The history of Kentucky : from its earliest settlement to the present time

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KENTUCKY.

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY,

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BY

T. S. AETHUK

AND

W. H, CAEPENTEK.

PHILADELPHIA :

LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.

1353.

Entered aacording to act of Congress, in the year 1852, by

T. S. ARTHUR AND W. H. CARPENTER,

W> tte Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania.

STEREOTTPEB PT 1. JOHNSON AND OO.

?H11ADKLPHIA.
PRINTED BY T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS.

S156S0

PUBLISHERS' PEEFACE.

There are but few persons iu this country who
have not, at some time or other, felt the want of an
accurate, well written, concise, yet clear and reliable
history of their own or some other state.

The want here indicated is now about being sup-
plied; and, as the task of doing so is no light or
superficial one, the publishers have given into the
hands of the two gentlemen whose names appear in
the title-page, the work of preparing a series of Cabi-
net Histories, embracing a volume for each state in
the Union. Of their ability to perform this well, we
need not speak. They are no strangers in the literary
world. What they undertake the public may rest
assured will be performed thoroughly, and that no
sectarian, sectional, or party feelings will bias their
judgment, or lead them to violate the integrity of
history.

The importance of a series of state histories like
those now commenced, can scarcely be estimated.
Being condensed as carefully as accuracy and interest
of narrative will permit, the size and price of the
volumes will bring them within the reach of every
family in the country, thus making them home-read-
ing books for old and young. Each individual will,

6 publishers' preface.

in consequence, become familiar, not only with the
history of his own state, but with that of other states :
— thus mutual interest will be re-awakened, and old
bonds cemented in a firmer union.

In this series of Cabinet Histories, the authors,
while presenting a concise but accurate narrative of
the domestic policy of each state, will give greater
prominence to the personal history of the people.
The dangers which continually hovered around the
early colonists ; the stirring romance of a life passed
fearlessly amid peril; the incidents of border war-
fare ; the adventures of hardy pioneers ; the keen
watchfulness, the subtle surprise, the ruthless attack,
and prompt retaliation — all these having had an im-
portant influence upon the formation of the American
character, are to be freely recorded ; while the progres-
sive development of the citizens of each individual state
from the rough forest life of the earlier day to the
polished condition of the present, will exhibit a pic-
ture of national expansion as instructing as it is inte-
resting.

The size and style of the series will be uniform
with the present volume. The authors, who have
been for some time collecting and arranging materials,
will furnish the succeeding volumes as rapidly as their
careful preparation will warrant.

PREFACE.

The history of Kentucky, here introduced to the
reader, is the first of a series of popular state histories,
now in course of publication. The aim has been to
present a graphic picture of the progress of the state,
from its first settlement by Daniel Boone down to the
present time.

The fierce and incessant inroads by which the
savages sought to drive the first settlers from their
favourite hunting-grounds ; the capture of Kaskaskia,
Cahokia, and Vincennes, by General Clark; the ex-
peditions of Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne ; the at-
tempts made by Spain to sever Kentucky from the
Union ; the machinations of Burr and his fellow-con-
spirators; the services of the volunteers from Ken-
tucky in the war of 1812, and the more recent inva-
sion of Mexico, have all been recorded : briefly in
some respects, but always fully whenever they came
within the scope of state history.

Kentucky occupies a peculiar position in relation to
her sister states. Previous to the explorations which
led to the erection of block-houses and rudely forti-
fied stations by the early pioneers, the western In-
dians had fondly clung to the hope that the Ohio
River would remain the boundary line between the

whites and the aborigines. When this hope was over-
shadowed by the advance of hardy frontiersmen —
few, indeed, at first, but gradually increasing in
numbers until they grew to be formidable — the In-
dians commenced hostilities, and in their endeavours
to force the daring intruders to desert their favourite
hunting-grounds, and retrace their steps across the
Ohio River, Kentucky became the battle-ground of
the West, and by the wonderful endurance and energy
of her pioneers, opened a peaceful path to those who
came afterward and settled in the territories beyond.
From this circumstance, and from the frank-hearted
patriotism of her people, Kentucky occupies a high
position among the States of the Union, and exercises
a wide influence in the councils of the nation.

This volume records briefly, yet, it is believed, with
fidelity and clearness, every event of leading interest
connected with the progression of the state to its pre-
sent position; at the same time there is presented, as
much in detail as possible, a narrative of those thrill-
ing adventures of the early settlers which give to the
history of Kentucky the fascination of a romance.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Inb-oduction — Doctor Walker touches the northern parts of
Kentucky — Explorations of John Finley — His glowing de-
scriptions of the country — Boone and others proceed to Ken-
tucky— Builds a cabin near Red River — Boone and Stuart
captured by the Indians — Mysterious fate of their com-
panions— Arrival of Squire Boone — Stuart killed and scalped
— Squire Boone returns home — Solitary condition of Daniel
Boone — Returns to North Carolina — Colonel Knox and the

. Long Hunters — Boone sets out for Kentucky with five fami-
lies— Is attacked by the Indians, and turns back — Leads
a party of surveyors to the falls of the Ohio — Captain Bul-
litt— The brothers McAffee — The Wataga treaty — Opera-
tions of Boone — Attacked by the Indians — Fort at Boones-
borough buUt — Forts of tlie early settlers — Harrodstown
station — Immigration continues — The Transylvania Com-
pany form a proprietary government — Virginia annuls the
treaty of Wataga — Boone brings his family to Kentucky —
Arrival of McGary, Hogan, and Denton — Simon Kenton...

CHAPTER IL

George Rogers Clark — Suggests a meeting of the colonists at
Harrodsburg — Appointed with Gabriel Jones a member of
the Virginia assembly — Applies to the council for ammuni-
tion for the colonists — The daughter of Boone and two other
females captured within sight of the fort — The Indians pur-
sued and the captives retaken — Kentucky erected into a
county of Virginia — Clark conveys the powder granted by
Virginia down the Ohio — Is pursued by the Indians — Se-
cretes the powder at the mouth of Limestone Creek — Colonel
Todd defeated near the Blue Licks — Jones and Grayson

9

10 CONTENTS.

killed — MeCleUand's Fort attacked — Kenton and others at-
tacked near Hinckston's station — Harrodsburg invested by
the Indians — Fearful situation of James Ray — Major Clark
assaults the Indians — Heroism of Logan — A spy company
organized — Skirmish at Boonesborough — The life of Boone
saved by Kenton 32

CHAPTER ni.

Border life — Clark sends spies to Kaskaskia — Projects an ia-
Tasion of Hlinois — Submits to the Governor of Virginia a
plan of operations against the British outposts — Is appointed
to lead the expedition — Boone taken prisoner at Blue Licks
— Escapes from Chillicothe and returns to Boonesborough
— Is besieged by a large Indian force led by Captain Du
Quesne — Artifices of the Indians — The siege raised — Clark
captures Kaskaskia and Cahokia — Sends his prisoners to
Virginia — Takes Vineennes — His success in conciliating the
Indians — Governor Hamilton recaptures Vineennes — Hia
ulterior designs — Clark resolves to attack Hamilton — His
terrible march through the wilderness — Reaches Vineennes
— His stratagem — Fatal accuracy of his rifles — Governor
Hamilton surrenders 48

CHAPTER IV.

The first block-house built at Lexington — Expedition of Colonel
Bowman against ChUlicothe — Bravery of Logan — Singular
conduct of Bowman — The attack by Logan — Bowman orders
a retreat — Harassed by the Indians — The savages repulsed
by Logan and others — Land law of Kentucky — Its obnox-
ious features — Vexatious law-suits arising from it— Colonel
Rogers attacked by the Indians on the Ohio — Dreadful
slaughter of the whites — Romantic anecdote of Captain
Denham and his companion — EuddeU's station attacked by
Canadians and Indians under Colonel Byrd — Ruddell sur-
renders— Treacherous conduct of the savages — Indignation
of Byrd — Martin's station captured — Byrd retreats down
the Ohio — Escape of Captain Hinckstou — His ingenuity in
discovering the route to Lexington by night — His perilous
escapes — Surrounded by Indians — Reaches Lexington in
safety — Indians retreat with their booty 61

CHAPTER V.

Clark destroys the Piqua towns on the Miami — Kentucky di-
vided into three counties — Indian incursions — Immigration

CONTENTS. 11

continues — Transylvania University incorporated by Virgi-
nia— Indians invest Estill's station — Are pursued — Defeat
of Estill — Bryant's station attacked by Girty at the head
of six hundred Indians — Heroism of the women — Arrival
of reinforcements — Their perilous situation — Skirmish in
the corn-field — Attack on the station — Girty attempts to ne-
gotiate— Answer of Reynolds — The Indians raise the siege
— Are pursued by a party under Colonel Todd — Fatal reck-
lessness of McGary — The Kentuekians attacked by the In-
dians from an ambush — Desperate conflict — Rout of the
Kentuekians — Escape of Daniel Boone — Presence of mind
of Netherland— Retaliation of Clark — Burns the Miami
towns 73

CBL\PTER VI.

Increase of immigration — Prospect of peace with England —
Difficulties continue — Indian hostilities cease — Kenton re-
claims his settlement in Washington — Brodhead opens a
store in Louisville — General James Wilkinson immigrates
to Kentucky — New counties laid off — Proposition to sepa-
rate from Virginia — Expedition of Clark against the In-
dians on the Wabash — Causes of its failure — Conventions
in Kentucky — Difficulties with the general government —
The navigation of the Mississippi — Spanish intrigues-
Brown has several conferences with Gardoqui — Letter of
Innis to the Governor of Virginia — General Wilkinson- goes
to New Orleans — Returns — Tempts the Kentuekians by the
offer of an independent treaty with Spain — Animosity of
parties — Letter of Marshall — Conventions — Kentucky re-
ceived into the Union 86

CHAPTER VIL

Indian inroads — Silas Hart pursues the Indians — Is killed —
Heroism of young Hart — Captivity of the family — Judge
Rowan sails down the Ohio — Is pursued by Indians — His
perilous position — Wonderful presence of mind of Mrs.
Rowan — Adventure of Caffree, McClure, and Davis — Meet
with an equal number of Indians — Terrible combat — Caf-
free and Davis killed — Subsequent adventures of McClure
— His escape — Colonel Marshall descends the Ohio — Is
hailed by James Girty — Indian decoys — Captain Ward as-
saulted by Indians — Death of his nephew — Panic of the
others — The search for a stray horse by Downing and
Yates — They are followed by Indians — Downing conceals
himself — The pursuit — Perilous situation of Downing —
His remarkable escape 93

12 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Indians attack the house of widow Shanks — Their stratagem
— The house fired — Fearful massacre — Heroic conduct of
young Shanks — Pursuit of the Indians — Their singular es-
cape— New mode of warfare on the Ohio — Political condi-
tion of Kentucky — Adventure of John Lancaster — Taken
captive with his companions — His escape and subsequent
privations — Floats down the Ohio on a raft — Is rescued at
the falls — Ballard's house attacked — Stubborn defence by
old Mr. Ballard — Daring conduct of Bland Ballard, the cele-
brated spy — Loss of the Indians 110

CHAPTER IX.

Captain Hubbell descends the Ohio — Is attacked by Indians
— His desperate defence — The Indians beaten off — Boat of
Captain Greathouse captured — Hubbell again attacked —
Indians retire with great loss — Heroism of a boy — Num-
ber of wounded — Painful condition of Captain Hubbell —
The boat reaches Limestone — Unsuccessful pursuit of the
savages — John May descends the Ohio — Indian stratagem —
Finn urges May to put into the Ohio shore — Finn surprised
by the savages — The boat attacked and captured — Skyles
wounded — May and Miss Fleming kUled — Reception of the
Indians by Johnston — Captain Marshall descends the Ohio
with three boats — Is pursued by the Indians — The attack
and defence — His escape with the loss of two boats 123

CHAPTER X.

Indian outrages — Action of the general government — Expedi-
tion of General Harmar — Miami villages burned — Hardin
detached to follow up the Indians — Falls into an ambush —
Is defeated — Painful situation of Captain Armstrong — Har-
mar retreats — Hardin again detached — Indian stratagem —
Noble conduct of the regulars — Hardin defeated — Harmar
returns home — Harmar and Hardin court-martialled — Ac-
quittal— Resignation of Harmar — Scott's expedition — De-
struction of the villages on the Wabash — Return of the
troops — St. Clair's expedition — Rendezvous at Fort Wash-
ington— Feeling of the Kentuckians — Object of the cam-
paign— Condition of the army — Fort Hamilton built — Erec-
tion of Fort Jefferson — The march — Desertion of the
militia — Of the Mountain Leader, a Chickasaw chief and
his band — St. Clair encamps on one of the tributaries of
the Wabash — Furious attack by the Indians, led by Lit-

CONTENTS. 13

tie Turtle and Girty— Defeat of St. Clair— Retreat to Fort
Washington 140

CHAPTER XL

Personal incidents of St. Clair's campaign — William Kennan
— His strength and activity — Discovers the Indians — Is
pursued by them — A race for life — His extraordinary leap
The retreat — Carries a wounded companion — His terrible
recourse to relieve himself — Assists Mr. Madison, afterward
governor of Kentucky — Excitement in Kentucky — Scott
and Wilkinson call for volunteers — Wilkinson marches to
the battle-ground — Horrid spectacle — Constitution of Ken-
tucky— Its provisions — Legislative acts — Population of the
state — Indian disturbances — Settlement on Elkhorn attack-
ed— The Cooks killed — Resolute conduct of the widows —
Escape of McAndre — Martin kUled — Escape of Dunn — Mur-
der of his two sons — Indians pursued 152

CHAPTER XIL

St. Clair superseded — Wayne appointed his successor — Colonel
Hardin — Sent as a messenger to the Indians — Is murdered
— Biographical notice — Hardin serves under Dunmore —
Volunteers with Captain Morgan — Is wounded in the thigh
— Rejoins Dunmore in an expedition against the Indian
towns — Contemplates moving to Kentucky — War between
England and the colonies — Hardin enlists men for the de-
fence of his country — Is appointed a lieutenant — Offered a
majority, but declines — Moves to Kentucky — Appointed
colonel of the county militia — His services — Grave charge
against Wilkinson — Tecumseh — Kenton's skirmish with
him — His stratagem and escape — The last Indian inroad —
Kenton forms an ambuscade on the Ohio — Kills four In-
dians and two white men — Escape of the others 166

CHAPTER XIIL

Genet supersedes Ternant as ambassador to the United States
— Perplexing position of the government — Washington calls
a cabinet councQ — Proclamation of neutrality resolved upon
— High-handed conduct of Genet — His reception by the
people— Projects an expedition against the Spanish settle-
ments— Despatches agents to Kentucky to raise volunteers
— George Rogers Clark commissioned a major-general in
the French service — Letter to Governor Shelby from the
Secretary of State — His reply — Democratic societies formed
— Second letter to Shelby — His sympathy with the move-
2

14 CONTENTS.

ment — Shelbj's letter to the Secretary of Stat« — Reply of
Edmund Randolph — Washington issues a proclamation to
the people of Kentucky — The recall of Genet solicited — Ac-
tivity of the Democratic associations — Meeting at Lexing-
ton— ReeaU of Genet — The expedition abandoned — Genet
marries and settles in New York 177

CHAPTER XrV.

Commissioners sent to the Indians to treat for peace — Refusal
of the savages to treat — The army under AVayne — Fort
Greenville built— St. Clair's battle-ground reoccupied — Fort
Recovery built — Wayne joined by the Kentucky volunteers
— Commences his march — Indian villages abandoned —
Builds Fort Adams and Defiance — Intelligence of the In-
dians— A flag sent to them — Their answer — Fort Deposit
built — The enemy discovered — Battle of Fallen Timbers —
Defeat of the Indians — Wayne encamps near the British
fort — Altercation with Major Campbell — Conduct of the
Kentuckians — Fort Wayne built — Treaty with the Indians
— Feeling in Kentucky — Marshall elected to the Senate of
the United States — Attempt to remove Judges Muter and
Sebastian — Courts of quarter sessions and oyer and termi-
ner abolished — Other laws. 188

CHAPTER XV.

Retrospective — Joe Logston — His character — Leaves the fort
in search of cattle — Is fired on by two Indians — His horse
kUled under him — Wounds one Indian severely — Is attack-
ed by the other — Both combatants disarmed — A fearful
trial of strength and activity — Kills his antagonist — Re-
turns to the fort — Is disbelieved — A search instituted — The
story confirmed — An example of savage heroism — The
Nickajack expedition — The people of Tennessee call upon
Kentucky for assistance — Colonel ^Vhitley marches with
one hundred men — Forms a junction with Colonel Orr — Is
appointed to conamand the troops — Surprise of the Nicka-
jack towns — A second expedition organized — The result —
Anecdote of Whitley — Proceeds to the southern towns to
recover some negroes — Conduct of a half-breed — Friendship
of Otter Lifter — His chanuster — Biography of Whitley — His
death ,.,.*. 200

CHAPTER XVL

Fin&l ratification of the treaty of peace between Great Britain
and the United States — Spain agrees to grant the navi-

CONTENTS. 15

gation of the Mississippi — Intrigues with Kentucky — Power,
the Spanish agent, confers with Judge Sebastian — Baron
Cai'ondelet's proposition — Views of Sebastian, Innis, and
Nicholas — Power visits General AVilkinson at Detroit — His
reception — Reply of Wilkinson — Views of Sebastian —
Power's own opinion — Power sent to Fort Massac under an
escort — Reaches New Madrid — Subsequent revelation con-
cerning Sebastian — Adams elected President of the United
States — His unpopularity in Kentucky — Meeting of the le-
gislature— Proposition to revise the constitution — Votes for
and against a convention — Decision of the legislature 212

CHAPTER XVII.

Garrard elected Governor of Kentucky — Denounces the alien
and sedition laws — Nullification resolutions written by Jef-
ferson— Endorsed by Kentucky — Denounced by other states
— Creation of new counties in Kentucky — Education pro-
moted— Various academies established — Appropriations of
land for their support — Meeting of convention — New con-
stitution adopted — Garrard re-elected governor — An at-
tempt made to encourage manufactures — Election of Jef-
ferson— Navigation of the Mississippi interrupted — Louisi-
ana ceded to France — Excitement in Kentucky — Letter of
Jefferson to Livingston — Monroe sent to Paris — Purchase
of Louisiana — Claiborne takes possession of New Orleans —
Greenup elected Governor of Kentucky — Re-election of Jef-
ferson— Kentucky militia discharged. 224

CHAPTER XVIIL

Aaron Burr — Elected Vice President of the United States —
Loses the confidence of his party — Is nominated for Gover-
nor of New York — Defeated through the influence of Ham-
ilton— Kills Hamilton in a duel — Flees to South Carolina —
Returns to Washington — Sets out for the West — His nomi-
nal projects — His association with Wilkinson — Becomes ac-
quainted with Blennerhasset — Actual project of Burr —
Reaches New Orleans — Returns overland to Kentucky —
Spends the spring and summer in Philadelphia and Wash-
ington— Attempts to win over Eaton, Truxton, and Decatur
— His second journey to the West — Builds boats on the
Muskingum — Contracts for supplies and enlists volunteers
— Wilkinson at Natchitoches — Receives despatches from
Burr — Sends a messenger to the president — Orders New Or-
leans to be strengthened — Proceeds to Natchez — Despatches
a second messenger to Washington — Writes to Claiborne

16 CONTENTS.

and the Governor of the Mississippi Territory — Reaches
New Orleans — His measures at that place 233

CHAPTER XIX.

Conflicting reports concerning the intentions of Burr — Ex-
posures made at Frankfort — Energetic conduct of Daviess
— His affidavit against Burr — An examination ordered —
Burr attends the court — The case postponed — A new grand
jury summoned — Second appearance of Burr — Absence of
General Adair, the principal witness for the prosecution —
The examination pressed — Acquittal of Burr — His false de-
claration to Henry Clay — Action of the general government
— Jefferson sends an agent to Ohio — Disclosures by Blen-
nerhasset — Seizure of ten boats on the Muskingum — Tyler's
flotilla — Burr proceeds to Nashville — Meets the volunteers
at the mouth of the Cumberland River — Descends the Mis-
sissippi to New Madrid — Gains a knowledge of Wilkinson's
revelations — Encamps above Natchez — The militia called
out by the Governor of the Mississippi Territory — Burr sur-
renders himself to the civil authorities — His boats searched
— Charges against Sebastian and Innis 245

CHAPTER XX.

Critical foreign relations with the United States — Berlin de-
crees— Restraint upon commercial enterprise — Attack upon
the Chesapeake — Great excitement throughout the Union
— Embargo — One hundred thousand militia called for — Re-
solutions passed in Kentucky — Declaration of war — Indian
difiBculties — Tecumseh — His attempts to form a confedera-
tion of tribes — Assembling of warriors at Tippecanoe —
March of Harrison — Battle of Tippecanoe — Death of Joseph
H. Daviess — Return of Tecumseh — His interview with Har-
rison— Hull appointed to command the northwestern army
— Invades Canada — Returns — General Brock summons De-
troit— Surrender of Hull — Indignation of the states — Volun-
teers from Kentucky — Hopkins marches against the lUinois
Indians — Is deserted by his men — A second northwestern
army organized — Harrison commissioned a brigadier-gene-
ral— Appointed commander-in-chief. 257

CHAPTER XXI.

Plan of the fall campaign of 1812 — Harrison appointed com-
mander of the northwestern army — Winchester marches
from Fort Wayne — Difficulties of the route — Deplorable
condition of the troops — Winchester halts at the Rapids —

CONTENTS. 17

The enemy approach Frenchtown— A detachment of Ken-
tuckians under Colonel Lewis sent against them — Proctor
advances from Maiden — Battle of the River Raisin — Sur-
render of the Americans — Inhuman massacre — Reception
of the news in Kentucky — Four regiments of volunteers
raised — Harrison builds Fort Meigs — Is reinforced from
Kentucky — Siege of Fort Meigs by Proctor — Advance of
General Clay — Colonel Dudley destroys a part of the Bri-
tish batteries — His detachment surrounded by British and
Indians — Terrible slaughter of the prisoners — Inhuman
conduct of Proctor — Tecumseh — His indignant reply to the
British general 269

CHAPTER XXII.

Great advantages possessed by the British — Perry ordered to
build vessels on the shore of Lake Erie — Extraordinary ac-
tivity and despatch — Proctor assaults Fort Stephenson —
Croghan's noble defence — Perry's victory on Lake Erie —
Harrison advances into Canada — Proctor retreats toward
the Moravian towns — Battle of the Thames — Surrender of
the regulars and flight of Proctor — Desperate conflict with
the Indians — Colonel Johnson severelj' wounded — Tecum-
seh killed — The British forces under Packenham threaten
New Orleans — Vanguard of the enemy bivouac on the Mis-
sissippi— Night attack by Jackson and Coffee, supported by
the schooner Caroline — Arrival of Packenham — His tardy
movements — Activity of Jackson — Kentucky reinforcement
arrives — Battle of the Sth of January — Terrible slaughter of
the enemy — Death of Packenham — Retreat of the enemy.... 281

CHAPTER XXin.

Peace proclaimed between England and the United States —
Inflated condition of the currency — Dreadful monetary de-
rangement— Banks chartered — Power of replevin extended
— Bank of the Commonwealth chartered — Great excitement
on account of the relief law — Relief and anti-relief parties
organized — Legality of the relief law contested — Decision
of Judge Clark^ sustained by the court of appeals — Gene-
ral alarm and outcry — Unsuccessful attempt of the legisla-
ture to remove the judges — The old court of appeals abolish-
ed, and a new one established — The constitutionality of the
latter contested — The old court sustained— State and gene-
ral politics — Suspension of specie payments — Second mone-
tary derangement — The legislature again applied to for
relief — Wisdom of the measures adopted — Governors of

Kentucky — Presidential election 298

2*

18 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Mexico and the United States — Annexation of Texas — Gene-
ral Taylor ordered to move to the Rio Grande — Encamps at
Corpus Christi — Erects a post at Point Isabel — Marches to
a point opposite Matamoras — Builds Fort Brown — The
Mexicans cross the Rio Grande in force — Taylor returns to
Point Isabel — Again marches to Fort Brown — Battle of
Palo Alto — Battle of Resaca de la Palma — Occupation of
Matamoras — Reception of reinforcements — March upon
Monterey — Storming of Monterey — Great reduction of the
force under General Taylor — Is compelled to assume the
defensive — Return of Santa Anna to Mexico — Concentrates
a large army at San Luis Potosi — Marches against Taylor
— Battle of Buena Vista — Conclusion

HISTORY OF KEITUCKY.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction — Doctor Walker touches the northern parts of
Kentucky — Explorations of John Finley — His glowing de-
scriptions of the country — Boone and others proceed to Ken-
tucky— Build a cabin near Red River — Boone and Stuart
captured by the Indians — Mysterious fate of their companions
— Arrival of Squire Boone — Stuart killed and scalped — Scjuire
Boone returns home — Solitary condition of Daniel Boone
— Returns to North Carohna — Colonel Knox and the Long
Hunters — Boone sets out for Kentucky vpith five families — Is
attacked by the Indians, and turns back' — Leads a party of
surveyors to the falls of the Ohio — Captain Bullitt — The
brothers McAfee — The Wataga treaty — Operations of Boone
— Attacked by the Indians — Fort at Boonesborough built
— Forts of the early settlers — Harrodstown station — Immigra-
tion continues — The Transylvania Company form a proprie-
tary government — Virginia annuls the treaty of Wataga
— Boone brings his family to Kentucky — Arrival of McGary,
Hogan, and Denton — Simon Kenton.

No history of any individual state belonging
to the North American Confederation presents so
graphic a picture of the courage, energy, capacity
of endurance, and indomitable tenacity of its peo-
ple, as that of Kentucky. The sternest truths,
in relation to the difficulties encountered by the
bold hunters and hardy pioneers of " the dark
and bloody ground," assume the wild charm and

20 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

vivid colouring of tlie most startling romance.
In this case, history far transcends fiction, by
giving all those minute details of time, place, and
circumstance, which stamp all narratives of real
adventure with the fascinating impression of per-
fect lifelikeness.

As the self-reliant type of the American cha-
racter at the epoch of the Revolution, the Ken-
tuckian stands pre-eminent. He may even stand
for it at the present day. The descendant of the
cavaliers of Virginia and Maryland, he carried
with him into the wilderness many of the noble
qualities for which that brave, high-toned, but
reckless class of people were distinguished ; while
he left behind him not a few of their vices.
Daring even to rashness, he was yet full of all
generous impulses ; fierce to his enemies, he was
yet hospitable to the stranger ; quick to resent
an injury, yet prompt to forgive it ; fertile in
stratagem, yet steadfast in resolve ; fiery in pur-
suit, yet cool and collected in action ; never re-
treating but to fight, Parthian-like, as he fell
back ; never stooping to the earth but to gather
strength for the rebound ; simple in his tastes
and pleasures ; a doer of brave acts and generous
deeds — not to gain the applause of others, but
from native nobility of soul. Free even to the
verge of lawlessness, time has reversed in him
the stigma which Captain John Smith had cast
upon his progenitors, who, if they were amenable

ITS ABORIGINES. 21

to the censure of that valiant soldier, as being
" more fitted to corrupt than found a common-
wealth," have yet the merit of having redeemed
their memory in the pure republicanism of their
children's children.

Of the original occupants of that splendid coun-
try, which, under the modern name of the State
of Kentucky, stretches from the thirty-sixth to
the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude, and
from the eighty-second to nearly the ninetieth
degree of west longitude, nothing now is known.
That they were superior in civilization to the In-
dians who subsequently roamed its sylvan aisles,
and contested their possession so long and so
hardily with the Anglo-American pioneers, is
suflSciently attested by the remains of their skil-
fully-constructed fortifications, their copper tools
for mechanical purposes, their curiously-carved
pipes, and the more perfect and ingenious charac-
ter of their household utensils. As to who they
were, or of what nation, how they came, or whither
they departed, antiquarian knowledge has hitherto
been at fault, and the traditions of their ruder
successors furnish no clue.

Until Dr. Walker touched upon the northern
parts of Kentucky, at some time between the years
1747 and 1758, no Anglo-Saxon foot had ever
stood upon its soil. Nine years after this latter
period, it was partially explored by John Finley,
who, on returning home from his adventurous

22 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

excursion, gave such glowing accounts of the rich-
ness and fertility of the new country, that the
bold and daring frontiersmen of Virginia and
North Carolina were stimulated to cross the rug-
ged Cumberland Mountains, and view for them-
selves the beauty of a land whose genial clime,
and flowery meadows, and almost eternal verdure,
had animated to such a warmth of enthusiasm the
usually calm and practical mind of the sturdy
pioneer.

In 1769, Daniel Boone, in company with five
others, of whom Finley was one, left his family
upon the Yadkin in North Carolina, and started
to examine the new hunting-grounds of which he
had heard so favourable an account.

Near to Red River, upon the borders of the
present state of Kentucky, Boone and his com-
panions built a cabin to protect themselves from
the inclemency of the weather, and devoted their
time to hunting and the chase, in which they
were singularly successful.

This course of life remained undisturbed for
several months, and it may be they began to
think that the Indians who claimed lordship over
the soil would suffer a few hunters and trappers
to roam over their sylvan territory without moles-
tation. If such were indeed their thoughts, the
time was near at hand when they were to be
fatally undeceived. On the 22d of December,
Boone and his companion Stuart, while out on

THE BOONE BROTHERS. 23

one of their usual hunting excursions, were sur-
prised and captured by the Indians.

After an imprisonment of seven days, the two
woodsmen succeeded in making their escape, and
returned to their cabin on Red Rivei^ They found
it plundered and deserted. The fate of their
companions was never ascertained. A few days
after this. Squire Boone, from Carolina, accom-
panied by another man, reached the camp of his
brother. Cheered by this unexpected reinforce-
ment, small as it was, Boone and Stuart resolved
to remain in the country, but the determination
proved fatal to the latter ; he was soon afterward
shot and scalped by the outlying savages. Boone
himself escaped, but these disasters so terrified
the companion of Squire Boone, that he returned
home to North Carolina, leaving the two brothers
alone in the wilderness, separated by hundreds
of miles from the white settlements, and destitute
of every thing but their rifles.

At length, their ammunition being nearly ex-
hausted, it was agreed upon between the two
brothers, that the younger should return to Caro-
lina for a fresh supply ; while Daniel, the elder,
remained to take charge of the camp. For a few
days after the departure of his last remaining
companion, Boone felt lonely and depressed ; but
his spirits soon revived, and though the only
white man in that portion of the vast wilderness,
he continued his customary hunting excursions,

24 HISTOKY OF KENTUCKY.

finding game in abundance, and cheered in his
solitary rambles by the great natural beauty of
the scenery around him.

Toward the close of July, 1770, the younger
Boone returi^d. From that time until March,
1771, the two brothers continued to range the
country without receiving any injury, when they
retraced their steps to North Carolina,

Boone had been absent from his family for
about three years, during nearly the whole of
which time he had never tasted bread or salt, nor
beheld the face of a single white man, with the
exception of his brother and the friends who had
been killed.

But while Boone was traversing singly the
northern and middle regions of Kentucky, a band
of resolute men from Holston, on the Clinch
River, led by Colonel James Knox, and calling
themselves the Long Hunters, explored the mid-
dle and southern portions of the territory.

The reports brought home by Boone and his
brother in relation to the loveliness of the cli-
mate, and the unexampled productiveness of the
soil, soon attracted other adventurers to place
themselves under the leadership of the daring
pioneer. Equally eager himself to return to the
land which had so won upon his affections, Daniel
Boone disposed of all his property, with the
exception of such portable articles as he might
require, and on the 25th of September, 1771,

DANIEL BOONE. 25

accompanied by his family, once more set out for
his destined home. In Powell's valley Boone was
joined by five other families and forty men. But
though this party commenced their journey in
high spirits, they grew depressed as the distance
from their old homes gradually increased.

At the foot of the Cumberland Mountains they
were attacked by a large body of Indians, whom
they succeeded in defeating, though not until
after a severe engagement, in which the whites
lost six men in killed and wounded. Among the
former was Boone's eldest son. Discouraged by
this early initiation into dangers which they
feared would increase as they advanced, they
concluded to proceed no farther on their journey
at this time ; but to fall back upon the settle-
ments on Clinch River, about forty miles from the
scene of action. Here they remained until 1774.

But though his companions thus quietly, and
perhaps with a sense of relief, ensconced them-
selves within the limits of less dangerous territory,
Boone himself was of too restless a nature to be
content to live in a like calm and equable man-
ner. His desire for a change, which would in-
volve the exercise of both caution and daring, was
soon to be gratified. At the instance of Lord
Dunmore, then governor of the province of Vir-
ginia, Boone consented to lead a party of survey-
ors through the wilderness to the falls of the
Ohio, a distance of eight hundred miles.

26 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The able and judicious manner in which this
arduous service was performed induced Dunmore
to place Boone in command of three frontier
stations in western Virginia. He remained in
charge of these posts until 1774, and in the in-
termediate time was engaged in several aifairs
with the Indians.

In the mean while, Virginia had directed that
the bounty in lands which she had given to the
troops engaged in the old French war should be
located upon the waters of her western territory ;
and in 1773 Captain Thomas Bullitt conducted a
party of surveyors to the falls of the Ohio, where
a camp was constructed to protect them from the
Indians. It was at this period that many surveys
were made, and wide tracts of country explored
with a view to future settlement, both by the
party encamped at the falls of the Ohio, and by
the brothers McAfee, who had ascended to the
forks of the Kentucky River.

It was now that the services of Boone were
again to be put in requisition. Colonel Richard
Henderson, a man who had raised himself from
the low condition of a constable to the position
of associate chief-judge of North Carolina, finding
himself involved in great pecuniary difficulties
through his wild speculations and his expensive
style of living, resolved to attempt by one bold
effort the acquisition of an enormous fortune.
Having succeeded in forming a company for the

TREATY OF WATAGA. 27

object he proposed to eflfect, he availed himself
of the knowledge of so experienced a woodsman
as Boone, who, at his request, and at the solicita-
tion of several gentleman of North Carolina,
attended a treaty with the Cherokees, known as
the treaty of Wataga, for the purchase of the
lands south of the Kentucky Kiver. By this
treaty, all that tract of country lying between the
Cumberland River, the mountains of the same
name, and the Kentucky River, south of the
Ohio, was transferred, for the sum of fifty thou-
sand dollars, to the company of which Henderson
was the chief originator. A few speculators be-
came thus the owners of all that territory which
now comprises more than one-half of the state
of Kentucky. They immediately proceeded to
take possession of their newly-acquired purchase.
It was now that the assistance of so experienced
a man as Boone became peculiarly valuable. His
business was to mark out a road for the pack-
horses and wagons of Henderson's party. Leav-
ing his family on Clinch River, he set out upon
this hazardous undertaking at the head of a few
men, in the early part of the year 1775, and
arrived, without any adventure worthy of note,
on the 22d of March in the same year, at a point
within fifteen miles of the spot where Boones-
borough was afterward built. Here they were
attacked on two successive days by the Indians,
who were finally beaten off after a severe contest,

28 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

in which the -whites sustained a loss of four men
in killed and wounded.

On the 1st of April, they reached the southern
bank of the Kentucky River, and began to build
a fort, afterward known as Boonesborough. By
the 16th of the same month the fort was com-
pleted, notwithstanding the dangers to which they
were exposed from continual interruptions from
the Indians, and which occasioned the loss of
another of their party.

The forts of the early settlers consisted of
cabins, block-houses, and stockades, built in the
form of a hollow square. A range of cabins com-
monly formed at least one side of the fort. Di-
visions, or partitions of logs, separated these rude
dwellings from each other. The walls on the
outside were ten or twelve feet high, the slope of
the roof being invariably inward. A few of these
cabins had puncheon floors, which were formed
by splitting trees of about eighteen inches in
diameter, and hewing the face of them with a
broadaxe ; but the greater part of the floors were
earthen.

The block-houses were built at the angles of
the fort. They projected about two feet beyond
the outer walls of the cabins and stockades.
Their upper stories were about eighteen inches
every way larger in dimensions than the under
ones, leaving an opening at the commencement
of the second story to prevent the enemy from

SETTLEMENT OF HARRODSTOWN. 29

making a lodgment under the walls. A large
folding-gate, made of thick slabs, closed the fort
on the side nearest the spring. The stockades,
cabins, and block-house walls were furnished with
apertures at proper heights and distances. The
entire extent of the outer wall was made bullet
proof. The whole of this work was constructed
without the aid of a single nail or spike of iron,
as such articles were not to be obtained.

Previous to this, howevei', another settlement
had been commenced between the Kentucky and
the Salt Rivers, eight miles from the former,
and about one mile from the latter. In May,
1774, Captain John Harrod, with forty-one men,
descended the Ohio River, and penetrating the
intervening forest, selected, about the middle of
June, the site for a town in the vicinity of a fine
spring, and erected the usual cabins and block-
houses. The settlement thus organized received
soon after the name of Harrodstown.

Rendered perfectly furious by these daring en-
croachments upon their old hunting-grounds, the
Indians subjected the fort of Boonesborough to
incessant attacks ; but the fierce warriors soon
found themselves confronted by a courage and
endurance superior to their own, and by a cool
deliberate forecast, which, in most instances,
circumvented all their stratagems.

The fort w^as scarcely built before immigrants
began to flock into the newly-acquired territory.

30 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The first object of those to whom the territory
had been ceded by the Cherokees, was to strength-
en their right to it by the establishment of a pro-
prietary government.

On the 23d of May, 1775, in obedience to a
summons issued by Henderson, a number of per-
sons residing in or around Boonesborough met
under the shade of a large elm tree near the walls
of the fort, and forming themselves into a legis-
lative body, elected Henderson president, gave to
the new country the name of Transylvania, fixed
upon Boonesborough as its capital, and passed
nine laws. By the compact entered into during
the session of this assembly between the proprie-
tors and the colonists, a free, manly, and liberal
government was established over the territory.
It was further agreed that the election of dele-
gates should be annual ; that there should be
perfect freedom of opinion in matters of religion;
that judges should be appointed by the proprie-
tors, but answerable for malconduct to the peo-
ple ; and that the convention should elect the
treasurer, and have the sole power of raising and
appropriating all moneys.

This compact was solemnly executed under the
hands and seals of three proprietors acting for
the company, and by Thomas Slaughter, chair-
man of the convention, acting for the colonists.

But the new province of Transylvania was des-
tined to occupy but a brief space in the history

FIRST FEMALE SETTLERS. 31

of the North American colonies. Lord Dunmore
speedily issued a proclamation refusing to recog-
nise the validity of the cession, and the legisla-
ture of Virginia annulled the treaty as being con-
trary to the chartered rights of that state. But
as some compensation to the proprietors for their
services in opening the wilderness and preparing
the way for civilization, they were granted a
tract of land twelve miles square on the Ohio,
below the mouth of Greene River.

Notwithstanding the check thus given to the
ambitious schemes of the Transylvania Company,
the settlements thus began continued to increase,
though but slowly.

In the summer of the same year that witnessed
the completion of the fort, Boone returned to
Clinch River for his family. He brought them
to their new home as soon as the journey could
be performed, and Mrs. Boone and her daughters
were the first white women who ever stood upon
the banks of the Kentucky River. They were
soon reinforced by the arrival of the three fami-
lies of McGary, Hogan, and Denton^^ with their
wives and children.

From this time Boonesborough and Harrods-
town, or Harrodsburg as it was soon afterward
called, became the nucleus and support of immi-
gration to Kentucky. It was during this year,
also, that Simon Kenton, subsequently so emi-
nently distinguished as a pioneer and Indian

32 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

fighter, erected a log cabin and raised a crop of
corn within a mile of the present town of Wash-
ington, in Mason county, where he continued
until the autumn, when he removed to Boones-
borough.

CHAPTER II.

George Rogers Clark — Suggests a meeting of the colonists at
Harrodsburg — Appointed with Gabriel Jones a member of
the Virginia assembly — Applies to the council for ammuni-
tion for the colonists — The daughter of Boone and two other
females captured within sight of the fort — The Indians pur-
sued and the captives retaken — Kentucky erected into a county
of Virginia — Clark conveys the powder granted by Virginia
down the Ohio — Is pursued by the Indians — Secretes the
powder at the mouth of Limestone Creek — Colonel Todd de-
feated near the Blue Licks — Jones and Grayson killed —
McClelland's Fort attacked — Kenton and others attacked near
Hinckstone station — Harrodsburg invested by the Indians — •
Fearful situation of James Ray — Major Clark assaults the
Indians — Heroism of Logan — A spy company organized — ■
Skirmish at Boonesborough — The life of Boone saved by
Kenton.

Among the numerous adventurers who crossed
the wilderness and penetrated Kentucky in 1775,
was one whose name afterward became peculiarly
conspicuous in the annals of the state — George
Rogers Clark. He was then a young man of
twenty-three years of age, by profession a sur-
veyor ; a business which appears to have pre-
sented to the enterprising young men of that day
a most congenial and attractive field for the exer-
cise of their energies. How long Clark continued

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 33

in this vocation is unknown. When he visited
Kentucky he had already seen service, having,
in what was called Dunmore's war, been already
engaged at the head of a company in active opera-
tions against the Indians. Clark remained in
Kentucky during the spring and summer of this
year, familiarizing himself with the resources of
the country, and from his already well-known
and commanding talents, was at once selected to
command the irregular militia of the settlements.
In the fall he returned to Virginia ; but came
back again to Kentucky in the spring of the fol-
lowing year, with the view of making it his per-
manent home. From this time forth his name is
closely associated with the progress of western
settlements in power and civilization. His mind
had been very early impressed with the immense
importance of the frontier country to the security
of the parent state Virginia, and the necessity
of a more regular system of military operations.
With the view of accomplishing this design, he
suggested to the settlers, on his return, the pro-
priety of convening a general assembly of the
people at Harrodsburg, for the purpose of form-
ing a more definite and certain connection with
the government and people of Virginia than as
yet existed. Owing to the difl&culties and dis-
putes arising out of the contested claims of the
Transylvania Company, this step was rendered
imperatively necessary, in order that the relation

34 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

of the settlement to Virginia might he distinctly
ascertained. The proposed meeting was accord-
ingly held at Harrodsburg on the 6th of June,
1776, when Clark and Gabriel Jones were chosen
delegates to the assembly, which then held its
session at Williamsburg, the ancient capital of
Virginia. Finding on their arrival that the legis-
lature had adjourned, Jones directed his steps to
the settlements on Holston, leaving Clark to at-
tend alone to the Kentucky mission.

He immediately waited on Governor Henry,
then lying sick at his residence in Hanover
county, to whom he stated the objects of his
journey. Bearing a letter from the governor,
Clark next waited on the executive council of the
state, and made application for five hundred
weight of gunpowder for the defence of the vari-
ous stations. To this application the indefinite
state of the relations existing between the colo-
nists and Virginia interposed a temporary ob-
stacle. It was at length, however, overcome by
the firmness of Clark, and an order was passed
on the 23d of August, 1776, by which the keeper
of the magazine was directed to transmit the gun-
powder to Pittsburg, to be there delivered to Clark,
or to such other persons as he ' might appoint to
receive it, for the use of the people of Kentucky.

This liberal conduct on the part of the council
may probably have been hastened by an incident
which had already occui'red at Boonesborough,

CAPTURE OF AMERICAN GIRLS. 35

in the month preceding. On the 7th of Julj, a
daughter of Boone, and two other females by
the name of Calloway, were amusing themselves
in a canoe within sight from the fort, when a
concealed party of Indians suddenly rushed from
the surrounding coverts and carried them away
captives. The screams of the terrified girls
quickly alarmed the families in the garrison ;
but, as it was near nightfall, and the canoe on
the opposite side of the river, pursuit was not
commenced in time to follow more than five miles
during the night. 81 5630

By daylight next morning, a party, consisting
of Daniel Boone, Colonel Floyd, and six others,
got upon their track, and continued the pursuit.
The exceeding caution of the Indians rendered
it difiicult for the pursuing party to keep on
their trail, but they pressed forward notwith-
standing in the direction they supposed the In-
dians would take, and with almost incredible
rapidity. Having travelled about thirty-five miles,
they struck a buffalo trace, where they found the
tracks quite plain. The pursuit was urged on
with great keenness, and at the further distance
of ten miles, they came in sight of their foes just
as they were kindling a fire to cook.

Both parties saw each other at the same in-
stant. Four of the whites fired, and then charged
so suddenly and furiously upon the Indians, that
they were compelled to retreat, with a single shot-

36 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

gun ■without ammunition, and without having time
to tomahawk their captives. The girls sustained
no other injury than excessive fright and fatigue.
Two of the Indians were killed. The whites were
so much rejoiced at the recovery of their children,
that they refrained from continuing the pursuit,
and retraced their steps to the fort.

At the fall session of the Virginia legislature,
Clark and his associate Jones laid the Kentucky
memorial before that body. Though not ad-
mitted to take their seats as recognised mem-
bers, they were yet able to defeat the endeavours
of Colonels Henderson and Campbell, who were
still contending for the validity of the Wataga
treaty, and to obtain the passage of a law by
which the cis-montane territory was recognised
as a part of the state of Virginia, and erected
into a county, under its previous name of Ken-
tucky.

By this act, which was passed on the 6th of
December, 1776, Kentucky became entitled to a
separate county court, two justices of the peace,
a sheriff, constables, coroners, and militia officers.
In the spring of 1777, the court of quarter ses-
sions held its first sitting at Harrodsburg, at-
tended by the sheriff of the county, and his clerk
Levi Todd. The first court of Kentucky was
composed of John Todd, John Floyd, Benjamin
Logan, John Bowman, and Richard Calloway.

