HISTORY OF OHIO. CHAPTER I. THE GREAT VALLEY. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA-OF FLORIDA - SEBASTIAN CABOT - THE FRENCH ENTER THE ST. LAWRENCE-ADVENTURES OF MARQUETTE - EXPLORING TOUR OF LASALLE- FRENCH MILITARY POSTS IN THE GREAT VALLEY- JEALOUSY OF THE ENGLISH - CONFLICTING CLAIMS - LOCATION OF THE FRENCH ON THE LAKES- THE BARRIER OF THE ALLEGHANIES — ROMANTIC STORIES OF THE GREAT VALLEY - ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE, IT WAS at midnight of the 11th of October, 1492, when Columbus, from the bows of his ship, discovered a light which revealed to him, and to Europe, a new world. The morning dawned serene and lovely, and the islands of the West Indies were opened before him in Eden like luxuriance and beauty. It was not until four years after this, in 1496, that the Continent of North America was discovered, by an English navigator, Sebastian Cabot. Gradually an understanding arose, among the European powers, that any portion of the new world, discovered and taken possession of by expeditions from any court of Europe, should be recognized as belonging to that kingdom. This rule was not difficult of application in reference to an island. But on the continent, stretching out through unknown limits of thousands of miles, it was not easy to decide the boundaries which were to be attached to a spot upon which a seaman's eye had rested. The Spaniards landed on the extreme southern part of the continent, which they called Florida, in consequence of the bloom HISTORY OF OHIO - 19 which they found spread around them in marvelous loveliness. But what were the limits of Florida, no one could pretend to tell. No one knew whether it was fifty miles or five thousand miles on the west, across to the Pacific Ocean. And there was no mountain, or river, or imaginary line, upon the north, definitely to bound their claim in that direction. The French, in 1525, took possession of the immense valley of the St. Lawrence, giving the river that name, as they entered it on that saint's day. They claimed the country to the Pacific on the west, however near or remote those waters might be, and to the Pole on the north. Sebastian Cabot, at the head of an English expedition, cruised along the coast from the region of Florida, to the vicinity of the St. Lawrence, catching occasional glimpses of the land ; and England claimed that whole region, by the right of discovery. It was all called Virginia, in honor of Elizabeth, the virgin Queen of England. Of course the northern and southern boundaries were entirely indefinite. The Dutch afterwards discovered the Delaware River and the Hudson, landed upon the shores of the latter stream, took possession of them in the name of Holland, planted their colonies there, and claimed the territory under the title of discovery and settlement. The French, having discovered the region called Canada, and having established flourishing colonies there, also discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, which, with its innumerable tributaries, meanders through the richest and the most magnificent valley on this globe. It seems hardly proper to call a realm, a valley, when it extends over thousands of miles in length and breadth, covering an area, surpassing many of the kingdoms of Europe united, capable of supporting a population of hundreds of millions, and embracing majestic forests, and luxuriant prairies, such as the sun nowhere else shines upon. The French Catholics had established a mission, for the instruction of the Indians, at a point which they called St. Mary's, near the outlet of Lake Superior. There was a very remarkable man at the head of this mission, by the name of James Marquette. He was apparently an earnest Christian, an enthusiastic admirer of the beauties of nature, and in all respects, a man of true heroic mould. He resolved to explore the Mississippi from its upper waters. He repaired to an Indian village on the Fox River, 20 - HISTORY OF OHIO. which flows into Green Bay. He had already selected his companions for the enterprise, which was apparently full of difficulty and peril. They consisted of a French gentleman, who would be his congenial companion, five hardy and experienced Canadian boatmen, and two Indians as guides through.the wilderness which no white man, as yet, had ever penetrated. For this party of nine, with all their needful stores of guns,. ammunition, cooking utensils, and blankets, setting out on an expedition, which must occupy, at the shortest, several weeks, they took two birch canoes. Their food they expected to find mainly in such game as they might shoot by the way. Marquette had such faith in the protection of God, and in the friendliness of the Indians, whom he might meet by the way, that he seems to have had no fears of any hostile encounters. It was a lovely summer morning, the loth of June, 1673, when the party set out from Fox River. They carried the canoes upon their shoulders, over a portage of many miles through the wilderness, led by their Indian guides. It was an excursion of pleasure. The weather was delightful, the scenery enchanting, ever opening new views of beauty. The loads they bore were not oppressive, and they were all in health and vigor, and at home in the varied emergencies of encampments. Having reached the Wisconsin River, they launched their canoes upon its placid waters. For nearly a month they were paddling down this beautiful stream, a distance of five hundred miles, before they entered the majestic flood of the Father of Waters. They seem to have found the voyage delightful in the extreme. There were fishes in abundance in the river, and there was game of the greatest variety and in profusion on the banks. Their dining room was canopied by the over-arching skies, and their table was spread with every luxury of game which hungry pioneers could desire. At night they drew their boats ashore, and if the weather was pleasant, with the green sod for their bed, wrapped in blankets or furs, enjoyed that uninterrupted sleep, which is one of the richest of earth's enjoyments. The Psalmist understood this when he said: " He giveth His beloved sleep." Should the weather chance to be tempestuous, with floods of rain and moaning winds, the storm was easily anticipated. Pa.d dling rapidly along the stream, they would select some picturesque 22 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and sheltered nook, and, in a short time would rear a cabin impervious to wind and rain. Many hands make quick work. Like magic the cabin would rise beneath the hatchets of these experienced pioneers of the wilderness. Thatched and lined with overlapping plates of bark, it would afford perfect protection against. the violence of the storm. Here they would promptly gather all their stores. With the camp entirely open on the lee side, the floor carpeted with robes of fur, and a cheerful fire blazing in front, men, capable of enjoying such scenes, could luxuriate in the sublimity of almost any storm, which might shake the forest. No country inn, no palatial city hotel, could offer a more enjoyable retreat from the tempest. Neither did their seasons of rest pass in any weariness of monotony. Such men are not disturbed in their employments by any ordinary rain. There were fishes to be caught from the stream which flowed past their door. There was game to be taken, and it was to be found within a few rods of their camp fire. There were garments to be repaired and not a little time was spent in feasting upon the delicate viands which they knew so well how to cook. When the clouds broke and passed away, and the sun again came out in all its glory, they would joyfully resume their heroic voyage, almost regretting to leave a home where they had found so much happiness. On the 7th of July they entered the Mississippi River. It was, here, a broad, rapid stream,—clear as crystal. Marquette writes that when he first caught sight of this wonderful river, flowing from the unknown into the unknown, he experienced emotions of joy which no language could express. It was easy to be borne down by the current of this