THE EVOLUTION OF THE OHIO-ERIE BOUNDARY.
BY REGINALD C. M'GRANE,
D. A. R. Fellow, University of
Cincinnati.
The question of "boundaries"
has always been a source of
trouble. Nations have been arrayed
against each other, wars
have been fought, diplomats have argued,
and demagogues have
harrangued over such disputed points.
Sometimes Providence
in its unaccountable way, has helped to
solve the question by
placing natural limits between race and
race or between nation
and nation, but where nature has failed
to do so, all the cunning,
strength and greed of the different
parties has been brought into
play in the proper defining of their
respective spheres of action.
Whether it be the case of the Visigoth
struggling with the Roman
for the integrity of his lands, or the
German with the French-
man, or the American with the Englishman about the just
limitation of their claims, the final
adjustment has been the
result of a long series of events. The
explorer, who first opened
the new country, the colonizer who
rapidly followed in his
footsteps to plant the flag of his
nation, the settler who began
to develop the country and the soldier
who fought for his rights
-all these were factors in the
settlement of the question. Thus
the fixing of a definite line between
nation and nation is not the
work wholly of the diplomats who sign
the ultimate agreement.
It is the conclusion of many years of
effort during which time
these various elements have gradually
evolved a distinct idea as
to the justice and extent of their
claims, and their determination
to fulfill them. And if European
countries can furnish us with
classic illustrations of the gradual
evolution of different boun-
daries, the New World can do so as well.
Therefore it will be
the purpose of this paper to show the
gradual working out of
this plan in one of our own localities.
In defining the limits of the Ohio-Erie
country no natural
conditions seem to present either a
source of hindrance or ad-
vantage to its delimitation. Certainly
no obstacle is placed in
(326)
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 327
the way of creating a definite section,
for these factors-the
Ohio River and its significant
tributaries, Lake Erie, the Ap-
palachian Mountains and the
Mississippi--are more aids than
bars to its definition. But as we study
carefully the history of
this region three rather distinct
periods appear in the course
of its growth. In the first period-which
for convenience let
us call the period of Discernment - we
find the explorer pene-
trating the region, noting the points of
vantage of the new
land and relating these to his superior
officers. He, in turn, is
followed by the colonizer who likewise
reports home what he
finds here. Yet during this first
period, although there may be
more than one nation penetrating this
portion of the country,
little mention is made to restrict the
bounds of either. How-
ever near its close the colonizer does
begin to grow more em-
phatic in his desire to secure certain
points of importance. In
the second period-that of Delineation-a
rather distinct out-
line seems to have been agreed upon by
the parties involved
and the necessary steps are taken to
carry out this scheme. In
the third period, therefore-that of
Disposition-we have the
final adjustment of these claims and the
region clearly marked
out.
It is natural to expect the factors in
these different periods
to change; and this is the case. In the
first, the principal ele-
ments are the French and English
explorers and colonizers; in
the second, the English and the Indian;
and in the last the Eng-
lish and American diplomats with the
Indian as a subordinate
member in the controversy. Let us now
then examine more
in detail the history of these periods
and see the actual working
of these forces.
The period of Discernment-which extends
from 1615 to
1751-opens with the work of that hardy
French pioneer-Sam-
uel de Champlain. Impelled by his desire
to trade with the na-
tives, to carry to them the gospel, and
to aid his comrade Le
Charon, Champlain plunged into the
wilderness in 1615 and after
many difficulties reached Lake Huron.
Here he seems to have
been checked in his career to the
westward and to have turned
his attention to other affairs. His
geographical knowledge about
the land was vague for as late as 1632
in his maps he depicted the
328 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Niagara River somewhat elongated,
leading from the outlet of
Lake Huron to Lake St. Louis
(Ontario).1 But the impor-
tance of his work lies in the fact that
he encouraged others to go
farther than he had done. The followers
of his race quickly
took up the work he had laid down.
Flourishing missionary
stations were soon established in the
country of the Hurons.
