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diff --git a/3073-h/3073-h.htm b/3073-h/3073-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7490d71 --- /dev/null +++ b/3073-h/3073-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9118 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<title> + Pioneers of the Old Southwest, by Constance Lindsay Skinner, + Volume 18 of the Chronicles of America series, + an e-book presented by Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="cover" href="images/cover.jpg" /> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { margin:7%; text-align: justify; } +h1 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } +h2 { text-align: center; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + font-weight:bold; font-size:medium;} +h3 { text-align: center; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + font-weight:bold; font-size:medium;} +h4 { text-align: left; font-weight:bold; font-size:small; + margin-bottom:0em;} +p {text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em;} +a {text-decoration:none;} +blockquote {font-size: 97%; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} + +p.author { text-indent:0; text-align: center; + font-weight:bold; font-size:large; + margin-bottom:2em;} +div#start-of-book + { text-indent:0; text-align: center; + font-weight:bold; font-size:large; + margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em;} +div#start-of-book p {margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em;} + +div.chapterhead { padding-top:4em; } +hr { width: 50%; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em;} +hr.break { width: 20%; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em;} + +p.chaptertitle + { text-indent:0; text-align: center; + font-variant:small-caps; + font-weight:bold; font-size:1.2em; + margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + margin-bottom:2em;} +p.tiny {width:10%; margin:1em auto; border-bottom:1px solid gray;} + +p.book-subtitle, p.book-dedication + { text-indent:0; text-align:center; + font-weight:bold; font-variant:small-caps; + margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; } +/* titlepage classes */ +div#titlepage { padding-top:5%; padding-bottom:5%; + margin-right:15%; margin-left:15%; + text-align: center;} +div#titlepage p {text-indent:0em;} + /* footer classes */ + +div.footer { border-style:solid; border-color:silver; border-width:thin; + border-top:none; border-bottom:none; + padding-left:10%; padding-right:10%;} +div.footer p { text-indent:0; text-align:justify; font-size:80%; } + /* index classes */ +div.indexfont { font-size:small; text-indent:0; + margin:auto; margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; + padding-top:1em;} + /* boilerplate classes */ + +div.boilerplate { margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em;} +div.boilerplate p { text-indent:0;} + +.pagenum { right: 1%; font-size: x-small; + background-color: inherit; color: gray; + text-indent: 0em; text-align: right; position: absolute; + /* To remove the page-numbers, use the hidden visibilty feature */ + /* visibility:hidden; */ + border: 1px solid silver; padding: 1px 2px; + font-style: normal; + font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;} + /* simple-function classes */ +.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;} +.superscript { font-size:65%; vertical-align:top; } +.center {text-align:center; } +.right { text-align:right; } +.small {font-size:small;} +.xlarge {font-size:x-large;} +.noindent {text-indent: 0%; } +.indent {text-indent: 1em; } +.no-space-top {margin-top:0em;} +.double-space-top {margin-top:2em;} +.single-space-top {margin-top:1em;} +.quad-space-bottom {margin-bottom:4em;} +.space-bottom {margin-bottom:1em;} +.bold {font-weight:bold;} +.italic {font-style:italic;} +.nice-left-margin {margin-left:2.5em;} +.big-right-pad {padding-right:1em;} +.padding20 {padding-left:20%;} +.padding10 {padding-left:10%;} + /* table of contents styling */ +table.toc {margin:0 auto;} +table.toc caption {font-variant:small-caps; font-weight:bold;} +table.toc th {font-size:small; } +table.toc tr td {vertical-align:top;} +table.toc tr td:first-child {text-align:right; padding-right:.5em; } +table.toc tr td:last-child {text-align:right;} + /* poem classes */ +p.poem { text-indent:0em; font-size:small; + margin:0 auto; width:17em;} +p.poem1 { text-indent:-3em; + margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;} +p.poem2 { text-indent:-1.5em; + margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;} +div.poem1 {margin-left:3em;} + /* index classes */ + div#index { font-size:small; + margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%;} + div#index p {margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em; + text-indent:0em;} +</style> + </head> + <body> + +<div class="boilerplate"> +<p> +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pioneers of the Old Southwest, by +Constance Lindsay Skinner. +</p> + +<p> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org +</p> + +<p class="no-space-bottom"> +Title: Pioneers of the Old Southwest</p> +<p class="nice-left-margin no-space-top no-space-bottom"> + A Chronicle of Trail, Road, and Waterway,<br /> + Volume 18 of The Chronicles of America Series</p> +<p class="no-space-top"> +Author: Constance Lindsay Skinner<br /> +Release Date: February 21, 2009 [EBook #3073]<br /> +Last Updated: November 18, 2016<br /> +Language: English<br /> +Character set encoding: UTF-8. <br /> +</p> + +<p> +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library of St. Gregory's +University, Alev Akman, Doris Ringbloom, David Widger, and Robert Homa. +</p> + +<p class="bold double-space-top quad-space-bottom"> +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST *** +</p> +</div> + + + +<div id="titlepage"> + <h1>Pioneers of the Old Southwest</h1> + <p class="author">By Constance Lindsay Skinner</p> + <p class="book-subtitle">A Chronicle of the Dark and Bloody Ground</p> + <p> + Volume 18 of the<br /> + Chronicles of America Series <br /> + ∴<br /> + Allen Johnson, Editor<br /> + Assistant Editors<br /> + Gerhard R. Lomer <br /> + Charles W. Jefferys + </p> + <hr class="tiny" /> + <p> + <i>Textbook Edition</i><br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="small"> + New Haven: Yale University Press<br /> + Toronto: Glasgow, Brook & Co.<br /> + London: Humphrey Milford<br /> + Oxford University Press<br /> + 1919 + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <p class="small"> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">ii</a></span> + Copyright, 1919<br /> + by Yale University Press <br /> + </p> +</div> + <p><br /></p> + <hr /> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">vii</a></span> + <a name="Preface" id="Preface"></a> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">Acknowledgment.</a> + </h2> + <p> + This narrative is founded largely on original sources—on the + writings and journals of pioneers and contemporary observers, such as + Doddridge and Adair, and on the public documents of the period as printed + in the Colonial Records and in the American Archives. But the author is, + nevertheless, greatly indebted to the researches of other writers, whose + works are cited in the Bibliographical Note. The author's thanks are due, + also, to Dr. Archibald Henderson, of the University of North Carolina, for + his kindness in reading the proofs of this book for comparison with his + own extended collection of unpublished manuscripts relating to the period. + </p> + <p> + C. L. S. + </p> + <p> + April, 1919. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + + + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">ix</a></span> + <a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a> + </p> + <h2>Contents.</h2> + <table class="toc" summary="Table of Contents for Pioneers of the Old Southwest"> +<caption>Pioneers of the Old Southwest</caption> +<thead> +<tr> +<th>Chapter</th> +<th>Chapter Title</th> +<th>Page</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td class="smcap">Preface</td> + <td><a href="#Preface">vii</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>I.</td> + <td class="smcap">The Tread Of Pioneers</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter01">1</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>II.</td> + <td class="smcap">Folkways</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter02">31</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>III.</td> + <td class="smcap">The Trader</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter03">52</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>IV.</td> + <td class="smcap">The Passing Of The French Peril</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter04">75</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>V.</td> + <td class="smcap">Boone, The Wanderer</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter05">90</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>VI.</td> + <td class="smcap">The Fight For Kentucky</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter06">104</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>VII.</td> + <td class="smcap">The Dark And Bloody Ground</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter07">129</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>VIII.</td> + <td class="smcap">Tennessee</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter08">157</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>IX.</td> + <td class="smcap">King's Mountain</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter09">195</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>X.</td> + <td class="smcap">Sevier, The Statemaker</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter10">226</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>XI.</td> + <td class="smcap">Boone's Last Days</td> + <td><a href="#Chapter11">272</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class="smcap">Bibliographical Note</td> + <td><a href="#Biblio">287</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class="smcap">Index</td> + <td><a href="#indexChapter">293</a></td> + </tr> +</tbody> +</table> + + + <p><br /></p> + + + + <hr /> + + <div id="start-of-book"> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_001" id="Page_001">1</a></span> + <a name="Chapter01" id="Chapter01"></a> + PIONEERS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST + </p> + <p class="xlarge single-space-top"> + ∴ + </p> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER I.</a> + </h2> + </div> + + <p class="chaptertitle">The Tread Of Pioneers</p> + + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">The</span> Ulster Presbyterians, or “Scotch-Irish,” + to whom history has ascribed the dominant rôle among the pioneer + folk of the Old Southwest, began their migrations to America in the latter + years of the seventeenth century. It is not known with certainty precisely + when or where the first immigrants of their race arrived in this country, + but soon after 1680 they were to be found in several of the colonies. It + was not long, indeed, before they were entering in numbers at the port of + Philadelphia and were making Pennsylvania the chief center of their + activities in the New World. By 1726 they had established settlements in + several counties behind Philadelphia. Ten years later they had begun their + great trek southward through + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_002" id="Page_002">2</a></span> + the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and on to the + Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. There they met others of their own race—bold + men like themselves, hungry after land—who were coming in through + Charleston and pushing their way up the rivers from the seacoast to the + “Back Country,” in search of homes. + </p> + <p> + These Ulstermen did not come to the New World as novices in the shaping of + society; they had already made history. Their ostensible object in America + was to obtain land, but, like most external aims, it was secondary to a + deeper purpose. What had sent the Ulstermen to America was a passion for a + whole freedom. They were lusty men, shrewd and courageous, zealous to the + death for an ideal and withal so practical to the moment in business that + it soon came to be commonly reported of them that “they kept the Sabbath + and everything else they could lay their hands on,” though it is but + fair to them to add that this phrase is current wherever Scots dwell. They + had contested in Parliament and with arms for their own form of worship + and for their civil rights. They were already frontiersmen, trained in the + hardihood and craft of border warfare through years of guerrilla fighting + with the Irish Celts. They had pitted and proved + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_003" id="Page_003">3</a></span> + their strength against a + wilderness; they had reclaimed the North of Ireland from desolation. For + the time, many of them were educated men; under the regulations of the + Presbyterian Church every child was taught to read at an early age, since + no person could be admitted to the privileges of the Church who did not + both understand and approve the Presbyterian constitution and discipline. + They were brought up on the Bible and on the writings of their famous + pastors, one of whom, as early as 1650, had given utterance to the + democratic doctrine that "men are called to the magistracy by the suffrage + of the people whom they govern, and for men to assume unto themselves + power is mere tyranny and unjust usurpation." In subscribing to this + doctrine and in resisting to the hilt all efforts of successive English + kings to interfere in the election of their pastors, the Scots of Ulster + had already declared for democracy. + </p> + <p> + It was shortly after James VI of Scotland became James I of England and + while the English were founding Jamestown that the Scots had first + occupied Ulster; but the true origin of the Ulster Plantation lies further + back, in the reign of Henry VIII, in the days of the English Reformation. + In Henry's Irish realm the Reformation, though + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_004" id="Page_004">4</a></span> + proclaimed by royal authority, had + never been accomplished; and Henry's more famous daughter, Elizabeth, had + conceived the plan, later to be carried out by James, of planting colonies + of Protestants in Ireland to promote loyalty in that rebellious land. Six + counties, comprising half a million acres, formed the Ulster Plantation. + The great majority of the colonists sent thither by James were Scotch + Lowlanders, but among them were many English and a smaller number of + Highlanders. These three peoples from the island of Britain brought forth, + through intermarriage, the Ulster Scots. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Charles I had inaugurated for the Ulstermen an era of + persecution. Charles practically suppressed the Presbyterian religion in + Ireland. His son, Charles II, struck at Ireland in 1666 through its cattle + trade, by prohibiting the exportation of beef to England and Scotland. The + Navigation Acts, excluding Ireland from direct trade with the colonies, + ruined Irish commerce, while Corporation Acts and Test Acts requiring + conformity with the practices of the Church of England bore heavily on the + Ulster Presbyterians. + </p> + <p> + It was largely by refugees from religious persecution that America in the + beginning was colonized. But religious persecution was only one of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_005" id="Page_005">5</a></span> + influences which shaped the course and formed the character of the Ulster + Scots. In Ulster, whither they had originally been transplanted by James + to found a loyal province in the midst of the King's enemies, they had + done their work too well and had waxed too powerful for the comfort of + later monarchs. The first attacks upon them struck at their religion; but + the subsequent legislative acts which successively ruined the woolen + trade, barred nonconformists from public office, stifled Irish commerce, + pronounced non-Episcopal marriages irregular, and instituted heavy + taxation and high rentals for the land their fathers had made + productive—these were blows dealt chiefly for the political and + commercial ends of favored classes in England. + </p> + <p> + These attacks, aimed through his religious conscience at the sources of + his livelihood, made the Ulster Scot perforce what he was—a zealot + as a citizen and a zealot as a merchant no less than as a Presbyterian. + Thanks to his persecutors, he made a religion of everything he undertook + and regarded his civil rights as divine rights. Thus out of persecution + emerged a type of man who was high-principled and narrow, strong and + violent, as tenacious of his own rights as he was blind often to the + rights of others, acquisitive yet self-sacrificing, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_006" id="Page_006">6</a></span> + but most of all fearless, confident of his own power, determined to have + and to hold. + </p> + <p> + Twenty thousand Ulstermen, it is estimated, left Ireland for America in + the first three decades of the eighteenth century. More than six thousand + of them are known to have entered Pennsylvania in 1729 alone, and twenty + years later they numbered one-quarter of that colony's population. During + the five years preceding the Revolutionary War more than thirty thousand + Ulstermen crossed the ocean and arrived in America just in time and in + just the right frame of mind to return King George's compliment in kind, + by helping to deprive him of his American estates, a domain very much + larger than the acres of Ulster. They fully justified the fears of the + good bishop who wrote Lord Dartmouth, Secretary for the Colonies, that he + trembled for the peace of the King's overseas realm, since these thousands + of “phanatical and hungry Republicans” had sailed for America. + </p> + <p> + The Ulstermen who entered by Charleston were known to the inhabitants of + the tidewater regions as the “Scotch-Irish.” Those who came from the + north, lured southward by the offer of cheap lands, were called the “Pennsylvania + Irish.” Both were, however, of the same race—a race twice + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_007" id="Page_007">7</a></span> + expatriated, + first from Scotland and then from Ireland, and stripped of all that it had + won throughout more than a century of persecution. To these exiles the + Back Country of North Carolina, with its cheap and even free tracts lying + far from the seat of government, must have seemed not only the Land of + Promise but the Land of Last Chance. Here they must strike their roots + into the sod with such interlocking strength that no cataclysm of tyranny + should ever dislodge them—or they must accept the fate dealt out to + them by their former persecutors and become a tribe of nomads and serfs. + But to these Ulster immigrants such a choice was no choice at all. They + knew themselves strong men, who had made the most of opportunity despite + almost superhuman obstacles. The drumming of their feet along the banks of + the Shenandoah, or up the rivers from Charleston, and on through the broad + sweep of the Yadkin Valley, was a conquering people's challenge to the + Wilderness which lay sleeping like an unready sentinel at the gates of + their Future. + </p> + <p> + It is maintained still by many, however often disputed, that the Ulstermen + were the first to declare for American Independence, as in the Old Country + they were the first to demand the separation of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_008" id="Page_008">8</a></span> + Church and State. A Declaration of + Independence is said to have been drawn up and signed in Mecklenburg + County, North Carolina, on May 20, 1775. ¹ However that may be, it is + certain that these Mecklenburg Protestants had received special schooling + in the doctrine of independence. They had in their midst for eight years + (1758-66) the Reverend Alexander Craighead, a Presbyterian minister who, + for his “republican doctrines” expressed in a pamphlet, had been + disowned by the Pennsylvania Synod acting on the Governor's protest, and + so persecuted in Virginia that he had at last fled to the North Carolina + Back Country. There, during the remaining years of his life, as the sole + preacher and teacher in the settlements between the Yadkin and the Catawba + rivers he found willing soil in which to sow the seeds of Liberty. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p class="footer"> + <a id="footer_8-1" name="footer_8-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_008">¹</a> + See Hoyt, <i>The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence</i>; and <i>American + Archives,</i> Fourth Series. vol. II, p. 855. + </p> + </div> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + There was another branch of the Scottish race which helped to people the + Back Country. The Highlanders, whose loyalty to their oath made them fight + on the King's side in the Revolutionary War, have been somewhat overlooked + in history. Tradition, handed down among the transplanted + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_009" id="Page_009">9</a></span> + clans—who, + for the most part, spoke only Gaelic for a generation and wrote nothing—and + latterly recorded by one or two of their descendants, supplies us with all + we are now able to learn of the early coming of the Gaels to Carolina. It + would seem that their first immigration to America in small bands took + place after the suppression of the Jacobite rising in 1715—when + Highlanders fled in numbers also to France—for by 1729 there was a + settlement of them on the Cape Fear River. We know, too, that in 1748 it + was charged against Gabriel Johnston, Governor of North Carolina from 1734 + to 1752, that he had shown no joy over the King's “glorious victory of + Culloden” and that “he had appointed one William McGregor, who had + been in the Rebellion in the year 1715 a Justice of the Peace during the + last Rebellion [1745] and was not himself without suspicion of + disaffection to His Majesty's Government.” It is indeed possible that + Gabriel Johnston, formerly a professor at St. Andrew's University, had + himself not always been a stranger to the kilt. He induced large numbers + of Highlanders to come to America and probably influenced the second + George to moderate his treatment of the vanquished Gaels in the Old + Country and permit their emigration to the New World. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_010" id="Page_010">10</a></span> In + contrast with the Ulstermen, whose secular ideals were dictated by the + forms of their Church, these Scots adhered still to the tribal or clan + system, although they, too, in the majority, were Presbyterians, with a + minority of Roman Catholics and Episcopalians. In the Scotch Highlands + they had occupied small holdings on the land under the sway of their + chief, or Head of the Clan, to whom they were bound by blood and fealty + but to whom they paid no rentals. The position of the Head of the Clan was + hereditary, but no heir was bold enough to step forward into that position + until he had performed some deed of worth. They were principally herders, + their chief stock being the famous small black cattle of the Highlands. + Their wars with each other were cattle raids. Only in war, however, did + the Gael lay hands on his neighbor's goods. There were no highwaymen and + housebreakers in the Highlands. No Highland mansion, cot, or barn was ever + locked. Theft and the breaking of an oath, sins against man's honor, were + held in such abhorrence that no one guilty of them could remain among his + clansmen in the beloved glens. These Highlanders were a race of tall, + robust men, who lived simply and frugally and slept on the heath among + their flocks in all weathers, with no + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_011" id="Page_011">11</a></span> + other covering from rain and + snow than their plaidies. It is reported of the Laird of Keppoch, who was + leading his clan to war in winter time, that his men were divided as to + the propriety of following him further because he rolled a snowball to + rest his head upon when he lay down. “Now we despair of victory,” + they said, “since our leader has become so effeminate he cannot sleep + without a pillow!” ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_11-1" name="footer_11-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_011">¹</a> + MacLean, <i>An Historical Account of the + Settlement of Scotch Highlanders in America.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + The “King's glorious victory of Culloden” was followed by a policy of + extermination carried on by the orders and under the personal direction of + the Duke of Cumberland. When King George at last restrained his son from + his orgy of blood, he offered the Gaels their lives and exile to America + on condition of their taking the full oath of allegiance. The majority + accepted his terms, for not only were their lives forfeit but their crops + and cattle had been destroyed and the holdings on which their ancestors + had lived for many centuries taken from them. The descriptions of the + scenes attending their leave-taking of the hills and glens they loved with + such passionate fervor are among the most pathetic in history. Strong men + who had met the ravage of a brutal sword without weakening + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_012" id="Page_012">12</a></span> + abandoned + themselves to the agony of sorrow. They kissed the walls of their houses. + They flung themselves on the ground and embraced the sod upon which they + had walked in freedom. They called their broken farewells to the peaks and + lochs of the land they were never again to see; and, as they turned their + backs and filed down through the passes, their pipers played the dirge for + the dead. + </p> + <p> + Such was the character, such the deep feeling, of the race which entered + North Carolina from the coast and pushed up into the wilderness about the + headwaters of Cape Fear River. Tradition indicates that these hillsmen + sought the interior because the grass and pea vine which overgrew the + inner country stretching towards the mountains provided excellent fodder + for the cattle which some of the chiefs are said to have brought with + them. These Gaelic herders, perhaps in negligible numbers, were in the + Yadkin Valley before 1730, possibly even ten years earlier. In 1739 Neil + MacNeill of Kintyre brought over a shipload of Gaels to rejoin his + kinsman, Hector MacNeill, called Bluff Hector from his residence near the + bluffs at Cross Creek, now Fayetteville. Some of these immigrants went on + to the Yadkin, we are told, to unite with others of their clan who had + been for some time in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_013" id="Page_013">13</a></span> + that district. The exact time of the first Highlander on the Yadkin cannot + be ascertained, as there were no court records and the offices of the land + companies were not then open for the sale of these remote regions. But by + 1753 there were not less than four thousand Gaels in Cumberland County, + where they occupied the chief magisterial posts; and they were already + spreading over the lands now comprised within Moore, Anson, Richmond, + Robeson, Bladen, and Sampson counties. In these counties Gaelic was as + commonly heard as English. + </p> + <p> + In the years immediately preceding the Revolution and even in 1776 itself + they came in increasing numbers. They knew nothing of the smoldering fire + just about to break into flames in the country of their choice, but the + Royal Governor, Josiah Martin, knew that Highland arms would soon be + needed by His Majesty. He knew something of Highland honor, too; for he + would not let the Gaels proceed after their landing until they had bound + themselves by oath to support the Government of King George. So it was + that the unfortunate Highlanders found themselves, according to their + strict code of honor, forced to wield arms against the very Americans who + had received and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_014" id="Page_014">14</a></span> + befriended them—and for the crowned brother of a prince whose name + is execrated to this day in Highland song and story! + </p> + <p> + They were led by Allan MacDonald of Kingsborough; and tradition gives us a + stirring picture of Allan's wife—the famous Flora MacDonald, who in + Scotland had protected the Young Pretender in his flight—making an + impassioned address in Gaelic to the Highland soldiers and urging them on + to die for honor's sake. When this Highland force was conquered by the + Americans, the large majority willingly bound themselves not to fight + further against the American cause and were set at liberty. Many of them + felt that, by offering their lives to the swords of the Americans, they + had canceled their obligation to King George and were now free to draw + their swords again and, this time, in accordance with their sympathies; so + they went over to the American side and fought gallantly for independence. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Although the brave glory of this pioneer age shines so brightly on the + Lion Rampant of Caledonia, not to Scots alone does that whole glory + belong. The second largest racial stream which flowed into the Back + Country of Virginia and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_015" id="Page_015">15</a></span> + North Carolina was German. Most of these + Germans went down from Pennsylvania and were generally called “Pennsylvania + Dutch,” an incorrect rendering of <i>Pennsylvänische Deutsche</i>. + The upper Shenandoah Valley was settled almost entirely by Germans. They + were members of the Lutheran, German Reformed, and Moravian churches. The + cause which sent vast numbers of this sturdy people across the ocean, + during the first years of the eighteenth century, was religious + persecution. By statute and by sword the Roman Catholic powers of Austria + sought to wipe out the Salzburg Lutherans and the Moravian followers of + John Huss. In that region of the Rhine country known in those days as the + German Palatinate, now a part of Bavaria, Protestants were being massacred + by the troops of Louis of France, then engaged in the War of the Spanish + Succession (1701-13) and in the zealous effort to extirpate heretics from + the soil of Europe. In 1708, by proclamation, Good Queen Anne offered + protection to the persecuted Palatines and invited them to her dominions. + Twelve thousand of them went to England, where they were warmly received + by the English. But it was no slight task to settle twelve thousand + immigrants of an alien speech in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_016" id="Page_016">16</a></span> + England and enable them to become independent + and self-supporting. A better solution of their problem lay in the Western + World. The Germans needed homes and the Queen's overseas dominions needed + colonists. They were settled at first along the Hudson, and eventually + many of them took up lands in the fertile valley of the Mohawk. + </p> + <p> + For fifty years or more German and Austrian Protestants poured into + America. In Pennsylvania their influx averaged about fifteen hundred a + year, and that colony became the distributing center for the German race + in America. By 1727, Adam Müller and his little company had + established the first white settlement in the Valley of Virginia. In 1732 + Joist Heydt went south from York, Pennsylvania, and settled on the Opequan + Creek at or near the site of the present city of Winchester. + </p> + <p> + The life of Count Zinzendorf, called “the Apostle,” one of the + leaders of the Moravian immigrants, glows like a star out of those dark + and troublous times. Of high birth and gentle nurture, he forsook whatever + of ease his station promised him and fitted himself for evangelical work. + In 1741 he visited the Wyoming Valley to bring his religion to the + Delawares and Shawanoes. He was not of those picturesque Captains of the + Lord who + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_017" id="Page_017">17</a></span> + bore their muskets on their shoulders when they went forth to preach. + Armored only with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the + sword of the spirit, his feet “shod with the preparation of the gospel + of peace,” he went out into the country of these bloodthirsty tribes + and told them that he had come to them in their darkness to teach the love + of the Christ which lighteth the world. The Indians received him + suspiciously. One day while he sat in his tent writing, some Delawares + drew near to slay him and were about to strike when they saw two deadly + snakes crawl in from the opposite side of the tent, move directly towards + the Apostle, and pass harmlessly over his body. Thereafter they regarded + him as under spiritual protection. Indeed so widespread was his good fame + among the tribes that for some years all Moravian settlements along the + borders were unmolested. Painted savages passed through on their way to + war with enemy bands or to raid the border, but for the sake of one + consecrated spirit, whom they had seen death avoid, they spared the lives + and goods of his fellow believers. When Zinzendorf departed a year later, + his mantle fell on David Zeisberger, who lived the love he taught for over + fifty years and converted many savages. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_018" id="Page_018">18</a></span> + Zeisberger was taken before the + Governor and army heads at Philadelphia, who had only too good reason to + be suspicious of priestly counsels in the tents of Shem: but he was able + to impress white men no less than simple savages with the nobility of the + doctrine he had learned from the Apostle. + </p> + <p> + In 1751 the Moravian Brotherhood purchased one hundred thousand acres in + North Carolina from Lord Granville. Bishop Spangenburg was commissioned to + survey this large acreage, which was situated in the present county of + Forsyth east of the Yadkin, and which is historically listed as the + Wachovia Tract. In 1753, twelve Brethren left the Moravian settlements of + Bethlehem and Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, and journeyed southward to begin + the founding of a colony on their new land. Brother Adam Grube, one of the + twelve, kept a diary of the events of this expedition. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_18-1" name="footer_18-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_018">¹</a> + This diary is printed in full in <i>Travels in + the American Colonies</i> edited by N. D. Mereness. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Honor to whom honor is due. We have paid it, in some measure, to the + primitive Gaels of the Highlands for their warrior strength and their + fealty, and to the enlightened Scots of Ulster for their enterprise and + for their sacrifice unto blood that free conscience and just laws might + promote the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_019" id="Page_019">19</a></span> + progress and safeguard the intercourse of their kind. Now let us take up + for a moment Brother Grube's <i>Journal</i> even as we welcome, perhaps + the more gratefully, the mild light of evening after the flooding sun, or + as our hearts, when too strongly stirred by the deeds of men, turn for + rest to the serene faith and the naïve speech of little children. + </p> + <p> + The twelve, we learn, were under the leadership of one of their number, + Brother Gottlob. Their earliest alarms on the march were not caused, as we + might expect, by anticipations of the painted Cherokee, but by encounters + with the strenuous “Irish.” One of these came and laid himself to + sleep beside the Brethren's camp fire on their first night out, after they + had sung their evening hymn and eleven had stretched themselves on the + earth for slumber, while Brother Gottlob, their leader, hanging his + hammock between two trees, ascended—not only in spirit—a + little higher than his charges, and “rested well in it.” Though the + alarming Irishman did not disturb them, the Brethren's doubts of that race + continued, for Brother Grube wrote on the 14th of October: “About four + in the morning we set up our tent, going four miles beyond Carl Isles + [Carlisle, seventeen miles southwest of Harrisburg] so as not to be too + near the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_020" id="Page_020">20</a></span> + Irish Presbyterians. After breakfast the Brethren shaved and then we + rested under our tent.… People who were staying at the Tavern came + to see what kind of folk we were.… Br Gottlob held the evening + service and then we lay down around our cheerful fire, and Br Gottlob in + his hammock.” Two other jottings give us a racial kaleidoscope of the + settlers and wayfarers of that time. On one day the Brethren bought “some + hay from a Swiss,” later “some kraut from a German which tasted very + good to us”; and presently “an Englishman came by and drank a cup of + tea with us and was very grateful for it.” Frequently the little band + paused while some of the Brethren went off to the farms along the route to + help “cut hay.” These kindly acts were usually repaid with gifts of + food or produce. + </p> + <p> + One day while on the march they halted at a tavern and farm in Shenandoah + Valley kept by a man whose name Brother Grube wrote down as “Severe.” + Since we know that Brother Grube's spelling of names other than German + requires editing, we venture to hazard a guess that the name he attempted + to set down as it sounded to him was Sevier. And we wonder if, in his + brief sojourn, he saw a lad of eight years, slim, tall, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_021" id="Page_021">21</a></span> + blond, with + daring and mischievous blue eyes, and a certain curve of the lips that + threatened havoc in the hearts of both sexes when he should be a man and + reach out with swift hands and reckless will for his desires. If he saw + this lad, he beheld John Sevier, later to become one of the most + picturesque and beloved heroes of the Old Southwest. + </p> + <p> + Hardships abounded on the Brethren's journey, but faith and the + Christian's joy, which no man taketh from him, met and surmounted them. “Three + and a half miles beyond, the road forked.… We took the right hand + road but found no water for ten miles. It grew late and we had to drive + five miles into the night to find a stoppingplace.” Two of the Brethren + went ahead “to seek out the road” through the darkened wilderness. + There were rough hills in the way; and, the horses being exhausted, “Brethren + had to help push.” But, in due season, “Br Nathanael held evening + prayer and then we slept in the care of Jesus,” with Brother Gottlob as + usual in his hammock. Three days later the record runs: “Toward evening + we saw Jeams River, the road to it ran down so very steep a hill that we + fastened a small tree to the back of our wagon, locked the wheels, and the + Brethren held back by the tree with all their + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_022" id="Page_022">22</a></span> + might.” Even then the wagon + went down so fast that most of the Brethren lost their footing and rolled + and tumbled pell-mell. But Faith makes little of such mishaps: “No harm + was done and we thanked the Lord that he had so graciously protected us, + for it looked dangerous and we thought at times that it could not possibly + be done without accident but we got down safely… we were all very + tired and sleepy and let the angels be our guard during the night.” + Rains fell in torrents, making streams almost impassable and drenching the + little band to the skin. The hammock was empty one night, for they had to + spend the dark hours trench-digging about their tent to keep it from being + washed away. Two days later (the 10th of November) the weather cleared and + “we spent most of the day drying our blankets and mending and darning + our stockings.” They also bought supplies from settlers who, as Brother + Grube observed without irony, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + are glad we have to remain here so long and that it means money for + them. In the afternoon we held a little Lovefeast and rested our souls + in the loving sacrifice of Jesus, wishing for beloved Brethren in + Bethlehem and that they and we might live ever close to Him.… + <br /> Nov. 16. We rose early to ford the river. The bank was so steep + that we hung a tree behind the wagon, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_023" id="Page_023">23</a></span> + fastening it in such a way + that we could quickly release it when the wagon reached the water. The + current was very swift and the lead horses were carried down a bit with + it. The water just missed running into the wagon but we came safely to + the other bank, which however we could not climb but had to take half + the things out of the wagon, tie ropes to the axle on which we could + pull, help our horses which were quite stiff, and so we brought our ark + again to dry land. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + On the evening of the 17th of November the twelve arrived safely on their + land on the “Etkin” (Yadkin), having been six weeks on the march. + They found with joy that, as ever, the Lord had provided for them. This + time the gift was a deserted cabin, “large enough that we could all lie + down around the walls. We at once made preparation for a little Lovefeast + and rejoiced heartily with one another.” + </p> + <p> + In the deserted log cabin, which, to their faith, seemed as one of those + mansions “not built with hands” and descended miraculously from the + heavens, they held their Lovefeast, while wolves padded and howled about + the walls; and in that Pentacostal hour the tongue of fire descended upon + Brother Gottlob, so that he made a new song unto the Lord. Who shall + venture to say it is not better worth preserving than many a classic? + </p> + <div class="poem1"> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_024" id="Page_024">24</a></span> + <p class="poem1 padding20">We hold arrival Lovefeast here</p> + <p class="poem2 padding20">In Carolina land,</p> + <p class="poem1 padding20">A company of Brethren true,</p> + <p class="poem2 padding20">A little Pilgrim-Band,</p> + <p class="poem1 padding20">Called by the Lord to be of those</p> + <p class="poem2 padding20">Who through the whole world go,</p> + <p class="poem1 padding20">To bear Him witness everywhere </p> + <p class="poem2 padding20"> And nought but Jesus know.</p> + </div> + + <p class="noindent"> + Then, we are told, the Brethren lay down to rest and “<em>Br Gottlob + hung his hammock above our heads</em>”—as was most fitting on + this of all nights; for is not the Poet's place always just a little + nearer to the stars? + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + The pioneers did not always travel in groups. There were families who set + off alone. One of these now claims our attention, for there was a lad in + this family whose name and deeds were to sound like a ballad of romance + from out the dusty pages of history. This family's name was Boone. + </p> + <p> + Neither Scots nor Germans can claim Daniel Boone; he was in blood a blend + of English and Welsh; in character wholly English. His grandfather George + Boone was born in 1666 in the hamlet of Stoak, near Exeter in Devonshire. + George Boone was a weaver by trade and a Quaker by religion. In England in + his time the Quakers were + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_025" id="Page_025">25</a></span> + oppressed, and George Boone therefore sought + information of William Penn, his coreligionist, regarding the colony which + Penn had established in America. In 1712 he sent his three elder children, + George, Sarah, and Squire, to spy out the land. Sarah and Squire remained + in Pennsylvania, while their brother returned to England with glowing + reports. On August 17, 1717, George Boone, his wife, and the rest of his + children journeyed to Bristol and sailed for Philadelphia, arriving there + on the 10th of October. The Boones went first to Abingdon, the Quaker + farmers' community. Later they moved to the northwestern frontier hamlet + of North Wales, a Welsh community which, a few years previously, had + turned Quaker. Sarah Boone married a German named Jacob Stover, who had + settled in Oley Township, Berks County. In 1718 George Boone took up four + hundred acres in Oley, or, to be exact, in the subdivision later called + Exeter, and there he lived in his log cabin until 1744, when he died at + the age of seventy-eight. He left eight children, fifty-two grandchildren, + and ten great-grandchildren, seventy descendants in all—English, + German, Welsh, and Scotch-Irish blended into one family of Americans. + ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_25-1" name="footer_25-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_025">¹</a> + R. G. Thwaites, <i>Daniel Boone</i>, p. 5. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_026" id="Page_026">26</a></span> Among + the Welsh Quakers was a family of Morgans. In 1720 Squire Boone married + Sarah Morgan. Ten years later he obtained 250 acres in Oley on Owatin + Creek, eight miles southeast of the present city of Reading; and here, in + 1734, Daniel Boone was born, the fourth son and sixth child of Squire and + Sarah Morgan Boone. Daniel Boone therefore was a son of the frontier. In + his childhood he became familiar with hunters and with Indians, for even + the red men came often in friendly fashion to his grandfather's house. + Squire Boone enlarged his farm by thrift. He continued at his trade of + weaving and kept five or six looms going, making homespun cloth for the + market and his neighbors. + </p> + <p> + Daniel's father owned grazing grounds several miles north of the homestead + and each season he sent his stock to the range. Sarah Boone and her little + Daniel drove the cows. From early spring till late autumn, mother and son + lived in a rustic cabin alone on the frontier. A rude dairy house stood + over a cool spring, and here Sarah Boone made her butter and cheese. + Daniel, aged ten at this time, watched the herds; at sunset he drove them + to the cabin for milking, and locked them in the cowpens at night. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_027" id="Page_027">27</a></span> He was + not allowed firearms at that age, so he shaped for himself a weapon that + served him well. This was a slender smoothly shaved sapling with a small + bunch of gnarled roots at one end. So expert was he in the launching of + this primitive spear that he easily brought down birds and small game. + When he reached his twelfth year, his father bought him a rifle; and he + soon became a crack shot. A year later we find him setting off on the + autumn hunt—after driving the cattle in for the winter—with + all the keenness and courage of a man twice his thirteen years. His rifle + enabled him to return with meat for the family and skins to be traded in + Philadelphia. When he was fourteen his brother Sam married Sarah Day, an + intelligent young Quakeress who took a special interest in her young + brother-in-law and taught him “the rudiments of three R's.” + </p> + <p> + The Boones were prosperous and happy in Oley and it may be wondered why + they left their farms and their looms, both of which were profitable, and + set their faces towards the Unknown. It is recorded that, though the + Boones were Quakers, they were of a high mettle and were not infrequently + dealt with by the Meeting. Two of Squire Boone's children married + “worldlings”—non-Quakers—and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_028" id="Page_028">28</a></span> + were in consequence “disowned” by the Society. In defiance of + his sect, which strove to make him sever all connection with his unruly + offspring, Squire Boone refused to shut his doors on the son and the + daughter who had scandalized local Quakerdom. The Society of Friends + thereupon expelled him. This occurred apparently during the winter of + 1748-49. In the spring of 1750 we see the whole Boone family (save two + sons) with their wives and children, their household goods and their + stock, on the great highway, bound for a land where the hot heart and the + belligerent spirit shall not be held amiss. + </p> + <p> + Southward through the Shenandoah goes the Boone caravan. The women and + children usually sit in the wagons. The men march ahead or alongside, + keeping a keen eye open for Indian or other enemy in the wild, their + rifles under arm or over the shoulder. Squire Boone, who has done with + Quakerdom and is leading all that he holds dear out to larger horizons, is + ahead of the line, as we picture him, ready to meet first whatever danger + may assail his tribe. He is a strong wiry man of rather small stature, + with ruddy complexion, red hair, and gray eyes. Somewhere in the line, + together, we think, are the mother and son who have + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_029" id="Page_029">29</a></span> + herded cattle and companioned each other through long months in the + cabin on the frontier. We do not think of this woman as riding in the + wagon, though she may have done so, but prefer to picture her, with her + tall robust body, her black hair, and her black eyes—with the s + udden Welsh snap in them—walking as sturdily as any of her sons. + </p> + <p> + If Daniel be beside her, what does she see when she looks at him? A lad + well set up but not overtall for his sixteen years, perhaps—for + “eye-witnesses” differ in their estimates of Daniel Boone's + height—or possibly taller than he looks, because his figure has the + forest hunter's natural slant forward and the droop of the neck of one who + must watch his path sometimes in order to tread silently. It is Squire + Boone's blood which shows in his ruddy face—which would be fair + but for its tan—and in the English cut of feature, the + straw-colored eyebrows, and the blue eyes. But his Welsh mother's legacy + is seen in the black hair that hangs long and loose in the hunter's + fashion to his shoulders. We can think of Daniel Boone only as + exhilarated by this plunge into the Wild. He sees ahead—the days of + his great explorations and warfare, the discovery of Kentucky? Not at + all. This is a boy of sixteen in love with his rifle. He looks ahead to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_030" id="Page_030">30</a></span> + vistas of forest filled with deer and to skies clouded with flocks of wild + turkeys. In that dream there is happiness enough for Daniel Boone. Indeed, + for himself, even in later life, he asked little, if any more. He trudges + on blithely, whistling. + </p> + + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter02" id="Chapter02"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_031" id="Page_031">31</a></span><br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER II.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">Folkways</p> + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">These</span> migrations into the inland valleys of the + Old South mark the first great westward thrust of the American frontier. + Thus the beginnings of the westward movement disclose to us a feature + characteristic also of the later migrations which flung the frontier over + the Appalachians, across the Mississippi, and finally to the shores of the + Pacific. The pioneers, instead of moving westward by slow degrees, + subduing the wilderness as they went, overleaped great spaces and planted + themselves beyond, out of contact with the life they had left behind. Thus + separated by hundreds of miles of intervening wilderness from the more + civilized communities, the conquerors of the first American + “West,” prototypes of the conquerors of succeeding + “Wests,” inevitably struck out their own ways of life and + developed their own customs. It would be difficult, indeed, to find + anywhere a more + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_032" id="Page_032">32</a></span> + remarkable contrast in contemporary folkways than that presented by the + two great community groups of the South—the inland or piedmont + settlements, called the Back Country, and the lowland towns and + plantations along the seaboard. + </p> + <p> + The older society of the seaboard towns, as events were soon to prove, was + not less independent in its ideals than the frontier society of the Back + Country; but it was aristocratic in tone and feeling. Its leaders were the + landed gentry—men of elegance, and not far behind their European + contemporaries in the culture of the day. They were rich, without effort, + both from their plantations, where black slaves and indentured servants + labored, and from their coastwise and overseas trade. Their battles with + forest and red man were long past. They had leisure for diversions such as + the chase, the breeding and racing of thoroughbred horses, the dance, high + play with dice and card, cockfighting, the gallantry of love, and the + skill of the rapier. Law and politics drew their soberer minds. + </p> + <p> + Very different were the conditions which confronted the pioneers in the + first American “West.” There every jewel of promise was ringed + round with hostility. The cheap land the pioneer had purchased at a + nominal price, or the free land + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_033" id="Page_033">33</a></span> + he had taken by “tomahawk claim”—that + is by cutting his name into the bark of a deadened tree, usually beside a + spring—supported a forest of tall trunks and interlacing leafage. + The long grass and weeds which covered the ground in a wealth of natural + pasturage harbored the poisonous copperhead and the rattlesnake and, being + shaded by the overhead foliage, they held the heavy dews and bred swarms + of mosquitoes, gnats, and big flies which tortured both men and cattle. To + protect the cattle and horses from the attacks of these pests the settlers + were obliged to build large "smudges"—fires of green timber—against + the wind. The animals soon learned to back up into the dense smoke and to + move from one grazing spot to another as the wind changed. But useful as + were the green timber fires that rolled their smoke on the wind to save + the stock, they were at the same time a menace to the pioneer, for they + proclaimed to roving bands of Cherokees that a further encroachment on + their territory had been made by their most hated enemies—the men + who felled the hunter's forest. Many an outpost pioneer who had made the + long hard journey by sea and land from the old world of persecution to + this new country of freedom, dropped from the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_034" id="Page_034">34</a></span> + red man's shot ere he had hewn the threshold of his home, leaving his + wife and children to the unrecorded mercy of his slayer. + </p> + <p> + Those more fortunate pioneers who settled in groups won the first heat in + the battle with the wilderness through massed effort under wariness. They + made their clearings in the forest, built their cabins and stockades, and + planted their cornfields, while lookouts kept watch and rifles were + stacked within easy reach. Every special task, such as a “raising,” + as cabin building was called, was undertaken by the community chiefly + because the Indian danger necessitated swift building and made group + action imperative. But the stanch heart is ever the glad heart. Nothing in + this frontier history impresses us more than the joy of the pioneer at his + labors. His determined optimism turned danger's dictation into an occasion + for jollity. On the appointed day for the “raising,” the neighbors + would come, riding or afoot, to the newcomer's holding—the men with + their rifles and axes, the women with their pots and kettles. Every child + toddled along, too, helping to carry the wooden dishes and spoons. These + free givers of labor had something of the Oriental's notion of the sacred + ratification of friendship by a feast. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_035" id="Page_035">35</a></span> + The usual dimensions of a cabin were sixteen by twenty feet. The timber + for the building, having been already cut, lay at hand—logs of + hickory, oak, young pine, walnut, or persimmon. To make the foundations, + the men seized four of the thickest logs, laid them in place, and notched + and grooved and hammered them into as close a clinch as if they had grown + so. The wood must grip by its own substance alone to hold up the pioneer's + dwelling, for there was not an iron nail to be had in the whole of the + Back Country. Logs laid upon the foundation logs and notched into each + other at the four corners formed the walls; and, when these stood at seven + feet, the builders laid parallel timbers and puncheons to make both + flooring and ceiling. The ridgepole of the roof was supported by two + crotched trees and the roofing was made of logs and wooden slabs. The + crevices of the walls were packed close with red clay and moss. Lastly, + spaces for a door and windows were cut out. The door was made thick and + heavy to withstand the Indian's rush. And the windowpanes? They were of + paper treated with hog's fat or bear's grease. + </p> + <p> + When the sun stood overhead, the women would give the welcome call of + “Dinner!” Their morning had not been less busy than the + men's. They + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_036" id="Page_036">36</a></span> + had baked corn cakes on hot stones, roasted bear or pork, or broiled + venison steaks; and—above all and first of all—they had + concocted the great “stew pie” without which a raising + could hardly take place. This was a disputatious mixture of deer, hog, + and bear—animals which, in life, would surely have companioned + each other as ill! It was made in sufficient + quantity to last over for supper when the day's labor was done. At supper + the men took their ease on the ground, but with their rifles always in + reach. If the cabin just raised by their efforts stood in the Yadkin, + within sight of the great mountains the pioneers were one day to cross, + perhaps a sudden bird note warning from the lookout, hidden in the brush, + would bring the builders with a leap to their feet. It might be only a + hunting band of friendly Catawbas that passed, or a lone Cherokee who knew + that this was not his hour. If the latter, we can, in imagination, see him + look once at the new house on his hunting pasture, slacken rein for a + moment in front of the group of families, lift his hand in sign of peace, + and silently go his way hillward. As he vanishes into the shadows, the + crimson sun, sinking into the unknown wilderness beyond the mountains, + pours its last glow on the roof of the cabin and on the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_037" id="Page_037">37</a></span> + group near its walls. With unfelt fingers, subtly, it puts the red touch + of the West in the faces of the men—who have just declared, through + the building of a cabin, that here is Journey's End and their abiding + place. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + There were community holidays among these pioneers as well as labor days, + especially in the fruit season; and there were flower-picking excursions + in the warm spring days. Early in April the service berry bush gleamed + starrily along the watercourses, its hardy white blooms defying winter's + lingering look. This bush—or tree, indeed, since it is not afraid to + rear its slender trunk as high as cherry or crab apple—might well be + considered emblematic of the frontier spirit in those regions where the + white silence covers the earth for several months and shuts the lonely + homesteader in upon himself. From the pioneer time of the Old Southwest to + the last frontier of the Far North today, the service berry is cherished + alike by white men and Indians; and the red men have woven about it some + of their prettiest legends. When June had ripened the tree's blue-black + berries, the Back Country folk went out in parties to gather them. Though + the service berry was a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_038" id="Page_038">38</a></span> + food staple on the frontier and its gathering a + matter of household economy, the folk made their berry-picking jaunt a + gala occasion. The women and children with pots and baskets—the + young girls vying with each other, under the eyes of the youths, as to who + could strip boughs the fastest—plucked gayly while the men, rifles + in hand, kept guard. For these happy summer days were also the red man's + scalping days and, at any moment, the chatter of the picnickers might be + interrupted by the chilling war whoop. When that sound was heard, the + berry pickers raced for the fort. The wild fruits—strawberries, + service berries, cherries, plums, crab apples—were, however, too + necessary a part of the pioneer's meager diet to be left unplucked out of + fear of an Indian attack. Another day would see the same group out again. + The children would keep closer to their mothers, no doubt; and the + laughter of the young girls would be more subdued, even if their coquetry + lacked nothing of its former effectiveness. Early marriages were the rule + in the Back Country and betrothals were frequently plighted at these berry + pickings. + </p> + <p> + As we consider the descriptions of the frontiersman left for us by + travelers of his own day, we are not more interested in his battles with + wilderness + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_039" id="Page_039">39</a></span> + and Indian than in the visible effects of both wilderness and Indian upon + him. His countenance and bearing still show the European, but the European + greatly altered by savage contact. The red peril, indeed, influenced every + side of frontier life. The bands of women and children at the harvestings, + the log rollings, and the house raisings, were not there merely to lighten + the men's work by their laughter and love-making. It was not safe for them + to remain in the cabins, for, to the Indian, the cabin thus boldly thrust + upon his immemorial hunting grounds was only a secondary evil; the greater + evil was the white man's family, bespeaking the increase of the dreaded + palefaces. The Indian peril trained the pioneers to alertness, shaped them + as warriors and hunters, suggested the fashion of their dress, knit their + families into clans and the clans into a tribe wherein all were of one + spirit in the protection of each and all and a unit of hate against their + common enemy. + </p> + <p> + Too often the fields which the pioneer planted with corn were harvested by + the Indian with fire. The hardest privations suffered by farmers and stock + were due to the settlers having to flee to the forts, leaving to Indian + devastation the crops on which their sustenance mainly depended. + Sometimes, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_040" id="Page_040">40</a></span> + fortunately, the warning came in time for the frontiersman to collect his + goods and chattels in his wagon and to round up his live stock and drive + them safely into the common fortified enclosure. At others, the tap of the + “express”—as the herald of Indian danger was + called—at night on the windowpane and the low word whispered + hastily, ere the “express” ran on to the next abode, meant + that the Indians had surprised the outlying cabins of the settlement. + </p> + <p> + The forts were built as centrally as possible in the scattered + settlements. They consisted of cabins, blockhouses, and stockades. A range + of cabins often formed one side of a fort. The walls on the outside were + ten or twelve feet high with roofs sloping inward. The blockhouses built + at the angles of the fort projected two feet or so beyond the outer walls + of the cabins and stockades, and were fitted with portholes for the + watchers and the marksmen. The entrance to the fort was a large folding + gate of thick slabs. It was always on the side nearest the spring. The + whole structure of the fort was bullet-proof and was erected without an + iron nail or spike. In the border wars these forts withstood all attacks. + The savages, having proved that they could not storm them, generally + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_041" id="Page_041">41</a></span> + laid siege + and waited for thirst to compel a sortie. But the crafty besieger was as + often outwitted by the equally cunning defender. Some daring soul, with + silent feet and perhaps with naked body painted in Indian fashion, would + drop from the wall under cover of the night, pass among the foemen to the + spring, and return to the fort with water. + </p> + <p> + Into the pioneer's phrase-making the Indian influence penetrated so that + he named seasons for his foe. So thoroughly has the term “Indian + Summer,” now to us redolent of charm, become disassociated from its + origins that it gives us a shock to be reminded that to these Back Country + folk the balmy days following on the cold snap meant the season when the + red men would come back for a last murderous raid on the settlements + before winter should seal up the land. The “Powwowing Days” + were the mellow days in the latter part of February, when the red men in + council made their medicine and learned of their redder gods whether or no + they should take the warpath when the sap pulsed the trees into leaf. Even + the children at their play acknowledged the red-skinned schoolmaster, for + their chief games were a training in his woodcraft and in the use of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_042" id="Page_042">42</a></span> his weapons. + Tomahawk-throwing was a favorite sport because of its gruesome practical + purposes. The boys must learn to gauge the tomahawk's revolutions by the + distance of the throw so as to bury the blade in its objective. Swift + running and high jumping through the brush and fallen timber were sports + that taught agility in escape. The boys learned to shoot accurately the + long rifles of their time, with a log or a forked stick for a rest, and a + moss pad under the barrel to keep it from jerking and spoiling the aim. + They wrestled with each other, mastered the tricks of throwing an + opponent, and learned the scalp hold instead of the toe hold. It was part + of their education to imitate the noises of every bird and beast of the + forest. So they learned to lure the turkey within range, or by the bleat + of a fawn to bring her dam to the rifle. A well-simulated wolf's howl + would call forth a response and so inform the lone hunter of the vicinity + of the pack. This forest speech was not only the language of diplomacy in + the hunting season; it was the borderer's secret code in war. Stray + Indians put themselves in touch again with the band by turkey calls in the + daytime and by owl or wolf notes at night. The frontiersmen used the same + means to trick the Indian band into + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_043" id="Page_043">43</a></span> + betraying the place of its ambuscade, or to + lure the strays, unwitting, within reach of the knife. + </p> + <p> + In that age, before the forests had given place to farms and cities and + when the sun had but slight acquaintance with the sod, the summers were + cool and the winters long and cold in the Back Country. Sometimes in + September severe frosts destroyed the corn. The first light powdering + called “hunting snows” fell in October, and then the men of the Back + Country set out on the chase. Their object was meat—buffalo, deer, + elk, bear—for the winter larder, and skins to send out in the spring + by pack-horses to the coast in trade for iron, steel, and salt. The + rainfall in North Carolina was much heavier than in Virginia and, from + autumn into early winter, the Yadkin forests were sheeted with rain; but + wet weather, so far from deterring the hunter, aided him to the kill. In + blowing rain, he knew he would find the deer herding in the sheltered + places on the hillsides. In windless rain, he knew that his quarry ranged + the open woods and the high places. The fair play of the pioneer held it a + great disgrace to kill a deer in winter when the heavy frost had crusted + the deep snow. On the crust men and wolves could travel with ease, but the + deer's sharp hoofs pierced through and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_044" id="Page_044">44</a></span> + made him defenseless. Wolves and + dogs destroyed great quantities of deer caught in this way; and men who + shot deer under these conditions were considered no huntsmen. There was, + indeed, a practical side to this chivalry of the chase, for meat and pelt + were both poor at this season; but the true hunter also obeyed the finer + tenet of his code, for he would go to the rescue of deer caught in the + crusts—and he killed many a wolf sliding over the ice to an easy + meal. + </p> + <p> + The community moral code of the frontier was brief and rigorous. What it + lacked of the “whereas” and “inasmuch” of legal + ink it made up in sound hickory. In fact, when we review the activities + of this solid yet elastic wood in the moral, social, and economic phases + of Back Country life, we are moved to wonder if the pioneers would have + been the same race of men had they been nurtured beneath a less strenuous + and adaptable vegetation! The hickory gave the frontiersman wood for all + implements and furnishings where the demand was equally for lightness, + strength, and elasticity. It provided his straight logs for building, his + block mortars—hollowed by fire and stone—for corn-grinding, + his solid plain furniture, his axles, rifle butts, ax handles, and so + forth. It supplied + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_045" id="Page_045">45</a></span> his magic + wand for the searching out of iniquity in the junior members of his + household, and his most cogent argument, as a citizen, in convincing the + slothful, the blasphemous, or the dishonest adult whose errors disturbed + communal harmony. Its nuts fed his hogs. Before he raised stock, the + unripe hickory nuts, crushed for their white liquid, supplied him with + butter for his corn bread and helped out his store of bear's fat. Both the + name and the knowledge of the uses of this tree came to the earliest + pioneers through contact with the red man, whose hunting bow and fishing + spear and the hobbles for his horses were fashioned of the “pohickory” + tree. The Indian women first made pohickory butter, and the wise old men + of the Cherokee towns, so we are told, first applied the pohickory rod to + the vanity of youth! + </p> + <p> + A glance at the interior of a log cabin in the Back Country of Virginia or + North Carolina would show, in primitive design, what is, perhaps, after + all the perfect home—a place where the personal life and the work + life are united and where nothing futile finds space. Every object in the + cabin was practical and had been made by hand on the spot to answer a + need. Besides the chairs hewn from hickory blocks, there were others made + of slabs + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_046" id="Page_046">46</a></span> + set on three legs. A large slab or two with four legs served as a movable + table; the permanent table was built against the wall, its outer edge held + up by two sticks. The low bed was built into the wall in the same way and + softened for slumber by a mattress of pine needles, chaff, or dried moss. + In the best light from the greased paper windowpanes stood the spinning + wheel and loom, on which the housewife made cloth for the family's + garments. Over the fireplace or beside the doorway, and suspended usually + on stags' antlers, hung the firearms and the yellow powderhorns, the + latter often carved in Indian fashion with scenes of the hunt or war. On + a shelf or on pegs were the wooden spoons, plates, bowls, and noggins. + Also near the fireplace, which was made of large flat stones with a + mud-plastered log chimney, stood the grinding block for making hominy. + If it were an evening in early spring, the men of the household would be + tanning and dressing deerskins to be sent out with the trade caravan, + while the women sewed, made moccasins or mended them, in the light of pine + knots or candles of bear's grease. The larger children might be weaving + cradles for the babies, Indian fashion, out of hickory twigs; and there + would surely be a sound of whetting steel, for scalping + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_047" id="Page_047">47</a></span> + knives and tomahawks must be kept keen-tempered + now that the days have come when the red gods whisper their chant of war + through the young leafage. + </p> + <p> + The Back Country folk, as they came from several countries, generally + settled in national groups, each preserving its own speech and its own + religion, each approaching frontier life through its own native + temperament. And the frontier met each and all alike, with the same need + and the same menace, and molded them after one general pattern. If the + cabin stood in a typical Virginian settlement where the folk were of + English stock, it may be that the dulcimer and some old love song of the + homeland enlivened the work—or perhaps chairs were pushed back and + young people danced the country dances of the homeland and the Virginia + Reel, for these Virginian English were merry folk, and their religion did + not frown upon the dance. In a cabin on the Shenandoah or the upper Yadkin + the German tongue clicked away over the evening dish of kraut or sounded + more sedately in a Lutheran hymn; while from some herder's hut on the + lower Yadkin the wild note of the bagpipes or of the ancient four-stringed + harp mingled with the Gaelic speech. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_048" id="Page_048">48</a></span> Among + the homes in the Shenandoah where old England's ways prevailed, none was + gayer than the tavern kept by the man whom the good Moravian Brother + called “Severe.” There perhaps the feasting celebrated the nuptials + of John Sevier, who was barely past his seventeenth birthday when he took + to himself a wife. Or perhaps the dancing, in moccasined feet on the + puncheon flooring, was a ceremonial to usher into Back Country life the + new municipality John had just organized, for John at nineteen had taken + his earliest step towards his larger career, which we shall follow later + on, as the architect of the first little governments beyond the mountains. + </p> + <p> + In the Boone home on the Yadkin, we may guess that the talk was solely of + the hunt, unless young Daniel had already become possessed of his first + compass and was studying its ways. On such an evening, while the red + afterglow lingered, he might be mending a passing trader's firearms by the + fires of the primitive forge his father had set up near the trading path + running from Hillsborough to the Catawba towns. It was said by the local + nimrods that none could doctor a sick rifle better than young Daniel + Boone, already the master huntsman of them all. And perhaps some trader's + tale, told + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_049" id="Page_049">49</a></span> + when the caravan halted for the night, kindled the youth's first desire to + penetrate the mountain-guarded wilderness, for the tales of these Romanies + of commerce were as the very badge of their free-masonry, and entry money + at the doors of strangers. + </p> + <p> + Out on the border's edge, heedless of the shadow of the mountains looming + between the newly built cabin and that western land where they and their + kind were to write the fame of the Ulster Scot in a shining script that + time cannot dull, there might sit a group of stern-faced men, all deep in + discussion of some point of spiritual doctrine or of the temporal rights + of men. Yet, in every cabin, whatever the national differences, the + setting was the same. The spirit of the frontier was modeling out of old + clay a new Adam to answer the needs of a new earth. + </p> + <p> + It would be far less than just to leave the Back Country folk without + further reference to the devoted labors of their clergy. In the earliest + days the settlers were cut off from their church systems; the pious had to + maintain their piety unaided, except in the rare cases where a pastor + accompanied a group of settlers of his denomination into the wilds. One of + the first ministers who fared into + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_050" id="Page_050">50</a></span> + the Back Country to remind the Ulster + Presbyterians of their spiritual duties was the Reverend Hugh McAden of + Philadelphia. He made long itineraries under the greatest hardships, in + constant danger from Indians and wild beasts, carrying the counsel of + godliness to the far scattered flock. Among the Highland settlements the + Reverend James Campbell for thirty years traveled about, preaching each + Sunday at some gathering point a sermon in both English and Gaelic. A + little later, in the Yadkin Valley, after Craighead's day there arose a + small school of Presbyterian ministers whose zeal and fearlessness in the + cause of religion and of just government had an influence on the + frontiersmen that can hardly be overestimated. + </p> + <p> + But, in the beginning, the pioneer encountered the savagery of border + life, grappled with it, and reacted to it without guidance from other + mentor than his own instincts. His need was still the primal threefold + need—family, sustenance, and safe sleep when the day's work was + done. We who look back with thoughtful eyes upon the frontiersman—all + links of contact with his racial past severed, at grips with destruction + in the contenting of his needs—see something more, something + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_051" id="Page_051">51</a></span> larger, than + he saw in the log cabin raised by his hands, its structure held together + solely by his close grooving and fitting of its own strength. Though the + walls he built for himself have gone with his own dust back to the earth, + the symbol he erected for us stands. + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter03" id="Chapter03"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_052" id="Page_052">52</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER III.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">The Trader</p> + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">The</span> trader was the first pathfinder. His + caravans began the change of purpose that was to come to the Indian + warrior's route, turning it slowly into the beaten track of communication + and commerce. The settlers, the rangers, the surveyors, went westward over + the trails which he had blazed for them years before. Their enduring works + are commemorated in the cities and farms which today lie along every + ancient border line; but of their forerunner's hazardous Indian trade + nothing remains. Let us therefore pay a moment's homage here to the + trader, who first—to borrow a phrase from Indian speech—made + white for peace the red trails of war. + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_052-T1" id="Page_052-T1"></a> He was the first cattleman of + the Old Southwest. Fifty years before John Findlay, ¹ one of this + class of pioneers, led Daniel Boone through Cumberland + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_053" id="Page_053">53</a></span> Gap, the + trader's bands of horses roamed the western slopes of the Appalachian + Mountains and his cattle grazed among the deer on the green banks of the + old Cherokee (Tennessee) River. He was the pioneer settler beyond the high + hills; for he built, in the center of the Indian towns, the first white + man's cabin—with its larger annex, the trading house—and dwelt + there during the greater part of the year. He was America's first magnate + of international commerce. His furs—for which he paid in guns, + knives, ammunition, vermilion paint, mirrors, and cloth—lined kings' + mantles, and hatted the Lords of Trade as they strode to their council + chamber in London to discuss his business and to pass those regulations + which might have seriously hampered him but for his resourcefulness in + circumventing them! + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_52-1" name="footer_52-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_052-T1">¹</a> + The name is spelled in various ways: + Findlay, Finlay, Findley. + </p> + </div> + <p> + He was the first frontier warrior, for he either fought off or fell before + small parties of hostile Indians who, in the interest of the Spanish or + French, raided his pack-horse caravans on the march. Often, too, side by + side with the red brothers of his adoption, he fought in the intertribal + wars. His was the first educative and civilizing influence in the Indian + towns. He endeavored to cure the Indians of their favorite midsummer + madness, war, by inducing + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_054" id="Page_054">54</a></span> + them to raise stock and poultry and improve + their corn, squash, and pea gardens. It is not necessary to impute to him + philanthropic motives. He was a practical man and he saw that war hurt his + trade: it endangered his summer caravans and hampered the autumn hunt for + deerskins. + </p> + <p> + In the earliest days of the eighteenth century, when the colonists of + Virginia and the Carolinas were only a handful, it was the trader who + defeated each successive attempt of French and Spanish agents to weld the + tribes into a confederacy for the annihilation of the English settlements. + The English trader did his share to prevent what is now the United States + from becoming a part of a Latin empire and to save it for a race having + the Anglo-Saxon ideal and speaking the English tongue. + </p> + <p> + The colonial records of the period contain items which, taken singly, make + small impression on the casual reader but which, listed together, throw a + strong light on the past and bring that mercenary figure, the trader, into + so bold a relief that the design verges on the heroic. If we wonder, for + instance, why the Scotch Highlanders who settled in the wilds at the + headwaters of the Cape Fear River, about 1729, and were later followed by + Welsh and Huguenots, met with no opposition + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_055" id="Page_055">55</a></span> + from the Indians, the mystery is + solved when we discover, almost by accident, a few printed lines which + record that, in 1700, the hostile natives on the Cape Fear were subdued to + the English and brought into friendly alliance with them by Colonel + William Bull, a trader. We read further and learn that the Spaniards in + Florida had long endeavored to unite the tribes in Spanish and French + territory against the English and that the influence of traders prevented + the consummation. The Spaniards, in 1702, had prepared to invade English + territory with nine hundred Indians. The plot was discovered by Creek + Indians and disclosed to their friends, the traders, who immediately + gathered together five hundred warriors, marched swiftly to meet the + invaders, and utterly routed them. Again, when the Indians, incited by the + Spanish at St. Augustine, rose against the English in 1715, and the Yamasi + Massacre occurred in South Carolina, it was due to the traders that some + of the settlements at least were not wholly unprepared to defend + themselves. + </p> + <p> + The early English trader was generally an intelligent man; sometimes + educated, nearly always fearless and resourceful. He knew the one sure + basis on which men of alien blood and far separated + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_056" id="Page_056">56</a></span> + stages of moral and intellectual + development can meet in understanding—namely, the truth of the + spoken word. He recognized honor as the bond of trade and the warp and + woof of human intercourse. The uncorrupted savage also had his plain + interpretation of the true word in the mouths of men, and a name for it. + He called it the “Old Beloved Speech”; and he gave his confidence to + the man who spoke this speech even in the close barter for furs. + </p> + <p> + We shall find it worth while to refer to the map of America as it was in + the early days of the colonial fur trade, about the beginning of the + eighteenth century. A narrow strip of loosely strung English settlements + stretched from the north border of New England to the Florida line. North + Florida was Spanish territory. On the far distant southwestern borders of + the English colonies were the southern possessions of France. The French + sphere of influence extended up the Mississippi, and thence by way of + rivers and the Great Lakes to its base in Canada on the borders of New + England and New York. In South Carolina dwelt the Yamasi tribe of about + three thousand warriors, their chief towns only sixty or eighty miles + distant from the Spanish town of St. Augustine. On the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_057" id="Page_057">57</a></span> + west, about + the same distance northeast of New Orleans, in what is now Alabama and + Georgia, lay the Creek nation. There French garrisons held Mobile and Fort + Alabama. The Creeks at this time numbered over four thousand warriors. The + lands of the Choctaws, a tribe of even larger fighting strength, began two + hundred miles north of New Orleans and extended along the Mississippi. A + hundred and sixty miles northeast of the Choctaw towns were the + Chickasaws, the bravest and most successful warriors of all the tribes + south of the Iroquois. The Cherokees, in part seated within the Carolinas, + on the upper courses of the Savannah River, mustered over six thousand men + at arms. East of them were the Catawba towns. North of them were the + Shawanoes and Delawares, in easy communication with the tribes of Canada. + Still farther north, along the Mohawk and other rivers joining with the + Hudson and Lake Ontario stood the “long houses” of the fiercest and + most warlike of all the savages, the Iroquois or Six Nations. + </p> + <p> + The Indians along the English borders outnumbered the colonists perhaps + ten to one. If the Spanish and the French had succeeded in the conspiracy + to unite on their side all the tribes, a red billow of tomahawk wielders + would have engulfed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_058" id="Page_058">58</a></span> + and extinguished the English settlements. The French, it is true, made + allies of the Shawanoes, the Delawares, the Choctaws, and a strong faction + of the Creeks; and they finally won over the Cherokees after courting them + for more than twenty years. But the Creeks in part, the powerful + Chickasaws, and the Iroquois Confederacy, or Six Nations, remained loyal + to the English. In both North and South it was the influence of the + traders that kept these red tribes on the English side. The Iroquois were + held loyal by Sir William Johnson and his deputy, George Croghan, the “King + of Traders.” The Chickasaws followed their “best-beloved” trader, + James Adair; and among the Creeks another trader, Lachlan McGillivray, + wielded a potent influence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_058-T1" id="Page_058-T1"></a> Lachlan McGillivray was a + Highlander. He landed in Charleston in 1735 at the age of sixteen and + presently joined a trader's caravan as pack-horse boy. + A few years later he married + a woman of the Creeks. On many occasions he defeated French and Spanish + plots with the Creeks for the extermination of the colonists in Georgia + and South Carolina. His action in the final war with the French (1760), + when the Indian terror was raging, is typical. News came that four + thousand + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_059" id="Page_059">59</a></span> + Creek warriors, reinforced by French Choctaws, were about to fall on the + southern settlements. At the risk of their lives, McGillivray and another + trader named Galphin hurried from Charleston to their trading house on the + Georgia frontier. Thither they invited several hundred Creek warriors, + feasted and housed them for several days, and finally won them from their + purpose. McGillivray had a brilliant son, Alexander, who about this time + became a chief in his mother's nation—perhaps on this very occasion, + as it was an Indian custom, in making a brotherhood pact, to send a son to + dwell in the brother's house. We shall meet that son again as the Chief of + the Creeks and the terrible scourge of Georgia and Tennessee in the dark + days of the Revolutionary War. + </p> + <p> + The bold deeds of the early traders, if all were to be told, would require + a book as long as the huge volume written by James Adair, the “English + Chickasaw.” Adair was an Englishman who entered the Indian trade in + 1785 and launched upon the long and dangerous trail from Charleston to the + upper towns of the Cherokees, situated in the present Monroe County, + Tennessee. Thus he was one of the earliest pioneers of the Old Southwest; + and he was Tennessee's first author. “I + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_060" id="Page_060">60</a></span> + am well acquainted,” he says, + “with near two thousand miles of the American continent”—a + statement which gives one some idea of an early trader's enterprise, + hardihood, and peril. Adair's “two thousand miles” were twisting + Indian trails and paths he slashed out for himself through uninhabited + wilds, for when not engaged in trade, hunting, literature, or war, it + pleased him to make solitary trips of exploration. These seem to have led + him chiefly northward through the Appalachians, of which he must have been + one of the first white explorers. + </p> + <p> + A many-sided man was James Adair—cultured, for his style suffers not + by comparison with other writers of his day, no stranger to Latin and + Greek, and not ignorant of Hebrew, which he studied to assist him in + setting forth his ethnological theory that the American Indians were the + descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Before we dismiss his theory + with a smile, let us remember that he had not at his disposal the data now + available which reveal points of likeness in custom, language formation, + and symbolism among almost all primitive peoples. The formidable + title-page of his book in itself suggests an author keenly observant, + accurate as to detail, and possessed of a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_061" id="Page_061">61</a></span> + versatile and substantial mind. + Most of the pages were written in the towns of the Chickasaws, with whom + he lived “as a friend and brother,” but from whose “natural + jealousy” and “prying disposition” he was obliged to conceal his + papers. “Never,” he assures us, “was a literary work begun and + carried on with more disadvantages!” + </p> + <p> + Despite these disabilities the author wrote a book of absorbing interest. + His intimate sympathetic pictures of Indian life as it was before the + tribes had been conquered are richly valuable to the lover of native lore + and to the student of the history of white settlement. The author + believes, as he must, in the supremacy of his own race, but he + nevertheless presents the Indians' side of the argument as no man could + who had not made himself one of them. He thereby adds interest to those + fierce struggles which took place along the border; for he shows us the + red warrior not as a mere brute with a tomahawk but as a human creature + with an ideal of his own, albeit an ideal that must give place to a + better. Even in view of the red man's hideous methods of battle and + inhuman treatment of captives, we cannot ponder unmoved Adair's + description of his preparations for war—the fasting, the abstention + from all family + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_062" id="Page_062">62</a></span> + intercourse, and the purification rites and prayers for three days in the + house set apart, while the women, who might not come close to their men in + this fateful hour, stood throughout the night till dawn chanting before + the door. Another poetic touch the author gives us, from the Cherokee—or + Cheerake as he spells it—explaining that the root, chee-ra, means + fire. A Cherokee never extinguished fire save on the occasion of a death, + when he thrust a burning torch into the water and said, <i>Neetah intahah</i>—“the + days appointed him were finished.” The warrior slain in battle was held + to have been balanced by death and it was said of him that “he was + weighed on the path and made light.” Adair writes that the Cherokees, + until corrupted by French agents and by the later class of traders who + poured rum among them like water, were honest, industrious, and friendly. + They were ready to meet the white man with their customary phrase of good + will: “I shall firmly shake hands with your speech.” He was + intimately associated with this tribe from 1735 to 1744, when he diverted + his activities to the Chickasaws. + </p> + <p> + It was from the Cherokees' chief town, Great Telliko, in the Appalachians, + that Adair explored the mountains. He describes the pass through the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_063" id="Page_063">63</a></span> chain which + was used by the Indians and which, from his outline of it, was probably + the Cumberland Gap. He relates many incidents of the struggle with the + French—manifestations even in this remote wilderness of the vast + conflict that was being waged for the New World by two imperial nations of + the Old. + </p> + <p> + Adair undertook, at the solicitation of Governor Glen of South Carolina, + the dangerous task of opening up trade with the Choctaws, a tribe + mustering upwards of five thousand warriors who were wholly in the French + interest. Their country lay in what is now the State of Mississippi along + the great river, some seven hundred miles west and southwest of + Charleston. After passing the friendly Creek towns the trail led on for + 150 miles through what was practically the enemy's country. Adair, owing + to what he likes to term his “usual good fortune,” reached the + Choctaw country safely and by his adroitness and substantial presents won + the friendship of the influential chief, Red Shoe, whom he found in a + receptive mood, owing to a French agent's breach of hospitality involving + Red Shoe's favorite wife. Adair thus created a large pro-English faction + among the Choctaws, and his success seriously impaired French prestige + with all + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_064" id="Page_064">64</a></span> + the southwestern tribes. Several times French Choctaws bribed to murder + him, waylaid Adair on the trail—twice when he was alone—only + to be baffled by the imperturbable self-possession and alert wit which + never failed him in emergencies. + </p> + <p> + Winning a Choctaw trade cost Adair, besides attacks on his life, £2200, + for which he was never reimbursed, notwithstanding Governor Glen's + agreement with him. And, on his return to Charleston, while the Governor + was detaining him “on one pretext or another,” he found that a new + expedition, which the Governor was favoring for reasons of his own, had + set out to capture his Chickasaw trade and gather in “the expected great + crop of deerskins and beaver… before I could possibly return to the + Chikkasah Country.” Nothing daunted, however, the hardy trader set out + alone. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + In the severity of winter, frost, snow, hail and heavy rains succeed + each other in these climes, so that I partly rode and partly swam to the + Chikkasah country; for not expecting to stay long below [in Charleston] + I took no leathern canoe. Many of the broad, deep creeks… had now + overflowed their banks, ran at a rapid rate and were unpassable to any + but <em>desperate people:</em>… the rivers and swamps were + dreadful by rafts of timber driving down the former and the great fallen + trees floating in the latter.… Being forced to wade deep through + cane swamps or woody thickets, it proved very + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_065" id="Page_065">65</a></span> + troublesome to keep my + firearms dry on which, as a second means, my life depended. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Nevertheless Adair defeated the Governor's attempt to steal his trade, and + later on published the whole story in the Charleston press and sent in a + statement of his claims to the Assembly, with frank observations on His + Excellency himself. We gather that his bold disregard of High Personages + set all Charleston in an uproar! + </p> + <p> + Adair is tantalizingly modest about his own deeds. He devotes pages to + prove that an Indian rite agrees with the Book of Leviticus but only a + paragraph to an exploit of courage and endurance such as that ride and + swim for the Indian trade. We have to read between the lines to find the + man; but he well repays the search. Briefly, incidentally, he mentions + that on one trip he was captured by the French, who were so, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + well acquainted with the great damages I had done to them and feared + others I might occasion, as to confine me a close prisoner… in + the Alebahma garrison. They were fully resolved to have sent me down to + Mobile or New Orleans as a capital criminal to be hanged… <em>but + I doubted not of being able to extricate myself some way or other.</em> + They appointed double centries over me for some days before I was to be + sent down in the French King's large boat. They were strongly charged + against + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_066" id="Page_066">66</a></span> + laying down their weapons or suffering any hostile thing to be in the + place where I was kept, as they deemed me capable of any mischief.… + About an hour before we were to set off by water I escaped from them by + land.… I took through the middle of the low land covered with + briers at full speed. I heard the French clattering on horseback along + the path… and the howling savages pursuing…, but <em>my + usual good fortune</em> enabled me to leave them far enough behind.… + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + One feels that a few of the pages given up to Leviticus might well have + been devoted to a detailed account of this escape from “double centries” + and a fortified garrison, and the plunge through the tangled wilds, by a + man without gun or knife or supplies, and who for days dared not show + himself upon the trail. + </p> + <p> + There is too much of “my usual good fortune” in Adair's narrative; + such luck as his argues for extraordinary resources in the man. Sometimes + we discover only through one phrase on a page that he must himself have + been the hero of an event he relates in the third person. This seems to be + the case in the affair of Priber, which was the worst of those “damages” + Adair did to the French. Priber was “a gentleman of curious and + speculative temper” sent by the French in 1736 to Great Telliko to win + the Cherokees to their interest. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_067" id="Page_067">67</a></span> + At this time Adair was trading with the + Cherokees. He relates that Priber, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + more effectually to answer the design of his commission… ate, + drank, slept, danced, dressed, and painted himself with the Indians, so + that it was not easy to distinguish him from the natives,—he + married also with them, and being endued with a strong understanding and + retentive memory he soon learned their dialect, and by gradual advances + impressed them with a very ill opinion of the English, representing them + as fraudulent, avaritious and encroaching people; he at the same time + inflated the artless savages with a prodigious high opinion of their own + importance in the American scale of power.… Having thus infected + them… he easily formed them into a nominal republican government—crowned + their old Archi-magus emperor after a pleasing new savage form, and + invented a variety of high-sounding titles for all the members of his + imperial majesty's red court. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Priber cemented the Cherokee empire “by slow but sure degrees to the + very great danger of our southern colonies.” His position was that of + Secretary of State and as such, with a studiedly provocative arrogance, he + carried on correspondence with the British authorities. The colonial + Government seems, on this occasion, to have listened to the traders and to + have realized that Priber was a danger, for soldiers were sent to take him + prisoner. The Cherokees, however, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_068" id="Page_068">68</a></span> + had so firmly “shaked hands” with their + Secretary's admired discourse that they threatened to take the warpath if + their beloved man were annoyed, and the soldiers went home without him—to + the great hurt of English prestige. The Cherokee empire had now endured + for five years and was about to rise “into a far greater state of + puissance by the acquisition of the Muskohge, Chocktaw and the Western + Mississippi Indians,” when fortunately for the history of British + colonization in America, “an accident befell the Secretary.” + </p> + <p> + It is in connection with this “accident” that the reader suspects the + modest but resourceful Adair of conniving with Fate. Since the military + had failed and the Government dared not again employ force, other means + must be found; the trader provided them. The Secretary with his Cherokee + bodyguard journeyed south on his mission to the Creeks. Secure, as he + supposed, he lodged overnight in an Indian town. But there a company of + English traders took him into custody, along with his bundle of + manuscripts presumably intended for the French commandant at Fort Alabama, + and handed him over to the Governor of Georgia, who imprisoned him and + kept him out of mischief till he died. + </p> + <p> + As a Briton, Adair contributed to Priber's fate; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_069" id="Page_069">69</a></span> + and as such he approves it. As a + scholar with philosophical and ethnological leanings, however, he deplores + it, and hopes that Priber's valuable manuscripts may “escape the + despoiling hands of military power.” Priber had spent his leisure in + compiling a Cherokee dictionary; Adair's occupation, while domiciled in + his winter house in Great Telliko, was the writing of his Indian Appendix + to the Pentateuch. As became brothers in science, they had exchanged + notes, so we gather from Adair's references to conversations and + correspondence. Adair's difficulties as an author, however, had been + increased by a treacherous lapse from professional etiquette on the part + of the Secretary: “He told them [the Indians] that in the very same + manner as he was their great Secretary, I was the devil's clerk, or an + accursed one who marked on paper the bad speech of the evil ones of + darkness.” On his own part Adair admits that his object in this + correspondence was to trap the Secretary into something more serious than + literary errata. That is, he admits it by implication; he says the + Secretary “feared” it. During the years of their duel, Adair + apparently knew that the scholarly compiler of the Cherokee dictionary was + secretly inciting members of this particular Lost Tribe to tomahawk the + discoverer of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_070" id="Page_070">70</a></span> + their biblical origin; and Priber, it would seem, knew that he knew! + </p> + <p> + Adair shows, inferentially, that land encroachment was not the sole cause + of those Indian wars with which we shall deal in a later chapter. The + earliest causes were the instigations of the French and the rewards which + they offered for English scalps. But equally provocative of Indian rancor + were the acts of sometimes merely stupid, sometimes dishonest, officials; + the worst of these, Adair considered, was the cheapening of the trade + through the granting of general licenses. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noident"> + Formerly each trader had a license for two [Indian] towns.… At my + first setting out among them, a number of traders… journeyed + through our various nations in different companies and were generally + men of worth; of course they would have a living price for their goods, + which they carried on horseback to the remote Indian countries at very + great expences.… [The Indians] were kept under proper restraint, + were easy in their minds and peaceable on account of the plain, honest + lessons daily inculcated on them… but according to the present + unwise plan, two and even three Arablike peddlars sculk about in one of + those villages… who are generally the dregs and offs-courings of + our climes… by inebriating the Indians with their nominally + prohibited and poisoning spirits, they purchase the necessaries of life + at four and five hundred per cent + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_071" id="Page_071">71</a></span> + cheaper than the orderly traders.… + Instead of showing good examples of moral conduct, beside the other part + of life, they instruct the unknowing and imitating savages in many + diabolical lessons of obscenity and blasphemy. + </p> + </blockquote> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + In these statements, contemporary records bear him out. There is no sadder + reading than the many pleas addressed by the Indian chiefs to various + officials to stop the importation of liquor into their country, alleging + the debauchment of their young men and warning the white man, with whom + they desired to be friends, that in an Indian drink and blood lust quickly + combined. + </p> + <p> + Adair's book was published in London in 1775. He wrote it to be read by + Englishmen as well as Americans; and some of his reflections on liberty, + justice, and Anglo-Saxon unity would not sound unworthily today. His + sympathies were with “the principles of our Magna Charta Americana”; + but he thought the threatened division of the English-speaking peoples the + greatest evil that could befall civilization. His voluminous work + discloses a man not only of wide mental outlook but a practical man with a + sense of commercial values. Yet, instead of making a career for himself + among his own caste, he made his home for over thirty years + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_072" id="Page_072">72</a></span> in the + Chickasaw towns; and it is plain that, with the exception of some of his + older brother traders, he preferred the Chickasaw to any other society. + </p> + <p> + The complete explanation of such men as Adair we need not expect to find + stated anywhere—not even in and between the lines of his book. The + conventionalist would seek it in moral obliquity; the radical, in a + temperament that is irked by the superficialities that comprise so large a + part of conventional standards. The reason for his being what he was is + almost the only thing Adair did not analyze in his book. Perhaps, to him, + it was self evident. We may let it be so to us, and see it most clearly + presented in a picture composed from some of his brief sketches: A land of + grass and green shade inset with bright waters, where deer and domestic + cattle herded together along the banks; a circling group of houses, their + white-clayed walls sparkling under the sun's rays, and, within and + without, the movement of “a friendly and sagacious people,” who “kindly + treated and watchfully guarded” their white brother in peace and war, + and who conversed daily with him in the Old Beloved Speech learned first + of Nature. “Like towers in cities beyond the common size of those of the + Indians” rose the winter and summer houses + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_073" id="Page_073">73</a></span> + and the huge trading house which + the tribe had built for their best beloved friend in the town's center, + because there he would be safest from attack. On the rafters hung the + smoked and barbecued delicacies taken in the hunt and prepared for him by + his red servants, who were also his comrades at home and on the dangerous + trail. “Beloved old women” kept an eye on his small sons, put to + drowse on panther skins so that they might grow up brave warriors. Nothing + was there of artifice or pretense, only “the needful things to make a + reasonable life happy.” All was as primitive, naive, and contented as + the woman whose outline is given once in a few strokes, proudly and gayly + penciled: “I have the pleasure of writing this by the side of a + Chikkasah female, as great a princess as ever lived among the ancient + Peruvians or Mexicans, and she bids me be sure not to mark the paper wrong + after the manner of most of the traders; otherwise it will spoil the + making good bread or homony!” + </p> + <p> + His final chapter is the last news of James Adair, type of the earliest + trader. Did his bold attacks on corrupt officials and rum peddlers—made + publicly before Assemblies and in print—raise for him a dense cloud + of enmity that dropped oblivion + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_074" id="Page_074">74</a></span> + on his memory? Perhaps. But, in truth, his own + book is all the history of him we need. It is the record of a man. He + lived a full life and served his day; and it matters not that a mist + envelops the place where unafraid he met the Last Enemy, was “weighed on + the path and made light.” + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter04" id="Chapter04"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_075" id="Page_075">75</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER IV.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">The Passing Of The French Peril</p> + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">The</span> great pile of the Appalachian peaks was not + the only barrier which held back the settler with his plough and his rifle + from following the trader's tinkling caravans into the valleys beyond. + Over the hills the French were lords of the land. The frontiersman had + already felt their enmity through the torch and tomahawk of their savage + allies. By his own strength alone he could not cope with the power + entrenched beyond the hills; so he halted. But that power, by its + unachievable desire to be overlord of two hemispheres, was itself to + precipitate events which would open the westward road. + </p> + <p> + The recurring hour in the cycle of history, when the issue of Autocracy + against Democracy cleaves the world, struck for the men of the eighteenth + century as the second half of that century dawned. In our own day, + happily, that issue has been perceived by the rank and file of the people. + In + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_076" id="Page_076">76</a></span> + those darker days, as France and England grappled in that conflict of + systems which culminated in the Seven Years' War, the fundamental + principles at stake were clear to only a handful of thinking men. + </p> + <p> + But abstractions, whether clear or obscure, do not cause ambassadors to + demand their passports. The declaration of war awaits the overt act. + Behold, then, how great a matter is kindled by a little fire! The <i>casus + belli</i> between France and England in the Seven Years' War—the war + which humbled France in Europe and lost her India and Canada—had to + do with a small log fort built by a few Virginians in 1754 at the Forks of + the Ohio River and wrested from them in the same year by a company of + Frenchmen from Canada. + </p> + <p> + The French claimed the valley of the Ohio as their territory; the English + claimed it as theirs. The dispute was of long standing. The French claim + was based on discovery; the English claim, on the sea-to-sea charters of + Virginia and other colonies and on treaties with the Six Nations. The + French refused to admit the right of the Six Nations to dispose of the + territory. The English were inclined to maintain the validity of their + treaties with the Indians. Especially was Virginia so + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_077" id="Page_077">77</a></span> + inclined, for a large share of + the Ohio lay within her chartered domain. + </p> + <p> + The quarrel had entered its acute phase in 1749, when both the rival + claimants took action to assert their sovereignty. The Governor of Canada + sent an envoy, Céloron de Blainville, with soldiers, to take formal + possession of the Ohio for the King of France. In the same year the + English organized in Virginia the Ohio Company for the colonization of the + same country; and summoned Christopher Gist, explorer, trader, and guide, + from his home on the Yadkin and dispatched him to survey the land. + </p> + <p> + Then appeared on the scene that extraordinary man, Robert Dinwiddie, + Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, erstwhile citizen of Glasgow. His + correspondence from Virginia during his seven years' tenure of office + (1751-58) depicts the man with a vividness surpassing paint. He was as + honest as the day—as honest as he was fearless and fussy. But he had + no patience; he wanted things done and done at once, and his way was <em>the</em> + way to do them. People who did not think as he thought didn't <em>think</em> + at all. On this drastic premise he went to work. There was of course + continuous friction between him and the House of Burgesses. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_078" id="Page_078">78</a></span> + Dinwiddie had all a Scot's native talent for sarcasm. His letters, his + addresses, perhaps in particular his addresses to the House, bristled with + satirical thrusts at his opponents. If he had spelled out in full all the + words he was so eager to write, he would have been obliged to lessen his + output; so he used a shorthand system of his own, peculiar enough to be + remarkable even though abbreviations were the rule in that day. Even the + dignity of Kings he sacrificed to speed, and we find “His + Majesty” abbreviated to “H M'y”; yet a smaller luminary + known as “His Honor” fares better, losing only the last + letter—“His Hono.” “Ho.” stands for + “house” and “yt” for “that,” + “what,” “it,” and “anything else,” + as convenient. Many of his letters wind up with “I am ve'y much + fatig'd.” We know that he must have been! + </p> + <p> + It was a formidable task that confronted Dinwiddie—to possess and + defend the Ohio. Christopher Gist returned in 1751, having surveyed the + valley for the Ohio Company as far as the Scioto and Miami rivers, and in + the following year the survey was ratified by the Indians. The Company's + men were busy blazing trails through the territory and building fortified + posts. But the French dominated the territory. They had built + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_079" id="Page_079">79</a></span> and occupied + with troops Fort Le Bœuf on French Creek, a stream flowing into the + Allegheny. We may imagine Dinwiddie's rage at this violation of British + soil by French soldiers and how he must have sputtered to the young George + Washington, when he summoned that officer and made him the bearer of a + letter to the French commander at Fort Le Bœuf, to demand that + French troops be at once withdrawn from the Ohio. + </p> + <p> + Washington made the journey to Fort Le Bœuf in December, 1753, but + the mission of course proved fruitless. Dinwiddie then wrote to London + urging that a force be sent over to help the colonies maintain their + rights and, under orders from the Crown, suggested by himself, he wrote to + the governors of all the other colonies to join with Virginia in raising + troops to settle the ownership of the disputed territory. From Governor + Dobbs of North Carolina he received an immediate response. By means of + logic, sarcasm, and the entire force of his prerogatives, Dinwiddie + secured from his own balking Assembly £10,000 with which to raise + troops. From Maryland he obtained nothing. There were three prominent + Marylanders in the Ohio Company, but—or because of this—the + Maryland Assembly voted down the measure for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_080" id="Page_080">80</a></span> + a military appropriation. On + June 18, 1754, Dinwiddie wrote, with unusually full spelling for him: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + I am perswaded had His Majesty's Com'ds to the other Colonies been duely + obey'd, and the necessary Assistance given by them, the Fr. wou'd have + long ago have been oblig'd entirely to have evacuated their usurp'd + Possession of the King's Lands, instead of w'ch they are daily becoming + more formidable, whilst every Gov't except No. Caro. has amus'd me with + Expectations that have proved fruitless, and at length refuse to give + any Supply, unless in such a manner as must render it ineffectual. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + This saddened mood with its deliberate penmanship did not last long. + Presently Dinwiddie was making a Round Robin of himself in another series + of letters to Governors, Councilors, and Assemblymen, frantically + beseeching them for “H. M'y's hono.” and their own, and, if not, for + “post'r'ty,” to rise against the cruel French whose Indians were + harrying the borders again and “Basely, like Virmin, stealing and + carrying off the helpless infant”—as nice a simile, by the way, + as any Sheridan ever put into the mouth of Mrs. Malaprop. + </p> + <p> + Dinwiddie saw his desires thwarted on every hand by the selfish spirit of + localism and jealousy which was more rife in America in those days than it + is today. Though the phrase “capitalistic war” + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_081" id="Page_081">81</a></span> + had not yet been coined, the + great issues of English civilization on this continent were befogged, for + the majority in the colonies, by the trivial fact that the shareholders in + the Ohio Company stood to win by a vigorous prosecution of the war and to + lose if it were not prosecuted at all. The irascible Governor, however, + proceeded with such men and means as he could obtain. + </p> + <p> + And now in the summer of 1754 came the “overt act” which precipitated + the inevitable war. The key to the valley of the Ohio was the tongue of + land at the Forks, where the Allegheny and the Monongahela join their + waters in the Beautiful River. This site—today Pittsburgh—if + occupied and held by either nation would give that nation the command of + the Ohio. Occupied it was for a brief hour by a small party of Virginians, + under Captain William Trent; but no sooner had they erected on the spot a + crude fort than the French descended upon them. What happened then all the + world knows: how the French built on the captured site their great Fort + Duquesne; how George Washington with an armed force, sent by Dinwiddie to + recapture the place, encountered French and Indians at Great Meadows and + built Fort Necessity, which he was compelled to surrender; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_082" id="Page_082">82</a></span> + how in the next year (1755) General Braddock arrived from across the sea + and set out to take Fort Duquesne, only to meet on the way the disaster + called “Braddock's Defeat”; and how, before another year had + passed, the Seven Years' War was raging in Europe, and England was allied + with the enemies of France. + </p> + <p> + From the midst of the debacle of Braddock's defeat rises the figure of the + young Washington. Twenty-three he was then, tall and spare and hardbodied + from a life spent largely in the open. When Braddock fell, this Washington + appeared. Reckless of the enemy's bullets, which spanged about him and + pierced his clothes, he dashed up and down the lines in an effort to rally + the panic-stricken redcoats. He was too late to save the day, but not to + save a remnant of the army and bring out his own Virginians in good order. + Whether among the stay-at-homes and voters of credits there were some who + would have ascribed Washington's conduct on that day to the fact that his + brothers were large shareholders in the Ohio Company and that Fort + Duquesne was their personal property or "private interest," history does + not say. We may suppose so. + </p> + <p> + North Carolina, the one colony which had not + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_083" id="Page_083">83</a></span> + “amus'd” the Governor of Virginia “with Expectations + that proved fruitless,” had voted £12,000 for the war and had + raised two companies of troops. One of these, under Edward Brice Dobbs, + son of Governor Dobbs, marched with Braddock; and in that company as + wagoner went Daniel Boone, then in his twenty-second year. Of Boone's part + in Braddock's campaign nothing more is recorded save that on the march he + made friends with John Findlay, the trader, his future guide into + Kentucky; and that, on the day of the defeat, when his wagons were + surrounded, he escaped by slashing the harness, leaping on the back of one + of his horses, and dashing into the forest. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Meanwhile the southern tribes along the border were comparatively quiet. + That they well knew a colossal struggle between the two white races was + pending and were predisposed to ally themselves with the stronger is not + to be doubted. French influence had long been sifting through the + formidable Cherokee nation, which still, however, held true in the main to + its treaties with the English. It was the policy of the Governors of + Virginia and North Carolina to induce the Cherokees to enter strongly into + the war as allies of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_084" id="Page_084">84</a></span> + English. Their efforts came to nothing chiefly + because of the purely local and suicidal Indian policy of Governor Glen of + South Carolina. There had been some dispute between Glen and Dinwiddie as + to the right of Virginia to trade with the Cherokees; and Glen had sent to + the tribes letters calculated to sow distrust of all other aspirants for + Indian favor, even promising that certain settlers in the Back Country of + North Carolina should be removed and their holdings restored to the + Indians. These letters caused great indignation in North Carolina, when + they came to light, and had the worst possible effect upon Indian + relations. The Indians now inclined their ear to the French who, though + fewer than the English, were at least united in purpose. + </p> + <p> + Governor Glen took this inauspicious moment to hold high festival with the + Cherokees. It was the last year of his administration and apparently he + hoped to win promotion to some higher post by showing his achievements for + the fur trade and in the matter of new land acquired. He plied the + Cherokees with drink and induced them to make formal submission and to + cede all their lands to the Crown. When the chiefs recovered their + sobriety, they were filled with rage at what had been done, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_085" id="Page_085">85</a></span> and they + remembered how the French had told them that the English intended to make + slaves of all the Indians and to steal their lands. The situation was + complicated by another incident. Several Cherokee warriors returning from + the Ohio, whither they had gone to fight for the British, were slain by + frontiersmen. The tribe, in accordance with existing agreements, applied + to Virginia for redress—but received none. + </p> + <p> + There was thus plenty of powder for an explosion. Governor Lyttleton, + Glen's successor, at last flung the torch into the magazine. He seized, as + hostages, a number of friendly chiefs who were coming to Charleston to + offer tokens of good will and forced them to march under guard on a + military tour which the Governor was making (1759) with intent to overawe + the savages. When this expedition reached Prince George, on the upper + waters of the Savannah, the Indian hostages were confined within the fort; + and the Governor, satisfied with the result of his maneuver departed south + for Charleston. Then followed a tragedy. Some Indian friends of the + imprisoned chiefs attacked the fort, and the commander, a popular young + officer, was treacherously killed during a parley. The infuriated + frontiersmen within the fort fell upon the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_086" id="Page_086">86</a></span> + hostages and slew them all—twenty-six + chiefs—and the Indian war was on. + </p> + <p> + If all were to be told of the struggle which followed in the Back Country, + the story could not be contained in this book. Many brave and resourceful + men went out against the savages. We can afford only a passing glance at + one of them. Hugh Waddell of North Carolina was the most brilliant of all + the frontier fighters in that war. He was a young Ulsterman from County + Down, a born soldier, with a special genius for fighting Indians, although + he did not grow up on the border, for he arrived in North Carolina in + 1753, at the age of nineteen. He was appointed by Governor Dobbs to + command the second company which North Carolina had raised for the war, a + force of 450 rangers to protect the border counties; and he presently + became the most conspicuous military figure in the colony. As to his + personality, we have only a few meager details, with a portrait that + suggests plainly enough those qualities of boldness and craft which + characterized his tactics. Governor Dobbs appears to have had a special + love towards Hugh, whose family he had known in Ireland, for an + undercurrent of almost fatherly pride is to be found in the old Governor's + reports to the Assembly concerning Waddell's exploits. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_087" id="Page_087">87</a></span> The + terror raged for nearly three years. Cabins and fields were burned, and + women and children were slaughtered or dragged away captives. Not only did + immigration cease but many hardy settlers fled from the country. At + length, after horrors indescribable and great toll of life, the Cherokees + gave up the struggle. Their towns were invaded and laid waste by imperial + and colonial troops, and they could do nothing but make peace. In 1761 + they signed a treaty with the English to hold “while rivers flow and + grasses grow and sun and moon endure.” + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + In the previous year (1760) the imperial war had run its course in + America. New France lay prostrate, and the English were supreme not only + on the Ohio but on the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. Louisbourg, + Quebec, Montreal, Oswego, Niagara, Duquesne, Detroit—all were in + English hands. + </p> + <p> + Hugh Waddell and his rangers, besides serving with distinction in the + Indian war, had taken part in the capture of Fort Duquesne. This feat had + been accomplished in 1758 by an expedition under General Forbes. The + troops made a terrible march over a new route, cutting a road as they + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_088" id="Page_088">88</a></span> went. + It was November when they approached their objective. The wastes of snow + and their diminished supplies caused such depression among the men that + the officers called a halt to discuss whether or not to proceed toward + Fort Duquesne, where they believed the French to be concentrated in force. + Extravagant sums in guineas were named as suitable reward for any man who + would stalk and catch a French Indian and learn from him the real + conditions inside the fort. The honor, if not the guineas, fell to John + Rogers, one of Waddell's rangers. From the Indian it was learned that the + French had already gone, leaving behind only a few of their number. As the + English drew near, they found that the garrison had blown up the magazine, + set fire to the fort, and made off. + </p> + <p> + Thus, while New France was already tottering, but nearly two years before + the final capitulation at Montreal, the English again became masters of + the Ohio Company's land—masters of the Forks of the Ohio. This time + they were there to stay. Where the walls of Fort Duquesne had crumbled in + the fire Fort Pitt was to rise, proudly bearing the name of England's + Great Commoner who had directed English arms to victory on three + continents. + </p> + <p> + With France expelled and the Indians deprived + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_089" id="Page_089">89</a></span> + of their white allies, the + westward path lay open to the pioneers, even though the red man himself + would rise again and again in vain endeavor to bar the way. So a new era + begins, the era of exploration for definite purpose, the era of + commonwealth building. In entering on it, we part with the earliest + pioneer—the trader, who first opened the road for both the lone home + seeker and the great land company. He dwindles now to the mere barterer + and so—save for a few chance glimpses—slips out of sight, for + his brave days as Imperial Scout are done. + </p> + + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter05" id="Chapter05"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_090" id="Page_090">90</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER V.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">Boone, The Wanderer</p> + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">What</span> thoughts filled Daniel Boone's mind as he + was returning from Braddock's disastrous campaign in 1755 we may only + conjecture. Perhaps he was planning a career of soldiering, for in later + years he was to distinguish himself as a frontier commander in both + defense and attack. Or it may be that his heart was full of the wondrous + tales told him by the trader, John Findlay, of that Hunter's Canaan, + Kentucky, where buffalo and deer roamed in thousands. Perhaps he meant to + set out ere long in search of the great adventure of his dreams, despite + the terrible dangers of trail making across the zones of war into the + unknown. + </p> + <p> + However that may be, Boone straightway followed neither of these possible + plans on his return to the Yadkin but halted for a different adventure. + There, a rifle shot's distance from his threshold, was offered him the + oldest and sweetest of all + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_091" id="Page_091">91</a></span> + hazards to the daring. He was twenty-two, + strong and comely and a whole man; and therefore he was in no mind to + refuse what life held out to him in the person of Rebecca Bryan. Rebecca + was the daughter of Joseph Bryan, who had come to the Yadkin from + Pennsylvania some time before the Boones; and she was in her seventeenth + year. + </p> + <p> + Writers of an earlier and more sentimental period than ours have + endeavored to supply, from the saccharine stores of their fancy, the + romantic episodes connected with Boone's wooing which history has omitted + to record. Hence the tale that the young hunter, walking abroad in the + spring gloaming, saw Mistress Rebecca's large dark eyes shining in the + dusk of the forest, mistook them for a deer's eyes and shot—his aim + on this occasion fortunately being bad! But if Boone's rifle was missing + its mark at ten paces, Cupid's dart was speeding home. So runs the story + concocted a hundred years later by some gentle scribe ignorant alike of + game seasons, the habits of hunters, and the way of a man with a maid in a + primitive world. + </p> + <p> + Daniel and Rebecca were married in the spring of 1756. Squire Boone, in + his capacity as justice of the peace, tied the knot; and in a small cabin + built upon his spacious lands the young couple + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_092" id="Page_092">92</a></span> + set up housekeeping. Here + Daniel's first two sons were born. In the third year of his marriage, when + the second child was a babe in arms, Daniel removed with his wife and + their young and precious family to Culpeper County in eastern Virginia, + for the border was going through its darkest days of the French and Indian + War. During the next two or three years we find him in Virginia engaged as + a wagoner, hauling tobacco in season; but back on the border with his + rifle, after the harvest, aiding in defense against the Indians. In 1759 + he purchased from his father a lot on Sugar Tree Creek, a tributary of + Dutchman's Creek (Davie County, North Carolina) and built thereon a cabin + for himself. The date when he brought his wife and children to live in + their new abode on the border is not recorded. It was probably some time + after the close of the Indian War. Of Boone himself during these years we + have but scant information. We hear of him again in Virginia and also as a + member of the pack-horse caravan which brought into the Back Country the + various necessaries for the settlers. We know, too, that in the fall of + 1760 he was on a lone hunting trip in the mountains west of the Yadkin; + for until a few years ago there might be seen, still standing on the banks + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_093" id="Page_093">93</a></span> of + Boone's Creek (a small tributary of the Watauga) in eastern Tennessee, a + tree bearing the legend, “D Boon cilled A BAR on this tree 1760.” + Boone was always fond of carving his exploits on trees, and his wanderings + have been traced largely by his arboreal publications. In the next year + (1761) he went with Waddell's rangers when they marched with the army to + the final subjugation of the Cherokee. + </p> + <p> + That Boone and his family were back on the border in the new cabin shortly + after the end of the war, we gather from the fact that in 1764 he took his + little son James, aged seven, on one of his long hunting excursions. From + this time dates the intimate comradeship of father and son through all the + perils of the wilderness, a comradeship to come to its tragic end ten + years later when, as we shall see, the seventeen-year-old lad fell under + the red man's tomahawk as his father was leading the first settlers + towards Kentucky. In the cold nights of the open camp, as Daniel and James + lay under the frosty stars, the father kept the boy warm snuggled to his + breast under the broad flap of his hunting shirt. Sometimes the two were + away from home for months together, and Daniel declared little James to be + as good a woodsman as his father. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_094" id="Page_094">94</a></span> + Meanwhile fascinating accounts of the new land of Florida, ceded to + Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, had leaked into the Back Country; + and in the winter of 1765 Boone set off southward on horseback with seven + companions. Colonel James Grant, with whose army Boone had fought in 1761, + had been appointed Governor of the new colony and was offering generous + inducements to settlers. The party traveled along the borders of South + Carolina and Georgia. No doubt they made the greater part of their way + over the old Traders' Trace, the “whitened” warpath; and they + suffered severe hardships. Game became scarcer as they proceeded. Once + they were nigh to perishing of starvation and were saved from that fate + only through chance meeting with a band of Indians who, seeing their + plight, made camp and shared their food with them—according to the + Indian code in time of peace. + </p> + <p> + Boone's party explored Florida from St. Augustine to Pensacola, and Daniel + became sufficiently enamored of the tropical south to purchase there land + and a house. His wife, however, was unwilling to go to Florida, and she + was not long in convincing the hunter that he would soon tire of a + gameless country. A gameless country! Perhaps + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_095" id="Page_095">95</a></span> + this was the very thought which + turned the wanderer's desires again towards the land of Kentucky. ¹ + The silencing of the enemy's whisper in the Cherokee camps had opened the + border forests once more to the nomadic rifleman. Boone was not alone in + the desire to seek out what lay beyond. His brother-in-law, John Stewart, + and a nephew by marriage, Benjamin Cutbirth, or Cutbird, with two other + young men, John Baker and James Ward, in 1766 crossed the Appalachian + Mountains, probably by stumbling upon the Indian trail winding from base + to summit and from peak to base again over this part of the great hill + barrier. They eventually reached the Mississippi River and, having taken a + good quantity of peltry on the way, they launched upon the stream and came + in time to New Orleans, where they made a satisfactory trade of their + furs. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p class="footer"> + <a id="footer_95-1" name="footer_95-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_095">¹</a> + Kentucky, from Ken-ta-ke, an Iroquois word + meaning “the place of old fields.” Adair calls the territory “the + old fields.” The Indians apparently used the word “old,” as we do, + in a sense of endearment and possession as well as relative to age. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Boone was fired anew by descriptions of this successful feat, in which two + of his kinsmen had participated. He could no longer be held back. He must + find the magic door that led through the vast mountain wall into Kentucky—Kentucky, + with its green prairies where the buffalo and deer + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_096" id="Page_096">96</a></span> + were as “ten thousand thousand + cattle feeding” in the wilds, and where the balmy air vibrated with the + music of innumerable wings. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly, in the autumn of 1767, Boone began his quest of the + delectable country in the company of his friend, William Hill, who had + been with him in Florida. Autumn was the season of departure on all forest + excursions, because by that time the summer crops had been gathered in and + the day of the deer had come. By hunting, the explorers must feed + themselves on their travels and with deerskins and furs they must on their + return recompense those who had supplied their outfit. Boone, the + incessant but not always lucky wanderer, was in these years ever in debt + for an outfit. + </p> + <p> + Boone and Hill made their way over the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies and + crossed the Holston and Clinch rivers. Then they came upon the west fork + of the Big Sandy and, believing that it would lead them to the Ohio, they + continued for at least a hundred miles to the westward. Here they found a + buffalo trace, one of the many beaten out by the herds in their passage to + the salt springs, and they followed it into what is now Floyd County in + eastern Kentucky. But this was not the prairie land described by Findlay; + it was rough and hilly + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_097" id="Page_097">97</a></span> + and so overgrown with laurel as to be almost impenetrable. They therefore + wended their way back towards the river, doubtless erected the usual + hunter's camp of skins or blankets and branches, and spent the winter in + hunting and trapping. Spring found them returning to their homes on the + Yadkin with a fair winter's haul. + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_097-T1" id="Page_097-T1"></a> Such urgent desire as Boone's, + however, was not to be defeated. The next year brought him his great + opportunity. John Findlay came to the Yadkin with a horse pack of needles + and linen and peddler's wares to tempt the slim purses of the Back Country + folk. The two erstwhile comrades in arms were overjoyed to encounter each + other again, and Findlay spent the winter of 1768-69 in Boone's cabin. + While the snow lay deep outside and good-smelling logs crackled on the + hearth, they planned an expedition into Kentucky through the Gap where + Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky touch one another, which Findlay felt + confident he could find. Findlay had learned of this route from + cross-mountain traders in 1753, when he had descended the Ohio to the site + of Louisville, whence he had gone with some Shawanoes as a prisoner to + their town of Es-kip-pa-ki-thi-ki or Blue Licks. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_97-1" name="footer_97-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_097-T1">¹</a> + Hanna, <i>The Wilderness Trail,</i> vol. II, pp. 215-16. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_098" id="Page_098">98</a></span> On the + first day of May, 1769, Boone and Findlay, accompanied by John Stewart and + three other venturesome spirits, Joseph Holden, James Mooney, and William + Cooley, took horse for the fabled land. Passing through the Cumberland + Gap, they built their first camp in Kentucky on the Red Lick fork of + Station Camp Creek. + </p> + <p> + This camp was their base of operations. From it, usually in couples, we + infer, the explorers branched out to hunt and to take their observations + of the country. Here also they prepared the deer and buffalo meat for the + winter, dried or smoked the geese they shot in superabundance, made the + tallow and oil needed to keep their weapons in trim, their leather soft, + and their kits waterproof. Their first ill luck befell them in December + when Boone and Stewart were captured by a band of Shawanoes who were + returning from their autumn hunt on Green River. The Indians compelled the + two white men to show them the location of their camp, took possession of + all it contained in skins and furs and also helped themselves to the + horses. They left the explorers with just enough meat and ammunition to + provide for their journey homeward, and told them to depart and not to + intrude again on the red men's hunting + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_099" id="Page_099">99</a></span> + grounds. Having given this + pointed warning, the Shawanoes rode on northward towards their towns + beyond the Ohio. On foot, swiftly and craftily, Boone and his + brother-in-law trailed the band for two days. They came upon the camp in + dead of night, recaptured their horses, and fled. But this was a game in + which the Indians themselves excelled, and at this date the Shawanoes had + an advantage over Boone in their thorough knowledge of the territory; so + that within forty-eight hours the white men were once more prisoners. + After they had amused themselves by making Boone caper about with a horse + bell on his neck, while they jeered at him in broken English, “Steal + horse, eh?” the Shawanoes turned north again, this time taking the two + unfortunate hunters with them. Boone and Stewart escaped, one day on the + march, by a plunge into the thick tall canebrake. Though the Indians did + not attempt to follow them through the mazes of the cane, the situation of + the two hunters, without weapons or food, was serious enough. When they + found Station Camp deserted and realized that their four companions had + given them up for dead or lost and had set off on the trail for home, even + such intrepid souls as theirs may have felt fear. They raced on in pursuit + and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> + fortunately fell in not only with their party but with Squire Boone, + Daniel's brother, and Alexander Neely, who had brought in fresh supplies + of rifles, ammunition, flour, and horses. + </p> + <p> + After this lucky encounter the group separated. Findlay was ill, and + Holden, Mooney, and Cooley had had their fill of Kentucky; but Squire, + Neely, Stewart, and Daniel were ready for more adventures. Daniel, too, + felt under the positive necessity of putting in another year at hunting + and trapping in order to discharge his debts and provide for his family. + Near the mouth of Red River the new party built their station camp. Here, + in idle hours, Neely read aloud from a copy of <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> + to entertain the hunters while they dressed their deerskins or tinkered + their weapons. In honor of the “Lorbrulgrud” of the book, though with + a pronunciation all their own, they christened the nearest creek; and as + “Lulbegrud Creek” it is still known. + </p> + <p> + Before the end of the winter the two Boones were alone in the wilderness. + Their brother-in-law, Stewart, had disappeared; and Neely, discouraged by + this tragic event, had returned to the Yadkin. In May, Squire Boone fared + forth, taking with him the season's catch of beaver, otter, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> deerskins + to exchange in the North Carolinian trading houses for more supplies; and + Daniel was left solitary in Kentucky. + </p> + <p> + Now followed those lonely explorations which gave Daniel Boone his special + fame above all Kentucky's pioneers. He was by no means the first white man + to enter Kentucky; and when he did enter, it was as one of a party, under + another man's guidance—if we except his former disappointing journey + into the laurel thickets of Floyd County. But these others, barring + Stewart, who fell there, turned back when they met with loss and hardship + and measured the certain risks against the possible gains. Boone, the man + of imagination, turned to wild earth as to his kin. His genius lay in the + sense of oneness he felt with his wilderness environment. An instinct he + had which these other men, as courageous perhaps as he, did not possess. + </p> + <p> + Never in all the times when he was alone in the woods and had no other + man's safety or counsel to consider, did he suffer ill fortune. The + nearest approach to trouble that befell him when alone occurred one day + during this summer when some Indians emerged from their green shelter and + found him, off guard for the moment, standing on a cliff gazing with + rapture over the vast rolling + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> + stretches of Kentucky. He was apparently cut + off from escape, for the savages were on three sides, advancing without + haste to take him, meanwhile greeting him with mock amity. Over the cliff + leaped Boone and into the outspread arms of a friendly maple, whose top + bloomed green about sixty feet below the cliff's rim, and left his + would-be captors on the height above, grunting their amazement. + </p> + <p> + During this summer Boone journeyed through the valleys of the Kentucky and + the Licking. He followed the buffalo traces to the two Blue Licks and saw + the enormous herds licking up the salt earth, a darkly ruddy moving mass + of beasts whose numbers could not be counted. For many miles he wound + along the Ohio, as far as the Falls. He also found the Big Bone Lick with + its mammoth fossils. + </p> + <p> + In July, 1770, Daniel returned to the Red River camp and there met Squire + Boone with another pack of supplies. The two brothers continued their + hunting and exploration together for some months, chiefly in Jessamine + County, where two caves still bear Boone's name. In that winter they even + braved the Green River ground, whence had come the hunting Shawanoes who + had taken Daniel's + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> + first fruits a year before. In the same year (1770) there had come into + Kentucky from the Yadkin another party of hunters, called, from their + lengthy sojourn in the twilight zone, the Long Hunters. One of these, + Gasper Mansker, afterwards related how the Long Hunters were startled one + day by hearing sounds such as no buffalo or turkey ever made, and how + Mansker himself stole silently under cover of the trees towards the place + whence the strange noises came, and descried Daniel Boone prone on his + back with a deerskin under him, his famous tall black hat beside him and + his mouth opened wide in joyous but apparently none too tuneful song. This + incident gives a true character touch. It is not recorded of any of the + men who turned back that they sang alone in the wilderness. + </p> + <p> + In March, 1771, the two Boones started homeward, their horses bearing the + rich harvest of furs and deerskins which was to clear Daniel of debt and + to insure the comfort of the family he had not seen for two years. But + again evil fortune met them, this time in the very gates—for in the + Cumberland Gap they were suddenly surrounded by Indians who took + everything from them, leaving them neither guns nor horses. + </p> + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter06" id="Chapter06"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER VI.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">The Fight For Kentucky</p> + + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">When</span> Boone returned home he found the Back + Country of North Carolina in the throes of the Regulation Movement. This + movement, which had arisen first from the colonists' need to police their + settlements, had more recently assumed a political character. The + Regulators were now in conflict with the authorities, because the frontier + folk were suffering through excessive taxes, extortionate fees, dishonest + land titles, and the corruption of the courts. In May, 1771, the conflict + lost its quasi-civil nature. The Regulators resorted to arms and were + defeated by the forces under Governor Tryon in the Battle of the Alamance. + </p> + <p> + The Regulation Movement, which we shall follow in more detail further on, + was a culmination of those causes of unrest which turned men westward. To + escape from oppression and to acquire land + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> + beyond the bounds of tyranny + became the earnest desire of independent spirits throughout the Back + Country. But there was another and more potent reason why the country east + of the mountains no longer contented Boone. Hunting and trapping were + Boone's chief means of livelihood. In those days, deerskins sold for a + dollar a skin to the traders at the Forks or in Hillsborough; beaver at + about two dollars and a half, and otter at from three to five dollars. A + pack-horse could carry a load of one hundred dressed deerskins, and, as + currency was scarce, a hundred dollars was wealth. Game was fast + disappearing from the Yadkin. To Boone above all men, then, Kentucky + beckoned. When he returned in the spring of 1771 from his explorations, it + was with the resolve to take his family at once into the great game + country and to persuade some of his friends to join in this hazard of new + fortunes. + </p> + <p> + The perils of such a venture, only conjectural to us at this distance, he + knew well; but in him there was nothing that shrank from danger, though he + did not court it after the rash manner of many of his compeers. Neither + reckless nor riotous, Boone was never found among those who opposed + violence to authority, even unjust authority; nor was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> + he ever guilty of the + savagery which characterized much of the retaliatory warfare of that + period when frenzied white men bettered the red man's instruction. In him, + courage was illumined with tenderness and made equable by self-control. + Yet, though he was no fiery zealot like the Ulstermen who were to follow + him along the path he had made and who loved and revered him perhaps + because he was so different from themselves, Boone nevertheless had his + own religion. It was a simple faith best summed up perhaps by himself in + his old age when he said that he had been only an instrument in the hand + of God to open the wilderness to settlement. + </p> + <p> + Two years passed before Boone could muster a company of colonists for the + dangerous and delectable land. The dishonesty practiced by Lord + Granville's agents in the matter of deeds had made it difficult for Daniel + and his friends to dispose of their acreage. When at last in the spring of + 1773 the Wanderer was prepared to depart, he was again delayed; this time + by the arrival of a little son to whom was given the name of John. By + September, however, even this latest addition to the party was ready for + travel; and that month saw the Boones with a small caravan of families + journeying towards Powell's Valley, whence the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> + Warrior's Path took its way + through Cumberland Gap. At this point on the march they were to be joined + by William Russell, a famous pioneer, from the Clinch River, with his + family and a few neighbors, and by some of Rebecca Boone's kinsmen, the + Bryans, from the lower Yadkin, with a company of forty men. + </p> + <p> + Of Rebecca Boone history tells us too little—only that she was born + a Bryan, was of low stature and dark eyed, that she bore her husband ten + children, and lived beside him to old age. Except on his hunts and + explorations, she went with him from one cabined home to another, always + deeper into the wilds. There are no portraits of her. We can see her only + as a shadowy figure moving along the wilderness trails beside the man who + accepted his destiny of God to be a way-shower for those of lesser faith. + </p> + + <div class="poem1"> + <p class="poem1">He tires not forever on his leagues of march</p> + <p class="poem1">Because her feet are set to his footprints,</p> + <p class="poem1">And the gleam of her bare hand slants across his + shoulder.</p> + </div> + + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Boone halted his company on Walden Mountain over Powell's Valley to await + the Bryan contingent and dispatched two young men under the leadership of + his son James, then in his seventeenth year, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> + to notify Russell of the + party's arrival. As the boys were returning with Russell's son, also a + stripling, two of his slaves, and some white laborers, they missed the + path and went into camp for the night. When dawn broke, disclosing the + sleepers, a small war band of Shawanoes, who had been spying on Boone and + his party, fell upon them and slaughtered them. Only one of Russell's + slaves and a laborer escaped. The tragedy seems augmented by the fact that + the point where the boys lost the trail and made their night quarters was + hardly three miles from the main camp—to which an hour later came + the two survivors with their gloomy tidings. Terror now took hold of the + little band of emigrants, and there were loud outcries for turning back. + The Bryans, who had arrived meanwhile, also advised retreat, saying that + the “signs” about the scene of blood indicated an Indian uprising. + Daniel carried the scalped body of his son, the boy-comrade of his happy + hunts, to the camp and buried it there at the beginning of the trail. His + voice alone urged that they go on. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately indeed, as events turned out, Boone was overruled, and the + expedition was abandoned. The Bryan party and the others from North + Carolina went back to the Yadkin. Boone himself with + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> his family accompanied + Russell to the Clinch settlement, where he erected a temporary cabin on + the farm of one of the settlers, and then set out alone on the chase to + earn provision for his wife and children through the winter. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Those who prophesied an Indian war were not mistaken. When the snowy + hunting season had passed and the “Powwowing Days” were come, the + Indian war drum rattled in the medicine house from the borders of + Pennsylvania to those of Carolina. The causes of the strife for which the + red men were making ready must be briefly noted to help us form a just + opinion of the deeds that followed. Early writers have usually represented + the frontiersmen as saints in buckskin and the Indians as fiends without + the shadow of a claim on either the land or humanity. Many later writers + have merely reversed the shield. The truth is that the Indians and the + borderers reacted upon each other to the hurt of both. Paradoxically, they + grew like enough to hate one another with a savage hatred—and both + wanted the land. + </p> + <p> + Land! Land! was the slogan of all sorts and conditions of men. Tidewater + officials held solemn powwows with the chiefs, gave wampum strings, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> and + forthwith incorporated. ¹ Chiefs blessed their white brothers who had + “forever brightened the chain of friendship,” departed home, and + proceeded to brighten the blades of their tomahawks and to await, not + long, the opportunity to use them on casual hunters who carried in their + kits the compass, the “land-stealer.” Usually the surveying hunter + was a borderer; and on him the tomahawk descended with an accelerated + gusto. Private citizens also formed land companies and sent out surveyors, + regardless of treaties. Bold frontiersmen went into No Man's Land and + staked out their claims. In the very year when disaster turned the Boone + party back, James Harrod had entered Kentucky from Pennsylvania and had + marked the site of a settlement. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_110-1" name="footer_110-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_110">¹</a> + The activities of the great land companies are + described in Alvord's exhaustive work, <i>The Mississippi Valley in + British Politics.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ten years earlier (1763), the King had issued the famous and much + misunderstood Proclamation restricting his “loving subjects” from the + lands west of the mountains. The colonists interpreted this document as a + tyrannous curtailment of their liberties for the benefit of the fur trade. + We know now that the portion of this Proclamation relating to western + settlement was a wise provision + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> + designed to protect the settlers on the + frontier by allaying the suspicions of the Indians, who viewed with + apprehension the triumphal occupation of that vast territory from Canada + to the Gulf of Mexico by the colonizing English. By seeking to compel all + land purchase to be made through the Crown, it was designed likewise to + protect the Indians from “whisky purchase,” and to make impossible + the transfer of their lands except with consent of the Indian Council, or + full quota of headmen, whose joint action alone conveyed what the tribes + considered to be legal title. Sales made according to this form, Sir + William Johnson declared to the Lords of Trade, he had never known to be + repudiated by the Indians. This paragraph of the Proclamation was in + substance an embodiment of Johnson's suggestions to the Lords of Trade. + Its purpose was square dealing and pacification; and shrewd men such as + Washington recognized that it was not intended as a final check to + expansion. “A temporary expedient to quiet the minds of the Indians,” + Washington called it, and then himself went out along the Great Kanawha + and into Kentucky, surveying land. + </p> + <p> + It will be asked what had become of the Ohio Company of Virginia and that + fort at the Forks of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> + the Ohio, once a bone of contention between France and England. Fort Pitt, + as it was now called, had fallen foul of another dispute, this time + between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Virginia claimed that the far western + corner of her boundary ascended just far enough north to take in Fort + Pitt. Pennsylvania asserted that it did nothing of the sort. The Ohio + Company had meanwhile been merged into the Walpole Company. George + Croghan, at Fort Pitt, was the Company's agent and as such was accused by + Pennsylvania of favoring from ulterior motives the claims of Virginia. + Hotheads in both colonies asseverated that the Indians were secretly being + stirred up in connection with the boundary disputes. If it does not very + clearly appear how an Indian rising would have settled the ownership of + Fort Pitt, it is evident enough where the interests of Virginia and + Pennsylvania clashed. Virginia wanted land for settlement and speculation; + Pennsylvania wanted the Indians left in possession for the benefit of the + fur trade. So far from stirring up the Indians, as his enemies declared, + Croghan was as usual giving away all his substance to keep them quiet. + ¹ Indeed, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> + during this summer of 1774, eleven hundred Indians were encamped about + Fort Pitt visiting him. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_113-1" name="footer_113-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_113">¹</a> + The suspicion that Croghan and Lord Dunmore, + the Governor of Virginia, were instigating the war appears to have arisen + out of the conduct of Dr. John Connolly, Dunmore's agent and Croghan's + nephew. Croghan had induced the Shawanoes to bring under escort to Fort + Pitt certain English traders resident in the Indian towns. The escort was + fired on by militiamen under command of Connolly, who also issued a + proclamation declaring a state of war to exist. Connolly, however, + probably acted on his own initiative. He was interested in land on his own + behalf and was by no means the only man at that time who was ready to + commit outrages on Indians in order to obtain it. As Croghan lamented, + there was “too great a spirit in the frontier people for killing + Indians.” + </p> + </div> + <p> + <a name="Page_113-T2" id="Page_113-T2"></a> Two hundred thousand acres in + the West—Kentucky and West Virginia—had been promised to the + colonial officers and soldiers who fought in the Seven Years' War. But + after making the Proclamation the British Government had delayed issuing + the patents. Washington interested himself in trying to secure them; and + Lord Dunmore, who also had caught the “land-fever,” ² + prodded the British authorities but won only rebuke for his inconvenient + activities. Insistent, however, Dunmore sent out parties of surveyors to + fix the bounds of the soldiers' claims. James Harrod, Captain Thomas + Bullitt, Hancock Taylor, and three McAfee brothers entered Kentucky, by + the Ohio, under Dunmore's orders. John Floyd went in by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> + the Kanawha as Washington's + agent. A bird's-eye view of that period would disclose to us very few + indeed of His Majesty's loving subjects who were paying any attention to + his proclamation. Early in 1774, Harrod began the building of cabins and a + fort, and planted corn on the site of Harrodsburg. Thus to him and not to + Boone fell the honor of founding the first permanent white settlement in + Kentucky. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_113-2" name="footer_113-2"></a> + <a href="#Page_113-T2">²</a> + See Alvord, <i>The Mississippi Valley in + British Politics,</i> vol. II, pp. 191-94. + </p> + </div> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + When summer came, its thick verdure proffering ambuscade, the air hung + tense along the border. Traders had sent in word that Shawanoes, + Delawares, Mingos, Wyandots, and Cherokees were refusing all other + exchange than rifles, ammunition, knives, and hatchets. White men were + shot down in their fields from ambush. Dead Indians lay among their own + young corn, their scalp locks taken. There were men of both races who + wanted war and meant to have it—and with it the land. + </p> + <p> + Lord Dunmore, the Governor, resolved that, if war were inevitable, it + should be fought out in the Indian country. With this intent, he wrote to + Colonel Andrew Lewis of Botetourt County, Commander of the Southwest + Militia, instructing him + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> + to raise a respectable body of troops and “join + me either at the mouth of the Great Kanawha or Wheeling, or such other + part of the Ohio as may be most convenient for you to meet me.” The + Governor himself with a force of twelve hundred proceeded to Fort Pitt, + where Croghan, as we have seen, was extending his hospitality to eleven + hundred warriors from the disaffected tribes. + </p> + <p> + On receipt of the Governor's letter, Andrew Lewis sent out expresses to + his brother Colonel Charles Lewis, County Lieutenant of Augusta, and to + Colonel William Preston, County Lieutenant of Fincastle, to raise men and + bring them with all speed to the rendezvous at Camp Union (Lewisburg) on + the Big Levels of the Greenbrier (West Virginia). Andrew Lewis summoned + these officers to an expedition for “reducing our inveterate enemies to + reason.” Preston called for volunteers to take advantage of “the + opportunity we have so long wished for… this useless People may now + at last be Oblidged to abandon their country.” These men were among not + only the bravest but the best of their time; but this was their view of + the Indian and his alleged rights. To eliminate this “useless people,” + inveterate enemies of the white race, was, as they saw it, a political + necessity + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> + and a religious duty. And we today who profit by their deeds dare not + condemn them. + </p> + <p> + Fervor less solemn was aroused in other quarters by Dunmore's call to + arms. At Wheeling, some eighty or ninety young adventurers, in charge of + Captain Michael Cresap of Maryland, were waiting for the freshets to sweep + them down the Ohio into Kentucky. When the news reached them, they greeted + it with the wild monotone chant and the ceremonies preliminary to Indian + warfare. They planted the war pole, stripped and painted themselves, and + starting the war dance called on Cresap to be their “white leader.” + The captain, however, declined; but in that wild circling line was one who + was a white leader indeed. He was a sandy-haired boy of twenty—one + of the bold race of English Virginians, rugged and of fiery countenance, + with blue eyes intense of glance and deep set under a high brow that, + while modeled for power, seemed threatened in its promise by the too + sensitive chiseling of his lips. With every nerve straining for the fray, + with thudding of feet and crooning of the blood song, he wheeled with + those other mad spirits round the war pole till the set of sun closed the + rites. “That evening two scalps were brought into camp,” so a letter + of his reads. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> + Does the bold savage color of this picture affright us? Would we veil it? + Then we should lose something of the true lineaments of George Rogers + Clark, who, within four short years, was to lead a tiny army of tattered + and starving backwoodsmen, ashamed to quail where he never flinched, + through barrens and icy floods to the conquest of Illinois for the United + States. + </p> + <p> + Though Cresap had rejected the rôle of “white leader,” he did + not escape the touch of infamy. “Cresap's War” was the name the + Indians gave to the bloody encounters between small parties of whites and + Indians, which followed on that war dance and scalping, during the summer + months. One of these encounters must be detailed here because history has + assigned it as the immediate cause of Dunmore's War. + </p> + <p> + Greathouse, Sapperton, and King, three traders who had a post on Yellow + Creek, a tributary of the Ohio fifty miles below Pittsburgh, invited + several Indians from across the stream to come and drink with them and + their friends. Among the Indians were two or three men of importance in + the Mingo tribe. There were also some women, one of whom was the Indian + wife of Colonel John Gibson, an educated man who had distinguished himself + as <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> a + soldier with Forbes in 1758. That the Indians came in amity and + apprehended no treachery was proved by the presence of the women. Gibson's + wife carried her half-caste baby in her shawl. The disreputable traders + plied their guests with drink to the point of intoxication and then + murdered them. King shot the first man and, when he fell, cut his throat, + saying that he had served many a deer in that fashion. Gibson's Indian + wife fled and was shot down in the clearing. A man followed to dispatch + her and her baby. She held the child up to him pleading, with her last + breath, that he would spare it because it was not Indian but “one of + yours.” The mother dead, the child was later sent to Gibson. Twelve + Indians in all were killed. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Croghan had persuaded the Iroquois to peace. With the help of + David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, and White Eyes, a Delaware + chief, he and Dunmore had won over the Delaware warriors. In the Cherokee + councils, Oconostota demanded that the treaty of peace signed in 1761 be + kept. The Shawanoes, however, led by Cornstalk, were implacable; and they + had as allies the Ottawas and Mingos, who had entered the council with + them. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> A + famous chief of the day and one of great influence over the Indians, and + also among the white officials who dealt with Indian affairs, was + Tach-nech-dor-us, or + Branching Oak of the Forest, a Mingo who had taken the name of Logan out + of compliment to James Logan of Pennsylvania. Chief Logan had recently met + with so much reproach from his red brothers for his loyalty to the whites + that he had departed from the Mingo town at Yellow Creek. But, learning + that his tribe had determined to assist the Shawanoes and had already + taken some white scalps, he repaired to the place where the Mingos were + holding their war council to exert his powers for peace. There, in + presence of the warriors, after swaying them from their purpose by those + oratorical gifts which gave him his influence and his renown, he took the + war hatchet that had already killed, and buried it in proof that vengeance + was appeased. Upon this scene there entered a Mingo from Yellow Creek with + the news of the murders committed there by the three traders. The Indian + whose throat had been slit as King had served deer was Logan's brother. + Another man slain was his kinsman. The woman with the baby was his sister. + Logan tore up from the earth the bloody tomahawk and, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> raising it above his head, + swore that he would not rest till he had taken ten white lives to pay for + each one of his kin. Again the Mingo warriors declared for war and this + time were not dissuaded. But Logan did not join this red army. He went out + alone to wreak his vengeance, slaying and scalping. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Meanwhile Dunmore prepared to push the war with the utmost vigor. His + first concern was to recall the surveying parties from Kentucky, and for + so hazardous an errand he needed the services of a man whose endurance, + speed, and woodcraft were equal to those of any Indian scout afoot. + Through Colonel Preston, his orders were conveyed to Daniel Boone, for + Boone's fame had now spread from the border to the tidewater regions. It + was stated that “Boone would lose no time,” and “if they are alive, + it is indisputable but Boone must find them.” + </p> + <p> + So Boone set out in company with Michael Stoner, another expert woodsman. + His general instructions were to go down the Kentucky River to Preston's + Salt Lick and across country to the Falls of the Ohio, and thence home by + Gaspar's Lick on the Cumberland River. Indian war parties were moving + under cover across “the Dark + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> + and Bloody Ground” to surround the various + groups of surveyors still at large and to exterminate them. Boone made his + journey successfully. He found John Floyd, who was surveying for + Washington; he sped up to where Harrod and his band were building cabins + and sent them out, just in time as it happened; he reached all the + outposts of Thomas Bullitt's party, only one of whom fell a victim to the + foe; ¹ and, undetected by the Indians, he brought himself and Stoner + home in safety, after covering eight hundred miles in sixty-one days. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_121-1" name="footer_121-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_121">¹</a> + Hancock Taylor, who delayed in getting out of + the country and was cut off. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Harrod and his homesteaders immediately enlisted in the army. How eager + Boone was to go with the forces under Lewis is seen in the official + correspondence relative to Dunmore's War. Floyd wanted Boone's help in + raising a company: “Captain Bledsoe says that Boone has more [influence] + than any man now disengaged; and you know what Boone has done for me… + for which reason I love the man.” Even the border, it would seem, had + its species of pacifists who were willing to let others take risks for + them, for men hung back from recruiting, and desertions were the order of + the day. Major Arthur Campbell hit upon a solution + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> + of the difficulties in West Fincastle. He was convinced that Boone could + raise a company and hold the men loyal. And Boone did. + </p> + <p> + For some reason, however, Daniel's desire to march with the army was + denied. Perhaps it was because just such a man as he—and, indeed, + there was no other—was needed to guard the settlement. Presently he + was put in command of Moore's Fort in Clinch Valley, and his “diligence” + received official approbation. A little later the inhabitants of the + valley sent out a petition to have Boone made a “captain” and given + supreme command of the lower forts. The settlers demanded Boone's + promotion for their own security. + </p> + <div class="poem1"> + <p class="poem1">The land it is good, it is just to our mind,</p> + <p class="poem1">Each will have his part if his Lordship be kind, </p> + <p class="poem1">The Ohio once ours, we'll live at our ease,</p> + <p class="poem1">With a bottle and glass to drink when we please.</p> + </div> + <p> + So sang the army poet, thus giving voice, as bards should ever do, to the + theme nearest the hearts of his hearers—in this case, Land! + Presumably his ditty was composed on the eve of the march from Lewisburg, + for it is found in a soldier's diary. + </p> + <p> + On the evening of October 9, 1774, Andrew Lewis with his force of eleven + hundred frontiersmen + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> + was encamped on Point Pleasant at the junction of the Great Kanawha with + the Ohio. Dunmore in the meantime had led his forces into Ohio and had + erected Fort Gower at the mouth of the Hockhocking River, where he waited + for word from Andrew Lewis. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_123-1" name="footer_123-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_123">¹</a> + It has been customary to ascribe to Lord + Dunmore motives of treachery in failing to make connections with Lewis; + but no real evidence has been advanced to support any of the charges made + against him by local historians. The charges were, as Theodore Roosevelt + says, “an afterthought.” Dunmore was a King's man in the Revolution; + and yet in March, 1775, the Convention of the Colony of Virginia, + assembled in opposition to the royal party, resolved: “The most cordial + thanks of the people of this colony are a tribute justly due to our worthy + Governor, Lord Dunmore, for his truly noble, wise, and spirited conduct + which at once evinces his Excellency's attention to the true interests of + this colony, and a zeal in the executive department which no dangers can + divert, or difficulties hinder, from achieving the most important services + to the people who have the happiness to live under his administration.” + (See <i>American Archives,</i> Fourth Series, vol. II, p. 170.) Similar + resolutions were passed by his officers on the march home from Ohio; at + the same time, the officers passed resolutions in sympathy with the + American cause. Yet it was Andrew Lewis who later drove Dunmore from + Virginia. Well might Dunmore exclaim, “That it should ever come to this!” + </p> + </div> + <p> + The movements of the two armies were being observed by scouts from the + force of red warriors gathered in Ohio under the great leader of the + Shawanoes. Cornstalk purposed to isolate the two armies of his enemy and + to crush them in turn before they could come together. His first move was + to launch an attack on Lewis at Point + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> + Pleasant. In the dark of + night, Cornstalk's Indians crossed the Ohio on rafts, intending to + surprise the white man's camp at dawn. They would have succeeded but for + the chance that three or four of the frontiersmen, who had risen before + daybreak to hunt, came upon the Indians creeping towards the camp. Shots + were exchanged. An Indian and a white man dropped. The firing roused the + camp. Three hundred men in two lines under Charles Lewis and William + Fleming sallied forth expecting to engage the vanguard of the enemy but + encountered almost the whole force of from eight hundred to a thousand + Indians before the rest of the army could come into action. Both officers + were wounded, Charles Lewis fatally. The battle, which continued from dawn + until an hour before sunset, was the bloodiest in Virginia's long series + of Indian wars. The frontiersmen fought as such men ever fought—with + the daring, bravery, swiftness of attack, and skill in taking cover which + were the tactics of their day, even as at a later time many of these same + men fought at King's Mountain and in Illinois the battles that did so much + to turn the tide in the Revolution. ² + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_124-2" name="footer_124-2"></a> + <a href="#Page_124">²</a> + With Andrew Lewis on this day were Isaac + Shelby and William Campbell, the victorious leaders at King's Mountain, + James Robertson, the “father of Tennessee,” Valentine Sevier, Daniel + Morgan, hero of the Cowpens, Major Arthur Campbell, Benjamin Logan, + Anthony Bledsoe, and Simon Kenton. With Dunmore's force were Adam Stephen, + who distinguished himself at the Brandywine, George Rogers Clark, John + Stuart, already noted through the Cherokee wars, and John Montgomery, + later one of Clark's four captains in Illinois. The two last mentioned + were Highlanders. Clark's Illinois force was largely recruited from the + troops who fought at Point Pleasant. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> + Colonel Preston wrote to Patrick Henry that the enemy behaved with “inconceivable + bravery,” the head men walking about in the time of action exhorting + their men to “lie close, shoot well, be strong, and fight.” The + Shawanoes ran up to the muzzles of the English guns, disputing every foot + of ground. Both sides knew well what they were fighting for—the rich + land held in a semicircle by the Beautiful River. + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_126-T1" id="Page_126-T1"></a> Shortly before sundown the + Indians, mistaking a flank movement by Shelby's contingent for the arrival + of reinforcements, retreated across the Ohio. Many of their most noted + warriors had fallen and among them the Shawano chief, Puck-e-shin-wa, + father of a famous son, Tecumseh. ¹ Yet they were unwilling to accept + defeat. When they heard that Dunmore was now marching overland to cut them + off from their towns, their fury blazed anew. “Shall we first kill all + our women and children and then + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> + fight till we ourselves are slain?” + Cornstalk, in irony, demanded of them; “No? Then I will go and make + peace.” + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_126-1" name="footer_126-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_126-T1">¹</a> + Thwaites, <i>Documentary History of Dunmore's War.