consisted of the "Detroit," Commodore Barclay, of nineteen guns and two howitzers ; the "Queen Charlotte," Captain Fumis, of seventeen guns ; the "Lady Prevost," Lieutenant  Buchan, of thirteen guns and two howitzers ; the brig "Hunter," of ten guns ; the sloop  "Little Belt," of three guns, and the schooner "Chippewa," of one gun and two swivels ; in all six vessels, sixty-three guns, four howitzers and two swivels. About 1 o'clock a change in the wind to the southeast gave the American squadron the weather gage. Commodore Perry then hoisted his Mizzen Jack, having for a motto the dying words of the lamented Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship." It was received with repeated cheering by the officers and crews. Having formed his line he bore down upon the enemy, who likewise cleared for action, and hauled up his colors. At a quarter before twelve the enemy's flagship and the "Queen Charlotte" opened fire upon the "Lawrence," which she sustained for ten minutes, before she was near enough to work her guns, which were carronades. She continued to bear up, making signals for the other vessels to hasten to her support, and at five minutes before twelve brought her guns to bear upon the enemy. The tremendous fire to which Perry was exposed soon rendered the "Lawrence" unmanagable ; she was reduced almost to a wreck ; nearly the whole of her crew was either killed or wounded, and the Commodore that he must make a bold movement or lose the action. With a courage and spirit which deserved success, Perry determined to abandon the "Lawrence" and hoist his flag on the "Niagara," which was then in the thickest of the fight. Leaving Lieutenant Yarnell in the "Lawrence," he hauled down his inspirrng colors, and taking them under his arms, gave orders to be put on board the ship where Elliot was in command. In quitting the "Lawrence" he gave his pilot choice to remain on board or to accompany him. The faithful fellow Ad him "he'd stick by him to the last," and jumped into the boat. Perry left the ship in his usual gallant manner, standing up in the stern of the boat until pulled down by the crew. Broadsides were leveled at him and small arms discharged by the enemy, two of whose vessels were within musket range and a third one even nearer. His brave shipmates who remained behind, stood watching him in breathless anxiety, the balls struck around him and passed closely over his head in all directions ; but the same providence that watched over the heroic Commodore throughout this desperate battle conducted him safely amid a shower of shot and his crew beheld with exaltation his flag hoisted at the masthead of the "Niagara." No sooner was he on board than Captain Elliot volunteered to put off in a boat and bring into action the schooners which had been kept astern by lack of wind ; the gallant offer was accepted, and Elliot left the "Niagara" to put it into execution. About this time Perry saw, with great regret, the flag of the "Lawrence" come down. But the event was unavoidable. She had sustained the full brunt of the battle and was rendered incapable of defense; any further show of resistance would :have resulted in most useless and cruel carnage. The enemy, however, was not able to take possession of her, and subsequent circumstances enabled her to again hoist the flag. Commodore Perry now gave signal for close action, and the small vessels got out their sweeps and •made all sail. Finding that the "Niagara" was but little injured, he determined, if possible, to break the enemy's line. He accordingly bore up and passed ahead of the two ships and brig, giving them a raking fire from his starboard guns, and also to a large schooner and sloop from his larboard side, at half pistol shot. Passing the whole squadron he lulled up and laid his ship alongside the British flagship. The small vessels under the direction of Captain Elliot, having, in the meantime, got within grape and canister distance, and keeping up a well-directed fire, the whole fleet of the enemy struck excepting the "Little Belt" and "Chippewa," which attempted to escape, but were pursued by two gunboats and taken. The engagement lasted three hours, and never was a victory more decisive and complete. The carnage was fear- - 75 - ful; the Americans having lost twenty-seven killed and ninety-six wounded, and the British forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded. Commodore Barclay was among the latter. Perry, who was unhurt, immediately sent a dispatch to General Harrison, which, for its brevity and point, is well worth quoting: "U. S. Brig 'Niagara,' September 10, 1813, 4 p.m. "Dear General—We have met the enemy and they are ours—two ships, two brigs, one schooner and a sloop. Yours, with great respect and esteem, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY." The results of this victory were instantaneous, and of the utmost consequence. It had been won by a squadron of American vessels over a British squadron, in which it differed materially from other maritime successes achieved during the war. But that was not the chief matter of exultation ; the Americans were now masters of Lake Erie, and had it in their power at once to intercept the whole coasting trade, by which Proctor's troops and Indians were supplied with provisions, to land any force they chose in his rear and to entirely cut him off