History of Ashtabula County, Ohio

Preface

For many months the author has given his diligent attention and study to the compilation of this volume. A great mass of material, sufficient perhaps to fill a book twice the size of this, was at hand, and, through the friendly offices of the county historical society, placed before him. It needed sifting; the facts obtained in many instances needed verification; important data not given had to be gathered. The problem was : a given amount of matter to be published and a safe limit prescribed, what' should be taken and what rejected? An error of the author’s judgment may be frequently and palpably manifest to some, but his honest endeavor has been to include those facts and topics which seemed to him most pertinent and important ; his aim has been the attainment of relevancy and accuracy. If he and his associates could place in the hands of the patrons of this work a book absolutely free from inexact and irrelevant matter, he and they would deem their success a marvel. This is not to be expected. It would be unreasonable. The hope is that these defects will be few and of trifling character.

The biographical department will be found to be an attractive feature of the history. A variety of excellent literary talent has contributed to the production of this portion of the work. The author believes the public will appreciate the publishers’ success in securing the sketches of Joshua R. Giddings and Edward Wade, from the pen of Hon. A. G. Riddle. The biographies of other prominent persons have been prepared by writers of acknowledged ability.

The treatment which the author and the publishers have received at the hands of the people of Ashtabula County has been so uniformly kind and courteous that they feel incompetent to make fitting acknowledgment. Several leading citizens from the first have shown a personal interest in the publication of this history. This fact has served to greatly facilitate the author’s and the publishers’ labors, and to render certain their success in producing a work that should be satisfactory to their patrons. The historical and philosophical society, in the appointment of committees in each township for the careful revision of the work, did the people and the publishers a great kindness. Each department of the history, save the biographical, has been submitted to these committees for their revision, and their certificates of attestation to its correctness obtained.

The author’s and the publishers’ thanks are in a special manner due to the society’s president, Hon. O. H. Fitch, and to the secretary, Hon. Henry Fassett, to A. C. Hubbard, Esq., and to Dr. J. C. Hubbard, to Hon. Abner Kellogg (whose unexpected death at the moment of going to press we are called upon to deplore), to C. S. Sitnonds, Esq., to Hon. Edward H. Fitch, to all the county officers, including the county commissioners, and to the several township revisory committees.

Others are entitled to mention ; but, if we were to begin, with whose name would propriety and justice permit us to stop? The author’s and publishers’ gratitude can in no other way be so fittingly shown as in the inspiration which the people of Ashtabula County have given to them to labor elsewhere with increasing fidelity and earnestness. This they will do.

With these words they place the book in the hands of its patrons, trusting that it will fill the measure of their just expectations.

WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS, The Author.

WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS, d THEODORE F. WILLIAMS, }- The Publishers.

LOUIS A. WILLIAMS, J

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Boston Public Library

CONTENTS,

HISTORICAL .A. AT ID DESCRIPTIVE.

HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY.

CHAPTER PAGE

Introductory 7

I. — The Progress of Discovery .... 8

II. — The Connecticut Western Reserve ... 9

III. — The Connecticut Land Company ... 10

IY. — The Geography of the County .... 14

V. — The Geology and Topography of the County . 15

VI. — The Mound-Builders 16

VII. — The Indians 20

VIII.— The Parent State 24

IX. — Pioneer Settlements 24

X. — Means of Communication .... 27

XI. — Civil Organization 28

XII. — Social Life in Early Times .... 31

XIII. — Ashtabula’s connection with the Anti-Slavery

XIV. — Religious and Educational .... 35

XV.— The Press 38

XVI.— Societies 41

XVII. — The Ashtabula Railway Disaster ... 45

CHAPTER PAGE

XVIII. — Statistics 48

XIX. — The Military History of the County . . 49

Roster of Soldiers from Ashtabula County :

Roster of Soldiers from Ashtabula County :

War of the Rebellion .... 58

HISTORIES OF THE TOWNSHIPS.

