50 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY formly supposed it to be an east and west line drawn from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan." This line established the northwest corner of Ohio at a point on the Indiana line, five miles, twenty-four chains, and sixty-four links north of where the due east and west line located the same. Or, in other words, the difference in the lines at this place was the distance between the northwest corner and southwest corner of Northwest township in Williams county, Ohio. Willard V. Way, writing in 1869, says : "The territory in dispute extends the whole length of the north line of the state of Ohio, and is about five miles in width at the west end and about eight miles in width at the east end. The disputed territory is chiefly valuable for its rich and productive farming lands, and for the possession of the harbor on the Maumee river, where now stands the flourishing city of Toledo." Gen. Lewis Cass was at that time (1817) governor of the Territory of Michigan, and, after investigating the boundary question, claimed the nne TO De me one established by me Ordinance of 1787, and accordingly claimed the disputed territory. The running of the second or Harris line brought out a protest from him to Edward Tiffin, then surveyor-general. Governor Cass wrote (Detroit, Nov. I, 1817) : "Report says that the line which has been recently run purporting to be the line between the state of Ohio and this territory, was not run a due east course from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, but a course somewhat to the north of this, although how much I am unable to ascertain. The act of Congress organizing this territory makes its southern boundary a due east line from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and this act is in strict conformity with the fifth of the articles of compact, in the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory these are declared to be unalterable except by mutual consent." A lengthy correspondence followed between Governor Cass and the surveyor-general, and the matter was taken up by the Ohio legislature in January, 1818, strong resolutions being passed, affirming the Harris line as the true one and holding that Congress so decided in approving the organization of the state. On Jan. 3, 1818, the governor and judges of the Territory of Michigan addressed to the Congress of the United States a formal and solemn memorial undoubtedly drawn up by Governor Cass, in which they recite the entire history of the boundary dispute to that date. The memorial is ably and clearly drawn, and is signed by Lewis Cass, governor, A. B. Woodward. John Griffin, and J. Witherell, judges. After reciting the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787, the enabling act of April 3o, 1802. the seventh article of the constitution of Ohio, containing the alternative boundary to which Congress had never given its assent, and the act of Jan. I1, 1805, in which the due east and west line through the southern extreme of Lake Michigan was expressly made the southern boundary of the Territory of Michigan, thus definitely excluding it from the state of Ohio, the memorial then proceeds : "Your memorialists beg leave to state that during the past summer a line was run, under the direction of the surveyor-general, intended to be the boundary between this territory and the state of Ohio. THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 51 This line instead of being on an east and west line from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, agreeably to the acts of Congress before mentioned, was run on a course north 87 degrees 42 minutes east, and strikes Lake Erie at the northern cape of Miami bay, taking from the southern boundary of this territory, seven miles and forty-nine chains and adding it to the State of Ohio. The legislative power of this territory is by law vested in your memorialists, and they conceive they would fail to discharge the duties of their station were they not to submit this subject to the consideration of the national legislature." In conclusion the memorialists pray : "The undersigned respectfully submit the subject of this memorial to the consideration of Congress, and pray that the boundary line between this territory and the State of Ohio may be run and established agreeably to the provisions of the Ordinance of Congress of 1787, and of the several acts of Congress heretofore passed upon the subject." This memorial produced the desired effect, and on June 24, 1818, William H. Crawford, secretary of the treasury, directed the commissioners of the land office "to have the northern boundary of Ohio run and marked in conformity with the act of May 20, 1812," that is, on the due east and west line. John A. Fulton was employed to make the survey, and the result of course agreed exactly with the first line run by Mr. Harris. It became known from that time as the "Fulton line"—said line being the present boundary between the northern and middle tiers of townships in Williams county, Ohio, extending thence east through Fulton, and leaving almost the entire city of Toledo in the present State of Michigan. But even the Fulton survey proved very unsatisfactory and inadequate. He did not establish the latitude of the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, nor did he determine the latitude where the east line intersected the Maumee river, nor where it reached Lake Erie. These were all left unsettled questions. As a starting point he accepted the intersection of Harris' line east from Lake Michigan with the north and south line between Ohio and Indiana. His plat showed a variation in latitude on different portions of the line. However, the United States surveys for subdividing the lands purchased from the Indians into townships and sections were completed a few years thereafter, and as they were closed in Ohio and later in Michigan upon the Fulton line, it seemed that the government had decided favorably to that boundary. Ohio, however, claimed to the Harris line and proceeded, wherever the population was sufficient, to organize townships, etc., accordingly. Wordy discussions followed and civil officers were appointed by each claimant. Nothing serious occurred for several years, but, "a disputed jurisdiction," as Lewis Cass wrote to Edward Tiffin, "is one of the greatest evils that can happen to a country." Claims which involve vast sums of money fail to provoke strifes as acrimonious as those relating to contested land boundaries. The anxiety of the inhabitants of the infant settlements, occupying the disputed tract, can be easily imagined, and almost any decision would have been welcomed by them if it ended the strife and established an undisputed jurisdiction. Duplicate copies of both surveys were forwarded to the secretary 52 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY of the treasury on March 7, 1820, and on the 8th transmitted by the President to Congress. Here the matter rested until March 18, 1828, when the committee on territories of the house of representatives made a report recommending that the correct latitude of the several points be accurately ascertained. During John Quincy Adams' administration arose the question of internal improvements all over the country, and the project of uniting the waters of Lake Erie and the Wabash river by a canal was considered. As is well known, Gen. Andrew Jackson, who succeeded Adams as president, did not favor internal improvements by the aid of the general government, but the state of Indiana obtained an appropriation by Congress of each alternate section of land, five miles wide, on each side of the proposed canal, and extending its entire length, including the portion through Ohio. Indiana conveyed to Ohio the portion within the latter state upon the conditions of the original grant. Thus Ohio became interested, and in March, 1834, the legislature authorized Governor Lucas to appoint three commissioners to locate the canal through the state. During the same year a survey of the proposed canal was made and it was found necessary to locate the eastern terminus at a point on the Maumee river, north of the Fulton line, in order to reach navigable water. This reopened the mooted boundary question and brought the partisans of the rival claimants to a frenzied state of excitement. On Dec. 26, 1834, the territorial council of Michigan had passed an act providing for the appointment of three commissioners to negotiate and settle all disputes in regard to the southern boundary of the territory. To this conciliatory movement Gov. Robert Lucas, of Ohio, responded by a special message to the legislature of that state, under date of Feb. 6, 1835, in which he said : "I have received from the acting governor of the Territory of Michigan a communication enclosing a copy of an act passed by the legislative council of the territory, providing for the appointment of commissioners to adjust the boundary," etc. "In the present case we cannot admit that the legislative council of the Territory of Michigan had any right to authorize a negotiation on the subject of a boundary, or that any arrangement entered into with commissioners appointed under their authority would be binding even on Michigan herself, after she might become an independent state." He then recommends "the passage of a declaratory act, declaring that all counties bordering on the northern boundary of the State of Ohio shall extend to and be bounded on the north by the line running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northern