A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES
BY B. H. PERSHING
By the Treaty of Paris of 1783 American
ownership of the
region later known as the Old Northwest
was acknowledged by
Great Britain. Much, however, remained
to be done before the
land could be occupied by actual
settlers. The British flag con-
tinued to wave over the posts at Detroit
and Michilimackinac while
scowling Indian tribes announced that
the white man should not
pass across the Ohio River. The
settlement of the southern part
of the region was not to be delayed
until the surrender by the
British of the northern posts. It was,
however, necessary to secure
the consent of the Ohio Indians before
the Americans could estab-
lish homes at Marietta, Cincinnati, and
other points along the Ohio
River. This was accomplished by a series
of treaties at Fort Stan-
wix in 1784, at Fort McIntosh in 1785,
and at Fort Finney in
1786.1 By these treaties the greater
part of eastern and southern
Ohio was opened to settlement. In no
case, however, was there a
full representation of the tribes
affected by these cessions. Those
who did not take part denied the
authority of the chiefs present to
negotiate the treaties. They prepared,
consequently, to resist the
advance of the white man. This meant
that the bloody wars that
had so long devastated the border would
continue to rage. This
Indian menace was to affect the work of
the surveyors on the
Seven Ranges.
While the American commissioners were
meeting the Indians
in these councils, the Congress at New
York was busy with the
enactment of the Land Ordinance of May
20, 1785.2 This monu-
1 American State Papers: Indian
Affairs (Washington, 1832), I, 10, 11.
Of
these treaties that at Fort McIntosh was
the most important. The boundary there
established passed up the Cuyahoga
River, across the portage to the Tuscarawas,
down that stream to the site of Fort
Laurens, then west to Loramie's Fort, north to
the Maumee River, and down the Maumee to
Lake Erie.
2 Journals of the Continental
Congress (Washington, D. C.), XXVIII (1933),
375-81. For an extended treatment of the development of
this land policy see Pay-
son Jackson Treat, The National Land
System (New York, 1910), 15-40.
(257)
258
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
mental piece of legislation provided, in
brief, that land sales should
take place only after careful surveys
had been made and recorded.
The land was to be divided into ranges,
townships, and sections.
The direction of these surveys was
entrusted to the geographer of
the United States.3 To assist
him the ordinance directed that Con-
gress should elect one surveyor from
each of the states. This was
done and preparations were made to begin
the work in the summer
of 1785. The field of operations was to
be in southeastern Ohio.
Inasmuch as it was planned to include
seven ranges of townships in
the first tract of land offered for sale
this area has become known
as the Seven Ranges.4 These lay immediately south of the
base
line which extended west from the point
at which the western
boundary of Pennsylvania crosses the
Ohio River. The imminent
danger of Indian attacks caused the
surveyors to leave the field on
October 23 after only four miles of the
base line had been run.
In the spring of 1786 conditions
appeared to be more propi-
tious for successful work. At this time
Major Winthrop Sargent
sought appointment as a surveyor.
Sargent was a native of Mas-
sachusetts who had served with
distinction as an artillery officer
in the Revolutionary war. After the war
in common with many
officers whose fortunes had been
impaired by their sacrifices during
the struggle he became interested in
western lands. In March of
this year he had joined with other
veterans in the organization of
the Ohio Company of Associates which
planned a settlement in
the West. He was selected to serve as
secretary of the company.
In this capacity he was to aid Manasseh
Cutler the next year in
the purchase of the land in Ohio. After
the passage of the Ordi-
nance of 1787 he was elected secretary
of the Territory Northwest
of the Ohio River. The frequent and
lengthy absences of Gover-
nor Arthur St. Clair placed on him the
responsibilities of acting
3 Thomas Hutchins served as the
geographer. For a short sketch of the life
of Hutchins see the Introduction to his,
A Topographical Description of Virginia,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North
Carolina, ed. by Frederick Charles
Hicks (Cleve-
land, 1904). This is a reprint of the
original edition of 1776.
