BIOGRAPHY OF AMZI ATWATER

     “DIED at Atwater, Portage county, on the 22d day of June, 1851, Amzi ATWATER, aged 75 years, and 1 month."

      Such, is the brief notice that announces to the world the death of the last member, but one, of the first exploring expedition on the Reserve. WARHAM SHEPHARD, of Westfield, Mass., now alone remains. The life of Amzi Atwater comprises the early History of Northern Ohio.

      Judge Atwater was born at New Haven, Connecticut, on the 23d of May, 1776. His parents were poor, and unable to give him anything more than an ordinary education. Ushered into life in the early part of the Revolutionary war, and in that part of the colonies most exposed to the incursions of the enemy, his almost only lullaby was the booming of artillery, and the rattling of musketry. On the defeat of the Americans on Long Island, in 1776, when Anizi was but three months old, his father was called out with the militia, for the defense of New-York—from which he returned sick, and with a constitution broken. When old enough young Atwater was sent to school, where he obtained a little knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic. So strait­ened were his parents' circumstances, that he was hired out to work by the day, week or month, as opportunities offered, till he became a man. At the age of eighteen, his father hired him out to work for an uncle, for sixty dollars a year, who transferred him over to a man by the name of Watson." At the end of the year, says Judge Atwater, in a letter now before me," my parents gave me my time, with their good advice and blessing." He then hired to Watson for seven months, at eight dollars a month, but Watson died before the term expired. Being out of employ­ment, young Atwater went to Westfield, Massachusetts, to visit his uncle, Rev. Noah Atwater, who was in the habit of teaching mathematics to a class of young men. He invited young Atwater to come and study with him the ensuing winter, which he did.—Here he learned the art of surveying, in company with Warham Shepherd, who was one of the first exploring party on the Reserve. In the minutes of that expedition, Warham Shepherd and Amzi Atwater are called "Explorers' Assistants." At this school a friendship was formed between them, which lasted till the death of Atwater.

      In April, 1796, being then nineteen years of age, young At­water left Connecticut, on foot and alone, with a heavy knapsack on his back, to meet his friend Shepherd, at Ontario county, New York—with whom he remained until the agents of the Connecti­cut Land Company were ready to commence their survey, when he left for the then unknown West. He joined them at Canandaigua, June 13, 1796.

      His business was to collect cattle and pack-horses, with which he went all the way by land.

      The rest of the company were shipped in four boats, called batteaux, in which they went up the Mohawk river—then down Wood creek to Oneida lake—through the lake to Oswego river—down that river to Fort Oswego, when they were stopped by the British officers in command—[it being a few days before that fort was to be given up by the terms of the treaty]—but they muf­fled their oars, and in the night run past the Fort, and launched out into Lake Ontario. At Girandequot bay, a few miles east of the mouth of the Genesee river, they took in provisions for their voyage, and started out into an almost unknown region.

      Gen. Moses Cleveland, agent for the Connecticut Land Compa­ny, had called a council of Indians to assemble at what is now Buffalo, to hold "a talk." Atwater, having charge of the cattle, was ordered to meet him there—where several of the cattle were butchered for the use of the Indians, during the treaty, which lasted several days.

      The chiefs of the "six nations," and many others were present, to the number of five or six hundred. Here Gen. Cleveland ex­plained to them the right of the whites to the land, by treaty at Forts McIntosh, and Greenville. The Indians acknowledged they had sold the land, but claimed, (and justly, too,) that they had not received a full compensation for it, but hoped the company would confirm their professions of friendship by bestow­ing liberal presents. This was done, and the council broke up with mutual expressions of friendship.

      The boats, on leaving the treaty ground, made good headway until they came opposite to Cattaraugus, when they became wind-bound, and remained so until Atwater's land party arrived. Some difficulty having arisen in this party, for the want of an acknowledged leader, Major Spafford left the boats at Cattaraugus, and took command of the land party. They all arrived at Con­neaut on the fourth of July, 1796, where they celebrated our nation's Independence.

      The expedition consisted of forty-five men, two women, and one child. A negro, called Black Joe, had come from Buffalo as a pilot. The officers were :

Moses Cleveland, Agent,

Augustus Porter, Principal Surveyor,

Seth Pease,                  }

Moses Warren,            }

Amos Spafford,            } Surveyors,

Milton Hawley, }

Richard M. Stoddard,   }

Joshua Stow, Commissary,

Theodore Shepherd, Physician,

Joseph Tinker, Principal Boatman.

     Among the assistants were Amzi Atwater, Warham Shepherd, Elijah Green (with his wife and child), and Job P. Stiles (with his wife).