Having thus succeeded to a considerable ex-

TRANSPORTATION OF GUNPOWDER. 37

tent in the mission they were delegated to perform,
Clark and Jones set out once more for Kentuckj.
Being advised that the powder was still remaining
at Pittsburg, they determined to proceed home by
that route and bring it with them. This duty
was one of great danger. The Indians around
Pittsburg were both numerous and hostile, and
it was requisite to use the utmost secrecy and
caution to avoid being intercepted by them.
Hastily embarking with the powder, to which had
been added a good supply of lead, Clark and
Jones, assisted by seven boatmen, moved with
great expedition down the Ohio, with the In-
dians following vigorously in the rear ; but they
finally succeeded in eluding their pursuers for a
time by turning in at the mouth of Limestone
Creek, at the spot where the eity of Maysville
now stands.

After ascending the creek a short distance,
the cargo was landed and buried, at different
places in the woods along its banks. They then
turned their boat adrift, and directed their course
to the nearest station, with the view of returning,
accompanied by an escort sufficient to insure the
safe transportation of the stores. The first sta-
tion they approached was McClelland's, situated
where Georgetown now stands. Finding it too
weak in numbers to justify detaching a sufficient
party to convey the secret ammunition, Clark,
piloted by Simon Kenton — who had broken up his

38 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

old camp and joined the settlers at McClelland's
— set out for Harrodsburg. Unfortunately, du-
ring their absence, Jones prevailed on Colonel
John Todd and ten men to accompany him to
the place where the ammunition was concealed.
They accordingly set out, and on the 25th of
December, while in the vicinity of the Blue Licks,
were encountered by the Indian chief Pluggey
and defeated. Jones and William Grayson were
killed, and two of the party taken prisoners. The
remainder escaped into the station, where Clark
and Kenton arrived soon after with a reinforce-
ment from Harrodsburg.

On the morning of the 1st of January, 1777,
Pluggey and his warriors appeared before the
fort. McClelland and his men sallied out to
attack them, but were repulsed, McClelland him-
self and two of his men being slain, and four
others wounded. The Indians soon afterward
withdrew, and in a few days the ammunition was
brought in safety to the station by a party orga-
nized and led by Clark.

This welcome acquisition, by supplying the
colonists with an abundance of that ammunition
of which they stood in so much need, enabled
them subsequently to make a successful defence
against the savages, by whom they now began to
be constantly beset on all sides. The danger
indeed grew so threatening, that McClelland's
Fort was abandoned, as the neighbouring station

FRAY WITH THE IXDIAXS. 39

of Hinckston's had been a short time previous,
and the settlers from both places, in great gloom
and amidst the lamentations of the women and
children, departed for Harrodsburg. Here Ken-
ton also took up his abode.

In the spring, Clark, v.'ho had now command
of the settlements, with the title of major, sent
Kenton, John Haggin, and four others, to Hinck-
ston's old station, to break out some flax and hemp.
Haggin was in front, and observed a party of In-
dians encamped around the deserted fort. Ken-
ton, who was as prudent as he was brave, advised
an immediate retreat ; but when Haggin remarked,
that it would be an act of cowardice to run with-
out having one firej Kenton sprang from his
horse, and the others, with one sensible exception,
followed his example. In the mean time, the In-
dians, who had already discovered the approach
of the whites, opened a brisk fire upon the latter,
which speedily compelled them to seek safety in
flight. Directing his party to retreat into Har-
rodsburg, Kenton separated from them, to put the
garrison at Boonesborough on their guard. Al-
though he reached the vicinity of the fort at an
early hour, he determined not to enter it before
darkness set in, knowing the custom of the In-
dians to lie in ambush around the stations, and
thus cut off" whoever might attempt to enter or
depart. This caution saved his life ; for when

40 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the men carrying in the bodies of two of their
friends who had been killed a few hours before,
on the very same path by which he entered.

In March, 1777, while James Ray, his brother,
and another man, were engaged in clearing some
land about four miles from Harrodsburg, they
were attacked by a party of forty-seven Indians,
under the command of the celebrated chief Black-
fish. The Indians were attracted to the place by
the noise of the axes, and rushing in upon the
choppers, killed the younger Ray, and took the
third man prisoner. The elder Ray — distin-
guished afterward as General James Ray — being
uninjured by the discharge of rifles, fled in the
direction of the fort. Several of the swiftest In-
dians followed him, but such was his fieetness and
activity, that he distanced them all, and reached
the fort in safety.

By this fortunate escape of Ray, the garrison
at Harrodsburg were enabled to prepare them-
selves in time for the expected attack. The
militia was immediately organized, ammunition
provided, water and provisions secured, and the
fort put in the best possible state of defence.

On the morning of the 7th of March, 1777,
several days after the escape of Ray, the Indians
approached the vicinity of the fort, and, prelimi-
nary to an attack, fired an out-cabin on the east
side of the town.

The garrison, unconscious of the proximity of

ray's adventure. 41

the enemy, and supposing the fire to be the
result of accident, rushed out of the fort with a
view to extinguish the flames. The Indians in-
stantly attempted to intercept their return. The
whites retreated, keeping up a random fire until
they reached a piece of woods on the hill, now
occupied by the court-house in Harrodsburgh,
where each man took a tree, and soon caused the
Indians in turn to give back, when the detach-
ment from the garrison succeeded in regaining
the fort. In this skirmish one Indian was killed,
and four of the whites wounded, one of whom
subsequently died.

During the same year, while Eay and a man
named McConnell were shooting at a mark near
the fort, the latter was suddenly shot down by
the Indians. Ray instantly glanced his eye in
the direction of the shot, and perceiving the ene-
my, raised his rifle to avenge the death of his
friend, when he was suddenly attacked by a large
body of Indians, who had crept near him unseen.
His powers as a runner were again called into
requisition, and Ray bounded towards the fort,
distant a hundred and fifty yards, with the speed
of an antelope, amidst showers of bullets from
the savages. But when he approached the gates
of the fort, he found them closed, and the garri-
son.too much under the influence of their fears to
open them for his admission. In this critical
situation, pursued by the savages, and refused

42 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

shelter bj his friends, Ray threw himself flat
upon the ground, behind a stump just large
enough to protect his body. Here, within seven
steps of the fort wall, in sight of his mother, he
lay for four hours, while the Indians kept up an
incessant fire, the balls often striking and tear-
ing up the ground on either side of him. At
last, becoming somewhat impatient, he called out
to the garrison, and entreated them to dig a hole
under the cabin wall, and take him in. Strange
as may have appeared the suggestion, it was im-
mediately carried out, and the noble young
hunter was speedily within the shelter of the fort,
and in the arms of his friends !

Owing to the watchfulness of the Indians, but
little corn was raised around Harrodsburg the
whole of this season. In order to make up for
the deficiency, the people of the fort determined
late in the season to make a turnip patch, about
two hundred yards northwest of the station.
While clearing the ground, an Indian was shot
at by the guard, and the men retired. The next
day the cattle were perceived to be disturbed, and
snuffing the air about a small field in the farthest
corner, that had been allowed to grow up in very
high Aveeds. The presence of concealed Indians
was instantly suspected, so sure were the cattle
to betray their vicinity, either from the sight of
the Indians themselves, o^ from the smell of the
paint upon their persons. This indication prompt-

INDIANS SURPRISED. ,43

ed Major George Rogers Clark to turn the am-
buscade upon the enemy. For this purpose, some
men were still kept at work in the turnip patch
nearest the fort, and in order to prevent suspicion
by the Indians of any movement from within,
they occasionally hallooed to their companions to
come out to their work, while Clark, with a party
of the garrison, sallied out of the fort with great
secrecy, and, making a circuit, came up on the
rear of the Indians as they lay concealed in the
weeds. A volley was discharged at the concealed
foe, and four of -their number killed — one by
Clark and another by Ila.y. The Indians in-
stantly retreated, and were pursued by the whites
about four hundred yards down the creek, where
they came upon the remains of a deserted Indian
encampment, of sufficient extent for the accom-
modation of five or six hundred warriors. From
this camp the enemy had issued during the pre-
ceding summer to assail the stations, which they
had kept in a state of constant alarm, and had
destroyed the greater portion of their horses and
cattle. The Indians had now abandoned their
position, and the party which had just been pur-
sued was supposed to be the remnant of the In-
dian force which had occupied the encampment.
Major Clark complimented Ray with the gun of
the Indian which he had shot, and which was the
first he had ever killed. The property found in
the Indian camp, consisting principally of cooking

44 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

utensils, was, as usual, divided by lottery among
the captors.

In 1775, there was a fort established by Colo-
nel Logan at St. Asaph's, in Lincoln county, and
within a mile of the present town of Stanford.
It was called Logan's Fort. On the 20th of
May, 1777, this fort was invested by a force of
one hundred Indians ; and on the morning of
that day, as some of the females were outside of
the gate engaged in milking the cows, the men,
who acted as the guard for the occasion, were
fired upon by a party of Indians concealed in
a thick canebrake. One man was shot dead,
another mortally wounded, and a third so badly
disabled as to be incapable of making his escape ;
the remainder made good their retreat into the
fort, and closed the gate.

Harrison, the wounded man, by a violent ex-
ertion ran a few paces and fell. The garrison
strongly sympathized with the exposed sufferer,
but the danger was so hazardous that they resist-
ed for some time the agonizing appeals of the
wretched wife whose husband lay writhing before
her eyes. The enemy forbore to fire upon Har-
rison, in the hopes of luring a portion of the gar-
rison to his assistance. Though there were but
twelve effective men within the gates, Logan could
not resist the heart-moving appeals made by the
family of Harrison, and called upon some of his
men to follow him. At length John Martin con-

Logan's heroism. 45

sented, and rushed with Logan from the fort ;
but he had not gone far before he shrank from
the imminence of the danger, and sprang back
within the gate. Logan paused for a moment,
then dashed on alone and undaunted, reached
unhurt the spot where Harrison laj, threw him
over his shoulders, and amidst a tremendous
shower of rifle balls made a safe retreat into the
fort.

Subsequent reinforcements obtained by the
heroism of Logan compelled the baffled savages
to retire.

About this time a regulation was adopted,
which subsequently proved of infinite service to
the safety of the settlements. To watch the In-
dians and give notice of their approach, six spies
were appointed ; two for each of the only three
stations then remaining. For the payment of
these spies, Major Clark pledged the faith of Vir-
ginia. Boone appointed Kenton and Brooks ;
Harrod, Samuel Moore and Bates Collier ; and
Logan, John Conrad and John Martin. These
men performed good service. It was the custom
for two each week, by turns, to range up and
down the Ohio, and about the deserted stations,
looking for Indian signs. By this means, the
settlers had timely notice during the year of the
approach of the enemy, with the exception of the
occasion following.

Early on the morning of the 4th of July, whilo

46 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Kenton and two others, who had loaded their
guns for a hunt, were standing in the gate of the
fort at Boonesborough, two men in the fields
adjacent were fired on by the Indians. They
immediately fled, not being hurt. The Indians
pursued them, and a warrior overtook and toma-
hawked one of the men within seventy yards of
the fort, and proceeded leisurely to scalp him.
Kenton shot the daring savage dead, and imme-
diately with his hunting companions gave chase
to the others.

Boone, hearing the reports of fire-arms, has-
tened with ten men to the relief of Kenton. The
latter turned, and observed an Indian taking aim
at the party of Boone ; quick as thought he
brought his rifle to his shoulder, pulled the trigger
first, and the redman bit the dust.

Boone, having advanced some distance, now
discovered that his party, consisting of fourteen
men in all, was cut off from the fort by a large
body of the enemy, who had got between him
and the gate. There was no time to be lost :
Boone gave the word — " Right about — fire —
charge !" and the intrepid hunters dashed in
among their adversaries in a desperate endeavour
to reach the fort.

At the first fire of the Indians, seven of the
fourteen whites were wounded, and among the
number the gallant Boone, whose leg being bro-
ken, he fell to the ground. An Indian sprang

EXPLOIT OF KENTON. 47

on him with an uplifted tomahawk, but before the
blow descended, Kenton rushed on the warrior,
discharged his gun into his breast, and bore his
leader into the fort. When the gate was closed,
and all things secure, Boone sent for Kenton,
and said to him, "Well, Simon, you have be-
haved yourself like a man to-day — indeed, you
are a fine fellow." This was great praise from
Boone, who was a taciturn man, and little given
to compliment. Kenton had certainly fully
earned the brief eulogium ; he had saved the life
of his captain, and killed three Indians with his
own hand. The enemy, after keeping up the
siege for three days, retired.

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER III.

Border life — Clark sends spies to Kaskaskia — Projects an in-
vasion of Illinois — Submits to the Governor of Virginia a
plan of operations against the British outposts — Is appointed
to lead the expedition — Boone taken prisoner at Blue Licks
— Escapes from Chillicothe and returns to Boonesborough —
Is besieged by a large Indian force led by Captain Du Quesne
• — Artifices of the Indians — The siege raised — Clark cap-
tures Kaskaskia and Cahokia — Sends his prisoners to Vir-
ginia— Takes Vincennes — His success in conciliating the
Indians — Governor Hamilton recaptures Vincennes — His
ulterior designs — Clark resolves to attack Hamilton — His
terrible march through the wilderness — -Reaches Vincennes
— His stratagem — Fatal accuracy of his rifles — Governor
Hamilton surrenders.

As the war had hitherto been carried on in
Kentucky, the colonists had successfully de-
fended themselves in the three principal stations
of Boone, Harrod, and Logan, from the nume-
rous hordes of Indians by whom they were almost
continually surrounded. There appears to have
been a fierce excitement in this border life, which
with many of those brave and restless spirits grew
at length into a passion.

Removed to a distance of several hundred
miles from the nearest white settlement, these
isolated borderers, whose numbers, in September,
1777, did not exceed eighty-one men capable of
bearing arms, speedily acquired that intense love

BRITISH INSTIGATION. 49

of freedom and that loathing of restraint -which
the wild life of a forester so naturally engenders.

Major Clark, though still a very young man,
seems to have been endowed naturally with by
far the most thoughtful and sagacious mind of
all the colonists. He was no sooner enabled to
acquire a correct knowledge of the sources from
which the Indians derived support and encou-
ragement in their hostilities, than he came to the
conclusion that the only way to put a stop to
their sanguinary inroads, was by striking a direct
blow at those points where they were fostered
and encouraged.

Casting his eyes toward the British posts of
Detroit, Vincennes, and Kaskaskia, he saw at
once the origin of all the frontier difficulties. It
was by the arms and clothing supplied at these
military stations, that the merciless ferocity of
the Indian warriors was stimulated to the com-
mission of those excesses by which the frontiers
had been so long deluged with blood.

In order to substantiate the correctness of
these views, Clark despatched two spies to recon-
noitre the British posts, and report their situa-
tion. On their return they brought intelligence
of great activity on the part of the garrisons,
who omitted no opportunity to encourage the
Indian depredations on the settlements in Ken-
tucky. They also informed him, that, although
the British had sought by means of wilful mis-

50 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY.

representation to prejudice the French inhabit-
ants of those remote stations against the Vir-
ginians and Kentuckians, there were many among
them aifectionatelj inclined toward the Ameri-
cans and their cause. This was in the summer
of 1777. In December of the same year, Clark
submitted to the executive of Virginia a plan for
the reduction of the British posts. The result
was in every respect satisfactory. The governor
and council, finding that but little was required,
and being struck with the great practical sagacity
of the young frontiersman, granted him such
facilities as he needed. As it was imperative for
the success of the expedition that it should be
conducted with the utmost secrecy, Clark re-
ceived, on the 2d of January, 1778, two sets of in-
structions,— one public, directing him to proceed
to Kentucky for its defence, — the other private,
ordering an attack upon the British post at
Kaskaskia in Illinois. Twelve hundred pounds
were advanced to defray the necessary expenses,
and an order on the Virginia commandant at
Fort Pitt directed the latter to furnish Clark
with such boats and military stores as were re-
quisite for the object he had in view.

Some time was consumed in organizing the
expedition, and in the mean Mobile the colonists of
Kentucky experienced a disaster which seriously
threatened the entire annihilation of their settle-
ments.

BOONE CAPTURED. 51

In the month of February, Boone, at the head
of thirty men, was at the lower Blue Licks, en-
gaged in making salt, when he was surprised by
one hundred Indians, on their march to attack
Boonesborough, and himself and party taken pri-
soners. They surrendered on terms of capitula-
tion, which were faithjully observed by the In-
dians, and were all carried to Detroit. Here his
companions were delivered over to the English
commandant, but Boone was reserved by the
Indians and taken to Chillicothe. His captors
treated him with great kindness, and permitted
him to hunt with but little restraint upon his
motions.

He continued to bear his imprisonment with
well-assumed cheerfulness until the second week
of June, when, observing that a large concourse
of warriors had assembled, painted and equipped,
for an expedition against Boonesborough, he de-
termined to effect his escape at every hazard.
He waited until the morning of the 16th of June,
when making an early start he left Chillicothe,
and after a journey of one hundred and fifty miles
in four days, during which time he had partaken
of but one meal, he reached Boonesborough, and
was received by the garrison as one risen from
the dead.

His family, supposing him killed, had returned
to North Carolina, and his men, apprehending no

52 HISTORY OF KEXTUCEY.

danger, had suffered the defences of the fort to
fall into decay.

As the enemy might be hourly expected, no
time was lost in strengthening the place to the
utmost. The garrison laboured night and day,
and after ten days' severe exertion, were enabled
to rest from their long-c(}ntinued toil, fully pre-
pared for the approach of the savages. Boone
learned soon afterward, that in consequence of
his escape the Indians had determined to delay
their attack for some wrecks. The attack was
delayed so long, that Boone resolved to carry
the war into the Indian country. Marching with
nineteen picked men against the town of Paint
Creek on the Scioto, he encountered, within four
miles of the town, a party of thirty warriors, on
their route to join the main army in its attack
on Boonesborough. This party he assaulted, and
put to the rout without loss or injury to him-
self; and then, hastily retracing his steps, suc-
ceeded in eluding the Indian force on the sixth
day of their march, and reached the fort in
safety.

The following day, the Indians, five hundred
strong, commanded by Captain Du Quesne and
other British Canadian ofiBcers, appeared before
the gates. The British colours were displayed,
and the fort summoned to surrender. Boone re-
quested two days for consideration, which were
granted. His garrison consisted of only fifty,

SIEGE OF BOONESBOROUGH. 53

and he could expect no assistance from Logan or
Harrod, as all communication between the sta-
tions was cut off by strong detachments of the
enemy. At the expiration of the armistice an
answer was returned, that the fort would be de-
fended to the last.

A proposition was then made to treat, and
Boone and eight of the garrison met the Bri-
tish and Indian officers on the plain in front of
the fort, w'hen an effort being made to detain the
Kentuckians as prisoners, they sprang out from
the midst of their savage enemies, and succeeded,
under a heavy fire of rifles, in gaining the fort,
with only one man wounded. The attack was
instantly commenced by a heavy fire against the
picketing, and was returned by the garrison with
fatal accuracy. The Indians then attempted to
push a mine into the fort, but their object being
discovered by the quantity of fresh earth they
were compelled to throw into the river, Boone
cut a trench within the fort so as to intersect their
line of approach, and thus frustrated their design.

After exhausting all the ordinary artifices of
Indian warfare, and finding their numbers daily
thinned by the fatal fire from the garrison, they
raised tlie siege on the ninth day from their first
appearance, and returned home. The loss on
the part of the garrison was two men killed, and
four wounded. Of the savages twenty-seven were
killed, and many wounded, who, as usual, were

54 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

carried off. This was the last siege sustained by
Boonesborough.

Unconscious of the terrible danger with which
the frontier stations were menaced, Colonel Clark,
with a force of only four companies, furnished
by Virginia, and a few scouts and guides, de-
scended the Ohio in boats to the falls, where he
landed on Corn Island thirteen families, who had
accompanied him from Pittsburg as immigrants to
Kentucky. It was these immigrants who shortly
afterward laid the foundation of Louisville on the
opposite shore.

Proceeding on his way, Clark iBoated down the
Ohio until he reached an island at the mouth of
the Tennessee. Here he was so fortunate as to
encounter a party of hunters, from whom he ob-
tained much important intelligence in relation to
the state of things at Kaskaskia. They reported
that the garrison was under the command of M.
Rocheblave, that the militia were well disciplined,
and, that in apprehension of an expedition from
Kentucky, spies were stationed on the Missis-
sippi Ptiver, and Indian hunters directed to keep
a sharp look-out for the approach of any hostile
force. Expressing their belief that the post
might be captured by surprise, the hunters offered
their services as guides, which being immediately
accepted, the party again set out. Concealing
their boats at a point on the Illinois shore near
old Fort Massac, the little army took up its line

CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA. 55

of march through the wilderness ; Clark march-
ing at the head of his men, and sharing their con-
dition in every respect.

On the evening of the 4th of July, 1778, the
expedition arrived in the neighbourhood of the
town, where it lay until dark, when the march
was resumed. That night the town and fort were
surprised and captured, without the effusion of a
drop of blood. M. Eocheblave, the British go-
vernor, was taken in his bed, but very few of his
public papers were secured, as they were secreted
or destroyed by his wife, whom the Kentuckians,
from honourable motives of delicacy, refrained
from molesting.

In the course of a few days, Clark, by his wise
and prudent policy, was so successful in dissi-
pating the alarm and gaining the aifection of the
French inhabitants, that they became far more
strongly attached to the American government,
than they had been previously to that of their
British rulers.

Having thus, by his humane conduct, even
more than by the success of his arms, secured the
safety of his command, he next turned his atten-
tion to the reduction of the village of Cahokia,
situated about sixty miles up the Mississippi.
The capture of this small post was a proceeding
of some importance, inasmuch as the village,
though a small one, enjoyed a considerable trade
with the Indians, and was a depot for the distri-

56 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT.

bution of arms and ammunition to the latter,
many of whom were in the neighbourhood when
the Americans approached.

Major Bowman, to whom Clark had intrusted
the command of the expedition, reached the vici-
nity of the town without detection. The detach-
ment was strengthened by the addition of several
gentlemen, citizens of Kaskaskia, who had volun-
teered their services in the humane hope of being
able, by their influence, to secure the surrender
of the post without bloodshed. Their hopes were
crowned with the most gratifying success. The
inhabitants were at first surprised and alarmed,
but when they learned of the gentlemen from Kas-
kaskia, with what a noble humanity the Americans
had acted at the latter place, the general con-
sternation was converted into shouts of welcome.

Having secured and sent oflf his prisoners to
Virginia, Clark next turned his attention toward
the British post at Vincennes. By the enthu-
siastic agency of a French priest, M. Gibault, the
enterprise was achieved with the same ease which
had characterized his former ones. On the 1st
of August, the inhabitants threw oflf their alle-
giance to the British, the garrison was over-
powered and expelled, and the American flag
displayed from the ramparts of the fort.

Leaving a small force under Captain Helm for
the protection of the place, Clark now retraced
his steps to Kaskaskia, where he employed con-

1

HAMILTON RE-CAPTURES VINCENNES. 57

siderable time in conciliating the various Indian
tribes who had hitherto been so fiercely hostile to
the Americans. The successes he had achieved,
the influence of the great name he had already
acquired among savages, joined to his thorough
knowledge of the Indian character, enabled him,
in the course of a short time, to detach them from
the British interest and link them to the cause
of the Americans.

In the mean time, Clark, having no tidings
from Vincennes, became seriously anxious as to
the fate of the small garrison he had left at that
place. His fears were not without foundation.

On the 20th of January, 1779, Colonel Vigo
brought the information that Governor Hamilton,
who commanded the British force in the north-
west, had marched from Detroit with a mixed
force of British and Indians, had taken prisoners
the handful of men left by Clark to garrison
Vincennes, and re-established the British power.
Colonel Vigo also stated, that the object of Ha-
milton was not merely limited to recapturing the
forts taken by Clark from the British, but that
his intentions were to lay waste Kentucky, and
then advance up the Ohio and seize Fort Pitt.
The season, however, being so far advanced, he
had determined to defer his project until the
ensuing spring ; and, in the meanwhile, had con-
cluded to employ his Indians in desultory attacks
upon the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia.

%

58 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Clark now clearly saw that his position at
Kaskaskia was a very precarious one. Cut off from
all hopes of obtaining reinforcements, he must
either extricate himself by a bold and sudden
attack upon Hamilton at Vincennes, or wait his
approach and then defend himself in the best
manner he was able. He decided upon the
former. He no sooner learned from his spies
that the Indian force under Hamilton had de-
parted from Vincennes, to commence their war-
fare on the settlements, and that Hamilton lay
at Vincennes with his regulars only, than he
resolved to proceed against him at once, and
capture both the commander and garrison by a
coup de main.

He accordingly made immediate preparation
for the expedition. On the 7th' of February, he
3ommenced his march through the wilderness
with a force of one hundred and seventy-five men,
having previously despatched Captain Rogers,
with a company of forty-six men and two four-
pounders in a boat, with orders to force their
way up the Wabash, station themselves a few
miles below the mouth of White River, suffer
nothing to pass, and wait for further orders.

For seven days the land expedition pursued
its toilsome course over the drowned lands of
Illinois, exposed to every privation that could
exhaust the spirits of men, when it arrived at the
Little Wabash.

INTREPID PERSEVERANCE. 59

But now the worst part of the expedition was
still before them. At this point the forks of
the stream are three miles apart, and the oppo-
site heights of land five miles distant even in the
ordinary state of the water. When the expedi-
tion arrived, the intervening valley was covered
with water nearly three feet in depth.

Through this dreadful country the expedition
was compelled to make its way until the 18th,
when they arrived so near Vincennes that they
could hear the morning and evening guns at the
fort. On the evening of the same day they en-
camped within nine miles of the town, below the
mouth of the Embarrass River. Here they were
detained two days, having no means of crossing
the river. On the 20th, the guard surprised a
boat, in which the men and arms were transported
to the opposite shore. There was still, however,
an extensive sheet of water to be passed, which,
on sounding, proved to be up to the arm-pits.
When this discovery was made, the whole detach-
ment began to manifest symptoms of alarm and
despair, which Colonel Clark observing, took a
little powder in his hand, mixed some water with
it, and having blackened his face, raised an In-
dian whoop and marched into the water.

The effect of the example was electrical, and
the men followed without a murmur. In this
manner, and singing in chorus, the troops made
their way through the water, almost constantly

60 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

waist deep, until they arrived within sight of the
town. The immense exertion required to effect
this march may not be described. When the
men reached the dry land, they were so exhaust-
ed that many of them fell, leaving their bodies
half immersed in the water.

Having captured a man who was discovered
shooting ducks, Clark sent by him a letter into
the town, notifying the inhabitants he should take
possession of the place that night.

On the evening of the 23d, the detachment set
off to take possession of the town. After march-
ing and countermarching around the elevations of
the plain, and displaying several sets of colours
to give the garrison as exaggerated an idea of
their numbers as possible, Clark posted his men
on the heights at the rear of the village and
opened a spirited fire upon the fort. The men
would lie within thirty yards of the fort un-
touched by its guns, from the awkward elevation
of its platforms, while no sooner was a port-hole
opened, than a dozen rifles would be directed at
it, cutting down every thing in the way. The
garrison became discouraged, and could not stand
to their guns, and in the evening of the next day
the British commandant, finding his cannon use-
less and apprehensive of the result of being taken
at discretion, sent a flag asking a truce of three
days. This was refused, and on the 24th of
February, 1779, the fort was surrendered, and

THE FIRST BLOCK-HOUSE. 61

the garrison became prisoners of war. On the
25th, it was taken possession of by the Ameri-
cans, the stars and stripes were hoisted, and
thirteen guns fired to celebrate the victory.

CHAPTER IV.

The first block-house built at Lexington — Expedition of Colonel
Bowman against Chillicothe — Bravery of Logan — Singular
conduct of Bowman — The attack by Logan — Bowman orders
a retreat — Harassed by the Indians — The savages repulsed
by Logan and others — Land law of Kentucky — Its obnoxious
features — Vexatious law-suits arising from it — Colonel Rogers
attacked by the Indians on the Ohio — Dreadful slaughter of
the whites — Romantic anecdote of Captain Denham and his
companion' — Ruddell's station attacked by Canadians and
Indians under Colonel Boyd — Ruddell surrenders — Treache-
rous conduct of the savages — Indignation of Byrd — Mar-
tin's station captured — Byrd retreats down the Ohio — Es-
cape of Captain Hinckston — His ingenuity in discovering the
route to Lexington by night — His perilous escapes — Sur-
rounded by Indians — Reaches Lexington in safety — Indians
retreat with their booty.

Leaving Clark in possession of Vincennes, let
us now turn to Kentucky and watch the progress
of events in that quarter.

The first thing for which the year 1779 was
distinguished among the frontiersmen, was the
building of a block-house by Robert Patterson,
upon the spot where the beautiful city of Lexing-
ton now stands. This was in the early part of
April.

In July of the same year, Colonel Bowman led

62 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

an expedition against the Indian town of Chilli-
cothe, and as the attack ended disastrously, not-
withstanding the bravest spirits of Kentucky
marched under Bowman's orders, it may be as
well to narrate the affair with some minuteness
of detail.

In this expedition Colonel Logan was second
in command; while Harrod, Bulger, Bedinger,
and others, held subordinate stations.

The detachment consisted of one hundred and
sixty men, well accustomed to Indian warfare,
and, if we except Bowman, officered by the best
men upon the frontier.

So secretly had the measures been taken for a
surprise, that from the time they left Har rods-
burg until they reached within a mile of Chilli-
cothe, they had successfully eluded the vigilance
of the enemy, whom the spies reported as utterly
unconscious of their approach, and in a state of
the most perfect exemption from alarm.

Putting the party in motion, Logan was ordered
to take a left-hand route, and half encircle the
town, while Bowman marched to the right in the
same manner. When this was accomplished, and
the divided parties had formed a junction in front
of the town, the attack was to commence.

Logan performed his part of the service with
boldness and secrecy, but after waiting for several
hours for the approach of his commander, he was
doomed to disappointment. Daylight appeared,

ATTACK ON CHILLICOTHE. 63

and an Indian dog began to bark loudly. This
brought out one of the Indians from a cabin hard
by, who walked cautiously toward the party, halt-
ing frequently, rising on tiptoe and gazing about
him.

Logan hoped to have taken him prisoner, but
the firing of a gun from one of Bowman's con-
cealed party on the other side of the village gave
the alarm to the Indians and brought matters to
a crisis. Even then if Bowman had dashed
forward, the attack would have been successful.
Logan's party sprang from the grass and rushed
upon the village, while the Indians made for the
great cabin in the centre of the town. Here it
was that, having collected in great force, they
determined to offer an obstinate resistance.

Taking possession of the deserted cabins,
Logan and his party worked their way from one
house to another, until they were within easy
rifle-shot of the Indian redoubt.

While thus occupying a good position from
whence they could assail their enemies, they
began to grow anxious for the coming of Bow-
man and his party ; but as the latter still .re-
frained from making any attack, and as Logan,
who had pressed with his detachment very near
to the redoubt, was now suffering under a galling
fire, he found it almost as hazardous to retreat
as to advance.

Utterly unconscious of the cause of Bowman's

64 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

inaction, and with his communication cut off by
the fierce fire of the warriors who had recovered
from the panic into which they were at first
thrown, Logan formed the daring project of
making a movable breastwork of the planks
which formed the floor of the cabins, and under
cover of it, to rush upon the stronghold of the
enemy, and carry it by main force. Before the
necessary steps could be taken to carry out this
desperate plan, a messenger arrived from Bow-
man with orders to retreat.

In utter astonishment and indignation, Logan
asked if Bowman had been overpowered by the
enemy ? No ! Had he even beheld an enemy ?
No ! Why then did he wish to abandon the at-
tack ? He did not know, the colonel had ordered
a retreat ! Very reluctantly Logan obeyed, and
the evil consequences of such an order were soon
made manifest.

Hitherto the men, buoyed up with the hope of
support, had acted bravely in concert ; now, de-
pressed by an order for which they could not ac-
count, they lost all firmness, and each one shift-
ing for himself, broke from the scene of action,
leaving his companions to seek safety in any
manner they might think best.

This sudden rout astonished even the Indians,
who sallied out and pursued the stragglers until
they had united themselves to the party under
Bowman, the latter having remained, as if stricken

DISORDERLY RETREAT. 65

suddenly witli imbecility, very near to the same
spot where Logan had left him the night before.

While the Indians were profiting by their un-
expected deliverance from the deadliest peril, the
whites were filled with confusion and dismay.

A disorderly retreat commenced, which at
length assumed something like regularity by the
exertions of the subordinate ofiicers. Bowman
himself sat rigidly upon his horse, neither giving
an order nor taking any measures to repel the
enemy.

With the sharp crack of the Indian rifles the
instinctive courage of the men returned. Throw-
ing themselves into the form of a hollow square,
they kept the enemy at bay until they could
cover themselves by trees, and when this was ac-
complished, the Indians were speedily repulsed,
and the troops recommenced their march.

They had scarcely proceeded half a mile be-
fore the enemy reappeared, and opened a fire
upon the front, rear, and both flanks. Again a
square was formed, and the enemy beaten back.

This was repeated several times, and each time
with the same result. But this harassing con-
dition of things was beginning to have its usual
effect. The men grew unsteady, and wavered at
the approach of their enemies. Seeing the panic
rapidly spreading, Logan, Harrod, and Bedinger,
with a few of the boldest and best mounted of
the troops, charged suddenly and with great

66 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

daring upon the Indians, broke through the net-
work of bushes behind which the latter were
sheltered, forced them from their coverts, and,
scouring the forest in every direction, cut down
as many as they could overtake.

This decisive step completely dispersed the
enemy, and the weary and dispirited continued
their retreat without further molestation, having
suffered, through the incapacity of their com-
mander, a loss of nine killed and a few others
wounded.

During this year, the well-known land law of
Kentucky, which subsequently created such an
immense amount of litigation, was passed by the
legislature of Virginia. Though just and liberal
in some of its features, its radical defect was in
the absence of a provision for a general survey
of the country at the expense of the government,
and in the permission which it gave to each pos-
sessor of a warrant, to locate the same where he
pleased. But the survey was required to be
made at his own cost, and in such precise terms,
that each subsequent locator might recognise the
land already taken up, and make his entry else-
where. It is needless to state how impossible
this was to such rough woodsmen and indifferent
surveyors as then and subsequently settled the
country. The natural consequence was, that sur-
veys, patents, and entries, were piled upon each
other in almost inextricable confusion, and are

TERRIBLE DISASTER. 67

the source of many most troublesome and vexa-
tious law-suits even to the present time.

The passage of the land law had a remarkable
eifect upon immigration. People began imme-
diately to flock into Kentucky in vast numbers,
for the purpose of locating land warrants ; but
though they added greatly to the general strength
of the territory, their presence only seemed to
provoke the Indians to more determined hostili-
ties.

In the autumn of 1779, a terrible disaster took
place. As two keelboats laden with military
stores, under charge of Colonel Rogers, were as-
cending the Ohio River, a number of Indians on
rafts and in canoes shot out suddenly from the
mouth of the Little Miami, and were carried by
the strong current of the latter river nearly
across to the opposite shore.

Colonel Rogers, expecting to take the Indians
by surprise, immediately landed his crew, to the
number of seventy men, and advanced secretly
to the attack. Before, however, he could reach
the point where he expected to meet the savages,
he was himself surrounded by a force of nearly
treble his numbers. The Indians immediately
poured in a close discharge of rifles, and then,
throwing down their guns, fell upon, the survivors
with the tomahawk. The panic was complete,
and the slaughter awful. Colonel Rogers and
forty-five men were killed instantly. The re-

68 HISTOEY OF KEXTUCKT.

mainder fled to their boats, but the guards Avho
had charge of the latter had already fled with
one of them, and the enemy had gained posses-
sion of the other. Making one desperate charge,
they broke through the lines of savages, and with
the loss of several wounded, succeeded in efi"ecting
their escape to Harrodsburg.

Among the w^ounded was Captain Robert Den-
ham. Shortly after breaking through the enemy's
lines he was shot through both hips, and the
bones being shattered, he instantly fell to the
ground. Dragging himself into the top of a large
prostrate tree which lay near by, he succeeded
in eluding the notice of the Indians by concealing
himself among its branches. Here he lay until
the evening of the second day, when he disco-
vered that another person was near him, who
was wounded in both arms.

By mutually assisting each other, Denham in
killing game for his companion, and the latter in
carrying Denham about from place to place, they
managed to sustain life until the 27th of Novem-
ber, when they were relieved by a flatboat, which
they hailed as it floated down the Ohio, and were
taken to Louisville, where, after a few weeks'
confinement, they perfectly recovered of their
wounds.

No further hostilities of any consequence in-
terfered with the peace of Kentucky until the
summer of 1780, when a formidable force, con-

BRITISH AND INDIANS. 69

sisting of six liundred Indians and Canadians,
under the command of Colonel Byrd, an officer
of the British army, accompanied by six pieces
of artillery, appeared before Ruddell's Station,
on the easterly bank of the south fork of Licking
River, three miles below the junction of Hink-
ston's and Stone's branches of the same stream."

To Colonel Byrd's summons to surrender, Cap-
tain Ruddell answered by offering to yield on
certain conditions, one of which was that the
garrison should be under the sole protection of
the British. To these terms Colonel Byrd agreed ;
but immediately the gates were opened, the In-
dians rushed in, and seizing all they could lay
their hands on, claimed them as their prisoners.
The scene which followed was heart-rending.
Buddell remonstrated with the colonel against
this barbarous violation of his word ; but as the
Indians were far more numerous than the Cana-
dians, Byrd himself had no power to control his
savage allies.

After the prisoners were divided in this sum-
mary manner among their captors, the Indians
proposed an attack upon Martin's Station, which
was five miles from Ruddell's. To this, however,
Colonel Byrd, who was heartily ashamed of the
conduct of his allies, would not consent until the
chiefs pledged themselves in behalf of their fol-
lowers that the prisoners should be entirely un-
der the control of the British, and that the

70 HISTOET OF KENTUCKY.

savages would content themselves with the pos-
session of the plunder.

When this was agreed upon, Martin's Station
was invested and its garrison captured, Colonel
Bjrd taking sole charge of the prisoners.

The Indians now urged Bjrd to precipitate
his force upon Bryant's Station and Lexington ;
but the latter, giving as a reason for not comply-
ing with their wishes, the improbability of success,
and the scanty supply of provisions to support
the prisoners he had already, countermarched
with his force to the forks of the LicT^ing, where
he got his military stores and artillery on board
of his boats, and moved off with all

At this place the Indians separated from the
Canadians, taking with them the prisoners they
had captured at Ruddell's Station.

Among the latter was Captain John Hinkston,
a brave man and an experienced woodsman. The
second night after leaving the forks of the Lick-
ing, the Indians encamped near the river ; every
thing was very wet, in consequence of which it
was diflBcult to kindle a fire, and before a fire was
made it was quite dark.

A guard was placed over the prisoners, and
while a part of them were employed in kindling
the fire, Hinkston sprang from among them, and
was immediately out of sight. An alarm was
instantly given, and the Indians ran in every

ESCAPE OF HINKSTOjST. 71

direction, not being able to ascertain the course
he had taken. Hinkston ran but a short distance
before he lay down by the side of a log, within
the dark shade of a large beech tree, where he
remained until the stir occasioned by his escape
had subsided, when he moved off as silently as
possible. The night was cloudy and very dark,
so that he had no mark to steer by, and after
travelling some time toward Lexington, as he
thought, he found himself close to the camp from
which he had just before effected his escape.

In this dilemma he was obliged to tax his skill
as a woodsman, to devise a method by which he.
should be enabled to steer his course without light
enough to see the moss on the trees, or without
the aid of sun, moon, or stars. He ultimately
adopted this method. He dipped his hand in the
water, which almost covered the whole country,
and holding it above his head, he instantly
felt one side of his hand cold ; he immediately
knew that from that point the wind came : he,
therefore, steered the balance of the night by
the cold side of his hand, that being from the
west, he knew, and best suited to his purpose.
After travelling several hours, he sat down at the
root of a tree, and fell asleep.

A few hours before day there came on a heavy
dense fog, so that a man could not be seen at
twenty yards' distance. This circumstance was
of infinite advantage to Hinkston, for as soon as

72 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

daylight appeared, the howling of wolves, the
gobbling of turkies, the bleating of fawns, the
hoot of owls, and the noises of other wild animals,
were heard in almost every direction. Hinkston
was too well acquainted with the customs of the
savages not to know that it was Indians, and not
beasts and birds, that made these sounds ; he,
therefore, avoided approaching the places where
he heard them, and, notwithstanding he was
several times within a few yards of them, with
the aid of the fog he escaped, and arriving safely
at Lexington, brought the first news of the event
which led to his capture and subsequent escape.

The Indians not only collected all the horses
at Ruddell's and Martin's stations, but also many
around Bryant's and Lexington, and with their
booty crossed the Ohio River near the mouth of
Licking, and there dispersed.

The British descended Licking River to the
Ohio, went down the Ohio to the mouth of the Big
Miami, and up the Miami as far as it was then
navigable for their boats, when they hid their
artillery and marched by land to Detroit.

CLAKK DESTROYS THE PIQUA TOWNS. 73

CHAPTER V.

( larl destroys the Piqua towns on the Miami — Kentucky di-
vided into three counties — Indian incursions — Immigration
continues — Transylvania University incorporated by Virgi-
nia— Indians invest Estill's station — Are pursued — Defeat of
Estill — Bryant's station attacked by Girty at the head of six
hundred Indians — Heroism of the women — Arrival of rein-
forcements— Their perilous situation — Skirmish in the corn-
field— Attack on the station — Girty attempts to negotiate —
Answer of Reynolds — The Indians raise the siege — Are
pursued by a party under Colonel Todd — Fatal recklessness
of McGary — The Kentuckians attacked by the Indians from
an ambush — Desperate conflict — Rout of the Kentuckians
— Escape of Daniel Boone — Presence of mind of Nether-
land — Retaliation of Clark — Burns the Miami towns.

In order to retaliate for this daring inroad,
Clark, who had now returned to Kentucky, issued
a call for volunteers to support his regiment in an
expedition against the Indians. It was not long
before numbers had joined his standard. When
the forces were assembled at the mouth of Lick-
ing River, they amounted in all to one thousand
men. Marching with great secrecy and celerity,
Clark reached the Indian towns before the enemy
were aware of his approach.

After a sharp conflict, in which the loss was
equal, the Indians fled ; the towns were reduced
to ashes, and the gardens and fields laid waste.

This being accomplished, Clark returned to the
Ohio and discharged the militia. The Indians
7

74 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

being under the necessity of resorting to hunting
for the support of their families, gave the colo-
nists no further trouble during the season.

In November of this year, Kentucky was di-
vided into three counties, to which the name of
Fayette, Lincoln, and Jefferson, were given. They
had now three county courts, holding monthly
sessions, three courts of common law and chan-
cery jurisdiction, sitting quarterly, and a large
number of magistrates and constables. No court
capable of trying capital offences existed nearer
than Richmond in Virginia.

Indian incursions continued through the year
1781 ; but being undertaken only by small par-
ties of warriors, were easily repelled. Immigra-
tion still brought large numbers into the new
territories, and speculation in lands was carried
on with an ardour that seemed rather to increase
than to suffer any abatement.

It was during this year, that Transylvania
University was established in Fayette county,
Kentucky, by the legislature of Virginia. One-
sixth of the surveyors' fees, formerly conferred
on the college of William and Mary, with eight
thousand acres of the first quality land in the
then county of Kentucky, were granted for the
endowment and support of the seminary.

The year 1782 opened disastrously. In the
month of May, a party of twenty-five Wyandots
invested Estill's station, on the south of Kentucky

DESPERATE BATTLE. 75

River. After having killed one white man, taken
a negro prisoner, and destroyed the cattle, they
retreated. Captain Estill immediately organized
a company of twenty-five men, and pursued them.
When he reached the Hinkston fork of Licking
River, the Wyandots were ascending leisurely a
hill on the opposite side. Estill's men immedi-
ately opened a fire upon the retreating Indians,
who at first seemed disposed to run ; but upon
their chief, who was severely wounded, calling to
them to remain and fight, they took to the trees
and returned the fire of their pursuers.

Each party, now protected by such shelter as
they could find, commenced a rapid discharge of
rifles from opposite sides of the creek. Coolly
and deliberately the firing was continued for up-
wards of an hour, until one-fourth of the combat-
ants on both sides had fallen. Finding his men
gradually lessening in number, and having no hope
of success in the manner he was situated, Estill
formed the desperate resolution of detaching six
of his men up the valley through which the creek
ran, with orders to cross the creek above, and.
fall upon the Indian rear.

This movement was no sooner observed by the
Wyandot chief, than he made a rapid charge
across the creek, and falling upon the whites,
now weakened by the absence of the detachment,
drove them from their coverts, and compelled
them to retreat with great slaughter. In this

76 HISTORY OF KENTrCKY.

charge, Captain Estill and eight men were killed,
and four others wounded. The Indians lost more
than half of their number ; but the loss of the
whites was much greater. This action lasted
two hours, and is considered to have been one of
the best contested battles for the numbers en-
gaged that was ever fought on the frontier.

On the 14th of August, a most formidable at-
tack was made upon Bryant's station by an army
of six hundred warriors, of various tribes, headed
by the infamous renegade Simon Girty.

This fort, which was situated on the southern
bank of the Elkhorn, contained about forty ca-
bins placed in parallel lines, connected by strong
palisades, and garrisoned by some forty or fifty
men.

A few days previous to this. Captain Holden,
with a party of seventeen men, had been de-
feated near Upper Blue Licks, a messenger from
whom arrived at Bryant's in time to warn the
people at the latter station of the approaching
enemy. Owing to this fortunate circumstance,
the garrison was already under arms when Girty
and his savage warriors appeared. Supposing
from the preparations made by the garrison
to receive them, that their actual presence in
the vicinity was known, a considerable body of
Indians was placed in ambush near to the spring,
which was at some distance from the fort,
while another and smaller party was ordered to

CURIOUS EXPEDIENT. 77

take position in full view of the garrison, with
the hope of enticing them to an engagement out-
side of the walls.

