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When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the
Father of Waters and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the
French posts already described. In 1749, when the English first began
to think seriously about sending men into the West, the greater portion
of the States of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
were yet under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however,
pretty
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conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds.
As early as 1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements
to secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In Pennsylvania,
Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the province, from 1719 to
1731, represented to the powers of England the necessity of securing the
Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that power save to take some
diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain to this unexplored wilderness.
England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was
a discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her
grants to the colonies extended "from sea to sea." This was
not all her claim. She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts
of land. This latter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord
Howard, Governor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These
were the great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks,
Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were
taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the SIX NATIONS. They
came under the protection of the mother country, and again in 1701, they
repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed was drawn
up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has often been
disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was made at Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the "Colony of Virginia,"
for which the Indians received £200 in gold and a like sum in goods,
with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid. The
Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel William
Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was called to
mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with presents
to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompanied him
with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings regarding
the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment, and plainly
told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the cultivation
of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In 1748, the Ohio
Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant of land beyond
the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government of Virginia was
ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hundred thousand of
which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of June, 1749, 800,000
acres from the line of Canada north and west was made to the Loyal Company,
and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000 acres were given to the Greenbriar
Company. All this time the French were not idle. They saw that, should
the British gain a foothold in the West, especially upon the Ohio, they
might not only prevent the French |
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settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts
and so gain possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774,
Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the
consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading
posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further
secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Celeron
with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds and
at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which were
inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and within
the memory of residents now living along the "Oyo," as the beautiful
river was called by the French. One of these plates was found with the inscription
partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and a copy of the inscription
with particular account of the discovery of the plate, was sent by DeWitt
Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society, among whose journals it may
now be found.* These measures did not, however, deter the English from going
on with their explorations, and though neither party resorted to arms, yet
the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the
storm would burst upon the frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist
was sent by the Ohio Company to examine its lands. He went to a village
of the Twigtwees, on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above
its mouth. He afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went
down the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville,
and in November he commenced a survey of the Company's lands. During the
Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the Greenbriar
Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing their forts for defense,
and in opening roads, and also sent a small party of soldiers to keep the
Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the English post on the Miami River,
early in 1652 [sic], assisted by the
Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which
fourteen of the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison.
(They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were carried
away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This fort or post
was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the king's ministers
refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in the center of the territory between
the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some variation of Pickaway
or Picqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones Pickaweke." * The
following is a translation of the Inscription on the plate: "In the
year 1749, reign of Louis XV, King of France, we, Celeron, commandant
of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Galllsoniere, commander-in-chief
of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of
these cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin,
this twenty-ninth of July, near the river Ohio, other-wise Beautiful River,
as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said
river, and all its tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France
have enjoyed It, and maintained It by their arms and treaties; especially
by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle." |
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This was the first blood shed between the French and English,
and occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point
about forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more interested
in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English determined to purchase
from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to occupy, and Messrs.
Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washington at the commencement of
the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and Patton were sent in the Spring of
1752 to hold a conference with the natives at Logstown to learn what they
objected to in the treaty of Lancaster already noticed, and to settle all
difficulties. On the 9th of June, these Commissioners met the red men at
Logstown, a little village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen
miles below the site of Pittsburgh. Here had been a trading point for many
years, but it was abandoned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians
declined to recognize the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking
aside Montour, the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catharine Montour,
and a chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their
favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing
a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to
a settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should
not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manoeuvre each
other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally outwitted
the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their contracts.
They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and farther increased
the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammunition. Said
an old chief, at Easton, in 1758: "The Indians on the Ohio left you
because of your own fault. When we heard the French were coming, we asked
you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The French came, they
treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The Governor of Virginia
settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when we wanted help, forsook
us."
At the beginning of 1653 [sic],
the English thought they had secured by title the lands in the West, but
the French had quietly gathered cannon and military stores to be in readiness
for the expected blow. The English made other attempts to ratify these
existing treaties, but not until the Summer could the Indians be gathered
together to discuss the plans of the French. They had sent messages to
the French, warning them away; but they replied that they intended to
complete the chain of forts already begun, and would not abandon the field.
Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard- |
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ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie
of Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from
them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young
man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank
of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This personage
was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then held considerable
interest in Western lands. He was at this time just twenty-two years of
age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied by four servitors, set
out on their perilous march. They left Will's Creek on the 10th of November,
1753, and on the 22d reached the Monongahela, about ten miles above the
fork. From there they went to Logstown, where Washington had a long conference
with the chiefs of the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of
the French, and also heard of their determination not to come down the river
till the following Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were
afraid to turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain
neutral. Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to
Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the French
had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery of the French,
he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing of importance here,
he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the 11th of December reached
the fort at the head of French Creek. Here he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's
letter, received his answer, took his observations, and on the 16th set
out upon his return journey with no one but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians
who still remained true to him, notwithstanding the endeavors of the French
to retain them. Their homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering
from the cold, yet they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754.
From the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by
Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was learned that the French would
not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made
in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French
finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications,
and gathered their forces to be in readiness.
The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great activities;
volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring colonies men
rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac men were enlisting
under the Governor's proclamation—which promised two hundred thousand
acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were gathering as far as Will's
Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent had come for assistance
for his little band of forty-one men, who were |
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working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at
the fork of the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest.
"The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song; the swift
river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows
of Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing; a few Indian
scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand; and all was so quiet,
that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader, who had been left by Trent
in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten miles
up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilderness, keen
eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and swift feet
had borne the news of it up the river; and upon the morning of the 17th
of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw upon the Allegheny
a sight that made his heart sink—sixty batteaux and three hundred
canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and stores. * * * That
evening he supped with his captor, Contrecoeur, and the next day he was
bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men and tools, marched up the
Monongahela."
The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in
1748, had left the boundaries between the French and English possessions
unsettled, and the events already narrated show the French were determined
to hold the country watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries; while
the English laid claims to the country by virtue of the discoveries of
the Cabots, and claimed all the country from Newfoundland to Florida,
extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The first decisive blow had
now been struck, and the first attempt of the English, through the Ohio
Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted disastrously to them. The
French and Indians immediately completed the fortifications begun at the
Fork, which they had so easily captured, and when completed gave to the
fort the name of DuQuesne. Washington was at Will's Creek when the news
of the capture of the fort arrived. He at once departed to recapture it.
On his way he entrenched himself at a place called the "Meadows,"
where he erected a fort called by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised
and captured a force of French and Indians marching against him, but was
soon after attacked in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged
to yield on the morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia.
The English Government immediately planned four campaigns; one against
Fort DuQuesne; one against Nova Scotia; one against Fort Niagara, and
one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6, and were not successful
in driving the French from their possessions. The expedition against Fort
DuQuesne was led by the famous General Braddock, who, refusing to listen
to the advice of Washington and those |
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acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious
defeat. This occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known
as the battle of Monongahela, or "Braddock's Defeat." The war
continued with various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7; when, at the
commencement of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then
Secretary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made
to carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year: one,
under General Amherst, against Louisburg; another, under Abercrombie, against
Fort Ticonderoga; and a third, under General Forbes, against Fort DuQuesne.
On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a desperate resistance
of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the Canadian possessions
fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie captured Fort Frontenac,
and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne, of which Washington had the
active command, arrived there, it was found in flames and deserted. The
English at once took possession, rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their
illustrious statesman, changed the name to Fort Pitt.
The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of Canada.
General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec; Amherst was to reduce Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to capture Niagara. This latter
place was taken in July, but the gallant Prideaux lost his life in the
attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point without a blow;
and Wolfe, after making the memorable ascent to the Plains of Abraham,
on September 13th, defeated Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated.
In this engagement Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi,
Montcalm's successor, marched to Sillery, three miles above the city,
with the purpose of defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the
following April, was fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French
and Indian War. It resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall
of the City of Montreal. The Governor signed a capitulation by which the
whole of Canada was surrendered to the English. This practically concluded
the war, but it was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between
France and England were signed. This was done on the 10th of February
of that year, and under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi
and north of the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England.
At the same time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.
On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent from Montreal
to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post in the territory.
He arrived there on the 19th of November, and summoned the place to surrender.
At first the commander of the post, Beletre, refused, but on the 29th,
hearing of the continued defeat of the |
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French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December
23d under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom,
no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the purposes
of the English in taking possession of the country. He was assured that
they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not desire their country.