majestic flood, but to paddle back, against the tide, would try the muscles even of the hardiest men. Still the voyagers pressed on. It was indeed a fairy scene which now spread before them. Here bold bluffs, hundreds of feet high, jutted out into the river. Here were crags, of stupendous size,. and of every variety of form, often reminding one of Europe's most picturesque stream, where " The castled crags of Drachenfels Frown o'er the wide and winding Rhine." Again, the prairie would spread out its ocean-like expanse, embellished with groves, garlanded with flowers of gorgeous colors HISTORY OF OHIO - 23 waving in the summer breeze, checkered with sunshine and the shade of the passing clouds, with roving herds of the stately buffalo and the graceful antelope. And, again the gloomy forest would appear, extending over countless leagues, where bears, wolves, and panthers found a congenial home. Having descended the river nearly two hundred miles, they came to an Indian trail leading back into the country, and so well trodden as to give evidence that a powerful tribe was near. It speaks well for the Indians—for the reputation which they then enjoyed—that Marquette, with his French companion, M. Joliet, far away in the wilderness, seven hundred miles from any point which a white man's foot had ever before trod, should not have hesitated alone to enter this trail to search out the habitations of this unknown tribe. They left all their companions with the canoes on the bank of the river. For six miles they followed the narrow track, when they came in sight of a large Indian village. It was on the open plain, so that the Indians saw them approaching when at quite a distance. They knew, of course, that two strangers, unarmed, could not be advancing with any hostile intent. Four of the patriarchs of the village immediately came forward bearing a pipe of peace, which was highly ornamented with brilliantly colored plumes. As these chiefs drew near, they saw to their surprise and delight that the strangers were pale faces. Though none of them had ever before seen a white man, the knowledge of his arrival had spread widely through all the tribes. The French had pursued such a course of justice and friendliness with the Indians that wherever they went they were hospitably received. One of these gentlemen of the barbarian school, as he led the guests into his cabin, spread out his hands to them invitingly and said : " How beautiful is the sun, Frenchmen, when it shines upon you as you come to visit us. Our whole village greets you with a welcome. You shall find a home in all our dwellings." The strangers were entertained with the utmost hospitality. As they were about to take their leave, a venerable chief approached Marquette, and suspending by a cord a richly decorated pipe about his neck, said : " This is the sacred calumet. It signifies that wherever you bear it you are messengers of peace. All our tribes will respect it and will protect you from every harm." HISTORY OF OHIO - 25 We can not record this friendly reception without emotion. How beautiful is peace ! How different would the history of this world have been but for man's inhumanity to man. On reaching their boats, the little band of voyagers resumed their journeying down the river. They floated by the mouths of the turbid Missouri and the beautiful Ohio, carefully observing their positions, but making no attempt to ascend either of the streams. The Ohio was then, and for some years after, called the Wabash. Still they floated on, several hundred miles farther, until they reached the mouth of the Arkansas. Here again they found a large Indian village, and they were received by the natives with the same hospitality which had marked their intercourse with the Indians during the whole of the route. They now reascended the majestic stream, and instead of continuing their upward course to the Wisconsin River, these bold explorers entered the Illinois River, and again reached Green Bay by way of Lake Michigan. They had been absent two months. During this time the devoted missionary had lost no opportunity of proclaiming to the Indians the Christian's God, and the way of salvation through faith in an atoning Savior. Even then Marquette had no adequate conception of the true grandeur of that valley he had entered, extending from the Alleghany ridges to the Rocky Mountains. Still, when the tidings of his wonderful discoveries reached Quebec, the exciting intelligence was received with the ringing of bells, with salvos of artillery, and most prominent and important of all, by nearly the whole population, led by the clergy and other dignitaries of the place, going in procession to the cathedral, where the Te Deum was sung, and high mass was celebrated. Soon after this Marquette died. For several years the great river flowed through its vast solitude unexplored and unvisited. Five years after this, in 1678, another French gentleman by the name of LaSalle, attempted the exploration of the Mississippi. He was as enthusiastic, courageous and enterprising as his predecessor. It is said that the King of France had offered him the monopoly of the fur trade in all the new regions which he might explore, and had also furnished means to fit out an expedition to explore the Mississippi to its mouth. LaSalle, with a brave Italian officer by the name of Tonti, sailed from Rochelle, in France, on the 14th of June, 1678. He was 26 - HISTORY OF OHIO. furnished with a ship well armed and supplied. Upon his arrival. in Canada, he built a vessel upon Lake Erie, called the Griffin,which was the first craft, larger than a birch bark canoe, which had ever been launched upon those waters. With a crew of forty men he sailed to Mackinaw, where he purchased of the Indians a very rich cargo of furs. He spent his all in the purchase, but the furs were so valuable that the sale would make him immensely rich. The vessel was lost and LaSalle was ruined. By the way of Lake Michigan and the Illinois River, LaSalle reached the Mississippi. It shows how little this continent was then known, that LaSalle should have sent a boat up the stream, hoping to discover in that direction a passage to China. This party, led by the missionary Father Hennepin, reached the Falls of St. Anthony, where it is said that the Sioux Indians detained them for three months, though they treated their captives kindly. We are not informed of the nature of this friendly captivity, though the travelers were soon released and returned to Canada. LaSalle remained upon the Illinois River, anguish stricken in view of his loss of fortune. He foresaw the immense importance of the wide and unexplored realms he had entered, and he had already formed the plan of attaching them indissolubly to France, by a line of military posts extending from the lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi. With this object in view he commenced building a fort on the Illinois River just above the present site of Peoria. He gave his fortress the singular name of " Crevecceur," or the Broken-hearted. His resources becoming exhausted, this enterprising man, with but three companions, in midwinter, traversed the wilderness on foot a distance of fifteen hundred miles, to Fort Frontenac, in Canada, to obtain supplies for those he had left behind. He returned with men and materials for building a strong boat, for navigating he knew not what unknown streams, hundreds of leagues in extent. In this barge, early in the year 1682, LaSalle and his companions floated down the whole length of the Mississippi to its mouth This was the first descent of the river. LaSalle forgot his griefs in the grandeur of his achievement. He had a mind fully capable of appreciating the resources of the majestic valley he had thus far explored. With a heart throbbing with exultation he unfurled the banners of France on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and 28 - HISTORY OF OHIO. in honor of the French King, gave the whole region he had explored the euphonious name of Louisiana. Elated with his discovery, he hastened back to Quebec. It was a long and toilsome