from Kingston and York. Abandoning, therefore, and destroying all his fortified posts beyond the Grand River, Proctor commenced to retreat at once, accompanied by Tecumseh and his Indians, Tecumseh not deserting his allies, now that victory had turned against them, although nearly all the other Indians abruptly left the cause. After the victory of Lake Erie, General Harrison, aided by General Shelby, resolved to cross the lake to Malden, and march from there to Detroit, with the intention of capturing the latter. But on arriving at Malden General Harrison found that the British commander, Proctor, had passed into Canada after setting fire to Fort Malden and the storehouses and dwellings at Amherstburg. In Malden, General Harrison was met by a troop of well-dressed women, who implored mercy and protection. Proctor's rear guard had been gone but an hour when Harrison arrived. On the 2d of October, the pursuit led by Colonel Richard M. Johnson's mounted Kentuckians, began, and Detroit was reached to learn that Proctor had, with Tecumseh, gone eastward towards the Moravian town eighty miles east of Detroit. There the American force overtook the fugitives and forced them to a battle. Tecumseh was slain and his followers fled to the shelter of a swamp, while Proctor escaped in his carriage with a guard of a few volunteer Indians and Dragoons, and made his way to the western shore of Lake Ontario. Harrison's victory was complete, and, returning, he took possession of Detroit. Ohio, Michigan and Indiana were now freed from Indian and British raiders ; and the frontier being secured, General Harrison left Colonel Lewis Cass with a garrison of a thousand regulars, Military Governor of Detroit. He then proceeded with the remainder of the troops of his command to join the Army of the East. Being badly treated shortly afterwards by General Armstrong, the Secretary of War, General Harrison resigned and returned to the Governorship of Indiana. This territory was admitted as a State in 1816, when he retired from public life to his home in North Bend, Ohio. Ohio no longer took any part in the War of 1812-1815. The State had done her duty in the fullest sense of the word. - 76 - CHAPTER V A Creative Period of Ohio Columbus Becomes the Capital of the State.— State Banks and the United States Bank.— Navigation on the Ohio and Lake Erie.—Arrival of the First Steamboat on the Ohio River.—Building of Canals and Railroads. —Beginning of Ohio's School System.—The "Border War" with Michigan.—Taxation Measures.—Ohio's First President. WITH the close of the War of 1812-1815, commercial intercourse, which had been so long interrupted, became restored and an excessive importation of foreign goods and a great influx of emigration followed. Of the latter, much passed into the new territories, and the population of Ohio greatly increased. The numerous banks which had been chartered before the war supplied an abundant circulating medium, but speculation stimulated the people to sudden desire for riches and led to wild and extravagant excesses. In the general rush of such business, the banks became deeply involved, and unable to keep up their coin reserve to redeem their notes, the latter consequently began to depreciate in value. In 1816, Congress chartered the Bank of the United States, and the same year were established, in the principal cities of each State, branches of this bank. For Ohio, branches were opened in Cincinnati and Chillicothe, and while receiving freely and holding in large amounts for redemption in coin and notes of banks chartered by the State, they also issued their own notes. The demand for coin made by these branches upon the State banks not being met, the notes of the latter became less and less current until those of many of them were held absolutely worthless. While yet, however, confidence in the State banks was unshaken, the Legislature of Ohio, at the session 1815-1816, passed a law, creating several new banks in the State, and extending the charters of those already in existence. The object of this law was to obtain revenue from the banks, and the requirement of it that each bank place to the credit of the State one-twenty-fifth of its capital stock, from which regular dividends should be paid into the State treasury, and on the expiration of the bank charter and final winding up of the bank's affairs, the State should be entitled to one-twenty-fifth of the bank property. The consideration for this stock was the charter of the bank, and the payment for it was to be provided for by the bank each year setting apart such a per centum of its profits as would by the end of the charter's period be adequate to fill all obligations to the State. All the charters were to expire in 1843, the banks were to be exempt from all State taxation, and the promise was given that until after the year 1843 no other banks would be chartered. Some of the banks accepted and others refused to comply with the terms of the act, but the whole scheme went to the wall with the general failure of the banks, several years before their charters expired, In the financial crash of 1836-1837. In 1814, a free grant of land having been offered for the State buildings at Columbus, by the proprietors of a tract of woodland lying on the east side of the Scioto River, in Franklin County, on the agreement to permanently locate the