256 Treaty of Peace. 1783. the impression made by Clark upon the Shawanese, that no large. body of Indians thenceforward invaded the territory south of the Ohio. In November, after the return of the Kentucky troops, Messrs. May and Marshall opened their land offices, and the scramble for choice locations began again, and in a way which laid the foundation for infinite litigation and heartburning. 1783. Upon the 30th of November, 1782, provisional articles of peace had been arranged at Paris between the Commissioners of England and her unconquerable colonies. Upon the 20th of the January following hostilities ceased; on the 19th of April, — the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, - peace was proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 3d of the next September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle was concluded.—Of that treaty we give so much as relates to the boundaries of the West. "The line on the north was to pass along the middle of Lake Ontario, to the Niagara river; thence along the middle of said communication into Lake Erie, through the middle of said lake, until it arrives at the water communication between that lake and Lake Huron; thence through the middle of said lake, to the water communication between that lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior, northward to the.isles Royal and Philipeaux, to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of the said Long Lake, and the water communication between it and the Lake of the Woods, to the said Lake of the Woods; thence through the said lake, to the most northwestern point thereof; and, from thence, on a due west course, to the river Mississippi; 1783. Land speculation stronger than Law. 257 thence, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi, until it shall intersect the northerninost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude. South by a line to be drawn due east from the determination of the line last mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Appalachicola or Catahouche; thence along the middle thereof, to its junction with the Flint river; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river; and, thence down along the middle of St. Mary's river to the Atlantic Ocean." * But the cessation of hostilities with England was not, necessarily, the cessation of warfare with the native tribes; and while all hoped that the horrors of the border contests in the West were at an end, none competent to judge, failed to see the probability of a continued and violent struggle. Virginia, at an early period, (in October 1779,) had by law discouraged all settlements on the part of her citizens northwest of the Ohio; but the spirit of land speculation was stronger than law, and the prospect of peace gave new energy to that spirit;- and how to throw open the immense region beyond the mountains, without driving the natives to desperation, was a problem which engaged the ablest minds. Washington, upon the 7th of September 1783, writing to James Duane in Congress, enlarged upon the difficulties which lay before that body in relation to the public lands. He pointed out the necessity which existed for making the settlements compact; and proposed that it should be made even felony to settle or survey lands west of a line to be designated by Congress; which line, he added, might extend from the mouth of the Great Miami to Mad river, thence to Fort Miami on the Maumee, and thence northward so as to include Detroit; or, perhaps, from the Fort down the river to Lake Erie. He noticed the propriety of excluding the Indian Agents from all share in the trade with the red men, and showed the wisdom of forbidding all purchases of land from the Indians except by the sovereign power, Congress or the State Legislature as the case might be.-Unless some such stringent measures were adopted he prophecied renewed border wars, which would end only after great expenditure of money and of life.t But before the Congress of the freed Colonies could take any efficient steps to secure the West, it was necessary that those measures of cession which commenced in 1780-81, should be * Revised Statutes of Virginia, by B. Watkins Leigh, ii. 378. + Sparks' Washington, viii. 477. 258 Land cession by Virginia. 1783. completed. New York had conditionally given up her claims upon the 1st of March, 1781,* and Congress had accepted her deed, but Virginia, as we have said, had required from the United States a guarantee of the territories retained by her, which they were not willing to give, and no acceptance of her provision to cede had taken place. Under these circumstances, Congress, upon the 18th of April, again pressed the necessity of cessions,† and upon the 13th of September, -six days after Washington's letter above referred to,― stated the terms upon which they would receive the proposals of the Ancient Dominion. To these terms the Virginians acceded, and upon the 20th of December authorized their delegates to make a deed to the United States of all their right in the territory northwest of the river Ohio,Upon condition that the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into States, containing a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances will admit: and that the States so formed shall be distinct republican States, and admitted members of the Federal Union, having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence, as the other States. That the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by this State in subduing any British posts, or in maintaining forts and garrisons within, and for the defence, or in acquiring any part of the territory so ceded or relinquished, shall be fully reimbursed by the United States; and that one commissioner shall be appointed by Congress, one by this Commonwealth, and another by those two commissioners, who, or a majority of them, shall be authorized and empowered to adjust and liquidate