cape of Maumee bay * * * and that the county and township officers within these counties and townships be directed to exercise jurisdiction within their respective counties and townships thus extended." The Michigan Territorial Council, on Feb. 12, 1835, made a response to this action of the governor and legislature of Ohio by the passage of "An act to prevent the exercise of a foreign jurisdiction within the limits of the Territory of Michigan," punishing by heavy fines and imprisonment any person who should "exercise or attempt THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 53 to exercise any official functions" within the limits of the territory or any county thereof "by virtue of any commission or authority not derived from this territory," or from the United States, and punishing in like manner any person residing within the limits of the territory who should accept any office from any authority other than the Territory of Michigan or of the United States. The legislature of Ohio promptly passed the act as recommended by Governor Lucas, thus forcibly extending jurisdiction over the disputed strip. On March 1, 1835, Andrew Palmer wrote to Governor Lucas, advising him of a meeting at Tremainsville "of the citizens of that portion of the State of Ohio lying north of an east and west line drawn through the southern extreme or bend of Lake Michigan, and which had heretofore been under the temporary jurisdiction of the Territorial government of Michigan." The purpose of the meeting was to spread the news among the people of the extension of Ohio jurisdiction over the disputed territory. A delegation from Michigan, headed by General Brown and General Humphrey, was present, as Palmer said, "ostensibly to confer and consult with our citizens, but whose real object was to overawe and divide the meeting." Consequently, a resolution was adopted declaring it "indecorous, improper, and out of order" for any person not interested as a resident of Ohio to take part in the deliberations of the meeting. Brown carried an order from Mason, and despite the resolution made repeated efforts to have it read, but failed to gain a hearing. It was afterward learned that the order contained instructions to Brown to ascertain what public officers were working in the interests of Ohio, for the purpose of having them removed, and if he failed to divide the meeting to raise a force and arrest the leaders, under the act of Feb. 12. After the meeting General Brown read his order to the people, declared the laws of Michigan should be enforced, and that before Ohio should extend her jurisdiction over the strip in controversy "she will have to march over the dead bodies of that portion of her citizens who have heretofore been under the jurisdiction of Michigan." The fight was now on in earnest. The commissioners of Williams county, Ohio, met on March 3o, 1835, and in accordance with the legislative enactment extended the county jurisdiction to the Harris line, notifying all citizens of such extension. Wood and Henry counties likewise extended. A further provision of the act of the legislature (passed Feb. 23, 1835) provided for the appointment of three commissioners to run and re-mark the Harris line, and the first of April was named as the time to commence the survey. Governor Mason, of Michigan, keenly watching the Buckeye movements, ordered Gen. Joseph W. Brown, of Tecumseh, who commanded a division of the territorial militia, to be prepared to meet the impending crisis and to "use every exertion to obtain the earliest information of the military movements of our adversary." On March 31, Governor Lucas, accompanied by his staff and the boundary commissioners, arrived at Perrysburg on their way to run and re-mark the Harris line in compliance with the act "in such case made and provided." Gen. John Bell, in command of the Seventeenth division of the Ohio militia, arrived 54 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY about the same time with his staff, and mustered into service a volunteer force of about b00 men, fully armed and equipped. The force went into camp at old Fort Miami and awaited the orders of the chief executive. Governor Mason, with General Brown, arrived at Toledo with a force under the immediate command of the latter, variously estimated at from B00 to 1,200 men, and went into camp, ready to resist any advance of the Ohio authorities upon the disputed territory to run the boundary line or any other movement inconsistent with Michigan's claim of jurisdiction over it. As a distinguished lawyer has put it, "the two governors, having made up an issue by legislative enactments, found themselves confronted by a military force that had been called out to enforce their respective legislative pleadings. Governor Mason, representing the tenant in possession, was content to rest at his ease. Governor Lucas, representing the plaintiff, had to open the trial." Tod B. Galloway tells an amusing incident of the "Boundary War." Frank Work and John G. Deshler, two young men of Columbus, volunteered as aids to Governor Lucas. While in camp at Fort Miami they set out one day, well supplied with whisky, on a foraging expedition, and when returning to camp with a goodly supply of chickens, etc., were captured by a small detachment of Michiganders. Deciding that diplomacy was the better part of valor, Work and Deshler proposed that they all join in a feast off the foraged goods and agreed to furnish the liquid refreshments. The Michigan men acquiesced, and while Work and Deshler freely supplied the enemy with whisky, they drank but little themselves. Their diplomacy was soon rewarded, for the liberal potations, the hearty meal, and the warm campfire soon lulled the captors to sleep, and the two Columbus youths were able to make their escape. The whole country in the meantime became wild with excitement, and Governor Lucas had determined to order General Bell with his force to Toledo as soon as he could make the necessary preparations, and risk the consequences. No doubt such action on his part would have resulted in a serious military engagement and possibly menaced the peace of the entire country; but before he had got his preparations made, two eminent citizens—Hon. Richard Rush of Philadelphia, and Col. Benjamin C. Howard of Baltimore—arrived from Washington as commissioners from the President of the United States, to use their personal influence to stop all warlike demonstrations. Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, of Ohio, accompanied the commissioners as a voluntary peacemaker. The commissioners and Mr. Whittlesey had several conferences with both governors, and finally, on April 7, submitted the following propositions for their assent : "1. That the Harris line should be run and re-marked pursuant to the act of the last session of the Legislature of Ohio, without interruption. "2. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio having taken place throughout the disputed territory, that the people residing upon it should be left to their own government, obeying the one jurisdiction or the other, as they may prefer, without molestation from the authori- THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 55 ties of Ohio or Michigan until the close of the next session of Congress." Governor Lucas, on the urgent request of the commissioners and Mr. Whittlesey, agreed, reluctantly, to accept the proposition as a peaceable settlement until after "the close of the next session .of Congress." Governor Mason, on the other hand, after conference with his advisors, promptly rejected the compromise, but referred it to the territorial council, which he called in special session, Aug. 17, 1835. A committee of the council, of which James Duane Doty was chairman, reported on Aug. 19, sustaining the governor. In its report the committee said : "We are not, therefore, disposed to regard these propositions as emanating from the President, but rather as the suggestions of two eminent individuals, which were promptly and properly rejected by the executive of Michigan. . . . Your committee does not deem it advisable to investigate the merits of this arrangement, as they are of the opinion that it is entirely incompetent for this council to enter into any arrangement to permit the exercise of a foreign jurisdiction within the limits of Michigan established by the ordinance and acts of Congress." On the next day, Aug. 20, 1835, the report of the committee was unanimously adopted. Governor Lucas, however, assented to the agreement as proposed by the commissioners, professing to regard the governor of a territory as a subaltern, subject to the control of the President. He looked upon the agreement as one made with the President, through Messrs. Rush and Howard, as that official's representatives, and hence disbanded the military force he had collected. Governor Mason partially did likewise, but still continued to make preparations for any emergency that might arise, and stationed a military force at Adrian under the command of General Brown to keep a close watch upon events. In 1832 new observations of latitude were made, under an act of Congress previously mentioned, by Captain Talcott, assisted by Lieut. Robert E. Lee, then a recent graduate from West Point, but afterward the famous military chieftain of the Confederate forces, and the idol of all loyal Southerners. These observations showed that the originally proposed line, if extended due east from the southern point of Lake Michigan. would not touch the international boundary