which covered the low land towards the mouth of the river, and the
overlooking bluffs. They covered the low ground with warehouses, and the
bluffs with stores and residences. Hotels were erected and preparations
made for the building up of a city that should far eclipse the older
settlement on the east side of the river. The company excavated a short
ship canal from the Cuyahoga to the old river bed, at the east end, and
the waters being high, a steamboat passed into the lake, through a
natural channel at the west end.

When it was proposed to get a city charter for Cleveland, negotiations
were entered into between the leading men on both sides of the river with
the purpose of either consolidating the two villages into one city, or at
least acting in harmony. The parties could agree neither on terms of
consolidation nor on boundaries. The negotiations were broken off, and
each side started its deputation to Columbus to procure a city charter,
with the result we have already noticed.

Ohio City was ambitions to have a harbor of its own, entirely independent
of Cleveland and to the advantages of which that city could lay no claim.
The old river bed was to be deepened and the channel to the lake at the
west end re-opened. As a preliminary to this ignoring of the Cleveland
harbor entrance of the Cuyahoga, a canal was cut through the marsh, from
opposite the entrance to the Ohio canal to the old river bed, which was
thus to be made the terminus of the Ohio canal.

In 1837, city rivalry ran so high that it resulted in the "battle of the
bridge." Both sides claimed jurisdiction over the Columbus street bridge
built by Mr. Clark and donated for public use. Armed men turned out on
either side to take possession of the disputed structure. A field piece
was posted on the low ground on the Cleveland side, to rake the bridge.