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Monette, John W. History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, by the Three Great European Powers, Spain, France and Great Britain, and the Subsequent Occupation, Settlement, and Extension of Civil Government by the United States, Until the Year 1846, in two volumes, Volume II . New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1846. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, Aurora University
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=monette2.html


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-- 261 --

The tardy manner in which Congress met the wishes of the president in providing the means of prosecuting the war was ample evidence of its unpopularity east of the mountains.

The whole of the year 1792 had nearly elapsed without any active measures by the general government for the protection of the frontier settlements, or the chastisement of the Indians. At length, in the spring of 1793, Congress authorized and provided for the organization of a strong expedition with regular troops into the heart of the Indian country, to chastise the hostile savages and retrieve the national honor. Recruiting officers were distributed through the western counties, and also east of the mountains, preparatory to the ulterior operations on the frontier.

[A.D. 1793.] Indian hostilities, since St. Clair's defeat, became more regular and systematic; war parties penetrated into every settlement, and killed, with the most cruel barbarities, all who fell into their hands. Having acquired confidence in themselves, and contempt for their enemies on the Ohio, they became more daring in their incursions upon the settlements, as well as upon the immigrants descending the Ohio River to Kentucky.

During the year 1793, about fifty immigrants were added to the population of Cincinnati. Several cabins, three or four frames, and one Presbyterian house of worship were erected, and it began to assume the appearance of a regular place of trade and business. 288 As usual in all such cases, the headquarters of the army and the seat of the territorial government gave an importance and air of business to the place which many years could not have imparted without these influences. The town was now built along the lower terrace, near the river, in a straggling street of log cabins, intersected by short cross-streets extending to the second terrace, which was crowned by the imposing walls and bastions of Fort Washington. The site of the town was still a forest, partly leveled, with its logs and stumps visible in every direction, and bounded in the rear by a heavy forest in its natural state, with a few partial openings.

Religion and morals were not neglected. The rude Presbyterian church recently erected was occupied on Sabbaths by its first pastor, James Kemper, an eloquent divine. A
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Monette, John W. History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, by the Three Great European Powers, Spain, France and Great Britain, and the Subsequent Occupation, Settlement, and Extension of Civil Government by the United States, Until the Year 1846, in two volumes, Volume II . New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1846. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, Aurora University
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=monette2.html
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