Austinburg . 185

Colebrook 211

Dorset . 209

Harpersfield ......... 169

Hartsgrove 254

PAGE

Orwell 231

Saybrook 183

ERRATA 256

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

PAGE

Allen, Hon. D. C 166

Andrews, Benoni 168

Atkins, Hon. Q. F 113

Austin, Hon. Eliphalet 114

Badger, Rev. Joseph H. .• 86

Bartholomew, Rev. J. B. . . . . . . . 193

Bedell, Henry 181

Blakeslee, Joel facing 212

Booth, Charles ......... 92

Burington, N 167

Cadwell, Hon. Darius ....... 93

Castle, Amasa, Jr 143

Caswell, N. S 182

Churchill, John ........ 230

Coleman, Elijah, M.D 119

Coleman, Nathaniel 24S

Cook, S. H 126

Cowles, Miss Betsey M. ...... 100

Cowles, Miss Cornelia R. ...... 101

Cowles, Edwin ........ 97

Cowles, E. W., M.D. 99

Cowles, Giles H. ....... 192

Cowles, Joseph B. ....... 192

Cowles, Capt. Lysander M. ..... 193

Cowles, Hon. Samuel 102

Crosby, D. L 126

Crosby, Levi 220

Crowell, W. H 125

Crowell, William, Sr. ....... 220

Curtiss, C. E 208

Dibble, A. C 167

Farnham, Elisha ........ 167

Fassett, Hon. Henry 104

Fifield, A. K., M.D 121

Fifield, Greenleaf, M.D. ....... 127

Fitch, E. H 92

Fiteh, Hon. 0. H 90

Eobes, Ferdinand ........ 249

Fobes, Henry C.

Fobes, O. P.

Fobes, Simon .

Follett, N.

Gaylord, Harvey R. .

Gaylord, Maj. Levi .

Gibson, Thomas Giddings, Hon. Joshua R.

Giddings, William .

Gist, D. D., M.D. .

Hall, Rev. John Hammond, Edward .

Hardy, H. F. .

Harmon, Austin Harmon, Edward Hart, Elijah Holbrook, S. G., M.D.

Howard, A. W.

Howells, J. A. .

Howells, Hon. W. C.

Hubbard, Henry Hubbard, J. C., M.D.

Hubbard, Hon. Matthew Hubbard, William Hurlburt, E. G.

Jones, Linus H.

Jones, Samuel, Sr.

Jones, Samuel, Jr. .

Kellogg, Hon. Abner Kellogg, Amos Kellogg, L. D., M.D.

Kellogg, Martin Kellogg, Paulina Kellogg, Hon. William Kelley, Dr. D. E.

Keyes, Gen. Henry .

Kiddle, John King, Mrs. Lydia Kingsley, M., M.D. .

Latimer, V. D.

Lee, Ferdinand Leonard, Hon. E. B.

Lindsley, H.

Maltby, Nelson Mason, E. F.

Mills, Deacon Joseph Morse, Rev. Elias Northway, Hon. S. A.

facin

PAGE

. 180

Parker, Luther .

. 249

Peck, E. 0.

. 249

Peck, S. IV.

. 235

Pinney, W. K. .

. 118

Poole, Calvin, Jr.

. 116

Randall, B. C. .

. 167

Ranney, Hon. Rufus P.

. 72

Ransom, Miss C. L. .

. 242

Raymond, D. W., M.D.

48, 149

Reed, James

. 128

Rieg, J. P.

. 208

Robertson, J. P.

. 203

Salisbury, Capt. 0. .

. 217

Schramling, Alvin

. 218

. 180

S'Cheverell, Dr. J. H.

. 126

Simonds, C. S. .

. 193

Simonds, W. T.

. 121

Smith, Hall

. 103

Smith, L. W. .

. 91

Smith, Plin

. 124

Spelman, Dr. Luther

. 119

Spencer, H. A. .

. 123

Spencer, H. C. .

. 124

Spencer, L. P. .

. 256

Spencer, Platt Rogers

. 246

Spencer, Platt R., Jr.

. 246

Spencer, R. C. .

. 246

Spencer, W. P. .

. 106

Spring, R.

