Yale University Library

390020043B4112

THE

It O M A. N^ C E

WESTEEN HISTOEY

Sketches of History., Life and Manners.

m THE WEST

JAMES HALL,
Author of "Legends of tht Wtst^^ " TaUs of the Border,''^ etc.

CHSrCINNATI:
ROBERT CLAEKE & CO.,
1869.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857,
By JAMES HALL,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of Ohio.

CONTENTS,

PAGE

CHAP. I. — First Explorers — Discovery of the Mississippi — >
French Missionaries — La Salle's Voyages — Settlements on
the Mississippi — Manners of the .French- Colonists — Kas
kaskia — Fort Chartres  23
CHAP. II.— Founding of St. Louis— History of that Colony-
Transfer to Spain — Attack by the Indians — Intercourse -with
New Orleans — A gallant exploit — Other French Settlements. 52
CHAP. III. — Settlements on the Ohio — Early movements in
Virginia — Vie-ws of Gov. Spots-svood— Settlement of Pitts
burgh — Travels of Carver — -Expedition of Dunmore  68
CHAP. IV.— -War of 1763— Peace of 1764— Settlements in ¦West
ern Virginia — Early land titles — Value of land — ^War of
1774 — Lewis's expedition — Dunmore's treaty — Heroism of
Cornstalk — Character of General Lewis  75
CHAP. V. — M'Intosh's Expedition — Fort Laurens — Moravian
towns — Destruction of theMoravians — Crawford's campaign. 88
CHAP. VI. — Adventures of. "William Linn — A model pioneer. . 98
CHAP. VII. — A frontier adventure — The first fight of a revolu
tionary hero  121
CHAP. VIII. — Manners of the early settlers in ¦Western Vir
ginia — Mode of eraigration — Habits of living — Hunting —
Weddings — Religion  i  126
CHAP. IX. — Early discoveries in Kentucky — Its occupation by
Indians — An anecdote of two of the pioneers — John Finley's
visit — Those of M'Bride, Dr. "Walker, Boone, and others. . . 142
CHAP. X. — Purchases from the Indians — Treaty of Fort Stan
wix — Treaty of Lochaber — Purchases by individuals — The
Transylvania Company  .•  153
CHAP. XI. — A proprietary government established — First meet
ing of a Convention of Delegates- — Their proceedings  171
CHAP. XII. — Organization of Counties — Foreign Intrigues —
Attempts to form a State Governmejit — Difference of Opinion
in reference to that Measure  188
(3)

IV CONTENTS.

Ties

CHAP. XIII. — The Spanish and French Conspiracies — Troubles
in relation to the Navigation of the Mississippi — The
patriotic forbearance of the Pioneers  197
CHAP. XIV.— Burr's Conspiracy  217
CHAP. XV. — Character of the Pioneers — Their Adventures —
Anecdote of Muldrow — Of Boone — Device of the Indians —
Romantic Adventure of two Females  226
CHAP. XVI.— Character of the Pioneers— Their Mode of Liv
ing — Introduction of Steamboats — Its effect on the Manners
of the People  237
CHAP. XVII.— Character of the Pioneers— The Scotch-Irish.. . 245
CHAP. XVIIL— Character of the Pioneers— Men of Education
among them — The Kentuckians an enthusiastic, poetic,
and eloquent people  253
CHAP. XIX.— Early Literature— Imlay's Kentucky  257
CHAP. XX.— Early Literature  266
CHAP. XXI. — Foreign Influence over the Indians  285
CHAP. XXII. — Clarke's Expedition against the French settle
raents — Capture of Kaskaskia — Capture of Vincennes —
Founding of Louisville — Anecdote of Kenton  294
CHAP. XXIII.— Bowman's Expedition— Clarke's in 1780—
Battle of Blue Licks — Harmar's Expedition — "Wilkinson's . . 306
CHAP. XXIV.— The "War Belt, a Legend of North Bend  316
CHAP. XXV. — Causes of the failure of several of the Expedi
tions in the North-western Territory — St. Clair's Campaign. 329
CHAP. XXVI. — Indian hating — Some of the sources of this
animosity — Brief account of Colonel Moredock  339
CHAP. XXVIL— Character of the Pioneers— Felons— The
Harpes — Meason — Sturdevant — Lynch's Law  '. . . 348
CHAP. XXVIII.— The Patriot's Grave  357
Appendix  367

PREFACE

It has not been the object of the writer to attempt a
regular history of the Western States, or any connected
description of the country or its institutions. The ma
terials for such a work are not in existence, in any
available form; no complete collection of political or
statistical facts, or scientific observations, has yet been
made, from which it could be compiled. Ignorant and
presumptuous travelers have published their own hasty
and inaccurate conclusions; and careless writers have
selected from these, such supposed facts as comported
with their own theories or notions of probability; and
we hesitate not to say, that the works which have pro
fessed to treat of the whole western region, have been
far from satisfactory.
Particular departments of this great subject have been
-jrell treated. A few of the early residents have published
their reminiscences, which are highly interesting and
valuable as evidences of the facts which occurred within
the observation of "the writers. It is to be regretted that
so little attention has been bestowed upon the collection
and preservation of these authentic narratives of early
adventure. (5)

b PREFACE.
The travels of Pike, Lewis and Clarke, and Long,
are replete with valuable facts, carefully collected, and
reported with scrupulous fidelity; and a mass of infor
mation may be found scattered through the reports of
officers employed by the General Grovernment in making
surveys, and constructing public works.
A few scientific gentlemen have written with ability
on subjects connected with the general history of this
region. Dr. Drake's admirable description of the valley
of the Miami, entitled "A Picture of Cincinnati," is
composed in the calm spirit of philosophical inquiry, and
is worthy of entire confidence. The contributions of
Colonel M'Kenney, Governor Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft, Mr.
Brackenridge, Mr. M'Clung, the writer of Tanner's Nar
rative, and a number of other intelligent individuals, are
replete with valuable and interesting matter. Marshall's
History of Kentucky, also, is replete with interesting
facts, from which we have extracted. In naming these
writers, however, we design no disrespect towards others
whose names are omitted, as our object is not to attempt
to give a complete list of authorities, but to suggest the
names of a few of the most prominent.
Of the compilations from these and other authorities,
the statistics embraced in Darby's "Views of the United
States," Tanner's " Guide to Emigrants," and the re
cently published work of Mr. Pitkin, are those which
may be most safely relied upon.
¦When the materials shall be accumulated — when the
loose facts and scattered reminiscences which are now

PREFACE. 7
floating along the stream of tradition — shall be gathered
together, then may such a work be prepared as will be
creditable to our country; and then will the pioneers,
the warriors, and the patriots of the West, take the
proud station which they deserve among the illustrious
founders of the American republic. In the meanwhile,
we can only aim at presenting to the public such frag
ments of history as may be rescued from oblivion by
individuals, and such observations as the few who are
curious in collecting the statistics of their own times,
may have been able to accumulate.
In the following volumes, therefore, nothing further is
attempted than a collection of facts, some of which are
the result of the writer's own observation, and all of
which are intended rather as examples and illustrations
of topics connected with the Western States, than as a
regular narrative of its history. They are not presented
in any connected series, nor with any embellishment of
style, but are placed before the reader under the most
unambitious form consistent with convenience of arrange
ment and propriety of expression. This is not said to
disarm criticism — an author has no right to interpose
himself between the critic and his duty, either to secure
his clemency or resent his decision — we intend simply
to explain to the reader the unpretending character of
the work, in order that its title may not awaken expec-
tions which it is not calculated to satisfy.
Nor is the matter contained in this volume presented
now to the reader for the first time. It has no claim to

O PREFACE.
originality, but is properly a compilation. During a
long residence in the West, the author has, from time
to time, employed his pen in the discussion of various
subjects relating to this region, and he has now done
little more than to collect together the fragments, which
were scattered through the pages of periodical and other
publications. It was due to himself thus to identify
and resume his property — the more especially as these
writings have been freely used by a number of compilers,
some of whom were not careful to acknowledge the
debt, while others have misunderstood or perverted the
author's meaning.
In addition to the papers thus re-published, there will,
however, be found some facts which are now laid before
the public for the first time, and some valuable docu
ments have been thrown into an appendix. The latter
are not specially referred to by marginal notes, as the
attentive reader will readily trace their connection with
the text.
In another series, now in preparation, a collection of
facts of more recent date will be laid before the public.

INTRODUCTION.

But few of the writers who have treated of the Western
country, rank above mediocrity; and little of all that has
been written on this subject is interesting or true. Books
we have had in abundance ; travels, gazetteers, and geogra
phies inundate the land; but few of them are distinguished
by literary merit or accurate information. Perhaps a
reason for this is to be found in the character of the
country. The subjects of interest, in a land which has
long been inhabited by a civilized people, are such as are
familiar to the student, and, in traveling through such a
region, he treads on classic ground with a knowledge of
all the localities. He knows the points of attraction,
and, having reached them, is learned in their history.
If in Italy, he hastens to Rome ; if in the Mediterranean,
to Naples, Vesuvius, and the ruins of Carthage ; if in
Greece, to Athens; if in Palestine, to the Holy Sepulcher.
Whether in Europe or in Asia, he finds, at every step,
some object to awaken classic recollections, ini expatiates
on a field already familiar to his imagination. In col
lecting information, he but fills an outline previously
sketched out in he seclusion of his closet ; and the de-
(9)

10 introduction.
sign itself is but a copy; for such narratives exhibit, in
general, the same pictures, colored by different hands —
each correcting the faults, and improving on the failures,
of the other. The accomplished writer, in short, who
treats of the countries to which we have alluded, must be
familiar with their history, their antiquities, their arts,
their literature, their every thing which has been open
to the observation of the hundreds and thousands who
have preceded him; and, if not altogether devoid of
genius, he can not fail to throw some new light upon
subjects, which, however hacknied, are always interesting,
and to which every day brings some change, as each year
gives moss to the rock and ivy to the ruin.
All this is different in the west. The traveller, who
launches his bark upon the silver wave of the Ohio,
leaves behind him every object which has been conse
crated by the pen of genius. He beholds the beauties of
nature in rich luxuriance, but he sees no work of art
which has existed beyond the memory of man, except a
few faint and shapeless traces of a former race, whose
name and character are beyond the reach even of con
jecture. Every creation of human skill which he beholds
is the work of his cotemporaries. All is new. The
fertile soil abounds in vegetation. The forest is bright,
and rich, and luxuriant, as it came from the hands of the
Creator. The hundred rivers, that bear the treasures of
western industry to the ocean, present grand and im
posing spectacles to the eye, while they fill the mind with
visions of the future wealth and greatness of the lands

introduction. 11
through which they roll. But they are nameless to the
poet and historian ; neither song nor chivalry has conse
crated their shores.
The inhabitants are all emigrants from other countries ;
they have no ruins, no traditions, nothing romantic or
incredible, with which to regale the traveler's ear. They
can tell of their own weary pilgrimage from the land of
their fathers; of exploits performed with the rifle and
the axe; of solitary days and fearful nights spent in the
¦wilderness; of sorrows, and sickness, and privation, when
none was near to help them; and of competence and
comfort, gained by years of toil and suffering; but they
have no traditions that run back to an illustrious an
tiquity. Scenes and objects of interest occur at every step, but
they are of a character entirely new. All that the
traveler tells must be learned upon the spot. The sub
jects are such as appeal to the judgment, and require
the deliberate exercise of a cool and discriminating mind.
The author has not now to examine the conflicting or
conforming opinions of others, but to form a decision for
himself upon matters which have not previously been
investigated. He must describe a new country, with its
various features and productions; a new people, with
novel laws, habits, and institutions. He is not now in
Italy or France, surrounded by the illustrious dead, and
scarcely less illustrious living, where the canvas glows,
and the marble speaks, where every grove shadows the
tomb of a martyr, a hero, or a poet; and where every

12 introduction.
scene awakens a familiar image or a poetic thought. A
vast but silent scene surrounds him. No object speaks
to his classic recollections. The face of the country, its
climate, productions, and industry, must be described,
and, to do this, he must dwell long and examine patiently.
Books he will find, it is true, but they are the hasty
productions of careless writers, whose opinions are often
wrong, and whose observations are confined to a few sub
jects of minor interest.
To acquire an adequate knowledge of such a country,
requires extensive personal observation. It is necessary
to examine things instead of books, to travel over this
wide region, to become acquainted with the people, to
learn their history from tradition, and to become informed
as to their manners and modes of thinking, by associ
ating with them in the familiar intercourse of business
and domestic life. There is no other mode of collecting
facts in relation to a country whose history has never
been written, and with regard to which no accurate printed
statistics, embracing the whole region, are in existence.
Yet the country affords ample materials. In the his
torical department a wide and various field is opened.
The history of the western country has never been barren
of incident. The valley of the Mississippi has been the
theater of hardy exploit and curious adventure, through
out the whole period of our national existence, and its
fertile plains present at this time a wide field of specula
tion. To whatever point in the annals of this immense
region we turn, we find them fraught with strange, and

introduction. 13
novel, and instructive matter. If we trace tne solitary
path of the fearless Boone; if we pursue the steps of
Shelby, of Clarke, of Logan, and of Scott, we find them
beset with dangers so terrible, adventures so wild, and
achievements so wonderful, as to startle credulity, and we
encounter tastes, and habits, and sentiments, peculiar to
our own frontier. In the disastrous campaigns of Harmar
and St. Clair, and the brilliant successes of Clarke and
Wayne, there is a sufliciency of those vicissitudes which
enliven the narratives of military daring, while a host
of lesser worthies present respectable claims to our ap
plause. "Grim visaged war" has so recently "smoothed
his wrinkled front," in this vast territory, that thousands
of living witnesses remain to show their scars and attest
its dangers. The time is within memory, when every
dwelling was a fortress, when to fight "pro aris et focis"
— for our hearths and altars — was not merely the poet's
figure, but the literal and constant business of a whole
people, when every father defended his own threshold,
and even mothers imbrued their hands in blood, to pro
tect their offspring.
Few of these events "will be recorded, with their inter
esting details and attendant circumstances, on the dignified
page of national history. The greater part of them formed
no part of any national war, either for independence or
for conquest; they neither accelerated nor retarded our
march to national greatness ; they brought no blot, and
added but little fame, to the federal escutcheon. They
are preserved chiefiy in tradition, and -will form a rich

14 introduction.
vein of romantic adventure for the future novelist and
poet. But, although the historian of our common republic
may not record them at large, they should find an honor
able place in the annals of the respective States. They
belong to them and to their history.
The shores of the Mississippi, and its tributary streams,
present to the world a singular and most enchanting pic
ture — one which future ages will contemplate with wonder
and delight. The celerity with which the soil has been
peopled, and the harmony which has prevailed in the
erection of the governments, have no parallel in history,
and seem to be the effect of magic, rather than of human
agency. Europe was at one time overrun by numerous
hordes, who, rushing like a torrent from the north, in
search of a more genial climate, captured or expelled the
effeminate inhabitants of the south, and planted colonies
in its richest provinces ; but these were savages, who con
quered with the sword, and ruled with the rod of iron.
The " arm of flesh " was visible in all their operations.
Their colonies, like ours, were formed by emigration ; the
soil was peopled with an exotic population ; but here the
parallel ends. The country, gained by violence, was held
by force; the blood-stained soil produced nothing but
"man and steel, the soldier and his sword."
What a contrast does our happy country present to
scenes like these? It remained for us to exhibit to the
world the novel spectacle of a people coming from va
rious nations, and differing in language, politics, and re
ligion, sitting down quietly together, erecting States,

introduction. 15
forming constitutions, and enacting laws, without blood
shed or dissension. Never was there an experiment of
greater moral beauty, or more harmonious operation.
Within a few years past, there has been much curi
osity awakened in the minds of the American people, in
relation to the recent history and present state of their
country. The struggle for independence, so brilliant
in its achievements, so important in its results, so gra
tifying to national pride in all its details, long absorbed
the sympathies and occupied the thoughts of our coun
trymen. From that period they drew their brightest
recollections; to that period they referred for all their
examples of national virtue. There was a classic purity
and heroism in the achievements of our gallant ances
tors, which hallowed their deeds ; but there were also
substantial comforts and privileges secured to us by these
disinterested patriots, which called forth all our gratitude,
and in some measure blunted our perceptions of more
recent and cotemporary events. With the recollections
of Bunker's Hill and Brandywine before him, what
American exulted in the trophies of an Indian war?
What political transaction could awaken the admiration
of those who had witnessed the fearful energies which
gave existence to a nation? What hero or statesman
could hope to win the applause of a people whose hearts
dwelt with reverence upon the exalted standards of civil
and military greatness exhibited in the founders of the
American republic? Those luminaries, while they shed
an unfading luster on their country, cast a shadow over

16 introduction.
succeeding events and rising men; but their mantles
silently fell upon the shoulders of their successors, who,
with unpretending assiduity, pursued the course which was
to consummate the glory of the nation.
The excitement caused by those splendid national
events has passed away, and they are now contemplated
with calmness, though still with admiration. Other inci
dents have occurred in our history, sufficiently striking to
attract attention. Of these the settlement and growth of
the country lying west of the Alleghany mountains, are
among the most important, and those which, perhaps, are
destined to affect, more materially than any other, the
national character, institutions, and prosperity.
But a few years have elapsed since the fertile regions
watered by the beautiful Ohio began to allure the foot
steps of our countrymen across the Allegheny mountains.
Covered with boundless forests, and protected by Alpine
barriers, terrific to the eye, and almost inaccessible to
the most adventurous foot, this lovely country remained
not only uninhabited, but wholly unexplored, until
Boone and his associates resolved to subdue and people
it. The dangers and inquietude of a border life pre
sented no obstacles to the adventurous spirit of the first
settlers ; nor were such hardships altogether new to
those who thus voluntarily sought them. They were
generally men inured to danger, or whose immediate pre
decessors had been, what they themselves now became,
warriors and hunters.
The revolutionary war, which had just terminated

introduction. 17
¦with infinite glory to the American arms, had infused a
military spirit into the whole nation, besides affording
to all whose bosoms glowed with the love of liberty, or
swelled with the aspirations of ambition, opportunities
of acting a part, however trivial, in the bloody but in
teresting drama. With the return of peace, when our
citizens resumed their domestic avocations, cheerfully
abandoning the arms they had reluctantly assumed, the
inhabitants of the western frontiers alone formed an
exception to the general tranquillity. Here the toma
hawk was still bathed in gore: the husbandman reaped
his harvest in the garb of the soldier, and often forsook
his plough to mingle in the tumult of the battle, or
enjoy the dangerous vicissitudes of the chase.
Of these hardy woodsmen, or their immediate descend
ants, was composed that gallant band of pioneers who
flrst peopled the shores of the Ohio — men whose infant
slumbers had been lulled by the midnight howl of the
panther, and to whose ears the war-whoop of the Indian
was as familiar as the baying of the faithful watch-dog.
To such men, home was no indissoluble tie, if that word
be employed in its usual sense, as referring to local
attachments, or implying any of those associations by
which the heart is bound to a spot endeared by fond
recollections. The dwelling-place of the woodsman is a
frail cabin, erected for temporary shelter, and abandoned
upon the lightest cause. His home is in the bosom of
his family, who follow his erratic footsteps, as careless of
danger, and as patient under privation, as himself.
2

18 introduction.
With these men were mingled a few others, whose
character ranked higher in the scale of civilization, and
who gave a tone to the manners of the new settlements,
while they furnished the people with leaders in their
military, as well as their civil affairs. Several revolu
tionary officers of gallant name; many promising young
men, seeking, with the eagerness of youthful ambition,
for scenes of enterprise more active than the quiet pros
perity of their own homes afforded; and substantial
farmers, from the vicinity of the frontiers, who to the
hardihood and experience of the woodsman, added the
industry and thrift of rural pursuits — such were the
men who laid low the forest, expelled the ferocious
Indian and the prowling beast of prey, and possessed
themselves of a country of vast extent and boundless
fertility. They came in a manner peculiar to themselves, like
men fond of danger, and fearless of consequences. In
stead of settling in the vicinity of each other, insuring to
themselves society and protection by presenting the front
of a solid phalanx to the foe, they dispersed themselves
over the whole land in small companies, selecting the
most fertile spots, without reference to the locality of
others. The tide of emigration, as it is often called,
eame not like the swelling billows of the ocean, over
whelming all the land with one vast torrent, but like
the gradual overflowing of a great river, whose waters at
first escape the general mass in small streams, which,
breaking over the banks, glide through the neighboring

introduction. 19
country by numberless little channels, and forming di
minutive pools, swell and unite, until the whole surface
is inundated. So came the pioneers. Depending more
upon their valor than their numbers, these little commu
nities maintained themselves in the wilderness, where the
Indian still claimed dominion, and the wolf lurked in
every thicket. Between the settlements were extensive
tracts, as desert, as blooming, and as wild, as hunter could
wish, or poet could imagine.
So long as the frontier was subject to the hostile irrup
tions of the Indians, the first care of every little colony
was to provide for its defense. This was, in general,
effected by the erection of a rude fortress, constructed of
such materials as the forest afforded, and in whose design
no art was displayed, beyond that which the native inge
nuity of the forester supplied. A block -house was built
of logs, surrounded by a palisade, or picket-work, com
posed of long stakes driven into the ground, forming an
inclosure sufficiently large to contain the people of the
settlement, and affording a sufficient protection against
the sudden irruptions of savage warfare. This was a
temporary refuge for all, in time of danger; but it was
also the permanent residence of a single family, usually
that of the man whose superior skill, courage, or opu
lence, ' constituted him for the time being a sort of
chieftain in this little tribe. For, as in all societies
there are master spirits, who acquire an influence over
their fellow men, there was always in a frontier settle
ment some individual who led the rest to battle, and

20 introduction.
who, by his address or wisdom in other matters, came
into quiet possession of many of the duties and powers
of a civil magistrate. There remain traditions of able
stratagem and daring self-devotion on the part of such
men, which may be proudly compared with the best ex
ploits of Rome or Greece. When one of these primitive
fortifications formed the rallying point of a numerous
population, or was placed at an important point, it was
called a "fort;'' but in other cases they were known by
the less dignified title of "station." Of the latter, there
were many which afforded protection only to single
families, who had boldly disconnected themselves from
society, either for the purpose of acquiring possession,
by occupancy, of choice tracts of land, or to gain a
scanty emolument by supplying the wants of the chance
travelers who occasionally penetrated into these wilds,
and who accomplished their journeys to the most distant
settlements, as a general penetrates to the capital of an
enemy, by advancing from post to post.
Such was the general character of the first settlers who
followed the adventurous footsteps of Boone; and whose
exploits were not confined to the forests of Kentucky.
From the shores of the Ohio the hardy pioneers moved
forward to those of the Wabash, and from the Wabash to
the Mississippi, subduing the whole country, and pre
serving in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri, the same bold out
lines of character which they first exhibited in Kentucky.
If we trace the history of this country still further back
into the remote periods of its discovery and earliest occu-

introduction. 21
pation of European adventurers, a fund of interesting
though somewhat unconnected information is presented.
We are favorably impressed with its features and charac
ter, by the manner in which the first travelers invariably
speak of its fertility and beauty. The Spaniards, who dis
covered the southern coast, called it Florida, or the land
of fiowers ; the French, who first navigated the Ohio,
named it the Beautiful river, and La Salle, when he be
held the shores of the Illinois, pronounced them a ter
restrial paradise. The imaginations of those adventurous
spirits warmed into a poetic fire as they roamed over the
extensive plains of the West, reposed in its delightful
groves, or glided with hourly increasing wonder along
those liquid highways which have since become the chan
nels of commerce as mighty in its extent as it has been
rapid in its growth.
The French were the first allies and earliest friends of
our nation; and of all the emigrants from foreign coun
tries, they most cheerfully submit to our laws, and most
readily adopt our manners and language. They engraft
themselves on our stock, and take a deep root in our
affections. It is more than a century since a colony of
that nation settled at Kaskaskia, a thousand miles from the
ocean, a thousand miles from any community of civilized
men. Here they fiourished for many years, increasing
in wealth and population, cultivating the most amicable
relations with the Indian tribes, and enjoying a more than
ordinary portion of health, prosperity, and peace. They
were not a literary race, and have left few records behind

22 introduction.
them, but many valuable traditions, fraught with curious
matter, are yet extant, which ought to be preserved.
The Indians still linger on our borders, and sometimes
pass through the settled parts of our country, the squalid
and miserable remains of a once warlike population. Can
it be that they have not degenerated? Is it possible that
these wretched beings exhibit fair specimens of savage
men ? If they have indeed fallen from a better estate, it
should be our task to rescue from oblivion the memory
of their former virtues. Our immediate predecessors saw
them in their untamed state, in the vigor of their power,
and the pride of their independence. Many of these have
left behind them testimonials of what they saw, and a few,
who properly belong to a departed generation, yet linger
on the confines of existence, as if destined to instruct
the present generation by their knowledge of the past.
Passing down to periods still more remote, a boundless
field of inquiry is presented to our attention. The inex
haustible fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate,
and the various and amazing resources of our country,
evince its capacity to support a dense population. Such
a country was not made in vain, nor can it be believed
that it was intended by a wise Creator as the residence of
savages and beasts of prey. That it once sustained a
numerous population, may be inferred from indications
which admit of little doubt ; that the character of that
population was superior to that of the present race of
Indians, has been suspected, upon evidence, which, if not
conclusive, is worthy of great consideration.

KOMANCB OF WESTERN HISTOEY.

CHAPTEE I.

First Explorers — Discovery of the Mississippi — French Mission
aries — La Salle's Voyages — Settlements on the Mississippi —
Manners of the French Colonists — ^Kaskaskia — Fort Chartres.
The French,* who first explored the beautiful shores
of the Mississippi, and its tributary streams, believed they
had found a terrestrial paradise. Delighted with this
extensive and fertile region, they roamed far and wide
over its boundless prairies, and pushed their little barks
into every navigable stream. Their inoffensive manners
procured them every-where a favorable reception ; their
cheerfulness and suavity conciliated even the savage war
rior, whose suspicious nature saw no cause of alarm in
the visits of these gay strangers. Divided into small par
ties, having each a separate object, they pursued their
several designs without concert, and with little collision.
One soughtjwealth, and another fame; one came to dis
cover a country, another^ttTcollect rare~ahd~non^escript
specimens of natural curiosities; one traveled to see man
* I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations for the greater
part of the interesting facts contained in this chapter, to a series
of articles written for the Illinois Monthly Magazine, by my friend
"Wilson Primm, Esq., of St. Louis, to whose able pen that city and
the public are indebted for many valuable contributions to the his
tory of the early settlements on the Upper Mississippi. (23)

24 FIRST EXPLORERS.
in a state of nature ; another brought the gospel to the
heathen; while many roved carelessly among these inter-
"esting scenes, indulging their curiosity and their love of
adventure, and seeking no higher gratification than that
which^lhe novelty and excitement of the present moment
afforded. With the greater number, however, and pro
bably with all who planned and sustained these enter
prises, the grand object of pursuit was the precious
metals, with which they hoped to be enriched, as the
Spaniards had been in their discoveries.
The adventurers of no other nation have ever pene
trated so far, or so fearlessly, into the interior of a newly
discovered country. The fathers of New England were
circumscribed to narrow boundaries, on the sterile shores
of the Atlantic : the first settlers of Virginia were equally
unfortunate. The gallant Ealeigh barely effected a land
ing for his colony, on the shores of North Carolina; even
the indefatigable William Penn, several years after the
settlement of Pennsylvania, speaks of the Delaware as a
"glorious river,'' but is wholly unacquainted with its ex
tent and character. _ The unsuccessful attempts of British
travelers, stimulated by the highest rewards of ambition
and avarice, to penetrate the continent of Africa, are well
known. The Spaniards traversed the plains of South
America, only by force of arms.
We read, therefore, with a surprise bordering on in
credulity, of the adventurous voyages of the French.
Small parties, and even single individuals, explored the
shores of the St. Lawrence and its mighty chain of tribu
tary lakes, inhabited by the most savage of the Indian
tribes. While the whole American continent was yet a
wilderness, and it was an unsettled point among Christian
nations to whom the honor of its conquest should belong,
the French priests ascended the Mississippi, from its

FIRST EXPLORERS. 25
mouth to the Falls of St. Anthony, a distance of three
thousand miles, and explored the Arkansas, the Ohio, the
Wabash, the Illinois, the Wisconsin, and other large
tributaries. Not only did they pass with impunity, but
were received with hospitality, and entertained with marks
of distinguished respect ; the fat hump of the buffalo was
dressed for them : and troops of beautiful Indian girls
stood around them, waving the golden plumes of the
paroquet over their heads, to keep the uncivilised mus-
quitoes from biting them as they slept.
It is difficult, at this day, to determine to -whom should
be awarded the honor of having discovered this beautiful
section of our country. That the materials for an accu
rate history of its first exploration and settlement, are in
existence, we are well aware ; and there is reason to be
lieve, that, in addition to what is already known, there
is a vast deal of documentary evidence remaining un
published, or inaccessible to the English reader. The
missionaries, who were always men of some literary ac
quirements, and often possessed considerable learning,
accompanied the first French explorers. So far as their
characters can now be ascertained, they seem to have
been amiable and zealous men, earnestly bent on spread
ing the doctrines of the cross. Unlike the Spanish priests,
who were avaricious, blood-thirsty, and always foremost
in subjugating or destroying the Indians, we find them
invariably conciliating the natives, and endeavoring to
allure them to the arts of peace. The only departure
from this policy, on their part, is found in the practice,
which they doubtless sanctioned, and which was pursued
by both French and English, of arming the savages in
the colonial wars.
The French missionaries, therefore, wrote with less
prejudice than most of the early adventurers to Ame-
3

26 FRENCH MISSIONARIES.
rica; and their accounts of the country are the result of
accurate personal observation. They had fewer insults
to resent than others; and their statements are more
candid, because, in general, they were intended only for
the perusal of their superiors. True, their writings are
imbued witli exaggerations. Ardent in their tempera
ment, and deeply tinctured with the superstitions which
at that time pervaded Christendom, they hastily adopted
the marvelous tales of the natives, and have transmitted
some curious fictions to posterity. But all history is
liable to the same objection ; and the writings of the
persons to whom we allude, being now the only records
of the early settlement of our country, are as valuable
as they are interesting. Some of them have been pub
lished, but, doubtless, there yet remain in the public
depositories of France, and in the monastic institutions
of that country, a mass of reports and letters, in manu
script, which might shed additional light on this portion
of our national history. For the present, we must con
tent ourselves with the few but precious morsels of this
ancient lore, which have been rescued from oblivion.
But we hope that the day is not far distant when those
who rule our nation, instead of spending month after
month, and million after million, in the discussion of
worse than useless questions, tending only to the gratifi
cation of personal ambition, will consult the true honor
of the country, by expending a portion of its treasure'
in the development of its history and moral resources.
Whenever that time shall arrive, we hope to see an effort
made for the recovery of these invaluable memorials of
a past age. There is one distinguished individual in
the national cabinet,* whose pen has been successfully
* Lewis Cass was then Secretary of "War.

FIRST EXPLORERS. 27
employed on these subjects, to whose researches into
Indian and French colonial history, the national litera
ture is largely indebted, and from whose influence, should
it be equal to his zeal and merits, we may expect much.
We shall not trace the adventurous footsteps of Jacques
Cartier, the first European explorer of Lower Canada, who
ascended the St. Lawrence to the island of Montreal, in the
year 1535, more than three centuries ago. Nor shall we
attempt to follow the heroic Champlain, who planted and
sustained, on the shores of the St. Lawrence, the infant
colony which was destined to people that extensive region.
But a few years elapsed after the French had gained a
foothold upon the continent, before we find them push
ing their discoveries toward the most remote tributaries
of the St. Lawrence. The Indian birch canoe, which
they adopted, and in the management of which they soon
acquired unrivaled skill, afforded remarkable facilities
for these long and painful journeys; for these little ves
sels combine so remarkably the properties of strength
and lightness, that while they are capable of transport
ing heavy burthens, and of making long and dangerous
voyages, they can, when unladen, be carried with ease
upon the shoulders of men. They are propelled by oars,
through the water, with astonishing swiftness, and when
the stream is impeded by any impassable obstacle, they
are unloaded, carried over land to the nearest navigable
point, and again launched in their element.
The principal trade of Canada was carried on in these
frail boats for two centuries; and it is interesting to ob
serve, in an invention so simple, and so apparently in
significant, an illustration of the important aid which
may be afforded by the mechanical arts, to political and
moral power. The birch canoe was to the French, not
only what the steamboat is to us, enabling them to navi-

28 FRENCH MISSIONARIES.
gate the lakes and rivers of Canada, and to ascend the
Mississippi and all its tributaries, but it also afforded the
means of surmounting the most dangerous rapids; of
passing from river to river ; of penetrating into the bosom
of trackless forests, and of striking into the recesses of
inhospitable mountains. It was this simple boat which
afforded to the French the means of traversing this vast
region, securing its trade, cultivating the friendship of
its inhabitants, and gaining a power, which, if ably
wielded, must have permanently subjected the whole of
this country to their language, their customs, their re
ligion, and, perhaps, to their dominion.
In the year 1632, seven years only after Quebec was
founded, the missionaries had penetrated as far west as
Lake Huron. The Wyandots and Iroquois were at that
time engaged in an exterminating war, and the priests,
following their converts through good and evil fortune,
tenaciously adhering to the altars which they had reared
by perilous exertion in the wilderness, shared all the
privations and dangers which usually attend these border
feuds. In their intercourse with the Indians on the shores of
the northern lakes, the French became informed of the
existence of a river flowing to the south, and desired to
ascertain its character. Father Marquette, a priest, and
Joliet, an inhabitant of Quebec, were employed to prose
cute this discovery; and having ascended Fox river,
crossed the portage, and descended the Ouisconsin, en
tered the Mississippi on the 17th of June, 1673. They
pursued the meanders of the river to its confluence with
the Arkansas, and on their return, ascended the Illinois,
and re-entered Lake Michigan near the present site of
Chicago. La Salle, a man of talent, courage, and experience.

LA SALLE'S VOYAGES. 29
determined to complete, if possible, a discovery so im
portant to the interests of the French Government, and
embarked in the prosecution of this undertaking in 1679.
He built the first vessel, larger than a canoe, that ever
navigated these lakes. It waa launched at Erie, and
called the Griffin.
"He reached Miehilimackinac, where he left his vessel,
and coasted Lake Michigan in canoes, to the mouth of
the St. Joseph. The Griffin was dispatched to Green
Bay for a cargo of furs, but she was never more heard
of after leaving that place. Whether she was wrecked,
or captured and destroyed by the Indians, no one knew
at that day, and none can now tell. La Salle prosecuted
his design with great vigor, amid the most discouraging
circumstances. By the abilities he displayed; by the
successful result of his undertaking; and by the melan
choly catastrophe which terminated his own career, he is
well worthy a place among that band of intrepid adven
turers, who, commencing with Columbus, and terminating
with Parry and Franklin, have devoted themselves, with
noble ardor, to the extension of geographical knowledge,
and have laid open the recesses of this continent." —
Cass's Address.
We have met with an old volume, containing an account
of La Salle's second voyage into North America, in 1683,
written in French, " by Monsieur Joutel, a commander
in that expedition." They landed at the mouth of the
Mississippi, and ascended that river. Of the Wabash, he
says : " We came to the mouth of a river called the Hou-
abache, said to come from the country of the Iroquois,
towards New England." * * * * "A fine river; its
water remarkably clear, and current gentle." The ex
pression, " towards New England," shows how inadequate
an idea they had of the extent of our country.

30 LA SALLE'S VOYAGES.
On reaching the Illinois, he remarks, " We found a
great alteration iu that river, as well with respect to its
current, which is very gentle, as to the country about it,
which is more agreeable and beautiful than that about
the great river, by reason of the many fine woods, and
variety of fruits, its banks are adorned with. It was a
very great relief to us, to find so much ease in going up
that river, by reason of its gentle stream, so that we all
stayed in the canoe, and made much more way."
Meeting with some of the natives, he remarks, "We
asked them. What nation they were of? They answered,
they were Islvwis, of a canton called Cascasquia." This
account settles the question some times propounded, as
to the origin of the name of this country, which some
have -supposed to be of French origin, and to be derived
from the words Isle aux noix, but which is undoubtedly
aboriginal, although the orthography may be Gallic. The
tribe alluded to were called the lllini.
Another passage shows, that the Indians of those days
were very similar to their descendants ; and that, how
ever the savage character may have become deteriorated
in some respects, by intercourse with the whites, it is
essentially the same under all circumstances. " They are
subject," says our author, " to the general vice of all
• other Indians, which is, to boast very much of their war
like exploits, and that is the main subject of their dis
course, and they are very great liars."
The map attached to this book, is quite a curiosity — it
is so crude, and so admirable a specimen of the rude state
of the arts at the time when it was made. It is such as
an Indian would trace in the sand with his finger, or the
biggest boy in a school would draw on the black-board.
Shortly after the country had been thus explored, it
was settled by colonies from Lower Canada, who founded

SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 31
the villages of Kaskaskia. Cahokia, and Peoria. The exact
date of this emigration is not known,-but it was probably
between the years 1680 and 1690.
In 1712, Louis XIV., by letters patent, granted to
Anthony Crozat, counsellor of state, &c., and his heirs, in
perpetuity, all the mines within the tract of country then
called Louisiana, and described in these words: "Bounded
by New Mexico on the west, and by lands of the English
of Carolina on the east, including all the establishments,
ports, havens, rivers, and principally the port and haven
of the isles of Dauphin, heretofore called Massacre ; the
river St. Louis, heretofore called Mississippi, from the
edge of the sea as far as the Illinois, together with the
river St. Philip, heretofore called Ouabache ; with all the
countries, territories, lakes within land, and rivers which
fall directly or indirectly into that part of the river of
St. Louis. This included all the territory now comprised
in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois,
Missouri, and Arkansas. The exclusive privilege of com
merce was granted to him in the same district, for fifteen
years. In 1717, M. Crozat relinquished his grant ; and in the
same year, letters patent were granted to an association
of individuals at Paris, under the style of the " Company
of the West ;" by which they were invested with the same
privileges which had been enjoyed by Crozat, together
with others, far more extensive. The territory waa granted
to them in allodium (en franc all'ieu) in lordship and in
justice, the crown reserving no other right than those of
fealty and homage.
In 1718, the Company of the West formed an esta
blishment in Illinois, at Fort Chartres ; and this part of
the country being reported as remarkably fertile, received
a great accession of population.

32 SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
In 1719, Philip Francis Eenault, who is styled Director
General of the Mine& of the Royal India Company in Illi
nois, left France with two hundred artificers, and some
time in the following year, reached Kaskaskia. He esta
blished himself near Fort Chartres, at a place called by
him St. Philippe, and since called Little Village. Eenault
was disappointed in his expectations of finding gold and
silver, but is supposed to have made great quantities of
lead, and to have discovered a copper mine near Peoria.
His operations were checked by an edict of the king,
made in May, 1719, by which the Company of the West
was united to the East India and Chinese Company,
under the title of " La Gampagnie Royale des Indes."
Finally, in 1731, the whole territory was re-conveyed to
the crown of France, the objects of the company having
totally failed.
Fr-om the great number of grants of land made during
the existence of these companies, it appears that Illinois,
even at that time, had attracted considerable attention.
In making these grants, the officers of the company
united with those of the crown. We have examined some
of these concessions, dated in 1722, which are made by
" Pierre Duquet de Boisbriant, first lieutenant of the king
in the Province of Louisiana, and commandant for the
Illinois ; and Marc Antonie de la Loir des Versins, prin
cipal commissary for the Eoyal Company of the Indies,
at their factory in the Illinois."
In 1723, a grant was made to Philip Eenault, includ
ing the site of St. Philippe, of " one league in front by
two in depth, at Grand Marias, on the Mississippi river.
This stream is now called Mary, and by one of our geo
graphers, St. Mary.
August 14, 1743, Monsieur Vaudriauel, governor, and
Monsieur Salmon, commissary ordonnateur of the prov-

FRENCH SETTLERS. 33
ince of Louisiana, granted to the inhabitants of Kas
kaskia, a tract of land as a common, for the use of said
inhabitants for ever, which was bounded north by the
southern limit of said village, east by the Kaskaskia
river, south and west by the Mississippi, and the limits
of the "common field." The common field is a tract
composed of various grants in severalty, made to indi
vidual inhabitants in franc allieu (fee simple), and which,
from the first, has been inclosed in one common fence,
and subjected to certain regulations. We see here a
custom peculiar to the French. There was attached to
almost every village a common belonging to the village
in its municipal character, which was left uninclosed for
pasturage and other purposes. No portion of this could
be alienated or converted into private property, but by
the unanimous act of the villagers. When a young
couple married, or a person settled in the village, who
was too indigent to purchase land, they sometimes made
to such parties donations of a few acres of the common,
by deed, signed by all the inhabitants; and the lot thus
severed, became private property, and might be added, if
conveniently situated, to the common field. The latter
was owned in parcels by individuals, who held a larger
or smaller number of acres, in separate lots, each tilling
his own land, although the whole was surrounded by a
single fence, and the several parts were not divided by
inclosures. Previous to the year 1748, Spain, France, and Eng
land, claimed the greater part of North America, by
right of conquest, or of discoveries made under their
patronage, respectively. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle,
fiiade in that year, contained a provision for the restitu
tion of the territories which each had wrested from the
other, but was wholly silent as to boundaries. France,

o4 FRENCH COLONIAL POLICY.
however, owned Canada on the north, and Lower Lou
isiana on the south, besides claiming the intermediate dis
coveries of La Salle and others, on the upper lakes, the
Mississippi, and the Illinois.
The French government, at a very early period, adopted
the policy of uniting their possessions in Canada with
those in Louisiana, by a chain of posts, which, extending
along the whole course of the northern lakes, and the
Mississippi, should open a line of interior communica
tion from Quebec to New Orleans, and which would
secure to them the expansive territory of the west, by
confining their English neighbors to the country east of
the Alleghany ridge. It happened, however, with the
French as with the English, that all their calculations in
reference to their American colonies, were formed upon
a scale too small, as well in regard to the objects to be
secured, as in relation to the extent of the means to
be employed. The minds of their statesmen seem to
have never embraced the whole vast field upon which
their policy was to operate. They appear to have had
but feeble conceptions of the great extent of the
country, and to have been entirely ignorant of the
amount and character of the means necessary for its
subjection. Their schemes wanted unity of design, and the ill-
assorted parts seldom harmonized together. Thus, al
though the French established military posts, and planted
colonies throughout the whole of this region, they were
so distant from each other, and so unconnected, as to
afford no mutual support, nor could they ever be brought
to act efficiently together, as component parts of any
colonial or military system. The plan, or want of plan,
was happily conceived for our benefit; and was disadvan
tageous only to those whose want of wisdom, and of

FRENCH COLONISTS. 35
¦vigor, deprived them of territory at an earlier period
than that at which they would otherwise have lost it.
It is curious to reflect upon the situation of these
colonists. Their nearest civilized neighbors were the
English on the shores of the Atlantic, distant a thou
sand miles, from whom they were separated by a barrier
then insurmountable, and with whom they had no more
intercourse than with the Chinese. Their countrymen,
it is true, had posts throughout the west, but they were
too distant for frequent intercourse, and they were peo
pled by those, who, like themselves, were disconnected
from all the rest of the world. But the French brought
with them, or found in their vicinity, certain elements
of prosperity, which enabled them to flourish in spite of
the disadvantages of their unprotected situation. They
were unambitious and contented. It was always their
policy to conciliate the natives, whom they invariably
treated with a kindness and consideration never shown
to that unhappy race by other Europeans, and with whom
they preserved a faith unbroken upon either side.
In a few years, Kaskaskia grew into a town, whose
population has been variously estimated at from 1,000 to
8,000 inhabitants; the latter number is doubtless an
exaggeration, but either of them indicates a wonderful
population for a place having little commerce, no arts,
and no surrounding territory. They lived chiefly by
agriculture, hunting, and trading with the Indians.
They possessed a country prolific in all the bounties of
nature. The wild fruits were abundant. The grape, the
plum, the persimmon, and the cherry, attain here a size
unknown in less favored regions. The delicate pecan,
the hickory nut, the walnut, and the hazle, strew the
ground during the autumn, excelling the corresponding
productions of the Atlantic States, as much in size and

36 MANNERS OF THE COLONISTS.
flavor as in quantity. Of domestic fruits, the peach, the
apple, and the pear, attain great perfection. Here the
maple yields its sugar, and the cotton its fibre, the sweet
potatoe and Indian corn yield abundantly, while wheat,
and many other of the productions of colder countries,
come to perfection. Around them were spread those
magnificent natural meadows that mock, in their extent
and luxuriance, the highest efforts of human labor. The
deer, the buffalo, and the elk, furnished in those days
bountiful supplies; the rivers abounded with fish; while
the furry and the feathered tribes afforded articles for
comfort and for trade. Surrounded thus by good things,
what more could a Frenchman have desired, unless it
were a violin and a glass of claret? The former, we are
told they had, and we have good authority for saying,
that they drank pretty good wine from their own grapes.
Of their civil, military, and religious institutions, we
have little on record, but enough may be gathered to show
that, though simple and efficient, they were entirely ano
malous. The priests seem to have been prudent men.
At a time when religious intolerance was sufficiently fash
ionable, we hear of no trouble among our French. The
good men who regulated their consciences seem, to have
prized "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit," so
highly as to be content to pursue their own vocation in
peace with all the world. The military sway, which was
paramount, seems to have been equally mild — perhaps
because it was equally undisputed; and as for the civil
jurisdiction, we find so little trace of it, either on record
or in tradition, as to induce the belief that the people
seldom needed its interposition. Some old deeds which
remain on record at Kaskaskia, are dated as far back as
1712, framed, of course, on the model of the civil law,
and written in a choice old provincial dialect. Their legal

KASKASKIA. 37
proceedings were brief and simple — so much so, that we,
with our notions, should have called them arbitrary. Tet
such was their attachment to their ancient customs, that
with the kindest feelings towards our country and our
people, they could ill brook the introduction of the
common law, when their territory was ceded to our
government. They thought its forms burthensome and
complicated; and many of them removed to Louisiana,
where the civil law was still in force.
Separated thus from all the world, these people ac
quired many peculiarities. In language, dress, and man
ners, they lost much of their original polish; but they
retained, and still retain, many of the leading character
istics of their nation. They took care to keep up their
ancient holidays and festivals ; and with few luxuries
and fewer wants, they were, probably, as cheerful and as
happy a people as any in existence.
Kaskaskia, called in the old French records, "Notre
dame de Cascasquias," is beautifully situated on the
point of land formed by the junction of the Mississippi
and Kaskaskia rivers. It is not at the point of conflu
ence, but four miles above, where' the rivers approach to
within less than two miles of each other; and the origi
nal plan of the town extended across from river to river.
In this respect, the position is precisely analogous to that
of Philadelphia. The point widens below the town, and
embraces a large tract of immensely fertile land, mostly
common, covered with plum, grape, pecan trees, and other
of the richest productions of nature. Here a number
of horses, turned loose by the first settlers, increased to
large droves of animals, as wild as the original stock.
They have now been in a state of nature for more than
a century. The inhabitants catch and tame them when
wanted for use; and the "point horses," though small.

38 KASKASKIA.
are celebrated for their spirit and hardiness. The site
of the town is on a level alluvial plain, composed of a
deep and extremely rich soil. On the opposite side of
the Kaskaskia river, the land is high and broken. This
river is three hundred and fifty feet wide opposite the
town, and preserves a considerable width and depth, with
a scarcely perceptible current, uninterrupted by any ob
struction for more shan fifty miles upwards; beyond that,
the current is still gentle, and the stream would be nav
igable for small boats, in high water, to Vandalia — distant
ninety-five, miles by land, and more than two hundred
by the meanders of the river — if a few obstructions,
consisting entirely of fallen timber, were removed.
This village still retains many striking evidences of its
origin, and of the peculiar character of its inhabitants.
Many of the old houses remain, and afford curious spe
cimens of the architecture of the people and the period.
Some of them were built of stone, others were of framed
timber, with the interstices filled with cement. They
were usually plastered over with a hard mortar, and
whitewashed. The gable-ends are often placed to face
the streets, and the great roofs exhibited a heavy and sin
gular construction. The houses were generally but one
story high, and spread out so as to occupy a large sur
face ; and those of the better order were surrounded by
piazzas, a comfortable fashion still retained in the dwell
ings of the planters of Louisiana. To almost all the
houses, large gardens were attached, inclosed with high
stone walls, or by picketing, composed of large stakes
planted perpendicularly in the ground. The inhabitants
cultivated a great profusion of fruits and fiowers ; and,
although abstemious in their diet, they lived in ease and
comfort. The X)ld church at Kaskaskia is a venerable pile, which,

LA PRAIRIE DE ROCHER. 39
although more than a century old, is still in a tolerable
state of preservation, and is used as a place of worship
by the Catholic inhabitants. It is very large, and is
built in a quaint, old-fashioned style. The construction
of the roof is a great curiosity ; its extensive and massy
surface being supported by an immense number of pieces
of timber, framed together with great neatness and accu
racy, and crossing each other at a variety of different
angles, so that no part of the structure can, by any pos
sibility, sink until the whole shall fall together. In this
church are several valuable old records, and, among others,
a baptismal register, containing the generations of the
French settlers from about the year 1690.
In 1793, France ceded her possessions east of the Mis
sissippi, to England. Captain Philip Pittman, of the
English army, visited "the country of Illinois" in 1770,
and published an account of it, from which we glean the
following particulars : Kaskaskia contained at that time,
according to Captain Pittman, sixty-five families, besides
merchants, casual people, and slaves, an enumeration
which, we have reason to suppose, fell greatly short of
the truth. The fort, which was burnt down in 1766,
stood on the summit of a high rock, opposite ithe town,
on the other side of the Kaskaskia river. Its shape was
an oblong quadrangle, of which the exterior polygon
measured 290 by 251 feet. It was built of very thick,
squared timber, dovetailed at the angles. An officer and
twenty soldiers were quartered at the village in 1770,
and the inhabitants were formed into two companies of
militia. The officer governed the village, under the direc
tion of the commandant at Fort Chartres.
La Prairie de Eocher, thirteen miles from Kaskaskia,
is described as being at that time, a "small village, with
twelve dwelling-houses." The number must have been

40

ST. PHILIPPE — KAOQUIAS.

much greater, as there were two hundred inhabitants in
1820, when the village had fallen into decay. Here was a
little chapel, formerly a chapel of ease to the church at
Fort Chartres. The village was distant fro'm the fort
seven miles, and took its name from its situation, being
built at the base of a high parapet of rock, that runs
parallel to the Mississippi.
"Saint Philippe," says Captain Pittman, "is a small
village, about five miles from Fort Chartres, on the road
to Kaoquias; there are about sixteen houses, and a small
church, standing; all the inhabitants, except the captain
of militia, deserted it in 1765, and went to the French
side. The captain of militia has about twenty slaves,
a good stock of cattle, and a water-mill. This village
stands in a very flne meadow, about one mile from the
Mississippi." " The village of St. Famille de Kaoquias," says the
same writer, "-contains forty-flve dwellings, and a church,
near its center. The situation is not well chosen, being
overflowed. It was the first settlement on the Missis
sippi. The land was purchased of the savages, by a few
Canadians, some of whom married women of the Kaoquias
nation, and others brought wives from Canada. The
inhabitants depend more on hunting and their Indian
trade, than agriculture, as they scarce raise corn enough
for their own consumption. They have a great deal of
poultry, and good stocks of horned cattle. The mission
of Saint Sulpice had a fine plantation here, and a good
house on'it. They sold this estate, and a very good mill
for corn and planks, to a Frenchman, who chose to re
main here under the English Government. What is
called the fort, is a small building in the center of the
village, which differs nothing from other houses, ex
cept being the meanest. It was inclosed with palisades.

FORT CHARTRES. 41
but these are rotted or burnt. There is no use for a fort
here." Some curious facts are also recorded in a rare volume,
¦written by Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, who visited this
region during the occupancy of the French.
Fort Chartres, when it belonged to France, was the seat
of government of the Illinois country. It was afterwards
the head quarters of the English commanding officer, who
was in fact the arbitrary governor of this region. The
shape of the fort was an irregular quadrangle, with four
bastions. The sides of the exterior polygon were about
four hundred and ninety feet in extent. It was designed
only as a defense against Indians. The walls, which were
of stone, and plastered over, were two feet two inches
thick, and fifteen feet high, -with loop-holes at regular
distances, and two port-holes for cannon in each face, and
_ two in the flanks of each bastion. The ditch was never
finished. The entrance was through a handsome rustic
gate. Within the wall was a small banquette, raised
three feet, for the men to stand upon when they flred
through the loop-holes. Each port, or loop-hole, was
formed of four solid blocks of rock, of freestone, worked
smooth. All the cornices and casements about the gate
and buildings were of the same material, and appeared to
great advantage.
The buildings within the fort were the commandant's
and commissary's houses, the magazine of stores, corps de
yard, and two barracks, occupying the square. Within the
gorges of the bastions were a powder magazine, a bake
house, a prison (in the lower floor of which were four
dungeons, and in the upper two rooms), and some smaller
buildings. The commandant's house was ninety-six feet
long and thirty deep, containing a dining-room, a bed
chamber, a parlor, a kitchen, five closets for servants, and
4

42 FORT CHARTRES.
3 cellar. The commissary's house was built in a line with
this, and its proportions and distribution of apartments
were the same. Opposite these were the store-house and
guard-house ; each ninety feet long by twenty -four deep.
The former contained two large store-rooms, with vaulted
cellars under the whole, a large room, a bed-chamber and
a closet for the keeper; the latter, soldiers' and officers'
guard-rooms, a chapel, a bed-chamber and closet for the
chaplain, and an artillery store-room. The lines of bar
racks, two in number, were never completely finished : they
consisted of two rooms in each line for officers, and three
for soldiers ; they were good, spacious rooms, of twenty-two
feet square, with passages between them. All these build
ings were of solid masonry, and well finished. There were
extensive lofts over each building, reaching from end to
end, which were made use of to contain regimental stores,
working and entrenching tools, etc. It was generally
allowed that this was the most commodious and best built
fort in North America. The bank of the Mississippi
next the fort, was continually falling in, being worn away
by the current which was turned from its course by a
sand-bar, that soon increased to an island, and became
covered with willows. Many experiments were tried to
stop this growing evil, but to no purpose. When the fort
was begun in 1756, it was half a mile from the water side ;
in 1766, it was eighty paces; and the western angle has
since been undermined by the water. In 1762, the river
was fordable to the sand-bar; in 1770, the latter was
separated from the shore by a channel forty feet deep.
Such are the changes of the Mississippi. , In the year
1764, there were about forty families in the village of Fort
Chartres, and a parish church, served by a Franciscan
friar, dedicated to St. Anne. In the following year, when
the English took possession of the country, they aban-

RUINS OF PORT CHARTRES. 43
doned their houses, except three or four poor families, and
settled at the villages on the west side of the Mississippi,
choosing to continue under the French Government.
The writer -visited the ruins of Fort Chartres, in 1829.
It was situated, as well as the villages above named, on
the American Bottom, an extensive and remarkably fertile
plain, bounded on one side by the river, and on the other
by a range of bluffs, whose summits are level with the
general surface of the country. The bluffs are steep, and
have the appearance of having once formed the eastern
bank of the Mississippi. It would seem that they com
posed a continuous, even, and nearly perpendicular para
pet, separating the plain which margins the river, from
the higher plain of the main land. But the ravines,
washed by rains, have indented it in such a manner, as
to divide the summit into a series of rounded elevations,
which often present the appearance of a range of Indian
mounds. These bluffs are so called when bare of timber,
which is their usual character ; and when their beautifully
graceful undulations are exposed to the eye, they form
one of the most remarkable and attractive features of the
scenery of this country. When timbered, they do not
differ from ordinary hills. We approached Fort Chartres
in the summer, when the native fruit trees were loaded
with their rich products. Never did we behold the fruits
of the forest growing in such abundance, or such amaz
ing luxuriance. Immense thickets of the wild plum might
be seen, as we rode over the prairie, extending for miles
along its edges, so loaded -with crimson fruit as to ex
hibit to the eye a long streak of glowing red. Some
times we rode through thickets of crap-apple, equally
prolific, and sometimes the road wound through copses
matted with grape vines, bearing a profusion of rich
clusters. Although the spot was familiar to my com-

44 ANECDOTES.
panion, it was with some difficulty that we found the
ruins, which are now covered and surrounded with a
young but vigorous and gigantic growth of forest trees,
and with a dense undergrowth of bushes and vines,
through which we forced our way with considerable
labor. Even the crumbling pile itself is thus over
grown, the tall trees rearing their stems from piles of
stone, and the vines creeping over the tottering walls.
The buildings were all razed to the ground, but the lines
of the foundations could be easily traced. A large
vaulted powder magazine remained in good preserva
tion. The exterior wall, the most interesting vestige,
as it gave the general outline of the whole, was thrown
down in some places ; but in many, retained something
like its original hight and form ; and it was curious to
see in the gloom of a wild forest, these remnants of the
architecture of a past age. One angle of the fort, and
an entire bastion, had been undermined and swept away
by the river, which, having expended its force in this
direction, was again retiring; and a narrow belt of young
timber had grown up between the water's edge and the
ruins. Many curious anecdotes might still be picked up in
relation to these early settlers, whose simplicity of char
acter contrasts strongly with the shrewdness and energy
of our backwoodsmen ; in Illinois and Missouri, espe
cially, where the Spanish, French, and American authori
ties have had sway in rapid succession. At one time the
French had possession of one side of the Mississippi,
and the Spaniards of the other; or, more probably, the
rumor of a transfer of jurisdiction, recently negotiated,
bu(t not yet carried out, placed the inhabitants of these
remote regions in doubt who were their real masters, and
left them for a time to chose the allegiance which they

ANECDOTE. 45
preferred. The French peasantry, especially, illiterate
and satisfied, smoked their pipes and played their fiddles
in happy ignorance of any changes beyond the limits of
their own -villages, while even the local authorities were
about as much mystified, as to the actual state of things,
as the people.
A story is told of a Spaniard living on one shore, who,
being the creditor of a Frenchman residing on the other,
seized a child, the daughter of the latter, and having
borne her across the river, which he supposed formed a
national boundary, held her as a hostage for the pay
ment of the debt. The civil authorities, respectively, de
clined interfering ; the military did not think the matter
sufficiently important to create a national war, and the
Frenchman had to redeem his offspring by discharging
the creditor's demand. The lady who was thus abduced
is still living, or was living a few years ago, near Cahokia,
the mother of a numerous progeny of American French
people. Having spoken of the pacific disposition evinced by the
French in their early intercourse with the Indian tribes,
it is proper to remark, that we allude particularly to
those who settled on the Wabash and upper Mississippi.
They have every-where treated the savages with more
kindness and greater justice than the people of other
nations; but there have been exceptions which we are
not disposed to conceal or palliate. In lower Louisiana
they emulated, in some instances, the cruelty of the
Spaniards and the rapacity ofthe English; but in Illinois,
their conduct towards their uncivilized neighbors seems
to have been uniformly friendly and amiable; and the
descendants of the first settlers of that state still enjoy
the confidence of the Indian tribes.
We have heard of an occasion on which this reciprocal

46 THE FRENCH AND THE INDIANS.
kindness was very strongly shown. Many years ago, a
murder having been committed in some broil, three Indian
young men were given up, by the Kaskaskia tribe, to the
civil authorities of the newly established American gov
ernment. The population of Kaskaskia was still entirely
French, who felt much sympathy for their Indian friends,
and saw these hard proceedings of the law with great dis
satisfaction. The ladies, particularly, took a warm interest
in the fate of the young aboriginals, and determined, if
they must die, they should at least be converted to Chris
tianity in the meanwhile, and be baptized into the true
church. Accordingly, after due preparation, arrange
ments were made for a public baptism of the neophytes
in the old cathedral of the village. Each of the youths
was adopted by a lady, who gave him a name, and was to
stand godmother in the ceremony; and these lady patro-
. nesses, with their respective friends, were busily engaged
for some days in preparing dresses and decorations for
their favorites. There was quite a sensation in the village.
Never were three young gentlemen brought into fashion
more suddenly or more decidedly ; the ladies talked of
nothing else, and all the needles in the village were plying,
in the preparation of finery for the occasion. Previous
to the ceremony — that is, the ceremony of hanging — the
aboriginals gave their jailor the slip, and escaped, aided
most probably by the ladies, who had planned the whole
affair with a view to this result. The law is not vindictive
in new countries ; the danger soon blew over ; the young
men again appeared in public, and evinced their gratitude
to their benefactresses.
At the secluded little village of Carondelet, popularly
called Vide Poche, there resided an individual who ruled
the hamlet with absolute sway, but with no other warrant
than a strong will, flanked on the one hand by personal

A PRIMITIVE MAGISTRATE. 47
prowess, and on the other by a popular character. With
a little more intellect than his fellows, his control over
them was as undisputed, as it was kind and parental. To
him they all brought their differences for decision, and no
man drove a pony, or tuned a violin, in defiance of his
will. A faithful retainer acted as his messenger and mar
shal, to carry his orders, to summon -witnesses, and to
bring offenders into his presence ; and on grave occasions,
when a warrant was thought to be required, the self-consti
tuted magistrate handed his jackknife to his official, as the
oriental sovereign sent his ring in evidence of his man
date, and none were so hardy as to disobey the significant
symbol of authority. He judged them many years, and
no one envied or gainsayed him. The song and the dance
alternated with just barely labor enough to supply escu
lents and flesh for their simple tables ; they smoked the
pipe in peace under their spreading catalpa trees ; the roses
and honeysuckles bloomed around their dwellings, while
no officious mail, or tattling newspaper, brought tidings of
any better government, or more prosperous community.
They were a happy people ! and great was their astonish
ment, and many the "sacres" and "diahles" that were
uttered, when the government of the United States was
extended over them, and they were made acquainted with
the vast, the complex, and to them vexatious machinery
of republican law and liberty.
It is with regret that we record the dispersion of this
kind-hearted people from the dwellings of their fathers.
Several generations flourished happily in Illinois, under
the mild sway of the French government. The military
commandants and the priests governed them with an un
controlled, but parental authority; they were not oppressed
with taxes ; nor do we read of their having any political
grievances. They were unambitious and submissive.

48 DISPERSION OF THE FRENCH.
The flrst adventurers to Louisiana and Canada had ex
changed the fruitful fields and vinyards of France for the
inhospitable wilds of the new world, not to pursue their
former occupations, but to amass opulent fortunes by
mining. They expected to find a country rich in precious
minerals, and great was their disappointment when they
came to realize their condition. The Indian trade fur
nished their only means of subsistence. They took little
pains to examine the quality of their lands, ot to ascertain
what products were suited to the soil and climate. The
consequence was that the great mass of them became poor,
the spirit of enterprise was extinguished, and they grew as
inert as they were inoffensive. They became boatmen and
hunters, and the labors of nine-tenths of the population
on distant lakes and rivers, exposed to danger, priva
tion and death, served only to augment the wealth of a
few traders and merchants. The physical strength of a
community depends more on agriculture than on any other
pursuit. The ancient French were ignorant of this truth,
and their descendants have not learned it to- this day.
They seldom attempted any thing more than the cultiva
tion of their gardens, and the raising of a little grain for
their own consumption. In the mechanic arts they made
no progress ; they still use some of the implements of
agriculture introduced by their forefathers a century ago ;
and drive vehicles, such as were in fashion in some prov
inces of France at the same period. But they were con
tented. The most. perfect equality reigned among them.
They lived in harmony; all danced to the same violin, and
preserved their national vivacity and love of amusement.
When their country came into the possession of the
American government, they were displeased with the
change. There never was a stronger instance of the un
fitness of republican institutions for an ignorant people.

DISPERSION. 49
Accustomed to be ruled by the officers of the French
crown, and to bestow no thought on matters of public
policy, they disliked the machinery of municipal institu
tions, which they did not understand, and considered it
a hardship to be called upon to elect officers, or perform
civil duties. It is said that a few years ago, when the
inhabitants of one of these villages were told that it would
be proper for them to attend an election, to vote for a
member of congress, one of their principal men declared
that it was an imposition to send any man so far from
home — that he would not go to congress, nor would he
assist in imposing such an unpleasant duty upon any of
his neighbors.
The influx of a population dissimilar to themselves in
manners, language, religion, and habits, displeased them ;
the enterprise and fondness for improvement of the
American settlers, fretted and annoyed them. The land
lying waste around them, they had considered as a kind
of common property — the natural inheritance of their
children and countrymen ; and when any one wished to
convert a portion of it to his own use, he applied to the
lieutenant-governor, who granted a concession for a certain
number of acres. But now they saw all this domain sur
veyed and offered for sale to the highest bidder; and
there was a fair prospect, that, in a few years, there would
be no wilderness remaining to hunt in, and no range for
their wild ponies and cattle.
When the American government, therefore, took pos
session of the country, the majority of the wealthiest
inhabitants removed, — some to St. Louis, which was rising
into a promising commercial town, and others to lower
Louisiana, where they could enjoy their own laws, cus
toms, and language. The more indigent scattered them
selves along the frontier, and became boatmen, hunters,
5

50 ANECDOTE OP CLARKE.
and interpreters in the employ of Indian traders. A
remnant remained, whose descendants are still a peculiar
people, but are slowly, though perceptibly, losing their
distinctive character, and becoming amalgamated with the
surrounding population.
Another anecdote of these times is worth recording :
When General George Eogers Clarke, the Hannibal of
the west, captured Kaskaskia, he made his head-quarters
at the house of a Mr. Michel A-  , one of the weal
thiest inhabitants. Michel lived in a capital French
house, enveloped with piazzas, and surrounded by gar
dens — all in the most approved style. He was a merry,
contented, happy man, abounding in good living, and
good stories, and as hospitable as any gentleman what
ever. The general remained his guest some time, treat
ed with the greatest kindness and attention, and took
leave of Mr. A. with a high respect for his character, and
a grateful sense of his warm-hearted hospitality. Tears
rolled away; General Clarke had retired from public life,
and was dwelling in a humble log house in Indiana, a
disappointed man. His brilliant services had not been
appreciated by his country; his political prospects had
been blighted; he was unemployed and unhappy — a
proud man, conscious of merit, pining away his life in
obscurity. One day, as he strolled along the banks of
the Ohio, he espied a circle of French boatmen, the crew
of a barge, who were seated round a fire on the beach,
smoking their pipes, and singing their merry French
songs : one voice arrested his ear — it was that of his old
friend Michel ; he could not mistake the blithe tones and
ever-buoyant humor of his former host. He approached,
and ther,e sat Michel in the garb of a boatman, with a red
cap on his head, the merriest of the circle. They recog
nized each other instantly. Michel was as glad to see the

ANECDOTE OF CLARKE. 51
general, and invited him to take a seat on the log beside
him, with as much unembarrassed hospitality, as if he had
still been in his spacious house, surrounded by his train
of servants. He had suddenly been reduced from afflu
ence to poverty — from a prosperous gentleman, who lived
comfortably on his estate, to a boatman — the cook, if we
mistake not, of a barge. Although a man of vivacity and
strong mind, he was illiterate and unsuspecting. The
change of government had brought in new laws, new cus
toms, and keener speculators than the honest French had
been accustomed to deal with, and Michel was ruined.
But he was as happy as ever ; while his friend, the gen
eral, whose change of circumstances had not been so sud
den or complete, was a moody, discontented man. Such
is the diversity of national character.

52 FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS.

CHAPTEE IL
Founding of St. Louis — History of that Colony — Transfer to Spain —
Attack by the Indians — Intercourse -with New Orleans — A gallant
exploit — Other French Settlements.
The city of St. Louis was founded in the year 1764,
by Monsieur Laclede, one of the partners in a mercantile
association, known under the name of Laclede, Ligueste,
Maxan & Company, to whom the director general of the
province of Louisiana had granted the exclusive privilege
of trading with the Indians of the Missouri, and those
west of the Mississippi, above the Missouri, as far up
as the river St. Peter. The traffic in furs and peltry
with these distant tribes, though of great value, would
have been unavailable without a suitable place for the
deposit of merchandize ; and to induce the company to
hazard the establishment of such a dep6t, which would
also serve as the nucleus of new settlements west of the
Mississippi, extensive powers were given to the gentlemen
engaged in this enterprise. M. Laclede, therefore, formed
an expedition, at the head of which he set out from New
Orleans, on the 3d of August, 1763, and arrived at Ste.
Genevieve, where it seems there was already a small settle
ment, on the 3d of November, the voyage, which is now
accomplished in ten days by our steamboats, occupying
those adventurers three months, with their inferior means
of transportation. This point being too distant from the

HISTOEY OF ST. LOUIS. 53
Missouri, he proceeded to the mouth of that river, and on
his return fixed upon the site. Having wintered at Fort
Chartres, and gained some recruits at that place, Cahokia,
and Ste. Gene-vieve, he commenced, on the 15th of Feb
ruary, 1764, the work of cutting down tress and laying
out a town, which he called St. Louis, after the reigning
king of France. In consequence of some subsequent dis
tress, on account of a scarcity of provisons, it received
the popular name of Pain Court, by which it was called
for many years. M. Augustine Chouteau, then about
fourteen years of age, who has since been one of the most
opulent and enterprising of the citizens of that place, and
is but recently deceased, was of the party which laid the
foundation of this fiourishing city.
In the selection of this site, a degree of sagacity was
shown, which has seldom marked such transactions. The
spot is elevated above the inundations of the river, from
whose margin the ground rises gradually, and is based on
a thick stratum of rook, which affords the most admirable
materials for building. Above and below, along the river,
was an abundance of timber, and to the west an unlimited
expanse of fertile prairies ; while on the east were the rich
plains of Illinois. A short distance below were the lead
mines, which have, for half a century past, afforded a
valuable article of trade ; a few miles above the town, the
Missouri and Illinois rivers united their waters with those
of the Mississippi, extending the channels of intercourse
throughout a vast interior region ; and this obscure spot
in the heart of a great continent, and far distant from the
ocean, was visited by the birch canoes from Quebec, as well
as by the barges from New Orleans.
In July, 1765, Fort de Chartres waa evacuated by the
French, and M. de Si. Ange de Belle Reve, the commander,
proceeded to St. Louis with the troops, and assumed the

54 LIVRE TERREIN.
reins of government. From this time St. Louis was con
sidered as the capital of Upper Louisiana. Having or
ganized a government, one of his first acts was to parcel
the land to the settlers, to whom M. Laclede had given
possession, but not titles.
He accordingly made- the Livre Terrein, ox land-book,
in which grants of land were not recorded only, but origi
nally written, and a copy of the entry made in this book
constituted the evidence of title in the hands of the gran
tee. These concessions were not considered as inchoate
grants, which were to be ratified by a higher authority,
but as perfect titles, independent of any condition, except
those of the land being subject to taxation, and being im
proved by the grantee, within a limited time. The mode
of obtaining grants was by petition or reqiiete, addressed to
the commandant ; and the concession generally ran, after
reciting the application, thus: "On the day and year
aforesaid, at the request of  , we have granted, and
do grant to him, his heirs, and assigns, the lot (or piece
of land, describing its contents, boundaries and locality),
which he prays for, with the condition that he shall estab
lish it within a year and a day, and that it shall be subject
to the public charges. St. Ange."
Nearly the same form of concession was used under the
Spanish authority. There was usually, however, a stipu
lation contained in them, that in case the conditions of
improvement and cultivation should not be complied with,
the lands should revert to the king, and some instances
are found in the Livre Terrein, where that resumption has
taken place. At first these grants were proportioned to
the means of the applicant, but at a later period they were
made to all who chose to apply for them, to any extent,
unconditionally, and without reference to the ability of the
applicant. The policy of the government, in making the

M. ST. ANGE — IMPROVEMENT. 55
grants, was to settle the country; but the remoteness of
this province, and the extent of the authority, necessarily
placed in the hands of the lieutenant governors, enabled
them to abuse this power, and it is said to have degen
erated into a spirit of favoritism. Up to a certain period,
the means of the cultivator were taken as the criterion
by which the magnitude of the grant was regulated, and
as there was no public surveyor, the difficulty of locating
large tracts, and setting the boundaries, may have deterred
many from attempting such speculations. But these ob
stacles, if they were such, were removed by the appoint
ment of a surveyor general, in 1795, and the number of
concessions increased with incredible rapidity, especially
in the period immediately preceding the occupation of the
country by the American government. Previous to the
appointment of M. Soulard, as surveyor general, in 1795,
the whole number of arpens of land conceded to indi
viduals did not exceed 60,000 ; but the number granted
after that appointment, amounted to 2,150,969. The gov
ernment of the United States recognises the validity of all
titles to real estate acquired under the French or Spanish
governments ; but the great number of these grants, and
the negligence with which- they were made, has caused
great perplexity to congress, and to the courts of law.
Under the administration of IM. St. Ange, St. Louis,
assumed the appearance of a town, and the foundations
of social order were laid. The soldiers became amalga
mated with the inhabitants; comfortable dwellings were
erected; and the common fields, as ihey are now called,
were opened and improved. All accounts which have
reached us, agree in describing the government as mild
and patriarchal; the whole community seemed to have
lived together as a single family, under the guidance of
a common father, enjoying a common patrimony.

