INDIAN BOUNDARY
LINE.
W. S. HANNA, MILLERSBURG.
The Indian Boundary Line, sometimes
known as the Green-
ville Treaty Line, or Wayne's Treaty
Line, had its origin in the
closing events of the Revolutionary War.
As an historical land
mark it has no equal in the early
history of this country. Around
its history cling many of the most
stubborn and sanguinary con-
flicts and border outrages, that so
distinctly marked the closing
of the eighteenth century.
On every good map of Ohio it will be
noticed that a line
starts on the northern boundary of
Tuscarawas county, and passes
in a south of west direction through the
county of Holmes and on
across the State to the counties of
Shelby and Mercer. What is
this line? Why is it there? Who
established it, and when, are
the frequent inquiries made, and which
have not been heretofore
answered in such form as to come within
reach of the general
reading public. To briefly answer these
questions, in such form
as will reach the general public, is the
sole apology for the prep-
aration of this article.
At the close of the Revolution, by the
treaty of Paris com-
pleted on September 3, 1783, Great
Britain relinquished all her
rights to the territory claimed by the
thirteen original colonies,
and recognized the sovereignty of the
United States of America.
The treaty of Paris did not extinguish
whatever title the Indians
claimed to have within the colonies. And
in order to establish per-
petual peace with the Indian tribes the
Continental Congress
appointed Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler
and Arthur Lee as
commissioners to make such treaty with
the Indians as would
extinguish their title to the lands in
the Northwest Territory.
The commissioners proceeded to Fort Stanwix,
New York, and
there met the representatives of the
Iroquois or Six Nations, who
claimed to have conquered all the
western tribes and on October
22, 1784,
entered into a treaty whereby the Iroquois relinquished
(158)
Indian Boundary Line. 159
all their pretended claims and titles to
the lands north and west
of the river Ohio. This treaty was
approved by the Continental
Congress, but it was learned soon
thereafter that the Iroquois
had falsely made claim to title to lands
in the Northwest Territory,
and that their intrusion into said
country had proved fruitless
to them.
Thereupon the Continental Congress
appointed George
Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Arthur
Lee as commissioners
to meet the Indians claiming title to
the lands in the western
country, and make, if possible, a treaty
extinguishing their title
to the same. The commissioners at once
proceeded to Fort Mc-
Intosh, at the mouth of Big Beaver
Creek, in western Pennsyl-
vania. Here they met representatives of
the Delawares, Wyan-
dots and other tribes, who, on January
31, 1785, entered into a
treaty with said commissioners whereby
said Indian tribes relin-
quished all their right and title to all
the lands situated south and
east of a line commencing at the mouth
of the Cuyahoga River,
thence up said river to the portage
between the Cuyahoga and
the Tuscarawas, thence across said
portage and down the Tus-
carawas to the "Crossing
Place" above Fort Laurens, near where
Bolivar now stands; thence in a westerly
direction to the portage
between the Great Miami and Auglaize,
near where stood Lora-
mie's store; thence down the Auglaize
and Maumee to Lake Erie.
This treaty was afterward confirmed by
the Continental
Congress under the mistaken belief that
the Indian title to the
lands had been completely extinguished,
to the territory covered
by the treaty. In pursuance to this
belief, on May 20, 1785,
Congress passed an act providing for the
survey and sale of the
lands northwest of the Ohio river, to
which the Indian title had
been extinguished. As soon as this work
was commenced, the
powerful Shawnee tribes appeared on the
scene and contested the
right of Congress to lay claim to the
lands in which they had an
interest. This resistance by the
Shawnees caused Congress to
appoint another commission consisting of
George Rogers Clark,
Richard Butler and Samuel H. Parsons,
who met the Shawnee
chiefs at Fort Finney near the mouth of
the Great Miami, where,
on January 31, 1786, a treaty was signed
by the terms of which
the Shawnees relinquished their title to
all their lands lying east
160 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
and south of the line established by the
treaty of Fort McIntosh
with the Delawares and Wyandots.
