robert Patterson and John Filson—the acquaintance of the two latter having been made and brought into the arrangement at Maysville, Kentucky, then called Limestcne—arrived at the site of their intended settlement. There they separated, Symmes, Patterson and Filson, with others of the party, going to examine the country back from the river, while Denman, with. Israel Ludlow, who was a surveyor, and three others, explored the ncrth bank of the Ohio between the two Miami Rivers, and ascended the Great Miami about ten miles. After three days thus spent the two parties again met at the site of the future metropolis of Ohio, with Filson missing. He was never heard of afterwards, and it was believed that he, separating a short distance from the others, had been killed by Indians who were observed within sight. The Denman party returned to Maysville, and in October a new agreement was made, and in which contract Ludlow took Filson's place. Ludlow was empowered to act for the others in laying out the settlement. On the 26th of December, 1788, Patterson and Ludlow, with a small party, arrived at the site of the projected settlement. In the course of the winter a town was surveyed and laid out by Israel Ludlow, and the streets of the future city were marked on the trees of the primeval forest. The name first given to the place was Losantiville, intended to signify "a town opposite the mouth of the Licking," but this name was not long after, by Governor St. Clair, changed to Cincinnati, in honor of the Order of Cincinnatus. The site selected was extremely 'beautiful. Seen in the summer it presented a vast amphitheatre, enclosed on all sides by hills, wooded to their summits. The Ohio, "La Belle Riviere" of the French, came into the valley from the Northeast, and, sweeping gracefully around the settlement, departed to the Southwest. From the South the Licking brought its moderate tribute and a little to the west Millcreek - 41 - flowed silently from the inland country to its confluence into the Ohio. The luxuriance of the vegetation and the majestic size of the forest trees covered with thickest foliage, with which the wild grape vines were frequently intermingled, astonished and delighted the eye of the emigrants. Even in winter, when the settlement was made, the scene, though divested of its summer glories, was far from being unattractive or uninteresting. The climate, it is true, was inclement; but that very inclemency was a protection against savage incursions. Game of every description abounded in the woods, and the waters teemed with fish. The emigrants, therefore, suffered little of the hardships usually encountered by the first pioneers in a new country. In November, preceding the arrival of Patterson at Cincinnati, Major Stites, with a little party of twenty-six persons, had erected a few blockhouses and commenced a settlement at the mouth of the Little Miami, where Columbia, now a part of Cincinnati, is situated. From the red men this modest settlement received no injury, but, by reason of a flood of the Ohio River, every house in the little settlement, save one, was deluged and the unfortunate inhabitants had to escape from the roof of their block-house in a boat. This flood, which occurred in January, 1789, showed the danger which the other villages on the Ohio River were exposed to and led to the settlement of Losantiville, which was situated on a higher elevation. In February, 1789, Judge Symmes, with a party of citizens and soldiers, descended the Ohio to the mouth of the Great Miami, where he proposed to found a city, which he fondly imagined would become the great metropolis of the West. But the site of his future city was inundated by the river, and he was compelled to abandon his cherished project. It is true that he afterwards laid out the town, but it did not occupy the site originally selected, and never attained any considerable importance. On the 1st of June, 1789, Major Doughty arrived in Cincinnati with one hundred and forty soldiers. A lot containing fifty acres, sloping from the upper bank to the river, was selected, on which Fort Washington was erected. A few months afterwards General Hamar arrived with three hundred men and took command of the fort. Governor St. Clair arrived on the 2d of January, 1790. The General, a Revolutionary veteran, was a member of the famous Order of Cincinnatus, and it was in deference to his expressed wish that the present name of the city was adopted. With the advent of St. Clair the seat of government of the territory came to Cincinnati, for there was no permanent capital and laws were made and promulgated from any place at which the Governor and Judges happened to be or chose to reside. On the same date Hamilton County was erected—the second county in the Northwest Territory—and named in honor of the prominent statesman, Alexander Hamilton. Indian aggressions were now frequent. The native tribes resented the settlement of the whites upon their soil, although they came under the sanction of treaties, as an intrusion. The bitter hostility