56 ARRIVAL OF MR. RIOUS.
A curious remark has occurred to us upon a compari
son of the first settlements of the English and the
French. Though the latter nation has always been in
ferior to the former in the mechanical arts, especially in
those of the useful kind; and though the English inva
riably deny to the French any adequate perception of
the enjoyments embraced by themselves under the word
comfort, both these propositions would seem to be re
versed by the evidence to which we allude. The first
habitations of the English were log-cabins, the most un
sightly and comfortless, and their descendants, to this
day, commence all their villages with the same rude
dwellings, or with frail erections of framed timber, while
the garden and the orchard have been tardily introduced.
The old French villages, on the contrary, consisted of
substantial houses of stone, or of heavy timber, plastered
with excellent mortar, encompassed by piazzas, and sur
rounded by gardens, stocked with fruit, and inclosed
with walls, or strong stockades. The first habitations of
the English have mouldered away, and comparatively few
relics remain to attest their character, while many houses
in the French villages have been left, by the hand of
time, in their primitive integrity, durable monuments of
the taste and comfort of the original proprietors. The
excellence of their masonry has been often remarked;
the walls of Fort Chartres, though long since abandoned,
and left exposed to the elements, are so indestructible,
that the inhabitants of the neighborhood, in attempting
to remove the materials, have found it difficult to take
them apart.
In 1768, after St. Ange had governed at St. Louis three
years, Mr. Eious arrived with Spanish troops, and took
possession of Upper Louisiana, in the name of his Catho
lic Majesty; but did not exercise any jurisdiction, as it

VIDE POCHE. 57
appears from the records in the Livre Terrein, that St.
Ange continued to perform official acts until 1770. It
is inferred that the reluctance of the inhabitants to sub
mit to the change of rulers was so great, that it was
judged prudent to defer the assertion of the new au
thority until the dissatisfaction caused by the transfer of
the country had worn away, and the people become recon
ciled to their new master. The wisdom of this policy
became apparent in the firm attachment which was dis
played toward the Spanish Government, so that when the
province was retroceded to France, in 1800, the people
again expressed their dissatisfaction at the change; and
they were not less displeased at the subsequent transfer
to the United States.
In 1767 was founded Vide Poche, which, in 1796,
took the name of Carondelet. Florissant was founded in
1769; Les Petites Cotes was settled in 1769, and called
St. Charles in 1804.
The inhabitants of St. Louis continued for about fifteen
years to live in perfect harmony with the Indians, without
molestation, and without any apprehension of danger.
The first hostilities do not appear to have arisen out of
any quarrel between the parties themselves, but resulted
from the contest raging between Great Britain and her
colonies. In 1777, a rumor came to this remote spot,
that an attack would shortly be made upon the town, by
the Canadians, and such Indians as were friendly to the
English. The village was then almost destitute of mili
tary defenses, but the inhabitants, including little more
than a hundred men, immediately proceeded to inclose it
with a kind of wall, about six feet high, formed of the
trunks of small trees, planted in the ground, the inter
stices being filled with earth. It described a semicircle,
resting upon the river, above and below the town, flanked

58 ATTACKED BY INDIANS.
by a small fort at one extremity, and a less important
work at the other. It had three gates for egress towards
the country, each defended by a piece of heavy ordnance,
which was kept continually charged. For a while, these
preparations seemed to have been needless; winter passed
away, and spring came, without any attack; the labors of
husbandry were resumed, and the villagers laid aside their
fears, and their military exercises.
In May, 1778, the .attack was made, in a manner char
acteristic of the times and place. The force of the enemy,
consisting of a motley band of about fourteen hundred
men, collected from various tribes residing on the lakes,
and the Mississippi — Ojibeways, Menomenies, Winneba-
goes, Sioux, Saukies, and some Canadians — assembled on
the eastern shore of the Mississippi, a little above St.
Louis, awaiting the 6th of May, the day fixed for the
attack. The 5th of May was the feast oi Corpus Christi,
a day highly venerated by the inhabitants, who were all
Catholics. An assault on that day would have been fatal ;
for after attending divine service, the villagers, old and
young, men, women, and children, sallied out in all the
glee of a Catholic holiday, unsuspicious of danger, to the
neighboring prairie, to gather the ripe strawberries, of
which there was a great profusion. The town, left un
guarded, could have been easily taken. A few only of
the enemy, however, had crossed the river: and these,
lying ambushed on the prairie, made no effort to disturb
the peaceable villagers, who were frequently so near as to
be almost in contact with the lurking savages. But the
latter either did not discover the total desertion of the
town, or with the known pertinacity of the Indian char
acter, determined to adhere to the preconcerted plan of
attack. The enemy crossed the river on the 6th, and marched

L ANNEE DU GEAND COUP. 59
to the fields, where they expected to find the most of the
villagers engaged in their agricultural pursuits. It hap
pened that but few were there, who fied under a shower
of bullets, and barely escaped with the aid of their friends
in the -village, who, on hearing the alarm, rushed to the
gates, which they threw open to receive their comrades,
and then closed against the enemy. The inhabitants, men
and women, acted with spirit, and the savages, after receiv
ing a few discharges of grape shot, retired, after killing
about twenty of the whites. An indelible stain was fixed
upon the character of the commandant, Leyba, who not
only took no share of the danger, but even commanded
the inhabitants to cease firing, and used such exertions to
cripple the defence, that he was suspected of treachery;
while his lieutenant, Cartabona, with sixty soldiers, re
mained concealed in a garret during the whole action.
The reader of colonial history will be struck with the co
incidence of this event with many which occurred in all
the American colonies, under whatever foreign dominion ;
the inhabitants were often plunged into wars with the
Indians, with whom they had no quarrel, by the policy of
their superiors — wars, of which the effects fell solely upon
themselves, which were prosecuted by their arms, and
successfully terminated by their valor. This first attack
upon St. Louis, forined an era in the history of the place,
and the year in which it occurred is still designated by
the inhabitants as "L'aniiee du grand coup.'^ The town
was afterwards more strongly fortified, and was not again
molested by the Indians.
In the month of April, 1785, there was an unparalleled
rise of the Mississippi, which swelled to the extraordinary
height of thirty feet above the highest water mark previ
ously known. The town of Kaskaskia was completely
inundated, and the whole of the American Bottom over-

60 ROBBERS OF COTTON'WOOD CREEK.
flowed. This year forms another era in the reminiscences
of the old inhabitants, who call it the year of the great
waters — "L'annee des grandes eaux.''
The intercourse with New Orleans was at this period
neither frequent nor easy. The only mode of transport
ing merchandise was by means of keel-boats and barges,
which descended the river in the spring, and returned late
in the autumn. The preparations for a voyage to the city,
as New Orleans was called, were as extensive and delib
erate as those which would now be made for a voyage to
the East Indies. Instead of the rapid steamboats which
render the navigation of our long rivers so easy, they had
the tardy and frail barge, slowly propelled by human labor.
There was also danger, as well as difficulty, in the enter
prise; a numerous band of robbers, under the command
of two men named Culbert and Magilbray, having sta
tioned themselves at a place called "La riviere aux liards,"
Cottonwood creek, where they carried on a regular and ex
tensive system of piracy. As the voyage was long, and
the communication between the two ports was attempted
but once a year, the boats were generally so richly laden,
that the capture of one of them afforded wealth to the
plunderers, and brought ruin upon the owner. An inci
dent of this description, illustrative of the facts to which
I allude, I will narrate, as I find it in an excellent article
on the history of St. Louis, from which I have already
quoted liberally.*
In the spring of 1787, a barge, belonging to Mr. Beau-
soliel, had started from New Orleans, richly laden with
merchandise, for St. Louis. As she approached the Cot
tonwood creek, a breeze sprung up and bore her swiftly by.
This the robbers perceived, and immediately despatched a
* Illinois Monthly Magazine.

CAPTURE AND RECAPTURE. 61
company of men up the river for the purpose of heading.
The manoeuver was effected in the course of two days, at
an island which has since been called Beausoliel's island.
The barge had just put ashore. The robbers boarded, and
ordered the crew to return down. The men were dis
armed, guards were stationed in every part of the vessel,
and she was soon under way. Mr. Beausoliel gave him
.self up to despair. He had spent all he possessed in the
purchase of the barge and its cargo, and now that he was
to be deprived of them all, he was in agony. This vessel
would have shared the fate of many others that had pre
ceded it, but for the heroic daring of a negro, who was
one of the crew. Cacasotte, the negro, was a man rather
under the ordinary hight, very slender in person, but of
uncommon strength and activity. The color of his skin
and the curl of his hair, alone told that he was a negro,
for the peculiar characteristics of his race had given place
in him to what might be termed beauty. His forehead
was finely moulded, his eyes small and sparkling as those
of a serpent, his nose aquiline, his lips of a proper thick
ness; in fact, the whole appearance of the man, joined to
his known character for shrewdness and courage, seemed
to indicate that, under better circumstances, he might
have shone conspicuous in the history of nations. Ca
casotte, as soon as the robbers had taken possession of the
barge, began to make every demonstration of uncontrolla
ble joy. He danced, sang, laughed, and soon induced his
captors to believe that they had liberated him from irk
some slavery, and that his actions were the ebullitions of
pleasure. His constant attention to their smallest wants
and ¦wishes, too, won their confidence; and whilst they
kept a watchful eye on the other prisoners, they permitted
him to roam through the vessel unmolested and un-
watched. This was the state of things that the negro

62 THE BRAVE CACASOTTE.
desired. He seized the first opportunity to speak to Mr.
Beausoliel, and beg permission to rid him of the danger
ous intruders. He laid his plan before his master, who,
after a great deal of hesitation, acceded to it. Cacasotte
then spoke to two of the crew, likewise negroes, and en
gaged them in the conspiracy. Cacasotte was cook, and
it was agreed between him and his fellow conspirators,
that the signal for dinner should be the signal for action.
The hour of dinner at length arrived. The robbers as
sembled in considerable numbers on the deck, and sta
tioned themselves at the bow and stern, and along the
sides, to prevent any rising of the men. Cacasotte went
among them with the most unconcerned look and de
meanor imaginable. As soon as he perceived that his
comrades had taken the stations he had assigned to them,
he took his position at the bow of the boat, near one of
the robbers, a stout, herculean man, who was armed cap-
a-pie. Every thing being arranged to his satisfaction,
Cacasotte gave the preconcerted signal, and immediately
the robber near him was struggling in the waters. With
the speed of lightning, he went from one robber to an
other, and in less than three minutes, he had thrown
fourteen of them overboard. Then seizing an oar, he
struck on the head those who attempted to save them
selves by grappling the running boards, then shot with
the muskets that had been dropped on deck, those who
swam away. In the mean time, the other conspirators
were not idle, but did almost as much execution as their
leader. The deck was soon cleared, and the robbers that
remained below, were too few in number to offer any re
sistance. Having got rid of his troublesome visitors, Mr. Beau-
soleil deemed it prudent to return to New Orleans. This
he accordingly did, taking care when he arrived near the

DISPERSION OF THE ROBBERS. 63
Cottonwood creek, to keep the opposite side of the river.
He reached New Orleans, and gave an account of his
capture and liberation to the governor, who thereupon
issued an order, that the boats bound for St. Louis in the
following spring, should all go in company, to afford mu
tual assistance in case of necessity. Spring came, and ten
keel-boats, each provided with swivels, and their respective
crews well armed, took their departure from New Orleans,
determined, if possible, to destroy the nest of robbers.
When they neared the Cottonwood creek, the foremost
boat perceived several men near the mouth, among the
trees. The anchor was dropped, and she waited until the
other boats should come up. In a few moments they
appeared, and a consultation was held, in which it was
determined that a sufficient number of men should remain
on board, whilst the others should proceed on shore to*
attack the robbers. The boats were rowed to shore in a
line, and those appointed for that purpose, landed and
began to search the island in quest of the robbers, but in
vain ! They had disappeared. Three or four flat-boats
were found in a bend of the creek, laden with all kinds
of valuable merchandise — the fruits of their depredations.
A long low hut was discovered — the dwelling of the rob
bers — in which were stowed away numerous cases of guns,
(destined for the fur trade,) ammunition and provisions
of all kinds. The greater part of these things were put
on board the boats, and restored to their respective owners,
at St. Louis.
This proceeding had the effect of dispersing the robbers,
for they were never after heard of. The arrival of ten
barges together at St. Louis, was an unusual spectacle,
and the year 1788 has ever since been called the year of
the ten boats.
As we do not design to speak of the history of the

64 EARLY SETTLERS.
French settlements in minute detail, we shall only add
that there were several others, cotemporaneous with those
which we have mentioned, the chief of which were Detroit
and Vincennes. The former was founded in 1670, the
latter in 1702. The manners and habits of the people,
and their adventures, were similar to those we have de
scribed ; except that Detroit, being situated at a more
exposed point, and surrounded by warlike tribes, who were
engaged in hostilities with each other, experienced more
of the vicissitudes of war.
The French seem to have been mainly induced to pene
trate into these remote regions, in search of the precious
metals ; an eager desire for which had been awakened in
Europe by the discoveries of the Spaniards in South Ame
rica, and by a general belief of the existence of similar
treasures on the northern continent. That such was the
fact, is sufficiently proved by the frequent mention of
mines and minerals, in all the charters and larger grants
of territory made by the French crown, as well as by the
numerous and expensive efforts of individuals and com
panies, in the pursuit of the precious ores.
The leaders in these enterprises were gentlemen of edu
cation and talents, who had no inducements to remain in
these remote settlements, after the disappointment of their
hopes, and either returned to France, or settled in Lower
Louisiana, where they found a more genial climate than
in the higher latitudes. The remainder were paciflc and
illiterate rustics, who brought no property, nor enter
tained any ambitious views. Few of them had come
prepared for either agricultural or commercial pursuits,
and when the dreams of sudden wealth, with which they
had been deluded, faded from before them, they were not
disposed to engage in the ordinary employments of en
lightened industry. Perhaps the inducement, as well as

INDOLENCE OF THE FRENCH. 65
the means, was wanting. There was little encouragemeut
for agriculture, where there was no market for produce ;
there could be but few arts, and but little commerce, at
points so distant from the abodes of civilized men. They
were besides an unenterprising and contented race, who
were ignorant of the prolific resources of the country
around them, and destitute of the slightest perception of
its probable destiny — its rapid advancement in population
and improvement. Whatever might have been the views
of their government, the French settlers indulged no am
bitions visions, and laid no plans, either for territorial
aggrandisement, or political domination. They made no
attempt to acquire land from the Indians, to organize a
social system, to introduce municipal regulations, or to
establish military defences ; but cheerfally obeyed the
priests and the king's officers, and enjoyed the present,
without troubling their heads about the future. They
seem to have been even careless as to the acquisition of
property, and its transmission to their heirs. Finding
themselves in a fruitflil country, abounding in game,
where the necessaries of life could be procured with little
labor, where no restraints were imposed by government,
and neither tribute nor personal service was exacted, they
were content to live in unambitious peace, and comfort
able poverty. They took possession of so much of the
vacant land around them, as they were disposed to till,
and no more. Their agriculture was rude ; and even to
this day, some of the implements of husbandry, and
modes of cultivation, brought from France a century ago,
remain unchanged by the march of mind, or the hand of
innovation. Their houses were comfortable, and they
reared fruits and flowers; evincing, in this respect, an
attention to comfort and luxury, which has not been
practiced among the English or American first settlers;

66 THEIR EMPLOYMENTS.
but in the accumulation of property, and in all the essen
tials of industry, they were indolent and improvident,
rearing only the bare necessaries of life, and living from
generation to generation without change or improvement.
The only new arts which the French adopted, in conse
quence of their change of residence, were those con
nected with the fur trade. The few who were engaged
in merchandise, turned their Attention almost exclusively
to the traffic with the Indians, while a large number
became hunters and boatmen. The voyageurs, engagees,
and couriers des bois, as they are called, form a peculiar
race of men. They are active, sprightly, and remarkably
expert in their vocation. With all the vivacity of the
French character, they have little of the intemperance
and brutal coarseness usually found among boatmen and
mariners. They are patient of fatigue, and endure an
astonishing degree of toil and exposure to weather. Ac
customed to live in the open air, they pass through every
extreme, and all the sudden vicissitudes of climate, with
little apparent inconvenience. Their boats are managed
with expertness, and even grace, and their toil enlivened
by the song. As hunters, they have roved over the whole
of the wide plain of the west, to the Eocky mountains,
sharing the hospitality of the Indian, abiding for long
periods, and even permanently, with the tribes, and
sometimes seeking their alliance by marriage. As boat
men, they navigate the birch canoe to the sources of the
longest rivers, and pass from one river to another, by
laboriously carrying the packages of merchandise, and
the boat itself, across mountains, or through swamps or
woods, so that no obstacle stops their progress. Like
the Indian, they can live on game, without condiment or
bread; like him, they sleep in the open air, or plunge
into the water at any season, without injury.

INDIAN STRATAGEM. 67
The French had also a fort on the Ohio, about thirty-
six miles above the junction of that river with the Mis
sissippi, of which the Indians obtained possession by a
singular stratagem. A number of them appeared in the
day-time on the opposite side of the river, each covered
with a bear-skin, walking on all-fours, and imitating the
motions of that animal. The French supposed them to
be bears, and a party crossed the river in pursuit of
them. The remainder of the troops left their quarters,
and resorted to the bank of the river, in front of the
garrison, to observe the sport. In the meantime a large
body of Indian warriors, who were concealed in the
woods near by, came silently up behind the fort, entered
it without opposition, and very few of the French escaped
the carnage. They afterwards built another fort on the
same ground, which they called Massacre, in memory of
this disastrous event, and which retained the name of
Fori Massac, after it had passed into the hands of the
American government.
The history of Louisiana is full of romance, but as we
have only designed to touch upon the small portion of it
which is properly embraced within our limits, by being
connected with that of the settlements upon the Ohio and
Mississippi, we shall not wander further into that field.
And had we been so disposed, we should not now ven
ture to encroach upon the ground so satisfactorily occu
pied by the Hon. Charles Gayarre, in his Eomance of the
History of Louisiana, which has appeared since the pub
lication of the first edition of this work.

SETTLEMENTS ON THE OHIO.

CHAPTEE III.

Settlements on the Ohio — Early movements in Virginia — Views of
Gov. Spotswood — Settlement of Pittsburgh — Travels of Carver —
Expedition of Dunmore.
While the French were engaged in exploring and oc
cupying the region of the Mississippi, the shores of the
Ohio remained, for a series of years, unnoticed. Between
them and the English colonists there was a wide expanse
of country, of the extent and value of which they seemed
alike ignorant. We have seen that the former spoke
vaguely of the Wabash, as a river " coming from the
country of the Iroquois towards New England," and the
latter only knew of the West as a wilderness beyond the
mountains. A natural transition, therefore, brings us to
the period when our own immediate ancestors began to
become acquainted with the importance of that country
which was destined to be the richest inheritance of their
children. It is not our design to trace the footsteps of the
pioneers through all their wanderings, to depict their
personal adventures, or to describe their various conflicts
with the savage tribes. These minute details, however
interesting, must be left to other hands. We shall only
attempt a rapid summary of a few prominent events.
We have no means of ascertaining how the early
English colonists became impressed with a sense of the

EAELY MOVEMENTS IN VIRGINIA. 69
importance of the country west of the mountains, or what
was the extent of their knowledge. It was probably de
rived chiefly from the French, who were not solicitous to
publish their discoveries, and came with all the vagueness
of rumor, and all the exaggerations of surmise. Certain
it is, that a belief was entertained in Virginia, at a very
early period, of the existence of a wide and fertile terri
tory beyond the mountains; and the English governors
cast a jealous eye at the movements of the French in
that direction. In 1719, Law's celebrated Mississippi
scheme was at the climax of its popularity; and this
event, if no other had previously attracted notice, must
have turned the attention of our ancestors to that region.
In a work entitled "The Present State of Virginia,
by Hugh Jones, A. M., chaplain to the honorable assem
bly, and minister of Jamestown," printed in 1724, we
find the following information :
" Governor Spotswood, when he undertook the great
discovery of the passage of the mountains, attended with
sufficient guard of pioneers and gentlemen, ¦with sufficient
stock of provisions, with abundant fatigue passed these
mountains, and cut his majesty's name in a rock upon
the highest of them, naming it Mount George; and in
complaisance, the gentlemen, from the governor's name,
called the mountain next in hight. Mount Alexander.
"For this expedition they were obliged to provide a
great quantity of horse-shoes, (things seldom used' in the
lower part of the country, where there are few stones,)
upon which account the governor, upon their return,
presented each of his companions with a golden horse
shoe, (some of which I have seen studded with valuable
stones, resembling the heads of nails,) with this inscrip
tion on one side: sic juvai iranscendere montes; and on
the other is written. The Tramontane Order.

70 VIEWS OF GOV. SPOTSWOOD.
" This he instituted to encourage gentlemen to venture
back, and make discoveries and new settlements ; any
gentleman being entitled to wear this golden shoe, who
can prove his having drunk his majesty's health upon
Mount George."
Th^se facts, the accuracy of which we have no reason
to doubt, are very curious. One hundred years ago, the
region that we inhabit was almost unknown, and entirely
inaccessible to the inhabitants of Virginia. Governor
Spotswood "undertook the great discovery," in a spirit
of enterprise similar to that which prompted the ardent
genius of Columbus; we can imagine the preparation,
the pomp, pride, and circumstance, which must have pre
ceded and attended thisv novel enterprise. The colonial
governor was no doubt arrayed in all the imposing in
signia of vice-royalty. A body of pioneers preceded his
march, guards surrounded his person, and a long train
of pack-horses carried tents and provisions. The chival
rous gentry of Virginia pressed forward, with a noble
eHQulation, to share in the dangerous adventure. They
had long looked towards the blue summits of the distant
mountains, that lined their western frontier, with intense
curiosity; and perhaps had ventured singly, or in small
parties, to the bases of these rocky acclivities, which
seemed to present an impassible barrier against the
advance of civilized man. Now they came prepared to
scale the ramparts of nature, to discover new lands,' and
to Extend the empire of their king into new regions.
"With abundant fatigue," they reached the summit of
one of these ridges, and looked back in admiration upon
the broad plains and wooded valleys of the ancient
dominion. But we do not learn that they obtained a
glimpse of the fertile west ; and knowing, as we now do,
that the Alleghany chain consists of a number of parallel

VIEWS OP GOV. SPOTSWOOD. 71
ridges, occupying a space of more than sixty miles in
width, we suppose it probable that they did not penetrate
far into these mountainous recesses. It is even possible
that one of the lesser range, called the " Blue Mountains,''
might have been the limit of their travels.
They little dreamed of the breadth, the length, and the
resources, of the great valley whose verge they had
approached ; nor imagined that a region lay beyond them,
wrapped in the silent splendor of unbroken forests, which,
in extent, beauty, and magniflcence, far exceeded the
territories previously subdued by our ancestors, at so
great an expenditure of life and wealth. They were,
perhaps, not even aware that the French were even then
building forts and villages, planting the grape, and play
ing the violin, upon the borders of the Mississippi. Still
less could they foresee the changes which a century
would produce ; that great States would grow up beyond
these mountains, upon which, with so much triumph, they
drank his majesty's health^-that stages and pleasure-
carriages would be rapidly whirled over these Alpine
precipices — and that fashionable parties would resort in
crowds to watering-places, in the romantic valleys of the
Alleghany chain. ^^
In 1739, at the commencement of the war between
Great Britain and Spain, Spotswood, who was no longer
governor, was placed at the head of the colonial troops of
Virginia, and assured that his favorite project of occupy
ing the regions watered by the Ohio, should be carried
into immediate operation. Some preparations were made,
and the spirit of adventure was again awakened in Vir
ginia ; but the death of Spotswood caused the enterprise
to be abandoned.
The situation of Pittsburgh, at the head of the Ohio,
and at the confluence of" the Monongahela and Alleghany

72 SETTLEMENT OP PITTSBURGH.
rivers, was probably flrst noticed for its military, rather
than its commercial advantages. When the French de
termined to establish a chain of posts from Canada to
Louisiana, one of the most important was Fori du Quesne,
situated at this point. It did not escape the military eye
of Washington, when he visited this» country several years
before the revolution, on a mission from the government
of Virginia ; and, in his dispatches, he spoke of its im
portance with a prophetic spirit. During the struggle
which is commonly called " Braddock's War," in 1755,
Fort du Quesne changed masters; and the English, aban
doning the original work, which was probably a mere
stockade, built a more regular fortification on a site imme
diately adjoining, which they named Fort Pitt. This post,
erected on a low point of land, and commanded by hills on
every side, would appear, to a soldier of the present day,
to have been untenable, and consequently useless ; nor
can the reasons of its original establishment and subse
quent importance be ascertained, without recurring to the
history of those times. As a place of deposit for military
stores, it possesses singular advantages in the facilities
which it affords for their transportation — as there is no
other spot from which they could have been distributed
with equal celerity, or over so large an extent of country.
Nor was its situation, with regard to defense, so desperate
as we might at first imagine. It is to be recollected that
in those days there was little or no artillery west of the
mountains; and that it was considered as almost impos
sible to pass the Alleghany ridge with a carriage, of any
description. There was little reason to apprehend that
any ordnance would be brought to assail the ramparts
of that insulated fortress, which seemed destined to assert
the sway of Britain over a boundless wilderness. But,
notwithstanding this imaginary security, the works, of

SETTLEMENT OP PITTSBURGH. 73
which there are extensive ruins still visible, seem to have
been built after the usual fashion of that period, and to
have had the strength, as well as the form, of a regular
fortification. A bomb-proof magazine was extant a few
years ago, in good preservation. This fort is said to have
been built by Lord Stanwin, and to have cost the British
government sixty thousand pounds sterling. As it would
seem, by placing it at this exposed spot, that an attack by
artillery was not apprehended; and as, if such an attack
bad been made, resistance would Tiave been vain, it is diffi
cult to conceive what could have been the motives of the
builders in giving it such strength and regularity. We
must either suppose that their military habits prevailed
over the better dictates of prudence, or that they intended
to impress their Indian neighbors with an exalted opinion
of their security and power. It is said that, shortly after
the English took possession, the Indian traders built a
row of fine brick houses on the margin of the Alleghany,
but that their foundation was sapped by the encroach
ments of the river; no vestige of them remains. About
the year 1760, a small town was built near Fort Pitt,
which contained nearly two hundred souls; but on the
breaking out of the Indian war, in 1763, the inhabitants
retired into the fort, and their dwellings were suffered to
fall into decay. The British officers had some fine gardens
here, called the "King's," and "Artillery " gardens, and
large orchards of choice fruit. The old inhabitants of the
present town recollect them ; but there are now no remains
of these early attempts at luxury and comfort.
After Fort Pitt came into the possession of the Ameri
cans, it was occupied but for a short time, when the
garrison was removed to a spot about a mile further up,
on the Alleghany river, where a picket-work and block
houses were erected, and called Fort Fayette. This post
7

74 TRAVELS OP CARVER.
was occupied by the United States troops until the erec
tion, within a few years past, of the arsenal, two miles
further up.
Pittsburgh was first laid out in the year 1765; it was
afterwards laid out, surveyed, and completed on its present
plan, in 1784, by Colonel George Woods, by order of
Tench Francis, Esq., attorney for John Penn, and John
Penn, junior. The increase of the town was not rapid
until the year 1793, in consequence of the inroads of the
savage tribes, which impeded the growth of the neighbor
ing settlements. The western insurrection, more gene
rally known as the "Whisky War,'' once more made this
the scene of commotion, and is said to have given Pitts
burgh a new and reviving impulse, by throwing a con
siderable sum of money into circulation. Since that time
it has increased rapidly, and is now an important manu
facturing city.
In 1765, John Carver explored the western country,
confining himself chiefly to the regions in the vicinity of
the northern lakes. He was a native of Connecticut, and
a captain in the British army. After having spent two
years and a half in dangerous and painful wanderings,
and traveled seven thousand miles, he went to England
with his family, in 1769, indulging the expectation of
being rewarded for his labors. But the difficulties then
existing between Great Britain and her colonies, induced
the former to suppress every thing that tended to give
information of the power, wealth, and future prospects
of this country; and Captain Carver obtained merely a
reimbursement of the sums he had actually expended on
his travels, on condition of delivering up the original jour
nals to the board of trade. He took care, however, to
keep a copy, which he published several years afterwards.

GENERAL INDIAN WAE. 75

CHAPTEE rv.

¦War of 1763 — Peace of 176-4 — Settlements in -western Virginia —
Early land titleis — Value of land — War of 1774 — Le-wis's expe
dition — Dunmore's treaty — Heroism of Cornstalk — Character of
General Lewis.
The years 1763 and 1764 are memorable for the wide
extent and destructive results of an atrocious war of
extermination, carried on by a combination of all the
Indian tribes of the western country, against the whole
of the frontier settlements of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and
North Carolina.
The peace of 1763, by which the whole of Canada was
ceded to Great Britain, was particularly unacceptable to
the Indians, who disliked the English, and preferred the
French to all other Europeans; and who were especially
averse to this measure, because it was understood that
the British claimed all the country west of the mountains.
They recognized no distinction between jurisdiction and
possession, and supposed that having gained Canada, the
English would proceed to settle both that and the western
plains, as rapidly as might suit their own convenience.
The erection of new forts, and improvement of those
which had been established at Pittsburgh, Bedford, Li-
gonier, Niagara, Detroit, Presque Isle, St. Joseph, and
Miehilimackinac, confirmed this supposition ; and the
Indfans finding themselves curbed by a strong line of

76 PEACE CONCLUDED.
forts, which threatened an extension of the white popu
lation into the heart of their country, took up arms with
alacrity, for the defence of their hunting grounds, and
for the prosecution of a more decisive contest than any
in which they had been heretofore engaged. They
resolved on the general massacre of all the English
settlers west of the mountains, as well as those in the
region of the Susquehanna, to which they laid claim.
Never was a war carried on with more cunning and
ferocity ; and on no occasion did the Indian warriors
exhibit a greater degree of military skill, and dauntless
courage, than in this war, which was especially marked
by all the horrors of savage malignity — the burning of
houses, the massacre of women and children, and the
torture of prisoners. The English traders were the flrst
victims: of one hundred and twenty of these, scattered
among the Indian tribes, only three escaped. The forts
at Presque Isle, St. Joseph, and Mackinac, were sur
prised, and their garrisons slaughtered, while the other
posts were maintained with great difficulty.
Detroit and Fort Pitt, being the most important posts,
their capture was attempted with great eagerness, and a
series of military operations occurred at these places,
which we shall not repeat, as they have been related in
detail in the general histories of those times.
This war was concluded in the latter part of 1764, by
a treaty made at the German flats, by Sir William John
stone ; - and a peace of nearly ten years' continuance
ensued, during which the settlements on the Mononga
hela increased with great rapidity.
The settlements in western Virginia and Pennsylvania
began to attract notice, along the Monongahela, and be
tween that river and the Laurel Eidge, in the year 1772,
and reached the Ohio in the succeeding year. The forts

LAND TITLES. 77
at Bedstone, now Brownsville, and at "Wheeling, were
among the first and most conspicuous. The settlers were
chiefly from Maryland and Virginia; and the route they
pursued was the scarcely practicable path called " Brad
dock's trail," which they traveled with no better means of
conveyance for their furniture and provisions, than that
afforded by pack-horses.
Another, but less numerous emigration, came from
Pennsylvania, by way of Bedford and Fort Ligonier, to
Fort Pitt, which was then supposed to be within the
charter of Virginia.
The great object of most of these persons was to
obtain the possession of land; the title to which cost
little more than the payment of office fees. The Indian
title was not then considered, by individuals, as present
ing any obstacle, and Virginia confirmed the titles of
settlers, with no other restrictions than such as were
necessary to prevent the confusion of interfering claims.
At an early period, that State appointed three commis
sioners to give certificates of settlement rights, which
were sent -with the surveyor's plot to the land-office,
where they remained six months, to await the interpo
sition of caveats, by other claimants, to the same land.
If none were offered within that period, the patents were
issued. There was an inferior kind of title invented by those
rude borderers, called a "tomahawk-right," which was
made by deadening a few trees near a spring, and mark
ing others, by cutting in the bark the initials of the
person who thus took possession. This ceremony con
ferred no legal property, but was respected by the settlers
as establishing a priority of claim, with which it was
discreditable to interfere. These rights were therefore
often bought and sold, because those who wished to

78 SETTLEMENT RIGHTS. — ANECDOTE.
secure favorite tracts of land, chose to buy the toma
hawk improvements, rather than quarrel with the persons
who had made them.
The settlement right at that time, was limited to four
hundred acres ; and many of the primitive settlers seemed
to regard this amount of the surface of the earth, as the
allotment of Divine Providence for a single family, and
believed that it would be sinful to monopolize a larger
quantity. Most of them contented themselves with that
number of acres, and those who evaded the law by avail
ing themselves of the names of others, to obtain more
than one settler's portion, were held in disrepute. It
was thought that when an individual had gained as much
land as was necessary to support his family, the remain
der belonged of right to whoever might choose to settle
upon it.*
An authentic anecdote is related of a worthy pioneer
in western Virginia, who, in addition to his improvement
right, became lawfully seized in fee simple, of an adjoin
ing tract of two hundred acres; but being a pious and
upright man, and thinking it wrong to appropriate to
himself more than he considered the lawful share of one
individual, his conscience would not permit him to retain
it in his family. He gave it therefore to a young man
who had been his apprentice ; and the latter sold it for
a cow and calf, and a wool hat.
The division lines between those whose lands adjoined,
were amicably arranged between the parties, previous to
any actual survey ; and in making this partition, they
were chiefiy guided by the tops of the ridges, and the
water-courses, but particularly the former. Hence a
large number of the farms in western Pennsylvania and
* Doddridge's Notes.

EARLY SETTLERS. 79
Virginia, bear a striking resemblance to an amphitheater.
The buildings occupy a low situation, near a spring, and
the tops of the surrounding hills are the boundaries of
the tract. The farmers prided themselves in an arrange
ment, which they alleged to be attended with the con
venience, "that everything came to the house down hill."
The tracts of land in Ohio, and the other States west of
the Ohio river, having been laid out by parallel lines,
the farms do not present this peculiarity.
The pioneers placed little value upon their lands, in
consequence of an apprehension that the soil would soon
"wear out," or become impoverished by culture. They
were unaccustomed to the use of manure, and wholly
unacquainted with the modern system of agriculture, by
which the exhaustion of the fertilizing juices of the soil
is remedied ; and had they known them, would have
been disinclined to the labor of such careful husbandry.
This is one of the most obvious causes of their migratory
habits. The race of pioneers inhabiting the head waters of
the Ohio, had some peculiarities, which distinguish them
from those of Kentucky, which we shall point out in
another place. At present we shall proceed to give a
rapid outline of the historical events which attended the
first settlement of this part of the west.
The destructive war that broke out in 1774, and threw
the whole frontier into consternation, was provoked by
the misconduct of the whites. In the spring of that
year, a rumor was circulated that the Indians had stolen
several horses from some land speculators, who were
exploring the shores of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers.
No evidence of the fact was produced, and the report
has since been considered to have been false. It -sfas,
however, believed at the time, and produced a general

80 HISTORICAL EVENTS.
impression that the Indians were about to take up the
hatchet against the frontier settlements. The land job
bers ascended the river, and collected at Wheeling, at
which place was a small station commanded by Captain
Cressap. Here a scene of confusion and high excitement ensued.
The report that a canoe containing two Indians, was ap
proaching. Was sufficient to kindle up the incipient fires
of hatred and revenge. Captain Cressap proposed to take
a party, and intercept the Indians;* while Colonel Zane,
the proprietor of the place, decidedly objected to any act
of hostility on the part of the whites, on the grounds
that the killing of these Indians would bring on a gene
ral war, while the act itself would be a criminal murder,
which would disgrace the names of the perpetrators. On
the frontier, the counsels of humanity and peace are not
often regarded as those of wisdom. The party set out,
and being asked on their return, what had become of the
Indians, the cool reply was, that "they had fallen over
board !" The fate of the savage warriors was not long
a secret; the canoe was found bloody, and pierced with
bullets ; the tribes flew to arms, and a sanguinary war was
the immediate consequence of this and other acts of un
provoked outrage. One of these was an atrocious attack
upon a party of Indians encamped at the mouth of
Captina creek, committed by thirty-two men under the
command of Daniel Greathouse. On the same day on
which the murder occurred which we have just described
another was perpetrated at Tellow creek, by the same
party. The whole family of the celebrated, but unfortunate
Logan, were comprehended in the massacres at Captina
* Doddridge.

INDIAN WAE. 81
and Tellow creeks; and he who had always been the
friend of the whites, and the efficient advocate of peace,
was converted by the lawless acts of a few unprincipled
individuals, into an active and daring enemy.
Those alone who have resided upon the frontier, are
aware of the thrill of terror, spread by such an event,
among the scattered inhabitants of the border. Antici
pating immediate retaliation, and not knowing at what
moment, or from what quarter, the blow may come, the
panic spreads with the rapidity of the wind. Bold and
hardy as the borderers are, when traversing the forest
alone in pursuit of game, or when assembled for battle,
they cannot, at the flrst rumor of an Indian war, avoid
quailing under the anticipated terrors of a sudden inroad
of savage hostility. They know that their enemy will
steal upon them in the night, in the unguarded hour of
repose, and that the innocent child and helpless female
will derive no protection from their sex or weakness;
and they shrink at the idea of a violated fireside, and a
slaughtered family. The man who may be cool, when
his own life alone is exposed to danger, or whose spirit
may kindle into enthusiastic gallantry, amid the anima
ting scenes of the battle-field, where armed men are his
companions and his foes — becomes panic-struck at the
contemplation of a merciless warfare which shall offer
his dwelling to the firebrand of the incendiary, and his
family to the tomahawk of the infuriated savage.
Such was the effect of the unadvised and criminal acts
which we have related. A sudden consternation per
vaded the whole frontier. A war, unwelcome, unexpected,
and for which they were wholly unprepared, was sud
denly precipitated upon them by the unbridled passions
of a few lawless men ; and a foe always quick to resent,
and ever eager to shed the blood of the white race, was

82 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.
roused to a revenge which he would not delay in ob
taining. The settlers began to remove to the interior,
or collect in log forts hastily erected for the occasion.
Men who had acquired homes by years of perilous
and toilsome labor, who had plied the axe incessantly
in clearing away the immense trees of the forest, in
making fences, in building houses, in disencumbering
the land of its tangled thickets, and bringing it into
culture, abandoned all, and fled in precipitation to places
of safety. In every path might be seen the sturdy
pioneer, striding lustily forward, with his rifle on his
shoulder, casting wary glances into each suspicious dell
and covert; and followed by a train of pack-horses,
burthened with his wife, his children, and such movables
as could be transported by this mode of conveyance.
After a few days, the whole scene was changed. The
frontier, so lately peaceful, had become the seat of war.
The fields of the husbandman were ravaged by the Indian ;
the cabins were burned, and the labors of many years
desolated. The few settlers that incautiously remained
in their homes, were slaughtered, or with difficulty rescued
by their friends. The prudent men, whose backs had
lately been turned upon the foe, having placed their fami
lies in security, were now seen in arms,' either defending
the rude fortresses, or eagerly scouring the woods in
search of the enemy. However reluctantly they had been
forced into the war, they had now entered into the spirit
of the contest ; the inconveniences they had suffered, the
danger of their families, and the sight of their desolated
hearths and blasted fields, had awakened in their bosoms
a hatred not less implacable than that of their savage
foemen. Expresses were sent to Williamsburgh, the seat of
government of Virginia, announcing the commencement

BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT. 83
of hostilities, and a plan was immediately matured, for a
campaign against the Indians. The active commander
was General Lewis, of Botetourte county. The forces
were to rendezvous in Greenbriar county. The Earl of
Dunmore was to raise another army, to be assembled at
Fort Pitt, and thence to descend the river to Point
Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kenawa.
On the eleventh of September, General Lewis, with
eleven hundred men, commenced his march from his ren
dezvous in Greenbriar for Point Pleasant, distant one
hundred and sixty miles. The country to be traversed,
was at that time a trackless desert, wholly impassable for
wheeled carriages; the ammunition and provisions were
carried on pack-horses ; and the army, led by a guide
acquainted with the passes of the mountains and the In
dian pathways, reached Point Pleasant after a laborious
march of nineteen days.
Lord Dunmore, to the great disappointment of General
Lewis, did not make his appearance, and it was not until
after a painful delay of nine days, that he learned by an
express from that nobleman, that he had changed his plan
of operations, and marched for the old Chillicothe town, at
which place he instructed General Lewis to join him.
On the next day, the Virginia troops were attacked in
their camp, by a numerous body of Indians, composed of
the Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo, and other tribes. General
Lewis, keeping a strong reserve in camp, pushed forward
a detachment, under Colonels Charles Lewis and Flem-
min'' who met the Indians about four hundred yards in
front of the camp, and formed in two lines for their re
ception. The battle commenced a little after sunrise, by
a heavy firing from the Indians, and so vigorous was the
onset, that the advance was soon driven in upon the main
body. Here they were rallied, reinforced, and led gal-

84 BRAVERY OF CORNSTALK.
lantly back to their former position. The Indians were
now driven until they entrenched themselves behind a
line of logs and trees, extending from the bank of the
Ohio to that of the Kenawa, while our troops occupied
the point of land formed by the junction of the two rivers.
The brave Virginians, thus hemmed in, with rivers' in their
rear and on either fiank, and a vindictive foe strongly
intrenched in their front, were dependent on their courage
alone for success. Their native gallantry, ably directed
by the military skill of their distinguished leader, proved
triumphant. The battle was kept up with great vivacity,
and with little change of position, during the whole day,
and at sunset the discomfited savages retreated across the
Ohio. Our loss in this sanguinary battle was seventy-five
killed, and one hundred and forty wounded. Among the
killed were Colonels Charles Lewis, and Fields ; Captains
Buford, Murray, Ward, Wilson, and M'Clenahan ; Xieuts.
Allen, Goldsby, Dillon ; and some inferior officers.
The number of Indians engaged was never ascertained ;
but it was rendered certain that their loss was at least
equal to ours. They were commanded by Cornstalk, the
celebrated chief warrior of the Shawnese, who displayed
the most consummate skill and bravery. During the
whole of the day, his voice was heard vociferating, with
terrific energy, in his own language — " Be strong ! be
strong !"
On the evening preceding the battle, he had proposed
in a council of his confederates, to go personally to the
camp of Gen. Lewis, to negotiate a peace. A majority of
the warriors voted against the measure. "Then," said the
intrepid leader, "since you are resolved to fight, you shall
fight. It is likely we shall have hard work to-morrow ;
but if any warrior shall attempt to run away from the

CORNSTALK SUES FOR PEACE. 85
battle, I will kill him with my own hand." It is said that
he literally fulfilled this threat upon one of his followers.
After the Indians had returned to the Chillicothe town,
Cornstalk again called a council. He reminded the war
chiefs of their obstinacy in preventing him from making
peace before the fatal battle of Point Pleasant, and asked
"What shall' we do now? The Long Knives are coming
upon us by two routes. Shall we turn out and fight
them ?" All were silent. He again addressed them :
"Shall we kill all our squaws and children, and then fight
until we shall all be killed ourselves?" Again a dead si
lence reigned among the stern leaders of the Indian host.
He rose up, with the dignity of one who felt that he had
discharged his duty, and striking his tomahawk into the
war-post in the middle of the council-house, said, "Since
you are not inclined to fight, I will go and make peace."
He did so.
In the meanwhile. Lord Dunmore descended the river
to Wheeling ; and thence proceeded, with about a hundred
canoes, a few keel boats, and some pirogues, to the mouth
of Hocking, from which place he marched to a point
within eight miles of Chillicothe, on the Sciota. Here the
army halted, and threw up intrenchments of fallen trees
and earth, which included about twelve acres, with an in
closure of strong breast-works in the center, containing
about one acre. The latter, as "an early writer significantly
remarks, "was the citadel which contained the markees of
the earl and his superior officers." — Doddridge.
Before the army reached this place, the Indian chiefs
had sent several messages, suing for peace, which Lord
Dunmore resolved to grant. He therefore ordered General
Lewis to retreat. The brave Virginian, disregarding this
mandate, continued his march until he joined his superior,
when the order was repeated, and obeyed. The troops

86 THE SPEECH OF LOGAN.
were greatly chagrined at this termination of a campaign
which had thus far been so successful. The murder of
some of their relatives and friends, and the loss of many
of their brave companions in the recent battle, had kindled
a desire for revenge, which they were disposed to indulge
by the destruction of all the Indian towns in the region
of the Sciota. The orderof Dunmore was therefore obeyed
with indignation, and regret, and Lewis retired towards
Virginia, while the earl remained with his army to treat
with the Indians.
On this occasion, every precaution was used to guard
against treachery, and only a limited number of chiefs,
with a few warriors, were permitted to enter the fortified
encampment. Cornstalk opened the discussions by an
eloquent speech, in which he boldly charged the whites
with having provoked the war, by the murders at Cap
tina and Tellow Creeks; and is said to have spoken
with such vehemence, that he waa heard over the whole
camp. It was on this occasion that Logan, the Cayuga chief,
sent to Lord Dunmore the speech which has rendered his
name so celebrated, and which is justly considered as one
of the finest specimens of eloquence upon record. Mr.
Jefferson, who preserved this beautiful and affecting ef
fusion of native feeling, in his Notes on Virginia, has been
accused of palming upon the world a production of his
own, by those who have no other ground for the suspicion
than the force and feeling of the composition itself, and
who forget that genuine eloquence is not the offspring of
refinement. But all doubt on this subject has long since
t>n removed, by the testimony of General Gibson, of
Pennsylvania, who interpreted the speech when delivered,
and of other officers who were present at the treaty, and
who many years afterwards remembered distinctly the im-

GENERAL LEWIS. g7
pression made upon their minds by the affecting appeal
of the unlettered chieftain.
General Andrew Lewis, who acted so conspicuous a
part in this campaign, was a gentleman of whose military
abilities General Washington entertained so high an opin
ion, that, when the chief command of the revolutionary
armies was tendered to himself, he recommended that it
should rather be given to General Lewis.
He was the companion of Washington in the fatal cam
paign under Braddock, and was a captain in the detach
ment that fought at Little Meadows in 17.52. He com
manded a company of Virginians, attached to Major
Grant's regiment of Highlanders, in 1758; and, on the
eve of the battle in which the latter was so signally de
feated, was ordered to the rear with his men, in order
that he might not share the honor of the expected victory.
There he stood ¦with his brave Virginians, impatiently
listening to the reports of the musketry, at a distance
of more than a mile from the battle-ground, until the
Europeans were defeated, and wholly exposed to the
merciless tomahawk of the Indians ; when, without wait
ing for orders, he rushed to the scene of slaughter, and,
by his coolness and skill, turned the scale of -victory,
drove back the savages, and saved the regulars from mas
sacre. While advancing to the rescue, he met a Scotish
Highlander under full flight; and on enquiring of him
how the battle was going, the panic-struck soldier replied,
they Were " a' beaten, and he had seen Donald M' Donald
up to his hunkers in the mud, and a' the skin aff his
heed."

88 EXPEDITION OF GEN. M'INTOSH.

CHAPTEE IV.

M'Intosh's Expedition — Fort Laurens — Moravian towns — Destruc
tion of the Moravians — Cra-wford's campaign.
In the spring of 1778, a small body of regular troops
was sent out for the protection of the western frontiers,
under General M'Intosh, who built a fort on the site of
the present town of Beaver. It was a strong stockade,
with bastions, mounting one six-pounder.
In the fall of that year, having received instructions to
make a campaign against the Sandusky towns, he march
ed in that direction with a thousand men, but it was too
late in the season to operate efficiently. He therefore
erected Fort Laurens on the bank of the Tuscarawa, and
leaving a garrison there of one hundred and fifty men,
retired to Fort Pitt.
The inexpediency of erecting forts so far in advance
of the settlements, was soon experienced. In the month
of January, the Indians came secretly in the night, and
caught the horses that were grazing near the fort. These
they carried off, having first taken from their necks the
bells which the new settlers hung to their domestic ani
mals, in order to be able to find them when running at
large in the woods They then formed an ambuscade by
the side of a path leading from the fort, and in the morn
ing early rattled the bells in that direction. A fatigue
party of sixteen men, who were sent out as usual to col-

THE FORT BESIEGED. 89
lect the horses, fell into the snare. Fourteen were killed
on the spot, and two taken. In the evening of that day,
the whole Indian army, in full dress and painted for war,
appeared on the prairie in sight of the fort, marching to
wards it in single file, with every martial solemnity which
could render their appearance imposing. Their number,
as counted from one of the bastions, was eight hundred
and forty-seven. They encamped on a rising ground on
the opposite side of the river from the fort, and often ap
proached so near as to hold conversation with our people
— in which they deplored the war, but did not attempt to
conceal their feelings of exasperation at the Americans for
penetrating so far into their country. After besieging the
fort for about six weeks, they retired ; and the commander
despatched Colonel Clark to Fort M'Intosh, with the in
valids, under a small escort. The Indians, anticipating
that the garrison would be thrown off its guard by their
retreat, had left a party lingering behind, which inter
cepted this little detachment, about two miles from the
fort, and killed all but four.
A few days after this disaster. General M'Intosh came
to the relief of the garrison, with a body of seven hundred
men, and a supply of provisions, of which the lately be
sieged party stood in great need, but the greater part of
which was lost by an uncommon accident. When the
relieving troops were about to enter the fort, the overjoyed
garrison saluted them with a general discharge of mus
ketry, at the report of which the pack-horses, taking
fright, broke away suddenly from their drivers, and
dashed off through the forest at full speed — scattering the
pro-visions in every direction, so that a large proportion
of them could never be recovered. To understand fully
the extent of this misfortune, it should be stated that the
garrison had been for two weeks on short allowance of

90 THE MORAVIAN BRETHREN.
sour flour and damaged meat ; even this wretched resource
was exhausted, and, for several days previous to the ar
rival of relief, they had subsisted on raw hides, and
such roots as could be found in the woods and prairies.
Several men had suffered death, in consequence of eating
poisonous herbs. Such were some of the incidents of
border warfare, and the hardships of the brave pioneers
who led the van of civilization into our beautiful valley I
About the year 1772, some missionaries, of the order of
Moravian Brethren, succeeded in establishing a commu
nity of Indians, who embraced their faith, and who were
collected into three villages on the Muskingum, called
Salem, Gnaden-huetten, and Schoenbrund. What prog
ress they made in imparting to theii: converts the arts of
civilization, and the principles of Christianity, can not
now be satisfactorily ascertained. It is only certain that
they induced them to live in peace, and to engage in the
cultivation of the soil, and that they prospered so far as
to increase their numbers to four hundred people. The
times, however, were adverse to a fair trial of their ex
periment, and their location was not less unpropitious.
Occupying a position midway between the advanced set
tlements of the whites, and the villages of the hostile
Indians, and practicing a paciflc demeanor which both
parties alike despised, they were suspected by each alter
nately of secretly favoring the other.
They continued, however, to be treated with some de
gree of respect, until the breaking out of the revolution
in 1775, when their situation became in the highest
degree embarrassing. Early in this contest, the British
government enlisted under her banner the tomahawk of
the Indian, and the whole western frontier became a scene
of sanguinary warfare. The American colonies, barely
able to sustain their fleets and armies on the seaboard,

THE MORAVIANS. 91
had neither troops nor supplies to send to the frontier.
The pioneers defended themselves against the combined
forces of the British and Indians, appointed their own
officers, erected forts, and bore, unaided, the whole weight
of the revolutionary contest.
As they were not assisted, so they were not controlled
by the government, and became a law unto themselves;
carrying on a desultory warfare, without plan, and with
out restraint. A lawless disposition grew up, which led
to the perpetration of many acts that would not have
been approved under any system of social subordination,
or military law.
The warfare between them and the Indians soon as
sumed a vindictive and merciless character; a hatred, deep,
stern, and mutual, governed the contest, and the parties
fought, not to conquer, but to exterminate.
The warriors of either side, in passing the neutral vil
lages of the Moravians, situated midway between them,
often found it convenient to stop, and it was no easy
matter for that pacific community to preserve its character
for neutrality. To avoid the suspicions of partiality was
impossible. Even their aversion to the shedding of blood,
led them into acts which, however humane, were incau
tious. On some occasions, they sent secret messages to
the whites, to apprise them of plans, laid by the savages,
to surprise a fort, or massacre a settlement ; and they re
ceived the famished prisoners who escaped from the In
dians, secreted and fed them, and enabled them to elude
the pursuit of their enemies. On the other hand, the
red warriors found a resting place in either of the Mo
ravian villages, whenever they claimed its hospitality, and
perhaps experienced all the offices of charity and friend
ship which were extended to our people.
It followed, as a matter of course, that whenever a

92 MASSACRE OF MORAVIAN INDIANS.
secret plan of one party was discovered and frustrated by
the other, the Moravians were supposed to be the treach
erous betrayers ; and the failure of an expedition brought
upon them the heavy imprecations of the side which had
met with discomfiture. All the kindness which had been
received from them was blotted out by their alleged
treason, or the partiality that jealous warriors suspected
them to entertain towards their foes.
The Moravian villages were called " The half way
houses of the warriors ;" and this phrase began to be used
in flerce derision, by the stern and lawless men, who de
spised the peaceable tillers of the soil who took neither
side, but opened their doors alike to all comers. In 1781,
the war chief of the Delawares apprised the missionaries
of their danger, and urged them to remove, but they de
clined. In the fall of the same year, a party of three
hundred Indians destroyed the villages, desolated the
fields, and turned the unhappy converts to Christianity,
into the wilderness, upon the plains of Sandusky, where
many of them perished of famine during the ensuing
winter. The missionaries were carried to Detroit, and
after being strictly examined, were permitted by the
British officers to return to their people.
In the ensuing month of February, one hundred and
fifty of the Moravian Indians returned to their ruined
villages, to seek among the desolated hearth-stones, some
remnants of their once plentiful stores of food, for their
perishing families. Here they encountered a body of
militia from the settlements, by whom ninety of these
unoffending creatures were wantonly slain. A wretched
remnant returned to their starving companions at San
dusky, affording a melancholy evidence of the little esti
mation in which the virtues of peace are held, during the
stern excitement of a border war.

Crawford's campaign. 93
The celebrated campaign under Colonel Crawford, was
undertaken in 1782, for the double purpose of completing
the destruction of the Moravian Indians, in their new
town at Sandusky, and of destroying the Wyandot towns
on that river. The force employed consisted of 480 men,
all of whom were volunteers, who were chiefly raised in
the immediate vicinity of the Ohio.
We shall not repeat the details of this campaign, which
seems to have been badly planned, and not well con
ducted. It was a voluntary expedition gotten up by the
people of the Virginia border, under some sudden excite
ment. Crawford, a brave and popular man, was selected
as the leader, in consideration of some military experi
ence gained in former wars ; but he seems to have been a
man of little energy, and of moderate ability. An act
of insubordination on the part of the men, upon flrst
meeting with a few of the enemy, satisfied him that he
did not command their confldence, and induced him to
indulge in melancholy forebodings, which were but too
fatally realized.
On the plains of Sandusky they were met by an Indian
army, and a severe engagement ensued, which lasted from
noon till sunset.
The next day the number of Indians increased, and the
encampment was surrounded by a numerous host of sav
ages. A retreat was resolved upon ; but even this meas
ure was almost impracticable, for the way was blocked up
by enemies, who disputed every step, and threw every
obstacle in the path of our discomfited countrymen. The
army became panic-struck, and all its measures seem to
have been the result of mere impulse. A difference of
opinion arose, as to the best mode of retreating ; the
greater number considering it advisable to retire in a
compact body, while a considerable number thought it

94 CRAWFORD BURNT AT THE STAKE.
safer to break up into small parties, which should strike
homeward in different directions. Unfortunately, both
plans were attempted, but neither of them prosecuted with
energy; and while the majority determined to preserve
the force entire, small parties were continually detaching
themselves, which fell into the hands of the enemy, who,
quick-sighted in discovering the insubordinate and dis
tracted state of our army, adapted their warfare to the
occasion, and hovered about to cut off those who left the
main body.
Colonel Crawford himself, missing his son, son-in-law,
and two nephews, who were supposed to have fallen in the
rear, lingered behind the troops to seek them, and was
taken prisoner. He was conducted, with several other
captives, to an Indian town, where he was beaten, tor
tured, and finally burnt at the stake, with every indignity
and every aggravation of suffering, that savage malignity
could invent. The infamous Simon Girty, an agent of the
British government, witnessed these atrocities, and not
only refused to intercede for the brave but unfortunate
Crawford, but even laughed heartily at the agonies of the
perishing captive.
This was the last campaign, in this quarter, during the
revolutionary war ; it was wretchedly planned, and worse
conducted; and on no occasion did the savages obtain
more ample revenge, or gratify their hatred of the whites
with more brutal ferocity. But Crawford was the last
white man known to have Suffered at the stake.
We have passed over several minor expeditions, and a
variety of individual adventures, which occurred at the
period under review, in this interesting region. But we
can not omit an incident which strongly marks the
character of the times, and shows at how early an age
the young pioneers imbibed those traits of cunning, of

JOHN AND HENRY JOHNSON. 95
patient endurance, and of self-possession, which distin
guished our hardy borderers.
In the year 1793, two brothers, John and Henry
Johnson — the one thirteen, and the other eleven years
of age — whose parents lived in Carpenter's station, near
Short Creek, on the west side of the Ohio, were roaming
through the woods in search of their father's cattle.
They were met and captured by two Indians, both of
whom, as it turned out afterwards, were distinguished
warriors. The Indians had bridles in their hands, and were
seeking the horses of the settlers, for the purpose of
stealing; and they continued their ramble, taking the
boys with them. John, the oldest, had the tact to accom
modate himself at once to his situation; and, affecting
great joy at being captured, informed the savages that his
father had treated him cruelly, and that he had long
meditated an escape to the Indian country. He said
that he wished to live in the woods and be a hunter, and
seemed to enter with spirit into the search of the Indians
after the horses of the white men. This conduct concili
ated the favor of the savages, who treated them kindly.
They were careful, however, not to trust their little pris
oners too far, but pinioned their arms; and at night,
when they lay down, placed the boys between them, se
cured by a large strap, which waa passed under their own
bodies. "Pretty late in the night," says the narrator of this
incident,* "the Indians fell asleep; and one of them,
becoming cold, caught hold of John in his arms, and
turned him over on the outside. In this situation the
boy, who had kept awake, found means to get his hands

* Dr. Doddridge.

»0 JUVENILE HEROISM.
loose ; he then whispered to his brother, made him get
up, and untied his arms. This done, Henry thought of
nothing but running off as fast as possible ; but when
about to start, John caught hold of him, saying, 'We
must kill these Indians before we go.' After some hesi
tation, Henry agreed to make the attempt. John took
one of the rifles of the Indians, and placed it on a log,
with the muzzle close to the head of one of them. He
then cocked the gun, and placed his little brother at the
breech, with his finger on the trigger, with instructions
to pull it, as soon as he should strike the other Indian.
"He then took one of the Indians' tomahawks, and,
standing a-straddle of the other Indian, struck him with
it. The blow, however, fell on the back of the neck
and to one side, so as not to be fatal. The Indian then
attempted to spring up, but the little fellow repeated
his blows with such force and rapidity on the skull, that,
as he expressed it, 'the Indian laid still and began to
quiver.' "At the moment of the first stroke given by the elder
brother, the younger one pulled the trigger, and shot
away a considerable portion of the Indian's lower jaw.
This Indian, a moment after receiving the shot, began
to flounce about and yell in the most frightful manner.
The boys then made the best of their way to the fort,
and reached it a little before day-break. On getting near
the fort, they found the people all up, and in great agi
tation on their account. On hearing a woman exclaim,
" Poor little fellows, they are killed or taken prisoners,"
the eldest one answered, 'No, mother! we are here yet.' "
Having brought away nothing from the Indian camp,
their relation was not credited; but a party having been
conducted by the boys to the spot, one Indian was found
filled, and the other desperately wounded.

AN INDIAN'S OPINION. 97
At the treaty held subsequently by General Wayne, a
friend of the Indians who had been killed, inquired what
had become of these boys ; and on being answered that
they lived in the same place, with their parents, the In
dian exclaimed, -Tou have not done right: you should
make kings of those boys."

ADVENTURES OF COL. LINN.

CHAPTEE VI.
Adventures of William Linn — A model pioneer.
There is no page in the history of the world, which
is more ennobled by deeds of generous self-devotion,
than that which records the incidents of the American
revolution. Greece and Eome have left many examples
of disinterested personal heroism, and virtuous self-sacri
fice, which, embalmed by the genius of the poet, the
orator, and the historian, have come down to us, preserved
and decorated with the choicest flowers of classic litera
ture. In those cases, art and learning have combined
with contemporaneous gratitude, to cherish the perennial
verdure of noble deeds. The severe virtue, and the ro
mantic daring of our fathers, had not the advantage of
being thus perpetuated by the pen and pencil of elaborate
, and inspired genius. In the infancy of our social institu
tions, the soil which gave birth to the warrior and the
patriot, had scarcely begun to be adorned by the reflne-
ments of intellectual culture. This was especially true of
the adventurers of our border warfare, where the boldest
exploits, and even events of important bearing upon the
great question then at issue, were the result of individual
enterprise, formed no part of any general plan, and were
scarcely sanctioned by the provisional governments.
While the colonies were engaged in an unequal war

character OF COL. LINN. 99
with the enemies of England, their western frontiers were
defended from the savage, and the new settlements estab
lished, by men who, for the most part, made war with
their own means, and upon their own responsibility. The
leaders in these wars were generally self-appointed, or
chosen to command on account of their martial talents,
by their neighbors or followers. They were a peculiar
race, bred on the frontier, acquainted alike with the
usages of social subordination and the turbulent scenes of
the border; imbued on the one hand with the enlarged
principles of government which at that epoch were under
going such active discussion, and, on the other, familiar
with the rough scenes of sylvan life, and all the cunning,
strategy, and ferocious violence of savage warfare. Men
of kind and generous natures, their hospitable homes
teemed with plenty and cheerfulness ; their houses were
open to the stranger, and in the hour of danger, were
staunch fortresses, receiving all who fled to them for
protection. William Linn, and many others of his class, combined
in private life, the farmer with the hunter, while they
were essentially military in character and habits, and were
the men of mark and influence in their neighborhoods.
In an emergency, they collected the people for defense,
or led them on distant expeditions, without other warrant
than the pressure of danger, and the duty of mutual and
self-protection; while again they held commissions, acted
with the regular armies, or were charged with special
duties suited to their habits as woodsmen, and their won
derfully extensive knowledge of the country. As the
country became organized into civil communities, they
were the magistrates and civil functionaries; but office
added but little to their dignity or influence, for at all
times they were public men.

100 A BORDER SPY.
The father of Wm. Linn was born in Ireland, and came
to America in 1701, with his father, who settled on Long
Island, where he lived until he married, and then removed
to New Jersey. He had four sons and two daughters,
with whom, after the death of his wife, he removed to
Maryland. Of the early life of Col. Linn we have no
account, but as we find him, a young man, acting as a
guide and spy in Braddock's army, we infer that he was
reared in the hardy pursuits of frontier life, and was
familiar with the toils of the hunter, and with all the
vicissitudes of the forest. Th^ office was one of great
importance, requiring an intimate knowledge of a wide
scope of country, an acquaintance_ with the habits, and
especially the military stratagems of the Indians, expert
ness in hunting, unquestionable fidelity, prudence, and
presence^of mind. ;And -as- all these qualities were fully
developed in the future career of Col. Linn, we inay infer
a youthful, promise, and a training which would lead to
such results. He is supposed to have reconnoitered Fort
Du Quesne, aiid -to- have supplied to Gen. 'Braddock infor
mation, in, regard to that;p6st and the intermediate region
of wilderness" and mountain, previous to the march ofthe
British ariny for Fort; Cumberland.- And here we may as
¦well remark, -.as the word will occur again, that the term
"Spy," as used in the accounts of our border warfare, has
a different meaning frdm the same -word when employed
technically in military history. It does not express a
sinister or dishonorable service. The spy, in our western
warfare, was an expert woodsman, an experienced hunter,
a bold, active man, who roamed the forest in advance of
an army, or marched on its flanks, to protect it from
surprise, and to gain intelligence of the enemy. They
differed from the flanking parties and pioneers of other
armies in their remarkable adaptation for this service,-in

LINN RECEIVES HIS COMMISSION. 101
their intelligent alertness, and self-reliance. Often roam
ing off to great distances from the main body, encamping
separately from it, hovering secretly about the enemy,
watching all his movements, the spies were a valuable
body, whose ser-vices were as honorable as they were use
ful. Although their movements were secret, and their
footsteps fell silently on the track they pursued, they wore
no disguise, but were armed men engaged in legitimate
warfare. After Braddock's campaign, we lose sight of Linn until
we find him settled on the Monongahela river, near where
Cookstown now stands, and in what was then considered
the territory of Virginia. How he was employed during
the years intervening between that time and the active
scenes of his revolutionary career, we are not informed.
That he was idle, while the frontier was frequently dis
turbed by Indian hostilities, is not probable; as it would
not be consistent with his known energy of character, nor
with the knowledge and military experience which distin
guished his after life. He made one campaign against
the Indians, under Col. McDaniel, and was wounded in
the shoulder, but in what capacity he served does not
appear. He is known to have been engaged in other
adventures, and is supposed to have led a busy and adven
turous life; but no record was kept of these events, and
the few glimmering beams shed upon them by the lamp
of tradition, do not afford sufficient light to enable us to
trace out the details. Early in the revolution, he received
the commission of Lieutenant in the Virginia troops, and
marched with the company commanded by Captain George
Gibson, from Fort Pitt to Williamsburg, in Virginia. He
participated in the battle of the Great Bridge, near Nor
folk, and in the affair at Hampton, and was -with the com
pany when, in various encounters with the foe, it gave

102 GIBSON AND LINN'S VOYAGE.
those indications of the prowess of its members, which
obtained for them the nickname of " Gibson's Lambs."
The details of those services are no longer extant ; but it
is certain that Gibson and Linn, while thus acting under
the immediate observation of the infiuential men who then
directed the public affairs of Virginia, established that
character which pointed them out as fit persons to be en
trusted with the execution of one of the most extraordi
nary enterprises recorded in military history. We know
not in whose vigorous mind, bold and fertile of expedient,
the plan of this delicate and perilous expedition was
conceived, but we shall see that it was carried out, with
admirable address, by minds of kindred spirit to that of
its author.
In the summer of 1776, Captain George Gibson and
Lieut. William Linn were instructed to proceed, with a
detachment from Gibson's company, from Fort Pitt to New
Orleans, to procure from the Spanish authorities a supply
of gunpowder. There is no evidence, nor intimation,
of any preliminary negotiations, or secret intelligence, to
encourage the hope that the application would be success
ful. The mission was secret, and was conducted with such
caution as to attract no public attention. Gibson and
Linn, wearing the guise of traders, and their attendants,
clad as common boatmen, embarked at Fort Pitt, to follow
the sinuosities of the Ohio and Mississippi for more than
two thousand miles, through a wilderness, inhabited only
by hostile savages, ever vigilant, but excited at this lime by
the existence of a general war. A diary of that voyage
would afford a curious narrative. The noiseless transit of
that little band of heroic men, along the stream upon
whose bosom the thousand giant ships of a great com
mei'ce were soon destined to ride ; the silence and the ver
dure of shores now inhabited by millions of industrious

BECUEES THE GUNPOWDEE. 103
men; the stealthy pace, the guarded watch, the patient
endurance, thf bold expedient by which the voyagers
secured the smiles of fortune; the risks they ran, the
dangers they eluded by cunning or overcame by audacious
daring, the varied adventures, some of which still float in
the traditions of border life, would all combine to form a
legend of highly-wrought romantic interest.
The party arrived safely at New Orleans, being, if not
the first, among the first white men who ever navigated
the great western highway from Pittsburgh to that city.
Gibson and Linn proved themselves able negotiators, and
displayed a degree of address in the conduct of their af
fairs highly creditable to them as men of business. The
Spanish authorities were friendly, but there were British
residents who were watchful and suspicious of all Ameri
cans. To deceive the latter, Gibson was thrown into
prison, and afterwards secretly released when on the eve
of departure, while Linn quietly negotiated for the pow
der, and prepared for its removal. The portion intended
for the ser-vice on the seaboard was shipped for a northern
port, in packages bearing an exterior semblance which
concealed the real contents, through the agency of Oliver
Pollock, Esq., an American resident high in the favor of
Don Galvos, the Spanish Governor. Gibson took the per
sonal charge of the adventure by sea; while Linn, "with
the barges," is said to have "fought his way back to
Wheeling, in the spring of 1777," bringing, with tri
umphant success, one hundred and fifty kegs, as a supply
to the western posts.
One of the episodes of this strange story, which I find
in Butler's Kentucky, is remarkably indicative of the
habits of those times. John Smith, lately of Woodford
county, Kentucky, was employed, in 1776, with James
Harrod, a distinguished pioneer, in exploring the country,

104 JOHN SMITH JOINS THE PAETY.
probably not far from the Kentucky river. Having com
pleted their survey, the companions separatfd, each taking
a direct course home ^ like honest backwoodsmen, to
whom a lonely walk of a few hundred miles through an
uninhabited forest, was but an ordinary excursion. Col.
Harrod returned over the mountains, to North Carolina,
while Mr. Smith, turning his face in nearly the opposite
direction, set out for Peter's creek, on the Monongahela.
As the latter roamed on his solitary way along the brink
of the Ohio, he was discovered by Captain Linn's party,
who easily persuaded him that besides affording an agree
able variety to his monotonous march, it would be less
fatiguing to float down the river with them, than labori
ously to ascend its shores on foot alone. And so Mr.
Smith joined the party, returned with it, assisted in car
rying the kegs of gunpowder round the portage at the
falls of the Ohio, and lived many years afterwards, a
respectable witness of the facts connected with this peril
ous adventure.
The truth of this narrative, in all its material points, is
sufficiently established by contemporaneous evidence, and
by the frequent recitals of the principal actors to their
families and friends; and it is abundantly conflrmed by
the following extract from the instructions of Patrick
Helury, Governor of Virginia, to General George Eogers
Clarke, when about to depart on his expedition against
Kaskaskia; "Tou are to apply to General Hand for the
powder and lead necessary for this expedition. If he can
not supply it, the person who has charge of that which
Captain Linn brought from New Orleans can ; lead was
sent to Hampshire by my orders, and that may be deliv
ered to you." And, in further evidence of this noble
service, we find recorded in the annals of that day, the
following receipt, given by an officer of Colonel Crawford's

CAPT. WILLIAM FOREMAN. 105
command, and countersigned by the regular commissary,
or ordnance officer:
" I do certify that nine thousand weight of powder,
brought from New Orleans by Lieutenant Linn, was de
livered to Colonel William Crawford, for the use of the
continent. "David Shepherd,
"31st January, 1791. Lieut. Ohio.
" Philadelphia, January, 1791.
" Wm. Da vies."
I am sorry to be obliged to add, that this successful
exploit, conducted with such consummate boldness and
address, and resulting in a supply of the means of war,
so important to our needy patriots, has not found place
upon a prominent page in the history of the revolution ;
and that neither Gibson nor Linn appear to have received
any reward, or immediate promotion. Both of them acted
afterwards in higher grades of command, and in many
hard-fought battles ; and among the brightest of the noble
names of that period of disinterested patriotism, theirs will
be hereafter perpetuated and honored.
In the autumn of 1777, shortly after the attack of the
Indians on the fort at Wheeling, the Governor of Vir
ginia, Patrick Henry, having previously determined to
send an expedition against the Indian towns on the
Sciota, ordered three hundred men to be raised in the
counties of Toughiogheny, Monongahelia, and Ohio. The
emergency appealed straight to the patriotism of the peo
ple of Western Virginia, and the gallant citizens turned
out freely as volunteers. ^ Captain William Foreman, a
brave soldier, with some military experience, but wholly
unfit for this service in consequence of his ignorance of
border warfare, raised a company of volunteers, and by the
middle of September reached Wheeling. On the 26th of
that month, a smoke was seen in the direction of Grave

106 A BOLD FEAT.
creek, and fears were entertained that the stockade and
dwelling of Mr. Tomlinson might have been set on fire
by the Indians. With the promptness which marked our
border war. Colonel Shepherd, who was in command, dis
patched Captain Foreman with his company, about forty-
five men, and a few experienced guides, to ascertain the
facts. One of the guides was William Linn, and another
was Jacob Whetzel, one of four brothers who were all
distinguished for their skill and prowess in these perilous
wars. Finding all quiet at Grave creek, the party encamped
for the night on the Grave creek bottom, building up
fires, and throwing themselves on the ground around
them, contrary to the advice of Linn, who pointed out the
unnecessary exposure which would be produced by light
ing fires in the woods, through which the war parties of
Indians were certainly roving, and the danger of sleeping
near them. Foreman disregarded this prudent counsel ;
and Linn, with his little party of guides, retired to a
secluded nook at some short distance, where they spent
the night. With the vigilance of the remarkable class to
which he belonged, Linn slept, as the Indians term it,
with one eye open, and with an ear which, even in slum
ber, was sensitive to the slightest sound of unusual im
port. Just before daylight, he thought he distinguished
slight sounds, such as might be made by launching rafts
upon the water, proceeding from the direction of the
river, above the camp of the main party. In the morn
ing he reported this suspicious circumstance to Captain
Foreman, with the opinion that their motions were prob
ably watched by the enemy, who might ambuscade their
path homeward, and advised him to quit the trace leading
along the margin of the river, and return by a route over
the hills. This advice being also rejected, Linn, who

AN INDIAN AMBUSCADE. 107
seems to have been, to a certain extent, as, perhaps, his
employment required, master of his own motions, pru
dently separated himself from the party, and, with the
sagacity of one acquainted -with the state of things, and
aware of the impending danger, skirted along the hill
side with his band of scouts — "Whetzel and three others.
In passing the Grave creek narrows, where the hill
pushes its base near to the river, leaving a narrow pass
along the level ground on the bank, one of the soldiers
discovered a quantity of beads and other Indian orna
ments scattered along the path, and stopped to pick them
up, while his companions, naturally attracted by the nov
elty of such an incident breaking in upon the monotony
of their silent march, crowded about him. This was just
what the Indians, who lay ambushed in the surrounding
thickets, desired, and as soon as the Americans were
huddled together, a galling fire was poured in upon them
from different sides, by the hidden foe. They were in
stantly thrown into confusion. So many were killed by
the first fire that resistance seemed vain ; and flight ap
peared to be as hopeless, for while a line of foes was drawn
across their path, the river bank was lined with yelling
savages on their left, and the hill on their right presented
a steep acclivity scarcely accessible to the footstep. The
Indians pressed their advantage by an active firing, accom
panied by exulting shouts, and but a few minutes would
have sufficed for the massacre of the whole party, had
not Linn shown himself as gallant as he was sagacious.
Upon the first alarm, he, with his bold comrades, hastened
to the relief of the main party, and rushing down the hill,
with shouts which, echoed by the cliffs, were doubtless
magnified to their ears, attacked the foe, who, scarcely
waiting for the spirited fire of this hardy band, hastily
retreated. It appeared afterwards, that the Indians, who

108 MONUMENT TO THE SLAIN.
had dropped their ornaments for the purpose of attracting
the attention of the whites, were lying concealed in two
parties ; one under cover of the river bank, and the other
in what is called a sink-hole, on the right of the path, from
which positions they fired, secure from any danger to
themselves, until Linn advanced upon them. The number
of the Indians was never ascertained, but it was supposed
that it was small.
The day after this tragic affair, a party from Wheeling,
under Col. Ebenezer Zane, went down to Grave creek to
bury the dead. Andrew Poe and Martin Weitzell were of
the party, as were also John Caldwell and Henry Tohn,
both of whom were living lately, at Wheeling.
On the 31st of October, 1835, a monument was erected
to the memory of the gallant men slain at Grave Creek
Narrows; it stands about four miles below Wheeling, by
the side of the road leading along the bank of the river.
The decided course of Linn in remonstrating against
the rashness of his commander, is not mere conjecture,
drawn from his well known character for sagacity. During
the conversation just alluded to, a man named Eobert
Harkness, an inmate at the station, and a relative of Mr.
Tomlinson, sat near the parties, on a log, and often after
wards repeated what was said. The discussion was con
ducted with earnestness on both sides. Captain Foreman,
who regarded Linn as a rough backwoodsman, by no
means competent to advise him on a point of military con
duct, stood on his dignity, and maintained with pertinacity
his incredulous contempt of the prognostics of danger
indicated by the guide; while the latter, familiar with
the subject, and well satisfied of the impending danger,
urged his opinions with confidence, and pressed them upon
his superior with all the powers of persuasion which he
could command, and the occasion allowed him to use.