. 115

Stiles, Captain A. W.

. 120

Stone, James

. 115

Talcott, Charles

. 116

Talcott, Henry .

. 107

Thorp, Hon. Freeman

. 145

Tinker, Charles

. 168

. 249

Wade, Edward .

. 167

Warner, Hon. Jonathan

Watrous, John B.

. 198

Webster, E. M., M.D.

. 123

. 125

Wilder, Hon. Horace

. 237

Willard, George

. 181

. 125

Wright, M. W. .

. 194

Wyman, Rev. 0. T. .

. 242

Young, Thaddeus S. .

. 92

PAGE

S4

CONTEXTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Court-House (Frontispiece) . . facing title-page

Map of Ashtabula County .... facing County Jail and Recorder's Office, with portraits of E. 0.

Peek, E. G. Hurlburt, and W. T. Simonds facing County Infirmary Buildings, with portraits of Edward Hammond, C. E. Curtiss, and M. W. Follett facing Ashtabula Disaster — Ruins of the Bridge

Residence of Hon. B. F. Wade

it

Portrait of Hon. B. F. Wade (steel)

it

“ “ Joshua R. Giddings

“ “ Edward Wade

S4

“ “ Rufus P. Ranney .

S6

“ of Rev. Joseph Badger

S6

“ of Hon. 0. H. Fitch .

“ “ Horace Wilder

S9

“ “ Abner Kellogg

Portraits of Group of Attorneys : Hon. IF. P

ANDOVER.

Residence of Austin Harmon .

“ C. Stillman, with portraits .

“ and mills of C. H. Fitts

Howland,

Hon. H. B. Woodbury, Hon. Edward H. Fitch, Hon.

S. A. Northway, and Charles Booth . . facing

Portrait of Hon. Darius Cadwell “ C. S. Simonds

“ Edwin Cowles (steel) . . . facing

“ E. W. Cowles, M.D. (steel)

“ Miss Betsey Cowles (steel)

“ Miss Cornelia Cowles (steel)

Portraits of Physicians’ Group : Dr. John C. Hubbard, Dr. A. K. Fifield, Dr. L. D. Kellogg, Dr. S. S. Burrows, Dr. Elijah Coleman, and Dr. S. H. Farrington facing

Portrait of Hon. William Kellogg .

« W. C. Howells

“ Henry Fassett

Portraits of Editors’ Group: J. A. Howells, James Reed, Warren P. Spencer, J. P. Rieg, and Ferdinand Lee ........ facing

Portrait of Hon. Q. F. Atkins

“ Harvey R. Gaylord

Portraits of Physicians’ Group : Dr. S. G. Holbrook, Dr. H. H. Webster, Dr. Greenleaf Fifield, Dr. E. M. Webster . . . . . . . . facing

Portrait of Hon. Freeman Thorp .....

Portraits of Spencer Group : Prof. Platt R. Spencer, R. C. Spencer, H. C. Spencer, H. A. Spencer, Lyman P.

Spencer, and Platt R. Spencer, Jr. . . facing

Portraits of the Hubbard Group : Hon. Matthew Hubbard, William Hubbard, and Henry Hubbard . facing Portraits of the County Officers’ Group : Hon. E. J. Betts, W. H. Crowell, E. F. Mason, Hon. E. B. Leonard, D. L. Crosby, A. W. Stiles, T. S. Young, and S. H.

Cook facing ns

ASHTABULA.

Portrait of Philo Booth .

“ Dr. D. E. Kelley .

Residence of George Willard, and interior and exterior Views of Store, with portraits Residence of John P. Robertson “ M. G. Dick .

“ Wm. M. Eames .

“ James P. Jennings

Phcenix Iron-Works

Exterior Views of Store and Opera-House of L A Son .....

Interior View of Webb A Son’s Store Carriage-Works of F. D. Fickinger, with portrait

" 130

“ 135

“ 140

W. Smith facing

Carriage-Works of Thorp A Pfaff .

Flouring-Mills of Seymour A Son .

AUSTINBURG.

