"An act to enable the people of the eastern division of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, to form a constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and for other purposes," passed April 30, 1802; and to cause to be made a plat or plan of so much of the boundary line as runs from the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, particularly noting the place where the said line intersects the margin of said lake, and to return the same, when made, to Congress." Owing to that section of country being, during that year, the scene of Indian warfare, no measures were at that time taken to carry that act into effect.

The first communication on record from the Commissioner of the General Land Office to the surveyor general, wherein allusion is made to the act of 20th May, 1812, above alluded to, is a letter dated 23d March, 1815, giving some general instructions as to the then contemplated survey of a portion of the Michigan Territory, for satisfying military bounty land warrants, granted for services during the late war.

The intention of these instructions appears to be merely precautionary, lest the contemplated survey for military bounties in that Territory [afterwards abandoned, however,] should possibly encroach on what might be the northern boundary of Ohio.

The next notice of the subject is in a letter to Surveyor General Tiffin, dated 18th April, 1815, which is a reiteration of the extract of the letter of 23d March, 1815.

In a letter dated 6th January, 1815, Surveyor General Tiffin says: "I also enclose, herewith, a sketch of the Sandusky river, and the result of an observation made by Mr. Hough, to ascertain the latitude of the most northerly cape of Miami bay, which he has been so good as to favor me with.” The latitude of the place of observation, states Mr. Hough, is 41° 51′ 50", forty-one degrees fifty-one minutes and fifty seconds.

In a letter dated 8th August, 1815, addressing Surveyor General Tiffin, the Commissioner says: "if possible, let Mr. Hough, or some other surveyor, ascertain the latitude of the south part of Lake Michigan. The observations made for the latitude on the shore of Lake Erie are valuable, and it will be very acceptable to possess similar observations relative to the south part of Michigan."

On the 16th September, 1815, the commissioner of the General Land Office addressed a letter to Surveyor General Tiffin on the subject of the latitude of the northern cape of the Miami of Lake Erie, containing strictures on Mr. Hough's calculations, going to show that his observations were not to be depended on.

The following is a copy of a letter from the Commissioner of the General Land Office to Surveyor General Tiffin, dated 20th September, 1815: "I observed in the National Intelligencer of this day a notice that probably the latitude of the southern extreme of Lake Michigan will be ascertained the ensuing winter. As the operations which have taken place relative to the latitude of the north cape of the Miami of Lake Erie appear to be very incorrect, (of which I gave you an account in my letter of the 16th instant,) it will be best to omit for the present any further proceedings relative to the boundary between Ohio and Michigan."'

دو

"P. S. In my letter of the 16th, for geographical miles' read English miles."

The Commissioner of the General Land Office, in a letter to the Presi

dent of the United States, dated 26th September, 1815, recommends that the running of the western and northern boundaries of Ohio should be so executed as to preclude all doubt and dispute as to its accuracy, and that Andrew Ellicott be employed on that service.

On the 2d October, 1815, the Commissioner addressed Surveyor General Tiffin a letter, of which the following is an extract:

"I have had communication with the President on the subject of the northern boundary of Ohio, and I advise that Mr. Hough should take no further trouble in that business."

On the 22d August 1816, the Commissioner of the General Land Office informed the surveyor general that, in consequence of the receipt of a letter from Mr. Creighton, of Chillicothe, urging the necessity of having the northern boundary of Ohio run and established during that year, he had submitted the subject to the President, who had directed him to have it run and marked agreeably to the act of the 20th May, 1812. On the 1st December, 1817, the surveyor general transmitted to this office a copy of the plat and field notes of the western and northern boundaries of Ohio; and stated that, as the question of jurisdiction between Ohio and Michigan excited some interest, he enclosed copies of his correspondence with Governors Worthington and Cass on the subject.