COL. CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 109
In 1778, Col. George Eogers Clarke, who to a chivalrous
temperament, which led him to court the hazards of the
most dangerous enterprises, united a consummate mili
tary sagacity and executive energy which secured suc
cess, planned and executed his brilliant campaign against
the posts at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, a brief account of
which we give in another chapter. We are told, that,
" on the passage down the river. Col. Clarke most fortu
nately received a letter from Colonel John Campbell, of
Fort Pitt, informing him of the French alliance, a cir
cumstance, as subsequent events showed, of the utmost
importance to the American arms."* The bearer of that
letter was no less a person than Col. Linn, who, allured by
the kindred spirit of Clarke, and the prospect of gather
ing laurels in a distant field, inviting by its novelty and
its peril, had embarked by himself, in a canoe, to join the
expedition, which he overtook after a solitary voyage of
about nine hundred miles. The yell of the savage, and
the solitude of the wOderness, had no terrors for the man
whose military zeal, or devotion to the service of his
country, could induce him to undertake voluntarily, so
perilous a voyage. Clarke received -with joy an auxiliary
whose reputation was now at its zenith, and who showed
a spirit so congenial to the work before him, and assigned
him a responsible command. He bore a conspicuous part
in that eventful campaign, and so highly were his services
estimated, and such was his popularity with the officers
and men, that when it appeared afterwards, that as a vol
unteer he was not legally entitled to a share of the land
granted to that army by Congress, his companions in
arms made him a donation of several thousand acres out
of their own portions.
Soon after Clarke's campaign. Colonel Linn removed

* Butler's History of Kentucky.

110 INDIAN STRATEGY.
to Kentucky, and it is said that the first fort at Louisville
was constructed under his direction ; but this is not cer
tain. He settled about ten miles from Louisville, near
the spot where Colonel Eichard C. Anderson soon after
resided, and constructed a picket-work for protection
against the Indians, which was known as Linn's Station.
The savages were still troublesome. Their war parties
roamed through the woods, creeping stealthily upon the
settler's cabin, and prowling about the forts, in search
of victims. Their ferocity was exceeded only by their
cunning ; and many were the artifices they practiced to
entice their foes into the snares laid for them. Boats
descending the river were hailed by unseen persons, or
their crews induced to land by the cries of human dis
tress, or by the appearance of a deer or a bear on the
shore, partially exposed, but which, when approached by
the unwary hunter, proved to be the skins of these ani
mals, artfully disposed to decoy him to his ruin. Some
times the wily savage concealed himself near a station,
decoyed the hunter out, by a well executed imitation of
the cry of some animal, and securely murdered him from
his hiding-place. The backwoodsmen, who were apt
scholars in all the arts and exercises of sylvan life,
not only learned all these devices, but often practiced
them with a skill superior to the best efforts of their
teachers. It is related that at Linn's Station, for several
mornings in succession, the gobbling of a wild turkey
was heard, at day-break — at the hour when that noble
fowl is wont to raise his cheerful voice. A hunter, who
had gone out unsuspectingly to secure the game, disap
peared. Colonel Linn's suspicions were aroused, and his
skill as a woodsman enabled him to satisfy himself as to
the exact spot from which the voice had proceeded. The
next night he crept silently to the place, and, having

JOINS CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. Ill
concealed himself, waited patiently for the dawn. At
the first blush of day-light, a stately warrior presented
himself, advancing with stealthy tread, but with confident
alacrity, to his expected sport, and, stepping lightly upon
the trunk of a fallen tree, with a keen glance toward the
station, threw up his arms and gobbled aloud in imita
tion of the wild turkey. In another instant a ball from
the unerring rifle of Linn laid the bold marauder in the
dust. The last service of Colonel Linn, was in the expedition
commanded by General George Eogers Clarke, against the
Indian towns on Mad Eiver and the Little Miami, in
Ohio, in 1780. The settlements in Kentucky having been
greatly harassed by the predatory incursions of the In
dians, an army of one thousand mounted volunteers was
raised, to carry the war into their own country. Colonels
Logan, Linn, Floyd, Harrod, and Slaughter, all distin
guished and successful leaders in former wars, followed
the popular banner of Clarke. Daniel Boone was one
of the guides. Crossing the Ohio at the mouth of Lick
ing, and landing at the present site of Cincinnati, then a
wilderness, they marched to the old Chillicothe town, and
thence to Piqua, destroyed those villages and more than
five hundred acres of growing corn, and beat the Indians
in several hard-fought battles. In one of these engage
ments, the notorious Simon Girty, a renegade white man,
of infamous notoriety, living among the Indians under
British pay, and commanding as a chief of the Mingoes,
drew off a body of three hundred men, declaring that it
was folly in the extreme to continue the action against
men who acted like such madmen as the soldiers of
Clarke, and wfio rushed into danger with a total disregard
of consequences. In this successful campaign, Linn com
manded a battalion, and acted a conspicuous part. The

112 WAYLAID BY INDIANS. — HIS DEATH.
late Bland Ballard, a hero of many battles, who survived
to an honored old age, served in Linn's command, and
always afterwards spoke with enthusiasm of the high
courage and military talent displayed by Linn on this
occasion. Ballard was severely wounded, and, on the re
turn of the troops, was left at Linn's station, where he
remained until after Colonel Linn's death.
The life of this noble soldier and estimable citizen,
spent in the service of his country, and amid the turbu
lent and perilous warfare of the border, was closed by
violence. On the first Monday of March, 1781, a party
assembled at Linn's station, to go together to attend
the Jefferson county Court, at Louisville. Colonel Linn,
having business with some of the magistrates, whom he
the;«fore desired to see before the opening of the Court,
started in advance of the company. He had been gone
but a little while, when the reports of several guns were
heard, and a party instantly mounting, galloped off in
the direction he had taken. His horse was found, shot
down by the road-side, but a long and anxious search for
Colonel Linn proved fruitless. The next day the pursuit
was renewed, and the dead body of Linn discovered a
mile from the station, and near the place which soon
after assumed the name of Soldier's Eetreat, the residence
of the late Colonel Anderson. He had been waylaid by
a party of Indians, concealed in a sink-hole by the road
side, who fired upon their . gallant victim, and wounded
him before he was aware of their presence. The horse
was found at a short distance from this spot, indicating
that an attempt was made to retreat, and that the mor
tally-wounded animal had borne his rider from the place
where the attack was made. It is said that a man named
Applegate, who had been recently taken by the same
party of Indians, was their prisoner when they fired upon

COL. pope's HOUSEHOLD. 113
Colonel Linn, and -witnessed the sad catastrophe. He
gave a detailed account of the affair, and asserted that
after the horse was shot down, and Linn wounded and
surrounded by the exulting savages, he refused to sur
render, but sustained his high standing as a warrior, by
fighting desperately to the last, and that he fell covered
with wounds, after having killed several of his assailants.
It is to be regretted that so little is known of the
domestic life and private character of this distinguished
man. Highly endowed as he was, with noble and excel
lent qualities — with talents above the common order,
with a generous nature, with military capacity and en
ergy, with daring, zeal, and enterprize, tempered by
sagacious prudence — it would have been gratifying to
know that in him, as in the characters of many of his
distinguished companions in arms, the sterner qualities
that enabled them to serve their country so efficiently in
her day of weakness and peril, were dignified and adorned
by high moral rectitude, and the mild radiance of the
gentler virtues. That Linn was such a man, we readily
believe; we find no blot on his fame, and it is fair to
suppose that the noble nature which gave birth to the
numerous deeds of patriotism we find recorded, and which
nurtured so chivalrous a bearing, was fruitful also in all
good and generous impulses.
About four years after the death of Col. Linn, an inci
dent occurred which is curiously illustrative of the vicis
situdes of domestic life in the backwoods. Col. William
Pope had built a house about five miles south of Lou
isville, and removed to it in the fall of 1784. There
being no schools, he employed a teacher to instruct his
own children at home, and for the same reason was in
duced to receive into his house the sons of some of his
10

114 CAPTURE op the BOYS.
friends: among them were the two sons of Col. Linn,
whose guardian he was.
In February, 1785, five of these boys, the two Linns,
Brashear, Wells, and another, whose name is not recol
lected, went out one Saturday to hunt. The ages of these
boys are not now known ; they were little fellows, however,
probably between the ages of nine and thirteen. They
encamped for the night, near the bank of the Ohio, at a
place where a wide scope of bottom land was covered with
heavy forest trees, and with ponds which were frequented
by great numbers of swans, geese, and ducks. A snow
fell during the night, and in the morning they found
themselves surrounded by a party of Indians, who had
lain near them in ambush, and who captured them. Bra-
shear, being a very fleet runner, attempted to escape, but
was overtaken, and secured with the rest. The elder Linn
also attempted to run, but being stout and clumsy, and
encumbered with some game which he had thrown over
his shoulder, stumbled and fell, and was seized by a tawny
warrior, who patted him on the back, and called him, in
the Indian tongue, "the little fat bear;" while Brashear,
on account of his agility, received the name of the "buck
elk." There are many incidents of this kind in the legends
of the border; and there is nothing in history more strik
ing than the address and presence of mind displayed by
children, under such circumstances. Their mode of life,
and education, render them prematurely vigilant and
courageous. Accustomed from the first dawn of reason to
sudden alarms, to the continual pressure of some impend
ing danger, and to narratives of encounters and surprises,
stratagems, and violence, they become familiar with peril,
habitually watchful, and fertile of expedient. The child
is father to the man ; the boy is a young backwoodsman,

character op the boys. 115
eager for adventure, and not stricken with helpless terror
when suddenly involved in danger ; for his eye has been
accustomed from infancy to the weapons of war, and his
ear to the many voices of the forest. " I -spas not born in
the woods to be seared by an owl," is one of the expres
sive proverbs of the West. When Scott, in one of the
most beautiful of English poems, describes the courageous
bearing of the heir of Branksome, as he turned to face
the blood-hounds, the picture is not imaginary, but pour-
trays, -with true philosophy, the training of the son of a
border chief: "I ween you would have seen with joy
The bearing of the gallant boy,
¦When worthy of his noble sire,
Hia wet cheek glowed 't-wlxt fear and ire !
He faced the blood-hound manfully,
And held his little bat on high ;
So fierce he struck, the dog, afraid.
At cautious distance hoarsely bayed ;
But still in act to spring."
Such was the nurture of these boys, who submitted to
their fate with a manliness that would have been credit
able to the elder Linn. The Indians, desiring to ascertain
whether there was any unprotected house or settlement
near, that might be pillaged, asked the boys where they
came from? The guarded reply was, "From Louisville."
"Tou lie!" responded the savage; but the boys, mindful
of their friends, even at a moment so distressing to them
selves, kept their own counsel, and neither by word nor
sign gave any indication that their assertion was not true.
Their sagacity and firmness saved the family of Colonel
Pope from destruction. The Indians retired with their
young captives, who marched off with apparent indiffer
ence. Crossing the Ohio, they were taken to an Indian

116 THEIR PUGILISTIC FEATS.
town in Northern Indiana, distant many days' journey;
and on the way won the favor of their new masters, by
the patience with which they suffered captivity and
fatigue, and the cheerful interest they appeared to take
in the occurrences of the march.
At the Indian village, the reception usually extended
to prisoners awaited them. The women and children
crowded around them with shouts of exultation, loaded
them with reproaches, pelted them with dirt and stones,
struck, pinched, and heaped indignities upon them. But
the gallant little fellows were probably prepared for these
and greater cruelties, and found them no worse than they
expected. For awhile they submitted bravely; but at
length the Linn blood became heated, and the younger
of the brothers, whose temper was quick, and who had
frequently been cautioned by his companions to restrain
his passions, losing all patience, singled out a tawny boy
bigger than himself, who had struck him, and being left-
handed, returned the blow, in a way so unexpected that
his foe, unable to parry it, was knocked down. The
warriors were delighted with an exploit so much to their
taste, and applauded it with loud shouts and laughter.
Another champion assailed the little hero, who, springing
upon the juvenile savage, with the ferocity of the panther,
dealt him blows, kicks, and scratches, with a vigor which
surprised and delighted the spectators. The whole mass
of boyhood became pugnacious, his companions joined
with alacrity in the fight — Kentucky against the field —
the heroic lads fought against odds, but displayed such
prowess that they soon cleared the ring, and were rescued
from further annoyance by their captors, who were par
ticularly amused by the efficiency and odd effect of the
left-handed blows of the" younger Linn.
Such fine boys soon became favorites ; they had pre-

THEIR DELIVERANCE. 117
cisely the aocomplishments to recommend them to the
favor of the social circles of an aboriginal society. Bold
and bright-eyed, muscular and healthy, equal to the In
dian boys in all athletic sports, and superior to them in
intelligence, they were readily adopted into the tribe, and
domesticated in families. Wells, however, fell to the lot
of an Indian belonging to some distant town, whither he
was taken, and thus separated from his comrades, saw
them no more. He remained with the Indians all his
life ; married a sister of the celebrated chief Little Turtle,
and became the father of a family. The remainder of our
narrative embraces only the adventures of the other four.
They adapted themselves so completely to their new mode
of life, and seemed so well satisfied with the employments
and sports of the savage youth, with fishing and hunting,
wrestling, racing, and riding the Indian ponies, that all
suspicion in regard to them was quieted, and they were
allowed to roam about unregarded. They were "biding
their time:" with a watchfulness that never slept they
Bouo-ht an opportunity to make their escape.
The hour of deliverance came at last. In the autumn
of the year of their capture, the warriors set out upon
their annual hunt. Teaming far off from home, in parties,
and leaving their village in the care of the old men, the
women, and the children. The four boys found them
selves one day, at a camp, at some distance from the
village, engaged in fishing or some other employment, with
no other companions but an old Indian and a squaw.
A severe conflict of mind took place. The long-sought
opportunity for escape was at hand ; but they could regain
their liberty only by the death of a woman and an old
man, with whom they were associating as companions.
To remain in captivity was not to be thought of; to be
the captives especially of a race in hostility with their

118

JOURNEY HOME.

countrymen, whose scalps they must frequently see dis
played in triumph — of a people they had been taught
from infancy to fear and hate, and who had been the
murderers of the father of two of them, was not to be
tolerated. To leave their companions alive, was to ensure
an early discovery of their flight, and a pursuit which
must probably result in their capture and death. All
their scruples yielded to a stern necessity, the bold resolve
was taken ; they killed the man and woman, and directed
their steps homeward.
We know not by what instinct they were enabled to flnd
their way through the trackless forest. Whether it was
by that mysterious intelligence which conducts the ir
rational brute to a far distant home — whether it was the
flnger of that Providence that supplied understanding to
the simple — or whether it was that they had already been
taught to know the points of the compass, and to observe
the landmarks which direct the footsteps of the experienced
woodsman — so it was, that pursuing the nearest course,
they struck for home through the wilderness. Traveling
by night, and lying concealed during the day in coverts
and hiding-places, living upon wild fruits and nuts, and
upon such small game as could be taken with the least
noise and the least delay, and practicing all the cunning,
the patience, and the self-denial of the savage warrior,
they reached the bank of the Ohio river, directly opposite
to Louisville, after a journey of three weeks. Having
no means of crossing the river, which here, at the head
of the falls, is wide and rapid, they endeavored to at
tract the attention of the people at Louisville by flring
their guns; but the Indians having lately been very
troublesome, those who heard these signals, not un
derstanding them, were unwilling to cross the river to
ascertain their meaning. The persevering boys then

THE RAPT. — THEIR ESCAPE. 119
marched up the shore of the river nearly six miles, and at
a place near what is now called the Six Mile Island, where
the current is less impetuous than below, constructed
a raft, with no tool to facilitate their labors but a knife.
Even this frail and rough contrivance was not large
enough to carry them all, and the elder Linn, who was
an expert swimmer, plunged into the water, and pushed
the clumsy craft before him, while his companions paddled
with all their might, with poles. Thus they were wafted
slowly and laboriously down and across the stream, until
they were discovered from the town, and parties sent to
their relief. About the same time, the Indians who had
been pursuing them, reached the shore they had left, fired
at them, and expressed their rage and disappointment by
loud yells. Toung Linn was nearly frozen by his im
mersion in the water, which, at that season, in the month
of November, was very cold; hut by the prompt and
skillful remedies applied under the direction of his kind
guardian. Col. Pope, who had been driven by the Indians
from his residence in the woods, and was now living in
Louisville, he was recovered.
Dr. Lewis F. Linn, for many years a Senator in Con
gress from the State of Missouri, was the son of one of
those gallant lads, and grandson of Colonel William Linn.
In earlier life he was a practicing physician of high re
pute in the town of Ste. Genevieve, and a member of the
Missouri legislature, and was widely known as an intel
ligent and public-spirited citizen. An accomplished and
polished gentleman, he was universally beloved and re
spected for his kindness, sincerity, and benevolence in
private life, while, as a public man, his honorable bear
ing and devotion to the interests of the State of his
adoption, won for him a wide-spread popularity. In the
Senate of the United States, dignified as that body then

120 DR. LEWIS F. LINN.
was. Doctor Linn was distinguished by hia gentlemanly
bearing, the uniform equanimity of his temper, and his
unvaried courtesy, as well as by the general ability with
which he discharged his high office. Though an active
member of the Senate, and a leading supporter of the ad
ministration of General Jackson, during a period of great
political excitement, he was never known to lose his self-
possession, or to violate the etiquette of good breeding,
so that he was sometimes called the Chesterfield of the
Senate. He was a model of the suaviter in modo, as well as
of the fortiter in re. Brave as his great ancestor, no man
was more true to his principles, more fixed in his pur
poses, more firm and unfiinching in the hour of trial ; but
he never uttered a sarcasm, nor lost for a moment the
delicate sense of respect for the feelings of others, which
marked his whole conduct. His good temper and good
breeding were unvaried, his manners refined, his morals
pure, and his attention to business assiduous and method
ical. Having enjoyed for many years the friendship and
correspondence of this excellent man, I can bear witness
to the many fine qualities of his heart and conduct, and
the amiable and courteous traits of his truly gentlemanly
character.

CAPT. CRAWFORD. 121

CHAPTEE vn.

A frontier adventure — The first fight of a revolutionary hero.
The following anecdote, which is highly characteristic
of the period in which it occurred, and of the persons
engaged in the curious scene it portrays, was communi
cated to me in conversation, by a descendant of one ofthe
parties, and is given without alteration, except sueh as has
unavoidably occurred in clothing it in my own language.
Captain Crawford, of Virginia — the same who after
wards obtained a melancholy celebrity as Colonel Craw
ford, the leader of an unsuccessful expedition, in which
he was taken prisoner, inhumanly tortured, and mur
dered by the Indians — was marching a company from the
frontiers of his own State to the Ohio river. The occasion
is not exactly known. We think it probable that it was
in 1758, when he commanded a company in Washington's
regiment in the expedition under General Forbes against
Fort du Quesne. He was then about twenty-six years of
age, and is said to have attracted the attention of Wash
ington by his fine military bearing. The acquaintance
thus formed, led to subsequent intercourse, in which
Crawford is said to have won the friendship and esteem
of that illustrious man, who never lightly bestowed
his confidence. About 1769, Crawford settled upon the
Toughiogheny river, near where the town of Connells-
11

122 A FRONTIER ADVENTURE.
ville now stands, where he practiced a generous hospi
tality, and was a popular and influential man. Like many
of the leading men of that day, his original profession
was that of a surveyor, and he was employed by Wash
ington* in selecting and surveying western lands. On
the breaking out of the revolution, he raised a regi
ment, with great personal effort, and was commissioned a
Colonel in the service of Virginia.
To return to our anecdote. Crawford was marching his
company to join a large body of troops at some rendez
vous in the mountainous frontier. His men were, of
course, hunters and farmers from the outskirts of the
Virginia settlements ; most probably young, daring, hardy
volunteers, of the same class as the pioneers who, shortly
after that period, overran the forests of Kentucky; and
he was himself a young, bold man, unaccustomed to com
mand, but eager for distinction. Previous to leaving the
neighborhood of the settlement, Crawford, from some
accident, found himself in want of transportation for some
of his baggage or stores, and, at a place where he halted
in the woods, fortunately fell 'in with a wagoner, who had
stopped to rest his horses at the same spot. In such an
emergency. Captain Crawford felt no hesitation in press
ing the team and driver into his service, and accordingly
announced to the latter his determination. The driver,
highly incensed, was in no humor to submit to what he
considered an oppressive act; but how could he help him
self? He was alone, in the midst of a military band, who
were ready and able, at a word, to enforce their com
mander's orders. He was a great bull-headed, two-flsted,
square-built fellow, who bore on his face the marks of
* De Hasa'a " Early Settlements and Indian Wars in Western
Virginia.

A CHALLENGE. 123
many a hard fought battle. He was, in fact, a noted
bruiser, whose ferocity and prowess were well known in
those parts. He received Captain Crawford's order -with
an air of grim dissatisfaction, and remained for a moment
silent, looking sullenly at the armed men, as if measur
ing their strength against his own weakness. He then
observed to the Captain, that it was hard to be forced to
go into such hard service against his -will; that every
man ought to have a fair chance; that he had not a
fair chance, inasmuch as the odds against him were so
great as to deprive him of the power of protecting his
own rights. He thought the Captain was taking a mean
advantage of him. He was as good a man as any of
them, and he was not one to be imposed upon because
they happened to catch him by himself, if he could help
it. He would, however, make a proposition, which he
thought the Captain was bound in honor to accede to.
"I -vrill flght you," said he, "or any man in your com
pany; if I am whipped, I will go with you, without no
grumbling, but if I conquer, you must let me off."
In making this proposal, the sturdy teamster showed
himself well acquainted with the ground he stood on.
He either knew Crawford's character, or had read it
during the interview. The Captain was an expert woods
man, stout, active, and chivalrous, and prided himself on
his personal prowess, for which he had already obtained
some celebrity. He was young, and could not brook
an imputation on his manhood. He was not a regular
officer, restrained by rules of etiquette, but stood among
his equals and friends, whose votes had elevated him
to a temporary command over them. To refuse the wag
oner's challenge, might seem to indicate a want of spirit,
or of confldence in his own manhood; it might lessen him
in the eyes of his men ; and his own disposition and code

124 A FIGHT.
of ethics, perhaps, suggested that the knight of the whip
was entitled in justice to the fair chance he claimed. He
accordingly accepted the challenge, both parties began to
strip, and the men prepared to form a ring, show fair
play, and to see the fun.
At this moment, a tall young man, who had lately
joined the company, but was a stranger to most of them,
and who had been leaning carelessly against a tree, eye
ing the scene with apparent unconcern, stepped forward
and drew Crawford aside.
"Captain," said he, "you must let me fight that fellow;
he will whip you; it will never do to have the company
whipped ! "
Crawford was not willing to bach out., especially for
such reasons; but the youth insisted that to have the
Captain beaten, which would be the certain result if he
persisted, would tarnish the honor of the company, and,
moreover, that he himself was the only man present who
could, fl.og this doughty teamster. The confidence of the
youth, and a certain something about him which inspired
confidence in others, enabled him to carry his point.
Captain Crawford, having done all that policy required in
accepting the challenge, very prudently suffered himself to
be persuaded by his men to let the stranger take his place.
The combatants were soon stripped and ready for the
fight. There was a great disparity in their appearance,
the odds being decidedly in favor of the wagoner. He
was in the vigor of life, big, muscular, well filled out,
hardened by exposure, and experienced in affairs of this
kind. His air was cool and professional, his mien defiant
and confident of success. The youth, who, when clad in
his loose hunting-shirt, seemed slender, now showed him
self a young giant. His frame had not yet acquired the
fullness, the compactness, and the vigor of ripe manhood.

THE WAGONER WHIPPED. 125
which it afterwards possessed in so high a degree ; his
limbs seemed to be loosely hung together, but his bones
and muscles were enormous, his frame stalwart, and his
eye full of courage.
The conflict, though bloody, was short. The wagoner
was completely and terribly beaten. " He was no part
of a priming," in the expressive slang of the border, to
the young David of the Virginians. He was "used up."
The youth sprang upon him with the ferocity of an
enraged tiger, and the battle was no longer doubtful.
Wherever the tremendous fist of the young man struck, it
inflicted a severe wound. The blood followed every blow ;
and the Philistine, who had so vauntingly sought the
battle, in a few minutes lay mangled and exhausted at the
feet of his vanquisher, who was but little if at all hurt.
That youth was Daniel Morgan, who had now, for
the flrst time, taken the fleld against the enemies of his
country, as a private soldier; who soon came again to
the frontier as the leader of a company, and rose rapidly
to the grades of Colonel and Major-General; who so often
led our armies in battle, and was perhaps more frequently
engaged with the enemy than any other officer in the
American revolution. He was as celebrated for his great
bodily strength, activity, and personal courage, as for his
military genius.
The above incident was related to me by my friend
Morgan Neville, Esq., the grandson of General Morgan,
an accomplished gentleman and scholar, an amiable and
excellent man, who was widely known and respected.
He was born in Pittsburgh, and lived many years in
Cincinnati, where he died. He was an occasional con
tributor to the literature of the west, and was the author
of that happy and well-known sketch, " Mike Fink, the
Last of the Boatmen."

126

HISTORICAL PACTS.

CHAPTEE VIII.
Manners of the early settlers in Western Virginiai — Mode of
emigration — Habits of living — Hunting — Weddings — Religion.
These historical facts should be kept in mind by those
who are curious in their researches, in reference to the
springs of national character. The strong peculiarities,
and prominent points of western character, are most prop
erly sought among those who came first, who have lived
longest under influences of a new country, and who have
been least affected by the subsequent influx of emigrants
from the sea-board. They are found best developed in
western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, Kentucky, and
Tennessee, and the more western settlements which have
been formed chiefly from these States. They are least
observable where the population is most mixed, and are
scarcely perceptible in our large commercial towns and
cities. We shall add here a few illustrations of the character
and habits of the early settlers, selected from the work of
Dr. Doddridge, to which we have already more than once
referred. The book before us is the production of a reverend
gentleman, who was reared in the wilderness, and was
intimately acquainted with the whole subject on which
he writes. His father came to western Virginia in 1773,
during the deceptive calm which preceded the rupture of

manners OP THE EARLY SETTLERS. 127
1774, usually called Dunmore's war. Brought up in the
wilderness, the inmate of a cabin. Dr. Doddridge spent
his whole life in the midst of those dangers and ricissi
tudes which make up the life of the borderer, and has
detailed a variety of minute circumstances, which render
his book exceedingly valuable.
The author adverts, in an introductory chapter, to the
feelings with which, at the age of flfty, he looks back
upon a life, passed wholly amid the scenes of the wilder
ness, and embracing changes so rapid and so wonderful,
as almost to exceed belief. His earliest recollections are
of the log cabin, the fort, the boundless wilderness, and
perils of the chase. His infant slumbers were disturbed
by the yell of the Indian, and the scene of his sports was
a forest in which danger lay ambushed under so many
shapes, that even the child grew cunning in eluding, and
self-possessed in meeting it. The exploits of the chase
and of the border warfare formed the familiar gossip o£
the fire-side. Then followed the rapid expansion of the
settlements, and the introduction of civil institutions —
the ingress of inhabitants, the establishment of counties,
the building up of villages, the erection of court-houses
and places of worship, until at last, extensive farms, valu
able manufactories, commercial marts, and richly freighted
vessels, occupied the places, which, in the memory of the
writer, had been solitary places and scenes of carnage.
Some of these reminiscences are amusing enough, yet
afford matter of serious reflection, when we recollect that
the privations described were those of thousands of the
gallant men to whom we are indebted for the conquest of
the country.
He says, " some of the early settlers took the precau
tion to come over the mountains in the spring, leaving
their families behind, to raise a crop of corn, and then

128 THE YOUTH OF DR. DODDEIDQE.
return and bring them out in the fall. This I should
think was the better way. Others, especially those whose
families were small, brought them with them in the
spring. My father took -the latter course. His family
was but small, and he brought them all with him. The
Indian meal which he brought over the mountains, was
expended six weeks too soon, so that for that length of
time we had to live without bread. The lean venison,
and the breast of wild turkeys, we were taught to call
bread. The flesh of the bear was denominated meat.
This artifice did not succeed very well ; after living in this
way for some time, we became sickly; the stomach seemed
to be always empty, and tormented with a sense of hun
ger. I remember how narrowly the children watched the
growth of the potato tops, pumpkin and squash vines,
hoping from day to day to get something to answer in
the place of bread. How delicious was the taste of the
young potatoes when we got them! What a jubilee when
we were permitted to pull the young corn for roasting-
ears I Still more so, when it had acquired sufficient hard
ness to be made into johnny-cakes, by the aid of a tin
grater. We then became healthy, vigorous, and contented
with our situation, poor as it was." — p. 100.
"The furniture of the table, for several years after the
settlement of this country, consisted of a few pewter
dishes, plates, and spoons, but mostly of wooden bowls,
trenchers, and noggins. If these last were scarce, gourds
and hard-shelled squashes made up the deflciency. The
iron pots, knives and forks, were brought from the east
side of the mountains, along with salt and iron, on pack-
horses."— p. 109.
" I well recollect the flrst time I ever saw a teacup and
saucer, and tasted coffee. My mother died when I was
about six or seven years of age. My father then sent

A3IUSING REMINISCENCES. 129
me to Maryland, with a brother of my grandfather, Mr.
Alexander Wells, to go to school."
" At Colonel Brown's, in the mountains, at Stony creek
glades, I for the first time saw tame geese, and by banter
ing a pet gander, I got a severe biting by his bill, and
beating by his wings. I wondered very much that birds
so large and strong, should be so much tamer than the
wild turkeys: at this place, however, all was right, ex
cepting the large birds which they called geese. The
cabin and furniture were such as I had been accustomed
to see in the backwoods, as my country was then called.
"At Bedford, every thing was changed. The tavern at
which my uncle put up, was a stone house, and to make
the changes still more complete, it was plastered in the
inside, both as to the walls and ceiling. On going into
the dining-room, I was struck with astonishment at the
appearance of the house. I had no idea that there was
any house in the world that was not built of logs; but
here I looked round and could see no logs, and above I
could see no joists; whether such a thing had been made
by the hands of man, or had grown so of itself, I could
not conjecture. I had not the courage to inquire any
thing about it. When supper came on, my confusion
was "worse confounded." A little cup stood in a bigger
one, -with some brownish-looking stuff in it, which was
neither milk, homminy, nor broth; what to do with these
little cups, and the little spoons belonging to them, I
could not tell; but I was afraid to ask any thing con
cerning the use of them.
"It was in the time of the war, and the company were
giving accounts of catching, whipping, and hanging tories.
The word jail frequently occurred; this word I had
never heard before ; but I soon discovered, and was much
terrified at its meaning, and supposed that we were in

130 HIS IDEA OP CIVILIZATION.
danger of the fate of the tories ; for I thought as we had
come from the backwoods, it was altogether likely that
we must be tories too. For fear of being discovered, I
durst not utter a single word. I therefore watched at
tentively to see what the big folks would do with their
little cups and spoons. I imitated them, and found the
taste of the coffee nauseous beyond any thing I ever had
tasted in my life. I continued to drink as the rest of the
company did, with tears streaming from my eyes ; but
when it was to end, I was at a loss to know, as the little
cups were filled immediately after being emptied. This
circumstance distressed me very much, as I durst not say
I had enough. Looking attentively at the grown persons,
I saw one man turn his cup bottom upwards, and put his
little spoon across it. I observed that after this his cup
was not filled again ; I followed his example, and to my
great satisfaction^ the result as to my cup Vas the same."
There is something in this anecdote very characteristic
of the backwoods boy. All who have studied the habits
of the people of the frontier, or indeed of any rude peo
ple, who are continually exposed to danger, have observed
the wariness of the children, their independence, and their
patience under suffering. Like the young partridge, that
from the moment of its birth practices the arts necessary
to its own safety, the child of the woods is self-dependent
from early infancy. Such was the case in the scene so
artlessly described by our author, where a child of six or
seven years old, drank a nauseous beverage, for fear of
giving offence, and instead of appealing to his relative for
protection, observed and watched for himself, until he
found out the means of relief by his own sagacity. An
Indian boy would have done the same.
The following anecdote will be new to some of our
readers: "A neighbor of my father, some years after the

ANECDOTE. 131
settlement of the country, had collected a small drove of
cattle for the Baltimore market. Amongst the hands
employed to drive them, was one who had never seen any
condition of society but that of the woodsmen. At one
of their lodging-places in the mountain, the landlord and
his hired man, in the course of the night, stole two of
the bells belonging to the drove, and hid them in a piece
of woods.
" The drove had not gone far in the morning before the
bells were missed, and a detachment went back to recover
them. The men were found reaping the field of the land
lord. They were accused of the theft, but they denied
the charge. The torture of sweating, according to the
custom of that time, that is, of suspension by the arms,
pinioned behind the backs, brought a confession. The
bells were procured and hung round the necks of the
thieves. In this condition they were driven on foot before
the detachment until they overtook the drove, which by
this time had gone nine miles. A halt was called, and a
jury selected to try the culprits. They were condemned
to receive a certain number of lashes on the bare back,
from the hand of each drover. The man above alluded
to was the owner of one of the bells; when it came to
his turn to use the hickory, "now," says he to the thief,
"you infernal scoundrel, I'll work your jacket nineteen
to the dozen — only think what a rascally figure I should
make in the streets of Baltimore without a bell on my
horse !"
The man was in earnest; in a country where horses
and cattle are pastured in the range, bells are necessary
to enable the owners to find them ; to the traveler who
encamps in the wilderness, they are indispensable, and the
individual described had probably never been placed in a
situation in which they were not requisite.

132 WESTERN HUNTERS.
Hunting was an important part of the employment of
the early settlers. For some years after their emigration,
the forest supplied them with the greater part of their
subsistence ; some families were without bread for months
at a time, and it often happened that the first meal of the
day could not be prepared until the hunter returned with
the spoils of the chase. Fur and peltry were the circula
ting medium of the country ; the hunter had nothing else
to give in exchange for rifles, salt, lead, and iron. Hunt
ing, therefore, was the employment, rather than the sport,
of the pioneers; yet it was pursued with the alacrity and
sense of enjoyment which attends an exciting and favorite
amusement. Dangerous and fatiguing as are its vicis
situdes, those who become accustomed to the chase, gene
rally retain through life their fondness for the rifle.
" The class of hunters with whom I was best acquaint
ed," says our author, " were those whose hunting ranges
were on the western side of the river, and at the distance
of eight or nine miles from it. As soon as the leaves
were pretty well down, and the weather became rainy, ac
companied with light snows, these men, after acting the
part of husbandmen, so far as the state of warfare per
mitted them to do, began to feel that they were hunters,
and became uneasy at home. Every thing about them
became disagreeable. The house was too warm, the feather
bed too soft, and even the good-wife was not thought, for
the time being, an agreeable companion. The mind of
the hunter was wholly occupied with the camp and chase.
"I have often seen them get up early in the inorning,
at this season, walk hastily out and look anxiously to the
woods, and snuff the autumnal winds with the highest
rapture, then return into the house and cast a quick and
attentive look at the rifle, which was always suspended to
a joist by a couple of buck-horns, or wooden forks. The

A HUNTING CAMP. 133
hunting dog, understanding the intentions of his master,
would wag his tail, and by every blandishment in his
power, express his readiness to accompany him to the
woods."— p. 124.
A hunt usually occupied several days, and often ex
tended to weeks; the hunter living in a camp, hidden in
some secluded place, to which he retired every night, and
where he kept his store of ammunition and other plun
der. Thera were individuals who remained for months
together in the woods, and spent the greater part of their
lives in these camps, which are thus described:
"A hunting-camp, or what was called a half-faced cabin,
was of the following form : the back part of it was some
times a large log; at the distance of eight or ten feet from
this, two stakes were set in the ground a few inches apart;
and at the distance of eight or ten feet from these, two
more, to receive the ends of poles for the sides of the
camp. The whole slope of the roof was from the front
to the back. The covering was made of slabs, skins, or
blankets, or if in the spring of the year, the bark of the
hickory or ash tree. The front was left entirely open. The
fire was built directly before this opening. The cracks
between the poles were fllled with moss. Dry leaves
served for a bed. It is thus that a couple of men, in a
few hours, will construct for themselves a temporary, but
tolerably comfortable defence against the inclemencies of
the weather.
"The site for the camp was selected with all the sa
gacity of the woodsmen, so as to have it sheltered by the
surrounding hills from every wind, but more especially from
those of the north and south." The author might have
added, that these shelters were so artfully concealed, as to
be seldom discovered except by accident. He continues:
" An uncle of mine, of the name of Samuel Teter,

134

HUNTING SCENES.

occupied the same camp for several years in succession.
It was situated on one of the southern branches of Cross
creek. Although I lived many years not more than fif
teen miles from the place, it was not till within a very few
years ago, that I discovered its situation. It was shown
me by a gentleman living in the neighborhood. Viewing
the hills round about it, I soon discovered the sagacity
of the hunter, in the site of his camp. Not a wind could
touch him; and unless by the report of his gun or the
sound of his axe, it would have been mere accident if an
Indian had discovered his concealment.
" Hunting was not a mere ramble in pursuit of game,
in which there was nothing of skill and calculation ; on
the contrary, the hunter, before he set out in the morn
ing, was informed by the state of weather in what situa
tion he might reasonably expect to meet with his game ;
whether on the bottoms, or on the sides or tops of the
hills. In stormy weather, the deer always seek the most
sheltered places, and the leeward sides of hills. In
rainy weather, when there is not much wind, they keep
in the open woods, on the highest ground.
"In every situation, it was requisite for the hunter to
ascertain the course of the wind, so as to get to leeward
of the game.
"As it was requisite, too, for the hunter to know the
cardinal points, he had only to observe the trees to ascer
tain them. The bark of an aged tree is thicker and much
rougher on the north than on the south side. The same
thing may be said of the moss.
"The whole business of the hunter consists in a series
of stratagems. From morning till night he was on the
alert to gain the wind of his game, and approach them
without being discovered. If he succeeded in killing a
deer, he skinned it, and hung it up out of the reach of

A FRONTIER WEDDING, 135
the wolves, and immediately resumed the chase till the
close of the evening, when he bent his course towards his
camp; when he arrived there he kindled up his fire, and,
together with his fellow-hunter, cooked his supper. The
supper finished, the adventures of the day furnished the
tales for the evening. The spike buck, the two and three
pronged buck, the doe, and barren doe, figure through
their anecdotes. After hunting awhile on the same
ground, the hunters became acquainted with nearly all
the gangs of deer within their range, so as to know each
flock when they saw them. Often some old buck, by
means of his superior sagacity and watchfulness, saved
his little gang from the hunter's skill, by giving timely
notice of his approach. The cunning of the hunter, and
of the old buck, were staked against each other, and it
frequently happened that at the conclusion of the hunt
ing season, the old fellow was left the free uninjured
tenant of his forest; but if his rival succeeded in bringing
him down, the victory was followed by no small amount
of boasting.
"Many of the hunters rested from their labors on the
Sabbath day; some from a motive of piety; others said
that whenever they hunted on Sunday they were sure to
have bad luck for the remainder of the week."
Among other graphic sketches, the reverend historian
gives the following account of a wedding in the olden
times. " In the morning of the wedding-day, the groom and
his attendants assembled at the house of his father, for
the purpose of reaching the mansion of his bride by noon,
which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials;
which for certain must take place before dinner.
" Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, with
out a store, tailor, or mantuamaker, within a hundred

136 A BRIDAL PARTY
miles, and an assemblage of horses, without a blacksmith
or saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen,
dressed in shoepacks, moccasins, leather breeches, leggins,
and linsey hunting-shirts, all home-made; the ladies in
linsey petticoats, and linsey or linen short-gowns, coarse
shoes and stockings, handkerchiefs, and buckskin gloves,
if any. If there were any buckles, rings, buttons, or
ruffles, they were relics of old times — family pieces from
parents or grand-parents.
" The horses were caparisoned with old saddles, old
bridles or halters, and pack-saddles, with a bag or blanket
thrown over them; a rope or string as often constituted
the girth as a piece of leather.
"The march in double flle was often interrupted by
the narrowness and obstructions of our horse-paths, aa
they were called, for we had no roads; and these diffi
culties were often increased, sometimes by the good, and
sometimes by the ill-will of neighbors, by falling trees
and tying grape-vines across the way. Sometimes an
ambuscade was formed by the way-side, and an unex
pected discharge of several guns took place, so as to
cover the wedding company with smoke. Let the reader
imagine the scene which followed; the sudden spring of
the horses, the shrieks of the girls, and the chivalric
bustle of their partners to save them from falling. Some
times, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it,
some were thrown to the ground. If a wrist, an elbow,
or an ancle, happened to be sprained, it was tied up
with a handkerchief, and little more said or thought
about it."
The author describes minutely the dinner, which was
"a substantial backwoods feast of beef, pork, fowls, ven
ison, and bear meat, roasted and boiled, with plenty of
potatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables," — and the dan-

CHRISTIAN MINISTERS. 137
cing, which consisted of "three and four-handed reels,
square sets, and jigs," and which "generally lasted till the
next morning."
We leave out many amusing and curious descriptions,
relating to the customs of this primitive people, to make
room for the following remarks, which, coming from the
pen of an aged and respectable Christian minister, are
worthy of an attentive perusal. In a chapter on " cirili
zation," the author remarks the happy change in the
moral and physical condition of the people among whom
he has spent his life, points out many of the causes, and
then proceeds as follows:
"The ministry of the gospel has contributed, no doubt
immensely, to the happy change which has been effected
in the state of our western society. At an early period
of our settlements, three presbyterian clergymen com
menced their clerical labors : the Eev. Joseph Smith, the
Eev. John M'31illan, and the Eev. Mr. Bowers ; the two
latter of whom are still living. They were pious, patient,
laborious men, who collected their people into regular
congregations, and did all for them that their circum
stances would allow. It was no disparagement to them,
that their first churches were the shady groves, and their
first pulpits a kind of tent constructed of a few rough
slabs, and covered with clapboards. He who dwelleth not
exclusively in temples made with hands, was propitious
to their devotions.
"From the outset, they prudently resolved to create a
ministry in the country, and accordingly established little
grammar schools at their own houses, or in their imme
diate neighborhoods. The course of education which they
gave their pupils, was indeed not extensive; but the piety
of those that entered into the ministry, more than made
up the deficiency. They formed societies, most of which
12

138 JEFFERSON COLLEGE.
are now large and respectable ; and, in point of education,
their ministry has much improved."
This is taken from a book published in 1824, and of
course was not written with any view to the questions
which have subsequently been vexed ; but what a severe
rebuke does it convey to those who are continually rail
ing against the ignorance and irreligion of the west, and
are inviting colonies from lands supposed to be more
highly enlightened in reference to religion. The venerable
pioneers of religion did not discover any sterility in the
intellect of the west, which rendered instruction less effi
cacious here than elsewhere, and " they prudently resolved
to create a ministry in ihe country." Instead of inviting
men from abroad, they established "grammar schools at
their own houses," and prepared the sons of their
neighbors for the pulpit and the bar. This is the true
theory, and the only one under which any country can
flourish. "About the year 1792, an academy was established at
Cannonsburgh, in Washington county, in the western part
of Pennsylvania, which was afterwards incorporated under
the name of Jefferson College.
"The means possessed by the society for the under
taking, were indeed but small; but they not only erected
a tolerable edifice for the academy, but created a fund for
the education of such pious young men as were desirous
of entering into the ministry, but unable to defray the
expenses of their education.
"This institution has been remarkably successful in its
operations. It has produced a large number of good
scholars in all the literary professions, and added im
mensely to the science of the country.
"Next to this, Washington College, situated in the
county town of the county of that name, has been the

EELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 139
means of diffusing much of the light of science through
the western country.
"Too much praise cannot be bestowed on those good
men, who opened these fruitful sources of instruction for
our infant country, at so early a period of its settlement.
They have immensely improved the departments of the
ology, law, medicine, and legislation, in the western re
gions. "At a later period, the Methodist Society began their
labors in the western parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania ;
their progress at first was slow, but their zeal and perse
verance at length overcame every obstacle, so that they
are now one of the most numerous and respectable socie
ties in this country. The itinerant plan of their ministry
is well calculated to convey the gospel throughout a thinly
scattered population. Accordingly, their ministry has kept
pace with the extension of our settlements. The little
cabin was scarcely built, and the little field fenced in,
before these evangelical teachers made their appearance
among the inhabitants, collected them into societies, and
taught them the worship of God.
"Had it not been for the labors of these indefatigable
men, our country, as to a great extent of its settlements,
would have been, at this day, a semi-barbarous region.
How many thousands, and tens of thousands, of the most
ignorant and licentious of our population, have they in
structed and reclaimed from the error of their ways?
They have restored to society even the most worthless,
and made them valuable and respectable as citizens, and
useful in all the relations of life. Their numerous and
zealous ministry bids fair to carry on the good work to
any extent which our settlements and population may
require. "With the Catholics I have but little acquaintance, but

140 VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
have every reason to believe, that, in proportion to the
extent of their flocks, they have done well. In this coun
try, they have received the episcopal visitations of their
bishops. In Kentucky, they have a cathedral, a college,
and a bishop.
"Their clergy, with apostolic zeal, but in an unosten
tatious manner, have sought out and ministered to their
scattered flocks throughout the country ; and, as far as I
know, with good success.
"The Societies of Friends in the western country are
numerous, and their establishments in good order. Al
though not much in favor of a classical education, they
are nevertheless in the habit of giving their people a sub
stantial English education. Their habits of industry, and
attention to the useful arts and improvements, are highly
honorable to themselves, and worthy of imitation.
"The Baptists, in the state of Kentucky, took the lead
in the ministry, and with great success. Their establish
ments are, as I am informed, at present numerous and
respectable. " The German Lutheran and Eeformed churches in our
country, as far as I know, are doing well. The number
of Lutheran congregations is said to be at least one hun
dred; that of the Eeformed, it is presumed, is about the
same amount."
He remarks, that the Germans have the best churches,
organs, and grave-yards; and adds— ^" It is a fortunate
circumstance that those of our citizens who labor under
the disadvantage of speaking a foreign language, are
blessed with a ministry so evangelical as that of these
very numerous and respectable societies.''
It is refreshing to read this simple and clear, yet im
partial exposition of the labors of Christians of different
sects, and to know that they have respectively done their

A REFLECTION. 141
duty — refreshing to learn that a numerous and zealous
ministry were industriously employed in laying the foun
dations of education and religion, while many of those
were yet unborn, who now are most fluent in describing
the ignorance, destitution and moral deprarity, of our
country.

142 LOCATION OF INDIAN VILLAGES.

CHAPTEE IX.
Early discoveries in Kentucky — Its occupation by Indians — An
anecdote of t-wo of the pioneers^ — John Finley's visit — Those of
M'Bride, Dr. Walker, Boone, and others.
It is a curious fact, that the flrst explorers of this
region found no Indians settled upon the shores of the
Ohio. Throughout the whole length of this beautiful
river, not a single vestige of an Indian town is to be
found. The aboriginal tribes, who are always at war,
seem to have had regard chiefly to that state, in choos
ing the sites of their villages. For savages, situated as
they were, the most commanding positions were those
lying near the sources of large rivers, from which they
could descend in their canoes to attack an enemy below
them, while their own villages would be approached
with difficulty by canoes attempting to ascend against
the stream. Where the head waters of two rivers ap
proached and flowed away in different directions, affording
increased facilities for sending off hunting expeditions
and war parties, a spot in contact with both streams pos
sessed unusual advantages, and su'ch places were generally
occupied. But it will be seen, that, for the same reasons,
the shores of a large river like the Ohio, into which nu
merous tributaries of great size and length poured their
waters, would be exposed, above all others, to the attacks
of savage warfare, as they would be easily accessible from
a variety of directions.

THE DARK AND BLOODY GROUND. 143
It is not known that any tribe was ever settled perma
nently in Kentucky; no ownership was exercised over
that region, when first visited by the whites ; and no ex
clusive title was vested in any nation of Indians, though
several claims were set up, the most important of which
was that of the Cherokees. It was a common hunting-
ground for many tribes, who risited it from a great dis
tance, roaming over its rich pastures in the seasons for
taking game, and making it their temporary residence
during a part of every year, for that purpose. It was also
the great battle-ground of the Indians, who met here in
desperate confiict — either accidentally, when engaged in
hunting, or by concert, in the mutual pursuance of a
policy which induced them to carry their wars as far as
possible from home. The name applied to it by the sav
ages — the dark and bloody ground — is terribly significant
of the sanguinary character of those conflicts, which ren
dered this region celebrated in the traditionary legends of
that ferocious race. Whether any superstition invested
the scenes of so many battles with a peculiar awe, and
rendered the savage reluctant to reside here, where he
might suppose the spirits of the fallen to be wandering,
we have not the means of knowing; we are only informed
of the fact, that a tract of country the most luxuriant,
the most abundant in game, and the most prolific in all
the fruits, and in the spontaneous productions of nature,
which yield food or other necessaries of life to the wan
dering tribes, was an uninhabited wilderness.
Although the pioneers found the country unoccupied
by a resident population, and might properly have taken
possession, without violating any law of nations, or moral
principle; yet it was precisely in that condition which
rendered any attempt to settle the land particularly dan
gerous. These boundless forests swarmed with parties

144 THE PIONEERS.
of hostile savages, who resided too far from the settle
ments of the whites to fear their power, or to feel any
wish to conciliate their friendship. Their own villages
and families were, as they supposed, too distant to be ex
posed to the danger of retaliation. They were abroad,
unincumbered with property or dependents, and prepared
for war: no delay was suggested by prudence, nor any
time required for consultation. A hated race had in
truded into the hunting-grounds, for the possession of
which they had long disputed among themselves, and
with one accord the arms of all were turned against the
invaders. The pioneers were few ; they acted on their own re
sponsibility, with the countenance merely, not the aid of
the government. In the whole history of the settlement
of Kentucky, comprising a period of twenty years, neither
men nor munitions were sent to these infant settlements.
It was not until the Indians had been repeatedly beaten,
and the power of pur countrymen was completely estab
lished in Kentucky, that the government began to send
troops to the west; and the names of Wilkinson, Har
mar, St. Clair, Clarke, and Wayne, are found in the an
nals of border warfare. And these officers acted chiefly
on the Western shores of the Ohio. Tet the pioneers
were almost always , successful in their battles, and the
progress of the settlements was never stopped. They
continued to increase steadily in numbers, and to spread
gradually over the land. Although the warfare of the
Indians was of the most unsparing character, accompanied
with all the atrocities of the tomahawk, the flrebrand, and
the stake, the courage of the pioneers was never damped,
and their conduct was equal to every emergency. With
out detracting in the least from their merits, it may be
inferred, from some of the facts above stated, that the

PECULIAR HABITS. 145
war against them was never conducted with much skill
or concert. Both parties were far from any place which
could afford supply or relief, and neither possessed the
requisite facilities for any long-sustained effort. The one
party usually surprised the other, and the confiict was
brief, sanguinary, and, for the time, decisive.
We have alluded, in our introductory chapter, to the
character of the pioneers, and the mode of the earliest
emigration to Kentucky. We shall now extend these re
marks as far only as is necessary to an understanding
of the peculiar habits of that remarkably original race,
and to the elucidation of their early history.
About the year 1749, a citizen of Frederick county, in
Virginia, who was subject to occasional fits of insanity,
roamed off into the woods, as was usually his practice
under such circumstances. Having rambled farther to
wards the west than was then customary with the hunters,
he came to the waters of Greenbriar river ; and, on his
return, reported that he had found a stream whose waters
ran to the west, and whose shores abounded in game.
This intelligence excited the curiosity of the public; but
we do not hear of any serious attempt to penetrate into
the wilderness. The first desultory effort was that of
Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell, who wandered out to
Greenbriar, and established themselves in a cabin upon
its banks. It seems, however, that if there be but two
men in a country, they will find a subject for contention;
at all events, it happened so with Marlin and Sewell, who
quarreled, and the latter, for the sake of peace, quitted
their cabin, and took up his abode in a hollow tree. In
this situation they were found by General Andrew Lewis,
who, in the year 1757, proceeded to the Greenbriar
country, to superintend the survey of a grant of one
hundred thousand acres of land, made to a company of
13

146 MARLIN AND SEWELL.
individuals by the governor and council of Virginia. On
inquiring of these eccentric beings, what could induce
them to live separately in a wilderness so distant from
all other human beings, they replied, that a difference
of opinion had induced them to part, and that, since the
division of interests, their intercourse had been more
amicable. Sewell added, that each morning, when they
arose, Marlin came forth from his house, and himself from
the hollow tree, and they saluted each other with, "Good
morning, Mr. Marlin!" "Good morning, Mr. Sewell!" a
practice which he considered as conclusive evidence of the
good understanding and mutual courtesy of the parties.
Mr. Sewell, however, was not fully satisfied even in this
agreeable neighborhood, but removed about forty miles
further west, where he was found by the Indians, and
killed. Previous to the year 1755, General Lewis had com
pleted the survey of about fifty thousand acres ; but, the
war then commencing between England and France, the
work was abandoned. In 1761, the British government
issued a proclamation commanding all the colonists within
the bounds of Virginia, who had made settlements on the
western waters, to remove from them, as those lands were
claimed by the Indians, and good policy required that the
government should prevent any interference with their
rights. As this is one of a very few instances in which
Great Britain even pretended to respect the rights of the
aborigines, we must, in searching for the true cause of
this order, endeavor to find some other than the one as
signed. The prevention of bloodshed had not, heretofore,
formed any part of the policy of the mother country,
whose plan had rather been to render the colonists more
dependent upon herself, by keeping them embroiled with
the Indians, and by confining their settlements to the

DR. walker's EXPLORATIONS. 147
seaboard, where her own power could be most readily con
centrated, and most rigorously exerted.
But although this measure of the government checked
the spirit of enterprise which had just then been awaken
ed, and caused the abandonment of- schemes for the colo
nization of the western lands, which had been formed by
gentlemen of wealth and education, it did not entirely
crush the newly kindled desire for exploring this delight
ful region.
There is a tradition that a person named jVI'Bride visit
ed Kentucky, and cut his name on a tree at the mouth
of Kentucky river, in 1754. If there is any truth in the
rumour, it does not appear that he made any report which
was believed, or by which others were induced to follow
his adventurous footsteps.
In 1747, Dr. Walker, a gentleman of Virginia, led a
small party to explore Powell's valley, east of the Laurel
ridge, which he called Cumberland mountain. Eeceiring
intelligence, from some source which is now not known,
that the Ohio might be reached, at no great distance, by
traveling in a north-eastwardly direction, he proceeded
on that course until he came to Big Sandy river, having
entirely missed the Ohio and the fertile region of
Kentucky. " He returned home after a journey of prodigious labor,
chiefly among the mountains ; and his report was rather
calculated to repress than to excite curiosity.
In 1750, he crossed the Cumberland- mountain, in com
pany with Colby Chew, Ambrose Powell, and others, but
did not reach the Kentucky river.
He made several subsequent excursions into this region,
and it is probable that to this circumstance may be at
tributed the mistakes which have been made in reference
to the date of his first visit. We adopt that which Mr.

148 JAMES SMITH. — DANIEL BOONE.
Butler, in his History of Kentucky, has, upon good evi
dence, proved to be the correct one.
It appears by a manuscript affidavit of Dr. Walker,
which we have examined, that in the month of April, 1750,
he visited the waters of the Cumberland, and gave its
present name to that river. Its original name was Shawa-
noe, and it is greatly to be deplored that a designation
at once euphonious aud appropriate, should have been
abandoned, without reason, for a foreign appellation.
In Virginia, Lewis Evans made and published a map
of Kentucky, in 1752, from a description given him by
the Indians.
In 1766, James Smith visited Kentucky, but we know
little of his adventures.
The first adventurer who is known to have penetrated
through Kentucky to the Ohio, was John Finley, who,
with a few companions, traversed this region in 1767. Of
him or his adventures little is known. His account of
the country — its extent, its fertility, the abundance of
game, and the exuberance of the vegetation, were con
sidered fabulous ; and his name would probably have been
lost, had it not become connected with that of Daniel
Boone, to whom he acted as guide in a subsequent ex
pedition. Boone was a man of strongly marked character. There
is no proof that he possessed great talents, or that he
could have shone in any other station than that in which
he was placed. His bodily vigor, his love of hunting,
his courage, and his perfect equanimity of mind under
every vicissitude of fortune, were the prominent points in
his character; and his singular adventures, with the fact
of his being the first successful explorer of this region,
have rendered his name celebrated. He was not a misan
thrope, who retired to the woods because he was disgusted

CHARACTER OF BOONE. 149
-with the world, but a man of social and benevolent feel
ings, of mild and unassuming manners, and of the strictest
integrity. He was bold and daring, deeply imbued with
the spirit of adventure, and gifted with an uncommon
share of that cool, indomitable courage, which cannot easily
be daunted or surprised, that is seldom excited into rash
ness or chilled into despondency, and that enables its
possessor to act with calmness in every emergency.
The character of Boone has been entirely misunder
stood, and the inducements which first led him into the
wilderness altogether mistaken. We shall not stop here
to rebuke the mendacity of sordid writers, who have been
tempted by pecuniary considerations, to palm upon the
world, under guise of sober biography, a series of spurious
adventures, which have composed the story of Boone,
and corrupted the history of the times. Such impudent
impostures carry within themselves a self-destroying in
fluence, which puts an early period to their existence.
The only authentic account of the first visit of Daniel
Boone to Kentucky, is found in a pamphlet written by
John Filson, from the dictation of Boone himself, in the
year 1789. In this, he mentions that, "on the first of
May, 1769 he left his peaceable habitation on the Tadkin
river, in North Carolina," and proceeded to explore the
country of Kentucky, in company with John Finley,
John Stewart, and three others. Squire Boone, the
brother of Daniel, afterwards joined them in the wil
derness. We find no record of any particular errand
which induced the perilous wanderings of these men,
other than that which allured so many others to this
blooming desert; nor is there the slightest reason for
setting Boone apart from his companions, as one differ
ing from them in views or character. He was not an
eccentric man, nor did he stand' in a class by himself.

150 BOONE FIRST VISITS KENTUCKY.
His character and adventures are studied and admired,
not because he was sui generis, but because he was a com
plete and admirable specimen of the class to which he
belonged. A naturalist, in selecting a specimen for de
scription or preservation in a cabinet, takes that which
is most perfect, and least adulterated by any foreign ad
mixture. There were thousands of backwoodsmen, who
belonged to the same class with Boone, and resembled
him in their lives, tastes, and adventures, and he is only
celebrated from the circumstance of his being the best
specimen of this singular race, that has happened to at
tract public attention. The simplicity of his character
made him more purely a backwoodsman, than any other
man — just as simplicity of character attracts observation
to talents or excellence of any kind, by creating a single
ness of purpose and effort, which leaves the strong points
of the natural mind, unincumbered by the artificial re
finements, the distracting passions, and the diversified
pursuits, which surround and conceal the native genius
of most individuals.
Boone and his companions were infiamed with curiosity,
by the accounts which they had heard of the surpassing
beauty and fertility of Kentucky; and this, which was
certainly a sufficient inducement to men of erratic habits
and courageous temperament, might have been the only
motive for their journey. But there is some reason to be
lieve that even in his first visit to Kentucky, Boone came
as the agent of some wealthy individuals in North Caro
lina, who were desirous to speculate in these lands, an-d
who selected him to^mafe the first reconhoisancfe- of the
country, not only becauseThe was an intrepid hunter, but
in consideration of his judgment and probity. -It is cer-;
tain that he was thus employed immediately aff^r'his re
turn, and that he continued for many years to be engaged

SOLITARY IN THE ¦WILDERNESS. 151
in the transaction of business for others, to the entire
neglect of his personal aggrandisement.
Be this as it may, the adventures of these bold ex
plorers are full of romantic interest. They found the
land filled with hostile Indians, against whose arts they
were obliged to keep a continual watch. By day they
wandered with stealthy steps, adding to their boldness of
purpose, the vigilance that ensures success, and at night
they crept into the most secret coverts for repose; prac
ticing the arts of savage life for subsistence, and the stra
tagems of border warfare for protection. Superior to the
red men in the devices of their own sylvan strategy, they
eluded, or beat them, and continued to roam through
these blooming deserts, if not with impunity, at least
with a degree of success that seems marvellous.
Boone continued to explore the wilderness for two
years, with no little variety of fortune, but with that in
domitable perseverance which formed a leading trait in
his character. Once, himself and a companion were cap
tured, and escaped; more than once their camp was plun
dered; they were robbed of their arms and ammunition,
and left to glean a subsistence as they might, without the
weapons which in the backwoods are necessaries, equally
requisite in defending life and procuring food. One of
the party was killed; the rest returned home, except
Boone, and his brother, the latter of whom having arrived
since the disarming of the party, was able to supply the
pioneer with a gun and ammunition. They wintered to
gether in a cabin formed of poles and bark. In the
spring of 1770, the brother returned to North Carolina,
learing Daniel Boone alone in the woods, the only white
man known to be in Kentucky.
If any proof was wanting, of the ardor with which
Boone pursued his designs, or the courage that he im-

152 NEW EXPLORERS.
parted to others, it would be found in this separation of
the brothers ; the one singly undertaking a painful and
dangerous journey, of several hundred miles, without a
path or a guide, the other remaining alone in the midst
of a wilderness, separated from the habitations of white
men by a range of almost inaccessible mountains, and
surroiinded by hundreds of enemies, who eagerly sought
his life, and daily traced his footsteps with unwearied
hostility. The intrepid pioneer continued to rove through
the forest, subsisting upon game, and eluding the Indians
by cunning devices, until the return of his brother, in the
July of the same year; they explored the country to
gether during the remainder of that year, again wintered
in the wilderness, and in the spring of 1771, returned to
their families.
In 1769, Hancock Taylor, Eichard Taylor, and others,
descended the Ohio to the falls, and proceeded thence to
New Orleans, and back to Virginia by sea.
About the same time, a party, consisting of about forty
hunters, from New Eiver, Holston, and Clinch, united in
an expedition to the west, and nine of the party, led by
Colonel James Knox, reached Kentucky. They pene
trated to the waters of Green Eiver, and the lower part
of Cumberland.
In the year 1773, Thomas Bullit, Hancock Taylor, and
the M'Afees, engaged with ardor and success in the busi
ness of exploring and settling Kentucky, and became
conspicuous individuals in the new community.

TREATY WITH THE SIX NATIONS. 153

CHAPTEE X.
Purchases from the Indians — Treaty of Fort Stanwix — Treaty
of Lochaber — Purchases by individuals — The Transylvania
Company. In the year 1774 commenced a series of events, which
exerted a decided influence on the early growth of the
settlements in Kentucky, but which, in most of the pub
lished narratives of the histories of those times, are not
mentioned, and in others barely alluded to. As these
facts will be new to the public, and as the writer has had
the opportunity of investigating them carefully, from the
original papers of some of the gentlemen concerned,
placed in his hands through a source of unquestionable
respectability, this fragment of the history of the pioneers
will be developed with some degree of minuteness.
A few preliminary observations, however, may be neces
sary to elucidate this subject with greater clearness. The
several explorations of the country bordering on the Ohio,
to which we have alluded, although they did not elicit any
great amount of accurate information, either in respect to
its extent or advantages, threw into circulation a mass of
reports which strongly excited the public mind, and
induced the functionaries of Great Britain and of the
colonies, as well as a number of intelligent individuals, to
turn their attention to this region. In 1768, at a treaty
held with the Six Nations by Sir William Johnson, the

154 TREATY OF LOCHABER.
claim of those nations to all the lands on the south-east
side of the Ohio river, as far down as the Cherokee river,
was purchased by Great Britain. The title of the Six
Nations to any part of this country, seems to have been
extremely problematical. We are not aware of any that
a savage people can have, but that of actual occupancy ;
and there is no proof of their having ever resided in any
part of it, or that their conquests were at any time ex
tended into the Mississippi valley. It is probable that
Great Britain did not investigate that matter with critical
nicety, but rather pursued the policy, since adopted by
the United States, of purchasing the confiicting Indian
titles, and of making her own claim secure by merging in
it all others. Nor was this purchase made for the pur
pose of facilitating the settlement of the west, which the
parent country always discouraged; but to secure the pos
session to herself of the interior frontier, and to prevent
the founding of colonies in juxta position with her own,
by any other nation.
It was in accordance with these views, that Great Britain
authorised the' treaty of 1768, during the existence of an
order in council which prohibited the settlement of the
western lands; and that, in 1770, Lord Botetourte, at the
urgent instance of the general assembly of Virginia, made
arrangements for the extinguishment of the title of the
Cherokees to the same territory. On the fifth of October
of that year, a treaty was accordingly held with those
Indians, at Lochaber, in South Carolina, by John Stew
art, superintendent of Indian affairs, acting under the
auspices of the colony of Virginia, when a boundary line
was established between the contracting parties, "begin
ning at Holstein river, six miles above Big Island, thence
running in a direct line till it should strike the mouth
of the Great Kenhawa." John Donaldson, the surveyor

ENLARGED BOUNDARIES. 155
who traced this line by an appointment from the president
and council of Virginia, states, in a manuscript affidarit
which we have seen, "that, in the progress of the work,
they came to the head of Louisa, now Kentucky river,
when the Little Carpenter (a Cherokee chief,) observed,
that his nation delighted in having their lands marked
out by natural boundaries; and proposed that, instead of
the line agreed upon at Lochaber, as aforesaid, it should
break off at the head of Louisa river, and run thence to
the mouth thereof, and thence up the Ohio to the mouth
of the Great Kenhawa." This boundary was accordingly
agreed to by the surveyor. It is further stated, by the
same authority, "that leave having been granted by the
king of Great Britain, to treat with the Cherokees for a
more extensive boundary than that which had been estab
lished at the treaty of Hard Labour, provided the Vir
ginians would be at the expense of purchasing the same,
the general assembly voted the sum of £2,500 sterling
for that purpose, which sum was accordingly paid to the
Cherokees,'' in consideration, as we presume, of the addi
tional lands gained by the alteration of the line by the
surveyor, and in confirmation of his act.
These proceedings are only important now, as they
show that, by the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Lochaber,
the conflicting Indian titles were extinguished, south of
the Ohio river, as far west as the Kentucky river.
About this period, a number of enterprising gentlemen
in Virginia and North Carolina began to turn their at
tention to the region west of the Kentucky fiver, with
the view of purchasing estates in fee simple, for them
selves, directly from the Indians,
We have before us a deposition, in manuscript, of the
celebrated Patrick Henry, in which he states, that, early
in the year 1774, he entered into an arrangement with the

156 PATRICK henry's DEPOSITION.
Hon. William Byrd, John Page, Esq., and Col. William
Christian, all of Virginia, for the purpose of purchasing,
from the Cherokees, "some of their land on the waters
of their own river in Virginia," and that they sent a
Mr. Kennedy to the Cherokee nation, to ascertain the
practicability of the scheme. The report of the agent
was, that they were willing to treat on the subject. " Not
long after this," says the document in our possession,
"and before any treaty was resolved on, the troubles with
Great Britain seemed to threaten serious consequences;
and this deponent became a member of the first Vir
ginia convention, and a member of the first continental
congress, upon which he determined with himself to dis
claim all concern and connection with Indian purchases,
for the reasons following: that is to say, he was informed,
shortly after his arrival in congress, of many purchases
of Indian lands, shares in most or all of which were offered
to this deponent, and constantly refused by him, because
of the enormity of the extent to which the bounds of those
purchases were carried; that disputes had arisen on the
subject of these purchases; and that this deponent, being
a member of congress and convention, conceived it im
proper for him to be concerned as a party in any of these
partnerships, on which it was probable he might decide
as a judge. He was farther fixed in his determination
not to be concerned in any Indian purchases whatever,
on the prospect of the present war, by which the sove
reignty and right of disposal of the soil of America would
probably be claimed by the American States." This
deposition is dated June 4, 1777.
Of the purchases alluded to in the above deposition,
the most extensive, and the most important in its bearing
upon the history of the pioneers, is that of the Transyl
vania company, composed of Eichard Henderson, William

TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY. 157
Johnston, Nathaniel Hart, John Luttrel, David Hart,
John Williams, James Hogg, and Leonard Henley Bul
lock. These gentlemen, who were residents of North
Carolina, made certain preliminary arrangements in the
fall of the year 1774, with the " Overhill Cherokee In
dians," for a treaty to be held the following year. In
March, 177.5, Colonel Henderson, acting for the company,
met the chiefs of that nation, attended by about twelve
hundred of their people, at a fort on the Watauga, the
south-eastern branch of the Holston river. A solemn
council was held, and after several days spent in con
ference and full discussion of every matter relating to the
purchase, the company obtained from the Indians, in
exchange for a valuable consideration paid them in mer
chandise, two several deeds, signed by Okonistoto, their
chief warrior, and by Atakullakulla, and Savonooko, the
next in rank, in behalf of the nation, and with the assent
of the warriors present. The two grants comprehended
separate tracts, lying within the chartered limits of Vir
ginia and North Carolina. The first was bounded as
follows: "Beginning on the Ohio river, at the mouth of
the Cantuckey Chenoee, or what by the English is called
Louisa river ; from thence running up the said river, and
the most northwardly fork of the same, to the head spring
thereof; thence a south-east course, to the top of the
ridge of Powell's mountain; thence westwardly along the
ridge of the said mountain, unto a point from which a
north-west course will hit or strike the head spring of the
most southwardly branch of Cumberland river; thence
down the said river, including all its waters, to the
Ohio river, and up the said river, as it meanders, to the
beginning." The other deed comprised a tract "beginning on the
Holston river, where the course of Powell's mountain

158 PURCHASE OF KENTUCKY.
strikes the same ; thence up the said river, as it meanders,
to where the Virginia line crosses the same; thence west
ward along the line run by Donaldson, to a point six
English miles eastward of the long island in said Holston
river ; thence a direct course towards the mouth of the
Great Canaway, until it reaches the top ridge of Powell's
mountain ; thence westward along the said ridge to the
place of beginning."
The first of these grants, it will be perceived, is much
the largest, and comprises the whole of Kentucky south
of the river of that name, and by far the greater part of
the lands now contained in that State. The other includes
a vast territory within the then limits of North Carolina,
lying on the rivers Holston, Clinch, Powel, and Cumber
land, to the amount of many millions of acres.
This purchase from the aborigines having been made
previous to the Declaration of Independence, and the
Transylvania Company being put in possession of the
territory by the Indians, the title of the grantees was
supposed to be complete, and they proceeded immediately
to make extensive arrangements for the settlement of
their lands. Eichard Henderson, Nathaniel Hart, and
John Luttrel, were appointed to proceed to the new
territory, which was called Transylvania, for the purpose
of planting a colony ; and they accordingly set out, at
the head of a small party, early in the year 1775. Daniel
Boone was their guide; and it seems to be extremely
probable, though yte have no direct evidence of the fact,
that his previous visits to Kentucky were made at the
suggestion of these gentlemen, and that their confidence
in his report induced them to make the purchase. It is
certain, from their letters to each other, many of which
are in the possession of the writer, that they had ob
tained, from some source, a mass of accurate information

OCCURRENCES AT POWELL'S VALLEY. 159
with which the public was not acquainted; and, as they
would naturally resort to some confidential and secret
means through which to obtain such intelligence, we give
credit to a rumor which has reached us, that Boone was
the agent employed for that purpose. These circum
stances afford a new elucidation of the character of that
intrepid pioneer ; and, although they take nothing from
the strong points of his character, entirely dissipate the
romantic theories of some of his biographers, with regard
to the motives which first led him to become a wanderer
in the western wilderness.
Colonel Henderson and his associates reached Powell's
Valley, one of the most western settlements of North
Carolina, in the beginning of April, 1775, at the head of
forty armed men, and an additional number, probably, of
non-combatants — for they had under their charge forty
pack-horses. This party was preceded by a smaller one,
under the direction of Daniel Boone, who had been em
ployed to mark out a road. We have before us a letter
from Colonel Henderson, to his partners in North Caro
lina, dated Powell's Valley, April 8, 1775, from which we
make the following extracts, for the purpose of illus
trating the difficulties encountered in this expedition, in
the language of one who was concerned.
"Few enterprises of great consequence continue at all
times to wear a favorable aspect; ours has met with the
common fate, from the incautious proceedings of a few
headstrong and unthinking people. On the twenty-fifth
of March last, the Indians fired upon a small party of
men, in camp, near the Louisa, killed two and put four
others to the route; and on the 27th, did likewise on
Daniel Boone's camp, and killed a white man and a negro
on the spot, but the survivors maintained their ground
and saved their baggage. But for a more particular ac-

160 DANIEL BOONE'S LETTER.
count I refer you to Mr. Boone's original letter on that
occasion, which came to hand last night. Tou scarcely
need information that these accidents have a bad effect
with respect to us." * * * * a Yq^
observe from Mr. Boone's letter the absolute necessity of
our not losing one moment, therefore don't be surprised
at not receiving a particular account of our journey with
the several little misfortunes and cross accidents, which
have caused us to be delayed so that we are still one hun
dred and thirty or one hundred and forty miles from our
journey's end. We are all in high spirits, and on thorns
to fiy to Boone's assistance, and join him in defence of
so fine and valuable a country. My only motives for
stopping, are, first, that you should receive a just repre
sentation of the affair, and secondly, to request your im
mediate assistance; for want of workmen our wagons are
laid aside at Captain Martin's in this valley ; the chief
of our salt and all our saltpetre and brimstone are left
behind." The letter from Daniel Boone, alluded to above, is also
in our possession, and we copy it entire, as a valuable
relic of that bold and successful pioneerf premising, that
as Mr. Boone was less expert in the art of spelling than
in the use of the rifle, we correct the orthography, ex
cept in the case of one or two words. The letter is
addressed to "Colonel Eichard Henderson-^these with
care," and runs as follows: "April the first, 1775.
"Dear Colonel,
"After my compliments to you, I shall acquaint you
of our misfortune. On march the 25 a party of Indians
fired on. my company about a half an hour before day,
and killed Mr. Twitty and his negro, and wounded Mr.
Walker very deeply, but I hope he will recover. On

PROSPECTS OF THE PAETY. 161
March the 28 as we were hunting for prorisions we found
Samuel Tate's son, who gave us an account that the In
dians fired on their camp on the 27 day. My brother
and I went down and found two men killed and sculped,
Thomas McDowell and Jeremiah McPeters. I have sent
a man down to all the lower companies in order to gather
them all to the mouth of Otter Creek. My advise to you,
sir, is to come or send as soon as possible. Tour com
pany is desired greatly, for the people are very uneasy,
but are willing to stay and venture their lives with you,
and now is the time to flusterate their* intentions and
keep the country, whilst we are in it. If we give way to
them now, it will ever be the case. This day we start
from the battle ground, for the mouth of Otter Creek,
where we shall immediately erect a fort, which will be
done before you can come or send — then we can send ten
men to meet you, if you send for them.
I am sir your most obedient Daniel Boone.
N. B. — We stood on the ground and guarded our bag
gage till day, and lost nothing. We have about fifteen
miles to Cantuck at Otter Creek."
This letter, with which we have taken no liberty except
the one already indicated, is highly characteristic of the
writer. It is a plain and sensible communication, from a
cool-headed man, who uses no more words than are neces
sary to express his ideas. He takes no credit to himself
for having beaten the Indians, nor makes any professions
for the future, but modestly intimates that the presence
of the leader of the enterprise is necessary to ensure its
success. The suggestion, "now is the time to flusterate"
* Meaning the Indians.
14

162 confidence in boone.
the intentions of the savages, " and keep the country
while we are in it," is consistent with the known determi
nation of his character, while the prediction, "if we give
way to them now, it will ever be the case," comports well
with the prudence and common sense which always gov
erned him, when acting in his proper sphere, as a hunter
or a warrior. We are even pleased with the commence
ment, "After my compliments," and. the conclusion, "I
am, Sir, your most obedient," which show that the sturdy
woodsman was not unacquainted with courtesies of good
society. We shall only add, that the word Cantuck, refers
to Kentucky river, and that the fort which he proposed to
erect, was that which was afterwards called Boonsboro.
The prospects of Colonel Henderson's party became
still more gloomy, after the date of this letter to which
we have referred. As they proceeded, they met persons
returning from Kentucky, discontented or panic-struck,
who gave the most exaggerated accounts of the dangers
from which they had escaped, and represented the situ
ation of Boone as being imminently precarious. The
hired men became discouraged, and it required all the
efforts of the leaders to urge them forward. Every
sound they heard, every group of wayworn woodsmen
they met, filled them with the apprehension that Boone
had been obliged to abandon his post, or that the ap
proaching travelers brought some disastrous tidings of the
pioneer. "It was owing to Boone's confidence in us,"
says Colonel Henderson, in one of his letters, "and to
the people's in him, that a stand was ever attempted, to
await our coming;" and it was natural that great uneasi
ness should be felt for him in whom such confidence was
placed, and whose post, in advance of the expedition, was
so important. It became, therefore, desirable that he
should be apprised of the approach of his friends, in

PORT boonsboro'. 163
order that he might be encouraged to hold his post at all
hazards, until their arrival. But how could the informa
tion be transmitted? What messenger would venture
to traverse the wild, beset with Indians, and incur the
various dangers of a solitary journey of one hundred and
thirty miles, the distance which still intervened between
the travelers and the end of their journey! Mr. William
Cocke, observing the anxiety of his companions, gener
ously volunteered to undertake the perilous mission, and
the offer was too gratifying to be refused. The day was
dark and rainy ; the gloominess of the weather depressed
the spirits of the party, and the parting of Mr. Cocke and
his friends was marked by inauspicious forebodings. He
was " fixed off," to use again the language of one of the
party, "with a good Queen Anne's musket, plenty of
ammunition, a tomhock, a large cuttoe knife, a Dutch
blanket, and no small quantity of jerked beef." Thus
equipped, and mounted on a good horse, he quitted his
companions, and dashed into the forest. We shall only
add, that he performed his mission in safety and with
success. Colonel Henderson reached Boonsboro, with his party,
a few days afterwards, and found the people there in a
state of careless security, which evinced the most perfect
self-confidence. A small fort, which the labor of two or
three days would have rendered a sufficient protection
against any sudden inroad of the Indians, had been suf
fered to remain unfinished and wholly useless, and it was
not until this little colony had suffered severely from their
indiscretion, that Fort Boonsboro was placed in a defen
sible condition.
As this fortress affords one of the earliest specimens
of the kind, we are glad to be able to present an authentic
drawing of it.