seat of government there, the offer was accepted by the Legislature, and the erection of the necessary buildings begun. In 1816, they were ready for occupation and the Legislature assembled in the State House at Columbus for the first time. The building was a modest frame structure. In the course of hat session an appropriation was made and placed at the disposal of the Governor to meet contingent expenses, and with a part of it, Governor Worthington took the responsibility to purchase books fcr a State Library: - 79 - In 1819, a rather serious difficulty occurred between the United States and State authorities. The conduct of the branches of the United States bank towards the State banks greatly embittered the community. As previously mentioned, the former would collect a large amount of the latter's notes, and presenting them, demand their redemption in coin, or its equivalent When coin was not to be obtained. The Commercial Bank of Lake STATE HOUSE GROUNDS, COLUMBUS, OHIO Erie, in Cleveland, in May, 1818, refused to redeem its notes in specie 'because presented by a United States branch bank. In a card issued by Mr. Alfred Kelly and the directors of the institution, this action was upheld on the ground that the avowed object of the United States bank was to destroy the State banks, drain the country of specie, oppress the public, and endanger the liberties of the people. In this manner the United States bank came to be LANDING AT PUT-IN-BAY, LAKE ERIE regarded as an enemy, and in 1819 the Legislature resolved to impose a tax upon its two branches in Ohio. Much public discussion followed the announcement of this intention, and, while the right of Congress to create a bank was doubted by but few, the policy of organizing such an institution at the detriment of the State banks was denounced and the right of the - 80 - State to tax its branches in her midst boldly asserted and almost unanimously concurred in. Thus supported, the Legislature imposed an annual tax of fifty thousand dollars on each branch of the United States bank in Ohio, and prescribed the manner in which to collect the same. Under this authority the officer directed to do so entered the branch at Chillicothe, and, in despite f the protest of its officers, levied the whole tax of one hundred thousand dollars upon its specie and bank notes, and deposited the same in the State Treasury at Columbus. Under process, issued from the United States Circuit Court of Ohio, at the suit of the bank, the State offrcers concerned in the operation were arrested and imprisoned ; and a bill in chancery filed in the same court, to obtain the restoration of the money, was followed by a writ of injunction addressed to all the defendants, restraining them from removing or making any disposition of the money or any part of it. By subsequent agreement 'between the counsel fcr the State and the bank, a decree of the United States Circuit Court was issued to restore all the money, except sufficient to support an appeal of the State to the Supreme Court of the United States. The State Treasury, having refused to comply with this decree, it was enforced by writ of sequestration, under which the Marshal f the United States Circuit Court entered the State Treasury and removed the money. The whole State was in a ferment; nevertheless, great causes, like great bodies, move slowly, and it was not until the February term of 1824, of the Supreme Court, that this case was heard on appeal. Although argued for the State with great ability by a then famous Cincinnati lawyer, the decree was affirmed, and Ohio acquiesced in the decision. Human nature, however, though bowing to the decision of the highest tribunal of the United States, could not repress the desire to retaliate within constitutional limits. At the next session the Legislature passed a law to deprive the United States banks of the aid of State courts and officers in the collection of its claims, and efforts were made to deprive the United States Circuit Court for the State of jurisdiction in the matter of such claims in Ohio ; but sober second thought repealed this law. Ohio was at this time an agricultural State, almost exclusively, as but few manufactures were operated within her borders. Grain growing, and cattle, hog and sheep breeding was the 'business of the large majority of her people. The great markets for these products were in the Middle and Eastern States, and the modes of conveyance limited. Railroads were at that time still unknown, and the few roads between the different settlements were in such a condition that they hardly could be used, even under the most favorable circumstances. Therefore the early settlers had to rely almost wholly on the water ways. The early crafts used in river navigation were crude and clumsy in their construction, and would excite almost as much curiosity as the unique caravels used by Columbus on his voyage to America, when compared with the magnificent boats now PLEASURE BOAT ON THE OHIO RIVER - 81 - plying on our streams and lakes. They first consisted of flat bottom boats, keelboats and barges. One of the early river traders was Colonel James Ferguson. In a record which has been preserved he informs us that he was trading on the Ohio River in 1790, and made several trips between Cincinnati and Pittsburg during that year. Produce was brought down the