The plat thus transmitted shows that Mr. Harris, the deputy employed to execute the work, ran the western boundary from the old Indian boundary northwardly 97 miles; that, from this point, he ran a random line. north 84° 42' east 71 miles 67 chains and 67 links; that from the 70th mile post, he made offsets, south 5 miles, west 2 miles, and south 5 miles 50 links, to ascertain the connection of his random line with the north • cape of the Miami bay; that from this north cape, he ran and marked a line, as the northern boundary of the State, south 87° 42' west 71 miles and 72 chains, when he intersected his western boundary line 89 miles 21 chains 87 links from the old Indian boundary. The copy of the field notes refers to the following lines, viz: 1st. The western line of Ohio, (being the continuation of the line between Ohio and Indiana,) from the old Indian boundary, near Fort Recovery, running north for 89 miles 21 chains and 87 links, to what Harris calls the "northwest corner of the State." 2d. The random line, commencing on the western line of the State, as extended to the 97th mile post from the old Indian boundary, and running north 84° 42' east for 71 miles 67 chains and 67 links. 3d. The line run from the north cape of the Miami bay south 87° 42' west, to its intersection with the western line of the State at said "northwest corner." (This line was intended to be in a direct course from the north cape to the south extreme of Lake Michigan.) And 4th. A line running east for 130 miles 71 chains 42 links from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the line between Ohio and Indiana, which it intersected 5 miles 24 chains and 64 links below what Harris designated as the northwest

corner.

These papers do not state the latitude of any position; but in the letter from the surveyor general to Governor Cass, before referred to, it is stated that Harris "commenced his operations at the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, and found that an east line would strike Lake Erie 7 miles and 49 chains south of the most northerly cape of the Miami bay;" and that, "by his observations, he found the latitude at the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan to be 41° 37' 19", and at the most northerly

cape of the Miami bay 41° 51' 50", a difference of 14' 31"." The latitude of the north cape, it, is perceived, is the same as that given by Mr. Hough, whose calculations were pronounced by Mr. Commissioner Meigs, as being erroneous, by his letters to Mr. Tiffin of 16th and 26th September, 1815. All the foregoing papers were transmitted by the Commissioner to the Secretary of the Treasury on the 9th of December, 1817; and on the same day the Commissioner, in acknowledging the receipt of the letter and papers sent by the surveyor general, expressed to him his surprise that the lines had been run, as he was not authorized to cause those boundaries to be run without further orders," and referred to his letters to him of the 20th September, 2d, 10th, and 19th October, 1815. To this communication the surveyor general replied on the 17th December, 1817, by forwarding a copy of the letter of the Commissioner to him of 22d August, 1816, ordering the survey to be made agreeably to the act of 1812, which required the line to be run on a true east course to Lake Erie, whereas the line was, in fact, run on a course north 87° 42' east, to the north cape of the Maumee bay.

In the Senate of the United States, on the 17th December, 1817, a committee, of which Mr. Morrow was chairman, was appointed to "inquire whether any, and if any, what, legislative provision is necessary to be made for ascertaining and establishing the northern boundary of the State of Ohio, and that they have leave to report by bill or otherwise."

It may be fairly inferred that all these papers were 'sent by the Secretary of the Treasury to this committee, as Mr. Morrow, by letter to him, dated April 20, 1818, returned them to the Secretary of the Treasury, with a memorial of the Legislature of Michigan to Congress, dated 3d January, 1818, in relation to this line. In this letter, Mr. Morrow states that, "on comparing the return of the surveyor general with the law directing the survey, there appears to be a want of accordance. The fact is not ascertained whether the line designated by the ordinance of 1787 will intersect Lake Erie east of the mouth of Miami river with that accuracy which was intended by Congress. The committee made no report on the subject, believing the Executive has the power to cause the survey to be made in the manner the law directed, and that Congress could not properly legislate on the subject until such survey shall be made."

This letter, with all the accompanying papers, was sent to the General Land Office by the Secretary of the Treasury on the 8th of May, 1818, "for a report showing the irregularity or defect of the attempt which has been made to survey and mark the northern boundary line of the State of, Ohio, agreeably to the ordinance of 1787, and the act of 1802, for admitting the eastern territory northwest of the Ohio into the Union." To this letter the Commissioner replied on the 5th of June, 1818.

On the 24th of June, 1818, the Secretary of the Treasury directed the Commissioner to have the northern boundary of Ohio run and marked in conformity to the provisions of the act of the 20th May, 1812; and on the 29th of June, 1818, the Commissioner directed the surveyor general accordingly. (See copies of those instructions, marked B and C.)

On the 2d of November, 1818, the surveyor general transmitted to the Commissioner the plat and field notes of the northern boundary of Ohio, as run in compliance with the orders of the 29th of June, 1818, by John A. Fulton; Mr. Harris, to whom the job was offered, having declined to act.

