v'-'ft^". i°^^ ''o V 4 O .0^ ^ ^ ^^A i^' '■-Vo' ^V' _o^ '.■,r>-.-? ■ *>. o.-^' r- ^^•n^. v^ ^^o^ c. ,0. ^^ .^^' <:- ^ ^^ ^^.^ ^^•n^ ..^^ ^Ov ^ iO' V ^'^•^.^ .^^ °^ ■vV' ^' ^*" ■A ^ >P-r^ %5>. ♦ » , o ' ■^-j- -y %><^ ■V^' ^^^. ^^.^" O > ^'^^^"r'lpfc "^^ A^- > ^. ^'\- ^^^\fi >^'i: ;..^ •^.. '',^3^-. ' * o . o ' .■ft^ .y^^- .>^- 6"^.o ^ •■ o . ^ .•?,^ 0^' '■i- "-^^0^ 4 • is;- ^0 *''. •*. c^^ y-\ J. STODDARD JOHNSTON V[CE-PRESIDENT OF THE FILSON CLUB ^ FILSON CLUB PUBLICATIONS NO. 13. First Explorations Of Kentucky Doctor Thomas Walker's Journal Of an Exploration of Kentucky in 1750, being the First Record of a White Man's Visit to the interior of that Territory, now first Published Entire, with Notes and Biographical Sketch Colonel Christopher Gists Journal Of a Tour through Ohio and Kentucky in 175 1, with Notes and Sketch J. STODDARD JOHNSTON VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE FILSON CLUB LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY ^Printers to Tlie Fflson (illuh 1898 1898. .^13 3876 OOPirsiOHTSD BY The Filson Club 1898 PREFACE. "\ ^ 7HEN explorations of the unknown wilderness west ' ' of the Alleghanies were begun a century and a half ago, it was customary for explorers to keep journals of what they saw and did. Some of these journals have been published, others remain in the original manuscripts, and yet others have perished. As a matter of course, where there are only the original manuscripts, they are not attainable except through the individual owners ; and even of those that have been published, some have grown so scarce as to be practically inaccessible to the general reader. Some of these journals are too valuable as his- toric documents to continue of use to so few readers and to remain in such danger of being lost forever on account of their singleness or fewness of copies. It is the purpose of The Filson Club to make selec- tions from these journals, and from time to time to include them in its series of publications. Their appearance in this form will not only bring them within reach of the members of the Club and of the reading public, but will secure them against the destruction which has already overtaken many of them and which threatens the others with a like fate. ii Preface. The earliest of these explorations, in what is now Ken- tucky, that are known to us by written records, were by Doctor Thomas Walker and Colonel Christopher Gist, about the middle of the last century. La Salle was prob- ably the first white man to see this country, but he saw it from the Ohio River, which he conceived to be a trans- continental stream which might float him to the Pacific Ocean. He probably paid but little attention to the lands on either side of the river while descending it toward an imaginary China. His description of the Falls of the Ohio, which he reached in 1669, is sufficiently inaccurate to suggest that Kentucky lands were not of his seeking. Other explorers, as missionaries or traders, were on these rivers and lands before Walker and Gist, but they left no account of the country which has come down to us. Authoritative records of explorations in this region begin with the journal of Doctor Walker in 1750, and that of Colonel Gist in 1751. Walker went through the eastern part of what is now Kentucky, and Gist through the northeastern. Their combined explorations, therefore, acquaint us with a goodly portion of the State while in its original condition, inhabited only by savages and wild beasts. When these explorers were here, not a house had been built for habitation nor a field opened for culti- vation by civilized man. The primeval forest, with its Preface. iii mighty trees and awful shade, covered the whole land except where severed by rivers or interrupted by cane- brakes and prairies. It is something to see this goodly land, wild, grand, and beautiful in its state of nature, and these journals are the medium through which the best view is to be had. These journals have been edited for the thirteenth number of The Filson Club publications by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, Vice-President of the Club. His knowledge of the history of the country and his familiarity with its geography made him the man of all others for the work to be done. He had personally gone over parts of the routes of both Walker and Gist, and had famil- iarized himself with the records left by other explorers in the same country. He had left nothing undone to make himself master of his subject. As evidence of his excep- tional qualifications as editor of these journals, it may be stated that in 1888 Mr. William C. Rives, a descendant of Doctor Walker, published a partial edition of his journal — partial because there were absent from it a number of pages of the original manuscript that could not then be found. In spite of these missing leaves. Colonel Johnston, with his superior knowledge of the country and its history, was able to follow the route of Doctor Walker through the State and supply missing names and facts. These iv Preface. absent leaves have since been found, and confirm the route marked out by Colonel Johnston, as well as names and facts supplied by him. The Walker journal, as here published by The Filson Club, contains these missing leaves, and therefore for the first time appears in full as the author wrote it. The foot-notes, the comments, and the appendices of Colonel Johnston will be found to be valuable additions to these journals. They explain much that the lapse of time and changes in the country had rendered obscure, and adapt the text of the eighteenth century to the readers of the nineteenth. It is believed that the reproduction of the journals of Walker and Gist as the thirteenth publication of The Filson Club will be accepted as a val- uable contribution to our early knowledge of the country embraced, and especially of that part of it which has since become the State of Kentucky. R. T. DURRETT, President. INTRODUCTION. *" I ^HE discovery of America four hundred years ago was * an event not only remarkable for its influence upon human civilization, but also as indicating the ignorance of mankind, prior to that event, of the conformation of the globe and of the existence of so large a component of territory embraced in the Western Hemisphere. Grecian and Roman civilization had risen and perished ; the Middle Ages had passed, and the revival of the arts and literature had set in ; the empires of the East had become effete with age, and the wise men of the world believed that human knowledge had exhausted the field of inquiry, while yet the vast continents of America remained undis- covered. The event which brought them to light marked a new era in the world's history as distinct as the found- ing of Rome or the advent of the Christian era. The four centuries which have elapsed since Columbus sailed from Palos embrace a record in the progress of civilization before which all that preceded them appears as but the dawn of a brighter day. And yet, while the period during which this progress has reached the zenith of its present stage is small compared to the antecedent centuries, an analysis of the steps by which it has been attained will vi Ititrodiiction. show that the progress was slow and that the real devel- opment of the new continent has taken place in the past century and a half, while the present century alone con- tains the record of the material development wrought by the arts and sciences which characterizes our present civilization. When we reflect that Columbus first discovered land in the Western Hemisphere October 12, 1492, that Sebas- tian Cabot landed in North America in 1498, and Amerigo Vespucci in South America in 1499, it must be borne in mind that it was not until 1607, more than one hundred 3'ears after the discovery of America, that the first white settlement was made at Jamestown, Virginia, and 1620 when the Mayflower landed at Plymouth. For nearly an hundred years after this the founders of these colonies and their descendants were confined in their knowledge of the geography of the great continent west of them to a narrow coast territory, practically bounded by the Blue Ridge and its northern extension. The first authentic explorer who penetrated the interior of North America from the eastern coast was De Soto, the Spanish Governor of Cuba, who in 1539-42 marched from Florida to the Mississippi, near the present site of Memphis, and lost his life in the venture ; but the account left by Garcilaso, the historian of the expedition, is so Introduction. vii vague that his route for the greater part can not be defined, and for all practical results the exploit was a failure, no territorial acquisition enuring to the country whence he hailed, except that of Florida. The main idea which animated Columbus in his voyage, to find a new route to China, continued for more than two centuries after his death to be the one which domi- nated his successors ; and the theory that this continent was really a part of the Flowery Kingdom was only suc- ceeded by one that only a comparatively narrow strip of land separated the Atlantic Ocean from the South Sea or Pacific Ocean. In 1603, when Champlain entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and discovered the rapids of the St. Lawrence River, he called the stream ' ' La Chine, " indicating that he believed it a river of China. In 1 67 1 was made the first exploration from the Vir- ginia coast beyond the Blue Ridge. It was projected upon the theory that the waters which flowed westward beyond the Appalachian chain, of which that range was believed to be the backbone, flowed to the South Sea, and in the belief that this ocean was not far distant. General Abram Wood, who lived at the Falls of the Appomattox, the present site of Petersburg, Virginia, was commissioned by Governor Berkeley to solve the problem. The history of this expedition has come down to us in viii Introduction. the quaint journal of Thomas Batts, who was one of its members, and begins thus: "A commission being granted the Honble Major Genl Wood for ye findeing out of the Ebbing and flowing of ye waters behind the mountains in order to the Discovery of the South Sea ; Thomas Batts, Thomas Wood, Robert Fallam, accompanied by Perecute, a great man of the Apomatock Indians and Jack Nesam formerly servant to Major Genl Wood with 5 horses set forward from the Apomatock Town in Vir- ginia about Eight of the Clock in the morning being Fryday Septr ist 1671, that they travelled about 40 miles, took up their quarters and found they had travelled from the Okenechee path due West." A daily entry in the journal records their adventures until September 25th, at which time they returned to the point from which the expedition parted. In that interval they followed approxi- mately the line of 36° 30', which afterward became the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina, until they came to the Alleghany Mountains, into which at this point the Blue Ridge had become merged. This they ascended, and, proceeding northwest, came to the river which General Wood named the New River, as it is now called, but which was long known as Wood's River. It is the principal tributary of the Kanawha, which being for a time called Wood's River, the name was erroneously Introduction. ix said to have been derived from an Indian name signify- ing the River of the Woods. After having for several days had distant views of the river, the entry of the i6th of September says: "About lo of the Clock they set for- ward and after they had travelled lo miles one of the Indians killed a dear ; presently after they had a sight of a curious River like the Thames agt. Chelcey (Chelsea), but had a fall yt made a great noise whose Course was then N. and so as they supposed ran W. about certain pleasant mountains which they saw to the Westward. Here they took up their quarters and found their course had been W. and by N. Here they found Indian Fields with Corn Stalks in them and understood afterward the Mohetans had lived there not long before." They then took formal possession of the country by marking the trees with branding - irons with the initials of the members of the company, and made formal proc- lamation in these words : ' ' Long live King Charles ye 2nd King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland and Virginia and all the teretoryes thereunto belonging De- fender of ye Faith." ' ' When they came to ye River side they found it bet- ter and broader than they expected full as broad as the Thames over agt. Waping, ye Falls much like the Falls of James River, in Virginia, and imagined by the water- X Introduction. marks it flowed there about 3 feet. It was then ebbing water. They sett up a stick by the water but found it ebb very slowly." The Indian guides whom they had brought with them from the Tolera nation eastward being impatient to return, they reluctantly started on their homeward journey with- out having been able to reach the South Sea, which they believed not far off, but the journal adds that "when they were on the Top of the Hill they took a prospect as far as they could see and saw westerly over certain delightful hills a fogg arise and a glimmering light as from water and suppose they may be some great Bog." It was many years after this before the delusion of the proximity of the South Sea, which this exploration seemed to confirm, was relinquished, and even then that theory only gave way to another equally erroneous, that the waters beyond the mountains, if not flowing westward to the ocean, found their way to the northern lakes. As late as 17 16, Alexander Spottswood, Governor of Virginia, was the first white man who had crossed the Blue Ridge proper. In that year he made his celebrated Golden Horse Shoe Expedition, crossing the Blue Ridge at the head of the Rappahannock, through Swift Run Gap, and, entering the Shenandoah Valley, discovered the river of that name, which, from the fertility of the soil adjacent. Introduction. xi he named the Euphrates. As its course was northward, he concluded it emptied into the lakes. One of the com- pany, Mr. John Fontaine, has left a journal giving an interesting account of the expedition. Reaching the top of the Blue Ridge, he says: "We drank King George's health and all the Royal Family's at the very top of the Appalachian Mountains," and, upon reaching the river, he adds : ' ' The Governor had graving irons, but could not grave anything, the stones were so hard. I graved my name on a tree by the river side ; and the Governor buried a bottle with a paper inclosed on which he writ that he took possession of this place in the name and for King George the First of England. We had a good dinner, and after it we got the men together and loaded all their arms and we drank the King's health in cham- pagne, and fired a volley — the Princess's health in Burgundy and fired a volley, and all the rest of the Royal Family in claret and a volley. We drank the Governor's health and fired another volley. We had several sorts of liquors, viz : Virginia red wine and white wine, Irish usquebaugh, brandy, shrub, rum, champagne, canary, punch water, cider, &c. . . . We called the highest mountain Mount George and the one we crossed over Mount Spottswood. " As a memorial of this jolly expedition Governor Spotts- wood, on his return to Williamsburg, the Capital, insti- xii Introduction. tuted the order of the Golden Horse Shoe, presenting each of the gentlemen who accompanied him with a small horse shoe of gold, inscribed with the legend, Sic Juvat transcendere monies. The condition requisite for further admission into the order was that the applicant should prove that he had crossed the mountain and drunk his Majesty's health upon Mount George. Sixteen years after this, in 1732, Andrew Lewis was one of the pioneer settlers in the Shenandoah Valley, leading the van of the great Scotch-Irish immigration which soon set in in that direction, and whence Kentucky drew so largely for its pioneers. Between the time of Wood's discovery of the New River as a supposed tributary of the South Sea and Spottswood's discovery of the Shenandoah as a possible tributary of the northern lakes, a great step had been taken in the solution of the problem of the relation of this continent with a western ocean. The French had, early after taking possession of Canada, availed them- selves of the water route afforded by the St. Lawrence and the lakes to push expeditions of discovery and trade to the west. They had, as early as the middle of the seventeenth century, penetrated as far as the site of Detroit, and soon after began to establish trading-posts and mis- sions at various points in the territory adjacent. In the fall Introduction. xiii or early winter of 1 669 Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle, inspired by the idea of solving the problem of the great river which was said to empty into the South Sea, made an expedition from Canada by way of the head waters of the Ohio to the Falls, the present site of Louisville, but prosecuted his adventure no further, and returned to the lakes to pursue his explorations along that line.' In 1673 Marquette, passing from Lake Michigan by way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, penetrated to the Mississippi, gave the first authentic account of its exist- ence since its discovery by De Soto, and exploded the fallacy of a water connection from the westward of the Alleghanies to the South Sea. But the identity of this stream with that of De Soto was not fully established until in 1682, when La Salle in that year descended the great river from the Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. He reached the mouth April 19th, and took formal possession of the territory in the name of Louis XIV, the Grand Monarque, after the manner of that day, and gave it the name of Louisiana in his honor. For his great achieve- ment, as the result of many years of labor and adventure, honors were lavished upon him by his sovereign, and he was intrusted with the command of a great expedition for 'The Centenary of Louisville, by Colonel R. T. Durrett. Filson Club Publications Number 8, 1893, page 20. 3 xiv lufroditction. the settlement of the new territory, but fell a victim to treachery in the perilous undertaking. Soon afterward military posts and missions were established on the Illinois, Mississippi, and Wabash rivers, which, in con- junction with these rivers and the lakes, formed a chain of military communication and trade from Montreal to New Orleans. Long before the English had projected set- tlements beyond the Alleghany Mountains the French were in possession of the Mississippi Valley, had mapped and described its geography and topography, and until the termination of the seven years' war by the treaty of Paris, February lo, 1763, claimed all the land watered by streams flowing westward from the Alleghanies. Prior to 1750 there is no record of English exploration, much less of settlement, in the trans-Alleghany region north of the latitude of 36° 30'. The only exception as to the territory south of that line is in the case of a few traders among the Indian tribes which inhabited territory now embraced in Northwestern Georgia and Tennessee. From Eastern Virginia there was a brisk trade in the early part of the eighteenth century with the Indians of North and South Carolina, and thence to the northwest with the Cherokees and Creeks of North Georgia and the Valley of the Tennessee. James Adair, a Scotch trader from North Carolina, who lived for thirty years among the Cherokees, Introduction. xv published in London in 1775 an extensive work upon the manners and customs, and especially the religious charac- ter of these Indians, evincing much erudition and minute- ness of observation. He claimed that they were red Jews, had many Hebrew words in their vocabulary, carried the Ark of the Covenant, and observed many Jewish rites and customs. (History of the American Indians, etc., by James Adair, a trader with the Indians and resident in their country forty years. London. 1775.) But it was not until 1748 that any organized move- ment was made looking to the acquirement or settle- ment of lands west of the Alleghany. In that and the succeeding year two large land companies were organized in London, under Royal Charter — the Loyal Land Com- pany, authorized to survey and locate eight hundred thousand acres in the territory now embraced in Ken- tucky north of 36° 30', and the Ohio Company, author- ized to locate and settle five hundred thousand acres between the Kanawha and Monongahela rivers, and upon the waters of the Ohio, below the junction of the Monongahela and the Alleghany. As representative of the Loyal Land Company Doctor Thomas Walker made an exploration westward of the Alleghany Moun- tains in the spring of 1750, in search of suitable lands for settlement, passing through Kentucky from Cumberland xvi Introduction. Gap northward, and in the autumn of the same year Chris- topher Gist passed through Ohio westward to the Great Miami, and thence from the mouth of the Scioto southward through Kentucky. They were the earhest white men who explored this territory who have left a record of their observations, and their journals are given in the following pages, with full explanatory foot-notes. That of Gist was published more than an hundred years ago in a work the full title of which is as follows : "A Topographical Description of such parts of North America as are con- tained in the annexed Map of the Middle British Colonies, &c., in North America. By T. Pownall, M. P., late Gov- ernor, &c., of his Majesty's Provinces of Massachusetts and South Carolina and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. London. Published for J. Almon, opposite Burlington House in Piccadilly. 1776." The text of this work has been followed in all its details of spelling, capitals, and punctuation. It has been republished and largely drawn on by historians, but has been the occasion of many errors, from a failure to interpret correctly some parts of the route pursued. The journal of Doctor Walker is now for the first time given in complete form. Although its existence has been long known, and brief reference is made to it in various histories of the West, no part of it was published until Introduction. xvii within the last decade, when it appeared with the following title : ' ' Journal of an Exploration in the Spring of the Year 1750 by Dr. Thomas Walker, of Virginia, with a Preface by William Cabell Rives, LL. B., Member of the American Historical Association. Boston : Little, Brown & Co. 1888." This publication, issued by a descendant of Doctor Walker, while a valuable contribu- tion to Western history, was defective in the omission of the sheets of the journal for the first ten days from March 6th to March i6th, 1749-50, and for ten days from April loth to April 20th, 1750. Four years ago it came under the observation of the editor of the present publication, who became interested in correctly defining Doctor Walker's route through Kentucky, which he was satisfied had been incorrectly laid down by all others. By a close study of the journal, notwithstanding the sec- ond hiatus embraced the period through which Doctor Walker passed into Kentucky, he succeeded in his effort, and read a paper covering the subject before the Filson Club, November 13, 1894, accompanied by a map show- ing his route, together with the location of the house erected by him on the Cumberland River, which always theretofore had been laid down on the early maps as due south of Louisville, more than an hundred miles too far west. He then addressed himself to the effort to find xviii Introduction. the missing sheets of the journal, and, after corresponding with Doctor William C. Rives, son of the gentleman above named, who first placed the journal in print, they were fortunately recovered after a search among some of the family papers long laid away. Doctor Rives kindly sent them to the editor, with permission to restore them to the journal in their proper place, and they, together with the entire journal, from the text of Mr. William Cabell Rives' publication cited, are given in the following pages, with strict adherence to the spelling and other features. The foot-notes, which have been made as brief as is consistent with their object, give the location of the explorer from day to day, together with such information and explanation as will enable the reader to follow his route. The missing leaves confirmed the editor in every particular in which, in his original Filson Club paper, he by hypothesis mapped out the route not embraced in the mutilated journal, and no corrections of the map made to illustrate his paper were found necessary. The present paper is an expansion and elaboration of the orig inal one, and after very careful preparation is submitted as a contribution to pioneer history, the necessity for which has long been apparent to the student and compiler. It was at first his purpose to present it unaccompanied with any other, but the coincidence as to time of the explora- Introductio7i. xix tion by Christopher Gist, the fact that they traversed different parts of the State, and the important influence the two explorers and their labors had upon the settle- ment of the West and of Kentucky, have induced him to include both journals in one publication. The editor makes his acknowledgments for valuable assistance derived from "Christopher Gist's Journals," by William M. Dar- lington, published in Pittsburgh by J. R. Welden, 1888 ; to Colonel R. T. Durrett, Captain James M. Bourne, and others who have assisted him in preparing this work. \i Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. pvOCTOR THOMAS WALKER was born in King * — ^ and Queen County, Virginia, January 25, 17 15. His father, of the same name, was of a family long settled in the tide - water section of Virginia, his first American ancestor having come from Staffordshire, Eng- land, in 1650, and been a member of the Colonial Assembly in 1662, as a representative from Gloucester County. While the records of the family do not con- tain much of the details of the lives of its earlier representatives, they show them to have been of a sturdy stock, and to have belonged to the class of Vir- ginia planters which constituted the most respectable and influential element of the colonial population. Doctor Walker's mother was Susanna Peachy, to whom his father was married September 24, 1709. Their children were Mary Peachy, born in 17 10, who married Doctor George Gilmer, of Williamsburg, Virginia, who left many descendants of distinction, including a Governor each of Virginia and Georgia; John, born April 29, 18 10, who mar- ried Miss Baylor, of Essex County, and Thomas, the subject of this sketch. It is to be regretted that but 4 2 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. little is known of the early life of Doctor Walker or of his educational advantages, but it is inferred that he enjoyed the best afforded at that time in the Colony, and that he attended the academical or medical course, one or both, of William and Mary College. That, as the title which he bore indicates, he was a physician, though not confining himself strictly to the practice, may be inferred from the evidence afforded by his journal. But, as one of his biographers says in correcting an error stating that he was a divine, "a more conclusive proof of his being a physician is the fact that in June, July, and August, 1757, he made oft-repeated visits to Colonel Peter Jefferson, and stood by his bedside when he died on the 17th of August in that year. " It is more than probable that with an adventurous spirit he preferred a more active life and one which offered more remunerative returns, and laid aside his saddle-bags to become a surveyor — a profession which at that time and later drew to its service the most representative Virginians. Besides, another inducement naturally led him to make this change. In 1741, when he was twenty-six years of age, he married a lady who brought to him a landed estate of fifteen thousand acres, and the proper care and subdivision of it afterward made it an object of sufficient importance to induce him to take this step. The companion whom he chose and Sketch of Doctor Thomas PValker. 3 who became the mother of his twelve children and the ancestress of a long line of distinguished descendants was a young widow several years older than himself — Mrs. Nicholas Meriwether, whose maiden name was Mil- dred Thornton. She was a second cousin of Washington, whose elder brother Samuel had married one of her near relatives. Her land was situated in Albemarle County, east of Charlottesville, in one of the most historic portions of Virginia, and here he afterward erected the homestead known as Castle Hill, which is still occupied by his lineal descendants. He was the intimate friend of Peter Jefferson, the father of the author of the Declaration of Independ- ence, and at his death became his executor and the guardian of his illustrious son. From association with him it is easy to conceive how naturally his mind was influenced and his life turned into the current of adven- ture for which his new calling so well fitted him. The civilization of Virginia had long been confined to a com- parativel}' narrow strip of territory between the Blue Ridge and the Atlantic. In 1728 the increase in population prompted the extension of the boundary line between North Carolina and Virginia, and in that and the succeed- ing year it was established as far west as the foot of the Alleghany Mountains by a commission, at the head of which was Colonel William Byrd, of Westover. His account 4 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. of the survey, as given in the "Westover Papers," is one of the most interesting contributions to colonial history, and discloses the fact that he ran the line seventy-two miles beyond the limit fixed by his associates, who protested that they had already reached a point to which it would require fifty years for the settlements to extend. Yet in twenty years the tide of immigration had reached the base of the Alleghanies, and a further extension of the line westward was required. For this service were selected by the Colonial Assembly Joshua Fry, a graduate of Oxford, the distinguished Professor of Mathematics of William and Mary College, and Peter Jefferson, whose calling was that of a surveyor. In 1749, accompanied by Daniel Weldon and William Churton, Commissioners on the part of North Carolina, they extended the line on the parallel of 36° 30' seventy-three miles further to Steep Rock, a point about twenty-five miles southeast of Abingdon, Virginia. Fry and Jefferson were further associated as civil engineers in the preparation of the map of Virginia which bears their name, published by them in 1751, and which was used in the treaty of peace between England and the United States at the close of the Revolutionary War. To still further show the impetus which had required this exten- sion and its rapid progress, it was only thirty years when, in 1779, this line was extended five hundred miles further Sketch of Doctoy TJwmas Walker. 5 westward by Doctor Walker himself. In 1748 the spirit of western adventure was quickened by the desire of the English Government to occupy, as against the adverse claim of the French, the rich lands beyond the Allegha- nies, and, in that and the succeeding year, two great land companies, having for their object the settlement of this territory, were organized — the Ohio Company looking to the occupation of the land upon the Ohio and its upper tributaries, and the Loyal Land Company having for its object the territory in Southwestern Virginia and Ken- tucky. In 1748 Doctor Walker, who had become known for his skill as a surveyor, his good judgment as a locator of eligible surveys, and his fondness for exploring regions beyond the settlements, in company with a number of gentlemen in search of good land, made an expedition through Southwestern Virginia. Among the party were Colonel James Patton, who had theretofore received a grant of about one hundred and twenty thousand acres of land in the Valley of Virginia, Colonel John Buchanan, his son-in-law. Colonel Wood, and Major Charles Camp- bell, all names prominent in the annals of the Colony. They penetrated the country of the Cherokees along the Holston, now in East Tennessee, and the result of their trip doubtless contributed to the extension of the line by Fry and Jefferson and the settlements which followed; so 6 Sketch of Doctor T/ioinas JValker. that in the following year, when the Loyal Land Com- pany was organized with a grant of eight hundred thousand acres of land, Doctor Walker was selected as the agent and surveyor of the company to make their locations. His journal shows that on the 12th of December, 1749, he had contracted "to go to the westward, in order to discover a proper place for a settlement," and that he started on his long and perilous journey in company with five companions on the 12th of March following. The character of the man is well portrayed in his quaint and simple but concise and intelligent record of that notable expedition, the hardships endured and the obstacles over- come. The time occupied in making this great circuit through Kentucky was just four months, along the route of which for the greater part railroads now run, enabling the trip to be made in comfort in forty-eight hours. But the results, except in the experience and knowledge of the country, valuable for future purposes, were of no imme- diate advantage. By a singular perversity of fate, although for many weary weeks he skirted, at the distance of a day or two of travel, the rich bluegrass region of Ken- tucky, he saw only the most rugged mountain region, and floundered through rocky laurel thickets and swollen streams. But his energy was not impaired, and his enthusiasm never flagged. The geographical and topo- Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. 7 graphical information derived by Doctor Walker on this trip was early utilized by the historians and map-makers. Vaugondy's map (Map by Sr. Robert de Vaugondy, Geographic Ordinaire du Roy, 1755) lays down Doctor Walker's settlement on the Cumberland quite accurately as to latitude, but too far west, and Crooked Creek, Powell's, Lawless, Hughes, and Frederick's River, but makes them all flow into the Ohio, when, except the latter, they are tributaries of the Cumberland. Mitchell's map and the map of Lewis Evans, published in Philadelphia, 1755, also contain data evidently furnished by him. Evans is the only one who makes acknowledgment. He says (Pownall, page 34): "As for the branches of Ohio, which head in New Virginia, I am particularly obliged to Doctor Thomas Walker for the intelligence of what names they bear, and what rivers they fall into northward and west- ward ; but this gentleman, being on a journey when I happened to see him, had not his notes, whereby he might have rendered those parts more perfect." He made numerous trips to other localities, though not so remote, and was frequently for long periods absent from home, acquiring great influence among the Indians and a thorough knowledge of their character. He continued without intermission as the agent of the company until 1775, when in April of that year he settled his accounts 8 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. to their full satisfaction. Not much is known of the details of his operations or the particular localities in which he was engaged, but in the Colonial Records of Virginia, Volume II, page 298, appears a letter from him, in which he states that for five years his headquarters were in Southwestern Virginia, at what is now Abingdon, which he calls Washington Court House, and which had been pre- viously known as Wolf Hills. During this long term of service Doctor Walker did not confine himself to the duties of a surveyor and land agent, but in the stirring conflicts of the frontier he bore his part in the field, and gave to his country the benefit of his valuable experience gained as a frontiersman. In 1755, when the French and Indians threatened to extermi- nate the whites or drive the settlers eastward of the Blue Ridge, he was made Commissary, with the rank of Major, to the Virginia troops which accompanied Braddock in his disastrous campaign. His preliminary duties required him to make an extensive trip to the extreme western part of Maryland and thence into Pennsylvania, his journal recount- ing many incidents of adventure by flood and field. Among other items is one in which he speaks of dining with ' ' the ingenious Doctor Benjamin Franklin, " who was then ' ' Post- master General of America," upon whom devolved the singular duty of furnishing transportation for General Brad- Sketch of DoctoF Thomas PValker. 9 dock, and who visited his headquarters at Will's Creek, now Cumberland, Maryland. In the battle or massacre which followed. Doctor Walker narrowly escaped death or capture with Washington. In 1768 he was appointed with Andrew Lewis a Commissioner on the part of Virginia to a congress with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, the site of Rome, New York, when on the 5th of November a treaty was signed by which was conveyed to the English, for a sum approximating ten thousand pounds sterling, a vast territory west of the Alleghanies, including all of Kentucky east of the Tennessee River. The name of Doctor Walker appears signed to the treaty, but that of Andrew Lewis does not. This is explained by Doctor Walker in a deposition given December 3, 1777, to the effect that, before the signing. General Lewis was called off. (Virginia Colonial Records, Volume I, page 297.) In 1774, after the battle of Point Pleasant, when on the loth of October Andrew Lewis defeated the Shawnee Chief Cornstalk in that most notable contest between the whites and Indians, Doctor Walker was again appointed a Commissioner with John Harvie, and concluded a treaty with the Indians. In the following year, when a member of the House of Burgesses, he was appointed, next in order of nomination to Washington, one of the Commissioners to arrange a treaty with the Ohio Indians, whose friend- 5 lo Sketch of Doctor Thouias Walker. ship it was desirable to retain in view of the pending difficulties with the mother country ; and his name, with that of Andrew Lewis, James Wood, and Adam Stephens, appears signed to the transcript of proceedings held at Fort Pitt, from September 12th to October 21st, 1775, as having presided over the conferences. Besides being a member of the House of Burgesses, he was a member of the Revolutionary Convention, and also of the Committee of Public Safety. In 1777 he was a member of the Coun- cil of State, consisting of eight members chosen by the joint ballot of the two houses composing the legislature of Virginia. It was a body of important functions, as it shared with the Governor in all his executive powers, and without whose concurrence he could perform no official act. But Doctor Walker was not the only member of his family who bore an active part in the events of this period. His son. Colonel John Walker, who was after- ward a member of Congress and United States Senator, served as aid-de-camp to Washington, and elicited the expression of that great officer's confidence in his "abili- ties, honor, and prudence." Although Doctor Walker had now reached an age when he might well have retired from the arduous labors which had characterized his life, in 1779 he was chosen by the Legislature of Virginia a Commissioner on the part Sketch of Doctor Thomas JValker. 1 1 of the State to extend the Hne of 36° 30', the boundary between Virginia and North Carohna, from the end of Fry and Jefferson's Hne westward to the Tennessee. It is commonly said that he was appointed by Jefferson, Governor of Virginia, but the record shows that he was chosen by the legislature before Mr. Jefferson became Governor and while he was a member of the House of Delegates. (See Journal House of Delegates for Decem- ber 19, 1778.) The people of Virginia, who had rebelled against the exercise of arbitrary executive power, besides providing a council to restrain the executive, denied him the power of appointment in such cases. As his associate Commissioner they selected Daniel Smith, a cultivated surveyor, who had been long associated with Doctor Walker in the business of the Loyal Land Company, having been five years with him at Abingdon. Daniel Smith, son of Henry and Sarah (Crosby) Smith, was born in Stafford County, Virginia, October 17, 1748 (O. S.), and died in Sumner County, Tennessee, June 16, 1 8 1 8. He moved early to the western part of Virginia and settled on Clinch River, and was a surveyor by occupa- tion. Shortly after concluding his service with Doctor Walker in running the boundary line he moved to that part of Tennessee, near Nashville, by the fertility of which he had been attracted while on this service. He 1 2 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. was one of the earliest settlers of the State, being contem- porary with John Donelson, whose son, Samuel Donelson, law partner of Andrew Jackson, married his daughter, and whose daughter married one of Smith's sons. Andrew Jackson Donelson was his grandson, and Donelson Caff ery. Senator from Louisiana, is a lineal descendant of John Donelson. He filled many public offices ; was Captain in and Colonel of the Second Battalion of Washington County, Virginia ; was Major-General of militia ; appoint- ed by Washington Secretary of the Territory south of the Ohio in 1 790 ; member of the North Carolina Legis- lature ; member of the convention that framed the Con- stitution of Tennessee; United States Senator in 1798-99 in place of Andrew Jackson, resigned, and again from 1805 until his own resignation in 1809. He published the first map of Tennessee and a geography of the State (Philadelphia, 1799). The Commissioners on the part of North Carolina were Colonel Richard Henderson and William B. Smith. They entered on their duties September 6, 1779, but owing to a disagreement the Commissioners of each State ran a separate line as far as Cumberland Gap, where those from North Carolina ceased operations. Doctor Walker and Daniel Smith continued the survey amid the severity of a winter still known by tradition as the cold winter of Sketch of Doctor Tliomas Walker. 1 3 1780, and finished it at the Tennessee River March 23, 1780. Their report, which is full of interest and further illustrates the energy, skill, and endurance of Doctor Walker, will be found in Hening's Virginia Reports, Volume IX, page 562. It is stated in the report that "After we had returned homeward one hundred and sixty miles we met with orders from his Excellency, the Governor (Jef- ferson), to do another piece of service which we suppose he has made you acquainted with." This was, most prob- ably, to run an experimental line from the late terminus still further westward. It had been supposed that it would strike the Ohio, but it came out on the Mississippi, and in that year George Rogers Clark, under the direction of Jefferson, erected Fort Jefferson on that stream for the protection of American interests. The country between the Tennessee and the Mississippi then belonged to the Chickasaws, and was acquired from them by treaty con- cluded October 19, 1818, Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby being the Commissioners on the part of the United States. The price paid for that part of Tennes- see and Kentucky west of the Tennessee River was three hundred thousand dollars, and that portion of Kentucky has since been known locally as the Jackson Purchase. Doctor Walker continued for several years after this to participate actively in civil affairs, but declined further 1 4 Sketch of Doctor Thomas M^alkcr. service in the field. In the Virginia Colonial Records, Volume II, page 298, is a letter from him, written August 7, 1 78 1, to Governor Nelson, regretting his inability to accept the appointment made by the General Assembly of Virginia as Commissioner to settle all accounts of disbursements and claims in the part of the State includ- ing Kentucky, as he was admonished by the infirmities of increasing age not to undertake such an arduous task. The Revolutionary War was drawing to a close, involving Virginia in its last throes in the devastation of an invading army. The whole eastern portion was overrun by the British forces under Arnold and Tarleton, the capital taken, and much public and private property destroyed every- where. Charlottesville, to which the legislature had adjourned, Monticello, and Castle Hill were raided by Tarleton's dragoons, and the legislature, Mr. Jefferson, and Doctor Walker barely escaped capture. An interesting incident of the raid is recorded, well illustrating the spirit which actuated the American women of that period. Not far distant from Charlottesville, on an estate known as ' ' The Farm, " resided Nicholas Lewis, the uncle and guard- ian of Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expe- dition to the Pacific. His wife was Mary Walker, the eldest daughter of Doctor Walker. Her husband was absent in the army when Tarleton with his raiders swooped Sketch of Doctor Thomas IValker. 