river from Redstone and Pittsburg in what was then called "Kentucky Boats." They were small keelboats, constructed with sharp roof covers over the principal part, leaving a small section of the boat uncovered where the rowers plied their oars. But more generally the transportation STEAMER BARRETT OHIO RIVER Has in tow 4,000,000 feet of timber. Weight, 6,000 tons. From Missouri River points destined for Cincinnati, Ohio was in flatboats. These voyages, as late as 1793, were attended with considerable danger from the Indians, who, up to that time, were hostile and lurked along the shore for the purpose of surprising white navigators. Major Swan, one of the officers at Fort Washington, who had taken a small attachment of troops from the fort to Pittsburg, wrote back : "We arrived here after a passage of only forty-four days, in which we exhausted our provisions and groceries and had to lay in fresh stock at. Marietta." Traders at old Fort Redstone, Pittsburg and Wheeling furnished boats for emigrants. They also furnished all necessary articles at a moderate price. A boat of sufficient size for an average family, say thirty to forty feet long, cost one dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents a foot, so that an average boat, well boarded up on the sides, and roofed to six or eight feet from the bows, could be had for thirty-five dollars. This did not include the expense of mooring cable, a pump and a fire place, which cost, perhaps ten dollars more. After these family boats had been used to descend the river, they were frequently employed for transient purposes and then broken up for their lumber. The first regular and periodical line of packets between Pittsburg and Cincinnatr TOWBOAT JOE B. WILLIAMS OHIO RIVER Has in tow sixty boats and barges of coal, containing 1,453, bushels of coal - 82 - STEAMBOAT LANDING, PUT-IN-BAY LAKE ERIE was formed on the nth of January, 1794,. by the building of four keelboats, of twenty tons each, as appears by an advertisement in the "Sentinel of the Northwest Territory," the first newspaper started in Cincinnati. The first issue of that paper appeared on the 3d of November, 1793, under the ownership of William Maxwell. The primitive drafts referred to were used for a number of years, for the era of steam had. not arrived and the flourishing business of the firm engaged in the Western river traffic was not destroyed by the river steamers until 1817, or six years after the first steam vessel passed down the Ohio. The first successful operation by steam on the Western waters was in 1811-1812, by the steamboat "Orleans," of about two hundred tons., built by Fulton and Livingston at Pittsburg. She descended to New Orleans, and plied between that city and Natchez until the 14th of July, 1814. The "Orleans" carried a low-pressure engine, and cost about $38,000 to build. She was finished and departed in October, 1811, reaching Cincinnati the day before Christmas, causing infinite surprise as well as joy. The boat was wrecked while lying at the wharf at Baton Rouge over night. The Mississippi was falling, and the boat settled on a sharp stump, which cut a hole through her bottom. The engine was taken out and, with a new boiler, placed in another boat, called the "New Orleans," in 1818. Steamboat building, when it was fairly SIDE WHEEL FREIGHT AND PASSENGER STEAMER OHIO RIVER. - 83 - started, in 1816, soon became an important industry, and navigation changed rapidly from the old boats to the new mode of conveyance, not only on the rivers, but also on the great lakes. The canal system of. Ohio, which also became an important factor in the transportation business and the development of the State, was commenced in 1817, when the subject of a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio River was first introduced in the Legislature by a message of the Governor of the State, including a letter on the subject from Governor DeWitt Clinton, of New York. In 1819 the subject was again introduced to the notice of the Legislature, but no action was taken until the following year, when the Governor, Ethan Allen Brown, communicated all the information he had obtained. He suggested a mode of securing money to prosecute the enterprise. At this time an act was passed to appoint three Canal Commissioners, who were authorized to employ a competent engineer and assistants to survey a line for the proposed canal, their action to depend upon the acceptance by Congress of a proposition to be made by the State for donation's of public lands lying in the route of the proposed canal. The subject of common schools was brought before the Legislature about the same time by an exposure of the shameless squandering of the lands set apart for the use of schools as early as 1785, which, under cover of legislative proceedings, had been going on for seventeen years. Atwater, who was in the Legislature in 1821, and one of the investigators, is authority for the statement, that by legislative trickery one Senator contrived to get seven sections of the school lands diverted to himself and his family, and that the State lost, at a low estimate, one million dollars. Until this time the Assembly had treated the school ques- STERN WHEEL FREIGHT AND PASSENGER STEAMER OHIO RIVER A TYPICAL SCENE ON THE OHIO RIVER Photo by Younge& Carl, Cincinnati. O. tion with great indifference. The