the account of the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by this State, which they shall judge to be comprised within the intent and meaning of the act of Congress of the tenth of October, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, respecting such expenses. That the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, St. Vincents, and the neighboring villages, who have professed themselves citizens of Virginia, shall have their possessions and titles confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties. That a quantity not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, promised by this State, shall be allowed and granted to the then Colonel, now General George Rogers Clark, and to the officers and soldiers of his regiment, who marched with him when the posts of Kaskaskies and St. Vincents were reduced, and to the officers Land Laws, 95. + Old Journals, iv. 189. + Old Journals, iv. 267. 1783. Instructions to Indian Commissioners. 259 and soldiers that have been since incorporated into the said regiment, to be laid off in one tract, the length of which not to exceed double the breadth, in such place, on the north-west side of the Ohio,'as a majority of the officers shall choose, and to be afterwards divided among the said officers and soldiers in due proportion, according to the laws of Virginia. That in case the quantity of good land on the south-east side of the Ohio, upon the waters of the Cumberland river, and between the Green river and Tennessee river, which have been reserved by law for the Virginia troops upon Continental establishment, should, from the North Carolina line, bearing in further upon the Cumberland lands than was expected, prove insufficient for their legal bounties, the deficiency should be made up to the said troops, in good lands, to be laid off between the rivers Scioto and Little Miami, on the north-west side of the river Ohio, in such proportions as have been engaged to them by the laws of Virginia. That all the lands within the territory so ceded to the United States, and not reserved for, or appropriated to, any of the before mentioned purposes, or disposed of in bounties to the officers and soldiers of the American army, shall be considered a common fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as have become, or shall become, members of the confederation or federal alliance of the said states, Virginia inclusive, according to their usual respective proportions in the general charge and expenditure, and shall be faithfully and bona fide disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever.* And, in agreement with these conditions a deed was made March 1, 1784. But it was not possible to wait the final action of Virginia, before taking some steps to soothe the Indians, and extinguish their title. On the 22d of September, therefore, Congress forbade all purchases of, or settlements on, Indian lands,† and on the 15th of October, the Commissioners to treat with the natives were instructed, 1st. To require the delivery of all prisoners: 2d. To inform the Indians of the boundaries between the British possessions and the United States: 3d. To dwell upon the fact that the red men had not been faithful to their agreements: 4th. To negotiate for all the land east of the line proposed by Washington, namely, from the mouth of the Great Miami to Mad river, thence to Fort Miami on the Maumee, and thence down the Maumee to the Lake: See Land Laws, p. 98. + Old Journals, iv. 275. 260 Efforts to obtain Detroit and other Western Ports. 1783. 5th. To hold, if possible, one Convention with all the tribes; 7th. To learn all they could respecting the French of Kaskaskia, &c. 8th. To confirm no grants by the natives to individuals; and, 9th. To look after American stragglers beyond the Ohio, to signify the displeasure of Congress at the invasion of the Indian lands, and to prevent all further intrusions. Upon the 19th of the following March, the 4th and 5th of these instructions were entirely changed at the suggestion of a committee headed by Mr. Jefferson; the western boundary line being made to run due north from the lowest point of the Falls of the Ohio, to the northern limits of the United States, and the Commissioners being told to treat with the nations at various places and different times.* Meanwhile steps had been taken by the Americans to obtain possession of Detroit and the other western posts, but in vain. Upon the 12th of July Washington had sent Baron Steuben to Canada for that purpose, with orders, if he found it advisable, to embody the French of Michigan into a militia and place the fort at Detroit in their hands. But when the Baron presented himself near Quebec, General Haldimand, while he received him very politely, refused the necessary passports, saying that he had received no orders to deliver up the posts along the Lakes. This measure failing, one Cassaty, a native of Detroit, was sent thither in August to learn the feelings of the people and do what he might to make the American side popular.† About the same time Virginia, having no longer any occasion for a western army, and being sadly pressed for money, withdrew her commission from George Rogers Clark, with thanks however, "for his very great and singular services." He and his soldiers in the distribution of lands were not forgotten either, and in October a tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land was granted them north of the Ohio, to be located where they pleased; they chose the region opposite the Falls, and the town of Clarksville was then founded.|| * Secret Journals, i. 255, 261. April 16th, in order to expedite matters, the times and places of meeting were left to the Commissioners.-Secret Journals, i. 264. + Sparks' Washington, viii. 463, 470.—Marshall, (i. 175,) gives the letters of Steuben and Haldimand. See Governor Harrison's letter. Butler, 490. Revised Statutes of Virginia, by G. W. Leigh, ii. 405. |