The Seven Ranges included in whole or in
part the present counties of
Jefferson, Noble, Columbiana, Carroll,
Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont,
Monroe, Washington and Stark. For
further information on early Ohio surveys the
reader is referred to Treat, National
Land System, 41-43; Charles Whittlesey, "Ohio
Surveys," Western Reserve
Historical Society, Tract, no. 59 (Cleveland, 1883); Charles
Whittlesey, "Surveys of the Public
Lands in Ohio," ibid., no. 61 (Cleveland, 1884);
Charles Whittlesey, "First United
States Land Surveys, 1786. Seven Ranges in Ohio.
Thomas Hutchins, Geographer," ibid.,
no. 71 (Cleveland, 1886); C. E. Sherman,
Original Ohio Land Subdivisions (Columbus, 1925), 38-50. The last source has a
good map of the Seven Ranges on p. 39.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 259
governor for a considerable part of the
ten years during which he
served as secretary. In 1798 he left the
Northwest Territory to
accept the appointment of governor of
the newly-organized Mis-
sissippi Territory.
The promoters of the Ohio Company
recognized the value of
having first-hand information concerning
the land project for
which they were soliciting
subscriptions. Consequently they were
pleased when Sargent announced his
intention of seeking an ap-
pointment as a surveyor in the West.5
Sargent applied to General
Henry Knox who was then secretary of war
for assistance in se-
curing the position. Knox informed his
old comrade in arms that
the regular appointments had already
been made. He believed,
however, that there might be an increase
in the number of sur-
veyors. If this should take place he
thought the chances of Sargent
being chosen would be excellent. Knox
turned to Hutchins who
agreed that Sargent would be a capable
surveyor whom he would
be glad to have in the field with him.
He suggested that there was
a possibility that the surveyor from
North Carolina would not
accept. If he did not Sargent was
advised to apply for this
vacancy. On June 11 Knox wrote
Sargent that undoubtedly there
would be some vacancies. Since a man who
was already on the
field would have the best chance of
being chosen he advised Sar-
gent to repair to Fort McIntosh not
later than July 4.6 Sargent
accepted his friend's suggestion and
started West. While he was
on his way across the mountains Congress
elected him as surveyor
from New Hampshire in the place of
Edward Dowse who had
resigned his position.7
The events in which Sargent participated
in the next few
months were recorded by him in a diary
that he faithfully kept
from June 18 when he left
Boston until his return to Newport,
5 Manasseh Cutler to Winthrop Sargent,
April 4, 1786, Winthrop Sargent MSS.
(in Massachusetts Historical Society
Library).
6 Henry Knox to Sargent, March 12, 1786;
Hutchins to Knox, July 7, 1786; Knox
to Sargent, June 11, 1786, ibid.
7 The election took place June 27, Journals
of the Continental Congress, XXX
(1934), 355. Sargent was the fourth man
appointed from New Hampshire. For the
previous appointments see ibid., XXVIII
(1933), 398, 466; XXIX (1933), 542; XXX
(1934), 294.
260
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Rhode Island, on December 21, 1786.8 It
is one of the few con-
temporary accounts of this work.9
On his way west Sargent passed through
New York to Phila-
dephia where he dined with Benjamin
Franklin. Sargent who had
a keen interest in certain phases of
scientific research enjoyed this
contact with the famous philosopher. He
then started across
Pennsylvania for Pittsburgh which he
reached on the evening of
July 11. A few of his comments on
Pennsylvania folk and towns
will be of interest. He referred to a
Sunday spent in "the un-
sociable Town of Lancaster. The People
of this Place, tho'
neighborly amongst themselves have never
been noted for civility
to strangers." At Carlisle he
evidently received the small end of
the bargain in the purchase of pack
horses as he felt that the in-
habitants took advantages of strangers.
At Hannastown which
was then the competitor of Pittsburgh as
the county seat, he found
thirty log huts "that would have
disgraced the American Army at
the earliest period of the War."
With interest he visited the loca-
tion of the battlefield of Bushy Run.