voyage against the stream. From Quebec he sailed to France, where he organized a colony of two hundred and eighty persons, to commence a settlement on the Lower Mississippi. The colonists sailed for that destination, but having no charts to guide them, could not find the mouth of the river; they passed by it and landed in Texas. Here, on the Bay of St. Bernard, LaSalle erected a fort and took possession of the country in the name of his king. This colony came to a sad end. We have no knowledge of the details. We simply know that, being threatened with famine, LaSalle formed the desperate resolve of traversing the wilderness of more than two thousand miles on foot, to Canada, for aid. His men mutinied on the way and killed him. The colonists left behind were soon after all massacred by the Indians, excepting a few children, who were taken captive. Not long after this another expedition was fitted out in France, for the mouth of the Mississippi, under the leadership of M. D'Iberville. He entered the river, with his vessels, and ascended it several hundred miles. At different points permanent establishments were made. And, now, the French government, with ever-increasing vigor, pushed forward its enterprise of establishing military posts at all the points of strategic importance in the wide-spread realm. They had several forts on the lakes, and quite strong military posts on the Illinois River, the Maumee, the Ohio—then called the Wabash—and the Mississippi. Especial attention was then directed to the valley of the Ohio, that vast region, drained by the " Beautiful River " and its many tributaries, and which is now divided off into several of the most powerful States in the Union. England began to look with much solicitude upon what that government called the encroachments of the French. Both kingdoms claimed the territory. The French founded their title upon the fact that they had discovered the great valley, had been the first to explore it, and had taken possession of it by actual colonization. They maintained that, in accordance with the recognized laws of nations, any power, whose subjects first discovered a river, were entitled to jurisdiction over all the country drained by the waters of that river. HISTORY OF OHIO - 29 On the other hand, the English Government maintained that, in taking possession of any portion of the sea coast, and establishing a settlement there, the power, thus in possession, was entitled, not only to the land actually occupied, but to all the contiguous interior territory. Thus they claimed the whole breadth of the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. There seemed to be no compromise possible in claims so decidedly conflicting. The French demanded the land, as they had discovered the rivers which drained it. The English demanded the territory, as they had discovered the coast which fronted it. Both parties admitted that the Indians had certain rights of occupancy which were to be respected. It was very obvious that ere long these two majestic kingdoms would engage in a great conflict of arms, for the possession of the grand valley. The French had greatly the advantage over the English in consequence of the situation of the valley in reference to their possessions on the St. Lawrence. The valley of the Ohio was easily accessible to them, by the great lakes and the many navigable rivers flowing from the north to the south. Thus they enjoyed the inestimable advantage of water communication, for the transportation of troops and stores, to almost any portion of the valley. The vivacious, flexible French were also much more popular with the Indians than the grave, sturdy, unbending English. The valley of the Ohio was separated from the English settlements, on the Atlantic coast, by the rugged and almost impassable ridges of the Alleghany Mountains. It required a journey of several hundred miles, through unknown defiles, and without roads, save the paths of the buffaloes and the trails of the Indians, before the Atlantic settler could catch sight of the tranquil waters of the Ohio. Daniel Boone was one of the first white men who attempted to enter the great valley over the ridges of the Alleghanies. From the door of his solitary cabin on the Yadkin, in North Carolina, he could see, far away in the west, the majestic peaks of the mountains, some of them rising six thousand feet into the clouds, This drear and rugged wall, from fifty to two hundred miles in breadth, and at an average distance of nearly one hundred and fifty miles from the ocean, runs nearly parallel with the coast for hundreds of leagues. But few white men had ever climbed any of 30 - HISTORY OF OHIO. those crags to gaze upon the dim regions beyond. The wildest stories were told, around the cabin fires, of those unexplored realms—of the plumed and painted Indians, of the verdant, blooming, park like prairies, and of the majestic, almost boundless forests, clear of underbrush and all filled with game—of the rivers, sparkling with fishes, and the nuts, and berries, and grapes, 'growing in richest profusion. Daniel Boone, endowed by nature with a passionate love of the solitude and sublimity of the wilderness, listened to the recital of these marvels with a throbbing heart. As he mused the fire burned. A small company of six hardy pioneers was organized to cross the mountains and explore the world beyond. Not even a pack-horse could tread those defiles or climb those cliffs. With their rifles the adventurers would procure food, and with their hatchets rear such shelters as they might need. Hardy as were these pioneers, and accustomed as they were to life in the wilderness, they -found their path so rugged and intricate that it took them a full month to effect the passage of the mountains. Where Daniel Boone and his companions crossed these successive ridges, the distance, in a direct line, was nearly three hundred miles. They made it perhaps twice that distance by the circuitous route which they found it necessary to take, threading these innumerable defiles. In the valleys, buffaloes were found in great abundance, and very tame, as they were so far removed from the usual route of the Indian hunters. In June they reached the summit of the most westernly ridge, and gazed, almost entranced with delight, upon the Eden-like beauty of the scene which was spread out before them. Distance lent enchantment to the forests, softening down all the asperities of the landscape. Lakes, rivers, forests, prairies, were all aglow with the. radiance of the setting sun. An artist has seized upon this incident and has transferred it to canvas in one of the most attractive pictures, entitled " Daniel Boone's First View of Kentucky." Rapidly descending the western declivity of the mountains, they came to a smooth, flower-bespangled prairie, upon the banks of a stream now called Red River. It was a lovely spot. The water was of crystal clearness. There was a beautiful grove skirting the stream, with shade from the sun and shelter from the wind, and ample material for their but and for fires. Game, in great HISTORY OF OHIO - 31 variety, was also abundant. Lured by the attractions which the spot presented, they reared their cabin and passed the whole summer there, in apparently luxurious indolence. Daniel Boone's only record of these months is : " In this forest, the habitation of beasts of every kind natural to America, we practiced hunting with great success, until the 22d day of December following." Through all this period no Indians were seen, and no traces of them were visible. Their but was built of logs, with a wide opening in front, which faced the south, the interstices between the logs being filled with clay. The climate was mild, the men all good natured and congenial. The summer and autumn seemed to have passed away very delightfully. One day Boone, with one of his companions, John Stewart, set out on a hunting expedition to a little greater distance from the camp than usual. They were following along one of those streets as they were called, which the buffalo had marked out and trampled down in single file for ages. Suddenly