164

fort boonesboro.

tH
<rq
1 1 1
IM
E
f
cq
CO
w —
u
fort AT boonesboro.
1. Colonel Henderson's House  2. Stockades  3. Colonel
Henderson's Kitchen  4. Mr. Luttrell's House  5. His
Kitchen. ...9. Fort Gates. ...14. Houses built for Colonel Hart
and Cblonel Williams.
Those places not numbered were cabins.
otter ceeek and othee settlements. 165
The engraving is made from an original plan of Boones
boro, in the hand-writing of Colonel Henderson.
The fort was composed of four lines of cabins; those at
the corners being larger than the others, and projecting
so as to form bastions.
The dimensions of the enclosure are not stated ; but if
we allow an average of twenty feet for each cabin and
opening, the length of the fort must have been about two
hundred and sixty, and the breadth one hundred and
eighty feet.
"We are now seated," says Colonel Henderson, in one
of his letters, " at the mouth of Otter Creek, on the Ken
tucky, about 150 miles from the Ohio. To the west,
about 50 miles from us, are two settlements, within six
or seven miles of each other. There were some time ago
about a hundred persons at the two places, though now
perhaps there are not more than sixty or seventy, as many
of them are gone up the Ohio for their families, &c., and
some have returned, by the way we came, to Virginia and
elsewhere. These men in the course of hunting provi
sions, exploring lands, &c., are some of them constantly
out, and scour the woods from the banks of the river,
near forty or fifty miles southward. On the opposite side
of the river, and north from us about 40 miles, is a set
tlement on the crown lands of about nineteen persons, and
lower down towards the Ohio, on the same side, there are
some other settlers — how many, or at what place, I can't
exactly learn." "Colonel Harrod, who governs the two
first mentioned settlements, — and is a very good man.
Colonel Floyd, the surveyor, and myself, are under solemn
enn^agements to communicate with the utmost despatch,
every piece of intelligence, respecting danger, or sign of
Indians, to each other. In case of invasion of either,
both the other parties are instantly to march, and relieve

166 COL. Williams's letter.
the distressed if possible. Add to this, that our country
is so fertile, the growth of grass and herbage so tender
and luxuriant, that it is almost impossible for man or dog
to travel, without leaving such a sign, that you might
gallop a horse on the trail. It is impossible for any
number of persons to pass through the woods without
being tracked, and of course discovered, if Indians, for
our hunters all go on horseback, and could not be de
ceived, if they were to come on the trace of footmen.
From these circumstances I think myself secure against
any formidable attack, &c."
Among the original letters in our possession, is one
from Colonel John Williams, dated at Boonsboro, 27th
December 1775, from which we extract the following in
cident. " Last Saturday, in the afternoon. Colonel Camp
bell, with two lads, went over the river, where they parted,
and went different ways over the hill. About 300 yards
from the fort. Colonel Campbell was fired on by a couple
of Indians, who missed him. The gun was heard, the
alarm given, and we got him safe to the fort. The two
lads not returning that night, and having no guns with
them, we had doubtful apprehensions, and not hearing
any thing of them until Monday, we despatched a party
of men to see if they could make any discovery, — as we
had done on Saturday after Campbell returned. They
found one killed and scalped about three miles from town,
the other we have yet heard nothing of, but suppose he
has shared the same fate. We had at that time a dozen
or fifteen men over the river, hunting in separate parties,
though they have since all returned except two. Whether
they have been unsuccessful in their hunt, or have fallen
into the hands of the enemy, is doubtful — the latter is
apprehended. We yesterday despatched a party of twenty
men under the command of Jesse Benton to scour the

LANDED MONOPOLIES ALWAYS ODIOUS. 167
woods, and discover if possible whether they are satisfied
with what they have done, or whether they are lurking
about to do more mischief before they go. So far, this
is a bad story, but hear the circumstances, and it will
appear less unfavorable. Last October, at the treaty at
Pittsburgh, Cornstalk, king of the Shawnees, said that
before application from the congress for a treaty, five or
six of his men had set out for Kentucky, and he was
apprehensive might do some damage, and that it was out
of his power to apprise them of the terms of the treaty,
as he did not know where to send a messenger to them ;
but that he would stop them for the future, and if any of
his men got killed on that expedition it should give no
umbrage. There was about that number of Indians seen
near the war path about fifteen miles east of this place,
two or three days before the mischief was done, all which
we knew nothing of until since, &c."
While the Transylvania Company was employed in the
fruitless attempt to establish a proprietary government in
Kentucky, a number of individuals were engaged, either
singly or in companies, in exploring the same territory,
as well as the adjacent lands north of the Kentucky river,
and in settling such spots as they chose to occupy, without
any reference to the claim of Henderson and his partners.
Monopolies are never popular, and in our country none
are less acceptable than those which refer to real estate.
Having never been accustomed to the existence among us
of a privileged class, we do not readily submit to any
measure, the tendency of which is to confer exclusive
advantages upon a few individuals. Our sympathies are
with the majority, and our judgments predisposed in favor
of that which confers the greatest benefit on the largest
number of citizens. Our notions with regard to land are
perhaps peculiar to our country ; but they are natural and

168 ALL INDIAN TITLES VAGUE
obviously just. The opinion is as old as the States, that
the soil is common property held for the public good, and
that individuals should not be permitted to appropriate to
themselves more than they can use ; with the exception
only in favor of those, who accumulate large landed estates
by successful industry, or purchase them in good faith, for
valuable considerations. A grant therefore of enormous
magnitude, either by the aborigines or the government, to
a few gentlemen, for a consideration which, though techni
cally valuable, was in fact inconsiderable, could not-be
otherwise than odious.
The Indian title has never been clearly defined, nor
held in much esteem. Not having themselves very clear
ideas of property, the savages could hardly impress others
with distinct notions of the rights which they held by a
tenure so vague — which they bartered away with careless
prodigality, and claimed to resume upon the slightest pre
text. Among them the soil had never been reduced to
individual property ; there was no title by allodium, or
simple fee, and nothing that could be transferred to indi
viduals. Their right was that of sovereignty, the posses
sion that of the whole tribe, and the only cession they
could make was such as by common usage is allowable
alone between sovereigns, or established governments.
Such was the decision of Virginia at first, and of con
gress afterwards, upon the purchase of Henderson and
company; and such seems to have been the common-sense
opinion formed by the adventurers who settled within the
boundaries claimed by those gentlemen, in disregard of
the treaty of the latter with the Cherokees.
Nor was the time propitious to the design of those en
terprising individuals. The revolutionary war had com
menced, and with it the doubt and misrule incident to
such a crisis. The adventurer to the wilds of Kentucky

ILL EFFECTS OF LAEGE GEANTS. 169
must have possessed a prophetic spirit, as well as a more
than ordinary knowledge, political and legal, to have been
able to decide between the proprietary rights of the Che
rokees, and the Six Nations, the Transylvania Company,
and the State of Virginia, the Congress, and the Crown
of Great Britain; and to select from so great a number,
the lord paramount under whom it would be most safe to
hold. The obvious consequence was, that the Virginians
who emigrated took out titles under their own State, the
North Carolinians who came at the invitation of Hender
son and company purchased from them, while a large class
took possession of such tracts as suited them, determined
to hold them against all adverse claimants, and to perfect
their titles under the authority which should ultimately
prove successful.
This then was the first of the numerous party divisions,
by which the peace of Kentucky has been disturbed, and
her prosperity impeded; and the early introduction of
factional discussions may be regarded as having been
not a little ominous of the future history of the State.
Although little has been published in reference to those
early differences, we find, from the documents in our pos
session, that there was in fact much angry controversy
between the parties who respectively admitted or denied
the validity of the cession to Henderson and company,
and we believe that the germ of much subsequent dissen
sion was unhappily planted at that time. But it is grati
fying to observe, that however they might differ on that
subject, they were always firmly united in the bond of
patriotism, and acted with uniform vigor and harmony in
repelling the inroads of the savages, and in resisting the
tyranny of Great Britain. The best interests of Ken
tucky have been continually jeoparded by her intestine
quarrels, but she has never for a moment swerved from
15

170 KENTUCKY AND HEE SETTLEES.
her fidelity to the Union, of which she is one of the
brightest ornaments. The foundations of national, as
well as of individual character, are early laid; and in the
first settlement of all our American States, we find some
indications of the character by which they have become
distinguished. In the State of Kentucky, the evidences
of this truth stand out in bold relief, in the original- and
strongly marked character of the inhabitants, among
whom the daring, the hardihood, and the generosity of
the pioneer, with the independence of thought peculiar
to the revolutionary period at which their institutions
began to be planted, remain conspicuously impressed upon
the whole mass of the native population.

PROPEIETORS OP TEANSYLVANIA. 171

CHAPTEE XI.
A proprietary government established — First meeting of a Con
vention of Delegates — Their proceedings.
The Proprietors of Transylvania, as they supposed
themselves to be, having led a gallant band of adven
turers to the vast but blooming desert which they had
purchased, and erected a few forts, at the several points
where settlements were intended to be formed, proceeded
at once to the formation of a colonial government, as well
for the purpose of asserting thus early their rights of
propriety and sovereignty, as for the establishment of
social and civil order. As this is a curious and impor
tant event in the history of Kentucky, and as it can not
be related in more suitable language than that of the
persons engaged in it, we shall transcribe the record, from
the original papers in our possession. It is- in the fol
lowing words :
" A Journal of the proceedings of the house of dele
gates or representatives of the colony of Transylvania,
bcun on Wednesday the 23rd of May, in the year of our
Lord Christ, 1775, and in the fifteenth year of the reign
of his majesty, king of Great Britain."
The proprietors of said colony having called and re
quired an election of delegates or representatives to be
made for the purpose- of legislation, or making and ordain
ing laws and regulations ior the future conduct of the

172 PROCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION.
inhabitants thereof, that is to say, for the town of Boones
boro' six members, for Harrodsburgh four, for the Boiling
Spring settlement four, for the town of St. Asaph four,
and appointed their meeting for the purpose aforesaid, on
the aforesaid 23rd of May, Anno Domini 1775, and :
It being certified to us here this day by the Secretary, *
that the following persons were returned as duly elected
for the several towns and settlements, to wit:
For Boonesboro ^Squire Boone, Daniel Boone, Wil
liam Cocke, Samuel Henderson, William Moore, and
Eichard Calloway.
For Harrodsburgh — Thomas Slaughter, John Lythe,
Valentine Harmon, and James Douglass.
For Boiling Spring settlement — James Harrod, Nathan
Hammond, Isaac and Azariah Davis.
For the town of St. Asaph — John Todd, Alexander
Spotswood Dandridge, John Floyd, and Samuel Wood.
Present — Squire Boone, Daniel Boone, &c.," (repeat
ing all the above names,) who took their seats at con
vention :
The house unanimously chose Col. Thomas Slaughter
chairman, and Matthew Jewett clerk; and after divine
service was performed by the Eev. John Lythe, the house
waited on the proprietors, and acquainted them that they
had chosen Mr. Thomas Slaughter chairman, and Matthew
Jewett clerk, ofwhich they approved; and Colonel Eichard
Henderson, in behalf of himself and the rest of the pro
prietors, opened the convention with a speech, a copy of
which, to prevent mistakes, the chairman procured. «
Ordered, the same speech be read. Eead the same which
is as follows : [ We omit the speech, the answer of the
» An oflicer appointed by the proprietors, corresponding with a
secretary of state..

BILLS PASSED. 173
convention, and the replication of Colonel Henderson,
which are too long to be inserted in this place. ]
On motion made, ordered, that Mr. Todd have leave to
bring in a bill for the establishment of courts of judica
ture, and regulating the practice therein ; ordered, that
Mr. Todd, Mr. Dandridge, Mr. Calloway, and Mr. Hen
derson, do bring in a bill for that purpose;
On motion of Mr. Douglass, leave is given to bring in
a bill for regulating a militia; ordered, that Mr. Floyd,
Mr. Harrod, Mr. Cocke, Mr. Douglass, and Mr. Hite, be
a committee for that purpose.
On motion of Mr. Daniel Boone, leave is given to bring
in a bill for preserving game, &c.; ordered, that Mr. Boone,
Mr. Davis, Mr. Harmon, Mr. Hammond, and Mr. Moore,
be a committee for that purpose.
The bill for establishing courts of judicature, and reg
ulating the practice therein, brought in by the committee,
and read by Mr. Todd — passed the first time — ordered
to be referred for a second reading.
The bill for establishing and regulating a militia,
brought in by the committee, read by Mr. Floyd — ordered
to be read by the clerk — passed the first time — ordered
to be referred for a second reading.
The bill for preserving game, brought in by the com
mittee, ordered to be read by the clerk — read, and passed
the first time — ordered to be referred for a second reading.
Ordered, that the convention be adjourned until to mor
row, six o'clock.
26th May. Met according to adjournment.
Mr. Eobert M'Afee appointed sergeant at arms.
Ordered, that the sergeant at arms bring John Guess
before this convention, to answer for an insult offered
Colonel Eichard Calloway.

174 PEOCEEDINGS IN CONVENTION.
The bill for regulating a militia, read the second time,
and ordered to be engrossed.
The bill for establishing courts of judicature, and reg
ulating the practice therein, read a second time — ordered
to be recommitted, and that Mr. Dandridge, Mr. Todd,
Mr. Henderson, and Mr. Calloway, be a committee to take
it into consideration.
On motion of Mr. Todd, leave is given to bring in an
attachment bill — ordered, that Mr. Todd, Mr. Dandridge,
and Mr. Douglass, be a committee for that purpose.
The bill for establishing writs of attachment, read by
the clerk, and passed the first time — ordered to be re
ferred for a second reading.
On motion of Mr. Dandridge, leave is given to bring in
a bill to ascertain clerks' and sheriffs' fees.
The said bill was read, and passed the first time —
ordered to be referred for the second reading.
On motion made by Mr. Todd, ordered, that Mr. Todd,
Mr. Lythe, Mr. Douglass, and Mr. Hite, be a committee
to draw up a compact between the proprietors and the
people of this colony.
On motion of Mr. Lythe, leave is given to bring in a
bill to prevent profane swearing and Sabbath breaking —
The same read by the clerk, ordered, that it be recom
mitted, and that Mr. Lythe, Mr. Todd, and Mr. Harrod,
be a committee to make amendments.
Mr. Guess was brought before the convention, and
reprimanded by the chairman.
Ordered, that Mr. Todd and Mr. Harrod wait on the
proprietors, to know what name for this colony would be
agreeable. Mr. Todd and Mr. Harrod reported, that it
was their pleasure that it should be called Transylvania.
The bill for ascertaining clerks' and sheriffs' fees, read
a second time, passed — and ordered to be engrossed.

VAEIOUS BILLS. 175
The attachment bill read a second time, and ordered to
be engrossed.
A bill for preserving game, read the second time, and
passed — ordered to be recommitted, and that Mr. Todd,
Mr. Boone, and Mr. Harrod, be a committee to take it
into consideration.
The militia bill read a third time, and passed.
On motion of Mr. Todd, leave is given to bring in a bill
for the punishment of criminals — ordered, that Mr. Todd,
Mr. Dandridge, and Mr. Lythe, be a committee for that
p\irpose. The bill for establishing courts of judicature, and reg
ulating the practice therein, read a second time, and
ordered to be engrossed.
On motion of Mr. Boone, leave is given to bring in a
bill for improving the breed of horses. Ordered that Mr.
Boone, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Hammond, bring in a bill for
that purpose.
The bill for ascertaining clerks' and sheriffs' fees, read a
third time, and passed.
The bill for establishing writs of attachment, read a
third time and passed.
On motion, ordered that Mr. Todd have leave to absent
himself from this house.
The bill for the punishment of criminals, brought in by
the committee, read by the clerk, passed the first time, and
ordered to be read a second time.
The bill for establishing courts of judicature, and
regulating the practice therein, read the third time with
amendments, and passed.
The bill for improving the breed of horses, brought in
by Capt. Boone, read the first time, passed, and ordered to
be for consideration, etc.

176 PEOCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION.
Ordered, that the convention adjourn until to-morrow,
six o'clock.
Met according to adjournment.
The bill to prevent profane swearing and Sabbath-
breaking, read the second time, with amendments; or
dered to be engrossed.
The bill for the punishment of criminals, brought in
and read; passed the second time, and ordered to be en
grossed. The bill for the improvement of the breed of horses was
read a second time, and ordered to be engrossed.
Ordered, that Mr. Harrod, Mr. Boone, and Mr. Cocke,
wait on the proprietors, and beg they will not indulge any
person whatever in granting them lands on the present
terms unless they comply with the former proposals of
settling the country, etc.
On motion of Squire Boone, leave is given to bring in
a bill to preserve the range; ordered, that he have leave
to bring in a bill for that purpose.
The following message was received from the propri
etors, to wit:
To give every possible satisfaction to the good people,
your constituents, we desire to exhibit our title deed
from the aborigines and first owners of the soil, in
Transylvania, and hope you will cause an entry to be
made of the exhibition in your journals, including the
corners and abutments of the lands or country contained
therein, so that the boundaries of our colony may be
known and kept on record. ElCHAED HeNDEESON.
Transylvania, 27th May, 1775.
Ordered, that Mr. Todd, Mr. Douglass, and Mr. Hite,
inform the proprietors that their request will be complied

THE CONTRACT. 177
¦with ; in consequence of which Colonel Henderson per
sonally attended the convention with Mr. John Farrow,
attorney in fact for the head warriors or chiefs of the
Cherokee Indians, who, in presence of the convention,
made livery and seisin of all the lands, in a deed or feof-
ment then produced, bearing date the 7th day of March
last, 1775. [We omit the boundaries which are here set
forth on the record, having already given them to our
readers in another place.]
A bill for preserving the range, brought in by the
committee and read, passed the first time ; ordered to be
laid by for second consideration.
The bill to prevent profane swearing and Sabbath-
breaking, read the third time, and passed.
Ordered, that 31r. Calloway and Mr. Cocke wait on the
proprietors with the laws that have passed, for their
perusal and approbation.
The committee, appointed to draw up the compact be
tween the proprietors and the people, brought in and read
it, as follows, riz:
Whereas, it is highly necessary, for the peace of the
proprietors and the security of the people of this colony,
that the powers of the one and the liberties of the other
be ascertained; We, Eichard Henderson, Nathaniel Hart,
and J. Luttrel, on behalf of ourselves, as well as the other
proprietors of the colony of Transylvania, of the one part
and the representatives of the people of said colony, in
convention assembled, of the other part — ^do most solemnly
enter into the following contract or agreement, to wit:
1. That the election of delegates in this colony be
annual. 2. That the convention may adjourn, and meet again on
their own adjournment ; Provided, that in cases of great
emergency, the proprietors may call together the delegates

178 PEOCEEDINGS OP CONVENTION.
before the time adjourned to; and, if a majority do not
attend, they may dissolve them and call a new one.
3. That, to prevent dissension and delay of business,
one proprietor shall act for the whole, or some one dele
gated by them for that purpose, who shall always reside
in the colony.
4. That there be perfect religious freedom and general
toleration ; Provided, that the propagators of any doctrine
or tenets, evidently tending to the subversion of our laws,
shall, for such conduct, be amenable to, and punished by,
the civil courts.
5. That the judges of the superior or supreme courts
be appointed by the proprietors, but be supported by the
people, and to them be answerable for their malconduct.
6. That the quit-rents never exceed two shillings ster
ling per hundred acres.
7. That the proprietors appoint a sheriff, who shall be
one of three persons recommended by the court.
8. That the judges of the superior courts have, without
fee or reward, the appointment of the clerks of this
colony. 9. That the judges of the inferior courts be recom
mended by the people, and approved by the proprietors,
and by them commissioned.
10. That all other civil and military officers be within
the appointment of the proprietors.
11. That the office of surveyor-general belong to no
person interested or a partner in this purchase.
12. That the legislative authority, after the strength
and maturity of the colony will permit, consist of three
branches, to wit : the delegates or representatives chosen
by the people; a council, not exceeding twelve men, pos
sessed of landed estate, who reside in the colony, and the
proprietors.

THE CONTEACT. 179
13. That nothing with respect to the number of delegates
from any town or settlement shall hereafter be drawn into
precedent, but that the number of representatives shall be
ascertained by law, when the state of the colony will
admit of amendment.
14. That the land office be always open.
15. That commissions, without profit, be granted without
fee. 16. That the fees and salaries of all officers appointed
by the proprietors, be settled and regulated by the laws
of the country.
17. That the convention have the sole power of raising
and apprqpriating all public moneys, and electing their
treasurer. 18. That, for a short time, till the state of the colony
will permit to fix some place of holding the convention
which shall be permanent, the place of meeting shall be
agreed upon between the proprietors and the convention.
To the faithful and religious and perpetual observance
of all and every of the above articles, the said proprietors,
on behalf of themselves as well as those absent, and the
chairman of the convention on behalf of them and their
constituents, have hereunto interchangeably set their
hands and affixed their seals, the twenty-seventh day of
May, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six.
Eichard Hendeeson. [/SisaZ.]
Nathaniel Haet. [iSeaZ. ]
J. Luttrel. [ Seal. J
¦ T. Slaughtee, Chair'n. [ Sea.l. J
A bill for improving the breed of horses, read the third
time and passed.
The bill for the punishment of criminals, read the third
time and passed.

180 PEOCEEDINGS OF CONVENTION.
The bill to preserve the range, read the second time,
and ordered to be engrossed. '
Ordered, that Mt. Lythe wait on Colonel Henderson and
the rest of the proprietors, with the bill for establishing
courts of justice and regulating the practice therein.
The bill to preserve the range, read the third time and
passed. Ordered, that Colonel Calloway wait on the proprietors
with the bill for preserving the range.
Ordered, that a fair copy of the several bills, passed into
laws, be transmitted to every settlement in this colony
that is represented.
Ordered, that the delegates of Boonesboro be a com
mittee to see that all the bills that are passed be tran
scribed, in a fair hand, into a book for that purpose.
Ordered, that the proprietors be waited on by the
chairman, acquainting them that all the bills are ready
for signing.
The following bills this day passed and signed by the
proprietors, on behalf of themselves and their partners,
and the chairman of the convention, on behalf of himself
and the other delegates:
1. An act for establishing courts of jurisdiction and
regulating the practice therein.
2. An act for regulating a militia.
3. An act for the punishment of "'criminals.
4. An act to prevent profane swearing, and Sabbath
breaking. 5. An act for writs of attachment.
6. An act for ascertaining clerks' and sheriffs' fees.
7. An act to preserve the range.
8. An act for improving the breed of horses.
9. An act for preserving game.
All of the above mentioned acts were signed by the

\ 'V
CHAEACTER OP THE PIONEERS. 181
chairman and proprietors, except the act for ascertaining
clerks' and sheriffs' fees, which was omitted by the clerks
not giving it in with the rest.
Ordered, that at the next meeting of delegates, if any
member be absent and doth not attend, that the people
choose one to serve in the room of such absent member.
Ordered, that the convention be adjourned until the
first Thursday in September next, then to meet at Boones
boro. Matthew Jewitt, Clark.
We present this as a creditable specimen of the intel
ligence and disposition of the pioneers ; affording as it
does, the most ample testimony, that they were not a band
of mere lawless adventurers, unable to appreciate the ad
vantages of social order, and eager to escape the restraints
of civil subordination. We see here the same hardy men,
who with infinite peril and fatigue had conquered for
themselves a resting-place in the wilderness, assembling
in a rude forest fortress, to commence the structure of
their social compact. With no precedents before them,
with neither laws nor lawyers, instructed only by their
own perceptions of right and wrong, and their recollec
tions of the laws under which they had lived, they enact
a simple code whose provisions evince a clear understand
ing of the elementary principles of free government, while
its brevity shows the confidence reposed by these brave
men in each other. Their convention is organized in the
usual manner, and decently opened with prayer, and three
days are spent in the utmost harmony in the discharge
of the duties of this primitive legislation. It is probable
that the speeches were not long, nor the motions very
formal, but we apprehend that the colony of Transylvania
was erected, its courts established, its militia organized,
and even its game protected, with as much propriety as
usually marks the primary assemblies of the people.

182 SEND A DELEGATE TO CONGRESS.
In the autumn of the same year, the proprietors deter
mined to send a delegate to Congress, and accordingly, at a
meeting of those gentlemen, held at Oxford, in the county
of Granville, North Carolina, on the 25th of September,
1775, Mr. James Hogg, one of their own number, was
appointed to represent them in the continental Congress.
Mr. Hogg repaired to Philadelphia, but did not claim a
seat among the patriot fathers of our republic, then.con-
vened at that city, for reasons which are detailed at
length, in a letter, which we copy in another place.
We omit a variety of other interesting particulars which
throw a light upon the transactions of this period, pre
ferring to make copious extracts from the documents
before us, and to place them in an appendix, where the
reader may see the events described in the language of
the actors.
The attempt to establish a proprietary government re
ceived no sanction from the State of Virginia, or from
Congress, nor does it appear to have been heartily sup
ported by any portion of the people over whom it was
proposed to be extended. To a part of the inhabitants
it was decidedly unacceptable, and this party increased
rapidly, as the opinions of the revolution became more
and more widely disseminated. The new government
never went into operation, nor was ever formally acknow
ledged by the people; and the State of Virginia never
ceased to exercise her right of sovereignty, when occa
sions for legislation presented. Colonel Henderson and
his partners, finding it impracticable to sustain them
selves in the executive station which they had assumed,
and in which the settlers seemed indisposed to support
them, very soon abandoned the idea of claiming any
political rank, in virtue of their purchase, and appear to
have employed themselves thereafter in endeavoring to

NOT ACKNOWLEDGED BY VIRGINIA. 183
procure the acknowledgment of their title to the land as
owners. Even this, however, was denied them by the
State of Virginia, whose politicians, wisely foreseeing the
evil of so gigantic a monopoly, and the anti-republican
tendency of the great landed estates which would be
established in a few families by this procedure, promptly
refused to sanction any of the acts of the proprietors or
people of Transylvania, or to admit the validity of any
title to the soil not emanating from the parent State.
Among a number of resolutions, and other expressions
of opinion, on the part of Virginia, we find the following
declaration, which briefly includes the result of the whole
discussion. "In the house of delegates, Wednesday, the 4th of No
vember, 1778.
Resolved — That all purchases of lands, made or to be
made, of the Indians, within the chartered bounds of this
commonwealth, as described by the constitution or form
of government, by any private persons not authorized by
public authority, are void.
Resolved — That the purchases heretofore made by
Eichard Henderson and Company, of that tract of land
called Transylvania, within this commonwealth, of the
Cherokee Indians, is void; but as the said Eichard Hen
derson and Company have been at very great expense in
making the said purchase, and in settling the said lands,
by which this commonwealth is likely to receive great
advantage, by increasing its inhabitants, and establishing
a barrier against the Indians, it is just and reasonable to
allow the said Eichard Henderson and Company a com
pensation for their trouble and expense."
Tuesday, November 17th, 1778: "Agreed to by the
Senate." After endeavoring, for several years, with great assi-

184 PROCEEDINGS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
duity, to procure a reversal of the proposition contained
in the flrst of these resolutions, and a recognition of their
purchase, they were obliged, however reluctantly, to aban
don all hope of possessing this noble domain ; and they
now applied for the remuneration to which the legislature
of Virginia had acknowledged them to be so well entitled.
More than twenty years elapsed before even this was
granted; but Virginia flnally granted to the Transylvania
Company, a large tract of land upon the waters of Green
Eiver, and included in the boundaries of the county of
Henderson, which was afterwards formed.
Similar proceedings, and a like result, took place in
North Carolina, in reference to so much of the purchase
from the Cherokees as lay within the limits of that State.
The narrative which we have introduced, forms but an
episode in the history of Kentucky. While a few enter
prising gentlemen were maturing splendid schemes for the
aggrandizement of their posterity, the stream of population
rolled on without interruption. The settlers seem to have
placed little confldence in the title of Henderson and his
associates, and we scarcely find it alluded to in the early
records or traditionary history of this region. It will
appear, however, upon referring to some of the papers
which we append to this work, that the services of those
gentlemen were important. Henderson, Williams, Luttrel,
and Hart, were really the pioneers who opened the road
to the fertile shores of the Kentucky river, and erected
the flrst fortress in that beautiful though perilous wild.
Boone was their agent — bold, faithful, deserving— yet a
subordinate actor under other men — the chief of their
hunters, and the leader perhaps of the military arm of
their expedition. But his talents were of the useful kind,
his character was popular, and his achievements gained
for him the confidence of the people ; and in all that re-

DANIEL BOONE. 185
lates to the perils of the wilderness, and the stirring events
of the border wars, Boone was a chieftain of high repute.
He was the guide who led the way to the desert, and
whose name was perhaps best known, though some of
those who were associated with him in the great enter
prise, were more intelligent, and equally influential. Other
adventurers followed, and settled around him, looking up
to him as their shield in danger, and at all times as their
counsellor and guide. The savages continued to annoy
them with unceasing hostility; sometimes laying siege to
the fort, frequently attempting to surprise it, and con
tinually lurking about in small parties, waylaying the
hunters, assailing those engaged in agriculture, and cap
turing the females and children in sight of the fortress.
We should exceed our limits, and unnecessarily shock the
feelings of the reader, if we should detail all the achieve
ments of Boone, the privations of himself and his com
panions, and the barbarities of their unrelenting foes.
He continued to sustain himself in the midst of danger,
displaying, in every emergency, that consummate skill and
patient courage, which elevated him above ordinary men ;
and distinguished by a gentleness of manners, and a be
nevolence of heart and action, which secured the affections
of his friends, and won respect even from his ferocious
enemies. From this time the forests of Kentucky began to be
rapidly peopled. The settlers came in small parties, and
spread over the whole country, each little colony erecting
its own fort, and appointing its own leader. The Indians
continued to harass them. The latter were now more than
ever inflamed with rage and jealousy against the Ameri
cans, by the arts of the British agents, who supplied them
with arms and ammunition, bribed them to hostility by
valuable presents, and poisoned their minds by incendiary
16

186 boone's character.
speeches. The whole district of Kentucky exhibited scenes
of bloodshed.
We must condense these events. The name of Boone
is the most conspicuous among the pioneers, because he
was the earliest adventurer to the shores of the Ohio,
and continued longest to brave the perils of the forest.
But there were others who were superior to him in educa
tion and strength of mind, and his equals in every other
respect. Boone was remarkable for the perfect equanimity
with which he bore every trial. Never greatly excited, he
was never alarmed nor despondent. Others were allured
to the wilderness by ambition or cupidity, in the pursuit
of wealth, or lands, or fame; but he seems to have enjoyed
the life of the pioneer, and to have dwelt in the woods
from choice. Others hunted down the Indians with ran
corous hatred ; Boone only defended himself against their
assaults, and never troubled his head about them while
they let him alone. He was good-humoured, social, and
disposed to live in quiet; love of peace, rather than fond
ness for war, made him a dweller on the frontier ; and
when the restraints of society pressed around him, when
the cavils (ff the neighborhood became vexatious, or any
other cause rendered his residence disagreeable, his simple
remedy was to plunge farther into the woods. He was
abstemious in his habits, and a close observer of nature ;
and without any brilliancy or much grasp of intellect, he
had a great deal of that practical good sense which may
be supposed to have existed in the mind of a person of
even temperament, who thought much, spoke little, and
acted with deliberation ; whose whole life was a series of
journeying, danger, and vicissitude, and whose vigilant
eye was constantly employed in watching the appearances
of nature, the habits of animals; the changes ofthe season,
and the movements of hostile men. These are the charac-

THE BACKWOODSMEN. 187
teristics of the backwoodsman ; they were strongly devel
oped in all those that accompanied or followed Boone, but
in him they were less adulterated, because his mind was
not distracted by the passions and cares that perplex other
men. In a subsequent chapter, when we come to speak of
the character of the western population, we shall notice
the peculiarities of this race, their arts, industry, and
mode of life.

188 ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES.

CHAPTEE XII.
Organization of Counties — Foreign Intrigues — Attempts to form a
State Government — Differences of Opinion in reference to that
Measure. Previous to the year 1793, the whole of our western
frontier was continually harassed by the inroads of the
Indians. Kentucky, then recently erected into a State,
was a wide battle-field, in which our gallant countrymen
maintained themselves by a series of hardy exploits and
patient sufferings. Gradually, however, the savages had
been driven back or exterminated, until the river Ohio
formed the grand line between them and the whites, and
municipal regulations began to be introduced and en
forced. Still there were large tracts of wilderness, lying
between the settled districts, and within our acknowledged
boundaries, where the marauding parties of the enemy
lurked, and from which they emerged to attack the un
wary traveller, or to assail the inhabitants whq ventured to
push their improvements into the forest, at a distance from
the protection of the organized settlements. A series of
brilliant successes, obtained by the Kentuckians, led by
Logan, Bowman, Scott, Shelby, Hardin, Clark, and other
veterans, had rendered the question of sovereignty no
longer doubtful, and the white man was become undis
puted lord of the soil.
But the Indian, if he could not fight for victory, could

EARLY HISTORY OF KENTUCKY. 189
still strike for revenge. He could no longer track the
deer or the buffalo, in the rich pastures of Kentucky, or
pitch his tent on the spot consecrated as the resting-place
of his fathers, and rendered memorable by the legends of
his tribe. A race more numerous than his own, his equal
in courage and sagacity, his superior in stature and mili
tary skill, now occupied the forests from which he had been
driven, and were prepared to defend their newly acquired
territory. The new inhabitants had long been trained in
the school of war. They were hunters and warriors, of
high courage and tried skill. Beared in habits of fearless
enterprise, inured from childhood to exposure and hard
ship, and trained to all the derices of sylvan life, and the
stratagems of border warfare, they could overmatch the
savage in his native fastnesses, and foil him in his own
peculiar modes of attack and defense. The savage, there
fore, mournfully extinguished his fires, and abandoned
the hunting-grounds of his people. But he retreated like
the foiled tiger, scowling at the victor, and watching his
opportunity to renew the contest. He went muttering
curses against the white man; and long after his power
was broken, and his tribe dismembered, he continued to
return at intervals, to strike a stealthy but sanguinary
blow at his triumphant enemy.
The first settlements were not only exposed to the as
saults of a savage foe, but they were separated from the
mother States, by a wide chain of almost impassable
mountains, and wholly cut off from the restraints and the
protection of government. Instead of calling upon Vir
ginia, or upon the general government, to protect them
from their enemies, the pioneers defended themselves,
and became early accustomed to rely upon their own
courao-e and resources. Every man looked to his personal
safety, and stood prepared to sustain his neighbor, and to

190 TROUBLES.
guard his own fire-side. As the settlements extended,
self-defense grew into patriotism ; men united for mutual
protection, and by standing side by side in battle, and
rendering to each other assistance in sickness, in famine,
and in all the varieties of fortune to which the inhabitants
of the frontiers are exposed, became joined together by
the closest ties. Thus they became kind and hospitable ;
and to the early impress given by these circumstances,
more than to any other cause, may be attributed the gene
rosity, frankness, and manly bearing, which still distinguish
the Kentucky character.
In 1780, three counties were organized in the district
of Kentucky, by the legislature of Virginia; civil and
military officers were appointed ;A|ind those acts which had
hitherto been voluntarily performed by private individuals,
began to emanate from the body politic. It was not until
the year 1794, when the Indians were signally defeated
\j General Wayne, on the western side of the Ohio, that
peace was established on this frontier. But even then the
country was far from being tranquil. A people accustomed
to think and act for themselves, could feel little sense
of dependence upon the parent state; their loyalty was
voluntary, and resulted solely from sound principle and
natural affection. A warlike population thus independent,
owing few obligations to the sovereign power, and sur
rounded by none of the restraints and few of the advan
tages of the national government, would naturally think
freely, and speak with boldness, of the tie which bound
them to the grekt republican family. They would easily
be led to exercise their undoubted privilege, of weighing
the advantages of the connection which bound them to
their government, and a slight grievance might give to
their thoughts and language the tone of bold defiance.
One of the earliest causes of complaint, to which the

BRITISH POLICY. 191
people of Kentucky were exposed, arose from their geo
graphical position. The United States, newly organized,
loosely connected, weak in resources, and burthened with
debt, had sufficient employment in preserving the existence
of the new confederacy. No settled policy had as yet
been adopted, in reference to an extension of the ter
ritorial limits of the republic. The great mass of the
American people knew nothing of the fertile regions of
the west, and some of our statesmen announced authori
tatively, that the Alleghany mountains formed the natural
boundary of the United States.
While this delightful region was thus undervalued and
neglected by our own politicians, foreign nations had early
adopted, in relation to it, certain views which were remark
ably adapted to coincide with the tardy policy of our
government, in retarding its improvement. France alone
had formed a reasonable estimate of its importance. The
French commanders and missionaries had traced the long
rivers of the west, and wandered with delight over its
boundless prairies; and while they carefully concealed
their discoveries from the rest of Europe, the French
government made extensive arrangements for securing this
country to themselves. Having possession of Canada and
Louisiana, they early formed the plan of seizing the inter
mediate territory, and of confining the English to the
shores of the Atlantic.
The British Government, on the other hand, was not
only ignorant of the great resources of the interior of our
continent, but was averse, from policy, to any great ex
tension of her colonies in that direction. Mistress of the
ocean, she could easily, by means of her great navy and
commercial marine, maintain her influence and enforce
her sway over a people scattered along the sea-coast and
the navigable rivers of the Atlantic ; while an agricultural

192 POLITICAL INTRIGUES.
population, growing up in the interior, would be less apt
to value her friendship, or fear her power. At a later
period, when the colonies had thrown off the yoke, the
British cabinet, still hoping that our weakness or our
dissensions would afford to that government an oppor
tunity to renew its usurpation, and rivet more, closely
than ever the chains of dependence, watched the early
growth of our institutions with a vigilant eye, and en
deavored to weaken our strength, by turning loose the
savages upon our western frontiers. Determined to check
the expansion of our territory in this direction, her agents
traversed the whole region of the northern lakes, fur
nishing the tribes with arms, bribing them to hostility,
and artfully infiaming their passions against the American
people. The Spanish government had also her views in relation
to this country; and when she obtained a cession of Lou
isiana from France, was induced to believe that the whole
valley of the Mississippi could be easily united under her
sway. Thus it happened, that this secluded region, so lately
inhabited only by wild beasts and savage men, became
the subject, and the scene, of deep laid political intrigues.
Great Britain, jealous of the United States, and sore
from the effects of the recent conflict, continued to hold
several important forts in our western territory, long after
she had agreed by treaty to surrender them. Here her
agents received the Indians, supplied them with arms,
and incited them to war; using covertly, every expedient
to harass the new settlements, and to force the emigrants
to re-cross the mountains. Mistress of the ocean, and of
Canada, and having a navy which could command the
entrance of the Mississippi, the British cabinet did not
relinquish the hope, that this interior region might at

VIEWS OP FRANCE AND SPAIN. 193
some future day, if not in the meanwhile occupied by a
hardy race of freemen, be placed under her control, afford
ing her the means of assailing the United States in the
rear, as well as upon the sea-coast, in case of a future
war, or of any dissension among ourselves.
France and Spain, both owning islands in the West
Indies, and having colonial possessions on the continent
of North America, saw with distrust the territorial limits
of the United States extended by treaty and by conquest,
beyond the mountains. They had assisted us in our
contest with Great Britain, from enmity to that power;
not from kindness to us, or a favorable regard for our
institutions, and having seen a rival stripped of a rich
appendage, were satisfied with the result. But they had
no disposition to aid in the rearing up of a great re
publican nation; nor were they willing to see its settle
ments spreading over the western valley, and coming in
juxtaposition with their own. While the inhabitants of
Kentucky were few and their ability to maintain them
selves in the wilderness uncertain, these views were only
incidentally developed in some of the negotiations of these
powers with our government; but events occurred in the
west, which at length produced more decisive action.
In 1784, certain demonstrations on the part of the In
dian tribes, induced a general belief in Kentucky, that an
extensive league had been formed among the savages, with
a view to a simultaneous attack of the settlements, at
several different points ; while the detention of the posts
by the British, suggested the suspicion that they were ac
quainted with the design, and were about to aid in its
execution. The population had now increased, but was
widely scattered ; and it was found more difficult to pro
duce the concerted action required for the public defence,
than formerly, when the number of people was small, and
17

194 MEETING AT DANVILLE.
the leaders few. In this emergency. Colonel Logan, a
distinguished pioneer, took upon himself the responsibility
of calling a meeting • of such citizens as might choose to
attend, at Danville, for the purpose of devising means for
the general security.
The meeting was effected, and the result of the con
sultation was a unanimous opinion that the danger was
imminent, and that the surest method of repelling the
threatened mischief, would be to anticipate the enemy, by
attacking them in their own towns. But this conclusion
led to another difficulty. There was no authority compe
tent to order an expedition, to call out men, or to provide
them with arms and ammunition. A few counties were
organized, under the jurisdiction of Virginia; but the
government of that State, or of the United States, only,
could exercise a power sufficient for the emergency. A
few years before, the voluntary action of an enterprising
leader, with a few brave men, in defense of a settlement,
was an every day occurrence; the number to be protected
was small, the service brief, and the means easily con
trolled. But now there was a wide territory exposed; the
inhabitants were numerous, and some of them strangers
to the rest; the proposed expedition was to carry them
into the enemy's country, and detain them long from
home; there was no magazine of arms, no ammunition, no
money belonging to the public. The consequence was,
that after coming to the determination that defensive
measures were necessary, the meeting dispersed without
making any military preparation. In the event, the alarm
appears to have been groundless, for the Indians made
no attack within that year. Another result, however, of
much consequence, was produced by this meeting. The
absolute necessity of a local government was made mani
fest; and resolutions were passed, recommending to the

CONVENTION. 195
people the election of representatives, to meet in a con
vention to be held at Danville, in the December of the
same year, to concert measures for the public defense. A
convention was held accordingly, in which it was resolved
to petition the legislature of Virginia, to sanction the
erection of the district of Kentucky into a separate State.
There was some difference of opinion in relation to the
expediency of this measure : it was opposed by some, out
of mere attachment for Virginia; by others, from a dis
relish for a change, which might produce unforeseen em
barrassments; and by many, who dreaded a separation
from the parent State, as a sure forerunner of an aliena
tion from the Union. The distant and detached position
of these settlements, has already been alluded to ; they
were divided from the Atlantic States by mountains, over
which it was not deemed practicable to carry roads suffi- ^
ciently good for the purposes of commerce, while on the
west they were hemmed in by an enemy; from whom they
must defend themselves by their own unassisted valor.
Their dependence upon the Union seemed to be but
nominal ; it gave them no strength, and afforded them no
protection. They were now beginning to raise produce
for exportation, without any prospect of a market for its
disposal. The only natural outlet, the river Mississippi,
was in the possession of a foreign government, which de
nied them the right of navigating that stream; while the
American government, having no power of coercion, and
little national influence, seemed both unable and indis
posed, to secure for its citizens in the west, by negotiation
or otherwise, the advantages of that navigation. Under
the action of these pressing grievances, and some latent
causes of discontent, there soon grew up a variety of
opinions, and several distinct parties, one advocating the
erection of a new State, to be a member of the Union:

196

AN INCIDENT.

another hinting at the scheme of an independent govern
ment; and a third deprecating both these plans, as one
might lead to the other, and preferring to remain for the
present under the jurisdiction of Virginia.
From this time up to 1792, when Kentucky became a
State, conventions continued to be held, memorials were
addressed to the Virginia legislature, and a continued
excitement was kept alive on the question of separation.
In the meanwhile, rumours of a design, on the part of
Congress, to cede the right of navigating the Mississippi to
Spain, reached this country, and greatly agitated the public
mind; and this absorbing topic became mingled with every
discussion in relation to the forming of a State government.
An incident may be mentioned here, to show the ex
citable state of the public mind in these early times, and
f the various causes of irritation to which it was exposed.
The noted Tom Paine had written a book, to prove that
Virginia had no claim, by her charter, to the territory
west of the mountains, and advising Congress to take pos
session of th^ new lands, in behalf of the Union. A per
son appeared at Lexington, supposed 'to be an emissary
from ^nobody knew who — but who probably was some
chance traveler, aiming at a little notoriety, and who
ventured to advocate the doctrines of Paine in a public
speech. The indignant people called upon a magistrate
to arrest the propagator of such arrant heresy, as a dis
turber of the peace. There was no law to justify such a
proceeding; but an old Virginia statute was discovered,
which imposed a fine, payable in tobacco, upon the "pro
pagators of false news," and the offender was convicted
by acclamation, and fined a thousand pounds of tobacco.
Being unable to pay the fine, and unwilling to go to jail,
he was released by the people, on the condition that he
should leave the country.

CONSPIRACIES. 197

CHAPTEE XIII.
The Spanish and French Conspiracies — Troubles in relation to the
Navigation of the Mississippi — The patriotic forbearance of the
Pioneers. It is difficult to compress into a work like this, the de
tails of certain transactions which caused great uneasiness
to the early settlements, and have seriously affected the
reputation of several distinguished patriots; and which are
too important to be passed over in silence. The topics
are of so delicate a nature, that it is hardly practicable to
discuss them without giving offence to the living, or doing
injury to the memory of the dead. We shall endeavor to
perform our duty with fairness, and to place these events
before the public in that light which seems to us to be
true. No sooner did the colonial Spanish agents in Louisiana
observe the movements in Kentucky, towards the estab
lishment of a separate government, and the discontents
of the people, in reference to the navigation of the Mis
sissippi, than they commenced a series of intrigues with
the leading men of that region, for the purpose of detach
ing this district from the union.
It is proper to remark here in the outset, that no in
ference should be drawn to the disadvantage of gentlemen
whose names are connected with these events, from the
fact that the Spanish authorities thought proper to address

198 Kentucky's interests.
to them proposals for an alliance with their government.
They were the influential and popular men of the coun
try, and their position made them leaders and public
advisers, and forced on them the decision of popular
measures. It was natural that Spain should wish to in
crease her own territory, or to strengthen herself by
binding to her interest the inhabitants of the rich lands
of the West. The whole of that vast plain which we now
term the valley of the Mississippi, is so remarkably united
and disposed by its conformation, the variety of its pro
ducts, and the facilities for internal commerce, that it
seems destined by nature to be comprised within one
government. The shores of the Ohio, and those of the
Lower Mississippi, are equally important to each other,
and neither of these regions could be prosperous without
the trade and products of the other. The Spanish author ¦
ities in Louisiana were true to their own best interests,
when they endeavored to cultivate friendly relations with
a people whose country was thus connected with their
own; and the politicians of Kentucky would have been
reckless indeed, had they spurned without due considera
tion, the advances of those who were their neighbors in
point of locality, and with whom alone they seemed likely
to hold any direct commercial intercourse.
Kentucky owed nothing to the older States — her sons
were bound to the lands from which they had emigrated,
only by the ties of consanguinity and affection. They
had built up a promising community by individual enter
prise — by personal exertion, and sacriflce, and peril — and
they had a right, if ever a people had, to choose their
own form of government, and seek out alliances for them
selves. They were Virginians, loving the mother State with a
proverbial tenacity of affection ; but they were the coun-

the argument. 199
trymen of that galaxy of patriots, who had just taught
that national ties are not indissoluble, when the public
good demands their separation.
The thirteen States had just separated from Great Bri
tain, because the connection was inconvenient and oppres
sive ; and Kentucky might with equal propriety have
withdrawn from the union, whenever she felt the pres
sure of the same causes. She had not yet been admitted
into the confederacy, and was not bound to it by any
obligation of duty or honor.
The Allegheny mountains separated the AVestern coun
try from the Eastern States, as effectually as the ocean
divided Great Britain from her colonies ; and it is unjust
to infer treason or disaffection, from that solicitude for
the welfare of their newly chosen country, on the part of
the pioneers, which induced them to discuss frankly the
practicability of a harmonious union with States from
whom they were thus geographically divided. Previous
to their admission into the Union, they had a right to
consider for themselves whether such an arrangement
would be beneficial; and it is far from obvious that the
discussion of considerations so vital to their own pros
perity and happiness, involved any impropriety.
The navigation of the Mississippi was indispensable to
the existence of the rising State; and if the confederated
government could not, or would not, procure from Spain
an acknowledgment of the right of the western people to
navigate that river, the latter could not be blamed if they
listened to proposals on the part of Spain, to themselves
directly, on that subject.
These propositions seem to us so clear, that we shall
not attempt to argue them. The intelligent reader will
be able to draw his own inferences. It must be borne in
mind, however, that while we thus defend the motives

200 SPANISH CONSPIEACY.
of the patriot founders of Kentucky, and suggest the
grounds upon which we believe they might honorably
have engaged in the negotiations that have been at
tributed to them, we must not be understood as admitting
the fact that any serious design was ever entertained in
Kentucky, of separating from the Union, or accepting the
protection of Spain. That consultations took place be
tween some of the leading politicians in Kentucky and
the Spanish agents, in reference to the commercial rela
tions of Kentucky and Louisiana, is true; but we have
no evidence of any intrigue to place the country under
the dominion of Spain.
In 1786, General Wilkinson, who had been two or
three years settled in Kentucky, began to appear as a
conspicuous politician, and was one of those who advo
cated the erection of an independent government. He
was soon pronounced to be a pensioner of Spain, and an
agent of that government, but with how much justice we
are not now able to determine. The people either did
not believe the report, or considered the offense of no
great magnitude, for he was repeatedly elected by -them
to a seat in their conventions.
In 1788, Mr. Brown, an inhabitant of Kentucky, a
personal and political friend of Wilkinson, and a dele
gate from Virginia to the Congress then sitting at New
Tork, wrote to a friend as follows : " In private confer
ences which I have had with Mr. Gardoqui, the Spanish
minister at this place, I have been assured by him in the
most explicit terms, that if Kentucky will declare her
independence, and empower some proper person to nego
tiate with him, he has authority to open the navigation
of the Mississippi, for the exportation of their produce
on terms of mutual advantage. But that this privilege
can never be extended to them while part of the United

CIVIL TEOUBLES. 201
States, by reason of commercial treaties between that
court and other powers of Europe." This letter was
addressed to Mr. Muter, one of the judges of Kentucky.
Mr. Innis, the attorney of the United States, for the
Kentucky district, in a letter to the President of the
United States, about the same time, used the following
language: "I am decidedly of opinion, that this western
country will in a few years act for itself, and erect an
independent government; for under the present system
we can not exert our strength ; neither does Congress
seem disposed to protect us."
These indications were succeeded by others which
seemed less equivocal, and which afforded much food for
suspicion, to such as were disposed to be jealous. General
Wilkinson made a voyage to New Orleans, and on his
return announced that he had effected a contract with the
Governor of Louisiana, by which the exclusive privilege
had been granted to him, of exporting the tobacco of
Kentucky to that market. The trade in this article, was
at that time a monopoly in the hands of the king, and
the port was not open for the reception of any produce
from the territories of the United States; so that the
privilege granted to Wilkinson was one of great favor,
and much pecuniary value. He immediately advertised
that he would purchase all the tobacco raised in Ken
tucky; and continued for several years to make large
shipments. In the meanwhile, messengers were passing
between himself and the Spanish Governor, and large
sums of money were known to be transmitted from New
Orleans to Kentucky ; events which were explained by Wil
kinson, as connected with his extensive tobacco specula
tion, while they were suspected by the public, to be parts
of the machipery of a great political intrigue, deeply
involving the peace of the country.

202 SPANISH CONSPIEACY.
At a later period, a person named Thomas Power, a sub
ject of Spain, and an emissary of the Spanish government,
visited the western country, and had frequent interviews
with Wilkinson, and some other influential gentlemen.
A political party seized upon these circumstances, and
published them to the world, with the distortions and
exaggerations always incident to the malignity of partisan
warfare; and for a series of years the public mind was
violently agitated by rumours, accusations, and debates,
relating to what was termed the Spanish conspiracy. The
persons chiefly implicated were Wilkinson, Brown, Innis,
Sebastian, and Nicholas — men of talents and reputation,
all of them high in official stations, and enjoying the con
fldence both of the government and the people. That
gentlemen, — none of whom are represented to have been
mercenary or avaricious, but who were men of generous
ambition, — who had raised themselves by their own tal
ents, and the voluntary suffrage of their fellow citizens, to
the most exalted stations under our form of government,
should wish to exchange that government for another
under which they could rise no higher, seems improbable;
and still more unlikely is it, that men who had been ac
customed to mingle all their lives with the people, and
who must have been well acquainted with the popular
hatred of foreign and monarchical governments, should
have imagined such a scheme to be practicable. We can
not believe it, without strong evidence ; for it is peculiarly
one of those cases in which the burthen of proof should
be thrown upon the accusers.
The most suspicious circumstances are those in which
Judge Sebastian was implicated, and which led to his im
peachment before the legislature of Kentucky. Sebastian
was a man of fine talents and prepossessing exterior, who
had been liberally educated abroad, with the intention of

JUDGE SEBASTIAN. 203
taking orders in the Church of England, and was deeply
imbued with the scholastic and theological learning which
in that age was considered necessary; but changing his
mind in reference to the choice of a profession, he studied
law in Virginia, and became a highly accomplished member
of the bar. He came to Kentucky among the early settlers,
soon rose to distinction, and was one of the flrst to be
placed on the bench, upon the organization of courts in
that district. A man of graceful manners, and generous
hospitality, with the reputation of possessing more than
ordinary attainments, he rose to a high place in the public
estimation. At a period when the question in relation to the navi
gation of the Mississippi had been anxiously discussed —
when fruitless negotiations with the court of Spain had
been carried on by our government, and appeals and re
monstrances equally unsuccessful, had been made to Con
gress by the people of Kentucky, Judge Sebastian received
a letter from Baron Carondelet, Governor of Louisiana,
containing propositions on this subject. In that letter,
the original of which we have seen, the Spanish Governor
addressed Sebastian as a distinguished citizen of Ken
tucky, and suggests that as their respective governments
can not agree upon terms in regard to this important
navigation, a temporary arrangement may be effected be
tween the local authorities at New Orleans, and the people
of Kentucky ; and proposes a conference for that purpose.
Sebastian exhibited this letter to a number of influential
gentlemen, who advised him to proceed in the negotiation;
and a meeting was accordingly arranged, to take place at
New Madrid, between himself and the representative of
Baron Carondelet. The meeting was held accordingly,
and a paper, prepared at New Orleans, was tendered to the
representative of Kentucky, for his approbation, which

204 JUDGE SEBASTIAN.
contained the following propositions, viz: 1. The Spanish
government grants to the western people the right of navi
gating the Mississippi, and of exporting io any foreign
port, and importing from any foreign port, through New
Orleans, on payment of certain duties. 2d. It will be
expected, that in return for this favor on the part of his
Catholic Majesty, the western people will, in their future
trade, give the preference to New Orleans.
To a part of these terms Judge Sebastian objected. He
was willing that his countrymen should pay duty on arti
cles imported through New Orleans, but objected to the
payment of any impost upon the produce which might be
carried down the river ; and as the Spanish negotiator had
no authority to yield this point, the scene of these opera
tions was changed to New Orleans, where Sebastian re
mained several months, and flnally succeeded in procuring
the terms proposed by himself; namely, the privilege of
navigating the Mississippi, and using New Orleans as a
place of entry and deposit, without any condition but that
of paying duty on imports.
In the meanwhile, the negotiation at New Madrid, and
the visit of Sebastian to New Orleans, excited suspicion,
and that gentleman was denounced by his political oppo
nents as a traitor, engaged in secret intrigues for barter
ing away the liberties of his countrymen to the Spanish
despot. Great excitement prevailed, and as is usual on
such occasions, the political demagogues who loved the
people, seized the opportunity to magnify every suspected
evil, and to blacken every suspicious act of those who
were now boldly termed the conspirators.
In the course of his negotiations with the Spanish
governor, Sebastian, alluding to his delicate position as
an unauthorized mediator, in a public affair said, that
although he might gain for his country the advantages so

A HAED CASE. 205
long desired, and which seemed to be all that was want
ing to her prosperity, it was possible that his own reputa
tion and interest might be sacriflced. He was a volunteer
in a patriotic, though delicatfe enterprise; he stood alone;
the public was not pledged to ratify his deeds, nor was
there any party bound to defend him, under any ad
verse result. These considerations were suggested to the
Spanish governor, who at once saw the injustice of
heaping upon one man all the present odium of a trans
action which must ultimately be highly advantageous to
both governments, but from which he reaped no personal
advantage, other than his share of the general good. He
therefore addressed a letter to Sebastian, in which he sug
gested, that as the Spanish government anticipated great
advantages from the proposed trade with the western peo
ple, they were willing to remunerate Mr. Sebastian for
his exertions in effecting this beneflcial commercial in
tercourse; and he urges him to continue his voluntary
agency, and promises, that if in consequence thereof he
should be thrown out of the public station he then held in
Kentucky, the king of Spain would grant him a pension.
It happened that very shortly after these events, the
purchase of Louisiana by the government of the United
States settled the long agitated question in reference to
the navigation of the Mississippi, quieted the uneasiness
and irritation of the western people, and rendered nuga
tory all that had been done by individuals towards the
accomplishment of the desired result. But it did not
close the eye of suspicion, nor hush the envenomed
tongue of calumny. On the contrary, it occurred just
in time to deprive those patriotic gentlemen of the only
conclusive evidence of the purity of their intentions and
of the precise nature and extent of their negotiations,
which would have been shown by the eventual operation

206 IMPEACHMENT OF JUDGE SEBASTIAN.
of these proceedings. It left unflnished a series of trans
actions, in which a few public spirited individuals risked
their reputations freely, for the delivery of their country
from an intolerable grievance, and deprived them of the
reward of gratitude and honor that would have attended
the successful sequel of their efforts, by effecting the ob
ject through other means. It left them exposed, without
the means of defense, to a bitter and untiring persecu
tion, urged by partisans animated by the lust of office,
and unwarily abetted by a people ever too ready to give
volume to the delusive voice of popular clamor, by join
ing, through mere impulse, in the cry commenced by a
designing few.
The greatest sufferer was Judge Sebastian, who, shortly
after the admission of Kentucky into the Union, was im
peached upon the charge of being a pensioner of Spain.
He asked for time to procure from Louisiana, and from
Spain, the evidence of the true nature and extent of his
negotiations with the agents of that government, but was
refused; and having no other defense, he resigned his
office, while a committee of the legislature, proceeding ecB
parte, examined a number of witnesses, and reported un
favorably to the party charged, who was proved to have
received at least one payment from the Spanish govern
ment, as a gratuity for his services in the affairs above
alluded to.
It is painful to record the tragic sequel of the biogra
phy of that unfortunate gentleman. From an enviable
elevation in society, he fell suddenly into profound and
hopeless degradation. Blessed with high office, popular
favor, and easy circumstances, he sank at once into
poverty, oblivion, and contempt. Accused by the legis
lature, and convicted of having received money from a
foreign power, nothing could protect him from the effects

A HAED CASE. 207
of popular resentment — neither his learning, his public
services, nor the blameless tenor of his previous career
as a public functionary. He fell without a struggle of
self-defense, or an effort from the hand of friendship.
In submitting, as he did, to the condemnation of the
legislature, and of his fellow citizens. Judge Sebastian
intended to defer the hour of explanation, until he could
collect the proofs which were necessary to elucidate his
whole conduct, the most of which could be obtained only
from the Spanish officers with whom he had negotiated,
and who had since been removed to different parts of the
world. But he was prevented, by domestic afflictions,
from pursuing this purpose to any beneflcial result. One
blow succeeded another, until the degraded politician and
broken-hearted man, weighed down under an accumula
tion of griefs, lost the energy necessary to self-defense,
and ceased to resist the adverse current of his ill-starred
destiny. He lived long in retirement, so lost to the world
that few of his fellow-citizens knew whether he was living
or dead. Tet those who saw him in his seclusion, under
the pressure of poverty, sorrow, and old age, were sur
prised at his vigor both of'body and mind, the fascination
of his conversational powers, and the apparent smplicity
and benevolence of his character. Combining the phy
sical hardiness of the pioneer with the manners of a
gentleman and the attainments of a scholar, he was a
good specimen of the class to which he belonged, and of
whom many yet remain among the gray-haired fathers of
Kentucky. The writer has had the opportunity of examining papers
relating to the transactions above alluded to, and many
others, in the possession of a descendant of Judge Sebas
tian, and was forcibly struck by a circumstance which
seems to have escaped those who condemned him. There

208 JUDGE SEBASTIAN'S NEGOTIATIONS.
is not, throughout the whole of his intercourse with Ca
rondelet, the slightest allusion to any political connection
between the people of Kentucky and the Spanish govern
ment. The navigation of the Mississippi, the traffic be
tween the upper and lower regions of that river, the
exchange of commodities between the people residing on
the Ohio, and those in Louisiana, are the sole topics of
discussion. The whole transaction was of a commercial
nature, and was not founded on any supposed disaffection
on the part of the Kentuckians, or with any view to a
political alliance with Spain. It has not the slightest
connection with the communication of. Gardoqui to Mr.
Brown, whose names do not appear to have been alluded
to in the correspondence between Carondelet and Sebas
tian; nor does it appear that Mr. Brown and Judge Se
bastian had any intercourse on this subject. It was by
combining circumstances which were distinct and inde
pendent, that suspicion was produced, by giving an ap
pearance of unity and Concert to events which were only
accidentally coincident.
This whole matter, when dispassionately considered,
explains itself clearly to the unprejudiced mind, without
subjecting any of the actors to the slightest imputation
of criminality. The navigation of the Mississippi was
the subject, above all others, of the most direct and vital
importance to the western people. Spain, either from
want of cordiality towards the United States, or a desire
to detach the western settlements, or some entanglement
with other European powers, refused to acknowledge our
right to navigate that river; and our government pressed
it but feebly. The people of Kentucky became alarmed
and clamorous. The Spanish minister seized this junc
ture, to hint to Mr, Brown that the king of Spain was
willing to grant to the western people, that which he

THE COERECT ¦VIEW. 209
would never yield to the United States; and Mr, Brown
faithfully reports this conversation to a gentleman in
Kentucky, high in office, who makes the information
public. The discontents of the people increase, and Mr.
Innis, the attorney of the United States, writes to the
President, that in his opinion, the western country will,
in a few years, act for itself — stating, at the same time,
the cause which he supposes will produce that result, —
"under the present system we can not exert our strength,
neither does Congress seem disposed to protect us.' If
these men were conspirators, they were the most frank,
communicative, and honest men that ever deserved that
appellation; if they entertained designs hostile to the
honor or the interest of their country, they certainly were
singular in the choice of their confidants — members of
Congress and officers of the law themselves, their com
munications are addressed to the President of the United
States, to a Judge, and to the people !
It appears further, that while the governments of Spain
and the United States found it impracticable to come to
any conclusion, in reference to this trade, the leading men
of Louisiana and Kentucky became equally conrinced
that their respective districts must languish without it.
Carondelet was a man of enlarged riews, and probably
represented to his government that the existing policy
must prove as fatal to the Spanish colony as to the Ameri
can settlements; and Spain, while her pride, or her en
gagements with other nations, would not allow her to
recede from the extravagant position she had taken, con
sented that temporary arrangements should be made by
the local government, by which the commerce of the river
should be unfettered, while she should not be bound by
the compromise, but remain at liberty to resume her pre
tensions, or to suffer them to lie dormant. The arrange-
18

210 FEENCH CONSPIRACY.
ment proposed to be effected, therefore, was not political,
but commercial ; it did not comp]:omise the government or
people of the United States, or violate any existing law
or treaty, but referred to the opening of a trade with a
neighboring province, with whom we were at peace, which
was desired by our people, and claimed for them by our
government. It was obtaining the exercise of rights,
without the direct sanction of the Spanish crown, which
our government insisted that Spain had no right to with
hold. We are not aware of a single act in the whole transac
tion which involves the slightest imputation upon the pa
triotism of the gentlemen concerned, unless it be the receipt
of money by Sebastian; and if we are right in supposing
that it Was simply a commercial operation, affecting only
the present pecuniary interests of the people of these
districts, we know of no rule of honor or morality under
which that individual could be condemned for receiving a
compensation for his agency, though it was imprudent
in him as an individual, indelicate, and against rule as a
public officer. But even this imputation does not extend
to the other gentlemen who have been named, whose
motives stand unimpeached, and who were actuated only
by a zeal for the public good; and whose names, we are
persuaded, will hereafter stand recorded in history, among
those which Kentucky will be proud to honor. She has
reared many illustrious patriots, but none who have served
her more faithfully through a period of extraordinary
embarrassment and peril, than Brown, Innis, Nicholas,
and Sebastian.
Such is a hasty outline of the affair which was termed
the Spanish conspiracy; the more audacious attempt of
the French directory, shall be noticed still more briefiy.
In 1793, shortly after the arrival of M. Genet in the

A UNIQUE DOCUMENT. 211
United States, as minister from the French republic, a
plan was organized by that factious diplomatist, to embroil
the western people with the Spaniards; and four emissa
ries, whose names were Lachaise, JDepeau, Mathurin, and
Gregnon, were despatched to Kentucky. They were fur
nished with military commissions, and full powers from
the French government, for the purpose of raising an
army, to invade the Spanish possessions on the Missis
sippi ; a measure, which it was hoped would involve the
government of the United States, and force her into a war
¦with Spain. The openness with which these agents pro
ceeded, is quite apparent in the easy impudence of the
following letter from one of them to Governor Shelby, in
which the writer's facility in the use of the English
language, seems to be about equal to his knowledge of
the people.
" Citizen Governor, — It may appear quite strange to
write to you on a subject in which although it is of some
consequence. "With confidence from the French ambassador, I have
been despatched, in company with more Frenchmen, to
join the expedition of the Mississippi.
" As I am to procure the provision, I am happy to
communicate to you, whatever you shall think worthy of
my notice, or in which your advice may be of use to me,
as I hope I have in no way disoblige you; if I have, I
will most willingly ask your pardon. For nobody can be
no more than I am willing for your prosperity and hap
piness. "As some strange reports has reached my ears that
your excellence has positive orders to arrest all citizens
inclining to our assistance, and as my remembrance know
by your conduct, in justice you will satisfy me in this
uncommon request.