1 5 down on her home and proceeded to appropriate forage and every thing eatable and portable. She received the British cavalryman with spirit and dignity, and upbraided him sharply for his war on defenseless women, telling him to go to the armies of Virginia and meet her men. Tarle- ton parried her thrusts with politeness as well as he could, and after his men were rested, resumed his march. After his departure Mrs. Lewis discovered that his men had carried off all her ducks except a single old drake. This she caused to be caught and sent it to Tarleton by a messenger, who overtook him, with her compliments, say- ing that the drake was lonesome without his companions, and as he had evidently overlooked it, she wished to reunite them. From that time she was known as "Captain Moll," and bears that sobriquet in the family records. She was a woman of strong character, was still living at "The Farm" in 1817, and left many descend- ants in Virginia and in and near Louisville, Kentucky. On the 19th of October, 1781, Tarleton's career closed, and Virginia was relieved from similar devastation for a period of eighty years by the surrender at Yorktown. In 1782 Doctor Walker, then a member of the General Assembly, is mentioned as a member of the "committee to prepare a full and detailed vindication of the claims of Virginia to her western territory," and it can not be 1 6 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker . doubted that his services contributed to the estabHshment of the boundaries fixed in the ultimate treaty of peace, by which the British surrendered their claim to the terri- tory north of the Ohio, now comprising five States and part of a sixth, won by the valor of George Rogers Clark at Kaskaskia and Vincennes. The following inter- esting glimpse of Doctor Walker may be valuable to his descendants, where the record of the personal details of his life is otherwise so restricted. It is taken from Travels Through the Interior Parts of America, by T. Anburey, Vol. II, 1789. In a letter of April 18, 1780, he says: ' ' Some short time since I became acquainted with a Colonel Walker (evidently Colonel John Walker, aide-de- camp to Washington, etc.), who has lately been elected a Delegate to represent this State in Congress. The usual hospitality of the country presides at his house ; but what renders it unpleasant, the family will chiefly converse on politics, but always with moderation. I was much pleased with a very noble and animated speech of the Colonel's father, a man possessing all his faculties with strong understanding, though considerably above eighty years of age [overestimated — Ed.]. One day in chat, while each was delivering his sentiment of what would be the state of America a century hence, the old man, with great fire and spirit, declared his opinion that Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. 1 7 ' the Americans would then reverence the resolution of their forefathers and would eagerly impress an adequate idea of the sacred value of freedom in the minds of their children, that it may descend to the latest posterity ; that if, in any future ages, they should be again called forth to revenge public injuries to secure that freedom, they should adopt the same measures that secured it to them by their brave ancestors. The scope of this sketch will not admit of the introduc- tion of many matters of historical interest which might appropriately be introduced in an extended biography. Among these are the details of Doctor Walker's large land transactions, together with copies of many curious deeds of transfer, a few of which, with the polysyllabic and unpro- nounceable names of subscribing Indian chiefs, accompanied by their hieroglyphic marks, some of them resembling Chinese letters and others natural objects, as the turtle, the deer, and the wolf, are preserved in the ' ' Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia, by Doctor R. C. M. Page, New York, 1893." To one only can special reference be made, showing as it does the magnitude of some of his transactions. This is a deed dated July 30, 1779, from George Croghan, the noted Indian trader and deputy Indian agent of Pennsylvania, in which for a consideration of five thousand Spanish dollars he conveys the forty-eighth 1 8 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. part of six million acres of land, being one hundred and twenty-five thousand acres, to the following persons : Thomas Walker, John Walker, Thomas Walker, junior, Nicholas Lewis, George Gilmer, Matthew Maury, Reuben Lindsay, Henry Fry, and Joseph Hornsby ; the grantees being Doctor Walker, his two sons, and six sons-in-law. All the evidence presented in the life of Doctor Walker indicates that he was a man of a large mould, that while careful in detail he had a broad, comprehensive mind, and exerted a large influence for the good of his fellow-man. In fact, it is not asserting too much to say that, if the full measure of the influence which he exerted in the matter of the exploration, acquisition, and settlement of the West were known, he would be entitled to vastly more credit than has been accorded to him. His relations with the father of Thomas Jefferson brought him in contact with the latter at an impressible age, and from the interest manifested by him through his long hfe in the same lines, it is easy to conclude that he imbibed from Doctor Walker much of that spirit of inquiry into the natural resources, geography, anthropology, zoology, and botany which made him the best informed man on such subjects, and has ren- dered his Notes on Virginia, crude as he called them, a standard authority to this day. How much of that varied information which surprised not only his own countrymen, Sketch of Doctor Thomas IValker. 1 9 but the learned of all nations, he derived from Doctor Walker is matter of conjecture, but it is certain that he consulted him much, and in one of his letters of inquiry extant he tells him that he knows ' ' nobody else who can give me equal information on all points. " That the accurate reports derived from Doctor Walker of the value of the western country as a heritage worth preserving led him to throw his whole official as well as personal influence in seconding the plans of George Rogers Clark for the acqui- sition of the Northwest Territory can admit of little doubt, while the magnetism of Doctor Walker's love for adventure and the extension of Virginia's boundary may well be sup- posed to have planted the germ which expanded into the purchase of Louisiana and the expedition of Lewis and Clark to the Pacific immediately thereafter. Throughout Jefferson's correspondence evidences that he entertained such ideas crop out twenty years before their accomplish- ment. The wife of Doctor Walker died November 16, 1778, and some years thereafter he married Elizabeth Thornton, a cousin of his first wife. Washington refers to her in a letter to Doctor Walker, April 10, 1784: "I hope it is unnecessary to give you assurance of the pleasure I should feel in seeing you and my cousin here at this retreat (Mount Vernon) from all my public employments," 20 Sketch of Doctor TJioiiias Walker. The children of Doctor Walker, all the fruit of his first marriage, were twelve in number, all born at Castle Hill: 1. Mary Walker, known as "Captain Moll, "born July 24, 1742, and married Nicholas Lewis. 2. Honorable John Walker, born February 13, 1744, who married Elizabeth Moore, granddaughter of Governor Spottswood. 3. Susan Walker, born December 14, 1746, who mar- ried Henry Fry, son of Colonel Joshua Fry, senior. 4. Thomas Walker, junior, second and only son to have male issue, born March 1 7, 1 749, who married Margaret Hoops, of Pennsylvania. 5. Lucy Walker, born May 5, 1751, who married Doctor George Gilmer, of Albemarle County, Virginia, and was the grandmother of Governor Thomas Walker Gilmer, of Virginia, killed by the bursting of a gun on the man-of-war "Princeton," February 28, 1844, while Secre- tary of the Navy. Another descendant of this couple was George Rockingham Gilmer, twice Governor of Georgia, and member of Congress three terms. 6. Elizabeth (called Betsey), born August i, 1753, who married Reverend Matthew Maury, son of Reverend James Maury, of the "Parson Case," in which Patrick Henry made his first reputation as an orator. Among Sketch of Doctor Tlioinas IValker. 2 1 their descendants were Matthew F. Maury, the distin- guished naval officer and scientist, and General Dabney H. Maury, of the Confederate Army. 7. Mildred Walker, born June 5, 1755, who married Joseph Hornsby. No issue. 8. Sarah Walker, born March 28, 1758, who married Reuben Lindsay. 9. Martha Walker, born May 2, 1760, who married George Divers. No issue. 10. Reuben Walker, born October 8, 1762, who died at three years of age. 11. Honorable Francis Walker, member of Congress, born June 22, 1764, who married Jane Byrd Nelson, granddaughter of Colonel William Byrd, of Westover. Their children were : (i) Jane Francis Walker, who mar- ried Doctor Mann Page, to whom were born twelve chil- dren, of whom Doctor Richard Channing Moore Page, of New York, author of the Page Family in Virginia, is the youngest ; (2) Thomas Hugh Walker, born in 1800 and died 1805 ; (3) Judith Page Walker, who was born March 24, 1802, and married Honorable William C. Rives, United States Senator from Virginia and twice Minister to France. Their children were : {a) Francis Robert Rives, Secretary of Legation in London to Mr. Everett. His children were : a, George Lockhart Rives, Assistant 2 2 Sketch of Doctor Thomas JValker. Secretary of State, United States, 1887-89, married first, Caroline Kean, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, who died leaving issue ; second, Mrs. Belmont, of New York, by whom he has also issue ; b, Ella Louise Rives, married David King, junior, of Newport, Rhode Island, and has children ; f, Francis R. Rives, junior, married first, Georgia Fellows, of New York, who died without issue ; he married a second time and died without issue ; d, Constance Rives, married Borland and has issue ; e, Maud Rives, twin sister of Constance, married Walker Bruce Smith, of New York City, and has issue ; f, Reginald William Rives, married, and has issue. {b) William Cabell Rives, who first published Doctor Walker's Journal in 1888, married Grace Winthrop Sears, of Boston, and left three children : Doctor William C. Rives, of New York, married Mary F. Rhinelander ; Alice Rives, and Arthur Landon Rives ; {c) Colonel Alfred Landon Rives, who was a prominent officer in the Engi- neer Corps in the Confederate service, and has latterly been in charge of the Panama Railway ; he is the father of Amelie Rives, the authoress ; {d) Amelie Louise Rives, who married Henry Sigourney, of Boston, and they, with their three children, were lost on the steamship Ville du Havre in 1873 ; (e) Ella Rives, died single in 1 89 1. Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. 23 12. The twelfth and last child of Doctor Walker was Peachy Walker, born February 6, 1767, who married Joshua Fry, son of John Fry, and grandson of Joshua Fry, senior, heretofore referred to. They came to Ken- tucky in 1788, and settled at Danville. Doctor Fry was a man of classical education and was a noted educator, taking into his family a few young men whom he taught with his own children. Among his scholars were some of the most prominent men of Kentucky. His descendants in Kentucky and other trans-Alleghany States are numerous and include many distinguished names. Their children were : 1. Sallie, who married Honorable John Green. 2. Lucy Gilmer, who became the second wife of Judge John Speed, of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Their children were : (a) Thomas, died in infancy ; {b) Lucy Fry, married Honorable James D. Breckinridge, of Louisville, Kentucky, member of Congress 1821-23, no issue ; {c) James, a distinguished lawyer of Louisville, and Attorney General in President Lincoln's Cabinet, married Jane Cochran and had issue ; (d) Peachy Walker, married Austin Peay, of Louisville, and had issue ; (e) Joshua Fry, married Fanny Henning, and had no issue ; he was the bosom friend of President Lincoln; (y) William Pope, married first, Mary Ellen Shallcross, 24 Sketch of Doctor Thomas Walker. and had one son, James B. Speed, now a leading busi- ness man of Louisville ; second, Ardell Hutchinson, and had issue ; {g) Susan Fry, married B. O. Davis, and had issue ; {ft) Philip, Major and Collector of Internal Rev- enue, married Emma Keats, niece of John Keats, the poet, and left issue ; he was an estimable man ; (?) J. Smith, married first, Elizabeth Williamson, and had no issue; second, Susan Phillips, and left issue; (y) Susan Bell, married Thomas Adams, and had issue ; (k) Ann Pope, died in early childhood. 3. Martha, who married David Bell, an Irish merchant of Danville, Kentucky, and was the mother of Honorable Joshua Fry Bell, a noted orator and member of Congress. 4. Mildred Ann, who married Honorable William C. Bullitt, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, and was the mother of {a) Joshua F". Bullitt, Chief Justice of Kentucky, 1865; ((5) John C. Bullitt, Esquire, a prominent lawyer of Phila- delphia; (r) Helen M., who married Doctor Henry Cheno- weth, of Jefferson County, Kentucky; {d~) Thomas Walker Bullitt, Esquire, a leading member of the Louisville bar; (e) Henry Massie Bullitt, of Jefferson County, Ken- tucky; (/) Susan, relict of Honorable Archibald Dixon, Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and United States Senator ; [g) James, Confederate soldier, killed in the war. Sketch of Doctor Thomas IValker. 25 One of their sons, Thomas, was the father of Gen- eral Speed Smith Fry, a distinguished officer in the Mexican War and of the Federal service in the late war, and of the second wife of Doctor Lewis W. Green, whose daughter is the wife of ex- Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson. Another son, John, was the father of Major Carey Fry, of the regular army, and of Colonel John Fry, of the Kentucky Volunteers. This list might be expanded to the size of a volume without enumerating all the descendants of Doctor Walker, but this lies more in the domain of genealogy, upon which it is not well to trench too much. Enough has been given to show how widely the family tree planted by their dis- tinguished progenitor has expanded its branches. Doctor Walker, after he had passed the allotted span by nearly a decade, died at his home on November 9, 1794. I know not how I can more appropriately close this sketch than by quoting the following concluding words of the memoir accompanying his journal, published in 1888, and written by his great-grandson, William Cabell Rives, LL. B.: ' ' He was cheered in his declining years by the hap- piness and prosperity of his many children, and by seeing 26 SkeicJi of Doctor TJioinas IValker. two of his sons in distinguished pubHc positions, the eld- est, who had been on the staff of Washington, a Senator, and the youngest a member of the House of Represen- tatives of the United States. At his much -loved home. Castle Hill, Albemarle County, Virginia, he had built a house in 1765 which stands to-day in excellent preserva- tion. It is one of the few buildings still remaining on the soil of Virginia which are older than the beginning of the War of Independence. Its northwest front, looking on the neighboring Southwest mountains, is represented in the frontispiece of the volume now published by an engrav- ing due to Mr. Whymper, of London, the intrepid climber of the Alps and of the Andes. ' ' This house is yet the home of some of the descendants of its first owner, who do honor to their lineage. For five generations it has been a seat of hospitality and cult- ure, and many time-honored associations now cluster about the house itself and the surrounding grounds. The slow- growing box trees, with archways cut through their ever- green sides, which border the lawn have climbed to the height of more than thirty feet, and tell the story to the most casual observer of the long years of their gradual ascent. The small panes of glass in the venerable-look- ing windows and the large brass door-locks of the house were brought from London, and are suggestive of ' ye 2 E Sketch of Doctor Thomas IValker. 27 olden time' when Virginia was a colony and looked for her supplies to the great mother city beyond the sea. In the ample square hall the youthful, music-loving Jeffer- son has played the violin while the still younger Madison has danced. Here Thomas Walker has gathered around him the Indians who had learned to know and respect him in the fastnesses of the primeval forest, and has given shelter to the Nelsons and other patriots from 'the lower country ' in the stormy times of the British invasion. Here the doors have opened to welcome five men who were either to be or were actually at the time presidents of the United States, and to many others who have made their mark as statesmen, judges, diplomatists, and soldiers ; and here with the flight of years the voices of mirth have been often hushed by the coming of the footsteps of sorrow. " In this home, the birthplace of his twelve children, the old pioneer, near the end of his eightieth year, on the 9th of November, 1794, closed his eyes on earthly scenes. He lies in the midst of a neighboring grove, to which the purple redbud and the white dogwood lend in succession the beauty of their vernal bloom, and where the secular oak, the tall tulip tree, and the fragrant wild grape make a bower for the birds which in spring and summer time ceaselessly carol his requiem." Preface to Doctor Walker's Journal. "■ I "HE following letters from Doctor W. C. Rives, son ■■• of William Cabell Rives, Esquire, who, in 1888, published the journal of Doctor Walker, were written to the editor after reading the latter 's paper read before the Filson Club, in 1894, on Doctor Walker's exploration, and in response to his request that he would endeavor to find the missing leaves of the journal : New York, December 21, 1894. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston : Dear Sir : I was much pleased to receive your very kind letter and the valuable paper on Doctor Walker and his route, and will keep the latter carefully a little longer before returning it. . . . Very truly yours, William C. Rives. New York, December 29, 1894. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston : Dear Sir : I have been intending at some time to publish a new edition of Doctor Walker's Journal, but in the mean while, to aid you in tracing out his route further, I have much pleasure in sending you a copy of the missing part of the journal describ- ing his crossing of Powell's River and passage of Cumberland Gap. So much detail is given that I suppose this part of his journey will be especially easy to follow. Beargrass, the name he gave to Powell's River, appears on Mitchell's Treaty Map of 30 Preface to Doctor Walker's yournal. 1785. With regard to the position of the settlement, I suppose that the details must have been given by Doctor Walker, and that by chance more or less the latitude and longitude were put down correctly, while in other respects the map is incorrect. I very soon saw after the publication of the journal, by a more careful study of the maps, that he had not gone anywhere near the Salt or Green River, and your location of his settlement is just about where I should have supposed it to be. With regard to Roose- velt's statement. Colonel John P. Hale (Trans-Alleghany Pioneer Sketches, page 15) says that Doctor Walker, Colonel James Patton, Colonel Buchanan, Colonel Wood, and Major Campbell penetrated through Cumberland Gap in 1748, but this is of course not true. Mention of this party's visit to Tennessee is to be found in Morse's Geography, and I think it is referred to in Haywood's Tennessee, though at the moment I can not refer to either. . . . yours truly, William C. Rives. The missing leaves referred to in the above letter covered the ten days from April loth to April 20th, 1750. The following letter refers to the missing leaves covering the first ten days of the trip, which were sent to me in full some time later : New York, January 23, 1895. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston : Dear Sir : Please excuse me for having kept your paper so long, which I now return with my thanks. ... I am able to con- firm your supposition about Doctor Walker's companions from the unpublished beginning of his journal. He commences : "Having on the 1 2th day of December last been employed for a consideration Preface to Doctor IValker's yoitriial. 31 to go to the westward to discover a proper place for a settlement, I left my house on the Sixth day of March, at lo o'clock, 1749-50, in company with Ambrose Powell, William Tomlinson, Colby Chew, Henry Lawless, and John Hughes. Each man had a horse, and we had two to carry baggage." . . . Yours truly, William C. Rives. When I first conceived the idea of making Doctor Walker's Journal the subject of a Filson publication, I wrote to Doctor Rives with regard to his intention as stated in one of the foregoing letters, and in reply received the following letter : New York, December 11, 1895. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston : My Dear Sir : It will give me much pleasure to consent to your reprinting the whole journal and making use of the memoir, and I feel that it is very appropriate that it should appear as a Filson Club publication. Your valuable paper and the entire journal published together under such auspices will no doubt attract attention and cause an increased interest to be felt in Doctor Walker and his expedition. ... I will shortly send you a copy of the first ten days' journal. Very truly yours, William C. Rives. It had been my purpose to bring out this publication a year sooner, but the Siege of Bryan's Station having precedence, it was postponed until now. The additional time thus gained has enabled me to give more thorough 32 Preface to Doc toy Walker's yournal. notes to the text of the journal and to include in the publication the journal of Christopher Gist, the two form- ing the very foundation of Kentucky's history. I can not too fully express my obligations to Doctor Rives for his valuable assistance in my work. J. Stoddard Johnston. MAP SHOWING ROUTES OF WALKER AND GIST .... WALKERS ROUTE I X X X GIST'S ROUTE JOURNAL OF Doctor Thomas Walker ^ 1749-50.^ T TAVING, on the 12th of December last, been employed ■'■■'■ for a certain consideration ^ to go to the Westward in order to discover a proper Place for a Settlement, I left my house on the Sixth day of March, at 10 o'clock, 1749-50, in Company with Ambrose Powell,'' William Tomlinson,^ Colby Chew,^ Henry Lawless & John Hughs. ' In Mr. Rives' text the journal of the first ten days is missing, but is here supplied from the lost leaves recovered as stated in preface. ^At this time the new year in England and its Colonies began on the 25th of March, so that when this journal began it was still the year 1749. The change by which the first of January began the new year was made in 1752. 5 His contract was with the Loyal Land Company, which had a grant of eight hundred thousand acres of land to be located north of the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina, comprised in the territory now embraced in Kentucky. ■* Ambrose Powell was a surveyor and prominent citizen of Culpeper County, Virginia, of enterprise and note. He was the great-grandfather of General Ambrose Powell Hill, of the Confederate army. He had a son named Ambrose Powell, who was an officer in the Revolution. A descend- ant of the same name was County Judge of Jackson County, Kentucky, and another represented the county in the legislature. Other descendants are in Boyle and Mercer counties. 5 William Tomlinson was a Virginian who afterward became one of the settlers at Bryan's Station, near Lexington, Kentucky, and was in the fort when it was besieged, August 16, 1782. He settled near Lexington, Ken- tucky, and left descendants. He is sometimes referred to as William Tomerlin. See Daniel Bryan's letter, Appendix A. ' Colby Chew was the son of Colonel Thomas Chew and Martha Taylor. His paternal grandfather was Larkin Chew, and his paternal grandmother y 34 journal of Doctor Thomas IValker. Each man had a Horse and we had two to carry the Baggage. I lodged this night at Col. Joshua Fry's,' in Albemarle, which County includes the Chief of the head Branches of James River on the East side of the Blue Ridge. March 7th. Wee set off about 8, but the day proving wet, we only went to Thomas Joplin's on Rockfish. This is a pretty River, which might at a small expense be made fit for transporting Tobacco ; but it has lately been stopped by a Mill Dam near the Mouth to the prejudice of the upper inhabitants who would at their own expense clear and make it navigable, were they permitted. March 8th. We left Joplin's early. It began to rain about Noon. I left my People at Thomas Jones's and Hannah Ross. His mother, Martha Taylor, was a daughter of James Taylor and Martha Thompson. The grandfather of President Taylor was a brother of James Taylor, and a sister, Frances Taylor, was the grand- mother of President Madison. The Chews were from Orange County, Virginia, a branch of the Maryland Chew family. Colby Chew was a Captain in Washington's regiment, 1757-8, and was killed in Grant's defeat in Bouquet's expedition iu front of Fort Duquesne, 1758. His name is frequently mentioned in Washington's correspondence. " Colonel Joshua Fry, Washington's senior in command of the Virginia forces, died May 31, 1754, after the troops had reached the mouth of Will's Creek. Joint author, with Peter Jefferson, of Fry and Jefferson's Map of Virginia. His grandson, Joshua Fry, married Peachy, the youngest daughter of Doctor Walker. He was also one of the Commissioners of the Crown in continuing the line between Virginia and North Carolina. See "Memoirs of Colonel Joshua Fry," by Reverend Philip Slaughter, D. D. yoitrnal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 35 went to the Reverend Mr. Robert Rose's' on Tye River. This is about the Size of Rockfish, as yet open, but how long the Avarice of Millers will permit it to be so, I know not. At present, the Inhabitants enjoy plenty of fine fish, as Shad in their Season, Carp, Rocks, Fat-Backs which I suppose to be Tench, Perch, Mullets, etc. 9th. As the weather continues unlikely, I moved only to Baylor Walker's^ Quarters. March loth. The weather is still cloudy, and leaving my People at the Quarter, I rode to Mr. John Harvie's,^ where I dined and return 'd to the Quarter in ye Evening. nth. The Sabbath.* March 12th. We crossed the Fluvanna' & lodged at Thomas Hunt's. 'Mentioned in Bishop Mead's "Old Churches and Families of Virginia." ^This could hardly have been Baylor Walker, the son of Doctor Walker's brother John, who would have been about fourteen years old at this time. See "Page Family in Virginia," Second Edition, page 200. 3 John Harvie, bom in Gargannock, Scotland, emigrated to Virginia in early manhood, and settled in Albemarle County. He was a lawyer of ability, and speedily attained a large and lucrative practice, thus laying the basis of his subsequent wealth. In 1774 he was appointed with Doctor Thomas Walker, by the General Assembly, a Commissioner to treat with the Western Indians after their defeat at Point Pleasant, October 10th, by Andrew Lewis. He represented West Augusta County in the Conventions of 1775 and 1776, etc. See "Virginia Historical Collections," Volume VI, New Series, Richmond, 1887, note on page 83. ^ It will be noticed in this journal that Doctor Walker, save in one or two instances when necessity required it, did not travel on Sunday. 5 The Upper James, above the mouth of the Rivaana. 36 yoiirnal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 13th. We went early to William Calloway's' and supplied ourselves with Rum, Thread, and other nec- essaries & from thence took the main Waggon Road leading to Wood's or the New^ River. It is not well clear'd or beaten yet, but will be a very good one with proper management. This night we lodged in Adam Beard's low grounds. Beard is an ignorant, impudent, brutish fellow, and would have taken us up, had it not been for a reason, easily to be suggested. 14th. We went from Beard's to Nicholas Welches, where we bought corn for our horses, and had some Victuals dress'd for Breakfast, afterwards we crossed the Blue Ridge. The Ascent and Descent is so easie that ' Brother of Colonel Richard Callaway, who accompauied Boone to Kentucky in 1775. ^This river was first discovered in 1671 by Colonel Abraham Wood, who lived at the falls of the Appomattox, now Petersburg, Virginia. The line of his exploration was near and parallel to that of the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina as run in 1728-29, and described by Colonel William Byrd, one of the Virginia Commissioners, in "The West- over Papers." He crossed the Alleghany Mountains by a gap called Wood's (now Flower) Gap, and, passing down Little River, reached New River not a great distance above Ingles' Ferry, mentioned later in these notes. It was long called both Wood's and New River, but the latter name is now used exclusively. (Manuscript journal of Thomas Batts, 1671, in Colonel Durrett's library gives the details of Colonel Wood's expe- dition.) The Kanawha River was in early days commonly supposed to signify, in the Indian tongue, "River of the Woods," but the name of Wood's River, as it was for some time called, evidently came from that of New River, its main branch. Hale, page 48. yournal of Doctor Thomas IValker. t^-j a Stranger would not know when he crossed the Ridge.' It began to rain about Noon and continued till night. We lodged at William Armstrong's. Corn is very scarce in these Parts. March 15th. We went to the great Lick' on A Branch of the Staunton & bought Corn of Michael Campbell for our Horses. This Lick has been one of the best places for Game in these parts and would have been of much greater advantage to the Inhabitants than it has been if the Hunters had not killed the Buffaloes ^ for diversion, and the Elks and Deer for their skins. This afternoon we got to the Staunton where the Houses of the Inhab- itants had been carryed off with their grain and Fences by the Fresh last Summer, and lodged at James Robinson's, the only place I could hear of where they had Corn to spare, notwithstanding the land is such that an industrious man might make 100 barrels a share in a Seasonable year. ' This was at Buford's Gap (one thousand two hundred and ninety- three feet), in Bedford County, through which the Norfolk & Western Railroad now passes. °This locality is now occupied by the thri\'ing town of Roanoke, in the county of the same name. 3 It has been a generally received opinion that there were no buffalo east of the Blue Ridge, but while the locality here named is west of that mountain, it is not likely that the limit of their range was bounded by it. Colonel Byrd killed buffalo in 1729 at points on the boundary line southeast of Roanoke, between which and the coast there was no mountain. He states that it was not believed that they went further north than the latitude of 40. 38 your mil of Doctor Thoinas Walker. 1 6th March.' We kept up the Staunton' to WiUiam EngHshes.'" He Hves on a small Branch, and was not much hurt by the Fresh. He has a mill, which is the furthest back except one lately built by the Sect of People, who call themselves of the Brotherhood of Euphrates, ' First hiatus ends here, and Mr. Rives' text first begins with this date. ^The north fork of the Roanoke River formed by the junction of the Staunton and the Dan rivers in Halifax County, about ten miles north of the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina. It rises in the Alleghany Mountains and flows southeast. The upper portion of Staunton River is now called Roanoke, the lower portion Staunton, and after the junction with the Dan the Roanoke again. 3 William English, properly Ingles, with his father, Thomas Ingles, and family, and a family named Draper, all Scotch-Irish, had recently come from Pennsylvania. They, together with Colonel James Patton and William Preston, his nephew, lived neighbors in what was called Draper's Bottom, the scene of a bloody tragedy five years later. On the 8th of July, 1755, the day before Braddock's defeat, a party of Shawnee Indians from Ohio fell upon the settlement and killed, wounded, or captured nearly every soul there. Colonel James Patton, Mrs. George Draper, Casper Barrier, and a child of John Draper were killed; Mrs. John Draper and James Cull were wounded ; Mrs. William Ingles and two children, boys, two and four years old, Mrs. John Draper, and Henry Leonard were taken prisoners ; and William Preston, afterwards Surveyor of Fincastle, escaped by having gone to a distant neighbor's a short time before the incursion. Mrs. Mary Ingles, wife of William Ingles, was taken to Ohio and thence to Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, whence she made her escape and reached home afoot in forty days, after many perils and hardships. She was the first white woman recorded as having been in Kentucky. See Collins' "History of Kentucky," Volume I, pages 53-4. "Draper's Meadows" afterward became the home of William Preston, and was called by him Smithfield. * Near the present village of Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) yournal of Doctor Thomas IValker. 39 { 1 7th) and are commonly called the Duncards, ' who are the upper inhabitants of the New River, which is about 400 yards wide at this place. They live on the west side, and we were obliged to swim our Horses over.^ The Duncards are an odd set of people, who make it a matter of Religion not to Shave their Beards, ly on Beds, or eat Flesh, though at present, in the last, they transgress, being constrained to it, as they say, by the want of a sufficiency of Grain and Roots, they having not long been seated here. I doubt the plenty and deliciousness of the Venison & Turkeys has contributed not a little to this. The unmarried have no private Property, but live on a common Stock. They dont baptize either Young or Old, they keep their Sabbath on Saturday, & hold that all men shall be happy hereafter, but first must pass through punishment according to their Sins. They are very hos- pitable. ' Dunkards, Dunkers, and Tunkers, a German Baptist sect, with some features of Quakerism, who formed a settlement called Euphrata, in Penn- sylvania, forty miles from Philadelphia, and at an early day spread up the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The Shenandoah River was first named the Euphrates by Governor Spottswood in 1716, when he crossed the Blue Ridge at Swift Run Gap, in his celebrated "Horse Shoe " expedition, and viewed the fertility of that region for the first time. ^ This crossing of New River was near the present crossing of the turn- pike which runs from Wytheville to Christiansburg, and several miles above the crossing of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. It was afterward known as Ingles' Ferry. It is still owned and occupied by descendants of William and Mary Ingles. 4° yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. March i8th. The Sabbath. 19th. We could not find our Horses and spent the day in Looking for them. In the evening we found their track. 20th. We went very early to the track of our Horses & after following them six or seven miles, we found them all together, we returned to the Duncards about 10 o'clock, and having purchased half a Busshell of meal and as much small Homony we set off and Lodged on a small Run between Peak Creek' and Reedy' Creek. March 21st. We got to Reedy ^ Creek and Camped near James McCall's. I went to his House and Lodged and bought what Bacon I wanted. ' Peak Creek enters the New River near the village of Newbern, in Pulaski County. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) ° Probably Reed Creek, in Wythe County. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) 'This is now called Reed Creek, which heads west of Wytheville and runs east a little south of the town, emptying into New River above Ingles'. Its waters interlock with those of the Holston. The watershed is low and the valley fertile. The site of Fort Chiswell, built by the second Colonel William Byrd, under direction of Washington, in 1758, is between New River and Wytheville on this trail, parallel and near to which the turnpike and railroad run. It was named for Colonel John Chiswell, then in charge of the lead works nearby, from which the principal supply of lead used in the Revolutionary War and the Confederate supply in the late Civil War were obtained. Colonel Chiswell was succeeded in charge of the lead works by the father of Stephen F. Austin, of Texas, for whom the Capital of that State is named, and who was born here. Hale's yournal of Doctor Thomas IValker. 4 1 22nd. I returned to my People early. We got to a large Spring about five miles below Davises Bottom on Holstons' River and Camped. 23rd. We kept down Holston's' River about four miles and Camped ; and then Mr. Powel and I went to look for Samuel Stalnaker,^ who I had been inform'd was just moved out to settle. We found his Camp, and returned to our own in the Evening. 24th. We went to Stalnaker's, helped him to raise his house and Camped about a quarter of a mile below Trans-AUeghany Sketches. To the north of the valley there is a range known yet as Walker's Mountain. 'This was the Middle Fork of the Holston, which joins the French Broad near Knoxville and forms the Tennessee. The Holston was called by the Indians first the Cat-Cloo, afterward the Watauga. It took its present name from an early hunter and explorer named Holston. Hay- wood's Tennessee. ^ Samuel Stalnaker was probably, as his name indicates, one of the early pioneers from the Lower Shenandoah Valley or from Pennsylvania, of German descent, the family having numerous representatives in the valley. He was doubtless a hunter and Indian trader who had visited the Cherokees and was acquainted with the route to Cumberland Gap, upon which Doctor Walker had never been, or he would not have needed a guide. It was from him evidently that Doctor Walker received information as to certain localities he was about to visit, as Clinch River, Cave Gap, and other points of which, as he advanced into Kentucky, he gave evidence of previous information. It is not improbable that the route from the Ohio River to Cumberland Gap and the Cherokee country, which at that time was defined and known as "the Warriors' Path," was traveled by hunters and traders, and that Stalnaker was acquainted with it personally or from others. On Fry and Jefferson's Map, 1751, Stalnaker's settlement is put down as the extreme western habitation. 9 42 'yo24rnal of Docto/ Tliouias PValker. him. In April, 1748/ I met the above mentioned Stal- naker between the Reedy Creek Settlement and Hol- stons River, on his way to the Cherokee Indians,^ and expected him to pilate me as far as he knew but his affairs would not permit him to go with me. March 25th. The Sabbath. Grass is plenty in the low grounds. 26th. We left the Inhabitans, ' and kept nigh West to a large Spring on a Branch of the North fork of Holston. Thunder, Lightning, and Rain before Day. 27th. It began to Snow in the morning and con- tinued till Noon. The Land is very hilly from West to 'From the fact that Doctor Walker was here in 1748, historians have fallen into the error of stating that it was in this year that he went to Cumberland Gap, in company with Colonel James Patton, Major Charles Campbell, and others, but there is nothing upon which the assertion rests except a misty tradition. It is doubtless based upon the fact that these gentlemen, in 1748, Doctor Walker being one of the number, made an exploration, with a view to taking up lands, as some of them did, on the Holston, in East Tennessee. This region then began to excite attention for settlement, and in the following year the boundai-y line between Vir- ginia and North Carolina was extended to a point beyond that at which Doctor Walker was this day. ^ The Cherokee Indians occupied East Tennessee and a part of North- west Georgia adjacent. They were at that time, and until 1759, friendly and very faithful to the whites, furnishing volunteers in the early part of the French and Indian War. They were thus deadly enemies of the Shaw- nees and other tribes north of the Ohio, but in the Revolutionary War they united with them under British influence against the Americans. 3 Inhabitans — inhabitants, settlers, meaning that he had passed the frontier of civilization. yoiiyiial of Doctor Thomas IValker. 43 North. Some Snow lies on the tops of the mountains N. W. from us. 28th. We travelled to the lower end of Giant's Ditch on Reedy Creek.' 29th. Our Dogs were very uneasie most of this Night. 30th. We kept down Reedy Creek,' and discover'd the tracks of about 20 Indians, that had gone up the Creek between the time we Camped last Night, and set of? this Morning. We suppose they made our Dogs so restless last Night. We Camped on Reedy Creek. March 30th. We caught two young Buffaloes one of which we killed, and having cut and marked the other we turn'd him out. 31st. We kept down Reedy Creek to Holston where we measured an Elm 25 feet round 3 feet from the 'Enters the South Fork of the Holston River a short distance above its junction with the North Fork. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) ^ Reedy Creek empties into the Holston at the foot of Long Island, a uoted locality in the early history of Tennessee. Nearby a fort was erected, by advice of Washington, in 1758, by Colonel William Byrd, which was known later as Fort Patrick Henry. Just below the mouth of Reedy Creek is the town of Kingsport, Sullivan County, and a short distance below the town the North Fork puts into the Holston. It was at this place the treaty of Watauga was held in March, 1775, when the Chero- kees sold to Richard Henderson and Company the land in Kentucky called Transylvania. 44 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. Ground, we saw young Sheldrakes, ' we went down the River to the north Fork and up the north Fork about a quarter of a mile to a Ford, and then crossed it. In the Fork between Holstons and the North River, are five Indian Houses built with loggs and covered with Bark, and there were abundance of Bones, some whole Pots and Pans, some broken, and many pieces of mats and Cloth. On the West Side of the North River, is four Indian Houses such as before mentioned, we went four miles Below the North River and Camped on the Bank of Holstons, opposite to a large Indian Fort. April ye ist. The Sabbath, we saw Perch, Mullets, and Carp in plenty, and caught one of the large Sort of Cat Fish. I marked my Name, the day of the Month, and date of the year on Several Beech Trees. 2nd. we left Holston' & travelled through small Hills till about Noon, when one of our Horses being choaked by eating Reeds ^ too gredily, we stopped having travelled 7 miles. 3rd. Our horse being recover'd, we travelled to the ' A large migratory duck, with some resemblance to a goose of the genus Tadorna. By some it is ascribed to the Merganser family. Mr. Jefferson in his Notes speaks of it as a canvasback. '^ On leaving the Holston River his route was northwest. 