a large band of Indians, in ambush, sprang out upon them from the thick cane brakes which lined the path. Escape was impossible, and resistance could be of no avail. The savages plundered them of all they had, but inflicted upon them no personal injuries. They were thieves only, not enemies; for thus far, these remote Indians had received no injuries from the white men to exasperate them. Boone acted the part of a true philosopher, and, by the course he pursued, soon won the confidence and even the affection of these wild men. He assumed perfect contentment with his lot, appearing unconscious that he was a captive. He cultivated friendly relations with them ; showed them, to their inexpressible astonishment, the marvelous powers of the death-dealing rifle, which instrument they had never seen before. They were amazed when they saw the invisible rifle bullet strike down the game even at twice the distance their arrows would reach. They admired the courage of Boone, and soon relaxed their vigilance over their captives, whom they were daily leading farther and farther from their camp. Boone was thoroughly acquainted with the Indian character. He knew that any attempt to escape, if unsuccessful, would but bury the tomahawk in his brain. Thus seven days and nights passed away. This band of Indian hunters had their home far 32 - HISTORY OF OHIO. away in the North, beyond the flood of a majestic river, which they called the Wabash; which the French called, when they discovered it, La Belle Riviere, or The Beautiful River; and which we now call the Ohio. The vast plains, now known as Kentucky constituted then a sort of neutral hunting ground for many surrounding tribes. The Indians who had captured Boone came from the vicinity of the present town of Chillicothe, on the Scioto River. Rapidly they were retracing their footsteps homeward with their two white captives. Each night they built their fires, cooked what they deemed a luxurious supper from choice cuts of the game they had taken, spent a few hours in jokes and laughter, and boastful stories, and then, having appointed one of their number as a guard, threw themselves on the ground around the fires and slept soundly until morning. Ordinarily they paid no more attention to the weather than did the buffaloes around them. Daniel Boone was a man of superior mind. John Stewart, his fellow captive, conscious of this, was ever ready to follow his counsel. They both feigned entire contentment and friendliness, and soon so far dispelled all suspicion of any desire to escape, that they were treated as adopted members of the tribe. On the seventh night after the capture, the Indians, aided by Boone's death-dealing rifle, had been unusually successful in the chase. In many respects the savages were, in character, like overgrown children. Elated with abundance they had a sumptuous feast, and sang and danced till midnight, causing the wide solitudes of the forest to resound with their jollity. The night was very dark. The Indians slept soundly. Even the guard had fallen asleep, leaning against the trunk of a tree ; his bow and arrow had fallen from his hand ; the fire, unreplenished, burned feebly ; they were in the midst of a boundless forest, as free from underbrush as a nobleman's park. The autumnal fires, annually kindled by the Indians, swept through the heavy growth of timber consuming the leaves and dried herbage, and all tender sprouts, but left the sturdy trees unharmed. The favorable moment for escape had come. And yet the attempt was full of peril. The savages, like dogs, slept very lightly. The slightest unaccustomed sound caused them to spring to their feet, with their weapons ready for use. Their friendship was very precarious. The escaping captives, if detected, were sure to be followed. HISTORY OF OHIO - 33 John Stewart was soundly asleep. Daniel Boone was feigning slumber. Fortunately they both had been allowed to retain their rifles, which had proved so valuable in supplying the Indians with game. Cautiously Boone awoke his companion, and motioned him to follow. With moccasined feet, they softly trod, conscious that the rustling of a leaf, or the breaking of a twig would cause them instant death. After a few moments of intense solicitude, moving with a step as soft and stealthy as that of the panther, they found themselves, with throbbing hearts, at a distance of several rods from the smouldering fires. The darkness of midnight enveloped them ; the gloom of the forest surrounded them. Even an Indian's piercing eye, could no longer discern their movements. Daniel Boone was in nearly all respects the superior of his savage captors. He was their equal in strength and endurance. He was equally with them accustomed to forest life and all its emergencies ; and he enjoyed the inestimable advantage which the culture of civilization gives, over merely savage instincts. Dark as was the night, and dense as was the growth of the forest, Daniel Boone was able to direct his steps in a straight line towards the camp from which he was removed by the distance of a seven day's journey. The Indians not having taken him at the camp, had no conception of its locality. They, therefore, when they awoke in the morning, would have no clue to the direction of his flight. The fugitives were also very careful not to leave behind them any trace of their footsteps. Though it chanced that the weather was very mild in that region, fortunately for them, these December nights were very long. Hour after hour they pressed their flight, till the dawn of the morning, and through the hours of another day, apparently as tireless as if their sinews were of wrought iron. Then, at length, as the sun was going down, feeling, in some measure, secure from pursuit, they ventured to shoot some game, kindle a small fire, just sufficient to cook their supper, and then extinguishing its embers, they threw themselves upon the sod to enjoy that sweet sleep which weariness brings to the healthy man. At length they reached their camp, and to their disappointment and alarm, found it plundered and deserted. They were quite unable to decide whether some Indian band had discovered it and carried of its occupants with all their effects, or whether their 3 34 - HISTORY OF OHIO. companions, alarmed by the loss of Boone and Stewart, and seeing indications that the savages were around them, had broken up their encampment and fled. In either case the men must have perished in the wilderness, for no tidings were ever heard of them. Their fate is to be added to the thousand of tragedies, ever occurring upon the sea and upon the land, which no pen has recorded, and which the revelations of the judgment-day can alone unfold. Boone and Stewart were thus left alone in the wilderness. One would have supposed that these disasters would have led them to retrace their steps homeward. They were at the distance of five hundred miles from their cabins on the banks of the Yadkin. It is difficult to imagine what motives could have induced them to prolong their stay. But they do not seem to have thought of a movement homeward. Apprehensive that the Indians had discovered their camp, and might pay it another visit, they did not venture to reinhabit it. They, however, selected another spot at a distance, so concealed by nature that it could not be found unless carefully sought for, where they reared another hut. Here they remained for a month. Notwithstanding the greatest care in husbanding their resources, their powder and lead were rapidly disappearing, and the question of a supply began to force itself painfully upon them. It is often said that fact is stranger than fiction. A well-authenticated incident now occurred which seems almost incredible. Boone and Stewart were in a little, carefully-concealed hut, in the depths of a pathless, unexplored wilderness of mountains, rivers, lakes and forests, five hundred miles beyond the remotest frontiers of civilization. One sunny morning in January they were sitting at the door of their camp, when, not a little to their alarm, they discovered two men in the distance. They supposed, of