Had this stratagem proved successful, the re-
mainder of the forces were so posted as to be
able, on the withdrawal of the garrison, to storm
one of the gates and cut off their return to the
fort.

Unconscious of the snare which had been laid
for them, the garrison were in the act of sallying
out, having already opened one of the gates for
this purpose, when they became alarmed by a
sudden firing from an opposite direction, and
hastily falling back, they closed the gates and
firmly secured them. One difficulty, however,
they had to encounter, — a want of water. Acting
on the belief, that although there might be an
ambush at the spring, yet that the Indians, in de-
siring to effect the capture of the station by
stratagem, would not unmask themselves to the
women of the fort, the latter were urged to go
in a body to the spring, and each of them bring
up a bucket full of water. Naturally enough,
the females at first objected ; but after listening
to the arguments of the men, a few of the boldest
declared their readiness to brave the danger, and
the younger and more timid rallying in the rear
of the elderly matrons, they all marched down in
a body to the spring within point-blank shot of
more than five hundred Indian warriors. Not a
7*

78 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

shot was fired. They filled their buckets with-
out interruption, and regained the fort in safety.

As soon as messengers had been sent oflf to
procure assistance from the nearest stations, and
the arrangements for the reception of the enemy
were completed, thirteen young men were ordered
to make a sally upon the decoy party, while the
rest of the garrison posted themselves at the op-
posite side of the fort, ready to pour a plunging
fire upon the ambuscade as soon as it was un-
masked.

No sooner was the sally made, than Girty
sprang up at the head of the main body of his
warriors, and rushed rapidly upon the western
gate, which he supposed to have been left un-
defended. Into this mass of dusky bodies the
garrison poured several rapid volleys of rifle balls
with destructive effect. Their consternation may
be imagined. With wild cries they dispersed on
the right and left, and in two minutes not an
Indian was to be seen. A regular attack then
commenced, and continued until two o'clock in
the afternoon, when a reinforcement of sixteen
horsemen and double that number of foot ap-
proached the vicinity of the garrison.

On one side of the road by which they ap-
proached was a field containing one hundred acres
of standing corn ; on the opposite side was a thick
wood. In this wood, and in the corn, three hun-
dred Indians crouched, within pistol-shot of the

INDIANS IN AMBUSH. 79

road, waiting silently in ambush for the rein-
forcements which they had been advised were ad-
vancing.

The horsemen came in view at a time when the
firing had ceased, and every thing was quiet.
Seeing no enemy and hearing no noise, they
entered the lane at a gallop, and were instantly
saluted with a shower of rifle balls at a distance
of ten paces. At the first shot, the whole party
put spurs to their horses, and rode at full speed
through a rolling fire, which continued for several
hundred yards ; but owing to the furious rate at
which they rode, and the dust raised by the
horses' feet, they all escaped and entered the fort
unhurt.

The men on foot were less fortunate ; they
were passing through the corn-field, but hearing
the firing, ran up to succour their friends. For-
tunately, when they reached the place of ambush
the Indian guns were mostly discharged. The
savages, however, raised a yell and rushed upon
them ; but the rifles of the Kentuckians being
loaded, they were enabled to keep the enemy at
bay for some time, by pointing at them with their
pieces, and then dodging and running deeper
among the corn.

Some entered the wood and escaped through
the thickets of cane, some were shot down in the
wood, others maintained a running fight, halting
occasionally behind trees, and keeping the savages

80 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

at a distance with their rifles. A stout young
fellow, being hard pressed by Girty and several
Indians, discharged his rifle and Girty fell ; the
ball struck a thick piece of sole leather in the
pouch of the renegade, which saved his life, but
upon the fall of their leader the savages halted,
and the chase was discontinued. In this stirring
skirmish the whites lost six men in killed and
wounded. The loss of the Indians was less, in-
asmuch as the whites never fired their rifles, ex-
cept as a last resort.

The Indians now returned to the siege of the
fort. Finding that their loss had already been
heavy, and well knowing that the neighbouring
Nations would soon take the alarm, and hasten
to the rescue of their friends, the chiefs were
inclined to raise the siege, but Girty resolved to
try the effect of negotiation.

Near one of the bastions there was a large
stump, to which he crept on his hands and knees,
and from which he hailed the garrison.

Commending them for their bravery, he as-
sured them, that having six hundred warriors with
him, further resistance would be madness ; that
he was in hourly expectation of reinforcements
and artillery, which would instantly blow their
cabins into the air ; but that if they surrendered
at once, he gave them his honour, that not a hair
of their heads should be injured. He told them
his name, inquired whether they knew him, and

THE RENEGADE GIRTY. 81

assured them that they might safely trust to his
word.

Many of the garrison, really fearing the ap-
proach of artillery, began to cast uneasy glances
at one another, when an energetic young man by
the name of Reynolds took upon himself to re-
ply to Girty.

He told the renegade he was very well known ;
that he himself had a worthless dog he called
"Girty;" that if the Indians had artillery and
reinforcements they might bring them up ; that
the garrison also expected reinforcements soon ;
and that if Girty and his gang of murderers re-
mained twenty-four hours longer before the fort,
their scalps would be found drying in the sun
upon the roofs of the cabins.

Girty expressed great offence at the tone and
language of the spirited young Kentuckian, and
retired with an avowal of his sorrow at the in-
evitable destruction which awaited the garrison
on the following morning. He had no sooner,
however, rejoined the chiefs, than instant pre-
parations were made for raising the siege. About
daylight in the morning they retired precipitately,
leaving several pieces of meat upon their roasting
sticks, and their fires still burning.

By noon the same day, one hundred and sixty
men had assembled at Bryant's station, eager to
punish the invaders. Colonels Todd, Trigg, and
Daniel Boone ; Majors Harland, McBride, and

82 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Levi Todd ; Captains Bulger and Gordon, with
forty-five commissioned ojQ&cers, including the
celebrated McGary, assembled in council, and
hastily determined to pursue the enemy, without
waiting for Colonel Logan, who was known to
be collecting a strong force in Lincoln, and who
might be expected to join them in twenty-four
hours.

It is said that McGary objected to this pre-
cipitancy of action, but that the eagerness of
the others was not to be overruled. Accordingly,
on the afternoon of the 18th of August, the line
of march was taken up, and the pursuit urged
with that unreflecting rashness which has so often
been fatal to Kentuckians. Most of the officers
and many of the privates were mounted.

At the Lower Blue Licks, for the first time
since the pursuit commenced, they came within
view of the enemy, who, as the pursuers reached
the southern bank of Licking, were ascending
the rocky ridge on the other side.

The Indians halted for a moment, gazed at the
Kentuckians, and then proceeded slowly onward.
The latter halted also, while the officers entered
into consultation. Finding some difficulty in
knowing how to act, they appealed to Boone for
advice.

He immediately acknowledged the critical na-
ture of their situation, cut off as they were from
all support, and from his knowledge of the coun-

BATTLE AT THE BLUE LICKS. 83

try expressed his apprehension of an ambush at
about the distance of a mile in advance. He
suggested that it was best to do one of two things.
Either to wait for Logan, or to divide their force,
and while one-half marched up the river, crossed it
at the rapids, and fell upon the rear of the enemy,
the other division should make an attack in front.

Upon this advice opinions were divided. At
length, the fiery and impetuous McGary suddenly
interrupted the consultation by a war-whoop, and
spurring his horse into the stream, waved his hat
over his head, and shouted aloud, " Let all who
are not cowards follow me." The effect was
electrical. The men dashed instantly into the
river, each striving to be foremost.

The vanguard had no sooner reached the ra-
vine where Boone had expressed his apprehen-
sions of an ambush, than a body of Indians sprang
up and attacked them. McGary's party instantly
returned the fire ; but the latter were on an open
ridge, while the Indians were protected by their
bushy covert. The centre and rear, hurrying up
to support their comrades, were stopped by the
terrible fire from the ravine. Still, however, they
maintained their ground ; gradually closed upon
the Indians, and drove them from the ravine,
when the fire became mutually destructive. Upon
the oflficers especially it had told terribly. Todd
and Trigg, in the rear ; Harland, McBride, and
young Boone, in front, were already killed.

84 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

At length, the Indians succeeded in outflank-
ing the Kentuckians, and as this would cut off
the retreat of the latter bj the river, the rear
•was seized with a panic, which communicating
itself to the front, the force of the whites fell
back hurriedly. The Indians immediately sprang
forward in pursuit, and, falling upon them with
their tomahawks, made a cruel slaughter. The
horsemen generally escaped, but the foot, espe-
cially those who had been in the van at the
commencement of the attack, were nearly all
destroyed. Boone plunged into the ravine which
the Indians had just quitted, and after sustaining
several volleys unhurt, outstripped his pursuers,
crossed the river below the ford by swimming,
and returned by a circuitous route to Bryant's
station.

In the river the scene was equally terrible.
The ford was crowded with horsemen, footmen,
and Indians, all mingled together, and fighting
with the fury of desperation. The presence of
mind shown by a man named Netherland saved
a portion of the fugitives. Being well mounted,
he with some twenty others had reached the
opposite bank of the river, when, seeing his com-
panions about to continue their flight, he called
upon them to halt, fire upon the Indians, and
save those who were still in the stream. The
party instantly obeyed ; a fatal discharge from
their rifles checked the impetuosity of the sa-

Clark's expedition. 85

vages, and gave time to tlie footmen to cross in
safety. The check, however, was but momentary;
the Indians crossed in great numbers above and
below, and the pursuit was urged keenly for
twenty miles, though with but little loss. In this
terrible conflict, the Kentuckians sustained a loss
of sixty killed, and seven taken prisoners. The
number of wounded was never ascertained. Some
of the fugitives reached Bryant's station on the
night after the battle, and were there met by
Colonel Logan at the head of four hundred and
fifty men.

Logan remained at Bryant's until the last of
the survivors had arrived, and then continued his
march to the battle-ground. The bodies of the
dead were interred, and having satisfied himself
that the Indians had crossed the Ohio and were
beyond his reach, he returned to Bryant's sta-
tion and disbanded his troops.

Colonel Clark no sooner heard of this terrible
defeat, than he determined to retaliate for the
havoc made by the Indians, by an immediate ex-
pedition into the heart of their own country.
Calling for volunteers to join his regiment of
state troops, then permanently stationed at Louis-
ville, he was promptly answered by numbers
flocking to his standard. One thousand riflemen
rendezvoused at the mouth of Licking, and, under
the command of Clark, penetrated to the Miami
towns in Ohio. No resistance was offered. The

86 • HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Indians every where fled in terror before them.
Their towns were burned, their crops destroyed,
and the whole country laid waste with the most
unsparing severity.

The Indians did not recover from the effects
of this chastisement for a long time, and never
afterward entered Kentucky in force.

CHAPTEK -VI.

Increase of immigration — Prospect of peace with England
— Difficulties continue — Indian hostilities cease — Kenton
reclaims his settlement in Washington — Brodhead opens a
store in Louisville — General James Wilkinson immigrates
to Kentucky — JVew counties laid off — Proposition to separate
from Virginia — Expedition of Clark against the Indians on
the Wabash — Causes of its failure — Conventions in Ken-
tucky— Difficulties with the general government — The navi-
gation of the Mississippi — Spanish intrigues — Brown has
several conferences with Gardoqui — Letter of Innis to the
Governor of Virginia — General Wilkinson goes to New
Orleans — Returns — Tempts the Kentuckians by the offer of
an independent treaty with Spain — Animosity of parties
— Letter of Marshall — Conventions — Kentucky received into
the Union.

The cessation of war between Great Britain
and the United States of America led to an ex-
traordinary increase in the number of immigrants
to Kentucky. The fertile territory, soaked with
the blood of the brave frontiersmen, was now to
enjoy a state of comparative peace. Hostile in-

TREATY STIPULATIONS VIOLATED. 87

cursions by the Indians were no longer dreaded,
for the latter well knew, from bitter experience,
that a fearful retaliation would immediately fol-
low. The prospects of ]peace with England para-
lyzed the arm of the savages, who, having no
longer their losses repaired by the Canadian au-
thorities, hesitated to continue a war which was
not sanctioned by their ancient allies.

Many causes, however, contributed to prevent
the proper execution of the treaty, which, by ex-
asperating the bitterness already existing between
the two nations, finally stimulated the Indians to
a renewal of the war.

By mutual stipulations agreed upon between
the contracting parties, England was bound to
carry away no slaves, and to surrender the north-
western posts ; while the United States had stipu-
lated to admit the legal collection of all debts
due by her citizens to British merchants.

All of these conditions were violated. Vir-
ginia prohibited the collection of British debts
until the slaves which had been taken from her
state were restored ; and England refused to sur-
render the northwestern posts until the debts of
British subjects were legally recognised. Con-
gress could do nothing ; and the posts were held
by Great Britain for ten years after peace had
been ratified. In the mean time, however, the
Indians, if not absolutely pacific, were at least
not hostile.

88 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Kentucky rapidly increased in population.
Kenton, after an interval of nine years, reclaimed
his settlement in Washington, and, in 1784,
erected a block-house where Maysville now stands.

In the spring of 1783, Kentucky was formed
into a district, and a court of criminal and civil
jurisdiction, coextensive with the district, was
erected.

During this year, Daniel Brodhead established
the first store in Louisville, the merchandise for
which was brought in wagons from Philadelphia
to Pittsburg, and thence to Louisville in fiat-
boats.

In 1784, General James Wilkinson immigrated
to Kentucky, and settled in Lexington. He had
already distinguished himself in the war of Inde-
pendence ; he was the aid-de-camp of Gates at
Saratoga, and for his distinguished services in
that glorious campaign, received from Congress the
appointment of brigadier-general. The avowed
object which had tempted him into the wilderness
was to improve his embarrassed fortunes ; and it
soon became understood, that in connection with
an eastern company, he was ready to enter into
any speculations that might tend to advance this
object. He soon became popular, and entering
warmly into the fierce political controversies
which subsequently harassed the state, was as
bitterly assailed by his antagonists as he was
warmly defended by his friends.

PETITIONS FOR SEPARATION. 89

The distance from the seat of the parent go-
vernment operating injuriously to Kentucky, led
the people about this time to agitate for a sepa-
ration from Virginia. Accordingly, toward the
close of this year, the first convention of dele-
gates appointed for that purpose met at Danville,
to debate the question in all its bearings.

On the 23d of May, 1785, a second convention
met, and decided that a constitutional separation
from Virginia was expedient. After agreeing
upon a petition to the legislature, and an address
to the people of Kentucky, the convention was
adjourned.

A third convention was held in August of the
same year, and the former petition and address
modified in its style and language. Chief-justice
Muter and Attorney-general Innis were deputed
to present the petition to the legislature of Vir-
ginia. This was accordingly done, and in Janu-
ary, 1786, the legislature passed an act with
great unanimity in conformity with the wishes of
Kentucky, but appended thereto certain terms
and conditions, which, though perfectly fair and
just, necessarily produced some delay.

As yet there was neither newspaper nor print-
ing press in Kentucky, and the address to the
people was circulated in manuscript. Fresh im-
migrants continued to pour in. The new county
of Nelson had already been taken from Jeff"erson,
and before the end of the year three other new

90 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

counties were erected : Bourbon taken from Fay-
ette, and Mercer and Madison from Lincoln.

The stipulations made by Virginia, in passing
the act of separation, were, that five delegates
should be elected from each of the seven counties
of Kentucky, to take into consideration the for-
mation of an independent government. That the
determination to separate by the convention
should govern the consent of Virginia, provided
Congress, before the 1st of June, 1787, would
admit the new state into the Union, and that
Kentucky would agree to assume her proportion
of the Virginia debt. Other requisitions of less
moment were made; but the convention being
prevented from sitting with a sufficient number
of members, owing to the expedition undertaken
at the time by General Clark against the Indians
on the "Wabash, the legislature of Virginia post-
poned the period of separation, by a revision of
the previous act, until the 1st of January, 1789.

The expedition of Clark consisted of a thou-
sand volunteers. They rendezvoused at Louis-
ville, and were well supplied with arms and am-
munition by private contribution. These were
placed on board of nine keelboats, which were
ordered to proceed to Vincennes, while the volun-
teers should march to the same point by land.

The flotilla, laden with provisions and muni-
tions of war, encountered obstacles in the naviga-
tion of the Wabash which had not been foreseen,

FUTILE EXPEDITION. 91

and was delayed beyond the time -wliicli had been
calculated. The army of volunteers, after wait-
ing for fifteen days the arrival of the boats,
became weary, disgusted, and insubordinate.
Clark, too, no longer possessed the entire confi-
dence of his troops. He had become intempe-
rate. A detachment of three hundred volunteers
broke .off from the main body, and took up the
line of march for their homes. Clark remon-
strated, and entreated, even with tears, but in
vain. A total disorganization of the force soon
followed, and the expedition returned with its
mortified commander to Kentucky, without hav-
ing effected any of the purposes for which it was
organized.

After a delay of three months, the convention
met at Danville, to consider the revised act of
separation. "When the new conditions with which
it was clogged became known to the people of
Kentucky, and they found that two years must
elapse before they could claim the privileges of
an independent state, a general expression of
anger and impatience was elicited. They were
already wearied with the number of conventions
which had met, and adjourned without accom-
plishing any thing ; and now they found them-
selves farther off than ever from the attainment
of their wishes.

Another cause of fierce agitation at this time
was the subject of the navigation of the Missis-

92 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

sippi. In consequence of information received
from gentlemen of Pittsburg — styling themselves
a committee of correspondence — by which the
people of Kentucky were advised that John Jay,
the American secretary of state, had made a pro-
position to Don Gardoqui, the Spanish minister,
to cede the navigation of the Mississippi to Spain
for twenty years, in consideration of certain
commercial advantages to be enjoyed by the
eastern states, a fifth convention was called,
which met at Danville, on the 17th of September,
1789.

This convention resolved unanimously in favour
of separation from Virginia ; adopted an address
to Congress asking admission into the Union ;
and in conformity to the provisions of the act
under which they met, directed the election of a
new convention to frame a constitution.

That the application to Congress might be
urged with greater effect, the Virginia legisla-
ture, at the request of this convention, elected as
one of the Virginia delegates to Congress, John
Brown, one of the most eminent lawyers of Ken-
tucky, and a gentleman of great influence and
popularity.

The unavoidable delays which retarded the re-
cognition of Kentucky as an independent state
by Congress, exasperated the people greatly.
In the mean time, Spain was intriguing for the
purpose of inducing Kentucky not to enter the

SPANISH INTRIGUES. \)6

confederacy at all ; but to assume the rights of
an independent people. Brown held long con-
ferences with Gardoqui, the Spanish minister,
and in his letters to a friend, spoke of the pecu-
liar advantages connected with the navigation of
the Mississippi, which Spain would grant to Ken-
tucky, if the latter would erect herself into an
independent government ; advantages, he added,
which could never be conceded by Spain so long
as Kentucky remained a member of the Union.

Innis, the attorney-general of Kentucky, also
wrote to the executive of Virginia, in July, 1787,
giving it as his opinion, that Kentucky would
form an independent government in two or three
years, as Congress did not seem disposed to pro-
tect her, and she could not, under the present
system, exert her strength.

But it was by the exertions of General Wilkin-
son, that the Spanish party became formidable
in the state. Knowing that the navigation of the
Mississippi was of primary importance to the
people, Wilkinson made a voyage to New Orleans, -
and when he returned home, brought with him
the intelligence that he had obtained for himself
the privilege of shipping tobacco to New Orleans
and depositing it in the king's stores at the price
of ten dollars per hundred weight. He imme-
diately offered to purchase tobacco to any amount,
and dilated eloquently upon the advantages that
would result to Kentucky even from a partial

94 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY,

opening of the trade. He intimated that a com-
mercial treaty might be formed with Spain, which
would throw open their ports to the whole western
country, if the West were erected into an independ-
ent government capable of treating with a foreign
power.

The condition of the general government was
at this time embarrassing in the extreme. The
old confederation was about to be broken, and the
new federal constitution which had been so vigor-
ously contested, and so hesitatingly adopted, had
not yet been confirmed by the states to whom
it had been referred for ratification. Virginia
was bitterly opposed to it, and some of the most
popular leaders of Kentucky, with an immense
majority of her people, were equally anti-fede-
ral.

As if to add fuel to the flame, Congress had
declined to act upon the petition of Kentucky,
and had referred the whole subject to the new
government. Thus disappointed, the people of
Kentucky grew daily more warmly in favour of
declaring a separate independence, and of secur-
ing those advantages from Spain, in relation to
the navigation of the Mississippi, with which
"Wilkinson had so glowingly tempted them.

A proposition to form a constitution without
further delay was warmly advocated, and it was
proposed in convention that the question should
be submitted to each militia company in the dis-

THE KENTUCKY GAZETTE. 95

trlct, and that the captain of each company should
report the result of the vote.

This proposition was successfully opposed.
But the parties in favour respectively of confede-
ration and of separate state independence were
so equally balanced in convention, that reso-
lutions of the most opposite tendency were offered
and carried.

A seventh convention was then called, which
met at Danville, in November. Previous to this,
however, the Kentucky Gazette was established
at Lexington by John Bradford, and through
the columns of this newspaper the people were
enabled to glean a more accurate knowledge of
the real condition of things.

As the time for the election of delegates to the
seventh convention approached, a concise and
clear statement appeared in the Gazette, of the
particular clauses in the laws of Virginia, and
in the articles of the confederation, which would
be violated by the formation of an independent
government in the manner proposed by Wilkin-
son and his party. This well- written article, which
though it appeared under the signature of George
Muter, was attributed to the pen of Colonel
Thomas Marshall, had an excellent effect in
modifying the opinions of many who had hitherto
been opposed to the Union.

Of the five representatives in convention to
which Fayette was entitled, four were elected

96 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY.

from the party headed by Marshall, -while Wil-
.kinson was the only candidate on the opposite
side who was successful.

A series of long, turbulent, and vexatious debates
ensued, in which Wilkinson, Brown, and Innis,
the leaders of the independent party, were con-
spicuous for the boldness of their sentiments,
and the daring character of their innuendos.

In the mean time, Virginia sought to allay the
feud by passing a third act, requiring the election
of delegates to another convention, to assemble
at Danville, in July, 1789, and go over the whole
ground anew.

In the winter of this year, an English agent
from Canada visited Kentucky, and called on
Colonel Marshall, and subsequently on General
Wilkinson. His object appears to have been to
sound the temper of Kentucky, and to ascertain
how far she would be willing to unite with
Canada in any contingency that might arise.
Suspicion having arisen among the people of his
being a British spy, he soon found it necessary
to seek safety, by retiring from the country with
equal speed and secrecy.

The new general government having by this
time gone into operation, the executive of Vir-
ginia was authorized to inform the convention,
that a force of regulars would soon be organized
to protect Kentucky from any future Indian in-
cursions. This information, acting upon the

ADMITTED INTO THE UNION. 97

modified temper of the people, doubtless had its
■weight upon their representatives. The eighth
convention met in July, 1790. They accepted
the Virginia act of separation ; drew up a me-
morial to Congress praying for admission into
the Union, and made provision for the election
of a ninth convention, to assemble in April, 1791,
and form a state constitution. At the meeting
of Congress in December, 1790, Washington
strongly urged the recognition of Kentucky as
one of the states of the Union ; and on the 4th
of February, 1791, an act to that effect passed
both houses, and received the signature of the
president.

98 HISTORY or KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER VII.

Indian inroads — Silas Hart pursues the Indians — ^Is kUled —
Heroism of young Hart — Captivity of the family — Judge
Rowan sails down the Ohio — Is pursued by Indians — His
perilous position — 'Wonderful presence of mind of Mrs. Rowan
— Adventure of Caffree, McClure, and Davis— Meet with an
equal number of Indians — Terrible combat — Caffiree and
Davis killed — Subsequent adventures of McClure — His es-
cape— Colonel Marshall descends the Ohio — Is hailed by
James Girty — Indian decoys — Captain Ward assaulted by
Indians — Death of his nephew — Panic of the others — The
search for a stray horse by Downing and Yates — They are
followed by Indians — Downing conceals himself — Pursuit
— Perilous situation of Downing — His remarkable escape.

It has been already stated, that after the ex-
pedition of Colonel Clark against the Miami
towns, the Indians generally preserved pacific
relations with the whites. Occasional inroads,
however, took place during the period of political
ferment into which Kentucky was plunged, by
her almost interminable succession of conven-
tions. The incidents connected with these in-
roads afford instances of presence of mind and
heroism equal to any that occurred in the earlier
history of the settlement.

Late in the summer of 1782, one of these pre-
datory bands of Indians, having committed ex-
cesses in Hardin county, Silas Hart, surnamed
by the savages for his keen sagacity, " Sharp

INDIAN MURDERS. 99

eye," assembled a party of settlers and pursued
the marauders. In the pursuit Hart shot their
chief, while several others of the party were also
killed, only two making good their escape. When
the death of the chief was made known to his
brother, h^ declared vengeance on Hart, and
collecting a small band of warriors, he secretly
made his way to the vicinity of Elizabethtown,
and commenced plundering and destroying.

No sooner was the neighbourhood fairly aroused
than the Indians decamped. Among the fore-
most in pursuit was Hart. Finding it impossible
to overtake the savages, the people returned to
their homes. In the mean while, the Indians, who
had secretly kept a watch upon the movements of
their pursuers, turned when they turned, and fol-
lowed them back into the settlement.

Hart reached home, some five miles from Eliza-
bethtown, about dark in the evening, and having
no apprehension of any Indians being near, went
to bed and slept soundly. The next morning, while
the family were seated at breakfast, the Indians,
who had secreted themselves around the house
during the night, suddenly appeared at the door,
and the brother of the fallen chief shot Hart dead.
The son of Hart, a boy of twelve years of age,
no sooner saw his father fall, than, grasping a
rifle, he sent a bullet through the savage before
he could enter the door.

The Indians then rushed into the house in a

100 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

body, but though the foremost warrior was im-
mediately killed by a blow from a hunting-knife
in the hands of the resolute boy, the family
were speedily overpowered and carried oflf into
captivity. The daughter of Hart, being unable
from debility to endure the fatigue of a forced
march, was despatched by the Indians at a short
distance from the settlement. The mother and
son were devoted to a more painful and lingering
death.

When the captives reached the Wabash towns
preparations were made for their execution ; for-
tunately, the extraordinary heroism of the boy
touched the heart of an influential woman of the
tribe, and at her intercession his life was spared.
Mrs. Hart was also saved from the stake, by the
interposition of a chief. The mother and son
were finally ransomed, and returned to their deso-
late homes.

No further adventure with the Indians occur-
red until the latter part of April, 1784, when the
father of the late Judge Rowan, with his own
and five other families, set out from Louisville
in two flat-bottomed boats for the long falls of
Greene River. The families were in one boat,
and their cattle in the other.

After descending the Ohio about a hundred
miles, as the boats, which were kept near the
centre of the river, were floating quietly along,
the yelling of a large body of Indians was heard

rowan's adventure. 101

some two or three miles below, whose fires were
discovered soon after upon the northern shore. It
was then about ten o'clock at night, and the con-
jecture of Rowan and his companions was, that
the savages had captured a boat which had passed
the flat boats about mid-day, and were massacring
their captives.

In order to protect themselves as far as it was
possible so to do, the two boats were lashed
together, and the men, seven in number, posted
by Mr. Rowan in the most favourable positions
for resisting an attack. The boats were then
rowed closer to the Kentucky shore, and kept
silently upon their course. The fires of the In-
dians extended at intervals for half a mile. When
the boats had reached a point nearly opposite the
central fire, they were discovered by the Indians,
hailed, and ordered to bring to. In profound
stillness the boats kept on their way ; and the In-
dians, meeting with no response, gave a terrific
yell, sprang into their canoes, and darted in pur-
suit. Silently the boats continued to descend the
river, borne onward only by the force of the cur-
rent. The Indians approached within one hun-
dred yards, and every thing on their part indi-
cated a determination to board.

At this moment, Mrs. Rowan quietly rose from
her seat, collected the axes, and placed one by
the side of each man, tapping him slightly with
the handle of the axe to make him aware of the

102 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

proximity of the weapon. She then retired to
her seat, retaining a hatchet for her own use.

For three miles the savages continued to hover
at a short distance from the rear of the boats,
yelling loudly; when, as if awed by the perfect
silence maintained by those on board, they re-
linquished farther pursuit. Mrs. Rowan, in speak-
ing of the incident afterwards, said, in her calm
way, " We made a providential escape, for which
we ought to feel grateful."

Somewhere about the same time, a party of
southern Indians, having stolen some horses in
Lincoln county, were pursued by three young
men whose respective names were Davis, Caffree,
and McClure. Ardent and energetic, the latter
determined, if they could not overtake the In-
dians, to proceed to their towns on the Tennes-
see River and make reprisals. Acting upon/this
resolution, they had reached within a few miles
of the Indian town of Chickamongo, when they
fell in with three Indians travelling in the same
direction with themselves. They agreed by signs
to travel together, though each Was evidently sus-
picious of the other. The Indians walked on one
side of the road and the whites on the other,
watching attentively every movement. At length,
the Indians beginning to converse among them-
selves very earnestly, the whites, convinced of
their treacherous intentions, resolved to antici-
cipate them. The plan of attack being agreed

TERRIBLE COMBAT. 103

to, Caffree, who was a powerful man, sprang on
the nearest Indian, hurled him to the ground,
and proceeded to tie him. At the same instant
Davis and McClure levelled their rifles at the
others : McClure fired and killed his man, but the
gun of Davis missed fire. Davis, McClure, and
the remaining Indian immediately took trees;
while Caff"ree was left upon the ground with the
prostrate Indian, and exposed to the fire of the
other. The savage who had sheltered himself
fired at Cafi'ree and wounded him mortallj. Find-
ing himself growing weak, Caffree called upon
Davis to assist him in tying the Indian, and in-
stantly afterward expired. In the mean time,
McClure had shot the other Indian, while the
Indian who had been released by the death of
Caffree sprang to his feet ; and seizing Caffree's
rifle, presented it at Davis. The rifle of the lat-
ter being out of order, he darted into the forest,
closely pursued by the Indian. McClure, re-
loading his rifle, and taking with him the one
which Davis had dropped, followed them for some
distance, making signals for his friend, but in
vain ; the latter was never heard of afterward.

McClure, now being alone in the enemy's coun-
try, resolved to return to Kentucky. He had
scarcely retraced his steps more than a mile, be-
fore he saw advancing from the opposite direc-
tion an Indian warrior, riding a horse with a bell
round its neck, and accompanied by a boy on foot.

104 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Dropping one of tlie rifles lest it might create
suspicion, McClure advanced with an air of con-
fidence, and extending his hand, made signs of
peace. The Indian replied in a like manner, and
dismounting, seated himself upon a log, drew out
his pipe, took a few puffs himself, and then handed
it to McClure.

In a few minutes another bell was heard at
the distance of half a mile, and a second party
of Indians appeared on horseback. The Indian
now coolly informed his white companion by signs,
that when the horsemen arrived McClure must
consider himself a prisoner, and consent to have
his feet bound by thongs under the belly of the
horse. In order to explain it more fully, the
Indian got astride of the log and locked his legs
beneath it. While he was making these gestures
McClure suddenly lifted his rifle, blew out the
brains of the Indian, and then darted into the
wood.

The Indian boy instantly mounted the horse,
and rode off in an opposite direction. A fierce
pursuit of McClure was now urged by the In-
dians, aided by several small Indian dogs, who
frequently ran between the legs of the fugitive
and threw him down. After falling five or six
times his eyes became so full of dust that he was
perfectly blinded. Despairing of success, he
doggedly lay upon his face, expecting every in-
stant to feel the edge of a tomahawk. To his

girty's warning. 105

astonishment no enemy appeared. Even the In-
dian dogs, after worrying him for some time, left
him to continue his journey unmolested. Find-
ing every thing quiet, he arose in a few moments,
and taking up his gun, continued his march to
Kentucky, where he arrived in safety.

During this year, another equally characteris-
tic incident occurred on the Ohio River. Colonel
Thomas Marshall, while descending the river in a
flat-boat with a numerous family, was hailed near
the mouth of the Kenawha, by a man who an-
nounced himself as James Girty, the brother of
the notorious r§negade Simon Girty. The boat
dropped slowly down within one hundred yards of
the northern shore, and Girty making a corre-
sponding movement on the beach, a conference was
kept up for several minutes. Girty said he had
been posted there by order of his brother Simon,
to warn all boats of the danger of permitting them-
selves to be decoyed ashore. The Indians had
become jealous of Girty, and he had lost that
influence which he formerly held among them.
He deeply regretted the injury which he had in-
flicted upon his countrymen, and wished to be
restored to their society. In order to convince
them of the sincerity of his regard, he had di-
rected his brother to warn all boats of the snares
spread for them. James Girty said, that every
effort would be made to draw passengers ashore.
White men would appear upon the bank, and

106 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

children would be heard to supplicate for mercy.
"But," continued he, "do you keep the middle
of the river and steel your heart against every
mournful application you may receive." The
colonel thanked him, and continuing on his
course reached Maysville without meeting with
any further interruption by the way.

As if to corroborate the statement of Girty,
Captain James Ward descended the Ohio some-
where about the same time. He and six others
— one of whom was his nephew — had embarked
in an indifferent boat, about forty-five feet long,
and eight feet wide, with no oth^ bulwark than
a single pine plank above each gunnel. The boat
was much encumbered by baggage, and six horses
were on board. No enemy having been visible
for several days, the voyagers had become secure
and careless, and suffered the boat to drift within
fifty yards of the Ohio shore. Suddenly, several
hundred Indians showed themselves on the bank,
and, running boldly to the water's edge, opened a
heavy fire.

Captain Ward and his nephew were at the
oars when the enemy appeared. The former,
well knowing that in gaining the middle of the
river lay their only chance of safety, immediately
strained every nerve to succeed in doing so ; but
his nephew started up, and seizing his rifle, was
in the act of firing, when he received a ball in
the breast and fell dead. Unfortunately the oar

downing's adventure. 107

dropped overboard, and the exertions of Captain
Ward only urged the boat nearer shore.

Replacing the lost oar by a plank, he succeeded
in getting out farther into the river. When he
found himself at leisure to examine the condition
of his crew, he found his nephew lying in his
blood perfectly lifeless, and a German wounded
in several places. All the horses were either
killed or wounded mortally. None of the other
men were hurt, although the whole party were
so panic-stricken that they did not fire a single
shot.

In August, 1786, a lad by the name of Down-
ing, who lived at a fort near Slate Creek, in what
is now Bath county, was requested by a com-
panion to assist him in hunting for a horse which
had strayed away on the preceding evening.
Downing readily complied, and the two friends
searched in every direction, until at length they
found themselves in a wild valley, at a distance
of six or seven miles from the fort. Here Down-
ing became alarmed, and repeatedly told his
companion, Yates, that he heard sticks cracking
behind them, and was certain that Indians were
dogging them. Yates, an old woodsman, laughed
at the fears of the boy, and contemptuously asked
him at what price he rated his scalp, offering to
insure it for sixpence. Downing, however, was not
so easily satisfied. He observed that in whatever
direction they turned, the same ominous sounds

108 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

continued to haunt them, and as Yates continued
to treat the matter recklessly, he resolved to take
measures for his own safety. Gradually slacken-
ing his pace, he permitted Yates to advance
twenty or thirty paces ahead, and immediately
afterward, as they descended the slope of a
gentle hill, Downing slipped aside and hid him-
self in a thick cluster of whortle-bushes. Yates
proceeded on, singing carelessly some rude song,^
and was soon out of sight.

Scarcely had he disappeared, when Downing
beheld two savages put aside the stalks of a cane-
brake, and look out cautiously in the direction
which Yates had taken. Fearful that they had
seen him step aside, he determined to fire upon
them and trust to his heels for safety ; but so
unsteady was his hand, that in raising his gun
to his shoulder, it went off before he had taken
aim. He immediately ran, and after proceeding
about fifty yards, was met by Yates, who had
hastily retraced his steps. The enemy were then
in full view, and Yates, who might have out-
stripped Downing, graduated his steps to those
of his youthful companion.

The Indians, by taking a shorter path, gained
rapidly upon the fugitives, across whose way lay
a deep gully. Yates easily cleared it, but Down-
ing dropped short and fell at full length upon
the bottom. The Indians, eager for the capture
of Yates, continued the pursuit without appear-

CTJEIOUS INCIDENT. 109

ing to notice Downing, who, quickly recovering
his strength, began to walk slowly up the ditch,
fearing to leave it lest the enemy should see him.
He had scarcely emerged into open ground be-
fore he saw one of the Indians returning, appa-
rently in quest of him. His gun being unloaded.
Downing threw it away, and again took to flight ;
but the Indian gained on him so rapidly that he
lost all hope of escape. Coming at length to a
large poplar, which had been blown up by the
roots, he ran along the body of the tree on one
side, while the Indian followed on the other, ex-
pecting to intercept Downing at the root. But
here fortune favoured the latter in a most singu-
lar manner. A she-bear which was suckling her
cubs in a bed at the root of the tree suddenly
sprang upon the Indian, and while the latter was
yelling and stabbing his hirsute antagonist with
his knife. Downing succeeded in making his
escape, and reaching the fort, where he found
Yates reposing after a hot chase, in which he
also had distanced his pursuers.

110 ' HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER Vni.

Indians attack the house of widow Shanks — Their stratagem
— The house fired — Fearful massacre — Heroic conduct of
young Shanks — Pursuit of the Indians — Their singular es-
cape— New mode of warfare on the Ohio — Political condi-
tion of Kentucky — Adventure of John Lancaster — Taken
captive with his companions — His escape and subsequent
privations — Floats down the Ohio on a raft — Is rescued at
the falls — Ballard's house attacked — Stubborn defence by
old Mr. Ballard — Daring conduct of Bland Ballard, the cele-
brated spy — Loss of the Indians.

On the night of the 10th of April, 1787, the
house of a widow named Shanks, on Cooper's
Run, in Bourbon countj, was attacked by In-
dians. This house, which was a double cabin, con-
sisting of two rooms, with an open way between,
contained at the time the assault was made, be-
sides the widow herself, a widowed daughter, three
other daughters, a young girl, and two sons of
adult age. Although the hour was near mid-
night, one of the young men still remained up,
and in the opposite room a sister was busily en-
gaged at the loom.

An hour before, while they were yet uncon-
scious of the actual presence of Indians, the sus-
picions of the son had been aroused by the cry
of owls hooting to each other in the adjoining
wood in a rather unusual manner ; and by the

INDIAN ATTACKS. Ill

terroi and excitement of the horses, who were en-
closed, as customary, in a pound near the house.

Several times the young man was on the point
of awaking his brother, but as often refrained
through fear of being ridiculed for his timidity.
At length hasty steps were heard without, and
then came several sharp knocks at the door, ac-
companied by the usual question of the wayfarer,
"Who keeps house?" spoken in good English.

The young man hastily advanced to withdraw
the bar which secured the door, supposing the
new comer to be some benighted settler ; when
his mother, whose greater experience had proba-
bly detected the Indian accent, instantly sprang
out of bed, and warned her son that the men
outside were savages.

The other son being by this time aroused, the
two young men, seizing their rifles, which were
always charged, prepared to repel the enemy.
Conscious that their true character was discover-
ed, the Indians now strove to break in the door ;
but a single shot from a loophole compelled
them to shift their point of attack ; and unfortu-
nately they then discovered the door of the other
cabin which contained the three daughters.

By some oversight in the construction of the
cabin, none of the loops enabled the brothers to
cover the door of the room in which their sisters
were, and the Indians were able to force it open
by means of rails taken from the yard fence.

112 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The girls being thus placed at the mercy of the
savages, one was instantly secured ; but the eldest
defended herself desperately with a knife, and
succeeded in mortally wounding a savage before
she was tomahawked. The youngest girl darted
out into the yard, and might have escaped in the
darkness ; but the poor creature ran round the
house, and, wringing her hands in terror, kept
crying out that her sisters were killed.

The brothers, agonized almost to madness by
her cries, were preparing to sally out to her as-
sistance, when their mother stayed them, and
calmly declared that the child must be abandoned
to her fate. The next instant, the child uttered
a loud scream, followed by a few faint moans,
and then all was silent.

Almost immediately afterwards, that portion
of the house which had been occupied by the
daughters was set on fire, and the flames soon
communicating to the opposite room, the brothers
were compelled to fling open the door and at-
tempt to seek safety by flight.

The old lady, supported by her eldest son,
sought to cross the fence at one point, while the
widowed daughter, with her child in her arms,
and attended by the younger of the brothers,
ran in a diff'erent direction. The blazing roof
shed a light over the yard but little inferior to
that of day, and the savages were distinctly seen
awaiting the approach of their victims. The old

FEARFUL MASSACRE. 113

lady was permitted to reach the stile unmolested,
but in the act of crossing, received several balls
in her breast and fell dead. Her son providen-
tially remained unhurt, and by extraordinary
agility effected his escape. The other brother,
being vigorously assailed by the Indians, defended
his sister desperately for some time, and drew
the attention of the savages so closely to him-
self, that she succeeded in eluding their vigilance.
The brave and devoted young man was less fortu-
nate ; he fell beneath repeated blows from the
tomahawks of his enemies, and was found at
daylight, scalped and mangled in a most shock-
ing manner.

Of the whole family, consisting of eight per-
sons when the attack commenced, only three
escaped. Four were killed on the spot, and one,
the second daughter, carried off prisoner.

The alarm was soon given, and by daylight
thirty men were assembled under Colonel Ed-
wards, and pursued the Indian trail at a gallop,
tracking the footsteps of the savages in the snow.
The trail led directly into the mountainous coun-
try bordering upon Licking, and afforded evi-
dences of great hurry and precipitation on the
part of the Indians. Unfortunately, a hound had
been permitted to accompany the whites, and as
the trail became fresh, and the scent warm, she
pursued it with eagerness, baying loudly and giv-
ing alarm to the savages. The consequence of

114 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

this imprudence was soon displayed. The enemy ^
finding the pursuit keen, and perceiving the
strength of their prisoner beginning to fail, in-
stantly sank their tomahawks in her head, and
left her, still warm and bleeding, upon the snow.
As the whites came up, she retained strength
enough to wave her hand in token of recognition,
and appeared desirous of giving them some in-
formation in regard to the enemy ; but her
strength was too far gone. Her brother sprang
from his horse, and endeavoured to stop the
effusion of blood, but in vain. She gave him
her hand, muttered some inarticulate words, and
expired within two minutes after the arrival of
the party.

The pursuit was renewed with additional
ardour, and in twenty minutes the enemy was
within view. They had taken possession of a
narrow ridge, and seemed desirous of magnifying
their numbers in the eyes of the whites, by run-
ning rapidly from tree to tree, and maintaining
a steady yell in their most appalling tones.

The pursuers, however, were too experienced
to be deceived by so common an artifice ; and
being satisfied that the number of the enemy
must be inferior to their own, they dismounted,
tied their horses, and flanking out in such a man-
ner as to enclose the savages, ascended the ridge
as rapidly as Avas consistent with a due regard
to the shelter of their persons.

INDIAN CUNNINQ. 115

The firing quickly commenced, and now tliev
discovered, for the first time, that only two In-
dians were opposed to them. They had volun-
tarily sacrificed themselves for the safety of the
main body, and had succeeded in delaying pur-
suit until their friends could reach the mountains.
One of them was instantly shot dead, and the
other was badly wounded, as was evident from
the blood upon his blanket, as well as that which
filled the snow for a considerable distance. The
pursuit was recommenced, and urged keenly until
night, when the trail entered a running stream
and was lost.

During the latter part of January, 1788, a
party of Indians stole somiC horses on Elkhorn,
near Colonel Johnson's mill. They were pur-
sued by Captain Herndon and some of his men,
but escaped. This escape was effected by means
of a most singular manoeuvre on the part of one
of the Indians. The latter,after travelling about
twenty miles, were surprised by their pursuers
in a brushy copse of wood. The whites no
sooner made preparations to fire on the savages,
than they scattered in various directions. One
Indian alone remained. He continued, notwith-
standing the presence of his pursuers, to spring
from tree to tree, to yell and dodge, and spring
aloft, and make all manner of singular noises,
like a man perfectly frantic. This strange ex-
hibition so engrossed for a time the attention of

116 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the attacking party, that thej looked on in a
sort of bewildered amazement, and hesitated to
fire. In the mean time, the other Indians had
escaped out of rifle shot ; and the stratagem of
the savage having succeeded in effecting its ob-
ject, he himself suddenly disappeared, leaving
the pursuers to wonder at their own delusion and
folly.

In March, the Indians surprised a camp of
Kentuckians on the Cumberland road, and killed
two of them. Pursuit was immediately urged,
but, although the savages were overtaken and
fired on, they escaped unhurt.

About this time they adopted a more dangerous,
because a more secure mode of warfare. They
manned a flat-boat, and having perfected them-
selves in its management, laid in ambush on the
Ohio for the family boats which were constantly
descending that river. They succeeded in cap-
turing several, slaughtered the persons on board,
and possessed themselves of considerable booty.
The people of Kentucky were greatly exaspe-
rated by these repeated outrages ; but being dis-
tracted by the fierce political feuds which grew
out of the Spanish intrigues of Wilkinson and
others, they were not able to make the usual re-
prisals.

