traveled downriver by raft to Cincinnati, Ohio and then continued on foot to Dayton, Ohio. He lived only briefly in Dayton and continued further west, moving into the Indiana Territory and first living in Brookville. He carried with him a letter of introduction to territorial Judge Isaac Dunn, a friend of George MacDonald. The letter helped him to quickly establish himself among the small legal community in the territory. Brookville was the administrative center of the eastern half of the territory, but Blackford had little chance of making a substantial income as a lawyer there, so he sought work in the civil service. Blackford frequently moved from town to town in Indiana during his first years in the territory. He briefly traveled to Corydon in 1811 or 1812, but found no employment. He next moved to Vevay, Indiana where he took a job as cashier at a branch of the territorial Bank of Vincennes. By early 1813, he moved again to Salem where he was appointed by Governor William Henry Harrison to be clerk and recorder in the newly formed Washington County, a position he held only for a few months. The position proved disappointing to Blackford who reported that his chief responsibility was "to record marks on cattle which strayed at large in the absence of stock enclosures." Struggling to earn enough income to support himself, Blackford continued seeking more lucrative positions. In 1813, Blackford traveled to the territorial capital, Vincennes. where he was admitted to the bar with the help of his friend John Test; he was only the thirtieth lawyer admitted to the bar in the territory. In December of the same year he was elected principal clerk for the Indiana Territory House of Representatives, which was in session in Corydon. His election to the position was owed largely to the endorsement of Isaac Dunn, who was speaker of the body. He was reelected to the position again in August 1814. Living in Corydon, he also became a cashier again at the local branch Bank of Vincennes. He became aware of corruption at the bank which later folded in the Panic of 1819; numerous investors lost their money and scandalous abuses were revealed to the public. The experience influenced him to mistrust banks throughout his life, and led him to refuse to put any money in banks. Governor Thomas Posey reorganized the territorial courts in 1813 creating