Again it was believed that peace had
been permanently estab-
lished between the western tribes and
the United States. Emigra-
tion commenced to move rapidly toward
the Ohio country, only
to be again annoyed by Indian resistance
and merciless butcheries.
As an excuse for these depredations, the
confederate tribes of the
northwest joined in a powerful
remonstrance to Congress in De-
cember, 1786, wherein it was claimed
that the treaties above
named were only partial treaties and did
not bind the several
tribes which took no part in the several
conventions, and sought
to justify their right to the whole
country northwest of the Ohio,
by virtue of the old treaty of Fort
Stanwix, made in 1768 with
the British Government.
The Continental Congress had now become
exasperated at
the unfaithfulness and treachery of the
confederate tribes, and
in order to meet the remonstrances
squarely, determined to estab-
lish civil government in the Northwest
Territory at the earliest
time possible. The ordinance of 1787 was
passed and Arthur
St. Clair was appointed Governor. He
arrived at Marietta on
July 9, 1788, and on July 27 issued
his proclamation establishing
Washington county with the following
boundaries: Beginning
at the Ohio river where the western
boundary of Pennsylvania
crosses the same; thence north to Lake
Erie; west to the mouth
of the Cuyahoga river; thence up said
river, across the portage to
the Tuscarawas and down that river to
the crossing place above
Fort Laurens; thence west to that branch
of the Great Miami on
which stood the fort taken by the French
in 1752; thence south
to the Scioto river; thence with said
river and up the Ohio to the
place of beginning. Officers were
appointed by the governor
and an attempt to establish civil
government in the county was
made.
This attempt to establish civil
government seemed to incite
rather than allay the infractions by the
Indians. And Governor
St. Clair found it necessary to make a
further attempt to estab-
lish peace, and called the chiefs of the
various confederate tribes
together at Fort Harmar, where on
January 9, 1789, he succeeded
Indian Boundary Line. 161
in obtaining separate treaties
confirming the treaties made at Fort
McIntosh and Fort Finney.
These separate compacts were no more
effective than those
that preceded them. Indian depredations
continued, even more
cruel than before. Congress now realized
that the only means
left by which peace could be secured and
the settlers protected,
was by force of arms. An expedition was
sent against the treach-
erous savages in 1790 under General
Harmar which met with
defeat; and another was sent out in 1791
under Governor St.
Clair which met the same fate. General
Wayne was then placed
in command, and in August, 1794, at the
"Battle of Fallen Tim-
bers," he administered such a
stinging rebuke to the Indian Con-
federacy and its British allies that
they never recovered, and
Indian conspiracy in the northwest came
to an end.
As a direct result of the victory of
General Wayne, he re-
paired to Fort Greenville in what is now
Darke county. There
the principal chiefs of the confederate
tribes assembled, and on
August 5, 1795, a treaty was consummated
which extinguished
forever the Indian title to the lands in
the Northwest Territory
situated south and east of the boundary
line described as fol-
lows: Beginning at the mouth of the
Cuyahoga river; thence
up said river to the portage; thence
across said portage and down
the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum
to the crossing place
above Fort Laurens; thence in a westerly
direction to that branch
of the Great Miami at or near which
stood Loramie's store; thence
northwest to Fort Recovery; thence in a
southerly direction to
the mouth of the Kentucky river.
President Washington, on December 9,
1795, reported
Wayne's Treaty by special message to the
United States Senate,
which afterward confirmed the same.
The gateway to the northwest was now
open, and on May
18, 1796, Congress enacted a law
providing for the survey of
the outlines of the territory recently
acquired from the Indians,
and among other things provided for the
appointment of a sur-
veyor general, who was given power to
appoint the necessary
number of deputy surveyors and
administer the oath to them.
Another provision in said law was that
the cost of surveying said
outlines should not exceed three dollars
per mile.
Vol. XIV- 11.
162
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The surveyor general appointed one
Israel Ludlow a deputy
surveyor under said law, and he was
assigned the task of survey-
ing the line agreed upon by Wayne's
Treaty, and which had been
the subject of contention for so many
years.