The violent and illegal separation from Vir-
ginia which was urged upon the people of Ken-
tucky by Wilkinson and his partisans was fraught

ADVEXTURE OP LANCASTER. 117

with the most momentous consequences. Had
thej succeeded in carrying out their object, it
would have had the effect of precluding the re-
cognition of Kentucky by the general government
as one of the confederated states, and have forced
her to stand upon that independent footing which
the emissaries of Spain so ardently desired. Hap-
pily, more judicious counsels grew gradually into
favour; the Spanish influence declined, and the
state, as we have already seen, was formally re-
cognised by the general government.

But as yet this fortunate result had not been
achieved, and the political condition of the terri-
tory continued to be terribly shaken by intestine
divisions, which not only interfered with the pros-
perity of the settlers, but loosened their attach-
ment both to Virginia and the federal compact.

During the month of May, John Lancaster,
accompanied by Colonel Joseph Mitchell, his son,
and a man named Brown, while descending the
Ohio in a flat-boat, discovered a party of Indians
lying in wait for them at the mouth of the Miami.
As the current bore the boat directly towards the
savages, escape was hopeless. The Indians dis-
played a white flag in token of friendship, but at
the same time levelled their muskets at the man
who was at the oar, and would have shot him
down had not the chief interposed. The latter,
who was known as Shawnese Jim, speaking in
broken English, assured the white men that his

118 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

people meant them no harm, and that they merely
wished to trade with them.

Mean time a skiff, manned by four Indians,
was seen to put oif from the shore, and was rowed
rapidly toward the boat, which it struck with so
much force as to upset the skiff, and precipitate
three of the Indians into the river. Lancaster
immediately, with great presence of mind, leaped
into the river and aided in rescuing the strug-
gling Indians. But the well-intentioned effort to
conciliate the good-will of those in whose power
he was, met with no immediate return. The In-
dians, on entering the boat, seized on the whites
and made them prisoners, two of them struggling
violently for the possession of Lancaster. When
they reached the shore, the opposing claimants
fought desperately with each other on the same
ground of quarrel, when Captain Jim interposed,
and decided in favour of the first who had seized
the person of the captive. The boat was soon
rowed to the shore, and rifled of its contents.
The Indians then decamped with their booty and
the four prisoners they had taken.

During the first night, which was spent in
revelry and drunkenness, the prisoners were bound
down on their backs to the earth, with cords,
which were passed about their bodies and limbs,
and tied closely to stakes driven in the ground.
Their situation was pitiable in the extreme. The
rain poured down in torrents ; while their only

CEREMONY OF ADOPTION. 119

covering was a blanket thrown over each, the
savages having stripped them of their clothing
and money.

The next morning they were released from
their confinement, and hurried on toward an In-
dian village, some sixty-five miles from the mouth
of the Miami. When they reached what was pro-
bably one of the Shawnese towns, the Indian
master of Lancaster suddenly came to him, and,
embracing him with tears, exclaimed amidst sobs
and lamentations, that he should be his brother
in the place of one he had lost during the pre-
vious year.

The Indian ceremony of adoption took place im-
mediately. Lancaster was stripped of his blanket,
and after having his body anointed with bear-
oil, was painted of a vermilion colour. He was
then taught some fragments of an Indian song,
and made to join in the savage festival which
ensued. This consisted of songs and dances, one
Indian beating time with a stick, the head of
which was curiously wrought and trimmed with
the hoofs of deer. The ceremony of adoption
concluded with the cessation of the perform-
ance.

Lancaster continued a captive with the Indians
for eight days, in which time, from his great
swiftness of foot, he acquired the name of Kiohba,
or the Running Buck. He was treated with great
kindness by the tribe while his foster-brother re-

120 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT.

mained in the camp, but during his absence began
to experience rougher treatment.

Captain Jim, under whose charge he was now
left, became sullen and vindictive. He quarrelled
with his wife, who through fear of him fled from
the camp. While he was returning from the pur-
suit of her, his daughter, who was well acquainted
with her father's moods, and who had become
attached to Kiohba, said suddenly to the latter,
' " Run." Lancaster took her advice, and instantly
darted from the camp.

On casting a glance backward from a neigh-
bouring eminence, he saw Captain Jim beating
the elder Mitchell with a tent pole ; and soon
after his departure he learned that the younger
Mitchell had been painted black and burned at
the stake. The father and Brown were subse-
quently ransomed by their friends, and after suf-
fering hardships and privations almost incredible,
returned to Pittsburg. Lancaster was soon out
of sight of the Indian encampment, and after run-
ning for six days, crossing repeatedly his own
trail to set pursuit at default, he safely reached
the Ohio River. During this time his only sub-
sistence had been four turkey eggs, which he
found in the hollow of a tree. Exhausted as he
was, he immediately tied himself with bark to the
trunk of a box elder tree, and after four hours'
unremitting toil, succeeded in reaching the Ken-
tucky shore.

Lancaster's escape. 121

When he had rested a short time, he determined
to float down the river to the station at the falls,
which he estimated was between thirty and forty-
miles distant. Accordingly, he made a small raft
by tying two trees together with bark, on which
he placed himself with a pole for an oar. A
little above Eighteen Mile Island, he heard the
sharp report of a rifle, and thinking that his pur-
suers had overtaken him, he crouched down and
laid himself as close as he could. Hearing no
other noise, however, he concluded that his alarm
was without foundation. Shortly after, a dread-
ful storm broke upon the river, night had already
closed in, and the weary fugitive sank almost
lifeless on the raft, drenched with rain, benumbed
with the cold, and with the terrible apprehension
on his mind that he might be precipitated over
the falls during the darkness.

At break of day, he was aroused from his
death-like lethargy, by one of the most cheering
sounds that ever fell on the ears of a forlorn and
lost wanderer — the crowing of a cock, — which
announced the immediate vicinity of a white set-
tlement. The sound revived him ; he collected
all his energies for one last effort, and sat upright
on his little raft. Soon, in the gray light of the
morning, he discovered the cabins of his country-
men, and was enabled to eflect a landing at the
mouth of Beargrass — the site of the present city
of Louisville.

122 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

It was in the early part of this year that the
house of the father of Bland Ballard, so well
known in frontier annals as a most accomplished
woodsman and spy, was attacked by Indians.
Old Mr. Ballard had left the little fort on Tick
Creek, and gone to a house a little distance off,
for the purpose of being nearer to the sugar camp.
The first intimation they had of the presence of
Indians was early in the morning, when Ben-
jamin, another brother, went out to get wood to
make a fire. The savages shot him, and then
assailed the house. The inmates barred the
door, and prepared for defence. There was no
man in the house except Mr. Ballard, but of
women there were several. In the fort there
was only Bland Ballard, then about twenty-seven
years of age, and an old man. As soon as young
Ballard heard the guns, he repaired to within
shooting distance of his father's house, but dared
not venture nearer. Here he commenced using
his rifle with good effect. In the mean time the
Indians broke open the house and killed his
father, with the loss of two of their own number.
His stepmother and two sisters were also mur-
dered, and the young sister was tomahawked, but
she subsequently recovered. When the Indians
broke into the house, his stepmother attempted
to escape by the back door, but was pursued by
one of the savages, who, as he raised his toma-
hawk to strike the fatal blow, was shot down by

CAPTAIN HUBBELL. 123

Bland Ballard, but not in time to save his mother.
The savage and his victim both fell dead together.
The Indians were supposed to have numbered
sixteen, and before they completed their work of
death had sustained a loss of six or seven.

CHAPTER IX.

Captain Hubhell descends the Ohio^ — Is attacked by Indians
— His desperate defence — The Indians beaten ofl' — Boat of
Captain Greathouse captured — Hubbell again attacked — In-
dians retire with great loss — Heroism of a boy — Number of
wounded — Painful condition of Captain Hubbell — The boat
reaches Limestone — Unsuccessful pursuit of the savages
— John May descends the Ohio — Indian stratagem — Finn
urges May to put into the Ohio shore — Finn surprised by the
savages — The boat attacked and captured — Skyles wounded
— May and Miss Fleming killed — Eeception of the Indians by
Johnston- — Captain Marshall descends the Ohio with three
boats — Is pursued by the Indians — The attack and defence
— His escape with the loss of two boats.

A SHORT time subsequent to the adventure
related in the preceding chapter, a much more
terrible affair took place. In March of this year,
Captain William Hubbell floated down the Ohio
River in a flat-bottomed boat, on his return from
the eastward, and after leaving Pittsburg, saw
traces of Indians along the banks of the stream,
which raised his suspicions and increased his
watchfulness. There was on board the boat, be-

124 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

sides Captain Hubbell, Mr. Daniel Light, and
Mr. William Plascut and his family. Before
they reached the mouth of the Great Kenawha,
the number was increased by additions to twenty ;
among whom were three persons whose respective
names were Ray, Tucker, and Kilpatrick ; two
daughters of the latter, a man by the name of
Stoner, an Irishman, and a German.

Information received at Gallipolis confirmed
their previous expectation of a serious conflict
with a large body of Indians ; and as Captain
Hubbell had been regularly appointed commander
of the boat, he made every preparation to resist
the anticipated attack.

The nine men were divided into three watches
for the night, who were alternately to be on the
look-out for two hours at a time. The arms on
board, which unfortunately consisted mainly of
old muskets very much out of order, were col-
lected, loaded, and put in the best possible condi-
tion for service.

About sunrise on the 23d, Hubbell's party
overtook a fleet of six boats descending the river
in company, and at first concluded to join them
for the sake of mutual protection. Finding,
however, that they were a careless, noisy set of
people, more intent on dancing than watching
for Indians, Hubbell determined to push forward
alone. One of the six boats, as if also desirous
of keeping up with the party under Hubbell,

WILY STKATAGEM. 125

pushed for-^ard for a short time ; but its crew at
length dropped asleep, and Hubbell, pressing
vigorously forward, soon left it in the rear.

Early in the night, a canoe was seen dimly
floating down the river, in which were probably
Indians on the watch for their prey, fires and
other signs were at the same time observed, which
indicated the neighbourhood of a formidable body
of savages.

Just as daylight began to appear in the east,
and before the men were up and at their posts,
a voice at some distance below them repeatedly
solicited them, in a plaintive tone, to come on
shore, as there were some white persons who
wished to take a passage in their boat. This the
captain naturally concluded to be an Indian arti-
fice. He accordingly roused the men, and placed
every one upon his guard.

The voice of entreaty was soon changed into
the language of indignation and insult, and the
sound of distant paddles announced the approach
of the savage foe. At length, three Indian canoes
were seen through the mist of the morning rapidly
advancing, and with the utmost coolness the cap-
tain and his companions prepared to receive them.

Every man took his position, and was ordered

not to fire till the savages came nearly up to the

boat ; a special caution being given that the men

should fire in succession, so that there might be

no intervals.

11*

126 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

On the arrival of the canoes, they were found
to contain from twenty-five to thirty Indians in
each. As soon as they approached within musket-
shot, they poured in a general fire from one of
the canoes, by which Tucker and Light were both
wounded. The three canoes now placed them-
selves on the bow, stern, and side of the boat,
and commenced a raking fire upon the voyagers ;
but the steady firing from the boat had a power-
ful effect in checking the confidence and the fury
of the savages.

Captain Hubbell, after firing his own gun,
took up that of one of the wounded men, and was
in the act of discharging it when a ball came and
tore away the lock ; he coolly turned round,
seized a brand of fire, and applying it to the pan,
discharged it with effect. He was in the act of
raising his gun a third time, when a ball passed
through his right arm, which for a moment dis-
abled him.

Just as he had recovered the use of his hand,
which had been momentarily drawn up by the
wound, he observed the Indians about to board
the boat. Severely wounded as he was, he rushed
forward to the bow and assisted in forcing them
ofi", first by the discharge of a pair of horse pis-
tols, and afterward by billets of wood which had
been prepared for the fire. Meeting with so des-
perate a resistance, the Indians at length discon-
tinued the contest.

DESPERATE DEFENCE. 127

The boat wliich Hubbell had previously left
behind during the slumber of its crew, now ap-
pearing in sight, the canoes were rapidly directed
towards it. They boarded it without opposition,
killed Captain Greathouse and a lad of about
fourteen years of age, placed the women in the
centre of their canoes, and manning them with a
fresh reinforcement from the shore, again pursued
Hubbell and his party. A melancholy alterna-
tive now presented itself to these brave, but
desponding men. They must either fall them-
selves a prey to the savages, or run the risk of
shooting the women in the canoes, who had been
purposely placed there by the Indians, in the
hope of obtaining protection from their presence.
Hubbell was compelled for the sake of his own
wounded to risk the latter, well knowing how lit-
tle mercy was to be expected if the savages were
victorious.

There were now but four men left on board of
Captain Hubbell's boat capable of defending it,
and the captain himself was severely wounded in
two places. The second attack, however, was re-
sisted with almost incredible firmness and vigour.
Whenever the Indians would rise to fire, their
opponents would commonly give them the first
shot, which in almost every instance would prove
fatal. Notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, '
and the exhausted condition of the defenders of
the boat, the Indians at length appeared to de-

128 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

spair of success, and the canoes successively
retired to the shore. Just as the last one was
departing, Captain Hubbell called to the Indian
who was standing in the stern, and on his turning
round, discharged his piece at him. When the
smoke, which for a moment obstructed the vision,
was dissipated, he was seen lying on his back,
and appeared to be severely, perhaps mortally
wounded.

Unfortunately the boat now drifted near to the
shore where the Indians were collected, and a
large concourse, probably between four and five
hundred, were seen rushing down on the bank.
^ Ray and Plascut, the only men remaining unhurt,
were placed at the oars, and as the boat was not
more than twenty yards from shore, it was
deemed prudent for all to lie down in as safe a
position as possible, and attempt to push forward
with the utmost practicable rapidity. While they
continued in this situation, nine balls were shot
into one oar, and ten into the other, without
wounding the rowers, who wei'e hidden from view
and protected by the side of the boat and the
blankets in its stern. During this dreadful ex-
posure to the fire of the savages, which continued
about twenty minutes, Mr. Kilpatrick observed a
particular Indian, whom he thought a favourable
mark for his rifle, and, notwithstanding the
solemn warning of Captain Hubbell, rose to shoot
him. He immediately received a ball in his

THE VOYAGERS VICTORIOUS. 129

mouth, which passed out at the back part of his
head, and was almost at the same moment shot
through the heart. He fell among the horses
that about the same time were killed, and present-
ed to his afflicted daughters and fellow travellers,
who were witnesses of the awful occurrence, a
spectacle of horror which we need not further
attempt to describe.

The boat was now providentially and suddenly
carried out into the middle of the stream, and
taken by the current beyond the reach of the
enemy's balls. Our little band, reduced as they
were in numbers, wounded, afBicted, and almost
exhausted by fatigue, were still unsubdued in
spirit, and bqing assembled in all their strength,
men, women, and children, with an appearance
of triumph gave three hearty cheers, calling to
the Indians to come on again if they were fond of
the sport.

Thus ended this awful conflict, in which, out
of nine men, only two escaped unhurt. Tucker
and Kilpatrick were killed on the spot, S toner
was mortally wounded, and died on his arrival at
Limestone, and all the rest, excepting Ray and
Plascut, were severely wounded. The women and
children were all uninjured, excepting a little son
of Mr. Plascut, who, after the battle was over,
came to the captain, and with great coolness re-
quested him to take a ball out of his head. On
examination, it appeared that a bullet, which had

130 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

passed through the side of the boat, had pene-
trated the forehead of this little hero, and re-
mained under the skin. The captain took it out,
and the youth, observing, " that is not all,"
raised his arm, and exhibited a piece of bone at
the point of his elbow, which had been shot off,
and hung only by the skin. His mother ex-
claimed, " Why did you not tell me of this ?"
"Because," he coolly replied, "the captain di-
rected us to be silent during the action, and I
thought you would be likely to make a noise if I
told you."

• The boat made the best of its way down the
river ; the object being to reach Limestone that
night. The captain's arm having bled profusely,
he was compelled to close the sleeve of his coat
in order to retain the blood and stop its effu-
sion. In this situation, tormented by excruciating
pain, and faint through loss of blood, he was
under the necessity of steering the boat with his
left arm, till about ten o'clock that night, when
he was relieved by Mr. William Brooks, who re-
sided on the bank of the river, and who was
induced by the calls of the suffering party to
come out to their assistance. By his aid, and
that of some other persons, who were in the same
manner brought to their relief, they were enabled
to reach Limestone about twelve o'clock that
night.

Immediately on the arrival of Mr. Brooks,

HUEBELL REACHES LIMESTONE. 131

Captain Hubbell, relieved from labour and re-
sponsibility, sunk under the weight of pain and
fatigue, and became for a while totally insensible.
When the boat reached Limestone, he found him-
self unable to walk, and was obliged to be carried
up to the tavern. Here he had his wound dressed,
and continued several days, until he acquired
sufficient strength to proceed homewards.

On the arrival of Hubbell's party at Lime-
stone, they found a considerable force of armed
men about to march against the same Indians
from whose attacks they had so severely suffered.
They now learned that on the Sunday preceding,
the same party of savages had cut off a detach-
ment of men ascending the Ohio from Fort Wash-
ington, at the mouth of Licking Kiver, and had
killed with their tomahawks, without firing a gun,
twenty-one out of twenty-two men, of which the
detachment consisted.

Crowds of people, as might be expected, came
to witness the boat which had been the scene of
so much heroism and such horrid carnage, and to
visit the resolute little band by whom it had been
so gallantly and perseveringly defended. On
examination it was found that the sides of the
boat were literally filled with bullets and with
bullet holes. There was scarcely a space of two
feet square in the part above water, which had
not either a ball remaining in it, or a hole
through which a ball had passed. Some persons

132 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

■who had the curiosity to count the number of
holes in the blankets which were hung up as cur-
tains in the stern of the boat, affirmed that in the
space of five feet square there were one hundred
and twenty-two. Four horses out of five were
killed, and the escape of the fifth, amidst such a
shower of balls, appears almost miraculous.

The day after the arrival of Captain Hubbell
and his companions, the five remaining boats
which they had passed on the night preceding the
battle reached Limestone. Those on board re-
marked, that during the action they distinctly
saw the flashes, but could not hear the reports of
the guns. The Indians, it appears, had met with
too formidable a resistance from a single boat to
attack a fleet, and suffered them to pass unmo-
lested ; and since that time, it is believed that no
boat has been assailed by Indians on the Ohio.

The force which marched out to disperse this
formidable body of savages discovered several
Indians dead on the shore, near the scene of ac-
tion. They also found the bodies of Captain
Greathouse and several others, — men, women,
and children, — who had been on board of his
boat. Most of them appeared to have beep
whipped to death, as they were found stripped,
tied to trees, anc^ marked with the appearance of
lashes ; and large rods, which seemed to have
been worn with use, were observed lying near
them.

may's adventure. 133

An adventure similar in some respects to the
above, and equally tragic in its consequences,
occurred about the middle of March, 1790. John
May, from whom the city of Maysville derives
its name, embarked at Kelly's station, on the
Kenawha, for Maysville, in company with his
clerk, Charles Johnston, and a Mr. Skyles, a
Virginia merchant, who had with him a stock of
dry goods for Lexington. They were joined at
Point Pleasant by a man named Flinn, and two
sisters by the name of Fleming. When near the
mouth of the Scioto, they were awakened, on the
morning of the 20th, by Flinn, whose turn it was
to watch, and informed that danger was at hand.
All instantly sprang to their feet, and hastened
upon deck, without removing their night-caps or
completing their dress. The cause of Flinn's alarm
was quickly evident. Far down the river a smoke
was seen ascending in thick wreaths above the
trees, and floating in thinner masses over the bed
of the river. All instantly perceived that it
could only proceed from a large fire ; and no one
doubted that it was kindled by Indians. As the
boat drifted on, it became evident that the fire
was on the Ohio shore, and it was instantly de-
termined to put over to the opposite side of the
river.

Before this could be done, however, two white
men ran down upon the beach, and clasping their
hands in the most earnest manner, implored the

134 HISTORY- OF KENTUCKY.

crew to take them on board. They declared they
had been taken by a party of Indians in Ken-
nedy's bottom a few days before, had been con-
ducted across the Ohio, and had just effected
their escape.

Fearful of treachery, the party paid no atten-
tion to their entreaties, but steadily pursued their
course down the river, and were soon considera-
bly ahead of the supplicants.

The two white men immediately ran along the
bank, parallel with the course of the boat, and
changed their entreaties into the most piercing
cries and lamentations. The pity of the crew
was awakened. Fiinn and the two females earn-
estly insisted upon going ashore and relieving
the white men, and even the incredulity of May
began to yield to the persevering obduracy of the
supplicants. A parley took place. May called
to them from the deck of the boat, where he stood
in his night-cap and drawers, and demanded the
cause of the large fire, the smoke of which had
occasioned so much alarm.

The white men positively denied there being
any fire near them. This falsehood was so palpa-
ble, that May's former suspicions returned with
additional force, and he positively refused to ap-
proach the shore and take the men on board.
In this resolution he was supported by Johnston
and Skyles ; but Flinn and the females as vehe-
mently opposed it.

FATAL COMPASSION. 135

Flinn urged that the men gave every evidence
of real distress which could be required, and re-
counted too many particular circumstances at-
tending their capture and escape, to give colour to
to the suspicion that their story was invented for
the occasion. He added, that it would be a burn-
ing shame to them and theirs for ever, if they
should permit two countrymen to fall a sacrifice
to the savages, when so slight a risk on their
part would suflSce to relieve them.

The boat having drifted by this time nearly
a mile below where the men were left standing,
Flinn, whose warm heart was touched by their
apparent wretchedness, proposed that May should
only touch the hostile shore long enough to per-
mit him to jump out. If any Indians should ap-
pear, the boat could be immediately put out into
the stream, and he would run the risk of his own
fate. May remonstrated, but to no purpose ;
Flinn was inflexible, and in an evil hour the boat
was directed to the shore.

The instant it was within reach of the laud,
Flinn leaped to the bank. At that moment six
savages ran up, out of breath, from the adjoining
wood, and seizing Flinn, began to fire upon the
boat. The fire was immediately returned by
Johnston and Skyles, while May attempted to
regain the current. Fresh Indians arrived, how-
ever, in such rapid succession, that the beach was
quickly crowded by them, and May called out to

136 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

his companions to cease firing and assist him at
the oars. This was instantly done, but it was too
late. Finding it impossible to extricate them-
selves, they all lay down upon their faces and pas-
sively awaited the approach of their conquerors.
The enemy still stood off and poured in an inces-
sant fire, by which all the horses were killed, and
which began at length to ' prove fatal to the
crew. One of the females received a ball in her
mouth, and instantly expired. Skyles was se-
verely wounded in both shoulders, and as the
fire every moment grew hotter, May arose and
waved his night-cap in signal of surrender. He
instantly received a ball in the middle of the
forehead, and fell perfectly dead by the side of
Johnston, covering him with his blood.

Now at last the enemy ventured to board.
Throwing themselves into the water with their
tomahawks in their hands, a dozen or more swam
to the boat and began to climb its sides. John-
ston stood ready to do the honours of the boat,
and presenting his hand tc each Indian in suc-
cession, he helped them over the side. Each
Indian greeted him with great apparent cordial-
ity, by a shake of the hand, and the usual salu-
tation of, " How de do ?" in passable English;
while Johnston encountered every visitor with an
affectionate squeeze and a forced smile, in which
terror struggled with civility. Having shaken
hands with all their captives, the Indians pro-

FATE OF THE CAPTIVES. 137

ceeded coolly to scalp the dead. The boat was
then drawn ashore, and its contents examined with
great greediness. In addition to the pain of his
wounds, Skyles was compelled to witness the total
destruction of his property by the hands of the
spoilers, who tossed his silks, cambric, and broad-
cloth into the dirt with the most reckless indif-
ference. At length they stumbled upon a keg
of whisky. The prize was eagerly seized, and
every thing else abandoned. The Indian who had
found it, instantly carried it ashore, and was fol-
lowed by the rest with tumultuous delight. A
large fire was quickly kindled, and victors and
vanquished huddled indiscriminately around it.

Flinn was subsequently burned at the stake
by his fiendish captors, with all the aggravated
tortures that savage cruelty could devise. Skyles,
after running the gauntlet, and having been con-
demned to death, made his escape to the white
settlements. The remaining Miss Fleming was
rescued by an Indian chief, at the moment her
captors were preparing to burn her alive, and
conducted in safety to Pittsburg. Johnston was
finally ransomed by a Frenchman for six hundred
silver brooches.

On the next morning the Indians arose early
and prepared for another encounter, expecting
as usual that boats would be passing. It hap-
pened that Captain Thomas Marshall, of the Vir-
ginia artillery, afterward a citizen of Mason, and

12*

138 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

son of Colonel Marshall, in company with a'everal
other gentlemen, was descending the Ohio, having
embarked only one day later than May. About
twelve o'clock on the second day after May's
disaster, the little flotilla appeared about a mile
above the point where the Indians stood. In-
stantly all was bustle and activity. The addi-
tional oars were fixed to the boat, the savages
instantly sprang on board, and the prisoners were
compelled to station themselves at the oars, and
were threatened with instant death unless they
used their utmost exertions to bring them along-
side of the enemy. The three boats came down
very rapidly, and were soon immediately opposite
their enemy's. The Indians opened a heavy fire
upon them, and stimulated their rowers to their
utmost efforts.

The boats became quickly aware of their dan-
ger, and a warm contest of skill and strength took
place. There was an interval of one hundred yards
between each of the three boats in view. The hind-
most was for a time in danger. Having but one
pair of oars, and being weakly manned, she was
unable to compete with the Indian boat, which
greatly outnumbered her both in oars and men.
The Indians soon came within rifle-shot, and
swept the deck with an incessant fire, which ren-
dered it extremely dangerous for any of the crew
to show themselves. Captain Marshall was on
board the hindmost boat, and maintained his

Marshall's adventure. 139

position at the steering-oar in defiance of the
shower of balls which flew around him. He stood
in his shirt sleeves with a red silk handkerchief
bound about his head, which afforded a fair
mark for the enemy, and steered the boat with
equal steadiness and skill, while the crew below
relieved each other at the oars.

The enemy lost ground from two circumstances.
In their eagerness to overtake the whites, they
left the current, and attempted to cut across
the river from point to point, in order to shorten
the distance. In doing so, however, they lost
the force of the current, and soon found them-
selves dropping astern. In addition to this, the
whites conducted themselves with equal coolness
and dexterity. The second boat waited for the
hindmost, and received her crew on board, aban-
doning the goods and horses, without scruple, to
the enemy. Being now more strongly manned,
she shot rapidly ahead, and quickly overtook the
foremost boat, which, in like manner, received
the crew on board, abandoning the cargo as be-
fore, and, having six pair of oars, .and being
powerfully manned, she was soon beyond the
reach of the enemy's shot. The chase lasted
more than an hour. For the first half hour the
fate of the foremost boat hung in mournful sus-
pense, and Johnston, with agony, looked forward
to the probability of its capture. The prisoners
were compelled to labour hard at the cars ; but

140 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

they took care never to pull together, and by
every means in their po^Yer endeavoured to favour
the escape of their friends.

At length the Indians abandoned the pursuit,
and turned their whole attention to the boats
which had been deserted. The booty surpassed
their most sanguine expectations. Several fine
horses were on board, and flour, sugar, and cho-
colate, in profusion. Another keg of whisky
was found, and excited the same immoderate joy
as at first.

CHAPTER X.

Indian outrages — Action of the general government — Expedi-
tion of General Harmar — Miami villages burned — Hardin
detached to follow up the Indians — Falls into an ambush — Is
defeated — Painful situation of Captain Armstrong — Harmar
retreats — Hardin again detached — Indian stratagem — Noble
conduct of the regulars — Hardin defeated — Harmar returns
home — Harmar and Hardin court-martialled — Acquitted
— Resignation of Harmar — Scott's expedition — Destruction
of the villages on the Wabash — Return of the troops— St.
Clair's expedition — Rendezvous at Fort Washington — Feel-
ing of the K'entuckians — Object of the campaign — Condition
of the army — Fort Hamilton built— Erection of Fort Jeffer-
son— The march — Desertion of the mihtia — ^Ofthe Mountain
Leader, a Chickasaw chief and his band — St. Clair encamps
on one of the tributaries of the Wabash — Furious attack by
the Indians, led by Little Turtle and Girty — Defeat of St.
Clair — Retreat to Fort Washington.

The repeated outrages suffered by Kentucky
at length roused the general government to at-

harmar's expedition. 141

tempt the extirpation of the marauding bands,
by organizing an expedition for that purpose.
The force, which was composed of one hundred
regulars from Fort Washington, and one hundred
and thirty Kentucky volunteers, marched against
the Indian camp on the Scioto, but finding it de-
serted, returned without accomplishing any thing.

A more formidable expedition, consisting of
three hundred and twenty regulars, and two quo-
tas of militia from Pennsylvania and Kentucky,
amounting in the whole to upwards of eleven
hundred men, was called out by order of the Pre-
sident of the United States, and directed to
march against the Indian towns in the northwest.

The command, as before, was intrusted to
General Harmar. Colonel John Hardin, an
intelligent and gallant soldier, headed the volun-
teers from Kentucky.

With these united forces Harmar marched,
about the 30th of September, against the Miami
villages. The latter being found deserted by the
Indians, the army burned them, destroyed the
corn, and then encamped on the ground. An
Indian trail being discovered soon after, Hardin,
with one hundred and fifty militia, properly ofii-
cered, and thirty regulars, commanded by Captain
Armstrong and Ensign Hartshorn, was detached
from the main body, in pursuit.

In a prairie, at the distance of six miles, the
Indians had formed an ambush on each side of

142 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

their own trail, having previously confused their
footsteps with so much art, that the troops pene-
trated the defile without suspicion. The latter
were no sooner involved deeply within the snare
laid for them, than the enemy poured in a heavy
fire from among the bushes and long grass by
which they were concealed from view. Greatly
to the mortification of their colonel, the militia
broke at once and fled, deserting the regulars,
who stood firm till nearly all of them were killed.

The Indians remained on the field, and during
the night held a dance of victory, exulting with
frantic shouts and gestures over their dead and
dying enemies. To this ceremony Captain Arm-
strong was a constrained and unwilling witness,
being sunk to his neck in mud and water, within
a hundred yards of the scene.

The life of Ensign Hartshorn was also saved
by his having accidentally fallen over a log hid-
den among weeds and grass. During the night
both these ofiicers eluded the notice of their ene-
mies, and arrived in camp.

Apparently disheartened by the result of this
skirmish, Harmar broke up his camp in a day or
two afterward, and retreated nearer the settle-
ments. On the second day of the march, when
about ten miles from the ruined villages, the gene-
ral ordered a halt, and sent Colonel Hardin back
to the main town with some sixty regulars and
three hundred militia.

SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM. 143

Hardin had no sooner reached the point to
which he had been ordered, than a small body of
Indians appeared on the ground. After receiving
the fire of the militia, the savages broke into sepa-
rate parties, and by seeming to fly as if panic-
stricken, encouraged the militia, to follow in pur-
suit. The stratagem was successful.

The militia had no sooner disappeared in chase
of the fugitives, than the regulars, thus left alone,
were suddenly assaulted by large numbers of the
foe, who had hitherto remained in concealment.

The Indians precipitated themselves upon the
sixty regulars under Major Willis, but were re-
ceived with the most inflexible determination.
The Indian yell, so appalling even to the bravest
hearts, was heard in cool inflexible silence. The
hurtling of the tomahawk was met by the thrust
of the bayonet.

In vain was Indian after Indian killed ; the
numbers increased ; as one fell, others fresh from
their hiding-places gave additional strength and
support to their companions. The destruction
of the regulars was complete ; scarcely an indi-
vidual escaped ; they all fell, with their major, on
the spot they occupied.

In the mean time, the militia came straggling
in from their vain and hopeless pursuit. After a
hard and murderous struggle, the whites were
compelled to give way, leaving their dead and
wounded behind them.

144 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT.

Of the regular^ engaged in this most sanguina^
ry battle, only ten escaped back to the camp ;
■while the militia, under Hardin, lost ninety-eight
in killed, and had ten others wounded.

After this unfortunate repulse, Harmar retired
without attempting any thing further. The con-
duct of Harmar and Hardin did not escape severe
criticism and censure. Both demanded a court-
martial ; Hardin was unanimously and honourably
acquitted. Harmar was also acquitted, but im-
mediately afterward resigned his commission.

The repulse of Harmar added greatly to the
insecure condition of Kentucky. Elated by their
success, the Indians continued their depredations
with greater audacity than ever. The earlier
movements of the newly-organized federal govern-
ment were difficult and embarrassing. With the
view, however, to the defence of the western and
northwestern frontiers, an act was passed by
Congress for increasing the army ; St. Clair, the
governor of the northwestern territories, receive(J
a commission as major-general, and steps wer^
taken for raising the new regiment and the levies,
the command of which was to be given to General
Butler.

In the mean time, while these new troops were
being organized, an expedition was gotten up in
Kentucky under General Charles Scott. The
call was no sooner made, than volunteers to the
number of between eight and nine hundred

SCOTT'S EXPEDITION. 145

flocked to his standard. Wilkinson, though hold-
ing no commission from the state, enlisted for
the expedition. He was chosen second in com-
mand, and assuming the title of colonel, soon
rendered himself conspicuous by his activity, at-
tention, and address.

The army, all mounted men, marched from the
mouth of the Kentucky River on the 23d of May,
and after penetrating the wilderness for one
hundred and fifty miles, reached at length the
villages on the Wabash. Fifty-eight prisoners
were taken, and several warriors were killed ; but
the greater part of the Indians succeeded in
escaping. A detachment under Wilkinson was
sent against the Kickapoo village, eighteen miles
distant; but there also the inhabitants had
escaped. The village, which consisted of about
seventy houses, was burned to the ground, and
with it a quantity of corn, peltry, and other arti-
cles. . Many of the houses, which were well
finished, seemed to have been inhabited by
Frenchmen, and the books and papers found
there indicated a close connection with Detroit.
After these acts of retaliation the volunteers re-
turned home, pleased with their new commander,
and highly elated with the conduct of Wilkinson.

Indian depredations in the southern and north-
eastern parts of Kentucky still continuing. Gene-
ral Wilkinson published a call in July, for five
hundred mounted volunteers, to proceed against

13

146 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the Indians northwest of the Ohio. As Colonel
John Hardin and Colonel James McDowell both
favoured the proposed enterprise, and agreed to
serve as majors, an expedition was soon orga-
nized. Marching into the Indian country, the
army destroyed the village L'Anguille, killed one
or two warriors, took a few prisoners, and re-
turned home without losing a man.

The government now prepared to strike what
was supposed would be a decisive blow. On the
4th of August, General Scott was ordered by
the governor of the commonwealth to comply
with any requisition made on him by the officer
commanding the United States troops on the
Ohio.

Washington, who was at this time president,
warned by the disastrous defeat of Harmar, de-
termined to employ a force sufficient to crush at
a single blow all future opposition on the part of
the Indians. This force, which was to consist
of two thousand regular troops, composed of
cavalry, infantry, and artillery, was ordered to
move from the several states in which they had
been enlisted, toward Fort Washington, now
Cincinnati, where the men rendezvoused about
September.

The command was given to General St. Clair,
an officer who was at that time, not only old and
infirm, but one who had been very unfortunate in
his military career during the Revolutionary war.

ST. CLAIR'S EXPEDITION". 147

He was particularly unpopular in Kentucky, and
no volunteers could be found to serve under him.
The militia of Kentucky had been called on, and
about one thousand reluctantly furnished by
draft; but as they disliked to serve in conjunc-
tion with a regular force, and were unfavourable
to the commander-in-chief, many desertions took
place daily. .

The season was already advanced before St.
Clair took the field. The whole force of regulars
and levies, able to march from Fort Washington,
did not much exceed two thousand men.

The object of the campaign was to establish a
line of posts stretching from the Ohio to the
Maumee ; to build a strong fort on the latter'
river, and by leaving in it a garrison of one thou-
sand men, to enable the commander of the fort
to send out detachments to keep the neighbour-
ing Indians in awe.

The army took up its line of march on the 1st
of October, and halted for a couple of days at
Fort Hamilton, which was built on the Great
Miami, twenty-four miles north of the infant
city of Cincinnati. On the 4th, the march was
resumed. At a distance of forty-four miles fur-
ther north, the army was again halted, and Fort
Jefferson erected near the present dividing line
between Ohio and Indiana. On the 26th of Oc-
tober, a reinforcement of several hundred Ken-
tucky militia having reached the new fort, the

148 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

march was continued. Encumbered by wagons
and artillery, the progress of the army was both
slow and painful. The militia from Kentucky,
who were for the most part substitutes, were
reckless and ungovernable. The levies from
other states, also, having been supplied with
very inferior clothing, grew discontented, while
the term of those who had enlisted earliest was
about to expire.

The Kentucky force dwindled at every step.
On the 1st of November, a whole regiment de-
serted in a body, and the first regiment had to
be detached to protect the approaching trains of
provision wagons, and escort them to the camp.

In the midst of this unfortunate condition of
things, the mountain leader, a Chickasaw chief,
doubtless foreseeing the probable result of such
gross insubordination, withdrew his band of war-
riors and returned home. St. Clair, however,
continued his march, and on the evening of the
3d of November halted on one of the tributaries
of the Wabash. A few Indians were seen, but
they fled with precipitation. The troops en-
camped ; the regulars and levies in two lines,
covered by the stream ; the militia, on the op-
posite shore and about a quarter of a mile in ad-
vance. Still further in advance. Captain Slough
was posted with a company of regulars. His
orders were to intercept small parties of the
enemy if they should venture to approach the

AMERICANS SURPRISED. 149

camp, and to give intelligence of any occurrences
that might transpire.

Colonel Oldham, who commanded the remains
of the Kentucky levies, had been cautioned to
remain on the alert during the night, and to send
out patroles of twenty-five or thirty men each, in
different directions before daylight, to scour the
adjoining woods.

In the course of the night, Captain Slough
discovered the Indians approaching in such num-
bers, that he drew in his men, and reported to
General Butler. The latter, however, by a sin-
gular and most fatal negligence, neither reported
the information to the commanding general, nor
took any measures to check the advance of the
savages.

Early the next morning, about sunrise, just as
the troops were dismissed from parade, the camp
of the militia was suddenly attacked. The regu-
lars, who composed the first line on the other
side of the stream, formed at the earliest alarm ;
but the flying militia rushed in disorder across the
water and darted into the camp, closely fol-
lowed by swarms of infuriated savages. Many
of the latter, having reserved their fire, now-
poured it in continuous volleys upon the regulars,
who, shaken by the distraction and tumult, were
unprepared to return it.

The instantaneous exertions of the officers
got the troops into some kind of order ; the fire

13*

350 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

was returned, and the assailants checked for a
moment ; but the regulars in front never re-
covered from the effects of their first confusion.
Immediately afterward, a most tremendous fire
was directed upon the centre of the shattered
front, upon the artillery, and next upon the
second line. Firing from the ground, hidden
behind trees, or logs, or brush, and never seen
but when darting from covert to covert, the In-
dians advanced in front, and on either flank,
close upon the American lines, and up to the
mouths of the field-pieces, from which the men
were driven with great slaughter. The second
line made several charges with the bayonet, be-
fore which the Indians gave way ; but they soon
rallied, and returned to the attack as fiercely as
ever.

At length the Indians broke into the camp on
the left flank, and flinging aside their guns, sprang
upon the Americans and hewed them down with
the tomahawk. They were again charged with
the bayonet, and retreated ; but immediately the
pursuit stopped, they returned again to the camp.
These movements were frequently repeated, and
always with the same result.

In these charges many officers fell ; and among
them General Butler, the second in command.
St. Clair, labouring under the effects of gout, was
unable to leave his cot. The Indians had turned
the left flank of the encampment. The artillery,

DISGRACEFUL ROUT. 151

which had been captured and retaken several
times, was no longer serviceable, every officer
belonging to it being killed, except one, and he,
badly wounded, was in the power of the enemy.
A retreat was determined on. The shattered
troops were collected toward the right of the
camp : a charge was made as if to turn the right
flank of the enemy, but in fact to gain possession
of the road. No sooner was this accomplished,
than the militia broke and ran. The other troops
then followed in perfect and most irremediable
rout. They strewed their arms all along the
way, were deaf to every order, and perfectly
ungovernable. The camp, artillery, baggage,
and wounded, were left in the hands of the enemy.
Most of the officers had already fallen. St. Clair
made his escape on a pack-horse, which he could
neither mount nor dismount without assistance.

The Indians soon gave over the pursuit, but
the flying troops did not stop until they reached
Fort Jefi'erson, where they arrived about sunset
completely exhausted, one day's flight having
carried them over a space which covered a fort-
night's advance. Here the first regiment was
found three hundred strong. Its presence in the
field, in St. Clair's opinion, would not have
altered the fortune of the day, as the troops pos-
sessed too little discipline to recover from their
first confusion, while its destruction would have
completed the triumph of the enemy, and left

152 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the frontier without any organized defence.
Leaving his wounded at Fort Jefferson, St. Clair
retreated to Cincinnati, the point from which the
expedition had started.

The loss in this disastrous enterprise amounted
to upward of nine hundred men, including fifty-
nine ofiicers. Of these, six hundred were killed.
The Indian force was supposed to have ranged
some where between one thousand and fifteen
hundred, including half-breeds and refugees, and
among the latter the notorious Girty. The prin-
cipal leader was said to have been Little Turtle,
a chief of the Miamis, who had led on the attack
against Harmar the year before.

CHAPTER XI.

Personal incidents of St. Clair's campaign — William Kennan —
His strength and activity — Discovers the Indians — Is pur-
sued by them — A race for life — His extraordinary leap — The
reti-eat — Carries a wounded companion — His terrible recourse
to relieve himself — Assists Mr. Madison, afterward Governor
of Kentucky — Excitement in Kentucky — Scott and Wilkin-
son call for volunteers — Wilkinson marches to the battle-
ground— Horrid spectacle — Constitution of Kentucky — Its
provisions — Legislative acts — Population of the state — Indian
disturbances — Settlement on Elkhorn attacked — The Cooks
killed — Resolute conduct of the widows — Escape of Mcx'^ndre
— Martin killed — Escape of Dunn — Murder of his two sons
— Indians pursued.

Among the personal incidents connected with
this unfortunate campaign, there are two related

WILLIAM KENNAN. 153

of William Kennan, a Kentucky ranger, which
afford fine illustrations of frontier character.

Kennan had long been remarkable for strength
and activity. In the course of the march from
Fort Washington, he had repeated opportunities
of testing his astonishing powers in those respects,
and was universally admitted to be the swiftest
runner of the light corps.

On the evening preceding the action, his corps
had been advanced in front of the first line of
infanti-y, in order to give seasonable notice of
ihe enemy's approach. Just as day was dawn-
ing, he observed about thirty Indians within one
hundred yards of the guard fire, approaching
cautiously toward the spot where he stood in
company with twenty other rangers, the rest
being considerably in the rear. Supposing it to
be a mere scouting party, and not superior in
number to the rangers, he sprang forward a few
paces in order to shelter himself in a spot of
peculiarly rank grass, and, after firing with a
quick aim upon the foremost Indian, fell fiat
upon his face, and proceeded with all possible
rapidity to reload his gun, not doubting for a
moment that his companions would maintain
their positions and support him.

The Indians, however, rushed forward in such
overwhelming masses, that the rangers were com-
pelled to fly with precipitation, leaving young
Kennan in total ignorance of his danger. For-

154 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT.

tunatelj, the captain of his company had observed
him when he threw himself in the grass, and
suddenly shouted aloud, " Run, Kennan ! or you
are a dead man !" He instantly sprang to his
feet, and beheld the Indians within ten feet of
him, while his company was more than one hun-
dred yards in front.

Not a moment was to be lost. He darted off
with every muscle strained to its utmost, and was
pursued by a dozen of the enemy with loud yells.
He at first pressed straight forward to the usual
fording.place in the creek, which ran between
the rangers and the main army ; but several In-
dians, who had passed him before he arose from
the grass, threw themselves in the way, and com-
pletely cut him off from the rest.

By the most powerful exertions, he had thrown
the whole body of pursuers behind him, with the
exception of one young chief, probably Messhawa,
who displayed a swiftness and perseverance equal
to his own. In the circuit which Kennan was
obliged to make, the race continued for more than
four hundred yards. The distance between them
was about eighteen feet, which Kennan could not
increase, nor his adversary diminish. Each for
the time put his whole soul into the race.

Kennan, as f^r as he was able, kept his eye
upon the motions of his pursuer, lest he should
throw the tomahawk, which he held aloft in a
menacing attitude, and, at length, finding that

WONDERFUL LEAP. 155

no Other Indian was immediately at hand, he
determined to try the mettle of his pursuer in a
different manner, and felt for his knife in order
to turn at bay. It had escaped from its sheath,
however, while he lay in the grass, and his hair
almost lifted the cap from his head when he found
himself totally unarmed. As he had slackened
his pace for a moment, the Indian was almost in
reach of him when he recommenced the race ;
but the idea of being without arms lent wings to
his flight, and for the first time he saw himself
gaining ground. He had watched the motions
of his pursuer, however, too closely to pay pro-
per attention to the nature of the ground before
him, and suddenly found himself in front of a
large tree, which had been blown down, and upon
which brush and other impediments were heaped
to the height of eight or nine feet.

The Indian, heretofore silent, now gave a sharp
quick yell, as if sure of his victim. Kennan had
not a moment to deliberate. He must clear the
impediment at a leap, or perish. Putting his
whole soul into the effort, he bounded into the
air with a power which astonished himself; and
clearing limbs, brush, and every thing else,
alighted in perfect safety on the other side. A
loud yell of amazement burst from the band of
pursuers bringing up the rear, not one of whom
had the hardihood to attempt the same feat.