Only a short time was spent at this time
in Pittsburgh. The
town then consisted of about eighty log
huts generally two stories
in height. The inhabitants did not make
a favorable impression on
him. He stopped "at Smith's Tavern
which tho' as good as any
Place is bad enough and very
extravagant."
From Pittsburgh Sargent journeyed to
Fort McIntosh with
Major John F. Hamtramck who commanded
the fort. The next
day he crossed the river and came to the
camp of the surveyors.
It was situated opposite the mouth of
Little Beaver Creek. Here
he found Thomas Hutchins and the
surveyors from Rhode Island,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
In preparation for the
work they were about to undertake the
surveyors drew for ranges.
The Fifth Range fell to the lot of
Sargent.10 This was located on
8 The
unpublished Diary is in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society
in Boston. Unless otherwise noted
material is taken from this manuscript. The
pages are not numbered and reference can
only be made to the date of entry.
9 Another account is that of John
Matthews who assisted Sargent. The manu-
script, which is in the library of
Marietta College at Marietta, Ohio, can be found
in transcript in Archer Butler Hulbert,
ed., Ohio in the Time of the Confederation
(Marietta, 1918), 187-214.
10 Captain Absalom Martin of New Jersey
who had begun the First Range in
1785 was permitted to proceed with this.
Adam Hoops of Pennsylvania drew the
Second; Colonel Isaac Sherman of
Connecticut, the Third; Colonel Ebezener Sproat
of Rhode Island, the Fourth; James Simpson of Maryland,
the Sixth; William Mor-
ris of New York, the Seventh.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 261
the watershed between the streams
flowing into the Muskingum
and those emptying directly into the
Ohio. The part actually sur-
veyed by him lay in the present counties
of Carroll, Harrison and
Belmont.
Already there were reports of danger
from Indian attacks.
When Hutchins sent orders to the
surveyors to assemble for the
work he stated that the favorable
disposition of the Indians prom-
ised success as compared with the
failure the previous year. The
surveyors were not so optimistic. They
drew up a memorial to
Hutchins asking that troops be disposed
so as to afford them pro-
tection. Hutchins complied with their
request and asked Lieuten-
ant Colonel Josiah Harmar at Fort Harmar
to provide the neces-
sary escort. This was done, Hamtramck being ordered to
give every possible assistance to the
geographer who was deter-
mined that failure should not attend his
efforts in 1786.11
While Sargent was in camp, detained by
the failure of supplies
and equipment to arrive, three of his
Revolutionary friends stopped
on their way down the river to Fort
Harmar. Around the camp
fire that evening Sargent lived over
again with Harmar, Major
John Doughty and Major John P. Wyllys
the days now past when
on the field of battle they had served
their nation against Great
Britain. Not all of their conversation,
however, was of the past.
In the midst of the surroundings in
which they were placed their
thoughts inevitably turned to the future
into which they projected
their hopes and aspirations as Sargent
expressed them in these
words.12
We talked over and anticipated a future
establishment in this Coun-
try, where the veteran soldier and
honest man should find a Retreat from
ingratitude--never more to visit the
Atlantic Shores but in their children
and like Goths and Vandals, to deluge a
people more vicious and villaneous
than even the Pretorian Band of Ancient
Rome.
These words were expressive at once of
the high hopes that
men had of the joy and peace and justice
they would find in their
future homes in the West and also of the
bitterness in their hearts
against the Eastern States for their
neglect of the Continental
veterans.
As it was evident that some days must
yet elapse before the
11 Hutchins to the President of
Congress, Hulbert, Ohio in Time of Confedera-
tion, 144-7.
12 Sargent, Diary, July
19.
262
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
work could be inaugurated Sargent
accompanied his friends on
their journey down the river. It was
this tour that filled him with
enthusiasm for the West and made him a
successful organizer for
the Ohio country. As the boat floated
slowly down stream Sargent
landed now and then and walked along the
bank so as to view
the country more closely. He was
delighted beyond measure with
what he saw. Here were lands level and
rich and yet not too wet
nor too low, herbage most luxuriant for
the raising of cattle, flow-
ers of beauty and fragrance, herbs of
every kind filling the air with
their aromatic perfumes. The trees
underneath whose shade he
passed were of such size as to lead him
to write of them as superior
to anything in America. There were oak
trees five feet in diameter,
walnut trees measuring four feet across
the stump, hickory trees
of corresponding size and maple trees of
every description. At
Zane's Island he saw corn that had been
planted on May I and
was then twelve feet in height.