Moreover extensive expeditions were now
fitted out to explore
this region. In 1641 the Jesuit
Raymbault reaches the falls of
St. Mary's and returns reporting
favourably of the natives;
in 1654 another party makes a journey to
Green Bay; and in
1660 a corps of fur traders ventures
into the lake country and
returned laden with furs. Thus from 1654
to 1660 the French
push steadily westward until in 1668
Father Marquette estab-
lishes a settlement at St. Mary's. But
it is not until 1670 that
the French really enter the region we
are at present studying.
In that year we have the formation of
that unique expedition of
LaSalle and the Sulpitian missionaries
Francis Dollier de Casson
and Rene de Biehart de Galinee for the
Far West. The his-
tory of this attempt is well known; the
meeting with Joliet at
the Grand River, the separation of the
parties, the priests reach-
ing Lake Erie, their wintering on its shores, and their final
journey to Sault Ste. Marie. At the same
time the priests were
having these experiences LaSalle was
exploring the head waters
of the Ohio; but owing to a series of
unforseen circumstances he
also was forced to abandon his work.
Accordingly, for a few
years there is a lull in French endeavor
but as soon as LaSalle
is again restored to power, interest
revives. This time we have
the direct entrance of the French into
the Lake Erie region by
the building of "The Griffin"
by Tonty and Hennepin and its
launching at Fort Conti.
La Salle brings the period of French
exploration to a close;
and at the same time ushered in the era
of colonization. The
task of settling in the new land which
had previously been car-
ried on in a rather desultory and
scattered manner, now as-
sumes definite form. In 1671 the French
have a settlement at
Michilimachinac;2 and in 1687
Governor Denonville erects a
1Hanna,
C. A.: Wilderness Trail, Vol. 1, p. 7.
2Blanchard, R.: Discovery of the
Northwest, p. 74.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 329
fort on the site of LaSalle's old
blockhouse at the Niagara river ;3
and in 1701 Antoinette de la Motte founds Detroit.4 Thus
by
the beginning of the eighteenth century
the French are well
established in the new land; but not
alone, for their ever present
rivals-the English-have kept strides
with them.
Coincident with the advance of LaSalle
to the west, we
hear of the English being in the same
region.5 But, as was
thoroughly characteristic of English
policy in the New World,
for many years nothing was carefully
planned with respect to
the opening up of the west. It is not
until 1671 that any pre-
tentious expedition is sent out to
explore this land. In that year
Major-General Abraham Wood sets out
"for ye finding out of
the ebbing and flowing of ye water
behind the mountains in order
to discover the South Sea"-6 which resulted
in the latter's
reaching the Kanawha River. Nothing
exact seems to have
been gained by this journey and for a
time interest in the west
died out; but this was again revived
under the able administra-
tion of Thomas Dongan when English
agents were started up
the lakes with the purpose of
establishing trading posts.6a How-
ever, in 1716, under the guidance of
that peculiar character,
Governor Spotswood of Virginia, the
English do turn their
attention to the west. This time they
appear to have been aroused
to the worth of the country and
strategic importance of secur-
ing certain sites for we read of
Governor Spotswood's advice
to plant settlements on Lake Erie for
commercial reasons; fur-
thermore, as he states, the English
"might be able to cut off or
disturb the communication between Canada
and Louisiana if a
war should happen to break out."7
With the expedition of Governor
Spotswood the first half
of the first period is completed. Both
nations now bend their
efforts towards colonization. With this
more definite expan-
3Wisconsin Historical Collection, Vol.
XVI, p. 128, note.
4Blanchard, R.: Discovery of the
Northwest, p. 71.
5I. J. Cox: Journey of La Salle, Vol. I,
p. 38.
6Darlington, Wm. A.: Journal of
Christopher Gist, Intro., p. 20-21.
6a Blanchard, R.: Discovery of the
Northwest, p. 69.
7 Spotswood's Letters: Virginia
Historical Collection, 1st series,
Vol. II. p. 297. 298.