Kennan, however, had no leisure to enjoy his

156 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

triumph. Dashing into the creek, where the high
banks would protect him from the fire of the
enemy, he ran up the edge of the stream until he
found a convenient crossing-place, and rejoined
the rangers in the rear of the encampment, pant-
ing from the fatigue of exertions which had seldom
been surpassed. But little breathing time was
allowed him. The attack instantly commenced,
and was maintained for three hours with un-
abated fury.

When the retreat took place, Kennan was at-
tached to Major Clarke's battalion, which had
the dangerous service of protecting the rear.
This corps quickly lost its commander, and was
completely disorganized. Kennan was among the
hindmost when the flight commenced, but exerting
those same powers which had saved him in the
morning, he quickly gained the front, passing
several horsemen in his flight. Here he beheld
a private in his own company, an intimate ac-
quaintance, lying upon the ground with his thigh
broken, who, in tones of the most piercing dis-
tress, implored each horseman as he hurried by
to take him up behind. As soon as he beheld
Kennan coming up on foot, he stretched out his
hands and entreated him to save him. Notwith-
standing the imminent peril of the moment, his
friend could not reject so passionate an appeal, but
seizing him in his arms he placed him upon his back,
and ran in that manner several hundred yards.

DREADFUL ALTERNATIVE. 157

At length, the enemy was gaining upon them
so fast, that Kennan saw their death was certain
unless he relinquished his burden. He accord-
ingly told his friend that he had used every pos-
sible exertion to save his life, but in vain ; that
he must relax his hold about his neck, or they
would both perish. The unhappy man, heedless
of every remonstrance, still clung convulsively to
Kennan's back, until the foremost of the enemy,
armed with tomahawks alone, were within twenty
yards of them. Kennan then drew his knife
from its sheath, and cut the fingers of his com-
panion, thus compelling him to relinquish his
hold. The wounded man rolled upon the ground
in utter helplessness, and Kennan beheld him
tomahawked before he had gone thirty yards.
Relieved from his burden, Kennan darted forward
with an activity which once more brought him to
the van. Here again he was compelled to neg-
lect his own safety to attend to that of others.

The late Governor Madison, of Kentucky, who
afterward commanded the corps which defended
themselves so honourably at the river Raisin, was
at that time a subaltern in St. Clair's army. Being
a man of feeble constitution, he was totally ex-
hausted by the exertions of the morning, and was
found by Kennan sitting calmly upon a log, wait-
ing the approach of his enemies. Kennan has-
tily accosted him, and inquired the cause of his
delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which had

158 ' HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

bled profusely, replied, he was unable to walk
farther, and had no horse. Kennan instantly
ran back to the spot where he had seen an ex-
hausted horse grazing, caught him without diffi-
culty, and having assisted Madison to mount,
walked by his side until they were out of danger.
Fortunately the pursuit ceased soon after, as the
plunder of the camp presented irresistible at-
tractions to the enemy. The friendship thus
formed between these two young men continued
through life ; but Kennan never entirely re-
covered from the immense exertions he was con-
strained to make during this unfortunate expe-
dition.

The disastrous defeat of St. Clair created the
greatest alarm, not only in Kentucky, but
throughout the whole northwest territory. At
first it was believed that St. Clair was besieged
in Fort Jefi"erson, and both Scott and Wilkinson
issued calls for volunteers to march to his relief.
The subsequent intelligence of his arrival at Fort
Washington, and that nothing more was to be
attempted than his remaining force was able to
effect, quieted in some respect the public mind ;
and the volunteers, who had commenced rapidly
assembling, returned for the present to their
homes.

About two months after the battle, Wilkinson,
who had mean while been appointed to command
the second regiment, marched from Fort Jeffer-

HER FIRST CONSTITUTION. 159

son, -with two companies of regulars and one
hundred and fifty mounted militia, to visit the
field. Though covered with snow a foot deep, it
presented a horrid spectacle. The dead were
buried; one piece of cannon was brought oiF;
the carriages of the other pieces remained, but
the guns themselves were not to be found.
There was not a tree or bush in the neighbour-
hood unmarked by musket balls. No Indians
anywhere appeared. Yet, during Wilkinson's
absence from Fort Jefferson, a party of the gar-
rison, having wandered a mile or two from the
fort, had been set upon, and several of them
killed.

It has been already mentioned, that the ninth
and last convention met at Danville, in April,
1792, and formed the first constitution of the
state of Kentucky. In some of its prominent
features it departed very widely from that of the
parent state, Virginia. In the representation by
counties, ^lumbers were established as the basis.
Suffrage was universal, and sheriffs were elected
triennially by the people. But the popular ele-
ment infused into the constitution was not admit-
ted without certain strong checks. The execu-
tive, the senate, and the judiciary were entirely
removed from the direct control of the people.
No pecuniary qualification was required either in
voters or officers ; but representatives must be
twenty-four years of age, senators twenty-seven,

160 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the governor thirty, and all of them citizens of
the state for two years.

The representatives were to be chosen annually,
by the votes of the free white citizens. The
governor was chosen by electors, who were elected
by the people every fourth year. The members
of the senate were appointed by the same elec-
toral college which chose the president, and might
be selected indifferently from any part of the
state. The judiciary were appointed by the
governor during good behaviour, but subject to
removal on an address to that effect from two-
thirds of both branches of the legislature.

The supreme court had, however, original and
final jurisdiction in all land cases. This last fea-
ture was engrafted on the constitution by Colonel
Nicholas, and was found most expensive and
mischievous in practice.

The constitution was adopted, and the officers
elected in May, 1792. Isaac Shelby, an old
Revolutionary officer, who had gallantly dis-
tinguished himself at King's Mountain and Point
Pleasant, was elected the first governor of Ken-
tucky. Alexander Bullitt was chosen speaker of
the senate, and Robert Breckenridge, of the
house of representatives. James Brown was ap-
pointed secretary of state, and George Nicholas
attorney-general. John Brown and John Ed-
wards were elected by joint ballot senators to

INCREASE OF POPULATION. 161

Congress. Frankfort was fixed upon as the fu-
ture seat of government.

During the first session of the legislature, acts
were passed establishing the supreme court, con-
sisting of three judges, county courts, and courts
of quarter sessions, — the latter having common
law and chancery jurisdiction. A court of oyer
and terminer was also formed, composed of three
judges, having criminal jurisdiction, and sitting
twice a year.

The new state of Kentucky was rapidly rising
into importance. By the census, which had been
taken in 1790 under the authority of the United
States, the population of Kentucky numbered at
that time, seventy-three thousand six hundred
and seventy-seven souls. Of these, sixty-one
thousand one hundred and thirty-three were free
white persons ; twelve thousand four hundred
and thirty slaves ; and one hundred and fourteen
free coloured persons, excluding Indians. One-
half of the white people, at least, and probably
three-fourths of the slaves, were from Virginia ;
the residue being mainly from Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and North Carolina.

Notwithstanding this amazing increase of popu-
lation within a few years, the Indians, elated by
their brilliant victories over the large forces sent
against them, still continued to prowl about the
thinly-settled portions of the state, and after

162 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

murdering the settlers, eluding pursuit by a rapid
retreat.

About Christmas, in the year 1791, a new set-
ment was made on main Elkhorn, between three
and four miles from Frankfort, by two brothers
named Cook, their brothers-in-law Mastin and
Dunn, and two other persons by the names of
Bledsoe and Farmer ; all of whom had families.

On the 28th of April, 1792, an attack was
made on three several points of the settlement,
almost simultaneously, by about one hundred In-
dians. The first assault was made on the Cooks.
The brothers were in their cabins, one engaged
in shearing sheep, the other looking on. The
sharp crack of rifles was the first intimation they
received of the proximity of the Indians, and
that fire was fatal to both the brothers. The
elder fell dead immediately, and the younger was
mortally wounded, but was enabled to reach his
cabin. The two Mrs. Cooks, with three children,
were instantly collected in the house, and the
door, a very strong one, made secure.

The Indians, unable to enter, discharged their
rifles at the door, but without injury, as the balls
did not penetrate the thick boards of which it was
constructed. They then attempted to cut it
down with their tomahawks, but with no better
success.

While these things occurred without, there was
deep sorrow, mingled with fearless determination

HEROIC WOMEN. 163

and higli resolve, -within. The younger Cook,
mortally wounded, immediately the door was
barred, sank on the floor and breathed his last ;
and the two widows were left th6 sole defenders
of the cabin with the three children.

There was a rifle in the house, but no balls
could be found. In this extremity, one of the
women got hold of a musket-ball, and placing it
between her teeth, succeeded in biting it into two
pieces. With one she instantly loaded the rifle.

The Indians, failing in their attempt to cut
down the door, had retired a few paces in front,
doubtless to consult upon their future operations.
One seated himself upon a log, apparently appre-
hending no danger from within. Observing him,
Mrs. Cook took aim from a narrow aperture and
fired, when the Indian gave a loud yell, bounded
high in the air, and fell dead.

This unexpected event infuriated the savages,
who, being able to speak imperfect English,
threatened to burn the house with all its inmates.
Several speedily climbed to the top of the cabin,
and kindled a fire on the boards of the roof.
The devouring element soon began to take eff"ect,
and with less determination on the part of those
within, would soon have enveloped the whole of
them in destruction. One of the women instantly
ascended to the loft, while the other handed her
water with which she extinguished the fire.
Again and again the roof was fired, and as often

164 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY.

extinguished. The water failing, the undaunted
women procured some eggs, which were broken,
and their contents thrown upon the fire. Their
next resource was the bloody waistcoat of their
husband and brother-in-law ; the blood with which
this was profusely saturated checked the further
progress of the flames, which, with a few subse-
quent efforts, were at length fully subdued. The
savage foe yielded, and the fruitful expedients
of female courage triumphed. One Indian, in
bitter disappointment, fired at his unseen enemy
through, the boards, but did not injure her. They
now descended from the roof.

About the time the attack commenced, a young
man named McAndre escaped on horseback in
view of the Indians. Supposing he would give
the alarm to the older settlements ; as soon as
the savages descended from the roof, a few of
them climbed some trees in the vicinity and in-
stituted a sharp look-out. While in the trees,
one of them fired a second ball into the loft of
the cabin, which cut to pieces a ball of yarn
hanging near the head of Mrs. Cook, but with-
out doing further injury. Soon after, they threw
the body of the dead Indian into the adjacent
creek, and fled precipitately.

A few moments after the Cooks were attacked,
Martin, in conversation with McAndre near his
cabin, was fired upon and wounded in the knee,
but not so badly as to disable him. He com-

ESCAPE OF THE INDIANS. 165

menced a retreat into his house, Avhen he received
a second shot which killed him. McAndre
escaped on horseback, and carried with him to
the settlement one of Martin's small children.

Dunn, and two of his sons, one aged sixteen,
and the other nine years, not having been ob-
served by the Indians when the attack commenced,
escaped to the woods and separated. The old
man made his way safely to the older settlement,
but the boys were afterward discovered by the
Indians, and both murdered.

One of the negroes at Innis's quarter, being
sick, was killed, and the two others taken captive.
Of the latter, one died among the Indians, and
the other returned to his master. The survivors
of this infant colony were taken to the older set-
tlements, where they experienced all the kindness
and hospitality so characteristic of pioneer life.

The alarm quickly spread, and before night-
fall a body of from seventy-five to one hundred
men were in hot pursuit of the retreating foe.
The main body of the Indians, however, reached
the Ohio, and crossed it safely in advance of the
Kentuckians. A small party, who had lingered
behind and stolen some negroes and horses from
another settlement, were overtaken by a party
of the whites, a short distance from the river.
One of the Indians was shot, but, in falling, level-
led his rifle and killed one of the horsemen, who
had advanced too rashly toward hiiji.

166 HISTORY OF KENTUCKT.

CHAPTER XII.

St. Clair superseded — Wayne appointed his successor — Colonel
Hardin — Sent as a messenger to the Indians — Is murdered
— Biograpliical notice — Hardin serves under Dunmore —
Volunteers with Captain Morgan — Is wounded in the thigh
— Rejoins Dunmore in an expedition against the Indian
towns — Contemplates moving to Kentucky — War between
England and the colonies — Hardin enlists men for the de-
fence of his country — Is appointed a Heutenant — Offered a
majority, but declines — Moves to Kentucky — Appointed
colonel of the county militia — His services — Grave charge
against Wilkinson — Tecumseh — Kenton's skirmish with
him^His stratagem and escape — The last Indian inroad —
Kenton forms an ambuscade on the Ohio — Kills four Indians
and two white men — Escape of the others.

Depredations still continued, and General
"VVasliington, to the great distress of Kentucky,
persevered in the employment of a regular force,
instead of mounted militia. St. Clair was super-
seded, and General Wayne appointed his succes-
sor. A regular force was to be organized, and
a final effort made to crush the hostile tribes.

The death of Colonel John Hardin, which oc-
curred in May of this year, but which was not
confirmed until some time in December, created
great sorrow among the people of Kentucky, by
whom he was much beloved.

Colonel Hardin had been solicited by General
Wilkinson, commanding at Fort Washington, to

MURDER OF COLONEL HARDI^T. 167

become the bearer of a flag to the hostile tribes
northwest of the Ohio, with a view of negotiating
terms of peace. The service was known to be
dangerous, and many of those who were best
acquainted with the Indian character believed it
would be fatal to the undertaker. Notwithstand-
ing these ominous misgivings, the chivalrous
nature of Colonel Hardin would not permit him
to decline a commission because of the peril at-
tendant upon its performance. He accordingly
set out in May, attended by an interpreter.

While on his way to the Miami villages, he ar-
rived at an Indian camp, about a day's journey
from where Fort Defiance was subsequently built
by General Wayne, and nearly the same distance
from a town inhabited by the Shawnese and
Delawares.

He was well received by the Indians in camp,
but had not been long there before five Delawares
came in, with whom Hardin proposed to proceed
to the town that evening. They, however, de-
clined returning until the next day ; and as they
appeared peaceably disposed, Hardin concluded
to camp with the Indians during the night, which
he did without molestation.

In the morning, he was murdered by some of
the savages ; but whether his death was ac-
companied by any circumstaMes of barbarity,
has never been ascertained. They seized his
horse, gun, and saddle-bags, expecting doubtless

168 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

to find money and presents in the latter. His
servant they made a prisoner, and taking him
with them on the road to Sandusky, mm-dered
him hy the way.

Colonel Hardin fell in the thirty-ninth year
of his age, after a life, the last twenty years of
which had been spent, for the most part, in the
service of his country.

In the expedition conducted by Governor Dun-
more against the Indians, young Hardin served
the capacity of ensign in a militia company.
During the ensuing August, he volunteered with
Captain Zach Morgan, and in an engagement
with the savages was wounded while in the act
of aiming his rifle at the enemy. The better to
support his gun, he had sunk on one knee, and
while in this position the ball struck his thigh on
the outer side, ranged up it about seven inches
and lodged near the groin, whence it was never
extracted. The enemy were beaten, and fled.

Before he had recovered from his wound, or
could dispense with his crutches, he joined Dun-
more on his march to the Indian towns. Soon
after the peace which ensued, Hardin turned his
attention toward Kentucky, as to a scene for
new adventure ; and had actually prepared for
his journey, when it was abandoned on account
of increasing rumours of an approaching war
with Great Britain.

The American Congress having determined to

HARDIX'S MILITARY SKILL. 169

raise a military force, Hardin applied himself to
the business of recruiting, and "with such success,
that he was soon enabled to join the continental
army with the command of a second lieutenant.
He was afterward attached to Morgan's rifle
corps, which was generally on the lines, and with
which he served until his resignation of his com-
mission as first lieutenant, in December, 1779.
In the mean time, he had acquired and held a
high place in the esteem of General Daniel Mor-
gan, by whom he was often selected for enter-
prises of peril, which required discretion and
intrepidity to insure success.

A few anecdotes have been preserved which
illustrate very forcibly the coolness, courage, and
eminent military talents of Hardin.

While with the northern army, he was sent out
on a reconnoitring excursion, with orders to
capture a prisoner, for the purpose of obtaining
information. Marching silently in advance of
his party, he found himself, on rising the abrupt
summit of a hill, in the presence of three British
soldiers and a Mohawk Indian. The moment
was critical; he presented his rifle, and ordered
them to surrender. The British immediately
threw down their arms ; the Indian clubbed his
gun.

They remained motionless, while he continued
to advance on them ; but none of his men having
come to his assistance, he turned his head a little

15

170 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

to one side, and called them to come on. At
this time, the Indian warrior, observing his eye
withdrawn from him, reversed his gun with a
rapid motion, with the intention of shooting.
Hardin caught the gleam of light which was re-
flected from the polished barrel of thp gun, and
readily divining its meaning, brought his own
rifle to a level, and without raising his piece to
his face, gained the first fire, and gave the Indian
a mortal wound, who, however, was only an in-
stant too late, his ball passing through Hardin's
hair. The rest of the party were marched into
camp, and Hardin received the thanks of General
Gates.

Before he left the army he was offered a ma-
jor's commission in a regiment about to be raised ;
but he declined, alleging he could be of more
service where he then was. In 1779 he resigned,
and returned home.

The ensuing year he proceeded to Kentucky,
and located lands on treasury warrants, for him-
self and some of his friends. In April, 1786,
he removed his wife and family to Nelson, after-
ward Washington county, in Kentucky. In the
same year, he volunteered under General Clark
for the Wabash expedition, and was appointed
quartermaster. In the course of 1789, the In-
dians stole all his horses, without leaving him
one for the plough. They were pursued, but
escaped across the Ohio. In the same year he

NOTICES OF IIARDIX. 171

was appointed county lieutenant, with the rank
of colonel, which gave him command of the mili-
tia of the county. As the summer advanced, he
determined to cross the Ohio, and scour the coun-
try for some miles out, in order to break up any
bands of Indians that might be lurking in the
neighbourhood.

With two hundred mounted men he crossed
the river, and on one of the branches of the Wa-
bash fell on a camp of about thirty Shawnese,
whom he attacked and defeated with a loss of
two killed, and nine wounded.

From these Indians Colonel Hardin recovered
two of the horses and some colts which had been
stolen in the spring ; and it is worthy of remark,
that no more horses were stolen from that neigh-
bourhood during the war.

There was no expedition into the Indian coun-
try after Hardin settled in Kentucky in which
he was not engaged, except that of General St.
Clair, which he was prevented from joining by
an accidental wound received while using a car-
penter's adze. His death, which took place in
the spring of 1792, has been already narrated.

General Wilkinson was much censured for
sending an officer of so much importance as Har-
din upon a mission of so dangerous a character,
and for which service any other messenger would
have answered as well. The enemies of Wilkin-
son did not scruple to charge him with having

172 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

knowingly sent Hardin to his death, from jealousy
of the great popularity which the latter had ac-
quired in Kentucky. The subsequent murder of
Major Trueman, an officer of great merit, who
had been despatched by Wilkinson upon a similar
errand, and with whom he was known to be at
variance, gave additional colour to the charge.

Another Indian warrior now appeared upon
the battle-fields of Kentucky ; this was the cele-
brated Tecumseh. He had already distinguished
himself in various skirmishes with the whites,
who, in the retaliatory spirit of the times, often
carried the war in return into the Indian country.

In the spring of 1793, while Tecumseh and a
few of his followers were hunting in the Scioto
valley, they were unexpectedly attacked by a
party of whites from Mason county, Kentucky.
The circumstances which led to this skirmish
were the following : —

Early that spring, an express reached the set-
tlement in Mason, who stated that some stations
had been attacked and captured on Slate Creek,
in Bath county, and that the Indians were re-
turning with their prisoners to Ohio.

A party of thirty-three men was immediately
raised to cut off their retreat. They were divided
into three companies of ten men each ; Simon
Kenton commanding one, Baker another, and
Captain James Ward the third. The whole party
crossed the Ohio at Limestone, and aimed to

ABORTIVE PURSUIT. 173

strike the Scioto above Paint Creek. After
crossing this creek near where the great road
from Maysville to Chillicothe now crosses it,
evening came on, and they halted for the night.
In a short time they heard a noise, and «, little
examination disclosed to them that they were in
the vicinity of an Indian camp. Their horses
were promptly taken hack some distance and
tied, to prevent an alarm. A council was held,
and Captain Baker offered to go and reconnoitre,
which being agreed to, he took one of his com-
pany and made the examination.

He found the Indians encamped on the bnnk
of the stream, their horses between them and the
camp of the whites. After Baker's report was
made, the party determined to remain where they
were until near daylight the next morning. Cap-
tain Baker and his men were to march round and
take a position on the bank of the stream in front
of the Indian camp ; Captain Ward was to occu-
py the ground in the rear ; and Captain Kenton
one side, while the river presented a barrier on
the other, thus guarding against the retreat of
the Indians. It was further agreed that the
attack should not commence until it was light ■
enough to shoot with accuracy.

Before Kenton and Ward had reached the po-
sitions they were respectively to occupy, the bark
of a dog in the Indian camp was heard, and then
the report of a gun. Upon this alarm. Baker's

174 HISTOKY OF KENTUCKY.

men Instantly fired, and Captains Kenton and
Ward, with their -companies, raising the battle
cry, rushed toward the camp. To their surprise,
they found Baker and his men in the rear instead
of the front of the Indians, thus deranging the
plan of attack, but whether from design or acci-
dent is unknown. The Indians sent back the
war-whoop, retreated a few paces, and took to
the trees. It was still too dark to fire with pre-
cision, but a few random shots were made, and a
terrible shouting kept up by the Indians.

While the parties were thus at bay, Tecumseh
had the address to send a part of his men to
the rear of the Kentuckians for the horses,
and when the animals were brought to the front,
which was accomplished without discovery, the
Indians mounted and effected their escape, car-
rying with them John Ward, the brother of
Captain James Ward, and the only one of the
party who was wounded. One Kentuckian was
killed, a member of Baker's company. No pur-
suit was made of the Indians, nor did they prove
to be of the same party who had attacked the
Slate Creek station.

The last inroad made by the Indians into Ken-
tucky took place in the course of the summer of
this year. The spies, who had been ranging the
Ohio below Limestone, discovered where a party of
twenty Indians had crossed the river, and sunk
their canoes in the mouth of Holt's Creek. The

LAST INDIAN INROAD. 175

sinking of their canoes and concealing them was
evidence of the intention of the Indians to re-
cross the Ohio at the same place.

When Kenton received this intelligence, he
despatched a messenger to Bourbon county, to ap-
prize them that the Indians had crossed the river
and had taken that direction. He immediately
proceeded to collect a number of choice spirits,
■whom he could depend upon in a case of emer-
gency.

Among the latter was Cornelius Washburn, a
man both daring and sagacious. With this party
Kenton crossed the Ohio at Limestone, and pro-
ceeded down to opposite the mouth of Holt's
Creek, where the Indian canoes lay concealed.
Here his party lay ambushed for four days before
they saw or heard any thing of the Indians.

On the fourth day of their ambuscade, they
observed three Indians come down the bank, and
drive six horses into the river. The horses
swam over. The Indians then raised one of the
canoes they had sunk, and crossed the Ohio.
When the enemy came near the shore, Kenton
discovered that of the three men in the canoe,
one was a white man. As he thought the latter
was probably a prisoner, he ordered his men to
fire at the Indians only ; they did so, and the
two Indians fell. The headway which the canoe
had, ran it upon the shore ; the white man in the
canoe picked up his gun, and as Kenton ran

176 HISTOEY OF KEXTUCKT.

down to the water's edge to receive him, he
snapped his gun at the whites. Kenton then
ordered his men to kill him, and he was imme-
diately shot.

About three or four hours afterward two more
Indians and another white man came to the river
and drove in five horses. The horses swam over,
and the Indians, raising another of their canoes,
followed across. As soon as the canoe touched
the shore, Kenton's party fired upon the Indians
and killed them all. The white man who was
with them had his ears cut, his nose bored, and
all the marks which distinguished the Indians.

Kenton and his men still kept up their ambus-
cade, knowing there were more Indians and one
canoe behind. Some time during the night the
main body of Indians came to the place where
their canoes were sunk, and hooted like owls ;
but not receiving any answer, they began to think
all was not right. The two parties who had
been killed, the main body expected to find en-
camped on the other side of the Ohio, but as no
answer was given to their hooting?, one of the
Indians must have swum the Ohio and discovered
the ambuscade. Standing on a high hill or knoll
in the rear of Kenton, the savage gave three long
and loud yells ; after which he shouted to his
friends on the opposite shore to make their escape.

Not many minutes after he had given them
this warning, the Bourbon militia came up. It

KENTON'S ADVENTURE. 177

being dark, the Indians broke and run, leaving
about thirty horses which they had stolen from
the latter neighbourhood. The next morning
some attempt was made to pursue the savages ;
but they had scattered and straggled off in such
small parties that the pursuit was soon abandoned.

CHAPTEE XIII.

Genet supersedes Ternant as ambassador to the United States
— Perplexing position of the government — Washington calls
a cabinet council — Proclamation of neutrality resolved upon
— High-handed conduct of Genet — His reception by the
people — Projects an expedition against the Spanish settle-
ments— Despatches agents to Kentucky to raise volunteers —
George Rogers Clark commissioned a major-general in the
French service — Letter to Governor Shelby from the Secre-
retary of State — His reply — Democratic societies formed —
Second letter to Shelby — His sympathy with the movement
— Shelby's letter to the Secretary of State — Reply of Ed-
mund Randolph — Washington issues a proclamation to the
people of Kentucky — The recall of Genet solicited — Activity
of the democratic associations — Meeting at Lexington — Re-
call of Genet — The expedition abandoned — Genet marries
and settles in New York.

In the year 1793, the new republic of France
being threatened with a sanguinary struggle
against the combined monarchical powers of
Europe, despatched Citizen Genet to supersede
Ternant as ambassador to the United States.

News of the French declaration of war against

178 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY,

England reached New York five days before
Genet arrived at Charleston, bringing the same
tidings.

While this threatening state of affairs was
creating the greatest commotion abroad, the
situation of the government of the United States
was singularly perplexing. The policy of the
government and the interests of the country de-
manded the exercise of the strictest neutrality ;
but by the treaty of commerce between France
and America, French privateers and prizes were
entitled to shelter in the American ports — a shel-
ter not to be extended to the enemies of France.
By the treaty of alliance, also, the United States
were bound, in express terms, to guaranty the
French possessions in America.

The arrival of Genet, especially as he appeared
to be armed with unusual powers, was regarded
by the government with great anxiety. Nor did
the conduct of the new French ambassador at all
tend to decrease the feeling. To counteract the
first impulse of the American people, who, retain-
ing a grateful remembrance of the assistance which
France rendered them in their struggle for liberty,
were disposed to espouse the quarrel of their for-
mer generous ally, President Washington met the
members of his cabinet at Philadelphia, by whom,
after an elaborate discussion of the articles of the
treaty, it was unanimously agreed, that while a
proclamation of neutrality should issue. Genet, as

genet's extraordinary conduct. 179

minister of the new French republic, should be re-
ceived and recognised. In the mean while, Genet
— who had been welcomed with the greatest enthu-
siasm by the governor and citizens of South Caro-
lina— commenced fitting out privateers from the
port of Charleston. Two vessels, manned mostly
with Americans, put to sea under the French
flag, and soon made numerous captures of home-
ward-bound British vessels. Washington and his
cabinet, denounced the privateering commissions
issued by Genet, as irregular and void ; and de-
clared the condemnation of prizes by the French
consuls unauthorized by treaty. The French
minister, inflated by the popular acclamations
with which he had been received, treated the
proclamation of neutrality with contempt, and
proceeded to organize various military expe-
ditions within the United States, as if the lat-
ter was already engaged in war as an ally of
France.

The journey of Genet from Charleston to Phila-
delphia was like a triumphal procession. He was
escorted into the latter city by an enthusiastic
crowd, feasted the succeeding day by a large
body of citizens, and by his own speeches, and
the inflammatory harangues of his adherents,
sought to involve the United States in the war
which the government so strenuously desired to
avoid. Having an eye to the seizure of the Spa-
nish possessions in Florida, Genet despatched

180 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

emissaries to tlie south and west, to enlist volun-
teei'S in the service of France.

Taking advantage of the feeling in Kentucky
in relation to a free navigation of the Missis-
sippi River, four agents were sent into the latter
state, furnished with commissions, and corre-
sponding powers, to raise an army of two thousand
men and appoint a generalissimo. The project
was, to descend the Ohio and Mississippi in boats,
attack the Spanish settlements at the mouth of
the Mississippi, and bring the whole of that
country under the dominion of the French re-
public.

George Rogers Clark, whose distinguished ser-
vices in the Illinois country have already been
recorded, accepted a commission from Genet, as
" Major-general in the armies of France, and
commander-in-chief of the French Revolutionary
legions on the Mississippi."

Much of the old renown of Clark as a compe-
tent military leader had been lost by his dissi-
pated habits of life ; but so great was the enthu-
siasm of the people, and so strong the temptations
offered by Genet, that he found no difficulty in
obtaining any number of volunteers.

According to the proclamation issued by Clark,
" all persons serving for the expedition were to
be entitled to one thousand acres of land ; those
that engaged for one year were to be entitled to
two thousand acres of land ; and if they enlisted

Washington's interference, 181

to serve during the continuance of the \var, they
were to have three thousand acres of any unap-
propriated land that might be conquered. The
officers were to receive a like bounty in land in
proportion to their rank, while the pay of both
officers and privates was to be the same as that
of other French troops."

As soon as President Washington heard of the
proposed expedition, he caused Governor Shelby
to be informed of it, accompanied by the request
that the latter would warn the citizens of Ken-
tucky against the consequences ; and particularly
to assure them that all acts of hostility committed
by them against a nation at peace with the United
States were forbidden by the laws, and would
expose them to punishment.

The governor in his reply, expressed his dis-
belief in the existence of any such project, and
added, " that the citizens of Kentucky were pos-
sessed of too just a sense of the obligations they
owed to the general government to embark in
any enterprise that would be so injurious to the
United States." With this answer the president
remained for a time satisfied. In the mean time,
democratic societies, somewhat similar to the
Jacobin clubs of France, were established in the
East, and extended themselves to Kentucky. Two
clubs of this character were formed at George-
town and Paris, in the latter state. Another at
an earlier date was established at Lexington.

16

182 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The members of these associations, proclaiming
themselves the friends of the people, offered to
become the guardians of their rights and liber-
ties, against what they were pleased to call the
mal-administration of the general government.
They openly and bitterly condemned the presi-'
dent's proclamation of neutrality, abused his de-
cisions in relation to Genet, and declared their
abhorrence of every thing whatever which bore-
the name of federal.

On the 6th of November, another letter from
the secretary of state, on the part of the general
government, notified the (xovernor of Kentucky,
that Lachaise, Depeau, Mathurin, and Gregnon
had left Philadelphia on the 2d of the month,
empowered by the French minister to raise volun-
teers and fill blank commissions at disci'etion.
The governor was again requested not to permit
them to foment within that state any hostilities
against the territories of Spain. The secretary
of war also wrote a letter to the governor, bear-
ing the same date, authorizing Shelby to put
down, by means of a military force, if necessary,
the expedition projected by Genet ; giving him
the assurance that the United States would hold
itself responsible for all lawful expenses incurred.

But so much did Governor Shelby sympathize
with the French movement, that, when the legis-
lature of the state assembled in November, he
neither alluded in his message to the enterprise,

Shelby's connivaxce. 183

then well known to be on foot, nor did he issue
any proclamation admonishing the people from
joining it.

This inclination of Shelby to promote the
French cause, by refraining from taking any ac-
tive measures in opposition to it, did not escape the
penetration of the French agents. Depeau had
the audacity to write to him, avowing himself
authorized by Genet to procure provisions for
the expedition, and asking him whether it was
his intention to arrest such as joined in it.

In reply to Depeau, and with a view of cau-
tionieg the French emissaries not to violate the
laws too openly, Shelby enclosed a copy of the
instructions sent him by the secretary of state,
and ended his letter by a half-regretful avowal
that his situation compelled him to pay attention
to it.

On the 6th of Januar}', General Wayne, find-
ing that the Governor of Kentucky had taken no
steps to prevent volunteers from enlisting in the
service of France, addressed him a letter, ad-
vising him that the cavalry stationed between
Georgetown and Lexington had been directed to
act in obedience to his orders, in the event of his
having any occasion for their services ; and if
that force should be found insufficient, a larger
one would not be withheld.

"What reply Shelby made is not known; but
on the loth of the same month, he wrote to the

184 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

secretary of state, acknowledging his having re-
ceived information that Clark had accepted a
commission to raise a body of men, but that he
had not, so far as he was aware, taken any steps
to do so. A little further on, the governor adds :
" I have great doubts, even if Clark and the
French agents attempt to carry this plan into
execution — provided they manage the business
with prudence — whether there is any legal au-
thority to restrain or to punish them ; at least,
before they have actually accomplished it. For
if it is lawful for any one citizen of this state to
leave it, it is equally so for any number of them.
It is also lawful for them to carry with them any
quantity of provisions, arms, and ammunition.
And if the act is lawful in itself, there is nothing
but the particular intention with which it is done
that can possibly make it unlawful.

" I know of no law which inflicts a punishment
on intention only, or any criterion by which to
decide what would be sufficient evidence of that
intention : even if it was a proper subject of
legal censure.

" I shall, upon all occasions, be averse to the
exercise of any power which I do not consider
myself clearly and explicitly invested with ; much
less would I assume power to exercise it against
men whom I consider friends and brethren, in
favour of a man whom I view as an enemy and a
tyrant.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES. 185

« I shall also feel but little inclination to take
an active part in punishing or restraining my
fellow-citizens for a supposed intention only — to
gratify, or remove the fears of the minister of a
prince who openly withholds from us an invalua-
ble right ; and who secretly instigates against us
a most savage and cruel enemy."

After this letter, there could be no possibility
of mistaking the position of Governor Shelby.
It was very evident that the movement met with
his hearty concurrence, and it is not at all im-
probable, that if the old veteran had been free of
his official station, he would have joined the ex-
pedition in person.

Shelby was a man who entertained strong pre-
judices. He was attached to the French people
for the efficient aid they had rendered the coun-
try during the Revolutionary struggle. He hated
the British and the Spaniards ; and he desired,
beyond all other things, a free navigation of the
Mississippi.

The letter of Shelby was no sooner received
by the general government, than Edmund Ran-
dolph, then secretary of state, replied to it, point-
ing out the errors into which the governor had
fallen, and explaining the duties he seemed so
well disposed to neglect ; while Washington or-
dered General Wayne to occupy Fort Massac
with artillery, and to take such other steps as
might be necessary to arrest the expedition.

186 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Genet still persevered in his schemes ; placed
himself in direct opposition to the government of
the United States, and, supported by the nume-
rous democratic societies which had spread by
this time over all parts of the Union, became both
popular and insolent.

Unable any longer to endure the repeated
attacks by which the administration was assailed,
a cabinet council was held at Philadelphia, to
consider what should be done.

After reading over Genet's correspondence, it
was unanimously agreed to send a copy of the
whole, with a full statement of Genet's conduct,
to Gouverneur Morris, to be laid before the exe-
cutive council of France, with a letter request-
ing the recall of the obnoxious ambassador.

Washington, who had hitherto refrained through
motives of delicacy from interfering in the affairs
of Kentucky, otherwise than through the executive
of the state, now determined to appeal to the
good sense and patriotism of the great body of
the people.

By a proclamation dated the 24th of March,
1794, he informed them of the illegality of the
project set on foot by French agents, and warned
them of the danger of embarking in it.

The proclamation effected a considerable change
in the sentiments of many who had previously
been led to suppose that the enterprise was un-
dertaken with the consent and by the connivance

GENET RECALLED. 187

of the President of the United States. Several
influential persons immediately threw up their
commissions ; while those who still desperately
adhered to the cause felt themselves placed in a
position of considerable embarrassment.

The activity of the democratic societies within
the state still continued without abatement.
Every means was resorted to for the purpose of
inflaming the popular mind, the favorite topic
being the navigation of the Mississippi, which
they alleged was withheld from Kentucky because
of the jealousy of the eastern states.

In the spring of 1794, a general meeting of
the people was held in Lexington, and resolutions
adopted, inviting the citizens of the diff'erent
counties to elect delegates to a convention whose
object was not strictly defined, but which looked
in the old direction of separation.

Just at this time, however, the intelligence
came that Genet had been recalled ; that his acts
were disavowed by the French government, and
all his proceedings disapproved.

The French agents, Lachaise and Depeau,
immediately lost caste in the estimation of their
former friends. Clark, stripped of his magnifi-
cent title, retired to private life, and the project,
which had caused so much alarm to the general
government, fell through, never to be revived
again.

Citizen Genet, learning that the government

188 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

of the French Republic had been wrested from
the hands of those from whom he had received
his appointment, did not venture to return to his
own country, but consoled himself for the change
by marrying an American lady, and settling in
New York.

CHAPTER XIV.

Commissioners sent to the Indians to treat for peace — Refusal
of the savages to treat — The army under Wayne — Fort
Greenville built — St. Clair's battle-ground reoccupied — Fort
Recovery built — Wayne joined by the Kentucky volunteers
— Commences his march — Indian villages abandoned — Builds
Forts Adams and Defiance^Intelligence of the Indians — A
flag sent to them — ^Their answer — Fort Deposit built— The
enemy discovered — Battle of Fallen Timbers — Defeat of the
Indians — Wayne encamps near the British fort — Altercation
with Major Campbell — Conduct of the Kentuckians — Fort
Wayne built— Treaty with the Indians — Feeling in Ken-
tucky— Marshall elected to the Senate of the United States
— Attempt to remove Judges Muter and Sebastian — Courts
of quarter sessions and oyer and terminer abolished — Other
laws.

In the mean time, in order to bring the Indians
to terms, without the effusion of blood, Washing-
ton had despatched commissioners to them em-
powered to frame a treaty of peace. Elated by
their previous successes over the several armies
which had been sent against them, the savages
not only refused all pacific overtures, but pre-
pared to meet a renewal of hostilities with the
utmost confidence.

WAYNE IN COMMAND. 189

While this negotiation was pending, the troops
under Wayne remained at Fort Washington,
where they suffered greatly from an epidemic
influenza. When it was known that the com-
missioners had failed in effecting a treaty, Wayne
marched with his army, and leaving garrisons
behind him at the intermediate posts, established
himself with twenty-six hundred regulars, in a
fortified camp at Greenville, six miles in advance
of Fort Jefferson. Wayne had previously made
a requisition upon the state of Kentucky for
mounted volunteers. The great reluctance of
the militia to serve with regulars was soon ob-
served by the commander-in-chief, from the tardi-
ness with which they responded to his call. On
the 20th of September, 1793, Wayne earnestly
urged General Charles Scott, commandant of the
militia at Georgetown, to advance by the 1st of
October with all the force he could collect in the
mean time.

On the 28th of September, Governor Shelby
ordered a draft from the militia to supply the
deficiency of volunteers ; and on the 24th of the
following month, Scott, with a force of one thou-
sand mounted men, was encamped on a prairie,
nearly midway between Fort Jefferson and the
head-quarters of General Wayne. The season
being too far advanced to render military opera-
tions effective, Wayne dismissed the volunteers
until the opening of spring, and, building Fort

190 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Greenville, went into winter-quarters with, his
regulars.

It was during this enforced suspension of hos-
tilities, that Wayne ordered a part of the legion-
ary cavalry remaining in Kentucky to obey any
call made upon them by Shelby for the suppres-
sion of the French expedition against Louisiana.
The passive encouragement given to the agents
of Genet, by the Governor of Kentucky, prevented
the latter from making use of the power thus
placed in his hands, but the offer was not the less
honourable to the vigilance of Wayne.

The necessity of transporting provisions on
pack-horses, through seventy miles of wilderness,
rendered the support of the troops at Fort Green-
ville very expensive to the general government.
It, however, afforded occupation to the army in
guarding the supplies by the way, and in keeping
open the communication between the various posts
which had been established along the line of
route.

During the winter several Indian chiefs visited
the fort. The first impression created by their
appearance was, that the savages were at length
disposed to sue for peace ; but those pleasing an-
ticipations were soon dissipated. After satisfying
their curiosity, and holding with Wayne and his
oflScers several idle talks, they departed as sud-
denly as they had come, and without making any
proposals.

WAYNE ADVANCES. 191

As the winter advanced, Wayne pushed for-
ward a strong detachment to build and occupy
Fort Recovery, on the site of the battle-field
where St. Clair had met with so disastrous a defeat.

In May, 1794, intelligence being received that
the British and Indians were posted on the
Miami, near the villages at the Rapids, Wayne
determined to commence operations as early as
possible, and renewed his requisition upon the
Governor of Kentucky for additional troops.

The action of Shelby was, in this instance,
prompt and efficient ; by the middle of July,
General Scott had assembled sixteen hundred vo-
lunteers. With this force he immediately marched
from the rendezvous at Georgetown, for head-
quarters.

On the 26th of the month, the first division
joined the regular army at Fort Greenville, and
without waiting till the remainder of the volun-
teers came up, Wayne commenced his march for
Fort Recovery.

The Indians had already opened the campaign
by a vigorous assault upon Fort Recovery during
the latter part of June. After two days' hard
fighting, they sufi'ered a repulse ; but were not
altogether unsuccessful. They captured three
hundred pack-mules, and inflicted a loss of fifty
men, upon an escort of one hundred and fifty,
which had just guarded a provision train, and lay
encamped outside the fort.

192 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

After leaving Fort Recovery, Wayne advanced
to St. Mary's, by an unfrequented route, with the
view of taking the Indians by surprise ; but on his
arrival at the villages he found them abandoned.
This "was the more mortifying to the general,
since, in order to divert the attention of the In-
dians from the route he intended to pursue, he
had caused two roads to be opened from Green-
ville in the direction of St. Mary's ; while he
marched by the obscure way already mentioned.
The treacherous conduct of a volunteer, who,
while the army was secretly approaching the In-
dian settlement, escaped to the enemy and warned
them of their peril, rendered a stratagem en-
tirely useless, which, at the outset, offered the
most favourable prospects of success.

At this place Wayne built Fort Adams, and
at the confluence of the Au-Glaize and the Miami,
he erected a strong stockade, which he named
Fort Defiance.

On the 12th of August, he learned from several
prisoners who had been taken, that the main body
of the Indians had retired down the Miami about
thirty miles, where they occupied a camp at the
foot of the Rapids, and in the vicinity of a new
fort recently built by the British.

Having in his camp a man by the name of
Miller, who had been a prisoner among the In-
dians and understood their language, Wayne
determined to send him to them once more with

WAYNE SENDS AN ENVOY. 193

pacific overtures. Miller was at first averse to
undertaking so dangerous a mission, it being his
opinion, from what he had observed, that the
Indians were unalterably determined on war,
and that they would not only pay no respect
to a flag, but would most probably murder the
bearer.

Still anxious to make the experiment, Wayne
assured Miller that he would hold the prisoners
then in his custody as pledges for his safety, and
that he might select from among them any num-
ber he desired to accompany him. Thus en-
couraged, Miller consented to deliver the mes-
sage, and took with him one of the men and
a squaw. With these attendants he left the camp
on the afternoon of the 13th, and at daybreak
the next morning reached the tents of the hostile
chiefs, without being previously discovered. He
immediately displayed his flag, and proclaimed
himself a messenger. Instantly, he was assailed
on all sides with hideous yells, and the cries,
" Kill the runaway !" " Kill the spy !"

Elevating his voice, and speaking to the in-
furiated savages in their own tongue, Miller ex-
plained to them the purport of his mission. This
partially calmed them. He was taken into cus-
tody, and permitted to read to them the letter of
Wayne. Miller took particular care to lay great
stress upon a passage in the letter, which stated
that if the Indians did not send the bearer back

17

194 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

to him by tlie 16tli of the month, he would at
sunset of that day cause every prisoner in his
camp to be put to death.

On the 15th Miller was liberated by the In-
dians, who replied to the message of Wayne, that
if he waited where he was for ten days, they
would come and treat with him ; but that if he
advanced, they would give him battle.

Before the return of his messenger, Wayne had
commenced his march. On the 16th Miller met
the general-in-chief, and, after delivering the
answer which the Indians had sent, expressed his
belief, from the constant arrival of small parties,
and the manner in which they were painted, that
they had already determined on war, and only
desired the delay in order to gain time for their
reinforcements to join them. Wayne advanced
at once.

- On the 18th, when within about seven miles
of the British garrison, he halted the army and
threw up hastily a fort, which he called Fort De-
posit.

On the morning of the 20th, his spies, who
had been sent out the day before, returned and re-
ported the enemy encamped in a bushy wood, their
left flank being protected by the rocky bank of the
river. The advance was immediately resumed in
the same order as before ; the right flank composed
of the regulars under Wayne, leaning on the Mi-
ami; one brigade of the Kentucky troops, com-

BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS. 195

mancled by General Todd, occupied the left; -wliile
the other, commanded by General Barbee, was
placed in the rear as a reserve. A strong de-
tachment under Major Price was thrown in ad-
vance, to give notice when the enemy were found.

As soon as the Indian fire was heard, the
legion was formed in two lines in the midst of a
thick wood, the ground being covered with old
fallen timber prostrated in some tornado, a posi-
tion very favourable to the Indians, since the
mounted volunteers could hardly act. The In-
dians were in three lines, extending from the
river at right angles, and within supporting dis-
tance of each other.

As the weight of their fire indicated a disposi-
tion to turn the left flank of the legion, Wayne
ordered the second line into position on the left of
the first. He also directed the mounted volunteers
to attempt to gain the enemy's rear by a circuit-
ous route, while Captain Campbell, commanding
the cavalry, was instructed to move along the
bank of the river, until he had penetrated and
passed the Indian left.