How Ludlow performed this task is
herewith given, much of
which has been taken from his report of
the survey to the gov-
ernment.
The survey was under the personal
direction of Israel Lud-
low, Deputy Surveyor of the United
States. The chain carriers
were William C. Schenck and Israel
Shreeve, both of whom were
duly sworn by the deputy surveyor.
A random line was first surveyed in
order to ascertain the
true course of the Indian Boundary. This
random line was
commenced on Sunday, June 18, 1797, at a
sycamore tree four
feet in diameter standing at the fork of
that branch of the Great
Miami river near which stood Loramie's
store, with the magnetic
bearing of N. 4 degrees and 5 minutes
E.; thence due east 131
miles and 50 chains to the Muskingum
river, which was 8 chains
wide; thence up said Muskingum river
with the meanderings
thereof 4 miles, 56 chains and 50 links
to the confluence of the
White Woman and the Tuscarawas; thence
up the Tuscarawas
branch with the meanderings thereof to a
point opposite Fort
Laurens; thence across said river to
said fort; thence up said
river about two miles to the
"crossing place," above said fort,
"which was the place named in the
late treaty by General Wayne
as a place from where a line is to run
to that fork of the north
branch of the Great Miami at or near
where stood Loramie's
store."
The courses and distances up the
Muskingum and the Tus-
carawas are given in Ludlow's notes.
From the survey of this
random line, Ludlow determined that the
bearing of the line con-
necting the crossing place above Fort
Laurens with that branch
of the Great Miami at or near which
stood Loramie's store and
which is near the western line of what
is now Shelby county was
S. 78 degrees and 50 minutes W.
From Ludlow's report of the actual
survey of the Indian
Boundary Line the following quotation is
made: "Sunday, 9th
July, 1797, began a survey of Indian
Boundary Line according
Indian Boundary Line. 163
to treaty of Greenville by General Wayne
of August 5, 1795, at
the crossing place of the Tuscarawas
branch of the Muskingum
river above Fort Laurens at a bottom oak
10 inches in diameter
standing on the west bank of said fork,
which tree is notched with
three notches on the north and west
sides with this inscription:
'Surveyed according to Treaty by Gen.
Wayne, a line to Loramie's
S. 78 degrees and 50 minutes W.'"
In tracing the boundary line
southwesterly through what is
now Holmes county, Ludlow entered among
his notes the follow-
ing, "19 miles, 32 chains, a water course running southwest,
where
a flat ridge divides the waters of Sugar
creek and Killbuck creek,"
"26 miles, 30 chains and 50 links, Killbuck creek 2 chains wide,
running south, 20 east current
gentle." "40 miles, 17 chains and
50 links, White Woman creek (now called
Mohican) runs south,
20 east, 4 chains and 50 links
wide."
When Ludlow had surveyed the line to the
distance of 119
miles and 59 chains, he ran a line south
480 chains when he found
the trace of the random line he had run
east. He returned to the
camp on the treaty line and changed the
course of the same from
S. 78 degrees, 50 W. to S. 88 degrees,
50 W. and at 153 miles
and 35 chains from the starting place,
he came to a post 23 chains
and 50 links above the forks of
Laramie's creek on a course S. 10
W. This report is dated August 29, 1797, and is
signed by Israel
Ludlow, D. S.
The survey of the line from Loramie's to
Fort Recovery, was
commenced by Ludlow on Saturday, August
3, 1799, at Loramie's,
and bears north 81 degrees, 10 minutes
west, 22 miles, 51 chains
and 50 links to Fort Recovery, which was
situated in what is now
Mercer county near the Indiana line.
The survey of the line between Fort
Recovery and the mouth
of the Kentucky river was commenced by
Ludlow on Tuesday,
10 o'clock, August 8, 1799, at Fort Recovery,
and bears S. 11
degrees, 35 minutes W. Six miles of this
part of the line only
is within the present limits of the
State of Ohio.