which existed between them and the people of Kentucky caused them to look upon all white men as enemies, and they were strongly stimulated to deeds of violence by the influence of garrisons of the military posts retained by the British in open disregard of the treaty of 1783, and of renegade traders everywhere established among them. It does not appear that at this time the Indians had experienced any injuries from the hands of the emigrants. The settlers were in general pacific, but fearless, men. Disposed to deal justly and in good faith with their savage neighbors, they were averse to bloodshed, but in the hour of danger exhibited daring courage and steady resolution. They were not hunters who cared little whether their game was red men or wild beasts. They were men who preferred to be peaceful citizens, but could be brave fighters. To avert from the new settlements the angers which threatened them, the government resolved at first to negotiate with .the red men, but that method proving unavailing, General Hamar was - 42 - instructed to attack their towns. In pursuance with his instructions, he marched from Cincinnati in September, 1790, with 1,300 men, of whom less than one-fourth were regulars. When near the Indian villages on the Miami an advanced detachment of two hundred and ten men, consisting chiefly of militia, fell into ambush and were defeated with severe loss. Notwithstanding this misfortune, the villages on the Miami were assaulted and destroyed by fire. The standing corn and other means of subsistence were entirely destroyed. Accomplishing this service, the army commenced its march homeward. They had not proceeded far when General Hamar received intelligence that the Indians had returned to their ruined towns. He immediately detached about one-third of his remaining force, under command of Colonel Hardin, with orders to bring the Indians to an engagement. Early the next morning this detachment reached the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Mary Rivers, both tributaries of the Miami, where they were attacked by a large body of savages. A severe engagement ensued. The savages fought with all the fury of Indian vengeance, and the militia and the regulars alike behaved with the greatest gallantry. More than one hundred of the militia and except nine all the regulars perished in this action, and the rest were driven back to the main body. Dispirited by this severe reverse, Hamar attempted nothing further against the enemy, but continued his march to Cincinnati. This expedition failed to accomplish its abject. The audacity of the savage aggression was not at all restrained and the property of the settlers was in constant peril of destruction. Many settlers were killed and others were carried into captivity to be adopted, sold or tortured at the pleasure of their captors. The settlements which were part of the Ohio Company shared heavily in these calamities, though in a less degree than those between the two Miamis. The latter territory acquired in Kentucky the significant name of the "Miami slaughterhouse." This state of affairs inspired Washington with fresh anxiety for the protection of the settlers and the effective prosecution of the Indian war. A new army, in every respect superior to the former, was assembled at Cincinnati under the command of Governor St. Clair. The regular force consisted of three regiments of Infantry, two companies of Artillery and one of Cavalry. The militia numbered about six hundred men. With this army St. Clair commenced active operations. On the 17th day of September, 1791, the army left Fort Washington and forced a road through the wilderness to where Hamilton now stands. There a fort was erected and called Fort Hamilton. It was on the east bank of the Great Miami River. Having completed and garrisoned the fort, St. Clair marched some twenty miles northward and erected a fort, to which was given his name. A third fort, Fort Jefferson, was erected by him about six miles south of the present site of Greenville, in Darke County. After leaving a garrison at this post, on the 24th day of October, 1791, St. Clair's force was reduced to less than two thousand men, with whom he marched in the direction of the Indian villages on the Maumee. Misfortune seemed to mark the expedition almost from its commencement. The march was slow and tedious over a wet country, covered with a dense forest, which had to be cleared for his baggage wagons and artillery trains. Shortly after FORT WASHINGTON MONUMENT CINCINNATI, O. - 45 - having left Fort Jefferson, a considerable party of the militia mutinied and deserted in a body. To bring back those deserters and protect the provisions which were behind the army moving forward slowly, St. Clair dispatched Major Hamtrauck, with a sufficient force, while with the remainder of his army, now reduced to little more than one thousand effective men, he continued his march in the direction of the Indian towns. Late in the evening of the 3d day of November, after a fatiguous march, the army encamped on the