330 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
sion there naturally develops a strong
feeling of antipathy be-
tween the two parties involved. The
French and English soon
perceive that a struggle is impending
and each begin to make
preparations for the inevitable. Both
turn to the Indian-the
original owner of the land but the one
who had been utterly
ignored up to this time-to aid them in
the coming strife. Here
the English profiting by the mistakes
made by the French, gain
the confidence of the Indian and
although in the preliminary
struggles of these years-namely those
about Sandusky8-the
English and their allies are worsted in
the conflict, the English-
man has gained an important ally who in
future years will be a
source of great strength to him in
striving with another foe.
At the same time this struggle is going
on in the west new
agencies are being created in the east
to cope with the situation.
England and the colonies have at least
realized the importance of
holding the western lands and now they
intend to strain every
nerve to accomplish their object. Great
projects are set forth
-such as that of the Ohio Land Company
(one of the leading
companies engaged in this work)-to
settle "within the next
seven years at least one hundred
families in this region". But
a new type of man-one who is thoroughly
conversant with the
conditions in the West must be employed
to carry out these
schemes; and it is in the perfecting of
this plan that the West
at last comes into its own. Such men as
Conrad Weiser, a
shrewd native German in the employ of
the Pennsylvania coun-
cil, George Croghan, the Irish trader,
Andrew Montour, the
half-breed,-all these must be put to
work to save the English
establishments by gaining the faith of the
Indians. Moreover
an accurate survey of the new land must
be made for the new
colonizing companies, and this work is
left to that intrepid fron-
tiersman and surveyor Christopher Gist.
Besides, the struggles
which were then going on between the
rival colonies-Pennsyl-
vania and Virginia-over their various
claims to these western
lands were all contributing to arouse
interest in this section. There-
fore it is small wonder the journey
westward of this frontiers-
man was watched with much interest by
the men of his day;
8 See account of this struggle in Ohio
Archaeological and Historical
Soc. Publ., 1909.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 331
and the careful journal kept by Gist
(which furnishes us with
a fund of information) bears witness of
the exactness with which
the observations were made. Setting out
in 1750 with his pur-
pose clearly before him Gist plunged
into the Indian country
concealing his real designs from all
those who sought to learn
them. When at last, however, he met
George Croghan and
Andrew Montour he threw aside this cloak
of mystery and be-
gan actively to gain the friendship of
the Indians. The account
of the combined efforts of Croghan and
Gist in conciliating the
latter and in strengthening the bonds of
friendship between the
most powerful tribes and the English as
detailed in Gist's jour-
nal presents a remarkable record of
successful frontier diplo-
macy. The account shows us the careful
examination that was
made and the emphasis placed upon the
importance of retaining
it for the English. Thus we see that at
the close of this first
period the country has been thoroughly
developed by both the
English and French and that now since
settlements are beginn-
ing to encroach upon each other, the
necessity of expelling the
one or the other or of placing a
definite boundary between the
two seems just beginning to take root.
Thus the first period
of our story comes to a close with the
journey of Celeron through
this country planting plates and taking
possession of the land
in the name of the King of France, and
with the English send-
ing Gist westward while preparing at the
same time for the on-
coming strife.
Taking up now the period of Delineation,
we find that the
scene has shifted. During the
intervening years from 1751-
the last tour westward of Christopher
Gist-and 1763 the French
have been driven from their possessions.
In this struggle the
region we are studying does not take an
active part although
much mention is made of proposed
expeditions against such
places as Detroit, etc., all of which
come to naught.9 The English
do, however, gain possession of the
principal sites during the
course of the war. In 1758 Fort DuQuesne
changes its name to
Fort Pitt, in 1759 Niagara is taken, and
the English have al-
ready planted settlements upon these old
French locations when
we again take up the thread of our
story. Conditions have
9Wisconsin Historical Collection, Vol.
XVI, XVII.