212 THE FRENCH EMISSARIES.
"Please let me know, as I shall not make my supply
till your excellence please to honor me with a small
answer. "I am your well wither in remaining for the French
cause, a true citizen democrat.
"Charle Depeau.
" Postcript. — Please to participate some of these hand
bills to that noble society of democrats.''
A number of persons were induced to engage in this
enterprise ; a distinguished citizen of Kentucky received
a commission as "Major General in the armies of France,
and commander-in-chief of the French revolutionary le
gions on the Mississippi," and many preliminary arrange
ments were made for the anticipated campaign. The
government of the United States became apprised of these
measures, and promptly interfered. General Wayne, then
at the head of the troops west of the Ohio, took measures
to observe the motions of the French emissaries, and
Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation, in which the
people of the north-western territory were advised to ab
stain from any participation in these illegal proceedings.
In glancing hastily at these events, we are cheered with
the instructive lesson which they teach. There have been
several instances in the history of our country, when dis
affection has broken out into murmur and menace ; in
every instance, men of talent have been found among
the ambitious fomenters of discord; but the good sense
and integrity of the people, has invariably been found
sufficient to protect them from being seduced into rebel
lion. Of all such events, those to which we have just
alluded, afford perhaps the most decided proofs of in
corruptible loyalty and patriotism. If ever there was a
people, who, in the choice of a government, had a right

ATTEMPT TO RAISE AN ARMY. 213
to act precisely as suited their own convenience, the pio
neers were entitled to that privilege. They had conquered
a country for themselves. The government did not ex
tend to them either ciril protection, military assistance,
or pecuniary aid. They are the only first settlers, who
neither violated the rights of the Indian, by taking his
land by violence, nor expended money in its purchase.
They found it without an owner, overrun by savage hun
ters and war parties, whose conflicting claims were no
better than their own. They purchased it with blood and
labour. Tears were spent in painful marches and mid
night vigils; in hewing down the gigantic forest, exter
minating the wolf and the panther, and in guarding
against the wiles of the savage. Through every peril,
through all discouragement, they persevered unaided.
The government could not aid them ; when the settlement
of Kentucky commenced, she was herself engaged in the
war for independence; at a later period, she had just
passed through that contest, and remained an exhausted,
breathless victor.
The settlers of Kentucky had not only been unaccus
tomed to the protection or restraints of government, but
there was some reason to believe, that the federal juris
diction could never be efficiently extended over them.
The mountains formed then a line of separation which
seemed insurmountable. The hunter crossed them with
much toil, and the enterprising trader conducted his train
of pack-horses with difficulty and long delay, over their
steep acclivities; but the idea of a frequent, easy, and
cheap method of intercourse, was not entertained nor
deemed possible.
Inhabiting a rich country, destined to become populous,
and to yield the products of the earth in abundance, they
naturally looked around them for a market. The moua-

214 PATEIOTISM OF KENTUCKY.
tains separated them from the marts of their countrymen
on the sea-coast; to the north were the lakes and the pos
sessions of Great Britain, an unfriendly power ; the western
frontier was lined with hostile savages, with whom they
could not hope to carry on any profitable traffic; to the
south-west, the Spaniards, living under a rigid system
of commercial non-intercourse, closed their markets for
ever against foreigners. The noble river that swept their
shores, and seemed destined by Providence as the great
highway by which the dwellers in this region should seek
the ocean, was shut against them.
The right to navigate the Mississippi, became early a
theme of animated discussion in Kentucky, and the sub
ject of urgent remonstrances to the government. The
government hesitated and temporized; surrounded with
the cares and perils which assailed the infancy of our
national institutions, the small still voice -from the distant
wilderness fell faintly upon the executive ear. When the
language of expostulation and defiance became loud, it
was drowned in the dissensions of party violence; for by
this time, the French revolution had broken out ; political
divisions had sprung up in our country ; two great parties
were contending for power; and the complaints of the
Kentuckians were attributed to the disorganizing zeal of
partisans. Let it be remembered, too, that this was a period pecu
liarly propitious to the work of revolution. The American
colonies had just separated from the mother country; the
people were become familiar with the discussion of politi
cal rights, and accustomed to think for them'feelves. That
reluctance with which men regard a change of govern
ment, and which induces them to submit to evils which
are known, rather than plunge darkly into such as are
unseen, had been dispelled by recent events; there was

PRAISEWORTHY CONDUCT. 215
an excitement in the public mind, an awakened energy
in the tone of thought, which had prepared the people for
decisive action, in any case, when demanded by their in
terests, and justified by their notions of moral or political
honesty. At such a period, Spain held out a tempting
bait to the enterprising settlers of the west. She offered
them a free navigation of the Mississippi, and a market
at New Orleans, upon the condition of their erecting an
independent western republic; but the affections of the
western people could not be thus alienated from their own
countrymen; they could not be bribed to dissolve their
connection -with those to whom they were bound by the
ties of consanguinity and honor, or to abandon, in its
infancy and weakness, a government to which they owed
nothing but the voluntary homage of respect and pre
ference. The offers of the French government were still more
alluring. They were invited to invade the Spaniards,
against whom they were exasperated by a long continued
and unjust denial of their right to the navigation of the
Mississippi. The friendship and pecuniary aid of a pow
erful nation, was tendered to their acceptance. The city
of New Orleans, and the fertile province of Louisiana,
with its genial climate and varied productions, were within
the reach of their grasp. The whole of the broad valley
of the west lay before them, with its hundred rivers and
its mighty resources ; and the glory of building up a new
empire in this delightful region, was held up in dazzling
splendor before their eyes. Still they remained true to
their country and their principles. In the retrospect of
these affairs, it should not be forgotten, that they suc
ceeded the termination of the revolutionary war. Thou
sands of soldiers had just been disbanded, and were
destitute of employment. A vast number of young gen-

216 PATRIOTISM NATUEAL TO OUR CITIZENS.
tlemen had entered the revolutionary armies, at an age
usually appropriated to the choice of a profession, and
the acquirement of the knowledge and habits requisite
for civil pursuits; they had spent years in the military
profession, imbibed a thirst for fame, and acquired a love
for the vicissitude^ of war. Their occupation was now
gone; they were too old to commence a course of pro
fessional study, and they had no tastes which suited them
for the quiet pursuits of industry. Many of these gen
tlemen had emigrated to the west, and others were still
unsettled. To such persons, the temptation of military
service, the allurement of ambitious prospects, the wide
field of enterprise, opened in brilliant perspective before
them, must have been in the highest degree inviting.
But they had the forbearance to resist the dangerous in
citement, the patriotism to prefer the peace and honor of
their country to their own fame and interest.
When we consider these transactions in connection with
others which have subsequently occurred, and pass in
sober review the various occasions on which a portion of
our people have been goaded into momentary disaffection,
by a pressure of affairs which has exasperated their feel
ings or blighted their interests ; when we remark how
often our country has been threatened with disunion, and
how portentously the storm of discord has lowered, until
it seemed ready to burst upon our heads, and reflect how
invariably our fears have proved delusive — how beauti
fully and tranquilly the clouds of rebellion have passed
away, and the sun of peace shone out in quiet glory, we
are led to the conclusion, that there are inherent ties of
reason and affection entwined in the fabric of our society,
which bind it indissolubly together. '

NEW INTRIGUES. 217

CHAPTEE XIV.

Burr's Conspiracy.

In the year 1806, the western country began to be again*
disturbed by the machinations of political agitators. An
event has seldom occurred, so intrinsically insignificant in
its result, which has created so great a sensation as the
conspiracy of Burr ; which, indeed, derives its consequence
principally from the celebrity of the names attached to it,
and the igorance of the world as to its final object. Burr
was the rival of Hamilton; Hamilton, the friend of Wash
ington, his military aid, his political adviser, his social
companion — equally eminent as a soldier, an orator, a
writer, a financier, and a lawyer. The man who could
make Hamilton experience, or even counterfeit,
" The stern joy that -warriors feel,
In foeman worthy of their steel,"
must have stood far above mediocrity. Colonel Burr was
the son of a gentleman eminent for his learning and piety,
for many years president of the most celebrated college in
America ; and was himself a man of transcendent genius
and great attainments. He was remarkable for the ele
gance of his manners, the seductiveness of his address,
the power and sweetness of his eloquence; but more so,
perhaps, for the boldness and energy of his mind. Burr
19

218 burr's duel WITH HAMILTON.
had contended unsuccessfully with Jefferson for the presi
dential chair, which he lost by a single vote; but while
he filled the second place in dignity, few at that time
would have assigned him an inferior station in point of
talents. The duel between Hamilton and Burr filled the nation
with astonishment and grief — grief for the death of a
great and useful man, and astonishment at the delusion
which occasioned it. Burr, with the corpse of Hamilton
at his feet, might have felt the triumph of conquest; but
it was a momentary fiush ; the laurels of the hero, watered
*by the tears of his country, retained their verdure; and
even those who might have rejoiced at his political fall,
execrated the destroyer of his existence.
Shortly after this bloody catastrophe, the conduct of
Burr began again to excite the attention of the public.
He had resigned his former employments, forsaken his
usual haunts, and was leading an erratic and mysterious
life. He frequently traveled incognito, performed long
and rapid journeys, and remained but a short time at any
one place. This restlessness was attributed to uneasiness
of mind, and many began to sympathize with him whom
they supposed to be thus tortured with the stings of con
science. But whatever might have been the workings of
his mind, he soon evinced that its fire was not quenched,
nor its ambition sated. He was now seen traversing the
western wilds, eagerly seeking out the distinguished men
of that country, particularly those who possessed military
experience, or had hearts alive to the stirring impulses of
ambition. These indications were quickly succeeded by others of a
more decided character. Secret as his intentions were,
the first movement towards their execution awakened
suspicion. The assembling of men and collecting muni-

HIS DISGRACE. 219
tions of war, roused the government to action. Burr was
arrested — his plans defeated, his adherents dispersed, and
his reputation blasted. He became an exile and a wan
derer; and after years of suffering, returned to his native
land, to become an insignificant member of that bar, of
which he had been among the highest ornaments — an
obscure citizen of that country over whose councils he
had presided; and to add another to the list of splendid
men, who have been great without benefit to themselves or
others, and whose names will be preserved only
"To point a moral, or adorn a tale."
He was entirely abandoned. Never was a man more
studiously avoided, more unanimously condemned. The
voice of eulogy was silent, the breath of party was hushed.
Of the many who had admired and loved him, none ven
tured to express their love or admiration. One fatal act
of folly, or of crime, had obscured all the brilliancy of a
splendid career; and, although acquitted of treason by a
court of justice, a higher tribunal, that of public opinion,
refused to reverse the sentence which consigned him to
disgrace. Such was the fate of Burr ; but his plans are yet en
veloped in mystery. A descent upon some part of
Spanish America, and the establishment of an inde
pendent government, has been stated to have been the
object; but it is alleged, that a separation of the western
States from the Union, formed a part of the project. The
latter charge rests almost entirely upon the evidence of
General Eaton, a gentleman whose chivalrous disposition
led him through many singular adventures, and whose
history, as recorded by himself, presents a more favorable
picture of his heart and genius than of his judgment.
He was a man of warm temperament, who adopted hasty

220 GEN. Eaton's testimony.
and vivid impressions from the impulse of the moment.
From his testimony, I should be inclined to believe, that
Colonel Burr had cherished some vague ideas respecting
a disjunction of the Union; but it does not appear that
those speculations were ever matured into any settled
plan, or confided to his adherents. I am led to this con
clusion, by the characters of Colonel Burr and the gen
tlemen who were implicated with him in his disastrous
expedition. Burr was a close observer of men and man
ners; and -it is not to be presumed, that he would have
lightly embraced a scheme so fraught with treason, mad
ness, and folly. He knew the American people well. He
had studied them with the eye of a statesman, and with
the intense interest of an ambitious political aspirant.
His rank in society, his political station, and his exten
sive practice at the bar, threw open a wide and varied
scene to his observation, and exhibited his countrymen to
him in a variety of lights and shades.
Nor was Burr the man upon whom such opportunities
would be lost. To him, the avenues of the human heart
were familiar, and he could penetrate with ease into its
secret recesses. To study man was his delight — to study
his countrymen his business. Could he then have been
a stranger to their intelligence, their sense of honor, their
habits of calculation, and their love for their republican
institutions? Could he expect to transform at once, the
habits, feelings, tastes, and morals of a people conspicuous
for their courage and political integrity? — for such are
the people of the western States. It has been supposed,
and with some plausibility, that his hopes were founded
on the dissatisfaction evinced by the western people, at
the time of the discussion of our right to navigate the
Mississippi. It is true, that the rude and unprovoked vio
lation of our privileges on that river by Spain, excited

BUER s conspiracy. 221
a universal burst of indignation throughout the Union.
It is also true, that this feeling was most warmly dis
played in the west. In the Atlantic States, the insult
was felt as implicating our national honor; in the west,
it was a matter of vital importance to all, and of personal
interest to every individual, and as such it came home
to men's business and bosoms. The Mississippi was the
natural outlet, and New Orleans the mart for the produce
ofthe west; and when that market, to which they believed
they had an indefeasible right of access, was barred to
them, it was but the natural and common impulse of the
human mind, which induced a people, at all times proud,
impetuous, and tenacious, to call for vengeance and re
dress, with a sternness and impatience commensurate -with
their injuries. The conciliatory spirit and tardy policy of
Mr. Jefferson, neither satisfied their feelings, nor suited
their exigencies; and they were willing to impute to tame
ness in the executive, or to a disregard for their interests,
that which might have been the result of natural weakness
or mistaken policy. Believing themselves to be aban
doned by the general government, they felt it a duty to
protect their own invaded rights; and if the government
had not interposed with effect, they would doubtless have
drawn the sword — against whom? the government? No,
but against the common enemy. In this there was no
treason nor disaffection — no estrangement from their
sister States, no breach of faith with the government, nor
violation of the compact. It was saying only to their
federal head — "defend us, or we will defend ourselves."
If Colonel Burr expected to fan these feelings into
rebellion, he had either more boldness or less wisdom,
than has commonly been placed to his credit; and had
he openly avowed this project, he would have called down
upon his head the imprecations of a people, who, if they

222 bure's views unceetain.
had spared his life, would not have forgiven so foul an
insult to their virtue and understanding. But let us ask
who were the adherents of Colonel Burr ? Who were
they who were to share his fortunes, to reap with him the
proud laurels of successful valor, or the infamy of foul
rebellion? Were they persons of obscure name and des
perate fortune, or were they men of good blood and fair
fame ? These questions are embarrassed with some un
certainty, because most of the gentlemen who have been
accused of adhering to Colonel Burr, have denied the
fact ; and I wish not to assume any thing as a fact, on
this delicate subject, which is, or has been controverted.
But it is not denied that many " prosperous gentlemen "
were engaged in this enterprise ; and many others sus
pected, with a belief so strong as to amount almost to
certainty ; and among these were men whom the people
have since exalted to the most important trusts, and con
fided in with the most implicit reliance. Ardong them
were men of high standing, who had reputations to be
tarnished, fortunes to be lost, and families to be embar
rassed ; and many high-souled youths, whose proud as
pirings after fame could never have been gratified amid
the horrors of a civil war and the guilty scenes of re
bellion. It is argued against these gentlemen, that they have
uniformly denied their connection with Burr, which it is
supposed they would not have done had they known his
designs to be innocent. But this I do not conceive to be
a fair argument. The united voice of the whole nation
had declared Burr to be a traitor, and his adherents
shared the obloquy which was heaped upon their mis
guided leader. Even admitting their innocence, or their
own belief of it, still it would have been a hopeless task
for this handful of men to oppose their feeble assevera-

blanneehasset. 223
tions to the "voice potential" of a whole people. Many
of them, also, were candidates for office, and they found
the avenues to preferment closed by the anathemas pro
nounced by the people against all who were concerned in
what they believed to have been rank conspiracy. They
might, therefore, have bent to the current which they
could not stem.
Blannerhasset was an Irish gentleman of easy fortune
• — a man devoted to science, who retired from the world,
in the hope of finding happiness in the union of literary
and rural occupation. He selected an island in the Ohio,
which still bears his name, as his retreat, and spared no
expense in beautifying and improving it. He is described
as having been retired in his habits, amiable in his pro
pensities, greatly addicted to chemical studies, and a pas
sionate lover of music. In this romantic spot, and in
these innocent pursuits, he lived; and, to crown the en
chantment of the scene, a wife, who is said to have been
lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every ac
complishment that could render it irresistible, had blessed
him with her love, and made him the father of her chil
dren. But Blannerhasset, in an evil hour, became ac
quainted with Burr ; he imbibed the poison of his ambition,
became involved in his intrigues, and shared his ruin — a
ruin as complete, desolate, and hopeless, as his former state
had been serene and bright.
Whatever were Burr's intentions, it is certain that they
embraced schemes so alluring, or so magnificent, as to
win the credulous Blannerhasset from the abstraction of
study and the blandishments of love. This island became
the center of operations. Here arms were deposited and
men collected ; and here, assembled round their watch-
fires, young gentlemen, who "had seen better days," and
"sat at good men's feasts," endured all the rigors of the

224 KING AAEON THE FIEST.
climate and the privations of a campaign, rewarding them
selves, in anticipation, with the honors of war and the
wealth of Mexico. Burr and Blannerhasset were the
master spirits who planned their labors ; Mrs. Blanner
hasset was the light and life of all their social joys. If
treason matured its dark designs in her mansion, here
also the song, the dance, and the revel, displayed their
fascinations. The order of arrest was the signal of dis
persion to this ill fated band; and it is said, that the lovely
mistress of this fairy scene, the Calypso of this enchanted
isle, was seen at midnight, " shivering on the winter
banks of the Ohio," mingling her tears with its waters,
eluding by stratagem the ministers of justice, and desti
tute of the comforts of life, and the solace of that hospi
tality which she had once dispensed with such graceful
liberality. I believe it is not doubted, that Burr intended to have
attempted the conquest of Mexico. A large portion of
the people of that country were supposed to be waiting
only for a favorable opportunity to throw off the Spanish
yoke. The Americans, as their neighbors, and as repub
licans, would, it was thought, be received without sus
picion ; nor would Burr have unfolded his ultimate design,
until it should be too late to prevent its accomplishment.
He would then have established a monarchy, at the head
of which would have been King Aaron the First. I am
told, that the young gentlemen who were proceeding to join
him, often amused themselves on this subject; talking,
half in jest and half in earnest, of the offices and honors
which awaited them. Titles and places were already lav
ishly distributed in anticipation ; and Mrs. Blannerhasset,
who was an accomplished and sprightly woman, had ar
ranged the dresses and ceremonies of the court. When
the alarm was given, and orders were issued for the arrest

DISPEESION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 225
of Burr and his adherents, they were obliged to resort to
a variety of expedients to escape detection. At Fort Mas
sac, and other places, all boats descending the river were
compelled to stop and undergo strict examination, to the
great vexation of boatmen and peaceable voyagers, who
were often obliged to land at unseasonable hours. Very
diligent inquiry was made for the lady just mentioned,
who several times narrowly escaped detection, through her
own ingenuity and that of her companions.

226 THE PIONEERS.

CHAPTEE XV.
Character of the Pioneers— Their Adventures — Anecdote of Mul
drow — Of Boone — Device of the Indians — Romantic Adventure
of two Females.
Passing in rapid review the period over which we have
passed, we find that the district of Kentucky was settled
by several distinct classes of people, differing much from
each other, and each having a marked peculiarity of cha
racter. It is from not knowing, or not adverting to this
circumstance, that erroneous impressions have been re
ceived of the genius and disposition of the western peo
ple ; to the manners of all of whom, the Kentuckians have
given a decided tone.
Those who came first — the Boones, the Kentons, the
Whitleys — were rough, uneducated men; the enterprising,
fearless, hardy pioneers. They were literally backwoods
men, who had always resided on the frontiers, forming the
connecting link between civilized and savage men; and
who did not, in their emigration to the west, form any
new acquaintance with the perils of the wilderness. They
had been inhabitants of the long line of frontier lying
east of the Allegheny mountains; were the descendants of
men, whose lives had been spent in fierce contests with the
Indians; and were themselves accustomed from infancy,
to the vicissitudes of hunting and border warfare. A few
of them came from Pennsylvania and Maryland, but the
great body from Virginia and North Carolina. Strictly

CHARACTER. — STRATAGEMS. 227
speaking, they were not farmers; for, although they en
gaged in agriculture, they depended chiefly on their gims
for subsistence ; and were allured to the west, rather by
the glories of the boundless forest and the abundance of
game, than by the fertility of the new lands, and the
ample resources of the country. They came singly or in
small parties, careless of protection, and fearless of con
sequences. Their first residence was a camp; a frail shel
ter formed of poles and bark, carefully concealed in some
retired spot, in which they hid the spoils of the chase,
and to which they crept for repose at night, or slept away
the long inclement days, when the hunter and his prey
were .alike driven by the storm to seek the shelter of their
coverts. At other times, they roamed abroad, either en
gaged in hunting, or in making long journeys of explora
tion ; sleeping in the open air, and feeding upon the
fruits of the forest and the flesh of wild animals, without
bread or condiment. Between them and the Indians,
there seems to have existed, from the beginning, a mutual
dislike and distrust; and except when there happened to
be a great superiority of numbers on one side, or a recent
provocation, they rather avoided than sought each other.
But they seldom met without shedding blood.
The stratagems of this border warfare were ingenious,
and often highly amusing. The pioneer, as well as the
Indian warrior, felt as much triumph in deceiving his
enemy by a successful device, as in conquering him in
battle; and usually acquired more lasting fame among his
comrades from the former, than from the latter exploit;
for in the circumstances under which they were mutually
placed, cunning was a more valuable quality than courage.
The bravest man might be overpowered by numbers, or
slain by a bullet from the rifle of an unseen foe; but the
wily hunter, who was always watchful, self-possessed, and

228 MULDROW'S HILL.
fertile of expedients, seemed to bear a charmed life, and
to "be proof, as well against secret hostility as open vio
lence. We read, with an admiration bordering upon in
credulity, ofthe adventures of such men as Boone and Ken
ton — of their flghts, their retreats, their captivity, their
escapes, their recovery from dreadful wounds, their wan
derings without arms and provisions, and their surviving
through all, to die of old age in their beds; almost real
izing the description of the apostle, "in journeyings often,
in perils of water, in perils of mine own countrymen, in
perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in
the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren ; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often,
in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and na
kedness. The following anecdote, highly characteristic of the ad
venturous life of the pioneers, was related to the author,
while riding over a range of savage precipices called
Muldrow's Hill, in the central part of Kentucky, and
refers, as he understood, to the Mr. Muldrow, whose name
is attached to that desolate wilderness.
Among these rugged acclivities I saw a cluster of di
lapidated log houses, which, I was informed, had been
erected by one of the earliest settlers; and I could not
avoid feeling some surprise, that a pioneer should have
seated himself on such a barren and inhospitable tract,
when all the rich plains and valleys of this delightful coun
try were uninhabited; and when he might have selected
other lands of surpassing fertility and beauty. Tet such a
choice was not uncommon; and upon examining the flrst
locations of settlers, in different parts of the western
country, we do not flnd that they always selected the heist
lands, or the most advantageous situations; and we can
only account for. the circumstance, by supposing that

ANECDOTE OF MULDROW. 229
many of them were persons with whom agriculture was not
a primary object, and who sought good hunting grounds
rather than a productive soil; or else that they chose po
sitions in reference to' security from Indian hostilities.
The indiridual alluded to, settled here at a time when
there was not a single white man but himself in this vi
cinity, and here he had resided with his wife, for a year,
without having seen the face of any other human being.
Perhaps, as it was his choice to reside in a wilderness,
isolated from his own species, he might have thought it
prudent to conceal his place of abode from the Indians,
by erecting his cabin in an inhospitable waste, difficult
of access, where there were no pastures to invite the deer
or buffalo, and no game to allure the savage hunter, and
where his family remained secure, while he roved with
his gun over some hunting ground at a convenient dis
tance. After passing a year in this mode of life, he was one
day wandering through the woods in search of game,
when he heard the barking of a dog, and supposing that
an Indian was near, concealed himself. Presently a small
dog came running alone his track, with his nose to the
ground, as if pursuing his footsteps, and had nearly
reached his hiding-place, when it stopped, snuffed the air,
and uttered a low whine, as if to admonish its master,
that the object of pursuit was near at hand. In a few
minutes the owner of the dog came stepping cautiously
along, glancing his eyes jealously around, and uttering
low signals to the dog. But the dog stood at fault, and
the owner halted, within a few yards of our hunter,
and fully exposed to riew. The new comer was a tall
athletic man, completely armed, with rifle, tomahawk, and
knife; but whether he was a white man or an Indian,
could not be determined, either by his complexion or

230 MULROW'S ADVENTURE.
dress. He wore a hunting-shirt and leggins, of dressed
deerrskin, and a hat from which the rim was entirely torn
away, and the crown elongated into the shape of a sugar
loaf. The face, feet, and hands, which were exposed, were
of the tawny hue of the savage, but whether the color
was natural, or the effect of exposure, could not be as
certained even by the keen eye of the hunter, and the
features were so disguised by dirt and gunpowder, that
their expression afforded no clue, by which the question
could be decided, whether the individual was a friend or
a foe. There was but a moment for deliberation, and
after a hasty scrutiny, the pioneer, inclining to the
opinion that the stranger was an Indian, cautiously drew
up his rifle, and took a deliberate aim; but the bare pos
sibility that he might be poinjtjng his weapon at the bosom
of a countryman, induced' him to pause. Again he raised
his gun, and again hesitated; while his opponent with his
rifle half raised towards his face, and his flnger on the
trigger, looked eagerly around. Both stood motionless
and silent; one searching for the object of his pursuit,
the other in readiness to flre. At length the hunter,
having resolved to delay no longer, cocked his rifle — the
tick reached the acute ear of his opponent, who instantly
sprung behind a tree; the hunter imitated his example,
and they were now fairly opposed, each covered by a tree,
from behind which he endeavored to get a shot at his
adversary without exposing his own person. And now a
series of statagems ensued, each seeking to draw the flre
of the other — until the stranger, becoming weary of sus
pense, called out, " Why don't you shoot, you etarnal
cowardly varment." " Shoot, yourself, you bloody red
skin," retorted the other. "No more a red-skin than
yourself." "Are you a white man?" "To-be-sure I am;
are you?" "Tes; no mistake in me." Whereupon each

ANECDOTE OF BOONE. 231
being undeceived, they threw down their guns, rushed
together with open arms, and took a hearty hug. The
hunter now learned, that the stranger had been settled,
with his family, about ten miles from him, for several
months past, and that they had often roamed over the
same hunting grounds each supposing himself the sole
inhabitant of that region. On the following day, the
hunter saddled his horse, and taking, up his good-wife
behind him, carried her down to make a call upon her
new neighbor, who doubtless received the visit with far
more sincere joy than usually attends such ceremonies.
The pioneers were often captured; and while on the
march towards the Indian towns, were rescued by their
friends, or succeeded in making their escape, although
bound and closely watched. Sometimes they were carried
to the villages of the captors; endured with heroic calm
ness all the tortures which savage cruelty could invent ;
and at last escaped by some ingenious stratagem, or were
forcibly rescued, even at the stake, by their daring com
rades. Often did a single individual, escaping from cap
tivity, unarmed and lacerated with wounds and stripes,
retreat for hundreds of miles before a pursuing party of
enraged savages; foiling their skill by superior ingenuity,
or outstripping them in the mere exertion of muscular
power. Sometimes they disguised themselves in the skins
of wild beasts, to decoy the foe; and in making signals
to each other, they imitated the notes of birds and the
various cries of the forest. In several instances, the crews
of boats descending the Ohio, have been all-ured to the
shore and slain, by Indians crawling on the beach, covered
with the skins of bears; and the garrisons of our forts
have more than once been deceived by similar devices.
An anecdote is told of Boone, which is highly charac
teristic of the humor and the coolness of the pioneer.

232 BOONE SWALLOWS THE KNIFE.
He was once resting in the woods, with a small number
of followers, when a large party of Indians came suddenly
upon them and halted — neither party having discovered
the other until they came in contact. The whites were
eating; and the Indians, with the ready tact for which
they are famous, sat down with perfect composure and
commenced eating also. It was obvious that they wished
to lull the suspicions of the white men, and to seize a
favorable opportunity for rushing upon them. Boone
affected a careless inattention; but in au under tone,
quietly admonished his men to keep their hands upon
their rifles. He then strolled towards the Indians, un
armed, and leisurely picking the meat from a bone;- the
Indian leader, who was similarly employed, rose to meet
him. Boone saluted him, and then requested to look at
the knife with which the Indian was cutting his meat.
The chief handed it to him without hesitation ; and our
pioneer, who, with his other accomplishments, possessed
considerable expertness at sleight of hand, deliberately
opened his mouth and affected to swallow the long knife,
which, at the same instant, he threw adroitly into his
sleeve. The Indians were astonished; Boone gulped, rub
bed his throat, stroked his body, and then, with apparent
satisfaction, pronounced the horrid mouthful to be very
good. Having enjoyed the surprise of the spectators for
a few moments, he made another contortion, and drawing
forth the knife, as they supposed, from his body, civilly
returned it to the chief. The latter took the point cau
tiously between his thumb and finger, as if fearful of
being contaminated by touching the weapon, and threw
it from him into the bushes. The pioneer sauntered back
to his party; and the Indians, instantly despatching their
meal, marched off, desiring no farther intercourse with a
man who could swallow a scalping-knife.

INDIAN STRATAGEM. 233
A singular maneuver was practiced by a party of In
dians, who had stolen some horses on Elkhorn, in 1788.
They were pursued by a superior number of Americans,
for about twenty miles, and overtaken at a spot where
they had halted to rest, in a brushy copse of wood. The
whites came upon them suddenly, and the parties dis
covered each other simultaneously. The pursuers made
preparations to fire; the Indians sprang up from the
ground, on which they were sitting, and gave a yell ; but
instead of making any show of resistance, ran about as if
distracted. One, who was probably the chief, threw him
self between the two parties, and continued to scream and
jump, dodging from side to side, springing aloft, and
throwing his body into violent contortions. This strange
exhibition, attracted the attention of the Kentuckians,
and prevented them from firing; while the other Indians,
gathering up their guns and blankets, disappeared — dis
persing in various directions, so as to leave no trace, and
baffle pursuit. Lastly, the dexterous savage, perceiving
that his comrades were so scattered as to be safe from im
mediate danger, suddenly threw off his feigned character,
and dashing into the bushes made his escape, leaving a
foe, superior in numbers, bewildered with amazement at
this extemporaneous display of ingenuity.
The females, too, had "their exits and their entrances,"
in this bloody drama; and exercised their courage as well
as their inventive powers, in the practice of strategy. A
party of Indians approached a solitary log-house, with the
intention of murdering its inmates. With their usual
caution, one of their number was sent forward to recon
noiter, who, discovering the only persons within to be a
woman, two or three children, and a negro man, rushed
in by himself and seized the negro. The woman caught
up an axe, and with a single blow laid the savage warrior
20

234 A ROMANTIC INCIDENT.
dead at her feet, while the children closed the door, and
with ready sagacity eraployed themselves in fastening it.
The rest of the Indians came up, and attempted to force
an' entrance; but the negro and the children kept the
door closed; and the intrepid mother, having no effective
weapon, picked up a gun barrel, which had neither stock
nor lock, and pointed it at the savages through the aper
tures between the logs. The Indians, deceived by the
appearance of a gun, and daunted by the death of their
companion, retired.
Another incident which occurred at this early period, is
worthy of recital, because it is not only deeply affecting
in itself, but is highly illustrative of the sufferings of the
first settlers. Among the adventurers whom Boone de-
cribes as having reinforced his little colony, was a young
gentleman named Smith, who had been a major in the
militia of Virginia, and possessed a full share of the gal
lantry and noble spirit of his native State. In the absence
of Boone, he was chosen, on account of his military rank
and talents, to command the rude citadel, which contained
all the wealth of this patriarchal band — their wives, their
children, and their herds. It held also an object particu
larly dear to this young soldier — a lady, the daughter of
one of the settlers, to whom he had pledged his affections.
It came to pass, upon a certain day, when a siege was just
over, tranquillity restored, and the employment of hus
bandry resumed, that this young lady, with a female com
panion, strolled out, as young ladies in love are very apt
to do, along the banks of the Kentucky river. Having
rambled about for some time, they espied a canoe lying
by the shore, and in a frolic, stepped into it, with the de
termination of visiting a neighbor on the opposite bank.
It seems that they were not so well skilled in navigation
as the Lady of the Lake, who "paddled her own canoe"

LADIES SEIZED BY INDIANS. 235
very dexterously; for instead of gliding to the point of
destination, they were whirled about by the stream, and
at length thrown on a sand bar, from which they were
obliged to wade to the shore. Full of the mirth ex
cited by their -wild adventure, they hastily arranged their
dresses, and were proceeding to climb the banks, when
three Indians, rushing from a neighboring covert, seized
the fair wanderers, and forced them away. Their savage
captors, evincing no sympathy for their distress, nor
allowing them time for rest or reflection, hurried them
along during the whole day, by rugged and thorny paths.
Their shoes were worn off by the rocks, their clothes torn,
and their feet and limbs lacerated and stained with blood.
To heighten their misery, one of the savages began to
make love to Miss  , (the intended of Major S.) and
while goading her along with a pointed stick, promised, in
recompense for her sufferings, to make her his squaw.
This at once roused all the energies of her mind, and
called its powers into action. In the hope that her friends
would soon pursue them, she broke the twigs as she passed
along, and delayed the party as much as possible by tardy
and blundering steps. But why dwell on the heartless
and unmanly cruelty of these savages ? The day and the
night passed, and another day of agony had nearly rolled
over the heads of these afflicted females, when their con
ductors halted to cook a wild repast of buffalo meat.
The ladies were soon missed from the garrison. The
natural courage and sagacity of Smith, now heightened by
love, gave him the wings of the wind and the flerceness
of the tiger. The light traces of female feet led him to
the place of embarkation ; the canoe was traced to the op
posite shore; the deep print of the moccasin in the sand,
told the rest; and the agonized Smith, accompanied by a
few of his best woodsmen, pursued " the spoil encumbered

236 RESCUED BY MAJOR SMITH.
foe." The track once discovered, they kept it with that
unerring sagacity so peculiar to our hunters. The bended
grass, the disentangled briers, and the compressed shrub,
afforded the only, but to them the certain indications of
the route of the enemy. When they had suflSciently as
certained the general course of the retreat of the Indians,
Smith quitted the trace, assuring his companions that they
would fall in with them at the pass of a certain stream
ahead, for which he now struck a direct course, thus gain
ing on the foe, who had taken the most difficult paths.
Arrived at the stream, they traced its course until they
discovered the water newly thrown upon the rocks.
Smith, leaving his party, now crept forward upon his
hands and feet, until he discovered one of the savages
seated by a fire, and with deliberate aim shot him through
the heart. The women rushed towards their deliverer,
and recognizing Smith, clung to him in the transport of
newly awakened joy and gratitude, while a second Indian
sprang towards him with his tomahawk. Smith, disen
gaging himself from the ladies, aimed a blow at his an
tagonist with his rifle, which the savage avoided by
springing aside, but at the same moment, the latter re
ceived a mortal wound from another hand. The other
and only remaining Indian, fell in attempting to escape.
Smith, with his interesting charge, returned in triumph to
the fort, where his gallantry, no doubt, was repaid by the
sweetest of all rewards.

THE PIONEERS. 237

CHAPTEE XVI.
Character of the Pioneers — ^Their Mode of Living — Introduction of
Steamboats — Its effect on the Manners of the People.
Among the pioneers were many substantial farmers — a
class that differed from that of which we have spoken,
only in being more industrious and provident. They
were of the same stock; equally accustomed to the rude
scenes of border life, brothers of the same family; but
like Jacob and Esau, one was devoted to the vicissitudes
of sylvan sport, the other to the sober employments of
domestic industry. They came together to the wilderness,
the one to possess the soil, the other to wander through
the forest in search of game. Alike in appearance and
manners, and each occasionally adopting the character of
the other, a stranger would have been unable to recognise
any distinction between them; but in a few years, the
hunter moved forward to a more newly discovered coun
try, while the farmer remained to clear away the forest
and raise abundant crops upon its rirgin soil. In a few
years more, the farmer attests the force of nature and the
purity of his descent, by sighing for newer lands; and
selling his farm to a later emigrant, he takes his flocks
and herds, his children and servants, and follows the
hunter to the farther wilderness. The reader, however,
is not to suppose that either of these classes are always
in motion. They remain for years in one spot, forming
the mass of the settled population, and giving a tone to

238 WEALTH OF THE PIONEERS.
the institutions of the country; and at each remove, a
few are left behind, who cling permanently to the soil,
and bequeath their landed possessions to their posterity.
The pioneers brought little other property, than such
as they could pack upon the backs of horses. A few
implements of husbandry, and such cooking utensils as
were indispensable; the rifle, the axe, and a few me
chanics' tools ; with some horses, cattle, aud hogs, con
stituted the wealth of the emigrant. Their flrst abode, as
we have already stated, was in camps and stations; but
their permanent habitation was the primitive log cabin,
still so common throughout the whole western country;
and those who have never witnessed the erection of such
buildings, would be surprised to behold the simplicity of
their mechanism, and the rapidity with which they are
put together. The axe and the augur, are often the only
tools used in their construction ; but usually the frow, the
drawing-knife, the broad-axe, and the cross-cut saw, are
added. The architecture of the body of the house, is
sufficiently obvious; but it is curious to notice the in
genuity with which the wooden flre-place and chimney are
protected from the action of the fire by a lining of clay;
to see a smooth floor formed of the ' plain surfaces of
hewed logs, and a door made of boards split from the
log, hastily smoothed with the drawing-knife, united flrmly
together with wooden pins, hung upon wooden hinges, and
fastened with a wooden latch. Not a nail, nor any par
ticle of metal, enters into the composition of the building
—all is wood from top to bottom; all is done by the
woodsman, without the aid of any mechanic. These
primitive dwellings are by no means so wretched as their
name and their rude workmanship would seem to imply.
They still constitute the usual dwelling of the farmers in
new settlements; and I have often found them roomy.

ACTORS OF ALL WORK. 239
tight, and comfortable. If one cabin is not sufficient,
another, and another, is added, until the whole family is
accommodated; and thus the homestead of a respectable
farmer often resembles a little villase.
The dexterity of the backwoodsman in the use of the
axe, is also remarkable ; yet it ceases to be so regarded,
when we reflect on the variety of uses to which this im
plement is applied, and that it in fact enters into almost
all the occupations of the pioneer. In clearing lands,
building houses, making fences, providing fuel, the axe
is used; in tilling his fields, the farmer is continually in
terrupted to cut away the trees that have fallen in his
enclosures, and the roots that impede his plough; the
path of the surveyor is cleared by the axe, and his lines
and corners marked by this implement; roads are opened
and bridges made with the axe ; the first court-houses and
jails, are fashioned of logs, with the same tool; in labor
or hunting, in travelling by land or water, the axe is ever
the companion of the backwoodsman.
With the first emigration, there are no mechanics; and
for many years after, but few are found in the new settle
ments. The farmer, therefore, makes almost every thing
that he uses. Besides clearing land, building houses, and
making fences, he stocks his own plough, mends his
wagon, makes his ox-yokes and harness, and learns to
supply nearly all his wants from the forest. The tables,
bedsteads, and seats in his house, are of his own rude
workmanship. At -first, the dressed skins of wild animals
furnish the materials for making moccasons; but the
farmers soon begin to tan their own leather and make their
own shoes; and there are thousands scattered over the
west, who continue, to this day, to make all the shoes
that are worn in their families. They universally raise
cotton, and often cultivate, also, hemp and flax; the spin-

240 LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS.
ning-wheel and the loom, are common articles of furniture;
and the whole farming and hunting population are clad
in fabrics of household manufacture. The traveler, ac
customed to different modes of life, is struck with the
crude and uncomfortable appearance of every thing about
this people — the rudeness of their habitations, the care
lessness of their agriculture, the unsightly coarseness of
all their implements and furniture, the unambitious home
liness of all their goods and chattels, except the axe, the
rifle, and the horse — these being invariably the best and
handsomest which their means enable them to procure.
But he is mistaken in supposing them to be indolent and
improvident ; and is little aware how much ingenuity and
toil have been exerted in procuring the few comforts which
they possess, in a country without arts, mechanics, money,
or commercial intercourse.
The backwoodsman has many substantial enjoyments.
After the fatigue of his journey, and a short season of
privation and danger, he' flnds himself surrounded with
plenty. His cattle, hogs, and poultry, supply his table
with meat; the forest abounds in game; the fertile soil
yields abundant crops; he has, of course, bread, milk, and
butter; the rivers furnish flsh, and the woods honey.
For these various articles, there is, at first, no market,
and the farmer acquires the generous habit of spreading
them profusely on his table, and giving them freely to a
hungry traveler and an indigent neighbor.
Hospitality and kindness are among the virtues of the
first settlers. Exposed to common dangers and toils, they
become united by the closest ties of social intercourse.
Accustomed to arm in each other's defence, to aid in each
other's labor, to assist in the affectionate duty of nursing
the sick, and the mournful office of burying the dead, the
best affections of the heart are kept in constant exercise;

FINE SOCIAL FEELINGS. 241
and there is, perhaps, no class of men in our country,
who obey the calls of friendship, or the claims of benev
olence, with such cheerful promptness, or with so liberal
a sacrifice ,of personal convenience.
My lamented friend, the late Gov. Morehead, of Ken
tucky, related in a public address, the characteristic inci
dent, of a woman, who, on witnessing the death of a young
man, who died quietly in his bed, declared that it was " a
beautiful sight." It was probably the first natural death
that had occurred among the early settlers, who, dwelling
amid scenes of violence and bloodshed, were accustomed
to see the strong cord of healthy life suddenly broken,
and to witness the terror, and anguish, and excitement,
attending the last moments of a murdered man. The
stout warrior struggling with death, the bereaved wife, the
terror-stricken children, — the sobs of friends, mingled
with imprecations of vengeance, were familiar scenes. How
different the end of this favored youth, whose attenu
ated thread of existence was gently parted, and who, pre
pared by a kind Proridence, welcomed death as a happy
change !
We read marvelous Stories of the ferocity of western
men. The name of Kentuckian is continually associated
with the idea of fighting, dirking, and gouging. The
people of whom we are now writing, do not deserve this
character. They live together in great harmony, with
little contention, and less litigation. The backwoodsmen
are a generous and placable race. They are bold and
impetuous; and when differences do arise among them,
they are more apt to give vent to their resentment at
once, than to brood over their wrongs, or to seek legal
redress. But this conduct is productive of harmony; for
men are always more guarded in their deportment to each
other, and more cautious of giving offence, when they
21

242 INTRODUCTION OP STEAMBOATS.
know that the insult will be quickly felt, and instantly
resented, than when the consequences of an offensive ac
tion are doubtful, and the retaliation distant. We have
no evidence that the pioneers of Kentucky were quar
relsome or cruel ; and an intimate acquaintance with the
same race, at a later period, has led the writer to the
conclusion, that they are a humane people; bold and
daring when opposed to an enemy, but amiable in their
intercourse with each other and with strangers, and ha
bitually inclined to peace. Another generation has grown
up, the sons of the pioneers, and the offspring of persons
of wealth, many of whom have been suffered to reach the
years of manhood with defective educations, and without
having been trained to any regular employment, and
among whom, as might be expected, are found idle, dis
sipated, and violent men — the gambler, the bully, and
the duelist. The want of schools, the ease with which
a livelihood was earned, and the rapidity with which
fortunes were made some years ago, induced a degree of
improvidence in the rearing of youth ; and the number
of those who grew up without any regular training, or
any settled purpose, was greater than is common in other
parts of our continent. The effeqt upon the manners of
the population, is too obvious to need explication. But
the character for brutal violence and audacious blasphemy,
has been affixed to the people of this region, chiefly
through the means of the boatmen and desperadoes, who
formerly infested our rivers, and kept the inhabitants of
their shores in constant terror.
- Before the introduction of steamboats upon this river,
its immense commerce was chiefly carried on by means of
keel-boats, or of barges — large boats, calculated to descend
as well as to ascend the stream, and which required many
hands to navigate them. Each barge carried from thirty

EFFECT ON PUBLIC MANNERS. 243
to forty boatmen, and a number of these boats frequently
sailed in company. The arrival of such a squadron at a
small town, was the certain forerunner of a riot. The
boatmen, proverbially lawless and dissolute, were often
more numerous than the citizens, and indulged, without
restraint, in every species of debauchery, outrage, and
mischief. Wherever vice exists, will be found many to
abet and to take advantage of its excesses; and these
towns were filled with the wretched ministers of crime.
Sometimes, the citizens, roused to indignation, attempted
to enforce the laws; but the attempt was regarded as a
declaration of war, which arrayed the offenders and their
allies in hostility; the inhabitants were obliged to unite
in the defence of each other; and the contest usually ter
minated in the success of that party which had least to
lose, and were most prodigal of life and careless of con
sequences. The rapid emigration to this country was
beginning to afford these towns such an increase of popu
lation as would have insured their ascendancy over the
despots of the river, when the introduction of steamboats
at once effected a revolution.
The substitution of machinery for manual labor, occa
sioned a vast diminution in the number of men required
for the river navigation. A steamboat, with the same
crew as a barge, will carry ten times the burthen, and
perform her voyage in a fifth part of the time required
by the latter. The bargemen infested the whole country,
by stopping frequently, and often spending their nights
on shore; while the steamboats pass rapidly from one
large port to another, making no halt, except to receive
or discharge merchandise at intermediate places. The
commanders of steamboats are men of character; property
to an immense amount is entrusted to their care ; their
responsibility is great; and they are careful of their own

244 BOATMEN NOW A PEACEABLE CLASS.
deportment, and of the conduct of those under their con
trol. The number of boatmen, therefore, is not only
greatly reduced, in proportion to the amount of trade, but
a sort of discipline is maintained among them, while the
increase of population has enabled the towns to enforce
the regulations of their police.

THE SCOTCH-IRISH. 245

CHAPTEE XVII.
Character of the Pioneers — The Scotch-Irish.
There was another class of settlers, who followed close
upon the footsteps of the pioneers, and who deserve to be
described separately, as they form an exception from the
homogeneous mass of southern population already de
scribed, with whom, however, they became kindly and
intimately blended, and upon whose character they made
an important impression. I am indebted for the brief
account I shall give of them, to a valuable work* by
the Eev. Eobert Davidson, D. D., of Kentucky, published
since the first edition of these sketches.
Upon the subjugation of the northern part of Ireland
by the English, in the reign of James I., the province of
Ulster was settled by colonies from Great Britain, to whom
liberal grants of land were given. "Owing to the ricinity
and superior enterprise of the people of Scotland, the
principal part of the settlers came from that country;
which circumstance afterwards gave rise to the appellation
of Scotch-Irish, denoting, not the intermarriage of two
races, but the peopling of one country by the natives of
another." Beared in the Kirk of Scotland, these people
brought with them the fervent piety, the pure morals, and
« History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky.

246 EMIGRATION TO PENNSYLVANIA.
the inflexible devotion to their own form of belief, which
is characteristic of that church. They could not exist
without the ordinances of public worship, and while the
English clergy held the benefices, the Presbyterian min
isters from Scotland came over and built up churches,
after their own model. This state of things was, for a
while, wisely tolerated ; but afterwards, under the auspices
of Wentworth and Laud, a fierce persecution was stirred
up against the non-conformists of Ulster, who, after years
of suffering, began to look to America, as an asylum from
oppression. On the 9th of September, 1636, one hundred
and forty of them embarked for New England, on board a
ship they had built and called the Eagle Wing ; but being
driven back by contrary winds, they landed in the western
part of Scotland, where they were joined by many others,
fugitives also from the strong hand of oppression, and
the enterprise was for the time abandoned. Had it been
prosecuted, says our authority, "the Eagle Wing might
have attained as enviable a celebrity in the annals of
American colonization as the more fortunate May Flower."
From that time, with some few brief seasons of repose,
the Scotch Presbyterians were continually harassed by
the intolerance of the English Church and government,
but their numbers increased in Ulster. At length, the
fines, imprisonments, and whippings became so intolerable
in 1679, 1682, and 1685, that crowds of exiles fled from
oppression to East New Jersey, Carolina, and Maryland.
A considerable portion of this emigration was from the
north of Ireland, and the Scotch-Irish continued to pour
into Pennsylvania, in such numbers, that in 1705, the
Presbyterian churches there were sufficiently numerous to
form a Presbytery. A large portion of these settlers, seek
ing for new lands, or dreading, from the colonial authori
ties, persecutions like those they had fled from, passed

COLONIZE THE VALLEY OP VIRGINIA. 247
through the more populous parts of the country, and
found homes in what were then the frontier counties.
Eeceiving continually new accessions from abroad, the
stream of emigration extended southward until it crossed
the Potomac, and spread through the valley of Virginia,
between the Blue Eidge and the Allegheny mountains.
They found here rich valleys, clothed with verdant
grasses and herbage, over which herds of buffalo and deer
still grazed, and where game of various kinds abounded.
These were favorite hunting grounds of the Indians, who
came from the west, across the mountains, at certain
seasons of the year, in search of game, and who were not
disposed to submit tamely to the intrusion of the white
men. None could live here but hardy men, who were
willing to flght, and ready at all times to defend them
selves. And thus lived these sturdy Scotch-Irish emi
grants. They endured the privations, and learned the
habits of the American backwoodsmen. Thoughtful and
austere, industrious and conscientious, they found no
pleasure in the licence of the hunter's life, which they
pursued only so far as their necessities required, preferring
the quiet labors of the farm. But they belonged to a
brave, high-spirited race. Tall and athletic, temperate
and inured to labor, they were a people of great muscular
energy, who excelled in all such athletic exercises as
they were induced to undertake, while their coolness and
courage fltted them in an eminent degree for military
serrices. They not only sustained themselves manfully
in the wilderness, but became blended and assimilated
with the mass of back-woodsmen which soon swept over
the Alleghenies, and were distinguished for their heroism
and their numerous adventures. Their adaptation for
frontier life, was singularly and harmoniously combined
with a love for peace, a high degree of mental culture.

248 CHARACTER OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH.
and an elevated standard of morals. The church and the
school-house were among the earliest structures in every
neighborhood. While yet there were no wagons, nor
roads, nor saw-mills, buildings of solid stone were erected
for public worship; and we are told of an instance in
which the sand used in constructing a church was carried
six miles, on the backs of horses, and what is worthy of
notice, that "this part of the work was all done by the
ladies of the congregation."*
In Dr. Foote's Sketches of Virginia, we flnd the follow
ing graphic passage, illustrative of the habits of this peo
ple : " From the time Mr. Cummings commenced preaching
at Sinking Spring, up to- about the year 1776, the men
never went to church without being armed, and taking
their families with them. On Sabbath morning, during
this period, it was Mr. Cummings' custom, for he was
always a very neat man in his dress, to dress himself,
then put on his shot-pouch, shoulder his rifle, mount his
dun horse, and ride off to church. There he met his gal
lant and intelligent congregation, each man with his rifle
in his hand. When seated in the meeting-house, they
presented altogether a most solemn and singular spectacle.
Mr. Cummings' uniform habit, before entering the house,
was to take a short walk alone, while the congregation
were seating themselves; he would then return, at the
door hold a few words of conversation with some one of
the elders of the church, then would gravely walk through
this crowd, mount the steps of the pulpit, deposit his rifle
in a corner near him, lay off his shot-pouch, and commence
the solemn worship of the day."
Among their other sterling qualities, the Scotch-Irish
were patriotic. They were staunch republicans, and not
* Howe's History of Virginia.

WHAT WASHINGTON THOUGHT. 249
only the people, but their ministers, entered zealously into
the cause in the American revolution; and it was of the
population of which they formed the chief part, that
Washington is reported to have said: "That should all
his plans be crushed, and but a single standard be left
him, he would plant that standard on the Blue Eidge,
make the mountain hights his barrier, and rallying round
him the noble patriots of the Valley, found, under better
auspices, a new republic in the west."*
The Scotch-Irish, as we have said, were a tall and mus
cular race, well adapted by their physical qualities to be
come the pioneers of new settlements, and the founders
of a new people. The whole population of the mountain
and valley districts of Virginia were distinguished for
their noble stature; and a remarkable illustration of this
fact is recorded of one of the companies of volunteers
from Augusta county, in the army of General Andrew
Lewis, with which he fought the battle at Point Pleasant.
At their departure from Staunton, the men of this com
pany were measured, and their stature respectively marked
upon the wall of the bar-room of Sampson Mathews,
where the record remained until the tavern was burnt
about seventy years afterwards. None of them were less
than six feet two inches high, except two little fellows who
measured only six feet.
Such were the people who formed one of the advanced
columns in the great army of pioneers, that conquered
and settled the west. The same spirit which led them to
resist oppression in the land of their fathers, the same
elevation of principle and steadiness of character which
inspired them with courage to cling to their religion and
their own form of faith, under every vicissitude, the same
* Davidson's History, p. 21.

250 THEIR DEVOTION AND PATRIOTISM.
independence of thought and character, which has marked
their whole history, made them ardent republicans, and
intrepid soldiers. Wherever they pitched their tents in
the wilderness, there they erected the altar to the living
and true God, and made the forests vocal with their
hymns of praise; there they clung to the soil with the
tenacity of true patriotism, and were ready to fight for
their country and their faith. They were not only wil
ling to die for the land of their adoption, but evinced,
perhaps, a higher devotion in liiying for it. They brought
with them a Christian spirit of love, which was exerted
zealously and continuously in efforts to diffuse the gospel,
and advance civilization. They cultivated the arts of
peace. However simple in their habits, however abste
mious and even rude in their general appointments, they
could not live without the means of education for their
children, and carried the schoolmaster with them in all
their migrations ; and that schoolmaster, the real old-
fashioned domine, who believed in Solomon and the rod,
and knew not, nor dreamed of, the modern heresy of
"moral suasion." The pioneer teachers had cultivated
learning in themselves, under difficulties, and had little
idea of smoothing the way for others.
The "classical school" was among, their earliest institu
tions; and in rude log huts, were devoted men teaching
not merely the primer, but expounding the Latin poets,
and explaining to future lawyers and legislators and gene
rals, the severer truths of moral and mathematical science.
Many a student, who was preparing himself for the bar or
the pulpit, held up the lamp to younger aspirants for
literary usefulness and honor, in these primitive haunts,
while the wolf barked in the surrounding thickets, and
the Indians were kept at bay by the stout-hearted sires
of those who thus pursued knowledge under difficulties.

EMIGRATION TO KENTUCKY. 251
Quite a number of the men who became distinguished in
after life, were prepared for college in such schools, and
not a few who acted well their parts in conspicuous sta
tions, without betraying any deficiency of scholarship,
drank at no fountain of learning of any higher name.
When the explorations of Boone and others, to which
we have alluded, were made known in Virginia, the
whole population became highly excited by the florid de
scriptions of the delightful region of Kentucky; and par
ties of emigrants began to flock thither, especially from
the frontier counties. Among the earliest adventurers,
were many of the Presbyterians from the Valley. The
first party of which we have any account, consisted of
James, George, and Eobert M'Afee, James M'Coun, se
nior, and Samuel Adams, who set out in May, 1773, and
descended the Kenhawa and Ohio in boats. These were
soon followed by others; and while all parts of Virginia
were sending out emigrants to the West, a steady stream
of hardy men from the Valley, flowed continually in the
same direction, forming, it is true, a small minority of the
mass, but constituting one of its most important, elements.
Their influence could not fail to be felt in the formation
of the new society. Enterprising and brave as other men,
they bore their full share in all the labors and perils of
the pioneers, while by their example and exertions a high
tone of morals was infused into the public mind. Sturdily
and stoutly they wielded the axe and the sword ; and as
stoutly and sturdily did they bear the Bible in their
hands, and found the institutions of their new communi
ties upon its precepts. In Kentucky, as in Virginia, the
schoolmaster was the humble companion and adjunct of
the Presbyterian minister ; the meeting-house and the
school -house grew up together; and the footprints of the
receding Indian were scarcely effaced, before grammar,

252 CHAEACTEE OP THEIR DESCENDANTS.
and rhetoric, and the Westminster catechism, began to be
taught. The Scotch-Irish element would hardly, at flrst sight,
seem well adapted to mingle with the English cavalier
blood of the Old Dominion. But never did two streams
flow together more kindly. The lesser branch preserved
its individuality of character as Presbyterians, planting
their standard flrmly, and winning converts by their
Christian faithfulness and denominational tenacity. In
all other respects, they became engrafted with the people,
and entirely merged their nationality. We know of no
other instance in the United States, in which a foreign
population have, in so brief a period, become so com
pletely absorbed into the mass of the people, and in which
the peculiarities of race have been so thoroughly effaced.
In Pennsylvania, the descendants of the same race are
still a marked people, distinguished by their thrift, their
temperance, their quiet Scotch humor, and the rich brogue
which -survives the lapse of time and the changes of soil
and climate; while, in Kentucky, the offspring of that race
are Kentuckians, without any peculiarity of speech or
manners. At the same time, they had too much charac
ter to become mingled with another people, without pro
ducing an impression; and there is little doubt, that in
the Kentucky character, the Virginian element, which
forms its basis, has been modifled in some degree by this
small but energetic addition.

KENTUCKY. 253

CHAPTEE XVIII.
Character of the Pioneers — Men of Education among them — The
Kentuckians an enthusiastic, poetic, and eloquent people.
At the close of the revolution, the State of Virginia
rewarded her military officers by donations of land, in
the then district of Kentucky. Many of these gentlemen,
with others, who, at the close of the war, found them
selves without employment, emigrated to that country,
carrying with them the courage, skill, and lofty notions
incident to military command. They became the leaders
in the Indian wars ; and as bravery is necessarily held
in the highest estimation among people who are exposed
to danger, they soon became the popular men of the
country, and filled many of the civil offices. A number
of these gentlemen had been active and distinguished
soldiers, who had reaped the laurels of successful valor,
and earned the gratitude of their country ; while they
were, at the same time, men of education and refinement.
They had all the high tone of Virginia feeling, together
with the military pride and the knowledge of the world,
acquired in several years of service. Seldom has a new
community enjoyed the rare advantage of numbering
among the founders of her institutions, men in whom
were united such rare and happy endowments. They had
the polish and elegance of gentlemen, with the muscular

254 SETTLERS OF KENTUCKY.
Strength and courage of the backwoodsman. They were
accustomed to war, and to the athletic exercises of the
forest. They rode well, and wielded the rifle with fatal
precision ; they were successful warriors and good hunt
ers ; yet they were well bred men, of easy manners,
cultivated minds, liberal opinions, and unbounded hos
pitality. A fair proportion of them were persons of
extensive property, or at least in easy circumstances,
which placed them above selflsh considerations, and ena
bled them to live up to the native liberality of the Vir
ginian character. The people and the institutions of the
country imbibed their spirit. Brave and hardy the Ken
tuckians must have been, from their manner of life ; biit
we must attribute much of their hospitality, their polish,
and their intelligence, to the gentlemen of Virginia, who
came in early times to this State, bringing with them
education, wealth, and talents, and whose character is now
diffused over the whole West, and impressed on the in
stitutions of the newer States.
.Another fact is true of Kentucky, which does not occur
in the history of other Western States, or of new coun
tries in general. This district, when flrst settled, formed
a part of the territory of Virginia, lying in actual contact
with the mother state ; and its settlement was considered
rather an expansion of the Old Dominion, than as the
formation of a new community. We do not discover,
either in the traditions or the writings of these times,
which have come down to us, that the settlers of Ken
tucky were called emigrants. The idea of expatriation did
not connect itself with their change of residence ; they
moved out to an unsettled part of their own State, consi
dered themselves as remaining in their native land, and
transferred to the soil of Kentucky all the pride, the local
attachment, the love of country, which we find so promi-

THEIE PECULIAE CHARACTER. 255
nent, so characteristic, so graceful in the Virginian cha
racter. They were still Virginians.
The peculiarities of the society thus constituted, were
but little adulterated by manners or institutions foreign
from their own ; there was little emigration to Kentucky
from any other States than Virginia and North Carolina
— none from Europe, and scarcely any from the Eastern
States. There was, therefore, a purely American popula
tion, whose institutions began to be organized at a period
contemporaneous with the birth of our national inde
pendence, when the pride of newly gained freedom was
glowing brightly, and patriotism was a new-born and
highly cherished virtue.
When all these facts are considered, in connection with
the geographical position, the fertility, and the resources
of the country, it is not difficult to understand the causes
of those peculiarities of national character, which have
always distinguished the Kentuckians, and which still
point them out to the most casual observer, as a separate
people. The first stock were hunters or military meu —
an athletic, vigorous race, with hardy frames, active minds,
and bold spirits; and they lived for years surrounded by
dangers which kept them continually alert, and drew them
often into active military service. Obliged to- think and
act for themselves, they acquired independence of thought
and habitual promptitude of demeanor. Separated from
the parent State, and compelled to build up their own
civil institutions, they canvassed freely every subject con
nected with their political rights and internal policy.
They inherited the frankness and generosity of the
southern character; and these traits were not deteriorated
by their residence in a fertile country, surrounded with
abundance. Courage would naturally be held in high
estimation, by a people whose ancestors were brave and

256 A ROMANTIC PEOPLE.
continually engaged in warfare ; and we find, accordingly,
that this virtue is still in great repute among the Ken
tuckians. They are daring, impetuous, and tenacious of
their honor ; chivalrous, fond of adventure, courteous to
females, and hospitable to the stranger.
And is it not obvious, that the Kentuckians must be
an enthusiastic, a poetic, and an eloquent race ? That
they are so in fact, we are all aware ; and it seems natural
that such should be their character. The mercurial tem
perament of the southern constitution, has been preserved
in them, and improved by the circumstances of their his
tory; to the high-toned feeling and hot blood of the south,
there has been added a hardiness of frame and an energy
of mind, naturally growing out of the incidents of border
life. They live in a land of unrivaled beauty, where the
bounties of Heaven have been poured out upon the earth
in rich profusion — in a wide, a boundless country, filled
with gigantic productions. The whole period of their
history, is crowded with romantic adventure. From their
cradles, they have been accustomed to listen to the wildest
and most curious legends — to tales of such thrilling
horror, as to curdle the blood of the hearer, while they
awaken his incredulity. Their traditions are wonderfully
rich, and full of the most absorbing interest. There is
hardly a family which does not preserve the reminiscence
of some mournful catastrophe, or cherish the recollection
of a daring exploit. With such an origin, such scenes,
and such recollections, they cannot be other than an
original and highly romantic people.

EAELY HISTOEIANS. 257

CHAPTEE XIX.
Early Literature — Imlay's Kentucky.
It is to be regretted that so few of the records of the
early history of this interesting people have been pre
served; that it had not been more customary among
them, to describe in writing, their first impressions of
this beautiful country, and to narrate those singularly
romantic personal adventures which now excite so much
admiration. But the pioneers were not persons of literary
habits, nor did the country, until lately, afford those
facilities which are requisite to produce and nourish a
native literature. Few of those who risited the western
frontier at an early period, have described it as it then
existed; and although some of the first settlers, who saw
the beautiful shores of the Ohio arrayed in their native
magnificence, are still in existence, they must soon pass
away, and carry with them the traditions which supply the
place of history, in reference to that interesting period.
Tet there were some writers, even then, whose works are
now for the most part out of print, and only to be found
in the cabinets of the very few gentlemen who take the
pains to preserve those interesting relics of a past age.
One of the best of these was Captain Imlay, a gentleman
of respectable talents, who, from actual inspection, was
enabled to furnish a variety of interesting details, re
specting the country, as it appeared when visited by him
previous to the year 1793.
22

258 CAPTAIN imlay's woek.
This old book contains one of the earliest published
accounts of the district of country which it professes to
describe, and we were surprised to find with how much
accuracy it depicts all the strong features of a region
which was then but little known. The writer seems to
have been intimately acquainted with Kentucky from
personal observation, and to have written chiefly from
the stores of his own experience. Like all others who
visited the western forests while yet in their pristine
luxuriance, while the native vegetation still flourished in
wild and vigorous beauty, and the eye feasted on a pro
fusion of luxuriant verdure, he was delighted- with these
refreshing scenes, which he sometimes describes with all
the animation of genuine feeling. The following passage
shows the effect produced by this scenery on the mind
ef a sensible' man — for Captain Imlay was certainly a
sensible and very honest writer — and testifles that our
own generation is not singular in its admiration of the
splendors of the Great West.
"The east side of the Ohio, for about ten or twenty
miles below Wheeling, which is about one hundred below
Pittsburgh, is generally well settled. There are few set
tlements on the opposite shore, until you come to the
Muskingum, and the country now wears the face of a
wilderness on both sides of the river, there being no
habitations worth notice, except at the mouth of the
Great Kenhaway, until we arrive at Limestone. *
"Every thing here assumes a dignity and splendor I
have never seen in any other part of the world. Tou
ascend a considerable distance from the shore of the
Ohio, and when you would suppose you had arrived at
the summit of a mountain, you flnd yourself upon an
extensive level. Here an eternal verdure reigns, and
*Now Maysville.

THE BANKS OP THE OHIO. 259
the brilliant sun of lat. 39, piercing through the azure
heavens, produces, in this prolific soil, an early maturity,
which is truly astonishing. Flowers, full and perfect as
if they had been cultivated by the hand of a florist, with
all their captivating odours, and with all the variegated
charms which color and nature can produce, here, in the
lap of elegance and beauty, decorate the smiling groves.
Soft zephyrs gently breathe on sweets, and the inhaled
air gives a voluptuous glow of health and vigor, that
seems to ravish the intoxicated senses. The sweet song
sters of the forest appear to feel the influence of this
genial clime, and, in more soft and modulated tones,
warble their tender notes in unison with love and nature.
Every thing here gives delight; and, in that mild efful
gence which beams around us, we feel a glow of gratitude
for the elevation which our all bountiful Creator has
bestowed upon us. Far from being disgusted with man
or his depravity, we feel that dignity which nature be
stowed on us at the creation ; but which has been con
taminated by the base alloy of meanness, the concomitant
of European education, &c.
"From Limestone to Licking creek, the country is im
mensely rich, and covered with cane, rye grass, and the
native clover. The cane is a reed which grows to a hight,
frequently, of flfteen or sixteen feet, but more generally
about ten or twelve, and is in thickness from the size of
a goose quill, to that of two inches in diameter; some
times, yet seldom, it is larger. When it is slender, it
never grows higher than from four to seven feet; it shoots
up in one summer, but produces no seeds until the follow
ing year. It is an evergreen, and is, perhaps, the most
nourishing food for cattle upon earth. No other milk or
butter has such flavor and richness as that which is pro
duced from cows which feed upon cane. Horses which

260 imlay's idea of new states.
feed upon it, work nearly as well as, if they were fed upon
corn, provided care is taken to give them, once in three
or four days, a handful of salt," &c.
It is exceedingly interesting to contrast the anticipations
which were indulged forty years ago, in relation to the
then approaching political character of this country, with
the results that have been produced within that period.
After predicting the formation of several new States south
of Kentucky, the author proceeds to speak of the proba
ble divisions of the country north-west of the Ohio. He
says : —
"That ridge of hills which divides the waters of this
river from that of the lakes running south-westwardly,
until they run north-westwardly and divide the sources of
the Wabash and Illinois rivers from the southern branches
of the lakes, will be most likely to mark the limits to the
west of the upper State upon the western side of the Ohio.
The ridge of hills which divides the waters of the Alle
gheny river from those of the Genesee, will bound it on
the north; the Allegeny river and the Ohio to the east;
and the Muskinguni to the south. The next State I
should form between the Muskingum and Scioto, the
Ohio, and that ridge of hills between the sources of these
rivers and those of lake Erie. The third, between the
Scioto, the Great Miami, the Ohio, and the same ridge of
hills. The country lying between the Mississippi, Ohio,
Wabash, and the same hills, I would put into another
State; and the country lying between the Wabash, Ohio,
Mississippi, and Illinois rivers, I would establish into a
fifth State.
"Between the mouth ofthe Illinois river and the waters
of lake Michigan, lies a district of country equally fertile
with any part of the western country ; but in the progres
sion of our settlements, it will be some years before any

GAME IN HIS time. 261
settlement can be formed there, except in the fork of
the 31ississippi and Illinois, which may be erected into
a State, by running a line from St. Anthony's Falls, in
such a direction as to strike the head branches of the
Illinois." These paragraphs are entertaining, as they show the
notions of an intelligent man who wrote forty years ago,
and who doubtless expresses the opinions of others, as well
as hia own.
The writer's remarks on the productions of the country
are accurate, and would be nearly true even now.
Of the wild animals and game of the country, he
says : —
"The buffalo are mostly driven out of Kentucky. Some
are still found on the head waters of Licking creek. Great
Sandy, and the head waters of Green river. Deer abound
in the extensive forests; but the elk confines itself mostly
to the hilly and uninhabited places.
"The rapidity of the settlement has driven the wild
turkey quite out of the middle counties; but they are
found in large flocks in all our extensive woods.
"Amidst the mountains and broken country are great
numbers of the grouse I have described; and since the
settlement has been established, the quail, following the
trail of the grain which is necessarily scattered through
the -wilderness, has migrated from the old settlements on
the other side of the mountain, and has become a constant
resident with us. This bird was unknown here on the first
peopling of the country."
It may not be uninteresting to our readers to notice
the anticipations which were current forty years ago, in
reference to the production of some of the necessaries of
life, as, for instance, the article of sugar. The writer re
marks : —

262 THE SUGAE MAPLE TEEE.
"The extensive climate of this country I believe is no
where warm enough for the cultivation of the sugar cane
with success ; and to import it would be too expensive by
reason of its great weight ; but nature has superseded that
necessity in the supply of the sugar maple tree. It has
long been known that sugar could be made from the juice
of this tree; but from the imperfect knowledge of the
business of sugar making, the samples from this liquid
were such as promised no great expectations in future ex
periments: however, the necessity the people were under
of making them, or doing without sugar, proved that with
care and proper management, it could be made equal to
the finest sugars of the West Indies or Brazil. Some
samples shown to a sugar refiner in Philadelphia (which
astonished him), produced several instructions in the art,
which occasioned immediate success.
" The people began to treat sugar trees more tenderly :
and instead of chopping a large gap in their trunk, which
had always been the practice, and which was sufficient to
destroy a less tender tree, the juice was found to ooze as
effectually from an incision made with a screw auger of
three-fourths of an inch in diameter. But this was the
smallest of the improvement. All the means made use of
in the West Indies for the perfection of the art, were soon
ascertained and practiced; so that the country is not only
equal to supply itself with sugar, but might, with increase
of hands, supply the inhabitants of the globe.
" The sugar maple tree not only grows in the greatest
abundance throughout this country, within limits I have
mentioned, but it is known to be the hardiest, and the
most difficult to destroy, of all the trees in our forests, the
beech not excepted, by the planters, who have a method
of chopping or girding the trunks of trees about one foot
and a half above the ground, in order to kill them, &c.

COAL, LIMESTONE, CLAY, ETC. 263
" It is known that old trees produce the most and the
richest juice; and it is also known that trees which have
been used for years are better than fresh trees. It is a
common remark, that whenever you see a black tree of
this sort, it is a sure sign it is a rich one. The blackness
proceeds from incisions made in the bark by the pecking of
the parroquet and other birds, in the season of the juice
rising, which, oozing out, dribbles down its sides and stains
the bark, which in the progression of time becomes black.
"I have mentioned these particulars with a view to
prevent your falling into the general error, that the re
source of making sugar from the maple will soon be
destroyed from the very nature of producing it; believing,
as many do, that it is impossible for the tree to be able
to bear the annual wounds which are necessary to be made
in its trunk in order to draw off the juice, and that a few
years must necessarily extirpate them. Now, so far from
their being any danger of that, experience has shown that
the longer they are used in a proper manner, the more
plentiful and rich will be their juice, to a certain age,
which will be in proportion to the life of those trees. No
exact estimate can be made of that; but I conclude their
decay is not earlier than that of other trees."
The author proceeds to speak of the salt springs, beds
of coal, limestone, clay for making brick, &c., in relation
to all which essential articles, his account has been more
than realized by subsequent experience. Few countries
can boast such a remarkable variety and abundance of
natural resources as this.
The following observation is amusing enough :
"When you arrive in Kentucky, you experience a
milder temperature of air than in any country I have ever
travelled in, Farenheit's thermometer seldom falling be
low 35 degrees in winter, nor rising above 80 in summer."

264 THE CLIMATE IN IMLAY'S TIME.
Had the captain's lot been cast among us during the
summer of 1834, he would have found the temperature
rather above 80 degrees, and some of the recent winters
would have taught him that the thermometer can some
times fall below 85. Can it be, that our seasons have
changed so much, or has Imlay, with all his candor and
accuracy, made so wide a mistake? According to him,
the thermometer only ranges about 45 degrees, in this
country, in the -Whole year; when in fact in the single
month of August, 1834, the maximum heat was 99, and
the minimum 51, showing a range of 48 degrees.
There is no subject whatever, in relation to a new
country, about which such gross mistakes and wild guesses
are made, as that of climate. It is a matter upon which
every one forms an opinion, and in reference to which,
opinions are as numerous as the nature of the subject will
admit. The reason is, that people judge of the weather
from their own feelings, and decide not by the variations
of the thermometer, but by the rise and fall of their own
spirits, or the sufferings of their bodies from incidental
exposure. In older countries, there are established facts
which serve as standards for popular compassion ; tradition
has handed down a series of circumstances which enable
the most ignorant to compare one season with another,
and which serve to correct the hasty judgment of the
traveler, or the diseased imagination of the valetudinarian.
There are actual experiments also, and scientific observa
tions, founded on principles which cannot deceive, and
corrected froir^^ year to year. In a new country, also,
people are more exposed to the changes and inclemencies
of weather, than persons who are surrounded by the com
forts of life. A large portion are travelers, emigrants,
or persons recently settled in frail habitations, which do
not afford complete protection from the extremes of heat

HOW OPINIONS OF CLIMATE ARE FORMED. 265
or cold ; and all these being interested in every change of
the atmosphere, feel and notice such vicissitudes. This
is the true cause of the idle remarks which we so often
hear about our western climate. Every traveler and emi
grant has a theory of his own. It is a common remark,
that the changes of atmosphere are greater and more
sudden here than at the east. The truth is, that persons
residing in cities and well-built towns, pay little attention
to the weather, because it interferes comparatively but
little with their comfort, and not at all with their business.
If it rains, the citizen unfurls his umbrella, and walks on
a good pavement; if the sun shines intensely hot, he takes
the shady side of the street; if it freezes, he closes his
door, and increases his fire. The traveler feels the incon
venience of all these changes, and becomes a sensitive
observer, and often an ill-natured critic in matters about
which he had before scarcely ever thought; and the new
settler, subjected to more exposure than he has ever been
accustomed to, finds out capricious varieties and evil
qualities in the climate, which exist only in his own
diseased imagination.