only attempt the Assembly had made at a school law was an act passed in January, 1821, permitting the profits from the lands to be applied to the erection of school houses, but requiring tuition to be paid by the people of the district. At the session of 1821 - 1822, a combination was formed in the Assembly between the friends of canals and schools, and on the same day, the 31st of January, 1822, two measures were adopted. One was a resolution authorizing the Governor to appoint commissioners to report a common school system for the TOW BOAT SPRAGUE OHIO RIVER See Explanatory Notes State ; the other was an act appointing commissioners to report a route for a canal to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River. This Canal Commission, aided by engineers who had had experience in planning the New York and Erie work, were engaged three years in investigating and comparing four possible lines, namely, from Sandusky Bay to the valleys of the Sandusky and Scioto Rivers ; by way of the Maumee and the Great Miami Valleys ; the third from the mouth of the Cuyahoga or Black Rivers to the Muskingum, and the last from the mouth of Grand River by the Mahoning to the Ohio. The commissioners were required to report at the next session of the Legislature, and six thousand dollars were appropriated to defray the expenses to be incurred. At the ensuing session of the Legislature, the commissioners reported that the construction of a canal by either route, indicated at the preceding session, had been found to be practicable ; and they asked for further time to enable them to ascertain the comparative advantages of each. Upon receiving this report the Legislature passed an act authorizing the commissioners to make further examinations ; to apply for and receive from the proprietors of land contiguous to the canal, donations of land to be used in TOWBOAT W. W. O'NEIL OHIO RIVER Has in tow thirty-eight boats and barges of coal, containing 708,294 bushels of coal - 85 - its construction ; to appoint two of their number acting commissioners with a fixed compensation, and to ascertain where the loans could be obtained in behalf of the State, for the construction of the canal. The unhealthfulness of the season which followed and the impossibility of obtaining the services of a principle engineer, threw much difficulty in the way of the commissioners. They proceeded, however, so far in the examination of the country, that at the next session (1823-1824) they recommended the canal to pass from the lake through the upper part of the Muskingum, the Licking and the lower part of the Scioto Valleys. It was the original wish of the board to continue this line over from the Scioto to the Miami Valley OHIO IN 1821 and to terminate it at Cincinnati ; but it was impossible to cross the intervening ridge with a sufficient supply of water. It was a part of this plan to connect the main line of the canal with the Scioto at Columbus, by means of a navigable feeder. The commissioners also stated that a canal could be easily constructed from the Ohio to the lake through the Miami Valley, and particularly noticed with what ease and advantage the portion between Cincinnati and Dayton could be made. In addition to these statements, letters from various individuals, intimately acquainted with financial affairs, were laid before the Legislature, all agreeing in - 86 - the practicability of obtaining by loan the funds needed to carry on the work. The Legislature resolved to proceed, and an act was passed in February, 1824, directing the commissioners to continue their labors and to employ an able engineer and assistants. In the course of the following summer two lines of canal were located; one extending from the mouth of the Scioto to Coshocton, and then 'by one of three different routes to the lake, and another from Cincinnati to the foot of the rapids of the Maumee. The expense of the Miami lint from Cincinnati was estimated at $2,502,494; the estimated expense of the Muskingum and Scioto line varied, according to the route selected between Coshocton and the lake, from $2,626,571 to $2,934,024. The ground was now clear for the intelligent and definite action of the Legislature upon this great subject; and in February, 1825, an act was passed "To provide for the internal improvements of the State of Ohio by navigable canals." This act provided that the Board of Canal Commissioners should consist of seven members, and the STEAMBOAT WAYS, CINCINNATI Photo by Young & Carl, Cincinnati, 0. board was authorized to commence the construction of canals from the mouth of the Scioto River to the lake, and so much of the Miami and Maumee line as laid between Cincinnati and Dayton. A fund was also created, denominated "The Canal Fund," to consist of all lands, property and moneys devoted to the object of the act. To manage this fund, a "Board of Commissioners of the Canal Fund" was established, consisting of three members, with authority to borrow money and superintend the application. Under this act money was - 88 - borrowed and the work was commenced and prosecuted with energy. The canal, from the Ohio tc the lake, received the name of the "Ohio Canal ;" that from Cincinnati to Dayton, became known by the appellation of the Miami Canal. The line of the former work, from Coshoctcn to the mouth of the Cuyahoga was fixed. In the course