Contents ▼▲
Front Matter Benjamin's Story The Ohio Company Rufus Putnam Colonel Putnam, Engineer The First Emigrants Building a Fleet Campus Martius Arrival of General Putnam Work of the First Emigrants Clearing the Land How Our Company was Formed Making Ready for the Journey Concerning Myself Setting Out Mistress Devoll's Outfit At Providence The Road to Blooming Grove Plans for the Future On the Water Once More Feasting on Honey Among the Moravians The Rope Ferry The Way Thru Pennsylvania The Shame of the Girls Meeting With Parson Cutler Ohio Cornfields The Governor and Judges The Name of the Town Campus Martius Independence Day Master Devoll's House The Indian Mounds At Harrisburg Isaac Barker's Sport Uncle Daniel Carter Uncle Daniel Joins Us Hard Traveling Mud and Water A Storm of Snow Across the Mountains A Friendly Dunkard Master Hiples's Kindness A Surly Landlord Isaac Flogs the Landlord A Much Needed Lesson A Time of Rest Pack Trains A Night Adventure Women and Children Descending The Mountains The Foot of the Hills Nearing Journey's End At Sumrill's Ferry Parting With Uncle Daniel Our Flatboat The Cattle Are Sent Away At Pittsburgh Too Much Water Escape of the Women Repairing Damages Our Pilot A Change Of Weather Noisy Fear A Real Feast Finding The Canoe Buffalo Creek A March Across Country At Marietta Plans for the Future Inspecting Marietta A Temporary Home Buying Land Visiting the Savages Captain Haskell's Advice A New Friend Fishing Through the Ice The Sabbath in Marietta A Regular Business A Visit from the Savages Building a Home A Great Project The Two Millers Savages on the Warpath

Benjamin of Ohio - James Otis




Inspecting the Town of Marietta

However, penniless and undecided though we were, there was no intention on our part to force matters, and after the flatboat had been unloaded, we set about looking the town over, eager to see what had been done in so short a time, and speculating as to what we might do at some future day.

[Illustration] from Benjamin of Ohio by James Otis

I am free to confess that the fortification with the high-sounding name of Campus Martius was pleasing to look upon. It was an imposing building, not such a one as you would expect to find in a wild country, and it lent to its surroundings a certain sense of security, because one could readily understand that it was built in a manner to defy the attacks of the savages.

Outside the palisade, extending in either direction along the river bank were ten log cabins, very few of which were occupied by their owners, for those who had built them had not as yet brought their families to Marietta. The streets were laid out in regular order, but like those we saw in Harrisburg, they were still filled with the stumps of trees, and the only signs of highways were the tiny paths looking much like sheep tracks as they wound in and out among the trees, avoiding the wet places, and leading where the way was most easy to travel.

No one gave any heed to us, and we wandered here and there looking into this house or criticizing another which was but half finished, until we came to where we could see Fort Harmar with the Indian encampment behind it. Then we decided upon the next day's entertainment, for Ben Cushing insisted that since this was our first chance to see a savage, we should spend at least a few hours there.

While it promised a novelty, I was by no means easy in mind regarding an inspection of the red men. Nevertheless I kept all these fears to myself, hoping Ben might give over his excursion when we learned that the ice was not strong enough to bear us up.

Unfortunately, however, it was possible to gain Fort Harmar, for the night was very cold, and ice formed of a thickness to render traveling on the river safe, therefore I was forced to agree to his proposition again.