banks of one of the branches of the Wabash. The enemy being reported in the neigh- CINCINNATI IN 1905 borhood in considerable force, St. Clair arranged with Major Ferguson, to commence next morning a construction of defenses for the protection of the baggage, intending to await the return of the forces of Major Hamtrauck, and the arrival of the supplies before advancing to the attack. The enemy, however, anticipated his plans. Taking advantage of the weakness of his army, by reason of the desertion of the militia and the absence 'of Hamtrauck's regiment, early in the morning of the following day they attacked the outposts, and driving the militia, by which they were supported, across the river, pursued them closely , into camp. The fugitives, encountering Major Butler's battalion, threw it also into disorder, and although the advance of the Indians was temporarily checked by a well-directed fire from the front line, they soon rallied, and, spreading themselves in great force along the right and left wings, poured from their places of concealment a perfect storm of bullets on the bewildered troops, shooting down the artillery men at their guns, and effectually prevent- - 46 - being discharged. Finding his men falling on all sides, while no impression was made on the concealed foe, St. Clair ordered Lieutenant Colonel Drake, with a part of the second line to advance and turn the left flank of the enemy with the bayonet. By this movement a temporary relief was obtained; relief was obtained; but owing to the lack of riflemen necessary to secure possession of the ground from which the Indians were driven, the latter were enabled to rally and drive back the troops. Several desperate charges similar in their character were attempted, but they were attended by a like result, and in all of them the troops suffered severely. Major Bulter fell, gallantly fighting at the head of the Second Regiment, every officer of which was killed but three, one of the latter being shot through the body. The artillery was either captured or rendered useless, while of the rank and file more than one-half had already fallen. Hemmed in on all sides, the weight of the Indian fire became gradually too oppressive to be borne, and the total destruction of the survivors seemed inevitable; the road, the only avenue of escape, being in possession of the enemy. In this emergency, St. Clair resolved on the desperate expedient of charging the right flank of the Indians in order to draw them from the occupation of the road and thereby open a way for retreat of the troops. This maneuvre was successfully accomplished, and the road being clear a few militia in the field were the first to rush along it, closely followed by the surviving regulars, who, abandoning their arms and accouterments, never paused in their headlong flight until they reached Ft. Jefferson, 29 miles distant from the field of battle. The defeat of General St. Clair subjected him to an infinite amount of odium and abuse, but there appeared to have been no want of skill cr courage on his part, either OLD PIONEER WARE HOUSE NORTHERN OHIO before or during the engagement. After careful consideration of all the circumstances which led to this terrible defeat a military tribunal pronounced him free from all blame. Washington never once doubting the honor of St. Clair, remained his firm and steadfast friend. the action St. Clair was present in the thickest of the fight. Although so severely with the gout that he was unable to mount and dismount from his horse without e, he and Major Butler rode up and down the lines encouraging the men and giving orders as they considered necessary. While thus engaged, St. Clair had four horses from under him in succession, and his clothing was repeatedly perforated by the bullets of the enemy. After his horses were killed, despite his painful condition, he exerted himself on foot with a degree of alertness and energy surprising to all who witnessed it. When the retreat became indispensable he headed the column which broke the ranks of the enemy and opened the way for the Bight of the army along the road. He was the last to leave the field of battle, and after remaining on foot until nearly exhausted, he was mounted on a pack horse, which was impossible to be goaded out of a walk. This prevented him from pressing forward and rallying the fugitives, and the panic was so great that he could not have his orders attended to by his officers. Major Hamtrauck's regiment FIRST HOUSE BUILT IN DAYTON, O. - 47 - was met at Fort Jefferson by the fugitives. It was the opinion of St. Clair that had this increase of force been on the field of battle it would have been included in the defeat. On the whole, therefore, he regarded its absence as a fortunate occurrence, inasmuch as a small effective army was still left to protect the frontier. There was no supply of provisions at Fort Jefferson, and the convoy had not made its appearance. General St. Clair, therefore, called a council of the surviving officers of the army to decide upon the best course