Kinda makes you wonder what the settlers were thinking.

I imagine a meeting of the "westward-HO" society:

"Well, here's the situation: The natives all want to kill us. The woods are full of venomous creatures, and large carnivores with huge teeth and sharp claws. The fields are strewn with poisonous-yet-delicious looking plants, berries and mushrooms... when they aren't covered by a solid sheet of ice, as they are for 6 months out of the year. Three fourths of us have already frozen to death. The rest of us are slowly starving to death. What are our options?"

to which, somebody apparently replied:

"I know!! Let's build a city here!"