This answer conciliated the savages, and did much to insure the safety of
Rogers and his party during their stay, and while on their journey home.
Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one month on
the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence across the present
State of Ohio directly to the fort. This was the common trail of the Indians
in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of the Ohio. It went from
Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is, crossed the Huron river, then
called Bald Eagle Creek, to "Mohickon John's Town" on Mohickon
Creek, the northern branch of White Woman's River, and thence crossed
to Beaver's Town, a Delaware town on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's
Town were probably one hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three
thousand acres of cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek
to and across Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the
fork.
The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule. New
settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large trade
was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises with
the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpetrated,
and the country would have been spared their recital.
The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of the leading spirits in these
atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading
events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this
noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named
Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as
far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on
his hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian
to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached
him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He declared
that no treaty had been made with them; no presents sent them, and that
he would resent any possession of the West by that nation. He was at the
time about fifty years of age, tall and dignified, and was civil and military
ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies.
The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina, were
united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified
February 10, 1763, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly |
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[picture of]
PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN.
|
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upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike
every man dead. Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander
of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares and Mingoes,
who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite in this
enterprise.
The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1763. Nine
British posts fell, and the Indians drank, "scooped up in the hollow
of joined hands," the blood of many a Briton.
Pontiac's immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit. Here,
however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing the plot
the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out, however,
according to Pontiac's plans until the moment of action, when Major Gladwyn,
the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian chiefs, suddenly
drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed musket. Pontiac, though
a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He saw his plan was known, and
that the garrison were prepared. He endeavored to exculpate himself from
any such intentions; but the guilt was evident, and he and his followers
were dismissed with a severe reprimand, and warned never to again enter
the walls of the post.
Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace
between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764,
continued to harass and besiege the fortress. He organized a regular commissariat
department, issued bills of credit written out on bark, which, to his
credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At the conclusion
of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went further south,
living many years among the Illinois.
He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a time
he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis in
a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended in a
quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon afterwards
killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern Indians, who
nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed.
Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan
for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly
have been carried out.
It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers' visit that Alexander
Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest feelings
against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and were
doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief, Pontiac,
who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their French father
would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said: "Englishman,
although you have conquered the French, you have not |
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yet conquered us! We are not your slaves! These lakes, these
woods, these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance,
and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the
white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you ought
to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food
for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains." He then spoke
of the fact that no treaty had been made with them, no presents sent them,
and that he and his people were yet for war. Such were the feelings of
the Northwestern Indians immediately after the English took possession
of their country. These feelings were no doubt encouraged by the Canadians
and French, who hoped that yet the French arms might prevail. The treaty
of Paris, however, gave to the English the right to this vast domain,
and active preparations were going on to occupy it and enjoy its trade
and emoluments.
In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to prevent
it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters of
the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fontainbleau,
gave to the English the domain of the country in question. Twenty years
after, by the treaty of peace between the United States and England, that
part of Canada lying south and west of the Great Lakes, comprehending
a large territory which is the subject of these sketches, was acknowledged
to be a portion of the United States; and twenty years still later, in
1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to France, and by France sold
to the United States.
In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecoeur by LaSalle,
in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French settlements
had been made in that quarter. These have already been noticed, being
those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia, Kaskaskia and Prairie
du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract of rich alluvial soil
in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St. Louis.
By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including
all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England;
but they do not appear to have been taken possession of until 1765, when
Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established himself
at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage, dated
December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Catholics who
worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their effects if
they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen. It was shortly
after the occupancy of the West by the British that the war with Pontiac
opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that chieftain. By it many
a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle- |
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ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until
the year 1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt,
his confederacy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French,
Pontiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom
he afterward lost his life.
As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began
rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the year
1770, a number of persons from Virginia and other British provinces explored
and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Monongahela and along
the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This was followed
by another exploring expedition, in which George Washington was a party.
The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt. Crawford and others, on the
20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pittsburgh to the mouth
of the Kanawha; ascended that stream about fourteen miles, marked out
several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which were then abundant
in the Ohio Valley, and returned to the fort.
Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clustered
a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. This same
year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages. He
found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only forty-five
dwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and at Detroit
the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year or two settlers
continued to locate near some of these posts, generally Fort Pitt or Detroit,
owing to the fears of the Indians, who still maintained some feelings
of hatred to the English. The trade from the posts was quite good, and
from those in Illinois large quantities of pork and flour found their
way to the New Orleans market. At this time the policy of the British
Government was strongly opposed to the extension of the colonies west.
In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal proclamation, his colonial
subjects from making a settlement beyond the sources of the rivers which
fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance of the Board of Trade, measures
were taken to prevent the settlement without the limits prescribed, and
to retain the commerce within easy reach of Great Britain.
The commander-in-chief of the king's forces wrote in 1769: "In the
course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they
extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for
themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother
country ceases, an independency in their government will soon follow."
In accordance with this policy. Gov. Gage issued a proclamation in 1772,
commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their settlements and
join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they |
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strenuously objected, giving good reasons therefor, and were
allowed to remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain
led to its change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the
French population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned
the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which
was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extending the
boundary so as to include the territory lying within the present States
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Government
toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor that
nation in the war which soon followed with the colonies; but the early
alliance between France and America soon brought them to the side of the
war for independence.
In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration to
the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the pretense
that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth. One of these
justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the Ohio Valley,
gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it Fort Dunmore.
This and other parties were formed to select sites for settlements, and
often came in conflict with the Indians, who yet claimed portions of the
valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the famous battle
of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and driven across
the Ohio.
During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies and
the perseverance of individuals, several settlements were firmly established
between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land speculators
were busy in Illinois and on the Wabash. At a council held in Kaskaskia
on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling themselves
the "Illinois Land Company," obtained from ten chiefs of the
Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on
the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Illinois. In 1775,
a merchant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes
as the agent of the association called the "Wabash Land Company."
On the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed
for 37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested
by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in
the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land companies
had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West; but all were frustrated
by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th of April, 1780, the
two companies named consolidated under the name of the "United Illinois
and Wabash Land Company." They afterward made |
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strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress,
but all signally failed.
When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unorganized
country, though there were several settlements within her borders.
In Hutchins' Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time "Kaskaskia
contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black inhabitants—
the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia contains 50 houses
and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There were east of the Mississippi
River, about the year 1771 "—when these observations were made
— " 300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230 negroes."
From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and nothing
known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report made by
a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following extract is
made:
"Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which
appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of
the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la
Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There
are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which
is five miles further up the river."
St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time contained,
including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one hundred
and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country west of
the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until ceded
again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the country
including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there were, according
to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to 1768, more than
one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more than twenty miles,
although poorly cultivated—the people being engaged in the Indian
trade. This old town has a history, which we will here relate.
It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by Antoine
de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an oblong
square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width. As described
by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent resident
of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space between
Mr. Palmer's store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins' house (near the Arsenal
building), and extended back as far as the public barn, and was bordered
in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by oak and cedar pickets,
about fifteen feet long, set in the ground, and had four gates —
east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these
|
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48 |
gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each
a six-pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and
in a parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running
east and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen
feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten
to fifteen feet in width.
At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fort within the enclosure,
but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present northwest corner
of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was inclosed by pickets,
and within it were erected barracks of wood, two stories high, sufficient
to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient to contain four
hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The citadel also contained
a hospital and guard-house. The old town of Detroit, in 1778, contained
about sixty houses, most of them one story, with a few a story and a half
in height. They were all of logs, some hewn and some round. There was
one building of splendid appearance, called the "King's Palace,"
two stories high, which stood near the east gate. It was built for Governor
Hamilton, the first governor commissioned by the British. There were two
guard-houses, one near the west gate and the other near the Government
House. Each of the guards consisted of twenty-four men and a subaltern,
who mounted regularly every morning between nine and ten o'clock, Each
furnished four sentinels, who were relieved every two hours. There was
also an officer of the day, who performed strict duty. Each of the gates
was shut regularly at sunset, even wicket gates were shut at nine o'clock,
and all the keys were delivered into the hands of the commanding officer.
They were opened in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted
to enter town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a
standing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments
of every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentinel, and they
were restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians
were allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted
only at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the
Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house
near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians.