From July 23 to August 2 he was at Fort
Harmar. These
days were spent in making numerous
excursions into the surround-
ing country. The importance of this
visit of Sargent in the loca-
tion of the lands of the Ohio Company on
the Muskingum has
never been emphasized as it should be. A
man who had been so
captivated by the country as his Dairy
shows Sargent to have been
would have been eager to have the
proposed settlement in this
section. When he was with Cutler in New
York the next year he
must have neglected no opportunity to
urge that the purchase be
located in this region. On his return
journey he noted the plan-
tations of the squatters on the north
shore of the river. "The
lawless banditti," was his term to
describe them.13 This phrase
is a revelation of his attitude of mind
towards the adventurous
pioneer who was ever pushing on ahead of
the government surveys
that was afterwards to contribute to his
unpopularity.
His return to camp was followed by a
trip to Pittsburgh on
which his earlier impressions of the
worthless character of the
inhabitants of that town was confirmed.
This is his description
of his visit.
When I first came to this Place (in July
last), although I made
but the stay of a single day, I acquired
a sufficient knowledge of the in-
13 Ibid., August 6.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 263
habitants and their manners to found an
opinion not very favorable and
which is confirmed in this visit, but I
did not know them so totally desti-
tute of any kind of hospitable civility
as I am now authorized to pro-
nounce. Their whole labor is at the
Billiard Table.
These days of leisure eventually came to
an end. Chain and
pack horsemen arrived in camp. The rate
of pay for these men
was a half Joe14 each per
month and thirty shillings per head for
the horses. For several days the heavy
rains kept the men in
camp. At last, however, the actual work
of running the line
began on September 2. The ordinance
directed that the boundary
lines were to be marked by chaps on
trees and exactly described
on a plot. All "mines, saltlicks
and mill seats that shall come to
his knowledge, and all water courses,
mountains and other remark-
able things, over and near which such
lines shall pass, and also
the quality of the lands," were to
be noted by the surveyors.15
During the first stages of their work
the dense swamps and
thick underbrush rendered progress very
slow indeed. In many
places it was necessary to cut a path
every rod of the way. The
lack of sufficient hands also impeded
the advance of the chain.
Only those who have forced their way
through a dense forest
of virgin timber with a heavy
undergrowth can appreciate the
difficulties faced. The imperfections of
their instruments, in ad-
dition, contributed to the innaccuracies
of their work. The wonder
is that the work was as well done as it
was. One who made a
careful study of the surveys in early
Ohio has commented on the
results in these words, "What with
compasses that did not agree,
the magnetic variation not carefully
determined, a rough country
over which to measure the lines, and the
expectations of attacks by
savages, it is not to be wondered at
that these surveys were not
very accurate."16
As Sargent moved west to his own range he
described the
country as follows.17 "First
Range was tolerably good but a
little broken; the 2nd, fine tillable
lands, by no means high, but
level. The 3rd extreme bad--broken and
some very high hills.
The 4th good lands generally and but few
hills." The Fifth
14 A Portuguese gold coin, "a half
Joe" being the equivalent to eight dollars.
See Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford,
England), V, (1933), 590-1.
15 Journals of the Continental
Congress, XXVIII (1933), 376.
16 Whittlesey, "First U. S. Survey, 1786," 494.
17 Sargent, Diary, September 2.
264
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Range lay beyond these. It was covered
with a dense undergrowth
of bushes. At times not more than two
miles a day could be sur-
veyed. As the rate of pay to the
surveyor was but two dollars
per mile from which the surveyor had to
bear his own expenses
it is plain that the work was not
remunerative. The final account
clearly shows this to have been the
case.