      The first object of the party was to fix the south-east corner of the Reserve. The Pennsylvania line had been run seven years before, and on the lake shore a monument was erected, on which the latitude was marked. From this monument the line was run south by Porter and Pease to the highlands south of the Mahon­ing, where it was supposed the corner would be. There Mr. Pease took the latitude with a quadrant, and found he was within half a mile of the corner.

      In the meantime, the party left at Conneaut were engaged in building a large store-house on the beach, which they named “Stow Castle," in honor of their Commissary, for whose accommodation it was built. On the completion of this job, they started down the Pennsylvania line, and overtook the first party, while taking observations, and ascertaining the latitude. Finding they had not run far enough south, they measured half a mile further, and set up a large post, marked—" 41° N. Lat."

      From thence a line was run west twenty miles for the south line of the Reserve. At each five miles a meridian was run to the lake. Mr. Hawley run the first, Spafford and Stoddard the second, Warren the third, Porter and Pease the fourth. Atwater was chainsman for Warren. These were all the meridians run that year. They are now known as Ranges.

      While these meridians were being run, Gen. Cleveland, with Joseph Tinker, the principal boatman, went up the Lake on an exploring voyage, as far as the mouth of the Cuyahoga, and then up that river till they discovered a large creek, which, in honor of his boatman, Gen. Cleveland named "Tinker's Creek." Unfor­tunately, both in going, and returning, they did not discover Chagrin river—then called by the Indians, Mishaway–see–bie, (Elk river,) which afterwards caused the party great trouble. On their return, they reported that there was no stream of any im­portance between Grand River and Cuyahoga.

      After the first four meridians were run, Gen. Cleveland, with Porter, and a party of assistants, took a boat, and went up to traverse the Lake shore to Sandusky. -Before leaving, he ordered four surveyors to run the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th parallels from the Pennsylvania line west to the Cuyahoga river, or wherever it might strike, and then to repair to a camp to be established as far up the river as convenient. Warren, to whose party Atwater was at­tached, was ordered to the 6th parallel, which he run west until he struck the Chagrin, where Bentley's mills now are; set a post as directed (supposing it to be the Cuyahoga), and then followed down the stream, expecting hourly to find the camp.

      The surveyors on the parallels north of Warren's were led into the same error; when they arrived at the Lake, they found that the boats had been there, but had left no trace behind them.— This party then went to Conneaut for provisions, when they found that they had not been to the Cuyahoga, but to a newly discovered river. During this time the other surveyors had been ordered to finish the survey of the meridians, and commence the survey of a city plat at the mouth of the Cuyahoga.

      To Augustus Porter, the principal surveyor, who since resided at Black Rock, belongs the honor of laying out that city. He was, I believe, the brother of Peter B. Porter, of Black Rock.

      About the eighteenth of October the men mostly left—having completed the meridians, the parallels, the plat of Cleveland, the one hundred acre lots in that township and Newburgh, some division lines in Mentor, and most of the traverse of the Cuyahoga river.

      Thus terminated the first exploring expedition—leaving "Stow Castle" on the beach at Conneaut, and a house near the foot of what is now Union lane, in Cleveland, as the relics of civilization.

      In the second expedition, or that of 1797, the Connecticut Land Company had changed their agent. The officers this year were:

Seth Hunt, Agent.

William Shepherd, Explorer.

Amos Spafford,            }Explorers and

Moses Warren,            }Surveyors.

Seth Pease, Principal Surveyor.

Richard M. Stoddard,   } Surveyor.

Nathan Redfield,           } Surveyor.

Theodore Shepherd, Physician.

Joseph Tinker, Principal Boatman.

Ezra Wait,        } Explorers’ Assistant.

David Beard,    } Explorers’ Assistant.

Warham Shepherd,       }Assistants and

Amzi Atwater,              }Surveyors.

     The men assembled at Schenectady, New-York, about the middle of April, 1797. They ascended the Mohawk as the year before —took their boats over the Portage at Rome, to Wood creek, and through Oneida Lake and Oswego river into Lake Ontario.—Atwater with eight or ten men was ordered to Canandaigua to purchase and drive on pack-horses and cattle to Buffalo, and take care of them at that place, till Major Shepherd should arrive.—

     On arriving at Buffalo, Atwater drove them across the creek on to what is since known as the Indian Reservation. While lying there, one of the chiefs called on him and presented a bill for pasturage. He asked three dollars, which he thought very low compared with what the whites charged them when they were traveling. Atwater told him that the whites did not charge for pasture unless it was fenced in. The chief said their custom was different—that they wanted the pastures for their own use, but if he would pay them three dollars, he might keep the cattle there as long as he pleased. Atwater paid his demand, and soon received the reward of fair dealing with the Indians; for one of his horses having strayed away, was sent back to him by the chief, without any charge.