The front line of the legion, a short distance
in advance, was now ordered forward with arms
trailed, to rouse the savages from their coverts,
with the bayonet, before firing a shot. When
they had succeeded in doing so, they were to de-
liver the whole of their fire, and then charge
again with the bayonet, without giving the enemy

196 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

time to reload their pieces. These orders were
obeyed with such alacrity, that before the other
troops could get into position, the Indians were
completely routed. In less than an hour the
enemy passed the British fort in full flight, and
Wayne halted in full sight of it. The loss of
the legion was one hundred and seven men in
killed and wounded. Among the former, were
Captain Campbell and Lieutenant Towlis. The
loss of the Indians was not ascertained, but it
was believed not to have exceeded that number.

The corn-fields were ravaged close up to the
British fort, and the establishment of McKee,
the British Indian agent, was burned with the rest.

General Wayne encamped near the fort for
three days. While he continued there, a sharp
and angry correspondence took place between
himself and Major Campbell, the commander of
the British garrison. Campbell inquirec^by what
authority the American general approached so
near the British cannon, and insulted his com-
mand? Wayne retorted, by commenting upon
the protection tacitly afforded by Campbell to
the fugitive Indians, who had taken refuge be-
hind his fortifications, and asked, in return, by
what authority he had posted a garrison under
a foreign flag within the territory of the United
States ? -5

Campbell responded by declining to discuss the
question of right. He asserted that he held pes-

WAYNE AND CAMPBELL. 197

session of the post by the authority of his Bri-
tannic majesty, and expressed his determination
to maintain it until ordered to withdraw by his
superiors.

The Kentuckians, already exasperated against
the British, on acccount of the protection which
the latter had for so many years extended to the
Indians, sought to increase the difficulty between
the two commanders by firing off their rifiies
within range of the fort-guns, and by offering
various other insults to the garrison. The re-
spect which both Wayne and Campbell felt for
their respective governments — who were at .this
time endeavouring to adjust by an amicable treaty
all matters in controversy — induced both com-
manders to stop short of a sanguinary issue to
their quarrel.

Wayne fell back to Fort Deposit, which hav-
ing improved and strengthened he now named, in
scornful contempt of the assumed jurisdiction of
Campbell, Fort Defiance. From this place he
marched to the main forks of the river, where he
built Fort Wayne.

In the mean time, he had sent another flag to
the Indians, offering them peace, and inviting
them to a friendly council. The chiefs agreed
to meet him at Greenville. Leaving garrisons in
Fort Defiance and Fort Eecovery, Wayne re-
turned, and occupied his old winter-quarters.

During this brief campaign of ninety days, he

198 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKT.

had inarched three hundred miles, opening a road
as he went along ; had gained a victory ; driven
the Indians from their principal settlement, and
destroyed the provisions upon which the savages
had relied for their subsistence during the winter.

The Kentucky volunteers, having suffered con-
siderably from sickness, were discharged about
the middle of October, and returned to their
homes, well pleased with their commander, and
better disposed to do justice to the intrepidity of
the regulars than they had ever been before.

The success of Wayne went far to obliterate
the §tigma under which the general government
had laboured in consequence of the previous de-
feats. The regular troops also gained at length
that honourable recognition for courage and in-
trepidity which had hitherto been denied them.
Upon the Indians, the effect of their sudden and
most unexpected defeat at the Rapids was both
deep and lasting. Those tribes of the east and
south, who had previously been strongly disposed
to form an alliance with their northwestern breth-
ren, now desired nothing more than to maintain
the most pacific relations with the whites. With
the hostile Indians a treaty was soon afterward
made, which was respected for nearly eighteen
years.

In Kentucky, the odium with which the gene-
ral government had been so long regarded now
yielded to better and more friendly feelings.

LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 199

The federalists, who, being placed under the ban
of the democratic associations, had until now
been scarcely able to obtain even a decent show
of respect, with the decline of French and Spa-
nish intrigues, grew gradually into favour ; so
much so indeed, that during the following winter,
Humphrey Marshall, one of the leaders of that
party, was elected to the senate of the United
States, over his talented republican competitor,
John Breckenridge.

At the meeting of the legislature, an attempt
was made to remove two of the judges of the Su-
preme Court, for having given an illegal decision
in an important law-suit, which, if the judgment
had not been speedily reversed and reprobated,
would have seriously affected the tenure of lands
in the state. The resolution being with difiaculty
carried at all, and the constitution requiring con-
curring majorities of two-thirds in each house to
sustain an address, the effort to remove Judges
Muter and Sebastian failed. At the next spring
term, however. Muter joined the dissentient judge,
Wallace ; the former decree was set aside, and
the decision reversed.

By an act of this legislature, the courts of
quarter sessions and the court of oyer and ter-
miner were abolished, and the district courts
established in their places. Original jurisdiction in
land cases was also taken away from the Supreme
Court, and conferred upon the district courts.

200 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Another singular act ^vas also passed at this ses-
sion, ^vhich made it obligatory upon every white
male over sixteen years of age to kill a certain
number of squirrels and crows annually.

CHAPTER XV.

Retrospective — Joe Logston — His character — Leaves the fort
in search of cattle — Is fired on by two Indians — His horse
killed under him — Wounds one Indian severely — Is attacked
by the other — Both combatants disarmed — A fearful trial of
strength and activit}' — Kills his antagonist — Eeturns to the
fort — Is disbelieved — A search instituted — The story con-
firmed— An example of savage heroism — The Xickajack ex-
pedition— The people of Tennessee call upon Kentucky for
assistance — Colonel Whitley marches with one hundred men
— Forms a junction with Colonel Orr — Is appointed to com-
mand the troops — Surprise of the JVickajack towns — A second
expedition organized — The result — Anecdote of Whitley —
Proceeds to the southern towns to recover some negroes —
Conduct of a half-breed — Friendship of Otter Lifter — His
character — Biography of Whitley — His death.

Before taking leave of the eventful year 1794,
it may perhaps be as well to take up the minor
incidents connected with it, and which, although
presenting themselves in the form of episodes to ,
the general narrative, exhibit the hardy character
of the Kentucky borderers, and the energy and
resolution by which they were distinguished.

In February of this year, the Indians made a
sudden attack upon the settlements on Greene
River, and the whites who escaped the first sur-

BIG JOE LOGSTON. 201

prise took refuge in one of the forts, where
they determined to remain until the savages re-
tired.

Among those who formed the temporary gar-
rison of the rude station, was a wild reckless fel-
low, of great activity and daring, but not over
honest, Avho was known to his companions as Big
Joe Logston. This man, accustomed to a free
roving life, could not long remain satisfied with
a confinement so ill-suited to his previous habits,
and after endeavouring, without success, to pre-
vail upon others to accompany him for the pur-
pose of hunting up cattle, he rode out alone into
the forest. As all the cattle, which had not
been killed by the Indians, had been frightened
off to a distance beyond his hope of recovering
them, Logston, toward the close of the day, con-
cluded to return to the fort.

While riding carelessly along a path which
led in that direction, the first intimation he had
of danger was the sharp crack of two rifles, one
on each side of his track. One of the balls
grazed his breast, but without injuring the breast-
bone ; the other struck his horse behind the sad-
dle, and he immediately fell. Logston was on
his feet in an instant, with his rifle in his hands,
and from his great activity might readily have
escaped by flight ; but this he was not disposed
to do.

The moment the rifles Avere fired, an athletic

202 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Indian sprang toward Logston with his upraised
tomahawk ; but as soon as the latter presented
his piece, the savage jumped behind two pretty
large saplings at a small distance apart, neither
of which being of sufficient size to entirely cover
his body, he was compelled to keep darting
rapidly from one to the other, to save himself
from the effect of a steady and direct aim.

Perfectly conscious of having two enemies upon
the ground, whose motions it was necessary to
watch, Logston kept a keen look-out for the
other, and by a quick glance of the eye, detected
him behind a tree scarcely large enough to hide
him. He was at that time rapidly loading his
gun. While in the act of pushing down his bul-
let he exposed his hips, and in an instant Log-
ston fired and wounded him severely.

The other Indian immediately rushed at Log-
ston with his raised tomahawk. They were well
matched, for both were large men, and both dis-
tinguished among their associates for strength
and activity. The Indian made a halt at the
distance of fifteen or twenty feet, and threw his
tomahawk with all his force ; Logston dodged it,
and clubbing his gun, made at the Indian, think-
ing to knock him down. The Indian, depending
entirely on dodging, sprang into some brush or
saplings to avoid the blow. At length Logston —
whose rifle, from being repeatedly struck against
the trees while aiming at the wary Indian, was

DESPERATE STRUGGLE. 203

reduced to the naked barrel — made a side blow
with such force, that, again missing the Indian,
the barrel flew out of his hands and beyond his
reach. '

The Indian now gave an exulting cry, and
sprang at him with all the savage fury of which
he was master. Neither of them had a weapon ;
but the Indian, seeing Logston bleeding, thought
he could throw him down and despatch him. In
this he was mistaken. They seized each other,
and a desperate struggle ensued. Logston could
throw his antagonist upon the ground, but could
not hold him there. The Indian, being naked
with his hide oiled, had greatly the advantage in
a ground scuffle, and would slide out of Logston's
grasp and rise.

After throwing him five or six times, Logston
found, between violent exertions and loss of blood,
he was getting exhausted, and that he must
change his mode of warfare, or lose his scalp,
which he was not yet willing to spare.

He threw his opponent again, and without at-
tempting to hold him, jumped from him, and as
he rose, aimed a fist blow at his head, which
knocked him down again. Each time the savage
attempted to regain his feet, Logston gave him a
powerful blow, and each time his antagonist re-
covered himself more slowly. Logston at length
succeeded in striking him with great force under

204 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the ear, and the Indian fell, as the sturdy borderer
thought, pretty nearly dead.

Bending down to grasp his neck, Logston soon
discovered that the Indian was so far sensible
that he was stealthily using the fingers of his right
hand in an effort to unsheath a knife that hung
at his belt. The knife was short, and so sunk
within the sheath, that it was necessary to force
up the handle by pressing against the point. This
the Indian was endeavouring to effect, and with
good success. Logston, keeping his eye on it,
permitted the savage to work the handle out,
when he suddenly grasped it, jerked it from the
sheath, and sank it up to the hilt in the Indian's
breast, who gave a deep groan and expired.

Logston now thought of the other Indian, and
not knowing to what extent he was wounded or
crippled, proceeded cautiously in search of him.
He found him with his back broken, and propped
against a log. Severely wounded as he was, he
had succeeded in loading his gun, and tried seve-
ral times to raise it for the purpose of shooting
Logston, but at each effort he would fall forward,
and had to push against his gun to raise himself
again.

Feeling already much fatigued, and not wish-
ing to expose himself to the effects of a chance
shot from an enemy already too much disabled to
escape, Logston returned to the fort. When he
reached there, he was covered with dirt and blood

SAVAGE HEROISM. 205

from head to foot, and as his companions, seeing
the wretched plight in which he was, refused to
credit his story, he told them to sally out and
judge for themselves.

The next morning a strong party set out for
the battle-ground. At first they could discover
nothing but the dead horse. At length they
found a trail, as if something had been dragged
away. On tracing it, they came upon the body
of the larger Indian, at a little distance, beside a
log, and covered up with leaves. Still pursuing
the trail, which was not now so plain, they found
■ the wounded Indian lying on his back, with his
own knife sticking in his body, just below the
breast-bone, evidently to show that he had killed
himself, and had not come to his death by the
hand of an enemy. They had a long search be-
fore they found the knife with which Logston
had killed the larger Indian. They at length
discovered it forced into the ground, apparently
by the weight of a person's heel. This had been
done by the crippled Indian. The great efforts
he must have made, alone, and under circum-
stances of extraordinary agony, show to what a
height of savage heroism the Indian character
sometimes rose.

Though more strictly belonging to the history
of Tennessee, the famous Nickajack expedition
cannot be passed without mention, from the num-
ber of Kentuckians who were engaged in it.

206 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Early in the summer of this year, the Indians
committed so many outrages upon persons and
property in West Tennessee, that the settlers in
that region, heing weak and few, petitioned their
neighbours of Kentucky for assistance.

Placing entire confidence in Captain William
Whitley, they requested him to bring with him a
party, and take the command of an expedition
against the Nickajack towns.

He accordingly raised one hundred volunteers,
and, marching to the place of rendezvous, found
Colonel Orr already there, with five hundred
men. Upon a vote being taken, with the consent*
of Orr, Whitley was elected commander, though
the men, to entitle them to receive pay for their
services, were mustered under the name of Orr.

Each man was equipped, and ready to march
at a minute's warning. Fifteen miles of the in-
tended route were over mountains, and these
were to be crossed in the night.

This is the first time that mounted horse artil-
lery is recollected to have been used. Whitley,
now colonel by the authority of his troops, had
mounted a swivel on his own riding horse, so that
he could wheel and fire in any direction he
pleased. The balls were of wrought iron, of
which he took with him twenty or thirty for
use on this occasion.

In the mountains the way was so difficult,
that some perplexity was likely to ensue, as the

Whitley's expedition. 207

war-path was but small, and often eluded tlie
guides.

In order to accomplish the surprise of the
snemj, which was a matter of the utmost im-
portance, it was necessary to cross the last moun-
tain before day, and cover the party, in its
approach to the town, with the brushy forest of
the plain.

A moment's reflection suggested the means of
relief. Colonel Whitley ordered light-wood knots
of resinous pine to be collected, and a torch thus
made, to be carried at the head of each company.
Before sunrise next morning the town was sur-
rounded and assailed ; fifty Indians were killed,
nineteen taken prisoners, and the place laid in
ruins.

Taking with him a detachment of twenty men,
Whitley proceeded toward the Running Water
town, but was stopped by a party of Indians,
who met him boldly, and attacked, at the beat of
the drum. Two Indians were killed, and the
rest, being hard. pressed, fied.

Some papers, taken from parties who, while
travelling in Kentucky, had been defeated by the
Indians, were recovered. Among these were
some which had belonged to a Dunkard, whom
a gang of white robbers, under one Middleton,
had previously been charged with having mur-
dered. The articles of plunder found in the
towns showed that the punishment the savages

208 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

had received was well deserved ; as among other
articles recovered were white men's shirts with
bullet holes through them.

After the return of this expedition, Whitley
engaged in no further enterprises until the fall
of the year, when he arranged with General Lo-
gan to raise another body of men, and cut off the
balance of the hostile towns on the Tennessee
River, and thus put an end to the war.

Owing to the increasing prospect of a general
peace, Logan failed to attend at the rendezvous.
This, however, was unknown to Whitley, who
proceeded to comply with his engagement. When
he reached the settlements on Holston, he found
the people friendly and hospitable ; but Gover-
nor Blount, who was desirous of bringing about a
peace by less stringent means, forbade his pro-
ceeding, and threatened to give intelligence to
the Indians.

Whitley, however, was not to be restrained
from keeping his word. He procured canoes,
descended the river, and lying concealed during
the day, travelled only at night. Reaching with-
in *due time the place appointed for rendezvous,
he waited there three days for Logan, and then
took up his march for home overland. His route
for one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles
lay through a mountainous and broken wilder-
ness, the whole of which had to be traversed on
foot. His party, which, including himself, con-

RECLAMATION OF NEGROES. 209

sisted of eleven men, soon found their little pro-
vision exhausted. As the signs of Indians were
abundant, they were prevented from hunting, and
in consequence suffered greatly from hunger.
They at length reached home, after having lived
for three days, during their perilous journey, on
the flesh of one raccoon.

Soon after peace was proclaimed, and before
the war feeling had generally subsided, Whitley
went to the southern towns to reclaim some ne-
groes that had been taken in the contest.

When he reached Watts's town, a half-breed by
the name of Jack Taylor, who spoke English, and
acted as interpreter — if he did not intend to pro-
cure Whitley's death — at least determined to in-
timidate him. The Indians being assembled,
Whitley had no sooner declared the purpose of
his visit, than Taylor told him he could not get
the negroes. Taking a bell that was at hand, he
tied it by a string round his waist, then seizing a
drum, and beating and ringing with all his might,
he raised the war-whoop.

Whitley afterward said, when telling the story,
<' I thought the times were squally. I looked at
Otter Lifter : he had told me I should not be
killed. I thought him a man of honour. His
countenance remained unchanged, and I kept my
own." At this time the Indians gathered about
him armed, but fired their guns in the air, to his
very great relief. The interpreter. Jack Taylor,

210 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

finding Whitley could not be frightened away,
and that he renewed his demand for the negroes,
replied, that he could not get them ; they were
under the protection of the United States ; " and
your law say, prove your property." Whitley
told him he would go home and bring a thousand
witnesses, with every man his gun to swear by.
" Ugh," replied Jack, "too many ! too many !"
After a pause he added, there were three white
prisoners, two girls and a boy, that would be
given up ; but the negroes could not, until the
Little Turkey, a principal chief, returned.

When the latter came back, which was in a
day or two, he summoned the chiefs to meet him
at Turkey town, and it was there decided to sur-
render the negroes to Whitley, without troubling
him to prove his property by the rifle.

Otter Lifter, on whose word Whitley had re-
posed with so much confidence, was a remarkable
man. He had raised himself to renown as a war-
rior witnout ever having killed women, or children,
or prisoners. His friend, his word, and his rifle
were all he cared for. He said the Great Spirit,
when he made all the rest of the animals, created
men to kill and eat them, lest they should con-
sume all the grass ; that to keep men from being
proud he sufi'ered them to die also, or to kill one
another and make food for worms : that life and
death were two warriors always fighting ; with
which the Great Spirit amused himself.

WILLIAM WHITLEY. 211

The veteran pioneer, William Whitley, of whom
the previous incidents have been recorded, was
born in August, 1749, in Augusta county, Vir-
ginia. He was among the very first settlers of
the then almost unknown region called Kentucky.
In 1775, having married Esther Fuller, and com-
menced housekeeping in an humble way, with
health and labour to season his bread, he told
his wife he had heard a fine report of Kentucky,
and he thought they could get their living there
with less hard work. Her reply was, " Then,
Billy, if I was you, I would go and see." In two
days he was on his way, with axe and plough, and
gun and kettle.

As the scenes witnessed by him are similar to
those witnessed by others, the details are unne-
cessary. SuflBce it to say, he was in the expedi-
tions of Bowman and Clark, and after passing an
eventful life, which was rewarded by an inde-
pendent fortune, he fell in the sixty-fifth year of
his age at the battle of the Thames, while fight-
ing as a private soldier in the ranks of the Ken-
tucky militia. There is no monument raised to
the memory of the brave and gallant pati'iot,
William Whitley ; but the state has honoured the
good old pioneer by giving his name to one of
her counties.

212 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER XVI.

Final ratification of the treaty of peace between Great Britain and
the United States — Spain agrees to grant the navigation of
the Mississippi — Intrigues with Kentucky — Power, the Spa-
nish agent, confers with Judge Sebastian — Baron Caron-
delet's proposition — Views of Sebastian, Innis, and Nicholas
— Power visits General Wilkinson at Detroit — His reception
— Reply of Wilkinson — Views of Sebastian — Power's own
opinion — Power sent to Fort Massac under an escort —
Reaches New Madrid — Subsequent revelation concerning
Sebastian — Adams elected President of the United States —
His unpopularity in Kentucky — Meeting of the legislatures-
Proposition to revise the constitution — Votes for and against
a convention — Decision of the legislature.

Late in the year 1794, the long-pending
treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, be-
tween the United States and Great Britain, was
signed at London. On the 7th of March, 1795, it
was received at the oiEce of the secretary of state
in Philadelphia, and was ratified soon after by
the president. and senate. The surrender of the
north-western posts, so long withheld by the
British until their own commercial claims should
be adjusted, followed as a matter of course ; and
the Indians, no longer protected by the power
of their ancient ally, had neither the inclination
to commence a war, nor the ability to successfully
sustain one. Peace, therefore, continued for a

SPANISH INTRIGUES. 2-13

long time among the nortli--u-estern tribes, while
the progress of Kentucky, both in population
and wealth, was steady and uninterrupted.

To add to the gratification of the Kentuckians,
the treaty with Spain, which had been for some
time in the course of negotiation, ended in set-
tling satisfactorily the long-disputed questions
of the Spanish boundaries, and the navigation of
the Mississippi.

By this treaty, Spain ceded to the United States
the right to navigate the Mississippi to the ocean
together with a right of deposit at New Orleans,
for three years, at the end of which period, either
this privilege was to be continued, or an equiva-
lent establishment was to be assigned them at
some other convenient point on the bank of the
lower Mississippi.

But while this negotiation with Spain was
pending, Carondelet, the Spanish governor at
New Orleans, sought by various ways to detach
Kentucky from the Union. In July, 1795, he
sent a certain Thomas Power to Kentucky, with
a letter to Benjamin Sebastian, then a judge of
the court of appeals. In this communication,
Carondelet expressed the willingness of his Ca-
tholic majesty to open the Mississippi to the
western country, and requested Sebastian to
have agents chosen by the people of Kentucky
to negotiate a treaty upon that and other matters.
These delegates were directed to meet Colonel

214 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Gayoso at New Madrid, for the purpose of adjust-
ing the provisions of the treaty.

Sebastian, having shown this letter to Judge
Innis, George Nicholas, and William Murray,
they all agreed that Sebastian should meet Gay-
oso at New Madrid, and hear what he had to
propose.

The meeting accordingly took place, and the
outline of a treaty was agreed upon ; but intel-
ligence of the treaty concluded between Spain
and the United States being received nearly
about the same time, the negotiation was broken
off, though much to the dissatisfaction of Sebas-
tian.

That several persons, high in authority in Ken-
tucky, were at this period, and had been for seve-
ral years, partisans and pensioners of Spain,
scarcely admits of a doubt.

The year previous to this, six thousand dol-
lars were sent to General Wilkinson from New
Orleans, on board of a public galley. The charge
of this money was intrusted to Captain Richard
Owens, a gentleman of broken fortune, whose
residence in Kentucky was near that of Judge
Innis, The latter, who had on other occasions
furnished Wilkinson with agents for Spanish in-
tercourse, on this recommended Owens for that
service.

AVhen the galley reached the mouth of the
Ohio River, the money was taken from it and

WILKINSON A SPANISH PENSIONER. 215

placed on board another, in which Captain Owens
embarked with six Spanish sailors. A few days
afterward, Owens was robbed and murdered by
his crew. One of the company, who had refused
to participate in the act, fled to New Madrid, and
impeached his companions. Three of the mur-
derers being shortly afterward arrested in the
neighbourhood of Frankfort, they were taken
before Judge Innis. When he ascertained who
they were, he refused to try them, on the plea
of their being Spanish subjects. Notwithstand-
ing the crime had been committed within his ju-
risdiction, he committed them to the care of his
brother-in-law, Charles Smith, who, on deliver-
ing them to General AYilkinson at Fort Wash-
ington, Cincinnati, was directed to convey them
to some Spanish oificer on the Mississippi, as it
was not expedient to make the matter public.

At the time Owens received the six thousand
dollars, another instalment of six thousand three
hundred and thirty-three dollars was delivered
to Captain Collins, also one of Wilkinson's agents.
This money was conveyed by sea to New York,
and reached Wilkinson in 1795. A further sum
of six thousand five hundred and ninety dollars,
Wilkinson told General Adair, had been delivered
for him at New Orleans, a part of which he had
received, and expected the remainder.

The ratification of the treaty, although it
checked for a brief season the prosecution of

216 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Spanisli intrigues in the West, did not by any
means discourage the Spanish partisans from
holding out to the court of Madrid great hopes
that Kentucky and the territory of the great west
■would at no very distant day withdraw from the
federal union, and form an independent govern-
ment. The nucleus of all these schemes and
visionary expectations was in Kentucky.

In 1797, while Andrew Ellicott, as commissioner
on the part of the United States, was waiting
patiently for the co-operation of the Spanish au-
thorities to commence the survey of the boundary
line, those very authorities, by means of their
agents among the southern Indians, were stimu-
lating the latter to throw obstacles in the way of
the surveyors. They went still further. Power,
the former agent of Carondelet, appeared in
Louisville, bearing a letter to Sebastian, and a
request that he would communicate its contents
to Innis, Nicholas, and Murray. Sebastian de-
clined any intercourse with the latter, but showed
the letter to Judge Innis.

The suggestions contained in the despatch
■were, that the gentlemen already named should
attempt, by a series of well-written publications,
to influence the public mind to consider favour-
ably a project of withdrawal from the Atlantic
states.

They were to expose, in the most striking point
of view, the inconveniences and disadvantages

TRAITORS ENCOURAGED BY SPAIN. 217

arising from a connection with the Eastern states ;
while the benefits to be reaped from a secession
were to be pointed out in the most forcible and
powerful manner. The danger of permitting the
federal troops to take possession of the posts on
the Mississippi, and thus forming a cordon of
fortified places around them, was also to be par-
ticularly expatiated upon.

In consideration of gentlemen devoting their
time and talents to this object, Carondelet pro-
posed to appropriate one hundred thousand dol-
lars to their use, to be paid by drafts on the
treasury at New Orleans, or conveyed into Ken-
tucky at the expense of his Catholic majesty.
As a further inducement to embark in this scheme,
Carondelet agreed to guaranty to any persons
who might lose their offices in consequence of
their advocating secession, a compensation equal
at least to the emoluments of their office, let their
efforts be crowned with success, or terminate in
disappointment.

As soon as independence was declared, it was
proposed that Fort Massac should be taken pos-
session of by the troops of the new government ;
Spain undertaking to furnish the fort with
twenty field-pieces, all the arms and ammunition
necessary for the use of the garrison, and to ap-
propriate the sum of one hundred thousand dol-
lars to be delivered at Fort Massac, and expended
in the raising and maintaining the troops.

218 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The boundary lines '5\liicli were to separate tlie
new western government from that of Spain
were likewise strictly defined by the same instru-
ment, in which, by subsequent clauses, Spain
agreed to assist in defending and supporting the
independence of its new ally, and to co-operate
in reducing the Indians upon its borders. Such
were the outlines of the provisional treaty sent
by Governor Carondelet to Judge Sebastian, by
the hands of the Spanish agent, Power.

This shameful proposition, coming from a na-
tion which had just sealed and ratified a formal
treaty with the United States, was received by
Sebastian without a single expression of indigna-
tion or abhorrence.

Innis long subsequently stated under oath, that
when the document was submitted to him for
perusal, he observed to Sebastian that it was a
dangerous project, and one which ought not to
be countenanced, inasmuch as the western people
had now obtained the navigation of the Missis-
sippi River, by which all their wishes were grati-
fied. He then goes on to say : —

"Mr. Sebastian concurred with me in senti-
ment, but observed, that Power wished a written
answer, and requested me to see Colonel Nicholas,
saying, that whatever we did he would concur in."

Innis afterward acknowledges that he saw
Nicholas, who wrote a firm and decided refusal
to the overtures of Spain, in which they jointly

SPANISH INTPJGUES. - 219

declared, that they would not be concerned, either
directly or indirectly, in any attempt that might
be made to separate the western country from the
United States. This letter was signed both by
Innis and Nicholas, and delivered to Power
through the medium of Judge Sebastian. But
the transaction was kept an entire secret, both
from the state and general government.

Power, in the mean time, visited Wilkinson,
who, holding a command in the regular army,
was then at Detroit. His ostensible object was
to deliver Wilkinson a letter of remonstrance
from Governor Carondelet, against the United
States taking immediate possession of the posts
on the Mississippi. The real purpose of his
journey was to sound him upon the Spanish pro-
position.

Wilkinson having gone to Michilimackinac,
Power waited at Detroit until his return. An
interview then took place, of which Power subse-
quently gave to Governor Carondelet the follow-
ing account : —

" General Wilkinson received me very coolly.
During the first conference I had with him, he
exclaimed very bitterly, ' We are both lost, with-
out being able to derive any benefit from your
journey.'

" He said the governor had orders from the
president to arrest me, and send me to Philadel-
phia ; and added, ' that there was no way for me

220 HISTORY OF KE^^TUCKY.

to escape, but by permitting myself to be con-
ducted immediately under a guard to the Fort
Massac, and from thence to New Madrid. Hav-
ing informed him of the proposals of which I was
the bearer, he proceeded to tell me that it was a
chimerical project ; that the inhabitants of the
western states, having obtained by treaty all they
wanted, would not wish to form any other politi-
cal or commercial alliances ; and that they had
no motive for separating themselves from the
other states of the Union, even if France and
Spain should make them the most advantageous
offers ; that the fermentation which existed four
years back was now appeased."

Wilkinson told him further, that Spain had no
course to pursue under present circumstances but
to comply fully with the treaty ; which had over-
turned all his plans and rendered the labours of
ten years useless : that he had destroyed his
ciphers, and that his honour did not permit him
to hold correspondence with the Spanish govern-
ment. He complained of his secret having been
divulged, that he had known from the preceding
September that Spain did not intend giving up
the posts on the Mississippi, but she would be
compelled. He added, that when the posts were
surrendered, it was probable that he would be
made governor of Natchez, and he should then,
perhaps, have it in his power to realize his politi-
cal projects.

SPANISH INTRIGUES. 221

<'Mr. Sebastian," continues Power, "held a dif-
ferent opinion. He said, if there is a war with
Spain, she will have nothing to fear from Ken-
tucky, and insinuated that it would be the readiest
way for Spain to accomplish a union with the
West ; inasmuch as it would coerce Kentucky into
taking an open part against the Atlantic states."

Power's own opinion was that only three mo-
tives would be able to impel Kentucky to break
the confederation of the states. A w^ar with the
French republic ; a prohibition to navigate the
Mississippi ; and an incapacity on the part of
the state to pay its share of the common duties.

The intention of Power had been to return
from Detroit by way of Louisville, but Wilkinson
induced him to take a route through the unset-
tled country of the Miami of the lake, and thence
by way of Fort Massac to New Madrid. Wil-
kinson, intimating that Power was a messenger
charged with an answer to despatches received
by himself as commander of the American army,
placed the agent under care of Captain Shaum-
bergh, and an escort of United States troops,
who had orders to proceed to Fort Massac by
the nearest and shortest route.

When he arrived at the latter post, Power re-
ceived from Sebastian the letter of Innis and
Nicholas, and then sailed down the Mississippi
to report to Carondelet the ill success of his
mission.

19*

222 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY.

The particulars of this transaction remained
unknown till 1806, when they were divulged, and
the public then learned for the first time that
Sebastian had been receiving an annual pension
of two thousand dollars from the year 1795 up
to the period his treasonable conduct was ex-

On the 4th of March, 1797, Mr. Adams had
succeeded General Washington as President of
the United States ; but with the people of Ken-
tucky he was even less a favourite than his illus-
trious predecessor. The administration of Wash-
ington had always been unpopular in the border
state, but that of Adams was denounced with a
fierceness and virulence which can only be pal-
liated by referring it to the exasperated state of
party feeling, as it existed at that time.

During the session of the legislature, the pro-
priety of calling a convention to revise the old
constitution was debated with great animation.
The object of the proposed revision was to bring
the election of the governor and senate more
under the control of the popular vote, and to
change the law regulating the election of sherifis.
As it was necessary to consult the wishes of the
people in regard to the proposed change, a poll
was opened in May, 1797, when it was found
that out of nine thousand eight hundred and
fourteen votes, regularly returned, five thousand
four hundred and forty-six were in favour of a

CONVENTION CALLED. 223

convention ; but as five counties did not return
the whole number of their votes, the result was
considered doubtful. Another election was, there-
fore, ordered, which took place in May, 1798,
when out of eleven thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three votes returned, nearly nine thou-
sand called for a convention. Even at this
election, the actual indifference of the people
to any agitation of the subject may be in-
ferred from the fact that ten counties failed to
return the whole number of their votes, and
eight counties declined voting at all. The con-
vention, however, was called by the succeeding
legislature, under the impression that such was
the true desire of their constituents.

224 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER XVII.

Garrard elected Governor of Kentucky — Denounces the alien
and sedition laws — Nullification resolutions written by Jeffer-
son— Endorsed by Kentucky — Denounced by other states —
Creation of new counties in Kentucky — Education promoted
— Various academies established — Appropriations of land for
their support — Meeting of convention — New constitution
adopted — Garrard re-elected governor — An attempt made to
encourage manufactures — Election of Jefferson — Navigation
of the Mississippi interrupted — Louisiana ceded to France —
Excitement in Kentucky — Letter of Jefferson to Livingston
— Monroe sent to Paris — Purchase of Louisiana — Claiborne
takes possession of New Orleans — Greenup elected Gover-
nor of Kentuckj^ — Re-election of Jefferson — Kentucky militia
discharged.

In his address to the legislature, which met in
November, 1798, Governor Garrard, the suc-
cessor of Shelby, denounced as unconstitutional
and dangerous to public liberty the acts recently
passed by Congress, and commonly known as the
alien and sedition laws.

Under the influence of the fierce party spirit
then unhappily prevalent, a great deal of cen-
sure had been cast on these acts, the first of
which gave the President of the United States
control over suspected aliens, while the object
of the other was to suppress libels against the
government, the president, or either branch of
the legislature, and to put down combinations
of seditious persons.

NULLIFICATION RESOLUTIONS. 225

To these acts, as the leader of the ultra Demo-
cratic party, Mr. Jefferson was bitterly opposed.
He therefore drew up a series of resolutions,
which were presented to the house by John
Breckenridge, the representative from Fayette,
and almost unanimously adopted.

The object being to define the powers of the
general government, and the rights and privi-
leges of the states, the first resolution declared —

" That the several states composing the United
States of America are not united on the princi-
ple of unlimited submission to the general go-
vernment ; but, that by compact under the style
and title of a constitution for the United States,
and of amendments thereto, they constituted a
general government for special purposes, dele-
gated to that government certain definite powers,
reserving, each state to itself, the residuary mass
of right to their own self-government ; and, that
whensoever the general government assumes un-
delegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative,
void, and of no force ; that to this compact each
state acceded, as a state, and is an integral party;
its co-states forming as to itself the other party :
that the government created by this compact was
not made the exclusive or final judge of the ex-
tent of the powers delegated to itself; since that
would have made its discretion, and not the con-
stitution, the measure of its powers ; but that, as
in all other cases of compact among parties hav-

226 HISTOEY OF KENTUCKY,

ing no common judge, each party has an equal
right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as
of the mode and measure of redress."

Enough is shown in the above resolution to
prove that the doctrine of nullification is not of
recent origin ; and that South Carolina, who has
subsequently most sturdily supported the princi-
ples enunciated above, can point to Thomas Jef-
ferson and Kentucky as the first to distinctly
avow them. Subsequent reflection and a cooler
and more impartial condition of the public mind
has caused, not only Kentucky, but most of the
other states of the Union, to reject a doctrine,
which, if carried practically into operation, would
not only clog the machinery of the general go-
vernment, but break up the confederation into
petty state sovereignties.

A copy of the resolutions adopted by the legis-
lature of Kentucky was ordered to be sent to
each state in the Union ; but Virginia was the
only one that assented to them. Some of the
other states censured the Kentucky doctrine
■with great severity ; even Kentucky herself, at a
later day, repudiated it quite as unanimously as
she had once, in the heat of party spirit, con-
sented to let it go forth to the world under the
sanction of her name.

The rapidity with which the population of the
state increased may be inferred from the fact,
that although, during the year 1796, six new

EDUCATION ENCOURAGED. 227

counties had been erected, under the respective
names of Bullitt, Logan, Montgomery, Bracken,
Warren, and Garrard, it was found necessary in
1798 to augment the number by an addition of
eleven others, which were called Pulaski, Pendle-
ton, Livingston, Henry, Cumberland, Gallatin,
Muhlenberg, Ohio, Jessamine, Barron, and Hen-
derson. The greater number of these latter were
in that section of the state known as tlfe Green
River country, the settlers, of which had taken
up claims south of Green River, under the head-
right laws.

Nor were the means of education at this period
altogether neglected. The Winchester Academy
was established at this session ; and in compli-
ance with the joint request of the trustees of the
Transylvania Seminary and of the Kentucky
Academy, the two institutions were united upon
terms previously agreed to by the parties.

Twenty trustees were named, and the esta-
blishment was henceforth to take the name of
the Transylvania University. The seat of the
seminary was fixed at Lexington, but could be
removed by the board of trustees, two-thirds of
whom were required to concur in the measure.

The trustees were incorporated. They were
to exercise a control over the receipts and dis-
bursements, and possessed the right, by the con-
currence of a majority of their number, to re-
ceive poor boys, or youths of promising genius,

228 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

into the institution, whose education was to be
provided for by public donations, or from the
common fund.

The former laws of the two institutions, with
certain modifications, were to be the laws of the
university, until altered by the legislature.

The Bourbon Academy was also established
by an act of this session.

By another act more than twenty similar seats
of learning were likewise established, with corpo-
rate powers vested in trustees, a faculty of su-
perintendence, and all the necessary provisions
for efficient action.

This act, like one passed the preceding ses-
sion, granted six thousand acres of land to each
academy established by it. The location to be
fixed under the direction of trustees. A like
quantity of six thousand acres was also granted
for an academy in each county of the state, where
none had been established. The location of the
latter being given to the several county courts.

The convention which had been called by a
majority of both houses in the legislature met
at Frankfort, on the 22d of July, 1799, chose
Alexander Bulllit for president, Thomas Todd
for clerk, and adopted rules for its government.
By the 17th of August, the convention had suc-
ceeded in making a new constitution, which went
into operation on the 1st day of June, 1800.
James Garrard was re-elected governor, and

LEGISLATIVE PKOCEEDINGS. 229

Alexander Bullitt, lieutenant-governor. The
brief period in which the new constitution was
framed, and the unanimity with which it was
adopted, are remarkable when contrasted with the
protracted sessions which have since been held in
other states, for the purpose of remodelling simi-
lar instruments.

At the session of 1799, the new counties of
Breckenridge, Floyd, Knox, and Nicholas, were
created. Eighty-eight acts were passed, and the
receipts for the year in the public treasury
shown to be eleven thousand two hundred and
thirty-four pounds; which, with the balance of
the last year, made fifteen thousand three hun-
dred and sixty-four pounds. The expenditures
within the same period were about fourteen thou-
sand and seven hundred pounds.

By one of the acts of this session, an attempt
was made to encourage manufactures within the
state, by an appropriation of six thousand acres
of vacant land, south of Green River, for the use
and emolument of manufacturers of wool, cotton,
brass, or iron, who should settle on it, at the
rate of five families for each thousand acres, be-
fore the 1st of January, 1803, carry on their
trade in good faith, and pay forty dollars the
hundred acres in four equal annual instalments.
The act, however, was badly digested, and its
provisions being found impracticable, it expired
under its own limitations.

230 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

In the winter session of 1801, the act esta-
blishing district courts was repealed bj the legis-
lature of Kentucky, and the present circuit courts
erected in their stead. At the same session, an in-
surance company was chartered in Lexington. By
a clause which was not thoroughly understood by
the members who voted for it, or it would never
have been admitted^ banking powers were granted
to this company, who thus obtained the first bank
charter ever granted in Kentucky.

In relation to national affairs, — in which the
people of Kentucky, from their devotion to the
democratic candidate for president, took an inte-
rest far beyond that which they felt in their own
state appointments, — the news of the election of
Mr. Jejfferson over Mr. Adams was received with
the most unbounded expressions of satisfaction.

In the course of the year 1802, the interrup-
tion of the navigation of the Mississippi produced
great excitement in Kentucky. This interrup-
tion was effected by suspending the American
right of 'deposit at New Orleans, which under
the Spanish treaty had been granted for three
years, with a proviso that, if the privilege should
be withheld at the expiration of that time, some
other place of deposit near the mouth of the
river was to be granted. The latter provision
not being complied with, the treaty was undoubt-
edly violated, and western commerce most se-
riously crippled. So excited were the people of

PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA. 231

Kentucky upon the subject, that -wlien it became
known that Spain had ceded the territory of
Louisiana to France, it would have required a
very little additional misunderstanding to have
produced a state of war.

Jefferson immediately wrote to Livingston, at
that time American minister at Paris, directing
him to obtain, if possible, the immediate transfer
of Louisiana, or at least of the island of Orleans,
to the United States. In this letter he stated em-
phatically, that if the possession of Louisiana was
retained by France, it would completely reverse
all the political relations of the United States,
and form an epoch in their political course.
<■<■ There is one spot on the globe," continued
Jefferson, " the possessor of which is our natural
and habitual enemy. That spot is New Orleans."

This strong protest had its effect ; perhaps
also the motion which was made in the Senate of
the United States, to authorize the president to
seize New Orleans by force of arms, may have
had a tendency to accelerate the action of the
French government. The motion was not car-
ried, but Mr. Monroe was despatched to Paris
to arrange the difficulty with the first consul.

Livingston had opened a negotiation for the
purchase of New Orleans, and the adjacent tracts
on the Mississippi, before Monroe arrived. His
prospects of success were at first unpromising
enough; but the approach of a new European

•232 HISTOKY OF KENTUCKY.

war so impressed Napoleon with the necessity of
selling a territory which he could not by any pos-
sibility defend while the fleets of Great Britain
controlled the seas, that just before Monroe
reached Paris, Talleyrand had requested Living-
ston to make an oifer for the whole of Louisiana.
After a few conferences, Bonaparte agreed to
sell to the United States the entire territory of
Louisiana for the sum of fifteen millions of dol-
lars, and no time was lost in making the purchase.

On the 20th of December, 1803, William C.
Claiborne, governor of the Mississippi Territory,
descended to New Orleans and took formal pos-
session of the newly acquired territory in the
name of the United States.

In 1804, Christopher Greenup was elected
Governor of Kentucky. Mr. Jefferson was the
same year re-elected President of the United
States.

On the 4th of March, the governor of the
commonwealth formally, by proclamation, dis-
charged the militia, who, in expectation of making
a military descent upon New Orleans, had volun-
teered upon the service, with an alacrity which
showed how strongly the people of Kentucky
were moved upon a subject so vital to their com-
merce.

AARON BURR. 233

CHAPTER XYin.

Aaron Burr — Elected Vice President of the United States —
Loses the confidence of his party — Is nominated for Gover-
nor of New York — Defeated through the influence of Hamil-
ton— Kills Hamilton in a duel — Flees to South Carolina —
Keturns to Washington — Sets out for the West — His nomi-
nal projects — His association with Wilkinson — Becomes ac-
quainted with Blennerhasset — Actual project of Burr —
Reaches IVew Orleans — Returns overland to Kentucky— •
Spends the spring and summer in Philadelphia and Wash-
ington— Attempts to win over Eaton, Truxton, and Decatur
— His second journey to the West — Builds boats on the Mus-
kingum—Contracts for supplies and enlists volunteers —
Wilkinson at Natchitoches — Receives despatches from Burr
— Sends a messenger to the president — Orders New Orleans
to be strengthened — Proceeds to Natchez — Despatches a
second messenger to Washington — Writes to Claiborne and
the Governor of the Mississippi Territory — Reaches New Or-
leans— His measures at that place.

In the year 1801, Aaron Burr, a native of
New Jersey, a graduate of Princeton, a colonel
in the war of independence, and subsequently a
senator of the United States, was elected Yice
President of the Union. He was a man of the
most extraordinary talents, plausible, intriguing,
daringly ambitious, singularly polished in his
address, but of the lowest moral character.

Before the expiration of his term of office, he
had lost the confidence of his party, and while
Jefferson was unanimously nominated as a can-
didate for re-election to the presidency ; in the

234 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

selection of a candidate for vice president, Burr
•was set aside, and George Clinton nominated in
his stead.

Possessing yet some little political povrer in
New York, he was enabled to have himself
brought forward by his friends as an independ-
ent candidate for governor of that state, in op-
position to Chief Justice Lewis, the nominee of
the administration party.

Owing to the high character of Alexander
Hamilton, and the influence of his opinions upon
the active politicians of the state. Burr was de-
feated, and charging his discomfiture to the in-
strumentality of Hamilton, only waited a favour-
able opportunity for accomplishing a signal re-
venge.

Hamilton at this time was at the head of the
federal party, which, though shorn of its former
power, was yet large enough to offer formidable
opposition to any candidate whose fitness they
doubted, or whose opinions were at variance with
their own.

Sinking rapidly in the scale of political repu-
tation, and deeply involved in pecuniary liabili-
ties. Burr brooded over the failure of his latest
hope with a malignity, which, gathering strength
by nursing, at length impelled him to force his
antagonist into a duel. The result was such as
might have been expected. Hamilton was shot
down at the first fire, and to escape the indignant

burr's schemes. 235

outburst of public opinion, Burr fled to South
Carolina, and took refuge with his accomplished
and unfortunate daughter, who had married a
■wealthy planter of that region.

The seat of government having been removed
to the District of Columbia, Burr returned to
Washington and presided over the senate until
the expiration of his term of office ; and then
being unable to return to New York in conse-
quence of the officers of that state holding a war-
rant against him for the killing of Hamilton, he
turned his attention to a wider field of opera-
tions, and to bolder schemes of ambition.

At the close of the session of Congress in the
spring of 1805, Burr set out for the West. The
nominal objects for which this journey was prose-
cuted were variously stated. One was a specula-
tion for a canal around the falls of the Ohio,
which he had projected with Senator Dayton of
New Jersey, whose extensive purchase of mili-
tary land warrants had given him a large inte-
rest in the military bounty lands in that vicinity.

Burr had offered a share in this speculation to
GeneralWilkinson, who, besides being commander-
in-chief of the army in that quarter, had lately
been appointed governor of the new territory of
Louisiana. Burr and Wilkinson had long been
known to each other, and the former seems to
have reckoned confidently upon securing the co-
operation of his old military associate, with whom

236 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

he had carried on, at various times, a correspond-
ence in cipher, and whose civil and military posi-
tion promised to make him a very efficient agent
in the scheme to which all other projects were
intended finally to succumh.

Wilkinson, who about this time was getting
ready to embark at Pittsburgh to take possession
of his government in Louisiana, invited Burr to
descend the river in his company ; but as Burr's
own boat — the common ark or flat-boat of those
days — was already prepared to start, he pro-
ceeded on his voyage alone.