332 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
changed greatly within these few years
and have wrought cor-
responding changes in the policies to be
pursued in connection
with these western lands. The French
have been eliminated;
but a new factor has appeared in the
presence of the ever omni-
present Indian; and it is in dealing
with the latter that we have
the gradual evolution of a boundary for
this region. All the
cunning and guile of the Indian is now
pitted against the bull-
dog determination of the white man to
hold what he has
already. New methods must be chosen and
another set of men
must be called upon to bring this to
completion. The struggle
is a noble one and for the next five
years the West occupies
the attention of the British officials
in their endeavor to restrict
the areas of the combatants.
The proposal to mark out a definite line
with regards the
west comes, of course, as a result of
the harassing actions of
the Indians upon the whites. The
necessity of having such a
boundary to limit the actions of the
Indians and the whites had
been felt and had been expressed as far
back as 175710 but
nothing was actually done as regards
this until 1763. By this
time establishments were of sufficient
size and importance to com-
mand some attention from the colonial
governments and from
the mother country. Therefore, when Sir
William Johnson in
the latter part of 1763 proposed
"that a certain line should be
run back of the Northern colonies beyond
which no settlement
should be made until the whole Six
Nations should think proper
of selling part thereof"11 we are
not surprised that the English
government adopted this policy.
Furthermore such a scheme
was in direct accord with the imperial
tendencies of Great Britian
during the eighteenth century - namely
first neglect and then
sharp control.12 The primary
purpose therefore of the proc-
lamation of 1763 as it was finally
issued by the British govern-
ment was to centralize the authority in
control of Indian affairs.13
Some recent writers have asserted that
an ulterior motive was to
10 New York Colonial Doc., Vol. VII, p.
302.
11Ibid, Vol. VII, p. 578.
12Michigan Pioneer Collection, Vol. 36,
p. 35.
13Ibid, Vol. 36, p. 25 Farrand:
Indian Boundary Line.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 333
restrain the growth of the colonies,14
but this, upon closer ex-
amination, seems without foundation.15
At any rate, Sir William
Johnson's proposal gained a ready
hearing in the mother country
and when it was strengthened in the
early part of the following
year by a similar request from George
Croghan16 no time was
lost in bringing it to completion. So by
the beginning of 1764
a rather definite boundary line has been
set up between the
whites and the Indians; thus bringing
into relief a more exact
sketch of the western land.
But the proclamation of 1763 was soon
found to be inade-
quate in certain respects. The French
and Spanish officials had
in the meantime tampered with the
Indians and were urging
them to take up arms against the English
giving them assur-
ances of powerful assistance.17 The Indians had in the start
desired such a boundary line hoping that
by such measures the
encroachment upon their lands would
cease; but too much time
had intervened between the proposal and
the actual settlement
and the Indians were now becoming
restive.18 Therefore in the
face of an impending Indian war the
Board of Trade on Decem-
ber 23, 1767 agreed that a line should
be immediately established;
and orders were sent to America to that
effect.19 A series of
treaties were made with the
Indians-namely at Fort Stanwix
(1768) and later one at Lochabar (1770)-by which a
continuous
boundary line was run "back of the
Appalachian Mountains,
around the coast of Florida and through
the southern part of
east and west Florida almost to the
Mississippi River."20 By
these treaties-especially that at Fort
Stanwix21-the Ohio river
was agreed upon as part of this boundary
line between the whites
and the Indians; and it is by the
settlement upon the Ohio river
14Ibid, Vol. 36, p. 33.
15 N. Y. Col. Doc., Vol. 8, p. 94, 95.
16Ibid, Vol. 7, p. 602-607.
17Ibid,
Vol. 8, p. 123.
18 Ibid,
Vol. 8, p. 152.
19 N.
Y. Doc., Vol. 7, p. 1004, and Wisconsin Hist. Soc. Pro., 1908,
p. 175, 176.
20Wisconsin Hist. Soc. Proceedings,
1908, p. 175, 176.
21 Text of treaty in Pennsylvania
Colonial Records, Vol. 9, p. 554-555;
Vol. 10, p. 257, and N. Y. Col. Doc.,
Vol. 8, p. 158.