Portrait of Deacon Joseph Mills Residence of A. W. Howard, with portraits Residence of the late Rev. G. II. Cowles .

Church at Austinburg ....

CHERRY VALLEY.

Portrait of Joel Rice (Williamsfield Group) Residence of Wesley Clark, with portraits “ A. E. Beals, “ “

“ H. Lindsley, “ “

COLEBROOK.

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Blakeslee

CONNEAUT.

Portrait of Hon. D. C. Allen

“ General Henry Keyes

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Plin Smith Portrait of Dr. D. W. Raymond “ Nelson Burington .

“ A. C. Dibble .

“ Aunt Lydia King .

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Benoni Andrews Christian Church, with portraits of Rev. 0. T.

Mrs. 0. T. Wyman .

Residence of J. P. Rieg .

“ S. J. Smith .

Business Block of S. J. Smith .

Town Hall ....

Residence of Thomas Gibson, with portraits “ Captain Salisbury, “

“ Calvin Poole, “

Mill Property of Benton, Ayers A Cushing Portrait of E. Farnham ....

DENMARK.

Residence of J. C. Andrews .

PAGE

“ 238

“ 237 and

“ 156

“ 154

GENEVA.

Portrait of R. Spring

“ Charles Tinker

Residence of Charles Talcott, and exterior and

interior Views of Store ... “ 17S,

Residence of S. H. Munger ... “ 174,

“ N. S. Caswell, with portraits . facing “ N. H. Dickerman . . . “

R. Spring .

H. W. Forman .

Henrv C. Fobes .

between 176, . facing between ISO,

Portraits of H. C. Fobes, Electa Fobes, Sanford L. Fobes, Flora H. Fobes, David A. and Fanny C. Fish ..... “ ISO,

Public School Building . . . . “174,

Hotel of Thomas B. Tuller .... facing

Residence of Luther Parker .... “

“ Henry Bedell, with portraits between ISO, “ Nelson Maltby, “ . “ 180,

“ Samuel W. Peck, “ . . facing

“ Robert Woodruff, “ . . “

“ Cynthia Hart, “ . . “

Geneva Congregational Church ... “

HARPERSFIELD.

Portraits of Dr. J. H. SeCheverell and wife . facing “ Col. G. H. « “ . “

Residence of M. Wharram .... “

175 173

177 175 183

JEFFERSON. PA0E

Portrait of Dr. D. D. Gist . . . between 148, 149

Residence of U. P. Wade facing 146

Jefferson Educational Institute ... “ 150

Residence of E. L. Mullen . . . between 148 149

“ John Watters ... “ 143 149

KINGSVILLE.

Portrait of Dr. M. Kingsley'

Residence of Dr. E. M. Webster ( Frontispiece ) Kingsville Cemetery Residence of John Holmes “ H. P. Newton

“ Stephen Sabin

“ J. F. Blair .

“ Charles H. Cratar

MONROE.

“ William K. Pinney Residence of Hiram Griggs

“ 162

MORGAN.

Portrait of B. C. Randall ....

“ Alonzo Moses .....

Residence of the late James Stone, with portraits.

Stores of Latimer A Thompson

“ 196

PIERPONT.

Residence of Alvin Schramling, with portraits . facing 234

ROME.

Residences of L. and G. H. Crosby, with portraits, facing 218 Residence of Elijah Crosby .... “ 220

SAYBROOK.

Residence of Isaac Brooks .... facing 183

•

TRUMBULL.

Residence of John and Eleanor Churchill . facing 196

“ John Brown, with portrait . . “ 228

WAYNE.

Portrait of Rev. E. T. Woodruff “ Dr. Spelman .

“ Nathaniel Coleman

“ Mrs. N. Coleman

“ Samuel Jones, Sr. .

“ Linus H. Jones

“ Samuel Jones, Jr. .

“ Anson Jones .

Residence of 0. P. Fobes, with portraits of Simon and Ferdinand Residence of Rollin L. Jones, with portraits “ Wm. Kiddle ....

WILLIAMSFIELD.

Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. William Giddings .