in the middle of Lake Erie, but would pass several miles south of it, and coming to land again would throw into the Territory of Michigan a considerable part of Northeastern Ohio. This absurdity was so apparent that it was confidently expected by the Ohio partisans that the alternative line, which was provided for in their state constitution, would be confirmed—especially so, when the fact was considered that Congress, as they claimed, by admitting Ohio to statehood, had constructively approved it. On March 7, 1835, President Jackson referred the papers relating to the boundary question to the attorney-general of the United States, then B. F. Butler, a distinguished lawyer of New York ; and on March 21 he rendered his opinion that the assent of Congress had not been given to "the actual and present extension of the northern boundary," and "thirdly, that until this last mentioned assent shall have been given by Congress, the tract in dispute must be considered as form- 56 - MEMOIRS OP LUCAS COUNTY ing, legally, a part of the territory of Michigan." There is little doubt of the correctness of his view of the legal phase of the question, and with that tenacity which is a characteristic of lawyers he adhered to the letter of the law. He softened a little, however, by saying that no harm could come from the re-survey of the Harris line, as proposed by the Ohio authorities. Accordingly, notwithstanding the determined attitude of Governor Mason, Governor Lucas directed the commissioners to proceed to run the Harris line, commencing at the western end. Engineer S. Dodge, who was engaged in the construction of the Ohio canal, was employed as surveyor and together with the commissioners and a considerable party, came up the Maumee river to Defiance and then started across the country to the northwest corner of the State to commence the survey. They arrived at the Fulton line on April 19, but as the "border" was infested with Michigan scouts the party decided not to advance without further advice from Governor Lucas. The governor instructed them to run the line at all hazards, and they proceeded to what is now the extreme corner of Northwest township, Williams county, Ohio, where they found the corner of the State as described in the field notes of Surveyor Harris. General Brown kept a line of scouts in the woods along the line to report the progress of the surveying party. The commissioners and party proceeded eastwardly along the line, finding it with little or no difficulty and re-marking it as directed, until they reached a point near the present village of Lyons, in Fulton county, on April 25. In the meantime the under-sheriff of Lenawee county, Michigan, armed with a warrant from a justice of the peace, and accompanied by a posse comitatus, had started out for the purpose of arresting them. At the point mentioned the surveying party left the line and retired about a mile to the south, where they expected to spend the following day, Sunday. The Michigan force started on Sunday morning. The infantry, about one-half of the total number, was carried in wagons about ten miles out from Tecumseh, and from that point had to march about ten miles. The force arrived a little after noon, the mounted men considerably in advance. The surveying party was occupying two cabins. As soon as the mounted men arrived, General Brown, who accompanied the expedition, assumed command and ordered the surveyors to surrender, which they promptly refused to do. But when the infantry arrived, the occupants of one of the cabins, including the commissioners, became alarmed and broke for the woods, hastened by a volley of musketry. They dashed into Maumee nearly disrobed by the briars and thorns that beset their path through-the wilderness. The occupants of the other cabin, including the engineer corps, were arrested by the officers and taken in triumph to the Lenawee county jail at Tecumseh. The civil authorities concluded to hold J. E. Fletcher, the chief of the engineer corps, in nominal imprisonment to test by law the validity of the arrest. The others were permitted to return to their homes in Ohio. Mr. Fletcher was allowed to be his own jailor. When he desired exercise he would carefully lock the door, and putting the key in his pocket would stroll through the village or drive out with THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 57 the village belles. The following report of the affair was made by the commissioners to Governor Lucas. "Sir: In the discharge of the duties which devolve upon us as commissioners appointed by Your Excellency for re-marking the northern boundary line of this State, which is known and distinguished as Harris' line, we met at Perrysburg on Wednesday, April 1, last, and after completing the necessary arrangements, proceeded to the northwest corner of the State, and there succeeded in finding the corner as described in the field notes of Surveyor Harris, a copy of which we had procured from the surveyor-general's office. Thence your commissioners proceeded eastwardly along said line, which they found with little difficulty, and re-marked the same as directed by law in a plain and visible manner for a distance of thirty-eight miles and a half, being more than half the length of the whole line. "During our progress we had been constantly threatened by the authorities of Michigan, and spies from the Territory, for the purpose of watching our movements and ascertaining our actual strength, were almost daily among us. "On Saturday evening, the 25th ult., after having performed a laborious day's service, your commissioners, together with their party, retired to the distance of about one mile south of the line, in Henry county, within the State of Ohio, where we thought to have rested quietly and peacefully enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath—and especially not being engaged on the line, we thought ourselves secure for the day. But contrary to our expectations, at about 12 o'clock in the day an armed force of about fifty or sixty men hove in sight, within musket-shot of us, all mounted upon horses, well armed with muskets and under command of General Brown, of Michigan. Your commissioners, observing the great superiority of force, having but five armed men among us, who had been employed to keep a lookout and as hunters for the party, thought it prudent to retire, and so advised our men. Your commissioners, with several of their party, made good their retreat to this place [Perrysburg]. But, sir, we are under the painful necessity of relating that nine of our men, who did not leave the ground in time after being fired upon by the enemy, from thirty to fifty shots, were taken prisoners and carried away into the interior of the country. Those who were taken were as follows : to-wit, Colonels Hawkins, Scott and Gould, Major Rice, Captain Bickerstaff and Messrs. Elsworth, Fletcher, Moale and Rickets. "We are happy to learn that our party did not fire a gun in turn, and that no one was wounded, although a ball from the enemy passed through the clothing of one of our men. "We have this day learned by some of the men who were arrested and have just returned, that they were taken to Tecumseh under the escort of the armed force, were there brought before a magistrate for examination, that they denied jurisdiction, but that six entered bail for their appearance, two were released as not guilty, and one : to-wit, Mr. Fletcher, refused to give bail and is retained in custody. "We are also further informed, by unquestionable authority, that on the Sabbath day an armed force of several hundred men were 58 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY stretched along the line to the east of us, with a view to intercept us on our way. "Under existing circumstances and in the present threatening attitude of affairs, your commissioners have thought it prudent, for the interest of the State, as also for the safety of her citizens and to prevent the threatened effusion of blood, to withdraw from the line at present and suspend the further prosecution of the work, until some efficient preparatory measures can be taken which will insure the completion of the undertaking." In addition to this "outrage" upon the official surveying party there were numerous flagrant assaults upon individuals—some of the events being ludicrous, but all of them doubtless having a serious aspect to the victims. Among the latter was Maj. Benjamin F. Stickney, one of the most interesting and famous characters who were figuring on the Maumee in those early days. It will add a humorous interest to the dry details of this boundary dispute if we digress here and devote a little space to this eccentric individual. Major Stickney had been appointed by President Jefferson as Indian Agent, and as such had long resided in the western country—first at Upper Sandusky and then at Fort Wayne. He was a man of some intelligence, and assumed to be a scholar and philosopher. His wife was a highly respectable lady—in every way amiable, and a daughter of General Stark, of Revolutionary fame. But his wife's accomplishments did not prevent Major Stickney from resorting to all kinds of eccentricities. A part of this was to be as much as possible like nobody else. This he carried out in the naming of his children—not after any names found in either Christian or profane history, but the boys were to represent the numerals and the girls the states—as far as their numbers would go. The boys, therefore, were named One and Two, etc. ; and though he condescended to name his eldest daughter, from