Shortly after running the east and west
line on his own
range Sargent was ordered to run that of
Simpson on the Sixth.
He did so and then returned to the Fifth
and continued his
work. The spirit with which he entered
into this business was
revealed in a few days. A rumor was
circulated that a large
body of Shawnee Indians was at hand. The
report though false
led the geographer and the surveyors
with him to return to camp.
Sargent, however, believed that he
should expose himself to danger
here in the service of his country fully
as much as when he wore
the Continental uniform. He refused,
therefore, to abandon his
post at this time.
His view of the situation was expressed
in a letter to Ham-
tramck on September 21.18
Will you, my dear Sir, indulge me with
the Lie or Truth of the Day,
well enough authenticated for my
government? A Dammed Fellow made
his appearance here last evening who
had, as he says, lost himself from
Mr. Simpson's party, and tells that the
Geographer has run away, all the
Surveyors after him--in consequence of a
vast collection of Indians some
where. I strongly suspect this Fellow to
have lost his senses and shall
keep at work until I hear from you.
The day after tomorrow, Saturday
evening, if fair weather, after
the coming two days, I expect to be at
the end of my second South Line,
or closing Col. Sproat's 2nd Township,
where "mon cher Major" you will
be so very obliging as to furnish me
with all necessary information.
After having terminated my south Line
shall progress on West until
I hear from you.
There were other difficulties besides
the rumors of Indian
attacks. Lack of sufficient hands led to
a shortage of meat. To
remedy this a hunter was assigned to the
party. There were many
rattlesnakes which Sargent confessed
disturbed him at times. The
howling of wolves, the yelling of panthers
and wild cats made
the nights unpleasant; yet he enjoyed
his work. There were oc-
casions, indeed, of pleasant surprises.
At a distance of thirty miles
from the river Sargent found three
plantations with houses and
18 Ibid., September 20, 21.
Italicized words in all quotations are underscored
in the original.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 265
growing crops. The crops had not been
disturbed by the party
under Ensign John Armstrong which had
been sent out to expel
the intruders a few months previously.
Sargent and his men
enjoyed the feast of corn, cabbages, and
turnips.19
The reports of possible Indian attacks
finally became so
alarming that on September 25 Sargent
returned to the camp at
the mouth of the Little Beaver. There he
found some of the
surveyors. The others were expected soon
to come in. They
were being called together by Hutchins
in order that he might
consult with them concerning the work.
Sargent was not satisfied
with this procedure. The Indians whom he
had encountered had
been friendly. It was his opinion that
they should have continued
the work and thus forced the Indians to
indicate clearly whether
they were for peace or war. If they were
for war the retreat
would be construed as an indication of
weakness.
The geographer was of the opinion that
four ranges should be
completed. If work beyond these was to
be done it should be
undertaken only after a favorable vote
by the surveyors them-
selves. After careful deliberations they
advised that work beyond
the Fourth Range could be undertaken
only amid grave dangers.
With this decision Sargent did not
agree. He gave expression in
his Diary to his exasperation at the
indecision of Hutchins.20
For my part, I would prefer to receive
and obey order, rather than
decide myself and I am sorry to find Mr.
Hutchins, who is our principal
so fond of council and so wanting in decision. He is a good character,
a worthy man, but stands in need of
confidence in himself--which we (sur-
veyors) have all very sensibly felt, and
which has sometimes involved us
in disagreeable altercations and
disputes about modes and forms and the
more essentials of our duties.
When he discovered that the return of
Isaac Sherman on the
Third and of Ebenezer Sproat on the
Fourth Ranges had been
left optional with those men Sargent
resolved to return to his
own work. He addressed a note to
Hutchins to that effect seeking
permission to be again on the field.21
I am uneasy, my Dear Sir, at so long a
detention from Business,
essential and important to the Public
Welfare, and particularly desirous of
19 Ibid., September 24. This
incident indicates the extent to which the squatters
from the Virginia side had crossed the river and
penetrated into the interior.
20 Ibid., September 28. For a similar comment on Hutchins, see
Neville B.