course, that they were Indians, probably followed by a numerous band. Captivity with its unknown fate seemed imminent. They endeavored to conceal themselves, and as the men drew nearer, saw, to their surprise, that they were white men. One proved to be Daniel Boone's brother, who had the singular Christian name of Squire. The other was a North Carolinian, who had accompanied him. They brought with them quite a supply of powder and lead, an inestimable treasure, which no labor could create and no money could purchase in the wilder- HISTORY OF OHIO - 35 ness. How they were enabled to find the wanderers it is difficult to imagine. There were now four to occupy the hut ; the two Boones, Stewart, and the companion of Squire Boone, whose name is not given. As the weeks glided away, and there were no signs of Indians, the men became emboldened, and gradually extended the range of their hunting grounds. Again one day Boone and Stewart were in pursuit of game, at quite a distance from the camp, when they found themselves almost surrounded by Indians. These savages had probably heard of the white men, and of the wonderful power of their rifles, for instead of rushing upon them for their capture, they let fly upon them, from ambush, a shower of arrows. Stewart was almost instantly killed. Boone was wounded, and with the agility of a deer disappeared in the forest. The savages, probably dreading the bullet, did not venture to pursue him. If they made any attempt to discover his camp, they were unsuccessful. They were a band of wandering hunters who, moving over the boundless plains, had accidentally come across the pioneers. Not long after this the Carolinian, who seems to have been rather an attendant of Squire Boone, and a man of not much character, wandered in the woods and was lost. It is supposed he perished of hunger. A skeleton subsequently found, picked clean by the wolves, indicated his fate. The two brothers Boone were now the sole occupants of the camp. Boone says their life was far from an idle one ; that they had sufficient employment to occupy their time. They had game to hunt, bring in and dress ; their hut to guard against the violence of storms ; their fire to kindle, replenish and watch, and to keep themselves provided with a sufficient supply of fuel ; deer-skins to tan softly, and to fashion into clothing and moccasins ; and, more than all, they had to keep up an unremitting guard against the Indians. The Spring came early, and beautiful with bud, leaf and flower. And now occurs another of those incidents which seems utterly inexplicable. Their powder and lead were nearly expended. A supply was essential to any further continuance in the wilderness. But the question arises, " Why should either of them have wished to remain any longer in those perilous solitudes ? " There was nothing apparent to be accomplished by it, unless it were the gratification of the love of adventure, in exploring beautiful realms 36 - HISTORY OF OHIO. which the light of civilization had never yet penetrated. Whatever may have been the motive which influenced these extraordinary men, the fact remains certain. Squire Boone set out alone, on foot, with no earthly protection but his rifle, to traverse a pathless wilderness five hundred miles in extent, exposed to ferocious beasts, such as panthers, bears and wolves, and to wandering bands of Indians still more to be dreaded. Having gained his home, he was to load himself with powder and bullets, and retrace his steps to the lonely camp of his brother. It was a journey which, with the utmost diligence, would require at least three months for its accomplishment. In the meantime Daniel was to be left alone in his solitary hut. On the first of May, 177o, Squire Boone set out on his arduous journey, and Daniel, as he expressed himself, was left " one by myself, without bread, salt or sugar ; without company of any fellow-creatures, or even a horse or a dog." It is said that he spent his time in a cave, which, tapestried and carpeted with skins, he had rendered comfortable and cheerful. It was situated on the waters of the Shawanee, in Mercer County, Kentucky. CHAPTER II. CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND. THE RETURN OF SQUIRE BOONE - THE EMIGRATING COMPANY-CLAIMS OF THE FRENCH - EXPEDITIONS FROM CANADA-MISSION OF CHRISTOPHER GIST- PECULIAR FESTIVALS CONFLICT AT THE MIAMI HEROIC FEAT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON - HIS EARLY DAYS- JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS- EXTRACTS FROM WASHINGTON'S JOURNAL - LORD FAIRFAX - WASHINGTON COMMISSIONED AS MAJOR - HIS PERILOUS UNDERTAKING - MELANCHOLY ADVENTURE. AFTER THE lapse of three months, early in August, Squire Boone returned, and found his brother safe and alone in his solitude. But Daniel Boone declares, that during the absence of Squire, he had not experienced one hour of loneliness. The charms of the wilderness to him were such, that in the brightness of the sunniest day, and in the gloom of the darkest night, he was alike serene and happy. He was never over-excited by joy, or depressed by sadness ; even the perpetual howling of the wolves, in the forest, afforded him a kind of pensive pleasure. Squire Boone succeeded in bringing with him, over the mountains, two pack-horses. They were an invaluable, but perilous acquisition to the pioneers. They brought an ample supply of the necessaries for camp life. But the sagacious Indians could, without difficulty, follow their trail, and the animals could not easily be concealed. Still eight months passed away, and no In, dians approached them. Mounting their horses, they explored the region, far and wide, until they became very thoroughly ac, quainted with the country, the flow of the rivers, the sweep of the mountains, and the fertile, treeless meadows, or prairies, which were all prepared by nature, for the plow and the hoe. Thus they employed themselves during the lovely autumn, and the mild winter, seldom sleeping two nights in the same place. It seems 38 - HISTORY OF OHIO. as though a special providence must have protected them from encountering any of the Indian bands ever running over those hunting fields. Daniel Boone having become thoroughly conversant with this southern portion of the great valley, and appreciating its value to future generations, set out with his brother, in March, 1771, on his return home. The journey of a few weeks brought him to the Yadkin, where he found his wife and family in safety. The labors. of his elder sons, with their rifles, and the cultivation of a few fertile acres, amply supplied the wants of the household. A company was soon formed, incited by the representations of Daniel Boone, to emigrate to those realms, beyond the mountains,, of marvelous fertility and beauty. This is not the place to enter into the details of this expedition intimately, as its fate was subsequently connected with the settlements in that northern portion of the great valley which is now called Ohio. These emigrants,, after a series of wonderful adventures, established a settlement in the southern portion of the great valley, at a place now called: Booneville, Kentucky. We must now retrace a little the path of time. While these scenes were transpiring south of the Ohio River, the French were enjoying the almost undisturbed possession of all the vast territory north of that majestic stream. They had established military posts, around which flourishing settlements were springing up, at Detroit, Peoria, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes. To render their title still more valid, the Governor of Canada had sent surveyors, with a. guard of three hundred soldiers, to plant leaden plates, containing inscriptions of the claims of France, at the mouths of all the principal rivers flowing into the Ohio. Captain Celeron, who led the expedition, was also instructed,, should he meet with any English traders among the Indians, to warn them off, as trespassers on the territory of France. The English traders, in pursuit of furs, were, at this time, penetrating, the country in various directions, and they had