respect to Mrs. Stickney, Mary, the rest of his daughters were named after the states, Indiana, Michigan, etc. This eccentricity produced some of the most ridiculous anecdotes, among which is the following : Soon after the family moved to the Maumee Valley, and while living in a house erected near the landing at the mouth of Swan creek, Mrs. Stickney, one morning, came to the piazza in front of the house, where a vessel lay at anchor, and calling to her sons, said, "Two, call One to breakfast." A sailor aboard the vessel looked up and said : "Is this Maumee ? It is a terrible hard country, if it takes two to call one to breakfast." In the spring of 1821, Major Stickney was a ruling spirit in what was already a thriving settlement in the neighborhood of Swan Creek. Up to this time the little colony had been without a question within the jurisdiction of Ohio. Writs had been issued from Maumee in Wood county, to the settlers, as witnesses, jurors and suitors, and they, until then, had answered as such without a question as to jurisdiction. But other views had entered into Major Stickney's policy and philosophy. He called a public meeting of the citizens, and to them when thus assembled he represented that the citizens of the incipient city had very seriously mistaken their interest as to the question—where the true northern line of the state of Ohio was. He did not care as to what THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 59 the constitution of the state of Ohio said on the subject—the true line was the one run due east from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, which run considerably south of the settlement and would leave them in the Territory of Michigan, instead of the state of Ohio, and therefore they were Wolverines instead of Buckeyes. He averred that it was greatly to their interest to be so, that while they were citizens of the Territory they would be cherished and protected under the auspices and guardianship of the United States, while in Ohio they could not expect anything except to be taxed. He said he was well acquainted with General Cass, the governor of Michigan at that time, and would go to him and get a commission as justice of the peace for Michigan in the settlement, in case the citizens there would sustain him. The motion carried—the secession was complete. Major Stickney procured his commission and proceeded to exercise the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace of Michigan over the seceded territory. Soon after these things had matured, Gen. J. E. Hunt, of Maumee, had some official business to transact in that vicinity as an officer of Wood county. The citizens threw every obstacle in his way to prevent the discharge of his duties and to convince him that they had really seceded. General Hunt returned with just complaint of the conduct of the citizens there. A meeting of the commissioners of the county was called and the question was, what shall be done with the seceding rebels—shall they be prosecuted and hung ? Perhaps so, if justice were done them. But mild and discreet measures and counsels were adopted. It was considered that Congress and the state of Ohio would in due time settle the question, and in the meantime it was neither discreet nor prudent to get up a war which could be avoided. This policy prevailed and Major Stickney and his followers were let "alone in their glory." But about this time the canal question became an absorbing theme to the people of the Maumee valley. When fully acquainted with the project, Major Stickney called another meeting of the citizens of Swan Creek, and to them he now represented that they had committed a great error in seceding from Ohio and going over to Michigan ; that while they belonged to Michigan they could not expect that the state of Ohio would construct the canal to Swan Creek, they must go back to Ohio, they must secede from Michigan and go back to Ohio again ; they must undo their former secession and rebellion or they could not expect to secure the canal. Thereupon all sorts of resolutions were adopted. to the effect that they were and of right ought to be a part and parcel of the state of Ohio, that Ohio was a great and glorious state, and that they would maintain their position, if necessary, at the point of the bayonet. These measures succeeded in arousing Michigan to a demonstration of war. Militia soldiers were sent from Detroit by land and water to Swan Creek, to whip the rebels into subjection to their legitimate authority. They went in martial array and took possession of the territory where the proud city of Toledo now stands, making the citizens succumb to the power and jurisdiction of Michigan. They returned to Detroit in the most jubilant triumph, drinking all sorts of toasts to the glory of Michigan and to the anathematization of Major Stickney in Ohio, one of which was, "Here is to Major Stickney's 60 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY potatoes and onions—we draft their tops and their bottoms volunteer !" This, however, was all to the wishes of the sycophantical Major, and in accordance with his policy he went immediately to Columbus and represented to the governor and the people of Ohio the intolerable barbarity of the Wolverines—how they had desecrated the just authority of Ohio and trampled under foot the loyal citizens of the state. In the meantime the people of Monroe county, Michigan, were kept busy assisting the sheriff in executing processes of the Monroe county courts in the disputed territory. Every inhabitant of the district was a spy for one or the other of the contestants, as inclination dictated, and was busily employed in reporting the movements of Monroe county or Wood county officials, as the case might be. The Ohio parties, when arrested, were incarcerated in the Monroe county jail. Among the individuals arrested by the Michigan authorities during the troublous times of 1835 was Major Stickney, the arrest being made after a violent resistance by himself and family. He refused to mount a horse. He was put on by force, but would not sit there. For a long distance two men, one each side, held him on. At last, wearied by his resistance, they tied his feet under the horse, in which way they at last reached Monroe. The Major was confined in jail at the latter place for some time, as he described it, "peeping through the grates of a loathsome prison for the monstrous crime of having acted as the judge of an election within the state of Ohio." He was finally released, however, but it is doubtful if ever, in either ancient or modern history, there has been an instance of secession and rebellion so successful, or a hero of one so clearly entitled to the distinction as Major Stickney. Other citizens of the disputed strip, who claimed allegiance to Ohio, were arrested and harshly treated, among whom was Messrs. Naaman Goodsell and George McKay, of Toledo, and feeling was aroused to a high pitch. The commissioners appointed to re-mark the Harris line having reported the attack upon them to Governor Lucas, he in turn reported the facts to President Jackson. The president sent a copy of the report to Governor Mason and directed him to send a statement "by the officers engaged in the transaction complained of." William McNair, under-sheriff of Lenawee county, and the officer who made the arrests, replied, denying that the commissioners' posse was fired upon. Great excitement prevailed throughout Ohio. The press spread the new with such comments as corresponded with their views. • Most of the papers advocated the cause of the governor, and severely condemned the conduct of Michigan. but some few of the Whig papers, or those anti-Democratic in politics, took an opposite view and severely berated the conduct of Governor Lucas and those who sided with him. They treated the proceedings on the part of the authorities of Ohio as ridiculous and calculated to bring the state into disgrace. But these papers that spoke freely against the course pursued by the state were very few. Governor Lucas, finding it impracticable to run the line or enforce jurisdiction over the disputed territory, called an extra session of the legislature to meet on June 8. That body passed an act "to prevent the forcible abduction of the citizens of Ohio." The act was intended of course to prevent if possible a repetition of offenses hereto- THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 61 fore mentioned—and also had reference to counteracting the previous acts of the legislative council of Michigan—and made such offenses punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than three nor more than seven years. An act was also passed at this special session creating the county of Lucas out of the north part of Wood and Henry counties. This new Ohio county extended from the east line of Williams to Lake Erie, the greater part of the new division lying between the rival boundary lines. An act was also passed levying appropriations to carry into effect all laws in regard to the northern boundary. Three hundred thousand dollars was appropriated out of the treasury and the governor was authorized to borrow $300,000 more on the credit of the state. The determination to run and re-mark the Harris line was still in evidence, and a resolution was adopted inviting the President to appoint a commissioner to go with the Ohioans when they again attempted to make the survey. The issue was now changed ; and to quote again from a legal chronicler of the events, "the United States now became defendant as claimant of title in fee." The determined attitude of Michigan to prevent Ohio from exercising any authority over the disputed strip aroused a feeling of state pride that could not well brook the idea that the thinly populated Territory of Michigan, with her stripling governor, should successfully defy Governor Lucas and a state of a "million" inhabitants. Governor Lucas investigated the military strength of the state and found that at least 12,000 men were ready to respond to a hurry-up call. The authorities of Michigan became exasperated. They dared the Ohio "million" to enter the disputed ground and "welcomed them to hospitable graves." Prosecutions for the crime of holding office under the laws of Ohio were conducted with greater vigor than ever, and the people o f Monroe county, Michigan, were busy in acting as a sheriff's posse to make arrests of the recalcitrant Buckeyes. The partisans of Ohio being thus continually harrassed by the authorities of Michigan and attempting frequently to retaliate in kind, the disputed strip was not an attractive point for the home-seeker during the greater part of the summer of 1835. But such a state of affairs could not permanently exist and was certain ere long to reach its culmination. The frequent arrests and imprisonments of reputable men tended to keep the matter at a fever heat, and in a few instances homicide was narrowly averted on the part of the infuriated citizens. On July 15. 