St. Clair and Wayne 339 



cials in communities scattered over much of the 

 country claimed. The soldier-settlers of Virginia 

 and North Carolina had actually built houses and 

 forts, tilled the soil, and exercised the functions of 

 civil government, on the banks of the Wabash and 

 the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Cumberland, and the 

 Tennessee. Counties and districts had been erected 

 by the two States on the western waters ; and repre 

 sentatives of the civil divisions thus constituted sat 

 in the State Legislatures. The claims of Virginia 

 and North Carolina to much of the territory had be 

 hind them the substantial element of armed posses 

 sion. The settlement and conquest of the lands had 

 been achieved without direct intervention by the 

 Federal Government; though of course it was only 

 the ultimate success of the nation in its contest with 

 the foreign foe that gave the settlement and con 

 quest any value. 



As much could not be said for the claims of the 

 other States. South Carolina's claim was to a mere 

 ribbon of land south of the North Carolina terri 

 tory, and need not be considered; it was ceded to 

 the Government about the time the Northwest was 

 organized. 11 Georgia asserted that her boundaries 

 extended due west to the Mississippi, and that all 

 between was hers. But the entire western portion 

 of the territory was actually held by the Spaniards 

 and by the Indian tribes tributary to the Spaniards. 

 No subjects of Georgia lived on it, or were allowed 



11 For an account of this cession see Mr. Garrett's excellent 

 paper in the publications of the Tennessee Historical Society. 