When nearly opposite Marietta, he stopped at
Blennerhasset's Island, and there, for the first
time, made the acquaintance of its enthusiastic
but visionary owner. This was Herman Blen-
nerhasset, an Irish gentleman, who, becoming
disgusted with the political condition of his own
country, had settled on an island in the Ohio, and
being possessed of a considerable fortune, gratified
his refined taste by erecting an elegant mansion
in the wilderness, and surrounding it with all those
luxurious accessories which had hitherto been un-
known beyond the mountains.

The beautiful and accomplished wife of Blen-
nerhasset was no less an enthusiast than himself;
and Burr, a master of all those arts which are
best calculated to elicit the admiration of women,
soon succeeded in attaching warmly to his cause

BLENNERHASSET. 237

two persons whose ambition had previously been
bounded by the limits of their own domain.

Working upon the ardent imagination of Blen-
nerhasset, Burr moulded him as easily to his pur-
poses as the potter the clay beneath his hands.
Both Blennerhasset and his wife devoted them-
selves, and all they possessed of wealth, to the
fortunes of the crafty and unscrupulous adventu-
rer, with an enthusiasm heated almost to fanati-
cism by the glowing prospects held out to them
in the future.

The project which Burr actually entertained
was one well adapted to enlist in his cause all
those who were dissatisfied with their present
condition of life, and such turbulent and restless
spirits as were ready for any enterprise which
promised to gratify their ambition, even though
it should be at the expense of common justice
and morality.

Well knowing how odious the Spanish name
had become to a great portion of the people of
the West and South, from the difiiculties which
had for so many years attended the navigation
of the Mississippi on the one hand, and from the
long existing territorial disputes on the other,
the scheme which Burr desired to perfect was to
organize a military force upon the Avestern waters,
descend the Mississippi, and wrest from Spain a
portion of her territory bounding on the Gulf of
Mexico. As the consummation of this act would

Z6iS HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

necessarily implicate the southwestern portion of
the United States, it was proposed to make New
Orleans the capital of the new empire, of which
Burr was to become the chief, but whether dic-
tator or president was left for the future to de-
cide.

When he quitted the hospitable mansion of
Blennerhasset, Burr resumed his voyage in his
own boat, and met Wilkinson at Fort Massac,
by whom he was provided with a barge, belong-
ing to one of the officers, and manned by a crew
of soldiers. Furnished with sufficient provision
for the voyage, and bearing letters of introduc-
tion from Wilkinson to gentlemen of New Or-
leans, he sailed for that city, which he reached
somewhere about the 25th of June, 1805.

The unpopularity of Governor Claiborne, and
the bitter feuds by which parties were divided in
that city, oflfered great encouragement to his pro-
jects. After a short stay in New Orleans, Burr
reascended the river to Natchez, travelled by land
to Nashville, where he was entertained for a week
by General Andrew Jackson, and after being
complimented with a public dinner, proceeded on •
horseback to Kentucky. He spent a few weeks
in the latter state, and then set out by land for
St. Louis, where he took up his residence with a
relation of his, who, at his special request, had
been appointed secretary to the new territory of
Louisiana.

Wilkinson's conduct. 239

It was not until he met him in St. Louis, that
Wilkinson, according to his own account, began
to entertain a suspicion of Burr's designs. The
manner of the subtle intriguer is represented as
having become altered and mysterious. He
threw out hints of a splendid enterprise, and
spoke of it cautiously, as favoured by the govern-
ment, but at the same time charged the govern-
ment itself with being imbecile, and insinuated
that the people of the West were ready for a re-
volt.

Wilkinson asserts that his own impressions of
danger to the confederation were such, that he
immediately wrote to his friend, the secretary of
the navy, advising him that some great move-
ment was contemplated by Burr, and cautioning
him to keep a strict watch. The aid-de-camp
of Wilkinson testified to having copied, and, as
he believed, transmitted such a letter through
the post to the secretary ; but as the latter could
not recollect having received any such docu-
ment, the important nature of which ought cer-
tainly to have impressed itself upon his mind, it
is a question of doubt whether the letter was ever
sent at all.

Passing through the Indiana territory. Burr
next made the acquaintance of Governor Harri-
son. Continuing his route eastward, he stopped
at Cincinnati, Chillicothe, and Marietta, returned
to Philadelphia toward the close of the year, and

240 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

spent the following spring and summer partly in
the latter city and partly in Washington.

During this period his movements were en-
veloped in a cloak of mystery. He resided in an
obscure street and received many visiters, all of
whom came to him on pretence of business, but
no two of whom were admitted into his presence
together.

While he remained in Washington he had fre-
quent interviews with Major Eaton, then recently
returned from his well-known adventures in Tri-
poli, to whom, warmed by the apparent willingness
which Eaton exhibited to enter into his views, he
divulged the whole extent of his projects.

Eaton, notwithstanding his relations with the
government were at that time of a delicate cha-
racter, waited on the president, and suggested
the appointment of Burr to a foreign mission,
intimating, at the same time, his belief that it
would be the means of preventing an insurrec-
tion or a revolution in the western country,
which would otherwise take place within eighteen
months.

The president, in reply, expressed his confi-
dence in the attachment of the western people to
the Union, and as no further questions were asked,
Eaton did not feel himself authorized to say any
more upon the subject.

Having remarked in his conversation with
Eaton, that if he could secure the marine corps

bukr's machinations. 241

— the only soldiers stationed at "Washington —
and gain over the naval commanders, Truxton,
Preble, Decatur, and others, he would overturn
the Congress, make away with the president, and
declare himself the protector of an energetic go-
vernment. Burr, in pursuance of this idea, next
sounded Commodore Truxton; but the latter,
although dissatisfied with the treatment he had
received, declined having any thing to do with
the conspiracy. Decatur and others also re-
fused to co-operate, and finding his prospects un-
favourable in the Middle States, Burr set ofi"
toward the close of the summer on a second
western journey.

As a cover to his designs, one of the first
things he did on reaching Kentucky was to pur-
chase of a Mr. Lynch, for a nominal considera-
tion of forty thousand dollars, of which a few
thousand were paid, an interest in a claim to a
large tract of land on the Washita River, under
a Spanish grant to the Baron de Bastrop. The
claims held by Edward Livingston of New Or-
leans to a portion of the above grant, had been
previously purchased by Burr.

In connection with Blennerhasset, Burr enter-
ed into a contract for building fifteen boats on
the Muskingum. He also made application to
John Smith, one of the senators from Ohio, for
the purchase of two gunboats, then building for
the government ; authority was given to a house

242 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY.

at Marietta for the purchase of provisions, a
kiln erected for drying corn on Blennerhasset's
Island, and a considerable number of young
men enlisted for an enterprise down the Missis-
sippi, the true nature of which was only myste-
riously hinted.

By this time "Wilkinson was at Natchitoches,
in command of the troops collected there to op-
pose the Spanish invasion. While at this post
he received various letters from Burr, to which
he sent replies ; but how far he committed him-
self to the conspiracy, has never been ascertained.
That he was tampered with to a considerable
extent, and that his replies were at least evasive,
does not admit of a doubt. A letter in cipher
from Senator Dayton, assuring Wilkinson that
he would certainly be deprived of his command
at the next session of Congress, determined the
course of the latter. He communicated the next
morning to Colonel Cushing, his second in com-
mand, the substance of Burr's letter, and express-
ed his determination to hasten to New Orleans and
defend that city against Burr, if he should ven-
ture to attack it. After extracting from young
Swartwout, the bearer of despatches from Burr,
all the information necessary to guide his future
proceedings, Wilkinson sent an express in hot
haste to the President of the United States,
stating the general outline of the scheme commu-
nicated to him by Swartwout, and then, having

MEASURES OF WILKINSON. 243

been joined by a body of militia from Mississippi,
advanced toward the Sabine.

Simultaneously with his letter to the president,
Wilkinson sent directions to the commanding
officer at New Orleans to put the place in the
best state of defence, and to attempt to get
possession of the park of artillery left by the
French government, lest it should fall into other
hands.

As there were difficulties at this time between
the United States and the Spanish government
on the subject of their respective boundary lines,
and as the troops of the two nations had been
called out to watch the motions of each other,
Wilkinson entered into a temporary arrangement
with the Spanish commander, making the Sa-
bine, for the time being, the line of demarcation
between the territories of the disputants.

His activity at this period was only equalled by
his alarm, as despatch after despatch was received
indicating the progressive steps of the revolu-
tionists. He wrote to Gushing to hasten the
march of the troops, he pressed the officer at
New Orleans to push forward his defences, and
sent him a reinforcement of men and artificers
to assist in the work. He proceeded to Natchez,
and despatched a second special messenger to
the president, declaring that the existence of the
conspiracy had been placed beyond all doubt,
and expressing the necessity of putting New

244 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Orleans under martial law, a step in which he
trusted to be sustained by the president.

Not content with taking these precautions,
Wilkinson warned Claiborne, the governor of
the Louisiana Territory, that his government
was menaced by a secret plot, and entreated
him to co-operate with the military commander
in measures of defence. At the same time he
made a requisition upon the acting governor
of the Mississippi Territdl'y for a reinforce-
ment of five hundred militia to proceed to New
Orleans.

In all these measures the activity and energy
of Wilkinson were undoubted ; but it still remains
a problem whether he intended to remain faith-
ful to the United States, or to throw himself into
the arms of Burr. When he wrote to the oflScer
at New Orleans, he neither expressed any anxiety
in relation to the safety of the place, nor gave
any reasons for his desire to have it immediately
strengthened. In his letter to Claiborne he ex-
pressly enjoined secrecy till he himself arrived ;
and when he made his demand upon the gover-
nor of the Mississippi Territory, as he declined
to specify the service in which the troops were
to be engaged, the governor refused to send them
at all.

His proceedings on reaching New Orleans are
less open to doubt. On the 9th of December,
1806, a meeting of the merchants was called,

Wilkinson's activity. 245

"before ■whom "Wilkinson and Claiborne made
an exposition of Burr's projects. The militia
and a squadron of gunboats and ketches upon
the river were placed at Wilkinson's disposal,
SwartAvout and several others were arrested, and
one of them, having obtained his release by a
■writ of habeas corpus, -was re-arrested by order
of Wilkinson, and ■with Swartwout sent a prisoner
by sea to Washington,

CHAPTER XTX.

Conflicting reports concerning the intentions of Burr — Ex-
posures made at Frankfort — Energetic conduct of Daviess —
His aflidavit against Burr — An examination ordered — Burr
attends the court — The case postponed — A new grand jury-
summoned — Second appearance of Burr — Absence of Gene-
ral Adair, the principal witness for the prosecution — The ex-
amination pressed — Acquittal of Burr — His false declaration
to Henry Clay — Action of the general government — Jeffer-
son sends an agent to Ohio — Disclosures by Blennerhasset —
Seizure of ten boats on the Muskingum — Tyler's flotilla — -
Burr proceeds to Nashville — Meets the volunteers at the
mouth of the Cumberland River — Descends the Mississippi to
New Madrid — Gains a knowledge of Wilkinson's revelations
— Encamps above Natchez — The militia called out by the
Governor of Mississippi Territor}^ — Burr surrenders himself
to the civil authorities — His boats searched — Charges against
Sebastian and Innis.

While these mysterious and alarming rumours
■were agitating the people of the lo^wer Mississippi,
Burr and his confederates in the western states
were actively engaged in perfecting their prepara-

246 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

tions for the attainment of the object they had
in view.

So various, however, and conflicting were the
reports concerning the intentions of the conspira-
tors, and so carefully had Burr shrouded the
whole scheme in mystery, that the developments
which were made in the newspapers of the day
tended more to confuse the public mind than to
enlighten it.

Almost simultaneously with Burr's second ap-
pearance in the western country, a series of
articles appeared in the Ohio Gazette, strongly
advocating the separation of the western states
from the Union. Of these articles Blennerhasset
was the nominal author, but the main arguments
were believed to have been furnished by Burr.
Articles of a similar, though less decided ten-
dency, appeared also in the CommonAvealth, a
democratic paper published at Pittsburgh.

A short time previous to this, a newspaper
called the Western World, which had been started
at Frankfort, Kentucky, published a series of
articles blending the present project of Burr with
the old intrigues of the Spanish party in that
state.

Sebastian, then a judge of the Supreme Court,
was boldly denounced as a pensioner of Spain,
and charges of a similar, though less sweeping
character, were also made against Senator Brown,
Judge Innis, and General Wilkinson.

Daviess's energetic conduct. 247

But although in these papers, which were
written by Colonel Humphrey Marshall, Burr
was proclaimed a traitor to his country, and his
whole scheme laid open, it was a long time be-
fore the leading politicians of Kentucky could be
brought to believe in his criminal designs.

One gentleman, however, rising above the in-
credulity of his party, kept a watchful eye on
Burr, and wrote several letters to the president
on the subject, but without receiving any specific
authority to act in the matter. This was Colonel
Joseph H. Daviess, the attorney for the United
States.

On the 5th of November, 1806, Daviess ap-
peared in open court before Judge Innis, and
made afiidavit to the effect, that he believed
Burr to be engaged in organizing a military ex-
pedition within the district, for the purpose of
descending the Mississippi and making war on
the provinces of Mexico. He concluded by
moving that process might issue to compel the
attendance of Burr before the court to answer
the charge. After taking two days for reflection,
Judge Innis refused to issue process, but directed
a grand jury to be impanelled to inquire into
the accusation, and witnesses to be summoned.

At the time Daviess made application in the
federal district court at Frankfort for the arrest
of Burr, the latter was in Lexington. In less
than four hours after the motion was made, he

Ms HISTOET OF KENTUCKY.

was in receipt of the tidings. He immediately
wrote to Innis that he would be in court in a day
or two, and confront his accuser.

When he reached Frankfort in company with
his counsel, Henry Clay and Colonel Allen, find-
ing the motion already overruled, he addressed
the judge, and demanded an immediate investi-
gation.

Daviess replied, by declaring his readiness to
proceed as soon as he could procure the attend-
ance of his witnesses, and with the consent of
Burr, the ensuing Wednesday was fixed upon by
the court for the investigation.

The immense sensation created by the afiidavit
of Daviess caused the court-room to be filled
on the day of trial with a large number of per-
sons ; but it was soon discovered that David
Eloyd, one of the principal witnesses relied upon
by the district attorney, and undoubtedly a parti-
san of Burr, had failed to make his appearance,
and Daviess was reluctantly compelled to ask a
postponement of the case.

Relying, upon the next occasion, less upon
Floyd as his principal witness than upon General
Adair, Daviess made application on the 25th of
November for a new grand jury, which was ac-
cordingly summoned to attend on the 2d of De-
cember following.

Shortly after Burr entered the court-room,
attended by his former counsel, the district at-

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST BURR. 249

torney rose, and -witli evident mortification, ex-
pressed himself unable to proceed, in consequence
' of the absence of General Adair, whose testimony
was of the first importance to the prosecution.
He therefore asked a postponement for a few
days, and that the grand jury should be kept
together until he could compel the attendance of
General Adair by attachment.

The counsel of Burr immediately objected to
the delay, and demanded that the business should
proceed at once. After a sharp and animated
debate, the court decided that the case must be
proceeded with, or the grand jury discharged.
In order to obtain the time he required for the
production of his witnesses, Daviess prepared an
indictment against General Adair, which was re-
turned by the jury, endorsed, "Not a true bill."
He then moved for an attachment against the
general, but the motion was refused by the court.
At the suggestion of Daviess, the court then ad-
journed until the following day.

Finding himself thus far baffled at every step
in his attempt to fasten the charge of criminality
upon Burr, the prosecuting attorney sought and
obtained a private interview with Judge Innis,
who, in answer to a question from Daviess, as to
whether he would have a right, as prosecutor,
to attend the grand jury in their room, examine
the witnesses, and give such explanations as
might be found necessary to connect and apply

250 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

their testimony, gave an opinion in the affirm-
ative.

Fully believing that Innis would sustain in
court the opinion which he had given unofficially,
Daviess determined to proceed with the examina-
tion with such witnesses as were present.

Accordingly, the next morning, as soon as the
judge had resumed his seat, the prosecuting at-
torney asked permission to attend the grand jury
in their room. This request was immediately
opposed by the counsel of Burr, who denied the
right of Daviess to examine the witnesses in the
manner proposed. After some argument. Judge
Innis remarked, that when he himself was at-
torney-general for the commonwealth, he had
never claimed or exercised any such privilege.

" Sir !" said Daviess, " you admitted I had the
right to do what I now propose."

«'Yes," replied the judge quickly, "but that
was out of court."

" True, sir," responded Daviess, " but this is
the first of my knowing you had two opinions
upon the subject, the one private and confidential,
the other public and official."

The only reply of Innis was to refuse the re-
quest, and the prosecuting attorney saw at once
that his cause was lost. It was worse than lost,
for as the witnesses in the grand jury room tes-
tified reluctantly, the little that could be gleaned
from them threw no light upon the design charged

ACQUITTAL OF BUER. 251

in the indictment, and on the 5th of the month
the grand jury came into court and ignored the
bill.

But this was not all : they presented at the
same time a written declaration, signed by the
whole of them, in which it was stated that there
had been nothing in the testimony received by
them which in the slightest degree criminated
the conduct of either Burr or Adair ; nor could
they, after all their inquiries and investigations
of the subject, find any thing improper or inju-
rious to the government of the United States de-
signed or contemplated by either of them.

This triumphant acquittal of Burr strength-
ened his cause wonderfully in Kentucky: It
was celebrated by a ball at Frankfort, which was
rendered the more imposing by the attendance
of many prominent men.

The friends of Daviess, though fewer in number,
did not fail to sympathize with him in his defeat,
and as an evidence of their belief in the truth of
the charges he had preferred, got up a similar
entertainment in his honour. At one of these
assemblies the editor of the Western World was
attacked by some of the friends of Judge Innis,
with the view of expelling him from the room, but
he resisted until he was rescued by others.

In justice to Mr. Clay, it must be stated, that
before he agreed to act as the counsel of Burr,
he demanded of him an explicit avowal, upon his

252 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

honour, that he was not engaged in any de-
sign contrary to the laws and peace of the
country.

Burr gave the required pledge in the most
emphatic manner. He said, <« He had no design
to intermeddle with or disturb the tranquillity of
the United States, nor its territories, nor any
part of them. He had neither issued, nor signed,
nor promised a commission to any person, for
any purpose. He did not own a single musket,
nor bayonet, nor any single article of military
stores, nor did any other person for him, by his^
authority or knowledge." He further added that
his views were well understood and approved by
the government, and were such as every man of
honour and every good citizen must commend.

The reckless disregard of all moral principle
evinced by Burr in this avowal, which he well
knew to be utterly false, is only paralleled by th^
daring with which he confronted the exposure of
his schemes.

At this very time, all his long and laboriously
digested plans were in the act of being scattered
to the winds. The communications of Wilkinson,
the statements of Eaton, and the letters of Da-
viess, had, as early as October, stimulated Jef-
ferson to commission Graham, the secretary of
the Orleans Territory, then about to leave Wash-
ington, to investigate, on his way South, the
charges against Burr, and if they appeared well

burr's designs defeated. 253

founded, to apply to the governors of the west-
ern states to take steps to cut short his career.

On the 27th of November, two days after he
had received Wilkinson's despatches from Nat-
chitoches, the president issued a proclamation de-
nouncing the project of Burr, warning all good
citizens against it, and calling upon those in au-
thority to exert themselves in suppressing the
enterprise and arresting all concerned in it.

Previous to this, Graham had met with Blen-
nerhasset at Marietta, and obtained from him
such intelligence concerning the enterprise as
warranted an immediate application to the Gover-
nor of Ohio for authority to seize the boats on
the Muskingum, then nearly completed.

The legislature of Ohio, which was then in
session, after debating the question with closed
doors, promptly authorized the seizure to be made.

During the same week that Burr was feasted
and caressed at Frankfort, as an innocent and
much-injured man, ten of his boats, laden with
provisions and warlike stores, were captured on
the Muskingum.

Five other boats, filled with volunteers from
the neighbourhood of Beaver, reached Blenner-
hasset's Island about the 10th of December.
This flotilla was commanded by Colonel Tyler,
who took possession of the island and posted
sentinels to prevent any communication with the
river banks. He had scarcely done so, before

254 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Blennerhasset received information of the seizure
of his boats on the Muskingum, and the approach
of the militia ordered out by the Governor of
Ohio. Hastily abandoning the place, he embarked
in the boats of Tyler, and with a few of his fol-
lowers descended the river, passed the falls of
the Ohio about the 20th of the month, and reach-
ed the point of rendezvous, the mouth of the
Cumberland River, two days afterward.

Leaving Frankfort on the 7th of December,
Burr hastened to Nashville. From the latter
place he descended the Cumberland with two
boats, and on an island at its mouth was intro-
duced to such of his adherents as yet clung to
his desperate fortunes. Desertion had already
thinned their ranks to less than two hundred men.

Breaking up his encampment at this place,
Burr proceeded to New Madrid, gathering slen-
der reinforcements as he went along. Bitterly
disappointed at finding his schemes thus suddenly
baffled at the very moment of fruition, the last
hope of Burr rested upon the city of New Or-
leans and the surrounding territory. Bayou
Peirre was named as a point of reunion ; and the
party dispersed.

When he reached the first settlement on the
left bank of the Mississippi, Burr became ac-
quainted with the revelations made by Wilkinson,
and foreseeing at once the danger of an arrest,
he ordered his boats to withdraw from the juris-

SURRENDER OF BURR. 255

diction of the Mississippi Territory. An en-
campment was accordingly formed some thirty
miles above Natchez, and a piece of ground clear-
ed on which to exercise the men.

Even here, he soon found himself equally in-
secure. The president's proclamation having
already reached the Mississippi Territory, the
acting governor at once raised a body of four
hundred militia for the purpose of arresting Burr.

While those troops were collecting on the op-
posite side of the river, several militia officers
were sent to Burr to induce him to submit.
After some little delay, a written agreement was
entered into, which resulted in an unconditional
surrender to the civil authorities.

Previous to this, however, the chests of arms
on board the boats were thrown secretly into the
creek, so that when a search took place none
were found in sufficient quantities to justify their
detention.

The subsequent history of Burr, his arrest and
acquittal, his wandering life, the extraordinai-y
sensation created throughout the country by his
trial at Richmond, his wanderings in Europe,
and his death in extreme old age at New York,
belong rather to the history of the United States,
than to any single member of the confederation.

The authentication of Burr's conspiracy by
the government agent, Graham, created an im-
mediate and violent reaction in the minds of the

"\256 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

heople of Kentucky. The legislature, tlien in
session, immediately passed an act similar to
that of Ohio, and under it some seizures were
made. An examination of the charges preferred
against Judge Sebastian was ordered and pres-
sed with so .much determination that, notwith-
standing the opposition of many whose interest
it was that the affair should remain concealed,
the whole of his mysterious intrigues with Spain
were exposed, and conclusive evidence brought
forward to prove his receipt of an annual pension
of two thousand dollars from the court of Madrid
up to the period of his trial. Sebastian, finding
all other efforts vain, attempted to stifle the in-
quiry by resigning his seat upon the bench, but
the legislature persevered until a thorough in-
vestigation had taken place. Judge Innis, the
principal witness against Sebastian, was also be-
lieved to be deeply implicated, and as he held oflBce
under the general government, a resolution was
passed at the succeeding session requesting Con-
gress to order an inquiry into his conduct. It
was accordingly instituted soon after and resulted
in his acquittal.

WAR IN EUROPE. 257

CHAPTER XX.

Critical foreign relations with the United States — Berlin decrees
— Restraint upon commercial enterprise — Attack upon the
Chesapeake — Great excitement throughout the Union —
Embargo — One hundred thousand militia called for— Reso-
lutions passed in Kentucky — Declaration of war — Indian
difficulties — Tecumseh — His attempts to form a confedera-
tion of the tribes — Assembling of warriors at Tippecanoe —
March of Harrison — Battle of Tippecanoe — Death of Joseph
H. Daviess — Return of Tecumseh — His interview with Har-
rison— Hull appointed to command the northwestern army
— Invades Canada — Returns — General Brock summons De-
troit— Surrender of Hull — Indignation of the states— Volun-
teers from Kentucky — Hopkins marches against the Illinois
Indians — Is deserted by his men — A second northwestern
army organized — Harrison commissioned a brigadier-general
— Appointed commander-in-chief.

The war which had been so long raging on
the continent of Europe, was now to have its
effect upon the foreign relations of the United
States. In order to counteract the naval su-
premacy of Great Britain, Bonaparte, after hum-
bling the power of Austria, dissolving the German
empire, and overturning by a single blow the
kingdom of Prussia, issued from the battle-field
of Jena, on the 21st of November, 1806, his fa-
mous Berlin decree.

By this decree all the British islands were de-
clared in a state of blockade, and all trade in
English merchandize was forbidden. The neu-
trality of a nation was not respected, and Ameri-

258 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

can vessels bearing British merchandize, were
held as much liable to seizure as the ships of
Frenchmen or belligerents, engaged in the same
trade.

The effect upon the United States was to raise
the rate of marine insurance to such a ruinous
height as to put a stop almost entirely to com-
mercial enterprises. Something, however, was
hoped from a remonstrance made by the Ameri-
can ambassador at Paris to the French minister
of marine, but the reply of the latter was found
to be by no means satisfactory.

One indication of a favourable change in the
aspect of affairs yet remained. In his message
to Congress, the president communicated the in-
formation that Monroe and Pinkney, had agreed
upon the terms of a treaty with Great Britain,
by which the disputed points of neutral rights
would in all probability be adjusted. DiflEiculties
arising soon after, in relation to the right of im-
pressment, prevented the negotiation from ending
so happily as it had begun, and, in all probability,
increased the series of annoyances which at length
resulted in a declaration of war.

The attack upon the Chesapeake, off the capes
of Virginia, by the English frigate Leopard, by
which several lives were lost and a number of
seamen wounded, created the greatest excitement
throughout the Union.

On the 2d of July, 1807, an embargo was de-

LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 259

clared, closing the ports of the United States
against British vessels. One hundred thousand
militia were ordered to hold themselves in readi-
ness for service, but without pay ; and volunteers
were invited to enroll themselves.

The great distress experienced by the com-
mercial states in consequence of the embargo, led
to its suspension at the ensuing session of Con-
gress, until July, 1808, when it again went into
operation. In March, 1809, a different mode of
defence was resorted to. An act prohibiting all
intercourse with Great Britain, France, and their
dependencies, was passed by Congress. In re-
taliation, Bonaparte issued another decree, by
which a vast amount of property belonging to
the citizens of the United States was seized in
the ports of Spain, Naples, and Holland, and
confiscated to the use of the French treasury.

In 1808, Madison succeeded Jefferson as Presi-
dent of the United States, and during the same
year Charles Scott was chosen Governor of Ken-
tucky.

At the previous session of the legislature, a
charter had been granted to the bank of Ken-
tucky, with a capital of one million of dollars.
One of the first acts of the session of 1808 was
to pass, almost unanimously, u series of resolu-
tions offered by Henry Clay, which strongly in-
dicate the warlike feeling pervading the state at
that time.

260 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

In these resolutions it was declared, " that
the embargo Avas a measure highly judicious, and
the only honourable expedient to avoid war :
that the general assembly of Kentucky would
view with the utmost horror a proposition in any
shape to submit to the tributary exactions of
Great Britain, as attempted to be enforced by
her orders in council, or to acquiesce in the viola-
tion of neutral rights as menaced by the French
decrees ; and they pledge themselves to the gene-
ral government, to spend, if necessary, the last
shilling, and to exhaust the last drop of blood, in
resisting these aggressions."

The voice of the people promptly responded to
the sentiments expressed by their representatives.
Great numbers of volunteers immediately enrolled
themselves ; articles of foreign fabrication, espe-
cially in respect to wearing apparel, were dis-
carded, and substituted almost universally by
clothing of domestic manufacture.

The breach between the government of the
United States and that of Great Britain daily
became wider ; the people grew clamorous for
an immediate resort to arms ; and at length, not-
withstanding the strenuous opposition of the east-
ern states. Congress, on the 18th of June, 1812,
issued a formal declaration of war.

The augmenting prospect of a war between Eng-
land and the United States had long been viewed
with satisfaction by many of the Indian tribes.

TECUMSEfl. 261

Receding, year by year, before the advancing
footsteps of the whites, the necessity of self-pre-
servation gradually forced upon their minds the
project of a fixed boundary line, within which
limit they might enjoy the freedom of their own
hunting-grounds.

Notwithstanding the treaty of Greenville, and
the extension of white settlements far beyond the
Ohio, the idea of limiting the Anglo-Saxon popu-
lation to the banks of the latter river was still
entertained by a large proportion of the Indians.
Among those chiefs who exerted their influence
in support of this favourite but visionary project,
none rose to such renown as the celebrated Te-
cumseh. The born foe of the whites, he declared
" he could not look upon one of them without
feeling the flesh crawl upon his bones." Ardent,
energetic, and resolute, he devoted his whole life
to the service of his people. From his boyhood
up he took part in every battle in which it was
possible to be present, and when he found, from
the continually increasing numbers of his foes,
that nothing was to be gained by desultory war-
fare, he undertook the herculean task of uniting
all the tribes, hitherto at variance with each
other, into one friendly league of brotherhood in
arms against the common enemy. Calling to his
aid the mysterious powers with T^ich the Indians
supposed his brother the Prophet to be invested,
he visited the various tribes from Michigan to

262 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Florida, making prophets in all the chief towns,
and gaining numerous proselytes to his cause.
Upon such as declined to embrace his projects,
he hurled the most withering denunciations;
while, to his adherents, he promised exemption
from wounds in battle, and a certain success to
their efforts.

On several occasions previous to his last and
most important journey to the South, Tecumseh
visited General Harrison, then Indian agent and
governor of Indiana, and claimed the lands
which had been ceded by the treaty of Green-
ville, on the plea that " they belonged to all the
tribes, and could not be parted with but by the
consent of all."

During the month of July, 1811, he again
made his appearance at Yincennes, accompanied
by about four hundred warriors. He apologized
for several murders that had been committed by
the Indians, and informed General Harrison that
he had succeeded in inducing all the western tribes
to place themselves under his direction, and that
as soon as he had established a complete con-
federacy, it was his intention to visit the presi-
dent and settle all difficulties.

It was shortly after this, that, taking with him
a few followers only, he proceeded on his south-
ern mission. "\?hile he was absent, the Prophet's
town at Tippecanoe became the scene of the
wildest excesses. "Warriors flocked in from all

Harrison's movements. 263

parts of the country, until they increased in
numbers to a thousand men. Horrible incanta-
tions were frequently practised, warlike ha-
rangues roused the faint-hearted and inspired the
strong. Lawless and bold, they broke out into
excesses which the Prophet was unable to control,
and at length precipitated the war before Te-
cumseh returned, and while his vast and compre-
hensive plan of general hostilities was as yet
imperfectly organized.

After receiving numerous reports of outrages
eomniitted by these reckless savages, Governor
Harrison moved toward the Prophet's town, and
on the 5th of November encamped on a small
creek, about eleven miles from the point of his
destination. His whole eifective force, which
numbered somewhere near nine hundred men,
was composed of two hundred and fifty regulars,
a large body of militia, and one hundred and
thirty volunteers, many of whom were from Ken-
tucky, and among them, acting as major of dra-
goons, the former district attorney, the brave
and chivalrous Joseph H. Daviess.

During the march, which was resumed the
following morning, parties of Indians were con-
stantly seen hovering at a distance, but all at-
tempts to open communication with them proved
ineffectual.

About a mile and half from the town, Harrison
determined to encamp, and to endeavour once

264 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

more to obtain a conference with the Prophet.
The hostile manifestations in front, joined to the
advice of his oflScers, induced him to continue
his march. After advancing a short distance,
he was met by a deputation of three Indians,
with whom a suspension of hostilities was agreed
upon until the next day.

The army then moved to a dry piece of oak-
land, about three-quarters of a mile from the
Prophet's town, and there encamped for the
night.

The order of encampment was the order of
battle, and each man slept immediately opposite
his post in the line. On the morning of the 7th,
a little after four o'clock, and within two minutes
of the usual signal being given for the troops to
turn out, a sudden attack was commenced by the
Indians upon the left flank of the camp. They
had crept up so near the sentinels as to hear
them challenge when relieved, and had intended
to rush in upon them and kill them before they
had time to fire. One of them, however, dis-
covered an Indian creeping toward him in the
grass, and fired. It was followed by an Indian
war-whoop and a desperate charge. The whole
army was instantly on its feet. The camp-fires
were extinguished. The general mounted his
horse and proceeded to the point attacked. Some
of the companies took their places in the line
in forty seconds after the report of the first gun ;

BATTLE OP TIPPECANOE. 265

and all the troops were prepared for action in less
than two minutes. The battle immediately became
general, and was maintained on both sides with
desperate valour. Observing that the left of the
front line was sustaining a severe fire from a
large bodj of Indians posted behind trees, Major
Daviess was ordered to charge at the head of
his dragoons, and dislodge them. Dashing for-
ward at once with a mere handful of his men,
Daviess was met by a fierce attack on both of
his flanks, by which the major himself received a
mortal wound, and his party were driven back.
The Indians, however, were immediately after-
ward dislodged by Captain Snelling at the point
of the bayonet.

Notwithstanding this repulse, the conflict was
continued in front and on both flanks with un-
abated fury until near daylight, when the Indians
were routed by the infantry at the point of the
bayonet, and being closely followed by the dra-
goons were driven into a marsh and entirely dis-
persed.

The destruction of the Prophet's town, and the
corn in its vicinity, took place the day after the
battle. On the 9th, the victorious army com-
menced its march to Vincennes.

A few days after this disastrous battle, Tecum-
seh returned from the South, and hurled the bit-
terest denunciations upon the head of his brother
for the rashness by which he had annihilated, in

23

266 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

a few hours, plans "which had been laboriously
maturing for years.

To Governor Harrison, Tecumseh sent word he
had returned from the South, and was ready to
visit Washington. The reply of Harrison being
unsatisfactory to the haughty chieftain, the jour-
ney was not undertaken.

It was not until the month of June, 1812, that
he sought a personal interview with the governor.
At this, his last conference, he reproached Har-
rison with having made war upon his people dur-
ing his absence, and after scarcely deigning to
listen to the reply, he left Fort Wayne and has-
tened to Maiden, in Upper Canada, where he
he joined the British standard.

For some time after the declaration of war be-
tween the United States and Great Britain, the
Americans sustained only a succession of defeats.
General Hull, who had been appointed by Madi-
son to the command of the northwestern army,
crossed the river from Detroit and invaded Up-
per Canada. After marching a few miles down
the river and threatening Fort Maiden, he be-
came disheartened at a trifling resistance offered
by a British outpost, and fell back to Sandwich,
where he remained, comparatively inactive, until
the 8th of August, when he evacuated Canada,
and again occupied Detroit.

On the 15th of August, General Brock, com-
mander of the British forces in Upper Canada,

HULL'S SURRENDER. 267

after capturing a small American garrison at
Mackinaw, reached Sandwich, opposite Detroit,
and summoned Hull to surrender. The answer
of Hull was a refusal, and the batteries of the
British were immediately opened. On the 16th,
under' cover of their ships, they landed on the
American shore a little below the town, and ad-
vanced, in a close column of twelve deep, to the
assault of the fort.

While all was hushed expectation among the
militia who were posted in the town, and the
garrison at the fort, — at a time when there was
neither wavering nor irresolution to be discovered
among any of the defenders, nothing but hope
and high determination, — an order was issued
from the commanding general not to fire, the
troops were directed to withdraw into the fort and
stack their arms, and a white flag, in token of
surrender, was hoisted upon the walls.

By this disgraceful and humiliating act, not
only was the deceived and indignant army of
Hull made prisoners of war, but the territory of
Michigan fell into the uncontrolled possession of
the British conqueror, and with it the command
of those Indian tribes, whose aggressions, up to
this period, the Americans had been able for the
most part to restrain.

The surrender of Hull was received through-
out the Union with one universal burst of exe-
cration. Kentucky had already offered the ser-

268 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

vices of seven thousand volunteers to the govern-
ment, fifteen hundred of whom were on their
march to Detroit, when the tidings reached them
that the city and fort were in possession of the
British oflBcers.

Ardently desirous of being actively engaged,
two thousand volunteers responded to the call of
the governor, and marched against the Indian vil-
lages of Illinois. Becoming uneasy at the scar-
city of their provisions, and broken down by the
hardships they encountered on their march, they
at length grew restless and insubordinate. After
wandering across the prairies for several days to
no purpose, they refused to proceed any farther,
and turning a deaf ear to the remonstrances of
their officers, they broke up their array, and pro-
ceeded to their homes.

PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN. 269

CHAPTER XXI.

Plan of the fall campaign of 1812 — Harrison appointed com-
mander of the northwestern army — ^Winchester marches
from Fort Wayne — Difficulties of the route — Deplorable
condition of the troops — Winchester halts at the Rapids —
The enemy approach Frenchtown — A detachment of Ken-
tuckians under Colonel Lewis sent against them — Proctor
advances from Maiden — Battle of the River Raisin — Surren-
der of the Americans — Inhuman massacre — Reception of the
news in Kentucky — Four regiments of volunteers raised —
Harrison builds Fort Meigs — Is reinforced from Kentucky —
Siege of Fort Meigs by Proctor — Advance of General Clay —
Colonel Dudley destroys a part of the British batteries — His
detachment surrounded by British and Indians — Terrible
slaughter of the prisoners — Inhuman conduct of Proctor —
Tecumsen — His indignant reply to the British general.

The plan of the fall campaign of 1812, as it
emanated from the war office at Washington, was
to unite as many regulars as could be enrolled in
time, or detached from other service, to the large
force of militia from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken-
tucky, and Virginia, already assembled at Fort
Wayne, under their respective generals, and after
raising General Harrison to the chief command,
to direct his march at once upon Detroit. When
the capture of that town and fort was effected,
and the British expelled from the territory of
Michigan, another attempt was to be made to
penetrate into Canada, for the purpose of reduc-
ing Fort Maiden, the possession of the lattec

270 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

post by the Americans being of the utmost im-
portance, both from its proximity to Detroit, and
from the protection and encouragement it af-
forded to the Indian tribes of the northwest.

General Harrison proceeded at once to as-
sume command of the army. He reached Fort
Wayne on the 23d of September. Finding that
General Winchester had already marched with a
detachment of troops for Fort Defiance, with the
intention of proceeding to the Rapids, he rode
forward until he overtook the latter officer, and
after a brief conference returned to the settle-
ments for the purpose of putting in motion the
centre and right wing of the army.

Obstacles, however, of the most serious charac-
ter soon occurred to try the patience of the gene-
ral, and test but^ too severely the spirits of the
men. The difficulties in transporting supplies and
munitions of war over a route which in the rainy
season was but little better than a succession of
swamps and marshes, the deplorable condition of
the troops under the combined effects of hunger,
disease, and hardship, joined to the ill success of
two expeditions sent out against the British and
Indians encamped at the Rapids, infused a melan-
choly presentiment into the minds of many, and
dampened the ardour of all.

The 1st of January, 1813, found the right
wing of the army under Harrison at Upper San-
dusky ; while the left wing, under Winchester,

ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH. 271

still remained at Fort Defiance. The force of
the latter, amounting to nearly eight hundred
men, consisted principally of volunteers from
Kentucky, among whom were Colonels Allen and
Hardin, eminent lawyers ; Major Madison, audi-
tor of the state ; Colonels Scott and Lewis, and
many other gentlemen of equal wealth and re-
spectability.

Leaving Fort Defiance,, the left wing, under
Winchester, reached the Rapids on the 10th of
January, and were there halted until the forces
under Harrison should form a junction with
them.

On the 13th, however, a messenger brought
intelligence of the advance of two companies of
Canadian militia and two hundred Indians upon
Frenchtown on the river Raisin. Fearful of the
consequences to be apprehended from the ap-
proach of the enemy, the inhabitants anxiously
besought General Winchester to protect them.

Regardless of the fact that, notwithstanding
the comparatively small force at that time con-
centrating at Frenchtown, it was a position which
could receive in a few hours immense reinforce-
ments from Maiden, only eighteen miles distant,
with the lake firmly frozen between, the Ken-
tuckians, impelled by a spirit of humanity, in-
stantly requested permission to advance against
the enemy. With much reluctance General Win-
chester consented. The command of the detach-

272 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

ment, numbering about five hundred men, was
given to Colonel Lewis. The oflBcers immediately
subordinate to him were Colonel Allen, and
Majors Madison and Graves. The distance from
the rapids to Frenchtown was forty-eight miles,
which was accomplished by forced marches in
less than two days.

When the Kentuckians reached the vicinity of
the town, they were informed that the British
were already in possession of it. An immediate
attack was resolved upon, and after a spirited
conflict, ending in the complete rout of the enemy,
the victors encamped within the line of. pickets
from which the British had been driven.

This was on the evening of the 18th. Two
days after they were joined by General Win-
chester, with a reinforcement of two hundred
and fifty regulars under Colonel Wells.

Finding the volunteers had taken up a position
on the right of the enclosure, Wilkinson refused
to occupy the vacant space on the left of the line,
and from a too fastidious desire to preserve that
military etiquette which assigns to regulars the
post of honour, encamped his men on open ground
outside the pickets.

On the evening of the 21st, Winchester was
informed that General Proctor was making pre-
parations to march from Fort Maiden with a
large force ; but not anticipating the celerity with
which the British movements would be made, he

AMERICANS SURPRISED. 273

retired to his head-quarters at the house of
Colonel Navarre, distant nearly a mile from the
camp, intending on the following day to throw
up some defences for the protection of the ex-
posed portion of his troops.

But while the volunteers and regulars were
thus lulled into such a state of fatal security that
not even a single picket was thrown forward to
warn them of the approach of an enemy, Proctor,
at the head of the combined force of two thousand
British and Indians, was marching upon French-
town with equal speed and secrecy ; and on the
morning of the 23d of January, 1813, suddenly
assaulted the camp in two divisions. The regu-
lars under Proctor advanced at once toward the
line of pickets, while the Indians, under their
chiefs Round Head and Split Log, attacked the
regulars encamped on the open ground.

Under cover of a heavy cannonade from six
field-pieces, the British attempted to penetrate
the enclosure ; but were received by so deadly a
fire from the rifles of the Kentuckians, that after
sustaining a loss of one hundred and twenty men
in killed and wounded, they retreated in great
disorder, when the field-pieces were again man-
ned, and a heavy and destructive fire was directed
against the picketing.

During the time occupied by this fierce assault
and repulse, the Indians had taken possession of
some unoccupied houses within musket-shot of

274 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the right of the exposed regulars, and from these,
and other situations affording shelter to their
own persons, poured volley after volley upon the
helpless and bewildered troops.

In a few minutes the American regulars were
totally routed. While they were in full flight,
Winchester arrived, and endeavoured, but inef-
fectually, to rally them. Colonels Lewis and
Allen, with a body of brave Kentuckians, made
a sortie from the fort in the hope of saving the
small remnant of the troops from destruction.

The battle once more became general. Win-
chester and Lewis were taken prisoners by the
enemy, and Allen, Woolfolk, Simpson, and
Meade, all gentlemen of estimable character and
high standing in Kentucky, were killed. Of
those who had thus sallied from the picketing,
not a single Kentuckian returned, and of the
fugitives they so chivalrously endeavoured to suc-
cour, scarcely one escaped death or capture.

While this fearful conflict was being carried on
outside of the picketing, the volunteers within,
under the command of Majors Madison and
Graves, efi"ectually succeeded in maintaining their
position, and for four hours boldly resisted the
assaults of the British regulars and the heavy
cannonade by which they were supported.

This gallant but unequal contest was continued
until eleven o'clock, when, having but one keg
of cartridges remaining, and receiving from Proc-

FEROCIOUS MASSACRE. 275

tor the most positive assurances of protection,
they consented to surrender themselves prisoners
of war.

The loss of the Americans in this disastrous
battle, in killed, wounded, and missing, was three
hundred men ; and of the British and Indians,
about the same number.

Scarcely, however, had the surrender taken
place, before the infuriated savages, breaking
through all restraint, commenced the horrible
work of scalping, stripping, and mutilating the
dead. Such of the helpless wounded as yet lay
upon the field of battle were despatched with
tomahawks, in the presence of Proctor and other
British ofiicers, who were either unable, or un-
willing from motives of policy, to check the blood-
thirsty ferocity of their allies. The prisoners
who had passed through the battle unhurt found
safety in the British ranks. The wounded yet
remaining were intrusted to the charge of the
Indians, to be marched in the rear of the army
to Maiden. The consequences might have been,
and perhaps were, foreseen. Some were slaugh-
tered in mere wantonness ; others from a san-
guinary impulse of the moment. Those, also,
who sank by the wayside from exhaustion or
bodily weakness, were immediately despatched.
Very few of the number ever reached the British
garrison.

About sixty of the wounded volunteers, and

276 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

among them several of the principal oiEcers,
had obtained permission of Proctor to remain at
Frenchtown, and a promise was given that a
sufficient guard should be furnished for their pro-
tection, until they could be carried to Maiden
the next day upon sleds. 'No guard, however,
was left, and the Indians, re-entering the town,
tomahawked Major Graves and Captains Hart
and Hickman, together with a number of others.
After plundering the rest of the wounded of
their clothing, and of every article of value, they
consummated this act of fiendish barbarity by
setting fire to two houses filled with helpless
and mutilated men, and burning them to the
ground.

As soon as tidings of the massacre on the
shores of the river Raisin reached General Har-
rison at Sandusky, he despatched Doctor Ket-
chum to Maiden with a flag, and a sum of money,
to provide for the wants of the sick and wounded
prisoners.