3 The cane common to the South and West, known to the pioneers as Carolina cane — Ariindinaria macrosperma. yoiirnal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 45 Rocky Ridge.' I went up to the top, to look for a Pass, but found it so Rocky that I concluded not to Attempt it there. This Ridge may be known by Sight, at a dis- tance. To the Eastward are many small Mountains, and a Buffaloe Road between them and the Ridge. The growth is Pine on the Top and the Rocks look white at a dis- tance, we went Seven miles this day. 4th. We kept under the Rocky Ridge crossing several small Branches to the head of Holly Creek, we saw many small Licks and plenty of Deer. April 5th. we went down Holly Creek. There is much Holly in the Low Grounds & some Laurel and Ivy. About 3 in the afternoon, the Ridge appeared less stony and we passed it,^ and Camped on a small Branch about 'The Clinch Mountain, which runs through part of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in a northeasterly direction, a very regular chain with gaps at long intervals. The small hills referred to are the parallel outliers of Clinch Mountain. ' He crossed Clinch Mountain most probably at Looney's Gap and reached the Clinch River above the present site of Sneedville, Hancock County, Tennessee. Thence he went up Greasy Creek northwestward and entered the narrow valley between Newman's Ridge and Powell's Mountain, running parallel to the Clinch. The former, or Eastern Ridge, as Doctor Walker calls it, is twenty-five hundred feet high, and the latter, or Western Ridge, two thousand feet high, as shown by the excellent contour map of the United States Geological Survey, with the details of which Doctor Walker's route, as indicated by his journal, agrees with striking accuracy. On the nth Doctor Walker went down Big Sycamore Creek, which runs southwest between these ridges, to its junction with an unnamed creek coming into it from the southwest. He traveled up the latter by a buffalo road over several divides, and on the 12th reached Powell's River, ten miles from Cumberland Gap. 46 yojinial of Docior Thomas IValker. a mile from the top. my Riding Horse choaked himself this Evening and I drenched him with water to wash down the Reeds, and it answered the End. 6th. It proving wet we did not move. 7th. We rode 8 miles over broken Land. It snowed most of the day. In the Evening our dogs caught a large He Bear, which before we could come up to shoot him had wounded a dog of mine, so that he could not Travel, and we carried him on Horseback," till he recovered. 8th. The Sabbath. Still Snow. 9th. We travelled to a river, which I suppose to be that which the hunters Call Clinches River' from one Clinch a Hunter, who first found it. we marked several Beeches on the East side, we could not find a ford ' Doctor Walker's humanity to the dogs on this trip is notable. His fondness for them was long traditional in his family. On one occasion when he returned home after a long absence on a surveying or exploring trip, a favorite dog, which was shut up in a room, hearing his voice in the yard, is said to have jumped through a window-shutter in his eagerness to greet him. 'A tributary of the Tennessee running parallel with Clinch Mountain, rising in Tazewell and Bland counties, Virginia, and interlocking with the Bluestone River and Wolf Creek, tributaries of New River. His correct nomenclature of the river indicates that he had received information con- cerning the route traveled from Staluaker or other source. Haywood's History of Tennessee, in accounting for the name, ascribes it to an incident, which dates eleven years later than Doctor Walker's visit, in which a man on the point of drowning called to his companions, "Clinch me ! clinch me ! " youynal of Doctor Tlioinas JValker. a^j Shallow eneugh to carry our Baggage over on our horses. Ambrose Powell Forded over on one horse, and we drove the others after him. We then made a Raft and carried over one Load of Baggage, but when the Raft was brought back, it was so heavy that it would not carry anything more dry. April loth. we waded and carryed the remainder of our Baggage on our shoulders at two turns over the River, which is about one hundred and thirty yards wide, we went on about five miles and Camped on a small Branch. April iith.' Having travelled 5 miles to and over an High Mountain, we came to Turkey Creek, which we kept down 4 miles. It lies between two Ridges of Mountains, that to the Eastward being the highest.' 12th. We kept down the Creek 2 miles further, where it meets with a large Branch coming from the South West, and thence runs through the East Ridge making a very good Pass ; and a large Buffaloe Road goes from that Fork to the Creek over the West Ridge, which we took and found the Ascent and Descent tollerably easie. From this Mountain we rode four miles to Beargrass ' The second hiatus of ten days in Rives' text, now supplied by the missing leaves, began here. ^ Now Big Sycamore Creek. See note to entry of April 5th, ante. 48 yonnial of Doctor Tlionias IValkcr. River.' Small Cedar Trees are very plenty on the flat ground nigh the River, and some Barberry trees on the East side of the River, on the Banks is some Bear- Grass. We kept up the River two miles. I found some Small pieces of Coal'' and a great plenty of very good yellow Flint. The water is the most transparent I ever saw. It is about 70 yds. wide. April 13th. We went four miles to large Creek, which we called Cedar Creek, being a Branch of Bear-Grass, and from thence Six miles to Cave Gap,^ the land being Levil. On the North side of the Gap is a large Spring, which 'Appears as such on Mitchell's Treaty Map, 1785. Named afterward Powell's River, as now called, by the Long Hunters — a body of fifteen or twenty Virginians who reached Kentucky in 1770 — from finding a tree with "A. Powell," one of Doctor Walker's companions, cut on it. It was named by Doctor Walker from the bear-grass ( Yucca filamentosa ) growing on its banks. The bear were said to be fond of its spike of white umbellifer- ous flowers, growing to the height of four or five feet, and very sweet with honey within them. ^ There is no coal hereabouts, but this was doubtless washed down from the headwaters, above Big Stone Gap, where it is abundant. The yellow flint abounds in this geological horizon in Powell's Valley. 5 Named later by Doctor Walker Cumberland Gap, after William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II and Queen Caroline. He was born April 15, 1731, and at nineteen entered the navy, but two years later became a soldier. In 1743 he commanded the left wing under his father at the battle of Dettingen, and in 1745 was in command of the army in Flanders. On the i6th of April, 1746, in the last battle fought in Great Britain, at Culloden he defeated with great slaughter the Highland forces which supported the fortunes of the young Pretender, refusing quarter to the wounded and prisoners. He died October 31, 1765. Byron calls him "The Butcher," yoiirnol of Doctor Thomas IValker. 49 falls very fast, and just above the Spring is a small Entrance to a large Cave, which the Spring' runs through, and there is a constant Stream of Cool air issuing out. The Spring is sufficient to turn a Mill. Just at the foot of the Hill is a Laurel Thicket, and the Spring Water runs through it. On the South side is a plain Indian Road, on the top of the Ridge are Laurel Trees marked with crosses, others Blazed and several Figures on them. As I went down on the Other Side, I soon came to some Laurel^ in the head of a Branch. A Beech ^ stands on the left hand, on which I cut my name. This Gap may be seen at a considerable distance, and there is no other, that I know of, except one about two miles to the North of it,^ which does not appear to be So low as the other. The Mountain on the North Side of the Gap is very Steep and Rocky, but on the South side it is not So. We called it Steep Ridge. At the foot of the hill on the ' The spring, which later turned a mill, and the cave are still promi- nent features. ''Rhododendron maximum, generally a shrubby growth, but sometimes attains a diameter of six inches or over. 3 In 1779, when Doctor Walker passed here as a Commissioner on the part of Virginia running the present boundarj' line between Kentucky and Tennessee, he pointed out the tree to Isaac Shelby, who commanded the escort, telling him his name had been cut on it in 1750, and on going to it they found it as stated. Bradford's manuscript notes. Colonel Durrett's Library. '' There is no gap at the point indicated — merely a slight depression of the range of mountains, without approaches. 50 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. North West Side we came to a Branch, that made a great deal of flat Land. We kept down it 2 miles, Sev- eral other Branches Coming in to make it a large Creek, and we called it Blat Creek.' We camped on the Bank where we found very good Coal. I did not Se any Lime Stone beyond this Ridge. We rode 13 miles this day. April 14th. We kept down the Creek 5 miles Chiefly along the Indian Road. 15th. Easter Sunday. Being in bad grounds for our Horses we moved 7 miles along the Indian Road, to Clover Creek. Clover and Hop Vines are plenty here. April 1 6th. Rai(n). I made a Pair of Indian Shoes, those I brought out being bad. 17th. Still Rain. I went down the Creek- a hunt- ing and found that it went into a River about a mile below our Camp. This, which is Flat Creek and Some others join'd, I called Cumberland River. 1 8th. Still Cloudy. We kept down the Creek to the River along the Indian Road to where it crosses.^ ' Present Yellow Creek, upon which, nearby, is now the site of Mid- dlesborough. Coal abounds in this vicinity. ^ Clear (Clover) Creek empties into Cumberland River just above Pine- ville, where the river breaks through Pine Mountain, a range parallel to Cumberland Mountain, eight or ten miles distant. Yellow (Flat) Creek empties into it several miles above. 3 This crossing was just below the present Pineville Station of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and the bridge which crosses from it to yournal of Doctor Thomas IValker. 5 1 Indians have lived about this Ford Some years ago. We kept on down the South Side. After riding 5 miles from our Camp, we left the River, it being very crooked. In Rideing 3 miles we came on it again. It is about 60 or 70 yds. wide. We rode 8 (?) miles this day. 19th. We left the River but in four miles we came on it again at the Mouth of Licking Creek, which we went up and down another.' In the Fork of Licking Creek is a Lick much used by Buffaloes and many large' Roads lead to it. This afternoon Ambrose Powell was bit by a Bear in his Knee. We rode 7 miles this day. 20th. we kept down the Creek ^ 2 miles to the River again. It appears not any wider here than at the mouth Pineville, the county-seat of Bell County, immediately opposite. It was long known as Cumberland Ford, the crossing of the Indian warpath and the Wilderness Road, blazed by Boone in 1775. General Bragg's army forded the Cumberland here in October, 1862, on its retreat South after the battle of Perryville. ' These diversions from the river were caused by encountering the streams which were not fordable at or near their mouths and necessitated a detour to their head or a place where they could be forded. The point at which Dr. Walker crossed the Cumberland to the north side was about four miles below the present site of Barbourville, the county-seat of Knox County, and about fifteen miles below the crossing at Pineville by the ordinarily traveled road on the north side. 'The second hiatus ended here, the word large being the first one in the entry of the 19th in Mr. Rives' text. 3 This creek, now known as Swan Pond Creek, was named by Daniel Boone. 52 yournal of Doc toy Thomas Walker. of Clover Creek, but much deeper. I thought it proper to Cross the River and began a bark Conoe. ' April 2 1 St. We finished the Conoe and tryed her. About noon it began to thunder, lighten, hail and rain prodigiously and continued about 2 hours. 2 2d. The Sabbath. One of the horses was found unable to walk this morning. I then Propos'd that with 2 of the Company I would proceed, and the other three should Continue here till our return, which was agreed to, and Lots were drawn to determine who should go, they all being desirous of it. Ambrose Powell, and Colby Chew were the fortunate Persons. 23rd. Having carried our Baggage over in the Bark Conoe, and Swam our horses, we all crossed the River. Then Ambrose Powell, Colby Chew, and I departed. Leaving the others to provide and salt some Bear, build an house, and plant some Peach Stones and Corn. ' A bark canoe was made from the bark of a hickory or elm tree of suitable size. The process was to cut through the bark near the ground and at a height of fifteen or twenty feet ; then to make a vertical slit from top to bottom and gradually detach the whole from the tree, which could be easily done at this season of the year when the sap was up. By cutting a wedge-shaped piece from each end and bringing the parts together, a rake fore and aft was given. The seams at the end were sewed together with sinews or young bark, and made water-tight by smear- ing with the fat of the deer. The edges of the bark were held apart by cleats or sticks of proper width, and a canoe could thus be made in a short time. yournal of Doctor T/ioiiias Walker. 53 We travelled about 12 miles and encamped on Crooked Creek.' The mountains are very small hereabouts and here is a great deal of flat Land. We got through the Coal today. April 24th. We kept on Westerly 18 miles, got Clear of the mountains and found the Land poor and the woods very Thick beyond them, and Laurel & Ivy ' in and near the Branches. Our Horses suffered very much here for want of food. This day we Came on the fresh Track of 7 or 8 Indians, but could not overtake them.' 25th. We kept on West 5 miles, the Land continu- ing much Same, the Laurel rather growing worse, and the food scarcer. I got up a tree on a Ridge and saw the Growth of the Land much the same as F"ar as my ' The general course taken by Doctor Walker was northwest and west- erly. The topography of the country to-day is true to the description. From the Valley of the Cumberland, which is not broad, the hills rise, not precipitously or in cliffs, to the height of several hundred feet, and coal veins, or "the blossom," as it is called, can be seen in exposed places. When the summit of the hill is reached, it spreads out to the northwest as a table-land with slashes wooded chiefly with oak, laurel, and spice- wood. ^ Kalmia latifolia. 3 It will be observed that the discovery of these tracks excited no alarm, but, on the contrary, a desire to come up with the Indians. There was peace between the English and all the Western tribes until the latter were incited to hostility by the French in the movements preceding Brad- dock's defeat, in 1755, and followed by the Seven Years' War between England and France, terminated by the treaty of Paris, 1763, and known to the Western settlers as the French and Indian War. 54 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. Sight could reach. I then concluded to return to the rest of my Company. I kept on my track i mile then turn'd Southerly & went to Cumberland River at the mouth of a water Course, that I named Rocky Creek.' 26th. The River is 150 yards wide and appears to be navigable from this place almost to the mouth of Clover Creek. Rocky Creek runs within 40 yards of the River Bank then turns off, and runs up the River, Sur- rounding about 25 acres of Land before it falls into the River. The Banks of the River and Creek are a sufficient Fence almost all the way. On the Lower Side of the mouth of the Creek is an Ash mark'd T. W., a Red Oak A. P., a white Hiccory C. C. besides several Trees blazed Several ways with 3 Chops over each blaze, we went up the North Side of the River 8 miles, and Camped on a Small Branch. A Bear Broke one of my Dogs forelegs. April 27th. We crossed Indian Creek' and Went down Meadow Creek ^ to the River. There Comes in another from the Southward as big as this we are on. Below the mouth of this Creek, and above the mouth are the remains of Several Indian Cabbins and amongst them a ' The point at which Doctor Walker here reached Cumberland River is about twenty miles below that at which he crossed it on the 23d. The creek which he named Rocky Creek is now called Patterson's, and the topography at its mouth conforms to his description. ^This creek is now called Maple Creek. 3 It bears the same name now. your Hill of Doctor Thomas Walker. 5 5 round Hill' made by Art about 20 feet high and 60 over the Top. we went up the River, and Camped on the Bank. 28th. We kept up the River to our Company whom we found all well, but the lame Horse was as bad as we left him, and another had been bit in the Nose by a Snake. I rub'd the wounds with Bears oil, and gave him a drench of the same and another of the decoction of Rattle Snake root some time after. The People I left had built an House' 12 by 8, clear'd and broke up some ground, & planted Corn, and Peach Stones. They also had killed several Bears and cured the meat. This day Colby Chew and his Horse fell down the Bank. I Bled and gave him Volatile drops, & he soon re- covered. ' A mound, corresponding to the one here described, but reduced in size, is still in existence near the bank of the river west of Meadow Creek, on the Evans farm. ^This was evidently not what was called an "improver's" cabin, which consisted of a pen of logs, four or five feet in height, without a roof, but a cabin such as was usually built for occupation. It was intended, no doubt, as an evidence of his claim to the body of land he had come out to locate for the Loyal Land Company, and also for occupation in the future by himself or other agents of the company. It was the first house built in Kentucky by white man of which there is any record, and was occupied with additions until 1835. The site, which is identified by the debris of the chimney, is on the farm of George M. Faulkner, four miles below Barbourville. Within a few years past a tomahawk and other relics have been found here. 56 yonnial of Doctor Thomas Walker. April 29th. The Sabbath. The bitten Horse is better. 3 Quarters of A mile below the House is a Pond' in the low Ground of the River, a Quarter of a mile in Length and 200 yds. wide much frequented by Fowl. 30th. I blazed a way from our House to the River. On the other side of the River is a large Elm ^ cut down and barked about 20 feet and another standing just by it with the Bark cut around at the root and about 15 feet above. About 200 yards below this is a white Hiccory Barked about 15 feet. The depth of water here, when the lowest that I have seen it, is about 7 or 8 feet, the Bottom of the River Sandy, ye Banks very high, & the Current very Slow. The bitten Horse being much mended, we set off and left the lame one. He is white, branded on the near Buttock with a swivil Stirrup Iron, and is old. We left the River and having Crossed Several Hills and Branches, Camped in a Valley North from the House. May the ist. Another Horse being bit, I applyed Bears Oil as before mention'd. We got to Powell's River ^ in ' The pond described still exists. It was named later by Daniel Boone "Swan Pond," by which it is now known. It is put down on Munsell's and other early large maps of Kentucky. It has decreased in size some- what, and is about a mile below the house, on the land of a Mrs. Jackson. 'Here is where the canoe was made on the 2oth-2ist. 3 This was the first of the series of streams named successively after his companions, Powell, Chew, Tomlinson, Lawless, and Hughes, by which yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 57 the afternoon and went down it along an Indian Road, much frequented, to the mouth of a Creek on the West side of the River, where we camped. The Indian Road goes up the Creek, and I think it is that Which goes through Cave Gap.' 2d. We kept down the River. At the mouth of a Creek that comes in on the East side is a Lick, and 1 beheve there was a hundred Buffaloes at it. About 2 o'clock we had a Shower of rain, we Camped on the River, which is very crooked. May 3rd. We crossed a narrow Neck of Land, came on the River again and kept Down it to an Indian Camp, the editor foretold the names of the two last members of the party, not disclosed until the discovery of the missing leaves of the journal, which confirmed his surmise. It and the others were tributaries of Rockcastle River. His general course was a little west of north. In Mr. Rives' text is the following note: "This Powell's River and Crooked Creek are in Kentucky, and are represented on Pownall's Map as flowing into what seems to be Green River." It was what is now known as the main Laurel River. " The Indian road which he struck here was that which crossed the Cumberland River below Clover Creek, the trail by which immigration came in later, and the Old Wilderness State Road. It is the main road of that county now, along which the Louisville & Nashville Railroad runs. See "Wilderness Road," Filson Club Publications No. 2, by Captain Thomas Speed. Doctor Walker's reference to Cave Gap and the fact that this road led to it is further confirmation that he had been furnished informa- tion as to the region through which he was traveling. His diversion from the beaten Indian road when he went down the south side of the Cumberland, instead of crossing at Pineville, was doubtless for the purpose of inspecting the land in that direction. 58 yoiirnal of Doctor Thomas Walker. that had been built this Spring, and in it we took up our Quarters. It began to rain about Noon and continued until Night. 4th. We crossed a narrow Neck of Land and came on the River again, which we kept down till it turn'd to the Westward, we then left it, and went up a Creek, which we Called Colby's Creek. The River is about 50 yards over where we left it. 5th. We got to Tomlinson's River, which is about the size of Powell's River, and I cut my name on a Beech, that Stands on the North Side of the River. Here is plenty of Coal in the South Bank opposite to our Camp. 6th. The Sabbath. I saw Goslings, which shows that wild Geese stay here all the year. Ambrose Powell had the misfortune to sprain his well knee. 7th. We went down Tomlinson's River the Land being very broken and our way embarrassed by trees, that had been blown down about 2 years ago. May 8th. We went up a Creek on the North Side of the River. 9th. We got to Lawlesses River which is much like the others. The Mountains here are very Steep and on Some of them there is Laurel and Ivy. The tops of the Mountains are very Rocky and some part of the Rocks seem to be composed of Shells, Nuts and many yournal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 59 other Substances petrified and cemented together with a kind of FHnt. ' We left the River and after travelHng some Miles we got among Trees that had been Blown down about 2 years, and were obliged to go down a Creek to the River again, the Small Branches and Mountains being impassable. loth. We Staid on the River, and dressed an Elk skin to make Indian Shoes — most of ours being quite worn out. 1 1 th. We left the River, found the Mountains very bad, and got to a Rock^ by the side of a Creek Sufficient to shelter 200 men from Rain. Finding it so convenient, we concluded to stay and put our Elk skin in order for shoes and make them. 'The topographical and geological description is accurate. The rock described is the conglomerate or millstone grit, and the coal mentioned on the 5th is the interconglomerate coal, extensively mined now in the Livingston region and at Pine Hill. ^This was one of the numerous shelving rocks, now locally known as rock houses. The name of Rockcastle River was doubtless derived from them. This was the farthest western point reached by Doctor Walker. He did not cross the main Rockcastle River, and, therefore, was never on the waters of Salt or Green rivers, as claimed by some. A day or two's travel to the west or northwest would have brought him to the fertile lands of Lincoln or Madison County, his description of which would have left no doubt of his having passed the water-shed between the Rockcastle, the Salt, and the rivers to the westward. I have lately visited the locality, and near the junction of the Louisville & Nashville and Kentucky Central railroads, in Rockcastle County, found a cave or rock house as large as that described by Doctor Walker, and doubtless the one occupied by him. 6o yonrnal of Doctor Thomas Walker. May 1 2th. Under the Rock is a Soft Kind of Stone almost Hke Allum in taste ; below it A Layer of Coal about 12 Inches thick and white Clay under that. I called the Run Allum Creek. I have observed several mornings past, that the Trees begin to drop just before day & continue dripping till almost Sun rise, as if it rain'd slowly, we had some rain this day. 13th. The Sabbath. 14th. When our Elk's Skin was prepared we had lost every Awl that we brought out, and I made one with the Shank of an old Fishing hook, the other People made two of Horse Shoe Nailes, and with these we made our Shoes or Moccosons. We wrote several of our Names with Coal under the Rock, & I wrote our names, the time of our comeing and leaving this place on paper and stuck it to the Rock with Morter, and then set off. We Crossed Hughes's ' River and Lay on a large Branch of it. There is no dew this morning but a shower of Rain about 6 o'clock. The River is about 50 yards wide. May 15th. Laurel and Ivy encrease upon us as we go up the Branch. About noon it began to rain & we took up our Quarters in a Valley between very Steep Hills. ' Principal fork of Rockcastle River, which here runs nearly west. The large branch on which he lay was Middle Fork. yoiirnal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 6i 1 6th. We crossed Several Ridges and Branches. About two in the afternoon, I was taken with a Violent Pain in my Hip. 1 7th. Laurel and Ivy are very plenty and the Hills still very steep. The Woods have been burnt some years past, and are now very thick, the Timber being almost all kill'd. We Camped on a Branch of Naked Creek.' The pain in my Hip is something asswaged. 1 8th. We went up Naked Creek to the head and had a plain Buffaloe Road most of the way. From thence we proceeded down Wolf Creek and on it we camped. 19th. We kept down ye Creek to Hunting^ Creek, ^ which we crossed and left. It rained most of the after- noon. ' Probably Laurel Fork of Middle Fork, in Jackson County. He had been traveling, since leaving the rock house, in a northeasterly direction, and reached the summit of the divide between the waters of the Rock- castle and South Fork of the Kentucky, the buffalo road noted being doubtless the warriors' path leading direct from Cumberland Gap, along which Boone came with John Findlay in 1769. This John Findlay must not be confounded with Captain John Finley, who was at the Upper Blue Lick in 1773, a Captain in the Continental Line, and of the same family whence came Samuel Finley B. Morse, of telegraph fame. ^ Hunting Creek, Milley's River, and Frederick's River are set down on Pownall's Map as branches of the Catawba or Cuttawa, now called the Kentucky River. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) 3 This was Station Camp Creek, which empties into the Kentucky River just above Irvine, county-seat of Estill County. At the mouth of this creek Daniel Boone lived alone in 1770, while his brother. Squire Boone, returned to North Carohna for ammunition, and there they spent the fol- 62 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. May 20th. The Sabbath. It began to Rain about Noon and continued till next day. 2 1 St. It left ofif raining about 8. we crossed several Ridges and small Branches & Camped on a Branch of Hunting Creek, in the Evening it rained very hard. lowing winter. The Indian trace up Station Camp Creek was known as " Ouasiota Pass," and when they reached the summit they thought they were on top of the Cumberland Mountains, the name "Ouasiota" Moun- tains being given to that range, together with all its elevated region east- wardly to the main chain. "Ouasiota Pass" is laid down on Pownall's Map, 1776, with routes converging to it from Big Bone Lick, near the Ohio, the lower Shawnee town at the mouth of the Scioto, and from the mouth of the Big Sandy, called Totteroy. In speaking of the Sandusky River, Ohio, Lewis Evans, in the text which accompanies his map of 1755, published by Pownall, makes further allusion to this pass, showing the importance attached to it as an inter- continental route. "This river (the Sandusky) is an important pass, and the French have secured it as such. The northern Indians cross the lake here from island to island, land at Sanduski, and go by a direct path to the lower Shawnee town, and thence to the gap of Ouasiota on their way to the Cuttawas' country. This will no doubt be the way the French will take from Detroit and Moville (Mobile), unless the English be advised to secure it, now that it is in their power." A Topographical Description of North America, etc., with map, by T. Pownall, M. P., London, 1776, pages 41, 42. Captain Thomas Hutchins, Geographer General of North America, in his "Topographical Description of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina, London, 1778," also refers to this pass. In a tour down the Ohio River, in 1766, he describes the various rivers passed, and after speaking of the Great Salt Creek (Licking River), says: " Kentucke is a larger stream than the last ; it is surrounded with high clay banks, fertile lands, and salt springs. Its navigation is interrupted with shoals, but passable with small boats to the gap where the warpath goes through the Ouasiota Mountains." yournal of Doctor Thomas IValker. 63 2 2d. We went down the Branch to Hunting Creek & kept it to Milley's" River. 23rd. We attempted to go down the River but could not. We then Crossed Hunting Creek and attempted to go up the River but could not. it being very deep we began a Bark Canoe. The River is about 90 or 100 yards wide. I Blazed several Trees in the Fork and marked T. W. on a Sycomore Tree 40 feet around. It has a large Hole on the N: W: side about 20 feet from the Ground and is divided into 3 Branches just by the hole, and it stands about 80 yards above the mouth of Hunting Creek. May 24th. We finished the Conoe and crossed the River ° about noon, and I marked a Sycomore 30 feet round and several Beeches on the North side of the River opposite to the mouth of the Creek. Game is very scarce hereabouts. ' This was the Kentucky River. No stream has been called by more names. The histories of Kentucky generally credited Doctor Walker with having given to it the name of Louisa, but there is no foundation whatever for this assumption, as this journal fully shows. It is put down on Pownall's and other of the early maps as Milley's River, and it was probably known to the traders and hunters as such at the time of Doctor Walker's expedition, from the Miami Indian name, which was " Mille- wakame." Of the rivers named by Doctor Walker, he never leaves us in doubt, always saying so in express terms when he names one. Other names by which the Kentucky River was known were Cuttawa, Cuttawba, Catawba, Chenoka, and Chenoa. ^ For a long time Doctor Walker was accredited with having gone hence up the Kentucky River and upon the North Fork, naming the latter Fred- 64 younial of Doctor Thomas IValker. 25th. It began to rain before the day and continued till about noon. We travelled about 4 miles on a Ridge and Camped on a small Branch. 26th. We kept down the Branch almost to the River, and up a Creek, and then along a Ridge till our Dogs roused a large Buck Elk, which we followed down to a Creek. He killed Ambrose Powell's Dog in the Chase, and we named the Run Tumbler's Creek, the Dog being of that Name. 27th. The Sabbath. 28th. Cloudy. We could not get our Horses till almost Night, when we went down the Branch. We lay on to the main Creek,' and turn'd up it. May 29th. We proceeded up the Creek 7 miles, and then took a North Branch^ & went up it 5 miles and then encamped on it. erick's River. But this is an error, as a close reading of the context will show. He crossed the river, and, taking a northeasterly course, on the 28th came to Red River — known also as the Warrior Fork of Kentucky River, the warpath from the Big Sandy leading down it, a tributary of the Kentucky, flowing west and emptying into it twenty or thirty miles below where he crossed it — at a point between Clay City and Stanton, county-seat of Powell County. He was then fifteen or twenty miles east of Indian Old Fields, near which the Boone, Findlay, and Stewart party wintered in 1769, and from Lulbegrud Creek, named by them, they having with them a copy of ' ' Gulliver's Travels. " ' This was Red River, which in ordinary seasons is a small stream, but becomes quite formidable after heavy rains on its headwaters. ° This was the North Fork of Red River, up which he traveled nearly due east. yournal of Doctor Thomas PValker. 65 30th. We went to the head of the Branch we lay on 1 2 miles. A shower of Rain fell this day. The Woods are burnt fresh about here and are the only fresh burnt Woods we have seen these Six Weeks. 31st. We crossed 2 Mountains and camped just by a Wolf's Den. They were very impudent and after they had been twice shot at, they kept howling about the Camp, It rained till Noon this day. June ye ist. We found the Wolf's Den and caught 4 of the young ones. It rained this morning, we went up a Creek crossed a mountain and went through a Gap,' and then, camped on the head of A Branch. 2d. We went down the Branch to a River 70 yards wide, which I called Fredericks River. ^ we kept up it a half mile to a Ford, where we crossed and proceeded up on the North Side 3 miles. It rained most of the after- noon. Elks' are very Plenty on this River. June 3rd. Whit-Sunday. It rained most of the day. ' Here he passed the divide between the waters of the Kentucky and Licking rivers, passing east down Johnson's Creek. ^ This was the Licking River, which he named Frederick's River from Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of George II, and father of George III. The point at which he reached it was in Magoffin County, near Salyers- ville, the county-seat. 3 A fork of the Licking, putting in from the northeast, higher up the river, is at this day called Elk Fork. 66 yotirnal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 4th. I blazed several trees four ways on the out- side of the low Grounds by a BufTaloe Road, and marked my Name on Several Beech Trees. Also I marked some by the River side just below a 'mossing' place with an Island in it. We left the River about 10 o'clock & got to Falling Creek, and went up it till 5 in the Afternoon, when a very black Cloud appearing, we turn'd out our Horses, got tent Poles up, and were just stretching a Tent, when it began to rain and hail, and was succeeded by a violent Wind which Blew down our Tent & a great many Trees about it, several large ones within 30 yds. of the Tent, we all left the place in con- fusion and ran different ways for shelter. After the Storm was over, we met at the Tent, and found all safe. 5th. There was a violent Shower of Rain before day. This morning we went up the Creek about 3 miles, and then were obliged to leave it, the Timber being so blown down that we could not get through. After we left the Creek, we kept on a Ridge ^ 4 miles, then turned down to the head of a Branch, and it began to rain and continued raining very hard till Night. ' Crossing(?). (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) ^ A mossing-place is one selected for wintering by a band of elk ( Cervus Americanus) or other species of that genus. It is generally in a wooded valley, where they feed upon the moss, lichens, and buds of the shrubs and young trees. 3 This was the watershed between the Licking and Big Sandy rivers. yournal of Doctor Thomas JValker. 67 June 6th. We went down the Branch till it became a large Creek." It runs very Swift, falling more than any of the Branches we have been on of late. I called it Rapid Creek. After we had gone 8 miles we could not ford, and we Camped in the low Ground. There is great sign of Indians on this Creek. 7th. The Creek being fordable, we Crossed it & kept down 12 miles to a River about 100 yards over, which We called Louisa' River. ^ The Creek is about 30 yards wide, & part of ye River breaks into ye Creek — making an Island on which we Camped. 8th. The River is so deep we Cannot ford it and as it is falling we conclude to stay & hunt. In the afternoon Mr. Powell and my Self was a hunting about a mile & a half from the Camp, and heard a gun just below us on the other side of the River, and as none of ' This was evidently Paint Creek, near the mouth of which is Paints- ville, the county-seat of Johnson County. The valley of the Upper Licking is much more elevated than that of the Big Sandy, and the descent to the latter is quite abrupt. ^The West or Louisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. (Note in Mr. Rives' text.) 3 This river was named Louisa, after the sister of the Duke of Cumber- land, for which soldier Doctor Walker seems to have had a great partiality. It has always been said that it was named for the wife of the Duke, but he was never married. The stream is known as the Louisa or Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy, and is joined by the Tug Fork, the northeast boundary between Virginia and Kentucky, at Louisa, county-seat of Law- rence County, forty miles north of Paintsville. The Indian name of the Big Sandy was Chattaroi or Chattarawha. It was also called Totteroi. 68 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. our People could cross, I was in hopes of getting some direction from the Person, but could not find him. June 9th. We crossed the River & went down it to the mouth of a Creek & up the Creek to the head and over a Ridge into a steep Valley and Camped. loth. Trinity Sunday. Being in very bad ground for our Horses, we concluded to move, we were very much hindered by the Trees, that were blown down on Monday last, we Camped on a Small Branch. nth. It rained violently the Latter part of the night & till 9 o'clock. The Branch is impassable at present. We lost a Tomohawk ' and a Cann by the Flood. 12th. The Water being low we went down the Branch to a large Creek, & up the Creek. Many of the 'This tomahawk was found nearly one hundred years afterward under a shelving rock on the upper waters of Salt River, in Mercer County, Kentucky, which seemed to confirm the theory that Doctor Walker had pene- trated that country. As, however, it is evident from a more correct inter- pretation of his journal that he never went west of Rockcastle River, the finding of the tomahawk must be explained by its having been washed down the branch by the heavy flood referred to in a locality frequented by Indians, and being found by some passing traveler, by whom it was taken to Mercer County. It is now in possession of Colonel Thomas Walker Bullitt, of Louisville, a great-grandson of Doctor Walker. The name, "T. Walker," is plainly stamped on it. It is a piece of fine work- manship in steel, in a state of perfect preservation, with its edges sharp and with no sign of corrosion. See also account of Robert B. McAfee in postscript of letter of L. C. Draper, Appendix A, brought to light since this note was written. yotirnal of Doctor Thomas IValkey. 69 trees in the Branches are Wash'd up by the Roots and others barked by the old trees, that went down ye Stream. The Roots in the Bottom of the Runs are Barked by the Stones. June 13th. We are much hindered by the Gust & a shower of Rain about Noon. Game is very scarce here, and the mountains very bad, the tops of the Ridges being so covered with Ivy and the sides so steep and stony, that we were obHged to cut our way through with our Tomohawks. 14th. The Woods are still bad and Game scarce. It rained today about Noon & we Camped on the top of A Ridge.' 1 5th -1 6th. We got on a large Creek where Turkey are plenty and some Elks. we went a hunting & killed 3 Turkeys. Hunted & killed 3 Bears & some Turkeys. 17th. The Sabbath. We killed a large Buck Elk. 1 8th. having prepared a good stock of Meat, we left the Creek crossing several Branches and Ridges, the Woods still continuing bad the weather hot & our Horses so far spent, that we are all obliged to walk. ' This was the dividing ridge between the two forks of the Big Sandy. He was now traveling toward the southeast, having this day passed the divide between the waters of the Louisa and Tug forks of the Big Sandy. 70 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. June 19th. We got to Laurel Creek' early this morn- ing, and met so impudent a Bull Buffaloe that we were obliged to shoot him, or he would have been amongst us. we then went up the Creek six miles, thence up a North ' Headwaters of Tug Fork. This stream is the one down which Gen- eral Andrew Lewis passed on his expedition to the Ohio, in March, 1756, with the intention of invading the Indian country north of that stream as a means of retaliation for their incursions up the Monongahela and Kanawha Valleys, by which the settlers had been driven back to the Blue Ridge and their extermination threatened. He was recalled, however, by Governor Dinwiddie when within two days' march of the mouth of the Big Sandy, and returned reluctantly, but not until he had advanced to the Ohio and seriously contemplated disobeying the order. His command was composed of Captain Peter Hogg with forty men of his company, a draft of sixty men from the companies of Captains William Preston and James Smith under command of the latter, Captains Samuel Overton and Obadiah Woodson with forty men each, a small company under Captain McNutt, and one hundred and fifty Cherokee warriors under Captain Richard Pearis. See Virginia Calendar, Dinwiddie Papers, Volume H, pages 200, 293. Withers, in his Border Warfare, erroneously gives the date of the expedition a year later, and is at fault as to the number of men and the names of subordi- nate commanders, giving them as Captains William Preston, Paul Alexander, Hogg, Smith, Breckinridge, Woodson, Overton, Montgomery, and Dunlap. Had General Lewis carried out his purpose, he would have anticipated by twenty-two years the movement of similar strategy by George Rogers Clark, and might have saved Virginia from Indian depredation. The stream was then known as Sandy Creek, and was named by Lewis Tug Fork, from the fact that on his retreat up it his troops, being pressed by hunger, cut up into strips or tugs some buffalo hides which he had hung on a tree on his first passage, and sustained life by chewing them. (Withers' "Border Warfare.") General Andrew Lewis was made second in command to Wash, ington in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Washington said he ought to have been placed first. He distinguished himself in the Revolu- tion, and died in 1781. His expedition was known as the " Voyage down Sandy Creek." His statue is one of those which surround the Washington Monument at Richmond, Virginia. yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 71 Branch of it to the Head, and attempted to cross a mountain, but it proved so high and difficult, that we were obHged to Camp on the side of it. This Ridge is nigh the eastern edge of the Coal Land.' 20th. We got to the top of the Mountain and Could discover a flat^ to the South & South East, we went down from the Ridge to a Branch and down the Branch to Laurel Creek not far from where we left it yesterday & Camped. my riding Horse was bit by a Snake this day, and having no Bear's Oil I rub'd the place with a piece of fat meat, which had the desired effect. 