established quite an important trading house on the banks of the Great Miami. River. And, in the meantime, the King of England had granted to several English companies the whole coast of North America,. between the Spanish possessions in the south and the French possessions in the north. The language of these grants declared, 40 - HISTORY OF OHIO that their territory should extend " up into the land throughout, from sea to sea, west and northwest." In 1748, a company was formed in Virginia, entitled the " Ohio Land Company." The object was to survey the lands and establish English colonies beyond the Alleghanies. They sent an agent to explore the region, and to direct particular attention to that portion of it which is now included within the limits of Ohio. This agent, Christopher Gist, traveling through leagues of almost .unbroken forest, crossed the Muskingum and Scioto Rivers, and was kindly received in a large village of Shawnee Indians, on the banks of the Ohio, a few miles below the mouth of the Scioto River. Here he witnessed a very singular spectacle, which is worthy of record as illustrative of barbarian customs. It was announced that there was to be a great festival, of three days, continuance, first of fasting, then of feasting and dancing. At the close of the festival, all the married women were at liberty to choose their husbands anew. We are not informed whether the young girls were permitted at that time to select their companions, or what rights a man had to reject a woman whom he might not fancy. After an abundant feast and great merry-making, the women were all assembled in front of one of their largest wigwams, called the Council House. The men then, gaily plumed and decorated, danced before them, performing the intricate mazes of their barbarian cotillions, with loud shootings and the clangor of their rude instruments. It was in the night. The whole wild-like spectacle was brilliantly illuminated by the blaze of their fires. The women eagerly watched their movements. When any man drew near whom any woman fancied, she seized a part of his garment and joined him in the dance. Thus the festival continued until all the women had selected their partners, when the new marriages were all solemnized together. One's curiosity is somewhat excited to know what would be the fate of the man whom no woman fancied. And again, how would the difficulty be settled should half a dozen women, at the same moment, pounce upon some gay cavalier. An infirm dame of fifty years might, perchance, grasp the garment of some lithe young warrior of twenty. There is probably now some large town of wealth and culture HISTORY OF OHIO - 41 near the spot where these curious barbaric betrothals and nuptials took place, only a little more than one hundred years ago. What would probably be the result were the dance now some night renewed, were each woman to enjoy the privilege of remaining with her present husband, or selecting a new partner. If we may judge by the frequency of divorces, in these modern times, probably some remarkable changes would take place. Mr. Gist then continued his journey more than a hundred miles farther west, through an almost unbroken forest, to the Miami River. Here there was another numerous tribe of Indians, called the Miamis. It was not far from the mouth of this stream that the English had established their most important trading post. Retracing his steps to the Scioto, Mr. Gist took a birch canoe, and descended the river to the Falls of the Ohio. The French, hearing that the British traders had established hemselves on the Miami, sent a detachment of soldiers, with a pretty strong force of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, to destroy the settlement. The Miami warriors took the part of their friends, the English. There was a hard fight. The Miamis were overpowered; the block-house was demolished, and the traders were carried prisoners to Canada. Of course, the English were greatly enraged. But the French, with their many garrisons scattered through the wilderness, were far too strong, in the Great Valley, for the English to attempt to cope with them there. There was a small English trading post at a place called Logstown, on the north bank of the Ohio, seventeen miles below Pittsburgh. Some English commissioners were sent there to meet the chiefs of several adjacent tribes. Here they obtained the ratification of a treaty, into which they had previously entered, for the cession to the English of a large tract of land in Ohio. They also made arrangements to construct a fort at the mouth of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, whose united floods form the upper waters of the Ohio. The Monongahela flows from the south a distance of three hundred miles, furnishing more than two hundred miles of boat navigation. It is nearly four hundred yards in width at its mouth. The Alleghany comes down from the north a distance of nearly four hundred miles, also affording boat navigation through regions three hundred miles in extent. It contributes its flood, equally abundant with that of the Monongahela, for the formation of the 42 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Ohio. This beautiful river flows a distance of nine hundred and. fifty-nine miles, through as lovely a region as can be found on this globe, before it enters the Mississippi. Its waters flow two thousand five hundred miles before they are emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. The French kept a vigilant eye upon this movement. It was much easier, as we have said, for them to penetrate the great valley by the lakes and by the streams flowing down from the north, than for the English to enter the valley by clambering the rocky heights, and toiling through the rugged defiles of the Alleghany ridges. Secretly they organized a strong force at a place on Lake Erie, which they called " Presque Isle " or Almost an Island. With ample supplies of stores and munitions of war, they were soon in a condition to penetrate the Valley of the Ohio at any point. Between the mouths of the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers there was a beautiful plain. In a stratgeic point of view, it was one of the most favorable localities for the site of a fort, and also presented remarkable attractions for a trading and industrial colony. The Governors of Pennsylvania and Virginia sent a commissioner across the mountains to descend the Ohio River until he should come to some military post, and there, in the name of the British Government, to warn the French that war would be the inevitable result of their continued encroachments. The envoy set out upon his journey, but soon became alarmed for his personal safety. The Indians were generally in sympathy with the French. If the French should see fit to take him a prisoner and send him to Canada, or should they judge it expedient to secure his assassination by the Indians, either could be done without the slightest difficulty. Intimidated by these reflections he turned upon his steps, without fulfilling his instructions. In this emergency, a young man by the name of George Washington, nineteen years of age, came forward and offered his services as a messenger to the French garrisons. The heroism of this extraordinary young man had already attracted attention, and secured for him, in an unusual degree, the confidence of the community. The following brief sketch of the previous history of this remarkable man, who now entered upon his arduous embassy, will be read with interest. Two centuries ago, two brothers, young gentlemen of wealth HISTORY OF OHIO - 43 and culture, emigrated to America from England. One of these. brothers, Lawrence Washington, was a lawyer, a graduate from. Oxford University. The other, John, was an accomplished man of business. It was lovely summer weather when the ship which bore them passed through that majestic inland sea, Chesapeake Bay, and ascended the Potomac River. The primeval forest spread in all directions with its silence and solitude. Here and. there were to be seen, in the sheltered coves, a little cluster of