Excerpt from History of Defiance County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns Etc;, Military Record, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, Farm Views, Personal Reminiscences Etc

State of nan-rive: its forests unbroken hr the labors of civilized man; its rinh mines un opened its beautiful lakes and rivers free from all navigation save the Indian canoe. The si lence of solitude rested over its whole extent. Ex cept where the Indian villages gathered the. Sparse population, or the shout oi the hunt or ha tic broke the. Stillness. A hundred years ago the Northwestern Territorv that now comprises the great and prosperous States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. Michigan and K'fit-'u-ehein, witha population of it. Was an almost unknown Wilderness, withl a few French settlements scattered among large tribe: oi roaming Indians. Great Britain lift-i receiver! Thi torri'flmy bv her ireei'w with France in lit-33. But. She I did not encourage its settlement by the America colonists. L-ler policy was to leave the Indians in undisturbed posseezsion of it, and keep up a profitable commerce with iltz'jl'ij. Such was its condition on the 4ih of Jan) 1770. When independence of Great Britain was declared. During the, war of Indepen dence, Great Britain used these Indian tribes against. The United. Hint-os. By the treaty of 1783 between the United States and Great Britain, this tori'itorv west to the Mississippi and south to the Ohio was re luctantly granted to the United States. It is said that it was onl)r by the firm purpose of J ohu Adams in negotiating that treaty th at the Ohio River did not become the southern boundary of the British posses riionsj instead of the present Canada line. It is a matter of history that Great Britain maintained trad ing posts and forts Within this territorv long after it was ceded to us.and is believed to have aidud and sup ported the Inziian tribes in their doadiv hostility to the first settlements of Ohio. During the Revoln: tionary war. New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Connocticnt haul each sot up claims to this territory under romi charters. Uitnongh to the other colonies their Clair-14 seemed nnjrsi. Their assertions for a time seriouslv afl'faomd brma'rirm of film An'zerican Union.

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