1835, an attempt was made to arrest Two Stickney, second son of the doughty Major, and to rearrest George McKay. The accused were found at a tavern, "in the village of Toledo," by Officers Lyman Hurd and Joseph Wood, of Monroe county, Michigan, but Stickney and McKay resisted the efforts to arrest them, and in the melee that followed, Officer Wood was severely wounded by a dirk knife in the hands of Stickney, who escaped and fled to the interior of Ohio. He was indicted by the grand jury of Monroe county; and a requisition was made on Governor Lucas for his surrender. The governor refused to surrender the fugitive, and this and other similar proceedings were reported by Governor Mason to President Jackson, who was becoming strongly impressed with the 62 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY necessity of interposing some check to the evident tendency toward serious trouble. Some time previous to this, Governor Lucas, perceiving considerable uneasiness at Washington for the peace of the country, had sent to the Federal City, Noah H. Swayne, William Allen and David T. Disney, to confer with the President on the subject of the boundary difficulties. In a communication to John Forsyth, Jackson's secretary of state, these gentlemen set forth the arrangements entered into with the commissioners—Rush and Howard—in April, and further said : "The compromise bill of Ohio (as it is termed) contemplates that this arrangement should be carried out, and that whatever has been done inconsistent with its provisions should be undone, or in other words : "1. That the pending recognizances and prosecutions under the act of Michigar of Feb. 12, 1835, should be discharged, and discontinued. "2. That no new prosecutions under this act shall be instituted. "3. That Harris' line shall be run and re-marked by the authorities of Ohio, without interruption from those of Michigan. "4. That no forcible opposition be made by the authorities of Ohio or Michigan to the exercise of jurisdiction by the other upon the disputed territory within the time specified, the citizens residing upon the territory in question resorting to the one jurisdiction or the other, as they may prefer. *          *          *          *          *          * "The President remarked that he believed advice from the proper source, to the authorities of Michigan upon these points, would prove effectual. In this opinion we concur undoubtingly. The steps suggested would, therefore, remove all practical difficulty, and prevent the possibility of an armed collision growing out of the subject. Under such a state of things, we feel authorized to say, that while the authorities of Ohio would, as far as possible, consistent with the arrangement of April 7, exercise a peaceable jurisdiction upon the disputed territory, she would do nothing to prevent the exercise of a like jurisdiction by the authorities of Michigan, and that thereafter. as heretofore, she would manifest a spirit of the utmost forbearance, until Congress at its next session shall have acted upon the subject, and settled authoritatively the contested question of right." This communication was presented to Mr. Forsyth on July 2, and the next day he replied to it as follows : • "Gentlemen : Your letter of the 1st instant, written in your character of private citizens, was received yesterday. By the direction of the President, to whom it has been submitted, I now have the honor to reply. "In everything that has been done or suggested by the President. or by his authority, in regard to the question of the northern boundary of Ohio, he has been influenced solely to prevent, without prejudice to the rights of any one, collisions between the authorities of the General, State or Territorial governments, that would be destructive of the public peace, and bring dishonor upon the institutions of the country. THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 63 "If his views and wishes have not been correctly understood in Ohio, he is happy to believe that the free communications which you have had with him, and with the head of this department, will enable you to correct the misapprehensions that may exist upon the subject in any quarter. "This department has never been advised by Messrs. Rush and Howard of the arrangements stated in page 3o of the documents published at Columbus, by order of the state of Ohio, to which you refer as having been entered into by them at Perrysburg. "The President is, however, induced to believe from the recent proceedings of the legislature of Ohio, as explained by your letter, and the late resolutions of the convention of Michigan, that an informal understanding may be produced, through the instrumentality of this department, which will meet the wishes of all, and effect the great object he has been most anxious to promote. the mutual suspension, until after the next session of Congress, of all actions that would by possibility produce collision. Supported in this belief by your letter, which he understands to be conformable to the wishes and instructions of Governor Lucas, the President, without taking upon himself any other character than that in which he has heretofore acted, will cause an earnest recommendation to be immediately sent to the acting governor of Michigan, and the other authorities of the Territory, whom he can rightfully advise in the performance of their duty, that no obstruction shall be interposed to the re-marking of Harris' line ; that all proceedings already begun under the act of February shall be immediately discontinued, that no prosecutions shall be commenced for any subsequent violations of that act, until after the next session of Congress, and that all questions about the disputed jurisdiction shall be carefully avoided, and if occurring inevitably, their discussion shall be postponed until the same period.' "The President confidently trusts this recommendation, which he believes required by a regard for the public safety and honor, will be effectual with the authorities of Michigan, and will not fail to exercise all his constitutional power in this, as in every other instance, to preserve and maintain the public tranquility." The state of Ohio now had the direct promise of the President that he would advise that "no obstruction shall be interposed to the remarking of the Harris line," etc. This "recommendation" was promptly conveyed to Governor Mason, but it had no effect upon his conduct. Prosecutions went on as before. This. aroused the President to action he at once removed Governor Mason, and appointed Charles Shaler, of Pennsylvania, his successor. He also advised Governor Lucas to refrain from any act of jurisdiction over the disputed territory pending the action of Congress. Mr. Shaler never entered upon the duties of the office, and soon afterward John S. Horner, of Virginia, was appointed secretary and acting governor, but he did not enter upon the duties of his office until Sept. 21, and in the meanwhile Mason continued as acting governor. Governor Lucas now felt sure that Old Hickory was aroused, and that he would tolerate no more show of force on his part ; but he also 64 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY felt it necessary to perform some act of jurisdiction, so it would not be said he had backed down. The act of the Ohio legislature, erecting the new county of Lucas, also provided "that the said county of Lucas, when organized, shall be attached to the second judicial circuit, and the court of common pleas in said county shall be holden on the first Monday of September next." Accordingly, preparations were made for the holding of court at Toledo upon the date mentioned. Governor Mason was aware of the fact, and was on hand with General Brown and the militia to prevent the consummation of the order. To actually hold this court in defiance of Governor Mason and his military force, and also in defiance of the President's recommendation, looked to Governor Lucas like a grand achievement ; one that would burnish his tarnished honor, and maintain the dignity of the gubernatorial office of the great state of Ohio. He sent Colonel Vanfleet with i00 men to protect the court, but as Toledo was then held by 1.200 hostile Michiganders, despite the President's recommendation, the judges had some misgivings about the result in case the two forces met with the odds of twelve to one against Ohio. The expedition was to start from Maumee, and the following amusing, but doubtless correct, account of the manner in which the court was convened is from the pamphlet of Willard V. Way, already referred to : "Colonel Vanfleet told the judges that Sept. 7 would commence immediately after midnight, and that there was no hour specified in the law when the court should be opened. 