334 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
as a part of this line that this section
begins to assume a political
community life. With the Ohio river as a
southern boundary-
although it was supposed to mark out
only a division line between
white and Indian settlements-and the
Great Lakes to the north
separating the newly acquired lands of
Canada and those of the
former British colonies-we have the
gradual transformation of
this indefinite mass of land to the
westward into something
definite in shape.
The West-or as we can now more
adequately call it the
Ohio-Erie area was now a particular
region in the minds of
those who were controlling the destinies
of these lands. Its
northern boundary was not yet determined
upon but the im-
portance of holding the Great Lakes as
such a line was quite
evident to both the settler and the
people in the colonies. There-
fore it is not strange that as the
American Revolution begins to
take hold in the colonies to the
eastward, the men in charge of
affairs quickly turn their attention to
this land for the purpose of
retaining and checking the advance of
the English. In this
struggle the Indian again enters as a
principal factor.
Some recent writers22 have
declared that the American
policy during these years tended towards
securing Indian neu-
trality quoting in support of their
argument a speech prepared
for the Six Nations early in July 1775.
But instead of trying
"to keep the hatchet buried
deep" it seems to the writer that the
Americans were quite willing to employ
and to instigate the
Indians to action. As early as April 29,
1776 we read of the
committee in charge of Indian affairs
being instructed to pre-
pare an expedition against Fort Detroit.23 The report as ren-
dered by the committee was, it is true,
postponed,24 but in the
following year the project was again
brought forward and this
time it is stated that the "Indians
were to be induced to surprise
Niagara" but to do so "with
secrecy and prudence".25 The next
day after this proposal was made,
December 4, 1777, the idea was
22Wisconsin
Historical Soc. Proceedings, 1909.
23 Secret
Journals of Congress, Vol. I, p. 43.
24 Ibid, p. 43.
25 Ibid, p. 57.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 335
again expressed in Congress and this
time the commissioners
were authorized to give "money or
goods" to the Indians.20
The necessity, however, of securing the
northwest was too
serious to leave to the whims of
savages; so accordingly in 1780
after George Rogers Clark had gained
control of the Illinois
region, it was deemed best to fit out a
regular expedition to se-
cure this land for the Americans. To
such men as Washington
and Jefferson the reduction of Detroit27
was imperative and so
in this year the final arrangements were
made for George Rogers
Clark to move against this post. Clark
was overjoyed by the
prospects of "putting an end to the
Indian warfare on the fron-
tier"28 but this daring
scheme was doomed to an early death
because owing to the lack of funds and
of men the expedition
had to be abandoned soon after it had
got under way. But the
interesting thing to note about these
intervening years is the
rising importance of this land--due most
probably to its stra-
tegic and commercial position. Therefore
it is small wonder that
in the final peace arrangements in 1783
the northern boundary
of this region should be claimed by the
Americans as that of
Lake Erie. By their instructions the
American representatives
had been directed to obtain a line
running from the point where
the 45th parallel crossed the
St. Lawrence, directly west to Lake
Nipissing, and thence to the
Mississippi.* Such a line disre-
garded natural features, and when the
British commissioners pro-
posed as an alternative the present line
following the middle
course of the Great Lakes and finally
terminated in the Lake of
the Woods, the American commissioners
readily accepted the
change.+
Our period of Disposition ushers in a
new series of events.
The northern boundary was now the direct
cause of the strife.
The English had refused to comply with
the desires of the
American officials to abandon their
stronghold upon the Great
26Ibid, p. 30.
27Mississippi Valley Historical Assoc.
Pro., Vol. III, p. 301, 302.
28 Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Society Publ., Vol. XVI, p. 281.
* Cox, I. J.: Indian as a Diplomatic
factor in the Northwest, pub-
lished in Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society Publications.
+ Ibid.