to be pursued. It was resolved to continue the retreat, and meet the convoy which was known to be on the road, as the destitute and half-famished condition of the troops rendered them liable to be attacked at any moment with terrible results. The resolution was carried into effect the same evening, and the march of the army continued through the night. On the following day a quantity of flour and a drove of cattle were met, which having been disposed of as the necessities of the troops required, the march was continued to Fort Washington. Soon after the defeat of St. Clair, Wilkinson, who had succeeded him in the command of Fort Washington, organized an expedition to survey the battle field. The condition of the dead afforded a mournful spectacle of the cruelty and implacable hatred of the Indians. The bodies were much abused, stripped of everything valuable, while those  GLACIAL GROOVES, JOHNSON ISLAND LAKE ERIE who were so unfortunate as to have been taken alive appeared to have been subjected to the greatest possible amount of torture, having their limbs torn off, and stakes as thick as a man's arm driven through their body. Pits were dug in different parts of the field, and all the slain that were exposed to view or could be found, the snow being very deep at the time of search, were interred. In December, 1793, a detachment was sent forward by General Wayne to build a fort at the site of St. Clair's defeat. It arrived there on Christmas Day. The ground, now free from snow, was covered with the remains of the dead. The next day pits were opened and the bodies were reverently buried. Six hundred skulls they found upon the field. After this melancholy duty had been performed a fortification was built which was called Fort Recovery. The Indian war now assumed a serious aspect, and the reputation of the Nation required retribution. The whole Western frontier was exposed to fresh inroads of the savages, now flushed with so dreadful a victory. General Washington wished to have Congress give him authority to raise three additional regiments of foot, and a squadron of horse, for three years, unless peace should be made with the Indians. A bill containing these provisions was introduced into the House of Representatives, but it met with great opposition there. Those who supported the measure urged the necessity of self-defense and self-preservation ; they presented to Congress a picture of the bleeding frontier and they proved that not less than fifteen hundred Kentuckians, men, women and children, who were peaceably pursuing their avocations, had been either slain or carried into captivity by the enemy within the last seven years. It was not doubted that the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia had suffered quite as much within the same period of time. The bill was finally carried. St Clair resigned his military command, and General Anthony Wayne was appointed Comman- - 48 - der-in-chief. This was in the spring of 1793, but it was the wish of Washington, that, before his army was organized, every effort should be made by peaceful negotiations with the Indians to bring the war to an honorable termination. No less than five independent embassies, offering peace, were sent to the hostile tribes. Knox, the Secretary of War, himself wrote to Brant, the great Mohawk Chieftain, inviting him to a personal conference, and on the 29th June the latter visited Philadelphia, where he was treated with marked respect. Great pains were taken to make him understand the condition cf affairs and the wishes of the Government in the hope that he would become a powerful auxiliary in behalf of peace. But the victories gamed by the Indians had so elated them that they rejected all proposals for a pacific adjustment of difficulties. Freeman, who left Fort Washington the 7th of April, 1793; Trueman, who left the same place on the 22d day of May for the Maumee, and Colonel Hardin, who started on the same day for Sandusky, were all murdered by the Indians, and nothing remained but to settle the difficulties by force of arms. While these negotiations with the Indians were earnestly prosecuted by the Government, every effort was made by General Wayne to prepare his soldiers for the field, but as all hostile TOLEDO IN 1800 movements north of the Ohio having been forbidden by Washington until the Northern Commission sent out by him was heard from and all attempts to reach a peaceful settlement having been exhausted, it was not until the l0th day of August, 1793, that matters were brought to a crisis. On that day the chiefs assembled in grand council and demanded that the Ohio River should henceforth remain forever the boundary between their hunting grounds and the American settlements. The commissioners failing impress them with the utter impossibility of complying with any such restrictive stipulations, the Conference was abruptly terminated and both parties prepared to renew the war. At this period Wayne was encamped at Cincinnati, where he was contending with the prejudices of the Kentucky - 49 -