USA > Ohio > The history of Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 15
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[1887.
behind each other, and constructed for the ac- commodation of these priests. Each pulpit was made to seat three persons, so that when they were all present, twelve priests occupied each set. These pulpits all bore initials expressive of the ecclesiastical rank of their occupants. On the Aaronie pulpits, at the entrance of the grand room, were the initials P. D., President of Dea- cons; P. T. A., President of the Teachers ; P. A. P., President of the Aaronic Priesthood ; and B. P. A., Bishop of the Aaronic Priesthood. On the Melchisedec pulpits on the side opposite to them, at the farther end of the room, were the initials P. E., President of the Elders ; M. P. H., President of the High Priest ; P. M. II., President of the High Council; and M. P. C., President of the Full Church. The Aaronic priesthood were rarely allowed to preach, that being the especial duty of the higher order, the Melchisedec.
In 1837 the Mormons made application to the legislature for the charter of a bank. Their re- quest having been rejected, they established an unchartercd institution, and issued notes to the amount of several thousand dollars in excess of the specie which they were able to command. This gave their enemies power over them. Be- coming unable to fulfil their engagements, the Mormons wore obliged to suspend their banking operations. Their bank being an unchartered in-
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stitution, its debts could not be collected. Those who had been swindled out of their money were naturally enough indignant. The society declined in numbers and in respectability, and in 1838 the Mormons finally evacuated Kirtland, and with their leader removed into the state of Missouri.
A question had been some time under discus- sion between the State of Ohio and the territorial government of Michigan as to the true southern boundary of Michigan, which in 1835 threatened to bring on a civil war. It originated as follows :- The ordinance of 1787 provided for the formation in the North-west Territory of three states, and also provided that Congress might form one or two others north of an east and west line drawn through the head or southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and extending eastward to the terri- torial linc in Lake Erie. This, at the time Ohio was admitted into the Union, was construed as meaning that the two northern states were not to be extended to the south of the east and west line specified in the ordinance; and in accord- ance with this view the territorial line of Ohio was extended northward so as to include the harbour of Toledo or the Maumee bay. But the line of the ordinance was impossible, inasmuch as it would never touch the territorial line by extending it eastward, but on the contrary would leave, north of it, a considerable portion of that part of Ohio known as the Western Reserve.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
[1835.
The constitution of Ohio, however, contained a provision that if the line of the ordinance should not go so far north as the north cape of the Maumee bay, then the northern boundary of Ohio should be a line drawn from the southerly part of Lake Michigan to the north cape of the Maumee bay. Regardless of this proviso, Mi- chigan keeping to the impossible line specified in the ordinance of 1787, denied the claim of Ohio and her construction of that ordinance; and when Ohio sent her surveyors to mark out the boundary as defined in the provision of her constitution. Michigan drove them away by an armed force, and took military possession of the disputed ter- ritory ; upon which Ohio levied troops, and Go- vernor Lucas put himself at their head, carly in the spring of 1835, to maintain the rights of the state.
In the mean time an army was also mustered in Michigan; and while Governor Lucas was en- camped at old Fort Miami, eight miles above Toledo, Governor Mason, in command of the Michigan volunteers, made a descent upon Toledo, of which, for a short period, he held un- disputed possession.
There appears to have been a considerable panic among the Michigan troops on their march from Monroe to Toledo. The regulars, who had been engaged in more difficult and dangerous service than this, amused themselves by extolling
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to the volunteers the expertness of the riflemen in the service of Ohio. These stories, gravely narrated, wrought so much alarm among the militia, that more than one-half of those who had commenced their march at Monroe with so much spirit and boldness, on approaching Toledo, availed themselves of the bushes on the road to withdraw from so dangerous an enterprise.
At this crisis two commissioners were sent from Washington with full powers to negotiate with the belligerents for an amicable settlement of difficulties. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, and Colonel Howard, of Maryland, were the agents sent by government. These gentlemen prevailed on both parties so far to recede as to allow the people settled on the disputed territory to acknowledge the jurisdiction of either state, as best suited their convenience or inclination, until the question was settled by the proper au- thorities.
At the next session of Congress the territorial dispute between Ohio and Michigan was taken up, and able arguments in favour of Ohio were made in the house by Samuel T. Vinton, and in the senate, by Thomas Ewing. After a full dis- cussion of the question, Congress decided in favour of Ohio; and Michigan, having at this time asked for admission as a state into the Union, was told that she could only be acknow- ledged on condition of recognising the boundary
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HISTORY OF OHIO. [1835.
as claimed by Ohio. Michigan having received the large peninsula between Lakes Huron, Erie and Michigan, as an equivalent for the narrow strip along her southern border for which she had been contending, very willingly submitted, and was soon after regularly constituted one of the members of the federal Union.