'Governor Lucas wants the court held, so that by its record he can show to the world that he has extended the laws of Ohio over the disputed territory, in spite of the vaporing threats of Governor Mason. If we furnish him that record, we shall accomplish all that is required. Be prepared to mount your horses to start for Toledo at precisely i o'clock a. m. I will be ready with an escort to protect you.' "At the hour named, the judges and officers of the court were promptly in the saddle. Colonel Vanfleet was ready with his twenty men, mounted and completely armed. Each man had a rifle in addition to his two cavalry pistols. They proceeded to Toledo, reaching there about 3 o'clock a. m, and went to the school house that stood near where Washington street crosses the canal, and opened court in due form of law. Junius Flagg acted as sheriff. The proceedings were hastily written on loose paper and deposited in the clerk's hat. When the court adjourned, the officers and escort went to the tavern, then kept by Munson H. Daniels, not far from where the American House now [ 1869] stands, kept by J. Langderfer, registered their names and took a drink all around ; while filling their glasses for a second drink, a mischievous wag ran into the tavern and reported that a strong force of Michigan men was close by, coming to arrest them. They dropped their glasses, spilling the liquor they intended to have drunk, and sprang for their horses with all possible haste, leaving bills to be settled at a more leisure time. As they had accomplished the work intended, speed was of more importance than valor. A backward charge from the enemy was made at the top of the speed of their horses. "They took the trail that led to Maumee, by way of the route near- THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 65 est the river. They went at such furious speed that, if their charge had been made in the opposite direction towards the enemy, they would have pierced the most solid columns. When they arrived at the top of the hill, near where the Oliver House now stands, not discovering the enemy in pursuit, they came to a halt and faced about. It was then discovered that the clerk had lost his hat, and with it the papers containing the proceedings of the court, from which the record was to be made up. The clerk wore one of those high bell-crowned hats, fashionable in those days, and which he used for carrying his papers as well as covering his head. It was then the custom in traveling to carry everything in the top of hats, from a spare collar and dickey to court papers. The hat of the clerk, reaching high above his head, burdened with its load of papers and other incumbrances, was steadied on by the left hand for greater safety, while the right held the reins. But in spite of this precaution, it struck against an overhanging limb of a tree with such violence, that it was knocked off and fell to the ground. Having succeeded in holding court without molestation, or bloodshed,, and now losing the papers, would leave them in as bad condition, or worse, than if they had done nothing, in case they should fall into the hands of the enemy. Notwithstanding, they all believed they had been discovered and pursued, and might be surrounded by superior numbers and taken, if they delayed ; yet the importance of recovering the papers was such as to nerve them to the boldest daring. Colonel Vanfleet's courage and tact did not desert him in this emergency. He had succeeded in accomplishing what he had contemplated ; and now their labor would be lost, and the expedition an entire failure, without the recovery of the papers. With him, to will was to do. He directed the clerk and two of the guards to dismount, and feel their way back carefully in search of the papers, while the balance of the posse kept watch, to cover retreat. He cautioned them to move with as little noise as possible, and if likely to be discovered by the enemy, to conceal themselves and watch their movements so that they could use the best possible advantage to accomplish their object. The orders were that nothing but utter impossibility would excuse a failure to recover them. The search proved successful ; the hat was found and the papers recovered. The party reported no enemy in sight. The state of Ohio was triumphant ; a record could be, and was made up, and still exists to prove that the state of Ohio, on Sept. 7, 1835, exercised jurisdiction over the disputed territory, by holding a court of common pleas in- due form of law. "The feeling of joy at recovering the papers was so great that Colonel Van Fleet ordered two salutes on the spot. He well knew that the distance to the line of the state, where there was no dispute about jurisdiction, was but small, and that if pursued they could reach there before being overhauled. The party proceeded to Maumee at a leisure pace, reaching there a little after daylight." There might have been further trouble had not President Jackson removed the fiery .Mason from his position as acting governor of Michigan and placed the affairs of the Territory in the hands of one whose disposition was less excitable and whose acts were governed more by careful consideration. John S. Horner, his successor, im- 66 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY mediately entered into an amicable correspondence with Governor Lucas, the effect of which was to allay all excitement and restore peaceful relations, leaving the final settlement of the question with Congress at its session the following winter. This, however, merely changed the scene of the conflict and the personnel of the combatants, for when the matter was taken up in Congress the advocates on each side displayed a feeling in the matter no less intense than that exhibited by the partisans on the Ohio frontier. John Quincy Adams championed the cause of Michigan, and declared in an impassioned address that never before in his life had he known "a controversy in which all the right was so clearly on one side and all the power *so overwhelmingly on the other." He had able assistants in the debate, and Ohio also was represented by men who were abundantly equipped with ability to do battle for the other side of the contention. Thomas Ewing in the Senate and Samuel F. Vinton in the House were the Buckeye knights, and in the following June, 1836, Ohio won the day and the disputed strip—Congress holding that the state constitution, having been solemnly accepted, authorized Ohio to annex the territory in question. In the main, this action of Congress was more in the nature of a compromise than a clear-cut decision upon the merits of the controversy. Congress is not a court of equity, and the members thereof are sometimes actuated by motives other than a desire to give force and effect to the letter and spirit of existing law. What a chancery tribunal would have dope, had a proper issue been joined and brought before it for adjustment, is of course problematical ; but with the facts fully stated (as the writer has endeavored to give them in this chapter), and with the intent of the framers of the Ordinance of 1787 so apparent, it seems that exact justice would have placed the boundary line considerably further north than it is. But following the strict letter of the Ordinance and the ensuing acts of Congress, a judge of the law would doubtless have named the Fulton line as the southern boundary of Michigan. In fact, the Supreme Court of Ohio, in the case of Daniels vs. Stevens, lessee, reported in the Nineteenth Ohio Reports, Chief Justice Hitchcock delivering the opinion, affirms that Michigan had jurisdiction to the Fulton line until the act of Congress was passed, in June, 1836, which established the Harris line as the true boundary. And the United States Circuit Court, in a case of considerable interest (Piatt vs. Oliver et al., reported in 2 McLean, 267), in which the question of state jurisdiction became important, decided the right of jurisdiction to be in Michigan until the boundary line was changed by Congress, in 1836. The latter case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and there the jurisdiction over the disputed territory was again treated as rightfully and clearly in Michigan.