23

266 ALEXANDER WILSON.

CHAPTEE XX.

EARLY LlTEBATUBB.

About the year 1806, the distinguished writer of the
American Ornithology, Alexander Wilson, visited the
West. Of humble birth, and with a defective education,
he was an able and remarkable man. Bred a weaver, at
Paisley, in Scotland, he became a philosopher and a
naturalist of more than ordinary attainments and powers
of argument, and a writer of great force, and sometimes
great felicity and spirit. His descriptions of birds are
written in a style far more attractive than that in which
the details of natural science are usually conveyed ; they
are minute and accurate, while they are glowing, spirited,
and eloquent. He was not much known as a naturalist,
if at all, before he came to America. It was here that
he studied the great volume of nature, with a lover's de
votion, and composed that beautiful History of American
Birds, which remains a lasting monument of his fame.
In his favorite pursuit, the study of birds, he traveled
over the United States. His plan was to seek the feath
ered inhabitants of the fields and forests, the mountains
and marshes, in their chosen localities, to see them in
their haunts and homes, to watch them in their daily
pursuits, in their gambols and their loves, in the search
of food, the care of their young, their migrations,^ — in all
their lives and habits. In the course of his rambles, he
sought the shores of the Ohio, and embarking at Pitts-

FLLLSON'S life OF BOONE. 267
burgh, alone, in a small skiff, he floated down the current
of the Beautiful Eiver. At night he slept at the solitary
cabin of the settler, unless when a brilliant moon allowed
him to continue his voyage, listening to the song of the
mocking bird, or the hooting of the owl. All the day,
as he glided along, his eye sought the plumage of the
bird, his ear listened for the song and the flapping of
the -wing ; often he landed on the wooded shore, to pursue
his favorites as they flew from tree to tree, or to sit for
hours taking notes of their appearance and conduct. He
left the river at Limestone, now Maysville, and journeyed
on foot to Lexington and Frankfort, and thence south to
Tennessee. An account of his travels was published in
numbers, in the "Port Folio," a monthly periodical, printed
at Philadelphia; and a poem of considerable length, and
no small merit, which appeared in the same work, was
also descriptive of his wandering through the forest.
A Life of Daniel Boone, written by Fillson, from the
dictation of Boone, is a capital relic of our early litera
ture ; but it has been quoted from so liberally by other
biographers, that nothing is left to be gleaned from it.
We shall notice two other productions, each of which
is curious in its way.
Recollections of Persons and Places in the West. By H. M.
Brackenridge, a native of the Ohio.
Those who have lived long in the world, and have been
attentive observers of the scenes which are passing around
them, cannot fail to have remarked that the romance of
real life often exceeds, in the novelty and unexpectedness
of its incidents, the wildest of those creations of fancy
which profess to be true to nature. We occasionally
witness scenes, the recital of which by another, we should
suppose to be exaggerated; as the ocean is continually

268 brackenridge's recollections.
heaving up from the treasures of her hidden caverns, those
anomalous productions that lie concealed in her depths in
rich exuberance, but which the eye of man has not seen
before, so the turbulent waves of time often expose to
view the singular events in human life, which exist in
sufficient abundance, but usually float quietly along be
neath the surface of society, unmarked, except by the
eye that penetrates into the arcana of human action, and
searches out the secret springs of thought and motive.
The pages of autobiography exhibit many of these curious
specimens of singular adventure and original thought.
The volume before us possesses this character in a
high degree. The writer is a man of genius, with much
strength of character, and a marked peculiarity of mind,
which is not so (Jlscernible in his style, as in the views
which he takes of life. He has seen more of life than
most men, and has told more of his own experience than
the pride of most men would permit them to divulge.
His father, the author of " Modern Chivalry," was a dis
tinguished lawyer, and one of the judges of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania. He was a man of genius and
eccentricity, but who said of himself, that he was the
only man of his own acquaintance who was not eccentric.
A variety of singular stories, in relation to him, are pre
served in the traditions of western Pennsylvania, where
he practiced law successfully for many years, and left
behind him a reputation for shrewd common sense and
caustic wit, by which he is better known in that region
than by his writings. He was one of the choice speci
mens of scholastic learning so common in the past history
of the bar, and of whom few, if any representatives, are
to be found among the practitioners of the present day.
Like the erudite domine of Scott, " he had a gigantic
intellect, flt to grapple whole libraries," and he had grap-

H. M. BRACKENRIDGE. 269
pled them with such lusty courage, that he not only
knew the ancient tongues familiarly, but was thoroughly
imbued with the treasures of classical thought and im
agery, and had pored with intense application over all
the dusty volumes of antiquity.
With such a parent on the one side, Brackenridge
describes himself as the offspring of indigence and ob
scurity on the other. He lost his mother in his infancy,
and found himself at the date to which his earliest recol
lections extend, a neglected orphan, living under the
charge of a cobbler's wife, and faring, he says, " as well
as might be expected ; that is, I was half-starved, half-
clad, and well scorched and meazled in the hot ashes and
embers." He makes honorable mention of Joe, the cob
bler's lady's son, who, by his own showing, was a sad
rogue. While he was yet a child, his father married, the
boy was acknowledged, and might have tasted the sweets
of protection and kindness, had not the whimsical idea
presented itself to the learned parent, of sending him to
the French villages on the Mississippi, for the purpose
of learning to speak the French language vernacularly,
by being reared up among the people of that nation. At
seven years old he was placed under the charge of a
French trader, and sent to Ste. Genevieve. This was in
1793, and he speaks of seeing Wayne's army encamped at
Hobson's Choice, now a part of the city of Cincinnati.
The shores of the river Ohio were then, for the most part,
unsettled. The little boat in which they were embarked,
passed as silently as possible, keeping near the Kentucky
side of the river, from apprehension of the Indians.
"How deep a solitude at that day reigned along the
beautiful banks of the Ohio. The passage to Louisville
from Pittsburgh was dangerous, and frequent murders
were committed by Indians on whole families descending

270 FRENCH POLITENESS.
the river, a danger which was not sufficient to repress
emigration. From Louisville, they passed on five hundred miles
farther, without any settlements, to the mouth of the
Ohio, and thence proceeded to New Madrid, a small
Spanish military post on the Mississippi. Here they
were mounted on horses, and traveled through the wilder
ness ten days to Ste. Genevieve. The only French words
he had picked up on his voyage, were oui and non; and
when the boys, whom Curiosity drew around him, asked
him questions, all his answers were drawn from this
limited vocabulary. "Where have you come from?" in
quired the French boys. "Tes." "What is your name?"
"No." The author makes the following comment on the
conduct, so characteristic of the French. "To the honor
of these boys be it spoken — or rather to the honor of
their parents, who had taught them true politeness — in
stead of turning me into ridicule, as soon as they dis
covered I was a strange boy, they vied with each other in
showing me every act of kindness.''
The author gives a graphic description of this ancient
French village, the people, the balls, and particularly of
M. Bauvais, at whose house he lived; a tall, dry, old
French Canadian, dressed in the costume of the place,
which was odd enough, but which is still in fashion in
that pleasant region. " He was a man of a grave and
serious aspect, entirely unlike the gay Frenchmen we are
accustomed to see; and this seriousness was not a little
hightened, by the fixed rigidity of the maxillary muscles,
occasioned by having his pipe continually in his mouth,
except while in bed, ot at mass, or during meals." Ma
dame Bauvais was a large fat lady, with an open cheerful
countenance, and a most excellent person. We have seen
couples in the French villages who might have sat for

HIS STAY AT STE. GENEVIEVE. 271
their portraits — the wife laughing and growing fat, and
the husband smoking tobacco and waxing lean; but both
preserring the gayety and benevolence of the national
character. He spent three years in happiness, such as readily
flings its sunshine over the young heart which is tenderly
cherished, and surrounded only by the gay and the ami
able. The object of his residence was attained— ^ he could
speak French, and had learned to be as polite as a French
dancing-master; but another effect had been produced,
which his father had not anticipated — he had forgotten
his native tongue! He declared that he had forgotten it
so entirely, as not to be able to speak a word of English;
and how could it be otherwise, mingling only with those
unsophisticated villagers, who were as ignorant of the
English language, as some of our statesmen are of bank
ing, or as most of our geographers are of the topography
of their own country. Mr. B. says of the French :
"The time now approached when I was to take my de
parture from the place where I had passed nearly three
happy infantile years; my recollections of my father had
more in them of terror than of love, and my affections,
like the young tendrils of the rine, had fastened on nearer
objects, from which they could not be separated without
being torn. The same gentleman who had before brought
me here, came to take me away; and with many tears, I
left the kind people to whom I owed so much. I owed
them much for the care they had taken of my person,
and still more for the pains with which they had preserved
the health and purity of my mind. I left them with a
heart innocent and virtuous, and with impressions which,
if not indelible, were sufficient to carry me a long dis
tance through the temptations of vice and folly. I was
taught to reverence my parents, to respect the aged, to be

272: RETURNS TO PITTSBURGH.
polite to my equals, and to speak the truth to every one.
I was taught to restrain my temper, to practice self-denial,
to be compassionate to man and beast, to receive without
murmur or complaint what was provided for me, and to be
thankful to God for every blessing."
He was now to return to Pittsburgh — a voyage of fif
teen hundred miles — two hundred down the Mississippi,
the remainder of the distance against the current of th^a
Ohio. The boat in which he went was small, and laden
with lead and peltries. On the way, they fell in with
Power — the same person who figured in the annals of
the West at that day, and who was employed by Spain to
bring about a separation of the Western country from the
rest of the Union. He was a remarkably handsome man,
and a gentleman in his manners. He had a handkerchief
full of dollars in his hand, which he allowed young Brack
enridge to amuse himself with, by jingling them on the
rock : ours was then a hard money government.
In ascending the Ohio, as the shores were uninhabited,
and there were no boats going down, they often suffered
for provisions. Except two log-cabins at the Eed Banks,
there was not a house from the mouth of the river to the
Falls. They sometimes shot game, but often endured the
most painful sensations of hunger. Toung Brackenridge
suffered most. He was a boy, and was treated no bet
ter than a menial. Bad usage and exposure to weather
brought on an ague, and on their arrival at Galliopolis,
he was so ill, as to be of necessity left there. Here he
remained with the French, without money, unknown, and
performing the lowest offices of a domestic, but treated
kindly, until General Wilkinson came along, and took
him in his barge to Pittsburgh. Here he was received
with rapture by Joe, who hugged him ; but with great
composure by his father, who, as his long-absent son en-

A SINGULAR INCIDENT. 273
tered, raised his spectacles, as he accosted the trembling
lad with " Well boy, can you read French?"
The author was now set to learning his native tongue,
then Latin and Greek, under the immediate superintend
ence of his father, who seemed determined to make him a
great man, by dint of hard study. He was overtasked,
surcharged, and surfeited with classical knowledge, con
fined, and driven to study, until the process became
painful and laborious. This part of the volume is curious
and instructive. It presents us with a minute account of
the education of a lad of genius, under the direction of a
father whose own stores of acquired knowledge were great,
and gives an impressive example of a most defective edu
cation. Between his father, who was never wearied of
heaping tasks upon him, and "Joe," who would fain have
allured him to the haunts of youthful dissipation, he was
in a fair way to be spoiled.
A singular incident occurred on Mr. Brackenridge's
return from Louisiana, in relation to a lady who had
treated him kindly while he lived with the cobbler's wife,
which he thus relates :
" The reader will expect to hear something of my kind
benefactress, who had been so much afflicted by my de
parture for Louisiana. Joe carried me to see her, on the
evening of my return from that eventful peregrination,
and the joy which she manifested, and the caresses with
which she overwhelmed me, can be better imagined than
described. She placed in my arms her infant daughter,
her first and last-born child, and caused my face to be
suffused with blushes, by telling me that the innocent
babe was to be my wife ; and yet this wish, formed by her
perhaps at the moment of the birth of her daughter, has
actually been realized — she is my wife, and the mother of
my children?"

274 EARLY LITERATURE.
We have not room to follow the author to Jefferson
College; nor to dwell on his course of law studies; nor to
accompany him to Baltimore, where he attempted to com
mence the practice; nor to travel back with him to the
West, when, disgusted with his ill success, he left the city.
We shall only add, that the author has, in this volume,
brought his biography down to his twenty-fifth year, and
that it is filled with anecdotes of persons and places. The
author's reminiscences of Fort Pitt and its inhabitants
are exceedingly interesting. He promises to continue his
work. The most important scenes of his life remain to
be described. Since the period at which this volume
leaves him, he has traveled though Upper Louisiana, and
written a volume of "Views" of that region; he has been
to South America on a diplomatic mission ; and has been a
judge in Florida. We shall look with impatience for the
remainder of this interesting work.
Narrative of William Biggs, while he was a prisoner with
the Kickapoo Indians, then living opposite to the old
Weawes iown, on the west bank of the Wabash river. I
was then living at Bellfoniain, about forty miles north of
Kaskaskia village, in the Illinois country, and about
twenty miles South of Cahokia village. Printed for the
Author. June, 1826.
The above is the title of a pamphlet containing one of
the most interesting sketches of personal adventure af
forded in all the annals of the truly romantic vicissitudes
attendant upon the settlement of our country. We re
member to have seen the author, a venerable farmer, in
easy circumstances, holding a respectable civil office in
the State of Illinois, upon the same spot where he had
endured the perils incident to the life of the pioneer.
He was one of the many who, after years of perilous

NARRATIVE OF WILLIAM BIGGS. 276
exposure, in a savage wilderness, distant from other set
tlements of white men, lived to attain a patriarchal age,
and fell " like a ripe sheaf full of years," having witnessed
the accumulation of an industrious population around
him, the introduction of the arts of peace, and the firm
establishment of law and social order. What a rebuke
does such a picture convey to those who are discontented
with the lot in which Providence has placed them — espe
cially to those in our own flourishing country, who are
not satisfied with its rapid advancement and happy con
dition, but murmur at the present state of society, and
prophesy all manner of evil to the rising generation !
The pages of history, when calmly investigated, exhibit
to the sober mind of benevolence no passage of such
freshness and moral beauty, as that which discloses the
origin and rapid growth of our Western States — none
which the patriot may contemplate with such unalloyed
pride, or the Christian study with emotions of purer
approbation. We may here, without the aid of magic,
the invention of poetry, or the assistance of artificial
scenic mimicry, gaze at transformations more truly won
derful than any which natural causes could have been
pre-supposed to be capable of producing. We are led by
the gray-haired citizen, still in the vigor of a green old
age, to the spot where hrs log hut once stood, in the silent
forest — where the young mother guarded her offspring
from violence with the art of the parent bird, and heard
the distant warnings of danger with the vigilance of the
startled deer — where the pestilence lurked in the heavy
foliao-e — where the panther and the wolf roamed by
niglit — and the Indian, maddened into a desperate cou
rage, by the complicated impulses of superstition, revenge,
and patriotism, exerted all his dreadful energies in op
posing -the advance of civilization. Such is the tale of

276 HIS OWN BIOGRAPHER.
the living witness : but we see no trace of its reality.
The scene has shifted, and not a feature of its barbarism
remains. A magnificent and brilliant exhibition is pre
sented, as if by the sudden rising of a curtain. The
aged man with his weather-beaten features, his primitive
manners, and his scars gained in battle, is still before us,
but the buffalo has fied to distant plains, the savage njan
has retired, and around us are cities, commerce, and art,
steamboats, railroads, colleges, and literature I
The participation of the western pioneers in the dangers
of the Eevolutionary War has never been sufficiently in
sisted on. During the whole of that turbulent period,
they fought the common enemy with the most obstinate
valor, keeping at bay the savages, who would otherwise
have been poured into the heart of the colonies, and
rendering services as efficient as any that were ever per
formed on any part of the continent. They fought with
their own weapons and without pay, and not being en
rolled in the Continental service, have not been included
among the revolutionary pensioners.
The pamphlet before us has the merit of having been
written by its putative author, who was not particularly
well skilled in spelling or composition, and in conse
quence would be called, among us, an illiterate man, but
a little further east, would be considered ignorant, under
the decree of that public sentiment which comprehends
the idea of knowledge with an expertness in penman
ship, and a ready use of the signs of the alphabet and
the figures of arithmetic. It is an emanation from the
"dark mass of mind" that within half a century has built
up an empire in the West, has given rulers to the nation,
and has been represented in the national legislature by
an eloquence which stands unrivaled.
It is also interesting, as it exhibits the savage cha-

SETTLES AT BELLE FONTAIN. 277
racter in a new aspect from that in which it has usually
been represented. We have seen only the darkest side
of that picture. The fearful atrocities of the savage, his
treachery, and his cunning, stand out in such bold relief,
that the redeeming traits of his character are almost
wholly unknown. We think of his savage thirst for
blood, and shudder; we see him wielding the gory
hatchet, and turn away from the contemplation of his
moral nature, under the conviction that all his habits
and passions are so depraved as to afford nothing that it
would be pleasing to remark, or instructive to study.
The narrative of Mr. Biggs places the Indian before us
under more favorable circumstances, and shows that how
ever cruel he may be, when acting under the excitement
that leads him to war or to plunder, he is at other times
susceptible of cheerful and kind emotions, and not deaf
to the claims of reason and humanity.
In the year 1788, Mr. Biggs was one of a few Ameri
cans who had settled at Belle Fontain, in that part of
Illinois which is now included in the county of Monroe,
and about twenty miles below St. Louis. There were no
other white settlements in Illinois, at that time, except
those -of the French, which were scattered from Kaskaskia
to Cahokia, a distance of sixty miles. East of them were
the French post at Vincennes, and a settlement at the
Falls of Ohio. The intermediate region was a wilderness.
In that year, he was taken prisoner by a party of Kicka
poos from the Wabash, while riding not far from home,
and carried off. One of the party attempted to kill him,
but the others interfered, and with some difficulty pro
tected his life, having announced their determination to
carry him home, and adopt him into their tribe; not
withstanding which, the malignant savage endeavored,
by stealth, more than once, during the first day's march

278 BIGGS A PRISONER.
to strike him a fatal blow. At length the party halted
to eat a hasty meal, and Mr. Biggs thus proceeds:
" Whilst the meat was cooking, the Indians held a council what
they would do with the Indian that wanted to kill me — he was a
young fellow about nineteen years of age, and of a different nation,
being a Pottowatema. They did not want him to go to war with
them — they said he was a great coward, and would not go into
danger, till there was no risk to run, then he would run forward
and get the best of the plunder, and that he would not be com
manded — he would do as he pleased — he was very selfish and
stubborn — and was determined to kill me if he could get a chance.
They determined in their council to kill him. It is a law with the
Indians when they go to war, if an Indian will not obey the
councils and commands of his captain, or chief, to kill him. Wheu
their meat was cooked they eat very hearty, and when they were
done eating, three of the Indians got up, and put ou their budgets
and started; this young Indian was one of them. I also got up to
show a willingness to be ready ; the old chief told me to sit dffwn,
and the three Indians started off. In three or four minutes after,
we started, but-varied a little in our course. We had not traveled
more than one hundred -yards when we heard the report of a gun —
the old chief then told me that they had killed the Indian that
wanted to kill me."
The following scene displays a specimen of the shrewd
ness and presence of mind with which our pioneers con
ducted themselves when prisoners. One of the Indians
put some questions to Mr. Biggs, who pretended igno
rance of their language, to induce them to speak freely
in his presence:
"He first asked. me in Indian if I was a Mattocush, that is, a
Frenchman ; I told him no. He asked me if I was a Sageuash, an
Englishman ; I told him uo. He again asked me if I was a She-
molsea, that is, a long knife, or a Virginian ; I told him no. He
then asked me if I was a Bostonely, an Eastern American ; I told
him no. A moment afterward he asked me the same questions
over again, I then answered him yes ; he then spoke English, and

IS MADE A KICKAPOO. 279
catched up his knife in his hand, and said, 'Tou are one dam
rascal.' I really thought he intended stabbing me with his knife.
I knew it would not do to show cowardice, I being pretty well
acquainted with their manner and ways. I tben jumped upon
my feet, and spoke in Indian, and said, Manetwa kien depaway.
In English it is, no, I am very good ; and clapped my hand on my
breast when I spoke, and looked very bold; the other Indians all
set up such a ha! ha I and laugh, that it made the other Indian
look very foolish."
Our limits will not allow us to accompany Mr. Biggs
in his march of ten days from the shores of the Missis
sippi to those of the Wabash. With the exception of
being securely tied, to prevent his escape, he was kindly
treated, and became as well reconciled to his fate as was
possible. On their arrival in the vicinity of their own
village, the warriors halted, dressed and painted them
selves with much care, and prepared to make a formal
entry into town. The prisoner was also required to make
his toilet, and after being painted according to the most
approved mode then prevailing in the fashionable In
dian circles, was pronounced to be a Kickapoo. A pole,
stripped of its bark, and painted, was planted in the
ground, having a conjuring bag suspended from it, in
which was contained a lock of the prisoner's hair. When
these arrangements, which had been conducted in the
most silent manner, so as not to be noticed from the
village, were all completed, the leader gave three loud
shouts; the signal by which the successful -return of the
party was announced to their friends — and the warriors,
with their prisoner, began to sing and dance round the
war-pole. The old men, the squaws, and the boys of the
village, were soon collected around them, the more digni
fied warriors remaining at the council house to receive
their friends with due solemnity. The warriors being

280 FLIRTING UNDEE DIFFICULTIES.
now greased, painted, and feathered, in all the pomp of
military array, could no longer condescend to carry their
own baggage, which was handed over to the squaws, 'and
the heroes moved on, not marching, but dancing into the
village, through which they passed to the war-post, which
stood on the banks of the Wabash. They danced round
the post for about twenty minutes, and then up again, as
a dancing master would say, into the village, where they
cast off, and repaired to the houses of their friends, who
had hastily prepared a feast for their entertainment.
At sunset of the same day, the dance was resumed at
the war-post. Here they were joined by two warriors and
a squaw on horse-back, and after a long consultation,
the prisoner was told that he must go "with them two
Indians and squaw." To this he consented with great
reluctance, but was forced to submit, and being mounted
behind his new master, Mr. Biggs says, "they started off
very lively, and the Indian that I was riding behind, be
gan to plague and joke the squaw about me: she was his
sister-in-law. He was an Indian that was full of life, and
very funny ; when I got acquainted with him, I was well
pleased with him."
Arrived at their place of destination, the prisoner was
given to an old Kickapoo chief, who was "the father of
the squaw, and father-in-law of the funny Indian." In
this family he was treated with great kindness, particu
larly by the young squaw, before mentioned, and another
lady of the household, wliQ was a widow. The former
took a fancy to him and was not slow in betraying her
partiality. "She took two very good combs, a coarse and
fine one," and "very tenderly" as the writer assures us,
combed out his hair, which it was then the fashion to
wear long, and which had become tangled and matted by
long exposure to the weather; nay more, she continued

• HIS NEW DRESS. 281
combing it for nearly an hour. "She then went to a
trunk and got a ribband, and queued my hair very nicely;
the old chief's son then gave me a very good regimental
blue cloth coat, faced -with yellow buff-colored cloth; the
son-in-law gave me a very good beaver Mackerony hat,
these they had taken from officers they had killed; then
the widow squaw took me into her cabin and gave me a
new ruffled shirt and very good blanket. They told me to
put them on, I did so ; when I had got my fine dress on,
the funny Indian told me to walk across the floor, I knew
they wanted to have a little fun 1 I put my arms a-kimbo
on my hips, and walked with a proud air, three or four
times backwards and forwards across the floor ; the funny
Indian said I was a very handsome man and a big captain."
Such are the conduct and the amusements of these
untutored savages, who, having no mental culture, no
moral code, nor regular employment, and leading a pre
carious life of alternate want and abundance, are as
remarkable for their whimsical deportment on some oc
casions, as for their sternness of purpose on others, en
gaging with equal facility in an unlicensed plunder, in
unsparing carnage, in brutal debauchery, or in childish
merriment, and passing from the utmost point of cruelty
and treachery, to the opposite extremes of good faith,
kindness, and hospitality.
The humane captors of our author carried their con
siderate civility so far as to offer him a wife, a proposal
which he was prudent enough to decline, in consequence
of having one already, and being not inclined to become
entangled by foreign alliances. The lady — the same who
has been already alluded to — did not conceal her par
tiality. When the Indians were about to take their
prisoner to another village "she came up and stood at
the door — she would not go in. I discovered the Indians
24

282 PERSEVERANCE UNREWARDED.
laughing and plaguing her — she looked in a very ill
humor ; she did not want them to take me away. They
immediately started from the cabin, and took a tolerably
large path that led into the woods, in a pretty smart trot;
the squaw started immediately after them ; they would
look back once in a. while, and when they would see the
squaw coming, they would whoop, hollow, and laugh.
When they got out of sight of the squaw, they stopped
running and traveled in a moderate walk. When we got
about three miles from the town, they stopped where a
large tree had fallen by the path, and laid high off of the
ground; they got up high on the log and looked back to
see if the squaw was coming ; when the squaw came up she
stopped, and they began to plague her and laugh at her ;
they spoke English. They talked very provoking to the
squaw; she soon began to cry."
Whether it was leap year, or whether the Indian
females consider marriage a business transaction, not
requiring the same delicate observances which our own
ladies practice, we are not told. The daughter of the
chief seems to have thought no ceremony necessary on
this occasion, except the ceremony of marriage; but the
young American remained inexorable. On arriving at
their place of destination that evening, he found her again
posted at the door of the cabin at which he lodged, and
her Indian friends making themselves merry at her con
stancy and want of success. The incorrigible white man,
when reminded by his companions that he would be ac
cepted if he chose to offer himself, parried the proposal
by replying, " I reckon not." He adds, " she staid two
days and three nights before she returned home; I never
spoke a word to her while she was there. She was a very
handsome girl, about eighteen years of age, a beautiful
full figure, and handsomely featured, and very white for
a squaw."

USEFUL LITEEATUEE. 283
It has been asserted that nothing is so uncertain as the
female, except the male; and it would be curious to know
whether the graceful savage who figures in this narrative
was infected with the genuine passion of love, which is
supposed to be taken at first sight, or was practicing a
native coquetry, which would lavish its fascinations with
equal prodigality on the next attractive object that ap
peared. Mr. Biggs was now examined in council for the purpose
of ascertaining his 'taste for the Indian mode of life, and
qualifications for usefulness. " The first question they
asked me was, would I have my hair cut off like they cut
theirs, I answered, no. Second question they asked me
was, if I would have holes bored in my ears and nose,
and have rings and lead hung in them like they had, I
answered, no. The third question they asked me was, if
I could make hats;" to which, as well as to the subse
quent questions, whether he was a carpenter, a black
smith, or could hoe corn, or hunt, he replied successively
in the negative, determined not to betray the knowledge
of any art which would render his services valuable. The
wily savages, however, inquired how he gained a liveli
hood, and the pioneer, with equal cunning, replied, by
writing. To test the truth of this statement, he was re
quired to write to a trader at Vincennes, for two loaves of
bread. He suggested the want of materials, but one of
the Indians produced the back of a letter which he had
carefully hoarded up, a quill was plucked from the wing
of a turkey, and shaped into a pen with a scalping knife,
by the ingenious backwoodsman, who also supplied the
place of ink with some gunpowder and water, and wrote
the letter. A messenger was sent, who in due time re
turned with the two loaves, and Mr. Biggs' credit remained
unimpeached.

284 EELEASE FEOM CAPTIVITY.
He remained several weeks with these people, who con
tinued to treat him with uniform civility, and endeavored
to render his captivity as easy as was practicable. Of
those with whom he resided, he says, " they were a smart,
neat, and cleanly family — kept their cabin very nice and
clean, the same as white women, and cooked their victuals
very nice ;'' and his whole account is such as to exhibit
redeeming traits, which contrast agreeably with the
gloomy pictures of savage life with which we are familiar.
At length some traders visited the Kickapoo village,
who readily agreed to open a negotiation with the Indians
for the freedom of their prisoner, and advanced goods
in payment, to the amount of two hundred and sixty
dollars, for which sum Mr. Biggs gave his note. He
went immediately to Vincennes, where he procured a
passage in a boat which was about to proceed by the
Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, to Kaskaskia. He
reached the latter place in safety, and thence hastened
home, where he found that his family had been in entire
ignorance of his fate, and had supposed him to have been
murdered by the Indians, until a few days before his
return.

PIONEEES OP TENNESSEE. 285

CHAPTEE XXI.
Foreign Influence over the Indiana.
While the pioneers were thus active in the forests of
Kentucky, the enterprising spirit of our countrymen had
led them to explore other parts of the Ohio valley, and
to undertake adventures similar to those which we have
described. Tennessee began to be settled from North
Carolina about the same time, and by a similar class of
men. Sevier, Blount, Eobinson, and other prominent
leaders in that region, closely resembled the Harrods, the
Logans, the Hardins, and Bullits of Kentucky, in mental
energy and physical hardihood. We do not enter upon
their history, because it would lead us to a repetition of
events precisely analogous to those which we have de
tailed ; and in giving merely the spirit of western history,
it is not our intention to repeat similar circumstances,
occurring at different places and to different individuals,
but merely to select such examples as may best illustrate
the whole subject. We refrain also, from touching upon
the annals of Tennessee, because the events which oc
curred in that region, are not connected or involved with
those that took place in the settlement of Kentucky and
the territory north-west of the Ohio. Although contem
poraneous and similar, the actors were different, and the
transactions entirely independent of each other.

286 the STATE OP peankland.
It may, however, be stated, as a curious coincidence,
and as another illustration of some of the remarks which
we made on the political condition of the early settlers,
that while Kentucky was engaged in angry altercation
with Virginia, in relation to the navigation of the Missis
sippi, and other exciting topics, to which we have alluded,
Tennessee was angrily urging the same subjects upon the
attention of North Carolina. But the people of Tennessee
became more exasperated, and proceeded to more decisive
measures than the inhabitants of Kentucky ; for while the
latter only weighed the advantages of their connection
with the Union, and spoke of a violent separation from
the mother State as a possible event, the former proceeded
to the experiment of a separate government, and actually
framed the Constitution of an independent State, which
they called Frankland. They were, however, not unani
mous in this measure; a part only of the people, headed
by a few violent men, assented to its adoption, while the
remainder continued loyal to the existing authorities,
patiently waiting for a change of times, and confidently
relying on the justice of a government of their own choice,
which could have no inducement, nor any provocation, to
oppress a portion of its citizens. The State of Frankland
had a brief and turbulent existence, and died a natural
death. The admission of Tennessee into the Union, as
a separate State, in 1796, quieted the discontents of the
people. About the year 1750, a settlement was made at Bed
stone, now called Brownsville, on the Monongahela. The
settlers were chiefly Pennsylvanians. From this place and
Fort Pitt, they spread over western Pennsylvania and
Virginia. No part of our population ever suffered more
severely from Indian hostilities than this. The wars
were fierce and long continued. There is scarcely a spot

COLONEL M'KEE. 287
throughout that region, which is not distinguished as the
field of a sanguinary battle, or the scene of some memo
rable deed of savage atrocity. The romantic and beau
tiful shores of the Monongahela, are rendered particularly
interesting, by the many wild traditions related by the old
inhabitants, and the singularly exciting associations -with
which they inspire the mind of the traveler.
The savages who assailed the new settlements in the
West, resided chiefly on the north-western side of the Ohio
river, from its mouth to the lakes. The British govern
ment had established agencies among them, for the sole
purpose of keeping alive their rancor against the American
people. The fur trade was not at that period a source of
great profit, nor an object of commercial cupidity; and the
British cabinet could have had no other inducement suffi
ciently powerful, to have provoked a measure so audacious
as that of maintaining agents among the tribes within
our acknowledged territorial boundaries, except that of
preventing the expansion of our population, by keeping
up a continual warfare upon the borders. The fearful ex
tent to which they effected this object, is too well remem
bered. Colonel M'Kee, an authorized agent of the British
government, of high official rank, and great influence
among the tribes, became infamously notorious for the
atrocities committed under his sanction, and the success
of his wide-spread and indefatigable intrigues. His name
is found continually associated with the darkest deeds
which are r-ecorded in the history ,^ or preserved in the
traditions of our border wars. That his misdeeds have
been exaggerated by rumor, and magnified by the resent
ment of those who suffered by his cruel policy, is alto
gether possible; but enough is shown in his own official
acts, and in the reports of the American governors and
commanders in the West, to establish the fact, that he

288 SIMON GIRTY.
served what he supposed to be the interests of his own
country, with a zeal as fatal to his own reputation, as it
was destructive to the peace of the frontiers, and ruinous
to the unhappy savages who were the willing instruments
of his vengeance. A wretched miscreant, named Simon
Girty, was another agent in these nefarious proceedings —
a native of one of the British colonies — who, in conse
quence of his crimes, or of some injury which he supposed
himself to have received, had fled from the abodes of civi
lized men ; he became a savage in manners and in prin
ciple, and spent his whole life in the perpetration of a
demoniac vengeance against his countrymen. He planned
many expeditions against our borders, some of which he
led in person ; was present at the conflagration of the set
tler's cabin, witnessed the expiring agonies of the mother
and the infant, and assisted in the dreadful solemnities
which attend the torturing of a prisoner at the stake. It
was in vain that the unhappy victims appealed to his
humanity; a single instance only is known, in which he
suffered the dictates of pity to actuate his conduct; with
the same cold indifference or hellish malignity, did he
witness the butchery of the infant, the murder of the
tender woman, and the excruciating torture of the gal
lant soldier. He is not known to have held any specific
appointment under the British government; but he was
the companion and subordinate of M'Kee, and was known
to have had the countenance and protection of that officer.
This subject is too painful to be dwelt upon in detaiL
The relations between the British and American govern
ments are now placed upon an amicable basis, which ren
ders it improbable that the vicious of either nation will
ever again have it in their power to inflict upon the peace
ful inhabitants of the other, such injuries as those to
which we have alluded. The recital of these events,

INDIANS EMPLOYED AS AUXILIARIES. 289
therefore, in the mere spirit of resentment, would be
wrong; but it is impossible to pass them over in silence,
because they have had so important a bearing upon the
affairs of this region, that without adverting to them, its
history can not be understood, nor can the difficulties
which surrounded the flrst settlers be fairly appreciated.
We have seen that the pioneers of Kentucky, though
few in number, and unsupported by the government, con
tended successfully against the Indians. The settlement
of the newer States, west of the Ohio, commenced at a
later period, under the immediate auspices of the United
States, and with prospects far more encouraging; yet the
hostilities were as fierce, though not so long protracted,
as those of the Kentuckians. In the one case, small
parties of volunteers, hastily collected, and without organi
zation, acted successfully against the savage; in the other,
regular armies, under experienced commanders, were more
than once defeated.
It is also worthy of remark, that at a period nearly
contemporaneous with the commencement of the settle
ments in Ohio, the United States began to organize a sys
tem of conciliatory measures towards the Indians. The
policy pursued previously, as well by the colonies as by
the British government, had been such as to alienate the
aborigines and provoke their vengeance. The wars between
the English and French, had operated most unhappily
upon our relations with the tribes, not only by keeping
the frontiers in a state of disturbance, which rendered
both the whites and the Indians jealous, and keenly alive
to the slightest appearance of affront, but by the direct
employment of the savages as auxiliaries. In the revolu
tionary war, this fatal expedient was'adopted by the mother
country to a fearful extent; and along the whole line of
our frontier, -the Indians, armed with the weapons of civi-
25

290 the PRACTICE DISCOURAGED BY US.
lized men, and furnished with munitions by our wealthy
antagonist, were incited to ravage the country. The
Indian force that invested Boonsboro in 1778, fought
under British colors, was commanded by Europeans, and
summoned the garrison in the name of his Britannic
majesty. The American government was the first to discourage
the unnatural practice of employing savage auxiliaries;
and the adoption of this principle, was among the earliest
acts of the Federal Union. In the ordinance of 1787, for
the government of the Territory north-west of the Ohio,
we find the following emphatic declaration, which may be
considered as comprehending the views of our government
and people at that time, and as laying down the maxims
which have regulated our policy in relation to that un
fortunate race, down to the present period. "Eeligion,
morality, and knowledge, being necessary to the good
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and
the means of education shall for ever be encouraged. The
utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the
Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken
from them without their consent; and in their property,
rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or dis
turbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Con
gress; but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from
time to time be made, for preventing wrongs being done
to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with
them." At a period a little subsequent, the language of
the executive was : " It is the ardent wish of the President
of the United States, as well from a principle of humanity,
as from duty and sound policy, that all prudent means in
our power, should be unremittingly pursued, for carrying
into effect the benevolent views of Congress, relative to
the Indian nations within the jurisdiction of the United

INSIDIOUS POLICY OP ENGLAND. 291
States;" and in the instructions given, from time to time,
to the governors of the western territories, the agents for
Indian affairs, and the military officers employed in that
region, we find invariably the same benevolent tone, and
the constant inculcation of measures, having for their ob
ject, "not only the cultivation and establishment of har
mony and friendship between the United States and the
different nations of Indians, but the introduction of civili
zation, by encouraging and gradually introducing the arts
of husbandry and domestic manufactures among them."
While such language was used by the highest authori
ties of our country, in their instructions to the subordinate
agents whose duties brought them in contact with the In
dians, and was repeated in the various councils held with
the tribes, and enforced by the most solemn pledges —
while the Indians were entreated in the most urgent man
ner to abstain from the use of spirituous liquors, to dis
continue ther exterminating wars with each other, to live
in peace with the white men, and to cultivate our arts,
they were admonished by the insidious emissaries to whom
we have alluded, to regard us with suspicion, as enemies,
who, under the guise of friendship, sought their destruc
tion. A fair specimen of this species of backwoods diplo
macy, may be found in a talk delivered by Colonel M'Kee
to the Potowatamies, who had destroyed twenty barrels of
spirits, which had been brought into their nation by an
English trader, in November, 1804.
The moral turpitude of addressing to savages sentiments
directly tending to incite them to intoxication and war,
and neutralizing the efforts of the benevolent, who were
'endeavoring to dissuade them from both, is sufficiently
obvious. But the offense becomes greatly aggravated,
when we recollect that these Indians resided within our
territorial limits; that the interference of an agent of a

292 UNFORTUNATE FOR THE PIONEERS.
foreign government was gratuitous, unauthorized, and in
contravention of the principles of the laws of nations, and
that we were at that time at peace with these Indians and
with the British.
We have no wish to multiply the evidences of this
unjust interference with our rights and policy. We could
trace it through the whole history of our western settle
ments, from the revolution down to the war with Great
Britain, which terminated with the close of the year 1814.
This state of things was the most unfortunate for the in
terests of the pioneers, that could possibly have occurred,
and its practical operation was peculiarly disastrous and
oppressive. Had they been left to contend alone against
the savages; had the contest been simply for the*.posses-
sion of the country, without any reference to questions of
right, and without the interference of the government on
the one hand, or of adverse political machinations on the
other, the conflict would easily have been decided. The
first adventurers to Kentucky were thus unembarrassed,
and were uniformly successful. At a later period, the
government, while it afforded little protection to the
frontiers, imposed restraints which crippled the exertions
of the inhabitants of the borders, while they encouraged
the Indians to become more audacious in their hostility.
It was determined, that the lands of the Indians should
not in any case be taken from them without their con
sent, nor without giving them an equivalent. Hostilities
against them were discouraged, and the invasion of their
territory forbidden, while the Indians were making fre
quent incursions into our country, and ravaging the whole
border with fire and sword. On our side, there was for
bearance and restraint; on theirs, active and unremitting
hostility; the government of the United States was con
tinually mediating between the actual parties, the Indians

CAUSE OF THE INDIAN WAR IN ILLINOIS. 293
and the settlers, and withholding the latter from what
they considered a just vengeance, while the agents of a
foreign government were arming our foes, and inciting
them to new acts of murder and depredation.
It is perfectly obvious that these transactions must have
been injurious to all concerned, but especially to the in
habitants, both civilized and savage, of this region. The
Indians were sacrificed without mercy, by a destructive
policy of their allies, who reaped much odium, but gained
no ultimate benefit by the operation; the settlers endured
the most dreadful calamities, while the beneficent inten
tions of the government were frustrated.
We do not mean to insist that all the outrages com
mitted on our frontiers by the Indians, are justly attribu
table to the direct action ofthe British government; many
of the atrocities of which we complain were undoubtedly
the unauthorized acts of private individuals, perpetrated
for the accomplishment of their own purposes of emolu
ment or revenge; but some of them have been shown to
have been the official acts of public men, and the cabinet
of St. James is responsible for the effects of a system of
which it was the author, and which was in itself unjusti
fiable. The fur trade, although insignificant when com
pared with the other branches of the commerce and
industry of either nation, has always been a. source of
contention between the traders of the United States and
Great Britain ; and the Indians have been tampered with
by persons who have had no higher object in view than
the securing of the trade with a particular tribe. The
last Indian war in Illinois, was in part brought about by
the machinations of the Canadian traders, who expected,
by embroiling the Americans with .the Indians, to prevent
our traders from passing in safety up the Mississippi, and
thus to monopolize to themselves the traffic of one year.

294 EXPEDITION AGAINST KASKASKIA.

CHAPTEE XXII.
Clarke's Expedition against the French settlements — Capture of
Kaskaskia — Capture of Vincennes — Founding of Louisville
— Anecdote of Kenton.
One of the earliest expeditions of the Americans beyond
the Ohio, which then constituted the western frontier, was
that of Colonel George Eogers Clarke against Kaskaskia,
in 1778. This place, as well as the posts upon the lakes,
was then in the possession of the British, with whom we
were at war; and being one of the points from which
the Indians were supplied with munitions, and enabled
to harass the settlements in Kentucky, its capture was
deemed so important, that the legislature of Virginia was
induced to raise a regiment for the purpose. The com
mand was given to Colonel Clarke, who planned the ex
pedition, and who is spoken of by Chief Justice Marshall,
as "a gentleman, whose great courage, uncommon hardi
hood, and capacity for Indian warfare, had given him
repeated successes, in enterprises against the savages."
He was a man of extraordinary talents and energy of
character — possessed of a military genius, which enabled
him to plan with consummate wisdom, and to execute his
designs with decision and promptitude. Having visited
Kentucky during the previous year, he was satisfied, that,
in order to curb the Indians effectually, it was necessary
to strike at the powerful, though distant allies, by whom

COL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 295
they were supported. His great mind readily compre
hended the situation of the country; he made himself
acquainted with the topography of the whole region, as
far as it was known, with the localities of the enemy's
posts, and the strength of their forces; and was enabled
to make such representations as induced the legislature
of Virginia to act with vigor. A regiment was autho
rized to be raised for the defence of the western frontiers,
¦without designating the particular object of the enter
prise, which remained a profound secret; and such was
the confidence inspired by Col. Clarke, that between two
and three hundred men were raised without delay.
With this force he crossed the mountains to the Monon
gahela, and descended by water to the falls of Ohio,
where he was joined by some volunteers from Kentucky.
Having halted a few days to refresh his men, he pro
ceeded down the Ohio to the neighborhood of Fort Mas
sac, a point about sixty miles above the confluence of
that river with the Mississippi, where he landed and hid
his boats, to prevent their discovery by the Indians. He
was now distant from Kaskaskia about one hundred and
thirty miles, and the intervening country — with which
the writer is familiarly acquainted — must have been at
that period, when in a state of nature, almost impassable.
His route led through a low, flat region, intersected by
numerous streams and ponds, and entirely covered with
a most luxuriant vegetation, which must have greatly
impeded the march of troops. Through this dreary
region the intrepid leader marched on foot, at the head
of his gallant band, with his rifle on his shoulder, and
his prorision upon his back. After wading through
ponds, crossing creeks by such methods as could be has
tily adopted, and sustaining two days' march after the
provisions were exhausted, he arrived in the night before

296 SURPRISE AND CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA.
the village of Kaskaskia. Having halted and formed his
men, be made them a brief speech, which contained only
the pithy sentiment, that "the town was to be taken,
at all events." And it was taken accordingly, without
striking a blow ; for, the surprise was so complete, that
no resistance was attempted. A detachment, mounted on
the horses of the country, was immediately pushed for
ward to surprise the villages higher up the Mississippi ;
they were all taken without resistance, and the British
power in that quarter completely destroyed. It is said,
that a hunter had discovered the American troops, and
apprised the inhabitants of Kaskaskia of their approach ;
but that his story was considered so improbable as to
obtain no credit. It was an improbable story, although
it turned out to be true. A law had been passed for the
raising of a regiment, the troops had been enlisted, offi
cered, and equipped, transported thirteen hundred miles
by land and water, through a wilderness country, inhab
ited by the Indian allies of the enemy, and marched into
a garrisoned town, without the slightest suspicion, much
less discovery, of the movement. When we observe the
amount of time and labor which is now expended in
making a journey from Virginia to Kaskaskia, with all
our improvements, and reflect how incalculably greater
must have been the difficulties of such a journey at that
time, when there was no road across the mountains, nor
any boats in which to navigate the rivers but such rude
craft as the traveler might construct for his own conve
nience; and when we take into consideration the difficulty
of transporting provisions and ammunition through a
wild region, the successful expedition of Colonel Clarke
will present itself as a brilliant military achievement.
His next exploit was bolder, more arduous, and equally
successful. Kaskaskia was not strongly defended ; no

MARCH TO VINNCENNES. 297
attack by a civilized enemy was apprehended at this
• remote spot, and the approach of Clarke was unsuspected;
but Vincennes, situated nearly in a direct line between
Kaskaskia and the falls of Ohio, distant one hundred
and sixty miles from the former place, and two hundred
miles from the latter, had been considered within the
reach of an attack from the American settlements, and
was strongly fortifled. It was well garrisoned with British
troops, commanded by Governor Hamilton, an expe
rienced officer, who was quickly apprised of the capture
of the posts on the Mississippi, in his rear, and prepared
to expect a visit from the daring Clarke and his victo
rious troops. In addition to the regular force, which
was greatly superior to that of Clarke in numbers and in
equipment, he had under his command six hundred In
dian warriors ; and being an active, skillful officer, he
proposed to march as soon as possible upon the American
commander. But the season was such as to render any
immediate military movement difficult, and apparently
impracticable. The rivers and smaller streams, all of
which, in this level region, overflow their banks rapidly
after heavy falls of rain, were now swelled, and the passes
of the country blocked up. Unable to march his own
troops under such circumstances, he considered that Clarke
would be conflned by the same causes to the shores of
the Mississippi, where no reinforcement could reach him,
and where he could attack him with the certainty of
success, upon the subsiding of the waters.
Colonel Clarke, who, with his other accomplishments,
possessed a singular capacity for penetrating into the
designs of his enemy, became informed, as well of the
present delay, as of the ulterior plan of the British com
mander, and determined to anticipate his intentions, by
marching instantly against the post of Vincennes. To

298 DIFFICULTIES OF APPROACH.
effect this, it was necessary to pass, without any road,
over a surface of one hundred and sixty miles of fertile
soil, whose light, spongy loam, saturated with water,
afforded no firm footing to the steps of the soldiery, and
to cross the Kaskaskia, the Little Wabash, the Embarras,
and the Great Wabash rivers, besides a number of their
tributaries, all of which were swollen, and margined by
wide belts of inundated land. But the undaunted leader
pressed on — without wagons, without tents, with only
such provision and ammunition as could be carried on
the backs of a few pack-horses, and the shoulders of the
men — toiling by day through mud and water, and sleep
ing at night upon the wet ground.
Upon reaching the waters of the Great Wabash, our
adventurous troops beheld before them an obstacle which
must have daunted the hearts of warriors less resolutely
determined than themselves, upon the successful achieve
ment of their enterprise. On the eastern bank of the
river stood the British fort, on a high shore, swept by the
foaming current of a great river ; on the western side was
a tract of low alluvion land, five miles in width, entirely
inundated. The whole expanse of water to be crossed,
was nearly six miles in width — first, the marshy flat, in
whose treacherous quicksands the writer has seen the
horse sink under his rider, and become instantly buried
in the mire, now covered with water, too deep in some
places to be forded, and too shallow in others to admit of
navigation by boats, and impeded throughout by growing
timber, floating logs, or tangled .brushwood — and then, the
swift, powerful current of the river.
Colonel Clarke was laboriously employed for sixteen
days, in effecting the march from Kaskaskia to Vincennes ;
five of which were consumed in passing the wilderness of
watei; just described, through which he meandered in such

VINCENNES TAKEN — CLARKE's MANEUVER. 299
a manner as to conceal his forces from the enemy, by
avoiding the prairie, and keeping as much as possible
under the cover of the timber — wading sometimes breast
deep, sometimes proceeding upon rafts and canoes, and at
last, crossing the river in the night, and presenting him
self suddenly before the town, which was completely sur
prised. It was here that the western Hannibal, as Clarke may
be justly called, performed a maneuver, which shows
that he was prudent as well as daring; and that while he
possessed the hardihood to attempt the most desperate en
terprises, he was fertile in expedients, and cautious in
availing himself of any incidental advantage which might
be presented. As he approached the town, over the wide,
beautiful prairie on which it stands, and at the moment
when his troops were discovered by the enemy, he found
himself near a small circular eminence, which concealed a
part of his force from the observation of the foe. Under
this cover, he countermarched his column in so skillful
a manner, that the leading files, which had been seen
from the town, were transferred, undiscovered, to the rear,
and made to pass again and again in sight of the enemy,
until all his men had been displayed several times, and
his little detachment of jaded troops was made to assume
the appearance of a long column, greatly superior in num
ber to its actual force. He then promptly summoned the
garrison to surrender. Governor Hamilton, after a brief
defense, struck his flag ; and the gallant Clarke found
himself master of an important post, whose garrison, now
his prisoners, consisted of a well appointed body of sol
diers, twice as numerous as his own followers.
These brilliant exploits of Colonel Clarke had an im
portant bearing upon the interests of the western country,
both direct and consequential. They gave, for the moment.

300 SALUTARY EFFECTS OP THE EXPEDITION.
safety and repose to the harassed inhabitants of Kentucky,
and struck with terror the whole savage population of the
wide region through which he passed. They deranged an
extensive plan of operations on the part of the enemy, the
design of which was to annihilate all the border settle
ments, by pouring in the combined Indian force along
the whole line of our frontier, while they detached from
the British interest many tribes who had long acted under
the control of that power. They hastened, if they did
not contribute to produce, the most important political
event connected with the history of the western country
— the purchase of Louisiana. The limits of the United
States were extended to the Mississippi, where they re
mained fixed; and Virginia, assuming her title to the
conquered territory, in right of her charter, as well as
of the conquest by her own arms, proceeded at once to
erect it into a county which was called Illinois.
Another direct consequence of the successes of Colonel
Clarke, was the protection of the infant settlement of
Louisville, at the mouth of Beargrass. Previous to that
period, the families of the pioneers who were collected at
the falls of Ohio, had been compelled to seek safety upon
the small island abreast of the present site of the city.
Here Clarke had built a fort, and at his departure, about
tliirteen families remained on this narrow islet, in the
midst of the foaming rapids, surrounded by enemies, and
enduring the severest privations, but tenaciously main
taining their foothold. The capture of Vincennes, by
breaking up the nearest and strongest of the enemy's
western posts, relieved their apprehensions of immediate
danger, and encouraged them to settle permanently on the
Kentucky shpre.
The enterprising spirit of Clarke was shared by those
who followed him. Among them was Simon Kenton, one

ANECIMiTE OP KENTON. 301
of the most celebrated and daring of the pioneers. After
the fall of Kaskaskia, he was sent with a small party to
Kentucky, with despatches. On their way, they fell in
with a camp of Indians, in whose possession was a num
ber of Hbrses, which they took and sent back to the ariny.
Pursuing their way by Vincennes, they entered that place
by night, traversed several of the streets, and departed
without being discovered, taking from the inhabitants,
who were hostile, two horses for each man. When they
came to White river, a raft was made, on which to trans
port the guns and baggage, while the horses were driven
in to swim across the river. On the opposite shore, a
party of Indians were encamped, who caught the horses
as they ascended the bank. Such are the vicissitudes of
border incident! The same horses that had been au
daciously taken, only the night before, from the interior
of a regularly garrisoned town, were lost, by being acci
dentally driven by the captors into a camp of the enemy.
Kenton and his party, finding themselves in the utmost
danger, returned to the shore from which they had pushed
their raft, and concealed themselves until night, when
they crossed the river at a different place, and reached
Kentucky in safety.
We shall insert here another anecdote of Kenton, as a
sp^imen of the daring spirit of the pioneers, and of the
singular adventures through which some of them passed.
A party of Indians having stolen some horses in Ken
tucky, Kenton, with a few companions, pursued them
across the Ohio, keeping upon their trail for several days
undiscovered, and without getting an opportunity of at
tacking them, until the Indians reached their village. In
the night, Kenton and his men entered the village
secretly, and not only re-captured the stolen property,
but took also several of the best of the Indians' horses.

302 IS CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS.
Kenton fled with the booty rapidly towards home, and
the Indians, discovering their loss, became, in turn, the
pursuers. The Americans reached the western shores of
the Ohio in safety; but being unable, in consequence of
a high wind, to cross without risking the los^ of the
horses, which had cost them so much toil and danger, they
were delayed until the Indians Q,vertook them, and Kenton
was captured, while his companions escaped.
The Indians either knew Kenton, or discovered from
his bearing and his conduct on this occasion, that he was
an extraordinary man ; and while they exulted in his cap
ture, they practiced upon him every possible cruelty.
They taunted him with sarcastic compliments upon his
love for horses, and assured him that he should ride one
of their best animals. He was accordingly bound securely
upon a vicious young horsSj which was turned loose with
out a bridle, to follow the party. The animal reared and
plunged and dashed through the woods, endeavoring, in
vain, to shake off its rider; until, wearied out, it became
more tame, and quietly fell into the rear of the other
horses. Still the situation of Kenton was not the less
painful ; for the horse, becoming accustomed to the burden,
would often stop to graze, lingering until the party was
nearly out of sight, and then dashing forward, would
pursue them at full speed, dragging the lacerated body
of the wretched pioneer under the overhanging branches,
and plunging with him through the closest thickets, as if
with the purpose of increasing his misery.
On his arrival at Chillicothe, the most populous of the
Indian towns in this region, he was painted black, tied to
a stake, and suffered to remain in this painful situation
for twenty-four hours, anticipating the horrors of a slow
and cruel death. He was next condemned to run the

KENTON ABOUT TO BE BURNT. 303
gauntlet. The Indians, several hundred in number, of
both sexes, and every age and rank, armed with switches,
sticks, and other implements of annoyance, were formed
in two lines, between which the unhappy prisoner was
made to pass; having been promised, that if he reached
in safety the door of the council-house, at the farther end
of the lines, no further punishment would be inflicted.
He accordingly ran with all the speed of which his de
bilitated condition rendered him capable, beaten by the
savages as he passed, and had nearly reached the goal,
when he was knocked down by a warrior with a club;
and the demoniac crew, gathering around his prostrate
body, continued to beat him, until life seemed to be nearly
extinguished. In this wretched condition, naked, lacerated, and ex
hausted, he was marched from town to town, exhibited,
tortured, often threatened to be burned at the stake, and
frequently compelled to run the gauntlet. On one of
these occasions, he attempted to make his escape, broke
through the ranks of his torturers, and had outstripped
those who pursued him, when he was met by some war
riors on horseback, who compelled him to surrender.
After running the gauntlet in thirteen towns, he was
taken to Lower Sandusky, to be burned. Here resided
the miscreant Girty, who having just returned from an
unsuccessful expedition against the frontiers of Pennsyl
vania, was in a particularly ill humor, and hearing that
there was a white prisoner in town, he rushed upon him,
struck him, beat him to the ground, and was proceeding
to farther atrocities, when Kenton had the presence of
mind to call him by name, and claim his protection.
They had known each other in their youth ; Kenton had
once saved the life of Girty; and deaf as the latter was,

304 SAVED BY GIRTY — AGAIN BY DREWYER.
habitually, to every dictate of benevolence, he admitted
the claim of his former acquaintance ; and actuated by
one of those unaccountable caprices so common among
savages, interceded for him, rescued him from the stake,
and took him to his house, where, in a few days, the lusty
pioneer recovered his strength. Some of the chiefs, how
ever, became dissatisfied ; another council was held, the
former decree was reversed, and Kenton was again doomed
to the stake. From this extremity he was rescued by the
intercession of Drewyer, a British agent, who, having suc
ceeded in obtaining his release, carried him to Detroit,
where he was received by the British commandant as a
prisoner of war. From this place he made his escape,
in company with two other Americans; and after a march
of thirty days through the wilderness, continually exposed
to re-capture, had the good fortune to reach the settlements
in Kentucky.
This is one of many similar adventures which are re
lated of this remarkable man, who seems to have possessed
a courage which nothing could daunt, a vigor of mind
equal to every emergency, and a strength of constitution,
which enabled him to bear the most incredible fatigues
and sufferings. He is still living — a venerable relic of
a past age. He resides in the State of Ohio, a remark
able monument of the rapid advancement of the country.
In the very region over which he roamed a hunter and a
warrior, when not a single white man had erected his
cabin within its limits, he now finds himself the citizen
of a State containing more than a million of inhabitants,
and surrounded by other States but little less populous.
He sees towns and cities, commerce and manufactures,
government and laws, wealth, refinement, and religion,
where he once saw only the forest, the beast of prey, and

KENTON REACHES A GOOD OLD AGE. 305
the savage. He lived a life of romantic and -wild adven
ture; and after having braved a thousand dangers, and
been miraculously preserved from death by violence on
various occasions, outlived the most of his cotempo
raries, and died composedly in his bed, and was gathered
in peace to his fathers.

26

306 DIFFERENT EXPEDITIONS.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

Bowman's Expedition — Clarke's in 1780 — Battle of Blue Licks—
Harmar's Expedition — Wilkinson's.
In 1778, an expedition was sent from Kentucky against
the Indians west of the Ohio, under the command of Col.
John Bowman; but owing to some mismanagement, it
entirely failed.
In 1780, Colonel Clarke led an expedition against the
Shawanoes residing on the Great Miami. It was conducted
with the caution and promptitude which had previously
distinguished the movements of that officer. The Indians
were completely surprised, and had barely time to send
their squaws and children to the woods for safety. They,
however, defended their cabins obstinately, and were only
driven from them after a severe battle. The town was
then burnt, the corn-fields laid waste, and the means of
sustenance of the inhabitants, as far as possible, destroyed.
This seems to have been the most effectual method for
bridling the ferocity of the Indians ; the death of a portion
of their warriors only increased their fury, but the de
struction of their villages and corn-fields chilled their
courage, by showing them that the war could be carried
to their homes, while it crippled their military power,
by forcing them to engage in hunting to support their
families. The year 1782 is rendered memorable in the annals of

BATTLE OP THE BLUE LICKS. 307
Kentucky, as the era of the disastrous battle of the Blue
Licks. A number of tribes having united in a formidable
combination, a large body of Indian warriors was marched
into Kentucky. A gallant force was hastily assembled to
meet them, composed of the flower of the population of
the nearest settlements to the point invaded — the best
and bravest men, the most promising and chivalrous youth
of the land. The enemy, having slaughtered a number
of the unprotected inhabitants, and committed many depre
dations, were apparently retiring, when this army moved
with alacrity in pursuit, full of the most sanguine expec
tations. Colonel Daniel Boone and others, who were con
versant with the savage character, discovered a peculiarity
in their mode of retreat, which afforded cause for sus
picion; instead of their usual secrecy and speed, signs of
carelessness and delay were discovered on their trail, indi
cating their route and betraying a willingness to be pur
sued ; while, on the other hand, the most effectual measures
had been adopted to conceal their numbers. They effected
the latter object, by moving in single file, by contracting
their camps to the smallest possible compass, and by using
but few camp-fires ; and the former, by marking a distinct,
though narrow path, and leaving various articles strewed
by the way, as well to point it out to the pursuers, as
to create the belief that they were retiring in confusion.
Deceived by these appearances, the younger warriors,
burning with revenge, and eager for battle, rushed madly
forward, while Boone, and a few other experienced men,
endeavored to restrain their ardor. The consequence was,
that they fell into an ambuscade, which had been ar
ranged with consummate skill; a part of the Kentuckians
were engaged and beaten before the rest came into action;
the force was cut up in detail ; and a signal defeat, accom
panied with great slaughter, was the unhappy consequence.

308 COL. CLARKE'S EXPEDITION.
This was the most severe blow which ever fell upon the
early settlers of Kentucky ; a number of brave men were
slain, many promising youth were among the fallen, and
a considerable number of females and children were
butchered or taken prisoners. Some families were wholly
destroyed; others mourned a husband, a son, a wife, or
an infant child, and the whole land -was filled with gloom,
with the lamentations of bereaved relatives, and the shame-
of a proud people.
Colonel Clarke, who then resided at the Falls of Ohio,
immediately seized the opportunity of proposing a retalia
tory expedition against the Indians ; confident that in the
indignant state of the public feeling, nothing could be
more popular, nor better calculated to soothe the irritation
of the people, and blunt the poignancy of their distress.
His call was promptly answered. Officers and men volun
teered; horses, provisions, and supplies of every kind,
were gratuitously offered by those who could not leave
home, and the enterprising leader soon found himself at
the head of a thousand mounted riflemen, who panted to
meet the enemy.
This expedition was conducted with the despatch and
secrecy so essential to the success of partisan warfare,
and for which its distinguished leader had already ob
tained celebrity. He proceeded to the Indian towns on
the Miami and Scioto, but found them deserted. He
passed from village to village, his approach producing
every-where the same effects. Dismay and fright pre
ceded his victorious march. His name struck terror
throughout the whole Indian border. The crafty savages,
who are admirable judges of human nature, in all that
relates to military feeling or calculation, were aware that
the pride of Kentucky had been touched; and that those
who no^w sought them in their own towns, to challenge

GEN. harmar's expedition. 309
them to battle, came prepared to conquer or die — to re
venge injury and wipe off disgrace. They declined a meet
ing with such men, led by such a commander ; and Clarke
found nothing but empty cabins and deserted flelds. The
former, as well as the latter, were desolated. The villages
were reduced to ashes, and the standing corn destroyed.
The soldiers reaped no laurels; but the effect of the ex
pedition was beneflcial. It displayed the power and the
spirit of the Americans, and taught the savages that they
could not make war upon our borders with impunity.
An expedition into the country west of the Ohio, was
again led by General Clarke, equal in number of men to
that just described. In 1785, the incursions of the Indians
having again caused a popular excitement, an army of a
thousand men was raised by voluntary association, and
assembled at the Falls of Ohio. The provisions and am
munition were sent round in keel-boats to Vincennes, to
which place General Clarke marched his men by the nearest
route. This expedition accomplished nothing, beyond the
good effect produced by the appearance of a respectable
force in the Indian country.
The next important expedition into the Indian country,
was that of Scott and Harmar, in 1790. General Scott,
with two hundred and thirty volunteers, crossed the Ohio
at Limestone, and was joined by General Harmar, with one
hundred regulars of the United States army. They pene
trated into the Indian country and destroyed several towns,
but were unable to bring the Indians to battle.
The well-known expedition of General Harmar occurred
in the autumn of the same year. He led into the Indian
country three hundred and twenty federal troops, and
eleven hundred and thirty-three Kentucky volunteers,
commanded by Colonel John Hardin, an intelligent and
gallant officer. They penetrated into the Miami country.

310 an ambuscade.
laid waste the corn-flelds of the Indians, and having ac
complished the sole object of the expedition, were about to
return, when some Indians appeared in the vicinity of the
camp. Colonel Hardin was detached with a small party
in pursuit of them. After pursuing them for six miles,
he fell into a snare which they had prepared for him. The
Indians, having divided themselves into two parties, had
returned on each side of their own trail, at a distance
from it, and then approaching it, had concealed them
selves in the tall grass, and were quietly waiting the ap
proach of the Americans. When Colonel Hardin and his
detachment had passed into the ambushed spot, the enemy
rose, discovering themselves on all sides, like the followers
of Eoderic Dhu, in the splendid conception of Scott, and
standing exposed in the prairie, fired upon the troops,
who were instantly thrown into disorder. The gallant
leader endeavored in vain to rally the panic-struck men.
The Indians, greatly superior in number, rushed in upon
them, and such as did not find safety in flight, were
almost instantly overpowered and slain.
Two days afterwards, the army decamped, and com
menced its march toward the frontiers. At the distance
of about ten miles from the ruined villages, the general
halted, and detached Colonel Hardin, with a party of four
or five hundred militia, and sixty regulars under Major
Willis, with orders to return to the site of the principal
Indian town, where it was supposed th^ Indian force
might have collected, upon the retiring of our army. On
reaching the village, a small body of Indians was seen,
who, on being attacked, fled. The militia, eager to be
revenged for the recent disaster, and maddened by the
loss of many of their friends, dashed off in pursuit, leav
ing the . regulars unsupported. This was precisely the
object intended to bo effected by the Indians, a part of

major WILLIS AND PAETY SLAIN. 311
whom had fled, merely to decoy the militia into a tumul
tuous pursuit. The main body of the Indians, who were
lying in concealment, rose suddenly from their ambush, and
with dreadful yells, rushed upon the regular troops. The
latter were a small, though brave band, and the savages
60 numerous as to render resistance hopeless. The onset
was of the most desperate character. The Indians, throw
ing aside their guns, fought -with the tomahawk only.
Never did men flght with more heroism than Willis and
his regulars. Surrounded and overpowered, they met
their fate with inflexible courage. For a time, they de
fended themselves with the bayonet, and made great havoc
in the ranks of the assailants. But the savages increased
in number, like the heads of the fabled Hydra, and when
one fell, several others rushed forward to flll his place and
avenge his death. The brave Willis and his whole party
were slain; scarcely one was left.
The militia were, in the meanwhile, recalled by their
commander from the injudicious pursuit in which they
had engaged without orders and without caution. They
were rallied by Colonel Hardin, and brought into action,
too late, however, to relieve the regulars. But they fought
bravely, sustained a considerable loss, and at last retired
in good order, before a superior force, who, flushed with
their recent victory over the regulars, assailed their ranks
with the fury of enraged demons. The army of Harmar
returned to Kentucky without further incident.
The officers who were flrst and second in command of
this expedition, were much censured at the time for its
disasters, and it has ever since been popularly known as
"Harmar's defeat." The more impartial verdict of his
tory, given on a calm review of all the eridence, will do
justice to the names of Harmar and Hardin, and rank
these brave soldiers among the defenders of their coun-

312 REVIEW OP THE EXPEDITION.
try who are entitled to its gratitude. Their successes,
and the important objects which they accomplished, have
been obscured by their misfortunes ; the country mourned
the lives that were lost, without reflecting upon the ad
vantages that were gained. The object of the expedition
was to destroy the Indian towns at and near the conflu
ence of St. Mary's and Joseph's rivers. This was com
pletely accomplished, and the Indian power in that quarter
was effectually crippled, by the destruction of their whole
stock of provisions for the winter. Their villages were
burned and their corn-fields devastated. The duty im
posed upon this army was performed ; and its disasters,
though deeply to be deplored, should not be allowed to
throw a shade over the services or the reputation of the
patriotic individuals who composed it. Besides the de
struction of their property and means of sustenance, the
loss of life was greater on the part of the Indians than on
the side of the whites; and that the victory which they
claimed, and to which the retreat of our troops entitled
them, was dearly bought, is sufficiently evident from the
fact, that they neither repeated the attack, nor made any
attempt to annoy the army on its return. An army which
had so far secured the respect of a victorious enemy as
to be permitted to march unmolested from a disastrous
battle-field, was certainly not dishonored, though it might
have been vanquished. The error of Harmar consisted in
his dividing his force, by sending out detachments, giving
to the enemy the opportunities for practicing to advantage
the stratagems peculiar to their system of warfare, and
exposing our army tp the hazard of being beaten in detail.
It was thus beaten ; but the error in judgment, which pro
duced the result, was not greater than has often been com
mitted by able commanders; and should at least find an
excuse in the recollection, that,jlt was preceded by a sue-

GEN. SCOTT'S EXPEDITION. 313
cessful campaign, and followed by an able retreat. Har
mar was a brave and accomplished officer, whose character
was adorned by many amiable and brilliant qualities.
Both he and Hardin demanded the investigation of their
military conduct in this expedition, by courts of inquiry ;
and both were honorably acquitted.
In the spring of 1791, General Scott and Colonel (after
wards General) Wilkinson, announced their intention to
lead an expedition against the Indians, and a thousand
volunteers, mounted and equipped with rifles, were assem
bled in the course of a few days at Frankfort. Their
march was directed to the mouth of the Kentucky river,
where they crossed the Ohio and struck into the Indian
country. They penetrated one hundred and fifty miles
into the wilderness, without meeting an enemy ; visited
the Indian villages on the Wabash, destroyed their lodges
and their corn, and returned to Kentucky. The Wea
towns, upon the Wabash, twelve miles below Tippecanoe,
were surprised. The warriors fled, but a large portion of
the women and children were taken, and delivered to the
charge of the regular troops at Fort Washington, where
they were kept until the peace made by General Putnam
with the Wabash tribes, in 1793.
This was one of the flrst occasions on which the effi
ciency of mounted riflemen, in a warfare with the Indians,
was fairly tried — or perhaps it is more proper to say, that
the superiority of this description of troops was now first
made the subject of remark. General Clarke had already-
made the experiment. The backwoodsmen are excellent
riders ; they love the horse, and are as expert in the man
agement of that noble animal as in the use of the rifie ;
and in all the expeditions against the Indians, a portion
of the volunteers were mounted. So decided is the pre
ference of the people of the frontier for this mode of
27

314 MOUNTED RIFLEMEN.
warfare, that they are unwilling to take the field in any
other manner. But they had heretofore usually been
accompanied by infantry, whose sluggish movements
through the intricacies of the forest, and among the
wilds and swamps of the wilderness, impeded their march
and damped their ardor; while the Indians, unencum
bered with baggage, and more intimately acquainted with
the country, reaped the full advantage of their capacity
for rapid marches and sudden attacks.
General Wilkinson, who was undoubtedly a gentleman
of high courage, of singular address, and considerable mili
tary sagacity, is entitled to the credit of having been the
first to notice these circumstances, and to insist publicly
on the expediency of employing mounted riflemen alone,
in hostilities against the Indians. Immediately after his
return from the last expedition, he spoke and wrote in
favor of the employment of this description of troops;
and in July of the same year, published a notification,
inviting five hundred volunteer horsemen to accompany
him on an expedition into the territory north-west of the
Ohio. It was announced that Colonel John Hardin and
Colonel James M'Dowell, both of whom were popular
leaders, would serve under him as majors. Such was the
mode of conducting these hostilities, at that period. A
leader of repute planned an expedition, announced his
intention, and appointed a place of rendezvous; and the
volunteers flocked around his standard. When the en
terprise was sufficiently important, and a numerous
force was required, several gentlemen united as leaders,
arranged the plan, settled their relative rank among them
selves, and used their combined influence in collecting
the number of men required. Thus, Colonel John Har
din, who on previous occasions had commanded a much
larger force than that now jg-oposed to be raised, served

INDIAN EXPEDITIONS. 315
on this occasion as second in command under Wilkinson.
It is thus, also, that we account for the numerous military
titles, under which we find the distinguished men among
the pioneers denominated. Some of them designate the
proper rank held by these gentlemen in the militia; others
are titles acquired in actual serrice, during the revolu
tion ; and others show the rank gratuitously conferred
upon the voluntary leaders in some military enterprise,
by their companions — a rank which gave them actual
command for the occasion, and military titles which they
retained permanently. These expeditions were extremely
popular ; the men offered their serrices cheerfully, and
went at their own cost. There was, at first, no govern
ment except that of Virginia, which was too distant, and
too much occupied in acting her distinguished part in
the war of the revolution, to afford assistance to the set
tlements ; and the military duty rendered for the public
defence, was both voluntary and gratuitous. The men
furnished their own horses, arms, ammunition, and pro
visions ; thus expending their substance, and exposing
their property, as well as their lives, in this patriotic
service. This enterprise of Wilkinson produced no important
result, except to show the facility with which troops may
be moved by an active officer. He scoured the Indian
country for a few weeks, swept over a great extent of
territory, devastated some of the villages and fields of the
enemy, and returned without having succeeded in bring
ing the savages into an engagement. Among the towns
destroyed by him, was that at the mouth of the Tippe
canoe. No other town was built at or near that place,
until the establishment of the Prophet's village, which
afterwards caused so much trouble to the frontiers of
Indiana.

316

THE WAR BELT.

CHAPTEE XXIV.
THE WAR BELT, A LEGEND OF SOKTH BEND.
In the year 1786, there stood upon the margin of the
Ohio, near the mouth of the Miami, a small fortress, over
which waved the fiag of the United States. The banner
was that of a confederacy which had just emerged from a
successful struggle with one of the most powerful nations
of the world, and over which the illustrious Washington
ruled as Chief Magistrate. In the eye of a military en
gineer, the fort would hardly have deserved that name, as
it was a temporary structure, intended only to protect its
small garrison against a sudden attack by an Indian force.
It was composed of a series oflog-houses opening upon
an interior area, or quadrangle, with a block-house, or
citadel, in the center, while the outer sides, closely con
nected, formed a square inclosure, or rampart, without
apertures, except a single entrance, and a few loop-holes
from which to discharge fire-arms. The whole presented
the appearance of a single edifice, receiving light from
the center, and forming barracks for the garrison, as well
as breastworks against a foe. The forest was cleared away
for some hundred of yards around, leaving an open vista,
extending to the water's edge ; while a few acres inclosed
in a rude fence, and planted with corn and garden vege
tables for the use of the soldiers, exhibited the first rude
attempt at agriculture in that wild and beautiful region.