2 1 St. We found the Level Nigh the Creek so full of Laurel that we were obliged to go up a Small Branch, and from the head of that to the Creek again, and found it good travelling a Small distance from the Creek, we Camped on the Creek. Deer are very scarce on the Coal Land, I having seen but 4, since the 30th of April. June 22nd. We kept up to the head of the Creek, the Land being Leveller than we have lately seen, and ' This was the outcrop of the Pocahontas coal field in West Virginia, now extensively mined, the Norfolk & Western Railroad penetrating that region and having been extended down the Tug Fork to the Ohio at Kenova, just above the mouth of the Big Sandy. ^ He was then on the Flat-top Mountain, which extends in the direction indicated in Raleigh and adjacent counties of West Virginia. 72 yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. here are some large Savanna's. Many of the Branches are full of Laurel and Ivy. Deer and Bears are plenty. 23rd. Land continues level with Laurel and Ivy & we got to a large Creek with very high & steep Banks full of Rocks, which I call'd Clifty Creek, the Rocks are 100 feet perpendicular in some Places. 24th. The Sabbath. 25th. We Crossed Clifty Creek. Here is a little Coal and the Land still flat. 26th. We crossed a Creek that we called Dismal Creek, the Banks being the worst and the Laurel the thickest I have seen. The Land is Mountainous on the East Side of the Dismal Creek, and the Laurels end in a few miles. We camped on a Small Branch. June 27th. The Land is very high & we crossed several Ridges and camped on a small Branch, it rained about Noon and continued till the next day. 28th. It continued raining till Noon, and we set off as soon as it ceased and went down the Branch we lay on to the New River," just below the mouth of Green ' He had traveled on the Flat-top Mountain for five or six days, head- ing the streams which flow into Bluestone River, a tributary of New River, on the south and the Kanawha northward. The low ground in which he camped at the junction of Greenbrier and New rivers is the present site of Hinton, the county-seat of Summers County, on the line of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 73 Bryer. Powell, Tomlinson and my self striped, and went into the New River tp try if we could wade over at any place. After some time having found a place we return'd to the others and took such things as would take damage by Water on our Shoulders, and waded over Leading our Horses. The bottom is very uneven, the Rocks very slip- pery and the Current very Strong most of the way. We Camped in the Low Ground opposite to the mouth of Green Bryer. 29th. We kept up Green Bryer.' It being a wet day we went only 2 miles, and Camped on the North Side. June 30th. We went 7 miles up the River, which is very crooked. July ye ist. The Sabbath. Our Salt being almost spent. We travelled 10 miles sometimes on the River, and at other times some distance from it. 2nd. We kept up the River the chief part of this day and we travelled about 10 miles. 3rd. we went up the River 10 miles to day. ' The route of Doctor Walker from this point homeward needs but little comment. He followed substantially the present line of the Chesa- peake & Ohio Railroad, crossing the Alleghany divide on the 8th of July, passing the Hot Springs on the gth, and reaching Augusta Court House (Staunton, Virginia) on the iith. Crossing the Shenandoah Valley and passing over the Blue Ridge at Rock Fish Gap, he completed the circle of his arduous expedition of four months and seven days by arriving at Castle Hill on the i6th of July. 13 74 yoiirnal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 4th. We went up the River 10 miles through very bad Woods. 5th. The way growing worse, we travelled 9 mile only. 6th. We left the River. The low grounds on it are of very little Value, but on the Branches are very good, and there is a great deal of it, and the high land is very good in many places. We got on a large Creek called Anthony's Creek, which affords a great deal of Very good Land, and it is chiefly bought, we kept up the creek 4 miles and Camped. This Creek took it Name from an Indian, called John Anthony, that frequently hunts in these Woods. There are some inhabitants on the Branches of Green Bryer, but we missed their Plantations. July 7th. We kept up the Creek, and about Noon 5 men overtook us and inform'd us we were only 8 miles from the inhabitants on a Branch of James River called Jackson's River. We exchanged Some Tallow for Meal & parted. We Camped on a Creek nigh the top of the Alleghany Ridge, which we named Ragged Creek. 8th. Having Shaved, Shifted, & made new Shoes we left our useless Raggs at ye Camp & got to Walker Johnston's about Noon. We moved over to Robert Arm- strong's in the Afternoon & staid there all Night. The People here are very hospitable and would be better able to support Travellers was it not for the great number of yournal of Doctor Thomas Walker. 75 Indian Warriers, that frequently take what they want from them, much to Their prejudice. July 9th. We went to the hot Springs and found Six Invalides there. The Spring Water is very Clear & warmer than new Milk, and there is a spring of cold Water within 20 feet of the Warm one. I left one of my Company this day. 10th. Having a Path We rode 20 miles & lodged at Captain Jemyson's' below the Panther Gap. Two of my Company went to a Smith to get their Horses Shod. nth. Our Way mending, We travelled 30 miles to Augusta Court House,' where I found Mr. Andrew John- ston, the first of my acquaintance I had seen, since the 26 day of March. 1 2th. Mr. Johnston lent me a fresh Horse and sent my Horses to Mr. David Stewards who was so kind as to give them Pastureage. About 8 o'Clock I set off leaving all my Company. It began to rain about 2 in the Afternoon & I lodged at Captain David Lewis's about 34 miles from Augusta Court House. 13th. I got home about Noon. We killed in the Journey 13 Buffaloes, 8 Elks, 53 Bears, 20 Deer, 4 Wild Geese, about 150 Turkeys, besides small Game. We might have killed three times as much meat, if we had wanted it. 'Jameson, of the Doctor Patrick Henry Jameson family. ^Staunton. Appendix A. I am indebted to Doctor William C. Rives, of New York, for the following letter from the late Lyman C. Draper, Secretary of the State Historical Society, Madi- son, Wisconsin, to Honorable W. C. Rives, whose wife was a granddaughter of Doctor Thomas Walker, and who was the grandfather of Doctor Rives. Accompanying it are several documents and letters of interest. While they contain much interesting matter, they serve to show, by the light of Doctor Walker's Journal, how full of error were the traditions and published statements respecting his exploration : Letter from L. C. Draper to Honorable W. C. Rives. Baltimore, Md., March 24, 1847. My Dear Sir : It is with no small reluctance I attempt again to address you with reference to the life of Doctor Thomas Walker, and would not now do so but for my extreme solicitude to speak of him deservedly and correctly. Since I last wrote you I have somewhat changed the plan of my work, and now design it as the Life and Times of General George Rogers Clark, for which purpose his relative? have kindly and liberally placed in my hands all of the General's old papers, and the Kentucky Historical Society, at whose request and under whose auspices I 78 Appendix A. write the work, has also furnished me every aid in its power. In a preliminary chapter to the work I wish to give a detailed account of the early explorations of Kentucky by the whites. Among the most prominent of these was that of Doctor Walker. Kentucky's primitive historian, Filson, makes no mention of Doctor Walker or his visit ; Humphrey Marshall briefly alludes to that exploration, and places the date of its occurrence at "about the year 1758." Mann Butler, on authority of the late Honorable John Brown, who had the date from Doctor Walker himself, gives the event as having occurred "as early as 1747." Bradford's Notes on Kentucky gives the year 1750, on authority of the late Governor Shelby; while yet another writer says 1752, and this, too, coming also from Doctor Walker himself. You need not wonder, then, that I am so very desirous of acquiring information on this point from a reliable source. It seems to me, without the lights that I suppose you possess, that Doctor Walker's exploration of Kentucky could hardly have taken place much if any earlier than 1764 or 1765 — subsequent to Bouquet's treaty of peace with the Western Indians. My late venerable friend, Daniel Bryan, of Kentucky, a nephew of Daniel Boone, gave me a somewhat detailed statement of Doctor Walker's trip, as he received it from one of the party. I do not like to trust to such traditionary information while better is possibly within reach. I do not know as you can con- sistently furnish me with a copy of Doctor Walker's Journal of that trip, which I presume you or Mrs. Rives possesses. I should be rejoiced to have a copy of it, or at least a synopsis of it, together with a notice of Doctor Walker's life and public serv- ices. He was, I believe, at Braddock's defeat ; and served, as I found from a declaration of his, during the whole of the old French war. The details I should be gratified to have and to Appendix A. 79 use. If I can serve you, in turn, in any way it will afford me real pleasure to receive your commands. With great regard and esteem, I am, dear sir, your friend and obedient servant, (Signed) Lyman C. Draper. Honorable W. C. Rives, Bentivoglio, Virginia. P. S. — I copy for your amusement a paragraph from a news- paper article written by General Robert B. McAfee, of Kentucky, on the occasion of the interment of Colonel Daniel Boone last year [September 13, 1845. — Ed.] at Frankfort, viz: "About a month since a youth by the name of Stopher found a very fine tomahawk, leather shot-pouch, the remains of a pow- der-horn, and an Indian pipe sticking under a rocky bank of Salt River, at the mouth of a small drain on the west side about two or three hundred yards below the mouth of the Harrodsburg Branch. On the side of the tomahawk ' is the name of ' Thomas Walker' in fine, plain letters. This ancient relic has been there some sixty or seventy years, and is yet sound and good, as it was sheltered by the rocks from the rain. I do not recollect at present the first name of Mr. Walker, who ran the line between Virginia and North Carolina, or what became of him. The dis- covery of the tomahawk may throw some light upon the fate of the owner. It was very probably hid there by the Indians when hovering around Harrodsburg in 1777. I have this article in my museum, and if Thomas Walker was ever taken or killed by the Indians, his relations will know." I may add, in this connection, that I have in my possession manuscript journal kept by General Daniel Smith in 1779-80, when running the Virginia -North Carolina line as the joint com- missioner with Doctor Walker. L. C. D. 'See Doctor Walker's Journal, entry of June nth, giving account of loss of this tomahawk, with ray note J. S. J. 8o Appendix A. Daniel Bryan's Statement of Doctor Walker's Trip. "I will give you some account of Doctor Thomas Walker, which I had from the mouth of Mr. William Tomerlin," who was one of Walker's company. You can do what you please with it. Tom- erlin stated that Doctor Walker was from Old England, and settled in Virginia ; that he contemplated to look out a good country in the West, then to return to England and try the King for a grant of a quantity of land to help him to a fortune, as he was in low circumstances. Tomerlin, then a young man, agreed to go with him, also Ambrose Powell — if any others, I have forgotten. They started from low down in Virginia, traveled westwardly across Alleghany Mountains to Chissel's Lead Mine, on New River ; thence into the Holston Valley, thence down the valley to Moccasin Gap, in Clinch Mountain, thence over Walden's Ridge and Powell's Mountain into Powell's Valley. Powell's Mountain, Valley, and River took their names from this same Ambrose Powell. They then continued down the valley, leaving Cum- berland Mountain a small distance on their right hand, until they came to Cumberland Gap. This mountain and river Doctor Walker called Cumberland, in memory of Lord Cumberland, of England. At the foot of this mountain they fell into an Indian path leading from the Cherokee towns on Tennessee River to the Shawnee Indian towns on the Ohio, which path they fol- lowed down Yellow Creek to the old ford of Cumberland River. On a beech tree standing on the bank of Yellow Creek I saw the initials of their names and date cut in the bark, as I passed the tree in the year 1777, but can not recollect the date — Mar- shall, in his History of Kentucky, says 1758. Thence they ' The William Tomerlin spoken of in the foregoing by Mr. Bryan was William Tomlinson, who was one of Doctor Walker's companions, and who came to Kentucky in 1779 with Cave Johnson and helped him to build Bryant's Station. He was one of the defenders of the station when besieged August 16, 1782, and left descendants in Fayette County, Kentucky. See R. T. Durrett's Address on Bryant's Station, page 21. Appendix A. 8i went on the path down the river to the Flat Lick, eight miles ; here they left the river, continued on the path, turning more north, crossing some of the head branches of the Kentucky River over a poor and hilly country, until they concluded there was no good country in the West. They then took an easterly course over the worst mountains and laurel thickets in the world, having to cut the laurel with their tomahawks in order to pass through. They crossed the Laurel or Cumberland Mountain and fell into the Greenbrier country, almost starved to death ; they were obliged to eat their dog to keep from famishing, and reached home with life only to pay for all their trouble and suffering. Here I leave Walker and company to you, and com- mence the account of the first discovery of Kentucky, etc." Written by the late Daniel Bryan, of Kentucky, in February, 1843, then about eighty-six years of age, a nephew of Colonel Daniel Boone, and a man of great integrity and worth. L. C. D.(raper.) In the same letter in which Mr. Draper gives the nar- rative of Daniel Bryan he gives the following additional accounts, valuable chiefly as showing how incorrect was all the information respecting Doctor Walker's exploration prior to the discovery of his journal and its correct inter- pretation, now first given : Colonel William Martin's Statement. About the close of the old French war, or perhaps a little after, a treaty was held with the Cherokees at Fort Chissell (Chis- well), on New River, then a frontier. Colonel Byrd was Com- missioner ; The Standing Turkey, principal chief. In this treaty 14 82 Appendix A. it was provided for some of the chiefs to visit England. Doctor Walker, a gentleman of some distinction, living in Albemarle, and neighbor to my father, was appointed to go with them. This he did.' On their return he accompanied them home. On their way, the Indians being guides, they passed through this same Powell's Valley. They arrived at the place now called Cumber- land Gap, where they discovered a fine spring. They still had a little rum remaining, and they drank the health of the Duke of Cumberland, of England, with whom Doctor Walker had been acquainted while there. This gave rise to the name of Cumber- land Mountain and Cumberland River. (Colonel William Martin, now deceased, of Smith County, Tennessee, June, 1842.) (Memorandum by L. C. D. : In the manuscript records of Botetourt County, Virginia, it is recorded that Doctor Thomas Walker served seven years as commissary general to the British and Colonial troops.) Extract from Judge J. Yeates' letter, dated Pittsburgh, August 21, 1776, giving an account of a visit to Brad- dock's field : ' ' My feelings were heightened by the warm and glowing nar- rative of that day's events by Doctor Walker, who was an eye witness. He pointed out the ford where the army crossed the Monongahela River (below Turtle Creek eight hundred yards)." Hazard's Pennsylvania Register, Volume VI, page 104. ' There are several inaccuracies in tliis statement. Doctor Walker never visited England at this or any other time. The French and Indian wars closed by Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763. This would have made Doctor Walker's journey into Kentucky and the naming of Cumber- land Gap some years subsequent to that time, instead of 1750, when it actually took place. Appendix A. 83 Visits to Kentucky. Hall says: "A small party explored Powell's Valley east of Laurel Ridge, which he called Cumberland Mountain. Receiving intelligence from some source not now known that the Ohio might be reached at no great distance by traveling in a north- eastward direction, he proceeded on that course until he came to Big Sandy River, having entirely missed the Ohio and the fertile region of Kentucky. He returned home after a journey of pro- digious labor, chiefly among the mountains. In 1750 he crossed the Cumberland Mountain in company with Colby Chew, Ambrose Powell, and others, but did not reach the Kentucky River. He made several subsequent excursions into this region, and it is probable that to this circumstance may be attributed the mistakes which have been made with reference to the date of his first visit. We adopt that which Mr. Butler, in his recent History of Kentucky, has upon good evidence proved to be the correct one. It appears by a manuscript affidavit, which we have examined, that in the month of April, 1750, he visited the waters of the Cumberland and gave its present name to that river." Hall's Sketches of the West, Volume I, pages 239, 240. "The eastern parts of this district (Tennessee) were explored by Colonels Wood, Patton, Buchanan, Captain Charles Campbell, and Doctor T. Walker, each of whom was concerned in large grants of land from the Government, as early as between the years 1740 and 1750." Morse's Geography, Fifth Edition, Vol- ume I, page 6q6. "About 1745 Captain Charles Campbell discovered the Salines, on North Fork of Holston." Morse, I, 688. (Guthrie, Winter- botham, and Monette state in substance the same.) 84 Appendix A. Stepp's Miscellany, made up from Bradford's Notes on Ken- tucky, says: "In the year 1750 Doctor Thomas Walker, Colby Chew, Ambrose Powell, and several others from the counties of Orange and Culpeper, in Virginia, set out on a western excursion ; they traveled down Holston River, crossed the mountain into Powell's Valley, thence across Cumberland Mountain at the Gap, where the road crosses, proceeded on across what w;i ; formerly known as the Wilderness until they arrived at Hazel Patch. Here the company divided ; Doctor Walker with a part continued north until they came to Kentucky River, which they named Louisa or Levisa River. After traveling down the excessive broken or hilly region some distance they became dissatisfied and returned, and continued up one of the branches to its head and crossed over the mountains to New River, at a place called Walker's Meadows." Note by Mr. Draper. — Marshall says it was 1758. Mr. H. Taylor thinks Doctor Walker told him it was in 1752, but Colonel Shelby states implicitly that in company with Doctor Walker on Yellow Creek, a mile or two from Cumberland Mountain, the Doctor observed, "Upon that tree," pointing to a beech, "Ambrose marked his name and the date of the year." I examined the tree and found "A. Powell, 1750." Sketch of Christopher Gist. /Christopher gist, who was one of the earnest ^^ and most intelligent explorers of the country west of the Alleghanies, was the son of Richard and Zipporah (Murray) Gist, and was a native of Maryland. His father was surveyor of the western shore of Maryland, and one of the Commissioners for laying off the City of Baltimore. His grandfather, Christopher Gist, was from England, and died in Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1691. Little is known of his early life, but the evidences he has left in his journals, his maps, plats of surveys, and correspondence indicate that he enjoyed the advantages of an education superior to that of many of his calling in those early days. His signature and manuscript are characterized by the neatness and uniformity of a copy plate, while his plats and surveys are models in their mathematical exactness and precision in drawing. To this evidence of scholarly order and professional skill he added the hardy qualities of the pioneer and backwoodsman, capable of enduring the exposure of long journeys in the most rigorous weather. In him were combined the varied talents which made him at once an accomplished surveyor, an energetic farmer 86 Sketch of Christopher Gist. who felled the forest and tilled the soil, a skillful diplo- matist who understood the Indian character and was influential in making treaties, a brave soldier, and an upright man, trusted by the highest civil and military authorities with implicit faith. At the time he first appears as a conspicuous figure in the important epoch of history which is covered by his services he was of middle age, and with his family lived upon a farm near the home of Daniel Boone, on the Yadkin River, in the northern part of North Carolina, then on the extreme frontier. He must have already had a large experience in the active pursuit of his profession as a surveyor, and have retired to the more quiet life of a farmer. His reputation as a surveyor and his character as a man of energy and tact must have been well established and recognized in quarters competent to judge of such mat- ters, for when the Ohio Land Company was organized in 1748 by leading capitalists and pubhc men of England and Virginia they sought him in the retirement of his frontier home on the Yadkin, and made him their chief agent to explore the territory in which their grant was situated, and to locate their lands. Prior to this time the enterprises of the English had been confined to the settlement and development of the lands east of the Alleghany, a narrow strip of territory Sketch of Chn stop her Gist. 87 chiefly settled on tide water, with the vast country west- ward of the mountains, to which England laid claim to the Pacific, unexplored and neglected. On the other hand, France, by penetrating the continent along the water line of the Lakes and the Mississippi, had belted the British possessions, established a line of military posts from the Lakes by the way of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to the Gulf, established missions and planted thrifty colo- nies at Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and other points in the Northwest, and at New Orleans, Natchez, and various other places east and west of the Mississippi. The English were lethargic, apparently insensible of the great empire which lay dormant beyond the mountains, while France was aggressive and intent on obtaining possession of all the land between the Mississippi and the Alle- ghanies, while they held by virtue of the discoveries of Marquette and La Salle all the territory west of the Mississippi, exclusive of the Spanish possessions. The aggressions of the French finally aroused the English to the threatened danger, and in 1748 schemes were set on foot looking to the occupation and settlement of the Western territory. In that year also the war which had been waged in Europe between France and England was terminated by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle, by the terms of which, while the subjects which caused the war were 88 Sketch of Christopher Gist. adjusted, there was no definite agreement as to the boundaries of the respective powers in America. The time seemed propitious for appropriating these lands, and the Ohio Company was the first of several corporations organized for that purpose. In 1748 John Hanbury, a merchant of London, Thomas Lee, President of the Council of Virginia, and a number of others, chiefly prominent Virginians, formed the Ohio Company and petitioned the King for a grant of land on the waters of the Ohio River. One of the objects stated in the petition was ' ' to anticipate the French by taking posses- sion of that country southward of the Lakes to which the French had no right nor had then taken possession, ex- cept a small block house fort among the Six Nations." In accordance with the petition, a grant was made to the Company March 18, 1749, to two hundred thousand acres of land on the south side of the Ohio, between the Kanawha and Monongahela rivers, and later to three hundred thousand additional acres to be located upon the waters of the Ohio lower down, on either side, as the Company should select. The conditions of these grants were that the Company, which was relieved from the payment of quit rents for the space of ten years, should colonize the lands with three hundred families and erect a fort at or near the present site of Pittsburgh, and Sketch of Christopher Gist. 89 another at the mouth of the Kanawha. It is not, how- ever, within the purview of this sketch to enter into the history of this Company further than as it relates to Christopher Gist's connection therewith. It ultimately shared the fate of many similar bodies in pecuniary loss to the shareholders, but exerted during its existence a most important influence in the settlement of the country and in the final rescue of all the territory east of the Mississippi from the grasp of the French. Many of the most prominent men of that day in Virginia constituted the original corporators, namely : Robert Dinwiddie, then Governor of the Colony ; Lawrence and Augustine Wash- ington, the half-brothers of George Washington, Lawrence having at one time the chief management ; Arthur Dobbs, Samuel Smith, James Wardrop, Capel Hanbury, John Taylor, Presley Thornton, Nathaniel Chapman, Jacob Giles, Thomas Cresap, John Mercer, James Scott, Richard Lee, Robert Carter, and George Mason, author of the "Bill of Rights," who was its treasurer. The area of the grant was from time to time extended, and the company was finally, in 1773, merged into the Walpole grant under the name of the Grand Ohio Company, which included in its limits all that part of Kentucky east of the Kentucky River. The leading promotors of this grant and company were Thomas Walpole (brother of Horace), Lord Walpole, 90 Sketch of Christopher Gist. an eminent banker of London; Thomas Pownall, M. P., Governor of New England ; Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Wharton. The Revolutionary War terminated the exist- ence of the company and opened up the territory to settlement under the American system without the inter- mediary agency of land companies. As a preliminary to the occupation of its lands the Ohio Company in 1749-50 built a storehouse at Will's Creek, the present site of Cumberland, Maryland, then on the extreme western frontier, and engaged Colonel Thomas Cresap, one of the incorporators resident there, to open a road to the Monongahela, which became the route of Braddock's fatal march in 1755. In 1750 Chris- topher Gist was employed for one hundred and fifty pounds steriing certain "and such further handsome allowance as his service should deserve " to explore and report upon the lands upon the Ohio and its several branches as low as the Falls of the Ohio, according to instructions which precede the journal hereafter printed. The thorough manner in which he discharged this duty, as well as the still more responsible trust confided to him by the Governor of Virginia, is fully set forth in the text of the journal, for while his chief mission, as appears by his credentials, was one of exploration, he was also entrusted by the Governor, who was, as has been stated. Sketch of Christopher Gist. 91 a member of the Ohio Company, with diplomatic powers to promote friendly relations with the Indian tribes dwell- ing on the waters of the Ohio. To comprehend the delicacy and importance of such a trust, as well as the dangers which his commission as agent of the Land Company implied, it will be well to glance at the status of affairs in the territory about to be visited, both as regards the Indians and the relations between the French and English. As has been said, the treaty of Aix la Chapelle left the question of boundary as to this territory of the two nations indefinite, and each laid claim to the Ohio lands. The English proceeded to take possession through the Ohio Company without the formal assertion of their claims, while the French emphasized their asserted right by a demonstration intended at once to be a notice to England and a warning to the Indians dwelling within the territory. To this end, in the spring of 1749, six months after the signing of the treaty, the Marquis de la Gallissoniere, Governor General of Canada, directed Cap- tain M. Celeron de Blainville, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, to proceed to the Ohio and by planting leaden plates, duly engraved, at the mouth of the principal rivers, and by other formal processes, to set up the claim of France to all the territory watered 92 Sketch of CJiristopher Gist. by the Ohio and its tributaries. He was also directed to order from the territory all English traders and occu- pants of land, and to require from the Indian tribes allegiance to France as the condition of remaining in possession of their lands. In pursuance of this order, Celeron, who has left a detailed journal' of his expedi- tion, set out from the vicinity of Montreal on the 15th of June, 1749, with a detachment of "one captain, eight subaltern officers, six cadets, one chaplain, one hundred and eighty Canadians, and about twenty Indians." He ascended the St. Lawrence in canoes, and crossing Lake Ontario made portage around Niagara Falls, and entering Lake Erie landed at a point between the present sites of Dunkirk and Erie. Thence he carried his canoes a dis- tance of twelve or fourteen miles to Lake Chautauqua, the French Chataquin, and passing through the lake and down the small stream, now the Chenango, which leads from it to the Alleghany River, reached its mouth, the present site of Warren, Pennsylvania. His entry for the 29th of July reads: "On the 29th I entered the Beautiful river. I had a leaden plate buried on which was engraved the taking possession which I made in the name of the King of this river and of all those that fall into it. I had also 'The editor is indebted to Mr. Laurie J. Blakely, of Covington, Ken- tucky, for a full copy of Celeron's journal in manuscript, made from the original in the French Archives in Paris. Sketch of CJiristopher Gist 93 attached to a tree the arms of the King struck on a plate of sheet iron, and of all this I drew up an official State- ment which Messieurs the officers signed ; Copy of written record of the position of the leaden plate and of the arms of the King deposited at the entrance of the Beau- tiful river, together with the Inscription : "In the year one thousand seventeen hundred and forty-nine Celeron Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, Captain Commanding a detachment sent out by the orders of Monsieur the Marquis de la Gallissoniere, Governor General of New France, on the Beautiful River, otherwise called the Oyo, accompanied by the principal officers of the detachment buried at the foot of a red oak on the Southern bank of the river Oyo and of Kanongon, and at 42 degrees, 5 minutes, 23 seconds, a leaden plate with this inscription : "In the year 1749 in the reign of Louis XV King of France we Celeron commander of the detachment sent out by M the Marquis de la Gallissoniere Governor General of New France, to re-establish peace in some villages of these cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Oyo and the Kanaongon the 29th of July for a monument of the renewal of the possession we have taken of all the territories on both sides as far as the source of the said rivers, as the preceding Kings of France have so possessed them or should possess them and as they are main- tained therein by arms and by treaties and especially by those of Utrecht, Riswick and of Aix la Chapelle, have moreover affixed 94 Sketch of Christopher Gist. the arms of the King to a tree. In testimony whereof we have drawn up and signed the present written record. Made at the entrance of the Beautiful River the 29th of July 1749." Similar plates were buried at the mouth of French Creek and of the Little Kanawha, Muskingum, Great Kanawha, and Great Miami, several of which have been since found by the caving of the river banks. At the mouth of French Creek, the site of Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, he found six English soldiers with a large lot of furs on their way to Philadelphia, whom he notified to leave the country, and by them wrote a letter to James Hamilton, Governor of Pennsylvania, informing him of his mission, and warning him of the penalty which would be incurred by all English subjects who should intrude upon the country. Thus he continued down the Ohio in the execution of his orders, summoning the Indian tribes to council and informing them of the conditions upon which they would be permitted to retain their possessions, until reaching the Great Miami he passed up that stream northward to Detroit. Such were the conditions which Gist was called to confront when, accompanied only by a negro lad and a pack-horse, he started from Will's Creek, a little more than a year after Celeron passed down the Ohio, to find, as his journal discloses, the Indians well apprised of the con- Sketch of Christophey Gist. 95 tention between the two powers as to their respective claims to lands which they considered their own. It is not to be wondered that on reaching the Ohio he recognized the propriety of concealing his compass from the observa- tion of the Indians, and merged his mission as an agent of the Ohio Land Company into that of a diplomatic envoy sent by the Governor of Virginia to cultivate their good will. His meeting with George Croghan, the noted Indian trader and Deputy Agent of Indian Affairs of Pennsylvania, pre- sents internal evidence of being more than an accident, and indicates that there was concurrent action on the part of the Governors of the two colonies. The account of their joint services in conciliating the Indians and strengthening the bonds of friendship between the most powerful Indian tribes and the English, as detailed in Gist's journal, presents a remarkable record of successful diplomacy, while the picture of Indian life and customs there portrayed, as well as the vivid description of the country through which they passed, in all its virgin richness, is a contribution to history as creditable to the author as the success of his long and perilous journey. In 1751-52 Colonel Gist made a second tour of explo- ration to examine the lands embraced in the company's grant on the waters of the Monongahela, his journal of which is also extant. At the treaty of Logstown, June 13, 96 Sketch of Christopher Gist. 1752, brought about by his mission to the Ohio Indians the year previous, by which the treaty of Lancaster in 1744, ceding the lands afterward granted to the Ohio Company, was confirmed. Colonel Gist was present as a representative of the company, and his name appears on the treaty as one of the witnesses. After this service he made a settlement west of the Alleghany Mountains, between the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, and not far from Redstone Old Fort, now Brownsville, Penn- sylvania. He was there engaged in founding a home in the wilderness when he was called upon to perform another service which has linked his name with that of Washington in a critical period of his career. The threatening attitude of the French brought from the Ohio Indians and traders an appeal to Governor Dinwiddie, who selected Washington, then in his twenty-second year, as a Commissioner to visit the French Commander at Venango, on the Upper Alleghany River, and remonstrate with him against the pretensions of France. On his way he met Gist at Will's Creek, who agreed to accompany him, and whose skill as a woodsman and knowledge of the country rendered him an invaluable companion and guide. During the trip Gist twice saved Washington's life. The journals of both, giving the details of this perilous journey made in midwinter, form a valuable record of the initial events which preceded the war with the Sketch of Christopher Gist. 97 French, in which Washington found the miHtary school which fitted him for his great career as Commander of the Armies of the Revolution, and in which Gist was found as his most trusted friend and guide. He was with him in his victory at Great Meadows and in his disaster next day, July 4, 1754, at Fort Necessity, when Washington surren- dered to the French in superior numbers with the honors of war. At the battle of Braddock's defeat, July 9, 1755, he was present with two sons, Nathaniel and Thomas, and afterward raised a company of scouts in Maryland and Virginia, and did good service. In 1756 he went to the Cherokee country, now East Tennessee, to enlist Indians of that tribe in the English service, and later was Indian agent. His death occurred from smallpox in 1759.' The family of Colonel Gist, whose wife was Sarah Howard, consisted of three sons, Nathaniel, Richard, and Thomas, and two daughters, Anne and Violette. Richard was killed at the Battle of King's Mountain, and Thomas, after service in the French and Indian War, lived the quiet life of a farmer in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1787. Nathaniel was a Colonel in the Virginia line, and rose to important command. 'Christopher Gist's Journals, &c. , by W. M. Darlington, Pittsburgh, 1893, page 88. In a sketch on Canewood, the home of Nathaniel Gist, written for the Lexington Illustrated Kentuckian by Judge James Flanagan, Christopher Gist is stated to have been killed at the battle of Braddock's defeat. i6 9 8 Sketch of CJiristopher Gist. He did valuable service in the war against the Chero- kees in East Tennessee, who, having been faithful allies of the Virginians against the French, became their most formidable enemies during the Revolutionary War, requir- ing the vigilance of Sevier, Gist, Evan and Isaac Shelby, Christian, and Campbell to that line of the revolutionary defense, while to the northward such officers as George Rogers Clark, Logan, the Todds, and their scant force of pioneers held the line of Kentucky against the British and their Indian allies. But posterity will not readily ascribe to Nathaniel Gist the credit he deserves for his service in that southern field, since the historians of Ten- nessee and North Carolina who have recorded his brave deeds have handed him down as Nathaniel Guest. During the latter part of the war he was in command of the fort at Old Redstone, and after the peace settled as a planter in Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge, in possession of a large estate. In the spring of 1793 he removed to Kentucky by the old route by which his father guided Washington to Redstone, and thence by family boat to Maysville, Kentucky, and settled on a tract of seven thousand acres of the most fertile lands in Bourbon County, received for his services in the French and Indian War. Here he built the famous homestead known as Canewood, long noted for the hospitality dispensed there. Sketch of Christopher Gist. 99 He, however, survived but a short time, leaving a family of two sons, Thomas Cecil and Henry Clay, descendants of whom still live in that part of Kentucky, and seven daughters. Of these, Judith became the wife of Doctor Joseph Boswell, of Fayette County, Kentucky, and their daughter was the first wife of Governor Luke P. Black- burn ; Sarah married Honorable Jesse Bledsoe, who was Secretary of State under Governor Scott, member of both houses of the legislature, circuit judge, and United States Senator, and their daughter was the first wife of Judge Mason Brown, of Frankfort, and the mother of B. Gratz Brown, Governor of Missouri and Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1872 ; Maria was the first wife of Benjamin Gratz, of Lexington, Kentucky, and the mother of Colonel Howard H. Gratz, present editor of the Lex- ington Gazette ; Eliza married Francis P. Blair, and among their children were General Frank P. Blair, Dem- ocratic candidate for Vice-President in 1868, and Mont- gomery Blair, Postmaster - General under Mr. Lincoln ; Anne married Captain Nat Hart, brother of the wife of Henry Clay, who lost his life at the Battle of Raisin, January 22, 181 3. One daughter, Davidella, died un- married. General James Taylor, in an unpublished autobiog- raphy, who met Colonel Gist at Redstone in 1793 when loo Sketch of Chyistophey Gist. he was on his way to settle in Kentucky, says of him : ' ' I found him alone in a large military marquee with his servants, I think about thirty or forty about the fire. He was a large man of dark complexion, and I think near six feet high and of a commanding and intelligent appearance." Several years after his death his widow, whose maiden name was Judith Bell, married General afterward Governor Charles Scott. This brief biographical sketch of the second explorer who traversed Kentucky of whom there is record has been made up of data widely scattered and collated from many sources. It lacks much in detail which no research has been able to supply, as nowhere have I found a biographical notice except of the briefest and most meager character. Kentucky historians have devoted but a few lines to him or his exploration, and those contain more error than fact. It is not well that such a figure shall be lost sight of in the process of filling our vacant niches, illustrating as it does one of the very best types of the pioneers who blazed the way through the wilderness. Gist's Journal/ For the Honorable Robert Dinwiddie, Esquire, Governor and Commander of Virginia. ( INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN MR. CHRISTOPHER GIST BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE OHIO COMPANY THE IITH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 175O.) \/0U are to go out as soon as possible to the Westward * of the great Mountains, and carry with you such a Number of Men as You think necessary, in Order to Search out and discover the Lands upon the river Ohio, & other adjoining Branches of the Mississippi down as low as the great Falls thereof : You are particularly to observe the Ways & Passes thro all the Mountains you cross, & take an exact Account of the Soil, Quality & Product of the Land, and the Wideness and Deepness of the Rivers, & the several Falls belonging to them, together with the Courses & Bearings of the Rivers & Mountains as near as you conveniently can : You are ' It was at first intended, as stated in the Introduction, to print this journal from the text of Pownall, but afterward I concluded to use the one given in Judge Darlington's work on "Christopher Gist's Journals, Pittsburgh, 1888." A careful comparison shows no material difference, but in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation Judge Darlington's text conforms more closely to the original. — J. S. J. I02 yournal of Christopher Gist. also to observe what Nations of Indians inhabit there, their Strength & Numbers, who they trade with, & in what Comodities they deal. When you find a large quantity of good, level Land, such as you think will suit the Company, You are to measure the Breadth of it, in three or four different Places, & take the Courses of the River & Mountains on which it binds in Order to judge the Quantity : You are to fix the Beginning & Bounds in such a Manner that they may be easily found again by your Description ; the nearer in the Land lies the better, provided it be good & level, but we had rather go quite down the Mississippi than take mean broken Land. After finding a large Body of good level Land, you are not to stop but pro- ceed further, as low as the Falls of the Ohio, that we may be informed of that Navigation ; And You are to take an exact Account of all the large Bodies of good level Land, in the same Manner as above directed that the Company may the better judge when it will be most convenient for them to take their Land. You are to note all the Bodies of good Land as you go along, tho there is not a sufficient Quantity for the Company's Grant, but You need not be so particular in the Mensuration of that, as in the larger Bodies of Land. yournal of Christopher Gist. 103 You are to draw as good a plan as you can of the Country You pass thro : You are to take an exact and particular Journal of all Your Proceedings, and make a true Report thereof to the Ohio Company. 