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overspread the Valley of the Mississippi, and of course became obnoxious to the majority of the people, who in 1842 were mostly emigrants from adjoining states, where liberal and Democratic constitutions existed in successful and salutary operation. The year 1846 found Louisiana protected by and enjoying the advantages of a liberal Constitution, upon the same basis as other Western States, where all offices have a definite term of tenure, and where all are, directly or indirectly, at stated periods, responsible to the people for the faithful discharge of the duties of their offices respectively.

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CHAPTER XVI.

PROGRESSIVE EXTENSION OF THE FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY" TO THE MISSISSIPPI.-A.D. 1800 TO 1845.

Argument. The Origins of three States in Northwestern Territory.-Indiana.-Illinois.-Michigan.--" Indiana Territory" organized.-Indian Treaties.-" Illinois Territory" organized.-Michigan Territory organized.-Condition of these Territories in 1811.-Shawanese threaten Hostilities.-United States Troops advance with Governor Harrison toward the Prophet's Town.-Harrison contemplates a Treaty.-Unfortu nate Battle of Tippecanoe.-Beginning of the Indian War in the West.-Emigration to Indiana and Illinois in 1816.-"State of Indiana" admitted into the Union.-"State of Illinois" admitted into the Union.-Progressive Increase of Population in these States. Treaties for Extinguishment of Indian Title.-Michigan Territory until 1832. -Emigration to Michigan and Wisconsin.-Commercial and Agricultural Advantages of Michigan discovered.-Increase of Population.-Extension of Settlements.-"State of Michigan" admitted.-"Wisconsin Territory" organized.-Population and Resources of Wisconsin.-"Territory of Iowa" organized in 1838.-Rapid Extension of Population into Wisconsin and Iowa.-Aggregate Population of the States and Territories comprised in original Limits of Northwestern Territory.-Commerce on the Lakes.-Advance of Population and Education in the State of Michigan.-Emigration to Wisconsin and Iowa Territories in 1840-43.-Wisconsin applies for Admission into the Union.

[A.D. 1800.] We have shown that previous to the admission of the State of Ohio into the Union, the Northwestern Territory, in its greatest extent, contained the germs of three other independent states, in which the first grade of territorial government had been instituted, and which were comprised in the Indiana Territory as originally organized. This territory included the county of Knox, upon the Wabash, from which has sprung the State of Indiana; the county of St. Clair, on the Upper Mississippi, or Illinois River, from which has sprung the

State of Illinois; and the county of Wayne, upon the Detroit River, from which has sprung the State of Michigan.

In each of these large counties, surrounded by immense regions of uninhabited country or Indian territory, the nucleus of the white population was the remains of old French colonies, which had been settled at these points early in the eighteenth century, about twenty years after the first settlement at Detroit.

From the first organization of state government in Ohio, when the Indian title to the southern half of the state had been extinguished by the treaty of Greenville, the Federal government omitted no opportunity, by treaty and purchase, to prepare the way for the progressive march of the whites, by extinguishing the Indian claim to other portions of territory. For this purpose, numerous and successive treaties were concluded with the resident tribes for the sale and relinquishment of lands, still in advance of the civil jurisdiction. In this manner the advanced settlements on the Wabash, the Illinois, the Upper Mississippi, and the Detroit River were protected from Indian resentment, and were restrained from encroachment upon lands still in the possession of the Indian tribes. After the close of the war with Great Britain, in the years 1812-15, the Federal executives redoubled their efforts for the peaceful purchase of the Indian right to lands which would soon be required by the rapid spread of immigration.

Indiana Territory.-When the eastern portion of the Northwestern Territory was organized into a separate territorial government, by act of Congress, approved May 7th, 1800, the remaining part of it, extending westward to the Mississippi and northward to the lakes, was denominated the "Indiana Territory," and was subsequently formed into the first grade of territorial government, as prescribed in the ordinance of July, 1787. Captain William H. Harrison received the appointment of governor and "Superintendent of Indian Affairs;" and the town of Vincennes was selected as the capital and seat of government.