     In a few days after Atwater's arrival, Major Shepherd arrived, and they started up the lake with their drove. They arrived at Conneaut on the 25th of May, and the boats, with the balance of the Company, a few days afterwards.

     Some of the surveyors were sent into the woods from Conneaut, but most of them went to Cleveland. Atwater, with the cattle and horses, went by land. In swimming their horses over Grand river, near its mouth, David Eldridge was drowned. The body was soon after obtained, but too late to restore animation. The boats soon after arrived, and took the body to Cleveland, where was buried in the newly laid out cemetery, being the first white person buried in that place.

     From Cleveland two boats with a part of the men, were sent up the river, on an exploring excursion, and Atwater was sent by land with pack horses to carry provisions for them. He delivered the provisions to the boats' crews a little above Tinker's creek, and joined the boats, which then proceeded with as much expedition as possible. But it was "hard sledding," as the river was low and obstructed by logs and stones.

     Atwater left the boats on the north line of Boston, with as much provision as he could carry on his back, and went up past where Brandywine mills are to the north west corner of Hudson. Here he placed the provisions on the top of high forks, to secure it from wolves; covered it over with bark, and returned to the boats.

     By clearing out the channel in some places, and lifting the boats over in others, they finally succeeded in getting their boats up to about three-fourths of a mile above the mouth of the little Cuyahoga. There they established a camp, or what was called "Upper Head Quarters." The surveyors dispersed and took the several lines assigned them.  This was the 15th of June, 1797. Atwater was left to take charge of the provisions, baggage, &c., as it should arrive. Having charge of the stores, Mr. Atwater erected a storehouse, or bark shantee, for the accommodation of himself; and which also answered for a hospital. Surveying par­ties and boatmen were continually arriving and departing. The sick were left at Upper Head Quarters, and thus Mr. Atwater became storekeeper, commissary, keeper of the hospital, nurse, physician, and "all hands." David Beard was confined there several days with the dysentery, but a boat arrived and took him to Cleveland, where he finally recovered.

     The great object of the second expedition, was to finish the meridians commenced by the first expedition—the traverse of the Cuyahoga Portage Path, and Tuscarawas branch of the Muskin­gum—as this was the boundary between the purchase made by the United States of the Six Nations, and the Western tribes.—That east of this line had been purchased, and to that alone had the Indian title been extinguished. This line was run by Moses Warren, whose field notes are now in possession of Gen. Samuel D. Harris, the only surviving surveyor of that early day.

     While Atwater was lying at Upper Head Quarters, an Indian frequently visited him, who informed him that he was in the bat­tle at Maumee Rapids, and by gestures showed him how Wayne's men, or the "long knives" as he called them, cut them clown.—Mr. Pease wishing to go to the Salt Springs, in what is now Weathersfield, to meet Redfield, and then run the latitude of 41° N., or south line of the Reserve, employed the Indian to go with his horse and a load of provisions, and pilot him there. In about three days the Indian returned, with a line from Pease, saying the Indian had been faithful, and directing Atwater to give him a quart of whiskey, "or more if that would not make him drunk."

     Atwater filled a junk bottle and gave to him, in the name of the "big Captain," as he called Pease. In the night the Indian came back, and presented the bottle; saying "more whiskey, big captain very good man—you very good man—me very good man." Atwater filled his bottle again, and told him that was all "the big captain" had ordered him to give him. He went away re­peating "very good man, very good man." The next day he came back, and presented a deerskin for the big captain, and then his bottle for "more whiskey.'' Atwater told him they had but little whiskey, and must keep it for the sick. He then gave him a little in the bottle, with which he left well satisfied, re­peating "very good man.'.' The next day he returned the bottle to Atwater but never said any more about whiskey.

     On the 5th of July 1797, Warham Shepherd and Atwater, were sent to survey the 9th meridian, from the 4th parallel, south to the south line of the Reserve—one carrying the compass, the other the chain, alternately. Soon after their return to camp af­ter finishing that work all the surveyors came in, and reported all the lower lines run, except the 5th, 6th, and 7th meridians. To complete these Redfield was ordered to the 7th, Stoddard to the 6th, and Shepherd and Atwater to the 5th, which was the west line of Trumbull and Ashtabula.