1750. — In Complyance with my Instructions from the Committee of the Ohio Company bearing Date the nth Day of September 1750. Wednesday Oct 1750. — Set out from Colo Thomas Cresap's, ■ at the Old Town on Potomack River in Mary- ' Colonel Thomas Cresap was a native of Yorkshire, England, who came over to Maryland about 1720. He was a carpenter by trade, and after- ward a surveyor, farmer, and Indian trader, as well as a noted Indian fighter. After having lived at Havre de Grace and in York County, Penn- sylvania, as also later on Antietam Creek, in the present Washington County, Maryland, about 1742 he fixed his residence at Old Town, or Skipton, as he named it, fifteen miles southeast of Cumberland, or Will's Creek, as it was called in early days, on the north side of the Potomac. Its site is just opposite to Green Spring Station, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, at the mouth of the South Branch of the Potomac. It was the site of an old Shawnee town, whence its name, and when Colonel Cresap moved there it was the westernmost settlement, and the rendezvous of all prospectors, ti'aders, and hunters. In 1748 Washington found accommo- dation there when he went to that region as surveyor of the lands of Lord Fairfax. Colonel Cresap was an agent of the Ohio Company, and as such built the road from Cumberland westward to the Monongahela River, along which Washington, who was also connected with that company, went in 1753 on his mission to the French at Venango, and which was Braddock's route in his disastrous campaign in 1755. Colonel Cresap was frequently a member of the Maryland Legislature, and left descend- ants who became prominent. His youngest son, Michael, was adjutant of the First Maryland Battalion in the Revolutionary War, but died early, and is buried in Trinity Churchyard, New York. It was he who was incidentally charged by Mr. Jefferson in his Notes on Virginia as having massacred the family of Logan, the "Mingo Chief, in 1774. Although the charge is embodied in Logan's famous speech, it has been disproved. 104 yo7irnal of Christopher Gist. land, and went along an old Indian Path N 30 E about II Miles. Thursday Nov i. — Then N i Mile N 30 E 3 M. here I was taken sick and Stayed all Night. Friday 2. — N 30 E 6 M, here I was so bad that I was not able to proceed any farther that Night, but grew better in the Morning. Saturday 3. — N 8 M to Juniata, a large Branch of Susquehannah, where I stayed all Night. Sunday 4. — Crossed Juniatta and went up it S 55 W about 16 M. Monday 5. — Continued the same Course S 55 W 6 M to the top of a large Mountain Called the Allegany Mountain, here our Path turned, & we went N 45 W 6 M here we encamped. Tuesday 6 Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8. — Had Snow and such bad Weather that We could not travel for three Days ; but I killed a young Bear so that we had Provision enough. Friday 9. — Set out N 70 W about 8 M here I crossed a creek of Susquehannah and it raining hard, I went into an old Indian Cabbin where I stay'd all Night. Saturday 10. — Rain and Snow all Day but cleared away in the Evening. Sunday 11. — Set out late in the Morning N 70 W yottrnal of Christopher Gist. 105 6 M crossing two Forks of a Creek of Susquehannah, here the Way being bad, We encamped and I killed a Turkey. Monday 12. — Set out N 45 W 6 M to Loyalhannan an old Indian Town on a Creek of Ohio called Kiscomi- natis,' then N i M NW i M to an Indians Camp on the said Creek. Thursday 15. — The Weather being bad and I unwell I stayed here all Day : The Indian to whom this Camp belonged spoke good English and directed Me the Way to his Town which is called Shannopini Town : He said it was about 60 M and a pretty good Way. Friday 16.— Set out S 70 W 10 M. Saturday 17. — The same Course (S 70 W) 15 M to an old Indian's Camp. ' The Kiskiminitas River , which flows from the Alleghany Mountains to the Ohio, into which it empties above Pittsburgh, near Kittanning, and along which the Pennsylvania Railroad finds its way. Loyalhannan, or Loyalhannon, was one of the first towns west of the AUeghanies noted on the older maps. Its site is occupied by the present town of Ligonier, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, fifty-one miles east of Pittsburgh. It was so named in 1759 after General Ligonier, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, who preceded General Granby, made famous by the strictures of Junius in his Letters. The route taken by Gist from Old Town, the residence of Colonel Cresap, was northward to the Juniata ; thence westward up that stream, crossing the Alleghany Mountains at its head, and thence down the waters of the Kiskiminitas. The name of Loyal- hannan is supposed to have been from Laurelhanne, a Delaware word meaning the middle stream, the Kiskiminitas at this point being half way between the mouth of the Juniata and Ohio River. 17 io6 Journal of Christopher Gist. Sunday 1 8. — I was very sick, and sweated myself according to the Indian Custom in a Sweat- House, which gave Me Ease, and my Fever abated. Monday 19. — Set out early in the Morning the same Course (S 70 W) travelled very hard about 20 M to a small Indian Town of the Delawares called Sliannopin ' on the SE side of the River Ohio, where We rested and got Corn for our Horses. Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 Thursday 22 and Fri- day 23. — I was unwell and stayed in this town to recover myself : While I was here I took an Opportunity to set my Compass privately, & took the distance across the River, for I understood it was dangerous "" to let a Com- ' Shannopin's Town, as it was called, was named after a Delaware Indian who lived there. This tribe was subject to the Six Nations, or Iroquois, and friendly to the English. His name appears in the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania in connection with councils and treaties. He died in 1740. The village contained about twenty wigwams, and was just above the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers. Its site is now included in Pittsburgh, comprising part of the Twelfth Ward, between Penn Avenue, Thirtieth Street, and the Two Mile Run. It was the point at which Washington halted on his journey to Venango with Christopher Gist as his guide, November 23, 1753, and where he crossed the river. ^This statement that it was dangerous to let it be known that he had a compass discloses a state of affairs which has an important bearing upon Gist's movements and the subsequent events leading up to the French and Indian War, known also as the Seven Years' War. The French, who in 1749 had asserted their claim to the land watered by the Ohio and its tributaries by burying leaden plates engraved with their formal declaration of right at the mouths of the principal rivers as low yournal of Christopher Gist. 107 pass be seen among these Indians : The Ohio River is 76 Poles wide at Shannopin Town : There are about twenty FamiHes in this Town : The Land in general from Potomack to this Place is mean Stony and broken, here and there good Spots upon the Creeks and Branches but no Body of it. Saturday 24. — Set out from Shannopin's town, and swam our Horses across the River Ohio, & went down the River S 74 W 4 M, N 75 W 7 M W 2 M, all the Land from Shannopin's Town is good along the River, but the Bottoms not broad ; At a Distance from the River good Land for Farming, covered with Small White Oaks and tolerable level ; fine Runs for Mills &c. down as the Great Miami, had sought to alienate the Indians along the Ohio from their loyalty to Great Britain by telling them that the English intended to take their lands. This was denied, and the ostensible mission of Gist as the representative of the Governor of Virginia was to disabuse their minds of any such purpose, and to cement their friendship with Great Britain by treaties of alliance against France. At the same time Gist was the accredited agent and surveyor of the Ohio Company, who was, as shown by his instructions, making this very trip for the purpose of examining and reporting upon the lands suitable for taking up under the grant embraced in their charter. It is noticeable also that Washing- ton, who three years later came to the Ohio upon a mission diplomatic rather than commercial, was also in the interest and an agent of the Ohio Land Company, and that the Indians who were most friendly to both him and Gist became the allies of France and the enemies of England in the Seven Years' War on account of the evident purpose of the English to appropriate their lands. io8 yournal of Christopher Gist. Sunday Nov 25. — Down the River W 3 M, NW 3 M to Loggstown ; ' the Lands these last 8 M very rich the Bottoms above a Mile wide, but on S E side, scarce a Mile wide, the Hills high and steep. In the Loggs Town, I found scarce any Body but a Parcel of repro- bate Traders, the Chiefs of the Indians being out a hunting : here I was informed that George Croghan ' & ' Logstown was eighteen miles below the site of Pittsburgh, on the north side of the Ohio River, just below the present site of the town of Economy, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It was established by the Shawnees about twenty years before Gist's visit, when they emigrated from eastward of the Alleghanies. It was an important point before the settlement of Pittsburgh. Washington and Gist remained here from the 24th to 30th of November, 1753, and Washington was also here in October, 1770. Here also was held, June 30, 1752, between the Six Nations and the Commissioners of Virginia, Joshua Fry, Lunsford Lomax, and James Patton, a treaty supplementary to and confirmatory of that of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1744. It was witnessed, among others, by William Trent, George Croghan, Christopher Gist, William Preston, and Hugh Crawford, several of whom are mentioned in this journal. ° George Croghan was a noted character in the early settlement of the West. He was an Irishman, and came to America in 1746 with Sir William Johnson, who was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New York, resident among the Six Nations, of whom he became a chief, his second wife being an Indian woman. Croghan was made his deputy and became an Indian trader, his operations being chiefly in the western part of Pennsylvania and Virginia and in Ohio. He had in his employment a number of other Irishmen, who, as traders, exerted a large influence among the Indians in maintaining their allegiance to the English as against the French. He was also a Captain in the British service, taking active part in the French and Indian War, and was entrusted with important functions in making treaties with the Indians as well as promoting the interest of the Ohio Company. His operations in these several capacities extended over a period of nearly forty years, and a record of his adventures and important services would fill a volume. In 1763 he was sent to England by Sir yournal of Christopher Gist. 109 Andrew Montour' who were sent upon an Embassy from Pennsylvania to the Indians, were passed about a Week William Johnson to confer with the British Ministry in regard to an Indian boundary line. In 1765 he made a voyage down the Ohio River as far as Fort Massac to secure the friendship of the Illinois Indians, and was wounded in an attack upon his party by friendly Indians, who mistook him for an enemy. From the Ohio River he made his way northward to Detroit. His journal of the expedition is published in the appendix of Butler's History of Kentucky, and is an interesting contribution to the history of the period. He was an uncle of Doctor John Connolly, to whom was issued by Lord Dunmore a patent for a two-thousand-acre grant, upon which Louisville is located. He was a cousin of Major William Croghan, of Locust Grove, near Louisville, who married the sister of George Rogers Clark, and the tract of land upon which he lived is said to have been acquired from George Croghan. He was at one time a man of large wealth, accumulated as an Indian trader, and owned large bodies of land in the West. His correspondence with the leading officers and men of prominence during his long career gives evidence of more than ordinarj' education and influence. In Washington's western tour in 1770, his journal shows that on October i8th he "dined with Col. Croghan," who had his residence, or seat as Washington terms it, on the banks of the Alleghany, four miles above Fort Pitt. His rank was probably only titular as deputy agent of Sir William Johnson. During the Revolutionary War he was not regarded without suspicion by the American loyalists, but as he continued to reside on his farm without molestation he was probably unjustly accused. Many of his associates in business were loyalists, as Alexander McKee and Doctor Connolly, and some of them, as the former, were leaders of the Indians in their bloody incursions into Kentucky. His chief, Sir William Johnson, died in 1774, before the commencement of hostilities, but the Six Nations took active part with the British. The presence of Croghan in Ohio at the time of Gist's tour was as agent of the Governor of Pennsylvania to treat with the Shawnees and other Indian tribes of that territory, as Gist was of the Governor of Virginia. ' Andrew Montour was a mixed breed of French and Indian descent, his mother, who was a half-breed, being long noted as Madame Montour, the wife of a prominent chief of the Six Nations, who acted as interpreter I lo your Hill of Christopher Gist. before me. The People in this Town, began to enquire my Business, and because I did not readily inform them, they began to suspect me, and said, I was come to settle the Indian's Lands and they knew I should never go Home again Safe ; I found this Discourse was like to be of ill Consequence to me, so I pretended to speak very slightingly of what they had said to me and enquired for Croghan (who is a meer Idol among his Countrymen the Irish Traders) and Andrew Montour the Interpreter for Pennsylvania, and told them I had a message to deliver the Indians from the King, by Order of the President of Virginia, & for that in councils and treaties. Her son Andrew also became an interpreter as early as 1744, when he performed that function at the Treaty of Lancaster, by which the Indians ceded to the English all their lands in Virginia. He was at Logstown in 1748, and was employed by the British to keep the Indians from being diverted from their allegiance by the French. To the latter he was an object <^ special disfavor, a price being set upon his head. On the present occasion he was acting as interpreter for Croghan in his communica- tion with the Indians. He officiated as interpreter at the meeting at Logs- town, May 18, 1751, arranged by Gist and Croghan on their tour at this time, and also at the treaty at the same place in May, 1752, when the Treaty of Lancaster, which the Indians had questioned, was confirmed. In 1753 he was interpreter at the conference at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, between the representatives of the Six Nations and Secretary R. Peters, Isaac Morris, and Benjamin Franklin, Commissioners of Pennsylvania. In 1754 he was employed as interpreter and confidential agent in Washington's advance to the Ohio, and he was with him at the surrender at Fort Necessity, remaining with him during the Braddock Campaign in the following year. He con- tinued in active and faithful service with the English for many years, and was one of the interpreters at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the site of the present city of Rome, New York, October, 1768, by which the Six Nations, for ten thousand pounds sterling, ceded to Virginia all of their lands south of the Ohio, including Kentucky, to the Tennessee River. yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 1 1 Reason wanted to see M. Montour : This made them all pretty easy (being afraid to interrupt the King's Message) and obtained me Quiet and Respect among them, other- wise I doubt not they would have contrived some Evil against me — I immediately wrote to M Croghan, by one of the Traders People. Monday 26. — Tho I was unwell, I preferred the Woods to such Company & set out from the Loggs Town down the River N W 6 M to great Beaver Creek ' where I met Barney Curran'' a trader for the Ohio Company, and We ' Beaver Creek empties into the Ohio a few miles below Logstown, the town of Rochester, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, being at its mouth. The stream, named for Beaver, King of the Delawares, rises in the dividing territory between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio, interlapping with the former streams. Washington, in his tour of 1770, noted the feasibility of a canal along this line, and in a letter to him from Mr. Jefferson, written in Paris, January 4, 1786, occurs the following reference to the same subject : ' ' I sincerely rejoice that three such works as the opening the Potomac and James rivers and a canal from the Dismal Swamp Canal are likely to be carried through. There is a fourth, however, which I had the honor, I believe, of mentioning to you in a letter of March the 15th, 1784, from Annapolis. It is the cutting a canal which shall unite the head of the Cuyahoga and Beaver Creek." Mr. Jefferson's idea was to make a continuous waterway to the East by connecting the waters of the Kanawha with those of the James or the Monongahela with the Potomac. ^ Barney Curran was an old Indian trader long associated with George Croghan. He afterward was one o^ Washington's attendants on his trip from Will's Creek (Cumberland), Maryland, to Venango. In Washington's journal is an entry made at Will's Creek, November 14, 1753, as follows: "Here I engaged Mr. Gist to pilot us out, and also hired four others as hunters, Barnaby Curran and John McGuire, Indian traders, Henry Steward and William Jenkins ; and in company with them left the inhabitants the next day." (Washington's Journal, Note 1, Appendix to Volume II, Marshall's Life of Washington.) 112 yoiirnal of Christopher Gist. continued together as far as Muskingum. The Bottoms upon the River below the Logg's Town were very rich but narrow, the high Land being pretty good but not very rich, the Land upon Beaver Creek the same kind ; From this Place We left the River Ohio to the S E & travelled across the Country. Tuesday 27. — Set out from E. side of Beaver Creek NW 6 M, W 4 M ; up these last two Courses very good high Land, not very broken, fit for farming. Wednesday 28. — Rained, We could not travel. Thursday 29. — W 6 M thro good Land, the same Course continued 6 M farther thro very broken Land ; here I found myself pretty well recovered & being in Want of Provision, I went out and killed a Deer. Friday 30. — Set out S 45 W 12 M. Crossed the last Branch of Beaver Creek where one of Curran's Men & myself killed 12 Turkeys. Saturday Dec i. — N 45 W 10 M the Land high and tolerable good. Sunday 2. N 45 W 8 M. the same Sort of Land, but near the Creeks bushy, and very full of Thorns. Monday 3. — Killed a Deer, and stayed in our Camp all Day. Tuesday 4. — Set out late S 45 W about 4 M here I killed three fine Deer, so that tho we were eleven in Com- pany, We had great Plenty of Provision. yournal of Christopher Gist. 113 Wednesday 5. — Set out down the Side of a Creek called Elk's Eye ' Creek S 70 W 6 M, good Land, but void of Timber, Meadows upon the Creek, fine Runs for Mills. Thursday 6. — Rained all Day so that we were obliged to continue in our Camp. Friday 7. — Set out S W 8 M crossing the said Elk's Eye Creek to a Town of the Ottaways, a Nation of the French Indians ; an old French Man (named Mark Coonce) who had married an Indian Woman of the six Nations lived here ; the Indians were all out a hunting ; the old Man was- very civil to me, but after I was gone to my Camp, upon understanding I came from Virginia, he called me a Long Knife. There are not above six or eight Families belonging to this Town. Saturday 8.— Stayed in the Town. Sunday 9.— Set out down the said Elk's Eye Creek S 45 W 6 M to Margaret's Creek ^ a Branch of the said Elk's Eye Creek. ' He was now near Oneida, Carroll County, Ohio, on Big Sandy Creek, a branch of the Tuscarawas, one of the streams which united form the Mus- kingum. The name ' ' Elk's Eye " was applied to each of the streams. The name Muskingum is from the Delaware word Mooshingung, or Elk's Eye, the elk being called by them moos. The waters of the Upper Muskingum and the Cuyahoga are utilized for a canal from Cleveland to Columbus, and thence down the Scioto to Portsmouth at its mouth. The Muskingum is set down on Father Bonnecamp's Map of Celeron's Expedition, 1749, as the Yananguekonuan. ^ Margaret's Creek was named for Margaret Montour, sister of Andrew Montour, the interpreter. 18 1 1 4 yoitrnal of Christopher Gist. Monday Dec lo. — The same Course (S 45 W) 2 M to a large Creek. Tuesday 11. — The same Course 8 M. encamped by the Side of the Elk's Eye Creek. Thursday 13. — Rained all Day. Friday 14. — Set out W 5 IM to Muskingum' a Town of the Wyendotts. The Land upon Elk's Eye Creek is in general very broken, the Bottoms narrow. The Wyen- dotts or little Mingoes are divided between the French and English, one half of them adhere to the first, and the other half are firmly attached to the latter. The Town of Muskingum consists of about one hundred Fam- ilies. When We came within Sight of the Town, We perceived English Colours hoisted on the King's House, and at George Croghans ; ' upon enquiring the Reason I was informed that the French had lately taken several Enghsh Trader's, and that Mr Croghan had ordered all the White Men to come into this town, and had sent Expresses to the Traders of the lower Towns, and among ' Muskiugum, a town of the Wyandots, on the Muskingum, near the present site of Coshocton, in the county of the same name. ° Croghan had a trading-house here, which, in 1753, was seized by the French and his goods confiscated to the value of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling, as shown by his affidavit for reimbursement by his govern- ment. Four traders were captured by order of Celeron, the French Com- mander at Detroit, three of whom were sent captive to France, but after three months' imprisonment restored to their friends. yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 1 5 the Pickweylinees ; and the Indians had sent to their People to come to Council about it. Saturday 15 & Sunday 16. — Nothing remarkable hap- pened. Monday 17. — Came into Town two Traders belonging to M Croghan, and informed Us that two of his People were taken by 40 French Men, & twenty French Indians who had carried them with seven Horse Loads of Skins to a new Fort that the French were building on one of the Branches of Lake Erie. Tuesday 18. — I acquainted Mr Croghan and Andrew Montour with my Business with the Indians, & talked much of a Regulation of Trade with which they were much pleased, and treated Me very kindly. From Wednesday 19 to Monday 24. — Nothing remark- able. Tuesday 25. — This being Christmass Day, I intended to read Prayers, but after inviting some of the White Men, they informed each other of my Intentions, and being of several different Persuasions, and few of them inclined to hear any Good, they refused to come. But one Thomas Burney a Black Smith who is settled there went about and talked to them, & several of them came, and Andrew Montour invited several of the well disposed Indians, who came freely ; by this Time the Morning ii6 yoiiinial of CJiristophey Gist. was spent, and I had given over all Thoughts of them, but seeing Them come, to oblige All and offend None, I stood up and said. Gentlemen, I have no Design or Intention to give Offence to any particular Sectary or Religion, but as our King indulges us all in a Liberty of Conscience and hinders none of You in the Exercise of your religious Worship, so it would be unjust in you to endeavor to stop the Propagation of His : The Doctrine of the Salvation Faith, and good Works, is what I only propose to treat of, as I find it extracted from the Homilies of the Church of England, which I then read them in the best manner I could, and after I had done the Inter- preter told the Indians what I had read, and that it was the true Faith which the great King and His Church recommended to his Children:' The Iiidians seemed well pleased, and came up to Me and returned Me their Thanks ; and then invited Me to live among Them ; and gave Me a Name in their Language Annosanah : the Interpreter told me this was a Name of a good Man that had formerly lived among them, and their King said that must be always my Name, for which I returned them Thanks ; but as to living among them I excused myself by saying I did not know whether the Governor ' This religious service antedates any other held within the limits of the present State of Ohio by a Protestant by nearly sixteen years, and was twenty-one years in advance of the Moravian missionaries. yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 1 7 would give Me Leave, and if he did the French would come and carry me away as they had done the English Traders, to which they answered I might bring great Guns and make a P'ort, that they had now left the French, and were very desirous of being instructed in the Principles of Christianity ; that they liked Me very well and wanted Me to marry Them after the Christian Manner, and baptize their Children ; and then they said they would never desire to return to the French, or suffer Them or their Priests to come near them more, for they loved the English, but had seen little Religion among Them ; and some of their great Men came and wanted Me to baptize their Children ; for as I had read to them and appeared to talk about Religion they took me to be a Minister of the Gospel ; Upon which I desired Mr Montour (the Interpreter) to tell Them, that no Minister Coud venture to baptize any Children, until those that were to be sureties for Them, were well instructed in the Faith themselves, and that this was according to the great King's Religion, in which He desired his Children should be instructed & We dare not do it in any other Way, than was by Law established, but I hoped if I coud not be admitted to live among them, that the great King woud send Them proper Ministers to exercise that Office among them, at which they seemed well pleased ; 1 1 8 yournal of Christopher Gist and one of Them went and brought Me his Book (which was a kind contrived for Them by the French in which the Days of the Week were so marked that by moving a Pin every Morning they kept a pretty exact Account of the Time) to shew Me that he understood Me and that He and his Family always observed the Sabbath Day. Wednesday Dec 26. — This day a Woman, who had been a long Time a Prisoner, and had deserted, & been retaken, and brought into the Town on Christmass Eve, was put to Death in the following manner : They car- ried her without the Town & let her loose, and when she attempted to run away, the Persons appointed for that Purpose pursued her, & struck Her on the Ear, on the right side of her Head, which beat her flat on her Face on the Ground ; they then struck her several Times, thro the Back with a Dart, to the Heart, scalped Her, & threw the Scalp in the Air, and another Cut off her Head : There the dismal Spectacle lay till the Evening, & then Barny Curran desired Leave to bury Her, which He and his Men, and some of the Indians did just at Dark. From Thursday Dec 27 to Thursday Jany 3 1751. — Nothing remarkable happened in Town. Friday Jan 4. — One Teafe ' (an Indian Trader) came to Town from near Lake Erie, & informed Us that the 'Michael Taaf, or Teaff, was a partner of George Croghan, and lived on the Susquehanna. yournal of Cltyistopher Gist. 119 Wyendott Indians had advised him to keep clear of the Ottaways (these are a Nation of Indians firmly attached to the French, & inhabit near the Lakes) & told him that the Branches of the Lakes are claimed by the French ; but that all the Branches of the Ohio belonged to Them, and their Brothers the English, and that the French had no Business there, & that it was expected that the other Part of the Wyendott Nation would desert the French and come over to the English Interest, & join their Brethren on the Elk's Eye Creek, & build a strong Fort and Town there. From Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8. — The weather still continuing bad, I stayed in the Town to recruit my Horses, and the corn was very dear among the Indians, I was obliged to feed them well, or run the Risque of losing them as I had a great way to travel. Wednesday 9. — The Wind Southerly, and the Weather something warmer : this day came into Town two Traders from among the Pickwaylinees (these are a Tribe of the Twigtwees) and brought News that another English Trader' was taken prisoner by the French, and that three French Soldiers had deserted and come over to the Eng- lish, and surrendered themselves to some of the Traders of the Pick Town, & that the Indians woud have put 'John Pattin, taken at Fort Miami. I20 yournal of Christopher Gist. them to Death, to revenge their taking our Traders, but as the French Prisoners had surrendered themselves, the Enghsh woud not let the Indians hurt them, but had ordered them to be sent under the care of three of our Traders and delivered at this Town to George Croghan. Thursday lo. — Wind still at South and Warm. Friday ii. — This Day came into Town an Indian from over the Lakes & confirmed the News we had heard. Saturday 12. — We sent away our People towards the lower Town intending to follow them the next Morning, and this Evening We went into Council in the Wyendott's King's House. The Council had been put off a long time expecting some of their great Men in, but few of them came, & this Evening some of the King's Council being a little disordered with Liquor, no Business coud be done, but We were desired to come next Day. Sunday Janry 13. — This Day George Croghan by the Assistance of Andrew Montour, acquainted the King and Council of this Nation (by presenting them four Strings of Wampum) that the great King over the Water, their Roggony (Father) had sent under the care of the Governor of Virginia, their Brother, a large Present of Goods which was now landed safe in Virginia, & the Governor had sent Me to invite them to come and see Him & partake of their Father's Charity to all his Children on the Branches of the yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 2 1 Ohio. In Answer to which one of the Chiefs stood up and said, That their King and all of Them thanked their Brother the Governor of Virginia for his Care, and Me for bringing them the News, but they coud not give Me an Answer untill they had a full or general Council of the several Nations of Indians which coud not be till next Spring : & so the King and Council shaking Hands with Us We took our Leave. Tuesday 15. — We left Muskingum, and went W 5 M, to the White Womans Creek, on which is a small Town ; ' this White Woman was taken away from New England, when she was not above ten years old, by the French Indians ; She is now upwards of fifty, and has an Indian Husband and several Children — Her name is Mary Harris, she still remembers they used to be very rehgious in New England, and wonders how the White Men can be so wicked as she has seen them in these Woods. Wednesday 16. — Set out SW 25 M to Licking Creek — The Land from Muskingum to this Place rich but broken — Upon the N Side of Licking Creek about 6 M from the Mouth, are severa Salt Licks, or Ponds, formed by little Streams or Dreins of Water, clear but of a blueish Colour, & salt Taste the Traders and Indians boil their Meat in ' This town was four miles west of Coshoctou. His route thence was southwest, passing near Newark, in Licking County. 122 yoiirnal of Chnstopher Gist. this Water, which (if proper Care be not taken) will some- times make it too salt to eat. Thursday 17. — Set out W 5 M, S W 15 M, to a great Swamp. Friday 18. — Set out from the great Swamp S W 15 M. Saturday 19. — W 15 M to Hockhockin' a small Town with only four or five Delaware Families. Sunday 20. — The Snow began to grow thin, and the Weather warmer ; Set out from Hockhockin S 5 M then W 5 M, then S W 5 M, to the Maguck' a little Delaware Town of about ten Families by the N Side of a plain or clear Field about 5 M in Length NE&SW&2M broad, with a Small Rising in the Middle, which gives a fine Prospect over the whole Plain, and a large Creek on the N Side of it Called Sciodoe^ Creek. All the way ' The site of the present town of Lancaster, county-seat of Fairfield County. The name Hockhocking is from the Delaware language, meaning a gourd with a neck, and applies to the shape of the creek of same name, on which it was situated. ^ The Maguck was three miles south of Circleville, Pickaway County. 3 This was one of many names for the Scioto River, which is from a Shawnee word meaning deer. The Cumberland Mountains, in Kentucky, from which the river of the same name takes its rise, were known as the Ouasiota Mountains, given, doubtless, by the Shawnees, who dwelt on the Cumberland River, which was called the Shawnee River. The name Ouasiota, also sometimes called Ona-Sciota, was also given to a pass up Station Camp Creek, in Estill County, Kentucky, which formed part of the Indian war trace which led from the Shawnee town at the mouth of the Scioto to the Cumberland. The Shawnees were conquered by the Iroquois, or Five Nations, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, youynal of Christophey Gist. 123 from Licking Creek to this Place is fine rich level Land, with large Meadows, Clover Bottoms & spacious Plains covered with wild Rye ; the Wood chiefly large Walnuts and compelled by them to remove to the Potomac and Susquehanna, where they were held as tributary dependents of the Iroquois. When, by treaties, the Iroquois ceded these lands to the English, the Shawnees became a roving tribe, removing first to the Alleghany and Ohio, and later to the Scioto. A portion of the tribe returned, also, to the Cumber- land, and for a time occupied the rich lands in the region about Nash- ville, but were driven out by their ancient enemies, the Cherokees, who had themselves once been conquered by the Iroquois, and remained their tributary allies. The Shawnees also had a town, which is known by their name yet, at the mouth of the Wabash. They were the most deadly foes of the pioneers, and for many years harassed the emigrants who came down the Ohio in boats, and contested with those in Kentucky for their ancient hunting- grounds by constant incursions in organized bodies and predatory bands. They developed the most skillful leaders of any Indians in America in such chiefs as the Cornplanter and Tecumseh, and in the battle of Point Pleasant, October lo, 1774, under the former, displayed a strategy, persistency, and discipline, skill, and bravery superior to any exhibited in the annals of Indian warfare. The Iroquois and Six Nations are used as synonymous terms. They were a confederation of Indian nations which had their stronghold in the lake region of New York, and at one time or other dominated all the other nations east of the Mississippi and south of Canada, except the Chicka- saws and a few others of the South, and the Miamis or Twigtees of the North. They were composed at the beginning of the eighteenth century of five nations — the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagoes, Senacas, and Cayugas. In 1 7 12 the Tuscaroras living on the seacoast near the line of Virginia and CaroUna were conquered by the English, and, moving to New York, became the sixth nation of the Iroquois confederacy. Charlevoix, Volume III, page 174, says the Iroquois conquered the Shawnees in 1672 and incorporated into their cantons a great many of the captives, a common practice with them, " to repair at the expense of their enemies the ravages caused in their nation by the ravages of war." At that time they dwelt in the neighborhood of the Six Nations east of the Alleghanies. After 124 yournal of CJinstopher Gist. and Hickories, here and there mixed with Poplars Cherry Trees and Sugar Trees. From Monday 21 to Wednesday 23. — Stayed in the Maguck Town. Thursday 24. — Set out from the Maguck Town S about 15 M, thro fine rich level Land to a small Town called Harrickintoms consisting of about five or six Delaware Families on the S W Sciodoe Creek. Friday 25. — The Creek being very high and full of Ice, We could not ford it, and were obliged to go down it on the S E Side 4 M to the Salt Lick Creek — about I M up this Creek on the S Side is a very large Salt Lick," the Streams which run into this Lick are very salt, & tho clear leave a blueish Sediment ; The Indians and Traders make salt for their Horses of this Water, by boiling it ; it has at first a blueish Colour, and somewhat bitter Taste, but upon being dissolved in fair Water and boiled a second Time, it becomes tolerable pure Salt. Saturday 26. — Set out S 2 M, S W 14 M. this those not thus incorporated spread westward in roving bands, and ultimately became a powerful nation north of the Ohio along the Scioto. In a foot-note to above cited page, Shea, the editor of Charlevoix, says : "The Shawnees are the only tribe I have met whose name was the same among all the tribes, Choctaws, Huron, Iroquois, or Algonquins — Chaou- nouronon. The history of their roving bands is very vague and obscure." ' This was the site of the Scioto Salt Works in Ross County, which in early days were the source of supply for this portion of Ohio. yournal of CJiristopher Gist. 125 Sunday 27. — S 12 M to a small Delaware Town of about twenty Families on the S. E. Side of Sciodoe Creek — We lodged at the House of an Indian whose Name was Windaughala, ' a great Man and Chief of this Town, & much in the English Interest. He entertained Us very kindly and ordered a Negro Man that belonged to him to feed our Horses well ; this Night it snowed, and in the Morning the Snow was six or seven Inches deep, the wild Rye appeared very green and flourishing thro it, and our Horses had fine Feeding. Monday Jany 28. — We went into Council with the Indians of this Town, and after the Interpreter had informed them of his Instructions from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and given them some Cautions in Regard to the French they returned for Answer as follows. The Speaker with four Strings of Wampum in his Hand stood up, and addressing Himself as to the Governor of Penn- sylvania, said, "Brothers, We the Delawares return You our hearty Thanks for the News You have sent Us, and We assure You, We will not hear the Voice of any other Nation for We are to be directed by You our Brothers ' " Heckwelder's Indian Nations," page ig8, says that Windaughalah was a great war chief. In 1762 he lived at Tuscarawas, and there had a water lizard tattooed on his face above the chin, one of the few instances recorded of tattooing among the American Indians. He was prominent in councils in times of peace, and participated in many important treaties. Tuscawaras was on the east branch of the Scioto, in Ross County. 