Avenue. But the storm blew over, and the war of the revolution diverted all minds.

During that eventful period Pittsburg was more than ever the "Key of the West," from which the machinations of the English at Detroit, working on the Indians in Ohio, were to be met and defeated. But toward the end of the Revolutionary struggle, the fort was again permitted to fall into ruin, so that when General William Irvine assumed command in September, 1781, he wrote to Washington that the fort was a heap of ruins.

A traveler who passed through Pittsburg on his way down the Ohio in the spring of 1788, informs us that a small garrison was at that time kept at Ft. Pitt. But it would seem to have been in a very different state of defense, for when the Indians for the last time in our frontier history threatened the backwoods three years later, General Henry R. Knox, secretary of war, wrote to Major Isaac Craig, then in command, directing him to build a blockhouse without delay for the defense of the town, which would hardly have been done had Ft. Pitt been in a condition of defense.

Little is known of this fort, and the part it played is almost insignificant. The secretary of war in his letter of instructions to Major Craig, under date of December 16, 1791, writes: "I request you immediately to procure materials for a blockhouse and picketed fort, to be erected in such part of Pittsburg as shall be the best position to cover the town, as well as the public stores which shall be forwarded from time to time." The major selected the spot at the

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General Anthony Wayne arrived soon after with his forces to prepare for his successful campaign against the Indians of the west, and took up his quarters at the fort till the end of November, when he went into winter quarters at Legionville, on the north bank of the Ohio, near the present town of Economy. The last record we have of Ft. Lafayette is found in another letter of Major Craig to the secretary of war. He writes under date of November 30, 1792: "This morning at an early hour the artillery, infantry and rifle corps, except a small garrison left at Ft. Lafayette, embarked and descended the Ohio to Legionville," etc.

Such is a brief account of the works, offensive and defensive, of "The Key of the West" in the last century.

THE

HE following interesting table shows the westward advance of the center of population of the United States for the past 120 years.

A singular fact is observable, i. e., the westward course of "the Empire" has been along the route of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. During the first twenty years of the nineteenth century there were no railroads in America. At that time the National Road extended from Frederick to Cumberland, across the mountains to Wheeling and thence westward to Columbus, O., and Indianapolis, Ind.

The Baltimore & Ohio, which was the first railroad, was begun in 1828 at Balti

more and eventually extended westward through Frederick and Cumberland, thence across the mountains to Wheeling (1853), thence to Cincinnati, following the Old National Road. This was the natural gateway to the West, and consequently, this portion of the country became more thickly settled than the portions north or south of the road; and as they gradually developed, "the great highway," as it was then known, increased its population as a matter of course.

It has been suggested that the present ratio of increase in population of the states will never vary to such an extent as to take the center of population far away from its present course.

N Wednesday, December 12, 1900, the

100th anniversary as Capital of the United States. In honor of the event the President of the United States gave a reception to the Governors of all the states, and commemorative exercises were held jointly by both houses of Congress in the hall of the Representatives, after a grand military and naval parade.

A complete historical sketch of the founding of the District of Columbia and the building of Washington City may be found in the December number of the Review of Reviews, by the editor, Mr. Albert Shaw, of which the following is part:

George Washington was first inaugurated where the subtreasury now stands in Wall Street, New York City, and subsequently the federal government held forth in Philadelphia. But even in the earlier period of the Confederation it was felt that local influences should be avoided, and that it would be well on many accounts to remove the federal offices and legislative halls to a separate district, with a capital city of new creation. The subject had The subject had much discussion in 1783, as a result of insults offered to Congress at Philadelphia by Revolutionary soldiers who became mutinous in their demands for pay. At that time Elbridge Gerry proposed two federal districts, one on the Delaware and the other on the Potomac, with the idea of alternating between them. His plan was actually adopted by Congress, though soon afterwards repealed.

The final decision to have a separate national capital was made in the convention that drafted the federal Constitution in 1787. The ratification of this Constitution by the States carried with it an authority vested in Congress "to exercise legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by

cession of particular states and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of Government of the United States." This was in form permissive rather than mandatory; but the state of public opinion on the subject was well shown by the promptness with which, in the very first session of the first Congress elected under the Constitution, the subject was taken up and thoroughly discussed.

At length, by the act of July 16, 1790, it was provided that the seat of government should be and remain in Philadelphia from December, 1790, to December, 1800, when it should be removed "to a district and territory not exceeding ten miles square, located on the river Potomac, between the mouths of the eastern branch and the Conogocheague." Commissioners were appointed to fix the precise location and do the needful bargaining. It is well known, however, that all the important decisions were made by President Washington himself, who directed with great interest and zeal the negotiations for purchasing the land and making the preliminary arrangements.

In those days, before railroads were built, and when interior means of communication were difficult, it was obviously desirable to fix a location which should be at once upon navigable water and yet as far inland as conditions would permit. The place chosen for the new city was at the head of tide-water on the Potomac, thus giving access for large ships to the sea, with opportunity for a navy yard, yet easily defensible against foreign navies by virtue of a hundred miles or more of winding river between the federal district and the The situation was one both familiar and dear to the Father of his Country; for the southernmost point of the district as originally laid out was only about six miles in a direct line from Washington's home in

sea.