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + By the treaty compacted between the chiefs and Lord Dunmore, the Indians + gave up all claim to the lands south of the Ohio, even for hunting, and + agreed to allow boats to pass unmolested. In this treaty the Mingos + refused to join, and a detachment of Dunmore's troops made a punitive + expedition to their towns. Some discord arose between Dunmore and Lewis's + frontier forces because, since the Shawanoes had made peace, the Governor + would not allow the frontiersmen to destroy the Shawano towns. + </p> + <p> + Of all the chiefs, Logan alone still held aloof. Major Gibson undertook to + fetch him, but Logan refused to come to the treaty grounds. He sent by + Gibson the short speech which has lived as an example of the best Indian + oratory: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry + and he gave him not meat: if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed + him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan + remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for + the whites that my countrymen pointed as they passed and said, “Logan + is the friend of the white men.” I had even thought to have lived + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> + with you but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last + spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of + Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There remains not a drop + of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for + revenge. I have sought it; I have killed many; I have fully glutted my + vengeance: for my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not + harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He + will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for + Logan? Not one. ¹ + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_127-1" name="footer_127-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_127">¹</a> + Some writers have questioned the authenticity + of Logan's speech, inclining to think that Gibson himself composed it, + partly because of the biblical suggestion in the first few lines. That + Gibson gave biblical phraseology to these lines is apparent, though, as + Adair points out there are many examples of similitude in Indian and + biblical expression. But the thought is Indian and relates to the first + article of the Indian's creed, namely, to share his food with the needy. + “There remains not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living + creature” is a truly Indian lament. Evidently the final four lines of + the speech are the most literally translated, for they have the form and + the primitive rhythmic beat which a student of Indian poetry quickly + recognizes. The authenticity of the speech, as well as the innocence of + Cresap, whom Logan mistakenly accused, was vouched for by George Rogers + Clark in a letter to Dr. Samuel Brown dated June 17, 1798. See Jefferson + papers, Series 5, quoted by English, <i>Conquest of the Country Northwest + of the River Ohio,</i> vol. II. p. 1029. + </p> + </div> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + By rivers and trails, in large and small companies, started home the army + that had won the land. The West Fincastle troops, from the lower + settlements of the Clinch and Holston valleys, were to return by the + Kentucky River, while those from + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> + the upper valley would take the shorter way + up Sandy Creek. To keep them in provisions during the journey it was + ordered that hunters be sent out along these routes to kill and barbecue + meat and place it on scaffolds at appropriate spots. + </p> + <p> + The way home by the Kentucky was a long road for weary and wounded men + with hunger gnawing under their belts. We know who swung out along the + trail to provide for that little band, “dressed in deerskins colored + black, and his hair plaited and bobbed up.” It was Daniel Boone—now, + by popular demand, Captain Boone—just “discharged from Service,” + since the valley forts needed him no longer. Once more only a hunter, he + went his way over Walden Mountain—past his son's grave marking the + place where <em>he</em> had been turned back—to serve the men who + had opened the gates. + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter07" id="Chapter07"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER VII.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">The Dark And Bloody Ground</p> + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">With</span> the coming of spring Daniel Boone's + desire, so long cherished and deferred, to make a way for his neighbors + through the wilderness was to be fulfilled at last. But ere his ax could + slash the thickets from the homeseekers' path, more than two hundred + settlers had entered Kentucky by the northern waterways. Eighty or more of + these settled at Harrodsburg, where Harrod was laying out his town on a + generous plan, with “in-lots” of half an acre and + “out-lots” of larger size. Among those associated with Harrod + was George Rogers Clark, who had surveyed claims for himself during the + year before the war. + </p> + <p> + While over two hundred colonists were picking out home sites wherever + their pleasure or prudence dictated, a gigantic land promotion + scheme—involving the very tracts where they were sowing their first + corn—was being set afoot in North + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> + Carolina by a body of men who figure in the early history of Kentucky as + the Transylvania Company. The leader of this organization was Judge + Richard Henderson. ¹ Judge Henderson dreamed a big dream. His castle + in the air had imperial proportions. He resolved, in short, to purchase + from the Cherokee Indians the larger part of Kentucky and to establish + there a colony after the manner and the economic form of the English Lords + Proprietors, whose day in America was so nearly done. Though in the light + of history the plan loses none of its dramatic features, it shows the + practical defects that must surely have prevented its realization. Like + many another Cæsar hungering for empire and staking all to win it, + the prospective lord of Kentucky, as we shall see, had left the human + equation out of his calculations. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_130-1" name="footer_130-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_130">¹</a> + Richard Henderson (1734-1785) was the son of + the High Sheriff of Granville County. At first an assistant to his father, + he studied law and soon achieved a reputation by the brilliance of his + mind and the magnetism of his personality. As presiding Judge at + Hillsborough he had come into conflict with the violent element among the + Regulators, who had driven him from the court and burned his house and + barns. For some time prior to his elevation to the bench, he had been + engaged in land speculations. One of Boone's biographers suggests that + Boone may have been secretly acting as Henderson's agent during his first + lonely explorations of Kentucky. However this may be, it does not appear + that Boone and his Yadkin neighbors were acting with Henderson when in + September, 1773, they made their first attempt to enter Kentucky as + settlers. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> + Richard Henderson had known Daniel Boone on the Yadkin; and it was Boone's + detailed reports of the marvelous richness and beauty of Kentucky which + had inspired him to formulate his gigantic scheme and had enabled him also + to win to his support several men of prominence in the Back Country. To + sound the Cherokees regarding the purchase and to arrange, if possible, + for a conference, Henderson dispatched Boone to the Indian towns in the + early days of 1775. + </p> + <p> + Since we have just learned that Dunmore's War compelled the Shawanoes and + their allies to relinquish their right to Kentucky, that, both before and + after that event, government surveyors were in the territory surveying for + the soldiers' claims, and that private individuals had already laid out + town sites and staked holdings, it may be asked what right of ownership + the Cherokees possessed in Kentucky, that Henderson desired to purchase it + of them. The Indian title to Kentucky seems to have been hardly less vague + to the red men than it was to the whites. Several of the nations had laid + claim to the territory. As late as 1753, it will be remembered, the + Shawanoes had occupied a town at Blue Licks, for John Findlay had been + taken there by some of them. But, before Findlay + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> + guided Boone through the Gap + in 1769, the Shawanoes had been driven out by the Iroquois, who claimed + suzerainty over them as well as over the Cherokees. In 1768, the Iroquois + had ceded Kentucky to the British Crown by the treaty of Fort Stanwix; + whereupon the Cherokees had protested so vociferously that the Crown's + Indian agent, to quiet them, had signed a collateral agreement with them. + Though claimed by many, Kentucky was by common consent not inhabited by + any of the tribes. It was the great Middle Ground where the Indians + hunted. It was the Warriors' Path over which they rode from north and + south to slaughter and where many of their fiercest encounters took place. + However shadowy the title which Henderson purposed to buy, there was one + all-sufficing reason why he must come to terms with the Cherokees: their + northernmost towns in Tennessee lay only fifty or sixty miles below + Cumberland Gap and hence commanded the route over which he must lead + colonists into his empire beyond the hills. + </p> + <p> + The conference took place early in March, 1775, at the Sycamore Shoals of + the Watauga River. Twelve hundred Indians, led by their + “town chiefs”—among whom were the old warrior and the + old statesman of their nation, Oconostota and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> + Attakullakulla—came to the treaty grounds and were received by + Henderson and his associates and several hundred white men who were eager + for a chance to settle on new lands. Though Boone was now on his way into + Kentucky for the Transylvania Company, other border leaders of renown or + with their fame still to win were present, and among them James Robertson, + of serious mien, and that blond gay knight in buckskin, John Sevier. + </p> + <p> + It is a dramatic picture we evolve for ourselves from the meager + narratives of this event—a mass of painted Indians moving through + the sycamores by the bright water, to come presently into a tense, + immobile semicircle before the large group of armed frontiersmen seated or + standing about Richard Henderson, the man with the imperial dream, the + ready speaker whose flashing eyes and glowing oratory won the hearts of + all who came under their sway. What though the Cherokee title be a flimsy + one at best and the price offered for it a bagatelle! The spirit of + Forward March! is there in that great canvas framed by forest and sky. The + somber note that tones its lustrous color, as by a sweep of the brush, is + the figure of the Chickamaugan chief, Dragging Canoe, warrior and seer and + hater of white men, who urges his tribesmen against the sale and, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> + when they + will not hearken, springs from their midst into the clear space before + Henderson and his band of pioneers and, pointing with uplifted arm, warns + them that a dark cloud hangs over the land the white man covets which to + the red man has long been a bloody ground. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_134-1" name="footer_134-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_134">¹</a> + This utterance of Dragging Canoe's is + generally supposed to be the origin of the descriptive phrase applied to + Kentucky—“the Dark and Bloody Ground.” See Roosevelt, + <i>The Winning of the West,</i> vol. I, p.229. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The purchase, finally consummated, included the country lying between the + Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers—almost all the present State of + Kentucky, with the adjacent land watered by the Cumberland River and its + tributaries, except certain lands previously leased by the Indians to the + Watauga Colony. The tract comprised about twenty million acres and + extended into Tennessee. + </p> + <p> + Daniel Boone's work was to cut out a road for the wagons of the + Transylvania Company's colonists to pass over. This was to be done by + slashing away the briers and underbrush hedging the narrow Warriors' Path + that made a direct northward line from Cumberland Gap to the Ohio bank, + opposite the mouth of the Scioto River. Just prior to the conference Boone + and “thirty guns” had set forth from the Holston to prepare the road + and to build a fort on whatever site he should select. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> By + April, Henderson and his first group of tenants were on the trail. In + Powell's Valley they came up with a party of Virginians Kentucky bound, + led by Benjamin Logan; and the two bands joined together for the march. + They had not gone far when they heard disquieting news. After leaving + Martin's Station, at the gates of his new domain, Henderson received a + letter from Boone telling of an attack by Indians, in which two of his men + had been killed, but “we stood on the ground and guarded our baggage + till the day and lost nothing.” ¹ These tidings, indicating that + despite treaties and sales, the savages were again on the warpath, might + well alarm Henderson's colonists. While they halted, some indecisive, + others frankly for retreat, there appeared a company of men making all + haste out of Kentucky because of Indian unrest. Six of these Henderson + persuaded to turn again and go in with him; but this addition hardly + offset the loss of those members of his party who thought it too perilous + to proceed. Henderson's own courage did not falter. He had staked his all + on this stupendous venture and for him it was forward to wealth and glory + or retreat into poverty and eclipse. Boone, in the heart of the danger, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> was + making the same stand. “If we give way to them [the Indians] now,” he + wrote, “it will ever be the case.” + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_136-1" name="footer_136-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_136">¹</a> + Bogart, <i>Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky, p. 121.</i> + </p> + </div> + <p> + Signs of discord other than Indian opposition met Henderson as he + resolutely pushed on. His conversations with some of the fugitives from + Kentucky disclosed the first indications of the storm that was to blow + away the empire he was going in to found. He told them that the claims + they had staked in Kentucky would not hold good with the Transylvania + Company. Whereupon James McAfee, who was leading a group of returning men, + stated his opinion that the Transylvania Company's claim would not hold + good with Virginia. After the parley, three of McAfee's brothers turned + back and went with Henderson's party, but whether with intent to join his + colony or to make good their own claims is not apparent. Benjamin Logan + continued amicably with Henderson on the march but did not recognize him + as Lord Proprietor of Kentucky. He left the Transylvania caravan shortly + after entering the territory, branched off in the direction of + Harrodsburg, and founded St. Asaph's Station, in the present Lincoln + County, independently of Henderson though the site lay within Henderson's + purchase. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> + Notwithstanding delays and apprehensions, Henderson and his colonists + finally reached Boone's Fort, which Daniel and his “thirty + guns”—lacking two since the Indian encounter—had + erected at the mouth of Otter Creek. + </p> + <p> + An attractive buoyancy of temperament is revealed in Henderson's + description in his journal of a giant elm with tall straight trunk and + even foliage that shaded a space of one hundred feet. Instantly he chose + this "divine elm" as the council chamber of Transylvania. Under its + leafage he read the constitution of the new colony. It would be too great + a stretch of fancy to call it a democratic document, for it was not that, + except in deft phrases. Power was certainly declared to be vested in the + people; but the substance of power remained in the hands of the + Proprietors. + </p> + <p> + Terms for land grants were generous enough in the beginning, although + Henderson made the fatal mistake of demanding quitrents—one of the + causes of dissatisfaction which had led to the Regulators' rising in North + Carolina. In September he augmented this error by more than doubling the + price of land, adding a fee of eight shillings for surveying, and + reserving to the Proprietors one-half of all gold, silver, lead, and + sulphur found on + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> + the land. No land near sulphur springs or showing evidences of metals was + to be granted to settlers. Moreover, at the Company's store the prices + charged for lead were said to be too high—lead being necessary for + hunting, and hunting being the only means of procuring food—while + the wages of labor, as fixed by the Company, were too low. These terms + bore too heavily on poor men who were risking their lives in the colony. + </p> + <p> + Hence newcomers passed by Boonesborough, as the Transylvania settlement + was presently called, and went elsewhere. They settled on Henderson's land + but refused his terms. They joined in their sympathies with James Harrod, + who, having established Harrodsburg in the previous year at the invitation + of Virginia, was not in the humor to acknowledge Henderson's claim or to + pay him tribute. All were willing to combine with the Transylvania Company + for defense, and to enforce law they would unite in bonds of brotherhood + in Kentucky, even as they had been one with each other on the earlier + frontier now left behind them. But they would call no man master; they had + done with feudalism. That Henderson should not have foreseen this, + especially after the upheaval in North Carolina, proves him, in spite of + all his brilliant + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> + gifts, to have been a man out of touch with the spirit of the time. + </p> + <p> + The war of the Revolution broke forth and the Indians descended upon the + Kentucky stations. Defense was the one problem in all minds, and defense + required powder and lead in plenty. The Transylvania Company was not able + to provide the means of defense against the hordes of savages whom Henry + Hamilton, the British Governor at Detroit, was sending to make war on the + frontiers. Practical men like Harrod and George Rogers Clark—who, if + not a practical man in his own interests, was a most practical soldier—saw + that unification of interests within the territory with the backing of + either Virginia or Congress was necessary. Clark personally would have + preferred to see the settlers combine as a freemen's state. It was plain + that they would not combine and stake their lives as a unit to hold + Kentucky for the benefit of the Transylvania Company, whose authority some + of the most prominent men in the territory had refused to recognize. The + Proprietary of Transylvania could continue to exist only to the danger of + every life in Kentucky. + </p> + <p> + While the Proprietors sent a delegate to the Continental Congress to win + official recognition for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> + Transylvania, eighty-four men at Harrodsburg + drew up a petition addressed to Virginia stating their doubts of the + legality of Henderson's title and requesting Virginia to assert her + authority according to the stipulations of her charter. That defense was + the primary and essential motive of the Harrodsburg Remonstrance seems + plain, for when George Rogers Clark set off on foot with one companion to + lay the document before the Virginian authorities, he also went to plead + for a load of powder. In his account of that hazardous journey, as a + matter of fact, he makes scant reference to Transylvania, except to say + that the greed of the Proprietors would soon bring the colony to its end, + but shows that his mind was seldom off the powder. It is a detail of + history that the Continental Congress refused to seat the delegate from + Transylvania. Henderson himself went to Virginia to make the fight for his + land before the Assembly. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_140-1" name="footer_140-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_140">¹</a> + In 1778 Virginia disallowed Henderson's title + but granted him two hundred thousand acres between the Green and Kentucky + rivers for his trouble and expense in opening up the country. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The magnetic center of Boonesborough's life was the lovable and unassuming + Daniel Boone. Soon after the building of the fort Daniel had brought in + his wife and family. He used often to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> + state with a mild pride that + his wife and daughters were the first white women to stand on the banks of + the Kentucky River. That pride had not been unmixed with anxiety; his + daughter Jemima and two daughters of his friend, Richard Galloway, while + boating on the river had been captured by Shawanoes and carried off. + Boone, accompanied by the girls' lovers and by John Floyd (eager to repay + his debt of life-saving to Boone) had pursued them, tracing the way the + captors had taken by broken twigs and scraps of dress goods which one of + the girls had contrived to leave in their path, had come on the Indians + unawares, killed them, and recovered the three girls unhurt. + </p> + <p> + In the summer of 1776, Virginia took official note of “Captain Boone of + Boonesborough,” for she sent him a small supply of powder. The men of + the little colony, which had begun so pretentiously with its constitution + and assembly, were now obliged to put all other plans aside and to + concentrate on the question of food and defense. There was a dangerous + scarcity of powder and lead. The nearest points at which these necessaries + could be procured were the Watauga and Holston River settlements, which + were themselves none too well stocked. Harrod and Logan, some time in + 1777, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> + reached the Watauga fort with three or four pack-horses and filled their packs from + Sevier's store; but, as they neared home, they were detected by red scouts + and Logan was badly wounded before he and Harrod were able to drive their + precious load safely through the gates at Harrodsburg. In the autumn of + 1777, Clark, with a boatload of ammunition, reached Maysville on the Ohio, + having successfully run the gauntlet between banks in possession of the + foe. He had wrested the powder and lead from the Virginia Council by + threats to the effect that if Virginia was so willing to lose Kentucky—for + of course “a country not worth defending is not worth claiming”—he + and his fellows were quite ready to take Kentucky for themselves and to + hold it with their swords against all comers, Virginia included. By even + such cogent reasoning had he convinced the Council—which had tried + to hedge by expressing doubts that Virginia would receive the Kentucky + settlers as “citizens of the State”—that it would be cheaper to + give him the powder. + </p> + <p> + Because so many settlers had fled and the others had come closer together + for their common good, Harrodsburg and Boonesborough were now the only + occupied posts in Kentucky. Other settlements, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> + once thriving, were abandoned; and, under the terror, the Wild reclaimed + them. In April, 1777, Boonesborough underwent its first siege. Boone, + leading a sortie, was shot and he fell with a shattered ankle. An Indian + rushed upon him and was swinging the tomahawk over him when Simon Kenton, + giant frontiersman and hero of many daring deeds, rushed forward, shot + the Indian, threw Boone across his back, and fought his way desperately + to safety. It was some months ere Boone was his nimble self again. But + though he could not “stand up to the guns,” he directed all + operations from his cabin. + </p> + <p> + The next year Boone was ready for new ventures growing from the settlers' + needs. Salt was necessary to preserve meat through the summer. Accordingly + Boone and twenty-seven men went up to the Blue Licks in February, 1778, to + replenish their supply by the simple process of boiling the salt water of + the Licks till the saline particles adhered to the kettles. Boone was + returning alone, with a pack-horse load of salt and game, when a blinding + snowstorm overtook him and hid from view four stealthy Shawanoes on his + trail. He was seized and carried to a camp of 120 warriors led by the + French Canadian, Dequindre, and James and George Girty, two white + renegades. Among the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> + Indians were some of those who had captured him on his first exploring + trip through Kentucky and whom he had twice given the slip. Their hilarity + was unbounded. Boone quickly learned that this band was on its way to + surprise Boonesborough. It was a season when Indian attacks were not + expected; nearly threescore of the men were at the salt spring and, to + make matters worse, the walls of the new fort where the settlers and their + families had gathered were as yet completed on only three sides. + Boonesborough was, in short, well-nigh defenseless. To turn the Indians + from their purpose, Boone conceived the desperate scheme of offering to + lead them to the salt makers' camp with the assurance that he and his + companions were willing to join the tribe. He understood Indians well + enough to feel sure that once possessed of nearly thirty prisoners, the + Shawanoes would not trouble further about Boonesborough but would hasten + to make a triumphal entry into their own towns. That some, perhaps all, of + the white men would assuredly die, he knew well; but it was the only way + to save the women and children in Boonesborough. In spite of Dequindre and + the Girtys, who were leading a military expedition for the reduction of a + fort, the Shawanoes fell in with the suggestion. When they + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> + had taken + their prisoners, the more bloodthirsty warriors in the band wanted to + tomahawk them all on the spot. By his diplomatic discourse, however, Boone + dissuaded them, for the time being at least, and the whole company set off + for the towns on the Little Miami. + </p> + <p> + The weather became severe, very little game crossed their route, and for + days they subsisted on slippery elm bark. The lovers of blood did not hold + back their scalping knives and several of the prisoners perished; but + Black Fish, the chief then of most power in Shawanoe councils, adopted + Boone as his son, and gave him the name of Sheltowee, or Big Turtle. + Though watched zealously to prevent escape, Big Turtle was treated with + every consideration and honor; and, as we would say today, he played the + game. He entered into the Indian life with apparent zest, took part in + hunts and sports and the races and shooting matches in which the Indians + delighted, but he was always careful not to outrun or outshoot his + opponents. Black Fish took him to Detroit when some of the tribe escorted + the remainder of the prisoners to the British post. There he met Governor + Hamilton and, in the hope of obtaining his liberty, he led that dignitary + to believe that he + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> + and the other people of Boonesborough were eager to move to Detroit and + take refuge under the British flag. ¹ It is said that Boone always + carried in a wallet round his neck the King's commission given him in + Dunmore's War; and that he exhibited it to Hamilton to bear out his story. + Hamilton sought to ransom him from the Indians, but Black Fish would not + surrender his new son. The Governor gave Boone a pony, with saddle and + trappings, and other presents, including trinkets to be used in procuring + his needs and possibly his liberty from the Shawanoes. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_146-1" name="footer_146-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_146">¹</a> + So well did Boone play his part that he + aroused suspicion even in those who knew him best. After his return to + Boonesborough his old friend, Calloway, formally accused him of treachery + on two counts: that Boone had betrayed the salt makers to the Indians and + had planned to betray Boonesborough to the British. Boone was tried and + acquitted. His simple explanation of his acts satisfied the court-martial + and made him a greater hero than ever among the frontier folk. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Black Fish then took his son home to Chillicothe. Here Boone found + Delawares and Mingos assembling with the main body of the Shawanoe + warriors. The war belt was being carried through the Ohio country. Again + Boonesborough and Harrodsburg were to be the first settlements attacked. + To escape and give warning was now the one purpose that obsessed Boone. He + redoubled his efforts to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> + throw the Indians off their guard. He sang + and whistled blithely about the camp at the mouth of the Scioto River, + whither he had accompanied his Indian father to help in the salt boiling. + In short, he seemed so very happy that one day Black Fish took his eye off + him for a few moments to watch the passing of a flock of turkeys. Big + Turtle passed with the flock, leaving no trace. To his lamenting parent it + must have seemed as though he had vanished into the air. Daniel crossed + the Ohio and ran the 160 miles to Boonesborough in four days, during which + time he had only one meal, from a buffalo he shot at the Blue Licks. When + he reached the fort after an absence of nearly five months, he found that + his wife had given him up for dead and had returned to the Yadkin. + </p> + <p> + Boone now began with all speed to direct preparations to withstand a + siege. Owing to the Indian's leisurely system of councils and ceremonies + before taking the warpath, it was not until the first week in September + that Black Fish's painted warriors, with some Frenchmen under Dequindre, + appeared before Boonesborough. Nine days the siege lasted and was the + longest in border history. Dequindre, seeing that the fort might not be + taken, resorted to trickery. He requested Boone + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> + and a few of his men to come + out for a parley, saying that his orders from Hamilton were to protect the + lives of the Americans as far as possible. Boone's friend, Calloway, urged + against acceptance of the apparently benign proposal which was made, so + Dequindre averred, for “bienfaisance et humanité.” But the + words were the words of a white man, and Boone hearkened to them. With + eight of the garrison he went out to the parley. After a long talk in + which good will was expressed on both sides, it was suggested by Black + Fish that they all shake hands and, as there were so many more Indians + than white men, two Indians should, of course, shake hands with one white + man, each grasping one of his hands. The moment that their hands gripped, + the trick was clear, for the Indians exerted their strength to drag off + the white men. Desperate scuffling ensued in which the whites with + difficulty freed themselves and ran for the fort. Calloway had prepared + for emergencies. The pursuing Indians were met with a deadly fire. After a + defeated attempt to mine the fort the enemy withdrew. + </p> + <p> + The successful defense of Boonesborough was an achievement of national + importance, for had Boonesborough fallen, Harrodsburg alone could + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> + not have + stood. The Indians under the British would have overrun Kentucky; and + George Rogers Clark—whose base for his Illinois operations was the + Kentucky forts—could not have made the campaigns which wrested the + Northwest from the control of Great Britain. + </p> + <p> + Again Virginia took official note of Captain Boone when in 1779 the + Legislature established Boonesborough “a town for the reception of + traders” and appointed Boone himself one of the trustees to attend to + the sale and registration of lots. An odd office that was for Daniel, who + never learned to attend to the registration of his own; he declined it. + His name appears again, however, a little later when Virginia made the + whole of Kentucky one of her counties with the following officers: Colonel + David Robinson, County Lieutenant; George Rogers Clark, Anthony Bledsoe, + and John Bowman, Majors; Daniel Boone, James Harrod, Benjamin Logan, and + John Todd, Captains. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Boonesborough's successful resistance caused land speculators as well as + prospective settlers to take heart of grace. Parties made their way to + Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and even to the Falls of the Ohio, where + Clark's fort and blockhouses now + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> + stood. In the summer of 1779 Clark had + erected on the Kentucky side of the river a large fort which became the + nucleus of the town of Louisville. Here, while he was eating his heart out + with impatience for money and men to enable him to march to the attack of + Detroit, as he had planned, he amused himself by drawing up plans for a + city. He laid out private sections and public parks and contemplated the + bringing in of families only to inhabit his city, for, oddly enough, he + who never married was going to make short shift of mere bachelors in his + City Beautiful. Between pen scratches, no doubt, he looked out frequently + upon the river to descry if possible a boatload of ammunition or the + banners of the troops he had been promised. + </p> + <p> + When neither appeared, he gave up the idea of Detroit and set about + erecting defenses on the southern border, for the Choctaws and Cherokees, + united under a white leader named Colbert, were threatening Kentucky by + way of the Mississippi. He built in 1780 Fort Jefferson in what is now + Ballard County, and had barely completed the new post and garrisoned it + with about thirty men when it was besieged by Colbert and his savages. The + Indians, assaulting by night, were lured into + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> + a position directly before a + cannon which poured lead into a mass of them. The remainder fled in terror + from the vicinity of the fort; but Colbert succeeded in rallying them and + was returning to the attack when he suddenly encountered Clark with a + company of men and was forced to abandon his enterprise. + </p> + <p> + Clark knew that the Ohio Indians would come down on the settlements again + during the summer and that to meet their onslaughts every man in Kentucky + would be required. He learned that there was a new influx of land seekers + over the Wilderness Road and that speculators were doing a thriving + business in Harrodsburg; so, leaving his company to protect Fort + Jefferson, he took two men with him and started across the wilds on foot + for Harrodsburg. To evade the notice of the Indian bands which were moving + about the country the three stripped and painted themselves as warriors + and donned the feathered headdress. So successful was their disguise that + they were fired on by a party of surveyors near the outskirts of + Harrodsburg. + </p> + <p> + The records do not state what were the sensations of certain speculators + in a land office in Harrodsburg when a blue-eyed savage in a war + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> + bonnet + sprang through the doorway and, with uplifted weapon, declared the office + closed; but we get a hint of the power of Clark's personality and of his + genius for dominating men from the terse report that he “enrolled” + the speculators. He was informed that another party of men, more nervous + than these, was now on its way out of Kentucky. In haste he dispatched a + dozen frontiersmen to cut the party off at Crab Orchard and take away the + gun of every man who refused to turn back and do his bit for Kentucky. To + Clark a man was a gun, and he meant that every gun should do its duty. + </p> + <p> + The leaders and pioneers of the Dark and Bloody Ground were now warriors, + all under Clark's command, while for two years longer the Red Terror + ranged Kentucky, falling with savage force now here, now there. In the + first battle of 1780, at the Blue Licks, Daniel's brother, Edward Boone, + was killed and scalped. Later on in the war his second son, Israel, + suffered a like fate. The toll of life among the settlers was heavy. Many + of the best-known border leaders were slain. Food and powder often ran + short. Corn might be planted, but whether it would be harvested or not the + planters never knew; and the hunter's rifle shot, necessary + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> + though it + was, proved only too often an invitation to the lurking foe. But + sometimes, through all the dangers of forest and trail, Daniel Boone + slipped away silently to Harrodsburg to confer with Clark; or Clark + himself, in the Indian guise that suited the wild man in him not ill, made + his way to and from the garrisons which looked to him for everything. + </p> + <p> + Twice Clark gathered together the “guns” of Kentucky and, marching + north into the enemy's country, swept down upon the Indian towns of Piqua + and Chillicothe and razed them. In 1782, in the second of these + enterprises, his cousin, Joseph Rogers, who had been taken prisoner and + adopted by the Indians and then wore Indian garb, was shot down by one of + Clark's men. On this expedition Boone and Harrod are said to have + accompanied Clark. + </p> + <p> + The ever present terror and horror of those days, especially of the two + years preceding this expedition, are vividly suggested by the quaint + remark of an old woman who had lived through them, as recorded for us by a + traveler. The most beautiful sight she had seen in Kentucky, she said, was + a young man dying a natural death in his bed. Dead but unmarred by hatchet + or scalping knife, he was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> + so rare and comely a picture that the women + of the post sat up all night looking at him. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + But, we ask, what golden emoluments were showered by a grateful country on + the men who thus held the land through those years of want and war, and + saved an empire for the Union? What practical recognition was there of + these brave and unselfish men who daily risked their lives and faced the + stealth and cruelty lurking in the wilderness ways? There is meager + eloquence in the records. Here, for instance, is a letter from George + Rogers Clark to the Governor of Virginia, dated May 27, 1783: + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_154-T1" id="Page_154-T1"></a> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Sir. Nothing but necessity could induce me to make the following request + to Your Excellency, which is to grant me a small sum of money on + account; as I can assure you, Sir, that I am exceedingly distressed for + the want of necessary clothing etc and don't know any channel through + which I could procure any except of the Executive. The State I believe + will fall considerably in my debt. Any supplies which Your Excellency + favors me with might be deducted out of my accounts. ¹ + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_154-1" name="footer_154-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_154-T1">¹</a> + <i>Calendar of Virginia State Papers,</i> + vol. III, p. 487. + </p> + </div> + <p class="noindent"> + Clark had spent all his own substance and all else he could beg, borrow—or + appropriate—in the conquest of Illinois and the defense of Kentucky. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> His + only reward from Virginia was a grant of land from which he realized + nothing, and dismissal from her service when she needed him no longer. + </p> + <p> + All that Clark had asked for himself was a commission in the Continental + Army. This was denied him, as it appears now, not through his own errors, + which had not at that time taken hold on him, but through the influence of + powerful enemies. It is said that both Spain and England, seeing a great + soldier without service for his sword, made him offers, which he refused. + As long as any acreage remained to him on which to raise money, he + continued to pay the debts he had contracted to finance his expeditions, + and in this course he had the assistance of his youngest brother, William, + to whom he assigned his Indiana grant. + </p> + <p> + His health impaired by hardship and exposure and his heart broken by his + country's indifference, Clark sank into alcoholic excesses. In his + sixtieth year, just six years before his death, and when he was a helpless + paralytic, he was granted a pension of four hundred dollars. There is a + ring of bitter irony in the words with which he accepted the sword sent + him by Virginia in his crippled old age: “When Virginia needed a sword I + gave her one.” He died near Louisville on February 13, 1818. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> + Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792. But even before Kentucky + became a State her affairs, particularly as to land, were arranged, let us + say, on a practical business basis. Then it was discovered that Daniel + Boone had no legal claim to any foot of ground in Kentucky. Daniel owned + nothing but the clothes he wore; and for those—as well as for much + powder, lead, food, and such trifles—he was heavily in debt. + </p> + <p> + So, in 1788, Daniel Boone put the list of his debts in his wallet, + gathered his wife and his younger sons about him, and, shouldering his + hunter's rifle, once more turned towards the wilds. The country of the + Great Kanawha in West Virginia was still a wilderness, and a hunter and + trapper might, in some years, earn enough to pay his debts. For others, + now, the paths he had hewn and made safe; for Boone once more the + wilderness road. + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter08" id="Chapter08"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER VIII.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">Tennessee</p> + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">Indian</span> law, tradition, and even superstition + had shaped the conditions which the pioneers faced when they crossed the + mountains. This savage inheritance had decreed that Kentucky should be a + dark and bloody ground, fostering no life but that of four-footed beasts, + its fertile sod never to stir with the green push of the corn. And so the + white men who went into Kentucky to build and to plant went as warriors + go, and for every cabin they erected they battled as warriors to hold a + fort. In the first years they planted little corn and reaped less, for it + may be said that their rifles were never out of their hands. We have seen + how stations were built and abandoned until but two stood. Untiring + vigilance and ceaseless warfare were the price paid by the first + Kentuckians ere they turned the Indian's place of desolation and death + into a land productive and a living habitation. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> + Herein lies the difference, slight apparently, yet significant, between + the first Kentucky and the first Tennessee ¹ colonies. Within the + memory of the Indians only one tribe had ever attempted to make their home + in Kentucky—a tribe of the fighting Shawanoes—and they had + been terribly chastised for their temerity. But Tennessee was the home of + the Cherokees, and at Chickasaw Bluffs (Memphis) began the southward trail + to the principal towns of the Chickasaws. By the red man's fiat, then, + human life might abide in Tennessee, though not in Kentucky, and it + followed that in seasons of peace the frontiersmen might settle in + Tennessee. So it was that as early as 1757, before the great Cherokee war, + a company of Virginians under Andrew Lewis had, on an invitation from the + Indians, erected Fort Loudon near Great Telliko, the Cherokees' principal + town, and that, after the treaty of peace in 1761, Waddell and his rangers + of North Carolina had erected a fort on the Holston. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_158-1" name="footer_158-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_158">¹</a> + Tennessee. The name, Ten-as-se, appears on + Adair's map as one of the old Cherokee towns. Apparently neither the + meaning nor the reason why the colonists called both state and river by + this name has been handed down to us. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Though Fort Loudon had fallen tragically during the war, and though + Waddell's fort had been + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> + abandoned, neither was without influence in + the colonization of Tennessee, for some of the men who built these forts + drifted back a year or two later and set up the first cabins on the + Holston. These earliest settlements, thin and scattered, did not survive; + but in 1768 the same settlers or others of their kind—discharged + militiamen from Back Country regiments—once more made homes on the + Holston. They were joined by a few families from near the present Raleigh, + North Carolina, who had despaired of seeing justice done to the tenants on + the mismanaged estates of Lord Granville. About the same time there was + erected the first cabin on the Watauga River, as is generally believed, by + a man of the name of William Bean (or Been), hunter and frontier soldier + from Pittsylvania County, Virginia. This man, who had hunted on the + Watauga with Daniel Boone in 1760, chose as the site of his dwelling the + place of the old hunting camp near the mouth of Boone's Creek. He soon + began to have neighbors. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Meanwhile the Regulation Movement stirred the Back Country of both the + Carolinas. In 1768, the year in which William Bean built his cabin on the + bank of the Watauga, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> + five hundred armed Regulators in North Carolina, aroused by irregularities + in the conduct of public office, gathered to assert their displeasure, but + dispersed peaceably on receipt of word from Governor Tryon that he had + ordered the prosecution of any officer found guilty of extortion. Edmund + Fanning, the most hated of Lord Granville's agents, though convicted, + escaped punishment. Enraged at this miscarriage of justice, the Regulators + began a system of terrorization by taking possession of the court, + presided over by Richard Henderson. The judge himself was obliged to slip + out by a back way to avoid personal injury. The Regulators burned his + house and stable. They meted out mob treatment likewise to William Hooper, + later one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. + </p> + <p> + Two elements, with antithetical aims, had been at work in the Regulation; + and the unfortunate failure of justice in the case of Fanning had given + the corrupt element its opportunity to seize control. In the petitions + addressed to Governor Tryon by the leaders of the movement in its earlier + stages the aims of liberty-loving thinkers are traceable. It is worthy of + note that they included in their demands articles which are now + constitutional. They desired that “suffrage be given by ticket and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> + ballot”; + that the mode of taxation be altered, and each person be taxed in + proportion to the profits arising from his estate; that judges and clerks + be given salaries instead of perquisites and fees. They likewise + petitioned for repeal of the act prohibiting dissenting ministers from + celebrating the rites of matrimony. The establishment of these reforms, + the petitioners of the Regulation concluded, would “conciliate” their + minds to “every just measure of government, and would make the laws what + the Constitution ever designed they should be, their protection and not + their bane.” Herein clearly enough we can discern the thought and the + phraseology of the Ulster Presbyterians. + </p> + <p> + But a change took place in both leaders and methods. During the + Regulators' career of violence they were under the sway of an agitator + named Hermon Husband. This demagogue was reported to have been expelled + from the Quaker Society for cause; it is on record that he was expelled + from the North Carolina Assembly because a vicious anonymous letter was + traced to him. He deserted his dupes just before the shots cracked at + Alamance Creek and fled from the colony. He was afterwards apprehended in + Pennsylvania for complicity in the Whisky Insurrection. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> Four + of the leading Presbyterian ministers of the Back Country issued a letter + in condemnation of the Regulators. One of these ministers was the famous + David Caldwell, son-in-law of the Reverend Alexander Craighead, and a man + who knew the difference between liberty and license and who proved himself + the bravest of patriots in the War of Independence. The records of the + time contain sworn testimony against the Regulators by Waightstill Avery, + a signer of the Mecklenburg Resolves, who later presided honorably over + courts in the western circuit of Tennessee; and there is evidence + indicating Jacobite and French intrigue. That Governor Tryon recognized a + hidden hand at work seems clearly revealed in his proclamation addressed + to those “whose understandings have been run away with and whose + passions have been led in captivity by some evil designing men who, + actuated by cowardice and a sense of that Publick Justice which is due to + their Crimes, have obscured themselves from Publick view.” What the + Assembly thought of the Regulators was expressed in 1770 in a drastic bill + which so shocked the authorities in England that instructions were sent + forbidding any Governor to approve such a bill in future, declaring it “a + disgrace to the British Statute Books.” + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> On + May 16, 1771, some two thousand Regulators were precipitated by Husband + into the Battle of Alamance, which took place in a district settled + largely by a rough and ignorant type of Germans, many of whom Husband had + lured to swell his mob. Opposed to him were eleven hundred of Governor + Tryon's troops, officered by such patriots as Griffith Rutherford, Hugh + Waddell, and Francis Nash. During an hour's engagement about twenty + Regulators were killed, while the Governor's troops had nine killed and + sixty-one wounded. Six of the leaders were hanged. The rest took the oath + of allegiance which Tryon administered. + </p> + <p> + It has been said about the Regulators that they were not cast down by + their defeat at Alamance but “like the mammoth, they shook the bolt from + their brow and crossed the mountains,” but such flowery phrases do not + seem to have been inspired by facts. Nor do the records show that “fifteen + hundred Regulators” arrived at Watauga in 1771, as has also been + stated. Nor are the names of the leaders of the Regulation to be found in + the list of signatures affixed to the one “state paper” of Watauga + which was preserved and written into historic annals. Nor yet do those + names appear on the roster of the Watauga and Holston men who, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> + in 1774, + fought with Shelby under Andrew Lewis in the Battle of Point Pleasant. The + Boones and the Bryans, the Robertsons, the Seviers, the Shelbys, the men + who opened up the West and shaped the destiny of its inhabitants, were + genuine freemen, with a sense of law and order as inseparable from + liberty. They would follow a Washington but not a Hermon Husband. + </p> + <p> + James Hunter, whose signature leads on all Regulation manifestoes just + prior to the Battle of Alamance, was a sycophant of Husband, to whom he + addressed fulsome letters; and in the real battle for democracy—the + War of Independence—he was a Tory. The Colonial Records show that + those who, “like the mammoth,” shook from them the ethical restraints + which make man superior to the giant beast, and who later bolted into the + mountains, contributed chiefly the lawlessness that harassed the new + settlements. They were the banditti and, in 1776, the Tories of the + western hills; they pillaged the homes of the men who were fighting for + the democratic ideal. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + It was not the Regulation Movement which turned westward the makers of the + Old Southwest, but the free and enterprising spirit of the age. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> It was + emphatically an age of doers; and if men who felt the constructive urge in + them might not lay hold on conditions where they were and reshape them, + then they must go forward seeking that environment which would give their + genius its opportunity. + </p> + <p> + Of such adventurous spirits was James Robertson, a Virginian born of + Ulster Scot parentage, and a resident of (the present) Wake County, North + Carolina, since his boyhood. Robertson was twenty-eight years old when, in + 1770, he rode over the hills to Watauga. We can imagine him as he was + then, for the portrait taken much later in life shows the type of face + that does not change. It is a high type combining the best qualities of + his race. Intelligence, strength of purpose, fortitude, and moral power + are there; they impress us at the first glance. At twenty-eight he must + have been a serious young man, little given to laughter; indeed, + spontaneity is perhaps the only good trait we miss in studying his face. + He was a thinker who had not yet found his purpose—a thinker in + leash, for at this time James Robertson could neither read nor write. + </p> + <p> + At Watauga, Robertson lived for a while in the cabin of a man named + Honeycut. He chose land + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> + for himself and, in accordance with the + custom of the time, sealed his right to it by planting corn. He remained + to harvest his first crop and then set off to gather his family and some + of his friends together and escort them to the new country. But on the way + he missed the trail and wandered for a fortnight in the mountains. The + heavy rains ruined his powder so that he could not hunt; for food he had + only berries and nuts. At one place, where steep bluffs opposed him, he + was obliged to abandon his horse and scale the mountain side on foot. He + was in extremity when he chanced upon two huntsmen who gave him food and + set him on the trail. If this experience proves his lack of the hunter's + instinct and the woodsman's resourcefulness which Boone possessed, it + proves also his special qualities of perseverance and endurance which were + to reach their zenith in his successful struggle to colonize and hold + western Tennessee. He returned to Watauga in the following spring (1771) + with his family and a small group of colonists. Robertson's wife was an + educated woman and under her instruction he now began to study. + </p> + <p> + Next year a young Virginian from the Shenandoah Valley rode on down + Holston Valley on a hunting and exploring trip and loitered at Watauga. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> Here + he found not only a new settlement but an independent government in the + making; and forthwith he determined to have a part in both. This young + Virginian had already shown the inclination of a political colonist, for + in the Shenandoah Valley he had, at the age of nineteen, laid out the town + of New Market (which exists to this day) and had directed its municipal + affairs and invited and fostered its clergy. This young Virginian—born + on September 23, 1745, and so in 1772 twenty-seven years of age—was + John Sevier, that John Sevier whose monument now towers from its site in + Knoxville to testify of both the wild and the great deeds of old + Tennessee's beloved knight. Like Robertson, Sevier hastened home and + removed his whole family, including his wife and children, his parents and + his brothers and sisters, to this new haven of freedom at Watauga. + </p> + <p> + The friendship formed between Robertson and Sevier in these first years of + their work together was never broken, yet two more opposite types could + hardly have been brought together. Robertson was a man of humble origin, + unlettered, not a dour Scot but a solemn one. Sevier was cavalier as well + as frontiersman. On his father's side he was of the patrician family of + Xavier in France. His + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> + progenitors, having become Huguenots, had + taken refuge in England, where the name Xavier was finally changed to + Sevier. John Sevier's mother was an Englishwoman. Some years before his + birth his parents had emigrated to the Shenandoah Valley. Thus it happened + that John Sevier, who mingled good English blood with the blue blood of + old France, was born an American and grew up a frontier hunter and + soldier. He stood about five feet nine from his moccasins to his crown of + light brown hair. He was well-proportioned and as graceful of body as he + was hard-muscled and swift. His chin was firm, his nose of a Roman cast, + his mouth well-shaped, its slightly full lips slanting in a smile that + would not be repressed. Under the high, finely modeled brow, small keen + dark blue eyes sparkled with health, with intelligence, and with the man's + joy in life. + </p> + <p> + John Sevier indeed cannot be listed as a type; he was individual. There is + no other character like him in border annals. He was cavalier and prince + in his leadership of men; he had their homage. Yet he knew how to be + comrade and brother to the lowliest. He won and held the confidence and + friendship of the serious-minded Robertson no less than the idolatry of + the wildest spirits on the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> + frontier throughout the forty-three years of + the spectacular career which began for him on the day he brought his tribe + to Watauga. In his time he wore the governor's purple; and a portrait + painted of him shows how well this descendant of the noble Xaviers could + fit himself to the dignity and formal habiliments of state; Yet in the + fringed deerskin of frontier garb, he was fleeter on the warpath than the + Indians who fled before him; and he could outride and outshoot—and, + it is said, outswear—the best and the worst of the men who followed + him. Perhaps the lurking smile on John Sevier's face was a flicker of + mirth that there should be found any man, red or white, with temerity + enough to try conclusions with him. None ever did, successfully. + </p> + <p> + The historians of Tennessee state that the Wataugans formed their + government in 1772 and that Sevier was one of its five commissioners. Yet, + as Sevier did not settle in Tennessee before 1773, it is possible that the + Watauga Association was not formed until then. Unhappily the written + constitution of the little commonwealth was not preserved; but it is known + that, following the Ulsterman's ideal, manhood suffrage and religious + independence were two of its provisions. The commissioners enlisted a + militia and they recorded + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> + deeds for land, issued marriage licenses, and + tried offenders against the law. They believed themselves to be within the + boundaries of Virginia and therefore adopted the laws of that State for + their guidance. They had numerous offenders to deal with, for men fleeing + from debt or from the consequence of crime sought the new settlements just + across the mountains as a safe and adjacent harbor. The attempt of these + men to pursue their lawlessness in Watauga was one reason why the + Wataugans organized a government. + </p> + <p> + When the line was run between Virginia and North Carolina beyond the + mountains, Watauga was discovered to be south of Virginia's limits and + hence on Indian lands. This was in conflict with the King's Proclamation, + and Alexander Cameron, British agent to the Cherokees, accordingly ordered + the encroaching settlers to depart. The Indians, however, desired them to + remain. But since it was illegal to purchase Indian lands, Robertson + negotiated a lease for ten years. In 1775, when Henderson made his + purchase from the Cherokees, at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga, Robertson + and Sevier, who were present at the sale with other Watauga commissioners, + followed Henderson's example and bought outright the lands they desired + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> to + include in Watauga's domain. In 1776 they petitioned North Carolina for “annexation.” + As they were already within North Carolina's bounds, it was recognition + rather than annexation which they sought. This petition, which is the only + Wataugan document to survive, is undated but marked as received in August, + 1776. It is in Sevier's handwriting and its style suggests that it was + composed by him, for in its manner of expression it has much in common + with many later papers from his pen. That Wataugans were a law-loving + community and had formed their government for the purpose of making law + respected is reiterated throughout the document. As showing the quality of + these first western statemakers, two paragraphs are quoted: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Finding ourselves on the frontiers, and being apprehensive that for want + of proper legislature we might become a shelter for such as endeavored + to defraud their creditors; considering also the necessity of recording + deeds, wills, and doing other public business; we, by consent of the + people, formed a court for the purposes above mentioned, taking, by + desire of our constituents, the Virginia laws for our guide, so near as + the situation of affairs would permit. This was intended for ourselves, + and <em>was done by consent of every individual</em>. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The petition goes on to state that, among their measures for upholding + law, the Wataugans had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" + id="Page_172">172</a></span> enlisted “a company of fine riflemen” + and put them under command of “Captain James Robertson.” + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + We… thought proper to station them on our frontiers in defense of + the common cause, at the expense and risque of our own private fortunes, + till farther public orders, which we flatter ourselves will give no + offense.… We pray your mature and deliberate consideration in our + behalf, that you may annex us to your Province (whether as county, + district, or other division) in such manner as may enable us to share in + the glorious cause of Liberty: enforce our laws under authority and in + every respect become the best members of society; and for ourselves and + our constituents we hope we may venture to assure you that we shall + adhere strictly to your determinations, and that nothing will be lacking + or anything neglected that may add weight (in the civil or military + establishments) to the glorious cause in which we are now struggling, or + contribute to the welfare of our own or ages yet to come. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + One hundred and thirteen names are signed to the document. In the + following year (1777) North Carolina erected her overhill territory into + Washington County. The Governor appointed justices of the peace and + militia officers who in the following year organized the new county and + its courts. And so Watauga's independent government, begun in the spirit + of true liberty, came as lawfully to its end. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> But + for nearly three years before their political status was thus determined, + the Wataugans were sharing “in the glorious cause of Liberty” by + defending their settlements against Indian attacks. While the majority of + the young Cherokee warriors were among their enemies, their chief battles + were fought with those from the Chickamaugan towns on the Tennessee River, + under the leadership of Dragging Canoe. The Chickamaugans embraced the + more vicious and bloodthirsty Cherokees, with a mixture of Creeks and bad + whites, who, driven from every law-abiding community, had cast in their + lot with this tribe. The exact number of white thieves and murderers who + had found harbor in the Indian towns during a score or more of years is + not known; but the letters of the Indian agents, preserved in the records, + would indicate that there were a good many of them. They were fit allies + for Dragging Canoe; their hatred of those from whom their own degeneracy + had separated them was not less than his. + </p> + <p class="noindent"> + In July, 1776, John Sevier wrote to the Virginia Committee as follows: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">Dear Gentlemen</span>: Isaac Thomas, William + Falling, Jaret Williams and one more have this moment come in by making + their escape from the Indians and say six + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> + hundred Indians and whites + were to start for this fort and intend to drive the country up to New + River before they return. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Thus was heralded the beginning of a savage warfare which kept the + borderers engaged for years. + </p> + <p> + It has been a tradition of the chroniclers that Isaac Thomas received a + timely warning from Nancy Ward, a half-caste Cherokee prophetess who often + showed her good will towards the whites; and that the Indians were roused + to battle by Alexander Cameron and John Stuart, the British agents or + superintendents among the overhill tribes. There was a letter bearing + Cameron's name stating that fifteen hundred savages from the Cherokee and + Creek nations were to join with British troops landed at Pensacola in an + expedition against the southern frontier colonies. This letter was brought + to Watauga at dead of night by a masked man who slipped it through a + window and rode away. Apparently John Sevier did not believe the military + information contained in the mysterious missive, for he communicated + nothing of it to the Virginia Committee. In recent years the facts have + come to light. This mysterious letter and others of a similar tenor + bearing forged signatures are cited in a report by the British Agent, John + Stuart, to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> + his Government. It appears that such inflammatory missives had been + industriously scattered through the back settlements of both Carolinas. + There are also letters from Stuart to Lord Dartmouth, dated a year + earlier, urging that something be done immediately to counteract rumors + set afloat that the British were endeavoring to instigate both the Indians + and the negroes to attack the Americans. + </p> + <p> + Now it is, of course, an established fact that both the British and the + American armies used Indians in the War of Independence, even as both + together had used them against the French and the Spanish and their allied + Indians. It was inevitable that the Indians should participate in any + severe conflict between the whites. They were a numerous and a warlike + people and, from their point of view, they had more at stake than the + alien whites who were contesting for control of the red man's continent. + Both British and Americans have been blamed for “half-hearted attempts + to keep the Indians neutral.” The truth is that each side strove to + enlist the Indians—to be used, if needed later, as warriors. + Massacre was no part of this policy, though it may have been countenanced + by individual officers in both camps. But it is obvious + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> + that, once + the Indians took the warpath, they were to be restrained by no power and, + no matter under whose nominal command, they would carry on warfare by + their own methods. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_176-1" name="footer_176-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_176">¹</a> + “There is little doubt that either side, + British or Americans, stood ready to enlist the Indians. Already before + Boston the Americans had had the help of the Stockbridge tribe. Washington + found the service committed to the practise when he arrived at Cambridge + early in July. Dunmore had taken the initiative in securing such allies, + at least is purpose; but the insurgent Virginians had had of late more + direct contact with the tribes and were now striving to secure them but + with little success.” <i>The Westward Movement,</i> by Justin Winsor, + p. 87. <br /> General Ethan Allen of Vermont, as his letters show, sent + emissaries into Canada in an endeavor to enlist the French Canadians and + the Canadian Indians against the British in Canada. See <i>American + Archives,</i> Fourth Series, vol. II, p. 714. The British General Gage + wrote to Lord Dartmouth from Boston, June 12, 1775: “We need not be + tender of calling on the Savages as the rebels have shown us the example, + by bringing as many Indians down against us as they could collect.” <i>American + Archives,</i> Fourth Series, vol. ii, p. 967. <br /> In a letter to Lord + Germain, dated August 23, 1776, John Stuart wrote: “Although Mr. Cameron + was in constant danger of assassination and the Indians were threatened + with invasion should they dare to protect him, yet he still found means to + prevent their falling on the settlement.” See North Carolina <i>Colonial + Records,</i> vol. X, pp. 608 and 763. Proof that the British agents had + succeeded in keeping the Cherokee neutral till the summer of 1776 is found + in the instructions, dated the 7th of July, to Major Winston from + President Rutledge of South Carolina, regarding the Cherokees, that they + must be forced to give up the British agents and “<em>instead of + remaining in a State of Neutrality</em> with respect to British Forces + they must take part with us against them.” See North Carolina <i>Colonial + Records,</i> vol. X, p. 658. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Whatever may have been the case elsewhere, the attacks on the Watauga and + Holston settlements + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> + were not instigated by British agents. It was not Nancy Ward but Henry + Stuart, John Stuart's deputy, who sent Isaac Thomas to warn the settlers. + In their efforts to keep the friendship of the red men, the British and + the Americans were providing them with powder and lead. The Indians had + run short of ammunition and, since hunting was their only means of + livelihood, they must shoot or starve. South Carolina sent the Cherokees a + large supply of powder and lead which was captured en route by Tories. + About the same time Henry Stuart set out from Pensacola with another + consignment from the British. His report to Lord Germain of his arrival in + the Chickamaugan towns and of what took place there just prior to the + raids on the Tennessee settlements is one of the most illuminating as well + as one of the most dramatic papers in the collected records of that time. + ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_177-1" name="footer_177-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_177">¹</a> + North Carolina <i>Colonial Records,</i> vol. X, pp. 763-785. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Stuart's first act was secretly to send out Thomas, the trader, to warn + the settlers of their peril, for a small war party of braves was even then + concluding the preliminary war ceremonies. The reason for this Indian + alarm and projected excursion was the fact that the settlers had built one + fort at least on the Indian lands. Stuart finally persuaded the <span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> Indians to + remain at peace until he could write to the settlers stating the + grievances and asking for negotiations. The letters were to be carried by + Thomas on his return. + </p> + <p> + But no sooner was Thomas on his way again with the letters than there + arrived a deputation of warriors from the Northern tribes—from “the + Confederate nations, the Mohawks, Ottawas, Nantucas, Shawanoes and + Delawares”—fourteen men in all, who entered the council hall of + the Old Beloved Town of Chota with their faces painted black and the war + belt carried before them. They said that they had been seventy days on + their journey. Everywhere along their way they had seen houses and forts + springing up like weeds across the green sod of their hunting lands. Where + once were great herds of deer and buffalo, they had watched thousands of + men at arms preparing for war. So many now were the white warriors and + their women and children that the red men had been obliged to travel a + great way on the other side of the Ohio and to make a detour of nearly + three hundred miles to avoid being seen. Even on this outlying route they + had crossed the fresh tracks of a great body of people with horses and + cattle going still further towards the setting sun. But their + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> + cries were + not to be in vain; for “their fathers, the French” had heard them and + had promised to aid them if they would now strike as one for their lands. + </p> + <p> + After this preamble the deputy of the Mohawks rose. He said that some + American people had made war on one of their towns and had seized the son + of their Great Beloved Man, Sir William Johnson, imprisoned him, and put + him to a cruel death; this crime demanded a great vengeance and they would + not cease until they had taken it. One after another the fourteen + delegates rose and made their “talks” and presented their wampum + strings to Dragging Canoe. The last to speak was a chief of the Shawanoes. + He also declared that “their fathers, the French,” who had been so + long dead, were “alive again,” that they had supplied them + plentifully with arms and ammunition and had promised to assist them in + driving out the Americans and in reclaiming their country. Now all the + Northern tribes were joined in one for this great purpose; and they + themselves were on their way to all the Southern tribes and had resolved + that, if any tribe refused to join, they would fall upon and extirpate + that tribe, after having overcome the whites. At the conclusion of his + oration the Shawanoe presented the war belt—nine feet of six-inch + wide + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> + purple wampum spattered with vermilion—to Dragging Canoe, who held + it extended between his two hands, in silence, and waited. Presently rose + a headman whose wife had been a member of Sir William Johnson's household. + He laid his hand on the belt and sang the war song. One by one, then, + chiefs and warriors rose, laid hold of the great belt and chanted the war + song. Only the older men, made wise by many defeats, sat still in their + places, mute and dejected. “After that day every young fellow's face in + the overhills towns appeared blackened and nothing was now talked of but + war.” + </p> + <p> + Stuart reports that “all the white men” in the tribe also laid hands + on the belt. Dragging Canoe then demanded that Cameron and Stuart come + forward and take hold of the war belt—“which we refused.” + Despite the offense their refusal gave—and it would seem a dangerous + time to give such offense—Cameron delivered a “strong talk” for + peace, warning the Cherokees of what must surely be the end of the + rashness they contemplated. Stuart informed the chief that if the Indians + persisted in attacking the settlements with out waiting for answers to his + letters, he would not remain with them any longer or bring them any more + ammunition. He went to his house and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> + made ready to leave on the + following day. Early the next morning Dragging Canoe appeared at his door + and told him that the Indians were now very angry about the letters he had + written, which could only have put the settlers on their guard; and that + if any white man attempted to leave the nation “they had determined to + follow him <em>but not to bring him back.</em>” Dragging Canoe had + painted his face black to carry this message. Thomas now returned with an + answer from “the West Fincastle men,” which was so unsatisfactory to + the tribe that war ceremonies were immediately begun. Stuart and Cameron + could no longer influence the Indians. “All that could now be done was + to give them strict charge not to pass the Boundary Line, not to injure + any of the King's faithful subjects, not to Kill any women and children”; + and to threaten to “stop all ammunition” if they did not obey these + orders. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + The major part of the Watauga militia went out to meet the Indians and + defeated a large advance force at Long Island Flats on the Holston. The + Watauga fort, where many of the settlers had taken refuge, contained forty + fighting men under Robertson and Sevier. As Indians usually retreated and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> + waited for a while after a defeat, those within the fort took it for + granted that no immediate attack was to be expected; and the women went + out at daybreak into the fields to milk the cows. Suddenly the war whoop + shrilled from the edge of the clearing. Red warriors leaped from the green + skirting of the forest. The women ran for the fort. Quickly the heavy + gates swung to and the dropped bar secured them. Only then did the + watchmen discover that one woman had been shut out. She was a young woman + nearing her twenties and, if legend has reported her truly, “Bonnie Kate + Sherrill” was a beauty. Through a porthole Sevier saw her running + towards the shut gates, dodging and darting, her brown hair blowing from + the wind of her race for life—and offering far too rich a prize to + the yelling fiends who dashed after her. Sevier coolly shot the foremost + of her pursuers, then sprang upon the wall, caught up Bonnie Kate, and + tossed her inside to safety. And legend says further that when, after + Sevier's brief widowerhood, she became his wife, four years later, Bonnie + Kate was wont to say that she would be willing to run another such race + any day to have another such introduction! + </p> + <p> + There were no casualties within the fort and, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> + after three hours, the foe + withdrew, leaving several of their warriors slain. + </p> + <p> + In the excursions against the Indians which followed this opening of + hostilities Sevier won his first fame as an “Indian fighter”—the + fame later crystallized in the phrase “thirty-five battles, thirty-five + victories.” His method was to take a very small company of the hardiest + and swiftest horsemen—men who could keep their seat and endurance, + and horses that could keep their feet and their speed, on any steep of the + mountains no matter how tangled and rough the going might be—swoop + down upon war camp, or town, and go through it with rifle and hatchet and + fire, then dash homeward at the same pace before the enemy had begun to + consider whether to follow him or not. In all his “thirty-five battles” + it is said he lost not more than fifty men. + </p> + <p> + The Cherokees made peace in 1777, after about a year of almost continuous + warfare, the treaty being concluded on their side by the old chiefs who + had never countenanced the war. Dragging Canoe refused to take part, but + he was rendered innocuous for the time being by the destruction of several + of the Chickamaugan villages. James Robertson now went to Chota as Indian + agent for North Carolina. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> + So fast was population growing, owing to the + opening of a wagon road into Burke County, North Carolina, that Washington + County was divided. John Sevier became Colonel of Washington and Isaac + Shelby Colonel of the newly erected Sullivan County. Jonesborough, the + oldest town in Tennessee, was laid out as the county seat of Washington; + and in the same year (1778) Sevier moved to the bank of the Nolichucky + River, so-called after the Indian name of this dashing sparkling stream, + meaning <em>rapid</em> or <em>precipitous</em>. Thus the nickname given + John Sevier by his devotees had a dual application. He was well called + Nolichucky Jack. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + When Virginia annulled Richard Henderson's immense purchase but allowed + him a large tract on the Cumberland, she by no means discouraged that + intrepid pioneer. Henderson's tenure of Kentucky had been brief, but not + unprofitable in experience. He had learned that colonies must be treated + with less commercial pressure and with more regard to individual liberty, + if they were to be held loyal either to a King beyond the water or to an + uncrowned leader nearer at hand. He had been making his plans for + colonization of that portion of the Transylvania purchase which lay within + the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> + bounds of North Carolina along the Cumberland and choosing his men to lay + the foundations of his projected settlement in what was then a wholly + uninhabited country; and he had decided on generous terms, such as ten + dollars a thousand acres for land, the certificate of purchase to entitle + the holder to further proceedings in the land office without extra fees. + </p> + <p> + To head an enterprise of such danger and hardship Henderson required a man + of more than mere courage; a man of resource, of stability, of proven + powers, one whom other men would follow and obey with confidence. So it + was that James Robertson was chosen to lead the first white settlers into + middle Tennessee. He set out in February, 1779, accompanied by his + brother, Mark Robertson, several other white men, and a negro, to select a + site for settlement and to plant corn. Meanwhile another small party led + by Gaspar Mansker had arrived. As the boundary line between Virginia and + North Carolina had not been run to this point, Robertson believed that the + site he had chosen lay within Virginia and was in the disposal of General + Clark. To protect the settlers, therefore, he journeyed into the Illinois + country to purchase cabin rights from Clark, but there he was evidently + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> + convinced that the site on the Cumberland would be found to lie within + North Carolina. He returned to Watauga to lead a party of settlers into + the new territory, towards which they set out in October. After crossing + the mountain chain through Cumberland Gap, the party followed Boone's road—the + Warriors' Path—for some distance and then made their own trail + southwestward through the wilderness to the bluffs on the Cumberland, + where they built cabins to house them against one of the coldest winters + ever experienced in that county. So were laid the first foundations of the + present city of Nashville, at first named Nashborough by Robertson. ¹ + On the way, Robertson had fallen in with a party of men and families bound + for Kentucky and had persuaded them to accompany his little band to the + Cumberland. Robertson's own wife and children, as well as the families of + his party, had been left to follow in the second expedition, which was to + be made by water under the command of Captain John Donelson. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_186-1" name="footer_186-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_186">¹</a> + In honor of General Francis Nash, of North + Carolina, who was mortally wounded at Germantown, 1777. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The little fleet of boats containing the settlers, their families, and all + their household goods, was to start from Fort Patrick Henry, near Long + Island + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> + in the Holston River, to float down into the Tennessee and along the 652 + miles of that widely wandering stream to the Ohio, and then to proceed up + the Ohio to the mouth of the Cumberland and up the Cumberland until + Robertson's station should appear—a journey, as it turned out, of + some nine hundred miles through unknown country and on waters at any rate + for the greater part never before navigated by white men. + </p> + <p> + <i>Journal of a voyage, intended by God's permission, in the good boat + Adventure</i> is the title of the log book in which Captain Donelson + entered the events of the four months' journey. Only a few pages endured + to be put into print: but those few tell a tale of hazard and courage that + seems complete. Could a lengthier narrative, even if enriched with + literary art and fancy, bring before us more vividly than do the simple + entries of Donelson's log the spirit of the men and the women who won the + West? If so little personal detail is recorded of the pioneer men of that + day that we must deduce what they were from what they did, what do we know + of their unfailing comrades, the pioneer women? Only that they were there + and that they shared in every test of courage and endurance, save the + march of troops and the hunt. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" + id="Page_188">188</a></span> Donelson's <i>Journal</i> therefore has a + special value, because in its terse account of Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. + Peyton it depicts unforgettably the quality of pioneer womanhood. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_188-1" name="footer_188-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_188">¹</a> + This Journal is printed in Ramsey's <i>Annals of Tennessee.</i> + </p> + </div> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <i>December 22nd, 1779.</i> Took our departure from the fort and fell + down the river to the mouth of Reedy Creek where we were stopped by the + fall of water and most excessive hard frost. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Perhaps part of the <i>Journal</i> was lost, or perhaps the “excessive + hard frost” of that severe winter, when it is said even droves of wild + game perished, prevented the boats from going on, for the next entry is + dated the 27th of February. On this date the <i>Adventure</i> and two + other boats grounded and lay on the shoals all that afternoon and the + succeeding night “in much distress.” + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <i>March 2nd.</i> Rain about half the day.… Mr. Henry's boat + being driven on the point of an island by the force of the current was + sunk, the whole cargo much damaged and the crew's lives much endangered, + which occasioned the whole fleet to put on shore and go to their + assistance.…<br /> <i>Monday 6th.</i> Got under way before + sunrise; the morning proving very foggy, many of the fleet were much + bogged—about 10 o'clock lay by for them; when + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> + collected, proceeded down. + Camped on the north shore, where Captain Hutching's negro man died, + being much frosted in his feet and legs, of which he died.<br /> <i>Tuesday, + 7th.</i> Got under way very early; the day proving very windy, a S. S. W., + and the river being wide occasioned a high sea, insomuch that some of + the smaller crafts were in danger; therefore came to at the uppermost + Chiccamauga town, which was then evacuated, where we lay by that + afternoon and camped that night. The wife of Ephraim Peyton was here + delivered of a child. Mr. Peyton has gone through by land with Captain + Robertson.<br /> <i>Wednesday 8th</i>… proceed down to an Indian + village which was inhabited… they insisted on us to come ashore, + called us brothers, and showed other signs of friendship.… And + here we must regret the unfortunate death of young Mr. Payne, on board + Captain Blakemore's boat, who was mortally wounded by reason of the boat + running too near the northern shore opposite the town, where some of the + enemy lay concealed; and the more tragical misfortune of poor Stuart, + his family and friends, to the number of twenty-eight persons. This man + had embarked with us for the Western country, but his family being + diseased with the small pox, it was agreed upon between him and the + company that he should keep at some distance in the rear, for fear of + the infection spreading, and he was warned each night when the + encampment should take place by the sound of a horn.… The Indians + having now collected to a considerable number, observing his helpless + situation singled off from the rest of the fleet, intercepted him and + killed and took prisoners the whole crew…; their cries were + distinctly heard.… + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> + After describing a running fight with Indians stationed on the bluffs on + both shores where the river narrowed to half its width and boiled through + a canyon, the entry for the day concludes: “Jennings's boat is missing.” + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <i>Friday 10th.</i> This morning about 4 o'clock we were surprised by + the cries of “help poor Jennings” at some distance in the rear. He + had discovered us by our fires and came up in the most wretched + condition. He states that as soon as the Indians discovered his + situation [his boat had run on a rock] they turned their whole attention + to him and kept up a most galling fire at his boat. He ordered his wife, + a son nearly grown, a young man who accompanies them and his negro man + and woman, to throw all his goods into the river to lighten their boat + for the purpose of getting her off; himself returning their fire as well + as he could, being a good soldier and an excellent marksman. But before + they had accomplished their object, his son, the young man and the + negro, jumped out of the boat and left.… Mrs. Jennings, however, + and the negro woman, succeeded in unloading the boat, but chiefly by the + exertions of Mrs. Jennings who got out of the boat and shoved her off, + but was near falling a victim to her own intrepidity on account of the + boat starting so suddenly as soon as loosened from the rock. Upon + examination he appears to have made a wonderful escape for his boat is + pierced in numberless places with bullets. It is to be remarked that + Mrs. Peyton, who was the night before delivered of an infant, which was + unfortunately killed upon the hurry and confusion consequent upon such a + disaster, assisted them, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> + being frequently exposed to wet and cold.… + Their clothes were very much cut with bullets, especially Mrs. + Jennings's. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Of the three men who deserted, while the women stood by under fire, the + negro was drowned and Jennings's son and the other young man were captured + by the Chickamaugans. The latter was burned at the stake. Young Jennings + was to have shared the same fate; but a trader in the village, learning + that the boy was known to John Sevier, ransomed him by a large payment of + goods, as a return for an act of kindness Sevier had once done to him. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <i>Sunday 12th</i>.… After running until about 10 o'clock came in + sight of the Muscle Shoals. Halted on the northern shore at the + appearance of the shoals, in order to search for the signs Captain James + Robertson was to make for us at that place… that it was + practicable for us to go across by land… we can find none—from + which we conclude that it would not be prudent to make the attempt and + are determined, knowing ourselves in such imminent danger, to pursue our + journey down the river.… When we approached them [the Shoals] + they had a dreadful appearance.… The water being high made a + terrible roaring, which could be heard at some distance, among the + driftwood heaped frightfully upon the points of the islands, the current + running in every possible direction. Here we did not know how soon we + should be dashed to pieces and all our troubles + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> + ended at once. Our boats + frequently dragged on the bottom and appeared constantly in danger of + striking. They warped as much as in a rough sea. But by the hand of + Providence we are now preserved from this danger also. I know not the + length of this wonderful shoal; it had been represented to me to be + twenty-five or thirty miles. If so, we must have descended very rapidly, + as indeed we did, for we passed it in about three hours. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + On the twentieth the little fleet arrived at the mouth of the Tennessee + and the voyagers landed on the bank of the Ohio. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + Our situation here is truly disagreeable. The river is very high and the + current rapid, our boats not constructed for the purpose of stemming a + rapid stream, our provisions exhausted, the crews almost worn down with + hunger and fatigue, and know not what distance we have to go or what + time it will take us to our place of destination. The scene is rendered + still more melancholy as several boats will not attempt to ascend the + rapid current. Some intend to descend the Mississippi to Natchez; others + are bound for the Illinois—among the rest my son-in-law and + daughter. We now part, perhaps to meet no more, for I am determined to + pursue my course, happen what will. <br /> <i>Tuesday 21st.</i> Set out + and on this day labored very hard and got but little way.… Passed + the two following days as the former, suffering much from hunger and + fatigue. <br /> <i>Friday 24th.</i> About three o'clock came to the mouth + of a river which I thought was the Cumberland. Some of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> + the + company declared it could not be—it was so much smaller than was + expected.… We determined however to make the trial, pushed up + some distance and encamped for the night. <br /> <i>Saturday 25th.</i> + Today we are much encouraged; the river grows wider;… we are now + convinced it is the Cumberland.… <br /> <i>Sunday 26th</i>… + procured some buffalo meat; though poor it was palatable. <br /> <i>Friday + 31st</i>… met with Colonel Richard Henderson, who is running the + line between Virginia and North Carolina. At this meeting we were much + rejoiced. He gave us every information we wished, and further informed + us that he had purchased a quantity of corn in Kentucky, to be shipped + at the Falls of Ohio for the use of the Cumberland settlement. We are + now without bread and are compelled to hunt the buffalo to preserve + life.… <br /> <i>Monday, April 24th</i>. This day we arrived at + our journey's end at the Big Salt Lick, where we have the pleasure of + finding Captain Robertson and his company. It is a source of + satisfaction to us to be enabled to restore to him and others their + families and friends, who were entrusted to our care, and who, sometime + since, perhaps, despaired of ever meeting again.… + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Past the camps of the Chickamaugans—who were retreating farther and + farther down the twisting flood, seeking a last standing ground in the + giant caves by the Tennessee—these white voyagers had steered their + pirogues. Near Robertson's station, where they landed after having + traversed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> + the triangle of the three great rivers which enclose the larger part of + western Tennessee, stood a crumbling trading house marking the defeat of a + Frenchman who had, one time, sailed in from the Ohio to establish an + outpost of his nation there. At a little distance were the ruins of a rude + fort cast up by the Cherokees in the days when the redoubtable Chickasaws + had driven them from the pleasant shores of the western waters. Under the + towering forest growth lay vast burial mounds and the sunken foundations + of walled towns, telling of a departed race which had once flashed its + rude paddles and had its dream of permanence along the courses of these + great waterways. Now another tribe had come to dream that dream anew. + Already its primitive keels had traced the opening lines of its history on + the face of the immemorial rivers. + </p> + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter09" id="Chapter09"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER IX.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">King's Mountain</p> + + + + <p class="noindent"> + About the time when James Robertson went from Watauga to fling out the + frontier line three hundred miles farther westward, the British took + Savannah. In 1780 they took Charleston and Augusta, and overran Georgia. + Augusta was the point where the old trading path forked north and west, + and it was the key to the Back Country and the overhill domain. In Georgia + and the Back Country of South Carolina there were many Tories ready to + rally to the King's standard whenever a King's officer should carry it + through their midst. A large number of these Tories were Scotch, chiefly + from the Highlands. In fact, as we have seen, Scotch blood predominated + among the racial streams in the Back Country from Georgia to Pennsylvania. + Now, to insure a triumphant march northward for Cornwallis and his royal + troops, these sons of Scotland must be gathered together, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> + the loyal + encouraged and those of rebellious tendencies converted, and they must be + drilled and turned to account. This task, if it were to be accomplished + successfully, must be entrusted to an officer with positive + qualifications, one who would command respect, whose personal address + would attract men and disarm opposition, and especially one who could go + as a Scot among his own clan. Cornwallis found his man in Major Patrick + Ferguson. + </p> + <p> + Ferguson was a Highlander, a son of Lord Pitfour of Aberdeen, and + thirty-six years of age. He was of short stature for a Highlander—about + five feet eight—lean and dark, with straight black hair. He had a + serious unhandsome countenance which, at casual glance, might not arrest + attention; but when he spoke he became magnetic, by reason of the + intelligence and innate force that gleamed in his eyes and the convincing + sincerity of his manner. He was admired and respected by his brother + officers and by the commanders under whom he had served, and he was loved + by his men. + </p> + <p> + He had seen his first service in the Seven Years' War, having joined the + British army in Flanders at the age of fifteen; and he had early + distinguished himself for courage and coolness. In 1768, as a captain of + infantry, he quelled an insurrection of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> + the natives on the island of + St. Vincent in the West Indies. Later, at Woolwich, he took up the + scientific study of his profession of arms. He not only became a crack + shot, but he invented a new type of rifle which he could load at the + breach without ramrod and so quickly as to fire seven times in a minute. + Generals and statesmen attended his exhibitions of shooting; and even the + King rode over at the head of his guards to watch Ferguson rapidly loading + and firing. + </p> + <p> + In America under Cornwallis, Ferguson had the reputation of being the best + shot in the army; and it was soon said that, in his quickness at loading + and firing, he excelled the most expert American frontiersman. + Eyewitnesses have left their testimony that, seeing a bird alight on a + bough or rail, he would drop his bridle rein, draw his pistol, toss it in + the air, catch and aim it as it fell, and shoot the bird's head off. He + was given command of a corps of picked riflemen; and in the Battle of the + Brandywine in 1777 he rendered services which won acclaim from the whole + army. For the honor of that day's service to his King, Ferguson paid what + from him, with his passion for the rifle, must have been the dearest price + that could have been demanded. His right arm was shattered, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> + for the + remaining three years of his short life it hung useless at his side. Yet + he took up swordplay and attained a remarkable degree of skill as a + left-handed swordsman. + </p> + <p> + Such was Ferguson, the soldier. What of the man? For he has been pictured + as a wolf and a fiend and a coward by early chroniclers, who evidently + felt that they were adding to the virtue of those who fought in defense of + liberty by representing all their foes as personally odious. We can read + his quality of manhood in a few lines of the letter he sent to his + kinsman, the noted Dr. Adam Ferguson, about an incident that occurred at + Chads Ford. As he was lying with his men in the woods, in front of + Knyphausen's army, so he relates, he saw two American officers ride out. + He describes their dress minutely. One was in hussar uniform. The other + was in a dark green and blue uniform with a high cocked hat and was + mounted on a bay horse: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + I ordered three good shots to steal near to and fire at them; but the + idea disgusting me, I recalled the order. The hussar in retiring made a + circuit, but the other passed within a hundred yards of us, upon which I + advanced from the wood towards him. Upon my calling he stopped; but + after looking at me he proceeded. I again drew his attention and made + signs to him to stop, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> + levelling my piece at him; but he slowly + cantered away. As I was within that distance, at which, in the quickest + firing, I could have lodged half a dozen balls in or about him before he + was out of my reach, I had only to determine. But it was not pleasant to + fire at the back of an unoffending individual who was acquitting himself + very coolly of his duty—so I let him alone. The day after, I had + been telling this story to some wounded officers, who lay in the same + room with me, when one of the surgeons who had been dressing the wounded + rebel officers came in and told us that they had been informing him that + General Washington was all the morning with the light troops, and only + attended by a French officer in hussar dress, he himself dressed and + mounted in every point as above described. <em>I am not sorry that I did + not know at the time who it was.</em> ¹ + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_199-1" name="footer_199-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_199">¹</a> + Doubt that the officer in question was + Washington was expressed by James Fenimore Cooper. Cooper stated that + Major De Lancey his father-in-law, was binding Ferguson's arm at the time + when the two officers were seen and Ferguson recalled the order to fire, + and that De Lancey said he believed the officer was Count Pulaski. But, as + Ferguson, according to his own account, “leveled his piece” at the + officer, his arm evidently was not wounded until later in the day. The + probability is that Ferguson's version, written in a private letter to his + relative, is correct as to the facts, whatever may be conjectured as to + the identity of the officer. See Draper's <i>King's Mountain and its + Heroes,</i> pp. 52-54. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ferguson had his code towards the foe's women also. On one occasion when + he was assisting in an action carried out by Hessians and Dragoons, he + learned that some American women had been shamefully maltreated. He went + in a white fury + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> + to the colonel in command, and demanded that the men who had so disgraced + their uniforms instantly be put to death. + </p> + <p> + In rallying the loyalists of the Back Country of Georgia and the + Carolinas, Ferguson was very successful. He was presently in command of a + thousand or more men, including small detachments of loyalists from New + York and New Jersey, under American-born officers such as De Peyster and + Allaire. There were good honest men among the loyalists and there were + also rough and vicious men out for spoils—which was true as well of + the Whigs or Patriots from the same counties. Among the rough element were + Tory banditti from the overmountain region. It is to be gathered from + Ferguson's records that he did not think any too highly of some of his new + recruits, but he set to work with all energy to make them useful. + </p> + <p> + The American Patriots hastily prepared to oppose him. Colonel Charles + McDowell of Burke County, North Carolina, with a small force of militia + was just south of the line at a point on the Broad River when he heard + that Ferguson was sweeping on northward. In haste he sent a call for help + across the mountains to Sevier and Shelby. Sevier had his hands full at + Watauga, but he + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> + dispatched two hundred of his troops; and Isaac Shelby, with a similar + force from Sullivan County crossed the mountains to McDowell's assistance. + These “overmountain men” or “backwater men,” as they were called east + of the hills, were trained in Sevier's method of Indian warfare—the + secret approach through the dark, the swift dash, and the swifter flight. + “Fight strong and run away fast” was the Indian motto, as their women + had often been heard to call it after the red men as they ran yelling to + fall on the whites. The frontiersmen had adapted the motto to fit their + case, as they had also made their own the Indian tactics of ambuscade and + surprise attacks at dawn. To sleep, or ride if needs must, by night, and + to fight by day and make off, was to them a reasonable soldier's life. + </p> + <p> + But Ferguson was a night marauder. The terror of his name, which grew + among the Whigs of the Back Country until the wildest legends about his + ferocity were current, was due chiefly to a habit he had of pouncing on + his foes in the middle of the night and pulling them out of bed to give + fight or die. It was generally both fight and die, for these dark + adventures of his were particularly successful. Ferguson knew no neutrals + or conscientious + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> + objectors; any man who would not carry arms for the King was a traitor, + and his life and goods were forfeit. A report of his reads: “The attack + being made at night, no quarter could be given.” Hence his wolfish + fame. “Werewolf” would have been a fit name for him for, though he + was a wolf at night, in the daylight he was a man and, as we have seen, a + chivalrous one. + </p> + <p> + In the guerrilla fighting that went on for a brief time between the + overmountain men and various detachments of Ferguson's forces, sometimes + one side, sometimes the other, won the heat. But the field remained open. + Neither side could claim the mastery. In a minor engagement fought at + Musgrove's Mill on the Enoree, Shelby's command came off victor and was + about to pursue the enemy towards Ninety-Six when a messenger from + McDowell galloped madly into camp with word of General Gates's crushing + defeat at Camden. This was a warning for Shelby's guerrillas to flee as + birds to their mountains, or Ferguson would cut them off from the north + and wedge them in between his own force and the victorious Cornwallis. + McDowell's men, also on the run for safety, joined them. For forty-eight + hours without food or rest they rode a race with Ferguson, who kept hard + on + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> + their trail until they disappeared into the mystery of the winding + mountain paths they alone knew. + </p> + <p> + <a name="Page_203-T1" id="Page_203-T1"></a> Ferguson reached the gap where + they had swerved into the towering hills only half an hour after their + horses' hoofs had pounded across it. Here he turned back. His troops were + exhausted from the all-night ride and, in any case, there were not enough + of them to enable him to cross the mountains and give the Watauga men + battle on their own ground with a fair promise of victory. So keeping east + of the hills but still close to them, Ferguson turned into Burke County, + North Carolina. He sat him down in Gilbert Town (present Lincolnton, + Lincoln County) at the foot of the Blue Ridge and indited a letter to the + “Back Water Men,” + telling them that if they did not lay down their arms and return to their + rightful allegiance, he would come over their hills and raze their + settlements and hang their leaders. He paroled a kinsman of Shelby's, whom + he had taken prisoner in the chase, and sent him home with the letter. + Then he set about his usual business of gathering up Tories and making + soldiers of them, and of hunting down rebels. + </p> + <p> + One of the “rebels” was a certain Captain Lytle. When Ferguson + drew up at Lytle's door, Lytle had + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> + already made his escape; but Mrs. Lytle was there. She was a very handsome + woman and she had dressed herself in her best to receive Ferguson, who was + reported a gallant as well as a wolf. After a few spirited passages + between the lady in the doorway and the officer on the white horse before + it, the latter advised Mrs. Lytle to use her influence to bring her + husband back to his duty. She became grave then and answered that her + husband would never turn traitor to his country Ferguson frowned at the + word “traitor,” but presently he said: “Madam, + I admire you as the handsomest woman I have seen in North Carolina. I even + half way admire your zeal in a bad cause. But take my word for it, the + rebellion has had its day and is now virtually put down. Give my regards + to Captain Lytle and tell him to come in. He will not be asked to + compromise his honor. His verbal pledge not again to take up arms against + the King is all that will be asked of him.” ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_204-1" name="footer_204-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_204">¹</a> + Draper, <i>King's Mountain and its Heroes,</i> pp. 151-53. + </p> + </div> + <p> + This was another phase of the character of the one-armed Highlander whose + final challenge to the back water men was now being considered in every + log cabin beyond the hills. A man who would not shoot an enemy in the + back, who was ready to put + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> + the same faith in another soldier's honor which he knew was due to his + own, yet in battle a wolfish fighter who leaped through the dark to give + no quarter and to take none—he was fit challenger to those other + mountaineers who also had a chivalry of their own, albeit they too were + wolves of war. + </p> + <p> + When Shelby on the Holston received Ferguson's pungent letter, he flung + himself on his horse and rode posthaste to Watauga to consult with Sevier. + He found the bank of the Nolichucky teeming with merrymakers. Nolichucky + Jack was giving an immense barbecue and a horse race. Without letting the + festival crowd have an inkling of the serious nature of Shelby's errand, + the two men drew apart to confer. It is said to have been Sevier's idea + that they should muster the forces of the western country and go in search + of Ferguson ere the latter should be able to get sufficient reinforcements + to cross the mountains. Sevier, like Ferguson, always preferred to seek + his foe, knowing well the advantage of the offensive. Messengers were sent + to Colonel William Campbell of the Virginia settlements on the Clinch, + asking his aid. Campbell at first refused, thinking it better to fortify + the positions they held and let Ferguson + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> + come and put the mountains + between himself and Cornwallis. On receipt of a second message, however, + he concurred. The call to arms was heard up and down the valleys, and the + frontiersmen poured into Watauga. The overhill men were augmented by + McDowell's troops from Burke County, who had dashed over the mountains a + few weeks before in their escape from Ferguson. + </p> + <p> + At daybreak on the 26th of September they mustered at the Sycamore Shoals + on the Watauga, over a thousand strong. It was a different picture they + made from that other great gathering at the same spot when Henderson had + made his purchase in money of the Dark and Bloody Ground, and Sevier and + Robertson had bought for the Wataugans this strip of Tennessee. There were + no Indians in this picture. Dragging Canoe, who had uttered his bloody + prophecy, had by these very men been driven far south into the caves of + the Tennessee River. But the Indian prophecy still hung over them, and in + this day with a heavier menace. Not with money, now, were they to seal + their purchase of the free land by the western waters. There had been no + women in that other picture, only the white men who were going forward to + open the way and the red men who were + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> + retreating. But in this + picture there were women—wives and children, mothers, sisters, and + sweethearts. All the women of the settlement were there at this daybreak + muster to cheer on their way the men who were going out to battle that + they might keep the way of liberty open not for men only but for women and + children also. And the battle to which the men were now going forth must + be fought against Back Country men of their own stripe under a leader who, + in other circumstances, might well have been one of themselves—a + primitive spirit of hardy mountain stock, who, having once taken his + stand, would not barter and would not retreat. + </p> + <p> + “With the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” cried their pastor, the + Reverend Samuel Doak, with upraised hands, as the mountaineers swung into + their saddles. And it is said that all the women took up his words and + cried again and again, “With the sword of the Lord and of our Gideons!” + To the shouts of their women, as bugles on the wind of dawn, the + buckskin-shirted army dashed out upon the mountain trail. + </p> + <p> + The warriors' equipment included rifles and ammunition, tomahawks, knives, + shot pouches, a knapsack, and a blanket for each man. Their uniforms + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> were + leggings, breeches, and long loose shirts of gayly fringed deerskin, or of + the linsey-woolsey spun by their women. Their hunting shirts were bound in + at the waist by bright-colored linsey sashes tied behind in a bow. They + wore moccasins for footgear, and on their heads high fur or deerskin caps + trimmed with colored bands of raveled cloth. Around their necks hung their + powder-horns ornamented with their own rude carvings. + </p> + <p> + On the first day they drove along with them a number of beeves but, + finding that the cattle impeded the march, they left them behind on the + mountain side. Their provisions thereafter were wild game and the small + supply each man carried of mixed corn meal and maple sugar. For drink, + they had the hill streams. + </p> + <p> + They passed upward between Roan and Yellow mountains to the top of the + range. Here, on the bald summit, where the loose snow lay to their ankles, + they halted for drill and rifle practice. When Sevier called up his men, + he discovered that two were missing. He suspected at once that they had + slipped away to carry warning to Ferguson, for Watauga was known to be + infested with Tories. Two problems now confronted the mountaineers. They + must increase the speed of their march, so + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> + that Ferguson should not have + time to get reinforcements from Cornwallis; and they must make that extra + speed by another trail than they had intended taking so that they + themselves could not be intercepted before they had picked up the Back + Country militia under Colonels Cleveland, Hampbright, Chronicle, and + Williams, who were moving to join them. We are not told who took the lead + when they left the known trail, but we may suppose it was Sevier and his + Wataugans, for the making of new warpaths and wild riding were two of the + things which distinguished Nolichucky Jack's leadership. Down the steep + side of the mountain, finding their way as they plunged, went the overhill + men. They crossed the Blue Ridge at Gillespie's Gap and pushed on to + Quaker Meadows, where Colonel Cleveland with 350 men swung into their + column. Along their route, the Back Country Patriots with their rifles + came out from the little hamlets and the farms and joined them. + </p> + <p> + They now had an army of perhaps fifteen hundred men but no commanding + officer. Thus far, on the march, the four colonels had conferred together + and agreed as to procedure; or, in reality, the influence of Sevier and + Shelby, who had planned the enterprise and who seem always to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> + have acted + in unison, had swayed the others. It would be, however, manifestly + improper to go into battle without a real general. Something must be done. + McDowell volunteered to carry a letter explaining their need to General + Gates, who had escaped with some of his staff into North Carolina and was + not far off. It then occurred to Sevier and Shelby, evidently for the + first time, that Gates, on receiving such a request, might well ask why + the Governor of North Carolina, as the military head of the State, had not + provided a commander. The truth is that Sevier and Shelby had been so busy + drumming up the militia and planning their campaign that they had found no + time to consult the Governor. Moreover, the means whereby the expedition + had been financed might not have appealed to the chief executive. After + finding it impossible to raise sufficient funds on his personal credit, + Sevier had appropriated the entry money in the government land office to + the business in hand—with the good will of the entry taker, who was + a patriotic man, although, as he had pointed out, he could not, <em>officially,</em> + hand over the money. Things being as they were, no doubt Nolichucky Jack + felt that an interview with the Governor had better be deferred until + after + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> + the capture of Ferguson. Hence the tenor of this communication to General + Gates: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + As we have at this time called out our militia without any orders from + the Executive of our different States and with the view of expelling the + Enemy out of this part of the Country, we think such a body of men + worthy of your attention and would request you to send a General Officer + immediately to take the command.… All our Troops being Militia + and but little acquainted with discipline, we could wish him to be a + Gentleman of address, and able to keep up a proper discipline <em>without + disgusting the soldiery.</em> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + For some unknown reason—unless it might be the wording of this + letter!—no officer was sent in reply. Shelby then suggested that, + since all the officers but Campbell were North Carolinians and, therefore, + no one of them could be promoted without arousing the jealousy of the + others, Campbell, as the only Virginian, was the appropriate choice. The + sweet reasonableness of selecting a commander from such a motive appealed + to all, and Campbell became a general in fact if not in name! Shelby's + principal aim, however, had been to get rid of McDowell, who, as their + senior, would naturally expect to command and whom he considered “too + far advanced in life and too inactive” for such an enterprise. At this + time McDowell must have + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> + been nearly thirty-nine; and Shelby, who was + just thirty, wisely refused to risk the campaign under a general who was + in his dotage! + </p> + <p> + News of the frontiersmen's approach, with their augmented force, now + numbering between sixteen and eighteen hundred, had reached Ferguson by + the two Tories who had deserted from Sevier's troops. Ferguson thereupon + had made all haste out of Gilbert Town and was marching southward to get + in touch with Cornwallis. His force was much reduced, as some of his men + were in pursuit of Elijah Clarke towards Augusta and a number of his other + Tories were on furlough. As he passed through the Back Country he posted a + notice calling on the loyalists to join him. If the overmountain men felt + that they were out on a wolf hunt, Ferguson's proclamation shows what the + wolf thought of his hunters. + </p> + <p class="center double-space-top"> + To the Inhabitants of North Carolina. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>: Unless you wish to be eat up by an + innundation of barbarians, who have begun by murdering an unarmed son + before the aged father, and afterwards lopped off his arms, and who by + their shocking cruelties and irregularities give the best proof of their + cowardice and want of discipline: I say if you wish to be pinioned, + robbed and murdered, and see your wives and daughters in four days, + abused by the dregs of mankind—in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> + short if you wish to + deserve to live and bear the name of men, grasp your arms in a moment + and run to camp.