The peninsula between the lakes annexed to Michigan is now well known for its rich deposites of copper and other minerals. The chief value wo Ohio of the territory in dispute, was the har- bour of Toledo, formed by the mouth of the Maumce, which, in the opinion of her leading men at the time, was essential to enable her to reap the benefit of her canals to the Ohio and the Wabash valleys. The result has shown that they judged correctly. Toledo has proved to be the true point of junction for the lake and canal commerce.
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1850.
BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.
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CHAPTER XIX.
Boundaries and extent of Ohio-Its physical geography-Soil and productions -- Rivers - Climate -- Government and Ju- diciary-Indian mounds and ancient fortifications-Human remains at Circleville-Population - Colleges and public schools.
Onro is bounded on the north by Michigan and Lake Erie, on the east by Pennsylvania and Virginia, on the west by Indiana, and on the south by the Ohio River. This state contains about forty thousand square miles, and measures two hundred miles from north to south by two hundred and twenty miles from east to west. It lies between 38° 30' and 42º north latitude, and between 80° 35' and 84° 47' west longitude.
The country bordering on Lake Erie and in the interior, is generally level and in some places marshy. The land in the vicinity of the Ohio River in the eastern and south-eastern quarters is broken and elevated, but there are no lofty mountains. The entire region of Ohio is a plateau, or elevated table land, reaching to a height of from six hundred to one thousand feet above the surface of the sea. The most fertile lands are situated in the interior, on both sides
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of the Scioto and of the Great and Little Miami Rivers. Vast prairies lie near the head-waters of the Scioto, the Muskingum, and the two Miami rivers, upon which there is no growth of timber. Some of these prairies are low and marshy, producing a great quantity of coarse grass from two to five feet high; others are elevated and dry, with a fertile soil, though they are usually called Barrens. There is a great amount of native forest still remaining, consist- ing of the various species of oak, hickory and maple, common to the woods of North America. There is also an abundance of beech, black-wal- nut, buckeye, birch, poplar, pawpaw, sycamore, various kinds of ash, cherry and whitewood, the last being extensively used as a substitute for pine. Wheat may be regarded as the staple production of the state; but Indian corn and other grains are raised in great profusion, and nearly every species of vegetable is cultivated successfully. It has been estimated that nine- tenths of the land is adapted to agricultural pur- poses, and that three-fourths of it is extraordi- narily fertile. Every description of fruit known in the same latitude grows luxuriantly within the state.
The Ohio River, from which the state derives its name, washes its entire southern boundary, and from the extent of the area drained by its waters, and the great facilities afforded by it to
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internal commerce, is only second in importance to the Mississippi. This river is nine hundred and fifty-nine miles in length, reckoning from Pittsburg to its confluence with the Mississippi; and with its numerous tributaries, many of which are streams of considerable magnitude, affords an abundant means of internal navigation to the inhabitants. Its current is gentle, with no falls except at Louisville, Kentucky, where there is a descent of twenty-two and a half feet in the course of two miles. Some of its islands are very beautiful. Heavy forests cover a great portion of its banks, and limit the prospect from the river; but they exhibit a beautiful verdure, which is often exuberant with blossoms. The Muskingum is the principal tributary of the Ohio, into which it discharges itself at Ma- rietta. It is navigable for boats through an extent of one hundred miles. The Scioto, navi- gable for one hundred and thirty miles, enters the Ohio at Portsmouth. The Great Miami, rapid stream, after a course of one hundred miles, joins the Ohio in the south-west corner of the state. The Little Miami, seventy miles in length, falls into the Ohio seven miles above Cincinnati. All these rivers have numerous branches and forks, extending in various direc- tions to almost every part of the state. A num- ber of large streams also flow, in a northerly direction, into Lake Erie ; the principal of which
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HISTORY OF OHIO. [1850.
are the Sandusky River, which, after a course of eighty miles, enters Sandusky Bay, and thence into Lake Erie ; the Maumee River, which, rising in Indiana, flows through the north-western part of the state into the Maumee Bay; the Cuyahoga, which enters Lake Erie at Cleveland. The Huron, Black, Grand, Vermilion, and Ashtabula Rivers also fall into Lake Erie.
The climate of Ohio is in general highly favourable to health. The summers are warm and regular, but subject at times to severe drought and occasional whirlwinds or hurricanes. In the country, for fifty miles south of Lake Erie, there is generally good sleighing during the winter for a considerable time, but the winters are not se- verely cold. In the spring and fall of the year, the weather is delightfully pleasant. In some of the marshy parts of the state, the inhabitants are subject to fever and ague; but these pecu- liar distempers are always prevalent in such districts.
Scattered through various counties are ruins of ancient Indian villages, mounds, and fortifi- cations. In the Scioto valley, within a compass of from twelve to fifteen miles around the city of Chillicothe, these remains are very numerous. At Marietta are some ancient works, consisting of walls in direct lines and in square and circu- lar forms. The town of Circleville, in Pickaway county, is erected on the site of ancient Indian
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DISCOVERY OF SKELETONS.