Indian wigwams, with naked children playing upon the beach,. and birch canoes, paddled by plumed warriors, floating like bubbles on the wave. The two brothers purchased an extensive tract of land on the western bank of the Potomac, about fifty miles above its mouth. John built a house, married Miss Pope, and after a few years of life's tragic drama died. His second son, Augustine, remained in. the paternal home. He inherited the peaceful virtues of his father, and, like him, drank of life's mingled cup of joy and grief. His wife, Jane Butler, as lovely in character as she was beautiful in person, died, leaving a broken-hearted husband and three little orphan children to weep over her grave. Their bereaved father eventually found another mother for his orphans. Mary Ball, who thus became Mary Washington, was a lady of rare merit. She was beautiful, intelligent, accomplished and a. warm-hearted Christian. Augustine and Mary were married on the sixth of March, 1730. On the twenty-second of February they received to their arms their first-born child, to whom they gave the name of George. Little could they then imagine that their babe was to render the name of George Washington one of the most illustrious in the annals of time. George was highly blessed in both of his parents. The precepts were enforced by the example of blameless lives. Blessed. with competence, their home, replete with every comfort, was. reared upon one of the most lovely spots on the banks of the Potomac. It was a spacious one-story cottage, with a deep veranda in front. A well-kept lawn spread in gentle descent to the pebbly shore. The river in front of the house was nearly ten miles broad, decorated with a few enchanting islands, while beyond the interminable forest spread, in all its grandeur, over hills and vales. In those days the smoke of Indian fires curled. up through the forest, while the flash from the paddle of the red. 44 - HISTORY OF OHIO. man's canoe glanced over the waves, and occasionally the sails of the white man's ship were seen ascending the majestic stream. George, from earliest childhood, developed a noble character. He was a handsome boy, of commanding figure and great strength. His frankness, fearlessness, moral courage and sense of justice, attracted the attention and admiration of his companions. The story of his trying the keen edge of his hatchet upon the cherry tree is known to every child. It alike illustrates the character of the father and the son. When George was but twelve years of age his father died. The grief-stricken widow was left with six fatherless children. But Mary Washington was equal to the task. The confidence which Augustine reposed in his wife is shown by the fact, that he left the entire income of his property to her until the children should become of age. Nobly she discharged her task. A nation's homage now gathers around the memory of Mary, the mother of Washington. George never ceased to revere his mother. She was to him as :a guardian angel. She formed his character. To the principles of probity and religion which she instilled into his mind, he ever .attributed his success in life. In the final division of the estate, the eldest son, Lawrence, the child of Jane Butler, inherited Mount Vernon, including twenty-five acres of land. George received, as his share, the paternal mansion, with its broad and fertile acres, which was situated several miles farther down the river. Lady Washington, before her marriage, was deemed one of the most beautiful girls in Virginia. Through life's severe discipline she had developed a remarkably sincere, well-balanced and lovely character. The influence which she thus acquired over her noble son continued unabated until the hour of her death. The first families in Virginia took much pride in splendid horses. Lady Washington had a span of iron grays remarkable for their spirit and beauty. One of these colts, though accustomed to the carriage, had never been broken to the saddle. It was said that no one could mount him. George, then a lad of thirteen, approached the colt, soothed him with caresses, and watching his opportunity leaped upon his back. The spirited animal, half terrified, half indignant, after a few desperate but vain attempts to throw his rider, dashed over the fields with the speed of the wind. HISTORY OF OHIO - 45 The inconsiderate boy, fearless and ardent, gave him the rein, and when the breathless steed began to flag urged him on, unaware of the injury be was doing, until the nervous, high-blooded animal burst a blood vessel and dropped dead beneath him. George, greatly agitated, hastened to his mother and informed her of what he had done. Her characteristic reply was — " My son, I forgive you because you have had the courage to, tell me the truth at once. Had you skulked away I should have despised you." In a common school George was a diligent scholar, though he did not develop any brilliance of genius. He had simply a good, well-balanced mind. There is now extant a manuscript book, in which he carefully copied out promissory notes, bills of sale, land warrants, leases, wills and other such business papers, that he might be ready, at any time, to draw up such documents. Another manuscript book he had collated with great care, entitled " Rules for Behavior in Company." Thus was this boy of thirteen preparing for the future by the careful culture of his mind, his manners and his heart. He could hardly have made better preparations for the illustrious career before him had some good angel informed him of the responsibilities he was to brave and the renown he was to attain. At sixteen years of age, George, then a man in maturity of character, left school. He was fond of mathematical studies and excelled in them. His tastes led him to enter upon the profession of a civil engineer. In a new country, increasing rapidly in population, there was great demand for such services, there were but few men capable of performing them, and consequently the employment was highly remunerative. George Washington was even then an accomplished man. Whatever he undertook he did well. His handwriting was plain as print. Every document which came from his pen was perfect in spelling, punctuation and capitals. These excellent habits, thus early formed, he retained through life. Upon leaving school he visited his brother at Mount Vernon. It was then, as now, a lovely spot, commanding an enchanting view. Mr. William Fairfax, an English gentleman of education and refinement, resided about eight miles from Mount Vernon. Lawrence had married one of his daughters. Lord Fairfax, a brother of William, had purchased an immense estate in Virginia, extending over unex- 46 - HISTORY OF OHIO. plored regions of mountains, rivers and valleys. Lord Fairfax met George Washington at his brother William's. He was charmed with his intelligence, energy and manliness —a boy in years, a man in maturity of character. He engaged this lad, then but one month over sixteen years of age, to survey these pathless wilds, ranged then by ferocious beasts and savage men. It may be doubted whether a boy of his age ever before undertook a task so arduous. It was thus that George Washington entered upon the stern duties of his eventful life. It was the month of March, 1748, when young Washington commenced the survey for Lord Fairfax. The cold blasts of winter were still sweeping the ridges of the mountains which were crested with ice and snow. The mountain streams were swollen by the spring rains into foaming torrents. The Indians, however, inhabiting the regions he was to traverse, were generally supposed to be friendly. There were also to be found, scattered here and there through the wilderness, the huts of rude and fearless frontiersmen. Through almost pathless solitudes, this heroic boy undertook to thread his way. It was a journey full of toil, romance and peril. There were no paths through the wilderness but the narrow trail of the savage. He floated down the silent rivers in the frail birch canoe. There were towering mountains to be climbed, and morasses to be penetrated, which had never been