<br /> The Back Water men have crossed the mountains: + McDowell, Hampton, Shelby, and Cleveland are at their head, so that you + know what you have to depend upon. If you choose to be degraded forever + and ever by a set of mongrels, say so at once, and let your women turn + their backs upon you, and look out for real men to protect them.</p> + <p class="noindent right no-space-top"> + <span class="smcap">Pat. Ferguson</span>, Major 71st Regiment. ¹ + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_213-1" name="footer_213-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_213">¹</a> + Draper, <i>King's Mountain and its Heroes,</i> p. 204. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ferguson's force has been estimated at about eleven hundred men, but it is + likely that this estimate does not take the absentees into consideration. + In the diary of Lieutenant Allaire, one of his officers, the number is + given as only eight hundred. Because of the state of his army, chroniclers + have found Ferguson's movements, after leaving Gilbert Town, difficult to + explain. It has been pointed out that he could easily have escaped, for he + had plenty of time, and Charlotte, Cornwallis's headquarters, was only + sixty miles distant. We have seen something of Ferguson's quality, + however, and we may simply take it that he did not want to escape. He had + been planning to cross the high hills—to him, the Highlander, no + barrier but a challenge—to fight these men. Now that they + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> + had taken + the initiative he would not show them his back. He craved the battle. So + he sent out runners to the main army and rode on along the eastern base of + the mountains, seeking a favorable site to go into camp and wait for + Cornwallis's aid. On the 6th of October he reached the southern end of the + King's Mountain ridge, in South Carolina, about half a mile south of the + northern boundary. Here a rocky, semi-isolated spur juts out from the + ridge, its summit—a table-land about six hundred yards long and one + hundred and twenty wide at its northern end—rising not more than + sixty feet above the surrounding country. On the summit Ferguson pitched + his camp. + </p> + <p> + The hill was a natural fortress, its sides forested, its bald top + protected by rocks and bowlders. All the approaches led through dense + forest. An enemy force, passing through the immediate, wooded territory, + might easily fail to discover a small army nesting sixty feet above the + shrouding leafage. Word was evidently brought to Ferguson here, telling + him the now augmented number of his foe, for he dispatched another + emissary to Cornwallis with a letter stating the number of his own troops + and urging full and immediate assistance. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the frontiersmen had halted at the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> + Cowpens. There they feasted + royally off roasted cattle and corn belonging to the loyalist who owned + the Cowpens. It is said that they mowed his fifty acres of corn in an + hour. And here one of their spies, in the assumed rôle of a Tory, + learned Ferguson's plans, his approximate force, his route, and his system + of communication with Cornwallis. The officers now held council and + determined to take a detachment of the hardiest and fleetest horsemen and + sweep down on the enemy before aid could reach him. About nine o'clock + that evening, according to Shelby's report, 910 mounted men set off at + full speed, leaving the main body of horse and foot to follow after at + their best pace. + </p> + <p> + Rain poured down on them all that night as they rode. At daybreak they + crossed the Broad at Cherokee Ford and dashed on in the drenching rain all + the forenoon. They kept their firearms and powder dry by wrapping them in + their knapsacks, blankets, and hunting shirts. The downpour had so churned + up the soil that many of the horses mired, but they were pulled out and + whipped forward again. The wild horsemen made no halt for food or rest. + Within two miles of King's Mountain they captured Ferguson's messenger + with the letter that told of his desperate situation. They asked + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> + this man + how they should know Ferguson. He told them that Ferguson was in full + uniform but wore a checkered shirt or dust cloak over it. This was not the + only messenger of Ferguson's who failed to carry through. The men he had + sent out previously had been followed and, to escape capture or death, + they had been obliged to lie in hiding, so that they did not reach + Cornwallis until the day of the battle. + </p> + <p> + At three o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th of October, the overmountain + men were in the forest at the base of the hill. The rain had ceased and + the sun was shining. They dismounted and tethered their steaming horses. + Orders were given that every man was to “throw the priming out of his + pan, pick his touchhole, prime anew, examine bullets and see that + everything was in readiness for battle.” The plan of battle agreed on + was to surround the hill, hold the enemy on the top and, themselves + screened by the trees, keep pouring in their fire. There was a good chance + that most of the answering fire would go over their heads. + </p> + <p> + As Shelby's men crossed a gap in the woods, the outposts on the hill + discovered their presence and sounded the alarm. Ferguson sprang to horse, + blowing his silver whistle to call his men to attack. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> His riflemen poured fire into + Shelby's contingent, but meanwhile the frontiersmen on the other sides + were creeping up, and presently a circle of fire burst upon the hill. With + fixed bayonets, some of Ferguson's men charged down the face of the slope, + against the advancing foe, only to be shot in the back as they charged. + Still time and time again they charged; the overhill men reeled and + retreated; but always their comrades took toll with their rifles; + Ferguson's men, preparing for a mounted charge, were shot even as they + swung to their saddles. Ferguson, with his customary indifference to + danger, rode up and down in front of his line blowing his whistle to + encourage his men. “Huzza, brave boys! The day is our own!” Thus he + was heard to shout above the triumphant war whoops of the circling foe, + surging higher and higher about the hill. + </p> + <p> + But there were others in his band who knew the fight was lost. The + overmountain men saw two white handkerchiefs, affixed to bayonets, raised + above the rocks; and then they saw Ferguson dash by and slash them down + with his sword. Two horses were shot under Ferguson in the latter part of + the action; but he mounted a third and rode again into the thick of the + fray. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> + Suddenly the cry spread among the attacking troops that the British + officer, Tarleton, had come to Ferguson's rescue; and the mountaineers + began to give way. But it was only the galloping horses of their own + comrades; Tarleton had not come. Nolichucky Jack spurred out in front of + his men and rode along the line. Fired by his courage they sounded the war + whoop again and renewed the attack with fury. + </p> + <p> + “These are the same yelling devils that were at Musgrove's Mill,” + said Captain De Peyster to Ferguson. + </p> + <p> + Now Shelby and Sevier, leading his Wataugans, had reached the summit. The + firing circle pressed in. The buckskin-shirted warriors leaped the rocky + barriers, swinging their tomahawks and long knives. Again the white + handkerchiefs fluttered. Ferguson saw that the morale of his troops was + shattered. + </p> + <p> + “Surrender,” De Peyster, his second in command, begged of him. + </p> + <p> + “Surrender to those damned banditti? Never!” + </p> + <p> + Ferguson turned his horse's head downhill and charged into the Wataugans, + hacking right and left with his sword till it was broken at the hilt. A + dozen rifles were leveled at him. An iron muzzle pushed at his breast, but + the powder flashed in the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> + pan. He swerved and struck at the rifleman + with his broken hilt. But the other guns aimed at him spoke; and + Ferguson's body jerked from the saddle pierced by eight bullets. Men + seized the bridle of the frenzied horse, plunging on with his dead master + dragging from the stirrup. + </p> + <p> + The battle had lasted less than an hour. After Ferguson fell, De Peyster + advanced with a white flag and surrendered his sword to Campbell. Other + white flags waved along the hilltop. But the killing did not yet cease. It + is said that many of the mountaineers did not know the significance of the + white flag. Sevier's sixteen-year-old son, having heard that his father + had fallen, kept on furiously loading and firing until presently he saw + Sevier ride in among the troops and command them to stop shooting men who + had surrendered and thrown down their arms. + </p> + <p> + The victors made a bonfire of the enemy's baggage wagons and supplies. + Then they killed some of his beeves and cooked them; they had had neither + food nor sleep for eighteen hours. They dug shallow trenches for the dead + and scattered the loose earth over them. Ferguson's body, stripped of its + uniform and boots and wrapped in a beef hide, was thrown into one of these + ditches by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> + the men detailed to the burial work, while the officers divided his + personal effects among themselves. + </p> + <p> + The triumphant army turned homeward as the dusk descended. The uninjured + prisoners and the wounded who were able to walk were marched off carrying + their empty firearms. The badly wounded were left lying where they had + fallen. + </p> + <p> + At Bickerstaff's Old Fields in Rutherford County the frontiersmen halted; + and here they selected thirty of their prisoners to be hanged. They swung + them aloft, by torchlight, three at a time, until nine had gone to their + last account. Then Sevier interposed; and, with Shelby's added authority, + saved the other twenty-one. Among those who thus weighted the gallows tree + were some of the Tory brigands from Watauga; but not all the victims were + of this character. Some of the troops would have wreaked vengeance on the + two Tories from Sevier's command who had betrayed their army plans to + Ferguson; but Sevier claimed them as under his jurisdiction and refused + consent. Nolichucky Jack dealt humanely by his foes. To the coarse and + brutish Cleveland, now astride of Ferguson's horse and wearing his sash, + and to the three hundred who followed him, may no doubt be laid the worst + excesses of the battle's afterpiece. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> + Victors and vanquished drove on in the dark, close to the great flank of + hills. From where King's Mountain, strewn with dead and dying, reared its + black shape like some rudely hewn tomb of a primordial age when titans + strove together, perhaps to the ears of the marching men came faintly + through the night's stillness the howl of a wolf and the answering chorus + of the pack. For the wolves came down to King's Mountain from all the + surrounding hills, following the scent of blood, and made their lair where + the Werewolf had fallen. The scene of the mountaineers' victory, which + marked the turn of the tide for the Revolution, became for years the chief + resort of wolf hunters from both the Carolinas. + </p> + <p> + The importance of the overmountain men's victory lay in what it achieved + for the cause of Independence. King's Mountain was the prelude to + Cornwallis's defeat. It heartened the Southern Patriots, until then cast + down by Gates's disaster. To the British the death of Ferguson was an + irreparable loss because of its depressing effect on the Back Country + Tories. King's Mountain, indeed, broke the Tory spirit. Seven days after + the battle General Nathanael Greene succeeded to the command of the + Southern Patriot army which Gates + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> + had led to defeat. Greene's genius met + the rising tide of the Patriots' courage and hope and took it at the + flood. His strategy, in dividing his army and thereby compelling the + division of Cornwallis's force, led to Daniel Morgan's victory at the + Cowpens, in the Back Country of South Carolina, on January 17, 1781—another + frontiersmen's triumph. Though the British won the next engagement between + Greene and Cornwallis—the battle of Guilford Court House in the + North Carolina Back Country, on the 15th of March—Greene made them + pay so dearly for their victory that Tarleton called it “the pledge of + ultimate defeat”; and, three days later, Cornwallis was retreating + towards Wilmington. In a sense, then, King's Mountain was the pivot of the + war's revolving stage, which swung the British from their succession of + victories towards the surrender at Yorktown. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Shelby, Campbell, and Cleveland escorted the prisoners to Virginia. + Sevier, with his men, rode home to Watauga. When the prisoners had been + delivered to the authorities in Virginia, the Holston men also turned + homeward through the hills. Their route lay down through the Clinch and + Holston valleys to the settlement at the base of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> + mountains. Sevier and + his Wataugans had gone by Gillespie's Gap, over the pathway that hung like + a narrow ribbon about the breast of Roan Mountain, lifting its crest in + dignified isolation sixty-three hundred feet above the levels. The “Unakas” + was the name the Cherokees had given to those white men who first invaded + their hills; and the Unakas is the name that white men at last gave to the + mountain. + </p> + <p> + Great companies of men were to come over the mountain paths on their way + to the Mississippi country and beyond; and with them, as we know, were to + go many of these mountain men, to pass away with their customs in the + transformations that come with progress. But there were others who clung + to these hills. They were of several stocks—English, Scotch, + Highlanders, Ulstermen, who mingled by marriage and sometimes took their + mates from among the handsome maids of the Cherokees. They spread from the + Unakas of Tennessee into the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky; and they + have remained to this day what they were then, a primitive folk of strong + and fiery men and brave women living as their forefathers of Watauga and + Holston lived. In the log cabins in those mountains today are heard the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> + same ballads, sung still to the dulcimer, that entertained the earliest + settlers. The women still turn the old-fashioned spinning wheels. The code + of the men is still the code learned perhaps from the Gaels—the code + of the oath and the feud and the open door to the stranger. Or were these, + the ethical tenets of almost all uncorrupted primitive tribes, transmitted + from the Indian strain and association? Their young people marry at boy + and girl ages, as the pioneers did, and their wedding festivities are the + same as those which made rejoicing at the first marriage in Watauga. Their + common speech today contains words that have been obsolete in England for + a hundred years. + </p> + <p> + Thrice have the mountain men come down again from their fastnesses to war + for America since the day of King's Mountain and thrice they have + acquitted themselves so that their deeds are noted in history. A souvenir + of their part in the War of 1812 at the Battle of the Thames is kept in + one of the favorite names for mountain girls—“Lake Erie.” In + the Civil War many volunteers from the free, non-slaveholding mountain + regions of Kentucky and Tennessee joined the Union Army, and it is said + that they exceeded all others in stature and physical development. And in + our own + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> + day their sons again came down from the mountains to carry the + torch of Liberty overseas, and to show the white stars in their flag side + by side with the ancient cross in the flag of England against which their + forefathers fought. + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter10" id="Chapter10"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER X.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">Sevier, The Statemaker</p> + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">After</span> King's Mountain, Sevier reached home just + in time to fend off a Cherokee attack on Watauga. Again warning had come + to the settlements that the Indians were about to descend upon them. + Sevier set out at once to meet the red invaders. Learning from his scouts + that the Indians were near he went into ambush with his troops disposed in + the figure of a half-moon, the favorite Indian formation. He then sent out + a small body of men to fire on the Indians and make a scampering retreat, + to lure the enemy on. The maneuver was so well planned and the ground so + well chosen that the Indian war party would probably have been annihilated + but for the delay of an officer at one horn of the half-moon in bringing + his troops into play. Through the gap thus made the Indians escaped, with + a loss of seventeen of their number. The delinquent officer was Jonathan + Tipton, younger brother + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> + of Colonel John Tipton, of whom we shall hear + later. It is possible that from this event dates the Tiptons' feud with + Sevier, which supplies one of the breeziest pages in the story of early + Tennessee. + </p> + <p> + Not content with putting the marauders to flight, Sevier pressed on after + them, burned several of the upper towns, and took prisoner a number of + women and children, thus putting the red warriors to the depth of shame, + for the Indians never deserted their women in battle. The chiefs at once + sued for peace. But they had made peace often before. Sevier drove down + upon the Hiwassee towns, meanwhile proclaiming that those among the tribe + who were friendly might send their families to the white settlement, where + they would be fed and cared for until a sound peace should be assured. He + also threatened to continue to make war until his enemies were wiped out, + their town sites a heap of blackened ruins, and their whole country in + possession of the whites, unless they bound themselves to an enduring + peace. + </p> + <p> + Having compelled the submission of the Otari and Hiwassee towns, yet + finding that depredations still continued, Sevier determined to invade the + group of towns hidden in the mountain fastnesses near the headwaters of + the Little Tennessee where, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> + deeming themselves inaccessible except by + their own trail, the Cherokees freely plotted mischief and sent out + raiding parties. These hill towns lay in the high gorges of the Great + Smoky Mountains, 150 miles distant. No one in Watauga had ever been in + them except Thomas, the trader, who, however, had reached them from the + eastern side of the mountains. With no knowledge of the Indians' path and + without a guide, yet nothing daunted, Sevier, late in the summer of 1781 + headed his force into the mountains. So steep were some of the slopes they + scaled that the men were obliged to dismount and help their horses up. + Unexpectedly to themselves perhaps, as well as to the Indians, they + descended one morning on a group of villages and destroyed them. Before + the fleeing savages could rally, the mountaineers had plunged up the + steeps again. Sevier then turned southward into Georgia and inflicted a + severe castigation on the tribes along the Coosa River. + </p> + <p> + When, after thirty days of warfare and mad riding, Sevier arrived at his + Bonnie Kate's door on the Nolichucky, he found a messenger from General + Greene calling on him for immediate assistance to cut off Cornwallis from + his expected retreat through North Carolina. Again he set out, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> + and with + two hundred men crossed the mountains and made all speed to Charlotte, in + Mecklenburg County, where he learned that Cornwallis had surrendered at + Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Under Greene's orders he turned south to the + Santee to assist a fellow scion of the Huguenots, General Francis Marion, + in the pursuit of Stuart's Britishers. Having driven Stuart into + Charleston, Sevier and his active Wataugans returned home, now perhaps + looking forward to a rest, which they had surely earned. Once more, + however, they were hailed with alarming news. Dragging Canoe had come to + life again and was emerging from the caves of the Tennessee with a + substantial force of Chickamaugan warriors. Again the Wataugans, augmented + by a detachment from Sullivan County, galloped forth, met the red + warriors, chastised them heavily, put them to rout, burned their dwellings + and provender, and drove them back into their hiding places. For some time + after this, the Indians dipped not into the black paint pots of war but + were content to streak their humbled countenances with the vermilion of + beauty and innocence. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + It should be chronicled that Sevier, assisted possibly by other Wataugans, + eventually returned + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span> + to the State of North Carolina the money which he had forcibly borrowed to + finance the King's Mountain expedition; and that neither he nor Shelby + received any pay for their services, nor asked it. Before Shelby left the + Holston in 1782 and moved to Kentucky, of which State he was to become the + first Governor, the Assembly of North Carolina passed a resolution of + gratitude to the overmountain men in general, and to Sevier and Shelby in + particular, for their “very generous and patriotic services” with + which the “General Assembly of this State are feelingly impressed.” + The resolution concluded by urging the recipients of the Assembly's + acknowledgments to “continue” in their noble course. In view of what + followed, this resolution is interesting! + </p> + <p> + For some time the overhill pioneers had been growing dissatisfied with the + treatment they were receiving from the State, which on the plea of poverty + had refused to establish a Superior Court for them and to appoint a + prosecutor. As a result, crime was on the increase, and the law-abiding + were deprived of the proper legal means to check the lawless. In 1784 when + the western soldiers' claims began to reach the Assembly, there to be + scrutinized by unkindly eyes, the dissatisfaction increased. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span> + The + breasts of the mountain men—the men who had made that spectacular + ride to bring Ferguson to his end—were kindled with hot indignation + when they heard that they had been publicly assailed as grasping persons + who seized on every pretense to “fabricate demands against the + Government.” Nor were those fiery breasts cooled by further plaints to + the effect that the "industry and property" of those east of the hills + were “becoming the funds appropriated to discharge the debts” of the + Westerners. They might with justice have asked what the industry and + property of the Easterners were worth on that day when the overhill men + drilled in the snows on the high peak of Yellow Mountain and looked down + on Burke County overrun by Ferguson's Tories, and beyond, to Charlotte, + where lay Cornwallis. + </p> + <p> + The North Carolina Assembly did not confine itself to impolite remarks. It + proceeded to get rid of what it deemed western rapacity by ceding the + whole overmountain territory to the United States, with the proviso that + Congress must accept the gift within twelve months. And after passing the + Cession Act, North Carolina closed the land office in the undesired domain + and nullified all entries made after May 25, 1784. The Cession Act also + enabled + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> + the State to evade its obligations to the Cherokees in the matter of an + expensive consignment of goods to pay for new lands. + </p> + <p> + This clever stroke of the Assembly's brought about immediate consequences + in the region beyond the hills. The Cherokees, who knew nothing about the + Assembly's system of political economy but who found their own provokingly + upset by the non-arrival of the promised goods, began again to darken the + mixture in their paint pots; and they dug up the war hatchet, never indeed + so deeply patted down under the dust that it could not be unearthed by a + stub of the toe. Needless to say, it was not the thrifty and distant + Easterners who felt their anger, but the nearby settlements. + </p> + <p> + As for the white overhill dwellers, the last straw had been laid on their + backs; and it felt like a hickory log. No sooner had the Assembly + adjourned than the men of Washington, Sullivan, and Greene counties, which + comprised the settled portion of what is now east Tennessee, elected + delegates to convene for the purpose of discussing the formation of a new + State. They could assert that they were not acting illegally, for in her + first constitution North Carolina had made provision for a State beyond + the mountains. And necessity + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span> + compelled them to take steps for their + protection. Some of them, and Sevier was of the number, doubted if + Congress would accept the costly gift; and the majority realized that + during the twelve months which were allowed for the decision they would + have no protection from either North Carolina or Congress and would not be + able to command their own resources. + </p> + <p> + In August, 1784, the delegates met at Jonesborough and passed preliminary + resolutions, and then adjourned to meet later in the year. The news was + soon disseminated through North Carolina and the Assembly convened in + October and hastily repealed the Cession Act, voted to establish the + District of Washington out of the four counties, and sent word of the + altered policy to Sevier, with a commission for himself as Brigadier + General. From the steps of the improvised convention hall, before which + the delegates had gathered, Sevier read the Assembly's message and advised + his neighbors to proceed no further, since North Carolina had of her own + accord redressed all their grievances. But for once Nolichucky Jack's + followers refused to follow. The adventure too greatly appealed. Obliged + to choose between North Carolina and his own people, Sevier's hesitation + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> was + short. The State of Frankland, or Land of the Free, was formed; and + Nolichucky Jack was elevated to the office of Governor—with a yearly + salary of two hundred mink skins. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps John Tipton had hoped to head the new State, for he had been one + of its prime movers and was a delegate to this convention. But when the + man whom he hated—apparently for no reason except that other men + loved him—assented to the people's will and was appointed to the + highest post within their gift, Tipton withdrew, disavowing all connection + with Frankland and affirming his loyalty to North Carolina. From this time + on, the feud was an open one. + </p> + <p> + That brief and now forgotten State, Frankland, the Land of the Free, which + bequeathed its name as an appellation for America, was founded as Watauga + had been founded—to meet the practical needs and aspirations of its + people. It will be remembered that one of the things written by Sevier + into the only Watauga document extant was that they desired to become “in + every way the best members of society.” Frankland's aims, as recorded, + included the intent to “improve agriculture, perfect manufacturing, <em>encourage + literature</em> and every thing truly laudable.” + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span> The + constitution of Frankland, agreed to on the 14th of November, 1785, + appeals to us today rather by its spirit than by its practical provisions. + “This State shall be called the Commonwealth of Frankland and shall be + governed by a General Assembly of the representatives of the freemen of + the same, a Governor and Council, and proper courts of justice.… + The supreme legislative power shall be vested in a single House of + Representatives of the freemen of the commonwealth of Frankland. The House + of Representatives of the freemen of the State shall consist of persons + most noted for wisdom and virtue.” + </p> + <p> + In these exalted desires of the primitive men who held by their rifles and + hatchets the land by the western waters, we see the influence of the + Reverend Samuel Doak, their pastor, who founded the first church and the + first school beyond the great hills. Early in the life of Watauga he had + come thither from Princeton, a zealous and broadminded young man, and a + sturdy one, too, for he came on foot driving before him a mule laden with + books. Legend credits another minister, the Reverend Samuel Houston, with + suggesting the name of Frankland, after he had opened the Convention with + prayer. It is not surprising to learn that this glorified + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> + constitution was presently put aside in favor of one modeled on that of + North Carolina. + </p> + <p> + Sevier persuaded the more radical members of the community to abandon + their extreme views and to adopt the laws of North Carolina. However + lawless his acts as Governor of a bolting colony may appear, Sevier was + essentially a constructive force. His purposes were right, and small + motives are not discernible in his record. He might reasonably urge that + the Franklanders had only followed the example of North Carolina and the + other American States in seceding from the parent body, and for similar + causes, for the State's system of taxation had long borne heavily on the + overhill men. + </p> + <p> + The whole transmontane populace welcomed Frankland with enthusiasm. Major + Arthur Campbell, of the Virginian settlements, on the Holston, was eager + to join. Sevier and his Assembly took the necessary steps to receive the + overhill Virginians, provided that the transfer of allegiance could be + made with Virginia's consent. Meanwhile he replied in a dignified manner + to the pained and menacing expostulations of North Carolina's Governor. + North Carolina was bidden to remember the epithets her assemblymen had + hurled at the Westerners, which they themselves had by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> no means + forgotten. And was it any wonder that they now doubted the love the parent + State professed to feel for them? As for the puerile threat of blood, had + their quality really so soon become obliterated from the memory of North + Carolina? At this sort of writing, Sevier, who always pulsed hot with + emotion and who had a pretty knack in turning a phrase, was more than a + match for the Governor of North Carolina, whose prerogatives he had + usurped. + </p> + <p> + The overmountain men no longer needed to complain bitterly of the lack of + legal machinery to keep them “the best members of society.” They now + had courts to spare. Frankland had its courts, its judges, its legislative + body, its land office—in fact, a full governmental equipment. North + Carolina also performed all the natural functions of political organism, + within the western territory. Sevier appointed one David Campbell a judge. + Campbell held court in Jonesborough. Ten miles away, in Buffalo, Colonel + John Tipton presided for North Carolina. It happened frequently that + officers and attendants of the rival law courts met, as they pursued their + duties, and whenever they met they fought. The post of sheriff—or + sheriffs, for of course there were two—was filled by the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> biggest + and heaviest man and the hardest hitter in the ranks of the warring + factions. A favorite game was raiding each other's courts and carrying off + the records. Frankland sent William Cocke, later the first senator from + Tennessee, to Congress with a memorial, asking Congress to accept the + territory North Carolina had offered and to receive it into the Union as a + separate State. Congress ignored the plea. It began to appear that North + Carolina would be victor in the end; and so there were defections among + the Franklanders. Sevier wrote to Benjamin Franklin asking his aid in + establishing the status of Frankland; and, with a graceful flourish of his + ready pen, changed the new State's name to Franklin by way of reinforcing + his arguments. But the old philosopher, more expert than Sevier in + diplomatic calligraphy, only acknowledged the compliment and advised the + State of Franklin to make peace with North Carolina. + </p> + <p> + Sevier then appealed for aid and recognition to the Governor of Georgia, + who had previously appointed him Brigadier General of militia. But the + Governor of Georgia also avoided giving the recognition requested, though + he earnestly besought Sevier to come down and settle the Creeks for him. + There were others who sent pleas to Sevier, the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span> + warrior, to save them from + the savages. One of the writers who addressed him did not fear to say “Your + Excellency,” nor to accord Nolichucky Jack the whole dignity of the + purple in appealing to him as the only man possessing the will and the + power to prevent the isolated settlements on the Cumberland from being + wiped out. That writer was his old friend, James Robertson. + </p> + <p> + In 1787, while Sevier was on the frontier of Greene County, defending it + from Indians, the legal forces of North Carolina swooped down on his + estate and took possession of his negroes. It was Tipton who represented + the law; and Tipton carried off the Governor's slaves to his own estate. + When Nolichucky Jack came home and found that his enemy had stripped him, + he was in a towering rage. With a body of his troops and one small cannon, + he marched to Tipton's house and besieged it, threatening a bombardment. + He did not, however, fire into the dwelling, though he placed some shots + about it and in the extreme corners. This <i>opéra bouffe</i> siege + endured for several days, until Tipton was reinforced by some of his own + clique. Then Tipton sallied forth and attacked the besiegers, who hastily + scattered rather than engage in a sanguinary fight with their neighbors. + Tipton + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> + captured Sevier's two elder sons and was only strained from hanging them + on being informed that two of his own sons were at that moment in Sevier's + hands. + </p> + <p> + In March, 1788, the State of Franklin went into eclipse. Sevier was + overthrown by the authorities of North Carolina. Most of the officials who + had served under him were soothed by being reappointed to their old + positions. Tipton's star was now in the ascendant, for his enemy was to be + made the vicarious sacrifice for the sins of all whom he had “led + astray.” Presently David Campbell, still graciously permitted to + preside over the Superior Court, received from the Governor of North + Carolina the following letter: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">Sir</span>: It has been represented to the Executive + that John Sevier, who style's himself Captain-General of the State of + Franklin, has been guilty of high treason in levying troops to oppose + the laws and government of the State.… You will issue your + warrant to apprehend the said John Sevier, and in case he cannot be + sufficiently secured for trial in the District of Washington, order him + to be committed to the public gaol. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="noindent"> + The judge's authority was to be exercised after he had examined the “affidavits + of credible persons.” Campbell's judicial opinion seems to have been + that any affidavit <em>against</em> “the said John + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> + Sevier” could not be made + by a “credible person.” He refused to issue the warrant. Tipton's + friend, Spencer, who had been North Carolina's judge of the Superior Court + in the West and who was sharing that honor now with Campbell, issued the + warrant and sent Tipton to make the arrest. + </p> + <p> + Sevier was at the Widow Brown's inn with some of his men when Tipton at + last came up with him. It was early morning. Tipton and his posse were + about to enter when the portly and dauntless widow, surmising their + errand, drew her chair into the doorway, plumped herself down in it, and + refused to budge for all the writs in North Carolina. Tipton blustered and + the widow rocked. The altercation awakened Sevier. He dressed hurriedly + and came down. As soon as he presented himself on the porch, Tipton thrust + his pistol against his body, evidently with intent to fire if Sevier made + signs of resistance. Sevier's furious followers were not disposed to let + him be taken without a fight, but he admonished them to respect the law, + and requested that they would inform Bonnie Kate of his predicament. Then, + debonair as ever, with perhaps a tinge of contempt at the corners of his + mouth, he held out his wrists for the manacles which Tipton insisted on + fastening upon them. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span> It + was not likely that any jail in the western country could hold Nolichucky + Jack overnight. Tipton feared a riot; and it was decided to send the + prisoner for incarceration and trial to Morgantown in North Carolina, just + over the hills. + </p> + <p> + Tipton did not accompany the guards he sent with Sevier. It was stated and + commonly believed that he had given instructions of which the honorable + men among his friends were ignorant. When the party entered the mountains, + two of the guards were to lag behind with the prisoner, till the others + were out of sight on the twisting trail. Then one of the two was to kill + Sevier and assert that he had done it because Sevier had attempted to + escape. It fell out almost as planned, except that the other guard warned + Sevier of the fate in store for him and gave him a chance to flee. In + plunging down the mountain, Sevier's horse was entangled in a thicket. The + would-be murderer overtook him and fired; but here again fate had + interposed for her favorite. The ball had dropped out of the assassin's + pistol. So Sevier reached Morgantown in safety and was deposited in care + of the sheriff, who was doubtless cautioned to take a good look at the + prisoner and know him for a dangerous and a daring man. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span> + There is a story to the effect that, when Sevier was arraigned in the + courthouse at Morgantown and presently dashed through the door and away on + a racer that had been brought up by some of his friends, among those who + witnessed the proceedings was a young Ulster Scot named Andrew Jackson; + and that on this occasion these two men, later to become foes, first saw + each other. Jackson may have been in Morgantown at the time, though this + is disputed; but the rest of the tale is pure legend invented by some one + whose love of the spectacular led him far from the facts. The facts are + less theatrical but much more dramatic. Sevier was not arraigned at all, + for no court was sitting in Morgantown at the time. ¹ The sheriff to + whom he was delivered did not need to look twice at him to know him for a + daring man. He had served with him at King's Mountain. He struck off his + handcuffs and set him at liberty at once. Perhaps he also notified General + Charles McDowell at his home in Quaker Meadows of the presence of a + distinguished guest in Burke County, for McDowell and his brother Joseph, + another officer of militia, quickly appeared and went on Sevier's bond. + Nolichucky Jack was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> + presently holding a court of his own in the tavern, with North Carolina's + men at arms—as many as were within call—drinking his health. + So his sons and a company of his Wataugans found him, when they rode into + Morgantown to give evidence in his behalf—with their rifles. Since + none now disputed the way with him, Sevier turned homeward with his + cavalcade, McDowell and his men accompanying him as far as the pass in the + hills. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_244-1" name="footer_244-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_244">¹</a> + Statement by John Sevier, Junior, in the + Draper MSS., quoted by Turner, <i>Life of General John Sevier,</i> p. 182. + </p> + </div> + <p> + No further attempt was made to try John Sevier for treason, either west or + east of the mountains. In November, however, the Assembly passed the + Pardon Act, and thereby granted absolution to every one who had been + associated with the State of Franklin, <em>except John Sevier</em>. In a + clause said to have been introduced by Tipton, now a senator, or suggested + by him, John Sevier was debarred forever from “the enjoyment of any + office of profit or honor or trust in the State of North Carolina.” + </p> + <p> + The overhill men in Greene County took due note of the Assembly's fiat and + at the next election sent Sevier to the North Carolina Senate. Nolichucky + Jack, whose demeanor was never so decorous as when the ill-considered + actions of those in authority had made him appear to have circumvented the + law, considerately waited outside until + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span> + the House had lifted the ban—which + it did perforce and by a large majority, despite Tipton's opposition—and + then took his seat on the senatorial bench beside his enemy. The records + show that he was reinstated as Brigadier General of the Western Counties + and also appointed at the head of the Committee on Indian Affairs. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Not only in the region about Watauga did the pioneers of Tennessee endure + the throes of danger and strife during these years. The little settlements + on the Cumberland, which were scattered over a short distance of about + twenty-five or thirty miles and had a frontier line of two hundred miles, + were terribly afflicted. Their nearest white neighbors among the Kentucky + settlers were one hundred and fifty miles away; and through the cruelest + years these could render no aid—could not, indeed, hold their own + stations. The Kentuckians, as we have seen, were bottled up in Harrodsburg + and Boonesborough; and, while the northern Indians led by Girty and + Dequindre darkened the Bloody Ground anew, the Cumberlanders were making a + desperate stand against the Chickasaws and the Creeks. So terrible was + their situation that panic took hold on them, and they would have + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> fled but + for the influence of Robertson. He may have put the question to them in + the biblical words, “Whither shall I flee?” For they were surrounded, + and those who did attempt to escape were “weighed on the path and made + light.” Robertson knew that their only chance of survival was to stand + their ground. The greater risks he was willing to take in person, for it + was he who made trips to Boonesborough and Harrodsburg for a share of the + powder and lead which John Sevier was sending into Kentucky from time to + time. In the stress of conflict Robertson bore his full share of grief, + for his two elder sons and his brother fell. He himself was often near to + death. One day he was cut off in the fields and was shot in the foot as he + ran, yet he managed to reach shelter. There is a story that, in an attack + during one of his absences, the Indians forced the outer gate of the fort + and Mrs. Robertson went out of her cabin, firing, and let loose a band of + the savage dogs which the settlers kept for their protection, and so drove + out the invaders. + </p> + <p> + The Chickasaws were loyal to the treaty they had made with the British in + the early days of James Adair's association with them. They were friends + to England's friends and foes to her foes. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span> + While they resented the new + settlements made on land they considered theirs, they signed a peace with + Robertson at the conclusion of the War of Independence. They kept their + word with him as they had kept it with the British. Furthermore, their + chief, Opimingo or the Mountain Leader, gave Robertson his assistance + against the Creeks and the Choctaws and, in so far as he understood its + workings, informed him of the new Spanish and French conspiracy, which we + now come to consider. So once again the Chickasaws were servants of + destiny to the English-speaking race, for again they drove the wedge of + their honor into an Indian solidarity welded with European gold. + </p> + <p> + Since it was generally believed at that date that the tribes were + instigated to war by the British and supplied by them with their + ammunition, savage inroads were expected to cease with the signing of + peace. But Indian warfare not only continued; it increased. In the last + two years of the Revolution, when the British were driven from the Back + Country of the Carolinas and could no longer reach the tribes with + consignments of firearms and powder, it should have been evident that the + Indians had other sources of supply and other allies, for they lacked + nothing which could aid + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> + them in their efforts to exterminate the + settlers of Tennessee. + </p> + <p> + Neither France nor Spain wished to see an English-speaking republic based + on ideals of democracy successfully established in America. Though in the + Revolutionary War, France was a close ally of the Americans and Spain + something more than a nominal one, the secret diplomacy of the courts of + the Bourbon cousins ill matched with their open professions. Both cousins + hated England. The American colonies, smarting under injustice, had + offered a field for their revenge. But hatred of England was not the only + reason why activities had been set afoot to increase the discord which + should finally separate the colonies from Great Britain and leave the + destiny of the colonies to be decided by the House of Bourbon. Spain saw + in the Americans, with their English modes of thought, a menace to her + authority in her own colonies on both the northern and southern + continents. This menace would not be stilled but augmented if the colonies + should be established as a republic. Such an example might be too readily + followed. Though France had, by a secret treaty in 1762, made over to + Spain the province of Louisiana, she was not unmindful of the Bourbon + motto, “He who attacks + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> + the Crown of one attacks the other.” And + she saw her chance to deal a crippling blow at England's prestige and + commerce. + </p> + <p> + In 1764, the French Minister, Choiseul, had sent a secret agent, named + Pontleroy, to America to assist in making trouble and to watch for any + signs that might be turned to the advantage of <i>les duex couronnes</i>. + Evidently Pontleroy's reports were encouraging for, in 1768, Johann Kalb—the + same Kalb who fell at Camden in 1780—arrived in Philadelphia to + enlarge the good work. He was not only, like several of the foreign + officers in the War of Independence, a spy for his Government, but he was + also the special emissary of one Comte de Broglie who, after the colonies + had broken with the mother country, was to put himself at the head of + American affairs. This Broglie had been for years one of Louis XV's chief + agents in subterranean diplomacy, and it is not to be supposed that he was + going to attempt the stupendous task of controlling America's destiny + without substantial backing. Spain had been advised meanwhile to rule her + new Louisiana territory with great liberality—in fact, to let it + shine as a republic before the yearning eyes of the oppressed Americans, + so that the English colonists would arise and cast off + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> + their + fetters. Once the colonies had freed themselves from England's protecting + arm, it would be a simple matter for the Bourbons to gather them in like + so many little lost chicks from a rainy yard. The intrigants of autocratic + systems have never been able to understand that the urge of the spirit of + independence in men is not primarily to break shackles but to <em>stand + alone</em> and that the breaking of bonds is incidental to the true + demonstration of freedom. The Bourbons and their agents were no more nor + less blind to the great principle stirring the hearts of men in their day + than were the Prussianized hosts over a hundred years later who, having + themselves no acquaintance with the law of liberty, could not foresee that + half a world would rise in arms to maintain that law. + </p> + <p> + When the War of Independence had ended, the French Minister, Vergennes, + and the Spanish Minister, Floridablanca, secretly worked in unison to + prevent England's recognition of the new republic; and Floridablanca in + 1782 even offered to assist England if she would make further efforts to + subdue her “rebel subjects.” Both Latin powers had their own axes to + grind, and America was to tend the grindstone. France looked for recovery + of her old prestige in Europe and expected to supersede + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> + England in + commerce. She would do this, in the beginning, chiefly through control of + America and of America's commerce. Vergennes therefore sought not only to + dictate the final terms of peace but also to say what the American + commissioners should and should not demand. Of the latter gentlemen he + said that they possessed <i>caractères peu maniables!</i> In + writing to Luzerne, the French Ambassador in Philadelphia, on October 14, + 1782, Vergennes said: “it behooves us to leave them [the American + commissioners] to their illusions, to do everything that can make them + fancy that we share them, and undertake only to defeat any attempts to + which those illusions might carry them if our coöperation is + required.” Among these “illusions” were America's desires in + regard to the fisheries and to the western territory. Concerning the West, + Vergennes had written to Luzerne, as early as July 18, 1780: “At the + moment when the revolution broke out, the limits of the Thirteen States + did not reach the River [Mississippi] and it would be absurd for them to + claim the rights of England, a power whose rule they had abjured.” By + the secret treaty with Spain, furthermore, France had agreed to continue + the war until Gibraltar should be taken, and—if the British + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> should be + driven from Newfoundland—to share the fisheries only with Spain, and + to support Spain in demanding that the Thirteen States renounce all + territory west of the Alleghanies. The American States must by no means + achieve a genuine independence but must feel the need of sureties, allies, + and protection. ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_252-1" name="footer_252-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_252">¹</a> + See John Jay, <i>On the Peace Negotiations of + 1782-1783 as Illustrated by the Secret Correspondence of France and + England,</i> New York, 1888. + </p> + </div> + <p> + So intent was Vergennes on these aims that he sent a secret emissary to + England to further them there. This act of his perhaps gave the first + inkling to the English statesmen ² that American and French desires + were not identical and hastened England's recognition of American + independence and her agreement to American demands in regard to the + western territory. When, to his amazement, Vergennes learned that England + had acceded to all America's demands, he said that England had “bought + the peace” rather than made it. The policy of Vergennes in regard to + America was not unjustly pronounced by a later French statesman “<em>a + vile speculation</em>” + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_252-2" name="footer_252-2"></a> + <a href="#Page_252">²</a> + “Your Lordship was well founded in your + suspicion that the granting of independence to America as a previous + measure is a point which the French have by no means at heart and perhaps + are entirely averse from.” Letter from Fitzherbert to Grantham, + September 3, 1782. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> + Through England's unexpected action, then, the Bourbon cousins had forever + lost their opportunity to dominate the young but spent and war-weakened + Republic, or to use America as a catspaw to snatch English commerce for + France. It was plain, too, that any frank move of the sort would range the + English alongside of their American kinsmen. Since American Independence + was an accomplished fact and therefore could no longer be prevented, the + present object of the Bourbon cousins was to restrict it. The Appalachian + Mountains should be the western limits of the new nation. Therefore the + settlements in Kentucky and Tennessee must be broken up, or the settlers + must be induced to secede from the Union and raise the Spanish banner. The + latter alternative was held to be preferable. To bring it about the same + methods were to be continued which had been used prior to and during the + war—namely, the use of <i>agents provocateurs</i> to corrupt the + ignorant and incite the lawless, the instigation of Indian massacres to + daunt the brave, and the distribution of gold to buy the avaricious. + </p> + <p> + As her final and supreme means of coercion, Spain refused to America the + right of navigation on the Mississippi and so deprived the Westerners + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span> of a + market for their produce. The Northern States, having no immediate use for + the Mississippi, were willing to placate Spain by acknowledging her + monopoly of the great waterway. But Virginia and North Carolina were + determined that America should not, by congressional enactment, surrender + her “natural right”; and they cited the proposed legislation as their + reason for refusing to ratify the Constitution. “The act which abandons + it [the right of navigation] is an act of separation between the eastern + and western country,” Jefferson realized at last. “An act of + separation”—that point had long been very clear to the Latin + sachems of the Mississippi Valley! + </p> + <p> + Bounded as they were on one side by the precipitous mountains and on the + other by the southward flow of the Mississippi and its tributary, the + Ohio, the trappers and growers of corn in Kentucky and western Tennessee + regarded New Orleans as their logical market, as the wide waters were + their natural route. If market and route were to be closed to them, their + commercial advancement was something less than a dream. + </p> + <p> + In 1785, Don Estevan Miró, a gentleman of artful and winning + address, became Governor of Louisiana and fountainhead of the propaganda. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span> He + wrote benign and brotherly epistles to James Robertson of the Cumberland + and to His Excellency of Franklin, suggesting that to be of service to + them was his dearest aim in life; and at the same time he kept the + southern Indians continually on the warpath. When Robertson wrote to him + of the Creek and Cherokee depredations, with a hint that the Spanish might + have some responsibility in the matter, Miró replied by offering + the Cumberlander a safe home on Spanish territory with freedom of religion + and no taxes. He disclaimed stirring up the Indians. He had, in fact, + advised Mr. McGillivray, chief of the Creeks, to make peace. He would try + again what he could do with Mr. McGillivray. As to the Cherokees, they + resided in a very distant territory and he was not acquainted with them; + he might have added that he did not need to be: his friend McGillivray was + the potent personality among the Southern tribes. + </p> + <p> + In Alexander McGillivray, Miró found a weapon fashioned to his + hand. If the Creek chieftain's figure might stand as the symbol of + treachery, it is none the less one of the most picturesque and pathetic in + our early annals. McGillivray, it will be remembered, was the son of + Adair's friend Lachlan McGillivray, the trader, and a Creek woman whose + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span> sire + had been a French officer. A brilliant and beautiful youth, he had given + his father a pride in him which is generally denied to the fathers of sons + with Indian blood in them. The Highland trader had spared nothing in his + son's education and had placed him, after his school days, in the business + office of the large trading establishment of which he himself was a + member. At about the age of seventeen Alexander had become a chieftain in + his mother's nation; and doubtless it is he who appears shortly afterwards + in the Colonial Records as the White Leader whose influence is seen to + have been at work for friendship between the colonists and the tribes. + When the Revolutionary War broke out, Lachlan McGillivray, like many of + the old traders who had served British interests so long and so + faithfully, held to the British cause. Georgia confiscated all his + property and Lachlan fled to Scotland. For this, his son hated the people + of Georgia with a perfect hatred. He remembered how often his father's + courage alone had stood between those same people and the warlike Creeks. + He could recall the few days in 1760 when Lachlan and his fellow trader, + Galphin, at the risk of their lives had braved the Creek warriors—already + painted for war and on the march—and so had + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span> + saved the settlements of the + Back Country from extermination. He looked upon the men of Georgia as an + Indian regards those who forget either a blood gift or a blood vengeance. + And he embraced the whole American nation in his hatred for their sakes. + </p> + <p> + In 1776 Alexander McGillivray was in his early thirties—the exact + date of his birth is uncertain. ¹ He had, we are told, the tall, + sturdy, but spare physique of the Gael, with a countenance of Indian color + though not of Indian cast. His overhanging brows made more striking his + very large and luminous dark eyes. He bore himself with great dignity; his + voice was soft, his manner gentle. He might have been supposed to be some + Latin courtier but for the barbaric display of his dress and his + ornaments. He possessed extraordinary personal magnetism, and his power + extended beyond the Creek nation to the Choctaws and Chickasaws and the + Southern Cherokees. He had long been wooed by the Louisiana authorities, + but there is no evidence that he had made alliance with them prior to the + Revolution. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_257-1" name="footer_257-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_257">¹</a> + Probably about 1741 or 1742. Some writers give + 1739 and others 1746. His father landed in Charleston, Pickett (<i>History + of Alabama</i>) says, in 1735, and was then only sixteen. + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span> + Early in the war he joined the British, received a colonel's commission, + and led his formidable Creeks against the people of Georgia. When the + British were driven from the Back Countries, McGillivray, in his British + uniform, went on with the war. When the British made peace, McGillivray + exchanged his British uniform for a Spanish one and went on with the war. + In later days, when he had forced Congress to pay him for his father's + confiscated property and had made peace, he wore the uniform of an + American Brigadier General; but he did not keep the peace, never having + intended to keep it. It was not until he had seen the Spanish plots + collapse and had realized that the Americans were to dominate the land, + that the White Leader ceased from war and urged the youths of his tribe to + adopt American civilization. + </p> + <p> + Spent from hate and wasted with dissipation, he retired at last to the + spot where Lachlan had set up his first Creek home. Here he lived his few + remaining days in a house which he built on the site of the old ruined + cabin about which still stood the little grove of apple trees his father + had planted. He died at the age of fifty of a fever contracted while he + was on a business errand in Pensacola. Among those who visited him in his + last years, one + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span> + has left this description of him: “Dissipation has sapped a constitution + originally delicate and feeble. He possesses an atticism of diction aided + by a liberal education, a great fund of wit and humor meliorated by a + perfect good nature and politeness.” Set beside that kindly picture + this rough etching by James Robertson: “The biggest devil among them + [the Spaniards] is the half Spaniard, half Frenchman, half Scotchman and + altogether Creek scoundrel, McGillivray.” + </p> + <p> + How indefatigably McGillivray did his work we know from the bloody annals + of the years which followed the British-American peace, when the men of + the Cumberland and of Franklin were on the defensive continually. How + cleverly Miró played his personal rôle we discover in the + letters addressed to him by Sevier and Robertson. These letters show that, + as far as words go at any rate, the founders of Tennessee were willing to + negotiate with Spain. In a letter dated September 12, 1788, Sevier offered + himself and his tottering State of Franklin to the Spanish King. This + offer may have been made to gain a respite, or it may have been genuine. + The situation in the Tennessee settlements was truly desperate, for + neither North Carolina nor Congress apparently cared in the least + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span> what + befell them or how soon. North Carolina indeed was in an anomalous + position, as she had not yet ratified the Federal Constitution. If + Franklin went out of existence and the territory which it included became + again part of North Carolina, Sevier knew that a large part of the newly + settled country would, under North Carolina's treaties, revert to the + Indians. That meant ruin to large numbers of those who had put their faith + in his star, or else it meant renewed conflict either with the Indians or + with the parent State. The probabilities aria that Sevier hoped to play + the Spaniards against the Easterners who, even while denying the + Westerners' contention that the mountains were a “natural” barrier + between them, were making of them a barrier of indifference. It would seem + so, because, although this was the very aim of all Miró's + activities so that, had he been assured of the sincerity of the offer, he + must have grasped at it, yet nothing definite was done. And Sevier was + presently informing Shelby, now in Kentucky, that there was a Spanish plot + afoot to seize the western country. + </p> + <p> + Miró had other agents besides McGillivray—who, by the way, + was costing Spain, for his own services and those of four tribes + aggregating over + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span> + six thousand warriors, a sum of fifty-five thousand dollars a year. + McGillivray did very well as superintendent of massacres; but the Spaniard + required a different type of man, an American who enjoyed his country's + trust, to bring the larger plan to fruition. Miró found that man in + General James Wilkinson, lately of the Continental Army and now a resident + of Kentucky, which territory Wilkinson undertook to deliver to Spain, for + a price. In 1787 Wilkinson secretly took the oath of allegiance to Spain + and is listed in the files of the Spanish secret service, appropriately, + as “Number Thirteen.” He was indeed the thirteenth at table, the + Judas at the feast. Somewhat under middle height, Wilkinson was handsome, + graceful, and remarkably magnetic. Of a good, if rather impoverished, + Maryland family, he was well educated and widely read for the times. With + a brilliant and versatile intellectuality and ready gifts as a speaker, he + swayed men easily. He was a bold soldier and was endowed with physical + courage, though when engaged in personal contests he seldom exerted it—preferring + the red tongue of slander or the hired assassin's shot from behind cover. + His record fails to disclose one commendable trait. He was inordinately + avaricious, but + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span> + love of money was not his whole motive force: he had a spirit so jealous + and malignant that he hated to the death another man's good. He seemed to + divine instantly wherein other men were weak and to understand the + speediest and best means of suborning them to his own interests—or + of destroying them. + </p> + <p> + Wilkinson was able to lure a number of Kentuckians into the separatist + movement. George Rogers Clark seriously disturbed the arch plotter by + seizing a Spanish trader's store wherewith to pay his soldiers, whom + Virginia had omitted to recompense. This act aroused the suspicions of the + Spanish, either as to Number Thirteen's perfect loyalty or as to his + ability to deliver the western country. In 1786, when Clark led two + thousand men against the Ohio Indians in his last and his only + unsuccessful campaign, Wilkinson had already settled himself near the + Falls (Louisville) and had looked about for mischief which he might do for + profit. Whether his influence had anything to do with what amounted + virtually to a mutiny among Clark's forces is not ascertainable; but, for + a disinterested onlooker, he was overswift to spread the news of Clark's + debacle and to declare gleefully that Clark's sun of military glory had + now forever + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span> + set. It is also known that he later served other generals treacherously in + Indian expeditions and that he intrigued with Mad Anthony Wayne's Kentucky + troops against their commander. + </p> + <p> + Spain did not wish to see the Indians crushed; and Wilkinson himself both + hated and feared any other officer's prestige. How long he had been in + foreign pay we can only conjecture, for, several years before he + transplanted his activities to Kentucky, he had been one of a cabal + against Washington. Not only his ambitions but his nature must inevitably + have brought him to the death-battle with George Rogers Clark. As a + military leader, Clark had genius, and soldiering was his passion. In + nature, he was open, frank, and bold to make foes if he scorned a man's + way as ignoble or dishonest. Wilkinson suavely set about scheming for + Clark's ruin. His communication or memorial to the Virginia Assembly—signed + by himself and a number of his friends—villifying Clark, ended + Clark's chances for the commission in the Continental Army which he + craved. It was Wilkinson who made public an incriminating letter which had + Clark's signature attached and which Clark said he had never seen. It is + to be supposed that Number Thirteen was responsible also for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span> + the + malevolent anonymous letter accusing Clark of drunkenness and scheming + which, so strangely, found its way into the Calendar of State Papers of + Virginia. ¹ As a result, Clark was censured by Virginia. Thereupon he + petitioned for a Court of Inquiry, but this was not granted. Wilkinson had + to get rid of Clark; for if Clark, with his military gifts and his power + over men, had been elevated to a position of command under the smile of + the Government, there would have been small opportunity for James + Wilkinson to lead the Kentuckians and to gather in Spanish gold. So the + machinations of one of the vilest traitors who ever sold his country were + employed to bring about the stultification and hence the downfall of a + great servant. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_264-1" name="footer_264-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_264">¹</a> + See Thomas M. Greene's <i>The Spanish + Conspiracy,</i> p. 72, footnote. It is possible that Wilkinson's intrigues + provide data for a new biography of Clark which may recast in some measure + the accepted view of Clark at this period. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Wilkinson's chief aids were the Irishmen, O'Fallon, Nolan, and Powers. + Through Nolan, he also vended Spanish secrets. He sold, indeed, whatever + and whomever he could get his price for. So clever was he that he escaped + detection, though he was obliged to remove some suspicions. He succeeded + Wayne as commander of the regular army in 1796. He was one of the + commissioners + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span> + to receive Louisiana when the Purchase was arranged in 1803. He was still + on the Spanish pay roll at that time. Wilkinson's true record came to + light only when the Spanish archives were opened to investigators. + </p> + <p> + There were British agents also in the Old Southwest, for the + dissatisfaction of the Western men inspired in Englishmen the hope of + recovering the Mississippi Basin. Lord Dorchester, Governor of Canada, + wrote to the British Government that he had been approached by important + Westerners; but he received advice from England to move slowly. For + complicity in the British schemes, William Blount, who was first + territorial Governor of Tennessee and later a senator from that State, was + expelled from the Senate. + </p> + <p> + Surely there was never a more elaborate network of plots that came to + nothing! The concession to Americans in 1796 of the right of navigation on + the Mississippi brought an end to the scheming. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + In the same year Tennessee was admitted to the Union, and John Sevier was + elected Governor. Sevier's popularity was undiminished, though there were + at this time some sixty thousand souls in Tennessee, many of whom were + late comers who + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span> + had not known him in his heyday. His old power to win men to him must have + been as strong as ever, for it is recorded that he had only to enter a + political meeting—no matter whose—for the crowd to cheer him + and shout for him to “give them a talk.” + </p> + <p> + This adulation of Sevier still annoyed a few men who had ambitions of + their own. Among these was Andrew Jackson, who had come to Jonesborough in + 1788, just after the collapse of the State of Franklin. He was twenty-one + at that time, and he is said to have entered Jonesborough riding a fine + racer and leading another, with a pack of hunting dogs baying or nosing + along after him. A court record dated May 12, 1788, avers that “Andrew + Jackson, Esq. came into Court and produced a licence as an Attorney With A + Certificate sufficiently Attested of his Taking the Oath Necessary to said + office and Was admitted to Practiss as an Attorney in the County Courts.” + Jackson made no history in old Watauga during that year. Next year he + moved to Nashville, and one year later, when the Superior Court was + established (1790), he became prosecuting attorney. + </p> + <p> + The feud between Jackson and Sevier began about the time that Tennessee + entered the Union. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span> + Jackson, then twenty-nine, was defeated for the post of Major General of + the Militia through the influence which Sevier exercised against him, and + it seems that Jackson never forgave this opposition to his ambitions. By + the close of Sevier's third term, however, in 1802, when Archibald Roane + became Governor, the post of Major General was again vacant. Both Sevier + and Jackson offered themselves for it, and Jackson was elected by the + deciding vote of the Governor, the military vote having resulted in a tie. + A strong current of influence had now set in against Sevier and involved + charges against his honor. His old enemy Tipton was still active. The + basis of the charges was a file of papers from the entry-taker's office + which a friend of Tipton's had laid before the Governor, with an affidavit + to the effect that the papers were fraudulent. Both the Governor and + Jackson believed the charges. When we consider what system or lack of + system of land laws and land entries obtained in Watauga and such + primitive communities—when a patch of corn sealed a right and claims + were made by notching trees with tomahawks—we may imagine that a + file from the land office might appear easily enough to smirch a + landholder's integrity. The scandal was, of course, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span> + used in an attempt to ruin + Sevier's candidacy for a fourth term as Governor and to make certain + Roane's reëlection. To this end Jackson bent all his energies but + without success. Nolichucky Jack was elected, for the fourth time, as + Governor of Tennessee. + </p> + <p> + Not long after his inauguration, Sevier met Jackson in Knoxville, where + Jackson was holding court. The charges against Sevier were then being made + the subject of legislative investigation instituted by Tipton, and Jackson + had published a letter in the Knoxville <i>Gazette</i> supporting them. At + the sight of Jackson, Sevier flew into a rage, and a fiery altercation + ensued. The two men were only restrained from leaping on each other by the + intervention of friends. The next day Jackson sent Sevier a challenge + which Sevier accepted, but with the stipulation that the duel take place + outside the State. Jackson insisted on fighting in Knoxville, where the + insult had been offered. Sevier refused. “I have some respect,” he + wrote, “for the laws of the State over which I have the honor to + preside, although you, a judge, appear to have none.” No duel followed; + but, after some further <i>billets-doux</i>, Jackson published Sevier as + “a base coward and poltroon. He will basely insult but has not + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span> the + courage to repair the wound.” Again they met, by accident, and Jackson + rushed upon Sevier with his cane. Sevier dismounted and drew his pistol + but made no move to fire. Jackson, thereupon, also drew his weapon. Once + more friends interfered. It is presumable that neither really desired the + duel. By killing Nolichucky Jack, Jackson would have ended his own career + in Tennessee—if Sevier's tribe of sons had not, by a swifter means, + ended it for him. At this date Jackson was thirty-six. Sevier was + fifty-eight; and he had seventeen children. + </p> + <p> + The charges against Sevier, though pressed with all the force that his + enemies could bring to bear, came to nothing. He remained the Governor of + Tennessee for another six years—the three terms in eight years + allowed by the constitution. In 1811 he was sent to Congress for the + second time, as he had represented the Territory there twenty years + earlier. He was returned again in 1813. At the conclusion of his term in + 1815 he went into the Creek country as commissioner to determine the Creek + boundaries, and here, far from his Bonnie Kate and his tribe, he died of + fever at the age of seventy. His body was buried with full military honors + at Tuckabatchee, one of the Creek towns. In 1889, Sevier's <span + class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span> remains + were removed to Knoxville and a high marble spire was raised above them. + </p> + <p> + His Indian enemies forgave the chastisement he had inflicted on them and + honored him. In times of peace they would come to him frequently for + advice. And in his latter days, the chiefs would make state visits to his + home on the Nolichucky River. “John Sevier is a good man”—so + declared the Cherokee, Old Tassel, making himself the spokesman of + history. + </p> + <p> + Sevier had survived his old friend, co-founder with him of Watauga, by one + year. James Robertson had died in 1814 at the age of seventy-two, among + the Chickasaws, and his body, like that of his fellow pioneer, was buried + in an Indian town and lay there until 1825, when it was removed to + Nashville. + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + What of the red tribes who had fought these great pioneers for the wide + land of the Old Southwest and who in the end had received their dust and + treasured it with honor in the little soil remaining to them? Always the + new boundary lines drew closer in, and the red men's foothold narrowed + before the pushing tread of the whites. The day came soon when there was + no longer room for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span> + them in the land of their fathers. But far off across the great river + there was a land the white men did not covet yet. Thither at last the + tribes—Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek—took their way. + With wives and children, maids and youths, the old and the young, with all + their goods, their cattle and horses, in the company of a regiment of + American troops, they—like the white men who had superseded them—turned + westward. In their faces also was the red color of the west, but not newly + there. From the beginning of their race, Destiny had painted them with the + hue of the brief hour of the dying sun. + </p> + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Chapter11" id="Chapter11"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">CHAPTER XI.</a> + </h2> + <p class="chaptertitle">Boone's Last Days</p> + + + <p class="noindent"> + <span class="smcap">One</span> spring day in 1799, there might have been + observed a great stir through the valley of the Kanawha. With the dawn, + men were ahorse, and women, too. Wagons crowded with human freight wheeled + over the rough country, and boats, large and small, were afloat on the + streams which pour into the Great Kanawha and at length mingle with the + Ohio at Point Pleasant, where the battle was fought which opened the gates + of Kentucky. + </p> + <p> + Some of the travelers poured into the little settlement at the junction of + the Elk and the Kanawha, where Charleston now lies. Others, who had been + later in starting or had come from a greater distance, gathered along the + banks of the Kanawha. At last shouts from those stationed farthest up the + stream echoed down the valley and told the rest that what they had come + out to see was at hand. + </p> + <p> + Several pirogues drifted into view on the river, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span> + now brightening in the + sunshine. In the vessels were men and their families; bales and bundles + and pieces of household furnishings, heaped to the gunwale; a few cattle + and horses standing patiently. But it was for one man above all that the + eager eyes of the settlers were watching, and him they saw clearly as his + boat swung by—a tall figure, erect and powerful, his keen friendly + blue eyes undimmed and his ruddy face unlined by time, though sixty-five + winters had frosted his black hair. + </p> + <p> + For a decade these settlers had known Daniel Boone, as storekeeper, as + surveyor, as guide and soldier. They had eaten of the game he killed and + lavishly distributed. And they too—like the folk of Clinch Valley in + the year of Dunmore's War—had petitioned Virginia to bestow military + rank upon their protector. “Lieutenant Colonel” had been his title + among them, by their demand. Once indeed he had represented them in the + Virginia Assembly and, for that purpose, trudged to Richmond with rifle + and hunting dog. Not interested in the Legislature's proceedings, he left + early in the session and tramped home again. + </p> + <p> + But not even the esteem of friends and neighbors could hold the great + hunter when the deer had fled. So Daniel Boone was now on his way westward + to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span> + Missouri, to a new land of fabled herds and wide spaces, where the + hunter's gun might speak its one word with authority and where the soul of + a silent and fearless man might find its true abode in Nature's solitude. + Waving his last farewells, he floated past the little groups—till + their shouts of good will were long silenced, and his fleet swung out upon + the Ohio. + </p> + <p> + As Boone sailed on down the Beautiful River which forms the northern + boundary of Kentucky, old friends and newcomers who had only heard his + fame rode from far and near to greet and godspeed him on his way. + Sometimes he paused for a day with them. Once at least—this was in + Cincinnati where he was taking on supplies—some one asked him why, + at his age, he was leaving the settled country to dare the frontier once + more. + </p> + <p> + “Too crowded,” he answered; “I want more elbow-room!” + </p> + <p> + Boone settled at the Femme Osage Creek on the Missouri River, twenty-five + miles above St. Charles, where the Missouri flows into the Mississippi. + There were four other Kentucky families at La Charette, as the French + inhabitants called the post, but these were the only Americans. The + Spanish authorities granted Boone 840 acres of land, and here Daniel + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span> built the + last cabin home he was to erect for himself and his Rebecca. + </p> + <p> + The region pleased him immensely. The governmental system, for instance, + was wholly to his mind. Taxes were infinitesimal. There were no elections, + assemblies, or the like. A single magistrate, or Syndic, decided all + disputes and made the few regulations and enforced them. There were no + land speculators, no dry-mouthed sons of the commercial Tantalus, athirst + for profits. Boone used to say that his first years in Missouri were the + happiest of his life, with the exception of his first long hunt in + Kentucky. + </p> + <p> + In 1800 he was appointed Syndic of the district of Femme Osage, which + office he filled for four years, until Louisiana became American + territory. He was held in high esteem as a magistrate because of his just + and wise treatment of his flock, who brought him all their small + bickerings to settle. He had no use for legal procedure, would not listen + to any nice subtleties, saying that he did not care anything at all about + the <em>evidence</em>, what he wanted was the <em>truth</em>. His favorite + penalty for offenders was the hickory rod “well laid on.” Often he + decided that both parties in a suit were equally to blame and chastised + them both alike. When in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">276</a></span> + March, 1804, the American Commissioner + received Louisiana for the United States, Delassus, Lieutenant Governor of + Upper Louisiana, reporting on the various officials in the territory, + wrote of the Femme Osage Syndic: “Mr. Boone, a respectable old man, just + and impartial, he has already, since I appointed him, offered his + resignation owing to his infirmities. Believing I know his probity, I have + induced him to remain, in view of my confidence in him, for the public + good.” ¹ + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_276-1" name="footer_276-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_276">¹</a> + Thwaites, <i>Daniel Boone.</i> To this and other + biographies of Boone, cited in the Bibliographical Note at the end of this + volume, the author is indebted for the material contained in this chapter. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Daniel, no doubt supposing that a Syndic's rights were inviolable, had + neglected to apply to the Governor at New Orleans for a ratification of + his grant. He was therefore dispossessed. Not until 1810, and after he had + enlisted the Kentucky Legislature in his behalf, did he succeed in + inducing Congress to restore his land. The Kentucky Legislature's + resolution was adopted because of “the many eminent services rendered by + Colonel Boone in exploring and settling the western country, from which + great advantages have resulted not only to the State but to the country in + general, and that from circumstances over which he had no + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">277</a></span> control he + is now reduced to poverty; not having so far as appears an acre of land + out of the vast territory he has been a great instrument in peopling.” + Daniel was seventy-six then; so it was late in the day for him to have his + first experience of justice in the matter of land. Perhaps it pleased him, + however, to hear that, in confirming his grant, Congress had designated + him as “the man who has opened the way for millions of his fellow-men.” + </p> + <p> + The “infirmities” which had caused the good Syndic to seek relief + from political cares must have been purely magisterial. The hunter could + have been very little affected by them, for as soon as he was freed from + his duties Boone took up again the silent challenge of the forest. Usually + one or two of his sons or his son-in-law, Flanders Calloway, accompanied + him, but sometimes his only companions were an old Indian and his hunting + dog. On one of his hunting trips he explored a part of Kansas; and in + 1814, when he was eighty, he hunted big game in the Yellowstone where + again his heart rejoiced over great herds as in the days of his first lone + wanderings in the Blue Grass country. At last, with the proceeds of these + expeditions he was able to pay the debts he had left behind in Kentucky + thirty years before. The story runs that + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">278</a></span> + Daniel had only fifty cents + remaining when all the claims had been settled, but so contented was he to + be able to look an honest man in the face that he was in no disposition to + murmur over his poverty. + </p> + <p> + When after a long and happy life his wife died in 1813, Boone lived with + one or other of his sons ¹ and sometimes with Flanders Calloway. + Nathan Boone, with whom Daniel chiefly made his home, built what is said + to have been the first stone house in Missouri. Evidently the old pioneer + disapproved of stone houses and of the “luxuries” in furnishings + which were then becoming possible to the new generation, for one of his + biographers speaks of visiting him in a log addition to his son's house; + and when Chester Harding, the painter, visited him in 1819 for the purpose + of doing his portrait, he found Boone dwelling in a small log cabin in + Nathan's yard. When Harding entered, Boone was broiling a venison steak on + the end of his ramrod. During the sitting, one day, Harding + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">279</a></span> asked + Boone if he had ever been lost in the woods when on his long hunts in the + wilderness. + </p> + <div class="footer"> + <p> + <a id="footer_278-1" name="footer_278-1"></a> + <a href="#Page_278">¹</a> + Boone's son Nathan won distinction in the War + of 1812 and entered the regular army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant + Colonel. Daniel Morgan Boone is said to have been the first settler in + Kansas (1827). One of Daniel's grandsons, bearing the name of Albert + Gallatin Boone, was a pioneer of Colorado and was to the forefront in + Rocky Mountain exploration. Another grandson was the scout, Kit Carson, + who led Frémont to California. + </p> + </div> + <p> + “No, I never got lost,” Boone replied reflectively, + “but I was <em>bewildered</em> + once for three days.” Though now having reached the age of eighty-five, + Daniel was intensely interested in California and was enthusiastic to make + the journey thither next spring and so to flee once more from the + civilization which had crept westward along his path. The resolute + opposition of his sons, however, prevented the attempt. + </p> + <p> + A few men who sought out Boone in his old age have left us brief accounts + of their impressions. Among these was Audubon. “The stature and general + appearance of this wanderer of the western forests,” the naturalist + wrote, “approached the gigantic. His chest was broad, and prominent; his + muscular powers displayed themselves in every limb; his countenance gave + indication of his great courage, enterprise and perseverance; and, when he + spoke, the very motion of his lips brought the impression that whatever he + uttered could not be otherwise than strictly true.” + </p> + <p> + Audubon spent a night under Boone's roof. He related afterwards that the + old hunter, having removed his hunting shirt, spread his blankets on the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">280</a></span> + floor and lay down there to sleep, saying that he found it more + comfortable than a bed. A striking sketch of Boone is contained in a few + lines penned by one of his earliest biographers: “He had what + phrenologists would have considered a model head—with a forehead + peculiarly high, noble and bold, thin compressed lips, a mild clear blue + eye, a large and prominent chin and a general expression of countenance in + which fearlessness and courage sat enthroned and which told the beholder + at a glance what he had been and was formed to be.” In criticizing the + various portraits of Daniel, the same writer says: “They want the high + port and noble daring of his countenance.… Never was old age more + green, or gray hairs more graceful. His high, calm, bold forehead seemed + converted by years into iron.” + </p> + <p> + Although we are indebted to these and other early chroniclers for many + details of Boone's life, there was one event which none of his biographers + has related; yet we know that it must have taken place. Even the bare + indication of it is found only in the narrative of the adventures of two + other explorers. + </p> + <p> + It was in the winter of 1803 that these two men came to Boone's + Settlement, as La Charette was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">281</a></span> + now generally called. They had planned to + make their winter camp there, for in the spring, when the Missouri rose to + the flood, they and their company of frontiersmen were to take their way + up that uncharted stream and over plains and mountains in quest of the + Pacific Ocean. They were refused permission by the Spanish authorities to + camp at Boone's Settlement; so they lay through the winter some forty + miles distant on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, across from the + mouth of the Missouri. Since the records are silent, we are free to + picture as we choose their coming to the settlement during the winter and + again in the spring, for we know that they came. + </p> + <p> + We can imagine, for instance, the stir they made in La Charette on some + sparkling day when the frost bit and the crusty snow sent up a dancing + haze of diamond points. We can see the friendly French <i>habitants</i> + staring after the two young leaders and their men—all mere boys, + though they were also husky, seasoned frontiersmen—with their + bronzed faces of English cast, as in their gayly fringed deerskins they + swaggered through the hamlet to pay their respects to the Syndic. We may + think of that dignitary as smoking his pipe before his fireplace, perhaps; + or making out, in his + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">282</a></span> + fantastic spelling, a record of his primitive + court—for instance, that he had on that day given Pierre a dozen + hickory thwacks, “well laid on,” for starting a brawl with Antoine, + and had bestowed the same upon Antoine for continuing the brawl with + Pierre. A knock at the door would bring the amiable invitation to enter, + and the two young men would step across his threshold, while their + followers crowded about the open door and hailed the old pathfinder. + </p> + <p> + One of the two leaders—the dark slender man with a subtle touch of + the dreamer in his resolute face—was a stranger; but the other, with + the more practical mien and the shock of hair that gave him the name of + Red Head among the tribes, Boone had known as a lad in Kentucky. To Daniel + and this young visitor the encounter would be a simple meeting of friends, + heightened in pleasure and interest somewhat, naturally, by the adventure + in prospect. But to us there is something vast in the thought of Daniel + Boone, on his last frontier, grasping the hands of William Clark and + Meriwether Lewis. + </p> + <p> + As for the rough and hearty mob at the door, Daniel must have known not a + few of them well; though they had been children in the days when + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">283</a></span> he and + William Clark's brother strove for Kentucky. It seems fitting that the + soldiers with this expedition should have come from the garrison at + Kaskaskia; since the taking of that fort in 1778 by George Rogers Clark + had opened the western way from the boundaries of Kentucky to the + Mississippi. And among the young Kentuckians enlisted by William Clark + were sons of the sturdy fighters of still an earlier border line, Clinch + and Holston Valley men who had adventured under another Lewis at Point + Pleasant. Daniel would recognize in these—such as Charles Floyd—the + young kinsmen of his old-time comrades whom he had preserved from + starvation in the Kentucky wilderness by the kill from his rifle as they + made their long march home after Dunmore's War. + </p> + <p> + In May, Lewis and Clark's pirogues ascended the Missouri and the leaders + and men of the expedition spent another day in La Charette. Once again, at + least, Daniel was to watch the westward departure of pioneers. In 1811, + when the Astorians passed, one of their number pointed to the immobile + figure of “an old man on the bank, who, he said, was Daniel Boone.” + </p> + <hr class="break" /> + <p> + Sometimes the aged pioneer's mind cast forward + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">284</a></span> + to his last journey, for + which his advancing years were preparing him. He wrote on the subject to a + sister, in 1816, revealing in a few simple lines that the faith whereby he + had crossed, if not more literally removed, mountains was a fixed star, + and that he looked ahead fearlessly to the dark trail he must tread by its + single gleam. Autumn was tinting the forest and the tang he loved was in + the air when the great hunter passed. The date of Boone's death is given + as September 26, 1820. He was in his eighty-sixth year. Unburdened by the + pangs of disease he went out serenely, by the gentle marches of sleep, + into the new country. + </p> + <p> + The convention for drafting the constitution of Missouri, in session at + St. Louis, adjourned for the day, and for twenty days thereafter the + members wore crape on their arms as a further mark of respect for the + great pioneer. Daniel was laid by Rebecca's side, on the bank of Teugue + Creek, about a mile from the Missouri River. In 1845, the Missouri + legislators hearkened to oft-repeated pleas from Kentucky and surrendered + the remains of the pioneer couple. Their bones lie now in Frankfort, the + capital of the once Dark and Bloody Ground, and in 1880 a monument was + raised over them. + </p> + <p> + To us it seems rather that Kentucky itself is + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">285</a></span> + Boone's monument; even as + those other great corn States, Illinois and Indiana, are Clark's. There, + these two servants unafraid, who sacrificed without measure in the wintry + winds of man's ingratitude, are each year memorialized anew; when the + earth in summer—the season when the red man slaughtered—lifts + up the full grain in the ear, the life-giving corn; and when autumn smiles + in golden peace over the stubble fields, where the reaping and binding + machines have hummed a nation's harvest song. + </p> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="Biblio" id="Biblio"></a> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">287</a></span> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">Bibliographical Note</a> + </h2> + <p><br /></p> + + + <h3> + The Races And Their Migration + </h3> + <p> + C. A. Hanna, <i>The Scotch-Irish,</i> 2 vols. New York, 1902. A very full + if somewhat over-enthusiastic study. + </p> + <p> + H. J. Ford, <i>The Scotch-Irish in America.</i> Princeton, 1915. + Excellent. + </p> + <p> + A. G. Spangenberg, Extracts from his Journal of travels in North Carolina, + 1752. Publication of the Southern History Association. Vol. I, 1897. + </p> + <p> + A. B. Faust, <i>The German Element in the United States,</i> 2 vols. + (1909). + </p> + <p> + J. P. MacLean, <i>An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch + Highlanders in America</i> (1900). + </p> + <p> + S. H. Cobb, <i>The Story of the Palatines</i> (1897). + </p> + <p> + N. D. Mereness (editor), <i>Travels in the American Colonies.</i> New + York, 1916. This collection contains the diary of the Moravian Brethren + cited in the first chapter of the present volume. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3> + Life In The Back Country + </h3> + <p> + Joseph Doddridge, <i>Notes on the Settlements and Indian Wars of the + Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania,</i> from 1763 to 1783. Albany, + 1876. An intimate description of the daily life of the early settlers in + the Back Country by one of themselves. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">288</a></span> J. + F. D. Smyth, <i>Tour in the United States of America,</i> 2 vols. London, + 1784. Minute descriptions of the Back Country and interesting pictures of + the life of the settlers; biased as to political views by Royalist + sympathies. + </p> + <p> + William H. Foote, <i>Sketches of North Carolina,</i> New York, 1846. See + Foote also for history of the first Presbyterian ministers in the Back + Country. As to political history, inaccurate. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3> + Early History And Exploration + </h3> + <p> + J. S. Bassett (editor), <i>The Writings of Colonel William Byrd of + Westover.</i> New York, 1901. A contemporary record of early Virginia. + </p> + <p> + Thomas Walker, <i>Journal of an Exploration in the Spring of the Year + 1750.</i> Boston, 1888. The record of his travels by the discoverer of + Cumberland Gap. + </p> + <p> + William M. Darlington (editor), <i>Christopher Gist's Journals.</i> + Pittsburgh, 1893. Contains Gist's account of his surveys for the Ohio + Company, 1750. + </p> + <p> + C. A. Hanna, <i>The Wilderness Trail,</i> 2 vols. New York, 1911. An + exhaustive work of research, with full accounts of Croghan and Findlay. + See also Croghan's and Johnson's correspondence in vol. VII, New York + Colonial Records. + </p> + <p> + James Adair, <i>The History of the American Indians,</i> etc. London, + 1775. The personal record of a trader who was one of the earliest + explorers of the Alleghanies and of the Mississippi region east of the + river; a many-sided work, intensely interesting. + </p> + <p> + C. W. Alvord, <i>The Genesis of the Proclamation of 1763.</i> Reprinted + from Canadian Archives Report, 1906. A new and authoritative + interpretation. In this connection see also the correspondence between Sir + William <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">289</a></span> + Johnson and the Lords of Trade in vol. VII of New York Colonial Records. + </p> + <p> + Justin Winsor, <i>The Mississippi Basin. The Struggle in America between + England and France.</i> Cambridge, 1895. Presents the results of + exhaustive research and the coördination of facts by an historian of + broad intellect and vision. + </p> + <p> + <i>Colonial and State Records of North Carolina.</i> 30 vols. The chief + fountain source of the early history of North Carolina and Tennessee. + </p> + <p> + W. H. Hoyt, <i>The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.</i> New York, + 1907. This book presents the view generally adopted by historians, that + the alleged Declaration of May 20, 1775, is spurious. + </p> + <p> + Justin Winsor (editor), <i>Narrative and Critical History of America.</i> + 8 vols. (1884-1889). Also <i>The Westward Movement.</i> Cambridge, 1897. + Both works of incalculable value to the student. + </p> + <p> + C. W. Alvord, <i>The Mississippi Valley in British Politics.</i> 2 vols. + Cleveland, 1917. A profound work of great value to students. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3> + Kentucky + </h3> + <p> + R. G. Thwaites and L. P. Kellogg (editors), <i>Documentary History of + Dunmore's War, 1774.</i> Compiled from the Draper Manuscripts in the + library of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Madison, 1905. A collection + of interesting and valuable documents with a suggestive introduction. + </p> + <p> + R. G. Thwaites, <i>Daniel Boone.</i> New York, 1902. A short and accurate + narrative of Boone's life and adventures compiled from the Draper + Manuscripts and from earlier printed biographies. + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">290</a></span> John + P. Hale, <i>Daniel Boone, Some Facts and Incidents not Hitherto Published.</i> + A pamphlet giving an account of Boone in West Virginia. Printed at + Wheeling, West Virginia. Undated. + </p> + <p> + Timothy Flint, <i>The First White Man of the West or the Life and Exploits + of Colonel Dan'l Boone.</i> Cincinnati, 1854. Valuable only as regards + Boone's later years. + </p> + <p> + John S. C. Abbott, <i>Daniel Boone, the Pioneer of Kentucky.</i> New York, + 1872. Fairly accurate throughout. + </p> + <p> + J. M. Peck, <i>Daniel Boone</i> (in Sparks, <i>Library of American + Biography.</i> Boston, 1847). + </p> + <p> + William Henry Bogart. <i>Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky.</i> New + York, 1856. + </p> + <p> + William Hayden English, <i>Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River + Ohio, 1778-1783, and Life of General George Rogers Clark,</i> 2 vols. + Indianapolis, 1896. An accurate and valuable work for which the author has + made painstaking research among printed and unprinted documents. Contains + Clark's own account of his campaigns, letters he wrote on public and + personal matters, and also letters from contemporaries in defense of his + reputation. + </p> + <p> + Theodore Roosevelt, <i>The Winning of the West,</i> 4 vols. New York, + 1889-1896. A vigorous and spirited narrative. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3> + Tennessee + </h3> + <p> + J. G. M. Ramsey, <i>The Annals of Tennessee.</i> Charleston, 1853. John + Haywood, <i>The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee.</i> + Nashville, 1891. (Reprint from 1828.) These works, with the North Carolina + <i>Colonial Records,</i> are the source books of early Tennessee. In + statistics, such as numbers of Indians and other foes defeated by + Tennessee heroes, not <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" + id="Page_291">291</a></span> reliable. Incorrect as to causes of Indian + wars during the Revolution. On this subject see letters and reports by + John and Henry Stuart in North Carolina <i>Colonial Records,</i> vol. X; + and letters by General Gage and letters and proclamation by General Ethan + Allen in American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. II, and by President + Rutledge of South Carolina in North Carolina <i>Colonial Records,</i> vol. + X. See also Justin Winsor, <i>The Westward Movement.</i> + </p> + <p> + J. Allison, <i>Dropped Stitches in Tennessee History.</i> Nashville, 1897. + Contains interesting matter relative to Andrew Jackson in his younger days + as well as about other striking figures of the time. + </p> + <p> + F. M. Turner, <i>The Life of General John Sevier.</i> New York, 1910. A + fairly accurate narrative of events in which Sevier participated, compiled + from the <i>Draper Manuscripts.</i> + </p> + <p> + A. W. Putnam, <i>History of Middle Tennessee, or Life and Times of General + James Robertson.</i> Nashville, 1859. A rambling lengthy narrative + containing some interesting material and much that is unreliable. Its + worst fault is distortion through sentimentality, and indulgence in the + habit of putting the author's rodomontades into the mouths of Robertson + and other characters. + </p> + <p> + J. S. Bassett, <i>Regulators of North Carolina,</i> in Report of the + American Historical Association, 1894. + </p> + <p> + L. C. Draper, <i>King's Mountain and its Heroes.</i> Cincinnati, 1881. The + source book on this event. Contains interesting biographical material + about the men engaged in the battle. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3> + French And Spanish Intrigues + </h3> + <p> + Henry Doniol, <i>Histoire de la participation de la France á + l'établissement des États-Unis d'Amérique,</i> + 5 vols. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">292</a></span> + Paris, 1886-1892. A complete exposition of the French and Spanish policy + towards America during the Revolutionary Period. + </p> + <p> + Manuel Serrano y Sanz, <i>El brigadier Jaime Wilkinson y sus tratos con + España para la independencia del Kentucky, años 1787 + á 1797.</i> Madrid, 1915. A Spanish view of Wilkinson's intrigues + with Spain, based on letters and reports in the Spanish Archives. + </p> + <p> + Thomas Marshall Green, <i>The Spanish Conspiracy.</i> Cincinnati, 1891. A + good local account, from American sources. The best material on this + subject is found in Justin Winsor's <i>The Westward Movement and Narrative + and Critical History</i> because there viewed against a broad historical + background. See Winsor also for the Latin intrigues in Tennessee. For + material on Alexander McGillivray see the American Archives and the + Colonial Records of Georgia. + </p> + <p> + Edward S. Corwin, <i>French Policy and the American Alliance of 1778.</i> + Princeton, 1916. Deals chiefly with the commercial aspects of French + policy and should be read in conjunction with Winsor, Jay, and + Fitzmaurice's <i>Life of William, Earl of Shelburne.</i> 3 vols. London, + 1875. + </p> + <p> + John Jay, <i>On the Peace Negotiations of 1782-83 as Illustrated by the + Secret Correspondence of France and England.</i> New York, 1888. A paper + read before the American Historical Association, May 23, 1887. + </p> + <p><br /></p> + + + + + + <hr /> + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <a name="indexChapter" id="indexChapter"></a> + <br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">293</a></span> + <br /><br /><br /> + <h2><a href="#Contents">INDEX</a></h2> + <p><br /></p> + </div> + <div id="index"> + <h3>A.</h3> + <p> +Abingdon (Penn.), Boone family at, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Adair, James, pioneer trader, + <a href="#Page_059">59</a>-<a href="#Page_074">74</a>, + <a href="#footer_158-1">158 (note)</a>.<br /> +Alabama, Creek nation in, + <a href="#Page_057">57</a>, <a href="#Page_068">68</a>.<br /> +Alamance, Battle of the, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> +Allaire, Lieutenant, officer under Ferguson, + <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.<br /> +Allen, General Ethan, + tries to enlist Indian aid in Canada, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Alvord, C. W., + <i>The Mississippi Valley in British Politics</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_110-1">110 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_113-1">113 (note)</a>.<br /> +<i>American Archives</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_8-1">8 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_123-1">123 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Anne, Queen, invites Palatines to England, <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +"Apostle, The," Count Zinzendorf, Moravian leader, + <a href="#Page_016">16</a>-<a href="#Page_017">17</a>.<br /> +Attakullakulla, Cherokee statesman, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.<br /> +Audubon, J. J., and Boone, + <a href="#Page_279">279</a>-<a href="#Page_280">280</a>.<br /> +Avery, Waightstill, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>B.</h3> + <p> +Baker, John, companion to Boone, <a href="#Page_095">95</a>.<br /> +Bean (or Been), William, + erects first cabin on Watauga River, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Beautiful River, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.<br /> +Big Bone Lick, Boone finds, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +Big Turtle, name given Boone by Indians, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.<br /> +Black Fish, Shawanoe chief, + <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, + <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> +Bledsoe, Captain Anthony, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, + <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Blount, William, Governor of Tennessee, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.<br /> +Blue Licks (Ky.), <a href="#Page_097">97</a>, + <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>; + battle at, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> +Bluff Hector, nickname for Hector MacNeill, <a href="#Page_012">12</a>.<br /> +Bogart, W. H., + <i>Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_136-1">135 (note)</a>.<br /> +Boone, Albert Gallatin, grandson of Daniel, + <a href="#footer_278-1">278 (note)</a>.<br /> +Boone, Daniel, nationality, + <a href="#Page_024">24</a>-<a href="#Page_025">25</a>; + family, + <a href="#Page_024">24</a>-<a href="#Page_026">26</a>, + <a href="#Page_027">27</a>-<a href="#Page_028">28</a>; + born (1734), <a href="#Page_026">26</a>; + early life, <a href="#Page_026">26</a>-<a href="#Page_027">27</a>; + journey to North Carolina, + <a href="#Page_029">29</a>-<a href="#Page_030">30</a>; + home on the Yadkin, <a href="#Page_048">48</a>; + Findlay and, + <a href="#Page_052">52</a>-<a href="#Page_053">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_083">83</a>, <a href="#Page_090">90</a>, + <a href="#Page_097">97</a>, <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, + <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, + <a href="#Page_131">131</a>-<a href="#Page_132">132</a>; + in Braddock's campaign, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>; + marriage, <a href="#Page_090">90</a>-<a href="#Page_091">91</a>; + in Virginia, <a href="#Page_092">92</a>; + removes to North Carolina, <a href="#Page_092">92</a>; + carving on tree, <a href="#Page_093">93</a>; + with Waddell's rangers, <a href="#Page_093">93</a>; + travels to Florida, <a href="#Page_094">94</a>; + first expedition into Kentucky, + <a href="#Page_095">95</a>-<a href="#Page_097">97</a>; + second Kentucky expedition, + <a href="#Page_097">97</a>-<a href="#Page_103">103</a>; + lonely explorations, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>-<a href="#Page_102">102</a>; + personal characteristics, + <a href="#Page_105">105</a>-<a href="#Page_106">106</a>; + removes family to Powell's Valley, + <a href="#Page_106">106</a>-<a href="#Page_109">109</a>; + part in Dunmore's war, + <a href="#Page_120">120</a>-<a href="#Page_122">122</a>, + <a href="#Page_128">128</a>; + and Henderson's venture, + <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#footer_130-1">130 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, + <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a href="#Page_136">136</a>; + at Boonesborough, + <a href="#Page_140">140</a>-<a href="#Page_141">141</a>, + <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, + <a href="#Page_147">147</a>-<a href="#Page_149">149</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">294</a></span> + captured by Indians, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>-<a href="#Page_147">147</a>; + adopted by Indian chief, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>; + and Hamilton, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="#Page_146">146</a>; + goes to West Virginia, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; + last days, <a href="#Page_273">273</a> <i>et seq.</i>.<br /> +Boone, Daniel Morgan, son of Daniel, <a href="#footer_278-1">278 (note)</a>. <br /> +Boone, Edward, brother of Daniel, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> +Boone, George, grandfather of Daniel, + <a href="#Page_024">24</a>-<a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Boone, George, Jr., uncle of Daniel, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Boone, Israel, second son of Daniel, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> +Boone, James, eldest son of Daniel, <a href="#Page_093">93</a>, + <a href="#Page_107">107</a>-<a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> +Boone, Jemima, daughter of Daniel, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Boone, John, son of Daniel, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> +Boone, Nathan, son of Daniel, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.<br /> +Boone, Rebecca, wife of Daniel, <a href="#Page_091">91</a>, + <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.<br /> +Boone, Sam, brother of Daniel, <a href="#Page_027">27</a>.<br /> +Boone, Sarah, daughter of George, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Boone, Sarah Morgan, mother of Daniel, <a href="#Page_026">26</a>, + <a href="#Page_028">28</a>-<a href="#Page_029">29</a>.<br /> +Boone, Squire, brother of Daniel, + <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +Boone, Squire, father of Daniel, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>, + <a href="#Page_091">91</a>; + marriage, <a href="#Page_026">26</a>; + expelled from Society of Friends, <a href="#Page_028">28</a>; + leaves Pennsylvania, + <a href="#Page_028">28</a>-<a href="#Page_029">29</a>.<br /> +Boone's Fort, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> +Boone's Settlement (La Charette), + <a href="#Page_280">280</a>-<a href="#Page_281">281</a>; + <i>see also</i> La Charette.<br /> +Boonesborough, Transylvania settlement, + <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, + <a href="#Page_245">245</a>; + Boone in, + <a href="#Page_140">140</a>-<a href="#Page_141">141</a>, + <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, + <a href="#Page_148">148</a>-<a href="#Page_149">149</a>; + Indian attacks on, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>-<a href="#Page_148">148</a>; + Robertson goes to, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br /> +Bowman, John, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +"Braddock's Defeat," <a href="#Page_082">82</a>.<br /> +Branching Oak of the Forest (Tach-nech-dor-us), Indian chief, + <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br /> +Brandywine, Battle of, Ferguson in, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> +Broglie, Comte de, French agent in America, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br /> +Brown, Widow, at whose inn Sevier is arrested, + <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.<br /> +Brown, Dr. Samuel, Clark's letter to, <a href="#footer_127-1">127 (note)</a>.<br /> +Bryan, Joseph, father of Rebecca Boone, <a href="#Page_091">91</a>.<br /> +Bryan, Rebecca, marries Daniel Boone, <a href="#Page_091">91</a>; + <i>see also</i> Boone, Rebecca.<br /> +Bryan party on expedition to Kentucky, + <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> +Buffalo (Tenn.), Court at, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br /> +Bull, Colonel William, pioneer trader, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>.<br /> +Bullitt, Captain Thomas, + <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>C.</h3> + <p> +Caldwell, David, Presbyterian minister, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> +Calloway, Flanders, son-in-law of Daniel Boone, + <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.<br /> +Calloway, Richard, daughters captured by Indians, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>; + accuses Boone of treachery, <a href="#footer_146-1">146 (note)</a>.<br /> +Cameron, Alexander, British agent to Cherokees, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, + <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Camp Union (Lewisburg), + rendezvous for expedition in Dunmore's War, + <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br /> +Campbell, Major Arthur, + <a href="#Page_121">121</a>-<a href="#Page_122">122</a>, + <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.<br /> +Campbell, David, judge in Tennessee, + <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.<br /> +Campbell, Rev. James, <a href="#Page_050">50</a>.<br /> +Campbell, Colond William, + at battle of Point Pleasant, <a href="#footer_124-2">124 (note)</a>; + and King's Mountain, + <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, + <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +Carolinas, Cherokees in, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + Regulation Movement in, + <a href="#Page_159">159</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">295</a></span> + <i>see also</i> North Carolina, South Carolina.<br /> +Carson, Kit, grandson of Daniel Boone, + <a href="#footer_278-1">278 (note)</a>.<br /> +Catawba Indians, <a href="#Page_056">56</a>, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>.<br /> +Céloron de Blainville, <a href="#Page_077">77</a>.<br /> +Chads Ford, Ferguson's account of incident at, + <a href="#Page_198">198</a>-<a href="#Page_199">199</a>.<br /> +Charleston (S. C), Scotch-Irish in, <a href="#Page_006">6</a>.<br /> +Cherokee Indians, in the Yadkin, <a href="#Page_036">36</a>; + location and number, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + and Adair, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>-<a href="#Page_074">74</a>; + customs, <a href="#Page_062">62</a>; + and French, <a href="#Page_066">66</a>-<a href="#Page_068">68</a>; + Priber compiles dictionary, <a href="#Page_069">69</a>; + in French and Indian Wars, + <a href="#Page_083">83</a>-<a href="#Page_087">87</a>; + Indian policy of South Carolina, + <a href="#Page_084">84</a>-<a href="#Page_086">86</a>; + treaty with English (1761), + <a href="#Page_087">87</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>; + trouble in Kentucky, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>; + Henderson purchases land from, + <a href="#Page_130">130</a>-<a href="#Page_133">133</a>; + in Tennessee, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, + <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>; + South Carolina sends ammunition to, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>; + peace made (1777), <a href="#Page_183">183</a>; + attack Watauga, + <a href="#Page_226">226</a>-<a href="#Page_227">227</a>, + <a href="#Page_228">228</a>; + North Carolina and, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>; + McGillivray and, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>; + forced westward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br /> +Chickamaugan Indians, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Chickasaw Indians, location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + Adair and, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>, + <a href="#Page_059">59</a>, <a href="#Page_062">62</a>, + <a href="#Page_072">72</a>-<a href="#Page_073">73</a>, + <a href="#Page_246">246</a>; + in Tennessee, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>; + McGillivray and, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>; + forced westward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br /> +Chillicothe, Indian town, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, + <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Choctaw Indians, location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + and French, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>; + Adair and, <a href="#Page_063">63</a>; + McGillivray and, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>; + forced westward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br /> +Choiseul, Étienne François, Duc de, + French Minister, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br /> +Chota, deputation of Indians at, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>; + Robertson as Indian agent at, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.