The Indiana Territory, under this organization, embraced all the white settlements upon the Illinois and Upper Mississippi, as well as those in the vicinity of Detroit. At this time, the inhabitants contained in all of them did not amount to more than 5640 souls, while the aggregate number of the Indian

tribes within the extreme limits of the territory was more than one hundred thousand.

[A.D. 1802.] Extinction of Indian Title.-After the treaty of Greenville, the northwestern tribes had continued peaceable, and the white inhabitants in the isolated settlements began to increase by emigration from the western country, and by those who were connected with the army, or were concerned in the administration of the territorial government and the Indian department. Roads, or traces, through the Indian country were opened, to facilitate intercourse between the remote counties, in the execution of the laws, and the discharge of the executive duties of the governor and the agents of the Indian department. The rambling disposition of the western people, the propensity for Indian trade and traffic, and the innate curiosity to see and explore new and beautiful regions, by plunging still further into the boundless wilderness, stimulated them to seek out these remote and lonely abodes. Hence the number of whites gradually augmented around the French nucleus on the Wabash, Illinois, and Detroit Rivers.

As the population increased and the settlements extended, it became necessary to obtain the peaceable consent of the Indian tribes for the occupancy of additional territory, and to compensate them for the relinquishment of their title to the soil. Hence, arrangements were entered into for extending by negotiation the boundary of the land already ceded by the treaty of Greenville.*

*The following is an authentic abstract from the principal Indian treaties for the sale and relinquishment of lands in the territory northwest of the Ohio, from the treaty of Greenville inclusive.

1. Treaty of Greenville, concluded on the 3d of August, 1795, with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese, Ottawâs, Chippewas, Potawatamies, Miamies, Eel Rivers, Miamies, Kickapoos, Piankeshas, and Kaskaskias.-By this treaty the tribes concerned cede and relinquish to the United States, within the limits of the present States of Ohio and Indiana, 17,724,489 acres of land; of this quantity, 1,726,000 acres were within the limits of the Connecticut Reserve, and 794,072 acres were within the present State of Indiana.

2. Treaty of Fort Wayne, concluded June 7th, 1803, with the Delawares, Shawanese, Potawatamies, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshas, and Kaskaskias.-This treaty was ratified at the council held in Vincennes, August 7th, 1803, by the Eel Rivers, Wyandots, Kaskaskias, and Kickapoos. By it the tribes concerned cede to the United States, within the limits of the present States of Indiana and Illinois, 1,634,000 acres, of which 1,207,920 acres were in Indiana, and 336,128 acres were in

Illinois.

3. Treaty of Vincennes, concluded August 13th, 1803.-By this treaty the Kaskaskias cede to the United States, within the present State of Illinois, 8,608,167 acres. 4. Treaty of Vincennes, concluded August 18th, 1804, at Vincennes.-This treaty

[A.D. 1804.] By successive treaties, the Indian title was extinguished gradually to all the country lying upon the waters of the White River, and upon all the lower tributaries of the Wabash, upon the Little Wabash, the Kaskaskia, and east of the Mississippi, below the mouth of the Illinois. Thus, before the close of the year 1805, nearly all the southern half of the present State of Indiana, and one third of the State of Illinois, was open to the advance of the enterprising pioneer; the great obstacle having been removed by the peaceable extinction of the Indian claim to the same.

[A.D. 1805.] By the same means, the Indian right was extinguished to the greater portion of the Western Reserve in the northeastern part of Ohio. In 1807, the Federal government, in like manner, purchased from the Indians extensive regions west of Detroit River, and within the present State of Michigan, far beyond the limits of the white settlements in that quarter.

was made with the Delawares, who thereby ceded, within the limits of the present State of Indiana, 1,910,717 acres of land. This cession was ratified by the Piankeshas, at Vincennes, on the 27th of August, 1804.