Craig, ed., "Journal of General
Butler," Olden Time (Pittsburgh), II (1848), 435.
21 Sargent, Diary, September 30.
266 OHIO
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
returning to work on the fourth meridian
or south Line of Col. Sproat's
2nd Township, from whence I quitted on
the last Saturday. If you should
deem it proper for me to proceed on the
5th range which was mine by
lot, I will do it with pleasure.
Hutchins replied that he did not think
it proper to proceed
but would have help ready if Sargent
decided to return. He re-
fused to issue a direct order for a
resumption of surveying. Left
thus to his own initiative Sargent
decided to go once more in the
field. Before doing so he made a trip to
Mingo Bottom to secure
horses and supplies. He was insistent
that an escort should be
furnished him. As his was the exterior
line being run he be-
lieved that sufficient troops should be
assigned to him so that his
men could be protected while at work
instead of depending on
troops stationed at certain points.
Indian alarms grew more fre-
quent. Men began to be fearful of the
outcome. Sargent, how-
ever, was not to be deterred. He was
anxious to complete the
line south to the river. Then the
meanders of the Ohio could
be taken. This would prepare for sale
one more range than the
geographer planned.
Additional men were engaged. Among these
was John
Matthews, a New England schoolteacher,
who had come west.
As he could not secure employment at his
chosen profession he
determined to seek adventure with the
surveyors as a chain-
bearer.22 Sargent's party as
it took to the field was made up of
thirty-six men. The slowness of the
troops impeded the march.
Sargent who was impatient to be at work
hurried on ahead of
his escort. By October 15 he was
prepared to resume work.
When the troops arrived he found that
they were under
orders to follow his request and move
forward with him from
day to day instead of remaining in camp
ready to move whenever
danger threatened. At times he found the
troops more of a hin-
drance than a help. "The little
offices which they do me I must
reward at an extravagant rate and am
necessitated to court a great
deal for any services." The troops
were not well-equipped for
the work. Harmar wrote the secretary of
war that they "were
barefoot and miserably off for clothing,
particularly woolen over-
alls. They have a very severe fatiguing
tour of duty."23 Sargent
22 Hulbert, Ohio in Time of Confederation, 202.
23 Sargent, Diary, October 23; William
Henry Smith, The Life and Public
Services of Arthur St. Clair with His
Correspondence and Other Papers (Cincinnati,
1882), II, 19.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 267
would have dismissed them and proceeded
without any guard but
his hunter became suspicious that
Indians were lurking near-by.
The news that arrived of the success of
the expedition of General
George Rogers Clarke against the Indians
on the Wabash and of
Colonel Benjamin Logan against the
Shawnee towns on the Scioto
led him to conclude that there could be
no danger except from
predatory bands of savages. These he did
not fear.
The work was now pushed forward as
rapidly as possible, no
rest being taken even on Sunday. Indian
depredations, however,
continued to be reported and to cause
uneasiness among the men.
A soldier one day declared that he had
been chased by an Indian.
That the Indians were near at hand
became painfully evident
when all of the pack horses except one
poor animal were stolen
and could not be recovered. This made
the work especially
fatiguing as the men were compelled to
walk to their place of
work and return to the blockhouse again
at night. This blockhouse
had been constructed by Captain Jonathan
Hart (Heart), com-
mander of the troops, on a branch of the
Stillwater. Sargent
sent an urgent request to Hamtramck for
some horses, declaring
that although he believed an attack by
the Indians was imminent
he would continue the work.24
He began to be apprehensive that
he would not be able to complete the
work as he had planned.
The weather, also, became unfavorable.
Much rain fell and it
became colder so that the taking of
notes in the field was difficult.
The men, too, began to complain and to
hint that they would not
remain in the field longer than the end
of the month.25
Upon the return of the messenger sent to
Hamtramck without
the horses needed to move the baggage
Sargent determined to
close up the seventh township and return
to camp for another
consultation with the geographer. He was
also much perturbed by
a rumor that some of his surveys would
not be acceptable to
Hutchins. Another entry in his Diary at
this point further com-
ments on the indecision of the leader.26
"If Capt. H. was a man
of decision I could never be dubious of
my conduct for I would
24 Sargent, Diary, October 30; Hulbert, Ohio in Time of Confederation,
206.