126 yournal of Christopher Gist. the English, & by none else : We shall be glad what our Brothers have to say to us at the Loggs Town in the Spring, and to assure You of our hearty Good will & Love to our Brothers We present You with these four Wampum." This is the last Town of the Delawares to the Westward — The Delaware Indians by the best Accounts I could gather Consist of about 500 fighting Men all firmly attached to the English Interest, they are not properly a Part of the six Nations, but are scattered about amongst most of the Indians of the Ohio, and some of them among the six Nations, from whom they have Leave to hunt upon their Lands. Tuesday 29. — Set out S W 5 M, to the Mouth of Sciodoe Creek opposite to the Shannoah Town, ' where We ' Much ambiguity and variance of statement are to be found in the early accounts of the location of this town. The main town, as it existed when Gist visited it, of one hundred houses, was on the west bank of the Scioto, which was an injudicious location, as it was much lower and more subject to inundation than the eastern bank, from which Gist approached it. There was also, as Gist says, a smaller town of forty houses on the south side of the Ohio River, directly opposite the mouth of the Scioto, where there is no bottom land, but high ground never subject to overflow. Celeron, when upon his expedition in 1749 for the purpose of asserting the claim of France to all the territory watered by the Ohio and its tributaries by planting leaden plates at the mouth of the principal rivers from the head- waters of the Alleghany to the Great Miami, arrived at the mouth of the Scioto August 22d and remained there until the 26th. He calls it in his journal St. Yotoc, while Bonnecamp, in his map of the expedition, has it the Sinhioto. In the same way Celeron calls the Ohio L'Oyo, and Bonnecamp L'Ohio. Celeron did not land at the town, owing to the large body of Shawnees and their reputed hostility, but camped on the Kentucky yournal of Christopher Gist. 127 fired our Guns to alarm the Traders, who soon answered, and came and ferryed Us over to the Town — The Land side, to which place, after some parleying, the Shawnees sent a delegation of their principal men and went through the formality of a council, with elaborate speeches and the exchange of wampum belts. But the Shawnees, while respectful and proclaiming peaceful intentions, did not, as some of the tribes at the headwaters, make any declaration of allegiance to the French as against the English. In his speech Celeron, referring to the distrust they had shown on his approach, asked them what had become of the good spirit they had shown for the French when ten years before General de Longueuil passed there on his way from Canada to assist Bienville, Governor of Louisiana, in his last campaign against the Chickasaws, of which expedition Celeron was also an officer. He reminded them that they then offered to send their warriors with him. Manuscript copy of Celeron's journal in my possession. Gayarre's History of Louisiana, pages 509, 510. George Croghan, who left Fort Pitt with two bateaux May 15, 1765, and arrived at the mouth of the Scioto on the 23d, says in his journal in Appendix to second edition of Mann Butler's History of Kentucky, Cincinnati, 1836, page 462: "On the Ohio just below the mouth of the Scioto, on a high bank, near forty feet, formerly stood the Shawnessetown, called the lower town, which was all carried away except three or four houses by a great flood of the Scioto. I was in the town at the time, though the banks of the Ohio were so high the water was nine feet on the top, which obliged the whole town to take to their canoes and move with their effects to the hills. The Shawnesse afterward built their town on the opposite side of the river, which, during the French War, they abandoned for fear of the Virginians, and moved to the plains of the Scioto." The expedition of Croghan seems to have been the counterpart of Celeron. The latter officer, in 1749 (the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle between the French and English having been made October 18, 1748), passed down the Ohio asserting the French claim to all the territory watered by the Ohio and its tributaries, ordering off the English traders, and demanding the allegiance of the Indian tribes. This led to the renewal of war between England and France, which is known as the French and Indian War, or the Seven Years' War, although actual hostilities preceded the formal decla- ration several years. It was terminated by the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 128 yournal of Christopher Gist. about the Mouth of Sciodoe Creek is rich but broken fine Bottoms upon the river & Creek — The Shannoah 1763, by which France ceded to England Canada and all her possessions east of the Mississippi, while all west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain. Following this surrender of the claim of France, Croghan was sent to give formal notice to the tribes of the change of proprietorship and to demand their allegiance to the English King. He was even more exacting than Celeron, whose claims were not so well founded. We find, for instance, in his entry of May 20th, the following, when at the mouth of the Hock- hocking : ' ' From here I dispatched an Indian to the Plains of Scioto with a letter to the French traders of the Illinois residing there amongst the Shawnesse, requiring them to come and join me at the mouth of the Scioto in order to proceed with me to their own country, and take the oaths of allegiance to his Britannic Majesty, as they were now become his subjects and had no right to trade there without license. At the same time I sent messages to the Shawnesse Indians to oblige the French traders to come to me in case of refusal." And in an entry while at the mouth of the Scioto, 24th, 25th, and 26th of May, he says: "Stayed at the mouth of the Scioto waiting for the Shawnesse and French traders, who arrived here on the evening of the 26th, in consequence of the message I sent them from the Hockhockin or Battle Creek." Captain Harry Gordon, Chief Engineer of the Western Department, who was sent from Fort Pitt to the Illinois, and made an expedition down the Ohio to St. Louis in 1766, arrived at the mouth of the Scioto on June 29th, which he states at three hundred and sixty-six miles from Pittsburgh — a variance of only twelve and a half miles from that fixed by Government survey of 1867-68. He remained there until July 8th, but makes no mention of any town or Indians. This is additional confirma- tion of the tradition that in 1758 the Shawnees abandoned their Ohio River towns and moved to the plains of the Scioto to Old Chillicothe on the west bank of that river four miles below Circleville, as being more secure from the dangers of the war then existing between the French and English. In 1773, when Captain Thomas Bullitt and the McAfee brothers passed there, houses were still standing on the Kentucky side. Captain Thomas Hutchins, in his Topographical Description of Virginia, &c. , London, 1778, who was here in June, 1766, with Gordon, says that the only Indian town then on the Ohio below Fort Pitt was the Mingo town twenty miles below that place. yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 29 Town is situate upon both Sides of the River Ohio, just below the Mouth of Sciodee Creek, and contains about 300 Men, there are about 40 Houses on the S Side of the River and about 100 on the N Side, with a kind of State-House of about 90 Feet long with a hght Cover of Bark in wch they hold their Councils — The Shanaws are not a part of the six Nations, but were formerly at Variance with them, tho now reconciled : they are great Friends to the English who once protected them from the Fury of the six Nations, which they gratefully remember. Wednesday 30. — We were conducted into Council, where George Croghan delivered Sundry Speeches from the Governor of Pennsylvania to the Chiefs of this Nation, in which he informed them, "That two Prisoners who had been taken by the French, and had made their Escape from the French Officer at Lake Erie as he was carrying them towards Canada brought News that the French offered a large Sum of Money to any Person who would bring to them the said Croghan and Andrew Montour the Interpreter ahve, or if dead their Scalps ; and that the French also threatened those Indians and Wyendotts with War in the Spring" the same Persons farther said ' ' that they had seen ten French Canoes loaded with Stores for a new Fort they designed on the S Side Lake Erie." Mr Croghan also informed 130 Journal of Christopher Gist. them of several of our Traders having been taken, and advised them to keep their Warriors at Home, until they could see what the French intended which he doubted not woud appear in the Spring — Then Andrew Montour informed this Nation as He had done the Wyendotts & Delawares ' ' That the King of Great Britain had sent Them a large Present of Goods, in Company with the six Nations, which was under the Care of the Governor of Virginia, who had sent Me out to invite them to come to see Him, & partake of their Father's Present next Sum- mer" to which We received this Answer — Big Hannaona their Speaker taking in his Hand the several Strings of Wampum which had been given by the English, He said "These are the Speeches received by Us from your great Men : From the Beginning of our Friendship, all that our Brothers the English have told Us has been made good and true, for which We return our hearty Thanks " Then taking up four other Strings of Wampum in his Hand, He said Brothers I now speak the Sentiments of all our People ; when first our Forefathers did meet the English our Brothers, they found what the English told them to be true, and so have We — We are but a small People, & it is not to Us only that You speak, but to all Nations — We shall be glad to hear what our Brothers will say to Us at the Loggs Town in the Spring, & We hope younial of Christopher Gist. 1 3 1 that the Friendship now subsisting between us & our Brothers, will last as long as the Sun shines, or the Moon gives Light — We hope that our Children will hear and believe what our Brothers say to them, as We have always done, and to assure You of our hearty Good- Will towards You our Brothers, We present You with these four Strings of Wampum." After the Council was over they had much Talk about sending a Guard up with us to the Pickwaylinees Towns (these are a Tribe of the Twig- twees) which was reckoned 200 Miles, but after long Consultation (their King being sick) they came to no Determination about it. From Thursday Jan 31 to Monday Feby 11. — Stayed in the Shannoah Town, while I was here the Indians had a very extraordinary Festival, at which I was present and which I have exactly described at the End of my Journal — As I had particular Instruction from the Pres- ident of Virginia to discover the Strength & Numbers of some Indian Nations to the Westward of the Ohio who had lately revolted from the French, and had some Mes- sages to deliver them from Him, I resolved to set out for the Twigtwee Town. Tuesday 12. Having left my Boy' to take Care of ' This was his negro servant, about seventeen years old, with whom he started alone on his trip from Will's Creek, October 31, 1750, and who was his sole companion on his trip through Kentucky until he arrived at his home in North Carolina, May 19, 1751. 132 yotirnal of Cliristophcr Gist. my Horses in the Shannoah Town, & supplied myself with a fresh Horse to ride, I set out with my old Company Viz George Croghan, Andrew Montour, Robert Kallander, and a Servant to carry our Provisions &c N W lo M. Wednesday 13. — The same Course (N W) about 35 M. Thursday 14. — The same Course about 30 M. Friday 15. — The same Course 15 M. We met with nine Shannoah Indians coming from one of the Pickway- linees Towns, where they had been to Council, They told Us there were fifteen more of them behind at the Twigtwee Town, waiting for the arrival of the Wawaugh- tanneys, who are a Tribe of the Twigtwees, and were to bring with them a Shannoah Woman and Child to deliver them to their men who were behind : this Woman they informed Us had been taken Prisoner last Fall, by some of the Wawaughtanney Warriors thro a Mistake, which had liked to have engaged these Nations in a War. Saturday 16. — Set out the same Course (N W) 35 M, to the little Miami River or Creek. Sunday 1 7. — Crossed the little Miamee River, and altering our Course We went S W 25 M, to the big Miamee River, opposite the Twigtee Town.' All the Way from 'The Twigtee town was on the west bank of the Great Miami, at the mouth of Laramie's Creek, two and a half miles north of Piqua, Miami County. Laramie's store, burned by George Rogers Clark in his campaign of 1780, was fourteen miles farther north. yournal of Christophey Gist. 133 the Shannoah Town to this Place (except the first 20 M which is broken) is fine, rich level Land, well timbered with large Walnut, Ash, Sugar Trees, Cherry Trees, &c, it is well watered with a great Number of little Streams or Rivulets, and full of beautiful natural Meadows, covered with wild Rye, blue grass' and Clover, and abounds with Turkeys Deer, Elks and most sorts of Game particularly Buffaloes, thirty or forty of which are frequently seen feeding in one Meadow : In short it wants nothing but Cultivation to make it a most delightfull Country — The Ohio and all the large Branches are said to be full of fine Fish of several Kinds, particularly a Sort of Cat Fish of a prodigious Size ; but as I was not there at a proper season, I had not the opportunity of seeing any of them — The Traders had always reckoned it 200 M. from the Shannoah Town to the Twigtwee Town, but by my com- putation I could make it not more than 150 — The Miamee River being high. We were obliged to make a Raft of old Loggs to transport our Goods and Saddles and swim our 'This is the earliest mention of blue grass {Poa pratensis) in the West of which I have any knowledge. Filson, in his Life of Boone, speaks of it as in Kentucky in 1784. By many it is thought to have originated in Kentucky, but this is an error, though it is doubtless indigenous in the limestone soils of this latitude. Sir Joseph Paxton, an eminent English botanist, in his Botanical Dictionary, page 250, London, 1846, says it is a native of England. The fact that the early Virginians recognized it in the Ohio Valley shows that they were familiar with it at home. The wild rye is a tall grass, and a species of the genus Elymus. 134 yournal of Christopher Gist. Horses over — After firing a few Guns and Pistols, & smoking in the Warriours Pipe, who came to invite Us to the Town (according to the Custom of inviting and wel- coming Strangers and Great Men) We entered the Town with the English Colours before Us, and were kindly received by their King, who invited Us into his own House, & set our Colours upon the Top of it — The Firing of Guns held about a Quarter of an Hour, and then all the white Men and Traders that were there, came and welcomed Us to the Twigtwee Town — This Town is situate on the NW Side of the Big Miamee River' and about 1 50 M from the Mouth thereof ; it consists of about 400 Families, & daily encreasing, it is one of the strongest Towns upon this Part of the Continent — The Twigtwees' ' The Great Miami River was first known as Rock River, called by the French Riviere de la Roche, from its rocky bed. When the Miami Nation emigrated to it from the Wabash, it took their name. Its head approaches near that of the Maumee, which empties into Lake Erie, and was the original Miami, but changed by the whites to avoid confusion. The two rivers, with a portage between their waters, was one of the principal canoe routes between the Ohio and the lake. It was that by which Celeron went from the Ohio to Detroit. ^ The Twigtees were Miamis, of which nation the Pickwaylinees and Pyankeshees, later mentioned, were also tribes. They were once a very powerful nation, and claimed to have held the land between the Scioto and the Wabash, from the Ohio to the lakes, beyond the memory of man. They were the only Northern Indians who had not at some time been subdued by the Six Nations, and had so harassed them when they had extended their conquest of other nations to the Mississippi that they had to rehnquish their hold there and restrict themselves to their former limits. They had yournal of Christopher Gist. 135 are a very numerous People consisting of many different Tribes under the same Form of Government. Each tribe has a particular Chief or King, one of which is chosen indifferently out of any Tribe to rule the whole Nation, and is vested with greater Authorities than any of the others — They are accounted the most powerful People to the Westward of the English Settlements, & much superior to the Six Nations with whom they are now in Amity : their Strength and Numbers are not thoroughly known, as they have but lately traded with the English, and indeed have very little Trade among them : They deal in much the same Commodities with the Northern Indians. There are other Nations or Tribes still further to the West- ward daily coming in to them, & 'tis thought their Power and Interest reaches to the Westward of the Mississippi, if not across the Continent ; they are at present very well affected to the English, and seem fond of an Alliance with them — they formerly lived on the other side of the Obache, and were in the French Interest, who supplied them with been faithful allies to the French from their first appearance on the lakes, and equally persistent enemies of the English, until a few years prior to this time, when they had changed their allegiance, moved from the Wabash to the Miami, and become friendly to the English. For this and in retaliation for their treaty with Croghan and Gist, the French waged a destructive war against them, taking their fort and burning their villages in 1752. Subsequently they submitted to the French, and with the Shawnees took sides with them in the Seven Years' War with England. 136 yournal of Christopher Gist. some few Trifles at a most exorbitant Price — they were called by the French Miamees ; but they have now revolted from them, and left their former Habitations for the Sake of trading with the English ; and notwithstanding all the Artifices the French have used, they have not been able to recall them. After we had been some Time in the King's House Mr Montour told Him that We wanted to speak with Him and the Chiefs of this Nation this Evening upon which We were invited into the long House, and having taken our Places Mr Montour began as follows — "Brothers the Twigtwees as we have been hindered by the high Waters and some other Business with our Indian Brothers, no doubt our long Stay has caused some Trouble among our Brethren here, Therefore We now present you with two Strings of Wampum to remove all the Trouble from your Hearts, & clear your Eyes, that you may see the Sun shine clear, for We have a great Deal to say to You, & We woud have You send for one of Your Friends who can speak the Mohickon or the Mingoe Tongues well, that we may understand each other thoroughly, for We have a great Deal of Business to do" — The Mohickons a small Tribe who most of them speak English and are also well acquainted with the Language of the Twigtwees, and they theirs — Mr Montour then proceeded to deliver yournal of Christopher Gist. 137 them a message from the Wyendotts and Delawares as follows ' ' Brothers the Twigtwees, this Comes by Brothers the English who are coming with good news to You : We hope You will take good Care of Them, and all our Brothers the English who are trading among You : You made a road for our Brothers the English to come and trade among You, but it is now very foul, great Loggs have fallen across it, and We would have You be strong like Men, and have one Heart with Us — In the Sincerity of our Hearts We send You these four Strings of Wam- pum," to which they gave the usual Yo Ho — Then they said they wanted some Tobacco to speak with Us, and that tomorrow they would send for their Interpreter. Monday Febr 18. — We walked about viewed the Fort which wanted some Repairs, & the Trader's Men helped them to bring Loggs to line the Inside. Tuesday 19. — We gave their Kings and great Men some Clothes, and Paint Shirts, and now they were busy dressing and preparing themselves for the Council — The Weather grew warm and the Creeks began to lower very fast. Wednesday 20. — About 1 2 of the Clock We were informed that some of the foreign Tribes were coming, upon which proper Persons were ordered to meet them and con- duct Them into the Town, and then We were invited 1 38 younial of Christopher Gist. into the long House ; and after we had been seated about a Quarter of an Hour four Indians, two from each Tribe (who had been sent before to bring the long Pipe, and to inform that the rest were Coming came in, & informed Us that their Friends had sent these Pipes that We might Smoak the Calumet Pipe of Peace with Them and that they intended to do the same with Us. Thursday Feby 21. — We were again invited into the long House where Mr Croghan made them (with the foreign Tribes) a present of the value of ^100 Pennsyl- vania Money, and delivered all our Speeches to Them, at which they seemed well pleased, and said, that they would take time and consider well what we had said to Them. Friday 22. — Nothing remarkable happened in the Town. Saturday 23. — In the Afternoon there was an Alarm in the Town which caused a great Confusion and running about among the Indians, upon enquiring into the Reason of this Stir, they told us it was occasioned by six Indians that came to war against them, from the Southward : three of them Cutaways,' and three Shanaws (these were ' Cutaways, also Cuttawas and Kuttawas, of Kentucky, from whom the Kentucky River took its Indian name ; although within the memory of the whites there were none of the tribe in that State. The reference here is to the Catawbas, which was another rendering of the same name, who at this time yournal of Christopher Gist. 139 some of the Shanaws who had formerly deserted from the other Part of the Nation, and now Hve to the South- ward.) Towards Night there was a report spread in Town that four Indians, and four hundred French, were on their March and just by the Town : But soon after the Messenger who brought this Report said, there were only four French Indians coming to Council, and that they bid him say so, only to see how the English woud behave themselves ; but as they had behaved themselves like Men, He now told the Truth. Sunday 24. — This Morning the four French Indians came into the Town and were kindly received by the Town Indians ; they marched in under French Colours, and were conducted into the long House, and after they lived in the northern part of South Carolina and Georgia. They were a crafty and warlike nation, who had aided the Cherokees io driving the Shawnees from Kentucky. From that time there had existed a relentless warfare between these nation, their common warpath being up the Tug fork of the Big Sandy to the New River, and thence southward up that stream into North Carolina. The Catawbas generally were the victors, inspiring their enemies with great alarm at the very report of an incursion, from a peculiar mode of warfare described by Captain James Smith as practiced against the Shawnees, of whom he was a captive, in an incursion made into their territory in Ohio in 1755. They advanced stealthily into the neighbor- hood of their villages and placed in the trails or paths sharpened canes tipped with the poison of the rattlesnake. Then attracting the attention of the Shawnees they retreated so as to draw them after them in pursuit, when the poisoned canes would prick the feet of their enemies and inflict fatal wounds. This is precisely the stratagem described by Stanley in Darkest Africa as practiced by the Dwarfs who live near the Mountains of the Moon. I40 yournal of Christopher Gist. had been in about a Quarter of an Hour, the Council sate, and we were sent for that we might hear what the French had to say to them — The Pyankeshee King (who was at that time the principal Man, and Comander in Chief of the Twigtwees) said. He woud have the English Colours set up in this Council as well as the French, to which We answered he might do as he thought fit. After We were seated right opposite to the French Ambassa- dors, one of Them said. He had a Present to make Them, so a Place was prepared { as they had before done for our Present) between Them and Us, and then their Speaker stood up, and laid his Hands upon two small Caggs of Brandy that held about seven Quarts each, and a Roll of Tobacco of about ten Pounds Weight, then taking two strings of Wampum in his Hand, He said, ' ' What he had to deliver Them was from their Father (meaning the French King) and then he desired they woud hear what he was about to say to Them ; " then he layed them two Strings of Wampum down upon the Caggs, and taking up four other Strings of black and white Wampum, he said, ' ' that their Father remember- ing his Children, had sent them two Caggs of Milk, and some Tobacco, and that he now had made a clear Road for them, to come to see Him and his Officers ; and pressed them very much to come;" then he took another yournal of Christopher Gist. 141 String of Wampum in his Hand, and said, ' ' their Father now woud forget all little Differences that had been between Them, and desired Them not to be of two Minds, but to let him know their Minds freely, for he woud send for Them no more " — To which the Pyankeshee King replyed, "it was true their Father had sent for Them several Times, and said the Road was clear, but He understood it was made foul & bloody, and by Them — We ( said He) have cleared a road for our Brothers the English, and your Fathers have made it bad, and have taken some of our Brothers Prisoners, which We look upon as done to Us, and he turned short about and went out of Council " — After the French Embassador had delivered his Message He went into one of the private Houses and endeavored much to prevail on some Indians, and was seen to cry and lament (as he said for the loss of that Nation.) Monday Feby 25. — This Day We received a Speech from the Wawaughtanneys and Pyankeshees (two Tribes of the Twigtwees) One of the Chiefs of the former spoke ' ' Brothers we have heard what you have said to Us by the Interpreter and We see You take Pity upon our poor Wives and Children, and have taken us by the Hand into the great Chain of Friendship ; therefore we present you with these two Bundles of Skins to make Shoes for your 142 yournal of Christopher Gist. People, and this Pipe to smoak in, to assure you that our Hearts are good and true towards You our Brothers ; and We hope that We shall all continue in true Love and Friendship with one another, as People with one Head and one Heart ought to do ; You have pityed Us as you always did the rest of our Indian Brothers, We hope that Pity you have always shewn, will remain as long as the Sun gives Light, and on our Side you may depend upon sincere and true Friendship towards You as long as We have Strength" — This Person stood up and spoke with the Air and Gesture of an Orator. Tuesday 26. — The Twigtwees delivered the following Answer to the four Indians sent by the French — The Captain of the Warriors stood up and taking some Strings of Wampum in his Hand he spoke with a fierce Tone and very warlike Air — "Brothers the Ottaways, You are always differing with the French Yourselves, and yet you listen to what they say, but we will let you know by these four strings of Wampum, that we will not hear any Thing they say to Us, nor do any Thing they bid us" — Then the same Speaker with six Stronds two Match-Coats, and a String of black Wampum (I understood the Goods were in Return for the Milk and Tobacco) and directing his Speech to the French said, ' ' Fathers, You desire that We may speak our Minds from our Hearts, which I am going to yournal of Christopher Gist. 143 do ; You have often desired We should go Home to You, but I tell you it is not our Home, for we have made a road as far as the Sea to the Sun-rising, and have been taken by the Hand by our Brothers the English, and the six Nations, and the Delawares Shannoahs and Wyen- dotts, and We assure You it is the Road we shall go ; and as You threaten Us with War in the Spring, We tell You if You are angry we are ready to receive You, and resolve to die here before we will go to You ; And that You ma}^ know that this our Mind, We send You this String of black Wampum." After a short Pause the same Speaker spoke again thus — "Brothers the Ottaways, You hear what I say, tell that to your Fathers the French, for that is our Mind, and We speak it from our Hearts." Wednesday 27. — This day they took down their French Colours, and dismissed the four French Indians, so they took their leave of the Town and set off for the French Fort.' Thursday 28. — The Crier of the Town came by the Kings Order and invited us to the long House to see the Warriors Feather Dance ; it was performed by three Dancing-Masters, who were painted all over with various Colours, with long Sticks in their Hands, upon the Ends of which were fastened long Feathers of Swans, and other 'This was Fort Miami, the present site of Fort Wayne, Indiana. 144 yournal of Christopher Gist. Birds, neatly woven in the Shape of a Fowls Wing : in this Disguise they performed many antick Tricks, waving their Sticks and Feathers about with great Skill to imitate the flying and fluttering of Birds, keeping exact time with their Musick ; while they are dancing some of the Warriors strike a Post, upon which the Musick and Dancers cease, and the Warrior gives an Account of his Achieve- ments in War, and when he has done, throws down some Goods as a Recompence to the Performers and Musicians ; after which they proceed in their Dance as before till another Warrior strikes ye Post, and so on as long as the Company think fit. Friday March i. — We received the following Speech from the Twigtwees the Speaker stood up and addressing himself as to the Governor of Pennsylvania with two Strings of Wampum in his Hand, He said, ' ' Brothers our hearts are glad that you have taken Notice of Us, and surely Brothers We hope that you will order a Smith to settle here to mend our Guns and Hatchets, Your Kindness makes us so bold as to ask this Request. You told Us our Friendship should last as long as the greatest Moun- tain, We have considered well, and all our great Kings & Warriors have come to a Resolution never to give Heed to what the French say to Us, but always to hear & believe what you our Brothers say to Us — Brothers yournal of Christopher Gist. 145 We are obliged to You for your kind Invitation to receive a Present at the Loggs Town, but as our foreign Tribes are not yet come, We must wait for them, but You may depend We will come as soon as our Women have Corn to hear what our Brothers will say to Us — Brothers We present You with this Bundle of Skins, as we are but poor to be for Shoes for You on the Road, and we return Your our hearty Thanks for the Clothes which You have put upon our Wives and Children." We then took our Leave of the King and Chiefs, and they ordered that a small party of Indians shoud go with us as far as Hock- hockin ; but as I had left my Boy and Horses at the lower Shannoah Town, I was obliged to go by myself or to go sixty or seventy Miles out of my way, which I did not care to do ; so we all came over the Miamee River together this Evening, but Mr Croghan & Mr Montour went over again and lodged in the Town, but I stayed on this Side at one Robert Smiths (a Trader) where we had left our Horses — Before the French Indians had come into Town, We had drawn Articles of Peace and Alliance between the English and the Wawaughtanneys and Pyan- keshees ; the Indentures were signed selad and delivered on both Sides, and as I drew took a Copy — The Land upon the great Miamee River is very rich level and well timbered, some of the finest Meadows that can be : The 146 yournal of Christopher Gist. Indians and Traders assure Me that the Land holds as good and if possible better, to the Westward as far as the Obache which is accounted 100 Miles, and quite up to the Head of the Miamee River, which is 60 miles above the Twigtwee Town, and down the said River quite to the Ohio which is reckoned 150 Miles — The Grass here grows to a great Height in the clear Fields, of which there are a great Number, & the Bottoms are full of white Clover wild Rye, and blue Grass. Saturday March 2. — George Croghan and the rest of our Company came over the River, We got our Horses & set out about 35 M. to Mad Creek' (this is a Place where some English Traders had been taken Prisoners by the French.) Sunday 3. — This Morning we parted. They for Hock- hockin, and I for the Shannoah Town, and as I was quite alone and knew that the French Indians had threatened Us, I left the Path, and went to the South Westward down the little Miamee River or Creek, where I had fine traveling thro rich Land and beautiful Meadows, in which I coud sometimes see forty or fifty Buffaloes feeding at once — The httle Miamee River or Creek continued to run the Middle of a fine Meadow, about a Mile wide very ' This place is a point five miles west of Springfield, Clarke County, Ohio, the site of the noted Shawnee town Piqua, destroyed by George Rogers Clark in 1780. It is said to have been the birthplace of Tecumseh. yournal of Christopher Gist. 147 Clear like an old Field, and not a Bush in it, I coud see the Buffaloes in it above two Miles off. I travelled this day about 30 M. Monday 4. — This day I heard several Guns, but was afraid to examine who fired Them, lest they might be some of the French Indians, so I travelled thro the Woods about 30 M ; just at night I killed a fine barren Cow- Buffaloe and took out her tongue and a little of her best Meat : The land still level rich and well timbered with Oak, Walnut, Ash, Locust, and Sugar Trees. Tuesday 5. — I travelled about 30 M. Wednesday 6. — I travelled about 30 M, and killed a fat Bear. Thursday 7. — Set out with my Horse load of Bear and travelled about 30 M this afternoon I met a young Man (a Trader) and we encamped together that Night ; He happened to have some Bread with him, and I had plenty of Meat, so We fared very well. Friday 8. — Travelled about 30 M, and arrived at Night at the Shannoah Town — All the Indians, as well as the White Men came out to welcome my Return to their Town, being very glad that all things were rightly settled in the Miamee Country, they fired upwards of 150 Guns in the Town and made an Entertainment in Honour of the late Peace with the Western Indians — In my Return 148 yournal of Christopher Gist. from the Twigtwee to the Shannoah Town, I did not keep an exact Account of Course or Distance ; for as the Land thereabouts was every where much the same, and the Situation of the Country was sufficiently described in my Journey to the Twigtwee Town, I thought it unnec- essary, but have notwithstanding laid down ni}- Tract pretty nearly in my Plat. Saturday March 9. — In the Shannoah Town," I met with one of the Mingoe"" Chiefs, who had been down to the Falls 3 of the Ohio, so that We did not see Him as We went up ; I informed him of the King's Present, and the Invitation down to Virginia — He told that there was a Party of French Indians hunting at the Falls, and if I went there they would certainly kill Me or carry Me away Prisoner to the French ; For it is certain they would not let Me pass : However as I had a great Incli- nation to see the Falls, and the Land on the E Side the Ohio, I resolved to venture as far as possible. 'This was the same town at which Gist and Croghan had arrived January 29th, and treated of in foot-note of that date. ^ While the word Mingo was applied to all the Iroquois or Six Nations, it applied locally and in this instance to the Delawares who lived on the Muskingum and westward in close amity with the Shawnees, and who became the most deadly and daring foes of the settlers in Kentucky. The celebrated Logan was called the Mingo Chief. 3 Captain Harry Gordon gave two hundred and sixteen miles as the distance from the mouth of the Scioto to the Falls, the Government survey two hundred and forty-five and a half. yountal of Christopher Gist. 149 Sunday 10 & Monday 11. — Stayed in the Town, and prepared for my Departure. Tuesday 12. — I got my Horses over the River and after Breakfast my Boy and I got ferryed over — The Ohio is near ^ of a Mile wide at Shannoah Town, & is very deep and smooth. Wednesday 13. — ^We set out S 45 W, down the said River on the SE Side 8 M, then S 10 M, here I met two Men belonging to Robert Smith at whose House I lodged on this Side the Miamee River, and one Hugh Crawford,' the said Robert Smith had given Me an Order upon these Men, for Two of the Teeth of a large Beast, which they were bringing from towards the Falls of the Ohio, one of which I brought in and delivered to the Ohio Company — Robert Smith informed Me that about seven Years ago these Teeth and Bones of three large Beasts (one of which was somewhat smaller than the other two) were found in a Salt Lick"^ or Spring upon a small Creek which runs into the S Side of the Ohio about 15 M, below the Mouth of the great Miamee River, ' Hugh Crawford was a well-known Indian trader from Pennsylvania. He served in the French and Indian War as ensign, and in Forbes' Cam- paign, which resulted in the capture of Fort Pitt, was with Washington, whose confidence he enjoyed. He was an interpreter to the commission which ran the western part of Mason's and Dixon's line in 1767, and died in 1770. He was one of the witnesses to the treaty of Logstown, June 27, 1752. ''Big Bone Lick. See Appendix B. 150 Journal of Cliristopher Gist. and 20 above the Falls — He assured me that the Rib Bones of the largest of these Beasts were eleven Feet long, and the Skull Bone six Feet wide, across the Fore- head, & the other Bones in Proportion ; and that there were several Teeth there, some of which he called Horns, and said they were upwards of five Feet long, and as much as a Man coud well carry : that he had hid one in a Branch at some Distance from the Place, lest the French Indians should carry it away — The Tooth which I brought in for the Ohio Company, was a Jaw Tooth of better than four Pounds Weight ; it appeared to be the furthest Tooth in the Jaw, and looked like fine Ivory when the outside was scraped off — I also met four Shannoah Indians coming up the River in their Canoes, who informed me there were about Sixty French Indians encamped at the Falls. Thursday 14. — I went down the River S 15 M, the Land upon this Side the Ohio chiefly broken, and the Bottoms but narrow. Friday 15. — S 5 M, S W 10 M, to a Creek that was so high that We coud not get over that Night. Saturday 16. — S. 45 W about 35 M. Sunday 17. — The Same Course 15 M, then N 45 W 5 M. Monday 18. — N 45 W 5 M then S. W. 20 M, to the lower Salt Lick Creek,' which Robert Smith and the ' Licking River. yournal of Christopher Gist. 1 5 1 Indians told us was about 15 M above the Falls of the Ohio ; the Land still hilly, the Salt Lick here much the same with those before described — this Day we heard Guns which made me imagine the French Indians were not moved, but were still hunting, and firing thereabouts : We also saw some Traps newly set, and the footsteps of some Indians plain on the Ground as if they had been there the day before — I was now much troubled that I could not comply with my instructions, & was once re- solved to leave the Boy and Horses, and to go privately on Foot to view the Falls ; but the Boy being a poor Hunter, was afraid he woud starve if I was long from him, and there was also great danger lest the French Indians shoud come upon our Horses Tracks, or hear their Bells, and as I had seen good Land enough, I thought perhaps I might be blamed for venturing so far, in such dangerous Times, so I concluded not to go to the Falls but travell'd away to the Southward till We were over the little Cuttaway River — The Falls of Ohio by the best Information I coud get are not very steep, on S E Side there is a Bar of Land at some Distance from the Shore, the Water between the Bar and the Shore is not above 3 feet deep, and the Stream moder- ately strong, the Indians frequently pass safely in their Canoes thro this Passage, but are obliged to take 152 yourtml of Christopher Gist. great Care as they go down lest the Current which is much the strongest on the N W Side shoud draw them that Way ; which woud be very dangerous as the Water on that Side runs with great Rapidity over several Ledges of Rocks ; the Water below the Falls they say is about six Fathoms deep, and the River continues without any Obstructions till it empties itself into the Mississippi which is accounted upwards of 400 M — The Ohio near the Mouth is said to be very wide, and the Land upon both Sides very rich, and in general very level, all the way from the Falls — After I had determined not to go to the Falls, We turned from Salt Lick Creek to a Ridge of Mountains that made towards the Cuttaway River, & from the Top of the Mountain we Saw a fine level coun- try S W as far as our Eyes coud behold, and it was a very clear Day ; We then went down the Mountain and set out S 20 W about 5 M, thro rich level Land covered with small Walnut Sugar Trees, Red - Buds &c. Tuesday March 19. — We set out S and crossed several Creeks running to the S W, at about 12 M, came to the little Cuttaway River : We were obliged to go up it about I M to an Island, which was the Shoalest place we could find to cross at, We then continued pur Course in all about 30 M through level rich Land except about 2 M which was broken and indifferent. This yotirnal of Christopher Gist. 153 Level is about 35 M broad and as we came up the Side of it along the Branches of the little Cuttaway We found it about 150 M long; and how far toward the S W We coud not tell, but imagined it held as far as the great Cuttaway River, which woud be upwards of icxd M more, and appeared much broader that Way than here, as I coud discern from the Top of the Mountains. Wednesday 20. — We did not travel, I went up to the Top of a Mountain to view the Country, to the S E it looked Very broken, and mountainous but to the Eastward and S W it appeared very level. Thursday 21. — Set out S 45 E 15 M, S 5 M, here I found a Place where the Stones shined like high Coloured Brass," the Heat of the Sun drew out of them a kind of Borax or Salt Petre only something sweeter ; some of which I brought into the Ohio Company, tho I believe it was nothing but a Sort of Sulphur. Friday 22. — S E 12 M, I killed a fat Bear and was taken sick that Night. ' This was doubtless iron pyrites found in the Devonian black shale. The elevation from which he viewed the country the day before was prob- ably Pilot Knob, a few miles northwest of Clay City, Powell County, from which the views correspond to his description. The geographical forma- tion also favors the hypothesis. Pilot Knob is thus referred to in John Filson's ' ' Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky, " London, 1793, Appendix, page 35, quoting Boone: "On the seventh day of June (1769) we found ourselves on Red River, where John Finlay had formerly been trading with the Indians, and from the top of an eminence saw with pleasure the beautiful level of Kentucky." 23 154 yournal of Christopher Gist. Saturday 23. — I stayed here, and sweated after the Indian Fashion, which helped Me. Sunday 24. — Set out E 2 M, N E 3 M, N i M, E 2 M, S E 5 M, N 2 M, S. E. 7 M to a small Creek where We encamped in a Place where we had poor Food for our Horses, & both we and they were very much Wear- ied : the Reason for our making so many short Courses was. We were driven by a Branch of the little Cuttaway River (whose Banks were so exceedingly steep that it was impossible to ford it) into a ledge of rocky Laurel Mountains which were almost impassible. Monday 25.— Set out S E 10 M, S W i M, S E iM, SW iMSEiM, SWiM, SEiMSW I M S E 5 M killed 2 Buffaloes & took out their tongues and encamped — These two days we travelled thro Rocks and Mountains full of Laurel Thickets which we could hardly creep thro without cutting our Way." Wednesday 27. — Our Horses and Selves were so tired that We were obliged to stay this Day to rest, for We were unable to travel — On all Branches of the little Cuttaway River was Plenty of Coal some of which I brought in to the Ohio Company. ' Upon my theory that he passed during these days from the waters of Red River to those of the North Fork of the Kentucky River, he would have encountered the rough country and laurel thickets described, and also coal in Wolfe and Breathitt counties then and afterward. There is no laurel (^Rhododendron tnaxitntun) west of this point. yoiirnal of Christopher Gist. 155 Thursday 28. — Set out S E 15 M crossing Creeks of the httle Cuttaway River the Land being still full of Coal and black Slate. Friday 29. — The same Course S E about 12 M the Land still mountainous. Saturday 30. — Stayed to rest our Horses, I went on Foot, and found a passage thro the Mountains to another Creek, or a Fork of the same Creek that We were upon. Sunday 31. — The same Course S E 15 M, killed a Buffaloe & encamped. Monday April i. — Set out the same Course about 20 M. Part of the Way we went along a Path up the Side of a little Creek, at the Head of which was a Gap in the Mountains, then our Path went down another Creek to a Lick where Blocks of Coal about 8 to 10 In : square lay upon the Surface of the Ground, here we killed a Bear and encamped. Tuesday 2.— Set out S 2 M, S E i M, N E 3 M, killed a Buffaloe. Wednesday 3.— S i M, S W 3 M, E 3 M, S E 2 M, to a small Creek on which was a large Warriors Camp, that woud contain 70 or 80 Warriors, their Captain's Name or Title was the Crane, as I knew by his picture or Arms ' painted on a Tree. ' This was the custom of the Indians, and the presence of the chief's arms indicated that it was a war and not a hunting party. 156 yournal of Christopher Gist. Thursday 4. — We stayed here all Day to rest our Horses, and I platted down our Courses and I found I had still near 200 M Home upon a Streight Line. Friday April 5. — Rained, and We Stayed at the Warrior's Camp. Saturday 6. — We went along the Warrior's Road S I M, S E 3 M, S 2 M, S E 3 M, E 3 M, killed a Bear. Sunday 7.— Set out E 2 M, N E i M, S E i M, S I M, W I M, S W I M, S I M, S E 2 M, S I M. Monday 8.— S i M, S E i M, E 3 M, S E i M, E 3 M, N E 2 M, N I M, E i M, N i M, E 2 M and encamped upon a small Laurel Creek. Tuesday 9 & Wednesday 10. — The Weather being Somewhat bad We did not travel these two Days, the Country being still rocky mountainous & full of Laurel Thickets, the worst travelling I ever saw. Thursday 11. — We travelled several Courses near 20 M, but in the Afternoon as I could see from the Top of the Mountain the Place We came from, I found We had not come upon a streight line more than N 65 E 10 M. Friday 12. — Set out thro very difficult Ways E 5 M, to a small Creek. Saturday 13. — The same Course E upon a streight yournal of Christopher Gist. 157 Line, tho the Way We were obliged to travel was near 20 M, here We killed two Bears, the Way still rocky and Mountainous. Sunday 14. — As Food was very scarce on these bar- ren Mountains, We were obliged to move for fresh Feed- ing for our Horses, so We went on E 5 M, then N 20 W 6 M, to a Creek where We got something better Feeding for our Horses, in climbing up the Clifts and Rocks this Day two of our Horses fell down, and were pretty much hurt, and a Paroquete, ' which I had got from the Indians, on the other Side the Ohio ( where there are a great many) died of a Bruise he got by a Fall ; tho it was but a Trifle I was much concerned at losing Him, as he was perfectly tame, and had been very brisk all the Way, and I had still Corn enough left to feed Him — In the afternoon I left the Horses, and went a little Way down the Creek and found such a Precipice and such Laurel Thickets as we coud not pass, and the Horses were not able to go up the Mountain till they had rested a Day or two. Monday 15. — We cut a Passage through the Laurels better than 2 M, as I was climbing up the Rocks, I got 'The Carolina paroquet (G7«!/r«^ Carolinensis), a small parrot which was to be seen in Kentucky within the memory of men living, but now extinct. The Paroquet Springs, in Bullitt County, Kentucky, took their name from them. 158 yournal of Christopher Gist. a Fall which hurted me pretty much — This Afternoon as We wanted Provision I killed a Bear. Tuesday 16. — Thunder and Rain in the Morning — We set out N 25 E 3 M. Wednesday 17. — This Day I went to the Top of a Mountain to view the way, and found it so bad that I did not care to engage it, but rather chose to go out of the Way and keep down along the Side of a Creek till I could find a Branch or Run on the other Side to go up. Thursday 18. — Set out down the said Creek Side N 3 M, then the Creek turning N W I was obliged to leave it, and go up a Ridge N E. i M, E 2 M, N E i M, to the Fork of a River. Friday 19. — Set out down the said Run N E 2 M, E 2 M, S E 2 M, N 20 E 2 M, E 2 M, up a Large' Run. Saturday 20. — Set out S E 10 M, E 4 M, over a small Creek — - We had such bad travelling down this Creek that we had liked to have lost one of our Horses. Sunday 21. — Stayed to rest our Horses. Monday 22. — Rained all Day — We could not travel. Tuesday 23. — Set out E 8 M along a Ridge of ' He had passed over the Cumberland Mountain at or near Pound Gap, and going down Gist's River came to the Clinch, up which he passed, and crossing the divide came to the Bluestone, a tributary of New River, on the 30th. yournal of Christopher Gist. 159 Mountains then S E 5 M, E 3 M, S E 4 M, and en- camped among very steep Mountains. Wednesday 24. — S E 4 M thro steep Mountains and Thickets E 6 M. Thursday 25.