tree, for months received no infringement, and Return Jonathan Meigs, upon whom had been conferred the homely distinction of the sheriff's office, enjoyed, in this particular, the felicity of a sinecure. Letters written for eyes in New England were full of gracious adjectives. View and atmosphere were delightful, and corn grew "at the rate of nine inches in twenty-four hours." Colonel John May, who kept a pleasantly garrulous diary, found the situation charming and "well calculated for an elegant city."

The site had been chosen a long time before by another people. Over many acres extended the earth works of the Mound-builders, the mystery of whose coming and going puzzled and interested the men who were brushing away the forest. Now and then the surveyors gathered about some venerable tree that had yielded to the axe, and computed from the rings in the trunk the number of centuries that had passed since the grim sentinel first reared itself over the dead city.

In laying out the town the more interesting features of the ancient works were saved from obliteration. This respect for historical relics was of itself illustrative of the character of the men who were clearing the path for civilization in the Northwest. The spirit of New England was already revealing its influence.

In the midst of the summer the directors and agents of the Company held their first meeting west of the mountains, and now gave to the infant town the name of Marietta, in honor of the French queen, Marie Antoinette, whose personal sympathy with the young republic had helped to make firmer the favoring attitude of France. That the pioneers were not without veneration for the classics may be discovered in the names they gave to various features of the town. The smaller of the ancient squares was called Capitolium, the larger Quadranaou, while the road protected by embankments and leading from the larger square to the Muskingum, was named Sacra Via.

The guns of the fort uttered a patriotic blast on the Fourth of July, and under a "bowery" stretched along the banks of the Muskingum, the pioneers, with some of the officers of the fort, sat down to a fine dinner, which several rain showers disturbed but did not spoil. Upon the long table an amazing series of delicacies was spread. The viands revealed the rich gaming resources of the region, as well as the wonderful fish-producing capacity of the Ohio and the Muskingum. A giant pike, weighing one hundred pounds, the capture of which had brought celebrity upon Judge Gilbert Devoll and his son, was one of the marvels of the feast. There was a big bowl of punch, too, and

toasts to "Captain Pipes, and a successful Treaty," to "The Amiable Partners of Our Lives," and even to "All Mankind." General Varnum, one of the judges of the Territory, made the oration of the day the first political address in a State destined to hold a conspicuous relation to the politics of the country.

Five days later the booming of guns again sounded from the fort. The salute was in honor of the arrival of St. Clair, Governor of the Territory, who was escorted by a detachment of troops, and accompanied by Major Winthrop Sargent, the Territorial Secretary. On the 15th of July the Governor appeared before the colony. The ceremony of welcome occurred in the bowery, General Putnam, the judges of the Territory, and other prominent pioneers representing the new town. Laws were now issued, justices of the peace appointed, times of session fixed, and a multitude of governmental details arranged and published to the people. The County of Washington as established by the Governor was nearly half as large as the present State.

The colony itself had an important work on hand in the building of a great stockade for protection in the event of Indian attack. The Campus Martius," as this was called, measured one hundred and eighty feet square, had a block

house at each angle, sentry boxes, and a large number of interior dwellings, the whole well knit together, and forming a substantial fortification. In one of the block houses the first court convened on the second of September, with ceremonies that excited the pride of the colonists and the wonder of the Indian visitors. Dr. Cutler, who had shortly before accomplished the overland journey, was there to invoke the divine blessing.

The stockade became an imposing structure. It was viewed with lively curiosity by the river travelers, of which there were daily an increasing number. Between Between February and July five thou sand were counted by the garrison of Fort Harmer. The blood of the East was leaping through the great arteries of the Western country.

of timber and luggage from the possible bullets of the Indian. And curious enough were the crews that manned these homely ships. All manner of men were found banded for the journey. Το the farmer or the shopkeeper who was pinched for money, and who saw before him but an uncertain struggle, the West seemed to promise better things; while to the returned soldier, stripped and stranded by the war, with nothing, perhaps, between him and absolute want but a slip of paper making a promise that could not be kept, the unconquered wilds opened up a veritable haven, in