“ Rev. Elias and Mrs. Abiah Morse between 24S, . facing

“ 246,

“ 246,

‘ 248,

‘ 246,

WINDSOR.

Residence of F. R. Smith .... facing 250

“ Prof. E. Hamilton . . between 252, 253

“ Thompson Higley . . “ 252, 253

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HISTORY

ASHTABTJLA

COUNTY, OHIO.

INTRODUCTORY.

Two pictures in American history are significant. They are the pictures of two vessels. The one is the Mayflower, the other the Griffin. They represent the nationalities of two powers that contended long and fiercely for the ascendancy in the right to American soil. In the one picture is presented a vessel nearing the American coast. On board is a small band of refugees who had fled from oppression in the Old World to find liberty in the New. The whole number of them is one hundred and two, sixty of whom are women and children. They are all earnest, brave, and prayerful. They are gathered in a group with upturned faces, all engaged in earnest devotion, the skylight streaming down upon them. One of them holds a piece of parchment bearing the signature of every man on board. It contains the compact which gave birth to popular constitutional liberty. The features of the picture are distinct. A sense of the grandeur of their enterprise, a sublime faith in its success, a trust in the Divine Protector and Guide, resolute determination, — all these are strikingly depicted in the countenances of the group. The vessel is the Mayflower ; the group the Pilgrim Fathers. In religion they are Protestants ; in nationality they are English.

The time was in the latter part of the year 1620.

In the other picture may be seen a vessel upon the placid waters of our own Lake Erie. It had just been launched on the Niagara river, almost within sound of the mighty cataract. It was built after the fashion of its time. Its stern rose high above the deck. The curved and carved sides formed a singularly antique appearance. On its prow was the form of a griffin. Its portentous form and hideous face constituted the figure-head of this strange vessel. Amidships on the castle was perched the gilt figure of a massive eagle. The vessel is a French craft of forty-five tons’ burden. On the deck is gathered a group of thirty-four men. They are clothed in various costumes. Their leader is clad in a cavalier’s dress. By his side are three monks, — their long black robes and shaven crowns contrasting strangely with the military costume of their leader. Their cloaks are embellished with the various symbols of their order. Around them are gathered the swarthy faces of their fellow-voyagers. They are chanting the Te Deum. The ship is the Griffin, and the men are the explorers of the great west. The commander is Robert Cavelier de la Salle. His companions are Tonty, his lieutenant, an Italian veteran, Father Louis Hennepin, Zenobe Membre, and Gabriel Ribourde, three Fleming friars, and about thirty followers. Theirs is the first vessel that ever plowed the virgin waters of Lake Erie. The date is 1679. The nationality is French. The members of the group are all Roman Catholics. Their object is the exploration, the conquest through right of discovery, and the ultimate colonization of the great west.

Had the vast schemes of these heroic explorers been successful, the entire valley of the Mississippi would have been peopled to-day by the descendants of the French instead of by those of the English. The language would have been Gaelic instead of Anglo-Saxon ; the dominant religion of the people would have been Roman Catholic instead of Protestant.

The contrast between the two vessels is striking, not alone in their appearance and in the character and purpose of those on board, but in the fate of each vessel and of the members of each group. The picture of the Griffin is that of a vessel sailing onward, carrying a company of adventurers to far-distant regions ; that of the Mayflower, of a vessel anchoring with a view to landing its inmates as a colony for settlement. On board the one vessel the family was present ; on board the other the family was lacking. Men, women, and children in the one ;

men alone in the other. The adventurers of the Griffin, after some years spent of brilliant exploration, became scattered. Some perished in the wilderness from cold and hunger ; others were captured, and some of them murdered by savages ; the chieftain himself was slain by his own companions ; the vessel was wrecked, and disaster came to all. The families on board the Mayflower became the fathers and mothers of a race that have helped to people a continent. All that was done by the one company was transient ; all that was accomplished by the other was enduring.