In defiance of the humane nature of his mis-
sion, and the credentials Avhich he bore, the doc-
tor was robbed of the specie intrusted to his
care, grossly maltreated, taken first to Maiden,
and after suffering confinement in Quebec, and
several other Canadian forts, for a considerable
length of time, at length succeeded in obtaining
his liberation.

The terrible loss inflicted upon Kentucky by

FORT MEIGS. '277

the captivity or wanton murder of so many of
her bravest citizens, instead of depressing the
spirit of her people, roused them to the highest
pitch of excitement. Four regiments of volun-
teers immediately tendered their services, and
were formed into a brigade, the command of
which was given to General Clay. Governor
Shelby, who had succeeded Scott as chief magis-
trate of the state, was requested by the legislature
to take the field in person.

In the mean while, Harrison was lying at the
rapids, where he had built Fort Meigs, a strong
picketed work, with block-houses at the angles,
similar in many respects to the old border sta-
tions. As the time of the troops he had with
him was nearly expired, a part of the Kentucky
volunteers pushed forward by forced marches to
reinforce him, and on the 12th of April reached
Fort Meigs. The tardy movements of Proctor
enabled Harrison to strengthen his system of
defences as well as the means at his command
would permit.

Toward the close of the month, the British
gunboats ascended the Maumee River, and dis-
embarking their troops and siege artillery, pre-
pared to assault the fort both from above and
below.

Harrison had at this time in garrison about
twelve hundred troops, including regulars and
volunteers, and General Clay with an equal num-

278 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

ber, consisting of the main body of Kentucky
volunteers, was marching to his relief.

On the 1st of May, the British batteries open-
ed upon the fort with a heavy fire. Owing to
the scarcity of cannon-balls, it was responded to
but feebly on the part of the Americans, whose
main supply of twelve-pounders was derived
from the balls thrown into the enclosure by the
enemy.

Three days subsequent to the commencement
of the siege. General Clay reached Fort Defiance.
Two several attempts were immediately made to
inform Harrison of the approach of the brigade.
The first, which was undertaken with great gal-
lantry by Captain Leslie Combs, returned with-
out accomplishing the object of the mission.
Lieutenant Trimble was, however, more success-
ful.

Clay was immediately ordered by Harrison,
through Captain Hamilton, to land a detachment
of eight hundred men upon the northern shore
of the river, storm the batteries opposite to the
fort, spike the cannon, and after destroying the
carriages to re-embark at once and join the gar-
rison at Fort Meigs. The remainder of the bri-
gade was to force their way through the hordes
of outlying Indians, and form a junction with
the garrison as speedily as possible.

The command of the detachment which was
ordered to storm the batteries was given to

COLONEL DUDLEY. 279

Colonel Dudley, and if the orders of Harrison
had been perfectly understood, the task would
have been found of easy accomplishment, and the
danger to the men but very slight, inasmuch as
the main force of the British lay two miles below
the batteries, while their Indian allies were on
the other side of the river.

Not fully comprehending the precise directions
which had been sent, Colonel Dudley landed his
troops on the other side of the river, carried the
batteries with ease, spiked the cannon, and de-
stroyed the carriages ; but instead of imme-
diately taking to his boats and crossing over to
Fort Meigs, finding himself assaulted by a small
force of Canadians and Indians, he turned to
fight them, and when they were put to flight,
suffered his men to follow in pursuit.

The time lost in this desultory skirmish en-
abled Proctor to bring up a large body of his
troops from the camp below, surround the Ken-
tuckians, who were dispersed in the woods, and
cut off their retreat to their boats. The Indians
also, under Tecumseh, crossing over from the op-
posite shore in large numbers, swelled the force
of the enemy to such an overwhelming extent,
that of the eight hundred Kentuckians forming
the detachment under Dudley, six hundred and
fifty were either killed or taken prisoners.

The latter were taken down the river and hud-
dled together in a ruined fort, under a guard so

280 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

utterly inefficient for their protection, , that the
Indians were suffered to make their way among
the prisoners, and shoot, tomahawk, and scalp
them at their pleasure.

All this while, Proctor and other British offi-
cers stood at a distance, within view of the mas-
sacre, without attempting to control the bloody
excesses of the savages.

Fortunately for those who yet survived this
onslaught, Tecumseh galloped up at full speed,
sprang from his horse, and dashing into the midst
of his bloodthirsty warriors, interposed his own
person between them and the victims they had
devoted to destruction. When their safety was
accomplished, he sought out Proctor, and indig-
nantly demanded why he had not put a stop to
the massacre ?

" Sir," said Proctor, "your Indians cannot be
commanded." " Begone !" replied the chief con-
temptuously, "you are not fit to command. Go
and put on petticoats."

Almost simultaneously with this cruel slaugh-
ter, a detachment of Kentuckians sallied out from
Fort Meigs, in company with a party of regulars^
and attacked a battery on the southern shore
of the river. It was a spirited and brilliant little
affair and conducted with great courage, but with
a corresponding loss of men.

Well aware that the garrison had been rein-
forced, entertaining no hope of its speedy cap-

BRITISH ADVANTAGES. 281

ture, and becoming alarmed at the capture of
Fort George by General Dearborn, Proctor
abandoned the siege on the 9th of May, and re-
tired -with his forces toward Maiden.

CHAPTER XXII.

Great advantages possessed by the British — Perry ordered to
build vessels on the shore of Lake Erie — Extraordinary ac-
tivity and despatch — Proctor assaults Fort Stephenson —
Croghan's noble defence — Perry's victory on Lake Erie^ — ■
Harrison advances into Canada — Proctor retreats toward the
Moravian towns — Battle of the Thames — Surrender of the
regulars and flight of Proctor — Desperate conflict with the
Indians — Colonel Johnson severely wounded — Tecumseh
killed — The British forces under Packenham threaten New
Orleans — Vanguard of the enemy bivouac on the Missis-
sippi— Night attack by Jackson and Coffee, supported by the
schooner Caroline — Arrival of Packenham — His tardy move-
ments— Activity of Jackson — Kentucky reinforcement ar-
rives— Battle of the 8th of January — Terrible slaughter of
the enemy — Death of Packenham — Retreat of the enemy.

Hitherto the war on the frontiers of Canada
had been peculiarly disastrous to the American
arms. One cause of this was, undoubtedly, the
entire control which the enemy possessed over
the navigation of Lake Erie. It gave the British
general the important advantage of landing his
troops with ease upon any point along the shores
of the lake, and of moving his provisions and
material of war with equal ease and absence of

282 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY.

fatigue ; and if discomfited, it enabled him to re-
tire into Canada without fear of being pursued.

The Americans, on the other hand, were com-
pelled to bring their reinforcements and supplies
through nearly two hundred miles of a wild and
difficult country, and to occupy isolated posts,
where even small losses were of consequence, and
large ones required months of energetic activity
to repair.

To counteract the superiority which the enemy
had acquired by holding undisputed command of
the lake, a number of small vessels were ordered
to be built upon the shores of the lake, the su-
perintendence and equipment of which were in-
trusted to Lieutenant Perry, who was also autho-
rized to assume command of the fleet as soon as
it was ready for service. So rapidly were the
orders from the navy department prosecuted,
and so efficient were the officers and men detach-
ed upon this service, that two brigs and seven
smaller vessels, of which the timber was growing
in the forest in the month of June, 1813, were
built and ready for a cruise by the 1st of August
following ; and three days afterward, Perry set
sail in search of the enemy.

In the midst of these naval preparations, Proc-
tor, who had remained at Maiden until his force
was reorganized, made a second attempt to cap-
ture Fort Meigs ; but being foiled in his object
he drew off his troops, and with his Indian auxi-

FOET STEPHENSOIT. 283

liaries sailed for Fort Stephenson, a small pick-
eted stockade built at Upper Sandusky the year
previous.

The garrison at this place consisted of one
hundred and sixty men. They -were commanded
by Major Croghan of Kentucky, at that time a
young man whose age did not exceed twenty-one
years. The whole artillery of the fort was a
single six-pounder.

Believing the place to be utterly untenable,
Harrison directed Croghan to abandon it, and
retreat upon the main army. Fearful that his
note would fall into the hands of the Indians,
Croghan sent an answer in return " that he was
determined to defend the place at all hazards."
He was immediately put under arrest for disobe-
dience of orders ; but on an explanation taking
place, was reinstated in his command, with the
understanding that he was to evacuate the post
and repair to head- quarters in the event of the
British approaching in force.

No time, however, was given him to do so. On
the 13th of July, the fort was invested by Proc-
tor, at the head of five hundred regular troops,
and seven or eight hundred Indians. As soon
as he had completely cut off the retreat of the
garrison, he demanded an immediate surrender.

After consulting with his companions, Crog-
han returned the following spirited answer :
" "When the fort shall be taken there will be none

284 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

left to massacre, and it will not be given up
while a man is able to fight."

The enemy immediately commenced a fire
upon the fort from six field-pieces, and kept it up
at intervals during the night. Under cover of the
darkness, they succeeded in planting three of
their cannon within a short distance of the pick-
ets. After working their guns with- great vigour
during the whole of the next morning, without
making any sensible impression upon the garri-
son, they changed their mode of attack, and con-
centrated the whole fire from their six-pounders
upon the northwest angle of the fort. Foresee-
ing that the intention of Proctor was to carry the
place by storm, as soon as a practicable breach
could be effected, the defenders immediately
strengthened the works on that side with bags
of flour and sand. Loading their only field-
piece with slugs and grape, they concealed it in
the bastion covering the point to be assailed,
and waited calmly the approach of the enemy.
Shrouded entirely from view by the smoke of
their artillery, five hundred British regulars ad-
vanced to within twenty paces of the lines. A
steady fire of musketry from the garrison pro-
ducing some confusion, Colonel Short sprang
over the outer works into the ditch, and called
upon his men to follow. Immediately they did
so, the six-pounder from the bastion opened upon
them, succeeded by a fire of musketry.

GALLANT DEFENCE. 285

Their leader and twenty men fell dead at this
discharge, and an equal number were wounded.
They were retreating in the utmost disorder
when the officer next in command succeeded in
rallying them, and again they rushed to the at-
tack. A second discharge of the field-piece, fol-
lowed by a plunging fire of musketry, poured
destruction upon their ranks. Utterly panic-
stricken, they immediately broke into scattered
parties, and fled to the surrounding woods, with
a loss of one hundred and fifty men in killed and
wounded. The loss of the garrison was but seven
men, only one of whom was killed.

After this terrible repulse, Proctor hastily
withdrew to his boats, and returned in bitter
mortification to Maiden.

The gallant defence of Fort Stephenson was
but the prelude to that long succession of vic-
tories, both on land and water, by which, after a
series of disasters, the honour of the American
arms was at length most amply vindicated.

Perry's victory on Lake Erie took place on the
10th of September following. It was at once
splendid in its results, and momentous in its
consequences. After a desperate and well-fought
battle, which lasted three hours, every vessel
of the British squadron was captured. The
American ascendency on the lakes was hence-
forth complete, and Canada laid open to inva-
sion.

286 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

The disasters attending previous attempts, ren-
dered the subjugation of the British northwestern
territory a matter of national pride. It was im-
mediately resolved upon. Harrison, who still
remained at Fort Meigs, had been reinforced by
four thousand volunteers from Kentucky, under
the command of Governor Shelby.

The aids of the latter were. General John Adair
and John J. Crittenden. Colonel Richard M.
Johnson, subsequently Vice President of the
United States, was also present at this time, in
command of a regiment of mounted riflemen.

Proctor still held possession of Detroit and
Mackinaw ; but as soon as Harrison commenced
crossing the lake, with the view of operating
upon his rear, he precipitately abandoned all his
former positions, and after destroying the fort
at Maiden, retreated, inland, toward the Mora-
vian towns. He was deserted almost immediately
by the greater part of his Indian auxiliaries ;
Tecumseh, and the warriors subject to his control,
alone remaining faithful.

Leaving a detachment under General McAr-
thur to garrison Detroit, Harrison, accompanied
by Perry and Cass as volunteer aids, lost no time
in pushing forward in pursuit of Proctor. The
force under his command, with the exception
of one hundred and twenty regulars, consisted
almost wholly of Kentucky volunteers. It num-

DISPOSITIONS FOR BATTLE. 287

bered, including friendly Indians, about tliree
thousand five hundred men.

On the 5th of October, after three days' severe
marching, the enemy were discovered on the
banks of the Thames, drawn up in order of bat-
tle. The regulars under Proctor occupied a nar-
row strip of bottom land,covered with beech trees,
their left, strengthened by their artillery, resting
on the river, and their right protected by a
swamp. The Indians under Tecumseh were ju-
diciously posted between two swamps still farther
to the right. The number of regulars was proba-
bly five hundred, and of Indians from one thou-
sand to fifteen hundred.

The five brigades of Kentucky volunteers, each
averaging five hundred men, were disposed by
Harrison in the following manner : Three bri-
gades, commanded respectively by Generals Trot-
ter, King, and Chiles, forming the first division
under Major-general Henry, were drawn up in
three parallel lines, opposite to the British regu-
lars. The two remaining brigades, commanded
by Generals Allen and Caldwell, composed a
second division under Major-general Desha, and
were formed on the left of, and at right-angles
to the first division, for the purpose of confront-
ing the Indians between the swamps. The regu-
lars occupied a contracted space between the
road and the river, waiting an opportunity to
carry the British artillery by storm.

288, HISTOET OF KENTUCKY.

The mounted men under Colonel Johnson, were
originally formed in two battalions, also facing
the Indians ; but when it was discovered that
the British regulars were deployed as skirmish-
ers, with intervals of four or five feet between the
files, one battalion of the cavalry was detached
to charge the latter, while the other, commanded
by Colonel Johnson in person, was directed to
remain at its post, and advance upon the savages
as soon as the signal was given. Shortly after-
ward the Americans moved forward, and as soon
as they did so, the enemy opened their fire. The
cavalry detached against the regulars charged
instantly, and after recoiling for a moment, broke
through the line of skirmishers, formed in their
rear, poured upon them a destructive fire, and
were preparing for a second charge, when the
British officers, finding themselves unable to rally
their troops, already panic-stricken and utterly
disorganized, ordered them to throw down their
arms and surrender themselves prisoners of war.

General Proctor did not stay to witness the
capture. As soon as he saw the effect resulting
from the one terrible charge of the American
cavalry, he galloped from the field, and escaped
pursuit by the fleetness of his horse.

The charge made by Colonel Johnson upon
the Indians, from the nature of the soil and the
peculiar mode of savage warfare, was not suc-
cessful. The cavalry were therefore dismounted

VICTOKY OF THE THAMES. 289

and directed to fight the enemy after the old
border fashion. Even after the surrender of the
British regulars, Tecumseh and his warriors con-
tinued the fight, but, being hard pressed, they
determined to precipitate themselves upon De-
sha's brigade, and force a passage through.
While the ranks were staggering under the effects
of this concentrated fire, a regiment of volunteers
under the venerable Shelby advanced and drove
the Indians back to their coverts. Colonel John-
son now placed himself at the head of a small
detachment, and led them against a party of In-
dians, who were gathered around Tecumseh. The
combat here was fierce in the extreme, and John-
son was borne from the field desperately wounded.
About the same time Tecumseh fell, and the In-
dians, dismayed by the loss of their leader, and
pressed on every side by an overwhelming force,
scattered in all directions.

The victory of the Thames put an end to the
war in the northwest. It continued, however,
to rage with great violence, during the two fol-
lowing years, on the eastern and southern borders
of the United States ; but the people of Kentucky
were not again engaged in active military duty,
until they formed a portion of the force under
General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans.

Early in December, 1814, sixty sail of British
vessels appeared off the east coast of the Missis-
sippi, bearing from eight to ten thousand veteran

290 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

soldiers, commanded by Sir Edward Packenham,
an officer who had already distinguished himself
in the peninsular war. On the 14th the flotilla
of American gunboats, despatched to watch the
motions of the enemy, were attacked during a
calm and compelled to surrender.

On the 22d, the British vanguard, composed
of three thousand men under General Keane,
after capturing the small force of Americans
posted at the mouth of Bayou Bienvenu, passed
up the channel without opposition, and by two
o'clock reached the bank of the Mississippi, where
they bivouacked for the night.

At this time, Major-general Andrew Jackson,
the commander-in-chief of the American army,
was encamped two miles below the city of New Or-
leans, with seven hundred regular troops and three
thousand militia, undisciplined and indiflerent-
ly armed. Notwithstanding the disadvantages
against which he would have to contend in risk-
ing a battle with regulars inured to victory, and
fresh from a triumphant campaign signalized by
the final downfall of Napoleon, Jackson deter-
mined at once to attack them.

Ordering the American armed schooner Caro-
line to drop down the river and co-operate with
the land forces, he marched with twenty-five
hundred men against the enemy.

The British troops were encamped close to the
Mississippi, with their right resting on a wood

JACKSON'S OPEKATIONS. 291

and their left on the river. A strong detach-
ment under General Coffee was ordered to turn
their right and attack them in the rear, while the
main body, under Jackson in person, assailed
them in front and on their left. The firing from
the Caroline was to be the signal of attack.

Darkness had already set in when the Caroline
floated down the river, cast anchor abreast of
the enemy's encampment, and directed by the
light of the watch-fires, poured suddenly, and
with immense destruction, a raking fire upon the
troops, who were crowded thickly together on the
level plain. Confused by this unexpected attack,
for they had been totally unsuspicious of the
character of the vessel, it was some time before
subordination was restored, and in the mean while,
the guns of the Caroline, loaded with grape and
musket-balls, swept the encampment with a rapid
succession of broadsides.

While the firing from the Caroline was being
answered by volleys of musketry and by congreve
rockets thrown from the mortar battery, the en-
campment was furiously attacked in front and
rear by the land forces under Jackson and Cof-
fee.

The camp-fires were immediately extinguished,
and the darkness being rendered more intense
by a heavy fog, the British commander was
unable to oppose the coolness and science of his
veteran troops to the impetuous irregularity of

292 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

the American militia. After a desperate strug-
gle and much confusion on both sides, the
American and British troops mutually withdrew
from the contest; the British resting on their
arms until daylight, and the Americans remain-
ing on the field of battle till four o'clock the fol-
lowing morning, when they retired to a position
two miles closer the city, where the swamp and
the Mississippi approached nearest each other.
The British loss in this night attack was esti-
mated, in killed, wounded, and missing, at four
hundred men. That of the Americans was two
hundred and thirteen.

The enemy remaining inactive during the next
four days, Jackson employed his force in fortify-
ing his position. After deepening the shallow
ditch which extended across his front from the
Mississippi on the right hand, to the swamp on
the left ; he formed a rampart along the line with
bales of cotton brought from New Orleans, and
covered it with earth.

The Caroline being soon after destroyed with
hot shot by the enemy, Sir Edward Packenham
brought up another detachment of his forces on
the 24th, formed a junction with his vanguard,
and on the 28th made an attack upon the Ameri-
can line with rockets and bombs, but after seven
hours of ineffectual firing fell back to his camp.

No sooner had Packenham retired, than, find-
ing from a demonstration made by Lieutenant-

MILITARY OPERATIONS. 293

colonel Rennie that the left of the American
line could be turned by the British in force,
Jackson immediately set about strengthening that
portion of his defences by prolonging the breast-
work farther into the swamp.

The extreme caution evinced by Packenham
in all his movements had already been of singu-
lar service to the American general. Taking
advantage of the delay, he proceeded, with almost
incredible labour and activity, to render his po-
sition still more formidable.

On the 1st of January, 1815, Packenham made
another attempt to batter down the American
breastwork, by a heavy cannonade from batte-
ries constructed only a short distance from the
lines. His guns were quickly silenced by the
fire of the American artillery. An attempt made
at the same time to turn the American left was
also completely repulsed.

On the 4th, Jackson was reinforced by two
thousand five hundred Kentuckians under Gene-
ral Adair ; and on the 6th the British general
was joined by the remainder of his force, amount-
ing to four thousand men.

On the morning of the 8th of January, Pack-
enham— instead of advancing with the boats at
his command by the right bank of the river,
where the impediments were few, and by which
he might have completely avoided the formidable
works which Jackson had by this time rendered

294 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

almost impregnable — detached Colonel Thornton
with fourteen hundred men to assail General
Morgan on the opposite shore, while the main
body moved in three columns on the left bank
to the attack of Jackson's line.

The column destined to assault the centre
of the American works was led by Packenham.
Lieutenant-colonel Rennie commanded the column
on the British left, which was ordered to carry
the redoubt upon the river; while Lieutenant-
colonel Jones was directed to penetrate the
swamp, turn the left of the American line, and to
attack the rear of the centre.

The works upon which the American troops
had been for sixteen days so actively engaged were
by this time completed. The simple ditch behind
which Jackson halted his men after the night
engagement of the 22d of December, had been
deepened until it contained five feet of water,
while a high breastwork, constructed of cotton-
bags and earth, extended at right angles with
the river for nearly a mile, and terminated only
at a point where the swamp became impassa-
ble. Eight separate batteries, mounting in all
twelve guns, were judiciously disposed along the
line.

On the right of the line, which was strength-
ened by an advanced redoubt, were posted the
Louisiana militia and the regulars. One brigade
of Tennesseans and eleven hundred Kentucky

THE BRITISH REPULSED. 295

militia formed the centre. A second brigade
of Tennesseans guarded the left flank.

At the firing of two signal rockets the British
veterans advanced. Through the thick fog,
which then lay heavy upon the ground, the
measured tread of the central column could be
distinctly heard long before it became visible.
Directed only by the sound, the artillery opened
at once upon the approaching assailants.

At this moment the fog slowly lifted, and dis-
closed the centre column marching swiftly, but
steadily, over the even plain in front of the in-
trenchments. Notwithstanding the destructive
cannonade, the men continued to advance, clos-
ing up their ranks as fast as they were opened by
the American fire. When the head of the column
was within one hundred and fifty yards of the
breastworks, the whole front of the Kentucky
and Tennessee line, extending over a space of
four hundred yards, kept up one continuous vol-
ley of musketry, the files in the rear loading for
those in front, and enabling them to discharge
their pieces with scarcely an intermission. Terri-
bly shattered, yet not wholly dismayed, the British
column still moved forward, until the leading
files reached the ditch. Here, swept by musketry
and artillery, they were cut down by hundreds.
No longer able to endure the incessant storm
of balls and bullets, they fell back in disorder,
suffering dreadfully in their retreat. General

296 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Packenham had already fallen in front of his
troops, and Generals Gibbs and Keane were car-
ried from the field, the one mortally, and the
other severely wounded.

General Lambert, the next in command, suc-
ceeded in rallying the column for a second effort.
It proved even more fatal than the first, — a few
platoons only reaching the edge of the ditch,
where they fell riddled with balls. The rest
of the column broke and fled in confusion ; and
although a third attempt to lead them to the at-
tack was made by the surviving officers, the men
moodily refused to advance again in the face of
so murderous a fire.

The British columns operating upon the right
and left of the line met with no better success.
In the attack upon the redoubt on the river side,
Lieutenant-colonel Rennie and most of the in-
ferior officers were killed. The redoubt was in-
deed taken, but at a fearful loss of life, and the
assailants still remained exposed to the fire from
the breastworks, when the failure of the main
assault compelled them to retreat in confusion.

The impossibility of turning the American left
— in consequence of the swampy nature of the
ground and the resolute resistance offered by the
Tennessee brigade under General Coffee — forced
the enemy to withdraw from that quarter also,
and take to the shelter of the ^ood.

In the midst of this fearful carnage, the de-

BRITISH RETREAT 297

tacliment under Colonel Thornton crossed to the
right bank of the river, and attacked the in-
trenchments of General Morgan.

The American right, being outflanked, abandon-
ed its position. The left endeavoured to main-
tain its ground, but finding itself closely pressed
by the greater numbers of the enemy, spiked its
guns and retreated.

Colonel Thornton being severely wounded,
the command of the detachment devolved upon
Colonel Gubbins. The defeat of the main army
rendered success upon this point of no avail.
While Jackson was preparing to dislodge them
from their position, they retreated across the river
in obedience to the order of General Lambert.

The immense loss of the British in this fatal
battle has been variously stated at two and three
thousand ; and by the most reliable account,
could scarcely have been less than twenty-five
hundred men. The loss of the Americans did
not exceed six killed, and seven wounded.

The force of the enemy actually engaged
in the attacks on the right and left banks, was
nearly seven thousand rank and file. That of
the Americans numbered, in all, a little over five
thousand men, a portion of whom were without
arms and consequently ineffective.

On the 9th, General Lambert commenced with
great secrecy the preparation for re-embarking
his troops ; but the final desertion of the British

298 HISTORY OP KENTUCKY.

camp did not take place until the night of the
18th, when the rear-guard hastily withdrew,
leaving behind them eight of their wounded and
fourteen pieces of artillery.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Peace proclaimed between England and the United States —
Inflated condition of the currency — Dreadful monetary de-
rangement— Banks chartered — Power of replevin extended —
Bank of the commonwealth chartered — Great excitement on
account of the relief laws — Relief and anti-relief parties or-
ganized— Legality of the relief law contested — Decision of
Judge Clarke sustained by the court of appeals — General
alarm and outcry — Unsuccessful attempt of the legislature to
remove the judges — The old court of appeals abolished, and
a new one established — The constitutionality of the latter
contested — The old court sustained — State and general poli-
tics— Suspension of specie payments — Second monetary de-
rangement— The legislature again applied to for relief —
Wisdom of the measures adopted — Governors of Kentucky —
Presidential election.

Two weeks previous to the disastrous defeat
of the British forces below New Orleans, a treaty
of peace had been concluded at Ghent between
England and the United States. On the 18th
of February, 1815, the president issued a procla-
mation announcing the auspicious event, and set-
ting apart an early day for the observance of a
national thanksgiving.

In 1816, George Madison was elected gover-
nor of Kentucky ; but dying shortly afterward,

DERANGEMENT OP THE CURRENCY. 299

the office fell by succession to Gabriel Slaughter,
who had previously been chosen lieutenant-gover-
nor.

The state of Kentucky was now destined to
pass through an ordeal of the severest kind.
The extraordinary increase in the nominal value
of commodities, owing to the introduction of an
inflated paper currency, in the place of the pre-
cious metals, which the wars of Europe had ban-
ished almost entirely from circulation, gave rise
to a daring spirit of speculation, resultirfg, after
the proclamation of a general peace, in the most
calamitous consequences.

On the part of Kentucky the revulsion was
terrible. Forty independent banks, chartered
at the session of 1817, with a capital of nearly
ten millions of dollars, were reduced, with but
few exceptions, to a condition of utter bank-
ruptcy, within the brief space of two years. The
people, oppressed with debt, clamoured loudly for
relief; and various schemes were adopted for
that purpose.

The legislature of 1819 extended the power to
replevy judgments from three to twelve months.
That of 1820 chartered the Bank of the Com-
monwealth, and pledged certain lands owned by
the state for the final payment of its notes. The
redemption of the notes in specie was not required.
This paper was made payable and receivable in
the public debts and taxes ; and on any creditor

300 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

declining to receive it in payment of his debt,
the debtor was authorized to replevy it for the
space of two years.

The old Bank of Kentucky, hitherto in good
repute, was now brought under legislative influ-
ence, and from a prosperous condition was soon
reduced to bankruptcy.

The notes of the new bank quickly sank to
half their nominal value, and as creditors were
compelled either to receive them at par, or to wait
two years before they could enforce the payment
of their claims, a turbulent state of public feeling
was excited. Two bitterly hostile parties were
the consequence. These were called relief and
anti-relief. Of the first party was General Adair,
who had been elected governor in 1820, several
eminent lawyers, the great mass of debtors, and
a large majority of the voting population.

The anti-relief party consisted of the mercan-
tile class, a large proportion of the bar and
bench, and a majority of the better class of farm-
ers.

The question of the legality of the legislative
act for relief coming up before the circuit court
of Clarke county. Judge Clarke boldly decided
the act to be unconstitutional, and drew upon
himself thereby a torrent of popular indignation.

Resolutions were accordingly offered during
the session of the legislature of 1822 to remove
Clarke from his office, but were not carried, partly

THE JUDICIARY AND THE PEOPLE. 301

owing to the want of a constitutional majority,
and partly to a desire among some of the mem-
bers to await the decision of the Supreme Court
of Kentucky. The judges composing the latter
were John Boyle, William Owsley, and Benjamin
Mills. Their decision, which was made at the
fall term of 1823, fully confirmed the opinion of
Judge Clarke, and declared that the act of tho
legislature was in violation of the Constitution
of the United States, and totally void.

No sooner was this opinion made public, than
the popular rage burst forth. Hitherto the will
of the people having been triumphant in all
things, they could ill bear to find themselves sud-
denly curbed by the controlling power of the
law. They immediately determined to remove
the obnoxious judiciary. To efiect this, required
a majority of two-thirds in both houses of the
legislature, and success was to be determined by
the result of the elections of 1824.

General Desha, the candidate for governor,
vehemently advocated the relief measures in his
canvass of the state, and was elected by an im-
mense majority. The relief party also obtained
a large majority of both houses of the legislature.

At the session held in December, the three
judges were summoned before the legislative bar,
and required to assign reasons for their decision.
They were replied to by the eminent lawyers
Rowan, Bibb, and Barry. A vote was at length

302 HISTORY OF KEXTUCKY.

taken, but as the constitutional majority of two-
thirds was not obtained, the judges retired vie-'
torious.

Foiled in their attempt to remove the judges
by impeachment or address, the members of the
relief party now determined upon breaking up
the old court of appeals, and organizing it anew.
A bill to this effect was accordingly drawn up :
after it had been fiercely debated during three
day and three protracted night sessions, it was
carried by a large majority of both houses.

The new court was organized soon after, but
the old court denied the constitutionality of the
act by which it was attempted to be superseded,
and continued to hold its sessions as usual. There
were thus for a long time two supreme courts
of appeal in Kentucky, in consequence of which
great legal confusion prevailed.

This anomalous condition of things continued
until the session of 1826, when the triumph of
the old court party was completed by the repeal
of the obnoxious act, and formal re-establishment
of the original judges de facto, as well as de
jure.

In 1828, General Thomas Metcalfe, the can-
didate of the old court party, now organized
under the name of "National Republican," was
elected governor of the state by a small majority ;
but at the presidential election which took place
in November, the democratic republicans carried

NEW BANKS CHARTERED. 303

the state for General Jackson by a majority of
eight thousand.

In 1832, Henry Clay became a candidate
for the presidency in opposition to General Jack-
son. After a severe contest between the na-
tional and democratic parties, Breathitt, the
candidate of the latter for governor, was elected
by upward of a thousand votes ; but at the pre-
sidential election, which took place the succeeding
November, the popular majority for Henry Clay,
in opposition to General Jackson, exceeded seven
thousand. Defeat, however, attended Clay in
other states, and Jackson was re-elected.

The triumph of the old court party sealed the
fate of the Commonwealth Bank. In a few years
its paper disappeared from circulation, and was
replaced by the notes of two branch banks of the
United States, one of which had been established
at Lexington, and the other at Louisville.

Upon the refusal of Congress to recharter the
Bank of the United States, the legislature of
Kentucky, at its sessions of 1833 and 1834,
granted charters for establishing the Bank of
Kentucky, the Northern Bank of Kentucky, and
the Bank of Louisville, with an aggregate capi-
tal of thirteen millions of dollars.

The establishment of numerous banks in other
states about the same time occasioned an enor-
mous increase of paper money, and again en-

304 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

couraged that reckless spirit of speculation which
led to the disasters of 1837.

In the spring of 1837, all the banks of the
Union suspended specie payments, and this act
of necessity was legalized in Kentucky by the
succeeding legislature, who refused to compel the
state banks to redeem their notes with specie, and
declined exacting the forfeiture of their charters.
In 1838, the monetary derangement appeared
to have passed away, and a fair and prosperous
condition of things ensued. This, however, was,
unfortunately, but of brief duration ; a second
suspension of specie payments took place in
1839.

The people of Kentucky, however, succeeded
in staggering on under the mass of their difficul-
ties until the year 1842 ; when, driven almost to
desperation by the frightful load of debt under
^hich they laboured, they once more appealed
to the legislature to provide some means for their
relief. A calm dispassionate course of action,
an extension of the periods at which judgment
could be given, and a liberal accommodation af-
forded by the existing banks, served to tranquil-
lize in a great degree the public mind, and with
the year 1843, the pressure gradually relaxed.

The successive election of three governors of
Kentucky has yet to be recorded. In 1836,
Judge Clarke was chosen chief magistrate ; in
1840, Robert P. Letcher ; and in 1844, Judge Wil-

PRESIDENTIAL CANVASS. 305

liam Owsley. The latter was succeeded In 1848
by John J. Crittenden, the present attorney
general of the United States.

At the presidential election of 1840, Gene-
ral Harrison was warmly supported by the whig
party of Kentucky; but the vote he received
fell far short of that cast by Kentucky for Clay
in 1844.

In the election of General Taylor to the presi-
dential chair in 1848, a fusion of parties took
place, and all the old distinctive issues for which
the democrats and whigs had previously contend-
ed, were, during that harmonious period, measura-
bly cast aside, and have never since been revived
in their ancient force and bitterness.

26*

306 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Mexico and the United States — Annexation of Texas — General
Taylor ordered to move to the Rio Grande — Encamps at
Corpus Christi — Erects a post at Point Isabel — ^Marches to
a point opposite Matamoras — Builds Fort Brown ^ — The
Mexicans cross the Rio Grande in force — Taylor returns to
Point Isabel — Again marches to Fort Brown — Battle of
Palo Alto — ^Battle of Resaca de la Palma — Occupation of
Matamoras — Reception of reinforcements' — March upon
Monterey — Storming of Monterey — Great reduction of the
force under General Taylor — Is compelled to assume the de-
fensive— Return of Santa Anna to Mexico — Concentrates a
large army at San Luis Potosi — Marches against Taylor —
Battle of Buena Vista — Conclusion.

In 1845, the relations of the United States
■with the republic of Mexico, after maintaining
for many years a threatening aspect, were ren-
dered still more critical by the annexation of
Texas.

During the summer of this year, General
Zachary Taylor was ordered to take command of
an army of observation, and select a position be-
tween the Nueces and the RiO Grande. He ac-
cordingly encamped at Corpus Christi, where he
remained until the 11th of March, 1846, when
he was instructed to march to the east bank of
the Rio Grande.

Paying no regard to the remonstrance of the
Mexican authorities, who warned him that the
crossing of the Rio Colorado by troops from the

GENERAL TAYLOR'S MOVEMENTS. 307

United States would be followed by actual hostili-
ties, Taylor pressed forward, and after establish-
ing a post at Point Isabel, near the mouth of the
Rio Grande, for the reception of his supplies, he
put his small army again in motion, and finally
fortified a position on the eastern bank of the
Rio Grande, opposite the Mexican town of Mata-
moras. The works which he threw up at this
point were subsequently known as Fort Brown.

The communication between Fort Brown and
Point Isabel being shortly afterward obstructed
by a large Mexican force, which had crossed the
river and thrown itself between the two posts
for that purpose, Taylor left a small garrison at
Fort Brown and marched to Point Isabel, with
the view of strengthening that post and of bring-
ing back supplies.

He succeeded in reaching Point Isabel on the
3d of May without interruption, and on the 7th
again set out for Fort Brown, a distance of
twenty-three miles. His whole force consisted
of two thousand three hundred regulars. It was
accompanied by two eighteen-pounders, drawn
by oxen, and by Ringgold and Duncan's batteries
of flying artillery.

Twelve miles from Point Isabel, at a place
called Palo Alto, the Mexican army was disco-
vered drawn up in order of battle. This splendid
body of men was comprised of six thousand regu-
lars, supported by a large number of rancheros,

308 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

and strengthened bj ten pieces of artillery. The
action was commenced by the Mexican artillery,
and soon became general. The engagement was
fought almost entirely by artillery, and the
American superioi'ity in that arm soon became
manifest. Ringgold's battery opened with terri-
ble effect upon the Mexican right, and that of
Duncan swept the left, while the two eighteen-
pounders poured upon the centre a steady and
destructive fire. For a long time the Mexicans
strove, but in vain, to make head against the
fierce storm of cannon-balls by which their columns
were constantly cut up.

At length they gave way, and fell back about
four miles from the field of battle, where, having
received a reinforcement of two thousand men,
they encamped for the 'night. The Americans
bivouacked on the field they had so gallantly
won. The Mexican loss in this affair was two
hundred killed and four hundred wounded ; that
of the Americans was four killed, and thirty-
seven wounded. Of the killed, three were officers,
among whom were Major Ringgold and Captain
Page.

The next morning General Taylor determined,
contrary to the advice of his officers, to advance
to the relief of Fort Brown. At Resaca de la
Palma the Mexican army was again discovered,
protected in front by a ravine, on the one flank
by a pond of water, and on the other by a chap-

RESACA DE LA PALMA. 309

paral or dense thicket of thorny bushes. In this
engagement, the firing of the Mexicans was much
more destructive than it had been the day pre-
vious. The battery stationed to command the
road swept the American lines with fearful exe-
cution. Finding its capture absolutely neces-
sary, General Taylor ordered Captain May to
charge it with his dragoons. Pausing only for a
moment, at the suggestion of Captain Ridgely,
until the latter had drawn the fire of the Mexi-
can artillery. May placed himself at the head of
his troops, and calling upon them to follow, dash-
ed down the road at full speed, and leaping the
battery, drove the artillery-men from their pieces.
The American infantry, moving rapidly up soon
after, maintained possession of the captured bat-
tery, and assaulting the Mexican centre with the
bayonet, put the whole army to a complete rout.
The Mexican loss in this battle, and in the sub-
sequent pursuit, scarcely fell short of a thousand
men ; that of the Americans was one hundred
and ten. On the 18th of May, General Taylor
took possession of Matamoras without resistance.
The critical position in which this gallant lit-
tle army had been placed, and from which it had
only been extricated by an exhibition of almost
Spartan heroism, had not been viewed without
fearful solicitude on the part of the people of
the United States. Reinforcements of volun-
teers from the states bordering on the Ohio and

310 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

Mississippi were despatched at once for the Rio
Grande, and when these had arrived, and a por-
tion of the supplies necessary for the support
of his army had been received, General Taylor
took up his line of route for the city of Monterey.

To this ancient city, built in the valley of San
Juan, at the foot of the Sierra Madre, Ampudia
the Mexican general had retired after the evacua-
tion of Matamoras. It was a place strong by
nature, well fortified, and garrisoned by an army
of seven thousand troops of the line, and three
thousand irregulars.

The force with which General Taylor advanced
upon this stronghold consisted of six thousand
six hundred and forty-five men, including oflScers.
Against the forty-two pieces of cannon of the
Mexicans, he could only oppose one ten-inch
mortar, two twenty-four pound howitzers, and
sixteen pieces of light artillery.

Establishing his camp in a beautiful grove
three miles distant from the city, reconnoissances
were made of the enemy's defences, and as soon
as the reports were received, the division under
General Worth was ordered to take a circuitous
route to the right of the town, and storm the
fortified heights in its rear. On the afternoon
of the 19th of September, Worth advanced.
Halting for the night at the foot of the moun-
tains, a little beyond range of the enemy's bat-
teries, he succeeded in repelling, the following

CAPTURE OF MONTEREY. 311

morning, a brilliant charge of cavalry, and cross-
ing the Saltillo road, carried in a dashing manner
the two heights Soldada and Independencia, and
then precipitated a portion of his force upon the
Bishop's palace.

In the mean time Taylor had commenced a de-
termined assault upon the batteries in front of
the town, and finally succeeded in penetrating
the city, from which, however, the troops were
several times compelled to retire with severe
loss. At length, the principal battery was car-
ried by storm, and the enemy gradually forced
back, foot by foot, to the grand plaza in the
centre of the city. By working with picks and
bars through the stone walls of adjacent houses,
many of the barricades, hitherto so destructive,
were avoided ; and as the division under General
Worth was engaged piercing the heart of the
city on the one side by this more secure but labo-
rious mode of approach, while the main body
under Taylor was operating in a like manner on
the other, Ampudia, finding the space between
himself and his assailants gradually, but surely,
contracting, proposed terms of capitulation, which
resulted in the surrender of the city. The Ameri-
can loss in this attack numbered in killed and
wounded five hundred men.

The government of the United States having
decided to assault Vera Cruz, the greater part of
the forces under General Taylor were transferred

312 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

to tlie southern line of operations, now about to
be undertaken by Major-general Scott. This re-
duction in the number of men under the com-
mand of Taylor precluded all further advance,
and obliged him to rest contented with maintain-
ing the ground he had already won. His ability to
do even this appeared to be growing daily more
problematical. Santa Anna had returned to
Mexico, and by the extraordinary influence he
at that time wielded over the hearts of his coun-
trymen, was enabled to concentrate at San Luis
Potosi an army of twenty thousand men, well
equipped, and admirably furnished with munitions
of war.

With this army the Mexican general advanced
upon General Taylor, whose entire force did not
exceed four thousand seven hundred men. The
latter was at this time encamped at Agua Nueva,
but upon the approach of Santa Anna he fell
back to the strong position of Buena Vista, where
he formed his men and awaited calmly the at-
tack.

On the 22d of February, 1847, the clouds
of dust which enveloped the Mexican cavalry, as
it came dashing through the valley of La Encan-
tada, was the first evidence which the Ameri-
cans received of the immediate proximity of the
enemy. As soon as the main army under Santa
Anna came up, he despatched a flag of truce
to General Taylor with a summons of surrender.

BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. 313

A terse but perfectly respectful refusal was in-
stantly returned by the American commander, and
at three o'clock in the afternoon the enemy open-
ed the battle by firing a shell upon that part of
the American lines occupied by Washington's
battery supported by the Indiana regiment. The
afternoon was passed mainly in manoeuvres and
desultory skirmishes between the light troops
commanded by General Ampudia and the Ar-
kansas and Kentucky riflemen, who were opposed
to them. During the night the light division of
Ampudia, being reinforced by two thousand in-
fantry from the divisions of Lombardini and
Pacheco, succeeded in gaining an elevated posi-
tion to the left and rear of the American rifle-
men ; and in this quarter, at the very first dawn
of day, the battle of the 23d commenced. It
was hotly contested, with changing fortunes,
throughout the entire day, and only ceased when
night separated the combatants.

On the part of the Americans it was a day
distinguished by acts of individual heroism such
as have seldom been witnessed in any country,
and nev«r exceeded in our own.

Broken up into mere squads, for ten succes-
sive hours the American volunteers gallantly sus-
tained repeated charges from the immense masses
of the enemy ; and now driven back, and now
fiercely repulsing their assailants ; now hemmed
in among ravines and cut up with terrible slaugh-

27

ol4 HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.

ter ; and now checking, and literally annihilating
whole ranks of the Mexican cavalry by the fire
of the deadly and unerring rifle ; gallantly sup-
ported by artillery, never better served, nor more
daringly worked, they succeeded in recovering
the whole of the positions from which they had
been driven at various times, and finally bivouack-
ed upon the field of battle.

Shattered and disheartened, the enemy retired
during the night, and the next day saw their
ranks, utterly disorganized, in full retreat for
San Luis Potosi.

The American loss, in killed, wounded, and
missing, was six hundred and sixty-six ; one hun-
dred and thirty-seven of whom were from Ken-
tucky. The loss of the Mexicans is supposed to
have exceeded two thousand.

With the battle of Buena Vista, as ending the
war in that portion of Mexico, our history fitly
closes. There is a moral grandeur in a contest
such as this was, which speaks at once to the
heart of every true patriot. An army of but
little upward of four thousand seven hundred
men, nearly all of whom were volunteer- soldiers
suddenly attracted from their various peaceful
pursuits, not only held twenty thousand of the
choicest troops of Mexico at bay, but eventually
compelled them to retreat with precipitation,
leaving many of their wounded behind them, and
two thousand of their dead upon the field. That

KENTUCKIAN BRAVERY. 315

such a battle, fought against such extraordinary
numbers, and contested with so much pertinacity
on the one side, and with so much resolution on
the other, should have entailed a serious loss
upon the victorious handful of Americans, was
but a consequence of the indomitable courage by
which the victory was finally wrested from the
hands of a confident enemy.

Kentucky has reason to be proud of the con-
duct of her sons on that eventful day, — from
the veteran commander-in-chief — himself nur-
tured from infancy to manhood upon her fertile
soil — down to the humblest volunteer.

Here too fell, fighting to the last, many of her
best and bravest; and the names of McKee, Clay,
Willis, and Vaughn, will be remembered with
sorrowful admiration so long as true patriotism
has power to stir the heart to noble deeds, and
courage is valued among men.

Here then let this history pause. Not that
the people of Kentucky after the victory at
Buena Vista took no further interest in the war.
In that terrible yet brilliant series of victories
which characterized the march of General Scott
from" Vera Cruz to the capital of Mexico,
volunteers from Kentucky performed their duty
worthily and well. But the greatest loss which
the state sustained, and the greatest renown she
acquired in the Mexican war, were dei'ived from
the battle of Buena Vista.

816 HISTORY OF KE^'TUCKT.

Of the present population of Kentucky we
have as yet forborne to speak. The census of
1840 exhibited, in ninety counties, the number
of inhabitants as seven hundred and seventy-nine
thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight. The
census of 1850 shows an addition of ten coun-
ties and an aggregate population of nine hun-
dred and eighty-two thousand four hundred and
five.

With a territory, a considerable portion of
which is of almost unexampled fertility, bounded
on the north throughout its whole extent by the
Ohio River, and on the west partially by the
Mississippi, both fine navigable streams, Ken-
tucky, though so far removed from the ocean,
enjoys many advantages, which are denied in
some measure to the states farther to the north-
west. Inhabited by a people, brave, generous,
and frank-hearted, sincerely attached to the
Union, jealous of its honour, and prompt to yield
obedience to its laws, she has succeeded in win-
ning the warm regard of her sister states, and at-
taining a high position in the national councils.