Chapter VIII Summary

The Federal Congress in 1789 clears the way for Ohio's eventual statehood. There have been speculators already working to recruit settlers and one of those, Joel Barlowe, meets a London swindler named William Playfair, who helps draft a pamphlet extolling the wonders of the region but failing to mention the poor, rocky land, poisonous snakes, and hostile Indians. By January of 1790, Arthur St. Claire takes command of an impressive structure called Fort Washington, located on the Ohio River. President George Washington has told Congress that the Indian attacks continue in the Kentucky region and that white settlers are losing lots of goods while more than fifteen hundred have been killed and scalped. Congress agrees to send the militia to quash the Indians, once and for all, but St. Claire first sends a letter to the British assuring them that their lands are...