336 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Lakes because they wanted to secure the
fur trade and so trouble
was impending. Besides the encroachments
of the whites upon
the Indian lands were arousing the
latter to hostility. The im-
mediate cause of the Indian's rage was,
however, as set forth
by Secretary Knox's report in 1792
"the unprovoked aggressions
of the Miami and Wabash Indians upon
Kentucky and other
parts of the frontiers, together with
their associates-a banditti
formed of Shawanese and outcast
Cherokees, amounting in all
to about 1,200".29 At any rate
three expeditions were sent out
to subdue these tribes-General Harmar,
General St. Clair and
General Wayne-the last being the only
one that proved suc-
cessful and the only one we are
interested in for this study.
A detailed account of this expedition
under General Anthony
Wayne is unnecessary. All that we need
recall as regards the
expedition is that General Wayne by
deceiving the Indians suc-
ceeded in advancing far into the Indian
country before the latter
were fully aware of his utimate
destination; that he met the
Indians and successfully defeated them
in the Battle of Fallen
Timbers; that he had a slight tilt of
words with the British offi-
cers in charge of the fort in the
vicinity in which the latter was
decidedly worsted; and that the campaign
finally concluded with
the signing of the Treaty of Greenville
between Anthony Wayne
and the Indians.30 The
signing of this treaty, however, on Au-
gust 3, 1795 was of great significance
to the west. The fact
that the British had intrigued with the
Indians during this cam-
paign was quite evident to the American
leaders31 and therefore
they determined to secure the friendship
of the Indian for all
times and to settle all disputes in this
Treaty of Greenville. Fur-
thermore a precise boundary line was
established at this time
between the lands of the United States
and the lands of the
Indian tribes and the southern boundary
of the Ohio-Erie
country was again stated as that of the
Ohio River-while the
northern limit was to be Lake Erie. A
few years later a second
Treaty of Greenville was signed by which
the Indians became
29
Annals of Congress, Vol. III, p. 1048.
30 See American State Papers, Indian Affairs.
31 Am. State Papers, Foreign Affairs,
Vol. I, p. 484.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 337
the allies of the Americans and agreed
to help them against
their old friends-the British.
But this treaty was not looked upon by
Great Britain as
very binding.32 So at her
first opportunity she strove to evade
it. Thus when the war of 1812 breaks out
England regains
and holds the northern posts and to all
intents and purposes pro-
poses to do so for some time to come.
Fortune however was
not very bountiful to her in this
struggle. In the beginning the
British gained possession of such
military posts as Detroit but
this was lost during the course of the
war, and so, when the
negotiations for peace opened at Ghent,
the Americans, now in
actual control of these strongholds,
were in a good position to
reassert their claims to the limits of
1783.
Here at last we find the question in the
hands of those whom
we should naturally expect to settle
such disputes-the diplomat.
In the preceeding periods the diplomat
had played but a minor
part in the transactions, the men on the
frontier doing most of
the work. But now at last it has reached
the diplomat; but not
one set of diplomats-but three. For the
British officials in ad-
dition to their role as representatives
of their own government
have assumed the pose of agents in
behalf of the distant Indian.
This latter pose of the British seems
almost ludicrous. To think
that the one who had so forcibly driven
the red man from his
land should now step forward as his
champion seems almost in-
congruous; but such is the case. Almost
at the first meeting of
the delegates the British members
presented their claims that
since the Indians had been their allies
in the late war they'were
resolved that they should receive fair
treatment at the hands of
the Americans; and they demanded for the
Indians a "status
quo ante bellum" which they
declared was their"sina qua non" 33
The Ameican delegates were at once
enraged over this proposal.
At first they claimed not to be able to
treat of this matter be-
cause they did not have instructions to
that effect; but when
they saw the futility of so evading the
question they stated em-
32 Many American officials seem to have held this idea; see Wharton:
Diplomatic Correspondence of the
American Revolution, Vol. V, p. 87.
33 American State Papers, Foreign
Affairs, Vol. III, p. 706.