— E 5 M, S E i M, N E 2 M, S E 2 M, E I M, then S 2 M, E i M killed a Bear. Friday 26. — Set out S E 2 M, here it rained so hard We were obliged to stop. Saturday 27 Sunday 28 & Monday 29. — These three Days it continued raining & bad Weather, so that We coud not travel. All the Way from Salt Lick to this Place, the Branches of the little Cuttaway River were so high that we coud not pass them, which obliged Us to go over the Heads of them, through a continued Ledge of almost inaccessible Mountains, Rocks and Laurel Thickets. Tuesday 30.— Fair Weather Set out E 3 M, S E 8 M, E 2 M, to a little River or Creek which falls into the big Conhaway called Blue Stone, where we encamped and had good Feeding for our Horses. Wednesday May i. — Set out N 75 E 10 M and killed a Bufltaloe, then went up a very high Mountain, upon the Top of which was a Rock" 60 or 70 Feet high, & a Cavity in the Middle, into which I went, and found there was a Passage thro it which gradually ascended to the top, with ' In Mercer County, West Virginia. See Summary, page 165. i6o yournal of Christopher Gist. several Holes in the Rock, I could see a prodigious dis- tance, and could plainly discover where the big Conhaway River broke the next high Mountain, I then came down and continued my Course N 75 E 5 M further and encamped. Thursday 2 and Friday 3. — These two Days it rained and We stayed in Camp to take Care of some Provision We had killed. Saturday 4. — This Day our Horses run away, and it was late before We got Them, so We coud not travel far, We went N 75 E 4 M. Sunday May 5. — Rained all Day. Monday 6. — Set out thro very bad Ways E 3 M, N E 6 M, over a bad Laurel Creek E 4 M. Tuesday 7. — Set out E 10 M, to the big Conhaway or New River and got over half of it to a large Island where We lodged that Night. Wednesday 8. — Made a Raft of Logs and crossed the other half of the River & went up it S about 2 M — The Conhaway or New River (by some called Wood's' River) where I crossed it (which was about 8 M above the Mouth of blue Stone River) is better than 200 Yards wide, and pretty deep, but full of Rocks and Falls — The Bottoms upon it and blue Stone River are very rich but narrow, the high Land broken. ' See note 2, page 36. yournal of Christopher Gist. i6i Thursday 9. — Set out E 13 M to a large Indian Warrior's Camp, where we killed a Bear and stayed all Night. Friday 10. — Set out E 4 M, S E 3 M, thro Moun- tains covered with Ivy and Laurel Thickets. Saturday 11. — Set out S 2 M, S E 5 M, to a Creek and a Meadow where We let our Horses feed, then S E 2 M, S I M. S E 2 M to a very high Mountain up on the Top of which was a Lake or Pond' about ^ of a Mile long NE&SW, &i^ofa Mile wide the Water fresh and clear, and a clean gravelly Shore about 10 Yards wide with a fine Meadow and six fine Springs in it, then S about 4 M, to a Branch of the Conhaway called Sinking Creek. Sunday 12. — Stayed to rest and dry some Meat We had killed. Monday 13.— Set out S E 2 M, E i M, S E 3 M, S 12 M to one Richd Hall's in Augusta* County this Man is one of the farthest Settlers to the Westward upon the New River. Tuesday 14. — Stayed at Richd Hall's and wrote to the President of Virginia & the Ohio Company to let them know I should be with Them by the 15th of June. ' This was Salt Pond, a noted fresh water pond in Giles County, Virginia, ' Augusta County then included Montgomery County. 1 62 youynal of Christophey Gist. Wednesday 15. — Set out from Richd Hall's S 16 M. Thursday 16. — The same Course S 22 M and encamped at Beaver Island Creek ( a Branch of the Conhaway ) opposite to the Head of the Roanoke. Friday 17.— Set out S W 3 M, then S 9 M, to the dividing Line between Carolina and Virginia, where I stayed all Night, the Land from Richd Hall's to this Place is broken. Saturday 18. — Set out S 20 M to my own House on the Yadkin River, when I came there I found all my family gone, for the Indians had killed five People in the Winter near that Place, which frightened my Wife and Family away to Roanoke about 35 M nearer in among the Inhabitants, which I was informed of by an old Man I met near the Place. Sunday 19. — Set out for Roanoke, and as we had now a Path, We got there the same Night when I found all my Family well. CHRISTOPHER GIST. An Account of the Festival mentioned in my Journal. (See page 131.) In the Evening a proper Officer made a public Proc- lamation that all the Indians marriages were dissolved, and a Public Feast was to be held for three succeeding yournal of Christopher Gist 163 days after, in which the women as their Custom was were again to choose Husbands. The next Morning early the Indians breakfasted and after spent the Day in dancing till the Evening when a plentiful Feast was prepared, after feasting they spent the Night in dancing. The same Way they spent the next two Days till Evening, the Men dancing by them- selves and then the women in turns round the Fires, and dancing in their Manner in the Form of the Figure 8 about 60 or 70 at a Time. The Women the whole Time they danced sung a Song in their Language the Chorus of which was, I am not afraid of my Husband I will choose what Man I please singing those Lines alternately. The third Day in the Evening, the Men being about 100 in Number, some Times at Length, at other Times in a Figure 8 quite round the Fort and in and out of the long House, where they held their Councils, the Women standing together as the Men danced by them ; And as any of the Women liked a Man passing by she stepped in and joined in the Dance, taking hold of the Man's Strond whom she Chose, and then continued in the Dance till the rest of the Women stepped in and made 164 yournal of Christopher Gist. their choice in the same Manner : after which the Dance ended and they All retired to consummate. N. B. This was given to me by Colonel Mercer Agent of the Ohio Company and now Lieutenant Gov- ernor of North Carolina. Summary of Gist's Route Through Kentucky and Virginia to His Home in North Carolina. After leaving the Shawnee town on the south side of the Ohio Gist went down the south bank of the Ohio River, travehng the first day eighteen miles, the second fifteen, and the same distance on the third, making a total by his count of forty-eight miles. It is presumed that so far he had followed the river, as he states that he went down it on the second day, and on the third came to a creek too high to ford. This was presumably at its mouth, and as the only creeks putting into the Ohio any- where near that distance are Cabin Creek, forty-six miles, and Limestone, fifty-one from South Portsmouth by the table of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, it is probable that he had reached the former. But all effort to define his route further is rendered very difficult by the evident inaccuracy of his courses, as, for instance, March 14th, his second day, he says he went "down the river S. 15 M.," where the course of the river is nearly due west. It is no doubt an error of the printer, but as his courses daily were various, and errors in transcribing or printing likely to exist, when one thinks how a single error would prevent the determination of his course, it is idle to attempt to follow him in his daily rambles. But while it is impossible to do this or to designate with certainty his course, it is easy to determine where he did not go. As, for instance, he did not follow the Ohio and cross the Licking at its mouth, as all his courses given forbid such a supposition. Nor did he go to Big Bone Lick, as Pownall states, or, in addition to the same reason just stated, he would have noted the fact. To reconcile such hypotheses with his courses, Pownall not only places Big Bone down on his map as fifteen miles above the Falls, when it is ninety-four, but makes with pecked lines, as explained on the map, the Ohio take a southwest instead of a northwest younial of Christopher Gist. 165 course from Gist's location on the 14th. So also he was not on the i8th at Bullitt's Lick, fifteen miles south of the Falls, as others claim, since by Gist's account he had traveled in four days but ninety miles, while the distance from Maysville by direct rail route is one hundred and fifty miles, and pioneers always overestimated the distance traveled by them in a day. From the topography described, and the proximity of any eleva- tion which would be called a mountain by so experienced a woodsman as Gist, it is evident that he had not progressed far beyond the range which bounds the Bluegrass region on the east. The Licking was known as the Great Salt Lick Creek instead of river, and may have been called the Lower Salt Lick Creek to distinguish it from one of the same name already referred to, which puts into the Ohio at Vanceburg, eighteen miles below the mouth of the Scioto, and up which the warriors' path ran. So I am of the opinion that he was at the Lower Blue Licks, or the Olympian Springs, in Bath County — both an hundred miles from the Falls as the crow flies. It is a needless task to attempt to follow his course thence in detail. The river he speaks of as the Little Cuttawa was the Kentucky proper, and could not have been what we know as the Little Kentucky of to-day. It is most probable that he skirted the Blue- grass region to the Upper Kentucky River and passed from the Red River, which was known as the Warriors' Fork, to the North Fork, and thence found his way through Pound Gap. He then passed in a general course eastward down what is known as Gist's or Guesse's Fork of the Clinch, in Wise County, Virginia, and passing the divide came upon the waters of the Bluestone, a tributary of New River. His position on May 1st, when he ascended a high mountain and climbed to the top of a high rock, is identified as being in Mercer County, West Virginia, where there is a notable rock, as described by him, from which can be seen to the southeast the great canyon of the Narrows, through which New River runs through a spur of the Alleghany in Giles County. In Martin and Brockenborough's History of Virginia, Richmond, 1835, page 346, is the following: "Near Pearis- burg, proudly pre-eminent, stands the Angels' Rest, a pinnacle that overtops all the mountains of the neighborhood and affords one of the most inter- esting prospects in the western country." On the nth of May he reached the Salt Pond Mountain, the lake on which he describes as it is to-day, notwithstanding it is common to hear persons say that their grandfathers remembered it when it was a great sinkhole without water. The latter evidently dates back to a period anterior to the white man, and its forma- 1 66 younial of Christopher Gist. tion is to be referred to the Silurian limestone which underlies the moun- tain. Sinking Creek, a short distance south, indicates the same formation. On the 13th he crossed the route traveled by Doctor Thomas Walker on the i6th of March, 1750, on his westward trip, and near to Draper's Meadow, where the massacre by the Shawnees occurred July 9, 1755, when Colonel James Patton was killed and Mrs. Ingles and Mrs. Draper taken prisoners. On the 17th of May he passed from Virginia into North Carolina through Flower Gap, known also as Wood's Gap, from Colonel Abram Wood, who, in 1671, passed through it and discovered New River, long known as Wood's River. The writer followed the same route pursued by Gist near the close of the war, in April, 1865, and thence down the Yadkin to Salisbury, North Carolina, passing near the home of Gist and Daniel Boone, who, eighteen years after Gist's expedition, went first to Kentucky by way of the same Gap. Appendix B. Big Bone Lick, a series of salt springs, the most notable in Kentucky, is situated in the northern part of what is now Boone County, three or four miles south of the Ohio River. Instead of being fifteen miles above the Falls at Louisville, as represented to Gist and as put down on the map of Lewis Evans and others, it is ninety-four miles above Louisville. Gist does not claim to have been there, but some of his commentators have insisted that he was, and the maps have been contorted to con- form to their theories. It is famous as being the spot where was first found in America the bones of the Mastodon [Mastodon giganteus). This prehistoric quadruped is described zoologically as "a new mammal resembling the elephant but larger and having tuberculate teeth, whence its name. The remains of the mastodon are found in the temperate parts of both hemispheres." As the locality ranks as a natural curiosity with the Mammoth Cave, peculiarly a Kentucky phenomenon but cursorily described or explained in our history, I deem it not inappropriate to insert here such matter respecting it as I have been able to collate. I pretermit the question of the geologic age to which the animal belongs or the period at which the bones here found were entombed, while I incline strongly to the belief that it was syn- chronous with the age of man. When or by what white man these bones were first found is not known, their first notation being upon the map of Charlevoix, 1744, who gives 1729 as the date of their discovery. They were noticed in the journals of the subsequent explorers, and have for a century and more been an object of investigation and comment by the leading scientists of the world. 1 68 Appendix B. Captain M. F. Bossu/ a French officer stationed at Fort Chartres in Illinois, makes the following reference to them in a letter dated there November lO, 1756: "Yesterday an express arrived here from Fort DuQuesne to our Commander, who informs me that the English made great preparations to come to attack that place again. M. de Macarty has sent provisions to victual the fort. The Chevalier Villiers commands it in my stead, my bad health not permitting me to undertake that voyage. It would have enabled me to examine the place on the road where an Indian found some Elephant's teeth, of which he gave me a grinder weighing about six pounds and a half. In 1735 the Canadians who came to make war upon the Tchicachas found near the fine river Ohio the skeletons of some Elephants, which makes me believe that Louisiana joins to Asia, and that their Elephants came from the latter continent by the western part, which we are not acquainted with. A herd of these Elephants having lost their way probably entered the new conti- nent, and having always gone on main land and in forests, the Indians not having the use of fire arms were not able to destroy them entirely. . It is possible that some arrived at the place on the Ohio which on our maps is marked with a cross. The Elephants were in a swampy ground, when they sunk in by the enormous weight of their bodies, and could not get out again, but were forced to stay there." George Croghan, in his journal of his trip down the Ohio in 1765, makes the following entry of May 30th: "We passed the Great Miami River thirty miles from the little river of that name, ' Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes Occidentales, Contenant une Relation des different peuples qui habitent les environs du grand fleuve Saint Louis appell^ vulgairement le Mississippi ; leur Religion ; leur gouvernment : leur Guerres, leur Commerce. Par M. Bossu, Amsterdam, 1768. Appendix B. 169 and in the evening arrived at the place where the Elephants' bones are found, where we encamped, intending to take a view of the place next morning, 31st. Early in the morning we went to the Great Lick where these bones are only found, about four miles from the river. In our way we passed through a fine timbered clear wood. We came into a large road which the buffaloes have beaten spacious enough for a wagon to go abreast, and lead- ing straight into the Lick. It appears that there are vast quan- tities of these bones lying five or six feet under ground, which we discovered in the bank at the edge of the Lick. We found here two about six feet long. We carried one with some other bones to our boat, and set off." Mann Butler's History of Kentucky, Appendix, second edition, Cincinnati, 1836. Captain Harry Gordon, in his Journal Appendix to Pownall's Description, &c. , London, 1776, who also visited the Lick, July 16, 1766, says he encamped opposite Big Bone Lick, about thirty miles southwest of the mouth of the Licking, called by him Great Salt Lick. "The e.xtent of the muddy part of the Lick," he says, "is three fourths of an acre." Captain Thomas Hutchins, heretofore referred to in these notes as being with him, says in his book, London, 1778, that the celebrated Doctor Hunter thought the bones of the mastodon were those of some carniverous animal larger than an elephant. In 1773 Captain Thomas Bullitt, Hancock Taylor, and James Douglas, surveyors, and others in their company, James McAfee, George McAfee, Robert McAfee, James McCoun, junior, and Samuel Adams, in another company descending the Ohio from the mouth of the Kanawha, where they had met by chance, stopped here and visited the Lick on the 4th and 5th of July. They found bones in great quantities, and made seats of the ver- tebra and tent poles of the ribs. 25 170 Appendix B. Vast numbers of the bones were taken away as curiosities by parties visiting the Lick, but no systematic effort was made to secure a complete skeleton until in the early part of the current century one Doctor Goforth began his excavations and secured several entire skeletons. In a manuscript copy of the autobiography of General James Taylor, of Newport, Kentucky, in my possession, occurs the following interesting account : ' ' The year 1 794 was the first time I was at the Big Bone Lick. It had been a great resort of the buffalo, and the roads leading from the rich lands of the Elkhorn and its waters were larger than any common ones now in the State, and in many places were worn five or six feet deep. The road leading from the upper Lick, called the Gum Spring, to the lower Lick at the Fork, called the West Fork, was large and much worn, and where it was washed in gullies I discovered at least one fourth of the dirt appeared to be mixed with crushed bones. No doubt they had been masticated by the big animals of former days whose bones were so numerously found in and about these two Licks. A Major Finnell, about twelve or fifteen years ago [The autobiography was written about 1840. — Ed.], dug for those bones, and on a rise about ten or twelve feet above the bottom of the creek came to a well, and at the depth of about twenty feet found an almost entire skeleton of those enormous animals which had been buried there ages ago. The well was about twenty feet in diameter and twenty feet deep. The large bones were laid around the outside of the wall and so inwardly to the center, and the skull placed on the top in the center. Every one of the large bones was fractured, and had the print of a heavy instrument, used to endeavor to break them, it is presumed, on account of some superstitious belief. This account I had from Major Finnell. He had a partner in searching for these bones who forced him to sell his half for two thousand dollars. They were taken to New Orleans and sold for Appendix B. 171 five thousand dollars, from thence to New York, and thence to England. I think it was about 1837 they were found. I was well acquainted with Semonell Stockdale, who was employed by Doctor Goforth, with several hands, to dig for those big bones. He obtained permission from David Ross, of Virginia, the owner at the time, or of Thomas Carneal, his agent, to do so. He, Stock- dale, told me he found a large number, and several descriptions of animals, some of the large species carniverous and some her- biverous. The bones of a species of elk, full the size of a large horse, whose horns hung down the side of his head and curled outward. I understand Doctor Goforth shipped these bones to New York to an agent, who sent them to Europe and deprived him of the whole proceeds. This, I think, was about the year 1800. I was well acquainted with him. He was the son of old Judge Goforth, who came from Massachusetts and settled at Columbia with the first settlers of Ohio, about a mile below the mouth of the Little Miami, in the year 1789." Mr. Jefferson may be said to have been the first American of any prominence to call the attention of the world to the wonders of Big Bone Lick. As it is not only the first, but the clearest, scientific treatise on the mastodon, the correctness of which has been confirmed by the elaborate study of scientists for more than a century, I make the following e.xtract from his Notes on Vir- ginia, written in 1781, first English (Stockdale) edition, London, 1787, page 64 et scq. : "Our quadrupeds have been mostly described by Linnaeus and Mons. de Buffon. Of these the Mammoth, or Big Buffalo as called by the Indians, must certainly have been the largest. The tradition is that he was carniverous and still exists in the northern parts of America. A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe having visited the Governor of Virginia during the Revolution 172 Appendix B. on matters of business, after these had been discussed and settled in council the Governor asked them some questions relative to their country, and, among others, what they knew or had heard of the animal whose bones were found at the Salt Licks on the Ohio. Their chief speaker immediately put himself into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp suited to what he conceived the elevation of his subject, informed him that it was a tradition handed down from their fathers 'That in ancient times a herd of these tremendous animals came to the Big Bone Licks and began an universal destruction of the bear, deer, elks, buffaloes, and other animals which had been created for the use of the Indians ; that the Great Man above, looking down and seeing this, was so enraged that he seized his lightning, descended on the earth, seated himself on a neighboring mountain, on a rock on which his seat and the print of his feet are still to be seen, and hurled his bolts among them till the whole were slaughtered except the big bull, who, presenting his forehead to the shafts, shook them off as they fell ; but missing one at length it wounded him in the side, whereon, springing round, he bounded over the Ohio, over the Wabash, and finally over the Great Lakes, where he is living at this day.' It is well known that on the Ohio and in many parts of America further north tusks, grinders, and skeletons of unparalleled magnitude are found in great numbers, some lying on the surface of the earth, and some a little below it. A Mr. Stanley, taken prisoner by the Indians near the mouth of the Tanissee, relates that after being transferred through several tribes from one to another, he was at length carried over the mountains west of the Missouri to a river which runs westwardly ; that these bones abounded there, and that the natives described to him the animal to which they belonged as still existing in the northern parts of their country ; from which description he judged it to be an elephant. Bones of the same kind have been lately found some feet below the surface of the earth in salines opened on the North Holston, a branch of the Tanissee, about the lati- tude of thirty-six and one half degrees north. From the accounts published in Europe I suppose it to be decided that they are of the Appendix B. 173 same kind with those found in Siberia. Instances are mentioned of hke animal remains found in the more southern cHmates of both hemispheres, but they are either so loosely mentioned as to leave a doubt of the fact, so inaccurately described as not to authorize the classing them with the great northern bones, or so rare as to found a suspicion that they have been carried thither as curiosities from more northern regions. So that, on the whole, there seems to be no certain vestiges of the existence of this animal further south than the salines mentioned. It is remarkable that the tusks and skeletons have been ascribed by the naturalists of Europe to the elephant, while the grinders have been given to the hippopotamus or river-horse. Yet it is acknowledged that the tusks and skeletons are much larger than those of the elephant, and the grinders many times greater than those of the hippopotamus, and essentially different in form. Wherever these grinders are found, there we find the tusks and skeleton ; but no skeleton of the hippopotamus nor grinders of the elephant. It will not be said that the hippopotamus and elephant came always to the same spot, the former to deposit his grinders and the latter his tusks and skeleton. For what became of the parts not deposited there.' We must agree, then, that these remains belong to each other, that they are of one and the same animal, that this was not a hippopotamus, because the hippopotamus had no tusks nor such a frame, and because the grinders differ in their size as well as in the number and form of their points. That it was not an elephant I think ascertained by proofs equally decisive. I will not avail myself of the authority of the cele- brated anatomist' who from the form and structure of the tusks has declared that they were essentially different from those of the elephant, because another anatomist "" has declared on a like examination that they are precisely the same. Between two such authorities I will suppose this circumstance equivocal. But, First : The skeleton of the mammoth (for so the incognitum has been called) bespeaks an animal of five or six times the cubic volume of the elephant, as Mons. de Buffon has admitted. ' Hunter. ^ D'Aubenton. 174 Appendix B. Second : The grinders are five times as large, are square, and the grinding surface studded with four or five rows of blunt points, whereas those of the elephant are broad and thin, and their grinding surface flat. Third : I have never heard an instance, and suppose there has been none, of the grinder of an elephant being found in America. Fourth : From the known tempera- ture and constitution of the elephant he could never have existed in those regions where the remains of the mammoth have been found. The elephant is the native only of the torrid zone and its vicinities ; if with the assistance of warm apartments and warm clothing he has been preserved in life in the temperate climates of Europe, it has been only for a small portion of what would have been his natural period, and no instance of his multi- plication has ever been known. But no bones of the mammoth, as I have before observed, have ever been found further south than the salines of the Holston, and they have been found as far north as the Arctic circle. "Those, therefore, who are of opinion that the elephant and mammoth are the same must believe, first, that the elephant known to us can exist in the frozen zone ; or, second, that an internal fire may once have warmed those regions and since abandoned them, of which, however, the earth exhibits no unequivocal indications ; or, third, that the obliquity of the ecliptic, when those elephants lived, was so great as to include within the tropics all those regions in which the bones are found, the tropics being, as before observed, the natural limits of habi- tation for the elephant. But if it be admitted that this obliquity has really decreased, and we adopt the highest rate of decrease 3'et pretended, that is, of one minute in a century, to transfer the northern tropic to the Arctic circle would carry the existence of these supposed elephants two hundred and fifty thousand years back, a period far beyond our conception of the duration of animal bones left exposed to the open air, as these are in many instances. Besides, though these regions would then be supposed within the tropics, yet their winters would have been too severe for the sensibility of the elephant. They would have had, too, but one Appendix B. 175 day and one night in the year, a circumstance to which we have no reason to suppose the nature of the elephant fitted. However, it has been demonstrated that if a variation of obHquity in the echptic takes place at all, it is vibratory and never exceeds the limits of nine degrees, which is not sufficient to bring these bones within the tropics. One of these hypotheses, or some other equally voluntary and inadmissible to cautious philosophy, must be adopted to support the opinion that these are the bones of the elephant. For my part I find it easier to believe that an animal may have existed resembling the elephant in his tusks and general anatomy, while his nature was in other respects extremely different. From the thirtieth degree of south latitude to the thirtieth of north are the limits which nature has fixed for the existence and multipli- cation of the elephant known to us. Proceeding thence north- wardly to thirty-six and a half degrees we enter those assigned to the mammoth. The further we advance north the more their vestiges multiply as far as the earth has been explored in that direction ; and it is as probable as otherwise that this progression continues to the pole itself, if land extends so far. The center of the frozen zone then may be the acme of their vigor, as that of the torrid is of the elephant. Thus nature seems to have drawn a belt of separation between these two tremendous animals, whose breadth indeed is not positively known, though at present we may suppose it to be six and a half degrees of latitude ; to have been assigned to the elephant the regions south of these confines, and those north to the mammoth, founding the one in the extreme of heat, and that of the other in the extreme of cold. When the Creator has, therefore, separated their nature as far as the extent of the scale of animal life allowed to this planet would permit, it seems perverse to declare it the same, from a partial resemblance of their tusks and bones. But to whatever animal we ascribe these remains, it is certain such a one has existed in America, and that it has been the largest of all ter- restial beings. It should have sufficed to have rescued the earth it inhabited and the atmosphere it breathed from the imputation of impotence in the conception and nourishment of animal life on 176 Appendix B. a large scale, to have stifled in its birth the opinion of a writer [Buffon — Ed.], the most learned, too, of all others in the science of animal history, that in the new world, 'La nature vivante est beaucoup moins agissante, beaucoup moins forte,' that nature is less active, less energetic on one side of the globe than she is on the other. As if both sides were not warmed by the same general sun ; as if a soil of the same chemical composition was less capable of elaboration into animal nutriment ; as if the fruits and grains from that soil and sun yielded a less rich chyle, gave less extension to the solids and fluids of the body or pro- duced in the cartilages, membranes, and fibres that rigidity which restrains all further extension and terminates animal growth. The truth is, that a Pigmy and a Patagonian, a mouse and a mammoth derive their dimensions from the same nutritive juices. The difference of increment depends on circumstances uncertain to beings with our capacities. Every race of animals appears to have received from their Maker certain laws of extension at the time of their formation. Their elaborative organs were formed to produce this, while other proper obstacles were opposed to its further progress. Below these limits they can not fall, nor rise above them. What intermediate station they shall take may depend on soil, climate, on food, on a careful choice of breeders. But all the manna of heaven would never raise the mouse to the bulk of the mammoth." Mr. Jefferson, in addition to his arduous duties as Governor, member of Congress, Foreign Minister, Secretary of State, Vice- President, and President, with little interruption from the cares of public life, was broadly learned in all the sciences. The foregoing philosophical disquisition on what was then a new sub- ject evinces not only much technical learning but remarkable powers of reasoning in the abstract, and with the aid of a few facts and general principles arriving at an irresistible conclusion with the force of a mathematical demonstration. He was the Appendix B. 177 associate and correspondent of the savants, scientists, and natu- ralists of two continents, and pari passu with his great ability and services as a statesman, lent his aid to the advancement of educa- tion, science, and art in their highest forms. He brought to the attention of the learned men of Europe as well as America the remarkable discovery at Big Bone Lick, and before, during, and after his terms as President made it the subject of his study and of intelligent collection and preservation and distribution of the remains of the mastodon. His position as President of the United States and President of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia enabled him to do much in this respect, and to him is chiefly due the fact that in addition to the numberless unassorted bones carried off from the Lick, one hundred and five skeletons are said to have been secured and distributed in the museums and institutions of learning of the world. The following letters, which were lately copied by me from the originals in possession of Jefferson K. Clark, Esquire, son of Gov- ernor William Clark, to whom they were written, the associate of Meriwether Lewis in the exploration to the Pacific, 1804-6, and which have never been heretofore printed, evince the zeal which never flagged in any thing pertaining to the liberty or enlightenment of mankind. The chirography of the originals is a marvel of exactness and neatness, with a broad margin to the left as straight as if written by a law clerk : ^ „. Washington Dec 19. 07 Dear Sir I have duly received your two favors of Sep. 20 and Nov 10. and am greatly obliged indeed by the trouble you have been so good as to take in procuring for me as thorough a supple- ment to the bones of the mammoth as can be had. I expect daily to receive your bill for all the expenses which shall be hon- ored with thanks. The collection you have made is so consid- 26 178 Appendix B. erable that it has suggested an idea I had not before. I see that after taking out for the Philosophical Society every thing they shall desire, there will remain such a collection of duplicates as will be a grateful offering from me to the National Insti- tute of France for whom I am bound for something, 'but in order to make it more considerable, I find myself obliged to ask the addition of those which you say you have "deposited with your brother^ at Clarksville, such as ribs, backbones, leg bones, thigh, ham, hip, shoulder blades, parts of the upper and under jaw, teeth of the mammoth & elephant, & parts of the mammoth tusks, to be forwarded hereafter if necessary." I avail myself of these last words to ask that they may be packed and forwarded to me by way of N. Orleans, as the others have been. I do this with the less hesitation knowing these things can be of little use to yourself or brother, so much in the way of furnishing your- selves & because I know they will be so acceptable to an institu- tion to which, as member, I wish to be of some use. I salute you with great friendship and esteem Th Jefferson Genl Wm Clark. When the above letter was written Mr. Jefferson was in the second year of his first term as President, having been inaugurated first March 4, 1801. At the date of the following he was in retirement at Monticello, his official term of office having expired March 4, 1809. Mr. Jefferson was then sixty-six years old, hav- ing been born April 13, 1743, and died July 4, 1826: ^ , Monticello Sep. 10. 09 Dear General. Your favor of June 2. came duly to hand in July, and brought me a repetition of the proofs of your kindness to me. ' It was one of Mr. Jefferson's idiosyncrasies to begin some of liis sen- tences without capitals. 'General George Rogers Clark, who was then living at Clarksville, Indiana, just opposite Louisville, on the land acquired from Virginia by his military services. Appendix B. 179 Mr. Fitzhugh' delivered the skin of the sheep'' of the Rocky mountain to the President, from whom I expect to receive it in a few days at his own house. For this, as well as the blanket of Indian manufacture of the same material which you are so kind as to offer me, accept my friendly thanks Your donations & Governor Lewis's have given to my collection of Indian curiosities an importance much beyond what I had ever counted on. the three boxes of bones which you had been so kind as to send to N. O. for me, as mentioned in your letter of June 2. arrived there safely & were cared for by the collector, & the bill of lading sent to me. but the vessel put into the Havanna, under embargo ^ distress, was there condemned as unseaworthy and her enrollment surrendered at St. Mary's, what was done with my 3 boxes I have not learned but have written to Mr. Brown the Collector, to have enquiry made after them. The bones of this animal are now in such a state of evanescence as to render it important to save what we can of them, of those you had formerly sent me I reserved a very few for myself, ' Mr. Dennis Fitzhugh, of St. Louis, brother-in-law of General Clark. ^The Big Horn of the Rocky Mountains {Ovus Montana), first discovered and described by Lewis and Clark in their expedition to the Pacific. 3 So called from the suspension of all commerce resulting from the following acts : On the 22d of June, 1807, after much irritation caused by the assertion by the English of the right to search our vessels for alleged deserters or native English sailors, whose right of expatriation they denied, the American man of war Chesapeake, Commodore Barron, was overhauled by the British ship Guerriere, Captain Dacres, who demanded to search our vessel. Upon refusal, the Guerriere fired upon the Chesapeake, killing several of her crew. Commodore Barron being unprepared for action, struck his colors, and four men were taken from his ship. Thereupon President Jefferson, on July 2d, issued a proclamation ordering all armed English vessels out of American waters, and interdicted communication or trade of any kind with them. Great Britain retaliated by such orders as virtually closed all our ports and placed an embargo upon all oceanic trade, which was not raised until June 10, 1809, by proclamation of President Madison of April 19, i8o Appendix B. got Dr. Wistar ' to select from the rest every piece which could be interesting to the Philosophical Society and sent the residue to the National Institute of France, these have enabled them to decide that the animal was neither a mammoth or an elephant, but of a distinct kind, to which they have given the name of Mastodont"" from the protuberances of its teeth, these from their form and the immense mass of their jaws satisfy me that they must have been herbivorous. Nature seems not to have provided other foods sufficient for him ; & the limb of a tree would be no more than a bough of cotton tree to a horse. You mention in your letter that you are proceeding with your family^ [underscored] to Fort Massac, this informs me you have a family & I sincerely congratulate you on it. While some may think it will render you less active in the service of the world, those who take a sincere interest in your personal happiness and who know that by a law of nature we can not be happy without the endearing connections of a family will rejoice for your sake as I do. the world has of right no further claims on yourself and ' Doctor Caspar Wistar, a distinguished scientist and medical professor of Philadelphia, who, in 1815, was elected President of the American Philo- sophical Society, and died in 18 18. ^ Mastodont, from the Greek /latrzu^, the breast of a woman, and dSau^, a tooth, so called from the conical projections upon the molar teeth. 3 General William Clark was born in Virginia, August i, 1770, became an ensign in the army at twenty, and was a captain when selected by Jeffer- son, in 1804, to go to the Pacific with his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis. He settled in St. Louis on his return, and was married in Fincastle, Virginia, to Julia, called also Judith, youngest daughter of Colonel George Hancock, member of the Fourth Congress. The attachment began early, as on the expedition to the Pacific General Clark, in June, 1805, when she was but fourteen, named a river Judith for her, which empties into the Missouri just below the mouth of Big Horn River. General Clark was at the time of his marriage thirty-six years of age. He was appointed by President Madison, April 8, 1813, first Territorial Governor of Missouri, and held the office by reappointment until 1820, when Missouri was admitted as a State, July ig, 1820. Appendix B. i8i Govt Lewis, but such as you may voluntarily render according to your conscience or as they make it your interest. I wrote lately to the Governor, but be so good as to repeat my affection- ate attachments to him & to be assured of the same with every sentiment of esteem & respect. To Genl Wm Clark. "^^ Jefferson The following topographical and other facts are from CoUins' History of Kentucky, 1882, Volume II, pages 51, 52, under the head of Boone County : "In this county is situated the celebrated Big Bone Lick, about twelve miles a little southwest of Burlington (the county- seat) and one mile and a half east of Hamilton, on the Ohio River. The Lick is situated in a valley which contains about one hundred acres, through which flows Big Bone Creek. There are two principal springs, one of which is almost on the northern margin of the creek ; the other is south of the creek and at the base of the hills which bind the valley. There is a third spring of smaller size some considerable distance north of the creek which flows from a well sunk many years ago when salt was manufactured at this Lick. The valley is fertile and surrounded by irregular hills of unequal elevation, the highest being on the west and attaining an altitude of five hundred feet. The backwater from the river at times ascends the creek as far as the Lick, which, by the course of the stream, is more than three miles from the river. At a very early day the surrounding forest had no undergrowth, the ground being covered with a smooth, grassy turf, and the Lick spread over an area of about ten acres. The surface of the ground within this area was generally depressed three or four feet below the level of the surrounding valley. This depression was probably occasioned as well by the stamping of the countless numbers of wild animals, drawn thither by the salt contained in the water and impregnating the ground, as by their licking the earth to procure salt. There is no authentic account of this Lick having been visited by white men before 1739. 