The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two
hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by fire,
all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present "new "
town was laid out.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of
importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of Virginia,
and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests, |
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49 |
and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control
of the trade in this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes,
and those within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their
civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway, burgesses
to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state. Early in September
of that year (1777) the first court was held in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman,
afterwards major, who had arrived in August, was made the commander of a
militia organization which had been commenced the March previous. Thus the
tree of loyalty was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who
had represented her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating
a move unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of
the British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He
saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes,
Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy access
to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British intended
to penetrate the country from the north and south, and annihilate the frontier
fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel, afterwards General,
George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not unanimously in accord
with the English, and he was convinced that, could the British be defeated
and expelled from the Northwest, the natives might be easily awed into neutrality;
and by spies sent for the purpose, he satisfied himself that the enterprise
against the Illinois settlements might easily succeed. Having convinced
himself of the certainty of the project, he repaired to the Capital of Virginia,
which place he reached on November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately,
on October 17th, Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists
greatly encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and
at once entered heartily into Clark's plans. The same plan had before been
agitated in the Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark came
who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the scene
of action to be able to guide them.
Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his
plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions—one
secret, the other open — the latter authorized him to proceed to
enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to
serve three months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized
him to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand
at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.
With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsburgh, choosing rather
to raise his men west of the, mountains, as he well knew all were needed
in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Hol- |
Page
50 |
ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising
the required number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave
their own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced
to join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private
volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he
navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified
Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville, Kentucky,
and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortification may yet be found.
At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him with such recruits as
had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and as many as could be spared
from the station. Here he announced to the men their real destination. Having
completed his arrangements, and chosen his party, he left a small garrison
upon the island, and on the 24th of June, during a total eclipse of the
sun, which to them augured no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date
of starting, he with his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was
to go by water as far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct
to Kaskaskia. Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture
go to Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail,
he intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into
the Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of information:
one that the alliance had been formed between France and the United States;
and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois country and the inhabitants,
at the various frontier posts, had been led to believe by the British that
the "Long Knives" or Virginians, were the most fierce, bloodthirsty
and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With this impression on their
minds, Clark saw that proper management would cause them to submit at once
from fear, if surprised, and then from gratitude would become friendly if
treated with unexpected leniency.
The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun, and the
town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort near the village,
and soon after the village itself by surprise, and without the loss of
a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently working
upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at perfect liberty
to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the great conflict
they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity from British
or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhabitants, so unexpectedly
and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked for turn of affairs, at once
swore allegiance to the American arms, and when Clark desired to go to
Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accompanied him, and through their influence
the inhabitants of the place surrendered, and gladly placed themselves
under his protection. Thus |
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51 |
the two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands
of the English into the possession of Virginia.
In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a powerful
ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession of the
Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boundaries,
he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken. St. Vincent,
the next important post to Detroit remained yet to be taken before the
Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that he would alone,
by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection with England.
Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of July, in company with
a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of peace, and on
the 1st of August returned with the cheerful intelligence that the post
on the "Oubache" had taken the oath of allegiance to the Old
Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts, placed garrisons
at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his men, sent word
to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville, erected at the Falls
of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who had been commander at
Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond. In October the County of
Illinois was established by the Legislature of Virginia, John Todd appointed
Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor, and in November General Clark and
his men received the thanks of the Old Dominion through their Legislature.
In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the natives
his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore allegiance to the
Long Knives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton, having made his
various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down the Wabash to Vincennes
intending to operate from that point in reducing the Illinois posts, and
then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the rebels from the West. Gen.
Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault, dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier
County, Virginia, with an attendant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies
to command the fort. Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the
post, and was greatly surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt.
Helm, who, standing at the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready
to fire upon his assailants, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded
possession of the fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war,
he surrendered to the British General, who could scarcely believe his
eyes when he saw the force in the garrison.
Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was contending,
gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four hundred Indian
warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio, |
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52 |
and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down
to pass the Winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached
Clark, he saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that
unless he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received
the news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having sufficiently
garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi a "battoe,"
as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and Wabash, and operate
with the land forces gathering for the fray.