traversed by the foot of a white man. Generally, at night, he slept in the open air, or in such a rude shelter as he could in a few moments construct. Sometimes he would find a resting place in the log cabin of a settler, and again an Indian would give him hospitable welcome to the fire in his wigwam. This must have been a strange experience for this quiet, thoughtful boy, who had been so tenderly nurtured in his Christian home. We can but faintly imagine his feelings, as at midnight, wrapped in his cloak, with his feet to the fire, in the wig-warn, with slumbering savages all around him, men, women and children, he listened to the storm as it breathed its requiem through the surging forest, blending with the cry of wild beasts. The following extract from his journal under date of the 15th of March, 1748, gives us a little insight into some of his experiences. It is describing a night in a settler's log hut. HISTORY OF OHIO - 47 " Worked hard till night and then returned. After supper we were lighted into a room. I, not being so good a woodman as the rest, stripped myself very orderly and went into bed, as they call it, when, to my surprise, I found it to be nothing but a little straw matted together, without sheet or anything else but one thread-bare blanket, with double its weight of vermin. I was glad to get up and put on my clothes, and lie as my companions did. Had we not been very tired, I am sure we should not have slept much that night. I made a promise to sleep no more in a bed, choosing rather to sleep in the open air before a fire," Again he wrote, on the 2d of April : " A blowing, rainy night. Our straw upon which we were lying took fire. But I was luckily preserved by one of our men awaking when it was in a flame. We have run off four lots this day." Again he wrote in terms characteristic of this noble man : " The receipt of your kind letter of the 2d instant, offered me unspeakable pleasure. It convinces me that I am still in the memory of so worthy a friend— a friendship I shall ever be proud of increasing. " Yours gave me the more pleasure as I received it among barbarians and an uncouth set of people. Since you received my letter of October last, I have not slept above three or four nights in a bed. But after walking a good deal all the day, I have lain down before the fire, on a little hay, straw, fodder or bear skin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife and children, like dogs and cats, and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire. I have never had my clothes off, but have lain and slept on them, except the few nights I have been in Fredericksburg." Washington gained so much reputation on this tour that he was employed by the State of Virginia as state surveyor. For three years he was employed in these arduous and responsible duties. We can hardly conceive of anything more attractive than such a .life to a young man in all the vigor of youth and health, and with a soul capable of appreciating the beauties and sublimities of nature and the romance of wild adventure. The Indian paddled him in his fairy like canoe, along the river or over the lake. Now he stood in the bright morning sunlight upon the brow of the mountain, gazing over an interminable expanse of majestic forests, where lakes slept, and streams glided, and valleys opened in Eden-like beauty. 48 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Lord Fairfax, who had become the warm friend of George Washington, had reared for himself quite an imposing mansion of stone, in a lovely valley of the Alleghanies, beyond the Blue Ridge. He was living there in baronial splendor, and in his spacious saloons George Washington was ever a welcome guest. The tide of emigration was slowly working its way over the mountains, into the vast valleys beyond, which had then no recognized boundaries or limits. Though the French in Canada were far more favorably situated to enter this region, through their lakes and rivers, than were the English on the Atlantic coast, who had the mountain barriers to climb, still the English colonies, in population, exceeded the French eight or ten to one. Unprincipled desperadoes, from the English frontiers, armed with the deadly rifle, were continually exciting the vengeance of the peacefully-inclined Indians, by the most atrocious crimes. The war whoop echoed through the forest. At midnight merciless savages, with hideous yells, assailed the lonely but of the settler. Speedily his whole household fell beneath the tomahawk, and around the burning dwelling the maddened Indians indulged in their horrid orgies. No pen can describe the horrors which then ensued. Tragedies were enacted, in the solitudes of the wilderness, which the revelations of the judgment-day can alone bring to light. The whole military force of Virginia was called into requisition to protect the frontier. The ignorant savages could make no discrimination between the innocent and the guilty. The state was divided into districts, over which a military commander was appointed with the title of major. George Washington was one of the majors. With tireless energies he devoted himself to the study of military art, with especial reference to the peculiar warfare essential in a conflict with savages in the depths of the wilderness. He saw clearly that the tactics of European armies would be of little avail under these novel circumstances. The State of Virginia was then, as now, bounded, according to the claim of the English, for a distance of several hundred miles by the waters of the Ohio River. When Washington, a young man not yet twenty-one years of age, volunteered his services to convey the remonstrance of the governors against the French, it was universally regarded as an act of great heroism. The sobriety and dignity of his character HISTORY OF OHIO - 49 were such that no one could ever accuse him of boyish foolhardiness. He knew perfectly well what he had undertaken, for he had already experienced and triumphed over the perils and hardships of the wilderness. Lord Dinwiddie, the Governor of Virginia, a sturdy old Scotchman, as he accepted the proffered aid of this heroic young man, said to him: " Truly you are a brave lad, and if you play your cards well, you shall have no cause to repent your bargain." It was the 14th of November when Washington left Williamsburg on this difficult and arduous enterprise. The following narration of his adventures by the way is given mainly in the words to be found in Abbott's " Lives of the Presidents." There is something sublime in the calm courage with which he set out, well knowing that he was to pass through the region of hostile Indian tribes, and that it was their practice not merely to kill their prisoners, but to prolong their sufferings as far as possible, through the most exquisite and diabolical tortures. He took with him but eight men, two of them being Indians. They soon passed the few sparse settlements which were springing up near the Atlantic coast, and plunged into the pathless forest. Winter was fast approaching, and its dismal gales wailed through the tree tops. The early snow crowned the summits of the mountains, and the autumnal rains had swollen the brooks and the rivers. Guided by the sagacity of the Indians, they threaded the forest until they reached the Monongahela River, which, as we have said,. flowing from the south, unites with the Alleghany from the north and forms the Ohio. Here they took a birch canoe, and in eight days paddled down that river a distance of nearly three hundred miles, to the mouth of the Alleghany, where Pittsburgh now stands. The sublime solitudes of these realms was then broken only by the occasional cluster of a few Indian wigwams upon the bank, and now and then the shouts of children playing in the water. No blows of the settler's ax reverberated through the forest. No report of the hunter's gun was heard. The birch canoe glided noiselessly by over the waves, and the arrow of the hunter gave forth no sound in its flight through the air — this dead silence of the wilderness ! At the junction of the two rivers Washington commenced 4