of the year, 1825, considerable portions of both canals were put under contract, and from that time on the great work of internal improvements continued successfully and steadily. Congress, also, liberally aided the State in her great enterprise by the grant of 840,000 acres of the public lands. As an indication of the character and credit which the State by this energetic policy had acquired, LAKE VIEW PARK AND HARBOR CLEVELAND, OHIO the first sale of Ohio bonds, in 1825, was $400,000 at the rate of 97 1/2 per cent, but all subsequent sales were at a premium. The chant of joy and the blaze of illumination which went up from the hills and valleys of Ohio, as the news of this prompt action of the Assembly traversed the State, was a jubilation, such as never before had happened northwest of the "Beautiful River." The 4th of July was selected as the day for the commencement of the work on the Ohio Canal, and DeWitt Clinton, of New York, was invited to break the ground for this work. The Licking Summit, near Newark, was the place selected for the ceremony. Governor Clinton was greeted by Governor Morrow with a most happy allusion to his former exertions for the admission of Ohio into the Union "in no small degree owing to his espousal of her cause," when a Senator in Congress. Thomas Ewing, then growing to the prime of his strong intellect and fame, was the orator of the day. After this gala day, Governor Clinton made a - 89 - tour through Southern Ohio, encouraging and confirming the spirit of the people in the great work they had begun and adding immensely to the success with which it was prosecuted. The Miami Canal to Dayton was commenced in 1826. This and the Ohio Canal were completed in 1833, and the entire system finished in 1842, at a total cost of $14,688,666.97. This comprehended 658 miles of canals proper, or 796 miles, if navigable slack waters, feeders, side cuts and reservoirs .be reckoned. The effect of these improvements upon the growth and prosperity of the State can hardly be exaggerated. They lifted Ohio into a new sphere, they opened to her farmers and merchants the markets of the Ohio, the lakes and New York. They enhanced the value of the lands as well as of the products. They opened intercourse with the northern and northwestern parts of the State, built up Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Hamilton, Massillon and many other cities, and thus tended to unite a long segregated people, as well as to make them prosperous. They brought a large accession of popu- SCENE ON THE UNIVERSITY GROUNDS, COLUMBUS, OHIO lation and capital and gave the State a name and character throughout the country of which her sons justly were proud. The advocates of common schools in the meantime had not been so successful, and perhaps not so wise. The commissioners appointed in 1822 made a report and published it broadcast through the State. It met with no favor in the next Assembly, however. Many influential men opposed it, one objection being that the supposed school tax was not authorized by the constitution. This was met and overthrown by the clause transmitted from the ordinance of 1787, declaring that as religion, morality and knowledge were essential to the Government, "schools and the means of instruction shall forever be encouraged by legislative provision," and upon this single warrant the Legislature, on the 5th of February, 1825, passed the first actc establishing free schools in Ohio, and imposed a general tax upon property of half a mill upon the dollar, for the support of schools, and provided for their establishment in every township. This bill afterwards underwent several alterations, and, in 1829, was superseded by another and better law upon the same subject. The schools were free to all white children, negroes and mulattoes were excluded, and the property of such persons was exempted from the tax. The school fund was derived in part from the school lands, in part from fines and forfeitures for offenses, and in part from the tax already men- - 90 - tioned. The whole quantity of land, which, under the ordinance Congress was bound to grant for the use of schools in Ohio, exceeded seven hundred thousand acres. The quantity actually set apart was ascertained in 1825, to be rather more than half a million acres, and was appraised at something less than a million dollars. Besides the provision thus made by the National and State governments for common instruction, lands have been granted for the endowment of higher schools of learning. In the Ohio Company's purchase, two entire townships were granted for a college. On these lands the Territorial Legislature established an institution with the pompous title of "The American Western University." In Symmes' purchase, a township was granted for an academy, but was never located by the SCENE IN LAKE PARK, MANSFIELD, OHIO patentee. After the admission of Ohio into the Union, Congress gave another township in lieu of it, which was located on the Great Miami, about forty miles from Cincinnati. There the "Miami University" was established. The session of the Legislature which gave an impulse to the canals and schools seems to have been possessed of a militant spirit. Retaliatory measures were adopted against New York for enforcing on Lake Erie the law of 1808, by which the exclusive navigation of the waters by steam had