<br /> +Chronicle, Colonel, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br /> +Civil War, part of mountaineers in, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br /> +Clark, G. R., <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>; + in "Cresap's War," <a href="#Page_116">116</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>; + with Dunmore's forces, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>; + and Chief Logan, <a href="#footer_127-1">127 (note)</a>; + at Harrodsburg, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, + <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_152">152</a>; + and Harrodsburg Remonstrance, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>; + brings ammunition from Virginia, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>; + made a major, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>; + founds Louisville, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>; + builds Fort Jefferson, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>; + war on Indians, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>; + letter to Governor of Virginia, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>; + later life, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>; + death (1818), <a href="#Page_155">155</a>; + and Wilkinson, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_264">264</a>; + personal characteristics, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br /> +Clark, William, brother of G. R., <a href="#Page_155">155</a>; + Lewis and, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.<br /> +Clark, Elijah, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.<br /> +Cleveland, Colonel, at King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, + <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +Cocke, William, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.<br /> +Colbert, white leader of Indians, + <a href="#Page_150">150</a>-<a href="#Page_151">151</a>.<br /> +Connolly, Dr. John, Dunmore's agent, <a href="#footer_113-1">113 (note)</a>.<br /> +Cooley, William, accompanies Boone to Kentucky, + <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Cooper, J. F., on Ferguson's story of Washington, + <a href="#footer_199-1">199 (note)</a>.<br /> +Cornstalk, Shawanoe chief, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, + <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_124">124</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> +Cornwallis, Edward, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, + <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, + <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, + <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, + <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> +Corporation Acts, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>.<br /> +Cowpens, frontiersmen at, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>; + Morgan's victory at, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +Craighead, Rev. Alexander, Presbyterian minister, + <a href="#Page_008">8</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> +Creek Indians, disclose Spanish plot, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>; + location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + and McGillivray, + <a href="#Page_058">58</a>-<a href="#Page_059">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_256">256</a>; + forced westward, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br /> +Cresap, Captain Michael, of Maryland, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, + <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br /> +"Cresap's War," <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> +Croghan, George, "King of Traders," <a href="#Page_058">58</a>, + <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, + <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">296</a></span> +Cross Creek (Fayetteville), MacNeill at, <a href="#Page_012">12</a>.<br /> +Culloden, victory of, <a href="#Page_009">9</a>, + <a href="#Page_011">11</a>.<br /> +Cumberland, Duke of, directs extermination of Gaels, + <a href="#Page_011">11</a>.<br /> +Cumberland Gap, Findlay leads Boone through, + <a href="#Page_052">52</a>-<a href="#Page_053">53</a>; + Boone robbed in, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br /> +Cutbirth (or Cutbird), Benjamin, nephew of Daniel Boone, + <a href="#Page_095">95</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>D.</h3> + <p> +Dartmouth, Lord, Secretary for the Colonies, + letters to, <a href="#Page_006">6</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Day, Sarah, marries Sam Boone, <a href="#Page_027">27</a>.<br /> +De Lancey, Major, father-in-law of J. F. Cooper, + <a href="#footer_199-1">199 (note)</a>.<br /> +De Peyster, Captain, officer under Ferguson, + <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, + <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.<br /> +Delassus, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana, + <a href="#Page_276">276</a>.<br /> +Delaware Indians, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>; + location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + and French, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>; + and Dunmore's War, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Dequindre, French Canadian leader of Indian band, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, + <a href="#Page_147">147</a>-<a href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> +Detroit, in hands of English, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>; + Boone at, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br /> +Dinwiddie, Robert, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, + <a href="#Page_077">77</a>-<a href="#Page_080">80</a>, + <a href="#Page_081">81</a>.<br /> +Doak, Rev. Samuel, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, + <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.<br /> +Dobbs, Arthur, Governor of North Carolina, <a href="#Page_079">79</a>, + <a href="#Page_086">86</a>.<br /> +Dobbs, E. D., son of Governor, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>.<br /> +Donelson, Captain John, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>; + <i>Journal</i>, + <a href="#Page_187">187</a>-<a href="#Page_193">193</a>.<br /> +Dorchester, Lord, Governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.<br /> +Dragging Canoe, Chickamaugan chief, + <a href="#Page_133">133</a>-<a href="#Page_134">134</a>, + <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, + <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, + <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, + <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> +Draper, L. C., <i>King's Mountain and its Heroes</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_199-1">199 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_204-1">204 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_213-1">213 (note)</a>.<br /> +Dunmore, Lord, Governor of Virginia, + <a href="#footer_113-1">112 (note)</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_116">116</a>, + <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, + <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Dunmore's War, <a href="#Page_114">114</a> <i>et seq</i>.<br /> +Duquesne, Fort, + <a href="#Page_081">81</a>, <a href="#Page_082">82</a>, + <a href="#Page_087">87</a>, <a href="#Page_088">88</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>E.</h3> + <p> +English, W. H., + <i>Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_127-1">127 (note)</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>F.</h3> + <p> +Falling, William, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Fanning, Edmund, agent of Lord Granville, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> +Femme Osage Creek, Boone settles at, + <a href="#Page_274">274</a>-<a href="#Page_275">275</a>.<br /> +Femme Osage Syndic, + <a href="#Page_275">275</a>-<a href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br /> +Ferguson, Dr. Adam, letter to, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br /> +Ferguson, Major Patrick, as a soldier, + <a href="#Page_196">196</a>-<a href="#Page_198">198</a>; + as a man, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>-<a href="#Page_200">200</a>; + commands loyalists in Back Country, + <a href="#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="#Page_206">206</a>, + <a href="#Page_211">211</a>; + at King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>-<a href="#Page_220">220</a>; + death, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>-<a href="#Page_220">220</a>, + <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.<br /> +Findlay, John, pioneer trader, and Daniel Boone, + <a href="#Page_052">52</a>, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>, + <a href="#Page_090">90</a>, <a href="#Page_097">97</a>, + <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, + <a href="#Page_131">131</a>-<a href="#Page_132">132</a>; + in Braddock's campaign, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>; + captured by Shawanoes, <a href="#Page_097">97</a>, + <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> +Fitzherbert, letter quoted, <a href="#footer_252-1">252 (note)</a>.<br /> +Fleming, William, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br /> +Florida, Spanish and Indians in, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>, + <a href="#Page_056">56</a>; + Boone explores, <a href="#Page_094">94</a>.<br /> +Floridablanca, Spanish Minister, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.<br /> +Floyd, John, Washington's agent, + <a href="#Page_113">113</a>-<a href="#Page_114">114</a>; + and Boone, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Forbes, General, expedition in 1759, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>.<br /> +France, Highlanders flee to, <a href="#Page_009">9</a>; + and Indians, <a href="#Page_053">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_054">54</a>, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>, + <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="#Page_179">179</a>; + possessions in America, <a href="#Page_056">56</a>, + <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + Adair's account of struggles with French, <a href="#Page_063">63</a>; + Priber sent by, <a href="#Page_066">66</a>-<a href="#Page_070">70</a>; + French and Indian Wars, <a href="#Page_075">750</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + attitude toward American independence, + <a href="#Page_248">248</a>-<a href="#Page_253">253</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">297</a></span> +Frankfort (Ky.), Daniel Boone's grave in, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.<br /> +Frankland, State of, + <a href="#Page_234">234</a>-<a href="#Page_238">238</a>; + <i>see also</i> Franklin, State of. <br /> +Franklin, Benjamin, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.<br /> +Franklin, State of, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, + <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, + <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>; + <i>see also</i> Frankland, State of.<br /> +Frémont, J. C, <a href="#footer_278-1">278 (note)</a>. <br /> +French and Indian Wars, <a href="#Page_075">75</a> <i>et seq</i>.<br /> +Friends, Society of, expel Squire Boone, <a href="#Page_028">28</a>.<br /> +Furniture of the pioneers, + <a href="#Page_045">45</a>-<a href="#Page_046">46</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>G.</h3> + <p> +Gaels, <i>see</i> Highlanders.<br /> +Gage, General Thomas, quoted, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Galphin, pioneer trader, <a href="#Page_059">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.<br /> +Gates, General, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, + <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.<br /> +<i>Gazette</i>, Knoxville, Jackson's letter in, + <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.<br /> +Georgia, Creek nation in, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + Tories in, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>; + and State of Franklin, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>; + and McGillivray, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>-<a href="#Page_257">257</a>, + <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.<br /> +Germain, Lord, and Stuart, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +German Palatinate, persecution of Protestants in, + <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +German Reformed Church, <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +Germans, in Virginia and North Carolina, + <a href="#Page_014">14</a>-<a href="#Page_015">15</a>; + as immigrants, <a href="#Page_016">16</a>.<br /> +Gibson, Major, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> +Gibson, Colonel John, + <a href="#Page_117">117</a>-<a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Girty, George, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> +Girty, James, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> +Gist, Christopher, <a href="#Page_077">77</a>, + <a href="#Page_078">78</a>.<br /> +Glen, Governor of South Carolina, <a href="#Page_063">63</a>, + <a href="#Page_064">64</a>; + Indian policy, <a href="#Page_084">84</a>.<br /> +Gottlob, Brother, Moravian leader, + <a href="#Page_019">19</a>, <a href="#Page_021">21</a>, + <a href="#Page_023">23</a>, <a href="#Page_024">24</a>.<br /> +Gower, Fort, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br /> +Grant, Colonel James, <a href="#Page_094">94</a>.<br /> +Grantham, Lord, letter to, <a href="#footer_252-1">252 (note)</a>.<br /> +Granville, Lord, Proprietor in North Carolina, + Moravians purchase land from, <a href="#Page_018">18</a>; + agents oppress people, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, + <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Great Meadows, Washington at, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>.<br /> +Great Telliko, Cherokee town, + <a href="#Page_062">62</a>, <a href="#Page_066">66</a>, + <a href="#Page_069">69</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Great War, part of mountaineers in, + <a href="#Page_224">224</a>-<a href="#Page_225">225</a>.<br /> +Greathouse, trader, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> +Greene, General Nathanael, + <a href="#Page_221">221</a>-<a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +Greene, T. M., <i>The Spanish Conspiracy</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_264-1">264 (note)</a>.<br /> +Grube, Adam, Moravian Brother, <a href="#Page_018">18</a>; + <i>Journal</i>, <a href="#Page_019">19</a>-<a href="#Page_024">24</a>.<br /> +Guilford Court House, battle of, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>H.</h3> + <p> +Hamilton, Henry, British Governor at Detroit, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, + <a href="#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br /> +Hampbright, Colonel, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br /> +Hanna, C. A., <i>The Wilderness Trail</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_97-1">97 (note)</a>.<br /> +Harding, Chester, and Boone, + <a href="#Page_278">278</a>-<a href="#Page_279">279</a>.<br /> +Harrod, James, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>; + establishes first settlement in Kentucky, + <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, + <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>; + as surveyor, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>; + and Henderson, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>; + goes to Watauga for supplies, + <a href="#Page_141">141</a>-<a href="#Page_142">142</a>; + made a Captain, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>; + accompanies Clark, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Harrodsburg, + <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, + <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, + <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>; + founded, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>; + Remonstrance, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>; + Indian attacks on, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br /> +Henderson, Judge Richard, + leader of Transylvania Company, + <a href="#Page_130">130</a>-<a href="#Page_140">140</a>, + <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, + <a href="#Page_184">184</a>-<a href="#Page_185">185</a>; + Donelson's party meets, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.<br /> +Henry, Patrick, Preston writes to, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> +Heydt, Joist, <a href="#Page_016">16</a>.<br /> +Highlanders, in Revolutionary War, <a href="#Page_008">8</a>, + <a href="#Page_013">13</a>-<a href="#Page_014">14</a>; + in North Carolina, <a href="#Page_009">9</a>; + clan system, <a href="#Page_010">10</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">298</a></span> + characteristics, <a href="#Page_010">10</a>-<a href="#Page_012">12</a>; + and Indians, <a href="#Page_054">54</a>-<a href="#Page_055">55</a>; + <i>see also</i> Scotch-Irish. <br /> +Hill, William, <a href="#Page_096">96</a>.<br /> +Holden, Joseph, + <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Holston River settlement, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, + <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, + <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.<br /> +Honeycut, pioneer at Watauga, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.<br /> +Hooper, William, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> +Houston, Rev. Samuel, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.<br /> +Hoyt, W. H., <i>The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_8-1">8 (note)</a>.<br /> +Huguenots in America, <a href="#Page_054">54</a>.<br /> +Hunter, James, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Husband, Hermon, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, + <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>I.</h3> + <p> +Illinois, Clark's troops, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, + <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>; + Robertson journeys to, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>; + and Clark, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>.<br /> +"Indian Summer," origin of term, <a href="#Page_041">41</a>.<br /> +Indiana and Clark, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>.<br /> +Indians, relation to white men in West, + <a href="#Page_038">38</a>-<a href="#Page_048">48</a>; + use of hickory, <a href="#Page_045">45</a>; + and the traders, <a href="#Page_052">52</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + and French, <a href="#Page_053">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_054">54</a>, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>, + <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="#Page_179">179</a>; + and Spanish, <a href="#Page_053">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_054">54</a>, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>, + <a href="#Page_255">255</a>; + Boone and, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>-<a href="#Page_102">102</a>; + <a href="#Page_103">103</a>; + Dunmore's War, <a href="#Page_114">114</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + "Cresap's War." <a href="#Page_117">117</a>; + treachery toward, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>-<a href="#Page_118">118</a> + purchase of land from, + <a href="#Page_131">131</a>-<a href="#Page_134">134</a>; + trouble in Kentucky, + <a href="#Page_135">135</a>-<a href="#Page_136">136</a>, + <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, + <a href="#Page_152">152</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>; + <i>see also</i> names of tribes.<br /> +Ireland, Scotch-Irish from, <a href="#Page_006">6</a>; + <i>see also</i> Ulster Plantation.<br /> +Iroquois Indians, location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + loyalty to English, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>; + Croghan and, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>; + cede Kentucky to British, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>; + <i>see also</i> Six Nations.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>J.</h3> + <p> +Jackson, Andrew, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.<br /> +Jay, John, <i>On the Peace Negotiations of 1782-1788 + as illustrated by the Secret Correspondence of + France and England</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_252-1">252 (note)</a>.<br /> +Jefferson, Thomas, and navigation of Mississippi River, + <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.<br /> +Jefferson, Fort, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.<br /> +Jennings, Mrs., Donelson's account of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, + <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br /> +Johnson, Sir William, and Iroquois Indians, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>, + <a href="#Page_179">179</a>; + and sale of Indian land, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> +Johnston, Gabriel, Governor of North Carolina, <a href="#Page_009">9</a>.<br /> +Jonesborough (Tenn.), county seat of Washington, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; + delegates meet to form State, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>; + court at, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>; + Andrew Jackson at, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>K.</h3> + <p> +Kalb, Johann, French agent in America, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br /> +Kansas, Daniel Boone in, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br /> +Kenton, Simon, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> +Kentucky, meaning of name, <a href="#footer_95-1">95 (note)</a>; + Boone's first expedition to, + <a href="#Page_095">95</a>-<a href="#Page_097">97</a>; + expedition of Boone and Findlay into, + <a href="#Page_097">97</a>-<a href="#Page_103">103</a>; + settlement and Indian troubles, + <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_156">156</a>; + admitted as State (1792), <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; + and Mississippi River, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>; + as Boone's monument, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>; + bibliography, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>-<a href="#Page_290">290</a>.<br /> +Keppoch, Laird of, legend concerning, <a href="#Page_011">11</a>.<br /> +King, trader, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +King's Mountain, Battle of, + <a href="#Page_214">214</a>-<a href="#Page_221">221</a>.<br /> +Knoxville (Tenn.), Sevier and Jackson in, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>; + Sevier buried in, + <a href="#Page_269">269</a>-<a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>L.</h3> + <p> +La Charette (Mo.), Boone at, + <a href="#Page_274">274</a>-<a href="#Page_275">275</a>, + <a href="#Page_281">281</a>; + <i>see also</i> Boone's Settlement.<br /> +Le Bœuf, Fort, <a href="#Page_079">79</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">299</a></span> +Lewis, Colonel Andrew, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_122">122</a>-<a href="#Page_123">123</a>, + <a href="#footer_124-2">124 (note)</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Lewis, Colonel Charles, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br /> +Lewis, Meriwether, + <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.<br /> +Logan, Mingo chief Tach-nech-dor-us, + <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br /> +Logan, Benjamin, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, + <a href="#Page_141">141</a>-<a href="#Page_142">142</a>, + <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Long Hunters, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br /> +Loudon, Fort, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Louisbourg in hands of English, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>.<br /> +Louisville, Findlay reaches site of, <a href="#Page_097">97</a>; + Clark founds, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>; + Wilkinson at, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.<br /> +Lulbegrud Creek, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Lutheran Church, <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +Luzerne, French Ambassador at Philadelphia, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.<br /> +Lytle, Captain, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br /> +Lytle, Mrs., and Ferguson, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br /> +Lyttleton, Governor of South Carolina, <a href="#Page_085">85</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>M.</h3> + <p> +McAden, Rev. Hugh, of Philadelphia, <a href="#Page_050">50</a>.<br /> +McAfee, James, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +McAfee brothers, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +McDowell, Colonel Charles, + <a href="#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a>, + <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, + <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, + <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_212">212</a>, + <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br /> +McDowell, Joseph, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br /> +McGillivray, Alexander, Creek chief, <a href="#Page_059">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_261">261</a>.<br /> +McGillivray, Lachlan, father of Alexander, + <a href="#Page_058">58</a>-<a href="#Page_059">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br /> +McGregor, William, <a href="#Page_009">9</a>.<br /> +Macdonald, Allan, of Kingsborough, <a href="#Page_014">14</a>.<br /> +MacDonald, Flora, <a href="#Page_014">14</a>.<br /> +MacLean, J. P., <i>An Historical Account + of the Settlement of Scotch Highlanders in America</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_11-1">11 (note)</a>.<br /> +MacNeill, Hector, (Bluff Hector), <a href="#Page_012">12</a>.<br /> +MacNeill, Neil, of Kintyre, <a href="#Page_012">12</a>.<br /> +Mansker, Gasper, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> +Marion, General Francis, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> +Martin, Josiah, Royal Governor of North Carolina, + <a href="#Page_013">13</a>.<br /> +Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, <a href="#Page_008">8</a>.<br /> +Mereness, N. D., ed., + <i>Travels in the American Colonies</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_18-1">18 (note)</a>.<br /> +Mingo Indians, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, + <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, + <a href="#Page_119">119</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> +Miró, Don Estevan, Governor of Louisiana, + <a href="#Page_254">254</a>-<a href="#Page_255">255</a>, + <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, + <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-<a href="#Page_261">261</a>.<br /> +Mississippi (State), Choctaws in, <a href="#Page_063">63</a>.<br /> +Mississippi River, French territory on, <a href="#Page_056">56</a>; + Choctaws on, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + Stewart's party reaches, <a href="#Page_095">95</a>; + Spain refuses right of navigation of, + <a href="#Page_253">253</a>-<a href="#Page_254">254</a>.<br /> +Missouri, Boone settles in, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>; + Boone dies in, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.<br /> +Mobile, French hold, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>.<br /> +Mohawk Indians, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> +Montgomery, John, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>.<br /> +Montreal in hands of English, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>.<br /> +Mooney, James, <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Moore's Fort, Boone commands, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br /> +Moravians, <a href="#Page_015">15</a>, + <a href="#Page_016">16</a>-<a href="#Page_024">24</a>.<br /> +Morgan, David, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> +Morgan, Sarah, marries Squire Boone, <a href="#Page_026">26</a>; + <i>see also</i> Boone, Sarah Morgan. <br /> +Morgantown (N. C), Sevier sent to, + <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-<a href="#Page_244">244</a>.<br /> +Mountain Leader (Opimingo), Indian chief, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.<br /> +Mountaineers of the South, + <a href="#Page_223">223</a>-<a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br /> +Müller, Adam, <a href="#Page_016">16</a>.<br /> +Musgrove's Mill, engagement at, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>N.</h3> + <p> +Nantuca Indians, deputation of warriors from, + arrive at Chota, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">300</a></span> +Nash, General Francis, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, + <a href="#footer_186-1">186 (note)</a>.<br /> +Nashborough, Nashville first named, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Nashville, founded, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>; + Andrew Jackson at, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>; + Robertson buried at, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br /> +Nathanael, Brother, one of the Moravian Brethren, + <a href="#Page_021">21</a>.<br /> +Navigation Acts and Ireland, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>.<br /> +Necessity, Fort, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>.<br /> +Neely, Alexander, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +New France, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>, <a href="#Page_088">88</a>.<br /> +New Market (Va.), Sevier founds, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.<br /> +Nolan, aids Wilkinson, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.<br /> +"Nolichucky Jack," nickname of John Sevier, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; + <i>see also</i> Sevier.<br /> +North Carolina, Scotch-Irish in, <a href="#Page_007">7</a>; + Craighead in, <a href="#Page_008">8</a>; + Highlanders in, <a href="#Page_012">12</a>-<a href="#Page_013">13</a>; + Moravians in, <a href="#Page_018">18</a>; + journey of Moravian Brethren into, + <a href="#Page_019">19</a>-<a href="#Page_024">24</a>; + rainfall, <a href="#Page_043">43</a>; + pioneer homes in, <a href="#Page_045">45</a>-<a href="#Page_047">47</a>; + in French and Indian Wars, + <a href="#Page_082">82</a>-<a href="#Page_083">83</a>, + <a href="#Page_086">86</a>; + Indian policy, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>-<a href="#Page_084">84</a>; + Daniel Boone in, <a href="#Page_092">92</a>; + Regulation Movement, + <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, + <a href="#Page_159">159</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>; + Transylvania Company formed in, + <a href="#Page_129">129</a>-<a href="#Page_130">130</a>; + emigrants go to Tennessee, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>; + Robertson from, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>; + boundary line, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, + <a href="#Page_186">186</a>; + Watauga petitions for annexation, + <a href="#Page_171">171</a>-<a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + erects Washington County, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + <i>Colonial Records</i>, cited, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>, + <a href="#footer_177-1">177 (note)</a>; + sends out Robertson as Indian agent, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>; + Ferguson in, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>; + Ferguson's proclamation to, + <a href="#Page_212">212</a>-<a href="#Page_213">213</a>; + Cornwallis expected to retreat through, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>; + resolution of gratitude to overmountain men, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>; + cedes overmountain territory to United States, 231-233; + and State of Frankland, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, + <a href="#Page_236">236</a>-<a href="#Page_237">237</a>, + <a href="#Page_238">238</a>; + and Sevier, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, + <a href="#Page_240">240</a>-<a href="#Page_245">245</a>; + and State of Franklin, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; + and Tennessee settlements, + <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_260">260</a>.<br /> +North Wales (Penn.), Boone family in, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>O.</h3> + <p> +Oconostota, Cherokee chief, + <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.<br /> +O'Fallon aids Wilkinson, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.<br /> +Ohio, Clark against Indians of, + <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Ohio Company, <a href="#Page_077">77</a>, + <a href="#Page_078">78</a>, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>, + <a href="#Page_111">111</a>-<a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +Old Tassel, Cherokee Indian, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br /> +Oley Township, Berks County (Penn.), + George Boone at, + <a href="#Page_025">25</a>, <a href="#Page_026">26</a>.<br /> +Opimingo (Mountain Leader), + Chickasaw chief, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.<br /> +Oswego in hands of English, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>.<br /> +Ottawa Indians, + <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>P.</h3> + <p> +Palatines, <i>see</i> Germans.<br /> +Paris, Treaty of (1763), <a href="#Page_094">94</a>.<br /> +Patrick Henry, Fort, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Penn, William, Boone seeks information from, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Pennsylvania, Scotch-Irish in, + <a href="#Page_001">1</a>, <a href="#Page_006">6</a>; + Germans in, + <a href="#Page_015">15</a>, <a href="#Page_016">16</a>; + Boone family in, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>-<a href="#Page_028">28</a>; + disputes Fort Pitt with Virginia, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +"Pennsylvania Dutch," <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +"Pennsylvania Irish," <a href="#Page_006">6</a>.<br /> +Peyton, Ephraim, one of Donelson's party, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br /> +Peyton, Mrs. Ephraim, + Donelson's account of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, + <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br /> +Philadelphia, Boone family reaches, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Pickett, <i>History of Alabama</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_257-1">257 (note)</a>.<br /> +Piqua, Indian town, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Pitfour, Lord, of Aberdeen, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br /> +Pitt, Fort, <a href="#Page_088">88</a>, + <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, + <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">301</a></span> +Pittsburgh site a crucial point in 1754, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>.<br /> +Point Pleasant, Battle of, + <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_124">124</a>, + <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.<br /> +Pontleroy, French secret agent in America, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br /> +Powell's Valley, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>; + Boone's journey to, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, + <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br /> +"Powwowing Days," <a href="#Page_041">41</a>.<br /> +Presbyterian Church, and Scotch-Irish, <a href="#Page_003">3</a>, + Charles I suppresses, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>.<br /> +Preston, Colonel William, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> +Priber, French agent to Cherokees, + <a href="#Page_066">66</a>-<a href="#Page_070">70</a>.<br /> +Proclamation of 1763, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>-<a href="#Page_111">111</a>, + <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.<br /> +Puck-e-shin-wa, Shawanoe chief, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> +Pulaski, Count, <a href="#footer_199-1">199 (note)</a>.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>Q.</h3> + <p> +Quaker Meadows, Sevier's troops at, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br /> +Quakers, <i>see</i> Friends, Society of.<br /> +</p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>R.</h3> + <p> +Red Shoe, Choctaw chief, <a href="#Page_063">63</a>.<br /> +Regulation Movement, + <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, + <a href="#Page_159">159</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>; +Revolutionary War, Highlanders in, + <a href="#Page_013">13</a>-<a href="#Page_014">14</a>; + Indian raids in Kentucky, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>; + King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_195">195</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + attitude of France and Spain in, + <a href="#Page_248">248</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> +Roane, Archibald, Governor of Tennessee, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.<br /> +Robertson, James, "father of Tennessee," + <a href="#Page_124">124</a>-<a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>, + <a href="#Page_133">133</a>; + at Watauga, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>-<a href="#Page_166">166</a>, + <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>; + personal characteristics, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>; + and Sevier, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>; + commands Wataugans, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + Indian agent at Chota, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>; + leads settlers into middle Tennessee, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>; + founds Nashville, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>; + and Ferguson, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>; + and Indian war, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>; + characterizes McGillivray, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>; + death (1814), <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br /> +Robertson, Mrs. James, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br /> +Robertson, Mark, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> +Robinson, Colonel David, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Rogers, John, <a href="#Page_088">88</a>.<br /> +Rogers, Joseph, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Roosevelt, Theodore, <i>The Winning of the West</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_134-1">134 (note)</a>.<br /> +Russell, William, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, + death of his son, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> +Rutherford, Griffith, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Rutledge, John, President of South Carolina, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>S.</h3> + <p> +St. Asaph's Station founded, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +St. Augustine, Spanish at, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>, + <a href="#Page_056">56</a>.<br /> +St. Vincent, Island of, Ferguson on, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> +Sapperton, trader, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> +Scotch-Irish, as immigrants, + <a href="#Page_001">1</a>-<a href="#Page_002">2</a>, + <a href="#Page_006">6</a>; + characteristics, + <a href="#Page_002">2</a>-<a href="#Page_003">3</a>, + <a href="#Page_005">5</a>-<a href="#Page_006">6</a>; + religion, <a href="#Page_003">3</a>, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>; + persecution of, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>-<a href="#Page_005">5</a>; + and American Independence, + <a href="#Page_007">7</a>-<a href="#Page_008">8</a>; + bibliography, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>; + <i>see also</i> Highlanders. <br /> +Seven Years' War, <i>casus belli</i>, <a href="#Page_076">76</a>; + in Europe, <a href="#Page_082">82</a>; + land promised to soldiers of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>; + Ferguson in, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br /> +Sevier, John, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>; + probably seen by Brother Grube, + <a href="#Page_020">20</a>-<a href="#Page_021">21</a>; + marriage, <a href="#Page_048">48</a>; + at Watauga, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>-<a href="#Page_167">167</a>, + <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, + <a href="#Page_171">171</a>; + and New Market, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>; + and Robertson, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, + <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>; + personal characteristics, + <a href="#Page_168">168</a>-<a href="#Page_169">169</a>; + writes Virginia Committee, + <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-<a href="#Page_174">174</a>; + and Indian troubles, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, + <a href="#Page_181">181</a>-<a href="#Page_183">183</a>, + <a href="#Page_226">226</a>-<a href="#Page_228">228</a>; + and "Bonnie Kate," <a href="#Page_182">182</a>; + nicknamed "Nolichucky Jack," <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; + and King's Mountain, + <a href="#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a>, + <a href="#Page_205">205</a>-<a href="#Page_206">206</a>, + <a href="#Page_208">208</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + as a statesman, <a href="#Page_226">226</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + feud with Tipton, + <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, + <a href="#Page_239">239</a>-<a href="#Page_240">240</a>, + <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>; + elected Governor of Tennessee, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>; + and Jackson, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>-<a href="#Page_269">269</a>; + death (1815), <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">302</a></span> +Sevier, John, Jr., <a href="#footer_244-1">243 (note)</a>.<br /> +Sevier, Valentine, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>.<br /> +Shawanoe Indians, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>; + location, <a href="#Page_057">57</a>; + and French, <a href="#Page_058">58</a>; + Findlay a prisoner of, <a href="#Page_097">97</a>; + and Boone, <a href="#Page_098">98</a>-<a href="#Page_099">99</a>, + <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, + <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_148">148</a>; + war with, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, + <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_126">126</a>; + relinquish right to Kentucky, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>; + capture girls from Boonesborough, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Shelby, Isaac, at battle of Point Pleasant, + <a href="#footer_124-2">124 (note)</a>; + Colonel of Sullivan, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; + at King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_200">200</a> <i>et seq.</i>; + moves to Kentucky, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.<br /> +Sheltowee (Big Turtle), name given to Boone by Indians, + <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.<br /> +Sherrill, Bonnie Kate, wife of John Sevier, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Six Nations, right to dispose of territory, <a href="#Page_076">76</a>; + <i>see also</i> Iroquois Indians.<br /> +Social customs, of seaboard towns, <a href="#Page_032">32</a>; + of pioneers, <a href="#Page_032">32</a> <i>et seq.</i><br /> +South Carolina, Yamasi Indians in, <a href="#Page_056">56</a>; + and Cherokees, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>; + Tories in, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>; + <i>see also</i> Carolinas. <br /> +Spain, and Indians, <a href="#Page_053">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_054">54</a>, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>; + attitude toward American independence, + <a href="#Page_248">248</a>-<a href="#Page_255">255</a>; + plots against United States, + <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_265">265</a>; + State of Franklin and, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.<br /> +Spangenburg, Bishop, <a href="#Page_018">18</a>.<br /> +Spanish Succession, War of (1701-13), <a href="#Page_015">15</a>.<br /> +Spencer, Judge, issues warrant for Sevier, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.<br /> +Stanwix, Fort, treaty of (1768), <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.<br /> +Stephen, Adam, Boone, <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>.<br /> +Stewart, John, brother-in-law of Daniel Boone, <a href="#Page_095">95</a>, + <a href="#Page_098">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Stoner, Michael, + <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br /> +Stover, Jacob, husband of Sarah Boone, <a href="#Page_025">25</a>.<br /> +Stuart, Henry, deputy Indian agent, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Stuart, John, with Dunmore's forces, Boone, + <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>; + British agent, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>; + in Revolution, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> +Sullivan County, formed from Washington County, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; + troops in, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.<br /> +Sycamore Shoals, + conference with Indians at (1775), + <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_134">134</a>, + <a href="#Page_170">170</a>; + troops mustered at, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.<br /> +<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>T.</h3> + <p> +Tach-nech-dor-us (Branching Oak of the Forest), + Mingo chief, <i>see</i> Logan.<br /> +Tarleton, Sir Banastre, British officer, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.<br /> +Taylor, Hancock, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, + <a href="#footer_121-1">121 (note)</a>.<br /> +Tecumseh, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> +Tennessee, <a href="#Page_157">157</a> <i>et seq.</i>, + <a href="#Page_259">259</a>; + name, <a href="#footer_158-1">158 (note)</a>; + and Mississippi River navigation, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>; + admitted as State (1796), <a href="#Page_265">265</a>; + bibliography, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>-<a href="#Page_291">291</a>; + <i>see also</i> Frankland, Franklin, Watauga.<br /> +Test Acts, <a href="#Page_004">4</a>.<br /> +Thomas, Isaac, trader, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, + <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, + <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.<br /> +Thwaites, R. G., <i>Daniel Boone</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_25-1">25 (note)</a>, <a href="#footer_276-1">276 (note)</a>; + <i>Documentary History of Dunmore's War</i>, cited, + <a href="#footer_126-1">125 (note)</a>.<br /> +Tipton, Colond John, + feud with Sevier, + <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, + <a href="#Page_239">239</a>-<a href="#Page_240">240</a>, + <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>; + judge for North Carolina, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.<br /> +Tipton, Jonathan, + <a href="#Page_226">226</a>-<a href="#Page_227">227</a>.<br /> +Todd, John, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Tories, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.<br /> +Traders among the pioneers, <a href="#Page_052">52</a> <i>et seq.</i> +Traders' Trace, <a href="#Page_094">94</a>.<br /> +Transylvania Company, + <a href="#Page_130">130</a>-<a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> +Trent, Captain William, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">303</a></span> +Tryon, William, Governor of North Carolina, + <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.<br /> +Tuckabatchee, Creek town, Sevier buried at, + <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.<br /> +Turner, F. M., <i>Life of General John Sevier</i>, + cited, <a href="#footer_244-1">243 (note)</a>.<br /> +<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>U.</h3> + <p> +Ulster Plantation, <a href="#Page_003">3</a>-<a href="#Page_004">4</a>.<br /> +Ulstermen, <i>see</i> Scotch-Irish. <br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>V.</h3> + <p> +Vergennes, Charles Gravier, Comte de, French Minister, + <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, + <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.<br /> +Virginia, claim to the Ohio, + <a href="#Page_076">76</a>-<a href="#Page_077">77</a>; + Indian policy, <a href="#Page_083">83</a>; + Indians apply for redress to, <a href="#Page_085">85</a>; + Daniel Boone in, <a href="#Page_092">92</a>; + disputes Fort Pitt with Pennsylvania, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>; + Harrodsburg Remonstrance, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>; + Clark and, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>; + and Boone, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>; + and Mississippi River navigation, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.<br /> +Virginia, Valley of, Müller's settlement in, + <a href="#Page_016">16</a>.<br /> +<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>W.</h3> + <p> +Wachovia Tract, <a href="#Page_018">18</a>.<br /> +Waddell, Hugh, of North Carolina, + in French and Indian wars, + <a href="#Page_086">86</a>, <a href="#Page_087">87</a>; + erects fort on Holston, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>; + and Regulation Movement, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Walpole Company, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +War of 1812, part of mountaineers in, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br /> +Ward, James, <a href="#Page_095">95</a>.<br /> +Ward, Nancy, half-caste Cherokee prophetess, + <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Warriors' Path, + <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, + <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Washington, George, journeys to Fort Le Bœuf, <a href="#Page_079">79</a>; + at Great Meadows, <a href="#Page_081">81</a>; + "Braddock's Defeat," <a href="#Page_082">82</a>; + surveys in Kentucky, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>; + tries to secure land patents for soldiers, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>; + and Indian allies, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>; + Ferguson's story of, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> +Washington, District of, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.<br /> +Washington County, erected by North Carolina, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + divided, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.<br /> +Watauga Colony, lands leased to, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>; + Harrod and Logan get supplies from, + <a href="#Page_141">141</a>-<a href="#Page_142">142</a>; + William Bean builds first cabin, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>; + and Regulators, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>; + Robertson at, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>-<a href="#Page_166">166</a>, + <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>; + Sevier at, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>-<a href="#Page_167">167</a>, + <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>; + found to be on Indian lands, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>; + petitions North Carolina for annexation, + <a href="#Page_171">171</a>-<a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + made into Washington County, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + Indian attacks on, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, + <a href="#Page_181">181</a>-<a href="#Page_183">183</a>; + and King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a>, + <a href="#Page_205">205</a>; + <i>see also</i> Frankland, Franklin, Tennessee.<br /> +Wayne, Mad Anthony, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br /> +Welsh in America, <a href="#Page_054">54</a>.<br /> +Wheeling (W. Va.), as rendezvous for troops, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>; + Cresap at, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br /> +White Eyes, Delaware chief, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Wilkinson, General James, + <a href="#Page_261">261</a>-<a href="#Page_265">265</a>.<br /> +Williams, Colonel, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br /> +Williams, Jaret, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Winchester, German settlement near, <a href="#Page_016">16</a>.<br /> +Winsor, Justin, <i>The Westward Movement</i>, quoted, + <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Winston, Major, <a href="#footer_176-1">176 (note)</a>.<br /> +Woolwich, Ferguson studies at, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> +Wyandot Indians, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br /> + <br /> + </p> + <p><br /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">304</a></span> + </p> + <h3>Y.</h3> + <p> +Yadkin Valley, Scotch-Irish in, <a href="#Page_007">7</a>; + Craighead in, <a href="#Page_008">8</a>; + Highlanders in, <a href="#Page_012">12</a>-<a href="#Page_013">13</a>; + Moravians in, <a href="#Page_023">23</a>; + life in, <a href="#Page_036">36</a>, <a href="#Page_047">47</a>; + hunting, <a href="#Page_043">43</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>; + Boone's home in, <a href="#Page_048">48</a>, + <a href="#Page_090">90</a>, <a href="#Page_097">97</a>; + Presbyterian ministers in, <a href="#Page_050">50</a>.<br /> +Yamasi, Indians, <a href="#Page_056">56</a>; + Massacre, <a href="#Page_055">55</a>.<br /> +Yellowstone, Daniel Boone in, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br /> +Yorktown, Cornwallis surrenders at, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> + <br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + <h3>Z.</h3> + <p> + Zeisberger, David, Moravian missionary, + <a href="#Page_017">17</a>-<a href="#Page_018">18</a>, + <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> + Zinzendorf, Count (the Apostle), Moravian leader, + <a href="#Page_016">16</a>-<a href="#Page_017">17</a>.<br /> + </p> + <p><br /></p> + </div> + + + + + + + + + + + + + <hr /> + <div class="chapterhead"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2><a href="#Contents">The Chronicles of America Series</a></h2> + <ol> + <li>The Red Man's Continent<br /> by Ellsworth Huntington</li> + <li>The Spanish Conquerors<br /> by Irving Berdine Richman</li> + <li>Elizabethan Sea-Dogs<br /> by William Charles Henry Wood</li> + <li>The Crusaders of New France<br /> by William Bennett Munro</li> + <li>Pioneers of the Old South<br /> by Mary Johnson</li> + <li>The Fathers of New England<br /> by Charles McLean Andrews</li> + <li>Dutch and English on the Hudson<br /> by Maud Wilder Goodwin</li> + <li>The Quaker Colonies<br /> by Sydney George Fisher</li> + <li>Colonial Folkways<br /> by Charles McLean Andrews</li> + <li>The Conquest of New France<br /> + by George McKinnon Wrong</li> + <li>The Eve of the Revolution<br /> by Carl Lotus Becker</li> + <li>Washington and His Comrades in Arms<br /> by George McKinnon Wrong</li> + <li>The Fathers of the Constitution<br /> by Max Farrand</li> + <li>Washington and His Colleagues<br /> by Henry Jones Ford</li> + <li>Jefferson and his Colleagues<br /> by Allen Johnson</li> + <li>John Marshall and the Constitution<br /> by Edward Samuel Corwin</li> + <li>The Fight for a Free Sea<br /> by Ralph Delahaye Paine</li> + <li><span class="smcap">Pioneers of the Old Southwest<br /> + by Constance Lindsay Skinner</span></li> + <li>The Old Northwest<br /> by Frederic Austin Ogg</li> + <li>The Reign of Andrew Jackson<br /> by Frederic Austin Ogg</li> + <li>The Paths of Inland Commerce<br /> + by Archer Butler Hulbert</li> + <li>Adventurers of Oregon<br /> by Constance Lindsay Skinner</li> + <li>The Spanish Borderlands<br /> by Herbert Eugene Bolton</li> + <li>Texas and the Mexican War<br /> by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson</li> + <li>The Forty-Niners<br /> by Stewart Edward White</li> + <li>The Passing of the Frontier<br /> by Emerson Hough</li> + <li>The Cotton Kingdom<br /> by William E. Dodd</li> + <li>The Anti-Slavery Crusade<br /> by Jesse Macy</li> + <li>Abraham Lincoln and the Union<br /> by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson</li> + <li>The Day of the Confederacy<br /> by Nathaniel Wright Stephenson</li> + <li>Captains of the Civil War<br /> by William Charles Henry Wood</li> + <li>The Sequel of Appomattox<br /> by Walter Lynwood Fleming</li> + <li>The American Spirit in Education<br /> by Edwin E. Slosson</li> + <li>The American Spirit in Literature<br /> + by Bliss Perry</li> + <li>Our Foreigners<br /> by Samuel Peter Orth</li> + <li>The Old Merchant Marine<br /> by Ralph Delahaye Paine</li> + <li>The Age of Invention<br /> by Holland Thompson</li> + <li>The Railroad Builders<br /> by John Moody</li> + <li>The Age of Big Business<br /> by Burton Jesse Hendrick</li> + <li>The Armies of Labor<br /> by Samuel Peter Orth</li> + <li>The Masters of Capital<br /> by John Moody</li> + <li>The New South<br /> by Holland Thompson</li> + <li>The Boss and the Machine<br /> by Samuel Peter Orth</li> + <li>The Cleveland Era<br /> by Henry Jones Ford</li> + <li>The Agrarian Crusade<br /> by Solon Justus Buck</li> + <li>The Path of Empire<br /> by Carl Russell Fish</li> + <li>Theodore Roosevelt and His Times<br /> by Harold Howland</li> + <li>Woodrow Wilson and the World War<br /> by Charles Seymour</li> + <li>The Canadian Dominion<br /> by Oscar D. Skelton</li> + <li>The Hispanic Nations of the New World<br /> by William R. Shepherd</li> + </ol> + <hr /> + + + + + + <div class="chapterhead"> + <br /> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </div> + <h2> + <a href="#Contents">Transcriber Notes</a> + </h2> + + + <p class="noindent"> + The author spelled <i>powderhorns</i> on <a href="#Page_046">Page 46</a>, + but used a hyphen for <i>powder-horns</i> on <a href="#Page_208">Page + 208</a>. The inconsistencies were retained.<br /> + On <a href="#Page_058-T1">Page 58</a> and <a href="#Page_142">Page + 142</a> the word pack-horse was hyphenated between two lines. Since the + author wrote pack-horse five times in the middle of a sentence, with the + hyphen, and did not write packhorse, both words were transcribed + <i>pack-horse</i>.<br /> + On <a href="#Page_119">Page 119</a>, Tach-nech-dor-us was hyphenated + between two lines. We transcribed the name with hyphens after each + syllable, Tach-nech-dor-us, just as was done in the index.<br /> + The author referred to the <i>back water men</i> on + <a href="#footer_204-1">Page 204</a>. On <a href="#Page_201">Page 201</a>, + the <i>“backwater men”</i> were quoted. Major Patrick Ferguson + capitalized Back Water, separated the syllables by a space, but + alternately capitalized Men on <a href="#Page_203-T1">Page 203</a>, while + not doing so in his proclamation presented on <a href="#Page_213">Page + 213</a>. In the same chapter, there were four different spellings for the + same word, which we retained, and only point out to indicate that this + is not an error in transcription.<br /> + On <a href="#Page_299">Page 299</a> in the index, changed the spelling + of Opomingo to Opimingo to match the spelling in the text, for the + index entry: Mountain Leader (Opomingo). + </p> + <p class="quad-space-bottom"><br /></p> + + +<div class="boilerplate"> + +<p class="bold double-space-top"> +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST *** +</p> + +<p class="double-space-top"> +***** This file should be named 3073-h.htm or 3073-h.zip ***** +</p> + +<p class="no-space-bottom"> +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:</p> +<p class="center no-space-top"> + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/7/3073/ +</p> + +<p> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions +will be renamed. +</p> + +<p> +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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