THE WAE BELT. 317
It will be recollected, that when the shores of the Ohio
were first explored by the adventurous pioneers, no vil
lages were found upon them; not a solitary lodge was
seen along its secluded waters.. The numerous and war
like tribes whose battle-cry was often heard on the fron
tier, inhabited the tributary branches of the Ohio, leav
ing the immediate shores of that river an untenanted
wilderness, rich in the glorious productions of nature,
and animated only by the brute and the wild bird, by the
lurking hunter and the stealthy war-party. It seemed as
if man had been expelled from this blooming paradise,
and only invaded its flowery precincts at intervals, to war
upon his fellow-man, or to ravage the pastures of the deer
and the buffalo. Historians are not agreed as "to the
reasons of this curious arrangement; but we suppose that
the Manito of the red man had reserved this loveliest of
valleys to be the happy hunting-ground of the blessed,
and that, though living forms were seldom seen within it,
the spirits of warriors lingered here, to mourn the destiny
of their race, and curse the coming of the white man.
A few adventurous pioneers from Pennsylvania, Virginia,
and North Carolina, had crossed the Alleghenies and
settled at different places, far distant from each other ; but
these also were inland as respected the great river; the
civilized man avoiding its dangerous shores on the one
side, from an instinct similar tp that which induced the
Indian to shun a residence upon them on the other.
All the tribes inhabiting the country north of the Ohio,
were at that time hostile to the American people, and
beheld with great jealousy these migrations into the West,
that indicated an intention to plant a civilized population
on this side of the mountains. The agents also of a
foreign power, which saw with dissatisfaction the growing
prosperity of the United States, deemed this a favorable

318 A LEGEND OF NOETH BEND.
moment to unite the savage tribes against our young re
public, and they were accordingly instructed to address
such arguments to the chiefs as would be likely to effect
that object. Councils were accordingly held, and arms
and trinkets distributed by those unprincipled emissaries.
In consequence of these efforts, the hostile feelings of the
savages, already sufficiently bitter, -became greatly excited ;
and at the period of which we write, a war with the com
bined forces of the north-western tribes seemed inevitable.
The policy of the American government was pacific.
They did not aim at conquest. They desired to extend
to the savages within their borders the same justice by
which their foreign relations were intended to be govern
ed. Difficult as this proposition might seem, it was not
deemed impracticable. That the enterprising and intelli
gent population of the United States would spread out
from the seaboard over the wilderness ; that the savage
must retire before civilized man ; that the desert must be
reclaimed from a state of nature, and be subjected to the
hand of art, were propositions too evident to be concealed
or denied. Had the government been disposed to per
petuate the reign of barbarism over the fairest portion of
our country, it could not have enforced its decree for a
purpose so inconsistent with the interests of the people,
and the spirit of the age. But it never was intended that
the Indian should be driven from his hunting grounds by
violence ; and while a necessity, strong as the law of nature,
decreed the expulsion of the mere hunter, and gave do
minion to art, industry, and religion, it was always pro
posed that the savage should be removed by negotiation,
and a just price given for the relinquishment of his pos
sessory title.
Had these counsels prevailed, humanity would have
been spared the anguish and humiliation of blushing for

THE FOET. 319
acts of deception, and weeping over scenes of bloodshed.
They did not prevail : the magnanimous policy of the
government remained unaltered; but many indiriduals
have committed deep wrongs against the savages, while
the latter, misled to their ruin by foreign interference,
spurned at the offers of conciliation, the acceptance of
which would have insured to them the strong protection
of the nation.
Such was the posture of affairs, when the little fortress
alluded to was established, at the outlet of the fertile
valley of the Miami, and near the track by -which the war
parties approached the Ohio, in their incursions into Ken
tucky. The position was also that selected by Judge
Symmes and others, the purchasers from Congress of a
large tract of country, as the site of a future city; though
a trivial accident afterward changed the locality, and
placed the Queen City of the West at a point twenty
miles farther up the Ohio. It was near the head of that
great bend of the Ohio, now widely known as North Bend,
— a spot which has become classic ground to the American,
as the residence of that excellent man, and distinguished
statesman and soldier, the venerated and lamented Har
rison. The fort was garrisoned by a small party of
soldiers, commanded by a captain, who was almost as much
insulated from the rest of the world as Alexander Selkirk
in the island of Juan Fernandez.
At this sequestered spot, a treaty was to be held by
commissioners appointed by the President, with the Sha
wanoes, a migratory and gallant nation, which had fought
from South Carolina to Pennsylvania, along the whole
line of the western frontier, and whose eventful history,
unless it has been lately collected by an ingenious writer
who is about to publish a life of Tecumthe, remains to
be written. It is enough to say of them here, that no

, 320 THE GARRISON.
western tribe has produced so many distinguished indi
viduals, or carried on so constant a series of daring enter
prises. For several days previous to that appointed for holding
the council, parties of Indian warriors were seen arriving
and erecting their temporary lodges at a short distance
from the fort. An unwonted bustle disturbed the silence
which usually reigned at this retired spot. Groups of
savages, surrounding their camp-fires, passed the hours
in conversation and in feasting ; the tramp of horses and
the barking of dogs were heard in every direction. The
number of Indians assembled was much greater than was
necessary, or was expected ; and their disposition seemed
to be any thing but pacific. Irritated by recent events,
and puffed up by delusive promises of support, they wore
an offended and insolent air. Their glances were vindic
tive, and their thirst for vengeance scarcely concealed.
No one acquainted with the savage character could doubt
their intentions, or hesitate for a moment to believe they
only waited to ripen their plan of treachery, and at a
moment which should be most favorable to their purposes,
to butcher every white man in their power.
The situation of the garrison was very precarious. The
fort was a slight work, which might be readily set on fire,
and the number of Americans was too small to afford the
slightest chance of success in open fight against the nu
merous force of the Shawanoes. The only hope for safety
was in keeping them at a distance ; but this was incon
sistent with the purposes of meeting them in council, to
treat for peace.
Both parties held separate councils on the day previous
to that appointed for the treaty. That of the Indians
was declamatory and boisterous. The caution with which
they usually feel their way, and the secrecy that attends

COLONEL GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE. 321
all their measures, seems to have been abandoned. They
had probably decided on their course, and deeming their
enemy too weak to oppose any serious opposition, were
declaiming upon their wrongs, for the purpose of lashing
each other into that state of fury which would give relish
for the horrid banquet at hand, by whetting the appetite
for blood. The American commissioners saw with gloomy
forebodings these inauspicious movements, and hesitated
as to the proper course to be pursued. To treat with
savages thus numerically superior, bent on treachery, and
intoxicated with an expected triumph, seemed to be mad
ness. To meet them in council, would be to place them
selves at the mercy of ruthless barbarians, whose system
of warfare justified and inculcated every species of stra
tagem, however disingenuous. To close the gate of the
fortress, and break up the negotiation, would be at the
same time a declaration of war, and an acknowledgment
of weakness, which would produce immediate hostilities.
In either case, this little band of Americans stood alone,
dependent on their own courage and sagacity only, and
cut off from all hope of support. They were far beyond
the reach of communication with any American post or
settlement. Under these circumstances, it was proposed
to postpone the treaty, upon some plausible pretence, and
to endeavor to amuse the Indians, while the utmost dili
gence should be used in preparing the fort for a siege :
and in this opinion all concurred save one ; and happily
that one was a master spirit, the Promethean fire of whose
genius seldom failed to kindle up in other bosoms the
courage that glowed in his own. That man was Colonel
George Eogers Clarke.
Clarke was a Virginian of high spirit, and of consum
mate skill as a military leader. A series of daring ex
ploits, evincing a brilliant genius in their conception.

322 HIS CHARACTER.
executed with accuracy and energy, and terminating in
successful results, had placed his name in the first class
of our revolutionary heroes. It was said of him, by one
who had followed him in battle, "He was the bravest
man I ever knew ; his courage was governed by a wisdom
that bore him through whatever he undertook, in security
and in triumph; and one could only see, after the event,
that it partook not of rashness nor presumption, although
it bore that appearance." The truth was, that this re
markable man, to the gallant spirit that belonged to him
as a native of Virginia, added a knowledge of human
nature, that enabled him to read and control the minds
around him, and a promptness and energy of purpose
that no ordinary obstacle tould obstruct.
Whatever might have been the real opinion of Colonel
Clarke on this occasion, he treated the idea of danger with
ridicule, and insisted, calmly, cheerfully, even playfully,
and in a way that disarmed all opposition from his col
leagues, that the negotiation should go forward.
An apartment in the fort was prepared as a council-
room, and, at the appointed hour, the doors were thrown
open. At the head of the table sat Clarke, a soldier-like
and majestic man, whose complexion, eyes, and hair, all
indicated a sanguine and mercurial temperament. The
brow was high and capacious, the features were prominent
and manly; and the expression, which was keen, reflective,
and ordinarily cheerful and agreeable, was now grave,
almost to sternness.
The Indians, being a military people, have a deep re
spect for martial virtue. To other estimable or shining
qualities they turn a careless eye, or pay at best but a
passing tribute, while they bow in profound veneration
before a successful warrior. The name of Clarke was
familiar to them : several brilliant expeditions into their

AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 323
country had spread the terror of his arms throughout
their villages, and carried the fame of his exploits to every
council-fire in the West. Their high appreciation of his
character was exemplified in a striking as well as an amus
ing manner, on another occasion, when a council was held
with several tribes. The celebrated Delaware chief, Buck-
inghelas, on entering the council-room, without noticing
any other person, walked up to Clarke, and as he shook
hands cordially with him, exclaimed, "It is a happy day
when two such men as Colonel Clarke and Buckinghelas
meet together!"*
Such was the remarkable man who now presided at the
council table. On his right hand sat Colonel Eichard
Butler, a brave officer of the Eevolution, who soon after
fell, with the rank of brigadier-general, in the disastrous
campaign of St. Clair. On the other side was Samuel
H. Parsons, a lawyer from New England, who afterwards
became a judge in the north-western . territory. At the
same table sat the secretaries, while the interpreters,
several officers, and a few soldiers, stood around.
An Indian cQuncil is one of the most imposing spec
tacles in savage life. It is one of the few occasions in
which the warrior exercises his right of suffrage, his in
fluence and his talents, in a civil capacity, and the meeting
is conducted with all the gravity, and all the ceremonious
ostentation with which it is possible to invest it. The
matter to be considered, as well as all the details, are well
digested beforehand, so that the utmost decorum shall
prevail, and the decision be unanimous. The chiefs and
sages, the leaders and orators, occupy the most conspicu
ous seats; behind them are arranged the younger braves,
and still farther in the rear appear the women and youth,
* See Appendix.

324 A TRYING SITUATION.
as spectators. All are equally attentive. A dead silence
reigns throughout the assemblage. The great pipe, gaudily
adorned with paint and feathers, is lighted, and passed
from mouth to mouth, commencing with the chief highest
in rank, and proceeding, by regular gradation, to the in
ferior order of braves. If two or three nations be repre
sented, the pipe is passed from one party to the other,
and salutations are courteously exchanged, before the
business of the council is opened by the respective speak
ers. Whatever jealousy or party spirit may exist in the
tribe, it is carefully excluded from this dignified assem
blage, whose orderly conduct, and close attention to the
proper subject before them, might be imitated with profit
by some of the most enlightened bodies in Christendom.
It was an alarming evidence of the temper now pre
vailing among them, and of the brooding storm that filled
their minds, that no propriety of demeanor marked the
entrance of the savages into the council-room. The usual
formalities were forgotten, or purposely dispensed -with,
and an insulting levity substituted in their place. The
chiefs and braves stalked in, with an appearance of light
regard, and seated themselves promiscuously on the floor,
in front of the commissioners. An air of insolence marked
all their movements, and showed an intention to dictate
terms, or to fix a quarrel upon the Americans.
A dead silence rested over the group ; it was the silence
of dread, distrust, and watchfulness ; not of respect. The
eyes of the savage band gloated upon the banquet of blood
that seemed already spread out before them; the pillage
of the fort, and the bleeding scalps of the American, were
almost within their grasp ; while that gallant little band
saw the portentous nature of the crisis, and stood ready to
sell their lives as dearly as possible.
The commissioners, without noticing the disorderly con-

THE INSULT. 325
duct of the other party, or appearing to have discovered
their meditated treachery, opened the council in due form.
They lighted the peace-pipe, and, after drawing a few
whiffs, passed it to the chiefs, who received it. Colonel
Clarke then rose to explain the purpose for which the
treaty was ordered. With an unembarrassed air, with the
tone of one accustomed to command, and the easy as
surance of perfect security and self-possession, he stated
that the commissioners had been sent to offer peace to
the Shawanoes; that the President had no wish to con
tinue the war ; he had no resentment to gratify ; and, that
if the red men desired peace, they could have it on liberal
terms. "If such be the will of the Shawanoes," he con
cluded, "let some of their wise men speak."
A chief arose, drew up his tall person to its full hight,
and assuming a haughty attitude, threw his eye contemp
tuously over the commissioners, and their small retinue,
as if to measure their insignificance, in comparison with
his own numerous train, and then stalking up to the table,
threw upon it two belts of wampum, of different colors —
the war and the peace belt.
"We .come here," he exclaimed, "to offer you two pieces
of wampum ; they are of different colors ; you know what
they mean : you can take which you like !" And turning
upon his heel, he resumed his seat.
The chiefs drew themselves up, in the consciousness of
having hurled defiance in the teeth of the white men.
They had offered an insult to the renowned leader of the
Long Knives, to which they knew it would be hard for
him to submit, while they did not suppose he would dare
to resent it. The council-pipe was laid aside, and those
fierce wild men gazed intently on Clarke. The Americans
saw that the crisis had arrived: they could no longer doubt
that the Indians understood the advantage they possessed.

326 THE ANSWER.
and were disposed to use it; and a common sense of danger
caused each eye to be turned on the leading commissioner.
He sat undisturbed, and apparently careless, until the
chief who had thrown the belts on the table had taken
his seat: then, with a small cane which he held in his
hand, he reached, as if playfully, towards the war-belt,
entangled the end of the stick in it, drew it towards him,
and then, with a twitch of the cane, threw the belt into the
midst of the chiefs. The effect was electric. Every man
in council, of each party, sprang to his feet; the savages,
with a loud exclamation of astonishment, "Hugh!" the
Americans in expectation of a hopeless conflict against
overwhelming numbers. Every hand grasped a weapon.
Clarke alone was unawed. The expression of his coun
tenance changed to a ferocious sternness, and his eye
flashed, but otherwise he was unmoved. A bitter smile
was slightly perceptible upon his compressed lips, as he
gazed upon that savage band, whose hundred eyes were
bent fiercely and in horrid exultation upon him, as they
stood like a pack of wolves at bay, thirsting for blood, and
ready to rush upon him, whenever one bolder than the
rest should commence the attack. It was one of those
moments of indecision, when the slightest weight thrown
into either scale will make it preponderate ; a moment in
which a bold man, conversant with the secret springs of
human action, may seize upon the minds of all around
him, and sway them at his will. Such a man was the in
trepid Virginian. He spoke, and there was no man bold
enough to gainsay him — none that could return the fierce
glance of his eye. Eaising his arm and waving his hand
towards the door, he exclaimed: " Dogs I you may go!"
The Indians hesitated for a moment, and then rushed
tumultuously out of the council-room.
The decision of Clarke on that occasion, saved himself

THE INDIANS CONFOUNDED. 327
and his companions from massacre. The plan of the
savages had been artfully laid: he had read it in their
features and conduct, as plainly as if it had been written
upon a scroll before him. He met it in a manner which
was unexpected; the crisis was brought on sooner than
was intended; and upon a principle similar to that by
which, when a line of battle is broken, the dismayed troops
fiy, before order can be restored, the new and sudden turn
given to these proceedings by the energy of Clarke, con
founded the Indians, and before the broken thread of their
scheme of treachery could be reunited, they were panic-
struck. They had come prepared to brow-beat, to hum
ble, and then to destroy; they looked for remonstrance, and
altercation ; for the luxury of drawing the toils gradually
around their victims; of beholding their agony and degra
dation, and of bringing on the flnal catastrophe by an
appointed signal, when the scheme should be ripe. They
expected to see, on our part, great caution, a skillful play
ing off, and an unwillingness to take offense, which were
to be gradually goaded into alarm, irritation, and submis
sion. The cool contempt with which their flrst insult was
thrown back in their teeth surprised them, and they were
foiled by the self-possession of one man. They had no
Tecumthe among them, no master-spirit to change the
plan, so as to adapt it to a new exigency; and those
braves, who in many a battle had shown themselves to be
men of true valor, quailed before the moral superiority
which assumed the vantage ground of a position they
could not comprehend, and therefore feared to assail.
The Indians met immediately around their own council
fire, and engaged in an animated discussion. Accustomed
to a cautious warfare, they did not suppose a man of
Colonel Clarke's known sagacity would venture upon a
display of mere gasconade, or assume any ground that he

328 PEACE CONCLUDED.
was not able to maintain ; and they therefore attributed
his conduct to a consciousness of strength. They knew
him to be a consummate warrior; gave him the credit of
having judiciously measured his own power with that of
his adversary; and suspected that a powerful reinforcement
was at hand. Perhaps at that moment, when intent upon
their own scheme, and thrown off their guard by imagined
security, they had neglected the ordinary precautions that
form a prominent feature in their system of tactics; they
might be surrounded by a concealed force, ready to rush
upon them at a signal from the fort. In their eagerness
to entrap a foe, they might have blindly become entangled
in a snare set for themselves. So fully were they con
vinced that such was the relative position of the two
parties, and so urgent did they consider the necessity for
immediate conciliation, that they appointed a delegation
to wait on Clarke, and express their willingness to accept
peace on such terms as might be agreeable to him. The
council re-assembled, and a treaty was signed, under the
dictation of the American commissioners. Such was the
remarkable result of the intrepidity and presence of mind
of George Eogers Clarke.

EXPEDITIONS NOT UNIFORMLY SUCCESSFUL. 329

CHAPTEE XXV.
Causes of the failure of several of the Expeditions in the North
western Territory — St. Clair's Campaign.
That the engagements of the regular troops with the
Indians in this region should have been so often disas
trous, is by no means surprising; on the contrary, when
we reflect on the character of the army, and the circum
stances under which our troops were placed, we can only
wonder that they should ever have been successful. The
troops which had been engaged in the Eevolutionary War,
had been disbanded, and did not, necessarily, form any
part of the military peace establishment of the Federal
government, though many individuals, who had served
in the Continental line, afterwards entered the army as
officers or privates. The flrst standing army authorized
by Congress, was too small to offer strong inducements to
gentlemen of talent and enterprise, to embrace the mili
tary life as a profession; the officers, therefore, though
many of them were high-minded, gallant men, were not
generally the elite of the nation, and a large portion of
the men were either worn-out old soldiers, or raw recruits
of degraded character. The habit of intemperate drink
ing prevailed to an alarming extent. Among the speci
mens of the military of that day, who survived the assaults
of time, and came down to us as the honored relics of a
past generation, this propensity was strongly developed,
28"

330 CAUSES OF THEIE PAILUEE.
and the appellation of old soldier, was always associated
with the idea of a hard-drinking man. We have also
some records that attest this fact; the proceedings of
courts-martial in those days show that the charge of
drunkenness was more than once brought home to the
gentlemen of the sword ; and some of the published re
miniscences of the old heroes, attest the same lamentable
truth. General Eaton has left a list of some of his
companions, in which the expressive phrases, "dead per
brandy,'' " dead per ditto," occur with melancholy fre
quency. Public opinion had not then placed the stamp
of disgrace upon that species of dissipation, and military
discipline, although severe, was imperfect.
Our government was then but recently organized, and
the war department had not acquired character or sta
bility. It was the branch of the executive which was
least esteemed. The standing army had been made the
theme of bitter party denunciation, had been pronounced
dangerous to liberty, and had been stigmatized by the
demagogues of the day with the bitterest and foulest
epithets in the vocabulary of party invective. It was de
cidedly unpopular. While, therefore, it appeared certain
that neither its numbers, nor the respectability of its
appointments, would be enlarged by the deliberate action
of government, it was doubtful whether the whole estab
lishment would not be swept off as a nuisance. Congress
made appropriations for military purposes with reluctance;
and there was little to encourage the war department in
making any decided efforts to improve the ser'vice, or
sustain the reputation of the army.
The government was poor, and our councils were dis
tracted. These facts have not been made sufficiently
prominent by those who have commented upon the ser
vices and sufferings of the soldiers and the first settlers

THE AEMY NOT POPULAE. 331
in the West, nor considered with the attention they de
serve, in connection with the rapid improvement of our
country, and the vigorous growth of our institutions.
The pioneers first penetrated into the western forests
during the stormy period of the Eevolution, when our
infant nation was struggling in the grasp of a powerful
antagonist, and gasping for existence. At a period a little
later, the government was unsettled and powerless. The
patriots of the Eevolution had willed that we should be
free; but it required many years, and much fierce con
tention, to determine the precise character and extent of
the freedom, for which they had successfully fought. Par
ties, equally adverse to rational liberty, which advocated
the high-toned principles of aristocracy on the one hand,
and the ferocious dogmas of unlicensed democracy on
the other, were engaged in controversy, and struggling
for the ascendency. By one or the other, almost every
national institution, and every branch of the political
economy of the country, was denounced and sought to be
prostrated ; and the government, unwilling to expend its
limited resources upon an unpopular or an evanescent
institution, was uncertain what institution to foster, and
which to leave to its fate.
The army was left to sustain itself — miserably paid,
wretchedly clad, badly supplied, and carelessly governed;
its honor was supported alone by the patriotism and gal
lantry of those who composed it. At the same moment,
when the navy was withering under the hostility of the
government and the indifference of the people, the army
was sinking under the effects of popular fury and execu
tive coldness.
Under such circumstances, troops were raised for the
defence of the western frontiers. They were not autho
rized by Congress without opposition. There were some

332 DID NOT ENLIST PUBLIC SYMPATHY.
who objected to the prosecution of any tramontane wars,
because they doubted the expediency of attempting to
extend the territorial limits of the United States beyond
the Alleghenies. Some affected to question the right of
Congress to acquire new territories, not embraced within
the actual boundaries of the original States of the con
federacy; and some, consulting a timid prudence, foresaw,
in any attempt to possess the broad lands of the West, by
military occupancy, a series of bloody and expensive wars
with the British, the Spaniards, and the countless hordes
of fierce aborigines, who would be incited and supplied by
both those powers ; while none knew, and few imagined,
even in the wildest dreams of speculation, the width,
the fertility, the resources, the inexhaustible treasures
of national wealth, and the boundless field for individual
enterprise, which lay concealed in silent splendor amid
the shadows of the western forests. The troops, therefore,
who were sent to the West, were not supported by the en
thusiasm of national pride; neither the hopes of the people,
nor the steady confidence of the government, stimulated
their ambition, or supported them in the patient endurance
of fatigue and danger. The pride of individual character,
and the sense of military duty, may do much to sustain
men under the pressure of danger; but brilliant results
have seldom attended any military enterprise, which did
not enlist the sympathies of the people, and hold out the
bright rewards of fame.
It should also be recollected, that while the Indians
possessed greater physical and numerical strength, more
ardor and confidence than at present, with the same mili
tary knowledge and discipline which they now exhibit,
the tactics of civilized warfare were in a state infinitely
inferior to that in which we see them. They had not the
advantage of any of those countless improvements in the

POWEE OF THE INDIANS OVERRATED. 333
mechanic arts, which have given such completeness and
finish to the weapons and equipment of the modern sol
dier. Their movements were heavy, complicated, and ill
adapted to partisan warfare. The simplicity, the rapidity
of evolution, and the concentration of force, which the
genius of Napoleon, and of the galaxy of brilliant men
by whom he was surrounded, and opposed, introduced
into military operations, were then unknown. In the
comparison, therefore, between the savage and the civilized
warrior, the Indian occupied a higher ground at that
period than at the present time ; he has deteriorated, while
we have advanced.
A mistaken opinion was long entertained ofthe prowess,
as well as of the military capacity of the Indian warrior.
A variety of circumstances had contributed to invest the
red men with higher attributes than they really possessed,
to give them a repute to which they were not entitled,
and to throw a gratuitous terror around them, which
caused the courage of the disciplined soldier to sink into
a mysterious dread as he penetrated into the wilderness,
and the blood to forsake his cheek, when he heard the
terrific sound of the war-whoop. It was difficult to over
come this panic. The dreadful cruelties of the Indians,
their butchery of the helpless, their torture of the pris
oner, the cunning with which they sometimes entrapped
their enemies, and the fury with which they rushed upon
an unprepared or inferior enemy, all contributed to pro
duce an awe among the soldiery which was not easily
removed. A few successes on the part of the savages,
strengthened the belief in their superiority ; and there has
been more than one period in our history, when they
gained advantages from the panic created by ignorance of
their force and their character.
In addition to all the other unpropitious circumstances

334 ERRONEOUS SYSTEM OP TACTICS.
to which we have adverted, was that of being obliged to
operate in a wilderness, without magazines, without any
dep6ts of supplies, and through which it was difficult to
transport the baggage and munitions which were abso
lutely indispensable. Entirely cut off from the settled
parts of the country, an army acting in the West at
that time, could look for no support in any emergency.
What they lost in battle could not be supplied by re
inforcement ; if their provisions or ammunition became
destroyed by accident, or diminished by capture, the
deflciency was irreparable. Months must roll away before
the government could be advised of any disaster, of any
change of plan, or other vicissitude which might render
aid or advice desirable, and even then the feeble hand of
government could not be moved until it received vitality
from the tardy action of Congress.
But perhaps the most efficient cause of the failure of
the regular troops, on several occasions, was the system
of tactics used in battle. The troops were formed in
close order, under the plan of Steuben, which was adapted
only to the warfare of disciplined armies. Wayne, with
more judgment, introduced the system of forming his men
in open order, extending his lines so as to prevent the
enemy from turning his flanks, and strengthening both
the rear and flanks by reserves. The same plan was
adopted by his successors, and by none with more bril
liant success than General Harrison, long afterwards, in
the war of 1812. A regular army thus formed cannot be
defeated by Indians.
These remarks occur forcibly to our minds, when we
contemplate the events of the disastrous campaign of
St. Clair, and reflect upon the odium incurred by a deserv
ing patriot, and the blight which fell upon a brilliant
character, in consequence of a single military miscarriage.

ST. CLAIR'S EXPEDITION. 335
Neither the capacity nor the courage of St. Clair admit
of doubt. He was a soldier of spotless reputation. His
talents were commanding, and his experience great. The
force placed under his command was larger than any that
had previously acted against the Indians in this region,
and some of the officers under him were gentlemen of- high
reputation. The object of the campaign was the destruc
tion of the Indian towns upon the Miamies; a purpose
which, we have seen, had more than once been effected
by small bodies of men, under less distinguished leaders.
The army, consisting of about fourteen hundred effective
troops, moved from Fort Washington in September, 1791,
and seems to have been conducted with abundant caution.
Two forts were erected by the army as it proceeded, about
forty miles from each other, as places of deposit, and rest
ing points for the security of convoys which might follow
the troops, and for the safety of the army itself in case
of disaster. The march was slow and laborious; delayed
by the opening of a road, and by the adoption of measures
of abundant precaution. Two months were occupied in
tardy marches, enlivened only by occasional skirmishes
with the enemy.
The campaigns of Clarke and St. Clair afford, by con
trast, admirable illustrations of the different modes of
warfare adopted against the Indians, while they show, con
clusively, the excellence of the one, and utter futility of
the other. Clarke moved with light troops, unencumbered
by baggage, and neither halted to establish posts, nor to
open roads. He marched so rapidly that the enemy had
no time to penetrate his designs, or anticipate his move
ments. The blow fell before they were aware of the point
at which it was intended to strike — perhaps while they
were yet ignorant that it was impending ; and he retired
before the dismay produced by his sudden approach had

336 CAUSES OF ITS FAILURE.
subsided, before the shock of the onset could recoil upon
himself, or the scattered forces of the enemy could be ral
lied. St. Clair, at the head of an imposing force, was re
tarded by the very strength which was intended to render
his expedition formidable, and by the precautions used for
the security of his army, while the enemy avoided his
approach with facility, impeded his march, and retaliated
his attacks. The fault was not in the leader, but in the
plan of the campaign, and the kind of troops employed.
All that an able commander could effect with such a force,
under the circumstances by which he was surrounded and
overruled, was accomplished by General St. Clair. The
brilliant talents of this brave soldier and veteran patriot
were exerted in vain in the wilderness. The wariness
and perseverance of Indian warfare created every day new
obstacles and unforeseen dangers; the skill of the experi
enced leader was baffled, and undisciplined force prevailed
over military science. The art of the tactician proved in
sufficient, when opposed to a countless multitude of wily
savages, protected by the labyrinths of the forests, and
aided by the terrors of the climate. At a moment of
fancied security, his troops were unexpectedly assailed
upon all sides, by a numerous and well organized foe,
who had long been hanging upon his flanks, and had be
come intimately acquainted with his strength, his order of
encampment, and the distribution of his force — who knew
when to attack, and where to strike. The officers acted
with their accustomed intrepidity, but the men quickly
became panic-struck, and a scene of dreadful confusion
ensued ; and after a short, though gallant resistance, our
troops commenced a disorderly flight. The Indians pur
sued for about four miles, slaughtering all who fell into
their hands, and filling the air with their yells of triumph,
until their avidity for plunder called them back to the

Wayne's expedition, 337
deserted camp, where the spoils of the vanquished troops
were to be divided among the victors. The flight of the
dispersed and beaten soldiers was continued to Fort Jef
ferson, a distance of thirty miles. The loss on this occa
sion, owing to the too close order in which the troops
were formed, was mournfully great; thirty-eight officers
and nearly eight hundred men were slain. A committee
of the House of Eepresentatives in Congress, appointed
to investigate the causes of the failure of this expedition,
in the most explicit terms, exculpated the commander-in-
chief from all blame, and add their opinion, "that as his
conduct, in all the preparatory arrangements, was marked
with peculiar ability and zeal, so his conduct during the
action furnished strong testimony of his coolness and
intrepidity." Judge Marshall remarks, with his usual
felicity of manner, " more satisfactory testimony, in favor
of St. Clair, is furnished by the circumstance, that he still
retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of the
President.'' We shall only allude to the successful campaign of
General Wayne. It is too well known to require more
particular notice. By dint of rigid discipline, indefatigable
exertion, and above all, a remarkable talent for Indian
warfare, he redeemed the frontier settlements from de
struction, and inflicted a heavy vengeance upon our tawny
neighbors. In reference to all these wars, it has never been suffi
ciently urged, that they were but a continuation, and a
protracted sequel to the War for Independence. For years
after the United States had been acknowledged as a nation.
Great Britain continued to hold a number of military
posts within our north-western limits, and to urge a de
structive warfare through her savage allies. Though peace
was nominally established, there was, in fact, no cessation
29

338 WITH WHOM WE FOUGHT.
of hostilities — the seat of war was only transferred to the
shores of the Ohio, and the mother country never ceased
to indulge the hope of re-uniting the severed colonies to
her empire, until the War of 1812 crushed the last vestige
of her delusive anticipations. It was against Britain
that St. Clair, Harmar, Wayne, and Harrison fought; and
they, with others who bled in the western wilds, con
tributed as much to the purchase of our independence as
those who fought for our birthright at an earlier period.
The struggle for liberty was commenced and gallantly
maintained on the shores of the Atlantic ; it was carried
on by the pioneers through long years of peril ; and was
only closed by the brilliant successes of the Last War.

ANIMOSITY AGAINST THE INDIANS. 339

CHAPTEE XXVI.
Indian hating — Some of the sources of this animosity — Brief
account of Colonel Moredock.
The violent animosity which existed between the people
of our frontier and the Indians, has long been a subject
of remark. In the early periods of the history of our
country, it was easily accounted for, on the ground of
mutual aggression. The whites were continually en
croaching upon the aborigines, and the latter avenging
their wrongs by violent and sudden hostilities. The
philanthropist is surprised, however, that such feelings
should prevail now, when these atrocious wars have ceased,
and when no immediate cause of enmity remains; at least
upon our side. Yet the fact is, that the dweller upon the
frontier continues to regard the Indian with a degree of
terror and hatred, similar to that which he feels towards
the rattlesnake or panther, and which can neither be re
moved by argument, nor appeased by any thing but the
destruction of its object.
In order to understand the cause and the operation of
these feelings, it is necessary to recollect that the back
woodsmen are a peculiar race. We allude to the pioneers,
who, keeping continually in the advance of civilization,
precede the denser population of our country in its prp-
gress westward, and live always upon the frontier. They

340 ITS CAUSES AND EFFECTS.
are the descendants of a people whose habits were identi
cally the same as their own. Their fathers were pioneers.
A passion for hunting, and a love for sylvan sports, have
induced them to recede continually before the tide of
emigration, and have kept them a separate people, whose
habits, prejudices and modes of life, have been transmitted
from father to son with but little change. From gene
ration to generation they have lived in contact with the
Indians. The ancestor met the red men in battle upon
the shores of the Atlantic, and his descendants have pur
sued the footsteps of the retreating tribes, from year to
year, throughout a whole century, and from the eastern
limits of our great continent to the wide prairies of the
West. America was settled in an age when certain rights,
called those of discovery and conquest, were universally
acknowledged ; and when the possession of a country was
readily conceded to the strongest. When more accurate
notions of moral right began, with the spread of know
ledge, and the dissemination of religious truth, to prevail
in public opinion, and regulate the public acts of our
government, the pioneers were but slightly affected by
the wholesome contagion of such opinions. Novel pre
cepts in morals were not apt to reach men who mingled'
so little with society in its more reflned state, and who
shunned the restraints, while they despised the luxuries
of social life. Men whose knowledge of history came by
tradition, who received the facts of the past without the
philosophy that was necessary to analyze them.
The pioneers, who thus dwelt ever upon the borders of
the Indian hunting-grounds, forming a barrier between
savage and civilized men, have received but few accessions
to their numbers by emigration. The great tide of emi
gration, as it rolls forward, beats upon them, and rolls

BOEDER WAEFAEE ALWAYS THE SAME. 341
them onward, without either swallowing them up in its
mass, or mingling its elements with theirs. They accumu
late by natural increase ; a few of them return occasion
ally to the bosom of society, but the great mass moves on.
It is not from a desire of conquest, or thirst of blood,
or with any premeditated hostility against the savage,
that the pioneer continues to follow him from forest to
forest, ever disputing with him the right to the soil, and
the privilege of hunting game. It is simply because he
shuns a crowded population, delights to rove uncontrolled
in the woods, and does not believe that an Indian or any
other man has a right to monopolize the hunting grounds,
which he considers free to all. When the Indian disputes
the propriety of this invasion upon his ancient heritage,
the white man feels himself injured, and stands, as the
southern folks say, upon his reserved rights.
The history of the borderers of England and Scotland,
and of all dwellers upon frontiers, who come often into
hostile collision, shows, that between such parties an in
tense hatred is created. It is national antipathy, with the
addition of private feud and personal injury. The warfare
is carried on by a few individuals, who become known
to each other, and a few prominent actors on each side
soon become distinguished for their prowess or ferocity.
When a state of public war ostensibly ceases, acts of vio
lence continue to be perpetrated from motives of mere
mischief, or for pillage or revenge.
Our pioneers have, as we have said, been born and
reared on the frontier, and have, from generation to gen
eration, by successive removals, remained in the same
relative situation in respect to the Indians and to our
own government. Every child thus reared, learns to hate
an Indian, because he always hears him spoken of as an
enemy. From the cradle, he listens continually to horrid

342 CREATES UNAVOIDABLE ILL-FEELING.
tales of savage violence, and becomes familiar with nar
ratives of aboriginal cunning and ferocity. Every family
can number some of its members or relatives among the
victims of a midnight massacre, or can tell of some ac
quaintance who has suffered a dreadful death at the stake.
Traditions of horses stolen, and cattle driven off, and
cabins burned, are numberless, told with great minute
ness, and listened to with intense interest. With per
sons thus reared, hatred towards an Indian becomes a
part of their nature, and revenge an instinctive principle.
Nor does the evil end here. Although the backwoods
men, properly so called, retire before that tide of emigra
tion which forms, the more stationary population, and
eventually fllls the country with inhabitants, they usually
remain for a time in contact with the flrst of those who
eventually succeed them, and impress their own senti
ments upon the latter. In the formation of each of the
western Territories and States, the backwoodsmen have,
for a while, formed the majority of the population, and
given the tone to public opinion.
If we attempt to reason on this subject, we must reason
with a due regard to facts, and to the known principles
of human nature. Is it to be wondered at, that a man
should fear and detest an Indian, who has been always
accustomed to hear him described only as a midnight
prowler, watching to murder the mother as she bends
over her helpless children, and tearing, with hellish ma
lignity, the babe from the maternal breast ? Is it strange,
that he whose mother has fallen under' the savage toma
hawk, or whose father has died a lingering death at the
stake, surrounded by yelling fiends in human shape,
should indulge the passion of revenge towards the perpe
trators of such atrocities? They know the story only as
it was told to them. They have only heard one side, and

PERSONAL WRONG ANOTHER CAUSE. 343
that with all the exaggerations of fear, sorrow, indigna
tion and resentment. They have heard it from the tongue
of a father, or from the lips of a mother, or a sister, ac
companied with all the particularity which the tale could
receive from the vivid impressions of an eye-witness, and
with all the eloquence of deeply awakened feeling. They
have heard it perhaps at a time when the war-whoop still
sounded in the distance, when the rifle still was kept in
preparation, and the cabin door was carefully secured with
each returning night.
Such are some of the feelings, and of the facts, which
operate upon the inhabitants of our frontiers. The im-'
pressions which we have described are handed down from
generation to generation, and remain in full force long
after all danger from the savages has ceased, and all
intercourse with them been discontinued.
Besides that general antipathy which pervades the
whole community under such circumstances, there have
been many instances of individuals who, in consequence
of some personal wrong, have vowed eternal hatred to
the whole Indian race, and have devoted nearly all of
their lives to the fulfillment of a vast scheme of vengeance.
A familiar instance ig before us in the life of a gentle
man who was known to the writer of this article, and
whose -history we have often heard repeated by those who
were intimately conversant with all the events. We
allude to the late Colonel John Moredock, who was a
member of the territorial legislature of Illinois, a distin
guished militia officer, and a man universally known and
respected by the early settlers of that region.
John Moredock was the son of a woman who was mar
ried several times, and was as ofteii widowed by the toma
hawk of the savage. Her husbands had been pioneers,
and with them she had wandered from one territory to

344 COL. JOHN MOREDOCK.
another, living always on the frontier. She was at last
left a widow, at Vincennes, with a large family of children,
and was induced to join a party about to remove to Illinois,
to which region a few American families had then re
cently removed. On the eastern side of Illinois there
were no settlements of whites; on the shore of the Mis
sissippi a few spots were occupied by the French; and it
was now that our own backwoodsmen began to turn their
eyes to this delightful country, and determined to settle
in the vicinity of the French villages. Mrs. Moredock
and her friends embarked at Vincennes in boats, with the
intention of descending the Wabash and Ohio rivers, and
ascending the Mississippi. They proceeded in safety
until they reached the Grand Tower on the Mississippi,
where, owing to the difficulty of the navigation for as
cending boats, it became necessary for the boatmen to
land, and drag their vessels round a rocky point, which
was swept by a violent current. Here a party of Indians,
lying in wait, rushed upon them, and murdered nearly the
whole party. Mrs.- Moredock was among the victims, and
all her children, except John, who was proceeding with
another party.
John Moredock was just entering upon the years of
manhood, when he was thus left in a strange land, the
sole survivor of his race. He resolved upon executing
vengeance, and immediately took measures to discover the
actual perpetrators of the massacre. It was ascertained
that the outrage was committed by a party of twenty or
thirty Indians, belonging to different tribes, who had
formed themselves into a lawless, predatory band. More-
dock watched the motions of this band for more than a
year, before an opportunity suitable for his purpose oc
curred. At length he learned that they were hunting on
the Missouri side of the river, nearly opposite to the recent

MOREDOCK HUNTS THE INDIANS. 345
settlements of the Americans. He raised a party of young
men and pursued them; but that time they escaped. Short
ly after, he sought them at the head of another party, and
had the good fortune to discover them one evening, on
an island, whither they had retired to encamp the more
securely for the night. Moredock and his friends, about
equal in numbers to the Indians, waited until the dead of
night, and then landed upon the island, turning adrift
their own canoes and those of the enemy, and determined
to sacrifice their own lives, or to exterminate the savage
band. They were completely successful. Three only of
the Indians escaped, by throwing themselves into the
river ; the rest were slain, whUe the whites lost not a
man. But Moredock was not satisfied while one of the mur
derers of his mother remained. He had learned to recog
nise the names and persons of the three that had escaped,
and these he pursued with secret, but untiring diligence)
until they all fell by his own hand. Nor was he yet
satisfied. He had now become a hunter and a warrior.
He was a square-built, inuscular man, of remarkable
strength and activity. In athletic sports he had few
equals; few men would willingly have encountered him
in single combat. He was a man of determined courage,
and. great coolness and steadiness of purpose. He was
expert in the use of the rifie and other weapons ; and was
complete master of those wonderful and numberless ex
pedients by which the woodsman subsists in the forest,
pursues the footsteps of an enemy with unerring sagacity,
or conceals himself and his design from the discovery of
a watchful foe. He had resolved never to spare an In
dian, and though he made no boast of this determination,
and seldom avowed it, it became the ruling passion of his
life. He thought it praiseworthy to kill an Indian; and

346 COL. moredock's chaeacteb.
would roam through the forest silently and alone, for days
and weeks, with this single purpose. A solitary red man,
who Was so unfortunate as to meet him in the woods, was
sure to become his victim; if he encountered a party of
the enemy, he would either secretly pursue their footsteps
until an opportunity for striking a blow occurred, or, if
discovered, would elude them by his superior skill. He
died about the year 1829, an old man, and it is supposed
never in his life failed to embrace an opportunity to kill
a savage. The reader must not infer, from this description, that
Colonel Moredock was unsocial, ferocious, or by nature
cruel. On the contrary, he was a man of warm feelings,
and excellent disposition. At home he was like other
men, conducting a large farm with industry and success,
and gaining the good-will of all his neighbors by his
popular manners and benevolent deportment. He was
cheerful, convivial, and hospitable ; and no man in the
territory was more generally known, or more universally re
spected. He was an officer in the ranging service during
the War of 1813-14, and acquitted himself with credit;
and was afterwards elected to the command of the militia
of his county, at a time when such an office was honor
able, because it imposed responsibility, and required the
exertion of military skill. Colonel Moredock was a mem
ber of the legislative council of the Territory of Illinois,
and at the formaition of the State government was spoken
of as a candidate for the office of governor, but refused
to permit his name to be used.
There are many cases to be found on the frontier,
parallel to that just stated, in which individuals have
persevered through life in the indulgence of a resent
ment founded either on a personal wrong suffered by the
party, or a hatred inherited through successive genera-

PEELING ON THE PEONTIEE. 347
tions, and perhaps more frequently on a combination of
these causes. In a fiction, written by the author, and
founded on some of these facts, he has endeavored to
develop and illustrate this feeling through its various
details.

548 FEW INDUCEMENTS TO EMIGRATION.

CHAPTEE XXVII.
Character of the Pioneers — Felons — The Harpes — Meason —
Sturdevant — Lynch' s Law.
As the western country became better known, report
spoke goldenly of its fertility; and a casual reference to
the map was sufficient to show the great commercial ad
vantages to be derived from the numerous and valuable
Streams which intersect it in every direction; but there
were many obstacles to its settlement. From a period
shortly after the Eevolution, to the time of the Embargo,
in 1807, there was no reason to induce any class of citi
zens in the United States to emigrate; all were fully and
profitably employed at home. The sanguinary wars which
spread desolation throughout the European continent, not
only opened markets for all our surplus produce, but
made us the carriers of other nations. Never did Amer
ican enterprise shine more conspicuously than in the
improvement of these advantages ; the art of ship-build
ing was brought to a perfection unknown in any other
country; our flag floated in every part of the world ; there
was no adventure, however novel or hazardous, which our
merchants did not attempt; and our sailors displayed, on
every occasion, the skill and boldness which has since
made them conspicuous in the annals of naval warfare.
Happily, too, those enterprises were generally successful.
The consequence was, that every man engaged in com-

FIEST SETTLEES A DAEING EACE. 349
mercial pursuits found sufficient employment for his capi
tal, while the laboring classes received high wages, and
the farmer had always a ready market, and an ample price
for his produce. This flourishing state of commerce and
agriculture diffused life and spirit into every rank and
department of society. There was scarcely such a thing
known, as a man laboring merely to support his family;
no one was satisfled unless he was growing rich, and few
were disappointed, except by their own improvidence. It
would be useless to point out the great statesmen and
lawyers who have attained their present eminence from
an obscure origin; or the wealthy merchants, farmers,
and mechanics, who, from the most abject poverty, have
risen to opulence. Our country is full of such examples;
and they stand as monuments of those happy days, when
industry was not only a sure but a rapid guide to wealth.
Under such circumstances, few persons were disposed
to emigrate to a new oountry; and, although some were
tempted by the great prospects of gain which the fertile
regions in the West were said to offer, many were dis
couraged by the unsettled state of the country, its reputed
unhealthiness, and the vicinity of the Indian tribes.
To Europeans, this part of America offered no attrac
tions ; it was too remote, too insulated, too barbarous,
and too entirely uncongenial with all their habits, tastes,
and feelings.
The first settlers of this country, therefore, were men
whose object was not gain, but who appeared to have been
allured by the very difficulties which discouraged others.
They were hardy, enterprising men, fond of change, and
familiar with fatigue, who seem to have thought with Fitz
James — " If a path be dangerous known
The danger's self is lure alone."

350 FIEST INSTITUTIONS.
The manners and institutions of a new people are al
ways curious — presenting the naked outlines of character,
the flrst rudiments of civilization, and all the simple ele
ments of society. In New England, the fathers contended
successfully with the savage and the climate; they made
laws, burned witches, prohibited kissing, and knocked
their beer-barrels on the head for working on the Sabbath.
They had many simple fashions and queer ways, which
have vanished with their witches and their blue-laws.
They were not so military in their habits as their proto
types in the West; because, though equally brave and en
terprising, they were more industrious, more frugal, and
less mercurial in their temperament. Eeligion was with
them a powerful spring or action, and discouraged all wars
except those of self-defence. The social and moral virtues,
the sciences and arts, were cherished and respected; and
there were many roads to office and to eminence, which
were safer and more certain, and not less honorable, than
the bloody path of warlike achievement.
Kentucky was settled at a period when religious fana
ticism had vanished, and when the principles of the revo
lution, then in full operation, had engendered liberal and
original modes of thinking — when every man was a poli
tician, a soldier, and a patriot, ready to make war or to
make laws, to put his hand to the plough or to the helm
of state, as circumstances might require. They went to a
wilderness, with all these new notions in their heads, full
of ardor and full of projects, determined to add a new
State to the family of republics, at all hazards. The rifle
and the axe were incessantly employed. The savage was
to be expelled: the panther, the wolf, and the bear, to be
exterminated; the forest to be razed; houses to be built;
and when all this was accomplished, their labors were but
commenced.

THE HAEPE8. 351
A frontier is often the retreat of loose individuals, who,
if not familiar with crime, have very blunt perceptions of
virtue. The genuine woodsman, the real pioneer, is in
dependent, brave, and upright; but as the jackal pursues
the lion to devour his leavings, the footsteps of the sturdy
hunter are closely pursued by miscreants destitute of his
noble qualities. These are the poorest and idlest of the
human race, averse to labor, and impatient of the re
straints of law and the courtesies of civilized society.
Without the ardor, the activity, the love of sport, and pa
tience of fatigue, which distinguish the bold backwoods
man, these are doomed to the forest by sheer laziness, and
hunt for a bare subsistence; they are the "cankers of a
calm world and a long peace," the helpless nobodies, who,
in a country where none starve and few beg, sleep until
hunger pinches, then stroll into the woods for a meal, and
return again to their slumbers.
A still worse class also infested our borders, desperadoes
flying from justice, suspected or convicted felons escaped
from the grasp of the law, who sought safety in the depth of
the forest, or in the infancy of civil regulations; the horse-
thief, the counterfeiter, and the robber, found here a secure
retreat, or a new theatre for the perpetration of crime.
We have spoken, in another work, of two brothers
named Harpe, who appeared in Kentucky about the year
1793, spreading death and. terror wherever they went.
Little else was known of them, but that they passed for
brothers, and came from the borders of Virginia. They
had three women with them, who were treated as their
wives, and several children, with whom they traversed
the mountainous and thinly settled parts of Virginia into
Kentucky, marking their course with blood. Their his
tory is wonderful, as well from the number and variety,
as the incredible atrocity of their adventures.

352 THEIR THIEST POE BLOOD.
Passing rapidly through the better settled parts of
Kentucky, they proceeded to the country south of Green
river,, which at that time was just beginning to be in
habited. Here they soon acquired a dreadful celebrity. Neither
avarice, want, nor any of the usual inducements to the
commission of crime, seemed to govern their conduct.
A savage thirst for blood — a deep rooted malignity against
human nature, could alone be discovered in their actions.
They murdered every defenceless being that fell in their
way, without distinction of age, sex, or color. In the
night, they stole secretly to the cabin, slaughtered its
inhabitants, and burned their dwelling — while the farmer
who left his house by day, returned to witness the dying
agonies of his wife and children, and the conflagration of
his possessions. Plunder was not their object; travelers
they robbed and murdered, but from the inhabitants they
took only what would have been freely given to them,
and no more than was immediately necessary to supply
the wants of nature ; they destroyed without having suf
fered injury, and without the prospect of gain. A negro
boy, riding to a mill with a bag of corn, was seized by
them, and his brains dashed out against a tree; but the
horse which he rode, and the grain, were left unmolested.
Females, children, and servants, no longer dared to stir
abroad; unarmed men feared to encounter a Harpe; and
the solitary hunter, as he trod the forest, looked around
him with a watchful eye, and when he saw a stranger,
picked his flint and stood on the defensive.
It seems incredible that such atrocities could have been
often repeated in a country famed for the hardihood and
gallantry of its people; in Kentucky, the cradle of cou
rage and the nurse of warriors. But that part of Ken
tucky, which was the scene of these barbarities, was then

MEASON, THE PIRATE. 353
almost a wilderness, and the rigilance of the Harpes
for a time insured impunity. The spoils of their dreadful
warfare furnished them with the means of riolence and
of escape. Mounted on fine horses, they plunged into
the forest, eluded pursuit by frequently changing their
course, and appeared, unexpectedly, to perpetrate new
enormities, at points distant from those where they were
supposed to lurk. On these occasions, they often left
their wives and children behind them ; and it is a fact
honorable to the community, that vengeance for these
bloody deeds, was not wreaked on the helpless companions
of the perpetrators.
A person named Meason was also conspicuous in the
early history of this region, as an audacious depredator.
At that period, vast regions along the shores of the Ohio
and Mississippi were still unsettled, through which boats
navigating those rivers must necessarily pass ; and the
traders who, after selling their produce at New Orleans,
attempted to return by land, had to cross immense tracts
of country totally destitute of inhabitants. Meason, who
was a man above the ordinary stamp, in talents, manners,
and stature, was both a land and a water pirate, infesting
the rivers and the woods, seldom committing murder, but
robbing all who fell in his way. Sometimes he plundered
the descending boats; but more frequently he allowed
these to pass, preferring to plunder the owners of their
money as they returned ; and pleasantly remarking that
"these people were taking produce to market for him."
At a later period, the celebrated counterfeiter, Sturde
vant, fixed his residence on the shore of the Ohio, in Illi
nois; and for several years set the laws at deflance. He
was a man of talent and address. He was possessed of
much mechanical genius, was an expert artist, and was
skilled in some of the sciences. As an engraver, he was
30

354: STURDEVANT, THE COUNTEEPEITER.
said to have few superiors ; and he excelled in some other
branches of art. For several years, he resided at a se
cluded spot in Illinois, where all his immediate neighbors
were his confederates, or persons whose friendship he had
conciliated. He could, at any time, by the blowing of a
horn, summon from flfty to a hundred armed men to his
defense; while the few quiet farmers around, who lived
near enough to get their feelings enlisted, and who were
really not at all implicated in his crimes, rejoiced in the
impunity with which he practiced his schemes. He was
a grave, quiet, inoffensive man in his manners, who com
manded the obedience of his comrades and the respect of
his neighbors. He had a very excellent farm; his house
was one of the best in the country ; his domestic arrange
ments were liberal and well ordered. Yet this man was
the most notorious counterfeiter that ever infested our
country, and carried on his nefarious art to an extent
which no other person has ever attempted. His confede
rates were scattered over the whole western country, re
ceiving, through regular channels of intercourse, their
supplies of counterfeit bank notes, for which they paid
him a stipulated price — sixteen dollars in cash for a
hundred dollars in counterfeit bills. His security arose,
partly from his caution in not allowing his subordinates
to pass a counterfeit bill, or do any other unlawful act in
the State in which he lived, and in his obliging them to
be especially careful of their deportment in the county of
his residence, measures which effectually protected him
from the civil authority; for although all the counterfeit
bank notes with which a vast region was inundated, were
made in his house, that fact could never be proved by
legal evidence. Biit he secured himself further, by having
a band of his lawless dependents settled around him, who
were ready at all times to fight in his defense ; and by

LYNCH'S LAW. 355
his conciliatory conduct, which prevented his having any
violent enemies, and even enlisted the sympathies of many
reputable people in his favor. But he became a great
nuisance, from the immense quantity of spurious paper
which he threw into circulation ; and although he never
committed any acts of violence himself, and is not known
to have sanctioned any, the unprincipled felons by whom
he was surrounded, were guilty of many acts of desperate
atrocity; and Sturdevant, though he escaped the arm of
the law, was at last, with all his confederates, driven from
the country by the enraged people, who rose, almost in
mass, to rid themselves of one whose presence they had
long considered an evil as well as a disgrace.
Among the early settlers, there was a way of trying
causes, which may, perhaps, be new to some of my
readers. No commentator has taken any notice of Lynch's
law, which was once the lex loci of the frontiers. Its
operation was as follows : When a horse-thief, a counter
feiter, or any other desperate vagabond, infested a neigh
borhood, evading justice by cunning, or by a strong arm,
or by the number of his confederates, the citizens formed
Ihemselves into a "regulating company," a kind of holy
brotherhood, whose duty it was to purge the community
of its unruly members. Mounted, armed, and commanded
by a leader, they proceeded to arrest such notorious of
fenders as were deemed fit subjects of exemplary justice;
their operations were generally carried on in the night.
Squire Birch, who was personated by one of the party,
established his tribunal under a tree in the woods; the
culprit was brought before him, tried, and generally con
victed; he was then tied to a tree, lashed without mercy,
and ordered to leave the country within a given time,
under pain of a second visitation. It seldom happened,
that more than one or two were thus punished ; their

356 ITS OPERATION SALUTARY.
confederates took the hint and fled, or were admonished
to quit the neighborhood. Neither the justice nor the
policy of this practice can be defended; but it was often
resorted to from necessity, and its operation was salutary,
in ridding the country of miscreants whom the law was
not strong enough to punish. It was liable to abuse, and
was sometimes abused ; but, in general, it was conducted
with moderation, and only exerted upon the basest and
most lawless men. Sometimes the sufferers resorted to
courts of justice for remuneration, and there have been
instances of heavy damages being recovered of the regu
lators. Whenever a county became strong enough to
enforce the laws, these high-handed doings ceased to be
tolerated.

INTERESTING SKETCH. 357

CHAPTEE XXVIII.

THE PATRIOT'S GKAVE.

The following sketch, which appeared originally in the
"Illinois Monthly Magazine," was written for that work
by a friend of mine, then a young lawyer, but since a dis
tinguished member of the bench and bar in Indiana.
" In the year 1810, business called me into the lower
part of the State of Kentucky ; that part which lies south
of Green river, and which, at that time, was but little
advanced in improvement or population. One day — and
a very hot day it was — the rapid approach of a thunder
storm induced me to rein up my steed at a log tavern
in the little town of — ¦  . Though a stranger in the
country, I could at once discover, by the ' signs,' that
something more than common was going on in the vil
lage. A large number of people were crowded round the
door of the inn. Horses of all sizes, colors, and con
ditions, whose equipments were as various as themselves,
were tied to the branches of the forest trees that still
grew upon the public square. The occasional discharge
of a rifle, indicated that some of the company were ' cut
ting the center,' for half-pints; while others, who had
' the best quarter nags in all Kentuck,' were prancing
them up and down the streets. The conversation of those
around me induced me to believe, that the court was hold-

358 A COURT HOUSE.
ing its usual session in this seat of backwoods justice ;
and had a doubt remained, the stentorian voice of the
sheriff, issuing from the door of a log school-house, with
the usual 'Oh yes! oh yes! oh yesl' must have satis
fied me that a general settlement of the rights of meum
and tuum was about to take place. I felt a curiosity to
witness this scene : and having disposed of my portion
of corn-bread and bacon, which I found at a table sur
rounded by a promiscuous throng of jurors, witnesses,
suitors, lawyers, indictees, spectators, and county oflScers,
I concluded to spend the little time I had to remain, in
personally viewing the dispensation of justice in so rude
a temple. "The house was of a single story, built of logs, unhewed.
The judge was elevated on a small plank frame, a little
raised above the puncheon floor. The clerk was placed at
a small table, directly before him. The members of the
bar were seated around on temporary benches, made of
rough planks, placed upon blocks of wood; but could not
be distinguished, by their appearance, from the people who
sat with, or stood around them. The usual forms and
ceremonies of opening a court were gone through with
a celerity and precision that would have astonished a
Westminster lawyer. ***** The first case on
the civil docket was an action of slander, brought by a
father — an old soldier and an early settler — as 'guardian
and next friend,' for words 'falsely and maliciously ut
tered, published,, and spoken,' by the defendant, 'of and
concerning' the plaintiff's daughter, a lovely girl of about
seventeen. On the calling of the cause, a person's name
was mentioned which I did not distinctly hear ; there was
a bustle in the crowd; and after a few minutes of pushino-
and elbowing, an individual appeared, who announced that
he was ready to proceed, as counsel for the plaintiff. He

A BACKWOODS' TRIAL. 359
was a tall, athletic man, of about thirty-five years of
age with a fine, manly, intelligent countenance — dressed
in a hunting shirt of deep blue, trimmed with yellow
fringe. His face bore those indubitable marks of genius,
and those traces of study and reflection, which can not
be mistaken ; while his fine form bore evidence, equally
strong, of habitual- fatigue and exposure to the elements.
I pass over the incidents of the trial — the evidence, which
fully sustained the plaintiff, and left the pretty client of
the buckskin lawyer pure and spotless as the driven
snow — and several speeches, which, though strong and
forcible, did not strike me as extraordinary. During all
this, the manner of the stranger in the hunting shirt
was distinguished by little else than an appearance of
indifference; but when he rose to make the concluding
address to the jury, every eye was fixed on him ; while
the deep silence, the suppressed breathing, and the eager
looks of the audience, attested that a sense of the presence
of a superior mind pervaded the whole assembly. Even
that rough and miscellaneous crowd — composed of men,
some sober, some half sober, and some not sober at all —
was at once awed into silence. The orator commenced
in a low tone of voice, and recapitulated the evidence
in a style of colloquial brevity and plainness ; yet even
in doing this, there was a something about him'* that con
vinced the spectator that he was more than an ordinary
man. But when he began to warm, and rise with his
subject; when the fire began to illumine his eye, and his
voice swelled out into its fullest tones; when every sen
tence was filled and rounded with rich thought and richer
language; when argument and satire, persuasion and in
vective, burst from him in rapid succession, the orator
stood confessed in all his powers. He spoke of the
beauty, the delicacy, and the amiability of his fair client;

360 AN ORATOR.
of the helplessness of woman, and the sacredness of
female character; he described her parent as an aged war
rior, now trembling on the brink of the grave; and of
the traducer he spoke — I can not tell how — but all who
heard him shrunk and trembled under the fierce, the
bitter, the overwhelming philippic of the indignant ad
vocate. When he finished, the success of his effort was
shown by a triumphant verdict from the jury, and by
the indignation, the tears, and the acclamations of the
audience, who rushed from the house, when the orator
sat down, as if unable to suppress their feelings. I fol
lowed them out. The charm was broken ; the people had
resumed the use of their own faculties, and were now col
lected in groups. Passing a little party, I heard one say:
" 'Did you ever hear a fellow get such a skinning?'
" ' It was equal to any camphire,' remarked another.
" ' That 's true ; and well he deserved it,' added a third,
'there 's no .two ways about it.'
" ' Can you tell me,' said I, addressing one of them,
who leaned on his gun, while he wiped his eye with the
fringe of his hunting shirt, ' can you tell me the name
of the gentleman who has just spoken?'
" ' You are not a residenter in these parts, I reckon ;'
said he of the rifle.
" ' I am a perfect stranger;' replied I.
"' That is well seen,' rejoined the hunter, 'otherwise you
would never have asked that question. What man in all
Kentuck could ever have h-ung tears into my eyes by the
tin-full, but Joe Davies ! '
" I had seen, in the guise of a hunter, the highly gifted
Joseph Hamilton Davies — and had heard, in the obscurity
of a log cabin, one of the choicest efforts of a man who
has seldom been excelled in genius, in generosity of
teart, or manliness of character.

THE BATTLE-FIELD. 361
"Ten years afterwards, business again called me to the
West. Anxious to riew the improvement of this pro
mising country, I extended my journey to the beautiful
valley of the Wabash. At that period, the population
had not extended a great distance up the river. Here
and there, even as far up as the mouth of Mississinaway,
was seen the log hut of the settler on public land, but
the country was generally but thinly populated. It was
the spring season ; and no country in the world presents
a richer scenery or more diversifled landscape than the
valley of that lovely river at this period of the year.
Along the path which I pursued, one small prairie skirted
with the finest timber, and covered with a profusion of
beautiful flowers, succeeded another ; and the eye was
continually refreshed with the graceful stream and its
clear waters. The richness of the grass, the beauty of
the forest, the mildness and brilliancy of the spring
weather, and the enchantment of the whole scene, induced
me to linger for a time in the wilderness. One evening
I reached the cabin of one of the most remote settlers,
and learning that the battle-ground of Tippecanoe was
but a few miles distant, determined to visit it. On the
following morning early, I reached the spot, consecrated
by the valor of our countrymen, and haring tied my
horse to a bush at the skirt of the prairie, ascended to a
small plain of table land, in the form of a horseshoe,
where ' Many a valorous deed was done.
And many a head laid low. '
But few vestiges of the battle were remaining. Here
and there, the bleached skull of some noble fellow lay
on the grass ; and more than once I stumbled over the
logs which had formed part of the temporary breast-work
thrown up after the battle, and which have since been
31

362 THE GRAVE.
scattered over the field. At an angle of the encampment,
and where the carnage had been greatest, was a slight
mound of earth, scarcely raised above the surrounding
surface. Near it stood an oak tree, on the back of which
the letters J. D. were rudely carved. This was the only
memorial of one of the most favorite of Kentucky's sons;
for under that mound reposed all that remained of the
chivalrous, the generous, the eloquent, and highly gifted
' Joe Davies.' " INDIANA."
Joseph Hamilton Davies was a very remarkable person,
an able lawyer, a speaker of impressive eloquence, a high-
toned, chivalrous, impulsive, but eccentric man. He some
times rode the circuit in his carriage, or on horseback,
and was the best dressed gentleman in court; while some
times he went, rifie in hand, clad as a hunter, deviating
from his way in pursuit of game, and appearing at the bar
in the soiled habiliments of the sportsman ; but whether
in the forest, or at the bar, following up his objects with
an earnestness which was satisfied with nothing short of
success. He served as a volunteer under General Harrison, in
the campaign of 1811 against the Indians, and fell, gal
lantly fighting, in the battle of Tippecanoe.
He was one of a clique of gentlemen who established
and supported a newspaper called the " Western World,"
during the excitement occasioned by the foreign intrigues,
and by Burr's conspiracy, one of the avowed objects of
which was to expose those transactions, and to denounce
the individuals supposed to be engaged in them. The
paper was conducted with ability and spirit, but was dis
tinguished, as the organ of a party would naturally be- in
such times, by violence and rancor ; and the principal
editor, Joseph M. Street, was often obliged to sustain

THE WESTERN WORLD. 363
his position by his physical prowess. His partner, Mr.
Wood, when called upon for satisfaction, used to say, " Go
to Mr. Street; I print the paper, he does the fighting."
Daries was, I think, during a part of this time, the
attorney of the United States, and his natural ardor of
temperament was quickened by professional ambition. A
characteristic instance is related of his zeal in this busi
ness. A rumor having reached him, that General WU
kinson, who was then holding a military command at
St. Louis, contemplated a movement in aid of Burr, he
determined to repair to St. Louis, incog., to observe for
himself what was going on. Informing no one of his
intention, he set out, rifle in hand, dressed as a common
backwoodsman, and took his solitary way across the wil
derness of Indiana and Illinois, where, probably, not a
human dwelling was to be found on his route. He de
pended on his gun for subsistence, and slept at night in
such camps as he could construct for the occasion. On
reaching St. Louis, one of the flrst persons he met was
Wilkinson, a keen, watchful, observant man, who instantly
recognized him, notwithstanding his disguise, and with
the address natural to him, accosted him by name, and
invited him to dine with him at his quarters. Both were
men of tact, and the interview was courteous, and appa
rently cordial; but Wilkinson managed to inform his
guest that the purpose of his visit was understood, that
he had nothing to conceal, and there was nothing that
even the sagacity of his visitor could discover. So Davies
came back as wise as he went; yet, it was afterwards
argued, as a proof of the complicity of Wilkinson with
Burr, that the movements of Davies must have been
watched, and betrayed to him.
After these events — some years perhaps — Wilkinson
was provoked, by the repeated and confident attacks of

364 AN ANECDOTE.
the "Western World," to prosecute the editors for a libel.
On the trial, a gentleman of the neighborhood of Lex
ington, a young farmer, was called as a witness for the
defense, who objected to being sworn, on the ground, that
he knew nothing but what had been committed to him in
confidence. General Wilkinson arose instantly, and after
complimenting the witness on his nice sense of honor,
and the good faith with which he had, up to this time,
kept his own counsel, in reference to what had been
confided to him, said that he now publicly absolved him
from all further observance of the pledge he had given,
and that he was at liberty then, and thereafter, to disclose
all that had taken place between them. The witness was
then sworn, and deposed, that some time previous, being
a young man, not yet engaged in business, but eager for
employment, 'and especially for something active and ad
venturous, he one day met General Wilkinson in the
streets of Lexington. They were unacquainted, but knew
each other by sight, and Wilkinson accosting the young
man by name, asked him if he would undertake a mis
sion of some danger, but for which he would be well com
pensated. Eeplying in the affirmative, he was pledged to
secresy, and invited to a private interview; at which Wil
kinson handed him a belt, that seemed to contain papers,
to be worn concealed about his person, and guarded with
great care, which he was 'to take to New Orleans, and de
liver to the Governor of Louisiana. Accepting the trust,
he proceeded to the Ohio river, embarked in a canoe, or
skiff, and glided down the Ohio and Mississippi, whose
shores were then mostly uninhabiied by white men, and
were infested by Indians. On his arrival at New Orleans
he sought the mansion of the Governor, and announcing
himself as the messenger of Wilkinson, was at once ad
mitted to the presence of that dignitary. He was received

A LEGISLATIVE SCENE. 365
-with civility, lodged in the Governor's house, hospitably
entertained, but not allowed to leave his room, during his
stay in New Orleans. After a few days detention, his belt
was restored to him, again charged, as he supposed, with
papers, to be delivered to General Wilkinson, which he
did not see, and of the purport of which he was wholly
ignorant. He returned through the wilderness to Ken
tucky, met Wilkinson again, in a private interriew, and
delivered up his trust. They had not spoken together
since. I shall close this desultory chapter with a reminiscence.
About the year 1829, the discovery of rich and extensive
lead mines in the north-western part of Illinois, beyond
the frontier of the settlements, caused a sudden influx of
population into that region, and created a necessity for
the organization of a new county. A bill was introduced
into the Lower House of the Legislature, for an act cre
ating a county to be called Daries. A young lawyer,
from one of the Eastern States, a member of the House,
who was gifted with a great love of speaking and facility
of speech, expressed a curiosity to know who this "Davies"
was, who had been honored so highly by the committee
which reported that bill; he had never heard of a great
man of that name; and thought it would be much better
to select the name of some illustrious sage or hero of the
Eevolution ; throwing in, as he went along, some sneers
about " Western great men," whose fame was conflned to
the backwoods. My old friend, John Eeynolds, who had
been a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, was then a
member of the House, and was afterwards Governor, and
member of Congress, had charge of the bill. He was a
Kentuckian by birth; a good lawyer; a plain, unpolished
man ; a quaint, original, and effective speaker, who, with
the most perfect command of his own temper, could pour

366 A COUNTY NAMED.
out a vein of dry humor and sarcasm, very amusing to an
audience, though little relished by an opponent. He re
plied that his young friend must have been raised very
far down East, to be ignorant of the fame of Joe Davies;
the whole West had rung his praise; in Kentucky there
was not a boy big enough to hold a plough, or carry a
rifle, nor an old woman who was smdrt enough to knit a
stocking, who had not heard of Joe Davies — the talented,
the eloquent, the brave Joe Davies ! And so he went on,
saying a good many amusing, and some severe things;
but alluding throughout to his hero as Joe Davies.
Amid much merriment, the member who had provoked
these remarks, replied: "Well, Mr. Speaker, if the gentle
man is so partial to the name of Joe Davies, and thinks
it so vastly popular, why does he not christen his bant
ling by that name — the whole name?" "Agreed!" said
Eeynolds. "Mr. Speaker, I accept the gentleman's sug
gestion, and move to insert Joe before the word Davies,
wherever it occurs." A dozen voices seconded the
motion ; the county was called Jo-Davies by acclamation,
and still retains the name.

APPENDIX.

MEETING OP THE PROPRIETORS OF TRANSYLVANIA.
At a meeting of the proprietors of Transylvania, held
at Oxford, in the county of Granville, on Monday, the
twenty-fifth day of September, Ann. Dom. 1775,
Present, Col. Eichard Henderson, Col. Thomas Hart,
Col. John Williams, Capt. John Luttrell, William John
ston, Jaines Hogg, and Leonard H. Bullock. Col. Hen
derson being unanimously chosen president, they took
into their consideration the present state of the said
Colony, and made the following resolves, viz. : — -
Resolved, That Col. John Williams be appointed agent
for the Transylvania Company, to transact their business
in the said Colony; and he is accordingly invested with
full power, by letter of attorney.
Ordered, that Mr. Williams shall proceed to Boons-
borough, in the said Colony, as soon as possible, and con
tinue there until the twelfth day of April next: and to be
allowed for his , services one hundred and fifty pounds,
proclamation money of North Carolina, out of the profits
arising from the sale of lands, after discharging the com
pany's present engagements.
N. B. In case the settlement should be broken up by
attack of Indians or other enemies, so as to render it im
possible for Mr. Williams to continue there and execute
the trust reposed in him, it is agreed by the Company (367)

368 APPENDIX.
that he shall still be paid the above salary, at the expira
tion of three years.
Resolved, That Mr. Williams be empowered to appoint
one or more surveyors (and the other officers in the land
office) for the said Colony, as he may find necessary.
Clerks, surveyors, and chain-carriers, to be sworn before
they act.
Resolved, In case of the death or removal of Mr. Wil
liams, that Col. Eichard Henderson, Capt. Nathaniel Hart,
and Capt. John Luttrell, or any one of them, be, and are
hereby declared agents for the said company, with the
same powers as are given to Mr. Williams, until a new
appointment shall be made by the proprietors.
Resolved, That the agent shall not grant any lands ad
joining salt springs, gold, silver, copper, lead, or sulphur
mines, knowing them to be such.
Resolved, That a reservation, to the proprietors, of one-
half of all gold, silver, copper, lead, and sulphur mines,
shall be made by the agent at granting deeds.
. Resolved, That the agent shall take a counterpart of all
deeds granted by him, and shall transmit them to the
proprietors residing in the province of North Carolina, to
be audited with his other proceedings, by the company.
Resolved, That all surveys shall be made by the four
cardinal points, except where rivers or mountains so in
tervene as to render it too inconvenient: and that in all
cases where one survey comes within the distance of eighty
poles from another, their lines shall join without excep
tion ;
And that every survey on navigable rivers shall extend
two poles out for one pole along the river ;
And that each survey not on navigable rivers shall not
be above one-third longer than its width ;
Resolved, That a present of two thousand acres of land

APPENDIX. 369
be made to Col. Daniel Boone, with the thanks of the
proprietors for the signal services he has rendered to the
company. Resolved, That the thanks of this company be pre
sented to Col. Eichard Callaway, for his spirited and
manly behaviour in behalf of the said Colony : and that
a present of six hundred and forty acres of land be made
to his youngest son.
Resolved, That James Hogg, Esq., be appointed dele
gate to represent the said Colony in the Continental
Congress now sitting at Philadelphia ; and that the fol
lowing memorial be presented by him to that august
body. To the Honorable the Continental Congress no'm sitting at
Philadelphia.
The memorial of Eichard Henderson, Thomas Hart, John
Williams, Nathaniel Hart, John Luttrell, William
Johnston, James Hogg, David Hart, and Leonard
Henly Bullock, proprietors of Transylvania,
Sheweth, That on the seventeenth day of March last, for a large
and valuable consideration, your memorialists obtained
from the Cherokee Indians assembled at Watauga, a grant
of a considerable territory, now called Transylvania, lying
on the south side of the river Ohio.
They will not trouble the honorable Congress with a
detail of the risks and dangers to which they have been
exposed, arising from the nature of the enterprise itself,
as well as from the wicked attempts of certain governors
and their emissaries; they beg leave only to acquaint
them, that through difficulties and dangers, at a great
expense, and with the blood of several of their follow
ers, they have laid the foundation of a Colony, which,

370 APPENDIX.
however mean in its origin, will, if one may guess from
present appearances, be one day considerable in America.
The memorialists having made this purchase from the
aborigines- and immemorial possessors, the sole and uncon
tested owners of the country, in fair and open treaty,
and without the violation of any British or American law
¦whatever, are determined to give it up only with their
lives. And though their country be far removed from
the reach of ministerial usurpation, yet they cannot look
with indifference on the late arbitrary proceedings of the
British Parliament. If the united Colonies are reduced,
or will tamely submit to be slaves, Transylvania will have
reason to fear.
The memorialists by no means forget their allegiance
to their sovereign, whose constitutional rights and pre
eminences they will support at the risk of their lives.
They flatter themselves that the addition of a new Colony,
in so fair and equitable a way, and without any expense
to the crown, will be acceptable to his most gracious
majesty, and that Transylvania will soon be worthy of
his royal regard and protection.
At the same time, having their hearts warmed with the
same noble spirit that animates the united Colonies, and
moved with indignation at the late ministerial and parlia
mentary usurpations, it is the earnest wish of the pro
prietors of Transylvania to be considered by the Colonies
as brethren, engaged in the same great cause of liberty
and of mankind. And, as by reason of several circum
stances, needless to be here mentioned, it was impossible
for the proprietors to call a convention of the settlers in
such time as to have their concurrence laid before this
Congress, they here pledge themselves for them, that
they will concur in the measures now adopted by the
proprietors.