-3 Howard's R. 333. But those were days of compromises in American politics, as is evidenced by the act of Congress admitting Missouri, the tariff law of 1833, etc. ; and in the settlement of the question of this disputed boundary line, the handiwork of a skilled peacemaker . is also apparent. Michigan had applied for admission to the sisterhood of states, and THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE - 67 to secure such recognition could be easily induced to surrender her claims to a narrow strip of land, averaging less than eight miles wide. As additional salve for her wounded pride, however, she was given as a part of her domain the large peninsula between Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, now so well known for its rich deposits of copper and other minerals. If "the jingle of the guinea helps the hurt that honor feels,". when speaking of men, the same is doubtless true of states, and Michigan was abundantly compensated in mineral wealth for whatever damage was done to her escutcheon. The chief value to Ohio of the territory contended for was the harbor of Toledo, formed by the mouth of the Maumee—essential, as her public men believed, to enable her to reap the benefit of the commerce made by the canals to Cincinnati and Indiana. Results have shown that they judged correctly, for Toledo has proved to be the true point for the meeting of the lake and canal commerce. Thus the angry strife, resulting from a geographical error, was happily settled through the ascendancy of conciliatory statesmanship ; and the citizens of the two commonwealths, once on the verge of open warfare. became united in a common interest, and nothing but tranquil and fraternal relations have since prevailed between them. CHAPTER V. EARLY COUNTY HISTORY. LUCAS COUNTY-TOPOGRAPHY-WATERCOURSES-GEOLOGY-FIRST SETTLERS- PIONEER INCIDENTS AND REMINISCENCES-FORT INDUSTRY - NUMEROUS TOWNS PROJECTED - ORLEANS - PERRYSBURG-- MAUMEE CITY-PORT LAWRENCE-VISTULA-MANHATTAN-OREGON -MARENGO CITY-EVOLUTION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. Lucas County as at present constituted is bounded on the north by the State of Michigan, on the east by Lake Erie and Wood County, on the south by Ottawa and Wood counties, and on the west by the counties of Henry and Fulton. It has an area of 43o square miles, and in the United States census for 190o reported a population of 153,559, an increase of 51,263 during the preceding decade. Like many of the counties bordering on the Great Lakes, the surface is nearly flat, rising in a gradual slope from the lake shore to the western border, which is from 90 to 130 feet above the waters of the lake. As Lake Erie is 580 feet above the level of the sea, the greatest altitude of Lucas county is about 710 feet. The principal water courses are the Maumee and Ottawa rivers and Swan creek. The Maumee, which forms part of the southern boundary and divides the county into two unequal triangles, has its source at Fort Wayne, Ind., where it is formed by the junction of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's rivers. From Providence to Maumee City it falls sixty feet over limestone ledges in a series of rapids, Maumee City being the head of nayigation and slack water. The Ottawa river has its source in Sylvania township, Lucas county, being formed by the confluence of Bear creek and Ten-mile creek. From its source it flows southeast, crosses the corner of Adams township, and then turns toward the northeast, finally emptying into Maumee bay about four miles north of the mouth of the Maumee. Swan creek rises in the southwestern part of the county and follows a course almost parallel to that of the Maumee until near the western border of Adams township, when it turns eastward and empties into the Maumee near the foot of Monroe street in the city of Toledo. These streams, with a number of smaller tributaries, afford fairly good drainage for that part of the county lying north, or rather northwest, of the Maumee, though in some sections artificial drainage has been resorted to with good results. On the opposite side of the Maumee most of the county lies - 69 - 70 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY in what is called the "Black Swamp" district, and is drained by a few small streams which flow into Lake Erie, the principal ones being the Wolf, Cedar and Crane creeks. In the early histories and public documents pertaining to this region, the name of the Maumee appears as "The Miami of the Lake," that being the English translation of the name "Miami duc Lac," as given on the old Wench maps. On Nov. 7, 1855, a meeting of citizens was held in Toledo to consider the advisability of changing the name of the river. In a preamble it was declared that "the early associations of the river, aided by a poet's wit, have given these an unjust and unfavorable reputation" ; resolutions were adopted to the effect "that the Maumee river and the Maumee bay be hereafter known as the Grand Rapids river and the Grand Rapids bay," and the local press was requested to publish the action of the meeting but the change was never made by the people at large. The poet alluded to in the resolutions was probably the author of some rhymes that appeared in the Maumee City Express on June 24., 1837, beginning : "On Maumee, on Maumee, Potatoes they grow small ; They roast them in the fire And eat them—tops and all." At that time the ague was prevalent in the valley, especially during the autumn months, and this fact the poet touches as follows : "On Maumee, on Maumee, 'Tis ague in the fall ; The fit will shake them so, It rocks the house and all." But the poet's satire, if not forgotten, has lost its force, and the name "Maumee" still clings to the river along whose banks so many stirring events occurred in the closing years of the Eighteenth and the opening. years of the Nineteenth century. As to the geology of Lucas county, the prevailing theory is that at some period in the remote past a shallow sea of warm salt water, an extension of the Gulf of Mexico, spread over the country from the Alleghany to the Rocky mountains. In Ohio the first land to emerge was in the neighborhood of Cincinnati—an island having for its foundation the Trenton limestone of the Lower Silurian era, a stone which forms the geologic floor of all Western Ohio. In succession northward and eastward, layers were built up under the water, raised above the surface, again submerged and again lifted, the most recent being the Carboniferous or coal-bearing rocks, which form the foundation of the eastern strip parallel to the southwestward course of the Ohio river. The first geological survey of Ohio, under legislative authority of the State, began in 1837 under the direction of Prof. William W. Mather, who had been an assistant on the New York survey, aided by a corps of competent assistants. This survey was abruptly terminated EARLY COUNTY HISTORY -71 in 1839, before Lucas county had been reached, and no final report was ever made. On April 3, 1869, the legislature passed an act providing for a geological survey of the State, and Prof. J. S. Newberry was appointed chief, with E. B. Andrews, Edward Orton and John H. Klippart assistants. In 1881 Professor Orton was appointed State geologist by Governor Foster, reappointed by Governor Hoadly, and it was under his supervision that the survey was completed. The geologic structure of Lucas county includes the Guelph limestone of the Niagara group, the Huron shale, the Lower Helderberg or Waterlime formation, the Hamilton group, the Utica shale, and the Corniferous or Upper Helderberg limestones. The Guelph limestone, the uppermost division of the Niagara group, obtains its name from a locality in Canada, where it was first studied. Professor Orton says that it has a maximum thickness in Southern Ohio of 200 feet. With regard to Northern Ohio he says : "Not more than forty feet are found in its outcrops here, but the drill has shown several times this amount of Niagara limestone, without giving us all the data needed for referring the beds traversed to their proper subdivisions. What facts there are seem to point to the Guelph as the main element in this underground development of the formation in this portion of the State." Outcrops of this stone in Ottawa county, near the Lucas county line, lead to the opinion that Guelph beds underlie a considerable portion of that part of the latter county east of the Maumee river. The Huron shale, a hard, bituminous black shale, has been found in borings in several places in Richfield township, and is believed to underlie practically all of that township, as well as Swanton and Spencer, and probably the northwest part of Providence. Concerning the Lower Helderberg, Professor Orton says : "The interval that exists between the Niagara and the Devonian limestones is occupied in Ohio by a very important formation. It is filled with a series of beds, which are in part at least the equivalents of the Water-lime of New York. The name is unhappily chosen. Strictly applicable to only an insignificant fraction of the beds of this series in New York, we are still obliged to apply the designation Waterlime, with its misleading suggestions, to all deposits of the same age throughout the country. Though the last to be recognized of our several limestone formations, the Waterlime occupies a larger area in Ohio than any other, its principal developments being found in the drift-covered plains of the northwestern quarter of the State. . . . The surface of many successive layers at numerous points are covered with sun-cracks, thus furnishing proof of having been formed in shallow water near the edge of the sea. In such localities the beds are usually quite thin, and are also impure in composition. In these respects it suggests the conditions of the Onondaga salt group of New York. . . . It is frequently a nearly pure dolomite in composition, and accordingly it yields magnesian lime of high quality and is extensively burned in the State, rivaling in this respect the Guelph beds of the Niagara group." In Lucas county the Waterline is exposed at several points. It 72 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY forms the bed of the Maumee river from the east line of Providence township to Maumee City ; is found in the bed of Swan creek at the village