22
338 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
phatically their refusal to acquiesce to
any such terms as set
forth by the British-namely to create a
barrier Indian state
between the possessions of the British
and those of the United
States even though the boundary was to
be almost the same as
that set forth in the Treaty of
Greenville. Some of the mem-
bers of the American delegation might
have been willing to
comply with the wishes of the British34
but Henry Clay,35 repre-
senting the West, refused most decidely
to support such a propo-
sition and so by dint of much wrangling
the British were finally
forced on October 2536 to abandon their
position and to take
up the one other question that has to
deal with our subject-
namely the evacuation of the northern
posts (Mackinac and its
dependencies). Here again some of the
American members
were disposed to view somewhat mildly
the designs of the Brit-
ish in retaining these posts37 but
again the new American spirit
of nationality exerted itself and the
forts were handed over to
the American government. In the same manner the British
proposals that Americans should forbear
from arming vessels
on the lakes or erecting fortifications
were quickly rejected by the
American delegates and the commerce of
the Great Lakes was
left open to both nations.
So concludes the early history of the
Ohio-Erie country.
The main forces at work in the gradual
evolution of its boun-
dary had been the white man and the
Indian-respective repre-
sentatives of civilization and
savagery. Whether it was the
English and French settlers or later the
English and American
diplomats quarreling over this region,
the ultimate goal in view
had been the driving of the red man from
this region and its
settlement and adjustment by the white
man. And though it
may seem cruel that the original owner was at last driven
from his home the later history of this
section will, I think,
34Life of John Jay; William Jay, Vol.
II, p. 363, 364.
35 Memoirs of J. Q. Adams, Vol. III, p.
68, 103.
36 American State Papers, Foreign
Affairs, Vol. III. p. 710. The
news that a second Treaty of Greenville
had been signed between the
Americans and Indians was a direct
incentive for the English to relinquish
their claims.
37Ibid, Foreign Affairs, Vol. I, p. 486.
The Evolution of the Ohio-Erie
Boundary. 339
make us feel that perhaps it was for the
best.* But, we who
live in this section of the west must
not forget that:
"Not with the bold array
of armies dread"
was the Disposition finally brought
about but:
"Thru a long warfare rude,
With patient hardihood,
By toil, and strife and blood,
The soil was won."
* In the preparation of this article I
wish to acknowledge the many
valuable suggestions of my instructor, Professor
Isaac Joslin Cox of
the University of Cincinnati.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE OHIO-ERIE BOUNDARY.
BY REGINALD C. M'GRANE,
D. A. R. Fellow, University of
Cincinnati.
The question of "boundaries"
has always been a source of
trouble. Nations have been arrayed
against each other, wars
have been fought, diplomats have argued,
and demagogues have
harrangued over such disputed points.
Sometimes Providence
in its unaccountable way, has helped to
solve the question by
placing natural limits between race and
race or between nation
and nation, but where nature has failed
to do so, all the cunning,
strength and greed of the different
parties has been brought into
play in the proper defining of their
respective spheres of action.
Whether it be the case of the Visigoth
struggling with the Roman
for the integrity of his lands, or the
German with the French-
man, or the American with the Englishman about the just
limitation of their claims, the final
adjustment has been the
result of a long series of events. The
explorer, who first opened
the new country, the colonizer who
rapidly followed in his
footsteps to plant the flag of his
nation, the settler who began
to develop the country and the soldier
who fought for his rights
-all these were factors in the
settlement of the question. Thus
the fixing of a definite line between
nation and nation is not the
work wholly of the diplomats who sign
the ultimate agreement.
It is the conclusion of many years of
effort during which time
these various elements have gradually
evolved a distinct idea as
to the justice and extent of their
claims, and their determination
to fulfill them. And if European
countries can furnish us with
classic illustrations of the gradual
evolution of different boun-
daries, the New World can do so as well.
Therefore it will be
the purpose of this paper to show the
gradual working out of
this plan in one of our own localities.
In defining the limits of the Ohio-Erie
country no natural
conditions seem to present either a
source of hindrance or ad-
vantage to its delimitation. Certainly
no obstacle is placed in
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