The descendants of those on board the Mayflower are they, in part, the history of whose fortunes this volume is to record. From such heroes of the human race sprang the men who became the fathers of New Connecticut. The men who penetrated this region nearly a hundred years ago were no discredit to their ancestors of Plymouth Rock. They brought with them many of the sterling traits of character that distinguished so signally their illustrious forefathers. They possessed the same reverence for truth, the same love of liberty, the same hatred of oppression and wrong.

To follow the fortunes of such a people, to record their heroic deeds, their sufferings and privations, to trace their progress through many hardships along the difficult path leading to more prosperous days, is a pleasing task for the historian.

The first generation that came hither has passed away ; the second is rapidly following. It is time that history should make its record ; time that it should gather up and place in enduring form a memorial of the lives of these hardy pioneers ; to signalize their achievements in biographies of their representative men.

Eighty years have wrought a wondrous change. Then a dense wilderness inhabited by ferocious beasts and savage men ; now a prosperous, populous community where civilization has reached its highest form. Appeared first the settlers’ cabins scattered here and there, hidden by the thick foliage of a dense forest, constituting rude but cheerful woodland homes ; blazed lines for roads ; a few acres adjacent to the dwellings for farms ; log houses for schools, and “ God’s first temples” for churches. As the years advanced farms were opened ; highways were cut through the forests ; log cabins gave place to neat frame houses ; streams were bridged ; the nuclei of towns were formed ; neat frame school-houses and churches appeared. Then came the stage-coach with its weekly, then its tri-weekly, and at last its daily mail, until finally it too disappeared to give place to the track of steel and the iron horse. Farms multiplied ; hamlets grew to be villages ; villages to be towns ; and towns to be cities.

Where once stood the lonely cabin now stands a thriving, populous city, with its busy industries, its palatial residences, and beautiful churches. Instead of the rude log dwelling, with its small patch of cleared ground, standing in utter loneliness in the midst of a dense woodland, may now be seen the beautiful dairy-farm, with its farm-house almost deserving the name of mansion; its commodious barn, with all the conveniences skill and money may provide ; its broad fields of luxuriant pasturage ; its quiet woodlands, where at eventide may be heard the lowing of many gentle kiue. Where stood the log school-house, with its half-dozen pupils, stand now the normal university and the academy of learning.

The fortunes of a community are not under the guidance of a blind destiny. Its affairs are largely controlled and directed by a favoring Providence. It will be the object of the present work to follow the steps which the county has taken through different stages of its progress in order to have reached its present advanced and happy position.

HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.

Chapter I. The Progress Of Discovery

The year 1492 signalizes the achievement of Columbus, — the greatest maritime enterprise in the history of the world. Born of a holy faith, an inflexible purpose, and an unfailing greatness of soul, it was the triumph of reason over superstition ; of knowledge over the ignorance of cosmography, and, in less than fifteen years, Copernicus had made known to the world the true theory of our solar system. England, France, and Spain are aroused and eagerly set on foot plans for exploration and discovery. In 1497, John Cabot and his son, Sebastian, discovered the western continent among the dismal cliffs of Labrador. In 1498, a year famous in the annals of the sea, Columbus set foot upon the mainland of South America, and Sebastian Cabot explored the North American coast from Newfoundland to Albemarle Sound. In 1501, Gaspar Cortereal, with two caravels, furnished by his sovereign, Manuel, king of Portugal, ranges the coast of North America from the Delaware Bay to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As early as 1504 the fisheries of Newfoundland are known to the hardy mariners of Brittany and Normandy, who came thus early to our shores from the northwest of France, and, in remembrance of home, gave to the island of Cape Breton the name it still retains.