APPENDIX. 371
From the generous plan of liberty adopted by the Con
gress, and that noble love of mankind which appears in
all their proceedings, the memorialists please themselves
that the united Colonies will take the infant Colony of
Transylvania into their protection ; and they, in return,
will do every thing in their power, and give such assist
ance in the general cause of America, as the Congress
shall judge to be suitable to their abilities.
Therefore, the memorialists hope and earnestly request,
that Transylvania may be added to the number of the
united Colonies, and that James Hogg, Esq., be received
as their delegate, and admitted to a seat in the honorable
the Continental Congress.
By order of the Proprietors.
Signed, Eichd. Henderson, President.
Resolved, That Mr. Hogg be empowered to treat and
contract with any person or persons who may incline to
purchase lands from the company, and that he be allowed
his expenses for transacting the above business.
Resolved, That the united thanks of this company
be presented to Colo. Eichard Henderson, Captain Na
thaniel Hart, and Captain John Luttrell, for their emi
nent services and public spirited conduct, in settling the
aforesaid Colony.
Resolved, That from this time to the flrst day of June,
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, the lands
in the said Colony shall be sold on the following terms :
No survey of land shall contain more than six hundred
and forty acres, (except in particular cases,) and the
purchaser shall pay for entry and warrant of survey two
dollars; for surveying the same, and a plot thereof, four
dollars; and for the deed and plot annexed, two dollars.
And also shall pay to the said proprietors, their agent.

372 APPENDIX.
or receiver for the time being, at the time of receiving a
deed, two pounds ten shilling, sterling for each hundred
acres contained in such deed; also, an annual quit-rent of
two shillings, like money, for every hundred acres, com
mencing in the year one thousand seven hundred and
eighty. And that any person who settles on the said lands
before the flrst day of June, one thousand seven hundred
and seventy-six, shall have the priviledge, on the afore
said conditions, of taking up for himself any quantity not
above six hundred and forty acres; and for each taxable
person he may take with him, and settle there, three
hundred and twenty acres, and no more.
Resolved, That Colo. Eichard Henderson survey and
lay off, within the said Colony, in such places and in
such quantities as he shall think proper, not less than
two hundred thousand acres, hereafter to be equally
divided amongst the copartners, or their representatives,
according to their rateable part, (as fully set forth in the
articles of agreement entered into by the copartners,)
and that each copartner be permitted, by himself or his
deputy, to make choice of, and survey in one or more
places, any quantity of vacant land in the aforesaid
Colony, for his or their particular use; but not above
two thousand acres, and that agreeable to the aforesaid
rateable proportions, unless on the same terms, and under
the same regulations and restrictions, as laid down for
other purchasers.
Resolved, That not more than five thousand acres shall
be sold to any one person who does not immediately
settle on the said lands; and that at three pounds ten
shillings sterling per hundred, and not more than one
hundred thousand acres in the whole on these terms.
Resolved, That the agent deliver what money he may

APPENDIX. 373
have received for the sale of land to Colo. Thomas Hart
when he leaves the said Colony, and that Colo. Hart,
pay what money may be due from the company to
the people at Watauga on his return ; and that the re
mainder be applyed to the payment of the company's
other debts. Also, that the agent take the first safe op
portunity of remitting what further sums he may receive
thereafter to William Johnston, treasurer, to be by him
applyed towards paying off the company's debts.
Resolved, That William Johnston be impowered to bar
gain and contract with any persons inclining to purchase
lands in the said Colony.
Ordered, That Mr. Johnston do, in behalf of the pro
prietors, accommodate Mr. Peter Hay, merchant, (at Cross
Creek, Cumberland County, North Carolina,) with a
present of one thousand acres of land in the said Colony,
for his friendly behaviour towards the company; or, in
lieu thereof, that Mr. Hay be permitted to purchase ten
thousand acres, without being obliged to settle the same,
at two pounds ten shillings sterling per hundred acres,
subject to office fees and quit-rents.
Resolved, That a present of six hundred and forty acres
of land be made to the Eeverend Mr. Henry Patillo, on
condition that he will settle in the said Colony.
Resolved, That the agent duly attend to the above re
solves, unless when the interest of the company makes
the contrary necessary.
By order of the Proprietors. Eichd. Henderson, Prest.

Silas Deane io James Hogg, November, 1775.
At the time of granting the New England charters, the
crown of Great Britain had no idea of any real interest

374 APPENDIX.
or property in the American lands. The pope, as vicar of
Christ, pretended, very early, to have an absolute right,
in fee simple, to the earth and all that was therein ; but
more particularly to the countries and persons of heretics,
which he constantly gave away among his favourites.
When the crown of Great Britain threw off its submis
sion to the pope, or, in other words, by setting itself at
the head of the Church, became pope of Great Britain,
this old, whimsically arrogant nation was, in degree, re
strained; and Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1579, most
graciously gave to Sir Walter Ealeigh all North America,
from the latitude 34"^ north, to 48° north; and extend
ing west, to the great Pacific ocean ; to which immense
territory she had no more right or title than she had to
the empire of China. On Sir Walter's attainder, this was
supposed to revert to the crown, and, in 1606, James I.,
in consequence of the same principle, granted the south
part of the above, to a company then called the London
Company; and, in 1620, granted the northernmost part
to a company called the Plymouth Company, containing
within its bounds all the lands from 40° to 45° north
latitude, and west to the South Seas. This company
granted, in 1631, to certain persons, that tract described
in this charter, which you will see was very liberal, and
rendered them (as in reality they were) independent of
the crown for holding their lands ; they having, at their
own expense, purchased or conquered them from the
natives, the original and sole owners.
The settlement of Connecticut began in 1634, when
they came into a voluntary compact of government, and
governed under it, until their charter, in 1662, without
any difficulty. They were never fond of making many
laws; nor is it good policy in any state, but the worst of
all in a new one. The laws, or similar ones to those

APPENDIX. 375
which I have turned down to, are necessary in a new
colony, in which the highest wisdom is to increase, as
fast as possible, the inhabitants, and at the same time to
regulate them well.
The first is to secure the general and unalienable rights
of man to the settlers : -without this, no inhabitants, worth
haring, -will adventure. This, therefore, requires the
closest and earliest attention.
Next to this, is the mode or rule by which ciril actions
may be brought, or the surest ways and means by which
every individual may obtain his right.
Then a prorision for the safety of the community
against high-handed offenders, house-breakers, &c.
There are two ways of regulating a community ; one by
correcting every offender, and the other to prevent the
offence itself; to effect the latter, education must be at
tended to as a matter of more importance than all the
laws which can be framed, as it is better to be able to
prevent, than after, to correct a disease.
Peace officers will be necessary, and these ought to be
chosen by the people, for the people are more engaged to
support an officer of their own in the execution of his
trust, than they will ever be in supporting one forced
upon them.
Some regulation of civil courts ought early to be made ;
the most simple and least expensive is best; an honest
judge will support his dignity without a large salary, and
a dishonest one can have no real dignity at any rate.
The General Assembly must be the supreme fountain of
power in such a state, in constituting which every free
man ought to have his voice. The elections should be
frequent, at least annually ; and to this body every officer
ought to be amenable for his conduct.
Every impediment in the way of increase of people

376 APPENDIX.
should be removed — of course, marriage must be made
easy. Overgrown estates are generally the consequence of
an unequal division of interest, left by a subject at his
decease. This is prevented by an equal or nearly equal
right of inheritance. This has taken place in all the
N. England colonies, and in Pennsylvania, to their great
emolument. All fees of office ought to be stated and known, and
they should be stated as low as possible.
Some crimes are so dangerous in their tendency, that
capital punishments are necessary ; the fewer of these,
consistent with the safety of the state, the better.
There ought to be some terms on which a man becomes
free of the community. They should be easy and simple;
and every one encouraged to qualify himself in character
and interest to comply with them ; and these terms should
be calculated to bind the person in the strongest manner,
and engage him in its interest.
A new colony, in the first place, should be divided into
small townships or districts, each of which ought to be
impowered to regulate their own internal affairs ; and to
have and enjoy every liberty and privilege not inconsis
tent with the good of the whole.
Tenure of lands is a capital object, and so is the mode
of taking out grants for, and laying them out. If indi
viduals are permitted' to engross large tracts, and lay
tl'em out as they please, the population of the country
will be retarded.
Precarious must be the possession of the finest country
in the world, if the inhabitants have not the means and
skill of defending it. A militia regulation must, there
fore, in all prudent policy, be one of the -first.
Though entire liberty of conscience ought every-where

APPENDIX. 377
to be allowed, yet the keeping up among a people, a
regular and stated course of divine worship, has such
beneficial effects, that the encouragement thereof deserves
the particular attention of the magistrate.
Forms of oaths are ever best, as they are concise, and
carry with them a solemn simplicity of appeal to the
Divine Being ; and to preserve their force, care should be
had to avoid too frequent a repetition of them, and on
ordinary occasions.
The preservation of the peace, being the capital object
of government, no man should be permitted, on any
occasion, to be the avenger of the wrongs he has, or con
ceives he has, received; but if possible, every one should
be brought to submit to the decision of the law of the
country in every private as well as public injury.
Providing for the poor is an act of humanity ; but to
prevent their being numerous and burthensome to the
society, is at once humane and an act of the highest and
soundest policy; and to effect it, the education of chil
dren, and the manners of the lower orders, are constantly
to be attended to.
As, in a well ordered government, every one's person
and property should be equally secure, so each should
pay equally, or on the same scale, for the expenses in
supporting the same.
In a new and wild country, it will be deemed, perhaps,
impossible to erect schools; but the consequences are so
great and lasting, that every difficulty ought to be en
countered rather than give up so necessary, so important
an institution. A school will secure the morals and man
ners, and, at the same time, tend to collect people together
in society, and promote and preserve civilization.
The throwing a country into towns, and allowing these
towns particular privileges, like corporations, in England
32

378 APPENDIX.
or America, tends to unite the people, and as in the least
family there is, generally, the best economy, so these
towns will conduct the , internal and domestic prudentials
better than larger bodies, and give strength, soundness
and solidity to the basis of the state.
Sir, — You have, in the foregoing, the outlines of the
policy of the Connecticut government, in as concise a view
as I could ; the great and leading principles of which will,
I conceive, apply to any new state; and the sooner they
are applied the better it will be for the health and pros
perity of the rising community.
An equal and certain security of life, liberty and prop
erty; an equal share in the rights of legislation, and an
equal distribution of the benefits, resulting from society ;
with an early attention to the principles, morals and
manners of the whole, are the great first principles of a
good government, and these well fixed, lesser matters will
easily and advantageously adjust, as I may say, them
selves. I am far from thinking our system is entirely fit
for you, in every point. It has grown up and enlarged
itself, as we have grown. Its principal features are worth
your attending to; and, if I had leisure, would point out,
more particularly, which part I think you might adopt
immediately, what additions are necessary, and why some
parts should be rejected. But I will, if possible, give you,
after your perusal of this, the general heads of what,
from my little reading and observation, I think to be the
most simple, and, consequently, the best plan of govern
ment. I am. Sir, yours,
S. DEANE.
Thursday morning, 2d Nov. 1775.
Two laws, I see, I have run over without noting upon :
the one is, for punishing vagabonds, by setting them to

APPENDIX. 379
hard labour. The other, for the punishment of theft, which
you may think too light, but I think too severe; or, in
other words, I would avoid infamous punishments, such as
cropping, branding, whipping, &c., and substitute hard
labsiur m their stead.

COPT OP A LETTEK TO PATKICK HENRY.
Hillsborov.gh, April 26tJi, 1775.
Sir, — The late meeting of the delegates, from the seve
ral counties, cities, and boroughs, in his majesty's antient
Colony and Dominion of Virginia, at Eichmond, was an
event which raised the expectations and attracted the at
tention of the whole British America, as well on account
of the acknowledged wisdom and public integrity of the
delegates, as the important and interesting purposes of
that numerous and respectable Convention. The copart
ners in the purchase of lands, on Louisa, from the Indians,
neither intending by their distant and hazardous enter
prize, to revolt from their allegiance to their sovereign,
nor yet to desert the grand and common cause of their
American brethren and fellow subjects, in their manly and
glorious struggle for the full enjoyment of the natural
rights of' mankind, and the inestimable liberties and privi-
ledges of our happy constitution, were anxious to know
the result of the wise and mature deliberations of the
Convention, and particular in their enquiries concerning
the several matters which became the subject of consider
ation in that august assembly. It was not long before we
learnt the particulars from some of the members, and that
the minute circumstances of our contract with the Chero
kee Indians had occasionally been moved and debated.
The true point of view in which, we are told, you, with

380 APPENDIX.
sevetal other gentlemen, conceived the nature of the con
tract, ^nd the eloquence and good sense with which you
defended, and the liberal principles on which you sup
ported our claim to the benefit of our engagement with
the Indians, in addition to the universal applause of the
whole continent, for your noble and patriotick exertions,
give you an especial claim to our particular acknowledge
ments, of which we take this earliest opportunity of beg
ging your acceptance. It would. Sir, have afforded us the
most singular satisfaction to have had it in our power to
give you a more substantial evidence of our gratitude.
Yet we conceive the generous disinterestedness of your
principles and publick conduct to be such, that even
our thanks may be more than you expected or wished
for. We hope, however, that our wishes to make known
our gratitude to you, will be considered as a sufficient
apology for our having given you the trouble of this
letter. Convinced that our purchase is neither against the laws
of our country, nor the principles of natural justice and
equity, and conscious to ourselves of the uprightness of
our intentions, we totally disregard the reproaches thrown
out against us by ill-informed or envious and interested
persons; and now encouraged by the approbation of the
respectable Provincial Congress of Virginia, we shall
hereafter pursue with eagerness what we at first adopted
with caution.
We beg that you will pardon the length of this letter,
and that you will do us the honor to believe, that we
are, with the highest sense of gratitude for the part
you have taken in favor of our hazardous enterprise, and
with the greatest respect and esteem for your eminent
and distinguished character and reputation, among the

APPENDIX. 381
vigilant guardians and illustrious patrons of American
liberty. Sir, your most obliged and
Very mo. devoted h'ble serv'ts,
Signed, Eichd. Henderson,
Thos. Hart,
John Williams,
James Hogg,
Nathl. Hart,
DAvp Haet,
Lend. H. Bullock,
John Lutteel,
Wm. Johnston.
To Patrick Henry, Esqr.
Hanover County, Virginia.
N. B. a copy of the above letter sent to Thos. Jeffer
son, Esqr., Virginia.

To the Honorable the Convention of Virginia :
The petition of the inhabitants, and some of the intended
settlers of that part of North America, now denomi
nated Transylvania, humbly sheweth :
Whereas some of your petitioners became adventurers
in that country from the advantageous reports of their
friends who first explored it, and others since allured by
the specious shew of the easy terms on which the land
was to be purchased from those who stile themselves pro
prietors, have, at a great expense, and many hardships,
settled there, under the faith of holding the lands by an

382 APPENDIX.
indefeasible title, which those gentlemen assured them
they were capable of making. But your petitioners have
been greatly alarmed at the late conduct of those gentle
men, in advancing the price of the purchase money from
twenty shillings to fifty shillings sterling, per hundred
acres, and at the same time have increased the fees of
entry and surveying to a most exorbitant rate; and, by
the short period prefixed for taking up the lands, even
on those extravagant terms, they plainly evince their
intentions of rising in their demands as the settlers in
crease, or their insatiable avarice shall dictate. And
your petitioners have been more justly alarmed at such
unaccountable and arbitrary proceedings, as they have
lately learned from a copy of the- deed made by the Six
Nations with Sir William Johnson, and the commis
sioners from this Colony, at Fort Stanwix, in the year
1768, that the said lands were included in the cession or
grant of all that tract which lies on the south side of
the river Ohio, beginning at the mouth of Cherokee or
Hogohege river, and extending up the said river to Ket-
taning. And, as in the preamble of the said deed, the said
confederate Indians declare the Cherokee river to be their
true boundary with the southard Indians, your petitioners
may, with great reason, doubt the validity of the purchase
that those proprietors have made of the- Cherokees — the
only title they set up to the lands for which they de
mand such extravagant sums from your petitioners, with
out any other assurance for holding them than theii*own
deed and warrantee; a poor security, as your petitioners
humbly apprehend, for the money that, among other
new and unreasonable regulations, these proprietors insist
should be paid down on the delivery of the deed. And,
as we have the greatest reason to presume that his ma-

APPENDIX. 383
jesty, to whom the lands were deeded by the Six Nations,
for a valuable consideration, 'will vindicate his title, and
think himself at liberty to grant them to such persons,
and on such terms as he pleases, your petitioners would,
in consequence thereof, be turned out of possession, or
obliged to purchase their lands and improvements on
such terms as the new grantee or proprietor might think
fit to impose; so that we can not help regarding the
demand of Mr. Henderson and his company as highly
unjust and impolitic, in the infant state of the settle
ment, as well as greatly injurious to your petitioners,
who would cheerfully have paid the consideration at first
stipulated by the company, whenever their grant had
been confirmed by the crown, or otherwise authenticated
by the supreme legislature.
And, as we are anxious to concur in every respect with
our brethren of the united colonies, for our just rights
and privileges, as far as our infant settlement and remote
situation will admit of, we humbly expect and implore to
be taken under the protection of the honorable Conven
tion of the Colony of Virginia, of which we can not help
thinking ourselves still a part, and request your kind
interposition in our behalf, that we may not suffer under
the rigorous demands and impositions of the gentlemen
stiling themselves proprietors, who, the better to effect
their oppressive designs, have given them the color of a
law, enacted by a score of men, artfully picked from the
few adventurers who went to see the country last sum
mer, overawed by the presence of Mr. Henderson.
And that you would take such measures as your
honors in your wisdom shall judge most expedient for
restoring peace and harmony to our divided settlement;
or, if your honors apprehend that our cause comes more
properly before the honorable the General Congress, that

384

APPENDIX.

you would in your goodness
worthy delegates, to espouse
And your petitioners, &c.
James Harrod,
Abm. Hite, Jun.
Patrick Dorane,
Ealph Nailor,
Eobt. Atkinson,
Eobt. Nailor,
John Maxfield,
Saml. Pottinger,
Barnerd Walter,
Hugh M'Million,
John Kilpatrick,
Eobt. Dook,
Edward Brownfield,
John Beesor,
Conrod Woolter,
John Moore,
John Corbie,
Abm. Vanmetre,
Saml. Moore,
Isaac Pritcherd,
Joseph Gwyne,
Geo. Uland,
Michl. Thomas,
Adam Smith,
Saml. Thomas,
Henry Thomas,
Wm. Myars,
Peter Paul,
Henry Simons,
Wm. Gaffata,
James Hugh,

recommend the same to your
it as the cause of the Colony.
Chas. Creeraft,
James Willie,
John Camron,
Thos. Kenady,
Jesse Pigman,
Simon Moore,
John Moore,
Thos. Moore,
Herman Consoley,
Silas Harland,
Wm. Harrod,
Levi Harrod,
John Mills,
Elijah Mills,
Jehu Harland,
Leonard Cooper,
Wm. Eice,
Arthur Ingram,
Thos. Wilson,
William Wood,
Joseph Lyons,
Andrew House,
Wm. Hartly,
Thomas Dean,
Eichard Owan,
Barnet Neal,
John Severn,
James Hugh,
James Calley,
Joseph Parkison,
Jediah Ashraft,

APPENDIX.

385

Thos. Bathugh,
John Connway,
Wm, Crow,
Wm. Feals,
Benja. Daris,
Beniah Dun,
Adam Neelson,
Wm. Shepard,
Wm. House,
Jno. Dun,
Jno. Sim, Sen.
John House,
Sime. House,

John Hardin,
Archd. Eeves,
Moses Thomas,
J. Zebulon Collins,
Thos. Parkinson,
Wm. Muckleroy,
Meridith Helm, Jun.,
Andw. House,
Darid Brooks,
John Helm,
Benja. Parkison,
Wm. Parkison,
Wm. Crow.

lETTEE PROM COL. WILLIAMS, AT BOONESBOROUGH TO
THE PEOPEIETOES.
Boonesborough, Zd January, 1776.
Gentlemen,
In my last, of the 27th instant, I promised, in my next,
a more circumstantial account than I was capable then of
giving, under the confused situation of mind I was then
in, occasioned by the unhappy catastrophe of my brother's
death, which happened but a few hours before that. To
comply, in some measure with that promise, and to dis
charge a duty incumbent upon me, as well as the prompti
tude of mind I feel to discharge that duty, I cheerfully
enter on the task, and endeavour to render some account
of what I have been after since my arrival at this place,
now upwards of a month since; and as the primitive in
tention of sending me to Transylvania was to establish a
land office, appoint the necessary officers to the said office,
surveyor, &c., upon the best footing in my power, and to
33

386 APPENDIX.
make sale of the lands within the said Colony, upon such
terms as might be most advantageous to the proprietors
and satisfactory to the inhabitants thereof; my first step
was to fall on some method of appointing a person to the
office of surveyor, who should give general satisfaction to
the people; I thought none more likely to do so, than
calling a convention and taking their recommendation for
the person who I would appoint. From the dispersed
situation of the people, and the extreme badness of the
weather, we failed in convening a majority; however, I
took the sense of those who appeared, and who unani
mously recommended Colonel John Floyd, a gentleman
generally esteemed, and I am persuaded truly worthy;
and him I have commissioned surveyor of the Colony at
present, though perhaps it may be advisable, at a future
day, to divide the Colony into two districts, and to ap
point another surveyor to one of the districts. The
entering office I have disposed of to Mr. Nathaniel Hen
derson, and the secretary's to Mr. Eichard Harrison;
though, upon . consideration, I have thought that the
numerous incidental expenses were so great that some
way ought to be fallen upon to defray them without
breaking in upon the monies arising from the sale of the
lands, and that the two dollars for entering, &c., and the
other two for filling up the deeds, counterparts, annexing
seals and plots, &c., was more money than the services of
those offices absolutely required; I, therefore, have re
served out of each office, one dollar, to answer the pur
pose of defraying those extraordinary expenses ; and the
office is left well worth the acceptance of persons capable
of filling them with credit. The number of entries on our
book is now upwards of 900, great part of which was made
before I eame to this place, when people could make
entries without money, and without price ; the country

APPENDIX. 387
abounded with land-mongers; since there is two dollars
exacted on the entry made, people are not quite so keen,
though I make no doubt but all who can comply with
the terms will endeavour to save their lands; and, as many
people who have got entry on the book, are now out of
the country, and can not possibly pay up the entry money
immediately, I have thought proper to advertise, that
every person who had made entry on the book, and paid
no money, that they come in and pay up the entrance
money by the first of April, and take out their warrants
of survey, or their several entries will, after that time, be
considered as vacated, and liable to be entered by any
other person whatever. The surveyors have now began
to survey, and some few people have been desirous of
getting out their deeds immediately; but they generally
complain of a great scarcity of money, and doubt their
being able to take their deeds before next June, or even
before next fall; though in a general way, people seem to
be well reconciled to the terms, and desirous to take upon
them, except some few, whom I have been obliged to
tamper with, and a small party about Harrodsburg, who,
it seems, have been entering into a confederacy not to
hold lands on any other terms than those of the first
year. As this party is composed of people, in general,
of small consequence, and I have taken some steps to
remove some of their principal objections", I make no
doubt but to do all that away ; and for that purpose have
formed a design of removing myself, with the office, to
Harrodsburgh, some time in February next, unless I
should find, from a trip I purpose immediately taking
there, that I can not do it with safety. The principal
man, I am told, at the head of this confederacy, is one
Hite ; and him I make no doubt but to convince he is in
an error. Among other things, one of the great com-

388 APPENDIX.
plaints was, that the proprietors, and a few gentlemen,
had engrossed all the land at and near the Falls of the
Ohio, which circumstance I -found roused the attention
of a number of people of note ; I therefore found myself
under a necessity of putting a stop to all clamours of that
kind, by declaring that I would grant no large bodies of
land to any person whatever, which lay contiguous to the
Falls ; which I have done in a solemn manner. This I
am far from thinking will be injurious to the proprietors,
but quite the reverse ; and a circumstance which will
render more general satisfaction, and be of as much utility
to the Colony, as any step heretofore taken. You will
observe that I am going on to justify the measure, before
I inform you what it is. But to be brief, it is this ; the
Falls, it is certain, is a place which, from its situation,
must be the most considerable mart in this part of the
world; the lands around are generally rich and fertile,
and most agreeably situated; which had occasioned many
people to fix their affections on that place. Many appli
cations have been made for large grants, at and about
that place, and refused. Since which, 20,000 acres, and
upwards, have been entered there for the company; 40,000
or 50,000 more, in large tracts, by a few other gentlemen;
a partiality was complained of: a general murmuring en
sued. Upon considering the matter, I thought it unjust;
I thought it a disadvantage to the partners in general •
and that some step ought to be taken to pacify the minds
of the people. I therefore entered into a resolution that
I would grant to no one man living, within a certain dis
tance of the falls, more than one thousand acres of land,
and that to be settled and improved in a certain space of
time, under the penalty of forfeiture ; that every person
who had more entered than 1000 acres, might retain his
1000 out of which spot he pleased; that the several offi-

APPENDIX. 389
cers, who have claims there, may each, on application
and complying with our terms, be entitled to a 1000
within his survey. That a town be immediately laid
out, and a lot reserved to each proprietor, and then the
first settlers to take the lots they may choose, enter and
improve; which improvement must be done in a certain
limited time, or the lot forfeited, and again to be sold,
&c. These proposals seem to have given general satis
faction, and every one who had entered large quantities,
within these limits, gives it up with the greatest alacrity;
and I am in hopes it will meet the general approbation
of the company; if so, I shall be happy; if not, I shall
be very sorry, though the necessity must justify the
measure. The Falls of Ohio is a place, of all others
within the Colony, will admit of a town, which, from its
particular situation, will immediately become populous
and flourishing; the land contiguous thereto rich and
fertile, and where a great number of gentlemen will most
certainly settle, and be the support and protection of a
town at that place ; a place which should meet with every
encouragement, to settle and strengthen, inasmuch as it
will most certainly be the terror of our savage enemies,
the Kickeboos Indians, who border more nearly on that
place than any other part of the Colony; and as I think
it absolutely necessary that the aforesaid proposed town,
at the falls, to be laid off the ensuing spring, if I flnd it
practicable, to raise a party about the flrst of March and
go down and lay out the town and stake it off; though
this will, in a great measure, depend upon the future
tranquillity of our situation, between this and then, for
I assure you the little attack made upon us by the In
dians the 23d of last month, has made many people, who
are ashamed to confess themselves afraid, flnd out that
their affairs on your side the mountains will not dispense

390 APPENDIX.
with their staying here any longer at present; and I am
well convinced, once they get there, that every alarm,
instead of precipitating, will procrastinate their return.
When I mention the little attack made on the 23d of last
month, in this cursory manner, it is because I have here
tofore sent you a particular account of that massacre, in
a letter of 27th ult. Though as that letter may fail, and
not get to hand, I will now endeavour to briefly relate the
circumstances. On Saturday, about noon, being the 23d, Colonel
Campbell, with a couple of lads, (Sanders and M'Quin-
ney, ) went across the river. On the opposite bank they
parted. Campbell went up the river about two hundred
yards, and took up a bottom. The two lads, without a
gun, went straight up the hill. About ten minutes after
they parted, a gun and a cry of distress was heard, and
the alarm given that the Indians had shot Colonel Camp
bell. We made to his assistance. He came running to
the landing, with one shoe off, and said he was fired on
by a couple of Indians. A party of men was immediately
dispatched, under the command of Colonel Boon, who
went out, but could make no other discovery than two
mockisson tracks, whether Indians' or not, could not be
determined. We had at that time, over the river, hunt
ing, &c., ten or a dozen men, in different parties, — part
or all of whom we expected to be killed, if what Colonel
Campbell said was true; but that by many was doubted.
Night came on; several of the hunters returned, but had
neither seen nor heard of Indians, nor yet of the two
lads. We continued in this state of suspense till Wed
nesday, when a party of men sent out to make search for
them, found M'Quinney, killed and scalped, in a corn
field, at about three miles distance from town, on the
north side of the river. Sanders could not be found, nor

APPENDIX. 391
has he yet been heard of. On Thursday, a ranging party
of fifteen men, under the command of Jesse Benton, was
dispatched to scour the woods, twenty or thirty miles
round, and see if any further discovery could be made.
To those men we gave two shillings per day, and £5 for
every scalp they should produce. After they went out,
our hunters returned, one at a time, till they all came in
safe, Sanders excepted, who, no doubt, has shared M'Quin-
ney's fate.
On Sunday, the 31st day of the month, our rangers
returned, without doing any thing more than convincing
themselves that the Indians had immediately, on doing
the murder, ran off for northward, as they discovered
their tracks, thirty or forty miles towards the Ohio, making
that way.
On the above massacre being committed, we began to
doubt that there was a body of Indians about, who in
tended committing outrage on our inhabitants. However,
we are perfectly satisfied since, that their number was
only six or seven men, who set off from the Shawnee
town before the treaty at Fort Pitt, with an intent, as
they termed it, to take a look at the white people on
Kentucky; and King Cornstalk, at the treaty, informed
the commissioners of this, and said, for the conduct of
these men, before they returned, he could not be respon
sible, for that he did not know but that they might do
some mischief, and that if any of them should get killed
by the whites, he should take no notice at all of it. For
this we have undoubted authority, and don't at present
think ourselves in any greater danger here than if the
above massacre had not have been committed.
Another circumstance is, that our ammunition grows
scant. I don't think there is enough to supply this place
till the last of March, supposing we should have no oc-

392 APPENDIX.
casion of any to repulse an enemy. If we should,, God
only knows how long it will last. If any powder can
possibly be procured, it would certainly be advisable to
do it ; if not, some person who can manufacture the
materials we have on the way, for the purpose of making
powder. Most part of those are at the block-house, or
at least within two or three miles of that — the rest in
Powel's Valley. Those (if we had any person who knew
how properly to manufacture them into gunpowder) it
would be necessary to have at this place. We have no
such person, and of course they would be of but little
service here. Notwithstanding, I should have sent for
them before now ; but people here expect the most exor
bitant wages for trivial services. Not less than a dollar
a day will do for any thing, which will prevent my send
ing till I find the necessity greater, or men to be hired
cheaper. LETTEE FEOM JAMES HOGG TO THE COMPANY.
January, 1776.
Deae Sir : — On the 2d of December, I returned hither
from Philadelphia ; and I have now sit down to give you
an account of my embassy, which you will be pleased to
communicate to the other gentlemen, our co-partners, when
you have an opportunity. I waited for Messrs. Hooper
and Hewes a day and a half, at Eichmond, but they were
detained by rainy weather for several days, so that they
did not overtake me till I was near Philadelphia, where
I was kept two days by heavy rain, though they had it
dry where they were. It was the 22d of Oct. when we
arrived at Philadelphia. In a few days they introduced
me to several of the Congress gentlemen, among the first
of whom were, accidentally, the famous Samuel and John
Adams; and as I found their opinion friendly to our

APPENDIX. 393
new Colony, I shewed them our map, explained to them
the advantage of our situation, &c. &c. They entered
seriously into the matter, and seemed to think favorably
of the whole ; but the difficulty that occurred to us soon
appeared to them. "We have petitioned and addressed
the king," said they, "and have entreated him to point
out some mode of accommodation. There seems to be an
impropriety in embarrassing our reconciliation with any
thing new ; and the taking under our protection a body
of people who have acted in defiance of the king's
proclamations, will be looked on as a confirmation of that
independent spirit with which we are daily reproached."
I then showed them our memorial, to convince them that
we did not pretend to throw off our allegiance to the
king, but intended to acknowledge his sovereignty when
ever he should think us worthy of his regard. They
were pleased with our memorial, and thought it very
proper; but another difficulty occurred: by looking at the
map, they observed that we were within the Virginia
charter. I then told them of the fixing their botmdaries,
what had passed at Eichmond in March last, and that I
had reason to believe the Virginians would not oppose
us; however, they advised me to sound the Virginians, as
they would not choose to do any thing in it without their
consent. xA.ll the delegates were, at that time, so much engaged
in the Congress from morning to night, that it was some
days before I got introduced to the Virginians; and be
fore then, I was informed that some of them had said,
whatever was their own opinion of the matter, they would
not consent that Transylvania should be admitted as a
Colony, and represented in Congress, until it originated
in their convention, and should be approved by their con
stituents. Some days after this, I was told that Messrs.

394 APPENDIX.
Jefferson, Wythe, and Eichard Henry Lee, were desirous
of meeting with me, which was accordingly brought
about; but, unfortunately, Mr. Lee was, by some business,
prevented from being with us, though I had some con
versation with him afterwards. I told them that the
Transylvania Company, suspecting that they might be
misrepresented, had sent me to make known to the gen
tlemen of the Congress our friendly intentions towards
the cause of liberty, &c. &c., but said nothing of our
memorial, or my pretensions to a seat in Congress. They
said nothing in return to me, but. seriously examined our
map, and asked many questions. They observed that our
purchase was within their charter, and gently hinted, that
by virtue of it, they might claim the whole. This led
me to take notice, that a few years ago, as I had been in
formed, their assembly had petitioned the crown for leave
to purchase from the Cherokees, and to fix their boun
daries with them, which was accordingly done, by a line
running from six miles east of the long island in Holston,
to the mouth of the Great Khanaway, for which they had
actually paid $ 2500 to the Cherokees : by which purchase,
both the crown and their assembly had acknowledged the
property of those lands to be in the Cherokees. Besides,
said I, our settlement of Transylvania will be a great
check on the Indians, and consequently be of service to
the Virginians.
They seemed to waive the argument concerning the
right of property; but Mr. Jefferson acknowledged, that,
in his opinion, our Colony could be no loss to the Vir
ginians, if properly united to them ; and said, that if his
advice was followed, all the use they should make of their
charter would be to prevent any arbitrary or oppressive
government to be established within the boundaries of it;
and that it was his wish to see a free government estab-

APPENDIX. 395
lished at the back of theirs, properly united with them ;
and that it should extend westward to the Mississippi,
and on each side of the Ohio to their charter line. But
he would not consent that we should be acknowledged
by the Congress, until it had the approbation of their
constituents in Convention, which he thought might be
obtained; and that, for that purpose, we should send one
of our company to their next Convention. Against this
proposal, several objections occurred to me, but I made
none. This was the substance of our conference, with which
I acquainted our good friends, Messrs. Hooper and Hewes,
who joined me in opinion that I should not push the
matter further; and they hinted to me, that, considering
the present very critical situation of affairs, they thought
it was better for us to be unconnected with them. These
gentlemen acted a most friendly part all along, and gave
a favorable account of our proceedings. Indeed, I think
the company under great obligations to them, and I hope
they will take it under their consideration. I was fre
quently with parties of the delegates, who in general
think favorably of our enterprise. All the wise ones of
them, with whom I conversed on the subject, are clear in
opinion, that the property of the lands are vested in us
by the Indian grant; but some of them think, that by
the common law of England, and by the common usage
in America, the sovereignty is in the king, agreeably to
a famous law opinion, of which I was so fortunate as to
procure a copy. The suffering traders, and others, at
the end of last war, obtained a large tract of land from
the Six Nations, and other Indians. They formed them
selves into a company, (called, I believe, the Ohio,) and
petitioned the king for a patent, and desired to be erected
into a government. His majesty laid their petition be-

396 APPENDIX.
fore Lord Chancellor Camden and Mr. Charies York,
then attorney-general and afterwards chancellor. Their
opinion follows: — "In respect to such places as have
been, or shall be acquired by treaty or grant from any
of the Indian princes or governments, your majesty's
letters patent are not necessary; the property of the soil
vesting in the grantee by the Indian grants, subject only
to your majesty's right of sovereignty over the settle
ments, as English settlements, and over the inhabitants
as English subjects, who carry with them your majesty's
laws wherever they form colonies, and receive your
majesty's protection by virtue of your royal charters."
After an opinion so favorable for them, it is amazing
that this company never attempted to form a settlement,
unless they could have procured a charter, with the hopes
of which, it seems, they were .fiattered, from time to time.
However, our example has roused them, I am told, and
they are now setting up for our rivals. Depending on
this opinion, another company of gentlemen, a few years
ago, purchased a tract between the forks of the Missis
sippi and Ohio, beginning about a league below Fort
Chartres, and running over towards the mouth of the
Wabash; but whether or not their boundary line is above
or below the mouth of the Wabash, the gentleman who
shewed me their deed could not tell, as it is not mentioned,
but is said to terminate at the old Shawanese town, sup
posed to be only thirty-five leagues above the mouth of
the Ohio. And the said company purchased another
larger tract, lying on the Illinois river. It was from one
of this company that I procured a copy of the above
opinion, which he assured me was a genuine one, and is
the very same which you have heard was in possession
of Lord Dunmore, as it was their company who sent it
to him, expecting he would join them.

APPENDIX. 397
I was several times with Mr. Deane, of Connecticut,
the gentleman of whom Mr. Hooper told you when here.
He says he will send some people to see our country;
and if their report be favorable, he thinks many Connec
ticut people will join us. This gentleman is a scholar,
and a man of sense and enterprise, and rich; and I am
apt to believe, has some thoughts of heading a party of
Connecticut adventurers, providing things can be made
agreeable to him. He is reckoned a good man, and much
esteemed in Congress; but he is an enthusiast in liberty,
and will have nothing to do with us unless he is pleased
with our form of government. He is a great admirer of
the Connecticut constitution, which he recommended to
our consideration ; and was so good as to favor me with
a long letter on that subject, a copy of which is enclosed.
You would be amazed to see how much in earnest all
these speculative gentlemen are about the plan to be
adopted by the Transylvanians. They entreat, they pray
that we may make it a free government, and beg that no
mercenary or ambitious views in the proprietors may pre
vent it. Quit-rents they say is a mark of vassalage, and
hope they shall not be established in Transylvania. They
even threaten us with their opposition, if we do not act
upon liberal principles when we have it so much in our
power to render ourselves immortal. Many of them ad
vised a law against negroes.
Inclosed I send you a copy of a sketch by J. Adams,
which I had from Eichard Henry Lee.
LOED BOTETOUET TO COLONEL DONELSON.
WilliamshurgJi, Aug. Qth, 1770.
Sir : — By the enclosed papers you will find that Mr.
Stuart has directed his deputy, Mr. Cameron, to convene
the Cherokee chiefs on the 5th of October, at Lochaber,

398 appendix.
and that it is his particular desire that a gentleman from
this dominion may attend at that congress. It is, likewise,
very much my wish that the whole of that transaction
may be reported to the next meeting of the general as
sembly by a member of their own, upon whom they can
depend. I do, therefore, hereby appoint you to. be present
at that treaty, that you may take minutes of all their
proceedings, and report to us the time which shall be
then fixed upon for running the line, as well as what
provisions, &c., shall be deemed necessary to be provided
for that purpose ; and must intreat that you be very exact
in the whole of that estimate and account.
Extremely your obedient,
BOTETOUET.
CoL. Donelson.

Treaty of Lochaber, ISth Oct. 1770.
At a meeting of the principal chiefs and warriors of
the Cherokee nation, with John Stuart, Esq., superin
tendent of Indian affairs, &c.
South Carolina, Lochaber, 18th Oct. 1770.
Present — Col. Donelson, by appointment of his Ex
cellency, the Eight Honourable Lord Botetourt, in behalf
of the Province of Virginia.
Alexander Cameron, deputy superintendent.
James Simpson, Esq., clerk of his Majesty's council of
South Carolina.
Major Lacey, from Virginia.
Major-Williamson, Captain Cohoon, Jno. Caldwell, Esq.,
Captain Winter, Christopher Peters, Esq., Edward Wil
kinson, Esq., and John Hamarar, Esq. ; besides a great
number of the back inhabitants of the province of South

APPENDIX. 399
Carolina, and the following chiefs of the Cherokee nation :
Oconistoto, Kettagusta, Attacullaculla, Keyatoy, Tiftoy,
Tarrapinis, Eucy of Tugalo, Scaleluskey, Chinistah of
Wataugah, Otasite Hey Wassie, and about a thousand
other Indians of the same nation.
Interpreters. — John Watts, David M'Donald, John
Vann.

TREATY. Monday 22d October.
At a Congress of the principal chiefs of the Cherokee
nation, held at Lochaber, in the province of South Caro
lina, on the eighteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord 1770, by John Stuart, Esq., his Majesty's agent for,
and superintendent of the affairs of the Indian nations
in the southern district of North America :
A treaty for a cession to his most sacred Majesty,
George the third, by the grace of God of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c., by
the said nation of Cherokee Indians, of certain lands
lying within the limits of the dominion of Virginia.
Whereas, by a treaty entered into and concluded at
Hardlabour, the 14th day of October, in the year 1768,
by John Stuart, Esq., his Majesty's agent for, and su
perintendent of the affairs of the Indian nations inhabit
ing: the southern district of North America, with the
principal and ruling chiefs of the Cherokee nation, all
the lands formerly claimed by, and belonging to, said
nation of Indians, lying within the province of Virginia,
to the eastward of a line beginning at the boundary of
the province of North Carolina and Virginia, running in
a N. by E. course to Col. Chiswell's mine on the eafetern
bank of the Great Canaway, and from thence in a straight
line to the mouth of the said Great Canaway river, where

400 APPENDIX.
it discharges itself into the Ohio river, were ceded to his
most sacred Majesty, his heirs and successors. And
whereas, by the above recited treaty, all the lands lying
between Holston's river, and the line above specified,
were determined to belong to the Cherokee nation, to the
great loss and inconvenience of many of his Majesty's
subjects inhabiting the said lands; and representation of
the same having been made to his Majesty, by his Ex
cellency the Eight Honourable Norboine Baron De Bote
tourt, his Majesty's lieutenant and governor-general of
the dominion of Virginia ; in consequence whereof his
Majesty has been graciously pleased to signify his royal
pleasure to John Stuart, Esq., his agent for, and super
intendent of, Indian affairs in the southern district of
North America, by an instruction contained in a letter
from the Eight Honourable the Earl of Hillsborough,
one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of state, dated
the 13th May 1769, to enter into a negotiation with the
Cherokees, for establishing a new boundary line, begin
ning at the point where the North Carolina line termi
nates, and to run thence, in a west course, to Holston's
river, where it is intersected by a continuation of the line
dividing the provinces of North Carolina and Virginia,
and thence a straight course, to the confluence of the
Great Canaway and Ohio rivers.
Article 1.
Pursuant, therefore, to his majesty's orders to, and
power and authority vested in John Stuart, Esq., agent
for, and superintendent of the affairs of the Indian tribes
in the southern district — it is agreed upon, by the said
John Stuart, Esq., on behalf of his most sacred Majesty,
George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c., and

APPENDIX. 401
by the subscribing Cherokee chiefs and warriors, on be
half of their said nation, in consideration of his Majesty's
paternal goodness, so often demonstrated to them the said
Cherokee Indians, and from their affection and friendship
for their brethren, the inhabitants of Virginia, as well as
their earnest desire of removing, as far as possible, all
cause of dispute between them and the said inhabitants,
on account of encroachments on lands reserved by the
said Indians for themselves, and also for a valuable con
sideration in various sorts of goods, paid to them by the
said John Stuart, Esq., on behalf of the Dominion of
Virginia, that the hereafter recited line be ratified and
confirmed, and it is hereby ratified and confirmed accord
ingly; and it is by these presents firmly stipulated and
agreed upon, by the parties aforesaid, that a line, begin
ning where the boundary line between the province of
North Carolina and the Cherokee hunting grounds ter
minates, and running thence, in a west course, to a point
six miles east of Long Island, in Holston's river, and
thence to said river, six miles above the said Long Island,
and thence, in a west course, to the confiuence of the
Great Canaway and Ohio rivers, shall remain and be
deemed by all his majesty's white subjects, as well as all
the Indians of the Cherokee nation, the true and just
limits and boundaries of the lands reserved by the said
nation of Indians, for their own proper use, and dividing
the same from the lands ceded by them to his Majesty,
within the limits of the province of Virginia ; and that
his Majesty's white subjects, inhabiting the province of
Virginia, shall not, upon any pretence whatsoever, settle
beyond the said line ; nor shall the said Indians make
any settlements or encroachment on the Jgnds which, by
this treaty, they cede and confirm. to his Majesty; and it
is further agreed, that as soon as his Majesty's royal ap-
34

402 APPENDIX.
probation of this treaty shall have been signified to the
governor of Virginia, or superintendent, this treaty shall
be carried into execution. Article 2.
And it is further agreed upon, and stipulated by the
contracting parties, that no alteration whatsoever shall
henceforward be made in the boundary line above re
cited, and now solemnly agreed upon, except such as may
hereafter be found expedient and necessary for the mutual
interests of both parties; and which alteration shall be
made with the consent of the superintendent, or such
other person or persons as shall be authorized by his
Majesty, as well as with the consent and approbation of
the Cherokee nation of Indians, at a congress or general
meeting of said Indians, to be held for said purpose, and
not in any other manner.
In testimony whereof, the said superintendent, on be
half of his Majesty, and the underwritten Cherokee chiefs,
on behalf of their nation, have signed and sealed this
present treaty, at the time and place aforesaid.
John Stuart. (Seal.)
By order of the superintendent, William Ogilvy, Sec'y,
Oconistoto, (Seal.) Skyagusta Tiftoy, (Seal.)
Kittagusta, (Seal.) Tarrapinis, (Seal.)
Attacullaculla, (Seal.) Eucy of Tugalo, (Seal.)
Keyatoy, (Seal.) Scaleluskey of Sugar-
Kinnatilah, (Seal.) town, (Seal.)
Ukayoula, (Seal.) Chinistah of do. (Seal.)
Chukanuntas, . (Seal.) Chinistah of Watau-
Skyagusta Tuukcis, (Seal.) gah, (Seal.)
Woolf of Keewees, (Seal.) Otasite Hey Wassie, (Seal.)
Eead in council, December 12th, 1770.

APPENDIX. 403
LETTER OP colonel HENDERSON, AT BOONSBOROUGH, TO
THE PROPRIETORS.
Boonsborough, June 12th, 1775.
Gentlemen, It would be needless in me to enter into a detail of
every little occurrence and cross accident which has be
fallen us since we left Wattauga ; they can afford no in
struction, and are too trifling for your amusement. No
doubt but you have felt great anxiety since the receipt of
my letter from Powell's Valley. At that time, things
wore a gloomy aspect; indeed it was a serious matter,
and became a little more so, after the date of the letter
than before. That afternoon I wrote the letter in Pow
ell's Valley, in our march this way, we met about 40
people returning, and in about four days the number was
little short of 100. Arguments and persuasions were
needless; they seemed resolved on retuming, and trav
eled 'with a precipitation that truly bespoke their fears.
Eight or ten were all that we could prevail on to proceed
with us, or to follow after ; and thus, what we before had,
counting every boy and lad, amounted to about 40, 'with
which number we pursued our journey, with the utmost
diligence, for my own part never under more real anx
iety. Every person almost that we met, seemed to be
at pains to aggravate the danger of proceeding; and had
we given them all a fair hearing, I believe they would,
in return for the favor, have gotten all our men. Many
seemed to be of opinion ( who had been with Boone )
that the men assembled at the mouth of Otter creek
would get impatient and leave him before we could pos
sibly get there, if no other accident befell them ; and
with me, it was beyond a doubt, that our right, in effect,
depended on Boone's maintaining his ground — at least

404 APPENDIX.
until we could get to him. Here, gentlemen, your imagi
nation must take the burden off my hands, and paint
what I am unable to describe. You need not be afraid
of giving scope to your fancy; it is impossible to make
the picture worse than the original. Every group of
travellers we saw, or strange bells which were heard in
front, was a fresh alarm ; afraid to look or inquire, lest
Captain Boone or his company was amongst them, or
some disastrous account of their defeat. The slow pro
gress we made with our packs, rendered it absolutely
necessary for some person to go on and give assurance
of our coming, especially as they had no certainty of our
being on the road at all; or had even heard whether the
Indians had sold to us or not. It was owing to Boone's
confidence in us, and the people's in him, that a stand
was ever attempted in order to wait for our coming. The
case was exceedingly distressing : we had not a fellow
that we could send on a forlorn hope in our whole camp :
all our young men had sufficient employ with the pack-
horses; and, the truth is, very few would have gone, if
they had been totally idle. Distress generally has some
thing in store when it is least expected ; it was actually
the case with us. Mr. William Cocke, (with whom some
of you are acquainted,) observing our anxiety on that
account, generously offered to undertake the journey
himself, and deliver a letter to Captain Boone, with all
the expedition in his power. This offer, extraordinary
as it was, we could by no means refuse — it was not a
time for much delicacy ; a little compliment and a few
very sincere thanks, instantly given, preceded a solemn
engagement to set off next morning; and if he escaped
with his life, to perform the trust. The day proved dark
and rainy; and I own, Mr. Cocke's undertaking appeared
a little more dangerous than the evening before — in spite

APPENDIX. 405
of affectation, it was plain he thought so — whether it
was from the gloominess of the weather, or the time of
setting off being actually come, or what, I cannot tell;
but perhaps a little of both. Indeed, I rather suspect
there is some little secondary mischievous passion per
sonating courage, hankering about the heart of man, that
very often plays him a double game, by causing him to
view dangers at a little distance through the wrong end
of the glass ; and as soon as cool deliberation, by the
help of caution, has shifted the telescope, and brought
the object home to a nearer view, and perhaps the dan
gerous features a little magnified, this monkey passion
most shamefully deserts and leaves the affair to be man
aged as it can. Be that as it may, in these cases we are
not always without a friend. Pride will, if possible, take
up the cudgels ; and let the world say what it will of her,
she answers the end of genuine innate courage, (if there
be such a thing,) and for aught I know, it is the thing
itself. But to return to our subject: no time was lost;
we struck whilst the iron was hot, fixed Mr. Cocke off
with a good Queen Ann's musket, plenty of ammunition,
a tomahawk, a large cuttoe knife, a Dutch blanket, and
no small quantity of jerked beef. Thus equipped, and
mounted on a tolerably good horse, on the day of
April, Mr. Cocke started from Cumberland river, about
130 miles from this place, and carried with him, besides
his own enormous load of fearful apprehensions, a con
siderable burden of my own uneasiness. The probability
of giring Mr. Boone and his men word of our being
near them, administered great pleasure, and we made the
best use of our time, following on.
The general panic that had seized the men we were
continually meeting, was contagious ; it ran like 'wild fire ;
and, notwithstanding every effort against its progress, it

406 APPENDIX.
was presently discovered in our own camp; some hesita
ted and stole back, privately ; others saw the necessity of
returning to convince their friends that they were still
alive, in too strong a light to be resisted; whilst many,
in truth, who have nothing to thank but the fear of
shame, for the credit of intrepidity, came on, though
their hearts, for some hours, made part of the deserting
company. In this situation of affairs, sonje few, of gen
uine courage and undaunted resolution, served to inspire
the rest; by help of whose example, assisted by a little
pride and some ostentation, we made a shift to march on
with all the appearance of gallantry, and, cavalier like,
treated every insinuation of danger with the utmost con
tempt. It soon became habitual; and those who started
in the morning, with pale faces and apparent trepidation,
could lie down and sleep at night in great quiet, not
even possessed of fear enough to get the better of indo
lence. There is a mistaken notion amongst the vulgar,
with respect to courage, which cannot be eradicated but
by dint of experiment; all watching, when it comes to be
put in practice, has to them the appearence of cowardice ;
and that it is beneath a soldier to be afraid of any thing,
especially when a little fatigued. They would all agree
in the morning, that it would be highly prudent and ne
cessary to keep sentinels around our camp at night ; but
a hearty meal or supper, (when we could get it) and good
fires, never failed putting off the danger for at least 24
hours; at which time it was universally agreed, on all
hands, that a watch at night would be indispensably neces
sary. Human nature is eternally the same ; a death-bed
repentance and a surprised camp are so nearly assimilated,
that you may safely swear they arise from the same cause.
Without further speculation, we have been so fortunate,
hitherto, as to escape both. I wish from my soul, that

APPENDIX. 407
they may not be in league to come together. Never was
fairer opportunity, as to the one, and you may form a
tolerable judgment as to the other; the western waters
haring, as yet, produced no visible alteration with respect
to morals or Christian charity amongst us. It will no
doubt surprise you, but it is nevertheless true, that we
are in no posture of defence or security at this time; and,
for my own part, do not much expect it will ever be
effected, unless the Indians should do us the favor of
annoying us, and regularly scalping a man every week
until it is performed; if the intervals should be longer,
the same spirit of indolence and self- security, which hath
hitherto prevailed, would not only continue, but increase.
To give you a small specimen of the disposition of the
people, it may be sufficient to assure you, that when we
arrived at this place, we found Captain Boone's men as
inattentive on the score of fear, (to all appearances), as
if they had been in Hillsborough. A small fort only
wanting two or three days' work to make it tolerably safe,
was totally neglected on Mr. Cockes arrival; and unto
this day remains unfinished, notwithstanding the repeated
applications of Captain Boone, and every representation
of danger from ourselves. The death of poor Tivitty and
the rest, who at the time you were informed, became
sacrifices to indiscretion, had no more effect than to pro
duce one night's watching after they got to Otter creek;
not more than ten days after the massacre. Our planta
tions extend near two miles in length, on the river and
up a creek. Here people work in their different lots;
some without their guns, and others without care or cau
tion. It is in vain for us to say any thing more about
the matter ; it cannot be done by words. We have a
militia law, on which I have some dependence; if that
has no good effect, we must remain for some time much

408 APPENDIX.
at the mercy of the Indians. Should any successful at
tack be made on us. Captain Hart, I suppose, will be
able to render sufficient reasons to the surviving jcpmpany,
for withdrawing from our camp, and refusing to join in
building a fort for our mutual defence. This representa
tion of our unguarded and defenceless situation is not all
that seems to make against us. Our men, under various
pretences, are every day leaving us. It is needless to say
any thing against it ; many of them are so much deter
mined, that they sell their rights for saving land on our
present terms, to others who remain in their stead, for
little or nothing; nay, some of them are resolved to go,
and some are already gone, and given up all pretensions
for this season, and depend on getting land on the next
fall's terms. Our company has dwindled from about
eighty in number to about fifty odd, and I believe in a
few days will be considerably less. Amongst these I
have not heard one person dissatisfied with the country
or terms; but go, as they say, merely because their busi
ness will not admit of longer delay. The fact is, that
many of them are single, worthless fellows, and want to
get on the other side of the mountains, for the sake of
saying they have been out and returned safe, together
with the probability of getting a mouthful of bread in
exchange for their news.
Having given you a slight view of one side of the
question, it may not be amiss to turn the subject over,
and see what may be said on the other hand. Notwith
standing all our negligence, self- security, scarcity of
men, and whatever else may be added against us, I can
not think but we shall carry the matter through, and be
crowned with success. My reasons for this opinion, calls
for in you, a kind of knowledge of the geography of our
oountry. Those who have no just idea of this matter

APPENDIX. 409
may be aided by. Captain Hart, We are seated at the
mouth of Otter creek, on the Kentucky, about 150 miles
from the Otioi. -To the west, about 5D miles from us,
are two settlemeats, within six or seven miles one of the
other. There were, some time ago, about 100 at the two
places; though now, perhaps, not more than 60 or 70, as
many of tiem^are gone up the Ohio for their iamilies, &c. ;
ajld.some returned by the- way we came, to. Virginia and
elsewhere. These men, in the course of hunting pro
visions, lands, &c., are some of them constantly out, and
scour the woods from the banks of the river near forty
01 fift^ miles, soutkward. On the opposite side pf the
river, and- north from us, about 40 miles, is a settlement
on the crown lands, of about 19 ¦persons ;- and lower
down, towards- the Ohio, on the same side, there are some
other settlers,, how many; or at what place, I can't ex
actly learn. - There is also' a party of abon,t 10 or 12,
with a surveyor,, who is employed in searching through
that country, and laying .off. officers' lands; they have
been more than .three, weeks within ten miles of us, and
will be several weeks longer ranging up and dawn that
country. Now, taMng it for granted, that the Cherokees
are our .friends, which I most firmly believe, our situarion
exempts us from tJie first, attempt or attack of any other
Indians. Colonel Harrod, who governs the two first men
tioned ^ settlements,- (and is a-^ry-gocd man for our pur
pose), Colonel Floyd, (the surveyor), and myself, are under
solemn engagements tff communicate, with the utmost
despatch, every piece of intelligence respecting danger
or sign of Indian^; to each other.' In case of invasion of
Indians, both the other parties are instantly to march and
relieve the distressed, if possible'. Add to this, that our
country is so fertile, the growth, of grass and herbage so
tender iind luxuriant that it- is almost impossible for man
35

410 APPENDIX.
or dog to travel, without leaving such sign that you might,
for many days, gallop a horse on the trail. To be serious,
it is impossible for any number of people to pass through
the woods without being tracked, and of course discov
ered, if Indians, for our hunters all go on horseback,
and could not be deceived if they were to come on the
trace of footmen. From these circumstances, I think
myself in a great measure secure against a formidable
attack; and a few skulkers could only kill one or two,
which would not much affect the interest of the company.
Thus, gentlemen, you have heard both sides of the ques
tion, and can pretty well judge of the degree of danger
we are in. Let your opinions be as they may on this
point, by no means betray the least symptom of doubt to
your most intimate friends. If help is ever wanting, it
will be long before succour can come from you, and there
fore every expense of that kind superfluous and unneces
sary. If we can maintain our ground until after harvest
in Virginia, I will undertake for ever after to defend the
country against every nation of red people in the world,
without calling on the company for even a gun-flint.
Here I must beg the favor of your turning back with
me to Powell's Valley. Our anxiety at that time is now
of very little concern to you; but the impressions still re
main on my mind, and indeed I would not wish to get
clear of them in a little time. It learnt me to make an
estimate of the probable value of our country; to see the
imminent danger of losing it forever, and presented me
with a full view of the ridiculous figure we should cut in
the world, in case of failure. With respect to the real
consequence of such a disappointment, I could not so well
judge for the company in general, as for myself, but
thought it too serious an affair with respect to us all, to
be tamely given up without the fire pf a single gun, or

APPENDIX. 411
something like an attempt to take possession and defend
our rights, so long, at least, as we should find our posts
tenable. Though the danger Mr. Cocke exposed himself to in
rendering this piece of service to the company, dwelt on
me for some time, yet having despatched a messenger to
Captain Boone was a matter of such consolation, that my
burthen from that time was much lightened. We soon
found, by his letters on the road, that he had a companion
and went on very well (a small stoppage by waters ex
cepted). On Thursday, the 20th April, found him with
Captain Boone and his men at the place appointed, where
he had related the history of his adventures, and come in
for his share of applause; here it was that the whole load,
as it were, dropped off my shoulders at once, and I ques
tioned if a happier creature was to be found under the
sun. Why do I confine it to myself; it was general ; the
people in the fort, as well as ourselves, down to an old
weather-beaten negro, seemed equally to enjoy it. Indeed
it was natural for us, after being one whole month, with
out intermission, traveling in a barren desert country,
most of the way our horses packed beyond their strength ;
no part ofthe road tolerable, most of it either hilly, stony,
slippery, miry, or bushy ; our people jaded out and dis
pirited with fatigue, and what was worse, often pinched
for victuals. To get clear of all this at once, was as much
as we could well bear ; and though we had nothing here
to refresh ourselves 'with, but cold water and lean buffalo
beef, without bread, it certainly was the most joyous ban
quet I ever saw. Joy and festivity was in every coun
tenance, and that vile strumpet, envy, I believe, had not
found her way into the country.
By this time, gentlemen, I make no doubt but you
would be glad that I would change my subject, and enter

412 APPENDIX.
on something more interesting. You want a description
of our country, soil, air, water, range, quantity of good
land, disposition of the people here, what probability of
keeping possession and availing ourselves of the purchase,
how much money can be immediately raised towards de
fraying the first purchase, and, if any, overplus that will
remain on hand for the use of the copartners, &c. &c. &c.
These, sirs, are matters of the utmost importance, and
many of them deserve your most serious attention. With
respect to the country, Mr. Hart, who brings this, will
give you ample satisfaction. All that I shall say about
it is, that it far exceeds the idea which I had formed of
it; and indeed it is not surprising, for it is not in the
power of any person living to do justice to the fertility of
the soil, beauty of the country, or excellence of its range ;
let it suffice, that we have got a country of good land,
with numberless advantages and inducements to a speedy
population ; that this -country is large enough, and surely
will be settled immediately on some principles or other :
the grand affair, on our part, is to manage matters so as
to have our rights acknowledged, and continue lords of
the soil. Every thing has succeeded to my wish with re
spect to title. The torrent from Virginia appears to be
oyer, and gentlemen of considerable fortune, from thence,
are some of them come, and others coming,' with design
to purchase under us, as they cannot come within the in^
dulgences to adventurers of this season; and applications
are daily making f»r the next year's price. Many of them
are returned home, and would have been much dissatisfied,
if I had not promised them, on my word and honor, that
the terms should be immediately published in all the
Williamsburg papers.

APPENDIX. 413
MEMORIAL OP THE TRANSYLVANIA COMPANY, COMMONLY
called RICHARD HENDERSON & CO.
To the Honorable the Congress of the United States:
The Memorial of Thomas Hart, of the State of Kentucky,
John Williams, Leonard Henley Bullock, and James
Hogg, of the State of North Carolina,' sheweth.
That in the fall of the year 1774, your Memorialists, in
company with Eichard Henderson, William Johnston,
Nathaniel Hart, John Luttrell, and David Hart, all now
deceased, entered into bargain with the Overhill Cherokee
Indians, for a purchase of some of their lands ; and agree
ably to preliminaries then agreed to, they, in March 1775,
met at Watauga with the chiefs of the said Indians, at
tended by upwards of twelve hundred of their people; and
then and there, in fair and open treaty, after several day's
conference, and full discussion of every matter relating to
the purchase, in presence of, and assisted by interpreters
chosen by the said chiefs, and in consideration of a very
large assortment of clotheg and other goods, then deliver
ed by the said Company to the said chiefs, and by them
divided among their people, they the said Company ob
tained from the said Indians two several deeds, signed by
Okonistoto their king or chief warrior, Atakullakulla and
Savonooko or Coronoh, the next in the nation to Okonis
toto in rank and consideration, for themselves, and on
behalf, and with the warm approbation of the whole nation.
These fwo grants comprehended, besides a great tract of
land on the back of Virginia, a vast territory within the
chartered limits of North Carolina; lying on the rivers of
Holston, ClincTi, Powel, and Cumberland, and their several
branches, to the amount of many millions of acres.

414 APPENDIX.
This purchase from the aborigines and immemorial
possessors of the said lands, being concluded more than a
year before the Declaration of Independence, before the
very existence of the Americans as States, or their claim
to such lands, and not contrary to any then existing law
of Great Britain or her Colonies, your memorialists and
their copartners with confidence concluded that they had
obtained a just, clear and indefeasible title to the said
lands; and being then by the said Indians put into the
actual possession of the said country, they immediately
hired between two and three hundred men, and proceeded
across their territory, to the river Kentucky, which with
all its branches was comprehended in their purchase; and
there about the 20th of April in the said year of 1775,
began a settlement to which they gave the name of Boons-
borough. The raising of necessary accommodations for
their infant Colony, and building forts for their defence
against the Shawanese and other hostile Indians, on the
north-west of the Ohio, added much to the prime cost of
their lands, and was attended with imminent risk and
danger, and even with the massacre of some of the pro
prietors and several of their friends and followers.
After thus possessing and defending their property at
a vast expense, trouble and danger, for several years
against the savages, the Company were much astonished
to find that first the Assembly of Virginia, and some
years afterwards, the Assembly of North Carolina, began
to call in question the rights of the said Company. It
would be to no purpose at this time, to trouble Congress
with any thing relating to the negotiation of the said
Company with the Assembly of Virginia, as the compen
sation in lands, made to them by that state, remains un
touched and unclaimed by any person or persons whatever
against the Company, as far as has come to their know-

APPENDIX. 415
ledge. But the different fate of the lands granted them
by the Assembly of North Carolina, makes some detail
necessary. This Assembly, in their May session of 1782, enacted
that a great part of the lands lying on the river Cumber
land and branches thereof, all within the said Company's
purchase, should be laid off and reserved for the officers
and soldiers of the North Carolina line, and soon there
after, opened a land office for the sale of their whole pur
chase. However, after repeated remonstrances, presented
to them by the Company, the Assembly, by way of com
pensation for their trouble and expense, agreed that the
Company should retain 200,000 acres on the waters of
Powel and Clinch rivers, part of the Company's purchase,
with the grant or guarantee of the state for the same.
The Company felt themselves grossly aggrieved by being
thus arbitrarily dealt with; but they saw no alternative:
they had not power to do themselves justice; and there
was then no tribunal to which they could appeal. One of
the conditions of this grant or guarantee was, that it
should be surveyed within a certain limited time. The
Company, therefore, found it necessary to have the survey
made within the time prescribed ; and though the Indians
were then hostilely disposed, they ventured to depute one
of their partners with a surveyor, chain carriers and
guards; but after incurring an expense of £300 and up
wards, the survey and plot were found defective, owing to
the hurry in which the business was done. This misfor
tune obliged the Company to apply to the Assembly for
further time to have a new survey. Time was accordingly
given, and agreeably thereto, at the expense of £200 more
and upwards, the survey was completed, and soon there
after conferred by the Assembly.
But while these things were doing, the General Assem-

416 APPENDIX.
bly, in the year 1789, had ceded their western lands to
the United States, and the United States in 1790, accepted
this cession, on certain conditions, one of which was, that
all entries made by, and grants made to, any persons
within the limits ceded, should have the same force and
effect as if the cession had not been made." Within this
cession the whole of the Company's grant from the General
Assembly was comprehended ; and though, in the opinion
of the Company, it was a compensation very inadequate
to their trouble and risk and expense, yet being now in
possession of a State right as well as Indian right, they
flattered themselves their title to it was beyond a cavil.
They concluded it to be of considerable value; and as the
Holston settlements were rapidly advancing around it,
they were persuaded they could venture to form settle
ments on it, or at least dispose of it to advantage. They
therefore had a bill of partition filed in the district court
of Washington; and being now in view of a speedy par
tition and of receiving some small compensation for their
great expenditures and trouble, they could not help being
greatly astonished and extremely mortified, when they
learnt that almost the whole of their grant from the As
sembly was ceded to the Cherokee Indians by the United
States at the treaty of Holston, made on the day
of 179
Such a seizure and disposal of the property of citizens
without any previous stipulation with the proprietors, nay
without the least notice given them or any crime alleged
against them, appeared to your Memorialists not only im
proper but unjust; but for the honor of the States, your
Memorialists hope, that at the time this cession was made
to the Indians, the government was not aware that such
private property was comprehended in it^ At any rate,
if for political reasons, and for the interest of the States,

APPENDIX. 417
it was found expedient to make such a sacrifice of the
rights of a private company, it is to be hoped that Con
gress will be disposed to make ample compensation.
Twenty years have nearly elapsed since the Company
made their purchase from the Indians. The expenses of
this purchase from first to last have been great, and have
been the means of reducing some of the Company to
great difficulties ; for, owing to the facts and circumstances
above set forth, they have not to this day, been able to
receive the smallest recompense.
The injustice and oppression complained of are flagrant,
and the facts and circumstances above set forth are noto
rious, at least they are well known to the Senators and
Eepresentatives in Congress from the state of North Caro
lina, and the deeds and other vouchers are ready to be pro
duced. And that all difficulty and dispute may hereafter
be done away, your memorialists are willing, upon receiv
ing proper compensation, to relinquish all claim to the
lauds purchased by them from the Indians within the
chartered limits of North Carolina, an extensive territory
now held by the United States in which the Indian claim
was extinguished by fair purchase, at the expense of your
Memorialists. Your Memorialists therefore, without fur
ther detail, beg leave to submit their case to the wisdom
and justice of the Congress of the United States, and
from them hope for speedy and ample redress.
Your Memorialists have only further to request, that
whatever compensation Congress may be pleased to give
them, may be directed to be dealt out to your Memo-
rialtsts and Company, and their representatives or assigns,
respectively, in proportion to the share to which each is
entitled by the copartnership.
Signed for and in behalf of the Company, by
Jno. Williams, Chairman.
6th January, 1795.

418 appendix.
" The Wae Belt." — The principal part of this legend
was published some years ago, by an anonymous writer
in a Pittsburgh newspaper, who gave the name of the
late venerated Major Denny as his authority. We had
heard something of the story before, though in a less au
thentic form ; and upon conversing with our distinguished
friend. General Harrison, he not only conflrmed, but cor
rected the writer as to the place where the treaty must
have been held. It was not at Cincinnati, as was alleged,
but at North Bend, that Clarke held the treaty referred
to. The flrst military post was at the latter place, and it
was there that Judge Symmes intended to establish his
city; but accident, or the superior advantages of the site
of Cincinnati, induced a number of persons to cluster
about this spot, and the Fort was brought here.
George Eogers Clarke was a remarkable man. He was
one of the noblest of the sons of Virginia, so prolific in
heroes and statesmen. His talents were of a high order,
his military genius unsurpassed by that of any man of
his age. He seems to have possessed a number of quali
fications that are but rarely combined in the character
of one person, and a versatility not often found united
with a sound judgment. To great quickness of percep
tion, and clearness of mind, Clarke added a solidity of
judgment, a boldness of thought, and a vigor of action,
that carried every thing before them. The boldness of
his designs, the promptness of his decisions, the rapidity
of his movements, surprised his friends as well as his
enemies, inspiring fear on the one hand, and confidence
on the other. It was remarked of him, that his actions
always had the appearance of rashness, until the results
were developed, and then they seemed to have been con
ceived in consummate prudence, and profound sagacity.

APPENDIX. 419
He was very successful in ^is military enterprises, some
of which were brilliant. His campaign against Kaskas
kia and Vincennes has seldom been excelled.; there was a
boldness, a completeness, a unity in the plan, a coolness
and brilliancy in the execution, that would have done
honor to the most accomplished leader. His appearance
and manners were prepossessing and commanding. On
ordinary occasions his address is said to have been dig
nified and winning, but in his moments of anger there
was a sternness in his aspect that was terrific. Hence
his sway over common minds, which were alternately al
lured by his • cordiality, and overawed by his energy.
Among the Indians his name was powerful. His rapid
marches, and his successes in his campaigns against them,
made him extensively known and feared, while those who
approached him in friendship were won by his manners.

An amusing anecdote is told illustrative of the times
and the men. An Indian chief who had been in the hos
tile ranks, was in the habit after peace of visiting Clarke,
and became much attached to him. Having both been
active leaders in the then recent wars, their conversation
naturally turned upon those events — the more especially
as the native warrior's fund of conversational lore must
have been very limited. On one occasion they amused
themselves with a kind of friendly bragging over each
other, in which each enumerated the victories of his own
nation. Using the personal pronoun to designate their
respective nations, the conversation ran thus: "I beat
you at such a place." " I made you run at such a place."
"I cut you to pieces at such a place." "That was very
well done, but nothing to compare to the trjck I played
you at such a place." At length the Indian, in an ex
ulting manner referred to the lamentable massacre at the

420 APPENDIX. '
Blue Lick, " I beat you thgre, badly, — you never gained
such a victory as that." "No," replied Clarke, "perhaps
we never did, but you won that by luck." And then
rapidly describing the ground and the battle, which both
of them were familiar with, though neither were in the
engagement, he added, " Now suppose that instead of
fighting you here, on the edge of the water, we had sent
a party round here, and attacked you in this direction,
what would have become of you?" The chief considered
foj a moment, and then acknowledged himself beaten.
"I can't fight with you any more. General," said he.
"You too mu(fh big captain for me."

YALE UNIVERSITY

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