1 82 Appendix B. "In 1773 James Douglas, of Virginia, visited it and found the ten acres constituting the Lick bare of trees and herbage of every kind, and large numbers of the bones of the mastodon or mammoth and the Arctic Elephant scattered upon the surface of the ground. The last of these bones which thus lay upon the surface of the earth were removed more than sixty j'ears ago ; but since that time a considerable number have been exhumed from beneath the soil, which business has been prosecuted as zealously by some as other persons are wont to dig for hidden treasures. Some of the teeth of these huge animals would weigh near ten pounds, and the surface on which the food was chewed was about seven inches long and four broad. A correspondent informs me that he had seen dug up in one mass several ribs and tusks and thigh bones, and one skull, besides many other bones. Two of these tusks, which belonged to different animals, were about eleven feet in length, and at the largest end six or seven inches in diameter ; two others were eight feet long. The thigh bones were four or five feet in length, and a straight line drawn from one end of some of the ribs to the other would be five feet. These dimensions correspond with what Mr. Douglas has said of the ribs which he used for tent poles in 1773. Our correspondent thinks the skull above mentioned certainly belonged to a young animal, and yet the distance across the forehead and between the eyes was two feet. This Lick is the only place in which these gigantic remains have been found in such large quantities, and deserves to be called the graveyard of the mam- moth. The first collection of these fossil remains was made by Dr. Goforth in 1803. and in 1806 was intrusted by him to the English traveler, Thomas Ashe (the slanderer of our country), to be exhibited in Europe, who, when he arrived in England, sold the collection and pocketed the money. The purchaser after- ward transferred parts of this collection to the Royal College of Surgeons in London, to Doctor Blake, of Dublin, and Professor Monroe, of Edinburgh, and a part was sold at auction. The next collection was made in 18 19 by the Western Museum by order of Mr. Jefferson while he was President of the American Philo- Appendix B. 183 sophical Society, about the year 1805, and was divided between that society and M. Cuvier, the distinguished naturahst. A third collection was made in 18 19 b}^ the Western Museum Society. In the year 183 1 a fourth collection was made by Mr. Finnell. This was first sold to a Mr. Graves for $2,000, and taken by him to the Eastern States and there sold for $5,000. In 1840 Mr. Cooper, of New York, estimated that the bones of one hundred mastodons and twenty elephants, besides those of several other animals, had been collected here. Salt was manufactured at Big Bone Lick by the Indians before 1756, and by the whites as late as 1812. It required five or six hundred gallons of the water to make a bushel of salt." The Indians from north of the Ohio came to Big Bone Lick in the dry months of summer and fall to make salt, when the water, free from the dilution of rain water, was most strongly impregnated. It was here that in the fall of 1755 the Shawnees from the mouth of the Scioto came for that purpose, and brought with them Mrs. Mary Ingles, wife of William Ingles, of Ingles' Ferry, on the New River, Virginia, near the present crossing of the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad in Montgomery County. They had captured her July 8th of that year, with others, at the massacre of Draper's Meadows, and she had endured the terrible journey down the New and Kanawha rivers to the old Shawnee town in Ohio, and thence to the Lick. She Was said to have been the first white woman in Kentucky. For an account of her captivity, her escape from Big Bone Lick, and her journey afoot to her home, see Collins, Volume II, page 53 ; also Trans-Alle- ghany Sketches, by J. P. Hale, Cincinnati, 1886, page 29 et seq. For condensed statement, see foot-note to entry of March i6th in Doctor Walker's Journal, ante. In Volume III, Kentucky Geological Report, 1877, Professor N. S. Shaler, Director of the Geological Survey, speaking of the 184 Appendix B. mineral springs of Kentucky "as being but the brines of the early seas in which, millions of years ago, our rocks were laid down," says on page 18: "Moreover, the swampy grounds about these springs are filled with successive layers of buried animals belong- ing to the extinct life of the country. Elephants, mastodons, and many other animals which no longer live on our land lie buried by the thousand around the waters where they resorted for salt. Big Bone Lick, a territory of forty acres or more, is crowded with these remains, as interesting in their way as the ruins of Egypt. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance to science of a thorough study of these great burial-places ; through such work we may be able to understand the nature of the great changes that swept away the vast creatures which occupied the earth before the time of man." From Big Bone Lick buffalo roads led to Blue Licks, and also southwest to Drennon's Lick, in Henry County, thence to the crossing of the Kentucky just below Frankfort. From the valley of the river they then passed to the high ground east of Frankfort by a deeply worn road visible, yet known as the Buffalo Trace, to the Stamping Ground, in Scott County, a town named from the fact that the animals in vast herds would tread or stamp the earth while crowded together and moving around in the effort of those on the outside to get inside and thus secure protection from the flies. Thence they passed by the Great Crossings, so called from its being the place where they crossed Elkhorn, two miles west of Georgetown, and thence eastward to Blue Lick, May's Lick, and across the river into Ohio. Their roads formed in the comparatively level country the routes of the immigrants through the dense forests, impenetrable from the heavy cane, peavines, and other undergrowth. They also determined in many portions of the State not only the lines of travel and transporta- Appendix B. 185 tion, but also of settlement, as particularly shown between Mays- ville and Frankfort, a distance of about eighty miles, where the settlements were first made along the Buffalo road, and later the turnpike and railroad followed in close proximity to the route surveyed by this sagacious animal, which Mr. Benton said blazed the way for the railroad to the Pacific. The same idea is embodied in the vernacular of the unlettered Kentuckian who said that the then great road makers were "the buffler, the Ingin, and the Ingi- neer." 27 INDEX TO DOCTOR WALKER'S JOURNAL. Abingdon 4, 8, 11 Adair, James xiv, xv Adams, Thomas 24 Albemarle County 26, 34, 82 Alexander, Captain Paul 70 Alleghany Mountains viii, xiv, xv, 3, 4, 9, 38, 74 Alleghany River xv Almon, J xvi Alps 26 Anburey , T 16 Andes 26 Anthony's Creek 74 Anthony, John 74 Apomatock Town viii Appalachian Mountains vii, xi Appomattox River vii, 36 Ark of the Covenant xv Armstrong, Robert 74 Armstrong, William 37 Arnold, Benedict 14 Assembly, Colonial 4 Atlantic Ocean vii, 3 Augusta Court House, Virginia 73, 75 Austin, Stephen F 40 Barbourville, Kentucky 51, 55 Barrier, Casper 38 Batts, Thomas viii, 36 Baylor, Miss i Beard, Adam 36 1 88 Index to Doctor IValkers yoitrnal. Beargrass River 29, 47 Bedford County, Virginia 37 Bell, David 24 Bell, Joshua Fry 24 Belmont, Mrs 2 1 Bentivoglio, Virginia 79 Berkeley, Governor William vii Big Bone Lick 3">, 62 Big Sandy River 62, 66, 67, Gy, 70 Big Stone Gap 48 Big Sycamore Creek 45, 47 Blacksburg 38 Bland County, Virginia 46 Blue Licks, Upper 61 Blue Ridge vii, x, 3, 8, 36, 37 Bluestone River 46, 72 Boone, Daniel 36, 51, 56, 61, 64, 79, 8i Boone, Squire 61 Borland 22 Botetourt County, Virginia 82 Boundary line of 36° 30' viii, 3, 11, 36, 49 Bouquet's Expedition 34 Bourne, James M xix Braddock, General Edward 8 Bradford's Notes 78, 84 Bragg's Army 51 Breckinridge, James D 23 Breckinridge, Captain Robert 70 Brown, Honorable John 78 Bryan, Daniel 78, 80, 81 Bryant's Station 3 1. 33. 8° Buchanan, Colonel John 5, 30, 83 Buffalo 11, 43. 57 Index to Doctor IValker's yotirnal. 189 Buford's Gap 37 Bullitt, Helen M 24 Bullitt, Henry Massie 24 Bullitt, James 24 Bullitt, John C 24 Bullitt, Joshua Fry 24 Bullitt, Susan 24 Bullitt, Thomas Walker 24, 68 Bullitt, William C 24 Burgesses, House of 10 Butcher, The 48 Butler, Mann 78, 83 Byrd, Colonel William 3, 21, 36, 37 Byrd, Colonel William, junior 40, 43, 81 Byron, Lord 48 Cabot, Sebastian vi Caffery, Donelson 12 Callaway, Richard 36 Callaway, William 36 Campbell, Major Charles 5, 30, 42, 83 Canada xii Caroline, Queen ^.8 Castle HUl i^^ 26 Catawba River 61,63 Catcloo River ^ i Cave Gap 41, ^8, 57 Cave Spring 4g Cbamplain vii Charles \\ ix Charlottesville i^ Chattaroi River 67 Chattarawha 57 Chelsea ix I90 Index to Doctor Walker's yottrnal. Chenoa River 63 Chenoka River 63 Chenoweth, Doctor Henry 24 Cherokees xiv, 5, 41, 42, 43 Cherokee Towns, Tennessee 80 Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 72, 73 Chew, Colby 31, 33, 52, 56, 83, 84 Chew, Thomas 33 Chickasaws 13 China vii Chiswell, John 40 Chiswell, Fort 40, 81 Chiswell's Lead Mines 80 Christiansburg 39 Churton, William 4 Clay City 64 Clark, George Rogers 13, ig, 70, 77 Clark, Governor William 14, 19 Clinch River 11, 41, 45, 46 Clinch Mountain 45, 80 Clifty Creek 72 Clover Creek 50, 52, 54, 57 Cochran, Jane 23 Colby's Creek 59 Columbus, Christopher v, vi Committee of Public Safety 10 Cornstalk, Chief 9 Council of State 10 Creek Indians xiv Croghan, George 17 Crooked Creek 7, 53, 57 Cull, James 38 CuUoden, Battle of 48 Index to Doctor Walker s yournal. 191 Culpeper County, Virginia 84 Cumberland, Duke of 48, 67, 80, 82 Cumberland Ford 50, 51 Cumberland Gap xv, t2, 29, 30, 41, 42, 44, 48, 61, 80, 82 Cumberland, Maryland g Cumberland Mountain 50, 62, 80, 82, 83, 84 Cumberland River xiii, 7, 50, 53, 54, 57, 80, 82, 83 Cuttawa River 61, 62, 63 Dan River 38 Danville, Kentucky 23, 24 Darlington, William M xix Davis, Benjamin 24 Delegates, House of 11 De Soto, Hernando vi, xiii Detroit xii, 62 Dettingen 48 Dinwiddle, Governor Robert 70 Dinwiddle Papers 70 Dismal Creek 72 Divers, George 21 Dixon, Honorable Archibald 24 Donelson, John 12 Donelson, Samuel 12 Draper, John 38 Draper, Lyman C 68, 77, 79, 81 Draper, Mrs. George 38 Draper, Mrs. John 38 Duke of Cumberland 48, 67 Dunkards 39 Dunlap, Captain 70 Du Quesne, Fort 34 Durrett, R. T xiii, xix, 36, 49, 80 England ix, 4, 80, 82 192 Index to Doctor Walker's yournal. Euphrates River 38 Evans, Lewis 7 Evans' Map 7, 55 Everett, Edward 21 Fallam, Robert viii Falls, Ohio xiii Faulkner, George H 59 Fayette County, Kentucky 80 Filson Club xiii, xvii, xviii, 29, 31, 57 Filson, John 78 Findlay, John 61, 64 Finley, John 61 Flat Creek 5° Flat Lick 81 Flat-Top Mountain 71. 72 Florida vi Flower Gap 36 Fontaine, John xi Fort Patrick Henry 43 Fox River xiii France ix Frankfort, Kentucky 79 Franklin, Benjamin . ■ • 8 Frederick, Prince of Wales 65 Frederick's River 7. 61, 63, 65 French Broad River 41 French and Indian War 42, 53, 82 Fry, Major Carey 25 Fry, Henry 18, 20 Fry, John 23. 25 Fry, Colonel John 25 Fry, Joshua, senior 4. 5. n. 20, 23, 34 Fry, Joshua, junior 21, 23, 34 Index to Doctor Walker's yournal. 193 Fry, Lucy Gilmer 23 Fry, Martha 24 Fry, Mildred Ann 24 Fry, Sallie 23 Fry, General Speed Smith 25 Garcilaso vi George I xi George II 48, 65 George III 65 George, Mount xi, xii Georgia xiv, 42 Giant's Ditch 43 Gilmer, Doctor George i, 18, 20 Gilmer, Governor George Rockingham 20 Gilmer, Governor Thomas Walker 20 Gist, Christopher xvi, xix, 32 Gloucester County i Golden Horse Shoe x, xii Grant's Defeat 33 Great Salt Creek 62 Green, Honorable John 23 Greasy Creek 45 Green, Doctor Lewis W 25 Greenbrier River 72, 73, 74, 8 1 Green River 30 Gulliver's Travels 64 Halifax County 38 Hale, Colonel John P 30 Hall's Sketches of the West 83 Harrodsburg, Kentucky 79 Harvie, John 9, 35 Haywood's Tennessee 30, 46 Hazard's Pennsylvania Register 82 28 194 Index to Doctor Walker's yonrnal. Hazle Patch, Kentucky 84 Henderson, Richard 12, 43 Hening's Reports 13 Henning, Fanny 23 Henry, Patrick 20, 43 Hill, General A. P 33 Hinton, West Virginia 7a Hogg, Captain Peter 70 Holly Creek 45 Holston River 5, 41, 42, 43, 44, 83, 84 Hornsby, Joseph 18, 21 Hot Springs, Virginia 73, 75 House of Burgesses 9 Hughes, John 31, 33, 56 Hughes' River 7, 60 Hunt, Thomas 35 Hutchins, Captain Thomas 62 Hunting Creek 61, 62, 63 Hutchinson, Ardell 24 Illinois River xiii Independence, Declaration of 3 Indian Creek 54 Indian Old Fields 64 Ingles' Ferry 36, 39 Ingles, Mary 38 Ingles, Thomas 38 Ingles, William 38 Ireland ix Irvine, Kentucky 61 Jackson, Andrew 12, 13 Jackson, Mrs 56 Jackson Purchase 13 Jackson's River 74 Index to Doctor IValkers younial. 195 Jameson 75 James River ix, 34, 35, 74 Jamestown vi Jefferson, Fort 13 Jefferson, Peter 2, 3, 4, 5, 1 1, 34 Jefferson, Thomas 3, 13, i8, 27, 44 Jews XV Johnson, Cave 80 Johnson County 67 Johnston, Andrew 75 Johnston, Walker 74 Johnston, J. Stoddard 29, 30, 31, 32 JopHn, Thomas 34 Kanawha River viii, xv, 36, 70, 72 Kean, Caroline 22 Keats, Emma 24 Keats, John 24 Kenova, Kentucky 71 Kentucky Historical Society 77 Kentucky River 61, 62, 63, 64, 81, 84 xvii, xix, 5, 6, 9, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, 41, 43 55, 57, 62, 63, 67, 68, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83 King Charles II ix King and Queen County i King George I xi Kingsport 43 Knox County, Kentucky 51 Knoxville, Tennessee 41 La Chine vii La Salle xiii Laurel Creek 70 Laurel Fork 61 Laurel Mountain , , ,....,.,....,.. 81 Kentucky, State of \ 196 Index to Doctor Walker's yoiirnal. Laurel River 57 Lawrence County, Kentucky 67 Lawless, Henry 31, 33, 56 Lawless' River 7, 58 Leonard, Henry 38 Levisa Fork 67, 84 Lewis, Andrew xii, g, 10, 35, 70 Lewis and Clark Expedition 14, ig Lewis, David 75 Lewis, Meriwether 14, ig Lewis, Nicholas 14, 18, 20 Licking Creek 51 Licking River 62, 65, 66 Lincoln, Abraham 23 Lincoln County, Kentucky 5g Lindsay, Reuben 18 Livingston, Kentucky sg London xv Long Island 43 Long H unters 48 Looney's Gap 45 Louisa River 63, 67, 69, 84 Louisiana xiii, 12, 19 Louis XIV xiii Louisville xiii, xvii, 15 Loyal Land Company xv, 5,6, 11,33, 55 Lulbegrud Creek 64 McAfee, General Robert B 68, 79 McCall, James 40 Madison County, Kentucky 59 Madison, James 27, 34 Madison, Wisconsin 77 Magoffin County, Kentucky 65 Index to Doctor Walker s yournal. 197 Maple Creek 54 Marshall, Humphrey 78, 80, 84 Martin, Colonel William 81, 82 Marquette xiii Maryland 8, 62 Maury, Dabney H 21 Maury, Reverend James 20 Maury, Matthew 18, 20 Maury, Matthew F 2i Meade, Bishop 35 Meadow Creek 54, 55 Mercer County, Kentucky 68 Meriwether, Mrs. Nicholas 3 Mexico, Gulf of xiii Miami Indians 63 Miami River, Great xvi Michigan, Lake xiii Millewakame 63 Milley's River 61, 63 Mississippi River xiii, xiv Mississippi Valley xiv Mitchell's Map 7, 48 Mobile 62 Monongahela River xv, 70, 82 Montgomery County, Virginia 38 Montgomery, Captain 70 Montreal xiv Monticello 14 Moore, Elizabeth 20 Morse's Geography 30, 83 Morse, Samuel F. B 61 Mossing • place 66 Munsell's Map 56 198 Index to Doctor IValkers yournal. Naked Creek 61 Nashville 11 Nelson, Jane Byrd 21 Nelson, Governor Thomas 14 Nesam, Jack viii New Jersey xvi New Orleans xiv New River 36, 39, 40, 46, 72, 73, 80, 81, 84 Norfolk & Western Railroad 71 North America vi North Carolina viii, xiv, 3, 4, 11, 12, 36, 38, 61, 62, 79 Northwest Territory 19 Ohio Company xv, 5 Ohio, Falls of xiii Ohio River xiii, 7, 12, 13, 41, 42, 62, 70 Ohio, State of xvi, 38 Okenechee viii Orange County, Virginia 84 Ouasiota Pass 62 Overton, Captain Samuel 70 Pacific Ocean vii, 14, 19 Page, Doctor Mann 21 Page Family 17 Page, Doctor R. C. M 17, 21 Paint Creek 67 Paintsville, Kentucky 67 Panama Railway 22 Panther Gap 75 Paris, Treaty of xiv Patterson's Creek 54 Patton, Colonel James 5. 3°. 38, 42, 83 Peachy, Mary i Peachy, Susanna • i Index to Doctor Walker's youmal. 199 Peak Creek 40 Pearis, Captain Richard 70 Peay, Austin 23 Pennsylvania 8, 17, 62 Perecute viii Perry villa, Kentucky 51 Petersburg, Virginia vii, 36 Piccadilly xvi Pine Hill, Kentucky 59 Pine Mountain 50 Pineville, Kentucky 50, 57 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 82 Pocahontas Coal Field 71 Point Pleasant 35 Postmaster General of America 8 Powell, Ambrose 31, 33, 41, 47, 48, 52, 56, 67, 80, 83, 84 Powell County, Kentucky 64 Powell's Mountain 80 Powell's River 7, 29, 45, 48, 56, 57 Powell's Valley 48, 80, 83, 84 Pownall, Thomas, M. P xvi, 7, 62, 63 Preston, Captain William 38, 70 Pulaski County 40 Ragged Creek 74 Raleigh County, West Virginia 71 Reed Creek 40 Reedy Creek 40, 42, 43 Red River 64 Revolutionary War 14, 70 Rhinelander, Mary F 22 Richmond, Virginia 70 Rivanna River 35 Rives, Alice 22 200 Index to Doctor Walker's yournal. Rives, Amdlie 22 Rives, Am^lie Louise ,• ■ 22 Rives, Colonel Alfred Landon 22 Rives, Arthur Landon 22 Rives, Constance 22 Rives, Ella 22 Rives, Ella Louise 22 Rives, Francis R 22 Rives, Francis Robert 21 Rives, George Lockhart 21 Rives, Maud 22 Rives, Honorable William C 21,77, 79 Rives, William Cabell xvii, xviii, 22, 25, 29 Rives, Doctor William C 22, 29, 30, 31, 77 Roanoke River 38 Roanoke, Town of 37 Robinson, James 37 Rockcastle County, Kentucky 59 Rockcastle River 59, 61, 68 Rockfish River • • 34, 35 Rock House 59 Rocky Creek 54 Rome, New York 9 Rose, Robert 35 Salt River 59, 68, 79 Salyersville, Kentucky 65 Sandusky 62 Sandy Creek 70 Scioto 62 Scotland ix Sears, Grace Winthrop 22 Seven Years' War 53 Shallcross, Mary Ellen 23 Index to Doctor Walker's yournal. 201 Shawnee Town, Lower 62, 80 Shelby, Governor Isaac 13, 49, 78, 84 Sheldrakes 44 Shenandoah River x, xii, 39 Shenandoah Valley x, xii, 39, 41, 73 Sigoumey, Henry 22 Six Nations 9 Slaughter, Reverend Philip 34 Smith County, Tennessee 82 Smith, Daniel 11, 12, 79 Smith, Henry 1 1 Smith, Captain James 70 Smith, Sarah 1 1 Smith, Walker Bruce 22 Smith, William B 12 Sneedville, Tennessee 45 South Carolina xiv, xvi South Sea vii, viii, x, xii, xiii Spottswood, Governor Alexander x, xi, 20, 39 Speed, Ann Pope 24 Speed, Honorable James 23 Speed, James Breckinridge 24 Speed, Judge John 23 Speed, Joshua Fry 23 Speed, J. Smith 24 Speed, Lucy Fry 23 Speed, Peachy Walker 23 Speed, Philip 24 Speed, Susan Fry 24 Speed, Susan Bell 24 Speed, Thomas 23 Speed, Captain Thomas 57 Speed, William Pope 23 29 202 Index to Doctor Walker's yotti'nal. St. Lawrence River vii, xii Stafford County it Staffordshire i Stainaker's 41, 42 Stalnaker, Samuel 41, 46 Standing Turkey, Chief 81 Stanton, Kentucky 64 Staunton River 37, 38 Staunton, Virginia 75 Stanwix, Fort 9 Station Camp Creek 61 Steep Ridge 49 Steep Rock 4 Stephens, Adam 10 Stevenson, Honorable Adlai E 25 Steward, David 75 Stewart, John 64 Stopher 79 Sullivan County 43 Summers County, West Virginia 72 Sumner County, Tennessee 11 Swan Pond 51, 56 Swan Pond Creek 51 Swift Run Gap x, 39 Tarleton, Colonel Bannastre 14, 15 Taylor, Frances 34 Taylor, Hubbard 84 Taylor, James 34 Taylor, Martha 33, 34 Taylor, Zachary , 34 Tazewell County, Virginia 46 Tennessee River 9, 11, 12, 13, 41, 46, 80 Tennessee, State of xiv, 5, 11, 12, 13, 30, 42, 43, 49 Thornton, Elizabeth 19 ..... f I. 3. 5, 7, Virginia i i 38, 45. 4 Index to Doctor PValkers yournal. 203 Thornton, Mildred 3 Tolera Indians x Tomerlin, William 33, 80 Tomlinson's River 58 Tomlinson, William 31, 33, 56, 73, 80" Trans-Alleghany xiv, 23, 30 Treaty of Paris xiv, 82 United States 4 Vaugondy, Sr. Robert de 7 Vernon, Mount ig Vincennes 16 3, 10, II, 14, 15, 17, 19, 35, 36 46, 49, 62, 67, 71, 79, 82, 84 Walker, Baylor 35 Walker, Elizabeth 20 Walker, Francis 2i Walker, Jane Francis 21 Walker, John i, 10, 16, 18, 20 Walker's Journal 22, 29, 30 Walker, Judith Page 21 Walker, Martha 21 Walker, Mary ("Captain Moll ") 14, 15, 20 Walker's Meadows 84 Walker, Mildred 21 Walker's Mountain 41 Walker, Peachy 23, 34 Walker, Reuben 21 Walker, Susan 20 {XV, xvi, xvii, I, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27, 35, 41, 42, 45 48, 51, 54, 63, 67, 68, 77, 78, 79, 84 Walker, Thomas, junior 18, 20 Walker's Settlement 7, 55 Waping . , , . , , . . ix 204 Index to Doctor IValkers yournal. War, Revolutionary 4 Warrior Forii 64 Warrior's Path 41, 51, 64 Washington Court House 8 Washington County 12 Washington, George 3,9, 10, 12, 16, 19 Watauga 41, 43 Welch, Nicholas 36 Welden, J. R xix Weldon, Daniel 4 Westover 3, 21 Westover Papers 4, 36 West Virginia 71 Whymper, Edward 26 Wilderness Road 51, 57 Wilderness, The 84 William and Mary College 2, 4 Williamsburg xi, 1 Williamson, Elizabeth 24 Will's Creek 9, 34 Wisconsin River xiii Withers' Border Warfare 70 Wolf Creek 46 Wolf Hills 8 Wood, General Abram vii, viii, 36 Wood, Colonel 5, 30, 83 Wood, James 10 Wood's River viii, 36 Wood, Thomas viii Woodson, Captain Obadiah 70 Wytheville .... ,„ Yeates, Judge J 82 Yellow Creek 50, 80, 84 INDEX TO CHRISTOPHER GIST'S JOURNAL. Adams, Samuel , igg Africa, Darkest i3g Aix la Chapelle 87, 91, 93, 127 Algonquin Indians 124 Alleghany Mountains 85, 86, 96, 104, 105, 108, 123, 165 Alleghany River 92, 96, 106, 109, 123, 126 America 88, 123, 167, 171, 172, 174, 175 American Land System go American Philosophical Society 177, 178, 180, 182 Angels' Rest i6g Annosanah 116 Antietam Creek, Maryland 103 Archives, French g2 Army, British 105 Arctic Circle 174 Ashe, Thomas 182 Augusta County, Virginia 161 Baltimore, Maryland 85 Baltimore County, Maryland 85 Baltimore & Ohio Railway 103 Barron, Commodore lyg Bath County, Kentucky 165 Battle Creek 128 Battle of the Raisin gg Beaver County, Pennsylvania 108, in Beaver Creek in, 112 Beaver Island Creek 162 Beaver, King of the Delawares in Beautiful River, The 92, 93, 94 2o6 Index to Christopher Gist's journal. Bell, Judith loo Benton, Thomas H 185 Big Bone Creek 181 Big Bone Lick 149, 164, 167, 169, 170, 177, 181, 183, 184 Big Buffalo 171 Big Horn River 180 Big Horn Sheep 179 Big Sandy Creek, Ohio 113 Big Sandy River 139 Blackburn, Governor Luke P 99 Blair, Francis P 99 Blair, General Frank P gg Blair, Montgomery gg Blake, Doctor 182 Blakely, Laurie J g2 Bledsoe, Judge Jesse 99 Blue Grass 133, 146 Bluegrass Region 165 Blue Licks 165, 184 Blue Ridge 98 Bluestone River 158, 159, 160, 165 Boone, Daniel 86, 133, 153, 166 Boone County, Kentucky 167, 181 Bonnecamp's, Father, Map 113, 126 Bossu, Captain M. F 168 Boswell, Doctor Joseph gg Bourbon County, Kentucky g8 Braddock's Campaign no Braddock's Defeat go, g7 Braddock's Route 103 Breathitt County, Kentucky 154 British, The 98, 109 British Ministry log Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. 207 British Possessions 87 Brockenborough's History 165 Brown, B. Gratz 99 Brown, Judge Mason gg Brownsville, Pennsylvania 96 Buffalo 146, 147, 154, 159 Buffalo Roads 184, 185 Buffon, George Louis Leclerc de 171, 173 Bullitt, Captain Thomas 128, 169 Bullitt County, Kentucky 157 Bullitt's Lick, Kentucky 165 Bumey, Thomas ., 115 Butler's, Mann, History of Kentucky 109, 127, 169 Cabin Creek, Kentucky 1 64 Campbell, Colonel William 98 Canada gi, 123, 128, 129 Canewood, Kentucky g7, g8 Carlisle, Pennsylvania no Cameal, Thomas D 171 Carroll County, Ohio 113 Carter, Robert 89 Catawba Indians 138 Cayuga Indians 123 Celeron, Captain M. de Blainville . . .91, 92, 93, 94, 114, 126, 127, 128, 134 Celeron's Expedition 113 Celeron's Journal 92 Chapman, Nathaniel 89 Charlevoix, Francois Xavier de 123, 167 Chataquin Lake 92 Chautauqua Lake 92 Chenango River 92 Cherokee Country 97 Cherokee Indians 98, 1 23, 1 39 2o8 Index to Christopher Gist's yotirnal. Chesapeake, The 179 Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 164 Chickasaw Indians 123 Chillicothe, Old 128 Choctaw Indians 124 Christian, Colonel William 98 Cincinnati 127, 183 Circleville, Ohio 122, 128 Clark, George Rogers 98, 109, 132, 146, 178 Clark, Jefferson K 177 Clark, Governor William 177, 178, 179, 180 Clarke County, Ohio 146 Clarksville, Indiana 178 Clay City, Kentucky 153 Cleveland, Ohio 113 Clinch River 158, 165 Clover 123, 133, 146 Coal 154. 155 Collins' History of Kentucky 181, 183 Colonial Records 106 Columbia, Ohio 171 Columbus, Ohio ....113 Connolly, Doctor John 109 Coonce, Mark 113 Cornplanter, Chief 123 Coshocton, Ohio 114, 121 Covington, Kentucky 92 Crane, The 155 Crawford, Hugh 108, 149 Cresap, Thomas 89, 90, 103, 105 Croghan, Major William 109 ( 95, 108, 109, no, III, 114, 115, 118, 120, 127 Croghan, Colonel George. \ ( 128, 129, 132, 135, 138, 145, 146, 148, 168 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. 209 Cumberland, Maryland go, 103, 11 1 Cumberland Mountains 122, 158 Cumberland River 123 Curran, Barnaby 11 1, 118 Cuttaway River 151, 152, 153, 154, 159 Cuvier, Baron Georges 183 Cuyahoga River 111,113 Dacres, Captain 179 Darlington, W. M 97, loi D'Aubenton, Louis Jean Marie. 173 Delaware Indians. ... 105, 106, 113, 122, 124, 125, 126, 137, 143, 148, 171 Detroit, Michigan 94, 109, 114, 134 Devonian Black Shale 153 Dinwiddie, Governor Robert 89, 95, 96, loi, 107, log, 120, 121, 130 Dismal Swamp Canal 1 1 1 Dobbs, Arthur 89 Douglas, James 169, 182 Draper, Mrs. John 166 Draper's Meadow 166, 183 Drennon's Lick 184 Dunmore, Lord 109 East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad 183 Economy, Pennsylvania 108 Edinburgh 182 Egypt 184 Elk's Eye Creek 113, 114, 119 Elkhom Creek, Kentucky 170, 184 Embargo, The 179 England 85, 85, 87, 91, 128, 171 i 86, 87, 91, 95, 107, 108, no, 114, 117 English, The \ ( 119, 123, 126, 127, 129, 130, 135, 136 English Service 97 English Soldiers 94 30 2IO Index to CJinstopher Gist's yournal. English Traders g2 Erie, Lake in, 115, 118, 129 Estill County, Kentucky 122 Europe 171, 174, 177, 182 Evans', Lewis, Map 167 Fairfax, Lord 103 Fairfield County, Ohio 122 Fayette County, Kentucky gg Feather Dance 143 Filson, John 133, 153 Fincastle, Virginia 180 Finlay, John 153 Finnell, Major N. L 170, 183 First White Woman in Kentucky 183 Fitzhugh, Dennis 179 Flanagan, Judge James 97 Flower Gap 166 Forbes' Campaign 149 Fort Chartiers 168 Fort DuQuesne 168 Fort Massac 109, 180 Fort Miami 119, 143 Fort Necessity 97, no Fort Pitt log, 127, 128, 149 Fort Wayne, Indiana 143 France 87, 91, 107, 114, 126, 127, 128, 178 France, New 93 Frankfort, Kentucky 184, 185 Franklin, Pennsylvania 94 Franklin, Benjamin go, no ( 87, 88, 8g, 91, g6, 97, g8, 106, 108, 114 French, The \ ( ns, n7, ng, 129, 130, 135, 136, 146, 148 French Creek 94 Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist Gist ( 85, 89, 90, 94, Colonel Christopher. . . J^ ( 108, log, III, Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. 2 1 1 French and Indian War 97, 98, 106, 108, 127, 149 Gallissoniere, Marquis de la 91, 93 Gayarre's History of Louisiana 127 Gazette, Lexington 99 Geological Survey of Kentucky 183 George II 88 Georgia 139 Georgetown, Kentucky 1S4 Giles, Jacob 89 Giles County, Virginia 161 Gist, Anne 97, 99 85, 89, 90, 94, 95, g5, 97, loi, 105, io6, 107 126, 135, 148, 164, 165, 166, 167 Davidella , 99 Eliza 99 Henry Clay 99 Judith 99 Maria 99 Nathaniel 97, 98, 99 Richard , 85, 97 Sarah 99 Sarah Howard 97 Thomas 97 Thomas Cecil 99 Violette 97 Zipporah 85 s River 158, 165 Goforth, Doctor William 170, 171, 182 Gordon, Captain Harry 128, 148, 169 Graves, Mr 183 Granby, General 105 Grand Ohio Company 89 Great Britain 107, 179 212 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. Great Crossings, Kentucky 184 Gratz, Benjamin 99 Gratz, Howard H 99 Great Meadows 97 Great Salt Lick 169 Green Spring Station 103 Guerriere, The 179 Guest, Colonel Nathaniel 98 Gulf of Mexico 87 Hale, J. P 183 Hall, Richard 161, 162 Hamilton, Kentucky 181 Hamilton, Governor James 94 Hanbury, Capel 89 Hanbury, John 88 Hancock, Colonel George 180 Hancock, Julia or Judith 180 Hannaona, Big Chief 130 Hart, Captain Nathaniel 99 Harrickintoms, Town of 124 Harris, Mary 121 Havanna, The 179 Havre de Grace 103 Henry County, Kentucky 184 Hockhocking River 128 Hockhocking, Town of 122, 145, 146 Holston River 172, 174 Howard, Sarah 97 Huron Indians 124 Hutchins, Captain Thomas 128, i6g Illinois River 87 Illinois, Territory of 128, 168 Indian Dances 143, 162, 163 Index to Christopher Gist's jFournat. 213 Ingles, Mrs. Mary i66, 183 Ingles' Ferry , 183 Ingles, William 183 Iroquois Indians 106, 122, 123, 124, 148 James River m Jefferson, Thomas in, 171, 176, 178, 179, 180, i8i, 182 Jefferson's Notes on Virginia 171 Jenkins, William m Johnson, Sir William 108, loq Juniata River J04, 105 Junius, Letters of 105 Kallander, Robert 132 Kanawha River. ... 88, 8g, 94, in, 138, 154, 159, 160, 162, 165, 169, 183 Kanongon River 03 Kaskaskia 87 T, . , c* t f ( ^9. 98, 99. 100, 109, no, 122, 123 Kentucky, State of i { 127, 131, 133, 139, 153, 157, 166 Kentucky River 8q King George II 88, no, 130 King Louis XV 92, 93, g^ King's Mountain, Battle of 07 Kiskiminitas River 105 Lancaster, Ohio 122 Lancaster, Treaty of 96, 108, no Laramie's Store 132 La Salle, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de 87 Leaden Plates 92, 93, 94, 106 Lewis, Governor Meriwether 177, 179, 181 Lexington, Kentucky go Lexington Gazette go Licking County, Ohio 121 Licking Creek, Ohio 121, 123 Licking River 150, 164, 165, 169 214 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. Ligonier, General 105 Ligonier, Pennsylvania 105 Limestone Creek, Kentucky 164 Lincoln, President Abraham gg Linnaeus, Carl von Linn6 171 Little Kanawha River g4 Locust Grove i og Logan, Benjamin g8 Logan, Mingo Chief 103, 148 Logstown, Pennsylvania 108, in, 112, 126, 130 Logstown, Treaty of g5, i4g Lomax, Lunsford 108 London go, 133, 153, 182 Louis XV g2, g3, g4 Louisville, Kentucky log, 167, 178 Loyalhannan 105 McAfee Brothers, The 128 McAfee, George i6g McAfee, James i6g McAfee, Robert i6g McCoun, James, junior i6g McGuire, John in McKee, Alexander log Macarty, M. de 168 Mad Creek 146 Madison, James 1 7g, 1 80 Maguck, The, Town of 122, 124 Mammoth 171 Mammoth Cave 167 Margaret's Creek 113 Marquette, Pere James 87 Marshall's Life of Washington in Maryland 85, g7 Index to Christopher Gist's journal. 215 Maryland Battalion 103 Maryland Legislature 103 Mason, George 89 Mason and Dixon's Line 149 Massac, Fort 109, 180 Massachusetts 171 Mastodon, The 149, 150, 167, 184 Mastodon, Indian Tradition of 172 Mastodont 180 Maumee River 134 May's Lick, Kentucky 184 Maysville, Kentucky 98, 185 Meadows, Natural 123, 133, 145, 146 Mercer, Colonel John 89, 164 Miami County, Ohio 132 Miami, Fort 119 Miami Indians 123, 134, 136 Miami River, Great 94, 107, 126, 132, 133, 134, 145, 146, 149, 168 Miami River, Little 132, 146, 171 Milk, Kegs of 140, 142 Mingo Indians 1 14, 136, 148 Mingo Town 128 Mississippi River 87, 89, loi, 102, 123, 134, 135, 152 Missouri River 172, 180 Missouri, State of 99, 180 Mohawk Indians 123 Mohickon 136 Monongahela River 88, 90, 95, 96, 103, 106, 1 1 1 Monroe, Professor 182 Monticello 178 Montour, Andrew.. 109, no, in, 113, 115, 117, 120, 129, 130, 132, 136, 145 Montour, Madame 109 Montour, Margaret 113 2i6 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. Montgomery County, Virginia i6i, 183 Montreal 92 Moon, Mountains of the 139 Mooshingung 113 Moravian Missions 116 Morris, Isaac no Muskingum River 94, 112, 114, 148 Muskingum, Town of 114, 121 Narrows, The 165 Natchez 87 National Institute of France 178, 180 Necessity, Fort 97, no Negro Lad 94 New England 90, i2i New France 93 New Orleans 87, 178 Newport, Kentucky 170 New River 139, 158, 160, 165, 166, 183 New York, State of 123, 171, 183 North Carolina 86, 98, 131, 139, 162, 164, 166 Notes on Virginia, Jefferson's ... 103 Northwest, The 87 Obache River 146 Ohio, State of 108, 116, 139, 146 Ohio Company, Grand 89 {88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109 no. III, 123, 124, 126, 128, 134, 146, 149, 151 152, 164, 165, 167, 168, 169, 172, 181, 183 Ohio, Falls of the 90, loi, 102, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 164, 165 Ohio Indians 96 ( 86, 88, 90, 91, 95, loi, 102, 103 Ohio Land Company \ ( 108, 159, 150, 153, 154, 161, 164 Ohio Lands 91 Index to Christopher Gist's journal. 217 Ohio Valley 133 Old Town, Maryland 103, 105 Olympian Springs 165 Ona • Sciota 122 Oneida, Ohio 113 Onondaga Indians 123 Ottawa Indians 113, 1 19, 142, 143 Ouasiota Mountains 122 Ouasiota Pass 122 Oyo River 93 Pacific Ocean 87, 179, 180, 185 Paris 92, I n Paris, Treaty of 127 Paroquet 157 Pattin, John 119 Patton, Colonel James 108, 166 Paxton, Sir Joseph 133 Pearisburg, Virginia 165 Pennsylvania 92, 94, 95, 106, 108, 125, 138, 149 Peters, R no Pick Town 119 Pickaway County, Ohio 122 Pickwaylinees 115, 119, 131, 132, 134 Pilot Knob, Kentucky 153 Pitt, Fort 109 Pittsburgh 88, 105, 106, 108, 128 Piqua, Ohio 132, 146 Plates, Leaden 92, 93, 94 Point Pleasant 123 Potomac River 103,1 07, 1 23 Pound Gap 158, 165 Powell County, Kentucky 153 Pownall, Thomas 90, 164, 169 31 2i8 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. Preston, Colonel William io8 Pyankeshees 134, 140, 141, 145 Raisin, Battle of the 99 Redstone Old Fort 96, 98, 99 Red River 153, 154, 165 Revolution, Armies of the 97 Revolutionary War 90, 98, 103, 171 Richmond, Virginia 165 Rights, Bill of S9 Riswick, Treaty of 93 Riviere de la Roche 134 Roanoke River 162 Rochester, Pennsylvania iii Rock River 134 Rocky Mountains 179 Rocky Mountain Sheep 179 Roggony 1 20 Rome, New York no Ross County, Ohio 124, 125 Ross, David 171 Rye, Wild 123, 125, 133, 146 Saint Louis, Knight of gi, 93 St. Louis 128 St. Yotoc 126 Salisbury, North Carolina 166 Salt Lick Creek, Kentucky 150, 152, 159, 165 Salt Lick Creek, Ohio 1 24 Salt Pond Mountain 161, 165 Salt Pond, Virginia 161 Sciodoe Creek 122, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129 Scioto River 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 134, 165, 183 Scioto, Plains of the 127, 128 Scioto Salt Works 124 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. 219 Scott County, Kentucky 184 Scott, Governor Charles 99, 100 Scott, James 89 Seneca Indians 123 Seven Years' War 106, 107, 135 Sevier, Governor John 98 Shaler, Professor N. S 183 Shannoah Indians. See Shawnee Indians. Shannoah Town. See Shawnee Town, Lower. Shannopin's Town 105, io5, 107 f 103, 108, 109, 122, 127, 128, 129, 132 Shawnee Indians I ( 135. 138. 139. 143. 148, 150. 183 „. _ . ( 122- 126, 127, 128, 131, 132 Shawnee Town, Lower J I 133, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149 Shea, John D. G i 24 Shelby, Evan 98 Shelby, Isaac 98 Siberia 173 Sinking Creek 1 66 Six Nations 88, 106, 108, log, no, 123, 126, 134, 148 Smith, Captain James 139 Smith, Robert 145, 149, 150 Smith, Samuel 89 Spanish Possessions 87 Springfield, Ohio 146 Stamping Ground, Kentucky 184 Stanley, Mr 172 Stanley, Henry M 139 Stanwix, Fort, Treaty of no Station Camp Creek, Kentucky 122 Steward, Henry in Stockdale, Semonell 171 South Branch 103 2 20 Index to Christopher Gist's yoitrnal. South Carolina I3g South Portsmouth, Kentucky 164 Sugar Trees 124, 133, 147, 152 Susquehanna River 104, 105, 123 Sweat • House 106 Tanissee River 172 Taylor, Hancock 169 Taylor, General James 99, 170 Taylor, John 8g Teaff, Michael 118 Tecumseh, Chief 1 23, 146 Tennessee, East 97, 98 Tennessee River no Thornton, Presley .... 89 Tobacco 137, 140, 142 Todds, The 98 Trans - Alleghany Sketches 183 Treaty of Aix la Chapelle 91 Treaty of Fort Stanwix no Treaty of Lancaster 96, 108, no Treaty of Logstown 95 Treaty of Paris 127 Treaty of Riswick 93 Treaty of Utrecht 93 Trent, William 108 Trinity Churchyard, New York 103 Tuscarora Indians 123 Tuscarawas River 113 Twigtee Indians iig, 123, 132, 134, 136, 137, 140, 141, 142, 144 Twigtwee Town 131, 132, 133, 134, 146, 148 Utrecht, Treaty of 93 Vanceburg, Kentucky 165 Venango, Pennsylvania 96, 103, 106 Index to Christopher Gist's yournal. .J- ■ ■ ( 86' 89. 90, 95. 97. 98, 10: Virginia I ( 121, 123, 148, 161, 162, Venango County, Pennsylvania g^ Villiers, Chevalier 168 Vincennes 87 86, 89, 90, 95, 97, 98, loi, 107, 108, log, 113, 120 165, 166, 171, 178, 183 Virginia, Jefferson's Notes on 103 Virginia Line q^ Virginians, The 08^ j,, Wabash River 123, 134, 135, 172 Walker, Doctor Thomas 1 56 Walker's Journal 18, Walnut Trees 123, 133, 147, 152 Walpole Grant gq Walpole, Horace 8q Walpole, Thomas 80 Wampum 120, 130, 131, 136, 137, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144 Wardrop, James 8g War, French and Indian 97, 98, 106, 107, 108 War, Revolutionary qo^ 08 10 ^ Warren, Pennsylvania q2 Warriors' Camp je- jgj Warriors' Fork jg. Warriors' Path igg i6s Washington, Augustine 8q Washington City j__ Washington, George 89, 96, 97, 98, 103, 106, 107, 108, 109, no, in Washington, Lawrence 8q Washington's Journal jjj Wawaughtanney Indians i^j, 145 Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania jq- Wharton, Samuel White Woman's Creek Will's Creek, Maryland .go, 94, 96, 103, in, 131 90 121 222 Index to CJiristophcr Gist's you ma I. Windaughalah, Chief 125 Wise County, Virginia 165 Wistar, Doctor Caspar 1 80 Wolfe County, Kentucky 1 54 Wood, Colonel Abram 166 Wood's Gap 166 Wood's River 166 Wyandot Indians 114. "9. 129. i37. i43 "i'adkin River 86, 162, 166 Yananguekonnan 113 York County, Pennsylvania 103 Yorkshire, England 103 Youghiogheny River ■ • • 9^ THE FILSON CLUB PUBLICATIONS. The Filson Club is an historical, biographical, and liter- ary association located in Louisville, Kentucky. It was named after John Filson, the first historian of Kentucky, whose quaint little octavo of one hundred and eighteen pages was published at Wilmington, Delaware,. in 1784. It was organized May 15, 1884, and incorporated October 5, 1 89 1, for the purpose, as expressed in its charter, of collect- ing, preserving, and publishing the history of Kentucky and adjacent States, and cultivating a taste for historic inquiry and study among its members. While its especial field of operations was thus theoretically limited, its practical workings were confined to no locality. Each member was at liberty to choose a subject and prepare a paper and read it to the Club, among whose archives it was to be filed. From the papers thus accumulated selections were to be made for publication, and there have now been issued thirteen volumes or numbers of these publications. They are all paper bound quartos, printed with pica old- style type, on white antique paper, with broad margins and half-tone illustrations. They have been admired both at home and abroad, not only for their original and valu- able matter, but also for their tasteful and comely appear- TJie Filson Club Publications. ance. The}^ are not printed for sale in the commercial sense of the term, but for free distribution among the members of the Club, and yet there are always some numbers left over after the members are supplied, which are either exchanged with other societies or sold at the price fixed at the date of issue. The following is a brief descriptive list of all the Club publications to date, with the price at which they were issued and may now be had, except where the editions have been exhausted ; and even when a publication is out of print and the Club no longer controls the price, it can generally be had by pay- ing such an advance on the price at which it was issued as to induce the owner to part with it : 1. John Filson, the first historian of Kentucky : An account of his life and writings, principally from original sources. Prepared for The Filson Club and read at its meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, June 26, 1884, by Reuben T. Durrett, A. M., LL.D., President of the Club. Illus- trated with a likeness of Filson, a facsimile of one of his letters, and a photo-lithographic reproduction of his \ ■ map of Kentucky printed at Philadelphia in 1784. 4to, 132 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1884. Out of print. Published at $2.50. 2. The Wilderness Road, a description of the routes of travel by which the pioneers and early settlers first came to Kentucky. Prepared for The Filson Club by Captain Thomas Speed, Secretary of the Club. Illustrated with a map showing the roads of travel. 4to, 75 pages. The Filson Club Publications. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1886. $2.00. 3. The Pioneer Press of Kentucky, from the printing of the first paper west of the Alleghanies, August 11, 1787, to the establishment of the Daily Press, 1830. Pre- pared for The Filson Club and read at its August meeting, 1887. being the Centenary of Kentucky Journalism. By William Henry Perrin, member of The Filson Club. Illus- trated with facsimiles of the Kentucky Gazette and the Farmer's Library, a view of the first printing house in Kentucky, and likenesses of John Bradford, Shadrack Penn, and George D. Prentice. 4to, 93 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1888. $2.00. 4. Life and Times of Judge Caleb Wallace, some time a Justice of the Court of Appeals of the State of Ken- tucky. By William H. Whitsitt, D. D. 4to, 151 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky, 1888. $2.00. 5. An Historical Sketch of St. Paul's Church, Louis- ville, Kentucky, prepared for the Semi - Centennial Cele- bration, October 6, 1889. By Reuben T. Durrett, A. M., LL.D., President of The Filson Club. Illustrated with likenesses of Reverend William Jackson and Reverend Edmund T. Perkins, D. D., and views of the church as first built in 1839 and as it appeared in 1889. 4to, 90 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Ken- tucky. 1889. $2.00. Tlie Filson Club Pjtblications. 6. The Political Beginnings of Kentucky: A narrative of public events bearing on the history of the State up to the time of its admission into the American Union. By Colonel John Mason Brown, member of The Filson Club. Illustrated with a likeness of the author. 4to, 263 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Ken- tucky. 1889. $2.50. 7. The Centenary of Kentucky. Proceedings at the celebration by The Filson Club, Wednesday, June i, 1892, of the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of Kentucky as an independent State into the Federal Union. By Reuben T. Durrett, A. M., LL.D., President of The Filson Club. Illustrated with likenesses of Presi- dent Durrett, Major Stanton, Sieur LaSalle, and General Clark, and fac-sitniles of the music and songs at the centennial banquet. 4to, 200 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1892. Out of Print. Published at $2.00. 8. The Centenary of Louisville. A paper read before the Southern Historical Association, Saturday, May i, 1880, in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the City of Louisville as an incor- porated town under an act of the Virginia Legislature. By Reuben T. Durrett, A. M., LL.D., President of The Filson Club. Illustrated with likenesses of Colonel Dur- rett, Sieur LaSalle, and General Clark. 4to, 200 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1893. Out of print. Published at $2.00. The Filson Club Publications. 9. The Political Club, Danville, Kentucky, 1786 -1790: Being an account of an early Kentucky debating society from the original papers recently found. By Captain Thomas Speed, Secretary of The Filson Club. 4to, xii- 167 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1894. $2.00. 10. The Life and Writings of Rafinesque. Prepared for The Filson Club and read at its meeting Monday, April 2, 1894. By Richard Ellsworth Call, M. A., M.Sc, M.D., member of The Filson Club. Illustrated with likenesses of Rafinesque and fac-similes of pages of his Fishes of the Ohio and Botany of Louisville. 4to, xii-227 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1895. Out of print. Published at $2.50. U. Transylvania University, its origin, rise, decline, and fall. Prepared for The Filson Club by Robert Peter, M. D., and his daughter. Miss Johanna Peter, members of The B'ilson Club. Illustrated with a likeness of Doctor Peter. 4to, 202 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1896. $2.50. 12. Bryant's Station and the memorial proceedings held on its site under the auspices of the Lexington Chapter, D. A. R. , August 18, 1896, in honor of its heroic mothers and daughters. Prepared for publication by Reuben T. Durrett, A. M., LL.D., President of The Filson Club. Illustrated with likenesses of the officers of the Lexington Chapter, D. A. R., President Durrett, Major Stanton, Professor Rancke, Colonel Young, and Doctor Todd, and The Filson Club Publications. full page views of Bryant's Station and its spring, and of the battle-field of the Blue Licks. 4to, xiii-277 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1897. $3.00. 13. The First Explorations of Kentucky: The journal of Doctor Thomas Walker, 1750, and of Colonel Christo- pher Gist, 1 751. Edited by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, Vice-President of The Filson Club. Illustrated with a map of Kentucky showing the routes of Walker and Gist through the State, with a view of Castle Hill, the residence of Doctor Walker, and a likeness of Colonel Johnston. 4to, 256 pages. John P. Morton & Co., Printers, Louisville, Kentucky. 1898. $3.00. RD 8lM .0' r:-vr>?: A^ •'^J<^^.,t- •n^o^ Deacldified using the Bookkeeper process Neutralizing Agent Magnesium Oxide Trealment Date: ^ . \Q^fi PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, LP. 1 1 1 Thomsoti Park Dnve Cranberry Townsfirp, PA 16066 -0^ ^°\*)^;/°^,^^ / "^...■^ 'J •/■_, ^■^ ■ - ■ "ov" yO' ^^^32084