Thus early did England, Portugal, and France become competitors with Spain and with one another for the unknown world. The Spanish nation had given this impetus to efforts of discovery, and for some years maintained the first position among the contestants. Extraordinary success had kindled in her breast extraordinary enthusiasm. In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon, a fellow-voyager of Columbus in his second expedition, a gallant soldier in the wars of Hispaniola, rewarded by Ovando with the government of the eastern province of that island, embarked at Porto Rico with a squadron of three ships, and on Easter Sunday, which the Spaniards call Pasc-ua Florida, discovered the southeastern peninsula of what now are the United States. He went on shore near St. Augustine, explored the coast from this point south to Cape Florida, and sailed among the group of islands, and named them Tortugas. In 1519, Francisco de Garay, likewise a companion of Columbus on his second voyage, and at the date mentioned the opulent governor of Jamaica, equipped four ships, and. placing them under the command of Alvarez Alonso de Pineda, explored the coast to the west of Florida for a distance of nine hundred miles, examining attentively the ports, rivers, inhabitants, and everything else that seemed worthy of remark, noticing particularly the volume of water poured into the gulf by one very large river. Thus early was the Father of Waters made known to the white man. In 1525, Stephen Gomez, under instructions from the emperor king to seek out the northern passage to India, sailed into Long Island sound, and discovered the Hudson river.

In 1528, Pamphilio de Narvaez, under a contract from Charles V. to explore and reduce all the territory from the Atlantic to the river Palmas, with an expedition of more than three hundred men, whereof Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Yaca held the second place as treasurer, anchored in Tampa bay, and landing, took possession of Florida in the name of Spain. Allured by the prospect of gold, he struck into the interior, crossed the Withlochooche, visited Appalachee, and, coming into the harbor of St. Mark’s, where he constructed five boats of the rudest sort, embarked upon the gulf in search of the river Palmas. The shallop, commanded by Cabeza, and another under the captaincy of Alonso de Castillo, were thrown upon the surf, on the sands of an island which Cabeza named the Isle of Misfortune, and most likely was the same as what now is known as Galveston. Here he became a captive of the Indians for five years, when he made his escape and began a pilgrimage, which lasted more than twenty months. He and his companions passed through Texas as far north as to the Canadian river, thence westward to the Rocky mountains in New Mexico. With a fortitude that was proof against hunger, cold, and weariness, amidst perils from beasts and perils from savages, the brave voyagers journeyed from one Indian town to another in New Mexico, and finally crossing the mountains, entered Arizona, and, on a day in May, 1536 ,drew near to the Pacific ocean, at the village of San Miguel, in Sonora.

In the city of Mexico the story was published which an Indian slave had told of the wonders of the seven cities of Cibola, the Land of Buffaloes, that lay at the north, and abounded in silver and gold. Francisco Vasquez Coronado, the governor of New Galacia, burning with a desire to subdue those vaunted provinces, resolved to head an expedition formed for this purpose. In 1540 the army of three hundred Spaniards, part of whom were mounted, having sworn on a missal containing the gospels to maintain implicit obedience and never abandon their chief, who, in taking command of the hazardous enterprise, had parted from a lovely young wife and vast possessions, began their march from Compostella with flying colors and boundless expectations. The result of this expedition was the discovery of the Colorado of the west, and its exploration for nearly a hundred miles north of the present southern boundary of the United States ; its discovery at a much higher point, where the river has hollowed out for its channel a gulf so deep that the party who first stood upon its bank and looked down the sides of the interminable cliff described the precipice as being loftier than the highest mountain ; the proof that Lower California is not an island ; the exploration of portions of the territory of New Mexico, Texas, the Indian Territory, Kansas, and Colorado ; and that the golden cities of Cibola were a few scattered and feeble villages of the rudest sort, inhabited by a small number of poor Indians, who sought friendship by presents of skins, cotton, and maize.

While these events were occurring, an expedition of six hundred men, led by Ferdinand de Soto, a brave soldier and a daring adventurer, but blinded by avarice and the love of power, had landed in Florida, and in quest of gold had explored the territory of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. These bold adventurers reached the Mississippi river not more than two hundred miles below the mouth of the Ohio, and crossed it at about the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude. In June of 1541 they ascend the mighty river as far north as to the present site of St. Louis ; they traverse from east to west nearly the whole of the State of Missouri ; they pass to the south and visit the Saline Springs of Arkansas, and, after long and wearisome marches, reach the gulf with no more than one-half of their original number. Thus did the Spanish nation, to which America is indebted for its discovery, in less than fifty years make known to history nearly one-half of the present territory of the United States.