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fortifications, from one of which originated the name of the place. Few if any vestiges now remain.
A street was opened through one of the artifi- cial mounds in Circleville about the year 1834; and in removing the earth many skeletons were found in a state of excellent preservation. One who wrote a brief narrative of these discoveries says :- " A cranium of one of these skeletons is in my possession, and is a noble specimen of the race which once occupied this spot. It has a high forehead, large and bold features, with all the phrenological marks of daring and bravery. Poor fellow, he died overwhelmed by numbers, as the fracture of the right parietal bone by a battle-axe, and five large stone arrows sticking in and about his bones, still bear silent but sure testimony. The elevated ground a little north of the town across Hargus Creek, which washes the base of the plain of Circleville, appears to have been the common burial ground. Human bones were found in great quantities in digging away the gravel for repairing the streets, and for constructing the banks of the canal which traverse the base of the highlands. They were buried in the common earth without any attempt at tumuli, and occupied so large a space that only a dense population and a long period of time could have furnished them in such profu- bion."
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HISTORY OF OHIO. [1850.
During the process of internal improvement, numerous mounds have been opened in different parts of the state, and in every instance they have been found to contain human bones, leading to the conclusion that they are tumuli or ancient receptacles of the dead, and were constructed by the labours of successive generations as sacred monuments to the memory of the departed.
Ohio does not contain so many geological formations as some of the other states; there are, nevertheless, immense beds of blue limestone, slate, fine-grained sandstone, conglomerate, and coal. The great coal region lies on the western bank of the Ohio, and underlies not far from one- fourth part of the whole state. The coal strata are interspersed with beds of iron ore, and im- mense quantities of both are obtained from this quarter for home consumption, and for exporta- tion. Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of Marietta, a gentle- man of well known scientific attainments, has accurately described the fossil remains of the Ohio sandstone; he says :- " The sandstone rocks contain many relies of fossil trees of thet ancient and curious family, bearing those rare tlevices and figures on their bark, so artificial in their appearance, as to induce a common belief among the ignorant of their being the work of man before the flood, and buried by that catas- trophe in huge heaps of sand, since consolidated into rock. The excavations in sandstone roc)
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POPULATION.
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have been, as yet, so few and partial, that but a small number have been brought to light, al- though the strata are one vast cemetery of the plants of a former creation. I have seen some specimens found in quarrying stones from a cel- lar, or in grading a road, and have heard of many more, proving that there is an abundant supply laid up for future geologists, when the country shall become more cultivated, and ex- tensive openings shall be made in the earth."
The population of Ohio has increased and multiplied, through accessions from the older states and from Europe, in an almost incredible ratio. The first census was taken in 1790, and gave the population as three thousand; but the census of 1850 estimated it at one million nine hundred and eighty thousand, so that the num- ber of inhabitants may now be safely regarded as upward of two millions. In point of popula- tion, Ohio ranks as the third state in the Union.
The people of Ohio are remarkable for their industry, enterprise, and public spirit. Many important public works have been undertaken and accomplished by them. Besides the Ohio and Miami canals, to which reference has been already made, two continuous lines of railroad extend across the state from north to south,- one from Cincinnati to Sandusky, the other from Cincinnati to Cleveland, which is also connected by railroad with Pittsburg, Buffalo, Sandusky
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HISTORY OF OHIO. [1850.
and Toledo. There are also numerous important lines in progress, extending west and east, and, indeed, in almost every direction.
The manufactures of the state are confined principally to articles, the raw materials of which are of home growth, as wool, iron, leather, tobacco, flour, sugar, wax, lard, silk, potash, &c., together with the usual collateral branches.
The constitution provides for the election of a governor every two years; but he cannot be elected for more than three terms in succession. The members of the Senate are thirty-six in number, and are elected for two years, one-half being annually chosen. The House of Repre- sentatives is composed of seventy-two members elected for one year. These elections are by the whole people; all white males, twenty-one years of age, resident for one year in the State, and tax-payers, being entitled to the right of suffrage. Columbus on the Scioto is the capital of the state ; and the sessions of the General Assembly, commence there annually on the first Monday in December.
The judges of the supreme and other courts are elected, by the joint ballot of the legislature, for the term of seven years. The oldest Su- preme Court judge in commission officiates as chief justice. There are four of these judges, two of whom hold a court in each county, once a year. The Common Pleas Courts are held in
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SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
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some counties three times in each year ; in others only twice, by a president judge and three as- sociates. There are superior courts established in Cincinnati and in Cleveland; also a com- mercial court in the former city.
One thirty-sixth part of all the land in Ohio is set apart for the maintenance of common schools. This liberal reservation makes ample provision for securing to coming generations the advantages of early instruction. Good schools are diffused all over the state, and there are about twenty universities, colleges, and other institu- tions of a higher order. The amount of school fund owned by the state is one million seven hundred thousand dollars; nearly three hundred thousand dollars being annually apportioned to the several counties for educational purposes.
THE END.
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