On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and twenty
men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching through
much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring rains, on the
22d reached the fort, and being joined by his "battoe," at once
commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American backwoodsman
was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the intrepid
boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kindness, and gladly
renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was sent as a prisoner
to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement. During his command
of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes to the Indians for
all the scalps of Americans they would bring to him, and had earned in
consequence thereof the title "Hair-buyer General," by which
he was ever afterward known.
Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising Virginian,
could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being apprised
of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark concluded to
wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison the posts. Had Clark
failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in uniting the
western Indians for the next Spring's campaign, the West would indeed
have been swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny Mountains, and the
great blow struck, which had been contemplated from the commencement,
by the British.
"But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the
union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might
have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed."
At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Governments
that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the British,
and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in-Chief of the
Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American independence, armed
forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the Ohio frontier,
Col. Bowman, acting under the same general's orders, marched against Indians
within the present limits of that State. These expeditions were in the
main successful, and the Indians were compelled to sue for peace. |
Page
53 |
During this same year (1779) the famous "Land Laws"
of Virginia were passed. The passage of these laws was of more consequence
to the pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few
Indian conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed
to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for
the settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands
at forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature
sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many
of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These gentlemen
opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and continued until
April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided three thousand claims.
They were succeeded by the surveyor, who came in the person of Mr. George
May, and assumed his duties on the 10th day of the month whose name he bore.
With the opening of the next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation
of the Mississippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures
in relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States
to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right to navigate
its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below the mouth
of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settlements in Kentucky
were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was during this year that the
first seminary of learning was established in the West in this young and
enterprising Commonwealth.
The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a friendly
manner, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had been friendly
to the Colonies during their struggle for independence, and though for
a while this friendship appeared in danger from the refusal of the free
navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the satisfaction
of both nations.
The Winter of 1779-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones ever
experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the "Great
Cold." Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few pioneers lost
their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians and Indians attacked
St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it in consequence of the
friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting colonies. They met with
such a determined resistance on the part of the inhabitants, even the
women taking part in the battle, that they were compelled to abandon the
contest. They also made an attack on the settlements in Kentucky, but,
becoming alarmed in some unaccountable manner, they fled the country in
great haste.
About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress concerning
the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts |
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54 |
and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally
led New York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the
delegates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lauds
for the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress
during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it until September
6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States claiming
western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body. This basis
formed the union, and was the first after all of those legislative measures
which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same year, the plan
of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might have easily been effected
by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished him. Nothing decisive was
done, yet the heads of the Government knew that the safety of the Northwest
from British invasion lay in the capture and retention of that important
post, the only unconquered one in the territory.
Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Counties
of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town of
Louisville was passed. This same year is also noted in the annals of American
history as the year in which occurred Arnold's treason to the United States.
Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2d day
of January, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United States
upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, and the Act
of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was anything
farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies were busily
engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in consequence thereof
but little heed was given to the western settlements. Upon the 4th of
July, 1773, the first birth north of the Ohio River of American parentage
occurred, being that of John L. Roth, son of John Roth, one of the Moravian
missionaries, whose band of Christian Indians suffered in after years
a horrible massacre by the hands of the frontier settlers, who had been
exasperated by the murder of several of their neighbors, and in their
rage committed, without regard to humanity, a deed which forever afterward
cast a shade of shame upon their lives. For this and kindred outrages
on the part of the whites, the Indians committed many deeds of cruelty
which darken the years of 1771 and 1772 in the history of the Northwest.
During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and frontiersmen
occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyandots. In these,
horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives, many of such
dark deeds transpiring under the leadership of the notorious |
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55 |
frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those
of his brothers, was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly
in the Ohio valleys. Cotemporary [sic] with
them were several engagements in Kentucky, in which the famous Daniel Boone
engaged, and who, often by his skill and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved
the outposts from cruel destruc-
[picture inserted of]
INDIANS ATTACKING FRONTIERSMEN. |
tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American
banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had
been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her unconquerable
colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October preceding,
and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th of April following,
the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was
|
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56 |
proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 3d
of the next September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary
struggle was concluded. By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the
West were as follows: On the north the line was to extend along the center
of the Great Lakes; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake:
thence to the Lake of the Woods; thence to the head of the Mississippi River;
down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude, then on that line east
to the head of the Appalachicola River; down its center to its junction
with the Flint; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River, and thence
down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean.
Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts were
still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these was Detroit,
still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements with the Indians
throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose lands adventurous whites
would settle ere the title had been acquired by the proper treaty.
To remedy this latter evil, Congress appointed commissioners to treat
with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the settlement
of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the year
another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however, not pushed,
and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest she had
formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of December preceding
authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded to the United States.
This was done on the 1st of March following, and the Northwest Territory
passed from the control of the Old Dominion. To Gen. Clark and his soldiers,
however, she gave a tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land,
to be situated any where north of the Ohio wherever they chose to locate
them. They selected the region opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is
now the dilapidated village of Clarksville, about midway between the Cities
of New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana.
While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit refused
to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do so, settlers
were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring of 1784,
Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur Lee,
who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian council
at Fort McIntosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in appearance.
He says:
"Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who
live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland
or even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods
being bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from
Phila- |
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57 |
delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat,
skins and money. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and
not a priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel."
Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and was
beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A land office
was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take defensive
precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances, incited
to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year, 1784,
the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no entries
were recorded until 1787.
The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They held
large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress adopted
means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the surveys
of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those north of the Ohio, now
in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made with the Wabash
Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made in 1784. That at Fort
McIntosh in 1785, and through these much land was gained. The Wabash Indians,
however, afterward refused to comply with the provisions of the treaty
made with them, and in order to compel their adherence to its provisions,
force was used. During the year 1786, the free navigation of the Mississippi
came up in Congress, and caused various discussions, which resulted in
no definite action, only serving to excite speculation in regard to the
western lands. Congress had promised bounties of land to the soldiers
of the Revolution, but owing to the unsettled condition of affairs along
the Mississippi respecting its navigation, and the trade of the Northwest,
that body had, in 1783, declared its inability to fulfill these promises
until a treaty could be concluded between the two Governments. Before
the close of the year 1786, however, it was able, through the treaties
with the Indians, to allow some grants and the settlement thereon, and
on the 14th of September Connecticut ceded to the General Government the
tract of land known as the " Connecticut Reserve," and before
the close of the following year a large tract of land north of the Ohio
was sold to a company, who at once took measures to settle it. By the
provisions of this grant, the company were to pay the United States one
dollar per acre, subject to a deduction of one-third for bad lands and
other contingencies. They received 750,000 acres, bounded on the south
by the Ohio, on the east by the seventh range of townships, on the west
by the sixteenth range, and on the north by a line so drawn as to make
the grant complete without the reservations. In addition to this, Congress
afterward granted 100,000 acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres
as army bounties under the resolutions of 1789 and 1790. |
Page
58 |
While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was
pressing its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form
an ordinance for the political and social organization of this Territory.
When the cession was made by Virginia, in 1784, a plan was offered, but
rejected. A. motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the
prohibition of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and
altered, and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina.
by this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states
[picture inserted of]
PRESENT SITE OF LAKE STREET BRIDGE, CHICAGO, IN 1833. |
by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten
states, which were to have been named as follows—beginning at the
northwest corner and going southwardly: Sylvania, Michigania, Chersonesus,
Assenisipia, Mesopotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotamia
and Pelisipia.
There was a more serious objection to this plan than its category of
names,— the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolution
of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries of the
ceded lands to be from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles
|
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59 |
square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures
of Virginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786,
the subject was taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into
not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by
the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was again
taken up by Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year and until
July, 1787, when the famous "Compact of 1787" was passed, and
the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This compact is
fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book, and
to it the reader is referred.
The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company was
soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves Symmes,
of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis. This gentleman
had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and, being greatly
pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the New England
Company. The petition was referred to the Treasury Board with power to
act, and a contract was concluded the following year. During the Autumn
the directors of the New England Company were preparing to occupy their
grant the following Spring, and upon the 23d of November made arrangements
for a party of forty-seven men, under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus
Putnam, to set forward. Six boat-builders were to leave at once, and on
the first of January the surveyors and their assistants, twenty-six in
number, were to meet at Hartford and proceed on their journey westward;
the remainder to follow as soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime,
upon the 3d of October, had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of
the western settlers, and to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two
days later appointed Arthur St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the
Northwest.
|