25 Sargent, Diary, November 7. With this
cessation of work on the Seven
Ranges at the approach of winter should
be compared the work of Nathaniel Massie
in the Virginia Military District. This was usually
carried on in winter. See David
Meade Massie, Nathaniel Massie, (Cincinnati,
1896), 32.
26 Sargent, Diary, November 3.
268
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
literally obey orders, but as it is, my
situation is delicate and
perplexed with difficulties."
The seventh township was completed on
November 5. Two
days later Sargent reached the camp of
the surveyors. This had
been moved down the river from the
former location. It was
now situated on McMahon's Creek or
Indian Wheeling, a small
stream emptying into the Ohio a short
distance below Wheeling.
Sargent now found that Hutchins wished
him to return to
his range and finish it so that one more
completed range could be
offered for sale. This would have
involved the survey of four
complete townships and two
part-townships. This was not pleasing
to the surveyor. He did not care to
carry on the work under the
disagreeable conditions that would have
been experienced at that
season of the year. Had the work been
directed by Hutchins in
the proper manner it would have been
completed before the winter
season set in, was the opinion of
Sargent who was becoming more
and more critical of his superior.
At this moment a letter was received
from General Richard
Butler, the superintendent of Indian
affairs. It reported the con-
tents of a letter sent to him by the
Wyandot chiefs at Sandusky.
It was a curt notice to the surveyors to
stop work. "You will
inform the Surveyors," demanded the
Indians, "to halt and not
to survey any more at present, as we are
going to have a great
Council with all Nations at the Wyandott
Town."27 The unsatis-
factory state of the weather which would
have made the surveys
very expensive and this threat of Indian
attacks led to the aban-
donment of all surveying for the year.
This decision was reached
on November 14.28
When Hutchins prepared his report to
Congress he could
inform that body that the survey of four
ranges had been com-
pleted. In the Fifth Range seven
townships had been prepared
for sale. A total of about 800,000 acres
could be placed on the
market as a result of the season's work.
Including both the east and west and
north and south lines
Sargent ran a total of sixty miles. For
this he was paid at the
27 Hulbert, Ohio in Time of
Confederation, 172. The actual danger from the
Indians was shown when cabins near
Wheeling were attacked and burned. Some
of the settlers were killed.
28 Sargent, Diary, November 14.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES 269
rate of two dollars per mile. This was
not equal to the expenses
incurred as the surveyors were required
to bear all costs including
the hire of their helpers. On November
10 Sargent joined with
the other surveyors in a memorial to
Congress asking that Con-
gress make provision to compensate them
for their expenses in the
past and increase the pay in the future.
They were ready to take
a part of this in land. The actual
expenses of Sargent were
$250.00 while his pay
was only $120.00.29
In his Diary Sargent incorporated a
comment of Hutchins on
his work. It shows that the geographer
appreciated his efforts
more highly than the surveyor had
anticipated. Hutchins wrote:
In all the duties of this season Mr.
Sargent has the pleasing con-
sciousness of exerting himself to the
best of his abilities for the Public
Good. He very much laments that his
Range of Townships is not sur-
veyed agreeably to the Ordinance of
Congress, but flatters himself that
the seven Townships even in the present
state may meet with sale and
consequently add something to the
Revenues of the United States.
On the cessation of activities for the
season Sargent prepared
to return at once to the East. The state
of his mind at this time
is revealed by an entry in the Diary in
which he noted his reaction
to the news of Shay's Rebellion in
Massachusetts.30
Rec'd from Dr. Cutler of Ipswich, state
of Massachusetts, a Letter
giving an account of the Insurrection in
that and the Common wealth
of New Hampshire. I feel not on this
occasion like a Patriot--so ungrate-
ful and so very vile has been the
conduct of my country--that I sympathize
not with them in their Distress, any may perhaps mock when
their fear
cometh.