been granted to Livingston and Fulton. But this monopoly was soon afterwards defeated by a judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States. Another conflict in which Ohio became involved in 1835, with the high powers of Michigan Territory, was near being tragical. An important portion of the State was involved. In the - 92 - enabling act of admitting Ohio into the Union, the north boundary proposed by Congress was the east and west line through the south extreme of Lake Michigan, mentioned in the ordinance of 1787. On Mitchell's map, which then was the government standard, this extreme of Lake Michigan was laid down as in latitude 42 degrees and 20 minutes north. But the east and west line was not fixed as the boundary. On the contrary, liberty was expressly preserved by Congress in the act to annex the territory north of it to Ohio, or dispose of it in any other manner conforming with the ordinance. In the meantime it was to be a part of Indiana Territory. The convention which framed the constitution of Ohio had information which led them to insert in the constitution a provision that in case Lake Michi- ON THE MAHONING RIVER WARREN, OHIO gan shculd be found to extend so far south, that this east and west line intersected Lake Erie east of the mouth of the Maumee River, or bay, then, with the assent of Congress, the north boundary of Ohio should be in a line to be drawn from the south extremity of Lake Michigan to the north cape at the mouth of the Maumee. The constituticn was accepted by Congress, and upon it Ohio became a State, but as the country was occupied by Indians, no attention was then given to the boundary. In January, 1805, Michigan Territory was set apart from Indiana Territory, and the east and west line through the head of Lake Michigan was the dividing line. But when Indiana was admitted as a State, in 1816, her north boundary was established ten miles north of the Michigan line, and the north boundary of Illinois, when - 93 - admitted in 1818, was established more than fifty miles north of the line through the head of Lake Michigan. The act, moreover, declared that the residue of Michigan Territory north of Indiana was to remain subject to the disposal of Congress. This was decisive that the east and west line referred to in the ordinance was not considered by Congress as restricting the north boundary of the three States in question ; secondly, that the territory of Michigan was still at the disposal of Congress for the purpose contemplated, if not pledged in the Ohio Enabling Act and Constitution. Repeated applications were made to Congress by the Ohio Legislature to definitely settle the boundary and various surveys were executed. By act of Congress, in May, 1812, the Surveyor General was directed to cause a survey of the east and west line as soon as the Indians would permit it, and to report a plat showing where it intercepted Lake Erie. Mr. RESERVOIR IN EDEN PARK CINCINNATI, O. Harris, a deputy, was sent to survey this line in 1817, but, unduly magnifying his office, he proceeded to run the "north boundary line of Ohio," as he styled it, on the course from the North Cape of Maumee Bay to the head of Lake Michigan. This was called the "Harris line." But since it was not in compliance wrth the order of Congress, another deputy, John A. Fulton, executed the survey in 1818, and ascertained that the line in question if extended due east, crossed the Maumee some miles above Toledo, and intercepted the shore of Lake Erie considerably east and south of the Maumee Bay. This was the "Fulton line," so called. Another survey, ordered by Congress in July, 1832, was executed by Captain A. Talcott, of the engineers. By astronomical observations, as well as by surveys made with great accuracy in 1832 and 1834, he ascertained that the south extreme of Lake Michigan was in latitude 41 degrees 37 minutes and 7 seconds north, and that this line extended due east, - 94 - crossed the Maumee River and intersected Lake Erie very nearly as reported by Fulton, He found, also, that the most southerly bend in Lake Erie, near Huron, is in latitude 41 degrees and 23 minutes north, and the middle of the lake, between this and Point Pelee, opposite, is 41 degrees, 38 minutes and 21 seconds north. Thus the north boundary of Ohio extended literally as proposed in the Enabling Act, would cut off not only Toledo and the north range of townships in Lucas, Fulton and Williams Counties, but, passing south of the boundary line between the United States and Canada, would take off a part of Ashtabula, all of Lake and portions of Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties. Obviously, therefore, her right to have the consent of Congress to the change stipulated in the constitution was unmis- ENTRANCE TO EDEN PARK CINCINNATI takable, notwithstanding the dictum of John Quincy Adams. But it is equally obvious that without the consent of Congress the right was imperfect. The question stood simply between the United States and Ohio, and upon that footing; and there was no doubt that Congress, upon receiving Captain Talcott's report would consent. Before this could be accomplished there was a rupture, in December, 1834. The legislative council of Michigan, with the same lofty idea of its functions as that held by Mr. Harris, the surveyor, instructed its active Governor, Stevens Thompson