5. Treaty of St. Louis, concluded November 3d, 1804.-By this treaty the Sauks and Foxes ceded to the United States 14,000,000 acres of land, situated principally within the limits of the present State of Illinois, but partly in Missouri, west of the Mississippi.

6. Treaty of Fort Industry, concluded July 4th, 1805.-This treaty was made with the Wyandots, Ottawâs, Chippewas, Munsees, Delawares, Shawanese, and Potawatamies, by which they ceded to the United States 2,726,812 acres of land, all within the northern limits of the present State of Ohio, east of the Sandusky River, and chiefly within the Connecticut Reserve.

7. Treaty of Grouse-land, near Vincennes, concluded August 21st, 1805.—This treaty was made with the Delawares, Potawatamies, Miamies, Eel Rivers, and Weas. They ceded to the United States 1,244,211 acres of land, within the limits of the present State of Indiana.

8. Treaty of Vincennes, concluded December 30th, 1805.-This treaty was made with the Piankeshas, who ceded their claim to 2,616,921 acres of land, within the limits of the present State of Illinois.

9. Treaty of Detroit, concluded November 17th, 1807.-By this treaty the Ottawas, Chippewas, Wyandots, and Potawatamies ceded to the United States 5,937,760 acres of land, chiefly within the present limits of Michigan, and partly within the northwestern limits of Ohio.

10. Treaty of Brownstown, concluded November 25th, 1808, at Brownstown, Michigan. By this treaty the Chippewas, Ottawâs, Wyandots, Potawatamies, Miamies, and Eel Rivers ceded to the United States certain lands in the State of Ohio for the use of a road, &c.

11. Treaty of Fort Wayne, concluded September 30th, 1809.-This treaty was made with the Delawares, Potawatamies, Miamies, and Eel Rivers. They ceded thereby to the United States 2,136,266 acres of land, within the northern portion of the present State of Indiana.

This cession was subsequently confirmed in convention, at Vincennes, by the Weas, on the 26th day of October, 1809. Also, by the Kickapoos, in a treaty at Vincennes, concluded December 9th, 1809.-See Land Laws of United States, compilation of 1827, by M. St. Clair Clarke, passim.

Michigan Territory.—Meantime, the settlements formerly comprised in Wayne county, having increased in inhabitants and importance, had been erected into a separate territorial government, known and designated as the "Territory of Michigan." On the first of July, 1805, the territory entered upon the first grade of territorial government, under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787; and William Hull, formerly a lieutenant in the Revolutionary army, was made the first governor. The judges and other officers appointed soon afterward entered upon the discharge of their respective duties at Detroit, which was made the seat of the territorial government. The southern limit of "Michigan Territory," according to the act of Congress, was to be a line running due east from the most southern part of Lake Michigan to the Maumee Bay.

Meantime, Louisiana, purchased from France, had been occupied by the American troops, and Upper Louisiana, comprising the settlements on the west side of the Mississippi, from the Arkansas to the Missouri River, had been annexed to the jurisdiction of the Indiana Territory as the "District of Missouri." A treaty had been held at St. Louis on the 3d of November, for the extinction of the Indian title to extensive tracts in this district also. Thus, as early as 1805, the whole region north of the Ohio, and south of a line drawn southwest from Greenville to St. Louis, on the Upper Mississippi, was released from the claim, if not from the occupancy, of the native tribes, and thrown open to the explorations of the western pioneers,

[A.D. 1807.] But these countries were too remote, and too much exposed to the precarious friendship of the savages, and too destitute of the comforts of civilized life, to attract many emigrants, while lands equally good, and much more secure from danger, were more convenient. Hence the settlements on the Wabash, on the Illinois, on the Upper Mississippi, and near the Detroit River, increased in numbers slowly. The Indians still lingered around their homes and familiar huntinggrounds, as if reluctant to abandon the scenes of their youth and the graves of their ancestors, although they had received the stipulated payment, and had consented to retire from them.

[A.D. 1809.] Illinois Territory.-Yet the tide of emigration set strongly to the West, and the redundant population began to reach the Wabash and the Illinois. By the close of the year

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