Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 February 1904 — Jasper's Early History. [ARTICLE]

Jasper's Early History.

The Lincoln League of Indiana will hold its annual convention and banquet at Evansville on Feb. 13 From all appearances the attend anoe at this annual rallying of the younger Republican clans will be unusual. The railroads have made a half-fare rate p1u5..20 cents, tickets to be sold on the 12th and good returning until the’lsth. At the banquet every , district in the state will he repre sented on the toast list. Information relative, to the copvention may be obtained from George D. Heilman of Evansville, secretary of the The western rdtitSrs have a hard time also. A dead man Was recently found in a Ksnske. town.eays ap, exchange, who had <?n hie person SIOO in cash and a revolver. The corner held an inquest end took $75 of the amount sot expenses, and> justice of the peace then tried and find the corpse $25 for carrying concealed weapons, and later a man claimed the revolver was stolen from hurt and todk it. The country editor 1 published a long obi'Uary, expecting to charge it againet thf estate of the deceased, and he got left.

De moor nt jo newspapers which have been preaching unreasoning social discontent, which have been railing against the existing order six or seven days a week for several years, and which by it all have disseminated more oom munisni than patriotism during the past decade, reed not hold up their hands ia holy, horror over the candidacy of William R. Hearst for the Dotnacratio pre sidential nomination. Hearst* iam is the natural flower and fruitage of the perpetual propaganda of disooutent-not a pretty product But a perfectly legitimate one. He represents the ultimate goal of the Democratic drift of the past decade, whether his nomina* tion comes now or ia postponed for four «>r eight years'

Gov. Durbin has been having himself interviewed again down east, this time by the New York Sun, an and-Roosevelt paper. The Governor’s s'atement in Washington that the Republicans of Indiana preferred Hanna to Roosevelt as the preeidental candidate, having been almost unanimously repudiated from every part of the state, the G >vernor now shifts his grounds a Lt le and says it is the farmers and old soldiers of Indiana who are opposed to the President. Dnrbin is just as wide of the mark in this statement as he was in the other. Tue soldier and farmers of Indiana are the President’s most loyal mppoters. None have a higher b miration than they for Roosevelt’o unbending rectitude of purpose, regur Hess political effect, his everywhere able and vigorous administration and for his intense patriotism, and courage in meeting every emergenoy. What Gov Durbin is trying to aooomplisu in the way of furthering his own ambition in thusantagonising President Roosevelt is not at present very clear, but it looks now like whatever his object is, his courre will hurt himself a great deal and hurt President Roosevelt not at all.

INDIANA TERRITORY.

On May 7th, 1900 the west line of Wayne’s Main Indian purchase (1795) was adopted as the east line of. Indiana Territory running straight from the mouth of the Kentucky river to Fort Recovery and thende due north to Lake Huron. Our east line was corrected on the admission of Ohio (1803); the north boundary on the formations of Michigan Territory (1805) and the west line on the definition ot Illinois Territory 1809. From 1800 to 1816 William Henry Harrison was governor and Vincennes the capital. The first territorial legislature met July 29, 1805 with members from three counties, Knox. Clark and Dearborn. The convention to form a state constitution met May 13th, 1816 and ten additional counties were represented Jefferson, Wayne Switzerland, Franklin, Harrison, Washington, Gibson, Warrick, Posey and Perry. The first vote for governor stood for Jennings 5211 and for Posey 3924 Since Nov 7, 1816, the state with its present contour, has been a member of the National family. The chief business of the territorial governor was to buy Indian titles at an at an average pries of one cent for five acres, or one dollar and a quarter per section The Governor's message 1810 contains the following “Is one of the fairest portions of the Globe to remain in a state of nature, the haunt of a few wretched savages? The land is almost wholly divested of the game frum which they have drawn their subsistence and has become of little use to them” Tecumseh was trying to persuade the various tribes that the cessions of land were void and that the Ch’efs make no more As Pontiac (1763), Corn Stalk and Logan (1774), Dragging Canoe (1776), Col. Hamilton (1778) and Little Turtle (1792) So Tecumseh tried to unite all the Indian braves in a war against the Americans. The batt e of Tippecanoe (1811) thwarted the hopes of that Indian reformer. Re joined the British in the war of 1812 and perished in the battle of the Thames The treaty of peace at Ghent, Deo 14, 1814 defined the north boundary of the nation as the median line of Lakes Erie, Huron and Superior* Soon after (1815) our Governor bought the Indian claim to all the remaining land in the Territory. Blackhawk was the last Indian to engage the tr bes in war (1832) in the Northwest and the scene of that conflict was far beyond our west border.

The cloudy French, British, Atlantic states, and Indian titles were all merged in the Nation. A patent from the Nation begins every abstract of title in'our state. The American was the first occupation that was based on well defined ownership. The struggle for Independence was against v the mental aft tude of Britian. The Royal patents inured to the interests of those at home and not to those who won and settled the lands. Lt was to break the,barrier to ownership of the land and the growth of Colonization that our forefathers sought Independence The Northwest was won partly by arms (1778) and partly by diplomacy (1783) to (1787). The nation has since expanded by a combination of force and purchase to include Louisiana. Oregon, Florida, Texas, California, Alaska and the Isles of the sea The Northwest was won by Invasion (1778) by Treaty (1783) Indian purchase and by American settlement (1788 to 1810.) z The earliest homes were established by voluntary sweat and bloo I in subduing the wildness Each settler was heroic and trained to conquer and hold a new land against all corners. 8 P. Thompson. January 30, 1904.