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PLAN 
FOR SETTLING TWO WESTERN COLONIES IN NORTH 
AMERICA, WITH REASONS FOR THE PLAN’ 
The great country back of the Appalachian Moun- 
tains, on both sides of the Ohio, and between that 
river and the Lakes, is now well known, both to the 
English and French, to be one of the finest in North 
America, for the extreme richness and fertility of the 
land, the healthy temperature of the air, and mild- 
ness of the climate; the plenty of hunting, fishing, 
and fowling; the facility of trade with the Indians, 
and the vast convenience of inland navigation or 
water-carriage by the Lakes and great rivers, many 
hundreds of leagues around. 
From these natural advantages it must undoubt- 
I Dr. Franklin was early possessed of the belief, that great ad- 
vantage would redound to the English colonies on the sea-board by 
settlements beyond the Alleghanies under governments distinctly 
organized. Such settlements would not only rapidly increase in popu- 
lation, thereby strengthening the power of the whole, but would serve 
as a barrier to the other colonies against the Indians and French, who, 
in time of war, made descents upon the frontiers, kept the people in 
alarm, and caused great expense in raising troops and supporting an 
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