The field notes state the survey was commenced at the point on the western boundary of the State where the line run by Harris, east from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, intersected that boundary, and called, by Mr. Fulton, the northwest corner of the State of Ohio, and that the line was run east 80 miles and 40 chains to the shore of Lake Erie. These field notes do not state the latitude of the line at any point; but by the plat it appears that the latitude of the point of the commencement of his line on the line between Ohio and Indiana, was 41° 32' 47"; at the 35th mile east thereof, it was 41° 32′ 40"; and at the intersection of the line with Lake Erie, it was 41° 31′ 38". None of the papers show that Mr. Fulton ever took the latitude of the south extreme of Lake Michigan. Duplicate copies of the plats of the surveys by Mr. Fulton and Mr. Harris, were sent by the Commissioner to the Secretary of the Treasury, on the 7th of March, 1820, who, upon the same day, transmitted them to the President, in a letter of the following purport, viz: "Pursuant to the provisions of the act of the 20th of May, 1812, entitled 'An act to authorize the President of the United States to ascertain and designate certain boundaries,' the northern and western boundaries of the State of Ohio have been run and marked. Copies of the plats or plans of the said boundaries are herewith submitted, in order that they may be communicated to Congress;" and, on the 8th of March, the President transmitted them to the House of Representatives, with the following message: "I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the accompanying documents, will show that the act of the 20th of May, 1812, respecting the northern and western boundaries of the State of Ohio, has been executed."

The next document, in order of date, to which I can refer, is the printed report made to the House of Representatives on the 18th of March, 1828, by the Hon. Mr. Strong, from the Committee on the Territories, recommending that the latitude of sundry points be correctly ascertained.

Accordingly, on the 14th of July, 1832, an act was passed directing the President to cause to be ascertained, by accurate observation, the latitude and longitude of the following positions, viz: the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan; the point on the Miami of the Lake which is due east therefrom; the most northerly cape of the Miami bay; of the most southerly point in the northern boundary line of the United States in Lake Erie; the point at which a direct line from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan to the most southerly point in said northern boundary of the United States, will intersect the Miami river and bay; also, the point on the Mississippi which is due west from the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan. The time limited for making these observations, was extended to the 31st of December, 1835, by the fifth section of the general appropriation law the 2d March, 1833.

It appears from the report of Captain Talcott, the officer charged with the execution of the last mentioned act, (see Congressional Document, No. 497, H. R. 1st Sess. 23d Cong.) that the latitude of the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, is 41° 37' 7".9, and that of the north cape of the Maumee bay, 41° 44' 2".4; and in a letter to General Gratiot of March 27th last, Captain Talcott further states that, as at that time he was separated from all the papers relating to that subject, he was only able to state, generally from recollection, the results arrived at, which were, first, the due east line from the foot or most southern bend of Lake Michigan, will intersect the Maumee river very near the line as run and marked by the commis

sioners; "it will not vary from it three hundred yards:" the other points in this letter, refer to the boundary line in the lake.

The line thus referred to by Captain Talcott, must be the line run by Fulton, as that is the only line run which has intersected the Miami river. ELIJAH HAYWARD.

Hon. LEVI WOODBURY,

Secretary of the Treasury.

E No. 8.

On the 29th of January, 1818, the following resolution was adopted, viz: Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That this General Assembly consider the line running from the most northerly cape of the Miami bay, westwardly, to the most southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, till it intersects the line running due north from the mouth of the Great Miami river, as the northern boundary of that part of the State of Ohio adjoining the Michigan Territory.

E No. 9.

On the 23d of February, 1820, Mr. Brush, of Ohio, offered in the House of Representatives the following resolution, viz:

“Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law, for the surveying, marking and permanently establishing the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio, beginning at the point north of the most northerly cape of the Miami bay, running thence due west to intersect the western line of the said State."

This resolution the House did not consider.

E No. 10.

On the 24th of April, 1820, Mr. Woodbridge, the delegate from Michigan, submitted to the House of Representatives the following resolution,

viz:

"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the line heretofore caused to be surveyed, marked and designated from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, due east, in pursuance of the provisions of the act entitled "An act to authorize the President of the United States to ascertain and designate certain boundaries," passed May 13 1812, so far as the same extends due east from the western boundary line of the State of Ohio,.be and remain the established boundary between the said State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan."

This resolution was read and referred to the Committee on the Public Lands, who reported it to the Houses, unanimously, without amendment, but was not acted on.