Like many another Continental veteran he
was experiencing
the proverbial ingratitude of republics.
Happily this did not
destroy his patriotic zeal and he was to
render worthwhile service
to his nation in the future.
On November 15 Sargent started for Fort
Pitt. From that
place he continued to Philadelphia which
he reached on the
thirtieth. Here he indulged his
scientific curiosity by an examina-
tion of the steamboat which John Fitch
was endeavoring to oper-
ate. He was interested but unable to
pronounce a judgment as
to its practical value. From
Philadelphia he journeyed to his
New England home where he spent the
winter.
29 Papers of the Continental Congress
(in Library of Congress) no. 41, XI, p.
415, 416, 431; no. 66, p. 318.
30 Entry for November 12.
270 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
As late as June, 1787, he contemplated
again crossing the
mountains in order to complete the Fifth
Range. He wrote to
Hutchins offering his services. Hutchins
in reply stated that he
had consulted with the Board of Treasury
Commissioners who
did not believe that there was any
necessity for Sargent to go
West. The surveyors then on the ground
could take care of the
work.31 Sargent, who had gone to New
York in expectancy of
the appointment, remained there to give
his attention to the affairs
of the Ohio Company. While there he was
of service to Cutler
in the purchase of the land of the Ohio
Company on the Musk-
ingum River.
The significance of the work of Sargent
as a surveyor on
the Seven Ranges is not to be found in
any contribution he made
to the survey of the national lands. It
lies, rather, in the contact
with the West which he made while at
this work. As a result he
was filled with enthusiasm for the Ohio
country, was able to speak
on the basis of first-hand information,32
and thereby became a
more successful promoter of the project
of the Ohio Company.
3l Hutchins to Sargent, June 25, 1787, Sargent MSS.
32 On October 6, 1786, Cutler wrote
Sargent that his letters from Ohio which
had been printed and circulated had done
much to arouse interest in the migration
to the West, ibid.
A SURVEYOR ON THE SEVEN RANGES
BY B. H. PERSHING
By the Treaty of Paris of 1783 American
ownership of the
region later known as the Old Northwest
was acknowledged by
Great Britain. Much, however, remained
to be done before the
land could be occupied by actual
settlers. The British flag con-
tinued to wave over the posts at Detroit
and Michilimackinac while
scowling Indian tribes announced that
the white man should not
pass across the Ohio River. The
settlement of the southern part
of the region was not to be delayed
until the surrender by the
British of the northern posts. It was,
however, necessary to secure
the consent of the Ohio Indians before
the Americans could estab-
lish homes at Marietta, Cincinnati, and
other points along the Ohio
River. This was accomplished by a series
of treaties at Fort Stan-
wix in 1784, at Fort McIntosh in 1785,
and at Fort Finney in
1786.1 By these treaties the greater
part of eastern and southern
Ohio was opened to settlement. In no
case, however, was there a
full representation of the tribes
affected by these cessions. Those
who did not take part denied the
authority of the chiefs present to
negotiate the treaties. They prepared,
consequently, to resist the
advance of the white man. This meant
that the bloody wars that
had so long devastated the border would
continue to rage. This
Indian menace was to affect the work of
the surveyors on the
Seven Ranges.
While the American commissioners were
meeting the Indians
in these councils, the Congress at New
York was busy with the
enactment of the Land Ordinance of May
20, 1785.2 This monu-
1 American State Papers: Indian
Affairs (Washington, 1832), I, 10, 11.
Of
these treaties that at Fort McIntosh was
the most important. The boundary there
established passed up the Cuyahoga
River, across the portage to the Tuscarawas,
down that stream to the site of Fort
Laurens, then west to Loramie's Fort, north to
the Maumee River, and down the Maumee to
Lake Erie.
2 Journals of the Continental
Congress (Washington, D. C.), XXVIII (1933),
375-81. For an extended treatment of the development of
this land policy see Pay-
son Jackson Treat, The National Land
System (New York, 1910), 15-40.
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