     Stoddard being lame, Atwater took his compass, and run his line for him, ten miles, when he met Stoddard, with one man, who took the line and finished it. Atwater with one man then left that line, and met Mr. Shepherd at the North East corner of Palmyra. Here he found Shepherd sick with the dysentery, and Miner Bicknell, the man who accompanied Atwater, was taken with a violent fever. Atwater took the compass and run seven miles, between Braceville and Windham, when Bicknell became too unwell to ride on a horse. In the language of Judge Atwater, in a letter now before me, "here was a difficult case to know what to do. We were at a great distance from any comfortable place for the sick. Medicine we had none, and ignorant of its use if we had it. No guide but our compass, or township lines. To get him to Cleveland seemed most desirable if it was practica­ble. We were in hopes some of our boats were at our late camp, but how to get him there was the question." "Necessity was the mother of invention." They took two poles, and fastened them together with bark, so as to go by the sides of the horses like the thills of a wagon, one horse following the other, so far apart as to admit a man to lie lengthwise between them. With barks and blankets they made his bed as comfortable as possible, and by twisted bark ropes lashed it to the packsaddles. Atwater left Shepherd with one man to run the line as best he could, and started with the sick man for Cleveland. They went south to the corner of Palmyra, then west on the third parallel. The next morning after they started, Atwater sent a man ahead to have a boat ready at the Upper Head Quarters to carry the sick man down the river. Atwater proceeded west to the corner of Stow and Hudson, on the 9th meridian, then south to- the old Indian trail from Forth McIntosh to Sandusky, where he met his mes­senger with the disagreeable intelligence that the camp was bro­ken up, and the boats gone. Atwater then directed him to go to Cleveland, and get a boat to come up and meet him at the south line of Independence. Atwater then proceeded on the west line of Stow, to the north line of Summit county then west to the place appointed for meeting the boats. In this litter they had thus conveyed Bicknell about five days, and a distance of fifty miles. He had a high fever all the time and had his reason but little part of it. They arrived at the river early in the forenoon of July 25th, and Bicknell died about two hours after. Tinker with the boat and Dr. Shepherd, arrived a little afternoon. At­water urged to have the corpse carried to Cleveland, but the boatmen would not consent: and he was buried near the river, on the south line of Independence, on land since cleared by Esq. Frazer.

     This, says Judge Atwater, in the letter I have before referred to, "was the most afflicting scene of my life. My feelings I can not pretend to describe. My fatigue was great during the whole distance. My anxiety stimulated every power I possessed, of body or mind.

     I was in perfect health, and in the most active part of life, but when I had got through, and the man was dead, and my extreme fatigue was at an end, it seemed as if every nerve was unstrung; and in ordinary circumstances I should have thought myself enti­tled to a few days' rest. But we were obliged immediately to leave there, to return and find Mr. Shepherd.

     Atwater and his company followed the marked line east to the northeast corner of Portage county, when they found he had got the line up there, and he and his party were in good health.

The whole company then proceeded to run the line to the lake, which completed the township lines. Thus was completed the survey of the Western Reserve, east of the Cuyahoga.

     Toward the latter part of the season sickness prevailed to an alarming extent, and but few escaped. William Andrews and Peleg Washburn died at Cleveland in August, and one or two boat loads of sick were sent off early in the fall. The last of September, 1797, Judge Atwater -was taken with the ague and fever, which lasted till he left the Reserve. Says Judge Atwater in the letter referred to, "I was at Cleveland in a sad situation —and all others there, about as bad as I was. When the fit was off, I with a great deal of exertion could go to the spring and get a little water, and set it by the side of my old bearskin and blan­ket, where I lay through the long nights of ague and fever and all around were much in the same situation. Oh! these were days and nights of sorrow and affliction."

     Tinker, the principal boatman, was discharged in the fall and in going down the lake with three others, the boat capsized near the mouth of Chautauque creek, and Tinker and two of the men were drowned. 

     The last of the surveyors left the Reserve the fore part of No­vember, 1797, for the most part a sorry, sickly looking set of beings, the very reverse of what they were in the Spring.

     In 1798 and '99, Judge Atwater was in the service of the Hol­land Land Company, in the Western part of New York, and as­sisted in running nearly all the township lines. In the fall of 1799 he returned to Connecticut, and spent the winter with his uncle, in study. 

     In 1800, in company with his brother Jotham, he came to Mantua, and made a permanent settlement on the farm where he died.

     In 1808, on the organization of Portage county, he was elected one of the Associate Judges, and subsequently held many public trusts, such as his neighbors urged upon him, but which he did not covet. He chose retirement, and in the language of his old friend, Abram Tappan, of Ashtabula, "his disposition was mild, and he was honest to a proverb."

     In a letter to Mr. Tappan, written March 24th, 1851, Judge Atwater says‑

     "I need not say much about how I have run the line of life. I have run though some of the swamps of adversity, and over many of the plains of prosperity. My assistants have generally been cheerful, and I may say faithful. My provisions hold out well, and perhaps I have enough to carry me through to the end of my line, which I have good reason to believe will soon be completed."