"Some day there will be a regular road, Dave--when there are more
settlements to the westward. I look for the time when we shall have cities
out here, the same as along the seaboard."

"Won't never see that" said the frontiersman named Lukins.

"Why not?" risked James Morris.

"The Injuns won't allow it, that's why, Mr. Morris. They don't mind a
tradin'-post or two, whar they kin sell hides an' git rum an' sech things.
But they don't want no towns or cities. You won't never see a city on the
Ohio, nor in them Western countries at all."

"I believe the cities are bound to come," said Dave. "As more folks come
over from England, and Germany, and France, they'll be bound to spread out.
The Indians won't stop 'em."

"They will if they rise an' dig up the war hatchet," put in Jadwin, the
other frontiersman.

"If they dig up the hatchet too often they will be wiped out," said James
Morris. "They may fight all they please--in the end both the English and
the French will conquer them."

"How large do you think our country will get in time, father?" questioned
Dave.

"That is a hard question to answer, Dave. I think you may live to see
strong settlements on the Ohio, and your children may see towns on the
Mississippi. About the great Western countries I know nothing, nor does any