of Monclova ; at the quarries in the northern part of Monclova township in Ten-mile creek in Sylvania township ; on the plain near Maumee City, and at some other places. It has been used somewhat extensively in the manufacture of lime at Waterville, Maumee City and Monclova. The Hamilton group, a Devonian subdivision, is not exposed in the county, but geologists believe that it is represented in the bed of soft gray shale outcropping in a narrow belt along the edge of the Huron shale, a belief that is strengthened by the fact that in boring for oil in the eastern part of Fulton county the Hamilton beds were found to be twenty feet in thickness. "The Utica shale," says Professor Orton, "is a constant element in the deep wells of Northwestern Ohio. Its upper boundary is not always distinct, as the Hudson river shale that overlies it sometimes graduates into it in color and appearance ; but as a rule the driller, without any geological prepossessions whatever, will divide the well section in his record so as to show about 300 feet of black shale at the bottom of the column or immediately overlying the Trenton limestone." From an economic standpoint, the Corniferous (horn-bearing) or Upper Helderberg limestone is doubtless the most important geologic formation in the county. In structure and chemical composition this stone is easily distinguishable from the rocks that lie above or below it. It is never a true dolomite, like the Waterlime and Niagara limestones, the composition of the typical lower Corniferous being nearly three-fourths carbonate of lime to one-fourth carbonate of magnesia, while the normal dolomite consists of fifty-four per cent. of the former to forty-six per cent, of the latter. In some parts of Ohio the Upper Helderberg group shows over ninety per cent. carbonate of lime, though in the northern portion it is usually found as a very strong and pure limestone. This group is known to overlie the Waterlime at various places in Lucas county, all its members being exposed in the rocky ridge about two miles west of the village of Sylvania, where a section shows the following arrangement, from the top downward : 1. Twelve feet of soft, massive, cream and buff limestone, with fossils. 2. Twenty feet of massive, friable white sandstone or glass sand ; as early as 1863 this sand was shipped to Pittsburg glass factories, where it brought from fifteen to eighteen dollars a ton. 3. Fifty-two feet of arenaceous and fine-grained gray limestone in alternate layers, a valuable stone for building purposes. 4. Fifty feet of drab limestone in beds from six to ten inches in thickness. 5. Twenty-five feet of buff limestone with white chert, in thick beds, the best building stone found in the county. 6. Six feet of dark, bluish gray limestone, abounding in fossils, but capable of being worked. Fossils occur in almost all the beds, but are most abundant in the highest and lowest. F. B. Meck, the palaeontologist of the State Geological Survey, distinguished and classified thirty-four species of invertebrates, though perfect specimens are hard to find. EARLY COUNTY HISTORY - 73 During the glacial epoch, fully two-thirds of Ohio was in the track of mighty glacier. The eastern border or terminal moraine of this glacier enters the State in Mahoning county, whence it runs nearly west to Ashland county, then southwest, touching the counties of Knox, Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway, Ross, Highland and Brown, after which it follows the Ohio river to the western boundary. In all that part of the State north and west of this line the bedded rocks are covered with glacial drift, varying in thickness, the most important deposit of the drift being the boulder clay, in the lower portions of which are frequently large accumulations of vegetable matter, the remains of corniferous forests that occupied the country before or at the time of the drift. Glacial striae, or scratches on the bed rock, show the glacier's direction. Waggoner's History of Lucas County says : "The effect produced, when the ice encountered some flint nodules in the Waterlime at Monclova village, is very interesting. Each hard nodule projects bodily from the ice-planed surface, and retains a long train or ridge of the limestone on one side. The semi-plastic ice did not at once fill the groove curved in it by the unyielding flint, and so failed to remove the limestone immediately behind it. These trains all point in one direction (S. 6o̊ W.), and prove that the motion of the ice was toward, and not from, that direction." In Lucas county the drift, or superficial deposit, consists of two distinct formations—the Erie clay and the Lacustrine clay and sand. The former was deposited as the glacier retreated, and is composed chiefly of the disintegrated matter created by the friction of the glacier upon the surface of the rocks. It is generally identified by boulders, which are rarely absent from its composition. The Lacustrine deposits are strata formed in lakes, or in lakes which, from whatever cause, have now become dry land. At Toledo the Erie clay is blue and the Lacustrine yellow. Analysis of the former shows its principal ingredients to be alumina, silica, protoxide of iron, carbonate of calcium, with a trace of sulphur. The Lacustrine clay is extensively used in the manufacture of bricks. FIRST SETTLERS. As stated in a former chapter, a French fort was erected on the Maumee river in 168o, but was soon abandoned. The first actual settlers, so far as known, were Gabriel Godfrey and Jean Baptiste Beau-grand, who opened a trading house at the foot of the Maumee rapids about 179o. These two men were typical representatives of those hardy, adventurous French traders and voyageurs who braved the dan- gers of the wilderness in their desire to build up a profitable fur trade with the Indians. Other French settlers soon gathered about the trading post, among them Peltier, Momenee and La Point, who became more or less prominent in the affairs of that early day. Before the close of the century y• Pierre Menard—better known as Uncle Peter Manor—visited the settlement, but did not become a resident there until about 18o8. According to Hosmer, the first English trader of note was Col. 74 - MEMOIRS OF LUCAS COUNTY John Anderson, who settled at Fort Miami in 1800. In 1807 there were six American families living at Maumee, among them David Hull (a nephew of Gen. Isaac Hull), James Carlin (a blacksmith), and his son, Squire Carlin. The same year a little French settlement was founded on the east side of the Maumee, opposite where the town of Manhattan was afterward laid out. It was near to a village of Ottawa Indians, said to have been established there about the time of the Pontiac conspiracy, and the widow of Pontiac, with her son and grandson, was still living there. At this time there were in the vicinity about 8,000 Ottawas, who lived chiefly by hunting and fishing. Uncle Pete Manor, one of the best known of the Maumee valley pioneers, entered the employ of the Northwestern Fur Company as a young man, and remained with that concern until he came to Maumee in 1808 to open a trading house of his own. Col. D. W. Howard of Fulton county, a descendant of one of the pioneer families, says that Manor's establishment was on the Indian reservation on the south bank of the Maumee, where he carried on a lucrative fur trade with the various Indian tribes. On more than one occasion he proved his bravery and friendship for the white settlers. During the War of 1812, learning of a premeditated Indian attack, he notified his neighbors, who fled toward Fort Findlay, leaving him to meet the Indians alone. The savages plundered his store, destroyed his crops, burned his buildings, killed his cattle and took away his horses, but did not injure him or any member of his family. After the war those who had suffered by this raid petitioned the government for redress, and received pay for the property destroyed by the Indians. For some reason Uncle Pete was not asked to sign the petition—in fact, knew nothing of it for a long time afterward—and he never received a cent for all his risk and loss. The Indians, however, gave him 96o acres of land at the head of the rapids, and it is on this tract that his remains lie buried. Some of his posterity still live in the Maumee valley. Another noted pioneer was Peter Navarre, a Frenchman who won distinction as a scout of General Harrison in the War of 1812. He was born at Detroit in 1785, and was said to be the grandson of a French army officer who visited the country about the head of Lake Erie in 1745. In 1807 Peter and his brother Robert were among the French settlers at the mouth of the Maumee, where he continued to claim his residence for the remainder of his life. For several years he was employed by a Detroit firm in buying furs from the Miami Indians about Fort Wayne, Ind., and while thus engaged became a friend of the celebrated war chief, Little Turtle. Peter and his three brothers—Alexis, Jacques and Robert—were with General Hull at the surrender of Detroit and were paroled with others who were captured on that occasion. Denying the right of the British officers to treat them as prisoners of war, because they were not regularly enlisted, they paid no attention to their paroles and immediately took an active part for the United States. This led the British General Proctor to offer a reward of £200 for Peter's head or scalp, but he was wary enough to avoid capture, and the reward was never claimed. As a - scout he rendered valuable service, watching the movements of the