OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
THE BEGINNING OF THE OHIO COMPANY AND
THE
SCIOTO PURCHASE.*
BY MAJOR E. C. DAWES.
The beginning of the year 1783 saw the
Revolutionary war
virtually at an end, although the final
treaty of peace was not
signed until September third. The
colonies had achieved their
independence at the price of the lives
of many, and the fortunes
of all of their defenders. The
Continental currency, despite
the fiat of the government, had long
since ceased to be of value.
Since 1780 all army supplies had been
purchased with interest
bearing notes, payable in coin, issued
by the Quartermaster
General by authority of Congress. These
were known as "Con-
tinental specie certificates" and
had depreciated to about one
sixth their par value. The troops were
about disbanded; there
was no money to pay them. Many meetings
were held among
the officers and many plans for securing
the arrearages of pay
were discussed. All conferences came to
the same conclusion.
The United States had no credit upon
which to borrow money,
no power to enforce the collection of a
tax, no property with
which to pay its debts. The only
apparent resource was the
land west of the Alleghenies belonging
to the Indians, the
In preparing this paper I have made
liberal extracts from an essay
read by me before the Cincinnati
Literary Club, in 1881, a few copies of
which were printed. I have also used,
with consent of the publisher,
almost the whole of an article on
the Scioto Purchase, published in the
Magazine of American History, December
1889.
Vol. IV-1