Mason, an ardent young Virginian, to appoint commissioners to treat in behalf of Michigan with the three States, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, for an adjustment and final settlement of their north boundaries. Governor Lucas, of Ohio, to whom - 97 - this was formally communicated by Mason, instead of referring it to the President as an act of foolish arrogance, made a similar blunder, and sent the papers to the General Assembly of Ohio, then in session, with a message, advising that prompt and effective measures be taken for extending the jurisdiction of Ohio up to the ,"boundary specified in her constitution." The Legislature, sharing in the same spirit, passed laws accordingly, on the 23d of February, 1835, with a preamble not only hurling defiance at Michigan, but giving the United States to understand, that it "ill becomes a million of freemen to humbly petition, year after year, for what justly belongs to them and is completely within their own control." Michigan, however, had not waited for this fulmination of the Ohio Assembly. Her fiery young Governor no sooner saw the message of Governor Lucas than he ordered out General Brown and the militia to resist the Buckeye invasion. The Council passed a law prohibiting the exercise, or abetting, of any foreign jurisdiction within the limits of Michigan, under peril CENTRAL VIADUCT CLEVELAND of fine or imprisonment. A party of Ohio commissioners, resurveying and marking the "Harris line" in April, were routed and the surveyors and assistants captured by General Brown and committed to jail. The Judge and officers of an Ohio court appointed to be held at Toledo, on the 1st of September, were likewise arrested by an armed force. The President, General Jackson, in a spirit somewhat new to his character, was gently remonstrating with both parties all through the summer. Governor Mason, by an act of disrespect, however, aroused his more natural mood, and was summarily dismissed from office. The tempest in the teapot, the so-called "Toledo war" gradually subsided. Congress met, and by an act passed on the 13th of June, 1836, confirmed the boundary which Ohio had claimed, and admitted Michigan as a State, upon the express stipulation that she yield the point of dissension. Michigan was, however, reimbursed for the loss of a little strip of land, by getting the northern part of the peninsula. - 98 - From 1803 until 1826, real estate only was taxed for State purposes. The lands were divided into three qualities and taxed respectively in 1803, 6o cents for each hundred acres of th,e first, 40 cents for the second and 20 cents for the third, the whole quantity taxed being 7,069,629 acres, and the total amount of the tax $22,923.09. A similar classification, in 1825, gave 13,025,073 acres, with the rates raised to $1.50, $1.12Y2 and 75 cents on each hundred acres. The total amount taxed was $200,405.25. In that year the change was made to the manner of taxation in realty and personalty that continued until 1849, and placed on the grand duplicate lands and town lots, buildings, houses, cattle, pleasure carriages and merchants' and brokers' capital, to which was added, under the act of the 14th of March, 1831, money loaned at interest and manufacturers' capital. Under the last mentioned act, and that of 1825, which took effect on the 1st of March, 1826, the taxes on the duplicate had gradually increased from $392,783, in 1826, to $1,755,539, in 1840. Of this last amount taxes were collected on realty valued at $85,287,261, and upon personalty valued at $27,038,895, or a total value of taxable property of $112,326,156. The first territorial delegate elected to the Sixth Congress in 1799, was General W. H. Harrison. After serving during one session, he resigned in 1800 to accept the office of Territorial Governor of Indiana, and William McMillan, of Hamilton County, was elected to the vacant seat. For the Seventh Congress Paul Fearing, of Washington County,. was the delegate elected in 1801. He served the term, and in 1803, the territory having 'become a State, Thomas Worthington, of Ross County, subsequently elected Governor, and John Smith, of Hamilton County, were elected Senators, and Jeremiah Morrow, of Warren County, also subsequently elected Governor, was elected the Representative. These Senators served until the close of the Ninth Congress, when Edward Tiffin resigned his office of Governor, to which he had been re-elected, to take his seat in the Senate, to succeed Worthington, whose term had expired. John Smith resigned after being re-elected, and Return J. Meigs, Jr., subsequently elected Governor, was elected to his seat. For the Eleventh Congress several changes took place in the Senate, and no less than five different Senators occupied the seats representing Ohio, from 1809 to the 4th of March, 1811, while but two were returned during the Twelfth Congress, from 1811 to 1813. During all the time from 1803 to the 3d of March, 1813, inclusive, Jeremiah Morrow served as the only Representative to Congress. In 1813 the State was divided into Congressional Districts, and an election returned nine Representatives for six districts, all of whom served in the Thirteenth Congress. In 1823, another arrangement of districts made fourteen with one member from each to the Eighteenth Con- CEDAR POINT LIGHT HOUSE LAKE ERIE - 99 -