from the Western wilderness. They called it Marietta, taking the first two and last two syllables of the name of the unfortunate queen of France, Marie Antoinette. It was the first colony of English-speaking men northwest of the Ohio River. Before the close of the year the settlement had swelled to 132 persons. A majority of the settlers were from Massachusetts. Washington bestowed upon them this eulogy: "No colony

in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum. Information, property, and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of the leaders personally, and there were never men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community."

CHAPTER V

HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.1

41. The Institution of the Government.-Congress had already constituted the first government of the Territory. Arthur St. Clair, a Scotchman by birth and an American by adoption, had been chosen governor. Coming out to the Colonies as an officer in one of the British regiments in the French and Indian War, St.

HE SEAL OF THE TERRIT

_IO •M•N•S°n

JULY 13. 1787.

Clair had served with Wolfe

at Quebec, in 1759, and at the close of the war made his home in one of the western counties of Pennsylvania. He served in the Continental army, attaining the rank of major-general, and was President of Congress when the Ordinance of 1787 was passed. To personal and official distinction he added

high abilities, character, and accomplishments. The Secretary, Winthrop Sargent, a Massachusetts man, was a soldier and a civilian, a member of learned societies and a poet. Judge Parsons was from Connecticut, Judge Varnum from Rhode Island; both were good soldiers and able lawyers. Judge Symmes, the third of the judges, was from New Jersey. Par

1 See Hinsdale's The Old Northwest. Chap. XVI.

sons and Varnum soon died, and their places were taken by General Rufus Putnam, mentioned in the last chapter, and George Turner, of North Carolina. Governor St. Clair reached the Muskingum July 9, 1788, and on the 15th of the same month civil government in the Territory was formally instituted. The judiciary, however, was not set in motion until September 2 following.

The new

42. The Condition of the Territory. Territory embraced more than a quarter of a million square miles of surface. Five great States have been carved out of it and a part of a sixth one.1 Washed by the Great Lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi; coursed by numerous rivers and streams flowing to these larger bodies of water; abounding in forests and in prairies; rich in mineral wealth; containing an unusual proportion of arable lands of the greatest fertility; with a surface that invited public improvements, as the canal and the railway-the Territory offered a fit home to the great people that has come to possess it. For the time it was unoccupied, save by Indians and the Habitans, each of whom were only a few thousand in number. Governor St. Clair, who visited them in 1790, reported the Habitans extremely ignorant and

1 The following table gives the names of these States, with the date of admission, the square miles of territory, and the population in 1890:

poor, but the gentlest and best disposed people that could be imagined. However, the new government had not been created for the decaying French settlements of Indiana and Illinois, but for the tide of emigration that was expected at once to flow into the Territory.

43. The First Settlements.-The story of Marietta has already been briefly told. The other settlements made the same year, 1788, were Columbia, at the mouth of the Little Miami, Losantiville, opposite the mouth of the Licking, and North Bend, at the great northern turn of the Ohio in the southwestern part of the State. These settlements were all in the Symmes Tract, lying between the two Miami Rivers.1 Later settlements are mentioned in the chapter in which the historical divisions of the State are described. The absurd name Losantiville was soon changed for Cincinnati. The name was given by Governor St. Clair, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, founded by officers of the Revolutionary army at the close of the war. Connected with this settlement is a bit of romance that may be related. Judge Symmes, the principal purchaser of the tract, had made his home at North Bend, and the troops detailed to protect the settlers were first stationed at that point. But the officer commanding the troops became enamored of the handsome wife of one of the settlers. The jealous husband accordingly removed his habitation to Cincinnati. Not to be outwitted in this way, the officer promptly removed the troops to that place. This removal resulted in the building of Ft. Washington at 1 See Chap. VII., paragraph 70.

Cincinnati rather than at North Bend, which gave the former town a decided advantage over all its competitors. Ft. Washington was for many years an important military post.

44. The First Legislation. It will be remembered that the Ordinance made the Governor and Judges the first Legislature of the Territory. Soon these legislators set to work to supply the needed laws. They had no power to enact original legislation, but only to select such laws from the statute books of the original States as they thought necessary and fit for the condition of the people. Much difficulty was encountered in finding laws that suited the purpose, and the Legislature sometimes exceeded its powers by framing original laws. Still, these laws continued in force, like the others, until they were set aside by Congress. Speaking of the system of legislation that was provided, Chief Justice Chase said that, while it had many imperfections and blemishes, it was doubtful whether any colony at so early a period after its establishment ever had one so good. There was at first no Territorial capital; the Governor commonly resided at Cincinnati, while laws were promulgated at different times at Marietta, Cincinnati, and Vincennes. Differ

ences of opinion soon arose in the Legislature. The Governor held that he had an absolute veto on all legislation; the Judges maintained that he was only one member of the body, and that a majority could legislate. But this was not the only question on which they differed.

45. The First Counties.-The Governor had the power to create counties and townships, and to ap